THE LORD'S INTERVENTION
#040 (continued from #035) THE LORD’S INTERVENTION
Scripture Joel 2:18-3:21, NIV Orig. Date 11-14-71
Rewr. 4-26-89
Passage:
18 Then the Lord was jealous for his land
and took pity on his people.
19 The Lord replied[a] to them:
“I am sending you grain, new wine and olive oil,
enough to satisfy you fully;
never again will I make you
an object of scorn to the nations.
20 “I will drive the northern horde far from you,
pushing it into a parched and barren land;
its eastern ranks will drown in the Dead Sea
and its western ranks in the Mediterranean Sea.
And its stench will go up;
its smell will rise.”
Surely he has done great things!
21 Do not be afraid, land of Judah;
be glad and rejoice.
Surely the Lord has done great things!
22 Do not be afraid, you wild animals,
for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green.
The trees are bearing their fruit;
the fig tree and the vine yield their riches.
23 Be glad, people of Zion,
rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given you the autumn rains
because he is faithful.
He sends you abundant showers,
both autumn and spring rains, as before.
24 The threshing floors will be filled with grain;
the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
25 “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—
the great locust and the young locust,
the other locusts and the locust swarm[b]—
my great army that I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has worked wonders for you;
never again will my people be shamed.
27 Then you will know that I am in Israel,
that I am the Lord your God,
and that there is no other;
never again will my people be shamed.
28 “And afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
30 I will show wonders in the heavens
and on the earth,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
32 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
there will be deliverance,
as the Lord has said,
even among the survivors
whom the Lord calls.[c]
3 [d]“In those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 I will gather all nations
and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.[e]
There I will put them on trial
for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel,
because they scattered my people among the nations
and divided up my land.
3 They cast lots for my people
and traded boys for prostitutes;
they sold girls for wine to drink.
4 “Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon and all you regions of Philistia? Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done. 5 For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples.[f] 6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, that you might send them far from their homeland.
7 “See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them, and I will return on your own heads what you have done. 8 I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, a nation far away.” The Lord has spoken.
9 Proclaim this among the nations:
Prepare for war!
Rouse the warriors!
Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords
and your pruning hooks into spears.
Let the weakling say,
“I am strong!”
11 Come quickly, all you nations from every side,
and assemble there.
Bring down your warriors, Lord!
12 “Let the nations be roused;
let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
for there I will sit
to judge all the nations on every side.
13 Swing the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe.
Come, trample the grapes,
for the winepress is full
and the vats overflow—
so great is their wickedness!”
14 Multitudes, multitudes
in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near
in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and moon will be darkened,
and the stars no longer shine.
16 The Lord will roar from Zion
and thunder from Jerusalem;
the earth and the heavens will tremble.
But the Lord will be a refuge for his people,
a stronghold for the people of Israel.
17 “Then you will know that I, the Lord your God,
dwell in Zion, my holy hill.
Jerusalem will be holy;
never again will foreigners invade her.
18 “In that day the mountains will drip new wine,
and the hills will flow with milk;
all the ravines of Judah will run with water.
A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house
and will water the valley of acacias.[g]
19 But Egypt will be desolate,
Edom a desert waste,
because of violence done to the people of Judah,
in whose land they shed innocent blood.
20 Judah will be inhabited forever
and Jerusalem through all generations.
21 Shall I leave their innocent blood unavenged?
No, I will not.”
The Lord dwells in Zion!
Purpose: Continuing a study in the Prophet Joel, here describing God’s response to His people’s repentance.
Keywords Bible Study God, Sovereignty Repentance
Series/Timeline Minor Prophets Sequential
Introduction
The concluding part of chapter 2 gives much of the weight of choice to those who believe the book to be apocryphal. He speaks of “wonders in heaven,” of “blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke” in the earth. The sun is pictured becoming dark, the moon, bloodlike. It is the terminology of the doomsayers. But Joel is a simple prophet who loves God, and who loves his people, and his wish is to call these people “back” to God.
I. He Holds Out to Them the Prospect of Intervention. V18f “Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and pity His people.” V21 “Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice; For the Lord will do great things.”
What will be seen first are material blessings (vs 18-27): An abundance of crops, v19; deliverance from military peril, v20a; restoral of what they lost, v25—the stripped catalpa tree would be restored, the frost-bitten potatoes rejuvenated.
The second consideration is of spiritual blessings (Joel 2:28-32), when God’s Spirit comes to bring grace to His people (V28): on sons and daughters, on old and young, on bond and free. In a day of utter darkness, there will be light, v31. In a day of wasting, there will be a remnant to carry on, v32.
II. A Final Word Describes a Judgment of World Proportions. Joel 3:2 “I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people, . . . whom they have scattered among the nations.” It is a temporal judgment because of the mistreatment of God’s people: “They have scattered my people;” “they have parted my land;” “they have abused the guiltless.”
The judgment will be thorough. There is accusation, v3, “They have cast lots for my people.” There is investigation: They have taken treasures, v5—not of God’s house, but of God’s; they have abused God’s people, v6. As they have done, so will it be done to them.
There is condemnation, v9, “Prepare war, wake up the mighty men”; they are to make plowshares into swords. Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3 use the imagery, but it is reversed, and it is to God’s own people.
Joel paints a vivid picture of the final confrontation of the forces of flesh and the power of God. V11 “Assemble yourselves and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together, round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord.” The heathen will appear in the valley of decision (Jehoshaphat). A day of terror is described.
III. The Concluding Thought Is of Blessing Upon Believers. V16b “The Lord will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” God will be their hope. V16b “The Lord will be the hope of His people.” God is their dwelling. V17 “I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion.” God is their sufficiency. V18 “And a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord.” God is their protector. V1--Egypt and Edom are described as desolate. Is the mention of Judah post-exilic? V20-21 “But Judah shall dwell forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwelleth in Zion.”
FAITH MADE PERFECT
#036 FAITH MADE PERFECT
Scripture James 2:19-26 NIV Orig. 10-14-62
Rewr. 10-8-87
Passage: 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[a]? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”[b] and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Purpose: Beginning the new church year with an emphasis on faith and church organization in conjunction with the Lord’s Supper
Keywords: Church Activity Faith Ordinance Lord’s Supper
Introduction
Tomorrow is a special milestone in our great Baptist Heritage. It represents a very special anniversary for Louisiana Baptists.
On October 12th, in 1812, the first Baptist work was begun in our state. That was the date, in Washington Parish, on the Bogue Chitto River, that the Half Moon Bluff Church was organized.
