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Grateful Praise August 2, 2026 | Ivan Soto Kyle Bjerga introduced Ivan Soto, a member and elder development program participant, to preach. Ivan preached on Psalm 100, emphasizing gratitude and joy in worship. He highlighted the paradox of modern prosperity and anxiety, suggesting gratitude as a remedy. Ivan shared personal experiences and biblical references to illustrate the importance of gratitude and praise. He concluded by urging the congregation to remember God’s faithfulness and love, even in difficult times, and to offer grateful praise.

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Introduction and prayer by Kyle Bjerga: I know we normally say we like guest preachers. None of them are guests. Okay, none of them were guests. They are all people that you know, our interns, pastoral residents, members of our church who are up here, and it is a joy to hear from them. It’s a joy to train up preachers who will boldly proclaim God’s word and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Maybe here, maybe down the street, or maybe somewhere else in the world. But rounding out the summer, our last week in this series, we’ll have another one of our members and a man who is also in our elder development program, Ivan Soto, and he will be he has preached a couple of times before, but this is the first time our church family will get to hear him open God’s word with us. So we want to praise God for the summer and the number of men who have faithfully proclaimed God’s word, and pray for Ivan as he brings the word to us today. So let’s pray together. Lord, we do come before you praising you for the work of powerhouse ministry that the Niathes have, for the time that they were able to have with students to encourage them in the gospel of Jesus Christ, that we can partner with them halfway around the world and know that the good gospel ministry is happening there, and so we’re filled with joy that we can partner with them and see them continue to run these types of programs in the women’s retreat that is coming up. We pray for great encouragement for the women who will be involved in this event, that they would be encouraged in you, that they would spend time in your Word and have good fellowship with one another, that this could be a moment for some of them, maybe of giving their life to you, they’ve never done before. For others, Lord, maybe it’s just dealing with something in their life that they need to make sure they’re giving to you to be the woman that you have called them to be. And so we thank you for our partnership with them and pray for them this morning. Lord, we want to pray for the rest of our time in the service. As we open Your Word now, we know that this is a a morning that we set aside each and every week to gather as Your people to hear from You. And Lord, we know that You have something for all of us this morning, and we pray for Ivan as he brings the word. We know that he has faithfully prepared for this morning because he wants to preach your word. We want to hear from you, and Lord, we are your people. As we read, we’ll hear again in just a moment. We are the sheep of your pasture, and you are our good shepherd, and you will lead us. You will teach us and feed us what you want. And so we’re praying that you would do that this morning, Lord. That we would leave leave here this morning comforted by you, but also challenged by you. That we would leave here changed people, not because we are going to do our very best, but because you are powerful, because you can change our hearts. And so, Lord, we lift up your name this morning. We thank you for your love for us-a love that led you to send your Son into this world, so that we could have a way back to you, through His perfect life, through His death, His resurrection, and ascending back to you, and we look forward to the day where He will come again. And so, Jesus, we love you, and we pray all this in Your name, Amen.Ivan: Well, good morning, Cityview. Please open up your Bibles with me to the Book of Psalms. We’ll be reading from Psalm 100 this morning, as we’ve been reading all summer long. And if you don’t have a Bible, please feel free to grab one of them from the pew in front of you. We’re going to be reading from page 484. Again, that’s page 484. Well, the task that has been given to me this morning is to speak on Psalm 100. Well, this great and wonderful hymn has been a treasure favorite with the people of God ever since it was written, and as Charles Spurgeon noted in his commentary on the psalm, “Let us sing the old 100th” is one of the everyday expressions of the Christian Church, and will be so while men exist whose hearts are loyal to the great King. And indeed, this psalm is simply titled “A Psalm of Thanksgiving, and it is the only psalm in its collection to bear this title. And if you’ve been following along with us this summer, you’ll know we’ve been reading through a series of psalms that begin at Psalm 93 and extends to Psalm 100. And these psalms are known. As the enthronement songs, these chapters celebrate God’s universal reign and faithfulness, and they serve as a constant reminder that the Lord reigns as faithful Judge over all His creation. And this morning at the Old 100th, we are invited. In fact, the whole earth is invited, as we sung this morning, to know and to worship this one true God. But why does that matter, and what relevance does it hold for us today? Well, as I was preparing for this message this morning, I had found that we are living in a paradoxical high era of high average prosperity, paired with widespread, deep-seated anxiety. So, on a global scale, extreme poverty has plummeted and lifespans have doubled, and yet economic polarization, high cost of living, and the pressures of the digital age leave millions leaving financially insecure and anxious about the future. Put simply, today we have more comfort and more stuff, and yet we are the most anxious that we have ever been. This shocking reality is further proof that our hearts will never be satisfied in the comforts and the idols that we create for ourselves, and the reality is that the more that we get, the more ungrateful and discontent we become. Could this be what’s leading to our anxiety that we’re feeling this morning? Do the stresses and sorrows we feel in the depths of our souls stem from the fact that we have forgotten to be grateful for all the goodness that we have received at the hand of our Maker. While studies in neuroscience have shown that the brain generally cannot feel a deep gratitude and intense anxiety simultaneously, this connection between our gratitude and the reduction of anxieties cannot be denied. It would seem then that the best way to battle anxiety and discontentment is thankfulness. In fact, this has been true in my own life. The moments that I have felt the most anxious have been the moments that I have forgotten to be grateful. As I was driving to work one morning, I was listening to Moody Radio, and as it just so happens, the program was focused on anxiety, and in that program, the host was explaining how when he used to race in the Iditarod, and if you’re not familiar with the Iditarod, it’s 100, or excuse me, it’s 1000-mile dog sled race that occurs in Alaska every March. And what he was explaining is that one time in the middle of the night, while he was racing, he would wear a headlamp that would lamp or light the path for him and the dogs while he was riding in pitch-black conditions. Well, this headlamp helped him stay laser focused on the path that was in front of him as long as he had it on. Well, on one occasion, he when when he and the dogs had stopped to rest, he had noticed that the moon was out and that it was a particularly clear night. For just a moment, he decided to turn off the headlamp, and just as he did, he saw the beautiful expansion of the sky with every star lit. He saw the beautiful snow-covered tundra, and was immediately struck with awe and wonder. You see, in those moments when I have felt the most discontentment and anxiety, were the moments where I was so laser focused on getting what I wanted, be it good or bad, the focus in those moments helped me or or or kept me from relishing and delighting in all the goodness that the Lord has already given me. But the moment that I turned off my proverbial headlamp on those things that I had fixed my attention on, it allowed me to see all the abundant blessings that the Lord has given me, and left me with awe and wonder and grateful praise. Well, what we will see this morning from the Old 100th are reasons why we should give grateful praise to our great King. There are three observations that I would like to make for you this morning, and three application points on why we should give grateful praise. And my hope is that you too will be able to turn off the headlamp that’s causing you to focus on all your cares and anxiety, and be struck with awe and wonder in the God who is above all gods. So let us go to the text this morning, and the first observation that I would like to make is that we praise Him because it is commanded. We praise Him because it is commanded. Look at there, in verse one and two, it says, “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the.” Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before Him with joyful songs. And so the text starts out with a command. It says, “Shout for joy and worship the Lord, and later come before Him. These commands serves as exhortations for us to joyfully come before the Lord with service and with worship, and the exhortation-all it means is-it’s just a strong urging, an encouraging, or an earnestly advising someone to do something. All over Scripture, we are commanded to worship. The Bible frames this not as an option, but as a requirement and humanity’s purpose. And if you’re familiar with the Westminster Shorter Catechism, in answer to the question “What is the chief end of man?” it states, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. And in fact, when Jesus was tempted in the desert by Satan, he quotes directly from the book of Deuteronomy and says, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’ Repeatedly, we are commanded over and again to worship God, and like all of God’s commands, it is for our good, namely our joy. Shout for joy! It says, “Notice that term joy. God does not want begrudging, forceful worship to Him, but happy worship. God is a happy God, and for those of us that maybe have a big and high view of God, it is hard for Him, for us to see Him that way. We tend to see Him as sovereign, wrathful, and just, and that would be right. But we rarely contemplate His eternal happiness with His eternal holiness. And we are, and here we are being invited to shout happily in our happy God. So instead of us going to church thinking of coming with dutiful ways, we should be worshiping and coming with gladness as we serve our Lord. It says, “Worship the Lord with gladness. The term here can be translated as service. The psalmist likely had in mind the service of worship or temple rituals. This would have included animal sacrifices or grains, or various other rituals. However, this principle still applies to us today. Those who serve the Lord should do it with gladness. And so, what is our posture as we come to church on Sunday mornings? Is it a grind? Is it just another check on our long list of things to do for the week, kids? Do you come to worship because your parents make you come, or is it your joy to worship the Lord with gladness, brothers and sisters? Is it our great privilege to worship our great God, and it is our joy that we serve Him with gladness. Listen to how one theologian puts it: He whom the religion of Christ has not made happy does not understand that religion or does not make proper use of it. Therefore, worship the Lord with gladness. We should note as well that the command is not just for us, but for all the earth. This would include all of creation, and so every time a bird chirps, and every time a cheetah runs, and every time a blade of grass that grows, and a flower that blooms, and every time that the sun rises and sets in its place is an emphatic proclamation that our God reigns, and we read it this morning that the heavens declare His glory, the skies proclaim the handiwork of His hands. All of it reveals the worship that is due to His name. At the same time, while this would include all creation, this would also include all people, saints and pagans alike, religious or irreligious, whether you consider yourself a Christian or not. This command is an invitation for all the earth to behold the beauty and majesty of the one true God, and this is the mystery that Paul speaks about in Ephesians chapter three, as he refers to the Gentiles as members and heirs of the same body. And the scene that we get from the book of Revelation is that men and women from every tribe and nation and tongue will come and worship the Lamb who was slain and seated on the Throne. So, if this is our God’s desire, as we see this invitation going out to the whole world, should this not also be our desire? This should move our hearts to evangelism, brothers and sisters. We should join with the desire of the. Lord, and invite a dying world to come and know Him. And our psalm this morning tells us how we should come. Says with joyful singing. Notice again the emphasis on joyful. And if you’re anything like me, nothing will gladden your heart more than to hear one of your children singing. Many times I come home and I could hear my girl singing, and and it’s just in those moments that I know that they’re having a good day, and that makes me happy. Many times, though not always, singing can communicate joy, and I imagine that every time we come to the Lord with joyful singing, it glad in His heart. Joyful singing communicates delight, delight in our great God. And what we will see a little bit later is that joyful singing communicates gratitude. This is the command, and it is the right command, for we have all so much to be thankful for, and listen. Other religions sing. In fact, every major religion includes some form of singing or chanted in their religious services. One of the reasons is that it facilitates learning, for better or for worse. Sometimes the best way to get theology in your brain and in your heart is to sing it. And another reason that we do this is because it builds community. And wouldn’t you agree that there’s something unifying as we come to together to sing what we believe? And as we have already saw this morning, that singing communicates gladness, and here is where the distinction between the religions are made. While other religions sing, only Christianity sings about news, and it’s not just any news; it’s good news. Throughout all of church history, we have been singing songs of glory, songs of our Creator God, who did not count godliness as something to be grasped, but humbled Himself and put on flesh and came in the person of Jesus Christ and dwelt among us. This Jesus lived a perfect life that you and I could not. He fulfilled every law and religious duty that you and I seem to break every single minute of every single day, and this perfect Jesus who knew no sin became sin. That is, he took our sin on the cross and died the death that you and I deserve. And in that moment, the rightful wrath of God that was destined for you and for me was placed on him, and his perfect life was given to us by grace to all of us who would believe, not by our own merit, but by his work alone. And three days later, he rose again, declaring himself to be the Son of God, and that our redemption was paid in full. This is amazing grace. Is this not something for us to become to Him with joyful singing? May we all come to Him this morning with joyful singing. My second observation for you this morning is that we praise Him because He is Creator God. We praise Him because He is Creator God. Notice there in verse three. Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Know that the Lord is God. This phrase here should strike awe and wonder in us. In this small verse, we see a description of God as divine ruler and as creator. As I mentioned earlier, these enthronement songs has focused on God’s kingly rule over His creation. In fact, He is robed in majesty and puts on strength as a belt, as it states in Psalm 93. In this, we see that authority and power belong to him to rule over his creation, and as Creator God, all humanity belongs to him. It is he who made us, and we are his. This verse communicates ownership as God, as creator. He has the right to every being that has ever existed and that will ever exist. And the reason that this matter is that because as Creator, he has right to command our obedience, our allegiance, and as we have already discussed, our worship. And as another commentator rightly puts it, he says, “We must realize his rights over us before we can freely give him his due. God has a right to us because he has made us. Indeed, the Lord has made us, and we belong to him. Therefore, it is right. That all creation give him grateful praise, and while all people belong to him as creator, it is we that are his people. Again, this speaks of ownership, but this time it goes beyond creation. We are his, true, but more specifically, we are his people, the people of Israel that would have read this would have known that God has a chosen people, and it is only fitting that they give him grateful praise. They would have remembered the Exodus, where God delivered them from slavery. They would have remembered Mount Sinai, where God gave them the law and established them as a nation. They would have remembered the countless times that he fought their battles and delivered them from the hands of their enemies. They would have remembered the 40 years they spent in the desert as God provided for them food and water and brought them safely to the promised land. The people of Israel didn’t belong to God just because He created them, they belong to God because He sovereignly chose them and faithfully kept His covenant with them, and God is still keeping His covenant, not an old one but a new one. And and you see the the old covenant and the new covenant are two agreements that God made with His people. It is divided in our Bibles by the Old Testament or covenant and the New Testament. And like I mentioned before, the Old Covenant relied on external rules and animal sacrifices given through the law. The New Covenant, however, is based on an internal heart transformation that God has done for us once we put our faith in Christ, and in this covenant the Lord has delivered us as well, not from slavery but slavery to sin. By His death and resurrection He purchased our freedom by grace through faith we are delivered from sin, and in this new covenant, the Lord fights all our battles as He works in us to actively kill sin. And one day He will deliver us from all our final enemy as He throws sin and death in the lake of fire. And in that day, the Lord will faithfully keep His promise as He safely brings us into the promised land when He brings us into His presence in heaven. In this new covenant, the Lord has sovereign chosen a people, and if you are in Him this morning, then give Him your grateful praise. It it also tells us that we are His sheep. As His chosen people, we are the sheep of His pasture. This speaks of his great care for us. God has not left us to ourselves; He cares for us. In the Bible, we see the term shepherd used numerous times to describe God. Not only that, but some of Israel’s most famous leaders were shepherds. I can think of Moses and David, to name a few. These men were chosen by God to lead and care for His people, and here in our passage this morning, this description of God as Maker and Provider reveals a unique combination of the Lord’s keenly possession over us and His pastoral care for us, and today we see its fulfillment ultimately in Christ Jesus. He is the Good Shepherd, and all that hear His voice know Him and come to Him. He cares for you so much so He died for you. It is only in Christ where you will find your greatest needs met and your soul’s satisfaction. And if that is you this morning, then give Him your grateful praise. Which leads me to my third and final point. We praise Him with thanksgiving, for He is good and faithful. Look at there in verses four through five. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name, for the Lord is good and His love endures forever. His faithfulness continues through all generation. Because the Lord is our Maker, our Redeemer, and so wonderfully cares for us, it is only fitting that we enter His gates and courts with thanksgiving and praise. Again, what the writer would have had in mind here was the idea of temple worship, religious duties were required, and only through a representative before he could enter into the holy of holies-that is, where God’s presence was. This service would have been performed by the high priest, and only once a year, as he offered a sacrifice on Israel’s behalf. But here in the text, it’s as if all the gates of the city and courts were thrown wide open, and all the earth was invited to worship Yahweh, to know that He is God, and and to enter into a relationship with Him. Today, it is only in the person of Jesus Christ that we can do that. Under the new covenant. Not only are the gates and the courts open, but even the ways to the holy of holies. Now, by grace through faith, we can know this great God. Through God, through therefore God’s people can approach Him, and when they do it, we can do it with thanksgiving, recognizing how much the Lord has done for us. And in our thanksgiving, it will produce in us a joyful praise. Why? Because gratitude produces praise. Look at it again in the end of verse four. There, give thanks to him and praise his name. Gratitude produces praise. It is only when we have truly understood all that the Lord has done for us that we can truly give Him praise, and as we learned from Junior the Broccoli from Veggie Tales, a thankful heart is a happy heart. I can hear some of you, or see some of you humming the rest of the song in your head. Appreciation and gratitude offer up some of our highest praise. The psalmist has in mind here the Exodus, God’s faithfulness in the wilderness, and His shepherding. They would have remembered all that the Lord has done for them and given him praise that stemmed from gratitude. What about us? Shouldn’t we also remember all that the Lord has done for us, and with gratitude offer up some of our highest praise? I mean, we have so much to be thankful for, and this gratitude is what should produce in us joyful praise. But if it doesn’t, perhaps this is why our hearts are so dissatisfied and anxious. And as I mentioned in my introduction, we are more discontent and more anxious than we have ever been. And while it might not tell the full story, I believe that much of it has to do with the fact that, despite all of our blessings, despite all that we have been given, we have ultimately put our hopes for satisfaction on things and idols that will never truly satisfy. Because of this, we have been ungrateful and failed to give Him praise. However, it is in those moments that we need to battle discontentment and anxiety with thanksgiving. And in case you think I’m making this up, look what it says there in Philippians four, verses six through seven. It states, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Thanksgiving chases away all our fears because it places our focus away from our situation and onto the One who can deliver us. But when our focus is on our circumstances or in those things that we want most, thanksgiving and praise can be the lasting on our minds. And recently, I have found myself in one of those situations, and my journey group is fully aware of this. So to save them the agony of having to hear all the details again. I’ll sum it up for you guys here. My job made some recent decisions for the company that would greatly affect the way my team and I do our work. I had been praying for years, and and I’ve been praying specifically that I would benefit from these decisions. Man, my heart was set on it, and finally, after many years of prayer and hope, they pulled the trigger. Boy, was I happy! I mean, in fact, I was elated. All my hopes and prayers had finally been answered, and I was rejoicing greatly. That is, of course, until I wasn’t. You see, while the decisions apply to many of the people that I work with, including those who work directly under me, those decisions did not apply to me as manager of the company. My heart was broken. Man, was my heart broken. And shortly after, bitterness began to settle in, and before long, anger, then discontentment, and then finally anxiety. And I told my wife and my journey group that day, “I have no doubts that the Lord is good. It just doesn’t feel like He’s being good to me. You see. The reason why I had failed to notice that was because I was so laser focused on what I wanted. I failed to see all the goodness that God has already given me, and I could when I could no longer see His goodness to me, all that was left for me was despair. And if you have ever gone through Journey Group, you will know of this little booklet called the Gospel Primer, and on one of those sections, the one that I love most about that is called the Empty Cup versus the Empty or the Full Cup Scenario. And the point that it’s really trying to make there is that in Christ, our cup is never empty; it is already full. But even if our cup were empty and all Jesus did was to put a small drop of His goodness in there, it would already be too much. You see, because of our sin, you and I deserve nothing more than the rightful wrath of God. Because of the countless times that we have spit in His face, what we truly deserve is death and eternal destruction, but by His death and resurrection, He has already given us more than we already deserve. Listen, if you are in Christ, you have been justified by faith and have peace with God. Christ is enough, and this is what I was failing to realize. God has already been so abundantly generous to me in Christ, and if that weren’t enough, it pleased Him to give me a bit more-a wonderful wife and children, a beautiful church family that loves me very much, a job to begin with-and listen, the list goes on and on. And it wasn’t until I began to shift my focus off of those things that I wanted at the time that I began to recognize and see all the goodness that God has given to me. At that moment, gratitude began to fill my heart, and from that came out praise. And listen, my scenario hasn’t changed. I’m still very much in a in an inconvenient work situation, very much. This message is still preaching to me, by the way. But listen, my focus has changed. You see, by intentionally shifting your focus to thankfulness, even for simple things like breath or a sliver of a positive situation, you can interrupt negative thought loops that add to our stress. So, what about you? What has your gaze this morning? I challenge you to shift that gaze from your situation to the one who can fully satisfy? Then allow that gratitude to well up until it produces a grateful praise, and we can only do that when we are grateful for who He is and what He has done. For the Lord is good, and His love endures forever. The Lord is good, and this is a profound statement, and in our text this morning, the reason why we offer up grateful praise. Again, if you’ve been following along for any amount of time this series, you will know that the Psalms continuously focus on the kingly rule and sovereignty of God over His creation, and as how Shane pointed out for us a few weeks ago, that if God was sovereign and ruler, but not God, we should be shaking in our boots. I know it’s summer, maybe flip-flops. I don’t know. This should produce terror in us, though, brothers and sisters. But this text is intended to provide comfort and joy, to know that the Lord is good, and not only that, but part of what we’ve been learning throughout the series is, and what we will see in our text is that Yahweh is above all gods, and like and unlike all the other pagan gods, our God is good. I love the way James Boy James Boyce puts it in his commentary, the gods of the heathens were not good. He says they were selfish and capricious. You could never know when they might turn against you and do you harm. Not so our God. The God of the Bible is and always has been good. End quote. This should comfort us, brothers and sisters, because God is good. We can trust that He is doing good to us, as it states in Romans 828, and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Notice it doesn’t say that everything will seem good, or that only good will happen to us. It says that He is working all things for the good. And if you remember, when I was in my situation, it didn’t feel very good at the time for me. But God’s goodness is not revealed by the changing of our situations. Instead, is revealed by the changing of our hearts and. He conforms us into the image of His Son, as it follows in verse 29 of Romans. The reason I know that God is working good in me is because He is good, and and that He loves me. Church, how He loves us, and not just that He loves us, but that His love never ends, and you see it right there in our verse. It says, “His love endures forever. Many of us have been loved in our lifetime. At least I hope so. But many times, those relationships that we were in have felt conditional. I love you if, or I love you because. But if you are in Christ this morning, know that His love endures forever. And if you ever doubted His love for you, look to the cross. The Apostle John, in his first epistle, tells us that no one has greater love for us than he that gives his life for a friend. His eternal love is shown to you by the fact that He laid down His life for you. He is the good, and His love endures forever. And it is seen by His faithfulness to us. The Lord is faithful. Look at it again at the end of verse five. His faithfulness continues to all generations, and his faithfulness is not dependent on whether or not you and I are faithful, but because he is. And in case you doubt the validity of that statement, just look at Israel’s history. How many times did he establish them and establish his covenant with them, only for them to break it, and then he would bring punishment or exile, and then he would bring them back and forgive them, and then they would break it, and then on and on it went. Yet through all of it, he was faithful. He always brought them back and provided for them, and we are no different. How many times do we fall into sin and we say, “Lord, I’m sorry, I’m not going to do that again, and and then He forgives us, He restores us, and then we fall again, and then on and on it goes. How faithful has He been to us? Unless we think it’s because we’re just such lovable little sinners. Make no mistake that the reason God is faithful to us is because He is first and foremost faithful to Himself. God has declared that He will save a people for Himself, and that His name would be glorified, and He has determined that nothing or no one will get in the way of that, not even us. And look what it says in Isaiah 48, nine through 11. For my own sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you, so as not to destroy you completely. See, I have refined you, though not as silver. I have tested you in the furnace of affliction for my own sake. For my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another. And this is just one example, but the scriptures are full of these sorts of statements, and this should bring us comfort. That means that our salvation is not based on our performance or our own strength to persevere, but on His goodness and faithfulness to preserve us. And just like His love for us, His faithfulness knows no end, for He is faithful through all generations. That means God is faithful, and He always will be. The faithfulness He has for His people in Christ today is the same faithfulness He will have for us tomorrow, and not just for tomorrow, but through all generations to come, to our children and to our children’s children. The Bible is filled with passages reminding us that we should be instructing our children and telling them of all the good things the Lord has done for us. You see it there in Deuteronomy six six through seven. It states, “These commandments that I give to you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home, and when you walk along the road, and when you lie down, and when you get up. And so, if God is faithful through all generations, which He is, and if we expect Him to be faithful to the next generation, then we better get busy instructing the next generation, parents. How are you doing with impressing these things on your children? Have you have they been able to see God’s faithfulness in your own life? And believe me, I know it can get messy, but it is in those messy moments when they see God’s goodness and faithfulness in our own lives that it leaves a lasting impression on them, and just how God has been faithful to you, He will continue to be faithful to your children through all generations. This is what should cause us to give grateful praise. This is what should cause all of our anxieties to melt away, and yet, I know it won’t always feel that way. In fact, in those moments when difficulties hit, it may seem like that’s the last thing we want to do. So, what happens next? When we are in the thick of it, what do we do when we don’t feel like giving him grateful praise? Well, as I close this morning, I would like to leave you with three points that you can take home with you. And the first, I would like to address my brothers and sisters who are in Christ. What do you do when you don’t feel like praising? Well, when you don’t feel like praising Him, obey. He is our Maker, and it is right that we praise Him. And even in those moments when we don’t feel like it, do it. The Lord has commanded it, and like all of His commands, it is for our good. God knows us well, and He knows what we need most to be satisfied, and He calls us to look to him in every circumstance because he knows that is what would make him most happy, or make us most happy. So when you come to praise him, especially on a Sunday morning, do it eagerly and do it gladly. God is a happy God. Come to him with gladness. God is not looking for forced compliance, but willful obedience, trusting in His goodness. So just obey. Number two, when you don’t feel like praising Him, remember all that He’s done for you. Remember the cross. The Lord has redeemed you, and at great cost. He died so that you can live. He was raised so that you can have life, and He is working every circumstance in your life so that He can conform you to His image. So give Him praise. Also, remember how He has worked for you in your life previously. Think of all the ways that He has delivered from your past negative situation. Set up altars. In the Old Testament, many of the patriarchs would set up altars as reminders of God’s faithfulness and how He saved them. Whether that be writing in your journal, or posting something on your fridge, or wearing a piece of jewelry that reminds you of this. Remember, if He saved you, then He will most certainly save you again. And number three, when you don’t feel like praising him, remember God is good and always will be. He is not a wicked man. He is a good God. Man will betray you and will love nothing more than to see you fall. Not God, He is a good Father that always wants what’s best for your life, even when it doesn’t seem like it. And like a good Father, He loves you, and we know that He loves you because of the cross. Every bit of goodness you have received from His hand has stemmed from the fact that He loves you. No one can, and no one ever will, love you more than he does, because in Christ he has love that will never end. That is, through Christ he will never change towards you. His love and faithfulness will continue through all generations because of his work on the cross and us being in him. Not one ounce of his wrath remains on us. He is for us, and He will never leave us or forsake us. So, in that moment when you don’t feel like praising Him, remind yourself of these things. Is He not worthy? These things should provide us with more than enough reasons to give Him grateful praise. And now, to those who may be seeking and don’t have a relationship with Jesus? This is my encouragement to you this morning. Come to know this good and faithful and loving God. The invitation of this psalm is for you too. It’s an invitation to know and love this God that has been so faithful, loving, and good. Stop looking to those idols and treasures you made for yourself. Whether it be love, success, achievement, or acceptance from others, those things will never truly satisfy. And at the end of the day, will leave you in your anxious state. He made you and desires for you to know Him. He wants you to know Him through the person and work of Jesus Christ, believe the good news that we talked about earlier. Your status can’t save you. Your stuff can’t save you. Your good works can’t save you. You and I have already sinned and left a stain on our records, and there’s nothing we can do to remove that stain. It is only by what Christ did for us by His death and resurrection – that the stain of sin and death can be removed. He is the way, the truth, and the life. We can only find peace with God through Jesus, and this is eternal life. That we have peace with God. So, put your trust in Him. Turn away from your way of doing things. Stop trusting in the world to satisfy, and put your trust in what God has done for you by Christ’s work. And once you do, you will be able to join with the rest of the church and all of creation as we shout for joy to the Lord and worship the Lord and come before Him with gladness. Ah, the old 100th. This brief Psalm ends with God’s love and faithfulness, and these are everlasting reasons to give Him praise. Problems and difficulty will arise, distractions and various cares will compete for our attention, bringing discontentment and anxiety. However, it is in those moments, and this is our big idea for this morning. The big idea is when discontentment and anxiety hit. Remember God’s loving faithfulness to you and give Him grateful praise. No doubt, there will be other things that will compete for our praise. And like the Israelites, we may be tempted to return to our idols because we’re just as fickle. And listen, if what you got from this message was you just need to try harder, then you completely missed the point. The point is not for you to white-knuckle your way out of your discontentment and anxiety and just think positive thoughts. My hope for you this morning, and what I think this psalm is trying to get us to realize, is that the beauty and the majesty and the goodness and the loving faithfulness of our God is greater than any circumstances that we face, enough to remove our discontentment and anxiety. And what we have seen through this psalm and all the other passages in our series is that our God is and always will be above all gods. There is no competition; nothing else will ever do. So when discontentment and anxiety hit. Let us remember God’s loving faithfulness, and give Him our grateful praise. Pray with me this morning. Oh, good, loving, and faithful God, we just thank you this morning because of your kindness that you have shown to us, not because we’ve done anything to merit it, Lord. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, Lord. And yet, because of your goodness, because of your kindness and faithfulness, you have loved us. And Lord, I pray that this would be a reminder for us this week, as I’m sure we’ll hit those messy situations and we’ll be tempted, Lord, to put our focus on things that won’t truly satisfy. I ask, Lord God, that it is in those moments that you would remind us of this song, that we would come before you with gladness and thankfulness and offer up our deepest and truest praise, Lord God. We ask that no matter what comes this week, Lord God, you would be glorified in our hearts and in our lives. And we ask this in the name of your Son Jesus. Amen.

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The Holy God July 26, 2026 | Reeve Sam Reeve Sam preaches from Psalm 99 on God’s holiness and sovereignty, urging the church to stop treating God like a “souvenir” and instead exalt Him as the true center of life. He explains the separation between a holy God and sinful people using the cherubim, tabernacle, and role of the high priest, then shows how Old Testament mediators like Moses, Aaron, and Samuel were only temporary bridges. Pointing to Jesus as the perfect God‑man mediator, he explains that Christ’s once‑for‑all sacrifice fully satisfies God’s justice and brings sinners into God’s presence through His sacrifice.

Good morning, Cityview Community Church. Turn your Bibles with me to Psalm 99. If you don’t own a Bible, there is a pew Bible ahead of you. Please take that. That is our gift to you, and it’s page 484 on the pew Bible. Not too long ago, a college head coach divorced his wife of 26 years. Why? She was apparently a distraction in his process of going into the big leagues. On the college level, she was an asset. She was a person that would help him look like a family man when parents came to send their kids to his program, but in the big leagues, he deemed her useless, and so they split. He said, “Winning football is my number one priority, and family. I don’t have time for that. Tragic, isn’t it? Now I know none of us would ever be that honest and say the way the head coach did, but we all have those things that we value over the people that matter. And by people that matter, I don’t mean your close friends and family. I mean, the holy God that we’re so prone to ignore. We’ve made God a souvenir that we bring out in special moments and ignore most of the time, and we only call Him when we need Him, and we certainly don’t treat Him as the Holy God who deserves our whole hearts. How can we change this reality? How can we exalt God like we’ve been singing and give Him the right place in our hearts? Well, that brings us to Psalm 99. Before we dig into the text, if you are able, please rise as we read the Word of God together, the Lord reigns. Let the nations tremble. He sits enthroned between the cherubim. Let the earth shake. Great is the Lord in Zion. He is exalted over all the nations, let them praise your great and awesome name. He is holy. The king is mighty. He loves justice. You have established equity in Jacob. You have done what is just and right. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool. He is holy. Moses and Aaron were among his priests; Samuel among those who called on his name. He called on the Lord, and he answered them. He spoke to them from a pillar of cloud. They kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them. Lord our God, you answered them. You were to Israel a forgiving God, though you punished their misdeeds, exalt the Lord our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy. This is the word of the Lord. Please be seated. I was a wedding this last. I was at a wedding this last weekend, and I wasn’t a wedding; it was that one. And I wanted to test out something. I’m not a singer, so forgive me, but I’m going to give you the starting words through three different choruses, and I want you to complete the lyrics. Ready? Sweet Caroline. Okay, so good. That was great, and we got two more. We got two more easy ones. Country roads. Okay, let’s go. Let’s go. It’s great. We’re good. We got a third one now. This might be a little tricky, but I’ll give you hand signs to help you. It’s fun to stay at the. Okay, three for three. This actually has nothing to do with the sermon. I just no, no. In the same way that the hooks of these songs tie up the main theme of the song, “Good Times Never Seem So Good, “Take Me Home, or “The Place to Be” is the YMCA. In this song, the theme that’s tying everything together is God’s holiness. We see it in verse three, in verse five, in verse nine that God is holy, and we’re going to look at how this holiness impacts us in two different ways, starting with separation from the holy God. Look at verses one to five. The Lord reigns; let the nations tremble. He sits enthroned between the cherubim; let the earth shake. Great is the Lord in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise your great and awesome name. He is holy. The King is mighty; he loves justice. You have established equity in Jacob; you have done what is just and right. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His footstool. He is holy.
Across the course of this sermon series, we’ve said and explained many times what it means that the Lord reigns. But it’s worth saying it again. Why? Because it’s been said five times in these past eight psalms, when the psalmist says the Lord reigns, he means that the sovereign God is sovereign over all. He is in control of everything. He is like the name of the series, above all gods. It’s not simply a proclamation of intent; it’s a declaration of reality. It’s not just that God is coming as the King of the world, but that He’s already King of the world. And so, those of other nations who worship other gods, they must tremble. But I don’t know how you feel. But when I look into this world, I’m asking that question: God, where are you? He seems so distant. Are you even there? It doesn’t feel like you’re in control. I don’t know how many of you have been to the District of Columbia, or like normal people call it, Washington D.C. But when I lived in Maryland, I lived just about a half hour away from the White House. That meant every time we had guests, this was my family’s automatic response: “Let’s go to the White House. You come from Dubai? Let’s go to the White House. You come from India? Let’s go to the White House. Oh, you’ve lived here 21 years. Let’s go to the White House. Let’s just all go to D.C. Except what is so unfortunate about that is when you go up to the White House at its gate and you look at the White House, it’s the size of a fly. It really doesn’t feel like we’re at the White House. The distance almost makes this experience seem worthless. Did we all still go to D.C. and stare at it from a distance? Doesn’t that feel like our relationship with God? There seems to be a distance between us and God, and we’re saying, “I can’t reach you, God. Where are you? We see in the second half of verse one that the God that we worship is enthroned between the cherubim. What is it, cherubim? When we look back to Exodus and more specifically the making of the Ark of the Covenant, we see that these cherubim are creatures that make up the make up God’s heavenly throne, and it is on this throne where God is symbolically seated, and it’s here where He meets with the Israelites, or more specifically, the high priest who represents the Israelites. See, meeting with God isn’t like meeting with your average Joe. Sorry, Joe. God is so holy that the tabernacle, the structure in which the Ark of the Covenant was kept, had layers of rooms in it, so that only the high priest could enter into God’s presence. That do after several sacrifices of purification. Let me help you picture this. You have the outer courts where the priests could come and stand. You have the holy place where a few consecrated priests could come and stand, and then you had the most holy place. Only the high priest at the time could go into the most holy place once a year on the Day of Atonement, and perform sacrifices for the Israel for the atonement of Israel’s sins, atonement which just at one meant making you and God one, and to make light of this holiness of God, and try to enter spaces that you’re not allowed to enter would result in death. So the Israelites didn’t take this process lightly. See, these cherubim do something that we fail to do. They exalt God as holy and enthrone Him as their king. And because we fail to do that, we experience that separation, but the cherubim also do something else. They enforce this separation. Look at Genesis 324. After God drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden. Cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. After Adam and Eve had sinned against the most holy God by eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the sin that banished humankind from God’s presence, he placed a cherubim at the entrance of the Garden of Eden, why? So that sinful man cannot enter into a holy God’s presence.
Sin separated man from God’s presence, and the cherubim are the enforcers of this reality. They’re like the secret service trying to take down anyone trying to climb the fence of the White House. But more importantly, the fence of the White House is not separating us just from the building, separating us from the person of power. In this case, the cherubimists are not separating us from the president, but from a far, far greater ruler, Yahweh, the God of the universe. The earth shaking replicates the ideas of the nations trembling. The earth shakes because the most exalted, holy, and sovereign King is on the throne. It’s the same feeling that children get when children get when they know that they’ve done something wrong and punishment is impending. Sinful men cannot enter into the presence of this holy King without receiving the wrath of God against sin. See, this might be a scary reality to you, but it was actually a comfort to Israel. Israel, how could this be comforting? Good question. See, this holy God Yahweh is great in Zion. Mount Zion was the place where the temple was established. It’s symbolically the place of God’s resonance. The house of God is in Israel, so the Israelites could take comfort in knowing that the Lord God of the universe has chosen them and is living among them. The Ark of the Covenant that I mentioned earlier was placed inside of the temple once the temple was built, and so this enthroned king is present with them because the house of God is in Israel. That was their comfort. God is with them. Lucas mentioned last week about how the nations around Israel knew that Israel’s God was the God. Rahab, a Canaanite woman, trusted in God and exalted Him when the Israelites were trying to enter the Promised Land because she knew of all the things that God had already done. God has proven Himself to be the one true God, and this one true God is in Israel. Unlike my family who stood at the gate hoping to see the president, Yahweh came up, came forth to them, and decided to live among them. And He is holy. Wait, what? That’s confusing. How is a holy God living among sinful men? Didn’t we just hear that that’s a problem? Hold on to that thought. We’ll come back to that. In verse four, we see that the King is mighty. He loves justice and established equity. In 2009, I was a nine-year-old with access to Facebook. Bad idea, really bad idea. I agreed to the terms and conditions without reading a single word, and I know that I didn’t read a single word because apparently you had to be 14 to have a Facebook account, but what if you haven’t read the terms and conditions of living in a relationship with God? What if there is a call in your life to love justice and establish equity, and you’ve ignored it? You may have come into church with the cultural terms and conditions of what church should be, being very peaceable, and you start living the Christian life that way, avoiding doing the things that God is calling us to do, and then we read texts about how our God loves justice, but we’re very passive about it and don’t really participate in bringing about godly justice. We see texts about equity, which means fairness, where we show partiality to the people that we like. And when we do want to bring about justice, we go on social media and post hateful statements about people. The same people, by the way, were coined as image bearers of God. Let’s be real. That’s not bringing about any awareness. It’s promoting hate. And maybe we need a godly vision of what is just and right. Maybe the terms and conditions of living a faithful Christian life is found in the Word of God, and our call is to align ourselves with the mighty King and act out justice, and not just tweet about it, or ex about it, or I don’t know how that works. He’s the King who has done in Jacob what is just and right. So, what has God done in Israel that is just and right. This might be confusing, but what God does in Israel that’s just and right is that He establishes Himself as their King.
The only completely holy and just King is now Israel’s ruler. Throughout the Bible, kings are infamous for being selfish, including burdening their own people. In the books of in the book of Exodus, we see the Egyptians feeling this big burden because of the plagues that are coming their way. But Pharaoh just wants power instead of caring for his people and doing what God is calling him to do. If you’re following the church’s Bible reading plan, then we’re in First and Second Kings, and we see that all the kings of Israel and majority of the kings of Judah are so selfishly motivated and do not uphold the holy law of God. As we look at the other kings of other nations in the Bible, we see the same repetitive desire for power. Now let’s look into our world. I’m wary of getting political, but I have to say it: when we look at the politics of our nation-red, blue, yellow, green, whatever party you fall under-do you confidently believe that these parties are passionate about bringing about godly justice, or are they just creating a greater divide in the unity of people? Are they hoping to exalt the mighty King who loves justice, or exalt themselves to power? If after looking into the Word of God you have the confidence to align with someone, bring about godly justice, then support them, please do. But if you find yourself compromising on the truth of God to accommodate a political agenda, then hear me: the mighty King who loves justice is coming to judge the world truly for what it is, and he will do what is just and right when he establishes his kingdom forever. In his great holiness, he will judge the world. Are you going to be found as a child of righteousness, eager to do the will of God, or a slave to sin, quick to act out what the culture defines as justice. How can we be children of righteousness? How do we establish godly justice when, for being honest with ourselves, we’re so selfish, and like the world, we prefer what’s convenient rather than confront what is wrong, and when we do confront what’s wrong, it’s either with aggression or apathy, rather than being approachable. How can we have a godly vision of doing what is just and right? Look at verse five. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His footstool. He is holy. When we fail to exalt God, when we fail to worship Him for who He is, when we negate His holiness, we lose the holy vision as well. We treat God like an accessory and live our lives valuing ourselves and our desires, rather than actually honoring the call to holiness. I don’t know about you, but I feel convicted. I don’t always treat God as the center of my life. And by the way, making God the center doesn’t mean just making giving him the number one spot in your life. That I think I can manage to do. I can spend spend some time doing some Christian things and go to journey group or be in Christian community and think, Ah, I put God first, then go about valuing everything else just as much as I valued God, by doing that, I’m diminishing God from being the center of my life to a mere aspect of my life. This is my God time, people say, as if God isn’t the person giving meaning to every single moment of our lives. It’s not about prioritizing God as if I’m placing Him in a ranking system. No, it’s about God being supreme in my life so that I will know how to live my life in the first place. He is the center that impacts everything. The truth is, for whatever reason, whether it’s competing idols or fear of trusting God or selfish inclinations, we’re not the type of people who exalt God. Our sinful hearts know that there is a separation between us and God, and we’re holding onto the gates, and we’re shaking it, hoping that something would change. But the separation still exists, and so we wonder, how can a holy God live among sinful men? That brings us to our next section: mediation with the Holy God. Look at verses six to nine. Moses and Aaron were among his priests. Samuel was among those who called on his name.
They called on the Lord, and he answered them. He spoke to them from a pillar of cloud. They kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them. Lord or God, you answered them. You are to Israel a forgiving God, though you punish their misdeeds. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy. I’ve never bought a house, but we considered when we were moving out to the suburbs, at least until our pockets and the housing market brought us back into reality, and a helpful person in times like that is a real estate agent. A real estate agent represents both buyers and sellers. He’s a mediator who ensures that an agreement can be made. For Israel, Moses and Aaron were those mediators. They held; they were priests who had this role of mediation, and the same priestly function was shared by Samuel, as he represented Israel before God when the Israelites were doing whatever is right in their own eyes. These men called on the Lord on behalf of Israel, and God answered them. That’s a wow moment. You might have missed what I just said, so I’ll say it again. These men called on the Lord, and the Lord answered them. See, they weren’t at the gate shaking it; they were calling out to the Lord, and He answered them. He spoke to them from the pillar of clouds, as we see. It’s as if the president just walked up to us and said, “What’s up? Knowing my dad, you say, “Let’s take a selfie. But see, it’s one thing to be in the presence of a president who, like us, are sinful. It is sinful. It’s a wholly different thing if we’re in the presence of a pure and holy God. You wouldn’t ask for a selfie. Your phone would not even be able to capture such glory. Something will have to change. And for the Israelites, we see this change in verse seven. They kept his statutes and decrees. See, our sin brought about a great divide between us and God, and so the priests, like Moses and Aaron, would have to sacrifice an animal to enter into God’s presence, and sacrifice more animals for the redemption of Israel. That was the decrees that they had to follow to be in a relationship with God. Similarly, Sam will mediated the requests of the Israelites when they asked for a king, and the Lord provided for them. But He told them, “If you follow your faithless kings rather than follow the one true God. You will be overcome by other nations. The great divide that we were talking about was temporarily fixed, but guess what? Israel would keep on sinning. The result of that was the temple was broken down, and they were exiled from the Promised Land. And that temporary divide, or that temporary bridge, now feels like a permanent divide. These kingly psalms were probably collected during the period of the exile, and that explains something. The psalmist talks about Moses, Aaron, and Samuel in the third person, but in verse eight we see a switch to the first person. Lord our God, you answered them. You were to Israel a forgiving God. Though you punished their misdeeds, do you know what that means? It means that they’re acknowledging the position that they’re in is because of their sin. We are here because of our sin. In the same way, you answered them back then. Answer us now. In the same way you forgave them, even though you punished their misdeeds. Forgive us now, and give us hope amidst our misdeeds. In other words, show us your loving forgiveness and restore the temple, so we can offer sacrifices again, and that way our sins can be forgiven. They were hopeful in God’s character, His love and forgiveness, despite the fact that they knew that they were so sinful, and that their sin was separating them from the Holy God. See, unlike the kings of the world who are distant from their people, the kings who judge in selfishness, the kings who lead their people to sin. Israel knew that Yahweh, their perfect and holy King, draws near when He is called and forgives those who are repentant.
See, the temple was rebuilt by those who returned from exile, and sacrifices were offered again, and sins were being atoned for, but they would have to do that again, and again, and again. There was no perfect sacrifice that could end this gruesome act of redemption. Then we see in John 129. John the Baptist makes a bold proclamation: “Behold, look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. How did this Lamb of God take away the sins of the world? Just like the sacrifices before him, he was slaughtered for the sins of all, not just the Israelites who sinned again and again, but you and me as well, who daily sin against God and treat Him not the way He’s supposed to be treated. Treat Him like a distraction. Treat Him like He’s just a souvenir. He didn’t die for us because we loved him well. He died for us despite the fact that we’ve hated him. We were apathetic towards him, ignored him, and our misdeeds deserve severe punishment. We didn’t have Moses or Aaron or Samuel to mediate our relationship with God. Our judgment was certain. It’s the death penalty until the perfect mediator finally came. First Timothy two five states, “There is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus. Wait, I thought Moses and Aaron and Sam were also mediators. They were only a shadow of the one who is to come. See, Jesus is not a man pleading on behalf of sinners to God. No, he is both God and man. In our catechism question today, we asked, “What sort of redeemer is needed to bring us back to God, one who is truly God and truly human? Because our sin, because of our sin, we were unable to come into the presence of God. That was just our reality. So God in Christ Jesus came down from heaven, and He met us at the gate. He opened it, and He He invited us home. We see in Romans eight that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Why? For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. Therefore, He condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us. Jesus represents all of us who sinned against the most holy God by perfectly obeying His holy law and truly loving God where we have failed to. He represents the mediators in that He bridged the great distance between us and God by coming down from heaven and taking on sin. He represented God in that the forgiveness that we sinners don’t deserve, He gives to us freely, and the misdeeds that we did, He paid the price for on the cross at Calvary. It was on the cross where love and justice were perfectly. Revealed. It was there that those who believe in Jesus are united in God forever. When I think about this, I have to quote Hebrews two one to three. We must pay careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For since the message spoken through the angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such great a salvation? The salvation which was first announced by the Lord was confirmed to us by those who heard him. If you are heartbroken because of sin in your life, don’t ignore it. Confess it. If you’re struggling to believe who Jesus is, behold him in his word. If you feel like you’re drifting away by treating God as a souvenir, don’t do that anymore. Exalt Him, lift Him up. Don’t just treat Him as a priority. Give Him supremacy of your life. This God humbled Himself so you can be exalted in Christ, what beautiful love! This is the perfectly holy and just God who revealed His forgiveness and justice in Christ Jesus. This God who loves His believer so passionately, far more than anyone or anything will. Why would you treat him anything less than the very center of your hearts? Here’s the big idea: exalt the God who reveals His perfect holiness and justice in Christ Jesus.
Exalt the God who reveals His perfect holiness and justice in Christ Jesus. And by the way, exalting God doesn’t mean you wake up early and just read your Bible and forget Him the rest of the day. Exalting God is acknowledging that you cannot live without Him. He should permeate every part of who you are is inviting him to every single moment of your life. This past week, my wife Ev went to Washington State without me. It was a very, very, very sad time. I forgot how to breathe. I felt so tense, as if something big was missing in my life. That’s the sort of experience you should feel. Except with Jesus, when He isn’t your priority, you should feel it. Why? Because you are away from the deepest form of intimacy you will ever experience. Your center is not central. Quick word to the parents, you know, from my several years of experience. If you don’t embody this sort of forgiveness and exaltation, your kids will grow up thinking of Jesus as a moral stander and not a loving Savior. I remember the day in my senior year of high school where I got suspended for being me. I called my dad and I was fake crying. Couldn’t be faker. I said, “Dad, I did something wrong. I got a suspension, and I was fully ready to hear my dad yell at me. Why did you do this? Or I was ready for it, but he quietly said, “Do you understand what you did was wrong? I was still fake crying, so I said, “Yeah. Then he said, “It’s okay. I forgive you. Something shifted in that moment. I had a big switch in my brain. I started bawling my eyes out, and this was real for this time. And now, when I look back to that moment, I remember not just the forgiveness of my dad, but the forgiveness of our Father in heaven in Christ Jesus. And in doing so, I’m able to exalt him better. For any of you that may not really understand this forgiveness, call on the name of the perfect mediator, Jesus Christ. James four puts it like this: “Come near to God, and He will come near to you, and then he goes on to say, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up. In Jesus, God humbled Himself, and He was lifted up, and you are being invited to this great salvation, like all those who called on the Lord. You. Too are invited to do so as well, and know that He is a God who answers. He’s a God who hears you. But in this moment, if you hear His voice now, exalt the Lord our God and worship at His holy mountain. For the Lord our God is holy. See, we don’t need to go to a holy mountain. As you worship today, and as we keep on going singing, as we enter time of communion, know that the Holy Spirit is with us, and as we worship, He is alive and present among us, and He hears us. So exalt the Lord our God in worship here and now, for the Lord our God is holy. May the God who is holy bestow His holiness on all of us who believe in Him, and exalt Him as our King. Pray with me, Son of God and Son of Man. For generations you were prophesied. Only one who is both divine and human could live in perfect obedience and be a fitting sacrifice on our behalf. There is no other way to God but by you, Lord, but through you. In our belief in you, remind us of this truth. Transform us to be eager to enthrone you in our hearts and do what you call us to do. Jesus, you are the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through you. Then this day may be found in you. May our hearts yearn to exalt you and make you our King. We pray all this in your precious and holy name. Amen.

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The Right Man for the Job July 19, 2026 | Lucas Burkamper Lucas Burkamper recounts a personal car accident in Estes Park, Colorado, to illustrate the need for guidance in times of crisis. He then transitions to a sermon on Psalm 98, emphasizing God’s qualifications as Savior, King, and Judge. The psalm is interpreted as a celebration of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from slavery and exile, symbolized by their visible acts of worship. The speaker highlights the importance of recognizing God’s sovereignty and righteousness, urging believers to worship daily and embrace God’s role as Judge, who will ultimately bring justice and joy.

Morning, church. You can go ahead and open up to Psalm 98 with me. And as you do that, let me tell you a story. A few years ago, I lived in Estes Park, Colorado. And if you’ve ever been to Estes, you know that it’s a pretty small town, right? If you need to run errands, you have to you have to leave Estes and go to one of the bigger cities nearby, and the the only way out of Estes is through a narrow, winding canyon road through the mountains. Well, one winter morning, I needed to run an errand. It had been snowing a little bit, not a lot, but enough to stick to the road. And I looked at my car, which had never handled snow well, and I thought, you know what? This is the morning. This is the time to go. And so I set off down the canyon, down the mountain road, and and sure enough, about halfway there, I felt my tires go out from under me, and I realized that I was spinning out. Now, if you’ve ever driven on a mountain road, you know you can crash in in one of two ways: you can crash this way and you can hit the mountain, right? Or you can crash this way and you can plummet into the gorge. When I was crashing that morning, I had no idea which way I was going to crash. I just knew it was going to happen. Fortunately, I crashed this way and I hit the mountain, which is the better of two bad options. And I wasn’t hurt. I didn’t hit any other cars, and I and I got out. I inspected the damage. I made sure I was fine, and then I realized that I had no idea what to do. I had never really been in a serious car accident before, so I sat down in the snow on the side of the road, and I called my dad. A dad is just a good person to call in this type of situation, but my dad was actually uniquely qualified to help that morning. You see, my whole life, my dad has been an insurance agent. He he knows these things, right? He he knows the ins and outs of what to do if you get into a car accident. And and he was uniquely qualified to help. He had the expertise to help me that morning. He was the right man for the job. Maybe you haven’t been in a car accident like that, right? But I think we all recognize that it often feels like our world is just spinning out of control, right? Or situations in life are. Maybe there’s an unexpected loss of a loved one. Maybe there’s an illness. Maybe you lost a job unexpectedly. It oftentimes feels like life is headed for either the mountain or the gorge, and neither one is looking good. In life, we need someone that that loves us and also has the expertise to care for us, that has the expertise to take care of us in our situation. So, as we move into the text this morning, that’s what we’re going to be looking at. We’re going to look at three different qualifications that God has that make Him uniquely qualified to be our King. We’re also going to look at how we should respond to those qualifications. So first, we’re going to look at verses one through three. This is Psalm 98, one through three, and these verses teach us to sing to the Savior, sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things. His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for him. The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. So Psalm 98 begins with a command: Sing to the Lord a new song. And if you’ve been here for any any of the previous weeks in this series, you’ve you’ve heard that phrase before, but here it comes with a reason. For he has done marvelous things. Of course, that begs the question: What marvelous things are in view here? Well, we don’t have an explicit answer. We don’t have an author listed for this psalm.
We don’t have any specific events that are mentioned. But most interpreters agree that one of two things is in view. If this psalm was written early, the psalm is probably referencing the Exodus. Right, that’s the main thing in view. If it was written later, it’s probably referencing the return of the Jews from their exile in Babylon. So probably one of those two things mainly. But either way, the Israelites are really worshiping God for the same reason, aren’t they? They’re really singing for the same reason. In in both Egypt and in Babylon, the the Israelites were were slaves and outcasts, exiles in a land that wasn’t theirs, forced to serve kings that did not care about them. In both places, they were scared and lost and totally, completely helpless. In both cases, God, in His faithfulness, brought them back from those foreign powers. He freed them from slavery. He brought them out from under the heel of foreign tyrants and reestablished them in His own kingdom. God did not abandon His people, even when it was their own sin that had led them astray, and so this psalm is is starting us with that. That’s the Savior that we’re talking about, the one who is far more powerful than any king or emperor, and is willing to save his people. Verse one continues. His right hand and his mighty right arm have worked salvation for him. I don’t want to offend any left-handers out there, but for most of us, the the right arm is the stronger and the more capable, right? And what the psalmist is saying here is that the Lord is not standing at a distance. He’s not waiting for a convenient opportunity to save his people. He is actively working salvation for them. He is actively saving. God is like a father here, and holding his child’s hand as they cross the street together. Right, the traffic might look scary to the child; it often does, but the father is leading firmly and confidently, with his hand on his child’s shoulder. We’ll continue in verses two and three. The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. If you had been a neighbor of Egypt at the time of the Exodus, or if you had been a neighbor of Israel at the time of the return from the captivity, it would have been impossible not to notice the salvation that God was working for the Israelites. Think about this: When God led the Israelites out of Egypt, He led them through a sea. When He brought them through the wilderness, He led them with a pillar of smoke and a pillar of fire. When He brought them into the Promised Land, He vanquished giants for them. These are these are the marvelous works of God that are being talked about here, and they’re meant to be seen, not only by the Israelites but by the people around them. The same is true for for the return from exile. When they when the Israelites returned from exile, they were instructed to rebuild the temple that had been laid low before the exile. And God tells them that. And then in Ezra we’re told that no one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise, and the sound was heard far away. When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, “Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God. Again, salvation is a work that’s meant to be seen, and the point that the psalmist is making is this: God does not play His salvation close to the vest; He doesn’t hide it from the nations. When God works in Israel, that’s an invitation for the nations around to stop and say, “Wait, who is their God? Who is it that’s able to to bring them out from under the heels of these foreign tyrants? Who’s able to rescue them from the most powerful enemies in the world?
People around are asking questions, and and by the way, God’s attitude towards salvation hasn’t changed. Just like during the Exodus, just like during the exile, God wants salvation to go out to the people, and so as as believers, we should live lives that demonstrate salvation, have those conversations right, and live lives that show that you have been saved and you have been changed by God the Savior. Make the people around you ask, “Who is His God? Who is Her God? Who is able to provide comfort and hope, even though they’re dealing with the loss of a loved one, or an illness, or losing their job? The same God that was qualified to save back then is qualified to save now. And once we’ve received salvation. God also becomes our king. Verse four says, “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth burst into jubilant song, with music. I don’t know if if anybody out here is a soccer fan. I’ll admit that I’m not. Sorry, but Yeah, but a couple of weeks ago, I had I had just the awesome opportunity to go and watch a World Cup game with some of my church family here. It was really fun, and and the whole game I was sitting next to Reeve Sam. Some of you know where I’m going. I don’t know if you know Reeve, but if you do, you know he’s a huge soccer fan. And the reason I know that he’s a huge soccer fan is because every time the U.S. scored a goal in that game, I felt him leave the couch next to me. Right? Every time they scored, he would jump to his feet and he would throw his hands in the air, and he would Shout! That’s the kind of shout that’s being talked about here, that idea of bursting with joy, and that’s why church. Our our second point this morning is shout to the King. Shout to the King. As we talk about the kingship of God, I think it’s important first that we take a step back and look at Israel’s relationship with their earthly monarch. This psalm is definitely about God. It’s definitely about the divine King, the King of Heaven. But it helps to have some context here. It’s in the book of Judges where we first see the Israelites’ need for a king become painfully apparent. If you remember Judges, you know that it’s a time of absolute chaos in the land of Israel. It’s it’s after the conquest, but before the monarchy, and there’s just these cycles of of repetitive, endless, bloody violence. And the final verse in the book of Judges is this: In those days, Israel had no king. Everyone did as they saw fit. Because there was no king, everyone did as they saw fit. And because everyone did as they saw fit, there was chaos and violence and bloodshed in Israel. That’s the problem that the psalm is addressing, but it’s not addressing it from the perspective of someone who is living during that time. Instead, the psalm is is addressing the problem from the perspective of someone who is standing in the temple, watching the king be crowned. This psalm, Psalm 98, is not a cry for help. It’s a recognition that help has already come. The king is being crowned in front of the people. The Israelites don’t have to worry about the corrupt cycles of judges and violence anymore. The king is here, right? But even in Israel’s history, they only had a few good kings. Most of their kings were awful, right? Didn’t serve God, only served their own interest, and dragged the Israelites down with them. So, so with that framework of kingship, how can the psalmist rejoice? How can he sing to the Savior? How can he shout to the King? It’s because he’s looking backwards. He’s not looking around him at the corrupt kings of his day. He’s looking backwards at the king who did the marvelous works, who led the people out of Egypt, who brought them back from the exile. He’s not looking at these kings who are inept and powerless. He’s looking at a king who can save and does save, a king who rules righteously. He’s qualified to be the king because the psalmist recognizes these truths, he’s able to continue in verses four and five.
Make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of ram’s horn. Shout for joy before the Lord, the king. Okay, we don’t play the harp here on Sunday mornings, but actually for us, the acoustic guitar serves a really similar purpose. the The harp for the Israelites would have been really familiar, really accessible, right? They would have all known what a harp was. They probably would have been in contact with one. So they’re to worship God with the harp and the sound of singing. This also would have called to mind pictures of the temple worship. In the temple period, that there were a group of Levites that were instructed to praise the Lord with harps in the morning and in the evening. So we have pictures of daily worship. We have pictures of temple worship. And the Israelites are also told to worship with the trumpet and with the sound of ram’s horn. Now these are not familiar instruments; these are these are instruments of war. Think about Jericho. When the Israelites conquer the city of Jericho, they march around it and they blow horns. And when the walls fell, they rushed in, and it was a huge military victory for the Israelites. That’s more the picture that the the horns and the trumpets are painting. We’ve got the daily worship, we’ve got the temple worship, and then we have the the military victory worship. These these trumpets and ram swords are supposed to point us towards the picture of a king. Okay, so you know a little bit more about Israelite worship. I’m sure that’s going to come up at lunch, right? But why does it matter to us today? Well, these verses, which which can seem to be just about Israelite worship, actually show us how we should worship, also right? Just as the Israelites did, we should worship daily. Just as they worshiped the king, we also need to remember that we’re worshiping a king. Hebrew thought is often focused in the middle of a passage, and that’s the that’s the case here in Psalm 98, the focal point of the passage is here. And Charles Spurgeon, the great 19th-century preacher, says, “The present psalm, Psalm 98, is a sort of coronation hymn, officially proclaiming the conquering Messiah as monarch over the nations, with blast of trumpets, clapping of hands, and celebration of triumphs, it is a singularly bold and lively song. That’s the point here. That’s the highest theme in this song, is that we are singing a coronation hymn to the King. And when we do that, we need to remember to do it daily, and to do it as if we’re worshiping a King because we are, and what good news it is that we are worshiping a king who is on the throne and who is qualified to be there. What is Spurgeon doing with that word coronation? I think that can stick out to us, because I think I think the word coronation can sometimes make it seem like there’s a there’s a point in time when the king becomes the king, and of course, as believers, we know that God has been the king for eternity, and will continue to be the king into eternity, right? So why that word coronation? Well, Spurgeon, I think, like this psalm, is comfortable sitting in the tension that when he looks out at the world, he knows the king is on the throne, and he also sees sin and death. He sees the loss of loved ones. He sees those illnesses. The psalm is comfortable with that tension because it knows that the final victory is coming. Take heart, church. Final victory is coming, and we read it this morning. But I’ll reread it. Revelation 19 says, “I saw heaven standing open, and and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called faithful and true. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. That’s the king we serve, and He’s the right man for the job, and He is coming back to finish the work that He started. Okay, so we recognize that that God is our Savior and He’s our King, but why should we submit to the King.
That’s the argument that this next section is making: that we should submit to the King, and it’s it’s because not only is he qualified to be our Savior and our King, but he’s qualified also to be our Judge. Therefore, Church, we should submit to the Judge. Verses seven through nine say, “Let the sea resound and everything in it, the world and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy. Let them sing before the Lord, for He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples With equity. Okay, it’s it’s easy to look at at verses seven and eight and ask, how are those about God as judge? Right, they seem to just be about creation praising the Creator, and that is in there, and we’ll get to it. But the key word here is that little word “for” in verse nine. the The seas are resounding, the rivers are clapping, and the mountains are singing together. For the Lord is coming to judge. They are praising the qualified judge. In Scripture, the ideas of creator, or rather the roles of creator and judge, are often very tightly knit together. The reason for that is this: a creator has the right to do whatever he wants with the things that he’s created. He has the right to look at his creations and make a judgment call. Is this what I wanted from this creation? Think of of the flood, right? God creates a perfect, beautiful world, which is stained by human sin, and so He looks at this thing that He’s created, and He makes a judgment call, and that judgment call is to start again. Creator and judge are tied together. There’s a helpful illustration in Jeremiah. This is from Jeremiah. So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel, but the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands, so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does? declares the Lord, “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. Israel was made by God to serve the purposes that God had set for it. That’s true of the church this morning, and it’s also true of creation itself. The difference is is that creation always recognizes that it is clay in the hands of the potter, and that he alone is qualified to judge it. That’s why it rejoices. Creation rejoices in judgment, because for creation, judgment is just another of God’s marvelous works. This passage also shows us that humanity is just one voice in the choir. All of creation is singing together. I think of Job when it says that at the beginning of creation, the morning stars sang together for joy. I think of Psalm 19 that says, “The heavens declare the glory of God. Or Luke, Luke’s account of the triumphal entry. He says, or Jesus says, if these people didn’t praise me as I enter into Jerusalem, then the rocks themselves would cry out. Right? All of creation is singing a song to the judge. Humanity is the only creature that sometimes shuts its mouth. after the message this morning the worship team got back up here, and and one of our leaders didn’t open their mouth, didn’t sing, right? We would probably have some questions about that. I think I think Robert or Julie would probably talk to them after after the service. Might have some words with them. And if it happened a couple of times, maybe they wouldn’t be asked to be on the team as much, right? They’ve been commissioned to be up here for a reason, and that is to lead us in song. And that’s the idea here: we worship not only because we’re made to worship, but to fail to do so would actually be an invitation For judgment, the Hebrew itself in this passage attests to the idea of of worshiping with all creation. Verse nine says, “He comes to judge the earth; he will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.
And there’s a narrowing movement that’s kind of present here in the Hebrew, that word that’s translated as earth is is creation itself. It’s the mountains and the rivers, right? That word that’s translated as world is talking about human civilization. The word peoples is peoples, and there’s this narrowing movement from a cosmic scale to a civilization, to people groups and individuals, right? The psalm is saying, follow the pattern that creation has set. Creation is worshiping. You should too. But it’s often difficult for us to praise God as a judge. Judgment is is difficult for unjust people. There’s a story from a theologian and poet named G.K. Chesterton, and he talks about going to see a play with his children, and his children leave this play kind of dissatisfied, because in the play the villain did not get their comeuppance. I’ll read a I’ll read a quote that he wrote about it. The children were partly dissatisfied with it because it did not end with a day of judgment, because it was never revealed to the hero and the heroine that the dog had been faithful and the cat faithless. For children are innocent and love justice, while most of us are wicked. And naturally prefer mercy. The children knew that judgment was right. They wanted judgment, right? For those of us that know God, for those of us that are our children in God’s house, we too should love judgment, and we should desire it. We should take comfort in the fact that we know that the judge is also our father, and we are safe in his house. For us, judgment can be a joyous thing. When I was seven years old, I sat in a Muscatine County courtroom, and I listened as a judge pronounced a sentence that would that would change my family forever. You see, we had been we had been fostering two young children, a three-year-old named Bella and a one-year-old named Zane, and although we’d been fostering them, although we’d been feeding them and housing them and loving them, we had no power, no authority, no qualification to officially make them members of our family. And so we we went to court, and and and we sought the person who did have the authority to make them burkampers So on that day that we were sitting in court, the judge looked out at these two young children who had been born into a bad situation that was getting worse, and and he knew that they needed deliverance, they needed help, and and he looked at them. He knew he had the power to act, and then he acted. He made a judgment that resulted in joy. After after he made that that ruling, we went to a a local pizza place and we we celebrated. We invited friends and family, and we just rejoiced together. And it was a such a joyous day, and I still I still remember that feeling. But more than that, the joy of that day was not confined to that day alone. The joy of that day became a reality, a day-to-day reality as we moved forward. Every day that we got to spend together with Bella and Zane was joyful because of that righteous judgment that the judge had made. I remember the joy of that day. I want you to think about whatever your most joyous day is. Maybe it’s a wedding. Maybe it’s a birth. Maybe it’s a graduation. The joy that is promised to us through Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of Psalm 98, eclipses any joy that we could possibly imagine. We talk today about Jesus, excuse me, as about God as a Savior, about someone who is the standard of righteousness and faithfulness, who sends salvation out to all the world, who who sends that salvation out with His mighty right hand. Church, who is seated right now at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for us always with His perfect life, death, and resurrection? Jesus is. We talked about God as as King, as the conquering King who defeats his enemies and returns his people to their homeland. Church, who came and established the kingdom of heaven here on earth, and is coming back again to fulfill that kingdom and to put sin and death under his heel, Jesus is. We talked about God as as judge, right?
As as the maker of all things, and He’s earned the right to judge them. Church, who were all things made through and for and to, and who is coming back one day to judge the living and the dead. Jesus is. The Israelites only saw a glimmer of the glory of God, and that inspired enough joy in them to write Psalm 98 and to sing it together. As Christians, we’ve seen much more than a glimmer of the glory of God. Colossians tells us in Christ all the fullness of deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. Church, there is no quality or qualification that God the Father possesses that Jesus doesn’t also possess. When we worship God as our Savior, our King, and our Judge. We can say those exact same things about Jesus, and we can take joy in those things. The only difference between the Israelites and us is closeness. They saw a glimmer of the glory of God. We get to look the. Fullness of the glory in the face. If you’re not a believer this morning, I’d encourage you to consider: Do you feel like the world is just spinning out of control? Without a guide, this world is is hopeless and lawless and uncertain, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Jesus Christ is qualified to be the perfect Savior, the perfect King, and the perfect Judge. He alone is qualified to be those things. He doesn’t promise his followers a life free from pain or free from struggle, but he is the only king that can redeem those things for joy. It is worth becoming a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. In light of all these things, in light of the qualifications of God, our big idea this morning is this: Praise the ruler who’s fit to rule. Praise the ruler who’s fit to rule, and he is fit to rule. Amen. Amen. The coronation song of the King includes all three of those roles. If he wasn’t savior, he would have no power to deliver us from the sorry state that we’re in. If he wasn’t king, he wouldn’t be able to crush our enemies and demand our allegiance. If he wasn’t judge, he wouldn’t he wouldn’t be able to make holy judgments every time. But praise God that He is those things, and He is all of those things for all of eternity. Praise the ruler who’s fit to rule. We’re going to close in song in just a minute, and as we do, I just want to be-I just want to encourage you guys to be really thinking about why you’re singing today? Are you singing to the Savior because he he is the at the mighty right hand of God the Father? Are you shouting to the King because he has the right to rule? Are you submitting to the Judge who always makes the right judgment? I’m going to pray, and then we’ll join with all of creation in worshiping the ruler who is fit to rule. You can bow your heads. Father God, thank you for your goodness this morning. Thank you for the fact that you are not only our Savior, not only our King, and not only our Judge, but you are all three for all eternity. That is a joyous reality. And and as we as we observe those things, help us respond with the joy that is appropriate, Father. I ask that as as we go from this place, that you would just establish us wherever we are, and that you would lead us daily to you. Father, we love you. It’s in your name we pray. Amen.

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No Rivals July 12, 2026 | Lucas Burkamper Shane Dickinson reflects on the importance of remembering God’s reign, using Psalm 97 as a guide. He recalls childhood experiences with substitute teachers and draws parallels to the human tendency to forget God’s rule. The Psalm emphasizes that the Lord reigns, highlighting His power and justice. The speaker connects this to Jesus, the eternal King, who offers life and redemption. He urges believers to reject idols, reflect God’s character, and rejoice in His reign. Believers can affirm the need to battle internal struggles and to prioritize God’s rule over worldly distractions.

Good morning, church. Hey, good morning, everybody. While you are here with us, do me a favor and turn in your Bible to Psalm 97. That will be this mornings’ scripture, Psalm 97. And while you’re turning there, let me take you back in time, maybe for some more years than others, but to growing up in school. Now, not everybody in the room universally loves the educational experience. This is understandable, but I think all of us can agree that the best day of the year or the best days of the year were when you had a substitute teacher, right? I don’t know what it is about substitutes, but for some reason, when they walk in the room, everything we’ve learned just goes away. See, I’m a teacher, and I have been for a couple of years. Shout out to the teachers that are in the room. And what I’ve come to understand is that a classroom is this delicate ecosystem that’s held together by scissors, tape, glue, but mostly by a teacher who understands, who just knows, who has a sixth sense about them to understand what’s going to be an issue and when it may erupt. But when a substitute takes over, all bets are off. In fact, I can remember my own experience. This might be hard for you to believe, or for some of you who’ve known me for any length of time, we’ll hear amen in a moment. I love to talk. I, I love to talk. It’s just it’s who I’ve been my whole life, and thankfully, teachers that I have understood this and were able to help me develop a system where I wasn’t blurting out or saying everything that came to my mind to give other people a chance to speak. But when the substitute came in the room, Shane was going to be talking. There was one time in particular, and it sticks in my memory to this day, that I had gotten to the end of the day and my name had been written on the board, and next to it was three check marks, and no, it wasn’t. Good job, great work, way to go. Hope you’re back tomorrow. It was for talking, but at the end of the day, I picked up my stuff. I made my way home. I enjoyed the rest of my day, and nothing happened. That was until the next day when the teacher of the classroom came back. See, I had made the mistake of believing that in the absence of the teacher, the rules that had been put in place, the expectations that had been given, had left with them, only to find out I was sourly mistaken. But I think we can give 10-year-old Shane the benefit of the doubt. Right? We’ve been there before. When we’re in school and we’re kids and we’re growing up, for some reason we’re barely able to think about the next period, let alone the next day, the next sentence, whatever it may be, we can give a little grace. But it’s my contention that it’s not just as schoolchildren that we find it difficult to remember. We find it difficult to prioritize that which matters most. We find it difficult to live in the expectation that we’ve been given, we struggle with this as believers too. At least I know that I do. Hopefully, I’m not in the room alone today. We struggle with this idea, and so our psalm this morning that we’re going to take a focus on Psalm 97 is going to help us for when we forget, it’s going to help us. For when we think a substitute’s in the room, we don’t need to worry about our behavior. It’s going to help remind us what to do as believers in this world today. Now, if you’ve been reading this week in preparation for our time together, the refrain of the psalm that we’re going to be going through is probably common to you at this point. The Lord reigns, like the chorus of a chart-topping hit. These three words represent what we’re hoping to remember as a result of our time together. If you remember nothing else in our time, remember today that the Lord reigns. It’s my hope that as we walk through the text, we’ll be able to see why this matters and how this changes our lives.
But remember this: the Lord reigns. And like that song that we can’t get out of our head, like that memory that we can’t move past. I hope that this time together instills in us that this is the greatest of news ever, and we’re receiving this news at the most important time. See, you and I need this message today now more than ever. And before you tune me out, or before you get ahead of yourselves, it’s not because. The world’s in the worst place that it’s ever been. It’s not because the political divide that we see is unprecedented. It’s not even because we look at culture and say it’s too far beyond repair. No, you and I require this message today, not because of what is outside of us, but because of what is inside of us, see you and I have a battle that we wage every single day against something called the flesh, and we’ve been asked to put it to death in Christ. We’ve been made new, but we know on this side of eternity we still do battle with the flesh, and so this psalm, this time together, is is giving us what we need in order to battle and battle well. And so, if you’re ready to battle, I’m ready to battle, and let’s look together at what our battle plan will be. First, because the Lord reigns, we must rejoice in the king’s rule. Look with me, if you would, at the first six verses of our psalm, which state this: “The Lord reigns. Let the earth be glad. Let the distant shores rejoice. Cloud and thick darkness surround him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side. His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all people see his glory. The Lord reigns. Our psalm begins with these familiar words, which we’ve seen in our study so far. We talked back in Psalm 90-three that the Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty. Last week, Reeve talked about the fact that the Lord reigns. In a few weeks, we’ll see in Psalm 90-nine that the Lord reigns. Let the nations tremble. The Lord reigns. This refrain is repeated time and time again, not only in the Psalms that we’re looking at, but throughout the entirety of the Scripture. And so, it’s worth us asking a question in this moment. Why? Why do we have this refrain repeated so many times? And my belief, what I’m going to posit to you this morning is for two reasons. Number one, it’s because it’s a really important idea. And number two, it’s because we are prone as people to forget this truth, if we don’t remind one another regularly, and with something this important, we cannot afford to forget the Lord reigns. Now, the Lord’s status as reigning ruler in our text shouldn’t be a surprise because we’ve seen throughout the entirety of Scripture, even in the beginning of Scripture, that He has been ruling since the beginning of time. He created the world and everything in it, and the psalmist tells us that His rule, which has existed forever, goes far beyond the walls of Eden, goes past the kingdoms of Israel, and encompasses the entirety of the world. The Lord reigns, and the distant shores are even to rejoice. The reign of the Lord has not simply been seen, though, through His creation, but as our psalm shows us, has been established throughout the history of the nation of Israel, because in our second verse it says that clouds and thick darkness surround Him. and it’s more than likely in this moment that the psalmist here is referencing the nation of Israel, when the nation of Israel had come to Mount Sinai, and the presence of God had dwelt on the mountain. Take a look at what it says in the book of Exodus when it says to us that Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.
This Lord who reigns, and He reigns in power. Our psalm continues by saying that the Lord’s rule is seen as fire that goes before Him and consumes His foes on every side. It’s seen as lightning which lights up the world, for the earth sees it and trembles, and it’s seen that the mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. Fire, lightning, melting mountains. This is the way that the rule of the Lord is described to us. Showing us that it’s definite, showing us that it’s powerful, showing us that it’s all-encompassing. Anything that stands in opposition to this reign is powerless and destroyed. The Lord reigns, and it is so. And it’s about this time in our text, where it’s worth us asking the question, is this good news? Because I I don’t know about you, but when I think of fire, when I think of melting mountains, when I think of lightning, I I don’t think of courage. I don’t think of peace. If anything, I think of anxiety, fear, worry. Is this good news? Well, it’s easy for us to miss through the fire, the lightning, and the melting mountains, but the psalmist recounts in this section that there is hope that you and I require for this reality to turn from fear to rejoicing. Look again at verse two, where it says, “This clouds and thick darkness surround him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. The Lord’s reign is established in power, but it’s built on a reality that he is righteous and he is just, and this is a foundation of his throne, this is the foundation with which his throne is built on. And so, when we see this throne that exists, a question remains: Who sits on a throne? Who sits on a throne? A king. A king sits on the throne. Sure, the nation of Israel that received this psalm, us as Bible reading believers have read and have countless examples of kings, whether it be Saul or David or Solomon, just to name a few. But each of these kings led kingdoms that had some success, but ultimately failed, ultimately fell short, and ultimately faltered, but this doesn’t seem to be a throne for those kings. No, this seems to be a throne for a king who was prophesied about. He was prophesied to David, saying that your house, David, and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever. Now, this is a throne for a king who, earlier in the Psalms, is described as having a throne that would last forever and ever, with a scepter of justice that will be the scepter of his kingdom. For he loves righteousness. That king has a name, and that king’s name is Jesus. This throne. throne that awaits? This throne for the King that rules over all the earth is taken by Jesus, because His reign, though it began in a manger and continued through an earthly residing, was punctuated by His life-giving victory over sin and was written in stone as he walked out of the grave, and he is the reason that you and I this morning can rejoice in the Lord’s rule. We can rejoice because Jesus’s rule and reign has as its focus the redemption of those who had once been called foes, and his reign transforms those who had been foes through the sacrifice of his blood, overcoming the power of sin, so that you and I may be saved. The rule of the Lord was established in the beginning of time, and through Jesus, it was extended to those who trust and believe in the sacrificial King, who exists eternally to make this good news. This is a king who we can rejoice in. This is a king who we can give praise to. This is a rule that we can rejoice in, because his reign is perfect. As Charles Spurgeon states, when thinking about the rule of the Lord, and maybe to be helpful to us this morning, he says that absolute power is safe in the hands of him who cannot err or act unrighteously. That is our King. He is reigning, and it is him that we can say the Lord reigns. May we rejoice in his rule.
May we rejoice in the rule of our King Jesus, for it gives us all that we need, and we are going to say thank you as we begin rejoicing. But the psalm doesn’t stop there. In fact, the psalm continues: If we are to rejoice in the rule of the Lord, we must also then reject every rival. Look with me at the next three verses, starting in verse seven. Says this: All who worship images are put to shame. Those who boast in idols worship him, all you gods, for Zion hears and rejoices, and the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments, Lord. For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. Gods, the Lord reigns, and our rejoicing in this reality requires that you and I would begin some action, participate in transformation, and pursue change. The psalms’ words here turn to a warning, and it’s a reminder for those who are seeking to rejoice in the rule of the Lord that all who spend their time worshiping images are put to shame. Of course, in the presence of the Lord, who’s this powerful reigning king that we’ve seen, how could anything or anyone stand in comparison? The text tells us that those who put their faith in images are put to shame, and it’s here where we run the risk again of tuning out, because it’s very unlikely that when we’re done this morning, you’re going to go home to an idol that you’ve made and offer worship and praise or say, “Hey, thanks for the day. It’s very unlikely that you’re going to go home and pray to an unknown deity who you don’t know the name of. But it’s not unknown, and it’s not unlikely. In fact, it’s extremely likely that you and I, as we go through our day, even as we end our time together, have in our lives idols that are vying for our attention, have in our lives rivals who are seeking to take our focus off of rejoicing in the reign of the Lord. If you don’t believe me, we have been given a lie detector test that shows this to be true, I have it here with me. Maybe you have it in your pocket, but it’s your phone. See, your phone tells the story of the idols in your life that exist, possibly in distracting you from the rule of the Lord. Maybe even as I’ve been talking, you’ve been feeling the buzz in your pocket. The well, the World Cup’s off today, so I don’t. Maybe it’s not that, but other things are happening too. Maybe as you walked in this morning, you took a look at your phone and you checked your banking app, and it’s the banking app that knows your. You know the password well. You don’t have to even you know put it in. It’s got the face ID, and and you you check it often. You check it often, in fact, because you’re saving and hoping and and believing that something is going to come out of it. But it’s gotten to a place where it’s become an idol, because when we look at the number, when we look at is there enough? Do I have enough? Am I able to afford this or that? This lifestyle, this experience, this car, this trip, often it comes back as our focus, but maybe it’s not your banking app. Maybe for you it’s social media. On social media, you’ve curated this perfect profile that people see you and say, “Wow, that guy’s great, and he’s going on these trips and he’s going to these places and he believes these things. He’s the best. That’s a rival idol that exists in our life. Maybe it’s the news, making sure you’re staying up to date, making sure you know everything that’s happening, everything that’s said, every event that occurs, so that someone can come to you and hear your knowledge. You could just give it to them and espouse everything you have to say-that’s a rival idol. And so you and I may not have an image made of stone, but we have images that we’ve made ourselves. I want to be rich enough. I want to be smart enough. I want people to like me.
These are rival idols that stand in the way of our ability to rejoice in the rule and reign of our God, and what’s funny is the psalmist goes as far as to say that those who are the idols in which we worship, they are commanded to bow before the Lord as well. So just think about that for a moment. The things that we so often are putting our faith, our hope, and our trust in are commanded by the Lord to bow before Him. May we turn our attention from that which so often keeps us awake at night, that which we are trying to create for ourselves, and turn that attention instead to the rule and reign of our King, the Scriptures provide an example for us of this idea of idols. In case we need more to go off of, First Samuel five, the Philistines have taken the Ark of the Covenant, and. They take the Ark of the Covenant. They’re taking the very dwelling place that God had set up with them, and they get a good idea. Let’s see what the Philistines do. They say after the Philistines had captured the Ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the Ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day. There was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord. They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning, when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord. His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. See, in the presence of the actual God, a false God falls to his face in worship and adoration to the king. The same is true not only of Dagon, not only of other gods, but is true of the things that you and I prioritize in our life. When put before the Lord, they fall on their face and worship because they understand that they have been given by the Lord. We know that not no amount of money in our life, no amount of gain that we have will be ever able to save us, will ever be able to keep us from disease, will ever able to keep us from death. Yet we put our trust in it continuously. We know that no matter how strong we may be, how gifted we we may become, it will not give us anything of eternal satisfaction. Here, the psalmist is saying, “Set aside your rival idols; reject every rival, because they pale in comparison to our God. The scriptures go on to say in our section here, verse nine: For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth. You are exalted far above all gods. In 1941, baseball fans were treated to some of the greatest baseball ever played. Now, if you’re a historian of any kind, at least on the diamond, you will know that 1941 was the year of Joe DiMaggio and the year of Ted Williams. In 1941, Joe DiMaggio had a hit streak of 56 games, which at the time and since has been determined as probably the hardest record in sports to break. No one’s come close, but not to be outdone, Ted Williams, also known for his skill with the bat, finished the 1941 season hitting with an average over 400. Again, like DiMaggio, something that had not been done since, and if you know anything about baseball today, is surely something that will never be done again. At the end of the season, they give out an award called Most Valuable Player, and it’s to go to the individual who is clearly the best, the greatest, the reason their team is successful, and in 1941 they had an issue. Who deserved it? The unbreakable streak or the unbreakable record? It came down to two deserving contestants that ultimately had to be determined by a vote, but none of them, neither of them could say that one had earned it and the other hadn’t. Such is not the case with our God. Our God didn’t happen to win a popularity contest just barely. No, our text shows us that He wins triumphantly and is greater and over and better than all.
He is the Most High God, and no one comes close to Him. He he wasn’t a part of a television show where he was hoping to not be eliminated, that he wasn’t booted off the island, or that enough of America had voted for him. No, our God is a God who is the Most High, and as the Most High, He rules eternally, and no rival comes in comparison. No rival touches our God. The Lord is established as greater than every rival idol that exists, and you and I can see the reminder of this in Jesus Christ. We are reminded of this reality time and time again. See, because Jesus, when He’s on Earth, speaks that the thief comes only to steal, to kill, and destroy, but what does he say that he’s done? He’s come so that you and I might have life, and have it to the full. Jesus states during his ministry that he is the way, he is the truth, he is the life. No one comes to the Father except through him, and he also says that he’s the bread of life. And that whoever comes to him will not go hungry, and whoever believes in him will not be thirsty. You and I can reject every rival as we realize and respond to the invitation that Jesus provides us on a daily basis. He wants to show us and remind us that he is so much better than the idols we seek. Your rival, I. idols come to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus has come so that you may have life and have it to the full. So choose Jesus, whether it be your mind, whether it be my personality, whether it be our ability or strength, our accomplishments, our resume-all of it did not, all of it has not, and all of it will not be able to save. In fact, all that it will be able to do is bring us to shame. But Jesus promises that He will not put us to shame. Jesus promises that He will give us life and life to the full. Jesus promises that He will give us hope that is everlasting. Jesus promises that if we eat His bread, we’ll never be hungry again. Your money will run out. Your fame will run short. The image that we have created for ourselves will eventually die away. But the hope of the Lord reigns forever. Paul states this idea to us in Ephesians when addressing the church of Ephesus, for he says that the Lord is far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age, but also in the one to come, that is our God, who rules and reigns. How could we ever see fit to ascribe praise to any rival? Now it’s in this moment that we need to pause and ask ourselves, what do we do with the rivals that we have? I have two suggestions for places we can begin. First, you and I-we need to be honest about the rival idols that exist in our lives. If we are not honest, we are not able to see their power go away. You and I need to be honest about our rival idols. Maybe it’s the dream job, but if that comes at the expense of your family’s ability to participate in the local church, to be in community, it’s a rival idol that needs to be gone away with. Maybe it’s providing for our children, your children, the opportunity to have every experience to be on this team or that team. If it gets in the way of personal family worship, it’s a rival idol that is keeping you from the Lord and rejoicing in His reign. Secondly, you and I need to be fervent and repetitive in our rejoicing to the Lord for all that He provides. See, this is a psalm. This is a song that’s being sung. The Lord reigns, and this was something that was handed down through generations. As we read this text, we are not the first, nor shall we be the last, to see these words and to proclaim them in our life, and it’s important that we understand that because it means that this has been shared from generation to generation. Remember what the Lord has done.
The Lord reigns throughout the entirety of the nation of Israel’s life and time. The Lord reminded them, “I am the God who brought you out of Egypt. I am the God who parted the seas. I am the God who provided you manna when you were wandering, and he does this not to hold it over their head, but to remind them of the gifts that he has given, so they would pass it on to the next generation and never forget. And so you and I have this responsibility as well. We need to be fervent and repetitive in the grace that we’ve received from the Lord and share it with others. There’s a restaurant that does this particularly well. It’s a moderately well-known chicken restaurant. You might have heard of it before. You may have even been there. My only recommendation: don’t try and go after church today. They’ll be closed. Chick-fil-A. When you order at Chick Fil A, when you ask for extra sauce, when you say thank you on your way out of the door, what are you assured to hear from the worker? Let’s try one more time. What are you assured to hear from the worker? Ah, you’ve been to this place before. I thought it was just me. Now, in every opportunity, this slogan is given, and the reason it’s given is because the company has decided that this is an important reality that those who come into their restaurant would know that it is the joy and pleasure of the restaurant to serve. If we take away from the chicken and instead put ourselves. Think to yourself and ask, what would people say your slogan is? What would people say you attribute your success to? When someone comes to you and gives you praise, when someone comes to you and says, “Great job, when someone comes to you and asks how you were able to do this or that or make it all work together, what do you say? Or let’s move from just an individual to the church. When people hear the name Cityview Community Church, what do they say about our church? All the pastors have no hair. No, that’s not what they say. No, what do they say about our church? It’s our hope that they say in that moment that church loves Jesus, and they prioritize the gospel. It is the most important thing in the world. That’s our hope. We want that to be our slogan. We want that to be the slogan of our community. We want that to be the slogan of our family. We want that to be the slogan of ourselves, that we can rejoice in the Lord. The Lord reigns, and as we rejoice in His reign, we must see to it that we reject every rival that attempts to stand in our way of rejoicing in Him. Third, because the Lord reigns, we must seek to reflect the king’s character. Take a look with me, if you would, at the first part of verse 10, which states this: Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for He guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the wicked, from the hand of the wicked. The Lord reigns, and as you and I seek to rejoice in the reign of the Lord and reject the rival idols that vie for our attention and energy, you and I must seek to reflect the King’s character. For if we proclaim that He is our King, then our attitudes, our perspectives, and the manner in which we live must reflect that as well. It’s like what our parents always said when we were growing up: “You become who you surround yourself with. You become what you consume. You may not know this about me, but I’m a Cubs fan. See, you all knew it was coming. It wasn’t a matter of if; it was when. We got to the Cubs. Don’t worry. Now, I became a Cubs fan early in life, and when I became a fan, it was ingrained in me early on. If you are a fan of the Chicago Cubs, that means you are not a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals. You can’t do both. I don’t understand. And so, what had to happen in my life was I had to make the choice. If I’m a fan of the Cubs, I have to.
I’m happy when they win. I can’t be happy when the Cardinals win. It makes no sense. Why? Because I have said and I have stated I am a Cubs fan. I have 1000 hats. I have 100 shirts. I am a Cubs fan, and so my actions need to reflect that I am that fan. Or said another way, maybe you’ve said this before, that you want to get in shape. This is the year, and so you plan and you read and you do everything you can. You get the articles and the clothes and the the gear and everything like that. But another year goes by, and nothing’s changed. It’s not enough to say we want to do something. It’s not enough to say we are hoping to do something. We have to begin to do it. If I am a Cubs fan, I can’t cheer for the Cardinals. If I want to transform my body, I can’t continue to live as though nothing needs to change. The same is true of our God. We cannot make claims and not seek to live differently as a result. Consider the ministry of Jesus. What did He tell those he was speaking to throughout his time, sell your possessions and give them to the poor, for you have your treasure in heaven. Come and follow me. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, and you will find rest for your souls. No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, or Paul, when he’s writing his epistles, he says, “Hey, put to death therefore that is earthly within you. Put off your old self. Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. If we say that we love the Lord, and if we want to say that we love the Lord, our lives then must reflect what we love through becoming like His character in our lives. For the Lord hates evil, and so as followers of Him, we should seek to hate evil as well. Because if we don’t, those rival idols that we talked about are only going to gain power and position in our lives, but how do we reflect the King’s character? Three thoughts as we continue. The first way we can reflect the King’s character and grow in our ability to do so is through asking for help and prayer. Jesus promised. He was ascending into heaven. That all power and authority had been given. That the very Spirit that had rose Christ from the dead is at work inside you and I. And so, as we seek to reflect the King’s character, it’s not about trying to do this and to stop doing this. It’s about trying to understand and embrace and live our lives as living sacrifices to the Lord, asking that He would move and change us. Secondly, we can reflect the king’s character by prioritizing knowing God through His Word. Knowing God through His Word, we can understand Him, and He can enlighten our hearts to see what it means to reflect His character. And then finally, we can reflect the King’s character through living in community with other believers, like we are right now. Because in this community, we can encourage, we can admonish, we can support one another. For this is a process that begins now and lasts a lifetime, but it is a process that you and I, as subjects of the King, do so with gladness, and we do not do so alone. May we reflect the King’s character. Finally, because the Lord reigns, we must seek to respond with the king’s joy. Let’s take a look at the final verses of our psalm as it draws to the close. We’re going to take the second half of verse 10 and finish it, where it says, “For he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise His holy name. Because the Lord reigns, we must respond with the king’s joy. This is good news. The reign of the Lord is good news. The Lord reigns, and this is a reason for joy. Look again at what the psalmist says.
He says that the Lord will guard the lives of His faithful ones and deliver them from the hand of the wicked. The Lord shines His light on the righteous and His joy on the upright in heart. The Lord, whose reign is unmatched in scope, unmistakable in power, and unfathomable in glory, has promised you and I that He will guard and deliver His faithful ones from the hands of the wicked, now and throughout eternity. And so you and I can trust that He has done this and He will do this forever. And if we’re ever in a position where we’re struggling to trust this reality, we need not look any further than the cross of Calvary. For at the cross, the Lord revealed to us that He would guard the lives of His faithful ones, because He did not keep the life of the faithful one Jesus from seeing death. The Scriptures reveal to us that it was the will of God to crush him. The Scriptures tell us that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, and the Scriptures remind us that He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things, brother and sister. This morning, if you are seeking for a reason and a reminder to live with the King’s joy, remind yourself of the sacrifice that was made on your behalf, in order that you may be faithful and receive deliverance, Jesus. Christ. For whatever you may be experiencing, in whatever season you may find yourself, have confidence in this, and in so doing, take joy. The Lord reigns, and because of that reality, you and I are not put to shame. Rather, we are guarded and delivered in Christ, and so then joy is the only logical response of a heart that is fully secure in the King’s love, regardless of the chaos of the world around you. The Lord reigns, and we are safe in His hand, so let’s rejoice now, and rejoice we will. Let’s pray, Jesus. We come before you, and we are so thankful that you are the one who sits on the throne, for you are high above it all, you are over all, you are in all, and you have created in us a new beginning that is found in you, that we can see and say the Lord reigns, and because He reigns, we can have joy, and because He reigns, we can reflect His character, and because He reigns, we can reject rivals, and because He reigns, we can. Rejoice! Receive the rejoicing of our lips. Receive the worship of our hearts. Now we pray, God, in the name of Jesus, our reigning King. Amen.

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Remembering God July 5, 2026 | Reeve Sam Reeve Sam emphasized the importance of remembering God’s sacrifices, particularly on Memorial Day, and the tendency of people to forget their spiritual roots due to busyness. The speaker highlighted Psalm 96, which calls for universal worship of Yahweh, the King who is God. The sermon contrasted idols with the true God, urging believers to worship Him for His holiness and sovereignty. It underscored the joy in worshiping a God who judges righteously and the significance of Christ’s sacrifice, encouraging continuous worship and remembrance of God’s faithful judgment in Christ Jesus.

Good morning, Cityview Church. Turn in your Bibles with me to Psalm 96. If you don’t have a Bible, you can have the pew Bible that’s in front, in front of you, and it’s page 483 in the pew Bible. Every year in the last Monday of May, Americans celebrate, yes, to the four people who said that Memorial Day is a day to remember and acknowledge the soldiers who willingly gave their lives for our freedom, but if you’re anything like me, doesn’t often cross your mind that freedom came at a cost, but Uncle Sam knows this, and so we have Memorial Day. We forgetful people need a day like this, but why are we so forgetful? I suppose it’s the busyness of our lives, whether that’s ours in meetings just rushed all the time, or kids’ sports, or maybe homeschooling, there just always seems like there’s more to do in the state of panic. We just forget important things, like the movie Home Alone. We have rushed and gone to the plane, but we forgot the person, the person we forgot is Jesus, or is God. God has become an afterthought, or if you’re being honest, not a thought at all. How do we change this reality? This brings us to Psalm 96 Psalm 96 is a song of praise that is originally taken out of a larger Thanksgiving psalm that David assigned to the priests, you can find the full song in the book of First Chronicles, chapter 16, which is a book in the Bible that accounts for the things that the kings of Israel did. We see that David brings the ark of the covenant, which represents God’s presence, into Jerusalem, and then he assigns these musicians to minister before the Lord’s presence, worshiping God with the words that we see in Psalm 96 Let’s all rise as we read the word of God together and Psalm 96 Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord all the earth, sing to Lord and praise His name. Proclaim His salvation day after day, declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise, he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him, strength and glory are in his sanctuary. Ascribe to the Lord all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name, bring an offering, and come into his courts. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. Tremble before him, all the earth. Say among the nations, the Lord reigns. The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad, let the sea resound in all that is in it, let the fields be jubilant and everything in them, let all the trees of the forest sing for joy, let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for He comes, He comes to judge the earth, He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness. This is the word of the Lord. Please be seated. Please be seated. We’re in a series called Above All Gods, looking at Psalms 93 to 100 where we see the Lord represented as this king who reigns above all gods. As we look through Psalm 96 we’ll see specifically different reasons as to why we should worship this king always, and remember him, starting with we should worship Yahweh, because he is the king who is God. Look at verses one to six. Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord, all the earth, sing to the Lord, praise His name, proclaim His salvation day after day, declare His glory among the nations as marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the Lord, and most worthy of phrase. He is to be feared above all gods, for all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him, strength and glory are in his sanctuary.
The other day we were in our preaching huddle, which we do weekly, and Brandon had mentioned to Lucas, our intern, that my lived experience as an Indian born and raised in Dubai matters to him and he does sermon prep, and it really touched me. Yeah, it was just a quick pass away statement, but it made me feel special. I don’t usually compliment Brandon, so take that. It might be something small to say, but in that moment I realized that my culture’s expression of Christianity is beautiful. But why does a small statement like that matter? If you’ve ever been a new person in a friend group, you kind of understand this for the first time when somebody actually sees and remembers you, remembers the things you said and brings it into conversation, you suddenly feel like you belong. That is such a unique feeling, and this is what we see in Psalm 96 We see God inviting the nations to sing to him and worship him. He’s not just welcoming them, he’s offering them a place to belong. We often think of this God of the Old Testament as this stern, angry God, focused on Israel, never inviting that couldn’t be far from the truth. Here, and in many other parts of the Old Testament, we see clearly that God is inviting all peoples from everywhere to come and worship Him. Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord all the earth. a new song, because in the previous weeks we saw that the psalms were to the individual, or maybe to the nation of Israel, but this is for all the nations, for everybody, everybody come and worship Yahweh, He is the real mr. Warwad, and this invitation to worship the Lord isn’t just broad and abstract. There’s a call to acknowledge what He’s done and who He is. What He’s done matters in understanding who He is. Like you wouldn’t let somebody drive your car who’s never driven a car before, or at least at least has license. In the same way the psalmist reveals that God is trustworthy because He has proven Himself, His glory is to be declared among the nations, His marvelous deed among all peoples, as verse three indicates. But what are these deeds? What did the Lord do to invoke the worship of the nations for Israel. God brought them out of Egypt, took them through the wilderness, walked with them, was present for them, and then established them as a nation. For David, as an individual, he like blessed him by bringing the ark back to Jerusalem, and then established his kingdom as well, but what about the nations? What about them? Why should they proclaim his salvation? Why should they sing of his glories? What do the nations even say? The answer is clear in verse five. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens, idol, idol, idol. We keep hearing this word in the Old Testament, idol. What really is an idol? I love the way Psalm 115 verses 48 defines it. You’ll be up there. Idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths but do not speak, eyes but do not see, they have ears but do not hear, noses but do not smell, they have hands but do not feel, feet but do not walk, and they don’t make a sound in their throat. Don’t miss this. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them. Interesting. Why would anybody make or trust an idol? This is the recurring thought that goes through my mind when I do my devotions. What role does Arsenal Football Club are the Mets play in my life? Are these avenues I go out of genuine admiration to or obsession. Have I made a good thing a god thing? Maybe for you it might not be Arsenal or the Mets, it might be the Cubs or the Bears, or if you’re in the wrong state of mind. I mean, state packers, even. What about music? What does the music you listen to reveal? The statistics show that Gen Zers are obsessed with artists who make really depressive songs. Oh, it’s not funny, that’s something to be really sad about.
Honest confession, I am a Gen Zer. I often get caught in this trap of listening to music about romanticizing life, about sadness and unknown future hope, but then my wife pointed out that I am literally becoming like this music, it is. Sad, there was a sense of hopelessness that isn’t true of the Christian life that kept overcoming me because I chose to tune myself to the lies of this world than rather believe in the truth of the scriptures. Maybe your idol isn’t a sports team, maybe it’s not music, maybe it’s a person, kids, maybe it’s the popular group in your school, or singles, maybe it’s the dream spouse, parents, maybe it’s the perfect child, and so you start shaping your personality to fit a certain mold, you start thinking a certain way, acting a certain way, you compromise on the truth to accommodate your obsessions, but don’t be dismayed. This is not meant to be a mellow sermon, although will be in many points. David was rejoicing because the truth still stands, for all the gods of the nations are idols, but there is a Lord who made the heavens. Worship Him. We just sang, “This is my Father’s world. Here’s how the last verse goes: “This is my Father’s world. Why should my heart be sad? The Lord is King. Let the heavens ring, God reigns. Let the earth be glad. It is a unique invitation to just look around and see, look at the heavens, look at the skies, and know that there is a God. The idols that exist hope to be what God is, but the truth is, there is only one God, Yahweh. He is the great God and Lord, who has done marvelous deeds and is worthy of all praise in all nations. The psalmist uses a fourfold, fourfold praise: splendor, majesty, strength, and glory are before Him in His sanctuary. Imagine entering into the royal chambers of a king, gazing upon him as he is fully clothed in royal linen, surrounded by his ministers. How awesome is that sight? We read last week in Psalm 95 Come, bow down and worship, and kneel before the Lord our maker, the intention of passages like this is to lift you up to the heavens. Picture the divine sanctuary and honor Yahweh as the king who is God. If we’re so easily willing to give our hearts to these idols that are here today and gone tomorrow, how truly, and how much more should we be giving our hearts to the King, who is God of all the earth? Worship the King, who is God. The second reason we worship Yahweh is that He is the King who is holy. Look at verses seven to nine. Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name. Bring an offering and come into His courts. Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness. Tremble before Him all the earth. To ascribe literally means to write down or to engrave. Think of like a tombstone engraving. You see this tombstone with this inscription that says Jerry was a great guy, loved the Lord. Now that I think of it, it kind of sounds like somebody who’s not getting a second date, but you get the point. If the Jerrys of the world, mere men, get the title of great, how much more the King of the universe, who made the skies and all that is in it. In the first verses, we see the psalmist say three times, “Sing to the Lord, and now we see three times, “Ascribe to the Lord, and more specifically, “Ascribe glory to the Lord. And verse eight gives us clarity as to why we ascribe glory to the Lord. It is simply because He deserves it. It is the glory that is due His name. It is remarkable that God has done marvelous things for Israel, even more marvelous things for us in Jesus Christ, but we don’t remember that we don’t acknowledge him or give him the glory that is due. But for a second, let’s just pretend like God didn’t do any of those things, and let’s ignore that for a second. Does God not deserve glory for being God, the maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible, is that not a glorious God?
We see in verse nine that we ought to tremble before Him, literally shake. He is the sovereign God of the world, and we are not. We can. And become like God, nor can we enter into His glorious presence, because we don’t honor Him as God, and this might be hard to hear, but not acknowledging God for who He is is sin, and we all fall short of giving Him the glory that He deserves, and then we wonder why there is this God-shaped void in our hearts. Maybe it’s because the idols that we’ve placed there instead, but what is separating us from experiencing God fully? It is God’s holiness. After ascribing glory to the Lord, the glory due His name, we see the statement: bring an offering and come into his courts, worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. Why an offering in the Old Testament? This points to temple language, the it’s emphasizing the need for a sacrifice, so that our sins are cleansed before God. It emphasizes God’s great holiness and our lack thereof, and so it’s only right that we respond with fear, tremble before Him all the earth. We have so many people who claim to be great in the past. There’s the self-proclamation of 2024 Brandon, when he won the church fantasy football league, he lost the next year. Alexander the Great, who conquered all these nations till he died of illness at the age of 32 Herod the Great, who built all these awesome buildings, only to be only to watch it be destroyed in war. Fleeting greatness is not true greatness. It’s like catching air. There’s just nothing there, and we all, whether we like it or not, live our lives worshiping and ascribing greatness to ourselves or to other fleeting things, instead of worshiping the truly great and holy God. If God is perfect, which He is, and we are wretched sinners, so caught up in engraving our own tombstones with titles we don’t deserve, then there is a need for a sacrifice before we enter into His glorious presence. We always seem good until we stand in the presence of the truly glorious King. Picture Isaiah, when he saw the Lord enthroned with the proclamation of seraphim again three times holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. Heaven and earth are full of His glory. Isaiah didn’t jump up and celebrate, he trembled before God and said, Woe to me, I am ruined, for I am a man of unclean lips, and live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty. When we are confronted by the holy God, King of all the earth, robed in majesty, worthy of all praise, only then do we understand how underdressed we are, how unworthy we are to stand in the presence of utter perfection. But that has not been the tone of this passage, that’s just been me in Psalm 96 What strikes me is that the psalmist is not grim or fearful, but rather he worships out of jubilation. David is excited to tremble before God. What a weird thing to say. The holiness of God is not causing him to be afraid, rather he worships with confidence. How do you do that? How does a sinful person get to the point of worshiping God joyfully? And that takes us to our final point: worship the King who is judge. Let’s look at verses 10 to 13. Say, among the nations the Lord reigns. The world is firmly established. It cannot be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad, let the sea resound in all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant and everything in them. Let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for He comes. He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in faithfulness. Back in 2010 man traded 10,000 bitcoins for two pizzas. 10,000 bitcoins was valued at $41 at that time, so that. Kind of. I think he still got robbed, but 10,000 bitcoins is currently valued at $2 billion. The man says he doesn’t regret it. You and I both know he, he regrets it. What was the problem?
It wasn’t that he wasn’t patient, that’s such an easy sort of thing to say, but none of us would have ever been able to know that Bitcoin was going to go off like that. The real problem was that he didn’t have the knowledge of everything. Guess what, he’s human, his judgment was errant because his knowledge was limited, but that’s not the case of our God. When the psalmist says the Lord reigns, he’s not just talking about a merely physical reality, he’s talking about everything, the Lord reigns over everything. God is sovereign. The world and everything is established because the sovereign God established it. But again, the psalmist is not scared of it. He is rejoicing, not just him. By the way, when you see this portion, it’s all of nature, the heavens, the seas, the fields, and trees all sing for joy. Paul in Romans 8:20-21 helps us understand this joy, for the creation was subjected to frustration not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. It’s not just us looking for freedom, it’s also the skies, the seas, the fields, and the trees. The soldiers that we acknowledge on Memorial Day understand this firsthand. They participate in a war that doesn’t just destroy human lives, destroys everything – bombs destroying trees, animals being tarnished, everything touched by war just shattered. It’s a painful sight. And this is what sin does to our souls and to this world, to some of us, God coming to judge the world is scary, and it should be, but that just was not how David saw it. Why did David feel different? If anything, he should know that being in the presence of God is scary. One of his men in this, the prelude to the story, had touched the ark of the covenant, perished, gone. He was frightened. David was frightened for a long time to lift this from the previous place and bring it to Jerusalem, but now David is joyful. Why is that? When David is coming to Jerusalem with the Ark of the Covenant, he understands something so profound for those who ascribe glory to themselves and negate the glory that should be given to God. Those of other nations who worship idols rather than worship the true Lord and King, who reigns, the judgment of God should be scary. Their faith is as strong as a paper boat in an ocean. Light wave will just tumble it over and it’ll sink, but for the people of God who place their trust in the Lord, who comes to judge the world in righteousness and faithfulness, the coming judgment is a cause of joy, like Brandon said earlier, David is joyful because he understands that our worship is received by the same person who grants us forgiveness. Our worship is received by the same person who grants us forgiveness. In Luke 1941 we see the presence of God entering Jerusalem in the person of Jesus as the king who is going to judge, he sees the city and he weeps over it out of compassion and sorrow for the people, knowing that they are going to reject him as the king. Yet he does not shy away. He goes into Jerusalem and his coronation ceremony did have a crown, not of gold and diamonds, but of thorns. Instead of being robed in majesty, he was stripped naked, instead of being honored on a throne. Own, he was hung on a cross out of love. Jesus bore the sins of all who place their faith in him. The king of the world did not count equality with God, something to be grasped. Rather, he was made nothing, taking the nature of a servant, became obedient to death, even death on a cross. The punishment that we deserve, all of us who sinned against the most holy God, was placed on him on the cross at Calvary. In that moment, God did judge the world. Isaiah 53 five, referring to Jesus, states, but he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Quite often we read this passage, and the words that stick us, stick out to us, are pierced and crushed and punished. Can I encourage you today in light of knowing this faithful God, can we fix our eyes on the peace that He bought for us and the healing that He gives us. This psalm doesn’t call us to be somber. Sorry that I’m crying. It doesn’t help that let all the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad, why? Because the curse that was ours is ours no more. Israel was jubilant because they could enter God’s presence annually with a yearly sacrifice. How much more joyful should we be that in Jesus the all-sufficient sacrifice was made on behalf of all those who believe forever. Memorial Day is a day remembering and celebrating the sacrifice of those who gave their lives for our freedom on earth. How much more must we remember the sacrifice of Christ that brought our freedom from sin, making us able to stand before the presence of the Almighty God. What a truly unforgettable event. When we forget this truly unforgettable event, guess what, the world forgets it with us. So, here’s the big idea: worship God always, remembering his faithful judgment in Christ Jesus, worship God. Always remembering his faithful judgment in Christ Jesus. It is so easy to forget God, especially in our busy lives, but it shouldn’t be. Everywhere you look, you get reminders of God. In the book Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren, she talks about all these everyday ways that we can think about God. When she opens her eyes, she’s reminded of our baptism, where she is raised from death back to life. When she makes her bed, she is remembering God ordering the chaos in Genesis. What an awesome thing to partake in by just doing your bed. When she brushes her teeth or does ordinary personal hygiene things, she’s reminded that Jesus came in the flesh and dwelt among us, such an awesome way to think about God. There are so many mundane things that we do in our lives that just help us remember the Almighty God. So, let’s try to do them. Parents and grandparents, the Beatles are awesome, and I think it is so cool that parents want to educate their kids with songs from their youth, but obla dee obla da, life goes on without them. It does not go on without Jesus. So, if this generation is burdened with all these lies that they’re hearing, how about we teach them some truth? How about we sing songs that are rich in the truth of scripture. Here’s a message to the church. It might be out of the ordinary, but it is so beautiful when we are jumping, clapping, and singing together with hands raised up, ascribing to God the glory He deserves. Jake mentioned last week about Michal, David’s wife, who was frustrated with David worshiping before the Ark of the Covenant, and David’s response is so cool. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. You know what that means. It means jubilant worship might make less of us, but it certainly makes much of God. So, let’s embody our worship. And for those who may not have a relationship with Jesus, just know that on the cross Jesus’ great desire was for you to know Him, not just as a king, but as a friend, as someone who, at great expense to himself, was giving his life for all those who believe in him. So sing with us, sing, be free. Let this be your first step of faith. May the truth of the lyrics that we are going to sing be the truth of your lives today, and to all of us, sing to the Lord a new song. Sing to Lord all the earth, sing to the Lord, and praise His name. Proclaim His salvation day after day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples. And indeed He did a marvelous deed. Christ died for us with a passion and love that is truly unforgettable. So let’s remember that and worship Him. Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, you are so kind because you gave us your son, you gave us your son to unite this broken world to you.
We are now able to stand in your presence because of what Jesus has done. All those who believe in you, let us not forget, Lord, in our busyness, in our weakness, in our desire to experience the world apart from you. May you change our hearts and help us run to you, Lord. Help us run to you, knowing that you are the way, the truth, and the life, and that is all we need, and that is all we will ever need, now and forever. We lay it all, Lord, before you and the throne of grace, that we can approach in confidence, come have your way in us, in your holy and matchless name, we pray. Amen.

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Hard Hearts and a Holy God June 28, 2026 | Jake Thomas Jake Thomas reflects on the struggle of running 10 miles with his wife Hannah, drawing parallels to the human reluctance to change and the need for God’s rest. He discusses Psalm 95, emphasizing three reasons for rest: God’s greatness, goodness, and the consequences of rejecting Him. God’s greatness is illustrated by His control over the earth, sea, and dry land, contrasting with lesser gods. His goodness is seen in His role as creator and shepherd. Rejecting God leads to eternal separation, while accepting Him offers immediate and future rest. The speaker urges the congregation to revere God, reject their rejections, and receive His rest.

Good morning. Please open your Bibles to Psalm 95 That’s going to be page 482 in your pew Bibles. Again, that is Psalm 95 Now, once a year, my wife Hannah and I, we spend a whole day together running for 10 miles now. This newly minted Thomas family tradition is kind of an homage to the first time I made my move on Hannah. I was absolutely desperate to spend any amount of time with her, and so I invited her to do one of her favorite things: go on a run. The problem, though, that just obviously one of my least favorite things, but I was, I was very desperate, so I ran 10 miles with her, though calling it a run feels pretty generous. There was a lot of stopping, some walking, I may have almost laid down once, there was a little bit of crying, and some dry heaving as well, but somehow, in spite of all of that, she married me eventually. And now, once a year, we set aside a day to run 10 miles together, and we actually did it this past weekend. And my sister-in-law had a funny observation. She said, I love that Jake knows this is coming every year, but he still just won’t train for it, and she’s got a fair point. It’s brutal whenever I do it, but it just is a very easy way for it not to be so bad if I just trained. So, after every time I run it, I just think, okay, maybe this is the year I should start training, and like maybe next year will be different, but it’s just it hasn’t been that way, because I don’t change, I just do the same thing, and it hurts every time. Why wouldn’t I do that? Why wouldn’t I train? I know I’m gonna go on this run because I love my wife, and she’s persistent, but why won’t I just try, train, and make this thing that’s so difficult easier? I mean, it’s a simple answer. I don’t want to. I don’t like running once a year, let alone once a week. So, I’m just.. I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to change. This is going to hurt until I change. Wouldn’t it be nice if I didn’t have to train? If I could just wake up tomorrow and be a good runner, that would be great, and maybe there’s some people here that feel similarly, you know. You need the change, you know you have to do something different than what you’re doing right now. You don’t want to do the hard work of change. Are you burdened with the weight of needed change? You want to go to church more often, you want to pray more, or read your Bible more often, you want to scroll less, you want to gossip less, you want to tell the truth more. You want to change, but that’s hard work. But wouldn’t it be great if we could all just wake up tomorrow and be changed and be different with the hard work of changing our hearts already done, and we just sit back and rest in knowing that we are different. We don’t have to change anymore. God’s word shows us the pathway to rest when our stubborn hearts get in the way of us changing for the better. So this passage today we’re going to see the three reasons that following God can give us rest in spite of our stubborn hearts. So we’re going to start in verse one of Psalm 95 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. So the first reason is the greatness of God. God’s greatness leads us to rest, and that’s why the psalmist invites us to worship him in this psalm, because of the greatness of God. He says, “Come, let us sing with shout aloud, come before Him, let’s extol him with music and song. And he’s tone for the entire psalm here in these opening verses.
He wants God’s people to worship him because of his greatness, and that’s the reason, that’s how this God could possibly warrant this reaction, because he is a great god, you see him say that when he says, “For the Lord is the great God. So, recognizing the greatness of God should lead us to worship. What does that mean? What is the psalmist describing when he describes the Lord as great? We actually see this very clearly in verses three through five. The Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hands are the depths of the earth. The mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. I want to focus on verse three. It’s very important. It gives God this really interesting name. He’s the great king above all gods. Now we may kind of brush past that name by the mention of other gods. A lot of people today don’t even believe there’s one God, let alone multiple gods, but Israel would definitely have needed this reminder of God being the great king above all gods, because there was a lot of pressure from their neighbors to worship these other gods, so their neighbors introduced into pagan gods, such as Molech or Baal and Tiamat, and they told them, these are the guys that actually control everything. You want to have a good harvest, worship Baal. You want protection from bad luck and evil spirits, sing some songs to Tiamat. You want to have good luck and good fortune, sacrifice your firstborn kid to Moloch. So, their neighbors were constantly telling them that Yahweh is not the one in charge, and there are these way better options to worship instead. So, knowing that helps us understand the intentionality of verses four and five to utterly decimate the claims of Israel’s neighbors. Just look at this. So, Molech was the god of the depths, in his hand are the depths of the earth. Baal, he was the god of the mountain peaks, and you’re supposed to go there to worship Him, and the mountain peaks belong to Him, Tiamat. He was the god of the sea, He controlled the seas, and the king above all gods. He made the seas and the dry land between them. So, the psalmist is pouring out the absurdity of following these lesser gods, Yahweh is the great king over everything, from the top of Mount Everest to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, and everything in between. Only God is king. And we saw this play out in Egypt, didn’t we? So God went toe to toe with Egypt’s entire roster of heavy hitters, from Happy, the Nile River god, to Ra, the sun god, the God of Israel, directly defied every Egyptian deity, and he went undefeated. He earned the title, the great king above all gods. And yet we don’t worship Moloch and Baal or Tiamat or even Ra today, but we too have other gods. I read a story about a pastor talking to a drug addict, and this drug addict said, really want to become a Christian because I don’t really like authority. I don’t want Jesus to tell me what I have to do with my life. Now the pastor wisely pointed out that heroin had been telling that guy what to do his entire life, and heroin is not a great boss for that dude. Heroin controlled his every action and waking thought, it dictated his every next move. Everything he did was to get another hit of his deity. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound all that different from trying to appease Baal to get a better harvest. And maybe I really doubt anyone here worships Moloch or suffers from a heroin addiction, but again, we too have our other bosses that we’re tempted to follow.
I mean, maybe for you it’s sports betting, for a lot of people trying to get that parlay to hit to have that huge cash out dictates their every way that they spend their time and their money, all their resources, and then they’re left chasing big payouts in a system designed for them to lose, not a great boss, or maybe for you it’s trying to be physically attractive as possible, for you want to be the biggest guy in the gym or the prettiest woman in the neighborhood, and so you are willing to change your body or get all the outfits that you need to try and turn as many heads as possible, but we know that has an expiration date, right? Eventually, that too will fade, and you’re left chasing an impossible standard that isn’t going to last. Not a great boss. Maybe for you, it’s the approval of others. There’s something inside you that just needs people to like you, and so you’re willing to do things that you don’t really want to do, or say things you don’t really believe in, just to make people like you a little more, you know. The ironic part of that is that that just makes you more lonely, because if people, if you have to pretend and lie for people to like you, they don’t like you, they like the performance. That you’re putting on it just kind of leaves you lonely, and so for that reason, too, just needing the approval of others is not a great boss. What about you? What’s your boss? What controls your life? And our junior groups here, we have this set of questions that helps us identify the boss of our life, the things that we’re willing to follow instead of God. Here’s a few of them. What ruins your day if you don’t get it? What are you never satisfied with? What do you talk about all the time? What do you spend most of your time and money trying to get? What are you willing to sin to get? So we all have these, we all have these bosses, and none of these bosses are great, but that’s what makes following Jesus so amazing. He is the great boss above all bosses, the great King above all kings. He’s worth worshiping because he is great in everything that we’re tempted to place in his place as our boss, he created and rules over, and knowing that fact can lead us to rest. Trusting the right boss can lead us to rest, help us have peace. For example, I recently led a trip of students to Colorado, and every parent I talked to about the trip had this huge sigh of relief when I told him Jackie Berger was going too. Why is that? I’m a 20 year old dude, and she’s a mom. She’s the right boss. That makes sense, and in a much better way. God is the right king that is greater than all others. Only his great rule of our life can give us the peace that comes from following him, that leads to rest, but is that all he is? Is God just this boss and king that tells us what to do? Can I be further from the truth? So, in these next few verses, we’re gonna say that God is not just great, but He’s also good. Let’s start in verse six. Let us bow down in worship. Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, for He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care. So God’s goodness leads us to rest. The second reason today is that following God, and sorry, this is the second reason that following God gives us rest. So, a lot of people have that question about God: Is he really good? Can a great king, a great ruler, be a good one? It’s definitely a worthwhile question, one that we see emphatically answered by scripture as yes, so God is a good king because he’s our creator and our caretaker. So we see that him as creator in verse six, it calls the Lord our maker, and that word is so beautiful in the original language, it has a much stronger emphasis of ownership. We are his people. He made us. We belong to him, and that means that you were made by God for God.
Toy Story five came out recently. Whenever I think of those movies, I think about Andy writing his name on the bottom Woody’s foot. Now, I don’t.. I feel pretty good about this. I don’t think God wrote his name on the bottom of anybody’s foot here, but he went one step, not even one step, so many steps further than that. He made you in his image. Humanity is so different from everything else in creation, because we were made in the image of God. That’s the ultimate signature, the ultimate display of ownership. But ownership, it’s only good news if that comes with good care. I mean, everyone has seen the broken toys that come from a careless kid, right? And what good news that we see that God does indeed care for those that belong to Him. We see that verse seven it says He is our God, we are the people of His pasture, the flock under his care, he’s not just our creator, he does make us, he’s also our caretaker, and uses that picture of a shepherd to clearly help us envision the care that he provides. I mean, while Israel, they would have read this, and they would have thought about being in the deserts near Egypt, and God given them manna and quail from the sky, feeding them day after day, they would have thought about the pillar of smoke and fire guiding them through the desert. What a good shepherd indeed. God, He was a good creator and shepherd to Israel, and He’s good to us as well. God made us and also set His son to die for us to make the church, given us a purpose to serve Him and glorify Him. That’s what we mean when we’re made to magnify and sent to serve. God gave us that, and also He ministers to our hearts. He takes care of us when we are in need. He gives us our daily bread. He gives us comfort and stability during the difficulties of life. Life, how should we respond to that? How should we respond to the goodness of God? What do we do? Verse six, it gives us our clear response. So, verse one has this invitation to worship that focuses more on praising God and worshiping Him, but verse six has a different emphasis. It focuses more on pledging allegiance to Him, to bending your knee to Him. Says, look, it says, ‘Come, let us bow down and worship, let us kneel before our Maker. So, the only response that we could have to a great and good King is to bow down and kneel before Him. The psalmist, he’s asking Israel to place their allegiance in Yahweh, to follow the God, the King, who is the great God above all gods, and is a good creator and caretaker. The only response you can have to a God like that is to bend your knee and become a citizen of His kingdom, and this too, it gives us rest, knowing that our King is powerful and yet cares for us, gives us confidence that we’re going to make it, we’re going to be okay, and such a great and good God, while they were near Egypt, Israel got to witness everything, all these miracles of this care of God, of the greatness and goodness of God, and so surely at that moment they’re ready to worship Him, and only Him. Right, right. Let’s see if that really is the case as we close this psalm in the second half of verse seven today. If only you would hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Mass in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested me. They tried me, though they had seen what I did. For 40 years, I was angry with that generation. I said, they are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways. So I declared an oath in my anger they shall never enter my rest. So, in these verses, we see the final reason that only God can give rest. Rejecting God is rejecting rest.
The rejection of God is also the rejection of true rest, so to close this whole psalm, the psalmist, he issues a warning referencing Israel’s rejection of God at Meribah and Messiah, and so these verses kill the whole vibe of worship and praise. So the psalmist must have done that for really good reasons. Let’s really pay attention to why he chose to do this. This is a story from Exodus 17. So, God, He’s just brought Israel out of Egypt, brought him through the Red Seas. He defeated the gods of Egypt and the army of Egypt, and He’s been providing for Israel with food from the sky and guiding them with a pillar of smoke and fire. But at Meriba Messiah they got thirsty, and they questioned Moses, demanding water. They said, “This, why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children, our livestock die of thirst? Why is this story a warning. What’s so wrong about asking God for some water to drink? The issue wasn’t what they asked for, it was how they asked for it. Moses, he asked back then, why he put the Lord to the test. Verse nine here says Meriba Messiah is where they tested and tried God. This question for water, it was not a hopeful question. If you were last week, Pastor Kyle mentioned these hopeful questions, which are questions that are to God with a trust and a belief that He’s going to fulfill those questions and meet those needs and promises. The questions that Maribel missile were not hopeful in the slightest. They were full of disdain and distrust of God. It’s the difference between a married couple working something out and fighting. So, if you know me, you know I really do not like conflict, and I get very uncomfortable when couples around me, or just people, just have fights, just makes you really kind of like, oh my gosh. Then I got married, and I learned there is a difference, like working through problems, it could sound a lot like fighting, but it’s different. There’s this trust, this mutual trust, that both parties want to work things out, and they want to reach a solution, a middle ground. That’s not true of fights. I find a lot of people, they fight because there’s this lack of trust, there’s this belief that the other person does not really care. So, Israel, they’re not working through the. Water problem with God, they don’t think He cares about them, and they don’t trust Him enough to even ask Him for water. They’re questioning this really patronizing way and rejecting way. So, verse nine points out another crazy part of this story. Look at the second half, though they had seen what I did. So, these people, these people who were thirsty, who were asking for water, they were the same people who were in Egypt during these plagues. They walked through the Red Sea. They didn’t take a boat, they didn’t swim. They walked, they ate the manna and the quail day after day. They saw the pillar of the fire, they followed it. And these same people, they didn’t even trust God enough to ask him for a drink of water. Have you noticed that story? They never talked to God at all. They went to Moses, and they asked Moses for water. Isn’t that nuts? Isn’t that crazy? They didn’t trust him enough for that, and that’s the reason this story is a warning to Israel and to us. It shows the danger of hardening your heart towards God, of testing Him, and then going astray from Him. And what was the consequence? They faced the generation that rejected God and Meriba Messiah. They never got to experience the rest of the promised land. They had the water of the desert for 40 years, never getting to the land of milk and honey, they never got to experience rest. They were stuck wandering, tired, wanting relief, but not wanting to do the hard work of trusting their God. But why would they do that? Why would they harden their hearts and reject the King who provided for them time after time again. Why do we? Why do we harden our hearts and reject God? Why aren’t we willing to change or let go of our sin, so we can enter His rest? We don’t want to.
They didn’t want to, and the consequences for us are way more severe than walking around the desert for 40 years. When we reject God today, the consequences for that are death and eternal separation from Him. Something interesting to note is that the psalmist is writing this psalm after they got the promised land, so he is using this story as a warning to the people of Israel after they’re in the promised land. Now it’s interesting, right? What rest comes from Israel comes for Israel after they enter the promised land. What rest is there for God’s people? Hebrews four, it quotes Psalm 95 saying, Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains then a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from His. Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their examples of different of disobedience. Now, that word, Sabbath rest, in Hebrews four, it’s not found anywhere else in the Bible, it’s only in that chapter, and this is a rest that people, it’s describing a rest people can enjoy today, right now, it’s not just a future promise, but right now, in spite of our sin and stubbornness, but how do we enter that rest? How can we complete the hard work of softening our hearts and surrendering to the King to receive rest? The answer is simple: we can’t, at least, not on our own, the Meriba Messal story has hints of relief. So, towards the end, Moses, he asks God for guidance, and God tells Moses to hit a rock with his staff, and then water flows out from that rock, and Israel has something to drink. So, in spite of their rejection and rebellion against him, he gave them water to drink and gave them relief, and we too have a rock that offers us relief today. Look at verse one, it says, “Let us shout to the rock of our salvation. This is clearly a reference to the rock at the Meru Messiah story, the water there was offered there, but it’s also a reference to the living water that was to come. Matthew 1128 says this: Jesus says this: Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Jesus is the rock of our salvation. The rejected Son of God poured out his blood for our sake, so that we could. To the rest that he provides, the Sabbath rest, it was never meant to be found in a place, it was meant to be found in a person, the person of Jesus Christ. And that’s the answer. The hard work of changing our hearts is already done. Jesus, He was tempted in every way that we were and are, but he didn’t sin, and so we can accept his work as ours, and that enables us to approach God’s throne of grace. Consider it this way: Who’s able to approach a throne? The citizens of the kingdom, right? And so revering God as our King, Jesus as our king is the only way to receive rest, and on our own we couldn’t get past the moat, we couldn’t even get close to the kingdom of God. Our sin and God’s holiness are not compatible in the slightest, but God’s goodness sent Jesus down to die for us, so that we can accept Him as our Savior and follow Him right to the throne of grace as citizens, as royal sons and daughters of the kingdom of grace, and that’s how we receive His mercy and find His grace by swearing allegiance to King Jesus, the great King above all other gods, our maker, our shepherd, the one who delivered Israel out of Egypt and delivers all those who follow him from sin and death. Are you tired? Go to the King. Are you weary? Approach His throne in your time of need. Is the hard work of your heart hindering you?
Let the hard work of the cross change you forever, and this leads right into the big idea this morning. The big idea, the big idea is revere your God, reject your rejections, and receive His rest. Revere your God, reject your rejections, and receive his rest. Now, what does that look like for us? How does that affect our day today? Let’s focus on revering your God. When we revere God, we should do so with joy, and joy is all over. Psalm 95 right? says sing for joy and extol him with music and song. It’s why we get together on Sundays to do these things as a community, but when you worship, do you find yourself thinking more about the one you’re worshiping or who you’re worshiping with? It’s an easy trap to fall into. Are you one of the first people to raise your hands so everyone knows you’re especially holy, or are you arms 100% your size to let everyone know you are very humble. Now, the problem of both of those is you’re not focused on the one that you’re worshiping, you’re thinking about the perception of everyone else that you’re worshiping with. It reminds you of the story of David dancing in the streets to worship and praise his God. Now, his wife was not amused by that, and thought it was just a very dishonorable thing to do. And let’s be honest, if David was here dancing on the worship service, he’d get a few side eyes. Let’s be honest, but his response, I think that should also be the response of our heart too. He said, I will be more undignified than this. I love that. Now, I don’t want anyone to mishear me. I’m not saying you have to raise your hands or dance around to worship, just encouraging you that as you revere your God, do so with joy, and a joy that is focused more on revering your God, as opposed to fearing your fellow worshipers, and what a privilege it is that we get to revere Him together, that as a community we gather to sing with joy to the Lord, who gives us rest, and we can indeed receive that rest now. Remember Matthew 11, Jesus says, ‘Come to me and I’ll give you rest. That’s not just a future promise, that is a right now promise that can be experienced from making Jesus the boss of your life. His yoke is easy, you can rest from trying to prove your worth to him. He knows all your faults and your unworth, and he loved you so much. He is willing to die for the broken version of you, all other bosses you could follow, everything else you could worship. It demands you to prove your worth. Jesus, He gives you worth, and as a result, gives you rest from trying to earn worth. But we still need to reject those other bosses. We need to reject our rejections of God. Psalm 95 urges us to reject testing Him. So, when we go to God with hard questions, we all seem to have a hard trust that He is going to care for us and wants to offer us relief in those moments. So, when we’re thirsty, don’t. Rumble and complain to God, go to Him, ask Him for relief with the belief and trust that He will give that to you, but also tells us to reject hard hearts like Israel, our hearts can be hardened to God’s voice and reject Him. So a student recently asked me, Why hasn’t God just forgiven Satan? So my first thought was, Kyle, please help, but then I just took a moment to think about, I was like, oh, scripture just gives us this so clearly, everything we know about Satan from Scripture, we know he was an angel and he saw God in his full glory, he knows everything about God that he could possibly know, but he didn’t want to submit to him. He knew all of God’s greatness and goodness, but he did not want to make God his king. And so Satan will never be forgiven, because his heart is too hard. He knows everything about God, but he still rejected him. He’ll never ask for forgiveness. His hatred is too strong of God, and He knows everything about God, so it’s not like anything could change His mind about it.
And that’s exactly what our hearts can be like. We just.. we don’t like being told what to do. We don’t like submitting to authority. Now, a few weeks ago, I was a volunteer at the TGC Women’s Conference. It was a great time, and I was in charge of the free book station, so I, my job was to give out one free book to every woman that came to the conference, and you know me, I’m kind of real sickler. I was only supposed to give out just one, but a few people came and asked me for books for their friends that weren’t able to make it to that day. Now, I told them, hey, you come back the last day, we’re getting out so many books, as many books as possible, but for right now, we’re just going to one book today, and one woman, an older woman, she – when I told that, she just got really close to me, and she said, “Look away. So I kind of like laughed it off. I was like, “I’m not going to do that, and I said, just come back the last day, and we’ll get you your book. And so I walk away to go talk to another co-volunteer. I look back, she grabs an armful, and she goes, and my first thought was, like, I can totally catch her, I’m way faster than that’s a race I can win. My second thought was, oh, I do that. I do that to God when He doesn’t give me what I want, when I want it, how I want it. I tell Him to look away, and I take things in my own hands, and we all do that. So, how do we soften our hearts to his voice? How do we not do that? Have hearts so hard that we do things like that. Well, I think the answer is, we have to remind ourselves who’s talking. We have to remember the person speaking. So, Israel, their hearts got hard when they were thirsty, and they either forgot or they didn’t care that about all things that God had done for them before that point. So, when we harden our hearts, we do this because life gets hard, right? That’s why we do that. But in those moments, we need to reject our rejection of God and remember our King. Remembering the King who commands us is also the one who was crucified for us, so that helps us when he gives us hard commands. We know that he loves us, and he is a great and good king. So, remember, the one who is speaking is the way to soften our hearts, and when we do soften our hearts, we can hear what he’s saying. He’s inviting us to experience his rest. The writer of Hebrews and the Psalms, they both have the same invitation: Come, let us bow before Him. And this invitation has an interesting implication. A commentary I read said the invitation to come to the presence of God presupposes that by nature we are far from God. So, being invited to be near God it implies that we are far from Him. He wants to give you rest, he wants you to approach the throne of grace. He’s calling all of those with hard hearts to come home, to come to him. When the Titanic was sinking, some people said no to the lifeboat. They did not think they were going to need it, and it was only was too late that they realized they needed it the whole time, and we’re all like that, we’re all in need of this rest that the King provides, but we need to accept His invitation to receive His rest, because if we don’t, eventually we will be like Satan with hearts too hard, we will be unable to even ask for forgiveness and but if we accept this invitation to rest, we can receive the promise of rest that He’s going to take us, His people, home. Can you see it? Can you hear it? Can you feel it? King Jesus reigns, and He’s returning soon. He’s promised. Us that all who bow their knee to Him and soften their hearts will receive true rest. Isn’t that good news? So revere your God, reject your rejection, and then receive the gift of His rest.
I’m very glad that my walk with Jesus works way differently than my runs with Hannah. The Thomas 10 miles is always going to hurt till I change, but with Jesus, He’s paved the way for me, and He invites me to receive Him, and by doing so, receive rest. So, Psalm 95 it gives us these three reasons that following God, following Jesus, gives us rest. His greatness shows us He’s in charge. His goodness shows that we can trust Him, and knowing that rejecting Him is rejecting rest helps us revere Him and receive His rest, not just in the future but right now. And so I’m going to close the first two verses of this psalm, and invite you to revere our great and good God, who gives rest to his followers. Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. Would you please pray with me, Lord, great King above all other gods, our maker, our creator, the one who was crucified for us, the one who raised from the dead, conquered our sin and our death, and gave us the path to life and the path to rest, not just in the future for eternity, but right now today, as we make you the king of our life. I pray that we would do so, Lord, that we would live as citizens of your kingdom, that we would get to experience the kingdom of grace, and the rest that comes with following a king who is so good he was willing to lay down his life for all those who bend their knee to him. Pray for all of us, Lord, that we would follow you more and give up trying to change ourselves and let you do the hard work of softening our hearts and not letting us go astray. Be our shepherd, Lord, be our comfort, be our peace, be our rest. In Your powerful name I pray. Amen.

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The Judge of the Earth June 21, 2026 | Kyle Bjerga Kyle Bjerga discusses the human response to injustice, using personal experiences and biblical references to illustrate the struggle between revenge and faith. He recounts incidents of bullying and a recent playground altercation, emphasizing the natural desire for revenge. Bjerga highlights Psalm 94, focusing on God’s role as the judge who avenges and the importance of trusting in divine justice. He contrasts the wicked’s arrogance with the righteous’ hope in God’s discipline and eventual judgment. Bjerga encourages his audience to seek refuge in God, trusting in His ultimate justice and comfort.

Well, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. You can go ahead and open up your Bibles to Psalm 94. If you use one of the black pew Bibles around you, maybe underneath that is page 482. As you turn there, when I was a student in school, when I was then a teacher in the school, and when I was doing youth ministry, whether as a volunteer or on staff at a church, there were a handful of times where I’d gotten to the angry to the point of losing my cool, and like angry to where my body responds, and I don’t know what to do, so like you feel that like I’m turning red, I think I, my heart rate is going 150 beats a minute. I’m standing here, I am sweating, my teeth are clenched, and I feel my fists going like this. So, just a handful of times that that happened. Now, what could make me reach this point was not disobedience towards me, was not disrespect, was not cheating, it was bullying, seeing bullies, people taking advantage of those who oftentimes were more vulnerable, whether they were speaking ill of them, picking on them, ridiculing them, mocking them, but they looked at this person and saw I could take advantage of this person, and it was the thing that got me angry, and I still see faces, I still see moments in my mind where these things happen, and I just remember my response in those moments. And this weekend, something happened where Jackie and a couple of our boys were at a playground, and there was an accident that happened, and a guy actually verbally attacked Jackie and her parenting and my son for an accident, and it was a bully, and so you’re sitting there, and now that I’m really wound up, Jackie Jackie’s probably wound up. Let me wind all of you up as well. What, what is it for you? Because I think even me, just saying those few things, faces popped into your mind, situations popped into your mind. And what kind of response do we normally have when these things happen, it’s the thing that goes through my mind oftentimes first. It’s revenge. I want them to be paid back for what they did to me. I want them to get what they deserve. And this is something that happens at all ages, because I love watching movies with my kids that I’ve seen, and I know the outcome. And one of my sons, in particular, loves to verbalize when he wants the bad guy to get it, and he will clap and be physically excited when the bad guy gets what he deserves, and I sit there and, like, yep, that’s me too, and in some ways you’re like, yeah, they should get what they deserve, and at the same time you’re sitting there thinking, like, I don’t want him to, like, you know, be super excited about these things happening, so this kind of this line, like, where do I get excited, where do I not? And then, how do I teach vengeance isn’t ours, vengeance isn’t mine. And so then you amplify these personal examples to some of the worst bullying in the history of the world, much larger scale, the oppression of people groups, kidnapping of children, trafficking, slavery, genocide, and on and on. We can go. When you hear a story of real injustice, you should have a response to it. We want to have that clear line in the sand of this is good and this is evil. The question for us? Is not whether something is evil or good. It’s how do we respond to the evil? What comes into our hearts? What comes into our minds? What comes out of our mouth? And what actions do we take in the face of wickedness and evil? The psalmist wants us to know what we should do, but better than that is where we should go, and so we’re going to start first in verses one and two. You can see there in your notes we are looking at the character of God. So here is Psalm 94 verses one and two. The Lord is a God who avenges. Oh God, who avenges, shine forth, rise up, judge of the earth, pay back to the proud what they deserve. So, no shock that we start with the character of God again. Everything must start here. Our prayers, our laments, our praises, and our requests must start with God. And last week, as we started this series in Psalm 93 we were in the throne room of God. We saw God robed in majesty, looking at the world that He established, and we saw that God is reigning, even in the moments where it doesn’t quite feel that way. And now in Psalm 94 we. Actually, enter into the chaos of the world, and we don’t see it from afar. Now we experience it. It’s our reality of living in a fallen world, and it’s the chaos that leads us to look back in Psalm 93 or two verses one and two of Psalm 94 and we ask the question, Who is God? And we see here in these first two verses that He is the judge of the earth, the whole, the judge who avenges and pays back the proud with what they deserve. In Romans 1219 which is reminding us of what it says in Deuteronomy 32 says this: Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written, ‘It is mine to avenge, I will repay, says the Lord. Vengeance is God’s. So the psalmist is ruining everything in God’s character, which is helping the psalmist and us get in the right mind and heart, because he could just go right into the account of who these evil people are, and this wickedness that they’re experiencing, but instead of doing that, because that’s just going to get all that injustice is going to well up inside of us, he’s reminding himself and us that I need to bring this to the only right judge, and so he pleads with God, he says, “Shine forth, says, “Rise up, and what he’s saying is, “God, show up, show up, be who I know you are, and do what you said you will do, because the psalmist knows that God’s vengeance, when he repays, it is fair, it is just, as a parent, if you’ve ever had kids disobey, amen. Okay, perfect children. If you’ve ever been in that moment where you have to discipline, how many times have you given that punishment, that discipline that didn’t quite fit the crime? It was a little bit too severe for what they actually did, or it wasn’t severe enough for what they did, because we know our kids are going to kind of say, well, that wasn’t fair, right? That wasn’t fair, because this didn’t happen to them, and so we’re going to hear this question all the time, and then when we stand back, we’re like, yeah, I’m not consistent, so Who am I in my little bubble if I can’t be consistent, who am I to think I can sit in the judgment seat for that person and that person and that person if I can’t even do this in my own home and be consistent and fair in my discipline, but God’s discipline is truly just. It is never more than it should be, and it is never less than it should be. It is never an emotional response where God disciplines based on how good of a day he had, which I think is true for some of us. So, it’s not he had a bad day, so the punishment is a little bit more severe, and he had a good day today, so the punishment is a little bit less. No, it is always just. It is always fair. And if we could see what God sees, if we could know what God knows, we would judge exactly the same way, because He is the only one that truly knows what is right and wrong all the time. And Aw Tozer says this, he says it perfectly in comparing our judgments and our actions with God’s when evil comes into our life. He says, how completely satisfying to turn from our limitations to a God who has none. To say, I don’t really know if I know the whole story, but God does. He doesn’t have any limitations when He judges, because God sees actions, and we oftentimes see actions, but only God sees the heart, and he will judge accordingly. So, now that we have our minds and our hearts in the right place, centered on the character of God, we can now move to the plea that the psalmist makes, and it’s a plea about the proud and getting what they deserve. So, we’re going to look at the second section there, the arrogance of the wicked, starting in verse three. How long, Lord, will the wicked? How long will the wicked be jubilant? They pour out arrogant words. All the evil doers are full of boasting. They crush your people, Lord. They oppress your inheritance. They slay the widow and the foreigner. They murder the fatherless. They say the Lord does not see. The God of Jacob takes no notice. Take notice, you senseless ones among the people, you fools. When will you become wise? Does he who fashioned the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see? Does he who disciplines nations not punish? Does he who teaches mankind lack knowledge? The Lord knows all humans, human plans. He knows that they are futile. So, the question, How long, Lord, is a question we ask quite a bit in our Lament series that we did last year, and it is a hope-filled question. It is not a hopeless question. It, but as the psalmist comes here, he’s like, it looks like the wicked are jubilant, like they’re living the good life, things are going well, they have success, they have wealth, and not a care in the world, and usually that’s at the expense of other people. So, how long, Lord? And when you ask that question, how long, Lord, with the understanding of God’s character, it’s not hopeless in that the wicked are going to get away with anything, but instead it’s asking, I know you won’t let this go on forever, but could you step in a little sooner? Right, I know you’re not going to let it go on forever, but how long? When is the payback coming? Are you going to avenge soon? It’s a question asked through scripture many times. It’s a question that we continue to ask, and the question you’re also probably asking at this point is, why does wickedness persist? Then, why doesn’t God step in right now, right now, knowing what’s going to happen? Why has He not stopped this and this and that? And we’re going to come back to one of the answers that we see in the text this morning. We’re going to just hold on to that for a few minutes, and we’ll get there. But what the psalmist does here is he catalogs the list of these wicked things that these people are doing. These are not small things that you could just quickly glance over. He’s using words like pour out, full crush, which we looked at, even last week, in Psalm 93 overwhelming oppression, slay, murder, like these are wicked, wicked things. It’s a clear line. There’s no way around it. These are evil things that are happening, but what’s more concerning is not just what they’re doing, but who they are doing it to. Who are they doing it to, and we see here in the text, one, it’s his inheritance, God’s inheritance, his people, his covenant people, and there’s a good reason to think that this wickedness that’s happening with the people this time is coming from the inside, but of course it could also be things that are coming from outside nations, regardless of that, though the church has always experienced people attacking from within and people attacking from outside, whatever it is, the prayer is going to be the same, and so the psalmist says, because he’s confident in the Lord, we’re your people, so you are going to do something, because when you attack God’s people, you attack God when He has put His love and His promises on His people. When others go against them, God knows that God sees that, and God will respond. And so, Psalm is saying, How long until you do it? And then we also see who else is this happening to within this group of people: it’s the widow, the foreigner, and the fatherless, and these are groups of people that have special mention in scripture in multiple places, and the Lord makes provision for these groups of people in His law. So, here’s just one example from Deuteronomy 10. It’s not going to be on the screen, I’m just going to read it to you. We see all three of these groups of people in this verse, he defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing, and you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. So this is God saying this about these people, and these are the people that are being attacked by the wicked, and they’re doing these horrible things to them. And the key verse in this section is the attitude of the wicked, and it’s extremely unsettling. Look at verse seven, they say the Lord does not see, the God of Jacob takes no notice. How hopeless would life be if that was true? The Lord does not see the kind of Jacob doesn’t take notice, he doesn’t care. How hopeless would life be if there wasn’t a king, if there wasn’t a judge? Because one thing we know on this earth, the our earthly judges, our earthly justice system is going to let people get off, they’re going to be free, they are going to miss things, and people are going to get away with things they have, and they will, but not forever, but not forever, because there is a king, there is a judge. It’s unsettling, not because we find that this is their attitude. It’s unsettling because we know that this is our attitude. Many times, every time we sin, what are we doing? Maybe God doesn’t look at me today. Maybe He’s not watching. Maybe He doesn’t care. Maybe it’s going unnoticed now, and this happens because we, we give in at some point to temptation, and then we do it again a little bit later, and we feel like the guilt and the shame just isn’t quite the same as it was before. So just say, maybe God isn’t, maybe he isn’t watching, he’s not doing anything about it, at least. So maybe I can get away with a little bit more, and a little bit more, and quickly your heart becomes hard, then you start to realize. Is I’m taking advantage of the vulnerable, I am being wicked to other people in my mind, in my heart, in my speech, in my actions, and so we need to pray that the Spirit would reveal these areas of our life that maybe right now we’re holding on to very tightly, because we’ve gone to that point of saying, well, God hasn’t done anything about it yet, so why do I need to give it up? He sees, and he knows it’s interesting when somebody’s brought in for questioning for a crime that they think they get away with, pretty confident, even as they get questioned, they’re going to get away with everything changes, their whole countenance changes when somebody comes and says we have a video to show you, and it’s like, oh yeah, there’s cameras everywhere, there’s people with cameras, phones everywhere, and we’re going to show you this, and now all of a sudden everything changes, but there’s always been eyes on us, God has always seen us every day, every hour, every minute, so when you think about that, you’re like, oh, so he saw yesterday, he saw this morning, going to church, he sees my heart right now. In verse seven is a succinct way to define what it’s like to live without the fear of the Lord. So, if you want to say, like, what does it mean when somebody doesn’t fear the Lord, it’s this: the Lord does not see, the Lord doesn’t take notice, and that we see here is called foolishness. In contrast to verse eight, look at verse eight: Take notice, you senseless ones among the people, you fools. When will you become wise, and how do the wise live? Well, Proverbs tells us the beginning of wisdom, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It’s the fear of the Lord. It’s exactly the opposite of what these people are doing. And then the psalmist just kind of takes us to school. We’re in theology 101 right now, in verses nine through 11, we’re looking at the main question, Who is God? And in these four questions that the psalmist asks, we find out that God is omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient creator. That’s what we see here.
So, look at the first two questions: Does He who fashioned the ear not hear? Does he, who formed the eye, not see well? Does he? God tells Moses this in Exodus 37 I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. They’re asking, How long, Lord? And he’s like, I see you, I hear you, and I’m going to do something. The next question, does he who disciplines nations not punish? Well, before Moses and the people of Israel are even in Egypt, God is talking to Abraham in Genesis 15, giving him his covenant, and he tells Abraham, your people will be in a foreign land, will be enslaved in a foreign land for a very long time, and before that even happens, this is what he tells Abraham, but I will punish the nation, which we know is Egypt, I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. Does the Lord discipline? Yes, He disciplined Egypt, and everybody in that area heard about it. And then last question, does He who teaches mankind lack knowledge? Isaiah 4610 says, I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times what is still to come. I say my purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. He knows it all. He’s everywhere. He’s all powerful. He’s the creator. This is who our God is. And so the wicked should fear the Lord, because he does see, he does take notice, and he won’t let evil prevail in the end. And then we get this kind of summary in verse 11, reminds us there’s nothing outside of God, there are no human plans that God does not see. He knows what’s going to come. He knows nothing can thwart His plans, nothing evil or wicked. And we now move from the arrogance of the wicked to the hope of the righteous. So, look, starting in verse 12 through 19, the hope of the righteous, blessed is the one you discipline, Lord, the one you teach from your law. You grant them relief from days of trouble till a pit is dug for the wicked. For the Lord will not reject his people, he will never forsake his inheritance. Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it. Who will rise up for me against the wicked, who will take a stand for me against evildoers? Unless the Lord had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death. When I said, “My foot is slipping, your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. And so we have here. At the beginning, these words “discipline” and “teaching” are the same words that were just used in the questions that the psalmist asks, same words in verse 10, but the audience has changed. The audience is not the wicked, the audience is the righteous, those who follow the Lord. And right here we get one of the main differences between being wicked and being righteous, because God will discipline and punish both, and he also teaches who he is. He makes it known who he is. In creation, we see it in his word. And so the question is, How are you going to respond to this? How are you going to respond to the answers to this question of who is God? And the wicked respond by saying, The Lord does not see, the Lord does not take notice, and the righteous, those who submit to God, are willing and ready to hear His word. They’re ready to be disciplined, they’re ready to be instructed, so that we can see right here in verse 12. Blessed, it’s like the beatitudes, blessed, happy are those who are ready to receive the instruction of the Lord to receive the discipline of the Lord, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and they are ready to receive the relief that is talked about in verse 13. They’re ready to receive that relief, because not only does God discipline us, He teaches us through the hardships that we experience, through our troubles, through enduring what the wicked and the evil will do to us, so I love what Augustine says. Says, “Bear patiently when evil doers get all the luck, and they bear patiently, tolerantly the hardships that fall to good people until this world comes to an end, until iniquity shall pass away. They are blessed already, for God has instructed them in His law and made them gentle through days of misery until a pit is dug for the sinner. The Lord is there to instruct us to walk with us, even as the evil, even as the wickedness is going on around us. And Augustine is really just quoting from this psalm here, relief is possible, because look at verse 13, as the wickedness and evil happens, a pit is being dug. The more wickedness, the deeper the pit goes. In a way, the evil and wicked are digging their own grave. And I said, we come back to this question: Why does God let evil persist? Why does He not just stop it right now. Well, there’s a great answer to this in Genesis 15. Again, as God is talking to Abraham, giving him his covenant, he’s telling him what’s going to happen to his people, as we just read that they’re going to be enslaved by another nation, but they will return to the promised land. But when are they going to return to the promised land? He says when the sin of the people there, the Amorites, has reached its full measure. Because God is patient, God is patient. God gives time for repentance, or you could repent, or you can continue to dig, and that’s what the Amorites are doing, they dig a pit deeper and deeper. When they hear about things that the Lord is doing, they don’t repent and follow Him. They just keep digging, doing wicked thing after wicked thing. And so, when God brings this judgment on the Amorites in this moment, there isn’t a mistake, like they can’t stand before God and say, “Oh, wait, we didn’t know, or bring these excuses and all these different things to him. It’s like you’ve been digging this pit for a very long time. So God allows things to reach their full measure, in part to demonstrate to us what is truly unjust. It’s not that God needs to prove himself, it’s just for us to be there and not stand before God and say, like, I didn’t know, I had no idea. I didn’t know my heart was getting harder. I don’t think I deserve this, and making every excuse in the book to say, like, I don’t deserve this. When he shows us what our sin is and what it does, all of us would stand there and say that’s a fair punishment, that’s fair judgment, and that’s what’s happening in this, they continue to dig to show one day that I’m without excuse, as all of us are, we’re without excuse, and then here’s the relief for us, that the wicked will not ultimately get away with anything, they won’t, another relief is the teaching of verse 12 mentions God’s law, so we find relief in the difficult moments, in the troubles, in the hardships, in our circumstances, with the promises of God, with the promises of God, the teaching from God’s law. This is what we see in verses 14 and 15. Things are going to be hard, we’re going to experience wickedness working against us and working against the Lord, but the Lord will not reject His people. He’ll never forsake His inheritance. I will never leave you nor forsake you. And that is a promise that we cling to in the wickedness and the evil. Is He’s got me, He’s got me. And then we also find relief that the wickedness, the wicked do not have the final word. It says in verse 15, judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and this is looking forward to the future, so the new heavens and the new earth, where Jesus is making all things new. So when we ask the question, How long, Lord, this is the answer, the new heavens and the new earth, when everything is made right. Another question that we ask ourselves is where do we go when we experience trouble, when it seems like the wicked are winning, and that’s where the psalmist goes next in his questions. In verse 16, asks, Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for me against evil doers? And I love this. He describes these experiences and emotions that he’s feeling that lead to these questions. Verse 17, he says, ‘I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death. So, in the face of wickedness, we could despair. That’s what’s happening here. I could despair. Our minds can go to thinking that God can’t or won’t do something that maybe He’s not able. Do you hear me, God? Do you hear me? In verse 18, He says, ‘My foot is slipping in the face of wickedness. We can doubt, we could be tempted to respond to evil with more evil. We could be tempted to think, like, well, they got away with it, so maybe I can get away with it. And our foot slips off of our firm foundation. We’re being moved, we’re being shaken by our circumstances, and it’s hard. I get it. When wickedness is winning, it is so easy to say, like, I just want to do the same thing, I just want to get vengeance, I just want to make sure they know they’re wrong and that I am right. Does he take notice? And then verse 19, when anxiety was great within me, so in the face of wickedness, our thoughts can be overwhelming, causing anxious feelings, anxious thoughts, causing us to fear, and unable to rest. So, my question for you now is, Where is that temptation? Is it despair? Is it doubt? Is it anxiety? Is it all of them? Thankfully, the psalmist gives us the answer to these questions, no matter where you are. Verse 17, when we’re talking about despair, it says the Lord gives help. Verse 18, when you’re talking about doubt, God’s unfailing love supports you, and when you’re talking about anxiety, verse 19, God’s comfort brings you joy, we go to the one who provides all of this, where all the promises of God are yes and amen. That’s in the personal work of Jesus Christ. That is where we go. The psalmist here had all sorts of small s saviors, small s saviors, prophets, priests, kings, judges, that for a time, might bring some comfort, for a time might bring some help, might bring some support, but just as likely they would end up on the wicked side of things. Just go through First and Second Kings, First and Second Chronicles, and you start to see how quickly these kings can go astray, right? So, there’s some small ass saviors that could bring some of this for a little while, but none of them could bring a completely satisfying and ultimate help, support, comfort, and joy, other than the capital S Savior, Jesus. That’s what He came to do, because He did that through His death, because He defeated evil, He defeated wickedness and sin, triumphing over them by the cross, and not only does he do that, but he sustains us now, and so what do we have to do? We have to turn our eyes back to him. We have to turn our eyes back to Jesus. Some of our women were at the Gospel Coalition women’s conference last week, and the theme was “Turn Your Eyes: Seen the Savior in the Book of Psalms, and that’s what we’re doing this morning, and our eyes have to go to Jesus and say, “This is what you have done for me. This is why I can be completely confident, and this is one of my favorite songs. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. We’ve been singing it as a family this week after Jackie got back from the conference, and listen to these words: “Oh, soul, are you weary and troubled? Are you experiencing wickedness and evil? Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth, evil, wickedness, troubles, hardships will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace, what could do that? Only Jesus can do that, can bring us that comfort and that joy, which leads us to the last section here, the work of God, starting in verse 20 and. Can a corrupt throne be allied with you? A throne that brings on misery by its decrees. The wicked abandon together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. But the Lord has become my fortress and my God, the rock in whom I take refuge. He will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness. So here we are, the work of God. The psalmist comes back one more time to the wicked. The wicked cannot be aligned with God. The wicked are working against the Lord and working against the righteous. So now, at this moment, as we’re living our lives right now, two things are happening. The wicked continue to do wicked things and evil things, and they are continuing to dig that pit for themselves, and then the righteous, those who are in Christ Jesus, are taking comfort in God, their rock, their fortress, and their refuge. As the psalmist sees the Lord’s people being oppressed here and condemned to death, we look back to the cross 2008 years ago, when the wicked banded together against an innocent one. That’s what they did. The wicked banded together to say this man needs to die, the only one who is truly righteous, the Lord Jesus Christ. And they persecuted him, and they crushed him, condemning him to death. There’s something we have to come to terms with, all of us, this morning, and that is the wickedness is not just out there. The wickedness is in here. The wickedness is in here too. Every one of us knows what we deserve. If you recorded the last week of your life, your heart, your mind, your speech, your actions, would you want it played here for everybody to hear? I wouldn’t. I didn’t want that the other day when that guy was going after my family. We all deserve God’s judgment. We’ve rebelled against the Creator, who has given us our eyes and our ears, and we’ve asked Him, “Do you see? Do you take notice? We all deserve that. And yet, through Jesus Christ, listen to what the psalmist says in Psalm 103 He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities when we are found in Christ Jesus. Because of this, the Lord is not a god we run from, but a god we run, we run to as our refuge and our fortress for the help and the support and the comfort and the joy that we’re looking for. He is the rock, he does not move, he does not change, he remains the same regardless of the wickedness going on around us. Verse 23 goes back to what I said before, it’s a nice bookend from where we started. Lord, avenge, pay back. Well, what’s he going to do? He will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness, the Lord our God will destroy them. The same words used in verses one and two. He is going to do this. No one is going to get away with anything, but at this time, on this side of the cross, those sins, that wickedness, that evil is either paid for on the cross by Jesus Christ, or it will be paid for at the final judgment, because for those who are in Christ Jesus, we ask, How long, Lord, how long? But if you have not asked that question, do not presume upon God’s grace, because you may be hardening your heart, and you may be digging a pit deeper and deeper, because Jesus will come again. He came, capital S Savior. When he comes again, we see this in Acts 1731 It says, “For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead. Well, there’s only been one man raised from the dead like this, and He is appointed at one time to bring justice to the earth, so He will come again. Will you be digging a pit, or will you be running to Him for His as a refuge? So Christ will come and judge you for your sins, past, present, and future paying you back what you deserve, or He will welcome you into His kingdom, because He paid for your sins, past, present, and future, and gave you what you don’t deserve, His grace, His forgiveness, and reconciliation. So, the big idea this morning from Psalm 94 is this: the judge will make all things right, so take refuge in Him and be comforted. The judge will make all things right, so take refuge in Him and be comforted. What does this look like for a few different groups in here? Just want to say a couple things. One, if you were here this morning. In your questioning Christianity, seeking who is Jesus, have some questions trying to navigate the difficult life that we find ourselves living. We’re so happy that you’re here this morning. We have a lot of the same questions that you do, and so this morning my plea for you is simply to fear the Lord. Fear the Lord. He sees all, he knows all, but he has made a way for you to be forgiven through his son, so that you can experience true freedom, true rest, true comfort, and joy, and help and support when the wickedness and evil is going on around us, and he gives us the strength by his spirit to pursue that right life, right living on the right line that has been drawn in the sand, so we know what is good and what is evil, and he helps us to walk with him. So my plea is to fear the Lord today, for my brothers and sisters in Christ, take refuge in the Lord, and let Him avenge, let Him pay back. You’re like, well, what is that? What does that look like? I told Jackie this when I wasn’t with them, when this happened at the playground, and I told her, in God’s providence, in His grace, what sermon was I working on when all of this happened, because I told her all the same things happened to my body, but my mind and heart did not go to the place it would have gone a week ago, simply because I was in this, and it’s going through my mind is like, how could I respond the way I want to respond, and I didn’t know that in the moment, but stepping back now, I’m like, how in the world did I hold it together? It’s simply by God’s grace to say, Lord, you avenge. It’s not for me to do it’s not for me to take vengeance. And when we look at scripture, I’ve got one example from scripture and one from more recent history, but I think we need to hear these to truly understand what does this look like, to not avenge, but to let the Lord do it. Many of you are doing the two-year Bible reading with us, that, and we just finished up First Samuel, and so you’re studying the life of David, and King Saul is pursuing David unjustly. He is jealous, he doesn’t want David to have the throne, and so he is pursuing him. How many times David have a chance to take Saul’s life twice, and how many people were encouraging him to do that, to take Saul’s life. Why seek vengeance, get revenge, take the throne? And what did David do both times? He left a warning for Saul. He said, I just took some stuff from you, just cut off the corner of your robe, but I just want you to know I’m here, but I’m not going to take your life, that’s the Lord’s to do. The Lord will avenge, the Lord will take your kingdom from you, the Lord will give the kingdom to me. He trusted the Lord to do what God said He would do. Vengeance is the Lords, and then Corrie 10 Boom, one of my favorites, imprisoned in a concentration camp for hiding Jews in her home with her family from the Nazis in World War Two, and she constantly spoke of forgiveness every time she would see a guard, there was this moment of what I described, that anger inside, why is this happening to us, but at the same time she was able to pray the prayer, Lord, forgive them, which is exactly what Jesus did on the cross, forgive them, because they don’t know what they’re doing. How many of these guards knew what they were doing in this moment, and she wanted them to experience the grace of Jesus Christ. So, Lord, if they go to their grave unrepentant, judge them, and he will justly, but Lord, I want them to experience the grace that I’ve experienced, because I deserve exactly what they deserve: eternal separation from you. But instead of seeking out that vengeance, she gave it to the Lord. But this is important for us. We need to pray prayers, not just of judgment and justice, we need to pray prayers of forgiveness and pleading for the lives of those who have done evil and wickedness in our life or to others. And finally, church, we need to be comforted and comfort each other. We help others, not seek revenge. We help others support others when somebody sins against them, when they experience evil and wickedness, and we pray prayers like Psalm 94 So I want to read this from Second Corinthians one three through four. Ground ourselves in the character of God, so that we can help each other. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. So we remind each other that the Lord sees all our sins and the wickedness and evil of others. It will not go on forever, and we pray for the wicked that they would come to believe in Jesus Christ, have their sins for. Given like ours have, because it has been paid if they repent and stop digging those pits, and they too can walk in comfort and joy that we are walking in, because the judge of all the earth will do what is right. So take refuge in Him and be comforted.
Let’s pray, God of all comfort, we thank you for your grace. We thank you for your love for us, the forgiveness that we have received through your Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross and in the empty tomb. We thank you, Lord, that as we enter into this next week, if there’s any evil or wickedness that we experience, Lord, I pray that you would remind us to come to you first, that we would come and pray, we would come and plead with you, and that you would be the help and the support and the comfort and joy that we need in that moment as we rest in the finished work of Christ, and rest that you will pay back the evil you will give it what it deserves, and let us trust you with that. We thank you, Lord. We love you, and we pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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PODCASTThe Lord’s Reign

June 14, 12026 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper discusses the theme of God’s sovereignty as expressed in Psalm 93, emphasizing that God reigns eternally and brings stability and security. He highlights the chaos in the world, from global conflicts to personal struggles, and contrasts it with God’s unchanging rule. Cooper outlines three truths about God’s reign: His eternal reign, His mighty reign, and His holy reign. He encourages believers to interpret their circumstances through the lens of God’s unchanging character and to live in submission to His rule, finding peace and stability in His sovereignty.

Good morning, church. You can go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Psalm 93 Psalm 93 as you are flipping there, perhaps at some point in your life you have asked the question, undoubtedly in a moment of exasperation, Who is in charge here? That is more accusation than question. When it comes out, of course, it’s uttered when things aren’t going as they should, and there’s this sense that well, somebody’s responsible for this mess, and I would like to talk to them, you’re gonna make your complaint, you know. So you, you’re asked for the supervisor, they come, and then they’re supposed to set it right. You get your apps for free, or something like that. Like, I want to know it’s taken care of. Now, we could be forgiven, I think, if we have occasionally felt like asking this of the world at large, is anyone in charge? Is anyone responsible for what’s going on? When I read that the invasion of Ukraine, for example, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is now been going on longer than World War One. We got war in Iran, Ethiopia, elsewhere, from Ebola to the new world screw worm, from inflation to immigration unrest in Northern Ireland. There’s a lot going on, and that’s just the news headlines, of course. That’s not anything to do with your life personally. What could be happening there? Maybe you just went through their third reorg in as many years, or you got a kid struggling academically, mentally, relationally, spiritually, or a loved one dementing, deteriorating in other ways. We are often apt to wonder if anyone’s in charge in the midst of so much instability and insecurity, and it breeds anxiety in us, and we have been called the anxious generation, breeds anxiety and anger as well. This world so often proves chaotic, dangerous, overwhelming, but someone is in charge. That’s the good news. That’s the good news of Psalm 93 We are beginning a new series today, as has been mentioned. We’re going to look at a set of eight psalms that are linked together by a common theme, the kingship of God. The Lord reigns, He reigns above all pretenders to His throne, above all powers and potentates and princes above, as our series has it, all would be gods, and the opening psalm of this little section of the psalter declares it from the start, declares it, and then describes it, and in the process of describing his reign answers our question, just who is in charge brings peace in the midst of very real storms. We’re gonna see three truths about God’s rule and reign as we go through the psalm together. So let’s start with verses one and two, Psalm 93 verses one and two, as we look at God’s eternal reign, His eternal reign, Psalm 93 one and two. The Lord reigns. He is robed in majesty. The Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength. Indeed, the world is established firm and secure. Your throne was established long ago. You are from all eternity. So our psalm opens with the words The Lord reigns. This really is the headline for all of Psalms 93 to 100 Like, headline is about right. You can almost picture the paper boy on the street corner going extra, extra, you know, read all about it. The headline is meant to catch your attention, especially because it’s not felt reality. That’s what a headline is meant to do, though. Right? Grab your attention, go. I want to read the rest of the article, and in this case, it’s because how can this be true? And it goes on to explain it, as we’ll see now. This phrase, the Lord reigns, is repeated verbatim in Psalm 9697 99 and we’re going to see it a bunch, and the idea is present in all of them. God is king, and it reads almost like a proclamation. It needs exclamation points after it. The Lord reigns. We see this elsewhere, this sense of announcing the news of God’s. In Isaiah 52 verse seven, the prophet says, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation. You’re going, “Wow, this sounds awesome. What is our salvation? What’s the good news that’s going to give me peace in this moment? And it’s this who say to Zion, your God reigns.
That’s the good news. Your God reigns. God is on the throne always. Who’s in charge here? The Lord is, without question. It is a fixed state of reality. It has always been true, and it always will be true. There is not one maverick molecule in all of God’s universe. He is never surprised by what is happening, even though we so often are, and whether it was the pandemic that caught us all off guard worldwide or the detour that you weren’t expecting to take when you tried to go down West Avenue this past week, like he’s not surprised by any of it. He knows what’s happening where you are, and he’s using them for his good purposes. And what sort of king is he? Well, Psalmist tells us that he is robed in majesty. Now, clothing is important. It’s important in scripture, but it’s important in our lives as well, because clothing tells us who a person is, what he or she does, like a uniform, almost. You pull up in front of a fancy restaurant, or whatnot, you hand the keys of your car to the guy in the red jacket, not just as somebody standing there, that would be a bad idea, right? They say you kind of know, okay, he’s the valet that helps. Or we had a group of women who were down in Indianapolis these past few days for the Gospel Coalition Women’s Conference, and they always have lots of people at these conferences very helpfully fitted out in T-shirts that say, like, I know what I’m doing, you come and ask me a question, if you got a question, so you know. Okay, that’s the person I talked to. So clothing tells us who a person is, and God is clothed in royal robes, because He is king and intends to reign as king. He’s not a weak king, either. He’s not an impotent king, he’s not a king in exile. No, he is a king on the throne who is armed with strength, girded with strength, like he is ready for action. He has the power that he needs to rule, and so when God shows up on the scene, he is dressed as the commander in chief of the universe. You might picture that scene just moments before Israel enters the promised land, right before Jericho’s walls fall down, all of that, and Joshua has a vision of the angel of the Lord, like God embodied the commander of the Lord’s army, like that’s what he looked, he got a sword in his hand, that’s how God looks when He comes to act as a result. Then the world, and by world, here we’re not talking about the landmarks, it’s not the stones and the plants and things like we’re talking about the people. The world’s population is established, it is firm and secure. In other words, it can’t be moved. There’s a certain solidity to human affairs, which is why nothing seems to change much under the sun. No one can upset the order, but notice that the world is established because God’s throne was established from eternity past, like he set up his throne from before the beginning. He is eternally the king. That’s significant. There’s an implicit conclusion to be drawn here. The stability of the Lord’s throne, the fact that he is always the one reigning, that’s what provides stability to the world. You can see it in the passive tense that’s used. The world is established, like someone else is establishing it. It can’t establish itself. The Lord holds it up and holds it in place. You ever drive along, you know, rocky cliffs or something like that, and sometimes they’ve got those wire cages over the rocky cliffs, so you don’t get fallen rocks hitting your car or something like that. That’s like those cages are holding the chaos in place. If you’re to pull them off, the whole thing would fall to pieces. That’s the Lord with this world, He’s holding the chaos in place, so it doesn’t fall to pieces. We read in Hebrews one that the king sustains all things by his powerful word, and if he were to stop sustaining them, it would be absolute chaos. So his eternal reign brings stability, his eternal. Rang brings stability. He keeps the chaos at bay. All that happens happens according to his will and for his good purposes.
Except that I already said that it doesn’t feel that way most of the time. So, what do we do about that? We’ll get to the chaos in a moment, I promise you. But what do we do about that? I think there’s an application point here. It’s just that we follow the psalmist, do what the psalmist did here. What I mean by that is this: when trouble comes, start with theology, not the trouble, start with theology, not trouble, like the psalmist takes care to make sure that he’s going to interpret his circumstances in light of God’s unchanging character, instead of backwards, because so often we are tempted to interpret God in light of our fluctuating circumstances, but no, God is who He always is, and He’s always reigning. So, the psalmist, again, the psalmist is going to talk about chaos in the next section, but He reorients His heart first. It’s like He puts His feet down on solid foundational truth, the Lord really does reign, that is true, regardless of my or your feelings or impressions, and he has proven it time and time again. He has proven it supremely, of course, in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, because that is the triumph of good, of order, of stability over all the powers of darkness and chaos, so like the psalmist, we need to preach this truth to ourselves regularly, like maybe you’re that one in the reorg, you’re out of a job right in that moment when you get hit with unexpected medical bills, guess what, even then he is still King John Calvin, the Swiss reformer, back in the 16th century, had this to say about this psalm, and this idea, he says, our not investing God with the power which belongs to him, as we ought to do, and thus despoiling him of his authority is the source of that fear and trembling, which we very often experience. The whole reason we’re all anxious all the time is because we forget who God is. We strip him the authority that is his, and so Calvin goes on to say, I love this: were we well persuaded of his invincible power that would be to us an invincible support against all the assaults of temptation, the temptation to doubt, to anxiety. That’s it exactly. We fear and tremble. Understandably, there are all sorts of things in the world that should make us afraid and trembling, but we fear and tremble, because we doubt his reign, and when we remember, it brings us stability, and see him there on his throne, robed in majesty, girded with strength, strong to save and breathe rest the same God who toppled Jericho’s walls, who plucked Daniel out of the lion’s den, who created and sustains all things by his powerful word, who cast sickness and darkness out with a word, with a touch, when he walked among us, sometimes even with the faintest feel of the fringe of his robe, like that God, that same God has got you. His eternal reign brings stability. Second, then let’s talk about His mighty ring, verses three and four. The seas have lifted up, Lord, the seas have lifted up their voice, the seas have lifted up their pounding waves, mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea. The Lord on high is mighty. I love this, because it’s the reminder that we need so often that the Bible won’t lie to you. The Bible is not trying to fool you, it doesn’t sugarcoat or whitewash the harsh reality of life in a world in rebellion against God’s good and rightful rule, and so it tells us this there in verse three, in this it’s staircase parallelism, if you want the cool name for it, right? Staircase, like we’re going up in intensity, the seas have lifted up, they’ve lifted up their voice, they’ve lifted up their pounding waves. We use this same idea, we’re trying to dramatically capture the intensifying threat. So, maybe you’ve walked into a meeting before, and somebody said that we have a problem, a big problem, a problem. That threatens to derail the whole project, that’s that same staircase parallelism, that’s what we’re talking about here, and the imagery helps us feel exactly the unrest that this causes.
Like, put yourself in the scene for a moment, maybe you experienced this even as a child. I know I did many times, because I loved playing in the waves, and so you’re there at the beach, you know, it’s summer vacation, you’re at the ocean or something, you got having fun playing in the ocean waves, but you know, the second day, third day, whatever, they’re a little bigger than they were the past couple days, and so that first one hits you and knocks you down, and it’s kind of fun, you know, but then before you can get up, the second one hits you, and so you’re stuck underwater, and by the time the third one hits, like you’re out of breath, and you’re so disoriented that it smacks your head into the sand, like that’s really different experience, you’re hoping somebody sees you, Mom or Dad, come and just put you down, so you can breathe again. That’s how life feels. It feels like no one’s in charge, because the hits just keep on coming. We’re waiting for Dad to pick us up, still can’t catch our breath now. These ocean currents, these pounding waves, literally, the word there is crushing. We’ll see it again in the next psalm, but these crushing waves, they’re a symbol of the world’s unrest. In Hebrew thought, the sea is like the gateway to the abyss. This is where chaos comes from. It’s such a powerful image to the Hebrews that they would even use it of invading nations, like if Assyria was coming, Isaiah 87 you can see this, Assyria is coming, it says the Euphrates is coming against you, like there’s a river coming at you, because water is so scary, it’s everything that overwhelms us. Even that word has it in it, right? Overwhelm. We’ve used it so often, figuratively, we forget the literal meaning, which means your head’s underwater at the time. Support me in the whelming flood. We sometimes sing, so that’s the chaos, that’s the unrest. How many of you have been sitting here wondering this whole time, how do we square verse three with verses one and two? It doesn’t make any sense at all. The Lord reigns, this world is established, it’s firm, it’s secure. You’re drowning. Well, which one is it? Revelation doesn’t match reality here. The answer to the question is in verse four. You see, we take the staircase up to peak freak out, but then we get a staircase down in the next verse to peace, because mightier than the thunder of the great waters, literally the voice of the waters, the same word “voice” that we saw in the previous verse. Mightier than the breakers crashing over you, the Lord on high is mighty, and this is the God who brought order out of chaos, the spirit of the Lord hovered above the primordial waters in creation. This is the God who split the Red Sea, so Israel could walk through on dry land. Oh, you’re worried about drowning? Don’t worry, I got that for you. We’ll just make walls out of water, no big deal. Who, a little bit later in the next generation stopped the Jordan River from flowing, so that again they could walk on dry land as they crossed into the Promised Land. This is the Lord who, when He walked among us, fell asleep in the middle of a storm. You know why Jesus fell asleep in the middle of the storm on the boat, because He was not confused about who’s on the throne. This storm doesn’t threaten me. I know who’s raining. He’s snoring. The disciples are freaking out. They got verse three going. They forgot verses one and two. They wake Jesus up, and what does Jesus say? Hush, be still, and all the storms still, so what’s true literally of the waters and all those stories I just told is true of every figurative flood and storm in your life as well. God is bigger, He is stronger, and He is more than enough. Even when we drown in the flood, which will happen one day, right? Something’s going to get us in the end. We know that we’re going to die, but even when we drown in the flood, He’s got us, because He already defeated the final storm we face, death and judgment. And so His mighty reign brings security, His. Mighty rain brings security.
You are secure in His mighty hands, no matter the crushing breakers. So, what do we do with that truth? How do we put it into practice? Cling to it like a life preserver when your ship sinks, will you let the knowledge of His mighty reign put your circumstances in perspective? And can I say that that’s corporate application for us, like this is what we do for each other as a church, and why community is so important, especially in the midst of storms. We often quote Ephesians four here as a church. It talks about the fact that we speak the truth in love to one another, and for some reason we’ve got it in our heads that when Paul says speak the truth in love, he means when you have to rebuke somebody, just try to be nice about it. That is not what that verse means. That is true, by the way. That’s just Galatians six. Okay, Ephesians four: speak the truth in love. What is the truth that we’re speaking, so that we’re built up in Christ? It’s Ephesians one to three. It’s the gospel of Christ Jesus. We are by nature deserving of wrath, but because of His great love for us, God made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead in transgressions. It is by grace that we have been saved. We speak that truth to each other, gospel truth. It’s the reminder that we need to keep our head above water. Again, firm feet firmly planted on the foundation of truth, illustration for those my age and older, you all see Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves, Kevin Costner, one, there’s that great scene when he first meets Little John, who’s a big dude, meets Little John, and they fight, you know, kind of over the river and whatnot, and eventually Little John falls in, and he is freaking out because he can’t swim, and he’s about to drown, and so Kevin Costner’s got him Robin Hood, and he’s like, “Do you yield, kind of thing? and he’s like, “Yes, yes, yes, just help me, and all that Robin Hood does is say, “Put your feet down, because he’s standing, he’s in three feet of water, he’s about to drown in three feet of water, he’s like, “Whoa, I’m fine. Like, that’s what we do when we speak the truth and love to one another. We say, put your feet down, put your feet down, and breathe. Get your head above water. You got a financial struggle going on right now. Guess what? Your God owns the cattle on 1000 hills. He’s got enough to provide for you, and better still, He set you in church. He set you in a community of people. Like, at one point, the disciples were worried about findings. What happens if we lose everything because we’re following you? And Jesus says, yeah, yeah, that’s that’s likely. You’re probably gonna happen, actually. But here’s the thing: you lose your house, you get 100 houses, not just in the life to come, but in this life. Why? What house? Your houses, your houses. You’re the 100 houses for the people in need in those moments, of course. God provides through his people. He provides. I mean, the God who gave us Jesus, how will we not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? Romans 832 You facing physical struggle right now, sickness, maybe even a sickness that will end in death. The king said, I’m the resurrection and the life. That’s solid truth. Death is not the way life is supposed to be. It is hard when you lose someone you love, that is a wound you carry with you for the rest of your life. It’s real. It’s a real storm. But if I could quote somebody, it’s one short sleep, and then we wake eternally. If we are in Christ, and we see our loved ones again, is there a sin you can’t overcome? Is that your struggle? Well, God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. We might become like Jesus, our Savior, conformed to His image. The one who saves us promises to sanctify us, to make us like Jesus. He’s faithful, and He will do it. He will sanctify you. That actually takes us to our third point.
Then, let’s talk about His holy reign, as long as we’re talking about sanctification. The last verse of Psalm 93 verse five: Your statutes, Lord, stand firm. Holiness adorns your house for endless days. At first glance, this doesn’t seem to fit the rest. To the psalm, it’s kind of a weird end to it, but a second glance will show us that it is the perfect punctuation mark to what has gone before. The word statutes here, laws, decrees, testimonies, all good translations, it’s a word that’s used throughout Psalm 119 which talks about the glory of God’s word, and so it’s what God says about himself, what he says about the world, what he says about us, that’s statutes, and then his statutes stand firm, literally are trustworthy, this really important word, anytime you talk about the faithfulness of God, it’s the same idea, the same root word that’s there, where to get our word amen from it. God is faithful to all that He says, faithfully keeps every promise He makes. So, what God is doing here in Psalm 93 verse five, is he’s vouching for the words of scripture. If I can misquote the FDIC, the Bible is backed by the full faith and credit of Almighty, eternal God, which is not bad, even better than being backed by the full credit of the US. But what does God’s law have to do with His sovereignty over creation? Well, the law shows us, tells us explicitly God’s character, His nature, and it’s His character, His nature that underlies and establishes the moral and physical order of creation. This is why God points to nature in Job. So, you haven’t read the book of Job. What happens? Job, he goes through some storms, about as intense a storm as you could possibly imagine, a series of them, and he’s got questions for God, who’s in charge here, is kind of his question, like this doesn’t make sense. I didn’t sin, my kids didn’t sin, they’re dead, I’m suffering. How come all these sinners are doing just fine? And the Lord answers him out of the whirlwind, we’re kind of expecting him to, you know, actually explain what happened, like Satan and I, we had this bet going, and he doesn’t, instead he just takes Job on a tour of creation, it’s like a nature documentary, why, and not only that, why does Job go awesome? Thank you. I got what I needed, because that tour of nature shows the moral order of the universe. It’s not perfect, because we’re in a broken world, of course, but there is order in creation, the same order that is in the universe as a whole. Christopher Asch, in his commentary on Psalms, says it like this: the stability of the world and the trustworthiness of the scriptures are two sides of the same coin, because the same faithful God stands behind both. The sun rises in the east each morning, spring follows winter inevitably. Why? Because God is who He always is. That’s why. That’s the only reason that it keeps happening. He orders the world. The whole reason science is possible is because God made the world. So, if that orders the world, though, that should order our lives too. That’s why the psalmist homes in God’s home, at the end there, like God’s house, the temple, of course, is what we’re talking about, because the temple is the place where God’s rule should be acknowledged like this is the place where we say yes, exactly, God is king. So we should see a world rightly ordered in the temple, not always, though. I mean, you know that you go to church, you know this isn’t always the case. We are in a broken world, and even God’s people are still infected with the virus of sin, and so we are being remade. We are not without sin yet. We are not glorified yet. In fact, if this psalm was written after the exile, which is most likely, then that means God’s house had already been knocked down, like Nebuchadnezzar took care of that, razed it to the ground. Temple was destroyed as punishment because the people in the temple, and going to the temple to worship, weren’t holy. And so it leaves us wanting more as we read this, even as we read this verse, he.
Here in its context, if we were like fifth century Jews or something, would leave us wanting more. It points us to the one who said, I’m greater than the temple, Jesus, who deals with that sin and who makes us holy. And, of course, through Jesus, it points us to the church, God’s people being conformed to God’s character bit by bit, because we are now the temple of God, First Corinthians 316 and 17. Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple, that God’s spirit dwells in your midst. If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person, for God’s temple is sacred, holy, and you together are that temple. His temple is a holy, which means holiness should adorn that temple. The holiness that should adorn his house should adorn those in his household. It should mark his people, and so his holy reign, his holy reign brings sanctity. His holy reign brings sanctity, changed lives, a transformed people living out their transformation in increasing measure every day. If we are God’s people, if we are the house of God, we must be a people committed to holiness. And this is why we gather. This is why you’re here now, so we all can sit under the authority of God’s word, because God’s word is the transforming agent, the power for our change. That’s why we gather in smaller groups, community groups, to talk about the sermons. We can say, okay, how should this be changing me personally, not just in general ways, or why we get together in journey groups to speak the truth in love to one another. We fight sin with the gospel. That’s why we have informal conversations as His people to rebuke, to encourage. It’s why we disciple, we invest in the next generation, or just in the people around us. We cannot pretend that He is our King if we’re not living in submission to His rule. So I ask you a question now that we often ask ourselves in our journey groups, is there any area of your life where you are a hearer of the word but not a doer of it, where you are not in submission to what you know His word says is true. If so, God addressed that, because a speaking God looks for and expects a listening people, and to listen in scripture is to obey. Jesus himself taught how important this is. Interestingly, he even used the image of a flood that’s coming otherwise. If you grew up in church, you’ve heard this parable before, of course, about a house and where exactly you should build it. He says this at the end of the parable in Matthew seven, but everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. Problem with sand, of course, no solid foundation to it. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. We don’t want that for ourselves, and so we’re going to build our houses, build our lives on the solid foundation of the truth of who God is. An eternal God brings stability, a mighty God brings security, a holy God brings sanctity that leads us to our big idea. Now, you got the big idea already, because I told you the big idea the whole series, but there’s a response that’s built into it, of course. The big idea, the Lord reigns, the Lord reigns. So take heart and take care. The Lord reigns. So take heart and take care. Take heart. Take courage in the knowledge that God reigns over the rains. He reigns over the storms. He also holds the reins. I could just keep going if you want, but I won’t. That’s fine. God reigns, and his character is more important than your circumstances, like the truth of who he is is more important than your experience. So take courage in that, take heart, but take care, take care to live in submission to King, to God, this good, glorious, great, and gracious, thank God, gracious, and you are here and in Christ, like if you have submitted yourself to the rule of God by turning from your sin and trusting in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Scripture tells us you are a new creation in Christ. The old has gone, the new has come, and we’re a preview of what’s coming cosmically, because, like the new creation that you are, the new creation that God is bringing, the new heavens and the new earth of Revelation 21 and 22 it will be in line with God’s order, so we read in Revelation 21 we get the description of the new heavens and the new earth, and it says that basically there’s no more chaos, there’s no more sin, no more suffering, there’s no more sickness, there’s no more death, no more tears as a result, and on that last day, then we will sing with joy at the wedding supper of the lamb and his bride, the church. Verse that Erica already read it for us. What will we sing? What’s the song we will sing together? Hallelujah, for the Lord God Almighty reigns by the blood of the lamb. His kingdom comes in fullness at last, the kingdom that Jesus announced at the start of his ministry. Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. It’s the kingdom that Jesus proved when he stilled the storm, the throne of which kingdom Jesus ascended at the cross of Christ, crowned with the crown of thorns, but that’s his coronation. He’s robed, even in that moment they offer him mock worship, the Roman soldier, but this is his coronation ceremony. When he’s lifted up on the cross, he is lifted up on to the throne, and there he drowned in the ocean of God’s wrath, his righteous anger at our sin to still that storm forever for those who would put their trust in him. So, what’s happening in the meantime? First Corinthians 1524 and 26 Then the end will come when he hands over, when Jesus hands over the kingdom of God to the Father, after He has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. Jesus reigns. He is on the throne, even now there are parts of the world still in rebellion against Him, and he is putting down those rebellions one at a time. So, why wouldn’t we submit to a king like this, who loved us, who adopted us, who reigns with wisdom and goodness and power, and even in those moments where it feels like he’s not reigning, we have the reminder that he is waiting, he is tarrying, so that people have time still to repent and submit to his rule, so they can enter that kingdom eternally. We see the goodness of our Savior, I mean, even in the Declaration we read back in Isaiah, where we started here, right? How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, and the good news that was proclaimed was, ‘Your God reigns. That’s Isaiah 52 seven. Few verses later, Isaiah 53 A lot of you know this. Here’s your king, who is reigning, surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering. We considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted, but he was pierced for our transgressions, and he was crushed for our iniquities, and the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed, and because of that one day in the new heavens and the new earth, Revelation 21 verse one, the sea will be no more. That’s the good news. Now, that doesn’t mean there’s no sailing like days at the ocean, that’s not it at all. We’re talking about the chaos, we’re talking about the abyss. There’ll be no more pounding waves, no more rushing torrents, no more drowning floods. Take heart, He’s overcome the world. The Lord reigns. So take heart and take care. Let’s pray. Hallelujah! We praise you, Lord, because you, Lord God Almighty, reign.
You are on the throne, and we would have no one else on the throne, because we see who you are, who you always are, who you have been from eternity past, your wisdom, your goodness, your power, your holiness, your love. Lord, we pray, then that you would reign, that you would bring your coming kingdom at the proper time, and that in the meantime, Lord, that we would submit to your rule. May our love of our King be written on our lives as a declaration to those around us that you reign and that you are a good king, we pray this for your name’s sake, Amen.

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Costly Love June 7, 2026 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper discusses the theme of costly love in Philemon 17-25, emphasizing that love always costs something, especially in a broken world. He cites examples from literature and movies in which characters sacrifice for love, drawing parallels to the Christian call to forgive and love others. Cooper highlights Paul’s request to Philemon to welcome Onesimus, a runaway slave who has become a Christian, and to charge any debts to Paul’s account. He stresses the importance of forgiveness, generosity, and hospitality, urging believers to go above and beyond in love, as Christ has done for them.