For 175 years, the gospel has been proudly proclaimed by Baptists of Louisiana. Those earliest believers, because of their location in extreme southeastern Louisiana, were for some years affiliated with Mississippi Baptists, but they were, nonetheless, the forebears of Louisiana work.
It was the same year, by the way, that Adoniram Judson left to go to Burma as a missionary. If you recall the story, you recall that he changed to his life-long Baptist faith on the ship that took him to a land that knew nothing of Christianity. He went, then, without support. His former denomination withdrew support. And it was before we Baptists were known for our missionary vision. These struggling churches, not unlike Half Moon Bluff, in the early Nineteenth Century, supported what missionaries that there were, on butter and egg money, by the women of the Ladies Aid Society, the forerunner of our Women’s Missionary Union.
It has been people of vision, working together organizationally, who have reared up this great Baptist heritage. It seems that some of us are satisfied to let some parts of it die. In the name of our Lord, and in His covenant with us in his own blood, I challenge you to be a strong arm of influence in our town and Parish, for our Lord, and for His church.
I. Faith Demands an Effort Put Forth. V22 “…by works was faith made perfect.” Make no mistake, they were not saved by works. Abraham faithed God. God imputed (deposited to his account). Those with children away at school have to impute solvency so that these young people will appear secure. That depositing of worth expects a response of concern. In other words, the works don’t save, but they prove the faith.
Our faith calls us to organize our concern. We organize a Bible teaching program called Sunday School for the teaching of the Word of God. A Church Training emphasis was organized years ago to personalize youth involvement and growth. Today it provides opportunity for growth in Christ, in Bible study, in ability, for all. Missions organization is just that, a means to share with all the prospect of service to the needs of humankind.
The 2nd Sunday in October represents World Hunger Day. Are you aware that 730 million people remain hungry every day? The wafer and juice we consume is more than many will have all day. In Ethiopia, 5-10 million may starve this year. In America, there may be as many as 3 million homeless. People working full-time at minimum wage are $1800 below the poverty line for a family of three.
Thus, faith is an instrument in our lives for good. Faith is belief. But it is belief to train, to work, to serve. And we begin where we are. Too many Christians assume that they are excused from such service. No person in this room is little qualified to serve Christ, none too old, or too feeble.
Rahab (v25) served, simply by becoming a relocation agent for God’s people passing through.
II. Faith Made Perfect is a Process Through Which We Grow in Our Understanding of God’s Will and Way. V26 “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” As a believer, I have a responsibility: To stay as close to the Lord as I can through Bible study, service activities, and mission involvement (Camp Harris), and to walk by faith—to live by faith—to work by faith.
As a believer, I have a responsibility to share. We share readily with those we love. When will our hearts be open to love those less fortunates for whom Christ died? We have been successful in the Georgia Barnette State Mission Offering. We will soon endeavor to opportunize the Lottie Moon Foreign Missions Offering. What can we do for hungry people?
Conclusion
Let me remind you as we turn our attention to the Lord’s Supper, that stewardship is a faith venture also. In the great text of II Samuel 24:24 about David and Araunah the Jebusite, Araunah was prepared to give whatever it might take in the King’s name. David’s reply is a classic. “Nay, but I will surely buy it of thee at a price; neither will I offer . . . offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing.”
What better time, than now, can we offer to our Lord, that which comes of dedication and even sacrifice?
WHO CAN ABIDE THE DAY OF THE LORD?
#035 WHO CAN ABIDE THE DAY OF THE LORD?
Scripture Joel 1:1-2, 11 Orig. Date 1/20/65
Rewr. Dates 4/26/89
Passage: The word of the Lord that came to Joel son of Pethuel.2 Hear this, you elders;
listen, all who live in the land.
Has anything like this ever happened in your days
or in the days of your ancestors?
3 Tell it to your children,
and let your children tell it to their children,
and their children to the next generation.
4 What the locust swarm has left
the great locusts have eaten;
what the great locusts have left
the young locusts have eaten;
what the young locusts have left
other locusts[a] have eaten.
5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!
Wail, all you drinkers of wine;
wail because of the new wine,
for it has been snatched from your lips.
6 A nation has invaded my land,
a mighty army without number;
it has the teeth of a lion,
the fangs of a lioness.
7 It has laid waste my vines
and ruined my fig trees.
It has stripped off their bark
and thrown it away,
leaving their branches white.
8 Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth
grieving for the betrothed of her youth.
9 Grain offerings and drink offerings
are cut off from the house of the Lord.
The priests are in mourning,
those who minister before the Lord.
10 The fields are ruined,
the ground is dried up;
the grain is destroyed,
the new wine is dried up,
the olive oil fails.
11 Despair, you farmers,
wail, you vine growers;
grieve for the wheat and the barley,
because the harvest of the field is destroyed.
12 The vine is dried up
and the fig tree is withered;
the pomegranate, the palm and the apple[b] tree—
all the trees of the field—are dried up.
Surely the people’s joy
is withered away.
13 Put on sackcloth, you priests, and mourn;
wail, you who minister before the altar.
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
you who minister before my God;
for the grain offerings and drink offerings
are withheld from the house of your God.
14 Declare a holy fast;
call a sacred assembly.
Summon the elders
and all who live in the land
to the house of the Lord your God,
and cry out to the Lord.
15 Alas for that day!
For the day of the Lord is near;
it will come like destruction from the Almighty.[c]
16 Has not the food been cut off
before our very eyes—
joy and gladness
from the house of our God?
17 The seeds are shriveled
beneath the clods.[d]
The storehouses are in ruins,
the granaries have been broken down,
for the grain has dried up.
18 How the cattle moan!
The herds mill about
because they have no pasture;
even the flocks of sheep are suffering.
19 To you, Lord, I call,
for fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness
and flames have burned up all the trees of the field.
20 Even the wild animals pant for you;
the streams of water have dried up
and fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness.
2 Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sound the alarm on my holy hill.
Let all who live in the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming.
It is close at hand—
2 a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness.
Like dawn spreading across the mountains
a large and mighty army comes,
such as never was in ancient times
nor ever will be in ages to come.
3 Before them fire devours,
behind them a flame blazes.
Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,
behind them, a desert waste—
nothing escapes them.
4 They have the appearance of horses;
they gallop along like cavalry.
5 With a noise like that of chariots
they leap over the mountaintops,
like a crackling fire consuming stubble,
like a mighty army drawn up for battle.
6 At the sight of them, nations are in anguish;
every face turns pale.
7 They charge like warriors;
they scale walls like soldiers.
They all march in line,
not swerving from their course.
8 They do not jostle each other;
each marches straight ahead.
They plunge through defenses
without breaking ranks.
9 They rush upon the city;
they run along the wall.
They climb into the houses;
like thieves they enter through the windows.
10 Before them the earth shakes,
the heavens tremble,
the sun and moon are darkened,
and the stars no longer shine.
11 The Lord thunders
at the head of his army;
his forces are beyond number,
and mighty is the army that obeys his command.
The day of the Lord is great;
it is dreadful.
Who can endure it?
Purpose: Beginning a Prayer Meeting series dealing with the Minor Prophets, here introducing Joel’s call to repentance.
Keywords: Bible Study Judgment Repentance
Timeline/Series: Minor Prophets Sequential
Introduction
One thing is sure, the author, Joel, called the “son of Pethuel” has witnessed a frightsome event and he likens it to the “day of the Lord” (2:1). Little is known about him other than his fixation on the priesthood, and the region surrounding Jerusalem. There is no scriptural documentation. Other Joels are mentioned (I Chronicles 5:54), but nothing is found to tie them to this Joel.
The name means “Jehovah (or the Lord) is God.” His name probably does mean that he came from a family, whether out of Reuben as some believe, or out of Jerusalem herself, that worshipped the Lord God.
When he wrote is anybody’s guess. Pre-20th Century scholarship favored a pre-exilic view. He is positioned with Hosea and Amos among first mentioned prophets. Amos and Hosea are known from the 8th Century B.C.. The enemy nations are the Philistines, Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Edomites. However, these were enemies after the captivity as well.
The lack of a reigning king fits the time when Joash was made king at age 7 (II Kings 11:21f). The priests actually governed the people.
But such circumstance fits a post-exilic date as well. There was no king. The priests ruled. The enemies were no longer Assyria and Babylon. But the message does not depend upon the selection of a date.
It is important to decide if the text is apocalyptic, allegorical, or actual. Those who take the first position say the locusts represent the enemies of God’s people in the end times. The allegorical view would represent these locusts as the traditional enemies of Israel. To see an actual locust invasion is to see Joel describing a natural event as an actual intervention of God to bring the people to repentance.
II Chronicles 21-22 may describe the period. Jehoram, fifth from Solomon, was a wicked king. There was a carrying away of people and possessions by enemies (II Chronicles 21:17). At Jehoram’s death, Ahaziah, his youngest son, became king. He was assassinated by Jehu, and his mother, Athaliah, ascended the throne. It was she who killed the royal sons, only to have Joash hidden by the priests.
I. Successive Plagues and Drought, Joel 1:1-20. V4 “That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten.” It is a scene of total destruction. Who has seen it before? Who will see its equal again?
The different names are thought to be the various stages in the life cycle. William Thomson was a 19th Century American missionary who worked for 25 years in Ottoman Syria. He writes in The Land and the Book: “Their number was astounding; the whole face of the mountain was black with them. On they came like a living deluge. . . . It was perfectly appalling as we watched this animated river as it flowed up the road, and ascended the hill above my house. For four days they continued to pass on toward the east . . . they devoured every green thing . . . . The noise they made in marching and foraging was like that of a heavy shower on a distant forest. . . . They all pursue the same line of march, like a disciplined army.”
The effect of all of this will be felt throughout the land. Desolation was as of a drunkard denied his bottle, v5. Despair was as of the young bride whose husband-to-be dies on her wedding day, v8. Desperation was as that of the farmer whose crops are destroyed at harvest, v11.
Thus, Joel issues his first call for repentance, v13-15. It is directed first to priests. The elders are to be brought together. The people are to assemble in “the house of the Lord.” It would be a “solemn day,” v14, a day to “cry out” danger.
Don’t lightheartedly pass over the semblance of the “house” of God.
Thus, in this context, Joel perceives “a day of the Lord.” He was given “the word of the Lord,” v1. He senses that word has directed him to an event, and the people are to be warned. Is it the activity of God’s righteous indignation? Is it man’s abuse bringing recompense on his own head?
The news told of the plight of an Australian sheepherder. Animals were dying by the hundreds. There was a caption with a picture of thousands of thirst-ravaged livestock: “Why doesn’t God hear their prayer? Who brought them to a dire land in such numbers that their needs could not be met?”
II. This “Day of the Lord” is Imminent, v 2:1-11. “For the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.” The meaning of the phrase: The prophets used this term of deliberate intervention by God—popularly, it was used of God’s intervention to bless Israel, curse their enemies. Amos used it as Joel here: “Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! . . . The day of the Lord is darkness, and not light.” It is a day of judgment and justice.
Joel uses the phrase five times: In relation to an event (1:15); as a symbol of a coming judgment (2:1,11)—also v31: “The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into ‘blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord’”; as a warning that personal response is required, v3:14—“Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision or the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.”
III. A Parenthetical Call to Repentance is Issued. V1f “Turn ye even to me with all your heart, . . . rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for He is gracious and merciful.” Disasters of the gravest magnitude may be circumscribed, v13. Their “turning” must be acceptable—from the Hebrew “shub,” for returning. It appears over 1000 times in the Old Testament, 111 by Jeremiah. The same word is used in v14 of God.
Religious pretension without heart performance is hypocritical and useless. God has the power to act in response to our faith. The people of faith and covenant must act: Observe a feast (v15); gather together for declaration of unity (v15, 16); forgo personal liberties and pleasures, v16b. Let the priests express before God the will of the people for intervention.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE
#034 POWER TO THE PEOPLE
Scripture Deuteronomy 8:1,2,16-20 NIV Orig. 5/3/64 (3/79)
Rewr. 3/21/87
Passage: 1 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. . . . 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. 19 If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. 20 Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.
Purpose: To examine the spiritual motivations of the people of God in light of His blessings and His expectations
Keywords: Blessing God, People of Judgment
Introduction
Many of us have seen awesome generational changes taking place in our lives and the lives of our children. So many particular advantages have come, and are coming, to the youth of this present age.
Both of our girls have already become world travelers. Fritha has been out of the country three times: Canada, Europe, Liberia. She is presently planning a Russia trip. Rhonda has been away three times: Canada, Europe, Brazil.
Both returned from their travels to share great moments with their parents. I remember vividly the slides taken in Europe. I particularly remember the great cathedrals.
The architects of the 12th and 13th centuries had great confidence in their technical skills. They continued to press for higher and higher monuments of praise, and of self-glory. In 1163 A.D., the vault of the nave of Notre Dame reached the then record height of 110 feet. At Chartres, 31 years later (1194), a new record of 114 feet was achieved. At Rheims in 1212, a height of 125 feet was recorded. Then, just nine years later, in 1221, the cathedrals of Amiens stood at 140 feet. By this time, competition between the cities had become the driving force in these construction displays. The people vowed to raise their cathedral 13 feet higher than at Amiens. Three times they tried. It fell each time. In 1500, gigantic transepts were begun, and in 1552, the lantern tower reached the unbelievable height of 500 feet. The tower collapsed one year later, and with it came the end of this great period of architectural competition. Such enterprises had become monuments to the praise of men rather than the praise of God.