Well, good morning, church. You want to go ahead, grab your Bibles, you can open up to Philemon. We will wrap up this short book this morning. We’ll be in Philemon 17 to 25 Philemon 17 to 25 As you’re turning there, there’s a familiar but really powerful trope in movies, literature, and the like, where someone is willing to bear a substantial cost. If I can quote from Philemon, to bear that substantial cost on the basis of love, because they’re being motivated by love of different sorts. So, just some examples, you’ll know some of them, at least. I hope mr. Darcy, for example, lays out an enormous sum of money in order to protect the family of the woman he loves from social ruin, so he is driven by romantic love in that case, or switching continents, Jean Valjean risks his freedom to save Marius because he wants what’s best for his adopted daughter, so he’s driven by familial love. One of my favorite characters from literature, Atticus Finch, he endures rejection, social stigma, isolation in order to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who’s accused falsely of attacking a woman, and so he puts his whole family at very real risk in the process as well. He’s driven by a higher love, almost, because it is a love of justice, a love of humanity as humanity, maybe most powerfully, of course, Sydney Carton gives his life, changes places with Charles Darnay, counts the total cost in order to spare his friend, and for the sake of the woman that he loves as well. The point in all of these, we could multiply examples easily, is that love costs, love always costs, and it costs a lot, especially in a broken world filled with broken people, and that’s all those stories I just shared. Two of them, at least, are based on unjust systems, some driven by sexual sin, others by racism. All of this costs, and costs greatly. Someone has to pay the costs, and Paul’s point to Philemon and to us in this letter is that, as Christians, we can pay that cost. We can pay it because Christ paid it for us already, paid the cost for us already, because He took the hit for us should make us willing to take the hit for others, even those who don’t deserve it, because I got news for you, you and I didn’t deserve it either. And he still took the hit for us, plus in dying for us, and then raising us to new life in him, God supplies us with the infinite riches of grace, so that we can go on paying the cost, because you can’t, you know, there’s always an infinite supply, it never runs out, that’s what allows us to keep spending for the sake of others, that’s what we’re going to see in our passage today, we look at three costs that we’re called to pay, and then as we go, of course, we’ll see how the gospel will motivate and sustain us to count those costs, so first cost is the cost of forgiving, the cost of forgiving from verses 17 to 19. I’ll read it for us now. So, if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back, not to mention that you owe me your very self. I love this section because we get the gospel in miniature in it, but what is Paul saying to Philemon about Onesimus? If you weren’t here last couple weeks, you don’t know the story. Paul, the apostle, is sending Onesimus, who’s a runaway slave back to his former master, Philemon. Onesimus has become a Christian. Philemon is a Christian, and so this is a tense moment right here. So, what Paul says in this moment is, look, when it comes to Onesimus, you take the hit, Philemon, you take the hit, you count the cost of love. Now, if you were here last week, this is a nice moment, because we finally get the appeal. You’ll remember last week that Paul was saying things like, I appeal to you on the basis of love. I appeal to you for the sake of Onesimus, who’s my son in the faith.
At this point, and so he keeps saying, I appeal to you, and at a certain point, Philemon is undoubtedly going okay, but what’s the appeal like? What are you asking me to do here? Paul finally answers the question. Welcome him, welcome Onesimus, as you would welcome me. Sounds easy enough, not a huge appeal until we remember the context, because Onesimus is a one. Run away, slave. He is also a thief, it seems. From here, if he owes you anything, I mean, he cost labor, of course, probably stole the fare at the very least, but might have stolen more. So, Philemon is well within his legal rights to execute Onesimus when he comes back, and instead Paul says, ‘Welcome him as you would welcome me, because you see, Philemon, Onesimus is now family, so Paul’s saying God sees no difference between me and Onesimus. What about you, Philemon? Do you see a difference between us, or will you offer the same welcome? Then he says, if Onesimus has done any wrong, if he owes you anything, a good bit of tact here, because he frames it as a hypothetical, if perchance this should happen to be, it’s not a hypothetical, Onesimus very definitely wronged Philemon, again stole from him all the rest, and yet whatever he’s done, Paul says, “Charge it to me. So Paul’s saying, “I’m willing to take the hit, I’m willing to pay what is owed. Now, it’s not unusual for Paul to mention that he’s writing in his own hand. He does it at the end of most of his letters. We saw that in Galatians recently, for example. Usually, that’s just to kind of authenticate the letter to go right, you know, a scribe wrote this, but here I am. Here’s my signature, more or less, but this one is a little bit different. When he says I’m writing this in my own hand, he’s writing it as a promissory note. He’s writing this as an IOU, you know, like here you go, like I’ll write it out, I, Paul, I’ll pay it back. So it’s an IOU, signed, sealed, delivered, would hold up in court if Philemon wanted to sue him. This is every bit as, as real as a parent co-signing on a kid’s first loan that could prove costly, will prove costly to Paul. Paul, who, not famous for being rich, by the way, lived off the generosity of others for the most part, otherwise was a laborer, a leather worker, but of course, if we’re talking debts, Paul points out Philemon should probably remember that he owes Paul his very life. Now, in what sense does Philemon owe Paul his life? Did Paul save him at some point? They’re blood brothers. Now, nothing like that. No, no, no. He is certainly talking about Philemon’s salvation, because Paul invested in Philemon, preached the gospel to him. Philemon now has eternal life. So, how are we quibbling about a few dollars that might be owed in light of the infinite riches of grace that Philemon now possesses. So, Paul clearly expects Philemon to take the hit himself. He’s saying, yeah, okay, whatever is owed, I’ll pay it, but really, you’re not going to do that. I know you wouldn’t do that. You’re going to take the hit yourself, and Philemon is in a position of privilege. After all, this is not a hard cost for him to bear. He can afford it, and he’s got a big enough house that the church is meeting in his home. He’s wealthy enough that he has slaves. Remember, we talked a lot about this last week. I can’t get into it all of it again, but we’re talking about economic slavery, like indentured servitude, but he’s able to have a large force of employees, in other words, and so Paul’s expecting of Philemon what the New Testament expects of the rich on every page, which is that the rich would disadvantage themselves for the sake of the poor, and see that throughout scripture. In fact, I mean, just as a couple of examples, this would be the atmosphere in which Philemon would have been taught about wealth, Ezekiel chapter 18.
We have this little thought experiment the prophet leads us through, and he says, “Suppose there is a righteous man who does what is just and right, and then he paints a picture of the righteous man, couple of different areas, one of them is money, he says. Looks like this. He doesn’t impress anyone, but returns what he took and pledged for a loan. He does not commit robbery, but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked, which is interesting, because it’s kind of saying, look, a righteous man, it’s not just about what you don’t do, you’re not a thief, you’re not robbing people, you’re not embezzling money or cheating on your taxes. It’s also what you do, and so, of course, you’re giving generously and even sacrificially as you have means and opportunity. Or Proverbs 327 says, Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act, and so those to whom it’s due, the poor, but it’s interesting, the word due is actually related to the word for owners, like this is theirs, in other words, if God gives you an abundance of wealth that isn’t yours. In some sense, according to the Bible, it belongs to the disadvantaged, and we are privileged to act as stewards of that wealth in God’s name to get it to those to whom it belongs. I love the way Basil the Great said it, one of the Church Fathers from centuries ago, he says, the bread which you keep belongs to the hungry, the coats in your closet to the naked, the gold you have hidden to the needy. Therefore, as often as you were able to help others and refused, so often did you do them wrong. And Basil practiced what he preached. He actually came from a very rich and aristocratic family himself, he, his brother, another of the Cappadocian fathers served the church, served the poor. His sister, Macrina the younger, formed a community of women. It was a community of equals. He had people coming from the upper stratus of Roman society, and then the very poor all gathered together as equals. And so Paul’s kind of saying, right, this is this is what we do, you got money, this is what this looks like, and already this is convicting enough, but it’s easier when we’re talking about helping the innocent poor, but here again, we’re talking about a thief who stole from you, well, what then doesn’t that get a little bit more complicated? Like, what could motivate us to count the cost, not only of generosity, but of forgiveness as well? The answer, of course, is the gospel. The gospel alone is powerful enough to sustain that sort of self-sacrifice. And in Onesimus’ story, we get the gospel in miniature. As I said, we’re Onesimus. We’re Onesimus. I mean, think about it. We have a Master, capital M, God the Father, and we ran away from him, starting in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve left. We’ve all been running away from our master ever since then to welcome us back into his home cost our master greatly, cost him the blood of his son Jesus, who took the penalty for our running away. He took the hit himself. In other words, so what we owe God, He charged instead to Christ’s account, and Jesus assumed personal responsibility for the debt we owed, and He paid it in full. As you know, if you’ve been in church for any length of time, when He cried out from the cross, ‘It is finished, and those are the words that they would stamp on I O U’s in Greco-Roman society to say it’s been paid, this debt is erased now. As a result of that, we can now stand before our master runaways and thieves that we are, without fear of judgment. Instead, knowing that we will receive welcome, welcomed by God our Father, as if we were His very son, because when Jesus died for us, it’s like He said to His dad, ‘Welcome, Brandon, as you would welcome me. And, of course, God the Father was oh so willing to do so. That’s why He sent His son. So that’s our story, Onesimus’ story, it It’s important to see that’s Philemon’s story too, of course.
I mean, just as Onesimus stands before his master, lowercase m, in this moment, so Philemon one day will stand before his master, the seat of judgment, and so, if he keeps his eyes fixed on his master, who took the hit for us, who counted the cost, he’s going to find himself willing to do so also. And so would we. It would be impossible to be unwilling to do so. That would be the parable of the unmerciful servant that we talked about last week, all over again. He’s just had his $10 billion debt erased, and now he’s going, ‘Whoa, you owe me 10,000 though. Like, no, we couldn’t possibly do that. Instead, we would forgive as Christ forgave us. And how important this is for us to hear and remember, because we find it hard to forgive. Forgiveness is hard, it hurts, it costs. Like Philemon, I am confident that some of you have suffered very real wrong and want that debt paid. You will not forgive until you’ve seen just how much you’ve been forgiven or how much you need to be forgiven. Maybe you’re still uncertain about this whole Christianity thing. You’re still checking it out, and all of that. This is the moment to kind of go, wait, I’m not going to be willing to forgive unless I see how much I’ve wronged my master, how much I’ve wronged God. God, but that changes us when we see it. The world today, I mean, look at social media or something like that. The world today feeds our anger and stokes the fires of our bitterness, but the message of the gospel frees us from all of that and frees us to forgive. Is there someone in your life that you need to forgive. Let the gospel, according to Philemon, motivate you to do so. And if you don’t yet believe, just take a good long look at how you’ve wronged your master and how you’ve wronged others, the forgiveness that is available, and the wonder of that love. See if that won’t change your heart to be able to forgive others too, so that’s the first cost, the cost of forgiving. The second cost we need to count is the cost of refreshing, the cost of refreshing verses 20 and 21 I’ll read for us now. I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ, confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask. So Paul hopes to have some benefit from Philemon, because they’re brothers in Christ. You see that family language showing up there again. I do wish, brother, we’ve seen that from the beginning. So this is all about how we treat one another as the family of God. They’re brothers in Christ, which means the gospel is working in Philemon’s heart and life, and so he should be able to refresh Paul in this moment. Now, not the first time we’ve come across this word, refresh. We saw it back in week one, way back in verse seven, where Philemon’s love gives Paul great joy, because he’s refreshed the church, he’s refreshed the family of God. So Paul’s just saying, look what you’ve been doing, just keep on doing it, do it again here in this spot. Now, what benefit is Paul asking for here? He doesn’t say it, I mean, how exactly is he going to refresh Paul? Well, of course, he said it last section to welcome Onesimus back as a brother in Christ, which we saw last week, forgiving the debt that now has been charged to Paul’s account doesn’t matter, gonna race it anyway. I think there is a little pun here. I will say I didn’t see this in the commentary, so I could be, I could be wrong here. Good news is, if I’m wrong, I don’t think it’s heresy, at least. But he says, here, you know, refresh my heart. And last week we saw back in verse 12, he says, I am sending Onesimus, who is my very heart back to you, so is he actually saying refresh me by refreshing Onesimus, probably because that’s what it would look like, but what I love is that Paul is so confident of Philemon’s obedience.
Now this is not a general obedience, he’s not saying Philemon, I know you’re a pretty stand-up guy and a Christian, so this isn’t just general, like I’m confident of your obedience, I know you’re not going to get drunk, I know you’re going to say your prayers every day. No, he’s talking about the specific obedience of this moment, you could almost say confident of your compliance with my requests here in this moment. Paul’s so confident that Philemon is going to do what he asks. He’s trusting, as I mentioned before, he’s trusting the spirit of God in him, working in him to change him. He’s trusting that the gospel is powerful enough to change his heart. It’s the same confidence, of course, we can have for our brothers and sisters in Christ. All of us are changing a lot slower than we would like, and a lot slower than the people around us would like, but we are being changed, and we can be confident of that change that God is working in us and those around us. When we’re confident of that, when we’re confident that the spirit is working, it makes it easier for us to show forgiveness, to count the cost of love. When you know that God’s going to use that love to transform them even more. And isn’t this why parents go on sacrificing for kids? You talk about costly love, the love of a parent or child is very costly, but it’s because we’re trusting the Lord is hearing all our prayers across the years, that He’s going to bless the time we spend in the Word together as a family, the discipline that we offer our children, formative, corrective, whatever sort, so we’re confident of obedience, confident on change. Paul’s confident of Philemon’s obedience. And then I love that last bit, though, because it’s so challenging. Paul says he’s so confident in the spirit working in Philemon that he’ll know that he’s going to do even more than he’s being asked. Like Philemon is not just going to do the bare minimum, he’s going to go above. Above and beyond, now again, Paul does not spell it out for us, but it is crystal clear what he is talking about. He is asking Philemon to release Onesimus, talking about manumission, emancipation, whatever you want to say, is what we just sang. Thank you, Julie, for giving us, making sure everyone knows where the name of our series comes from, the hymn, O Holy Night, right, chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother, and in his name all oppression shall cease. And Paul’s going, let’s see it, let’s see it right here, right now. Give us a taste of it. So he’s going to release Onesimus, maybe to return to Paul, which Paul had talked about earlier in the letter. Be so useful to have him here to continue serving in Colossi, whatever it may be. Paul knows that if Philemon really understood the gospel, it will produce a generous spirit in him that he will count the cost of loving well. You remember back in verse six when he thanks God for the Philemon’s partnership in the gospel, prays that it would continue to be effective, and we talk about that word partnership, that partnership that springs from faith is a generosity toward the people of God, including the undeserving people of God, that’s what he’s expecting to see here, that that would keep on going. Should it be any different with us, though? Means, shouldn’t we go above and beyond what is expected of us, what’s asked of us, once we understand the gospel? Jesus seems to suggest as much in his sermon on the mount, he asks some penetrating questions. He says, “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors, notorious sinners? In other words, doing that, and if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Jesus, Paul, I think they’re saying it’s easy to be generous towards certain people. It’s easy to be generous toward people we like, people like us, people who can benefit us when we get something in return as a result of loving them.
You expand your network a little bit in your career, or like I can remember as a kid, at one point I was extraordinarily generous toward a younger neighbor, I let him use some of my toys because I wanted to use some of his older brother’s toys, that’s not generosity, right, that’s selfishness, and that’s what Jesus is saying, like that part’s easy. It’s easy to love people when you’re doing it for selfish reasons. Shouldn’t we expect more from ourselves in light of what Jesus has done for us? Like, what about when it’s pure sacrifice? What about when there’s no earthly return on our investment, just the heavenly, which seems pretty good, admittedly. Let me just give you an example of like what this would look like. I talked money last week, I’m gonna talk money again this week, not because we’re about to do a campaign or something like that, just because that’s what’s being talked about here in Philemon. So let’s kind of stick with the text, like there’s an actual cost being paid, so our obedience, I think we get established pretty clearly from scripture, is a 10% offering we bring to the Lord. What is what is owed to him? 10% but we could say confident of your obedience. I know that you will do even more. I could say that of a great many of you, not all of you, of course. Some of you working up to the obedience, the bare minimum, the 10% still okay. But I look around this room, I know that there are extravagant givers in this congregation, and so, yeah, you get that. We’re like, I’m confident of your obedience. I mean, all that God gave us, we would give even more than is expected of us. You start to look at your funds differently. We go, you know what, I could live on x dollars per year, even a pretty comfortable life, that’s a vacation, that’s, you know, what all, and I make 2x dollars a year, so that means I got all this extra surplus that I can invest in the kingdom of God in different ways, and again, we’ve seen that here, we gave extravagantly just a few years back when we did the city new renovation project, but even here, and I’m not knocking this at all, like I’m so glad we did this. I think it was necessary and will benefit generations to come, but we got some benefit from that giving, didn’t we? Like, I like hanging out in our lobby, it’s nicer than it used to be. The bathrooms are nicer than they used to. We got an elevator. This is, this is good stuff. Like, what happens though, when we’re asked to give extravagantly and we don’t experience the benefit of it? And you know that’s a live issue, right? We’ll be praying about it next week at our prayer reading and stuff. Like, what happens when we start to give extravagantly to a church plant? So that we’re not renovating the space that we’re in, but if we’re building or renovating space that we will never enter, well, of course, of course, we would be confident of our obedience, even then, because that’s gospel refreshing at that point. Again, Jesus, I don’t think he got any personal benefit from his unjust arrest and trial and torture and death. Now he got benefit, sure, for the joy set before him, but it was this. This was the joy set before him. The people of God saved for the glory of his name. Jesus only got spiritual benefit from his sacrifice, and that’s what we would long to receive as well, and so we would count the cost of refreshing others in his name. Third cost, then, is the cost of welcoming. We read the rest of the letter, four hours, verses 22 to 25 And one thing more, prepare our guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers. Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. So do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
One thing more, Paul hopes to be released, as indeed he was, and he then plans to return to Colossi when he is released, probably because of the issues that have arisen there, which you could read the book of Colossians to hear all about. He’s gonna need a place to stay by Lehman’s got means. Could you prepare a guest room for me now? There is a lot going on in that one verse 22 Certainly, there’s some added motivation to obey here, like Paul is going to show up shortly. Will Onesimus be back in chains? Will Philemon show him Onesimus’ burial site, because he put him to death? Hopefully not. Paul’s saying I’m gonna be checking in on you. This is like parents saying it’d be home in 10, hope things are clean. That same kind of motivation here, but he’s also asking Philemon to continue counting the cost of refreshing and welcoming others, like forget Onesimus, it’s going to cost Philemon to love and welcome Paul, because hospitality is costly. It certainly is. It costs time, it costs energy, it costs a room in his house. I was going to turn that into a study now. I got Paul staying here instead. It costs actually love. I think Philemon is almost like a commentary on Hebrews 13 eight to 11, which talks about the hospitality that we’re called to show one another as Christians. Ready to Hebrews says, “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. So there’s that family idea again. Do not forget to show hospitality, but even to strangers, he says, for by so doing, some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it, and then continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering, which is a lot of the plight that we were talking about last week, of just entering into what others are going through, like even Onesimus, like what that would mean for him to be in chains. Now, Hebrews takes it beyond what we even hear in Philemon. It’s that same Matthew five idea, like don’t just do this for your own people, and don’t just do this for people who are going to help you. Do it for everyone, your brothers and sisters. Do it even for strangers, because you’re going to treat all people as valuable, because they’re made in the image of God, so they have intrinsic value, and that stuff that you would do for your own family, do that for everyone, and do that especially for the family of God. Can we treat family differently? Know this, like, I’ll just give you an example. So, it’s probably eight years or so ago, my dad had heart surgery. It was, you know, significant, like routine, but heart surgery is heart surgery, it’s a big deal. And so, my mom wanted me to be there. I think she wanted her son to be there. I think she wanted a pastor to be there too, just in case. So, when we got one of those in the family, I went, and it was it. She lost her dad, he went in for heart surgery, and he didn’t come out, and so I think this was on her mind, like, of course, like, of course, I would do that for my mom, she’s family, plus it’s my dad, who’s having heart surgery, he’s fine by the way, he’s still around, so but like that, then means okay, that’s what we should do for others, like when people in this room go in for surgery, we go. Okay, can I be there for you? How can I pray for you? Can I bring you meals afterwards? Like that’s what this looks like. The stuff you do for your own family, do it for everyone. When you were estranged, when you were a runaway, God brought you near and made you family. And that sets the pattern for all of us, and how we treat one another, which sounds good, sounds easy, even, but the challenge is welcoming everyone in the family of God. Again, it’s easy to welcome people like us, easy to welcome people we like, it can get harder. Otherwise, this was actually a problem in Colossi. Elsewhere in Paul’s churches, too.
You know, God’s trying to bring all together, all people together in one church, and they’re kind of going, I don’t know, are we sure we want to hang out all together here? And so Paul says this in Colossians 311 here in the Church of God, there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all. When you notice he mentions a lot of different backgrounds, there we get religious backgrounds, we get ethnic backgrounds, we get socioeconomic backgrounds, all mentioned. All these people are together under one roof, Philemon’s roof. As it turns out, it’s even interesting where this shows up in Colossians. I won’t open it there for you, but Paul has just talked about our new life in Christ. He’s saying, put on the new self, like live like the new creation that you are. Okay, we’re all the same in Christ Jesus. And then the very next verse, a lot of us have memorized in journey groups, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and love, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, love toward everybody, toward the Scythians, even the barbarians, the Jews, the slave, whatever group it is, right, that you struggle with, even toward them. It’s not easy, though. I mean, Onesimus, as I mentioned before, is a Phrygian slave. Philemon is Kalash and aristocracy. Like, how are those people going to get along? So, if we’re going to have a family conversation, I mean, for us here as City View, like, we’re going to have to talk about the diversity of the body. Some of us get a little uncomfortable when that word ‘diversity’ comes up. Like, is this DEI for the church? Well, DEI is a cultural term. Can I tell you, and I think you got this, if you’re here for the politics series. I do not care one whit what culture thinks about this. I care a great deal what God’s word has to say about this, though. And God’s word talks about diversity, like you see God’s heart for all people in the Gospel, Jesus died to save a multi everything people, the same group that just got mentioned there in Colossians 311 Revelation five nine, Jesus Christ is praised, the Lamb who was slain, worthy to be worshiped, because with his blood he purchased persons from every tribe, language, nation, people, you can actually see that even at the end of the letter, verse 23 and 24 this is the part you just kind of skip over, you go, I can’t say those names, so whatever, no, they’re important, you got Epaphras, he’s Colossian, he’s from the hometown, right, you got Mark, he’s a North African Jew, you got Aristarchus, he’s a Macedonian Jew, Macedonia, like northern Greece. Luke, he’s from Antioch, he’s got a pagan background, though. You can just see this is a diverse group right there, and then here they’re all together in the church, but that ups the ante, ups the cost of welcoming others in Christ’s name, we’re not just talking about, well, you know, you have to get a little extra in the fridge, and again, the spare room, and all those, although that costs, again, let’s not neglect that, but we’re talking about getting out of our comfort zone as well, and if you’ve hung around with people from different cultures, you know, there is some discomfort in going outside of it. The food tastes different, usually that means the homes smell different, and like the culture is different. There may be language barriers, like all these things are present, come at things from different angles, and so sometimes that means you smack into each other on the way, and yet, that’s the cost we count, because Jesus died for all. Now, obviously, this happens in community. I mean, I get that. We talk a lot about that. We just talked about community groups and explore our this morning. Even so, like, yeah, we’re opening our homes to each other, even if we got different backgrounds of all sorts going on, but also we open our home to those outside the community. We got opportunities to do this here, and we’ve got some partner ministries like Safe Families. We are welcoming children into your home for a short period of time while their parents are getting different things sorted, of course. If International Friendships Ministry.
International students, I’ve eaten some food I wasn’t going to eat otherwise. Just recently, in fact, because of if we’ve got the opportunity with the Gaias team, which cares for our missionaries. I need a bike for one of our friends of missionaries. I’m getting a text about it tomorrow. Like, this is the kind of stuff we get to do. What a great way to be able to serve to open a home in that way, and can I also say, what a great way to serve as a family, too. And here, I mean, even like your nuclear family. One of the things I love about a hospitality ministry is your kids watch you do that ministry in a way that they might not see some of the other stuff. It will cost. It will cost. It’s inconvenient. You can ask us our story. We had some inconveniences welcoming a child into our home for a six week stint. We’re at six and a half years now. Like I said, it’s a story, all that. Obviously, it’s a cost. We were so grateful to be able to count, but still it will cost. But it costs God so much so more to welcome you into his house, and so won’t you gladly count that cost as well. That’s it. So, just pulling all these costs together, just to give you your big idea, you could probably get there on your own, but it’s this: pay more, pay more, because Christ paid it all for you. So, like, do even more than is expected, pay more, because Christ paid it all for you. Count the cost of forgiving, refreshing, welcoming God’s people and beyond. I would challenge you. This would be the kind of thing you will, of course, talk about in your community groups specifically, but like, what’s one step that you can take, even this week, so that you are a doer of God’s word to Philemon, and not just a hearer of it? Is there a gift of time, or energy, or resources that you can make? Do you need to initiate a reconciliation process with somebody. Is there an invitation you can make into your home? Will you count it? It is difficult to overstate just how powerfully transformative costly love is. We actually see it in the rest of the story, the story that’s not here recorded in Philemon. We learn it from church history. I do have to say that means I’m stepping into a different level of authority here. This is some conjecture, absolutely, but we’ve got pretty good witness here, like what happens in this story. Because Ignatius, one of the earliest church fathers, he dies, he’s persecuted, he’s martyred in 107 he mentions in one of his letters Onesimus, the bishop of Ephesus. I mean, here is a guy who went from slave to brother to bishop, almost certainly, by the way. Why Philemon is in the canon, like why we have this personal letter in the New Testament, the sovereignty of God is the main answer, but the like human cause answer is because what a precious letter this was to Onesimus. There’s actually good evidence that the Canaan was put together, the New Testament canon was first put together in Ephesus, so like Onesimus was going, ‘Whoa, guys, let’s keep this one here next to Romans and Ephesians and Colossians, and all the others, because this one is important, by the way. Also, shows that Philemon listened. Philemon obeyed, which you love to see too. But Onesimus, this bishop of Ephesus, he was renowned. I’m quoting Ignatius here, for his love that surpasses words. Sure, because that’s the love he received, and so he just kept showing it to others. He went from a useless runaway slave to Ignatius, saying, “I pray that you all may be like him. And Onesimus himself paid the greatest cost when he was martyred for his faith. That’s the power of grace, and it’s there in verse 25 I know we think this is just like writing sincerely at the end of our email. It’s not when Paul says, ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. He’s saying this is what you need if you’re going to do what’s being asked of you. That’s the power of grace, God’s grace, of course, but also the grace that is expressed through his people, and how it changes us.
If I can flip back to Les Mis again, I started there, I’ll end there. This is like the bishop early on in Les Mis who bought Valjean’s soul. Valjean is released from prison. He decides to steal the bishop’s silver after the bishop welcomes him into his home, steals the silver, and also knocks the bishop out in the process, and then he gets caught, he gets brought back in, you know, he’s like Valjean, says you gave it to him, and the bishop says, yes, yeah, I gave him the silver, only you forgot to take the silver candle. Sticks too, it gives those also, that’s costly love, at least in like the movie versions of it. He like grabs Val Jean, who’s, you know, eight feet taller than he is, and goes, Do you understand? I just bought your soul for God, because that’s the power of transforming love, right? He paid the cost, and it changed his heart, and it did change Val Jean’s heart, it changed Philemon’s heart, it changed Onesimus’ heart. Like a look down the road, what difference could your costly love make in someone’s story? You see that, and you just think, oh, it would be so easy to pay that, pay more, because Christ paid it all for you. Let’s pray. Father, we remember even now the cost of your great love for us. We remember that you sent your son to take the hit in our place to pay the debt we owed in our place. You charged it to his account, so that then when we stumbled back home to you, only by grace, only because you called us, only because you drew us, you would welcome us as you welcomed Jesus. Love like that ought to transform us, Lord. We know that, and so we pray you would be transforming us even now, make us the sorts of people who so willingly spend all that we have for the sake of others and for the sake of Your great name. Amen.

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PODCAST
Reconciling Love May 31, 2026 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper’s sermon on Philemon emphasizes the importance of love and reconciliation over legalistic obedience. He uses a thought experiment about a troublesome neighbor to illustrate Philemon’s situation, where Paul appeals to Philemon to welcome Onesimus back as a brother in Christ, not just a slave. Cooper highlights Paul’s strategy of appealing to Philemon’s relationship with him and Onesimus, and the transformative power of love. He also draws parallels to Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, stressing the need for voluntary, loving obedience. The sermon concludes with a call to see fellow believers as siblings and to practice reconciliation as Christ has reconciled us.

Good morning, church. I think you all know where we are today. Anyway, we will be in Philemon. All right, well done, just like the kids. So, if you want to go ahead, open up to Philemon, we’ll be starting in verse eight this morning. Now I have it on good authority that Jake said he is going to have the sermon on while they’re out driving, and they got to get all the way to Nebraska today. I’d love to keep them entertained, so you guys don’t mind if I go like six or seven hours, do you? As you turn into Philemon eight, let’s do a little thought experiment here. You’ve got neighbors across the street from you that are just the worst, like you just can’t stand them. They are not good people, they are not nice people, like they’ve got kids that play with your kids. Kids, you know what these neighbors are like. They’re the ones where, when they come outside, you go inside, because you’re worried, like, you know, they’re gonna bully you, they’re gonna call you in, and give you labels you don’t want to receive. You know, last summer you got a new scooter, and they used it the first day, they broke it, and didn’t seem to care in the slightest, didn’t offer to fix it or replace it, or anything like that, you know. Parents, you’re having a hard time with them as well, like they’re foul mouthed and just deeply offensive all of the time. Finally, they move. I mean, thank goodness, good riddance, right? Although he had borrowed your weed whacker and took it with him when he went, so okay, he stole some of your stuff too, but still, like, you give the weed whacker if it means they’re out of your lives, and it has been the most peaceful year you’ve had in the neighborhood in a while. And then you’re out of town this summer for a little bit, and you show up after a couple weeks off, and you walk in, you sit down in your usual pew, you’re coming in late, you feel bad about that, but you come in late, you sit in the pew, first song’s already playing, you look in front of you, one pew in front of you is that family singing, arms raised in jubilant praise. What are you doing? How are you feeling in that moment? Some tension probably going on inside of you, I would guess shock is probably the primary emotion that these people were not worshiping Jesus the last time I saw them, you know, excitement, I guess that the Lord’s doing something in their lives, but maybe little anger, little bitterness, kind of a tap on the shoulder of like, good to see you here, so maybe now’s the time to make restitution for the things you stole, so you’d have that tension inside of you. Do I want retribution or reconciliation? As you know, because Kyle’s given us the story already, that’s not far off the situation in which Philemon finds himself, and Paul’s writing this short letter to help him think through his response. What are you going to do? And it’s helpful, because, of course, it forces us to think through our response as well, like how the gospel should motivate our willing reconciliation, those who have wronged us in the church going to help us think through that by giving us really three choices that we have to make as we go, so let’s take these choices one at a time. The first one is whether our obedience will be legalistic or loving, from verses eight to 11. Let me read it for us. Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do. Yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul, an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus, that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me. So Kyle kind of drew this out already. It’s just an astonishing moment that Paul would be sending runaway Onesimus back to Philemon.
You got to think of the fear that Onesimus would have felt as he’s walking in, Philemon has every right to kill him as a runaway slave and as a thief, we’ll see that in next week’s part of the letter, and so you know he’s walking in nervous, I would think Paul’s probably nervous sending him back, and so with all that trepidation in his heart, how does he address the issue? He says, I could be bold, I could just order you to do what you ought to do. That word “ought” is important, isn’t it? It reminds us that there is a right and a wrong here. So, Philemon doesn’t just have a choice, do I go this way or this way. Do I sin? Do I do wrong, or do I do what God would have me do? So he can order Philemon to do the right thing, but he doesn’t. Instead, he appeals to him on the basis of love, really on the basis of relationship. Philemon, as we saw last week, is his dear friend and fellow worker. Now, interestingly, Paul identifies himself with Onesimus. Here, he says he’s an old man. Actually, a very good chance I won’t get into why, because it will bore you, trust me, but more likely that that word means ambassador. Here, so he’s an ambassador for Christ, the one proclaiming Christ’s message, and as a result, he is a prisoner, which is how he described himself all the way back in verse one. I mentioned last week he doesn’t ever call himself a prisoner. This is the one place that he does it, because he’s identifying himself with Onesimus. There’s this point of contact between the two of them that should probably affect how Philemon feels toward Onesimus. It’s almost like Paul is saying, if you feel for me when I’m in chains, why is that? Is it only because it’s me, or is it because of the chains themselves? Like, are you upset by injustice wherever you see it, but of course, even if it is just a preexisting relationship, like if this is only because Paul and Philemon are buddies, even still that should transfer to Onesimus, because Paul calls him his son, says Onesimus became my son while I was in captivity, while I was a prisoner, meaning he came to Christ through the ministry of Paul. In that moment, that’s how Paul uses the language of son throughout his letters, and so the point that Paul’s making is you should act toward him the way you would act toward me, because we’re family, Onesimus has become part of the family at this point. If you mistreat my kids, we’re not gonna be good anymore. Like, that’s just a real thing. You mean to Callum, I would be mean to you. Like, that’s it. I’m not redeemed enough to do otherwise at this point, and that’s how most of it works, right? I think most of us would feel that way. Like, I can take personal offense, mess with my kids, you’re seeing Mama Bear, you’re not going to like her, you know, like that kind of thing. That’s very real. On the flip side, when you see people investing in your children, loving them well, it just means so much, doesn’t it? It’s almost better than if they were loving on you in that way. So that’s what Paul’s saying, like he’s my son in the faith. To how you treat him is going to really impact our relationship. I love this, because you see what Paul’s doing. It means before he even gets to the appeal. Did you notice that he hasn’t actually asked for anything here in this paragraph? He says, I appeal to you on the basis of love. You’re like, great, what’s the appeal? He hasn’t even said it yet. So, before he even gets to the appeal, he lays the groundwork for its reception. Incredibly persuasive letter that he writes here, like just a masterpiece of persuasive writing, but he’s helping Philemon to flip the switch in his head from self-centered to Christ-centered, and if you’re Christ-centered, you will be others centered as well, and that’s the force of that key word love that he uses. We are by nature bent inwards on ourselves, but love is to be focused outward, directed outward.
So, love is what happens when you stop thinking about you and start thinking about others. That’s what Paul is encouraging. This is a challenge for all of us, though. Again, we’re, we’re bent inward, that’s our, that’s our normal posture, is to be bent inward, so we need the same appeal constantly in our lives. It is so easy to ignore or diminish the plight of others and only consider what’s going on in your own life. There’s another masterpiece of persuasive writing. It’s such an important work. In fact, that we study it in English classes. Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail. He was imprisoned in Birmingham for demonstrating during the Civil Rights Movement, and eight clergy published this editorial. These were Christians and Jews, but you know, religious leaders published this editorial, saying he shouldn’t have been here, he should have been stirring up all this trouble, like just wait for the process to work itself out. And here’s how King responded, and to help them bend, unbend, right, and actually think of others, he says this. Longer quote, but goes quickly. He says, perhaps it is easy for those who’ve never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say wait, but when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim, when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers and sisters, when you see the vast majority of your 20 million negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society, when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she’s told that fun town is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people. When you take a cross-country drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile, because no motel will accept you. Then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. You see what he’s saying. It’s the same movement that Philemon, that Paul was encouraging Philemon to make, like get outside your bubble, think of others for a moment. In essence, King is saying, I appeal to you on the basis of love, because if our heart orientation is loving, we will enter into the plight of those around us and respond the way family would respond, and that’s why family and heart language kind of predominates in this section. I don’t know if you noticed, but Paul doesn’t say Onesimus’ name until a third of the letter is gone, and even then he says it after a bunch of descriptions, right? He says, verse 10, I appeal to you for my son, and in the original language it actually says, I appeal to you for my son, who became my son while I was in chains, Onesimus. It’s like all the way at the end. He really wants the sun piece to come out, like this is family. When we talk about this last week, something changes when you become family, or at least it ought to change when you become family, especially when you become Christian family, because when you become Christian family, it means that you’re a new creation in Christ. There’s transformation. It’s the transformation that Paul even describes. Formerly, he was useless to you. One estimate we know based on his story that he would be a Phrygian slave. Phrygian slaves were notorious for being really, really lazy, so he was useless. His name, Onesimus, means useful, the common name for slaves back then. So he’s supposed to be useful, and instead he’s useless, but now you got him back, and he is actually useful again. Why? Because he’s been transformed. He is now a fellow worker, because he is a Christian, like Philemon and Archippus, that we met last week, because he’s different. You can treat him differently than you did before. What I want us to see is this is how God transforms us.
That’s why I asked the question, is my obedience, is your obedience legalistic or loving? Laws don’t work because they don’t change us. I think that’s why Paul says I could just tell you to do it, but that wouldn’t really do what I need to be done, like Philemon might pardon Onesimus, but still have a heart filled with resentment towards him, and so what would that really have accomplished? So that’s why Paul doesn’t want just legalistic, just do what you ought. He wants it to be motivated by love. Laws can’t change us. We know this. You’ve been coming for a while. We did Exodus in the fall. We saw what laws do for the people of God. God gave the law to show us that we fall short, that we cannot earn it, we cannot do it on our own, which is the whole reason Christ came, so that He could do it for us, keep that law perfectly when we could not, and then take the curse of the law on Himself, bearing its punishment in our place when we come to Him by grace through faith. When you see that, when you know that that’s what he’s done for us, like that love changes us, as we talked a lot about in Exodus, and even in Galatians as well. Love like that, ironically, empowers us to keep the law that we couldn’t keep before, because it’s no longer an ought but a want, it’s no longer self. Ish, but loving, so Paul appeals on the basis of love, and in the same way we should be moved by love to do what we ought, not because we ought, but because we want to do it. Takes us to that second question. Then very similar, Venn diagram overlaps a lot in these two paragraphs, for sure. Is my love my act of love forced or free? Verses 12 to 14. Here it is. I am sending him who is my very heart back to you. I would have liked to keep him with me, so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel, but I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced, but would be voluntary. Paul wants to keep Onesimus with him. He is a fellow laborer, like Philemon was, and especially helpful laborer, while Paul is in chains, and clearly this is an especially close relationship. Paul is drawn to Onesimus immediately. That’s why he says he’s my very heart. I don’t know if you’ve had people like that in your life. I remember it was one of my students in Columbia, in particular. We went back down, they took a youth group on a mission trip back down to Columbia, and he was there and he helped us out. He was a translator, he was the one who knew stuff, and I just remember thinking the whole time, like, I’m so glad he’s here. This was 2014 I was not at a point in my professional life where I needed a personal assistant, but if I had needed a personal assistant, like, this is the guy I’m hiring, for sure. That’s how Paul feels toward Onesimus. He’s just the one where you’re like, I wish he was the guy who could stay with me. Philemon can’t be there in Rome, most likely is where Paul’s imprisoned. Maybe it’s Ephesus, doesn’t really matter. Philemon can’t be there, he’s in Colossi, he’s got a big house, probably a business, all that stuff. So the church is meeting there in his home, that’s good. But since Philemon can’t be there with Paul Onesimus, can this would be such an easy switch. Just let him stay with me. We’re all on the same team. We all want to see the gospel spread. I mean, here you have the ambassador in chains, and so you’ve got the deputy director all set to step in and do Paul’s work in his place. Paul’s saying all this because he’s still trying to get Philemon to see from another perspective, but he’s unwilling to be selfish himself. So, even though he’s saying this is exactly what I want, I could definitely command it.
I’m not going to, I won’t insist, he says, because he wants Philemon to come to his own conclusion, and I love this, because it means Paul trusts the power of the gospel to transform Philemon’s heart. He trusts the spirit of God at work in Philemon. Do you ever find it difficult to trust the power of the gospel to transform someone’s heart or to trust the spirit of God to work in somebody’s life? You all just looking at me like totally blank faces here. Somebody nod. Thank you. Okay, because I feel that a lot of the time, where I would like to control the situation manipulates, probably a better word, you know, like make it happen. It is so difficult to trust, but it’s so important at the same time, because it would have a very different feel if it were forced instead of voluntary, you know. This again, let’s take some, some family examples, since it’s Family Worship Sunday, and we’re in a family sort of book here. I mean, imagine that you know Grandma gets a thank you note from a grandchild, opens it up, so excited to see, and it says, “Dear Grandma, Mom said I had to write this. Some of y’all are like, yep, I read that letter, it’s cute, but maybe not exactly what you were hoping it would be, very different from I’m just so excited to thank you of my own accord. Or here’s another one. How sweet is one of my favorite moments in child rearing is that moment when kids, right around, I don’t know, year one or so, start giving you kisses voluntarily, or saying “I love you” without prompting, you get the prompting, you know, “Daddy’s leaving for work, give him a kiss goodbye. Okay, that’s fine. I love that too. But it’s very different when they just like come up and kiss you, because they’re like, “I know this is an expression of love, and I want you to know that I love you. What makes that so sweet? It’s the sincerity, because you know love motivates the action, and so you feel loved as a result, instead of just accepting the act of compulsion. You can certainly see how this matters for. Christian life as a whole. I mean, if you’re just keeping rules so God doesn’t smite you, you can earn His approval. That’s going to have a really different feel, won’t it? I mean, imagine the way AI is going. We could probably work this out in the next year or two, but you, you scan that QR code, and you put your information in, and it just a mad automatically, like grabs your bank info, and from then on, for as long as you’re here at CityView, it automatically deducts 10% of your paycheck. Now, can I tell you, if it were to do that, we would be a healthier church financially. I don’t know that there’s a church in this country that wouldn’t be healthier financially if it was a compulsory 10% deduction, because the average gift in the American Evangelical Church is not 10% we’ll just put it that way. We would be healthier financially, but we would be impoverished spiritually. I would much rather we do it this way, because that would feel like a burden, might be some resentment coming out. Maybe you don’t even notice it’s like your tax withholdings. I didn’t even know that that part was gone. There’s no opportunity for extravagance, but mostly it’s just it wouldn’t be an act of love. This is a real thing, by the way. There are all sorts of state churches in Europe, in particular, where the tithe is a part of your taxes. How’s the state church doing in Europe not so good, not so good. I would much rather do it this way. So that’s what we’re talking about here, is my obedience. Are these acts of love, or at least they’re supposed to be love, forced or free? Do acts of service, do acts of sacrifice spring from love, or do they spring from fear, people pleasing, just compliance? Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commandments. If you love me, keep my commandments. If you love me, you’re going to want to obey, because we want to please the one who loved us first.
Now, since this is Family Worship Sunday, let me just talk to families for a moment. Parents, there’s some really challenging application to this section. You are right as a parent to insist on certain things. Can I just tell you that? Can I just give you permission right now? Like, as long as they’re living under your roof, you are absolutely right to insist they attend church with you, or go to this or that, or the other thing, too, to be a part of family worship, of course, but that’s not the goal, right? The the aim is voluntary spiritual discipline. Like, look ahead, will your son, will your daughter go to church when they go away to college? Why or why not? Now, parents, we can’t change hearts. You cannot save your children. You cannot raise your children so well that God is obligated to save them, of course not. I understand that, but you do want to model and communicate love, not legalism love for God that is expressed in free obedience, and I do mean model and communicate, like you talk about it. I just mentioned tithing is an example. I mean, do we only give because the Bible tells us to? No, of course not. And we give because we’re going.. I can’t believe how much the Lord has given me. And so, of course, I’m going to bring this, but Who am I, and Who is my family that we should be given all of this? So you have those conversations all sorts of areas, but kids, let me talk to you as well, because this is a good question for you too. On the flip side, like, would you read your Bible if your parents didn’t make you, and hopefully they do. If you’re young, we homeschool a large group of children, and it’s just the first thing on their checklist each day is their devotional time. It’s great, and we’ve got no problem with that. But if it weren’t on the checklist, would you still do it? That’s the question. Why or why not? As you’re answering that question, lean into the gospel, like, see how much he loved you, that he was willing to send his son to die for you. Love like that should make us want to love him, and obedience is like the ultimate thank you note. Sincere, we would hope. A love like that should make us want to love him, to love God. Sure, but what about loving the person who wronged you, that neighbor that’s sitting in front of you, who still has your weed whacker? Let’s get there in this last section. The last question, do I see the person who wronged me as a sinner or a sibling, verses 15 and 16. Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but better than a slave as a dear brother. He is very dear to me, but even dearer to you both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord. So, here’s where we get to the heart of the matter, and these are the most important verses in the book. This is that question: Do you want retribution or reconciliation? What will motivate Philemon’s free loving obedience. The answer is, how he gets Philemon back. Sorry, how he gets Onesimus back. No longer as a slave, which would be useful, brings profit to Philemon. No longer as a slave, but as something much, much better, a dear brother, because he’s been adopted by God the Father, and so they’re now siblings in Christ. I love that story, of course, and Kyle gave it to us, but in God’s providence, runaway Onesimus meets, of all people, Paul, and here’s the gospel from him, because he meets Paul, he meets God, and is saved by God. This is like Joseph’s story, where he’s, you know, sold into slavery by his brothers, and then tossed into prison unjustly, where God uses sin to bring salvation, that’s what’s happening here too, and God’s not just using sin to bring salvation to Onesimus, but sanctification to Philemon as well. I think it’s so good to know that all our ways are in God’s good hands, we can trust Him with our lives and with the lives of those we love. That’s why we pray.
Notice that Paul tells Philemon that Onesimus has worth to Philemon as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord, literally reads he’s got worth in the flesh and in the Lord, and I kind of like that, in the flesh and in the Lord, like in the flesh he’s got worth as labor, but in the Lord as a fellow laborer in Christ. Onesimus has double value, he’s got value in the flesh because he is made in the image of God, and so he has worth and dignity and equality with Philemon, but he’s got value in the Lord, because now he is a brother in Christ as well. And, of course, this takes us to the question we’re all asking as we’re reading Philemon, especially this side of the transatlantic slave trade. What does the Bible say about slavery? We just do a little excursus here. There are plenty who think the Bible doesn’t hit slavery hard enough. When Paul sends Philemon to Philemon, he’s sending it with the letter Colossians, both to Colossians at the same time, and Colossians has words in it like, slaves obey your masters in the Lord, so you understand why some people think Bible doesn’t hit slavery hard enough. There are some reasons for this. Slavery was very different in first century Roman Empire than it was in 19th century America. Major difference, it was economic reality as opposed to a racial reality. For the most part, did not include the kidnapping that the transatlantic slave trade involved, so it was more economic and often voluntary. Basically, they didn’t have bankruptcy court, so you declare yourself bankrupt, you go, I owe you, you know, $100,000 I’m gonna work for you until the debt is paid, like that’s what it would look like, for the most part, another big difference, of course, is that I don’t know if you knew this, but Rome under Caesar was not a democracy. Caesar did not care what you thought about his policies, and when you raised issues like slavery, guys like Spartacus did this. For example, do you remember how Spartacus ended? Actually, the same way Jesus’s story ended, just without the resurrection afterwards. So, yeah, they just crushed that. So it is true, Paul does not hit slavery head on here. He does condemn the transatlantic slave trade in no uncertain terms in his letter to Timothy, because he talks about people stealing as being a sin. Well, he’s like right there. It is condemned, but he doesn’t just say you shouldn’t have slaves because they would treat him the way they treated Spartacus, then Rome, but what he does is he undermines the foundation of slavery, so that it could not but collapse afterwards. So the letter to Philemon is like the chipmunks who are digging burrows under your front stoop, and eventually it goes, because there’s nothing underneath it. That’s what Paul does here in Philemon. It’s going to collapse. Slavery is going to collapse if you work out the implications of this letter. Also, just help you out with your history here. It did collapse as a result of this letter, and earlier than you think, took Christianity about three centuries to be the influence in the Roman Empire, and so it was right there in the fourth century that slavery was outlawed. It was outlawed for 1000 years in the Christian West until the age of navigation, until the explorers went out, and all of a sudden they discovered another continent with people who looked different, and something flipped, and people lost their Christian roots at that point. Even then, the Pope, who was Pope at the time that, like, all this stuff was happening when the transatlantic slave trade began, condemned it in the strongest possible terms, but it flourished for a moment, and then it collapsed again, and Who ended the transatlantic slave trade? The Evangelical Church in Britain, because of Philemon. So, like, if we think it through, slavery is going to collapse, you know that. What was the abolitionist slogan in the 19th century America, am I not a man and a brother? Boy, where are they getting that from? Probably that whole part about he’s better than a slave, he’s a brother, he’s got worth as a man and as a brother in the Lord, it’s quoting Philemon, like you can’t treat family like this, especially not the blood-bought people of God.
This is why we have songs that we sing sadly only at Christmas time. They have words in it like chains shall he break and Like, for the slave is our brother, and in his name, in Christ’s name, all oppression shall cease. Like, imagine this: the church meets in Philemon’s house. The letter is probably being read publicly, like Colossians, at that point. Other slaves in Philemon’s house are hearing this letter, other slaves from other houses are hearing this letter, seeing Onesimus come back. Do you think they had questions? I would think so. This is why many white southerners didn’t want the Bible taught to their slaves. I just watched a movie, just this past week, in fact, where it was dealing with the theme of slavery, and was talking about how Christianity was forced on the slaves. I was like, are you completely ignorant of history? The answer is yes. Hollywood is completely ignorant of history. We know that, but still it was shocking to me, probably because I’m in Philemon. They would not teach the Bible to their slaves, because they knew if the slaves heard the word of God, they would understand that Christianity made them their masters equals before God, exactly right. But again, it’s not just about equals equality, it’s about family. You respond differently when family is treated differently, when family is treated poorly. We already saw this. Like, I know this was true. When we went to the mission field in Colombia, like, my parents read the news. Matt and Joanne, sitting right here, read the news about Colombia differently. You hear an earthquake in Colombia, or some drug violence in Colombia, by the way, a lot of it’s going on right now, even, and you go, whatever, that’s part of the world I haven’t really heard of. When your kid lives down there, that news hits differently, and if I’m reading the word of God correctly, then the spiritual family ties are stronger, even than blood family ties, which means that’s how we should be reading news anytime our brothers and sisters involved, there’s unrest in Bolivia right now, and I’m thinking my brother and my sister live there, not my literal brother and sister, my family of God brother and sister, Greg and Faith Hurst are down there, some of the people I’ve met when I’ve worked alongside them, Osvaldo and Ali, and people like that, and it hits differently, so how do we care for our brothers and sisters? How do we respond when we hear of or see injustice or suffering? Well, we respond the way we would respond if it were happening to our siblings, because it is happening to our siblings by. Way, I didn’t mean for this to come right after the politics series, but shouldn’t that inform our politics right there? Like, I want policies that do what I think need to be done. If this were my brother or my sister that were going through that, but let’s push slavery to the side for a moment and just look at the question of personal offense, even again, Onesimus is a runaway slave and a thief. Onesimus wronged Philemon, so how will he respond to Onesipus? How will we respond when others wrong us, especially in the family of God? Do you want retribution or reconciliation? Think Jesus really helps us answer this question. He tells the parable of the unmerciful servant as a guy who owes 10,000 talents, which, for perspective’s sake, 10,000 talents is about the amount of money they would have in the Roman treasury, so there’s a lot of money, billion dollars, let’s say. Okay, so he owes his master a billion dollars. Master says, “You got to pay me back, I’m throwing you in jail. The guy says, “There’s no way I can pay this back. He falls on his knees, pleads, you know, begging for mercy, and the master forgives him. And what’s incredible is he didn’t just say, “Fine, like I’ll give you 10 more years to pay, but the juice is flowing. No, he cancels the debt. That guy leaves, pardoned, right? His debt is released. There’s a guy who owes him 100 denarii. Denarius is a day’s wages for a typical day laborer. So, what are we talking 20,000 bucks, something like that? Okay, not nothing, but not a billion dollars, that’s for sure.
So he says, “You got to pay me back the money. The guy falls on his knees, “I can’t pay it back, please have mercy. And he says, “No way. Beats him up and throws him in prison. Some of the other servants see that, and they mention this to the master, and the master says this, Matthew 18. The master called the servant in, “You wicked servant, he said, “I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you? In anger, his master handed him over to the jailors to be tortured until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you, unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart. How you feeling about the unforgiveness in your heart right now? Little nervous, but to have been forgiven so much and yet to remain unforgiving, that can only mean that you hadn’t actually received grace. You see, the trouble with seeing your brother or sister as a wrongdoer who deserves punishment, you’re a wrongdoer who deserves punishment. Do you want retribution or reconciliation? Well, which do you want from God? Great, let that shape your response. With Philemon and Onesimus, we don’t have a saint and a sinner, we have two sinners who have been made siblings because the sinless Savior died for them, because his father freely and lovingly adopted sinners into his family. Like in society, Philemon and Onesimus couldn’t be farther apart, but in the church the ground is level at the foot of the cross. So, let’s go back to our thought experiment at the beginning. How would you respond if you saw that neighbor in this room? Well, how should you respond if you saw that neighbor in this room? And do they line up? I should hope so, and that is very much our big idea. Then today, as we close, we can freely, lovingly reconcile with others, because God freely lovingly reconciled us to Himself in Christ, even now, as we wrap up, ask yourself those three questions: Am I motivated by love or legalism, and if the latter, let God’s love thaw your cold heart, is my oh obedience free or forced, and if it’s the latter, if you only do it when you have to do it, let Christ’s willing free sacrifice change you. Do I see p. Who’ve wronged me in the church as siblings or as sinners. If it’s the latter, let the gospel humble you. We have been given the ministry of reconciliation. We are God’s ambassadors, just like Paul calls himself in verse nine, imploring others to be reconciled to God, but surely we should practice what we proclaim. The church is the place for sinners to be made siblings, where love motivates forgiveness and welcome and reconciliation. We can freely, lovingly reconcile with others, because God in Christ freely and lovingly reconciled his people to himself. Let’s pray to him now. Father, we are reminded again of the depths of our sin and the welcome we deserved when we returned to you, runaway children that we are, that we should have been swept aside by your judgment. That’s not how you received us, Lord. Instead, you reconciled us to yourself at great cost, the blood of your son, a cost you are willing to pay because of your free and forgiving love. God, may that love change us and make us truly loving the depths of who we are. May we look around this room and around the world, see our brothers and sisters in Christ, see our fellow man, and may we be motivated to love as You’ve loved us. We ask for Christ’s sake. Amen.

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Encouraging Love May 24, 2026 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper’s sermon on Philemon 1-7 emphasized the importance of faith, love, and generosity within the Christian community. He highlighted the familial bond in Christ, using personal anecdotes and examples like Arsenal fans and family businesses. Cooper stressed that true love and forgiveness should be rooted in the gospel, citing the forgiveness shown by Charleston church members to a white supremacist. He urged the congregation to express their faith through sacrificial love and generosity, both financially and through time and energy, to support one another and the church family.

Good morning, church. Go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Philemon. Philemon kind of near the end, it’s just one page, so check the table contents if you’re struggling with it. It’s before Hebrews, if that helps. I don’t know. We’ll be in Philemon one to seven this morning. We’ll be in Philemon as a whole these next three weeks, but as you’re turning there, it’s Philemon. One, I came home from work on Tuesday, and work is a generous term at that point. You’ll know why for a moment to find my wife decked out in an arsenal kit. Yes, I knew we’d get cheers from certain members of the congregation. Dave, I’m disappointed that wasn’t louder from the balcony, but that’s okay. Because Arsenal won another championship on a Tuesday, first time in 22 years. We’re all very excited, but it was still fun to see Amy in her Arsenal shirt, because Amy is – she’s an Arsenal fan by marriage. She was not an Arsenal fan when we got married. She married into it, but you understand how this works. Once you become a part of a family, the relationship changes, and some of those sports teams, things that happen, those are the smallest, silliest examples of very real and very important changes, kind of the unconditional love and help that comes from being a part of a family. A new wife, for example, might assume her husband’s debt, you know, he’s got student loan debt or something. Come out, like, your debt’s my debt now, because we just got, we got shared finances, or maybe a son-in-law joins the family business, because that’s just kind of what we do, and of course this goes beyond just literal family to a lot of organizations that have those family feels. Sometimes companies, certainly you could think of things like the military as well, you know, no one left behind, we take care of our family. Well, what does that look like in the church though? Because when we come to God in Christ, we are, as Jake just reminded us in his prayer, adopted as his sons and daughters. We are part of God’s family now, and that means we’re a part of each other’s family. If you have God as your father, you got lots of siblings, and some of them need help. Some of them might not have been your favorite person beforehand. You got issues with your new siblings, of course. That happens in real life too. Some of you probably are like, “Yep, he was not the guy I would have chosen as my brother-in-law, but here he is, like this is how it’s just going to go from now on, and that is how it works in the church. So, like, what do we do then? How does the gospel shape the way we treat God’s family? That’s the question that the book of Philemon addresses. Looking at a very difficult situation that we’re not going to get into at all today, you’ll have to come back next week. The suspense is killing you, I know, but that’s where we’ll get the difficult situation. But here in the opening, Paul, as he usually does, he sets the stage for what’s coming. We’re going to see all of the main ideas, everything that’s going to be needed for his appeal from the start, in the greeting, in the thanksgiving and in his prayer. Let’s look at this together. We’ll start with the greeting, verses 123, May read it for us now. Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy, our brother, to Philemon, our dear friend and fellow worker, also to Aphthea, our sister, and our hippest, our fellow soldier into the church that meets in your home, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Just pause there. This is a highly unusual beginning to this letter. If you’ve read Paul’s other letters, you know he almost always refers to himself as one of two things: he is either an apostle of Christ Jesus, or a servant of Christ Jesus. So, the fact that he calls himself a prisoner of Christ Jesus is a little bit startling already, but of course he is. He is in chains. He is a prisoner of Christ, and that phrase, you know, prisoner of Christ, it’s so delightfully ambiguous. In what sense is he a prisoner of Christ?
Well, he is Christ’s prisoner in that he belongs to Jesus. So, the of Christ as a possessive sense, but he’s also a prisoner of Christ in that he is a prisoner for Christ’s sake, so it expresses purpose, and he is also a prisoner because of Christ, so it expresses cause, but whatever exactly Paul is getting at here, we know that the fact that he is a prisoner of Christ should elicit sympathy from Philemon, and that’s the main point. It is a terrible thing for a brother in Christ to be in chains. Greetings to be in prison instead of out serving the Lord freely. Thankfully, Paul is not alone. Timothy is with him. This is his protege, his disciple. And so Timothy sends greetings too. Did you notice that Paul refers to Timothy as our brother again, highlighting that family connection, so Paul and Timothy send greetings to Philemon, the dear friend of Paul, gets at the closeness of the bond between them, because Paul almost certainly led him to Christ, and so, yes, there’s a special relationship there, of course, he is not only a dear friend, but also a fellow worker, because he’s part of God’s household, and if you’re in God’s household, then that means you are called to work in God’s household to build up His people. That is true of all of us. We should be able to say of every Christian, as my fellow worker, as my fellow worker, right there. Now, we don’t know why Paul’s writing yet, but we do already see how he’s going to approach this difficult subject that he’s got to bring up, the delicate issue. He’s not leaning into his apostolic authority as he does with heresy so often. We saw this in Galatians, if you’re with us for that series, I’m an apostle. I wasn’t even called by people, I was called by God Himself. You better listen to what I’m saying. That’s not what He does here. He could use his authority, but he doesn’t. Instead, he leans into the relationship that he has with Philemon, the closeness of the bond, and then his present circumstances and sympathy they should bring, Paul greets not just Philemon, but Aphia, who is probably Philemon’s wife, calls her our sister, still highlighting that family connection, and then Archippus as well, perhaps their son, but don’t really know, but a fellow soldier as well, and then he also greets the church that meets in Philemon’s home. There were no dedicated church buildings for several centuries after Christ, and so wealthy families – Philemon would certainly fall into that category. Wealthy families would host the church in their homes, they would have rooms large enough to hold 4060, 80 people or so, and that was what the early church looked like. So this is a huge part of Philemon and his family’s work for the Lord, serving the church by hosting it. If you’ve ever hosted a large gathering of people, you know that that is in fact work, and so they’re giving time, energy, et cetera, generously to all of them, then Paul wishes grace, which is what brings us into God’s family, and peace, which is what we experience as God’s family, only comes from God the Father, and from His son Jesus Christ, the Son that was cast out, the true son, cast out, so that we could be welcomed in as true sons and daughters in his place. Nothing too shocking, so far. I mean, he’s just saying hi, but already we’re getting a sense of how the gospel should start to shape us. Let’s look at it in a little more depth, as we turn to the second section, the Thanksgiving and prayer. So, a second section called Sharing, verses four to six. I’ll read for you now. I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all His holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. So every time he remembers Philemon in his prayers, he feels gratitude well up in his heart. He’s grateful. He thanks God for him, that’s probably not what we do with everybody.
We pray for there are some people that we pray for in part because we feel ingratitude about their presence in our lives, but it is always nice when you’ve got that person, where as you start praying, do you have anyone like this in your life, where you start praying for them, and it almost like catches in your throat, just that sense of I’m so grateful he’s in my life in this way at this time, that’s what Paul has here. Philemon, by the way, if that’s you, notice Paul tells Philemon that he feels that way would be my encouragement to you as well. Great time to shoot a text and say I’m grateful for you, and I remember that every time I pray for you, but what makes Paul grateful for Philemon? Two words, both there in verse five: faith and love. That’s why he’s grateful to Philemon, because he’s heard about Philemon’s faith in Jesus and his love for all the saints. Whole church, it’s important that he brings these two together, because you can’t have love without faith. Because we can be honest here, there are a lot of people that are tough to love. There are a lot of people that are tough to love, even in the church. So, how do we go on loving them? How do we choose to love them? Well, quite simply, we remember the gospel. It is by faith that we love. We have been saved by grace alone, through faith alone, not because of our works. God did not save us because we were so awesome, but because He is so merciful and compassionate. As Julie read for us earlier, the harsh reality that Christianity teaches us is that we are tough to love, and especially tough. If I can say this without stumbling into heresy, we’re especially tough for God to love, considering that we are all in, you know, open rebellion against Him when we come into this world. Yet He loved us still and loved us so much that He sent His son to die for us. God demonstrated his own love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, Romans five eight. When we remember that, that changes how we feel about others. We love as God loves us, because God loves us. Did someone, maybe somebody in the church wrong you, shared a bit of gossip or slander, made your life difficult in some way? Okay, in Christ you can forgive and be reconciled because you have been forgiven and been reconciled to God, and this is not just for the small things, the peccadillos. I’ll give you an example of what this looks like on a much larger scale. In 2015 many of you will remember that white supremacist Dylann Roof entered a Bible study at a black church in Charleston. He was welcomed by the congregation into this Bible study, sat with them for a length of time, and then drew his gun and murdered nine of those church members. It is tough to love the man who murdered your family. How’s that for understatement? And yet that’s exactly what they did. Again, some of you will remember that at the sentencing hearing, church member after church member, family member after family member stood up and explicitly forgave him, and even voiced their opposition to the death penalty in his case, because they had forgiven him. One sister of one of his victims said, “I acknowledge I’m very angry, but one thing my sister always enjoined in our family reminded us is that we’re the family that love built. There’s no room for hating, so we have to forgive. That’s the idea, exactly. I mean, the church is most truly the family that love built. We are the family that God, who is love, built that matters. That’s what Paul sees in Philemon, that’s why he thanks God for him. Now, no doubt, he’s also getting him ready a little bit for what’s coming later in the letter, because he’s saying, “I’ve seen this love in you, I’m gonna keep seeing this love in you. Right, it’s a little bit like when a parent says, you know, going away for a time or whatever, and they, you know, sit down with a kid and say I’m just so thankful that I know I can trust you while we’re gone.
I think that’s what Paul’s doing here as well, although it is true what he’s saying, but this gratitude then for the love that springs from Philemon’s faith. This gratitude then prompts Paul’s prayer. Remember, Paul says, basically, I thank God when I’m interceding for you. Well, so here’s the intercession: I thank God when I’m pleading for you. Here is my plea. And then he gives us this dense and difficult phrase: I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. We’re going to need to understand the words and grammar that are used here. The first one that is a little bit difficult is the word partnership. This is a word that could just mean fellowship. You actually hear this word a lot, even in this church. One of the benedictions we often use is, may the grace. Of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of His Holy Spirit be with you all. It’s the same word. So, is this just fellowship? Is this just your presence in each other’s lives? No, it is more than that. It is partnership here, like what’s needed to get the job done together. This is what Paul thanks the church in Philippi for, as well. Philippians one five, he thanks them for their partnership in the gospel, and we know from reading the rest of Philippians that that partnership includes their financial support, their generosity. I’m sure that’s part of what Paul is saying to Philemon, here too, again, we’ve already seen his generosity, and that he’s willing to host the church in his home. The point is that love costs, love always costs, and so Paul is praying that Philemon would go on bearing the cost. Well, why would he? Well, because the partnership is one of faith, so it reads literally. I pray that your partnership of faith – we’ve already seen that that of something can be confusing. What exactly is it getting at here? And I think almost certainly here, what it means is that it’s the partnership that springs from faith, the partnership that comes from faith. In other words, it is a gospel-motivated partnership. The partnership that comes when you remember what you believe, when you remember that Christ was willing to lay down his life for us, that does something in our hearts, so that we are willing to lay down our lives for others. So Paul is hopeful, then, that all that will be effective, powerful in deepening Philemon’s understanding. And here, understanding is another rich word, it’s not just up here, understanding like his appreciation of, yes, but his experience of the treasures we share as a result of our common life in Christ, like I’m hoping you would savor this, you would just go deeper and deeper, getting your appreciation and experience of every spiritual blessing in Christ that we all share as His family. I mean, our adoption would be top of that list, of course. The fact that we get to be family because He welcomed us into His family. Or how about the peace that surpasses understanding in every situation, what about joy that is unthreatened by circumstances on and on down the list. If you’ve been attending City View for any length of time, you probably have heard me mention that most summers, not this one sadly, but most summers, I get to sit with my family, not just my family, but then my parents, my siblings as well, on the porch of our cabin up in Lake Placid, New York, and at some point, always during our days there, we’ll be sitting on the porch going, can you even believe we get to be here, because it’s our favorite place, and we didn’t earn it, if that makes sense. I didn’t buy it, that’s for sure. I can’t afford to go there. My great grandfather, who bought it, and it’s just been passed down as our inheritance in the family. That’s what Christian fellowship should be. And we should be sitting around the porch in the temple of God, going, can you even believe we get to be here. Can you even believe what God has done for us? But the point is that should then change what we do too. He forgave us, so we should forgive one another.
He laid down his life rush. We should be willing to lay down our lives to serve one another, you think of his patient forbearance with us when we go on messing up and rebelling against him. Well, that should make us patiently forbearing towards others who sin against us. Or his loving initiative in coming to get us, well, that should drive our loving initiative in going after our brothers and sisters in Christ, and really all that takes us then to this last section, the last verse as well, verse seven. Rejoicing here, Paul writes this: Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people. So here it’s not Thanksgiving or prayer any longer, but it is direct address. Paul’s prayer is done, and it’s like he looks at Philemon and says, I know my prayer has been answered. I know my prayer has been answered, because I’ve already seen you doing it. I am rejoicing because. I have seen your love in action already, as you have refreshed the church, the people of God. The word refreshed is an interesting one, really means you’ve given rest to the church of God. We actually get our word pause from one of the related words here, so it’s that sense of pause that comes, the rest that comes when you get to pause, when you get to pause. What I mean, take an example. Some of you probably have lived this, those moments of anxious striving, where you’re not sure how you’re going to take care of the bill that just came in, and it really is like there’s movement there. You’re going to, you’re.. I don’t know what we’re going to do about this, and then the pause comes, the rest comes, because the gift comes. Somebody in the church is aware of what you’re going through, and cash shows up in an envelope, you don’t even know where it came from, and that person has given you rest from your anxious striving. That’s what it means to be refreshed. I’ve seen this, but I’ve seen this in my own life many times. I’ve seen this in the life of the church as well. Philemon has used what God has given him to help his family. Did you actually notice family in there again? This is unusual for Paul, but he says there in the second half of verse seven, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people. Your brother, your brother, we’re family. Remember that Philemon has used what God has given him to help his family. No doubt he’ll go on doing it. That’s why Paul feels encouraged, comforted, even he’s got peace knowing that there in Colossi, where Philemon is hosting this church. Somebody’s got this, somebody’s taking care of the people he loves. This is how parents feel when the kids go away to college and they get hooked into a church that cares on them. I know this because we got a lot of college students here in our church, and every now and again I get to meet the parents when they come in for a graduation or something like that, and without fail they will say, I’m just so thankful my kid’s taken care of, like you guys are feeding them literally and figuratively as well. I hear it over and over again, heard it a lot yesterday at Daniel and Addie’s wedding, he was talking to their parents as well. That’s what Paul’s saying. Somebody’s got my family, and so I feel comforted, encouraged, because Philemon has demonstrated love in concrete ways to the Colossian church, whom Paul loves. Paul knows he’ll keep on doing it, and that’s going to be really important for the rest of the letter, because we haven’t gotten to the big issue yet, but it’s there, and Philemon, no doubt, knows what the issue is, as he’s listening to this first part, like there’s this elephant in the room just sitting over there, will the gospel shape the way Philemon treats his Christian family, even those who have wronged him. Depressing question, but since we’re stopping here today, the more important question for us is, will the gospel shape the way we treat our family, God’s people, the church, maybe even those who have wronged us.
Get our big idea in answering that question, kind of pulling together these key words that we’ve looked at already: faith, love, and partnership, which, as I said, really includes the idea of generosity. Your big idea for the week: let your faith in Jesus produce a love for his people expressed in generosity in the church, for the church, toward the church. The gospel, in other words, should shape how we treat one another, what we believe. Our faith changes our hearts, changes our love, which then changes our actions. The gospel should motivate sacrificial love and generous living. Now, when I say generosity here, I don’t just mean money, yes, that too, that might be part of it, but I’m talking about generosity in the broadest sense. What does it mean to live a generous life? Like, are you willing to spend time and energy on people, or what about spiritual generosity? Are you willing to pardon debts, sins against you? That always involves a cost. We want to be a part of a church where our generosity, springing from faith, gospel understanding manifests in concrete acts of love, knowing the blessings we share in Christ. Christ, we want to share those blessings with others, refreshing them. So, I just want to take a few minutes here, then to work through what that would look like for a few different groups here in the congregation. First, let me speak to us as individuals, those of us who are following Jesus. This is a time for self-examination, looking at the evidence of your life, looking at those concrete acts that we’re talking about. Do you see costly love springing from faith? Now, what are some of the evidences we might look at? Well, on the negative side, stuff that will make us go, we’re not there yet. Of course, we may notice things like the fact that we’re holding grudges against people in the congregation. I’ve never really let that go. We’re bitter or resentful, unforgiving, or this may look not like that, but just apathy. We’re unmoved, unconcerned with those around us, even isolated, so that it’s not really family. This is just the people who are near me in the pew when I pop in and pop out on Sunday mornings, when I can make it, or maybe it’s just simple selfishness, just going to kind of do what I want to do, regardless of the people around me. That would be the negative side, that’s the stuff we’re trying to turn away from. What does the positive side look like? What is the stuff that we’re turning towards as we follow Jesus? Well, active forgiveness, of course, loving the ones that you don’t like, so that over time you’ll find you actually grow to like them, even, and leaning into community selflessly. Maybe that looks like making time to visit someone in the hospital or wherever, someone that you find tedious because you remember that God’s people ministered to you when you were in a tough situation, and you want to pay it forward, and of course you remember what God has done for you, and you’ve been changed by that, so that would be for us as individuals, but what about us as a family? Because this certainly feels like a family sermon, doesn’t it? This is one that should speak to all of us. Let’s talk nuclear family first, then we’ll talk church family. So, nuclear family parents, I would encourage you to let your kids see the cost of refreshing others and actually invite them into it, so they can bear the cost too. They start to see what this looks like. I’ll just give you a very simple example. It’s one that we have in our family a lot. We talk about a lot. I’m gone a lot of nights to minister to all of you. My being gone for my family is a way that my family can serve all of you, like that’s part of the cost they bear, and of course others of you know that as well. Some of you are, you know, you’re leading a journey group or something like that, and you’re thinking, all right, kids, like we’re giving up mom once a week so that she can build into other women in journey group, like that’s that’s how we love the church kids, though.
This isn’t just something for your parents to take on, but you as well. As you see opportunities to refresh others, bring those opportunities to your parents. I mean, you might hear a prayer request in Kid City or City Stew that your parents aren’t aware of, and say, ‘Hey, could we help out here? Better still, even kids. How can you refresh? Don’t make your parents do it. How can you refresh those families? How can you count the cost? Can you go mow someone’s lawn instead of, you know, calling up the care team and getting them to find somebody to do it? That’s us as a nuclear family. What about the church family? What does this look like for us as a church family? I mean, Jesus said they will know that we are His disciples by our love for each other, and so let’s redouble our grace-fueled efforts in this area, can I say, I think that this is true of our community. Like, I think this is an area where we excel by God’s grace. I hear it often from people. It’s a lot of the reason people stick in this church, even. But that’s just reason for us to keep going with it. We could always be doing more, and not only that, I think more of us could be doing it, like that is true of the core of our church, but some of you, some of you in the room right now, probably even know, like, I’m not part of the core of the church, so other people do that for other people, and this is your invitation. To go, all right. I’m gonna start doing more of it, so there’s always more we can be doing. More of us can be doing it. I said before, we are, we’re a wealthy congregation. We can acknowledge that it is very easy to write checks, that is not really counting the cost for most of us. It’s good, that’s a good thing. Let’s be generous there, but it is harder for American suburbanites to spend time and energy, and so let’s spend that as well. Really lean into family, the sense of being family. So, again, some encouragements to some of you. One of you, this just looks like attendance. This means you need to show up more often, or show up, get offline, and show up in person, because you are certainly not acting like family if you are online only, or if you’re online more often than you should be. So, some of this, I’m obviously preaching the choir, you’re all here right now, but some of this is just simple attendance, but then it’s more than that, like not just showing up, but actually involving yourself, have you ever had the experience where, like, a prayer chain request or a meal train request, a birth announcement has gone by, and you go, I don’t have the faintest idea who those people are. Well, they’re your family. Let me help you out there, just so you know. So, get to know them. How are you going to get to know them? You have to meet more people here. So, some of you, this looks like it’s another step. So, show up more often. Maybe you’re showing up for Explore Hour. It’s a great time to meet more people, because it’s a smaller group. You don’t meet people in this room, but you would meet people there. For some of you, maybe it’s another step deeper than that. We got Journey Group interest meeting coming up next Sunday. We got the Community Group interest meeting coming up the week after that. You’re going to show up for those, see how I can get plugged in. I’m just going to start leaning into family, meet more people. We lean into family, and then we act like family. And so this is the hardest one, because this is where we start to get almost intangible, but you know, you open your homes to one another, that’s what family do. I’d say it like this: when you’re family, you don’t ask to open the fridge, you just open the fridge and you take what you want. Well, that’s what we should look like. It should have the mi casa su casa kind of feel, shouldn’t it? We do life together in part because we’re all part of his casa.
We do life together, and here’s the beautiful thing about doing life together, which, by the way, takes a lot of time and energy, doesn’t it? That’s the only reason. How many of you want to do life together? How many of you aren’t doing life together the way you want to do it, because you don’t have time, and yeah, the rest of you are lying also. So, when you do life together, though, this happens naturally. You don’t have to match manufacture loving deeds. If you love somebody, they just go, they just come out. I actually saw this recently, so if you were at recall, you know that I messed up. That’s not unusual, but I messed up because I was sharing about a family that was refreshed by our congregation, and I mentioned the Benevolence Fund, thinking that’s how they had been refreshed. That’s how it often works. Benevolence funds, wonderful thing. I get to write the checks, all that kind of stuff. It’s great, except their need hadn’t even made it to the benevolence fund, because their community group, and they’re both in journey groups, their two journey groups had already taken care of that need. I would love, I would love if we didn’t have to have a benevolence fund. I don’t mind it, like it’s a good thing, but if it was just like with money’s just sitting there, because every need keeps getting taken care of before I can get to it, because you don’t need to manufacture loving deeds when you love somebody. So, I think there’s some room for us to grow as a church, even though I think we do well at this. Let me address one last group of people, and that’s those who are still questioning, still seeking. So, you’re here in the room because you’re checking Jesus out, but you are not following Jesus yet. Can I ask you to think about this, or really encourage you to ask yourself, what is going to sustain costly love like this in your life. The reality is I think we all want to be like this, in part because our values in the West have been shaped completely by Jesus Christ, but what’s going to sustain that, the sort of selfless, generous living. It is not easy to forgive when you have been badly wronged by somebody. Fact, I would go so far as to say, in the flesh, it is impossible to forgive when you’ve been badly wronged by somebody. It’s tough to sacrifice financially when you’re not sure how you’re covering next month’s rent. It, so what’s going to sustain that? It all starts with faith, with believing in the good news of Jesus’s death and resurrection, and what that could mean for you, you who are in rebellion like the rest of us against our good and gracious Father, and yet He made a way for you to be welcomed back into his family, because the punishment that we deserve, his son took on himself, so that the reward that the son deserved, we can take for ourselves by faith in him, and then we get all of those spiritual blessings in Christ, so trusting the God of the gospel can change, sustain, empower you to live with love like that. I mean, just take the money example, it is hard to sacrifice financially, really is, unless you remember that God is your provider, and the God who did not keep His own son for Himself, but gave Him up for us all. How will we not also, along with Him, freely and graciously give us all things faith in Jesus should and absolutely will, if it is genuine faith. Faith in Jesus will produce a love for his people expressed in rich generosity toward the church and beyond, of course. The church may do so in us as individuals and as a gathered people for his glory. Let’s pray. Father, we pause to remember the wonder of the gospel, that those of us who have put our faith in Jesus and his work on our behalf have now been welcomed as your dearly beloved children, that is the wonder of wonders, Lord, and we will celebrate that truth for all of eternity.
God, may that truth transform our hearts, though, so that we treat our brothers and sisters in Christ truly as family with all the generous acts of sacrificial love that that would require and produce, Lord, be softening our hearts, increase our faith, and so multiply our love. May we be known as a generously loving church. May that speak to the community around us, even to those in the room now who are still asking questions about you and Lord, may you be drawing them to yourself with the wonder of that love. Even now we pray for Christ’s sake. Amen.

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Faith & Failure May 17, 2026 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper discusses the temptation Jesus faced Matthew 4:8-10, in which Satan offers him the kingdoms of the world in exchange for worship. Cooper emphasizes that political temptation is a form of idolatry, making politics the means of redemption, and opening politics to the demonic. He argues that true Christian engagement should focus on living faithfully for Jesus, embodying Christ-like character, and serving locally before engaging politically. Cooper highlights the importance of self-examination, confession, and repentance, urging the church to live transformed lives and engage culture and politics with Christ as the central focus.

Well, good morning, church. You can go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Matthew chapter four. We’ll be in verses eight to 10 this morning. Matthew chapter four, as you’re turning there. First of all, we did it. We’re almost through the politics series. No one has attempted to kill me yet or run me out of town or anything like that, so I’m very excited about that, and let’s see if we can keep it going today. Because today all I’m going to do is accuse you of being in league with the devil. So let’s make a deal, though. Speaking of that, let’s make a deal. I, although I don’t have the power to do this, will pretend for a moment, that I do, I will give you perfect society. Figure out what that means for yourself, but you know, no more theft, whether that’s, you know, shoplifting or corporate graft, no more violence on the streets, in people’s homes, whatever, no more sexual sin, pornography, promiscuity, whatever. No more vitriol as a culture. No more treating people badly just because they think different than you or look different than you, or whatever. Picture a society where, although some have much and some have little, no one has too much and no one has too little, because the rich care for the poor, not in a paternalistic way, but actually lifting them up and empowering them, where humanity is in better balance with nature, instead of like raping the earth for its resources, is actually using the creation that God has given us to steward without excess. There is worldwide peace, every country is committed to whatever you want to call it. We have a balanced use of technology, like leveraging it for good in areas like medicine and stuff, but at the same time not being controlled and manipulated and addicted to it. Communities are strong, families are strengthened, everybody on the planet is Midwest nice, and I’m talking like Chicago Midwest nice under this Ohio nonsense, right? Come on now, and because I know you’re all concerned about this, every Sunday the churches are full, every pew packed to hear the preacher talk about morals, but not the gospel of Jesus Christ. Are you taking that deal, and you’re sitting here going, well, I know. First of all, yeah, that sounds really good, but second of all, I know Brandon wants me to say no, so I’m going to say no, but why not? Because that perfect society that I just described will contain people who are still perishing eternally. There’s no remedy for what matters most. We are left under condemnation. Now that’s not my thought experiment. It was Donald Gray Barnhouse who first proposed that a long time ago, although he was just drawing from the passage we’re looking at this morning, because I’ll tell you what, Satan would take that deal in a heartbeat. He would take that deal in a heartbeat. We know that, because he offers that deal to Jesus. A little bit of context, since we’re picking up, you know, mid-story here. This is just after Jesus’s baptism, before he launches his public ministry. Right after his baptism, the Spirit whisks him away to the wilderness, where he fasts and prays for 40 days and 40 nights, and then Satan comes to tempt him three times. We’re going to look at the third one, the first two, you know, he’s hungry. Satan says, “Why don’t you turn these stones into bread? You know, and then once you throw yourself off the temple, God said he’ll catch you when you do that, and so the question is, are you going to trust God for your provision and protection, or are you going to test God and Jesus? I’m happy to say, passes the first two tests quickly, easily by quoting scripture, but the last temptation is the toughest, where Satan effectively says, skip the cross and I’ll give you the kingdom without the suffering, but also give you the kingdom without the gospel. It is the temptation we face too. You can understand why we’re doing that in this passage in this series. Temptation we face to seek political power and cultural transformation apart from God. How do we resist that temptation? That’s the question we’re going to seek to ask as we look at this passage. Let me read for us Matthew four eight to 10, and then we’ll dig, and we’re going to look at this in two halves: the temptation itself, and then what it looks like to trust as Jesus did. Matthew four eight to 10, again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. All this I will give you, he said, if you will bow down and worship me. Jesus said to him, Away from me, Satan, for it is written, Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only. So we get one last. Attempt here, one last temptation, because again Jesus has resisted the first two. One last temptation strikes right at the heart of the matter. You notice that Satan takes Jesus to a high peak, a high mountain, and that word high is not the normal one, that just means tall. It’s got that sense of like lofty or proud, it’s an uppity mountain, in other words, and so from there Satan shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, which in some sense belong to Satan since the fall, and Satan looks at Jesus and says, if you will bend your knee to me, you can have everything you see, but at what cost? Because what’s being offered there, then, is to really remove the symptoms without removing the underlying disease, like take away all the bad that results from our sinful hearts, but you still leave us in sin, so Satan’s exchange won’t deal with a sin issue, of course not, and that’s the whole reason Jesus came. I mean, he’s given his name Jesus because it means God will save his people from their sins. The temptation is to get glory without the cross, that’s the temptation Jesus faces throughout his life, and his public ministry, in particular. You see it throughout Matthew, even in Matthew 16, Peter stumbles into truth because the Spirit of God is at work in him, and he says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And then Jesus says, “You’re right, and let me just tell you a little bit about what the Christ came to do. I’m going to suffer and be beaten and whipped, maybe tortured. I’m going to be killed, and then I’ll rise again. And Peter says, “Whoa, let’s not talk like that, Jesus. All right, like I.. we’re about to establish a political kingdom here, and I would love to be your Secretary of State. Let’s talk about that. And how does Jesus respond to Peter? Get behind me, Satan, because he’s saying I’ve heard this before, right here in Matthew four. It’s the same temptation in Gethsemane when Jesus is wrestling in prayer before the Father. Why is he wrestling? Because the temptation is still there, Father, if it’s possible, take this cup from me, I would love not to go through this next part. It sounds awful, but he resists again, yet not what I will, but what you will be done instead. And so this is the temptation that I mentioned already in the introduction. It’s a temptation where Satan says, “Tell you what, Jesus, I’ll let you be in charge, you can make your perfect little world, that’s fine, just without salvation. So it’s a temptation to try to accomplish the mission without the cross, which is of course going to be an abortive effort. Be like trying to increase your savings by spending more, like how are you going to possibly accomplish the mission of saving people into the kingdom of God. If no one is ever actually saved, I bring this up because, of course, we have a mission too. In fact, our last series was called Own the Mission. So we have a mission too. We are supposed to labor for the Kingdom of God. How will we accomplish it? Will we follow Jesus and take up our cross, or will we skip it to get straight to the power? Now, Tim Perry, in the book I mentioned in the first week, when politics becomes heresy, points out three truths that we learn about political temptation in these short verses. The first truth is that political temptation is a temptation to idolatry. It’s a temptation to worship something or someone other than God. That is what Satan offers Jesus. Here is not just subtraction, the kingdom without the cross, it is an unholy addition also. It is the kingdom with false worship. You do have to bow down and worship Satan. This is what we looked at in week one, of course. Will you trust in princes, or the prince of darkness, for that matter, or will you trust in the prince of peace? Now, idolatry is when we make a good thing a good thing. When we invest something, some person or object or pursuit with meaning and significance, and a hope that it cannot bear, it can’t sustain. So, you can’t remove the symptoms without healing the disease, but that’s what this offer is again. So, political temptation is a temptation to idolatry. First, truth, second truth, political temptation makes politics the means of redemption, so it’s not just a different God, but a different salvation at this point as well. Political temptation. And makes politics the means of redemption, so that a secondary good becomes a primary evil. It’s almost always what happens in sin. A lot of good things, money is good, right, sex is good, but they can become evil when they’re raised up to that. Yeah, but this is going to save me, this is going to give me what I really want, sort of level, so the secondary good of politics becomes a primary evil again. How here the temptation is to skip the cross, the part where Jesus sheds his powerful blood as a spotless sacrifice for the sake of humanity, that we might be saved, and instead he goes right to ruling over the eternally perishing, like we want Jesus to have the kingdoms of the world. That day is coming, we sang it, He will reign as king forevermore. That’s going to be a good day, absolutely, but we can’t get the order wrong, like he’s got to die first to bring salvation, and then bring the kingdom, and so that’s the issue. The temptation that we face is trying to build the kingdom without bringing people into the kingdom. It’s the temptation we talk about in week one, the Pelagian heresy. You remember William Blake, in the Jerusalem poem, like we can build Jerusalem here, so it’s trying to build the kingdom without bringing people into the kingdom, without preaching Christ. To do that, we can secure the success of the mission by means of politics. There are a lot of us who would not say this, probably, but really, kind of live like we believe that we can redeem humanity by winning this next election, and so that confuses ends and means, as if we come to Jesus just to get the perfect life. Well, that’s often how the gospel is preached, isn’t it? False gospel, not just in politics, in all sorts of areas, right? You got marriage problems, Jesus can help you with that. So I’m coming to Jesus to get a better marriage, not to get Jesus. So, but if that’s, if that’s the goal, if we’re coming through Jesus just to get that perfect society that I describe, well, if you can get there some other way, then who cares. We’re going to the same destination. You got a flight this week, you need to get to O’Hare. You can take Manheim, you can take the Tri-State. Either way, you ended up at O’Hare. Is that how this works? Like, can we get where we want to go through Jesus or take a different way? Well, certainly not, because the end, the destination where we’re actually heading is Jesus. Jesus is the end, like the only reason the kingdom is there is because Jesus is king. That’s what makes it the kingdom. Heaven is heaven, because he’s there. The perfection of the New Jerusalem, the new heavens, and the new earth that we see at the end of Revelation results from his presence and work. So, make no mistake, Satan will be very, very happy to let you build a paper kingdom that looks like the new Jerusalem without Jesus, John Piper points out that churches lose their culture transforming power when they make cultural transformation their primary focus. That’s the confusing means and ends again. The goal isn’t cultural transformation, the goal is Jesus, and cultural transformation will then happen, but of course we lose our culture transforming power when we make cultural transformation our end, because we, we strip away all of our power. The only power that we have as the church is the gospel of Christ Jesus and His Spirit, who indwells us? What does Paul say in Romans one? Not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God to the salvation of all who believe. So, you take the devil’s bargain, you strip away all that power. You’re like Samson, after he’s got his head shaved, you go, I look the same, I feel the same, but no, there’s no power left at this point, and it’s going to go really badly for you. Political temptation is a temptation to idolatry. Political temptation makes politics the means of redemption. And then, third, political temptation opens politics to the demonic. Political temptation opens politics to the demonic, of course it does. Here is Satan saying, “Have you tried politics? Yeah, so he’s in it, of course he is. I mean, answer this question for me honestly, is the church in America in the 20-first century shaping. Culture or being shaped by the culture war, we’re being squeezed into the world’s mold, satanic mold. It’s not that the cause is wrong, but that necessarily sometimes it is, of course, but that even we’ve got the right cause, we’re pursuing it in the wrong spirit with the wrong character, because we’re pursuing it idolatrously and as a means of redemption. This is why so many, even today, hear a phrase like family values, which I think many of us would promote in this room. Hear the phrase family values and think, and I’m not making this up, by the way. This is based on a Gallup poll. He hear family values, and they think political ploy, way to win votes, phony issue, because we probably have made it that in the way that we pursued it. So, rather than imitate Christ, we imitate the world and its present Prince Satan, and how many times have you heard people say, in essence, Christian charity can’t handle the seriousness of this moment. We need to fight, and so we need to adopt the world’s means. That’s the devil’s bargain again. Do you remember Saul, King Saul, shortly before his kingdom falls? He’s killed and it’s handed over to David, and he is about to lose a battle. So, it’s a desperate moment. Desperate people do desperate things. So, what does Saul do? He consults a witch to bring Samuel up from the dead, Samuel’s spirit, so that he can get some information. Look, we probably haven’t consulted a witch, I hope not, but the situation is so desperate, so dire. We got to bend the rules, maybe. Again, I don’t consult a medium, but we got to be mean or deceptive, or whatever it could be. Cable news and social media keep us paranoid and always enraged, which means we’re easy to manipulate. And then people in desperate situations, as I said, behave desperately. The rules don’t apply. That’s what we see all around us when the rules don’t imply we’re following Satan here, that inevitably involves dehumanizing opponents, demonizing opponents. We would even say, and that’s a good word for it, because it’s demonic, right? It is Satan who despises the image of God in humanity and seeks to destroy it, and we’re like, I can help you with that, Satan. We’re doing the devil’s work. Think back, I mean, do this honestly right now. Take a hard look at your heart. Think back to the words you’ve used to describe those with whom you disagree. Maybe it was publicly, maybe it was on social media, maybe it was privately, maybe it was internally, just went through your mind, idiots, freaks, bigots, or worse, words I can’t say here in this room. Now think back through those words again in light of Matthew 522 when Jesus said, “Anyone who says you fool will be in danger of the fire of hell, because hell’s fires are burning in your heart when you speak that way. Here’s what Paul said in Ephesians four. It’s a familiar passage you’ll have heard it before, but again, think of it now narrowly in terms of your political engagement. Paul writes this: In your anger, do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold, because when we’re unrighteously angry, Satan moves in. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths. How much unwholesome talk is allowed to come out of our mouths? Zero. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. The Spirit, who is supposed to control your behavior, but we hand that control over to Satan instead. Get rid again. Think of this politically, get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling, and slander, along with every form of malice. Wouldn’t you say our politics today is characterized by malice, brawling, slander? To be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. In other words, we, if we’ve been shaped by the gospel, are to treat people the way God treated us, kindness and compassion to the utterly undeserving. That’s not our approach today. Ephesians is not winning out, Alinsky is winning out. I mentioned King Saul earlier. Here’s Paul is talking in Ephesians four. Paul’s his Latin name, his Hebrew name is Saul. Let me give you one more Saul, though. Saul Alinsky famously wrote a book, kind of given the playbook for the radical left at the time, in the 60s, 70s. It has, at this point, been adopted by the radical everybody, and he talks about what you need to do is you pick a target, whatever issue you want to win, you got to pick that target, but then you got to personalize the target, you don’t attack an issue, you attack a person, you polarize it, and he says you need to cut off that person from their support network, isolate them from sympathy. He says, I’m quoting here, you go after people, not institutions, because people hurt faster, and I quote again, this is cruel. He acknowledges that this is cruel, but very effective, personalized criticism and ridicule works. Both parties are listening to that advice. The sad reality is Alinsky’s methods have won the day, and so there is no room for compassion, charity, love, kindness, because we are doing the devil’s work and the devil’s way. I keep saying we’re in league with Satan. I believe we actually are in league with Satan. I don’t mean that as hyperbole. I read something just this week after I wrote the sermon. You can tell because it’s on a different page here. This is from Richard Beck’s book, Reviving Old Scratch, that name for the devil, old scratch. He points out the fact that Satan in the Hebrew just means the adversary, and so Satan is anything that’s adversarial to the truth, to goodness, and all of that. And so he gives a list of things. He says hate is the Satan of love, exclusion is the Satan of inclusion. Oppression is the Satan of justice. Tearing down is the Satan of building up. Competition is the Satan of cooperation. Revenge is the Satan of mercy. Harm is the Satan of care. Hostility is the Satan of reconciliation. Which side of those polar opposites do you think most of our politics are on right now, love or hate, inclusion or exclusion? When we have a president who ran on a platform of retribution, which is the Satan of mercy. Again, we can multiply examples. We are doing the devil’s work in the devil’s way, and so how do we justify it? Because we fall into morality by comparison. I may be bad, but I’m better than they are, which is a form of self-justification, a sense of I earned this because I am okay on the curve, and that is satanic, because it’s the Satan of the gospel, grace. You fall into morality by comparison, you engage in what’s known as motive asymmetry, where everything you and your side do, you know, even if it’s bad stuff, you can kind of excuse it, because you know where it’s coming from. There’s a good motive, at least. And then everything the other side does, well, everything they always do is motivated by bad things, motive asymmetry. The other problem with morality, by comparison, is that it neglects the commonness of humanity, there is an equality of all in two key ways in Scripture. First of all, we are all created in the image of God, so we all have equal worth and dignity, every human being. Second, we have an equality of sin. We are all equally condemned because of our sin before the throne of a holy God, so that morality of comparison doesn’t really work out so well. I’d actually challenge you. I’m getting this from one of the books I read, I don’t remember which one. You should assume your capacity for injustice, for evil like that would be part of this is going right everything that Brandon just said instead of going well I mean yeah I know people like that that’s not me though we should be going that’s probably me that’s probably somewhere in my heart to assume our capacity for in justice and the thing is wrongs aren’t justified even if. The opponent is even more wrong. I know this well. You know how I know this well. It’s not watching cable news. It’s because I have a four and five year old boy. Sorry, five and six year old man, they keep getting older. Five and six year old almost every day I have this conversation with them. He hit me, yeah. Well, because he bit me, and so you’re like, so mine was justified because of what he did, and you’re like, no, both of you were wrong. And again, that’s our parties in a nutshell. We’ve got the morality of a five and a six year old boy. It’s really discouraging. You discouraged yet? Feeling a little bit satanic yet, like no one likes to see they’ve been doing Satan’s work and Satan’s way, but there is hope. Let’s turn there now. We’re ready for some hope. Let’s talk about trust. What does it look like to trust Jesus, who came to save us from our sins? So, to see the way out, we need to understand what really happened in this passage. This is not just a story about Jesus resisting temptation. It is a story of Jesus resisting temptation in our place, and as our representative, ultimately as our substitute. Where we failed, Jesus proved faithful. There are two moments that are being undone here in this story. The first, you probably recognize, this is not the first time that that ancient serpent, the devil, tried to tempt a representative of humanity with food. Remember the other time the Garden of Eden, which is different. Jesus is in the desert, and he hasn’t eaten for 40 days. Adam and Eve are in paradise, surrounded by delicious food. But have you had this one? And they go, “Well, okay, that does look better, actually, and they fail, but Jesus succeeds in their place. The other one you might not see as obviously, but it’s here too. Is this is not the first time that the people of God, the Israel of God, have been in the wilderness tested by the devil. There’s a reason why all three times Jesus quotes scripture, he quotes from Deuteronomy, because that’s the record of Israel’s failure in the wilderness after the Exodus, which we looked at not that long ago. He keeps quoting Deuteronomy because they grumbled, ‘We’re going to starve out here, we need bread, God provides manna. They tested God over and over again, of course, they succumb to idolatry, most notably with the golden calf. That’s what’s really happening in this moment. Like, just a little bit of context here in Matthew, what’s happened in Matthew chapter two, Jesus leaves Egypt, where he’d fled for asylum as a political refugee, he leaves Egypt, and then in Matthew three he passes through the waters, the waters of baptism in his case, but Paul tells us in First Corinthians 10 that that’s what the Red Sea was for Israel, their own waters of baptism, so we’re just following Israel, right, we went from Egypt through the water to the wilderness to be tested by the devil, but where humanity failed in Adam, where God’s people failed in Israel. The second Adam, and the true Israel, succeeds. He is faithful to the end. So this is not a moralistic story about how to resist temptation. Just got to quote scripture, so you better be memorizing it. Sure, by all means, it’s not less than that, but it’s more than that. This is a story. This is a new chapter in the story of redemption. At last, one has come who has overcome temptation and defeated the devil. One little word should fail him. And because Jesus forged that path as the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, we can follow his footsteps and resist the devil too, so that we don’t follow in the first Adam’s and Israel’s footsteps. I don’t know if we grasp how important the work of defeating the devil is to the ministry of Jesus Christ. Probably because we’re all weirded out by exorcism. Exorcism was not a small add-on to Jesus’s ministry. It was front and center. It’s the first thing he does. He says, ‘Repent, the kingdom of God is here. I gotta heal some people. I gotta kick the hell out of earth. And when Jesus.. we just looked at this in the Oil in the Mission series, Kyle preached on this. When Jesus sends the 12 out and the 70. Two out, what does he tell them to do? Kingdom of God is here, so you better repent. I’m gonna heal some people, I’m gonna kick the hell out of earth. We’re gonna exorcize demons, like this is what we’ve been called to do, to defeat the devil in Jesus’ name. Certainly not to get in league with him. I’m gonna give you the big idea, nice and early here, and then we’re gonna talk through some specific application as we go. The big idea is this: the faithful one took our failure so that we might live faithfully for him. The faithful one took our failure so that we might live faithfully for him. The fact that he took his, our failure doesn’t mean we go, well, I guess we need to keep on failing here. That’s no big deal. No, we start to live faithfully as a result. We are changed as a result of the gospel of Jesus Christ. What I mean by this is that when Jesus said, ‘Take up your cross and follow me, I’m pretty sure that he meant we should, you know, follow him, like, do what he did, imitate Jesus. The point Russell Moore makes in his book, Onward, which we’ve done here before, as a church, as an Explore Hour class. It’s the subtitle that just nails exactly what I’m talking about. The subtitle is engaging culture without losing the gospel because we’re living faithfully for the Jesus of the gospel. First Peter 212 is a passage we talk about a lot here. Peter says to a group of persecuted Christians living in exile at this time, live such good lives among the pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us. This is what we are supposed to do in this world, to live the sorts of lies where people go, I’m pretty sure I hate Christianity, but I really like you, help me out. What’s going on there? And we get to talk about Jesus. Then now look at that passage again, and tell me, is there an asterisk anywhere in that passage that says, except when it comes to politics, then you don’t need to worry about living a good life. I don’t see
one.
So this is how we should engage politically. I think a lot of what this means is that we should then learn to be before we do politically, so learn to be Christ-like before we do politics to ensure that we have Christ-like character and priorities, and this takes real effort, you know. Martin Luther King, when he would train people for civil rights movement, and especially the protests that happened, he taught the practice of self-purification before they would engage in any demonstration, because he needed to make sure that the people who are going to protest in the name of Jesus actually lived like Jesus, and so they’d ask the question, like, are you ready to engage politically and really to suffer politically without retaliation, because you cannot march in the name of the God who said, vengeance is mine, love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, repay insult with blessing, and then riot violently against your political enemies. We need to learn to be so that then our being shapes our doing, because otherwise the talk and the walk, they don’t match up, and that’s a problem. Paul asked the questions in Romans 221 “You who preach against stealing, do you steal? Are you a hypocrite? That’s all he’s asking. And Jonathan Leman kind of riffs on this, I’m drawing from him, not necessarily quoting, but drawing from me, because he kind of says, “Look, I got some questions of my own, when we talk about Christians in politics, you who advocate for immigration reform, do you open your home to foreigners? Like, is the diversity of the coming kingdom present in the people that are welcome in your home? You, who preach family values, do you honor your parents and love your spouse sacrificially. You, who speak against abortion, do you support single mothers? Do you foster, adopt, show up at the safe families run? If nothing else, are you raising your own kids well? Do you defend life as vigorously after birth as you do prior to it? You, who lament structural injustices, do you work to dismantle them locally? Again, we can just multiply examples from there. We actually want to stop. Because I like that you do work to dismantle them locally is a good question, because the word locally is so important. Can I break your hearts for a moment now that I’ve accused you being satanic? Are we good with that? Can’t get worse, can it? I’m looking around the room here, and I’m thinking none of us is going to change the world. I could be wrong, maybe one of you grows up to be president, that’s fine. Okay, but most likely we’re not gonna be able to change the world, really. But every one of us here could change someone’s world. We can make a difference in the corner of the world that God has entrusted to our care. What would that look like for you? Jonathan Lehmann, again, he just shares a story of one of his church members named Chelsea, who’s teaching as a public high school, a teacher where the dropout rate was 46% when she started, like one of those schools, you know, the kind I’m talking about. So, what does she do there? I mean, does she agitate for school reform? Probably, absolutely, but that’s not where it starts. She hosts Bible studies after school in her classroom and provides snacks, because a lot of the kids are hungry. In fact, she buys meals regularly for hungry students, had like Chipotle gift cards ready to go all the time. She would drive around and pick up kids to bring them to church on Sundays would keep peanut butter and jelly supplies in her classroom in a cabinet, so that any kid could go in who didn’t have lunch that day. Regularly bought groceries, toiletries, uniforms, had a little kit in the classroom as well, supplies so that kids could fix ripped clothes or broken glasses, so they didn’t have to suffer the indignity of that, to my mind, that’s God-honoring political engagement. Someone who learned to be and then do and then vote in that order, like we can’t just verbalize our convictions, we need to embody those convictions in our daily lives. Get off social media, turn off cable news, go to church, learn your Bible and how it speaks to the principles that undergird politics and and then engage locally, serve actively, and then yeah, vote. Even then, I would say vote locally first and foremost, like that’s the difference you’re gonna be able to make there. Vote nationally too, like we need every word of the big idea. We’re going to do this. The faithful one took our failure, and he took it, took the guilt, took the condemnation away from us, so that we might live faithfully. Knowing what he’s done for us transforms us, changes us, should certainly lead, like knowing that he had to take our failure, that’s how bad we were, should lead us to self-examination, confession, and repentance. Every one of us in this room, there may be the kids who are like, I don’t know anything he’s talking about right now. Every one of us should be going. Jesus, I wasn’t. I wasn’t before. I wasn’t doing it, but from now on I’m going to follow you here. We should be saying that as individuals, but as a church too. Justin Gaboni points out that I don’t think anyone could say with any degree of integrity that Christians have been a shining example in today’s chaos. I just don’t think we would say that. I don’t know that we’re salt and light preaching and embodying a better way politically, so that people are drawn to us, because of how we practice politics, Colin Hanson asked the important question, How does the church stand out by offering fear and loathing in a world that’s already full of it, and yet that’s what we tried to do, so here today, like let’s commit as one local church, one local congregation to live faithfully together in community as we engage culture and politics. I can quote Lehman just one more time. He says, “If there is hope for the nation, it’s through the witness and work of churches. Our congregations have the opportunity to live transformed lives as a transformed culture through a transformed politics in their own fellowships, right now, all for God’s glory and our neighbor’s good. How focusing not on the public square but on what the church has been called to do, making disciples. Preaching the word of God, preaching the word, that’s actually the key. It’s the key to understanding Matthew four, isn’t it? That’s exactly what we see here in the story of temptation. The only way we’re going to resist political temptation is union with Christ, who succeeded where we failed, and reliance on the word, what we see Jesus do by quoting scripture, and really those are two ways of saying the same thing, because Tim Perry points out the word, capital W, the word made flesh, the word is in the words of the Bible. There is good news, Jesus succeeded where we failed, where we succumb to temptation, he bore it to the uttermost to be that perfect, spotless substitute slain in our place. Where we trust in princes, he trusted unfailingly in his Father all the way to Calvary. When we make treaties with worldly powers, he conquers them by his blood, so the solution to our political problem is trusting him and following him and living for him. I’ll just say it again, what we said last week. In repentance and rest is our salvation, in quietness and trust is our strength. Let’s pray, you Lord, we want to be like Jesus. That is, I hope, why we show up on Sunday mornings to gather as your people, to be conformed to the image of your Son, to see His character formed in us, and so God, would you do that even now by your word that we heard here this morning? Would you keep us from being conformed to the world and squeezed into its mold, and instead be transformed by the renewing of our minds, by the renewing of our hearts as we are shaped by grace, by the gospel, by the love of the one who came to live the life we should have lived, took our failure, died the death we deserve to die, and then raises us to new life in Him, and it says for His name’s sake, that we pray. Amen.Amen.

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Trust & Treaties May 10, 2026 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper discusses the biblical text of Isaiah 30:1-18, emphasizing the dangers of binary political choices and the importance of trusting in God rather than worldly powers. He draws parallels between ancient Judah’s reliance on Egypt over God and modern Christians’ tendency to trust political parties over divine guidance. Cooper highlights the need for Christians to fear God first, engage in critical analysis, and maintain prophetic independence. He urges believers to pray for those in authority, trust in God’s power, and rest in His grace, ultimately advocating for a faith-driven approach to politics.

Well, good morning church. Go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Isaiah 30. Isaiah 30, we’ll be in verses 1-18 in what is probably not the favorite text for Mother’s Day or the favorite subject for Mother’s Day, either. So apologies for that in advance, but it’s good to have you all here as we continue in our series, what it means to practice politics, to engage in politics being shaped by Scripture and not by culture. As we’re turning to Isaiah 30, I like weddings. I really do like weddings. Obviously I get to officiate them occasionally, and all that they proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, big fan of weddings. I’m not a fan of wedding receptions, knowing I got a few to go to coming up here in a few weeks anyway, not not my favorite thing. You know me, I’m too introverted to be around that many people, and then I’m too curmudgeonly to have music that loud and dancing that long. One other reason I’m not always a fan of weddings is they pick the menu for me, and usually you just kind of put it down in front of me. Sometimes I get two options. You get two options, right? Do you want the beef or the chicken or something like that? And I don’t like that two option thing. They’re like, You want beef or chicken? And I’m thinking to myself, what I really want is salmon. No luck, right? They never bring it to me. And then definitely no substitutions either. We’re going, could I get spinach instead of asparagus? And the waiters just kind of look at you like you’re in the wrong place. So you can tell I like a tapas restaurant. You know? I can just pick and choose whatever I want bring it all together. But no, that’s not wedding receptions. Unfortunately, this is also how it feels in America today. You got two options. You want the Republican meal or the democratic meal? That’s it. No substitutions, either. Could I get this part? But I really would love to switch out climate policy. Is that a possibility? No, absolutely not. And then the more that we choose sides, the more that we’re like, Well, this is the plate that’s been served me. This is what I got to eat. I guess the more that we are squeezed into that party’s mold, the importance of party loyalty, that’s what we’re going to look at today, and the danger of this kind of binary choice thinking for us as Christians. And to get there, we’re going to draw from Israel’s history, really Judah’s history, the southern kingdom, after the nation of Israel divided. What’s happening here, just you’re clear on the context of this prophecy, is that Assyria is the current world superpower. This is the same Assyria that is going to actually wipe out the northern kingdom and take them in to exile, never to return that same Assyria is threatening the southern kingdom Judah, which is a tiny country, weak country, and so they’re understandably panicked, like, what can we do to stave off this threat? Or maybe the better question, to whom will they turn? It’s a question that we face today, because we are also facing real problems, not the threat of invasion, but there are very real issues. To whom will we turn? So we’re looking at three questions that we got to answer and that this text will help us answer as we figure that out. So our first question, what should we trust? What should we trust? Let me look at Isaiah, 30 verses, one to seven. I’ll read it for us. Woe to the obstinate children, declares the Lord. To those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by My Spirit, keeping sin upon sin, who go down to Egypt without consulting me, who look for help, to Pharaoh’s protection, to Egypt’s shade, for refuge, but Pharaoh’s protection will be to your shame. Egypt’s shade will bring you disgrace, though they have officials and so on, and their envoys have arrived in Hans, everyone will be put to shame because of a people useless to them, who bring neither help nor advantage but only shame and disgrace. A prophecy concerning the animals of the Negev through a land of hardship and distress, of lions and lionesses, of adders and darting snakes, the envoys carry their riches on donkeys backs, their treasures on the humps of camels, to their unprofitable nation, to Egypt, whose help is utterly useless. Therefore I call her Rahab the do nothing. Assyria is threatening Judah, as I said, and so the nation looks to Egypt for help. What’s going on here is they’re sending tribute to Egypt to purchase an alliance and military. Very support Egypt, one of the other superpowers, and so maybe the two of us together, at least, can fight off Assyria. Now at the human level, this makes a lot of sense. This is a shrewd move, and the weaker nation needs protection. And often weaker nations get pulled into the orbit of the superpowers. Think of the Cold War, when almost every nation on the planet was like, Well, I’m gonna go with the US, or I’m gonna go with the USSR. And that’s kind of what’s happening here as well. So humanly speaking, it makes a lot of sense, but from God’s perspective, it’s utter folly. It is, as he points out, not his alliance, and to enter into it is to heap sin upon sin. So what’s the big deal? Because it’s not that alliances are intrinsically wrong. Israel and Judah make alliances at various points in their history. They’re not always called out for it. The issue, you see it there in verse two, is that they didn’t consult God. They didn’t look to God first, and instead, they looked to Egypt. We see it in verse one, also where it says they carry out plans that aren’t the Lord’s. So Isaiah is asking the question. The Lord’s asking the question like, why would you look to Egypt when you could look to God instead? And if you’re at all familiar with Israel’s history. You know, this is a really good question, like we just did, Exodus, Who you rooting for? Who you think’s got this god or Egypt? The choice is obvious. I mean, Judah is going back to their slave masters to ensure their freedom. The irony would be hilarious if it weren’t so depressing. And why not just ask God to do what he’s done before, deliver his people in power? But no, they don’t, and then we don’t always either, do we? There’s this temptation that we face to magnify our present crisis and minimize God’s past deliverance so that we start to believe our circumstances and doubt His word. Like I know you’ve done it before, Lord, but this time, it’s too much for you, like this time, I’m going to have to take care of myself. We’re going to need to we’re going to need to call in some outside help here. The Lord isn’t enough. Have you ever felt that? Have you ever felt that, politically, with the present crisis in our world, pick which crisis you’re thinking of thinking, well, we’re going to need to do something about this. I don’t think the Lord is enough. You actually see the folly of this belief in the word that’s used for Alliance, the word literally means covering, and that’s how they’re treating Egypt. They see Egypt like a warm blanket that’s going to make them feel safe against the Assyrian storm. You remember when you were a kid and you were scared that there was a monster in your room? What’s the key to surviving a monster attack? You got to pull the blanket over your head. Right? They can’t see you. They can’t eat you. Now there was not a monster in your room. If there had been a monster in your room. How much security Do you think that blanket was offering you very, very little, exactly. And that’s the problem with Egypt here as well. The folly of it, in fact, later on in this chapter, even later than we’ll get to in this passage, the same word is used for an idol, because that’s what it is. An idol is a warm blanket. I think it’s going to protect me, even though it is, in fact, useless. This is why the Lord points out what we already know, what happens when we don’t trust him. It never works, so that they’re going to reap shame and disgrace, not victory and protection. The Lord loves us too much to let us wander away from him and put our hope in worldly powers for help. He won’t, if he if he loves us, if he’s gracious and merciful towards us, he won’t let us keep going down that path forever. It’s like when you’re teaching your kid to drive and they’re starting to veer and you kind of go, how long do I let this go? And then you jerk the wheel back, like, that’s what the Lord will do with his people. Jerk the wheel back, kind of go, nope, we can’t go that way. And usually that involves chastisement, punishment, as the Lord is, you know, the prophecy itself is part of how he’s jerking the wheel back to kind of say, let’s, let’s get back in line here. And Isaiah does so humorously, like he pokes fun at the absurdity of trusting Egypt, starting there in verse six, where you get this a prophecy concerning the animals of the Negev. It’s this very solemn opening, isn’t it, and you read throughout the rest of Isaiah. Get a lot of a prophecy concerning the fall of Babylon. It’s serious stuff. Well, what are we getting here? We’re getting an Oracle about the beasts. What beasts of the Negev, the pack animals who are bringing the tribute to Egypt from Israel. That’s what this prophecy is about. Now you can imagine the officials who are still there in Jerusalem, the one who sent these envoys out to deliver the tribute. And they’re pacing nervously back in the palace in Jerusalem. You know, they got life 360 going on their phone, going, are they almost there? Are they almost there? Is Egypt going to accept our tribute or not? They’re chain smoking because they’re stressed and all of that. And then Isaiah is over here going, Won’t somebody think of the poor pack animals though they’re carrying all this gold and stuff through the desert, these poor beasts. It’s a funny way of making a serious point. I mean, again, Israel is like literally reversing their salvation because they are going from the promised land back to Egypt, refusing their Savior in the process. And for what? What are they going to get? What are all these pack animals bringing back with them they get? Verse seven, Rahab. Rahab often used of Egypt. The word itself means arrogant, like the proud one. So Egypt’s one making big boasts. I can solve all your problems, but actually it’s useless, hence the do nothing. So that’s the big question for us. Then the question that was there for Judah as well. What should we trust. What should we trust? We should trust the Lord’s power. The Lord’s power not the arrogant, empty boasts of armchair big mouths in Alec Mathiers delightful phrase for Egypt there, but we trust the Lord’s power. The world has very real problems, but God is big enough and strong enough to handle them, and so we seek Him first, we look to him first. That’s what Peter says first. Peter 217, he’s given a list of instructions, and he says, Fear God, honor the Emperor, and that order is all important. Fear God first. Then let’s talk about the Emperor. The order is absolutely crucial, because we know, if you’ve read the book of Proverbs, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. You want to get wise, you start by fearing the Lord. We need wisdom for political engagement. It’s the most important thing we can do is fear God so that it reorients our hearts, and in the process, will diminish the other fears that so often drive the political process. In so many ways, politics is driven by fear. Our political views are driven by fear. Maybe it’s a fear of a foreign power, maybe it’s a fear of poverty, maybe it’s a fear of the other. We got to put those fears in right context, subordinate to the fear of the Lord, plus another reason we need to fear the Lord first is because the fear of man will keep us from calling out sin otherwise, which is scary. I mean, who wants to criticize Trump on Twitter today? It doesn’t be a pile on that’s gonna be a pile on. Probably not the best place to engage in politics anyway. You’ve heard me say that 1000 times, but you get the point. It would take courage to criticize leaders. We need courage to speak God’s truth to whatever powers are in the world, or else we’ll pander to it. It takes courage to be John the Baptist, who famously called out King Herod for his sin and paid for it with his life after years in prison. It takes courage, but as Jonathan Lehman reminds us, me, we may well need to offend the mighty on behalf of the Almighty, because we have been given a prophetic role so the church’s task. We’ve been given the role of proclamation. We speak truth. We’re ambassadors speaking the King’s message, which means we should be the loudest voices, the kindest voices, the most loving voices, absolutely, but the loudest voices critiquing corruption, immorality and folly within our own parties. If you belong to a party or if you voted for somebody, you should be the one most loudly critiquing them to say, I voted for you. I didn’t vote for this. And you need to know that. So the question we got to ask ourselves, have you formed an unholy alliance with a political party? Have you consulted the Lord in the matter? And one of the ways to test this, because that’s a hard question to ask, no, I don’t think I have. I think the Lord is first in my heart. That’s tough to see. One of the tests is, have you made peace with your party’s sins? So you’re looking at them like Egypt, which was throughout Israel’s history, not only Israel’s enemy, but God’s enemy as well. But you kind of got this lesser of two evils mentality going on, as the famous saying goes, lesser of two evils is still evil, right? Got to have that in our heads, of course. So if you made peace with your party’s sins so that you’re now defending the indefensible and excusing the inexcusable, that’s how you would know you’ve made an unholy alliance. Can I just give you an example? Let’s step on toes here. What I do? It’s easy to point to the party in power, because they’re the ones giving us the examples. Right now, if we’re years ago, I could have done the other party also. Okay, just hear that. But like we who voted for the Republican Party who elected Trump? If that’s you, should be the ones not excusing things like calling for genocide on Easter Sunday of all days, and then later posting a blasphemous image of himself as Jesus, like I just want to give you permission to say you should call that out, even if you vote Republican, especially if you vote Republican again. I could do that with the other party too. I could probably do that with the little parties, libertarians, green, you name it. We could. We could pick because we’re all sinners, okay, but that’s what I mean here. But if you’ve made peace of that, if you’re making excuses, well, he’s a Red Cross worker. No, he wasn’t. We’re not stupid. We don’t need to pretend to be stupid here. Okay, don’t make excuses. Fulfill your prophetic role. Fear God. Give the Emperor the honor he deserves. You don’t have to choose beef or chicken. You can absolutely make substitutions, and you can criticize the chef when he makes it wrong. This is supposed to be filet. This is shoe leather, you know, like, that’s okay. We can say that. Why? Because we trust in the Lord’s power ultimately, and not in any alliance that we make in the short term for limited goals. The word that came to mind here was allegiance. A lot of us would pledge allegiance to the flag like you, the only allegiance you pledge unconditionally is to God. Second question we gotta answer, what should we listen to? What should we listen to? May keep reading verses eight to 14 go now. Write it on a tablet for them. Inscribe it on a scroll that for the days to come it may be an everlasting witness. For these are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction. They say to the seers, see no more visions, and to the prophets, give us no more visions of what is right. Tell us pleasant things, Prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path and stop confronting us with a holy one of Israel. Therefore, this is what the Holy One of Israel says, Because you have rejected this message, relied on oppression and depended on deceit, this sin will become for you like a high wall cracked and bulging that collapses suddenly. In an instant, it will break in pieces like pottery shattered so mercilessly that among its pieces, not a fragment will be found for taking coals from a hearth or scooping water out of a cistern. Isaiah writes God’s word to Judah down. He does so twice. He writes it publicly on the tablet. The idea there would be almost like a billboard, like so everybody can see what God’s Word says. He writes it down privately on the scroll. That’s the one that he’s going to seal up and stick in a safe. Both of them are a witness against Judah, like you heard it, you saw it. It was up on a billboard, and I got the proof here in my safe What’s ironic is that he writes down that they don’t care what he writes down. They reject God’s word and are unwilling to listen to his instruction. In fact, they’re not just ignoring his instruction, which would be bad. They’re actively opposing it. Which is worse, stop sending us visions. Tell your prophets to stop talking, please like just shut up already. I mean, did you see that phrase? Stop confronting us. Us with the Holy One of Israel? Could there be sadder words spoken? I don’t care what God thinks. It’s not pagans who are saying that it’s God’s people who are saying that this is the word to the church, not to the world, and that’s the reminder then that that could be true of us. We might actually be saying that in our hearts. You come to church thinking, I just want you to reaffirm my preconceived notions. And if you’re not going to do that, would you just shut up already? You’ll see it today. It’s common to see somebody post on social media, some political pundit or other, if your pastor doesn’t talk about fill in the blank this Sunday, find a different church, like, just shut up. If you’re not with us, you need to find a church that’s with us politically. I’ll even take it a step further. I quoted somebody last week. I won’t tell you which one I quoted somebody last week. They’re on a do not quote list, so a prominent political organization, if I were to say the name of it, every single one of you would know which organization it is. You’ll have heard of it has a list of pastors you’re not supposed to quote. Now I quoted one of them, and so that’s your cue to find a different church. Doesn’t that feel so dangerous, because at that point, you’re not in submission to the church, to the Word of God, to the people God has appointed to instruct you in the Word of God. You’re in submission to a political party that is a slippery slope leading straight to hell. Can I just say here I’m so glad that’s not you guys like I just want to affirm you here. I believe wholeheartedly that this is a congregation that cares what God thinks, that wants to hear the word of the Lord. I don’t think you’d be here otherwise. Honestly, my spiritual gift is bluntness. I am happy to confront you with the Holy One of Israel, and you’re all here for it, and that’s good. I’ve never had somebody say, How come you didn’t bring this up politically spoken in anger, at least maybe once or twice, out of grief. But why are they so opposed? Why are they so opposed to God’s word? It’s because they found God’s word simultaneously unhelpful and demanding, and that’s a rough combination. It’s one thing for it to be unhelpful if it doesn’t cost me anything, but if it’s unhelpful and it costs me a lot, well, then why would I listen to it like I can’t see how a far off, invisible God could help me here and now with this immediate need. So I’m unwilling to count the cost again. I don’t know why you would find this unhelpful, because the Exodus, like you know, he’s got the boat, you know, he can help here. How about the conquest, the fact that they’re in the promised land at all. Do you remember David and Goliath? You remember Gideon? Any of these stories, but still they had forgotten, as we so often forget as well. And so there’s that temptation for us today also. We’ve got immediate problems. We need to take action. We can’t debate Romans guys. We need we need to fix the problems. Enough talk well, trusting Egypt in the last section we saw brought not victory, but shame and disgrace, the opposite effect of what they’d been hoping for. It’s the same thing here, instead of this secure wall, which they would need against the threat of invasion, they get what we see, starting in verse 12. Verse 13, the sin will become for you like a high wall cracked and bulging. So it’s like a wall that’s been struck once with a wrecking ball and part of it’s already knocked out. You can just kind of see every day you go and you look at it, and it looks like it’s tipping a little bit more and a little bit more, and it’s teetering, and ultimately toppling, which means that Assyria can just walk right in. They don’t even need to build siege works or anything like that. You remember how God beat Jericho? All he did was knock the walls down, and that was it. Battle’s over. Well, here they’re knocking their own walls down so Syria can walk right in. It seems better to listen then better to listen to listen to what? What should we listen to? You could have filled this blank in on your own. I’m sure it’s right there in the text, we should listen to the Lord’s instruction, to the Lord’s instruction. And can I say there is just immediate application for us here? Leader, politically speaking, where do you get your political views? Be honest. Where do you get your political views? Is it the party platform? Is it cable TV, a particular podcaster or blogger that you like political parties and partisan pundits should not set your political agenda. Jonathan Lehman said it like this, I like it. He said political parties, they make good servants and bad masters, or even better. He said they’re useful instruments, but awful identities. That’s right. So let me ask you this. Then where should you get your political views, not cable news. I can promise that. Where should you get political perspective? The counterintuitive answer, I think, is that you should get your political perspective from the church, not which policies to support. You know that, you know I’m not giving you that, but we should get our political perspective by listening to his instruction, getting the principles that will then shape our policy positions. And the church. I do mean the church, not just the preacher in the church, but the church in conversations with each other, even especially your brothers and sisters in Christ who don’t agree with you on different issues. That would be so helpful. Do you remember the proverb that says in a lawsuit, the first to speak seems right, until someone comes forward and cross examines you. Ever done that like a true crime show or something? You like, get the first bit of the evidence and you’re like, Oh, he’s guilty, and then they do the second set of evidence, and you’re like, oh, okay, more complicated than I thought. That’s what conversation should do for us when brothers and sister in Christ, we should go, Look, I obviously this is the only way intelligent Bible believing people think on this issue. Oh, oh, okay. There’s nuance. There’s nuance to this view. In Colossians two eight, Paul tells us see to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world, rather than on Christ. And you’ve read that before, if you’ve read through your Bible, and when you read that, you thought about New Age spirituality, but tell me how that doesn’t apply to political platforms. We absolutely could be taken captive by them, and they depend on human tradition and elemental spiritual forces, rather than on Christ. And again, we get squeezed. You want beef or chicken? We’re taught that it is. We are taught every day, in 100 different ways, that it is a zero sum winner take all contest, so you have to back your party every time. Can’t critique corruption because she could lose her seat in the next election, then the stakes are too high. Got to trust Egypt. Gotta trust Egypt far better. The perspective of Frederick Douglass, abolitionist and devout Christian, who said, I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong, that’s a man who’s standing on the Word of God, immovable, unshakable. Let’s take it a step further, though, even if we are listening to his instruction, it means that we will be able to instruct others, which is important because we’ve been given a proclaiming role. Again, we are ambassadors. I think this is important for us, because there are some in this room who are going to take a lot of this series as rebuke in the sense of, like, Okay, I probably need to talk less about politics, that kind of stuff. You know who you are. It’s fine. A lot of the rest of us, I would count myself in this group, we’ve washed our hands of politics, hate politics. Don’t want to think about politics. Don’t want to talk about politics. And so a sermon series like this could maybe teach us to disengage even more. I’m just trusting Jesus even so, Lord Jesus, quickly come like tomorrow, be fine, and then I don’t have to worry about this anymore. And so, no, I think we actually do need to engage that will look different for different people. Of course, that’s a jagged line issue how we engage, but certainly it means we speak truth. We know we’re called to engage in that way we instruct others. So Justin gaboni in his wonderful book, Don’t let nobody turn you around. Says this, If we’re always choosing a side, it means we’re never leading. The church should be leading like No wonder we’re stuck in this morass, because we’re not leading. We’re letting political parties and partisan pundits set the agenda and then just passively co signing whatever they put before us, and so doing, we’re putting the cult in culture war. We quote Gaboni At length here. He says, If cultural influencers can get us to base our opinions on ideological identity rather than critical analysis, analysis and conviction, then they control our public witness, which they are absolutely by the way, once we start proudly wearing the label critical thinking is no longer necessary, they’ll do all the thinking for us, and we’ll simply rubber stamp their conclusions. But the church must be convicted and thoughtful enough to have prophetic independence. That’s the point I’m trying to make prophetic independence. Like, if you agree with a party on three issues out of four, then by all means, vote for that party, but never stop calling out the fourth issue, especially if it’s a straight line issue, like if you vote democratic. Three issues out of four are fine. Never stop calling out the progressive view on sexuality, which is unbiblical if you vote Republican. Three issues out of four, All right, great. Never stop calling out the cruelty, especially shown toward the foreigner in this country at this point. That’s what it looks like to listen to the Lord’s instruction and then instruct others in light of it. Third question, what should we hope in rest of the passage? Verses 15 to 18? This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says, in repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. You said, No, we will flee on horses. Therefore you will flee. You said, we will ride off on swift horses. Therefore your pursuers will be swift. 1000 will flee at the threat of one, at the threat of five. You will all flee away till you are left like a Flagstaff on a mountain top, like a banner on a hill. Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you. Therefore he will rise up to show you compassion for the Lord. Is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him. God knows what Judah faces, and he offers the perfect solution, repentance, rest, quietness and trust, counter intuitive, but the Lord works in counterintuitive ways. You remember what he said to Israel when they were stuck between the Red Sea and the approaching Egyptian army, just stand there. That’s what he said, literally, just stand there. The Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still. That’s what he’s saying here again, if you want salvation and strength, you will find it in resting, repentant faith. You will find it entrusting to God who saves, not treaties, put your trust anywhere else, and you will always be anxious and undelivered, like if you trust in money, you will always be worrying about the market, and you will never be truly secure if you trust in politicians. You will be what we see in our culture. You will be consumed by anger and terrified of the coming midterms, whatever is coming up next, and still stuck in a broken world at the end of it. Well, Jude is having none of it. They don’t want this repentance, rest, nonsense. They want solutions now. There will be no waiting quietly, so they’re going to trust in swift horses instead of the sovereign, Holy One of Israel. So in God’s mercy. And make no mistake, it is mercy. It’s the jerk in the wheel back in God’s mercy, Assyria will have swifter horses. God will expose the weakness of Judah’s idols, so that they turn back to him. 1000 will flee. The sight of one, Assyrian the sight of five, the whole nation will run away, so that in the end, only a flag pole remains to show passers by that a nation used to be there. Well, does that attitude sound familiar? Because it does, to me, is we are tempted to trust in politics to produce culture, cultural transformation. And so you back a horse, a swift horse. You think, then you discover there are other horses in the race. Some of them are swifter, and your horse pulled up lame anyway, when the opposition dump comes out, all the “oppo” research the skeletons in the closet, or they make a misstep politically, ruining their chance. Or they’re duplicitous or incompetent or whatever it is, the people we support politically cannot guarantee political victory. It may well lead us into political defeat overall, or even on certain issues. I mean, how many of us have backed somebody because we’re like, well, at least on this issue, I know we’re in the same spot, and then that’s the issue they compromise on to get their signature achievement across the finish line. And you go far better than to trust wholeheartedly and single mindedly in the God who is there, the God who saves and to wait on Him. Spurgeon tells us what that waiting faith looks like. He says, the faith that rests on God alone is alone true. The confidence that relies only partly on the Lord is vain. Confidence, if to wait on God is worship. To wait on the creature is idolatry. To wait is true faith, but to look elsewhere, then would be audacious unbelief. Your faith will be rewarded. That’s the good news. The Lord will accomplish his purposes. Again, we’ve read Revelation together as a congregation. We know how the story ends. Can I tell you what the New Jerusalem is like? There’s no abortion there, there’s no racism there, there’s no poverty there, there’s no injustice there, there’s no pollution there. What do you want? Politically, it’s there. God will make it happen. In fact, it’s even true in this story. If we were to keep reading the rest of the chapter, you get down to verse 31 it says, this the voice of the Lord. That’s it. Nothing else, by the way, just the voice of the Lord will shatter Assyria. God wins in the end. So trust him with your platform, and I’ll give you yet one more reason to trust him. It’s there in verse 18. It is the key to the passage. It’s the hinge verse that moves us from the rebuke in the section we looked at this morning, and then the promise that comes in the rest of the chapter, yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you. The word yet isn’t quite right there. I understand why the NIV translated it that way. It’s not a wrong translation. If you’re looking at the ESV, for example, it begins with a different word. It’s the exact same word that you see in the second part of that verse, it’s the word, therefore, think how that changes this text, you’re unwilling to trust me, the Lord says, Therefore I’m willing to be gracious to you. Because you’re unwilling to trust therefore I’m willing to be gracious to you, because you won’t wait on me, therefore I’ll wait for you, right? Like we won’t wait on Him, we want swift horses instead. So he waits. That’s the word that’s used when it says He longs for it. The word is wait. He continually longs for it and is unfailingly patient with us. What grace? What grace after the rebuke we just read? By the way, that waiting piece, it means, how many times do we cry out, how long O Lord, not always, but sometimes the Lord’s response to how long O Lord might just be whenever you’re ready, like I’m here, shoes, coat, keys in hand, you just tell me when you’re ready to go. I’m waiting on you. But what grace? And we know how true this is. You’ve got any doubt that the Lord longs to be gracious to us. Know this, in the fullness of time, God sent His Son to accomplish our salvation, to deliver us, not from Assyria or Babylon or Persia or Rome or whatever, but to deliver us from the worst power sin that is inside all of us. The God who defeated sin and death at the cross of Jesus, Christ is a god you can trust Blessed are all who wait for Him in repentance and rest and quietness and trust, the quietness and trust of a person who can say, He saved me, he saved me, he saved us, He will save us to the uttermost. He will remake the world. What should we hope in that we should hope in the Lord’s grace, the Lord’s grace. Our big idea, by the way, is nothing new here. It’s just pull those three things together. And we said already, the big idea is this to take away from today, trust in His power, listen to his instruction, rest in His grace. That’s how we approach politics, as the pure in heart. But just by way of application, as we wrap up here, picture with me. The person who is doing that, the person who is really resting waiting on God in quietness and trust. Do you see him there? Do you see her there, sitting in a favorite armchair? You know, Bibles open next to them, because they were just reading and meditating on it. What is that person doing, who is resting in the Lord? Praying, praying. Prayer is the surest mark of trusting in his power, resting in his grace, informed by his word, of course, we would hope And isn’t that what Paul tells us, passage that we had part of read for us this morning. Paul says this to Timothy, I urge then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving, be made for all people, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good and pleases God, our Savior, who wants all people to be saved, to come to a knowledge of the truth? I wonder is that the first passage you think of when you think of what it looks like to practice politics as the pure in heart, because it probably ought to be, must start with prayer. In fact, I would challenge you this week, especially if you are overly politically engaged, fast, fast from cable news, fast from social media, maybe just fast from the news as a whole, just completely disengaged from politics for a week, and do nothing but pray for the people in power, for human flourishing and for the space for all people to come to a knowledge of the truth. We can do something after we pray, but we shouldn’t do anything before we pray, and with our priorities quite clear, because, again, why? Why do we pray for kings and those in authority? We live quiet and peaceful lives so that the gospel of Christ Jesus can go forth, so that people can be saved, so that they can come to a knowledge of the truth. We’ve got that priority clear in our mind. We pray in quietness and trust and repentance and rest, and let me reassure you, because you’re like, I don’t know if I don’t know if I can check out of politics for a week. They need me. They need me now more than ever. First of all, they don’t but second of all, we, quote Francis Schaeffer, you need not fear that if you wait for God’s Spirit, you will not get as much done as if you charged a head in the flesh. After all, who can do the most? You or the God of heaven and earth. Let me say it again. Who can do the most your political party or the God of heaven and earth? Trust in His power, listen to his instruction, rest in His grace and prove it in prayer. Let’s pray to him now. Lord, we worship you as Lord and King, the sovereign over all nations in whose good and powerful hands all of history rests, that knowledge alone is enough for us to quiet our anxious hearts and to rest, to come to you in repentance and trust, knowing that therein lies our salvation, the God who is not only powerful enough to rule all nations, but loving enough to make a way from people from every nation to be saved in Christ. So Lord, we confess our sins. We confess the times we have not trusted in you, but have looked to our Egypt’s instead, we repent. We turn to you again. We put our hope in you, and we prove it by praying Lord. We pray for our nation, for the world. We pray for those who are in power above us, locally, the state level, the national level, wherever they are, Lord, we pray that You would give them wisdom, so that they would lead well, so that humanity can flourish, so that there is space for the gospel of Christ to go forth. Would you accomplish that by Your power and for your name’s sake? Amen.

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King & Kingdom (Psalm 146:1-10) May 3, 2026 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper discusses the challenges of preaching on politics, citing 2020 as the hardest year for his ministry due to the pandemic and political tensions. He emphasizes the importance of trusting in God rather than human leaders, referencing Psalm 146. Cooper argues that Christians should be shaped by scripture, not culture, and highlights the dangers of political idolatry. He contrasts the fleeting nature of human leadership with God’s eternal reign, urging believers to prioritize the gospel and the church’s mission over political engagement. Cooper also warns against using scripture to justify political stances, stressing the need for principles over policies.

Good morning church. You can go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Psalm 146. Psalm 146. It’s where we’ll be this morning as we start our series on politics. Now I don’t want to preach on politics. I can think of almost nothing I would like to preach about less than politics for all sorts of reasons. You think I don’t want to preach on politics. My wife really doesn’t want me to preach on politics. She’s been nervous all week long. So if she leaves, you know that’s why anyway. And I think we all understand where this is coming from. Like most pastors that I know, 2020 was by far the hardest year of my ministry. Why it was not the pandemic, I felt equipped in what I know about scripture to deal with the pandemic, because I know that there is not one Maverick molecule in all of God’s universe. So I know what disease is. It wasn’t the pandemic, but it was the politics that came with the pandemic. Do we require masks? What do you think about vaccines? When do we start meeting together again? Did we ever stop meeting in the first place? Oh, and then, in the middle of all that, you may remember in the summer of 2020 a bit of unrest in our country springing from the murder of George Floyd, and then, of course, we wrapped up that year with a really contentious election, some subsequent election denialism and even a riot at the Beginning of the next year. All of this was so fraught politically that those of us who were in leadership of any sort were constantly under attack. I mean, I can remember having people upset with me in 2020 because I wouldn’t immediately preach a series on racial justice. Almost the same week, I had somebody else upset with me because we had linked to articles on racial justice in the pulse. Both left the church, by the way, just to show you how serious these issues were. So we had people, I think, within the same quarter, leave the church because we were too woke on issues of race and then too bigoted on issues of sexuality. I’m not alone in feeling this way. As a pastor, I know Jonathan Lehman in his book How the nations rage, which I’ll be drawing freely in this series, he did a pastor of a church in Washington, DC, Capitol Hill, Baptist, so like right there where everything is happening. So they did a, like, a Sunday school class on politics leading up to the 2016 election. It was right after the election had happened. That kind of last class, they were trying to put the punctuation mark on it. He was talking about unity in the Gospel and the need for unity in the Gospel in the church. When one woman mentioned that she felt completely unsupported by her white friends after the election, and somebody else responded elsewhere in the classroom that all Democrats are evil, and he thought to himself, why am I teaching this class, much as I’m thinking to myself now, why am I preaching this series? Why would I do it? Though I said it last week already, if you were here, I am preaching this series because I am desperately worried that we as the church are being discipled by culture and not scripture when it comes to politics. Tim Perry mentions, I thought this was an insightful question. He says, Why are calls for Christians to forsake either woke or white far outnumbering the calls for Christians to forsake worldliness? That’s the question. The name of his book, by the way, is when politics becomes heresy. And he points out in the introduction, he does not mean that to be hyperbole. That’s often how we use heresy. We don’t really mean heresy like it’s heresy to think that LeBron is better than Michael Jordan. That’s heresy, right? That’s how it gets used. That’s not what the word heresy means. Heresy is serious. Heresy means that you have so completely abandoned truth that you are actually outside the kingdom at this point on the road to damnation. I mean, think about that for a moment. What if? What shipwrecks your faith? It is not a sexual affair and the love of money, luxury, self indulgence. What if it’s politics? What if there’s such deep idolatry in you that it ultimately damns you? That’s why we’re doing this series. Now. In this series, we will not be talking about policies, needless to say, but principles. What it looks like to be a people shaped by the word of God when it comes to our politics. And so to do that, we’re going to start where we need to start, which is with the ultimate government. People often ask me if I’m a Republican or a Democrat, I am neither. I’m politically homeless, but I especially like to answer the question by saying that I am a religious monarchist. God is King. That’s my politics, and we’re going to see what that means exactly and why that matters. In Psalm 146 what it looks like for us to trust that God will build the world we want, and to let that in the Bible shape how we think so. Just as a sign of our reverence before the Lord and our commitment to his word as our ultimate political platform, would you stand for the reading of that word? Here’s Psalm 146 praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. My soul. I will praise the Lord all my life. I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Do not put your trust in princes and human beings who cannot save when their spirit departs, they return to the ground. On that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He is the maker of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them. He remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free. The Lord gives sight to the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down. The Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. The Lord reigns forever your God, O Zion for all generations praise the Lord says the word of the Lord. You can have a seat. So let’s start with the king, the king himself. Now Psalm 146 is the first of the so called Hallelu Psalms. Psalms 146 to 150 Hallelu is the Hebrew word. Let us praise yah, short form of Yahweh that we just sang a moment ago. Let’s praise the Lord. So it’s these hallelujah psalms that are celebrating God’s worth and glory, the reminder that God deserves our praise. And because he deserves our praise, he also deserves our trust. He deserves our trust, in contrast to, well, everyone else really, including the political class. Verse three, you can understand why I chose this passage for this series. Don’t put your trust in princes in the political class. Now. Why not? Why are politicians unworthy of our trust? Did you notice that here the focus is on their mortality? They die, and so their plans come to naught. They die so they can’t really save, at least not to the uttermost, and so it’s unfair to place ultimate trust and what are decidedly not ultimate beings like they were never meant to bear that burden of your trust, your hope for The Future, which is why they so often disappoint. I notice it doesn’t tell us not to put our trust in princes because they’re wicked, although that’s true. Of course they are. We all are. It’s there in our hearts, but it’s not because they’re wicked, but because they’re mortal, and I think that’s important for us to remember, because many of us want to amend the text, or almost unconsciously amend the text to say, Don’t put your trust in that Prince, because he’s a bad dude. He’s wicked, for sure, but you can place your trust in that guy. He’s okay, he’s our guy. And so we’ve got this foolish belief that our guy can build the kingdom, which, of course, he can’t, she can’t. He will mess up at some point, she’s going to make a wrong decision based on incomplete information, because she’s not, you know, omniscient. The way God is, and eventually it’ll lose an election or die, and that’ll be the end of that. So of course, politicians are going to disappoint us. They’re made out of dust, after all, or maybe even more simply, they’re just plain made. That’s the problem. That’s the difference, right there, and that’s also why I included verse six in this first section. He is the maker of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them. He remains faithful forever. There’s the difference is that God is creator. He made us. So why would you not trust the maker instead of the made, the eternal instead of the ephemeral, the infinite majesty instead of the finite, mortal? And all the more so when we consider that he actually can save us. Verse three, don’t put your trust in princes and human beings who cannot save okay, but God can save us better still. God did save us if we belong to Him and we see God’s power and wisdom in creation, but we see His goodness and love and righteousness and justice in salvation, in the person and work of Jesus Christ, who came down from heaven, from His throne, to live among us And then to die for us. You’re all familiar with Lord Acton, famous dictum, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. I understand that sentiment. It’s not true, because there’s only one person who has absolute power, and he was uncorrupted by it. Quite the opposite. In fact, Jesus didn’t use his position for himself, but for us. And he left his throne. He stooped in love to save, to serve. That’s a king I’m willing to trust. And so right away, we’ve got a choice to make. Will we praise will we trust that perfect king or some perfidious Prince, that’s the king second the kingdom, the kingdom we read verses seven to 10 for us again, he upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free. The Lord gives sight to the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down. The Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. The Lord reigns forever. Your God, O Zion for all generations praise the Lord. I mean, in a nutshell, that’s the king’s political platform. Even just those few verses address just about every issue we fight about today, don’t they? I mean, take a look. You got economics, you got justice, you got oppression, kind of all encompassing oppression. We’re talking about those who are bowed down. I mean, we could certainly point to the unborn as much as we could point to issues like racism. We’ve got immigration, we’ve got corruption with wicked rulers. We’ve even got health care in there. Like this is what we want. This is the kingdom we want built here, one that looks like this. So the big question is, how do we get it? And here’s where the danger of heresy pops up, creeps up, we begin to think that it’s up to us, that we need to build the kingdom, which is an odd thing to think, because we were taught to pray by our Lord Himself, your kingdom. Come not help us build your kingdom. Those are very different prayers. Important. We have that right in our mind. So let’s look at this a little bit. It is English class time, okay, you knew the risks when you hired me. You hire somebody with an English degree, you’re going to get poetry in your sermons. So I want to talk a little bit about William Blake’s poem. Jerusalem. Just some background to it. William Blake is writing during the Industrial Revolution, and he is not a fan of it, and not a fan of the wild income inequality that it is producing. So he writes this poem, Jerusalem. It’s based on part of the holy grail myth, the idea that Jesus visited England as a kid. Like leave it to the English to assume that Jesus had to have gone to their country, right? So he visited the English with his uncle, or great uncle, Joseph of Arimathea. And Blake is kind of riffing on that myth, which has no ground. In Scripture, just so we’re clear about that. Okay, and here’s what he says. This is the second stanza of Jerusalem. Will be up there for you, since poetry is hard to follow, and did the countenance divine shine forth upon our clouded hills? And was Jerusalem builded here among these dark satanic mills? It’s a little chirpy in it, like you can see the question, If Jesus had actually been here, you’d think things would maybe look a little bit different, like he came to England to build Jerusalem. Then why is London filled with these dark satanic Mills, talking about the factories black with coal smoke at this point, and also the institutional church that is totally unmoved by the poverty that they see around them. So if Jesus came, He didn’t build His kingdom. So what do we do? And he goes on in the next couple of stanzas to say, well, then it’s up to me, I guess. And he says he’s gonna, like, use all of his power to fight against this. He writes this. This is the last stanza. I will not cease from mental fight, nor shall my sword sleep in my hand till we have built Jerusalem in England’s green and pleasant land. There’s the switch. If we want the kingdom, we need to build it. The heresy here is the Pelagian heresy. You don’t need to remember the word Pelagian, but you probably understand what it’s talking about. Pelagius, he fought with Augustine, and his whole idea was, we don’t really need grace. We have everything we need within ourselves. We almost just kind of need to, like, actualize on our human nature. We can save ourselves. So get to work. Do it like we gave God a chance and he didn’t take it. It’s up to us now, or maybe more charitably, not knocking God. But God has given us this to do. So it’s our responsibility. This is what he wants us to do now, if that’s how we think that it’s up to us to build the kingdom, think what happens to the political process. It becomes exactly what we see in our country today, an existential struggle for the soul of the nation. Because it becomes the question, will we get the kingdom or not? Because if we’re in charge the kingdom, and if they’re in charge hell in a hand basket, so now it matters, it’s up to us to end depression, to feed the hungry, to lift the lowly, and they’re keeping us from doing it. So you know anyone else find it a little ominous that Blake mentioned picking up the sword in this process, especially given the rise of political violence in our country today. This is why we end up investing too much hope in the political process, because it feels like everything depends on it. It is such puny hope. Not only are politicians unworthy of that trust, but the vision is too small. Both the means and the ends are wanting because it’s so narrowly provincial, it’s American at that point, and so it’s about this place and time when God’s vision is cosmic and eternal. That’s a big vision. So it leads to misplaced priorities. Again, about the means and the ends. Can I be clear for a moment here, guys, the hope isn’t the GOP, but the G, O, S, P, E, L, that’s our hope, and that’s what we are called to be, is ambassadors of that kingdom proclaiming the King’s message. That’s the priority. That’s what comes first, and that’s a much bigger vision. And again, the narrowly American, Mark Dever, who again pastors Capitol Hill Baptist Church, right there in DC, says, before and after America, there was and will be the church. The nation is an experiment. The church is a certainty. That’s the difference, you know, amazing grace. It says when we’ve been there 10,000 years, we’re not gonna be singing God bless America. We’ll have forgotten it. We will not care, right? We’ll be so laser focused on the king. The most powerful political word that we have is the gospel, the most powerful political testimony that we have is in being the church serving, for his kingdom’s sake, in the midst of a nation that will one day exit stage left, and remembering that gives perspective. Mean, just think too win an election might change the country for a decade or two, but the work that a faithful church does, week in and week out can change eternal trajectories. So political life should begin in the church. This is where politics begins, proclaiming God’s truth and living out the values of His coming Kingdom. We talk about this often here that what is the local church? The local church is an embassy of God’s coming Kingdom. Only reason we don’t have a US flag anywhere in here, because this is not America. This is the kingdom that is coming. We come together people from every nation to remind ourselves that’s our primary citizenship. So political life begins in the church. I’m not saying it ends there. I don’t want us to hear in this series, don’t vote, don’t get engaged, like anything like that. It’s just we have to have an improper perspective. Like, I am a fan. I support political activism of men like William Wilberforce, who almost single handedly ended the transatlantic slave trade. Like Absolutely, that’s what Christians should be doing politically. So it doesn’t end here, but it starts here. So we’ve got our priorities right. So we’ve got a choice to make, to try to build in our own strength, a tiny, immoral and fading Kingdom ourselves, or to faithfully serve the King who is building His perfect forever kingdom. I don’t know about you, but I am clear on which choice I want to make. If we’re clear on that choice, it will change how we live. And that’s the last section. Then the king’s people, what do we look like? I skipped verse five as I was going through the outline. Here it is, again, blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God. Verse Five is at the center of this poetic prayer in Hebrew. Thought that’s the most important part. Like this is the key for us, especially when we think about how we live out politics for the pure in heart, it begins with that word, blessed, blessed. It’s a big word in Hebrew. It’s the sweet spot, really the place where you’ve got peace and joy, like an abiding peace and joy, because your hope and trust are in the right things. You translate it happy. You could translate it flourishing like these, the people who are doing well, those whose hope is in the Lord, their God. That is different from those whose hope is in politics, the politically over engaged can be insufferable, so disagreeable to be around. Why? Because they’re always anxious and angry because they’re giving politics a weight that it can’t bear. So their hopes are always disappointed, but blessed are those who look to King Jesus for help and hope they will never be disappointed. Now, this phrase, you know, blessed are those whose help is in the God of Jacob, probably makes us think of the Beatitudes that blessed beginning. Of course, it is a beatitude. The beat is just the Latin word for blessed. So it sounds like the Beatitudes. That’s actually important for us. I called this series politics for the pure in heart, not because I love alliteration, although I do, but because the Beatitudes give us a a portrait of somebody whose politics are kingdom gospel shaped. Think about what Jesus said in the Beatitudes. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who mourn. If you’re with us when we did our sermon on the mount series, you remember that we’re talking about there the poverty and the mourning that’s being done there is for our sin. Says, Blessed are those who acknowledge their sin and idolatry. Blessed are those who look around even at people who vote differently they do and go, I’m not better than they are. Like we are all wicked before God. So that how we view ourselves then changes how we view the Lord. Blessed are the meek? Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. So Blessed are those, in other words, who, because of their sin, humble themselves before God come to him and want to be made more. Are like him to embody the values of his kingdom. That then changes how we view other people. Blessed are the merciful, Blessed are the pure in heart. Blessed are the peacemakers. By our culture, could use some peacemakers, couldn’t it? So the church is called to be blessed are the merciful, the pure and the peacemakers. That’s the reminder that inward gospel transformation changes how we treat others again. We need this. There’s a head of a DC Think Tank who was mentioning what we all know to be true. He said, politically, we talk to each other with pure contempt. Sums up the discourse in our culture. For sure, we talk to each other with pure contempt. And so he was asked, What’s the solution? Then he said, We need to practice warm heartedness, which sounds right. The problem is, it’s really difficult to practice warm heartedness when you have a cold heart. So what’s going to thaw our heart? It is the gospel of Christ, Jesus, it is the Beatitudes. Blessed are those whose hope is in God? Sure, but how do I know I’m really hoping in God? Well, how do we demonstrate our praise, our trust, our hope our submission to the True King. How do you know if you’re submitting to your king? Are you listening to his decrees? We know our hope is in the Lord when we obey His Word and when his word sets our agenda. So Jonathan Lehman said, your tight gripped principles should come from Scripture not ideology. If you get nothing else from this series, get that your tight gripped principles should come from scripture, not ideology. That’s the stuff you don’t let go of everything else. That’s fine, but scripture from my cold, dead hands. Okay, you’re not taking that from me. Now, the key word there is principles, again, not policies. Your principles should come from Scripture. It’s actually a little bit like the Constitution, because in many ways, the word of God is the constitution for Kingdom people. If you’ve read our Constitution, or even just a preamble, you know that it’s got these lofty ideals in it, in order to form a more perfect union, to establish justice, to ensure tranquility, the defense of the nation, all that. Now you keep reading the rest of the Constitution and you don’t find anything about speed limits, tax codes, building codes, all those will get worked out in light of the founding principles. That’s how scripture works, too. And this is where we so often go wrong, because politically speaking, we start to think that the Bible gives us speed limits and tax rates. Maybe it’s because of Old Testament law, I don’t know. I’m trying to think where this comes from. Like we just did Exodus, and there are some almost kind of speed limiting moments in there. Even then that’s like case law. They’re meant to be examples. But I get that that was also given for the nation of Israel. We we talked a lot about this, we begin to think that the Bible’s got, like, specific policies on every issue, and that’s the great danger. So Robert Benham, in his book, good and bad ways to think about politics and religion distinguishes straight and jagged line issues really important for us, straight and jagged line issues. So straight line issue is one where you can draw a straight line from Scripture to an actual policy position. There are straight line issues. I think abortion is one because scripture is quite clear that God creates life in the womb. Scripture is quite clear that murder is wrong. It’s a straight line issue. Actually think that’s why I remember somebody asked me some time ago why so many white evangelicals are Republicans. I’m not saying this is right necessary. I just said I think the answer is, Because abortion is an easy issue, like economics gets complicated. We go, I don’t know, but I know this one, so I’m going to vote that way. I think that’s where it comes from. Because it’s a straight line issue. The trouble comes though when we begin to think that every issue is a straight line issue, like you can draw a straight line from Scripture to your health care proposal or your tax rates, or creation care and environmental stewardship. Now those are all issues where Scripture speaks in broad principles. So there’s not a Christian position on those, not a Christian position on the carbon tax, there’s a Christian position on environmentalism, like our care. It’s literally the first command in Scripture, take care of creation. Okay, there’s a principle, but again, you can’t go to what the exact carbon tax should be, or something like that. So if there’s not a Christian position. That means there is Christian freedom to think differently from others around us on this and we just take tax rates as an example. Here, just to show you what this looks like, we can draw a straight line from Scripture to paying taxes. Jesus said it that one’s easy, right? Render unto Caesar. What is Caesar’s okay? You’re not paying your taxes. Great. Time repent. Okay, contact the IRS. Deal with that. We get that. So we’re we’re paying our taxes. Straight line. There is a jagged line when it comes to tax rates. Does Scripture support a flat tax or a progressive tax rate? Well, let’s think about it from a there are some scriptural principles here. Let’s argue for a flat tax from Scripture, the seventh commandment You shall not steal affirms the right to private property and the importance of it. We know from Scripture that there is nothing inherently wrong with having more than someone else. As the examples of job Abraham David would would certainly show we know that Scripture warns against envy and jealousy. There are certain approaches to progressive tax rate that sound like state sponsored jealousy. And doesn’t scripture talk about the value of hard work, which brings its own blessings and laziness, which brings its own punishments. Okay, flat tax rate got there. Now let’s do the progressive tax rate, because that same Scripture also calls us to lift the poor, which is an active exercise, that same Scripture gives government the authority to pursue and enforce judgment specifically in light of the image of God. In all people, they’re not degrees of the image of God. Scripture tells the rich to care about the poor over and over and over again and warns them in harsh language about what happens if they do not and Scripture affirms over and over and over again, in Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah, 58 throughout the prophets, the Reality of systemic injustice. So which is the biblical view flat tax or progressive tax? I’ll wait. You get the point. There’s a tension in scripture on so many issues, and so we need to hold the tension. And in fact, we have to have that tight grip on the tension, because our principles come from scripture, tight grip on the word, loose on policies. So you got to hold both in mind, like, let me just give you two proverbs. Just to show you how complicated this gets, we know where poverty comes from. It comes from laziness. Proverbs, 10, verse four, lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth. Grip that we know where poverty comes from. It comes from systemic injustice. Proverbs, 29 verse seven, the righteous care about justice, justice for the poor. And the word that’s used there meaning what they’re owed, what is their due? The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern. You got to grip that one too. That’s the challenge. So Perry says, When the Bible is used to speak immediately, like that’s that straight line, when the Bible is used to speak immediately to a contemporary issue. We’re in danger of heresy, again, specifically the heresy of simony. One of the earliest heresies comes from Simon magus, Acts Eight, probably somewhere in that realm. You can read the book of Acts, you’ll find him. He’s the one in Samaria, who sees when Peter lays hands on the Samaritans who’ve just received Christ, they receive the Holy Spirit, and sees the works that Peter is able to do, healing, casting out demons, all that stuff. So he goes up to Peter and kind of says, I’d like to buy that if I could. And Simon Says, literally, to hell with you and your money because he recognized the heresy. You don’t want God for God. You want God for what he can do for you. He’s just an instrument in your hands. That’s what’s happening. You don’t want to know what the word of God says about politics. You want the Word of God to be a bludgeon you can use. To beat your political enemies, and it’s heresy. So we don’t get these straight lines on most issues, but scripture instead informs how we think politically, how we vote. When we have a deep knowledge of scripture’s principles. It provides a framework for thoughtful evaluation, thoughtful evaluation, which will become prophetic and sorrowful evaluation as well, if we’re really leaning into Scripture. Esau McCauley says it like this. He’s talking about the two parties in our country, and he says they are both. They’re profoundly mistaken about particular things, each broken in its own way. We’re talking way more about that next week, by the way, but that’s it. So if they’re each broken in its own way, it means you’re going to look at them and go because you’re shaped by the word of God, and so you’re grieving anywhere they’re out of line with scripture. So we have a choice to make, as the king’s people, we can submit to His Word and will and hope and his help, or we can submit to a political platform bring all the choices together, and you’ll get our big idea for today. It’s this, the pure in heart trust the King will build His kingdom and live like it. Live like they trust the King is building his kingdom now, your trust, as we said, will be evident in your choices, and I think that’s where we need to end today. We got more to say, of course, in the next couple of weeks. But what are your choices? Politically? We talk in Journey group and the start of every year about how to identify the idols in our hearts. And one way to identify idolatry is that you are willing to sin to get what you’ve idolized. You’re willing to sin in order to get it like just take an easy example. You know, you’ve made money an idol if you’re unwilling to tithe to the church, I guess just a sign, like God clearly commands it, and you’re going but I’d rather have this and the stuff that it can buy. Okay, now you know you got a money problem. Well, what about politics? Are you willing to sin for the sake of your political platform. What might that look like moral compromise, in the broadest possible terms, compromising yourself morally, but also excusing the moral compromise of those you support politically might look like slander, gossip and frankly, just cruel words, usually typed, not spoken, but both, certainly, that might be slander and gossip about political leaders might also just be about the people who vote for them. And James tells us he’s like flabbergasted that with the same tongue, we would bless the Lord and curse those who are made in His image. Any of you guilty of that. Again, maybe that’s just somebody made in the image of God, but maybe that’s more so even a brother or sister in Christ bought by the precious blood of Christ. What about lying? Deception? And maybe it’s you, but maybe it’s just your willingness to excuse lies and deception, to listen to them over and over again. Or how about this one? Here’s where I’m convicted, complaining. Scripture says that’s a sin, ingratitude. I feel that off. I’m confessing publicly to you right now where I struggle self righteousness, judgment, especially of brothers and sisters who vote differently than you, and ultimately even hatred for those who disagree with you. That’s all sin in the service of political idolatry. Are you willing to damage your witness for Christ to win political points, because if so, your priorities are so out of whack. And then the question becomes, because everyone of us felt convicted right there, except for some of the kids who are like, I don’t know what he’s talking about. If only you can. Stay there in your innocence. We’re all feeling convicted right now. The question is, what are we going to do about it? That’s the problem. Every time we hear the word of God, isn’t it? It’s really easy to hear the word. It’s a lot harder to do the word. It has your conscience become seared at this point where you’re going, not, not not going to do anything. Just shut down. Harden my heart against this. Have you made peace with your sin? I am preaching this series because I am zealous for your souls. I think it’s Jude who mentions you know the fact that we need to snatch people back from the fire. That is how I feel so much today, your soul may be in peril. You may be given over to Real heresies. It is not too late. Repent, repent, return to your king and receive the grace that He freely offers in his son, but bear fruit in keeping with repentance like life change needs to be happening here. So invite accountability into your life. That’s why we do community groups and get the other unit to talk about this sermon series. It’d be a fun one for you guys. Some of you are like, wait. Kyle said the community groups might be ending soon. Great. Okay, this is our only hope here. Invite accountability, like talk to each other and go, Yeah, that’s me. I struggle here, for sure, ask forgiveness of people you’ve spoken against or written about. Install guard rails so that you don’t keep doing this, like some of you probably need to go, I’m logging out of Facebook. I’m gonna have my spouse change my password. I want to keep it. I want to see pictures of the cousins and stuff. That’d be great, but I’m not getting on unless she logs me in. He logs me in and watches what I’m doing, because your soul is in peril, and you’re like, Yeah, I’m cut off my hand because I’d rather go into heaven missing one hand than going to hell with both of them. Invite accountability, install guard rails, do something. The King has given you every reason to trust in Him, because He sent His Son to bring and build the kingdom, and Jesus Christ is building and will build not Jerusalem and England, but the New Jerusalem across the whole of the earth when it comes down from heaven. We did revelation last year. We know how this story ends, and it’s such good news. Now, some of you are thinking, if he’s building his kingdom, why does the world look like this? Could he get a move on? We remember what Scripture says there also, God is not slow in keeping his promises. He is patient, not wanting any to perish, but all to have time to repent, because he made repentance possible. In Christ, don’t trust in princes who can’t save. Trust the prince of peace who did save by his blood, by his body, broken by a corrupt political process, condemned to death by men who loved political power more than they loved God, and in So doing, triumphed over our wickedness and the evil powers that still rule in this world. The pure in heart trust the King will build His kingdom. Will you live like you believe that Let’s pray. Lord, You are our King, whether we acknowledge it or not, you are reigning. You will reign forevermore throughout all generations, and you will establish your perfect forever Kingdom. In the end, you are building it here and now, even would you build it in our hearts, even more today we pray as Jesus taught us to pray, your kingdom, come your will be done. May it start in us, in our hearts, here and now, Lord, we confess our sin, we repent, we return and we receive the grace that you offer increase our trust in You. Help us by your Spirit, to put our hope in you, to look to you for help in our time of need, and then to live differently as a result. And God may we. Shine like stars in the blackness of this dark world as we hold firmly to the word of life, we ask in Christ’s name, Amen.

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From Community to Commissioning April 26, 2026 | Kyle Bjerga Kyle Bjerga discusses the importance of owning the mission in the church, drawing parallels between the disciples’ mission in Mark 6 and the need for Christians to actively engage in evangelism. He emphasizes the urgency of the mission, the necessity of trusting in God, and the reality of rejection. He highlights the significance of community support and the need for disciples to go on mission together. He encourages the congregation to rely on Jesus, trust in His authority, and proclaim the gospel boldly, despite potential rejection and hardships. The sermon concludes with a prayer of commissioning, urging believers to take their faith seriously and actively share the good news.

All right, so we are in Mark six. We’re gonna be verses seven through 13 today. Last year, I heard an interview with Pastor Joby Martin. He’s a pastor down in Florida, and he was talking about a time that he was coaching a high school football team, and he said all the guys in the gym, in the weight room were doing bicep curls and trying to do more than the guy kind of next to them. And then, for some reason, they put mirrors in weight rooms. And so what do you think these guys were doing, flexing in the mirror, seeing how they looked as they’re lifting, taking selfies or photos of each other? Because that’s what you do. And you know what happens in sports is what we see on the field is often the result of what’s happening in the weight room, what’s happening in the practice facility. So here he is trying to get this team ready for a season, and he’s seeing them do these ridiculous exercises that have nothing to do with getting better at football. It’s just about looking better. And so he gets so angry, he finally yells in the weight room this statement, everyone wants to be strong. No one wants to be sore. Think about that. Everyone wants to be strong. No one wants to be sore. We want the results without the hard work going into it. We want the outcome. And when he said that, one of my first thoughts was that that is how we are with mission in the church. We get really excited about baptisms. We get really excited about hearing about people who come to faith in Jesus. Do we understand all the work that went into that to get to that point like we want to gather and praise Jesus like we have been this morning, it was awesome to hear you guys singing like a choir behind me. I love sitting up here, because that for that reason, to be able to praise God together as a community, and then our plan is to come back next week, and what we’d love to see, and I know this is the desire of most of you here, the desire is that somebody else is in that pew who wasn’t there last week, who now knows Jesus, and they can praise God with us. But what’s happening in the middle? What’s happening between this Sunday and that Sunday, to actually see that happen? And so what we’ve been talking about in this series of own the mission is the middle, like our hearts desire, as Christians, to grow, and then our hearts desire to see other people know Jesus and grow. And so what’s in the middle is owning the mission, to see this in our life and to see it in the lives of others. So everything in the middle is the mission that we’re focused on, that we’ve been called to. It’s us saying, I will own the mission. Ultimately, it’s the work of the Spirit, but it’s the work of the Spirit through our faithful obedience to God’s call on our lives. So are you willing to go through the exhaustion and the soreness in order to get there, in order to see those gains? And so we’re going to finish up our series, and what we’re looking at today is kind of moving from community to commissioning, and I need to set up a little bit of context here in Mark six, since we’re kind of jumping we’re kind of jumping in here, since in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus has been starting to get a bigger following. He’s been performing some miracles. He’s been doing some teaching, so people are starting to understand who he is. And right before our passage today, Jesus is in his hometown. But what we see here is he’s not really the hometown hero that we’re thinking he might be. He goes in and he teaches, and he’s amazing the people there by his teaching, but they start to question him. They start to ask these things, like we he went to school with our kids, like we saw him grow up. We know his family. He did work at my house with his dad, and these questions start to turn almost it says they took offense at Him, and their questions are more kind of a jealousy, an accusation of really like, who is he? Who does he think he is? Does he think he’s better than us? Why does he think he’s so special? And Jesus leaves there, and it says he was amazed at their lack of faith. It’s then that we find out Jesus is going to go and he’s going to go on this speaking tour, but it isn’t going to be Jesus with his 12 Disciples standing behind him. Jesus is going to go, but he’s also sending out His disciples on their own speaking tour, and that’s we’re going to pick up our passage. So as we read, there are some important reminders for us about that middle, about what does it look like to own the mission. So you’re gonna see today that we are on the team, that you have your instructions, and you know what to do. So let’s look at Mark six. I’m gonna read seven through 13. I’m gonna actually start six, the second half of verse six. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village, calling the 12 to him. He began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over impure spirits. These were his instructions. Take nothing for the journey except a staff, no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra. Shirt whenever you enter. How stay there until you leave that town, and if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them. They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. So first, you are on the team. That’s what we see in verse seven. We’ve already talked about this in this series, in fact, but back in Mark chapter three, Jesus calls people to Himself, this large group of people to Himself on a mountainside. And from these people, it says in verse 14, he appointed 12 that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and have authority to drive out demons. So this is what he does. He calls them to himself, and he says, You’re gonna have, you’re gonna preach and you’re gonna have authority to drive out demons. And these are the 12 Disciples that we’ve come to know, to love in our lives, and kind of look back on as kind of representative of kind of how we follow Jesus, too. And here in Mark six, Jesus is calling these 12 to himself again to fulfill what he already said was going to happen. He’s saying it’s time now for you to go and to do what I said I called you to do. So it’s time to take the training wheels off, get them started and see where they go and what they do. And he sends them out two by two. A couple different reasons for this. This was a typical practice for Jesus and for the Jews at that time, since it was required in the Old Testament to have two witnesses. So Jesus could have expanded the ministry even further by having 12 villages covered. But instead there’s six, because they’re going two by two. Because if you’re going to go in to a city, to a town, to a people who may or may not know you, and you’re going to proclaim this message, you don’t want to be there by yourself, because they probably wouldn’t even listen to you, but when there’s two, there’s a little bit more credibility to what you’re saying. And so he sends them out two by two. The second reason is that we are best on mission when we’re doing it with other people, when we’re not going at it alone. Christianity is not meant to be a lone ranger experience in all sorts of areas. This being one of them, it’s meant to be lived out with others. So imagine if Jesus sends Peter into a town. How quickly does Peter get kicked out of that town when he opens his big mouth? He does it a lot in the Gospels. And you think Peter, by himself, is a good evangelist. I think having that second person there is pretty important to Peter’s ministry. And what’s interesting is how Jesus assembled the 12 Disciples. How did he assemble these guys to go out two by two? There’s been all sorts of guesses on how exactly he did this. Lot of people think James and John went together because they’re brothers. Have you been around brothers Peter and Andrew? Same thing, but James and John, they’re a different set of brothers. These guys are the sons of thunder. At one point, they’re so mad at these people that they tell Jesus to rain down fire and just destroy them all. So I’m thinking these two guys together in a town, probably not a good idea. But I don’t know how Jesus actually paired them up, but I would assume he’s pairing them up based off of what he knows of their personality and how they’re going to work together. So he he sends them out two by two for these different reasons. We need community on mission. When Jesus gathered His disciples together, these 12, when he taught them and spoke to them and model for them. It was always meant to be taken from this smaller group to other people. That was the whole goal. So he sends them out to start this ministry with him, not being there with them. So again, think about how much more confident are you if I was to say, let’s go out on the street and find some people talk about Jesus. What’s your comfort level? If it’s you one on one or you with two on one, you probably want somebody else there with you. And that’s what Jesus knows, and that’s why he sends them out in this way. Now it doesn’t give us an excuse to not say something one on one, so don’t hear me say that. Well, I’m by myself. So there are times and places we need to be able to give an answer. There are times and places where we need to proclaim the gospel and we are by ourselves. We need to take advantage of those moments. But when we can, let’s have somebody who’s alongside us to pursue other people to be on mission together. There’s examples in this church, dozens of examples, of many of you who have mutual friends, who you’ve decided, hey, let’s get together. Let’s do something simple. Let’s just get to introduce each other, and let’s just talk. Let’s just act normal. Let’s and let’s see where the conversation goes. Some of you have served people that you know, and so there’s dozen examples of what this looks like, even amongst our congregation. And I know for myself when I had a friend of mine who joined the baseball that was the only believer on my baseball team in college, and my junior year, we had a guy who transferred in and he was a Christian, and it automatically just changed the way that I viewed my team, the way that we had conversations together, and the conversations that we had with our other teammates. So it just makes a difference when you’re in community, on mission. Plus, we’re going to say some things that sound pretty outrageous. Are we not like the disciples are now proclaiming this gospel about Jesus, and he hasn’t died yet, he hasn’t risen from the grave yet, but eventually they will proclaim that message, and that is a message that people cannot hear, do not want to hear, cannot comprehend. So how much better is it? But I could say, look, I believe this. And they’re like, well, that’s okay. You believe that, but I say, but they believe it, and they believe it. And this person is with me again. It changes the conversation, changes the credibility that we have. So it’s important to know that we’re sent out to you by two and then Jesus also gives them authority over impure spirits. This is important, but this is not Jesus’ primary ministries to do miracles and to drive out demons. This is something he did to confirm what he was saying about himself, and this is something he gave to the disciples in this moment to say, you have authority in this moment to do this, to cast out demons and to heal. Why? Because it confirmed their message. The people that they’re going to are hearing about this Jesus guy who is teaching these things, and then he’s doing these miracles. And so if they come in and they’re saying, Let me tell you about Jesus, He wants them to be able to confirm what who he is by the things that they’re doing. And so He gives them this authority in this moment. Now, whenever Jesus sends out disciples, whether it’s 12 here, he sends out 72 a little bit later in Mark, it’s an opportunity for his ministry to expand beyond what he could do alone, because Jesus, in His humanity, is restricted to one place at one time. And so he gathers this team, and the disciples are on the team. But we need to hear this. We are on the team too. We are on the team too. And so he has called us to, yes, gather together as community, but then to go out and we do it better when we’re doing it together. So what we have here in miniature is what Jesus would eventually do on a global scale, through his followers, through all generations, up to today. And it’s not going to end with us. It’s going to continue. So if you’re thinking about the team aspect, this is the kind of rah rah portion, like, let’s get excited, because we’re on the team. God has called us to this. But then we quickly find out what the instructions are, and we realize there’s going to be a lot of soreness involved. There’s going to be a lot of tough days. Things aren’t just going to happen overnight. So let’s look at that second point. There you have your instructions picking up in verse eight. These were his instructions. Take nothing for the journey except a staff. No bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. Whenever you enter house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them. So there are three things that we learn here from Jesus’s instructions. First, the mission is urgent. The mission is urgent what Jesus tells the disciples, what he tells the Israelites in Exodus at the Passover as they’re gathering in their homes to eat the Passover meal, there’s blood over their doorposts, and the angel of death is coming. And this is what he says as you’re eating this meal in verse 11. This is how you are to eat it with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. So God is telling him there’s urgency here. Like, as soon as this is over, you’re going to need to leave, like, Pharaoh’s going to let you go. And so you need to be ready. You can’t just be like, Oh, well, let’s start packing our stuff. No, in this moment, at this meal you need to be ready. And Jesus is sending the disciples out now he’s not saying, Okay, this is part two. Now I’m really gonna take it seriously. I’m really gonna start training you guys. He says, No, this is the time like you guys are going out now. So this is the day the boss comes you and says, Hey, today you’re leading the meeting. This is the day as a student teacher that I experienced when the teacher gives you the grade book and says you have the class now, you’re like, Okay, here we go. Am I ready? Am I not ready? And Jesus saying, You guys are going, this is what you’re doing. It isn’t the time to say, Aren’t you gonna prepare me like Jesus is gonna look at him. What have I been doing? I’ve been teaching, I’ve been modeling, I’ve been talking to you. I’ve been explaining things to you. I’ve been showing you all this. The message is urgent. You need to go. So there’s an urgency to the mission. Second, the mission requires trust and dependence on God. How many of you are like packing people like packing gurus for a vacation, like be proud about it. Okay? So you like lists, right? To check off, to double check, make sure everybody has everything that they need. I am not like that. Okay, that is not me at all, which makes Jackie really happy, right? Because she is much more of that list, like, let’s make sure. Have everything that we need. So maybe that makes you squirm, like, I gotta see it all. I gotta, I gotta check it all. I don’t. There’s no way I trust my kids to pack their stuff. So I’m gonna go through that and make sure we have everything. And I’m just thinking, You know what? Like, we’re within minutes of a Walmart. Like, anywhere we go, we can go get what we need. Somebody forgot their toothbrush. Okay, we’ll get at the hotel. It’s 1999 but we can still get it Okay, so not that big of a deal, okay, but in this day and age when the disciples were being sent out by Jesus, not being prepared with the things you needed, like that was not how you wanted to leave. You wanted to have everything ready. You did not want to have to rely on others, but that’s what they’re going to have to do, like Jesus saying you need to go whatever you have go, and you need to rely on others. You need to rely on me to provide, or else they’re just going to go without because there isn’t a Walmart, and so they’re going to go without if they don’t have somebody do it for them. So Jesus is saying here, don’t take anything extra with you. He says, don’t book the nicest Airbnb when you get into town with a nice pool. That is not what you’re supposed to do. If somebody offers you a place, you go and you stay with them. You don’t look for something better. If somebody is hospitable, go take them up on their offer. This is how you’re going to survive. I’m going to provide for you. And so these are strangers, like they’re going to places they don’t know, these people, and they’re relying on God’s provision through them, through their hospitality, to welcome them in. And it’s provided by God. And we know they made it. They all come back so they were taken care of, God provided for them. But here’s the most important thing we need to see from this point, that it’s probably even tougher for us than it was for the disciples. Then it’s that we cannot wait to go on mission until things are comfortable. Okay? We cannot wait to go on mission until things are comfortable. I was at a lunch earlier this week with Lake Geneva ministries, and they had a bunch of different churches there, and one of the guys I sat at a table with, he was saying, for all of his youth retreats and stuff like, he he hates cabins, bunk beds, being with a lot of kids in a room. And so every time he’s like, retreats, like hotel, like, I need a bathroom, I need a nice bed and a pillow. And it’s like, okay, that’s that’s fine. Like, he’s a youth guy. He’s a little bit older, so the bed matters, because his back hurts, all that kind of stuff. So fine. That makes sense, until you start to take that into other areas, like missions trips. It’s very easy to tell someone, let’s go on a mission trip, if you like, well, we have really nice accommodations, and there’s some great food. Don’t worry, you won’t get sick. Like, all everybody’s like, Oh yeah, I’ll sacrifice to go on the mission trip. Like, there’s no sacrifice there. And let’s make it even more personal than that. More personal than that is, God, this has to happen in order for me to pursue that person. God, I need to see you do this before I even take a chance at risking rejection. You see, it gets very personal very quick, because we don’t want rejection. We don’t want to go through that. So what assurances do we have from God that we can take the first step and nothing bad is going to happen? Here are the assurances we get from Scripture. John 1520 if they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. He goes on to say, if they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. We always like go to the persecution part second, Timothy 312, in fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ, Jesus will be persecuted. But Matthew five tells us, blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you? When people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you, because of me, Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. From the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you in John 1633, I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace in this world, you will have trouble. But take heart. I have overcome the world. Those are the assurances we have that trouble is coming. Persecution will come. We can’t be surprised by it. So the question isn’t, when is it going to be comfortable for me to risk it? The question should be, is Jesus worth the risk? Is someone else knowing Jesus worth the risk? You see what Jesus is saying here is, if you cannot go on a mission, unless everything is taken care of you and you’re comfortable, you won’t ever depend on me, which means you’ll never go. You’ll never go. We need to rely on. Him, and then we can be effective in our going. Why is the global church exploding? Like, Christianity around the world? Like, I know what we think. Here it’s dying. Like, it’s hard, it’s tough ground around the world, Christianity is exploding. People come to Jesus all the time. Could it be that people are coming to Jesus because they see people who are telling them about Jesus are truly risking their lives, that what they’re doing in that moment is saying this is worth it to this person, because they’re putting their life in danger right now by telling me this. So maybe there’s something to this, and we’re worried about having a nice place to go make sure it’s not too uncomfortable for us. But who will listen to our message if they do it, only when we feel it’s comfortable to share it with them. Do we expect people to die to self, take up their cross and follow us? If we won’t do the same, we have to ask ourselves this question. We do not tell God we will go on mission under our terms. He doesn’t leave that up to us. Third, we are not responsible for how others respond when we go people will reject us, not everyone, not all the time, but there will be rejection, and that’s how it feels, right? They reject us, but that’s not what they’re rejecting. That’s not true at all. We need to realize they’re not rejecting us. They are rejecting Jesus. They are rejecting the message that we are proclaiming to them. It’s not us. They’re rejecting Him. Now, rejecting once doesn’t mean they’re going to reject forever. So this isn’t that whole like, Well, I told them one time, and now I’m going to shake the dust off my feet as I leave. No, there is discernment that needs to happen. On when do we pursue people? When do we step back a little bit? But we keep praying, we keep pursuing their hearts, because we are representatives, ambassadors for Christ, which means it’s not our message anyway, it’s his. And so the rejection is of him. And so the shaking off the dust of our feet, it says, as a testimony, shows them that we are free, like we could walk away with a clear conscience that we have done what we were called to do. So in some ways, the shaking off the dust of your feet as a testimony against them is also comfort giving for us, it’s not your responsibility to make someone believe. Were you faithful? To go to them proclaim the gospel and they reject it, then you walk away. I have a clear conscience. I did what I was called to do so the comfort comes from knowing it isn’t up to us, but we need to make sure we’re actually proclaiming the gospel. Because here’s the thing going and just loving people or just serving them, and then saying, Well, you’re not kind of giving anything back to me. I’m going to leave our conscience should not be clear. We have not proclaimed the gospel to them. So it is not enough to just say, like, I love them. Well, I love them like Jesus. Did they hear the message? Because if they didn’t, then we can’t walk away, right? We are not clear in that moment. We need to proclaim it to them, and if that’s true, we can walk away saying, Lord, I’ve been faithful and proclaiming the good news, and they have rejected it. So it’s important for us too to understand that this is also not just comfort giving, but it can also be kind of grief inducing for us. So yes, we’re like, Hey, I’m clear I’ve done what I was called to do, but somebody has rejected Jesus, and that should do something to us. Should cause us to grieve when we shake off the dust from our feet. It’s not to be done with disdain. It’s not to be done with our noses up at them, as if we’re better than them. Instead, our hearts should break shaking the dust off our feet should be done with tears in our eyes, with compassion. When Jesus looked at the people and said, they’re like sheep without a shepherd, we grieve because we know what these people are missing out on. They’re missing out on their Savior, and rejection for Jesus has eternal consequences. And so if you’re here this morning, you’ve been rejecting like you’ve heard this message before, this is the time to repent, to say, No, I’m going to do something different than I’ve always done in rejecting it. I’m actually going to turn to it and I’m going to give my life to following Jesus, because this is who he is. He is the Savior of the world. He’s the savior of your life. So Jesus, though was rejected by many, we will expect that this will be part of our ministry too. And so Jesus prays in John 17, and I want to read it for us here that Erica read for us too. Jesus is praying to his father, and he’s praying for his disciples. And he says this, I’m coming to you now, but I say these things while I’m still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them Your Word, and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of this world, but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it, Sanctify them by the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. So just like the disciples, we have been sent by Jesus into the world, knowing that if they hated him, they will hate us too because of the message. So we prepare for that rejection, for that opposition. And where is that rejection opposition coming from? It’s from the next section. You know what to do. Verses 12 and 13, you know what to do. Here’s what it says. They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. What do they preach repentance? What did John the Baptist preach? Mark one four, he came preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. What did Jesus preach? Mark 114 after John was put in prison, Jesus went in Galilee proclaiming the good news of God. The time has come. He said the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news. So just to kind of pull in that last section, we were just in the message that John the Baptist preached of repentance led to him being killed. If you look down, it’s in the verses immediately after what I just read in Mark six. So Jesus sends His disciples on this mission, and the next section we get is John, the Baptist, is killed for the same thing. Jesus is killed after he proclaims a proclaims the good news. The truth is he’s the fulfillment of that good news, and he’s still killed. The disciples will all be persecuted. Most of them will be killed for proclaiming this same message after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. But we should be encouraged by that, not scared. We should be encouraged because the good news is worth all of it. It’s worth everything. John the Baptist saw it. Jesus saw it. The disciples saw it. We will see it too if we say it’s worth the risk to proclaim this good news. So they It all says. They drove out demons and healed the sick. They did everything. Jesus did everything that they saw him do. He gave them authority to do. They were representatives. There was no power in and of themselves to do this. It was in the name of Jesus, His authority given to them. This was the specific mission given to the 12. They’re doing what he did to confirm the message that they are proclaiming that he has given them to proclaim. And so if you are on the team, if you are in Christ, Jesus, you know what to do. Like we’re not spending a whole lot of time here. You have the message and the ministry of reconciliation. You know the Jesus that everybody else needs to hear about. So this is what Second Corinthians 520 tells us, we are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. That’s it. That’s the message we take. That’s the ministry we have, be reconciled to God, repent and believe the good news. This is what the disciples took out with them. This is what Jesus calls us to today. And when I say we move from community to commissioning, it doesn’t mean forever. It doesn’t mean we leave this community and we go on this mission and we never see each other again. We never gather together again. That’s not what happens. It just means that what we do here, right now, in this moment, on Sundays and throughout the week, should prepare us, equip us for the mission God has called us to. Maybe we do that in small groups. Maybe we partner with one other person on our own. Maybe it’s not a Christian who goes here, but a Christian in your workplace. Your workplace. He said, How can we do this together? Go on mission together? I know this is true because the disciples come back. Look at Mark 630 right after the episode of John the Baptist, Mark 630 says the apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to Him all they had done and taught. They come back, they tell Jesus, this is what we did. This is what happened. Imagine the stories that they came back and told Jesus like they’ve seen him do it. But I got to believe they’re just in awe of him, giving them His authority, the fact that when they spoke in Jesus’ name, something happened. People repented. Demons were cast out, people were healed, so they come back, telling Jesus all that happened. They took their ministry seriously. Were they scared out of their minds? Probably. Were they all public speakers? Probably not. And so here they go, proclaiming this message, but they’re given the authority of Jesus, and we have the Spirit of God in us to proclaim this message. You have the assurances that we just talked about, and those assurances mean it’s going to be tough road. You’re going to be really sore, you’re going to be exhausted. Things are going to go badly for you, but it’s worth it when you see what happens in the life of people when they give their life to Jesus, it’s worth all of it. The community is the place where we come back for because you know what Jesus does next with His disciples. He says, Let’s go away and find a place to rest. Let’s go find a place to rest. Like you just did a lot of hard work in ministry. Let’s go rest and let’s be equipped before we go out on mission again. So here’s the big idea, kind of summing up the whole series, really, you are commissioned. So depend on Jesus and own the mission. You are commissioned. We’re not waiting for it. All of us in Christ are commissioned. So depend on Jesus, trust in Him, and own the mission. How are we going to do that? Well, at our church, we have these three L’s, this discipleship pathway, and I think if you follow this discipleship pathway, you’d see that you will be equipped to own the mission, to go out and feel confident in your ability to tell people the good news. So a few different ways. One, we learn from Jesus. We learn from Jesus. Brandon mentioned the missional pathway that we’re working on, that we’ll talk about in the future. But this is a great way for everybody to be trained on how to actually pursue people, pursue their hearts, to pray for them, to listen to them, to be with them, and to proclaim the good news. So this is a great way to do that. And everybody here will have the opportunity to be a part of that missional pathway. If you want to to say, Lord, I want to take this seriously. What can I do to do that? We also have journey group, and we have a whole mission section in Journey group, which will be, again, kind of new coming up here. So if you’ve done journey group before, but it’s going to be an opportunity to really work through some of this over a year, so that you can again feel confident in your ability to go out and proclaim the gospel. So basically, learning from Jesus is just, how do I how can I be strong through those sore days? How can I be strong through those sore days in that middle we keep learning from Jesus. The second thing is we love like Jesus. First. John two six says, Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. And John 1335 says, By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples. If you love one another, this is what it is like for the disciples. They cast out demons and they heal people. You know what our world loves to see right now? People love each other and love each other. Well, that does way more than anything else. They’ll see these people genuinely love each other, and they will know that we are His disciples by our love for one another. And this happens in community groups, right? Being a part of community groups, being a part of people’s lives, encouraging them in this, encouraging them to live on mission. Because most of the time when we come together, we need that encouragement. We need that equipping to happen. We need that prayer to happen. Because when we leave, we’re nervous, it’s uncomfortable. And so we need that group of people that we can come back to time and time again to be encouraged and supported as we will go out again. And then finally, we lead for Jesus. You can do this in the church where you called the lead. In the church, we’ve got some community groups again, like I said, maybe you’re looking to lead a group, maybe a focus group, or something where maybe like, hey, mission is a big passion of mine. And so, hey, we all meet in this town. So maybe your group is going to be focused on your neighborhood, your community, the people that you guys are around all the time, and that’s your focus. Maybe your community group wants to meet a certain people group and be a part of their life. There’s all sorts of ways that we can do this and lead for Jesus in this way. And then finally, go back to Brandon’s sermon last week. Go on mission and fill in this blank. I am sent to serve. Who did you fill that in last week? Do you know who it is? Has the spirit shown you what person or what group of people you need to serve? And then start to serve and be ready to proclaim the gospel to them. If you want to be strong, if we want to go from just gathering together to seeing people filling these pews, not other church people, if you’re here today, we love you too. But mainly, we want people who don’t know Jesus yet to move from light to darkness, from death to life. We want to see these pews with more of those people this week. So what’s happening in the middle is you’re sore, but if you’re sore, guess what that means? It’s doing something. If you’re sore, you’re working the things you need to work to get those gains. Your muscles are being shocked. They are growing. Your strength is increasing. And we want to see our spiritual muscles continue to do that. Yeah, you’re going to step out of bed and be like, What in the world did I do yesterday? I can’t move my leg. That’s okay. It’s doing something. You can’t put your shirt on because your shoulders are sore. That’s fine. It’s doing something. I had this conversation with this person at work, and it didn’t go anywhere. You don’t know what the Lord is doing you don’t it could be that moment, that next day, where you’re able to have that conversation, that person, and they finally say, Yes, I believe. And maybe again, you’re here this morning. It’s finally there it is. I get it. I want to give my life to Jesus. We have these commissions, and so what I want to do to close our time together is I’m going to pray, and I’m going to pray a prayer of commissioning, kind of pulling together these different commissions that Brandon mentioned a few weeks ago from the Gospels and from Acts. And so I just want you to know this is the commission that we’ve been given by Jesus from his word. So let’s go to the Lord in prayer. Jesus, Son of God, with all authority, has sent us as His witnesses to proclaim the good news of his life, death and resurrection to a world that will either reject or repent upon hearing this message, be faithful to the one who is always with you, and trust him with the results. Lord, we thank you for the commission you’ve given to us. Help us to own that mission, to take it seriously, to rely on you and Lord, we will trust that you are using us and your spirit to change the lives of those around us who need to hear the good news, respond to it and give their life to following you. We pray all of this in Jesus name, amen.

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From Safety to Sending April 19, 2026 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper’s sermon on John 20 emphasizes the tension between retreating to safety and embracing risky love in mission. He uses a middle school analogy to illustrate the choice between helping a new student or retreating into a friend group. Cooper highlights Jesus’ post-resurrection appearance to the disciples, reassuring them with peace and commissioning them to mission. He explains that believers are already safe in Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit to fulfill their mission. Cooper encourages the congregation to own their unique missions, whether serving international students, assisted living residents, or gym buddies, emphasizing the importance of proactive, missional living.

Good morning church, you can go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to John chapter 20. John 20, we’ll be starting in verse 19. John 20, verse 19. As you’re turning there, put yourself back in middle school days, or maybe some of you are there. And you have to imagine that there is a new student at school, you know, mid year. So it’s a tough shift, already tough transition for this person to come in to a totally new school, new friend groups, all that kind of stuff. And in addition, you can just tell that there’s something a little different about this student, whatever it might be. So it might be somebody from a different place, they got different culture, they got different, you know, habits, all that kind of stuff. Or maybe it’s somebody with a learning difference, special need of some sort, and you’re there in the lunchroom, and you can tell this is a critical moment in that new student’s journey. You know, they’re off to the side, unengaged, nobody around them, and you’ve got a choice to make. As you’re sitting there watching this new student, you can initiate. You can move towards that student, invite them into your friend group, tell them that you’re there to help. You know they need to find stuff in the school, or you’re happy to walk them around, whatever it may be. Of course, that choice carries some risks with it, risk of rejection. I mean maybe even by the other friend groups or something like that, discomfort certainly be risking. And even just time and energy, you may be going, I’m willing to help. And the person says, Great, I need help. And you’re like, Oh, I didn’t mean it, though. So that’s a problem now. So you can initiate, you can invite and embrace that risk, or you could hold back hope somebody else takes care of the problem. They can they can step out, maybe even just retreat into your friend group and, you know, snicker at the jokes that are being made as well. So you’ve got this pull to safety, and really, if we’re being honest, it’s a selfish safety or the push to a risky love. That’s exactly the tension we experience when it comes to mission as God’s people, because we can step out in faith, but step out of our comfort zone in faith or retreat to safety. We’re being honest. The safety that we retreat to is usually the church community. We can retreat back into our cells because we’re fearful about stepping out, fearful about going out on mission, fearful, by the way, for good reasons. There are all sorts of things that can go wrong when you step out in faith on mission, absolutely so you get that selfish pull to safety, rather than a loving willingness to sacrifice and embrace risk for the sake of others. But here’s the question, What if Jesus could vanquish those fears that keep us, you know, wanting to opt for safety. What if Jesus could vanquish our fears that would change everything? Because then we could be sent out boldly. We could venture boldly for the sake of Christ, His kingdom, His cause, especially if he sends us some help along the way. And so what we’re gonna do this morning is explore the exact moment when Jesus does that for his first followers, when he vanquishes their fears. We’re gonna see how he, even today, meets our needs and empowers us to do what he’s called us to do. So a little bit of context, since we’re picking up in the middle of a story, this is an Easter sermon I get made fun of sometimes by my family, because on Easter, I don’t always preach about Easter, but that’s fine, because every Sunday we preach the resurrection of Jesus. That’s why we’re here on Sunday anyway. But here’s a real resurrection story. So what’s just happened in John 20 Jesus died, he was buried, and then he’s raised to new life by his father and Mary and some of the other women, Mary Magdalene, some of the other women there are there, you know, first break of light on Sunday morning. They’re there at the tomb to anoint his body with spices, what not? Except they find the tomb is empty. They’re a little bit concerned. Mary rushes back. She tells Peter and John, two of Jesus’s disciples, and they’ve got their little race to the tomb. See who gets there. First they go inside. Sure enough, it is empty. He is risen. And then it says in John 20, verse 10, then the disciples went back to where they were staying. So that’s where we’re picking up. Peter and John have just seen the tomb is empty. They’re confused, and they went back to where they were staying. Let’s pick up the story there. But in verse 19, on the. Evening of that first day of the week when the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. And again Jesus said, Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, I am sending you. And with that, he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. Okay, so what are we gonna see in this short passage here three ways that Jesus helps overcome that pull to selfishness in us, that selfish safety three ways that Jesus vanquishes our fears and instead provides us with peace and power and purpose for his mission. So first way, first part of the sermon here, is safety, right? So we are safe, and this is how Jesus helps us overcome our anxiety. It’s there in verses 19 and 20. Of course, they’re fearful, but it says Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace, be with you. And then he shows them his hands and side. The point here is that we are already safe. We are already safe in Christ. So we don’t need to retreat to safety. We’re already safe in him. So let’s take a look at this. Fear is driving the disciples, as I mentioned, they’ve got the doors locked in the room where they’re hiding out because they’re afraid of the Jewish authorities, afraid again for good reasons like this makes sense that they’re fearful of the Jewish authorities. They just killed Jesus. They want to see this movement stamped out. So yeah, they’ll probably go after the other ring leaders as well in this moment. So they’re fearful for good reason. Now you are wondering, like, didn’t Peter and John share anything about the empty tomb with the other disciples? Like, did that reality change anything for them? It doesn’t seem to have they’re confused, not confident. They’re reeling, unsure, unwilling to risk and again, who can blame them. I mean, to go out and boldly proclaim the Christ that they just killed would seem a little foolish. I mean fear, if you think about it, fear is a certain type of fear, at least, is a God given response to keep us from doing stupid things like fear is a good thing in so many cases. You picture a young child, you know, walking into a an unfamiliar, crowded area that’s just bustling with, you know, grown ups running back and forth we’re at, like Union Station or something like that, child would be right to shrink back. I’m not going to run into this, right? There’s, there’s something in here, going, I don’t think I should be here. I’m not sure I’m safe. What that child needs in that moment is mom or dad to take her hand. I’d say, It’s okay, sweetie, like we’re going, we’re going together here to provide that comfort and confidence. And that’s exactly what Jesus does for the disciples here. So he shows up in their midst. Remember, the doors are locked. No big deal for resurrected Jesus. So that would be a little bit, you know, extra reason for confidence, for trust in Him. He is still physical. He’s going to eat some fish. He’s got, you know, shows them his hands inside and stuff. But he’s also beyond the physical. So he just walks through locked doors. No big deal. So here he is, though he shows up, and when he shows up, what does he say to his disciples? Peace. Peace. The Hebrew word is shalom. It’s richer than our English word peace, because it’s not just the absence of conflict that he’s describing, because actually, there is still conflict, if you think about it, it’s not the absence of conflict, but the presence of God in the midst of that conflict. It’s the knowledge that, because of what Jesus has just done for them, the disciples are reconciled to God, loved by Him, cared for by him. It is the peace that comes with a psalm 23 sort of faith. The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths. For his name’s sake, even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. That’s the peace that Jesus is giving to them in this moment. And then, as if to put a punctuation mark on it, he shows them his hands, nail pierced hands, and then his spear pierced side. Did interesting. He doesn’t show his feet. He’s like, Yes, it’s me. I was crucified, but it was me in particular, because I’m the only one where they they stabbed the spear in as well. So they know it really is Jesus. He He’s proving to them he really rose from the dead. He is alive again, which means he has defeated our enemies sin in particular, and then the judgment that we deserve as a result of our sin, the death that we will have to face. So he’s proving that he’s really risen. We can trust him. We can trust him as a result, it’s almost like he’s saying you guys have good reasons to fear, but you have far better reasons to trust. That’s the peace that he gives. That’s the key. Peace comes with a right knowledge, a right understanding of our safety, and step out in faith, because we know he’s got us that changes everything. When you know for sure you’re safe, ask my kids what I’m most scared of they will tell you without hesitation, it’s not heights. It’s my kids on heights. That one terrifies me. They were nodding their heads over there. This is very true. So of course, I took them zip lining in Costa Rica at one point when my parents took it to Costa Rica, and so they were the whole time, because they’re mean. They get that from their mother, okay, not from mean. So they’re teasing me and like, Hey, Dad, you’re freaking out right now, aren’t you, dad, right? You’re freaking out right now because we’re, you know, 100 feet up, or whatever, something like that. The truth was, I wasn’t freaking out because everywhere we went on the zip line, we had, like, double safety precautions in we were hooked in twice. There’s no even if one of them failed, the other one was going to catch us. And so I could say, No, I’m good, I’m good now. Like, that’s the same idea. Jesus has us, we’re good now we’re hooked in to him. Our greatest fear, which is death, is already overcome. Like, I know I’m safe because Jesus conquered the grave, which means I know that I will rise to forever, life in him after my death. That’s what Jesus is saying. So what if the Jewish authorities kill you? What’s the worst that can happen? You got to be with Jesus in glory forever. Like now you know what comes next. This is important, because we all make risk reward calculations all day, every day, just constantly making risk reward calculations. Can I make this light that’s not gonna be worth it? Not gonna be worth the accident, not gonna be worth the ticket, if there’s a cop there or something like that. Do I really want to spend 80 bucks a month on life insurance? That’s not worth it. I don’t want to leave my family in the lurch if something happens to me. Jesus doesn’t eliminate those calculations. That’s just prudence. Anyway. I was just reading the book of Proverbs there, going, Yeah, it’s probably good to think about these kinds of things. So he doesn’t eliminate those calculations, but he reframes them ultimately. Ultimately we risk nothing when we step out in faith for God’s kingdom, because what matters most is eternally secure. Jesus has secured it for us. He guarantees it. It’s the passage that Hannah read for us earlier in first Peter one, in his great mercy, He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus, Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven. For you, our inheritance is secure. What we have in Christ is secure. That changes our calculations. It’s like, putting your money in a bank where you’re going, is it going to be there? Well, yeah, it’s backed by the FDIC. Or you’re starting a business when you got venture capitalists that are funding where you’re like, Okay, I’m not risking my dime here. I’m going to be okay if the business fails. Or rock climbing when you’re on belay where you’re like, Okay, again, we’re hooked in by fall off, somebody still got me. That’s the peace that we need, the knowledge of eternal security and true safety, or else we’ll end up in holy huddles like the disciples here, which Christians do like there’s a reason why we got that phrase holy huddle. It’s articulating something we’ve seen many times before, that retreat to safety, how unwilling Christians can be, maybe, how unwilling we even are here in this room to say, invite new people into our community group. Well, that’s gonna mess with the dynamic, though. You know what? I’m not sure I’m gonna be able to be as open like it’s the same middle school clicks that we started with in the sermon. We retreat to safety, and especially when we consider that there is risk. Still, of course, like go back to rock climbing. It’s great to know. Know that your envelope, somebody is there at the bottom. They got you hooked into the rope and everything like that. If you slip, you can still smack against it, though it hurts, you can get bruised. That’s mission right there. You can get bruised in mission, absolutely, conversation might go badly, but he’s got us. We risk nothing, not ultimately, that is why we need more than just knowledge of our ultimate safety. Important though, that is we need help too, and that’s our second point. It’s a second way that Jesus overcomes this pull to selfish safety. Is he makes us strong. This overcomes our inadequacy. It’s there in verse 22 quite short, with that he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit like, let’s keep going with our rock climbing analogy for a moment here, having somebody holding that rope at the bottom, it keeps you safe. It doesn’t make you better at rock climbing. You could just stand there all day long going, I don’t I don’t have the upper body strength to lift myself up, and so you’re going to need training, or you need to work out. Or, if you’re one of those little kids we climb, you know, rock climbing wall, where we go up family camp in Lake Geneva. And sometimes you can see the counselors at the bottom with the like the five year old or whatever, and they just start going like this, yay. You reach the top. You know, really good. Okay, that’s us with the spirit right there. By the way, that’s exactly what this looks like. But think how that sense of our inadequacy, our inability to do this, holds us back on mission. Like, I think this is our biggest issue on mission. A lot of us would say that first point, I’m with you, Brandon, I’m with you like, I know God’s got this. I’m just not sure I’ve got this. Yes, absolutely, right. There’s this overwhelming sense of inadequacy, incompetence, even, like, they’re going to ask me questions I know I can’t answer if I start sharing my faith, I’ve got no idea how to steer a conversation organically to the gospel or to explain the good news in a way that makes sense and meets people where they are, kind of scratches where they itch. And here’s why I love the Bible, among many reasons that I love the Bible. The Bible doesn’t pretend otherwise. The Bible is not going to lie to you about you the way our culture often does. You’ve got this You go, girl, the Bible says, No, you’re right. You are totally inadequate to do what God’s asked you to do. You have nothing in yourself to get you there, especially with the two main things, God calls us to pursue holiness and mission. How are you doing? Getting yourself holy on your own? Not so good. Same with mission. And Jesus said this himself. John 15, five apart from me. You can do nothing. It’s right when he says that he’s the true vine, we’re just branches meant to be hooked into him. You snip that branch off. You go. I got this. I can do this on my own. What kind of fruit are you going to produce? Nothing. You’re going wither and die. We have to be in him in order to do this. So the good news is, we can, we can be connected to the vine. We have that power available to us. It’s like Jesus is saying, we’re going rock climbing, all right, and I got you, I’m at the bottom, I got you on the rope, kind of thing, so you’re safe. But then Jesus, this doesn’t work in our analogy, but he’s God. He can do what he wants. Okay? He’s like, also, while I’ve got you at the bottom, I’m gonna put you on my back and actually climb you up to the top at the same time, so you’re safe and able strong in him. That’s the only way we’re gonna get there. Paul, the greatest evangelist in the history of the world, said this about himself, like if you’re feeling inadequate, just know you’re in good company. Here he is in second Corinthians, three, verse five, he says, not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. Just think how freeing that is. You don’t have to pretend to be enough. He makes you competent in himself in every area. This isn’t just mission, by the way. Like, how freeing is that? As a parent, you’re going, I’m messing this up. Yeah, yeah, you are. But the Spirit’s going to make you competent to go on or discipleship. You’re trying to help somebody grow in the faith you’re going I’m sure I’m growing in my faith, teaching whatever it might be, God empowers us to do what he’s asked us to do. We are not alone. He does not leave us to ourselves. It’s like when you’re learning to drive how glad. Are you that the instructors in the car next to you, especially if they got that car with the extra brake in it and stuff, and you know, they can just grab the wheel, because that’s how we feel again, most of the time. As Christian, Jesus take the wheel. God sends His Holy Spirit. Jesus breathed on them. He said, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you’re in Christ, you have received the Spirit of God to dwell within you. I mean, that’s even better than just having the instructor there in the car next to you. He’s inside you. Your hands are on the wheel. His hands are on the wheel. That’s what that means. He’s also the engine. So you got everything going for you here, but that’s freeing again. So if you were here with us the last couple months, you know, we’ve been in Exodus for a long time. Do you remember Moses when they were on the cusp of the Promised Land, and God was like, I’m not going, I’m gonna send my angel. And Moses said, If you don’t go, I’m not going, if you don’t go, I’m not going, I’m not going, unless you’re coming to and here, in this moment after Pentecost, we don’t ever have to ask that question again. God always goes with us, because he’s within us. We know that he’s always with us. This is John’s version of the Great Commission where Jesus gives His disciples their task, gives us our task for the remainder of history. The most famous one is Matthew’s version, go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to baptize in the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I’ve commanded you. But then Matthew, in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus wraps it up by saying, and surely I am with you always to the very end of the age, which is a strange thing for him to say, as he ascends into heaven, I’m gonna be with you always. Take care now. But we know, if you put it, you know, put John’s alongside Matthew, you get the whole story here. He’s saying, right, I’m physically leaving, but I’m sending my Spirit to be with you always. That’s why we can make disciples of all nations. That’s why we can go on mission. But it produces this prayerful dependence and joyful humility in us to know it’s not up to us. We can’t even do it, but he’s got us. It’s a little bit. We’ve got a small basketball hoop in our backyard, and every now and every now and again, you’ve all experienced this. You have small kids in a basketball hoop. They want to dunk, and so you, you know kind of thing that’s us, that’s us on mission, all right, but there is that. There’s joy, like, Look, I just dunked, but there’s also humility. I know I’m not doing this unless dad picks me up. It’s his strength, it’s his glory. So I know if I want to do this, I gotta say, Hey Dad, can you help me out here? But we can do it again. We can. We can dunk in Christ, not me, but you know, other people can dunk. That’s why we can leave that holy huddle, venture into the world, start conversations, asking good questions, way Jesus did, proclaiming His gospel boldly, because we know the spirit within us, strengthening us, going ahead of us, preparing hearts in the Spirit. We are safe. We are strong. That overcomes a lot of obstacles to missional living, except for the worst one, which is our selfishness. And so that’s that last section. Then we are safe, we are strong. We are also sent, and that should overcome our apathy. So Jesus said again, verse 21 Peace be with you, as the Father sent me. I’m sending you. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. So in verse 21 Jesus reiterates peace again. That’s the safety and the strength he’s going you have what you need. There’s your your peace. But then he commissions his disciples. He’s made us safe and he’s made us strong, because we’re going to be sent, this is what we need to go out. And so we should probably go out. It’d be like your, you know, parents buying sunscreen, getting you all sprayed up and everything. You got your your life jacket, it’s all buckled and stuff, brand new swimsuit. You had swim lessons all spring to stay in your basement playing video games all summer like no, we did all that so that you would, you know, swim outside. Jesus finished his work. Says that in John 19 verse 30, he’s on the cross, and He says, It is finished. He died for our sins. He rose again in victory over sin and death. He finished his work. So now our work begins. It is a related work he died to. Procure forgiveness. We go to proclaim forgiveness. He died so that we could be forgiven. We go so that others can be forgiven. That’s verse 23 that’s the connection there. This is what happens through the preaching of the gospel. We offer forgiveness to those who are listening, some will respond in repentance and faith. Others will not. But the point is, the good news is so good, we can’t help but share it. We’re evangelists by nature. As humans, you know this, you can pay attention to yourself and the people around you. How many times people tell you, like, Oh, you got to watch this show. That’s evangelicalism. There’s something good, and I want you to experience it also. You got it. You want tacos? You got to go to this restaurant. Trust me, it’s the same way with us, but it’s so much more glorious. Paul says in Second Corinthians five that the love of Christ compels us. We’re so overwhelmed by the goodness of his love, we can’t help but share it. It propels us outward. Some have said that the gospel ministry is really just a group of beggars telling other beggars where to find bread, and that’s the truth of it. But the point is, you’re going, there’s infinite bread, like I got good news for you come and have why would you not tell them that it’s a beggar saying I was dead in my transgressions and sin, I was without hope and without God in this world under judgment, just condemnation for my sins, a hurtling toward destruction, but God, because of His great love for us, God, being rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead in transgressions, it is by grace you have been saved. If that’s my story and your story, we can’t keep that to ourselves. Like news that good begs to be shared if we’re not sharing it, you would almost think we hadn’t believed it if we would keep it to ourselves. And yet, that’s the fleshly tendency, even with the disciples. Well, you see this in the book of Acts. So acts opens. It’s like another version of the Great Commission. Jesus, just before he ascends into heaven, says, look, you’ll receive power from on high. There’s the spirit. You got your safety, got your strength going for you. Okay? And then you’re gonna be my witnesses, and we sent then my witnesses in Jerusalem, where you are, and then Judea, and then Samaria, and then ultimately to the ends of the earth. That’s acts one, verse eight. Now flip the numbers, Acts 81 this is months later. We read this on that day, a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. And if you’re reading carefully, you’re going, why were you still in Jerusalem? Like it took this to get you to Judea and Samaria, never mind the ends of the earth. Like, what was going on, guys? I mean, this persecution. It’s like God, like the mom that goes downstairs in the summertime and says, Get out of the basement shoe. Go outside and play like God is shooing his people here. You don’t get to stay in Jerusalem anymore. Judea Samaria, when we talked about this, ends of the earth, let’s go. I’m not saying you better get moving, or God’s going to bring persecution. Maybe it happens. I’m just saying, Look how easy it is to retreat to safety, to the comfortable, to the familiar. I understand what the early church is doing. I can read myself into that passage, no problem. Why wouldn’t you just sit with the apostles, listen to them teach. I’m just growing in knowledge and understanding. I’m getting fat in Christ. Just gonna keep studying scripture. We got these deep, small groups, beautiful. We all know each other. We can be vulnerable. We can share with each other. We’re doing life together like every day, not like the American church. No, we’re doing life together. You read Acts 242, to 47 you see that picture in the early church, and go, Yeah, I’d want to stay there too. Plus, they don’t want to leave Jerusalem. They love the food there. They know where to find everything in their neighborhood grocery store. That’s really tough when you move and it’s not there where it’s supposed to be. It’s wrong aisle. People act the way I expect them to act. That’s the retreat to selfish, safety, comfortable confines. It’s absolutely antithetical to the work of Jesus. Christ, though. I mean, look at Jesus. What did he do? He left home, which was more comfortable than your home, that’s for sure. I mean, he left glory. He left his throne. Took on flesh and embraced discomfort, would be understatement safe to say, for our sakes, when we catch the magnitude of that love we’re willing to leave also not about my wants, not about my desires, those are already met in Christ, Jesus at the deepest level. So I can go there’s a big idea. We’ll just pull the three pieces together. The big idea for today, we’re safe in Christ and strong in the spirit, so we can be sent out without fear and hesitation. We are safe in Christ, strong in the spirit, so we can be sent out without fear or hesitation. Now, an analogy may be helpful here, as we move toward application, as we move toward the here and now. Of it all, this is an unoriginal analogy. I think it might come from JD Greer, so I’ll give him props. But honestly, I’ve heard it so many times in so many different places across decades. At this point, I don’t know where it comes from. Most of us want our local church to be a cruise ship. A cruise ship. A cruise ship is about me and my pleasure. That’s why you go on a cruise. It’s also why you stay on the cruise. You want to leave the cruise. I pay good money for this. I would like to stay right here. I am here to be served, which, again, is not exactly Jesus’s way. Jesus somewhat famously said in Mark 1045, Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom. For many. Most of us want a church to be a cruise ship, and most churches are happy to lean into that wish. So look at cruise ships. You’ve seen pictures of cruise ships before. I’ve never been on a cruise. My wife doesn’t want to go on a cruise. We’re not going on a cruise. Okay? You see pictures of cruise ships. They’re enormous. They’re just like floating cities. You’ve seen pictures of cruise ship with the Titanic next to it. The Titanic is the kids play area on one of the decks on a cruise ship. Like, they’re crazy. Why did they get so big? Because people kept saying, you know, what we could do? You know, it’d be fun to do on a cruise. Like, here’s, I’m going on a cruise. I’m gonna be out in the ocean, in this beautiful area. You know what would be helpful there a comedy club? This does not make sense to me. And again, some of you are like, No, we go on cruises. This is great. You do want to come because I don’t get it. Okay? We need something for the little kids to do so that the parents can have their date night and all that kind of stuff. It just keeps getting bigger and bigger. We could do water slides, we could do we and it just gets bigger and bigger. They keep adding stuff that’s church, that’s ministries at a church. You’ve been to churches like this. They got water slides in some of these churches, because people just keep going. You know what we need here? We need a singles ministry. We’ll attract some more people. We have a singles ministry at the church. Certainly got to have a Men’s Ministry and a women’s ministry? Absolutely, we got to have an after school program for the kids. Maybe we could do like an open gym as well, even missionally, right? We’re thinking outside, and still it’s this sense of so we got to add more to our local church. What if we had a coffee shop in our lobby that was open all week long? We could do game night. We could have mops so we can get the young moms together and build them up. And so the whole approach to church ministry then becomes people going to the staff of the church. There’s the people who work on the cruise ship and saying, You know what would be awesome. I’ve got this idea. Make it happen, Captain pastor, whatever your name is, and again, most are happy to oblige. But scripturally speaking, the local church is not called to be a cruise ship. It is more like an aircraft carrier. The church gathering. What we’re doing here is where you come together to refuel, get some repairs done, maybe get some training. It is an imperfect analogy. I will grant that it is true. We are we got a wartime mentality as a church, but we’re running rescue missions, not bombing anybody. So we want to be clear about that with the aircraft carrier. But more importantly, the part where the analogy really breaks down is we’re not giving you your mission either like Kyle and I, Jake and Reeve, we’re just the guys holding the fuel pump, but I got really good news for you. We already talked about this one. You know, who does give you your mission? The Spirit, and He flies with you, so you’re fine. You’re in really good hands there. He’s the captain. So we can go back to the fifth. In the blank that we talked about last week, right? I’m being made to magnify. I’m being built up in Christ so that I can be sent out and we begin to say, Okay, I am sent to serve you fill in the blank. I am sent to serve like you come here for fuel so you can go out and do that ministry. Now we are always going to reach our oikos. Jake prayed about our oikos already. If you haven’t heard that term before, it’s the Greek word meaning household or really the idea is sphere of influence. It’s not the nuclear family. It’s bigger than that. So these are the people that are in your life. You’re gonna rub shoulders with all the time anyway, and you just think, we’re always gonna reach them. You’re always gonna be trying to reach your neighbors. If you got family that aren’t in Christ, you’re gonna be trying to reach them, friends, whatever. But could God be giving you a specific mission beyond that, like you’re in a clear little runway where you can land over and over and over again to bring supplies, to bring the hope of the gospel? I just want to give you some examples to get you thinking so that you can own you can own your mission. And we got people who are doing this here already. So some of these examples that I’m going to give you’re going to go, but I know that one, yes, exactly. Okay, you’re going to recognize some people here. So you may be saying, Look, I am sent to serve international students. That’s my group, that’s my people, that’s the ones God has laid on my heart. They’ve got very specific needs. If you ever lived cross culturally, you know what that is like? They also have very specific openness to conversations about the gospel, and probably takes a specific approach as well. And so that’s what I’m going to do. I’m sent to serve international students, or maybe you’re saying I’m sent to serve moms with littles in the house, like exactly what mops tries to do, but mops does it in the church, so the church has to run it. No, just do it. You can do it. You don’t need us for this. You say, I’m going to bring them in. I’m going to offer them help when it comes to parenting. A little farther down the road, I got a little more understanding, or whatever, just experience. So you come in, we’re going to give you some help with parenting. We’ll give you spiritual nourishment as well, and we’re going to look at Jesus has to say about this. You may say, I’m sent to serve those in the assisted living facility near my house, to a tremendous opportunity, by the way, because of how neglected that population is, tremendous opportunity. Also keep in mind it looks different like that is not a cruise ship mentality, because they’re not coming here, a lot of them. So we gotta go there. If we’re gonna reach them, you go, I’m gonna go, I’m gonna do a Bible study, or whatever it looks like in that place. I’m sent to serve the guys in my gym. We have conversations about physical health, and then from there, I’m gonna say, you know, you’re not just a body, you’re a spirit also. We’re gonna have conversations about spiritual health as well. I’m hoping to lead a Bible study with him. I’m sent to serve the ladies in my neighborhood by investing in their lives, investing in a relationship, and then hopefully inviting them into a discovery Bible study, or Christianity explored at class. You can even look at some of our partner ministries that are doing this, where you’re like, I’m sent to serve those who are saddled with debt. That’s why we won Christian kids, poverty debt center here, where I’m sent to serve those who find themselves in a crisis pregnancy situation, like what caring network does. That’s what this looks like to have that aircraft carrier mentality. I mentioned it last week. I’ll say it again. We are developing training starting this fall to help you develop and then deploy on mission between now and then you like take the summer to be praying and asking yourself questions like these, what are the unique needs, where God has placed you? Where do your passions and the world’s brokenness intersect? What special opportunities exist? Where you are like, just as an example, the nations are right here, seven of the toughest groups to reach, toughest countries to enter, have significant populations in the Chicagoland area like that would be one where you’re going, Okay, we’re in Chicago, so we’ve got that opportunity where we are, or what am I already doing, just without a missional intention? How many of you are sitting there going, I don’t have time for this. I would challenge you. I think you’re already spending about six hours on mission every week. You just didn’t realize you’re supposed to be on mission during that time. So what are those moments where you’re like, I’m already here, I’m already in the gym. Why don’t I make this missional? I’ll be watching the World Cup this summer. That’s just that’s on my schedule. Okay? I take days off work. Why would you come to work when the World Cup’s on? But Nick and I are already in conversation to go, okay, you know who else watches the World Cup? Everyone else in the world, except Americans. So we’re gonna hang out with them. We’re gonna host watch parties. We’re gonna provide food. Okay? So I can be on mission when. Doing what I was going to be doing anyway. For me, I write, and so every day I leave the office, four or five days a week I leave the office, I go to the same place at the same time to build relationships the staff and patrons in the place where I write. I’m already there. Let’s just make it missional. That’s the idea. As you answer those questions, pray for direction and resist the temptation to retreat to selfish safety. God saved you, called you, filled you with His Spirit. You have everything you need. You are safe and strong and sent. We are trusting the spirit to stir these passions in you, and as he calls you, we will, this is our promise, right? We will coach and commission you with joy. You’re safe in Christ, strong in the spirit, so you can be sent out without fear or hesitation. Own the mission. Can I just say to I am so glad that after I pray and we sing a song, the next thing we’re going to do is see a baptism. Because if you didn’t need a nudge in this direction, that should be your nudge. This is why we do what we’re doing, so that we can see people brought from death to life in Christ, just picture the people in your life that God has laid on your heart sharing their testimony in that baptismal see. If that doesn’t overcome your apathy, let’s pray.