It was not always so intended. At Chartres for instance (LinLib1583), without proper stones nearby, nobles and peasants, abbots and abbesses with their subservient bodies of monks and nuns, allowed themselves to be harnessed to the heaviest of carts, which they pulled from quarry to building site. Then, on that site, they built, with their own hands, the walls of the “House of God.” How easy for such labors to degenerate to desire for self-esteem. So it was for Israel. So it is for us, too often.
I. Act One in This Drama of Power to the People Is Persuasion. 8:1 “All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord swore unto your fathers.”
The initial concept in Persuasion is the authority of the persuader. All of us have been recipients of promises that could not be kept. The greatest single factor in the breakdown of many marriages, is in promises not kept. Many parents cannot give liberally to their children, but promises broken are the destiny provokers. And, we have all been guilty of making promises that we could not or did not keep.
I still remember some promises not kept while still a youth.
I remember preaching the funeral in Oakdale, Louisiana, of a young man who was killed in a car wreck directly attributable to a broken promise.
The lagoon of life is filled with the decaying hulks of broken promises and broken lives.
The persuader here is God Himself, who would not and cannot deceive. Listen to 8:7f: “For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, . . . a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.”
Such sufficiency was the promise of God to Israel for their good. It was a promise He intended to keep. It was a promise to guide them in their will to follow. It was a promise, if kept, that would have been the supplier of power for Israel. It is a promise God makes to his people in any age. Psalm 27:8 “When thou saith, ‘Seek ye my face;’ my heart said unto thee, ‘Thy face, Lord, will I seek.’” Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
It is in the context of promise given to persuade, that we learn of Jesus as Saviour. The Old Testament, you remember promised that ONE would come. The New Testament teaches us the story of His life and death. Old Testament, New Testament, and 2000 years of Christian history certify that He is going to return.
Are you persuaded?
II. Act Two in This Drama Is Provision. V2 “And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness to humble thee and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldst keep His commandments or not.”
What happened to Israel happened, to the end that they would better become a power of God. He is able to bring His people through struggle.
The misdeeds of His people are another matter. The Jim Bakker debacle is a case in point. We were in New Orleans when Bob Harrington left his ugly mark on the Baptist name. I have a friend in Morgan City who has recovered from this heinous wrong.
Have we stopped recently to contemplate what God has given over to us as His people? We are 7-8% of the world’s people. We occupy 6% of the world’s land mass. We control nearly 50% of the world’s wealth. We do struggle, over energy, marketing farm products, etc., but we are still, uniquely, the chosen people of God to the end that the gospel be proclaimed.
In such provision, we discover what a nation’s safeguards really are. Someone reminds us, “A nation’s safeguards are not in commerce or Tyre would not have fallen; not in art or Greece would have stood; not in political organization or Rome would have lasted; not in military power or Germany would have triumphed; not in religious ceremony, or Israel would not have collapsed.” Amos 5:21f tells us that assemblies were rebuked, offerings unacceptable, ceremony a defilement. Amos 5:24 “Let justice run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.”
III. Finally, Act Three in the Drama Declares Their Probation. V18, 19, “But thou shalt remember . . . . And it shall be that if thou do at all forget, . . . you shall surely perish.” This is not the threat of an angry, surly, self-seeking God. It reminds Israel and us that He is not intimidated by our intellectual uniqueness. Even with that superiority, how evident is our record of failure.
Upon examination, His commands have always been consistent with this experienced probation. Look at the Ten Commandments and acknowledge their societal advantage. However, Jesus reminds us that they can be simplified. Mark 12:30-31 “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind, soul, and strength; and thy neighbor as thyself.”
The probation given is directed against human pride. V12f “Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God. . . .”
One of the clear indications of this time is that the world’s people are on spiritual probation: Nations. Churches, Individuals.
A pilot discovered that his instruments were not working. He told the passengers, “I have good and bad news. The instruments are out. I don’t know where we are going. The good news is we are getting there at 600mph.”
Conclusion
A National Geographic article on Brazil concluded with the story of a man from the interior of the Amazon who had made his way to one of the cities. For 15 years he had worked separating tin cans from garbage. “Which do you like better?” the author asked. “It is better here,” the man said. “There I was a slave.” (NG—March 1987).
THINKING SOBERLY
#033 (use with #784) THINKING SOBERLY
Scripture Romans 12:1-10, 21 NIV Orig. 9-20-64 (11-75)
Rewr. 9-28-90
Passage: Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Purpose: On the last Sunday of the church year, to remind my people of our need to give freely of ourselves for the glory of God in the new year.
Keywords: Commitment Offering Sacrifice Suffering
Timeline/Series: New Year
Introduction
It was Victor Hugo, I believe, who once described heaven as a place “where all the parents are young, and all the children are small.” I think I can understand the point that he was making.
The ones who are least likely to grasp this are young parents themselves. For others of us, however, it is quite impossible to look with anything other than nostalgia upon those days when our own children were small. What a treasure trove of delights those days now bring to mind. Oh, yes, there were days made weary by the wants and waywardness of those little ones. And, yes, the nights were sometimes made long with wakefulness. There are even some who have had to look death in its ugly face.
But surely, there are none of us so insensitive, that this lovable bundle of frail humanity was not a constant source of surprise and joy. The truly loving parent, however, would be the last to deny to this child the right and privilege of growing to personal fulfillment in adulthood.
If, as the Bible suggests, we get our start in the kingdom as “babes” (I Peter 2:2), as spiritual infants, then, the object of our being is to mature. The “Will of God” for His every child is for this one who was a baby to grow to become what they are capable of becoming.
While it may be nostalgic to smile with the concept of “child-like faith,” it is realistic to see grown-up people dealing with grown-up problems, from a Christian perspective. That’s what “thinking soberly” is all about.
I. We Begin with an Appeal to Sensitivity. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God.” The appeal takes note that individual freedom is not denied. You see, our response to God does not come mechanically. It is not automatically in-bred. We don’t get it from our genes. At her school in New Orleans, Ann was teaching about basic genetics. She had Terry and Jerry, identical twins, in her class. She said, “Terry and Jerry are twins because their genes match.” An eager student helpfully said, “And their shirts!”
We do, however, learn a great deal, positive and negative, from moms and dads.
Paul does not here assume that they are doing all they can. He affirms from personal experience. He remembers out of his pilgrimage. “Beseech” is the verb form (paraclesis) of parakletos (John 14:26), or “Comforter.” In Luke 2:25 Simeon is “waiting for the Consolation.”
It is a call for willful response based on one’s redeemed heart’s longing. It is such response that purges the heart of unworthy thought and motive. Remember that Paul went “into Arabia” (Galatians 1:6) after his conversion. The question with which we must deal is of the desire of our hearts to sustain our professions as Christians.
We remember great Cowboy teams of the 1970’s. Coach Landry had two superstars sitting on the bench, Bob Hayes and Craig Morton. A reporter asked “Why?” Landry gave three reasons: “They do not stay current on plays. They are not consistent when they perform. They are not committed to winning.”
You see, the nature of the appeal assumes that an experience with Christ has occurred.
The first perspective of living the Christian life is our perspective of Christ. Tell me what you think of Christ, I will know what kind of life you live. Jesus defines hypocrisy (Matthew 23), saying that the one not at peace with God is like a whitewashed sepulcher, a death vessel. Without the converting experience, the appeal would have been to dead men.
We are free: But Christ holds the key TO PEACE WITH GOD.
We are free: But Christ holds the key to growth as Christians.
It is the desire of God’s heart.
II. We Must Next Describe the Affirmation of Sacrifice. “I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies, a living sacrifice.” Admittedly, this is in the context of a message to an entire church. It will not be resolved by a committee. A highfalutin Board of Deacons will not authorize it. The staff will not scrutinize programs and work toward this one. It is a decision to be made by individual believers.
The language used here is that of animal sacrifice. I remind you that the Old Testament practice was based on offering a life to God, not a dead carcass. That’s why the emphasis is on the blood. Of the many vulgarities of Satanism, it majors on death, not life.
The mind of God is ours to know in relation to sacrifice. Isaiah 1:11 “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me?” Hosea 6:6 “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” Amos 5:21f “I hate, I despise your feast days. . . . Let judgment run down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
The death of Christ becomes a case in point. God was willing to surrender His own son’s life for a greater good. So, begin to listen with your heart as with your ears. John 1:29 “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” I Corinthians 5:7 “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” I Peter 1:19 “With the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without a blemish, spotless.”
The death of Jesus begins to have meaning only as we give of ourselves in response. The measure of our sacrifice is the MEASURE of our faith.
Paul suggests four ways to assess our own lives: How we live—as long as life remains; Sacrifice—my life for another’s; Holiness—duty to God, others, and self; Acceptability—judged by the JUDGE.
Recall the example of Lot. With Abraham, decisions were made for him. On his own, however, he faced the hard choice of dying with his hands full of emptiness, or living in response to God.
This will be a good place to say a word about the election. The demand of the bramble of this world is always to “put [our] trust in” shadows.
III. Thinking Soberly, then, Brings Us to the Attainment of Service. “Present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Notice it says nothing about extraordinary commitment here. It addresses reflecting faith in the way we live. It speaks of the satisfaction of a morally upright life: Psalm 69:6 “Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: Let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.” Not only church staff members: deacons, teachers, others, as well.
It is a lifestyle that is unattainable without being into the word. That is the litmus test. Philippians 2:13 “It is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Psalm 62:11 “The Lord gave the word.”
Conclusion
We are all familiar with the children’s story of the little Dutch boy who plugged the hole in the dike with his finger and thus spared his homeland. There was epic drama behind that story, however, for there were times when Dutchmen hurled their own bodies into the gaps of the weakening dikes, averting real-life disasters.
Spiritual dikes are being threatened today as never before. Some of the storms are alien, from far, distant places. Others are brought upon us by our own kind through apathy and indolence on our part.
THE IMAGE OF THE CHURCH
#029 THE IMAGE OF THE CHURCH
Scripture I John 1:1-10 NIV Orig. 10-18-64
Rewr. 10/7/86
Passage: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our[a] joy complete.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[b] sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
Purpose: Lead my people in the observance of the Lord’s Supper with a brief message about our image as God’s people.
Keywords: Church, Image Lord’s Supper Ordinance
Introduction
I am not sure any longer what happened to it, but I used to have a book in my library entitled Games People Play. The author, Eric Berne, simply describes some of the ways that people pretend to be different than they really are. They imagine the kind of person they wish to be, or what they perceive others expect of them, and then they pretend to actualize that concept.
Children grow up playacting. In fact, it is one of the strong ways they have of perceiving the adult world of choices. Perhaps many have gone into chosen professions, including church vocations, who first playacted their way through some rainy day activity.
This fantasy world stops being a game when deception is being practiced. And remember, there are two kinds of deception: one, the kind when we deceive others; the second is the kind when we deceive ourselves.
Churches have to be careful also. We have a true image in our community. We want to be sure that the image being portrayed to our community is accurate, and that it is Christ-honoring.
I. The Church’s Image Is Seen in Her Fellowship. V3 “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us.”
Is it the image of compassion or compensation? Who stands to benefit most?
Is it dependable or demoralizing? Someone asked me recently, “Have you ever had a friend really let you down?” “Yes!”
Is it indispensable or insensitive? Do we really look for opportunities to share our faith through acts of ministry?
Is it peace-making or pageantry? We by our attention, or lack of it, determine what our image is.
Someone has suggested that the church has become a babysitter for delinquent parents, and organizer of discreet partying. Even if that is accurate, we are not wrong if we continue other image functions that enable us to portray ourselves as the people of God. Psalm 119:63 “I am companion of all them that fear Thee, and of them that keep Thy precepts.” Ecclesiastes 11-12 is a treatise about human activity, and ends, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”
II. The Church’s Image Is Seen in Her Spirituality. V6 “If we say we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.” Of what does the constituency of the church consist? Is it socially prominent? Is it wealthy? Are its members educated? Are they baptized Baptists? Remember that our church covenant requires that shared baptismal encounter. Is it a mecca of variant entities from throughout the community?
What the church should reflect: Those led by the Spirit of God to receive Jesus as Saviour; those who have publicly professed their faith in Christ; and those who declare their faith through worship and witness and ministry.
Regrettably, some speak of “The church within the church.” This is a divisive concept. Paul Tillich has defined faith as “ultimate concern:” Concern for self; concern for others; and concern for the output of our lives in association with others.1
III. The Church’s Image Is Seen in Her Purpose. V7 “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.”
This is not one upmanship—It is a worthy walk of faith. It is Christ supreme in our lives that He might be perceived as supreme in all things. It is to give expression to the transcendence of God.