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From Maturity to Movement April 12, 2026 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper introduced a new series focusing on Philippians 1:18-26, emphasizing true maturity as manifesting in Kingdom movement. Cooper used soccer coaching as an analogy for effective church ministry, stressing that the measure of a good coach is the players’ performance. He highlighted that true Christian maturity is demonstrated through lifestyle and mission, not just knowledge or activity. The series aims to help congregants identify their mission and take ownership of it, encouraging them to magnify Christ and serve others effectively.

Alright, with that? You can go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Philippians chapter one. Philippians chapter one. We’ll be in verses 18 to 26 this morning as we start our new series. As you’re turning there, as I think some of you know, you all know I like soccer by now, unless it’s your first week. You’ve heard that already. So I coached Ceeley’s soccer team for a number of years, either as an assistant or the head coach Park District soccer and all that kind of stuff. So I coached. And if you didn’t know this about me, I am, I’m very good at soccer. I don’t know why you’re laughing. Okay, that’s a little hurtful, but you can ask Reeve, he plays with me most weeks, and when I’m very good at soccer and I’m coaching, you know, third, fourth, fifth, sixth grade girls at different points, they were not as good as I am, just the harsh reality. And so what I would do during these practices is I would just show them what to do, because I knew how to kick the ball, and they really didn’t. So just over and over and over again, I’d be like, Did you see how cleanly I struck the ball? Do you see the power, the placement, the bend that I got? Like, bend it like Brandon, okay, that’s how we’re rolling here, just over and over and over again as they would sit and watch in awe. Now, when the games would roll around, I always had a bit of a selection dilemma on my hands, because again, I was better than they were, and I’d been the one kicking the ball this whole time, so usually I just put myself in and we didn’t win a lot because it was still me versus 11, and that’s that’s a bot. So me ask you this, was I a good coach? Was I a good coach? Well, you could ask my players, ask Celie, at least you know her. I mean, do they know how to kick a ball? Of course, they do. They’ve heard me explain it to them hundreds of times by now, they know how to kick a was I a good coach? No chance. Of course, I’m being facetious. I hope you know that no chance that that would be a good coach, because the mark of a good coach is how well the players play. That’s the mark of a good coach, how well the players play. Can they carry the coach’s instructions, training, teaching, all that onto the field. It’s not about the whiteboard in the locker room. That’s not the mark of a good coach. That’s part of it, sure. But does that whiteboard all those plays that you marked up for them, are they actually doing it when they get out onto the field. Now there’s a problem, of course, and what I just described, it’s because what I just described is church at its worst, sure, but probably also at its most common. You have heard your coach talk about evangelicalism hundreds of times. Like our whiteboard is lit as a church. It’s spectacular. So what? So what the mark of an effective church ministry? But we could very definitely call discipleship the mark of effective church ministry is not so much what we do when we gather, but what we do when we scatter. You know, you’ve heard the phrase the proof of the pudding is in the eating. The proof of the church is in the scattering. That’s the proof that we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing when we come together. We see this, Ephesians chapter four, a passage we quote regularly here. Ephesians 411, and 12. Christ Himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, the teachers, the church leaders. In other words, Christ Himself gave the church leaders to equip God’s people for works of service, to equip God’s. People for works of service. You guys do the ministry. You guys do the service. Pastors, then, in other words, are equippers. We really are coaches. I’ve got no problem with the coach analogy for a pastor. Think that’s a lot better than like a CEO analogy, which is fraught with issues. So you would evaluate the ministry of a church leader, then based on how the congregation plays when they leave.
So that would change how we evaluate leaders, but I think it also changes how we evaluate Christian maturity. Like, what does it mean to be a disciple of Christ, a mature disciple of Christ, because it wouldn’t just be a question of knowledge or even activity, right? Like I’ve let I’ve read three books on how to kick a ball, so I must be good at soccer or the activity piece. That’s usually like, I didn’t miss a practice. There’s something to be said for that. Of course, it’s just not everything. So it changes how we evaluate maturity. We evaluate it not based on knowledge or activity, but on lifestyle, like, how are you living? Let me just give you some examples. Make sense of this. If we were to run an evangelical workshop at Cityview done before we’ll probably do again. You know, how do we evaluate we come together as staff and go, let’s talk about it. How did that go? Did everyone learn lots? Did we present the material? Well, that’s not the question at all. We want to know. If it was a good evangelicalism workshop, the question would be, what did they do with it? Are they evangelicalizing more effectively, more boldly as a result? Or for some of the ministry you do, like just take a Bible study or community group, something like that. Again, the question isn’t, did I teach well, do we get good information out there? They know more of the background of Ephesus at the time when Paul was writing, nothing wrong with that. I’m not denigrating knowledge at all. That’s just not the final mark, not questioning whether you are hearer of the word, but whether you are doer of the word. And that’s very much what we mean by the name of our series own the mission. It’s a phrase that we introduced at our annual vision night back in November. Revision. Own the mission, and that’s where we’re gonna focus in this series as well. What it looks like to get in the game. I’m gonna give you the big idea up front, because I want us to have it in our mind, and then I’m gonna try and prove it from scripture. But it’s really what I was just talking about. Our big idea this morning is this true maturity manifests in Kingdom movement. Okay, true maturity manifests in movement for the kingdom. So that’s the mark of actual maturity is stepping out in faith on mission, exactly what we’re going to see in our passage this morning. It’s Paul’s personal testimony, but you can see in his life that his singular purpose, he’s very clear about, produces this focused action in his life. Also kind of a fun passage for us, because this is where we get our mission statement from as a church as well. I think is the first passage that I’ve preached three times here at Cityview, once because we went through Philippians, but once because we talked about our DNA as a church. And here we are again. This is where we we get the idea that we’re being made to magnify and then sent to serve. Another way of saying that is Christian maturity. True maturity produces Kingdom movement. So that will be our outline then as well. True maturity Kingdom movement. Let me show you it from the text. So starting with true maturity, what is true maturity? What does it mean to be made to magnify? We’re gonna look at 18 B to 23 but just for the sake of context, I’m actually gonna start reading in verse 12. So Philippians, chapter one, verse 12, Paul writes, now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear. It’s true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of good will. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached, and because of this, I rejoice, yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my delay. Deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage that now, as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet, what shall I choose? I do not know. I’m torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ. Which is better by far. All right, so context here that you saw starting in verse 12, Paul is in prison because he has been preaching Christ. This is a concern to the Philippians. They’re concerned about this man who was so important in planting their church, leading them to Christ, but Paul’s going you don’t need to be that concerned for me, because, yeah, I’m in chains for Christ, but that’s just giving me an opportunity to witness to the prison guards who are chained to me like that poor soul is you’re gonna hear about Jesus a lot. It’s also been an encouragement to the brothers and sisters. You see there in verse 14, one of my favorite verses in all of Scripture, because it’s so shocking and counterintuitive, because of my chains, right? Because I got put in prison for preaching Christ, the brothers and sisters around me dare all the more to preach Christ. It’s like it makes no sense. You go. So they stopped talking about Jesus because they saw no they they got emboldened to preach Christ because they see what Paul is doing, even in change, Christ is being preached even for bad reasons. He’s got rivals who are trying to usurp his authority. They’re taking advantage of this power vacuum. You know, they’re hoping they can get the book deals and conference invitations, and Paul’s off the stage, but Paul doesn’t even care. He’s rejoicing in his chains because Christ is being preached. And he’s going to keep rejoicing, and we’ll get to the start of our passage there in 18 B but he’s going to keep rejoicing, even though he doesn’t know how things will turn out now it is true. He says, I know they’re going to turn out for my deliverance. But he then makes clear in the next few verses that could mean his life or his death. So how is his being killed? Deliverance? Well, because the word that’s used there really has the idea of salvation and maybe even vindication. The language is taken from some words of job where Job is saying that he is confident. Doesn’t matter what his friends are saying about him. He is confident that he will be vindicated in glory when he stands before the throne of God. That’s how Paul feels also. So he’s not just talking about his deliverance in the sense of his personal salvation, of which he is quite sure, but the vindication of His ministry and his message as well, and that focus on ministry, then explains verse 20, because of their prayers, because God has given Paul and all who belong to him, the Spirit of God. He knows that he will not falter. He won’t lack courage, he won’t ultimately be put to shame. Instead, he will be empowered, regardless of his circumstances, to just go on preaching the gospel of Christ, so that Christ will be magnified. Here’s how he says it, so that now, as always, Christ will be exalted in my body. So whatever happens physically to him, whether the chains are released, you know, he’s set free or he’s decapitated, it doesn’t matter whatever happens physically to him, he knows that it will be for Christ’s glory, and that’s the single purpose to which we have all been called as Christians, to glorify Christ, To make much of Christ, so that He is exalted in US and in our lives. You can see how that’s already a radical shift in our mindset. That’s that’s not how we come into the world, right? Think I’m gonna make much of somebody else come into it. Think I’m gonna make much of myself, but we should be, at this point, very clear on our mission, which is to make Christ look magnificent. Not going to be clear about what I mean by that. When I say we need to make Christ look magnificent, I’m not talking about dressing him up like he needs our help. This isn’t, you know, touching up senior photos so you get rid of the acne or something. Christ has no blemishes. That’s not it at all. He is already magnificent. We’re just helping people to rightly comprehend his majesty, His glory, His magnificence. Our ministry, then, of magnification is not like a. Microscope ministry, you know what a microscope does? It takes something that’s that’s very small, not at all that impressive, and blows it up bigger than it is, so you can actually see it. That’s not what we’re doing for Jesus, like, let me know, kind of talk him up, or something like that. Not at all we have a telescope magnification ministry, because what does a telescope do? It helps us just begin to comprehend how big these tiny specks of light that we see in the night sky really are 100 times bigger than our own sun, or something like, Okay, I got it to about that size in my eye. I’m just beginning to understand how big it is, but that’s it. That means be made to magnify. Go, do you understand how glorious Jesus is? We’re speaking to people. We’re going look you’re chasing after like money and sex and power and titles like, do you understand how much better Jesus is. I mean, just go with the astronomy example. Again, it’s like people are caught up with the moon. The moon, we just talked about it a lot this week, right? The moon is a fairly small size chunk of lifeless rock. The only interesting thing about it is that it occasionally catches the light of the sun. And so that’s our ministry, right. There is going, Why are you looking at this? Look at that. Look at this. And look how much bigger it is, and look that it is the source of all life and light and energy. By the way, a lot of this series is going to be for the church. It’s to build up those of us who already call Christ Lord. But if that’s not you, if you’re here because somebody brought you, or something like that, you’re just checking things out, you still got questions about Jesus. Like, there’s the invitation right there to, like, be done with the moon and just, just, let’s, let’s run to the sun. Either way, that’s the invitation is to see how much better he is, and I certainly hope you will even as we continue today. So Paul is going to magnify Christ, so that people can just begin to understand how good and glorious He is, that can happen different ways he says, so that now, as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death, there are things we can do, whether we live or die. You could picture a soldier trying to save his platoon when a grenade is tossed into the trench where they all are. He could save them by his life, kick the Grenade out, or toss it, or something like that, if he’s got time. He could also save his platoon by his death if he falls on it and absorbs the blow. Either way, that’s what Paul’s saying. I can do what I need to do either way. It doesn’t matter. I don’t know how things will turn out, but it doesn’t matter, because I can glorify Christ in both situations. How? And this leads into the famous phrase many of us know to live is Christ. It’s lovely and poetic, but what exactly does it mean? Does it just mean that we live like Christ? Sure, that’s part of it. We just sang as a prayer. I want to be more like Jesus. Would you make me more like Jesus? Could I embody self sacrifice, love, service, all these things that you make me more like him? But I think that’s just part of it, and truthfully, we’ve already had it defined. What it means to live is Christ. Means his exaltation, his glory. As long as I go on living, Paul is saying, my single purpose is the glory of Christ. I have been made to magnify. That’s the idea to live. Is Christ? In fact, Paul fleshes out exactly what he means just a few chapters later, if you’re to turn to Philippians three verses seven and eight, you’ll see he uses the same word gain, even that he uses in the second half of the phrase, to live is Christ, to die is gain. He brings that same idea up in Philippians three, he says, Whatever were gains to me, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. If you’re with us for Galatians, this would be all those things you’re tempted to boast in when you’re boasting in the flesh, all those points I thought I’d earn for myself. I consider that loss now for the sake of Christ. And then he says, What’s more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ, Jesus, my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, like they’re refuse. You can just toss them out that I may gain Christ. So the surest way to glorify Christ is to treasure Him above all. He is so valuable. Paul saying, I. Would give everything just to possess him, that I may gain him, that I could have him. It’s the same point Jesus himself made in the parable of the buried treasure in Matthew chapter 13, there’s a guy. He’s walking in a field, little you know, stumbles over a treasure chest that’s kind of poking out of the ground. He opens it up. It’s brim full, overflowing with gold and silver and and precious jewels. And he thinks to himself, okay, whoever owns the field owns what’s in the field. I want to own what’s in the field, so I got to buy this field. In order to buy the field, he has to sell everything. He sells his house, he sells his donkey, he sells. That’s it. That’s all you had to back then. So, you know, but whatever, he sells them all so that he’s got enough money to buy this field with a treasure in it. Let me ask you this question, what did that man give up to get the field? Nothing, nothing. Because he gained so much more, not quite infinitely more, but might as well round up to infinitely more as a result. That’s the point. We give up nothing to follow Jesus. Christ is greater. Jesus is better than money, the approval of people, than temporary pleasure, whatever it is, you could take it all away. It’s all been taken away from Paul, who’s in prison now, and you could still rejoice, because Jesus, plus nothing is everything. You live like that, by the way. And people will notice, people will start to go, okay, like there’s something. You’re starting to blow up Jesus, right? You’re magnifying Jesus for the people in your life. But this then helps explain that second half so to live is Christ. To die is gain. Christ is greater than everything we lose in death. And I get that. That’s a big statement. I was at a funeral yesterday, like you see what death costs, of course, but it’s true, Christ is greater than everything we lose in death. That’s why Paul says, I desire to depart and be with Christ. Which is better by fire? Is that interesting? He’s in prison. He’s going, I kind of hope the execute me. That would actually be, that’d be choice one for me. Plan A because that means I get to go and be with Jesus, which is better than all of this. It’s just an aside. It’s not part of the sermon here. But what? What comforting words to those of us who have lost loved ones who died in Christ like there is such grief. Of course, we talked about the grief last week in the Easter sermon. Of course, there’s real grief. We grieve that we are not with them, that we are separated for a short time until we go to be with them again in glory. But there is no grief for the one who left us. They are experiencing joy beyond all imagining at this point. That’s also the attitude we’re going to have to have if we’re going to own the mission. I desire to depart and be with Jesus. Which is better, by far. That’s the attitude of missionary James Calvert from a bygone era, and he was leading a group of missionaries to plant a church among a group of cannibals in an island in the Pacific Ocean. The captain, as he was getting ready to drop them off, like was trying to talk them out of it again, he said, You will lose your life and the lives of all your team if you go and Calvert looked at him and said, We died before we came here. Like that’s the attitude that we have. We’re gonna own the mission. We’re gonna live for Christ and His glory alone. It is important to note that Paul is not at all concerned about the resolution whether they kill me or set me free doesn’t matter, because he knows he can glorify Jesus regardless. I think that’s a good word for some of us today as well. Are you in tough circumstances, a situation that you weren’t in? Have you been asking God to get you out of it? Nothing wrong with that. By the way, Paul’s got a thorn in the flesh. He asked God three times to take away. Jesus says, if it’s possible, you could take this cup from me. But if God says no, and he often does, as he did to Paul and he did to Jesus there, maybe ask yourself, can I glorify Christ in this situation regardless? And maybe even more so maybe you’re single and marriage was always your plan, and you just don’t know if that’s coming or not. Can Can God use your singleness to show the magnificence of Christ as you see how people around you see how satisfied you are in Christ doesn’t take marriage and kids to live a. Full life. It takes Jesus who came that we might have life and have it to the full. Maybe it’s your work situation. You’re just you’re ready to be done with it. The Lord’s not moving you. It’s not a promotion. There’s no new company, new career. Can you glorify Jesus in that job? Chronic pain, whatever it is. Be saying, No. How can you glorify Jesus regardless? Now, Paul’s going, I may die, and that’s fine, but the question we’re asking, since hopefully our prospects are a little bit Rosier, how do we do this in life in particular? And that’s the second half of the passage. So we saw the true maturity being made to magnify Christ. But then the second half the kingdom movement being sent to serve. Let me finish up our passage, verses 24 to 26 I’ll start in verse 23 since it’s mid sentence, I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ. Which is better by far, but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again, your boasting in Christ, Jesus will abound on account of me. So Paul would rather depart, but he’s not thinking of himself. What do those around him need? It seems to him, impression of the spirit, something like that, that it’s necessary that he remain. And so he expects that he will, that he will be able to continue, and able to continue, even ministering to the Philippians. Now let’s remember verse 22 this is a little confusing. What happens here. Paul says, to live is Christ, we get to magnify Him, but then how verse 22 so to live is Christ? If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean and we expect him to say, I get to glorify Jesus. But he doesn’t. He says, If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. So it’s interesting that to live is Christ, but then he doesn’t talk about Christ. Instead, he talks about his fruitful labor in his life. So somehow this fruitful labor must magnify Christ, so that to live for this fruitful labor is to live for Christ’s glory. And that’s what he clarifies here in verses 24 to 26 because he says, I will continue if I’m gonna go on living. Basically, I’m gonna go on living for your progress and joy in the faith, the progress meaning spiritual growth, maturity in Christ, which exalts Christ as people see that Jesus is better. He’s worth more than everything in this world. And then joy in the faith that’s embracing Christ, treasuring Christ above all, what Paul just described in his own life. Can they rejoice in all circumstances too. So Paul knows that he needs to stick around so that the Philippians are as satisfied in Christ as He is. He needs to stick around so that he can magnify Christ and see them magnifying Christ more and more. That’s what he says in the last verse, right? Because he’s sticking around there, boasting in Christ will abound. Boasting, glorying in Christ. Christ is better. Can anything separate us from His love? Trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, danger, sword, no. Paul tells us in Romans eight, so we magnify glorify Christ by glorying and rejoicing in him. No matter what we face in life or death, he is better than all we lose in death. He is better than all our gains in life, our shared mission, then what we have been called to, if we are Christians like Paul, is to see this increasingly true in the lives of those around us. That’s our mission. Can I say too, just briefly, we get to do this mission. It’s not that we have to do this mission. I always worry when I say something like this that there’s like low grade guilt is going to settle in and go, here’s one more thing I got to do. It’s not that at all. We get to make Christ look magnificent and help others see that. What a privilege it is to be called into that ministry, the ministry that John Piper describes, he says, to live as Christ means to be the means of other people, making Christ look magnificent by finding Christ to be their supreme treasure and their greatest satisfaction. So we are not only made to magnify Christ ourselves. US, but then sent to serve others by helping them to magnify Him too, or put the way we put it today, true maturity manifests in Kingdom movement that is the fruitful labor to which we have been called, the progress and joy in the faith of the people around us. And by the way, that progress is what produces joy. The more we know Jesus, more we love Jesus, the more satisfied we’re in him, the more joy we experience. Now, how we do this takes many forms. Paul is speaking to a group of Christians here, so he really is talking about discipleship proper, the part where Christians are built up in the faith, that’s the kind of stuff we do here in ministries, like Journey groups, community groups, explore our Family Ministries, and the one on one informal discipleship relationships that we have here as well. Those are the made to magnify ministries at this church, and the hope there is that people will progress in the faith and experience joy as a result, I met with the journey group leaders this morning. We’re doing some equipping together and and that’s what we’re talking about. That’s the joy that we’re experiencing as we do that. But it also looks like evangelicalism, or the part before someone comes even to see that Christ is magnificent, that that’s where joy is found, and that’ll be the focus of this series, in particular, reaching the unreached, so that we can then disciple them later on, I think CS Lewis kind of captures the whole sermon in one sentence. He’s a better writer than I am. He said, The glory of God, and as our only means to glorifying Him, the salvation of human souls is the real business of life. That’s it. So the glory of God in the salvation of those around us, that’s our business. That’s our mission. So the focus of this series, in many ways, the outcome I’m hoping for, is to help you get a clear sense of whom God wants you to reach and how to reach them with the gospel, true maturity manifest in movement for the kingdom. If you are being made to magnify, you will see that you have been sent to serve. And so my hope in this series is that you’re going to be able to fill in this blank with conviction, clarity and courage, this blank I am sent to serve, that that’s my hope you would know I am sent to serve this group of people in this way. And here we are talking about, like a focus. We’re not just talking about individual names, but having that sense of like, I know that I’m called to a place and to a people. I’ll just give you one example. We’ll talk more examples next week. But next week, but I’ll just give you an example. He’s not here, so I can pick on him. Kyle and the Bjerga family really, like they have filled in this blanket for themselves. And they would say, like, we are sent to serve Lombard baseball families. We spend a lot of time with them, and so we’re going to reach them for Jesus. And they are doing that, and have done that. We have people at church as a result of that ministry. That’s what it looks like I’m sent to serve. Fill in the blank, like, can you do that? Now, maybe some of you are feeling a little swell in your heart because, you know, yes, I know exactly who I’m supposed to serve. This is my mission. These are my people. If not, don’t worry. And we’re gonna help you get there, maybe in this series, and if not, from there as well. I do want us to be a little careful, though, because the problem is saying I am sent to serve. I think we need to separate the gathering and the scattering ministries of the church, and the confusion is because it’s the same word serve. So you think I am sent to serve, and you’re like, I serve on worship team, which is outstanding, by the way, that’s a wonderful thing, but there are slight differences there. We use the word serve because we need both, like both are necessary. But there is activity that we do for Jesus at church, at the gathering, and the pipeline kind of looks like this. The pathway looks like this. You attend, and then you connect, and then you volunteer again, totally, totally necessary, because all that is a lot of the made to magnify stuff. It takes a lot of teamwork even to make a Sunday morning happen. So grateful for all of that. Again, not throwing any of that under the bus. Like it’s not important. It is necessary. It’s just a different sort of thing. It’s like picking up cones at practice. Like it’s a good thing to do. It’s not quite the same as playing in the game, though, at the same time. So we got the activity that we. Do at church, and I hope you can fill that in and go right. Here’s how I volunteer at church. But there’s also a scattering like our activity on mission at the same time, and that pipeline is a little different. So instead of an attend, connect volunteer, it looks like this called coached, commissioned. Stealing those words from book by galadian Green, but called coached and commissioned. So called, I mean, of course, you’ve been called to Jesus, but beyond that, called, meaning you’ve responded to God’s call to join his mission for the Kingdom. You’re like, I am in I want to do this. Then coached, which is really on us. That’s my job, right? We’ve coached, discipled, equipped, trained, taught you to move for the Kingdom. And then lastly, commissioned. The word mission is in there, right? And it’s got, you know the Latin root of the word mission is send. That’s kind of the whole idea. Like you’ve been sent to serve. You have your orders. You know your mission. You filled in your blank called coached, commissioned. Sometimes they overlap. Also, just to make it even more confusing, I don’t know. Sometimes things are confusing because you because you, I’ll give Jake as an example. Didn’t tell you shouldn’t have been here, because I’m picking on you. Also, Jake serves the church gathering with the youth, and so that’s the it’s not volunteer. We pay him, not well, but we pay him for it. So that’s the volunteer role, like the serving the church gathered, but it is also his mission. I suspect if I were to ask Jake, what’s your fill in the blank, he would say, I am sent to serve the youth of Elmhurst and the surrounding communities, I hope, because that’s what we hired you to do. So it better be your fill in the blank. And so that’s happening at the same time. It could be the same thing kids city, like I’m sharing Jesus with kids. That’s awesome. Okay, so there may be overlap, but for a lot of us, they’re going to look a little bit different. And so that’s why we’re focusing on the called coached commission piece. This series, by the way, is meant to be the call like my hope is, at the end of this series, you go here, I am, send me. I am ready to join God’s mission for the Kingdom. Give you a sneak peek of what’s coming, and we’ll talk a little bit about it during the series as well. We are developing a missional pathway so that we can coach you more effectively in how to do this, so that then you can fill in your blank that would be the coached and then we will literally commission you as well. One of the things you’re going to see more often here in Sunday services is our bringing people up front to pray over them as we send them into the world to serve the people God has placed on their hearts. Now saying all this, I want you to know this is not like a hard reset as a church, like whiplash, like, I guess we’re doing something else now. We do a lot of this already. We do it in Journey group, plenty. In fact, I shared an encouraging story from my own journey group in the Pulse this week, just talking about how people are gas being made to magnify and then sent to serve Absolutely. So it’s not a hard reset, but a renewed commitment and then probably a revised process as well, back even in Journey group, if you’re in Journey group, you’ll notice next year your mission section looks a little bit different. But the takeaway is that from now on, you all should judge my ministry, not based on my halftime talks, which are the sermons, but on your second half performance, that’s where we’re going. Are you ready to play all right hands in own, the mission on 3123, own. The mission, woo. Let’s do it. Let me pray for us, Lord, we are happy to declare your magnificence. Like those of us who know you, Lord, those whom you have saved, we see your glory and goodness. That’s why we’re here. We want to sing about it. It’s not enough even just to talk about it. We have to set it to music, because our hearts are bursting with joy, because we know you and are known by you Lord. Our prayer going out of here is that that joy would propel us on mission, that we would be laser focused, single minded, wholehearted in our commitment to the cause, our commitment to the kingdom, because we want the people around us to know that joy also to be as satisfied in you as we. We are learning to be. So send us, Lord, here we are. Send us and show us where you’re sending us, how you’re sending us, equip and empower us to do the work you’ve given us to do. And God, at the end of our lives, May each one of us here in this room be able to look back and see that we have magnified Your glory for the people in our lives. We pray in Christ’s name, Amen.

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FYI April 5, 2026 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper emphasized the importance of accurate information, using historical medical mistakes as examples. He then transitioned to a spiritual discussion, focusing on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14. Cooper highlighted three key points: Christians should grieve differently, with hope, due to their belief in Jesus’s resurrection. He explained that sin is the root of humanity’s problems and that Jesus’s death and resurrection offer salvation. Cooper encouraged trust in Jesus for eternal life, likening faith to boarding a plane. He concluded by urging the audience to respond to the hope of Easter by trusting in Jesus.

Well, good morning. And it is a very good morning indeed. If you want to grab your Bibles, you can open up to First Thessalonians four. First Thessalonians four will be in verses 13 and 14. If you didn’t bring a Bible, there should be a black one there in front of you in the pews. If you don’t own a Bible. Just go ahead and steal that one. Okay, we’re giving you permission here. That is our gift to you. I would actually love it if tomorrow morning, as we were going through the church, we discovered that there were 1015, 20 of those Bibles missing. Please take it home with you if you don’t already have one. If you are using that black Bible, by the way, it will be on page 958, if you’re using your personal Bible, I don’t know what page it’s on, I’m sorry. It is important to get information right. Knowledge is power and all that, but it’s shocking how often in human history and probably in your own life, we’ve gotten it wrong. Just take some examples, even from medical history. And for how many centuries, millennia, really did humans think that the key to health was the balance between four humors, blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile. And so in order to make sure you had that balance right, they would do things like bloodletting when you were sick, which strikes me as a bad idea, although I’m not a doctor, or there was the miasma theory of disease, which is that disease came from bad air, like you got diseases like cholera from bad air and not from poison in The water that you are drinking. But if you don’t understand germs, you don’t understand like, how that spread happens, you run into all sorts of problems. Actually, literally, just read this week of the guy who finally convinced sort of other doctors to wash their hands before surgery, because there was a time when they was that this is not the problem, right? It’s not germs. And so it was actually a doctor. It was, this was childbirth, and these doctors would go, they would do autopsies on people who died of infections in the morning, and then deliver babies in the afternoon, and the babies were not making it. And so he was like, we should try washing our hands. Here’s the incredible part of that story, now that they weren’t washing their hands, that’s incredible. Hands, that’s incredible. The other doctors were so mad at him that like they eventually drove him out into an insane asylum where he was beaten to death within two weeks because he wouldn’t do surgery without washing his hands. Knowledge is power. It’s good to have the right information. Here’s another good one they discovered, you know, radioactive materials like radium, things like that. They used to put that in drinks, maybe not quite as bad as what they used to put in Coca Cola, but, you know, same idea, right? So, you know, order your cosmopolitan in a bar or something like that, and just have a little shot of radium in it. The only benefit is the pickup lines right themselves. You’re positively glowing. But yeah, radiation is not great for you. So in each case, wrong information led to these devastating consequences. And there’s a danger that threatens us still today, not just physically, but much more importantly, spiritually too. It’s more dangerous because it’s an eternal danger. The consequences are longer, and so that’s why Paul writes what he does in our short passage this morning, he’s writing to a young church there, and what is modern day Greece, city of Thessalonica. So his church is just a few years old. He’s been through he’s planted the church. He’s helped them understand the basics of the Christian message. But they’re still learning Christianity, kind of, everybody’s still learning Christianity at that point. And so they’ve got questions, they’ve got some confusion, maybe where you are this morning as you come into this church, like I’ve heard some stuff, but I’m not sure I really understand it all, you are exactly where you need to be then. And so Paul writes them, as we’ll see here in just a moment. He says, I don’t want you to be uninformed, like I want to make sure you’ve got the right information. So this is giant FYI written in this text. Make sure you get this right. This is what we need to know.
So if you’ll look with me at first, Thessalonians, 413, and 14, I hope you’re there by now. And it really is important that you’re looking with me at the text, because you do not need what I think the information is right, like I would be the doctor who’s not washing his hands kind of thing. Like we need to know what God thinks. So we’re going to look at his word together. Here it is, first, Thessalonians, 413, and 14. Reading for the NIV and Paul writes, brothers and sisters. We do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death. That you do not grieve like the rest of mankind who have no hope for we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. This short text, we get three key pieces of information, like three truths to ponder, and that will be our outline this morning. The first key piece of information has to do with grief. Grief right there in the text. Of course, you do not grieve like those who do not have a hope. But it’s interesting that Paul, in speaking to this group of Christians who’ve lost loved ones who’ve experienced death. He doesn’t say Christians shouldn’t grieve, but he does say that Christians should grieve differently. They should grieve with hope, for reasons that we’ll see in a little bit. But that’s a really important piece of information, that grief is inevitable in this life we will all experience grief because death is inevitable. If you live long enough, you will lose people you love, and death is the surest proof that something is terribly wrong in this world. It’s not the only proof. It’s the surest one. There’s a lot of other proof. There’s injustice, there’s suffering, there’s pain, there’s evil, wickedness, and even the frustration that the wicked so often seem to be the ones that are prospering and getting away with it. So grief is just this deep sorrow at the world’s brokenness. It’s the sense that the the world is not as it should be. We look around and we go, surely, surely, this isn’t it. This can’t be it. I suspect I don’t need to convince you of that. Maybe you even came in this morning feeling that way. Maybe that’s what brought you here, thinking, I need hope, because something is wrong, wrong, okay, but what’s wrong a little bit like the doctors we’ve been talking about? Is it bad air, or is it germs? Like, what’s going on? We want to get the problem right, or else we’ll probably get the diagnosis and the remedy wrong. So what exactly is wrong with humanity? Is it just a question of ignorance, like we had enough education that would take care of all the world’s problems? I think it’s safe to say that’s probably not the answer. We’ve had the modern education movement for a while now. Kind of started late 19th century, early 20th century. You saw how that went. Modern education brought us the bloodiest century in the history of the world, more violent deaths than all the other centuries combined. That was the 20th century. 21st Century not looking so hot either. Is it? So I don’t think it’s ignorance or what about injustice? If the issue is systems of injustice, then what’s needed is activism. And surely, yes, that is needed, much like education is needed, but, but I don’t see that politics is going to be the final solution to the world’s problems, because we’ve been trying politics since time immemorial. We’ve tried every version of it, which one brought peace on earth. I mean, even Camelot got wrecked by adultery, and that one was made up. We still can’t get it right well, so maybe it’s a little more internal. This would be what a lot would say today, that our problem was actually insecurity, that sense of I’m not living out the life I want to be living, because it’s always threatened by circumstances. So what do you need to do? You need to take control of your life. You need to self actualize. You do you live your best life now, which sounds great, except that you don’t always live your best life. Do you you make dumb choices regularly, if you’re anything like me, and I suspect you are, and even if you were to somehow just always make the choice you think you want to make to bring about the life you want to bring about cancer beats those good vibes every time. You just can’t win that way. And so here’s the I don’t want you to be uninformed moment. Here’s the big FYI in this section. The Bible tells us that the problem is in here. The Bible tells us the problem is in here. It’s an internal germ, which means we can’t escape it by hand washing and masks and isolation. You’re already sick. And spiritually speaking, it’s terminal. The Bible calls that spiritual sickness sin. Maybe you think that’s an old fashioned word. Sounds a little bit regressive even, or maybe you think of it only when it comes to desserts. You know you shouldn’t be eating the sinful Sunday at this restaurant or other. That is how many of us think of sin today, that thing that’s really. Pleasurable, but I know I shouldn’t have too much of it. That’s not what the Bible says about sin, though. The Bible says sin is rebellion against our King. It’s a going against our Maker, the God who created us in His image, he made us. He knows what we should do. We don’t read the instruction manual, and so we start drinking radium because we think we know better than he does. It’s actually interesting. The Bible tells us that the whole sin problem started with a thirst for knowledge. Adam and Eve wanted to be informed, and so they ate from the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Now why did they eat that because they wanted to decide for themselves what good and evil are. They didn’t want anybody else, not even God, telling them what’s right and what’s wrong. They were going to choose themselves. They knew they would be able to choose for themselves. Oops, turns out they didn’t. It doesn’t go well, we’re not great about running our own lives as individuals or as a collective. When you watch the news and almost all the bad that you hear about is the result of humanity, some things, sure, earthquake, all right, that’s not on us. I don’t think maybe it’s a weather event. Of course, that might be our fault also, but you watch the news, you think most of it is on us. We commit the crimes we do violence, we exploit others, we start wars, we hoard wealth and live in luxury and self indulgence. We envy, slander, mock, abandon, the Nobel Prize winner for literature, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who was a Russian dissident during the time of the Soviet Union, famously, by the way, said that the line between good and evil does not run along country borders like USSR, bad, USA, good. The line between good and evil passes between every human heart. He said that Alexander Solzhenitsyn was asked about the evil in the world, like what’s going on here? And he said this, men have forgotten God. That’s why all this has happened. Because if you don’t put God first, you will, in the end, put yourself first, which is the root of all evil. Ernest. Becker put it like this, psychologists, the last century, 2500 years of history, haven’t changed our basic narcissism. Again, I don’t need to prove that to you. You can see it, but I wonder, have you reckoned with the spiritual germ within you yet, because there will come a day when you cannot make excuses for yourself any longer. I don’t know what it’ll be. Maybe you will speak harshly to a loved one, words that you can never put back and that are going to hang over them like a cloud for the rest of their lives. Not talking about speaking sharply, I’m talking about, again, words that change a person’s life, or maybe you will commit an act that horrifies you. Maybe it’s even in secret, and still, at the end of it, you’re thinking to yourself, I am not the kind of person who would do something like that, and yet I just did something like that. So what does that say about me? Or maybe it’ll be simpler. Maybe it’ll just be a question of failure to change. And you’re thinking, I’m not going to be impatient with my kids any longer, or I’m going to start speaking Kinder words to the people around me. I’m going to have self control, self discipline in my life, and then 10 years go by, and 15 years go by and 20 years go by, and you go, I’m not going to be impatient with my kids any longer. They’ve graduated, they’ve flown the coop, but still, you haven’t changed. I don’t know what it’ll be for you. I’ve done all three of those, by the way. I just know that there will come a day when you can’t make excuses for yourself any longer. I also know that that’s the benefit of grief, that’s the benefit of the sorrow we feel, the anger at the brokenness of the world. That’s what shocks us awake like we need the pain to let us know that there’s something wrong. It’s the sore throat that clues you into the fact that you got strap in the same way, it’s the grief that we feel that clues us into the spiritual sickness within us. This is not the way it should be. Death itself. Again, the issue that the Thessalonians are facing is the ultimate shock, and again, the one that none of us can avoid. But hopefully, it leads us to ask these deep questions, to get the information that we need, because death is the primary indicator of the world’s brokenness. The Bible tells us exactly where it comes from. Romans, 623, the wages of. Sin is death. The reason we die is because of our sin. That’s the germ that kills us. That’s a problem because we’re all infected. Extend the medical analogy here, like diagnosing the problem is step one, if the doctor is there, you know, telling you, hey, you’ve got this disease that’s going to kill you. You’re really hoping that the next words out of her mouth are but there’s a treatment, there’s a cure, there’s a remedy. So is there? Because if there is, that will be information we need, sure enough, there is that’s kind of our second key piece of information, second truth to ponder under the heading of Jesus, there’s actually somewhat shocking logic in this passage, if you think about it, you don’t have to grieve. At least you don’t have to grieve the way the world grieves. You can grieve with a hope, even despite death, because you believe that Christ died and rose again. So how does the death of Jesus, Christ on a cross, 2000 years ago, and his subsequent resurrection awesome as that was, how does that change our brokenness? Let’s puzzle this out together, asking some questions, why did Jesus die? Why did Jesus rise? And then what does that have to do with any of us? Well, why did Jesus die? We’ve already seen it. The wages of sin is death, so that’s why people die. But Jesus is different, because Jesus is the only person never to sin, so he was not owed death. He’s the only human who didn’t deserve to die, and yet, that’s why he came. He became human, fully human, yes, but he has always been fully God as well. And so the eternal God became mortal man to live a perfect life and then die a purposeful death. Paul tells us what the purpose was, speaking to a different church, but struggling with the same issue of death and resurrection. First, Corinthians 15, he tells us five words maybe more important than any other five words, Christ died for our sins. Christ died for our sins, not for his sins because he didn’t have any, but for ours. He took our place, in other words, bore the punishment that we deserved. You know, what that looks like. You see it in history. Sometimes there’s a famous story of a group of POWs. This was during World War Two in Japan. So they were in a prisoner of war camp. They were doing a hard labor with, shovels, pickaxes, things like that. So every time they finished working, the guards would count all the tools make sure that they were back. You don’t want a group of hardened soldiers who are in prison to have shovels and pickaxes. Not a good strategy, right? So they count all the shovels every time. And one time they counted and one was missing. So they lined up all the soldiers, all these prisoners of war. And said, who took it? Where is it hidden? And nobody came forward. And so the guard said, like, all right, I’ll give you the count of three. It’s real simple, either you come forward and die for your crime, or else, I’m just gonna kill everyone. You know, three, two. And then one man stepped forward and was beaten to death, right there. And they recounted the shovels and they were all there. None were missing. So he had been innocent, yet he stepped forward and died for the sake of his brothers in arms. And you think, wow, like, that’s what Jesus did for me. No, not even close. Jesus did so much more for you, because here’s the thing, you and I, we stole all the shovels. And Jesus, in that analogy, he’s not a brother in arms with us. He’s the guard. He’s the one running the place.
We stole them from him, and then he stepped forward and took that punishment despite the fact that we were guilty. So he paid the price, because sin demands payment. You’re playing baseball in the backyard. You hit one through your neighbor’s window saying you’re really, really sorry. Doesn’t put the glass back together again. Like money is owed, there is a debt that needs to be paid. So it is with us before God, except it is an infinite price, because we have sinned against an infinite being, and so we as finite creatures, cannot pay the infinite price, but Jesus, who is infinite, can and does in our place. There is no more debt, there is no more prison sentence. We get to walk out scot free, made innocent. By His perfect life that is given for us. That’s why Jesus died. Okay, but why did Jesus rise? Well, because just dying doesn’t help us again. Had to be a purposeful death. We’ve already talked about that you get a man who jumps off a cliff into the raging ocean to be drowned. The fact that he says, see how much I love you as he jumps off doesn’t make him heroic. It makes him insane. Is that what Jesus did? No picture another guy diving off the cliff into the ocean, but to rescue a little girl who’s drowning. Well, that changes the story. Of course. He holds her up, gets her to the life preserver, whatever it may be, but drowns himself in the process. That changes. So it needs to be a purposeful death for Christ’s death to be purposeful, though it has to end in victory, like we need to know that Jesus actually defeats sin and death so that he can defeat it in our lives as well. That’s why it matters that Jesus rose from the grave. It’s the proof. It’s the proof, the guarantee that God accepts his sacrifice, that that Jesus did what he came to do. Again, this is the greatest bit of FYI ever. What happened that Easter morning all those years ago? I mean, the women who’d watched Jesus be crucified, his mother, among them, his friends. They saw him die. They saw him laid in a tomb, the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, prominent member of the ruling council. At that time, the tomb is sealed. The stone is rolled in front of it right as Sabbath begins. So there’s nothing they can do that whole next day. They’re not allowed to work. They can’t go to the tomb to prepare his body for burial. What an agonizing day that Saturday must have been. But then a break of light. On Sunday morning, they go to the tomb. They hurry to the tomb, spices, cloth, everything in hand, ready to prepare Jesus’s body for final burial. They get there and the stone’s been rolled away. There’s an angel standing there. Instead, the angel says to them words that the worship team read for us already. I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here. He has risen, just as he said, Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples he has risen from the dead. That’s what we’re celebrating this morning, again, the most important piece of information in the world, most important piece of information the world’s ever known or ever could know, because it is the proof that God, his father, accepted Jesus’ sacrifice, and so it vindicates his message and his ministry, that he came to die for our sins, and it guarantees his victory. The fact of the matter is, if Jesus were still in that tomb, we would not be talking about him today, because why would you lots of men have come claiming to know the way to glory, to Heaven, to whatever you want to call it, and they’re dead like it’s all well and good to preach a fine message of hope and getting right with God. But once the worms start eating you, I’m gonna look for someone else, someone who’s maybe actually figured this out. And here’s the thing, the worms never ate Jesus. His body did not see decay. Not Jesus. He died, yes, but he entered death so that he could steal the Grim Reaper’s keys. He burgled the grave, and so now he holds power over death for all time. That seemed like important information for us in our grief? Doesn’t that feel like important information for us in the light of the way the world goes? Only Wait What? What does it have to do with us though? I mean, Jesus lived the perfect life. Jesus rose from the dead, but I’m still here, sinful and dying. So that’s that third piece of information. What does this have to do with us? That’s where hope comes in. Third piece of information, third truth, to ponder, and here also is where we have to pay careful attention to the text you read. Verse 13, again, brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so you do not grieve like the rest of mankind who have no hope. Verse 14, for we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring. Jesus, those who have fallen asleep in him. Do you see the parallel there? In verse 14, Jesus died and rose again, and those of us who sleep in death will be brought with him. In other words, Jesus’s death and resurrection sets the pattern that we can follow. Still die, yes, still grieve, absolutely like Jesus, but then we can rise to everlasting life. There’s just one qualifier. Did you see it there in verse 14, God will bring with Him into eternal life, into the new creation. God will bring those who’ve fallen asleep in him. That’s the key phrase in him. It’s actually Paul’s favorite phrase. You read his letters to the young churches. He uses it over and over and over again. We’re in Christ. What it means to be a Christian is to be in Christ. Okay, but what does it mean to be in Christ? And how do we get there? Like, how do we become united to him? Let’s just consider flying for a moment. People have always wanted to fly. You watch birds, things like that, and you’re like, that looks cool. I’d like to do that also. And there were some ingenious attempts in human history, mostly crazy attempts, though, also, you know, Icarus, sorts of things like little bit of hot wax and feathers. I should be golden until the max welts, the wax melts and you plummet to your death. Our arms are simply too weak. Okay, so it doesn’t matter how furiously you flap them. Not going to happen. You could try jumping off the Sears Tower tomorrow, flapping as you go to save money on a trip to Cancun you are not going to save money. You are going to plummet to your untimely death, okay, but what about instead of going to Sears Tower, you went to O’Hare, you buy a ticket, which is an admission of sorts, isn’t it? By buying a ticket, you’re saying, Well, I can’t do this. Somebody else is going to have to do this for me. You board the 770 the 777, you’re not the only one there. And, in fact, you look around, you’re thinking, look, we’re all trying to get there. Nobody’s flapping, though, like instead, they’re just sitting there. They’re reading, they’re watching the in flight entertainment. They’re eating, they’re drinking, they’re trying to send off one last email before they go on vacation. How can it be? Because it’s not a question of what they’re doing, but where they are. They’re in the airplane. That’s what makes all the difference. So it is with us and Christ, we cannot get to Paradise. I’m not talking about Cancun, I’m talking about the real one. Okay, we cannot get to Paradise on our own. We cannot fly from death to eternal life, from grief to hope, from sin to salvation, on our own. We need to get on a plane of some sort. We need to somehow hide ourselves in Christ so that we can do what this passage talks about, so that we can go with him. He can bring us with him from death to glory. So how do we get on the plane? How do we become united to Christ? Honestly, it looks a lot like boarding a plane, really, because the Bible says the key is trust, which is what you do when you board a plane. I’m pretty sure you will get me from point A to point B. So I’m entrusting myself to you. Some of you a little nervous about that trust. I understand, but there’s an element of trust if you get on the plane, at least. So the key is trust. We don’t flap our spiritual wings trying to fly ourselves to heaven. We actually stop flapping and sit rest in Christ. Listen to how Paul puts it in Romans, five, one and two. He says, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus, Christ, through whom we have gained access. That’s the boarding pass. Right our acts we get to get on how, through whom we have gained access, by faith, into this grace, right, into this not only mercy that we receive. We’re not receiving the punishment that we deserve, but grace meaning we’re given this reward that we certainly don’t deserve, but that Christ deserved for us, we gain access by faith, by trusting what Jesus did in our place, he is our boarding pass and the plane on which we fly, and I got great news for you today. The gate’s still open. Maybe it’s a final boarding call. I don’t know for you, I do know you don’t have to wait until they call your group number. You can just go. We can just go like go right now. Climb on board even today. Believe the information that Paul gives us here, all three pieces of it, grieve the brokenness that you see in the world, but especially the brokenness that you see in you. Like, acknowledge your sin, your narcissism, your selfishness, whatever you want to call it, then, trust in Jesus, who died for your sins, this beautiful exchange that takes place. We hand him our sin, he hands us His perfection. He takes our punishment. We receive his reward. Trust in Jesus, who died for your sins and then rose again in victory, which brings you then to hope in the promise of new forever life, a world remade without sin, without guilt, without shame, without suffering and without death. You want to see what this looks like, what a life changing encounter with Jesus looks like. Well, I’d encourage you to read the man on the middle cross. Again. We got a couple 100 copies out there for you. Just grab one. It’s very short. You can read it standing up. But read these three stories, see what Jesus can do for you. Also, you could just talk to any of us. Maybe it’s the person who invited you here this morning, like we would love to share our stories with you about how Christ changed everything for us. He can do that for you. So our takeaway today and then it’s that right there, put your hope in Jesus, who died and rose for you. The message of Easter is so good, and it is filled with such hope, but the message of Easter demands a response that’s not information you can just hear and go that was interesting. It demands a response, like you need to board or you will get left behind in sin and death. But there is hope, and the hope is real. Jesus’s resurrection changes everything. We can grieve differently, because now we who believe have that hope, death doesn’t win. It’s not the final word happiness, when you think about it, happiness is so chancy, isn’t it? It depends on happenstance, like perhaps things will go well for me, you notice that word hap keeps showing up in all those that means luck in Old English. Do you really want it to depend on luck? Happiness is so chancy, but hope is resolute because it’s fixed on what’s eternally true. You are going to grieve. You’re going to have to grieve. You have every reason to grieve, but you don’t need to be overwhelmed by your grief, by the brokenness around you, like when darkness overwhelms, even literally, like when you’re stuck in the dark. What do you do? Terrified, depressed, whatever you start, you know, sweeping it away. You close your eyes, pretend it’s not there. You try harder to improve yourself. No, when darkness overwhelms, you turn on the light, and the darkness flees. And Jesus said, I am the light of the world. And he brings light and life to all who trust in Him, to everyone who gets on that plane. He brings hope. That’s not only the most important but the very best information I or anyone can give you today. Let’s pray, Lord this Easter morning. Indeed, we do grieve because we see the brokenness of the world, but we see the brokenness in our own hearts and lives and minds as well. We know that something is wrong. We are so glad to hear that you have set that wrong thing right that you sent Jesus into the world to be the cure for our sin sickness. He died in our place, but you raised Him from the dead as proof of his victory over the sin and death that plague us. God, I pray that in this moment, you would open every eye in this room to see that truth. You would open every heart to believe that truth and trust in Jesus and that then you would fill our lives with hope in you to the glory of your name, amen.

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Into Your Hands April 3, 2026 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper’s Good Friday sermon focuses on Psalm 31:1-8, emphasizing the cross’s significance in addressing sin and stress. He explores how the cross speaks to various personal struggles, such as unfaithfulness, arrogance, and daily stress. Cooper highlights David’s prayer, which Jesus quoted from the cross, to illustrate trust in God amid distress. He explains that David’s trust in God’s covenant promises is mirrored in Jesus’ trust in His Father’s plan. Cooper encourages believers to entrust their lives to God, drawing strength from Jesus’ sacrifice and the assurance of God’s faithfulness and deliverance.

And good evening church, you can go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Psalm 31 psalm 31 we’ll be in the first eight verses tonight. It is Good Friday, and of course, the focus of Good Friday is always the cross. That’s why we’ve got the graphic that we have, the reminder of the sacrifice that Christ made on our behalf. Now, if you’ve been to church before, you probably know that the cross speaks to the problem of sin, the fact that Christ had to take the punishment that we deserve, that he gave himself in our place, and for us to make atonement for our sins, that we could be made right with God again, that we could be saved. The Cross speaks to the problem of our sin, but does the cross speak to the problem of our stress. We know that the cross deals with the problem, say, of unfaithfulness in marriage, that somebody who is unfaithful can be washed and forgiven before the Lord. But what about the mess that’s left behind after the unfaithfulness. Does the cross speak to that? We know that the cross speaks to arrogance, envy, backstabbing. It tells us that those are truly evil and deserving of judgment. But does the cross speak to the fact that we still got to show up at 9am on Monday with all those people who are stabbing us in the back? We know that the cross explains the brokenness of the world suffering and death, but can it help us live among the world’s brokenness? And if so, how it’s a pressing issue. I don’t mean to make light of what I’m about to say, but the reality is, we only die and face judgment once. Again. Really important moment cross speaks to that. Like I said, I want to make light of that we only die and face judgment once, but we deal with the stress day in and day out. And there’s a really good chance that you’re in it right now, there’s something in your life where you’re going. This is difficult. This is difficult. I’m not sure how I’m going to get through it. So does the cross speak to that? To get our answer, we’re going to look to a prayer of David, which is interesting, because, of course, David prayed long before the cross, about 1000 years or so, and yet it leads us to the cross his prayer, in part because Jesus quotes his prayer while on the cross. One of the seven words that Jesus speaks from the cross, Jesus was not the only one to quote it. In fact, it’s often quoted. Jonah quoted it in his prayer when he was in the belly of a fish, Jeremiah had it on his lips throughout his ministry Jesus, as we saw even David, potentially in a later psalm, Psalm 71 seems to quote it again. So the fact that so many people borrow from this psalm just tells us that it speaks to a wide range of issues and a wide range of life circumstances, which means it speaks to you today, tonight, wherever you are, to help you see why and how you can trust God in every distress. We do things a little differently than we sometimes do. We’re going to take three passes through the psalm. I’m gonna read it in just a moment. We’re gonna look at it first through the eyes of David, then through the eyes of Jesus, and finally, through your eyes as well. So let me read for us Psalm 31 verses one to eight, for the Director of Music, a Psalm of David. In you, Lord, I have taken refuge. Let me never be put to shame, deliver me in your righteousness, turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue. Be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name, lead and guide me. Keep me free from the trap that is set for me. For you are my refuge, into your hands. I commit my spirit, deliver me Lord, my faithful God. I hate those who cling to worthless idols, as for me, I trust in the Lord. I will be glad and rejoice in your love for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not given me into the hands of the enemy, but have set my feet in a spacious place. So David, first of all, now we don’t know his distress Exactly. There’s no indication in the superscription just what the circumstances are, but we know enough of his story to guess, especially. Especially in light of the preponderance of rock and crag imagery. You know, we’re probably dealing with David when he’s hiding in the wilderness, either from Absalom or, even more likely, from Saul. He’s there hiding as Saul is trying to kill him, which means, as we see right there in verse one, he needs deliverance. Verse two, he needs somebody to rescue him because verse four, a trap has been set for him. He is in distress. In other words, things are not going well. You can actually picture him as he’s praying this psalm. Picture him hiding in the mountains. The enemy is closing in, surrounding him, and so he finds a cleft in the rock, finds a little crawls into some crevice, hidden and safe, so that his enemies don’t find him. And that’s then how he comes to think of God, which is why he prays as he does. He’s thinking, I’m here, I’m hidden. I’m protected in the rock that’s my God. God is the crag in which I find safety, the rock on which I stand solid ground when everything else seems to be falling apart around me, God is his only place of refuge, but more than a refuge, even as he says, a fortress defending him from his enemies. So he’s thinking all this, it’s no surprise. Then he cries out to God, especially as he comes to God as a member of God’s covenant people trusting in God’s covenant promises. That’s how he speaks of God, like he knows that God has bound himself to the people of Israel, like a husband taking on his wife’s debts when they get married. God binds himself to his people, binds himself to David then And so David prays, deliver me in your righteousness, in your promises, in your covenant promises, because you are who you are, because You committed yourself to your people deliver me. That’s why he also prays, let me not be put to shame, which is a phrase we probably get wrong in our first reading, because we hear that and we think, let me, you know, not feel ashamed. I don’t want to feel embarrassed because I messed up and I got myself into this whole pickle. But the phrase literally reads, let me not reap shame. We know how reaping works. You reap what you sow. So what did David sow that he’s worried he would reap shame. He sowed hope so like I put my hope in the Lord, let me not reap shame. Let me not be disappointed. Don’t let my hope in you be disappointed. Lord, of course, how could it? Because God is who He always is, and that’s why David grounds all of his requests in God’s character. That’s the solid rock on which he stands. He doesn’t expect God to help him because he’s persuasive, no, but because God is righteous, again, faithful to his covenant, just. He doesn’t expect God to help him because he’s innocent, which is really good news for us if we’re going to pray this prayer, also, since we are not innocent before the Lord, No, he doesn’t expect God to help him because he’s innocent, but because he’s been redeemed, because God is his Redeemer. It’s actually there in verse five when it says, deliver me, Lord. The word that’s used is the word that’s often translated ransom, like ransom me, Lord, pay the price to secure my release. We often call that redemption. That’s why he trusts only in God. There in verse six, not in idols. Again, he’s part of God’s covenant people, so he’s going to trust His covenant Lord. He’s not going to go making treaties with other gods. And he hates vain idols, where there’s literally emptiness. I hate empty things. There’s nothing there, not really. There’s a really dumb place to put your trust, of course, in nothingness. So that hard. Verse six, it’s hard for us to read. I understand that, but it’s really it’s stating his trust in God alone, and his integrity, his commitment to God’s covenant, because he trusts in God, because he needs God to deliver him. And he knows that the glory will be God’s and not his. I’m not getting myself out of this predicament. So when God comes and rescues me, it means he will be glorified. And so he prays for the sake of God’s name that he would be glorified in the redemption. And that grounds his prayer too. That’s why he trusts God as he does, for it would dishonor God if he didn’t deliver those who trust in him. I love the way Charles Spurgeon made that point reflecting on this Psalm he writes this, the Psalmist has one refuge and the best one at that, though other things may be doubtful, David lays down most positively the fact that he relies upon the Lord, and he begins with it lest under stress of trial, he should afterwards Forget it. He dwells upon it as a comfort to himself and a plea with God. And here’s the key question, then, how can the Lord permit the man who depends alone upon him to be ultimately put to shame. This would not be dealing like a God of truth and grace. It would bring dishonor upon God himself if faith were not in the end, rewarded. And that’s David’s prayer in a nutshell, right there. In fact, he’s so confident then that God will hear his prayer. He expresses his assurance in verses seven and eight, and he does so in the perfect tense, even past tense, like I’m going to be glad and rejoice, because, look, you basically already done this. It’s as good as done because you saw my affliction and you knew my anguish. So why is David so confident that the Lord is going to hear his prayer? He’s borrowing words from earlier in the Old Testament. He’s going, I’m confident the Lord is going to do this because I know that the Lord has already done this exodus, three, seven and eight. God says to Moses, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry, because they’re task masters. I know they’re suffering, right? He sees, he knows, and so he came to rescue Israel out of Egypt. He will come to rescue David as well. What God’s done before. He’ll do again, because our God is who He always is. So like Israel in Egypt, David is expecting to be delivered from his enemies and to have his feet planted in a spacious place. That spacious place was the promised land for Israel coming out of Egypt. But you can imagine what David’s thinking, and we can picture him kind of like hanging off the side of a cliff or something, or he’s tucked in a little rock all curled up and stuff like that. He’s just thinking he’ll be good put my feet on solid ground, and you know, I got room to maneuver at last, all this because God loves him, because God loves us, that’s the covenant love. I will be glad and rejoice in your love, your commitment to your people. David commits his life to God’s loving and capable hands. And sure enough, you know how the story goes if you’ve read your Bible, God delivered him from Saul, just like he delivered him from Goliath earlier, just like he’ll deliver him from the Philistines, the Amalekites and Absalom and on and on and on in all circumstances. So that’s David. What does that have to do with Good Friday? Though, we’re not at the Cross yet, so let’s take another pass through the psalm, but this time through the eyes of Jesus. I mean, put yourself there for a moment, at the base of golgotha’s Hill, that fateful Friday afternoon, 19 193 years ago, you see Jesus bloody gasping for breath. He hangs upon the cursed tree while onlookers sneer and mock. We know what they said. We read it in Luke 23 He saved others. Let Him save Himself, if he is God’s Messiah, the chosen one. And then just a few verses later, we see how the story ends. It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining and the curtain of the temple was torn into Jesus called out with a loud voice, Father, into your hands. I commit my spirit. When he had said this, He breathed His last. We want to zero in on that quote, of course, because Jesus quotes Psalm 31 he quotes David’s words in verse five. And why shouldn’t he? And he is in unequaled distress. He’s not hiding in a crag, but crucified on the summit. It having been handed over to his enemies, already having fallen into their trap. And so we’re asking what the onlookers were asking sneeringly, will God deliver? That’s the question the unruly mob asked. He delivered others. Jesus. So if he’s really the Christ, if he’s really the one he claimed to be, then let God deliver him. And surely God could, Surely God would. Jesus could call and his father would send legions of angels, as Jesus had told his disciples just the night before, as he prayed in Gethsemane, after all, Jesus took refuge in his father. Certainly didn’t cling to worthless idols. He trusted in the Lord like no other Won’t God keep him from shame? Won’t God deliver him in righteous justice, which the cross certainly isn’t Jesus, the only truly innocent sufferer the world’s ever known, hanging there for a crime he did not commit. But no, God won’t, because Jesus didn’t ask him to, because that wasn’t the unified purpose of our Triune God. Jesus came to die, and you can see it right there in Luke, because Jesus prays verse five A, but not 5b into your hands, I commit my spirit and then silence. It says, If Jesus says and leave me undelivered. Don’t rescue me because I’ve come to rescue them. But he doesn’t pray, deliver me, Lord My faithful God, not because he’s worried God isn’t faithful, but quite the opposite. In fact, this is the truest expression of God’s faithfulness. Jesus hanging on that tree. He doesn’t call our faithful God into question, but proves him, because here he is faithful to every promise he’s ever made, coming to rescue us. Because God saw our affliction, knew our anguish. He came to pay the price, to ransom us, to rescue us. That’s the whole reason we have a Good Friday and Jesus came to deliver us, not from enemies like Saul or Goliath, which are bad, but our truest enemies, sin and death and the powers of darkness, which are far, far worse, and he really did deliver us. We know it. We saw it there in Luke as well, because the curtain was torn in two. The sacrifice of Christ was accepted by his father so that all who come in Christ can come right into the most holy place to approach God’s throne of grace with boldness to receive mercy in our time of need, Jesus couldn’t deliver himself and also deliver us. So he hands himself over to his enemies for our sakes, whereas David sought and received deliverance from death, Jesus borrowed David’s words as he died. He didn’t expect or want deliverance from death, but rather through death, his and ours, which will be given in the resurrection, His and ours, like David, Jesus trusted his father, but he entrusted himself to God in death in order to deliver us from death. So let’s think for a moment what that does for us in our moments of distress as we take our next pass through the Psalm the last section. What does this psalm have to do with you? In light of the cross, I won’t pretend that your distress isn’t real. The reality is the distress you’re facing right now could be worse even than David’s, you could have a child in a harm’s way. Maybe you’re experiencing chronic pain through the years, terminal illness, whatever it might be. How do we draw on this Psalm and Jesus’s use of it to strengthen our faith so that we can press on in hope? Here’s how simply put, because Jesus did what he did, we can do what David did because Jesus did what he did, we can do what David did, only more so so much more so again, David trusted God to deliver him from death, but Jesus trusted his father to deliver him and us through death, which means the final enemy has already been defeated on that cross where Jesus hung. What more do we have to fear? Nothing, nothing, even if the worst comes to pass, we know that God will deliver us through it, through death, into forever, resurrection life. We have every reason to trust God, because God has proved himself. I mean, he’d already proved himself to David again. That’s the Exodus. But how much more So has he proved himself to us? I mean, again, look at the words David uses to describe God. Aren’t they truer for us, we have even more confidence. Is God faithful? He’s so lovingly committed to his people that he’s willing to send His Son to die in our place for us? Is our God righteous? He’s so righteous, he’s so just that he punished every sin while being so loyal, so faithful to the covenant that he punished it in Christ instead of in us. Is he able? Is he powerful enough to deliver us to set our feet in spacious places? We’ll just look on Jesus reigning now in glory, which is a pretty spacious place, alive forever. Could he be our rock of refuge? Absolutely, we can hide ourselves in Christ, that Rock of Ages cleft for us, safe forever in every circumstance, because God is who He always is. He always acts in line with his character. Our hope will never be disappointed. If our hope is in Christ, if our hope comes from looking to David, sure, but looking especially to David’s son and Lord Jesus our Savior, so why not commit your spirit, your whole life, into his open and loving and strong hands. That’s your takeaway tonight. Quite simple right from here. Entrust your life into his hands. Entrust your life into his hands. He will lead and guide you in your distress. He will deliver you, either from or through whatever you are facing, because he has already delivered you in Christ, and in the end, by the blood of Christ spilled to pay that ransom, he will redeem you from your sins and set your feet in glory. Are you being attacked? Slandered? Mistreated, abused, yeah, Jesus was too. He can entrust your life into his hands. He knows what it’s like. Are you weak, thirsty, alone, weary, yeah. Jesus was too, and he still trusted his father and his father sustained him. You can entrust your life into his hands. Are you struggling with doubt? Can’t see what God is doing in these circumstances. Jesus struggled too. That’s Gethsemane. He was struggling so much he’s sweating blood, and yet we know what God was doing. And of course, Jesus did too, and trust your life and his hands. Are you losing the battle against sin, weighed down by shame and guilt? Jesus defeated it. He destroyed it when he died. And trust your life into his hands. Are you facing death yours or another’s? Jesus did too, and he faced death for you didn’t trust your life into his hands. When circumstances change for the worse, remember the one who never changes, who always is, who he always is, and entrust your life into his hands. Let’s pray to him now.

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Boasting in the Cross March 29, 2026 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper discusses the story of Clarence and Robert Jordan, highlighting the tension between following Christ to the cross and stopping short. He connects this to the themes in Galatians, emphasizing Paul’s urgency and the importance of the cross. Paul addresses the questions of salvation, holiness, and authority, arguing that salvation comes through grace alone, not works, and that true holiness is found in living as a new creation. He criticizes the Judaizers for their performance-based faith and stresses that true discipleship involves bearing the marks of persecution. Cooper concludes by urging believers to boast in the cross and live in light of the new creation.

Good morning church. Go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Galatians 6. Galatians 6, starting in verse 11. As we wrap up our series this morning, so as you’re turning there to Galatians 6:11, in 1942 a man named Clarence Jordan established an interracial farm, kind of communal farm, the Koinonia fellowship in Georgia, which is a bold move, of course, considering some of the racial tensions at that time. So no surprise, a lot of people were making trouble for him for the farm. About a decade later, they were in legal straits, and so he asked his older brother Robert to help him out. His brother Robert actually would eventually become part of the Georgia Supreme Court. So obviously a top legal mind said, Can you help us out? Provide some legal help. And his brother said, I can’t do it. You know, my political aspirations, I could lose everything, could lose my job, could lose my house. And his brother said, okay, but we could lose everything too, yeah, but it’s different for you. Well, how is it different? If I remember correctly, we joined the same church on the same day, and the pastor asked us both the same question, do you accept Jesus? I said, Yes, what did you say? Brother? Was a little offended at this point. Of course, saying I I accepted Jesus too. I follow Christ. I follow Christ up to a point. And so Clarence said, could that point possibly be the cross. And Robert said, Yeah, that’s right, I will follow him to the cross, but not on to the cross. I’m not going to get myself crucified. His brother said that I don’t believe you’re a disciple. You need to go back to that church, and you need to tell them that you’re an admirer of Jesus, but not a follower of Jesus. That was quite the conversation to have with brother. Of course, similar tone to Galatians, as we’ve seen. If you’ve been tracking with us throughout this series, Paul has some strong things to say as well, and really addressing the same issue. Are you all in on Jesus or not? Now we have a tendency, maybe even in our yearly Bible reading plans, things like that, to neglect the endings to letters greet. Epaphras Tychicus says, Hi. Now that’s always a mistake in every letter, because we know that all scripture is God breathed and is useful even the greetings at the ends of letters. But it’s especially a mistake in Galatians, because a little bit like the introduction, Paul was so stirred up by what was happening that he skipped over a lot of the polite formalities and letters and just got right to his point. The same thing really happens here. The urgency of the situation leaves Paul once again to abandon form and instead offer this strong statement of strong theology. You can actually see the strength right from beginning. Look at verse 11 with me. Paul writes. See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand. So he’s writing a personal note at the bottom of the letter that would have been customary at this time, you’d have a scribe write the letter, because papyrus was dear and most people weren’t great at writing. So you get somebody who could get all the little letters on one page. But here’s Paul, and he’s writing with large letters, probably because he’s not a scribe, sure, but also this phrase itself really has the same sense at this time that like bold and italics would have for us today in an email. So he’s like underlining it like you need to know this what I’m talking about. And so what is it not exaggeration to say that in these short verses, Paul restates the main ideas of this letter and really restates answers to the three questions that Galatians has sought to answer for us, that Paul has sought to answer for the Galatians in danger of falling away. The three questions are the question of salvation, the question of holiness and the question of authority. Let’s take them one at a time. We’ll start with the question of salvation. This is the big question, of course. Let me read verses 12 and 13 for us, Paul writes with large letters in his own hand. Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your Circumcision in the flesh. So the question of salvation, how can a holy God forgive people like you and me? How can a holy God forgive wretched sinners? How can we be restored to a right relationship with God the Father? And this is the question of questions, of course, and we’ve seen two possible answers to this question throughout Galatians. Could be grace, or could be law? Could be works that we do to earn salvation, so righteousness, that is our being made right with God, can either come through the cross of Christ or acts like circumcision, but not both. It’s an either or question. Now the agitators, Paul’s opponents there in Galatia, the Judaizers, who are trying to convince this group of Gentiles that they need to become Jewish in order to become Christian. That group is trying to compel circumcision. But why? Exactly, Paul indicts their motives, saying that they’re not acting in love, but selfishly, really, with these two selfish motives. On the one hand, they’re trying to impress people. That’s what a performance mindset always does. Anytime you’re trying to earn anything but approval, especially, you’re gonna have to impress other people. This is when you go up to your classmate after you get the test back and say, what’d you get on the test? I got 92 Oh yeah, that’s good, man. I got a 98 right? That’s the attitude we have going on right here, like I’m good. Maybe even more importantly, and not just that, I’m good, but I’m better. I’m better than others. So that’s the first reason, trying to impress people. The second reason is just to avoid persecution, because there is a group of Jews who do not care for this new sect Christianity, and so they are actively persecuting Christians and Jewish converts to the Christian faith. And so if we could just, you know, like play make believe. Let’s just do the whole law thing. Let’s do the circumcision thing. Then we won’t be persecuted anymore. So you see, they’re not even genuinely devoted to the law. They just want an easy life. Not much has changed in the here and now. The Gospel of a crucified Christ, our Savior, crucified in our place still rubs people the wrong way and tells us unflattering truths about ourselves, like we much prefer to think that we’re just a few tweaks away from perfection, our good life is just around the next bend. So we don’t want to think that he had to do it for us, but that we can do it ourselves in this spiritually speaking, we’re like two year olds. If you had two year olds, you know, you put the tie shoes on, and they go, I can do it myself. And they tie their shoelaces. I don’t know how yours did it. Mine just would do this. It doesn’t work. It looks good, but it doesn’t work at all. That’s us again, spirit, like I said, unflattering truth, that’s us. Spiritually speaking, we’re not actually able to do it as much as we would like to think that we are. But one of the reasons we want to think that we can do it is because if we do it, then we’re still in control. God actually owes us. At that point, we put God under obligation because I earned it, and so it’s deserved it’s like going to the library saying I finished my summer reading I would like my coupon for free ice cream. I’m owed it, and so he’s in our power. Then we don’t need to follow Him onto the cross or die to ourselves there instead he owes us. So you can see how this just offends everybody. The Gospel of Christ, Jesus, it offends everybody. It offends the religious, because it tells us the only way is grace. It offends the secular, the liberal minded, because it tells us there’s only one way at all. And so we’ve got this constant pull back to works to the law, striving to earn it. But it’s absurd, because it never works, as Paul tells us, not even the circumcised keep the law holy. This has been a theme throughout Galatians, of course, and it’s a theme that Paul borrows from Jesus. Jesus says almost the exact same thing in Matthew 23 speaking to religious leaders, he says the teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you, but do not do what they do. They do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders. But they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them and then notice what he says next. Everything they do is done for people to see. They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long. They love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues. They love to be greeted with respect in the marketplace and be called rabbi by others. Same two accusations. Don’t do like they don’t do what they insist that others do. Do, and then they do it just so that others will be impressed with them, so they can pat themselves on the back on their way to heaven again. This is a lot like us. We love to earn admiration in the eyes of others because we’ve gotten our lives together. I think this is what a lot of us actually mean when it comes to putting on your Sunday best. There was a time, I grant that, that time is over, but a time when most people dressed up a little bit for church. Some of you probably still do. I know I do. I wear slacks on Sundays. I don’t the rest of the days, so we put on something nice, sir, when we come to church. I think there are good reasons for that, but it’s almost like a like a metaphor for what we’re trying to do with our lives, like we come into church trying to look like we’ve got our life more put together than we do. We put on our Sunday best paper over the cracks in our character, put on this facade of spiritual vitality, and of course, that raises the issue of boasting, then, right? Because we’re trying to look good. So in what will we boast? If we trust in our works, if we trust in our efforts, we will boast in those works, in those efforts, we will boast in the flesh, like it’s my labor, so it’s my glory. It’s like a graduate walking across the stage to get her diploma, and she’s going right like they should be clapping. I earned this. I deserve the applause, the accolade that I’m getting, and it’s so easy to bring that into church. God saved me because I deserved to be saved because look at my life. Look at how I’m doing. It is stolen glory. Now I think few of us, especially in this room, would admit to boasting in ourselves. So how can we tell if we’re actually boasting in our works instead of in the cross of Jesus Christ. And one way that I would point out to you is confession, and I do mean public confession. How vulnerably honest are you about the sin struggles in your life before others? And I just want you to catch the seriousness of that question, because think how the the Sunday best posture, like pretending that you’re better than you are. Think how that can keep people from the gospel. Can keep people from Salvation like we are, in effect, condemning those around us when we do that, because it means that people who really need Jesus are going to come into this place and there they’re going to see that church is for people who have their lives together. Church is the place you come after you’ve gotten your life together, which means it must not be for me, because I messed up and I am a mess still. I don’t belong here. It’s a place for good people, and I’m a wretch. Do you feel the seriousness of this boasting in our works encourage you to check your life now, like, what are your conversations sound like in the lobby after the service, when a sermons hit hard as the word of God often will. What do your conversations look like in community groups, not going to mention journey groups, because you’re not doing being real and honest in Journey groups. Like, what are you even doing there? That’s the whole point of that place. Of course, you can see we want to answer the salvation question. Well, like we have to get this one right, how can a holy God forgive sinners? The answer is four words. They’re right there in verse 12, the cross of Christ. The cross of Christ, what we couldn’t do, he did for us and in our place, he took the punishment that we deserve. He paid the price, the debt we owed as a result of our sin, so that we could be restored to God, not on the basis of our works, but by grace alone, through faith alone trust in Jesus. That then raises the next question, of course, as we saw, as we track through Galatians, that shift from Galatians four to Galatians five, even we’re saved by grace alone. So that means our works don’t matter at all. We can do whatever we want, right? That’s the next question, question two, the question of holiness. We read verses 14 to 16 for us, may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified. To me and I to the world, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything. What counts is the new creation, Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, to the Israel of God. So Paul won’t boast in his flesh. He will only boast in the cross of Christ because He knows that’s his only basis for his salvation. I mean, he knows that he’s looking at his works going well. It can’t be because I earned this. We saw this back in chapter one, when he said, you remember my former way of life like I was persecuting the church of God. So of course, I didn’t earn this. So he’s going to boast in the cross of Christ alone. And we think, amen, love that Paul, because we love the cross. We got one hanging on the wall behind us. Y’all are wearing crosses somewhere on you, probably right now. And those of you who have a former way of life might even have a cross tattooed on you somewhere, which is okay, by the way, because we love the cross, we can miss the power of this statement. How absolutely shocking it would be for Paul to say this. And the Roman statesman Cicero, said, you’re not supposed to talk about the cross and polite company. This isn’t dinnertime conversation. And sometimes people will say that this is like, you know, getting, like, needles for a lethal injection tattooed on you or something. But it’s not so much worse than that, because this was the torture piece. This is like getting a tattoo of Abu Ghraib, or like somebody getting waterboarded at Guantanamo. That’s what I boast. And you’re like, that’s insane. What do you mean? You’re boasting in this. And yet, Paul boasts in it. He has to why? Because that instrument of torture was the means of his salvation. I’m boasting in this because he’s not my labor. So it’s not my glory. All Glory to him alone. The words the old hymn. Have it exactly right, based very much on this passage, when I survey the one just cross on which the prince of glory died, my richest gain, I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride, all my works, all that, oh, I got my life together, nonsense. I pour contempt on that so that everybody who meets me knows it’s only because of Jesus. But does that mean works? Don’t matter? Well, of course not. So how do we become holy? How do we become more like Jesus? If it isn’t by scrupulous law keeping. Paul says our identity changed when God saved us, we got plucked up and placed somewhere else. We’re in a in a new realm. Now, Paul says, I’m no longer part of the old world. I was crucified to the world, and the world was crucified to me. Now, real quick, just want to make sure we’re clear on this. That doesn’t mean we separate. From the world. We go live in a monastery somewhere, because we’re called to reach the world with the gospel, because God so loved the world. That’s why He sent His only son, and he sends us into the world to speak on his son’s behalf. In truth, if you can’t be in the world without being of the world, then the world still has power over you. The only reason to separate from it is if it hasn’t been crucified to you yet. No, what Paul’s saying here instead is the what the world offers. No longer has that pull on us any longer, because we’ve been freed from it. It’s like that. The cords have been cut. Go back to the issue we just talked about. I don’t need to impress people any longer because I don’t need their approval. I’ve got God’s approval in Christ. Take another issue, like money. I don’t need to hoard money or be anxious about money because I trust God’s provision. How could I not he provided Christ the blood of His Son to meet my deepest need. How will he not, along with him, graciously give us all things also I don’t need to insist on my own way. I can happily die to self as I remember the one who died for me. That’s what it means that the world has been crucified to us and us to the world, and that does something, then, to our outward Acts. Paul says, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision, means anything. The merely outward, the merely formal, just doesn’t matter anymore, which is why he could say, well, not going to have Titus get circumcised, but later on, he will have Timothy get circumcised. Doesn’t matter. So it’s a question of in that case, mission is really the issue. But this is important that outward, formal and some of these decisions we make, like circumcision, uncircumcision, because we are tempted to boast in both like, take an example from today. You’ve got people who would boast in the fact that they’re teetotalers. You can tell I’m a better Christian, because I would never let alcohol touch my lips. And then you get people who would boast in their freedom, in Christ, their willingness to enjoy a good craft IPA. So you see, we can boast in boast. And in both cases, it means we’re off belt. The world hasn’t been crucified to us, we haven’t been crucified to the world doesn’t matter anymore. Stuff doesn’t matter anymore. I think here too, these words circumcision and uncircumcision. Of course, you got to think Jews and pagans when you hear those words. And so there would be a little connotation to it. I think part of what Paul’s saying, then also, is that our religious successes and our religious failures no longer mean anything our law keeping our previous brazen law breaking. When we boast in the cross, we boast in our salvation by grace alone, it means we can never feel superior to or scornful toward anyone else with this attitude of, look what I did, look what they did. But it also means we won’t ever feel inferior to or intimidated by anyone else, look what I did, look what they’re doing. That’s all part of the old order. That’s all part of the world, but we’re not we’re part of the new creation. What are we talking about here? This is the age to come. We learned all about this about a year ago. We were in Revelation. We saw what the new creation was going to look like. And Paul’s point is, the new creation is already breaking into the here and now. This is where Paul began his letter. It’s where he closes his letter. This is actually the most important theme in the whole letter of Galatians, and arguably in all of Paul’s theology, anywhere but here’s how it began, way back in chapter one, verse four, Jesus gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age. That’s the world. It’s over. We’re done with that. The time is coming when sin and death will be cast out forever. And the good news is that if you’re in Christ, you get to participate in that new age, even now, that’s what the church is. We talk about this in our membership class always the church is an Embassy of the Kingdom. You’ve been in an embassy before. You know it’s kind of a weird thing. It’s like a different place is brought into your midst. So we lived in Colombia. We went to the US embassy, and was like, Okay, now I’m in the US, Colombia. US Colombia was very weird. That’s what Paul says, The church is like, the only difference is it’s not a different place that’s being brought in. It’s a different time. It’s the kingdom of the coming age. You step into church, you’re stepping into now I’m in heaven, earth, Heaven, Earth. That’s how the church works, and that’s how our lives work as well. We’re already living eternal life if we’re in Christ. Jesus said, John 17, this is eternal life to know God and Jesus whom He sent. Do you know God? Do you know Jesus whom He sent? Welcome to eternal life. It’s yours today already, and though all that’s happening is we’re steadily growing towards that perfect end. It’s like watching the fall in reverse, like in rewind. You ever seen one of those stop motion films where, like the Apple is just sitting there, and then it like decays, gets mushy and moldy and stuff. That’s us, that’s our hearts after the fall, and once we get to know Jesus, it goes like this until the apple’s back. That’s we’re working towards that perfect end. That’s how we become holy. Then we live in light of our new reality. Live in light of a transformed world. Means you’re gonna live a transformed life. Gospel frees us to do that. In fact, I think this is another way of saying the phrase we looked at two weeks ago, keeping in step with the Spirit, which is the key to holiness, of course. But to keep in step with the Spirit just looks like keeping in line with the new creation. Every now and again, somebody who’s preparing to go on the mission field will make some radical choices before they go. They’re going to start living in light of where they’re going to be moving. So I knew one person, for example, they were moving way up in the Himalayas, and you’re at 500 feet right here. So that’s not a good transition. So he would go jogging, breathing through a straw, which sounds awful, doesn’t it? But I tell you what, you’re going to produce some more red blood cells when you do that, which means when you get to the Himalayas, you’re not going to want to die all day, every day, or other people more common one, of course, is that you just get a married couple getting ready to go on the mission field. They go look at home. We’re just speaking Uzbek. That’s it. We’re just we’re living in light of the future. So that’s the picture of what we do now. I know where I’m going. I’m just going to live that life in the here and now. That’s exactly what Paul means when he says that we follow this rule. And you go, what rule? Especially because the word. Rule sounds like law. What law are we following? No, it’s not rule. The word there is actually ruler, like measuring stick. You actually have heard the word The Greek word is canon, like the canon of Scripture, because that’s the measuring stick by which we measure all truth claims. So what is that ruler? It’s what he just said, Life in the new creation. So the measuring stick we hold up is, does this belong to the new order? And if the answer is no, we don’t do it. If the answer is yes, we lean in, okay, should I boast in myself? Let’s bring up the measuring stick. What does the future look like? Again, we saw this in Revelation. For eternity. We’re going to look at Jesus on the throne, and we’re going to worship him. We’re going to worship him as the Lamb who was slain because we couldn’t do it. So, yeah, we’re not going to boast in ourselves. Instead, we’re going to worship Jesus. Now, what about lying to cover sin, Sunday, best kind of stuff. Well, let’s see what happens in the future. In glory, everything is exposed. And better still, if we’re in Christ, everything is erased. So no, we’re not going to pretend to be something that we’re not, because we know that every sin will be found out in the end, judged in the end, either in Christ or in our selves. Do you see how the coming age directs our steps, even now, because the new creation is breaking in, it is already here, just not yet fully here. Now we can certainly see how living like that, especially with the reassurance of how eternity will be would bring peace. Verse 16, right? Peace to all who follow this rule. Now, got to get into the weeds for a moment here, because this reads literally peace to those who follow this rule and mercy to the Israel of God. And so there’s this big question, are we talking about two different groups or not? Is it the people who follow this rule that would be the Gentiles and then the Israel of God? That sure sounds like it could be the Jews. Grammatically possible, absolutely, maybe even likely grammatically but it doesn’t fit the argument of Paul’s letter at all. I mean his whole letter, he’s been breaking down the barrier between Jews and Gentiles in Christ. That’s all of Galatians three. And it wraps up with There is therefore now no longer Jew or Gentile in Christ, Jesus, but we’re all one in Christ, Jesus. So that can’t be. It would be so odd for him to rebuild the barrier that he’s torn down. You can actually even see that in the odd phrase, the Israel of God. You can read the rest of the New Testament. You will never see that phrase again, the Israel of God. You just say Israel. You don’t say Israel of God. But I think Paul is subtly distinguishing between Israel, the nation, and the Israel of God, the true Israel, which, again, as we learn in Galatians, three are the true children of Abraham, those who’ve received mercy. There’s the other word peace and mercy. Received mercy because they came humbly, because they boast in the cross. They boast in the cross alone. Again, that’s the answer to the Salvation question through which they and we have been crucified to the old world raised into the new creation. There’s your answer to the holiness question. There’s a later verse to when I survey the wondrous cross that we don’t sing as often. I’m not sure why, but it ends like this, his dying crimson like a robe spreads o’er his body on the tree, then I am dead to all the world, and all the world is dead to me. That’s the holiness question. Third question then is the question of authority. Let me read verse 17 for us from now on. Let no one calls me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. This this is the question with which Paul began the letter, speaking of bookends, so he spends really all of chapters one and two answering these questions, the questions that the the Galatian agitators, the opponents the Judaizers were asking in an accusatory tone of Paul, did Paul get his gospel wrong. Isn’t he under Jerusalem’s authority and teaching a slightly different gospel than Jerusalem? Why should we listen to him instead of to the Judaizers? Now he doesn’t address it head on here again, he already did that in chapters one and two, but he certainly makes a strong case in just this one verse, yeah, you should follow Paul, because Paul is following Jesus, so you’re gonna get behind him. You’re gonna be behind Jesus, and that’s where you want to be. How does he make that case? All right, he says, Let no one cause me trouble. How would they cause him trouble? Well, by burdening him and then also sabotaging his gospel. Minute. History with requirements from the old order. So Paul is saying again, no, the new has come, the old has gone. There’s no going back. This is like a little bit after graduation. You graduate in May, and in July, your teacher emails you and says, I got one more assignment for you. What are you saying? Yeah, no, thanks. You got no power over me. I’m not going back. You can’t make me. That’s what Paul’s saying here too. Now, how does he know, though? How do we know that Paul belongs to the new order, and Paul says it, just look at the marks on my body. Just look at the marks on my body. That’s how you know marks on a body mattered a lot, because that’s what circumcision is. Circumcision is a mark on your body. It was a mark of the old order. Was a mark of law, but Paul has marks on his body because of the cross of Christ, and that’s part of the new order. Now, what marks? It’s interesting. The word here, Greek word you all know it already is stigmata. So this whole legend developed about the stigmata that would be like you actually get the wounds of Christ. The nail pierced hands and feet. The thorn pricked brow, even the spear pierced side. St Francis of Assisi is alleged to have had this as well. Not what Paul’s talking about at all, though we got no indication of that. What is he talking about? He’s just talking about the marks of persecution. Paul got beat up for Jesus a whole bunch of times. He got beat up because he preached the cross. He says this second Corinthians, four, eight to 10. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed, perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not abandoned. Struck down. He means that literally struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. Read Acts, read Second Corinthians 11. You get the catalog of what happened to Paul. He was whipped, beaten within an inch of his life, multiple times. He was one time stoned and left for dead. That’s gonna leave a mark. Gonna leave a lot of marks. In fact, that’s what he’s saying. His persecution proves his commitment to the true, truth in marked contrast, pun intended in marked contrast, to the compromise of the Judaizers who were preaching what they were preaching to escape persecution, as we saw in verse 12. So, yeah, there’s some authority. There authority that comes with, I believe this message enough to die for. It reminds me of Richard Vermbrand. He was persecuted in Romania under the Iron Curtain. Bore on his body the marks of Jesus. Absolutely ended up founding Voice of the Martyrs here some years later, but at one point he was being threatened with death by the communists there in Romania. And he just said to them, having been beaten many times, like, it’s fine, like, just go ahead and kill me, because here’s what’s gonna happen if you kill me. You got all these back then it was cassette tapes. You can find them in antique stores and stuff. But the cassette tapes of his preaching, and he said, all that’s gonna happen is, if you kill me, people are gonna go, I should listen to those tapes. This message must be important, because he died for it, like it’s baptized in His blood, and that’s what Paul’s saying here. Like, you know, I’m committed to this truth. You know, there’s no self interest in this. Because if I was self interested, I probably wouldn’t have gotten myself stoned so many times. But it’s even deeper than that, because the word for Marx in Greco Roman culture refers to the branding that slaves would receive by their masters. It’s a terrible analogy, I grant, but what it looked like is what they do to cows out west, like cattle, you know? You go, oh, okay, there’s a wandering bull or something like that. It belongs to the triple o ranch. You can tell it’s got its mark on it. That’s what Paul’s saying you can tell that I belong to Jesus because I’ve got his marks on my body, which, again, is really important, because that was the whole point of circumcision. It was an identity marker. You know, I’m part of the Covenant because I’ve been circumcised. And so Paul’s just throwing that whole argument on its head. I love the way one commentator kind of summarizes like the message paraphrase almost here. It’s like Paul’s saying you want something to brag about. You want identity markers. I’ll give you identity markers. You see these scars I’m branded for Jesus. Become like me, like you can see Paul belongs to Jesus. You can see that the false teachers don’t belong to Jesus. They don’t have his mark. Which one are you going to listen to? That’s the authority question. That last part is important too. Though, in the paraphrase, they become like me. We really should become like Paul. Here, it is worth asking. Do you bear the marks of Jesus on your. Life. If you were wandering alongside the highway, could people look and go, oh yeah, he belongs to Jesus. You can see his mark. Are you so committed to Jesus that it cost you, that it goes on, costing you so that others can see you belong to him, like if people were to audit your bank statements, would say, see the marks of Jesus. They look at it and go. He drives what kind of car with that salary? I’m impressed. He should be driving something much nicer. Why is he driving that clunker? He’s making sacrifices for Jesus. They should be in a much bigger house than they are. They didn’t take a vacation last year because they gave sacrificially to Kingdom work. What about if they checked your calendar? They see the marks of Jesus on your calendar, and you are making costly decisions so that you have time to live on mission and in community. If we were to talk to your neighbors, would they testify to the times that you counted the cost of following Jesus? Maybe they wouldn’t put it that way, but they would go, I know there’s something different about them, because I see them doing this and this and this, that word cost is important because remember, these were painful marks, like a brand that hurts, getting whipped and beaten and stoned. It hurts. Jesus did not promise us an easy life. He said, You want to be my disciple. Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. The world is going to hate you in the same way that it hated me. Are you bearing your cross, bearing the marks of Jesus, or like Robert Jordan, with whom we began, are you admiring Jesus from afar? Nice, little, sterile lab of Christianity? Don’t want to risk the nails or the whip, just easy believing. So you can start to see, by the way, the authority question is not just a question of, who are you listening to, but are you listening to Jesus and actually doing what he says in these verses, Paul has once again answered the questions for us, salvation, holiness, authority, questions takes us to our Big Idea, because he has answered them decisively. How in the cross? That’s the big idea. The cross of Christ answers life’s biggest questions. So boast in it alone. Just keep going back to the cross of Christ for all your answers. And then Paul closes with this benediction, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen. Now he usually closes with a benediction, but this final prayer on behalf of the Galatians brings all three questions together again in even briefer form, and we’ve got the authority question To whom will we listen? Will we listen to our Lord Jesus Christ, speaking through his apostles, the men that you can see are following him bear on their bodies the marks of Jesus. That’s the salvation question, the holiness question, how do we or sorry, the salvation question, how can a holy God forgive wretched sinners? Well, it’s right there in the benediction as well, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, not the works of those who are trying to earn their salvation. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ through his cross, in which we boast alone and then the holiness. Question, how do we become holy? Well, Paul says, May His grace be with your spirit, that’s how we become holy. His grace transforms us inwardly. And of course, we hear that word spirit, and we think of the other word spirit, the one with a capital S. That’s how God’s grace is applied to our lives. And so we keep in step with his spirit as he gives grace to our spirits. I love too. There’s just this subtle reminder in that benediction, this is a hopeful prayer. Paul has said some hard things to the Galatians, like he’s I worried I run my race in vain, because you guys are walking away from the faith, you foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you like are you even a Christian? You got people around you are preaching another gospel that’s no gospel at all. Those sorts of people are damned. Paul says, what about you? But no. Paul has every confidence, so he prays this hopeful prayer, yes, the Galatians need to turn Yes. This is a warning meant to wake them up. But he trusts God will hear this prayer. He trusts that they are part of the Israel of God. You can see it, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. We’re family. I know you belong. I know you belong. Paul has every confidence, and so he ratifies his prayer with the A men so. So be it, Lord, what I have asked, I have asked according to God’s will, and so I know it will be done, and that prayer is what I would leave with you with today to the end of our time in Galatians, truly, my prayer over each and every one of you listen to His word that’s your authority. Receive grace, boasting in the cross and not in your efforts. That’s the only ground of your salvation, and then walk with His Spirit. That’s how you become holy. Another old hymn, also based on Galatians six, that says this, it’s what would happen if this prayer were true in our lives, content to let the world go by, to know no gain nor loss, my sinful self, my only shame, my glory, all the cross. Boast in the cross, the cross of Christ, which answers life’s biggest questions. It’s a boast in it alone, we pray, Amen.

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Life in the Spirit March 22, 2026 | Kyle Bjerga Kyle Bjerga discusses the importance of community and support in the Christian life, using Galatians 5:26-6:10 as a guide. He emphasizes the need for believers to help each other, both in spiritual growth and in carrying burdens. Bjerga highlights the dangers of conceit and comparison within the church, urging members to support each other gently and without judgment. He also stresses the significance of supporting gospel proclaimers financially and spiritually. Bjerga concludes by encouraging the congregation to stay faithful, sow to the Spirit, and do good, both within the church and in the wider community, trusting in the future harvest of eternal life.

Well, good morning. Go ahead and grab your Bibles. Turn to Galatians, chapter Five. It’ll be page on 946, if you’re using one of the black pew Bibles there in front of you, or maybe underneath. Before I got into ministry, as many of you know, I was a physical education teacher and coach in high school, and before that, I played college baseball. I had years of lifting weights in high school and kind of different weight training classes. And so I’ve had a lot of experience in weight rooms, which has led to some unbelievable moments. If you’ve ever been in a weight room, because you see things that end up on America’s Funniest videos, or more likely, like a viral fail video at this point on YouTube, because you’d be working out, and then all of a sudden you’d hear, bang, bang, bang, bang. And you look over and there’s somebody with at the bench press like this, because they forgot to put the collar on the barbell, and all the weights fall off, which then at that point there’s another big Clang, because now all the weights on this side, and what happened? This side, and what happens is it goes that way. So you hear that, I’ve seen multiple people pass out because they are lifting so much weight and holding their breath, not breathing correctly. It’s where their head looks like it’s gonna explode, and then they pass out because they are exerting too much energy and not breathing right. I’ve heard people scream at the top of their lungs for somebody to help them because a weight is on their chest or it’s on their back and they can’t finish that last rep. What does this have to do with Galatians? Because in all those situations, there was somebody who had offered to help them. There was somebody there with an eye like they cannot lift that much weight, and so I’m just going to keep my eye on them. So every situation like this, there’s a time where the person says to themselves, I’ve got this. I don’t need any help. I’ve got what I need. I can do this. And then you quickly find yourself in this situation where you are screaming for help now, instead of just asking someone to be there to help you. So in life, what is it for you that you keep telling people, I’ve got this, I don’t need help. I can take care of it. We should not be lifting weights alone. We certainly shouldn’t be living life alone, especially in the church. And so in these situations, in training and weight lifting, you would have a spotter, somebody who is there with you, next to you, behind you, there to support your body, to encourage you with words, to make sure that you knew they were there to help make sure you finished what you wanted to do, finish your exercise. And that’s what we’re called to do in the church. And so it’s important to remember where we are in the book of Galatians today, because we ended last week by talking kind of about the fruit of the Spirit and keeping in step with the Spirit. And now we’re going to finish here in chapter five, verse 26 and we’re going to get a lot of imperatives. It’s going to feel like whiplash. There are a lot of things that Paul is going to say that are kind of like, okay, if you were walking in the Spirit, these are the things that should be true of your Christian life. And it’s key to understanding this next section, that all of this is done in the spirit. I don’t want you to hear any of the things we talk about today is saying, like, this is just something you have to do on your own. The whole I’ve got this, no, this is all fueled by the Spirit who is in us. It’s the life of the spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, growing in us and keeping in step with him. So specifically, we’re going to see how we keep in step with the Spirit. In community. Okay, in community. In God’s grace, He has given to us His Spirit, the greatest blessing, along with his word for how we actually go about the day to day, living this Christian life. So with that said, the first thing that we see is true of life in the Spirit is the Spirit shaped community. Okay, we’re just gonna look at two halves this morning. The first one, the spirit shaped community. We’re gonna start chapter five, verse 26 we’re gonna read through Chapter Six. Verse five. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other, brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you, who live by the Spirit, should restore that person gently, but watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Each one should test their own actions, then they can take pride in themselves alone without comparing themselves to someone else. For each one should carry his own load. So if we want to live out the spirit shaped community, it starts with our hearts. That’s where Paul starts here, right after the fruit of the Spirit and saying, like we need to keep in step with the Spirit, he says, Let us not become. Am conceited. Now, why would he say that? I think this is true, and maybe it’s been your experience. One of the first temptations when you come to a saving faith of Jesus Christ is you start to live a different kind of life, which means you start to look at other people and see whether or not they’re living up to the way you’re living. It is a comparison game, and it’s one of the first things that we’re tempted with when we come to faith in Christ, we look at ourselves and compare it to other Christians. What are they doing? And how does this work itself out? Paul tells us it comes out in provoking and envying. So provoking is irritating. Others, frustrating, them, picking fights with them. You know, I say in our family, like, as broken sinners, we are awesome at this. We are great, like we’re experts at provoking. Are we not? You know, it’s pushing each other’s buttons. You know what? This is like. It doesn’t happen in the church, of course, but you know what this is like, and so that we’re experts in that, I keep saying, like, I’d rather be an expert in love, not an expert in provoking and envying. Yet this is where we go. This is the temptation, which is why Paul puts this here. At worse in the church, when this happens, you lead it leads to a lot of division. And even at worst, again, church splits, church hurt and conflict. But more likely it’s those little comments, those kind of veiled prayers that you pray with people in the room, those kind of passive aggressive comments that make us look better, that kind of cut other people down to say like you’re not quite living up to my expectations or what I’m doing, and we make them feel people feel smaller. You’re not quite growing at the rate that you should be. And the other side we have envying, wanting something else that somebody has. Man, I really wish I could teach like them. Really wish I had the gift of evangelicalism, because I’m just not going to tell anybody about Jesus. I really, I really wish I could do this or that, or play this instrument. And so we sit there, we just like all the things that we we can’t do. And so we envy them, wanting that. So we for broke, and we envy perfect example of this is like in social media. When you go on whatever social media platform is that you use, within the first few seconds or minutes, how do you feel about yourself? Do you feel better about yourself? Do you feel worse about yourself? Depending on how you answer that question is how you will treat the people that you’re interacting with when you walk in the church. How does this person make you feel? How does that person make you feel? And depending on how you answer that question, will be how you treat that person. Treat that person. So are you provoking? Are you envying? In a word, are we conceited? Are we selfish when we walk in to the church, when we’re with other believers, looking out only for ourselves? Paul is saying, keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, which means we must fight against this, because this is our tendency. And to make sure this happens, we need to keep walking in spirit, in the spirit, together as a community. And so Paul has used a lot of tough language with the Galatians to this point. And in chapter six, verse one, he makes this little turn. He says brothers and sisters. He says, family like we are in Christ. Jesus, He has given us a spirit. We are brothers and sisters in Christ, so we must look at each other with a different affection than we ever have before, as brothers as sisters. And once our heart is right, we can now live out this spirit shaped community by taking care of two groups of people, the sinner and the struggler. That’s what we see here in the breakdown of verses one and two. So first the sinner. We see this like sin is going to happen in the church. This should not surprise us. This doesn’t give us license to snoop around, looking for it, trying to find it in every single person. It doesn’t mean we start church discipline in every single matter. Rather, as you live in the Spirit, because that’s what it says in verse one, you who live by the Spirit, if you are keeping us up with spirit, not conceited, you will be better able to discern one of the brother or sisters caught in something that is destroying them. Maybe they don’t see it. They’ve been caught up in it, and they definitely don’t know how to get out of it without your help. And so in some ways, though, while we don’t do church discipline in Matthew 18 with every single little thing that we might see, there are times where we do step in and we follow Matthew 18, verse 15. This is the first step of church discipline. If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. If you see this in them, go talk to them. But. Only to them, or is our first step to talk about it with 10 other people before we go talk to them, let’s go to them first, let’s talk to them, and then what we do and how we do it is extremely important. We seek to restore them. Gently, restore them. Gently, not provoking them, not in an envious manner, but just like the fruit of the Spirit, with gentleness. We go into this conversation with this person, with humility, with gentleness and with an end goal in mind. The end goal has to be restoration. The word here for restoration is the idea of helping somebody to rebuild walls or to mend their nets, two things that the people at this time would have been very familiar with, rebuilding walls, mending nets for those who were fishermen. And so when you think about what is a provoking or envious manner, is like that little kid with a brother or sister as their brother or sisters rebuild. Sister is rebuilding their little LEGO wall, and they come by and just do one of these, and they knock it over just to provoke them, just to irritate them, or maybe that wall looked really good before, and they’re a little bit envious, so like, now I’m going to knock it down again. Restoration is I’m going to get on my hands and knees and I’m going to help you rebuild this. I don’t care how it happened. I just want to make sure that I help you restore it back to the way it was. So getting on our hands and knees in kindness, in love, and saying, I’m right here with you. I’m going to help you pick up the pieces. I’m going to get my hands dirty and pick up this net and start to put it back together for you so it could be mended, so that you could be restored. That’s what we’re called to do, and then we do it gently. And this is probably the real challenge. It’s very easy to help somebody and then correct them as you’re helping them, but gently is where we’re not telling them, filling them with guilt as we help. I told you, so I told you this was going to happen. How could you that is not gentleness. So let’s help restore them with it, in our gentle way, in a way of love. We’re not sticking it to them, right? We’re encouraging them. Instead, we’re asking them, What do you need from me to help continue this process? Be in a faithful presence with words of comfort and not condemnation. So we help restore the sinner back into not only a right relationship with God, fellowship with God, with fellowship with His people. We come alongside, we help them. But there is a word of warning from Paul. You can see it there, he says, but watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. The lure of sin is strong, and the more we focus on a specific sin to help somebody else out, the more we can be drawn to that same sin. There have been many times before where people have tried to help a friend out only to get pulled in themselves into that same sin. So we need to make sure that we’re watching out. That’s what Paul’s saying. Just watch out for yourself. Be careful. That you don’t go down the same road. And so we could be well meaning, but we need to kind of have those safeguards and practical things in place, like we do for them, or maybe somebody come alongside us to encourage us as we help someone. So that’s the sinner. That’s our role. Sometimes we’re going to help, sometimes we’re going to be the sinner. The second thing is the struggler. And the struggler could include sin, but it’s actually a much broader category, one that we’re we all face. So it says, Here, carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you fulfill the law of Christ. Each one of us has burdens, and by this things that are too heavy for us to carry by ourselves, those weights in the bar that we know we can’t lift them. There’s no possible way I need somebody to help me, and sometimes these burdens actually feel like physical weight. Have you ever felt that pressure on your chest. Have you ever had those moments where you can’t sleep, or things are just gnawing at your mind and your emotions constantly, and then, have you ever tried to fix it yourself? I’ve got this only to make things worse because we can’t. And so this is kind of the participation point of the message. So I need everybody involved here. I’m going to list some burdens. I’m going to list some things that are too heavy for you to carry. And I want you to raise your hand if you’ve ever had any of the following happen in your life. Maybe it’s happening right now, but we’re just looking your entire life. Have you ever felt any of these burdens? And I want you to raise your hand once your hand is up, just leave it up if it’s not up for the first few things I mentioned, that’s fine. Put it up at some point if that applies to you. So if there’s ever been a burden in your life, I want you to raise your hand, being bullied, loss of a friendship. I had someone say something hateful or untrue of you, financial hardship, job loss, death of a loved one, chronic health issues, anxiety or depression, a child who has rejected Jesus, relational strain, church hurt, divorce, okay, there’s a lot of hands. I hope you you didn’t go through those things alone. I hope you didn’t go through those things alone, and I hope you didn’t let somebody go through that alone. This is what we need to understand. There are burdens in this church at every every moment somebody has a burden. So let’s commit now to never let somebody go through that by themselves. And on the other side, let’s commit to never tell somebody I’ve got this but get other people involved. We say this every morning we start our service. We just did it a few minutes ago, and I want to repeat it here, because there’s a reason we do this to all who are weary and need rest, to all who feel alone and want community, to all who mourn and long for comfort, to all who feel worthless and wonder if God cares, to all who fail and desire strength, to all who worry and want peace, to all who sin and need a savior, to all who hunger and thirst for righteousness and whoever will come. This gathering offers our welcome. This gathering, this community people, offers our welcome in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why do we start with that? Because every day, people are coming here with burdens, things that make it hard to worship, and we have a calling as a people to welcome them in, because Jesus welcomes them in. And so let’s be that type of church. Let’s continue to be that type of church. And if you are here today and you are seeking, this is who we are. We are broken, messed up people just like you. And if you keep trying to rebuild your wall by yourself, it’s going to keep falling down. We want to be there to help restore and encourage you, because the thing I know implies you you are, you sin and you are in need of a Savior. And that’s who we talk about here. That’s who we try to show here. There’s always some in the church who’s got a burden. Maybe that’s you right now, or maybe you are in a good position to help carry someone else’s burden. And what you do when you do this is you fulfill the law of Christ that says the exact same thing we saw last week in Galatians, 514 for the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command, love your neighbor as yourself. And what we say here is part of our discipleship pathway is as we become immortal like Jesus, we want to love like Jesus, and that’s exactly what we see here. Now Paul continues and comes back to some kind of personal reflection that we need to take seriously, to help us and not become conceited, especially as we are helping others. He says, If anyone thinks they are something, when they are not, they deceive themselves. If you think you are something, if you think you’ve got things figured out, and you’re helping the sinner and you’re helping the struggler, be careful, because that’s when you start to get puffed up. That’s when you can start to be conceited, and it won’t be long before you’re caught in sin or you’re struggling and so with the burdens of life. And so we need to be careful. We need to take some ownership of our faith. We need to step back, and we need to test our actions. That’s what he says. We need to test how we’re caring for others, test how we’re growing in our faith. And then he says we should take pride in that like, whoa, whoa, like I thought we weren’t supposed to take pride in the things that we do. We’re not supposed to boast in what we have done and the good works that we do. And yes, that’s true, but context here is key. We take pride in what we have seen be true in our lives, not by comparing to others, and that’s a big difference. We thank the Lord for the work he’s doing in our life, because we see change in our life, not because I’m better than so and so I’m not comparing to them. And so we need to be very careful and examine our own actions. It’s not, do I look more like Jesus than they do? Or is it? Do I look more like Jesus today than I did yesterday, six months ago, a year ago, not them, but have I seen this change? Not, do I give more money than they do? Do I give more money to the church than I did last week, six months ago, a year ago? Not well. They have that major sin in their life. At least I’m not dealing with that. No, it’s what sin do I have? What plank do I need to remove from my eye so that I can then go help and remove that speck from their eye? You see the difference in how we praise God for the work that he’s doing in our life, not by comparing it to others, but by taking stock of who. Who we are, where we are today, and how the Spirit is moving in our life. So we want to be proud of the work that God is doing in our life, but we need to take a kind of step back and examine our own lives. And then he finishes here, it’s important to note that carrying our own load, that’s what he says here in verse five, each should carry their own load is not contradicting bearing one another’s burdens. There are burdens that are too heavy for someone to carry. The load that Paul is talking about here is a different word. Burdens are those things that are too heavy, but everybody has a pack. That’s really what the word here means. This kind of load. We just have a backpack. We have responsibilities and things the Lord has given to us to carry in life, and we will all stand before God, and He will see whether we were faithful with what we had or not. Can we stand before him and saying, I carried my pack. I did what you have called me to do as a follower of Jesus, John Stott says it this way, there is one burden that we cannot share, and that is our responsibility to God on the day of judgment. On that day, you cannot carry my pack and I cannot carry yours. We stand before God as followers of Jesus, those who have the spirit. He says, I’ve given you responsibility. Have you been faithful with what I’ve given you? Have you been faithful with what I left for you to do so practically speaking, then what does it mean to live out the spirit shaped community two things, and maybe you’re in one of these, you’ll definitely be in one of these two groups at some point. I don’t know where you are today, but the first is, if you can help someone carry their burden, you get to live out the love of Christ in that moment you get to fulfill the law of Christ, who is the ultimate burden bearer. Taking something on for somebody else is exactly what Christ has done for us. If we let people do things on their own, we are living contrary to the gospel. Because if Christ left us to live and say, I’ve got this, we would be condemned still. But he didn’t. He took it on himself, and we need to walk alongside and say, I am going to take this with you. I’m going to help you, not just one person, but many of us. So maybe that’s you. Maybe you’re the one carrying the burden right now, on your own, on your own shoulders, be willing to let someone carry it with you. Don’t keep them from doing what God wants them to do. Have you ever heard this phrase when somebody has mentioned something to you about something difficult they’re dealing with? I don’t want to be a burden on you that is contrary to the gospel. It is you’re not a burden. I want to help you carry that burden, because you’re not meant to do it on your own. The Gospel says you cannot do it on your own, which is why Christ took it on which is how he got our salvation for us, but in the day to day, how does Jesus usually help us in the day to day, he helps us with His people to help carry those burdens for us. Day by day, he uses his people to do that. So be willing to carry someone else’s burdens and be willing to let somebody come alongside you and carry that weight. So that’s the spirit shaped community. Second thing the spirit shaped life. We’re going to start in verse six and finish in verse 10. Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor. Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction. Whoever sows to please the spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity to let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. So here verse six, kind of seems odd. It really seems like come out of nowhere. Paul shifts to saying that those who benefit from the teaching of the word should share all good things, which includes financial support, food, housing, everything else material needs, with the one teaching them. So people who proclaim the gospel should be taken care of by those who benefit from that proclamation. So remember going back to the beginning of this letter. Why is Paul writing to the church in Galatia? Because there are false teachers. There are false teachers in Galatia. These teachers have led the Galatians astray. They have bewitched them. As we read. They are persuading them that there is a different gospel, which Paul says is really no gospel at all. And so he’s writing because of that, and then also there’s a pretty good chance he puts it here because the people proclaiming the Gospel were not being taken care of by the people. It, they didn’t have what they needed. And so when you think about this, and you think about the church across this country, at least, they say that 45% of pastors work a second job to pay the bills, those who are proclaiming the gospel week in and week out. 45% we know a lot of those are bi vocational pastors, ones that maybe pastor smaller churches, or are planting a church, and so they need to work a job in order to pay the bills while also serving. They said 14% of pastors are getting minimum wage. And when we see here, what Paul is doing is he’s trying to care for not the person only he cares about the message that’s who we’re supposed to take care of, the people who are proclaiming the actual truth. So it’s not about the money, it’s about the message that they are proclaiming. And he wants to make sure that that message stays. And how does that happen? By supporting them enough that they stay, the people proclaiming the truth. So he’s highlighted, in fact, there are good teachers in Galatia, ones who are faithful to the proclamation of the good news, and the church should take care of them. Look at First Timothy 517, through 18, says the elders who direct the affairs the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching for scripture. Says, Do not muzzle an ox while just treading out the grain, and the worker deserves his wages, which is similar to what Jesus said in Luke chapter 10, like the generosity of others is what funded the ministry of Jesus. Jesus was not a trust fund, baby. You know that right? He was not independently wealthy. He was going from place to place, house to house, meal to meal. From the generosity of others. The disciples, when they were sent out by Jesus in Matthew 10, he says, Go and proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom. Don’t take any gold, silver, copper. Don’t take an extra shirt, sandals or a staff with you. Let others do that for you, let others take care of you. Don’t bring any of that. So some people will stop giving to a church, to a ministry, because they don’t like something that was done. They disagree with a certain decision. They differ an opinion from leadership. But what we kind of see here is the only reason you should stop giving to a church is if they stop preaching the word, like we stop doing this, then you should stop giving, because there’s nothing worth hearing anyways, then that’s the reason why. And so Paul is saying, like, there are good teachers there, make sure they’re taken care of, so that they stay and keep proclaiming this, or else you’re going to lose them. And who’s there to fill in the gaps, the false teachers that have this other gospel, which is no gospel at all. Now I want to speak to our church, because maybe you’re expecting the plea for money here. That is not going to happen like you are a generous church. You have taken care of our families and us too much, and I appreciate what Paul is doing here, and I appreciate churches that take it seriously, because we want to be devoted to the ministry of the word and to prayer, and you guys allow us to do that. So I just want to say thank you and praise God for you. Paul moves to another warning. Then he says, Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Again, this seems abrupt, like we’re going from supporting gospel Proclaimers to God cannot be mocked and a man reaps what he sows. But there is a connection here that we have to see again. It seems abrupt, but if you understand the support that he wants to see of these gospel Proclaimers the truth, because he wants to see them not be deceived, like the people we don’t want you to be deceived. And so he’s kind of moving here, and he’s saying, All right, do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. And so when we read, God cannot be mocked, the first thing that comes to mind is probably, well, God does get mocked all the time, does he not? He gets mocked all over the place, but God will not be mocked ultimately, because what we see here with sowing and reaping is this is usually used to talk about the end times, saying you’re sowing now, and the Reaping will come at the end. And what a man sows, he will eventually get. And so in the end, God will not be mocked, even while it’s happening now. Ultimately, he will not be mocked. He is judge, and he will judge according to what we reap. What will your harvest show at the end. Will it be based on what you have done, which we see here is sowing to the please the flesh, or will it be based on what Jesus Christ has done, which is sowing to please the spirit? The principle here is in the context of giving, as we just saw. But Tom shiner says this is what Paul says here. Cannot. Limited to giving, we have a principle that sums up life as a whole. A man reaps what he sows. But of course, the focus here is on giving. And this makes sense, because what area of our life do we want to hold on to things the most? Our stuff, our finances, our security, our material things, we don’t want to give it up. And so what better place to go than after that, where your treasure is there, your heart is and so let’s kind of talk about it in this context. Now, there’s two types of sowing, right? Sowing seed, we’re scattering seed, we’re planting seed. There’s two types of sowing. They’re sowing to the flesh, sowing to the Spirit, and the Reaping comes later. The harvest comes later. And I’ve heard people say this, especially students over the years of like, I will take my faith seriously when what? When I’m older, I’ll take Jesus, Jesus’s words seriously, like when I move out of high school and college, eventually I will get there. And what is, what the principal is saying. Here is, how do you expect to continue to sow, to please the flesh, over and over and over and over again and expect to see a harvest for Jesus. You reap what you sow. So if you continue year after year, day after day, of just sowing to please the flesh, to what you want, to the evil and ungodly things in our heart, what else do we expect at the end? Well, Paul tells us your flesh sowing to please the flesh will lead to your destruction. How could you expect any other harvest? And what we’ve seen in this passage already is that sin is there’s selfishness in sin, and sin has consequences. The word destruction here can also mean corruption or disintegration. Saying, sin makes things fall apart. That’s what happens. Sin makes things fall apart. So if things are falling apart for you right now, it’s worth asking, am I sowing to the flesh? Like look at your life. Am I sowing to the flesh, or am I sowing to the spirit in this moment. So we sow to the flesh, we will reap destruction. But if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life. If you sow according to God’s Word, you start to see the fruit of the Spirit growing, then all of this life will culminate in the harvest of eternal life. If you say, I’m going to live my life in the Spirit. I’m going to keep in step with the Spirit today, and I’m going to love others. Well, what else would we expect at the end than eternal life? Because we’re pursuing Jesus every day, we have the Spirit who guarantees us of this in Christ, Jesus. So something important to say here is the harvest comes later. But between the sowing and the harvest, what happens? There is some growth, like something is going to grow. You’re going to start to see it. We see shoots growing up. So if any point along those lines, you realize, oh, my goodness, I planted the wrong seed. What do you have to do? You have to get down at the roots, like we talked about last week. You need to crucify to crucify the sin. You need to crucify sowing to the flesh. And so you can say, like, I’m seeing this go this direction. I need to uproot this and I need to start over. That’s what needs to happen. But if we continue to say, I’m just going to keep going a little bit longer, sowing to the flesh, when is that day coming? No, as soon as we notice this, as soon as we see it, we gotta dig it up from the roots. There’s a place we see this principle in life, and it’s in our phones. Like algorithms that are in our phones, right? Like you start to watch something, start to read something, start to focus on something, your phone says this is what they like. So I’m going to keep giving them what they like, and you sow more and more little seeds, more and more and more. How many of those seeds are sowing to the spirit, and how many of those seeds are sowing to the flesh? It’s worth asking every single time we come to our phone, because eventually the harvest is going to come and you’re going to realize your mind and heart have been shaped not by God’s word, but by everything that the phone tells you, which, by the way, is what you’ve told the phone you like. We reap, what we sow. What is that in our life? What is most important in prepping for this week, looking at this idea of sowing and reaping, and seeing this connection to social media, I came across an interview with an actor that happened, I think, this week, Edward Norton, not a believer, from what I know, but he was talking about this idea of doom scrolling and algorithms and phones. He said something interesting, not from a biblical worldview. I’m not like on the Bible here, but this one he says. He says, If I Doom scroll and stay in it, in it, meaning the anxiety and the downward spiral of the emotions and stuff that happen when you Doom scroll on your phone. He says, If I Doom scroll and stay in it, as we all can for me, the only antidote to anxiety has been action, some kind of action. And I thought about that, and I said, what is the action for us? It’s sowing to the Spirit. That’s the action. The only added, the only thing that we could do to get away from sowing to the flesh is to keep in step with the Spirit and pursue the mission of God. Because if we keep feeding the flesh. If we keep sowing to the flesh, we’re going to go further and further down that rabbit hole. The only way out is to say there’s something better. I’m going to sow to the Spirit. I’m going to act here. And what do we do? Look at verses nine and 10, because this is where Paul goes next. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Remember all this is coming after Paul has made it very clear throughout this book that we are not saved by our works, but by the grace of God. And Tom Schreiner says this about good works. He says that we’re supposed to do. He says such good works constitute evidence that one has been transformed by God’s grace. Our works are coming from that understanding of who Jesus Christ is, what he has done for us. So as we see those things start to grow in our life, we’re like, oh, I’m sowing the right seed. I’m sowing to the Spirit. I’m seeing these things flourish. Others should see them as well. They should see this, this flourishing in our life, as we’ve said in the series, and we’ve said many times before in quoting Dallas Willard, grace is not opposed to effort. It is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action. Sowing is an action. What type of seed Are you sowing? Is it to the flesh? Is it to the Spirit? We have been transformed by Jesus. The spirit is not just concerned with you. The spirit is concerned with us. That’s a big difference. The Spirit wants to keep coming back to us, because we’re not meant to live this life alone. So you’re going to keep bringing it back to us as a church, as a people. The Book of Galatians was written to a church, to people, not a person. So you want to sow according to spirit, we need to stop sowing for ourselves. We need to start looking out for others. Because sowing seed is hard work, it is tedious, it’s slow, and ultimately, all depends on trust. Will the harvest come? Will the harvest come? So Paul says, Let us not grow weary. Are you weary? Are you tired from doing good? He’s saying, Keep going like it’s easier to doom scroll. It’s easier to give up. It’s easier to keep money for myself. It’s easier to come home from work and phone it in and not pursue my family. It’s easier to say I just can’t do community group tonight. Like it’s easier to do all that stuff, but step back, am I sowing to the flesh, or am I sowing to the Spirit in those moments, and then not be surprised later, when all my decisions of sow into the flesh, so into the flesh lead to things that I see are destroying me are destroying others. It’s easier to let sin kill you than to fight back. It’s easier to let things continue to grow than to uproot it and replant it is so Paul’s like, let us not grow weary in doing good. Do not we cannot give up. Keep pursuing, keep planting. I think we often understand how important our good works actually are, and I understand why that’s there, because our good works don’t save us. So we like to kind of reject things that sound like that. But listen again to Matthew five, which we hadn’t read for us earlier. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden, Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its standing. It gives light to everyone in the house in the same way, let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. We do good so that people glorify God because of it, when they see the growth in our life, they. They praise God for it, they want to be a part of that. So yes, we do good to all. It says we’re supposed to do good to all, but first, we need to do that in the family of believers. It’s very interesting that Paul says this, if we don’t take care of each other, why in the world would we go take care of those in a world opposed to God, if we shoot our own wounded, why would anybody pay attention to us? They have to see that there’s something different about us first, in order to ever give us an ear to listen to what we have to say in John 13, Jesus says to His disciples that the world will know they are His disciples, if you love one another. So if we live out these things first, others will take note of that. It will be attracted to them, and they’ll want to hear more about the Jesus we serve. So as we bring all this together, what’s the big idea this morning? It is to keep going and do good. Keep going and do good. What I mean by keep going, test your own actions, test your own actions, examine your own heart, and then be faithful. What God with, what God has called you to, you are going to be tired and weary. Is there anything better than being tired in serving the Lord. Like, when I talk to most people say, How you doing? You know, many times I hear the word tired as the answer, all right, so you’re already tired, so be tired serving Jesus. I’m so serious, like, I don’t get it like, and so I’m just like, okay, I’d rather be exhausted hitting my pillows saying I serve the Lord today than being tired doing anything else like so go on the mission of God. Keep going when you’re weary and tired, say, am I sowing to the Spirit? Because there’s an awesome harvest coming. Like that’s the motivation to keep going. We are sowing to the spirit, and it is exhausting. It is tiring, but we have to trust that the harvest is coming. Trust that the harvest is coming. And then what do I mean by do good? Well, Paul says here, as we have opportunity, as we have opportunity all over, do good so that others would see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. So how do we do this as the church? I want to plug real quick here a couple things the care and visitation team. Marielis Figueroa, leads this team. And Brandon often says in tour of the city, if you if you’ve never been a part tour of the city, he says everybody in here is on the care team. So welcome to the team that is the church like this is who we are. We care for one another, and so yes, we do that by meal trains. We do that by all these different things that kind of help with the burdens of life for people, but maybe you’re looking for something more. Talk to Mary else about what this looks like, to serve on the care and visitation team, to just be with other people, to come alongside them and help carry these burdens. So do good? Join the team. Be a part of it. Be rejuvenated by the stories that you hear. You’ll hear of how people needed this in their life at that moment. The second thing is community and journey. Groups like these are the places where these things we first talked about with the burdens are going to happen when you start to share things with the group and you start to realize I’m not the only one fighting this anymore. You need that. And guess what? We need it too. What happens when we hear these things and we help carry the burdens of other people is that when we get into those moments, we know there’s a group of people we can go to and that they’ll help carry our burdens with us at that time. And then we also need to look outside the church. I don’t know who these people are in your life. You do, and God does. But how are you doing good to them? How are you taking the good news to them? We talked about Easter already. Very easy invite to those who need to hear the good news. But how are you getting into their life? How are you getting kind of in the mess, pointing them to Jesus, trying to help bring them into the kingdom, by telling us about their great Savior. So we will get tired. But let’s keep doing good. Let’s keep going by keeping in step with the Spirit, and do good and so to please the spirit and then trust the harvest is coming. Let’s pray, Lord I I just want to say that we trust you. We trust that the harvest is coming, that the work you are doing in us, the fruit of the Spirit growing will lead to our experience of eternal life now and what is still to come. Lord, if there’s moments in our life where we know we are sowing to the flesh, help us to uproot those things and instead plant the seed of the spirit. It the things you are calling us to do, help us to be faithful in that as we are tired and weary, help us to not give up, but give us the motivation. Give us the perseverance that we need to continue to pursue you, to keep in step with where your spirit takes us. We thank You, Lord. We love you, and we pray this in Jesus name, Amen.

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The Spirit of the Gospel March 15, 2026 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper discusses the diversity within the church and the importance of recognizing the signs of living in the flesh or the Spirit. He emphasizes that while salvation is by grace alone, it does not mean we can indulge in sin. Paul’s message in Galatians 5:13-18 highlights the need to serve one another in love rather than indulge the flesh. Brandon explains that the acts of the flesh are obvious and those who live by them will not inherit God’s kingdom. Conversely, the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, etc.—indicates a life transformed by Christ. He urges believers to be ruthless, painful, slow, and decisive in crucifying sin and to walk in step with the Spirit.

Well, good morning church. Good to see you all. If you want to go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Galatians five. Galatians five. We’ll be starting in verse 13. This morning. Galatians 5:13. As you’re turning there one of my favorite parts of church, Big C church, but also little c local congregation is its diversity. We know that Jesus is ransoming those from every tribe and language and nation and people. And I love that. I love that in part two, because I just I’m a big fan of cultures. I’m very interested in different cultures. I love different languages. And so I like trying to figure out where people are from, where they grew up, where their ancestors come from, whatever that may be. And there are different ways, of course, that you can do that. If you pay attention, of course, you could look at somebody’s name often give you some clues, last name or something kind of go That sounds pretty Italian, if I’m being honest, or sometimes even the first name. I play soccer with a diverse group of guys on Thursdays, and one of them, his name was junior. I was like, okay, so you’re name for your dad. He says, No, I was named for my older brother. He’s like, Okay, talk to me about that. He’s like, Well, where I come from, you are named for the day of the week on which you were born. So his name is Tuesday, not in English, but Tuesday. But his brother was born on Tuesday, so he’s Tuesday number two. Hence he’s Junior. I actually knew that that meant he was from Ghana, because I played with some other Ghanaians, and so we’d already had this conversation. I know a Tuesday and a Friday, five more, and I got the complete set, so we’re getting there. Course, accent is a huge one as well. Again, different parts of the world, but different parts of the country as well. Like I have aunt Sherry on my dad’s side and Aunt Sherry on my mom’s side, they’re just different parts of the world for sure. Or another really obvious one is the sports teams you cheer for. So I was made a friend down in Atlanta. He lives down in Atlanta, and he’s Chicago Cubs fan. I was like, Yeah, all right, exactly. He’s being redeemed. He’s being sanctified. Day by day. It’s amazing. This, this is what you clap for. Okay, well, it turns out, though he’s from the Chicago area. That’s where he was born and raised. Usually, sports team will tell you where you’re from, not always. Sometimes you’re a Detroit Lions fan because you were born in Nebraska and grew up in Iowa. I got nothing. I got nothing. The point is, if you want to know where someone’s from, though, you can probably figure it out by paying attention to their lives, and that’s basically Paul’s point in our passage this morning. How can you tell if people are living in the flesh or in the spirit? Will you pay attention to their lives? And you’ll be able to see this is a really important point that he gets to also because we spent four plus chapters now reminding ourselves that salvation is by grace, alone, through faith, alone, apart from your works. And so Paul anticipates the overreaction that could come to that truth, my works don’t matter, so I can do whatever I want. We know this was a problem in the early church, early early church, because Paul deals with it here in Galatians, even though he’s trying to teach the opposite truth. Really. We also have several other early, early books of the New Testament, like James and Jude that are written to counter this heresy. I mean, James says, Yeah, we’re saved by faith, but faith that doesn’t end up in works isn’t real faith. It’s dead. Jude says some people are turning grace into a license for immorality. And Paul is saying the same thing here, except he’s picking up on the language that he gave us last week in our passage last week. Remember, it’s for freedom that Christ set us free again, freedom. I can do whatever I want. But then we’re almost asking the question, is there any Grace driven constraint on the freedom I have in Christ. And Paul says, yes, absolutely. And he makes a careful argument we’re going to follow. We’re going to proceed by steps as we go through the problem, then the proof, and then the principle, at the end of which we’ll have our big idea. So let’s follow Paul’s argument here. We’ll start with the problem, says Galatians chapter five. Let me read verses 13 to 18 for us. You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free, but do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh rather serve one another humbly in love for the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command, love your neighbor as yourself. If you bite and devour each other, watch out, or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh, but the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit. And the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh, they are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. So Paul reminds us here again that we are called to be free, free from the crushing burden of self salvation, the crushing burden of trying to earn it on your own, keeping checklists. How did I do today? But that doesn’t mean that we can do whatever we want, because Paul gives us this important qualifier like, yes, you’ve been called to be free but, but don’t use your freedom to indulge your flesh, and here flesh meaning our sinful nature, really our inherent selfishness. Paul’s saying Christ came to set us free from sin. He did not come to set us free to sin. The Gospel rightly understood, like when we rightly understand all that God has done for us in the person and work of Jesus Christ, we rightly understand that it truly frees us from our sinful desires and does so at their root, that’s the key. Just take lying as an example. So you get caught doing something you weren’t supposed to do. Parents are starting to ask you questions, and you think, it’ll be easier if I just tell a lie right here, or maybe it’s with your group of friends. And you think, okay, if I tell I’m a telemor, and I saw that movie that everyone else saw, so that i It seems like I fit in, like I’m one of the cool kids. Also, what happens? All right? So take line first of all, everything we’ve learned in these four plus chapters, it means that when we lie, when we stumble and sin like this, we are free from guilt if we’re in Christ, that’s been that’s been taken away. We’ve been called innocent in Christ already, we’re free from fear of God punishing us for our sin, because Christ paid for that already. We’re free from the devastation that would come when we mess up like that, the devastation will come if you’re thinking, I need to be perfect so that God loves me, and then you’re not perfect. That’s devastating. We’re free from that also, but there’s a deeper freedom too, because we can think to ourselves, why did I tell the lie in the first place? Why did I want to lie? Really two reasons to lie, and you think about it, one is to get out of trouble, and the other one is to make yourself look better than you are okay. But think about what the gospel does to that you need to lie to get yourself out of trouble, the most important trouble, the deepest trouble that you’re in, the eternal trouble that you’re in that’s been taken care of already. You don’t need to fear that any longer. You want to save face make yourself look better, so that people accept and approve of you. God approves of you in Christ, so you can see we don’t need to lie, because everything a lie would give us we already have, only infinitely more so in Christ, so we’re not free to do whatever we want, to pursue selfishness instead, love constrains our freedom. Love constrains our freedom. Love always constrains freedom. If you don’t know that, get married, you’re gonna learn it real quick, right? You can picture like a new husband. Some of you about to go into this role. I’m gonna help you out here. Okay, so you’re knocking off work or something like that. It’s been a tough day. You think to yourself, you know what would be great right now, some wings and some football, like proper football, where they use their feet to play the game. So you just head over there and you’re there for a couple hours. You’re like, that was great. The wings were amazing. They’re settling. Well, this is a good day. I’m gonna get home. I know there’s the new Jason Statham movie on Netflix. I hear the plots really good. In this one, he gets angry at bad guys and kicks them and like, I need to see that. So when I get home, I’m gonna watch this movie, and then I’m going to bed. And then you remember, you’re married, and you make none of those choices. You think yourself. I should go home. I should connect with my wife. We should go for a walk. We can talk about how we’re doing emotionally, spiritually, that kind of way you make really different choices, because you’re not free to do whatever you want any longer, because love constrains your freedom. What an important word for our culture, because our culture pursues freedom above just about everything. Our personal autonomy is the highest good we can imagine. You do you and don’t let anyone stand in your way. You can see that take and do that to its logical. Conclusion that mentality makes love impossible, like you have no possibility of a stable marriage or a family, you’ve got no possibility of friendship or altruism if you do that, because, I mean, every one of those is going to make claims on your life at some point, a spouse, a kid is going to make demands of you that you’re going to go, oh, sorry, I’m doing me today. And so love becomes impossible. Marriages collapse, families collapse. Friendships end, even when we act lovingly, like even when we do go serve or something like that. We’re doing it then for our own sakes, because it’s giving us something we want. Maybe that’s kids, but maybe that’s just something to post on our Facebook page. And so all this pursuit of freedom will place limits on our love, which seems like a bad thing. Worse, it’s also slavery, when you think about it, because in the process of doing whatever you want, you are strengthening the flesh influence in your life. You’re strengthening your sinful impulse, in other words, so that eventually you’re going to find, even if you wanted to, you wouldn’t be able to stay faithful in marriage, because you’ve trained yourself to I just do whatever I want, which means I look at whatever I want to look at my pursuit. You know, you get the idea. The key point is that in in all honesty, we’re all going to choose a certain freedom and a certain slavery. So let’s choose our freedom and our slavery carefully. If you’re going to choose freedom to freedom to do whatever you want, you’re going to find yourself enslaved to yourself, or you can choose freedom from freedom from sin and from selfishness, in which case you’re going to find yourself enslaved to love. Feels like a better choice, also exactly what Paul says, rather, serve one another humbly in love, serve in love. Only the word there isn’t actually serve. I know why they translated it that way, but it’s the word enslave. Enslave yourself to love. Is what Paul says, the exact same word that he used all of Chapter Four when he said, We’re not children of the slave woman. We’re children of the free woman. And because we’re children of the free woman, saved by grace, we should become slaves to love. It’s this interesting paradox where we enter into the free people of God, enter into a willing slavery for others, finding our deepest joy in sacrificing self to serve others. And of course, that sounds like somebody we know, doesn’t it in that we are just following in our master’s footsteps, following his example. I don’t think Jesus wanted the cross if he had sinful flesh, he would not have wanted that in his sinful flesh, and yet, for the joy set before him, us our salvation, He endured the cross, Corning its shame. That’s what it looks like to be enslaved to love for the sake of others. In so doing, of course, we also fulfill the whole law, which is really interesting given where we’ve been in Galatians so far. Now it’s a different sort of fulfillment of the law, like we’re not trying to justify ourselves before God. Now we’re keeping the law willingly as a response to God’s love for us. He loved us so much that we’re going I just want to make him happy. How could I do anything else? And so we love him, and we love others in his name and for his sake. Now this sounds different. I will grant than chapter five, verse three, we looked at last week. Again, I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. Here we’re fulfilling the whole law. Is Paul contradicting himself in the space of a few paragraphs, probably not. We got something really different happening here. There’s no obligation in our case, because the debt has already been paid. Plus we’re not relying on those works of the law. Rather, we are free to fulfill the law because we have been changed. It’s ironic, but it’s when we stop relying on the law that we actually keep the law outwardly and inwardly. I don’t remember if you I don’t know if you remember the illustration Kyle shared back when he preached in Galatians three but of that lady who had, like the the abusive husband, with the lists that they were she was supposed to do every day, and she found she could never quite do it. But then, in this illustration, you know, she’s married to Christ, the perfect husband, and she just she realizes she was doing all the lists without even having a list, because she she wanted to serve her husband. Maybe. You had a similar experience. Maybe it was a class or something where you’re like, look, I don’t read books, I don’t study, I don’t devote myself to this kind of thing, because somebody’s telling me to do it. And then you graduated, and you found you’re actually reading more than you ever did in high school or college, because you’re doing it for the love of learning, as opposed to trying to earn a grade, which is bad motivation. Some of you are nodding, so I hit something there. Okay, so that’s what’s happening here, where we fulfill the law without having to rely on the law. The law just shows us how to please God, and we’re free to do it. At last, I find it interesting that Paul says that we are to love our neighbor, though, and not God. With all our heart, soul, mind and strength, Jesus says, you want to fulfill the whole law. The word is love, but it’s two directions, love, God, love neighbor. Paul only mentions neighbor because of the focus on relationships in Galatians, because the Jews and Gentiles are in conflict, so there’s some fighting. So he’s saying, let’s just talk about this one for now. That’s the key area, the heresy of self salvation, of thinking you can and need to save yourself, will pit people against each other. You can tell that a church is not rooted in the gospel when it’s insular and “judgey” and exclusive. And that’s what we have here in Galatia, and that’s why we get verse 15, which feels abrupt, but isn’t at all like this is what they’re doing the Galatians. They’re biting and devouring each other. They’re stepping on each other as they’re trying to get to heaven on their own. There is a better way, though, in verse 16, it is the Spirit’s way we live under the Spirit’s influence that’s our guiding power in life, and so we do that, we won’t be enslaved to the flesh again. There’s this willing surrender to the Spirit’s influence that is actual freedom, and freedom from what, well, from the desires of the flesh. And this is where the problem comes in. I said this section is the problem. The problem is that you got flesh and spirit going on inside of you, if you’re a Christian. And so there’s the problem. And the problem is the flesh. It’s not just that it desires. The word literally is over desires. And that makes sense. If you know anything about sin, that’s the whole problem is that we desire even good things too much. We over desire or we put them in the wrong order. So like, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting the approval of those around you, a parent, a teacher, a boss, but certainly we can all imagine when that becomes an over desire and idolatry or money, or money, it is not wrong to desire money. I desire money because I would love to be able to feed and shelter my family. But we all know what it looks like to over desire money when it becomes sin. So as Christians, this conflict rages within us, these contrary desires, what the flesh desires and what God would have us desire. You know what this is like in your own life. You get home after a long day, you see that there’s a work to be done. The kids need attention, and you think, I desire to plop down on the couch and take care of myself. Or you, you know, going over to a friend’s house or something like that, and you realize they just got their floors done, all new furniture, paint, all that kind of stuff, and you’re thinking, I desire what they have. My house doesn’t look like this. I wish it did. And so envy starts to creep up inside of you, or ministry, or you’re like, This is a good thing again. I desire to serve, but I also know at the same time that I desire the admiration that ministry wins for me makes me feel good about myself. Those aren’t hypothetical examples. I felt that conflict within me, all three of those at different points this week, pretty much every week, like that’s the battle raging within us. We’ve got these twin motivating forces in our lives. It’s like our hearts are compasses that point to north and south at the same time, the needle is just going like this. Now how it feels sometimes as a Christian and so the spirit and the flesh are each trying to sabotage each other’s efforts to win the battle. It’s a little disheartening. You may be at this point in the sermon going is that it? This is the Christian life until glory, one of just continuous defeat. If left to ourselves, the answer would be, yeah, yeah, exactly right. But we’re not left to ourselves, because we have the spirit we live in a war zone, but we have an almighty platoon leader, so we need to follow his lead. We are not under the law, which is cursed and ineffective, like somebody tossing you louts, The Art of War while you’re in the middle, you know, Taking heavy fire or something, not helpful there, not the time for it. That’s the law for us. We don’t need the law, though. We’re not under law because we’re under the spirit, and he’s the one who teaches us how to live. He’s the one who saves and empowers us to change which is where we go next. We got these, you know, two platoon leaders. Basically, it’s very obvious which one we’re under. And so that’s that second point the proof. Let me read verses 19 to 23 for us, the acts of the flesh are obvious, sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy, drunkenness, orgies and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control against such things. There is no law. It’s not hard to tell whom you’re following when they’re telling you to go in opposite directions. So you’re there in the conflict, let’s say and you got your platoon leader saying, advance, push forward, take enemy territory. And then you got some other guy going, retreat, run away, flee for your lives. Which way do you start running? That’s the one you’re following. In that moment, it’s obvious which one you’re following. It’s obvious here. Also, like living under the reign of the flesh is obvious. You need only look at the evidence of your life. Paul gives us a list of the acts of the flesh here. They’re in four big groups. Pay attention to the semicolons in the NIV, at least, and know what the four groups are. The first group, the first three, there are sexual sins, basically synonyms, really kind of just saying, Yeah, any sort of sexual sin that’s an act of the flesh. The next two are spiritual sins, following the wrong gods in the wrong ways. And then by far, the largest group is social sins the largest because, again, that’s the conflict that’s there. In Galatia, the most obvious sin that they’re experiencing. We’re in Corinth, we’d get a lot more of the sexual sins and stuff. But in Galatia, it’s the social sins. It’s how they’re treating each other, even within the church. And then you get these personal sins, those last two, which is really a lack of self control, it’s drunkenness and then orgy is not what we think today, but these were Greco Roman drinking parties. So basically, the first century equivalent of a frat party is what’s being talked about here. Paul gives us this warning, these obvious acts of the flesh. And there’s this warning those who live like this will not inherit God’s kingdom. That word live is so important, because what we’re talking about is not an isolated lapse, but a habitual practice. That’s important to keep in mind, because I don’t want to do two things. First of all, I don’t want to crush hope. Here, some of you are struggling with sin. Some of the sins on this list, you can look back maybe even this week and go, I didn’t do so well here, reminded of the words spoken of Jesus that A bruised reed, he will not break in a smoldering wick, he will not snuff out. I don’t want to do that either. Even as Christians, we stumble because there’s this conflict within us, because the compass is pointing in both directions, and we have learned in five chapters now there is grace when you stumble. There is more grace in Christ than there is sin in you. You don’t have to put yourself in the dog house, as we talked about last week. I don’t want to crush hope at the same time, I don’t want to give false hope to those who are perishing eternally. And that might be some of you also. Again, freedom from the law is not freedom to sin. So people who think that, Paul says, People who live that way, prove that they are not saved. They are not trusting Jesus, following Jesus. And so it gets a little tricky when you struggle with sin, where you’re going at which 1am I like, how do I know the answer to that question is another question, what are you doing? About it? Is there fight in you? Are you taking the steps you can take, especially in your moments of strength, like even now take some of those steps. There is such a difference between a lapse in the face of temptation and a settled habit, and that’s what we’re talking about. You struggle with lust. You got somebody good looking and not wearing enough clothes walking by, and your mind goes there. Okay, I get that. You struggle with pornography. Okay, I met a lot of people like that. I’ve done that one myself for decades. I know what that looks like. What are you doing about it? You can struggle with pornography. Did you install accountability software on your computer? And if you’re going, Well, no, because I don’t really want to give that up. Okay, that’s a question. That’s when I’d go, Well, you might not be a Christian, whereas you got it and you’ve stumbled, and you’re calling your brothers and going, I can’t believe I did it again. And they’re going, let’s talk about grace, bro, that’s a different experience. You snap at your kids when you said you weren’t going to do it again. Kids are like, I love family. Worship Sunday. He’s yelling at my parents. Finally, how about this one juice asked your parents when you said you weren’t going to do that again. Okay, we’ve all done that. We’ve all done that. Have you ever apologize? Like, have you ever sat them down and said this is wrong? Like, that would be a step. That would be something you’d be doing to poison sin at the root. That’s the difference that we’re talking about here. What do you need to do, even now, take steps to put sin to death. The proof of the flesh is influence. Is obvious, but equally obvious is the Spirit’s influence, the fruit that he produces in his people. Tim Keller points out in his comments here in Galatians that that single word fruit, which of course, takes our minds immediately to the agricultural world, teaches four really important truths about growth in grace and godliness. First, it reminds us that our growth in godliness will be gradual, which is encouraging in light of everything we just said, it’s just it’s just slower than we would want. You cannot see a tree growing, but it is. And you watch that same tree across the decades, and you’ll notice it. You might look out and go, you know, I remember when they planted that tree in our Parkway, and I could get my hand around it almost. And now I can’t get my arms around it like it was growing. I’ve never noticed it grow before. That’s you. You might not have grown since yesterday. How are you doing compared to five years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago? Are you able to look back and go, You know what? Now that I think about it, I never thought that I would be so patient, kind, bold in the proclamation of the gospel. I mean, on the flip side, of course, if you’re looking back 1020, 30 years going, No, I’m the same way, that’s a time for questions. Again, growth and Grace will be gradual, but it will be inevitable also. Growth and Grace will be inevitable if you are saved. If God has saved you, he will produce his fruit in you. And again, the agricultural world teaches us this, because there are these incredible things. You probably have seen some of them where you got concrete slabs that have a giant crack in them because a plant has come up in the middle. And you’re thinking, if I had to bet between a tender shoot and concrete, I’m choosing concrete and the shoot wins. You see trees that are like grown on boulders. Eventually the boulder splits. That’s a picture of your stony heart under the influence of grace. God wins every time in the life of his people. Third, the growth will be internal, like it starts down here. Stapling apples to a tree does not make it healthy, and that’s what happens when we focus on behavior like that’s keeping the law right there. It’s just stapling apples to the tree going, I don’t know why they got rotten again. What more do you want from me? Lord, the Lord’s going fix the roots. That’s what we need right there. If you are being nourished by gospel roots, you will see real life. It will lead to the fruit, but it will be because of internal change forth, and this is maybe the most interesting one. Growth in grace will be symmetrical. Paul says it’s the fruit. Fruit of the Spirit, not the fruits of the Spirit. That’s significant. There’s one fruit, not nine. And I say this is significant because all of us are going to be strong by our nature, by our temperament, by our personality, in some of these more than others, like some of you are just born nice. That is not the fruit of kindness in your life. That’s just your personality. Some of you are disciplined. You don’t need to be a Christian to be disciplined, though that’s not the fruit of self control. So the way you check is our all nine growing if you’re like, Well, you know, spirit’s doing a good work in me over here, in my faithfulness, I’m still bad. There’s no goodness in my life at all. Again, it’s the time to ask questions. Growth will be symmetrical. You see this a little bit in first John four, verse 20, this is talking about something else, not the fruit of the Spirit. But John makes a similar point. He says, Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar, because that would be one of those symmetrical sorts of things. So if you’re saying, I love God, and this isn’t growing, John doesn’t say we are out of balance. John says you’re wrong. You’re a liar. You can’t separate the two. We can’t separate the nine. You start to see also then why? Scripture emphasizes repeatedly that the mark of the Spirit’s influence in your life is your character and not your gifts. That’s important. The measure of maturity is the proof of salvation. Because you got people who are really good speakers, who do not know Jesus, and if I were to give them Christian talking points, they would pray. Points, they would preach the roof down here and there, and come to Jesus at the end of time and say, Lord, Lord, did I not preach the roof down? Didn’t I do all these things in your name? And Jesus will say, Depart from me. I never knew you. It’s not the gifts, but the character that is the proof of the Spirit’s work in your life, but the fruit is there. If you are God’s you will, over time, gradually, symmetrically, inevitably, all of these things love God and others as God loved you, the spirit will produce unflappable joy and peace, which is really a confidence in God’s purposes in all circumstances, you’ll be long suffering in circumstances and with others. In the same way that God’s long suffering with you for bearing with you, you will grow in service, which is what kindness is getting at, always doing what’s right. That’s the life of integrity. Is what goodness is getting at. Courageously loyal. That’s faithfulness, humble and meek, using strength in the right application and self controlled. Basically, you’re just gonna look more like Jesus. That’s all he’s saying here, you’re gonna look more like Jesus every day, and the law can’t produce any of that in you. The Spirit of Christ can and will and does if you belong to Christ, two things you got to think as we leave this section, number one, look at the evidence of your life, what’s obvious in your life. And then number two, move from accounting to action. It’s not enough to take stock do something about it. So how do we win the victory that has already been won for us in Christ? That’s the third section. Then the principle. Let me finish up chapter not quite finish up chapter five, verses, 24 and 25 for us, those who belong to Christ, Jesus, have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. This is what needs to happen. This is the how. This is the choice we need to make if we’re going to overcome sin by grace and in the spirit. Now if you’ve been tracking with us in Galatians, you think this verse sounds a little familiar, verse 24 because way back in chapter two, verse 20, Paul said, I have been crucified with Christ. There’s actually a key difference in these two passages. In 220 it was a passive experience. You can tell that because it’s written in the passive tense, grammar matters, okay? They don’t teach it in school anymore. Bums me out, partly because I’m English major, but partly because partly because we have to know God’s word, which means we got to pay attention to things like that. It’s in the passive tense. I have been crucified, which means somebody else crucified me. Of course, it had to be a passive experience, because it happened while I was dead in transgressions and sins and Dead people don’t act so God did this. God plucked us from death, united us with Christ, crucified us with Christ. We were buried with him in death, death to our sins, and then raised to new life in him. He had nothing to do with any of that. That’s a passive. Experience. That’s what God did. So here, this is more than just a restatement then, because now it’s in the active tense. We have crucified the flesh. We put sin to death, as Paul says in Romans eight. Now Paul is certainly borrowing from the imagery of Christ’s death, crucified as he was. But he’s also borrowing from Jesus’s teaching, because Jesus said, Mark 834, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Me, which following Jesus looks like getting nailed to a cross, because that’s what he did. Now he borrows this imagery and this teaching here because it’s such an apt metaphor for what needs to happen in our spiritual lives. So just like that word fruit taught four truths for us. John Stott draws out four implications for our battle against sin from this text. First, overcoming the flesh should be ruthless. The Romans reserved crucifixion as a means of execution for the very worst criminals. That’s how we’re supposed to treat sin. I don’t know that we have that seriousness always like, imagine you’re staring out your kitchen window, kids playing in the backyard. It’s fenced it’s fine, all that kind of stuff. You’re three or four year olds out there playing around, and you notice there’s a dog in the backyard, and it’s a fluffy dog with its tongue hanging out, just smiling the whole time. And you think to yourself, that’s weird. I should probably do something about that, but you’re not that worried. I think that’s how most of us think of sin. But picture that same scenario, except your four year old’s out there and there’s a rabid coyote in your backyard. What does your response look like now, Mama Bear, you’re packing it’s coming out, and if not, you’re getting a shovel like you are going to go to war against that thing to protect your child. Do you care that much about your soul and parents? Do you care that much about the souls of your children? How many of you are like I’ll tell you what it’s your 14th birthday. Here’s a rabid Coyote. Why don’t you keep in your back pocket you can play with it while you’re at school. Do we take sin seriously or not, are we ruthless? Jesus said, If you’re at right hand causing you to stumble, cut it off. Don’t pet it and say, Oh, what a good boy. Declare war on sin. Even today, I give you permission right now if you need to to take the rabid coyote out of your pocket, which I don’t normally give and text somebody if you need to do one. Are you in a relationship that you know is wrong and that is drawing you away from Christ? Ended in this moment, you’re falling into sexual temptation. You’re dating a non believer because you think that’s going to give you happiness instead of Christ. Be done with it. You got a money problem. You know what Jesus said to somebody who had a money problem? Sell everything you have because he said, You love money so much if you don’t let go of it, you’re going to take it with you into hell. And the person said, I’ll get back to you. And walked away from Jesus, maybe you need to quit your job, because you know it’s destroying your soul. Now, how many of you are thinking like, Do you know what you’re asking of me? Yeah, I know what you’re asking of you, because overcoming flesh should be ruthless. But second, it will be painful. Painful. Crucifixion was not meant to kill people. It was meant to torture people on their way to death. So that is the hard reminder that saying no to sin will hurt in very real ways. You will feel it when you cut your hand off and pluck your eye out. It will be should be ruthless. Will be painful. It will be slow. Dying by crucifixion took a long time. It could take days for someone to die by crucifixion. This is not lethal injection. Painless and quick was the opposite. It’s going to be slow, and that’s why the conflict rages within us, because you get these death spasms of the old self. That’s what sin is. But the decisive blow was dealt on the cross was appropriated at conversion. But should be no shock that the flesh rears its ugly head. It will be slow, but still fourth, it should be decisive. Decisive. Crucified criminals died without exception. They were going to die if they were left there. The only reason they posted guards was to make sure that nobody got them off the cross, because it was slow and. We need to post those guards as we try to crucify sin in our lives. That’s what Christian community is. So prayer is that’s what the Word of God is, guards. I mean, I just think sometimes we’re struggling with sin because we’re keeping sin alive. I mean, how many of us are heading back to the hill where we crucified our sin to offer a little water and some food, quick blood transfusion, hold the legs up so they can breathe easy for a little bit. You’re going, I can’t figure out why my sin isn’t dead yet, because you’re feeding it, because you’re keeping it alive. You’re struggling with discontent in your life, and you’re flipping through shopping catalogs, you’re on Zillow, looking at the houses around you that are for sale, going see their place is better than mine. Lord, I can’t figure out why I’m struggling with discontent because you just gave it water. You just gave it food. That’s why I’m trying to crucify lust in my life. So I don’t watch porn. I just watch steamy movies, and I can’t figure out why I’m being tempted back to porn. I just want the approval of everyone around me, because that’s where I get my sense of self worth. So I post on social media twice a day, every day and check every five minutes to see if I got any likes. Can’t figure out when my sin isn’t dead yet. It’s painful and slow, but it should be decisive and ruthless. Now how Paul tells us how we crucify not just our actions, but the passions and desires beneath those actions that as we crucify the motivation for sin as well. So what we do in the Gospel waltz, if you’re in Journey group, you know what this looks like, we repent of the sinful behavior, yes, but then we go say, what’s the sin beneath the sin? Like, what’s the root of this sin? What’s the desire that it’s springing from? We looked at lying already where that would come from. You’re in a bad relationship, a relationship you know you shouldn’t be in. What’s the desire? Almost certainly it’s love. I just want to get that deep need met. And I think this person will do that for me. You want to plop down on the couch when you get home from work instead of serve your spouse or your kids. Why? It’s just comfort. I just want to take care of me so you repent of the sin beneath to send them with then we apply the gospel to it. We see how Jesus offers more and better. You don’t need to be in a bad relationship to get love, because God loves you perfectly and infinitely already. You don’t need to be lazy wait for somebody to serve you, because guess what? The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve to give his life as a ransom money, he’s met your needs already. Then we obey. We don’t do it in our own strength. There’d be no hope there. Rather, we keep in step with the Spirit. What Paul says here again, this is not passive submission, to not let go and let God know. This is trust God and get going. It’s active, tense. We live by the Spirit. We keep in step with the Spirit. There’s purposeful action. Now, keeping in step with him. That’s a military metaphor. Makes sense. We’re in a war. So you keep in step in formation as you go on attack. If you don’t like the military metaphor, picture a marching band. I find that’s really helpful. You gotta keep in step with the people around you. Can’t spell Ohio in cursive if you’re not paying attention to the people around you, because you’re just constantly going like this, okay, where am I supposed to be now so that I’m still even that’s us with the Spirit. That’s also our big idea today. This is it. I’m borrowing from Johnny Cash. Okay, walk the line. Walk the Line. Just do better than Johnny Cash, though, that’s all I’m asking. Do better than Johnny Cash, because Johnny Cash saying I walk the line like I’m gonna do this my own strength. I’m gonna be faithful, my wife on my own, and it didn’t work for him. He got divorced. Did find Jesus eventually. We do better than cash, though, because we’re not going to walk the line. We’re going to walk in line with the spirit who empowers us to keep walking in line with him where he goes. He go where he stops. We stop when he starts running. We flee temptation when he nudges us into a conversation or toward a person or whatever. We obey the prompting and see again why we don’t need the law, because we’ve got the Spirit telling us what to do always. I know the question you’re asking. It’s the question I ask every day too, okay, but how do we do that, like, how do we strive actively to keep in step with the Spirit? And it’s tricky, and the answer is not going to be unfamiliar to you. It’s just something we’re always working on by faith. Well, certainly we do it by the word of God. We immerse ourselves in the Word of God. We want to know what the Spirit’s saying to us. We listen to what the Spirit says to us. The only way we can be 100% sure it’s God’s word to us is if it’s right here in the. His Word. So we pay attention to his word, we get under its influence, and then we pray. We pray apart from Jesus. We can do nothing. We want to draw strength from the vine to whom we are connected, His Spirit within us. So we cry out daily for help. Jesus taught us to do that lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. And what’s that prayer except help me to walk in line with your spirit today, Lord, so that if you start walking into temptation, you’re going, oh, there’s no way the Spirit led me here. Let me get back in step with him. Walk the Line, walk in step with the Spirit, so much so that everyone who knows you knows where you’re from. The acts of the flesh are obvious, but so is the gospel nourished fruit of the Spirit. Let’s ask God to produce it in us. Now, Lord, we pray that you would not just save us from the penalty of sin, but that you would transform us so that we are no longer under the power of sin, so that the presence of sin in our lives diminishes day by day, year by year, as your Spirit changes us from the inside out, Help us, Lord, to keep in step with your spirit, to go where he goes, to listen, to be sensitive to his leading that we might please and glorify You we ask in Christ’s name. Amen.

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The Only Thing That Counts March 8, 2026 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper’s sermon on Galatians 5:1-12 emphasizes the importance of clinging to grace, committing to love, and completing the race in Christ. He warns against legalism and the internal and external pressures to return to self-salvation. Cooper highlights that true freedom comes from Christ’s sacrifice, not from adhering to external rules or works. He stresses that faith expresses itself through love, and that true transformation comes from understanding and experiencing God’s love. Cooper urges believers to resist false teachings and to persevere in their faith, trusting in God’s promises for their salvation.

Well, good morning church. You can go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Galatians. Chapter Five. We’re in Galatians five this morning, first 12 verses at least as you’re turning to Galatians five, a pastor and author Sam Albury tells a story of when he returned to his high school, where he grown up in England, and was asked to speak in an assembly about what he was doing at that point. So he’s there, and, you know, he says he’s walking the same hallways, he’s sitting in the same assembly hall and stuff. And he says that, you know, it felt like I was 15 again, and it really did, because at one point, the headmaster at the school yelled, stand up or sit up straight. And immediately Sam was like, okay, like, I’m sorry, you know, kind of thing. Realized the headmaster was not speaking to him as a 35 year old or whatever, but the kid next to him. But it’s interesting just how quickly we fall back into those patterns. Like it took him a moment to realize, Wait, like, I’m not under this guy’s authority anymore. He’s not my headmaster any longer. I don’t have to do what he says. Make it be tough to live in new freedom that we haven’t experienced, which I think is why churches and Christians can become so legalistic so quickly. By legalistic, I mean making good stuff, essential stuff, ultimate, necessary stuff, making gray issues black and white issues. And so you find you may have met, you may have been at some point in your life, hopefully not now, people who are as passionate about the music style up front or the website graphics or the carpet color in the fellowship hall, certainly not the NPR the fellowship hall, as you’ve ever been about Jesus. And it’s irksome to be around people like that. It irks us. It should irk us like we can feel that something is amiss in those moments. We’re making too much out of too little, and that’s the point Paul makes in our passage this morning. He says, really, only one thing counts, but we’re in danger of losing that one thing always because of what’s really nothing at all. So I want to give you the big idea up front. We’ll kind of keep in our heads as we go through this passage, and then we’ll we’ll look at what it means as we go. The big idea is, make Christ count. Make Christ count. And how do we do that? We’re gonna get these three ways that your outline this morning. There are three ways that we do it. So we’re gonna make Christ count, first of all, by clinging to grace. Clinging to grace. So Galatians five, one to four, our first point. Cling to grace. Paul writes this, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Mark my words. I Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again, I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law, have been alienated from Christ. You have fallen away from grace. I love the opening sentence here. This would fall in the category of things that shouldn’t have to be said for 200 Alex, like it is for freedom that Christ, that you Christ, set you free so that you would be free. Everyone tracking with the argument so far or not complicated now, what freedom are we talking about here? We’re talking about freedom from self salvation everything that we’ve looked at in the last few weeks, freedom from having to prove yourself, to earn it before God, which, of course, you can’t do anyway. And you think this is such blessed freedom. Why would we go back? Well, there are these internal and external pressures to return to slavery so that we can hear the headmaster shouting, and we all start sitting up straight again just like that. Now there’s an internal pressure, especially it’s psychological really, we feel like we need to earn it. Grace is too good. The good news is too good for us to believe. It’s unbelievable. Always feel like we need to do something. I was having a conversation with one of our missionaries, and so somebody serving, you know, a continent away from here, having this exact same conversation with somebody in their life this week, going, I’ve been sharing the gospel with so and so, and he just feels like, no, like, That can’t be right. I’m gonna I’m gonna take care of this. I’ll earn it. And it was the idea that we saw when we talked about the evening the prodigal son last week. You know you’re coming back and you’re going I messed up so badly. So of course, I can’t be welcomed as a child again. I get that. Dad just make me one of your hired hands. And that’s the internal psychological pressure that we feel as well. That’s why Paul. Tells us to stand firm. Stand firm in the freedom of the gospel. We got these hurricane force winds of pressure trying to blow us off track. You got to plant your feet in the Gospel. Stand firm so you do not lose it. And Tim Keller, in his commentary on Galatians, he compares it to political freedom, which, if you know anything about the history of the world, especially in the last 100 years or so, you know that there are these countries that moved towards freedom and democracy, but if the population isn’t vigilant and responsible, there’s this slow drift back into authoritarianism. And Paul saying, if we are not vigilant, we’ll revert to this old authority that we used to have as well, to relying on ourselves, to relying on law keeping and so we will be burdened again by slavery’s yoke. If you know anything about the words of Jesus, you know how awful that sounds. What did he say? He said, Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. My yoke is easy. My burden is light. The yoke that’s the bar that connects two oxen together when they’re pulling a cart and Jesus is basically saying, look, take my yoke. I’m going to carry it, or you just need to, like, stand next to me in it, but I’m doing all the heavy lifting here. The yoke he takes is the cross, of course, that’s a bar he’s got on his back. And then we’re saying, no, no, no, no, no. That doesn’t feel right, like I’ll just carry the thing myself. That’s how foolish we are, this crushing weight that we take on. Why? Because it’s in our nature. Again, if you know anything about history, you know that when the slaves were freed in this freed in this country, for a long time afterwards, there was this like, well, I better do what they tell me still, like, almost couldn’t live in that freedom. That’s how we feel as well. That’s why even amoral, immoral atheists, when they get religion, can become scrupulous moral conservatives putting themselves under that slave, same slavery, the basic principle of the world that we looked at last week, right? You need to earn it. You need to do something. So maybe somebody used to prove themselves worthy, significant by sexual conquest and salary. Then they get religion, and so they go, Oh, I don’t have to do that anymore. Instead, I’m going to prove myself by tithing and cutting out R rated movies and alcohol. It’s that same slavery I just I need to do. I need to show you that I’ve earned it. We get to verse two. And verse two is the kind of verse that an editor would have issues with, because Paul says, mark my words. I Paul tell you that. And none of that’s really necessary. He could have just said, if you let yourselves be circumcised, but he says all this, he’s he’s trying to marshal his whole weight as an authority, as an apostle. So this is moment where he’s going listen, pay attention to what I’m saying. So what is this issue that’s so important that he’s going pay attention when I say this? It’s circumcision, which we haven’t talked about in a long time. We haven’t hit circumcision in this letter since chapter two, verses three to five. And even then, it was this little aside, almost, about how Titus wasn’t compelled to be circumcised because he was a Gentile and not a Jew. And yet circumcision, we’re beginning to sense, is the issue that’s been driving all of this this whole time. So it’s been lurking in the background of the Letter to the Galatians the whole time, like, like Boo Radley and To Kill a Mockingbird. You know, you don’t see him for a while, but his presence is just like over the story. That’s what circumcision is in Galatians. Now it’s a real issue too. I could make the case for circumcision that Paul’s opponents here would be making. If you go back and read Genesis 17, we’re not going to it’s pretty clear, if you want to be a part of Abraham’s covenant, then you, if you’re male, at least, must be circumcised. And this is an eternal covenant. So it’s this really convincing argument, except that we know that the covenant with Abraham finds its fulfillment is all covenants, all promises do in Christ, Jesus. And so the reason why Paul hasn’t gotten to circumcision earlier is because he needed all of chapters three and four to make the salvation history argument. Like let me show you how Abraham Moses, they all culminate in Christ. So his opponents at this moment are telling the Galatians, is the way John Stott put it, Moses must be allowed to finish what Christ began. Does that sound wrong to you as a Christian like No, you said that backwards. Christ finishes what Moses began. But they’re saying no. No, no, no. Moses has to finish what Christ began to which Paul screams, absolutely not. If you submit to circumcision, we’re not talking about whether or not you’re circumcised. That’s not the issue. But if you submit, that’s a key word to circumcision, in order to keep the law and justify yourself before God. Prove yourself before God. You cut yourself off from Christ, His life, death, resurrection can have no value for you any longer, no benefit to you. Christ would count for nothing because you’re basically saying, I need to do this for myself. I need to earn this. And so you put yourself back in slavery to law reliance. And that reminds us what we learned in Galatians three. If you put yourself under the law, you also put yourself under the curse of the law, because if you’re going to keep the law, you have to keep the whole law, which no one can do, especially inwardly. And so you’re bringing condemnation on yourself instead of embracing the help, the salvation that is freely offered. It’s like you’re, you know, touring in some national park, and you take a stumble, and you go off the edge of a cliff, and you’re there, you’re clinging to, you know, a little branch that’s sticking out, and you’re realizing the roots are started coming out of the cliff, like you’re going down at this point. And for reasons that I can’t explain, it’s also covered in oil, which means you’re not getting much of a grip on it. And also, you haven’t been able to do a pull up in 35 years. And then there’s Jesus right next to you. He’s an expert climber, and he’s hooked into everything. He’s got all the cables. He’s going, why don’t I just clip the carabiner on you, like you’re gonna be good, and we’re going, No, thanks. I got this as you’re losing your grip on the tree that’s getting pulled out anyway, so you bring condemnation on yourself instead of embracing help. And the problem is, it’s one or the other, like you actually have to choose in that moment, I’m going to do this on my own. I’m going to accept the help that’s offered. If you rely on the law, you are no longer in the realm of grace. You cannot do salvation by grace alone, plus works. That doesn’t make sense. So if you’re trying to earn it, you can’t receive it. And Paul says, then you have fallen away from grace, which sounds every bit as bad as it is, this is a real warning to people. It’s a warning to the sorts of people who show up to church every week. This is not a warning for the world. This is a warning for us. If you are here to prove yourself and not to magnify Christ and His salvation. Now, Scripture is quite clear. We’ll look at some of these promises later in the sermon. Even scripture is quite clear that those whom God saves, he saves to the end. He will get you there. It’s the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. It’s really important, right? He gives us His Spirit. We’ll look at this next week. In fact, He gives us His Spirit, and it’s the spirit who ensures that we persevere to the end in Christ. So what’s the point of the warning? Well, there are two things to think about. First of all, we all know that we can think God saved us and even look like it for a little bit, when in fact, it’s not true. Even Jesus shared a parable of four soils. You get the seed of the gospel. It’s tossed on the beaten path, and the birds just come and eat it. Okay? That person never looked like they were Christian. You get the seed that falls on good soil, and it produces this harvest across the ages. Okay? That person’s a Christian. You get these other two soils. Falls in, rocky soil falls in, weedy soil comes up for a little bit, little shoots, and then the sun scorches it, or the weeds choke it out. And you go, okay, that person was never actually a Christian. So it shows us that we never really trusted in grace. So it’s a warning for us to examine ourselves. Are we actually clinging to grace, or do we think that we’ve earned this? But then also the warning itself is part of how God helps us persevere. That’s how warnings work. Tom Schreiner shares the story of some friends over from out of town, and they had parked their van on the street, but kind of at the end of the driveway. You know what happens when people park at the end of your driveway, right you’re backing out, and you just forget and you just forget that. I got to look this time. And he even said it. He said, All right, I’m going to forget that it’s there. I’m a back into my friend’s car at some point. Sure enough, he’s back, and he’s talking to people whatnot, and his son screams, Dad, look out. He remembered so he didn’t hit the car. That’s the warning. That’s the warning. Look. Out. So Paul’s yelling at us right now. Will you look behind you and see what you’re about to hit on? What do you rely I get it. We all want to think that we can do it ourselves, that we can prove ourselves. No one wants to hear you’re not good enough. But there are there are two options, and two options only cut yourself off from Christ or cling to grace. So let’s make Christ count, show his value, the value of his life and death and resurrection, and cling to grace. Second, let’s make Christ count by committing to love. Let me keep reading verses five and six. For through the Spirit, we eagerly await by faith, the righteousness for which we hope for in Christ. Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. I love the shift here. Paul’s optimistic, he’s charitable. We just dealt with some hypothetical you that’s trying to save yourself. But then it gives way here, in this moment, to we like Paul saying, I know this is true of us here by faith, clinging to grace, not relying on ourselves by faith and in the spirit. Who is that deposit the proof of our inheritance? We’re waiting in hope, waiting in hope for righteousness, which is an interesting phrase, waiting in hope for righteousness. We’ve got to say a couple things about it. First of all, we have to remember that in biblical thought, hope is different than how we use it in the English language. For us, hope is a wish. Arsenal is seven points clear with eight matches to go, I hope Arsenal wins the title. I am not confident yet. I’ve been hurt too many times. You guys are Cubs fans. You know what that’s like, right? Even worse, some of you are White Sox fans. So you really know what that’s like. That’s not the hope we’re talking about here in biblical thought, hope is a guarantee what you’re hoping for. You know it’s coming. It’s a question of when, not if. Second thing to say, though, is Okay, wait. I thought we already were righteous. How are we waiting for righteousness? In hope? We looked at this in chapter three. We quoted Genesis. At that point, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, right standing before God by faith. We’ve got that faith. So why are we hoping for what we already have? We’re already righteous in Christ. Nobody hopes for what they already have. You’re not there at the beach for six hours swimming and playing, going. I hope it’s a nice day today. You already have the nice day. So you’re not hoping for it. What is Paul talking about? Well, Paul’s talking about the final day. So the hope here is that, and then this hope that we have with assurance, is that when we stand before the judgment seat on the last day, when that gavel pounds, we will hear righteous in Christ, if you’re clinging to grace, by the way, that’s your hope. And just think for a moment how sweet it will be to rest in that blessed assurance. Paul even draws out the sweetness you get two implications to this truth in verse six, this rich, deep truth. So he says, neither circumcision or uncircumcision counts for anything. They don’t have any value. That’s not what matters. It’s not the external, the outward that matters. Why don’t they count for anything? Well, first, they don’t count toward your relationship with God. That’s the most important one. They don’t count toward your relationship with God. They don’t count toward that intimacy that we can have with the Father. They don’t count toward our adoption as His children. The whole basis of our relationship with God is Jesus and nothing else. It’s Jesus Christ, He did what we were supposed to do, live the perfect life we were supposed to live, keeping the law perfectly inwardly and outwardly. And then he died under the curse that we were supposed to die under. And so he took our punishment, and we get his reward by grace through faith, which means your good performance doesn’t make you any more right with God, but your bad performance doesn’t make you any more lost or hopeless. Thank God. It brings such peace. I mean, with every other relationship that you have. Life, when you mess up, you go in the dog house. Some of you in the dog house right now, I can feel it. You’re driving to church today, going, I’m in trouble, and I don’t know how to make this right. It’s going to happen eventually, not with God, not with God. We sometimes go sleep in the dog house, and your father is going, I’m here. Your forgiveness is already won. Just come. We don’t need to do that. You don’t need to two days of penance before you’re welcomed back in my presence, not with God, because Christ’s death counts all the dog house stuff he already took so you get welcomed as His child. So they don’t count circumcision, uncircumcision, any works, they don’t count for your relationship with God. Second, the works don’t count. They’ve got no value for true transformation. In fact, your works done in the wrong spirit will actually make you worse. Think about that for a moment, your self improvement project is making you a worse person. Because if you are depending on your works of any sort, again, these could be religious works. These could also be really irreligious works, like the secular approach to salvation, if you depend on works for your sense of worth and significance, you will grow more selfish and insecure if you need that promotion to feel good about yourself and you’re vying with other colleagues for it. Do you think that’s going to make you a nicer person toward them, especially internally or, like, put your back self back in your high school context. You want to be part of the popular crowd, because that’s how you know that you’re you made it. What does that require of you? You have to cut down others. You have to criticize clothes and looks and all the rest. Selfishness and insecurity is not a recipe for true love. It’s like all the guys in the Jane Austen novels, Wickham Willoughby, guys like this come to mind. They’re running out of money, or they never had any money to begin with, and so all they want to do is marry a woman with a big dowry comes with a lot of cash. Do you think she’s going to feel loved in that marriage? If we’re keeping laws for our own salvation, it means we’re using God. We don’t want him, we just want the reward that he gives. But after the hope of the gospel, we know that we already have the reward, and so we understand how much we’ve been loved at what cost we were loved, and that love fills us up to overflowing, so we overflow with love toward others. Jesus didn’t die for you because of what you could bring him. You have, if I can quote Galatians here a little bit, no value to him. In that sense, spiritually speaking, you have no dowry. You are not bringing anything to the table except debt, the debt that Christ took on, and yet he loved us, and he loved us for our sakes. Love like that changes us, frees us to love God and to love others for their sakes too. So faith expresses itself in love. We’re going to hit this a lot more next week, but that also means this faith expressing itself in love. Is this guardrail against licentiousness, the guardrail against thinking, well, if my works don’t matter, then I can do whatever I want. No, we do love, and that constrains us, because faith will express itself in love. So we are saved, yes, by grace, alone, through faith alone, but the faith that truly saves won’t remain alone, because our hearts are changed by God’s love, and if your heart is changed, your behavior will change as well. We don’t need the law to keep us in check, because we’ve got love to direct our steps, your works, moral or not count for nothing, but faith in love does so make Christ count. Commit to love. Third, make Christ count by completing the race. Let’s finish up our passage. Verses seven to 12. You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth. That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough. I’m confident in the Lord that you will take no other of you the one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty, brothers and sisters, if I’m still preaching circumcision. 10, why am I still being persecuted? In that case, the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves. So here in verse seven, we get the shift from that internal pressure to return to slavery to the external pressure to return to slavery, Paul now tackles the influence of the opponents there in Galatia. Like Paul knows this wouldn’t have happened to the Galatian church if they didn’t have help to get thrown off course. They were running a good race, and now they’ve stumbled, clearly a track and field analogy, but we just did the Winter Olympics. You know what I picture here, speed skating. You watch speed skating, it’s an insane sport. They’re going, you know, 180 miles an hour with razor blades on their feet, and they keep smacking into each other because they’re supposed to change lanes periodically. And so I actually watched, I’d watch very little Winter Olympics, apologies, but did. And the one time I saw it, sure enough, they came like this, and the one got in front of the other person, and they slipped, and they go flying. Thank goodness the pads are made out of like cotton candy, or else they’d be dead in an instant. They hit the them so hard, but they so that’s what Paul saying. Like you were, you were doing fine. You had a good race going, and then all of a sudden, somebody smacked into you. I said, No, you don’t get to change lanes. You go back in the Moses needs to finish what Christ began lane. So that’s what’s happened here. It’s only because of the false teachers that they’re contemplating circumcision. So what to do about that? They get these rapid fire responses in verses eight to 10. They’re almost it’s tough to see the argument even, because it just feels like one off lines. So let’s look at them one at a time. So verse eight, first of all, Paul says, Keep in mind that this isn’t coming from the one who called you, because how could it be coming from the one who called you? And think back even you, those of you who are in Christ, been saved by grace. Did God call you because you earned it? I think back to what I was like when God plucked me from death and brought me to new life. It was not because I had my act together. Quite the opposite. I was a very foolish teenager at the time. It’s not because you earned it. It’s not because your life is in order, it’s only because he set his affection on you and called you by grace. Great encouragement to us in this room, especially those of you who may not believe again. I talked to somebody just this week who said I’m not good enough to get to heaven. Yeah, that is absolutely correct. You are not good enough. You don’t have to be good enough. He saves us when we are not good enough. That was our call. So if that’s how God called you, by grace alone, then his message now can’t be you. Better get your act together. This is why, also, we test everything by Scripture. Think that’s what Paul is saying, like, let’s go back and see what does the word of God say. We can know the one who called us and know what he was thinking when he called us, so we test everything by Scripture. It’s why I, personally, I get really nervous when people come at me with God told me, unless they’re about to quote chapter and verse, everything else, I go, what’s a little more humility here? Because whatever you say, I’m going to test it by this anyway. So let’s just start with the word of God. It’s so dangerous, and that’s why, in verse nine, he says, this needs to be cut out. You need to cut out these wicked, pernicious influences in your life. Declare war on heresy. It’s like buckthorn growing in your backyard. You don’t trim it so that it matches your nice lilac hedge, like you hack it to the ground, dig it out and then poison the roots. Paul’s saying, that’s what you do with heresy also. So take stock of your influences. I mean, right now, in this moment, take stock. What are the voices that you’re listening to? What are they saying? Does it sound like the one who called you or not, and if not, cut it out. Stop listening to it. Don’t watch that. Don’t read that any longer. Who’s pulling you away from God’s gospel? Be done with him. And then, as long as we’re taking stock, look at verse 10. Look at the second half of verse 10. First through, are you throwing others into confusion? We don’t need to worry just about what people are saying to us, but what we are saying to others as well,once again, never contradict God’s word. You think, of course not. I go to a Bible believing church. I would never. Contradict God’s word, yeah, but the temptation is there. I think of parents in particular, but really this is for all of us. Of course, like I know how many kids leave Christianity because their parents added to the gospel message. We’re saved by grace alone, through faith alone, and so you want to worship Jesus, plus, as soon as you get that plus in there, you’re the yeast working its way through the batch of dough, Jesus, plus, might be the same sorts of legalism we see here. You got to do this. You got to keep these standards. You’re not saved by grace. You’re saved by grace. And doing all of these rules that I have for you, I think one of the most dangerous ones today. And believe me, I have seen people in this church leave the faith because of this one. It’s political purity, it’s Jesus plus the right political platform, and we’re in a mostly white church. That means for most of us, it’s going to be the danger of Jesus was a Republican. We’re in the black church, would be the opposite. Jesus was a Democrat. You know what Jesus is saying? I’m a monarchist. He’s neither. He’s king. He knows he’s king. He knows neither one of these platforms is his platform. But think of how easy it is to say. You got to vote right. You got to think right if you’re gonna be right with Jesus. And so you start to go, we gotta stay with our party here, party above all. And so we’ll compromise. Maybe it’s on sexuality and gender. We’ll contradict God’s word to stick with our tribe. Maybe it’s the wanton cruelty toward immigrants that will excuse because we got to stick with our tribe and make defenses for them, that’s the danger. So by all means, cut the bad yeast out of the dough, but first stop adding bad yeast to others, though that’s the lesson Paul would have us learn here, except Paul isn’t worried, and that’s the first half of verse 10. I do love this. He expresses confidence. Now by expressing confidence, this is itself an act of persuasion. It’s a little bit like a parent sitting down with a teen before they’re going off to do something, and I know you’re going to make the right choices tonight, and that’s part of them. You better make the right choices tonight, so that’s part of the persuasion. But here’s the thing, that parent is going, I know you’ll make the right choices tonight, and then they’ve got the tracker on the phone. Still, there’s not a lot of confidence always, but not Paul here, because his confidence is where it’s a true confidence, because he’s confident in the Lord, which just goes back again to it’s not you, it’s not you, it’s him. He’s the one who does it’s my confidence is in the Lord. My confidence is in the promises of God, the God who says things through his word like He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ. Jesus. Philippians, one, or First Thessalonians, five. May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through, so your whole spirit, soul and body may be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, listen the one who calls you is faithful and He will do it, or Jesus Himself, in John chapter six, I’ve come to do the will of my Father. You want to know what the Will my father is, that of all those he’s given me, I will not lose even one. That’s our confidence in the Lord. Can I say this, as your pastor who loves you. I have no confidence in any of you. If it were up to you, not a single one of you would make it to glory. You would all fall away, and I would lead the charge out the exit door. But it’s not up to us. It’s by grace and in His Spirit, this is why, in prayer we plead the promises, isn’t it? God, you said you’re gonna use you said I’m faithful. I’m gonna do this. Would you do it in my life? I know your Word will never fail. We get a slight shift in verse 11 actually feels a little bit abrupt if you think about it. That’s probably because we’re listening to one side of the phone. One side of the phone conversation, and so you get that weird. I’m not sure what just happened right there. Apparently, Paul is being accused of inconsistency on the issue of circumcision. Didn’t have Titus circumcised. We know that later on, he will have Timothy circumcised for the sake of mission. So maybe something like that has already happened, and they’re going see like Paul doesn’t even know his own mind on this issue. He is preaching circumcision because he’s going to tell somebody like Timothy to get circumcised for the sake of mission. But Paul’s saying, look, if I was preaching circumcision, still there would be no reason to persecute me like the stumble. King Black would have been removed, and yet here he is getting persecuted still, because the offense of the gospel and the scandal of the cross remains. It’s a good word for us who will always be tempted to preach an easy gospel, just to smooth the rough edges of God’s truth, so that people accept not it, but you, so people accept you as you bring a false gospel. That’s where the compromise that we talked about earlier, and issues like immigration or sexuality and gender come in. But never mind the cultural issues you want to know, the roughish, roughest edge of the gospel. It’s just the Gospel itself. The cross of Jesus, Christ says you’re a sinner under condemnation. You can’t do anything about it. There’s only one way out. There’s only one door that leads to salvation. His name is Jesus. You preach that gospel, you will be mocked, rejected, slandered Absolutely. So maybe we preach works instead. Help everybody feel better about themselves, by no means, because it destroys people eternally, puts them back under that yoke of slavery under which they will perish for all time. Hence, Paul’s anger in verse 12, it is a strong statement, if you read it this week and we’re like, I don’t know, did he get a little too angry there maybe, I mean, he basically just said, Forget circumcision. If you’re going to be like this, you should just castrate yourselves. It’s a strong statement. Here’s the thing, if we knew and loved the Galatians, as Paul did, and saw the damage that was being done to them, we’d be angry too, like imagine a parent watching a daughter succumb to a heroin addiction. How do you think that parent would feel about the friends who are buying her, the drugs, the dealer who’s supplying them? Can you imagine the loving rage that you would feel if you saw and felt all that you you would also wish those evil doers, and in this case, evil speakers, would cease from the land, because that’s what Paul is saying. These people are so bad. I hope they don’t get to multiply. We don’t need more of this around. Don’t give into external pressure, even if it costs you. Instead, complete the race, make Christ’s life and death count. Keep going. There is all this pressure to return to slavery. There’s plenty of pressure on the inside. I can do it. I can earn this. There’s plenty of pressure on the outside. You need to do it. You need to earn it. Don’t give in for a moment. Don’t give in for a moment. If you do, you’ll cut yourself off from Christ. You’ll make his death pointless. Jesus came to set us free. Love like that changes us from the inside out, gives us all we need to live well, stand firm and the freedom of that gospel. Make all that Christ did for you, the fact that he showed up, he left glory to clothe himself in human weakness and frailty, make His perfect life, His substitutionary death, his triumphant resurrection, the fact that he’s sitting at the right hand of the Father, praying for you at this moment. Make that count. You cling to grace, commit to love, complete the race. And so when the headmaster inside of you or in the world shouts, sit up straight. You can say, Whoa, I graduated. I got a new boss. Now let’s pray to Him, Jesus, we worship you for what you have done for us, knowing that what you did for us, we could not do for ourselves. If it had been up to us, we had to earn it. We never would have made it. We know that in our heart of hearts, we now see too clearly the wickedness that’s inside of us, the selfishness that pulls us away from doing what we ought to do, or leads us to do what we know we shouldn’t do. We know we couldn’t do it on our own. We know that you demonstrated your own love for us in this that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, called us, saved us. If we know all that Lord, why would we go back? Why would he go back to what won’t work and what would make that act, of love? Your death count for nothing? We won’t Lord so strengthen us by your Spirit to live in grace to the glory of your name. Amen.

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Gospel Freedom March 1, 2026 | Brandon Cooper This sermon on Galatians 4:8–31 teaches that because God knows us—relationally and lovingly in Christ—we are freed from the slavery of self-salvation, where we try to earn our standing with God through performance, religious effort, or law-keeping. The preacher contrasts two “religions”: one of earning and striving (whether pagan or legalistic) and one of receiving God’s grace, urging listeners not to “go back” to slavery after being adopted as God’s children. He then contrasts two kinds of ministry—self-promoting versus Christ-forming—and calls believers to labor in love so that Christ is formed in others, rather than using ministry as a platform for personal gain. Finally, using the story of Sarah and Hagar, he shows that we are children of promise, not slaves under the law, and therefore free from self-reliance to rest in and rely on Christ alone.