Conclusion
Someone tells the story of a new family that moved into the small town. Needing groceries, the housewife called a local merchant and discovered that he delivered. She placed her order, and soon a young delivery boy was at her door. While there she inquired about his name. “Humphrey Bogart,” he replied. “Why, that’s a very famous name,” said the wife. “It ought to be,” came the immediate reply, “I’ve been delivering groceries around here for years.”
Our image needs to be true, it needs to be our own, and it needs to reflect a servant mentality.
1 Tillich, Paul. 1964. Theology of Culture. London: Oxford University Press. p. 6-7
CHANGES IN THE WIND
#023 CHANGES IN THE WIND
Scripture I Corinthians 15:35-58 NIV Orig. 8-18-63
Rewr. 3-29-89
Passage: 35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”[a]; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we[b] bear the image of the heavenly man.
50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”[c]
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”[d]
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Purpose: Continuing a study for Prayer Meeting out of the epistle to the Corinthians.
Keywords: Bible study Resurrection
Timeline/Series: I Corinthians
Introduction
Twice a year we notice instantly the changes taking place all around us. Last Winter we observed the deterioration of nature. Where there had been beautiful flowers, only spindly stalks remained. Where vegetable gardens had produced food for our tables, only a few sparse weeds staked their claims under the diminishing sun. Where trees had spontaneously graced our lives with shade, all that remained was leaf litter to be gathered and burned. But change had occurred.
Change has come once more. From the lifelessness of Winter there is beginning to emerge the incandescent beauty of Spring. Dogwood, azaleas, tulips abound, and share their joy all around.
Change is natural. But something beyond the natural is God’s gift to the redeemed. Paul is determined to share the uplift of this victory.
I. Raising Some Oft Asked Questions. V35 “How are the dead raised? And with what manner of body do they come?” The Jews deliberated such questions. They are questions about the resurrection body. The rabbis windily debated these.
The Greeks did not believe in a bodily resurrection. They believed in the immortality of the soul. The body of flesh was the house of sin.
The text exemplifies the resurrection body. Such debating is foolish. Death is the natural corridor through which such life begins. Not speaking as a botanist, but a plant dies and produces seed, which germinates to form life. There are variances throughout creation: The flesh of man as beast leads to the glory of bodies terrestrial and celestial.
Thus, resurrection is the ultimate hope. There are four antitheses:
a) The perishable vs. the imperishable—Romans 8:21 “The creature . . . shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.”
b) Humiliation vs. glory—Philippians 3:21, “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body. . . .”
c) Weakness vs. power—II Corinthians 12:9, “My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
d) Physical vs. spiritual—There are two supreme thoughts here: that the physical body belongs to all, and that the spiritual body belongs to the redeemed.
II. A Vital Difference Between the Two Adams. V45 “The first man Adam became a living soul, the last Adam a life-giving spirit.”
The first Adam is a man of dust, destined to return to the ground, and with a nature that guarantees only a grave. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. PBS’s Nova ran a story about the concentration, highest in the world, of Huntington’s Disease in villages along the shores of Lake Maracaibo. This neurological disease is always fatal, and the program was called “The Killer Gene.”
Christ is not a man of such nature, but a man of heaven. Spiritual bodies are for those who share His nature. Romans 8:29 “to be conformed to the image of His Son.”
III. The Mystery of the End-Time. V51 “Behold I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.” There is a mystery to be declared. It has a different connotation from I Corinthians 14:2, which is about the mystery of speaking in tongues. There the idea is secretiveness. Here one thinks of unveiling.
Here it involves immortality. In Greek, athanasia means to deny death, euthanasia means “easy death.” Man’s immortality is not natural, but by grace. Hosea 13:14 “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death.”
Christ is the One in whom is victory.
A HOPE THAT IS WONDERFUL
#021 A HOPE THAT IS WONDERFUL
Scripture Romans 8:18-39 NIV Orig. 7-15-62
Rewr. 3-21-85
Passage: 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that[a] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[b] have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. 31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[c]
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[d] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Purpose: Continuing a series from Romans, define for my people that wonderful hope that is in Christ.
Keywords: God Sovereignty Hope Holy Spirit
Timeline/Series: Romans
Introduction
I read recently the story of a young writer who believed that he had composed the classic short story. He was persuaded that it was the best that he could do. Though the plot was not original, the young man felt that it was a masterpiece of realism.
One day he was introduced to a famous author, and to his delight, the old man asked his new friend to come to his study and read his manuscript to him.
The story was about the only son of a poor widow living in a cottage nesting in a Pennsylvania valley. The boy decided to go to the city to seek his fortune. The mother, in true motherly form, saw him off saying, “Now remember son, if you ever get into trouble, no matter how bad it is, you set off home and as you come over the hill, you’ll always find a light burning in this window—and I’ll be waiting to welcome you.”
As the young author read his manuscript he told the young man’s story. It was one of decline and fall into debauchery and crime. After a time in prison, and after his release, he decided it was time to return to the old home place. He came finally to the only hill that remained between himself and his home. As he walked over the crest and looked down, there was the outline of the old cottage in the evening gloom, but no light burning in the window.
The old author, who had listened intently all the while, leaped quickly to his feet and cried: “You young devil, put that light back.” That light represented hope. As long as it remained, then the remoteness of the story did not matter.
I. A Hope that is Wonderful Defines the Human Struggle. V22f “For we know that the whole creation groans in labor pains together until now. And not only they, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit.” We must first link with the prior message. V16 The Holy Spirit confirms human spirit. We are therefore God’s children—heirs. Heirship is fulfilled only at death. As another thread in the tapestry of eternity, death becomes less frightening. In 1939 Lou Gehrig said of his illness: "Fans, for the past two weeks, you've been reading about a bad break. Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” In 2 Corinthians 10:15 Paul wrote “When I am weak, then I am strong.”
Oneness with Christ is ours.
In this sense, Paul confirms human suffering. Whatever the struggle, it is less overpowering beholding what is to be. All of us know someone in the throes of some deep agony. How much easier when there is a supportive family. What a difference friends can make.
Paul says (V19) “creation” will be better off for man’s struggle to redemption. Natural man brings nature to the brink. PBS, in “Passion to Protect,” reported than 1 in 1000 animal species becomes extinct through a natural event, once a month through a man-made event.
Misuse of chemicals are creating a far-ranging problem. An article published 3-20-85 reported that it was a pesticide chemical that caused the death of 2,000 people in Bhopal, India.
Man’s spiritual redemption, cosmos out of chaos, is nature’s hope also. Hope (v20) is not God’s hope. It is man’s hope, nature’s hope. With God there can be nothing less than absolute certainly. The struggle is of divine ordination. The world may be in its birth pains, V22—tsunami, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, etc. Man is in his coming to oneness with God.