You can go ahead, grab your Bibles and open up to Galatians chapter four. Galatians four will be starting in verse eight this morning. Galatians four beginning in verse eight. As you’re turning there, you can picture, perhaps remember for yourself, the build up and the excitement as you’re heading towards your wedding day. I worked with a lot of couples recently, as you know, and one of the things that young couples about to get married are most excited about, and I remember for myself, this is what I was most excited about, is that you don’t have to say goodbye anymore, like there’s just not that. And that’s it all right? I’ll see it, and especially if you were a long distance, like Amy went to school in Grand Rapids, I was at school in Deerfield, and so a goodbye was for a month or two, and it was just agonizing. So finally, at last, you come together. You’re united in a covenant of marriage, and then that’s it. You don’t have to leave go to your own home anymore. It’s this wonderful, wonderful thing. Now, imagine that happens. All this build up, all this excitement, the big day, everything like that. We’re so excited we have to say goodbye anymore. And then after just a few days, maybe after the honeymoon, or something like that, you just start going back to your own place again. You start saying goodbye with all the agony of it. And you’re thinking, why would anyone do that? It would be absurd, like you finally get the joy and the freedom and the intimacy that you were longing for, and then you go right back to the way it used to be, which wasn’t good. That’s exactly what the Galatians are in danger of doing, exactly what the Galatians are in danger of doing, if we’re honest, what we’re so often tempted to do as well, like we left the old behind. We’re no longer under the crushing burden of law. We’re free from the slavery of having to earn our salvation. So let’s go back to it. That doesn’t make any sense, like Not a chance. And so that’s really our idea. This morning, our big idea. I’m gonna give it to you up front, and we’ll unpack it as we go. The big idea is this, God knows you so you’re free. God knows you so you’re free now, free from what exactly we get these three freedoms that we’ll see free from three burdens that I’ll unpack as we go through it. So let me look at the first part here, kind of contrasting two religions from verses chapter four, verses eight to 11. Paul writes, formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who, by nature, are not gods. But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them? All over again, you are observing special days and months and seasons and years, I fear for you that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you so formerly back then. In other words, this is before the wedding day. Still they were enslaved. Because, as we’ve seen throughout Galatians, apart from grace, we are all in slavery. And in slavery to what? Well, it says it right here, to to not gods, to idols, is what we normally call them. And you can think of what this would have looked like for the Galatians. They would have been a pagan people prior to coming to Christ. And so what does this look like? It looks like keeping the commands of all the gods that you’re trying to serve and making sacrifices to them so that they’ll come over onto your side, these not gods. And so you can imagine, if you were a farmer back then, as most of them would have been, you know, you got to make your sacrifice to the weather God so that you get a good crop that year. And you know, need some more strapping young lads to help you in the field. So you’re gonna pray to the and make sacrifices to the fertility god. And maybe there’s, you know, the young woman in the village is making is making sacrifices to Aphrodite or somebody like that, so that she looks good and somebody wants to marry her, all that kind of stuff. Like, that’s the slavery that we’re talking about. It’s worth noting that nothing’s changed whatsoever. I mean, yeah, maybe it’s not carved wood and metal images that we’re making sacrifices to at this point, but not sacrificing the weather God for a good crop. But how many sacrifices have you even made of time and energy, perhaps your family’s well being in order to be more financially successful? How many sacrifices of time and money have people made for the sake of their children and the perfect family that they want to have? Or how many sacrifices have we made to beauty in the hopes that the opposite sex will be attracted to us? And it’s slavery. It’s slavery because it doesn’t work. And it can’t work. You just have to keep going with it. So you’re making sacrifices to the weather God, hey, you could have the greatest crop ever. You know what happens next year? You start all over again. You’re on the brink of famine, just like that, again, again. Nothing’s changed. By the way, everything can be zooming along, and business can collapse in an instant, overnight, AI takes your job. You’re done. You got a whole find a whole new field. At this point, you can sacrifice all you want to love and beauty. You may still be single, childless, and at the end of the day, age is going to show. I’m just, I’m sorry about that. Some of you are not there yet. Some of us are there yet it shows in the end. Okay, so we just have to keep giving and giving and striving and striving, and you can never rest secure knowing that your deepest needs are finally and fully met. That’s the slavery Paul’s describing. But remember, Paul’s not worried that the Galatians are going to revert back to paganism. That’s not the argument of the letter. He’s worried that they’re going to rely on law keeping like the Jewish law instead. And Paul says that’s the same thing. There is no difference between paganism and Jewish law reliance in this time, because there are still no guarantees. You still have to keep giving and giving and striving and striving, because it all depends on your performance. You can’t rest secure knowing that your deepest needs are met, which means you are enslaved to the basic principle of the world. Paul calls it here, the weak and miserable forces of the world. What is the basic principle of the world? You need to save yourself, earn it, take care of the problem on your own. There’s a much better option that Paul describes right there in verse nine, to know God, or better still, I love it. He interrupts himself because he’s like, I didn’t say that quite right, did I better still to be known by God that is as profound a truth as exists in this world. Couple things to note about that. First of all, it means that we do not automatically know God. We are not born into this world knowing God in this sort of way with this sort of relationship. We must come to know him at a certain point. Maybe it’s before your memories really kick in. You’re raised in a Christian home. Maybe some of you, and we’ve heard some stories in the baptismal about this. You know, it came like a flash at one point, like Paul on the road to Damascus, but we must come to know Him. It isn’t true of anyone initially. That’s why there’s so much emphasis on faith in the book of Galatians, as we’ve seen through the weeks, because we reach a point where we must choose to follow Jesus, choose to trust. I think that word trust is key. That’s what faith means. It’s not mere belief, like it’s only intellectual. It certainly isn’t blind belief, either, but it is a settled relational trust. It’s actually a little bit like the trust between a man and a woman on their wedding day as they walk down the aisle together, and you’re going, I know you because I know who you are. I am giving myself to you. That’s what faith looks like for the Christian. But then note second, this is what Kyle said for us just two weeks ago. I’ll quote him exactly. He said, more important than our love for God is God’s love for us, and that’s what Paul’s saying here, too. You know God? Yes, God knows you. And here’s the thing, knowing God being known by God. This isn’t like he’s got awareness that you exist. Oh yeah, Brandon, I think I know him. He’s the talks too fast, that one, right? Yes, amen, that’s him. Okay, that’s not the point here at all. He was already aware of my existence. Having you know made me that kind of thing. No, we’re talking about relational knowledge. That’s how the word know is used in Scripture. I’ll give you the most obvious example. It happens early on in Genesis. Adam knew Eve, and nine months later, Cain arrived. That’s the relational meaning behind knowing in Scripture and that physical intimacy that’s described, there is nothing compared to the spiritual intimacy that we can have with Almighty God. He knows us, which means, if you try. If you have faith, it’s because he’s chosen you, because he set his love on you. It’s because he, as we talked a lot about last week, adopted you into His family. That’s the relational piece. And remember who this is. We are talking about, the God of the universe, your Creator, your King, your judge, even is willing to enter into a relationship with you, and that despite your sin and shortcomings, can I just encourage you that if you haven’t yet, today would be a great day to get to know Jesus better still to be known by him as you commit to him, surrender and trust. Now, that’s all true and important, as I said, probably the most important information in the world. It’s just not Paul’s point here. This was kind of incidental to his argument. His argument is, if you used to be a slave, and now you’ve been adopted as a child, an heir of God. If you used to be not known by God, and now you’re known by God. Why would you go back like I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back and the Galatians are go turning back. That sounds okay. We should consider, how could you go back to being a slave, like why would Amy? I could think of reasons why, but one with the analogy. Why would Amy move back to Grand Rapids after we got married again? Distance from me, that’s why. But picture someone else. It makes no sense, and yet, here they are. They’re back. He says, to observing days and months and years. You know, they’re keeping Sabbath, they’re keeping festivals. It’s the Jubilee Year, and it’s scrupulous law, reliance, it’s external, formal religion. It’s just checking boxes. So you can, as somebody, put it to me this week, and I loved it. I’m gonna use it for the rest of my life. So gonna use it for the rest of my life so that you can earn your Jesus points. You know, Jesus points are right? You gotta stay in the black. You gotta get enough of those. You don’t end up in the red because you haven’t done it. That’s, that’s what it is. So you’re going back to checking boxes and earning your Jesus points instead of that free and joyful intimacy that you could have with a father. And again, this is like an orphan who’s been adopted like I chose you. Again, I set my affection on you. You’re in the family now, not just crawling up into dad’s lap to experience his warm embrace, but trying to show off to impress him, so that he’ll choose me, because that’s what it used to look like in the orphanage. Prospective parents would show up and you best behavior that’s done with that’s done with You’ve been chosen, you’ve been adopted. You’re loved already. Consider another example. Remember the prodigal son. He wished his dad were dead, so he said, Dad, drop dead. But if you’re not going to drop dead, at least give me my inheritance now. And the dad doesn’t. He goes off and he squanders it on wine and prostitutes, and then eventually he comes to his senses because of a famine. Comes back to his dad. As he gets back, he’s got his speech all set, and he says, I know I’m no longer worthy to be called your son. Just make me a hired hand, not a slave, but same idea. I’m gonna go back to earning it. I lost your love. You earned it. Okay, that makes sense, doesn’t that? That’s how you’d come back. That’s how I’d come back. But what does dad say? Like he doesn’t listen to the son’s speech, you’re my kid. You’re my son. I love you. You’re back in the family. Now, here’s the ring, here’s the robe. Let’s have a party. And the son goes, no, no, thanks. Actually, I really would prefer to be a hired hand, because otherwise you’re gonna want to, like, make conversation. I have to have dinner with you everything. Like, no, no. Like, that doesn’t make sense. John Stott put it well. He says it’s one thing to say, I do not deserve it, adoption, it is quite another to say, I do not desire it, and yet, that’s where the Galatians are. No wonder Paul’s worried that his efforts have been wasted, that he’s been scattering the seed of the gospel, just for the birds to eat the seed and the floods to wash it away. Aren’t you just so glad you’re not as foolish as the Galatians. You know where this is going, don’t you? Because of course, we are, at least we always are tempted to be like you. Can see the Galatian tendency in your heart every time you rate your standing before God on your performance that day, I didn’t have my quiet time this morning. Got rushed, read an email, panicked, didn’t read the Bible, didn’t pray. God must love me less. But you know what? I didn’t. Been born today. So that’s a good day. God must love me more. I shared the gospel in that conversation with the person at the restaurant yesterday. I’m being elder now, like, Who do I talk to? Come on. Oh, but I was short with my kids. So that’s that’s done. I’m out. Come on, I’m in the dog house again. You see how tempting that mindset is and the slavery that comes with it. Of course, I love what David Platt said about this. This isn’t Satan’s only strategy. Satan loves to get us to do bad things. But he says, What if one of Satan’s strategies isn’t to get you to do the wrong things, but to get you to do the right things in the wrong way for the wrong reasons to check boxes and earn your Jesus points, because that’s how we justify ourselves so often. I know I’m a Christian. I know I’m right with God. I pray. So you wanna know who else prays often, and frankly, more religiously than you do? Muslims, okay? But I worship, so do Hindus all day, every day, all right? I see what you’re doing here. Let’s do what’s I study the Bible, so do Jehovah’s Witnesses, and they know it better than you. I evangelical. I’ve gone on missions trips. You met the Mormons. They’re doing better than you, way better than you. They’re knocking on doors. You’re not knocking on doors. None of those things are bad. I certainly hope you are praying and worshiping and reading your Bible and evangelical and going on missions trips, unless that’s the basis of your standing before God, in which case, it’s damnable in the most literal sense, what is the basis of your relationship with God? If your answer is anything other than this, he knows me, then it’s wrong. You are enslaved to the basic principle of the world. Again, what do you do? Feel really guilty. Try harder not to try so hard in the future, I would not put that burden on you friends. Just stop and preach the gospel to yourself. He did it all. We get it all because of what he did. And then do what you do, all those very good things, not to get your Jesus points, but just because you want intimacy with your father, you want to read the Bible because I just want to know what dad has to say to me. I want to pray because I want to talk to my father. I’m going to memorize scripture, not because that will impress other people, because I need that word from him stored in my heart. You understand why I call this section two religions. There are two very different ways of approaching God, earn it or receive it. And here’s the very good news, if you’ll hear it today, God knows you, which means you are free from self salvation, free from self, salvation, from that performance mindset, from earning it. Why? Because Christ earned it for you and is willing to give it to you when you come to Him in faith. Second, two ministries, let’s keep reading verses 12 to 20. I plead with you, brothers and sisters, become like me, for I became like you. You did me no wrong, as you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. And even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ, Jesus Himself, Where then is your blessing of me. Now I can testify that if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth, those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good, what they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them. It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good and to be so always and not just when I am with you, my dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth, until Christ is formed in you. How I wish I could be with you now and change my tone because I am perplexed about you. We can see throughout this section we get deeply personal emotional language. When I read Paul speaking here, I’m hearing like a parent who’s watching their child succumb to chemical addiction. It’s like that level of desperation, like come back and in fact, he’s drawing on the strength of the relationship. Ship that exists between them, and especially how it came about, how Paul first encountered the Galatians. We get our first command in verse 12. This is the first time we’ve had an imperative in the book of Galatians so far, become like Paul. Who became like them? And what does that mean? How did Paul become like them? Well, and how should they become like Paul? Paul is no longer under the law, and as a Jew, even so, even though he’s a Jew, he came to Christ, he’s now no longer under the law. So it makes no sense for former pagans to then put themselves under the law for the first time, become Jewish. Go ahead and become a Christian, and skip all that stuff. It’s like Paul saying the shackles are off and the Galatians are going, Are you going to use those? Can I have them? That makes no sense at all. Now there is an important principle here for our mission, for what we do as Christians, as we evangelical Our hope is that people become like us, not in every which way. Of course, there are plenty of areas where you think, no, don’t actually become like me here, but become like us in that we’re saved, loved, adopted, chosen. Guess, I want people to become like me in those regards. That’s the aim. That’s the end. That’s the goal we’re aiming at. The means is by becoming like them. We want them to become like us, so we become like them. It’s exactly what Jesus did, isn’t it? Jesus became like us human, so that we could participate in the divine, so that we could become Christ like Paul eats with the Gentiles, enters into their lives. That’s what we do. Also we become like those we’re trying to reach. Now, within reason, of course, we don’t compromise the gospel. We don’t compromise our ethics. Well, they all love to get drunk. I guess I gotta get drunk with them in order to read. No, of course. Of course not. That’s not what we’re talking about. But otherwise, we meet them where they are, like you can imagine, if you have a Muslim next door neighbor, as I do, you want to reach him, you know? So I invite him over for beer and a sausage pizza. Some of you know why that’s a bad idea, because a Muslim doesn’t drink and doesn’t eat pork. So I’m not I’m making him become like me in the externals, the stuff that doesn’t matter. It’s not going to work. How much better to see if he’ll have a karak chai with me at Kawa house down the street from us. I’m meeting him where he is now. That’s what Paul is talking about. In fact, it is a mark of legalism, a sort of works based religion that Paul’s talking about here, condemning here to insist like people become like us externally first. And the stuff that doesn’t matter, politics is often one of these, right we gotta vote a certain way on some of the key issues. If you’re gonna come to Jesus, no, you come to Jesus, and then yes, your your ethics will change in some areas. Absolutely, as he makes you more like himself, it might be things like somebody sent me this. This is I’m winging it here. Oh, I hope this is spirit. Ivan. Help me out, man, if this is the spirit or not, Ivan sent this to me, but it’s really funny. Yesterday, he said it was a guy evangelizing to another guy, different generations. And so he kind of said, you know, like inviting him to Christ. And the guy said, like, can I, you know? Like, what about my sin and stuff? And he says, you know, you come, God loves you unconditionally, unconditionally. And the guy says, “What if I wear my hat in church? And the guy said, well, then you’ll go to hell.” Like, that’s what. We’re not that. Okay, that’s that same kind of legalism that we’re we’re talking about here, things like alcohol or whatever. Can I say? This is even worse than the joke I just told, like, I hang out in bars a lot. You know? I hang out in bars a lot, partly because I need to go somewhere to write. It’s a nice place to do it, because that’s where sinners hang out. People who need Jesus hang out in bars. And I’ve gotten to know a lot of them, and some of them have come to church and stuff that’s meeting them where they are is what Paul did, and then Paul shares how he became like them. It started with a sickness. We have no idea what it was, but he’s there because of a sickness, an illness of some sort. It was a trial to them, but they didn’t treat him with contempt or scorn. Literally reads. They didn’t spit him out. I have to tell you this. The Greek word for spit out is ektuo which I love. That’s just like the greatest onomatopoeia in any language ever. They didn’t do that. Now, why would they have done that? Because sickness was a sign of judgment. Paul’s a marked man. If he’s sick, the gods are against him. And if the gods are against somebody, you want to kind of back off, make sure you’re standing on something that doesn’t conduct electricity, in case he gets zapped. And so that’s what they’re doing here. They’re spiritually. Quarantining themselves from the sick, except the Galatians don’t do that. Instead, they welcome him in as if he’s an angel, the word angel meaning messenger here, and actually, maybe even as if he were Christ Himself, because that’s how you welcome an ambassador. If an ambassador from the King comes, you welcome him like it’s the king. That’s what they did. I got a brief aside here again. This is another missional lesson for us. This all happens because of Paul’s sickness. Don’t waste your trials. Don’t waste your illnesses. There are missional opportunities. If you get a bad diagnosis, you get free reign to talk about Jesus. Does somebody come to you like, Oh, I am so sorry to hear and you go, I know it’s bad, but I’m going to be okay, because I know my God, and He knows me better still, and I know what he can do with this. If I die, I’m going to be with him, not because of what I did, but because what Jesus did for me. And I know what he can do, even in this trial, because he took the worst trial humanity has ever seen, the murder of the Son of God, and he turned it into the salvation of many. I’m trusting that God’s gonna do something in my life too. I just shared the gospel right there, by the way, in the process of talking about my illness, and you know what they’re gonna say? Well, I’m a little offended. I wish you wouldn’t talk about Jesus. No, they’re gonna go, great, like, whatever you want to say, you got a cancer diagnosis. And if they are offended, I wish you wouldn’t talk about that and you just play the cancer card. Well, this bothers me a little bit. You know what bothers me? Chemo. Okay? So yeah, and they’ll be like, it’s fine. All right, keep talking. No big deal. The Galatians love Paul so much they would have willingly sacrificed for his sake. Would have plucked out their eyes, even so they’re loving Him the way Jesus loves us, denying themselves, taking up their cross, sacrificing, but now, now they’re withholding their blessing. Now they’re quarantining from Paul, like what could have happened? The only thing that explains this change is their defection from the gospel, because Paul’s the same and Paul’s preaching the same message he’s always preached. Something’s changed on their end. What changed on their end? Well, it’s the agitators. It’s Paul’s opponents, the Judaizers. They’re in Galatians. In fact, they’re probably the ones that are calling Paul an enemy. And now the Galatians are going, yeah, maybe he is an enemy. And so here’s where we see the two ministries, because what the opponents are doing is just in such marked contrast to what Paul does. Paul says they’re both zealous for the Galatians. But why? What’s motivating the zeal? FF, Bruce, in his commentary on Galatians, he talks about this, this word zeal. It’s kind of like courtship, almost like it’s good to have somebody you know want to be with you. You can picture a young woman who’s, you know, got some guys after her. It’s good to be courted depending on the intentions of the guy. Are they honorable or dishonorable? If this is the guy who loves you and so wants to be in that relationship with you, okay? Or is this a guy who just wants to use you and then will spit you out? Not everyone who pays you a lot of attention has your best interests in mind. We probably all met very charming salesmen who made us feel really good about ourselves and who did not love us nearly as much as they love their commission. That’s the point Paul is making here, these opponents. They want the Galatians to be zealous for them, so they’re using their ministry as a platform for personal promotion. That’s a temptation in ministry. Bigger church probably means bigger salary. Certainly means more respect, more followers on social media. You get book deals and conference invites. These are personal temptations for someone like me. Kyle good word for Jake and Reeve, those who are starting a ministry to hear. It’s a word for all of us, though, who are in Christ, because it may not look the same if you’re not in pastoral ministry, but it’s there. You think anybody serving on a music team has ever done it for dishonorable reasons? You know you’re up front spotlights on you sometimes, literally, people afterwards they’re like, Wow, you’re so talented. Feels good. Feels good to hear that go the other way too. Though sometimes you’re in the ministry that nobody sees you can be doing that for the wrong reasons. Also get that martyr complex going. You know, some people you’re like, oh yeah. And I mean, I was here until 10 o’clock last. Night cleaning up so we’d be ready for explore hour this morning. Wow. Like you are so godly. I’m up front. They clap afterwards. I know they’re not clapping for me, but still, they’re clapping afterwards and and you, you’re just serving. That feels good too, doesn’t it like this is a good word for all of us. The opponents want the Galatians to glorify them. Paul wants the Galatians to glorify Christ. That’s the difference. And he’s willing to suffer to see it happen, which is where he goes to this image of labor. I’m in labor, not to birth you, but to birth Christ in you. I think he goes with this image because, I mean, is there any love like the love of a mother for her child? Paul’s saying, that’s what I feel for all of you, that Jesus might be formed in you. And we read this, we have to pause and ask each one of you needs to ask yourself this. Do you have this zeal for anyone in your life right now? Like, who comes to mind when you hear me say, I am in labor, that Christ would be formed in you? And if you don’t have an answer to that question, why not? Kyle just told us, like, this is our job as Christians. We were told to make disciples. This is what discipleship is. Need more information. We got a workshop coming up. There you go. Great. Plug, all right. I mean parents for sure, though, like, I hope this is every prayer every day for your kids that we would be laser focused on Christ formation within them. And I worry that’s not always what we’re focused on, but instead we’re focused on worldly success and vicarious success, frankly. But this is a good word for all of us. Of course, there are two ministry paths before us. And one commentator kind of put it like this, the two ministry paths are personal gain or purposeful pain, purposeful pain, we can choose the latter. Why? God knows you so you are free from self promotion. You’re free from having to build a platform and get the plaudits and applause. Why? Because Christ won us the only accolade we really desire in the depths of our hearts, which is the Father’s Word to us, well done, good and faithful servant. Lastly, then two kids. Rest of the passage in chapter four, verses 21 to 31. tell me you who want to be under the law. Are you not aware of what the law says? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise. These things are being taken figuratively. The woman represents two covenants. Women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves. This is Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children, but the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written, Be glad, barren woman, you who never bore a child, shout for joy and cry aloud. You who were never in labor, because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband. Now, you brothers and sisters like Isaac are children of promise. At that time, the son born according to flesh persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. But what does scripture say? Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman. There is a poignant irony at the start of this section, the Galatians are going back to the law, but they’re not even paying attention to what the law says. We have to remember the word law in Hebrew Torah is what Paul’s thinking of here. It doesn’t just refer to the commands, some of which we looked at in Exodus. It’s the whole story, which includes the whole book of Genesis, has very few commands in it, has a whole lot of stories in it. And one of the stories is about Abraham, Sarah Hagar and their kids, Isaac, Ishmael. And so Paul takes them there and gives this complicated, nuanced argument from history with a fair bit of poetic license, which we have to talk about, which he even acknowledges. But it starts simply enough, Abraham. Abraham’s featured prominently in Galatians. So far, we want to be Abraham’s kids, and that’s kind of the question. How does one become a descendant of Abraham? Is it by faith, or is it by the law? So a lot of what we did in chapter three, well, Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. So not every. Who’s a physical descendant of Abraham is a spiritual descendant of Abraham, because Ishmael is excluded. There’s only one true seed. We talked about seed for a while, right? Only one true child of the promise that’s Isaac. So the son born to the slave woman, that’s Ishmael. So born to Hagar. This is Sarah’s handmaiden. Sarah is not able to get pregnant so very common back then. She says, don’t you sleep with my servant instead, and we’ll kind of get a kid that way. And that’s how it happens, and that’s how Ishmael is born. That means he’s born according to the flesh. What does that mean? It means solving the problem in the flesh, taking care of things on your own, not trusting the promise, but relying instead on human ingenuity. But Isaac, of course, is born according to the promise. There’s only one way this could happen, and that’s a miracle. It’s only if God does it, and God did it. Sarah gets pregnant. Isaac is born. Bad things happen as a result of this complicated family. At this point, Sarah doesn’t care much for Hagar. Hager gets a little snippy with what would be her mistress. Is still like treating her like she’s the underling. At this point, it’s all really nasty. Turns out you’re supposed to be one man, one woman. That’s kind of the lesson there two women too many in a family situation, so bad things start to happen. It’s just a reminder, human initiatives produce human results. It’s exactly what you get here, all sorts of very human things which should make us nervous about trying to do things on our own, about trying to save ourselves on our own, taking matters into our own hands. That’s the argument that’s being made. All right. Then we get to verse 24 and it gets way less clear what’s going on. Paul even tells us he’s taking liberties with the text. This is not Biblical Exposition, the way I try to do it, week in and week out. Instead, Paul is using Sarah and Hagar like parables, almost. And so he’s trying to make connections that will startle the Galatians awake. Sarah and Hagar, he says, represent two covenants, the Mosaic covenant made at Sinai, and then the New Covenant really based on the promise given to Abraham. Sarah is this one? Hagar is this one? Here’s the thing. Hagar has zero connection to Moses and Sinai, and so that’s where the Liberty is taken, but we can see where it’s going. So how is Hagar like Sinai? Well, it’s interesting. Sinai is in Arabia, by the way, because the Ishmaelites, the descendants of Ishmael, are the Arab peoples, so they’re in Arabia also. But that’s not the real connection. The real connection is that both Hagar and the Mosaic Covenant are associated with slavery, the slavery we’ve been talking about, the slavery of having to earn your own salvation, in which case, it’s also like present day Jerusalem, for Paul, first century Jerusalem, where law reliance is being practiced. You want to get saved, you rely on the law. Now there’s a lot of irony here. We just did Exodus. When did God make the covenant at Sinai, right after he delivered them from slavery. So it’s really weird to connect Moses with slavery in this way, and yet we understand it, because that’s definitely where it leads. They’re enslaved to the law. But Sarah the free woman, she represents the New Jerusalem, the heavenly city which people enter, no longer as slaves, but as children heirs, who’ve been set free from relying on the law by grace. And it’s the quote from Isaiah that really allows Paul to use Hagar the way he does, because we get this contrast between a fertile and a barren woman, and that’s a good contrast. Sarah’s barren decades and decades and decades, no kids. Hagar one time, one kid. So she’s fertile like that’s the contrast there. Now this Isaiah quote is originally about Jerusalem, and it’s about the return from exile. In fact, Jerusalem was both the barren woman and the fertile woman, used to have lots of kids, and now there’s nobody there, because they’re all in Babylon and Persia and stuff. But don’t worry, you’re gonna come back from exile and you’re gonna have lots of kids again. But Paul’s reading it the way we read the Old Testament here, over and over and over again, through the lens of Christ, in whom every prophecy finds its fulfillment. And so it’s not coming back to Jerusalem that’s not the freedom from exile that we’re longing for, the return from exile that we’re longing for. We’re talking about returning to God Himself, hence the New Jerusalem where we go. And so there’s the difference. Us now look at the descendants, if we’re funneling this through Christ. I mean, Sarah was barren. She had just one kid, and now her descendants, spiritually speaking, are more than the sand on the shore and the stars in the sky, as God promised Abraham, because it includes the Gentiles, all of us who come to God through faith in Christ. We want that, don’t we that kind of fruitfulness. So how does it come? Not through human effort or ingenuity, not through our strength or our skills, it comes in weakness and helplessness, like once we know we’re helpless. That’s when we seek our ever present helper. I can’t do it. I need Jesus to do it for me. That’s salvation, sure, but that’s also, you know, parenting and serving and evangelical on down the line. Apart from me, you can do nothing. Jesus says so we abide in the vine and draw life and strength from its only source. It’s not all rainbows and unicorns, though we’re going to experience persecution as a result, in the same way that Ishmael bullied Isaac, which is why they eventually get sent away. By the way, if you’re reading this and you’re a little bit uncomfortable, like I know this story, and Sarah doesn’t seem as innocent as Paul making her out to be correct. Now we’re not preaching through Genesis right now, you can go back and listen to that sermon, get the the original story. But again, Paul’s using it figuratively. This isn’t a comment on Sarah and Hagar. It’s a comment on law versus grace, but if you live by grace, you can expect persecution from those who rely on works, especially if they call themselves Christians, because that’s what’s happening here in Galatia. Why? Because grace threatens religious people. That’s why the people who loved Jesus were prostitutes and tax collectors, and the people who hated Jesus, and ultimately conspired in his murder were the Pharisees, the scrupulous law keepers, because it undermines our identity. If the whole point is I’m doing more, I’m doing better than you, and then that slate gets wiped clean. It’s offensive. It eliminates our reason for boasting. So one test to know whether or not you’re under Grace really, or if you’re relying on the law, is, how do you treat those who differ from you? If your identity is secure, you can be gracious to them, and if not, you will be cruel to them. But Paul’s point here is the Galatians must drive this idea out like they got, to banish this idea from their minds and pulpits this teaching that seeks to enslave them. Even you may have voices in your head or on the podcast you listen to, telling you that it’s up to you. Plug your ears, preach the gospel to yourself instead, because the argument in some there in the last verse, verse 31 right in Christ, we are not enslaved, but we are free. Children adopted and loved in the capital C, child of the promise Jesus Christ. Like which kid do you want to be in this scenario? I got good news for you. God knows you. So you’re free from self reliance. We are saved by God’s initiative and power through no effort or ingenuity of our own. We are free from self reliance and free to rely on Christ. Look self salvation, self promotion. Self Reliance is truly slavery, the performance mindset produces in us only pride and guilt, sin, exploitation of others, but knowing that we are known frees us from all of that, so that we can live freely and serve fruitfully as beloved children, the true son became a slave. You know what Paul says in Philippians two, Jesus did not consider equality with God something we use to his own advantage. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a slave. The true son became a slave so that slaves like you and me could become true sons and daughters. That’s such good news, because of that because of what Jesus did, God knows you, so you’re free enjoy it. Let’s pray, Lord, we are grateful for the freedom that we can know in Christ, Jesus. We remember that we are not automatically your children. We do not automatically know you and are not automatically known by you in relationship with you. There must come a moment in our lives where we choose to trust you, because you have chosen that we would trust you. God, I pray that even now, you would be bringing some of the men and women in this room to that place of choosing. God, that you would reveal yourself to them, that they might know you, that you would set your love on them, that they might be known by you. For the rest of us, Lord, for those of us who are known by you, who know you and love you, would you increase our joy and freedom in Christ that we might live zealously for Your glory and for the sake of those that you’ve put in our lives to reach with the gospel. We pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.

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PODCASTLaw & Gospel

February 22, 2026 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper discusses the purpose of the law in Galatians 3:15-22, emphasizing that the law was given to highlight human sin and the need for a Savior. He explains that the law was a temporary measure, given 430 years after God’s promises to Abraham, and it serves to show people their need for grace. Cooper argues that the law does not save but reveals sin, leading believers to trust in Christ. He outlines Paul’s argument in three stages: sin, Savior, and sonship, concluding that believers are adopted into God’s family through faith in Christ, not by works of the law.

Good morning church and go ahead, grab your Bibles. Open up to Galatians 3. Galatians, 3. We’ll start in verse 15, this morning. Galatians, 3:15. As you’re turning there, I was quite close with my high school music teachers, and so every year I got to watch him go through this unfortunate process where the seniors would start to talk about where they’re going to be studying, and then also what they were going to be studying. And a lot of them, because he’s one of the music teachers, would tell them they’re going into music, and he would have to be the one to tell them, Don’t do it, you know, don’t go into vocal performance, because you can’t really carry a tune with two hands and a bucket. So, you know, like architect, maybe I don’t know, just something else other than this. It wasn’t fun. He didn’t look forward to this. Of course, at any point hard conversation wasn’t fun, but it was necessary, because it was better to spare them future pain by causing just a little bit of discomfort. Now, better than having to switch majors or three, four or five years down the road in this career, realizing you can’t hack it in the industry would be a bad thing. So a little bit of discomfort now is better. It’s good to know who you really are and who you really aren’t at the same time, and that says Paul is exactly why God gave us the law, which would be one of the big questions the Galatians would be asking at this point in the letter. If, if Abraham and the promises God gave him are really the the key to our relationship, then what’s the point of Moses? What’s the point of the law we just saw last week, chapter three, verses 11 and 12, Kyle took us through it that we live by faith, not by works of the law. So then, why did God give the law? What is its purpose? And these are questions not just that the Galatians would be asking, but that we should be asking, also related questions, at least, if we are saved by grace alone, does that mean we don’t have to obey the law? Why strive for holiness if we can just rest in forgiveness? Do we have to keep all the weird laws that we just looked at in the book of Exodus, for example. In answering these questions, Paul is going to make an argument from salvation history, and especially the way salvation history unfolds. So the timeline is going to matter so much here, the Judaizing agitators Paul’s opponents here in Galatia would be saying that, look, Abraham’s descendants are the people who keep Moses’s law. Paul is going to argue, no, no, that’s not it at all. The Mosaic Law was a temporary interim period meant to do something else, to drive us back to the promises and which is it then? Which one of these groups has it right? Paul or his opponent? Spoiler alert, it’s going to be Paul, but let’s track with his argument as he makes his case. It goes through three stages, sin, Savior and sonship. That’ll be our outline as well as we answer the question for ourselves also, why the law. So let’s start with sin, your sin verses 15 to 22, brothers and sisters. Let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case, the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say and to seeds, meaning many people, but and to your seed, meaning one person who is Christ. What I mean is this, the law introduced 430 years later does not set aside the covenant previously established by God, and thus do away with the promise. For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise, but God, in His grace, gave it to Abraham through a promise. Why, then was the law given at all? Was added because of transgressions, until the seed to whom the promise referred had come, the law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator, a mediator, however, implies more than one party, but God is one. Is the law therefore opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not. For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Pause there. If you were here last week, you’ll note that in this part, Paul strikes a friendlier tone than he did. So last week he started off You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? Modern translation would be Hey dummies. And so here the fact that he’s going brothers and sisters, this is nice, right? He’s He’s turned. A corner, and he’s expressing the deep love that He has for the Galatians. In fact, it is the love that drove his anger, his frustration last week. Just be like a parent, you know, with a student who comes home having failed a class, and the parent expresses some anger. What were you thinking? I told you not to go to the party, but to study instead. Now look what happened. But where’s that anger coming from? It’s because they want what’s best for you. They want you to succeed. That’s what Paul was experiencing as well. So now we get the love. We get the love Express. We’ll see it even more next week, and with this love, then he like a good preacher, which Paul certainly is. Takes an everyday illustration. He says, Look, you know how covenants work, right? You can’t just set a covenant aside. You can’t change a human covenant. If you do, you get sued pretty quickly. You can’t say, I’m going to pay you $100 per widget, and then when the widgets get shipped, pay $80 I just didn’t think it was worth it. That’s that’s not going to go well in that conversation. So if even human covenants are inviolable, unbreakable, how much more so divine covenants, covenants established by our God, the God who won’t ever renege on his promises, who always keeps His word, God made these promises to Abraham Paul reminds us and to his seed. And you’ll notice that he makes a lot of the fact that the word seed is singular, which is interesting, because seed is actually a collective singular in Hebrew, in Greek, honestly, kind of even in English, collective singular meaning. You use a singular even though you mean lots of things. You order a fruit salad when it shows up with grapes and apples and pineapple, you don’t send it back and say, I ordered fruit salad, not fruits salad. You did this wrong. It’s the same idea here. So what argument is Paul making exactly like surely he knows this means more than one person. The promises made to Abraham were meant for all of his descendants, Paul knows this. He speaks Greek. He’s writing in Greek. He speaks Hebrew. He’s reading the Hebrew. So he knows all of that, but he also knows that there is a singular promised seed, and that that promise runs throughout Scripture as well, right there, the very first promise given in Scripture, Genesis 315 is when God’s cursing the serpent, and he says, the seed of the woman is going to crush the seed of the serpent’s head. He is going to crush the Serpent. He’s going to stomp on that snake’s head. There’s one seed who is coming. Ultimately, even with Abraham’s own kids. You’ve got two seeds, but really just one seed, because it’s Ishmael. He’s not part of the promise. Isaac is there’s Jacob, not Esau. You get to the 12 sons of Jacob, sure, they’re all part of Israel. But even then, it’s Judah who is the promised seed, because it’s the son of Judah David, who is the chosen king when God makes His covenant with David, he says this in Second Samuel, 712 using the exact same word. It’s translated as offspring instead of seed. But say, my idea, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you. Well, how many people take the throne after David? Just one. Otherwise, that goes really badly for a country. Ultimately. Then, of course, the son of David is Jesus, the son of David, the promised seed, the fulfillment of all God’s promises. And he’s here. That’s Paul’s point. He’s arrived so that the new age that he’s bringing has dawned with his arrival, the promises made to Abraham had become reality in Christ. Jesus, if that’s the case, why would we move backwards? Why would we go from the New Age back to the old age away from fulfillment? Once again, the timeline is what matters here. The promises were made first centuries before Moses, in fact. So these promises that were made first, they can’t just be set aside. It’s not really a promise if you add requirements to it later on. And it’s not a promise that you receive, but it’s a wage you earn by keeping these requirements. I mean, just imagine you get a letter in the mail someday. It’s a great uncle that you didn’t even know you had, and he says, I want to give you a million dollars. That’s amazing. You just gotta, you know, send him your bank information, something like that. What if he says, though, I want to give you a million dollars if you move into my home and care for me in my old age, next 10 or 15 years or so, and based on some issues that I’ve got, it’s gonna get worse and worse. That’s not receiving the promise, then that’s just getting a wage. I mean, you know, it’s a good salary, I guess, million dollars divided by 15 years, not a great salary. Would you move leave your career? I don’t know. No, I mean, that’s a lot. So those are very different situations, and that’s what Paul’s saying here. Which one is it you have to keep the law to get the promise, or was the promise actually a promise? Do you believe the promise or keep the conditions? And so that’s the disunity that Paul sees between these two covenants, between the covenant made with Abraham, the covenant made with Moses, which one supersedes? Well, it’s the original promise, of course, because God keeps all his promises, that’s what verse 18 says, if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise. But God, in His grace, gave it a gracious gift, given to Abraham through a promise. Okay, so then why did God give the law? We’re still asking the question. In fact, Paul himself asks it there in verse 19, Why then was the law given at all? And he says it’s given because of transgressions. And you think, Okay, I think I know what Paul’s saying here, he’s saying because we keep messing up. So God gave us the law, kind of like guardrails kind of keep us on the straight and narrow. It’s exactly the opposite. In fact, God gave us the law in order to increase transgressions. Think about what transgression means. It’s even there in the word trans you have to go across something. So there has to be a line in order for you to cross it. So as soon as the law was given now, there was something to break. Think of it like this, at a certain point in history, and I don’t know when it was impossible to speed when driving, because they didn’t have speed limits. And then, as cars got faster, at some point, some city somewhere, said, You know what? Why don’t we post a speed limit? What happened at that moment? It increased transgressions. I mean, you think it did not make law keepers of us. It made law breakers of us, especially if y’all from Chicago, okay, you’ve been on a highway during commuter traffic, something like that. If you’re going 55 on 88 with commuter traffic, you had better be in the right lane, and even then, you’re going to get some looks as people are flying by you. So the law does not create obedience. The law actually causes us to break the law. Now, maybe there’s some scrupulous law keepers, you know, drive 55 Arrive alive, just going down the road, but for the most part, it creates law breakers. The law increased law breaking. That’s what happened with Moses also. And so the law was meant to make us aware of our need for a Savior, until the promised seed finally arrived. And again, the good news is he’s here. He’s come. That’s what Paul keeps saying. So the promise is superior in every way. It’s superior because it was given directly by God. God speaks directly to Abraham, whereas the law comes through mediators. God gives it to angels. Give it to Moses, who gives it to Israel. So it’s parties removed angels. I know some of you are going, we just did Exodus. I don’t remember there being angels at Sinai. I don’t Sinai. I don’t remember there being angels at Sinai either. But Scripture talks about it in a number of places. So apparently there were Stephen mentions it when he’s almost killed in Acts seven. Hebrews mentions it as well. And of course, we have it here. And maybe more importantly, the promise is superior, because the promise actually brings life, which the law can’t do, because we can’t keep it perfectly. And so the law can only bring death the first time we transgress, the first time we cross that line, it brings death into our lives. And so the law serves a very different purpose in God’s economy than the promise did we need to know that purpose or we’re going to use the law in the wrong way? I think it was Spurgeon who said a handsaw is a great tool. You wouldn’t want to shave with it. And that’s that’s Paul’s argument here. Also, okay, if you’re using a hand, a hand saw, to shave. I mean, it’s going to be messy, painful and wildly ineffective, and that’s what’s going to happen if you use the law to try to save yourself. That isn’t its purpose. Commentator Andrew Jukes puts it like this. He says, Satan would have us prove ourselves holy by the law which God gave to prove us sinners. So that’s the purpose. The law isn’t meant to save us. The law is meant to show us we need to be saved. The point of law is not to make us better, but really to make us worse, to show us our sin, so that we see our need. It so we can fill in the blank at this point, why did God give the law so that you would recognize your sin, so that you would recognize your sin, and then fling yourself back on the promise? This passage humbles us. It shows us that we are totally unable to remedy our sin problem. We can only acknowledge it and see that spiritual life comes only from the promises, which is the foundation, the basis for the whole Christian life. John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim’s Progress, great Puritan preacher, he he had a little poem to kind of to show the difference between law and gospel. He says, run, John, run. The law commands but gives us neither feet nor hands. Far better news, the gospel brings it bids us fly and gives us wings. That’s the difference, right there. The law says run to somebody who doesn’t have any legs not helping us out, and we go, okay. So now you know you can’t run. Try flying gives you wings, which takes us to the second part then, so recognize your sin. The second section here dealing with our Savior. Let me keep reading the rest of chapter three, verses 23 to 29 before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. So in Christ, Jesus, you are all children of God through faith. For all of you who were baptized into Christ, have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ, Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs, according to the promise note. He starts in verse 23 with that word. Before we’re still talking about the timeline, still making a historical argument. Before, what before we understood that salvation comes by grace, alone through faith, alone in Christ, alone before Jesus arrives on the scene. In other words, what were we like? We were locked up under law, which is actually set in parallel to what we see in verse 22 that we were locked up under sin, meaning the same thing to be under laws, to be under the power of sin, imprisoned in our inability to save ourselves. That means the law was meant to serve a temporary purpose. That’s why Paul uses that term guardian. Here, a guardian a babysitter, basically, back in, you know, Greco Roman culture, where Paul’s writing, you could be heir to an estate, but until you reach the majority age, when you were still a minor. I mean, you were, you were under a guardian, a tutor, a disciplinarian. So you weren’t really like an heir. You were just under somebody else, under somebody who would tell you, what would that Guardian do? The Guardian would tell you what to do, what not to do, and then what would happen if you did that or didn’t do that? That’s it. That’s all the Guardian could do at that point. That’s all the law can do for us as well. So it tells us what to do, what will happen if we don’t obey but it can’t change us. We know it doesn’t change us. It doesn’t matter how scary the Guardian is. Like picture the scariest drill sergeant you can imagine, towering over you, purple face, yelling at you. You know you will not be selfish anymore. That’s not changing your heart. Might change your behavior a little bit on the outside for a time, but it’s not changing your heart. And so the law just locks us up as prisoners and brings discipline into our lives, the punishments that we deserve. And can I say here, Paul’s talking about the Mosaic law, but it’s not just the Mosaic Law, and he’s going to expand his view in a little bit here anyway. But all works based religions share this character, any religion, any worldview that says, Do this, don’t do that, or else shares this character. It makes of us slaves. We’re enslaved to law, keeping anxious always about our standing before God or whatever Ultimate Reality is out there, because we’re anxious before the God, the judge, before whom we’ll stand. There’s not even the warmth of relationship there. It’s just impersonal based on the fear of punishment and the selfish desire for rewards. And the selfish desire for rewards is significant because it means we’re still unchanged, still just looking out for number one. So this passage gives us an incredibly pessimistic view of human character, which has been proven true by all of the available evidence throughout all the centuries of human history. The law is not enough. Teaching morals will never be enough. When you think about the amount of time and energy that corporations have spent teaching people about sexual harassment since third wave feminism cropped up in the 70s. How’d that go? When the ME TOO movement broke out? Teaching morals is not enough to change hearts, that’s the problem. So why did God give the law if it’s not going to change us, it’s just going to bring discipline. It sounds not good, but it serves a good purpose. Do you see that there in verse 25 that we might be justified by faith? There’s the law’s purpose that we might be justified. I love the way John Stott sums it up. He says the law’s purpose was to shut us up in prison until Christ should set us free, or to put us under guardians, until Christ should make us children. That’s the purpose. So once we believe, receive the promise, don’t earn the reward, we become children and therefore heirs through faith alone. How? Well, because we’re united to Christ, that’s what baptism pictures. That’s why Paul mentions baptism here. We’re united to Christ. We’re in Christ. Christ is in us. We’re buried with him in death and then raised to new life in him. So we’re united to Christ, but to the Christ, who is the promised seed, and therefore the true son, which means, if I’m in him, I’m a true son now too. And that means we are then clothed with Christ, the kind of word we can skip quickly past in our Bible reading. But what’s let’s just like, squeeze out all the meaning from this word here for a moment. If we are clothed with Christ, what does that show us? It shows us, first of all, that Jesus is our primary identity. You think of how often clothes function as a uniform, sometimes literally. You can tell who a police officer is because they’re dressed like a cop or a soldier, a doctor, something like that. But really, for all of us, clothes function like a uniform. They’re saying something. We pick our clothes to say something about ourselves. You see it really clearly in high school, of course, right? Like I’m a jock or I’m one of the artsy kids, I’m a non conformist. You can tell because I’m dressed like all the other non conformists. So, right? So our clothing functions like a uniform. Our uniform is now Christ. That’s my identity. I’m a Jesus guy. So that’s the first part. But second, the clothing shows our closeness to Christ, because your clothes are quite close to you, not closer than your skin, but right there next to it, at least, always with you. Carry it with you, kind of wherever you go. So we see the intimacy, the closeness that we have with Christ, and then imitation we’re clothed with Christ. In other words, we’re supposed to look like Christ. Well, how do we look like Christ? It’s not our physical features, but our spiritual life, our changed behavior in Christ, and finally, it shows us our forgiveness in Christ, because when did humans first put clothes on? We came into this world naked and unashamed, and then we sinned and we had shame. We tried to sew fig leaf clothes, and that didn’t work. So God offers the very first sacrifice and clothes, Adam and Eve in animal skins to cover their shame. I am clothed in Christ. That means my shame, my guilt, is covered. That’s what it means to be clothed with Christ. We have a whole new life in Christ. Isn’t that why we love hearing testimony so much? It’s that right? There’s a whole new life that I just heard about. We just sang it right. Amazing Grace. How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, I once was blind, but now I’m found now I can see because our “in Christ-ness” is our primary identity. Well, that means that all our other distinctions become irrelevant in the Christian community. That’s verse 28 we see the unity of God’s people. Evil, not Jew or Gentile, slave, free, male, female. None of that matters anymore. Now, these distinctions are not wholly erased. You remain a male or female after you come to Christ, and forever, you would still be a slave, even if you gave your life to Christ. You might get free later on. But whether or not you’re in Christ doesn’t really change that. We know that this is the case. Paul doesn’t erase these distinctions, because in other places, Paul actually gives information instructions. Colossians, three. Ephesians, five and six. Paul says, Hey, if you’re male, hey if you’re female, hey if you’re a slave, if you’re free, this is what you should do. No, the point isn’t to erase distinction, but the point is that we should be without division any longer. We are getting at the equality of all believers. Before God in Christ, was common for free Jewish men of this time period to pray daily. I thank God that I’m not a Gentile, a slave or a woman. Why not? Because they were racist, classist and sexist, but because each one of those categories, what brought with it a barrier to your access to God. You could see it physically in the temple. So if you were a Gentile, for example, you would go into the court of Gentiles, and that’s as far as you could go. You couldn’t get all the way to God. Of course, no one could, except the high priest, and even then, only one day a year. But now in Christ, all of that’s done away with forget the temple. We can waltz into the very throne room in heaven boldly approach God’s throne of grace to receive mercy in our time of need. Doesn’t matter who you were before Christ or who you are now that you are in Christ. If that’s true, that changes how we relate to one another, doesn’t it? I mean, shouldn’t church just look so different from our fractured, polarized world, the love that we have for one another? This is why Peter was so incensed, or Paul was so incensed with Peter back in Galatians two he was going, Peter, it is ridiculous that you won’t eat with Gentiles because we’re one in Christ, he broke down the barrier. Why are you rebuilding it? It is ridiculous that we wouldn’t eat with anyone in Christ, Jesus. So sexism, racism, classism, can we agree those are major issues in our culture. You can talk. It’s fine, yeah, okay, major issues in our culture. It should be anathema in the church, because it’s not just like you’re, you’re, you’re giving in to culture sin or something like that. You are functionally denying the gospel when you’re racist, sexist, classist. I mean, I hope that changes some of you today, because even the jokes we make sometimes like they just, they just come out, you know, like whatever, it’s so much better than what you see on social media. This is like sanctified humor. It’s not sanctified when you belittle women because they are more emotional than you are as a man. It’s gospel denying. Then verse 29 sums up Paul’s argument. Who are Abraham’s true children. The Judaizing agitators would say Jews, Jews, physical descendants of Abraham. Those are his true children. So you better become one if you want to be a Christian. But Paul and more importantly, God’s word, all of God’s word, even the Old Testament, says all who come to Him by grace through faith in the promised seed, Jesus Christ alone. If we do that, we are heirs according to the promise, not according to law, not according to the works we’ve done, but according to the free gift of grace that He promised. So why did God give the law so that you recognize your sin and then run to grace? Run to grace so that you would here’s your fill in the blank, trust your Savior. Not trust in yourself your ability to rely on the law, but trust your Savior, who, as we saw last week, kept the law perfectly and then took the laws punishment on himself in our place. We just sang it right in my place, condemned. He stood under the law all my speeding tickets on him so that I could be welcomed in his place. Takes us to our third point, then the last fill in the blank sonship. Let me read chapter four, verses one to seven. What I am saying is that as long as an heir is under age, he is no different from a slave. Although he owns the whole estate, the heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also when we were underage, we were in slavery under the. Elemental, spiritual forces of the world. But when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law that we might receive adoption to sonship, because you are his sons. God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out Abba Father, so you are no longer a slave, but God’s child, and since you are His child, God has made you also an heir. Paul’s not saying anything new here, right in this paragraph, Paul’s just illustrating what he already taught in the last section. Makes my work easier, because it means he’s given me the illustration for what he just taught. Error is the key term. Like that’s the key illustration, because the big question, the big argument in Galatia is still, who will inherit Abraham’s promises, and how does he answer it? By going back to the timeline again for a time, the heir to the estate is no different than a slave. I mean, an infant king like Henry, the sixth of England still has a nanny, a nurse, a tutor, a regent, really reigning in his place, even so he owns it all, the heir to the estate, but he doesn’t get the benefit of owning it. Instead, he gets a guardian, and a guardian who might well beat him even to teach him so that he’ll be a good heir and ruler when he gets there. Well, prior to Christ’s Advent, that’s all of us. We were all of us under slavery. Slavery is our natural spiritual state. Does not matter if you are Jewish, pagan here, atheist today, slavery is our natural spiritual state. And that’s Paul’s point when he brings up this idea of the elemental spiritual forces. So word that’s used there is actually the word they use for the ABCs, like it’s how you say alphabet in Greek, right here. But the point is, it’s the it’s the elementary understanding of how things work spiritually, and what is that elemental understanding? It’s what you see absolutely everywhere other than within the gospel message. Measure up, measure up to someone else’s standards. Keep the Mosaic Law. Follow the eightfold path, the Four Noble Truths, keep Sharia, or even again today, be a good social justice warrior. You know, vote the right way. What’s your recycling look like? Kind of cardio drive, whatever it is, we all have these standards that we think we need to live up to. That’s how we come into the world. But when there’s that timeline again, but when the New Age dawned, but one Christ came born of a woman born under law. Everything changes, because Christ has come to save us from having to save our selves. Now notice that he’s born under the law. That’s really significant. That’s what Kyle took us through last week. If you weren’t here, you can go back and listen to it. But he became a curse for us, right? He redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us taking the punishment of the law on himself. He did that to redeem us, which is the word Paul uses here. Also redemption has to do with slavery. It means to purchase someone’s freedom. So that’s what Jesus has done. He’s purchased our freedom from slavery to these elemental spiritual forces because we couldn’t measure up. The law showed us our failures, so he measured up for us in our place, and then gives us his reward so that we can be welcomed in his place, truly and fully. Because notice that we are welcomed as heirs, because we’ve received adoption to sonship. It is significant in Paul’s context that it’s sonship here. You are not redeemed to daughtership, adopted to daughtership, not because you’re not a woman anymore. Ladies, that’s not it at all. But back in this time, at least, you had to be a son to be an heir. And so he’s saying you get the inheritance that we all do, men and women, we get the inheritance. But his point here is, it doesn’t matter if you’re Jewish or Gentile. There are no natural born children in God’s household, except for Christ. There is no accident of birth that gives you a leg up. You have to come like the rest of us, through Christ. But if we’re in Christ the instant, we’re united to Christ by grace, through faith, we’re in the family. On April 28 2011 there was a woman named Kate Middleton of bucklebury. Yeah, that’s it. That’s all she was the next day, April 29 2011 some of you will remember, just like that, when she was united to Prince William by marriage, she became the Duchess of Cambridge and joint heir to the throne of the 16 realms of the Commonwealth. Whatever it is, I’m American. We don’t do kings right? I hope you caught the work of the Trinity in our adoption, because you are his sons. God, the Father sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, they’re all involved in this work. So God sends His Son What we saw in verse four, to secure our legal adoption. But then verse six, God sends the Spirit of his Son so that we could experience it fully, the wonder of our adoption, which you can see here in what happens the Spirit who calls out. Abba Father. Think about what that means. So the word calls out there, calls out is probably a tame translation. It really means to cry, almost even to scream. So there’s this strong feeling, this passion behind it. So this is something we feel. We don’t just know, but we feel in the depths of us, and we call out that, of course, would be referring to our prayer life. When you call out in prayer life, that means it’s it’s free and relational. It’s not mechanical. It’s not like there are set times of day where the timer buzzes and you go, Okay, I gotta say this set, formulaic prayer at this point? No, it’s conversation, because this is a son calling out to a father. You got kids. You know that kids don’t talk to you in a mechanical way. They just never stop talking whatever is on their mind. Right? Then that’s what we do with our father as well. And we call out because we know that He hears us. Think about how significant that is. So for the last almost 18 years now, my wife and I have slept with a baby monitor in our bedroom. Why? So that our kids can call out in the night to know that we will hear them. They still take advantage. This is not an old illustration. This was last night Callum Mom, mommu, mamu. He calls her mamu. No one knows why. That’s what he calls her, but he knows that she’ll get up. You notice he called out mamu. He does not call out Dadu. Dadu does not get up. Dadu rolls over a pillow over his head, but Mamu gets up and that’s it. The Lord hears us as well. And in fact, I even love the whole reason I brought up the Mamu thing is because we call out Abba. You know what Abba means? It’s Mamu, but for dads, it’s baby talk. This is not father. This is when you say Baa, baa, baa, baa, baa, because that’s how kids talk to begin with. That’s why we’re all Mama and Dada and Papa, whatever it is, even today in Arabic, they would call their dad Baba. It’s the same idea. So it’s baby talk. So it’s that same like warmth and trust and love that we see. That’s the wonder of adoption. By the way this Abba, to whom we call out, he’s the God of the universe. You think of the security and peace that should bring us to know that when we call he hears and he answers. Know about you, but when I read this, I want to lean into my adoption. So how can we do that? How can we lean into our adoption? There are two ways, primarily, of course, the first is the word of God. We see it here because this is Paul’s whole argument, but especially verses four and five, his whole argument is based on a deep understanding of God’s Word and of salvation history. This is why we spend so much time in the Old Testament here at Cityview. We want to understand how all of it is pointing to Christ, what the exodus is teaching us about the freedom that we now have in Christ, we want to understand all that we can of Jesus’s work. So the word, how are you meditating on God’s word? So that you grow in the knowledge of His love that surpasses knowledge and understanding. The other way is prayer, of course, what we see here in verses six and seven, calling out like Callum, living moment by moment, with the knowledge that our God and Father loves us and hears us. Tim Keller asks the penetrating question, am I acting like a slave Who’s afraid of God or like a child who’s assured of My Father’s love? Why? Did God give us the law so that you’d recognize your sin and trust your Savior? And then third, live your sonship, live like an heir, like a child who’s been adopted into God’s family, and to see how much better that is than being a slave, even when it comes to keeping the law. And certainly we do try to keep the law still, but we don’t keep the law to measure up because we know we didn’t measure up. Instead, we obey God because we love him, because of all that he’s done for us, and we want to please him. It’s an act of grateful joy, like the two lists that Kyle talked about last week, remember the Galatians are in danger of going back to slavery like Israel when they were wandering in the wilderness after God brought them out of Egypt. And they’re going, we should go back. They had cucumbers back there. We should go back. That’s where the Galatians are here also, but Paul wants them and us to live in freedom. We are adopted children, not unwelcome slaves. So let’s live like it, resting in our Father’s love, recognize your sin, trust your savior, live your sonship. John Stott sums it up neatly. He says it like this, once we were slaves, now we are children. How then can we turn back to the old slavery, the old slavery of trying to measure up? How can the Judaizers insist the Galatians keep kosher and get circumcised and keep the law in order to be right with God? Or how about us? How can we gage our relationship with God on the basis of our performance that day? How can we puff ourselves up with pride when we’re doing well or collapse under the weight of shame when we’re not how can we reduce intimacy with our loving father to mere mechanical acts, checking boxes, prayed today, read my Bible, went to church, tithed all good things, but not when they’re done for the purpose of earning salvation. How can we do any of that we can’t right? It makes no sense. No the law, the requirements of the law were meant to help us recognize our sin and trust our Savior and then live our sonship. Let’s pray to our Father now calling out to our Abba, Abba, Father, we call out to you because we know that you hear us, because we know that you love us. You have welcomed us as your children. We understand also how this has happened, not because of anything we have done to deserve it, but because of everything Christ has done to deserve it for us and now because we are united to him by grace, through faith, through our trust in Him, we know that we come to you clothed in Christ, clothed in his perfection, and so we can approach your throne of grace boldly to receive mercy in our time of need. Lord, would you give us your mercy new afresh this morning, that we might better understand who you are, what you’ve done for us, and what it means that we are and can be your children, by grace, alone, through faith, alone, in Christ, alone, and it’s in his name we pray amen.

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The Gospel for All of Life February 15, 2026 | Kyle Bjerga Kyle Bjerga discusses the importance of faith over works in Galatians, emphasizing that salvation comes through faith in Jesus, not adherence to the Old Testament law. He recounts the story of his wife Jackie’s spiritual growth, influenced by a discipler who later followed a strict, legalistic path. Bjerga highlights Paul’s frustration with the Galatians for abandoning the true gospel for legalistic teachings. He explains that faith, not works, justifies believers, citing Abraham as an example. Bjerga concludes by urging believers to fix their gaze on Jesus, repent, believe, and obey out of love, not legalism.

Well, good morning. Go ahead, grab your Bibles and turn to Galatians chapter 3. It’s page 944, if you’re using one of the black pew Bibles there in front of you, or maybe underneath. If you don’t have a Bible, we’d love for you to take that one. That’s our gift to you this morning if you don’t have one. Now my wife, Jackie, was discipled by one of our youth leaders in high school, and I cannot overstate how important this individual was to Jackie’s spiritual growth. The lady who discipled her was an extrovert, was an evangelist at heart, and didn’t have a filter, if you know what I mean, but in good ways and bad ways. But she was unashamed of the gospel, unashamed of asking the tough questions. Jackie needed someone, as she was growing in her faith, to come alongside her and lead her small group. She needed somebody to sit down with her, one on one and engage her with God’s word. Ask her the tough questions of life, pursue her heart, listen to her, especially when her dumb boyfriend kept breaking up with her. If you thought that was me, you’re right. I was immature. I was in high school, okay, but she was there for those moments, and then she also was there for all the other important moments of life, from Jackie’s baptism to her graduation to our engagement and our wedding, writing many cards of encouragement along the way to help Jackie continue to pursue Jesus at every step of her life. And some time passed because she moved away and until she came to visit with Jackie shortly after CJ first was born, and she came over to meet with Jackie, and I walked in the house after work knowing that they had been together, and I remember looking at Jackie’s face, and the look she gave me was one of those looks of like I’m a little freaked out. Not good. Starting already. I knew something was wrong. There were some quick, awkward goodbyes, at which point Jackie… So wrong of illustration…. Jackie went on to tell me, and then we soon discovered more, as we looked into the church that our friend was now going to there’s a church that she believed was the right thing for her family, saying that they need to follow all the Old Testament feasts, removing yeast, even from her own home. The church told them there’s different levels of giving, and this is what how much you need to give. There’s many more things that we discovered over time, but one of the worst ones was there was like seven steps to salvation, seven necessary things you had to do to be saved. So how do you think you would feel if someone you loved, who taught you about Jesus taught you the gospel, started to tell you that there was things necessary for you to be saved that you haven’t done enough yet. I think you understand more of how that felt if you haven’t experienced by hearing Paul as he comes to terms this morning with the reports that he’s received from the Galatian about the Galatian churches, experience the same exact thing where we are now in the book of Galatians. Is a transition point, because Paul has had some introductory remarks for the Galatian churches. He’s had some greetings. He’s also had a rebuke early on, which we’ll get to here in a second. But since chapter one, verse 10, until now, he’s primarily been defending his ministry, who he is as a minister. He’s been defending the gospel. He’s been defending his his call into ministry and defending the gospel, even against these Judaizers who have come in to the church, leading Jews astray, like Peter, which we saw, and Gentiles as well, trying to convince them that they need to adhere to the Old Testament law, become Jewish, in a sense, in order to come to Christ. So there was something they needed to do first. And now he picks up where he left, the Galatians in chapter one, verse six, when he says this, you can look back if you want. He said, I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ, and are turning to a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all. Now he says that in chapter one, verse six, and then last week we ended just right before what we’re going to look at today with him saying this in Galatians 220 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me the life I now live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who love. Me and gave himself up for me. He’s saying, That’s the gospel. This is the gospel. There is no other. And it’s right after this that he needs to remind the Galatians because of what they are hearing. He needs to remind them of the gospel they experienced. That’s the first point in your outline this morning, the Gospel experienced. Look at verse one. We’re going to read verses one through five, you foolish Galatians who has bewitched you before your very eyes, Jesus Christ was clearly, clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you. Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by believing what you heard. Are you so foolish after beginning by means of the spirit? Are you now trying to finish it by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain? If it really was in vain? So again, I ask, does God give you his spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law or by believing what you heard? We’ll pause there. Paul doesn’t beat around the bush. This is not, oh, you foolish Galatians, if we were to translate it today, he’s saying You idiotic Galatians. To be called foolish was harsh for a reason, because, to Paul, it is so irrational and unthinkable to him that he says, there can only be one explanation, and that is, you are brainwashed, that you have been tricked and deceived to believe something else. Somebody had to do something for you to really abandon the gospel that you believed in when I first came to you that was so clear to him when he first visited them, and that’s why he’s so confused. Now, there’s probably something else going on here that Paul is getting at by using the word bewitched. It’s the idea of a spell like he knows there’s false teachers. He knows they’re trying to persuade the people to go back to the Jewish customs and laws, but there’s something deeper going on, similar to what we see in Ephesians six, when Paul says to put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. There’s something evil behind what’s happening in the churches in Galatia. When I walked into my house that day, Jackie was with our friend. I didn’t see her at first. When I first when I made eye contact with her, right before that, I walked in the house and I felt something heavy, I don’t know how to explain it, other than there was evil, until I heard everything that they had talked about, then I understand why my heart felt like that, walking into my home, and that’s what Paul feels. There’s something going on here. There’s no other explanation as mine that makes sense because of what they experienced when he first preached the gospel to them. Whenever Paul goes, he brings up this point. We just read it in first Thessalonians. Here it is again. When he goes to that church, he says, For we know brothers and sisters loved by God that he has chosen you because our gospel came to you, not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. This was the normal pattern of the gospel being preached. This is what Paul saw, and he saw it in Galatia. There was this wasn’t just some intellectual understanding of the gospel. It came with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. It transformed them. They were different because of it. It did something that Paul knew only the gospel could actually do, so powerful, in fact, that Paul says Jesus Christ was crucified right before your very eyes. This is not true. This is this is decades later. So what does he mean by that? He’s saying the change that happened in you was like you were standing at the foot of the cross looking at Jesus. That’s how powerful it was in their life, so drastic of a change. And so Paul employs some rhetorical questions here as a great tool to help them understand what they’re missing out on, trying to help them understand how they got to this point and remind them of the gospel experience they had at first. And he gives three evidences through these rhetorical questions that we just read. Here are the three evidences that he revealed that he saw in them. One, they received the Spirit. It was clear they received the Spirit of God. Second, they were persecuted for their faith. There was such a change in them that people said, There’s something different about you, and they persecuted them because of their faith. And third, there were miracles worked among them. All three of these things. To Paul, this is what the gospel does you? And all of these things happen before they knew the law. This is what happened, was the gospel is proclaimed. So Paul is saying, I’ve seen all of this. You put your faith in Jesus, not because you followed a list of rules. That’s not what happened. That’s not how these things happen. Now, these false teachers have come in trying to persuade the Galatians that they can’t be saved unless they follow some certain steps, like you must be circumcised, you must follow these types of rules, the Mosaic Law. Let me teach them to you, and then we can talk about Jesus. Somebody should have stepped up and said, why would we want to be circumcised now we have the spirit. Why would we want to start following the clean food laws? I’m enjoying my pork sandwich. Why would we start following all these special days when God has worked miracles among us? Why would we start keeping track of the 613 laws in the Old Testament when Jesus saved us, as we actively broke all of them? Why would we go back? This is why Paul is so frustrated, because they’re going backwards. You receive the Spirit, not by the law, because that’s not what Paul preaches. He did not come into their towns, or any town for that matter, and declare, here is the law. Go do these things. First, send someone to come get me, and then I’ll come back, and once I’ve seen that you followed all the laws, then I’ll preach the gospel of grace. Then what is grace? It’s earned because they followed the law? No, that’s foolishness. Paul rolls into town, into the synagogues, first with the Jews, and then once they reject him, he goes out of the markets and the community centers and the streets declaring the grace of God through Jesus Christ crucified, saying there’s nothing for you to do. It has been done. So what do you think you could possibly do now to be accepted by God when He accepted you already at your very worst, you see how unimaginable This is to Paul, why he’s so frustrated in saying, You foolish Galatians. But let’s look at our own lives. How foolish can we be? Because this is what it looks like in our life. We’re not maybe tempted to follow the Jewish customs and laws. We just are really good at creating laws for ourselves. We’re really good at creating laws for other people, saying you need to follow these things. And it’s this kind of sort of self salvation project, which can I just I want to speak to that real quick, because I think I understand what the Judaizers are doing. Like, I’ve spent my entire life following the Jewish laws and these people just to get in, get get to get in. Like, how many times in our life have we seen something we like we want you to go through the same difficulties we had, the same thing. You got to work. You got to earn it. You just get everything. And so I understand it from that standpoint that they’re like, I mean, we’ve been doing this our whole life, but that doesn’t mean it’s true that they should be able to do that in the lives of others. Instead, we say we have had this burden of following the law, and now we’re preaching grace. I’m so thankful you don’t have that burden on you. Come on in. Well, what does this look like in our life, if you decided to come to church today and sit in the pew because there’s something going wrong in your life and you’re thinking, God’s going to look at you and change your circumstances because you’re sitting here today? That is work based religion as not the gospel. Later this week, when you give into temptation and sin and your first response is, what can I do to make this up to God? As works based religion is not the gospel, and if you have a past that includes things you wouldn’t even want to tell anybody in this room and that you have to clean yourself up to bring yourself to God. That is works based religion. It is not the gospel. Paul has made it clear that the Galatians were not saved through adhering to the Mosaic law, but only by the gospel. What did they believe? Then to receive the Spirit. That’s where Paul goes next. In our next section, verses six through nine, the gospel is announced. Let’s read it together here, starting verse six, so also Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Understand, then that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and announce the gospel in advance to Abraham, all nations will be blessed through you, so those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. Now logically, you would think Paul would start talking about Moses. We’re talking about the Mosaic Law, right? Like when things were finally put down for the people to listen to, because that’s the issue that they’re dealing with here from these Judaizers. So you got to do this before you come to faith in Christ. But it’s important that Paul goes back to Abraham, because Abraham, even though he is the father of the Jewish nation, he’s called by God, and we know what’s going to happen with his life. He has a lot in common with the Gentiles, because if you think about if we pull all these different parts of Scripture together, what we see is that Abraham is living in ur he’s living in a place with a family that’s polytheistic, worshiping other gods. They’re not following the God of the Bible until the God of the Bible shows up and calls Abraham out of this and chooses him and says, I’m going to make something out of you for My glory, which means that Abraham was called by God before the law was given. And yet, in Abraham, we see a man who believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness that’s in Genesis. Chapter 15, so he’s declared righteous by God before he gets circumcision in Genesis. Chapter 17, this is important for the argument that Paul is making. Verse nine, then gives us a great summary of Abraham. He was a man of faith. How great would that be to have on your epitaph just your name, man of faith, woman of faith. We can’t overstate how important faith or belief is to Paul in this passage, because in these 14 verses, he uses the word faith, or believe, 10 times. He wants to make sure they truly understand what’s happening, what faith is, what belief is. So a working definition for us this morning of faith that I love by Tozer defines it this way. He says, Faith is the gaze of a soul upon a saving God. Faith is the gaze of a soul upon a saving God. The Galatians, just like Abraham, were saved by believing what they heard by what they saw. And we get the example of Abraham’s faith in verse six here, which is again quoting Genesis 15, where God takes Abraham outside, has him look at the expanse of the sky. And he says, You see all these stars. And he says this to him when he is childless, an old man with a barren wife. And he says, you see all this, all these stars, so shall your offspring be? And Abraham looks around, I don’t have any kids, I don’t have a pregnant wife. I don’t even know all this is going to happen. But God, I believe your word, and in believing that word, God said, credited him with righteousness, credited him, meaning he he gets something from God that he didn’t have before God gives it to him. His faith alone, without any actions, means that God sees Abraham as living a righteous life, a life that we know he’s going to continue to mess up in. And yet it’s his faith that saves him, because it’s his faith in who, who he believes in, not what he does, not what he will do, whether good or bad. I believe your word God and he gets credited with righteousness. God saw Abraham and all of his sins, all the things he would do, not as and he saw him as perfect, not because he was but because his faith was in God, the One who would fulfill all of his promises to Abraham, all of his promises in Scripture. And then verse eight gives us the gospel message from Genesis. Chapter 12, it says, all nations will be blessed through you. This is what Abraham hears from God. Now it’s not immediately, you know, obvious, but if you think about it, all nations will be blessed through you. And you think about John 316, For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. And you go back to Genesis 12. And what Abraham is hearing, all nations will be blessed through you. The world will be blessed. What is a blessing? Eternal life. They’ll get eternal life through you now, not through Abraham specifically, but through the seed of Abraham, which we’re going to talk a lot more about next week. So you see all of this coming together. This is the gospel and scripture has been saying from the very beginning that the Gentiles would be saved. The Gentiles would be saved. Now, some of you are in the perspectives class that’s happening on Tuesdays, and I was told to tell you this. This is your Honda CRV moment. Okay, so everybody who’s laughing understands if you’re not laughing. Let me explain it to you, the teacher the first week of perspectives. This was talking about how he never really thought about Honda CRVs before, until he rented one, right? He had to rent a car and he got a Honda CRV. What do you think when he’s driving around town? And even now, he thinks about and sees all the time Honda CRVs, all of a sounds like they’re everywhere. He didn’t notice them before because he didn’t have one. Now he had one, and now he sees he sees all of them. That’s exactly what happens here when we read Scripture and see that God is a missional God going after the world, including the Gentiles. And once you see that, you cannot unsee it anymore as you read scripture, just pops out. So this teacher said, I want you to have the Honda CRV moment every time you’re reading scripture. You’re reading scripture that it just pops out. God is saving the world, not just the Jews, the Gentiles, too. And Paul knew this because in his journeys with the churches in Galatian Acts, chapter three or Acts chapter 13, sorry, he was he’s gonna get rejected by the Jews. And so he’s talking to the Jews, and they’re already rejecting his message. And this is what he says. Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly. These are to the Jewish leaders. We had to speak the Word of God to you first, since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles, for this is what the Lord has commanded us. I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth, I have made you light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth. That’s a quote from Isaiah 49 that’s not three weeks ago for Paul. It was from Isaiah 49 and Simeon, when he gets Jesus in the temple eight days after Jesus is born, he prays a prayer, and he says this about Jesus, that He is the light for the Gentiles. So Simeon is saying, this Savior has come for more than just Israel. He has come for the world. So God has been a missional God from the beginning. So what do they need, then, to be declared not guilty, not works, not the Mosaic law. They don’t need to become Jewish. First Look at verse nine. So those who rely on faith are blessed, along with Abraham, those whose souls gaze at Jesus, the God who saves, are blessed. Now, what is the blessing they received? This isn’t a shallow like, bless your heart. I hope good things happen to you today, or you sneeze, bless you. Even better, God, bless you. That’s not what this is. What’s saying here, the what he’s saying here, when they blesses you, is this is God in His grace, in his favor, is coming near you. The God of the universe is coming near you. And it’s actually a double blessing. We’re going to see the first part here, and then the second part later. The first blessing here is justification. That’s what he just said in verse eight scripture. Foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles. It’s the same for us today. We are just justified, declared not guilty before God. There’s nothing you could do to change your guilt, to change your status, unless you put your faith in Jesus. As John Stott said, it’s very simple, Christ was lifted up on the cross, and faith gazes at him there. That’s what happens in the gospel. That’s the gospel announced. This is Jesus. I’m just going to look at him. I’m going to believe in what he has done. Now, before we move into the last section, it’s important to mention something here about the law, and we’re going to talk a lot more about this next week, but I want to, I want to mention it here, because you can, you can think that the law is bad. Okay, the law is not bad. In fact, in Romans seven, Paul says the law is holy, just and good. Another way of describing the law is just saying God’s teaching like, What has God taught us? And that’s what we have here. This is what God teaches us about how we are to live. We did a whole series on the 10 Commandments. We did not get up here and say, the Ten Commandments mean nothing. They’re bad. We said, how do we live in light of Jesus Christ? Like, what do these look like in our life? Now we’re gonna again, talk about it a lot more next week, but the Bible makes it very clear there’s a certain way for us to live if we call Jesus Lord. So what is the proper relationship for a Christian with the law? And we get a glimpse of what it is not, and then a little bit later, we’ll see what it does look like. And like I said, next week, we’ll spend a lot more time looking at that. But as the last section, we see that the gospel is accomplished. Okay, the gospel is accomplished. Look at Verse 10, read to the verse 14, for all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written, Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the book of the law. Clearly, no one who relies on the law is justified before God because the righteous will live by faith. The law is not based on faith. On the contrary, it says, The person who does these things will live by them. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole. He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ, Jesus, so that by faith, we might receive the promise of the Spirit. So right away, we see that we are not to think how we are not to think about the law, how we’re not to think about it. And it’s in that word rely, in verse 10, for those, for all who rely on the works of the law. And the meaning here is it’s an identity. If you identify with the law, then you have to live by the law. So if you’re going to say, I’m following the law, that means you have to follow everything about the law. And since we cannot live it perfectly, we are cursed. If you start to look at the law as the way to be saved again, if we open up any page in this book and think that there’s anything we can do to be saved, we are cursed. Being cursed means being under God’s wrath. It’s the opposite of his blessing when we are under God’s wrath, we are there because we have sinned. We have not lived up to the standard that he calls us to if we identify with the law, because we cannot pick and choose which laws we follow and then bring them to God and say, I did these really well. These aren’t the important ones right over here. Like I tried to do these as best I could, that’s not the standard. If you say I’m going to live by the law, then you better live by everything in the law, because everything is important in God’s law. Everything is important in God’s word. And so it’s an important question to ask, if the Jews who had the Old Testament law in their possession followed it, memorized it, if they couldn’t be saved by it, how could the Gentiles ever possibly hope to be saved by it? Like, what are they going to do that the Jews couldn’t have done on their own? So why are you being pulled to go back to the law? We cannot be justified by it. We cannot stand before God and be declared righteous by adhering to the law, because we have not done everything written in this book. So unless you can hold up a perfect record, we are cursed. So when we look at the law, all we see is this big sign that says you can’t do it. You can’t accomplish this. But that’s actually really good news. When you understand that, when you finally say, Oh, wait, I can’t do it, that’s when you really, truly find freedom in the gospel. That’s when, like, I’m going to put my faith here, which is where Paul goes next. Clearly, no one is justified by following the law, because we cannot do it perfectly. So then, how were people saved? And for this, Paul quotes Habakkuk, two, four, and Habakkuk is in the Old Testament. Think that’s important, the righteous will live by faith. What this is saying is no one could get up before the Gentiles. As a judaizer trying to say, you need to follow the Old Testament law. You need to become Jewish in order to be welcomed into the Christian community. None of them could stand up before the Gentiles and prove from scripture that any old testament saint was saved because of law following not Abraham, not Moses, not David, not Elijah, not none of them. Where are they going to go in Scripture and say they followed it perfectly? So you have to be like them first, then you can be brought into the Christian community instead. How are these people remembered? Hebrews chapter 11, called the hall of faith. It walks through these names and many more. And when you come to the names, it says, by living a perfect life according to the law, no what does it say? A very simple little phrase, by faith. By faith. Abraham did this by faith. Moses did this by faith. David did this over and over and over again every single time. So why would you go backwards? Abraham couldn’t do it. Moses couldn’t do it. How do you think you’re going to do it to be accepted by God? So it makes it clear, Hebrews 11 six says without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists. It’s impossible to please God without faith. Everyone Old Testament. New Testament is saved by faith. Today we are saved by faith. The Old Testament, saints are saved by the promises God gave them. Just like Abraham, all nations will be blessed through you. Your offspring is going to be like the stars in the sky. I believe you God, it’s credited to him as righteousness, every single one of them, not their law, following and we on this side of the cross look back at the promises fulfilled in Jesus. Say, I believe that he did what he said he did. I believe in His perfect life, His death, His resurrection. That’s where my faith is today. But if we are all under the curse of God, under his just wrath, how do we move from the cursing to the blessing? And that is the good news of verses 13 and 14. We are redeemed by Jesus. We just sang this on this morning, redemption written on his hands. That’s what he came to do to buy us back out of our slavery into freedom, slavery to the law, to the freedom of living in Christ, this is the good news to experience that freedom and blessing that he offers, but that cost Jesus everything, because he became the curse, it says, for us, substituted himself for us, and by becoming that curse, he legally became sin on that cross, he experienced what it was like to be forsaken when he cries out, My God, my God. Why have you forsaken me? What would have been worse? On the cross in that moment, and because he experienced that in our place, by faith, we will never experience that. We only get the promise that He will never leave us or forsake us, because Christ took that and we cling to that promise that regardless of my law, keeping what I do or don’t do, He will never leave me. He will never forsake me in those moments on the cross. Jesus the only one who had the perfect record. Brandon talked about this last week, we get that perfect score of Jesus, but it’s his perfect score, that perfect record, who did everything written in the Book of the Law, every single thing, everything he was not supposed to do. He didn’t do those things, everything he was supposed to do. He did those things perfect. And he didn’t look at himself and say, I’m blessed. You’re cursed. Figure it out. No on the cross, He takes our sin, He takes our shame, and he looks and he says, Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing. They don’t understand how bad this is he takes the most shameful position, arms outstretched on a pole, which, for the Jews, when they think of that, and they think of what we just what’s quoted here, for us in Deuteronomy, a pole in the Old Testament, was a place of shame. It was a place where you were killed, most likely by stoning, and then set up on the pole so everybody could see this person is cursed by God. And here’s the guy going around saying, I’m the Savior, and he’s on a pole. Of course, the Jews would find this a stumbling block, as it says in First Corinthians, the cross is a stumbling block to the Jews, but they don’t realize it’s their curse that’s on him. If they believe that, they look at it totally different. And the Gentiles, it says the cross is foolishness, until they realize he didn’t stay dead if he died, yes, it’s foolish. If he stayed dead, it’s foolish. Why are we following him? But when the gospel came to them, they knew, not only did he die, he rose from the dead, and they received the Spirit. And Paul says, That’s the gospel. That’s what came to you. That’s what transformed you. It’s not all. Jesus cried from the cross, of course, little while later, before he gave a spirit breathed his last. He said, It is finished. His work accomplished. The curse of the law ended, and the blessing can now be received, which we see in this passage, as I mentioned, this double blessing we already saw. We’re justified by faith. Faith. The second blessing in verse 14 is by faith, we might receive the promise of the Spirit. That’s what we get, this blessing of God’s presence with us. This is the very thing that Paul saw, what he just said at the beginning of this chapter. This is what I saw in you. You were saved by the Spirit, not by the works of the law. And this is what we get when we believe in Christ, when we fix our gaze on Jesus, when we believe in what he accomplished, His Spirit is with us. We no longer rely on the law. We rely on Him through faith. Now our lives are an act of worship to Him, not to get something, but because we’ve been given everything. So here’s the big idea this morning. It is to fix your gaze on Jesus so that you receive His blessings. Fix your gaze on Jesus so that you receive His blessings. You see what’s not in that statement, fix yourself. Fix your gaze on him. There’s nothing to do. There’s nothing to do. There isn’t a list to follow to get to this point. It’s simply looking at him, acknowledging him as your Savior, relying on what he has done, identifying with him, and then we live out these blessings of justification and the Holy Spirit. So then, how do we interact with the law, with the things that God has called us to do? I want to illustrate this with a story, because I think this might be the best way of thinking about it. Imagine a woman has a very unloving husband, and every day before he leaves for work, he gives her a list of things that she needs to do before he returns home, no matter how hard she tries to complete the task, she can never do it. She’s never successful. So every night, he scolds her for her poor, poor performance. Her life with her husband is very hard. A little while later, her husband dies, and she marries another man a few years after that, who is kind and loving. They have a wonderful relationship, and she’s happy. And one day, as she’s cleaning her home, she comes across a list of the tasks her former husband gave her to finish. And she looked at the list, she was amazed to discover that while she could not complete the task for the former husband, no matter how hard she tried, she was she was now accomplishing all of these and more with her new husband. You see the difference when we understand we are loved, we do the things even without being asked, without being told, because instead, we go to God and say, How can I love you because of everything you have done? Not give you my give me my list so I can. I can try to do it so I can. I can fix myself. I can do the things you want me to do first. No, he puts his love on us. We say, How can I live now to worship you? That’s the difference. It’s impossible to keep God’s law consistently, let alone perfectly. But when we are saved in this loving relationship, we follow Him because we love him, our love for God is not what’s most important. It’s his love for us. We love because he first loved us and gave himself for us, and now our response is love, but the most important thing is that God loves you, not that you have to do anything for that. It’s not the legalistic do’s and don’ts. We don’t earn it. We don’t balance out our sin. It’s the loving response to what this God has done for us. So if you’ve been relying on the law to save you, and I’m not even saying the Old Testament law, I’m saying the laws that you create, the laws that other people have created for you, and you’re getting nowhere. There is hope, and it’s not another list, it’s not a different list, it’s not a different thing. It’s simply turning your attention and your gaze on the Savior who made it possible for you to be saved, to be empowered by the Spirit now to live your life for him. I wish I had a happier ending to the story. I started off with Jackie wrote a letter to our friend, which he sent back to Jackie with a lot of red pen, defending herself. The difference between Jackie’s letter and her letter was, one was all about God’s grace and love and forgiveness, and the other one was, I have to do these things because she’s missing out what’s been done for her. So the burden of the law was back on her, instead of the freedom that she has in Christ, Jesus. So let’s get rid of all the eyes. Say, what has he done? What is he doing? Because that’s the only thing that’s really going to change us, that’s going to transform us. So if you’re here this morning, and you have never given your life to Jesus, and you keep trying those self salvation projects, you keep trying to fix yourself, clean yourself up, look a little bit better, so that you can come in. We’re so glad you’re here, because guess what, all of us are mess. We’re all messes. We’ve all been messes. We’ll continue to be messes, hopefully a little bit less messy than yesterday, you know, as we faithfully pursue Jesus. But here’s the thing you need to hear. One of the things we love to talk about here is the gospel waltz. It is looking at our life and saying, What is the gospel? What do I need to do to believe the gospel? Just that believe the gospel like I just need to believe the gospel. There’s no list for me to do. So when we talk about the fact of like, our turning of our attention and our gaze to Jesus, what happens when we turn to Jesus is we’re turning away from our past. We’re turning away from our sin. So that’s what we say. We repent, we turn away from the way we used to live. So maybe that for you is the legalistic do’s and don’ts. Maybe that’s for you is like, doesn’t God have to forgive me? We don’t see that in this passage, why we’re so much on legalism this morning. But maybe that’s you. Maybe you’re saying like, Oh, doesn’t God have to forgive me? Isn’t my sin make his grace greater? Maybe that. Maybe that’s it for you. Maybe it’s something else. I’m not sure where you are. But what does the law do now? What does all of this do? As we read this, it reminds us first that we need Jesus, so then we repent and we come back to him. So instead of beating yourself up over your sin, we remember that law keeping wasn’t what has got us in in the first place, and if it didn’t get us in in the first place, why are we keeping all this stuff inside? Bring it out. Bring it to him. If you put your attention, your gaze on him, you repent and turn from your sin. What else does the law do? It drives us back to Jesus. This is belief. Your faith has been credited to you as righteousness. What Jesus sees when he looks at you is Christ’s perfection. You have to believe that to keep going, one to not feel the shame of what you’ve done, and also to keep going, which is the final thing, the law, everything we read in here becomes our guide for life. We obey. Obedience is key, but we don’t rely on it. That’s the difference. We don’t rely on our obedience to get us in. We don’t rely on our obedience to keep us in. We don’t rely on our obedience so that God says, I still love you. He’s going to say, I still love you in spite of what we do good and bad. So we don’t obey for Christ’s acceptance, we obey from it. So repent, believe and obey. And maybe you need to do that for the first time. And I guarantee for all of us here, we need to do it for the 1,000th time, 10,000th time, I don’t know, but do it right now. In these next few moments, the worship team is going to come up here. Brandon will lead us in a time of confession. What is it for you that you need to give but here’s what I don’t want to have happen is you sit there and be like, This is what I have to do today. The only thing you have to do is gaze at him. And if you gaze at him and see what he did for you, you’ll gladly follow him, because you understand what it cost him to redeem us. And when he said it is finished, he meant it. And so for us now, we just the glad obedience of following our Savior each and every day. So repent, believe, obey, let that be the thing that’s going through your mind all the time, always remembering that he has accepted you, He loves you, and by faith, he has justified you and given you his Spirit, so that you can go and live your life, and not live your life like a prisoner, but live it in freedom. And when people see that, they will be attracted to it, and they’ll say, there’s something different. And then when those things come in, those self salvation projects, those things that come in at our mind, like, I need to do this. I need to do that, we can get those things out, because we can say I wasn’t saved for those things by those things anyways, of somebody faith in Jesus Christ, and it’s to him I’m going to continue to cling to. Let’s pray.

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By Faith Alone February 8, 2026 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper’s sermon on Galatians 2:11-21 emphasizes the importance of salvation by grace through faith alone in Christ. He recounts a personal anecdote about catching a duck to illustrate human struggles with guilt and pride. Cooper highlights Paul’s confrontation with Peter for hypocrisy, underscoring the need to defend the gospel. He explains that justification comes through faith in Christ, not works of the law, and criticizes Peter for undermining this truth. Cooper encourages the congregation to contend for, act on, and live in God’s grace, emphasizing that true life comes from trusting in Christ’s sacrifice.

Good morning church and go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Galatians, chapter two. Galatians two, we’ll be starting in verse 11 this morning. Galatians 2:11. As you’re turning there one time when we were at our summer home up in upstate New York, when I was a child, I was fishing and caught a duck. So that was fun for me. It was less fun for the duck. He was not at all happy to be caught in my fishing line. I did manage to reel him to the dock, and when we got there, set about trying to extricate him from the fishing line. Was a slow process. It was a slower process than it should have been, because the duck was against me. I kept wanting to tell the duck, like, just chill, like I’m on your side here. If you hold still, this can go a lot faster, but the duck was not listening to me. I would make fun of the duck for its lack of intelligence, but the truth is, we’re not any smarter than the duck, really, because we could also be still and trust the God who saves us. But so often, instead, we struggle and strive to save ourselves, getting more and more tangled up in the process, in fact, getting tangled up in what not fishing line, but in guilt and shame or pride when we think it’s going well. Carl Menninger, who is a renowned psychologist, said some years ago that he felt he could empty 70% of psychiatric wards if he could just convince people that their sins were forgiven, they don’t need to strive any longer. It’s done. So how do we overcome the guilt of our sins? Is a pressing question for all of us when we all need to answer urgently, because we feel it so urgently, we’re constantly wondering if we measure up or not, and that’s what leads to all that frenetic striving and struggling. And by the way, this can look religious. Certainly, we can picture all sorts of things that people do religious deeds to try to prove themselves and save themselves. This can also take on an irreligious like a secular flavor as well people trying to prove themselves in the eyes of the world or in their own eyes through their acts of compassion or kindness, through achievement winning the approval of others. My hope for us this morning is that we understand and feel the freedom of salvation by grace, alone, through faith, alone in Christ alone. That’s what Paul teaches in our passage this morning as he continues his narrative. If you haven’t been with us for the last few weeks, Paul has been giving us his autobiography to show that the gospel he preaches is, in fact, God’s gospel. He didn’t get it from anyone else. He received it by revelation. He didn’t learn it from Jerusalem. And so if he and Jerusalem are in conflict, then Jerusalem is going to have to give and that’s exactly what happens here in our story when he confronts Peter, because the gospel is at stake. So I’m going to give us our big idea up front. You can have it in your mind as we go through it, but we’re actually going to unpack it as we go as well. So the big idea is, don’t set aside God’s grace. Don’t set aside God’s grace, but instead, we can get these three ideas as we go. So don’t set aside God’s grace, but first of all, contend for it. Contend for God’s grace. From verses 11 to 14, we read it for us. When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned for before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles, but when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy, even Barnabas was led astray. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, you are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it then that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? Pause there. So the gospel is so important, it demands that we defend it. There can be no place for compromise when it comes to the Gospel itself, and that’s why Paul is willing to rebuke Peter, called Cephas here in this story, why he’s willing to rebuke Peter again. This is the gospel he received from Jesus Christ. And so it is not under Peter’s authority or anything like that. This is directly from God. In fact, his rebuke of Peter substantiates his authority. Mean he is saying, even Peter needs to submit to Paul’s Gospel, because Paul’s gospel is the gospel, and so Paul rebukes him publicly because, of course, he’s sinned publicly as a leader, and it has had a very public effect on the church. Now this is a tense moment in the life of the church. Of course, there are some encouraging pieces to this. I don’t know about you. I am a little bit encouraged by the fact that even apostles fall, that even apostles stumble. I think it was Luther who said something like, no one is so secure that they can’t stumble, and at the same time, no one is so fallen that they can’t get up. And that’s the encouragement that we see here. So when we stumble like Peter does in this moment, what do we do? Well, what Paul helps him do in this moment, which is return to the gospel, the good news of salvation by grace, His mercies truly are new every morning. But let’s break down the story a little bit. What exactly happened here. We’re listening in to one end of the phone conversation. So we don’t have all of the details. So what I’m going to say here is conjecture. For sure, there’s probably a pretty good construction of what happened certain men from James came. James is Jesus’s brother, half-brother, and he is the head of the church in Jerusalem. And so the Jerusalem church has sent some guys out to Antioch, where they are at this point, which is Gentile territory. These men came, and they’re bringing some sort of report about the circumcision group. Now the circumcision group could be James and kind of those Jewish Christians, I don’t think so. Though, I think what we’re talking about there with the circumcision group would actually be the Jews in Jerusalem who are persecuting this new church, who are persecuting the church of Christ. So what happens? And his men from James come and they say, look, the Jews in Jerusalem, they’ve heard that you guys are messing with Judaism so that you’re not keeping kosher anymore. You’re eating with Gentiles. They’re so angry about this that they’re actually persecuting us. Would you stop, please, so that we don’t get persecuted any longer. By the way, that reconstruction changes Peter’s response a little bit, doesn’t it? We give a little more sympathy for Peter in this moment. If I were to get up front here and say, Hey, if you would just stop eating at your favorite fast food restaurant. You know, the church in North Korea wouldn’t be persecuted anymore. How would you respond? Matt would almost say, in that case, it would be sin not to respond like, stop going the broccoli cheddar soup of Panera is great. It’s not so good that you should be okay with your brothers and sisters in Christ being killed for it. And that’s basically what the people from James are saying. I love bacon wrapped scallops too, but if you don’t eat them, we won’t die. And so Peter pulls back so he doesn’t. It’s not just that he continues to eat kosher, but part of eating kosher means he won’t even sit at the table with Gentiles any longer, so you understand his heart, but in the process, he has destroyed the gospel, and that’s why Paul rebukes him. He seems like he’s helping persecuted Christians, but he’s actually denying the gospel. He’s saying you’re not saved by grace alone. You’re saved by grace plus the works of the law. You need to keep kosher, for example. So he’s denying the gospel, and he’s drawing others away from the gospel too. This is why Paul rebukes Peter for hypocrisy in particular. Now, hypocrisy is a challenging word. It gets tossed around a lot and usually not well, not correctly. Hypocrisy doesn’t mean you’re a Christian who sins. By the way, Christian means you’re a Christian who sins. Because we all sin. We all continue to struggle with sin. Hypocrisy is when you pretend to be something that you are not. I’ll try and give you an example make it clear. So let’s say somebody’s going on a business trip. Man’s going away on a business trip. He’s there. He’s in the airport. A really attractive woman not wearing enough clothes, walks by and his head is turned and he has a thought in his head. That’s not hypocrisy, that’s sin. Now, if that same guy takes his wedding ring off, puts it in his pocket and enters into conversation with him, that’s hypocrisy, because he’s pretending to be something he’s not single available. So that’s the difference, right there. Peter is pretending to be something that he is not. He’s not acting in line with the truth that he knows. Keep in mind, Peter is the first one to convert a Gentile to Christianity. God sends Cornelius, the Roman soldier, to Peter. And right before he shows up in Acts chapter 10, Peter has this vision of this sheet being let down from heaven, and it’s got unclean, non-kosher foods on it. And Peter is directed to eat the unclean foods as really a symbol. He is okay to welcome unclean people, Gentiles. So Peter knows, he knows that’s not what’s required of him. He’s pretending to be something that he’s not. He’s implicitly saying that these Gentiles would need to become Jews in order to fellowship with Him, and that is a terrible sin, because he is, as one commentator put it, rebuilding a separating wall, rebuilding a separating wall on the ground where Christ set a table for any and all his people. And how dare we refuse fellowship with those with whom God enjoys fellowship. That would be shocking. I was just this past week. I was driving out in Wheaton, and drove by a sign, you know, directing me down to a Second Baptist Church. And like, I was reminded of the horrific legacy we have in this country, even, of denying fellowship to those that God has welcomed into his people. First Baptist Church is for the white people, and Second Baptist Church is for the black people. You’re not welcome in white churches way back when. I mean, thankfully, we’ve left that behind. But this just shows you how often the Church of God has struggled with this. What about you? Have you erected boundaries that Christ died to erase? Maybe these are ethnic boundaries, but could be political boundaries. Could be class boundaries, social boundaries, you know, a little too much mess for you to be welcome in my life. Okay, have you erected boundaries that Christ died to erase? But here’s the other question, how do you know? And here, I think we see how we know by looking at this passage, who’s Welcome at your table. Who do you have over to your house for meals? The answer is, no one. That’s a different issue. We talk about that one a lot here. We’ve done a whole series on that one. I can’t help you. I’ve said it all right. We’ll talk about that one again later. But if you have people over to your house, are there people as you’re looking at it, you’re going they kind of all look like me, kind of all sound like me. We’re kind of in a similar stage of life. And check your heart, check your heart, check it, especially because of the effect it’s having on others. That’s what we see here as well. Because sin always impacts others negatively, like we do not get to sin in a vacuum. So it’s always going to touch other people. And you see it, others are drawn away, to the point where even Barnabas is led astray. This is Paul going full. Julius Caesar at this moment, like “et tu Barnaby”. Why? Because Barnabas was the one who went on the Gentile mission with Paul. Like this is his co labor in Christ of the Gentiles, even Barnabas is doing this now. And so we need to take a look at our lives then to see how our sin is affecting those around us, and in particular, how our hypocrisy would be affecting those around us. It’s true for all of us, but let me speak to parents here in particular, because I think parents need to be especially sensitive to this. What is your example teaching your kids? Do you see hypocrisy in the relationship that you have with your kids now, again, it’s probably good. The teens aren’t here because the teens are all like set to talk to their parents now afterwards, but they’re on the retreat. That’s good. The question is not, do you sin in front of and against your children? You do, I promise. The question is, do you demonstrate repentance when you sin in front of and against your children, do you seek forgiveness? And of course, the question is, are you a hypocrite? You talk about how important the Word of God is and neglect to open it with your family? Do you talk about the dangers of just putting anything into your mind in terms of media consumption and that go on and consume whatever you want in terms of media. Are you a hypocrite? This is a serious issue. All this is a serious issue. In fact, Paul says it’s so serious that Peter stood condemned already, that word condemned is every bit as strong as it sounds. It is only ever used of condemned before God. And so we’re talking about he he’s damned at this point. If he continues down this road, of course he is. That was where we started. Galatians 1:8-9, if you preach a different gospel, let him be accursed. And Peter is preaching a different gospel, he’s perverting the gospel. And that’s serious. I came across this Spurgeon quote just this week. In fact, he says the gospel is perfect in all its parts and perfect as a whole. So it is a crime to add to it, treason to alter it, and a felony to take from it. And Peter just committed treason because he’s altering the gospel of Christ. So this is too important not to be taken seriously. We need to be willing to contend for the sake of the Gospel, even if it’s awkward, painful in a relationship. Do we have Paul’s tender boldness? Are we willing to rebuke lovingly, of course, when we see the gospel being perverted and it’s hurting others, we get to chapter six, we’re going to see that when we see somebody else in sin, we’re to restore them gently, and that’s what what Paul has done for Peter here, gently, not sneeringly, not arrogantly, but ourselves, acting in line with the truth of the gospel, which is probably a helpful way of thinking about it. We’re going to confront somebody for not acting in line with the truth of the gospel. We probably want to act in line with the truth of the gospel as we confront them, which means looking at it, going there, but for the grace of God, go I. I am also a sinner in need of grace. But even the rebuke itself points to the gospel. Notice, Paul doesn’t say to Peter, you’re breaking the rules. Paul says to be Peter. You’ve forgotten the gospel. That’s what rebuke looks like. That’s where rebuke should always land. If you’re in Journey groups, you know we do the the gospel, waltz here, waltz, meaning three steps, repent, believe, obey, and those need to be present in our rebukes as well repent. Yes, we are calling somebody out for sin. Obey. Yes, we are calling them to a new obedience. But have you gotten to the gospel motivation for that changed life as Peter receives from Paul here, don’t set aside God’s grace. Don’t let anyone else set it aside. Either. Rather contend for it in love. Second, don’t set aside God’s grace, but act on it. Act on it. From verses 15 and 16, we, who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles, know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we too have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law, no one will be justified. Talk about a preacher trying to beat it into somebody’s head three times in these two verses, Paul says, we are justified by faith alone and not by works of the law. Now, justified not a word we use a ton. It’s one of those religious-sounding words, but it’s a courtroom word. You’re standing before the judge. Is the judge going to say guilty or innocent? And so to be justified is to be declared innocent before God. How does that happen? It happens by faith and faith alone. This is the heart of Galatians right here in verse 16, right standing with God comes by grace through faith and not by our efforts. The problem is that the default setting of the human heart is self-justification. We want to make ourselves right. We have the sense. I can fix this. I can do this. I can earn this. Years ago, when evangelicalism explosion was a thing, they would ask the question, if you were to die today, you know, why would God let you into heaven? What’s everybody’s answer? It’s like 90 plus percent. I’m a pretty good person. That’s exactly it, right? You can say it verbatim. We all know exactly what that how that question is going to go. I’m a pretty good person. Now, those stats would probably be lower today, in part because people don’t believe in God, in heaven, as much as they used to, but they would still tell you I’m a pretty good person. Look at my social media feed. You can see what I’m a pretty good person. I can do this myself, but Jews like Paul and Peter knew all too well that it doesn’t work, that really, even these Jews who are not, you know, sinful Gentiles, as he says here. I mean, he’s kind of picking up the Jewish snobbery at this point. Knew they know that even they can’t keep the law perfectly. Like Paul talks about this at length in Romans seven, for example, he says, I tried, like I did my best, to keep the law. You shall not murder. Great. I didn’t murder. Anybody shall not steal. Okay, I didn’t steal, don’t commit adultery. I didn’t commit adultery, You shall not covet. Oh, that one’s harder. All right, we’re starting to look at our heart motivations. When my neighbor pulled in with that new car, or the other guy got the promotion or something. And you just how do I know if that was coveting, that burst of emotion that I had in that moment, we’re simply too selfish. And as Paul and Peter would know, religion can actually encourage our selfishness. Can puff us up with pride if we’re keeping rules that other people aren’t keeping, can puff us up with judgment and self-righteousness. We are not good enough, but we are bad enough to come as we are and we’re. What He has for us, and that’s what we need to do. We need to receive what, again, Luther called an alien righteousness, somebody else’s righteousness. We need that to be given to us what we didn’t earn, didn’t deserve. Now, if the word righteousness is throwing you off, that’s just your performance record. Okay, this is just a list of what you did. So we need somebody else’s performance record, which means faith is taking credit for what you didn’t do. I’ve told this story many times in one of my favorite illustrations, that’s why. But when I was a teacher down in Colombia, we had two students. They were troublesome students, that’s that’s real, and one of them forgot to do his homework, and so he copied his friend’s homework, literally photocopied his friend’s homework, and then just wrote his name at the top. This is not clever cheating kids. Okay, try harder, but it is a picture of what we do. Did you do your homework? No, you’re gonna fail. Yes, absolutely. Here, take mine, okay, but it says your name at the top. That’s fine. Just cross it out. Write your name on top instead. So we hand Jesus our zero, that’s what he takes to the cross. That’s why he’s killed, and we get his 100. We get his perfect record. And the welcome that he deserved faith is taking credit for something we didn’t do. I tell it like that. It sounds like it’s just too astonishing to believe right? Surely I have to do something to earn it right? Not a chance. Not at all. Through God-given faith and faith alone, we receive God’s grace and mercy, then the works follow. That’s not like we go, Great, I got 100 on something I didn’t do. I don’t even need to learn this class now. No, like, as we grow in the spirit, we’ll get there, Galatians 5 and produce the fruit of the spirit. We’re going to learn how to do the homework on our own, sure, but that comes later. Don’t set aside God’s grace, but act on it. Act on it respond. News this important, this good, calls for a response, and we see what that response is, faith, faith, faith which is more than just belief, intellectual assent, but wholehearted, Whole Body Trust, if you are still trying to earn God’s favor or your own favor, favor in the eyes of the world, if you’re still struggling like a duck, here’s your invitation today. Stop stop striving. Stop struggling in vain. The work is already done. It was finished on the cross, put your trust in the one who did it. Like we got three baptisms in coming here in a moment, the stories that we’re going to hear, they can be your story also, even now, turn and trust. If you got any questions about that you want to talk to somebody, I am there after the service, just come and grab me. Grab someone who invited you. Grab anybody. They’d be happy to talk to you about it. Act on it. Though third, don’t set aside God’s grace, but live in it. Live in it. I read the rest of the passage, verses 17 to 21 but if in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners. Doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not. If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker, for through the law, I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live but Christ lives in me, the life I now live in, the body I live by faith, in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me, I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing. Let’s look at verse 17. The doctrine of faith alone, justification by faith alone, assures us that all of us are condemned. Even studious law keepers like Paul before his conversion and Peter, are condemned. So when Jesus came, he actually multiplied the number of sinners in the world, because all of a sudden everybody was on the same footing, even the people who are keeping the law trying to were failing, and so everybody become a sinner. Does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Of course not. I don’t blame Christ for that. All Jesus has really done is burst our self-righteous bubbles and given us all the reminder that we need, that we could not do this on our own. And Peter and the others, they should know this already, because they already left the law so that they could receive grace instead. But now it looks like they’re trying to rebuild the law, rebuild what they had destroyed, and that’s a bad idea. So imagine 14-year-old Johnny. Is babysitting his younger brother, nine-year-old, Jimmy. And Jimmy’s been playing with Legos all night, and he’s built up quite a tower at this point, eight o’clock comes and Johnny, who’s puffed up with his authority, kicks it over Legos everywhere. Mom said you had to clean up your toys by eight o’clock so you can get ready for bed. Jimmy Scurry’s way cry. Okay. Now if, after Jimmy’s asleep, Johnny comes downstairs and rebuilds that tower, he’s wrong either way, because he’s saying either I shouldn’t have kicked that over. I’m in big trouble, because Jimmy’s gonna cry about it tomorrow morning, and that’s gonna be a whooping for me. Gonna be a whooping for me, so I’m gonna rebuild the tower real quick. So he’s saying I shouldn’t have knocked it over, or he was right to knock it over, because mom really did say clean it up by eight o’clock, in which case, what’s he doing? Playing with toys. These should all be clean now. So do you see how either way, then he’s re he’s wrong if He rebuilds what he destroys. He’s saying, I shouldn’t have destroyed it, or I shouldn’t have rebuilt it. It’s either wrong to turn from the law initially, or it’s wrong to turn back to it. That’s what Paul is saying to Peter. Either you shouldn’t have gotten rid of the law the right you’ve been sinning for a while now, or you certainly shouldn’t go back to it now. And we know that that’s the true one. We know that. That’s what Paul is saying here. You guys are shooting yourselves in the foot because you’re turning away from the assurance of salvation to assured condemnation because you’re not gonna be able to keep the law. Then we finally get to the meat of it all in verse 19. How exactly does this work? These are beloved verses for a reason. Sure. Many of you, if you’ve been in the church for any length of time, probably have Galatians 220 memorized or thought through it many times. Paul says, through the law, I died to the law. It’s an odd phrase. The Law proves that he’s a sinner and therefore condemns him. The Law tells him that he needs to die. But through the law, he died to the law, because Christ died in his place, and Christ died under the law, we’ll get there in the next chapter. In fact, next week, come on back. We’re going to see Jesus become a curse for us by taking on the curse of the law. So through the law, he died to the law. Because if we’re united to Christ through faith, we’re trusting in Him, so that we’re in Christ, that means we died to the law too. We’re crucified with Christ. He says. So with Christ, he’s died to the old order, and then he is raised in the new order. We have to share in Christ’s resurrection as well. It’s actually exactly what baptism pictures. We were buried with Christ in His death. We die through the law to the law, and then we’re raised to new life, this new world that is breaking in that we saw in week one. Now, after he says, I died to the law, we might expect him to say, Now, I live to Christ, or live in Christ, not exactly what he says, though. He says, Actually, I don’t even live anymore like I’m all done. It’s Christ who lives in me. So in dying to sin, he says, we die to self. We die to the autonomy that we’ve all been craving since Eden, since Adam and Eve said, Actually, I would like to be God of my own life whom I have a bite of this fruit. So we die to self when we die, to sin. So that Paul doesn’t even think of himself as living, but just Christ living in and through him, as we just sang a moment ago. Yet not I, but Christ through me. Now he does acknowledge bodily life. It’s there, but even then, he says, I live that by faith in the Son of God complete trust, and the God who dwells within me by His Spirit, that literally says the life I live in the flesh, not in the body, but the life I live in the flesh, which is interesting, because flesh, in Paul’s thought is usually where sinful desires dwell. Fact, we’re going to see a little bit later. When we talk about the fruit of the Spirit. They’re in contrast with the works of the flesh in Galatians five. So where there’s this tension within us between flesh and spirit, the old order and the new order, which we’ll get to in Galatians five in particular. But the point is, the doctrine of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, leads to true life because it leads us to understand his love, which is better than life, and that’s why Paul bursts out in praise Christ, who loved me, gave himself up for me. It’s unusual for Paul to say that in the first person singular, usually talks about us, but he’s just over. Whelmed at this moment with a reminder of what he has been saved from a sinner like me, unable to save myself and yet loved this dearly. Love Like that’s enough to change us, to see Christ, learn Christ’s life flourish in us. We know that we’re loved like this. I mean, you think of what that does to sin. There’s no more lying to save face, because the cross has already exposed us. We’re fully known and yet fully loved so we can own who we are. There’s no more hoarding wealth to prove our worth, because God set his love on us. He thinks we’re worth the blood of His Son. There’s no more illicit relationships to gain love, because again, we have the Father’s love freely and fully given. But if we deny this truth verse 21 we deny the cross and with it our only hope of change, because if we can earn it, Christ died for nothing. You think of how pointless Christ’s death is, if we could do it by works of the law. Picture a house that’s burning your neighbor’s house, and you see it, and you see this on fire, and you go, see how much I love you, and you run into the burning house and perish. What have you done? Nothing. Now, if you say, see how much I love you, you run into the burning house and you help get their child out and succumb to smoke inhalation or something in the process, and you give your life, okay, that’s different. But which one did Jesus do? Did he die to save us, or did he die for no reason whatsoever? That’s what Paul’s saying. Don’t set aside the grace of God, but live in it. Let it be the animating force in your life. How do we overcome the guilt of our sins? How can we be put right with God? If God exists as he surely does, that is the most important question we can ask and answer. And Paul gives us the answer here in this passage, not by works of the law, not by striving and struggling and trying to earn it, but by grace, through faith in Christ, not to trust in Christ because we trust in ourselves is an insult to God’s grace and the blood of Christ, but to trust in Christ is to begin a new life altogether. If we’re in Christ, we’ve died with him, we’ve been raised with Him. We live in him, and that is our only hope. I open this series with a picture of us drowning, which is exactly what we’re doing, by the way, on our own, drowning in guilt and shame and sin, drowning a little bit like Noah’s contemporaries. You picture the flood and the ark drowning guilt and shame and drowning, ultimately in the just judgment of God when the rains start falling back in Noah’s day, imagine you’re there the rains start falling. You got two options and two options only. The first option is start paddling furiously as the waters keep rising, the waves are getting more turbulent, the mountains are covered. You got months and months and months of trying to paddle. Good luck to you. You’re going to die. That’s option one. There’s another option. It’s a better option, get on the boat. Get on the boat that’s sitting right next to you. That’s the point. Jesus is the ark. Paul saying, Get on the boat, hide yourself in Christ by grace, through faith, don’t set aside God’s grace. Contend for it, act on it, and then live in it. Let’s pray you. God, Lord, we are overwhelmed with the good news that Your Son Jesus loved us and gave himself up for us to rescue us from our sins. Love like that should change us, and we pray that it would change us even now, Lord, that we would give up our striving, even the striving that we’re tempted to fall into when we’ve given our lives to Christ trying to prove ourselves instead of that, Lord help us to rest, rest in the good news of the gospel. I pray for those who are not resting in it yet, I pray that even now they would get on the boat, that they would put aside their striving and trust in you receive what you would freely give them your grace and a right standing before you, not on the basis of what they’ve done, but on the basis. Basis of what Christ has done for them, we ask this in his name, amen.

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God’s Gospel February 1, 2026 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper discusses Paul’s gospel in Galatians 1:11-2:10, emphasizing its divine origin and revelation from Jesus Christ. Paul’s zealous persecution of Christians transformed into a mission to preach among Gentiles, uninfluenced by human teachings. He highlights Paul’s travels, his initial isolation in Arabia, and his later meetings with Peter and James, where his gospel was affirmed. Cooper warns against false gospels and false teachers, urging the congregation to preach and live God’s gospel, which offers true freedom and transformation through grace.

Well, good morning church. You can go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Galatians one. We’ll be starting in verse 11 this morning. Galatians 1:11. As you turn in there, I find that your travel plans often tell people quite a bit about who you are. So just picture what would be a wonderful scenario, although unlikely to come true, that tomorrow morning, you head into work, your boss hands you a check for $10,000 bonus and gives you two weeks off get away from the cold kind of thing. Where are you going? What are you doing? Some of us, you know, be all inclusive resort. Just want to lie somewhere warm and have people bring me what I want to eat. When I want to eat, it would say a little bit something about probably the level of burnout in your life, or something. Others, though, may go, that’s so boring, like I need to do something. Okay, so we’re going to the Holy Land or Rome, where we can tour historical sites and learn that would say something about you. Or others would go, we’re hiking in, you know, the backwoods of Alaska. We’re climbing Machu Picchu or something, you know. Okay, so that’s a level of exercise and activity that would say something about you. And some of you would go, Great. That’s going in savings. I’m staying home, which is again, crazy with this weather, but otherwise, I’m on board as a home body myself. I mention this because in our passage this morning, we get Paul’s travel plans across 14 years. These travel plans don’t so much tell us about him, although they do a little bit, but they tell us about his gospel, and specifically that his gospel is God’s gospel. If you were here last week, you remember that we talked about the fact that the gospel matters. It is the name of the series as well. Gospel matters. There’s only one we need to get it right. Paul is still continuing that argument in our passage this morning his autobiography, his travel plans are an important part of his defense of his gospel. Why he knows it’s true, why we should accept it as true as well. So in three scenes, we’re going to see where Paul learned his gospel, what makes it so good, and why we should preach and live it. So let’s dive in. Scene one. First of all, Arabian Nights, chapter one, verses 11 to 17, Paul writes, I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it. Rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was but I went into Arabia. Later, I returned to Damascus. Again. We are following straight on from verse 10. In verse 10, Paul says, I’m not trying to please people. I’m trying to please God. I am a servant of Christ. He’s not trying to please people. We know that because his gospel is not from people, but it’s from God. And that’s important, because if his gospel is human, he learned it from somebody else, it could be wrong. He could have learned the wrong gospel, or he could have heard it wrong. He could have gotten mistaken, got, you know, lost in translation. And so if, if, if that were the case, what we would treat his gospel the way we treat lots of other people. There are all sorts of good books worth reading in this world. You think of people like Calvin or Edwards or Augustine Athanasius, and these are good books, and I want to read them, but I’m not going to agree with everything necessarily in them, and that’s what Paul would be for us as well, if it’s just a human gospel. And even more than that, because he’s being accused of being a people pleaser. So his opponents are saying it’s not just that he got the message wrong, but that he got the motive wrong as well. The whole reason he messed up the message is because he’s trying to keep people happy so that he can win over a larger number of Gentile converts, sell more books and get a bigger church at the end of it. How by eliminating the hard parts, by softening the requirements, what it takes to be a Christian. So they’re accusing him of preaching cheap grace in essence, Grace without repentance, Grace without the changed life that we need to see you. Paul says, No, that’s not it at all, because this is not a human gospel. So He gives us His thesis right there in verse 11, the gospel I preached is not of human origin. And then, like a good you know, English writer gives us two good points, sub points underneath it. Verse 12, I did not receive it from anyone wasn’t taught it, but received it by revelation. So that’s how he’s proven his point. It’s not of human origin. Didn’t learn it from anyone else, but got it by revelation. And then he’s going to prove that that’s true. Just doesn’t reverse order. So he starts by saying, Look, I got it by revelation. So how does he say that? How does he prove that verse 13 and following, he says the Galatians, along with everyone else, really know all about what he used to be, which is complicit in the murder of Christians, because he’s overflowing with Pharisaical zeal he’s been trained, and really is outclassing his classmates in Judaism, which is an unusual term, not for us today, but it’s not used often in Scripture. The term Judaism actually originates under the Maccabees. If you know anything about your Jewish history, these were the Zealots who threw off an oppressive foreign yoke. So Judaism, this was all about the Jewish identity. So Paul is persecuting the church because they’re a threat to the preservation of Israel and Israel’s Jewish identity. He’s zealous for this the same way the Maccabees were, and we’ve got a lot of respect for the Maccabees. In fact, we have a lot of respect for people who are zealous. Often in Scripture, you look at guys like Phineas or Elijah fighting with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. But here we get a good reminder that zeal by itself, is not enough. It is not enough to sincerely believe what you believe and be really committed to those beliefs, because you could be like Paul here, zealously wrong zeal. Proverbs tells us zeal without knowledge is not good. Of course, he’s zealously defending what he learned from his fathers, which is another important reminder for us, hard to say, but I need to which is that at a certain point you may need to leave your tradition or upbringing. If you grew up here, hopefully not, but if you grew up elsewhere or something, you may have been taught stuff that wasn’t true. Because, again, that’s the question. Not, What did my parents teach me? Not what do I like? What do I feel zealous about? The only question that really matters is what is true. What is true. But Paul’s point here sharing this story is you look at him, you look at what he was doing earlier on. There is no earthly reason that he would become a Christian. There is nothing in his trajectory that would make sense of where he landed. This would be like an Islamic terrorist turning church planter in Afghanistan, an exact analogy. How did this happen? I mean, you read the shift from verse 13 to verse 15 is you almost can’t reconcile the two statements, but it just draws out the sheer wonder of grace. Like, why does God save this man who is intent on destroying his church? And there’s no answer, except for grace, except for the undeserved love of God. I mean, verse 15 is one of the great, but God moments in all of Scripture. I was trying to kill the church, but God, but God called me, saved me, not because I deserved it, but because of his grace. And that is, of course, the foundation of Paul’s Gospel like this explains why Paul is as zealous as he is now for this truth. Couldn’t possibly have earned it, because look what I was doing. God demonstrates His own love for us in this While we were still sinners. Christ died for us, called us, saved us. But God doesn’t just save us from condemnation. We get our get out of hell free card. God saves us to as well. So God saves us from condemnation, but to the abundant life to which he calls us. Go back to we just finished Exodus. So Exodus is on my mind still. He doesn’t just, you know, deliver Israel out of Egypt, he delivers Israel into the promised land. And so it is with us. So he saves Paul out of this, but calls him then to a purpose, so that I might preach him among the Gentiles there in verse 16. And so he receives a call similar to. Prophets of old Jeremiah, chapter one would look like this, but Isaiah 49 which Kyle already read for us. What does Isaiah say about his call before I was born, the Lord called me for my mother’s womb. He has spoken my name. You can see Paul’s almost picking up that language as he talks about his own call. Let me ask you this, are you any different if you’re in Christ? And the answer is yes, by the way, you are because you’re not a prophet or an apostle. Okay, those are different people, for sure, Isaiah and Paul, because they’re called prophets and apostles, the people who wrote the Bible. The Bible’s done. It’s been written now. It’s got a back cover at this point, so we’re good there. But other than that, we’re actually not that different. He calls us also. We have been saved to serve and called, like Paul, to speak, to proclaim the gospel of salvation by grace alone, to share the Good News of the Gospel as we speak, though, let’s take a lesson from Paul here. One of the things we get to share is not just his story, but our story as well, the story of how God saved us. Don’t miss the power of your story. In fact, if you’re in Journey groups, we’re about to work on this for a couple weeks, just how to put our story together so that we can show how amazing God’s grace is in our own lives, because we are, in many ways, our best argument for the gospel. Because nobody can argue with your story. Paul’s going, Look, I used to try to kill people who are Christians, and now I’m preaching the Christian message. Who’s going to argue with that? It’s his story. Can’t argue with that. We got the same power as well. Now, like Paul, we don’t share our story to draw attention to ourselves, which is a mistake some people make. Of course, no, but we share our story to draw attention to God’s grace and for the sake of our hearers. So what is your but God story, and maybe yours looks like Paul’s, where you got kind of a before and after sort of testimony. I was going this way, and I would still be going that way, but God saved me. Others of you, and I hope many of the children who grew up in this church have a different story. And you never had that. You were raised in the Gospel. You’ve always been going this way, and that’s an equally powerful story. And by the way, those of us who have more colorful testimonies, like myself, we are jealous of you. Okay, it is great to just be raised in grace, but you still have the but God story. I could have been doing this. I could have gone where I saw others go, but God share your story. So God revealed his gospel to him. God revealed his gospel in him, even in his life. This is Jesus meeting Paul on the road to Damascus, so he’s proved that second point, right? I received it by revelation. But what about number one? What about the whole I didn’t learn it from anybody. I didn’t consult with anyone. What happens next? You see it there in verse 16, my immediate response, first thing I did, straight away, no delay. I didn’t consult with anyone in particular. I didn’t consult with Jerusalem. I didn’t go to Jerusalem seminary to sit under Dr Peter and learn the gospel from him. The point he’s making here is I knew it was revelation, so I didn’t need confirmation. I’d already met Jesus. He was my teacher. Now it is true, of course, that it’s not like Paul didn’t speak to Christians in this time. In fact, if you read his conversion in Acts chapter nine, you know that he hangs out with a guy named Ananias, pretty much right away. No doubt he got facts from Ananias. He’s there. He’s blind. He’s thinking through things for a couple days. All that he’s going, Hey, I just met the resurrected Jesus. Y’all know anything about that? And Ananias doesn’t go, yeah, he appeared to a bunch of people, actually. So we got some friends who saw him also. Okay, so we got the some facts from Ananias, but he didn’t get the message. He didn’t get the gospel from Ananias. He already knew that, and so he went to Arabia straight away. Arabia at this time is Damascus, and everything southwest of there. We know that’s where he goes. He talks about this in Second Corinthians, 11 verses, 32 and 33 you can see it on the screen. He’s in Damascus, so he’s in Arabia, and he’s being persecuted by King Aretas. Why? Because he was preaching the gospel. He’s already doing ministry. So he’s already a troublemaker in the king’s eyes. So he’s being persecuted at this point, immediately, straight away, first thing he does is start proclaiming the gospel of grace. What Paul. Paul’s doing here. He’s giving his alibi like a good detective mystery. He’s going couldn’t have been me. Couldn’t have been me, because I can account for my whereabouts this whole time I was in Arabia. So where have we got so far? Paul is saved by grace, very unexpectedly. Did not deserve it. The gospel was revealed to him and in him by Jesus Christ, and once he receives it by revelation, he doesn’t consult with anyone, not for a while anyway, because then we get to Scene two, Peter Paul and Mary. How many of you know Peter Paul and Mary? Is this like a joke for anyone like eight of you, that’s good. I’m younger than you, too. How do I know this? Older siblings or something? The chances of knowing Peter Paul and Mary, and what the word Mary knows are very slim. So that’s my kind of humor, right there. I apologize to all of you, Peter, Paul and Mary, let’s go verses 18 to 24 then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him 15 days. I saw none of the other apostles, only James the Lord’s brother. I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. It was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only heard the report the man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy. And they praised God because of me, really important that it begins with the word then, then he’s saying, there are no gaps in my story. If you’re a parent, especially if a teenager, you know what gaps in stories are. I got home from soccer practice at five, and then, you know, I had the study group at seven, and your parents going, right? That was the period I was asking about between five and seven. What was happening then? Paul doesn’t have any gaps in his story. He’s telling us exactly what happened. In fact, you can read it in Acts nine. So he is converted. He goes to Damascus, as we saw. Here’s Acts chapter nine, verses 19 and 20 Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once, he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. He continues talking about his time in Damascus through verse 25 then here’s verses 26 and 27 when he came to Jerusalem. So it’s immediate Damascus, Jerusalem. When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples. They were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. So what happens here? He tries to meet with the apostles, but they’re scared of him, so Barnabas introduces him, and at this point, then he tells us, here in our passage, he meets Peter, and that’s it. None of the other apostles, the brother of Jesus, James as well. That would be another one. And James is a little bit like Paul, not one of the 12 Apostles, but somebody else who met the resurrected Christ and was certainly commissioned by Jesus to speak so, an apostle of a sort. So he meets Peters, Peter and James again. He’s not going to seminary here, though he’s just networking like, I want to meet these people, since we’re all in ministry together, he couldn’t have learned the gospel from them at this point, because he’s already been preaching it for three years now. No doubt, in a two week stretch, they talked about more than just the weather, but he’s not sitting at Peter’s feet asking him questions. Help me out here. I don’t think I’ve got all the understanding that I need. And then just after a few weeks, he heads to Tarsus, which is in Cilicia. We know he’s there for eight years. Begins in Acts nine, verse 30, and then he’s in Antioch, in Syria, famously, for a year that becomes his missionary base, and that takes us all the way up to Acts 11, verse 26 but the point is, he spent so little time in Jerusalem that he was personally unknown to the Jerusalem church. So they’d heard his story. He’s famous in that sense, but they couldn’t pick him out of a crowd. They hadn’t met him. They weren’t friends, not even on Facebook. At this point. There’s a subtle, beautiful reminder in the middle of all this, by the way, because we get a lot of geography in this section, but the most important location we have is in Christ, verse 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ like that’s the geography that matters most. Wherever you are, are you in Christ? But don’t miss the power of story again. They heard this guy. They don’t know. They heard that this former persecutor is now a famous preacher. And how did they respond? Verse 24 they praised God because of me. Paul saying. They praised God because they saw his grace and how it changed me. I don’t know about you, that’s what I want written on my tombstone. Let that me be but be my epitaph. They pray. Is God because of me. I mean, that is exactly what we mean when we say here that we are made to magnify Christ. People should look at our lives and make much of Jesus like we should be like a telescope lens. As they look through us, they get just the faintest idea of God’s grandeur and glory. God saves and calls us to make his glory known. Fact, that’s the rest of the passage that Kyle read for us. So Isaiah is called. But then what happens as a result? Chapter 49 verse three, you are my servant in whom I will display my splendor that was fulfilled in Isaiah. Certainly even now we see God’s glory when we read Isaiah’s words. Certainly Israel, the servant that Isaiah foretold God displayed his splendor in him, in Jesus. Now he’s displaying his splendor in Paul, and God willing, in all of us too. So Paul received his gospel by revelation. Didn’t consult with anyone. Met Pete years later, but just to get acquainted. Then third scene, they actually have some conversation here. So scene three, circumcision, decision. Chapter two, verses one to 10. Let me read it for us. Then, after 14 years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. I went in response to a revelation and meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain, yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was Greek. This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ, Jesus, and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment. So that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you, as for those who were held in high esteem, whatever they were makes no difference to me. God does not show favoritism. They added nothing to my message. On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised just as Peter had been to the circumcised, for God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. James Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship. When they recognized the grace given to me, they agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along. So finally, 14 years after his conversion. If you’ve been adding up our time so far, you know that we’re at 12 years we have a gap in the story here. No, this is just how they count years. It’s inclusive instead. So that 14 years that we’ve heard so far, he goes to Jerusalem to meet with the apostles. Why at this point does he go? Well, he tells us he goes in response to a revelation. So it’s another moment in his life dictated by revelation. He goes in response to a revelation, not because he wanted validation. That’s the key. He’s not going there to say, Am I preaching the right thing? No, he’s going most likely in response to the prophecy of Agabus, which we get in Acts chapter 11. Let me read a chunk of Acts chapter 11. This will actually take us all the way from where we were to where we are. Now. Here’s acts 11, beginning in verse 25 then Barnabas went to Tarsus, there’s Cilicia, to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch in Syria. So for a whole year, Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch, which is really important, by the way. They’re called Christians there because they’re not Jews and they’re not Gentiles. There’s something else entirely. We need a new word for what’s happening to the people of God at this moment, so that’s why they’re called Christians. During this time, some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch, one of them named Agabus stood up and through the Spirit, predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. This happened during the reign of Claudius. The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. So this is almost certainly the revelation that prompts Paul to go to Jerusalem. While he’s there, he presents his gospel to those who are esteemed as leaders. He’s got a little bit of distance there. He’s not saying I esteem them as leaders. We know that everybody else thinks they’re really important. Paul’s not as impressed with them. Again, not because he’s unimpressed with them as people, but just because he knows he’s has a higher authority. Again, his teacher was Jesus. So if somebody is disagreeing with it, that’s kind of on them, not on him. That’s why he’s got this little. Resistance there. But why? Why does he go? Why does he present the gospel? And especially, why does He say, I went for fear that I might have been running my race in vain? Is he worried that he got the gospel wrong? Well, no way, not based on everything else we’ve seen in this passage. Of course, not he knows he would be running in vain if they challenged the gospel, because in effect, what would happen is the church would split. You think of how it would hinder his ministry. It would be almost impossible for him to go on doing what he’s been doing. If every time he went somewhere, Jerusalem sent a group of people after him to say, Hey, that’s not right. You actually need to be Jews in order to be Christians. So you get this massive suspense. Then, like, what’s going to happen here? Are they going to challenge the gospel or not? And no, they don’t contest it. Then he gives us this little added bit of information. Not even Titus, who’s a Gentile, was compelled to be circumcised. This may feel like a small issue. It’s a huge issue because it’s related to the question that’s being asked in Galatians, how does a person become right with God? Is it faith plus works of the law, sacrifices? Circumcision, dietary restrictions, Paul thinks not Hebrews. Tells us as much also. Here’s Hebrews nine, nine and 10, the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They’re only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings, external regulations applying until, until the time of the new order. So this is the old order. Once the New Age breaks in, these things don’t matter anymore. And remember, we already got this last week in the introduction to the letter, Paul says God sent Jesus Christ to rescue us from the present evil age. So Jesus brings that New Order, brings the new age. So certainly these things shouldn’t matter anymore, and Jerusalem agrees. Titus is proof that even Jerusalem, even Peter and James and John agree with this. So there’s no compulsion. A Gentile doesn’t need to be a Jew in order to be a Christian. That word compulsion, by the way, is key. It didn’t compel him to be circumcised. Nothing inherently wrong with circumcision or even keeping kosher dietary laws. In fact, it might be wise for mission to do that probably made a lot of sense for the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem to keep kosher so that they could have influence in the lives of the Jews who weren’t Christians. Yet, we know this is true too, because Paul, who makes a big stink about circumcision here later, circumcises Timothy, but that’s a different story. No one’s compelling him. First of all, Timothy is also a Jew. His mother is Jewish, and they’re about to go do ministry to Jews. So he says, This is gonna be easier if we go with it this way. But the point is, there’s no compulsion in that moment. Now, the matter arose because I’m false believers, infiltrated their ranks like traitors, a resistant Resistance Movement. I mean, they’re spies, literally spies. Here. Did you catch that? Paul doesn’t even consider them Christians. That’s why he calls them false brothers and sisters. These are false believers. They’re not even Christian because they preach and practice a false gospel. And we saw last week, you preach a different gospel. The big deal. You should be damned. He said, Then, so this shows us again, the limits of unity. We’re very pro unity in the church, but there is a limit to it. Listen to the way Timothy Keller puts it. He says, fellowship with Christ is a sufficient basis for fellowship with one another. We must never exclude someone whom God has included in his people. But equally, fellowship with Christ is the only basis for fellowship with one another. Churches must not maintain unity at the expense of the gospel. So there are these two dangers on either side on the one hand, you, by the way, probably struggle with one of these more than the other. So good to kind of catch which side you’re on. Two dangers. The one is to be too exclusive. You’re dividing over everything those that God has brought into the people of God, you’re kicking out because they’re not your people, and you’re pretty sure God got this wrong, but the other one is to be too inclusive. Everybody’s welcome. Doesn’t matter if they deny the truth of the gospel, so they’re spying on Paul says, the freedom that the Galatians have. In Christ so that they can enslave them again. Getting to use our Exodus analogy, these are people who are, you know, going to the promised land to try to woo back Israel into Egypt. Why would you go? Doesn’t make any sense. Freedom is a major theme in Galatians. We’re going to come back to it bunch of times, chapters four and five especially. And it’s the freedom from requirements of the law, freedom from the burden of self salvation. It is the freedom of grace, understanding grace, understanding God’s gospel, the gospel God gave to Paul, leads to true freedom, if I can draw on Keller again, he talks about the cultural and emotional freedom that comes with the gospel. So cultural freedom, because we’re all of us raised in a culture, of course, a tradition, and that tradition may have certain boundaries, requirements, moralism, fundamentalism, things like that. You have to keep the rules to keep yourself in good standing. We get freedom from that. Now, in some ways, remember, this is easier. Of course, these cultural markers, because you don’t have to worry about keeping the true law, the law of Christ. You know, again, which is harder love your neighbor with the same unswerving devotion you have to loving yourself, or something like, don’t drink, smoke, gamble or go with women who do. Now, that was a lot easier, isn’t it, but at the same time, there is this, this freedom. And so what happens if you don’t have that cultural freedom? It can lead to a kind of cultural accommodation. Again, you have to keep these boundary markers. You’ve seen this, if you know anything about the history of missions, by the way, for a long time, you go to places where Westerners brought the Gospel, and there’d be one native in a white shirt and a tie, because, you know, you can’t preach the gospel without a white shirt and a tie, even if you’re in the bush in Sub Saharan Africa, like that’s what we’re talking about here. This is wrong idea. Okay, so that freedom from cultural borders. But then there’s also this emotional freedom that comes with the gospel, which we talked a lot about last week, freedom from the burdens of guilt and shame and even from the cycles of pride that come when you’re doing well. Again, we don’t obey to be saved. We obey because we have been saved by grace. So just as Paul resisted these false brothers here, so must we resist false gospels for the sake of the Gospel itself, and for the sake of those with whom, whom we would reach with the gospel. So just take a moment little self examination. Is there anything that you’re adding to the gospel that’s keeping others out? Maybe it’s politics that’d be a common one. You know, good Christians vote for this party. I don’t know which party, but one of them, I’m sure. Or maybe it is gray issues, moral issues, gray issues, like alcohol, something like that. Or maybe it’s doctrinal matters, where we can divide, because it’s not the gospel that it’s at stake. It’s something else. Just examine your own self. Are you adding anything to the gospel? Paul then picks up the story again. In verse six, we get this little aside about Titus and the false brothers. But once again, he’s not caught up in celebrity. He’s just saying whatever they are doesn’t really matter to me. The Bible is the only sure foundation we can respect teachers and traditions by all means. I’m a big fan of Calvin and Edwards and Athanasius and Augustine, like I mentioned, already big fan, but the Bible’s the yardstick. That’s the point. You judge them by the Bible. But what happens so these people that he respects his teachers? The end of verse six, it’s key. It says they added nothing to his gospel phrase. Carefully, it doesn’t say they change and they didn’t tweak anything. Specifically, they didn’t add anything. No other requirements. Will it be faith plus something, or only faith? And even James says, Nope, no need to add anything. Paul says, we maintain that a person is saved by grace apart from works of the law. And James says, you know, Faith without works is dead, right? They go together. By the way, we’ll do that when we do James, sometimes I’m not doing it now, but even that James, James of faith without works is dead, says, You’re right. It’s just faith. We are justified by faith alone, they agree completely. They give Paul and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, which will be very important in that time, they just recognize their different callings and that those different callings will lead to different choices, which makes sense for all of us, because we are tasked with preaching a timeless message and. Timely ways, ways appropriate to the context in which we preach it, and that will look different in different contexts. So that you might refuse to circumcise Titus and Titus in one context and then choose to circumcise Timothy in a different context. This is helpful for us also, not only the ministry we do in this context, but sometimes even just as individuals, recognizing that we have different callings, we have different gifts, we have different passions, which means it’s not going to look the same how we do things like That’s good. We need the whole body doing what God has called them to do. What’s more important, evangelicalism or discipleship? Yes, okay, it’s all spectrum. Anyway. Some of us are stronger here. Some of us are stronger here. That’s okay. Lina, we got to do all of it, all of us. But it’s okay if we’re stronger there. What? What’s most important to the Christian life, the head, the heart or the hands. Some of us are head people, and it’s good, because we need to know with certainty the things that we’ve been taught and people are going to help us. The other heart people are good. The hands. You know what the problem comes in when we start judging each other for not being who we are? You know, it’s all about the hand. How can you call yourself a Christian and you’re not even volunteering at the local organization that I’m volunteering at to serve the poor, because I got that more of a head. I’m called to do something else. That’s fine. But speaking of serving the poor, that shows up here also, they ask Paul, this is one thing they do. Say, would you remember the poor? And Paul says, Absolutely, that’s the whole reason I’m in Jerusalem. Guys. Remember, we heard you guys were me struggling, so we came. How can we help? We’re going to keep doing that, although it’s not incidental, because he’s talking about salvation by grace alone. And then he points to an example of grace being made visible. Grace changes us so that we live differently. Paul actually walks through the same process when he talks to the Ephesian elders in Acts chapter 20, his main argument to them is, stay in God’s grace. Remember the gospel. And then he wraps it up with a passage Kyle talked to us about last week, when he was doing the little giving she the little giving spiel. It’s more blessed to give than to receive. You’re going, what does that have to do with the gospel? Everything it has everything to do with the gospel, because Grace changes us completely. So Grace will be made visible in your life when you’re freed from the idolatry of money, which means you’re then free to go, hey, it’s way more fun to give this away than to hoard it for myself. I got the inheritance of Christ. I’ve got the riches of glory and grace coming my way in heaven. You can have my money. I don’t care about that at all. So where are we? Paul received the gospel by revelation. Didn’t consult with anyone. When he finally did confer with the other apostles, they affirmed his gospel, pull all those threads together, kind of give us the central thrust of the passage as it relates to us today. Our big idea it’s this, preach God’s gospel only because it’s better than the rest. Preach God’s gospel only because it’s better than the rest. There are two key takeaways that are there in the big idea. We need to know God’s gospel and what makes it so good. And then we need to preach God’s gospel like we do what we do for the sake of our hearers, as he says in verse five. So how are we going to do that? I think there are two, two places to beware in particular. First, we gotta beware of false teachers. Gotta beware of false teachers. No, not against teachers. I’m big fan of teachers. Actually, I think it’s the most important gift in the church. I’m just joking, not against teachers. Paul’s not against teachers. Paul is a teacher. Paul trains teachers. Paul says things to people like Timothy, the things you’ve heard me say in the presence of many witnesses and trust to reliable people who will be faithful to teach others. The Church of God needs teachers. Paul again, Ephesians four says Christ Himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and the teachers, so the body of Christ may be built up. God, in his infinite wisdom, gave us His Word, and then said, you’re going to need some people to help you out with this. And so he raises up teachers. Nothing against teachers, but the key is, again, we need people to teach us the word. It’s that last bit that’s most important. We need people to teach us the word. The word is the foundation, which does put a burden on you, even as hearers, to dig into scripture in. Community so that you can test all teaching by the sure foundation the Bible is the yardstick so you can recognize the counterfeit. So we’re being called here to exactly what Paul displays in this passage, which is a proper respect for teaching authority and a proper respect that recognizes it is derivative authority. All my authority as a teacher derives from this book. The instant I go off track of this book, I have no more authority, and you all should call me on it, beware of false teachers. But then second, beware of false gospels. Beware of false gospels and be willing to oppose false teaching, because you love the truth. You love the truth. You know it’s better, and you want other people to know the best news. We are surrounded by false gospels because we do have a lot of people pleasers teaching scripture, you’re going to have people who either add to or remove from the gospel core. Give you just a couple of examples. One of those prominent ones today here in the west is the therapeutic gospel. God just wants you to be happy. It’s not wrong. I hope you know God wants you to be happy. The only thing is, God wants you to be way happier than you want yourself to be. He’s got much better in store for you than what you would settle for. So it’s not wrong. It just removes holiness as an essential ingredient to happiness. So it removes then the problem of sin as well. Because the problem of sin isn’t that You’re offending a holy God and are justly deserving of wrath. The problem with sin, if we call it that, it’s kind of an offensive word, can we call it brokenness instead? Would that be fine? Okay, the problem with brokenness is just that it keeps you from being fully you look, that’s worse news. That’s not better. You know what makes that worse news? Because it means your happiness is on you, and if you’re not happy, it’s your fault, and good luck trying to fix it, by the way. Because what are you going to do? You got to get yourself happy. You got to self actualize, even though you do have some brokenness, and also you live in a broken world. What if circumstances are beyond your control? You’re a refugee in Ukraine right now. Why aren’t you happy? Self actualize? That’s terrible news. We have a better gospel than a therapeutic gospel. What about the moralistic gospel? Think they’ve ever heard one of those in a Baptist church before? Yeah, okay, we should probably worry about this one moralistic gospel, which teaches, of course, that God helps those who help themselves. As the Bible says, absolutely nowhere. That’s Benjamin Franklin. That’s not the Bible. Guys. Grace is great, but get to work. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps. That’s what we do. Rugged individuals that we are, keep our rules, our regulations. These are just boundary markers so that you know that you’re in and know that you’re better than other people, which is what we really want. Again, that’s worse news, not better, because it means it’s up to you again. You have to measure up. You have to earn this. And what happens when you don’t and you won’t, by the way, I could go on, of course, get the prosperity gospel, which is just a variant of the therapeutic gospel. God wants you to not just be happy, but to be rich and healthy. Also, you got the social gospel, which is a form of moralism. Actually, it’s just social justice moralism, instead of, you know, Bible thump and moralism, you got the liberal gospel, which says, in order to make sure that our gospel is palatable to a modern world, we’re going to strip out all the supernatural. Doesn’t really hurt Christianity much. If you take out, you know Jesus and His resurrection, does it? You got the self help gospel. You could just go on and on and on. They’re not better, they’re worse. So know the truth, love the truth, and then preach the truth. Preach God’s gospel only because it’s better than the rest. Let’s pray. Lord, we stand before you as those who in our flesh are zealously committed to going in the wrong direction, and every one of us in this room would still be going in that direction, but you stepped in. You changed the direction of our lives. You called us out of darkness into. Lift your glorious light into freedom and joy and love that comes from knowing you, knowing your truth, not having to measure up. Lord, we pray that we would rest in that very good news. Delight in it, be zealous to maintain it and oh so committed to proclaiming it. For the sake of those around us, we ask this for your name’s sake, Lord, amen.

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Gospel Matters January 25, 2026 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper introduces a new series on Galatians, emphasizing the importance of correct doctrine in a polarized culture. He contrasts zealous and apathetic groups, illustrating how both extremes can miss the mark. Cooper explains the Judaizing heresy in Galatia, which demanded adherence to Jewish laws for Christians. He stresses that the gospel matters, urging believers to learn, love, and live it. Cooper highlights Paul’s authority as an apostle, the necessity of the true gospel, and the need to proclaim and live by it, warning against compromising for people’s approval.

Good morning church. Go ahead, grab your Bibles. Open up to Galatians, chapter one. Galatians, chapter one. We’ll be starting our new series this morning, as you’ve already heard now, as you’re turning there, we quite obviously live in a deeply polarized culture right now, and there are really two groups of people. You’ll probably recognize them. You belong to one of them, almost certainly. On the one hand, we’ve got those on the extremes of whatever issue you’re talking about, very zealous, very passionate about it. And then on the other hand, you’ve got this kind of exhausted middle group, probably the majority. But who, just you know, so you can see it like social media, right? People who post about politics, post about politics non stop. No one likes them anymore, you know, like that kind of thing. And then people who would never post about politics ever. And I’ve actually gotten off social media because they’re so tired of people posting about politics like those are the two groups right there. You can see those same two groups in most churches as well, people who are really zealous about doctrine and people who become very apathetic about doctrine as well. So on the one hand, you got the group where it’s kind of, you know, if you’re not a Reformed Baptist, complementarian, Post-tribulational Congregationalist, I mean even Jesus, bro. Or you get the whole, I don’t even know what you just said. Recognized none of those words. Can’t we all just love Jesus and get along. Actually, I heard an elder say that once it was not here so that a previous church that I was at and the elder board was debating a theological issue that had practical ramifications for the church, like one of those issues where you actually have to take a stand as a church. And in the middle of this intense debate, one of the elders literally said, Can’t we all just love Jesus? So you had kind of like that side, almost like the lowest common denominator Christianity. And then I don’t know what the opposite is, the greatest common factor approach, or something. Where do we draw lines? Where should we draw lines as Christians, and why? I mean, do we even need to? So what we’re going to learn today as we look at the opening verses of Galatians is that, yes, indeed, we need to draw lines, doctrinal lines. We need to draw them in the right places, because correct doctrine matters. Matters so much. That’s Paul’s whole point, in fact, which is why the series and today’s sermon are both called gospel matters, and even our big idea is going to have that phrase in it as well. When we get there like this stuff actually matters. Now we do need some context, because Paul’s starting off a conversation here where the Galatians know what he’s talking about and we don’t. So it’s not gonna make a lot of sense to us unless we get some context in there to be a little bit like, you know, boss walking up to the person in the cubicle next to yours, saying, hey, try that again, and it’ll be the last thing you do at this company. And you’re going, what? And they’re going, Yeah, I know what that that is like. I know what he just told me in that moment. So what is it here? Because that’s very much the tone Paul has as we start this letter. What’s the that that they shouldn’t try again? We’re going to see as we keep reading the letter, that there’s a group of heretics that has infiltrated the Galatian churches. Galatia, by the way, modern day Turkey, especially the southern part of it. So group of heretics have infiltrated these Galatian churches, and they’re promoting what’s known as the Judaizing heresy, the Judaizing heresy, which basically teaches that in order to be a Christian, you have to be a Jew, not racially, but in terms of the law, especially so if you’re going to be a Christian, you have to keep the whole Jewish religion as well. Why that’s a heresy. We’ll see as we go now. You may be listening to that thinking, okay, that’s fairly arcane and archaic, but actually it’s deeply relevant to our lives today, even that heresy. Because what we’ll see as we go through Galatians, the debate isn’t really around the question, What’s wrong with the law, what we just looked like looked at in the book of Exodus, the debates around the issue of what’s wrong with us, what’s wrong with our hearts, that the law doesn’t work to bring salvation. If you get this wrong, we’re going to get it all wrong. It’s like you ever built one of those LEGO sets and you missed the first piece, and eventually it just means you have to take the whole thing apart and start all over again. That’s what will happen here with the gospel as well. So let’s get it right. So our big idea, I’m giving you up front in part because it’s our outline for the sermon as well. The Gospel matters. The Gospel matters, so learn it, love it, and live it. That will be our outline. We’re going to learn it, then we’re going to love it, then we’re going to live it. Okay, nice and easy. So I’m going to read the whole passage for us, and then we’re going to take three passes through it as we work that out. I normally read the passage in chunks. I don’t get to do this very often, since I’m reading the whole passage all at once. We’re going old school. Why don’t you guys stand up as we read the Lord, the word of Lord, together? All right. Here it is Galatians, one, one to 10. Paul, an apostle sent not from men or by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God, the Father who raised him from the dead, and all the brothers and sisters with me to the churches in Galatia, Grace and peace to you from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen, I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all. Evidently, some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preach to you, let them be under God’s curse, as we have already said. So now I say again, if anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse. Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings or of God, or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ the word of the Lord. You can have a seat. All right, so let’s learn it. First of all, learn it. First of all. Now there are some oddities compared to Paul’s other introductions. So we’ve we’ve got a number of his letters. He usually follows a pretty similar pattern as he greets the churches to which he’s writing. But this one is a little bit different. First of all, we get a longer description of who he is. Now, he usually gives some description, Paul, here’s my resume kind of thing, but this one’s a bit longer, and intentionally so, because it anticipates the arguments that are coming in the rest of the letter. So Paul lets us know, first of all, that he’s an apostle. Not unusual. He does that in a few letters. What is an apostle? The word literally just means sent one, but it also has this more technical meaning, and that’s what he’s talking about here. An apostle is one who personally encountered the risen Christ and who was then personally called, really, to lay the foundation for the church, as we’ll see. Now, what’s important here in the introduction, when he calls himself an apostle, is that he is called to be an apostle by God Himself, by Christ Himself, in fact, not by people. Somebody didn’t come along and say, hey, you’ve got some some gifts here. Maybe, maybe you should consider leading a church. That’s how it normally works. Today, I can talk about the fact that I was called by God all I want. But at the end of the day, if those of you who weren’t here at the time didn’t vote me in, I was not called by this church, right? And so that’s very different, like I was, in a sense, called by people. Yes, the Lord stands behind that. Call, not Paul. No. People involved. Okay, it’s Christ, Jesus Himself, who calls Paul. Now, why does he say this? Paul’s not insecure about his credentials. He’s not like a doctor. You know, where they got to put their diploma on the wall? You know, I really am a doctor. You know, I’m just joking, by the way. Okay, I’m glad my doctor has their diploma on the wall, because I would like to know that he or she is qualified. Of course, that’s not it at all. Right? He’s not insecure about his credentials. It’s an issue of authority. An issue of authority. If God called him to speak to the church, then implicitly, he’s called the church to listen to Paul. So who gets the final say? That’s one of the major issues that we’re talking about here. And it’s an issue, an issue under some debate. I mean, even today, we have the progressive view. Today, for example, been around for, I don’t know, 100 years or so. The Bible is written by fallible men. So we can, and really even should disagree with it at points, as we do with other people. Here’s one progressive writer some time ago, wrote what they tell us, talking about Paul Peter John, people like that, what they tell us must have a self authenticating quality, like music. If it doesn’t, we must be prepared to refuse it. I mean, that’s interesting. What this writer has just said then is that truth doctrine is just a matter of subjective taste, the way we feel about music. This is the best song. Well, no, I think this is the best song. There’s not really any choosing between them, so there’s no authority higher than our gut feeling then, and if that’s the case, well then obviously doctrine can’t matter. Truth doesn’t matter in that scenario. Or we could compare that to the Roman Catholic view. The Roman Catholic view would be that the Bible is written by the church, in that it is written by people who belong to the church, so the church not only has authority to interpret. Separate it, but even to supplement it as necessary. But Paul here says exactly the opposite. What he’s saying is, I am not a churchman under the authority of the Church, writing under the authority of the Church, I am an apostle of Christ wielding authority over a wayward church. And so what we believe here, and what I believe the Bible teaches as well, is that the highest authority then, is the written word, the word written by the apostles and prophets, the foundation upon which the church is built, as Paul says in Ephesians two. So this is Paul who’s writing, but then he mentions in verse two, also all the brothers and sisters with me. Now, who is he talking about there? And we’re not talking about Silas or Barnabas. Some of these people who do help him write some of the other letters. It seems like he’s talking about really everyone else, like just the Church of God. He’s saying, This is not private opinion. This isn’t Paul, but this is what we all think. It’s settled truth, which is important, because if we can’t say that, we’re on pretty shaky ground, and we would want to believe this, what we believe has been held by the church across really, space and time, so across the globe, but across the centuries as well, even in the areas where we disagree, I think it’s important to go, okay, but people have disagreed in this way from the beginning. We there are things that are a little bit beyond our comprehension, and so we’ve got some debate about, say, the relationship between sovereignty and human responsibility, okay, but that debate has always been there, or doctrines where even the church has battled. You talk about Luther, you know, as there’s this view that at the Protestant Reformation, the church, like discovered the gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, they didn’t, they didn’t. You read Calvin’s Institute, sometimes he’s quoting church fathers on every page very intentionally to say, this is what people in the church have always believed. So if you’re holding to a viewpoint that no one believed before the 19th century, I’d question it like that’s the idea we want to be able to say, yes, all the brothers and sisters with me, or a viewpoint that’s held by just kind of one geographical space. We’re going to want to question that as well. So we get all this about Paul and who’s writing the letter, and then the second half of verse two, we just get to the churches in Galatia. That’s it. Now that’s much shorter than most of Paul’s introductions. Usually he says a little something about himself, and then he says a little something about the churches as well, but not here. And so we’re sensing his frustration already. Kind of, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Is maybe where Paul is here. He then offers grace and peace, which is pretty standard for him, but grace, as we will see even today, is very much the letters theme. And he offers grace through Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins. And that is a necessary reminder, because Jesus gave Himself for our sins long after Sinai, and the covenant that was established there, the 10 Commandments, the law which we just went through long after Abraham the promises given to him, long after the seal of circumcision was given. And see, there’s an argument there, right? So, how did this go? How did the covenant with Abraham and Moses go in terms of saving people? Well, it went so badly that God had to send his Son, Jesus to come and rescue them. So like it wasn’t working, the law wasn’t working. The law was never intended to work that way, as we’ll see in Galatians, but that’s why he had to come. So the question there is, why would you turn back from what works Christ’s life and death and resurrection to what we know doesn’t work the law. That’s exactly what he says when he gets to the letter body there, starting in verse six. Although it’s interesting in starting the letter body there, he’s skipping past another usual part in his introduction, verse six is where he should say, I thank my God every time I remember you and all my prayers for you. That’s what he normally does. He offers Thanksgiving and prayer. Doesn’t hear right? He’s just getting right to business at this point, I’m astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you. I’m flabbergasted. I’m dumbfounded. Like, what are you thinking that you would leave this this is very strong language. It’s meant to shock the Galatian church awake. Reminds me a little bit of a story that Tim and Kathy Keller share in their book, the meaning of marriage. One point, Tim Keller been planting the church there in New York City, and he’d kind of told his wife, like, for a year, this is going to be rough, like, I’m going to have to put in extra hours. She said, Okay, I understand. That kind of thing. Well, at the end of two years, this was still happening, and he, like, wasn’t getting the message, kind of thing. So he came home from work late one day, and she’s out on the balcony of their apartment. As he walks in the door, she smashes one of their china plates, one of the saucers. And he’s like, what just happened? Moving over towards her, she sees him coming. Second saucer down, shatters, kind of thing, like, Hey, Baby, what’s wrong? Third saucer goes, kind of thing, like, he’s down. Like, okay, I am listening what, what is happening here, exactly? And that’s when she had his attention. She was able to say, Hey, do you remember that thing about how many hours you’re gonna work and how long that was gonna take? Like, they had a good conversation, by the way, the rest of that story was they’d already broken three China mugs, so the saucers were useless. So this was actually a very intentional, uh, getting his attention sort of thing that she had done. But that’s what Paul’s doing here, right? Like China’s shattering, as he’s saying. I’m astonished, and I’m astonished not just that you’re turning, but that you’re turning so quickly. That’s actually the almost a direct quote from Exodus 32 which we just studied, like from the golden calf. Exodus 32 verse eight. It says they’ve been quick to turn away. It’s the same idea, like we were astonished when we got to Exodus 32 in the golden calf. You know, you’re thinking like, how many days ago was it that you walked through the Red Sea on dry land, and already you’re turned into an idol, like he just saved you, and that’s what Paul is saying to the Galatians as well. He just saved you, and yet you’re deserting him. That word deserting isn’t even strong enough. The word has the sense of switching sides, like this is what you would say to a turncoat. This is Benedict Arnold stuff here. But deserting what deserting God, the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ, they’d abandoned God. It’s not that they changed doctrine, it’s that they left God behind. And so I don’t think we could be clearer than we are right here. Doctrine matters. We got to get the truth right, because you get certain truths wrong, and it’s actually leaving the faith, which means it is not enough for us to say, why don’t we just love Jesus? Because what does that mean anyway? Who is Jesus? Why should we love him? What does it mean to love him? All of those questions require doctrinal answers, and worse, then they’re abandoning the one who graciously called them when they were lost, desperate, even rebellious against God, still he called them at that point. He called them in grace. Now you may be sitting there a little bit nervous. I know I am when I read this passage, because if we got to get doctrine right, well, what happens if we get it wrong? Because just say it up front here. I don’t think anybody’s gonna have their doctrine 100% right. When we get to glory, we’re gonna go, oh, okay, that makes more sense than what I was thinking. So what part do we need to be absolutely sure of? That’s a good question. And the answer is, the gospel, the gospel, that’s what Paul says here. That’s the issue. They had turned to a different gospel, which isn’t even a gospel. So we can get some things wrong. I mean, we can get the End Times wrong. I’m pretty sure we’ll all get the End Times wrong in some way. And we did this when we talked revelation right. We’re going through Revelation, and how many times we go maybe I don’t know like so, yeah, we’re going to have that one wrong. Half of us are getting baptism wrong, aren’t we? You baptize believers, you baptize infants. Okay, well, somebody’s getting that one wrong anyway. But you can’t get this wrong. You cannot get this wrong. Christ died for our sins. You can’t get wrong that at one time we were helpless. In verse four, right? He had to rescue us. We were helpless, in need of rescue. So Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves, so that when we trust in Him, now, there is therefore no condemnation. How could there be condemnation? Christ already punished our sin. God already punished our sin in Christ. And so if he were to punish it in us, he would be punishing it twice. That would be unjust. That can’t happen. So God then accepts us, not just as innocent citizens, though, but as beloved children made already three times in the first five verses, we’ve heard that God is our father. That’s what we need to get right. We both sang and said the Creed earlier this morning, because those are the primary. Doctrines, the doctrines we have to have right are those doctrines without which the gospel fails. Like if Jesus isn’t God, then there is no salvation in him, because he needs to be an infinite being in order to pay an infinite penalty, or if he didn’t really rise from the dead physically, there is no hope of resurrection. If the Bible is not the word of God, not authoritative, and we can never be sure about these doctrines that we preach. Those are the primary doctrines, the ones that we need to believe, without which the gospel fails. The problem is there are heretics there in Galatia who are throwing them into confusion and trying to pervert this pure gospel of Christ. How? As I mentioned already, by saying they need to be Jews in order to be Christians, the men need to be circumcised. You need to keep kosher, all that kind of stuff. I mean, these heretics certainly think they’re enhancing the gospel, but they’re not. They’re destroying it because they’re making it about us and our effort, and in so doing, they’re stealing Christ’s glory and throwing us back into slavery, which is why it’s so serious, so serious that Paul says in verses eight and nine, if you preach a different gospel, you should be damned. It’s what the word means. You should be damned. Verse eight, he says it kind of hypothetically, right, if even an angel should happen to maybe hypothetically here preach a different gospel. But in verse nine, it’s in the present tense, if anybody is currently right now, they’re in Galatia preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be damned. And why? By the way, because, in turning people from the Gospel of Christ, the only gospel in which we may be saved, they are damning others, and so their punishment is just. That certainly means, though, that we need to learn the only true gospel, why it matters so much that we get it right. But as we learn the one true gospel, we will see that it is very good news, which means we cannot just learn the gospel. But then second love it as well. Alright, so second time through love it, we won’t hold fast to the gospel unless we believe that it is truly good news. So what makes it such good news? Can we agree that the gospel being good news isn’t necessarily intuitive? I did this Christmas Eve. We were talking about a different passage in Paul where he talks about the gospel. And kind of the takeaway there, at least to begin with, was the message of Scripture is, You’re the worst. You’re the worst. Paul says it himself. I’m the worst of all sinners, the chief of all sinners. You can understand why there would be some psychological resistance to that. Message doesn’t sound like good news. Sounds like bad news. It kind of bruises our egos. And so it is here as well. There’s this sense of like, What do you mean? I can’t save myself. I can take care of my I can pull myself up by the bootstraps. That’s what we do around here. But again, that Word Rescue in verse four means No, we cannot the vision that you have here in Galatia. It’s like somebody who’s out there drowning in the ocean, as a lifeguard comes out to them to save them. They’re going, Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, why don’t you just give me some swim lessons real quick? Like, I know my head’s underwater, but just show me the stroke again, so I’ll get it down this time. The lifeguard is going, No, nope. That’s not how this is going to go, like I’m just going to scoop you up. We’re going back. If you struggle, I will punch you and knock you out and then take you back that way so you don’t drown me. Also, it’s the same resistance that we have when we need to ask people for help. I’ve shared this before, but you know, as one of the ones who gets to work the benevolence fund when people need to request financial assistance from the church, without fail, they apologize. I’m so sorry. Like, I hate to ask, Why do you hate to ask? It’s more blessed to give than to receive? Like, we’re thrilled to be able to do this, but no, there’s something in us that goes I don’t want to have to receive it. I want to be able to earn it. And and that’s where then it becomes so attractive to us to start adding requirements to our faith, because then we’re doing something. And not only that, this part gets even better. We’re doing more than other people, because we love to seek approval in comparison to others. You ever been to a high school reunion? You know what this looks like? You need to prove to people that you’re successful. Evil and again, it doesn’t matter if you’re rich, it just matters that you’re richer. Don’t matter if you’re thin. It just matters if you’re thinner than the people around you. We like to seek approval in comparison to others, so we bring that into religion. You were saved by grace, were you? Oh, that’s good for you. You look like you need it, by the way, I’m glad, but I earned mine. In fact, I even did the extra credit, because I’m keeping kosher. We like to pursue outward conformity to the law. But of course, that masks inward corruption. We talked a lot about this when we did the 10 Commandments, right? Just how easy it is go. Don’t murder. Did it? Make sure you tithe 10% of your spices. Even absolutely don’t always use my rosemary anyway. It’s fine. You can have it. You see, I’m doing everything here. Okay? Now Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, love your neighbor with the same zealous devotion with which you take care of yourself like it gets harder all of a sudden, right? And so that the only problem with all this is it doesn’t work. They go back to our drowning in the ocean. Illustration, we cannot learn to swim on our own. No amount of swim lessons are going to help us out here, because spiritually speaking, it’s like we got no arms or legs, so we’re not even flailing in the ocean. We’re also wearing a pretty heavy weight vest, which is our sin nature, which means we need to be rescued. Passive, tense, somebody else is gonna have to do it for us. So thank God that Jesus gave Himself for our sins to do just that, because think of how exhausting it is to try to keep ourselves afloat spiritually, you have to be perfect always, and what happens when you’re not because, by the way, that day is coming, you’ve already had that day a bunch of times, already a little too much to drink, made some dumb choices afterwards, gave into temptation when I told myself I was done with that, wasn’t going Back to that anymore was I’m gonna visit that website blew up in traffic at my kids at work, or shaded the truth just a little bit when I was telling that story. Like, if it depends on you, what happens, then it’s devastating, overwhelmed by guilt and shame before God and others, not that it’s much better, by the way, on your good days when you actually keep the law, what happens? Then you’re puffed up with pride because you’re better than others in your mind, so you can disdain and judge them. You certainly see plenty of that, even among Christians who got a little eglesh and heresy in them, where it’s a Jesus, plus sort of religion Jesus, plus all the good things that I’m doing, the Gospel deals with all of that. That’s why it’s such good news. That’s why we should love it. The Gospel deals with all of that like we know that we are going to mess up, not just because we’ve got objective proof in our lives, but because of what the Gospel says about us. The Gospel says that we are so bad that somebody had to come and rescue us. We could not rescue ourselves, which means it’s no surprise that you should find yourself in a spot where you need to be rescued. That was the promise. And there’s also, well, I mean, that means that the guilt is wiped away, then, because Jesus took our objective guilt on himself, and shame is overcome because the Father loves us, not because of what we’ve done, but because what Christ has done for us. He remembers who we are. You see this in the prodigal son, right? The parable The prodigal son. Every time we mess up, what do we think we need to do? We need to sleep on the couch for a couple days. How many of you find it hard to pray after you’ve sinned, because you’re like, Well, I can’t, I can’t talk to you. There’s no way God wants to talk to me, right now, why don’t I mess up with my wife? She doesn’t want to talk to me. So probably the same way with God, right? So we put ourselves in a dog house for a couple of days, and the father’s going, I’m here. I’m ready to forgive, just come. Just come. So deals with the shame as well, but also deals with the pride. There’s no chance of pride or judgment, because we remember he humbly extended grace. We humbly extend grace because he extended it to us, because we received it, which is why another one of those weird introductory things that verse five has a doxology in it. You don’t ever get a doxology in an introduction. Doxology goes at the end of a letter, but Paul’s going, it’s all of grace, and if it’s all his work, that means it’s all his glory. We better talk about that. Right? Now it’s such good news, so why would we turn from it? And God raised Jesus from the dead, verse one, right? God raised Jesus from the dead as proof that it’s true. We don’t ever have to doubt whether or not it’s real, because we have the resurrection to go. Yep, that vindicates the message of Jesus Christ, and that, then is the first fruits of this new age that is breaking into the world we can experience its joy now. So why would we go back to the present evil age? That’s what the Galatians are being tempted to do. It’s like, I don’t know, today, and you can have, you know, your 85 inch HD TV, you know, full color, surround sound to watch the NFL playoffs or whatever. And then after you do that for a little bit, you go back to the 13 inch, you know, grainy, black and white. You got to move the little rabbit ears and stuff, or just listening on the radio even, like, what would possess you to do that? You learn the gospel so you can love the gospel. There’s only one, there’s only one true gospel, but it’s so good you can’t imagine why anyone would ever want to look for another one. Because grace like this changes everything, or at least it should change everything. And that’s the third point. So you learn it, you love it, and then you live it. We put it into practice in our lives, all right. Third pass through the text. Now this idea of living the gospel is taken directly from the text. It’s right there in verse six. I’m astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ to live in the grace of Christ, Paul’s saying, keep watching the color TV. Don’t go back to black and white, remain in it. But how do we do this? Practically? This is tough. It’s a tough passage to preach to apply, because it’s theological more than behavioral. So it’s very easy in a passage that’s saying, you know, watch your tongue, watch your speech, like, okay, we can talk about that easily. What do you do here when it says, Watch your doctrine, and yet we must apply it, and following Paul’s lead, we can see how we can go on living in the grace of Christ. So first of all, we live in His grace by holding fast to it. We live in His grace by holding fast to it. We will not abandon God by turning from his gospel. It’s true. How do you obey the truth? You obey the truth by believing it to be true and then contending for the truth of it. There’s this sense of, you know, here I stand. I can do no other. But we would also extend that a little bit right here I stand. You need to stand here also. So we’re watching out for each other, right? We might read verses eight and nine and think Paul overdoes it, and we’re probably uncomfortable when we read this. Really, you don’t agree with me, and you get damned. Like, that’s why I’m not a big fan of religious types, right? No, not at all, though, like, we may think Paul over does it, but, but we should be so strong as Christians. I mean, ask yourself, would you be this shocked and this grieved if someone you knew abandoned the one true gospel? Think of how angry you would be if you know your favorite player, switch teams like next year, we all got to watch Caleb Williams playing for the Packers, fourth and 11. He’s killing us. I mean, people get angry and sad about this stuff, don’t they, our priorities are out of whack. That’s why that doesn’t matter. I hope you know that that doesn’t really matter, and yet we could see somebody desert the gospel and be like, Well, I don’t want to, I don’t want to step on toes. No, we should step on toes. That’s what Paul does here, also, because eternity is at stake. If you know someone is turning from the truth, you need to love them enough to warn them urgently. Smash some China, if you have to second, we live in His grace by proclaiming the only true gospel I get that this is wildly counter cultural. We have very much a live and let live approach to people’s religious beliefs. That’s not again, what Paul has here, if there’s only one way to be saved, as the Bible teaches, then it would be unloving not to tell people that one way to be saved. It’s going to sound intolerant. Let me help you out here for a moment. By the way, everybody’s views are intolerant because everybody thinks. Their views are right. That’s why they’re their views. You wouldn’t hold it if you thought it was wrong. If there’s narrow and wrong to say that there’s one true religion, then it’s narrow and wrong to say that there’s one true way to think about religion like we should all just believe whatever we want. That’s as exclusive a statement as proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. But here’s the thing that’s kind of a side point. Every other religion, including irreligion, like secular humanism kind of stuff, teaches us how to swim. You’re on your own, okay? Showed you the stroke. So go ahead, keep the law, make sure you do better than the people at your high school reunion. Good luck to you. Hope you don’t drown. There’s only one religion that says there’s the lifeguard and you can’t do it. You need him. That’s the religion we proclaim. So go on proclaiming it. Third, we live in His grace by seeking to please Him, because we know he’s pleased with us. That’s verse 10, which I didn’t really hit in the first two passes, right? Paul says, Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings or of God? Am I trying to please people? Are still trying to please people. I would not be a servant of Christ. Now there’s an implicit argument here. The shift from verse nine to verse 10. Apparently, Paul has been accused of people pleasing because he’s making it easier for the Gentiles to come into the faith. Don’t worry about that. Like you don’t need to keep the law. It’s really hard. Just don’t worry. Circumcision. No fun. Okay, trust me, skip it. Don’t do it, guys. So that’s the argument, right? He’s trying to make it easier for them, but considering what he just said in verses eight and nine, the strong language, the accusation isn’t going to stick. Like, really, do I sound like a people pleaser here? Of course, he doesn’t. But there is that temptation there for all of us to seek the approval of others, to win it by our good works. Again. We talked about this at Christmas. What kind of Christmas cards do you send? Are they ones where you catalog everything you did wrong that year? No, never did you brag about your kids. What a good parent you are. Facebook posts things like that, right? It’s always just this, like relentless personal PR campaign that we’re all running, if we’ve got that, that temptation to please people, it will lead us to compromise, change the truth, to make it more palatable, maybe we’ll just shave off some counter cultural commands, maybe about human sexuality, let’s say, or to keep the truth to ourselves so that we don’t offend people, family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, or even to compromise our morals to fit in like the stereotypical teenager who takes a swig when The bottle is passed around because I’d rather count my morals and have people think I’m a loser. But if we seek to please people, we cannot please God. So Paul says, right, I wouldn’t be a servant of Christ. I wouldn’t be a servant of Christ if I were trying to please people. That feels important, which means we need to put this tendency to death then. So how do we put people pleasing to death? We need to fear God more than we fear people. Proverbs tells us that the fear of people will prove to be a snare, a trap. We get caught in it. So let’s talk about this for a moment. What does fear mean? Exactly to fear. We don’t. We’re not terrified of God like scared of him. To fear God is to be filled with awe and reverence and wonder at His goodness and greatness. Psalm 130 right with you. There is forgiveness. Therefore you are feared. We’re not scared of his forgiveness. We’re in awe of his forgiveness. So if that’s what it means, and what does it mean to fear people would mean to elevate our opinion of them because we’re in awe of them. We want their approval more than we want the approval of this God of the gospel. And the remedy, then, is to rest in the Gospel, you already have the approval of the most important being in the universe when you trust in Christ, because God looked at his son Jesus and said, with you, I am well pleased. And when he looks at us, if we put our faith in Christ, he sees Jesus, which means he looks at us and says, with you, I am well pleased. That changes how we live. Knowing our Father loves us like picture a kid learning baseball. Dad is the coach of the team, if that. Kid is not sure about what dad thinks about him, harsh or abusive dad, something like that. What happens when he strikes out and he’s walking back to the dugout where dad’s standing? He’d be scared, he’d be devastated. He’s certainly going to try harder. There’s no rest there at all. What if that kid knows that dad loves him no matter what. It’s baseball doesn’t matter. It’s fine. I can come back. What’s that kid gonna do? Was he’s gonna rest in the Father’s love. Doesn’t mean he’s gonna do nothing. He’s gonna come back. He’s gonna talk to dad. What happened? You know, when dad said, what’d you do? I stepped too early, you know? Okay, fine. You got it. Let’s work on your timing. That’s fine, but it totally changes the nature of what we do, or it’s like, it’s like a man pursuing a woman, if this is early on, you know, he’s trying to please her. He’s trying to please her for his sake so that she’ll go out with him. And a little bit scared, because what if she won’t go out with him? But how different is that after 20 years of marriage, I’m trying to please her, because I love her. I just love her. I’m thrilled that she loves me, so I just want to make her happy all the time in Christ, in other words, our identity is secure. You don’t have to prove yourself at your high school reunion. It’s good news when you think Prince William worries when he goes to his high school reunion, well, you lost a lot of hair. You’re going to love the tower. He’s got a great view of the scaffold. Not going to want to miss it, right? He doesn’t care at all. He knows who he is. We know who we are. In Christ, we don’t have to worry either. The Gospel matters. It matters eternally. So learn it, love it, live it. We’re going to keep working through all of those as we go through Galatians. The message of Galatians is a message that Luther captured. Well, I want to close with this. Luther writes, God accepts only the Forsaken, cures only the sick, gives sight only to the blind, restores life only to the dead, sanctifies only the sinners, gives wisdom only to the unwise fools, and we might say, rescues only the drowning. In short, he has mercy only on those who are wretched, and gives grace only to those who are not in grace. Therefore, no proud saint, no wise or just person, can become God’s material and God’s purpose cannot be fulfilled in him. He remains in his own work and makes a fictitious, pretended, false and painted saint of himself that is a hypocrite. Leave off pretending that you can do it and instead live in the grace of Christ and the love of Him who called you to it. Let’s pray. Father who rescued us when we could not rescue ourselves, who sent your Son to die for our sins. We stand in awe of you. We worship and revere you, and we would live in fear of you, because with you there is forgiveness, Father. We pray that we would rest in that grace that is offered to us. We can’t earn it. We don’t need to earn it. We can only receive it in Christ help us to receive it, even now and then, to live in light of it. We pray for Your name’s sake. Amen.

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The Cloud of Glory January 18, 2026 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper concludes his series on Exodus by reflecting on the completion of the tabernacle and its significance. He draws parallels between the construction of the tabernacle and the preparation for a wedding, emphasizing the importance of following God’s instructions perfectly. Cooper highlights the suspense surrounding God’s presence in the tabernacle after the Golden Calf incident. He discusses the final inspection by Moses, who found everything done as commanded, and the subsequent anointing and consecration of the tabernacle. Cooper also reflects on the cloud of God’s presence guiding the Israelites and the ultimate fulfillment of God’s plan in Christ, where the whole earth becomes God’s temple.

Good morning church, you can go ahead, grab your Bibles, open it up to Exodus 39 starting in verse 32 Exodus 3932 as has been mentioned, we’ll wrap up our series this morning. If you don’t have a Bible, there’s a black one in front of you there in the pew. It’s on page 77 if you’re in that Bible, and if you don’t have a Bible, by the way, at all nowhere in your home, just go ahead and take that one. That would be our gift to you. We’d be grateful if you were to have one in your home going forward. But as you turn in there, Exodus 39 I’ve been doing a lot of premarital counseling this year. I think I’ve done as much in the last year as I’ve done in the almost decade before that. And it’s always interesting, I’ve done some of the ceremonies as well. So, you know, intimately involved in this process of planning a wedding, which is a big deal, like, there is a lot of prep, never mind the relational prep, like working on communication, all that kind of stuff. But you’ve got the reception, you’ve got that, you know, all this stuff happening, getting ready for the big day. It’s even what we call it, right? It’s the Big Dig, and everything comes together at that moment. And we love a good culmination, don’t we? That’s why there’s so much pomp and circumstance, including the song pomp and circumstance that attends graduation, because, you know, all those years that you put in, and here’s the celebration, or if you’ve done a building project renovation, what do you have to do at the end of it? You got to have a ribbon cutting ceremony with those giant golden scissors. And that’s really where we are here, too. That’s the closest one to what we’re doing here at the end of Exodus, because they’ve constructed the tabernacle. We’re getting ready for the ribbon cutting ceremony, and we have spent a lot of time prepping for this, not counting the couple chapters there with the golden calf and the fallout from that, we’ve spent the last dozen or so chapters either on blueprints for the tabernacle or a detailed description of its construction. So we’re ready for the culmination. But if you were reading this for the first time, never mind living it, there would actually be an element of suspense, I think, because of that whole Golden Calf thing that we’ve been talking about, like, Will God actually live in this tent? Will he come down and dwell with His people despite their sin? Because, if not, well, it’s a huge letdown, isn’t it? It would be a little bit like having the flowers and the candles and the tuxes and the touches and the dresses and the reception hall and the DJ, but the bride and groom decided not to go through with it like that’s not exactly a wedding, then, is it? And that’s where we are here. Will all this work have been for not, or will God come down and fill this place? Is a question, by the way, that we should be asking too in the present, because, of course, we’ve got our own Golden Calf problems in our own hearts, as we’ve been talking about, will God dwell with us? And if so, how some of the questions we ask as we look at these three scenes wrapping up Exodus. So scene number one, inspecting the work. This is the end of chapter 39 so verses 32 to 43 I’m not going to read all of it, because it’s a lengthy list of everything they built, which we’ve gone through already, but let me begin in verse 32 at least. So all the work on the tabernacle the tent of meeting was completed. The Israelites did everything, just as the Lord commanded Moses. Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses, and you get again, a long list of everything done. Drop down to verse 42 the Israelites had done all the work just as the Lord had commanded. Moses. Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the Lord had commanded. So Moses blessed them. So little bit of context for us, especially because where is this coming right after the part we didn’t read in our series. Why? Because these chapters 35 to 39 are almost in a verbatim repetition of chapters 25 to 31 which we did read. The only thing that changes is that those first chapters are the order of importance as God gives them the blueprints. And then these later chapters are just the order of construction, the actual order in which it was built. But the key phrase in all of those chapters, and we see it here even in verse 32 is as the Lord commanded, as the Lord commanded, we got those blueprints. Did they follow instructions? And yes, the answer is, they did it all as the Lord commanded. In fact, that phrase shows up nine times in chapter 39 and shows up another nine times in chapter 40. Like we get the point. Okay, they followed God’s instructions. Except it’s a really important point. If. Think about it, because the golden calf just happened, right? So we still got that hanging over there. They were not famous for doing what the Lord had commanded, but here they did. So Moses leads God’s people from scandalous rebellion to scrupulous obedience. It’s also an important point, given the tabernacle’s function, I mean, if God is going to dwell here, it has to be perfect. If this is where he’s going to live, if this is where he’s going to speak to his people, if this is where the high priest will make atonement for the sins of the people, there can be no flaws. And so we get in this section that is Moses is doing the final inspection before the ribbon cutting ceremony. If you’ve ever been involved in a construction project, you know what this is like? We did it here about five years ago, no, not quite five years ago, with city New and so at a certain point, the architect and I, along with some other individuals, Kyle, Gary, John, you know, people like that, who were deeply involved in the project. We walked around for a long time, and we’re checking, you know, did they do what we asked them to do and put together our punch list? The owner and the architect, going, Nope, this wasn’t quite right. Well, that’s, that’s what we have here. I mean, God is the owner and the architect, Moses, is kind of like the project manager, and he’s checking on Bezalel, who’s a general contractor, and all his subs underneath him. Did they do it right or not? Now, when we did this and again, if you’ve ever done a construction project, you know how this goes, we found some things right was a long punch list, actually, couple pages long. So verses 42 and 43 are, are shocking. No, it was it was done. There’s nothing to say. Yeah, good work. Everybody like kind of wishing Bezalel would open up shop in Chicago. We would hire him next time around, because of the care and dedication that we see in his work and the work of those under him, which makes sense, though, because they were again preparing the place where God Himself would dwell. So you’d expect that care and dedication, which raises a question for us, what are we doing with the temple of the Lord, with the tabernacle? Because we are, as we’ve said many times in this series, we’re the temple. Now, I mean 1 Corinthians, 6:19, do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit? So this is where God dwells. Once you put your faith in Christ, He dwells in your heart. Have we then done everything just as the Lord commanded? And here, here’s the thing, there will be a final inspection in the end of every life, every life God is going to walk through and see, did we do everything just as He commanded? The Punch List is going to be pretty long. I think we know that. I mean Jeremiah, 17, nine and 10. Chapter nine is the famous part of it. So it says The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked beyond cure. Who can understand it? The idea being you can’t understand even your own heart. You have no idea the shoddy construction that’s happening sometimes. I the LORD, search the heart and examine the mind to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve. There’s the final inspection that will happen. So in light of that, what do we do? What do we do? In the meantime, I would say, first of all, start inspecting now, like it’s a great time to just kind of check in on your life. We say that to you, especially if you’re not sure where you stand with the Lord, because you will stand before the Lord someday, kind of whether you believe in him or not. And so this would be the moment to go, Okay, I should take this seriously. Start inspecting now, because your work will be inspected, I would also encourage you to ask others to help like this is a good place to have many eyes looking, and that’s the value of community. It’s part of what we do in things like Journey group and community groups is to put eyes on each other’s work going that’s probably not up to snuff. I’m not sure we’re doing everything, just as the Lord commanded. There’s another something we can do here, too. And this is, this is great. The Lord is very gracious to us, very patient to us. The Lord is a little bit like the teacher who says, you can turn in your term paper early, and I’ll take a look at it and give you some feedback, and you can try again. Not every teacher is like that, because that’s, that’s what David says in Psalm 139, isn’t that how isn’t that’s how he ends his prayer. Search me, Lord, and know my heart, test me, know my anxious thoughts, see if there’s any offensive way in me. Give me the punch list. Give me the punch list now, Lord, and lead me in the way everlasting. So start inspecting now. But then the other encouragement I would give us never. Stop inspecting. Never stop inspecting again. If you’ve ever been in a building, certainly if you ever owned a building or been in charge of a building, you know, they take constant upkeep, like as soon as you finish getting one part fixed, the next part breaks. A lot like city New we got a good chunk of the building renovated, and was a beautiful thing, and we still had to fix a leaking roof the next year because we didn’t touch that one in that project. And even now, you walk around at the new parts of the building and go, Oh man, there’s chips in the paint. Like, it’s a huge bummer. So, you know, you reach that point where you’re like, Oh, good. I got my tongue under control. Finally, sure you do inspect it again a little bit later. So start inspecting now. Never stop inspecting. But third and most important, what do we do? Take heart. You’re going to fail the inspection. Okay, bad news up front, you’re going to fail the inspection. But take heart, because Jesus is the tabernacle. And what did Jesus? What did God the Father say of Jesus when He inspected him? Matthew 317, this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. Jesus lived that perfect life and passed the final inspection. He is the only one who did everything as the Lord commanded all of the time. And the resurrection proves then that his sacrifice that was offered in your place was acceptable to God. So we go on trying to do everything just as God commanded, knowing that we won’t not perfectly because we know that God will accept unacceptable us in Christ. He’ll accept us the faulty wiring, the chipped paint, the drafty windows, because he Christ has given us His perfect edifice, and we can offer then to God through faith in Christ. Well, like Jesus, who passes inspection, this new and this, this original tabernacle, passes inspection as well, which means, then, second scene, it’s time to set it up. So inspected the work it passes. Second scene, erecting the tent. Chapter 40, verses one to 33 I am not going to read all of that. I will let you know, but we will start in verse one. Then the Lord said to Moses, set up the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting on the first day of the first month. Place the Ark of the Covenant law in it, and shield the ark with the curtain. Bring in the table and set out what belongs on it. Then bring in the lamp. Stand set up its lamps. Place the gold altar of incense in front of the Ark of the Covenant law and put the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle. Drop down a little bit to verse nine. Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it, consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy. Then anoint the altar of burnt offering and all the utensils. Consecrate the altar, and it will be most holy. Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate them. Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting, and wash them with water, then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him, so he may serve me as priests. Bring his sons and dress them in tunics, anoint them just as you anointed their father, so they may serve me as priests. Their anointing will be to a priesthood that will continue throughout their generations. Moses did everything just as the Lord commanded him. So the tabernacle was set up on the first day, the first month in the second year, and drop all the way down to verse 33 then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle, an altar, and put up the curtains at the entrance to the courtyard. And so Moses finished his work. First thing we notice here is the timing is really significant. They’re supposed to set up the tent on the first day of the first month. This marks this out, of course, as a new beginning. Then this is the next step in God’s plan. And so, of course, it happens on that day of new beginnings, New Year’s Day. And actually, if we read the text carefully, we’ll see a lot of ties to the original beginning creation. I mean, 3943 which we we just read. Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it well, basically, Moses looked at it and saw that it was good. We could paraphrase and then look at the last verse I read for us there in verse 33 where it says, And so Moses finished the work, put those two together, and it sounds a lot like Genesis two, two, where after creation, God finished His work of creating and saw, inspected the work and saw that it was good. This is important because it means that just as God designed creation to be his cosmic temple, now the tabernacle is where he’s going to dwell, so it’s this new work of restoration, restoring creation to its original in. Intended purpose, which we’ll have to return to throughout this sermon. So all the elements passed inspection, which means they’re now ready for consecration. Consecration. So everything gets anointed with oil, including the priests. You can read about their consecration when Moses actually does it in Leviticus, chapter eight, so it’s coming up in just a little while here in in the text, as we have it, at least. But everything gets the anointing oil. If you don’t remember the anointing oil, Kyle took us through it way back in chapter 30, verses, 22 and the following, why the anointing oil? The why? The why this? This process. It’s to set apart these items and these people consciously to be, I mean, God’s dwelling place, to be that those who serve in God’s dwelling place, in order to do that, to be that they must be made holy. And so that’s why we get this work of anointing and consecration. Moses had inspected the work of others. That’s what we saw in that last scene. Well, now it’s time for him to do his job, and so he’s in charge of consecration and then setting up the tent. And like the rest we we read that he did it exactly as the Lord commanded. As I said nine times, actually shows up in this chapter. Did everything just as the Lord had commanded. And then we read that last sentence of this section. And then Moses finished his work. And you think of how satisfying that must have felt to go, okay, you know what I set out to do, what the Lord had given me to do, I have now finished. And so he proves himself, as Clint read for us earlier in the service, he proves Himself faithful in all God’s house. So what Hebrews three two says about him, but as we saw there in Hebrews three again, the passage that Clint read for us His faithfulness here points ahead, points to the new and true Moses, who is Jesus? Jesus not just a faithful servant in God’s house, but as God, he’s the builder of the house, and then he is son over God’s house. Hebrews three, verse six, and we even see in that passage that God’s house is us, right here, all of us. God is the son over God’s house. And here’s the very best news. Then, just as Moses finished his work, Jesus finished his work too, and he cried out on the cross as he ransomed his people from sin and death, It is finished. I’m done. The work is over. The great high priest gets to sit down because his work is done, and because he finished his work, we can finish ours. Acts of joyful worship in God’s house, because we know what’s been done for us. We know what our adoption means. It like we what we are, right? Like orphans plucked off the streets brought into this palace. You can understand how eager they would be to do some chore you want me to make my bed? Yeah, sure, because I have a bed now, like I’m willing to do that. You need me to clear my dishes Absolutely, because that means I ate today. That’s the same experience that we have with grace. I would be thrilled to do this because of who I am now in Christ, our work follows our redemption. Ephesians, two, eight to 10. For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. This is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works, so that noone can boast. There’s the orphan plucked off the streets. But then Paul goes on. We are God’s handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do, and so that’s the work that we’ve been given. Now, what does that look like? Means we make disciples of all nations. That’s our work. That’s our commission. We’re God’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us ministers of reconciliation. We’ve talked about recently, especially during our ministry fair month in October, part of our work is that each one of us needs to do the work here, in this room, in this place, among these people, to build each other up with the gifts that we have been given. We finish those works that Jesus prepared in advance for us to do so that in the end, we can hear that treasured accolade, well done, good and faithful servant in God’s house. So we expect the work, erect the tent, and then lastly, last scene, perfecting the plan. We’ll spend most of our time here. By the way, some of you are really excited. You’re like, gonna be a 20 minute sermon. This is amazing. No, it’s not. It’s not. You know that don’t get excited. You. Here we go. Rest of the book, starting in verse 34 then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out. But if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, and the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels. So Moses sets up the tent, and then there’s no delay, right? There’s no break. He finished his work, and God rushes in, like people trying to to get the best seats at a concert as soon as the doors open, or like my wife at the gospel coalition conference throw in elbows in order to get the closest seats to John Piper and others. I’m just kidding. Amy would never do that. Instead, she made Jackie do it for her, and that’s a true story, and there are witnesses in this room, but that’s how eager God is to dwell with His people. And don’t rush over that. Like, let’s not skip by this. Like, Oh, of course, the glory of the Lord fills the tabernacle, there’s no, of course, there like why would he want to stay with these people, except everything we saw last week? In particular, because he’s the Lord, the Lord the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to 1000s. And so the cloud that comes it signals that grace and compassion and mercy, it signals his presence, his advent. These are the same words that are used when the cloud covers Sinai, like when Moses goes up to get the 10 Commandments and bring them down. And so what do we see? The tent is now this portable Sinai. It’s this place where God meets with them. The God of Sinai, the God of covenant love, is now always with them. And we know there He’s always with him, because it says that he the cloud settled on it. We’ve actually looked at this word a few times, although it was a while ago, so if you remember, that’s fine, but it’s the word that means dwells God moved in. This is his home now. This is his address at this point. Despite their sin, despite our sin, God dwells with us, and yet, and yet, Moses can’t go in. Moses can’t go in because the cloud settled on it and filled it, just like he couldn’t see the fullness of God’s glory in the passage we looked at last week. So this barrier still exists, in other words, like it’s such good news that God is dwelling with his people, but there’s this anti climax, almost in the moment good this would be like getting to the wedding day and then getting up there, and you know me as the pastor, saying, you know, Dearly Beloved. We’re gathered here today, all that good stuff, and then go. Only thing is, you actually got two more sessions of premarital counseling. So if we can get those scheduled real quick, and, you know, or you get to the ribbon cutting ceremony, and you you slice the ribbon, and it’s great, and everyone’s cheering and stuff, but there’s a gas leak, so nobody’s going in. Like, that’s what this feels like at this moment. It’s a huge bummer, but it’s also an important reminder that we cannot enter except by blood sacrifice, and there’s no sacrifice offered here in this moment. And it’s interesting, if you think about it, Moses, who went to the Tent of Meeting like he doesn’t get to go in. It’s only his brother that goes in, Aaron, the high priest, and again, only on one day out of the year. The whole book of Leviticus is about how you get to enter. It is a detailed book with a lot of blood in it, one guy one day, and that’s it. So you read this, as exciting as this moment is, we’re left wanting more. We’re left wanting Jesus so that we can march boldly to the throne of grace to receive mercy in our time of need. So the cloud that hovers over the tent and shows God’s presence, but also the barrier to his presence, we might be reading this thinking then that there’s this ambivalence on God’s part, which we would understand. Okay, so maybe a little bit like a couple gets married, but they keep separate bank accounts because the husband knows that his new wife has already been unfaithful a handful of times. That’s exactly the situation we’re in here, right? And so he was kind of that like, Okay, we’ll see. We’ll see. But that’s not it at all, not it at all, because we also get here the reminder of. Of how God dwells with his people. There’s no ambivalence. But at the same time, God is not at their disposal. He’s there as their Lord. That’s what verses 36 and 37 are about, and he is guiding them. In this process, they don’t choose when to break camp. They don’t choose where to go. You know, I think I know a shortcut to the Promised Land. Let’s turn left here and said, No, they they follow. God, it’s interesting. They don’t actually look for guidance so much as wait for guidance. Just eyes on the Lord. We won’t move without you, as we sometimes sing, here we’ll go. When you go, this moment is probably some help for us also, I would think, because, again, that that cloud of glory that hovers right over us now, the Holy Spirit dwells within us, if we belong to Christ by grace, through faith. And so like Jesus, we say not My will, Your will be done. So I’m going where you want me to go, Lord. And so we wait for guidance. We wait on the Lord the way Paul puts it in Galatians, which is where going next. We’ll start there next week is we, we keep in step with the Spirit. You just follow the leader, right there, especially when we remember the end of destination. That’s what makes following so easy when it comes to the Lord, I mean, God, here he’s guiding them into the Promised Land. Here they’re wandering in the desert having spent centuries oppressed and in slavery, and they’re going to a land flowing with milk and honey. Yeah, we’ll go. Lead us. We absolutely will follow you there. It’s even better for us. I mean, Jesus is leading us to glory. The Spirit leads us to the New Jerusalem, the new heavens and the new earth, everything we looked at at the end of Revelation recently, of course, we’ll go. Of course, we’ll follow you, Lord, especially when we look at verse 38 God is not just his guiding presence, but his faithful guiding presence, despite the barrier of sin. God is always there. God is always visible. He neither leaves them nor forsakes them. Hebrews 13 repeats that promise to us, same promise that we’re given he will neither leave us nor forsake us. Interestingly, that promise in Hebrews 13 comes right in the middle of a section about keeping ourselves free from sin like greed and lust. Of course, that makes sense. We’re still called to follow the God who is always with us and always guiding us, who leads us in the right paths. For his name’s sake, Psalm 23 has it. And if he’s always there with them, if he’s always here with us. We can really do anything. We can face anything. There’s a story of a man who served with Admiral Nelson, a great leader of the British Navy. Stopford was his name, and he wrote back home at one point, and he said, We are half starved and otherwise inconvenienced by being so long out of port, but our reward is that we’re with Nelson. It’s like, it’s fine, like I don’t mind that we’re on half rations or something like that. Because I am with Nelson, I get to serve with Nelson. Well, how much more so those who can say we can handle this, because our reward is that we are with God Almighty, our Redeemer and Lord, might be worth just stepping back here at the end of our series now and considering where we’ve been, what was the purpose of this book? We said it a bunch of times. The main theme in Exodus is, who is God, and we might know him more. Do we know him more as a result of spending these 40 chapters together? Well, we we know his name now, so that’s something. He’s Yahveh. I am who I am, the incomprehensible God, meaning you can’t be boxed in, reduced to slogans. We know his care and compassion. We saw that early on. We know that he sees suffering, hears cries, visits his people, and then acts. And we have seen his acts as well. That is, we know his power now too, his strong arm, his mighty deeds to deliver his people out of bondage. In Egypt, we know his judgment and justice, the rightness of His judgment. We saw that with the death of every first born in Egypt, the death of many others after the incident with the golden calf. Death. Our God is the just judge, judging rightly. We know his grace. At the same time that he rescued an undeserving people delivered them, we have been struck repeatedly by surprise, I guess, that he doesn’t just put all of us to death, but instead forgives those who trust in Him, we know His provision because we’ve seen Manna fall from heaven and quail brought in on the wind. We’ve seen a water flow from a rock that was struck. We know his guidance. We see it here. We know his teaching. He’s revealed His will for our lives and the 10 Commandments. We know Him as King. We know his protection. But above all, we know his presence, Emmanuel God with us, the God who wants to dwell with us, the God who makes a way for us to dwell with Him. And of course, he does. Of course he makes a way because that was his original purpose. He created Adam and Eve to dwell with Him in the Garden of Eden. They used to take strolls together in the afternoon. We remember why God put Adam and Eve in Eden. He gave them commands, right? He told them to multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. In other words, their their purpose there in the beginning, was to turn all of creation into God’s temple. That’s what I mean when I talk about the plan as our scene title here, perfecting the plan. That’s the plan, the mission of God, to fill the earth with His presence and glory. And so again, we’re left with this sense of anti climax. The fact that God lives among one people in one structure is not exactly fulfillment of that perfect plan. Again, we’re left wanting more. We’re left wanting what God declared through his prophet Habakkuk, chapter two, verse 14, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. That’s the goal. That’s where we’re headed, which means what just happened here, as glorious as it is, is just a, as Christopher Wright puts it, just a foreshadowing in linen, goat hair and leather, of when the glory will actually the glory of the Lord will fill the whole earth. It’s just a foreshadowing, until that moment when we hear the angel cry out, look, God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. Revelation, 21 verse three, and we learned there that there’s not even a temple in the New Jerusalem and the new heavens and the new earth. Why? Because the plan was perfected. The whole earth is now God’s temple. His presence is there. So there is no need of a separate temple. Which means what we’re doing here today is closing a chapter, not closing a book. This is just getting us ready for the next stage in God’s big story, his great rescue plan. What we have here? It’s a little bit like that moment before the symphony starts. You ever been to the CSO, or even your kids, you know, orchestra on middle school or something, there’s that moment where the conductor, you know, kind of gets everybody going, and violinist, they play the A and everyone tunes to them, and a couple of people in English horns going. I got the big solo. I should try it out. You. You hear these bits of the theme that is about to unfold, this glorious symphony, but it’s discordant and disunified, and that’s where we are here. I can hear it. I can tell the song that’s coming. But this isn’t it. The symphony hasn’t started yet. What’s the next step? Prophet Ezekiel tells us, Ezekiel, 37 my dwelling place will be with them, says Israel, returning from exile, I will be their God. They will be my people.
Then, then the nations will know that I the Lord, make Israel holy when my sanctuary is among them forever. So the purpose isn’t just that Israel would know God, but that the nations would know God. And then what’s the step after that? Well, that’s when the Word becomes flesh and makes his dwelling, sets up His tabernacle among us, the greater Moses, leading us in a greater Exodus, where we see God’s compassion and power and judgment and grace and provision and guidance and teaching and protection on display, with Jesus leading us not just out of slavery in Egypt, but out of sin and death. And Jesus not just getting us out of Egypt, but getting Egypt sin and death out of us as well, and then leading us until we reach glory the top of Sinai and see him face to face in the fullness of His glory, all nations under Christ together. That’s perspectives, by the way, in a nutshell, right there. So you just got that whole point is. Mission of God to bring his glory to all people everywhere. In the meantime, in the meantime, while we’re still waiting for that moment, this here in Exodus 40, is an image of the church. I mean, what is this? This is the people of God journeying together as pilgrims, exiles in a strange land, journeying not as individuals, but as the people of God. Since we are just living stones in God’s temple, altogether, we construct God’s temple doing what God called us to do, finishing our work, the work of fruitful labor in the lives of others, that others would magnify Christ, knowing and showing the beauty of the gospel, knowing more of the beauty of the gospel, ever more ourselves, and showing the beauty of the gospel to a watching world. So the final word in Exodus, well, it’s two fold. It’s come out. Come out out of Egypt, out of darkness, out of sin, out of death and decay and disobedience. But it’s not just to come out. It’s come out and then come in, come in, come into life and light and love, into God’s very presence, because Christ, our Passover lamb was slain for us, because Christ our rock was struck for us, because Christ, our High Priest, offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice in himself, The perfect temple come out and come in in Christ, let’s pray together. God our deliverer. We see the oppression in which we live, the darkness and sin in our own hearts, we see that we are not passing inspection on our own. We see that we live among a people who do not pass inspection, who do not do everything that you command. We know Lord, that we should not be allowed to dwell in Your presence, and so we are Thunderstruck by the glory of Your grace, Lord, that You would make a way at great cost yourself by the blood of your Son, so that we can come in, into your presence and live with you forever, Lord, we pray in the meantime as we await that great day, when the trumpet sounds, when Christ comes again, when your glory will indeed fill the whole earth, as we await that day, Lord, in the meantime, we pray that you would, by your Spirit, lead us and guide us by your faithful presence and transform us from glory to glory as we finish the work that you have given us to do. We pray this for your name’s sake. Amen.

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God’s Glory January 11, 2026 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper discusses the importance of God’s presence, using the story of Moses and the Israelites as an example. He recounts how Moses’ requests for God’s presence and forgiveness are granted, emphasizing the significance of God’s mercy and grace. Cooper highlights the tension between God’s holiness and mercy, using the golden calf incident and the renewal of the covenant to illustrate God’s willingness to forgive and lead His people. He encourages the congregation to reflect on their own devotional habits and to worship and obey God, who promises to go with them and provide rest.

Good morning church and go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Exodus 33. Exodus 33. We’ll be starting in verse seven. As you’re turning there, I dropped my daughter off for basketball practice this past week. We were there a little bit earlier, I was on my way to Journey Group, so I was kind of dropping her around…dropping her off as we were going and stuff. And so because we were early enough, I had her check the door, just make sure it’s unlocked before I dropped her off. I’m a good father, right? And so she did. The door was open. She gave me the thumbs up. I took off. Thankfully, it was a circular drive, so I went around like this, and out of the corner of my eye, I caught her running frantically towards me, waving her arms, because I’m not that good a father, and the interior doors were locked. She only got into the thermal vestibule and not farther than that. And so she was a little bit panicked, you know, I drove back around. We waited until somebody else showed up, unlocked the doors, all that good stuff. But as we’re reflecting on this, that if I hadn’t just been dropping her off, you know, while the car was still moving. Basically, if I’d gone in with her, it wouldn’t have mattered to her in the slightest that those doors were locked. We would have just sat there together until somebody else came. Her coach was there, and we would have been fine. Just mere presence is so important, especially somebody who knows what they’re doing if they’re there right next to you. That’s kind of all you need. We feel that, especially during transitions, don’t we? I can remember going both to college and then to seminary, being so grateful that I just knew some people there already who could kind of help me find my way. We didn’t have as much of that on the mission field. It was great that I had Amy’s presence with me, but we got to Colombia, and we’re like, Uh oh, like, I guess we’ll just figure this out. We just want somebody there. Well, Israel is, of course, going somewhere new at this moment in their history. They’re going to the promised land. And so you can imagine how important presence, especially the presence of God would be for them. Will God go with them? Because if not, that would be absolutely devastating. They’ll be running across the desert, you know, waving their arms frantically. Please. Somebody help. Now, this is a live question, though, isn’t it? Will God go with us into the promised land because of what came just before. Now, I know this wasn’t last week because we had to switch things around because we’ve got sick, but if you remember two weeks ago and the story of the golden calf, where we ended that story, it’s right here in Exodus 33 here’s verse three in particular, verses two and three, God says, I will send an Angel before you verse two, and then verse three, I will not go with you. I will not go with you, because you are a stiff necked people, and I might destroy you on the way. And so this is very much a live question, like, Will God go with us? It seems like maybe not. Will he stay with them, even despite their sin? And now that starts to feel like a really live question, even for us, doesn’t it like that’s a question we need answers to. Will God stay with us even when we’re stiff necked and rebel against him? So to get our answers to this most important question, we will listen in on a conversation here between Moses, the mediator for Israel and his God, four requests that Moses makes of God, and as he gets answers to those requests, reveals the glory of God in magnificent ways. So let’s dig in. We’re going to look at the first two requests together here in verses seven to 17, and we’re going to see that both of these requests have to do with God’s presence. God’s presence, they read for us, 33 seven to 17. Now, Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the Tent of Meeting. Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent. All the people rose and stood at the entrance to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped each at the entrance to their tent, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend, then Moses would return to the camp, but his young age, Joshua, son of Nun, did not leave the tent. Moses said to the Lord, you have been telling me lead these people, but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, I know you by name, and you have found favor with me. If you are pleased with me, teach me Your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people. The Lord replied, My presence will go with you and I will give you rest. Then Moses said to him, if your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people, unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth. And the Lord said to Moses, I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name. So we ended with this moment of suspense again. Will God go with his people or not? And there’s this like cliffhanger ending right there, you know, the credits roll, and so you tune in next week to see what’s going to happen and whatnot, and what always happens in those shows, right? If you’re, like, worried if the person got killed or not, and then you start the next show, and it’s a totally different scene, right? They don’t give you that information right away. It’s the same thing here, right? Like we’ve got this moment of suspense, and all of a sudden we’re talking about the Tent of Meeting. Why? Exactly? Will God dwell with His people? Will he go with his people? But instead of an answer, we get an interlude. Now, what is the Tent of Meeting? The Tabernacle has not been built yet. We’ve gotten all the instructions for it, but we haven’t actually had the construction just yet. And so this, we got this temporary structure, the Tent of Meeting in the meantime. But notice that it is outside the camp that’s really significant, because the tabernacle is supposed to be right in the center of the camp. God dwelling in the midst of his people. But instead, now he’s he’s over here. It’s like God hasn’t divorced Israel, but they got a trial separation going on right now, that’s how it would feel. And so there is this like, Oh no, heightened attention in this moment. Nevertheless, we get a ray of hope breaking through these clouds of gloom, because Moses is able to go out speak to God as Israel looks on and and the Lord actually comes to speak to him. In fact, they speak, it says face to face, which is a Hebrew idiom, just for as you would speak to a friend. So they’re having this personal conversation, friend to friend, which is really significant in its own right. I mean, of course, I’m reminded here that Jesus says to His disciples, I have called you friends. So this is the God of the universe, our Creator and sovereign saying, We can be friends, absolutely. But will Moses’s friendship with God be enough for the nation? Can he as a mediator, reconcile these two parties? That’s the question we’re wondering about. But before we move on, and I get to the actual conversation, like, let’s not leave this in the Old Testament, because if you are in Christ, you are now the Tent of Meeting, like you can speak to God face to face as a friend whenever you want, because God’s not just dwelling in the center of the camp. He’s dwelling in the center of the camp, he’s dwelling in the center of your very life. Now, how could we neglect so great a privilege as that? Like, in some ways, I know we’re still ringing in the new year, and so a lot of us are still thinking through, you know, resolutions, goals, all that kind of stuff like this is a great time to examine your devotional habits, to examine your prayer life, which is why we’ve been talking about some of these things, even in our pulse articles. But just as you consider this, as you look at the tented meeting here, what do you want to have change in 2026 about your prayer life, maybe just jot that down or something. So you’ve got it in mine. But then we get in verses 12 and 13. Moses’s first request, and it’s kind of a blunt opening bid. As he opens negotiations with God, he says, Look, which isn’t translated in the NIV, but it’s there, like, look, God, you’re telling me to go, but who’s going with me exactly? And what’s fascinating about this question is God already told him who’s going with him. In fact, I already read it for you, even 33 verse two, I’m gonna send an Angel with you. So why is Moses asking? Most likely, he’s remembering not only his great need, but God’s initial promise to him all the way back Exodus chapter three and the burning bush. When God says, Hey, you’re going to go to Pharaoh and you’re going to deliver my people out of Egypt and into the promised land. And Moses says, Who am I? That Pharaoh is going to listen to me? And God says I will be with you. And Moses is going, Lord, not much has changed. The needs aren’t any smaller. At this point, I still need to know that you are going to go with me. I couldn’t talk to Pharaoh without you. I couldn’t, you know, plagues, that’s not happened the Red Sea, that wasn’t happening without you. But I can’t get the people into the promised land without you either. And so there’s this commendable humility in Moses.
And I wonder, as we read this, if you see that same humility in yourself, do you have that recognition? I cannot do this on my own. God, I need you, or this is not going to come off. Is your default mode? In other words, self reliance or Grace dependence. If you’re at all like me, then it’s the wrong answer. I’m very prone to laboring in my own strength, and so my instinct, and again, maybe yours, is to go something’s off, so I better fix it, as opposed to Something’s off. Lord, we need your help. Now, it was Jesus who said, John 15, verse five, apart from me, you can do nothing. And Moses recognizes this. That’s right. When Jesus says he’s the vine and we’re the branches, and where the branch is, and he’s saying, Look, if you’re a branch, you get separated from the vine, you’re gonna be withered really quickly. And Moses is going don’t separate us, Lord, we need to be attached to you still. Will you come with us? And he pleads, in light of his special status, I found favor, favor in your eyes. Again, you’re calling me a friend, and maybe that discourages you, because you think, right, but I’m not Moses, which you’re not, by the way, but you’re actually in a better spot than Moses. We can also plead in light of our special status, because not a question whether or not we found favor in God’s eyes, but a question of whether or not Jesus found favor in God’s eyes. Spoiler alert, if you haven’t gotten there yet, he did, and he gives that favor to us so that God says, anything you ask in Jesus’s name, I will do for you. That’s the confidence we should have when we march into the tent of meeting right here in our own hearts. But he pleads with God. He says, Remember, this nation is your people. That word nation is significant. It’s only used of Israel twice so far, in Exodus. One of those times was in Exodus 32 the golden calf story, when God says to Moses, look, they messed up. I’m going to wipe them out, and I’ll make you into a great nation. The other one is in Exodus, 19 verse six, when God says, of all nations, you will be my treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.
And that was their mission. Remember going to be the nation of nations they are, as a nation, going to be priests to the rest of the world. And so Moses is reminding God, not that God had forgotten, of course, but he’s reminding god of this truth. This is your people. You brought them out of Egypt. You gave them the promises of Abraham. You said we’re going to be priests to all nations. You better come with us and protect your investment. And how does God respond? Verse 14, his response is actually ambiguous, more ambiguous than most of our translations have it. It says, My presence will go with you and I will give you rest. It reads, literally, my face will walk and I will give you rest. So my face, which means presence, absolutely, will go, but there’s no with you. It just says, My face is going, and then I will give you singular rest. This is usted, not ustedes, if you studied Spanish ever, just one. So my presence is going and Moses, you’re going to get rest. You can understand why Moses isn’t totally satisfied with that response yet. So he makes his second request, which reads literally there in verse 15. If your face isn’t walking, don’t send us like there’s no point in going without you. And so he cranks it up a notch in the in the rest of that paragraph, verses 15 and 16. First of all, he binds himself to his people as mediator. You notice, he says two times, me and your people. Me and your people, we go together at this point. So he’s binding them together. And then in verse 16, he adds those key words that we’re missing. How will anyone know unless you go, unless you walk with us, those words are there in the Hebrew that’s actually there. So he adds those keywords. And then third, he reminds God about his ultimate purpose, which is to make his glory known among all nations, right? That His glory would cover the whole earth. That’s what he says in verse 16, right? So how will everyone else know? Unless you stick with us, prove your goodness and glory in the eyes of a watching world. And of course, we know how the rest of the story goes, and God does exactly what Moses asked here. God proves himself time and time again. He proves himself as they go into Promised Land, like at Jericho, for example. You think of David and Goliath. He proves himself to. Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, when 120,000 Assyrian soldiers die in a night, he proves himself even when he sends his people into exile in Babylon, he goes, Hey, Nebuchadnezzar, let’s talk for a moment. I need you to know that I’m God and you’re not, and this is happening according to my will. He proves himself to Cyrus, who sends Israel back into the promised land after exile, he proves himself to Caesar in a moment we celebrated not that long ago. You think you’re given a decree. Actually, I’m given the decrees because my Messiah needs to be born in Bethlehem. So that’s why you’re given your Census decree. And of course, he proves himself supremely in the person and work of Jesus Christ. And now we know the glory of God is reaching all nations, and one day we’ll cover the face of the earth. What a great reminder, though, that of all things that we can’t do apart from God, Mission tops the list. Like who would ever want to evangelize without prayer? Anyone feeling bold enough to do that, no, our prayer should be as we go to evangelicals to say, Look, Lord, I’m about to have a conversation with my friend, my family member, my colleague, my neighbor. But here’s the thing, Lord, if you don’t go with me, I’m not sharing the gospel with them, but you can follow that right up with the promise of Jesus Christ, of Jesus Christ, of course, you said, go make disciples of all nations. And lo, I am with you always to the end of the age. So it’s a good reminder for us at that moment as well. I’m not going unless you go and you said you’re going. So let’s go. Or at Cityview, we can think of this corporately as well. You know, what would be a really dumb idea planting a church without the presence of God, am I right? Yeah, what a great time. Because we could probably do it, in a sense, with some strategic planning, some good marketing, get the right people in play. We could probably start a church as an institution.
It just wouldn’t be a church in any meaningful sense. No, we want to be pleading for God’s presence like we won’t move without you, Lord. So show us where to go and when and how, and God and all these requests. Verse 17 acquiesces, because he’s pleased with Moses. He’s pleased with Moses. Interesting. So far, there’s only been one other person in Scripture with whom God has said he’s pleased using this same word, and that’s Noah. Noah, who, you know, goes on the ark as God starts over. And so there’s this sense of, right? This is a new Noah sort of moment. This is a new stage and God’s unfolding redemptive plan. He is starting something new with Moses and Israel. And so you get to this point and you think, okay, like, great work, Moses, you did it. You got what you asked for. So that’s, that’s, that’s enough, right? We can start moving right, right? Right. No, not yet. So we got to go. Keep going. Third request, let’s see where Moses goes next. Keep reading. A third request has to do with God’s glory. God’s glory. Specifically I read 3318 to 34 Seven. Then Moses said, Now show me your glory. And the Lord said, I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim My name the Lord in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But he said, You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live. Then the Lord said, there is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by. I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back, but my face must not be seen. The Lord said to Moses, chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready in the morning and then come up on Mount Sinai, present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain. Not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain. So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones, and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him, and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord, and he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming the Lord, the Lord the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to 1000s and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished. He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation. When you first read this, Moses’ third request feels a little self indulgent, doesn’t it? Like you got what you were doing for the sake of the nation in particular. Now all of a sudden, it’s like I’d like to see your glory, but give.
Been God’s response. There is a clear logic to the request, because Moses says, Would you show me your glory? And God says, I will have my goodness pass by you. And then he proclaims His grace. So there’s this glory, goodness, Grace, connection, His mercy, His compassion. That’s important, right? It’s important we see that, because God is going to go with Israel, but the danger is still there. And remember 33 verse three, God says, You’re a stiff necked people. I might destroy you along the way. That hasn’t changed, so we still have a problem. Will God destroy them? Then, as he goes and so Moses asks God here to reveal himself more fully, for as Walter Moberly puts it, only in the very depths of God can a final solution to the people’s sin be found, and that’s what we’re looking for, the solution to the problem of sin. So God gives Moses a glimpse of those very depths His goodness, which is heavily weighted towards mercy, compassion, but Moses can’t see his face, which is a little interesting, of course, because we just said they talk face to face. So how does that work? Bible is full of contradictions. You shouldn’t trust it. No, not that at all. Okay, just to be clear, remember, he speaks with God face to face, and there’s that idiom, like as a friend, but it’s a difference between speaking face to face and seeing God’s face that would be the the fullness of His glory, which he could not do and live. And so we have this tension that we feel so often, even today, between God’s transcendence, His holiness, His awesomeness, and his imminence, as in Emmanuel, God with us, the one who is near to us, like God is Father, He is friend, he is also creator and sovereign and Lord and judge. We have to hold those two intention, which gets tricky. But because of this, we get this delightful little anthropomorphism, which is a fancy way of saying God. It takes on human characteristics. God is Spirit. God does not have a body, which means he does not have a face, he does not have a hand, he does not have a back. And yet, that’s how He reveals Himself to Moses here in this moment. And so since Moses can’t see the fullness of His glory, He God stuffs him in a rock and covers him with his hand, and then he gets to see the back, you know, his muted glory, something like that. Even still, we cannot see the fullness of God’s glory and live which may remember when we did revelation like John kept falling down, right? That that’s kind of the the experience. Now, one day we will, this is what we’re longing for, the Beatific Vision is what theologians call it, that moment when we will actually get to see God in all His glory, face to face. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God, and what a day that will be. Until then we can see God because we can see Jesus. Jesus told his disciples, anyone who’s seen me has seen the Father. But even in Jesus, of course, we are seeing what we sang not that long ago, veiled in flesh, the Godhead. See he’s veiled. So it still is this muted glory at this point. So we can see the fullness of God’s glory, but we can certainly know the fullness of his character, which is what he’s going to proclaim. But even before he proclaims it, he demonstrates it. Because, did you notice he reestablishes His covenant with sinful Israel? In this moment, they chisel out new tablets. This is significant. This is would be a little bit like, you know, a husband whose wife has been unfaithful, welcoming her back in. And then this is, you know, like renewing the vows. And that’s sort of what happens here, renewal of the covenant, which sounds great, except it’s actually still a really big problem, if you think about it, because how did Israel do keeping the covenant? It lasted about 12 minutes, if memory serves, and then they started making a golden calf. So God is still holy. Israel is still going to fall short, still going to rebel, still going to disobey. So we’re here in this moment going, No, no, we need something better than just reestablishing the covenant at Sinai, which, by the way, God knows, which is why He sends His prophets like Jeremiah and Ezekiel to promise this New Covenant that would be coming when the law, what is given at Sinai, is written on our very hearts. And better still, God will give us his very spirit to change us so that we can actually keep the law. And of course, he promises still. To forgive our sins. We know that New Covenant is coming. Of course, at this point we are under the New Covenant, because God is who He always is, and that’s then what he proclaims He is the Lord, the Lord. What a moment, by the way. Remember Aaron, just a little while before this pointed at a shiny cow and said, Here are your gods, and here’s God going, here is your God. And there is no comparison between the two, the Lord, the Lord the compassionate and gracious God, who is slow to anger, doesn’t mean he never gets angry. He does get angry with sin, and we’ve seen it, we’ll see it again. But he’s slow to anger. He’s abounding, like brimful and overflowing with love. That’s his covenant, love and faithfulness. He is true to his word. He keeps his promises. He maintains love to 1000s. And here that means not 1000s of people, which would be great, but probably not enough of us. But we’re talking 1000s of generations, which, by the way, we have not even had 1000 generations of human history yet. So that’s a long time. And then forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin and the word there is carrying it away, removing it from us, yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished. Was the contrast between those last two. That’s so hard, isn’t it, you want to go. Which one is it? Do you forgive or do you judge? But Scripture affirms both, and so must we then. So there is this tension, though, we’ve seen the tension already again, even in the last story, they’ve got the golden calf. They’re in rebellion against God. Moses, at one point though, he comes down. He says, if you’re for the Lord, come to me. And many come, and some don’t. And there’s the answer to the tension, right there. God is willing to forgive all those who would be forgiven, all those who want to be forgiven. More than willing. He even saw it in his proclamation there, right? We get a five fold declaration of His love and then one statement on his judgment. Because mercy, compassion. He does that with his whole heart. But judgment, Scripture says in some interesting places, in the prophets, that his heart’s not in it. It’s not what he wants. It’s his strange work. Plus he lavishes love on 1000 generations, whereas the wicked are punished to the third or fourth generation. That can be tricky enough in its own right, though. But why third or fourth? Because that’s how many generations you get to see, right? You’re talking grandkids, maybe great grandkids. That’s what third and fourth generation would be. So these are ones who would have experienced the impact of your sinful decisions, right? Like an affair or something like that, that would reverberate through a few generations and also maybe complicit in those sinful choices. I think of Achan when he steals the silver and the clothes that belong to the Lord just after Jericho, and he, like he hid it in a hole in his tent. Guess who saw him hide it in a hole in his tent? His family, right? And so they were there with him. That’s why it’s the third or fourth generation. But the point is, we’re going to struggle with this tension between God’s mercy and compassion and his holiness and judgment until the cross, and then we’re going to get it, because at the cross of Jesus Christ, God displays His mercy and His compassion to the utmost and his judgment and holiness to the utmost simultaneously. At the cross, we know God does not leave sin unpunished, and yet he is willing to bear it and to bear it away himself, in the person of Christ, so that we can experience that forgiveness and love to 1000 generations. And so he proves himself, and using Paul’s words in Romans three just because he punishes sin, and at the same time, the justifier of those who trust in Christ, the one who makes us righteous, declares us innocent again. And you think of that, and you think if Moses bowed down as he will here in verse eight in a second in response to God just proclaiming His character, how much more so should we bow down this side of the cross an empty tomb Tony Morita sums it up so neatly in his commentary in Exodus, he says to those in need, God is compassionate to those who cannot measure up. God is gracious to those who are rebellious. God is slow to anger to the unfaithful. God abounds in faithful love and loyalty to the guilty. God is forgiving to the unrepentant. God is just, and that is the glory of God, right there. And surely that’s enough, right? But no, we’ve got one more request still, and for good reason. So fourth request, which is all about God’s grace, I’m going to read parts of eight to 35 here. So start in verse eight. Moses bowed down to the ground at once and worshiped Lord. He said, If I have found favor in your eyes and let the Lord go with us, although this is a stiff necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin and take us as Your inheritance. Then the Lord said, I am making a covenant with you before all your people. I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I the Lord, will do for you. Obey what I command you today, I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going or they will be a snare among you. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. Do not worship any other God, for the Lord, whose name is jealous, is a jealous God. And drop down to verse 27 Then the Lord said to Moses, write down these words, for in accordance with these words, I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. Moses was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 days and 40 nights without eating bread or drinking water, and he wrote on the tablets the words of the Covenant, the 10 Commandments. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets the covenant law on his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant, because he had spoken with the Lord. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, they were afraid to come near him, but Moses called to them. So Aaron and all the leaders the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. Afterward, all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai. When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. Whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. When he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord. So what more does Moses need? God’s promise to go with them? God’s promise to forgive them. He’s willing to put it in writing even Well, the key to the fourth request is in the phrase stiff necked people. That phrase has been used three times already, and every time it’s been used by God, and every time it’s been used by God to explain why he’s going to leave or destroy Israel. And so Moses takes this and throws it on its head. He says, actually, that’s the reason why we need you to be merciful and forgive us. In fact, when it says it there in verse nine, it’s translated, although this is a stiff necked person, the word that’s used there is because, because, and that’s significant. In fact, it’s exactly what God said, almost, you know, verbatim. So 33 verse three, again, I will not go with you because you are a stiff necked people. And Moses says, because we are a stiff necked people, forgive our sin. Moses is all too aware that they’re going to rebel and disobey again. So because of that, Lord, would you please keep on forgiving like there’s no need to plead for God to be merciful unless you know you’re sinful, and that’s what Moses is acknowledging. Here, there’s a humorous story of a photographer taking a photo of a celebrity female. She was aging. She was consciously aware of this, and so she said, make sure the camera does me justice. And he looked at her and he said, Ma’am, you don’t need justice. You need the camera to give you mercy. That’s what Moses is saying here. Like, if the camera gives us justice, we’re going to get destroyed. Lord, would you give us mercy? Because we’re a stiff necked people. And notice, do not miss the glory of this moment. We’re gonna mess up. God, would you forgive us? And God says absolutely, absolutely I will like I’ve been struck by this since I started prepping this sermon. Kyle cries during the sermons. I cried during prep. I’ve been crying all week long. I was at Phantom of the Opera on Wednesday with my daughters, and all of a sudden, in the middle of masquerade, my least favorite number in the show, I was reminded because I’m a stiff necked person, God says, I will forgive you. That’s so glorious, and he makes the covenant, still reestablishes it so, to quote Walter Moberly again, he says, how before God can a sinful world in general, or a sinful people, even God’s chosen people in particular, exist without being destroyed? And each time the answer is given that if the sin is answered solely by the judgment it deserves, then there is no hope. But in addition to the judgment, there is also. No Mercy, a mercy which depends entirely on the character of God. It’s what we saw in the psalm of David that Katelyn read for us earlier. David, who knew something about messing up, rebelling, disobeying more than once, and he goes, I remember what you said to Moses, you’re gracious and compassionate God, and that’s why I can say he does not treat us as our sins deserve, or repay us according to our iniquities. Thank God. Instead, he reestablishes the covenant, and in so doing, he repeats selections from the law. I didn’t read that for us, but that’s what I skipped over, although it is narrowly focused on idolatry in light of that, you know, Golden Calf incident. So they’re called to worship this glorious, gracious God alone. We get some information on how to do it, like the festivals, and how not to do it. Look at verse 17, do not make any idols. The word that’s used there for make is talking about metal idols. Like, don’t sculpt any metal idols, right? Guys, you know? Like, that’s what he’s talking about. Okay? So that’s why we get these laws in particular, it includes, then no treaties with the Canaanites people. Why? Because Israel’s already compromised enough, just within themselves. They don’t need any help from anyone else, and so they cannot make peace with the world. What a good word for those of us who are still called to the exclusive worship of the one true God. We are also already compromised enough, and we can’t make peace with the world. We are in the world. We love the people of the world, but we cannot be worldly. We don’t make treaties with the world. And that, by the way, should affect how we engage with culture. Like this word. This changes how we listen to music or consume media. This. This changes how we engage with politics like I think you could translate this for today to say, don’t make treaties with the Republican Party with the Democratic Party. May vote for them, okay, sure, but we’re not going to make peace with people who have made compromises in areas of conviction and character. This changes even friendships, partnerships. How can light and darkness be yoked together? So God is a gracious God, but he’s not offering us cheap grace. Cheap grace, as Bonhoeffer reminds us, is preaching forgiveness without requiring repentance. We don’t get that here. So you get forgiveness. Boy, did we get forgiveness in this passage, but you get law also. Of course, even the law is gracious and loving. Though you ever tried to play a game without rules, it doesn’t go well, does it? Somebody keeps changing the rules. I got toddlers in the house, so you know, it’s just, they just win. Whatever happened. It’s less fun for the rest of us. Of course, like boundaries free us. You might put a fence up in your backyard so that your kids can play in the backyard safely, without getting onto the train tracks or something like that. And so that is why God brings the law here. Moses brings down the law, but he also brings down a glow. He’s a little bit like a glow in the dark sticker. You leave him in the light long enough, and then even when the darkness comes, they’re still bright. That’s what happened to Moses here. His face is radiant with God’s glory. Now there’s a difference here. God’s glory is from within himself. God is luminous, whereas Moses is illuminated. The difference between the sun and the moon, right? But the point is, this should be true of us too. I mean, Jesus said, I’m the light of the world. He’s the sun. He’s luminous. And then he says, You’re the light of the world illuminated. We should glow with the glory of Christ. The world should be able to see his light in us, even more so than they did with Moses, in fact, because Second Corinthians three Paul talks about this. So in verses seven and eight, it mentions the transitory glory of the old covenant, which is, you know, letters written on stone that brings death ultimately, because we cannot keep the law perfectly. But then we read, later in second, Corinthians, three, verse 18. We all Christians who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory are being transformed into His image with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the spirit. So we are transformed into Christ likeness as we contemplate God’s glory. Exactly what we’ve been doing together this morning, what Moses asked to see is what we asked. See every time we open his word like help me to understand your revelation, to see wondrous things in your law, so that some of your glory gets on me.
We rehearse gospel truths, especially in light of our sin, so that we can see and understand His glory, so that we are radiant as a result. Notice that it’s after speaking with God. Every time, like Moses takes the veil off, speaks with God, and the glow comes back. This isn’t a one time thing, like you want to glow like that glow in the dark sticker, right? It fade now to keep exposing it to the light. And so this involves constant devotion to the Lord in prayer and in His Word, there are few passages of Scripture so magnificent as this, which is probably why the Old Testament quotes it seven different times. In fact, this phrase the Lord, the Lord the gracious and compassionate. That whole section, they just called that the characteristics. It had its own little name, like, What’s God? The characteristics? This is what you need to know. That’s what keeps getting quoted. Think about it, though. It was just a preview. It was just a preview. Like, yeah, we got to hear about God’s glory, but we didn’t see it fully, and also we haven’t gotten to see the glory of the new and true Moses, because Moses, as mediator, represents both parties, demonstrates solidarity with both parties. So he’s got solidarity with God. He seeks God’s glory, but he’s got solidarity with Israel. He won’t abandon them. And in the same way, Jesus represents both sides, solidarity with both. Jesus, solidarity with humans, became human, took on flesh for our sake. Solidarity with God, fully. God speaks and acts on God’s behalf, because he demonstrates solidarity with both. He can do what only the God man can do because he’s human, he can pay humanity’s penalty because he’s infinite God, he can pay an infinite penalty. So God can punish wickedness, even as he lavishes mercy, compassion, love and grace on those who trust his son. What more can we do but your big idea, your takeaway for today? What more can we do but worship and obey the good, gracious, glorious God who goes with us. God doesn’t just stay with us like a father staying with his kid, waiting for a practice to start. God makes a way for him to be able to stay with us, to satisfy his love and justice all at once. Grace may be free from our perspective, but it costs God much. It cost our father the blood of His perfect son, and he did that for you. So worship and obey your good, gracious, glorious God who goes with you. Let’s pray, Father. We stand in awe of your glory. Our Lord, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to 1000s, forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin, yet not leaving the guilty unpunished, but bringing perfect justice in the end, we are in awe of You, Lord. Draw our hearts to worship you now, and in worshiping you, Lord, draw us to obey you. So fill our hearts with your glory and goodness and grace that we are moved to keep your law, to bring your glory to the nations before whom we stand as priests in your name, ambassadors speaking your truth and transform us, Lord from glory to glory as we contemplate who you are and all that you’ve done for us, we ask this in Christ’s name, Amen.

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The Purposeful Life January 4, 2026 | Reeve Sam Reeve Sam reflects on the purpose of work and life, drawing from Exodus 31:1-18. He shares his personal journey of working five jobs in 2021 to find meaning and connects it to the Israelites’ task of building the tabernacle. Sam emphasizes that God chooses and equips individuals for specific tasks, highlighting Bezalel and Oholiab’s roles. He stresses the importance of finding meaning in Christ and the significance of the Sabbath as a sign of God’s holiness, redemption, and creation. Sam encourages the congregation to rest in God and find purpose in their work and community.

Good morning, Cityview Community Church, I just want to take one second to say thank you so much, Jake. He saved me this past week, I was super sick, and he stepped up. And we love making fun of him, but he is the best, and I’m so grateful for him. If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Exodus chapter 31 and if you don’t have a Bible, take one of our pew Bibles. And that’s page number 70 on our pew Bibles. Not many people know this about me, but in 2021 I worked five jobs. I worked as a Starbucks barista, I worked as a personal trainer, I worked as a physical therapist, tech, I worked as a wedding planners assistant and also a nanny. And I didn’t work five jobs because I was greedy for money. It did help, but I worked five jobs because I didn’t have a sense of calling. I didn’t have an idea of what where God wanted me to be, a lot like today, but at the same time, I was always asking that question, what gives my life meaning in the land of opportunity, I was seeking meaningful work. We all want our work to have meaning, don’t we? We hope to go back home after a good day’s work feeling fulfilled enough to rest. Where is it that we can find this purpose, this meaning? When we started this series on Exodus, we pointed out that one of the book’s primary purpose is that we would know God. And that brings us to our passage, Exodus 31 if you’re longing for a purposeful life, then follow with me to see the God who gives life meaning. We’re going to start off with the first portion. That’s God’s purposeful plan. That’s Exodus 31 one to 11. Exodus 31 one to 11, then the Lord said to Moses, See I’ve chosen Bezalel, son of URI, the son of Hur of the tribe of Judah. And I filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills to make artistic designs for work in gold and silver and bronze, and to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of crafts. Moreover, I’ve appointed a holy AB, son of Ahism of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also, I’ve given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I’ve commanded you, the Tent of Meeting, the Ark of the Covenant, law with the atonement, cover on it, and all other furnishings of the tent, the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand, and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron, the priest, and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for The Holy place there to make them just as I commanded you. Let me set the stage for you. Moses is on top of Mount Sinai, and he’s super excited, because he is having this one on one conversation with God of God, saying, I’m going to dwell with you. That’s exciting times for the Israelites. And as he’s hearing all this information, he’s he’s hearing God tell him how to make the tabernacle and how to make these special garments invest that these priests have to wear as they come and approach God. But God doesn’t stop there. He doesn’t just talk about these different things that they have to make. He’s more interested, and he he’s more focused, and he says this is who’s going to make them God’s in control of this entire operation. He’s the one who makes the blueprints. He’s the one who chooses who will work on his house. He’s the chief architect who chooses, equips, enables them to do the work he assigns. If you’ve ever bought a house before, I’ve not or bought a piece of land and built a house on it, then you kind of know what I’m talking about. You don’t want someone unqualified working on your house. You want someone who’s skilled, someone like a Carl Bjerga. He’s actually built two houses before. He’s our facilities manager. And what’s special about Carl is he has that skill to build the thing you’re calling them to build, because that’s his gift. And in the same way God calls Bezalel and Oh, holy have to be the ones who build the dwelling place of God. The name Bezalel means in the shadow of God, or in other words, under God’s protection. Think about this. The Israelites are in this wilderness, a desert, and the only place that’s completely shaded, completely covered, is the tabernacle, the man. Chosen to build the tabernacle is purposefully named. He’s the one who’s going to build the representation of God’s protection that is the tabernacle. This gets even cooler when you recognize who’s helping him. It’s a holy app. His name means the father is my tent. If you’ve gone camping before then you have an idea of what I mean. If you’re in the wilderness, what does a tent serve? What’s its purpose? It’s protection. Both Bezalel and holy have are pointers to God’s safety for his people, God’s protection. And this is no coincidence. This is God’s sovereign choice. Notice how Moses isn’t called to build the tabernacle, nor is Aaron or any of his sons. It wasn’t their job because it wasn’t their call, it wasn’t their gift. God chose, his chooses Bezalel and holy Evan by doing so, he legitimates the calling of all these artists, these craftsmen, all these secular workers of Israel. And that’s true about us as well. You might believe God thinks more highly of pastors or serving is reserved for all those who are ministry, rather than members of the congregation. But that’s profoundly unbiblical, and that’s not how God sees it. We see here in this passage that God uses these so called secular workers for His glory. There is no dichotomy of sacred and secular in God’s eyes, we’re all called whatever you do, do it as though, for the Lord Paul says in Colossians too often, we’re the type of people who are okay with just specific people doing work because it’s good enough. We’re the people who settle for something functional rather than producing something beautiful, teachers, engineers, musicians, poets, software developers. For all those who are called, that is everyone in Christ. We should stop settling. We should do more than good enough. We must produce something beautiful. Wherever you are, be there honoring God, whether it’s through teaching music, sales, technology or sports. One of my greatest joys is seeing Jacob, the child I get to disciple when he’s when he’s out there playing his sports. He has these bible verses on his face as part of his face paint, and he represents, he represents Christ where he’s at or, for example, take somebody who’s working in sales. They talk to people on the daily. They build this relationship with them, and that’s when you get to share Christ, because your story is no story without Christ, we find our purpose as we trust in God’s purposeful choice own the mission is something we’ve been saying at Cityview in the past couple of weeks. Where you are right now is God’s sovereign choice in your life. That is your mission field. But you might feel this weight on your shoulder. How can I share Jesus if I don’t know enough? Or even I didn’t go to Bible school. I didn’t spend two years sitting under Kyle and Brandon or learn patience by sharing an office with Jake. I can’t make Jake jokes anymore. He saved me last week, but look at verse three, and I filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills. God, through His Spirit, imparts wisdom, imparts understanding, knowledge and skill, and by doing so, he reveals it is him who gives these artists their creative abilities. God chooses these men, and he doesn’t just leave them there. He has a purpose for them, and he fills them through His Spirit. He gives them the skills required to bring Him glory. I hadn’t read a single book until 2021 and that is a reason why none of my jobs required me to read much, but I was real, really demoralized when I had this, like, big desire to teach the Bible, but I was always scared of mispronouncing words, and I still am the word I use a lawyer, software develop. I’ve been saying devil up my whole life, so it was hard for me to like comprehend that God could use me, but the truth still stands where God calls, he provides us with His Spirit to do the work he’s called us to do. The Spirit of wisdom, understanding, knowledge and skill is with you. You are in Christ Jesus to do what he’s called us to do, to fulfill God’s purposeful plan for your life. The Spirit of God equips you to live the purposeful life God has in store for you. You might be thinking to yourself, I have the vision, I have the God given skill. And I even have the desire to do these things, but I can’t do this alone. Look at verse six. Moreover, I have appointed a holy Epstein of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan to help him. Also have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you, then he lists all the things in the tabernacle. Why is this section significant? What is, what does this purpose? What does this section even serve? Like? What’s the purpose? We must be clear on this God calls a holy ebb and all these skilled workers not to do Bezalel work. He calls them to do God’s work with Bezalel. So every time we picture what God has called us to do, just know he’s not calling you to do it alone. And it’s very likely that the skills that we need, we might not possess it, and we might need somebody to join us as we bring God glory. It is all their responsibility, all their calling, to build everything needed to dwell with God. So what we’re seeing here is God is unifying the skilled workers to do the task that requires that particular skill. He’s enabling them to build the dwelling place of God by providing a community of craftsmen. Wouldn’t it be great if God just always provided all the sorts of people we need to make our mission easier. Well, let me just remind you where you’re at. Then just take a second to look at the people around you. Do you believe in this room of 300 or so people that there is not one person who shares your skills or your interests. The truth is, we aren’t alone in mission, even though we truly feel like we are what we are. On the other hand, is we are lonely by choice. If we examine our hearts, we will realize that we’ve always known, that we can ask people for help, that the body of Christ is available and that help is there, but we’re selfish. We’re selfish with our time, we’re selfish with our money, our resources, our skills. If we understood why God put these people in our lives? Maybe we would understand what a purposeful community is. God enables us through his body, the church. Instead, we want convenience and immediate gratification. We want everything we do to come back to us, to our names, to our glory. We don’t want to glorify God. We want His glory. This section of Exodus shows how God enables a community of skilled workers and craftsmen to glorify Him. God has not just given us the skills. He’s given us the people. He’s not just giving us individual purpose. Is giving us communal purpose. Take Cindy or Linda, for example, their passion for the Cityview college students made it possible for a lot of these students to experience Christ like hospitality. Doors have been opened for them to experience Christ at homes. Or take Nick for example, he has unapologetically, probably asked every single one of us to help him help an international student, whether it’s through giving them a ride or even a place to stay, which is awesome. He’s ministering to them through you. What a gift it is. Time we admit that we’re lonely by choice. We’re not lonely in mission. We want community, but only when it means we get glory. We look at the skills that God has given us, and we use it to glorify ourselves. There is a theological term for this where we take something good from God and turn it into bad. It’s called sin in the garden, Adam was given the task of working and caring for the garden, and everything was good until Adam and Eve wanted to be like God. Everything changed from that point onwards. We were all born into Adam’s sin for of desiring glory and wanting to be like God, and born into the broken reality of work. When we labor, the ground produces thorns and thistles. We. Wet from the burden of the work just needed to survive. We have a strong desire for work to be meaningful. But how can we find meaning in work that is cursed? Eternal significance is what we want. We need to know that what we’re doing is truly serving others and serving a greater good. Where can we find it? Or who can give us this meaning? Exodus, 314 says God says, In Exodus, 314 I am who I am, the eternal God whom we are made for. So if we find ourselves consumed by meaningless work, then we have to find the one who gives life meaning, the great I AM. He is the one who chooses us. He is the one who fills us with His Spirit. He is the one who brings together a community of believers to bring Him glory. This is God’s purposeful plan for our lives. If you’re feeling the burden of work being meaningless, if you’re toiling purposelessly, and you desire more, then you have to know the one who gives life meaning. Nonetheless, everyday work is still burdensome. In a world that is broken by sin, we’re going to feel the weight of the fall. What do we do? Then that brings us to the second part, second portion of this passage, God’s purposeful pause. Look at Exodus, 3112 to 18. Then the Lord said to Moses, Say to the Israelites, you must observe my Sabbats. This will be a sign between Me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord who makes you holy. Observe the Sabbath because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it is to be put to death. Those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people for six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of Sabbath rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death. The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath celebrating for generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, For in six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed. When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God. This makes sense, doesn’t it, God first reveals work and then he reveals work and then rests. It’s a natural progression for us. We have weekdays and we have weekends, except we shouldn’t forget that there are no weekends for those who are slaves in Egyptian captivity, the Israelites only knew what it meant to work. Not only that, they didn’t know who God is. So God made this special day, a special day for them to just know him, to have that intimate relationship with him, and learn how to rest all at once. As we look at this section, we will discover that the Sabbath points to God as the holy, redemptive and Creator God. Let’s start with God’s holiness. Verse 13 states, you must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between Me and you for the generations to come. So you may know that I’m the Lord who makes you holy. Think about afternoon naps as a kid, I dreaded them. I would hear my dad say, you have to take a nap, and I’d start crying, no, I’ll be fine, except I would not be fine. And he knew that. He knew that one thing that I didn’t know I would not be fine. He was giving me rest because he knew that it was important to me, in a way, I felt holier because I felt more rested. D. A. Carson would say, sometimes the godliest thing you can do is just take a nap. God knows we are finite beings incapable of taking care of ourselves. And so he gave us this day. He gave us rest. He knows better. And so he blessed us with the Sabbath. He knows that’s what we need. It’s God’s way of making us like him, making us holy. And by that, I don’t mean that God rest. God needed the rest. He’s read in Psalm 121 four. He’s a God who neither sleeps nor slumbers. What he shows us is that rest is what we need so that we can be worshipful rather than woeful, satisfied rather than stressed, in a world of ha. Bustle and overachieving. God reminds us people to have faith that resting is exactly what we need. The rest He gives us is exactly what we need. He gives them the purpose statement so that you may know that I am the Lord who makes you holy. And this also explains why desecrating the Sabbath, the punishment for that is death. If God’s intention for Sabbath is to make us like him, that is make us holy, then disobeying is quite the opposite. We become wretched sinners whose condemnation is just because we are swerving away from the Holy God who is intending for us to be like him. We heard throughout the series that God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, but he hadn’t yet gotten Egypt out of them. God’s intention for his covenant people was to be set apart to be holy. Leviticus, 19 two says, Be holy, because the Lord your God, I the LORD your God, am holy. The Sabbath Rest is intended to point us to the holy God. And as God is holy and holy set apart, so his people are also called to be holy God’s a holy God, but he’s also a redemptive god. Look at verse 16. The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for generations to come as a lasting covenant. When was the first time the Bible mentions the seventh day of rest? It’s not after the fall of Adam Eve. It was before. Sabbath was not given to us because work would be hard. It was given because God intended it as an essential part of living in covenant relationship with Him. The Sabbath Day was tied to God’s covenantal dealings with man. Think with me, if Adam hadn’t eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would have had access to another tree, the tree of life. That would have meant that man would have secured eternal rest forever. The Sabbath was a sign pointing to the promise of eternal rest that man would have entered into had Adam obeyed the demands of the Covenant, but he didn’t. In this passage, God called the Israelites to see the redemptive significance of the Sabbath. The Sabbath day reminds the Israelites of their obligation to worship and serve the Lord, to trust God as their Redeemer, who brought them out of slavery and is bringing them into the Promised Land where they can experience that rest. Once again, it’s God’s way of redeeming the relationship that was lost in the fall Israel being brought out of slavery foreshadows what God will do through Christ Jesus, when he redeems those who believe in Him from the bondage of sin into His eternal rest. We mentioned that the Sabbath reveals that God is holy and God is Redeemer. But the very first statement of the Sabbath and the OT is repeated in verse 16. For six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed. Many of us live our lives as if this is the only life to live and that we need to make the most out of it. We must work over time and make all this money, kind of like Walter Hobbs from ELF. Third Walter Hobbs reference in three weeks. He works so much instead of spending time with his family. We value productivity over presence. We’ve taught ourselves that if we aren’t self actualizing, if we aren’t doing everything that we can do, then we’re not doing anything. We’re not contributing. Who needs a break? Right? Hashtag, stay driven. We can rest when we retire. Then we read repeatedly in Scripture. God rested and was refreshed. Where does that fit in our theology as Americans? If that’s what God says, if that’s what the Bible says about God, what does it mean about us humans who are made for God? Just take one deep breath, and you will realize how exhausted you have been. Look at it. Exodus. 3421 Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest. Even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest. If you have lived in a farming culture, then you know. There are no off days. You have to farm seven days a week. Yet, there is this command did not work despite the plowing and harvest season. The command to rest is not a command if you have time, despite their busy schedules, despite being a farming culture, the Israelites are commanded to rest. Do you know what that instills in the heart of the Israelites? Faith, faith that God is who He says He is, provider, sustainer, refresher, Redeemer. He’s saying, don’t just rest from your work. Rest in me. That is faith. It’s a reflection of creation. The Israelites were commanded to keep the Sabbath not because they didn’t finish their work, but because God finished his as we talk about a purposeful pause. What is it that gives a rest purpose. It’s Christ. Look at Colossians, 216 to 17. Therefore, do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink or with regard to a religious festival, a new moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come, the reality, however, is found in Christ. The Sabbath is a pointer to Christ, who is its fulfillment. Christ is our Sabbath rest. Does that mean we still have to keep the Sabbath the way the Israelites did have that particular Sabbath day and do all these specific things, technically, no, at least not in the way the Israelites had to. But we’re still part of creation, and so the grace, practice of rest is something that was made for us. Christ says the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. We ignore that first part. Sabbath was made for man. God made the Sabbath for us. If you understand that the essence of Sabbath truly means Resting in God, then Sabbathing is not a command or a condition, it’s a blessing. We get to rest in God. The wonderful reality of Christ is that we get to experience him in every moment, rather than the burdensome ways of the Pharisees. Christ gives us rest in the midst of a tiresome, burdensome life. If you’ve been in Journey group before, then you’ve heard of the gospel, www, www, www, the Gospel, www, helps us call to mind not just the sins in our lives, but the God who gives us forgiveness so that we can rest in Him and live out the Christian life in obedience to Him. And this is what it means to practice resting. It is receiving Christ amidst the chaos of the world. It is learning what it means to be still, as Psalm 4610, says, Be still and know that I am God. We’re relearning who God is by dethroning everything that we have made God, things like money, things like time, fame, knowledge, power, tithing, for example, it is a good means of entering into Sabbath rest, because it’s not about the abundance of our money. It’s about the abundance of Christ in our poverty. Serving is another example. It’s not about the things we have to offer. It’s about the abundance of Christ’s offering and our lack thereof. Slowing down and being patient is yet another example. It’s not about our time. It is the abundance of Christ’s endurance in bringing us salvation. To Sabbath is to trust not in ourselves, but in Jesus, whoever so freely proclaims, come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Sabbath Rest is important because it is through it that God reveals His holiness, His redemptive nature and his creative power. It is through resting in Him that you may know who he is. We must understand that God knows us because we were made for him. It is for that very purpose that we are called that he. Fills us with the Spirit that He enables us with the community, to do the work for His glory, and at the same time, it is for that exact same purpose, the purpose of knowing Him, that He gives us rest in Him, that we may know that He is holy, that he is the Redeemer, and He is the Creator of all things. I finally got my degree from moody, and I got this job, but I still had this voice in the back of my head. Am I doing enough? Can I be doing more things that will satisfy? I shared that with Evie, my wife, and she just reminded me of how skewed my perspective was. She reminded me about my life before Jesus and my life after Jesus. I went from making TikToks to standing up here. It’s a very drastic change, but it’s not about what I did. I could only think about how grateful I am because, though I love this job, what gives my life meaning is Jesus. I see Jesus who called me out of darkness into this marvelous light and gave my life meaning as Paul labors he shares with the church in Philippi, to live, is Christ to die is gain. How can Paul say something like that? To live is Christ to die is gain? He’s saying the reason I’m living is to bring Christ glory. And when I die, I know I gain, because I get to see him and be with him. He has everything he needs because he has Christ. He realizes who Jesus is and what that means to him. Jesus is the chosen one who labored and endured the cross on our behalf that we may rest in God eternally. Jesus is the chosen one who labored and endured the cross on our behalf that we may rest in God eternally. So here’s a big idea, trust in Jesus who redeems work and gives rest. Trust in Jesus, who redeems work and gives rest. Jesus changes everything. Changes everything. So if you’ve been toiling aimlessly, chasing after money and fame and success or whatever your if only I had, that’s our Think about this, if God grants you a long life, you will outlive your ability to work. In that time, you will have to ask yourself, What have I set my identity in have I set my identity in myself, my career, my desire for power, my selfish passions, or have I set my identity in Jesus, the one who gives meaning to everything. You may labor, you may toil, you may grieve, working the soil. One thing is true and worthy of your praise, sufficient for your pain is my Lord and Savior’s grace. So I conclude again with the words of Christ in Matthew, 11:28-30, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Pray with me, Heavenly Father, how we have lost our way seeking to fulfill everything that we’ve seen and learned as glory Lord we’ve looked at the things out there in this world and deemed it ours. We’ve looked at our lives and deemed it ours, Lord, but you’ve made us for you. We have lost a sense of meaning because we’ve lost a sense of who you are, and Lord as we commit our lives to knowing you and growing in your word, understanding who Jesus is, I pray Lord, that you change us. You help us see that our work has meaning and that you are giving us the rest we need to live a wholesome, Christ centered life Come, have your way in us. Lord, help us trust you. Help us place our faith in you and forever, seek Your glory now and forevermore, amen.

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Heart Lyrics Versus Holy Commands December 28, 2025 | Jake Thomas Jake Thomas discusses the importance of worshiping God correctly, using the story of Israel’s idolatry in Exodus 32 as an example. He highlights how, impatient for Moses’ return, Israel created a golden calf, prompting God’s anger and Moses’ intercession. Thomas emphasizes the need to worship God as He is, not as we imagine Him, and warns against idolatry and apathy. He notes that Moses’ intercession spared Israel, but their sin still had consequences. Thomas concludes by urging true worship and rejection of false gods, drawing parallels to modern-day spiritual practices and the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus.

Good morning, please open your Bibles to Exodus 32 and we’re gonna be in verse one. So if you did the reading for this week, I’m sorry, but you’re all set for next week. But when we Exodus 32 starting in verse one, I’m gonna repeat a lot to help you out, since I got no visual aids for you. Now, whenever I ride in a car with my mom, the two of us always listen to music together, and it’s great. I love my mom, but she does something that drives me absolutely nuts. For all the songs we listen to, she sings what she calls heart lyrics, which are different than the actual lyrics and that they’re just wrong. They’re not the lyrics. For example, it’s like, if we listen to the song, call me, maybe I would sing as is correct. Hey, I just met you. This is crazy. She was saying, Hey, I just met you. You’re so crazy, which is just not how the song goes. It’s not it, it’s not right. And she also doesn’t believe in lyric police either. So it’s just like, she’s like, full steam ahead, just heart lyrics all the way, like mom. That’s just not the song. It’s funny story, right? But I actually believe that we do something similar with God in our lives. We do what feels right as opposed to what is right, don’t we? How often do we lie because the telling the truth is hard or scary? How much we’re willing to compromise our beliefs to date someone who isn’t a believer because they’re physically attractive, even though they’re spiritually weak, or we lash out at people around us in anger because kindness and peace doesn’t seem fair or what they deserve. In that moment, we often do what we feel is right, not what God tells us is right, or even we don’t even ask him what is right, Lord. So we’re supposed to worship God by obeying Him, but how often we just sing heart lyrics instead of his commands and obeying his commands. Now, what do we do? Right? How can we fix the song of our heart, the crookedness of our heart? How can we recognize and we’re out of key and direct ourselves back to him. Well, today, in a strange story about a statue of a cow, God’s word actually gives us direction for our hearts, and it helps us keep focused on him and get back to loving him. So here’s our big idea, just so you don’t miss it. We’re going to repeat a lot today. We need to worship the only God the right way. We need to worship the only God the right way. So if you’re taking notes, Cheryl worked really hard on these, I’m so sorry, just take this nice side and just turn around. We’re going to work on the back today. So in our story, we have three scenes, and that first scene is going to be called the fools sing. The fools sing. So you want to look at with me. We’re going to be in 32 and we’re going to start in verse one. When the people saw that Moses was so long and coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, Come, make us Gods who will go before us, as for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him, Aaron answered them. Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me. So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they had handed him and made it into an idol, cast in the shape of a calf, fashion it with a tool. And they said, these are your gods Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt. When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord. So the next day, the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. After they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry, And the Lord said to Moses, Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them, and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrifice to it. And I’ve said, these are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt. I’ve seen these people, the Lord said to Moses, and they are a stiff necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation if I’ve heard this story before, or heard of this story, just kind of understand what’s going on here. These people we see, they’re getting really impatient, and they’re getting impatient because they’ve been here at the foot of this mountain for a long time. They’ve been there for about 40 days, eating the same thing every day, quail and man. Of so it kind of makes sense they’re getting a little fidgety to them. God and Moses are taking their sweet time at the top of the mountain. They just have no idea what’s going on up there. So that’s why, I mean this 40 days is a long time. I mean, we all get a little fidgety when Brandon takes 40 minutes to preach and the bears cut off at noon, right? But like 40 days, that’s a long time. So the people that kind of rally together, and we see in verse one, they ask Aaron to make them Gods who will go before them. And what was the reason? Because they didn’t know what happened to Moses. So what did Aaron do? Did he remind them of the law that God had just give them like 40 days ago? No, look what he does. In verse two, he has the people give him all their gold, and he fashions a calf out of gold. And that’s enough for them, right? They’re like, This is it? This is what we were looking for. This is our God, the gods. That raises a really important question, why cow? Well, this is probably another example of the Lord getting Israel out of Egypt, but still struggling to get Egypt out of their hearts. In Egypt, they worshiped cows a lot. They even had this thing called an Apis bull that was a real living cow they treated like a incarnation of a god, and when it died, they would bury it with Pharaohs even. So maybe that’s where they got it. But they picked a calf for their new God because of probably what they saw in Egypt. We can also tell some people thought this calf was a representation of Yahweh, of their true God, or even just the steed that he rode on, of the visible kind of calf of this invisible God. So look at verse five, right? We see that when Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and said, tomorrow there’ll be a festival to the Lord Aaron. He calls the calf Yahweh. Look at verses one to four the other Israelites, they call it just gods who will go before us. The calf is our gods. So which is it? Did Israel worship the calf as if it was a different God than Yahweh, or did they worship Yahweh improperly or incorrectly? And why does that question even matter? Israel cannot agree on what sin they want to commit against the Lord. Think about this like commandment number one, you shall have no other gods before me. Command number two, you should not make for yourself an image, and shall not bow before bow to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. Let me ask you this, which one did they break both? Yes, they broke both of them. The answer is both. Some are worshiping a false god, and others are worshiping the true God the wrong way. So you can even see Aaron’s attempt to kind of pretty up the golden calf. We see he built an altar. Right? That’s what God commanded them to do for their worship, is to build an altar to him. So it kind of makes it look a little bit more like it’s supposed to, even though, except for the fact that this is directly this altar is attached to a golden calf that is a direct offense to God’s character and law. But with this golden cow in place, we see that Aaron and Israel decide to have a party, a festival, and it’s probably like, not like a Christmas family dinner party type deal. It’s probably more like a mosh pit at a Golden Corral with an open bar. Like look at that phrase they use. They indulged in revelry. They probably indulged in immorality as well. We see later in verse 25 that Moses knows that people are running wild, so it’s not specific what sins are being broken at this party. But especially with the overindulgence in alcohol, it’s a safe that there probably was a lot of commandments broken at this party. And so while Israel sinned, God saw everything. So we see God, Moses, talking about Israel’s sin. So Israel, they had no idea what’s happening to Moses, but Moses was all caught up on what Israel was up to while he was on top of the mountain. So we see God notice Israel’s rejection, but also appropriation of him. He saw their idolatry, their wrong worship. They’re indulging in immorality. And this is what God says in verse nine and 10. He says, I have seen these people, and they are a stiff necked people, so leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you Moses into a great nation. So this is the natural consequence of sin. We sin God sees, and our sin angers God, and the consequence of that is anger leading to a justified death. God looks at this messy party and size of stardom. That’s it. We have new cast. We’re gonna reboot the whole show. Moses, my guy, we’re gonna rock with this. Now, what should we take away from this scene? How does this change us to live, change our lives? Well, first, this should be a really. Great Warning away from false gods. Right? The Bible calls the worship of false gods, or anything other than Yahweh, idolatry, so following and worshiping anyone besides God that leads to his anger and deserved judgment. But why would Israel do that they forgot their Savior, which just feels absurd. They forgot the God that got him out of Israel, sorry, that got him out of Egypt and got them away from slavery and got them across the Red Sea. Why would Israel turn from that God who loved them and instead go to this golden calf statue that they made for themselves? That just seems insane. It’s absurd, as this story that I saw last week, so CBS did this new segment about this guy, this regular looking guy named Chris, got a wife, got a kid. Now Chris, he had a chat GPT chat box, and he programmed his chat box to become really flirty with him and really friendly towards him, and then he actually proposed to this chat box and got engaged to this AI girlfriend. Isn’t that just absurd? Why would he go to this AI girlfriend for love and relationship, but he has a wife and a daughter. That doesn’t make sense to us, right? But I imagine it makes a little more sense to us. With the husband who struggles with porn, why would he turn to a screen for intimacy and for love when he has a wife and he has a family, why would a husband ignore his wife and watch the Packers game for a lot of reasons, but neglecting her need to be loved and seen. Why would a wife grumble and complain about all the things that her husband does wrong, ignoring the sacrifices and things that he is doing for her? Why would we do this? It’s absurd. It’s because our hearts are bent to look for love and things that can’t give that to us, a golden calf, an AI girlfriend, the big game, an ideal spouse that we create in our minds. None of those can love us perfectly or at all. Really, only God can offer us perfect love, and yet we choose to reject Him. So we can reject God. But I think in the West, in our kind of culture, there’s a more visible issue apathy. Maybe you know people like this who simply don’t have a problem with Christianity. They’re cool with it, and they’re grateful for the good things that Christians have done, for the hospitals, for the cool architecture, for all the non profit work. The Christianity doesn’t really bother them, but it doesn’t compel them either. To those of you who are not offended nor interested in Christianity, I just want to point your attention to God’s anger in this scene. You may be able to be apathetic towards God, but he cannot be apathetic towards your unrepentant sin. We see there’s no neutrality with God. There are two categories for mankind, friends and foes, faithful followers and stiff necked sinners. So if you’re just simply cool or okay with God, I just want to pour you to think again, reevaluate which side you want to be on, because he offers life to all who turn from their sin and confess Him as Lord and Savior. So we need to worship the true God. We need to worship in the right way too. So Aaron and other Israelites, they constructed a version of Yahweh that made sense to them. The golden calf was something that became comfortable to them and made them comfortable with their own sin. I gotta tell you, I think we do the same thing with Jesus. What does your ideal Jesus look like? Is it the Jesus of the prosperity gospel? He wants me to be happy, to never suffer, nothing, to go wrong in my life ever is your Jesus all about love and forgiveness? He doesn’t really care about my sin. He doesn’t want me to change. Wants me to stay just as I am. Maybe you’re like me, where your Jesus is really quiet and timid. Sometimes you put him a little box and he doesn’t actually care about every part of my life, what I listen to, what I watch, what I say or do you just kind of quietly there. So viewing Jesus like that, making him to something that we could become more comfortable with, is just as absurd as worshiping a golden cow. Jesus never said his goal for you is to live a happy and perfect, painless life. He said, Blessed are those who are persecuted. Jesus never said he doesn’t care about your sin. He said, It’s better for you to if your eye cause you to sin, to cut it out, to enter heaven with no eyes blinded is better than going to hell 2020 vision. Jesus, he never let His disciples put him in a box or be selective in the ways that they followed him. He said, Whoever loses their life for me will gain it. We need to follow our God as He is, not how we’d like him to be. You know what the good news is, the real Jesus is so much better than anything we could possibly imagine. He’s so much better than any idea that we could make him into any box we could fit him in but why do we do this? Why do we make these false views and images of Jesus, I imagine, for the same reason that the Israelites did because God was on the mountain too long. I mean, look at verse one. They didn’t know what happened to him, and that’s what led to the making a new God. Because idolatry, like most sin, it’s an issue of trust. They didn’t trust that God was come back down to dwell with them. They looked around camp and they were really dissatisfied what they had. They took matters to their own hands, and they did what they felt was right. And our hearts work the exact same way. Man, the world’s still messed up. Jesus got to be on the mountain still. Let’s go win that election. It’s our time to figure this out. I’m still single. I guess he’s never coming down from that mountain. Time to settle for that non Christian guy. My life is still a mess, man. Jesus got to be at the tip top of that mountain. Okay? I tried it your way. I’m gonna go look somewhere else for happiness our hearts, they lead us away from Jesus and towards the false constructs we make of him, and that stems from us. Not trust him to do what he said he’s going to do. So trust Jesus. Not only that, trust the real Jesus. Don’t worship with Jesus your own design, but worship the fully revealed Son of God. And so when God get angry at Israel sin, He made Moses an offer. He said, I want to start over with you. And I don’t know maybe I really want to see what Moses said to that offer. So we’re going to see our next scene, which is called the faithful intercede. We’re going to start at verse 11, the faithful inner seed. But Moses sought the favor of the Lord, his God. Lord, He said, Why should your anger burn against your people whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say it was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth. Turn from your fierce anger, relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your servants, Abraham Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give your descendants all this land, I promise them it will be their inheritance forever. Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster He had threatened. Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. The tablets were the work of God. The writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets. When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to the Moses, there is the sound of war in the camp. Moses replied, It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of the feet. It is the sound of singing that I hear. Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing. His anger burned, and he threw the tablets out of his hands break in the pieces at the foot of the mountain, and he took the calf that people had made and burned it in the fire. Then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it. He said to Aaron, what did these people do to you that you led them into such great sin? Do not be angry. Man, Lord angry. Aaron answered, you know how prone these people are to evil. They said to me, make us Gods who will go before us, as for this fellow, Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him. So I told them, whoever has gold jewelry, take it off. Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire. And out came this calf. Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control, and so became a laughing stock to their enemies. So he stood at the entrance of the camp and said, whoever is for the Lord, come to me. And all the Levites rallied to Him. And He said to them, This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. Each man shot a sword to his side, go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor. The Levis did as Moses commanded, and that day, about 3000 the people died. Then Moses said, You’ve been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day. It. So what was Moses response to God’s offer? He declines it, and he actually intercedes on Israel’s behalf. Look at what he says. He says, What would Egypt think? What about your promises to Abraham Isaac and Jacob? He actually reminds god of himself and God’s promises to Israel. And that leads to God relenting and deciding not to wipe out Israel. It’s a remarkable story. It does lead us ask a few questions, did Moses change God’s mind? Couldn’t have been no, he didn’t change his mind, because we know God is omniscient, so if he knew he was going to change his mind, then that doesn’t really count as changing his mind. So Moses prayer to God on Israel’s behalf, it wasn’t powerful because of anything special in Moses. It was powerful because it aligned with the will and character of God. Moses prayer was covenantally correct his request. It was granted because it aligned with God’s promises. By aligning his prayer with the will of God, he diverted God’s wrath from Israel. Man Praise God. And after this, after this whole exchange, Moses and assistant, Joshua, they go back down the mountain and they hear singing. Apparently, it must have been so loud and not very in tune that Joshua, this trained soldier, this warrior, confuses it and says, like, oh my gosh, there must we must be at war. It must be a battle going on. But we see Moses. He already knows the truth. He knows not war cries. It’s not a battle, but songs of worship, but that was a terrible sound to Moses’s ears, because he knew they weren’t praising Yahweh. Just imagine that walk down the mountain, the singing getting louder the lower they got. I wonder at what point they could smell the sweat of all the people dancing, or even the half eaten food or the stench of alcohol even, maybe they can even see the shadowy figures dancing around the fire, but we know that they saw the golden calf, the thing that almost got their entire nation killed. Now, Moses, he wears his arm on his sleeve, and we see in verse 19 that his anger burned and he threw these new tablets out of his hands. And it’s kind of easy to miss Moses’ irony, right? He’s actually a pretty good object lesson teacher. So he saw God’s people breaking the commandments, so he decided he would give them in a visual aid to help show them what they had done. So they broke the first two so he smashed the all 10 of them. And so he smashes the 10 Commandments, and he that wasn’t all he did. He immediately took that golden cow, he melted it and made them drink it again. Another good teaching point for Israel. First he showed them what they did by breaking the law, and then he showed them the bitter taste of their actions, the bad taste in their mouth was nothing compared to God’s reaction to their choice. The Bible often refers to obedience and worship as a pleasing aroma, and vice versa, disobedience and false worship as a horrible stench. God cannot ignore the bad taste of our unrepentant sin. It’s like the husband coming up from the gym. He’s all sweaty. He can ignore his bad stench, but his wife cannot. He wants to come and watch a movie. There’s just no way it’s going to happen. It’s happen. God cannot ignore the stench of unrepentant sin. So we see move Moses kind of moves on from the people and moves towards the leaders. He goes to Aaron, his brother. He’s like, dude, what happened? I go to the mountain for 40 days, and this happens in your watch, what? What’s going on here? And Aaron, he pulls up classic move and plays the blame game. And just look at his terrible excuses. So these people are really wicked, and they gave me gold, so I toss it in the fire, and the golden calf popped out. Also this altar popped out. And also this festival was thrown together. And these drinks, this snack, just appeared. And but I had nothing to do with this. I swear I had nothing going on. I mean, Adam would have been proud, really. And then look at verse 25 we see Moses taking stock of everything. He sees the people running amok and sinning. You can already kind of even hear God’s enemies laughing at Israel. He sees Aaron’s colossal failure, and he decides that now is the time for faithful, drastic action. And so he stands the edge of camp and says, Whoever is for the Lord, come to me. And he responds, the Levites, descendants of Levi who were chosen for special service in God’s temple and worship, they all run to. Moses aside, and Moses gives them their orders. He says, each man strap a sword to his side, go back and forth through the camp from one into the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor, and they did it. We see about 3000 people died that day, and a number may be kind of numb to us in this age of mass shootings and bombings, 3000 people died by the sword, so at least 3000 swings of swords ended lives that day. And yet we see the Levis were blessed for this bloody action, and that probably makes us uncomfortable, doesn’t it? And yet this is the extreme measures it takes to remove sin from our lives, this golden calf and those who worship it pose an existential threat to Israel and their future, their covenant with God, and also seems likely that only those who were openly rejecting God were killed. How can I be sure? I mean, look at verse 26 What does Moses say? He says, Whoever is for the Lord, come to me. The whole camp should have come out to him. Everyone who was for the Lord should have run out of the camp like we’re here, Moses, we’re sorry. We’re here. They were given one final chance to repent, but they were very bold, and I said, I’m not going there. I’m staying right here. I don’t need Yahweh anymore. I got this nice, shiny cow that does raise another question, though, why wasn’t Aaron punished? He was one of the ringleaders. He fashioned the calf. He was this happened on his watch. They just get a slap in the wrist. Is it nepotism? Is he Moses brother? Is that? What happened here? I don’t think he just got away with it. I mean this, after this incident, Aaron’s life changed forever. His sons both rejected God and then also were killed. Aaron never got to go to the promised land. So Aaron’s consequence of his sin in this moment, it came later in the 3000 but it still was very severe, very costly. So what should we take away from this scene? How can this possibly apply to our lives? Well, I mean sin and idolatry. They should lead us to Holy anger. Moses, he was justified in His anger. He saw the Lord being rejected and God’s people sinning against him. That made his blood just boil. The sin make you angry, not for your sake, but for the Lord’s sake. Probably not. We’re more likely to get mad when we’re sinned towards, right? But we should follow Moses’ example. We should get angry for God’s sake, not our own, because ultimately the Lord is sinned against, and our holy Anger should lead us to drastic action, because we need to take drastic measures to remove sin from our lives. That’s what the Levis did. This have been incredibly hard in killing their friends, their neighbors and their brothers to remove sin from Israel. That doesn’t just show us the severity of sin. It shows us that drastic action is required. Radical action is required to remove our idols from our hearts. I’ve seen a lot of that. I’ve talked to guys who don’t have a smartphone or anything like that in an effort to fight lust. I’ve talked to women who abstain from social media to remove vanity from their lives. I met a multi millionaire who lives his life so generously, gives away just as much money as he possibly can to radically and brutally remove any chance of greed growing in his heart. And I’ve also seen those same kind of people get looked at as weird or just kind of too different or too extreme. I think we can see there’s no such thing as too extreme when it comes to removing sin from our lives. Can’t we think about radical hospitality, bold outreach efforts, faithful fasting, not watching certain shows or or even movies or listening to certain music, even though I’ll put you on the outside and away from the no because you feel you shouldn’t do that, not participate in travel sports or even just waking up early on a Sunday morning to spend two hours at church on the weekend. I go on forever, but radical action is required to remove our idols from our hearts. So think about today. What is that idol that needs to be radically removed? Stop waiting for it. Remove it. But also radical action is required for our homes as well. Parents, you guys are the gatekeepers for your house. Are you protecting your home from sin, from idolatry, from apathy? Are you okay with your kids being seen as a little weird or different or outside the loop, if that means that they are afar from sin or their sin from being removed? From their life. Learn from Moses, from the Levites. Remove idols and sin from your home. So in our final scene, Moses gonna go back up the mountain. He’s gonna learn Israel’s ultimate fate. So let’s see what God did when he was faced with Israel’s sin. In our final scene, titled the Forgiver leaves. So that’s scene three. The Forgiver leaves, and we’ll start in verse 30. The next day, Moses said to the people, you have committed a great sin, but now I will go up to the Lord, perhaps I can make atonement for your sin. So Moses went back to the Lord and said, Oh, what a great sin these people have committed. They have made themselves gods of gold. But now please forgive their sin, but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written. The Lord replied to Moses, whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. Now go lead my people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish. I will punish them for their sin. And the Lord struck the people with the plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made. Then the Lord said to Moses, leave this place you and the people you brought up out of Egypt and go up to the land. I promise on oath to Abraham Isaac and Jacob saying, I will give it to your descendants, and I will send an Angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. I will not go with you, because you are a stiff necked people, and I might destroy you on the way. When the people heard this distressing words, they begin to mourn. And no one put on any ornaments for the Lord has said to Moses, has said the most, tell the Israelites you are a stiff necked people. If I were to go with you for even a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you. So the Israelites, they stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb. And so after kind of getting this house back in order. Moses, he in removing all the offenders from the midst. Moses decides to go back up the mountain. Before he goes, he offers one more final parting blow of rebuke to people, just a reminder, like, Hey, you guys have committed a great sin, going back up the mountain to see what I can do, maybe I can make an atonement for this sin. So we see, Moses makes the trek back of the mountain and just kind of really boldly ask God to forgive the sin of Israel, and, if not to write him out of the book that he has written. I mean, that’s a really bold move, offering his life to atone for the sins of Israel. And who would even do that? Moses was one of the only guys that didn’t even commit this sin. Why would the sinless die for the sinner? Makes no sense, but God actually doesn’t take up Moses’ offer. Look what the Lord tells Moses, whoever has sinned against me, I’ll block out on my book. Now go lead the people the place I spoke of. When time comes for the punish, I will punish them for their sin. This is pretty significant. This is hinting at the need for a greater sacrifice. Moses actually couldn’t atone for Israel’s sin, because the Lord knew Moses wasn’t good enough. He was good great, even he wasn’t good enough. But who could be good enough to give their life for the sins of Israel? Verse 35 comes in. It’s quick and it’s shocking. We see that a plague struck Egypt, sorry, Israel, because of the calf, and that should kind of give us vague memories of the 10 plagues that also went against Egypt. Again, another effort of God to remove Egypt from Israel’s heart. So after that plague, the Lord commands Israel to go to the promised land, the land of his covenant flowing with milk and honey, and he promises to remove all the hostiles from the area. And this seems like good news. There’s a cost. Because of the calf, the Lord will send his angel to go before them, but not him. God is removing himself from their journey because of their sin and his holiness cannot coexist. Now this seems like a huge blessing, right? They get to go to the Promised Land, after all, but the removal of his presence for his midst is just such a great loss. If only there was way for God to dwell among his sinful people. So we see the faithful Israelites who survived this whole ordeal. They actually don’t even celebrate the fact they’re finally going to the promised land. They recognize this for what it was. This was a great loss. They start mourning. They don’t put on any ornaments. Now, when you hear ornaments, don’t think Christmas. Think like ornate jewelry. But even that morning wasn’t quite the right response. God directs them to not only just not put on ornaments, but actually take off what you are wearing, just in one kind of final stroke of holy irony, God removes from Israel what they probably would have used in the beginning to make the golden calf. Do you see he removes the remnants of their idolatry? And so we see that this story kind of ends with the question that God is still deciding what to do with Israel, and what does he end up doing? Come back in two weeks. You can either or you can read ahead if you want. You can either read ahead or come back in two weeks when Brandon goes in the depth about it, but this final scene is still compels us to change. Besides anything different we’ve been talking about, it’s the same thing we must allow God to fix our hearts, to remove our sin, our idols and our false views of him from us, that we can live with him again the sin that separated the Israelites from God’s presence in camp. It also separates us from a meaningful relationship with God. Thank goodness that this is not the end of God’s story with his people, the story of a weird cow statue. It points us to the best story, the Gospel, the need for Jesus. It’s all over this story. Israel, they broke the law right when they got it, and that separated them from God. Our sin separates us from Jesus, and it leads to death. Moses, he wasn’t good enough to atone for Israel’s sin. Jesus, he lived a perfect life and then died for all the sins of the world and rose again, conquering sin and death. Israel, they weren’t able to live with God because of their sin. Jesus, he took on flesh, lived amongst sinful humans. And just not only that, when we turn from our sin, he actually comes to live in us, and he actually removes the sin from our hearts to make more room for himself the longer we know him. Praise God that our Savior made a way for enemies to become friends, and that when we worship wrongly, we are not struck down, even though that’s what we deserve. Praise God that we have a lord that is way better than a cow statue and gives us more than we could ever need or deserve. This story compels us to worship the only God, to reject idols and the worship in the way that he asks us to to tear down our false images of her and worship the only God, the only way. So Jesus, he does this, and he tells us He is the Way. He constantly tunes our heart like a piano strings, so that way we can properly sing praises to the true God of the Exodus, of Moses, of the cross, and just how fitting that we should worship our risen lower Lord together in a few moments. Right? The Jesus that died for you is better than anything that we could possibly imagine. So let’s reject our golden calf and lift our heart song today to the cornerstone. Amen, alright, please pray with me, Father Lord, thank You that you provide a way from our sin, that you saw a broken people far from you, wandering from you, making gods that we’re settling for that are way less powerful and way less good than you. I pray Lord, that You would correct our hearts, that you would bring our sin and our idols to the forefront of our minds and we would offer them at your feet, that we would turn from the golden images that we are tempted to worship and to stray from and turn towards you, the risen Lord, the Savior of the world, that we would not look for our hearts to be satisfied by anything that cannot do that we would stop going to absurd things for love and intimacy and peace. We would turn to you the only one who offers true peace, true love and true worship. We are so grateful for you, Lord, and we cannot thank you enough. I pray that as we lift our voices to you this morning, that it is a pleasing aroma and that we are worshiping you as you attended us to in spirit and in truth, Lord, I pray that we would just surrender it all to you and follow you, Lord. In your name, I pray, amen.

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Into the World December 24, 2025 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper’s Christmas sermon centers on the true meaning of Christmas, emphasizing the biblical perspective over Hollywood’s varied messages. He references 1 Timothy 1:15-17, highlighting Paul’s self-proclaimed status as the worst sinner to illustrate human sinfulness. Cooper explains that Jesus came to save sinners, embodying the concept of substitution where He took our sins and offered His perfect life. He urges the congregation to acknowledge their sinfulness, believe in Jesus’ sacrifice, and receive eternal life. The sermon concludes with a call to action, encouraging believers to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord.

Hello, good evening and Merry Christmas. If you want to go ahead and grab your Bibles, you can open up to First Timothy chapter one. First Timothy chapter one. If you don’t have a Bible, there should be a black Bible there on the pew in front of you. If you’re looking at that Bible, it’s on page 960 if you’re not looking at that Bible, I don’t know what page it is on. I am sorry, by the way, if you don’t have a Bible, it says Christmas the time when we give gifts. So just go ahead and take that Bible. That’ll be our gift to you. If you don’t have one, we would love for you to have that one. But again, you can open up to First Timothy chapter one as you’re turning there. It is a season of watching Christmas movies. Probably a lot of you have some Christmas movies that you go back to, year in and year out, ones you got to watch every December. There is a scene in one of my favorite Christmas movies, although probably not appropriate for a pastor to be watching it, I will grant, but it’s at the end of Christmas vacation, and Clark Griswold and his family see what they think is the Christmas star at the end of the movie. And Clark, having learned a lot of lessons the hard way during the movie, said that’s all that matters tonight. It’s not about bonuses or gifts or turkeys or trees, all the things that he’s had issues with in the last hour or so. And then he looks down at his nephew, or first cousin, once removed, whatever it is, something like that, and says, you know, it means something different to everyone, the Christmas star. And now I know what it means to me. And he’s got this sense that, clearly, it’s family for him. That’s the most important thing here is family common theme, by the way, in Christmas movies, pretty sure that’s the message of Home Alone Jingle All the Way You know the real classics, right? But it’s not always the case, because Christmas seems to mean something different to everyone, including the movie makers. So in elf, for example, I think the main message, what Christmas is all about is spreading Christmas cheer, isn’t it? That’s what matters most. Or in the Santa Clause, the key is that you just have to believe whatever. But just believe something anyway. That’s what’s going to keep this thing running. Or even in a classic like Christmas carol written by the Muppets, if I recall, the key is just to do good instead of being miserly, be generous and compassionate. The point is, there seems to be some confusion about what Christmas is really all about, because we had all these different messages. We know that it’s definitely more than the material, although if we were to look at our calendars and bank statements, that would probably contradict that, but that’s why we got all these movies that are telling you it’s not just about the gifts. But then what exactly is Christmas all about? Why do we celebrate? What are we even celebrating at this point, I find it would be best to look at God’s answer to that question. With apologies to Hollywood, we’re probably better off looking at the Bible, and in particular, looking at this short passage in Paul’s letter written to his young protege, Timothy, in which he explains why Jesus, Christ came into the world. What we celebrate at Christmas? Why God Himself? Jesus, the second member of the Trinity, became human, took on humanity. We just sang it veiled in flesh the Godhead. See why God himself became human, lived a perfect life, and then died a purposeful death. So that’s what we’re going to see as we look at this passage. Here you go. First Timothy chapter one. Let me read verses 15 to 17 for us. First Timothy 115, to 17. Paul writes, here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. Christ, Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason, I was shown mercy so that in me the worst of sinners, Christ, Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in Him and receive eternal life now to the king, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God be honor and glory, forever and ever. Amen, there are three truths that Paul teaches us in this short passage that will help us understand just what Christmas is all about. We’re going to look at the sinner, the Savior and the switch as we go, let’s start with the sinner. So Paul calls himself the worst of all sinners. He’s the first name on the naughty list. He’s on the podium for worldwide sinners. Now this might surprise us that he would think of himself this way. You may have heard of the Apostle Paul. They name. The capital of Minnesota after him, and it starts with Saint, right? So here’s a saint, an apostle, and yet he’s saying he’s the worst sinner of all. Now if you know his biography, that will help us understand why he calls himself that, because he famously was the coat rack basically held the cloaks at the first murder of a Christian, the martyrdom of Stephen that we read about in Acts chapter seven. And then he became so zealous in persecuting the church that he would travel from town to town to arrest people and send them to their death. Later, he would be an itinerant evangelist, but at this point, he’s an itinerant Inquisitor and persecutor, he says himself that he tried to destroy the church, to nip Christianity in the bud, to wipe out its adherents, either by killing them or terrifying them into apostasy. But all that changes when he meets the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, where he was traveling again to persecute the church. I do find this admirable, by the way, because Paul is persecuting the church because he thinks they’re wrong. He thinks Christianity is wrong. He’s a zealous Jew. When he comes across evidence that he hadn’t heard before, when he meets the risen Jesus, knows Jesus rose from the dead, he kind of goes okay, so that that is probably true, actually, and so he’s willing to change in the face of new evidence. But the point is, he’s got a rough past he does, so you can understand why he would say I was the worst. I was as bad as it gets, but that’s not what he says. He doesn’t say I was the worst. Look at it again. He says I am the worst, present tense right now. He says I am still as bad as you could possibly imagine. Now, what do we make of this? Because in a sense, it’s objectively false. I mean, in a world where at this time you would still have murderers, rapists, human traffickers, all the worst. I mean, here’s a guy who’s striving to live a different sort of life, the life devoted to God. Instead of persecuting people, he’s now willing to be persecuted himself for the sake of others, even to the point of death, which is how his story will end. So this can’t be true, except that there is a certain truth to it. He can call himself the worst of all sinners, because he knows the depths of his own sin better than he knows anyone else’s sin. Now I wonder, could we say the same of our selves with all sincerity, like I know what’s going on inside of me and based on what I know? Yeah, I’m pretty sure that I am the worst. I’m guessing most of us wouldn’t say that. I’m guessing most of us wouldn’t say that because I read people’s Christmas cards. Anyone else here, it’s a safe place. Anyone else here find Christmas cards a little annoying, at least the people who write the letters on the back. And we’re one of those families, by the way. Why are they annoying? Because they always sound like this. Our daughter, Susie, is practically perfect in every way, and she was valedictorian when she graduated high school this year. Of course, she was she comes from a long line of valedictorians. She’ll be attending Stanford on a full ride studying nuclear physics. We’re impressed that she was able to keep her grades so high, though, is prima ballerina at her dance studio, plus the time that she devotes to her service project, she single handedly cooks for the homeless shelter every Saturday. That’s what they always sound like. It’s never my son, Jake’s a bit of a dud. You Yeah, for those of you who are our guests, we might have someone on staff named Jake. So there’s a double joke there. His parents are here, by the way, I read their Christmas card. That’s what it said. We commend your honesty. Ty and Allison, you know, we’re not sure he’ll graduate because he’s so lazy. We blame ourselves, because we know we coddled him as a child, and we just know we indulged his love of screens unless he can get a job playing video games, he’s not making money in the future. Plus, by the way, our marriage is on the rocks because I never dealt with my control issues, and she’s really passive aggressive these days. My colleagues hate me because I’m a know it all with an offensive sense of humor and unable to read the room. This would be a fun little exercise, though. Wouldn’t it like write an honest Christmas card? It just for yourself, even not about your family, just do it for yourself in Paul’s style, I’m the worst, and only you can write that Christmas card, because only you know exactly what’s inside of you. I mean, take a moment even now, what are some things you do that you know you shouldn’t do. Maybe it’s something shameful you’re keeping secret from a spouse, from your parents, from your boss, but maybe it’s just habits that you haven’t broken, having to one up everybody in conversation, unwilling to affirm people just selfish at home instead of helping with the dishes or whatever, or what are some things that you say that you know you shouldn’t, things that you mutter under your breath as you walk away from conversations or behind someone’s back, or that you post online, or that you yell at drivers in the comfort of your own car? What are some things that you think that you know you shouldn’t. Uncharitable takes on people, pride, complaining, lust, greed, envy. Can we admit that if people actually knew everything you ever did and said or thought, they would call you a monster of depravity, and they would be right. They might even call you the worst of all sinners, and they wouldn’t be wrong. It’s Christmas. Maybe these are not the glad tidings and jolly message you were expecting to hear. This is a little bit like getting a dieting book for Christmas from someone not the gift you were hoping for. It says something a little unflattering about you. Might not be what you wanted to hear, but it is the news that we need to hear and understand and accept, because otherwise, Christmas makes no sense because we still haven’t answered the question, okay, but Why did Christ come? Why did God have to come to earth as a human for a time and then die, and that takes us to that second truth. Then, so we got the sinner. But here is the Savior. I mean, Paul explains Christmas to us very clearly, right? Christ, Jesus came into the world to save sinners. That’s why we celebrate Christmas. That’s why he took on flesh. That’s why he was born as a baby placed in a feeding trough in a stable to a virgin mother all those years ago. Okay, but how exactly did Christ coming into the world lead to the salvation of sinners? I mean, if God’s maybe you’ve thought this before, if God’s a forgiving God, why couldn’t he just forgive? Why couldn’t he just be done with it all? Why did Jesus have to come? I think we understand the answer that God couldn’t just forgive because sin demands justice, which we all feel in our bones. Of course, you can imagine if a judge in Australia were just to release the Bondi Beach shooter, we wouldn’t go, Oh, what a nice, forgiving judge. We would be outraged, and especially the victims’ families would be up in arms. So he can’t just forgive, which means Jesus came to win forgiveness for us. Jesus came to live the life that we were supposed to live, keeping every one of God’s commands, loving God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength, loving his neighbor as himself, lived the life that we were supposed to live, then died the death that we deserved to die, which means the key to understanding Christmas is the word substitution that Jesus was willing to trade places with us. He takes our sin on himself and in exchange, offers us His perfect life. This would be like a friend and the last day of the semester letting you turn in their final project because you’d forgotten to do it or just hadn’t bothered to do it. That’s why he came to trade places with us, which means the baby, born to marry, was born to die. The great glory of Christmas is not the humble manger, but the horrific cross and the subsequently empty tomb. God took on humanity to take on humanity’s sin, to carry it to the cross there to receive our punishment. Now will he really do that for any who trust in Him? And the answer is yes, yes, he will. In fact, that’s Paul’s whole point. He would do that even for the worst sinner. God showed even him mercy, He says, so that he could put his. Immense patience on display to encourage us. Are you like Paul? Do you have a rough past? Are there some things that you’re looking at in the rear view mirror, thinking there’s no way God could forgive that? And Paul says, No, he’s proven he can forgive that. He’s willing to forgive that. In Tokyo in 1918 a man named Tokichi Ishi was hanged for murder. This is a guy who’d been sent to prison more than 20 times, and his life was filled with hatred and violence, obviously culminating in murder. And hence his execution. Before he was killed, though two missionaries sent him a New Testament and then visited him in prison, and he came to know the Christ who came into the world, and he wrote shortly before his execution, which he regarded as just punishment for his sins in this world, at least, he wrote, perhaps in the future, someone in the world may hear that the most desperate villain who ever lived repented of his sins and was saved by the power of Christ, and so may come to repent also, 1900 years After Paul, he is making the exact same point. I don’t know all that you have done, but I do know this, there is more grace in Christ than sin in you. Maybe you’re not like Paul, though. Maybe you’re more like Paul, who didn’t really have a rough past, if you think about it. I mean, yes, he was religious to the point of persecution, absolutely. But I mean, this is a guy who kept the rules. He didn’t get drunk, he didn’t sleep around, he was scrupulous in keeping all of God’s 600 plus commands. He would have done acts of charity, acts of service, acts of religious devotion. This is the one that gets harder to admit. Right? Some of you are sitting there thinking, I’m not the worst of all sinners. I’m actually a pretty good person again, like Paul. Go back through your deeds, your words, your thoughts, get to that place where you can say, like, Paul, actually, I’m the worst, because that’s what Christmas tells us about ourselves. Again, Christ came into the world because he had to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. Live that perfect life. Christmas tells us that we come into this world by nature and then prove by our deeds that we are spiritually dead, morally selfish and legally condemned. But Christmas tells us something else too, which is that God loves us enough to deliver us from that. That’s why Christ came into the world. So you’ve got the sinner, that’s you and me. You got the Savior, that’s Jesus. Now we got to talk about the switch, because all of this calls for a response. It’s like there’s a gift under the tree, but we still have to receive it. Pick it up, unwrap it. Open it. Take it for ourselves. Paul calls himself an example, as we saw, but he doesn’t say he’s an example for everyone everywhere, no matter what he says, he’s an example. Verse 16, for those who would believe in Him and receive eternal life, the response is that we believe and receive. I mean, even verse 15, he says, this is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance, like we have to accept the truth in this passage, remember, our key word is substitution, like we need to let him take our place. Not everyone wants to be substituted. I watch a lot of soccer, but if you watch another sport that probably works too, you know, sometimes they don’t want sometimes they don’t want to come out of the game. You know, they’re sitting there a pitcher or somebody like that, like you’re not yanking me. Okay, I know I can do this. Granted, I haven’t been hitting my spots. You know, I look tired. I’m out of shape and everything. But trust me, I’ve got it from here on out. And the coach is going, No, no, no, we got to make the switch. That’s the place we need to get to as well. We need to go to our friend Jesus, who is willing to be our friend, who was sneering, sneeringly called the friend of sinners. Even need to go to him admit we didn’t do that final project. Didn’t do the assignment, and so hand him our fat plate of nothing and receive that final project from him, snag our a plus on the project. We need to believe. We need to believe that Jesus is God, that Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Need to believe that we are ourselves the worst sinner. Need to believe that we can be forgiven. We. Also need to receive, to receive grace, to receive Jesus as Savior, to receive Jesus as Lord, also the Lord who will now direct your life going forward as you live for him. Take the gift, unwrap it. Enjoy eternal life, starting even now, friendship with God Almighty, His Spirit dwelling within you to transform you from the inside out so you can start to live that new life. I mean, that’s exactly what we see in Paul, who moves from the worst sinner to this wondrous servant. And yet we see in him that he’s bursting with praise because of who God is, the king, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God to him, the honor and glory. I find it interesting actually, that Paul doesn’t praise God here for His mercy and His love and His patience and His grace and His compassion, all of which would be true, he praises him because he’s so transcendently awesome. I think he does that because he’s just struck that a god as awesome as this would love someone like him, that a god like that should love even us. What is Christmas all about? What’s the real meaning of Christmas? It’s this. Christmas is about Jesus coming into the world to save sinners who believe in Him. Joy to the world. The Lord is come. Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room, even here, even now, even tonight. Would you make room in your heart for him? Would you believe and receive him? If you’re interested in that, I’m going to invite you to pray along with me, even now. Would you pray with me, father and Lord, we confess that we are the worst sorts of sinners, that when we look into our hearts, when we look back at the record of our actions and our words and our thoughts and our desires, that there is so much wrong with us, that we have done so much wrong, that we have hurt so many people. We know this is true, Lord. We acknowledge it, we confess our sin, and we believe in your son, Jesus Christ, who came into the world to save us. We believe that he did what we could not do, live that perfect life, and that then he died the death we deserve to die, taking our punishment so that we could receive His reward, be adopted as your very children. We believe this, and so even now, Lord, we receive the gift of grace and forgiveness that you offer us, Lord, would You fill us with your spirits, now with your spirit now making us new people devoted to your glory and honor, to loving you and loving the people you made in your image. For Your name’s sake, amen.

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The Priesthood December 21, 2025 | Kyle Bjerga Kyle Bjerga discusses the priesthood in the context of the tabernacle and Israel’s worship, emphasizing the significance of the priests’ garments and their roles. He details the sacred garments, including the ephod, breastpiece, robe, and turban, which symbolized their unique role and responsibility. Bjerga highlights the consecration ceremony in Exodus 29, where Aaron and his sons are prepared for their priestly duties through sacrifices and washings. He contrasts the Old Testament priesthood with Jesus, the perfect and eternal priest, who fulfilled all sacrificial and priestly functions, making believers holy and empowering them to serve God.

Good morning. Go ahead, grab your Bibles. You can turn to page 66 if you’re using one of the black pew Bibles there in front of you. Have you ever had the experience of being somewhere and thinking to yourself, I don’t belong here. I shouldn’t be in this position. I feel this way every time I’m in a fancy restaurant. Because I am. I know inevitably I will be super underdressed. I’ve never been told I’m overdressed for anything. So I know right there that I’m going to feel different. But whether it’s a fancy restaurant, it’s like a fundraiser for, you know, something where there’s lots of money going on a reception. If I walk in and I see a table with lots of plates and bowls and utensils, I’m like, I don’t even know what to do with these. I have one utensil and one plate that I use most of the time. So how am I supposed to start? Where am I supposed to go? And then if you throw, like a warm towel in front of me, or you come and scrape crumbs off in front of me before the next course, like I’m looking for the nearest exit because I don’t know what to do with that that is not me. And I just I have this when I’m in these places, I feel like somebody’s watching me and ready to come tell me You shouldn’t be here, to which I would say, yep, you’re right. And I leave, because it just is that moment I’m like, What am I doing here? So one of these places I was for a fundraiser recently, just to give you an example, was a cheesecake that was being auctioned off, and they were gonna bring the cheesecake to your table, cut slices for everybody there. The opening bid started $1,500 so apparently, this thing was made out of gold and diamonds. It eventually got up to $7,500 needless, to say, our table did not have cheesecake that night. So fill in the place where you go, the people that you’re with, where you stand there, you say, I just I don’t feel like I belong here, that I should be in this place with these people. Now multiply that by 1000 by a million, and maybe we start to understand what Aaron and his sons were feeling when God said you’re going to be my priests, you’re going to come into my presence. I don’t belong here. That’s the call that they’ve received. And so that’s what we’re looking at this morning, is the priesthood, the priesthood that is established here by God for the people of Israel, coming on the heels of the instructions we saw last week for the tabernacle. And the tabernacle, of course, is the place where God would dwell with His people, where his presence was going to be. And so we had a lot of detailed instructions on what this place was going to look like. It is the focal point of Israel’s worship, and this week, we’re going to be tasked with looking at those who minister in the tabernacle, the priests, and what do they do? What is their purpose? What is their role as priests or mediators between Israel and God? And similar to the last few weeks, we are covering four chapters, and so I’m not going to read every verse, hopefully you read those in preparation for today, but you can see in your outline, we’re doing some very similar to what we did last week. We’re just kind of, kind of look at these three chapters at the beginning. We’re not going to get into 39 that’s kind of when the priesthood was actually established, but we’re going to look at the three chapters, look at the details. What does it say about the priests? What were they supposed to wear? All these different details that we’re going to get. And then we’re going to walk through the priesthood, kind of as it unfolds throughout Scripture. And so let’s start first by looking at chapter 28 starting in verse one. And I’m going to jump around so I’m going to try to tell you, Hey, we’re going to this verse. So just try to track as best you can as I read. But we’re going to start by looking at the garments for the priests chapter 28 starting in verse one. Have Aaron, your brother, brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests make sacred garments for your brother Aaron to give him dignity and honor, tell all the skilled workers to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron for his consecration, so he may serve me as priest. These are the garments they are to make a breast piece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother, Aaron and his son, so they may serve me as priests. So let’s stop there for a second. Moses is called his brother and his sons in to serve as priests to the nation of Israel. Back in Exodus 19, we saw that Israel itself was called to be a priesthood, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation before other nations. So that just means as a nation Israel set apart to serve God and to hopefully other people would see them and be drawn to this God that they follow. And now is God sets up in Israel another priesthood with Aaron and his sons to serve in the priestly role in the tabernacle. And so Brandon said the tabernacle last week was a visual aid showing us this is who God is. Yes, this is what he’s like. This is what it looks like to approach Him in worship, and we continue with that in a visual aid of what do we need to do to actually approach God? What does that look like here? What does it look like in our life? So what you wear communicates something. So if you’re going to job interview, you’re going to wear certain clothes that maybe you don’t wear it typically, or you have a uniform for a team, or another job that you’re in. So when people see you, they say, Oh, they’re a part of this, or this is the type of work that they do. And so here we start to get the garments that the priests are supposed to wear, because these garments were special. They were unique. And it was communicating to these men and the people that these guys had a unique role and responsibility to play in God’s dwelling place. So let’s look at these garments in more detail. Look at verse six, and I’m going to jump around here. So I’ll try and tell you where we’re going make the ephod of gold and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen the work of skilled hands jump down to leaven, engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal, then mount the stones in gold filigree settings and fasten them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as Memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear the names on his shoulders as a memorial before the Lord, look at verse 15, fashion a breast piece for making decisions the work of skilled hands. Make it like the ephod of gold and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and of finely twisted linen. Verse 17, then mount four rows of precious stones on it. And then there’s a list of the stones. Verse 21 there are to be 12 Stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of the 12 Tribes. And then we’ll finish up 29 through 30. Whenever Aaron enters the holy place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breast piece of decision as a continuing memorial before the Lord also put the Urim and Thummim in the breast piece, so that they may be over over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord. We’ll stop there. So the ephod is this sleeveless apron that’s put over the head, and then there’s these shoulder straps, and two onyx stones would be on there with six names of the sons of Israel on each one, and then these 12 stones on the breast piece. It would have been a very appealing, startling kind of image to see these four rows of three stones, again, representing the sons of Israel. So every time Aaron entered God’s presence, he was bearing these names. He was walking in and saying, I am representing the nation, the people of Israel. What’s interesting about the breast piece is it would have been kind of folded and kind of inside, would have been these things called Urim and Thummim, which is not something we’re used to. There’s actually not a lot of detail about these in Scripture, but they are mentioned multiple times. And so a lot of commentators think it was kind of maybe a black and a white stone that were that were used think about casting lots for helping to make decisions. Israelites did not believe in chance. So even though they used these things, they thought this was a means of how God would would tell them what they are called to do, because God has control over everything. He’s sovereign. So these were used to kind of make more yes and no decisions, these kind of tough ones in life, not ones like, who should I marry? What job should I take? What should I do to this person? You know, not those types of things. It was more for the yes and no questions. You got to think about it. They’re just starting to get the law. So when they’re thinking, What does God want us to do. They’re using these means to make decisions. And so they would put them in Aaron would put this in the breast piece over his heart, as a way to say, we want to do what God’s will is. Which makes me wonder, like, what is that? What do we have to do with that? Like, that’s different. Well, the thing is, right now what we have is God’s word, very black and white on what he says. We have the Holy Spirit if you’re in Christ, who is in your life to help you discern. And then we have the community of believers around us. And so for a lot of times, we might have decisions that aren’t the black and white issues of Scripture, that we know what God says to do, but maybe you have three ministry options before you, three very good ministry options before you, and you don’t know what to do, so you go to God’s Word, you pray, you gather with God’s people, you find out what they think, and then you make a decision, and you trust the Lord with that decision. But that’s what it looks like for us for those kind of moments that aren’t necessarily laid out for us in Scripture. So we have the ephod, we have the breast piece. Let’s keep reading verse 31 make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth. Then we find out some more instructions about these pomegranates and bells that are meant to be at the bottom of the robe. Look at verse 35
Aaron must wear it when he ministers, the sound of the bells will. Be heard when he enters the holy place before the Lord, and when he comes out, so that he will not die, make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as a seal holy to the Lord. Fasten a blue cord to it, to attach it to the turban. It is to be on the front of the turban. It will be on Aaron’s forehead, and he will bear the guilt involved in the sacred gifts. The Israelites consecrate whatever their gifts may be. It will be on Aaron’s forehead continually, so that they will be acceptable to the Lord. So we get this robe with these bells on the bottom that would be worn to the holy place. Maybe you’ve heard before, when the priest would go into the most holy place, these bells would let people know he’s still worshiping. He’s still walking around. If you didn’t hear the bells, then the thought was he died. And so they’d have something there so they can get him because they can’t walk into the most holy place. So you got these bells here. Then we finished with this gold seal on this turban that’s put over the forehead that says holy to the Lord. So if it’s not clear enough by these garments and the attention to detail that this priest is holy to the Lord. This seal certainly will, and it says Aaron will bear the guilt of others. So the gifts that people were bringing were mostly for atoning for their sins, to make atonement for them, to cover over them, their sin, their guilt and their shame. And this would be a sacrifice of blood right from an animal, and they would receive forgiveness, but only God could deal with this. Only God could forgive. And so Aaron is representing the people. He is their mediator, coming before God to say, I’m representing Israel. And then he would represent God to Israel. Now, without Aaron having the seal of holy to the Lord. People sacrifices and offerings would not be accepted by God. So listen how Alec motor explains the importance of being holy to the Lord. He says, but just as Aaron was accepted under the holiness of the medallion he wore, so the people were accepted because their names were part of his dress. In other words, both his true reality and all their inadequacies were brought under the same wondrous covering, and they were accepted in the beloved just as we were. That’s what’s happening as Aaron enters into the presence of God. And imagine Aaron, who’s going to be the high priest, and his sons, the other priests are hearing these instructions, and they must have been struck with different emotions, and probably on the extremes, the one extreme meaning, wow. This is amazing, the attention to detail, the uniqueness of these garments and what God is calling us to do. And at the same time, I don’t belong here. I shouldn’t be the one representing the people before God. I’ve sinned five times, 10 times this morning. How am I supposed to do this? And so these are the emotions that they’re dealing with, the emotions that we have as we walk with Christ as well. And they would be right. It is an honor to serve the Lord in this way, and you’re going to have those feelings. If I don’t deserve this, you certainly can’t earn it. It’s given to you by God, and when God calls them, he’s going to equip them for this ministry, but he’s also going to prepare them. He’s going to make sure that they know he is with them, and He has prepared them for this role. Which leads us to chapter 29 the consecration of the priests, the moment where God says, I’m going to make you holy for what I’m calling you to do. So this is a long chapter for this. I’m just going to read verses one through nine, because it’s a nice summary of really kind of everything we see in chapters 28, through 30. We kind of get to see what the ceremony is going to look like. So we can’t dive deep into everything in this chapter, but I want to just highlight these nine verses because this really tells us what God is doing, how he is consecrating them, setting them apart for the priesthood. So let’s start in verse one. This is what you are to do to consecrate them so they may serve me as priests. Take a young bull and two rams without defect, and from the finest wheat flour, make round loaves without yeast, thick loaves without yeast and with olive oil mixed in and thin loaves without yeast, and brush with olive oil, put them in a basket and present them along with the bowl and the two RAMs. Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water. Take the garments and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself and the breast piece. Fasten the ephod on him by its skillfully woven waistband, put the turban on his head and attach the sacred emblem to the turban. Take the anointing oil and anoint Him by pouring it on his head. Bring his sons and dress them in tunics and fasten caps on them. Then tie sashes on Aaron and his sons. The priesthood is theirs by a lasting ordinance. Then you shall ordain Aaron and his sons. So what’s happening in this moment is answering the very important question that we all need to ask is, how can I approach God in worship? Or how should I approach God in worship? And the first thing we see is it requires blood. It requires. Sacrifice. Look at Hebrews nine. Verse 22 says, in fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood and without the shedding of blood. There is no forgiveness. So in chapter 29 we start off with these sacrifices of a bull and two rams in the place of the priests. It’s been this way since the beginning. God told Adam and Eve, don’t eat from this tree, and if you do, you will die. And ever since then, every single person after them says, we’ve all sinned. We’ve all sinned fallen short of the glory of God, and the wages of the payment for that sin is death. This is what we’re born into. And the priests then have to do something to make themselves able to approach God. And so it says that they put their hands on the head of the bull, and they put their hands on the head of the two rams to symbolize the transfer of their sins, their guilt, to this animal, so that this animal would represent them and would go to the slaughter in their place. Their blood spilled so theirs wouldn’t have to. The animal’s blood spilled so theirs wouldn’t have to. And then they can approach God. The second thing we see is that we approach God in full devotion. One of these rams that sacrifice is burned up completely, showing that God requires all of us, not just a part of us, not just the easy parts that we want to give to the Lord. He wants everything we see this also in the second realm, where the blood is taken, and it says that the blood is put on the right ears, the right thumb and the right big toe of Aaron and his sons. And you’re like, what I mean, did anybody else not? Do not think that as you read this and you’re thinking, Okay, what is the significance there? Well, the right side was the the side of honor, but also they put it on their head, their hands and their feet, to say, all of Aaron and his sons are devoted to the Lord. Their whole life, their whole body is his to do what He has called them to do. So they’re fully devoted, fully consecrated to the Lord. The third kind of sacrifice that we get, offerings that we get are these fellowship offerings, or wave offerings, showing that they understood that everything they had was from God. And so they present it to him and wave it before him as an offering, and then they would partake together in eating some of the bread. They would partake together and eat of some of the meat from the sacrifices, sharing a meal, as we’ve already talked about in the series, with the Lord, before the Lord, and with each other. And there’s something beautiful about God’s people gathering together to share a meal and celebrating what God has done, who he is in our lives, and what brings us together as brothers and sisters in Christ, which is exactly the meal we’re going to eat here in a little bit to say, I’m a brother and sister in Christ because of His body and His blood that was shed for us. It is a family meal. It is an offering. It is a way to say thank you for all that the Lord has done for us. The last we see in chapter 29 the fourth way to approach God. It is ongoing sacrifices. In verse 38 it kind of moves from consecrating the priest to what’s going to happen every day. And what we see happening every day is there supposed to be a regular morning and evening sacrifice, two lambs, a year old, every day to again, show the people. This is what is required of you to approach God. So how we approach God matters. It’s not something we do flippantly. There’s a warning throughout these chapters over a half dozen times. It says, if they don’t do this, they could die. If they don’t wear the right thing, do the right thing, they could lose their lives. Or if the people don’t do the right things, they could be cut off from their people. So we need to take God’s word seriously, when he says, This is how you approach me in worship, and then you can experience the beauty of what it means to be with God, which is exactly what he wants for us. Look at chapter 29 verse 45 to 46 basically exactly what we heard last week. He says, Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. They will know that I am the LORD their God who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God. Why does he want this? Because he wants us. He wants to be in relationship with us. He wants us to approach him. But he we need to listen to how we’re supposed to do that. And so he’s consequent. He’s setting aside these priests so that they can help people approach God. And so we’re going to finish up here in chapter 30 with the tools of the priests. And I’m going to read a bunch of different verses here again. Try and keep you on track. We’re going to look at these tools. And so I want to highlight some of the verses as we go. So looking at verse one first, me. Make an altar of acacia wood for burning incense. Verse seven, Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. Look at verse 11. Then the Lord said to Moses, when you take a census of the Israelites, to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted, there is no plate, then no plague will come on them. When you number them. Verse 16, receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the Tent of Meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord making atonement for their lives. Then the Lord said to Moses, make a bronze basin with its bronze stand for washing. Place it between the tents of meeting and the altar and put water in it. And then look at verse 30, anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests. We’ll pause there. There are a number of other things that we see in this text, things that they are supposed to make things that they’re supposed to do as part of serving in the tabernacle, part part of their priestly duties. The incense, usually in Scripture, symbolizes the prayers of God’s people. So Aaron here is starting this incense, and it’s going up before the Lord to kind of say that the people are praying, the people are bringing their requests before God. And the only type of there’s a recipe given here. There’s this, the only one that you’re supposed to use for this incense. So again, very clear instructions only this in this place for these people. And it’s the same way with the oil, the anointing oil that we see here at the end of the chapter. It’s one recipe. It’s used for this purpose, to anoint Aaron and his sons, to anoint the priests. And then we read a little bit about atonement money, which was an act of worship, acknowledging not only God’s salvation, which he has brought his people out of Israel, but also his provision. And as we talked about, giving reveals a lot about your heart, so were the people willing to give back to the Lord what was already his to say, thank you for saving us. And then be able to fund the building of the tabernacle and these garments and these different tools that the priests would use, and then we get the basin for washing, for repeated washings, Aaron and his sons are going to wash themselves a lot, because when they approach God, they need to be clean water, and washing is used throughout Scripture to show how we are to approach God to be cleansed and purified. It’s a symbol of the change and transformation that takes place in our lives when we come to God. One more thing about anointing. Anointing was important in the Old Testament. Anointing wasn’t just pouring oil on someone’s head. It was given for a very special purpose. So we see here it’s the priests. We see Samuel anoint King Saul, and then he anoints King David. And so when people were anointed, there was this weight that came with it, like this person has been anointed, meaning God has set this person aside for a special purpose. And so people would pay attention to their lives, what was happening, what was going on, what were they going to do? And later in the Old Testament, we start hearing about this Messiah, Messiah, meaning the Anointed One who would come and deliver his people. And that’s exactly what happens when the angel comes to announce the shepherds the birth of Jesus. Says, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the anointed one, the one you’ve been waiting for, the long expected savior, Jesus. And so when we think about anointing, we think what is happening in this moment. And we think to the anointed one, Jesus, Christ, coming the Messiah. There was no mistake about it. This was the one that was promised. He was the anointed one, and he’s more than just that, though he’s also the mediator. And I mean capital M, he is the mediator, a priest who has come to fulfill everything. We’ve just read, everything that the priests were doing. He has fulfilled the entire priesthood. And so we need to walk through the rest of Scripture now and kind of see how this unfolds. And so we’re going to just look at the priesthood, kind of in your notes there, you probably see that heading the priesthood. We’re just going to kind of walk through some different parts of Scripture to see how this happens. But the priesthood all culminates in Jesus. Paul draws our attention to this in First Timothy two. He says, For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind. Aaron, nope. Caiaphas, no. There is one God and one mediator between God mankind, the man Christ, Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom. For all people, like Paul knows the sacrificial system. He knows the priesthood. And he’s saying, guess what? There is one, there’s one. And so is Paul looking at the whole Old Testament and saying the priesthood has ended, yes and no. As far as what we’ve just read, these multiple priests over multiple years, multiple sacrifices, daily sacrifices, all these different things. Yes, that has ended, but the priesthood of Jesus is here and here forever, established forever. So there’s many places we could go to show this truth, but no better than the book of Hebrews. In the book of Hebrews, Jesus is called the merciful and faithful high priest over and over again. He’s the Forever high priest. He is a better high priest, superior in all ways. So that’s great. It calls him that. But how is Jesus the better priest? How is he the better high priest? We got five things for you. First, Jesus is the perfect priest. He’s the perfect priest because he lived a perfect life. Aaron represents the people of Israel as one sinner. For many sinners, that’s what he’s doing. He’s like, I’m a sinner. I’m walking into God’s presence representing a nation of sinners. And if you’ve been with us, you know that these people that he’s representing are forgetful, complaining. They’re ungrateful for everything the Lord has done, and they’re constantly pulled back to a life of slavery. They keep falling flat on their face. This is who Aaron is representing. Aaron and his sons, fallen people before a perfect God representing fallen people. And then we have Jesus, the perfect priest, the one who not only represents but fulfills everything you and I were supposed to do perfectly. So he’s the one that goes in and says, This is what it looks like, and I have done it for them like we didn’t do it. He did it all. Hebrews tells us he was tempted in every way, as we are, as Israel was, and yet he did not sin. He stood firm in the wilderness when Satan tempted him three times. He was completely obedient to his parents as he grew up and he finished the work his father sent him to do the 10 Commandments we just read about a few weeks ago. Yeah, he fulfilled those perfectly everything, whether it’s his head, his heart, his hands. He did everything perfectly as the priest. So he goes in before the Lord as the perfect priest to say, this is what I have done for them. I have lived that perfect life which Aaron and his sons could never do. Second, Jesus is the eternal priest. Aaron died, his sons died, and every priest after died, the priesthood didn’t that kept going, but someone else had to come and pick up that office and take it. But each individual’s time ended, and the priesthood of Aaron and his sons was given to the next one. But listen to Jesus’ priesthood in Hebrews seven now, there have been many of those priests since death prevented them from continuing in office. But because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood, therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them. Aaron and his sons died, the office continued the Old Testament priests would intercede for their people for a time, Jesus is still interceding for us. Now, like today, as we sit here, Jesus is praying for us. He’s saying, I am the perfect priest. I have done everything that they were supposed to do, and so when we sin, He says, I paid for that. He’s praying for us now, interceding for us, because it’s a permanent priesthood. Third, Jesus is the giving priest, which might sound a little weird for a second here, but stay with me, the priest in chapter 29 had to take their hands, lay their hands on the bull and the two rams and transfer their sin symbolically to this animal. So this animal would take those sins for them as their blood was spilled. It was like Aaron’s blood. It was like his son’s blood. So their guilt before the Lord was taken to this animal. But when Jesus went to the cross, look at Second Corinthians five. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. So here’s the beautiful thing, there was no sin for Jesus to transfer to us. Instead, he says, you put your hands on me, you transfer all your sin, all the punishment that you deserve, to me and. I’m going to go to the cross, and that would have been amazing. But then he also said, Guess what, I’m going to transfer something to you, and I’m going to transfer my perfect record to you, my perfect righteousness, so that it’s like you, like you lived my life. That is what he has done. He is a giving priest who gives of himself. Fourth Jesus is the priest and the sacrifice. So these earthly priests were just like us. They had to sacrifice animals for their life before they would sacrifice them for others. So think about it a couple weeks ago, or in a couple weeks, we’re going to see Aaron, the high priest, the mediator of Israel, the one who’s supposed to serve the true God, Yahweh. And what does he do? In a couple chapters, he’s going to make a golden calf and tell the people, this is your God. This is the God that took you about of Egypt. This is who God chose as the mediator for the people. It gets worse, though, because Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, offer unauthorized fire before the Lord, and the Lord consumes them because they don’t take their priestly duties seriously. Eli, a future priest, has two wicked sons who are disrespectful to the Lord, who disobey His laws, and they are killed for it, many priests, prophets and kings, the shepherds of Israel were rebuked by the prophets throughout the Old Testament for their pride, for their greed, for their blatant disrespect of God and His word over and over again. So of course, they need to offer sacrifices for themselves. We would need to do the same thing, because this is what we do. And then we want to approach God, but the great high priest, Jesus is the high priest and the sacrifice. Look at Hebrews seven again. Talking About Jesus truly meets our need, one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins, once for all, when he offered himself, no other priest could do that. Only Jesus could and then Jesus, the spirit Anointed One, is the last one. In Chapter 30, we see the priest needed to be washed and cleansed to enter the presence of God, and they had to be anointed with this special oil used only for this purpose, representing the anointing of God, of His Spirit on them. Even better than that in Jesus, Jesus is baptized in the Jordan River by his cousin John for a baptism of repentance, although Jesus had nothing to repent of. So He’s baptized so that he could fully identify with us, so that he could go in the water and show the death that he was going to die, not only himself, but also for us, and then he was going to come back out of that water, because he was going to come out of that grave three days later. So he has to identify with us, and we also know in that water that washing cleanses and purifies us to approach God. And as soon as Jesus is baptized, he doesn’t get an oil that represents the spirit. He gets the Spirit Himself coming down like a dove on him. And the father says, This is my Son in whom I am well pleased that is a different anointing. So the instructions for the high priest, we’re not going to get there today, but I’ll just mention in Leviticus 16. So in that priesthood, this all culminates in Leviticus 16, which is the Day of Atonement, where the high priest is told you are going to go into the most holy place where God’s presence dwells one time a year to offer a sacrifice just one man in one place one day of the year. And you’re going to offer the sacrifice that’s going to tone for the sins of the people for the entire year, and then you’re going to do it again the next year, and the year after that, and the year after that. And even in this most holy of days, we find this in Hebrews 10. It says, but those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins day after day, every priest stands and performs his religious duties again and again he offers the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. So what hope do we have day after day, year after year, we have to keep offering them. The writer of Hebrews goes on to explain the difference with the once and for all sacrifice. When he says, their sins and loss lawless acts, I will remember no more and where these have been forgiven. Sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary. Day after day, year after year, nope, one time in one place, on a cross, and it was done. It was finished, and so we can be forgiven. Thanks be to God. Hebrews 912, 14 says this, I want you to just listen. Very carefully, says he did not enter by means of blood of goats and calves, but he entered the most holy place, once for all, by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkle on those who are ceremonially unclean, Sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more then will the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from Acts that lead to death so that we may serve the living God. Did you hear that? I’m gonna read that again, verse 14. How much more than will the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself unblemished to God, perfect, cleanse our consciences from Acts that lead to death, all of our sin, so that we may serve the living God, not I’m going to save them. They can do their own thing. He saves us so that we can serve Him. He has made us holy. He has He has made us holy so that not only can we approach him, but we can serve Him. That’s the big idea today. That’s the big idea. You are holy. So do the work of a priest. You are holy. So do the work of a priest. Now, maybe you’re like me in that restaurant. I don’t belong here. What do you mean? I’m holy. I don’t feel holy. I look back at the last week, I don’t see a whole lot of holiness there. Well, Jesus says, when you are in Him, when you believed in his life, death and resurrection, He makes you holy and He gives you His Spirit, you have been consecrated, set apart. So, yes, we don’t walk around with these gold plates on our forehead that say holy to the Lord. Guess what? We have something better than that. Way better Ephesians, one says that when you believe in Jesus Christ, you are marked in him with a seal, a seal just like the seal above the high priest’s head. That seal is the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. So we do need to walk around with gold at our foreheads. We have the Spirit of God in us, dwelling with us, tabernacling with us, in our hearts, in our lives. But then what does the Spirit do? Titus three says this about God. It says God’s mercy. He saved us in His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus, Christ, our Savior. So when he saves us, He washes us, he renews us through His Holy Spirit, who he pours out on us. Does that not sound like anointing? He pours him out on us, washing us, purifying us for the work that God has for us. So Jesus’ sacrifice, he sacrifices for us. He washes us, he purifies us, and then he anoints us with His Spirit. So the Israelites were supposed to be this kind of royal priesthood, this holy nation to others. And Peter picks this up. We’ve looked at this verse already in this series. First, Peter, two, nine, but you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. God’s special possession. This is for us, the church, Christians who call in the name of Jesus, now that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. We are a royal priesthood. You are holy. So do the work of a priest. What is the work of a priest? What are we supposed to do with this? This is the idea of the priesthood of all believers in Scripture, the priesthood of all believers. If I could sum it up what it means to do the work of a priesthood would be this, represent Jesus in all aspects of life. Okay, you represent Jesus in all aspects of life. You are holy, so fully devote yourselves to the work of the Lord. You’re not gonna put blood on your ears and your big toe and your thumb, but you’re leaning look at yourself and say, No, this is this is all for him. Like the blood sacrifices ended with Jesus on the cross. That is the last blood that has ever been shed for us. Do you get that? Years the Israelites are looking at all this blood, and he got on that cross and said, That’s it. You never have to do that again. We don’t have to transfer anything to an animal or anything. It’s done. It’s finished. They have ended. The blood sacrifices are gone. He is the high priest the once and for all sacrifice. But then Romans 12 tells us we are to offer our bodies, head, hands, feet, as a living sacrifice. A living sacrifice. Again, these are the places in Scripture like, excuse me, a living sacrifice, because he has shed the blood, but our whole life now is devoted to him. It is sacrificial. I have to get up and say, Lord, I want all of me to be for you today, and that means sacrificing all the things I want, all the things that other people are calling to me to do. And say, this is for you, because he says in Romans 12 one, offer your bodies the living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship. We say, Lord, you have given everything for me, so I’m going to give my whole life to serving you. You, and look what Hebrews 13 says should be on the screen for you through Jesus. Therefore let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that openly can profess his name and do not forget to do good and to share with others for which such with such sacrifices God is pleased. That’s what priests do. Openly profess the name of Jesus to do good to others, to share with others. And so I just have a few questions here I want to ask you as you think through your priestly responsibility before those in the church and outside the church. So just some diagnostic questions you might need to ask yourself this morning. And I hope in asking these questions, it clarifies for you what it looks like to be a priest. If someone has a question about the word or they have a need in their life, do they come to you because they know you have a relationship with Jesus? Do you know how to bring someone to God? Can you walk somebody through the truth of the gospel and call them to respond, profess his name, and call them to respond to the gospel. Can you do that? Are you comfortable with that? Third, if someone in the church needs help remembering who they are, that they are holy, are you comfortable speaking the truth of God’s word to tell them that they are a child of God, that they are holy to the Lord, if someone in the church needs to be rebuked, are you able to speak the truth in love and remind them of what a sacrificial a sacrificial life looks like? And finally, are you modeling living your life for Jesus, because that’s what Aaron was supposed to do. That’s the high priest were meant to do, to be that example, to help people see who God is, and then bring them to him, to make them approach, be able to approach God. And so that’s our role now, because we are holy. So we do the work of a priest in all of these questions, you know what’s great about them? Not one of those questions is really about you. All of those questions get back to Jesus and the truth of who he is and what he has done. The work of the priest is not to say, look at me and how good I am, but rather to say, I’m just like you. I can’t approach God either on my own. I need a savior and a high priest. I know who he is. Let me tell you about him. Point them to him. That’s what a priest does. Points past ourselves up to our Savior. If you’re here this morning, you’re like me at the beginning, where you again, you feel like you’re here today, and you’re thinking somebody’s going to come up to me and say, I don’t belong here. We’ve all felt that way because we’re all in the same place. We were all in the same place saying, I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t belong here, but you’re in good company, because there is nothing for you to do. It’s been done already, all that punishment for your sin, all that guilt and shame that you feel was paid for by Christ on the cross. And so this Christmas, I hope you would surrender your life to the mediator and the Messiah who was born for you, and then you can experience the true joy that is found in Christmas because it’s found in Jesus and Jesus alone. So maybe this morning you need to hear this. Maybe you’re struggling. Maybe you don’t see those things your life happening in the way that you want them to happen, or as fast as you want them to happen. You are holy, set apart through Christ. This is what He has called he has done for us, made us holy so that we can follow him. So as we leave this place today, let’s do the work of a priest, pointing everyone we know to Jesus, Christ, our Savior, Messiah and mediator. Let’s pray. Jesus we are grateful to be able to sing songs come thou long expected Jesus, the one who for years, people were waiting for and waiting for and waiting for, and then you came in the way that you did, in a way that nobody expected. And then you did things for us that we could never do for ourself. As we celebrate this Advent season, as we’ve read these verses throughout this series, anticipating the coming of Jesus, Lord, I pray that you would grab hold of our hearts, our heads, our hands, our feet, and we say, Lord, I want to be fully devoted to you, that this Christmas season has always been and always will be about you and what you have done, and the fact that we can walk out of here this morning through Jesus Christ and say, I am holy. What do you have for me to do today, Lord, Holy Spirit. You are in us. You are with us, and we need you to remind us of this truth every day, every hour, every minute, so that we know we are holy to the Lord and called to live for him. And we pray, Lord, as we go from here, that if there in our life that needs to hear that truth, that we would take that step of courage to tell them the truth of Jesus Christ and to see them follow you. There’s no greater priestly work that we can do than to point people to you, Lord. We love you. We pray this in Jesus name, amen.

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The Tabernacle December 14, 2025 | Brandon Cooper
Brandon Cooper discusses the significance of the tabernacle in Exodus 25-27, emphasizing its detailed instructions as a visual aid to understand God’s presence and purpose. He highlights the importance of the ark, table, and lampstand, each symbolizing different aspects of God’s relationship with His people. The ark represents atonement, the table God’s provision, and the lampstand His light and life. Cooper also connects these elements to Jesus, who is described as the ultimate tabernacle, bridging the gap between God and humanity through His sacrifice and presence. He encourages the congregation to approach God with confidence and to share the Gospel with others.TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

Good morning church. Good to see you all this morning, if you want to go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Exodus 25 Exodus 25 is where we’ll start this morning. As you’re turning there, I travel occasionally for work in particular, and it’s always a bummer. My kids are invariably disappointed. Never mind Amy, who is shockingly disappointed always because she needs the extra help around the home, of course, but so my kids, you know like they know that the younger ones burst into tears, all that kind of stuff when I’m leaving, they like to know that dad’s going to be home, that they’re going to be able to stay with them. They prefer it when I am present with them, when they get to be with me. Fact, one time when I was leaving on a trip, this was number of years ago, one of my daughters actually drew a picture of herself so that I could take the picture with me, so that she would still be with me in some way, still have it my briefcase, in fact, at this point. So again, everybody just likes it when we’re, you know, we’re together. We get to be with dad. That’s how Israel would be feeling at this moment in Exodus. I mean, they don’t really have a home at this point. They’ve left Egypt, where they were for four plus centuries, and they’re not yet in the Promised Land, even then, though they’re going to be entering this new land and they’re going to be fighting new battles. And there’s this question, will you be with us, father? And in our chapters this morning, we get an unequivocal yes to that question. This first detailed bit of instructions, and we get in the latter half of Exodus is all about God’s dwelling place, all about the tabernacle. And when I say detailed instructions, by the way, I do mean detailed instructions. Quite long if you’ve read Exodus before. The old joke is that it took God six days to create the world and 40 days to explain how to make his tabernacle. And that’s right, tells us a little something, by the way, about just how important this place is. In fact, not only do we get detailed instructions in 25 to 27 but then we go back in 36 to 38 and we get all those same instructions again. It’s an almost verbatim repetition of the text, just showing that the Israelites actually followed God’s detailed instruction. So this is so important, we get six chapters of Scripture all about it, in part because it’s one of the most powerful visual aids that we have in Scripture to understand who God is and what he wants. So my hope here this morning is that as we look at the furnishings and the tent and the courtyard, that we would understand God’s heart to dwell with His people, to dwell with us, and that would produce in us a deep and abiding joy. So with that, let’s dive in. We’ll look first at the furniture, because that’s what is given to us first chapter, 25 let me start by reading verses one to nine. I will say at the outset, I’m not going to read every verse of our text. Those of you who call Cityview home, I’m hoping you read every verse this week, so that you are ready to go. But let me start Exodus. 25 one to nine, the Lord said to Moses, tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from every one whose heart prompts them to give. These are the offerings you are to receive from them, gold, silver and bronze, blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen goat hair, Ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather, acacia wood, olive oil, for the light spices, for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breast piece. Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you. So here’s our introduction to all of this, and it begins by God encouraging those with a heart to give, to bring their offerings to him. It is not mandatory here. It is freely offered, which is important. Our giving always reflects our commitment to the Lord. It’s one of the clearest signs that we have that yes, we are on board. We’re with King Jesus. But there’s also a reminder in this. As you look at this list of very impressive materials being gathered, you think to yourself, they’ve been slaves for a long time. Where did they get all this material? And of course, we already got the answer earlier in Exodus. It’s when they plundered the Egyptians. As they were leaving, they were supposed to ask their task masters for gold and silver and all the rest, and it says that God would make the Egyptians favorably dispose toward them, so that they would give this to the Israelites. In other words, this was God’s gift to the Israelites. They’re just giving back some of what he has already given to them. The question is never, how much of my money will I give God, but how much of God’s money will I hold back for myself? How can I best steward his gifts? If we’re stingy, it’s likely because we think it’s ours, because we’re untrusting that he’ll provide in the future. But if we have that grateful trust, we will joyfully participate, and we get to participate. That’s the other fun part about this. I mean, God invites us to be a part of what he’s doing. Just imagine, as you’re seeing the tabernacle being constructed and thinking, I gave some of that like it might be some of my gold that’s being used to make the cover of the ark. And that’s what God is always doing, inviting us to participate in what he is doing as we bring what we have. Now, the list of materials is impressive. You know, we hand out lists here occasionally, like when we do our school supply drive for ici every summer. But this is not like that, because this is only the best material around, because God is who He is, and he’s worthy of the best to show His royalty and power. Then we get verses eight and nine, and these are significant verses here, because we get three words used to describe what is about to be built here, a sanctuary, a dwelling place, and then a tabernacle. And each one of those words is important because it teaches us about who God is and what his purpose is. So tabernacle and we use it. It sounds nice and religious and whatnot. It just means tent. That’s all it is. In fact, gets translated as tent most of the time. But why does God want a tent? Well, remember, his people are living in tents at this point, so he’s identifying with his people and then promising to go with them. It’s important that it’s portable, so that he can travel with them, and then dwelling place. We saw this word last week when the glory cloud settled on top of Sinai like a dwelt there. It’s important this is a permanent address. In other words, this is where God lives. So, yes, it’s portable because the camp’s moving around, but his permanent address is right there in the middle of the camp. And then sanctuary holy place, because our God is a holy God, Let’s not miss the significance of this moment, either. If you were here last week, you know, Moses is at the top of Sinai, and he’s getting all these instructions from God, you know, hearing God’s words in the glory cloud. And so God begins to speak, and there’s this sense of, okay, like, what’s he going to say first? And he says, Please make a tent for me. So we have this holy God. We know that they’re not even on the mountain because he’s so holy. We have this Holy God, and he’s giving instructions on how to build this place. Because we don’t get to approach him on our terms. We approach Him on His terms, okay? But here’s a holy God who wants to dwell with us that’s at the center of his heart. In fact, it’s the whole reason for the Exodus we’re going to read in our passage next week, Exodus, 2946 I am the LORD their God who brought them out of Egypt. So that that introduces a purpose clause, right? Here’s the purpose. Here’s why he brought them out of Egypt. Here’s why we had the plagues and the Red Sea so that I might dwell among them. Can imagine the interviewer after the Red Sea rode, you know, interviewing God, why did you decide to rescue Israel from slavery? And his answer is, so I could live with them? Can we just pause in awestruck worship at the heart of our God? And this is a group of unruly, unholy sinners, as we will see, and yet God wants to be with them. This is really the first step in his unfolding plan to restore us to Eden. God made us to dwell in His presence. Adam and Eve lived with him. They took walks together in the afternoon. So this is like his beachhead, his outpost that He’s establishing to get us back to that place where we dwell with Him for ever. Now. Then we get detailed instructions. Three pieces of furniture in the most holy place, the ark, the table and the lamp stand. They’re given to us in order of importance. In fact, this whole thing is arranged in terms of the order of importance as well. So let’s start with the ark. I’m going to read verses 10 and 11. Then I’ll drop down a little bit. Here it is. Have them make an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high, overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. Drop down to verse 17, make an atonement cover of pure gold, two and a half cubits long, and a cubit and a half wide, and make two. Cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other. Make the cherubim of one piece with the cover at the two ends. The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. Place the cover on top of the ark, and put in the ark the Tablets of the Covenant law that I will give you there above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the Ark of the Covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites. So the ark, it’s just, it’s a box, okay? It’s a rectangular wooden chest, roughly four foot by two foot by two foot, overlaid with gold, has rings on the side and poles that go through it so they can carry it. Those poles are never removed, so that nobody ever has to touch the ark, which is kind of the holiest object on Earth, as Uzzah learned in the series we’ve already touched on. But it’s important what makes this object so holy is because of what’s inside and on top of it. So what’s inside it? We see in verse 21 are the covenant tablets. So these are written by the very Finger of God, God’s word to his people. And so there’s this reminder, not only that God reveals Himself to us, that he discloses himself, but that he enters into covenant with His people, and then on top, well, we get a lid, basically a cover. It’s actually called the Atonement Cover, which is exactly what it is, because one day a year, the high priest on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. That’s what that means, would splash the blood of the sin offering on the Atonement Cover to make atonement for the people’s sins. Yom Kippur, that word Kapur, actually means cover, and it’s related to the word lid that we get here, which is caperet. So they’re they’re very closely connected. This is such an important place. This is where atonement happens. And there also are cherubim there, which is significant, too. Now we learn later on in the Old Testament why the cherubim are there. Because Ezekiel has a vision of God’s heavenly throne, and at the bottom of it are cherubim who are basically carrying it around. Well, that makes sense, then that’s what’s happening here as well. This is God’s throne, really, the way the Old Testament speaks of it is that this is God’s footstool. So his throne is in Heaven and His feet, this is where they touch the Earth. Is that the Atonement Cover the lid on the Ark of the Covenant? This is where God dwells. Isn’t that what he says in verse 22 there above the cover between the two cherubim I will meet with you. This is where I will speak to you. So you put these two together, and you kind of see that God is right there in the middle of the camp. And yet we can’t come to God without a mediator, without a sacrifice. There needs to be blood splashed right where we’re going to meet with him. In fact, there are angels there and these cherub and the first time we met a cherub in Scripture, he’s got a flaming sword making sure that they don’t come back into the Garden of Eden. So all of this would remind Israel like God is in our midst, but we have limited access to him, which would leave us hungering for more. Wouldn’t it to think like we’re so close I can’t go in, only one guy gets to go in, and only one day out of the year leaves us longing to draw closer. Next though, we get the table. So let me read a little bit more. Read 2324 and 30 make a table of acacia wood, two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure gold and make it. Make a gold molding around it. Put the bread of the presence on this table to be before me at all times. So the most important part of the table is verse 30. What is on the table? The bread of the presence. We learn later in Leviticus that there are 12 loaves that are always to be there. These represent the 12 Tribes of Israel, and that the priests then are actually supposed to eat the bread weekly. This is really significant, because that means the bread is not a gift that Israel is offering to God, as if God needed us to feed him, God needs nothing from us whatsoever. No, this is actually a symbol of God’s provision for us, which is why the priests eat it on behalf of the people, on behalf of the 12 Tribes. So we have this opulent table with food on it. It’s as if it’s just screaming. The King is here, and he is bringing his people his bounty, which he shares with us. Then we have a lamp stand. We read verses 31 and then 37 to 40 make a lamp stand of pure gold, hammer out its base and shaft and make its flower like cups buds and blots. Blossoms of one piece with them, then make it seven lamps and set them up on it so that they light the space in front of it. Its wick. Trimmers and trays are to be of pure gold. A talent of pure gold is to be used for the lamp stand and all these accessories. See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain. So a talent, in case you don’t know what that is, means that this is made from about seven from about 75 pounds worth of gold. This is not your grandma’s Lampstand that you can find in a second hand shop or something like that. Now, if you’re picturing a menorah as you picture this lampstand, that’s probably right. Certainly that’s how it comes down to us, at least. But it’s got all these branches coming out, and they’ve got little cups on them, so it looks like a tree, and even more so, because these cups are like almond buds. Now a tree would symbolize life, like the tree of life, and the almond buds would help that along, because they’re the first to blossom in the spring. It would be like the Cheryl or the Magnolia for us. So we’ve got light and life brought together, which makes sense, they’re connected. You know, creation, for example, let there be light, and then God creates life. Here’s Psalm 36 verse nine, for with you is the fountain of life in your light, we see light. And so those are the two ideas that the lamp stand are communicating. It’s communicating, but God’s presence too. Of course, the light is on and light is always on, because God is always home. You turn off the lights when you leave. I’m speaking here as a father. You know, if you’re a dad, about 87% of your job, it’s in Scripture, is to make sure that your kids turn the lights off and sometimes your wife when you leave. Now that’s in the temperate months. In winter, you also have to make sure the door is closed, because we’re not here to heat the whole neighborhood, right? Someone say, Amen, okay, but yeah, what? That was a very low Amen, not a lot of high pitched and that’s weird, but that’s the idea here. You don’t ever have to turn the lights off, because God is always there. We know that. In fact, we saw that in Revelation when we did revelation this spring. If a church abandons God, then God removes the lampstand from in their midst, because it means God has left the building. And so it’s not happening here, at least. Now, what’s really interesting in all of this is that we get the furniture before we get the place to put the furniture. The furniture precedes the tent. That’s not how this normally works. You don’t usually buy your couches, your coffee table, the king bed and stuff and go all right now that we’ve got this, we should find a place to live, and yet that’s what we’re given here. Why? Because the tent serves the furniture. The furniture is the most important part. But now we can move on to the tent. Chapter 26 I’m going to be all over the place, but we’ll start in verse one, at least. Here you go, the tent. Make the tabernacle with 10 curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn with cherubim woven into them by a skilled worker. Here’s verse seven, make curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle. 11, all together, down to verse 14, make for the tent a covering of RAM skins dyed red, and over that a covering of the other durable leather. Make upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle. 26 also make cross bars of acacia wood five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle and on from there and then. Verses 30 to 36 set up the tabernacle according to the plan shown you on the mountain. Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen with cherubim woven into it by a skilled worker. Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases. Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the Ark of the Covenant law behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the holy place from the Most Holy Place. Put the Atonement Cover on the Ark of the Covenant law in the Most Holy Place. Place the table outside the curtain on the north side of the tabernacle and put the lamp stand opposite it on the south side the entrance to the tent. Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen. The work of an embroiderer will stop there. So you get the idea here. We have a lot of curtains. We’ve got hooks to hang the curtains and then poles to put the hooks on. It’s this very complicated structure, and it is like a finely woven cloth, and then it’s covered by this leather kind of outer, basically rain roof at that point as well. Now, the point of all this, though, the curtains are to protect God’s people. So it is to keep them out of the holy place, the most holy place, yes, but to keep them out so that God’s wrath doesn’t break out against them. And we saw this last week, right? May the elders eat with God, and it says he did not raise his hand against them, which is what should happen when unholy people. Will come into the presence of a holy God. So here we’re just making sure that that doesn’t happen. In fact, the courtyard has this giant, high curtain fence around it as well. You don’t just accidentally walk in there. We get three separations here. So you’ve got the courtyard. But then you can see verse 36 it talks about the fact that there needs to be a door, basically, between the courtyard and the holy place, the tabernacle itself. And then verse 33 says there will be another curtain that separates the holy place from the most holy place. So you got all these barriers because you can’t just approach. You have to come to God on His terms, and you have to come with blood sacrifice. We have this huge emphasis on portability then as well. I mean, this is a tent again, even if you call it a tabernacle, doesn’t change the fact that it’s a tent. And the nice thing about tents is you can take them camping, so you can move them around. And that’s what’s happening here as well. God is on the move. It reminds us two things. Number one, God will go with his people as they move, and in fact, we’ll go all the way into the promised land with them. But more importantly, reminds us that we need to be ready to follow him like actually, he’s the one setting the direction. I don’t know that’s changed today, even though we don’t have a tent with us at this point. Now remember, God is restoring us to Eden so that we can dwell in His presence again. And so it’s not surprising that we get a lot of creation parallels in this story. In fact, in all these detailed instructions, not just our passage today, there are seven speaking acts, just like there are seven God said, Let there be light kind of moments in creation. So seven times we read the Lord said to Moses in this whole long section, and then in both cases, we’re talking about where God would specially dwell with His people. Interestingly, both of them actually end with the Sabbath. We know that in creation, but we’ll see in two weeks. I think it’s two weeks that that’s we get Sabbath regulations at the end of all of this as well. Both cases, it’s followed by a fall. And because they’re worshiping something less than God. Adam and Eve are worshiping themselves, but of course, Israel is going to end up worshiping a golden cow. And then you’ve got the cherubim as well, the one with the flaming sword, keeping them out of Eden. And then here, over the Atonement Cover, only this time the cherubim aren’t guarding the entrance, but welcoming sinners. You can splash the blood here so that you can come back in God’s plan is unfolding. All right. Next section, let’s look at the courtyard. Chapter 27 I’m gonna read verses one to nine. Then I’ll drop down a little bit. Build an altar of acacia wood, three cubits high. It is be square, five cubits long and five cubits wide. Make a horn at each of the four corners so that the horns and the altar are of one piece, and overlay the altar with bronze. Make all its utensils of bronze, its pots, remove the ashes and its shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and fire pans. Make a grating for it, a bronze network, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the network. Put it under the ledge of the altar so that it is halfway up the altar. Make poles of acacia wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze. The poles are to be inserted into the ring so they will be on two sides of the altar when it is carried. Make the altar hollow out of boards. Is to be made just as you were shown on the mountain. Make a courtyard for the Tabernacle. The South Side shall be 100 cubits, long as to have curtains of finely twisted linen, we get some more instructions from there and then I’ll drop down to the oil. In verses 20 and 21 command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light, so that the lamps may be kept burning in the tent of meeting outside the curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant. Law Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps burning before the Lord from evening till morning. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for the generations to come. So we have this courtyard where all Israel may enter. This isn’t like the most holy place, where only the high priest can go in, anyone can enter, but it is still set apart from the camp. Again, it’s got this fence around it. In fact, the curtains look like the curtains of the tent. Why? Again, it’s to make sure that you don’t inadvertently bring something unclean into God’s holy place, which would be a bad idea. This isn’t like, you know, the kids are playing soccer outside. The ball goes over and they just hop the fence to get the ball back or something like that. So there’s this big separation, again, tall offense materials that are used are similar to the tabernacle, and so even just seeing it from the outside would prepare you for glory. You’d just be able to see, even looking at the fence, His holiness, His royalty, his worth. But if you were to go into the courtyard. Here, the first thing you would notice definitely is the first thing, first thing that’s described here, which is this giant bronze altar, about seven and a half feet square, about four and a half feet high. It’s mentioned first because it’s more important than the space that it’s in. Again, it’s this visual aid God wants to dwell with with us. He wants to dwell with His people. That’s why we get the oil described here. Remember, he’s home. We got a light on for him. He wants to dwell with us, but we cannot enter his presence except by sacrifice. That’s why the altar is there. We’ve read it a couple times in Hebrews right, without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness. And here’s where you shed the blood. Cannot enter his presence except by blood. And so the massive size of this altar would almost be a symbol of the massive gap between us and God, the reminder communion comes by sacrifice only. We can’t close that gap by effort. So you can see in all of this, like everything we’ve done so far in chapters 25 to 27 that there’s this tension. Isn’t there because God wants to dwell with His people. His whole purpose is that he dwells with Israel, right there in their midst. But it isn’t easy. It shouldn’t work because of sin, because of who else is there in the camp. How can a holy God dwell with sinful people? And all this visual aid that we’ve been given is showing us just how difficult it is. When I started by talking about how much kids want dad home, which is true, unless, right, like they’re happy when I come home, unless one of them is in timeout. And there’s that whole, when your dad gets home, he’s going to talk to you, and that, that’s the tension we have here, like I want to dwell with dad, but also I deserve punishment. And all of that’s pointing forward. So this is the, the last section. We’re talking about the tabernacle, kind of just as a whole, but we’re just, we’re going through the rest of the Bible now, okay, you thought three chapters was a lot. We got 864 to go. Why? Here’s why. John Owen, the great Puritan theologian, he says this, everything Moses did in erecting the tabernacle and instituting all its services was intended to testify to the person and glory of Christ, which would later be revealed everything we’ve studied so far in 25 to 27 is just getting us ready for Christmas. That’s what this is all about. Why I read it for us last week. But here it is again. John 114 we’re talking about the word, right? The word who was with God and who was God in the beginning, that word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. Made his dwelling. It’s the same word, right? It’s the same idea. We could say, Jesus pitched his tent among us. Jesus tabernacled among us. We learn later on in the gospels that Jesus is, in fact, himself, the tabernacle. He is the temple. He says, Destroy this temple, and in three days I’ll build it up again. Jesus is that place where God and His people can meet, which means we learn a lot about what this is saying. God rescued us out of slavery, not in Egypt, but out of slavery to sin, so that, right, here’s the purpose, right, so that he might dwell among us, and His plan is still unfolding. So let’s look at the different elements and see how they point to Jesus, the ark. First of all, look, the ark was not meant to be there forever, which is good, because it wasn’t there forever. It got taken pretty early on, probably when Egypt plundered Jerusalem. It was lost. But the prophet Jeremiah says this, Jeremiah 316, to 17 people will no longer say the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. It will never enter their minds or be remembered. It will not be missed. That’s a remarkable statement. This is where atonement happened. This is how their sins were forgiven. And Jeremiah says we’re not even going to miss it any longer, nor will another one be made at that time. They will call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the Lord. Well, isn’t that interesting? The Ark is not going to be his throne, but a city with the name Jerusalem, is going to be his throne. And not just Jews, but people from all nations, like every tribe and language and nation and people we might want to say. Are going to come together and worship him there. I’ve read that before. That’s how the story ends. That’s revelation 21 and 22 which we’ll actually look at in a moment. Well, how, though, how can all of these people stream into Jerusalem to worship the Lord when we’re sinners? Why? Well, because Jesus is the ark. You see this Romans chapter three. If you’ve been in Journey groups for a little while, you’ve memorized this before. It says God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement. That phrase, sacrifice of atonement is used the word that’s behind that is used just one time in the New Testament, but it’s the word that’s used to translate Atonement Cover in the Old Testament. This is the lit this is the place where the blood is splashed. In other words, Jesus Christ is the place of atonement where we receive Christ shed blood through faith and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ, Jesus. So Jesus is all at once the atoning sacrifice, the shed blood and the Atonement Cover. It’s all pointing to him. He’s even a better Ark, if you think about it. So the Ark is at one point taken captive by a foreign army, the Philistines, right? They steal it as punishment. God’s punishing his people because of the wicked priests at that time, Eli’s sons, and so it looks like defeat. I mean, the place where God puts his feet just got stolen by the Philistines. They put it in the temple of their false god as like a trinket, like an offering to Him, except what happens Dagon falls on his face in front of the Ark of the Covenant, and his head and his hands break off. So what looked like defeat was actually victory. Does that remind you of anyone, somebody who was taken captive by a foreign army, not because of his sins, but because of the sins of His people, and was put in the grave, and what looked like defeat, but it turns out, was actually total victory. Jesus is the better Ark. He’s also the better table, isn’t he, because he’s the ultimate provision of God. In fact, Jesus got up in front of the crowds and said, I am the bread of life, the bread of the presence. I am what you eat. I am how God provides for you. I am given to sustain you. And he is the lampstand, because he also calls himself the light of the world. In him was life. John tells us, John one, verse four, In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. Isn’t that interesting? Life and light brought together? He is the lampstand. That’s why we sing at Christmas time and will, in just a moment, if I ever stop preaching light and life to all he brings. And he calls himself the resurrection and the life. Why? Because to know him is to live. We’ve already seen that he’s the tent because he made his dwelling among us, but he also ensures that God’s presence is portable in the New Covenant too. Wherever we go, God goes with us because He sent His Spirit to dwell within us. Romans, 89 the Spirit of God lives in you. Jesus is, of course, the altar, the priest and the sacrifice in the courtyard. He is the source of our salvation and the grace by which we are made clean to enter. And by the way, we enter all the way in. Because do you remember what happened when they crucified Jesus? The curtain was torn in two, the veil was torn in two, so we can go all the way in to the most holy place. There is no longer separation between God and us. We can all enter in, because we are all cleansed by his blood. And I do mean all of us. Paul tells us in Ephesians, two, verse 18, for through Him, through Jesus Christ, Jews and Gentiles, all who believe in Jesus have access to the Father by one Spirit. So Jesus brings us back to Eden. He restores and consummates God’s perfect plan he has dealt with the wrath, which means there is no more need for the cherubim to keep us out. They’re not barring the entrance. They are waving us in welcome, welcoming us back in because the blood has been applied. And how does it all end? I hinted at this already revelation. 21 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Look, God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. Isn’t it interesting even here, it’s not that we go to heaven to be with God, but God brings heaven. Down to Earth and dwells with us in our midst. Again, this stuff ain’t boring, is it? Some of you get your this part in your Bible reading plan, you’re like, oh so tedious. Not tedious. It’s the glory of Jesus Christ, just in some detailed instructions. And if you were to read, keep reading. I’m not going to because I’m going long already, 36 to 38 we would get all of this information again, just in case you missed it. Now it’d be in a different order, because there must be the order of construction instead of the order of importance, but the exact same information. Why? Because the point there is, they did it all according to God’s plan, they followed his instructions. That’s good news. But here’s the better news, God did it all according to God’s plan, because this was the plan from the beginning to climax in Christ. Here’s your big idea. It should be so obvious, in light of all we’ve talked about, it’s joy. Okay? Rejoice. Rejoice. Because Jesus is the tabernacle, not just the tabernacle, but every part of it. He’s the ark, he’s the sacrifice, he’s the priest, he’s the life, he’s the light, he’s the bread. Because Jesus is the tabernacle, we can dwell with God forever. Rejoice. God made a way for you to live with him rejoice, but also respond. So what do we do in light of this? How do we respond in light of news this good? I can think of two things in particular. First of all, we would respond by coming into His presence regularly. How could we not? There are no more curtains. There are no more cherubim guarding the entrance. There’s no more terror at the possibility of wrath. So Well, I’ll just quote Hebrews, because he says what I want to say, Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. You’ve heard that passage many times before. I want you to hear it today as if you were an Israelite dwelling in the camp, like what would they have thought about news this good? What do you mean? I just approach his throne. I’m not allowed to go into the throne. I can’t approach his throne of grace and to do it without washing, without sacrifice, without blood, no priest to take me in, no because Jesus took care of all of that already. So what can we do with love and grace like that, but go and meet with God, the God who wants to be with us. I mean, just consider the cost of prayer, and let that be a spur to you to spend more time and fellowship with our gracious God. It’s like one of the happiest moments of the week for my boys, at least, because they’re still little, they don’t know what day it is ever is when I come downstairs in the morning and I have my slippers on and not a bag on my shoulder, and they go, Oh, Dad’s home today. He’s not going anywhere today. That’s what we get to feel all day, every day he’s home. I can talk to him whenever I want to. I mean, look, we’re coming up on the new year. Maybe this is a time to make some new year’s resolutions about what you want your prayer life to look like in light of this second, though. So we come into His presence regularly, yes, but we also invite others to come into His presence too. There is a missional imperative in all of this, because all of this is for the nations, the nations, right? I mean, what does Jesus say? He says, I’m the light of the world, right? I’m the lampstand. And then he says, Oh, by the way, if you believe in me, you are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house in the same way, let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. We are God’s lamp stand in the world. That’s why, in Revelation, the seven lamp stands are the seven churches that are there in Asia, minor we have the words of life, so let’s speak them. And as Jake already told us, what better time than Christmas to speak words like these, like let’s make the invitation so people can come and hear why Jesus Christ came into the world. Grab a book, make an invitation to the service, share the Gospel. King David, in one of the Psalms, asks the big question the tension that we felt throughout this passage. Psalm 15 Lord Who may dwell in your sacred tent, who may live on your holy mountain. And then he answers it for us. The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, goes on the rest of the Psalm, you could keep reading it, the one who you know never tells a lie, never slanders anyone, doesn’t accept a bribe, just it’s somebody who always does what’s right, no matter what, in every circumstance, not just their behavior, but their thoughts and their desires as well. So this is actually not good news. Is it that rules all of us out Who may dwell in God’s sacred tent? Nobody, unless someone whose walk is blameless, who is righteous, dies in our place, so we can enter in his and that’s the point, because of what Jesus did, the way is open, sinners can approach a holy God through faith in Jesus Christ, even today. I mean, maybe you’re here because you had a kid or a grand kid singing in choir, and not because you love Jesus. Not yet. Anyway, let today be the day where you come on in. All you got to do is confess that you have done wrong before a holy God, plead Christ’s blood, shed on that heavenly atonement, cover and then come on in. Come on in. All the way rejoicing because Jesus is the tabernacle we can dwell with God forever, starting right now. Let’s pray, Lord, we boldly approach your throne of grace right into the most holy place, speaking to you, face to face, as it were, and yet keenly aware that we should not be here. We have no merit of our own to plead. We have not earned this privilege. We could not earn this privilege. What we have earned is destruction, damnation, exile. We should be kicked out of the camp, never mind the most holy place. And yet here we can be because of your son, who made his dwelling among us, who came into the world to save sinners, of whom we are, some of the worst. That is such good news, Lord, and we rejoice in it even now. We only pray that by your Spirit who dwells within us, that you would help us to respond to that truth as well, in prayer, in study, in evangelicalism and Lord be drawing the hearts of those who have not entered in yet so that they see and believe and come on in. We ask for your name’s sake, amen.

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PODCASTThe Angel, the Blood, and the Glory

December 7, 2025 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper discusses Exodus 23-24, emphasizing the importance of obedience and commitment to God. He highlights the covenant ratification, where God promises blessings and victory if Israel obeys. The angel sent ahead is described as a messenger or pre-incarnate Christ, guiding Israel into the Promised Land. The blood sacrifice symbolizes atonement and consecration, with Moses sprinkling blood on the people. The glory of God’s presence is witnessed by the elders, underscoring the importance of faith and obedience. Cooper draws parallels to Jesus, emphasizing grace, atonement, and the invitation to worship and live in God’s presence.

Good morning church. Go ahead. Grab your Bibles, open up to Exodus 23. Exodus 23. We’ll be starting in verse 20, this morning, Exodus 23:20. As you’re turning there, on wintry days like today, I find myself dreaming about the beach. Perhaps some of you do as well. Sun sounds amazing, surf smiles, all of that. For us, the beach is really a once a year thing. For us, we go blueberry picking, kind of along the Michigan border, and then hit Indiana Dunes beach. There great time. Every time we go, you know, the sun, the surf smiles, it’s all real. But every time we go, we recognize the danger as well, and so we first thing we do before we get in the water, I go back with the girls, at least, because they’re the ones who are actually swimming to kind of, what do you do if there’s a riptide, and what do you do if you start to get pulled out? We just go over that, you know, emergency situation, kind of every time, I think the same danger that’s at the beach is true for us spiritually as well. Like As believers, we can’t just go with the flow cultural currents and our own sinful tendencies will drag us away, and we’re very quickly find ourselves, you know, lost at sea. We need to be intentionally committed, in other words, uncompromising when it comes to following Jesus. And that’s the lesson we’re going to learn as we look at our passage this morning. What’s happening here, in our in our story, is we actually get the ratification of the covenant. So we’ve been reading the covenant the last few chapters, the book of the covenant, and now we’re ready for everyone to kind of agree to it. And so we get some new promises and the reminder that it is all of grace. Yes, everything that happens is happens because God’s grace is at work. But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t effort required on our part as well. And so my hope for us as we go through the passage this morning is that all of us who are wishing that we were different done with this sin or that sin, or whatever, which I assume is all of us, so that all of us who are wishing we were different would understand the promise and process of change, but the requirements of change as well. So that’s where we’re going. As we’ve got these three scenes this morning, the angel, the blood and the glory, sounds like a spaghetti western. It is not, but here we go. So let’s start with the angel, his victory, our obedience in chapter 23 beginning in verse 20 through the end of the chapter, they read it for us. See I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him. He will not forgive your rebellion, since my name is in him. If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies, and will oppose those who oppose you. My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out. Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces. Worship the Lord your God, and His blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full lifespan. I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the Hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land will become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you, little by little, I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land. I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out before you. Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. Do not let them live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you. So the first question I think we have as we read this is, who exactly is this angel that’s being sent before them? Now the word angel here in Hebrew can just mean messenger, so maybe it’s a messenger, maybe it’s an angel, whatever else it is, though, we’re pretty sure it’s not just any angel, because this angel speaks for God, and actually God’s name is in him, and then the Israelites are actually to obey and follow Him. And then, maybe most tellingly. See this angel can actually forgive or not forgive sins. We saw this in our series this summer. Matthew, chapter nine, who can forgive, but God alone. So it seems to be some manifestation of God Himself. We’ve seen this before at the burning bush. It was the same thing. It was the angel of the Lord in the burning bush, and yet it was the Lord who was speaking. So we’re dealing with some special manifestation of God’s presence, but mediated in such a way that he can interact with people, which is difficult, as we’ll see even later in this text. So could be the pre Incarnate Christ. I think that’s a good bet. Actually says, Be the second member of the Trinity God’s Son, before he comes to earth and takes on human flesh, what we celebrate at this time of year. But even if it’s not Jesus, specifically, it would still point to Jesus, because Jesus, we know, is the one who can forgive sins, who reveals God and speaks for him, who doesn’t just go with us on the way, but who is himself the way, who doesn’t just reveal truth, but is himself truth. But more important than the precise identification of the angel is what this angel does. He goes before Israel to guard them as they enter the promised land. And you think of what a source of comfort that would be. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried anything new, it’s always really helpful when you’ve got somebody who’s done it before they’re with you, like an expert who’s got the wisdom or whatnot, like if you’re doing a, you know, plumbing project, first time ever YouTube tutorial. Okay, that’s something. It’s a little different to have a master plumber there next to you going, No, you’re gonna want to do the you’re gonna want to shut off the water before you disconnect the pipe. It’s gonna be helpful. So that’s the comfort that Israel would have with the presence of the Lord there with them, and then they’re given these tremendous promises, if they obey God, will give them the victory. Now it is true that Israel is going to be the one doing the fighting. Think of Joshua fighting the battle of Jericho, for example. We’re no longer at that Exodus 14 moment of the Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still like now there is this effort that will be required of them. But even though Israel fights, look at verse 23 It is God who will wipe them out. So we are talking about God’s victory from beginning to end, and he even sends his terror or a few verses later, it’s called his Hornet ahead of them. What exactly does that mean? Well, you know what happens you ever been around like a group of kids eating outside, and a hornet shows up the kids, and usually most of the adults as well start to kind of run around, right, like frantically and whatnot. That’s what will happen when Israel gets into Canaan. The people of Canaan will be scared and confused and, as a result, scattered, but all of this is contingent on Israel’s obedience. In fact, if you were to add up the verses here, I think there’s as much emphasis on obedience as there is on the promised blessings that will follow obedience. They’re actually linked even there’s this little pun that’s there in the Hebrew, but obscured in the English in verse 20 when it says he’s going to send his angel to guard them. And then verse 21 it says, pay attention to him. Those are actually the same word. Think the only way it would work in English is if we went with keep for example. So I’m sending an angel to keep you like keep you safe, if you keep my commands. So they go together, but if they keep his commands, God promises great blessing. He’s going to bring them into the Promised Land, and he’s going to give them what they need in order to flourish there. What would you need if you were in a new land? Well, food and water would be a good start. Ideally, some good health, because you’re going to need to do things, you’re going to need to build, you’re going to need to plant all that kind of stuff and growing families to actually fill the land. That’s everything that is promised in verses 25 and 26 these specific promises given to this specific people in this specific place and time. Now it’s not mentioned here, although it is elsewhere in Exodus and Deuteronomy, the second giving the Covenant as well, that disobedience, of course, would bring the opposite instead of coming into God’s land, they will be kicked out of God’s land. They will be sent into exile like Adam and Eve being kicked out of the Garden of Eden. You can’t live in God’s place if you’re not willing to act like God’s people. In other words, which is important because obedience. Is not a prerequisite for entering into relationship with God. We talk about that a lot. It’s by grace alone, through faith alone, you don’t obey in order to get into the relationship. You get into the relationship by grace, and then you start obeying, but you do actually need to start obeying. Obedience is not a prerequisite for entering into relationship with God, but it is an essential requirement for maintaining that relationship with God. It’s an imperfect analogy, for sure, all analogies are but this one especially so, but it would be a little bit like rescuing a dog from an animal shelter. Imagine some of you have even done and you do not get the dog, because this dog is lovely. My sister actually volunteers in animal shelter. She put some pictures up on Facebook just this week of a dog that had come into the shelter, not a lovely dog, like needed a lot of help, for sure, and yet, somebody’s going to take this dog home, right, choosing to love the dog before the dog is lovely, but there is an expectation for how the dog behaves, still, like, there’s allowances, there’s grace, we know isn’t dogs probably need to be trained. What not? If that dog just keeps biting your kids every day, a month, two months, six months a year, at a certain point that dogs not in the family anymore, back, that dog is probably not around anymore, right? And so that’s the similar sort of idea here. We’re chosen by grace, but there is the expectation of obedience. So if obedience is this important, then what exactly is God asking us to do? And the clear focus in our passage here is on our exclusive commitment to God, which is why marriage is so often used as an illustration of this covenant relationship, and what is part of the vow that we make in a wedding ceremony, forsaking all others, I will be husband to you, forsaking all others. That’s it. On a marriage ceremony, you’re saying no more women in my life. I got one and one only for the rest of my life. That’s what God expects of us as well. Forsaking all other gods, I belong to God and God alone. It is a single minded, whole hearted devotion. You shall have no other gods before me. But that means they can’t just go with the flow in their new land, because there are lots of gods in this land already, lots of idols, a lot of places for idol worship already there, and they’re told they must demolish them. What an important word for us today, by the way, because we live in a land of many gods, and we also live in a culture that tempts us to a sort of do it yourself. Spirituality, like, just choose what you want. Like, you’re ordering a combo meal at Arby’s or something. Like, I want the roast beef, sure, but you know what I’m going with the curly fries instead of the regular bike. So I yeah, I want grace, absolutely. But don’t give me any of this law nonsense. Is there’s something else I could do, like potato wedges. Like that’s what I want here, especially when we consider that our culture is a culture of expressive individualism, the sovereign self I get to decide for my life, which means I get to decide what sort of God I’m going to worship and what sort of obedience I will offer him. Except that that’s not true, and that’s the point that’s being said here. There’s one God and one God only. This is a danger. Even in the church, a lot of that just felt like, right? You’re talking about the people out there, but I’m talking about us also, because if we just go with the flow culturally, a lot of us are going to end up adopting a Jesus plus mentality like Jesus Absolutely you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t at least interested in Jesus. But I would like to worship Jesus and Jesus plus money and the comfort that it provides, the security that it offers Jesus plus power or achievement or approval Jesus plus pleasure. That’s why God says, Here, look, you can’t make treaties with foreign gods, with false gods. God calls us to a hard but loving exclusivity, because God, the One True God, the God who is there, knows that these false gods are false lovers who will destroy us. No one ever got saved worshiping money. That’s why he’s jealous. He’s jealous like a husband ought to be jealous for his marriage, but he’s jealous for our sake, because what’s best for us is that we would be wholeheartedly devoted to him. So like, take a moment open the door of your heart right now. Take a peek inside what idols are sitting on your heart’s mantle, and then get out the hammer and smash them. Like, take a hammer to the idols and if. You’re wondering what idols there are inside of you. Maybe the first place to look is when I asked you to open that door and you saw the idol on the mantle, which is the one that you grabbed really quickly, put on the floor and kicked under the sofa in the hopes that nobody would notice it there. Like, what’s the one that you’re unwilling to give up? There’s anything that you’re going I will worship you, Lord, I will give you anything except for this. That’s the first one that needs the hammer. Now notice that verses 29 and 30. So we’ve talked about the fact that God is promising total victory. He’s going to bring them into the land. He’s going to bless them in all these ways. So God promises total victory, but it is going to be a slow victory. God says he’s going to drive out the foreign nations little by little, so that the land doesn’t become desolate. They’re not ready to take over the whole country, and so they’re not going to take over the country all at once. Again, there is a lesson for us here. I mean, think about where Israel is. God has brought them out of slavery in Egypt, but he’s not yet brought them into the Promised Land. So they’re between Egypt and the promised land. That’s a parable for our spiritual lives, because God has brought us, if we belong to Christ, God has brought us out of our slavery to sin and death, but he has not yet brought us into glory. And so we live in that between time like we are the wilderness generation, which is why Paul especially keeps directing our attention back to the wilderness generation, First Corinthians, 10. I’ve quoted a number of times in this series already, because Paul’s looking at what happened in this time, and he’s saying, this is about you. This is about you. Remember, they were in the wilderness generation. They’re supposed to get rid of their idols. They didn’t. They fell. They all died in the wilderness because they didn’t do what God asked them to do. Now, these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things, as they did. So this text is for us because it gives us what we need to know for our sanctification, that process where God transforms us into Christ likeness, the people we are meant to be. What do we learn about our sanctification? I think three key truths in this passage. First of all, it is all of grace, like we remember that. So it is total victory, but it is total victory by grace alone. The victory is God’s and his alone, and that is important for our sanctification. Because I think a lot of us have this thought, like the gospel is how I get into relationship with Jesus. So you hear the gospel, the good news that Jesus died for your sins, and you think, okay, now my slate is wiped clean, and the rest is up to me. And so this passage is important for us to go, No, the rest is still all of grace, grace plus effort, absolutely, but grace. So it is total victory, but total gracious victory. Second truth we see here is that God rarely transforms us as quickly as we would like. How many of you feel that one so ready to be done with our sin? I remember reading a book somebody had overheard John Piper may make a comment, and, you know, back room of a conference at some point where he said, and this he was like, 75 at the time. I just thought I’d be more sanctified by now. This is a godly man saying this. So how many of the rest of us are like, yeah, no, no, I really thought I’d be more sanctified by now. I know I think that about eight times every day. I mean you, every one of you could right now, think of that sin struggle that you are so tired of, whether it’s something you’re doing that you wish you’d stop doing, or something you wish you’d start doing. I know I need to be better about this, and yet I’m not doing it. And here’s the thing, God could change you right now like that in an instant, and he chooses not to. Why have you asked yourself that most of us just blame ourselves, right? It’s on us. I get that. But no, the Lord chooses not to sanctify us instantly, for good practical reasons, just like we see here, well, the land will be desolate. Okay, there’s a practical reason. What about for us? One I see in myself. I think there are other reasons, but one I see in myself is that my ongoing struggle with sin reminds me that I need to depend on God daily, like I have a tendency towards self sufficiency, except I can’t do it here, and so I’m constantly having to plead for grace. I’m desperate for grace. That’s why God gives us total victory. Slowly. Me little by little, and then the third truth is kind of what do we do in the meantime? It’s all grace is going to be slow. What do we do? Then do we just go with the flow? No, no way. The third truth is no compromise. Right? No compromise. You take the hammer to your idols and put the knife to your sin. Now, what Paul says right? Put your sin to death by the Spirit. It is violent imagery. We wage war on our sin. We take great care lest we get entangled with the world and pulled out by that sinful Rip Tide. It’s like Psalm one verse one, right. Blessed is the one who does not walk in step step with wicked stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers. Right? Blessed is the one who goes, I am not getting dragged in that Riptide. Blessed is the one who doesn’t just go with the flow, but who has no compromise? Now, here’s the good news for us, we can have total confidence in God’s total victory over sin in our lives, total assurance because of Jesus, because of Jesus, because Jesus is the better than Moses leading us in a better Exodus. I mean, how does Mark introduce Jesus in the second verse of his gospel, he says this, I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way, a voice of one calling in the wilderness, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. It’s interesting. This is a quote from two Old Testament passages. Actually, one of them is from Malachi, one from Isaiah. But the quote from Malachi, I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way. That quote from Malachi is quoting Exodus 23 verse 20. Remember angel means messenger, same word, right? So he’s just quoting Exodus. So here we’re talking about that same angel and then in Isaiah, so we’re already in an exodus kind of mentality. Here the quote in Isaiah, when it says, Prepare the way, make straight paths for him, those straight paths are actually across the sea, except we’ll walk on dry land. What does that make you think of is it the Exodus? Probably the Exodus, right? The Red Sea, all that kind of stuff. So you see what we’re talking about. Jesus led us out, and Jesus will lead us in. We’ve been brought out of slavery to sin and death. He’s not going to fail us. He’s never failed. He will bring us into the promised glory. In fact, the resurrection is the guarantee, right? It’s the deposit, it’s the down payment. What God did for Jesus, He will do for all of us who trust in Jesus. And the best of it is that, just like the promise that we get here, Jesus goes with us. I will be with you even to the end of the age. He tells his disciples, and He puts His Spirit within us so that he always accompanies us. That’s all we need, and all we need to know to have assurance, confidence and absolute devotion, no compromise, his victory, our obedience. Second scene, the blood, his sacrifice, our atonement. Chapter 24 verses one to eight, I will read for us. And the Lord said to Moses, come up to the Lord you and Aaron Nadab and Abihu and 70 the elders of Israel, you are to worship at a distance. But Moses alone is to approach the Lord. The others must not come near, and the people may not come up with him. When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, everything the Lord has said, we will do. Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. Set up 12 stone pillars representing the 12 tribes of Israel. Then he sent young Israelite men, they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bowls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls. The other half He splashed against the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant and read it to the people. They responded, We will do everything the Lord has said. We will obey. Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, This is the blood of the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words. So we are now ready to confirm the covenant everything that we’ve gotten in chapters 20 to 23 so what we’ve done the last few weeks, in fact, we’re all of a sudden, brought back to where we left off the story way back in 2022 that was the last time we read the phrase The Lord said to Moses. So everything we’ve gotten between then and now is the Lord saying to Moses, well now all of a sudden, we actually get the story again. It resumes. Remember, God spoke the 10 Commandments to everyone. The cloud is there, right? It’s like a volcano, kind of feel happening, and the people are terrified, and they say, Moses, why didn’t you go up and get the rest of it? And that’s what happens. Moses gets the detailed instructions from chapter 21 to 23 now Moses shares those with the people they agree to obey in verse three. Then Moses writes it all down. Obviously, we just read it. And he reads it to the people again. So he tells them, writes it down, reads it, so he tells them again. And then they obey, or they agree to obey again. And you think to yourself, why twice? Why twice? And I think the first time was kind of, they’re like understanding, almost like a declaration of intent. And then the second time was the real ratification, like the vow. It’s actually exactly what we do in wedding ceremonies, again, because you have the declaration of intent. First of all, do you take this woman to be your wife? And you go, I do. And then the pastor comes back around and you say, repeat after me. I take you to be my wife. So we go through it two times, the declaration of intent and then the actual vow. And that’s what the people have done here as well. They have total understanding of what they are agreeing to, and it’s this beautiful scene only we know they don’t really mean it, do they? Because we’re going to get some detailed instructions here again, and then the next story we get, they’re going to be worshiping a golden calf. So yeah, maybe didn’t agree to everything, or at least didn’t mean it when they agreed to everything. They just fall headlong into idolatry. And so that makes what happens next all the more poignant, knowing what we know about what’s about to happen, because they offer a sacrifice. And so there is this shedding and sprinkling of blood. We actually get two offerings. There’s the burnt offering and the fellowship offering. The burnt offering, you put the whole animal on the altar, and it is burned up entirely Leviticus. One tells us that that burnt offering is to make atonement. The word there in Hebrew means to to wipe clean or to cover over. So we have dealt with the problem of our sin and God’s wrath, his righteous anger at our sin and rebellion. They also offer a fellowship offering a fellowship offering not everything is burned. That’s actually why there’s blood, because they slit the throat, drain the blood out, and then offer part of the animal on the altar, and the rest of it, they actually roast and eat together to have fellowship at that point. But so There’s blood here, and what happens with that blood? Half of it is splashed on the altar. Again, that’s the the symbol of our atonement. But the other half is half is kept in bowls, and then is sprinkled on the people, maybe on the 70 elders that will meet in the next scene, maybe on the 12 pillars, which clearly represent the people. But it is somehow sprinkled, at least representatively on the entire nation. Why? Why do they get sprinkled with blood? I mean, cleansing, no doubt, is part of it, like I’ve been washed in the blood. That’s the kind of thing Christians say. That confuses the world, for sure, but that idea, but it’s not just cleansing, it’s also consecration. Consecration, because where we really see people getting sprinkled with blood in Exodus, we’ll see it in a couple of weeks, is with the priests, and they get blood like put on all different parts of themselves. Why? Because they’re being set apart for special service. And so here the whole nation has been set apart to be holy. It’s been set apart for special service, and has been set apart, of course, for obedience. Now, you’ve been here for a while. I don’t need to tell you that this is all about Jesus, right? But I’m going to tell you anyway, because we can’t hear it too many times. I mean, we talked about this even just last week, right when I read from Hebrews chapter nine, as we were looking at the sacrifice Jesus’s blood, the blood of the spotless sacrifice, is actually splashed on the heavenly altar, not the earthly copy, to deal with our first and primary need, which is to propitiate God’s wrath, propitiation, not a word We use in common discourse and stuff, but it means to appease or satisfy someone’s anger, you break somebody’s something or whatever, you know you’re going to have to buy a new one for them, and then they’ll stop being mad at you like that’s propitiation in a nutshell. So this propitiates God’s wrath, and therefore makes a way for us to be in fellowship with Him. Elsewhere in Hebrews, it says, without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness. So if blood isn’t shed, there’s no hope of forgiveness. So we are so grateful then that Jesus said, Matthew 26 verse 28 This is my blood of. A covenant which is poured out, splashed, shed for many, for the forgiveness of sin. But do we get sprinkled? Do we get consecrated? Yes, of course, we do. Isaiah even talks about this. Isaiah, 5215, says messiah will sprinkle many nations. Now it doesn’t say blood specifically. Maybe it’s water. That certainly happens. That’s what baptism is, absolutely but we are not just cleansed. We are consecrated. We’ve been talking about in the last few weeks. We are set apart for service. Remember, in Exodus 19, it said that the whole nation was to be a kingdom of priests. And then Peter says, By the way, that’s the church. We are to be a kingdom of priests. If you’re in Journey group, you’ve been memorizing Ephesians four in the last couple of weeks. Ephesians 412 right? God Christ Himself gave the leaders of the church, like the elders that we’re going to see in the next section. He gave the leaders of the church. Why? To equip God’s people for works of service. You have been set apart for service, which is why we’ve been talking recently about the need to own the mission. For you personally, to own the mission, it’s not something the church does for you. Just volunteer and it no you get up and go, God has sent you into the world to be his priest, to speak for God to the people. So what does that look like for you? I mean, this Christmas season is a great time to think about, how am I reaching the people around me? Is there an invitation I can make? Is there some part of my story that I can share her better still, some part of God’s story that I can share? We just offer a final word before we get to that last scene, to those who are still considering Christ, maybe even come in for a little bit. You’ve heard this maybe a couple of times. You understand at least what the Bible teaches about your sin and rebellion and the sacrifice that Jesus has offered for your sake. If that’s you, let me encourage you to be like Moses. Do you notice in the second half of verse four, it says he got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, like as soon as soon as God gives him the instructions, like he wakes up, he does not delay. And that’s the whole point. Don’t wait. Don’t delay. Like today, right now is a great moment to enter into fellowship with God, because your sin has been wiped away when you put your trust in Jesus, His sacrifice, his your atonement. You got any questions about that? You can come talk to me after the service. You could also just scan that QR code, go to the connection card. You can put down. I want to talk to a pastor. I want to know what it means to become a Christian. We’ll be happy to follow up with you. But third scene then the glory. The Glory his presence, our invitation. Let me read the rest of chapter 24 starting in verse nine, Moses and Aaron Nadab and Abihu and the 70 elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites. They saw God, and they ate and drank. The Lord said to Moses, come up to me on the mountain and stay here and I will give you the tablets of stone with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction. Then Moses set out with Joshua his aid, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. He said to the elders, wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and her are with you and anyone involved in a dispute and go to them. When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai for six days. The cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day, the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud, to the Israelites, the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. Then Moses entered the cloud as he went up on the mountain, and he stayed on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights, the experience that we see here really prepares us for the tabernacle, which is where we’re going next week. Let me just say this now so I don’t forget too we tell you what the passage is for next week so you can read it in advance. Please make sure you do that for next week, because we were covering like eight chapters. I’m not gonna read all of it. You can thank me later. Okay, but so you read all of it so that I can refer to it, and you’ll go, Yes, I know what you’re talking about. So we’re going to the tabernacle next week, but we already get this picture of the tabernacle, because we get these three groups, and they’re in kind of three different levels of the mountain. So you get the people, the whole nation, they’re there at the base of the mountain. And then you get the elders. They go halfway up the mountain, and then Moses and Joshua, but Moses in particular goes all the way to the top of the mountain. So these three levels are almost three levels of holiness, or closeness to God. It looks like the tabernacle the people. Are kind of in the courtyard, and then the elders go into the holy place, and it’s only Moses, who’s kind of functioning like the high priest, who goes into the most holy place, the Holy of Holies. But even the elders who are going into this holy place, they’re going to have a meal with God. I mean, they’re going to experience table fellowship with God Almighty. Think how they would feel like can you put yourself in their shoes for a moment? You ever had a meal with somebody famous? So I did recently, and it was awkward. Okay? So I sat down at a breakfast at the gospel coalition conference, and didn’t realize there were going to be famous people at the table. And so two very famous people sat down next to me, along with a couple other people, kind of on the other side of the table, not exactly near to us, but these two authors probably between the two of them. I read maybe 10 or 12 books by them, and so I’m thinking, well, this makes sense. You know, I’m their peer. I think there’s a good chance by the end of this meal, we’ll be best friends forever. Very much, my hope at that time. But I’m awkward, as you know, socially and leaned into the awkwardness here, just kind of sat doing nothing the whole time they were engaged in this very deep and philosophical conversation, and I thought, I am not their peer. This is good to know. Okay, so they’re talking all the time. I’m kind of waiting for them at some point to go and what’s your name? Never happened, by the way, until one of them sneezed, and I thought, here’s my chance. This is my opening, all right? And so I say, bless you and smile broadly. Not my strength, not my strength, right? Well, he didn’t hear me say, bless you, so instead, he just looks over and I’m grinning at him like an idiot. That’s what it’s like to have a meal with somebody who is better than you. So like, multiply that by infinite. And that’s got to be what it feels like for these people to eat with God Almighty, and yet, there they are, and we’ll talk about how significant that is as we go. But why are they having this meal? They’re having it to celebrate the ratification of the covenant. So this would be like two Prime Ministers sitting down after they signed the treaty for dinner like that’s what’s happening. In fact, they’re most likely eating the fellowship offering that just happened. So they’re having this meal with God. And most shocking of all, they actually see God, or at least see the soles of his feet and the heavenly pavement on which he stands, which is like lapis lazuli, like blue, like sky. It’s very similar to what Ezekiel and Amos see, and, of course, John and revelation, which we talked about this spring. So it’s God’s radiant glory, but like muted, mediated and ineffable. Because notice, it isn’t lapis lazuli. It’s just like it that’s kind of what Ezekiel says. He sees this vision of God, and he’s like it was something like the appearance of the glory of God. I’m four stages removed from being able to tell you exactly what it was like. It’s so ineffable, and they don’t dare raise their eyes, which is why they’re describing his feet. After all, they know you can’t see God and live. By the way, you know what book says that Exodus. So they’re nervous at this point. I’m guessing you can’t see God and live. And that’s why verse 11 is key. It says God did not raise his hand against them as he should have. I mean, these are unholy sinners. Just www, sterile bubble that we talked about a few weeks ago. Like, of course, His Holiness is going to break out against them, attack it like white blood cells and infection, except grace. And so they’re there by invitation and by invitation only. So apparently they stopped halfway up the mountain because God calls Moses to keep climbing again into the most holy place, and there the glory of the Lord settles on the top of the mountain. That’s a really important word we’ll talk more about next week. This is not a brief appearance. The way that word is often translated is, dwells the glory of the Lord dwelt on the top of the mountain with Moses, with his people again, getting us ready for what’s coming when we build the dwelling place for the Lord. So it gets us ready for what’s coming. Really, all of this is get us getting us ready for what’s coming, not just in the next few chapters, but in the rest of redemptive history. Because as exciting as all of this is, and this is an exciting moment. It’s just a preview of what’s coming later. It is all pointing forward to Jesus. Of course, it is God’s glory dwelling with his people. You mean like John 114 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. Yes, and we have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only Son who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Or what about John 118 just a few verses later, no one has ever seen God but the one and only son, who is Himself God, and who is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. Right? There’s the manifestation of God’s glory, so that we can actually see God and live, which is why John later, Jesus says to the disciples, John 14, verse nine, anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. But how can we see God and live? And the answer is only by grace. Like I actually skipped over the tension in this text. Some of you have been bothered by this this whole time. I know the questions which been there in the back of your mind, Exodus. 2321 pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him. He will not forgive your rebellion. And you’re all sitting there going, No, but he did forgive their rebellion, and he does forgive our rebellion. The prophets were just enraptured by this truth. I mean, here’s Micah seven, who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance. You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us. You will tread our sins under foot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. How is that possible? How is it that God doesn’t raise his hand against us? It’s because he raised his hand against Jesus. Instead, the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we’re healed. Was his blood splashed on the heavenly altar. And did you notice the difference between Moses and Jesus? Moses, 24 Verse eight says, this is the blood of the covenant. Jesus, Matthew 2628 says, This is my blood of the covenant, not just the blood, but his blood. And when does Jesus say that when he’s having a meal with his people at the Last Supper, when he’s celebrating the Passover, the deliverance out of slavery, but then also celebrating the ratification of the New Covenant, he’s celebrating what will be his death in the morning, and Yet he’s celebrating it. That’s what we remember each week when we gather. I mean, think about it, Exodus 24 is basically just a worship service, isn’t it? You get a call to worship in verse one. Then there’s the reading of the word, a profession of faith and a commitment to obedience. And then there’s a covenant meal, what we would call communion, the Lord’s Supper only. It’s better what we do each week than Sinai, because it’s not just the elders and Moses that get to go in. We all get to go in together to see God in the face of Jesus Christ by His blood. But remember, this is by invitation only. Yeah, exactly. How does the Bible end the Spirit and the bride? That’s the church that says, proclaiming the Spirit and the bride say, Come. Well, let the one who hears say, Come. Let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who wishes to take the free gift of the water of life. There it is. There’s your invitation. Come to me. All you who are weary and burdened, I will give you rest all who enter under the blood are welcome. Everyone is invited. Come and see come and live better still. Come and live with God, because that’s the end of the story. Jesus, God’s Messenger, leads us, guides us, guards us all the way home to the new creation, the new heavens and the new earth, where we all dwell at the top of a better than Sinai in the presence of the glory of God, forever, his victory, his blood, His glory, our invitation, our atonement, our faith manifesting in obedience, God has made a way for us to dwell with Him forever. So come on in. Let’s pray. Lord, we worship you because we know we shouldn’t be here and shouldn’t be allowed to worship you because we know that you should have raised your hand against us because of our sin and rebellion, and instead, you have made a way for us to dwell with you by the blood of your son who was struck down for our sins. Lord, may that reminder strengthen and encourage us, may it strengthen our faith and encourage us to go on obeying that there would be no compromise, as we see your total victory worked out little by little in our lives. May we be committed to seeing that happen, Lord, to make every effort to become. Christ, because we know that that is what you are working in us for the glory of your name. Amen.

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Breaking and Broken November 30, 2025 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper discusses the practical application of God’s laws as outlined in Exodus 21-23, emphasizing the importance of setting expectations and rules in community living. He highlights various laws, including those on work (indentured servitude, protections for female servants), life (capital punishment, lex talionis), property (restitution, protection of belongings), and religion (personal purity, social justice). Cooper underscores the need for grace and atonement, using Jesus’ sacrifice as the ultimate example of fulfilling the law and providing redemption. He encourages the congregation to live justly, compassionately, and with a gospel-centered perspective.

A good morning remnant of the church, I think I need to look at the camera and say good morning to those of you joining us online as well. Since about half of you aren’t here, it will not be the last snow we have this winter. Little bit of challenge to those you online. If Amazon can still deliver your packages in the snow. You can make it to church in the snow as well. Yeah, preaching to the choir here. Go ahead. Grab your Bibles. Open up to Exodus. You can actually open up to Exodus 21 we’re going to start in Exodus 21 as you’re turning there, what was your most difficult roommate situation? I think we got some options, right? Some of you on the younger side, you might think the only roommate I’ve ever had is a sibling, but that can be a real one. Of course, a sibling, you know, who makes too much noise when he goes to bed you’re already asleep and wakes you up, that kind of thing. Or maybe it’s a spouse who snores, that’s a possibility. I think, though for a lot of us, it would have been in our 20s. You know that college age? That’s when some of the tough ones show up, right? That was mine, anyway. So I had my first roommate in college was an aspiring sportscaster and kind of a weird dude Not gonna lie. Okay, and so he failed out of college after his first semester because he would stay up all night playing video games, which is not unusual. I know that happens a lot of guys, but he was announcing the video games as he was playing them in the middle of the night four feet from where I’m trying to sleep. So that was a difficult one for me. At least Living together is tough, is the point. And so if you’re living with people, you need rules. Probably need to set some expectations, and the more people you got, the more rules you need. And that’s what God gives us here in our lengthy passage this morning. So we’ve just gotten the 10 Commandments right. He brings his 10 words, which are these big principles for living. He takes these 10 Commandments and he brings them down to the level of the mundane like the daily. What does it look like practically for you to live out these principles, and what do you do when people don’t live them out like You shall not steal, okay, but somebody stole, so what happens now? What do we do? Does it matter the motivation? Does it matter? How much all these kinds of questions, how exactly do I love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and love my neighbor as myself, like show it to me practically. And I think what we’re going to see here, as we look at these varied laws, which are really like case laws, case studies, almost, we’re going to see is that trust in God, like, if we really believe in God, that should affect every area of our lives, how we live is going to look different every area of our lives. Our faith is going to work its way into every nook and cranny of our lives, like water filling every crevice in a basin. So we’re going to see laws about the household, work like finance and business, sex, animals, rest, property. There is no area where he is not Lord, including a lot of the areas, by the way that people fight about today, we’re going to see laws today about things like the death penalty, premarital sex, slavery, lawsuits, how to care for orphans and the poor. These are big issues, which is a good reminder, since these are still live issues for us today, that’s a good reminder, because we’re starting what is, for some people, the boring part of Exodus. Boring very much in scare quotes there actually, from here to the rest of the book, we’ve only got really one more story, and that’s the golden calf, which is a famous story. But the rest of it is going to be rules and regulations in a lot of ways, but it shouldn’t be boring to us. We should be riveted and excited to study it in part because it’s in God’s Word. We know that all God’s word is useful for teaching rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, but also just because it shows us how to live day by day, and as we keep going in the rest of the book, How to live day by day in the very presence of the Lord, which is why we’re going to get lots of rules and regulations about the tabernacle, priesthood, etc. So let’s dive in. We’re going to cover these laws, and they are varied laws. We’re going to cover them in five big categories, and I’m not going to read all of them, because it’s like four chapters. So we’re going to take. Representative examples of what are themselves representative examples, and they’re not going to feel immediately applicable always. But as Paul tells us in First Corinthians, they are written for us, and it’s a direct quote. These are written for you, so even if it’s not immediately applicable, there will be principles that we can draw out. In fact, Paul gives an example in First Corinthians nine. He’s talking about the Old Testament law that you shouldn’t muzzle the ox while it’s treading the grain. And you’re thinking to yourself, I don’t want an ox, so I don’t need to know this law. And Paul says, actually, actually, there’s a principle there that you shouldn’t keep somebody from enjoying the benefit of their labor. And so he says the worker is worthy of the wage, including an ox, who should be able to eat as it’s treading and so this is a law for all sorts of different things. So that’s what we’re going to see as we go. All right, so five big categories. First category is work. Let me read Exodus 21 one to 11. Exodus 21 one to 11. These are the laws you are to set before them. If you buy a Hebrew servant, He is to serve you for six years, but in the seventh year he shall go free without paying anything. If he comes alone, he is to go free alone. But if he has the wife, when he comes, she is to go with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free. But if the servant declares, I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free, then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the door post and pierce his ear with an awl, and then he will be his servant for life, the man sells his daughter as a servant. She is not to go free as male servants do. She does not please the master who has selected her for himself. He must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners because he has broken faith with her. If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter. If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights. If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free without any payment of money. Now I called this work instead of like servitude or even slavery, which I’m sure is how it’s translated in some versions, but I called it work because these are more like contract employees that are being talked about here. This isn’t slavery the way we think of slavery today in the West, and it raises the issue that we have to address quite a bit. Does the Bible condone slavery? And the answer is yes and no, yes and no, the Bible explicitly condemns the transatlantic slave trade, like what happened in the United States, the Bible explicitly condemns, even in our passage today, we’ll see it in just a little bit, but this kind of indentured servitude The Bible does condone, because the Bible understands the hard reality of economic hardship. I mean, these are laws meant to govern a broken world. These are not for the ideal. These are for the real, for the gritty. And so the Bible is recognizing here that debt itself is slavery, which it is. This is why we run our Christians against poverty debt center to help those who are enslaved in debt. But what do you do if you’re enslaved in debt in a culture that doesn’t have a massive social safety net or bankruptcy laws? What do you do then? Well, you sell yourself into a sort of slavery, indentured servitude. It’s this opportunity for those who are in debt to get themselves out of it through hard work. It is very different from 19th century United States. It was voluntary. So that’s a big difference. It was temporary. You’ll notice it’s six years, and then you go free in the seventh, and then you are not allowed to abuse your slaves, which we’ll see in verses 26 and 27 later. It’s also not race based, plus the law preserves the family in a way that slave traders did not care about here centuries ago. You can see that in verse three, he has a wife. When he comes, the wife goes with him. But what about verse four? That one rankles us a bit, doesn’t it? When you look at that, well, remember, this woman is under contract also, and so she’s got to keep her word. She signed up for six years. She’s got to finish her six years. But there are still options here. The husband could wait around for a little bit. The husband could work hard to redeem her from slavery, of course, or he could stay as we’ll look back in a moment. But that whole piercing his. Ear thing. By the way, there is something to be said here in both this section and the next paragraph as well, talking about the women. A lot of ways these laws are protecting vulnerable women from irresponsible men. I think that’s part of what’s happening here, women and children from irresponsible men, like if he can’t purchase their freedom, why not? This is a guy who got himself into debt to begin with, and now he is not, even after six years, learned what he needs to learn in order to get them out of debt again. So it may be better for his wife and children to stay almost like in a foster situation in some ways, I think that’s what we’re seeing here as well. Whatever we may think of these laws, this is shocking generosity for this time, if you compare it to other ancient, Near Eastern laws, and even more so when we look at the female servants here and some of the protections that they are given now again, why would dad sell a daughter into servitude? That’s one question. The answer is to improve her prospects. Remember, he’s not doing well, so they’re from a poor family, but he’s placing her in a rich family, which is a new network of people. So she’s going to meet potential husbands, including, in fact, the son, as we see. So we get these three protections that are offered. If she fails her probationary period, she gets sent back to her family, and that’s important. He doesn’t get to sell her on to foreigners or something like that. And in fact, it actually blames the master, because he broke faith with her. You know, he kind of had brought her in and then was like, actually, no, so it’s his fault, according to scripture. Second, if they do like her, the master can pledge her to his son, and then she becomes part of the family. She’s given the rights of a daughter like she is adopted, which is key. And then if the engagement ends or the marriage fails, she’s free to go without having to pay off that debt or anything like that, because, again, we see it as the Master’s fault. Now we got to see again, and I know that this like doesn’t sound right to us today. We live in a very different culture, of course, but we must see that this sort of indentured servitude was good for some people, providing structure they need the way some people join the military because they know they need that discipline to get their lives in order. There it says training to be responsible, and this was so good for some people that they would actually voluntarily choose to stay on with the family again, it’s got that social safety net feel and ensures justice. So plenty of principles to glean here, how to be a good employee, certainly, but also how to be a good employer. I think if you got people underneath you, one of the questions you should be asking yourself is, do they want to stay with you? And if not, why not? But there are also some good gospel principles here too. Did you notice that? I mean, here we’re looking at a servant with a bad master. Could be redeemed and then go home, or you get a slave, female slave without prospects, could actually marry the son. That’s the gospel. Isn’t that both of those, we are freed from a bad master, sin, redeemed, and then get to go home to our Father, to God. And when we were without prospects, unlovely, we were betrothed to the son and adopted into God’s family. So how do we respond? Of course, we respond to God the way this servant responds to his master. In Verse six, we become willing servants for life. In Psalm 40, David actually uses this language to describe his devotion to the Lord. He says, at one point, you know my ears, you have opened. And almost certainly, that’s talking about the all going through the earlobe there. And then he says, just a verse later, my desire is to do your will. I am your willing servant for life. All right, so that’s work. Let’s move on to the next one life. And here we’re talking about like physical life in particular. This is verses 12 to 36 I’m only going to read through verse 27 here, though, anyone who strikes a person with a fatal blow is to be put to death. However, if it is not done intentionally, but God lets it happen. They are to flee to a place I will designate. But if anyone schemes and kills someone deliberately, that person is to be taken from my altar and put to death. Anyone who attacks their father or mother is to be put to death. Anyone who kidnaps someone is to be put to death, whether the victim has been sold or is still in the kidnappers. Session, anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death. People quarrel, and one person hits another with a stone or with their fist, and the victim does not die, but is confined to bed. The one who struck the bowl will not be held liable if the other can get up and walk around outside with the staff. However, the guilty party must pay the injured person for any loss of time and see that the victim is completely healed. Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished. If the slave dies as a direct result, they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two since the slave is their property. If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely, but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows, but there is serious injury here to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise. An owner who hits a male or female slave in the eye and destroys it must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye. And an owner who knocks out the tooth of a male or female slave must let the slave go free to compensate for the tooth. So we see here this clear moral hierarchy, which we saw in the 10 Commandments. Also they’re given in order in the two tables, the moral hierarchy is that life is more important than property. This was also radical in the ancient Near Eastern context, where people were frequently put to death simply for stealing, like if you were looting at a fire, you were killed for it. But there is still capital punishment. When someone does murder someone else, capital punishment is grounded in the idea of the image of God. It’s set up in Genesis nine. Whoever sheds man’s blood by man shall his blood be shed. So capital punishment is there not because life is cheap, but because life is so valuable, and that’s why Great care must be taken with capital punishment, which is the shift from verse 12 verses 13 and 14, if it’s done, if it isn’t done intentionally, then then something else happens. It’s not time for capital punishment. We got to have this, these levels in place. And the idea of capital punishment is a tricky one. Christians come down on on both sides of the issue. I just think it’s important if you are pro capital punishment, that you are so biblically first of all, but second of all, you need to make sure that you take great, great care that no one is killed unjustly. It would be better for the guilty to escape punishment in this life than for an innocent person to be put to death. But other crimes do merit capital punishment here because they cause the breakdown of society and in many ways, steal life. Excuse me, I won’t be the last time that happens. Kidnapping, for example, is mentioned there in verse 16. Again, this would be the transatlantic slave trade, right here. I told you it was condemned in Scripture, but also attacking parents, so let’s talk about them. I mean, this whole kidnapping, slavery, human trafficking thing is a very real problem today. There are an estimated 27 million slaves in the world today, far more than in the 19th century. And approximately 2 million kids have been trafficked in the commercial sex industry. So what’s our responsibility as Christians? In light of that, in light of these principles here, our responsibility, of course, is to do what we can. We must act somehow. It’s like Isaiah one, verse 17, when the Lord says, learn to do right, seek justice, defend the oppressed, take up the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. Christians are to act for the sake of the most vulnerable in society. We also see in this section just how important the fifth commandment to honor your mother and father is now when it talks about attacking their father and mother in verse 15, this is more than a slap or something like that. The word there really gets at the idea of an intent to kill, or at least to injure or maim, but we see later even sustained verbal assaults like this repudiation of parental authority and the refusal to care for parents, which was actually really important, because back then, you didn’t have assisted living facilities, so parents were your responsibility, and if you neglected them, I mean, you are consigning them to death in many ways, plus, to reject your parents’ authority is to reject God’s authority, because you’re Therefore to cut yourself off from the source of life. Then, as we keep going in this section, we get to that famed principle of lex talionis, the law of retribution, an eye for an eye, which is badly misunderstood today. You can see the misunderstanding in Gandhi’s famous. Quip An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Clever, certainly, and would be accurate, but not at all. What the Bible is teaching here in this section, it’s an important principle of justice, namely, that the punishment must fit the crime. You’ll notice that it was not actually applied literally even, I mean, look at verses 18 and 19. Somebody’s injured. What happens to the person who injured them? You know, go kick them in the knee so they’re out of work for a few No, they gotta pay for the amount of work that was missed. Or if a slave has a loses an eye or a tooth or something, they’re given their freedom. They don’t pluck out their master’s eye. So it’s just saying the punishment must fit the crime. This was a major step forward in this world, in this culture, like a major step forward in terms of justice, because in most of the ancient near east at this time, everything was a fine. So you stole something, you pay this much money, you kill somebody, you pay this much money, knock on somebody’s tooth, you pay this much money. Well, guess who can then commit crimes with impunity? The rich, whereas the poor, even the smallest infraction might be absolutely devastating for them. We also have to see that this is for the courts, right? This is not talking about personal relationships. This is talking about like national laws. So there is absolutely a problem when we pay them back for what they did to us. And that’s what Jesus is talking about when he says, You’ve heard that it was said An eye for an eye. But I tell you, love your enemy, pray for those who persecute you. Turn the other cheek because he’s talking there about personal relationships. Did you notice? By the way? I think this is just worth pointing out, as we talk about hot button issues today in verses 22 and 23 that we’re talking about a baby being harmed in utero, even at that point. So the child in utero is considered a life so that if the child in the womb is injured. The lex talionis comes into effect the law of retribution, Life for life even, which certainly gives us plenty to think about when it comes to an issue like abortion. But when we look at Justice, when we look at laws like these, we can very quickly forget the gospel, of course, and so there’s this good reminder of what we deserve when we read the punishments in contrast to what we’ve been given by grace, what God offers us instead. I didn’t read it, but look at verse 30, for example, when it says, However, If payment is demanded, the owner may redeem his life by the payment of whatever is demanded. I don’t mention this because the law itself, but because those are two really big, important words for the gospel, payment and redemption, what we owe. I mean, that’s the payment, right? What we owe, and we know what we owe because Paul tells us, from Romans six, the wages of sin, the payment that is owed is death. But Jesus gave Himself as a ransom. The word that’s used for ransom is that the same word that’s used here for payment, he gave himself as a payment to redeem us, to purchase our pardon, so that we could escape paying what is owed by our misdeeds. So that’s life. Let’s keep going. Chapter 22 property, the next big category. I’m just gonna read verses one to five here. Whoever steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it. Must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep. The thief is a thief is caught breaking in at night and has struck a fatal blow. The Defender is not guilty of bloodshed, but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed. Anyone who steals must certainly make restitution, but they have nothing. They must be sold to pay for their theft. The Stolen animal is found alive in their possession, whether ox or donkey or sheep, they must pay back double. If anyone grazes their livestock in a field or vineyard, lets them stray and they graze in someone else’s field, the offender must make restitution from the best of their own field or vineyard. So here we just get the principle of justice, of fairness again, and so we reveal God’s justice in these sorts of laws, there’s this desire to see all treated equitably, and to consider all factors, even in situations like these, like how much was the thing worth that was being stolen? So anyone who causes anyone else loss, must make restitution, taking into account things like intention and negligence, Even so, it is clear that we have a responsibility to protect one another’s belongings. I mean, we need to be careful like you didn’t think this was in Scripture, but here it is right. Right? We need to be careful when we borrow things from other people, like you borrow their snow blower yesterday, okay? You gotta make sure you return it in the same condition. That’s what it looks like to love your neighbor. Surely, these principles also affect how we do business. Like, are we doing anything in our business that deprives others financially, that’s a no go. Scripturally speaking, I know we’ve got this saying in culture, buyer beware. That’s not a scriptural idea, right? It’s actually seller beware, because you’re going to stand before the living God one day and give an account for what you did critically, though, we are reminded here that life is more important than property. Did you notice that? So if you got somebody who’s breaking and entering and they’re killed at night, that’s not murder, the homeowner isn’t guilty. Why? Because it’s dark, and so he can’t tell what the guy is up to. He doesn’t know if he’s just trying to steal the silver, or if he’s trying to murder everyone in their beds. But once the sun comes up, you catch a thief breaking and entering during the day, then you can tell that they’re only there to steal, and it’s better that he lives and you lose mere stuff. And that bothers some of us who got a sense of justice, but it shouldn’t, right? I mean, property is less important than life. I remember hearing a story this was down when I was on the mission field, but I remember reading it, and couldn’t possibly find it, but it was a group of kids, you know, teenagers who are messing around in somebody’s car on their property, bigger piece of property, and stuff like that, and the owner just started shooting at them and killed one of the kids, and everyone kind of went, well, that’s why you don’t trespass. No, no. Scripturally speaking, that’s not it at all. It was during the day. Wasn’t even in the home. That’s wrong, and we got to see that here. But there is a gospel motivation that’s that’s here at the same time. I mean, can you think of someone who went from thief to generous servant after meeting Jesus? I’ll give you a hint. He was a wee little man, Zacchaeus, right? He is our model here, because what happens when he meets Jesus is he changes from wanting more for himself to wanting what’s best for others. Because that’s what the gospel does in us, and I love too, that the aim in all of this is restitution and even restoration, like the whole reason you make restitution is that the relationship can be restored. The aim isn’t punitive, which is very different from how all our culture addresses this, which is why our culture has mass incarceration at a rate just unheard of anywhere else in the world. So T des Alexander and his commentary on Exodus shares the story of a man named Greg Vaughn and what this looks like. So a couple of boys, middle school boys, had stolen one of the golf carts that belong to this business and wrecked it and whatnot. And they actually got a chance to sit down. So Greg Vaughn actually talked to the boys who stole the golf cart. They both spoke about the situation, what it meant. The boys saw how it affected others and apologized, and then spent the summer working for free for the company to pay back what they had done. Like, that’s it. That’s what being talked about here, restitution and even restoration. All right. Next big section then is religion, and it is a big section, Imma pick up in verse 16. Read 16 to 20, and then I’ll drop down a little bit. So here’s 2216 to 20. If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married, and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride price, and she shall be his wife. Her father absolutely refuses to give her to him. He must still pay the bride price for virgins. Do not allow a sorceress to live. Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal to be put to death. Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the Lord must be destroyed. Alright, drop down and read chapter 23 verses six to 12. Now, do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. Have nothing to do with a false charge, and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty. Do not accept a bribe for a bribe blinds those who see and twist the words of the innocent. Do not oppress a foreigner. You yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners. Because you were foreigners. In Egypt for six years, you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, but during the seventh year, let the land lie unplowed and unused, then the poor among you, or your people, may get food from it. The wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove. Six days, do your work, but on the seventh day, do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be. Be refreshed. And then verse 14, three times a year you are to celebrate a festival. To me, and these are festivals that we covered a little bit earlier. So scattered verses right there. I understand it, but I put them all under the heading, religion. Why? Because here’s how scripture defines religion, and it’s also the best way to understand this section. James one, verse 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. That’s what we see in this section. To live in light of grace, in light of God’s character, in light of His Holiness, is to live distinctly differently, and that’s what religion is. And so what’s a little confusing here is, biblically speaking, there’s no difference between crime and sin, like in the eyes of the state, absolutely, but in God’s eyes, no, there’s no difference between crime and sin, and so that’s why they kind of get blended together in this section. It’s a little bit like Joseph. You remember Potiphar, his wife is trying to seduce him, and he refuses her advances. Why? He says this? How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against Potiphar. But he doesn’t say Potiphar. He says God, right? He said, Yes, this would be a crime against Potiphar, absolutely, but it really would be sin against God. So this section begins with personal piety in the in the words of James, keeping yourself from being polluted by the world, and that begins with our sex lives. And so here we are dealing with fornication, seduction. This is consensual. What we’re talking about here. There still is an issue. I mean, this guy is stealing from the woman, for sure. That’s where the bride price comes in. This is what was paid so that if the husband dies. I mean, this is basically life insurance, like, that’s what it is. It’s her money that she then has to live on. So he needs to make sure that she’s taken care of. Still, maybe they get married, but then maybe not, because otherwise, if your dad said no, you could just and, boom, you get to get married. So No, Dad can still say no, but the bride price is still paid, because she’s probably not going to get that otherwise at this point. Now look, this kind of personal piety and stance against pre mortal sex like this is not our culture’s strength. I just read recently that we spend more money on porn than we do on pro baseball, basketball and football, that’s telling. Isn’t it probably going to change, because we’re all gambling on sports now, because our culture is really healthy so but anyway, that’s where we are now. Premarital sex, cohabitation are just norm, right? Just par for the course. This is what it looks like. Apparently, I got news for you guys. The Seventh Commandment is still in effect, but you shall not commit adultery. And then, even worse, Jesus said, and here’s what that means, by the way, not even supposed to look lustfully at other people. Never mind all these other ways to sin sexually. God still calls us to personal purity. And so here’s this bold stand that we can take, cutting off our hand if it causes us to sin, but if the bold stand for our good, that we know that we’ve got all those statistics in place as well, that God calls us not to say a difficult No, but to say a better yes to sexual purity. Now, sexual immorality is a form of idolatry, of course, because you’re trying to find fullness elsewhere, apart from God, not resting in his love. And so that leads into this section on spiritual purity. Now sorcery and bestiality are both condemned because they’re both associated with pagan religions. And so again, we’ll be drawing us away from the source of life, which means the harsh punishments that are warned against here are a form of grace keeping you out of this danger zone. It’s like an electric fence that zaps you when you’re about to go somewhere you shouldn’t be because it’s going to kill you. But then we see that personal piety is inseparable from Social Justice back to James, right. So keep yourself from being polluted by the world, but also you got to look after widows and orphans in their distress. How we treat others reveals our heart, reveals our religion. So for example, how could they mistreat immigrants when they themselves had been mistreated immigrants like a couple weeks ago, as slaves in Egypt. And yet God saw, God cared. God had compassion, because that’s who he is. It’s interesting. Tim Keller, you. Use this illustration, I’ll modify it slightly, but you frequently have to introduce yourself. And what information do you give when you introduce yourself? It depends a little bit on the context. Of course, when I’m at soccer practice or something, usually it’s I’m Ceely’s dad or Brielle’s Dad, because that’s the important information about me, right? Then normally, though, something more like, I’m one of the pastors at Cityview, or whatever. Well, so the Lord introduces himself in all sorts of different ways. We’ve actually gone through a lot of His Names in this series already, but look at this one in Psalm 68, verse five. This is one way God introduces himself when we think about justice. His name is the Lord, a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows. Is God in his holy dwelling. When you were fatherless, he adopted you when you were a widow. He wed you to himself when you were a stranger. He welcomed you because he has compassion on the vulnerable, if that’s who God is, and we are striving to be godly, what implications do you see? And this is significant, right? Because now we’re touching on issues that get debated in the public sphere regularly. Like the reminder I want to give us here is that when you’re entering the arena of politics, you have to think biblically, not politically. Most of us come at politics going, What does my team think about this issue? And since the other team is the spawn of Satan, I’m going to go with my team on this one. I wish I were exaggerating. That’s not how we approach this, especially because even just reading this section, like these four chapters, like I was reading this this week, going okay, so I probably can’t be a good Republican or Democrat, based on what I see of God’s heart in this passage. So we start biblically. What does God say about this issue? And then maybe we can start to look at politics and most likely, as I said many, many times before, and we’ll say until I die, right here in this pulpit, that means we’re going to be a prophetic minority within whatever party we associate ourselves with. We’re going to call out the places where the party we support is not biblical, but we see this special care for societies vulnerable, which is why we then get starting In Chapter 23 so many laws about the judicial system, because this is how you protect the weakest. It’s necessary for godly society. Isn’t this why justice has scales after all, right, balancing the evidence. Justice also has a sword, which is meant to symbolize reason, but also, of course, the power to punish, and then justice is blindfolded. Why? Because justice needs to be impartial. Otherwise, the rich and the powerful are always going to be the ones who get off and the poor are always going to be the ones who suffer. So once again, we can’t separate personal piety from social justice. And you see that even when we get to the religious festivals, I mean, look, we were talking about the Sabbath. We’ve already talked about the Sabbath. Why are we going back over the Sabbath? We know we’re supposed to rest, except that even the Sabbath isn’t just for you, like here, the Sabbath is for your animals and the poor, those who work for you. Like, here’s a thought, a biblical thought, when you think about work life balance, do you think about the work life balance of those under you also, like, I’ve seen this. I got somebody who’s missed journey group recently because his bosses are making him work so many hours during the holiday season. It’s cruel and it’s unbiblical and it’s wrong. Now we’ve already said before, so I won’t say a lot here, but just quick reminder all of this. We get the need to establish weekly and yearly rhythms so that we remember remember the gospel, including rest. Now I just skimmed across a handful of specific case laws in this sermon. And even there, we just did behavior. We didn’t even address the heart stuff. How you feeling after reading all this? Not good, right? It was a heavy sermon, burdensome. Which is not good, not my aim as a preacher, usually, but we are living in a broken world, broken by injustice, and it’s broken because we broke it, and then we go on breaking his laws. Outwardly, sure, but certainly inwardly, even after we experience grace, what hope do we have? We gotta go back to the part I skipped, what happens right before we get all these laws. So flip back Exodus 20. Let me read verses 22 to 26 Then the Lord said to Moses, tell the Israelites this you have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven. Do not make any gods to be alongside me. Do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold. Make an altar of Earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you. If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dress stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it and do not go up to my altar on steps, so your private parts may be exposed. So here we get laws for the construction of the altar. They are primarily focused. You can see there, even in the context on worshiping God alone, no other gods. That’s probably why we get some of the restrictions we get, because in pagan rituals, they used fancy altars and it was lewd at the same time. So that’s why those parts are in there. But what’s the most important part of the altar? What was offered on it, right? It’s whole perfect, like what happens on the altar. So before we even get the laws, God is pointing out you’re going to need sacrifice to atone for sin and to offer your thanks, because you have been set right with God. So there’s this implicit recognition that Israel would go on breaking laws, and so God says, here’s how you’re going to deal with that. There’s this reminder right here at the beginning, we need grace and not law. What happens at the altar in a sin offering, the sinner would lay his or her hands on the animal’s head. This wasn’t magic, like transference or something like this, just an implicit identification with the animal, everything that was mine I’m now putting on you. Then the sinner would slit the animal’s throat, splash the blood against the sides the altar, and burn the animal on the altar. Every part of this reminded the sinner that animal is dying in place of you, like God accepts this sacrifice as atonement for sin for a time, and we don’t do this any longer. We got no Altar here. Why? Because all of this points forward to Jesus, the sacrifice who was offered once for all time, every broken law punished in his broken body, and that’s what I want you guys to remember today, like our big idea, our takeaway is this, the only hope for the broken and breaking, like the broken and law breaking is the one broken for your sin. God knew we would go on breaking laws, so right after the 10 Commandments, even before he gets to the specific regulations, he makes a way to make atonement. And make no mistake, when Jesus goes to the cross, every sinner who trusts in him places, as it were, our hands on his head, because he is identified with our sin. We trade places. So as Luther points out, Jesus, then at that point, as he goes to the cross, He is no longer the spotless Lamb of God. He is, at that point, the greatest murderer and adulterer and thief and blasphemer. Whoever lived, he broke every verse in our passage today. Luther says he bears the sin of Paul, the former blasphemer, persecutor and assaulter of Peter, who denied Christ of David, an adulterer and murderer who caused the Gentiles to blaspheme the name of the Lord. He bears all the sins of all men in his body, not in the sense that he committed them, but in the sense that he took these sins upon his own body to make satisfaction for us. That’s why we don’t need an altar any longer. It’s not because we don’t sin, but because he already made atonement, and that’s why we’re no longer under the law, not because we can’t learn from it we can we saw that this morning, but because he kept it perfectly in our place. The only hope for the broken and law breaking is the one broken for your sin. In we remember that we strive to live holy, godly, just, compassionate lives for his sake, for the sake of the image bearers He died to save. Let’s pray. Father, we come before you, broken. And as law breakers, we freely confess that we have broken your good purposes for our lives, that we have transgressed your laws and sinned against you and against those around us. We know what our sins deserve. We have seen it in our passage this morning. We know that we deserve to die and to die eternally, but thanks be to God that you made a way for us to be made right with you by sending your son, the only perfect law keeper, to keep the law in our place and then bear our punishment, Lord, as we remember the gospel, as we are strengthened by the reminder of your great love and mercy And Grace, would you empower us to go from here zealous to keep your laws, to obey you as best we can in the strength of your spirit, for the glory of your name and the good of the world we’re seeking to reach, we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

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Grateful Praise November 26, 2025 | Jake Thomas Jake Thomas discusses the importance of gratitude and praise, drawing from Psalm 135. He shares his personal struggle with gratitude during a difficult period and how Pastor Kyle advised him to list daily blessings. Jake emphasizes that true thanksgiving is grateful praise and identifies four aspects to thank God for: His character, past deeds, future promises, and more than just material gifts. He warns against idolatry, highlighting that idols offer false promises and can make people lifeless. Jake concludes that focusing on God’s character and deliverances, both past and future, fosters genuine gratitude and helps overcome ungrateful feelings.