II. A Hope that is Wonderful Describes the Spirit’s Intercession. (V26-27). V26 “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us.” It is intercession in prayer. He doesn't do our praying for us. When burdens stymie prayer, He comes to our rescue. It is not intercession when we are not praying, but when we can’t pray.
It is intercession in weakness. We are trying to impress others with our strengths. But “when I am weak, then I am strong.” The Holy Spirit comes in our weakness. Helps (V26)—sunantilambanomai, “to take hold of with another.” Ever tried to pick up a wheelbarrow by the handles? Even if a friend takes one of the handles? We need a helper who understands the problem. For instance, the best marriages are often those where weaknesses are known, understood, and accepted. It is intercession seeking compliance with the will of God. “According to [the will of] God” V27 is surely the sense of the verse: 2 Corinthians 10:15: “Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men’s labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly.”
III. A Hope that is Wonderful Explains God’s Sovereignty V26-28. V28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who are called according to his purpose.” Not some pantheism by which we are elected if all goes well with us. Not some theistic “chance.” 2 Samuel 7:28 “And now, O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant.” It is God active in the framework of history. Acts 17:24-28 at Mars Hill: “He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their habitation” (V26). God guides that history by those who cooperate with His purpose, just as we must seek to pray for the Spirit to intercede.
As we “faith” events around us, we are “working together” with God. “Purpose” translates “a placing before.” It is to establish priorities. V. 29-30 contain God’s loving purpose for the Christian. “Foreknew”—to know before hand; “predestinate”—horizon—to set a limit, “confirmed to the image of His Son”; “called”—all are called, those who respond are certified; “justified”—legal and formal acquittal; “glorified”—bring to a promised place of honor.
IV. A Hope that is Wonderful Exemplifies Christ’s Substitution (VV 31-39). V32 “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also freely give us all things?" We are redeemed by this substitutionary work of Christ. In Him we are God’s own dear children. He doesn’t love others less. His love is personalized by response as John was “the Disciple whom Jesus loved.” To be in Christ is to be uncondemned (V34). To be in Christ is forever (V39).
Closing
We had a couple of pianos tuned recently. Did you ever wonder how they do it in big chuches where they have lots of pianos? How would it be to tune the first, and then to tune each succeeding one to the one just finished? Would the twenty be in harmony with the first? No, in no way!
Our two were tuned with a tuning fork. If one had two hundred to be tuned, they would all require tuning with the same tuning fork.
This wonderful hope, of which we have spoken, is “in Christ.” It is up to each of us to rest in Him to have this hope.
SUBJECT TO HIGHER POWERS
#020 SUBJECT TO HIGHER POWERS
Scripture Romans 13:1-14 NIV Orig. 11-11-62 (8-85)
Rewr. 5-18-88
Passage: Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”[a] and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.[c]
Purpose: To speak to my people during Religious Liberty Week on the need to subject ourselves to the social as well as spiritual needs around us.
Keywords: Citizenship Law Duty Love
Timeline/Series: Romans
Introduction
Among sermons in my library is one preached more than a century ago by Robert William Dale, a Congregational pastor in Birmingham, England. He raises, and speaks to a question pertinent to Religious Liberty Week. He quotes John 6:15:
“Jesus therefore perceiving that they were about to come and take Him by force, to make Him king, withdrew.”
He then asks, “Did not our Lord miss a great chance when he refused the position which they offered Him? . . . . Why did He not consent to reign?” He then answers his own question. “It was the miracle of the loaves and the fishes, . . . that provoked the popular enthusiasm. No doubt the people thought that if He were their king all their material wants . . . would receive satisfaction. Ah! But it is not Christ’s first object to secure . . . outward conditions favorable to universal ease and comfort. That was clearly not His object in the creation of the material universe which He has built for our home. Men have to live by the sweat of their brow, and in most parts of the world, they have to work hard in order to live. There are fogs and floods, harvests are blighted; there is intolerable heat, . . . cold; men are disciplined to endurance by physical discomfort; their intellectual life is provoked to strenuous activity by the hardships and difficulties of their condition. The proverbial garden of the sluggard is not a reproach to Providence but to the sluggard. It was God’s will that he should have not only a garden bright with flowers, but that he should have the physical vigor, the industry, the intelligence that would come from cultivating it. God cares more for the man than for the garden. . . . Government is a divine institution, but it is through human virtue, . . . self-sacrifice, . . . patience, . . . sagacity, that the material blessings which are possible through the social condition are to be actually won. . . . It was impossible that Christ should accept power on the terms upon which He knew that it had been offered to Him.”
It would be left up to us to secure the kind of government that we deserve. That’s what Religious Liberty Week is all about.
I. Subject to Higher Powers Means Duties to the State. V1 “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God.” This acknowledges the sovereignty of God, and abused authority is answerable to Him. Governing authorities are put in place. Even in a police state such authority is responsible.
The will of God includes government within a social system. The dark ages were marked by a serious challenge to state and church. Henry the Eighth is easily recognized for this period.
Paul, who knew no pope, seems to have made room for no such power vested in the church.
Ann and I served on a Jefferson Parish jury years ago. A man from our neighborhood was in the jury pool with us; a Jehovah’s Witness, he asked to be excused.
I Peter 2:13f: “. . . submit yourself to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, or to those sent by him. . . .”
We are fortunate indeed to live within an open system. Agitation for better government is allowed and expected. The system, with all its faults, advocates teaching to improve. We should all be good students of history. Obey the law, but be prepared to work to improve the system as needed.
Does being “subject” mean respecting leaders? It is a military term. It acknowledges a chain of command. I remember my own military experience. We were admonished to salute the rank.
In 1977, the little Strode boy in Marion, North Carolina, and his parents were far off base; it is reprehensible for parents to allow their son to say the things he said about teachers and administrators.
I remember a First Sergeant whom I did not, could not, respect, but I was subject to him.
II. Subject to Higher Powers Means Duties to Citizens of the State. V8 “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.” He is speaking outside of the purview of the church: “Owe no man.” Do not be obligated to another. Don’t let others control your destiny.
He uses the civic term “neighbor” rather than “brother”: “’Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor.”
Some see contradiction with Romans 6:14 “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law but under grace.” Our relation to God is spiritual (Romans 6:14). Our relation to the world is legal (Romans 13:8f).
James Stifler (E13p219), The Epistle to the Romans—“God demands much more of the believer than the state asks. The latter says ‘Thou shalt not injure thy neighbor.’ God says, ‘Thou shalt love him as thyself.’”