Good evening. Go and open your Bibles to Psalm 135 that’s what we’re going to be tonight in Psalm 135 and earlier this year, I was having a pretty rough time with things, so there was a few terrible weeks in a row. So I decided go to the man who has every answer – Pastor Kyle, so I asked Kyle, I’m just having a rough go with things right now. What should I do? What is your advice? And he told me, he gave me some advice. He said, what I want you to do, Jake, is at the end of each day, trying to write down five things that you’re thankful to God for I’m sorry, Carl, I got to admit I was pretty skeptical. I was just not convinced. But I gave it a go. I sat down at the end of that first day, I got my little notebook out, and I was stuck. I just couldn’t think of anything. I couldn’t list one, let alone five, things I was supposed to be thankful for in that day, it was just another terrible day. And yeah, just asking the question like, how do I thank God when I don’t feel particularly thankful for anything? And I imagine that’s not an uncommon feeling. I imagine a lot of people in this room right now that have that same thought every day, or whenever you try to thank God, you can only think of the things, think of the things that you are unthankful for. So what do we do? How do we thank God when we don’t feel especially thankful for anything? I think the word offers a better way. The Psalms, they show us how to thank God properly and how to correct our ungrateful hearts, and then thank God even when it’s hard. So let’s see the better way to be thankful. We’re starting verse one psalm 135 praise the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord. Praise Him. You servants of the Lord, You who minister in the house of the Lord, in the courts of our God. Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good. Sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant. For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own Israel, to be his treasured possession. I know the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods. The Lord does whatever pleases Him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and in all their depths. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses. He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, the firstborn of people and animals. He sent His signs and wonders into your midst Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants. He struck down many nations and killed mighty kings, Sion, king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan and all the kings of Canaan, and he gave their land as an inheritance, an inheritance to his people Israel. Your name Lord endures forever, your renown Lord through all generations, for the Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants. The idols of the nations are silver and gold made by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. All you Israelites, praise the Lord house of Aaron, praise the Lord house of Levi praise the Lord. You who fear Him, praise the Lord. Praise be to the Lord. FROM ZION to him who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise the Lord. Now, this may seem like kind of a weird Thanksgiving Eve passage. There’s a lot of praise in these verses, not a lot of Thanksgiving, except only is actually true. What is Thanksgiving, if not just grateful praise? Thanksgiving is the natural result of us praising God for things that we’re thankful for. So when we learn how we praise God, we actually learn how to show our thankfulness to God. I mean, we just sang a song about this right Lord of all, to thee. We raise this our hymn of grateful praise. So when we learn about praise, we learn about how to show our thanks to God. And these this psalm, we actually see there’s four different things that we need to thank God for. And the first thing is we need to thank God for who he is. The first thing we thank God for is who he is. And look at this first chunk of verses, right? What is the psalmist absolutely fixated on God’s character, who he is. Or see, look in verse three, praise the Lord, for the Lord is good. Verse five, we see, I know that the Lord is great. And then in verses five through seven, we see the psalmist look at nature, and that leads him to praise God. He sees the expanse of the side the skies and the seas. Said Man, our Lord is great. He sees the clouds and hears the crack of lightning and says, Our God is great. He feels the rain and the wind. It says, God is greater than any other God looking at creation, causes the psalmist to thank God, and should do. Same for us, right? I mean, whenever I see stars, that leads me to that. I mean, you can’t see stars in Chicago at all, but when you get out of the city, the sky lights up, and it’s like a beautiful tapestry. And that should lead us to praise God. I know it does for me. I see it and I feel so small, and I’m so thankful that our God is so big and vast. There’s a small glimpse of who he is. And so yeah, creation is one way we can know who God is, but his word is an even better way we can know who God is. His word reveals to us who he is. It’s useful for teaching, right? It teaches us about God and shows us about different parts of His character, His love, His holiness, His goodness, His power. And just think about this past Sunday, right? We heard about Sinai. And how many of you thought man, our God is holy, that we should be thankful that our God is holy. When we hear God’s word, He reveals to us who he is. And so learning more about God, the good, the great creator, can only this grow in love and thankfulness for him. So we need to thank God for who he is. And when we do that, when we thank God for who he is, helps remind us of what he’s done for us. That’s the second thing we see in these verses, is that we need to thank God for what he’s done. Because we see the psalmist thank God for what he’s done for Israel in these next verses, right? We just heard about these stories a few weeks ago, right? He’s talking about the Exodus. About the Exodus, how God brought Israel out of Egypt. He’s talking about how God delivered them out of this place to another place. And it’s very common the book of Psalms. But not only is remembering deliverance out of Egypt into he’s also remembering the deliverance to the promised land, the reward of getting there so and he’s look all the kings that are listed right. Those are kind of the bad neighbors. Those are the old tenants of the promise and that God cleared out to make a way to deliver on his promise that gets people into the promised land. The psalmist is remembering not just what God did for them deliver them from, but also we deliver them to. Shouldn’t our prayers look like this? Shouldn’t we remember God, what God has done in our lives and delivered us from but also delivered us to, and in the same way that God has delivered Israel out of Egypt into the Promised Land, he’s delivered us from the consequence of our sin into the promise of new life through the cross and through his son Jesus. So we need to thank God for our salvation, but also we also need to thank God for the kind of small ways that he’s delivered us as well. When I was in high school, Senior High School, that was when Covid really blew up, and so I wasn’t sure where I was going to go to college. Actually, I had two options. I had Iowa, stay with all my best friends I grew up with. And I had Chicago, which was kind of where I wanted to go more into ministry, but it was a lot of unknowns in Chicago. Was really rough time, 2020, and you guys were here so, you know, but I really didn’t know what to do. So I went to this place in my hometown called Mark Twain Overlook. And I’m kind of a sentimental guy, but you can see the Mississippi River and Illinois, and then my old little, small hometown in Iowa, so I could see where I thought I could go, and the other option where I could go, I just prayed for like, maybe an hour, and I just was like, God, what do you want me to do? And at the end of that, I just felt him saying, you just got to go to Chicago and trust me. And so I went, and that was a really pivotal moment in my life where there was just anything could have happened. It could look so different. And I remember that night often, because I remember all the things that I got when I got to Chicago, I got here, and I learned so much about the Lord. I grew my faith and my love for the Word, so much. I met so many great people, made so many friends. But also I found Cityview, and I’ve met a church family that has loved me so much and so well, and I’ve grown to love so much. Also gotta sit next to a cute girl in class I end up marrying. So when I remember Mark Twain overlook, I just become increasingly thankful for all the things that God did in my life after that, and for him showing me the right way. And so I kind of call that moment in my life a mile marker, moment, just a spot where everything changed and God showed up in a major way. And I believe we all have moments like that, right small ways, or even big ways, that God has shown his hand on our lives and guided us. I think we need to follow the psalmist example here and share those moments with each other, right? That’s what he’s doing. He’s reminding his nation, this is what God delivered us from. This is what he did for us. He’s pointing to the mile markers of Egypt and the Red Sea and the promised land and saying, Remember, what God did we be thankful for that, and we too should do the same thing. We either share and hear the mile marker stories that we all have in our own lives. Why? Because it leads us to share in grateful praise with each other, to remember what he’s done in all of our lives. It’s not bragging. It’s helped us all praise our God to. Together, and maybe you don’t believe you have a story like that, like the Exodus or Mark Twain overlooked story. I’ll push back on that. I think you do. You just have to think a little harder. But even if you can’t think of a story like that, I know for a fact that anyone here that follows Jesus has the mile marker story The cross is the ultimate mile marker story, right? That’s the point in my life. At this point, I was dead, I was broken, I was dead in my sin, and then I met Jesus, and everything changed from that point on, the cross is the ultimate mile marker of deliverance, and we need to be sharing those stories that we have of victories of salvation and sanctification, moments we got to share. This was like I was broken. I was trapped in addiction, I was lost, I was dead, and then I met Jesus. I became whole, I became free, I became found, I became alive. We need to hear those stories from each other, and maybe you’re here and you want that moment you feel broken, trapped in addiction, lost, dead. Tonight can be your mile marker. Tonight can be the night that you look back on for the rest of your life and recognize that’s when I met Jesus, and everything changed forever. It could be tonight. So we need to thank God for what He has done. We need to thank him for those mile marker moments and for the the mile marker moment at the cross, and we need to share those moments with each other. But what about the stuff that God hasn’t done yet, the future, his promises. Well, that’s the third thing we gotta thank him for. We gotta thank Him for what He will do. So we see in the verses 13 through 14, right? We talk about how the Lord will vindicate his people. He will have compassion on them. That is a really great encouragement, right? If you don’t know the word vindication means to prove right or be justified. And we see the promise of that. And this verse says that he will prove, God will prove to his servants that he’s worth it, he’s worth following. And the reason is that God is forever. He’s already shown that he’s worth following, right? There was a point in the life of God’s people, that the Exodus and the promised land were just that they were promises. When the psalmist is writing this, Jesus’s life and death and the cross and his resurrection, those were promises, but all of those came true. So God is worth following and will vindicate his people because he’s done it time and time again. That still doesn’t answer the question, why we should thank God for what he hasn’t done yet? What’s the value in that? Well, thanking God for His promises to come helps us get through trials and suffering in the now, maybe you’re being you’re struggling with being thankful this holiday. Maybe there’s a seat around the table that’s not supposed to be empty, a relationship that hasn’t been whole in such a long time it’s been broken. Maybe there’s some physical ailment that just holds you back and hinders you so much. Maybe there’s not as much food around the table as there was last year. It’s hard to be thankful to God when things seem to be not the way they’re supposed to be. But God has promised that he will vindicate His servants. He will prove that he’s worth it, because there’s promises to come. Jesus promised to wipe away every tear, he’s promised to bind every wound, to make us whole, to heal us. He’s promised coming back. He’s always delivered on his word. So we thank him now for what’s going to come, because it helps us get through what’s hard today. So we need to thank God for who he is, what he’s done and what he’s going to do. The question is, what do we usually thank God for his stuff? Right? The things that he gives us that’s at the top of our list often, right? What do famous athletes do after they win the big game? They, thank God, yeah. What do we do when we get good news from the doctor? We, thank God. What are we all going to do tomorrow before we dig into our big feast of food, we’re going to thank God for the food, and that’s so just maybe this won’t take an audit of your prayer life. Think about what percentage of your prayers is thanking God for stuff. It’s probably a convicting percentage, right? And that’s not entirely wrong. It’s. To thank God for the stuff he gives us, but our hearts kind of twist that in a way. It’s not meant to be. That’s our final point, that we need to thank God for more than just his stuff. Because you get to this last chunk of verses 15 through 21 and it maybe seems a little bit out of place, right, if you look at it, because we have all these verses before. Let’s say Praise the Lord, praise God, praise the Lord, and then we talk about idols. And it seems like it’s in the wrong neighborhood of verses, except it’s not any conversation about praising God. Idolatry is going to come up, because that’s the enemy. That’s the opposition. Look at Verse five, right? Our Lord is greater than all gods. And then verse 15, the idols of the nations are silver and gold. Those are the other gods. That’s what we’re tempted to worship instead of the one true God, the stuff he gives us, that’s what we want. We’re more thankful for. We trust more than him. That’s idolatry, and it’s so dangerous and affects our lives. But what makes idolatry so dangerous? Well, look at verses 16 through 18. Says, idols have the same features as living beings, but they have no breath. There’s no life in them. They aren’t actually alive. Idols are dangerous because they promise life, and they look alive, but they’re not right. Says they have no life. They have mouths, but can’t speak, ears, but can’t hear, eyes, but can’t see, they can’t breathe. It’s almost that same feeling when you recognize an AI generated video or some kind of deep fake right at first, it looks like, well, like, yeah, it looks human. It looks kind of real, and you notice that there’s maybe an extra finger, or, if you actually pay attention, what they’re saying, it actually is nonsense. It’s not even real. We’re just gibberish or just the physics. Don’t look right. It looks real, but doesn’t offer anything real. That’s how idols function. They look real, but they don’t offer anything of value. They don’t offer anything real. And no, maybe we don’t make idols of gold or silver anymore. Sometimes we do, but we definitely trust created things way more than we trust God, right? We trust our finances, our careers, our families, our relationships, our capabilities, our intellects to deliver us from trouble. There’s a problem with that, though, those things, they can’t help us with our biggest problem, death, right? And when we try to trust them to do that, they’re actually gonna make us like them, right? Says they will make us dead because they have no life. Cameraizing The story of Pinocchio, right? If you don’t know, there were these little boys were tricked to go to this island, and they said, You can do whatever you want here. So they went, they went to this island, and they behaved like animals, doing anything they wanted to do. In the end, they became donkeys. They became like their idol. They want to do whatever they want. They act like an animal. They became an animal. We can even see this just in people that are addicted to their phones, right? I’ve seen it sometimes talking to someone that just can’t stop looking at their phone, and I kind of it’s almost an eerie feeling. I feel like their eyes kind of gloss over and their eyes just look like their phone screens. We become like what we worship, right? You it so not only are these idols deadly and they make us dead, they’re also just insulting. It’s like spitting in the face of God to worship idols. I mean, it’s almost as if I married Hannah just to get a nice vacation to Costa Rica and access to her bank account. How much would it really mean? It’s not funny. Like, how much would it really mean if I said, I love you, I swear I love your stuff more, like, That would be absurd. There was no way she could believe that I would love her, right? No way I love you. Hannah, anyway, that’s why we need to root out idols in our heart. They poison our relationship with God and distract us from him. So how do we find those idols? How do we identify those things in our lives that take our trust from God? Good question. I think we already know. I think we already know the thing that keeps us up at night that we are afraid to lose or afraid we’ll never get. I think we already know the thing that we’re willing to skip church for, or the thing that we’re willing to do is spend our time with instead of reading our Bibles or praying. Think we know the thing that we’re willing to sin to get, the things that we spend. In all of our time and money on I think we know these things. Identifying idols is rarely the issue. Surrender. Surrender is the bigger issue, right? Let me ask you this, what if God took away your idols tomorrow, would you be grateful? Thankful? No, you probably be mad, right? And that tightness that holding on to these things that we feel, that’s that reveals the problem these things that have control in our hearts, and they take us from who we’re supposed to belong and worship to, and that’s God. These things, they’re not God. They trick us into thinking they have life. They can never satisfy us the way that he can only He can fulfill us, no relationship, no career, none of those things can satisfy us the way that our God can only God has the words of eternal life. So what do we do with our idols? What does surrender even look like? It can’t be ignoring God’s gifts to us, pretending like he hasn’t given them to us, but involves shifting our focus, focusing more on the giver instead of the gift. Removing idols from our lives looks like focusing on God instead. So instead of just thanking God for the food on your plate, thank him for putting it there instead of thanking God for the promotion you got at work. Thank him from helping you gain favor amongst your peers instead of thanking God for money to make it through the month, thank you for giving you a way to make ends meet, and this will help you remove idols from your life, shifting your gaze from the creation to the Creator, recognizing his role and presence in your life, and that will make you increasingly thankful and less likely to trust in idols instead of him. So we need to focus on God, who God is when we thank him, we need to focus on what he’s done for us. When we thank him, we need to focus on what he’s going to do and we thank him for not just his stuff that he gives us. We need to thank him for being who he is for being God. So what do we do when we don’t feel thankful? The answer is simple, but it’s difficult. We need to remember who he is, what he’s done, what he’s going to do, and focus on thanking him, instead of just focusing on being thankful for him, instead of the stuff that he gives us. And this should just be way more evident to all God’s people on this side of Calvary right in the psalmist, he had the Exodus, we have the cross. He had creation, we have the incarnation. How could we not be thankful for the blood that Jesus spilt on the cross, for his wounds. How could we not be thankful for being freed from death and from sin? How could we not be thankful for undeserved eternal life with Him in glory? How could we not and so when we look at the things that God has made, we wish we had more and we could become ungrateful. But when we gaze at Jesus, at our Savior, we’re just grateful we have him. So I gave it another try. Kyle, I tried again. And you know, some days were easier than others. Some days I’d have maybe one or three things. But you know, eventually I realized that the less I focused on the things that God gave me, and the more I focused on him, I just my list. Couldn’t stop, because even when I had nothing, I still had him. I always had him, and I could always be thankful for him. So remember Jesus, remember the cross and you will become increasingly thankful. Let’s pray.

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The Covenant at Sinai November 23, 2025 | Brandon Cooper
Brandon Cooper’s sermon on Exodus 19-20 emphasized the covenant between God and Israel, highlighting God’s holiness and the necessity of obedience. He drew parallels between Israel’s inability to approach God due to sin and humanity’s need for a mediator, exemplified by Jesus. Cooper explained the threefold identity of Israel as a treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation, and connected these roles to the church’s mission. He underscored the importance of understanding the gospel’s order: God saves, we obey, and He blesses, and concluded with a call to examine one’s life in light of God’s commands and the mission to represent Him to the world.TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

Good morning church, you can go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Exodus 19. Exodus 19, starting in verse one, and we will go through 19 and most of 20 today. So as you turn into Exodus 19, severe combined immunodeficiency is a genetic disorder that attacks a person’s immune system, making them extremely vulnerable to infection. Perhaps the most famous person who had this was a young boy named David Vetter, famous more for the nickname that the media gave him when discussing his case, which was bubble boy, because he spent the 12 years of his life in a sterile, plastic chamber until he received a bone marrow transplant from his sister intended to help him, but it had trace bits of a dormant virus in it, and so instead, it ended up killing him. His body simply could not tolerate infection of any sort. And in a similar way, our holy God can’t tolerate sin of any sort. The only difference being our sin is not dangerous to him, but to those who bring sin into His presence, which presents a bit of a problem for us, doesn’t it? Since we’re all infected with sin, how can we live with God? We can’t live with God. Can’t dwell in His presence, because we can’t make or keep ourselves holy. And yet here we are Exodus. 19. You’ve been tracking with us so far in the series. You know, we’re at Sinai, where God is intending to dwell among his people and enter into covenant with them. I will be your God. You will be my people. So how is that going to work? Exactly, that’s the question we need to have in our minds as we dig into this passage this morning, kind of the central passage in the book of Exodus. We’ll get it in three scenes. I’m going to spend a little less time on chapter 20 and the 10 Commandments, in part because Evie already took us through it, and in part because we also spent 12 weeks on it not that long ago. So if you’re wanting to go deeper into any of those 10 Commandments, go back see our series Big 10 that we did a year or so ago. But let’s start Chapter 19, verses one to eight, our first scene, covenant grace. Covenant grace. Let me read it for us on the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt. On that very day, they came to the desert of Sinai. After they set out from rephidim, they entered the desert of Sinai and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain. Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel. You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself. Now, if you obey Me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations, you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites. So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak, the people all responded together, we will do everything the Lord has said. So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord. Alright, it has been three months, at this point since the since Israel left Egypt and they arrived here at Sinai. This is where the burning bush was. And if you remember all the way back in Exodus 312 God told Moses, this will be a sign to you that everything I’m saying is going to come true. You’re going to worship at this mountain, which we said was actually a little bit surprising, because it is not on the way to the promised land. And so here they are back in front of that mountain, and Moses scurries up the mountain. It’s almost like he’s an excited little boy being like, you did it. God, like what you said you were going to do, you actually did it. So here they are camped at Sinai. They’re actually going to be here for 10 months. It’s tough to catch because there’s so many laws, but they’re actually here at Sinai from Exodus 19 all the way to numbers 10. A good chunk of that’s because we get Leviticus, which not a lot of plot in Leviticus, although there’s a lot of important stuff. But God speaks to Moses here as they get going, and tells him what to say to the people, as I said, this is really the center of the book, and central to Israel’s history into the story of their redemption. It is important to see that this is grounded in God’s past acts of salvation, what he has already done for them, his finished work. He delivered them from Egypt, as we’ve seen the last few weeks. He. Rescued them, as on eagle’s wings, he says, which is an interesting image. An eagle is, of course, a bird of prey. It’s a predator, right? And Egypt was the prey in this analogy, eagles aren’t famous for being rescuing birds, but that’s what it has become here in this image. So if you’re picturing like The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings, that is, I’m sure, taken from this idea right here, but this idea that it’s the past acts of salvation gives a gospel shape to our passage, which is so important to remember, because we’re about to get the law, we’re about to get the requirements of the covenant. And so we have to have that order right, or we will get our theology wrong. There is this unbreakable, unshakable order. First, God saves, that’s verse four. Then second, we obey. That’s verse five, the first little bit there, and then third God blesses. That’s the second half of five and verse six. So that’s important. That means that the law is not a ladder we climb in order to win his favor or earn his grace. No, it’s he freely bestows His favor, his grace on us, and then we respond in grateful love. We obey. As a result. How could we not obey? Though? Because we’ve seen what he’s done, we’re thinking, this is the God who delivered us in these mighty acts of power. Of course, we would live to please Him. You’ll you’ll see, sometimes in movies or even in real life, somebody will save someone else’s life, and the person who’s been saved, you know, is going, I am forever in your debt, like I’ll do anything for you. And it’s not begrudging, and it’s not trying to earn that, that salvation, or something like that. It’s just like the overflow of love and gratitude towards that person, and that’s what we would have towards God as well. Let’s look at that third part God’s blessing. What will Israel be by grace? Through active, obedient faith, we get these three powerful statements of gospel identity here. First of all, they will be a treasured possession. A treasured possession, very specific word that’s used. It refers to the personal royal treasure of a king, as opposed to the national wealth, which kind of also sort of belongs to the king. But this is that this is the families like so he’s saying Israel is the crown jewel among the nations, and it’s deeply personal, like he’s saying, I have set my affection, my love, on you. It’s actually there in the passage you notice in verse four, it says, I have brought you, not to Sinai, no, I have brought you to myself, to myself. So it’s this highly relational language. There will be a treasured possession. Second, there will be a kingdom of priests. So the whole nation is going to be priests, not just select individuals in it, which is interesting, because, of course, there will be select individuals in it who are going to be priests. So what exactly is going on here? Well, what do priests do? Let’s think of it that way. Priests mediate. That’s their main task. So they represent the people to God, and then God to the people, and representing God to the people, they teach, right? They bring his law, for example, and then in representing the people to God, they bring sacrifices, sacrifices in particular. So how does all of Israel do that? Well, I think what God is saying here is that Israel will be for the nations what the priests are for Israel, because Israel as a nation will bring God’s revelation to all other nations. Will bring his word to all other nations, will show them what faith in the One True God looks like. And, of course, ultimately, will bring sacrifice for the nations as well. Because, as Jesus Himself told us, salvation is from the Jews, because Jesus, the Lamb of God comes out of the nation of Israel. So there’s this delicate balance that means here in this passage, yes, Israel is God’s special possession, but for the sake of all nations, and all nations are on God’s mind. You can actually see that in verse five, if you obey Me fully, obey Me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations, you’ll be my treasured possession, although the whole earth is mine. So he’s thinking globally, even as he’s speaking nationally here. And then third, there will be a holy nation, a holy nation, just as the priests were. Set apart with distinctive dress, extra requirements, extra care in their preparation. In the same way, Israel will be distinct among the nations, they will wear a special dress, and that they will be clothed with righteousness, consecrated for special service to declare His glory to a watching world. So the hope here is that the nations could look at Israel and see who God is, what he’s done, and what it means to worship and follow Him. Now keep all of that in mind as I read to you from First Peter chapter two. This is God speaking to the church, but you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. God’s special possession that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy, dear friends, I urge you as foreigners and exiles to abstain from sinful desires which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. This is fascinating too, because Peter is actually speaking to a group of Gentile Christians. We know from some clues in that letter. And so it’s the reminder that the church is the new and true Israel, and given the same task as Israel, the same gospel shape to the task. It’s there in verse 10, you’ve received mercy and earned this. It’s an act of grace. But So given the same task, the same gospel shape, and then given that same mission to declare the praises of him who called us from darkness into delight, in hearing of all and then living distinctive lives so that the people around us see us, see our good deeds and glorify God, because they know what makes us different. You are called to be a living representative of the living God, saying and displaying the good news of glorious grace. So how are you doing when you consider that mission? Do you have that missional identity? Does your life match the message you proclaim it’s a tough question to answer. Of course, take some self examination. The kind of thing we probably need to do in community groups. That’s what we’ll be doing this week in community groups, asking ourselves that question. But here’s the thing I’ll I’ll let you in on a little secret. Now, your life doesn’t match the message, at least not always, right? Anyone here want to fight me on that one? I didn’t think so. So we read verse eight, then we will do everything the Lord has said. And we roll our eyes because we know ourselves, but we also know Israel, like golden calf. Anyone will get there pretty soon, they are not going to do everything God commanded, as Evie reminded us just a moment ago. So the law, even the 10 words, the 10 Commandments that we’ll get to in this passage, it shows us how to live, but that means it also reveals our failure, shows us where we don’t measure up. And so that’s the bad news of the gospel Perfect, perfect covenant keeping is required for salvation. What does God say? Obey me fully, and we don’t obey fully, we don’t keep the covenant perfectly. That’s the bad news. The Good News of the Gospel is that God sent His Son to do it in our place, because there is only ever one who kept the law perfectly, and his name is Jesus. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. That’s what I mean by covenant grace, by the way. So that’s Scene one, covenant grace. Scene two, it’s a good thing we got covenant grace because we are standing before a holy God. Let’s keep reading the rest of chapter 19, picking up in verse nine, the Lord said to Moses, I’m going to come to you in a dense cloud so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you. Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said, And the Lord said to Moses, Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day, because on that day, the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai, in the sight of all the people, put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them. Be careful that you do not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain is to be put to death. They are to be stoned or shot with arrows. Not a hand is to be laid on them. No person or animal shall be permitted to live. Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain. After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them and they washed their clothes. Then he said to the people, prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations. On the morning the third day, there was thunder and lightning with a thick cloud over the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord descended on it in fire, the smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and the voice of God answered him. The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up, and the Lord said to him, go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the Lord, and many of them perish, even the priests who approach the Lord must consecrate themselves or the Lord will break out against them. Moses said to the Lord, the people cannot come up Mount Sinai because you yourself warned us put limits around the mountain and set it apart. It’s holy. The Lord replied, Go down and bring Aaron up with you. The priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the Lord, he will break out against them. So Moses went down to the people and told them, so God is going to appear to Israel and to speak to Moses specifically in their hearing, they need to get ready. They need to consecrate themselves so that they can dwell in His presence. Now, God comes with much fanfare. It’s a little bit like royalty, or even what royalty looks like for us today in America, celebrity, right showing up. So you got, you know, lightning flashing. That’s the paparazzi cameras. You got the red carpet, you got guards, you got trumpets. It’s all here, declaring his presence, and in particular, we see fire and cloud, and those are really important manifestations of His presence, because we’ve seen those already in Exodus, like at the burning bush, for example. The fire is this symbol of God’s holiness. It is a symbol of his dangerous holiness as well. We talked about this fire kind of draws people to it, but not too close. And that’s exactly what we have here. And then we have the cloud, like the pillar of cloud that has been leading them by day, the cloud representing God’s shrouded presence, his veiled presence, so that he can be with the people, because if they were to look on him directly, they would die. The point here, though, is that when God comes, he comes in power. We’ve already seen that in Exodus. This is not new information. Egypt learned that lesson with the plagues and at the Red Sea, and hear Israel is learning it at Sinai, and it is terrifying, terrifying. If you’d been there, you’d be freaking out. We all would be it should be just as terrifying for us today, because God is no different. He has the same power, doesn’t he? Annie Dillard, who famous author who converted to Christianity late in life, wrote this at one point. She said, I do not find Christians sufficiently sensible of the conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or does one not believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning, it is madness to wear ladies straw hats and velvet hats to church. We should be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares. They should lash us to our pews. Do you have this sense of God’s awesomeness when you come to church, or do you come glibly just in few minutes late. No big deal. Unrepentant. God loves to forgive. I love to sin. It’s a great combination. When we come to the Lord’s table, you just, of course, I take the bread and the cup without a second thought. What else would I do? Or do you tremble in His presence. There’s a reason we start our services the way we start them. I know some of you have never heard it before because you haven’t been here on time. There’s a reason we start the way we start because the sacred does break in in this time, and it looks like this in the spiritual verse. Home, at least. And so we should come with a holy terror, yes, resting in grace as well. Of course, there’s a balance, but we come trembling, especially because then God declares his holiness. We can see his power, but we have to hear His Holiness. One of the things you get in this section of Exodus is the importance of hearing the Word of God. That’s why we give ourselves the the bulk of our time on Sunday mornings, the majority of it to hearing God’s word. But God declares his holiness. And again, this raises the central problem of the Bible, how can an unholy people dwell in the presence of a holy God? If we can’t make or keep ourselves holy, how can we then waltz into the presence of the Holy God? And God here says, You can’t. You can’t. I mean, most of this chapter is just one giant no trespassing sign, except it’s stronger than that. It’s the one that is, I hope, tongue in cheek. But it’s not tongue in cheek here anyway, that one that says Trespassers will be shot, survivors will be shot again. Like, that’s what this chapter just said in, like, neon lights. This is a problem. Hebrews tells us how significant the problem is. Hebrews 1214, without holiness, no one will see the Lord. Without holiness, no one will see the Lord. And there is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one holy. We all have sinned. We all fall short of the glory of God. So what hope do we have? Only this, only this gospel. Hope we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all, the good news of the gospel, standing before a God as a holy as this is that, as Hannah read for us earlier, we have not come to this mountain blazing with smoke and fire, but you have come, as she read for us, to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to 1000s upon 1000s of angels and joyful assembly to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus, the mediator of a New Covenant, into the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. And then what does Hebrews tell us talks about the importance of hearing God’s word. See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God, acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. That’s the lesson of Exodus 19, right there. We cannot purify or consecrate ourselves. We can only be made pure and holy through the blood of Christ shed on our behalf. Once we learn that, know that, believe that, then we respond with grateful but reverent worship and loving obedience. There is the gospel shape to our obedience. Again, we move from despair to deepest joy in Christ. It is, as Jack Miller was fond of saying, the reminder that you are more sinful than you ever you know dared imagine, but more loved than you ever dared hope. That’s the gospel takes us, then to our last section, fearful goodness, chapter, 21 to 21 I’m not going to read the 10 Commandments for us, because, again, we covered them recently. We just read one and two, and then I’ll read 18 to 21 and God spoke all these words, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, and then dropping 18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke. They trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us, or we will die. Moses said to the people, do not be afraid. God has come to test you so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning. People remained at a distance while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was, I would think after that last section, we would be ready to obey, wouldn’t we, we’ve seen our sin and yet his love and grace, His Holiness, but his goodness also. And so we. Want to do the will of Him who loved us and saved us and promises to live with us, but just in case we forgot, God gives us the gospel shape to law once again, because he starts in verse two with past salvation. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I’ve already saved you. That happens first, then that produces the present obedience. Again, the difference between covenant faith like this and every other religion on the planet is the difference between I obey therefore I’m accepted. I gotta earn it right and I’m accepted, therefore I obey. That’s the gospel. So we spent a lot of time on the 10 words already. I’m not going to go through them in details. I said, these do give us broad principles for living. These are not laws like these are principles under which you could write laws, as we’ll see even next week, but they’re showing Israel and us how to be holy, how to be that holy nation, that kingdom of priests, because in it, God shows us his character. That’s what we see in the 10 Commandments, the character of God, which, on the one hand, we strive to emulate, but on the other hand, is what motivates our obedience. We need to know Him, to want to follow Him, and we’ll see that in some specific ways. So since all of Exodus is about knowing God, it’s all answering Pharaoh’s question, Who is the Lord? What do we learn about God in the 10 Commandments? So first commandment, no other gods. We learn quite clearly that God and God alone is God, and that he is a jealous God, because He is the only true God. He will not share His glory for his sake, but for our sake as well, because he knows that idols will kill us because they’re not alive. They can’t help us. They can’t save us. Only he can. So he’s a jealous God. Second Commandment, no images we see jealousy again. In fact, it even mentions that verse five, the Lord your God is a jealous God, okay, but did you notice he’s also a loving God? Verse six, but showing love to 1000 generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments, he shows love to 1000 generations of those who love him. It’s actually the first time in the Bible that God is called a loving God is right here in the second commandment, interestingly, Third Commandment, then about his name. Of course, his name is his essence. We saw this when we were back in Exodus three. God is who He always is. It also reveals God’s supreme authority and power, because God is the only being who can name himself, because to name is to show power over so God names Adam, Adam names Eve. Everybody gets named all over the place, not God. God names himself. Then the Sabbath. This reminds us that our God is a working and then a resting. God resting because he finished his work also takes us back to creation, and so He is Creator, and Lord to honor your parents is to remember God’s authorities and how he exercises his authority through others and in the promise there, we remember His provision as well. When he talks about bringing us into the land that he gives us when we come to murder, we see that God is a living God and a life giving God. The whole reason that murder is so wrong is because it’s against an image bearer, right? One who bears God’s image. And so it reminds us that we are made in His image. When we get to adultery, we remember God’s faithfulness and holiness. He is the perfect husband who is committed to his bride even when she is adulterous, as she is over and over again, as we see in the Old Testament and in our own lives, when we get to theft again, we remember God’s provision. We have no need to steal, because he gives us all that we need with false witness, we remember God’s truthfulness. He cannot lie and will not fail to keep his word. And then with coveting, we see God’s goodness, His faithfulness and provision again, and we get the reminder that He alone is the one who will satisfy us. We could have all the treasures of this world, and it would not be enough. Our hearts would still want more, but Jesus quenches our thirst. That’s the character of the God who saved us, whom we follow and seek to please. And again, how could we not especially when we set these covenant stipules? Relations within the story, right the context of the 10 Commandments is so important. God has proven his character over and over again, so Israel has every reason to trust Him, to LISTEN to Him, to know that his commands are good. I mean, just take the theft one just as an example. Okay, so I’m not supposed to steal. Well, how do I know that I can trust God to provide what I need? As they’re scooping Manna up off the ground, right? Do you get it like he’s proven himself? You can. You can do this. You can follow these commands. Because I am with you. So how do the people respond? They tremble with fear. We see in verse 18, like they recognize what we talked about in the last section. I shouldn’t be here, right? I’m going to die. There’s no way I’m going to make it. And so they they know that they can’t approach and they know that they they shouldn’t be there. They’re like way out of place. The law shows them that the standard is too high. So they know that they need someone to approach God in their place and on their behalf. They need, in other words, a mediator. And so they send Moses up right verse 19, speak to us yourself, Moses, and we will listen, but do not have God speak to us or we will die. They want a mediator. They send Moses to represent them to God and God to them, to stand between us and a holy God, so that we are not destroyed. But the problem, of course, is that Moses needs a mediator too. I mean, Moses didn’t live up to the 10 Commandments, did he? We already saw him murder somebody. He’s not going to make it to the promised land because he got anger issues. So we’ve seen him sin. We’re going to see him sin again. That means we don’t need Moses. We need a better than Moses. And so we read in First Timothy two, for there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ, Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all people. There’s our hope. What we couldn’t do keep the law, he did, and then what he couldn’t do, sin we did, and we kind of just exchange rewards. Basically, it’s like Jesus says, I will take your law breaking and you can take my law keeping, and so I will take the covenant curses, the punishment for your sin, and you can take the covenant blessings, the rewards of my obedience. Now you understand why we sang earlier. Not the labor of my hands can fulfill thy laws demands. Could my zeal no respite, no could my tears forever flow, all for sin could not atone. Thou must save and thou alone, it had to be Jesus, and he did, thanks be to God. So that now when we approach the Holy God, we do so clothed in Jesus’s righteousness, his perfect performance record, all of his obedience. And we come then with an odd fear, the fear of Psalm 130 with you there is forgiveness, therefore you are feared like it’s the fear of knowing what we deserve is not what we have been given. So we don’t keep the law because we’re scared of punishment. We keep the law because we’re moved by grace. That’s what I mean by fearful goodness. There’s a fear, a right fear of the Lord and a right fear of his goodness that leads us to want to be good as well, like now we want to do good, to express gratitude to our good God, knowing that his commands are for our good. And how could they not be considering who gave them? I think this is a really important part of the gospel, motivation for our obedience as well, to go, Well, why did the Lord give us these commands? Can we really trust him? Are do we know that they’re going to be for our good? I mean, he rescued us by Christ’s blood to make our lives miserable like that. Doesn’t make any sense. Of course, we can trust his commands. And so our big idea, then, from this passage, when we talk about obedience, when we talk about law, what I think we need to have in our minds is this love the God who first loved you. That’s what it means to keep the 10 Commandments. That’s what it means to keep the covenant. It’s just loving. The God who first loved you. Because if, as Jesus said, You love him, you will keep His commandments, and as John His disciples said, His commandments are not burdensome, so we see His grace and savor His goodness and then seek to live in such a way that we please him, which means, what do we need to do as we go from here, we need to examine our lives again. Do we come glibly into His presence, or do we tremble? Are we on mission, aware of our mission as priests to the nations? Does our life match the message? We’ve got these 10 standards by which to evaluate our lives now, right? We got these 10 words that we can go back to and say, All right, let me see how I’m doing here. Now I do want to say to some of you who may be trying to climb Sinai on your own still like, I think we got it in this passage. You don’t have to take my word for it. We saw it there, right? But that is not a good idea. Okay, don’t try to get there on your own. Just lay your doing down. He already did it for you, Christ, our mediator. So just receive the gift of grace and then obey, because you have been accepted by grace. What we could not do, he did for us and in our place, Jesus, our mediator, love him who first loved you. Let’s pray. Lord, even now in prayer, we recognize that we shouldn’t be here, not in ourselves. At least we are too often unholy in our thoughts and words and deeds, and yet here we are in the presence of a holy God addressing you in direct speech, and so we remember, Lord, the cost of our salvation, the goodness of your commands and the glory of Your grace. We come to you not on the basis of what we have done, but on the basis only of what Christ, our mediator, has done for us and in our place, but as a result of that, we know that we can come boldly into Your presence to ask for grace and mercy in our time of need and Lord, our need we have seen in this passage this morning, our need is to be made more like Jesus, our need is to be strengthened to keep your law so that we can live as effective priests to the nations, saying and displaying the glory of the gospel to a watching world. Would you work that in us, Lord, for Your name’s sake, we pray amen.

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Final Preparations November 16, 2025 | Kyle Bjerga Kyle Bjerga discusses the importance of a healthy church community, emphasizing the need to focus on Jesus and overcome negative attitudes. He highlights Exodus 17-18, where Moses leads the Israelites against the Amalekites, symbolizing the battle between good and evil. Joshua fights, while Moses holds up his staff, symbolizing prayer and God’s presence. Aaron and Hur support Moses, illustrating the importance of mutual support. Jethro advises Moses to delegate responsibilities, emphasizing the need for capable leaders and shared responsibility. Bjerga concludes that a healthy community rallies around Jesus, praises God together, and shares responsibilities.

Well, good morning. You can go ahead and grab your Bibles. Turn to Exodus, chapter 17, using one of the black pew Bibles there in front of you, maybe underneath it’s on page 58. If I was to ask you the question, How is church going? I wonder what you would think. I wonder what you would say. And then if I ask, all right, go back five years, go back 10 years, go back to your last church, and ask that question, how is church going? I wonder what you would say. One of the first questions I ask in any sort of evangelicalism is to ask people for their church experience, because people are more than willing to talk about their attitude towards the church most of the time, not every time, but most of the time the first words out of their mouth are something negative, or it’s quick while they explain why something is negative, and this has been my experience, maybe it’s been yours, and maybe, as I talk about past churches you’ve been at because you’re here now, the first things out of your mouth would be like, well, I left that church, so it’s something negative. And why is that? Because if I was asked you, How is school going? How is work going? How is marriage going, how is parenting going? What are the first things that pop into your head. Are they positive things, or are they negative things? A lot of times it’s negative, because the negative just seems to flow right out of us. Complaints are aplenty, and this is just kind of the experience. This is what the water cooler talk is about things that work. We just are very good at complaining, and we’ve seen this throughout our series so far, and how the Israelites come before God and Moses in complaints. And when we think about the different communities, when we think about the church, we want this to be the safest place to be like. We want this to be the healthiest community that we are a part of. So how do we make that happen? How does that work? What does that look like? Because as soon as you’re in community, who’s surrounding you, this is the participation point, who’s surrounding you in community, people and who are the biggest point of conflict that we ever have? Who are they people? And so we’re going to be in community, and we’re going to have conflict, and we’re going to have strife and we’re going to have difficulties. So how is this supposed to be the healthiest place when there’s people there? The thing is, those. We have to get our eyes off of ourselves. We have to get our eyes off of the next person. We have to get our eyes off the negative. We have to get our eyes up on Jesus. We have to, it’s the only way we can survive as a church community, is to get our minds on him, our hearts, our eyes on Him. Today, we’re in a passage, chapter 17. We’re kind of in the last half there, and then going into chapter 18. This is really a hinge passage. And so I want to kind of just talk quote this from Christopher Wright, who says this, this passage we’re looking at functions as a hinge between the great two halves of the book, looking back at the gospel of salvation that God accomplished chapters one through 17, which will be in a little bit today, and looking forward to the covenantal response of obedience that God seeks, which is chapter 19 onward. And God cares about the health of his people. He cares about the health of our community, and he wants to set up people well when they receive the law. But there’s still a lot of a lot of work to be done in our hearts, in our lives, in our relationships, and so these are kind of the final preparations before he gives us the law. There’s gonna be one final test in chapter 17, and then in chapter 18, we’re gonna see Jethro, and Jethro is gonna be a central figure. But throughout all this, we’re gonna see what does a healthy community. Look like we’re gonna learn about that as we go. So first, we’re gonna start by looking at chapter 17, eight through 16. So as you can see in your notes, we’re gonna kind of fill in things as we get to the end of each passage. So a healthy community, what is it that’s what we’re looking at this morning. A healthy community. What makes up a healthy community? Let’s start with Chapter 17, verse eight, the Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim, Moses said to Joshua, choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow, I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands. So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill, as long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up, one on one side, one on the other, so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. Then the Lord said to Moses, Write this on a scroll. Is something to be remembered to make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under the sun, under heaven. Moses built an altar and called it the Lord. Is my banner, he said, Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord, the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation so the tests that we saw Israel go through last week, three of them were nothing compared to this week, because this week there is an outside enemy. They haven’t had one since Egypt. And so the Amalekites come, and the Amalekites were distant relatives of the Israelites. They’re from the line of Esau. Now we don’t know why they attack, but we do find out later in Deuteronomy that they attack mainly the weak, the stragglers, those who couldn’t fight for themselves. So probably those towards the back of the group and they couldn’t fight for themselves. They’re easy targets, and so they attack. And so far in our series, we’ve seen that God does all the fighting for the Israelites, they need to just be still while the Lord fights for them, but now they need to respond differently. So Moses selects Joshua and says, get some men prepare to fight. This is the first mention of Joshua that we see. We know Joshua eventually is going to be Moses’ right hand man and the guy who eventually takes over from Moses to lead the Israelite people, but now, as a young man, he is tasked with forming this army, getting them prepared to fight the Amalekites. But Moses says, You will fight, but God will be with us. I’m going to go up on the hill with the staff of God. And if you’ve been with us through this series, you know the staff of God is very important, because when the staff is there, God shows up in mighty ways. Pharaoh’s magicians are no match for the staff of God. Creation obeys the staff of God in the plagues that are brought on Egypt, the water is the Red Sea part for the Israelites, and then fall on the Egyptians when Moses raises his staff. And finally, the staff is used to strike a rock and water flows out for the people. It’s not a magic wand, though. It’s actually not the staff at all. The staff is a symbol of God’s presence with His people and His power on display. And so Moses says, you will go fight, and I’ll be on the hill with the staff of God. So why is it so important that Moses is there, raising his staff? I think there’s a few things that are possible in this moment. Probably all of these are happening in one way or another. First, it’s a posture of humility, surrender and trust. That’s what Moses is doing. He is going before the Lord because He knows the Israelite people have no business winning this battle. They’ve been slaves for 400 years. God fought for them to get out of Egypt, and now they’re fighting a battle who is actually trained for this. So Moses knows we cannot do this. So no matter what’s happening down there, ultimately, it is the Lord’s battle. Second, he’s most likely praying throughout the battle. Because in Exodus, when Moses raises his hands, he is praying, usually it’s because Pharaoh says, I want this plague gone. And so Moses goes out, raises his arms and prays, and the plague ends. And finally, it’s an encouragement to Joshua and the men fighting. They must have been able to see Moses on top of the hill. I’m sure Josh went back to them and said, Hey, we’re going to fight, but the Lord is with us. Moses is going to the top of the hill with the staff of God. And so there’s encouragement there. Now, while they’re in the midst of fighting, I doubt they’re constantly looking at Moses All right, like they’re fighting, they’re in a battle, but they know he is there. They know he’s observing. They know God is with them. And then Moses gets tired, as I’m sure many of you experience when your arms are raised for long period of time, you’re start to feel kind of that heaviness, especially if you’re holding weight. And so his arms get tired, and they start to fall. And as he they fall, he starts to see, oh, they’re losing now. Now the Israelites are getting pushed back. So he gets the strength to raise it again, and now they start to push against the Amalekites, but the arms feel heavy. There’s probably a bit of that shaking that happens when you’re lifting the weights, you know, I just can’t do it anymore, and all you want in that moment is the relief of putting your arms down. But who could blame him? Who could blame him? Now, do you remember when Jesus goes in the Garden of Gethsemane before he’s betrayed and arrested, he takes Peter, James and John with him, and he goes to pray a little bit further away from them. He says, You need to stay here, watch and pray. And every time he comes back, what are they doing? They’re asleep. Doesn’t sound like a whole lot of watching and praying going on when you’re sleeping. But look at Matthew 2641 says, Watch and pray so that you will not fall. All into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. And I think about Moses in this moment like I want to keep the staff up, but I can’t. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Moses is just a man. He can’t do it anymore, but he’s got some friends with him, Aaron and her see what’s happening. I don’t know if the army knew what was happening when Moses’ arms went up and down, but I’m sure Aaron and her saw what was happening in those moments. And so they decide to step in. They see the connection of what’s happening, and they want to make it easier for Moses. So you sit here, I’ll hold up this arm, and I’ll hold up this arm, and we’ll make sure that the staff of God is raised. It’s like that good personal trainer, right? Personal trainers are known for, like, yelling at you, but usually they’re doing a whole lot more than that. They are trying to encourage you, but Aaron and her just like, all right, Moses, keep it up. You’re doing good. Just one more rep. Like, they’re not doing that. What does a good trainer do? He spots you, he comes alongside you and says, If you can’t do it, I am here. I will take a little bit of that weight for you. And that’s what Aaron and her are doing, because they trust the Lord. They know that they need to do this for Moses. So his arms stay raised. It’s easier for Moses to finish if he has that support from them. And with the help of Aaron and her and the army and Joshua, they win the battle. Or does God win the battle? Yes, this is a beautiful picture of what we’ve seen throughout this book, the sovereignty of God and human responsibility, because it says Joshua won the battle, but Moses kept his arms up. So who really won the battle? The people and God. Verse 14 is crucial. It says, Then the Lord said to Moses, Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered. This is the first time we see God tell someone to write something down. He says, You need to write this down, and you need to make sure that Joshua hears it. Why? What’s been our theme throughout this remember, remember, you need to remember what just happened, and what is Joshua going to end up doing 40 years from here? There’s a whole lot of stuff that’s going to happen to the Israelite people. They’re not going to get in the Promised Land when they think they are and eventually, John are, and eventually, Josh was going to lead them into the Promised Land. And what are their foes that they’re going to face? Are these fortresses and these big people who know how to fight, and what are they going to need to do in those moments? Remember? They need to remember that the battle is the Lord’s so make sure Joshua hears it, because he’s going to need this encouragement. Because, by the way, these are not the weirdest instructions that Joshua gets in a battle. He’s going to be told to walk around the city, to yell, to scream, to blow trumpets and God will bring the walls down. You only believe that if you remember what God has done before. So remember, write it down, make sure Joshua hears and then Moses builds an altar, an altar of thanksgiving. Say, Lord, this victory is yours. You’re the one who’s done it for us. And like Abraham in Genesis 12, who builds an altar to the Lord and sacrifices the ram, the ram that God placed there to take the place of his son, Isaac, Abraham says, at that point, I call this place Jehovah Jireh, the Lord will provide. And Moses, in this moment, builds an altar and calls it Jehovah Nissi The Lord is my banner. It’s the only time in scripture that we see this name of God, the Lord is my banner. So what does a healthy community look like? First, a healthy community rallies around Jesus in a battle. A banner was used as a way to rally the troops. It was raised on a pole and put up so people would see it and know we’re still in this fight. We can still keep moving forward. It was their identity. And the pride of this is who we are. This is our nation. And so they would be encouraged to see this banner. And if the banner was raised and was pushing forward, they were going to keep moving forward. And so it carried so much meaning. And Moses says, God is our banner. And on this side of the cross, Jesus Christ placed on the cross, the Son of Man, lifted up on a cross, then conquering death in the empty tomb, ascending to the Father with the promise that He will return, is our banner. That is what we rally around. That’s the only thing to rally around. He said it in John three, the Son of Man will be lifted up, just like in numbers when they made that bronze serpent. Because the people were getting bit by snakes, put it on a pole, Moses, and anybody who looks at it will be saved. Just like that, the Son of Man will be lifted up, and everyone who looks on him will be saved. So where do you turn when you need help? Our banner, the Lord Jesus Christ, we. Where do you go when there’s conflict? You go to our banner, Jesus Christ. You rally around him. When you’re tempted to give in to sin, when you feel all hope is lost, when your marriage is falling apart, when your kids wander from the faith, when you feel like you don’t know what you’re doing, where you’re going. You look at our banner, Jesus Christ. Every time. Where do you go when you don’t know who you are? You look at our banner, Jesus Christ, who says you are mine. I am with you, and I will never let you go. When we look at that and we follow Him, when we rally around Jesus Christ as a community, we remember the cross that was meant to kill is our victory. Look at chapter 18. It’s going to turn here. Chapter 18, one through 12. Here now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father in law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for His people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt after Moses had sent away his wife, Zipporah, his father in law, Jethro, received her and her two sons. One son was named Gershom for Moses said, I have become a foreigner in a foreign land. And the other was Eliezer for he said, my father’s God was my helper. He saved me from the sword of Pharaoh Jethro. Moses’s father in law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness where he was camped near the mountain of God, Jethro had sent word to him. I your father in law, Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons. So Moses went out to meet his father in law, and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other, and then went into the tent. Moses told his father in law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved them. Jethro was delighted to hear all about the good things the Lord had done for Israel and rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. He said, Praise be to the Lord who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly. Then Jethro Moses’s father in law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God. And Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses, his father in law, in the presence of God. So Jethro central figure here in chapter 18, we last saw him in chapter four, when Moses asked for his blessing to go back to Egypt after he is called by God, and he gets the blessing of Jethro, and he leaves Midian with jethro’s daughter, Zipporah, and Moses’ two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. And somewhere in the timeline, Moses actually sends the poorah and his sons back to her father. We don’t know exactly when this happens, all the details of it, but presumably Moses leaving the people having a big responsibility, a lot of time and safety, probably sends them away for their own safety, back to her father, and now there’s a family reunion, and so he Jethro brings them back, but the focus is not on Moses and his wife or Moses and his sons. It’s on his relationship with his father in law. So verse one said that Jethro had already heard of everything God had done for Israel in rescuing them from Egypt, but he hadn’t heard it from Moses yet. He probably heard it from Zipporah. Like you won’t believe what God did, but now he’s with Moses, and I don’t know if you’ve ever been around a kid or a teenager, somebody who went to camp or on a trip and you weren’t there with them when you get in the car on your way home and for the rest of the night, what do they do? Tell you every detail, and they won’t stop. And so I’m thinking, like, maybe this is what it was like with Moses and Jethro. Like Moses, like, All right, so this happened, and then, oh, wait, wait, let me go back. And then this happened, and then God did this. And he’s just on and on and on. He’s got six months of God stories to share with Jethro. And as soon as he thinks he’s done, he’s like, Oh, wait, one more thing. And I think that’s what it was like, because he can’t help but just tell Jethro everything God has done. And just like Moses, Jethro knows exactly who to attribute all of this to, and that is Yahweh, the God of Israel. It’s clear to Jethro that he knows there is no other name than Yahweh. There is no other God. If there were, wouldn’t it be the gods of Egypt, but they’re gone. God defeated them. He had victory over them. So He’s declaring the same truth. Brandon read for us already from Acts 412 salvation is found in no other name, in no one else for there’s no other name in our heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. Jethro knows it. It is Yahweh. We know it. It’s Jesus. And what’s really interesting in these verses five times between Moses and Jethro, the words rescued and saved are used, which all of those are acts of God alone. Completely what God. Has done nothing that people have done. This was not Moses saying, hey, look how great my leadership was. It is. Look how great God is. And there’s a big difference. God has done this for his people. So this is the gospel, according to Moses and Jethro, that’s what it is. They are telling the good news to each other. So let me tell you what God has done for us. Now it’s interesting. Is this the point that Jethro is converted like he does. He become a believer in Yahweh. At this point he’s called a priest of Midian. He is descended from Abraham’s family, but not Jacob. So there’s some understanding of this God through his ancestors. Who is this Creator God? So there’s some understanding there. The truth is, we don’t know if this was his conversion or not. When he says, Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a statement of switching allegiance from being following pagan gods, many gods, or following the God of Israel. Yahweh doesn’t necessarily mean that. And I think you just got to think to the Gospels. How many times do the disciple does it say the disciples believed, they believed Jesus, and then they doubt, and then they believe Jesus, and then they question, and then they believe Jesus, like this is, isn’t this our experience? The longer I’m walking with Jesus, the more and more I’m convinced. And so I say I believe, and I say it again. It’s not just maybe the first time I remember Tim Keller saying, when he was in the hospital at one point, he read through the book resurrection of the Son of God, and he got to the end of it after decades in ministry of being a pastor, and he closed the book, and he said it actually happened. Like, he’s always believed it happened, but as he got to the end of that, it was just that wow, moment of like, No, this actually happened. And as we walk with Jesus, we start to say, like, No, this is, this is true. I thought I believed it, man, I believe it’s so much more now. So it’s maybe I believe now for the first time, maybe it’s just this better understanding of who God is. One of the ways that I’ve talked about this here at church is our view of God is far too small, and it always will be. So that leads us further and further into knowing who he is, because there’s so much more to know. So maybe that’s what this is for. Jethro, I thought I had an understanding of God, but now I really see who he is and what he’s capable of doing, and he’s filling in those gaps of his understanding. But it could also be conversion. This could be the moment where Jethro says, I believe maybe he’s been on that cusp for a while, and Moses’ testimony what God has done is what convinces him. And so maybe you’re here this morning, and as you’re hearing this, you’re like, I want to know more about this God. Maybe you already know who he is, but you just you’re struggling with some doubts. Look to our banner Jesus Christ. Bring it to him, see what he will do. Or maybe it’s the first time you’re saying, I finally get it. That’s the spirit working inside of you, showing you who God is, what he has done for you through His Son, Jesus Christ. The only thing to do with a God like this is to praise Him. So that’s what we see next about a healthy community. A healthy community praises God together. A healthy community praises God together. Jethro here brings sacrifices to God to atone for his sin. He brings sacrifices to Moses. He sits with his people, Aaron and the elders come to enjoy a meal with Moses and Jethro in the presence of God. This is true fellowship, when believers gather together in the presence of God to enjoy a meal and to share what Jesus has been doing in our lives. We talked about this at revision our vision night, which was a couple weeks ago. We discussed how important it is to eat together, and if we look at those 21 meals we have in a week, and just say, I want to share at least a couple with other believers or those who don’t believe, but I just want to sit down, gather around the table and tell people, let me share with you what God has done in my life. But the temptation is, when we get together for dinner and we ask how things are going. Is life is tough, the complaints, the negative things are easy to just roll off our tongue. Let’s change that. Let’s sit in the presence of God, look at him and say thank you for all that you have done, and let’s do that together, because that’s what a healthy community does, praising him together. Now let’s finish up chapter 18, starting in verse 13 to the end of the chapter. The next day, Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. When his father in law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, What is this? You are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as Judge while all these people stand around you from morning till evening? Moses answered him, because the people come to me to seek God’s will. Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me and I decide. Between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions. Moses’ father in law replied, what you are doing is not good you, and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you. You cannot handle it alone. Listen now to me, and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him, teach them his decrees and instructions and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. But select capable men from the people, men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain and appoint them as officials over 1000s, hundreds, 50s and 10s. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times. But have them bring every difficult case to you the simple cases they can decide themselves that will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this, and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied. Moses listened to his father in law and did everything he said. He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over 1000s, hundreds, 50s and 10s. They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones, they decided themselves. Then Moses sent his father in law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country. So like I said, jethro’s central figure. Chapter 18, book ends. Jethro arrives. We get to the end, Jethro leaves. And there’s a whole lot of stuff that happens in between there. And so maybe you’ve heard of take your kid to Work Day. Apparently this is take your father in law to work day for Moses, because he takes his place, and Jethro is right there watching him take his place among the people, watching person after person, group after group, bring their disputes, their requests, their questions to Moses, and there is no shortage of conflict among the people, because it’s from morning till evening. They just come to Moses with everything now it makes sense they’ve been living under Egyptian rule for a long time. They don’t know how to live together. They don’t know what God really wants from them. Next week, we’re going to get to the law. So right now, there’s a lot of confusion. So it’s hard to blame them. They don’t have a nice leather bound bible they can walk around with, or an app on their phone that says, Oh, this is what God says. What do they have? Moses, he talks with God. He’s God’s servant. I guess I’ll go to him, and it makes sense. So they just keep going to him, saying, Here’s everything I want to talk about, here’s the conflict I have, here’s the decision I have to make. I need your help. What does God want me to do, and Moses fills in that gap. He steps in. This is what the people need. He’s God’s servant, so he does what he believes he needs to do. Now many of you have probably heard the saying that 20% of the people in the church do 80% of the work. This is one guy doing 100% of the work this is a lot for Moses to carry. And Jethro sees his son in law, cares for his son in law, and he understands what he’s doing is necessary, but it’s not being done in the most effective or efficient way. He knows. He sees it. It’s going to SAP all his energy. He’s going to be worse for it. The people are going to be worse for it, because they’re going to be waiting around all day. And what happens when you wait around all day? You wait around all day with conflict in your mind? Does it get better or worse worse? So by the time they approach Moses, could you imagine what some of the conflicts are like after waiting all day to see him? He knows this is not good for him, and so he says, This is not good. You need to do something about it. And in his wisdom and humility, he approaches Moses with an idea. What I love about his idea here is it doesn’t change Moses’ status as a leader. It just changes how Moses sees his role as a leader. He is still the people’s representative before God. He will still need to pray. He will still need to bring things to the Lord. He will still need to make certain decisions. But he doesn’t have to do everything. He needs to be proactive in his approach. He needs to teach the people. What has God told me? Let me tell you what God has said. So in a lot of ways, he’s moving from a judge to a prophet. He’s teaching. He’s instructing. He’s saying, This is what God told me. So you should be able to take this now and make some decisions. He’s supposed to show them what life is supposed to be like, teaching and modeling for them. And so what is Jethro’s advice? He says, Select capable men, men who fear God are trustworthy and hate dishonest gain you can also maybe your translation says people, men of integrity. Okay, this is who you should get. They need to be in a position. Point them as officials over 1000s, hundreds, 50s and 10s. So he’s saying select, teach. Model and send out. We have a word for that in the church. It’s called discipleship. Isn’t that? What it is? Select spend time with them, teach them model, show them what this like, and then you send them out to go do it themselves. This is the model of discipleship here in the Old Testament that Jethro was bringing to Moses sounds a lot like what Paul says to Timothy, his disciple in Second Timothy 2:2, where he says, and the things you heard from me, in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. So the things you heard me say, Paul to Timothy, take to qualified, capable, reliable people, and they will take it to others. You see, because God cares about generations from now, he doesn’t just care about us in this moment, he wants to see this go on. So God to Moses, to reliable people, who will take it to 1000s, hundreds, 50s and 10s. God’s got the long view. So Moses has responsibility to all these people, but he needs to delegate. He needs to give up some responsibility get others involved. His job is to equip them and to send them out on mission to serve others. Mac Lake, in his book, The multiplication effect, shows us what this looked like in Jesus’s own ministry. So Jesus goes out at first without the disciples to teach and to preach in the villages of Galilee. And they say there was about 240 different villages around this time. So Jesus is hopping around the villages preaching the good news. And then he does it again, and he brings the disciples with him. So this is like, this is math, not my strong suit. So I’m gonna go with Mac lakes, math, so trust me on this, or trust him on this. He said, That’s one to 240 that I can do. One to 240 then what does Jesus do? He sends out the 12, two by two, splitting them up together to say, go into the villages and preach the gospel. And what does Jesus do? He stays back. He stays back, and he sends them out to do the work. When he splits them up, that’s a one to 40 ratio. And then months later, he sends out the 72 that’s a one to six ratio. Do you ever wonder why Jesus was tired? He’s doing a lot of ministry, so he sees the importance of getting other people involved in sharing that responsibility. And so as he does that, people get to hear and they get to hear from people who are not tired, who are just starting out, who are excited about it, and they’re able to go and be effective in the ministry together. So there’s a really important principle that we see here, and this is the last thing for how do we have a healthy community? What does a healthy community what does a healthy community look like? A healthy community is one that shares responsibility, that shares responsibility. Moses hears from the Lord. He equips capable men, and they go and serve the people. Sharing that responsibility makes him a more effective leader, keeps the community healthy, allows them to do more of what God wants them to do than to just stand around all day waiting to be heard. The Israelites are in their final preparations before the giving of the Law on Sinai, they have to figure out how in the world they’re supposed to love God and love others. And this is the same thing in the early church, Jesus comes and preaches this radical message of reconciliation, and the Christians are left there like, how do we live this out, like Jews and Gentiles? How in the world are we supposed to be in a church together when we’ve lived our whole lives as enemies? How are we supposed to do this? And it wasn’t just that. It was just different Jews, the Hellenistic Jews, the Hebraic Jews. In Acts chapter six, there’s this unfair distribution of food. And so they come to the 12 Apostles, and they say, this is not right. This is not fair. And so the disciples know their primary commission by God is to preach the good news. It’s to go out and baptize, to pray. And so they know this is what their primary commission was that they’re supposed to do. Their primary commission is not to feed everyone, but that’s a necessary thing that has to happen, but it’s not their specific role. So the way that they say we’re going to make sure this is taken care of is what we see in Acts chapter six, starting in verse two. So the 12 gathered all the disciples together and said, it would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the Word of God in order to wait on tables brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word. Instead of saying, Yes, this needs to be done. We can’t do it, but you should know some people who can so find these capable people who have the right passions and gifts and abilities, and everybody will eat, and then everybody will hear the Gospel, because we’ll continue to pray, we’ll continue to preach, the church is healthier when everyone is involved using. Passions and abilities and gifts and not relying on just a few. So that leads to our big idea. You can flip over the notes, sorry, it’s on two sides this week. On the back side is the big idea. What should we do? How should we live in light of everything we’ve seen this morning, it is this, serve the Lord and His people. Serve the Lord and His people. You can also say, as Brandon already mentioned, own the mission. That’s what we talked about at revision, right? We need to serve the Lord and His people. Well, what does this look like? What does this look like for us? And so for the next few moments, I just want to walk quickly back through the story, because I think there’s a lot of examples here of service to the Lord that God uses to heal his people, to prepare his people and get them ready for what’s next. So first lead, how can you be a part of this healthy community? The first thing is, lead, like Joshua is a perfect example of this, because Joshua steps into this need to fight, to get these men ready to fight. And he steps up in the midst of uncertainty, how will the people respond in battle? But he’s also told by Moses, again, I’m going to be there with the staff of God. So he’s got this kind of encouragement at the same time. So Joshua, as a leader, trusts God and he trusts Moses and he obeys God. And this is going to be important, because there are times when leaders are thrust into very difficult situations, some of which you will have never experienced before. Have no idea what to do other than trust God and obey His words. And so when you think about our church community and the health of our church community, we need more leaders. We prayed about this. We’ve talked about this with you in our leadership development. Some of you will be tapped on the shoulder, like Joshua right where Moses says you’re going to do this. Others, you might be looking to take on more responsibility in the ministry where you serve, but we need to develop more and more leaders to be a healthy community, so that we can send out more journey group leaders. We can send out more community group leaders. We can have healthier ministries that are not run by people who are burned out, but as they share responsibility and you take it on, and then you lead, we’re healthier and ultimately for the multiplication of a church in church planting, we need leaders, so maybe what that’s what the Lord is calling you to today. The second thing is support. This is what we see with Aaron and her during the battle as Moses’ strength is dwindling, it’s failing him. They take their responsibility to hold his arms up for him. They saw the situation, they saw the need, and they decided to step in. They didn’t stand the sidelines, just saying, hey, just do your best. Keep going. They got in there, and they made sure they were there to support him. And it gives you such great confidence to lead when you have this kind of support behind you, and so for the health of this congregation, we need more people to support using the way God has uniquely designed you to support people and ministries. This is a great picture of what the community is like, because the battle was not dependent just on Moses keeping his arms up. There was three men that trusted God in this moment. This moment, and they all got involved, and the victory was won. The third way that you can serve a healthy community is to encourage we see this with Jethro. Jethro wants the very best for Moses and his people, so he gives them advice, encouraging him to look at things from a different perspective. Maybe you should do things this way. It’s very different than what typically happens in community, as we’ve seen from the Israelites. The real temptation is to come and complain. Let me tell you how many things are wrong with what you’re doing. We don’t like the way that leadership is doing things. We don’t like the way that this Deacon is leading this ministry. We don’t like this or that without offering any real solutions.
But Jethro encourages. He comes from a place of humility and concern for Moses’s well being, and so he says, I have some advice. Do you have a complaint to offer without a solution? Because that will lead to discouragement. But if you have a concern with a solution or possible solutions, there’s great encouragement in that. So maybe you can encourage and maybe these first three, you’re like, I don’t really see myself fitting into any of these. Well, guess what? Everybody’s a part of the fourth one, that is to share, share the responsibility. And we see this with the capable men. Everyone here can be capable, because what does it mean to be capable? So according to this passage, Fear God, be trustworthy and be a person of integrity that’s living a Christian life, that’s pursuing Jesus and seeing him change our life. So how do we share the responsibility then? Well, as Christ is formed in us through His Spirit, and we pursue him, that means we also call others to follow us, because these men were sent out to the 1000s, hundreds, 50s and 10s. Who is it for you that God is equipping you to go serve, to say, hey, come alongside me while I stumble in this Christian life, while I take two steps forward and one step back, I need you following me as I continue to pursue Christ, as I continue to look at the banner of Jesus Christ. I need other people to follow me. Share the responsibility in discipleship. You can lead others in larger groups, smaller groups, one on one. So if we want to be a church that pursues healthy community, we need to rally around Jesus. It’s the first thing we have to do every single time. We praise him together, and then we share the responsibility and we see what the Lord has for us next. So let’s keep owning that mission. Let’s serve the Lord, serve His people. Let’s pray.

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Things Get Testy November 9, 2025 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper discusses the spiritual lessons from Israel’s wilderness journey, emphasizing the importance of learning through experience. He highlights three key scenes: at Marah, where God made bitter water drinkable to test and teach the Israelites; at Elim, where God provided drinkable water and manna to sustain them; and at Massah and Meribah, where God demonstrated His presence and provision by striking a rock with Moses’ staff. Cooper stresses that trusting God involves recognizing His daily provision and understanding that He is always present and faithful, even when circumstances are challenging.

Well, good morning church and go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Exodus. Chapter 15. Exodus 15. We’ll be starting in verse 22. Exodus 15:22. As you’re turning there, I think you know, I know we all know that there are certain things that you cannot learn in school. School is a great place to learn all sorts of things, just not everything that you’ll need. In fact, there are a number of professions that even require you to get some, you know, on the field training before they’ll really let you graduate or consider doing this so you student teach as part of getting a teaching education degree. We’re all really grateful. I think that people who graduate with MDS do a residency before they start their own practice. And of course, even here at Cityview, we have a pastoral residency because learning systematic theology in Greek is amazing, but there are some things you got to learn in the church in terms of how to be a pastor. Amen. Reeve, yes. Amen, okay, we need to get into the real world and practice. Isn’t this why adulting is so hard, right? Like, there’s this stuff you’ve heard about and you’ve never had to do before, you know? Okay, now I know what this means. You got to learn as you go. This is kind of the school of hard knocks approach to life. And I think what’s true vocationally is true spiritually as well. There are things that you just can’t learn by reading, that you have to learn by living, and that’s what Israel is experiencing in our passage today, the wilderness journey is sort of a spiritual school of hard knocks. The fact that they’re wandering around Sinai was not necessary for their salvation, as we saw last week, that happened by Grace, God just delivered them, but it is necessary for their sanctification, that process whereby God makes them more like him, grows them in holiness, in godliness, as I said near the end of our passage last week, he got them out of Egypt. He just hasn’t gotten Egypt out of them yet, and so the wilderness time is where he is going to root out those idols and habits from Egypt that are still clinging to them, like burrs to their robes. So to do this, God tests them. He tests them. It’s a really important word in our passage this morning. God tests them, although, as we’ll see, they also test him, and as a result, things get testy, and so they grumble, which is another really important word for our passage today, this idea of grumbling or complaining. So testing and grumbling. There’s one more key word in our passage, and that is knowing all of this is happening so that they can know who God is and learn to trust him, instead of testing him or complaining about him. So that’s what we’re going to see. Three scenes, very similar scenes, although very different lengths, three different tests, three different places, and that’ll be our outline here. So test number one at Marah, chapter 15, verses 22 to the end of the chapter. Verse 27 they read it for us. Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went into the desert of Shur for three days. They traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. That is why the place is called Marah. So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, What are we to drink? And Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood, he threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink. There, the Lord issued a ruling, an instruction for them, and put them to the test. He said, If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you. Then they came to elim, where there were 12 springs and 70 palm trees, and they camped there near the water. So you got to put yourself in this scene to understand what’s going on here, or if you were here last week, you know what? Just have lives. We’ve done the plagues. And then they just crossed the Red Sea on dry ground. They saw their enemies utterly vanquished. So they’re in no danger any longer. They are free at last, and so they come out, as we saw at the end of last week, singing and dancing. The tambourines are playing, and you wonder how long this went on, the singing and the dancing as they’re walking through the desert. How many hours? And as the hours first and then the days tick by, well, the songs begin to fade. You might hear some other noises, like kids crying. And it could get worse by day two of no water, most likely, the elderly are fainting along the way, like they are facing dire straits. Three days without water means your supplies are probably exhausted. You are facing imminent death at that point. So it’s really easy to be hard on the Israelites, for they’re complaining here, but if you were worried about your family that they’re about to perish, but you’d probably be testy too. And then you hear shouting a big group of people. So the shouting is, you know, it’s up near the front and stuff, and everyone’s going, wait, what? And so everybody surges forward, like, what happens? And sure enough, can it be, you know, like, yes, water, they found it at last, and so your your panic turns to relief and even jubilation, and then to an enraged despair, because the water isn’t drinkable. It’s bitter, probably filled with minerals that have leached in from the rocks around it, so it’s undrinkable, and this is too much for them. We are a lot like goldfish, aren’t we? You know what? Goldfish are famous for very short memories, 10 seconds. I believe that’s why they’re always so excited to see you. They’ve never met you before. So spiritually, we’re like goldfish. So they had forgotten just how bitter their years of slavery in Egypt were and so here, these bitter waters are worse than anything they’ve ever encountered before, as far as they can tell. So we understand their fear, we understand their panic, we understand their frustration, but what should we do with it? That’s the question, and the answer is not what Israel did. As we read, The people grumbled, that’s not good. This is ingratitude and immaturity and worst of all, a lack of faith, because these people had every reason to trust God, because we got to put ourselves in the scene again here, right? I mean, you’re thinking to yourself, like, okay, sure, God did all these wonders, you know, the plagues and the Red Sea and all that kind of stuff, but that was days ago. Like, what’s he done for me lately? Goldfish memories, like I said, here’s the way Psalm 106, puts it, but they soon forgot that word, soon is doing a lot of heavy lifting, isn’t it like they forgot what they could probably still see on the horizon. They soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold in the desert. They gave into their craving. In the wilderness, they put God to the test. This means we should be really careful here, because complaining and grumbling is all too common. Even in the church, complaining and grumbling is one of those, what Jerry bridges calls a respectable sin in his book, by that title, respectable sin, meaning it’s a sin but no one really cares about it. Of course, everybody’s going to complain. No one’s ever going to stop complaining. Let’s not kid ourselves, especially in our culture, because we inhabit a culture of instant gratification, right? I want what I want when I want it, and we practice a therapeutic religion, meaning religion is there to make me happy, and so if I’m not happy because of my life circumstances, well, that’s God’s fault. That’s the whole reason I serve Him is so that he can make me happy, not sure that is actually serving him, but so we complain. We complain at work because we have a difficult boss and annoying colleagues and not enough pay for the other two. We complain at church we don’t like some of the songs that we have to sing here, or some of the decisions that leadership makes. We complain at home about our spouse, about our kids, and the kids complaining about the parents. Of course, we complain about little things like traffic and we complain about big things like health, diagnoses, relational disappointments, and, of course, death, all that complaining and it all stems from the same evil root,
the attitude that says I would be happy if I would be happy if, if only my circumstances would. Change, and since my happiness is what really matters, you know, I have a right to complain. God takes a different view, though God, and it’s not that God is unconcerned about our happiness. God is the source of our happiness, in fact, but God is more concerned, at least in the here and now, with our holiness than our happiness. And you know what this looks like, then, if you’ve ever parented children, or even just been a child who’s been parented or seen parents with kids, kids complain a lot, don’t they? Kids complain about their parents a lot. You know? Why do I have to do chores? I’m the only one in my whole class who has to do chores, and I’m the only one in my class who didn’t get a smartphone, whatever it is, and we complain as kids because we don’t trust our parents. They seem capricious and cruel. But parents, for the most part, parents are sinners. I get that, but parents for the most part, want what’s truly best, even if you are the only kid in your class who does chores, which I doubt highly, we’ll talk to some of the other parents in a moment, you know. But even if you were the only one doing chores, even still, you’re going to do them, you know? Why? Because you got to learn responsibility. You got to you got to learn how to adult so that you’re not one of these confused 30 year olds wandering around trying to figure it out now, and no, you’re not going to get a phone. Why? Because we care too much about your mental health. Mental health to give you a smartphone and social media, and you lack the self control at this point for it, so I love you too much to do what you want. In other words, so it is with God and us. He is working towards our holiness. So what happens when Moses cries out to God verse 25 and that’s key, by the way, because Moses talks to God about the issue, the Israelites talk to Moses about the issue. That’s never a good sign, right? You know, you’re in sinful complaining when you’re talking to other people about God instead of talking to God directly. When Moses cries out and does what Israel should have done, God immediately addresses the problem, and he makes the bitter sweet. Now we’re probably sitting here wondering why didn’t he just do that to begin with? I mean, the God who created water out of nothing and who is about to miraculously provide drinkable water, why did he let them go three days without water, and then bring them to a place that only has bitter water. These are questions we need to ask. John Calvin gives us the answer, I believe. He writes that God wished by them bitter to make prominent the bitterness lurking in their hearts. He tested them, in other words, right? He brought them through this so that they could grow in godliness. This is the School of Hard spiritual knocks. He’s teaching them to trust, to examine themselves, to get Egypt out of their hearts. Now, how does God make the bitter sweet here? Who knows the word that’s used for piece of wood. Is a big piece of wood. It could be a log. It could actually be a tree. It’s the word for tree. And so maybe this is a giant log. You know, it’s porous. It’s got some filtration properties to it, or something. Or maybe this is just miraculous. It doesn’t really matter. What matters is, look at what just happened. You remember the first plague God took drinking water and made it undrinkable, and then the first act in the wilderness is for God to take the undrinkable and make it drinkable. It’s like he’s reversing the curse. He’s showing the blessing of obedience. And in case we miss that, there’s kind of the curse follows disobedience, the blessing follows obedience. That’s exactly where he goes next, right? He establishes a like a mini covenant with them, starting in that second half of verse 25 and it says he does it specifically to test them so he’s getting them ready for the covenant at Sinai, which is coming up in just a couple of weeks. Even the covenant at Sinai is reminding us that obedience is the proper response to salvation. Obedience is displaying trust in the God who saves by grace alone by living according to His will. In other words, we show our faith through our deeds, as James says, And so God puts the choice before them, and it’s a choice that’s before us also, do we complain, or do we trust and obey? And God says there will be consequences. Either way, trust and obedience leads to blessing, and disobedience leads to cursing. So if, like Pharaoh, they harden their hearts to God’s good words, they will inevitably suffer they’ll suffer natural consequences for terrible decisions. They will suffer a father’s loving discipline. They will ultimately suffer judgment. If it comes to that, but hopefully it won’t, because, again, they have every reason to trust, because God keeps showing them who he is and why he’s so worthy of trust. Even here, what does it say in verse 26 I am the Lord who heals you. This is part of my character. I am a healing sort of God. Remember our big theme in Exodus? You want to know what Exodus is all about? It’s about this. It’s about knowing God. Well, once you know, why wouldn’t you trust trust in a God who heals? Trust in a God who provides, as we see, and it’s actually interesting too. Did you notice that he provides in extraordinary ways, like at Marah, and then in ordinary ways like at Elim, either way. So he’s got to do the miraculous here, to fix the water in the one spot, and the next one, he goes, I’m just gonna lead you to a place that’s got enough springs underground that they’re actually trees growing. And for trees, you know, they don’t grow in the desert, except around springs, right? So we know there’s springs here in this place. And here’s the good news for us, we’ve got the same God, don’t we? The God who’s revealed here is the God that we worship even today. In fact, we have even greater reason to trust than the Egyptians did, because he brought us out of not just Egypt, but out of sin and death in what is the truer Exodus. So how will we respond? Take a moment check your heart even now. Do you say you believe? Do you say you trust? Okay, what do your words like you’re complaining, you’re grumbling, and what do your deeds, like disobedience or obedience, prove about your faith? That’s test number one. Test number two. We’re in the desert of sin, no relation whatsoever to the English word sin. Okay, just be really clear about that. But here we are in sin. We read just, you know, I’m gonna read portions of chapter 16 because it’s very long, and hopefully you read it in advance. That’s why we’ve always got the Make it yours section there in your bulletin, in the pulse and on the bookmarks. I’m gonna read some excerpts that will give us all the big ideas from this chapter. Still, I’m gonna skip some of the Sabbath stuff specifically. Why? Partly because we covered the Sabbath in depth when we did our series on the 10 Commandments a little while ago. And then we’ll also come back to some Sabbath regulations later in Exodus. So let me read. I’ll jump around a bit, but starting in verse one, chapter 16, verse one, the whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the desert of sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the 15th day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt in the desert, the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt. There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death. Then the Lord said to Moses, I will rain down bread from heaven for you and people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way, I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day, they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days. So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites in the evening, you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt. In the morning, you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we that you should grumble against us? Drop down to verse 11. At this point, the Lord said to Moses, I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, at twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread, then you will know that I am the Lord your God. That evening, quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, what is it? They did not know what it was. Moses said to them, it is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded. Everyone is to gather as much as they need take an Omer for each person you have in your tent. The Israelites did as they were told, some gathered much, some little, and when they measured it by the Omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little, everyone had gathered just as much as they needed. Then drop all the way to verse 31
the people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. Moses said, This is what the Lord has commanded, take an Omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt. So Moses said to Aaron, take a jar and put an Omer of manna in it, then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come. As the Lord commanded, Moses, Aaron put the manna with the Tablets of the Covenant law so that it might be preserved. The Israelites ate manna 40 years until they came to a land that was settled. They ate manna until they reached the border. Order of Canaan, so this time it’s food, not water, but it’s the same grumbling. It’s the same untrusting ungrateful spirit underneath which you can see in this kind of grotesque irony, that they are actually complaining against God for delivering them out of slavery. Like if they’re upset about the Exodus, it would have been better, they say, to die of old age and slavery than to die of starvation in the desert. And for some reason, the Lord our provider, still promises to provide for them and to provide daily bread, what they will need each day. Why? Because daily bread is meant to increase trust. Of course, this is what’s hard, right? Most of us when it comes to finances, the issue isn’t whether or not we’re going to have enough for that day. The issue is that we don’t have enough to plan for a good chunk of time in the future. Our approach to money is thoroughly unbiblical in all sorts of ways, but this is one of the big ones. So much of what we teach is financial responsibility is spiritual irresponsibility, because we want to have enough in the bank that we don’t actually have to trust God any longer. There’s a reason we pray for our daily bread to show that we trust God. And in this way, then the Sabbath functions like a test, and that’s what he says, I’m going to give the Sabbath just to see, do they actually trust me or not, because the Sabbath tests us by asking us, you know, on what do we really depend for our provision? Because if you trust God for your provision, you will be able to rest, and if you don’t, you won’t. And you can see that in an agrarian society, especially, or in a society like this one, where you’re wandering the desert, you want to make sure you’ve gathered enough food. You want to make sure you’ve done enough work that the harvest actually comes in. But even today, how tempting it is to get to some of those emails on Sunday, because it’s up to me. This all depends on me, and so that’s what’s being tested in these Sabbath regulations. So let’s remember our three words, and we’ve already seen the grumbling, we’ve already seen the test, and then we get to that word no, because God arranges circumstances like this same question we looked at before, if he knew he was going to provide manna, why wait? Manna, why wait until they start complaining? Why not just start sending Manna earlier? Why? Because he wants them to know that He is God and then to see His glory. Grumbling. Hear me, hear me. On this grumbling and complaining always, always, that’s absolute language, right? Grumbling and complaining always betrays a deficient knowledge of God’s character, because if you know who he is, you will trust meaning, in some ways, Israel is still in Egypt. This, this, this key verse, right when he said, then they’re going to know, they’re going to see my glory when God’s talking to them the way he talked to Pharaoh. So they’re more like Pharaoh than they would care to admit. Again, he got them out of Egypt. He hasn’t gotten Egypt out of them. So I think the lesson here is don’t begrudge God Your Holiness, like don’t begrudge God the work that he is doing in your life. Then in verse 12, God provides, he provides meat, quail and then manna. Now, is this miraculous provision, or is this ordinary provision? The quail is easy enough to make sense of, because quail migrate across Sinai, and so they’re flying all day long, and they land exhausted. They cover the ground, and you can literally just pick them up because they’re so tired. So this explains why quail show up occasionally in the Exodus wilderness narrative. But manna? What is manna? Now, interestingly, there is something like manna on Sinai. In fact, even today, the Bedouin tribes that live there call it manna. So it is this sugary excretion that insects create, excrete after eating from the tamarisk tree. And it sounds a lot like manna. Looks like manna kind of shows up overnight and then dissolves in the sun or is attacked by worms. The only problem with that is we are talking continuous provision for an entire nation with no malnutrition for 40 years. And by the way, that insect only makes that stuff from May to July. So like clearly, even if he’s using nature and natural processes like the miraculous is undoubtedly here. Our Creator God is using creation to sustain his people and to provide what is sufficient for each day, daily bread. And again, this is the standard biblically speaking daily bread. Here’s the way agar prays in Proverbs, Chapter 30. It does not sound like how we pray about finances. Always. He prays, give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Because otherwise, right? If I got too much, I’m gonna disown God. I don’t need God. I got a healthy bank account, or if I got too little, I’ll dishonor God, because I’m gonna take matters in my own hands, and I’m a steal, and so bring dishonor to his name like this is not how we roll as a culture daily bread, and yet, Scripture holds this up time and time again as the standard for living and for giving. Kyle has already pointed out that Paul quotes our passage in Second Corinthians eight, right? We’re supposed to gather what we need, and so the quote, the one who gathered much did not gather too much, the one who gathered little did not gather too little, so that those who have plenty can supply what is lacking for those who are in want. There is, in other words, an acceptable range when it comes to our living standard. There is much and little there is. It’s right there in the text, but there’s not too much and too little. You can see how this might be a challenge for some of us, because how we steward what God has given us is very much a test of our trust and obedience, and those are key words, by the way, even that word steward like you don’t steward your own stuff, you steward somebody else’s stuff, and we are called to be stewards because it’s all God’s anyway. So how we steward what God gives is very much a test of our trust and obedience, and I think it behooves us to examine our standard of living. Have you gathered too much? Are you hoarding wealth? I didn’t read verse 20, but you see what happens when you hoard the maggots come. They eat it right? Like it’s not good, it’s corruptive and corrupting. We’re only to keep what we need, I mean, like, take the too much standard and apply it to your life. Do you have too much square footage in your house? Do you have too much luxury in your car? Do you have too much self indulgence in your vacations and on down the line, much and little, not too much and not too little. And by the way, in Second Corinthians eight, it’s not talking about the local church. Paul is talking to a group of people in Corinth, about a group of people who are starving in Jerusalem. So when we look at much and little. We have to have a global perspective, and that’s going to sting for those of us who live in and near Elmhurst, isn’t it? Then we get this little appendix in verses 31 to 35
this is talking about after the tabernacle, after Sinai, because we’ve got the tablets of the law already. They’re to keep one portion never goes bad, right? And maggots never get to this one. The Lord preserves it, but they’re to keep one portion sacred. Why? So they remember, because they got memories like goldfish. So they remember, so they can look back and go right. The Lord sustained us. Of course, we can trust him from generation to generation, especially since we learn here what we already suspected, which is that they ate it for 40 years. They ate it until they reached the Promised Land, until they cross the Jordan in Joshua chapter five, and we read this. It says, The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land, unleavened bread and roasted grain. The manna stopped. The day after they ate this food from the land, there was no longer any Manna for the Israelites. But that year, they ate the produce of Canaan. Mind you, it’s not that God stopped. Providing. It’s just that God changed how he provided for Israel at this point. So we saw in the last section, obedience is the proper response to salvation. In this section, we learn that it’s faith that makes that obedience possible. We see what God does. We know who he is, and then we trust him and so we can live like George Muir. He probably heard these stories. He was famous for the orphanages he ran in Bristol and England. He faced starvation too, and not just for himself or for his family, but for all of the orphans under his care. But he didn’t complain. He called out to God in faith, and saw God’s provision time and time again, some incredible stories of what were certainly miraculous provision, even though sometimes it looked kind of ordinary, like trucks breaking down in front of the orphanage, you know, filled with food that was about to spoil. And they’re like, maybe you guys should just take the food, I guess. And he’s like, great, because we ran out, like, 20 minutes ago, and like, that’s how provision happens. Is there any reason we can’t live like that? Is your god smaller than George Mueller’s god? Is he any less able to provide? Of course not remember that and trust and then act accordingly. And then our third test, messah and Mary ba chapter 17, verses one to seven, the whole Israelite community set out from the desert of sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So They quarreled with Moses and said, Give us water to drink. Moses replied, Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test? The people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst? Then Moses cried out to the Lord, what am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me. The Lord answered, Moses, Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock and water will come out of it for the people to drink. So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel, and he called the place massah and Mary ba because the Israelites quarreled, because they tested the Lord, saying, is the Lord among us or not? So they find themselves in similar circumstances. Yet again, they are not maturing in God. They actually seem to be regressing spiritually in some ways, which is why you test things. Actually have a friend whose job is an engineer. His job is to test component parts repeatedly to see if they’ll stand up to the test of time. So like, you know, door hinges for your car, and he’ll just slam car doors like a million times or whatever, and it’s he says it’s really fun job, because he works lots of different things. The only time it’s not fun is when he has to go back to the manufacturer and say it failed the test. Like you could slam this door 1000 times and then that was it. The hinge broke. You need this to go like a million times, so try harder. Well, that’s what’s happening here, right? The Lord is kind of slamming the car door of Israel, and they’re breaking in the process. Notice, God is still leading them, right? They’re traveling from place to place, as the Lord commanded. So he’s still leading he’s not unaware of where they are. He’s very much in control of the situation. And again, is there any reason not to trust him? Well, yeah, they’re difficult circumstances. That’s it. That’s what they keep going back to you every time they face a hard thing, they go, Well, we’re probably not trustworthy today. I say that it’s not just that they’re not making progress, but that they’re actually regressing, because there’s a strong term that’s used here for quarreled when verse two, They quarreled with Moses. It’s a legal term. This is a legal accusation. This is when God is in the dock, as CS Lewis said, and we’re judging him. I think of Elie Wiesel, the author who endured the horrors of the Holocaust. And he wrote afterwards, as he’s walking away, and his faith in God has gone up in smoke, and he says, I was the accuser. God the accused. He’s not judging me. I’m judging him. And he fell short of my standard. And that’s exactly how Israel feels here, which kind of changes the questions and how we hear the questions. In fact, it changes the questions enough that Moses says here that they’re testing God like they’ve put God on probation, and they’re withholding trust until he proves himself, the God who has, by the way, proved himself already and still he needs to prove himself. Again, we’ve got this in us, don’t we? Like I can remember this important part of my testimony. Actually, I grew up in church, but not as a Christian. I remember a certain point. I was probably in middle school at the time, and circumstances were rough for me, and I’d had enough, and so I told, God, I’m done with you. Like you got until tomorrow morning to fix this, or I’m out, and as like a show of force, so he would know I meant business, I took the Bible that my church had given me for confirmation was on my desk, and I put it in the bottom drawer under a bunch of other books That’ll teach him right. Here I am, by the way, just goes to show you something, which is that our God is so patient with his petulant children, but so what are they doing here, like me, in that moment, like the Pharisees demanding Jesus perform a sign, never mind the miracle that he just did in front of them. It all stems from this stubborn unbelief. These questions are not coming from trust. They’re coming from distrust, and that, by the way, is the difference between grumbling and what we talked about not too long ago, which is biblical lament. Lament is real. We just did this series, and we even talked about it. We talked about what biblical lament looks like. Anyone remember what the second word is no no memory like goldfish. I told you guys. All right, thank you. Complaint. Complaint. In biblical lament, we bring our complaint to God. So what is the difference between this sort of sinful grumbling and biblical lament that brings complaint? It is a question of trust in biblical comment. We bring our questions, we bring our confusion, we bring our complaint, because we trust God, because we know he’s the one who needs to hear this from us. It is the anguish cry of the Father in Mark chapter nine. I believe, help my unbelief. I can’t see it right now. I can’t see you right now. I don’t know what you’re doing. Would you show me? Because I know you. I know who you are. That’s lament. This is selfish petulance manifesting in doubt and sinful demands. You got one chance or I’m out. And you can see that, by the way, in verse seven, just showing us how these places got their names. But did you catch that question in the end, they’re testing the Lord saying, is the Lord among us or not?
After the 10 plagues in Egypt, after the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire, after they crossed the Red Sea on dry ground, after, by the way, he’s already provided water and food in the desert, is God with us? The only unbelievable part of this story is not the miracles. The only unbelievable part of the story is that they’re still asking this question. Except it’s all too believable, because it’s there in our hearts also. And so God proves himself to unworthy sinners, yet again, the Lord who heals, the Lord who provides, the Lord who is there and the Lord who saves and we see this. And this really strange, Theophany. A Theophany means an appearance of God, so a time when, when God shows up. It’s interesting. We’re actually at the same spot. I don’t know if it’s the exact same spot, but they’re in the same region as the burning bush, which is one of the more famous theophanies in Scripture. So right there where the burning bush happened, we get another one. God says to Moses, take the staff. Remember, this is the staff of God. So it’s tying the story back to all those Exodus events. This is the one he raised to split the Red Sea all that kind of stuff. So it’s the same God, same leader, same instrument, even all these reasons to trust take that staff God says to Moses and strike the rock. Now why? It is true that every now and again you get like a porous limestone, and if you strike it with a rock, you’ll actually crack the rock and water will come out. But I doubt it, because we’re in Horeb, which is a desolate wasteland, and there’s like a couple 100,000 people here. There’s not that much water. So we got miraculous provision once again. But this miraculous provision points to an even greater an even more miraculous provision, because what exactly is struck. Look at verse six. I will stand there before you by the rock. It reads more literally as I will stand there on. On the rock. I will stand there on the rock. Now, how is God standing on the rock? Did the pillar of cloud go right above it? Is he invisible? And he’s going to trust me, I’m standing there. Maybe I don’t know, but what we do know, given what Paul says later, the God who is standing there on this rock is the second member of the Trinity. This is Jesus before He comes in the flesh. God the Son. We know this because here’s First Corinthians 10, verse four, for they drank, speaking of the wilderness generation, they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Christ is the rock who was struck by Moses’s staff. So don’t miss what happened. That means God submits to his own rod of judgment. The blow falls not on deserving sinners, but on their worthy Savior. I mean this whole story, they’ve been demanding that God prove himself right, demanding his provision, denying His protection, doubting his presence, and in one blow, God has met all their objections. Is God present? Yeah, he’s right there. He’s standing on the rock. Is God protecting them? Yes, not just from the elements, from starvation and thirst, but from his wrath, from his just anger at their unceasing sin. Is God providing Yeah, because the rock splits and water gushes forth. But all of this points to Jesus. This whole story prepares us to meet our Savior. Is Jesus present? Yeah, because the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. Is the Lord among us or not? Yeah, he’s among us. He came to dwell with us, and then Jesus is there protecting us again from God’s wrath, because the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds, by the blows that fell on him, we are healed because he’s the Lord who heals. Is he providing? Yes, because Christ Himself is our bread and our water. Robert read part of this passage for us, but let me give you the context in John chapter six. So they asked him, these are the Pharisees who’ve just seen the feeding of the 5000 and they say, What sign then will you give? That was it. But all right, whatever. What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness. As it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Jesus said to them, Very truly, I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Sir, they said, always give us this bread. Then Jesus declared, I am the bread. I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. I mean, think about it. Jesus dies in the desert. In fact, he even says, from the cross, I thirst. Jesus dies in the desert so that we can live in the garden, fully satisfied in him and in this Jesus is not just our substitute, but our example as well. He walks Israel’s path and succeeds where they fail. This is Matthew chapter four. Jesus is tempted in the wilderness. He’s there for 40 days, like the 40 years they wandered in the wilderness. And Satan says, you’re probably hungry, right? I’ve seen this story before, why don’t you turn these stones into bread? And he says, No, you can’t live on bread alone. But by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Why don’t you jump off the temple and see if God keeps His promises? No, you’re not supposed to test the Lord your God. Tell you what? Why don’t you skip the trial, skip the school of hard knocks and go straight to glory. All you got to do is worship me. No, it’s written. You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only. Jesus trusts so Jesus obeys, which is the whole reason he can be our substitute. All Our Questions. Jesus has given us the only answer we’ll ever need. We grumble because we want God to act on our terms in our time, when instead we can trust that He will provide all we need because he already has in Christ. So there’s your big idea. By the way, it’s a real short trust. Don’t test trust. Don’t test see God’s glory in His provision daily and eternally. Trust God for your daily needs, knowing that it might not look the way you want, by the way, but you can still trust him, and then trust God’s Son for your deepest needs, and let that produce in you grateful generosity and joyful obedience is what more can he do to prove himself to you than he has already done. See it, know him, believe trust, obey trust. Don’t test let’s pray, Father, we know all that you have done for us. We see your provision for every need that we have, and we see your deepest and dearest provision for our deepest needs. Salvation because of our sin, we see it in your Son, Jesus, sent for our sakes, God, you have proven yourself. There can be no doubt there so only help us to trust we believe, help our unbelief, and then help us to live like we believe and trust in your provision we pray for Christ’s sake, Amen.

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Red Sea Road November 2, 2025 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper discusses the biblical story of the Israelites’ journey through the Red Sea, emphasizing God’s role in creating a way where there seemed to be none. He references Anne Voskamp’s book and Ellie Holcomb’s song “Red Sea Road” to illustrate how God provides a path when all seems lost. Cooper highlights the three movements of salvation, grace, faith, and praise, as seen in Exodus 13-14. He explains how God led the Israelites away from the Philistine route to avoid war, guided them with a pillar of cloud and fire, and parted the Red Sea to save them. The Israelites’ response was faith and praise, recognizing God’s power and deliverance.

Well, good morning church. You can go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Exodus chapter 13. Exodus 13, we’ll be starting in verse 17 this morning, Exodus 13:17, as you’re turning there. Anne Voskamp accounts in her latest book, way maker story of when they were going through a very hard adoption process recently, they faced the usual logistical hurdles that come with international adoptions. On top of that, there were some major health issues for the adoptive child who’s going to need heart surgery pretty much right away. So they were looking at that while they were then also going through an unexpected crisis at home that hit them very hard. And so they were ready to give up, honestly and in particular, and she said to her husband, they were driving at the time, you know, heading home from somewhere. There were three sisters Oregon. They’re driving by the mountains and whatnot. And then she says, I just I don’t see a way that we can make this happen. And as she said those words, the phone rang one of those like uncomfortable coincidences, where you’re thinking, this might be the Lord on the phone right here. So she did what you do when you think it might be God on the phone. She let it go to voicemail. And sure enough, there was a voicemail. So she’d kind of nervously, hit play on it. It was not the Lord, although I believe the Lord was speaking through this call. It was her friend, Ellie Holcomb, just wanting to let her know to be the first one to hear the song that day. She had just written based on something ad mazkamp had herself written based on an article she had written talking about a Red Sea road. And so that’s the name of the song, which I would certainly recommend to you, along with most of Ellie’s music there. But so the song Red Sea road, the idea that God makes a way when it doesn’t seem like there is a way. In fact, the chorus says, when we can’t see a way, God will part the waves. Remember, that’s exactly what Anne had said, right? I don’t see a way that we can make this happen. And then Ellie, in that exact moment, said, Hey, here’s the reminder you need, by the way. This is what we see today, of course, in our passage. This is the original Red Sea road. It’s even pictured there for you, because this is such the centerpiece of the Exodus story. For us, God leads his people into a cul de sac of assured destruction. And when they cannot see a way, he makes a way. He shows them once again, because we’ve seen it throughout Exodus already his power and goodness. And in this story, we see a picture of our salvation grace, faith and praise. Kind of these three movements that we’ll look at in the passage this morning. So let’s look at movement number one in our salvation grace. This is Exodus. 13, verse 17, all the way through 1414. A good chunk of text. Here it is when Pharaoh let the people go. God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter, for God said, if they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt. So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle. Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place. After leaving Sukkot, they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. By day, the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way, and by night, in a pillar of fire to give them light so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night, left its place in front of the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, they are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal zephon. Pharaoh will think the Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert, and I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and He will pursue them, but I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. So the Israelites did this when the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled Pharaoh and his officials changed. Officials changed their minds about them and said, what have we done? We’ve let the Israelites go and have lost their services. So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. He took 600 of the best chariots along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them, the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites who were marching out boldly the Egyptians all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near pi hahiroth, opposite Baal zephon, as Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and there were the Egyptians marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the. Lord, they said to Moses, was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, leave us alone. Let us serve the Egyptians. Would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert? Moses answered the people, do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still. You got to put yourself in this scene here for a moment. I mean, the Breathless excitement that the Israelites would have felt as they were finally, after almost five centuries, leaving Egypt being set free from slavery and oppressive labor. And so they start walking, and they know where they’re going. They know where the Promised Land is, and they know the route as well. So they expected to turn north along the way of the sea. This would be a little bit, it’s not quite, but if you can picture in your head, it’s like, if you were telling your kids, we’re going from Chicago to Grand Rapids on vacation. And you know what that looks like, right? You got to kind of go around the lake and then north up to Grand Rapids. And so you’re there. Maybe it’s 8090 94 one of those, whichever one you’re on, right? Okay, and you hit Gary, and you’re like, we know which way to go from here. And then your parents get on i 65 south. And you’re thinking, why are we going to Indianapolis? Nobody wants to go to Indianapolis. That’s what happens here. Okay, so the Lord has them take 65 South instead. Now these are God’s curious ways. It’s not a shortcut by any means, although it isn’t a detour, because this was exactly his plan, because he knows his people, and he knows that they are not ready to take the usual way, because this was the main way, meant it was heavily fortified. They’re going to be passing Egyptian outposts the whole way, and they weren’t ready for war just yet. I mean, yeah, they’re organized by divisions, but they’re not actually ready for it, considering what happens when they do face war in a few stories from now and numbers. Why not? God’s not wrong. I mean, they just left. They’re disorganized, and it will be all too easy for them to just turn around and go home. I mean, isn’t this why, like explorers and conquerors and stuff, they usually burn their ships when they land somewhere new, because the path of least resistance always leads home, back to the familiar.
Interestingly, this is an illustration of First Corinthians, 10, verse 13. It’s a verse you’ve followed Christ for any length of time you probably have talked about before, and it’s dealing with temptation and stuff. It says this, Paul writes, God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. First. Corinthians 10 is all about this moment in Israel’s history. And so this is what we’re talking about. God provides a way out. He doesn’t lead them into temptation beyond what they can bear. So he has them take I-65 south. Instead, they couldn’t bear facing war yet. So he leads them elsewhere. He leads them to the Red Sea. Now there is some debate here. What sea exactly are we talking about? Now, there is a Red Sea, you know it. That’s the one you’re probably thinking of for good reason that the big strip of sea between African continent and then Middle East, Saudi Arabia and whatnot, or is this the Sea of Reeds, which is what it says in Hebrew. By the way, yam, suph and Suf means reeds, and that would make sense to be the salty marshes that are a little bit north of this area. The answer is both. Yam suph often refers to the Red Sea, so we know that that’s what it would be talking about. But the water level was higher back then, and so at that point, the sea actually connected to these salty marshes. We’re probably doing somewhere, kind of in the middle there, where it’s not exactly the ocean, but we’re not talking salt marshes either. This is where they’re headed anyway, and as they’re walking there, we get this little note that Moses had grabbed Joseph’s bones. This is the whole reason they were in Egypt in the first place. This is Genesis. You can go back and read that story, but Moses keeps the promises that successive generations had made to Joseph to take him with, so to speak. And we’ve just seen the overwhelming faithfulness of God on display in this moment, because Joseph had said again, hundreds of years earlier, God will come to your aid. And now they’ve seen it. It’s true he did come to their aid. And Joseph’s faith here is rewarded. So they’re let out. They got the pillar of cloud by day, the pillar of fire by night. No doubt where God is leading, right? No question that they’re supposed to go, where they’re going, because he’s right there in front of them. How many of you, by the way, wish you had a pillar of cloud sometimes help you know what you’re supposed to be doing, what college to go to, which person to marry, which career to pursue. You. I got good news for you. If you are in Christ, you got better than a pillar of cloud, because you have GOD HIMSELF DWELLING IN your heart by the Holy Spirit leading you where you need to go. So he’s leading them, visibly leading them. And again, they’re excited, but there’s this growing nervousness also, because apparently they went the wrong way, because now they’re supposed to turn back like they missed their exit, and that would make you question your faith for a moment, right? Like, do we do We? Are we sure the pillar knows where it’s going here? And worse, they’re given specific instructions about exactly where to camp, so that they would be stuck again. They are camping in a dead end, like God leads them into a trap. Not the only time you’ll see this in Scripture, by the way, it happens quite a bit. Even Jesus, like tells His disciples, Why don’t you guys get in the boat and head across the sea, and then a storm comes up, like Jesus led them into the storm. It doesn’t feel like Grace, of course, when that happens, but we have to see that it is grace when this happens. Why? Because he says he’s going to do that so that they can see who he is, so that they glorify Him, so that they trust him more than they had earlier that day. And it is always grace when it increases our trust in God Almighty. This is why we see so many of God’s weird strategies for victory to gain glory for himself. You think of Abraham and Sarah like, I’m like, you’re in a great nation. So let’s wait until you’re way past menopause, like 90, and then we’ll talk about you having kids. Why? Because you’ll have no doubt that it was a miracle. You have a no doubt that this was God keeping his promises. You think of some of the battles like Gideon or Jehoshaphat, where they don’t even get to fight, like they march into battle and God says, Just hold still. Watch. Okay, who won that battle? You got any questions? You think it was your military prowess because you didn’t even lift your sword, right? So this is how God works. Of course, these weird strategies so that we see who did it. So there they are, though they’re hemmed in on all sides. They got the sea in front of them. They got this fortress, Migdol right by the side of them. And then they’ve got the Egyptian army coming behind them. We see that Pharaoh has changed his mind. He changed his mind because he never really changed his heart. So again, it looked like repentance. Kyle talked a lot about this a few weeks ago, right? It was sorrow, yes, but it was worldly sorrow. It wasn’t godly sorrow, because didn’t lead to repentance. So his heart didn’t change. He hardens it again, and he comes back after the Israelites. So Israel looks up and they see this cloud of dust on the horizon. Can you imagine the fear and discouragement you would feel in that moment, especially if you were marching out with your family, with your kids and stuff? I mean, the discouraged the closest I can think of, probably because I just watched a movie not that long ago, is Butch Cassidy and a Sundance Kid like four of you have seen it, right? It’s gonna be a great illustrator. Illustration for me. All right, okay, but if you saw it way back where Robert Redford just died, it’s a good time to talk about this, okay, little homage here, whatnot, right? But so they’re trying to get away from the law, these bank robbers, and they’re like, flying through mountains and ravines, and they’re, you know, they send their horses off in one direction, and they sneak away in the other direction, and it doesn’t matter, the law is always there behind them, always kicking up clouds of dust in the background and like that’s how Israel feels at this moment. So they’re panicking, right? They’re losing their faith. This moment feels a little bit like what Jesus describes as Satan snatching back the seed of the gospel. And perhaps you’ve experienced something like this, where you turn to Jesus at a certain point in your life, but immediately faced doubt and discouragement because of circumstances. What do we do in that situation? Well, certainly not what Israel did here, because they just start complaining. Won’t be the last complaint. That’s all we’re going to talk about next week, is their complaint. Week, as they’re complaining. It is an ironic complaint, though, you know, were there not enough tombs in Egypt? Like, I don’t know if you know this about Egypt, but Egypt was at this time, obsessed with death. Like, they had lots of tombs. They had some really cool tombs, kind of these pointy looking ones. Maybe you heard of them, right? Like, this is it? So, yeah, there were plenty of tombs, more tombs than anywhere else. And so they’re like, we should have just died there, I guess. So Moses has to direct their eyes. Take their eyes off of Egypt and onto El Shaddai, God Almighty. And he says, Stand firm, and you will see God will deliver. He says in verse 13, that word for deliverance, by the way, is the word Yeshua, as in Yeshua, which gets translated into English as Jesus. It’s like it almost says, Here, stand firm and you. See Jesus the deliverance of God of Yahweh, and that’s exactly what God, of course, does through Jesus later, because he gives us what we see here, just on a different scale. We get deliverance from death, yes, except it’s deliverance from eternal death. We get freedom from slavery, yes, but it’s freedom from spiritual slavery, and it is announced by faith and received as Grace. You need only to be still. That’s actually a really hard message, isn’t it? This is not how we roll, like you need to do something when you’re in tough circumstances, you gotta fix it. And so it is a hard lesson to learn. Don’t just do something stand there, not what we feel in our flesh, and yet exactly what we are called to do. Jesus himself says later, John, chapter five, verse 24 whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged, but has crossed over from death to life. Whoever hears and believes this is what makes Christianity different from every other religion on the planet, because every other religion says in this moment, start moving, get to work, try harder, give alms, pray five times a day, make a pilgrimage. Here’s four noble truths you should be thinking about. Here is an eightfold path for you to follow, but not with our God of grace. He does everything. He does all the work. We just trust Him. We step back and we see at the end that it is finished and that we have crossed over. We cannot earn it. We can only receive it. You can see why I call this section grace, then unearned favor. And it is. And hopefully you know that Friday was Reformation Day, where we celebrate the recovery of the great truths of the gospel during the Reformation. I mean, this is one of the great Reformation Day themes, of course, one of the five, Solas, sola, gratia, grace alone. We are saved by grace alone, and we’ve seen it here as well, in Christ alone, in Yeshua alone. So what is our response? And that’s the second movement, which is faith. Let’s finish up chapter 14, beginning in verse 15. Then the Lord said to Moses, why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea, to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh his chariots and his horsemen. Then the angel of God who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night, the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other, so neither went near the other all night long. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night, the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground with a wall of water on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea during the last watch of the night, the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He jammed the wheels of their chariots that they had difficulty driving. The Egyptians said, let’s get away from the Israelites. The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt. And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen. Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak, the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived, but the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground with a wall of water on their right and on their left. That day, the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. When the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in Him and in Moses, his servant. So God acts through his mediator, Moses, just like later in our salvation, God will act through Jesus, the new and true Moses. What does Moses do? He raises that staff of God that we met a few chapters ago. And when he does, God divides the waters so that if. Cheryl can walk through on dry land. Now, if you know your Bible Well, you’ll have heard some very deliberate echoes of the creation story. On day two, God divides the waters, basically sky and sea, and then on day three, God creates the dry ground. And so why the deliberate echo? It’s because Moses is trying to show us that God is Lord of Creation, like the Creator, God is the one that we’re dealing with here. Of course, we’ve already seen that God’s Lord of Creation. We saw it in all the plagues. There’s no doubt about who’s in control, but we get to see it again, and it’s a reminder of why we trust him. So what happens at this moment, a strong east wind arises. God sends it. Maybe there’s some sort of tidal movement. At the same time, people are always looking for a natural cause for what happened right here and there is, it’s mentioned. There’s an east wind of some sort at the same time, it’s clearly miraculous. I mean, just at that exact moment when Moses goes like this, a strong east wind happens to blow up. Never mind the strength of this wind, because the waters are divided into the word that’s used there refers to a city wall like that’s not a natural occurrence. Obviously, this doesn’t just happen. So I get that the Bible doesn’t always slice as finely as we do between the natural and the supernatural. The Bible recognizes quite accurately God’s in charge of it all. So he uses ordinary means. He uses extraordinary means. It doesn’t really matter. It’s always God. But here we are definitely dealing with a miracle. Phil Reiching, in his commentary on Exodus, he shares the story of a theologically liberal minister, and as somebody who would deny the authority of Scripture, the resurrection of Christ and the possibility of miracles, and he’s preaching in an old African American church on this story. And so when we get to this moment, of course, African American church is way more dialogical than all of you very dull people who don’t ever talk back to me in the middle of the sermons and stuff like that. And so a man in the back shouts out at this point, praise the Lord taking all his children through those deep waters. What a miracle. And this theologically liberal minister is having none of it. He says it was not a miracle. They were in a marsh land. The tide was ebbing, and Israel picked their way across six inches of water, and the guy in the back shouted, praise the Lord. Drown in all them Egyptians in six inches of water. What a miracle. There’s a point. It’s a funny story, but there’s a point to it also, right? It’s like, when you come to this either trust or don’t like, just don’t try and sit on the fence like this liberal minister was doing, either believe in God, in which case you believe in miracles, or reject God and don’t pretend otherwise. I’m reminded of John Updike’s famous words, one of my favorite poems, seven stanzas on Easter and he writes this, let us not mock God with metaphor, analogy, side stepping, Transcendence, making of the event, a parable, a sign painted in the faded credulity of earlier ages. Let us walk through the door? Well, Israel is walking not just through the door. They’re walking through the dry ground as well, and Egypt follows them in. And there’s this pointed irony in verse 25 when God, who promised to fight for Israel, is fighting against Egypt, and he jams the wheels of their chariots. Again, not hard to imagine how this would happen. They’re driving across what used to be water, so, yeah, their wheels get stuck in the mud, right? And it says they drove with difficulty. And that word for difficulty is literally, they drove with heaviness. Well, that’s a word we come across a bunch in Exodus, because that’s the word that gets translated glory when it refers to God and hard when it refers to Pharaoh, and Pharaoh’s heart in particular, and that’s exactly what’s happening. You want to know the difficulty here. The difficulty is that Pharaoh’s heart was hard, heavy, so that the people would see the heaviness, the weight the glory of God. Well, once Israel crosses Moses, stretches his staff out again, the waters return to their place. The Egyptian army is drowned. There are no survivors. Actually interesting, by the way, Egypt does not show up as an enemy of God’s people again until the time of Solomon, like about 500 years later, because the devastation that they experience here. So no survivors. Now, I realize we read this today in the modern West, and this all seems a bit harsh, but it isn’t. It is fitting judgment. After Egypt’s attempted genocide against Israel, and how did they try to wipe out Israel by throwing the baby boys into the waters? And so here instead, it is they who are drowned in the waters. This is we talked about it before, the boomerang nature of sin. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth perfect justice. It can wrinkle us. I get that, but also need to know that deep down, we long for this sort of judgment. We long to see evil at last put to an end. That’s why the saints burst into song after Babylon is thrown down in the book of Revelation, which we looked at this spring, like we want to see evil and injustice defeated, and when it happens, the rightness of that judgment will lead to joy and praise. You can see this even today. I mean, you think of the jubilant celebrations that happened on VE Day or VJ Day, and you’re going, where was the grief at the loss of life in these moments that grief is real. It’s just not the time for it, the time it’s the celebration the overthrow of evil. So Israel is there watching bodies wash up on shore seeing this dreadful picture of God’s judgment on unrepentant sinners while they are happy and dry, which means the Red Sea represents salvation and judgment at one and The same time. I mean Israel passed through the waters of judgment, because, of course, they deserve to die too. We talked about this a lot when we looked at Passover. Whole reason they had to sacrifice a lamb was because they all deserve to die equally, but so they pass through the waters of judgment, just like Christians today. It’s the point that Paul makes in First Corinthians 10. I told you First Corinthians, 10 was all about Exodus. It says this, our ancestors passed through the sea. He uses a curious word, doesn’t he? They were all baptized into Moses, in the cloud and in the sea. A Baptism reminder is helpful for us. The waters of baptism represent judgment on our sins. That’s why we’re buried with Christ in His death. There’s that reminder, this is where I should be. I should be killed. I should be buried, not just under dirt, but in hell because of my sins, and then, of course, we get salvation. We’re raised to new life in Christ. So the idea there is, we all have to pass through judgment. The question is just whether or not we’ll cross on dry ground. How do we do that? By putting our trust in Jesus, the one who did it for us, there’s nothing for us to do except to receive it from him to I mean, look at verse 31 right. The Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians. The people feared the Lord and put their trust in Him. That’s it exactly. We see his salvation and glory, and we put our trust in Him. So it is a question of faith, which is another of the great Reformation Day doctrines. Of course, sola fide, by faith alone. We are saved in Christ alone, by grace, alone, through faith alone. And where does that lead our last movement, of course, praise me. Read chapter 15, verses one to 21 then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted, both horse and driver. He is hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my defense. He has become my salvation. He is my God. And I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him. The Lord is a warrior. The Lord is his name. Pharaoh’s chariots and his army. He has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea. The deep waters have covered them. They sank to the depths like a stone. Your right hand Lord was majestic in power. Your right hand Lord, shattered the enemy in the greatness of Your Majesty, you threw down those who opposed you. You unleashed your burning anger. It consumed them like stubble by the blast of your nostrils, the water piled up. The surging waters stood up like a wall the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea, the enemy boasted. I will pursue. I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils. I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword. My hand will destroy them. But you blew with your breath and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters. Who among the gods is like you, Lord, who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders, you stretch out your right hand, and the earth swallows your enemies and your unfailing. Love, you will lead the people you have redeemed and your strength, you will guide them to your holy dwelling. The nations will hear and tremble. Anguish will grip the people of Philistia, the chiefs of Edom will be terrified. The leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling. The people of Canaan will melt away terror and dread will fall on them by the power of your arm, they will be as still as a stone until your people pass by, Lord, till the people you bought pass by, you will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance, the place Lord you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary Lord Your hands established. The Lord reigns forever and ever. When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. Then Miriam, the prophet Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her with timbrels and dancing Miriam sang to them. Sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted, both horse and driver. He is hurled into the sea. Well, how could they keep from singing in light of what they had just seen and experienced, and notice how personal this song is. Even though they’re saved corporately, they are saved as a nation. And yet the words are, I will sing right. The Lord is my strength, my salvation, my defense. And it had to be because they had a first hand experience of his power and goodness. It’s like a later song that we sing. This is my story. This is my song. And then he transitions. The song transitions from the first person singular to the second person. I’m gonna sing because of you, because of your character, Lord. So for what exactly do they praise God? I think we see at least five aspects of God’s character and work here in these verses. First of all, they praise God because he’s faithful. You see it there in verse two, when he says, I will praise God, right? My God, my father’s God. And usually when we get that my father’s God, it even mentions some other fathers too, like some grandfather’s great grandfather’s like the God of your father, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. So we’re talking about God’s faithfulness throughout generations. We’re singing to the God who keeps his covenant promises to his people. We saw that with Joseph and his bones as well. Of course, he’s faithful. Second, they praise him because he’s a warrior in verse three, not usually what we praise God for is it. And yet, here we see it. They praise Him because He is a God who is both willing and able to fight against and defeat the forces of evil, oppression and injustice. You can understand why. Again, consider Israel absolutely hopeless, not only when they were in slavery in Egypt, but especially when they were there in front of the Red Sea, facing slaughter themselves, like they’re about to be murdered by this oppressive regime. And so this is a very understandable celebration of a people who are unexpectedly saved. We may go, really, the Lord is a warrior. That’s what you’re praising him for. I think the weirder thing would be if they were to go, well, that’s a relief, but really, what a shame. Like, that’s not the normal response in this moment when you your children have been saved. Now, we have to be careful, of course, because Christian history of the church is littered with some really unfortunate moments when the church took up the sword for the sake of Christ, which is not how it’s supposed to go. It just does not excuse Christian war mongering. You look at some of those blemishes, like certain aspects of the Crusades or the wars between the Catholic and Protestant churches across the centuries, this doesn’t excuse Christian war mongering. It actually does the opposite, in fact, because what do we see here? It’s the Lord who is the warrior the church is just standing still in this moment, the people of God, and He fights for us. But yes, that means we praise God that he is a warrior. We praise God for His wrath, for His just judgment on sin, for his war on hell. Because one commentator put it, his wrath is not a vehement, irrational, vindictive, arbitrary, capricious venting of some supernatural spleen. It’s a manifestation of the repugnance of a holy God against all who defile, disrupt and destroy his world and to his his people, we share that repugnance when it comes to evil. Third and worship Him because He’s unique. Verse 11 Kyle read for us earlier, right? He alone is God. He alone is worthy of worship. There’s no one else like him. Yes, and of course, we’ve got this. By now we’ve seen this. He spent all those plagues showing those gods the Egypt, those aren’t real gods. There’s nobody there. Okay, he I alone, am God, and he has proven it yet again. Fourth, we praise him because he’s loving. Verse 13 talks about his unfailing love. That’s what motivates his works, this display of his wondrous power. It’s his love for his people who trust in Him. And then fifth and over it all, of course, this is the one that holds it all together. We praise Him because He is Savior, because he has saved us. And it’s there in verse two, of course, he is my salvation. It’s there in verse 13. You have redeemed your people. He redeems his people. That word redeems means he purchased the slaves. Just what he’s done, not with gold or silver, as we’ve talked about with with the precious blood of Christ, that lamb without blemish or defect, which reminds us, because, of course, we’re still looking forward to Jesus at this moment in history, but these past acts of deliverance produce faith in future deliverance. I’ve seen him do it before. I will trust he will do it again. And that’s the second half of the song. Do you notice that, like once we hit verse 14, we are now entirely future. They’re praising him for what hasn’t happened yet, but they believe that God will bring them into the Promised Land to the mountain of their inheritance. Verse 17, and that’s before they even knew Jerusalem was going to be the capital, and that’s where the temple was going to be. But their inheritance was secure in God’s mighty hands, they sing of it a good lesson for us too, right? We sing to remember what he’s done, to remind us of what he’ll do. We sing to cultivate in ourselves the hope of heaven, the resurrection of those who die in Christ, the perfect justice and joy that will come to the new heavens and the new earth. And then it’s just worth mentioning verse 20 and 21 Miriam then leads, this is Moses’ sister. Miriam leads the women in praise too. I think it’s worth pointing out here, because in these 15 chapters of Exodus, we’ve actually Exodus, we’ve actually seen women celebrated over and over and over again, Moses’s faithful mother, yoke it, or his sister, Miriam here, but who’s also the one who kind of keeps an eye on him while the baskets floating down the river. We got the midwives, Puah and Shipra. We got his wife, Zipporah, who has to save him at one point because of his sin. And so it’s this reminder. We talked about it with the Gentiles last week with foreigners, but this week, there’s no second class citizens in God’s covenant community when it comes to gender, either women as well as men, have welcome. Are called to serve, have a quality of access to God by grace through faith. The takeaway here is that salvation demands a response, and that grateful worship is the proper response. When you see that you’ve been saved, you burst forth in praise and thanksgiving. It’s like the 10 lepers. Remember Jesus heals 10 lepers. They don’t realize it at first, as they’re walking away, they realize we’ve been healed. And most of them keep going, and just one of them comes back and says, I got to talk to this guy. I got to say, thank you. Thank you for what you’ve done for me. We are called to be that last leper who comes back. He did it. He did everything, so he gets all the praise. It’s actually interesting. In this song, Moses doesn’t get any mention. There’s no like, right? And by the hand of his servant, Moses, or something like that, he gets no mention. But why would he get a mention? What’d he do? He lifted a piece of wood up at one point. What do you even bother with that one like we know who did this. Since the work was God’s alone, the glory is God’s alone. That, by the way, another of the great Reformation Day themes, soli Dell glory. We are saved in Christ, alone, by grace, alone, through faith, alone to the glory of God alone, we can’t save ourselves. We can’t even keep ourselves trusting in God, as we’ve seen in this story already, and as we’ll see next week, so God saves us. We look up and we see his Yeshua, his deliverance. We see Jesus. God does everything he can to make sure that we see that he is the one who saved us, which leads us to trust, to obey and to sing. And that’s our big idea for today, nice and short and simple, see his salvation and sing. See his salvation. And sing. All three movements are there because that salvation is gracious. Salvation right? It is by grace and the sight is what produces faith. It is faithful sight. And then, of course, we sing his praise. I mean, this is the Christian life in some see his salvation and sing. But what does it look like practically, just a few thoughts to get you going on application, the sorts of things you can discuss in your community groups, more specifically later on. But first of all, I think this means that we give up Self Reliance again. Kyle talked about this earlier. It was Kaylee who read the verse earlier. That was my bad. I’m sorry. Sorry, Kaylee, wherever you are, good reading, but Kyle talked about this one for sure, right? He talked about this one in our time of confession, of giving up self reliance, we keep reverting to earning salvation like we keep going back. We’re like, I know I’m saved by grace alone, but I’m pretty sure I should try harder so that I can earn it this time around, like I get it. There is effort involved in the Christian life grace, as opposed to earning, not to effort. That’s important. But we keep going back to our works, and in the process, we keep stealing glory from God. There’s Richard Lovelace who said that most of us in our day to day depend on our sanctification for our justification, meaning, we depend on how well we think we’re doing that day. We depend on our performance that day, for our sense of how God thinks about us at that moment. That is a dangerous way to live, and we don’t have to. We’ve been saved by grace. Give up your Self Reliance as you give up your Self Reliance increase your faith at the same time, because you see what he’s done, you see how he saved you, and then you trust what he will do, going if he’s done all this, then my future is good in his hands. I know it is. But increased faith then will lead to increased obedience. Of course, it will. We trust him. We see His goodness and His glory. We go. I want to, like prove that I trust him by listening to what he says. And I think we see this here in the story, with how quickly they were tempted to go back to Egypt, the first sign of difficulty, they go. We should try being slaves again. I see this a lot more next week. There’s an old quip that basically what it says that God got them out of Egypt, but he hadn’t gotten Egypt out of their hearts. And that’s what’s true for us too. God has delivered us from sin, but we still got sin in our hearts, at least until glory. And so we increase our obedience as we increase our faith. And then lastly, of course, we sing, sing, sing to our God. Be the glory to our God, the only God, our Savior, be pray, see his salvation and sing. Let’s pray to him now.
Lord, we have seen your salvation. We see it here in Exodus, how you saved your people. You alone. Did it by your mighty hand, not by anything they had done, not because they had earned it or deserved it, not because of their cleverness or ingenuity. It was all you Lord, but we have seen it in our own lives as well, because we know that we never could have done enough to earn our salvation. And so you sent your Son Jesus to earn it in our place, to give it to us when we trust in Him and so God, when now that we see your salvation, we only pray that You would help us then to trust, to believe and to give ourselves wholly to you, Lord, we sing of your goodness and glory and grace, and as we sing even now to close this service, we pray that you were to remind us of these gospel truths, drive them deep into our hearts, so that they speed us on our way as we pursue you to the promised land, to the new heavens, to the new earth, to the glory that awaits those who trust in your deliverance and your salvation, we pray in Christ’s name, Amen.

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October 26, 2025 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper discusses the significance of Exodus 12:31-51, emphasizing three truths: God’s covenant faithfulness, covenant welcome, and covenant ransom. He highlights the Israelites’ departure from Egypt, noting Pharaoh’s capitulation and the Egyptians’ favor towards the Israelites. Cooper explains the Passover regulations, stressing the importance of circumcision for inclusion in the covenant community. He connects these practices to the new covenant, likening baptism to circumcision and emphasizing the inclusive nature of the church. Finally, he ties these themes to Jesus as the ultimate firstborn and the ransom for humanity, urging believers to consecrate their lives to God.

Good morning church and go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Exodus. Chapter 12. Exodus chapter 12. We’ll be starting verse 31 today. Exodus 1231. As you turn in there, there is a hard luck family from Lake Wobegon, Minnesota. So it’s Swedish immigrants and their daughter. So young Swedish woman ended up running off with a Scotsman by the name of Campbell. They had three kids together before this Campbell fellow left her, which meant she had returned home in disgrace, not just in disgrace, but in poverty as well. She lived in a broken down trailer with her three kids, and was dependent on the charity of those around her, the pity of friends and family and neighbors, really just to survive until a letter arrived asking her about her family heritage, and especially about this Campbell guy. And so she responded, gave what information she had, and then another letter arrived a little bit after that, letting her know that her kids, through Campbell their father were actually direct descendants to the throne of Scotland, which, if you know political history, you know the throne of Scotland is vacant, the United Kingdom, all that stuff and whatnot. But, you know, direct descendants of the Stuart kings, basically. So they were heirs to the throne, and had no idea, in their hardship, they didn’t know who they were. As Christians, we know who we are, but in our hardship, we can forget. We can forget who we are, and so we need to remember. We actually maybe even seen that in the past couple of weeks, because we’ve been so hyper focused on the plagues, that it’s been easy to miss the promises, to forget God’s covenant, promises to go, Okay, we see that God is rescuing Israel out of Egypt. But why? Why is God choosing to rescue Israel? That’s what we want to remember. And so our big idea today, I’m gonna give you up from to you up front, just we can kind of work it out as we go through the text. But our big idea today is, consecrate yourselves to the Lord as you remember what he has done for you. So we’re gonna come back to that word consecrate in the last section, because that’s not a word we use all day, every day. But you know, to set yourself apart. Devote yourself fully to the Lord as you remember all that he’s done for you. We’re going to see three truths in particular to remember in our text today. And so this will be kind of our outline. These three truths that are there fill in the blanks in the bulletin for you. So first truth we want to remember from our first section, verses 31 to 42 consecrate yourselves the Lord as you remember his covenant faithfulness. As you remember his covenant faithfulness, so verses 31 to 42 let me read it for us. Now during the night, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, up, leave my people, you and the Israelites, go worship the Lord as you have requested, take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go and also bless me. The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country for otherwise, they said, We will all die. So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders and kneading troughs, wrapped in clothing. The Israelites did as Moses instructed, and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for. So they plundered the Egyptians. The Israelites journeyed from Ramses to Sukkot. There were about 600,000 men on foot, besides women and children, many other people went up with them, and also large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds, with the dough the Israelites had brought from Egypt. They baked loaves of Unleavened Bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves. Now, the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years. The end of the 430 years to the very day all the Lord’s divisions left Egypt because the Lord kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt. On this night, all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the Lord for the generations to come. So if you’ve been tracking with us in this series so far, you know that this opening paragraph is deeply ironic. I mean, Pharaoh has to call Moses and Aaron back into his presence. He had told them, If you ever show up in front of me again, I’m gonna kill you. And he’s like, actually, if you could come in for another meeting, that would be great. And then he totally capitulates here. So what Moses has been asking of him. The last, you know, five months or so, Pharaoh is now begging them to do Moses is saying, Let my people go. And Pharaoh is like, Hey, would you and your people just go already? Yes, yes, we are willing to do this. Thank you for asking. And did you catch it also that the Lord’s purpose was fulfilled? Because what does Pharaoh say to Moses? He says, Go worship, not your God. He says, go and worship the Lord. Go and worship Yahveh. And this is where it all started, right? Moses went to Pharaoh and said, The Lord says, Let my people go. And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord? Who is this Yahveh guy that you keep talking about? Well, now he knows this is a lesson. I think this opening paragraph for all who would seek to resist God’s will, because it accomplishes nothing other than hardness of heart and death. Pharaoh gained nothing and lost everything. Far better for us than to accept God’s claims on our lives, now, especially the claims of a God from whom all blessings flow like it is very easy to surrender ourselves to a master as good and gracious as he is, so the Israelites get to go. This is the Exodus. Finally, in our series on Exodus, here we are. This is the Exodus. And at the heart of the actual Exodus is God’s covenant faithfulness. There are three covenant promises fulfilled, all of which shows that we can trust him. We can always trust him. So three promises that were made to Abraham back when God established that covenant with Abraham. The first promise is this Genesis, 15. Verse 14, it says that the Israel is going to be slaves in Egypt for, you know, like a half a millennium or so, like that’s a long time, but eventually they’re going to come out, and afterward, it says they will come out with great possessions after these centuries of slavery. And here we see it right in verse 36 the Egyptians are favorably disposed toward them, and they gave what was asked of them, so they receive great possessions, the just payment for their centuries of hard labor. Then the second promise from Genesis 12, two, when God first calls Abraham and says, I will make you into a great nation. I will make you into a great nation. Now this was a promise that wasn’t looking so good in Abraham’s life, when he dies, he has one son, not exactly a great nation at this point. Wasn’t even looking good at the beginning of Exodus. Was it because we’ve got Pharaoh attempting a genocide on the Israelite people, which is not usually a recipe for becoming a great nation. But no, they were fruitful. They multiplied still, and we read that at about 600,000 men, and then you got the women and children. Now this does present a difficulty, by the way, because that would make them about 2 million people, and that is just too large for the number that would have come out at this time. Also would be really difficult, because they leave in a night, and if you got 2 million people on foot, it takes about two weeks for the back of the line to catch up to where the front started. So what’s happening here? Most likely could just be simple hyperbole. I don’t think that’s what’s going on, though, more likely that word that’s used for 1000 Hebrew word eleph, can mean a clan or division. So we’re probably talking about like you got 600 clan units that are coming out at this point, still a large number of people, though, as they’re a big group, they’re no longer just the 70 who came down to Egypt. They have indeed become a real nation, a great nation, at this point. And then the third promise from Genesis, 12, three, the next verse, all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you. And I can hear you guys, you’re looking at this story, and you’re going, okay, Brandon, but this doesn’t look like all nations being blessed. This looks very tribal. This is about Israel, and it’s really doesn’t look like a blessing on Egypt. That’s for sure. Are we sure all nations are being blessed here? Yes, like this isn’t tribal. You can see it in verse 38 many other people went up with them. It’s a very specific phrase that’s used, it refers to an ethnically diverse group of people. Isn’t that interesting? It’s not just the Israelites who leave Egypt. Now, who are these other people? Could be other slaves that were there. Could include some Egyptians as well. We don’t really know. We just know that it’s a it’s a motley group. Of people. We we can see what this looks like, because after Moses’s wife, Zipporah, dies, Moses marries a woman from Cush, we learn in numbers 12, a black Cushite woman be modern day Ethiopia. I mean, they’re out wandering in the wilderness, like, where’s he meeting women? She was there in the group. I mean, she probably came out at this point as well. So even though, yes, in this moment, God is drawing Israel out of Egypt, he is simultaneously drawing all nations to himself through Egypt, through Israel, sorry, through Israel. And so what we’re seeing here is what Ruth declares later. You’ve got these people who are going along with Israel. And what does Ruth say to Naomi, her mother in law, you know where you go, I’ll go, and your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. And that seems to be what these people are saying here. Of course, we this continues the great commission that is given to the church right make disciples of all nations. And then this culminates in the vision of revelation seven that we looked at in an earlier series, where you’ve got this this group from every tribe and language and nation and people worshiping the Lord together in heaven. So this moment here, even though it looks tribal, it’s like the first domino that’s falling. And, you know, all these dominoes later, like a Rube Goldberg machine or something, right? You tap the first thing, and then seven minutes later, you’ve got your toast and tea is made, or whatever, like that. That’s what’s happening here. I had no idea what was coming when this first domino fell. And then verse 42 where we end this little section is so interesting. It’s another way. We talked about a lot of ways last week to remember. Here’s another way to remember, because God kept vigil. He stayed awake all night. God doesn’t sleep, of course, but he’s watching carefully all night to make sure his people get out of Egypt. And so from then on, the Israelites were supposed to stay awake all night on this day to remember the Lord’s vigil. They keep vigil, to remember his vigil. But that’s the idea again, find ways to remember, to remember, especially that he keeps all his promises. Remember his covenant faithfulness. Paul tells us, in Second Corinthians one that all God’s promises are yes in Christ, no matter how many promises God has made, they are yes in Christ. And we say amen when we hear his promises as a result, look, we have seen so many more of God’s promises fulfilled than Israel had here at this moment. I mean, the very first promise that God was going to send a seed of woman to stomp on that snake’s head, to crush Satan, the enemy. That’s happened, God sent Jesus, and he’s the snake Crusher, right? So that one’s fulfilled. I mean, Genesis, 12, three, what we already looked at, yes, Israel became a great nation, but they become a blessing. Become a blessing to all nations. We are proof of that blessing even here Isaiah 53 we sang words from that text this morning, even. But yes, He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was on him that’s fulfilled. Even promises in Israel’s history, like Jeremiah 29 where it says you’re going to be exiles in Babylon, but just for one generation, just 70 years, and then I’m going to bring you back. Like, yeah, he did that. So you see the point. He always keeps his promise. He’s always faithful to his covenant. Do you struggle with trusting God? Sometimes? Sure, right, that’s the answer. You’re all like, I don’t know if I’m allowed to talk right now, yeah, and you can say yeah, also right, because we struggle sometimes with trusting God when we do in that moment, we remember, we look back at all the promises God kept. How do I know that he’ll do it? Because he’s always done it before. He always keeps His word. Now, it’s true. God has not kept every promise yet. Some are still future. Like, again, we just studied revelation. I’m looking forward to the day when there’s no more crying, no more sin, no more mourning, no more death. Like, yeah, but it hasn’t happened yet. And maybe there’s some personal promises, like Romans eight, he’s gonna work all things for your good. If you’re a believer in Christ, you may be going, I don’t know what that good is yet in this trial that I’m in, so it may be future. But the point is, he’s never broken a promise, and he never will, right? Like, go back to that Jeremiah 29 promise. It’s not like God said 70 years in Babylon, and then 1000 years later he was like, Oops, my bad. Like, you know, symbolic numbers, I meant 1200 years or something. That’s not how this works. He always keeps His word. So consecrate yourself to the Lord in trust, keeping vigil, watching for him to keep his promises, as you remember his covenant faithfulness. And then second. It, consecrate yourselves to the Lord as you remember your covenant. Welcome your covenant. Welcome the rest of chapter 12, picking up in verse 43 let me read it for us. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, these are the regulations for the Passover meal. No foreigner may eat it. Any slave you have brought bought may eat it after you have circumcised him, but a temporary resident or a hired worker must may not eat it. It Must Be Eaten inside the house. Take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones. The whole community of Israel must celebrate it. A foreigner residing among you who wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised, then he may take part, like one born in the land, no uncircumcised male may eat it. The same law applies both to the native born and to the foreigner residing among you. All the Israelites did just what the Lord had commanded, Moses and Aaron, and on that very day, the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions, as you remember your covenant welcome. And some of you are going covenant welcome, really, like in the NIV, at least the name for this section is Passover restrictions. So, like, here’s who’s not welcome to eat this meal. Not everyone is welcome, or are they, though? I mean, yes, God has to fence the table. It’s an old Scottish Presbyterian phrase to let people know who may and who may not take the Lord’s Supper. And we do it here. Of course, we fence the table every time we take communion, and say if you’re an unrepentant sin, or if you are not a believer in Christ, if you have not yet trusted Christ, then this is not the meal for you, because this is a covenant meal for those who have said, I’m a part of the Covenant community. So God does that here, because Passover is a covenant meal. And so he’s saying, okay, so it’s for the people who are part of the Covenant community. So he’s got to fence the table, especially because of the presence of those foreigners that we just talked about in this exodus group. May they eat this meal? Because foreigners at this time would have a tendency to worship foreign gods, not the God of Israel. And so no, they could not eat that. But I don’t think the question here is really who should be excluded from the meal. The question is really who may be included in the meal. And we get this wide variety of terms to describe everyone living in Israel at this point. So you get the foreigner, which is kind of a catch all term, but then you get some different sorts of peoples. You’ve got temporary residents. You’ve got hired workers. And then in verse 48 a foreigner residing among you. We’re talking about permanent legal residents, like green card holders, basically. So who can join in eating the Passover Well, circumcised slaves can because they belong to a household. They’ve been marked by the covenant seal circumcision, so they’re a part of the Covenant community. But foreigners may not, and then you almost see some hands going up in the back of the 600,000 people or whatever, going, Okay, but what about foreigners who live and work permanently among us on Moses, God says, Well, if they’re circumcised because again, that means they’ve joined the covenant community, then they can eat too. And did you see that in verse 48 by the way, not only can they eat it, but they eat it without distinction from native born Israelites. They eat it like one born in the land. That’s shocking. That’s absolutely shocking. At this moment in history, there is no distinction once you join God’s covenant people. There are no second class citizens in the covenant community. Paul draws out the logic, the Gospel logic of this in Ephesians chapter three, when he’s saying, the mystery of the gospel is that the Gentiles have been brought in, and so they are now heirs together with Israel, members together of one body and sharers together in The covenant promises, the promise in Christ, Jesus, no distinction, no second class citizens. Now circumcision is the deciding factor, because, as I’ve said, it marks your entrance into the covenant community. In that it is like baptism in the new covenant, which marks your entrance into the covenant community, into the church, and both happen by faith. By faith, Abraham believed God. That’s what was credited to him as righteousness, and then he is circumcised as a sign of his faith in baptism. We believe in the grace of Jesus Christ, and we show it visibly by getting baptized in the water. Errors, this connection to circumcision then binds Passover to God’s covenant with Abraham, right? It’s just this reminder again, so it’s not ethnic, because all nations are going to be blessed through Abraham, and it’s not deserved. It is by faith for all nations on the basis of God’s faithfulness, nothing has changed for us today. In fact, the inclusiveness of the church should be even more obvious, more pronounced. All are welcome in the covenant community, regardless of ethnicity, language, class, gender, the only distinction that matters is creed. Have you put your faith in Christ, Jesus? So that means it’s important that you remember your covenant welcome. And when I say remember your covenant welcome, I mean you are remembering that none of us should be here. That’s what that looks like. None of us should be here. We don’t belong in God’s covenant people because of iniquity, not ethnicity, but that sin means that we should not be here. And yet the glory of the gospel, God has flung wide the door of the church. All may enter who come by faith in Jesus, but that is the key. The door is wide open, but there’s only one door. So it’s this like exclusive inclusivity or inclusive exclusivity. I don’t care which way you look at it. The door is wide open, but there is only one door in His name is Jesus. He even said John chapter 10, I am the door. I am the door because there’s only one God as Pharaoh and the Egyptians just learned there’s only one God. So there’s only one way to be saved through that one sacrifice offered once for all time. But everyone, everywhere, can be saved under the blood of that sacrifice, as we saw last week. So remember your covenant, welcome. But equally, remember everyone else’s covenant, welcome. There’s such important corporate application for us here. How do we treat those who are different from us in the church? Now, maybe that’s ethnicity. Goodness knows, we’ve got some tension when it comes to race in our nation. More likely, I think it would be class for a lot of us, and maybe most likely in a community like ours, I think it’s messiness. Like we want people whose lives are put together. We want easy people in this community. You are welcome to come on in if you can contribute in all sorts of ways which you can, by the way, if you’re in Christ we talked about that. That’s the ministry fair idea, but that’s what we want, right? We don’t want people who are going to be a burden to us and make our lives more difficult. And so the question is for us, right? Do they find welcome? Do all people find welcome here in this church? So someone could come in with their life, not put together and go, I belong, because the blood of Christ, and maybe even more, do they find welcome, not just here, but in your home, as part of the Covenant community? Because, remember, there are no restrictions once there is faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, we’ve got this lovely communal focus in the last two verses of this section, verses 50 and 51 all the Israelites did just what the Lord had commanded. And on that very day, the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions, by their groups, right? There’s nothing individual here, which is a good reminder for us in the highly individualistic West that salvation isn’t, mainly isn’t, first and foremost, personal. I know that’s an important part of it. We have to talk about that. Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Yes, that matters, but it’s not like your private possession. Then we’re being saved as a people for His name. We’re being saved together. And so it’s only right that we celebrate together, and that’s why we eat the meal together. You take communion in church, in the gathering of the local church, that’s where communion happens, and nowhere else, because it is a family a family meal. So there’s no such thing as a lone ranger Christian. The church, less Christian, we gather in community, consecrate yourself to the Lord in corporate worship, in multi ethnic, multi class, multi everything community as you remember your covenant, welcome. And then third, consecrate yourselves to the Lord. As you remember the covenant ransom, we read chapter 13, verses one to 16, the Lord said to Moses, consecrate to me every firstborn male, the first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal. Then Moses said to the people, commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast. Today, in the month of Aviv you are leaving when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites, the land he swore to your ancestors to give you a land flowing with milk and honey. You are to observe this ceremony in this month for seven days, eat bread made without yeast, and on the seventh day, hold a festival to the Lord. Eat unleavened bread during those seven days, nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders. On that day, tell your son, I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt. This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips. The Lord brought you out of Egypt with His mighty hand. You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time, year after year after. The Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you as he promised on oath to you and your ancestors, you are to give over to the Lord. The first offspring of every womb, all the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord. Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey. But if you do not redeem it, break its neck, redeem every firstborn among your sons in days to come, when your son asks you, What does this mean? Say to him, with a mighty hand, the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrificed to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons. And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with His mighty hand. So here we finally get our word, our key word, consecrate. Now this word has the exact same root in Hebrew as the word holy. So this is just means holify, which is not a word your sons every first born male. So to make holy, we’ve talked about this. Every time we talk about what holy means, it means set apart. That’s what makes God holy, is he’s totally different from all the rest of us, because He is perfect and we are not. So he’s saying set apart for me. Show that they belong to me, the firstborn of every house. Now there is a lot going on here. Of course, we can’t read what we just read in the last couple of weeks and not immediately. Think of the 10th plague the firstborn, the death of the firstborn. So the firstborn of Israel should have died also. We talked about that last week, but God spared them, and so now they belong to him. But I think it’s more than just that that’s going on because the firstborn is so important in this culture, the firstborn represents the family the way a captain represents a team they were given in this culture, in almost every culture in the history of the world and in many cultures, even still today, given special rights and a special inheritance. But of course, they’re given the special inheritance even I mean, you don’t even have to go back that far. You can, like, think you’re Jane Austen novels or something like that. Like, you know, the son inherits the estate. Why? For the sake of the family and the family’s future. And so the first born doesn’t just represent the family, but represents the future family too. So when a king finally had a son born to him, everyone went because the dynasty is secured and the line goes on. And so the firstborn is the whole family in perpetuity. And so God’s saying the whole family in perpetuity belongs to me, which makes sense. Moses himself says it later, Deuteronomy, 32 verse six, he asks the Israelites, is he not your father, your Creator who made you and formed you. And so you see the point there. It’s not just the firstborn by redemption that belongs to him, but by creation. We all belong to him. He made us. So we are His. We, all of us, belong to Him. Now I can’t read that without a quick word to parents, at least. Do you feel this way about your own kids, or do you see them as your own? And feel free to make them in your image. I’m not a first born. I’m a force born. They’re the best. I got an amen from Brielle, the only one who amens me ever. But I am married to a firstborn. I have a firstborn. My best friend is a firstborn, also my coworker. He is married to a firstborn, also my coworker. I am like surrounded by firstborn. You probably know some firstborns too. There are more of them than anyone else, right? First borns have a vibe about them, don’t they? Yeah, all the second borns are like, Mm, hmm, yeah, yeah, exactly. But why, like, why first born? They got tendencies, right? Most likely, most likely. Not all of them, certainly, but they’ve got this tendency more likely to be rule following type A perfectionists. Why? Because their parents thought they could make them that way, like with your first born, you can do everything right. And so you get the strictest sleep training, the strictest diet. Like Karis didn’t have sugar tissue. She was like 19. She’s got two years to go. Still, this is how we’re so we think we can make them perfect, and then we also have all these ideas for them, like we stamp our plans on them most deeply they got all this pressure. That’s why they’re always performing all this pressure. Maybe it’s academically, maybe it’s sports or other extracurriculars. So that’s how we think of our kids, and we’re slowly disabused of that notion when you get down to four or five and six and things like that. Okay, but contrast that how we approach the firstborn with Abraham, because Abraham takes his first born, who is his only born, his son, his only son, whom he loves, and he ties him to the altar and is ready to sacrifice him to the Lord. The Lord, of course, abhors child sacrifice. It was never part of his plan for that to happen. That’s why he provides the ram in the thicket that we talked about last week. But that’s the attitude we have with our kids. This is not mine. This is yours. Everything is on the altar. Lord, that’s why this is such a key moment in Israel’s history. But it’s such a good lesson for us as well. Like this is what we do in parent commissioning, when we when we have those services, you’re taking that kid and you’re going here, here, Lord, ultimately, he is not mine, she is not mine, and belong to you. Then verse three, we see that we are to commemorate. So there’s that remembering idea, again, to commemorate the deliverance of the firstborn, and also, of course, of God’s firstborn, which is the nation of Israel we saw way back in chapter four. So you need to remember that. And it is an active remembering, as we talked a lot about last week, the Passover, the feast of unleavened bread, all of that. It’s an active remembering that involves us instructing the next generation, which is what the firstborn represents, of course, the next generation. Do you see it there in verse eight, tell your son like tell your kids parents initiate instruction. Here’s why we’re doing what we’re doing. Because here’s what you need to know, here’s what you need to learn, here’s what you need to remember. Can I ask you, parents again, how are you doing this in your home? We started talking about this last week, the idea of weekly yearly rhythms. Let me consider this again, yearly rhythms, especially when it comes to the Holy Days, the holidays like Passover. You know, here’s this feast that is commanded in Scripture. What about our holy days? Christmas, Advent, Lent, Easter, Good Friday. Do you have traditions? But are your traditions about instructing the next generation in the wondrous deeds of the Lord, or is it elf and a fat guy in a red suit? Nothing wrong with those right we also watch elf. That’s not what I’m saying, but that’s like frosting on the cake. The cake is the wondrous deeds of the Lord. What you do for Christmas, what you do for Easter? Like, are your kids learning that? Or is it a bunny that drops eggs? You know which one matters, right now. I get it. Scripture does not command these feasts. But I just think we’ve got these opportunities here, Christmas, Easter, maybe other like Reformation Day, which is coming up this week. Of course, Thanksgiving again, it’s a national holiday, but you know what? We’re supposed to give thanks? Okay, I could do this one, right? I just think that some of. These ideas that are here in Scripture need to be a much, much bigger deal than Valentine’s Day or Halloween. We did fall festival again. It’s not like we’re anti Halloween, but like you understand, these don’t really have much significance to them, but even then, of course, getting to the deep spiritual meaning of these days, and not just their secularized cultural versions, but it’s not just yearly rhythms, although I hope your year has a gospel rhythm to it, but what about your daily and weekly rhythms? Also like we cannot guarantee our kids faith, but we can do all that we can to to ensure that this teaching is passed down. Looks like family worship, certainly daily, opening the Bible together as a family, instructing them in the word, explaining the story of the gospel. I mean, when kids are really little, this probably just looks like teaching the stories themselves. They’re just getting names and and, you know, plot down. And then as they grow, it, it starts to change. It starts to mature. The depth of engagement. What we do with the girls, at least the boys are at the learn the story stage the girls right now, we’re in Proverbs, but we do the meditation questions from Journey group, just together when they were learning how to meditate on Scripture as we open God’s Word together. That’s family worship. We model private worship. Of course, our kids see us in the Word, in prayer, in fasting, in silence, in solitude, whatever it may be, and then, of course, the weekly rhythm of corporate worship, which I have said before and will say again until the day I die, is sacrosanct, inviolable. Do you understand this is the most important time of your week, and I hope it is the favorite part of your week, also, like I know it is for me, not this part. I get tired of hearing myself, much like all of you do but, but it’s when I can hear all of you singing behind me. That’s why you sit in the front row. By the way, I have no idea why back row Baptists sit in the back row. You can’t hear people singing when you’re in the back row, so come sit up front, but don’t take my seat. Okay, hearing you all sing about the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the highlight of my week every single week. And so it’s not just that we make sure that we’re here, but there’s something we communicate about it. Do your kids know why you bring them to church? Like really? Have you ever asked them that question? Do they know that you’re here because he’s worth it? And doesn’t that change how you come to church, like when you’re getting them ready in the morning, which isn’t always easy. I understand. Does it have the feel of we have to get there, we have to go to church. We get to go to church. We’re going to see the King guys. This is awesome. Let’s do this. Those are some rhythms that we can keep so that, paraphrasing verse 10 here, we get to keep these rhythms at the appointed time, year after year after year. And then we get verse 11, and there’s this big shift, because all of a sudden, we’re talking about, you know, we’re commemorating, we’re consecrating, all that stuff. And then all of a sudden, oh, wait, we need to redeem the firstborn. And redeem might not even be the right word there. I think it’s actually more the idea of ransom. You know what ransom is? Right? It’s when you you pay money to save someone from death, and so they have to ransom the firstborn, because the firstborn belongs to God and should have died. So what does this look like? It’s a little bit like in back in the days the Cold War, East Germany. West Germany, there was this idea of freikov, which means the buying of freedom. So there were more than 30,000 East German dissidents who were ransomed by West Germany like spared capital punishment in exchange for things like fruit and medicine like that’s what’s happening here. With the first one. We have to give you something in order to save this person from death, and that’s why verse 15 you either sacrifice the firstborn animal or ransom, the firstborn son, who is then consecrated to the Lord. And so their substitution is just there in the idea of a ransom, like you give a lamb for a donkey. It sure feels like that’s getting us ready for what’s coming, right? I don’t need to tell you that one we talked about. This one. Quick aside. Did you see there in verse 14? So we already talked about parents are instructing tell your son, but then also verse 14, you’re ready to answer their questions. Like, this is beautiful too. When your kids come to you and they’re like, why do I do this? I’m so glad you asked. Like, let’s talk about this. You’re ready to answer their questions as. Well what this means, but you consecrate the firstborn to the Lord, then this is what Mary and Joseph do for Jesus. They bring him to the temple, and they offer the two doves, which is what you were allowed to do instead of a lamb, if you were poor or like Samuel, would be another really good example here. So Hannah, who is barren, prays for a child, and God opens her womb, she has Samuel, which he says, I will give him to you. If you give me a son, I will give him to you. Once he’s weaned, she drops him off at the temple. That’s where he lives. That’s what consecration looks like, by the way, but Samuel is especially helpful, because she consecrated Samuel to the Lord in the hopes that there would be more children to come, as indeed there were. And so the first born is almost like the first fruits of a harvest. I’m gonna give you the first because I know that more is on the way, which gives us, by the way, that many nations ideas again, because Israel is God’s first born son. They’re consecrated to the Lord in the hope that many others would follow. All nations, in fact, would follow. Which means, in this story, we move from redemption to consecration to mission. That’s the Christian life, right? There, isn’t it? Right? Salvation, sanctification, sending. We’re sent out. God saves us by grace, and we offer ourselves to Him to live lives worthy of the gospel, and then we proclaim that gospel in Word, but also in deed, living as salt and light in this world. Now, all of this, all of this, points to Jesus, of course, when Jesus is the firstborn of his family, as I said, that’s why the doves were offered. He’s also Colossians. Tells us the firstborn of creation, which is important, because that means He’s the heir. He gets the estate. It all belongs to him, and then he is, later in Colossians, the firstborn from the dead, the guarantee of that future eternal life. And thus becomes Romans eight, the firstborn of many brothers and sisters. But how do those brothers and sisters? You and me get into the covenant community? Because we shouldn’t belong to God’s covenant people. We need to be ransomed ourselves. Well, we know the answer. We know the answer. We talked a lot about it last week, God ransoms us by the death of his firstborn, trusting that there will be many more kids to come. God did not spare His own Son, but gave him up for us all, but that means that we are no longer our own right. First, Corinthians six, you are not your own. You were bought ransomed with a price. We know the price. We talked about it last week, not silver, not gold, but by the precious blood of Christ, a Lamb without blemish or defect. So if we’re not our own, but belong to him, because we were bought with a price. What do we do? Consecrate yourself as you remember the covenant ransom, as you remember Christ’s blood shed for you. Consecrate yourselves to the Lord as you remember what he has done for you. Like actively call to mind your salvation, and let it produce worshipful obedience in the words of the old hymn, right, take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee, my feet, my hands, my lips, my resources. Take it all, God. I give them all to you as instruments of righteousness and instruments of mission. Can you imagine how those young Campbell kids, if they even got to take their dad’s last name? I don’t know how these young Campbell kids felt when they learned they were royalty, like how that would have changed everything, if you trust in Christ your ransom, you also are royalty, sons and daughters of the King, and your inheritance is secure in heaven. Now I don’t know this for sure, but I am guessing those Campbell kids lived differently after that letter, like they may still have been poor. I’m guessing they walked into school with a swagger. Y’all know who I am, that’s right. You can bow if you want. I will understand they lived differently after that letter. Shouldn’t we live differently because we have experienced a much bigger change being brought from death to life. You are royalty. So live like royalty. Live lives worthy of your king and father. Consecrate yourselves to the Lord as you remember his covenant faithfulness, your covenant welcome and the covenant ransom the blood of Christ. Let’s pray you. God, Father, we thank You for Your covenant faithfulness. Thank you that you keep all of your promises, and that you kept those promises at great cost to yourself. We were ransomed by the blood of your first born son. That’s what it cost you to welcome us into your covenant community, to adopt us as your sons and daughters. Lord truth, that glorious demands commemoration that we would remember, that we would think of it actively and take steps to remember it well, but it demands consecration as well, Lord, that we would offer ourselves wholly to you, and so we do that. Now, Lord, would you take our lives and let them be consecrated to You? Lord, lived for Your glory and the furtherance of your mission in this world, we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

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The Passover October 19, 2025 | Brandon Cooper The sermon focused on Exodus 11-12, emphasizing the importance of remembering life-shaping events, particularly the Passover. Brandon highlighted the significance of the final plague, the death of the firstborn, and the role of the lamb as a substitute. He explained the rituals of the Passover, including the lamb, unleavened bread, and the blood on the door, symbolizing faith and protection. The sermon concluded with a call to remember sin, the lamb’s blood, and God’s grace.

Actually can just share one more quick announcement before we dive into the Word this morning. Very exciting announcement. Some of you may be aware of this. You’ve heard little bits and pieces here and there, but wanted to let you guys know that Kyle’s book, storing up treasure, 30 verses to learn, live and love, is at this point, available for pre order at the Good Book Company. And so we mentioned that, yeah, you can certainly mention that because, well, probably we just wanted you to hear it from us first, instead of just seeing it online or something like that, since we are family here, but also because Kyle wanted me to extend on his behalf his great thanks to all of you, the elders the church, the staff of the congregation, including some families who read chapters early on to get feedback from them. Just wanted to thank you all for your support in this writing process. And that’s everything Kyle wanted me to say. But I’m going to say one more thing, because I’ve said here many times, the coopers do not attend Cityview because you guys hired me to be your senior pastor. We attend Cityview because you hired Kyle to be our Family Ministries pastor, and we wanted to raise our kids under the Family Ministries that he leads, because he has such gifting and passion for it that comes out in this book, certainly. So I would encourage you, if you have kids in the home still, maybe to think about making that pre order, because we know that you will be richly blessed by it with that then go ahead, grab your Bibles. You can open up to Exodus chapter 11. We’ll be in chapter 11 and a good chunk of chapter 12 this morning as well Exodus 11 as you’re turning there. Do you remember where you were when? And here we could fill in some different blanks. Do you remember where you were when? Well, if you were born, say 1957, or earlier, do you remember where you were when JFK was killed or 95 and earlier. Do you remember where you were when the planes hit the Twin Towers, September 11? Or, if you’re from around here and of a certain age, you remember where you were when the Cubs finally won the World Series after a millennium and a half, or something? We remember, right? We everyone has Yes. Was the answer we were getting there. Of course, I remember where I was when these things happened. We remember life shaping events. In fact, go even farther to say we should remember life shaping events. We talk a lot about this is why there are memorials on September 11. And we say things like, never forget, because we want to make sure that they don’t fade from memory. And I think that’s especially true when it comes to our spiritual life. We want to remember what God has done for us, in us, through us, but we forget. We forget regularly. It was Claire Davis, who is a church historian, who said that the Christian life is a combination of amnesia and deja vu, where we say things like, I know I’ve forgotten this before. We’re guilty of this gospel amnesia. Just every day it feels like the truths of the gospel fade from memory. That’s why, actually, one of the most common commands in Scripture is remember, remember your Creator in the days of your youth. The teacher tells us in Ecclesiastes 12, remember the Lord who is great and awesome. Nehemiah four, and that’s to ensure that they don’t lose a heart and become afraid of the opposition. Remember the wonders he has done. Psalm 105, remember, maybe most importantly, Paul tells Timothy, remember Jesus Christ raised from the dead? Well, this week and next week are all about remembering. Last two weeks were all about hard hearts. These two weeks are all about remembering this week, especially what we remember and why, and then next week, how we remember and why. We’ll look at this in three scenes, just a bit of context, in case, this is your first time here. We’re in the middle of the series in Exodus, of course, and we just finished the first nine plagues. Covered most of them last week, in fact. So that’s where we are. We’re we’re building to this climactic moment, the final plague. That’s where we are in the story. So let’s pick it up there. Scene one, the message is delivered. Chapter 11, all of the chapter in fact, let me read it for us now. Now the Lord had said to Moses, I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely. Tell the people that men and women are like are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold. The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded. In Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people. So Moses said, This is what the Lord says about midnight. I will go throughout Egypt. Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh who sits on the throne to the firstborn son of the female slave who is at her hand mill and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt, worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. But among the Israelites, not a dog will bark at any person or animal. Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, Go, you and all the people who follow you. After that, I will leave. Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh. The Lord had said to Moses, Pharaoh, will refuse to listen to you so that my wonders may be multiplied. In Egypt, Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country. So this one is distinct from the other. Plagues. Plagues one to nine, again, covered most of them last week. Some key distinctions that Kyle mentioned last week, that the first nine plagues, they come in these three triplets well and now this one is all by itself, and it is different. The Lord, for example, he acts without Moses or Aaron. There’s no raising of the staff or anything like this in this plague. He announces the success of this plague beforehand. You see it there in verse one. He’s going to let you go. Finally, at this point, whereas previously he’d announced that it wasn’t going to be successful, Israel has to do something in this plague, as we’ll see, which is different. And then the other thing that’s different is we get this lengthy introduction, which is what we have here in chapter 11. And so this introduction marks the last plague off as climactic like this is the moment we’ve been waiting for deliverance is at long last, at hand. Now what happens? Verse four picks up where we left off last week. In fact, it almost looks like a contradiction for a moment, because verse chapter 10, verse 28 Pharaoh said to Moses, get out of my sight. Don’t come back. You know you’re going to die if you come back again. And Moses says, That’s it. I’m not going to appear before you ever again. And then here he is appearing before Moses. Well, it’s because verses one to three are just a little like back story. So you can almost picture Moses. Maybe he’s actually started to walk away from Pharaoh. He gets the word from the Lord. He like pauses at the threshold and it looks back, and he delivers this last message to Pharaoh. So picks up right where 1029 left off. He delivers God’s message. Every first born in Egypt will die, and the first born of the lowest slave, even the cattle, all the way up to the firstborn of Pharaoh himself, which is important, because this is the first plague that affects Pharaoh personally. In fact, we’ve seen him usually escaping the consequences himself in a lot of ways. You know. Take the first plague, the Nile turns to blood, and he goes home to his palace. All the other Egyptians are out digging wells. Pharaoh wasn’t digging a well. Somebody was bringing him water still wherever they found it. But this one affects him personally and justifiably so, because Israel, we learned all the way back in chapter four, Israel is God’s first born son, he has adopted the people of Israel as his son. Pharaoh has messed with God’s first born, and now God is going to mess with his so there’s this balance here. There is in this section, a sense of the perfect justice that is being meted out. Now this would be a good example, almost, of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, which is a badly misunderstood phrase that was given in the context of courts like this, is a legal standard. So it is true that personally, we don’t do eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. We repay evil with blessing as Christians, because that’s what God has done for us. But that’s not what you want to have happen in the courts. You don’t want somebody who murdered a family member or something. The judge looks at him and goes, Hey, I’m gonna repay your evil with blessing. Go, you little rascal. You You know, try not to make any more mischief. That would be a bad moment. Okay, so we’re dealing with courtroom legal standard here, and we get perfect justice again, Pharaoh messed with God’s first born, and so it’s his first born who will suffer. The Israelites were crying out same word that’s translated here as the loud wail that will come from Egypt. And remember that Egypt had attempted a genocide of Israel’s boys, the baby boys. They were all guilty. They all participated in tossing the baby boys into the Nile River to kill them, and so they will experience genocide themselves. Culture wide. This is common in Scripture, this idea of. Of the sin you do will bring those consequences on you. Here’s just a representative example Psalm seven. Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit. They have made the trouble they cause recoils on them. Their violence comes down on their own heads. That’s the boomerang nature of sin. The violent will suffer violence. The genocidal will suffer genocide. They get what they deserve. In other words, and if you’re unsure, if you’re feeling squeamish here, like I don’t know, God seems a little tough in all of this, maybe a little harsh, just to remember also and Kyle went to great lengths last week to make this clear. They were all given so many chances to repent, to turn and in fact, next week, we’ll see something interesting with that. So just hang on to that thought until next week. But with that, Moses walks out. He’s boiling mad at this point, maybe because of the death threat he just got, I don’t know, but this is his last conversation with Pharaoh, because the last of the blows is about to fall on Egypt. And here’s what Pharaoh should have learned by now. Remember, the overarching theme of Exodus is, who is the Lord? And that’s the question Pharaoh asked Moses first comes to him and says, The Lord Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, Let my people go. Pharaoh says, Who? Who is the Lord that I should listen to him, that I should obey him. Well, he’s got his answer. Now. He should have learned by now, here’s what he should have learned. He should know that God is all powerful. He’s a lot stronger than the gods of Egypt. That’s for sure, that God is sovereign, even over nature. The winds and the waves obey him, the frogs, the hail, everything obeys Him. Our God is a jealous God. He will have no other gods before him or alongside him, not the false and enslaving Gods of Egypt. Our God is a just God, and our God is a merciful God. He’s got all of that. He’s got the message. What will he do with it? Will he respond? Or what we see in verse 10 gives us our answer, will he harden his heart? Still and again? All right? Scene two then, and we’re ready, right? Everyone’s ready for the climax. All right, here we go. The memorial is established chapter 12, when we read verses one to 20, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, this month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year, tell the whole community of Israel that on the 10th day of this month, each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor. Having taken into account the number of people there are, you are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. The animals you choose must be year old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats take care of them until the 14th day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the door frames of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night, they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire along with bitter herbs and bread made without yeast. Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire with the head, legs and internal organs. Do not leave any of it till morning. If some is left till morning, you must burn it. This is how you are to eat it with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. On that same night, I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you no destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. This is a day you are to commemorate for the generations to come. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord, a lasting ordinance. For seven days, you are to eat bread made without yeast on the first day, remove the yeast from your houses. For whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. On the first day, hold a sacred assembly and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on those days except to prepare food for everyone to eat. That is all you may do. Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. The first month you to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the 14th day until the evening of the 21st day for seven days, no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner or native born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel. Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread. Okay, we were expecting the climax, and we got. Have detailed instructions for a feast instead, and that’s to highlight the importance of what’s coming. I mean, this is just in marked contrast to the Breathless pace of the narrative that we’ve seen in the past few chapters, and Kyle mentioned this last week, like in Prince of Egypt, you know the plagues, they just like run together, because that’s kind of how the narrative goes. There’s a reason people think this all happened in a week instead of five months. Then that’s because the story is just going and then this happened, and then this happened, and then this happened, and then we get this. Let’s talk about yeast for a moment. Here. It’s in gandalf’s famous words, the deep breath before the plunge. So we slow down for a moment, because this is such an important moment. It’s such an important moment, in fact, that God here even before it happens. God reforms the calendar in light of it. This is a new day. So this would be like the Fourth of July for us. All of a sudden, this day that had just been an ordinary day is now kind of a big deal for the nation, or maybe even better, because we’re speaking spiritually, although nationally for Israel as well, but spiritually, it’d be a little bit like, well, it’s Sunday. It’s the first day of the week. The week has changed as a result of what God has done. So this is the first month of the year. Now for the Jewish people, God has given them new sacred rhythms. Why? So they remember in the same way that we have rhythms so that we remember again we’re here on the first day of the week. Why? Because Sunday is resurrection. Sunday, every week, we remember what God has done. So if this is why God has given us these rhythms, I think it’s worth asking ourselves, like evaluating ourselves, what do your rhythms look like, weekly and yearly? We’ll talk more about this next week, but I think it’s worth checking. I mean weekly rhythm. The old quip, for example, that that preparation for Sunday morning starts on Saturday night. Is that part of your weekly rhythm to go we get home at a certain time, we’re in bed at a certain time, so that we are rested and ready for the Lord’s day? Or is your yearly calendar? Is it shaped by the secular instead of the sacred. Is it the school year? Is it, you know, Hallmark holidays, instead of God’s Holy Days? Now, Ecclesiastes tells us that there’s a time for feasting and there’s a time for not feasting. Where are we right now in this story? I mean, Israel is still in Egypt and still in slavery. If there’s a time for feasting, this, ain’t it. And yet God commands the feast, which means they’re going to celebrate this feast by faith. It is still faith in future deliverance, and isn’t that true for us today too? Because we’re invited to feast regularly. As Christians, we’re going to feast today on the broken body, the shed blood of Christ to be nourished by His grace. As we take communion together, what do we say after we take communion? The words from First Corinthians 11. As often as you do this, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes again. Has he come again? Not yet. So we’re celebrating this by faith. There will still be that day when every wrong is set right, when there’ll be no more sin, no more death, no more crying, no more pain, and we feast in anticipation of that day by faith. Well, the center of the feast here in this story is the Lamb, and it is to be a lamb without defect. Why? Malachi tells us a little bit about this. It says, If you offer a defective lamb. It’s not true sacrifice, which means it’s not true worship. You’re bringing a lamb that you didn’t want to reproduce anyway, from your flock, and so you’re not really giving anything. I’m sure that’s some of what’s going on here, but, but there’s more than that going on here. It has to do with the nature of the substitute, because the lamb is in your place, as we already sang, and the imperfect can die for their own sins, but only the perfect can bear the sins of another, and that’s why, in the verse that Kyle read for us earlier, we read that we are redeemed not by gold, not by Silver, no, we are redeemed by what by the precious blood of Christ, a Lamb without blemish or defect. So the lamb here at the original Passover Feast gets us ready for the lamb with a capital L. And it’s actually interesting to see how all these lambs. The Old Testament, get us ready for Jesus, who is to come, because we just see the salvation spread. This is the second lamb, really. The first lamb is when Abraham is about to offer his son, Isaac as a sacrifice to the Lord. But the Lord wants nothing to do with child sacrifice. So what does he do? He provides that ram caught in the thicket instead one lamb for one person. Here, what do we see? One lamb for one household, the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the Jewish year. What happens? You get one lamb for one nation, goat in that case, for one nation, for one year, I might add. And then we get to Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, one lamb for all nations, all people, and for all time. Which means this is not just about the feast. This is not just a party again. Go back to the Fourth of July. Maybe got barbecue on the Fourth of July. Why? It’s not doing anything sacrificially, you’re just you’re just having a good time. That’s not what this is. Because they’re told to slaughter the lamb, and that word is a technical term. It means to sacrifice the lamb. So we’re dealing in a sacrificial moment here, and then they’re supposed to take time hyssop and use it as a paintbrush and paint the threshold of their door with the blood of the Lamb, whose blood is important. Hebrews nine tells us, without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness, because the life is in the blood, the life of the substitute. And every house and every person in the house needs that sacrifice, needs that substitute, and so you paint the blood on the door to say, sin has already been judged in this house. Someone has already died for sin in this house. And that’s so important is go back to chapter 11. What I just read for us a moment ago in verse seven, God says, I will make a distinction between Israel and Egypt, and the distinction has nothing to do with merit. It’s not that Israel is better. Hey, keep reading in Exodus, okay, we’ll get there in a few weeks. You’re gonna be like these people are not better, that’s for sure. And that’s important, because that’s true for us also. God saves us by grace, through faith. Some of us, we come from rough backgrounds. Sin has strongholds in our lives. There are Christians who are not as good as their Muslim neighbors, as the atheist across the street from them. The distinction is not merit. The distinction is the blood. Because Romans, 323, there is no difference between Jew and Gentile, between Israelite and Egyptian, between Christian and Muslim. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but those who trust are justified freely by what by His blood. The only distinction is faith, trust in God’s provision, which means you’re acknowledging that you can’t and didn’t earn it. You can’t and didn’t go back to the scales we talked about two weeks ago, right? It means you’re you’re standing there in front of the scales, and you’re going, No, no, I don’t want to do this. To do this. I know what righteousness looks like, and I know what my life looks like. Is there another option? And God says, Yeah, sure, blood. And you go, I’ll take that. I’ll do that instead. So painting the blood on the door frame is faith in action, and it really is faith, of course. I mean, you’ve sacrificed a lamb that’s that’s money, that’s costly. You’re doing something silly, like putting blood on a door, like, that’s weird, that’s so weird you’re gonna stay in the door. Also, it’s bad for you. But especially, this is Faith in Action, because you are trusting in the substitute. That’s the key, right? And that’s key too, because it reminds us that our trust, what matters is the object of our faith, not the subject of our faith. And that could be an encouragement to some of us, because so often we start to wonder, like, how much faith do I have. And you can kind of imagine what this would look like there in Egypt. Don Carson talks about this. You got amusing little illustration. He kind of pictures to Hebrews, you know, living next door to each other. They’re out there with their, you know, paint can and hyssop and stuff, and getting ready to paint. And then, you know, Fred and Jim, and they’re talking and, and Fred’s like, Man, I don’t know about this. Jim’s like, What are you talking about? Like, what I mean really? Like, we’re just gonna put blood on the door, but that’s it. We’re gonna be good. And Jim’s like, yeah, that’s what God said. He’s gonna do it. It’s gonna be awesome. And Fred’s like, I’m glad you believe man. Like, I’m struggling here, but All right, let’s do it. Which one of those two was spared death at the Passover? Both. Faith? Why? Because they put the blood on the door frame, right? That’s what matters. Weak faith like Mark chapter nine, I believe, help my unbelief. Weak faith is still real faith, because weak faith in a strong God is real faith. So how do we put faith in action? Because I think that’s the bigger question. Where you go, okay, but is there something I can do to just like paint blood, where I’m like, Okay, now I know I believe. And the answer is, yeah, of course, there are lots of things we do that just show it you’re doing one of them right now. We gather with the Lord’s people. It doesn’t save us, but it shows I believe. I want to hear from God’s Word. We make sacrifices of our time, of our energy, of our finances, but most importantly, we profess Jesus Christ, and then we proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s not just a lamb, though that’s not all they’re eating. They’re also eating bitter herbs. Why? Because the Egyptians made their lives bitter. We read all the way back in chapter one, same exact word. So they’re eating the bitter herbs. They’re remembering the bitterness of their slavery. And shouldn’t we do that also? Because we are actually in a more grievous slavery. Slavery to Egypt is bad, slavery to sin is worse, and that’s the slavery that we know so we grieve our sin in order to experience the full joy of grace. The Puritan preacher Thomas Watson says it like this, till sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet. But once sin is bitter, Oh, how sweet Christ and His salvation is. And then they got to finish the lamb, because it’s not just about sustenance, just not a counting calories. Kind of moment they got to finish the lamb, because the lamb has been set apart, has been consecrated, has been made holy. And in eating the lamb, they are set apart, they are made ritually holy by eating the sacrifice as well. So this is a different sort of meal.
I think that’s true of the meal we take also. It’s one of the reasons why Paul tells us, again in First Corinthians 11, to make sure you take communion in a communion in a worthy manner, because it is a holy meal, and you don’t want to bring defilement into the holiness that’s to eat and drink judgment on yourself, Paul says. And then you eat bread without yeast, with your cloak tucked in. These are weird instructions, too. Why? Well, not unusual for me to come down in the morning and see a batch of dough sitting on my kitchen counter, and it’s a bigger batch of dough than I left last night. Not that I made it, but I saw as I left the kitchen last night. Why? Because the guy yeast and yeast, that’s what happens to bread. Don’t ask me the science. That’s not my thing. Okay, so it takes time. In other words, you leave it overnight before you bake it and coke tucked in. So you’re ready to run. In other words, you’re gonna eat this meal ready to go. You don’t have time for the dough to rise. You don’t have time you gotta have your running shoes on. You ever had one of those times where you got to eat quickly somewhere, and so you order your food and hand your credit card to the waiter at the same time, you’re all looking like, No, I’ve never done that. Like, okay, Kaylee did. Thank you, Kaylee. One person on my team, I do this a lot. I’m in a bigger rush than the rest of you. Okay, where it’s like, we just, we got to be able to go as soon as we’re done. So I’m gonna give you the card now. That’s what Passover is like, we need to be able to go as soon as this meal is over, but you see it means every part of this meal is meant to teach. Every part of this meal is meant to remind. Each piece is instructive, so that they remember, so that we remember. Because this is all really important, judgment is coming, verse 12, every first born will be struck down, because every firstborn deserves to be struck down, and every second born and third born, and fourth born, fifth born on down the line. And that includes the Israelites. In fact, that’s why they got blood on the door, right? I mean, verse 13, it says, this will be a sign to you. What sign is it? It’s a sign that they have protection from death. Well, death, at whose hands, not the Egyptians. They’re not attacking Israel in this moment. In fact, we saw back in verse three, they’re favorably disposed toward the Israelites. They respect Moses even, no, they’re protected from death at God’s hands. This is offering them protection from the protector. We’ll come back to that because you should be confused. It, but we’re all under the penalty of sin, which is why we need a substitute and why we need the blood. In fact, that’s exactly what it says later in verse 13, because God says when I see the blood, so it’s assigned to you, and when I see the blood, I will know the lamb died in the place of the firstborn and I will pass over that house. It’s so important we remember this that we are all under the penalty of death. We all will die. And so we all need to be ready for what happens after death. We all need to be ready to stand before God. Damian. Easley was a major league baseball player. Played with the angels. He was on the plane one of the times, you know, flying to and from games or whatever, and he heard his teammates, some of them, talking about God. And the one had asked the question, if this plane were to go down, like, right now we’re going to crash, we’re all to die. Like, How sure are you that you’re going to be okay in the life to come. And Damien was uncomfortable, even though this wasn’t directed at him. He was made uncomfortable because he wasn’t sure. And so he kind of scooted back a few rows and kind of leaned back, you know, like, see if he could listen to the conversation. But they weren’t giving him the information that he wanted, so he finally just turned around and started asking them questions. You know, basically the Philippian jailer, what must I do to be saved? And before the plane had landed, he had given his life to Christ because he saw that he was under a death sentence, but pardon was freely available. And then we’re really ready for the climax. Now, right? But we get instructions for another feast, verse 17, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, little bit earlier as well. Like what gives here? Well, here’s what gives, here’s here’s why this is here. We are saved. That’s what Passover commemorates. We are saved to be sanctified, to be made holy, to be made different, and that’s what the Feast of Unleavened Bread commemorates. I mean, yes, it’s unleavened bread because there’s a hasty departure, but yeast throughout Scripture represents sins, corrupting influence. You leave a little bit of yeast in dough and it will spread. You leave a little bit of sin in your life. Guess what happens? This is why Jesus says things like, watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees in Mark eight. Why Paul tells us, Galatians, five, first. Corinthians, five, a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough, not even just your life, but the community as well, and so this feast is a reminder to keep ourselves free from sin. Even today, the Jewish people will search their home for yeast and then physically sweep it out the door before Passover happens as a as a sign of their commitment to godly living, they’re making a clean sweep of their lives, and so must we like this is a great feast because it’s a reminder that there are no small sins, no small sins, because all sin corrupts, All sin spreads. It’s like mold under your kitchen sink. You don’t go, I got most of it because you get most of it. Pretty soon it’s all going to be back. This is when you take a sledgehammer to the cabinets and you bring somebody else in with plastic bags and like hazmat suits, like, we got to get this stuff out. And that’s what God is telling us to do here. It’s also why it’s punished so severely. I mean, did you see that if you eat yeast during this time, you’re to be cut off from the covenant community? You’re to be excommunicated, you are no longer a part of God’s people because you ate yeast, right? Because it’s an act of deliberate self exclusion. It is a despising of God’s promises and his salvation. Why would you exclude yourself from sitho Like that’s my question again. Look at verse 17. Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought you out of Egypt. And I love that, because you know what he hasn’t done yet, brought them out of Egypt. But when God says it, it’s as good as done. So it’s known as a prophetic perfect tense, it’s already over. So it takes faith, sure they’re eating this meal by faith, sure. But as Alex MATIER says, Faith is not a leap in the dark, but a leap into the light, and that’s what they’re doing here. And hey, how much so for us, by the way, because that prophetic Perfect. Well, that’s actually done at this point, it is done. It is finished, right? Christ already died in. Our Place. All right. Now we’re really ready for the climax. I got good news for you in this last section. We actually get there. So let’s finish the section in verses 21 to 30. Chapter 12, verses 21 to 30, the moment is at long last here. Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb, take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the door frame. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning, when the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the door frame and will pass over that doorway. And he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down. Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants when you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony, and when your children ask you, what does this ceremony mean to you? Then tell them, it is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians and the people bowed down and worshiped. The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded. Moses and Aaron at midnight, the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, King, the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead. So after 30 verses of anticipation, at last, the moment is here. The Israelites do what God commands to be spared when the Lord goes through Egypt to strike down the firstborn, he will see the blood and the door frame, and he will keep the destroyer from entering that home. Now it’s clear, right? The Lord goes through, the Lord strikes down the Egyptians, and he keeps the destroyer from striking down the Egyptians. So the destroyer is, in some sense, the presence of God manifested a little bit like the angel of the Lord that we’ve met in previous passages, which means, again, that God provides protection from himself. God provides protection for us from His just wrath, which means and this one usually throws people for a loop, but it’s accurate scripturally. I promise you, our problem is God. We have a god problem. Now we have a god problem not because God is a problem, but because we are a problem because of sin, right? But our God is a holy God, and a holy God cannot abide the sin and rebellion in our hearts. So is this confusing that God provides protection from himself? Yes, but as RC Sproul famously said, The glory of the gospel is this, the one from whom we need to be saved is the one who has saved us because he provides the means by which we are saved. And it is verse 27 tells us an atoning sacrifice, a sacrifice that and the big theological word is propitiates. Propitiates God’s wrath. Now, what does that mean to propitiate? We don’t use that today. It means to turn away that wrath, to appease it, to deal with his just anger, and it’s over. It’s turned away. So news this good must be remembered, of course, and that’s why verse 25 tells them that they are to observe this ceremony from generation to generation. That word observe is interesting. It can be used for a lot of different things. So it’s the word often translated worship, often translated serve, and earlier in Exodus chapters one and two translated as labor, like the harsh labor that the Israelites experienced while slaves in Egypt. And so it’s just this is this wonderful turn that has happened, this glorious freedom that they moved into, because they’re now freed from serving the Egyptians and instead freed to serve the Lord in worship and obedience. And that’s exactly what they do. You see it there in verse 27 where they bow in worship, because in the end, we all will either bow in worship or bend in judgment. And then all that build up 38 verses, and we get two verses on the climactic event. It’s almost anti climax. It’s a little bit like the Gospels, where you read, you know what? 27 chapters in Matthew or something, and then it just reads, and they crucified him. That’s it. Why? Why? Because it’s the meaning of the event, not the event itself, that matters so much. It’s the meaning of the event. What was this all about? Now, partly, this is short because there’s no. Celebration. The Israelites don’t throw a party because the Egyptians are dying. There’s no delight in the destruction of the wicked, not by the Israelites, not by God. As one commentator said, It neither relish nor revelry is to be seen. No, it just happens. It’s an objective event. The Lord struck them down. There is loud wailing, because there was no house without someone dead. And make sure you read that correctly. There was no house without someone dead, no Egyptian house, no Israelite house, either, because either the first born Egyptian died or the lamb died in the place of the firstborn. God provided the lamb, as he always does, For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but shall have eternal life. And that’s why John, when he sees his cousin coming to the shores of Jordan, says, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Why? Paul says, Christ, our Passover lamb has been slain. God provides the sacrifice we need to save us from the death we deserve. Our salvation is by grace, through faith. Remember, our problem isn’t Pharaoh. Our problem is God His wrath because of our sin in truth, the problem is not Pharaoh. The problem is that we’re all exactly like Pharaoh. We’re all just little Pharaohs who harden our hearts against God and do as we please. Tony Morita says we should remember, then in this story, the severity and mercy of God. We are all like Pharaoh. We all deserve this kind of judgment, and yet, like Pharaoh, some think they’ll never face judgment. Never have to give an account, you will. He will. So get your heart ready. How? How do you get yourself ready for that moment? Because you dip your faith in Jesus’s shed blood and paint it on the door frame of your hearts, even now, even today, even in this moment, the moment is here. What moment. The moment is here for you to decide, to remember what you deserve, but what you can receive instead by faith in Jesus, Christ. And so our big idea is really just that right there. Of course, it’s remember, remember, remember what? Remember your sin, the lamb’s blood and God’s grace. Never forget your sin, the lamb’s blood and God’s grace. It’s interesting, the Bible talks about Israel celebrating the Passover at a number of moments in their history. Joshua leads the people to celebrate the Passover before they attack Jericho as they go into the Promised Land, Hezekiah, Josiah, these kings of Judah, they celebrate the Passover at times of national renewal and restoration. Ezra leads the people to celebrate it when they return from exile. So these are all these high water marks in Israel’s history. Why do they celebrate the Passover then? Because whenever Israel returned to God, they returned to the foundational salvation event from their history. In other words, they remembered, and that’s the lesson for us, because we are always seeking renewal, revival, repentance, restoration. How remember? We remember, preach the gospel to yourself every day, and really all day, every day, as George Mueller used to say, get your heart happy in the Lord each morning because you remember what he did for you. Don’t be gospel amnesiacs. I remember forgetting this before. No, bring it front and center of your mind every moment. We need to remember more than we need new information. Like Pharaoh, we’ve got the information we need to remember it. CS Lewis, who said people need to be reminded more than they need to be instructed. That’s why we preach the same thing here every week. I don’t know if you caught that. You want to know what today’s sermons about. It’s about Jesus, His blood shed in our place every week. Why? Because you need to be reminded more. You need to be instructed. You don’t just need to do that on Sunday, though, remind yourself. Do that for yourself. Preach the same sermon to yourself every day. Let gospel remembrance, then shape gospel living, to consecrate you, to make you holy. We think I can for. Give this person despite how they hurt me, because I remember that God forgave me my sin. You think I can humble myself and put pride to death because I remember that I couldn’t earn this, that I didn’t deserve this, so I got no reason to be proud. You think I can serve sacrificially because I remember that Jesus, who was worthy of all worship, instead, served me sacrificially. Means in whatever circumstances I face, I can turn from complaining and grumbling to gratitude, because I remember what I deserve and what I have received instead, remember your sin, the lamb’s blood and God’s grace, and then bow in humble, grateful, odd worship. Let’s pray, Father, we bow in worship before you now, because we do remember what we deserve. We see the sin in our lives. We see how the sin has worked its way through our lives like yeast through dough. We know that we are no different than the Egyptians who perished that night. We know that we deserve destruction at your hands and yet And yet, you made a way for us to be saved. You sent your son, your only son, whom you loved, to be our substitute, to be that sacrifice, so that by His shed blood, which is a sign to us and which you see and death and wrath can be turned away, forgiveness and salvation can come instead. Lord, help us remember and Lord, for those who are here in this room now and who don’t believe yet, may this be the moment, the moment is here to understand for the first time who is the Lord? What has the Lord done for us? And may you bring them, Lord, to repentance and faith. May they paint Christ’s blood on the frame of their hearts and experience your salvation even now we pray for Christ’s sake. Amen.

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No One Like Him October 12, 2025 | Kyle Bjerga Kyle Bjerga discusses Chris Tomlin’s experience leading worship at Charlie Kirk’s memorial, drawing parallels to Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh. He outlines the plagues’ narrative in Exodus 9, emphasizing God’s sovereignty and the distinction between Israel and Egypt. The plagues are divided into three triads, with the second triad showing Egypt’s impact and the third triad highlighting Pharaoh’s confession and hardened heart. Bjerga stresses the importance of genuine repentance and obedience, contrasting Pharaoh’s false repentance with true repentance, and encourages the congregation to maintain soft hearts through continuous repentance and obedience to God.

Good morning, go ahead and grab your Bibles and turn to Exodus chapter nine, which actually page 50. I know your notes say 49 but we’re going to be settling in chapter nine here, so you can go to page 50 for that as you turn there. A couple of days ago, I was listening to a family ministry podcast that I follow, and the guest they had on this week was actually Chris Tomlin. If you’ve been in the church in the last 25 years, you’ve sung a Chris Tomlin song, whether you know it or not. And so the whole idea of the podcast was really kind of talk about his testimony, he’s adopted. It was about family and all that. But at some point there was a question asked of his experience at leading worship at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service a couple weeks ago, because he was asked to lead a couple of songs there. And this is significant because it was very different than every other funeral he’s played at. It was very different from every other concert he’s been to. And the reason is, is because of the people who were in attendance while he was leading worship. And I found it especially interesting to hear him talk about this in light of the fact that we are in Exodus, because it was when he realized that he was singing before dozens of Congress members, cabinet members, the Vice President, the President, and many others who were in attendance, something hit him. And I’m going to quote him here. He says, What a privilege to stand there. And I start leading holy forever, which is one of his newer songs. And then I start singing these words, all thrones and dominions, all powers and positions, your name stands above them all. And he says, I’ve never had that much clarity in my life. I am looking in the front rows and most of the powers and positions in this nation are standing right there in front of me as I declare, there’s a name above them all. And when he said that, my mind meant immediately to Moses and Aaron standing before Pharaoh in chapter five, when they go to him and for the very first time, they enter His presence and say, This is what the Lord the God of Israel says, Let my people go so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness, to which we already heard this morning, Pharaoh responds, who is the Lord that I should obey Him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go. It’s that question, Who is the Lord that I should obey him that we see over and over again being answered in Exodus 10 times. Moses and Aaron will stand before Pharaoh 10 times before the one who sits on the throne, the one who is basking in his dominion, using his power and being amazed at his position. And they will say, there’s a name above you, there’s a name above all of us, and he’s going to show you who he is. And it got me thinking, when did you first have that kind of clarity in your life that you are not ultimately in control? And how humbling was that experience for you? Like the question we must keep asking ourselves this morning is okay when we’ve come to that realization we’re not ultimately in control, how quickly do we run back to thinking we are in control, and we need to be humbled again and again and realize that we aren’t. But there is another who is, and so Brandon last week started us off, taking us through the first plague. And so naturally, we’re going to spend the next nine weeks going one by one through the plagues. That is false. Actually, we’re going to do eight of them today, and that is the task that I have been given. So we have three chapters, eight, nine and 10, walking through plagues. Two through nine. It’s 96 verses. So we are not reading all of it together. Hopefully, you took Brandon’s encouragement last week to read it on your own, because we need to do a 30,000 foot view of the plagues narrative, and to do that, you have a chart on the back of your sermon notes. If you grabbed a bulletin this morning, it will also be on the screen for you, but you can go ahead and cue the scene from Prince of Egypt real quick. Just kidding, some of you got really excited. If this was youth ministry, we’d definitely show it the whole plague scene, though, honestly, though, in that movie, in the prince of Egypt, there is a three minute and nine second scene where they go through all the plagues, three minutes and nine seconds put to a song. And so why I bring that up is because a lot of us kind of think this way. When we come to the prince of Egypt or other movies or stories where we hear about these plagues, we kind of think they happen in 10 days, like it’s this short period of time. But in reality, we aren’t really sure how long the plague narrative lasts. We get a few timestamps here or there. So between the plague of blood, the first one and the plague plague of frogs, the second one, there is seven days. The plague of darkness lasts for three days. And then we get some other clues throughout with some kind of harvest that are mentioned in the plagues to kind of figure out, okay, when did this actually happen in the year? We have other sources that we can look at to kind of get a sense of this. But the best estimates range from 50 days to five months on how long the plague narrative actually lasted. And so we’re going to take this 30,000 foot view now looking at this chart, chapter seven through 10, nine of the plagues. And so we need to do a little teaching here before we get to the preaching, because it’s important. So I’m going to point some things out here the first again, if you’re looking down on your sheet, just kind of follow along, or you can look up here. The first thing is that we have these three triads here in the color three triads, these triplets that the plagues are broken into. And so each triplet has some unique features to it. The first thing is here we actually, in this first triplet, see that the magicians are able to replicate some of the plagues we saw this last week of the plague of blood. They do it with a snake that sign. They do it with the frogs as well. But when we get here in the second triplet, they are no longer in able to replicate the signs. They can’t do it any longer. In fact, in the plague of boils, they can’t even stand before Moses because they’re infected with these boils. So that’s the first in the second triplet, we see something interesting here. There’s a distinction between you can see distinguishing here between Israel and Egypt. Israel is no longer impacted by the plagues, only Egypt is and that starts in the second triplet. Then when we come to the third triplet. What we see here, which is interesting, is confession. We see Pharaoh start to confess some things before Moses and Aaron. And we see some escalation too, between these kind of minor annoyances to utter devastation of the land. So that’s kind of the first thing we see in these triplets here, the second each triad follows a pattern. So one, four and seven start off with Moses, or God, telling Moses to confront Pharaoh on his way, most of the time, as he’s going to the water. And so that starts kind of this pattern that we have here, the second plague in each triplet, each triad. Get the frog two, five and eight. We see that Moses is told to confront Pharaoh, to go to Pharaoh, most likely meaning he’s approaching him in his court. So he has an audience with Pharaoh, and then the third plague in each triad here in three, sorry, three. I’m going to do math now. Six and nine, what we see is there is no warning to Pharaoh that a plague is coming. God just tells Moses and Aaron to do something, and they do it. And the play is there. And so there’s this pattern within these triads. The third thing we see then is that while these there’s these different themes throughout the plagues narrative, there’s two that show up in every one. We get the plague itself, the sign we get a mention of Pharaoh’s heart in every single one. That’s significant, as we looked at last week, and we’ll continue with today. Also, there are two plagues, the plague of flies and the plague of hail, that encompass most of, if not all of the themes that we see in the entire plague narrative, which again, is significant for us today, because we’re going to look at the seventh plague. And then something else to mention from the outset is something that Brandon alluded to last week, and that these plagues are a demonstration of the power of God over the false gods of Egypt. James Boyce tells us this. He says there were about 80 major deities in Egypt, all clustered about three great natural forces of Egyptian life, the Nile River, the land and the sky. The first two plagues were against the gods of the Nile. The next four plagues were against the gods the land gods, and the final four plagues were against the gods of the sky. And you can do a deep dive into like looking at all these different gods and who God is defeating in each one. But for our purposes, it’s enough to know he’s taking control of the Nile, the land and the sky in these plagues. One worth mentioning, though, is of this last one here, the ninth one, I should say, of darkness, because God blots out the light the sun for three days in Egypt. And who is the most powerful God in Egypt, Ra and he is the god of what the sun. So the sun god has the real, true God blot out his light. That is very significant, because Pharaoh was supposedly a son of Ra. He was a God, a son of the most powerful God, Ra. So there’s the 30,000 foot view. You can kind of have that chart, look through it. I got to geek out a lot over that chart this week. A lot of fun. But you can kind of take that we’re now going to narrow. And zoom in on chapter nine. Okay, on chapter nine, which is the longest of the plague narratives. And as I already mentioned, as we looked at the chart, it has all these different themes that we see across the whole narrative in one section. And so it’s going to kind of be representative for us of all the plagues. So we’re going to buckle in here and read the entire passage here, chapter nine, verses 13 through 35 and then we’re going to kind of go through and see some different themes that come out we might go along today. So just letting you know, there’s a lot here that we have already covered and that we need to cover as we go through this. But let’s read chapter nine, starting in verse 13, then the Lord said to Moses, get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, this is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says, Let my people go so that they may worship Me, or this time, I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people. So you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. For by now, I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the Earth, but I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth you still set yourself against my people. Will not let them go. Therefore, at this time tomorrow, I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt from the day it was founded till now. Give an order to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die. Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and the livestock inside, but those who ignored the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the field. Then the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt, on people and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt. When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt. Hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. Throughout Egypt, hail struck everything in the fields, both people and animals. It beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree. The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron, this time I have sinned. He said to them, The Lord is in the right, and I, my people are in the wrong. Pray to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go. You don’t have to stay any longer. Moses replied, When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to the Lord. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail. So you may know that the earth is the Lord’s but I know that you and your officials still do not fear the Lord God. The flax and barley were destroyed since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom. The wheat and spelt, however, were not destroyed, because they ripened later. Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He spread out his hands toward the Lord the thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land. When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again. He and his officials hardened their hearts. So Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses. So what do we see in this passage? First, we see the God behind the plague. We see the God behind the plague, the repeated command starts us off, Let my people go so that they may worship Me. The Lord’s command remains the same throughout all the plagues. He does not change what he says. This is the command from Chapter Five on, but Pharaoh, as we’ve already seen in this series, is a hard hearted, cruel dictator, a slave master of the Israelites, who is bent on using them for his own purposes. And yet, what he doesn’t realize that when he messes with God’s people, he’s messing with God. When he messes with God’s people, he’s persecuting the Lord. This what God says through Moses here in verse 17, you still set yourself against my people and will not let them go. Sounds a lot like when Jesus shows up to Saul on the way to Damascus, when Jesus shows up and says, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? And Paul asked him, Who are you? And he says, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. You see, he set himself up against God’s people, Jesus’ people. And so when they when he persecuted them, he was persecuting Jesus. When the pharaoh of Egypt is persecuting the Israelites, he is persecuting God. Yahweh. You set yourself up against God’s people. You are doing it against the Lord. So Pharaoh is not dealing with this kind of aloof, disinterested, deaf or mute God like his gods that we’ve already seen in other plagues, that he’s following. He’s dealing. The omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God who loves his people and fights for them, even against a superpower leader when he sets himself up against God’s people. And so God makes it very clear to Pharaoh that he hasn’t seen anything yet. What they’ve already experienced is nothing compared to what could happen, what is coming because God has restrained himself in these first plagues, that’s what he says. But this full hard heartedness of Pharaoh will result in a full force of God’s power against him in ways he could never imagine. And as we read these passages, we read other scriptures, the most important question we need to ask every single time. First and foremost is, what does this teach me about God? So when we read this, what does this teach us about God? It teaches us that He is the sovereign and omnipotent god, sovereign and all powerful. This means he has complete control and authority over creation, over time, over world history, over who the leader is, over weather and over human life. God could have, in one moment, ended it all verse 15, he says, I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the Earth. But he didn’t. This is what he could do. But now he says, This omnipotent guy will bring the worst hailstorm in the history of Egypt. Like, how does he know that? Because he’s the eternal and sovereign God who’s always been he knows exactly what has hit Egypt before. He’s not just predicting that this is going to happen. The weather app in Egypt that day said, 100% hail 100% this is not a slight chance. It’s not. It might happen at this time. He says that this hour tomorrow, the worst hail storm will happen, because God said it, whatever model they’re working with with the weather here, we know they make mistakes. God doesn’t. I will send it. It will happen. And the weather listens to him. In Mark chapter four, Jesus is in a boat sleeping, and there’s a storm, and the disciples come to him say, Don’t you care that we’re going to drown. And Jesus gets up, he looks at the weather. He says, quiet, be still. And it listens to which the disciples say, Who is this? That even the wind and the waves obey him? There is only one voice that weather listens to, and that is the God of the Bible. Pharaoh does recognize, though, in verse 27 that this storm is from God. Look at verse 27 he says, The Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Pray to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. He knows, because he got the warning that this is the God who has sent this storm. So he’s acknowledging that it’s coming from him. It’s not from his gods. The two gods of weather and the sky were nut and set. That’s who he would be following, thinking would be doing this, except that Moses said this is what’s going to happen. And so he knows exactly who’s doing it. He’s not offering sacrifices to his God. He’s going to Moses said, you said this was going to happen. So can you go to your God and make it stop? And over and over again. He does this. He says, Please make this stop. And Moses goes out and prays and and the Lord stops it. Pharaoh asked for it to end. It’s repeated over and over again in these plagues. And we read Psalm 77 I want to read it again. Listen to this is the psalmist is recounting what has happened in Egypt before he says, Your ways God are holy. What God is as great as our God. You are the God who performs miracles. You display your power among the peoples with your mighty arm. You redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph and so the first thing we see in this passage that there is the God behind the plague. The second thing we see is the purpose of the plague. The purpose of the plague. So first we see what the kind of the first purpose is in verse 14. It’s repeated throughout Exodus, multiple times throughout the plagues narrative. God is doing this in verse 14, it says, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. That’s why the title of the sermon is no one like him. And that truth now in the seventh plague of hail should start, should be sinking into Pharaoh and the magicians and the other leaders and the people. It doesn’t mean that they’re going to be converted, but at least they should start listening to what Moses and Aaron say, like you just got to connect some dots, and it’s pretty easy to see he says something, and it happens. And so maybe we could save our life if we just listen to Moses, and some of them are starting to learn this more and more through the plagues. Yes, during the plague of gnats, what we see there is very interesting. The Magicians cannot perform this sign. It’s the first one that they cannot perform. They say, We cannot do this. And they say this to Pharaoh in chapter eight, verse 19, this is the finger of God. We cannot explain this, other than the God that Moses keeps saying is going to do this. He’s the one doing it because we can’t do it anymore. Some of Pharaoh’s officials, it says in chapter nine, verse 20, it says, feared the word of the Lord, and they hurried to bring their slaves and livestock inside. When they heard the warning from Moses, they said, This is going to happen. Okay, I’m going to go get my slaves. When we get my livestock, I’m going to put them inside and put them inside, and I’m gonna take care of them. I’m gonna protect them. Of course, others ignore the word of the Lord, but you can see now people are starting to take God’s word more seriously. They are learning there is, in fact, no one like this God. And then there’s a second purpose that God gives. He’s going to show Pharaoh his power, which he’s already done in the first section. We saw his sovereignty. But again here he says in verse 16, I have raised you up. So why is Pharaoh in power? Because God put him in power so that I can show you my power, and also for our last purpose. The third thing he also says in verse 16, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. This is so important for us to understand what is being said here before Pharaoh, because we can get so consumed with our little bubble, with our own little life, like I asked Jesus into my heart, and I’m just going to kind of stay right here when God is trying to do something so much bigger than that. Like, yes, he has changed you. He has saved you. But he is not thinking of just this little moment. He is thinking about eternity, and he is thinking about worldwide people knowing who he is. His power is on display, not just for the Israelites to have their faith encouraged, not just to demonstrate His power over Egypt’s gods or the control he has over Pharaoh. He is not content to be a regional God to say, I’m showing up here in this place at this time, he is about His name and His glory being proclaimed throughout the entire Earth. People need to know who he is. Everyone needs to know now we know how the story ends here, that God is going to deliver his people. They are going to leave Egypt. And there are a lot of hiccups along the way, and decades later, they will start to push into the promised land, and they come to a place called Jericho, and two spies are sent into Jericho, and they end up in the house of Rahab. And Rahab starts to talk to them, and this is what she says in Joshua two who is the Lord that we should obey him. No, that’s not. What she says. She says, I know that the Lord has given you this land, and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard, we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea when you came out of Egypt. And she finished by saying, For the Lord, your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. God’s name has been proclaimed. People know what has happened in Egypt. His glory is going out, and Rahab is saved, because God’s name was proclaimed in all the earth and is still being proclaimed by us today. And so as we look at the plagues narrative, you can ask the question, and I think it’s a valid question, ask, How could God bring so much damage, like, how could he do this to this people? But I think that’s the wrong question. Eventually we have to turn it in a different way and say, How could he give them so many chances? How could he give them so many chance? I mean, how many chances do you give others when they wrong you time and time again, he gives them another chance. And that’s where we see our next theme here, the grace in the plague, the grace in the plague. Now this is a judgment passage. I’m not trying to say it isn’t. It is a judgment passage that is clear throughout, but that doesn’t mean the thread of grace is not clearly on display throughout the narrative, because it is we already saw. God could have wiped them off the face of the earth. But he doesn’t do that. Instead, he says, I’m going to give you 10 chances. And in God’s grace, He keeps showing them who he is, giving them every opportunity to turn to Him. And it appears that some are one other thing we have to understand is that in Acts two, when, when the Holy Spirit comes. Pentecost. There are people from Egypt there. God is doing something, and he’ll do it a long time from them, but it’s starting to get his name is proclaimed. They are starting to get it. Some people are taking what they’re hearing. It’s getting in their heart, and they’re starting to make different choices, starting to follow this God verse 19. This is another place we see God’s grace. Right after telling him the worst hail storm in history is coming, give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die. What is God doing here? I am going to send the worst hailstorm ever, but no person or animal has to die like That’s grace and mercy. I’m going to do this, but get get everybody out. Let me just devastate the land. Take the life and protect them. Some heed the warning. Others don’t. Reminds me of Second Peter 39 where it says The Lord is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. How could he give them so many chances? How come God gave you so many chances? How come he’s given me so many chances? Because the Lord is patient with us, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. I’m sending the storm. Just get them inside. The fact that judgment is coming is coming is still true for all of us. For all of us. Right? The warning is right here, like God’s warning to Pharaoh, it’s right here in this book, he is coming, and he is coming in judgment. So how can you be saved from it? Will you be found taking refuge in Jesus Christ? Will you be found taking refuge in his salvation? Or will you be left out in the field, exposed to the elements? Pharaoh got the warning. We have the warning. Pharaoh got the solution. We have the solution, and it’s in Jesus Christ. So you can find a shelter. You don’t have to die. That’s what Jesus Christ has done for us. The Grace doesn’t stop there, though there’s grace for the people of Israel, because if you know anything about the people of Israel, their history is checkered. We’re going to see that even more so in the coming weeks, as we see how forgetful, selfish and whiny they really are, which, by the way, is us. They don’t deserve anything from God, and yet here he is protecting them in verse 26 the only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were the judgment of God should be falling on us, and yet it doesn’t, because we’re covered by the blood of Jesus Christ, He covered the Israelites so they would not experience The hail, not because of how great they are, because of how good he is, how great he is, because the promises that He gave them. He wants to show them I am still your God. I am fulfilling my promises to you. I told you I will take you out and I’m going to protect you here to show you that I will actually do this, as we saw last week, the end of this plague, Pharaoh’s mo take the plague away, and the plague is removed, and Pharaoh goes back on his word, and his heart is hardened. Now, in that movie, Prince of Egypt, the song that is sung during the plague scene, there is a line that has always stuck with me since the first time I saw it. This is what Pharaoh sings. Don’t sing back, please. Then let my heart be hardened and never mind how high the cost may grow. This will still be so I will never let your people go. For many of us, that’s the anthem of our life. I will be my own god, and I will not surrender to you. I’m going to do what I want to do, and I don’t care who gets in the way. I don’t care what happens. I’m not submitting to another. So Pharaoh’s response to this plague, the response that he’s had throughout, it’s a pattern that he sets up. But we’re going to look at his response now in the seventh plague, and we’re going to ask the question, why is his heart hard? Okay, so we’re going to look at the response to the plague, but we need to ask, Why is his heart hard? It doesn’t just happen. There’s something that’s happening here every single time. And I need to say this section is a warning to us. This section is a warning to us who say, I believe in Jesus. We need to be listened very carefully to what happens here, because there are two ways that Pharaoh responds throughout these plagues, and both of them are wrong. Both of them are temptations for us. The first is half hearted obedience, one of the ways he responds to Moses and the people, he says, over and over again, okay, okay, like take this away and I will let you go. But that’s not all he says. He puts limits on them. He says, Okay, I’ll let you go, but you can, you have to worship here in Egypt. You can’t go into the wilderness. You have to worship here. Okay, okay, I’ll let you go, but, but the women and the children, they have to stay here, just the men can go. And then later on, he says, okay, okay, the men, the women, the children, they can go, but you have to leave your animals here. Is that true obedience? No, it’s half hearted obedience. Because what is Pharaoh trying to do here? I want to keep a little bit of control. So God, I will do what you say, but I’ll do it according to my own plans. What I think I should do to follow your word that is not obedience. Pharaoh doesn’t get to tell God what he can and can’t do. God will tell Pharaoh that. But it makes sense, because Pharaoh’s whole life growing up with these Egyptian gods is, how long can I hold this god off? Like, if I, if I just stick it out a little bit longer, he’s eventually going to give in right like, if I go to this God and give him the right sacrifice and do the right things, eventually he’s going to give good things to me. So why would he not treat the God of Israel the same way? Maybe if I could just appease him a little bit. Like, yeah, I feel really bad. I’m sorry. I’ll let your people go. I’ll let them go. I’ll let these people go for this amount of time. But that is not true obedience. That is religion. It’s not a relationship with Jesus where he wants our whole heart, not part of it, not bargaining for different things or obeying on our terms. We come to him in True obedience and say, Lord, I am here because of your grace. You tell me what you want me to do, and I will do it, because I know I serve a king with good intentions who does what is best for me, and that’s where obedience comes from. So that’s the first thing. His heart is hard because he thinks he’s obeying or he’s going to obey, even though he’s not truly obeying the word of the Lord. The second wrong way he responds is half hearted repentance. Okay, there really cannot be true obedience without true repentance. So what do we see Pharaoh doing in verse 27 he says this, this time I have sinned, the Lord is in the right, and I, my people are in the wrong. Pray to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. You think, like, I mean, isn’t that just like, we’re done. We don’t want this anymore. Yeah, it’s devastating everything. I will let you go. You don’t have to stay any longer. This is the first time Pharaoh has actually taken responsibility for anything up to now. He just brings Moses and he says, Can you please stop the plague? It’s not the last time that he’s going to say something like this in chapter 10, verse 16, he says, I have sinned. Forgive my sin. But before we think that Pharaoh is softening here, that his heart is getting softer, we must see that his response is to the consequences. His response, the depth of his repentance, is based on how bad the consequences get. So when things get really bad, he’s going to feel going to feel really, really sorry for it. But then what happens in verse 34 as soon as the plague is taken away, he sinned again. He and his officials hardened their hearts. Has anybody been around a kid where you’ve corrected them and then walked out of the room and you see their eyes just like waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, go right back to the name just got in trouble for. I mean, that’s exactly what Pharaoh’s doing here. Like, just, okay, okay, all right, yeah, okay, I feel bad. I’m sorry. Get out of the room. Now I’m back to doing what I want to do. That’s what Pharaoh is doing. As soon as the plague ends, he sins again, and it keeps getting his heart keeps getting hard. Getting harder. After the plague of darkness, it hardens more. And it says this in verse 28 he says this to Moses, get out of my sight. Make sure you do not appear before me again the day you see my face. You will die. His heart is not softening. It is getting to the place where now he has reached that breaking point, not of soft heart, but of a hard heart, and I will kill you if you show your face again. This is not true repentance. So let’s contrast this with another people in the city of Nineveh, the Assyrian capital in the story of Jonah, like Jonah doesn’t start off too well, if you know the story doesn’t go where he’s supposed to go. Eventually he does, through some crazy means, of course, but he ends up in Nineveh, and he stands before the people and he says this. This is his message. This is all we get. 40 more days in Nineveh will be overthrown. That’s what he says. And the. People respond immediately, like this. It says the Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed in all of them from the greatest of the least put on sackcloth we read in the next verses. This includes their king, and he tells everyone to call on call urgently on God. And it says when God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he did not destroy them. They got one statement, words from Jonah, the judgment is coming, and they repent. Pharaoh gets 10 plagues and signs, and he keeps playing around. He won’t budge. Every statement he makes sounds like, okay, maybe there’s some repentance there, but it is not. It is false repentance. Pharaoh only cares about the circumstances that he’s experiencing. He wants them to change. He cares about the consequences only. Please remove them so I can keep going and keep living my life. Maybe we can have some good days in between every plague. Just take this one away, and we’re going to keep doing our own thing. He does not feel guilty for his sin before the Lord. He is living out of what we would call worldly sorrow. This is what Paul talks about in Second Corinthians, 710, he says, godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. Is that not this whole story, godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation, a life that is saved. Worldly sorrow brings death. So what does this mean? What is godly sorrow? It means confessing, naming our sin, turning from our sin, turning away from going our own way, turning back to God, because it’s there. When we turn, we find salvation when we turn from our own way. We find Jesus. Later. For Paul, in the his letter to the Thessalonians, he says this, they tell how you turn to God from idols, to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. This is what could have happened for Pharaoh and the Egyptians if they had turned from serving and living for their worthless idols to turn and serve the living, true God in true repentance and obedience. But worldly sorrow brings death. We will see that in the coming weeks. So here’s the big idea this morning. Brandon started us off last week by talking about softening our heart as we look at that first plague. So this is really kind of part two. Not only do we need to come to that moment we repent for the very first time, say, Lord, I am a sinner and I’m in need of your grace, but then how do we keep our heart soft before the Lord? So here it is, keep your heart soft before the one true God through genuine repentance and obedience. If you want to keep your heart soft, you need to be genuinely repentant and obedient to God. Now this is going to take some soul searching for us this week, some some time alone with God, asking him to show where you are obeying on your terms and where you are living in false repentance. And I mean some deep soul searching, because we know kind of the obvious things that we’re dealing with, the obvious sins, the obvious place we’re not repenting. But what about those, all those other places where we need him to show up and say, no, no, no, you’re obeying on your own terms. You’re not actually following my word. Or, yeah, you seem to be repenting, but you’re not actually doing anything to see that change. So what does true repentance look like? Just a few thoughts here before we close. It means confessing sin like naming it and saying, This is what I am confessing and this is what I am turning from, without holding on, without looking back, it also means you have a plan in place to kill the sin in your life. Because if you just say, like, I don’t like the circumstance, this feels really bad as soon as that kind of consequence is taken away, or things start to look better in your life. If you don’t have a plan, if you don’t have a plan, you’re going to end up right back in the same spot. So true repentance is saying, I need to I need a plan to go forward. I need a plan in place that I’m going to follow to make sure I kill this sin in my life. What does true repentance look like, confessing our sin to others and getting them involved, to say, I can’t do this on my own because we weren’t meant to do it on our own. So we repent before God. Vertical repentance is needed for salvation and reconciliation with God, but we also need that horizontal repentance to restore some relationships in our lives. Can I tell you I’ve seen people in this church who are living this out true repentance, saying I am so sick and tired of the sin, I am giving my life back to Jesus, and now I have a plan in place to make sure that that stays over there. It is not I feel really bad about these consequences. Help me get a few good weeks in, and I’ll be right back here at the same place. That is not true repentance. What does true obedience look like? It’s wanting to do what God, Word, God’s word, tells us to do right away. Not, Hey, God, I’ll do this when I’m ready. Here’s a couple of my conditions. Here’s a couple changes or tweaks I can make to what you’re saying. No, it’s saying, Lord, I know what you have done for me. You have saved me. Nothing in my life deserved that, but you did it anyways. Your love comes with no conditions. He loves us in spite of ourselves. He loves us while we are still sinners, while we were his enemy. He loved us. And so we say, because of your love, I want to follow you because I believe you have my best interest in mind. I believe you know what is best. And so I want to obey your word. And so when we see His Word, when we see what it says, we say, Lord, I want to do this today, right now. Help me to do that, and if true, repentance and obedience mark our lives and our hearts will stay soft. And can I tell you, if you repent, you’re actually going to want to repent more, and you’ll start to see there’s more to repent of, but that keeps your heart soft. As Luther said, like the whole Christian life is of repentance. I need to keep coming before the Lord and repenting of my sin. And then when we see the obedience in our life, when we see what God does with it, we’re going to want to obey more. So we’re going to repent and obey, and we’re going to see that more and more in our life, as we see our hearts soften before the Lord, let’s pray. We’re the Lord, we come before you, knowing that we do not deserve to even approach you. We come before you, humbled because we know you are in control, that you are the one who has saved us, and now you have called us to live lives worthy of that gospel, to live lives worthy of the calling we have received from you and so Lord, I pray as we go from here, our motivation for obedience is your love, is your grace and Your mercy In our life, we want our lives to look different because you change us through Your Word. So I pray today, Lord, that we repent of our sin, that you show us where we are living in false repentance, where we are living in this half hearted obedience, and make us NEW. Give us the courage to name our sin. Give us the courage to walk according to your word. Each and every day, we want soft hearts before you Lord, we love you and we pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Hard Hearts October 5, 2025 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper discusses the concept of a “hard heart” as stubbornness to believe or change, using Pharaoh’s resistance to God’s commands as an example. He references Jacqueline Duffin, an atheist who documents miracles, highlighting the tension between faith and evidence. Cooper emphasizes the importance of softening one’s heart to God and warns against the dangers of sin and hardened hearts. He outlines the plan for the upcoming sermons on the plagues in Exodus, urging the congregation to read and reflect on the passages. The first plague, turning the Nile into blood, is described as a severe judgment and a call to repentance.

Good morning church, you can go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Exodus chapter six, right near the end of the chapter. We’ll start in verse 28 Exodus 6:28, get through all of chapter seven. Then as you’re turning there, this woman named Jacqueline Duffin, who is a medical expert and practitioner, and who has written two separate books talking about the interplay between medicine and religion, and in particular, documenting the miraculous, so documenting just story after story of miracles that she and those around her have seen. But what’s interesting about all that is that she’s an atheist and has written these books documenting the miraculous. She says this, though still an atheist, I believe in miracles, wondrous things that happen, for which we can find no scientific explanation. I don’t know you, I find that curious, like I find this very curious, actually, to acknowledge the super natural on the one hand, and yet on the other hand, at the same time, affirm naturalism, atheism. Why? Why? I think, because it’s not a question of evidence. Faith is not a question of evidence. There’s plenty of evidence. It’s a question of, I believe, control, and who gets to be in control of your life? And we’re reluctant to hand that control over, even to God. Now, scripture has a name for that orientation. Scripture calls it a hard heart. A hard heart, the idea of hardness there being one of stubbornness to see and yet refuse to believe or to change course in the face of new evidence, because we are set in our ways. You know, I do what I want to do, and I’m only going to serve those gods that allow me to remain in control of my own life. That is our focus today. That kind of hardness of heart, and the question I want hanging over all of us as we look at this passage, is, do you have a hard heart? Is there any hardness of heart in you and to examine yourself in light of Pharaoh’s negative example, as we’ll see. So we’re going to look at Pharaoh here in these three scenes. And we get kind of the plan of what’s going to happen. It’ll preview what’s going to happen. And then we get the first plague, the confrontation with Pharaoh begins. This first blow falls on Egypt. Well, look at that first one. I got to give you a word of warning here. Okay, next week we’re going to cover the next eight. We are not going to read every verse of that lengthy, lengthy passage, nor will we comment equally on every part. And that’ll be true for a lot of Exodus, actually, because we’re going through it somewhat quickly in moments at least. So highly encourage you to take advantage of the three different places where we tell you what the passage is going to be. It’s there in the bottom of your bulletin. It says, Make it yours in the bottom inside right, read that passage for next week’s that you’ve read it all. You’ve heard God’s word, even as we focus in on some key parts, it’s also on the bookmark that we provide for you and is in the pulse as well. So just kind of no excuses. Okay, like you got the information. It’s on you at this point. But go ahead, read it, talk about it as a family, as a group, whatever it may be, and then come back ready for the next eight next week. But let’s dive in with the plan. First of all, this is when God lets Moses and Aaron know how this is all going to shake out. Here is Exodus six, beginning in verse 28 now, when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt, he said to him, I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, everything I tell you. But Moses said to the Lord, since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh Listen to me? Then the Lord said to Moses, See I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to say everything I command you and your brother, Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt, and with mighty acts of judgment, I will bring out my divisions, my people, the Israelites and the Egyptians, will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it, Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them. Moses was 80 years old, and Aaron 83 when they spoke to Pharaoh. All right, we are picking the story back up after the genealogy that we had a. Last week. So we’ve talked about this. This was in Exodus 612, and 13. We get that repeated almost verbatim. God says, Hey, you’re going to go say this, and Moses whines yet again and says, I’m a man. I’m, you know, faltering lips. I can’t do this. We’re getting tired of all his complaints. But so that’s the just the repetition of what had happened earlier. And then we resume our story. Verse seven, God addresses that objection once again, and he says something interesting, I’ve made you like God to Pharaoh. And it’s actually even more interesting than it sounds, because the word like is not there in the Hebrew. It reads, literally, I have made you God to Pharaoh, which would sound really, really blasphemous if it weren’t God himself saying it. He’s the only one who is allowed to say that. I think now it’s not that Moses is suddenly divine. He’s elevated into the Pantheon, or something like that. It’s that he is going to embody God’s presence and authority to Pharaoh. I think the translation is accurate. Honestly, you will be like God to Pharaoh. God Himself will be speaking to Pharaoh through Moses, which, of course, should make us think about ourselves a little bit as well, because we’re in a very similar situation, aren’t we? And what does Paul tell us when he mentions that we’ve been given the ministry of reconciliation, he says, We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We are like God to the world in desperate need of the gospel. But this is all very interesting, because keep in mind that Pharaoh considered himself a god, and kind of made it law that everybody else had to consider him God too. So here God is beating Pharaoh at his own game. It’s like God is saying, Do you see the Big Shot king over there with a huge crown on his head, and everyone bowing down to him. That’s not God. Did you see this lowly Shepherd? Well, he’s going to be like God to you. Moses is going to be this human instrument of the Divine Will. And of course, when we hear all of this, it’s preparing us for the new and true Moses Jesus, who actually is God. Yes, he is the human embodiment of the Divine Will, but he is also divine. Now, all Moses and Aaron have to do is speak God’s words. That’s verse two. You are to speak. That’s it. All you gotta do, say what I told you to say. That’s your job, and God’s going to do the rest. You catch that shift from you to I, beginning in verse three, and it’s a long list of what God says he’s going to do. I’m going to harden, I’m going to multiply, I’m going to lay my hand, I’m going to bring you all out so that everyone will know that I am the Lord. It’s very free, and Moses doesn’t need to get Pharaoh’s attention. God will do that. And Moses doesn’t need to bring Israel out. God is going to do that. Moses doesn’t even need to come up with what to say. He just needs to say the things that God tells him to say. What? Again, a good reminder for us, because what are we called to do? Just to say the things that God told us to stay in Second Corinthians five again, right? God’s making his appeal through us. We’ve been given this ministry and this message of reconciliation. All you need to do is say that, and God will do the rest. Interestingly, though, God acknowledges that Moses will be unsuccessful, you’re going to say what I told you to say, and Pharaoh will not listen. I think that’s part of the good reminder for us also. Here’s the way Martin Luther put it. He says, We are bidden to preach, but we are not bidden to justify people and make them pious. This thought should comfort all Christians. Only the Word of God is entrusted to Moses, not the responsibility of making Pharaoh soft or hard by preaching. That is freeing, isn’t it? Should comfort us as Christians. All we have to do is speak the message of grace, and the rest is in God’s hands. We don’t have to convince anyone. We certainly aren’t going to convert anyone. That’s all on God, but we feel here again, the tension between divine sovereignty on the one hand and human responsibility on the other hand, because God says, again, I’m going to harden Pharaoh’s heart, and then later we’ll read that Pharaoh hardens his heart. So who is responsible for the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart? And the answer is yes, both of them. Of course, we get an illustration of what this looks like, this tension, even if we were to look ahead to one of the later plagues, the plague of a hail how does the hail storm fall on. Egypt. Well, here’s how moist air rises, and as it goes up, it gets colder. So it freezes, and you get these little globules of ice, and then the water vapor around that little bit of ice gets cold because there’s ice there. And so it also hardens and attaches to it freezes around it, until eventually that bit of ice becomes heavy enough that the force of gravity is stronger than the force of the upward air current and hail falls. I’m really hoping somebody doesn’t know hail better than what I just said, Because if that’s wrong, that’s all I got. Okay, just cut and paste kind of thing. So that’s one way to describe what happened when the hail falls on Egypt? Here’s the other way to describe it. It’s in Exodus nine, verse 18, which we’ll see next week. God says, I will send the worst hail store that Egypt has ever seen. And both of those are 100% true at one in the same time, and the same is true here. God hardens Pharaoh’s heart, and also Pharaoh hardens his heart through a series of choices, until those choices become a fixed habit, and then the series of habits become a fixed character, so that he becomes maximally set in his ways, and no repentance is possible for him any longer. That is a warning for us. The time to repent, to stop making those choices, is now that we put sin to death today, because we don’t know when that point of no return is that moment when repentance is no longer possible because our heart has become irrevocably hardened. Maybe there’s some in this room who struggle with porn, and you just don’t know at what moment it is that you will come to love pornography more than you hate the thought of falling into hell, and you will continue in it and perish eternally. Or you don’t know when the careless words you know just your personality plus kind of your parents fault and all that stuff, when those careless words become who you are, gossip or lying or cruelty or just speaking in haste and you cannot change any longer. Or when C S Lewis talks about this one, when that grumbling mood, you know you’re just kind of an angry person, and over 20 or 40 or 60 or 80 years, you get more and more cantankerous, and you think that’s not that big a deal, but after 10 million years, maybe you’re nothing but the grumble. Lewis says, that’s what we’re talking about. That’s why this is serious, because at a certain point we become enslaved wholly to our sins. It’s like every time we choose to sin, it’s like we’re we’re wrapping that cord around us another loop. Every time we choose not to sin, we choose to obey God. It’s like we unwrap it once. Not talking about salvation, here I am talking about sanctification, all that kind of stuff. But you know that point where eventually you just get so tangled up, there’s no untangling. I got four daughters. I know what this looks like, right? There comes a point where the brush just goes, nope, that’s not coming out. This rubber band is in there. It is fixed and good, and we’re going to cut that out, because that’s the only way this is coming out. And that is basically what the Lord says to us as well, that’s why God calls these. Did you notice that mighty acts of judgment? These are mighty acts of judgment. God is not just showing off his power to Pharaoh here. There’s a moral context for the plagues. This is a just punishment for sin, and in the end, then that means that the overarching purpose of the plagues all will know that God is who He says He is. That was Pharaoh’s question, right? We saw this last week. We’ve talked about it when Moses comes to Pharaoh and says, The Lord says, Let my people go. And Pharaoh says, Who God’s answering the question. Now this is who. So we will all know God is who He says He is. We will either know His mercy in salvation or his wrath in judgment, but we will all know him today, today, as Caitlin read for us earlier today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart. Listen and obey, like Moses and Aaron in verse six, they just did, just as the Lord commanded them, which, by the way, is really nice to see, after all the hemming and hawing we’ve gotten for the last few chapters here that finally Moses is like, Okay, I’m just gonna do it now and also do it despite their age. Like, we just gotta talk about this for a moment. Moses is 80 Aaron is 83 Can I talk to you senior saints for a moment as a young whippersnapper, and some of you are like, young, really? I’m like, yeah. Yes, okay, compared to the senior saints, at least, I do not see anything in scripture that talks about retiring from ministry. There’s nothing here that says, You know what, you’ve served in kids city long enough you put in your time, you’re done now. God says, Moses, I got a job for you. It’s gonna be 40 years in the desert, even though you’ve been collecting Social Security for a decade and a half already. All right, we still get to serve the ministry fair outside, by the way. So after the service, senior saints will see you out there too, is my point. All right, this takes us then to the preview, because Moses and Aaron obey. They’re ready to talk to Pharaoh. Here is the preview, verses eight to 13. Let me read it for us. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, when Pharaoh says to you, perform a miracle, then say to Aaron, take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh and it will become a snake. So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts. Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake, but Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. So this short scene is just a preview of coming attractions. The way it actually functions is a little bit like an overture before a musical. The point of the overture is that while you’re sitting there waiting for the musical to start, you hear the musical themes that are going to be repeated over and over again. So you kind of get them in your head like, Okay, I know what I’m listening for. That’s it exactly. Because we get some themes here, like Pharaoh here, he even asks for a sign, but his whole attitude has always been prove it, and so then God proves it, and Pharaoh doesn’t believe it. The Magicians show up and we’ll replicate the miracle and come back next week see how well that goes for them. We see over and over again that God’s power is greater than Egypt’s power and the power of Egyptian gods. And then Pharaoh’s heart hardens. God hardens it. Pharaoh hardens it. It just hardens. And all this happens. As the Lord said, everything is happening because God is sovereign over it. Those are some of the themes we’re going to hear again and again. So Pharaoh asked for a miracle. Make sure you’re clear on this. Pharaoh asks for a miracle so that he can persist in unbelief, much like the Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign, because they’re saying prove it, and then I’m going to find the proof unconvincing, so that I don’t have to believe and then it’s your fault, not mine. That’s what’s happening here. Seeking a sign is no proof of an open mind. It could be quite the opposite, and that’s important for some of you in this room who are going, if only God would prove himself. It is not necessarily a sign of an open mind. Could be quite the opposite, especially because he has proven himself, reminded the famous story of Bertrand Russell, a TV interviewer. He was a noted atheist in the 60s, and a TV interviewer asked him, you know, what are you going to do if, after you die, you stand face to face with God? And he says, Why didn’t you believe in me? By the way, Bertrand Russell’s dead. This happened, and Bertrand Russell said, I will say to him, not enough evidence. Not enough evidence. By the way, that is not what Bertrand Russell said to God. I am confident he did not open his mouth in the presence of God Almighty. But here’s the thing, Russell was wrong. There is more than enough evidence. There are signs all around. Creation itself is a sign. The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19, verse one, the resurrection is the big, flashing neon sign like we keep talking about, and even the miracles of the sort that Jacqueline Duffin recorded in her works. It is not a question of evidence. It is a question of the heart, and that is Pharaoh’s problem. It is interesting that God has Moses have Aaron throw the staff down. We kind of picture Moses doing all this stuff, right? But it’s not. It’s actually Aaron who strikes the Nile River. Why is that, exactly? And it’s because Pharaoh has magicians. So anytime the magicians are present, it’s Aaron who is actually doing this stuff or speaking. And this is so that Moses and Pharaoh can can come at one another as equals. It’s like, you know, President Iceland visits President United States, and they both bring their chief of staff, the bag man, so they can look behind him and be like, what’s the I need to let me know. So that’s what’s happening here. That’s why Aaron is the one doing all this. So he throws his staff down, and it turns into a snap. Snake. Word there, by the way, is not the normal word for snake. It’s actually the word for Dragon, is how it’s translated into the Greek and stuff. So this is the big snake, which we’ll see in a moment. There is so much going on here. The snake is, as I’ve said already, a symbol of Egypt, like Pharaoh’s crown has got the female Cobra in it. And in fact, the coronation ceremony for a pharaoh really centers on a snake. At a certain point the ceremony, the Pharaoh would say, Oh, great one, oh fiery snake, let there be terror of me, like terror of thee. Let there be fear of me like the fear of thee, inviting Satan into his heart at that time. We need that background to understand what Moses and Aaron and God is doing here. This is a direct attack on Pharaoh’s majesty. This is not just a cool sign. So we got our president of Iceland came to see the President of the United States there in the Oval Office, if at a certain point, the president of Iceland looks over at her chief of staff, and the Chief of Staff pulls out of the bag a bald eagle and wrings its neck and throws it dead on the resolute desk. That’s not a comment on animal rights activism, because the bald eagle is the US. That’s, you know, borderline declaration of war or something like that. That’s what Moses and Aaron have just done. Now, it’s true that Pharaoh’s magicians are able to replicate the miracle snake charmers exist. It’s a real thing. I learned a lot about this this past couple of weeks. Apparently you can pinch a cobra in the back of its neck. Did you know snakes have necks? I thought the whole thing was a neck, but apparently it’s got a neck. You pinch a nerve in the back of its neck, and it goes rigid, and you can actually use it like a cane. And then if you throw it down, it like jolts the snake, and it starts moving like a snake again. Maybe that’s what’s happening here. Maybe they really are using the dark arts, but it is the reminder that miracles don’t necessarily prove anything. Paul talks about this Second Thessalonians two because he says there is an enemy who is a snake, by the way, and that that lawless one, the enemy Satan, will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie. Signs and wonders exactly what we’re the words we use to describe the plagues, like Satan can do them also in God’s providence, I might add. And so it’s important for us to keep in mind. I think this is important for us to keep in mind, because there’s always that temptation to be drawn to displays of power. It says the prosperity gospel. In a nutshell, you get these pastors who usually call themselves prophets or apostles, who do some sort of miracle, and it’s like, Well, look, then I must be authenticated by God because I did a miracle. And this would suggest otherwise. Jesus would suggest otherwise as well. In Matthew seven, verse 22 look, if your temptation is toward the prosperity gospel, there’s a good chance you’re not here in this church, not where we struggle. But that’s not the only sign that we can read wrongly. Maybe it’s not the prosperity gospel. Maybe it’s the pragmatic gospel. What is the sign of pragmatism? Well, it’s a big budget and increasing numbers, and you start to go, well, that that must mean the hand of the Lord is on this congregation, maybe, but then again, maybe not. And so we need to be weary always. So all that’s going on, but the most important part of the story, of course, is that Aaron’s snake, the dragon snake, devours the other snakes like there’s no contest. Aaron takes on Egypt’s gods and wins. God takes on Egypt’s gods and wins. And this is how God always takes on other gods, a full frontal assault. In fact, even the fact that it’s a snake taking on snake gods is really important full frontal assault, and it is grace. It is grace. It is love when God declares war on your false gods to show you how powerless they are. It is grace when you who worship power are brought to a place of weakness. It is grace when you who worship pleasure find no enjoyment in your sin. It is grace when you who worship money find yourself at the brink of bankruptcy. And it’s grace because it exposes the powerlessness of other gods in what do you trust? Really? See on what do you lean when life gets hard? Is it strong enough or not? The problem with false gods is it’s like putting all your weight on a broken femur. It will collapse when you need that weight. It’s like building a skyscraper on a swamp. We need a firm foundation. We need the one who conquered our enemies, like sin and death, and, yes, Satan as well, because you can’t miss that symbolism here, either can you. Who is our enemy? He’s a snake, right? And what’s the original promise in Scripture that one of Eve’s descendants is going to stomp on the head of the enemy, that snake Jesus has defeated and will defeat Satan in the end, just a few verses before, Paul talks about those counterfeit miracles that the lawless one will create, he says of the lawless one, the snake, the Lord Jesus, will overthrow him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of His coming. That’s a god you could put some weight on. Don’t forget the overarching purpose, right, that we might know the Lord. And that’s why judgment here is an act of mercy, because it opens eyes so that Pharaoh the Egyptians so that we can see who God is. It also answers the why question many of us today in this culture are uncomfortable with the idea of judgment like plagues. Really, you’re coming at me with plague like what a petty, unforgiving sadist you worship you Christians, but every protest against judgment minimizes the heinousness of sin. God is sovereign. He is the only God, which means that sin amounts to cosmic treason. And that’s why God takes it seriously. That’s why we must take it seriously. But he gives us so many opportunities to turn and to trust and to receive forgiveness. That’s what the plagues are. He doesn’t start with the 10th. He starts with the first to say, now, now would be a good time. Was that enough? Did you see it? Pay attention. And so let’s dive in then to this first plague, verses 14 to 24 Then the Lord said to Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding. He refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river, confront him on the bank of the Nile and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. Then say to Him, the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you, Let my people go so that they may worship Me in the wilderness. But until now, you have not listened. This is what the Lord says. By this you will know that I am the Lord with the staff that is in my hand, I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. The fish in the Nile will die and the river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink its water. The Lord said to Moses, tell Aaron, take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs, and they will turn to blood. Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even vessels of wood and stone. Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials, and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood. The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt, but the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard. He would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said, Instead, he turned and went into his palace and did not even take this to heart. And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water because they could not drink the water of the river. Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding. The literal word there is heavy, which is interesting, because the Hebrew word for heavy is the Hebrew word for glory. So it’s the same word of glory, but it because to be glorious is to be weighty with substance. But here heavy, heavy is right. Unyielding is right. Why? Because heavy means unyielding. Force equals mass times acceleration. If you increase mass, we got to increase force to move it. The problem with Pharaoh’s heart, it’s a little bit like a kindergartner pushing against a bank vault door. It’s too heavy, and so there’s no movement here. That’s what God is saying. So he strikes Egypt with a series of blows. That’s the word that the Scripture uses to describe what happens here. It’s not plague, it’s blows. He’s striking Egypt. Just kind of going like, Was that enough? Did you wake up now, like, tenderizing meat? Is it going to be soft? Is it going to yield? Because the terms are non negotiable, and we’ll see this next week. It never changes. Why? Because it’s God. This is not a real estate transaction. And two equal parties negotiating. This is more like my negotiating with Callum when it comes to his bedtime, every new demand he makes, it’s like, no, it still goes down this way. We’re not having a discussion about this. That’s how God is with petulant Pharaoh. So the terms are non negotiable here in this story, it’s Let My People Go so they may worship Me. The terms are still non negotiable today. Here today, the terms are repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And those are always the terms. So Moses, Aaron, take the staff, issue the demand, remind pharaoh of the purpose, and then Aaron strikes the Nile River, and with it the cluster of Egyptian gods who live there. Now the Nile River is the lifeblood of Egypt. It is the whole country, and certainly the whole country’s economy in liquid form. So to take out the Nile River would be like taking out the power grid here. It’s everything. No industry happens. There’s no internet. We can’t even stream our shows anymore, like it’s shut down at this point. Everything stops. It is a direct assault on Egypt’s security and prosperity, which we treasure above just about everything else, don’t we? So this is serious. Again, we’re asking the question in what do you really trust? And if the answer is not God, then God will www on it for your sake. This is not the only time that God’s brought the world to a standstill. I think of some of the times he’s done it more recently, like imagine being there in 1929 when your trust is in the market, in prosperity, in wealth that is a weak God many people learned on Black Friday, or what about us with covid or the Spanish flu or the plague itself? Years centuries before, that is your trust in medicine. Is your trust in your health? Because all it takes is one virus, one diagnosis to show you that you have absolutely no control over your health whatsoever. That is a weak God. Or what about World War One, or World War Two, or any of the umpteen gazillion wars we’ve had since then. Do you trust in politics? You trust in diplomacy? Do you trust in your leaders? That’s a weak God. And yet, I mean the market, politics, health. This is what most people are trusting in. Even still today, I find it so interesting that all the fish die. And of course, they do. Fish are meant to breathe water, not blood, but the Nile brought Egypt life, and all of a sudden, now it’s bringing death, and that’s exactly the point. Sin always brings death. It is the inevitable consequence of turning from him who is life. This has been the inevitable consequence since Eden, as soon as Adam and Eve go. I know you gave us one command. We’re just gonna break that one command though we eat. A bite of fruit, which is something that sustains life, ordinarily, what happens? You will surely die. So this all feels really serious, like, I don’t know about you, if you’re standing on the bank of the aisle, you’d think maybe your eyes would open, right? We’d like to think we’re probably fooling ourselves. But we’d like to think, What does Pharaoh do, though, Pharaoh just looks at his magicians, and when he looks at his magicians, what he’s saying is, is there a way for me to escape the inescapable conclusion in front of my eyes? And again, that is the perspective some of you may be bringing to all of the evidence God has given you of his existence and his demands on your life. Is there a way for me to escape the inescapable conclusion that is proof of a hard heart right there? But sure enough, the Egyptian magicians imitate God’s miracle. Sin and Satan are always imitative. By the way. They’re never creative. They’re always just taking what God has done and twisting it, never making anything new themselves. Because, by the way, if you were an Egyptian magician, what would be helpful in this situation? More blood. No. Like if you were going head to head with God and you wanted to show you got equal power, how about turn it back into water and the fish are twice as big as they used to be, then you’d be like, okay, all right, but that’s not what happens here. It’s more. Our blood, they don’t reverse the plague, which just reminds us that even Satan’s Counterfeit miracles serve God’s purposes, all he can do is more of what God is already doing. He is just a tool in God’s hands. And you want to know where you see that it’s when Satan thought, I can win. I will put the Son of God to death. I killed God, and in the process, defeated himself. Oh and oh, by the way, Jesus was just fine afterwards. But it’s enough. It’s enough to see this happen. He hardens his heart. He returns home, has himself a glass of wine instead of water. No big deal, and he doesn’t take the lessons to heart, even while his people are out digging wells for water. Not even a good ruler. Now here’s the thing, if Pharaoh had known how hard his heart was he would have been terrified. Even within his Egyptian religion, it’s a scales religion, which is what most of us work with. Even still today, how many times have you talked to somebody who said, Well, I’ve done more good than bad over the course of my life. The point is, even by that standard, we’re not making it. I don’t think those scales actually balance the way we think they do. And the Egyptians knew this, because in the Book of the Dead, there’s a famous story of a man named ani who stands in front of Anubis who’s going to weigh his heart against the feather of righteousness like literal scales. There’s another god amendment, who’s right there, by the way, waiting to devour the heart of the Damned. So you know, it’s got a certain poignancy this moment, but picture yourself in that scene like imagine, this is how the world actually works. I’ve done more good than bad. Okay, you’re gonna stand before God now and make that argument, and if you’re wrong, you get damned. How would you feel? How confident Would you feel that you’ve really done more good than bad. If somebody is weighing every thought you’ve ever had, every desire you’ve ever felt, every word you’ve carelessly spoken and every action you performed, you would be cowering in fear, So would I? So was Ani, by the way, he’s freaking out, he’s screaming, he’s sobbing, he’s pleading for mercy, not justice. That is the crushing burden of works righteousness right there of trying to earn your own salvation. Could you ever be sure? And friends, I have the very best news for you. You can absolutely be sure, not because of what you’ve done, but because of what someone else did for you. What does God promise us through his prophet Ezekiel, I will give you a new heart, right? I will take and will remove from you your heart of stone, hard, heavy, unyielding. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. You have a heart of stone when you come to this world, which means you are not going to make it, but Jesus stood in your place, and his is a weighty heart, a glorious heart. And so what happens if you trust in Him? He takes that heart of stone and stands on the scale with it and is damned in your place, suffers your punishment, so you can be rewarded in his place, right? This is so much better than Egypt. In Egypt, you got the feather of righteousness, right? Egypt saying, here’s the standard, now, live up to it. And in Christianity, Jesus says, I’m the standard, and you can have it. Take mine, I’ll give it to you. Today is the day. This is our big idea. It’s so simple in light of what we talked about, right? Today is the day. Now is the time to soften your heart to the one true God, don’t wait. Look. Blood is an ominous first sign, isn’t it? It’s gonna prepare us for the last and for the death that we deserve. It is this. Wake up call. I keep saying that Exodus is the paradigmatic salvation event. This is what salvation looks like in the Old Testament. It is, at the same time the paradigmatic judgment event in the Old Testament. This is what judgment looks like. And they always go together, because God can’t rescue Israel without striking Egypt. God can’t save sinners without destroying sin. They’re two sides the same coin. I use this analogy a lot. It’s a little bit like if terrorists are holding you hostage when SEAL Team Six shows up, that’s really good news for you, and really bad news for the terrorists. That’s what judgment is in our salvation, but that’s also why God sends so many signs beforehand. It’s all of these opportunities to turn and again. We have them too. We can read about them here. We have new ones today. God is not slow in keeping his promises. Paul tells us in Romans, he is patient, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance and a knowledge of the truth. Exactly So now is the time to soften your heart to the one true God. Take these signs to heart and turn and be saved. Let’s pray you. God, Father, we pray that You would open our eyes, soften our hearts, wake us up from our spiritual slumber, stupor, help us to see so clearly who you are, what you’ve done, who we are, what we’ve done, what we deserve, and the grace and mercy and salvation that you have offered us and today, even now, Lord, as We hear your voice speaking to us through Your Word, we pray that we would not harden our hearts as we have done before, but that we would be made soft by your spirit before you eager to trust in you, to turn from our sin, to LISTEN and OBEY, for your name’s sake, amen.

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Why, Lord? Why? September 28, 2025 | Reeve Sam Reeve Sam discusses the biblical story of Moses and Aaron confronting Pharaoh in Exodus 5:1-6:27. Sam draws parallels to modern global conflicts and injustices, emphasizing the human struggle to understand God’s actions. Moses and Aaron’s initial confidence in confronting Pharaoh is tested by his mocking question, “Who is the Lord?” Sam stresses the importance of lamenting reality and trusting in God’s plan, even when there is no immediate resolution. He also links this story to Jesus as the ultimate intercessor and high priest, encouraging the congregation to call on God, who eagerly listens.

Good morning. Cityview Community Church, turn your Bibles with me to Exodus five. And if you’re using the Pew Bibles, that’s page number 47 and if you don’t own a Bible, please take that one with you. That’s our gift to you. In 2011 the citizens, citizens of Syria began a peaceful protest with the hopes that they would see political reform and freedom, only the Assad regime met them with brutal crackdowns, arresting, torturing and killing protesters. What began as this movement of Hope quickly turned into a catastrophic war. Families were displaced, and many hoped for a better. Syria, Saudi country, destroyed instead. This is one of many stories of injustice in our world today. We turn on the news we see the tragedy in Ukraine, the Sudanese Civil War, the ever ongoing war between Israel and Palestine, and that’s without even looking at our own country. Lord, where are you? Why aren’t things getting better? How long? Oh, Lord, before you do something about it, these questions are new, and it’s something that’s very common in the Bible, and in fact, that’s exactly what we’re going to see in this section of Exodus. In Exodus five verses one through 627, we see Moses wrestling with God as he goes through these tough situations, and he questions God, Why, Lord, why? And we wrestle with these questions too, but we often just keep it with ourselves. We don’t talk to others, and we definitely don’t talk to God. So let me start with this big idea. Call on Him who longs to hear you. We’re going to break down this passage into four parts, a disappointment and a response, another disappointment and another response, starting with the first disappointment, the uncomfortable reality. Let’s look at this. Let’s look at Exodus. Five verses, one to 18. Afterward, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, Let my people go so they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness. Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord that I should obey Him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go. Then they said, The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword. But the king of Egypt said, Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work. Then Pharaoh said, look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working. That same day, Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people. You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks. Let them go and gather their own straw, but require them to make the same number of bricks as before. Don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy, and that is why they are crying out, let us go and sacrifice to our God. Make the work harder for the people, so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies. Then the slave drivers and overseers went out and said to the people, this is what Pharaoh says, I will not give you any more straw. Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all. So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw, the slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw. And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today as before then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh. Why have you treated your servants this way? Your servants are given no straw. Yet we are told to make bricks. Your servants are being beaten. But the fault is with your own people. Pharaoh said, lazy. That’s what you are. Lazy. That is why you keep saying, Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord. Now get back to work. You will not be given any straw yet. You must produce your full quota of bricks. That was a lot. There’s so much to unpack here. But before we do, it’s important that we set the story in context. We just saw Moses and Aaron go to these Israelite elders and do these wonderful signs. And now these elders are excited. They’re thinking reform. They’re thinking freedom. And so now it’s time to go and talk to Pharaoh. The hard part, the Lord even tells Moses what this request is going to look like. In Exodus, 318, 19. It says the Lord, says the elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to Him, the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. But I know the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. Interesting, we see how confident Moses and Aaron were considering that the Israelite elders believed in them, yet only Moses and Aaron seemed to be the people going and confronting Pharaoh, despite the Lord commanding them to take the Israelite elders with you. Nonetheless, they go in faith, so in their boldness, they told Pharaoh that these were the words of the Lord, Let my people go that they may hold a festival for me in the wilderness, probably exactly like they rehearsed it. But here’s something you cannot rehearse. Pharaoh says, I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go. Then they try to double down and actually say what God said. And they said, The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. But they add a sentence, a sentence that God didn’t say, and this is their first sign of fear, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword, not God’s words, he didn’t say that he would harm the Israelites. It’s evident that Moses is scared because his first burst of confidence, his confidence that he had in the Lord is quickly shifted to this fear of Pharaoh, and so he starts trying to justify this request with lies. Nonetheless, God doesn’t condemn Moses for his actions at all. In fact, he graciously uses it. But something heartbreaking does take place here. Moses is confronted with the reality when Pharaoh says, mockingly, who is the Lord? I don’t think Moses planned for that response when we started this sermon series, something that Brandon pointed out that is going to be super important in the context of Exodus, is that we gain a knowledge of God. So the impact of Pharaoh’s response, I do not know the Lord, or who is the Lord, is going to create this trickle down effect that is going to cause further trials for the Israelites, but also the Egyptians, but most of all, for Pharaoh himself, in fact, his response to the message of God is further torment, further brutality. For the Israelites, he dismisses God, but he also dismisses everything God stands for, like justice, truth, mercy. He dismisses God and when we do not know God, we do not know justice, truth and mercy, in a world like the one we live in, where people do not know God, moreover, people reject Him, we live in a world without justice, truth and mercy. We live in the grief of not knowing the Savior of the world, the God of the universe. You may have heard the story of Otto Warmbier. It’s a story that marks the brutality of a regime that does not know God. In 2016 Otto Warmbier, who is a college student from Ohio was arrested in North Korea for stealing a propaganda poster. To no one’s shock, the horrendous justice system of North Korea sentenced him to 15 years of hard labor, 15 years for stealing a poster. The manual labor was so aggressive that it often led to the death of the prisoner, and that was Otto’s case. He was released by North Korea just a year later and sent back to Ohio in a comatose, vegetative state. He had several, several fractures to his skull and severe brain damage. Warmbier died a few days later. Imagine the pain his family went through when he saw when they saw him. This aspiring college student can’t even move now, the injustice when we talk about a brutal regime that does not know God, this is what we talk about. This is what we picture, and we should picture when we see Exodus because of the wickedness of the pharaoh all the. Because he does not know God. But don’t miss God in this story of horror, let’s see if you caught it. Pharaoh says, Who is the Lord? I do not know the Lord. Get back to your work. But the Lord already told Moses in Exodus, 319, I know the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. Pharaoh might not be compelled by Moses. He might not even know the Lord. But the Lord knows Pharaoh. The Lord knows that it’ll take a lot more for Pharaoh to let go of his people. In other words, the Lord is still in control. Why then would God send Moses to confront Pharaoh? It’s because it’s here where Moses learns to trust in the Lord when being confronted with reality. And this is going to be this recurring theme in Exodus, and I want you to keep an eye out for it in these coming weeks, where Moses is being confronted by the wickedness of the world and his people, and he has to trust God to get to the other side of his grief. So what Moses does here when he was so what does Moses do here when he’s confronted with this reality? He laments it. His response is lamenting reality. Let’s read on. Look at verses 19 to 23 the Israelite overseers realized that they were in trouble when they were told you were not to reduce the number of bricks required for you each day, when they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, and they said, May the Lord look on you and judge you. You’ve made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us. Moses returned to the Lord and said, Why Lord? Why have you brought trouble on this? People? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your speak in your name, he’s brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all. Have you ever gotten involved in somebody else’s problem only for the problem to get worse? Funny story, I’ve learned this the hard way, and let’s just say that’s why I don’t get involved in my friends love lives. When I was in high school, I saw my best friend getting slapped by his girlfriend for absolutely no reason, and it’s crazy how fairly common things like that is in public school. So I intervened, and I said, What’s going on here? Are you crazy? Only for my best friend to push me away and said, Stay out of this, man, just stay out of this. I was angry, and I prayed out to God. I said, Lord, why I thought it was doing the right thing. Are you going to take everything away from me? Was I being a little too dramatic? Yes, but I still have to often fight some of these lies in prayer even now. Why should I intervene in issues? If it isn’t my problem to deal with, let me just ignore the wrong so I can live peacefully. We intervene because, like Moses, we’re called to do good, even if it doesn’t result in what we hoped for. But like Moses, we should also lament that reality. There’s something so radically comforting about placing our faith and praying to God when things just don’t make sense. And this is what Moses is learning in this situation, he’s learning that he needs to cry out to God because it simply just doesn’t make sense to him. He needs to cry out to God because this is a familiar place of grief, like we saw in Exodus two. He’s being rejected by the Israelites and the Egyptians yet again. So his response, though not how we picture prayer to be with using our churchy words and sounding good is exactly what the Lord expects of him. Why Lord? Why have you brought trouble on these people? Why have you sent me? Why have you not rescued your people? This is real prayer, the kind of conversation you have with someone when you have a relationship with them, it’s raw. This is what Moses needs. He needs to not sugar coat the injustice or the burden that he’s carrying, but he also needs the person he’s crying to to be somebody who could change that reality. But it’s here where I have to say, quite often, those realities don’t change. Should I still cry out? Should I still lament? Earlier this year, we did a series on lament, and we defined lament. As a prayer of pain that leads to faith. See, as theologian Nicholas, www says, lamenting is the language of suffering, not the language of reform. You Don’t lament because you just want answers and changes from God. No, you lament because you know that he who holds the whole world in His hands, hears you, it’s more than just for answered prayers. And if you don’t believe me, I’m okay with that, but believe the Word of God, the story of Job, a man who lost everything from property to children, was commended, was commended for crying out to God and asking why, while his friends who used these churchy words to rebuke Him were rebuked by God. Or think about the laments of David and other psalmist, the whole book of Lamentations, not to mention the man of sorrows, Jesus, Christ, His words in the garden, Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken away from me, yet not my will, but Your will be done. Should I still lament? Yes, there is no one who can carry your burdens like God does. So lament and know that God hears your prayers. Lament So Moses prays, but how does God respond? Let’s look at the next point, the unbelievable covenant. Look at chapter six, verses one to nine. Then the Lord said to Moses, now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh because of my mighty hand, he will let them go because of my mighty hand, he will drive them out of his country. God also said to Moses, I am the Lord. I appear to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty. But my name the Lord, I did not make myself fully known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. Therefore, say to the Israelites, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with an uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession I am the LORD Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor. It’s actually a very awesome portion of the text, because it reflects exactly what God is going to do for the rest of the book. God states, I am the Lord, which, if you remember from these past weeks, is his way of saying the Almighty God of the universe. But not only does he say who he is, he then says, I’ll do what I always do, because I am who I always am. You will see what will happen because of my mighty hand. He says, I am God, and I will show you that I am God, this alone is an act of grace. We know that he can just use words and things come into be. Why is he doing this? Why wait? Why not just snap his fingers and change the reality? When God spoke to Abraham Isaac and Jacob, he promised them a land flowing with milk and honey, he could just snap his fingers, and that would become reality for sure, but that would remove every opportunity for faith. Hebrews 11, the faith chapter in verse nine, mentions this about Abraham. By faith, he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country, he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of this same promise. When you hear a stranger in a foreign country, I hope you’re thinking of Moses. This is the story of Moses life, and it is this same promise that God made with Abraham and the other patriarchs, then Moses and the Israelites are being invited to but how, how are they being invited to this promise? God is inviting his people to share in the promise by participating in his covenant. Moses seems to find comfort in this promise as well, considering that he goes forth and shares it with the Israelites. But what is special about this promise? It’s in these two sentences, don’t miss it. I have heard the groanings of the Israelites and remembered. My covenant God tells Moses that I hear you, and I hear the Israelites as well, who are burdened by the weight of slavery. And I will tell you what I told your ancestors. I will take you out of Egypt into the Promised Land. Moses finds comfort in knowing that the God who neither sleeps nor slumbers, is working even when he cannot see it. And here’s something we have to contend with. What do we do when we cannot see God in our trials? What are our coping mechanisms, or what are the ways we try to escape reality rather than confront it? Do we escape reality by consuming alcohol or maybe gaming or pornography? Maybe it’s a compulsive desire to buy new clothes. Maybe it’s gossiping about someone else to feel better about yourself. Or maybe, if you’re like me, you wrestle with running to sports when you’re in an argument. What do we do when we cannot believe that God is with us, when it feels like you don’t have friends, or your marriage is falling apart, or your children don’t seem to care for you, or others when you’re being abused at your workplace? What do we do hear from the words of Jesus, which were read for us earlier. I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace in this world, you will, you will, you will have trouble. But take heart. I have overcome the world, and then you looked to heaven and prayed. You might feel like your world is crumbling at this moment, you may feel alone, maybe in your weaknesses or your sin. But Jesus reminds us that even in moments like this, in him, you may have peace, even though it feels like the burden of the world is on your shoulders. He reminds us that we can take heart because he has overcome the world. The reason we pray in moments like this is because God hears us and he remembers his covenant with us in Christ, Jesus. If you have given your life to Jesus, then there is a promise for you that this momentary reflection is not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed when we see Him face to face. Yet in Moses’ light boost of confidence, the Israelites were still downcast, still relenting because of their harsh labor and slavery, their grief is a hindrance to their belief. And that takes us to the last response, lamenting responsibility. Look at Verse 10 to 27 Then the Lord said to Moses, Go tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country. But Moses said to the Lord, if the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh Listen to me? Since I speak with faltering lips, then we have a long genealogy, which I won’t read because the names are hard to say, but we will still talk about it, and it is very important in the first command to go and talk to Pharaoh. It almost seems as though God was requesting Pharaoh to let go of his people. But now it’s no longer a quest. It’s a demand, in other words, give me back my people. Moses responds to God with the same old lousy complaint that we saw last week in Exodus four. My lips are faltering, which in this context, could either mean he has a stammer, or he’s still not ready for public speaking, or he thinks he needs help, or he’s just scared. It’s kind of the same thing I told Brandon when he said, Preach this portion of Exodus. I’m a man of faltering lips. He said, You don’t even have an accent, you’ll be fine. So here I am, but in the same way that Brandon didn’t punish me for complaining, although he finds creative ways to do that, in general, God doesn’t punish Moses for his complaint. He acknowledges it hears him, and we have a genealogy. Wait what this feels like the center of the story. Why do we have a genealogy here? God just said to Moses, Go demand the people back from Pharaoh. How can a genealogy possibly help us here? Maybe we need to ask the right question, what is in this genealogy that helps us understand God? If you look at this long list of individuals, you’ll realize that the focus is on the family of Aaron Moses’ brother, a Levite. The Levites were the priestly tribe of Israel, and this genealogy gives us a. Hint that there is so much more to come in this story, especially considering the mention of Phinehas, who is Aaron’s grandson, who was one of the priests in the period of the judges. And Jake actually pointed out for me when we were doing our huddle, and he said he also acknowledges God’s faithfulness in the past, with the mention of Jacob’s sons, which is probably really important for the for Moses and the other Israelites. That being said, what is the role of priests like Moses? Their role is to be mediators of God’s judgment and intercessors of the people of Israel. They burned sacrifices so that the sins of the Israelites may be pardoned, and that day, the Israelites would have right standing with God. But there is a priest who isn’t mentioned in this genealogy, a high priest who wasn’t just a middle man between God and man. No, he was both God and man. His name is Jesus, as Hebrews 414, to 16 states. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who is who has ascended into heaven, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. See, God didn’t just send his son to intercede for the people’s sins and the sins of the world. No, he sent him to become it. That means Jesus bore the wrath of God for those who placed their faith in Him, the wrath which we deserve. Because like Pharaoh, we act as though we don’t know God. Like Moses, we don’t trust that God has equipped us with these special gifts. Like the Israelites, we’re discouraged in our grief, in our weaknesses, in the sin of this world. But he didn’t just take on our sin. He gave us the right to become children of God, the love that the Father has for His Son Jesus is now bestowed upon us who have placed their faith in Him. This great high priest is the one who has overcome the world. This great high priest is calling us to come to Him. This great high priest is interceding on our behalf in our weaknesses and tormenting life on Earth. So let me say this once again. Call on Him who longs to hear you. We lament because we long for the eternal world to come and Christ comes back. Call on Him who longs to hear you. We lament, because in a world that doesn’t see our pain or hear our calls for help, the God who loves us deeply, if we are in Christ, Jesus sees us and hears us, call on Him who longs to hear you, we lament, because when we are being pressed down by a world filled with sin and we are, we have a Savior who has overcome the world. Call on Him who longs to hear you. Praise be to God who sees us and hears us in our pains, in our griefs, and our afflictions, and Praise be to Him who longs to hear us. Pray with me, Heavenly Father, Lord. We thank You. We thank you, because you long to hear us, even in our weaknesses. Not only do you long to hear us. Lord, you’ve become weak so that we may have strength in you, that we are able to rely on you our fortress and our stronghold in our tormenting life here and when we see the sin that’s around us and within us, Lord, may we not shy from coming to the throne of grace, But Lord, may we press on. May we know, Lord, that you’re calling us with all the love in your heart, longing to embrace us and call us your own. Come have your way in us. Lord, help us see you, admire you. Fall in love with you all the more as we live this life on Earth in your precious, precious name, Lord Jesus, we pray, amen.

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Send Someone Else September 21, 2025 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper discusses the story of John Patton, a missionary who faced the risk of being eaten by cannibals but was determined to serve God. He then transitions to the biblical story of Moses, who also faced objections and reluctance when called by God to lead the Israelites. Moses received three signs—his staff turning into a snake, his leprous hand being restored, and turning the Nile’s water into blood—to build his trust. Despite his objections, God provided Aaron to assist him. The sermon emphasizes trusting and obeying God, using the story to illustrate how God equips and supports His followers.

Go ahead and grab your Bibles, open up to Exodus. Chapter Four. Exodus chapter four. We’ll cover the whole chapter here this morning as you turn into Exodus four. In the 1850s, a man named John Patton felt called to a string of islands in the South Seas known today as Vanuatu. Now, he was not the first person to try to bring the Gospel to these Islanders. In fact, less than 20 years earlier, the first missionaries that we’re aware of were sent out in 1839, and they were killed and then eaten by cannibals in their first few minutes ashore. So Patton was getting a lot of people telling him, maybe you shouldn’t do this. In fact, one person in particular, an elderly pastor that he knew named Mr. Dixon, had said, You’ll be eaten by cannibals, ” which was kind of his whole argument, and he responded, Patton had a wit for sure. He said, Mr. Dixon, you’re advanced in years, and you’ll soon be eaten by worms. I confess to you if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus. It makes no difference to me if I’m eaten by cannibals or by worms elsewhere. He writes, I continually heard the wail of the perishing heathen in the South Seas. And the Lord kept saying to me, since none better qualified can be, got Rise and go yourself, which I love also, like just, he’s just saying, like, I know I’m not top shelf, but you know, it’s okay if I’m the one who’s willing, then I will go. Now, that’s not how most of us would feel. I can tell you from personal experience, that’s not even how most missionaries feel when they’re heading out on the missions field. Many people would have more that kind of drag, kicking and screaming. I’m not going. You can’t make me kind of feel as the Lord is taking them to the field. It’s probably why we tell Patton’s story honestly, because he’s just got that courage where we go, wow. You know, we would aspire to be like that, but most of us need a bit more encouraging. Most of us need a bit more encouraging, even if we’re not being called to go across the world, but just going across the street to have a conversation with a neighbor, just to do what we know God has called us to do, to evangelize, to make disciples. Most of us need more encouragement. So did Moses, by the way, so did Moses, as we started this conversation he had with God last week. We’ll finish up the conversation this week, where he’s giving his list of objections to his being called to lead God’s people, and then we’ll see some of the first steps that he takes toward Egypt, as well how God overcomes his reluctance is really what we’re looking at it. We’ll see it in three scenes, and what God provides to overcome that reluctance. So our first scene, chapter four, verses one to nine. God gives us what we need to trust. God gives us everything we need so that we trust him. Let me read chapter four, verses one to nine for us. Moses answered, what if they do not believe me or listen to me and say the Lord did not appear to you. Then the Lord said to him, What is that in your hand a staff? He replied. The Lord said, throw it on the ground. Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the Lord said to him, reach out your hand and take it by the tail. So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and turned it back, and it turned back into a staff in his hand. This said, The Lord is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob has appeared to you. Then the Lord said, put your hand inside your cloak. So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, skin was leprous, and it becomes white as snow. Now, put it back into your cloak, he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. Then the Lord said, if they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second, but if they do not believe these two signs, or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, the water you take from the river will become blood on the ground. All right, so this is Moses’s third objection. At this point, we kind of looked last week again. His first one was, who am I? And then the second one was, but who are you? And here we are on the third one, what if they don’t listen to me? This, by the way, contradicts what God had promised him back in chapter three, verse 18, God says the elders of Israel will listen to you, and Moses does not take God at His Word. What if they don’t listen to me? To be fair to Moses, a little bit understandable, because the last time he tried to lead Israel, it didn’t go well for him. We saw that back in chapter two, but still he is doubting God’s ex. Explicit promise, and so can we just pause for a moment and appreciate God’s patient kindness toward us that God doesn’t just zap Moses dead right here, the Lord is willing to have robust conversations with us. He invites our questions, and questions are very different from doubts, especially willful doubts. So God not only invites the questions, but then gives him what he needs to trust. He overcomes the objection, and that’s true for us also. He calls us and then he helps us to trust Him for the call. And so how does he do that? These three signs. The first sign involves Moses’s staff, his shepherding staff. This is gonna be an important prop in the story of Exodus. It’ll show up a bunch, but it tells us something immediately, even I mean, it’s interesting that the man called to lead Israel is given a staff and not a scepter, because he is to be a shepherd leader, and not a dictator or a king, yet at this point, and so here he is. We know about shepherds. What good shepherds are like, as Jesus tells us, they’re willing to lay down their lives to their sheep to make sacrifices for the sake of the people, that’s what Moses is called to be. Second I love in this that the sign that the Lord gives Moses involves what Moses already has. Like He literally says to Moses, What’s that in your hand to show him? Yeah, you can trust me. It’s like the Lord saying to you, what do you got in your pockets right now? Okay, I can work with that. You need a sign. I’ll do what you know, you got bubble gum. We’ll do you use bubble gum for your sign. Francis Schaeffer says this in his essay with no little people. He says, you know, it’s like God’s saying, Look what I can do with a dead stick of wood. And if I can do this with a dead stick of wood, what do you think I can do with you? What do you think I can do with you, Moses, and it’s so interesting. We’ll see this by the end of the chapter. In fact, it’s no longer just called Moses’s staff. It is now the staff of God, and that changes everything. You look at people as they’re being called to serve the Lord, you go, well, what could they do? They’re just a child. No, no, they’re a child of God. I’m just a man, yeah, a man of God, a woman of God, the Lord can work with that. Now, part of this sign, though, also, and I don’t like to be boastful, you know that about me, but I was an Eagle Scout, so like, wilderness survival is my thing, I should have a Netflix documentary about me. This is not true, by the way. I’ve gone soft in the years since, so I have my how not to get bitten by snakes, merit badge, and it was really difficult. It’s just one question, right? Should you grab snakes by the tail? No, okay, that’s it. One question. Moses fails here, but that is the sign. The whole idea here is that God is saying, I will give you power over your enemies. And it’s going to have something to do with Egypt, as we’ll see here in a moment. But it also should make us think of the original enemy, who was also a snake, by the way. Should make us think of that first promise, Genesis 315 that one of Eve’s children, one of her descendants, will stomp that snake’s head. And here we’re starting to see that come true. Second sign then involves Moses himself, and this is a humbling sign, because in it, God gives him an outward sign of an inward corruption. So he’s seeing on the outside what is true of His Spirit. We see here the contagion of sin, and this is an important sign, because before God can raise us up to serve Him, He must bring us low. We see this over and over in Scripture. We even see it in Jesus’s life, and Jesus did not have the contagion of sin. But even still, Philippians chapter two, God humbles Jesus, right? He humbles himself, becomes obedient as a servant, even to the point of death. Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name above every name. So God gives Moses gives us a sense of our unworthiness before we are sent out, and then we get to the third sign. But before the third sign, did you notice that God admits that Moses may actually be right? He says, Well, right, the elders of Israel, they might not believe you this, I think, is actually part of how he felt. Fulfills the promise in chapter three, verse 18, like the the interplay between God’s sovereignty and just the reality of complicated people is itself more complicated than we would sometimes like to. Admit like, I think God is saying in 318 they’re going to listen to you, because God knows that Moses is going to struggle. So God’s gonna have to give Moses signs to perform for the Israelites so that they listen to him, so that they believe it’s just like infinite dimensional chess, and we’re all very linear. So of course, it’s more complicated. We’ll see that again in this passage, by the way, the third sign involves the Nile River, then. And this is an important one, because, of course, the Nile is what makes Egypt Egypt. It’s the whole reason it’s this powerful civilization. Even today, you think of Egypt, you think pyramids, Nile, that’s it, right? Like those are the first things that come to mind. So it involves Egypt, which is important, gets us ready for the plagues as well, since this will be the first plague. But here he also calls them signs, verses eight, nine. They don’t believe you pay attention to the first sign, the second sign. Here’s the third sign that’s important. These are signs. They are pointers to something. They’re not just magic tricks to show that God is powerful. It’s a sign pointing to something in particular. So yes, absolutely points to God’s power. We have every reason to trust that he can do what he says he’s going to do, but we’re also seeing power over specific obstacles. The snake is a symbol of evil, as we’ve seen, but it’s also a symbol of Egypt. The Cobra is there in the crown that Pharaoh would wear. Leprosy is a picture of sins, corrupting influence and the decay and death that sin brings, God is stronger than sin and death. And then we see God’s control over nature, even the most powerful elements in it, like the Nile. So we have seen his power to transform, to heal, to overcome. These are good signs, don’t you wish you had signs like these. Wouldn’t that make faith easier? I mean, never mind some call like Moses is experiencing here, but it’ll just make daily Christian living easier even. I mean, how many of us think, are you real God? Like, are you really there? Am I going to be okay if I follow you anywhere like we just sang, because it doesn’t always look or feel that way. Well, you know where I’m going because you heard me preach before I got good news for you. We have a far better sign, because we have the empty tomb, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the biggest sign. It’s the blinking neon sign with the moving arm that you see on the highway pointing turn here. Okay, yes, you can trust the God who raised your Savior from the dead. Now, some of you are immediately going, okay, but can I trust that the resurrection happened? And that’s another question. Yes, absolutely you can. I don’t have time to get into it, because you all get fussy when I go 55 minutes in a sermon. Okay, so we’re not going to do that this week, but if you got questions, come and ask me, there’s a few things I would rather talk about than the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It’s just I don’t have the time right now. God gives us what we need to trust Him, so that we know that we can do what He asks us to do, except that Moses isn’t convinced. So Scene two, God gives us what we need to act, to actually do His will. God gives us what we need to act. Let me keep reading verses 10 to 17 Moses said to the Lord, pardon your servant. Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue. The Lord said to him who gave human beings their mouths, who makes them deaf or mute, who gives them sight or makes them blind, is it not I the Lord? Now go. I will help you speak and will teach you what to say. But Moses said, Pardon your servant, Lord, please send someone else. Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses, and he said, What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth. I will help both of you speak, and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it. So in this fourth objection, we get what is ironically a very eloquent defense of his lack of eloquence. It’s even more eloquent in the Hebrew. But what exactly is he complaining about here? When he says, I am slow of speech and tongue. Does he stutter or have some kind of speech impediment? Maybe? Is it stage? Right, like John Piper had as a high school student, like literally just cannot get up and talk in front of people. Maybe, is it a language issue? And keep in mind he is an ESL student Egyptian as his second language. Except he’s actually just really confused, because I don’t even know if Egyptian was a second language or if Hebrew was his second language. Plus now he speaks Midianite. So he just has he’s probably not fluent in anything. It’s also been 40 years since he was in Egypt. If you’ve ever lived overseas and spoken another language for a time, you know how quickly that goes away, right? So, yeah, maybe that’s what’s going on in any case, whatever it is, whether this is a real defect or an imagined defect. On his part, it is how we all so often feel. I mean, take a moment and just articulate for yourself right now, in the quiet of your own heart, why you think you can’t do it. Here’s why I can’t be a deacon. Lord. I can’t lead a ministry at this church. Here’s why I can’t be part of the church plant team when it gets sent out. Here’s why I can’t start a gospel conversation with my coworker. Here’s why I can’t answer the hard questions that my family member keeps bringing at me. Got that in your head. Hold on to it as we go then, because God deals with those objections. He deals with them from Moses here and in two stages, as Phil Reichen points out, first he deals with the irreverence of the objection, and then with the irrelevance of the objection, Moses’ objection and ours. So the irreverence he answers by asking the question, Who made you? Who made you the way you are, not only that, but who is sovereign over every life experience that has shaped you into who you are today is the answer to that question, the same God who calls you now that he probably knows what he’s doing, he knows your defects, real or imagined because he made you, because he is shaping you, and he uses you and calls you, not despite those defects, but precisely because of them we see over and over again in Scripture and in history as well. As long as we got kind of a missions theme going, let’s stick with the missionaries. You know, Amy Carmichael, missionary to India who worked to rescue children who were in girls who were in great danger of abuse and whatnot. All her life, she wanted blue eyes. He used to pray to God that he would change her eye color so they’d be blue, because that’s what pretty girls have, right? Everyone knows that, right? Like that’s but that’s her, her imagined defect there, until she got to India, and the work she had to do meant that she had to be as anonymous as possible, and blue eyes would have stood out. And she stopped, and she went, that’s why you gave me brown eyes. That’s why you gave me brown eyes. I think of Fannie Crosby, who was blind because of a doctor’s mistake when she was an infant, and who was blind because of the sovereign will of God when she was an infant. Now, would Fanny Crosby have been the hymn writer that she was, if she hadn’t been blinded at an early age? I don’t know if you answered the question, but I tell you what, that probably steered her in a certain direction. It would involve things like, you know, your sense of hearing, the play of language, but in the play of music as well, you get the idea God didn’t mess up when he made you. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. And not only that, if you are in Christ, you are being fearfully and wonderfully remade in him, then he deals with the irrelevance objection. Oh, you’re not eloquent. So what? God doesn’t need Cicero. He’s not looking for rhetoricians, but reporters, right? We’re not called to be these great orators. We are called to be Newsies who are just the kid on the street corner going Extra, extra read all about it. Jesus died for your sins. God raised Jesus from the dead. You don’t need to be eloquent to say that. I mean, this was Billy Graham’s power, wasn’t it? He was just a simple man, simply presenting profound truths. And how many times did he say the Bible says the Bible says, That’s it. All I’m doing is telling you what somebody else said, because that is out. Or call this is what Paul says in Corinth as well. I didn’t come with wise and persuasive words. You wanted eloquence. I didn’t bring it. I came with a simple demonstration of the Spirit’s power, because I resolved to know nothing among you except Christ and Him crucified. That’s the message I bring. The only credentials that we need. We are just God’s ambassadors, and ambassadors just speak someone else’s words. We have this treasure in jars of clay, and you overcome the irrelevance objection by forgetting about the jar and looking at the treasure of the gospel within. And it gets better, though, because then God promises again to be with Moses when it says, I will help you speak that reads, literally, I am with your mouth. I am with your mouth, same as the name he gave us a Ye, right? I am with your mouth. And that shift is the one that we all need to make, because Moses has been talking about I a lot, right? I can’t do this. I’m not eloquent. I, I, I, and God says I AM is with you. That’s what you need. And by the way, how much better again, for us than for Moses, because we do not have God, just with us, alongside us, going before us and behind us. Although that’s awesome, we also have God dwelling within us by His Spirit, but it’s still not enough for Moses. And so the fifth objection that he makes is no argument at all. He just says, like Isaiah, here I am. Send someone else, send someone else, not quite like Isaiah. I mean, how different from Mary in the passage that we had read for us earlier, right? I’m the Lord’s servant. May it happen to me according to your will. How different from our truest example, Christ, who said, Lord, if it’s possible, take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will instead. So God gets angry, and he gets angry here because our God loves to be trusted by his children. And so what we have here is the disappointment of a father whose son is rejecting the best. He is angry, but he’s still gracious too, because he gives Moses what he needs to act, the help he needs to do, what he’s called to do. Specifically, he gives him his older brother, Aaron. And notice he gives him Aaron, not because Aaron’s particularly competent, although he’s more so than Moses I get, but he’s actually given the same promises. So instead of I will be with your mouth. Now it says I will be with your mouth, both of you. All right, fine, so you’re still just going to need me to do this anyway, but he sends Aaron. And here, I think it’s worth asking the question at this point, are we settling for second best? Did Moses mess up God’s Plan A, and so God’s gotta switch to Plan B here, in a sense, yes, sure, because God, in His mercy, accommodates Moses’s request, but really, no, not a chance, because the Lord says through his prophet, Malachi, I the Lord, do not change. There’s no shifting of shadow with him. In fact, this has been his plan all along, because God is omniscient. He knows the end from the beginning, and if you know you’re going to change your mind, going to change your mind, are you really changing your mind? Probably not. He’s never surprised, even though he meaningfully interacts with people. So we know that this was his plan all along, by the way, because Aaron is already on his way. Did you catch that? And at the end of the chapter, we’re going to see why Aaron is on his way. Do you want to know why Aaron’s on his way? Because God told him to go. God already knew what was going to happen. See it in verse 27 we’ll get there in a little bit. I mean, how often, then our acts are precipitated both by human weakness and divine wisdom at one in the same time. And you kind of go, which one was it? Yes, it was both. That’s right. I mean, think of what Joseph, Joseph says to his brothers in Genesis, 50, right? You intended this for evil. God intended this for good. Simultaneously, you thought you were selling me to slavery in Egypt, God was sending me as a savior to Egypt to rescue you and surrounding nations from famine. And of course, we see it supremely in Jesus Christ as Acts tells us Pilate the religious leaders could. Spired together with evil in their hearts to murder the Son of God, they did what God had determined beforehand would happen. There should be a comfort to us, I think, plagued as we so often are by sorrow and regret over our past choices. Did I mess this up? And in a sense, sure, yeah, probably we’re all sinners. We’ve all made mistakes. But as we sang last week, nothing is wasted, right? No failure or mistake. Did you miss your call? No way God is using even those mistakes to shape you to be the person he needs you to be, to do what he called you to do. And let’s just take a moment before we go on to the next scene to revel in grace here. Because even after all, this God still calls and sends him like, how surprised Are you? How surprised should you be that that’s happening, that God’s like, no, no, Moses, you’re still my guy. And of course, we see that throughout Scripture. I mean, how many times should Peter have been cut off? How many times he put his foot in his mouth? Or what about, you know, when he denied his Savior three times? And almost the next day after the resurrection, there is Jesus at the shore calling Peter to himself, do you love me? Then feed my sheep. I got a job for you. Man, you look at Paul murdering Christians, or at least complicit in their murder, and that’s the one where God says, I’m going to use you to bring the gospel to all nations. And that’s how God is with you and me also, one more comment too, before we just get to the last verse there. But part of me wonders too, like, how upset should we be with Moses here? I mean, like, I get it, this is a lot of objections. Would you rather that when God called Moses? Moses went, yeah. No, that makes sense. I am the one you should be calling here. I literally don’t think you could do this without me. Like, of course not. I see this all the time because I’m the one who has the privilege, generally, of tapping guys on the shoulder to consider serving on our elder board. And I love seeing their response. It’s usually really helpful, actually, but to a one so far, none have said, Oh yeah, no, that makes sense, right? I’m actually surprised it took you this long to ask me to serve in leadership. I kid you not. I think every single one who has been asked through the years has said, Are you sure? And then we look at first, Timothy three and Titus one, and they go, no, like, Are you sure? Because I am not qualified. And you go, Great, that’s step one, right? That’s where it’s got to begin, the humility to realize God is going to have to qualify us. God then has Moses take the staff in his hand. Remember this is this tangible reminder of God’s power and promises. Every step he took, every time he felt the wood in his hand, he would remember what God had said and done. And that’s what baptism and communion are for us today, every time you peel back the plastic, even, which I realize is not, you know, good biblical imagery there, but still, every time we put the bread in our mouths, we sip on the fruit of the vine. It is a reminder of God’s power and promises. God has given us what we need to act, to do His will. Third scene, God gives us what we need to obey. God gives us what we need to obey. Let me read the rest of the chapter for us, Moses went back to Jethro, his father in law, and said to him, let me return to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive. Jethro said, Go and I wish you well. Now. The Lord had said to Moses and Midian, go back to Egypt for all those who wanted to kill you are dead. So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand, the Lord said to Moses, when you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do, but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go and say to Pharaoh, this is what the Lord says. Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, let my son go so he may worship Me, but you refuse to let him go so I will kill your firstborn son at a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses, and was about to kill him, but Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’s feet with it. Surely you are a bridegroom of blood. To me, she said, so the Lord let him alone at that time, she said, Bridegroom of blood, referring to circumcision, the Lord said to Aaron, go into the wilderness to meet Moses. So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. Then Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and also about all the signs he had commanded him to perform. Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron told him everything the Lord had said to MOS. Us, He also performed the signs before the people, and they believed. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped. So we get this series of short scenes taking us from the burning bush to Pharaoh. He leaves Midian reaches the Israelites in Egypt with Aaron also in there, one of the most perplexing scenes in the whole Bible. We’ll get there in a moment. First four short steps out of Midian. Okay. First step, he takes his leave of Jethro, which would be a common courtesy, of course, at this time, and in a time when people tended to stay close to family, this is less common, a less common courtesy, even in a culture of expressive individualism where people just leave all the time, we’re a much more transient society. Now there is the reminder here. God may call us to leave family. He calls Abraham to leave. He calls Moses to leave. He calls Moses to take Zipporah away from her family. Called me to leave my family. I took my wife away from her family. I brought her back, okay, after seven long years. Yes, exactly. But when you are called to leave, the point is, leave. Well, leave. Well, say the goodbye. Well, I didn’t with one family member in particular, and I still regret it after all these years, even though, again, we came back, we made things right, of course. Can I say this too? This is not just biological family, because your church family is eternal, your biological family is not so if you are going to leave a church for some reason leave well, so that we feel the rupture of it. I think people who just stop coming. I find that almost unconscionable, in light of who we are as the Church of God. Second scene though, God heads Moses’ fears off at the pass because he says that guy who’s trying to kill you is dead now, so you don’t need to be afraid to go back. This means that Moses has changed. His identity is different. He is no longer a prince of Egypt. He is no longer a fugitive in Egypt. He is now a leader of the Hebrew people. God has made him new third. He takes the staff of God so he intentionally remembers. We already talked about that, but it’s just the reminder for us. This is what we need to do, right to cling to God’s promises like Moses to his staff. This is why we put the gospel armor on every day that Paul describes in Ephesians six. And what is the gospel armor? It is just remembering the gospel. Helmet of Salvation protects our minds, Breastplate of Righteousness protects our hearts, the belt of truth, it’s the gospel, right? So this is what we do when we put on the gospel armor. Each piece put on with prayer, as the old hymn has it. Fourth God lets him know that it’s not going to go well, Pharaoh won’t let them go until God acts in mighty ways and does these wonders. He says, I will harden Pharaoh’s heart. We’re gonna have to talk more about that as we go through Exodus. But there’s that tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility again, and what we’ve seen already throughout this passage is they’re the same side or different sides of the same coin. God uses ordinary means to shape human choices. That’s how He’s sovereign over them, and so they both will it simultaneously, the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, as one commentator put it to the Hebrew there essentially the same explanation phrased differently, who hardens whose heart? Why does he do this? Why does he harden Pharaoh’s heart instead of making this easy to get Israel out of Egypt? And the answer is to showcase his power and glory that we might know God, which is the main theme in Exodus, that we might know God in the fullness of His glory. It’s also to show his love for his firstborn son. And here we just have to sit in the wonder of our adoption in Christ, because Israel is not God’s natural son. He adopted this people for Himself in the same way that he has predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, Ephesians, chapter one. And what’s even more impressive about our adoption is that he adopts us, adopts Israel here as his firstborn son, at the cost of his firstborn son. It is Jesus’ blood that is shed his natural son, so that we can be made sons and daughters in Christ. Of course, this gets us ready for the last plague as well, but we’ll talk more about that when we go that when we get there. Then it gets weird. So what happened here, starting in verse 24 apparently, Moses hadn’t circumcised his son, which is a big deal, because circumcision was the sign of the covenant, the way baptism is for us today. So. Moses was disobedient. He wasn’t keeping covenant demands. He needed the reminder, he needed the promises, and so God punishes his disobedience, but he punishes graciously, because he leaves time for repentance. He doesn’t always right. He zaps other dead on the spot. But Moses, something happens where he has time to repent. Likely, we’re guessing here a little bit, but most likely, Moses is experiencing some sort of physical symptom, and Zipporah sees it. And sees it spiritually. Is able to discern what is happening, and so she acts quickly and don’t miss this Zipporah, who’s a Gentile, by the way, Zipporah obeys in Moses’s place because it was dad’s job to circumcise the son. So Zipporah does what Moses should have done, and then sprinkles blood on him. What a picture of the gospel, by the way, because it is Jesus who obeys in our place, and then it is His shed blood that is sprinkled on us so that we can be saved. Of course, gets us ready for the sprinkling of the blood on the doorpost. Again. We’ll get there a little bit. But there is this reminder that we are only right with God through the covenant, promises and the shed blood of the perfect sacrifice, I would have to say at a point like this, if you are here today as a believer of Christ and have not been baptized, obey right now is the time to go. Okay, I should look into this, because that’s exactly what Moses was doing here, and we see that God takes it seriously. Finally, we get Aaron’s call. He sent as a helper for Moses, and the two of them do at last, what God asked them to do. They obey, and as God promised, the signs convince Israel, not Pharaoh, as we’ll see. And so here is this reminder that the signs don’t compel belief. The signs don’t compel belief. Rather, they authenticate the messenger. This one is really sent by God, and they vindicate the message. And it is the same with the resurrection today, the sign that we have. And so I’m in the middle of a kid you not 1000 page book detailing the evidences for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Needless to say, there are a few evidences, good, good reasons to believe that this happened in history. If you doubt, and I give you this book, you will not necessarily believe at the end of it, it will not compel belief, but it might help you along, right? It is going to authenticate the messenger, Jesus Christ, and vindicate his message, so that if you go on doubting, it is now a willful rejection of what you know to be true. So my encouragement to you, if you are skeptical is, take a look. Take a look, right? It won’t make unbelief impossible, but you need to reckon with the claims of God, His messenger and his message, and then it ends with a note of worship. Of course, it does. How could it not? Because God heard his people and he visited them. Is the word that’s used there. It’s a wonderful word, actually, when it says that the Lord was concerned about them, that’s the visited idea. It’s this sense of he got involved in their lives. He didn’t stay at a distance. He got involved. He mixed himself up with them, and how that sets the stage for Jesus later, when, once again, God visits his people, dwelling among them in order to save them. This whole reminder of the gospel then should compel gospel obedience also. This is kind of the culmination to chapters one to four, in a lot of ways, but an exodus shaped salvation should lead to an exodus shaped mission so that we also see the misery of people around us, hear their cries, feel concern, and visit them. Go help whatever we can do, but we’re not going to. We’re not going to feel that we can unless we get the big idea for today, and here it is your big idea. God has given us what we need, so trust and obey, as the old song has it. God has given us what we need, so trust and obey. Get your eyes off of yourself and on to the great I AM. Amen. His Word and His promises, remember those covenant promises, and then keep the covenant demands. You know, it’s so interesting that Moses worries that the Israelites won’t believe or listen. That’s where we started. Chapter four, verse one, they won’t believe, and so they won’t listen, and the word listen has that sense of obey. And what’s ironic is that’s exactly what Moses is struggling to do also. So God graciously gives him, gives us all we need to believe, to listen, to trust and obey. And what does he give us? He gives us himself. He gives us himself in answer to every one of Moses’s objections and to all of yours. Now, God just offers himself. I am with you. I am with you. He doesn’t change our credentials, doesn’t change our circumstances, doesn’t try to convince Moses it’ll be easier than he thinks. Doesn’t promise him or us instant success. Instead, he says, I am with you, and he’s shown that in these last two chapters, the God, who reveals himself, makes promises, keeps covenants, rules. Nature defeats enemies, overcomes sin and death creates and recreates. I that God will be with you. You good. You got what you need then, yeah, of course, we do. God has given you everything you need because he’s given you himself. So trust and obey, go do what he told you to do, even if it means you’re at risk of being eaten by cannibals. Let’s pray.

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Here I Am September 14, 2025 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper explores Moses’ transformation from an unprepared leader to one divinely empowered. He highlights the importance of knowing God. Moses, initially unready for leadership, commits murder and flees to Midian, where he marries Zipporah and has a son named Gershom. God calls Moses from a burning bush, revealing His name as “I Am,” and commissions him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Despite Moses’ doubts, God assures him that He will be with him. The sermon emphasizes the significance of God’s presence and preparation in accomplishing God’s mission, inspiring humble confidence in believers’ roles.

Morning church, you can go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Exodus chapter two. Exodus two, we’ll be starting in verse 11. Exodus 2:11. Right. As you’re turning there, a lot of you know my story. You’ve been coming for some time, but God saved me when I was in high school. I did not come from a Christian family, so saved as a teenager, and what that meant was there as a teenager, I had lots of passion and itty bitty understanding when it comes to the faith, which also then means I did not do so well my first few times evangelizing, especially my family, some really bad things, big mistakes. I lacked character as they knew all too well. Got the message wrong for sure, heavy emphasis on hell, not a whole lot on grace or Jesus and what he’s done for us. I just I wasn’t really ready at that point proclaim the gospel the way it needed to be proclaimed. Of course, none of us is at first, but a patient God gets us ready. We are all called if we are in Christ, and so we will all be equipped, meaning we reach a certain point where we got no excuse. We must be doing what God has asked us to do. Well, you can imagine, if I was unready as a 15 year old for personal evangelism, Moses was not ready to lead what would become the paradigmatic salvation event of the Old Testament and one of the great moments in all of history. And so we will see that in a collection of stories today, he’s not ready, but that God gets him ready provides what Moses lacks, and in so many ways, how he does that is by getting Moses’ eyes off of Moses and on to Moses’s God. And we have this shift in here, from who am I to who are you? God? Of course, that is the main theme in Exodus, right? Knowing God just who exactly he, who he is, and why that matters for us. So that’s where we’re headed. This morning, we got three scenes as we go, we’ll look at the first scene here, God’s man. And this is in Exodus 211, to 25 let me read it for us. One day after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people, looking this way and that, and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. The next day, he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew the man said, Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian? Then Moses was afraid, and thought, what I did must have become known. When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well. Now, a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock. Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to the rescue and watered their flock. When the girls returned to rewell, their father, he asked them, Why have you returned so early today? They answered. An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock. And where is he? Ray Well, asked his daughters, why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat. Moses agreed to stay with this man who gave his daughters aura to Moses in marriage, the poor gave birth to a son. Moses named him Gersham, saying, I have become a foreigner in a foreign land. During that long period, the king of Egypt died, the Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out in their cry for help, because their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them. So we get absolutely no record of Moses’s childhood, similar to Jesus’s story. Of course, we actually learn in the book of Acts that we’ve jumped ahead 40 years right here. So Moses is 40 years old at this point, and you gotta remember where Moses was in this time, the cruel oppression they were living under these would have been a long 40 years because of the circumstances. You know, it’s like 30 seconds is like the blink of an eye, right? But 30 seconds, when you’re underwater, feels like an eternity, and that’s how the Israelites would have experienced these 40 years, and yet here they are, still God’s timing so often, so different from our own. But after Moses grows up, he’s a 40 and it says he went out to his own people, which is interesting, because he spent 3837 years in an Egyptian household. He could. Identify as an Egyptian, but he doesn’t. Instead, he sees himself as a Hebrew. He’s got the, you know, he’s a, he’s a third culture kid. If you’ve heard that term before, he you know, he’s a Hebrew, raised in an Egyptian culture. And so he’s a little confused. That’s how people go. I worked with Third Culture kids when I was on the mission field. I know what this is like, but Moses isn’t confused. He’s like, No, I am a Hebrew. And so when he sees this gross injustice, his blood boils. Let me ask you, have you ever been so mad that you’ve wanted to kill someone? You ever seen injustice that at the very least made you wish that that person was dead? I have it a lot in movies I find which is probably better, because then at least they’re not real people. But I’m watching and I’m going, I cannot wait until this guy gets vaporized by a missile. It’s going to make my soul happy. And that’s how Moses is feeling here, because, and the reason why we all feel this, of course, is because that longing for justice is hardwired in all of us. It is one of the pointers to the existence of God and proof that we are made in His image. Moses’s blood is boiling, and he looks around and he sees no one, and he strikes the Egyptian. It’s actually the exact same word that’s used so this Egyptians beating a Hebrew, striking a Hebrew, same word that’s used here for Moses, which does give us a little sense of the justice of the moment, because it sounds like this Egyptian was beating this Hebrew to death, and so Moses kills him here. Now, what do we make of this? I mean, are we supposed to commend or condemn Moses for this? I mean, he looks guilty, right? Because he looks around first, you know, he’s checking to see if there are police around, basically, before he commits a crime. Maybe, maybe he’s got a noble intention. Maybe he thinks, even though he hasn’t been called yet, that he is initiating the Exodus. Stephen even seems to suggest this in Acts chapter seven, when it says that Moses thought his people would would realize that God was using him to rescue them. So he thinks he’s the revolutionary. He’s Lennon or Robespierre, or whoever he’s about to lead these people out of their slavery, we actually get a hint that that’s what’s going on, because the same description is used in a passage in Isaiah. Here’s Isaiah 59 the Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one exactly what Moses just did, right? He saw that there was no one. He was appalled that there was no one to intervene, so his own arm achieved salvation for him. So God looks around, he sees that no one is pursuing justice or intervening, and so he acts. And that’s exactly what Moses does here, except Moses isn’t God, and that’s crucial. We see here the problem of taking matters into our own hands. Moses is not acting as an official arm of the state or anything like that, and he is committing murder. This is vigilante justice. And with apologies to Batman and his fans, vigilante justice is not justice. So he is guilty of murder. He is not ready to lead yet. And by the way, Israel is not ready to follow yet either, which you see on the very next day. I mean, Moses walks out, expecting that they’re all going to be singing red and black from Les Mis like getting ready for this revolution. And instead, he finds two Hebrews fighting each other. And by the way, the same word is used again for striking each other. And so he intervenes again. You can see Moses like puffing himself up. It’s all up to me, I guess I gotta take care of everything, all right. But he’s rejected. He’s not a Hebrew in their minds who made you judge and ruler over us. You’re not one of us. You haven’t suffered the way we have. You’ve been living in finery in the palace. They don’t see him as an Egyptian either, though, interestingly, because it says, like, you killed the Egyptian, not the other Egyptian, just the Egyptian. So he really is third culture in this guy’s mind. In fact, the culture that he has, the only thing that he’s known as at this point is that he is a murderer, and that puts him in good company in this book with Pharaoh. That’s the other murderer in this story. And so the Hebrews see Moses as no better than Pharaoh. He’s become like the guy he despises. This is the problem, by the way, with using the world’s means to fight the world’s ills, because we. Become like what we’re attacking. I heard a story just a few weeks back. It was a pastor that I know, and he was talking to another pastor who at one point was talking about how we need to love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us, turn the other cheek, and one of his congregants came up to him after the sermon and said, Where did you get this woke nonsense? The guy said, like, it’s not even just it is in the Bible. Like, this is Jesus. These are red letters, right? They’re all red letters, but still, this is Jesus’s words. You’d think the guy would feel chastened. He didn’t. Did not change his opinion. Now, it is not that you gotta look around and know what time it is not a time for loving our enemies. It’s time to fight like our enemies. We become like what we are attacking. And so the danger of using the world’s means to fight the world’s ills and Moses has become just like Pharaoh. And now worse, everybody knows which means Pharaoh knows which means he’s in big trouble. So he flees. This, by the way, is the first Exodus, if you think about it. Here is Moses, the Israelite, going out of Egypt, and timidian, which is the Sinai Peninsula. So to Sinai, this is not the Exodus we were hoping for, is it? This is the problem, right? Human sized efforts produce human sized salvation, and we need better than that. But here’s Moses in Midian now again on the Sinai Peninsula, and he sees another injustice, and he intervenes again. Moses has a definite justice bent, like some of us, but it is intervention with restraint. At least he’s maybe learned his lesson. He’s done murdering. So that’s good. That’s step one. It’s also interesting though, that he does this. It’s not just for his tribe. He is not a Midianite. He’s never identified as Midianite, and yet, still, he’s sticking up for the vulnerable. That is the mark of true justice, by the way, when you stick up for all who are vulnerable, not just your own tribe. This time, in contrast to the Hebrews before, he has received with gratitude and hospitality, eventually, anyway, once dad steps in and says, maybe you should have invited eligible bachelor over for dinner, hm. And sure enough, that’s what happens in part too, by the way, because he intervenes, not just with strength, but with service, because he waters their flock, and men didn’t do that. That’s a menial task that’s for the women to do. And so you see, he’s actually, this is anachronistic, but he’s he’s becoming like Christ. He’s doing the task that noone else wanted to do, like when Jesus, the night before his death, just himself, not just as a servant, but as a slave, knelt down and washed His disciples feet, the task no one else wanted to do. So it’s no wonder, then, that he’s offered Zipporah in marriage. He marries her gentleman. Just a word of advice here, if you’re looking for a wife, go to a well, make sure you take care of the sheep. That’s how Jacob found his wife. That’s how you like lots of people, okay, it’s the place to be. But he marries the poor. Think about what that means for him now, though. So he is a Hebrew genetically raised in Egypt by Egyptians now living in Midian married to a Midianite wife and working for a Midianite father in law. He’s not even a third culture kid. He’s a fourth culture kid. At this point, he is all sorts of messed up. And so he names his son gersham, which means 10s could go either way. Either I am a foreigner here, or I have been a foreigner. Both are, of course, true. He’s a foreigner there in, you know, on Sinai, and then he, he’s has been a foreigner his whole life, living in Egypt. I mean, this is just a guy who’s searching for a homeland. It’s no wonder, by the way, that later on, he’ll write Psalm 90, Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations, wherever I am, if you are there, I am home. So he is in exile, like Abraham, and in many ways, of course, like us, cuz we’re also all Third Culture kids, because we are citizens of heaven, living in America. And so the call is to be a faithful exile wherever we are. So there he is in exile, though, but notice it’s not wasted time and wilderness seasons never are wasted time in Scripture, and hopefully not in our own lives. God is preparing Moses to be the deliverer that he. Needs to be, because what is he doing for the next 40 years before we get to chapter three, and he’s called to lead the Exodus when he’s 80, what is he doing for those 40 years he is working as a shepherd on Sinai’s Peninsula. Is that going to be important later on? Do you think absolutely, he’s learning the geography of the place where he’s going to lead God’s people, and he’s also learning the sort of leadership to which he is called because he is the shepherd God’s people Israel. We read in Psalm 77 verse 20, that God led his people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. This is why, I mean, even today, like, what’s my title? Is one of the elders here at Cityview. I’m a pastor. Pastor means Shepherd. You look at a pastoral landscape. It’s not dadded dotted with churches. It’s dotted with sheep. This is the leadership to which we are called as Christians, so he’s learning this. What about you? How is God using this season? How did God use some season previously in your life to prepare you for the calling he has on your life. Don’t waste it. This is why we sang canvas and clay earlier, right? Like I know, none of these seasons are going to be wasted. You’re going to use them in my life, Lord, to prepare me to be who I need to be, to do what you’ve asked me to do. Meanwhile, back in Egypt, Pharaoh dies, there’s usually a jubilee moment when there’s the ascension of a new king. And so you’d expect the slaves to be freed, or oppression to shrink, or something like that, but the expectation is not met, and so they redouble their cries. You can actually see it in the words that are used. It’s a little bit obscured in the translation, but when it says they groaned and then they cried out, and then their cry for help reached God. Those are three very different words, and the first two have to do with visceral emotion. Groaned is a great word. That second one’s almost like shrieked. So this is just the response to the situation, but then it shifts in that third word, they cried for help. That’s prayer. That’s always used of prayer. So they moved from complaint to prayer, which is, of course, what we saw lament is in our series on lament recently. Did you notice also that prayer makes a difference because it says verse 24 God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant. Now it’s confusing. I get that there’s a whole bunch of paradox here, because God had already told them exactly how many years they would be in Egypt. This is not God going, Oh, alright, I guess we can deliver you. I hadn’t considered that possibility. No, he knew what was going to happen from eternity past and still, he ordained not just the ends, but the means to get us there as well. And the means is the prayers of His people. He hears them, he sees their suffering, he feels compassion, and he remembers the promises that he made to his people. This, by the way, is why when we pray, we plead the promises, because this is what God has said, I will do. And we go, Lord, would you do it? Then would you do it? I love the way the rabbis said it about this passage. They said looking upon leads to remembering, and remembering leads to action. Now God is in no danger of forgetting. He is omniscient. He forgets nothing, but he brings us along with this, like presenting himself, almost like a human, accommodating himself to us. He brings us along because, of course, it’s we who are in danger of forgetting the time is ripe for him to keep his covenant promises. That takes us to scene two. So we got God’s man second God’s mission. Let me read chapter three, verses one to 10. Now, Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his father in law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the Bush was on fire, it did not burn up. So Moses thought, I will go over and see this strange sight. Why the bush does not burn up. When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, Moses, Moses and Moses said, Here I am. Do not come any closer. God said, take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. Then he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. At this, Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God. The Lord said, I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because they’re slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering, so I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up. Out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. Again he’s learning his geography at this point because he is in Horeb, that’s the region the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula. And he’s actually at the foot of the mountain of God, which is Mount Sinai. So later on, when we get to Sinai, Moses, can be like, we’re going to want to set up camp here, trust me, I’ve been here before. So he’s learning what he needs to know. All of a sudden, though, the angel of the Lord appears to him in the burning bush. Now, Angel of Lord is a tricky concept, because we know that the angel of the Lord is also the Lord Himself. See that in verse four, where it’s the Lord who is speaking, even though it’s the angel of the Lord who is there. How can that be? Somehow the angel of the Lord is the presence of the Lord? Probably the mediated presence of the Lord. Is this the pre Incarnate Christ? Christ before he came in the flesh? Many commentators think so. Would make a lot of sense. Certainly, Jesus has existed since eternity past. Could be the spirit, just as easily though, could be something else entirely, whatever else it is, we know it’s how a holy God can reveal himself to unholy sinners. So again, that’s that mediated presence somehow, but he’s there in a burning bush. Now, why a burning bush? First of all, don’t need to overthink this. It’s an attention getter, right? That’s a big part of it, and it works, because Moses goes, I’m gonna check that out. It’s also prophetic symbolism, though, that’s what fire would be. I mean, we learn elsewhere in Scripture, our God is a consuming fire. And it’s interesting, because fire draws people on the one hand. Just look sometimes, especially on a cold night, but anytime you get a campfire and people go like this, like moss to the flame, a community group did it Friday night. We were all there, and we just kept moving our seats closer so that the smoke would keep the mosquitoes away. That’s how it works. So fire draws us, but fire is also dangerous. At the same time, we tell our kids, don’t play with fire, there’s a lesson there, because this burning bush reveals God, reveals him as holy. So how could we possibly approach but the Bush doesn’t burn, which is interesting also, and also revealing God, because bushes generally burn when they’re on fire, but God does not run out of fuel. Don’t know what’s happening here. Is this just really cool fire that doesn’t burn the wood? Or is God it just in an act of creation, consistently keeping the bush there? Either one, it doesn’t really matter. We see his sufficiency. We see his power, his creativity. We see His glory as the Eastern Church Father Gregory of Nyssa put it, Moses saw the transcendent essence and cause of the universe on which everything depends and alone subsists. But in this moment, we feel the tension of what is really the Bible’s big question, how can unholy sinners approach a holy God? And we get some answers here. The first answer is only because he approaches us first, or it’s only because God calls us to draw near. But even in that call, there’s this tension, right? Verse three, Moses thinks, Okay, I’m gonna go closer and see this strange sight. And then verse five, God says that’s close enough. That’s plenty close, right? God draws him near, but don’t come any closer. And in fact, take your sandals off as a sign of humility and as a reminder of the holiness of the one before whom you stand now, what exactly does holy mean? Then, since it seems to be this important word here, holy at its root means separate, separate, different from it’s actually used as, interestingly, in the Old Testament, in Genesis, it’s actually used of the temple prostitutes in the Canaanite religion. You’re thinking, well, that doesn’t sound holy, not if by Holy we mean godly, but in the sense of being set apart for special even if it’s wicked service of a false god, still special service, then in that sense it’s holy. So there is the idea of separate, and that’s what it means here, with reference to God in particular, to be holy means that God is holy. Other, there is an infinite chasm between the Creator and His creation, especially from us in terms of moral purity. So we’ve got this push and pull that’s come close, but keep your distance, and it’s almost a parable of the gospel call. Because how can we come to God in Christ? And there are two false steps we could make even now in coming to Christ. The first would be to magnify our holiness or minimize our humility. Either way you want to look at it, to magnify our holiness to say, I can approach God because I’m basically good. I can keep the rules well enough. And I’d written in my notes right here to read from Romans three, and Kyle already did that for us. We know that one’s not true because there’s no one righteous. There’s no one who does good. We have all together become worthless. We all fall short of the glory of God. So that’s a false step, but the second false step would be to minimize his holiness, as if God didn’t really care about sin. I love to sin. God loves to forgive. It’s a match made in heaven. It’s no big deal that I don’t keep His laws. And elsewhere in Romans, we read, The wages of sin is death, eternal condemnation. And so that’s why we come in humility before His Holiness. I should not be here, and I can only come because of Jesus and what He has done for me, in my place. That’s why Moses hides his face as soon as he figures out who’s talking to him, he is overwhelmed with a sense of guilt, rightly, by the way, and shame and fear, because he is a murderer. He has no business being there. So it’s why Moses hides his face, even though God has just revealed Himself as the God of his fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. Did you catch though, that it also says in verse six, I am the God of your father, which is really interesting. It’s so interesting in fact, that the nib gives you a little note that says, maybe we’re talking about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Isaac and Jacob here. I don’t think we are, though he’s talking about Moses’s dad. Even though Moses wasn’t raised by his father, he did not learn his religion from his biological father, but he is still his father’s son. He is still called and we know that this meant something to him, because after the Exodus, when Moses writes his song of praise to God, he says this exodus 15, verse two, He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him. You see the power of legacy faith in this moment, what a word to us dads in the room. There is nothing I want more in this world than for my children to worship their fathers God. That’s it, right? That’s the top thing, dads. Is that how you feel and Is that how you are living your life? So that they would look at you and go, That’s the God I want to follow. That’s the God I want to worship. Kids. Do you have your eyes on Dad? Are you looking at him to learn not perfection, they would be the first ones to tell you they are not perfect, but to see what gospel repentance looks like, and gospel forgiveness and gospel faith. No idea how powerful this is. We’ve shared this story before because one of my favorite stories, one of Kyle’s favorite stories. We tell it as often as we can. So when somebody asks John Piper once, why do you believe the Bible and you’re expecting him to go off on the manuscript evidence, or how archeology corroborates it, or fulfilled prophecy, all of which you could do easily, those are all true things, by the way, you know what he said in answer to that question,
because my mama told me it’s true, don’t you love that that should be enough for us, depending on who mom and dad are, and so it is this story of covenant faithfulness to his people And to their children, that’s why you references Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to say, I have been faithful from generation to generation in your family, and I will continue to be. Then God reveals His motive, His purpose and His plan. We know that it’s covenant love that motivates him. He just said that, but we see that it’s also mercy. Verse seven, I’ve indeed seen the misery of my people. I’ve heard their cries. I’m concerned about their suffering. It’s mercy. It’s also justice. Verse eight, so I have come down. That’s almost a technical term that’s used. Used there when God checks in on how things are going. It’s what he does with Sodom and Gomorrah. He comes down to see if the report he heard is true. So he comes down to Egypt. He sees the oppression is real, and he’s ready to bring justice. So he’s motivated by love, by mercy, by justice. Then He reveals His purpose to take them from Egypt to the Promised Land, that From and To is so important, it is a picture of salvation. We are saved, not just from but saved to. We are saved like Israel, saved from slavery, not to human masters, but to our own sin, and by the way, the just wrath of God that rests on us as a result. So we are saved from sin and death and wrath, but we are saved to God, grace, and ultimately heaven, the truest promised land. So his motive, his purpose, it’s his plan. Then where it gets interesting. Did you notice the shift in verses seven to 10 from i, the word I actually shows up six times in verses seven to 10 in this English translation, at least, to you in the second half of verse 10. So now go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. Moses is God’s plan. This would have been a huge shock, right? I mean, you can picture Moses like nodding his head along with all of this like, Yes, Lord, this is what we’ve been hoping for. This is what we’ve been ready for. Right up until that moment, we know how shocked he is, because the shock of this moment reverberates all through the rest of this chapter and the whole of the next chapter as well, which we’ll see next week. But it shouldn’t shock us. God has a mission Our God is a missional God, but He sends people on it. So he sends Moses here to deliver his people out of Egypt into the Promised Land. He sends a lot of other people. He eventually sends His Son, Jesus. You read the Gospel of John, sometime the word sending shows up all over the place. Jesus is God’s sent one, right? My work is to do the will of the one who sent me. He says, this is his whole sense of identity in John’s gospel, I am the sent one. And you’re like, Okay, that makes sense. Moses, big thing, right? Jesus, He’s God Himself, really big thing. Then you get to the end of John’s gospel, and Jesus breathes on his disciples to give him the Holy Spirit, and has says this, as the Father sent me, so now I am sending you so we get that same shock from the eye to you, right? We are now God’s sent ones. We all have a commission go and make disciples of all nations. It’s even how we talk about it here again, Kyle said it for us earlier at Cityview, when we gather, we are being made to magnify Christ and then sent sent to serve others. Every Christian has a part to play in God’s mission. I think some of our confusion is that we think we’re gonna have a part to play. It’s gotta look like Moses. Let me burst your bubble for you. You ain’t Moses, okay, that’s a one time deal. But we’ve seen some other people in the story, haven’t we? Like most of us, are called to be like the midwives, just not going to do evil, even when we’re asked to, going to persist in doing good the cause of human flourishing. Or we’re like yoke bed Moses’s mom, who’s just a creative act of disobedience in order to obey God instead, and again, to preserve life. Or like Miriam, Don’t you just love Miriam’s story, by the way, she’s a kid, so kids, that means you are sent also, even now, you don’t have to grow up to be you gotta grow up to vote here, but you don’t have to grow up to be part of God’s mission. All Miriam does is follow the basket and then say, hey, you need you need help. I can get you help. You get the point right. We are, most of us, called to just ordinary faithfulness, and let that encourage you today. But let’s review. So Moses lacked competency, so God trained him. Moses really lacked character, so God purified him. We get the hints of it here, right, and that interplay between holiness and grace, so God. Made him God’s man to be sent on God’s mission. And let me just ask you before we move on to last scene, is there anything different when it comes to you and me? No, no, we lack competency, and so God makes us competent. In Second Timothy, 316, and 17, all scriptures God breathe is useful for teaching, rebuke and correcting, training and correcting, training in righteousness. Why? So that the servant of God, that’s all of us, may be thoroughly equipped for every good work we got what we need to do, what God has asked us to do. Okay, but what about our character? Well, we sang it. We sang it in camas and clay. It’s quoting from Romans, 828, God’s working all things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to His purpose. But what is that good? Exactly, Romans, 829, to conform us to the image of Christ, to be made like Jesus. We are all called to lead people from and to as we declare the praises and proclaim the gospel of him who called us out of darkness and into his marvelous light that takes us to scene three, and the message we proclaim, and that Moses proclaims as well. Let me read the rest of the chapter, verses 11 to 22 for us. But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? And God said, I will be with you, and this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you. When you brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain. Moses said to God, suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you. And they asked me, what’s his name? Then what shall I tell them? God said to Moses, I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites I am has sent me to you. God also said to Moses, Say to the Israelites, the Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my Name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation. Go assemble the elders of Israel, say to them, the Lord the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob appeared to me and said, I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt, and I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt and into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, parasites, Hivites and Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey. The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to Him, the Lord the God of the Hebrews has met with us. Let us take a three day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go, and I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave, you will not go empty handed. Every woman is to ask her neighbor, and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing which you will put on your sons and daughters, and so you will plunder the Egyptians. I get Moses’s response. Here it is a very rational humility. I mean, he’s been a shepherd in a foreign land for the last 40 years. So this would be like your Amazon delivery driver knocking on the door of Xi Jinping house saying, hey, it’s time to Free Tibet. It’s been long enough you’re thinking, No, it’s probably not the right person for that job, right? Gonna be somebody else. Plus he’s still scared after you know, chapter two, verse 14, He’s a wanted criminal, and the wanted criminal is not the guy you send into your local police department to complain about the police department’s controversial crowd control tactics. He is not the guy. And I love God’s response, because God basically says, and I’m paraphrasing here. It’s not there in the Hebrew, but this is the sense of it. You’re right. You are not adequate. You are absolutely not the man for the job. But God, because God says, Next, I will be with you. That’s where his competence comes from. Reminds me of another murderer, at least one who is complicit in the murder of God’s people, whom the Lord called. His name was Paul, and he says this in Second Corinthians three, verse five, not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God, and that is the key. We are only adequate for the mission he has given us, because He is with us and he is transforming us. That’s why it’s there, by the way, in the mission he gives us, Matthew 28 all authority in heaven on earth has been given to me. Jesus says, Therefore, go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them, name the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I commanded you, and surely I am with. You always to the very end of the age. Only way you guys can be able to do this. We know that, by the way, you know what happens immediately before that. This is Jesus, the resurrected Christ. How many of you have thought if I could just see the physically resurrected Jesus, I would never doubt again. Nonsense, utter nonsense. Okay, because here’s the disciples huddled around the resurrected Christ, and Matthew tells us they worshiped Him, and some doubted. You will never have enough proof. Okay, it’s going to be faith. It’s going to be faith, and that’s what we have here, right? I’m with you. That’s all you need to know. That’s what will ameliorate your doubts, but it requires faith. So how do we know that he’ll be with us? How does Moses know that God will be with Him? God says I’m gonna help you out. I’m gonna give you a sign. Once you’re out of Egypt, you’re going to worship here at this mountain at Sinai. And if you’re thinking to yourself, Wait, what? That’s not a good sign, then you’ve got the right idea, because Moses won’t know it’s true until it’s come true. So how do you know I’m going to take you out of Egypt? Well, when you go out of Egypt, you’ll know, good. Everyone’s Great. Now, now it is true that it actually will be something of a sign, because, you know, they’re in Egypt and they’re trying to get to Israel, and they’re going like this, so it’s the wrong road, very definitely. And I guess that will be a sign when they turn, which are we going, right instead of left. I can’t look where you guys are looking. I was trying to do it for you. This confused me greatly. So when you make that right turn, you’re like, No, it’s true, or something like that. But ultimately, it’s going to take faith in God’s promises, and that’s the point. His word is good enough. If God says, I’m going to do this, that’s all we need to know, especially after the resurrection, like we already got the sign every one of us has the biggest sign you could ever get. Jesus, Christ rose from the dead, and so we live in light of that promised future. He’s the first fruit of the coming resurrection. We live in light of that, and we can go knowing that he goes with us. So the first objection is done, who am I? A year nobody, that’s who, but I will be with you. Second objection here, he’s really talking about his lack of credentials, although we do move from who am I to who are you? Because the lack of credentials is I’m not like a card carrying priest of you Lord. So what if they ask me for your name? What if they ask about you? I don’t actually know that much now he is almost certainly not ignorant of the name of Yabe. It’s not like it’s a secret password where he’s going to say it and all of a sudden we’re going to go, Okay, you must be the deliverer. We will follow you. No, what he’s asking for is a fuller understanding of the God behind the name. Because names mattered more than than they do now, like names had power in them, they had meaning. They reflected call. So this is like in Genesis, when the angel of the Lord, there he is again, by the way, wrestles with Jacob before the wrestling match gets going, he says, What’s your name? God had not forgotten Jacob’s name. Just to be clear, He’s not asking for a fact, right? He’s getting ready to change the meaning. You used to be known as deceiver, the one who grasps at heals, and now you’re gonna be known as Israel. He wrestled with God, so he’s about to change the meaning of the name. So that’s what we’re looking at. We’re looking at meaning here as John Golden Gate says that it’s why God provides an answer to this question, not a label, but a theology, which he certainly does. And so the name is, I am who I am, or you can see it in your footnote there, I will be who I will be. The tense is very active. I’m just going to keep on being the one I’ve always been and always will be and am right now, there’s just so much here in this name. It gets at the ineffable mystery of God’s character, the fullness of his irreducible character, the way Tony Morita says it, he says God is majestic in mysteriousness. God is not a book you read and then put on your shelf. He’s not a class you take. I love that. The idea is, we’ll never have him figured out all the way. Can’t stuff him neatly into a labeled box. Redeemer. It Holy One of Israel. Judge, those are all true labels, by the way, those are all labels that he takes on himself. They’re just not the whole picture. If you stuck with any one of those labels, you’d have a reduced view of God. The only way we can know who God is fully is for him to say, It’s me I am. This is who I’m, like all of it. And so he calls himself I am, who I am. And he says that he is so unchangingly So verse 15, this is the name I’m going to be known forever from generation to generation, because I will always be who I will always be. And we and we see that he who he is today here in this story for Moses, he will be tomorrow in the Exodus itself, and he will go on being forever. And of course, we see it supremely in the coming of Christ. But don’t miss the point in all of this. This is who is going to be with Moses, and this is the one who’s promised to be with us to the very end of the age, who is with us every day. So we have no need to fear I am. Is with you. So he says, I am, couple times, and then all of a sudden, in verse 15, he says Say to the Israelites, the Lord not say to the Israelites, I am the God of your fathers, but the Lord, anytime you see Lord, and all caps like that, it’s the name Yahweh, and that means he is. So God keeps saying a yay, I am. But that’s because he’s talking. When we talk, we say he is Yahweh, so that there’s the difference right there. But it’s actually interesting that he gives himself the name in the first person, because to name someone implies power or authority over them. That’s why God’s like used to be Jacob. You’re not anymore, because I’m in charge. You’re Israel. You were Abraham. You’re Abraham, Sarah, you’re Sarah. It’s why Adam names Eve. It’s why parents get to name their kids. But only God can name himself, because there’s noone who has power or authority over God. And so he says, first person I am, you can call me he is that’ll be fine. So he has Moses tell them his name, and then in verses 16 to 22 he has Moses tell them his message. And it is a message of salvation, a salvation from and a salvation to. And of course, this just sets the stage for the rest of the story. It’s going to take signs. It’s going to take wonders before Pharaoh agrees. It is not going to be easy by any means. And as they go, of course, they will plunder the Egyptians. And plunder sounds like a bad word. It sounds like theft. Who plunders? It’s pirates and Vikings, right? And so this is not a good sign, except we have to remember what’s just happened to the last four centuries. Kyle was all offended by that. Yeah, Vikings. I said it okay. I’m talking about you. I almost made the joke too. And I was like, Nah, I’m not going to do that. I’ve done the Vikings joke before, but I should have, apparently, because Kyle was there for it. Okay, think of the last four centuries, though, when they plunder the Egyptians, all they’re getting is just payment for centuries of forced labor. So this is justice that is happening here. And even more interesting, though, what they get from the Egyptians, that’s the very material that they’re going to use to build the tabernacle in the second half of the book isn’t that interesting. It’s the pattern of giving, right? Cuz everything we get is ultimately a gift of God, so we receive from him, and then we return it to him in grateful worship. Let’s review again. God raises up people to do his work. He trains and equips us because we lack competency to be what he’s called us to be, which is priests of God, Most High a kingdom of priests. Well, not only that, but God purifies us because we lack character. We can’t go on mission with murder in our hearts. Can’t even approach the holy because of our sin. And so like Joshua, the priest in Zechariah three, we gotta take our filthy garments off and be clothed with someone else’s perfection. That would be the garments of Christ Himself, His Holiness we put on when we trust in Him, and then God empowers us with his presence, because we lack credentials. We are inadequate in ourselves, but not in him, and that is good news. It is also our big idea. So here’s your takeaway from the sermon today. The God who is with you has equipped you for his mission. The God who is with you has equipped you for. His mission. We are constantly growing, yes, absolutely, but we can confidently step out on mission. Even new believers who are not ready to evangelize their family still can and should. Why? Not because of us, but because of the him who is with us and so like Moses, we should be marked by a humble confidence, humble confidence, humble because we are incompetent and sinful, like we’re crying out for justice, and God’s going, you know that you need justice done to you also. So yes, incompetent and sinful. We need him to approach us because we couldn’t approach him we weren’t ready to save others, because we couldn’t even save ourselves from the wrath to come. We are humble, but we are confident, confident because he draws us near and then promises to stay near to us as He sends us out, just like He sent Jesus out, which reminds us, by the way, that he does not promise that it will be an easy or successful by the world’s standards, mission. We go like Jesus, meaning we may well be rejected, we may suffer, we may even have to die for the sake of Christ, we can do it because we know how it ends. And here’s how it ends. Zechariah, 14, verse nine, The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day, there will be one LORD in his name, the only, the only name that we sing between now and then. A lot could go wrong. We’re going to keep reading in Exodus, a lot goes wrong. A lot of wrong will happen in us, his people. In fact, because of Israel’s sin, God later says, through his prophet Hosea, you are not my people and I am not your God. Same word, by the way, a I am, the I Am is not with you anymore because of your sin, right? There’s that holiness, sin, tension, and so the only way for us to experience that restoration, that the rest of Hosea talks about, for us to become his people again, for him to be our God again, is because God sent Jesus to save us from our sins. Jesus who said, By the way, I am the bread of life, I am the light of the world, I am the gate. I am the good shepherd. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the Way, the Truth and the Life I am, the true vine I am. Jesus comes to save us from our sins, and now Jesus sends us to preach salvation from sin. You’re not ready. You are not competent. You don’t have the credentials. And looking around this room, can I say it honestly, you don’t have the character either, and neither do I, but the God who is with you has prepared, equipped, saved and transformed you for his mission. So go. Let’s pray, Lord. We worship you as the God who is there, the God who always is, who he always has been and always will be. We cannot reduce You, Lord, to anything smaller than the fullness of who you are. We can only worship as we understand bit by bit, step by step, all that you are for us. We worship you Lord. We seek to know you, and we seek to follow you and to make your name known among the nations. We seek to make you known, Lord, because you have made yourself known to us. You are holy, and we are not and we have no business speaking to you in prayer right now. And yet you have made a way, because you sent your son to deliver us out of darkness and into your marvelous light. And so Lord, we go from here declaring your praises and proclaiming the gospel of a God who does that because of His great love for us, because of His mercy and justice and holiness and goodness and wisdom, Lord be praised. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

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September 7, 2025 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper begins a series on Exodus, emphasizing its relevance to modern life by addressing three key themes: knowing God, understanding God’s actions, and responding to God’s call. He uses the metaphor of being stuck in a cave to illustrate the need for salvation. Cooper explains that Exodus is a sequel to Genesis, highlighting God’s covenant with Abraham and the Israelites’ journey from Egypt. He discusses the oppression of the Israelites under Pharaoh, the midwives’ courage, and the birth of Moses, drawing parallels to Jesus’ birth and the ultimate salvation from sin. Cooper invites listeners to acknowledge their need for a Savior and to trust in Jesus for deliverance.

Well, good morning. You can go ahead and grab your Bibles. Open up to Exodus chapter one. Exodus chapter one. If you do not have a Bible with you this morning, you should find one in the pew in front of you. If you’re using one of those black ones that we provide, we will be on page 44 also, if you don’t have a Bible, like if you don’t own a Bible, just go ahead and take that one. That’s yours. Now that’s our gift to you. We would love for you to have a copy of God’s word, especially as you follow along with us in this series. So Exodus one, go ahead and start turning there, but as you’re turning there, I was a boy scout as a kid, and so went spelunking at one point at a cave up in Wisconsin, and I was a little bit on the smaller side, and so figured I could get myself wherever I wanted to really and was doing a great job. Was way ahead of everyone else in my troop. And then reached that point where I could not go any farther and couldn’t turn around and couldn’t back my way out in a very narrow little spot. So I’m claustrophobic now, I’m sure, because of that so terrifying experience at this point, somebody you know had to come along basically, and kind of like wedged me out a little bit, you know, by the ankles sort of thing. It’s a metaphor for life for many of us, isn’t it? We get ourselves stuck in tight places, oftentimes because of our bad choices, like mine, there just keep crawling. Who cares how far you go? Sometimes, because of other people’s bad choices, that’s maybe not getting stuck in a cave. That’s more like getting stuffed in a locker or something like that. But same experience, we’re stuck because of other people’s bad choices. We need someone to come and get us out, to get us unstuck. We need somebody to come and get us out of and you could probably fill in the blanks here. You probably have experienced some of these, and they can feel a lot like being stuck in a very narrow spot in a cave to come and get us out of a financial crisis or a toxic relationship, a bad habit we just can’t seem to break, or as we’ll see in the book of Exodus, real injustice being inflicted against us. That’s what Exodus is all about. So we start our series in Exodus today. We’re actually going to be in Exodus all the way into January. Would HIGHLY invite you to take this journey along with us. It will be worth your investment. But I think it’s worth asking at the start of the series, why would you say yes to that? Why would you agree to keep coming for the rest of this series? And that’s because the book of Exodus is profoundly relevant to your life today for three reasons that I can think of, at least, although I’m sure we’ll come up with some more as we go through the book. First of all, Exodus is going to help us know God better. If you wanted to give just one theme for Exodus, in a nutshell, it’s knowing God just who exactly God is. And each of us needs to know God better. And some of you may be thinking, okay, but I don’t even know if he exists. Great. We could start there. That would be one of the most important questions we could settle, and Exodus will help us settle that question, Does God exist? If so, who exactly is he? Second, though, it’s not just that we need to know more about God and the abstract who he is, but we need to know what God is up to in this world. We need to know about how he intends to save us, restore a broken world, fix what’s broken, and especially as we feel just how deeply we need to be saved. Not everyone does all the time, certainly, but we’ll see even some today that we are, all of us stuck in caves and stuffed in lockers. And then we need to know exactly how God is going to get us out. Third though, we also need to know what this will mean for us today, like, what response should we have? What does God expect from us? I mean, as we look at a book like Exodus especially, should we be some of the those who are opening lockers and unsticking people who’ve been stuffed in there? I mean, just in our passage this morning, which is we’re barely getting into the book here, we’re going to see a whole bunch of stuff about how we treat immigrants, which feels like a pressing issue today, or how we treat the unborn, which feels like a pressing issue. Today, we’re gonna learn about what’s expected of us in terms of prayer and community and on and on as we go forward in the series. So the passage that we’re gonna look at today, though, it sets the scene for us. How exactly is Israel stuck, and how do they get. Unstuck. How do we get unstuck? Who is God? Who are we? These are some of the questions we’re going to answer in three scenes as we proceed through so. Scene number one, let me just read chapter one, verses one to seven for us. These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family, Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah, Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin Dan and Naphtali Gad and Asher. The descendants of Jacob numbered 70 in all. Joseph was already in Egypt. Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful. They multiplied, greatly increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them. Just pause there for now. Here, we’re really setting the scene. It’s actually interesting in the original language. Here, the first word of this book is and, and you can understand why they didn’t put it in your translation, because you’re not supposed to start books with and you’re supposed to start sentences with and and yet, here we are. Why? Because this is a sequel. This book assumes that you’ve already read the previous book, Genesis, that you’re familiar with it. And so this section, it functions a little bit like Star Wars Empire Strikes Back, you know, the scroll at the beginning of that one, the text that’s coming and whatnot, and that’s helping you out. If you hadn’t seen a new hope that scroll was not much help at all. They’re gonna talk about, you know, like Luke and Darth Vader and the Empire, and you’re gonna go, I don’t know if any of those people are, so it’s assuming familiarity with all of that, while also kind of bridging the gap. Okay, the movie ended. Now we’re starting this movie. You missed some stuff, so let me just catch you up real quick. What happened in that time? That’s how these seven verses function. That’s really important, because it means it sets this whole book in the context of God’s covenant with Abraham. So Abraham, the father of the nation of Israel, God, covenants with him, that is, he binds himself to Abraham and Abraham’s descendants forever through these promises that he makes, Abraham promises to turn him into a great nation, to give him a land, to make him a blessing to all peoples. But that raises some questions, if we’re familiar with those promises, if they were promised Canaan, the land of Canaan, what we think of as Israel today, why are they in Egypt? And maybe even more pressingly, why are they, as we’ll see in a moment, slaves in Egypt. That doesn’t sound like blessing to me. Has God forgotten his promises? Is he unfaithful, or is he unable to deliver his people from the current world superpower? Those are real questions, questions that the Israelites probably ask themselves daily, questions that maybe you’ve asked yourself, that we all feel daily, especially in trying seasons. You kind of look around at the circumstances and go, Hello, God. Are you there? Do you see? Do you care? But if we know Genesis, well, we have been given the answers already. Now it’s been eight years since we did Genesis, so let me help you out. Just need to know that this is happening exactly as God said it would. Why are they in Egypt? Well, God told Abraham, as he’s making these promises to him back in Genesis, 15, verse 13, that they’re going to be in Egypt. He says this, know for certain that for 400 years, your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. So God is not unaware. He’s not surprised. This is exactly what he said would happen, in part because the sin of the Canaanites, the land that they’re going to be brought into, had not reached its full measure yet, it would have been an unjust conquest at that point. So it’s no surprise that they’re there, enslaved in Egypt, but they also are given this promise about how that chapter of their story will end too. So God tells Jacob, in Genesis, 46 as Jacob’s getting ready to move with his family to Egypt, he says this, I will make you into a great nation. There’s the promise to Abraham, there, you’re going to become a great nation in Egypt. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. I love that, right? He says, I’m going to bring you back again. That sets the expectation. We know what’s coming here. It’s like when you you sit down to watch Lord of the Rings, you get to. The third movie in the trilogy, and it’s called The Return of the King. And you think to yourself, I bet the King returns in this one, right? Like that’s the same sort of expectation that we have at this moment, but in the meantime, which is that’s the tough place to live, isn’t it? Right? It’s in the meantime until God fulfills His promises. That’s where it’s so hard to live. In the meantime, Jacob and his family are given these two wonderful grounds for confidence. First of all, God says, I will go down with you. So you’re going down to Egypt. I’m going down to Egypt. I’m not gonna be over there. While you’re over here, I will be present in your struggle, which is important for us, because God is not mentioned in these seven verses. Don’t know if you caught that. It’s actually not mentioned until verse 17. I think that’s intentional. I think the author is drawing out how the Israelites were probably feeling. Is God here or not? And God says yes, yes, I am. I am right there with you. Second, he promised Jacob that he would be a great nation. There are only 70 people when they left. That’s not a great nation. But look at verse seven, that promise is fulfilled, right there. They increase in numbers. It becomes so numerous that the land is teeming with them. Is what it says. The promise is fulfilled. That’s also going to set up the conflict. In the next section, but you get the idea the circumstances are bad in this moment. Yes, but that doesn’t change the underlying reality the point of this first section, which is God is faithful. God is faithful. He keeps his covenant promises always the timing and the manner that’s up to him, and that’s usually where our frustration kicks in. But he is God and we are not. He gets to choose. But I love what Alec Mateer says about this. He says that they are there in these hard circumstances by divine command, under divine promise and awaiting divine intervention. I love that, because that describes our circumstances exactly, also wherever we are, we are there by God’s decree, under the promises that are all yes and amen in Christ, Jesus and we are awaiting divine intervention when Jesus comes again to set all things right. And you think of the hope that provides for us when we’re in difficult circumstances, when we are suffering to know we are awaiting God’s ultimate deliverance. He is faithful. He will deliver his people. That is hope for the suffering, whether they’re suffering because the bad choices they made like me in that cave, or because the bad choices that others made, like Israel, who are about to get stuffed in a locker, and that, by the way, is seen too. So here we are. We just learned God is faithful. What about us? What are we like? Let’s keep reading verses 822, the rest of chapter one. Then a new king to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. Look, he said to his people, the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. Come. We must deal shrewdly with them, or they will become even more numerous, and if war breaks out, we’ll join our enemies fight against us and leave the country. So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses to store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread. So the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with harsh labor and brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields and all their harsh labor, the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly. The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shipra and Puah, when you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him. But if it is a girl, let her live. The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do. They let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live? The midwives answered Pharaoh Hebrew, women are not like Egyptian women. They are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive. So God was kind to the midwives, and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own. Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people. Every Hebrew bore boy that is born, you must throw in. Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile. But let every girl live. Alright, let’s get some historical context before we dig in. This is a real story. This is real event happening in history, right? It’s not happening in Narnia or Middle Earth. It’s happening in Egypt when we’re in the mid 15th century BC, almost certainly, the Exodus takes place in the year 1446, under the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose, but for two cent. Centuries, a little bit before Thutmose there was a different dynasty in power. It was actually a Semitic dynasty so distant relatives of the Jewish people, the Semitic Hyksos dynasty ruled Lower Egypt, northern Egypt, the Nile Delta region. They are finally expelled after these two centuries under Pharaoh amosis in 1550 and he reunites the upper and lower kingdoms. Now you can imagine, then this Egyptian who’s just kicked out a Semitic usurper, is probably not going to look with favor on the giant population of Semitic people in his land. And so it’s a little bit like a new president. What’s the first thing a president does when he’s elected to office these days, undoes all the executive orders the last president, right? Makes you almost wish Congress did their job again, and then we wouldn’t have to go through this every four years. But no, that’s what happens. Well, that’s what he does too, right? So he just does, undoes all these executive orders the last regime’s tolerance stance toward them, and he turns them into this slave labor force. And it says specifically that they forgot. He forgot what Joseph did for Egypt, how he saved them from famine, and actually what he did for Pharaoh specifically, because he increased Pharaoh’s power exponentially during that time. So we run up here against the problem of historical memory, we so often forget what others learned the hard way. What a good word for parents, by the way. Like talk to your kids about what God has done for you, why you’ve given your life to him, why you so joyfully make sacrifices of time and money for his sake, for the sake of His kingdom, because we can forget what God has done as surely as Pharaoh forgot what Joseph had done. You actually see this story play out in Israel’s history after Joshua dies the exact same age as Joseph. By the way, it’s really interesting. Parallel. There it says that the Israelites forgot God. So it says here the king didn’t know Joseph. Well, we read in Judges 210, another generation grew up who neither knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel, they forgot. And if you know anything about the book of Judges, you know what happens when you forget what God has done. It’s just this, like downward spiral into some of the grossest immorality in the Bible makes what the Egyptians do here look almost tame by comparison. This is why Moses says in Deuteronomy, four, verse nine, only be careful and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen. He’s talking to the Exodus generation. He’s talking to the people who are about to go through all of this. Don’t forget what your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live, teach them to your children and to their children after them. But Pharaoh forgets Joseph. Pharaoh forgets God, and so he steps into an anti God role. God wants the people to be fruitful, to multiply. Pharaoh wants to put a stop to that. His commentator, Phil Reichen says here, Pharaoh resents God’s people, rejects God’s promises and then resists God’s plan, so he becomes the obstacle to God’s plan in the world, specifically through his xenophobia when he’s doing what rulers often do when things are tenuous at home, which is blame the immigrant population. This is how Hitler rose to power. Our economy is not going well. It must be the Jews fault. This is how the white minority kept power in South Africa for so long. We gotta deal with the black problem. And you can see this in our own nation’s history. Of course, with every wave of immigrants that’s arrived on our shores, the Irish the Italians up to the present day, of course, again, all of this is anti God, by the way, because we see God’s heart for immigrants. We’re going to see it in this story. We saw it earlier. Caitlin read it for us in Psalm 146, verse nine, he watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. Right? He cares for the marginalized, and he is against the wicked, and that’s what we see here, because he is against Pharaoh. Pharaoh does not have a heart for the immigrant, though he’s anti God again, and so he uses the slave labor to build these storage and distribution cities in terrible circumstances. There are no stones in Egypt, so they got to make their own bricks. It’s this tedious, tedious process, and you can see how hard the work was in the heavy repetition in verses 13 and four. 15, right? It says, And he worked them ruthlessly, made their lives bitter with a harsh labor, with all kinds of work in the fields and all their harsh labor, the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly. The repetition is actually even worse in the Hebrew, but you get the idea, right? This was harsh labor. They were being worked ruthlessly. You can feel the burden that they’re experiencing. Although it’s interesting, verse 12, in the middle of all that says that they just go on multiplying. So Pharaoh’s trying to keep them from multiplying, but he can’t thwart God’s plan. It says, you know, we got to work them, lest they multiply. And then basically it says, And he worked them, so they multiplied. The puns even better in the Hebrew actually, because lest they multiply is pen yerva, and then it says, Ken yerva. So lest they multiply, so they multiply just one letter different. Can’t thwart God’s plan. The writer is having fun with all of that, what hope for us today again, though, I mean especially in suffering, and especially in light of Jesus’s death and resurrection, I mean the criminal powers at work in the world then put Christ to death, lest he save us. So He saved us in His death, that’s the hope we have. You cannot thwart God’s plan. We know 100% how the story will end when the dead in Christ are raised to forever life in him. Could God stop our hard circumstances? Now? Though, yes, yes, but in his wisdom, he often leaves us in it for His glory and our good and His sovereign wisdom. So often the trials we endure as individuals and as the people of God lead to growth, exactly like we see here, right? The Israelites multiply. So what you see in the book of Acts when as soon as persecution breaks out, that’s when the church begins to multiply. You can see that still happening today, but in individual lives also, it’s in our trials that we often grow the most, in holiness, in Christ likeness. One reason that happens is because the trials here are what get us ready to leave. You have to ask yourself, if the Israelites were not in slavery in this moment, would they have followed Moses out of Egypt into a land they know nothing about? No They barely wanted to leave, even after the slavery, as we’ll see here in a few weeks. And what about you? Without some of the suffering in this world, would your heart’s desire be set on the world to come the new heavens and the new earth? God uses trials to pry our fingers from the things of this world. We long for that perfect joy and peace and love that we will have with him in eternity. Are you in a hard season now, ask yourself what God might be doing in it. Is he leading you deeper in your relationship with him, or is he leading you to him for the first time? Well, Pharaoh’s plan isn’t working because they’re still multiplying. So he shifts plots. Let’s just murder the baby boys. Instead, you’re anti God. You will inevitably be anti life. You’ll be anti humans, because we are his image bearers. In the end, the irony, of course, is that we don’t know his name, but these two lowly Hebrew midwives their names we know and are still talking about 3500 years later. Why? Because God loves to humble the proud, but he loves to exalt the humble, which is what we see here, because they take a courageous stand against this culture of death, against the world’s powers. They stood for God. They stood for what God values, like love and justice and righteousness. So it’s actually the first recorded act of civil disobedience in history, because they understood what the apostles will say later in the book of Acts, that we must obey God and not humans when the two are in conflict. And it tells us specifically verse 17, the reason why they did that, and that’s because they fear God most. They fear God more than anything else. They might fear the King and what he can do to them, but they know what God can do to Kings. They know what God does to empires, even that he topples them down and raises them up as he wills and so they take their courageous stand. Reminds me of the 10 Boom family. In Nazi occupied Holland hiding Jews who were escaping the persecution at the time in their home. And the father said it would be an honor to give my life for God’s ancient people. And he does, because they’re discovered, they’re arrested, and eventually the entire family is put to death, except Cory, who escapes survive the concentration camps. Why are they put to death, though? Why are they in the concentration camps for doing what is right? Needless to say, we have to ask ourselves, what we would do in circumstances like these, would we stand against evil powers that threaten us. This is not just an if question, right? This is not just if I were in this situation, what would I do? It is a What are you doing now? Sort of question, because we all have little ways where we can show this. Are you willing to do what’s right, even if it means you’ll be shunned by your friend group or canceled on social media, which, by the way, easy solution, cancel social media, then you don’t have to worry about it, right? You don’t even know you got canceled. It’s a beautiful thing. Would you be willing to blow the whistle on unjust practices at your company, even if it meant you could get let go or whatever else? We have to ask ourselves this question, especially when we see what results here. I mean, their civil disobedience is our salvation, in God’s providence, because if they don’t disobey, there’s no Moses. If there’s no Moses, there’s no Israel. If there’s no Israel, there’s no Jesus. Their civil disobedience is our salvation. So thank God for their courage. And again, just take a moment and think, will anyone ever thank God for my courage in standing up against what is wrong? So God blesses their obedience. He gives them families, which is fitting, because that’s what they were doing, of course, is protecting families, protecting children. And notice, by the way, the Israelites just keep on multiplying because you cannot for God’s will. God’s will will win every time. So Pharaoh shifts to his final solution. He involves the whole nation in the murder of the baby boys. They’re supposed to be tossed right into the river. There is a little irony here, because, of course, that’s exactly how Egypt is going to perish as the waters come over them, as we’ll see. But you get this common sequence that we just saw in Egypt is exactly what happens in, for example, Nazi Germany, where you go from propaganda at first to the boycotts to segregation, to the open violence of Kristallnacht to the ghettos and then ultimately to the horrors of Dachau and Auschwitz. That’s why we take courageous stands early on, by the way, interesting to see, though, he does involve the whole nation in this. So the whole nation is now guilty of the murder of innocent children. We have to keep that in mind as we keep reading in this series, God is faithful. That’s what he brings to the table. But what about us? What do we bring to the table? I think we see it quite clearly here. People are wicked, wicked, capable of such gross injustice. And I think you see that because it’s not just Pharaoh, but it’s the fact that as soon as Pharaoh says, Hey, you should kill all these baby boys, they go, okay, that’s what it takes for my economic prosperity. Yeah, absolutely, I’ll do that. It reminds me of what the Russian dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn said he went to the Siberian gulag, you know, for a time and whatnot, eventually won Nobel Prize for Literature. And you would expect him to have a very clear sense of good and evil, right? Soviet Union, Communist Party, evil. Me, good. That’s not what he said. He said the line between good and evil passes directly through the human heart, through every one of us, we’re all capable of this. Evil people are wicked. That’s a problem, really. That’s the problem. That’s where we’re stuck, not a cave. It’s not a locker. We are stuck in sin. So how does a faithful God reconcile himself to faithless, wicked people. I’m so glad you asked. Scene three, chapter two, verses one to 10. Now, a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months, when she could hide him no longer. She got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch, and she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He. Was crying, and she felt sorry for him. This is one of the Hebrew babies, she said. Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you? Yes, go, she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother, Pharaoh’s daughter, said to her, take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you. So the woman took the baby and nursed him. When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, I drew him out of the water. We don’t get anything more about this decree to toss the baby boys into the river. It just serves to get us to the Moses story. And in God’s providence, Pharaoh’s evil decree initiates the events that lead to his defeat. Again, just a good preview of the cross, right? We crucified the Son of God. Were winning, right? Nope, that was your defeat. Actually, same thing here. There are two clues, very subtle clues, in this text that we are dealing with something entirely new, that God is breaking into history here. First in verse one, it says that he was a fine child, right? She saw that he was a fine child. Reads literally, she saw that he was good, which sounds like Genesis one, when God looked at the creation that he had made and saw that it was good. So we’re at a new creation moment. Here. God is initiating a new creative act. And then in verse three, it says that she placed him. And you even got a little footnote there that says, instead of basket, you could say Ark. It’s the same word, like Noah’s Ark. She placed him in an ark, like Genesis six to nine, which makes sense, of course, because it’s kind of the same story, because those who trust in God are saved from the waters, and those who don’t will be judged in the waters. Again, a preview of what’s coming. Exodus, 14 or so now Moses’s mom, you’ll notice, formally obeys the king’s command, the Pharaoh’s command, she throws her baby boy into the river, but only formally. We don’t know what her plan was. We’re not told what she’s thinking here. We can only speculate. Did she know that he would starve still, but that would be better than watching him drown right before her eyes. Did she plan to come back and try to feed him secretly on the river there, or did she know that somebody like Pharaoh’s daughter would be there and maybe would rescue him? It’s probably a good chance that she expected him to be found because of where she put him. She placed him in the reeds along the bank of the river in what would have been a shallow, quiet inlet. We know that because that’s where Pharaoh’s daughter goes to bathe. And you don’t bathe in the main waterway, right? You’d find a little pool somewhere. So I think she expected him to be found. No surprise that he got found. What’s surprising, though, is that Pharaoh’s daughter decides to save him. I mean, this is like an apple that fell way off the tree, right? This would be like if Hitler had a daughter, her following the 10 Boom lead, and like hiding Jews in Hitler’s home. That’s what she’s done here, for sure, but she hears the baby’s cry and feels compassion for him, previewing what God is going to do in the next section, by the way, which we’ll get to next week. Now, Miriam Moses’s sister has been watching. She offers to go get a Hebrew nurse, which, of course, is going to be Moses’s mom. Yoga is her name. There’s just some thick irony here in God’s grace, because she’s now getting paid to raise her own baby. And there’s even a little pun there in the Hebrew in verse nine, when she says, take this baby, it reads, literally, here, this is yours. And you’re like, yep, you are right. That is mine, in fact. But there’s still loss here. Let’s not, you know, sugarcoat this at all. Once he’s weaned, Moses’s mother gives him away to Pharaoh’s household, and there’s also this tension in this moment. What’s going to happen to Moses? Will he grow up to be Egyptian or Jewish? Will he be a son of Pharaoh or a son of Levi and so in a lot of ways, we come back to the same question we saw in that last section, Whom will he fear most? In the end, will he give God His worship, even if it costs greatly? This is the fundamental choice that we all face, of course, because what we fear will lead us to do either evil or good, and so we have to choose very, very carefully what we will fear most. If you fear threats to your safety, then you will keep yourself and your family safe, even if it means compromise. Yes, even if means collaborating with Nazis against your own people. If you fear insecurity, financial insecurity, especially, you will work long hours, neglect worship, neglect your family, cut ethical corners. If you fear loneliness above all, then you will compromise, maybe on the sort of person you end up with, or maybe morally long before then. But if you fear God, you know that he provides the safety, the security, the love, the peace, the joy, whatever it is, he provides all of that perfectly in himself, no matter the circumstances. And you’re freed to choose well. And then Pharaoh’s daughter names him. It’s interesting, in this culture, naming actually came after weaning, so probably at a couple of years old, because of the high infant mortality rates, they just wouldn’t name the kid until they knew the kid was going to make it. She names him. Moses. Moses is an Egyptian word it. It means child of son of fact, if you’re paying close attention, I’ve already given you two names that have Moses in it. Actually three names, who was the Pharaoh at the time of the Exodus, Thutmose, son of Thoth. And then who was the guy who kicked the Semitic dynasty out. That was a Moses son of ah, and then Rameses. We all know Rameses. That’s just ramosis, son of Ra so she just names him. Kid, basically, she says I named him kid because I drew him out. Now, does that just mean I named him kid because I’m the one who drew him out, so I’ve got the right to name him, or did she know enough Hebrew to know that she was making a pun, because that Mohs root in Hebrew means to draw out, maybe. But if she does, she gets it wrong. She should have named him mashui, which is passive tense, the one drawn out. Instead, she names him Moshe in the active tense, he draws out. And I keep saying this phrase because it’s here on just about every sentence in God’s providence. God’s in charge of all of this, right? Because that’s exactly what Moses will do. The name fits his role, because he will be God’s instrument to draw Israel out of Egypt. So it doesn’t seem like it. This is not an exciting story in many ways, like the heavens didn’t part. There aren’t choirs of angels singing Glory to God in the highest or anything like that. So it doesn’t seem like it. But there are plenty of hints that what Israel needs is here, a savior is here. A savior is here, the one who will draw Israel out of Egypt is here, but that is key. We didn’t fill in the blank on the slide, but here is the word there. It is alright. A savior is here, but that is key, the way I phrase it there, because a savior is here. The Savior is not here yet, Moses. We’ll learn this next week. Moses is a murderer. Moses has an anger problem that shows up in a few different stories. In fact, it shows up often enough that eventually he’s not able to enter the promised land. He leads people to the edge of the Promised Land, and God has him die there, he doesn’t get to go in. He is himself stuck in the same sin that we all are. But even if he hadn’t messed up, he still can’t be the savior, because Israel keeps getting stuck. Yes, they get stuffed in a few more lockers, but mostly they wedge themselves in caves. So they’re saved from Egypt, but they are not saved from Israel. They are not saved from themselves. They’re not saved from that sinful selfishness that plagues all of us from fearing others more than God. And so Centuries later, the prophet Isaiah promises that there will be another Exodus and another servant to lead them out. And so by the time we get to the first century BC, right around that shift to year zero, the Jewish people are waiting for the Savior. And what happens? There’s another boy born under a death sentence, and like Pharaoh, Herod, tries to kill him secretly. First, not with midwives, but with Magi. This time, tell me where he is so I can go and worship him. Sure. And then, when that fails, He decrees open slaughter of all the babies in Bethlehem, in this case, the slaughter of the innocents like Moses. God delivers Jesus and then names him according to his role, not Moses. He. Draws out, but Yeshua, Jesus Yahweh Saves because Jesus is Yahweh and he will save his people from not Egypt, not Rome. He will save His people from their sins. He delivers us not from slavery to a sinful people or from evil circumstances, but from sin and evil itself and the sin and evil that is in us because God is faithful and we are wicked. Do you ever feel stuck? Maybe you feel stuck even now, stuck saying the same words, falling into the same acts, habits that you know are wrong you just can’t seem to break out of that is true slavery. But I got good news for you. The Savior is here. He has come. This is the big idea. If you want to just remember one thing from the sermon, it would be this, we need a Savior, and God sent him. We need a Savior, and God sent him just like he sent Moses. And so we can reach out right when we get to that point where we are stuck in the cave, and we know that we are stuck, we can reach out, take Jesus’s hand, or, more likely, if you’re like me anyway, say, Hey, can you grab my ankles because I can’t get my hand around to you. Let him draw you out of your stuckness. And I got such good news for you. If you’re feeling stuck this morning, you don’t have to wait for that salvation. You don’t have to get your life in order first, that would be like asking me to get myself turned around and out of the cave before somebody’s willing to save me from the cave. That’s not how it works. All it takes is that we acknowledge our need. I’m stuck, acknowledge our sin. I am stuck because of who I am. The stuck is here. It’s not here. And then acknowledge our Savior. Acknowledge that we need a savior. Acknowledge that he has come Jesus Christ, who took the penalty for our sin on himself, on the cross of Christ, then was raised from the dead to triumph over death, yes, but sin and evil also, and who offers to give us that salvation in exchange for our sin when we trust in Him? So something to be thinking about now, if you’re here and don’t know where you stand with Jesus, the invitation is for you even now. So I’m going to pray for us at this point, if that’s you, if you know you’re stuck and you would like to be unstuck, if you want to reach out and see if the Savior will take your hand and would you join me in prayer? Now I’ll kind of lead you in a model prayer here, Lord, we acknowledge that we are stuck, yes, often stuck in hard circumstances. But more than that, we are stuck in ourselves, stuck in who we are stuck in our brokenness, our waywardness, our bad habits, our wrong choices. And Lord, it is clear that there’s not much we’re going to be able to do to turn ourselves around because we are wedged so deeply in our sin. We acknowledge it, Lord, we confess our sin and we ask for your help, Jesus, would you come and rescue us as we humble ourselves, as we acknowledge our sin, as we turn from it and turn to you? Would you draw us out and save us from our sin? Don’t just save us from our sin, Lord, but save us to yourself, bring us all the way into the promised land of your presence, that we might live with you forever. We pray in Christ’s name, Amen.

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Would You Rather…? August 31, 2025 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper led a family worship service at his church, incorporating a “Would You Rather” game to engage the congregation. He discussed Matthew 12:22-50, emphasizing the importance of choosing to follow Jesus. Cooper highlighted the Pharisees’ rejection of Jesus, their absurd accusations, and the concept of the unpardonable sin. He explained that true faith involves not just hearing but actively choosing to believe and follow Jesus. Cooper used a riddle to illustrate that believers already have all they need to choose Jesus, as evidenced by the Bible and Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. He concluded by urging the congregation to make a conscious choice to follow Jesus.

Well, good morning church. You can go ahead and open up to Matthew 12. Matthew 12, we’ll be starting in verse 22 and going through the rest of the chapter as we wrap up our series in Matthew this morning. Matthew 12, starting in verse 22 as you’re turning there, it is family worship, Sunday. So we’ve got some kids up in the service with us all very exciting. So we’re gonna try and keep things lively here. We’ll start by playing a little game. Instead of the usual doll illustrations that I bring you, we will play, would you rather? If you’ve never played before, you’ll catch on quickly, I’m sure. So first one we’re gonna do here, would you rather? Would you rather hop everywhere or skip everywhere? Hop everywhere or skip everywhere? Just wait. We’re gonna do hands. All right. You know, I love it when you guys talk back to me, but not this time. All right, we’ll do hands here moment. So hop everywhere, skip everywhere. I’m be nice to you. Also, you can choose neither as your third option. Okay, you can just keep doing what you want to do all the time. You can walk, you can jog, whatever else it is, okay. How many only want to hop from here on out? How many only want to skip from here on out? How many of you just want to, like also be able to walk and run and all those things? That was the right answer, by the way, but some of you, I knew that was going to happen this next one, though. This next one, all right. This is an honor of Taylor Swift getting engaged to the baseball player that she’s dating. I love trolling the Swifties in this congregation. I do. So here’s your next one. For the rest of your life, you only get to listen to one song. Okay? Would You Rather the only music you hear from now on the rest of your life to be Justin Bieber’s Baby or Taylor Swift’s red. Okay, now, just full disclosure here, I think it’s important that I be honest, open, vulnerable with you all. As your pastor, I have no idea what either of those songs are. Okay, not a cool pastor. Stop listening to music after Van Morrison, okay, but here we go. Okay, so you got Justin Bieber’s Baby, Taylor Swift’s red or I’ll be nice again. Neither listen to whatever song you want to listen to whenever you want to listen to it. How many for Bieber got some Beliebers out there? Swifties? You’re like, no, she makes so much good music. I’m not gonna, I’m not gonna just listen to one. How many for neither? Yeah, okay, I knew that one was gonna be easy, all right, another one. You’re going to smell like feet or smell like eggs or neither. You can smell like your delightful self. How many for feet? How many for eggs? How many for neither? OK, let’s do one more, at least. How about this? Would you rather get a paper cut every time you turn a page or bite your tongue every time you eat a meal? Okay? Paper Cut or bite your tongue, and that’s it. There’s no third option. How many for the paper cut? How many for a bite your tongue? Okay, all right. You notice what happened there, though, right? It got a lot harder to choose when you had to choose. That’s what makes Would You Rather a fun game. Is, of course, everyone always wants to go neither or both, whichever question it is, but it’s so much harder when you actually have to make a decision. Let’s just do one more. Would you rather have Jesus all of the time or none of the time? That’s the right answer, of course. Except Is it true? Do you really want that? Because most of us, of course, we want Jesus our Savior. We want the healing that we’ve seen in this series. We want the mercy. We want His presence. But do we always want Jesus as our Lord, the Jesus who tells us what to do? And the answer is, No, we don’t always want that, because we keep sinning. And every time we sin, we’re saying, Jesus, I don’t want you as Lord right now. So since Eden, since the very first time that humans said, You know what, no, thanks God, we’ve got this. It hasn’t been an easy decision. So we got three pretty different scenes this morning in the passage we’re gonna look at, but the thread stitching them all together is that choice. Do you want Jesus all the time or not? So Scene one, kids, if you’re new to this whole experience, we got a little fill in the blank. We don’t know what that is, so it’s something about his power verses 22 to 37 we’ll figure it out near the end of this section. Let me read it for us though Matthew 1222, to 37 then they brought him a demon possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him so that he could both talk and see. All the people were astonished and said, Could this be the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard this, they. Said, it is only by Baalzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons. Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. And if Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself, how then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Baalzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man, then he can plunder his house. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers. How can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the goods stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words, you will be acquitted, and by your words, you will be condemned. So Jesus brings a demonized or they bring Jesus a demonized man so that he can heal in this guy, he can’t see, can’t speak, right, all this stuff. Now you may roll your eyes at this whole idea of demons, Satan and all the rest of that. Let me just encourage you to keep an open mind here, in part, just because of the reality of evil, which, again, we saw this week, even could pick a week at random. Could pick a place at random and see it. There’s a grotesqueness to the evil that humans are capable of that cries out for explanation, and almost certainly a supernatural explanation. I don’t think Darwin can explain where that sort of evil comes from. Like animals are brutal. That’s what the word means, right? Animals are brutal, sure, nature red in tooth and claw, all of that kind of stuff, but animals aren’t capable of the sort of malicious evil that humans perpetrate regularly. And so that’s where I think, okay, we probably have to look deeper than just the for a natural explanation here, any case, they bring Jesus, this demonized man can’t see, can’t talk. The miracle itself is very short. They brought him a demon, possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him so that he could both talk and see. This is not the most interesting miracle story that we’ve read, even in our series so far, that means that the focus isn’t on the miracle, but on what follows. The people react. In fact, their very reactions suggest that these miracles really happened, because Jesus is doing inexplicable things, and so they’re all trying to explain what it was exactly. So the crowds ask a question. The way they ask their question shows they are none too sure about this. It really means something like Son of David would be the Messiah. So they’re pretty much saying, like, this, couldn’t be the Messiah? Could it? Actually, they’re highly skeptical at this point, but the Pharisees Jesus’s opponents are even worse, like they are happy to play. Would you rather hear no Jesus, no thanks? Because he’s obviously satanic. All these miracles he’s doing, he’s doing in the power of baalzebel, which was kind of an insulting name for a pagan god. It means Lord of the Flies. And so they’re saying, again, it’s basically satanic. Why do they think that? Because Jesus isn’t doing what the son of David, what the Messiah should do. When Messiah comes, he is going to, you know, get rid of these pesky Romans who are oppressing our people. He’s going to cast sinners out of the land, not welcome them in and have dinner with them. And of course, the Messiah is not going to utter blasphemy every other sentence by claiming to be God over and over and over again. So you can see what’s happened. Though they’ve they’ve made up their minds on certain issues, and so they blinded themselves in the process. They’re unwilling to see what Jesus is, or even to consider who Jesus might be, and that’s why they make this absurd accusation. Why would Satan attack Satan? This would be like bombing your own troops. In order to win the war. It’s a bold strategy. Probably not going to work out for you, right? But that’s the point. They’re not thinking clearly. They’re blind, willfully blind, and so they’ve made up their minds already. They’ve already got their conclusion, and now they’re just retrofitting their arguments so that they can reach that conclusion. Always worth asking this about ourselves if we’ve done the same thing, right, really, in any area, but especially when it comes to Jesus. Have we already said, Well, we know this is the truth about Jesus. And now let me find some evidence to back myself up as a terrible way to approach truth, of course. And so Jesus highlights the absurdity. Quotes Abraham Lincoln, a house divided census. I was hoping you guys would laugh, right? Lincoln was quoting him, if you didn’t know that, just want to make sure, right, a house divided against itself will fall down. A kingdom at war with itself will collapse. So clearly, that isn’t a good argument. And then Jesus points out that, of course, he’s not the only Exorcist, either. In fact, some of the Pharisees, some of their disciples, are casting out demons too. So if they’re casting out demons by, what power are they doing it? And why would that be a different power than the one Jesus is using? No, he says it’s the Spirit’s power at work within him, which means that the kingdom is here, he says verse 28 and if the kingdom is here, that means the King is here. The Messiah has come. But if the King is here, well that means we have a choice to make, would you rather? And that’s what Jesus says in verse 30, right there is the choice. Whoever is not with me is against me. You’re either with Jesus or against Jesus. Neutrality is impossible when it comes to Jesus. Now look black and white. Thinking is often the wrong way to go about figuring stuff out. They even have a word for it in Logic, right? It’s a false disjunctive. You know, you don’t want to be either or. Sometimes there’s some both, and there’s some nuance to be had in it, but, but not always. There are real black and white issues, of course, and there are certainly circumstances that require black and white thinking like you’re probably don’t want to be squishy on Nazi Germany when you’re rushing the beach at Normandy. God’s a good time for black and white thinking, in fact, you probably wouldn’t be storming Omaha Beach if you were squishy on Nazi Germany. Well, so we’ve got a wartime mentality here as well, because it’s this clash of these two kingdoms, Satan’s kingdom and Jesus’s kingdom. So are you with Jesus? Where are you against Jesus? Now he’s speaking to his opponents here, sure, the Pharisees, but we already know they’re not neutral. So he’s really speaking to the crowds, the people who are around them hearing this conversation. They need to choose. Would you rather and you can’t say both, you can’t say neither. You have to pick. Have to pick. Should be an easy choice, as all of you even expressed a moment ago. This is not like. Do you want a paper cut or a tongue bite? No, this is like. Do you want everlasting life or everlasting death. Do you want joy beyond all reckoning, or unrelenting sorrow? Easy choice, you would think. But not everyone chooses, and so he shifts to the unpardonable sin, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. What exactly does this mean? It means that somebody sees, even though they’re blind, of course, they see the Spirit actively working, like an incontrovertible display of the Spirit’s power, what Jesus has just demonstrated. They see the Spirit actively working and yet deny it, or would go so far as to reject it by claiming that it’s actually Satan’s power. It is, as one commentator put it, a conscious disputing of the indisputable attributing to Satan what is accomplished by the power of God. So the unpardonable sin involves this combination of clear knowledge and yet conscious rejection. What’s so interesting is that Jesus says you can actually blaspheme him. You can speak against the Son of Man by rejecting His gospel and still be forgiven, because repentance might come later. In fact, I would guess there’s probably a good chunk of people in this room who would say, yeah, that’s my story. That is my story, by the way, for a certain time when No, Jesus is not God. Jesus is not the savior. Oh, wait, I was wrong. And Jesus says it’s fine, we can forgive that, but to blaspheme the spirit, well, that can’t be forgiven because it’s to reject the truth, to reject the gospel with the full awareness that you are rejecting the truth. It’s willful rejection, by the way, always have to say this when you talk about the unpardonable sin, because somebody right there is going, have I committed it? I’ll just say this if you’re worried you committed it. You didn’t. That’s all you need to know, right? Because do you think the Pharisees at this point, the opponents of Jesus, are going, might I have committed the unpardonable sin? No, they’re just gonna double down in it like that hardness of heart is what you want to fear. So this is a strong passage, of course, and this is a stern warning, but it is so gracious at the same time, think why it’s gracious. First of all, it’s a warning, and a warning itself is gracious, even when it’s strong, like listen to the warning, turn and be saved. So imagine, you know, a neighbor comes out because there’s a power line down and the neighborhood kids are flocking toward it. If that neighbor comes out screaming at them, is he being mean? No, he could come out swinging a golf club to get them away from the downed power line. It would be the most loving thing he could do, if that’s what it took to get them away. So yes, it’s a strong warning, but it is a loving warning at the same time. But second, here’s where it’s so gracious, did you catch it? And so I tell you verse 31 every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, except just this one, all these other sins can be forgiven. Man, how remarkable is that? Oh, but Jesus, I cheated on my test. Every sin can be forgiven, yeah, but I lied to my every sin can be forgiven. I got my girlfriend pregnant in high school. Every sin can be forgiven. I had an abortion. Every sin can be forgiven, and that’s the gospel. All all of that can be forgiven because Jesus takes that on himself, the punishment that we deserve on himself, so that we can receive forgiveness and mercy and grace instead. But of course, that only happens if you come to him and receive Him as Savior and Lord, but if we do, every sin will be forgiven. Can I just ask you, after hearing that, wouldn’t you rather? Wouldn’t you rather come to him like the choice is so easy. That’s why it actually has that connection. I don’t know if you saw in verse 31 it says, And so like there’s this logical connection, you’re either with me or against me. And so let’s talk about the unpardonable sin. There’s this logical connection. He’s inviting the crowds. He’s inviting us now to choose, to choose to come and receive that forgiveness, but it is so important that we actually choose. So how do we know that we’ve chosen Jesus? Because it would be easy to deceive ourselves. I go to church. I prayed a prayer that my parents taught me. At some point I got baptized, and Jesus shows us how we know because he says our conduct reveals our character. What we do shows us who we are. It’s like chocolate syrup, right? You look hungry. So a picture that that bowl of ice cream. Your flavor choice? Would you rather? I don’t care, vanilla, chocolate, chocolate chip cookie dough. You take it, and you’re thinking to yourself, the only thing that could make this better is chocolate chip syrup. Chocolate syrup. It’s labeled chocolate syrup, clearly, chocolate syrup, and you go to pour it out, I should have flipped this earlier. This is why we have Kyle do these usually, guys, it’s chocolate syrup. That’s what it said on the bottle. I’m a Christian. That’s what I said on the bottle. No, it’s what we do that shows us who we are. It’s what is on the inside, not just what we claim to be. If you’ve got a tree that makes bad fruit, it’s a bad tree. If you’ve got a tree. Tree that makes good fruit. It’s a good tree. Now, when we talk about bad fruit, we’re not talking about rotten fruit, right? We’re not talking about that apple that you forgot I got kind of behind the other ones, and now it’s pretty much a liquid and blue and stuff like that. That’s not the bad fruit we’re talking about here. We’re talking about fruit on the apple tree. But, you know, it never gets bigger than that, it’s as hard as a rock. It’s tasteless at best and bitter at worst. So the rotten fruit, that’s not the tree’s fault. That’s your fault. You’re the one who forgot to eat it, but that little, that’s the tree’s fault. And so if you wanna fix that, you gotta fix the tree somehow. Maybe it just needs to be chopped down entirely. Maybe, I don’t know, help the roots out. Put some fertilizer down, but that’s what Jesus is offering when we choose him to make us into a different sort of tree. And that’s what Kyle read for us earlier. I mean, this is the promise to become a new tree. I will give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. That’s when He scoops out the mustard and fills it with chocolate syrup. And so our actions change, not just our actions he says, but our words as well. Who we say Jesus is but all of our words, every word, reveals our hearts. I mean, how many of us are like this when it comes to our words, I claim to be sweet and I’m actually quite sharp. Our words reveal who we are. You’ve heard of Freudian slips right, this is the idea where you say something and it wasn’t what you meant to say. And then Freud goes, Yeah, but you really meant to say it. So when you look at your friend and I like, Oh, I really want to hit you. Hug you. Hug you. I meant hug you. One syllable. Word starts with an H, anyone could get confused. And Freud goes, Mm, hmm. There’s some anger there. What Jesus is saying here is, there’s no such thing is a Freudian slip. It all reveals who we are on the inside. It’s not that a lie slipped out. It’s that you’re a liar. It’s not that gossip came out. It’s that you are a gossip. It’s not that harsh critical words slipped out, but that you are a harsh and critical person reveals who you are. And if that felt really strong, by the way, because I was like, You are this. That’s what Jesus says in verse 37 right before this, he’s talking abstractly every word, this word, that word in verse 37 For by your words, you will be acquitted or condemned. So if we need new words, that means we need new hearts. We need to get rid of the mustard, get some chocolate syrup in there. How do we empty the mustard? Fill it with chocolate syrup. Instead, we come to Jesus and we see His power. There’s your fill in the blank. We see his power. Who he is, that is we look at the evidence before us and make a right judgment, choose to believe Scene two, then something about his sign. Let me keep reading verses 38 to 45 then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, Teacher, we want to see a sign from you. He answered, a wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but none will be given it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And now something greater than Jonah is here, the Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom. And now something greater than Solomon is here, when an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places, seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, I will return to the house I left. When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there, and the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation. I find this really amusing, right? Because Jesus just did a miracle in front of them, and now they want a sign like that. Was a pretty good one, wasn’t it? So what gives what’s going on here that word sign is key. Word sign is key. They’re not asking for another miracle. They did just see one of those. A sign is a confirmation of prophecy. So that’s what they want. It’s like they’re saying to Jesus, yeah, sure, you’ve done miracles, but now. Prove yourself to us, prove that you are the Son of David, prove that you’re the Messiah, prove that you’re God, for that matter, make unbelief impossible. Jesus doesn’t like this. He talks about this being a wicked and adulterous generation. Just interesting because it’s just a small group of people asking the question, and Jesus goes, you’re all implicated in this. Alright, there’s something in us that is like this adulterous is an interesting word, actually, because what is adultery? It’s when you can’t decide. Would You Rather this person or this person both? And what Jesus is saying here is, that’s how we are with God. Would you rather God Yahweh or Baal and Israel, time and time again, goes both, both. So this question is representative of the whole generation. And so Jesus, he won’t produce signs on demand for them, he says the sign is already there. For those who believe this is good for us to hear, because a lot of people will say this even today, I would believe in God if, if he gave me a sign, basically, if he proved himself, if he made unbelief impossible. For me, that’s not how God works. The sign is already there. So what sign is already there? Jesus says it’s the sign of Jonah. Okay, how? Well, both Jonah and Jesus were delivered from death. Jonah, if you’re not familiar with the story, swallowed by a sea monster a fish, and he’s there in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. And I’m not, you know, a marine biologist, but usually, when you get swallowed by a sea monster for three days and three nights, that’s the end of you kind of the whole premise of jaws. If I got that movie right. But not here. This fish spits Jonah out under the shores of Assyria, and he goes and he preaches to Nineveh, looking and smelling like he’d been in the fish for three days and three nights. Needless to say, they’re like, what’s that? We would like to hear more about this? Jesus is the same way. Of course, he is actually killed. That’s the only difference, crucified and then stuffed in the belly of the earth for three days and then rises from the dead. In both cases, that deliverance from death vindicates their message. What they’re saying must be true, because here’s the proof, here’s the sign. But the point that Jesus makes is that Nineveh had a very different response than Israel is having now to Jesus, because Nineveh repented everybody, kings and peasants, even the cows, put on sackcloth and sprinkled dust on their heads to show their repentance. Israel is not doing that with Jesus’ preaching. They’re getting ready to crucify him so that he can give them the sign of Jonah, despite Jesus being greater than Jonah. And actually, it’s the same thing with the Queen of the South. She comes from a distant land, spares no expense to go and sit at Solomon’s feet because she had heard of his wisdom and she just wanted to learn from him. Well now one who is greater than Solomon is here. Are they coming to sit at his feet? No, they’re coming to trap him in his sayings so that they can crucify him again, a very different response, even though Jesus is wiser than Solomon. So the point Jesus is saying is, look, you already have everything you need to make your choice. I’m gonna need you. Ava, come on up. Ava, very reluctantly and graciously, agreed to be my guinea pig here. We’re gonna do a little riddle here with Ava. Because Ava, I know Ava pretty well. I know Ava is you’re very good at math, right? Top subject, okay, what grade are you in fifth grade? So are you in calculus or non linear mathematics this year? One of those, right. Okay, fractions. Is that what? All right, we’re gonna do a riddle. Here. Is it not my riddle. I would like to thank Dr Kim for providing me with this riddle one time when we were out for ice cream, thankfully, with chocolate syrup that time around, what you need to know for this riddle is that you have everything you need to get the riddle correct. The rest of you, you can do this in your heads, I’m gonna invite you not to participate verbally. I know how some of you are, yeah, don’t do that. Don’t ruin my sermon illustration. All right. You ready? Ava, you might wanna stretch first. All right, you’re driving a bus. There’s no one on the bus. You make your first stop. Yeah, eight people get on the bus. Second stop, three people get off, five people get on the bus. Third stop, six people get off, four people get on. Fourth stop, whatever stop we’re on now, 18 people get on, only three get off. This bus is packed now, standing room only. Next one, okay? 11. Get off, four get on, then six get off, six get on. That one was easy, and then the next one, two get off, 13 get on, and then four more get off, because they’re like, This bus is too crowded. Are you ready? What’s the bus driver’s name?
But you do know now you didn’t remember because there’s a riddle. I said you were driving the bus. The bus driver’s name is Ava. Thank you so much. Ava, you can go back down. What was the idea? Right? You have everything you need already, because you have Jesus’s life, death and resurrection, and that is what you need to believe, actually, more than that, because you’re like but I didn’t get to see His life, death and resurrection. Exactly what you have is the word of God, and this is what you need to believe. The Bible is abundantly clear about that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Jesus makes the same point in a parable He tells in Luke 16 he’s got a whole bunch of stuff, but near the end of it, the rich man who is there in hell experiencing torment. It says, go send somebody to warn my brothers so that they repent. He’s talking to Abraham. Abraham says, they’ve got Moses and the prophets. They have the word of God. In other words, let them listen to them. No father. Abraham, he said, But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. And Abraham replied, If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead, wink, wink, they have the word of God. We have the word of God, and that is all we need to choose. So let’s just see where we are. Okay, what’s the sign? Well, it’s Jonah’s sign, which is Jesus’s death and resurrection. How should we respond to the sign? Like Nineveh, we should repent and believe, yeah. But what if we don’t? And that’s where he goes next with this little parable where the house is swept clean. And the image here is of somebody who gets religion, or maybe even in our culture today, something more like self help. Tell you what I read this and what I think of as Jordan Peterson, somebody who’s going to give you discipline, order and direction, but who is explicitly neutral on Jesus, and that actually makes things worse, is the point Jesus makes here, because Jesus says it’s not enough to empty the house. You got to think of like your heart here. It’s a little temple, right? It’s not enough to just sweep the temple clean. You must then fill it with Jesus. And so there’s the danger of neutrality again, because it can just reinforce sin our self worship. Because when what happens here I get my house in order, and that’s the heart of sin, right there. I do what I want. Would you rather Jesus or self? And most of us go both, both. So how do we get hold of what we need to believe? We come to Jesus, and here’s your fill in the blank. Accept his sign. Accept his sign, not the sign you want, the sign that he gave. Accept his sign. And what that means for us today is read His word and choose then to believe last section, then last scene, something about his will. Last bit of chapter 12, verses 46 to 50, while Jesus was still talking to the crowd his mother and brothers stood outside wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, your mother and brothers are standing outside wanting to speak to you. And he replied to him, who is my mother and who are my brothers, pointing to his disciples, he said, here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in Heaven is my brother and sister and mother. So while this conversation about the sign of Jonah is happening, his biological family shows up. His mother, Mary, Joseph, is most likely dead at this point, his siblings, his brothers, and maybe his sisters as well. We know he’s got brothers like James and Jude. We know from other passages that he’s got some sisters too. This is Proverbs. Essential timing, because it helps him drive home his point still, because if anyone is with Jesus, it’s got to be his biological family, right? Except that they’re not mark in the same story tells us that they actually showed up because they thought he was going crazy. So they’re not showing up because they want to learn truth from him. They’re they’re showing up. It’s an intervention, basically. And so we learn again what we keep seeing. There’s a lot of outside stuff, the label that looks like following Jesus, but isn’t really. Putting a new label on a bottle doesn’t change what’s inside. And so what are some of the labels we might cling to? Well, maybe it’s a physical relationship with Jesus, which is what his mom and brothers have. We share DNA. That’s good, right? Maybe it’s religious performance. Maybe it is a profession of faith, as Michael Green says, Though religious practices and religious pedigree are inadequate, that’s not the dividing line. So kids, this is a great word for you on family worship Sunday, the fact that your parents believe, the fact that you come from a Christian family, is not proof that you have chosen Jesus. The fact that you do certain things, like come to church or maybe read your Bible, those are good things, of course, but they don’t prove that you’ve chosen Jesus. So what is the proof? What does show that what shows that we are part of God’s family, and I want to make sure you heard that clearly. I did not say what makes us part of Jesus’s family, but what shows us that we are already a part of Jesus’s family, and it’s only one thing. But to get there, we got to do a little game first, because I have to have an object lesson in each of my points, it’s the rules of family worship Sunday. Simon says, everybody knows how to play, right? I’m Simon. Simon says, Pat your head. Okay. Simon says, touch your nose. Simon says, tug your right ear. Simon says, tug your left ear. Simon Says, Hug your right ear. Simon says, tug your left ear. Tug your right ear. I got a few of you, not many of you, but some of you, right. We all know how Simon Says works right now. Why do I mention this? Why do we play this game? Because if you’re going to win that game, it does not matter what you think of Simon. It does not matter what you say about Simon. Loves Simon. He’s a good guy. Always gives great advice just every time I’ve ever talked No. All that matters if you want to win the game is, are you doing what Simon says and then not doing what Simon didn’t say? So it is here, Jesus says, whoever does the will of the Father belongs to Jesus, part of his people, part of his family. And so this invites us into a time of self examination. Of course, am I actually doing what God asks me to do and not doing what Jesus tells me not to do, of course. Now that’s a tough question, because we know that none of us is perfect here, and that’s not what’s being talked about. Jesus, in His life, death and resurrection, has taken away the penalty of our sin, and He has broken the power of sin, but the presence of sin lingers in our hearts so frustratingly. So it’s not that you’ve never messed up in the same way that you really wanted to follow Simon, but I tricked you kind of thing, right? That’s not what we’re talking about here. But Are you actively battling sin, actively seeking, striving to obey Jesus, steadily growing in grace, and that can be a hard question to answer. Like kids, that’s a great question to ask your parents, do you see this growth in me, parents, that’s a great question to ask your kids, do you see growth in me? And you’re like, I don’t have kids. What do I do now? That’s why we’ve got community groups and journey groups and Christian friendships. The point is invite input in this area. Am I doing the will of the Father? Increasingly, as the years go by, because this is another place where we cannot be neutral. Oh, I like Jesus. I like Jesus. Yeah, he’s a good moral teacher, except for some of his teachings which aren’t good or moral and so I don’t listen to those. Do you do what Jesus says? When Jesus says, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you? When Jesus says, Flee from sexual immorality, when Jesus says one thing you lack, go sell all your possessions and give to the poor, then come and follow me. You are either with him or against him, and you will know which one it is. As soon as you hear him say what you need to do. Jesus says, if your answer, there is no thanks, and you may think of Him as savior, but you do not know Him as Lord. So how do we know that we’ve made our choice? We come to Jesus and we last fill in the blank. We do His will. We do His will. We choose to believe and then to follow? So you got the point of this passage, right? I mean, this is a time to choose. You can’t say both. You can’t say neither. You have to pick, would you rather follow Jesus or not? We have seen who he is. We have seen what he’s done. You have everything you need to choose, and we know what it means to choose even so here’s your big idea. You could write it yourselves, I’m sure. Choose to follow King Jesus. Choose to follow your king, and I would invite you to choose. Even now, kids again, maybe some of you are here and going, I’m still learning this story. Can I choose? And the answer is yes, absolutely. But adults too confident. There are adults in the room right now who are still in squishy on Jesus, would you rather? I’m not sure yet. I’m not sure yet. This might not be your last chance to choose. I don’t know that. It isn’t no one has promised tomorrow. Of course, I also know that if you don’t choose today and you are given tomorrow, you’ll have a chance tomorrow, because, thank God, we can blaspheme and speak against Jesus and still be forgiven, but we can’t go on rejecting forever. There will come a day when that choice is no longer open to us. We can’t go on pretending to be neutral forever. And so I would invite you to choose, even now. Choose to believe that Jesus is God, that He is our Creator. So we belong to him, that he is our king, and so we must obey Him, and choose to believe that we have sinned, that we have done wrong by him, that we have not obeyed our king, but have rebelled against Him, and honestly, would rather that he were dead. Would love to see a guillotine around, but then choose to believe that Jesus is willing to forgive every sin and every slander, if you will, come to Him, turn from your sin and trust in him. Let’s pray to Him even now, Lord, You have given us everything we need to believe. We know that we can’t go to you. We can’t come to you in faith unless you change our hearts. We are all of us by nature, bad trees that produce bad fruit. So Lord, would you change our hearts even now, take our Hearts of Stone and give us hearts of flesh instead living hearts? Would you take our blind eyes and give us eyes that can see? Would you take our closed minds and give us open minds that are willing to accept the evidence that you have given us. Would you give us the faith to believe in you, Lord, and when we choose to believe Lord, would you help us then to go on following you as our Lord and Savior, to do your will for the glory of your name, amen.

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The Heart of the Matter August 24, 2025 | Kyle Bjerga Kyle Bjerga discusses the concept of birth order and its impact on behavior, using the analogy of shirts with phrases like “I make the rules” for different birth orders. He transitions to a sermon on Matthew 12, emphasizing Jesus’ merciful nature contrasted with the Pharisees’ strict adherence to the law. Jesus’ actions, such as healing on the Sabbath, highlight mercy over legalism. Bjerga explains that the Pharisees’ rules created a heavy burden, missing the heart of the law. He concludes by encouraging a life of mercy, following Jesus’ example of compassion and justice.