The goal, then, for the Christian, is to care about other people. It extends beyond other “believers.”
It is an obligation to pay our own way and our just debts. Love teaches us not only what good to do, it teaches what ungood to avoid. Love restrains us from: (v9) adultery, murder, theft, false witness, covetousness; all else is “comprehended” in “love.”
We would do well to remember that the state can only administer by the sword. If it administers wrongly, grievous injustice can and does result. The church, however, is to administer through love. Even if we are wrong, what injustice is there in love? V9: “. . . All is summed up (kephelaion) in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
III. Subject to Higher Powers Means Enforcement of Civil Duties. V13 “Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in licentiousness and lewdness, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.”
What we do, do it because of the time. V11 “Knowing the time.” There is too much tendency to sleep, moreso, to fail to see moral and cultural deprivations. Biblical advice is that it is time to awaken out of stupor; time to grasp the meaning of ineptitude; time to perceive that we can make a difference. On May 14, 1988, while Monroe, Louisiana, bar owners were celebrating their school’s 2a.m. victory, a customer of Kentucky bars was turning into the wrong lane of the freeway, and killed 27 people.
The true significance of this passage is in its relationship to Christ. First, the “night” of Christ’s away, V12; second, the “day” of His reappearing. They were to put off the works of darkness, put on the works of light. Ephesians 6:13 “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
You see, when we have taken Christ, we have done all we can, or need to do. Hebrews 10:37, “For yet a little while, and he who is coming will come, and will not tarry.”
Simple honesty demands that we be in daily living what we claim to be in profession. V13 “Let us walk honestly.” It means “becomingly, decently.” Paul uses the same word in I Thessalonians 4:12, “Walk honestly toward them who are outsiders.” We who are believers do have moral, as well as spiritual obligations to others. Not many “drunken” or “perverted orgies,” or even “jealous strife.” But the text reminds us (v10) “Love worketh no ill to one’s neighbor,” remembering Christ’s definition.
The summation of all is that we are to “put on” Christ. Romans 6:3 “As many as are baptized in Jesus, are baptized in His death.” Galatians 3:27 “For as many as have been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ.”
There is obedience. There is disposition. There is hope.
***THE CONCLUSION OF THIS SERMON HAS BEEN LOST***
WHEN GOD BECAME MAN
#012 WHEN GOD BECAME MAN
Scripture Matthew 2:1-6 Orig. 12-19-71
Rewr. 12-14-76
Passage: After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
Introduction
To contemplate the birth of Jesus, one must also consider that earlier birth of a planet, and birth of the generic man upon that planet. Back in the day when pollution was unknown, and ecology was unnecessary, man lived in what was a veritable Garden of Eden.
Of the little that we do know about that place, there is this fact about man’s beginnings. Around him were many trees. Of two of these we know the names—the tree of life, and the tree of knowledge. Imagination tells us what might have been names of other trees—virtue, strength, love, faith, obedience, trust, fidelity, honor. It was the tree of knowledge that man was disallowed any access.
You must be aware that there is a suitable recourse to knowledge when life is adequately lived. By having life, man can achieve knowledge. To have knowledge, however, is never any guarantee for life.
Thus, when man chose knowledge and rejected life, a rerouting of man’s priority became necessary. That rerouting ordered by God is declared in the story of the birth of Jesus. “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sin.”
And in His birth it is again declared—“I am come that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly.”
The birth of Jesus, then, was not an historical declarative, but a contemporary imperative. And it was more. It was when God became man.
I. When God Became Man, There was Submission to the Limitations of the Flesh. He experienced extreme physical privation. A prince born in a cattle stall—the wise men honored a king; the priests looked for a king; The Word foretold a king. But even earthly kings are not so treated. I remember the birth of England’s Prince. The throngs waited amid regal glories for the natal hour. I remember when the College of Cardinals elected a Pope. I remember election night 1968. I remember last evening, when the winning democrat pictured himself elected.
Was such privation necessary for the “Tiny King?” You remember, I am sure, that Satan promised Jesus the kingdoms of this world if Jesus would worship him. But you must remember that this is a betrayal of trust. The kingdoms of which he spoke were those of the King of Kings, and not Lord of Lords. This KING, and no tiny king is HE, came to help man find His way back to God. The king must be One with the subject who will honor Him. Hebrews 4:15: “We have a high priest who feels our infirmities.” His life and His ministry were to make it easier for man to believe—to reroute his priorities.
This privation experience is necessary for us as well. We must die to the flesh, live unto God. Matthew 18:3 “Except you become as little children, you shall in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven.”
II. When God Became Man, There was Surrender of All of the Divine Attributes. The power of God did not cease to be operative in the universe. But in Jesus, God Himself, became the deliverer, the sin bearer, the rerouter of man’s priorities.
Let’s be sure about our concept of a deliverer. Television and movies have given us what is a poor substitute for the real thing. There is always the same plot. The father can’t or won’t pay the rent, the damsel won’t agree to the landlord’s proposal (it used to be one of marriage), so he ties her to the railroad track to await the hero sweeping in to deliver. May I call your attention to the Biblical concept—He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquity. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him. With His stripes we are healed. Even with His manliness, there was no compromise with purity and virtue. Hebrews 4:15 In all points He was tempted as we are, yet without sin.
III. When God Became Man, There was Subordination to the Holy Spirit. It was as Jesus accepted the fact of God’s Will that He was empowered to accomplish it. The hard fact of Jesus’ life was that He was willing to pay whatever price necessary to honor His heavenly Father—not human parents; not national heritage, not unborn multitudes; certainly not the human blood suckers who demand that we be like they are or a little worse. It is in the context of our willingness to honor our heavenly Father that we may be empowered for our task. May. May. May… The doubt is not in God’s ability, but in our will. John 14:12 “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these because I go to the Father.”
Conclusion
I read recently an account of a lady in the frontier days of the old west who came to the attitude of dependence upon the Holy Spirit. She lived with her husband in a mining town when gold fever was very high.
Someone told of an old prospector who lived alone in a shack back of town in the hills. He was dying. But about such a mean and vile man, no one cared. She went to him when no one would even go with her. He cursed her for coming. At the mention of mother, he cursed her. At mention of wife, he cursed her. After several visits she despaired to go again. Her little boy said “You didn’t pray. Have you given up? Has God given up?” She spent a night agonizing in prayer. She started visiting with a neighbor and her daughter. The little girl’s laugh became the key to the old man’s heart.
Our trouble is that we get bleary eyed and beatific over the birth of Bethlehem’s babe. Then after Christmas, we just revert to our old thinking about living among all of those agnostics and we are afraid to let them know that Christ is out of the manger and in our hearts.