Good morning. Go ahead and grab your Bibles. You can turn to Matthew chapter 12, be page 792, if you want to using one of the black pew Bibles there, maybe in front of you or behind you or under wherever you’re sitting. Just fair warning. This introduction got changed last night after a conversation we’re having at a worship team party. So I don’t know if it’s gonna work, but we’re gonna do it anyways. So I want a little bit of participation from you guys this morning. And so if you are a firstborn child, raise your hand. Alright? So I’m raising my hand too, not as an example of what you should do, but I am also their first born. Go ahead and put your hands down. So besides being the favorite child, what are some other things that people have said to you about kind of birth order being the first think about that. What do people comment? What are the common things that people say about the first born. And when I think about it, something that I hear a lot, and I think is true of my life, is that I was a rule follower. I was a rule follower. And then that could be positive or negative, as far as who the person is that you’re talking to, but sometimes that turns quickly into your bossy as a first born. And it makes sense, because as the first born, our parents had no idea what they were doing. They had no clue, but they knew there was rules, and they knew rules were a good thing, and so they put them in place to make sure that we were taken care of, that we were safe. And so they lay these rules out for us, and we don’t know anything different as the first child. At some point, though, sometimes those rules came to define who we were. Following. Rules became this is who I am. Now our three boys. So we have three boys. So this works really, really well. We’re given 3t shirts, and this is what those 3t shirts said based on birth order. Oldest child, I make the rules. Middle child, I am the reason we have rules. Youngest child, the rules don’t apply to me. And when you look at your family, your life, you probably can give an amen to some of those things based off of your birth order and your family. Now here’s the thing, regardless of birth order, I am convinced that every single one of us has the oldest child in us. Okay, it has the oldest child in us. Because one of the first things we want to do is we want to make the rules. We want to make the rules for our life. We also want other people to follow our rules, because, of course, our rules are the best rules. And so in our lives, we carry around this little book, and it’s not a tangible book, unless that’s your kind of personality. You might have that book. But for most of us, we carry it around in our minds and our hearts, and this little book is our rule of life that says, This is how I’m going to live my life, and by the way, I’m going to judge you according to what I think you should be doing. And we all have this at some point in our life. We carry this book around, and then we’re like, all right, all right, but I’m a Christian, I’m a person of this book. And yes, we are people of the Book of God’s Word. The problem is our little book. Sometimes we take this book and we say, all right, how can I live like this? And we start to make up our own rules so that we follow this book, and we start to say, this is how you live the Christian life. But somebody else has their book and it says, Well, this is how I live the Christian life, and what I’m describing, and many of you know, is what we would call somebody who’s a legalist, somebody who thinks based off of how they live, they can get right standing with God. If I do everything God says, or if I do things according the way that I think, I will have good standing with God. This is what the majority of religions in the entire world are founded on. If I do X, Y or Z, then this happens, I get heaven. I get to be with God. I get good things. But here’s the thing, if you’ve lived for any amount of time and reflected on that, that is a heavy burden to live with, to say, I have to live according to this every single moment, and I have to keep track of what everybody else is doing every single moment. Now, it’s no accident that Matthew in chapter 12 here moves us from what came right before in chapter 11, where Jesus gives us one of the most beautiful descriptions of who he is and what his ministry is like in chapter 11. So if you look right at the very end of Chapter 11, starting in verse 28 Jesus says this, come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden. Religion is light. And so we’re gonna contrast this heavy burden that religion is with the light burden of the Merciful Jesus. This morning, we’re gonna see that in three scenes in chapter 12 that are gonna give us three portraits of who Jesus is. So look first at this first portrait, which is Jesus, the interpreter of the law. So we’re gonna, I’m gonna read chapter 12, verses one through eight. At that time, Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, Look, your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath, He answered, haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven’t you read in the law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath, and yet are innocent? I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent, for the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. And so in this first scene, it starts off innocent enough. Jesus and disciples are walking through the grain fields. The disciples are hungry, so they grab some grain, they kind of rub in their hands so that they can eat it, and they have a snack. And we do this all the time. We walk through our house, we see, I’m a little hungry, the pantry, the fridge, we open it up, we take some out, we snack on it. We’re not really thinking about it. And the hunger here the disciples feel is not this like starving hunger or in their dire need of food. They’re just hungry. They’re walking through a grain field, and they enjoy a little snack. And it seems like Jesus and his disciples have a tale these Pharisees. So if you haven’t been with us in this series, who are the Pharisees? The Pharisees are the religious leaders of the day, the teachers of the law. They were the legalists. They wanted to keep God’s law perfectly and make sure everybody else kept it perfectly as well, and they are clearly watching Jesus and the disciples as they walk. And so I don’t know about you, but if you had the neighborhood or the kind of school tattle tale, maybe that was you. You weren’t really popular, probably for that, but we had a girl in elementary school whose goal was to sit out at recess and watch me and my friends play, just to go tell the teacher the wrong things we were doing. And I remember she just sit there. She watched us. As soon as she did something, she went and told them, we got called over, we got reprimanded, we got sent back, and then she’d come back and just sit there and just wait for us to do something else again. And she just would tell on us all the time. And when I read about the Pharisees in the New Testament, this is what I think about. Like they just follow Jesus at every opportunity to catch him in something. They watch him, to catch him doing something or saying something that they can say is wrong, that can get him in trouble. And so they’re watching the disciples, and they’re picking grain and eating it got them. That’s what they think. We got them. Jesus, your disciples are doing what is against the law. They are breaking the fourth commandment. What is the fourth commandment? Let’s look at Exodus. 28 through 11 will be on the screen for you remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days, you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord, your God. On it, you shall not do any work, neither you or your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. So the Sabbath day was a day of rest, a day that was set aside for the Lord. And so what you were supposed to do was cease from work, and when you cease from work, it’s an act of trust, saying, God, I don’t need to go harvest. I’m trusting that you will provide for me, and so I’m taking this day to set aside for you, and so you would get the rest you need. We all need it. God built this into the fabric of our lives because we are not the Energizer Bunny. We have to rest. And so he’s building this in as a good thing for us, a joy for us. So at the very least, okay, the very least, the Sabbath was meant to be some every week, you would cease from doing the normal routine of life, whatever it is you normally do, you would take a break from that to set aside for the Lord to trust in Him. So think my nine to five is done. I need to rest, and I’m going to be with the Lord in this rest. So that’s good. That’s the good, holy law of God. And the people want to follow God, which is right and good. That’s a good motive. They want to make sure they don’t break the Sabbath laws. And so quickly they start creating laws, rules. Around God’s law to make sure that they don’t break his law. So basically, they took the fence that Jesus put out there for us, it’s good to have a fence. That’s one of the functions of the law of God is to tell us God has designed things a certain way. Things work best. You’re most free when you work within the fence that God has designed he knows it’s good for us, but the Pharisees take it one step further this, you know what? Like, we don’t want to get outside that fence, and if we get really close to it, maybe we’ll be tempted to go over. So let’s create something else. And so I don’t know if you’ve seen this, maybe you’ve done this, but I’ve been to people’s homes where they have a fence in their backyard, and then they have little kids, so they put a pack and play in the middle of the yard, and the yard, and put their kids in there, and you’re like, Alright, so now they’re extra secure, because now they can’t get out of the pack and play, and then they can’t get out of the fence. And that’s exactly what the Pharisees are doing. They’re saying, We don’t want you guys get too close to the fence, so we’re going to make sure you’re really, really tight in here, so that you can’t possibly do that. You can’t break God’s law if you’re stuck here in the middle. But the problem with that is that God does not give a lot of information on what constitutes work on the Sabbath. One Rabbi put it this way, says the rules about the Sabbath are as mountains hanging by a hair for scripture is scanty in the rules. Many just saying, We can’t pinpoint everything that would be considered work, but we certainly try. And so over time, at the time of Jesus, they now have this kind of like 39 categories of what would be considered work. And these are just rabbis and religious leaders over time, saying, Hey, this is what work is. This is what work is not. And within that 39 categories, though there’s hundreds or 1000s of interpretations on what is actually considered work. And then they took it one step further, and they would start to give provisions for certain things. So you can only walk 3000 feet on the Sabbath day, but if you put food 3000 feet, you could go to that food and then walk another 3000 feet, but then you were done. So there was these different provisions they were putting in to make sure that they could do a little bit more. And it was always about just trying to make sure we’re keeping the law of God. Anybody feeling burdened by that yet, would that be a lot to keep track of? And so with that background, we need to ask the question. It’s an important one, because this is their accusation, did the disciples break the Sabbath law? And I think it’s obvious that they did not. Okay. They did not two reasons why. I think that first, we can be confident if the disciples are breaking God’s law, Jesus is not afraid to lovingly rebuke them for that. Jesus lovingly rebukes the disciples for all the dumb things they say, for all the things that they do, for all their wrong thoughts about him and others. I mean, he does this routinely, so there’s nothing here where he would say, Oh no, the Pharisees have this accusation. So now I need to defend my guys and try and make an excuse for them if they’re breaking the command of God, Jesus would say it and uses an opportunity to rebuke to correct, not only the disciples, but the crowds and the Pharisees there too, to say, this is what you’re doing. This is what this law means. But Jesus doesn’t do that. He does not see them breaking the fourth command. The second reason is there wasn’t, I just mentioned there isn’t an absolute standard of what work is and what work isn’t so different. People would say what the disciples did was work, and others would say there was that wasn’t work. And so there wasn’t really this agreed upon, this is what’s happening. And so they didn’t break the fourth command, but they did break something. Okay? They did break something. They picked grain and ate it, which, according to these 39 categories, would be harvesting and reaping, taking the grain, rubbing it and eating it. So according to God’s law, they’re still in the fence, but they got out of the pack and play, and that’s going to be tough for the Pharisees to swallow, because now they’ve broken this, and now they’re getting awfully close to God’s law. But the thing is, over time, those 39 categories and all those different rules that they followed ended up becoming one in the same as the commandments. So if you break this, then you’ve broken the fourth commandment, and that’s what they’re accusing them in this moment, the traditions that they had, the tradition of the elders, became law. So if they broke that, according to them, they broke and guilty of breaking the fourth commandment. So according to that strict adherence to their rules, this is harvesting and reaping. And then Jesus says, you are missing the whole point of the law. You’re missing it. How does he say that? Because he’s going to bring up some Old Testament things to them, scriptures that they would have known and studied. And he says to them, Have you not read of course, they’ve read it. So what’s he doing here? He’s using a question as a. Tool to teach them, saying you’ve read it, but you have not understood what it’s saying. And so we can see it right there in the text. He uses two examples, David and the priests. First, with David, he’s talking about First Samuel, 21 David is on the run from Saul. He ends up in a place called nob, and there’s a priest there named Ahimelech. And David says, We are hungry. Me, my buddies, we’re all hungry. We need some bread. We need something. And Ahimelech says, All I have is these loaves of bread. And these loaves of bread were what they put on the table in the most in the holy place. Okay, so they put this bread out once a week in the holy place. Then they’d switch it out. When they switched it out, the priests were the ones that were supposed to eat the bread the priests and only the priests, but David’s hungry, and Ahimelech says, I have some bread. I can give the consecrated bread to you. And he is held. And David is held, guiltless. Nothing there that said they did anything wrong. And so Jesus is saying, you guys know this, you’ve read this. Then he goes to another example, the Old Testament priests, they were expected to work on the Sabbath day, the priests, and now that says they desecrate the Sabbath, because they really did double the work on the Sabbath. They would offer double the sacrifices, but there were provisions made for them to work on the Sabbath. And so they were held as it says, innocent. And so Jesus is saying, you’re missing the point of the law. If they are held guiltless here, what is wrong with them grabbing some grain and having a snack? And then Jesus gives us a key that we need to interpretation of the law. And he uses a quote from Hosea chapter six that he already used in chapter nine, which we did the first week, I believe, of our series, when the Pharisees were asking Jesus, why are you eating with tax collectors and sinners? And Jesus quotes Hosea six. He says, Go and learn what this means. I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I don’t know there’s the same Pharisees or different Pharisees, but they haven’t learned yet what it means, because he uses it again. If you had understood I desire mercy, not sacrifice, Jesus is after the heart of the law, not just the letter of the law. We saw this in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is always about the heart behind the law. What is actually there? So he goes after it’s heart of the matter. It always is. So every time we read Scripture and we read the law, we need to be thinking, what is this meant to be for my heart? What is this supposed to change in me? Not just what am I supposed to do, but how has this changed who I am? Why does God have this here and mark in his Gospel, recounting the same story, says, Jesus said this, The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for man as a gift to bring rest, to bring freedom to God’s people, to us. And yet the Pharisees, with all their man made rules, are making Sabbath Keeping a huge burden to the people, a huge burden. It is heavy, and when you worry so much about following everything surrounding the law. You miss out on the rest. You miss out on the joy that God wants us to have so all the good and the joy that the law was intended to bring. Instead, you can’t rest. You can’t instead of resting in the non work, you end up working really hard not to work. Are you tracking with that? You’re working really, really hard to not work, which means you’re working because you’re so burdened by making sure. Am I doing everything the right way? Have I done everything according to these rules and these traditions? And I love how J C Ryle puts it. He says, The Plain Truth is that our Lord did not abolish the law of the weekly Sabbath. He only freed it from incorrect interpretations and purified it from human additions. He did not tear out of the 10 Commandments the fourth. He only stripped off the miserable traditions with which the Pharisees had encrusted the day and by which they had made it not a blessing, but a burden, a burden. And then Jesus goes on to give this claim of deity to the Pharisees in this moment, to kind of bring everything and tie it together. He says, something greater than the temple. Is here when the where the priests do their work, something greater than that. Is here because Jesus is the presence of God. He is God. He is dwelling with His disciples. He’s dwelling with his people. And then he finishes by saying, He’s the Lord of the Sabbath, which, again, is a claim to deity. He is saying, I am God over the law. I am God over the Sabbath. Sabbath commandment, the one you’re accusing them of, I’m the one that created it. I’m the one that gave it. I know what it is. I know the meaning behind it. And if the disciples are in the presence of God, who is the creator of the Sabbath, then how could they be breaking the Sabbath commandment, the Pharisees are missing something important, they are missing that even if they follow the letter of the law, they are missing the heart behind the law. Even if they could follow everything to a T the letter of the law, they’re missing Jesus, and that’s what he’s saying, you’re missing me. So you could follow the Sabbath all you want, but my disciples are with me. They know who I am, so regardless if they can follow the letter of the law, they are missing the one that they need, the one that we all need. Now this is a big claim, and anyone can make a claim. I can say I’m the biggest Cubs fan in the world, but I’ve heard hundreds of people say that. So who’s right? Somebody’s got to back it up. So can Jesus back up this claim that something greater than the temple is here, that he is the Lord of the Sabbath. And of course, he can we see that in the second scene, when he shows he is the merciful healer. Started here in verse nine through 14. Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus. They asked him, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? He said to them, if any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep, therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Then he said to the man, Stretch out your hand. So he stretched it out, and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. So we’ll pause there. Jesus’ words have already upset the religious leaders, and now they’re moving into the synagogue on the Sabbath, and this miraculous healing that Jesus does is different than most other encounters most other healings. So Jesus does not initiate this healing with this man. He does not go to this man and say, Do you want to be healed? Jesus has done this before. It is not initiated by the man himself. The man with a shriveled hand is in the synagogue, but he doesn’t say, hey, Lord, can you please heal me? Like many people did, who’s it initiated by the Pharisees? The Pharisees looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, so they know everything Jesus just said, and they want to bring a charge against him. So if he’s willing to do this on the Sabbath day, then we got him. We got him. Now, not just the disciples, we’ve got him. And so they asked this question about the law, about the Sabbath and healing and doing work, Jesus just quoted, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. So of course, he’s going to have compassion on this man, and in His mercy, heal him. But before he does, as Jesus often does, he’s going to ask them a question. He’s going to teach them. And to do this, he goes to animals. Okay, he goes to animals. And this isn’t the family pet like the sheep. That’s the family pet. Like animals back then meant your livelihood. It meant food, it meant drink, it meant money, like you needed your animals. So they mean life. And so Jesus asked them a question that he knows the answer to, if your sheep falls into a pit on the Sabbath day and you’re not allowed to do work, would you save it? Would you take hold of it and grab it out? And he knows the answer. The Pharisees know the answer. Of course they will, because their animal is in need. And he’s saying, if, if you would do that for your sheep, how much more valuable is a person? It’s like seeing the commercials, you know, for the pets, and then the commercials for the people who are starving, like, which one resonates with you more? I mean, they play really sad music with the pets, which I understand gets people. But like, what is it, if you’re willing to do this for an animal, why wouldn’t you do this for a person? And Jesus saying, if you’re gonna pick up your sheep, and this man has a shriveled hand, why would I not help him when he’s in need? What could be unlawful about helping him, whether it’s Sabbath or any other day, there is no law against doing good. There’s no law against doing good, against loving God and loving others. And once this point is made, Jesus tells the man to stretch out his hand, and as he does, his hand is restored. It goes from shriveled to just like the other one in the presence of everybody there in the synagogue. And. And in those moments, there’s probably awe over what the people just saw. And I’m sure the Pharisees had that awe too for about a second, and then that awe turned to anger. And they leave and they say, we now have reason to plot his death. That’s their response to his teaching. That’s their response to his healing. It’s worth considering. The question here, though, is like, what work did Jesus actually do in that moment? He did not go over to the man and touch him? Jesus said, Stretch out your hand. And the guy stretched out his hand. So if anything, the guy did more work. All right. I mean, there’s no law against speaking to another person. Jesus said, just stretch out your hand and he heals him. Now, what’s interesting is, the Pharisees had provision in their rules that if it was a life threatening thing, you could help someone, but Jesus could definitely heal this man the next day. Why does it have to be the Sabbath? And Jesus is saying, Why can’t good happen all the time? It’s not unlawful to do good. But their response is, we got him, and they leave to plot his death. Another question was asked in light of what Jesus has said and done so far, is this, and this is a difficult one, is it ever okay to break the letter of the law? Or we can ask it this way, Are there exceptions to the rules, even if those are God’s rules? And you’re going to see here John seven in John seven, Jesus is talking to the religious leaders, and he it should be on the screen for you. Yeah, Jesus talking to religious leaders. And he’s kind of showing them, even from their own ideas, that they make provision for this to happen. Says, Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly. And so the thing was, they you’re supposed to circumcise the child on the eighth day. Well, what if the eighth day is the Sabbath day? What do we do? And so they came up with this idea, saying there’s a higher priority to circumcise the child than to not work on the Sabbath. So even the religious leaders are coming up with these different provisions so that they provisions so that they can follow because there was a priority or a higher value placed on some things than other things. When we study the 10 Commandments, we talked about this, what are the first commandments to to God, and then we go to others, the priority is always God. And so when we see this, we start to think like, oh, are there other examples of this? And what happens if two of God’s commandments kind of come in conflict? What do we do? Well, one that I want to show you from Scripture is in Exodus. Now we start exodus in two weeks. So I don’t want to steal too much of Brandon thunder for week one. But I have to So, because here is the one of the top examples. When we think about this, according to the 10 Commands, we do not murder and do not give false testimony. Okay, do not murder, do not give false testimony. When Pharaoh wants to kill the baby boys in Israel. He sends some midwives to do his dirty work. He says, When you go for the delivery, if it’s a boy, you kill it. And it says that the midwives feared God, they would not do it. And when Pharaoh says, Why aren’t you doing it? They say, well, the Israelite women just have babies really fast, and so by the time we get there, a baby’s there. So we can’t really do this. They lie, they lie, they give false testimony to the Egyptian king. And you start to think like, Well, yeah, of course. What about Jewish sympathizers in the Holocaust. SS, comes to your door and knocks on it. Are there Jews here? You know there are no are they guilty? RC Sproul says this about this whole kind of idea of when we were looking at these different difficult passages in Scripture, he says, we are always and everywhere obligated to tell the truth to whom the truth is due. We are speak the truth where justice and righteousness requires the truth. But in this case, righteousness required deceit, being righteous before the face of God required, in this specific case, that a murderer be deceived. You start to say like, yeah, so even there we see in Scripture, and the midwives were rewarded by God for what they did, because they saved life, and that took priority, that had a higher value in that moment. What about the New Testament? Children? You’re supposed to. Obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. And here’s what I tell my kids all the time, unless, unless I tell you to do something that goes against God’s word, right? You are to obey me in everything, unless I cause you to stumble in following God. All of us. Romans 13, let everyone be subject to the governing authorities unless they tell us we cannot worship God, unless they tell us we cannot worship Jesus any longer. So you start to see like, okay, the the letter of the law versus the heart of the law. What? What is? What are we getting after into these moments, and I just don’t want to put a stamp on it. Said I did that. I want to know that it’s changing me, that I’m following God because I love him and I know the real heart behind the law. And what is that? Jesus summarizes it for us in Matthew 22 to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And the second is like it, to love your neighbor as yourself, loving God and loving others. There is no law against doing good. The temptation for all of us, especially if you’ve grown up in the church, or the longer you are in the church, is to become a rule follower and take it one step further, probably a rule maker. We’ve already seen that I know how to live the Christian life. I know how to live out these commands better than somebody else. And why is that? I think it’s because we a lot of times wrongly come to God’s word, and think it’s only something that tells us what not to do, like I come here to find out, what does God say, Don’t do this. Do you know how many good things are in here? Too many times God says, Do this be this kind of person? Over and over again, and there is no law against doing good. So when we come to this book, we need to say, No, it’s not about the rules. It’s about how do I show my love to God and my love to others by following these things? So the principle here is, when we come to Scripture, we ask is what I’m about to do glorifying God and for the good of others. For the midwives, that’s the exact question they needed to ask. They fear God, and they knew it was better for others. Then in that moment, they save those lives. So the scene ends, the Pharisees leave to plot against Jesus, and the next scene begins because Jesus leaves, and we find our last portrait of Jesus is that He is the Spirit filled servant. We’re going to finish looking at verse 15 through 21 aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed Him, and He healed all who were ill. He warned them not to tell others about Him. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah. Here’s my servant, whom I’ve, whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight. I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out no one will hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out till he has brought justice through to victory. In his name, the nations will put their hope. And so Jesus is used to making the religious leaders upset. We’ve seen that time and time again. He knows what they are doing, and so he moves on, but not secretly, because there’s crowds following him, as there often are, and he starts to heal, because they just saw him heal somebody. And so they bring people, and they all want to be healed. And so it says he’s healing all of them, saying, Don’t Tell everybody about me, because nobody really understands why I’m here or what I’m doing. And so he continues to heal. And then we get this quote from Isaiah 42 Matthew’s quote from Isaiah 42 is the longest Old Testament quotation he gives in his entire Gospel, and it draws attention to everything we’ve seen this morning, in chapter 12, but also throughout nine through 12 in our series. And Isaiah 42 is known as one of the suffering servant passages that talks about this suffering servant who would be sent by God. And one author I read this week said there’s five essential questions about Jesus that are answered here. And so I want us to just look at those real briefly, five essential questions. First, who is Jesus? Look at verse 18. Here is my servant, whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight. I hope that language sounds familiar to you, because in chapter three, when Jesus is baptized by his cousin John, and he comes up out of the water, a voice from heaven says, This is my Son, whom I love. With him I am well pleased. So who is Jesus? He is God’s Son. He is the suffering servant. He is the Messiah. He is the Lord of the Sabbath. He is greater than the temple. The second question, what is the source of his power? Keep reading verse 18. I will put my Spirit on him. Back to chapter three. What happens when Jesus comes up out of the water? At that moment, heaven was opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and a lighting on him. Jesus is given the Spirit as a source of his power. As he begins his ministry, what does he do? What does he do? Keep reading in verse 18, I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. What does Jesus come to do but show the mercy of God in saying, The kingdom of God is here, Grace is here, salvation is here in me, that’s what he does. That’s what he comes to do, is to proclaim the good news to everybody who will listen. The fourth question, how does he do these things? Look at Verse 19 and 20, he will not quarrel or cry out no one will hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out till he has brought justice through to victory. He comes gentle. He comes as a merciful healer. He comes to bring people in, the vulnerable, the weak, the tax collectors and the sinners, those who are sick, those who are down and out. That’s who he comes for. We’ve sung songs this morning already about this idea. Do you remember our call to worship? There’s a reason we do that, because every single day, every time we meet together, you are walking in here, and you feel like a bruised reed, some of you, or a smoldering wick. And Jesus will not come and break that reed. He will not put out that flame. He will support and encourage that reed. He will fan into flame, because that’s what he does as a God of mercy. So when we say to all who are weary and need rest, when we say that, we mean it to all weary need rest, to all who feel alone and want community, to all who mourn and long for comfort, to all who feel worthless and wonder if God cares to all who fail and desire strength, to all who worry and want peace, to all who sin and need a savior, to all who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Jesus invites you in. Jesus does as the merciful healer, as the merciful Savior. So when we say that, hear Jesus’s words to you, because he will not break that Reed, he will not put out that flame. He is here in his mercy to bring us encouragement, to save us. And then finally, what is the scope of his mission? Look at Verse 21 in his name, the nations will put their hope. The scope of his mission is worldwide, salvation, not just for Israel. The word nations here includes Israel and includes the Gentiles, includes everybody, because he didn’t just come for the Israelites. He came for all of us to know who he is. That’s the scope of his mission, to know who this merciful Savior is, to give your life to following him. And so what is the big idea this morning? What is the big idea that we should be taking away from this passage? It’s this embrace a life of mercy by following Jesus, the King of Mercy. Embrace a life of mercy by following Jesus, the King of Mercy. This is who Jesus is, and this is who he will always be. And our lives should be marked by mercy like Jesus’s life. Our ministry should be marked by mercy like Jesus’s was. So how does this happen? What does this look like? Just a few thoughts for a few different groups that are here today, if you’re here and you’re you’re seeking, you’re asking questions about who Jesus is, what Christianity is, what does the Bible teach? We’re so glad you’ve chosen to be here this morning and get to hear about our merciful Savior. And so I would plead with you to come to Jesus for the first time, to come to this Savior, this King of Mercy. This is his invitation. In his kind and compassionate heart, a God of mercy who receives you and will forgive you. The Puritan preacher Richard Sibbes, in his book The bruised reed, which we studied as a church in the summer, says this, and I would encourage you to think of it now, are you bruised? Be of good comfort. He calls you, conceal not your wounds open all before him go to Christ. There is more mercy in him than sin in you. And that is true, more mercy in him than sin in you. So give your life to following him if you’re here this morning and. You know, you know in your heart that you are making your Christian life harder to live by the fences that you are building up in your life, you need to start tearing those down. The first place to go is to say, is this in his book, if the rules I’m following are not in this I need to take a second look at them and then ask the question, Am I neglecting doing good because I’m trying to follow the letter of the law God has called me to do good things for others? Is something stopping me because of some rule I’ve created to try to save myself from breaking God’s law? If it is when you ask the question, is this for God’s glory and for the good of others, then we probably need to scratch our ideas and do good, because there is no law against doing good. His burden is light. There is joy and freedom in God’s fence. But don’t make your own. Alright. Don’t make your own. And then the other thing we need to consider, if we have been walking with Christ for a long time, have relationships with people, we need to start asking, am I building fences for others? Am I creating barriers to somebody coming in to hear about Jesus? Am I creating barriers saying there’s a law you have to follow first. That is not the way for people to be saved. They need to hear about a merciful Savior, and then they start to understand like, Oh, this is what he says. He wants to change me. But if we just come with rules and laws and rules and laws that may harden a heart, so we first come like Jesus did this time in mercy, and say, Come in, because they’re A bruised reed, they’re a smoldering wick, and we need to bring the mercy of Jesus in those moments first. So is there a good that God is calling you to do today? And then finally, church, I just want to encourage you as a church today, because I believe, in the last 10 years that as a church, collectively, we have torn down some fences. I have seen people tear down fences and live in God’s freedom, more than restricting ourselves by our own ideas and our own rules that we have put into place, I have seen this place become a place that is much more comfortable for messy sinners to walk into, because we finally realize that we’re messy sinners too, and I’ve seen that happen in this church, and so I wanna encourage you in that I have seen this place become a place more filled with mercy and compassion, and that mercy and compassion is the reason Some people have stayed here and made Cityview their home, and now they’re able to display that mercy and compassion to others. I’ve seen more and more of us have a heart for being concerned for others more than we’re concerned for ourselves. So be encouraged. Be encouraged by that. But don’t be content, right? Don’t be content. Don’t let our guards down. We need to keep going, following the King of Mercy together. Okay, let’s follow him together. Let me pray, Jesus. We thank You that You are our merciful King, our merciful Savior, that you have called us as your own. And I pray Lord, as we go from this place that we follow the King of Mercy, that we give our hearts and our lives to you. We give our ideas and rules that we’ve created over to you, and let you change them. Let you teach us and correct us to live the way you have called us, to help us to be people of mercy. Lord, we love you, and we pray this in Jesus name amen.

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Disappointing Expectations August 17, 2025 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper discusses the disappointment people feel when their expectations aren’t met, using examples like online dating and workplace performance. He relates this to the disappointment people felt towards Jesus, who didn’t meet their expectations of a political deliverer. Cooper reads from Matthew 11, where John the Baptist questions Jesus’ messianic role while in prison. Jesus responds by listing his miracles and emphasizing the Kingdom of Heaven’s arrival. Cooper highlights the importance of humility and faith, noting that even John, a great prophet, had doubts. He concludes by urging the congregation to repent and believe in Jesus, who offers rest and grace to the humble.

Well, good morning church. You can go ahead and grab your Bibles. Open up to Matthew 11. We will look at all of Matthew 11 this morning as you’re turning there, it’s Matthew 11. If you’re anything like me, you get really, really frustrated when people disappoint you, when people don’t live up to your expectations for for who they’re supposed to be and really what they’re supposed to be doing as well. Could take on a lot of different shades. Of course, you know, maybe it’s an online dating thing. You’re there, you know, first time, show up for the blind date, whatever, and you realize their profile pic was a little bit more flattering than reality. You know, definitely sucking in the gut a bit and covered the bald spot just right in the picture, or something like that. Or it’s a new hire at work, and it’s clear, after just a few days and the gross incompetency that you’ve seen that the resume was padded. Or, you know, NFL starting pretty soon, right? Maybe it’s the superstar signing the the umpteen gazillion dollar contract just doesn’t pan out anything like superstar stats. We just we hate to have our expectations disappointed when somebody isn’t who you thought they would be, and they don’t do what you expected them to do, it’s going to sound sacrilegious when I say this. I apologize for that, but that’s how people felt about Jesus. He wasn’t who they were expecting, and they had definite expectations. It’s not just his opponents, either. We know there are people who really don’t like Jesus what he’s doing and saying, but even his friends and we’ll see next week, his family, are upset by what he’s doing. In fact, in this part of Matthew, we see this rising disappointment with him, Jesus, it seems to the crowds, is just not the right kind of Messiah. He’s not who they were expecting. Now, of course, Jesus is the right kind of Messiah. He’s Redeemer and savior and friend and so much more. He’s just not who they thought he was going to be a political deliverer, and let’s be honest for a moment, sometimes he’s not who we think he should be, either. And so it’s worth interrogating ourselves right now, in light of this passage that we’re going to look at this morning, just What were you expecting? What are you expecting when it comes to Jesus? That’s the question we’ll seek to answer. We’ll ask three more questions as we go. So first question though, what were you expecting? What sort of Savior were you expecting? From chapter 11, verses one to 19. Let me go ahead and read that for us. Matthew 11, one to 19, after Jesus had finished instructing his 12 disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, He sent His disciples to ask him, Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else? Jesus replied, Go back and report to John what you hear and see. The blind receive sight, the lame walk. Those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear. The dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me, as John’s disciples were leaving, John began to speak to the crowd about John, what did you go out into the wilderness to see a reed swayed by the wind. If not, what did you go out to see a man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in King’s palaces. Then what did you go out to see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, in more than a prophet, this is the one about whom it is written. I will send my messenger ahead of you who prepare your way before you truly, I tell you, among those born of women, there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist. Yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist, until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it. For all the prophets in the law prophesied until John and if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Whoever has ears, let them hear to what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others. We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance. We sang a dirge, and you did not mourn. For John came neither eating nor drinking. And they say, he has a demon, the Son of Man, came eating and drinking. And they say, here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. But wisdom is proved right by her deeds All right. So we saw last week, Jesus sent out the 12 on this little mini mission, and now he continues his mission. And. As he’s doing this, as he’s going about still ministering in Galilee, his cousin John, sends some men to ask him a question, John. This is John the Baptist. Is in prison at this point because he called out King Herod for his gross sexual immorality, and as a result, Herod tossed him in prison. That’s where John is now. It is where he will remain until he is beheaded by Herod. But John sends these men to ask Jesus, it’s important question, and here’s the crux of the matter. You can see it there in verse two, when John heard about the deeds of the Messiah. That’s actually really interesting, because if you read Matthew’s Gospel, you know he doesn’t use Messiah all that often, especially up to this point, not before chapter 16, because nobody understands that Jesus is the Messiah. Nobody understands what exactly the Messiah came to do. So this is, like Matthew’s little hint to us that everything we’re talking about is messianic expectation. Who is the Messiah going to be? So John had heard about the deeds of Messiah, his healing, his teaching, his exorcism, but John is now wondering, Is he really the one? Is this really the Messiah? Because so far, he seems like the wrong Messiah in that he has brought blessing, but not judgment at the same time, which would matter to John, by the way, because John is unlawfully imprisoned by a grossly immoral pagan. So John’s going Could you do something about that? Like, this is what Messiah is here for, to bring justice, right? Would you do something about that? Now, John knows that Jesus is the Messiah. That’s his whole role, in fact, is to be the one who announces Messiah has come. He’s just demoralized, which happens a lot to prophets. In fact, the guy whose place he’s taken, Elijah, also got pretty demoralized at one point and sat down by a creek and said, I’ll just sit here until I die because no one else is worshiping God. So John really is channeling the spirit of Elijah at this point, and for exactly the same reason, you can almost hear the subtext in this question that John sends His disciples to ask. Why aren’t you acting Why aren’t you doing something? Why am I in prison and Herod is still reigning over your people? Never mind the fact that Rome is reigning over your people. Why are you drawing sinners and tax collectors to yourself instead of bringing justice for the righteous? In fact, if you know anything about John, you know, earlier in Matthew’s gospel, he said something like this. He was famous for this kind of preaching. This is Matthew three. Verse 10. He says, The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So what is John saying? John saying, hey, Jesus, where is your AX, and when are you going to start swinging it? Look, these might be some of your questions, too, as you sit here this morning, why? Haven’t you healed me yet? Lord, where’s my daily bread? Where’s your faithfulness to the promise that My God shall supply all your needs. How can you ask me to love my enemy when you know what that person did to me. Are you really the one? Are you the one, even that you claim to be? If you’re the resurrection and the life, then why did he have to die? If you’re the bread of life, then why am I so unsatisfied? If you’re the true vine, then, why am I not drawing spiritual life from you when I come to you in prayer and the study of your word? Are you sure that you are the one we’ve been waiting for? John is expressing what we all start thinking when it feels like God has let us down. Are you there? And Jesus’s answer is gentle and patient but firm at the same time, because he says, Look around. Look around. What do you see? The blessings show that the kingdom has come. And if the kingdom has come, that means the King is here also, but not fully yet. And He does this by drawing from Isaiah passage that we already looked at in this series, Isaiah, 35 five and six. This is what it’s going to look like when God begins to. Rescue his people, then will the eyes the blind be opened and the ears the deaf unstopped, and will the lame leap like a deer and the mute tongue sing for joy, shout for joy? But that that passage has a context you want to know. What comes right before it? Here’s verse four, which I didn’t read for you last time. Next slide, be strong. Do not fear. Your God will come, right? That’s what we’re looking for. Okay, God, he’s here, right? He will come with vengeance, with divine retribution. He will come to save you, and that’s what John’s asking for. Where’s the vengeance? Where’s the retribution? Or Isaiah 61 one and two will read for us earlier, already, right? It says, spirit of sovereign Lord is on me. He sent me to proclaim good news to the poor. Bind up the brokenhearted. Proclaim freedom for captives. Oh, that’s interesting. Release for prisoners. John’s like, Can I get an amen? Anyone testify? Right? But then we keep going next slide again to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God. That’s like the one. He always cut out a song. See, we always sing about. He’s binding out the broken Hunter. He’s comforting those who mourn whatever sings about the fact that day of vengeance is supposed to come also, but that’s what John is looking for so you can see his point, Jesus’ point, right? I’m doing what Messiah will do. I’m bringing all the blessings of the kingdom that Isaiah and others prophesied. There’s restoration for sinners. The kingdom has come. It just hasn’t come fully yet. We’re waiting on vengeance, retribution, judgment, because Jesus, and we know this at this point, looking back, Jesus came in mercy the first time, thank God, by the way, but he will come in judgment The next time He comes. The problem is, as the great American theologian Tom Petty put it, the waiting is the hardest part. Now we’ve seen the end of the story, right? We studied revelation not that long ago. You know how it ends? You know that God will bring perfect justice in the end, but until that time, injustice and evil and sin and death are still present, still linger, and so that’s why Jesus says basically, blessed are those who don’t stumble over that tricky truth, who don’t understand, misunderstand Jesus’s purpose in coming the first time and the timing of all of this. I tell you what I’m encouraged by this story as I read this. You wanna know why I’m encouraged by this story? Because look at John. First of all, verse 11, it tells us Jesus says John is the greatest of everyone born of a woman. That’s high praise, right? So this is a really, really super guy. If John doubts, has these sorts of questions, we probably shouldn’t be surprised if we doubt and have these sorts of questions. Like, I feel like there’s just this sense of like, okay, I’m glad I’m not the only one asking this, and somebody that even Jesus commends would doubt like this, but I’m also encouraged by this story to doubt like John, because John doesn’t doubt the way some of us doubt. We see that he’s got a what Doug O’Donnell calls a faithful doubt. Because what does he do with his doubt? He brings it to Jesus, which says something about his doubt, doesn’t it? He He’s saying, I still want to ask you about this, because I trust you. And so in the same way, then we bring our doubts. Where not to YouTube. We bring them to God. We bring them to Jesus. John models that for us, and in all honesty, he models what we learned during our lament series. Right? I mean, what is this? Right here? John is basically just offering that prayer in pain that leads to faith, and that’s exactly the sort of doubt that we should express also. So John’s disciples leave. They’ve got their answer at this point, and then Jesus turns to the crowds who are still there and offers this little sermon on John to defend him honestly against the accusation that he might be fickle or weak, because he’s raised these questions that we’re all asking, Is he fickle? I mean, is he like a reed that’s blown back and forth by every passing breeze? And Jesus basically says really, is that what you guys went out there to see somebody who what do I think today? No, that’s not. John. I mean, he’s a thundering Old Testament prophet. Or what about somebody weak? That is somebody who’s wearing and the actual word there is, like, effeminate clothes. There’s that weakness idea, so somebody who can only fall asleep if they’re in silk pajamas, and even their undershirt, it’s got to be 800 thread count Egyptian cotton. And Jesus goes, is that what you went out to see? No, you want that. Go look at Herod who threw him in prison. That’s who’s wearing those clothes. John is, in fact, dressed like Elijah. He’s wearing camel’s hair, not quite as soft. So he’s not weak, he’s not fickle. He’s just confused because of his place in salvation history, because he’s the hinge, really, between the Old Testament and the New Testament. That can put it like that, he’s the hinge. So he’s the last Old Testament prophet. But he’s also more than a prophet in what sense? Well, he’s more than a prophet because he’s also the subject of prophecy. He was himself prophesied because Malachi says, Imma, send my messenger ahead of you, and so he’s the messenger. He’s the one that the Old Testament was pointing to, preparing God’s people for the inbreaking of the kingdom, which has now begun. It’s actually really interesting, though, Jesus changes the quote slightly Malachi has this is God speaking through Malachi says, I will send my messenger ahead of me. And then Jesus changes it to, I will send my messenger ahead of you, which is fascinating, because Malachi, you know God is saying, John’s coming before God. And then Jesus says, right before me. And so Jesus is very clearly claiming to be God. Here, he’s also giving us a wonderful little picture of the Trinity, because, in the one hand, yes, John the Baptist comes before God. Because Jesus is God. In another sense, you could really say God is sending this next person who’s coming, who’s God. The Father is sending God the Son, there’s the Trinity on display. So John’s this great guy, this hinge between the Old Testament and the New Testament. But then we get to verse 11, we see how great he is, greater than everyone born of a woman. So then how is it that even infants in the kingdom are going to be greater than he is? And it’s because of their place in salvation history, our place in salvation history, because we can point to Jesus, the Messiah unambiguously. We can say exactly what he came to do and how he came to do it, which, again, even John was confused by doesn’t that encourage you as an evangelist, by the way, like I wrote this week in the pulse, talking about, what is it we normally feel like we’re missing when it comes to evangelism? Well, boldness, of course, but words. Why would you worry about words? John didn’t understand what he was proclaiming. We understand perfectly what we’re proclaiming. Jesus came to die the death we deserve to die so that we could experience the life that he’s won for us by dying on the cross in our place. We can point unambiguously to him. Then we get to verse 12. Verse 12 is tough. It’s tough to translate, in part because there’s a play on words that no one quite knows how to read here. You’ll notice there’s a footnote if you’re looking in the NIV. So it might be that the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing. And I think that that is actually the better translation here. So the kingdom of heaven is spreading. And we know that’s true, of course, because we’re evidence of that even here today, couple 1000 years later. So the kingdom of heaven is forcefully advancing, but it’s met with opposition. Right? Violent people are attacking it. And John’s question again is that, if it’s forcefully advancing, how come God hasn’t swept away the opposition yet? Like, that’s the whole idea here. But John, as the last of these Old Testament prophets, he’s closing that chapter, because now the king has come, the kingdom is here. And Jesus says, actually, if you think about it, all the prophets and the law prophesied until that moment. Now, here is where I get a little nervous sometimes when we read our Bibles, because what I just read was really weird, and no one went, huh? Because Jesus said All the prophets and the law. No one ever says the prophets and the law. They always say the law and the prophets, because that’s chronological and canonical. We start with the law, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Then you get to the prophets. But Jesus says the prophets and the law. And then that little twist right there was meant to catch us is to point out the fact that the whole of the Old Testament has a prophetic function. And even the law, even what happens in Genesis and Exodus, and we’re about to do Exodus, we’ll see it there. It’s all pointing forward to Jesus. So the whole Old Testament points to this, to what John announced to Jesus Himself. And that’s why, when we preach here, even in the Old Testament, we always get to Jesus, because it’s always talking about Jesus, and John is the Elijah who’s announcing it that that the King has come, the kingdom has come. But that is hard to get. Verse 15, whoever his ears let them hear. It’s hard to get. It’s hard to accept, especially before the cross and the resurrection, because pretty much everybody is confused at this point in salvation history, at this moment, which is why they reject John and Jesus, which is funny, because it means they can’t make up their minds the point Jesus makes there. They don’t like John’s repentance and they don’t like Jesus’s mercy, so they’re unhappy with everything. Of course, if they’d understood John, they would have the need to repent, then they would have understood Jesus, who’s bringing grace for the repentant and vice versa. If you understand Jesus is giving you grace, you understand that that means you did something that requires grace, so you best start repenting. But notice then that means that just everyone’s expectations were disappointed. No one is happy with Jesus at this moment, not John, not John’s disciples, not the Pharisees, even the crowds are confused. What sort of Savior were they expecting? They’re expecting the same sort of savior that we all want, one who affirms us in our choices, so that there’s no need for us to repent, and one who destroys our enemies so that there’s no need for him to show mercy to anyone else anyway. In other words, they want a Savior who does what they want, which is what we all want. And I know I’m supposed to preach the good news, but I have very bad news for you. That is not the savior who has come. That is not the savior who’s come, and so Blessed is the one who doesn’t stumble over that fact. Because look at the Savior who has come this whole section. It’s not about John the Baptist. It is about his cousin, who is so much greater than he is. I mean, if John is this super Prophet, what does that make Jesus, whom he’s come to prophesy about? If John is the greatest who lived in the pre kingdom days, what does that tell you about the King who has finally arrived? And if John is the Elijah who’s announcing that God is coming, and Jesus is the one he announced, what does that make Jesus? It does raise another question, though, if this is who Jesus is, well, then what sort of faith is required of us? And that’s our next section, what sort of faith, speaking of expectations? Still, let me read verses 20 to 24 for us. Then Jesus began to denounce the towns which most of his miracles had been performed because they did not repent. Woe to you, chorazin, Woe to you, Bethsaida, for the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you and you. Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom and would have remained to this day, but I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you. The tone shifts here, right? But the tone shifts understandably. It’s like Jesus has thrown the question back on us. I don’t think I’m going beyond what’s here. If I paraphrase it like this, it’s like Jesus has said, You’re disappointed in me. Okay, I’m disappointed in you. I’m disappointed in your response to what I’ve come preaching and doing. Look, regardless of the Savior you were hoping for, Jesus is the one who’s there, and he is God, by the way, so we should probably listen to him. What does God, Jesus, the Messiah, expect of you. Now he’s omniscient, so my analogy at the beginning of the sermon is not great here, for sure, but again, it’s like, We’re the new hire, and he’s going really, like, you don’t even know how to open Word, much less use it like, that’s not good for a guy that we hire to be our i. Tea director, like I’ve got concerns, but that’s the disappointment that you hear. Right what he said in the last section, I thought you were going to dance for joy. I thought you were going to mourn over your sins, I thought. And there it is in verse 20. I thought that when you saw all of this, you would repent, and yet you have not, especially given what they’ve seen God himself in the flesh performing miracles in their town, and still they didn’t repent. That’s a problem, and so it will be worse for them than it will be for Tyre and Sidon, pagan towns who were destroyed long ago. Worse. Why? Well, because the more light you have, the more responsibility you have, the more you’ve been given, the more that is expected of you. Let me give you a parenting analogy to explain what I mean here. Let’s say you walk into your rec room and you see your 10 year old and your four year old on the couch watching an R rated movie filled with gratuitous sex and violence. Which one are you going to yell at? Because your four year old is just watching a flickering screen, right? There’s no understanding there. This is just, was like Blippi, just with more red stuff. I don’t know, but your 10 year old. I mean, what would you even say to your 10 year old? You should know better. You should know better, right? Why did you lead your brother into this? You should know better. That’s what Jesus is saying. You should have known better. Chorazin, Capernaum, Bethsaida, but what about us? Because the reality is we have even more light, because we have the cross of Jesus Christ which they hadn’t seen yet, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which they hadn’t seen yet, and the completed Bible, the Word of God in its fullness. And some of you are sitting there, I know, thinking, No, I would rather have a miracle than the Bible. Then I would believe. And the entire Bible says, Nope, that’s not how that works. Miracles do not produce faith. You know what produces faith? Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, as Peter tells us, you were born again through the miracles you saw no through the living and enduring word of God. What that means is that every time you hear God’s word, right now, when it’s being preached to you every time you open it up and study it in your time of private worship, when you drive by it at a billboard on the highway, every time you hear the word of God, your heart is getting harder or softer. It’s a dangerous place to be, as Johan Bengal put it in kind of delightfully antiquated language, he says, Every hearer of the New Testament is either much happier or much more wretched than them of old time, because we have the word of God. So take a moment now, like what is happening in your heart at this moment, as you listen to God’s word, is it getting harder or is it getting softer? Are you listening and thinking, I’m convicted, I need to repent. That’s a good sign. If you’re listening and you’re not thinking that ask God to give you repentance that should come when you hear his word. And if you’re sitting there thinking, I don’t want to do that, just know that’s a really dangerous place to be. You might want to try asking, even if you don’t feel like it at this moment, because that is a heart that is getting irrevocably harder. This is a tough section, no doubt about it. It is hard to understand. It is hard to accept as well. There are three really important theological truths that we see in these brief verses. Don Carson points these out in his commentary. He says, first of all, we learn here that God has contingent knowledge, meaning God knows what we would do in different circumstances. So he knows all the options here. He’s got exhaustive omniscience. And that is helpful, because sometimes we say, Well, Lord, if you would do this, then I would believe but you don’t know that. God does know that. So that’s important second truth, because if you’re reading this, and if you’re reading it carefully, you should be a little bit like upset, almost, because Jesus says, If Sodom had seen this, they would have repented. And so we are probably asking the question, then, why? Didn’t you show them this so they could have repented, which means we misunderstand everything we need to see that God does not owe us revelation, even revelation is an act of grace. We keep talking about the fact that we’re blind, right? We’ve seen that in this series already. We’re not blind because of a congenital defect. We’re blind because we plucked our own eyes out so that we wouldn’t have to see God’s holiness. The way Romans puts it is we suppress the truth. We know what’s true, and we suppress that truth, and then we have the gall to tell God, you should have given me more truth. Why? So you could suppress that also we are not owed revelation. The fact that we have this book is grace. That means, though, that we are not all given the same amount of light, and that’s okay. God is not unjust, because we are not owed this. So we are not all given the same amount of light. We are all given enough light, though Romans, one tells us as well, so that we are without excuse. Third important theological truth, punishment, on the day of vengeance takes all of that into account, because Jesus says it will actually be more bearable for Sodom than for Capernaum, because they got more light and so they had more responsibility. As Carson puts it again, it means just as there are different degrees of Felicity in heaven, so there will be differing degrees of torment in hell. Look, these are strong words. They are hard to hear. They’re hard to hear, especially because the sin that we’re looking at is here is so banal it is in Stanley Hauerwas words, just the sin of perverse normality. Like what sin do you see in Capernaum and chorazin and beside at this point, it’s not gross injustice. They’re not guilty of genocide, though they’re guilty of simple unbelief. What like every one of us had? You might not know this, but you you got sins ranked in your head. You know which ones are worse than others, right? Some of us have a little more collectivist sense of sin. The worst sins are racism and exploitation and injustice. Some of us are much more personal. Worst sins are sexual immorality and stuff. You know what the Bible says over and over again, and Jesus says here, the worst sin is unbelief. It’s unbelief, seeing who Jesus is and refusing to acknowledge it. This is Christ number one that might shock you, that might dismay and annoy you. In fact, you might think that’s one of the sins that you would rank higher, because it’s just that evil narrow mindedness that’s so intolerable today. You can think that, but these are the words of the King who is God. So I’d recommend you reckon with them instead of casually dismissing them, like in rejecting that, you are not rejecting me and my sermon right now. You’re not rejecting Christianity in some vague sense, you are rejecting the very words of Jesus. What sort of faith does Jesus expect? Well, this sort of faith, do you have it? And if not, now is the time to repent and believe and obey. We got one more section to cover though, one last question. What sort of person let me keep reading? 25 to 30. At that time, Jesus said, I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. All things have been committed to me by my father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son. And those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. This feels like an awkward transition, but actually it’s quite clear thematically, at least, because the faith that Jesus expects necessitates requires demands humility instead of pride. So Jesus praises his father. Why? Why does he praise his father? Here we often reveal ourselves most honestly, most truly in prayers. So this is kind of an important part of Jesus’ Spiritual Autobiography, the fact that we get to read his praise in this moment, but he doesn’t praise God for what we. Expect he praises God because God has hidden truth, the good news of the kingdom from those who are wise and understanding. And understanding, understanding is probably the right idea here. I don’t think this has to do with education. He didn’t hide it from people who have master’s degrees any more than he revealed it to little children, meaning people who are small and young. It’s more the sense of self understanding. He’s hidden these truths from the self reliant and the self impressed, and instead has revealed to the humble, the dependent, the eager. Again, we have to reckon with this God sovereignly reveals or conceals truth from people. Now, these are not symmetrical activities. To reveal, he has to open blind eyes. To conceal, he just has to leave you as you are. But more than the fact that it’s not symmetrical activities, it’s the fact that we have to remember and understand this well, that we are not neutral beings like I think a lot of this, when we have this complaint against God’s justice, we’re going, how come you’re not helping these helpless, little people, these innocent, helpless people. They’re not they’re sinners. We are all of us in the flesh, sinners and rebels who are owed nothing. So to hide these truths is an act of judgment, exactly the kind of judgment that John was looking for, by the way. So it shouldn’t surprise us that God judges because we’re sinners and rebels. Shouldn’t surprise us that God shows mercy either, because that’s who he’s revealed himself to be this whole time. What should surprise us is the recipients of judgment and mercy. Because what we’re expecting, and this is what John the Baptist is talking about, right? We’re expecting judgment on the unrighteous, mercy for the righteous. And Jesus says, No, it’s judgment on the proud, mercy for the humble, which is the message we get throughout Scripture. Again. This is why, as Paul says in First Corinthians, one not many, who accept Jesus, who come in faith, are rich, powerful scholars. It’s not because you have to be dumb to believe these things, not that at all. It’s just that so often those who have those attributes are too proud to see like the Pharisees that we keep meeting, whereas the poor, the downtrodden, the desperate, well they may just open their eyes. So he praises God for revealing and concealing. And then he goes on to say that actually he’s the agent of that revelation, because only he knows the father, so only He can reveal the Father to the people around him. That revelation happens according to his choice, which is a remarkable claim, of course, once again claiming to be God, and it is such an arrogant claim, unless, of course, it’s true, which it is, but it’s such an arrogant claim. I mean, just think, in this one verse, verse 27 Jesus has claimed that he has all authority and power. He’s the only one who knows God. You can’t know God except through Him, and only then, if he chooses one verse of the Bible, he has offended absolutely everyone on the planet. He’s offended Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, atheists, squishy, spiritual but not religious types. He’s offended all of us again unless, of course, it’s true, and unless you see who is speaking these words. You look at his life, and then you look at his death, and then you look at his resurrection, and then you go, that’s not arrogant. This is information that we need to know so only the humble can come. So it makes sense that he then invites not the wise and the learned but the weary and burdened to come. But did you catch that another one where I’m like, why aren’t you all going because what just happened? Like, notice what just happened. We have all this talk of God’s sovereign choice, and then he says, Now choose. Well, which is it? There’s a paradox here, for sure, the tension between God’s divine sovereignty and human responsibility. God is sovereign over our salvation, and yet we are responsible for how we respond to Jesus. And if you’re going, those are incompatible, Bible says, Nope, they’re perfectly compatible, even if you don’t understand how it’s like light. If you’re a physics geek, you know that light acts like a particle and a wave, you should also know that that is impossible. And physicists go, sorry, i. Yes, only God knows. Well, exactly, only God knows. Only God knows how this works. But it does work. The paradoxes continue, though, because then Jesus promises the weary rest and then invites them to work. Oh, you look weary. You look burdened. Why don’t you come over here and take a nap? No, why don’t you come over here and take my yoke upon you, which is the bar that goes across oxen to keep them hooked to the plow. Isn’t that interesting? So he’s saying, Yeah, you’re not just like off on your own. Now you’re gonna take my yoke. In other words, you’re gonna receive my discipline and my direction. We are no longer under the law, that’s what the yoke represents, especially in the way the Pharisees would teach. Not no longer under the law, the burden of self salvation, of having to earn God’s approval, but we are still under Christ, so we take his yoke on us. Now, how is that rest? Though? Well, it’s rest, because we’re no longer working for now we’re working from. We’re no longer working for our salvation, but from our salvation. No longer working for God’s approval, but working from God’s approval. It is the difference, as Tim Keller would love to say, between saying, I obey, therefore I’m accepted, and I’m accepted therefore I obey, and we are now called to the second one. And that is true rest, as opposed to getting on that hamster wheel at work in your relationships, or even before, God, we’re always what just one mistake away from it all spinning out of control. There’s no rest in that. Gotta keep earning. Gotta keep earning. No rest like this, though, what Jesus promises that can only be for the humble, because the proud foolishly think that they can still get there on their own. So our last question, then, in our disappointed expectations, what sort of person will come to Jesus. And the question for you, of course, is, are you that sort of person? Are you humble and desperate or proud and self reliant? I don’t know what sort of Savior you were expecting, but I know the Savior who came, and he is gentle and humble of heart. Yes, he will bring judgment. In the end, he must. That is an act of love. We talked a lot about that. I’m not gonna get into it all today. If you want a world free of violence at a certain point, you’re gonna have to evict the violent from that place. So yes, he’ll bring judgment. But he came first to bring grace and mercy. He came in love and all he asks of us, but what he most certainly expects from us is that we come humbly empty handed, trusting and believing so even now, whether you are questioning Jesus still today or a long time follower, open your eyes to see Jesus afresh as he really is believe. Receive right. Lay down your burdens like your high school student dropped their backpack after that first wearying day of school, and pick up grace. Put his easy yoke on your back and follow the only Savior worth following. Let’s pray. Lord, would you help us to see who Jesus is, who you are, Lord, we know it’s a dangerous prayer, but we pray, Lord, would you give us more light, more understanding, more revelation, so that we can see truly knowing Lord that you expect more of us as a result, the more we know you, the more we should love and worship and follow and obey you, But Lord, that is our heart’s desire. So would you help us to do just that? I pray for those Lord who are still stuck in self sufficiency, who are unwilling to come to you because they think they can handle it on their own. They think they can earn it. Would you open their eyes now to see who they are, but also the wonder of the grace that is available in Christ. Lord, would you invite them, even now to come weary and to unburden themselves and take up the wonder of grace we pray in Christ’s name? Amen.

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Mission & Martyrdom August 10, 2025 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper discusses the cost of discipleship and mission in Matthew 10, emphasizing Jesus’ transparency about the challenges ahead. He emphasizes the significance of grasping the genuine nature of following Jesus, which entails sacrifice and persecution. Cooper explains that Jesus sends out the original 12 disciples with specific instructions, including healing and proclaiming the Kingdom of Heaven. He notes that the disciples are to embody the message by their actions and that they will face persecution, including betrayal and rejection. Cooper encourages the congregation to embrace the mission, recognizing that the joy set before them is worth the sacrifice.

All right, you can go ahead and grab your Bibles. Open up to Matthew chapter 10 as we continue in our series the good news of the kingdom, Matthew 10, we’ll be picking up in verse five as you’re turning there. I don’t know about you, one of the things that frustrates me the most is when people don’t tell you upfront how bad something is going to be. Like, I’m always annoyed when you know your flight’s delayed, and they’re just like, it’ll be a little while. Like, don’t lie to me if it’s gonna be hours, just tell me now that it’s hours so I can wrap my head around it. Okay? Or another one is the the easy to assemble piece of furniture that you ordered online, right? It’s in two easy steps. You’re gonna be sleeping in this bed. Step one, assemble the bed, and then step two, you know, cover it with bedding. And you’re like, well, that step one was a little bit longer than I thought it was going to be. So you get this bait and switch that happens so often. It is so frustrating. There’s no false advertising with Jesus. There’s no bait and switch with Jesus. He is not like that. Jesus goes out of his way repeatedly to explain just how hard it’s going to be to follow him. He talks regularly about the cost of discipleship, of following him, and even the cost of mission, what it means to live for the glory of his name, to help others follow him, which is in stark contrast, by the way, to so much of the Christianity light that is preached today, as if Jesus were just a life hack to make things easier. He makes things better, yes, but not necessarily easier. So in today’s passage, we’re going to see the cost of mission, and it is a cost that we all must count, because we’re all called to the mission, right? Jesus told all of us, who are His followers, go and make disciples of all nations. So we need to know what that cost is, or else we we won’t persevere. We won’t endure. And exactly what we talked about at the end of last week. So we ended last week with this kind of four step strategy that Jesus gives us to to feel first of all, then to pray, to follow and to proclaim. So where are we in that process? Well, we now hopefully feel compassion for the lost like Jesus does, and then we’re praying to God, not only for the lost, but that he would raise up laborers, which is us to go into the harvest. Well, now today, we get ready to follow, to follow Jesus on his mission. But remember, we are following Jesus whom they tortured and murdered. So there’s that cost piece again, if we’re going to follow Him, we see what we’re signing up for now, tortured and crucified, and he willingly endured all of that for the joy set before him, and part of the joy set before him, of course, is us, the people who would be changed as a result of his work. We need to keep that in mind as well, as we’ll see at the end. Now these words we’re about to read here today, these are his instructions to the original 12 Disciples as he sends them out the first time, especially in the first section, we’ll see some stuff where it’s like this is clearly just for these 12, although there’ll be some principles that we can extract from it. But these are also words for all of us, as we’ll see in the second and third sections. It clearly expands beyond just the 12. And so we get these three truths, these three ideas that will prepare us for His mission. Let’s look at the first one, chapter 10, verses five to 15, where we embody the mission. We read the passage for us now these 12 Jesus sent out with the following instructions, do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans go, rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim this message, the Kingdom of Heaven has come near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received freely give. Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts, no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff for the worker is worth his keep whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it. If it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet, truly, I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. So specific instructions for these people at this time. And we know that because we know Jesus intends. Launch a global mission. Again, the Great Commission already said it make disciples of all nations. So why does he restrict it here just to Israel? And there are a couple of reasons. First of all, it’s because the disciples aren’t ready for a larger mission than this right now. I mean, notice he specifies Samaria even just don’t even go to Samaria, which is like next door neighbors. Why? Well, because he’s seen John and James, for example, get really angry at some Samaritans already and start calling down curses on their heads. So the disciples aren’t ready for that next phase of mission yet. But secondly, it’s also because of where we are in salvation history at this moment, Jesus is unquestionably the Jewish Messiah. He is the heir to David’s throne in Jerusalem, and so he came for his own the Jews, knowing that many of them would reject Him, some of his personal claims, for example, that He is God, are already offending many of them, as we saw last week in chapter nine. So why make it worse with a Gentile mission which really annoys them with sea throughout the Gospels as well, salvation and judgment are for the Jew first and then for the Gentile, as Paul says, even in Romans, one in which Paul lived in his own mission also, I mean, Paul is the apostle to the Gentiles, to the non Jews. And even he always goes to the synagogue first, and then, once they kick him out, he shakes the dust off his feet and goes and speaks to the Gentiles. But notice, even here, in this restricted moment, both the messengers and the audience communicate something about the message they are proclaiming. They are embodying the message just by who they are. Jesus sends them out to the lost sheep. That says something about people, doesn’t it? I mean our lostness, we think of maybe the prodigal son there, and the fact that we are sheep harassed. We need a and helpless. We need a shepherd to guide us. So we’re reaching outcasts, the helpless, the harassed. But who is reaching them? It’s not the A team, is it? It’s outcasts, helpless reaching, helpless outcasts. I mean, look back at verses two to four, the names of the 12 that Jesus calls to himself, and you get some biographical information about a few of them. But mostly just to differentiate, we got James son of Zebedee and also James son of Alphaeus. We really don’t get much, and what we get isn’t impressive. You know, there’s not Peter the Great here, Thaddeus, the CEO of this up and coming company. No, you get nobody, nobody, nobody, nobody, except a zealot, which means he’s looking for a political Messiah. So he’s totally off base in his theology. What God is going to do to save His people? And then you get Matthew the tax collector, a notorious sinner, as we saw last week. This is encouraging to me, I hope it’s encouraging to you, you don’t have to be someone special to go on God’s mission. It’s the message that’s special, not the messenger. We carry this treasure in jars of clay, cracked earthen vessels. That’s all that we are, but we have the treasure of the gospel within us. And of course, the real treasure is Jesus himself. He is the special one. So Jesus sends these helpless outcasts to reach helpless outcasts, and he sends them on a truly apostolic mission, because they are to preach what Jesus preached almost exactly, and then to do what Jesus did, to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. This is just a description of Jesus’s own ministry, and they’re gonna do what Jesus did to show that Jesus gave them authority to preach the message that they are preaching. In other words, they’re going to embody the authority of the message as well. Of the sort is what, the way Hebrews describes it, talking about the apostles. It says God also testified to it, to the message the apostles preached by signs, wonders and various miracles. Exactly what we get here, even the specifics of the message. They speak, though, communicate the gospel. I mean, look at what they are to say, the Kingdom of Heaven has come near. It’s a remarkable statement, if you think about it, it is truly evangelism. The word just means good musing, and that’s what it is, because it is. Just news. It is just an announcement. The kingdom is here. There’s no advice, there’s no offer, there’s no suggestion attached to it. It is simply describing what God has done, is doing and will do. I’m reminded of what God told the Israelites when they were stranded on the side of the Red Sea about to be walloped by the Egyptian army, which we’ll get to in a few weeks time here. And it says The Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still. This is a you need only to be still. Kind of message, the kingdom is here. All we can do is receive, believe this message of grace, although they do embody the graciousness of the message as well, because Jesus says, Freely you have received freely give, you can’t hoard grace. That would be unconscionable. And I think what’s being said here in particular is you don’t charge to offer it, right? There’s no 200 bucks. And I’ll let you in on the secret that’ll change your life, like a Tony Robbins infomercial or something like that. No, this is a free gift, and so we give it freely. Selfish greed is utterly excluded for the preacher of the gospel, although it is interesting, at the same time that the mission depends on sacrificial giving for the worker is worth his keep. Jesus says, In other words, we all sacrifice like Christ in some way, some of us, myself included, of course, depend on the generosity of others to continue preaching this message. And there is a sense of, okay, well, I get what is given. You’ll probably make more money in a different field. That’s not why I’m here. At the same time, though, you are all giving to support this work, and so you’re sacrificing. You would have more money if you didn’t have to pay my salary. So we all get to sacrifice, which is, of course, part of the gospel as well. That’s why they’re to pack light all these things. They’re not allowed to bring, because they’re supposed to have their needs met by others, which is itself a little parable of grace, isn’t it? I don’t have it. Somebody’s gonna have to give me what I need most, the righteousness of God in Christ. And so it’s humbling. If you’ve ever received charity, you know how humbling it is, and that’s good for us, because God gives grace to the home, to the humble, right. But if you’re proud, well, he’s gonna bring you low, basically, so that you’re humble enough to receive it. That’s good for us. Jake talked about the benevolence fund a moment ago, and that’s that’s another one of these moments, right? I’m often the one who writes the check for the benevolence fund, so I know, and I know how hard it is for people to receive it, because it is so humbling. But it is also a picture of the gospel. Then Jesus tells them, find a worthy person. That just means someone willing to host them while they’re on mission, somebody who’s open to the message. And Jesus says, remain with that person. He’s He’s saying, Don’t shop around for a better offer. Is there somebody in this town who’s got a nicer bathroom or comfier bed, if you’ve ever done like a short term missions trip, by the way, you know that’s a real temptation. I went to one place once, I won’t say where, with whom, or anything like that. Went to one place once, where I thought, well, next time I’m staying somewhere else. I was convicted by this passage this week. As a result, we are preaching selflessness, sacrifice, humility, and so our character, our actions, will either adorn that message or contradict it, which means it’s probably time for just a moment of self examination. Do your words? Do your actions commend Christ or call his power into question because you’re living an unchanged life. And Jesus says, remain with them, unless that is they turn on you. If they reject the message as they understand it better, they’re listening and they’re going, Oh yeah, yeah, come stay with me. Wait a minute. No. This is nonsense. This is heresy. If they turn hostile, then you can let your peace return to you, which is a saying maybe we’ve heard before, read before, but it doesn’t make any intuitive sense to us. I don’t think a lot of you are going I don’t know what that means. Well, the peace is the blessing of God. It actually shows up in the Old Testament. Blessing right. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord turn his face toward you and be gracious to you. May I said it wrong. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May Lord make his face shine on you and be. Gracious to you. May the Lord turn his face toward you, and here’s the key part all that work and give you peace. So there’s the blessing. May the Lord’s Peace be upon you for as long as they’re there, at least when they leave, the blessing leaves as well. The picture you might want to have in your head here is like Joseph in Potiphar his house. So Joseph is actually a slave in Potiphar his house. He’s been sold into slavery by his wicked brothers and all of that. But as he’s there because the blessing of God is on him. The blessing of God is on Potiphar his household. He prospers in all that he does right up until he tosses Joseph into prison, and then the peace, the blessing is removed. And so when that happens, you shake the dust off your feet again, something we hear a lot about, but I’m guessing none of you do this when you leave certain places. But that is what pious Jews would do when they left Gentile territory. So if they had to walk through Samaria or the Decapolis or something like that, when they got back into Israel, they would actually wipe the dust off their feet, because they’re wiping the stink off of them, the defilement off of them. And so when Jesus says to do this in Jewish towns, he is saying that Jews who reject Jesus are functionally pagan. They are, in a very real sense, godless, because they are rejecting God, Jesus Himself. And so they embody the judgment here, as well, these 12 Disciples, and of course, simply by obeying Jesus’s commands, which we know they do. They go out and and follow all of this, they are embodying submission to the king, which is the message they’re proclaiming. Jesus is King, and so we will submit to His rule. So even though the specific instructions here are not for us, the overall point is it is not enough to speak gospel words. We need to live gospel lives, character matters, including how we proclaim the gospel truth. There’s a saying in ministry circles, what you win them with is what you’ll win them to, and that’s a lot of what Jesus is saying here. Also, like the medium is part of the message, and so it’s something we need to be aware of as a congregation. And if we win people with entertainment meeting their felt needs, then we are going to produce entertained consumers, and not Disciples of Christ. That’s the material point here. So first, we embody the mission. Second, we embrace the sacrifice. Let me keep reading verses 16 to 31 I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues, on my account, you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved when you are persecuted in one place flee to another. Truly, I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for students to be like their teachers and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called baalzebul, how much more the members of his household. So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight, what is whispered in your ear proclaim from the roofs, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny, yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your father’s care, and even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows. All
right? I told you, Jesus doesn’t hold back, right? No false advertising here. And it’s not just that he’s aware of what’s coming. It’s that he’s aware that he’s the one causing what’s coming. I mean, look what he says right there in verse 16. I I am intentionally, purposefully sending you out like sheep among wolves. He knows what he’s doing. This man who calls himself The Good Shepherd, sends his sheep into the wolf pack, should cause a little cognitive dissonance in our minds and. Which, thankfully, he unpacks for us. And so that’s going to mean, though, if we’re going to be like sheep among wolves, we’re going to have to consider carefully what we’ll do, how we’ll live, and so we need to be shrewd like snakes, but innocent like doves, shrewd in that we’ll avoid needless conflict and attacks in the way we carry out our mission, but balanced by innocent like doves in particular, doves are easy to catch in a Fowler’s snare. In other words, innocent, meaning not so cautious or fearful that we’re unwilling to risk conflict or attacks. That’s a tough balance to maintain. So just think from with me for a moment, like, what would this look like in your workplace, if you’re in a workplace now, I mean, on the one hand, you could be kind of snakeish and so completely flaunt HR standards that you are, you know, fired because you’ve just clearly have broken the workplace rules. On the other hand, though, you could be so timid that you’ll never even initiate any sort of, even pre evangelistic gospel conversation with the people around you, it’s tough to get in that sweet spot where you’re forming the sorts of relationships with your colleagues, where they would invite you to share some of what you know you did over the weekend, which includes things like what you’re doing right now, which is an open door for at least some more conversation, so shrewd, like snakes, innocent, like doves. And then he says, Be on your guard. Be on your guard, because he says, it’s not going to go well. I mean, have you reckoned with that as a Christian? Have you reckoned with the fact that you actually might get fired because of your faith, even if you’re not flaunting HR standards. And I could share stories of people in this room who have had that experience, and so be on your guard, because you will be handed over. Persecution will come from the Jew first. They’ll be flogged in the synagogues when they are still there in Israel, and when the church is really still within the synagogue, almost as a sect within Judaism, as it is at first in the Jew first, but then from the Gentiles as well. He says that’s how we know we’re no longer talking about this specific mission trip, because they’re not supposed to go to Gentile territory. So we’re talking about later on. That means, this includes all of us too. And Jesus just says your worldwide mission is just going to mean worldwide persecution. You’re going to get it from everyone, and we need to be ready for that, because we are promised persecution. But thank God Jesus promises us help also, because we have the Spirit who indwells us, who will give us the grace we need in that moment, including the words to say when you’re hauled before some local magistrate. I’m sure it’s an imperfect analogy, but it’s a little bit like having that public defender when you’ve been unjustly accused of a crime and get hauled into the police station and you got somebody there who’s helping you understand how to answer the questions. But it’s not just hostile governments or HR departments, it’s even your family that may well hate and betray you, which was a bigger deal then in that context, than it is for us today in our context. But put this in a Middle Eastern context, even today, and you understand, you know, the the power of the clan, of the family, how important that is, more important than the individual, which means, if any individual within the clan has shamed the clan. They gotta be excluded. They gotta be kicked out. And that’s a real possibility for Christians the world over, even today, we need to be ready. I hear from some of our missionaries regularly, who will say, How can I ask you know, these potential disciples to risk this sort of exclusion, if I’m not willing to risk it all for Christ, also, that is a question we need to ask ourselves, because Jesus tells us, you will be hated by everyone. One of those precious promises in Scripture, isn’t it? And you have this on like a throw pillow or something? No, that’s not the one where Jeremiah 2911, no, no, no, guys, this one you will be hated by everyone, which means people from all walks of life will hate you. And if you’re not hated because of your faith, by the way, we. What might that say about your mission? Paul says something very similar, same kind of promise. Second, Timothy, 312, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ, Jesus will be persecuted. I remember reading once, it was a Romanian pastor, and this was under the Soviet Empire at the time, and so churches being viciously persecuted at this point. So their suffering. This Romanian pastor was in the Netherlands at the time, he was speaking to some Dutch pastors who were living easy. And the Romanian pastor drew their attention to this verse and said, Are you guys being persecuted? They said, No. And he said, What do you think that tells you? And the Dutch pastor understood, I think we are probably not being as bold for Jesus as we should be. Now, it is true, not everyone will be martyred for Christ or fired or kicked out of the house, but the point is, we all must be willing to be here’s the way Don Carson puts it in his commentary on Matthew if the opposition one of Jesus’ disciples faces calls for the sacrifice of life itself, commitment to Him must be so strong that the sacrifice is willingly made, otherwise There is no salvation like you’re not really in Christ, that’s what it means to stand firm to the end here, which is the message of revelation that we saw not too long ago. Can I just a brief aside too? Let me speak to the parents in the room. You know, we got a Family Ministries motto here, right? Kyle talks about it a lot. We want to raise children that the world can’t ignore. Oh, I like that. You understand that this is what we’re talking about. Like you’re going to raise children that the world can’t ignore. It means you’re going to raise children who will be hated and persecuted for their faith, and that is part of the cost that we must be willing to count as disciples of Christ when we get to verse 23 which is just very difficult to understand. What exactly does it mean that we’re not going to finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes? We’re going, Well, it’s been a few 1000 years. Son of Man has not yet returned. I don’t think that’s what we’re talking about here. I think we’re talking about Jesus coming in judgment against the Jewish nation, which happens in AD 70, when the Roman Empire sacks Jerusalem, destroys the temple, all of that at that point, of course, the church is still in synagogues, and so are effectively shaking the dust off their feet when the temple falls. But none of this should catch us by surprise, because we follow Jesus. That’s what verses 2425 are getting at. We follow Jesus. So look what happened to him. The student is going to be like the teacher. So if they call him Satan, baalzebul, Lord of lies, Lord of Darkness, basically, if they call him Satan, which they did last week, surely they’re gonna call us satanic because we’re following the one they think is Satan. And so yeah, we would expect to be called things like narrow minded, hateful, foolish, ignorant and maybe even evil. But now you know so you can embrace the sacrifice, and then Jesus says, so do not be afraid. There’s no need to fear, don’t you? Love the Bible. I love the Bible. They’re going to hate you, they’re going to persecute you, you’re going to put you to death. Don’t worry. Well, no, that sounds like something I should worry about. No. But he gives us three reasons why we don’t need to be afraid. First of all, we have no need to fear because we know how the story ends. Don’t be afraid of them. There’s nothing concealed that will not be disclosed right in the end. It all comes to light so we can live in light of our future vindication, even if we are slandered. Now, in fact, that’s exactly what the resurrection of Christ is he was slandered as a blasphemer, put to death, and then God vindicated him by raising Him from the dead. We look forward to the same vindication. Interesting, by the way, just as a side note, that we’re going to have a more public ministry than Jesus, so the stuff that he’s whispering to the disciples, we shout from the rooftops. Of course, we’ve seen that because there were the Messianic secret where he didn’t let everybody know everything about him right up front, because they were gonna have this warped conception of what Messiah came to do. Well, no more misconception. And so now we can shout it from the rooftops. Secondly, no need to fear because they can only kill the body, which we saw last week is only sleep, not death, not really. So if you want to be afraid, you want to fear then fear God, not people, the one who can destroy us utterly and eternally. Then we already heard Kaylee read it for. Us a moment ago, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So this is what wise living looks like. You fear God more than people. Another proverb puts it like this. Proverbs, 2925 the fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord will be kept safe. So when we fear people more than God, it will always lead us astray and into danger. It could preach a whole sermon just on that, but we know that it will lead us to disobedience. And so here, in this sermon, in this passage, what would be the temptation it would be to keep silent about Jesus, instead of proclaiming, shouting this message from the rooftops, because we fear rejection or persecution or whatever it may be. Third, no need to fear because he’s got it all under control, even the little stuff. And I know there’s this temptation that we have to think God cares about the big stuff, not the little stuff, that actually undermines our confidence in God in the big stuff. So listen to a children’s book as we are driving back from Lake Placid. And at one point, this kid is in World War Two, occupied Netherlands, territory and stuff, and he he’s concerned about something he’s like, but I knew I couldn’t pray about it, because God’s worried about the war right now, I can’t trouble him with what my future career will be. And here Jesus says, you have that exactly backwards. God cares about the sparrow that falls. So, of course, he cares about you. Why would you ever doubt that he sees you and cares for you? You can trust him with the big picture, because your father and he keeps calling him father here, right? Your father has you. So do not be afraid. Yes, you will have to sacrifice. You will be called to suffer, just like Jesus, but you can embrace the call in Christ, and especially when you keep in mind third point, experience the reward. The rest of the passage, let me read verses 32 to 42 Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter in law against her mother in law, a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household. Anyone who loves their father or mother more than Me is not worthy of me. Anyone who loves their son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow Me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water, it’s one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly, I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward. So Jesus restates the missional imperative to follow Christ, to claim him as Lord, demands public acknowledgement. You have to acknowledge Him before others. I mean, this looks like as one example baptism, even when you get up and you publicly proclaim your faith in Christ. Paul says it in Romans 10, verse nine, right? You want to be saved. Who’s gonna be saved whoever believes in their heart and confesses with their mouth that Jesus is Lord, you cannot be a Christian who doesn’t proclaim Christ, and it is Christ specifically. Did you notice that Jesus says, Whoever acknowledges Me, not God the Father? He says me. Ned Stonehouse puts it like this. He says, Jesus makes the entire position of people in the world to come, whether for real or woe, to depend on their relationship to and attitude toward him in this present world, which would be evidence, again, by the way, of His claim to divinity. This is one of those passages where you go. Well, we know Jesus is not just saying he’s a good moral teacher. He just said your eternal destiny depends on how you answer this question, Who do you say that he is? Who do you say that Jesus is? If he is who he unambiguously claims to be, then everything depends on how you answer that question. But not everyone likes the answer. Not everyone even likes the question. In fact, even now, some of you might be upset at the exclusive claims of Christ. Well, multiply that agitation, and you’ll very quickly end up with a sword instead of peace. That’s what Jesus means when he says he came to bring the sword. Like, yes, absolutely. Jesus came to bring peace. Ultimately, again, we saw what that looks like in Revelation 21 and 22 but that kind of peace can only come after judgment, as we talked about there. If you want Freedom from violence, then the violent need to be excluded from the life to come. So Jesus came to bring peace, but let’s not forget, they murdered him for it. There’s the sword. People will be so agitated by the message of Christianity they will turn to violence. And of course, because the sin in our own hearts. Sadly, many who have claimed Christ have turned to violence as well because they misunderstood the message Jesus gave them to proclaim. But you understand the agitation because who wants to hear that you’re sinful at your core, that you are just wicked all the way through? Who wants to hear that God will forgive rebels, but only after they lay down their arms and only in Christ. And who wants to hear that there’s judgment to come for those who don’t you understand the agitation, and so there’s no guarantee that following Jesus will bring you calm and tranquility inwardly. Yes, there’s a peace that surpasses understanding, but outwardly, no way. Again, Jesus not a bait and switch advertiser. This furniture is gonna take you a long time to put together. If you’re having marriage problems, hire somebody else to do it. It won’t survive. Okay? Like, that’s the stark reality. That’s how Jesus is talking here, and even at the family level, as Jesus himself experienced, and we might experience as well, you’re not going to be willing to endure that, never mind embrace that kind of suffering, that conflict, unless Jesus says next, you have your priorities straight and your loves rightly ordered, like what do you love most? And how do you know what you really love most? Well, you know when the two come into conflict and you have to choose one, then it’s very obvious. Do you think academics or athletics are more important? Well, are you willing to fail the class to make the team or to get cut from the team in order to pass the class. Now you’re going to know, do you neglect your family to get the promotion, or do you neglect the promotion in order to be the sort of husband and father you want to be? Do you disobey God to pursue pleasure, or do you obey God trusting there’s a greater pleasure? What’s really first in your heart, and for the Christian, the answer must be, Christ, always Christ, even when it’s good things we’re talking about like family. Now mind you, it’s not that we’re being called here to reject our family because of Christ. No, we’re being called to have our priorities straight and our love’s ordered, which means we’re called to be willing to be rejected by our family for the sake of Christ. It is a stern truth. George Elden Ladd says it like this, when a human relationship stands in the way of the demand of God’s kingdom, there can be but one choice. So if your parent tells you, no, you can’t follow Jesus. If you do, I will kick you out. I will stop loving you. There’s only one possible decision, does that sound hard? No. False advertising still. Does that sound hard? Yes. And then Jesus says, Tell you what. I’ll make it harder. Also, you need to take up your cross, or don’t bother following me. And this is serious, because we sometimes use this so wrongly, don’t we? Oh, it’s just my little cross to bear. That’s not what’s being talked about. That’s a burden. That’s what you’re talking about. Like, health problems are a burden. Having a difficult boss, right? Like that’s a burden. Kyle, Jake, Jackie, Cheryl, they can talk to you about this, right? It is a real burden. It is not a cross, because a cross is a place of death, not a burden we carry. And so the cross means we must be willing to give all willing to give all our last full measure of devotion for Christ. And maybe that means physical life that we give in our martyrdom. But if we’re to give that, then surely we’re to give all the rest of it as well the living too. There is a paradox here, of course, that we give all, yes, but we gain all, and, in fact, infinitely more as well. It’s interesting. You can look around the people who seek their own happiness first, almost never find it, but the people who put Christ first, inevitably. Do you? These priorities, though, then include not just how we live our life, but how we welcome others too. If you’re going to put the kingdom first, it means that you are going to support Kingdom work, which means you will support Kingdom workers like these 12 who are being sent out, right? Who is going to receive them? The question we have to ask today too, as we look at our missionaries, International Workers, compassion organizations, and as we’ve talked about with benevolence fund, even each other, and in part, because of what we could have to give up to follow Jesus. I mean, Jesus says this elsewhere, you may have to give up your home or your family for Jesus, but part of what you get in return from Jesus is new homes and new families, because we have all things in common as the Church of Christ. So whatever the specifics, the general truth is clear. Those who count Kingdom costs experience Kingdom rewards. Short term loss precedes long term eternal gain. And so we learn to practice delayed gratification as Christians, right? It’s like the person who skips the party in order to study so they pass the final they miss the party, but you know what? They don’t have to go to summer school so they can hang out with their friends all summer long. And so that’s that’s really the takeaway from the whole passage, our big idea today, the king’s mission costs a lot, but it’s worth it. The King’s mission costs a lot, but it’s worth it. Jesus doesn’t say it’ll be easy to assemble and there’s no weight, quite the opposite, but he does tell us why we’d go on mission anyway. He endured all. He endured the cross right for the joy set before him. We endure in mission for the joy set before us. And by the way, that is not only long term eternal joy. There is a here and now joy as well when we get to see the fruit of our mission. That’s why we all love baptism. Sunday. So much, right? Which we got one coming up next week. So same kind of thing where you just go. This is why we do it, to see people raised from death to new life in Christ and again, the resurrection is proof of that the agony of the crucifixion is real, but the everlasting joy of the resurrection is even more real. So let’s live and serve and go on mission like we believe. That’s true. The King’s mission costs a lot, but I promise you better still. Jesus promises you it’s worth it. Let’s pray, Lord, we come before you with eyes wide open. Now we know what you’ve promised us, and part of what you’ve promised us is suffering and sacrifice, but you’ve promised us that it is worth it also, and so Lord, would you set our coming joy before us now so that we can see the banquet to which we are called? Can see the glories of eternity with You, can see even the joy of the changed lives in this life so clearly that we’re willing to count the cost to do the work that you’ve given us to do. Lord, help us to feel compassion for the lost around us. Help us to be a people of prayer asking you to do what you promised you are going to do through us, and then Help us, Lord to follow you in your footsteps, even on the road past Calvary on the way to glory, as we proclaim the truth of the gospel for your kingdom’s sake. Amen.

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A New Kingdom August 3, 2025 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper’s sermon on Matthew 9 emphasized the forgiveness of sins and the radical nature of Jesus’s message and actions. He discussed the Apostles’ Creed, particularly the controversial statements about Jesus’s descent into hell and the Holy Catholic Church. Cooper highlighted Jesus’s proclamation of the Kingdom of God, His miracles, and the new motivations for believers to follow Him. He explained Jesus’s healings of a paralytic, a woman with bleeding, a synagogue leader’s daughter, two blind men, and a deaf mute, and the Pharisees’ skepticism. Cooper concluded by urging believers to follow Jesus’s compassionate mission and to share the message of salvation with others.

Well, good morning church. You want to go ahead grab your Bibles. You can open up to Matthew chapter nine. Matthew chapter nine. We’ll cover the whole chapter in a little bit more this morning. As you’re turning to Matthew nine. Of course, we just sang kind of a riff on the Apostles Creed and then recited the apostles creed as well. Now there are some statements in the apostles creed that are a little bit controversial, even though it’s been around forever. For example, that line about He descended into hell. What exactly that means? Did Jesus really do it or not? Some controversial terms, for example, the idea that we belong to the Holy Catholic Church, because people hear lower case c Catholic and think capital C, Roman Catholic, which we do not belong here. But you know, Catholic just means universal, of course. So is that the best term we should use? Should we use a different one? We normally say universal here, in fact. Okay, fine. All this sort of disagreement makes sense. Christians love to fight with each other, right? All that stuff. There’s one statement in there that I think we all agree on and are really excited about the fact that we all agree on it. Honestly, you probably don’t even need to be a Christian to go, yeah, I could get behind that. And that’s this statement right here. I believe in the forgiveness of sins. And we go, yeah, no, that sounds really good to me, like we as Christians know that it’s true. That’s what Jesus came to do, of course, but I think most of us understand that we also need that, and so it’s a slam dunk. Absolutely I believe in the forgiveness of sins, and that is the focus of our passage this morning, here in Matthew nine. Now, little bit of context, because we are starting in Matthew nine, not Matthew one. If you’re newer here, you don’t know this. Even if you’ve been around for a while, you might not remember we’ve actually done Matthew one to eight already in four different series, way back when we did an Advent series on Matthew one and two. We two kings. We did Matthew three and four series called Kingdom Come to get us ready for Matthew five to seven, the Sermon on the Mount, which we did not too long ago. And we covered Matthew eight in its own little series, encounters with Jesus. And so Matthew’s gospel, but especially this part of Matthew’s Gospel, is all about the Kingdom of God. That’s why that word kingdom kept showing up in these different sermon series titles, Jesus is proclaiming the kingdom of God. And then in these chapters especially, he is embodying the kingdom of God. He is showing us what life is like under his perfect reign, and what is required of us in order to enter into the kingdom, into eternal life. Now, a lot of what he’s saying seemed really radical to the people of his day, the religious leaders, especially, and so his message was really all about the newness of the kingdom. Now it’s not really new. It’s what God has been doing all along, but certainly new in contrast to the musty traditions that had kind of grown up around God’s salvation history. And so we see in this passage, he’s proclaiming a new message. He’s performing new miracles, and he’s giving us new motives for the work we do. And that’s the three scenes we’re going to look at this morning. Now, I will warn you, I’ve already gotten questions. How long is this sermon going to be? Because this is a long passage. There’s a lot in here, right? You could do an hour on one verse. And I was like, yep. So multiply it out. That’s how long we’re going to be here. Some of you are like the dogs game starts at three. I make you no promises. Okay, you’ll see the end. Okay, that’s all you need to know. No, but the first point in particular is going to be, yeah, that’s right. Pretty soon we’re going to have the smoke machines going too. All right, we’re becoming that kind of church that first, the first scene is going to be a lot longer than the other ones. So don’t panic at that point. Okay, this is like the Fibonacci sequence in reverse. They’re actually going to get shorter and shorter as we go. So that’s just so you don’t panic. All right, here we go. Scene one, a new message. Chapter Nine, verses one to 17, and the message is this, the new message God has come for sinners. Let me read it for us. Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralyzed man lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, take heart, Son, your sins are forgiven. At this some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, this fellow is blaspheming knowing their thoughts. Jesus said, Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier to say Your sins are forgiven, or to say, Get up and walk. But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. So he said to the paralyzed man, get up, take your mat and go home. Then the crowd got up and went home. The man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe, and they praised God who had given such authority to man. As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collectors booth follow me. He told him, Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? On hearing this, Jesus said, It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means. I desire mercy, not sacrifice, for I have not come to call the righteous but sinners. Then John’s disciples came and asked him, How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast? Jesus answered, how can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them, the time will come when and the bridegroom will be taken from them. Then they will fast. No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. Nor they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved. So it is often the case here, not always, but often the case that we preach longer passages here, and there are some benefits to that, of course. Now the danger is that if we’re covering long passages all at once, we miss some of the details. But of course, the flip side, if you’re just covering a verse or two at a time, you sometimes miss the forest for the trees. So you’ve seen the bark, you’ve seen the leaves and stuff, but you’ve missed everything that’s happening. And I think that’s especially true in a passage like this, because it is a series of short vignettes that we get. And what’s interesting is that these are not chronological stories. We know that based on comparison with the other gospels and stuff. So this is not exactly the order in which they happened. And so the question is, why does Matthew put these stories together like this? Better still, why does God, who is the ultimate author of Scripture, inspire Matthew to arrange these stories like this. If it’s not chronological, then it must be, for some other reason, theological, thematic reason. And so what theme or thread holds these stories together? What’s the point that he’s driving at? That’s what we want to see this morning. So where are we after a brief foray into Gentile territory. Jesus returns to his home base of Capernaum, and while he’s there, the crowds are there, of course, and some friends bring a paralytic to him. You’ll notice here that Matthew frequently condenses material he just wants to get right to the point he’s a math major. That’s why he’s a tax collector and so no, no extraneous details. All right, let’s get so you know the story. This is the one where they have to go up on the roof and, like, dig a hole in the roof and then drop the guy, Matthew’s, like, we don’t need any of that information. All right. Let’s just get to the story here Jesus seeing their faith just interesting, because that’s plural. It’s not just the paralytics faith, but also his friends faith. Jesus, seeing their faith, says that this man’s sins are forgiven. Faith is, of course, necessary for our salvation. We must believe to be saved. But then Jesus, seeing their faith, you know, he says Your sins are forgiven, and we’re all of us scratching our heads at this point, because that wasn’t really the request. Was it like we would like you to deal with paralysis, not whatever it is you’re talking about here. But Jesus is, of course, the great physician, and so he meets the man’s deepest needs, not just felt needs, and we’re not always good at understanding the difference. Are we like? How many of you, at some point in your life asked God for a little more financial security, because that’s what you need, and God’s going No What you need is dependence. You need to learn to trust in your provider, and so I will leave you in financial insecurity for a little bit longer. So Jesus, as the great physician, deals with what’s most significant and what’s most urgent. First, like, imagine you’re in a car accident, you’re taken to the hospital, and you’re there. You broke your pinky, and you also have a brain hemorrhage. What do you think the doctor is going to do? Going to deal with? Doesn’t matter if you come in going, Doc, Doc, my pinky, it’s killing me. Do something, please. The doctor can be like, hang on, all right, there’s something more urgent here. That’s what Jesus is doing, too. The danger of eternal damnation is far greater than the very real inconvenience of paralysis, especially in a culture without a safety net. Well, the religious leaders don’t like this, that’s for sure, because only God can forgive sins, which means Jesus is and make no mistake, Jesus Absolutely. Is here claiming to be God, despite quite clearly being flesh and blood. And so the Pharisees are upset. And Christians have a nasty habit of really judging the Pharisees harshly, right? And so that’s what we’re doing here, too. Like you idiots, how can you not see that Jesus is God? Look, they drew a really wise conclusion based on what they knew of God’s Word. God’s word tells us that God is Spirit. And Hear, O Israel, the LORD your God, the Lord is one. So there’s one God, and he’s spirit, and here’s a man going, I’m God. You can understand why they thought he’s blaspheming because he’s claiming to be God when he isn’t. Except that Jesus, of course, is God. The story is all a bit more complicated than they knew. Revelation unfolds progressively here, and so we know that the one God exists eternally in three persons, sharing the one divine nature, but the second person takes on another nature, human nature, and is clothed in flesh. So Jesus is God. So he rebukes them gently and shows them who he really is by asking the question, well, which is easier to say Your sins are forgiven, or take up your mat and walk. Which is easier to say, Well, it depends on your view, really. So let me give you two ways to read this. The first would be, let’s call it the modern skeptical view, skeptical of miracles in particular, right? And so the skeptical view would say, well, it’s easier to say Your sins are forgiven because there’s no proof one way or the other. You can’t really falsify it. Whereas, if I say, take up your mat and walk, and then you’re unable to take up your mat and walk, I’ve been proven false. So it’s easier to say Your sins are forgiven. So Jesus is going to say the harder thing, also, that would not be the view of the Pharisees. The Pharisees know God can heal. They’ve read their Bibles. So it is easier to heal, because men like Elijah and Elisha do this, but only God can forgive sins. So Jesus is actually making a lesser to a greater argument. Here, I’ll do the lesser thing to show you that I can do the greater thing. Because would God grant me the ability to perform a miracle if I’m a blasphemer? And the answer would be no, of course, not. So whichever way you take it, and again, likely you’re coming from the skeptical view. It proves his point. Jesus has authority to forgive sins, and He proves it by healing this paralytic. Now we can miss this when we’re reading miracle stories like what it’s all about is this story about Jesus’s ability to heal. No, is it about, as some you know, prosperity gospels would say, the faith required for healing. No, it is not. This miracle happens to show that Jesus has come to save sinners, and because He’s God, he has the authority to do so the king can pardon rebels against his throne. And so the healing proves to the Pharisees, but even to the paralytic, that his sins really are forgiven. When he gets up and walks, he goes, I am spiritually healed too, because the same guy told me that you think of how that would feel for him, and by the way, that’s this is proof for us too. We should have that same feeling within us if we have come to Christ in repentance and faith, our sins really are forgiven. And he has proven it here in this moment, proven it even more when he walked out of the grave. Then Jesus and again. I don’t think this is immediately afterwards, but Matthew gives it to us right afterwards. Jesus sees Matthew, the author of this gospel, by the way. So Jesus goes from proving that he has the authority to forgive sinners, to calling a sinner to himself, clear, thematically, but look at what happens wherever Jesus goes. The crowds crowd him. Even sinners crowd him wherever he goes, even like the worst sinners tax collectors, because when Jesus walks through another town, there’s wee little Zacchaeus climbing his sycamore tree so that he can see Jesus. They all want to see Jesus, not Matthew. Did you notice that he saw Matthew and all the hubba whole crowds coming and Matthew is there? Are sitting in his tax booth, still totally unconcerned with the spectacle around him. This is the money obsessed workaholic who can’t look up from his computer no matter the office commotion, because time equals money people And nevertheless, Jesus calls him, what a reminder to us, by the way, that God does not love us. Set his love on us because we’re lovely. Once you reach a certain that’s like, how marriage works, right? You meet somebody where you’re like, I think you’re good enough that I’m willing to do this for the rest of my life. That’s not how God works. It’s not like, okay, we’re lovely enough that he’s going to choose No. God loves us when we are unlovely, sets his love on us and, in the process, then makes us lovely and equally shocking, I think, at least from the human perspective, Matthew follows him. This guy who wouldn’t get up to see the commotion. All Jesus has to do is say, come here and he’s up and he’s running. That is a picture, by the way, of God’s sovereign, irresistible call. When Jesus calls you, you will get up and come. We saw that last week with Saul on his way to Damascus. Why? You know Jesus isn’t isn’t convincing people. He’s not saying, hey, you know if you want to come, you make your own decision if you want to come. I’m over here. That’s not how it works, because, well, Katelyn read it for us earlier. What happens in conversion is that God opens blind eyes to see the light of His glory in the face of Christ. And so if God unblinds You, you can’t help but see that’s the irresistible grace of our God that should give us such hope, shouldn’t it? Aren’t you so encouraged reading this story, no one not even uninterested. Sinful Matthew is beyond the reach of grace, so don’t count yourself out if you’re sitting there thinking, Yeah, but Jesus would never forgive my sins. Sure he would. He’s forgiven people like you from the beginning, and maybe better still for us, because most of us in this room would go, yes, my sins have been forgiven. I believe in this. Don’t count your loved ones out either don’t count the uninterested person sitting at his desk, unwilling to look up at the office commotion, the colleague you can’t stand because the grace of God can reach even him or her. Because Matthew is a tax collector, and that is as bad as it gets, right? He is a greedy sellout and a traitor to his own people, by the way. Just let’s you know, play imagination here for a moment. Use our imaginations as we read this story. Can you imagine Jesus explaining to his other disciples what he’s about to do? He’s got at least four disciples at this point, Peter, Andrew, James and John. Imagine him going, guys, you know, hey, church is growing. I think we need to hire more staff, so I’m gonna bring on one more disciple here. Okay, they’re like, Great ID, you know, it’s Peter who’s talking, of course. Peter’s like, this is a great idea. Lord, great. You know, who you bringing on? He says, I’m gonna bring on Matthew, good, good Jewish name. Love it from Levi. All right, not my favorite tribe, but, you know, all right, still, Israel, yep. Let’s do it. And he’s a tax collector. I’m gonna hold you up right there, Lord. Because again, you know, Peter would say that if you choose this guy who is hated by our entire nation, you will alienate everyone. That’ll be the end of your little church. It will hamstring your cause for ever. And he would have a point, unless Jesus’ cause was saving sinners, in which case, he’s the poster child for it, along with Peter, by the way, who also needed some work, and you and me, but Peter had a point, because, sure enough, people are not impressed. The Pharisees come up right away. Why is he eating with sinners? That is not a question, that is an accusation, because this is defiling to Jesus. That’s how it would work, right? You don’t hang out with sinners, because you get their stink on you, and so Jesus is just like wallowing in the sinful muck here. Why would you do that? And Jesus tells them, and interestingly, he connects healing and forgiveness again. So another link between the stories. He says, it’s the sick. Who need a doctor, right? Not the healthy, which makes sense, but he’s showing them that they did not understand the purpose of the Messiah’s coming. Jesus is the Messiah, the Jewish savior. But why would he come? And you understand this by the because if you read the Old Testament, one of the things that happens when Messiah comes is that that God brings vengeance unattended. We studied the prophets here, right? We know this is how it happens. What we wouldn’t have known back then is that Jesus comes twice. Messiah comes twice, the first time he comes in mercy, the second time, yes, he will come in the end, in final judgment. But the purpose here Jesus has come not to crush the sinful and exalt the righteous, self righteous, we should say, but to save and transform and heal sinners so they missed the boat, which is why he tells them you need to go learn what this verse means, which is amusing, by the way, to tell them they need to go learn they’re the teachers of the law. This is like teaching a guy with a PhD in American Lit. You need to go back to your sixth grade language arts class because you lack basic reading comprehension skills. Like that’s what he has just said to them, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. It’s not the cult system that matters. What matters is the heart of God toward sinners. Jesus, if you look at that verse in context, in Hosea, he’s basically calling these leaders apostate. They have left the faith because they have preserved the outward ceremony without the inward heart, the covenant love that’s at the center of it all, which means, by the way, this is always misunderstood. Here, he is not calling the Pharisees righteous. He’s not saying, you all are fine. I gotta help these people. He’s helping everybody to understand, we’re all sick. We all need a doctor because there’s a new message, a new mission, almost, in the kingdom, and it is a message of grace. And so it is calling those who see that they are sick to come and be healed. There’s a legend that sprang up around the Apostles Creed. And I just want to stress, this is legend. This is a myth. This has no basis in history whatsoever, okay, but the legend was the apostles wrote the Apostles Creed, again, unlikely to be true, but still good summary of the Apostolic Faith. And so there are 12 articles in the Apostles Creed. And so each of the 12 Disciples contributed one of these articles of faith. You can almost see like, Alright, what do you know? Peter? You go first, obviously. What are you going to say? Oh, Imma talk about that. What are you going to do if that were the case? You know which one Matthew? Did you know that Matthew was the one who said, I tell you what I believe in the forgiveness of sins? Guess I lived it well, as he’s enjoying all of this, and we are, too. Another group shows up, actually interesting. So we had three groups in these three vignettes, and all three ask a wine skin, sort of question. So Jesus, a new message. That’s the new wine, right? And you can’t put in an old wine skin, which is just animal skin, literally. And so it gets brittle over time. Put new wine in, continues to ferment. Gasses form, boom. The whole thing blows up. You lose the wine and the wine skin. You put new wine into a new wine skin. And so here are the three groups, the three questions. The scribes came first of all, way back with a paralytic. They didn’t ask a question, but it’s there, hanging in the background, of course, who can forgive but God and the old wine skin? Answer is, no one. No one can forgive. Although, if you bring an animal to the priests in the temple sacrificial system, they make the sacrifice, you’ll be covered. Jesus gives the new wineskin answer when he says, okay, okay, sure, but first of all, I’m the high priest, and I’m about to offer myself as the true sacrifice in the heavenly temple to win you forgiveness for sins. Oh, and by the way, I am God, so also I can forgive sins. Then the Pharisees show up. Why is he eating with sinners and the old wine skin answer is, there’s no reason you don’t do that. You separate from them so you don’t get defiled by them. And the new wine skin answer that Jesus gives is, grace is coming for sinners to heal them. And then this third group shows up, and it’s John, John the Baptist disciples. This is Jesus’s cousin his disciples. And there’s asking, why don’t you guys fast the way we do, which is interesting. This is the second group to interrupt Jesus’ dinner with Matthew’s sinful friends. The Pharisees interrupted to say, Why are you eating with them? And then John’s. Disciples show up and go, actually, why are you eating at all? Because John’s ministry was one of repentance. That’s what he came preaching, right? Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and fasting is a sign of repentance. So this shocks His disciples to see that Jesus, who, by the way, also came preaching repent, the kingdom of God is here. Why aren’t they? It’s like they’re not taking the message as seriously as John and his disciples. But Jesus is different, because Jesus is the bridegroom, which John himself said, By the way, you can read that John chapter three, Jesus is the bridegroom, and you don’t fast at the wedding. You feast at weddings. I mean, John Chapter Two, you might even have a glass of really good wine at weddings. This is a time to celebrate, by the way, Jesus, in saying that He’s the bridegroom, is once again, saying that he is God. This is there throughout the Old Testament. I’ll just give you one, Isaiah 54, verse five. Isaiah says, your maker, Creator God is your husband. Jesus says, I’m the husband, ergo, I’m creator god, I’m your Maker. So links back that first story again. So what about now? Okay, so John’s disciples, fast repentance. Jesus’s disciples feast because the bridegroom is here. What about us? Because the bridegroom has come, but he’s also gone away again. We do both. We fast and we feast, we repent and we rejoice. And that’s exactly what Jesus says, My followers, they will fast. That’s so carefully phrased, it does not say they ought to fast. They must fast. They will fast. We get to fast under grace, to express the urgency of our prayers, to focus our minds and hearts on things above, to express sorrow or contrition for sin, but we don’t have to fast to earn our salvation, or, more likely, the reason we would do it to impress other people. There’s a new message God, and by God I mean Jesus, right? Jesus, but we now we know he’s God. God has come for sinners, and so Jesus critiques and rejects any view that can’t hold the new wine of that message just important before we turn the page here too to go, okay, in the church, we’re the ones most likely to get an old wine skin mentality. It was religious groups that kept coming to Jesus here. So we just need to constantly evaluate what we’re doing, because, again, it is the religious groups that always end up rebelling against grace, and so we’re constantly falling into pride in our own works, and then disdain and judgment for those who aren’t measuring up to our standards. We begin to reject unworthy types like Matthew people who sin in certain ways, or vote different ways, or whatever it is we want people. You know, it’s so common, right? People come to the church and go, you are too messy for here. You need to get your life together before you show up on Sunday. The reason why we call it our Sunday best, and that is just not what we see in Matthew’s story. So we just need to constantly evaluate God has come for sinners like us, so Let’s preach that message, but also live that message. Second scene, new miracles. God has come to heal sinners. Verses 18 to 34 I will read it again. While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, My daughter has just died, but come and put your hand on her and she will live. Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples. Just then, a woman who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, if I only touch his cloak, I will be healed. Jesus turned and saw her take heart, daughter. He said, Your faith has healed you, and the woman was healed at that moment when Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, he said, Go away. Girl is not dead, but asleep. They laughed at him. After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand and she got up. News of this spread throughout all that region. As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, have mercy on us. Son of David, when he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, Do you believe that I am able to do this? Yes, Lord, they replied, and he touched their eyes and said, according to your faith, let it be done to you. And their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly see that no one knows about this. They went out and spread the news about him all over. For that region. While they were going out, a man who was demon possessed and could not talk, was brought to Jesus. When the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. Crowd was amazed and said, Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel, but the Pharisees said, it is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons. So Messiah, God himself is here, and he’s come for sinners specifically, but now we know to do what with them, to heal them. We kept linking it in the last section, but Jesus now lives it, because five people are healed in short order. And it starts with Jairus, who is a synagogue leader, which is really important, by the way, that means he’s head of the old wine skin, someone who is righteous and healthy in his mind. And he’s doing this in the middle of the conversation that Jesus is having about the wine skins while he was saying this, it begins verse 18. So right in the middle of that conversation, Jairus shows up, just imagine the response of the Pharisees who were there watching this. They would be like, I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. Has the whole world gone mad? Why are you coming to him and asking him this? And the answer is, Because Jairus is desperate. Wouldn’t you be? So he comes with imperfect confidence that Jesus can do this, imperfect because clearly he does not fully understand who Jesus is, but he understands enough. He understands enough because he knows that God is with him in a special way, the way he was with Elijah and Elisha. And guess what both of them did. They raised the dead so maybe he can raise my daughter. And so they go on their way. By the way, notice Matthew condensed this again, ordinarily, Jairus comes when the daughter is still sick. The woman interrupts and stalls him long enough that the daughter dies at that point. Again, Matthew’s like, nope, let’s just get right to it. So as they’re leaving, the woman sneaks up to touch the fringe of Jesus’s robe, because she is equally and maybe even more so desperate. You think, how could you be more desperate than losing a child? I don’t want to like compare suffering here. Okay, that sounds awful, but this woman has never had the opportunity to have children. She’s lost all possibility of children, and also a husband and also a job and also welcome in her religion, like ability to have community like she has nothing because she is perpetually unclean. She is the definition of an outcast. She is undoubtedly superstitious. And so this is again, imperfect trust. Why are you touching the robe? You think it’s magic? You know like, again, we don’t she doesn’t have perfect theology. But as the church father Jerome put it her touch on the hem of His garment was the cry of a believing heart. And personally, I find this encouraging again, because we don’t need perfect doctrine to come to Jesus. We come messy and we get it later. We learn. After we come, we grow, we mature. Afterwards we come like little children who can’t always articulate why they trust dad. They just know that they can. And then as they grow up, they go, Oh, now I see where I can, and notice that Jesus commends her superstitious, immature faith, because Jesus loves when we come, desperate as both do, so she’s healed. Then we get to Jairus house, and Jesus redefines death. She’s not dead. She’s asleep. Okay? Death is like a nap on the way to eternity, they laugh at him. They see that clearly he’s starting to believe his own PR. And by the way, he is believing his own PR because he knows who he is, and so he this is really important. He touches the corpse. You know what you don’t do as a pious Jew, touch the corpse because that defiles you. But we’ve already seen what Jesus does, right? The flow goes the other way when it comes to Jesus. Jesus undefiles The sinful and Jesus brings life to the dead. That is the gospel in miniature, right there, by the way, Jesus takes on and defeats our death while we’re lying there, doing nothing whatsoever to contribute to our own salvation. At the cross, he defeated our spiritual death, and at the empty tomb, he defeated our physical death, and in that is our hope. This is a big deal. News spreads, crowds follow, including two blind men. You can imagine, everybody is chirping at. Jesus here, right? Would you help me with this? Would you do this? Would you talk to this guy for me? The blind men little bit louder, okay, and they’re just yelling, son of David, have mercy on me. Son of David is a messianic title. It’s actually the very beginning of Matthew’s gospel. You know, this is genealogy of Jesus, the son of David. So these blind men are the only ones who see so far, because they recognize Jesus is the Messiah, at least, and they know what happens when Messiah comes. Isaiah, 35 verses five and six. When Messiah comes, then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears the deaf unstopped, then will the lame leap like a deer and the mute tongue shout for joy. So they reason, well, if Messiah is here, he can open our eyes, he can open our eyes, he can heal us. Interestingly, they ask for mercy, not healing. So maybe they understood their deepest need here. Unlike the paralytic, Jesus goes inside, he doesn’t say, Come, you know, follow me. Let’s talk inside. He just goes inside. I imagine this is sort of testing their faith. Are they going to come after him? And sure enough, they do. They won’t let him go. They got the same desperation. Jesus also, this way, gets them away from the crowd so that they don’t misunderstand who he is and what he’s come to do. And he asked them a question to direct their faith not just to generic God, but to himself, right? He asked, Do you believe that I can do this? Not to believe that God can do this? And they say yes. So it’s almost like the question he asked his disciples later, who do you say that I am? And they answer, well, and so according to their faith, in other words, because they believe their request is granted, their eyes are opened, and then Jesus warns them sternly, don’t tell people, because, again, they’re not ready to know that I’m the Messiah, because they’ve got messed up ideas of what a Messiah will come and do they didn’t obey. And there’s part of you that wants to go, well, they’re so excited, of course, they almost couldn’t obey here. But I think there’s a subtle rebuke in this story. I think Matthew is telling us that it is better to be blind and obedient than sighted and not. And I think he’s showing us how easy it is to stop living by faith once we’re no longer desperate, you probably have lived that right, where there was a time when you know you knew you needed God, and as soon as the problem got taken care of, get to live on my own again, and that’s where you stop keeping commands, of course. Then we get one more quick healing, although it’s interesting, we get no conversation here, probably because he’s a deaf mute. So Jesus simply exercises the demon, and all of a sudden he can talk. By the way, did you notice that’s the end of Isaiah, 35 then. So we’ve covered all of them. Okay, have the eyes the blind been opened? Yes, ears, the deaf unstopped? Yes, lame, leaping like a deer. Yep, that was the paralytic and then the mute tongue shouting for joy. So he’s done all of that. We know he’s Messiah. But why does Matthew include this story? And why does Matthew not have any conversation with the man? And it’s because of the Pharisees response, because they don’t believe or even marvel at what just happened. They don’t reason from Isaiah 35 that this must be the Messiah. They see the miracle and blame satan. Which means this miracle is not about a deaf man, but about blind men, not the two blind men that we met earlier that Jesus opened their eyes. That would be t, w, O, I’m talking here two blind men, T, O, O, stealing the joke from Doug O’Donnell. But appreciation there. They’re so blind that they cannot see reality. So these new miracles show that Jesus is the Messiah. What Messiah’s mission is that God has come to heal sinners, body and soul. Now how do we respond? Of course, we open our eyes to behold His glory. We come desperate, begging God to heal us, to meet us in our need. But then we go and share the news, and that’s the last scene. New motivations. God has compassion on sinners. 935, to 10, four be much shorter. Here, Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Jesus called His 12 disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. And he calls the 12 Apostles. You can read the names there. There’s a shift here, right in this section. The first two sections were really for those. You who aren’t sure about Jesus, it was about people coming to him the first time, but most of us here are at least well, what now? What do we do once we come to Jesus, receive this forgiveness, we do what Jesus does? We see, what Jesus sees. So I read a story just this week. Just saw it on social media was somebody was walking behind an older couple that an older couple that we all aspire to be. You know, still in their 70s, still walking together, they’re still holding hands. And this woman overheard the conversation. The wife said, did you notice the daffodils have bloomed? And the husband said, Of course, I noticed. I notice everything you love. He didn’t care about daffodils, but he knew his wife cared about daffodils, and so as a result, he did care about the daffodils. That is a picture of what we should be like as Jesus’s bride. What does Jesus love? Better still? Whom does Jesus love? And how can we love them too? So Jesus continues his kingdom ministry. He’s proclaiming it. He’s embodying it by healing. It says here every disease and sickness as he’s doing this, he looks out at the crowds again, likely coming for their felt needs. Pinky is broken, not the brain hemorrhage, and he has compassion on them, because our God is a God of love. And some of you are like, Yeah, we know that one. Okay, we’re running out of time here. Let’s not stop here. It’s easy to take that for granted, but we shouldn’t, okay. The only reason we take it for granted is because we’ve grown up in a culture steeped in Christianity, Ask a Muslim imam if God is love and receive the blank stare they will give you. And then ask, by the way, if we should love, as God loves us, if we should love even our enemies, the infidels, and the answer will be no. Or ask a Hindu Brahmin why it’s Mother Teresa who was caring for the pariahs in Calcutta? Whether or not those pariahs deserved divine love? No, and there’s a reason. It’s Mother Teresa that is clothed with this sort of Christian compassion. We should not take for granted that God looks on us with compassion, but God is love, and Jesus is God. So he so he feels in his depths His compassion for the lost. They’re like sheep without a shepherd, and he’s the Good Shepherd who will give his life for the sheep that they might have the abundant life he’s come to give them. And then Jesus prays that God would raise up workers, men and women zealous to see the good news reach the desperate. So if we’re following Jesus, we will see what Jesus sees and then feel what Jesus feels, and then do what Jesus does. That’s the point. That’s why this follows the last few stories we’ve gotten. Jesus gives us a new motivation for mission. God has compassion on sinners, so we will have compassion on them too, which is why Jesus then immediately sends the 12 out to do what he’s been doing. Gives them authority to what heal every disease and sickness exactly what he has been doing, and He forms the church. He calls the 12 Disciples, 12, because they replaced the 12 tribes of Israel. This is the new people of God. He forms to continue his kingdom work. So it is unmistakable that we are meant to be the answer to the prayers we offer about the harvest. We pray, God, would you raise up laborers to go into the fields as we lace up our boots to go into the fields? So let’s pull these strands together. Then so God came for sinners to heal them, because he has compassion on them. What’s the big idea? Then just pull all those together. Our compassionate Savior came to save sinners like you and me, desperate people. So get up and follow him. We’re gonna see what that looks like next week, but for now, we get this. We’re gonna feel what Jesus feels right. Then we’re gonna pray for our laborers and we’re gonna follow Jesus and proclaim that message. What do you do if you’re not a disciple, not a Christian, not sure about Jesus? I think the choice is here before you in this passage, are you going to come desperate or self reliant? Are you going to come as a sinner or self righteous, someone trusting in their own works, whether religious or not, for their salvation. The reality is, we all sin, we are all sick, we all will face desperate circumstances. At the very least, you will face death. So now is the time to come to him, Son of David, have mercy on us. Amen. And he has and he does when we come desperate and trusting he will. Let’s pray to him now, Lord Jesus, Son of David, we pray that you would have mercy on us now, we pray that you would meet our deepest needs, the forgiveness of our sins. The removal of our guilt and shame
and our reconciliation with the Father and Lord. We know that you have done that you have come for us already. You have lived the life we were supposed to live, and died the death we deserve to die so that we could be welcomed in your place. I pray now, Lord, that those of us who believe that, who have trusted in you, would follow you and take that message to those who need to hear it. I pray for those Lord who don’t know you yet, that even now, you would make them aware of their deepest need your love and compassion toward them, that you would open blind eyes, that they might see you for who you are and turn and trust and be forgiven. Amen.

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A Gospel That Transforms July 27, 2025 | Alex Rodriguez The sermon by Alex Rodriguez focuses on the transformative power of Jesus Christ, using the story of Saul (Paul) in Acts 9 as a primary example. Rodriguez illustrates how Jesus meets people in their worst moments with mercy, confronting and redirecting their lives rather than condemning them. He emphasizes that salvation is just the beginning, and true faith involves surrendering to God’s mission and being willing to be transformed. The key message is that when Jesus opens your eyes, He rewrites your life, calling believers to show mercy, welcome others, and serve God with purpose.

Well, thank you, first to the pastors and also to all of you for welcoming me in. It’s been such an honor, and I’ve learned so much being here. So thank you for that. I want to say good morning to all of you when I ask you to get your Bibles out and turn to Acts chapter nine. We’re gonna be looking at verses one through 19. Acts nine, one through 19. And while you’re turning there, I want to prepare us for our message today by telling you a beautiful testimony of another Christian brother. His name is Kamal Saleem. Kamal was born in Lebanon to a devout Sunni Muslim family, and from a very young age, being born into this family, he was indoctrinated into this radical Islamic belief, and he eventually got recruited into the PLO, or the Palestinian Liberation Organization. This organization taught him how to carry out what we would call terror attacks. So from a young age, he’s learning all of this, and he’s taught that his life purpose is to wage jihad or struggle against all the enemies of Islam, especially Jews and Christians. And as the years go on, Kamal gains status in the PLO. He’s rising in the ranks. He’s taking part in lots of operations that they’re putting on. And then the 1980s he’s actually sent overseas to the US with a new mission. His mission is to go into western civilization, to infiltrate it and find new members of jihad. And for many years, he did just that really well. He was heavily active in many radical Islamic circles. He was in mosques recruiting people for his cause. But then one day, everything changed. Kamal was driving, and he got into a terrible car accident. He was terribly injured, and so what happens is, he’s in the hospital. He’s injured, he’s recovering, and he needs someone to take care of him, but Kamal is here in the US alone, away from his family. So who does that? A man steps up. A Christian man takes him in. Doesn’t know Kamal, who he is, what his story, what his life is, but he takes him in and cares for him. And this Christian man, his family and his friends cared for him so well, loving Him, showing him compassion and kindness that he’d never seen, especially from the very people that he sought out to destroy later in his life, Kamal said, I felt the love of Christ through them before I had even heard the gospel. So this family’s care had softened Kamal’s heart and prepared him for what came next, because one night in a dream, Kamal encountered Jesus. Jesus showed up to him and said, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life No one comes to the Father except through me. Kamal woke up terrified, obviously, and after this encounter, Kamal picked up the Bible and began studying it and comparing it to the Quran. And a little while later, he gave his life to Christ and was born again. Kamal then became a passionate follower of Christ. He was speaking out against the dangers of radical Islam, but he was also preaching the transforming power of the gospel. Maybe you’ve heard this story before. You probably haven’t, and it makes you think of something else. For me, it makes me think of one of the most influential people in our New Testament, a man named Saul. Saul was a devout Pharisee. So when the Jews began preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, Saul did what he believed was right. But first, Saul is another name for Paul. We hear Saul change from Paul, and we think, Oh, wow, look at the way the Lord changed his name and gave him this new identity. That’s not what it is. It’s not that deep. Saul is his Hebrew name. So when he’s hanging out with his Pharisee friends or his Jewish friends, they’d call him Saul when he’s hanging out with his Roman friends, and when he became the apostle to the Gentiles, they call him Paul. It’s much like if I were to go to Puerto Rico and my dad’s family were to call me Alejandro, but here, everyone calls me Alex or Alexander. It’s the same concept. So these two stories of Saul and Kamal are so incredibly similar, because, like Kamal, Saul was so zealous for his religion, even to the. Point of violence, just like Kamal Saul had an encounter with Jesus that changed everything, like Kamal Saul was transformed from a persecutor to a Proclaimer of the gospel. So today, as we look through our passage, we’re going to watch how Saul goes from an infamous sinner to a kingdom servant in four scenes. Well, first, I want to give you a little background, as these are one off series. It’s good to get that. So the book of Acts written by a man named Luke. It’s his second letter. The first one was the book of Luke. Yes, good job, we’re waking up. It’s the book of Luke. And acts as a follow up to this gospel of Jesus Christ that he was sending to his friend named Theophilus. And this is a continuation where, after Jesus has ascended and has in his absence, the church is now being his disciples. Luke says, Look at the way that God is still working, even through the ascension and absence of Jesus. So what is going on in this ancient world at this point? Acts? Gives us a pretty clear description in the upcoming chapters. It says there is a separation in Jerusalem between two groups of people, a group that our passage today is going to call the way, and the other group, the Jews. And as this tension continues to build and rise, the way sends out this man named Stephen. And Stephen is preaching. He’s speaking to the Pharisees, and he tells them, You guys are wrong. You’re not opening your hearts. You’re not opening your minds to what God is truly saying. You’re not listening to the messages and the messengers that God is sending to you. And the Pharisees are furious at this, so they take Stephen, they stone him, and Stephen becomes the first recorded Christian martyr. And at the beginning of chapter eight, we meet Saul for the first time, because acts 81 tells us that Saul approved of their killing him. Saul approved of the stoning of Stephen and the stoning drove all of Jesus’ followers out of Jerusalem and into the surrounding cities. But they didn’t just sit there idly. They didn’t just stay and not do anything. Jesus’ followers did good work. Acts 84 tells us that those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went, and this is where we get to chapter nine. The Jewish higher ups, the Pharisees, have started noticing these followers of the way in the surrounding cities, preaching the gospel of Jesus and being good Pharisees, they decided to do something about this, and this is when we re meet Saul at the beginning of chapter nine, where we see our first scene, a merciful confrontation. So follow along with me as I read verses one through five. Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared near Damascus on his journey, suddenly, a light from Heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, Saul. Saul, why do you persecute me? Who are you Lord? Saul, asked, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting? He replied, so. Jesus meets Saul at the height of his rebellion, on the way to persecute his people with mercy, not with destruction. Saul was, and has been for a while, breathing out threats against the Lord’s disciples. In other words, Saul was so consumed with hatred towards Jesus’ disciples, he wasn’t just misguided, but this was the very thing that gave his life breath. This was his life purpose. He was actively hunting down Christ’s followers all while believing he was honoring God. Saul is obsessed. He’s active on a mission to arrest, persecute and silence Christians. And yet Jesus shows up. Think about this. While Saul was on the road to Damascus, Jesus could have done a couple things. Could have sent a wild animal, and had Saul killed right there on the spot, he could have struck him down where he stood. We could have opened the earth to swallow Saul up. And if God had decided to do that, his plan would still be done. We would all still be here today. The gospel would be spread. God could have ended Saul in one flash of divine judgment, and his story could have ended right there in Acts nine. We even would probably read that and say, that’s fair. Saul deserved that, but that’s not what Jesus does. See Jesus blinded him. He doesn’t break him. Jesus confronts him and gives him a new mission. He doesn’t condemn him and push him to the side. That’s mercy, instead of ignoring or destroying Saul, Jesus intercepts and redirects him. We live in a time where we’re so quick to condemn and cut people off, but Jesus shows us a better way. He didn’t avoid Saul like he was some disgusting mess up. He didn’t destroy him like some unredeemable monster. He intercepted Saul with truth and love. So are we following Christ’s example, when a co worker lets you down or is annoying or bad at their job, are you going to say bad things about them? Are you going to ignore them? Are you going to sabotage them, or are you going to choose to meet them with mercy, pushing them to something better while loving them? In our cancel culture today, when someone makes a mistake, do you count them out? Do you let their life get ruined, refuse to pay them any peace of mind, or do you meet them with mercy? Do you allow yourself to love and forgive those that have done terrible things? Do you follow Christ’s example, or do you follow the world’s example, because if Jesus did not confront Saul, mercifully, the way we look at Saul today, would be so much different, but he mercifully allowed Saul into His kingdom and turned a murderer into an apostle. And the same goes for you and for me. If Jesus had not mercifully encountered us while we were on our path to sin, where would we be today? Christ has given you new life. He’s given you a new heart. He’s given you new motives and a new way. So are you going to live out Jesus’ example of mercy, or are you going to follow the world’s way of condemnation? Now I want to shift our attention over to the name of this early Christian church. The way, I almost wonder if Christ’s followers gathered together to come up with that thinking of something catchy. And they’re like, yeah, the way, that’s it right there. But in the wisdom books, we kind of see where they get this, because there’s a lot of contrast between ways, the right way, the wrong way, the way of the righteous, the way of the unrighteous. And here we see that Christ’s followers are acknowledging that this is the right way, this is the way to salvation. This is it. This is the way we were meant to live, not any other way away from Christ. But we see that Saul is going on his way. Saul has made his own mission. He’s dedicated his own life to his own goal. But for the first time, when Jesus confronts him, Saul’s mission is messed up, and later we’re going to see in the passage that Christ tells Saul to go and wait to hear what Jesus is going to have him do next. Saul was called to sit and wait. He wasn’t sit told to go, think of what to do next. Go, plan out your life. He wasn’t told to go plan out his next adventure and what he’s going to say next. He said to sit and wait for God’s call. His life is no longer going his way, but it’s going the way of Christ. And then Jesus asks Saul a question that hits heavy. Saul. Saul, why are you persecuting me? It’s not why are you persecuting my people, but why are you persecuting me? Jesus identifies so deeply with his church that when his people are persecuted, he is persecuted. That is the deepness of a relationship that Jesus has with us. Saul thought he was getting rid of heretics, but he was actually attacking the Son of God Himself. And what does Jesus do? He doesn’t shame Saul, but he calls him to him. He doesn’t destroy Saul, but he names him as one of his own. Jesus meets us where we are, even if we’re running the wrong direction. No one is too far gone, not a murderous Pharisee, not a Muslim terrorist, not your annoying neighbor, not you or me. No one is too far gone. And it’s interesting the way that God changes Saul’s life. He doesn’t drop this giant weight on him. Says, Saul, your entire life, everything you’ve worked toward is a lie. And then says, All right, let’s go on mission. He says, Saul, you have time to reflect now. And that’s where we come to our second scene, where we move from the merciful confrontation to a humbling blindness. Verse six through nine tells us this in. Jesus said, Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do. And the men traveling with Saul stood there speechless. They heard the sound, but didn’t see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes, he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus for three days he was blind, did not eat or drink anything. Saul, the great Pharisee, rises from the ground blind, and this blinding of Saul was not merely physical. It was an outward expression of an inward reality, a picture of what’s been true of Saul this entire time, Saul has been spiritually blind to Jesus this whole time, but now, in losing his sight, he’s being prepared to truly see God brings him to a complete stop. Saul is helpless, humiliated. He has to be led by the hand like a child for three days, he doesn’t eat, he doesn’t drink. He sits, reflecting, breaking, listening, sometimes, before God can use us, he has to undo us. He has to strip us down of what we think matters, not to hurt us, but to prepare us for what he has next. Saul needed to unlearn everything before he could be remade by grace, and that’s what a lot of us miss. You want the clarity, you want the calling, you want the purpose, but to get this, you need the brokenness. You can’t be sent on mission for God until your heart has placed him above everything else and is prepared to serve Him, just like how God blinded Saul so he could finally see he’s seeking to humble you, not to harm you, but to heal you, to make you better for His kingdom. So are you in a space right now where you feel stuck or quiet or unseen or even useless before God, then I encourage you to open up your heart to the possibility that this season of weakness is preparing you for a new kind of sight and a new kind of mission. But maybe that’s not where you’re at today. Maybe you’re weighed down by something else. Maybe you’re weighed down by a burden for someone else. And that’s where our scene sort of shifts its attention from Saul to another man, Ananias. In our third scene, a courageous welcome. Follow with me in verses 10 through 17. In Damascus, there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in event. In a vision, Ananias, Yes, Lord. He answered. The Lord told him go to the house of Judas on straight street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul for he is praying. In a vision, he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight. Lord, Ananias answered, I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem, and he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name. But the Lord said to Ananias, go, this man is my chosen instrument to proclaim My name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name. Then, Ananias went to the house and entered it, placing his hands on Saul, he said, Brother Saul the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit. So our scenes shift from Saul to Ananias. God is telling his disciple go lay hands on this notorious killer that has given his entire life to hunting down people just like you. And Ananias does what many of us would use, as you know God, not to question you in all your infinite wisdom and everything, but you sure? I mean, this man is pretty dangerous. Saul has a reputation, and it’s not a good one. He’s infamous, infamous, known for the terrible things that he’s done. He’s the one who’s probably arrested many of Ananias friends probably allowed them to be killed, and now Saul is going to be welcomed by this man, all because God called Saul his chosen instrument. God didn’t just forgive Saul, he turned his life around and gave him new purpose. And I can imagine the fear in Saul here. He has been against this for so long. They have feared him for so long, and now God is telling him go and join their ranks. How could he ever live up to this call from God if they viewed him this way? And. They would never accept him. He would be an outcast. But Ananias follows the Lord’s call, walking in obedience. He lays a hand on Saul and says, brother, Saul. Imagine this moment. Saul just had his life flipped around. He’s unsure of what to do next. He’s lost, he’s probably terrified, he’s hungry, and Ananias is told to welcome one of his greatest enemies, someone he’s avoided for so long. This statement, brother is not just a title, it’s a sign of full inclusion. Ananias is recognizing and inviting Saul. He’s basically saying, Saul, you belong here. You are one of us. You are part of the family. And there are some of you today who feel like this. You feel like Saul, you think God can’t use me because of what I’ve done. My sin is too far past the limits of what God can redeem for His glory. And I want you to I want to point you to Saul and tell you joyously that you’re wrong. God uses broken people. He doesn’t wait for you to have everything under control and for you to feel ready in your timing and your ability. God is going to use you, and is using you in miraculous ways when he sees it fit. All it takes is allowing him to be the True Lord of your life, or maybe, and you don’t recognize this, but you resonate a little bit more with Ananias. Here, you see some people, and you think to yourself, God can’t use them. There’s no way God could save them. They’re too far gone for God. So why would I waste my time worrying about them? And again, I want to tell you, you’re wrong. God met Saul at the height of his hatred towards Christians. There’s a surge of prisoners right now coming to Christ. There are stories of drug abusers, terrorists like Kemal murderers and so many more that are giving themselves to Christ. Even look at ourselves one more time. If I am not too far away from God to be used by him, then no one is be like Ananias. Listen to God’s call to accept those around you. Accept them because God accepts them. That’s going to bring us to our next and final scene, a commissioned life verse, 18 through 19. Say this. Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Now Saul sees, he truly sees. He sees the church. He sees himself and he sees Jesus. His vision has been restored. But more than that, His purpose is restored. Saul has been really good at being a Pharisee. He was, in the Pharisee eyes, a great man. He followed the law of God well. He devoted himself to studying the biblical text and knew them very well. If he didn’t have them memorized on paper, his life was morally good. So then why in Philippians 38 does Paul say that he counts it all as loss. It’s because he did it all without true surrender to God. He did it all his way apart from God. This was his power, his doing, and he could only go so far. But when he surrendered his life to Christ, he became so much greater, and He’s baptized, a declaration of a new beginning and his new allegiance to Jesus. But his story doesn’t end here. Saul then goes and for the first time in three days, he eats some food, gets his strength back, he is now physically and spiritually ready to serve. Your story does not end at the moment of salvation. If the President were to get elected, walk into the White House, walk into the Oval Office, maybe crack his fingers and then hang up his coat and take a nap for four years, we’d have some problems. You can’t treat your mission from God that way. Salvation is just the beginning. Conversion isn’t the end of Saul’s story. It’s the beginning of a lifelong mission after acts nine, there are 11 more chapters that tell us about his missionary journey. There are 13 books of the Bible written by Paul, and they are some of the most theologically rich. Paul, the most dangerous man, becomes one of Christ’s most devoted messengers. He went from hunting and taking down Chris Christians to recruiting them. Paul, a terrorist, to the Christian church, brings the gospel of A crucified Messiah to the Gentiles in. Incredibly unlikely messenger is taking an unlikely message to an unlikely group of people. Saul would have never thought that the Gentiles could be grafted into the body. Your mission may not make sense to you, but God is using you. Paul spread the church. He planted and raised so many leaders. He taught and preached the message of God. He was even imprisoned for his faith. If someone who spent the first years of their life killing Christians can do all of this for Christianity, imagine what you can do if you surrender your life and to the mission of Christ. Are you sitting where you are comfortable? Are you going to answer God’s call if today, those that are going to be baptized were to leave church and not come back or ever talk about their Savior again, they’d be in the wrong. Luckily, we know they wouldn’t do that. Of course, salvation, baptism, it’s the first part of our life in Christ. If you have truly encountered Christ, you will be led to an obedient and spirit filled life. So are you living as someone commissioned by Jesus? Have you moved from Salvation to surrender? This is how the gospel works. God doesn’t clean you up. And then say, All right, go take a breather. He calls you out. He doesn’t just forgive you. He fills you and he commissions you. Saul goes on to become Paul, the great missionary to the Gentiles, theologian and apostle. But it all starts right here, where He’s blinded, broken and then welcomed and sent Jesus rewrote Paul’s life, and that’s our big idea today, when Jesus opens your eyes, he rewrites your life. So let me ask you, where are you resisting Jesus while thinking you’re serving Him? Are you in a season of humbling where God might be preparing you for something more? Who is God calling you to even if it’s scary to you? Have you moved from Salvation to surrender, from grace to mission? Jesus meets us in our worst and he calls us to our best. He doesn’t wait for us to get it together. He meets us in our mess with his mercy. So let’s stop running. Let’s stop resisting. Let us say yes to the mercy that confronts, transforms and commissions us. If you haven’t made the decision yet to give your life to Christ. Jesus is calling you by name, even if you’ve resisted him for years or run from Him. He is not here to shame you. He is here to welcome you. There is a community here ready to welcome you with open arms and say, Welcome home. For those of you that can say confidently that Jesus is the Lord of your life? Who is your Saul? Will you say, Yes, like Ananias, don’t be afraid to share the gospel. God has changed your life. He has changed Saul’s life. So continue to pray, continue to plant seeds. God has the power to confront and change the life of anyone. Let’s go back for a moment to Kamal, the man who once carried hatred in his heart and was committed to destroying Christianity, now carries the gospel in his hands, and he’s committed to building up the church. Why? Because Jesus met him on his road to destruction, and he rewrote his story. Kamal was confronted with mercy, humbled by grace, welcomed by God’s people, and now he’s living a commissioned life, just like Saul, just like you and me are called to Jesus doesn’t just forgive us, he fills us and sends us. When Jesus opens your eyes, he rewrites your life. So I’ll ask again, who is your soul? Who are you afraid to welcome that God is already working on? Have you stopped at salvation, or are you stepping into surrender? Where are you resisting Jesus while thinking you’re serving Him? Kamal said in his testimony that he felt the love of Christ through the Christian man, his family and his friends before he had ever even opened the Bible or heard the gospel. May that be true today of this church, that people would experience mercy and grace and love through us before they even step into the sanctuary, before they even understand the message of the gospel, so that when Jesus opens their eyes, they too might find their life rewritten. Let’s pray, Lord, we thank you for meeting us with mercy, even when we were running from you, we confess. Us that we have resisted you in pride, in fear, in selfishness, we’ve counted others out when you were calling them in we stopped at salvation when you’ve called us into surrender. Lord, forgive us today. We lay down our plans and we want to pick up your purpose. We want you to humble us where we need humbling, to fill us where we need filling. So send us where you are already working. Make us people open to your mission and your way. Make us full of grace and truth ready to welcome the most unlikely of people. Thank you that when you open our eyes. You rewrite our lives in Jesus name, let it be so. Amen.

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Hidden in My Heart July 20, 2025 | Kyle Bjerga The sermon by Kyle Bjerga emphasizes the importance of Scripture meditation and memorization as a spiritual discipline for knowing God better, fighting temptation, living a holy life, and worshiping rightly. He challenges common excuses like “I can’t memorize” or “I don’t have time” and encourages starting small, such as memorizing short verses like “Jesus wept.” The key motivation is not just to accumulate biblical knowledge, but to seek God with all one’s heart and allow His Word to transform thoughts, emotions, and actions. Kyle provides practical steps for meditation and memorization, emphasizing consistency, accountability, and the joy of hiding God’s Word in one’s heart.

Good morning. My name is Kyle. I serve as the pastor of discipleship and Family Ministries here. Excited to open the word with you together. So what I need you to do is grab your Bibles, turn to Psalm 119, and that will be on page 496, if you’re using one of those black pew Bibles there in front of you, or maybe underneath. And as you do that, if you’ve been here the last number of weeks, Brandon has kind of been on a break from preaching. He’s on vacation right now, which means we have the opportunity to hear the word preach from some of our interns and some of our staff here, like Jake and Reeve and Alex. And so hopefully you’ve been blessed by their ministry as they’ve opened the Word with us. I get the opportunity to do it today, and Alex will finish us up in this five week kind of summer at Cityview series starting next week, so we’ll finish up then. But hopefully you’ve been blessed as they’ve been able to open the Word and to be able to encourage them and see them equipped, as we pray that one day the Lord will send them out into different churches and be able to open the word with them and grow in that way. So hopefully you’re in Psalm 119 because I want to read Psalm 119 nine through 16 together as we start off. So let’s read our text this morning, starting in verse nine. How can a young person stay on the path of purity by living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart. Do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to You, Lord. Teach me your decrees with my lips. I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following Your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees. I will not neglect your word. I want to pray again for us before we dive in here, Lord, this is your word. These words that we just read are from you to us. There is much that you have for us this morning. So we’re praying that you would teach us as we just sang, teach us Lord, speak to us, O Lord, and change us through your words. We give this time to you, and we expect that you will work in our hearts today. We love you, and we pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen. In 2015 a guy in India memorized and then recited 70,000 decimal places. In pi 70,000 it took over 10 hours, and he was also blindfolded, so that nobody thought, you know, maybe he was reading something. In 2018 there was a 10 year old who memorized the Quran, and then a 55 Year Old At the same time as him, also memorized the Quran over 6000 verses. Comedian and magician Justin Willman claimed during a TV interview recently that when he was 12 years old, he memorized over 40,000 plus zip codes in the United States. And then two weeks ago, when I was up at Lake Geneva, speaking to the students, all the campers spend the week memorizing Scripture, dozens of verses, sometimes whole chapters of God’s word in a week. So my question is, what’s your experience with memorization or meditation, like when I bring those words up. What comes to mind? Maybe Awana, maybe VBS, maybe youth group, maybe getting paid by your parents to memorize Scripture. And you know, once we’re stop, once we stop getting made to kind of memorize Scripture with some of those things when we’re younger, because most of those things are things we do when we’re kids up through teenage years, like once somebody stops telling us we have to do this, we generally stop doing it. Is that right? We generally stop doing that until you get to Cityview and you get into journey groups, and one of the first things we talk about is you are going to have to memorize Scripture. And it’s an area of pushback that we’ve gotten a lot from many of you, in fact, and some of your leaders, feel the pushback too, not just in week one, but throughout as we keep adding verses and we keep having to go longer and longer in reciting these verses. And I’ve done journey groups long enough and had enough conversations with people of memorization to know the two most common things we hear from people are things that I think you believe. I’m not saying you’re lying, but they are false. Does that make sense? I don’t think you’re lying. I think you’re just mistaken. And these are the two things I’m not good at memorizing, right? I’m not good at memorizing, like or I don’t have time to memorize. So both those things are said a lot, and I don’t believe either one of them. And I say that because, after doing journey groups for nine years, I am amazed at how many people can memorize large chunks of Scripture and recite it, especially after they said I don’t have time. Time, or I’m not good at memorizing that’s why I say I don’t believe it. The other reason is because I have seen your faces in the service or in other moments where somebody says a verse reference, and you memorize it in Journey group, and you look around at other people in your journey group, like, hey, we memorize that. I know that verse. Like, I don’t actually even look at my Bible, I know it. And there’s something in your face. It’s like there’s this kind of joy, like, I know this. I worked hard at doing this. And so again, this is something that I think we say these things, but they’re not really true of us if we actually discipline ourselves to meditate and memorize and then to have other people keeping us accountable, which we’ll talk about a little bit more as well. And then this book was written by God, the Holy Spirit, right? And he gave the words to the authors, which means he wants you to know these words, which means he wants you to know that you can memorize, because he will give you what you need so that you can do that, because memorization is vital, so trust God with it. Now we’re finishing up, like I said, next week, with our summer at Cityview series. And if you’ve never been here before, summer at Cityview just means we have a bunch of different preachers come up besides the normal of Brandon, and we kind of get to bring a text that means something to us or something that we think the congregation needs to hear. And this morning, I hope I’m bringing both of those. This is something that I feel really passionate about, and something that I really feel our church needs to be reminded of. Again, I say that knowing like Alex and Jake and Reeve preach some heavy passages like Romans eight and Ephesians one and the story of Samson. So we got, like, some thick theology and really tough narrative to preach from. And I’m coming from Psalm 119, the longest book in the Bible, and a whole chapter, the longest chapter in the Bible, with basically 98% of the verses talking about God’s word. Because today I really want to get very practical. I really want to get very practical for all of us to walk out of here with some things that we could say. I could do that today, and that is with meditation and memorization. Because I believe you could devote yourselves to these practices, or spiritual disciplines or habits of grace, whatever you want to call them, you will experience what Dallas Willard says is absolutely fundamental to spiritual formation. He goes on to say, if I had to choose between all the disciplines of the spiritual life, I would choose Bible memorization, because it’s fundamental way of filling our minds with what it needs. This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth. That’s where you need it. So how does it get in your mouth? Memorization. So here’s my purpose. My purpose this morning is to persuade you that to make meditation and memorization a priority in your daily life. All right, I’m very intentional with those words to make it I don’t think I have to convince any of you that it’s good, but my hope is to persuade you to make meditation and memorization a priority in your daily life, so that the message of Christ will dwell richly among us, right? So this isn’t just an individual thing. The more we all memorize and meditate together, the more Christ’s word will dwell richly with all of us whenever we open our mouths, whether that’s in conversation, everyday conversation, in marriage, in parenting, in the workplace, in conflict, in evangelism, in discipleship, meditation, memorization of God’s word changes All of that, because it shapes everything we say and it shapes everything we feel as well. So I’ve said memorization a lot, but we are talking about meditation and memorization this morning, because they go hand in hand, because if you memorize, you have to meditate on God’s word, and if you meditate, you can’t really help but memorize the words you meditating on, the more time you spend in these words. So we’re gonna talk about them together. And it’s always important to ask the question, what is the purpose? What is the purpose of this? I mean, this simple question of what is the purpose can save us from doing a lot of meaningless things, a lot of things that just distract us from what’s really important, and it also keeps us, hopefully focused on the right path, the things that we should be doing. When we say, what is the purpose? And we are going to look at the purpose of meditation and memorization, but we need to know first, what are these two words and what do they mean biblically? Okay, so I’m not defining them on how the world defines them, but what does the Bible say about these, because this is gonna help us distinguish between what we know about meditation, especially in kind of many different areas where our mind probably goes when we hear that word, compared to what Scripture tells us. The same thing with memory, right? Because we kind of have this idea of meditation as a practice that helps us to. Empty our minds, or to center ourselves, or to do certain things that are outside of what Scripture says. And then we have memory over here, which we all memorize a lot of different things. Some of them are those useless facts that nobody cares about except for you, but you memorize them. And those are just kind of things, like for learning. And sometimes it’s just you’re interested in things, and so you memorize but what do they mean? Biblically, like when the authors of Scripture are talking about these two ideas, what are they saying? So first, meditation, meditation is not an emptying of your mind. Meditation is a filling up of your mind with the Word of God, and you turn it over and over and over again in your mind until your heart is changed. That’s what meditation is, to take God’s Word in to fill your mind and heart with it, and to keep turning it over again and again and again until it gets in you and changes your heart and what you do on the outside. And we know what this looks like, practically. So depending on your age, this illustration I’m gonna try and hit all ages. Maybe you come from the generation where you used to get mail from people that you loved, like physical stuff with a stamp on it, and you’d be waiting at the mailbox for these things, and when you got it, and it was probably a significant other, somebody you were dating, somebody that you missed a lot, and you would open it, you would read it. You did never, you never. Just read it one time. You would read it and you’d read it again, and you’d read it again. And then, if you’re like, more my generation, we just passed notes in class, right? And so you’d be passing these notes in class. You didn’t want the teacher to get it because you didn’t want them to read it, but you’d be passing these notes. And guess what? You didn’t just throw that note away at lunch. You kept it and you read it. And some of you maybe still have some of those things to this day, or maybe it’s text messages or voicemails where you’re hearing a person you want to hear. You want to hear their words, they said something meaningful to you, and you want to keep it because you want to go over it again and again. And that’s how we should come to God’s word of meditation, Lord, tell me again. Tell me again who you are. Tell me again who I am, over and over again. So that’s meditation. Memorization is the storing up of God’s Word in our hearts, so that God shapes our thoughts and our emotions and our actions. So that’s meditation memorization according to scripture. That’s what it’s talking about when we see these words and these ideas throughout Scripture. So the purpose, then, of meditation and memorization. What is their purpose? And the answer is right there for us in verse 10. Verse 10 says, I seek you with all my heart. I seek you with all my heart. Like these words are key to any time we come to God’s word. And this is very different than the purposes of those people I mentioned at the very beginning. Let me tell you the purposes of why these people memorize what they did. The guy who memorized 70,000 decimal places of pi did it because it was a challenge. He thought he could do it and he did it. The young man memorizing the Quran did it because he thought memorizing was fun. How many of you used that word before the older man did it because he believed, and I quote, Allah Almighty, gives memorizers the highest level of placement in paradise. So he’s looking for that highest placement. If I do this, I can be getting this for the comedian, magician, he broke both of his arms, and he had nothing to do over the summer, so his parents gave him a book with 40,000 plus zip codes in it. Like that sounds more like a parenting issue to me, but that’s what they gave him, and he did it. And the campers at Lake Genevieve youth camp, they get to come up on stage and get a patch that they get to collect over their summers there. Like these are the motivators for a lot of what they’re doing, the purpose for what they’re doing. And it would seem, though, that the purpose of meditation and memorization is just to know God’s law. Like, what does God say? I mean, the rest of verse 10 says, Do not let me stray from your commands. So why does he start by saying, I seek you with all my heart. It’s because the psalmist knows something that we often overlook. It’s so easy to overlook that in our desire to follow God’s commands, we miss the God behind the commands. Does that make sense? We want to follow what God says. We just miss who he is and why he has these words in there to begin with. So we need to understand first, I seek you with all my heart. I seek you. Do not let me stray from your commands, because if I seek you, I’m going to want to do what you say. So when you seek we are looking at the God behind the commands, and when we know him, it changes the way we view his commands. It changes the way we view what he says. This is why John can say in first John five, three, this is love for God to keep His commands. And his commands are not burdensome. Have you ever read the Bible and seen all the commands it could seem like a burden, and John is saying no, if you know God. And you know his love, his his commands are not burdensome, because we know he is a good God who loves us and has our best interests in mind, and that’s what he’s coming from. When he gives us his words and his commands, it’s from a place of love. So when we seek Him and we know him, we hear his commands differently. It’s in God’s Word where we discover who he is, because that’s where he reveals himself to us, His will, His plans, his purposes, his thoughts, on and on we can go. So in other words, to meditate and memorize on God’s word is a way for us to sit down and say, God, I love you. That’s what we’re doing when we come and meditate, meditate and memorize his word we’re saying, I’d rather spend time with your thoughts than my own. I’d rather spend time with your thoughts than what the people on TV and the Internet think I want to spend time with you because I love you. It’s agreeing with David, as Robert read for us in Psalm 63 verse one, when he says, You God, are my God. Earnestly I seek you. I thirst for you. My whole being longs for you. In a dry and parched land where there is no water. Are you earnestly seeking Him? Are you thirsting for him? Do you long for him? And when we do, when we seek God and we know him better, when we understand what he’s done for us through the gospel, that he’s made a way for us to be saved through his sons, life, death and resurrection, then we should be coming to meditation, memorization, with joy that we get to spend time with this kind of God. So that’s the purpose. The purpose is not to know more stuff. The purpose is to know God better, to seek Him with all our heart. And then when we do, we want to do what he says. We want to do what he says because we know it’s best for us. So let’s look at some other motivations, then for meditation memorization. That’s your second point. There in your notes, the motivation for meditation memorization. In Psalm 119 we see dozens of verses that speak about different motivations for spending time with God, but I want to narrow it down just to kind of what we see here in verses nine through 16, and I see four different motivations. The first one, it’s a motivation of, I want to live a holy life. I want to live a holy life. Look at verse nine. How can a young person stay on the path of purity by living according to your word. When we truly know the Lord, when we seek Him with all our hearts, we know who he is, what he’s done for us. We want to live for Him, living a pure life. We could substitute the word pure with holy. How can someone stay on the path of holiness, living for the Lord, pleasing the Lord? Because when Jesus came and lived for us, and He died for us, and He rose from the grave, and we believe that we receive His holiness, His perfect righteousness, that’s what we get, and now we get to live that out in our life. That’s what Paul means when he says, live a life worthy of the gospel. This is who you are. So now walk in it. You’ve been adopted as a son or a daughter. So now live in your family the way that your family goes about their business. And this is what Jesus did. So let’s follow him in Philippians, 48 Paul famously says, Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy. Think about such things. That was the first verse I was challenged to memorize from my disciple maker in high school, memorize that verse. He said, You’re going to use it, and not just in a sermon, you know, you’re going to use it every day. And he’s so right? And where do we find these types of things in here, not in the world? Whatever is true, noble, right? Pure, lovely, that’s all in here. So that’s where we go. The path of purity is one that leads straight to God. Okay, the path of purity leads straight to God. And the way a young person, or anyone, any age for that matter, stays on that path is living, according to this book, all the way back in Psalm one, starting off the entire book, we see that those who they have a delight in the law of the Lord, and they meditate on it day and night. And when they do, what does it say? You are blessed, you will yield fruit and you will prosper as you stay on the path. Wrath of purity. So we want to live that holy life. We want to look more and more like Jesus as we follow Him. We want to live out what First Peter what First Peter says As obedient children do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance, but just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do. Be holy, because I am holy. And it isn’t a secret how we live this holy life. We listen to what God says and we obey it. Because what did Jesus do? He listened to God’s word and he obeyed it perfectly. And so for us, we want to follow in his footsteps. Say, what do you say? God? Now, I want to live that, and the best way to do that is to meditate and to memorize and hide God’s Word in our hearts. So that’s the first motivator. The second motivator is to fight temptation. Look at verse 11. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. This is probably the one we think of the most, this verse when we’re talking about fighting temptation and sin in our life. And years ago, in high school, I think middle school or high school, I got this bright orange little book that was put out by John Piper and his ministry of desiring God, and it was called fighter verses, okay? And every chapter was a different temptation or sin, and about a handful to a dozen different passages that you can use to memorize, to fight temptation and sin in your life. And as I used that, as I read through that, and kind of started to memorize some of those things, I remember the phrase, don’t bring a knife to a gunfight. You guys heard of that before, right? And I was thinking about that like, okay, don’t, don’t come unprepared to or with the wrong equipment to a fight when somebody has something better. And as you’re thinking about the Christian life, the devil is too good at what he does, and he’s been doing it too long to be distracted by anything we can throw at him anyway, we think we can overcome the temptation that he might lay before us, the only thing that defeats him time and time again is God’s word. That’s the only thing. And so when we have the sword of the Spirit, says in Ephesians six, right the Word of God, when we have that, we need to use it. We need to bring the right equipment to the fight. We need to bring the right tool, the right weapon there. And when Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness in Matthew four, that’s exactly what Jesus did. He was able to cut through the lies and the false promises and the twisting of words without giving in. And he didn’t do it by some new teaching. He didn’t do it by saying, hey, my mom and dad told me I shouldn’t do this. He didn’t sit there and say, like, weigh the options, like, Oh, if I do this, if I do that. He just said, No, this is what God’s Word says. So he used the time tested truths of the Word to defeat Satan, and like a master soldier, he wielded that sword perfectly to attack every single one of the devil’s twisting of God’s word, and he defeated it so they were completely destroyed, because the word was hidden in his heart like think about it. Jesus was not walking around the wilderness with scrolls. He couldn’t look it up. He couldn’t pull up his favorite Bible app. He couldn’t ask chatgpt. What do I do if I’m faced with this situation? Because here’s the thing I know about sin, if we wait too long, we’re gonna give in. So we’re waiting to, like, find the magic verse somewhere, advice somewhere, we’re gonna give in. So we hide it in our hearts that we might not sin against Him. So it’s gotta be there already. We gotta be able to pull it from somewhere. It’s gotta be in our hearts, so that we can then use it in that situation. So Jesus had the right words in the right moment in that situation. He chose obedience to God’s word, rather than giving in like Adam and Eve did, because they questioned God’s word, and Jesus says, No, this is what God’s Word says, And he lived within that. So in order to fight temptation, we need to use the word that we know can destroy the devil’s schemes and his lies. Third motivator, we meditate and memorize because then we can worship rightly. Okay, we can worship rightly. Look at verses 12 to 13. Praise be to You, Lord. Teach me your decrees with my lips. I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. We can only worship rightly when we know who we are worshiping and why they are worthy of our worship. And when it comes to worshiping God rightly, we need him to tell us how to do this, rather than us creating things on our own. And to do this, we must meditate on His Word. We must have his words hidden in our hearts and do what these verses say, because God is going to teach us through His Word. We take it in. In it changes us. And then our lips recount. Our lips recount, or you could also substitute the word recite. So we recite everything the Lord has taught us which leads us to praise. That’s why we sing what we do like we strive to have the components of this service be centered on the word. And I hope you can see that even today, I don’t think Alex gave you any information about the announcements. I’m like, what time and all that kind of stuff. Like, all the stuff you guys can read. He said, go to the dogs game, because there’s a great opportunity for fellowship. Like, we want to even preach the announcements. So we say, like, why would we want to do any of this, these things, because you guys can read the facts. So let’s talk about why it’s important to be there the words that we choose. We want them to be centered on the word, so that we’re singing God’s word back to him, our prayers, our time around the Lord’s table here in a few moments, centered on the word and what it says to us, so we can worship rightly. When we do what God tells us to do, say, this is how you are to worship. This is what you should be doing. And when we meditate and memorize in God’s word, and we have it hidden in our heart, it’s a lot harder for us to have wrong views of God and to express wrong views of God in worship. And lastly, fourth motivator, we want to know God’s will. Look at verses 14 and 15. I rejoice in following Your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. So the word statutes refers to like boundaries that God has given in our life to help us live that holy life that we talked about earlier. So that’s kind of what statutes are like. Let’s keep you here. Okay? And then precepts refers to God’s guidance, his guiding principles in our lives, which isn’t always like that black and white law. He’s just saying like, these are the types of things you need to be taken into consideration. So it kind of reads a little bit more like maybe the wisdom in Proverbs. These are generally true. These are these are generally how things work. And so here’s these guiding principles. When you’re making decisions, you kind of want to take these things into account. Yeah, maybe this person will decide this way and you’ll decide that way. But are you using the same guiding principles to come to that conclusion? So that’s kind of what statutes and precepts are. And when we take those together, what we see here is God’s will for us is to make us holy, as we’ve already talked about, to look more like Jesus, which means we need to listen to his words and his guidance and his boundaries on our life. One of the most common things I’ve heard from students over the years, especially as they’re getting kind of into that college age, or even in college, is I want to know what God’s will is for my life. And I’m sure all of us could Amen that some point we sat down with somebody and say, What is, what is God’s will for me? What does he want from me? And after talking about it more and more with students over the years, it’s clear that what they want is God’s audible voice to say, do this. And I can never sit there and promise that they will ever hear that. Or if you can’t hear the audible voice, let him close every door, because if he does, what happens a window opens. I mean, these are things that we probably all said or heard and might think are biblical, even though they’re not right, like a door and a window like kind of thing. But so it’s like, well, what is, what is God’s will for my life? And the thing is, we can’t look ultimately and find our name in here and say, God says do this, but what it does say is that he’s making all of us more like Jesus. That’s his will for us to make us look like Jesus and conform everything we do to what He wants us to do. And that can happen in all sorts of different areas, regardless of what college you choose. Can you live for the Lord there? That’s his will for your life, no matter what job you choose. Can you work for the Lord and not for men. That’s his will for your life. You see, God’s will for life is to make us look more like Jesus, which means we might have different ways of him doing that in our life. So are we looking at his word and seeing his statutes and His precept and his teachings? Are we letting all that inform our decisions? Because if we do, we’ll start to see like, Yes, this is where God wants me to go, and this is what he’s gonna do in my life as he takes me there. So it’s not necessarily looking for that audible voice, but what does he put in his word? How does he want me to look more and more like Jesus, regardless of the choice I make? So those are the kind of four motivators that I see here in Psalm 119, nine through 16. As I mentioned, there’s many more, many more benefits to Scripture memorization that we could cover before we come to the last point. We need to start to see how we put all this into practice. Okay? And the first thing that we need to do is we need to look at the excuses for why we don’t do this. I’m sure. You’re in your own mind, there’s been at least one excuse that’s popped up throughout this time, in these last 30 minutes, at least one excuse. Maybe it’s the excuse that you’ve used throughout your life. Maybe it’s something new. And so what I want to do is I want to just kind of confess something to you, and I hope it will encourage you as you think about what you need to confess in order to make this a priority, and then to encourage you that this is something you can continue to do. So three and a half years ago, I gave a sermon on meditation memorization, and some of you were like, well, you just used the same thing. No, I used different passage. Didn’t really look back at my notes at all, except for a couple kind of these application things that I want to talk through with you. And the reason I did this and chose this topic for this time, and I did it during Christmas break. It was kind of that first Sunday of the new year. And so we were talking about spiritual discipline. So that’s why we talked about it. And so why do this again? Because I need it as much as you do. No matter how many times I preach on this, I need to be reminded that I should be doing this. Because when I started this, or when I gave the last sermon I remember, I I said I was 10 verses into memorizing the Sermon on the Mount at the time, and I finished the Sermon on the Mount. And then I was like, All right, well, let’s do first, John, like, Sermon on the Mount wasn’t actually that difficult. You’d probably be surprised how much of the sermon on the mount you have memorized if you’ve been in the church. So that wasn’t difficult. I was like, All right, let me go to my one of my favorite books is first books is first John. I was like, oh, First John is kind of easy to read, no to memorize, not not possible. The reason I say that it is possible, but the reason I say that is because John writes in a way that’s very circular. He keeps coming back to the same idea over and over again, but he says it slightly differently. So I was getting verses all messed up, like I couldn’t figure out which word was where and which part of this, this was which chapter it was in, and it was just really, really hard. So I left some more days in between, and then I come back to it, and then I left more days in between, and then I came back to it, and then I left weeks in between, and then months. And finally, I was like, I’m not memorizing anymore. And then in 2024, as some of you know, I was writing a Family Devotional, and the whole purpose around the Family Devotional is scripture memorization, but I was really busy writing. So what did you think I neglected memorizing Scripture? And so I sat there, I was like, What in the world am I doing? If it’s that important, why is it not a priority in my life? But because I’m busy, I don’t have the time anymore, and all it is is an excuse. It’s an excuse. And so while I’m doing this, I’m neglecting memorization. So I said, No, I need to start doing it again. And so just little by little start to chip away. Just start to chip away, just little by little every day. So I’m back at it again and needing this reminder again. So I’m guessing the last three and a half years, unless you memorize the whole Bible in those three and a half years, you probably need the reminder too. So that’s why we’re here now. So let’s look Lastly, at the practice of meditation and memorization. Try and get really practical here on some things to do. Look at verse 16, I delight in your decrees. I will not neglect your word. So the first question we always need to ask ourselves as we wrestle with whether what we need to confess is, do I delight in God’s word? Do I delight in it? If we do, it should be easy to memorize. If you don’t, then it might just you’re gonna look at meditating and memorizing as all work without any real benefits. So do we delight in it? That’s what needs to happen first. So if you don’t delight in it, we need to pray that the Lord would stir in our hearts and help us to delight in His Word. And then, instead of looking at this as something you have to do. We need to come at it from a different perspective, that we get to do this like I think you have to do it to have God’s Word in your life. But we also get to there’s no reason God needs to give us any of this. And he does, and then he saves us, and he opens our eyes and our hearts to understand what he says. And so we get to be in His Word, and we get to know who he is, like a love letter to us. We get to search it out and say, who are you? What have you done for me? What can I do for you? How can I live my life in a pleasing way for what you have done for me. So we get to be in this word. We get to hear the very words of God. So let’s rejoice that we get to do this. Look at Psalm 119, verse 97 Oh, how I love your law. I love your teaching. I meditate on it all day long. Look at later or earlier in Psalm 119, 48 I reach out for your commands, which I love, that I may meditate on your decrees like I want to meditate. I want to think on your words over and over again so I read. Out for your commands that I love. When we love His Word, we meditate on it, and then we start to memorize it, because we want to keep it with us always. And so listen to job 2222 Eliphaz is talking now to job, and he says this, accept instruction from his mouth, from God, and lay up his words in your heart, like job, you’re going through massive suffering. If you want to get through this, accept God’s instruction and lay it up in your heart. Make sure you keep his words with you always. And what I love about meditation and memorization is it includes so many other spiritual disciplines as a part of it. So really is this kind of one that you can get a lot of different things in because different things in because to meditate and memorize, you have to do what first read it alright? So you get to read God’s word. And then as you meditate, you are actually kind of studying God’s word, because you are starting to make more connections to what God’s word says other places, and it takes you to different places. And so you’re actually studying God’s word as you meditate, and then as you pray. Well, one you should be praying as you meditate and memorize that the spirit is actually using this word in your heart to change you. And then your prayers change, because now you’re praying God’s word back to him, rather than your own words. And that’s an amazing thing to see. You’re praying for your dependence on him, and you use all those same words in your prayer life, and then you read in silence and solitude, or try to at least. So all these different things can happen when we take the time to commune with God, to commune with our Savior, and we can see so many things happen in that meditation and memorization of God’s Word. So I pray that this morning, like I said, I try to persuade you not just that this is a good idea, but to hopefully make the effort to do this daily, to do this daily, because I think it is something that we need to think about daily, because it says meditate on its law day and night, right? And there’s something about doing it every day, and it’s different than reading God’s word every day. It’s different than serving. It’s different than all these different things. This is something we could do every day, because we take it in these smaller chunks. So I hope you have a renewed vision for this. So what are some things that you guys can do that, if you’re if you take notes and you like, like, here’s the list. Here’s the list portion for you. Number one, start, like, small, really small, like Jesus wept, small, right? The shortest verse. All right, you got that one. You’ve got one. Now go a little bit longer. I think Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter in the entire Bible. It’s like two verses. Now you got a whole chapter read, memorized, so But seriously, start small, something manageable, so that you can see victory early. The biggest problem with this is we start and we go big. I’m gonna read the Bible in 60 days. The whole thing, have you read the Bible before? No, okay, let’s go a little bit smaller. Same thing with memory, like grand plans. Gotta start somewhere. Start small. See some victory, some success. Early on, be able to say it a couple days in a row, and then you start to move on. And the beautiful thing is, if it takes you 345, days a week, 100 days to memorize one verse, guess what you’ve been doing in all that time, meditating on it, meditating on it. So it’s a good thing. It doesn’t matter how long it takes you. So start small. Second thing, use what works. Use what works, because consistency is a big part of memorization. Like, there’s people that have come up to me before, and I’ve talked to my kids about this too. They’re like, so how can I memorize faster? I don’t know. Like, the only thing I know is, like, read it and then to say it, and then to read it and to say it, and you just keep repeating that. I mean, that is what memorization is. There’s really not this, like, magic thing that you’re gonna find that’s gonna make it so much easier. You just start so you use what works for you and that you can do consistently. So if you’re somebody who can read and repeat, keep doing that. Maybe you’re a person that needs to listen to it, so use an audio Bible and listen to it and just keep that on repeat. Now, for some of you, you need to hear your own voice because of your cadence and how you read. So record it on your phone and just play it over and over again, then say it with it. But use whatever works, whatever you can be the most consistent with third keep it simple, right? Keep it simple. It’s just repetition. So keep it simple. Do it over and over again. Five times you need to say it. 10 times you need to say it 100 times, whatever it takes for you. Just keep it simple. And then finally, don’t give up. And the way you’re not going to give up is by getting other people involved. So you need some accountability in your life. So do this with someone else. Like, just say, Hey, are you gonna do this? All right, I’m gonna do this. Like, let’s pick something together, or let’s at least check in every day so that we make sure that we’re continuing to do this. So get somebody else involved. If you in Journey group, you know that this is helpful, because every week you’re gonna have to say it in front of somebody else. You. Yeah, so it’s helpful. It’s not meant to cause shame or guilt. It’s just meant to encourage us as we go. And then you can just simply ask somebody, maybe they’re not doing it with you, but just encouraging you, supporting you along the way. And so those are just kind of a few things. There are all sorts of different tools and resources you could use to memorize. I’m not going to give those all to you, but if you have questions, you can always ask and shoot me an email. I can show you all different kinds of apps and books and resources and things that you can use to memorize. But like I said, use what works for you. So I don’t want to give you, you know, three things you should use that isn’t going to work for you. So talking through that more would be, would be helpful, but those are a few things that I just want to again at the practical level for meditation and memorization. And so I want to speak as we close here to a few different groups of people, and you might fit into multiple groups. Okay, you might fit into multiple groups. So if you’re here and you’re investigating Christianity, like you’re just, I just need to read the Bible, get into it. I would say memorization is probably not the best way to go, but meditating is so what I would encourage you to do is open up a gospel, maybe mark, maybe John, just start reading, and then stop yourself after a few verses, and just think on it for a little bit. Just meditate on God’s word. Just roll it over and over again. What did Jesus say? Did he really just say that? So go back and read it again and again and just start to meditate on God’s word and pray that God would reveal Himself to you through that practice. If you’re already somebody who meditates and memorizes, maybe here this morning, you’re like Amen to that. I do this. I love this. My encouragement with you is like, maybe challenge yourself a little bit more. So I know some people who really are good at fighter verses, like memorizing all the fighter verses, memorizing Scripture like promises of God. Maybe now it’s time to start doing chapters or entire books. So there’s all sorts of resources out there will help you memorize large chunks of Scripture and be able to track that. So I would just challenge you to do that. And maybe, if you do this by yourself, challenge somebody else to come alongside with you. Okay, so if that’s you and you do that, I think there’s some ways to challenge yourself in that, to those of us who can get puffed up with Bible memory, because that’s an easy thing to fall into, because our pride is right there, and we think, Oh, my goodness, I got so much scripture in my mind, I can show off. And this is a real temptation for some but here’s the problem, if you get puffed up, what that means is you probably have a lot of it in your mind, but it’s not getting here. If you’re puffed up, you’re getting a lot of information in a lot of verses, but it’s not actually transforming your life. So if that’s you, if you got that temptation, slow down. Meditate more, memorize less. Meditate on what God’s Word is actually saying, see how it applies to your life, and then start to memorize. But we need to come in humility to this practice, to any kind of adults out there who have the excuse like, oh, I used to be able to memorize, you know, when I was younger, I can’t do that anymore. All right, it’s an excuse. It’s not true. All right. It’s not only possible when you’re younger, easier, maybe, but I never promised it would be easy. So it is something that you can actually do. If you give me a doctor’s note that says I am incapable of memorizing, I know you can at least meditate. So meditate right? Get that verse and read it over and over and over again. And I won’t promise you, but I think you’re gonna memorize it. All right, so just if that’s your excuse, if that’s the one you go to try that to kids, if you are younger, I’m saying anybody college age and younger, if you want this to be a practice for the rest of your life, you need to start now. It needs to be a discipline that you put into your life now a rhythm that you get into. And so I would say, even as you’re younger, like, read the Bible less meaning, like less text, and spend more time meditating on smaller portions, memorize it. I think you’re gonna see the huge benefits of that, and we’ll keep you going in memorization as you get older, far too many people have waited too long to get into this practice. So really spend time with it as you’re younger, and see the blessing of it in your life early on, and then to families. Just do this together. Find a verse that’s simple for little kids to say through your parents and memorize it. Say it together around meals, at bedtime, whatever it might be, there is nothing better than seeing the joy on a kid’s face when they know a Bible verse that they hear. I mean, you’ve seen it, I know it, right? When they hear something or somebody says, Hey, does anybody know this verse? And they’re like, oh my goodness, I know it. Like the joy on their face is like, I know God’s word. I can recite it. And we want that to happen always, because we want them to get excited about the God that they’re learning about. Want them to get excited about what he says in His Word. And finally, my last encouragement to you, there is no pressure to memorize, to meditate a certain amount,
because, again, pick a verse, meditate on it. It will bring honor to the Lord that you are spending time rolling his thoughts, his words over and over. And over again in your mind. So there’s nothing that says you have to do this much by this time or this much by that time, like today. Just spend the time today memorizing, meditating on His Word. Dawson Trotman, who started navigators. If you guys are familiar with navigators, they’re big into kind of the topical memory, memory system, and he got saved through Scripture memory that he had done when he was a kid. So he memorized verses in church, but wasn’t a believer, and one day he’s driving, and verses start to pop up in his mind that he had memorized when he was a kid, and he gave his life to Christ through God’s Word planted in his heart years before. And so he decided, I think everybody should know these right? So that’s why he created the system that he did. That’s what navigator continues to use to this day. And so this is what he says. He says it’s hard for the flesh to think God thoughts. It’s hard to concentrate on spiritual concepts. The brain doesn’t like to think, especially if it’s on spiritual matters, we like to sit down in a nice, soft chair and a cool breeze and float to heaven on a flowery bed of ease. I’m that way, and I know that in life, there are a lot of things that come easy, but getting the word of God in your heart through memorization isn’t one of them. It’s spiritual. Anything spiritual is work, and my flesh and blood doesn’t like work, but it can be done, and we can do it. And so that’s my encouragement to you. We can do it. You can do it, and it’s totally worth it when you get to know God better. Let’s pray.

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The Samson Problem July 13, 2025 | Jake Thomas Jake Thomas discusses the story of Samson from the book of Judges, highlighting Samson’s flawed character and the cultural conflict between Israel and the Philistines. Despite Samson’s physical strength, he was morally weak, leading a life of selfishness and failure. The Philistines, who worshipped Dagon, celebrated their victory over Samson, seeing it as a triumph over Yahweh. However, Samson’s final act, collapsing the temple, resulted in more Philistine deaths than during his life. Thomas emphasizes that true change and salvation come from a Savior, not a hero, drawing parallels to Jesus, who sacrificed himself and rose again, offering eternal life.

Good morning, please open your Bibles to the book of Judges, and we’re going to be in chapter 16 starting in verse 23 That’s chapter 16 starting in verse 23 and I recently learned the story of Spartacus. And if you don’t know, Spartacus was a real person who is a Roman slave turned Gladiator, and he wanted to change the world. He saw the evil of Roman slavery and wanted to do something about it. So he raised this army of farmers, slaves and other Gladiators, and went to war to change the world. And it looked like they were going to do it. They won battle after battle against the Romans. And everyone held their breath, wondering, is this going to happen? Are they going to change the world? And the wheels came off. Spartacus army was defeated. His friends were killed, and Spartacus himself died. And the worst part of the story is that nothing changed. Spartacus sacrificed himself heroically, and Roman slavery went on for several 100 years after that. In fact, it probably got worse for Roman slaves, because the Roman slave masters became more brutal to try and discourage any Spartacus copycats. And so those slaves were left wondering, is there anyone who can actually change the world? And I bet some people here have asked the same question, because our world needs to change, doesn’t it? It’s pretty messed up. And the worst part isn’t that the headlines are awful every day, it’s that the headlines are the same every day. It’s the same tragedies, the same horrors, the same problems, over and over again. And we’re left to wonder, can anyone actually change this? Can anyone change the world? And in our story today, we had a guy who’s convinced he could change the world, and so let’s see if he’s right. Before we hop into our story, there’s a few things we need to understand about where we’re at. So this scene is in the middle of the book of Judges. And judges takes place right after Israel arrived in the Promised Land. So the old heroes of Israel, guys like Moses, Aaron and Joshua, those guys, have passed away, and now Israel is in a state where they disobeyed God, and so God is allowing them to be taken over by foreign nations. And so the book of Judges follows this cycle. Israel Israel rejects God, and so God allows an enemy nation to occupy them. So Israel cries out to God, and then God raises a judge or a hero to deliver Israel. And so the cycle repeats itself over and over again. And this story takes place towards the end of the cycle Israel’s rejected God, and so the God, God has raised the nation of Philistia to conquer Israel for a time. And this leads us to our first scene called the smug party. Start me in verse 23 now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon, their God, and to celebrate, saying, Our God has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands. When the people saw him, they praised their God, saying, Our God has delivered our enemy into our hands, the one who laid waste our land and multiplied our slain. While they were in high spirits, they shouted, bring out Samson to entertain us. So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them. And so to understand this party, we have to understand who’s there. We have to understand who Samson is and who the Philistines were. So the Philistines were Israel’s neighbors from the country of Philistia, and they worshiped Dagon, who was this mermaid looking God, and they wanted Israel to worship Dagon too, and this made it Philistine. The Philistines really unique, as opposed to Israel’s other enemies. They didn’t fight a military war with Israel. They fought a cultural one instead. So the Philistines, they wanted to assimilate and erase Israelite culture, specifically the parts that worshiped Yahweh, the true God. Now this made the Philistines more dangerous than any other foe that the Israelites had ever faced. It’s the same problem the Native Americans face when the colonists would kidnap their youth and dress them in colonists clothing make them speak English. It’s not a military war. It’s an erasure of culture, that’s the conflict the Israelites are facing, and it’s honestly much more significant than a military conflict. And so God raised Samson to be their judge, to be their hero, and his origin story starts with them being born and dedicated as a Nazarite, and this was a special vow to mark your life. As blessed or holy. And there are three main rules, you don’t drink alcohol, you don’t touch dead things, and you don’t cut your hair. And so this vow, through making his life, marking his life as blessed, God gave Samson strength. If you’ve heard anything about Samson, you’ve heard that he’s super jacked, right? And so Samson, he wasn’t bitten by a radioactive spider, but he had the origin of a superhero. However, his character did not measure up to his strength. Samson was as morally weak as he was physically strong. He didn’t fight for Israel like he was supposed to he got into petty bar fights. He rejected his parents often, and he was a player. He slept around and viewed women as objects for pleasure, not a good guy. Really hard to root fear. He doesn’t look like a hero. He’s different than a hero like Captain America or Superman, where the virtue is part of the reason they’re a hero. The character is part of the reason that they are respected. It’s kind of like Iron Man. He does heroic things, but he looks like a scumbag while doing them sometimes. So Samson is supposed to be this great hero, but he looks more like a villain sometimes. And not only is Samson not a good guy, he’s also a loser. He he gets tricked by Delilah, this Philistine woman, into giving up the source of his strength. And so the Philistines, they come in, they shave him, and they capture him, and they gouge his eyes out, blinding him. So he’s not just a bad dude, he’s also a failure. He didn’t do what he was supposed to do. They made the Philistines. They made him a slave, and threw a party to celebrate his loss. And it wasn’t just to celebrate his loss. It’s smug towards Samson, but it’s also smug towards Yahweh, the God of Israel. Now these Philistine rules are throwing the party. They’re same exact guys that captured Samson and they threw this part of the show off has the feel of an Oscar acceptance speech, except instead of thanking the academy, they’re thanking their God, Dagon. And we see that. We see that in verse 23 our God has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands. The Philistines think Dagon gave them Samson. And this is the party, a party celebrating the defeat of an enemy. It most certainly is. The Philistines hated Samson. He was their number one enemy because they didn’t really mind Israel, right? They wanted Israel to come worship Dagon with them. They didn’t have beef with Israel, but they hated Samson, and it makes sense Samson was functionally a terrorist to them. Look at verse 24 it says the one who laid waste our land and multiplied our slain Samson was a thorn in the side of the Philistines for his entire life. He got he killed a bunch of them, he stole their clothes, and he burned down their fields to get so he’s basically their Boogeyman. And to capture the boogeyman would have been a big deal. It would have been the talk of the countryside guys. We got him. It would have been their we got him moment. Or rather, Dagon got him. They gave this victory to Dagon. They say our God has delivered our enemy into our hands. And this cheer is not just pro Dagon, it’s also anti Yahweh. They’re celebrating that Dagon is stronger than Yahweh. They captured Yahweh s champion. Therefore, do the math, Dagon is stronger than Yahweh. It actually reminds me a time my dad and I went to a Nebraska football game and we played the Iowa Hawkeyes, and it was a terrible game. Always is Iowa won, but the walk to the car was the worst part, being surrounded by Iowa fans cheering not only their team’s victory, but my team’s loss. And there was one guy that was walking next to me the entire time chanting my own team’s cheer at me over and over again. Now, I’m not a violent person, but I was hoping he’d swing first I had the gospel. Www, the worst part wasn’t that my team lost. The worst part was that that guy was right. I couldn’t say anything. Nebraska lost, Iowa won, Samson lost, the Philistines won. Yahweh lost, Dagon won. In the mind the Philistines, no one could say anything against them. They won full stop, except they were wrong. Dagon had nothing to do with it. We can actually see who delivered Samson to them just a few verses earlier. Look at 1620 it says, But he, being Samson, did not know the Lord had left him. God. That Yahweh allowed Samson to be captured by the Philistines. So the whole premise of this party is built on a lie. The Philistines are celebrating a victory that doesn’t even belong to them. So this whole party is an incorrect challenge to Yahweh, and even though it’s built on a lie, the Philistines, they’re having a very great time. So they’re in high spirits. But only one thing can make this party better. Look at verse 25 bring out Samson to entertain us. They brought out their enemy to dance for him. How humiliating the hero of Israel, this champion of Yahweh is the entertainment. It’s a similar shame to a guy who loses his fantasy football league, and his friends give him a bad haircut, they put him in a tutu tutu, and they take him to a baseball game, and just everyone’s laughing at him, and they’re laughing because he lost, and that’s where Sam says at right now, he’s the lowest point of his life. He’s blinded, humiliated. He’s the guest of this honor at his own party. He’s hopeless. So what does he do in this moment? He does what a lot of people would do when they are in need, he prays. Leads us to our next scene, the selfish prayer. Let’s read down in verse 26 Samson said to the servant who held his hand, put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple so that I may lean against them. Now the temple was crowded with men and women. All the rulers of the Philistines were there. And on the roof were about 3000 men and women watching Samson perform. Then Samson prayed to the Lord, Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more and let me, with one blow, get revenge in the Philistines for my two eyes. This part, party is ramping up, and we know it was loud. You look at verse 27 it says there were 3000 Philistines on the roof, which implies there was a lot more on the ground floor. Lots of people, means lots of noise. They were loud and taunting Samson. Let’s not forget Samson can’t see anything. All he can do is hear this party. He can hear the cheers and the sneers of the Philistines that are mocking him. I mean, I wanted to fight a guy over a football game. I can’t imagine what’s going on in Samson’s heart right now, and we can see his he’s doing something. Samson is hatching a plan of his own. Look at Verse 26 he asked a servant to put him where he could feel the pillars that support the temple so he can lean against them. So this servant helps him over. And that would have been so humiliating for Samson, this guy who was super independent, he was a hero of Israel. He couldn’t even walk to pillars to lean against them without the help of a servant. This the same guy killed 1000 Philistines with a donkey jaw bone, and so picture it Samson. He’s leaning against the pillar. The sound of the party is ringing in his ears. The pillars are rough and cold under His hands. His sweat is dripping on his body. He just got done dancing. He smells the smoke from the fire as the Philistines are making sacrifices, and he’s you can’t see anything. He’s just helpless and feels alone. Now, if this was a Marvel movie, this is where the redemption arc would begin. You can already see the Easter eggs for where the strength of Samson is going to come back. Look. You can see in verse 22 it says the hair on his head began to grow back after it had been shaved. Now this is an intentional hint that Samson is going to get his strength back. So we have Samson the get entertainment, the party thrown to mock him, and his God, he hears everything. This entire party is meant, party meant to mock him. And so he prays. So let’s look at it in verse 28 Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please God, strengthen me just once more. Let me with one blow, show these Philistines that you Yahweh are God. That’s not what it says, though, is it? And it doesn’t say, let me free Israel from the Philistines. It doesn’t even say, let me stop them from blaspheming your name. What does it say? Says, Let me get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes. Samson’s prayer misses the mark. It’s just as selfish as his entire life was. This isn’t a redemption arc for Samson. He’s the same guy he was before he lost his eyes. He’s been living blind his entire life. Judges 17 six says, In those days, Israel had no king. Think everyone did as they saw fit. Some translations will say everyone did what was right in their own eyes. And man, oh, man, that was Samson’s life motto. Everything Samson saw, he went after. Maybe you’ve heard the story, Samson killed a lion with his bare hands, and later he saw honey growing in it, and so he grabbed it and ate it. Now that broke one of his the rules of his vow not to touch dead things, and yet he saw the honey. He wanted it, so he got it. And this was most clear in Samson’s dating life. Every woman Samson dated or pursued was a Philistine, someone of the enemies which this was forbidden by God. But Samson didn’t care. The women looked good to them him, so he wanted them. So he got them. Samson had been living blind to God’s law his entire life, long before he lost his eyes, and so Samson’s prayer is shows that he can’t see anything past himself. Actually reminds me of video games. So there’s this hang with me. There’s this weird trick about video game developers. So they have a really hard job to make these elaborate worlds. So they take shortcuts. And one shortcut they take is they only render or develop what the character can see. So in video game world, everything else around the character functioning doesn’t exist. It’s gray blobs of code. All only that’s real is what the character can see on the screen, and that’s how Samson lived his life. God’s law. Way God saw the world was just gray blobs that Samson didn’t look at. What was real to Samson was only what he could see. I You. And now it’s easy to look down upon Samson’s prayer, but our prayer life isn’t very different, is it? I mean, how often, what when we pray to God the most often when we need stuff, right? How often do you ask God what he needs from you? Like Samson, God’s desires the way he views the world. They’re gray blobs that we don’t look at or consider. So we need to have a fully rendered prayer life, a fully a full view of the world we can see the way God does. So yes, we should thank God for the food that we eat, but also that he would reveal sin in our lives. We should ask God for help in trials, but also pray that His will be done in our lives. We should pray that those we know and love would come to know Jesus and become believers, but also for those that would never get to meet that God’s kingdom would come on Earth. We must pray for the seen and unseen things. We must have a fully rendered prayer life. Unlike Samson, the only things that matter to Samson was what he could see a pot of honey and a dead lion. Samson saw good food. God. Saw a broken vow, a pretty woman from the enemy. Samson saw a good time. God saw a broken commandment, a party celebrating a false god. Samson saw a chance for revenge. God saw a chance to deliver his people. And so what does God do with this selfish prayer of Samson? Let’s find out. In our final scene called the saving power, look at verse 29 then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood, bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than when he lived. Then his brothers and his father’s whole family went down to get him. They brought him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtol and the tomb of a Noah his father. He had led Israel in many for 4020, years now, Samson’s weary arms were stretched out, and we see in verse 30, he yelled, let me die with the Philistines, and he brought the house down. And now I wonder if Samson’s final words cut through the noise of the party, if all the Philistines paused for a moment, if his cry didn’t surely the crack of the stone pillars would most definitely stop the party. All the cheers would switch, the screams in an instant, the temple would crumble and the Philistines became defeated, but so is Samson. The last sounds he heard was the cheering switching from sounds of horror as those that were just mocking him died. Samson sacrificed himself to defeat the enemy. And so the story of Samson ends with the simple phrase, Thus. He killed many more when he died than while he lived. And often people will read this story and look at that line as a vindication of Samson’s life. He wasn’t perfect, but in the end, he did the right thing, but we just saw that Samson didn’t die for justice. He’s not like Spartacus. He didn’t die a heroic death. He died for revenge, and so verse 30 reads more like a lament than a vindication. It’s a harsh critique of Samson. It’s pointed out that Samson killed more Philistines in His death and His life. That is not a praise. It’s a scathing question, the same question an employer will ask of their staff, what did you do with all this time? Samson led Israel for 20 years. He was probably 40. What was he doing? What was he doing with his life? He was supposed to defeat the Philistines. He was just squandering that purpose for his entire life. And so the story of Samson is not one of redemption. He was the villain at worst and a lousy hero at best, and he didn’t change anything either. The verses and chapters after is after Samson’s burial tell us that Israel went right back to rejecting God. So Samson, he could, he could take out the Philistines, but he couldn’t defeat Israel’s greatest enemy themselves, their wicked hearts that led them away from God. And yet God answered that prayer, which is crazy to me, but God granted Samson strength one last time, and this shows the goodness of God that he uses imperfect people for his perfect plans. God used Samson to show the Philistines the true strength of God, and also to deliver Israel from the Philistines. So Samson’s selfish prayer was accidentally in line with the will of God. So let that encourage you, no matter how messy you feel or how imperfect you are, God can use you for His perfect plans. And make no mistake, God is the hero of this story, not Samson. Samson wasn’t even the hero of his own life. At every turn, God was using and working through Samson. In spite of Samson, God kept giving Samson his spirit and strength to accomplish His perfect purpose. Samson was a messy hero. God is a holy savior. We don’t need Samson. We need God. And that’s big idea for this message. We don’t need a hero. We need a savior. The story of Samson shows the problem with heroes. Heroes like Samson or Spartacus, they don’t change anything. And when they die, they stay dead. The world keeps moving unchanged. This story shows that we don’t need a hero. We need a Savior, and only one guy fits the bill, the humble carpenter from Nazareth, Jesus, Christ, the Son of God. Jesus is the better Samson. He’s the Holy Savior whose death changed the world forever. When Jesus was wavering in the garden, what did he pray, Father, make me free of this burden. No, he prayed, Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me, yet not my will, but yours. Be Done. When Jesus was mocked by his enemies at his death, what did he pray? Father, remember me strike them down to get revenge for nailing me to this cross. No, he said, Father, forgive them. They know not what they do. When Jesus was on the cross, did he yell, let me die at his enemies as his arms were outstretched, just like Samson. No, he died surrounded by enemies, celebrating his downfall. He was humiliated, in pain, and he cried, It is finished. And Jesus died for his enemies. He did what he set out to do. When Jesus was buried by his friends and family, did he stay in the ground? No, he rose again three days later, conquering the greatest opponents, life has to offer sin and death. So we like heroes like Samson, but we need a savior like Jesus, one who is holy and able to change the world, to be a perfect sacrifice, to take our place on the cross and to rise from the dead so that we could live forever with Him. So let me ask you the question, Why would you settle for anything less than Jesus? Who are you going to trust to save you? Are you going to trust yourself? That’s our first. Worst response a lot of time, isn’t it? We think we can solve our own problems. I was talking to this guy a few months ago, and he told me, Jake, I’ve been protecting myself my entire life. I’m pretty good at it. Why would I let Jesus do that? It’s hard for me to take that guy seriously. When I look at his life, that’s a good job, I’d see a bad job, because, like all of us, he gets into so many problems that are our fault, that we cause. Because as much we try to protect ourselves, we cannot protect ourselves from ourselves. The things that we do or say hurt those we love and cause conflict in every part of our life, and that’s because we all struggle with sin, and sin breaks everything. We’re sinners that cause more problems that we solve, we get into fights, we lie to each other, to ourselves, we steal, we break promises. We can’t protect ourselves from ourselves. We’re not the hero. We’re the villains of our stories. So don’t trust yourself to save you. Trust Jesus. I can trust your parents to save you. I mean, remember, my car breaks down. I call my dad. I’m functionally an adult, but when I get sick, I still call my mom, but parents, they can’t save us. They can’t solve all the problems in our life. So Hey, kids, students, listen up. You’ve asleep. Wake up. The Bible says you should honor your parents. They’re on your team, but they cannot be your super hero, your Savior. They’re not meant for that. Your parents are human. Worst of all, they’re sinners, and they’re going to do things that and say things that leave deep wounds, and that’s normal, because they’re not perfect. So kids, love your parents, obey your parents, honor them. That Bible tells us to do that, but never says to make them your Savior. They aren’t meant for that. Don’t make your parents your Savior, and parents don’t pretend that you are your kid’s savior. There are problems you cannot solve for them. The best thing you can do for your kid is the point of the Jesus, the one who can solve everything for them. You can’t make their lives perfect, so don’t live like you can. So don’t trust your parents to save you. Trust Jesus. Are you going to trust doctors to be your hero? I’m sure everyone’s been there in the waiting room, wanting good news, dreading bad news, and sometimes doctors, they are able to deliver good news that we love doctors, praise God for that. But the good news is always temporary, because no doctor has ever defeated death. They’ve only delayed it. Death is undefeated, or rather it was. Jesus is better than any doctor because he did what no doctor could do. He defeated sin and death. Death could not keep Jesus in his clutches, and now death has no power over all those who proclaim Jesus as their Savior, and that’s why he died, because he saw we were in a world full of Spartacuses and Samsons that couldn’t save us. They couldn’t do anything for our greatest problem, death. But he came and lived the perfect life and died an undeserved death so that we could live. Jesus is the savior that we need. He dies so that we could live forever, and he makes death look like a distant memory. So don’t trust doctors to save you from death. Trust Jesus to deliver you from death. Heroes all fall short. They’re going to disappoint, and they can’t change our worlds. Jesus can. He’s the hero we don’t deserve, but so desperately need. So if you’re here and you’ve never really given Jesus much of a second thought, and you’re tired of saving yourself or being disappointed by your other heroes, let Jesus be your hero. He died for you. He died so that you don’t have to. And maybe I never clicked until now, but I know one thing, God brought you into this building today for a reason. So please, let him save you. Put your trust in him instead of yourself or any other lesser hero. Don’t sell. For less than Jesus, because Jesus is better than Spartacus, he’s better than Samson, he’s better than any other human hero we could possibly choose instead of Him, He’s the Savior we need, and he’s promised to raise all those who place their trust to him to new life, just let him in. Would you pray with me, Jesus? Thank you. You saw our need for deliverance. You didn’t let us stay there. You saw that we lived in a world that had no hope, a world full of lesser heroes that could not save us from our greatest opponents ourselves and from death, and we’re sorry that we don’t. We choose lesser heroes and we stray from you, Lord, but thank you that you died on the cross while we were your enemies, so that we could be with you and live forever with you. And I pray for all those here who haven’t placed their trust in you yet, who have decided or are still hesitant, not quite understanding what this looks like, Lord, I pray you would just speak to them this moment, just help them to see how beautiful you are and the hope that you provide Lord, and I pray we would all just trust you more and ourselves less. I pray this in Your perfect name, Lord, amen.

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Abundant in Christ June 29, 2025 | Reeve Sam
The sermon centers on Ephesians 1:3-14, emphasizing the spiritual blessings that come through Christ. Reeve Sam highlights the importance of understanding these blessings, comparing them to a valuable painting discovered late in life. The sermon explores the Triune God: the intimate Father, the reliable Son, and the promised Spirit. It underscores God’s love, predestination, and adoption, using examples such as Nikolai Mustad and Jaden’s adoption. The Holy Spirit’s role in sealing believers and providing them with security is emphasized. The sermon calls for a deeper appreciation of these blessings and a personal relationship with Christ.TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

Today’s scripture can be found in the book of Ephesians, chapter one, verses three through 14. It can be found on page 946, of your pew Bible. So Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus, Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ, for he chose us in him, before the creation of the world, to be holy and blameless in his sight, in love, He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will, to the praise of His glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the one he loves. In Him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will, according to His good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ to be put into effect when the time, when the times reached their fulfillment, to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth. Under Christ, in Him, we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, when you believed you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession to the praise of his glory, a man named Nikolai Mustad, awesome baby name, by The way, in 1908 went to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. He went there with the hopes that this painting that he just bought was a lost art piece of Vincent van Gogh himself. But as he walked into the museum, the staff saw the painting, and they started examining it, and they said, there is no signature on this. This is a fake. All the enthusiasm that he had sank down. He was devastated. He was heartbroken, and he just tossed it into the family attic, until two decades later, he had passed away, and nothing had been heard about this painting. And in 2013 in 2013 several, several decades later, more than a century later, this painting was found. It was found, and it was re authenticated, and it was found out to be an original Van Gogh. See Mustad died without knowing the value of the painting that belonged to him. He was devastated because he could never celebrate the jaw dropping worth of that treasure, if only he knew the worth of the masterpiece that belonged to him. Mustad isn’t the only person who doesn’t understand the greatness of possessing something so grand. We too fall short of understanding how great a blessing it is to know Jesus and to be found in him. In Ephesians, one, three to 14, we see Paul, who realizes the abundance of these blessings that he has in the Lord Jesus Christ, and this compels him to break out in praise. He acknowledges the various characteristics of the Triune God and finds himself rejoicing in them hopefully, as we read through these mysteries that have been revealed to Paul, it will prompt us to know God all the more and praise Him to better understand Paul’s reason for praise, we will look at the Trinity, the Father Son and the Holy Spirit, and we will dwell in these characteristics that belong to the Triune God. Firstly, we praise God, the intimate father, starting with verse three, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every blessing, every spiritual blessing in Christ. And there’s so much packed into this one verse that the next 10 verses are focused solely on being able to dwell in what it means to have every spiritual blessing in Christ, kind of like a pinata where. Here, it’s filled with all this candy, and we’re now about to break in and taste the sweetness of each and every blessing, and hopefully that just won’t be for the rest of the sermon, but the rest of our lives. But before we even try to explain that, verse three focuses on the origin, the source of all the blessings, the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. In verses three to six alone, we will see Paul talk about topics such as love, grace, Will, predestination and adoption. But he doesn’t just talk about that in the abstract. Paul talks about these blessings as blessings that come from the God and Father. He says. He seems to say that if you want to better understand love, grace, will predestination and adoption, you will have to do it from an understanding that all of these are gifts that reflect the blessings that God has for you. God the Father desires to bless you. Some of us have a picture of this, the Father as this judgmental God of the Old Testament, and Jesus, this good come God of the new but Jesus himself says in John 638 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will, but to the to do the will of Him who sent Me, the Father who sent Me. What Jesus reveals about the Father is that he is good and more than that, he’s loving, because everything that Jesus did is focused on the Father’s love for us. And maybe if we can see God is loving, then we can better understand how Paul can praise him as he looks through all these spiritual blessings, look at verses four to six, for he chose us in him, before the creation of the world, to be holy and blameless in his sight, in love. He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with this pleasure and will to the praise of His glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the one he loves. If you’ve been in church long enough, you’ve probably heard this passage talked about in the context of predestination or election, which is a teaching that before the creation of the world, the eternal destiny of man was already settled by God. There are so many debates whether God is in control or whether we have the choice to choose God, and it’s important to have these conversations, but that is not what Paul is focusing on here. When we talk about predestination, we almost always separate it from the blessing of adoption, and when we do that, we miss what the father’s intention for our electing us is, and why it is important that we have been chosen in Christ before the foundations of the world. See this so called judgmental God of the Old Testament can be found being so compassionate in the calling of Jeremiah, which we heard earlier. Jeremiah 145 the word of the Lord, came to me saying, Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you before you were born, I set you apart, I appointed you as a prophet to the nations see to know somebody in the Hebrew text is not referring to opening a textbook and learning about somebody. No, this is intimate. If Evie, my fiance, said, Reve, I want she would have known me a little bit more. And I started going to her friends and saying, Hey, this heavy girl. What about her? She would be so disappointed in me. You know, I would be disappointed in myself. See, it’s not an intellectual understanding of somebody and we get this. It’s a deeply intimate one. It makes us want to picture covenants. It’s the kind of intimacy of a husband and wife like Adam knew Eve best friends like David and Jonathan, who were knit together at heart and most fitting to this imagery in Ephesians, like a father and a son. Like I said before all these debates about election talk, they’re just talk about God as if God is not involved in our lives whatsoever. If he is God, He knows everything right. But that almost fails to, always fails to acknowledge the fact that God loves us. The text doesn’t say in the supreme knowledge of God, we were predestined, whereas it says, in love, in love, we were predestined. This is not just philosophical, no, this is deeply, profoundly personal. God, the Father, desires to bless you, and this text points to how he has always desired to bless you who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ. And how does the Father bless us? He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ. Last week, Abby’s family, which is as close to me as my own, had the privilege of adopting Jaden. Jaden is a little boy who they foster for the past two years, and he may not, at this age, understand what it means to be adopted. He may not understand. This blessing and see if you have children of your own, you’re kind of stuck with them, but Jayden, no, he was chosen. One day, Jaden is going to realize the awe and wonder of being chosen by his dad and mom and their commitment to raise a child not as an outsider, but as your very own. He’s not a foreigner. He’s dear child, and that day he will understand the blessing of sonship. To be adopted means that we belong. See God choosing us doesn’t convict us the same way that it did the Ephesian church that was small and persecuted because we live such comfortable lives, we’re so neglectful of this blessing, kind of like a child that was born into a rich family that has never known what it means to work hard, that has never ever gotten the chance to know the pain and toil that their parents went through so that they could have that blessing. But there will be moments, even in our comfort, where we feel lost, abandoned, confused and maybe even hurt by those most close to you. What can you hold on to in such moments? It is this blessing. If we place our trust in Jesus, we have what the Son of God, Jesus, the Christ, has with the Father. We are the children of God, the apostle John. In John, one says yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in his name, to those who believed in his name, not to those who believed in the comforts of this world or even in themselves, no to those who believed in the name of Jesus, he gave the right to become children of God, children not born of natural descent nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. To be born of God means that we were chosen by God, and that is an intimacy unlike any other modern hymn writer, David Ward has this wonderful stanza to help us picture this. He says, I sought. I walked because your grace, long before had fixed my place and now I love. How can it be to us, you who first loved me? We praise God because it is in His good pleasure to choose you and I to be children of the living God. The intimacy of the Father is revealed in the election of his children. We praise God because we have an intimate father. Secondly, we praise God the reliable son. Let’s look at verse seven in Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us. We tend to look at this concept of redemption as a transformation story where somebody has gone from a state of being not good to good. But if that was merely the case of our lives, then Jesus would not have to shed his blood on the cross. No he could have just been a counselor or gym instructor or a motivational speaker telling everybody Hey, just feel better about yourselves. Or kind of like a first century rabbinic Jordan Peterson, where you’ll hear wake up early, do your bad do 100 push ups every day you live a great life. Yeah, you can ban me from doing Canadian accents. That was horrible, but I’m going to be honest here. There are many times in my life where I’ve made waking up at 5am reading my Bible, working out my gospel. Almost all the time. I’ve done this or taken pride in the fact that I have this good discipline routine. I’ve done it without acknowledging God, and that made me realize something, I don’t have a discipline problem. I have a sin problem. Redemption is costly, and it’s not sleep that it’s lost, no, it’s the life of Jesus who, in love, in love, acknowledged our inability to save ourselves, and he chose, he chose to shed his blood on the cross for us so that we who deserve death have been given the gift of eternal life. Jesus choosing to bear the cross on our behalf is the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us. You see, at just the right time when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. As Paul says in the Romans, He didn’t die for you because he saw some holiness in you. No, He died for you because he wanted to bestow holiness, His Holiness to you. And how does God bestow His Holiness. He does that in Christ. Let’s look at verse nine. Verse nine just points to the good pleasure of His will which He purposed in Christ. Keyword in Christ, between verses three and 10, we see something that we will we tend to almost always overlook, and it’s the words in Christ, or in him, he. It occurs six times in eight verses, and 216 times in all of New Testament. And that means there is something significant here. Most of us have a perspective of Jesus being this middle man between a bad circumstance and a good circumstance, and that’s why, when we share stories, we tend to say, I was living an awful life of sin, and then I encountered Jesus, and wow, now I live a happy life striving for him. What we miss out when we talk this way is that we look at Jesus as a bridge to get to the other side of sin, and when we get to this other side, we don’t know what to do, because if Jesus is not on the other side, we have nothing what really is happening when we place our faith in Jesus is that he steps into our life of sin. He carries us through this bitch and by making, by making his arson his own and the beautiful union that he has with the Father, He bestows upon us. Jesus not just aiming for you to have this happy life. No, he desires for you to have eternal life. First John 520 states, we know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true by being in His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God. And eternal life. If you have a vision of eternal life, absent from being in Christ, I’m sorry, there is no other eternal life. So when Paul points to the mystery of his will according to His good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, he means that when you accept Christ, you are in him. Think of a one time membership, where once we’re in, we’re in forever, all the amenities are ours. We have access to the every part of the facility in the same way every part of Christ is ours. And that’s why we also get this imagery of believers being the body of Christ, because in a mysterious way that is only known to God. We’re all one with him. And this has so many implications. It means that all of us who are the body of Christ are not just united to Christ, but united to each other. What was once this abstract idea of being the capital C church, the Body of Christ, is now a personal one. Look at the person next to you, and if they are a professing believer, they are in Christ, and you are in them, maybe that will well up in you a curiosity. You get to know them. It’s a privilege. You get to know those who are next to you, and maybe your hearts are filled with compassion when you look at these other churches and not competition. And maybe for those who have such a tough time sharing when they are struggling, just know everybody in this body is struggling with you talk to them. But there is more. When we participate in the salvation of Christ, we’re acknowledging that Christ is mediating on behalf of God and on behalf of man. He’s not just a bridge between God and man. Rather, he is in us and we are in Him. The unity of all things in heaven, on earth and on Earth doesn’t take place in a random location. No, it takes place in a person. It takes place in Jesus Christ, where we will receive every spiritual blessing, because he has taken on every spiritual curse that our sin has brought about. Christ stepped down from the throne of heaven so that he can bestow heaven to us. In Him, we praise God, the reliable son. Thirdly, we praise God, the promised spirit. Look at 11 and 12. In Him, we are also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. Last week, Alex pointed out two specific things about God in the sermon, he said, First, God is preparing a place for you, and second, that God is preparing you for that place. Both those realities reveal an important truth. Both you and the place that God is preparing are secure in God in Romans eight, if this is a means for us to endure suffering, then Ephesians This is a reason why we can praise God. Praise God. We were chosen, predestined all according to God’s will, so that we who were the first to put our hope in Him, get to praise Him. Kathy Keller, on the topic of being predestined, says I would not be able to get out of bed if I didn’t believe in predestination. Crazy statement to make, but she acknowledges something, that the anxiety of having to live a faithful life is just not possible without the security of heaven. This constant. Does not foreign to us. We get anxious when we don’t feel secure. If you woke up every day thinking, will I have a job the next day, you’re gonna hate the job. And you know what you probably will say, I don’t have job security. Or think about the relationships most close to you. If you felt insecure in your relationship with your friends, no, maybe somebody closer, like a parent or a spouse. You’re not just going to lose trust in the person or lose confidence in the person. You’re going to lose confidence in the very idea of love itself, because there is no love without the security that comes with it, and we find that security in being chosen in Christ. But how do we, who are sinners, experience the security of God in the promised Holy Spirit? Verses 13 to 14, you see, and you were also included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, when you believed in him, you were marked in him with a seal the promised Holy Spirit, who was a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession to the praise of his glory. God didn’t just leave us with a good message of hope. No, he left us with a guarantee. You were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit. And the word seal is meant to meant for us to picture this locked up letter, or like a tied up letter, and our salvation is like this letter that has been signed, sealed and delivered. We receive the blessings that are for legitimate children of God, because we are secured in the spirit of the legitimate son, Jesus, the Christ. We are sealed in him. And there is this possibility for us to start thinking that this spirit thing is only meant for the future. No, the Spirit in us. The Spirit is in us for today and every day that we live this life on Earth. If there’s one passage in scripture that sums up the role of the spirit of security for us. It is John 1415, to 20. It starts by saying, Jesus starts by saying, If you love Me, keep My commandments. Easy, right? No, if, if, if he left us there, we might as well be like every other religion, trying to work our way to God. But no, he follows that by saying, and I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever. The Spirit of Truth The world cannot accept him because neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me because I live. You also will live. On that day, you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you. The Spirit of God is in us, so that we aren’t alone in this world of sin. The Spirit of God is in us, so that we’re no longer orphans, rather children of God. The Spirit of God is in us so that When the world cannot see Jesus, we can you. A son who stepped down from the throne of heaven to bestow heaven on us, an inheritance that will never be taken because of the spirit that is within us. Why are we so fascinated by the sinfulness of the world, like Nikolai Mustad? Have we just living? Have have we just been living this life as if we don’t know the worth of knowing Christ? Do you believe that what Christ is offering is far better than what this world offers? Do those who say that they Jesus is their Lord and Savior? When you hear the words, you are chosen by God, adopted by God, loved by God, do you feel like you want to know Christ more? And if it doesn’t, then maybe you just don’t understand the value of having every spiritual blessing in Christ. So when you leave this place, don’t leave this place, just ignorant of this reality. Every spiritual blessing in Christ is a beautiful thing that pawn. Upon. Spend some time just reflecting, talking to God, and don’t ignore him this time, just pray. Pray that you’re able to receive Him and taste his goodness. And as you draw near to Him at he he promised. This is a promise that he makes, He will draw near to you. And if you’re here and you want that relationship with God, you want to be a child of God, you want to have the security of heaven, then give your life to Jesus and trust him. Speak to those around you and hear from them what it means to have a relationship with him. And I promise you, it is worth it, because Paul, when he was confronted by Jesus on the road to Damascus, He just couldn’t ignore such great a salvation. Now you you draw near him that in repentance we can come to him and know that he loves us so much that he will come to us praise God, from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below, praise him above. Ye Heavenly Host, praise Father Son and Holy Ghost. Pray with me, Heavenly Father. We thank You. We thank you so much that you’ve blessed us so abundantly with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms that we get to taste this for the rest of our lives. If we place our faith and hope and trust in Jesus and Lord as we come, in this moment, we acknowledge there are so many ways that we’ve been neglectful of your goodness, your kindness, your mercy and your grace draw us near to you, Lord, and as we come, receive us, may the words that you’ve spoken to us remind us that we have our security, our hope, our joy in you and you alone. Uphold us in your love, help us treasure every single word that you’ve prayed upon us, Lord and we pray that, as we think and ponder of your goodness, that we have hearts that are changed and transformed. Come have your way in us, Lord, bless each and every soul in this room. In your name we pray, Amen.

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Hopein Suffering June 29, 2025 | Alex Rodriguez Alex discussed Romans 8:18-28, emphasizing four key truths: trusting God, whose trials lead to glory; the redemption of the world, where creation groans for Christ’s return; full adoption now, where believers eagerly await their union with Christ; and the transformation of weakness into strength, where the Spirit intercedes for us. Alex encouraged the congregation to trust in God’s purpose amidst suffering, assuring them of a glorious future.

Well, good morning everyone. It’s a It’s really exciting for me to be here. I’m so blessed and excited that I get to open God’s word and study that with you. We’re going to be in Romans eight today, like Pastor Kyle was saying, if you want to open up there right now, we’re going to be in Romans eight verses 18 through 28 While you’re turning there, you can go ahead and do that, and I’m going to share a little bit about myself, because some of you I haven’t met, and you’re maybe thinking, okay, he’s talking a lot about this Alex guy. So what does he have to offer? Not a lot. And that’s okay. So I’m Alex. I’m originally from a small town Portage Indiana, lived there, born and raised, and for the past three or four years, I’ve been a Moody Bible Institute where I’m studying pastoral ministry, and part of the moody curriculum is that you need to do a required internship, and so I’m looking for a pastoral internship some church that will take me in. And couple of things are falling through. I’m hopeless. I don’t know what’s going on. And then I stumble across Cityview, and I’m like, Okay, let’s try it. I email them like, Hey, could you possibly maybe take me in off the street? And they’re like, Okay, let’s talk. Let’s see how it goes. So I meet with with Kyle and Brandon, and let’s just say I walked in the door, they saw that I was bald, and they said, Yes, they knew that they needed to tip the scales back. There’s too many people with hair here, so yes, but yeah. So I’m currently interning at Cityview, and it’s been such an honor. I’ve learned so much, and I’m excited to keep learning. And one little ice breaker, fun fact about me, in two days, I will have been engaged for one month, which is so exciting. And don’t get me wrong, I do absolutely love that I get to plan a wedding, that I get to know my fiance deeper and on a new level. But I want to be married. I don’t want to be engaged for my whole life. I can imagine having to do that, and I know all the engaged people in the room are feeling the same way right now. There’s so many great things that come with engagement, like planning a wedding, learning more about your significant other, getting to do pastoral some counseling with a pastor, premarital counseling, but that’s not what we’re working towards. Our goal is to be united in marriage. I got down on one knee, I put a ring on a finger. We are committed. We love one another, but we are not quite there. Yet. We will choose to rejoice in where we are, but we continue to look toward the future longingly, knowing that there’s something greater to come. So when the planning process gets stressful, we disagree on something, we can look to the future and say, one day, this will pass, and we will be where we want to be. And so as we look at our passage today, Romans eight. They’re in a very similar situation. Paul has been writing to the Roman church in the first couple chapters, talking to them about the good news and encouraging them. He’s saying, you know, you need to rejoice in this good news. But Paul also understands that there’s more going on in the human mind. They hear there’s good news. They hear rejoicing. But there’s one question, what do we do with this suffering? And Paul addresses this elephant in the room our passage. It’s a very popular passage. You’ve probably heard it before. It tells us a very important truth. It’s our big idea for today. So we’re going to follow this along as we go. Trust God, he is using your pain for His purpose. Romans, eight gives us four distinct ways that we can trust God in our suffering and rejoice in the hope of our future glory. In Ephesians, Paul writes that the Holy Spirit is like our engagement ring. It’s a guarantee of what’s to come. And when you make the decision to give your life to Christ, you are committed to Jesus. We have joy in the present, but we still groan for the day when we’ll be fully united with Him, standing face to face. And maybe you’re here today groaning about something, maybe you’re here with pain. You’re here with questions. You’re here with a story that didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to Romans 818, through 28 has good news for us. It says God is using your pain for His purpose. So let’s walk through our passage today and see these four truths. It will anchor our hope in Christ, when life feels heavy, first, we look at verse 18, where we see our first main point. That main point is that we can trust God. Your trials will lead you to glory. Verse 18 says this, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. It’s important to recognize that Scripture does not deny hardships in the world. Right at the start of the passage, we actually see it named it says suffering, suffering is real, and it’s important to our Christian life for us to recognize the reality of this right now, there are some of you that walked in here today that are struggling. Maybe a family member is in the hospital right now. Work has been so stressful. You’re dealing with loss or grief, and that is real. Your suffering is real. But that’s just one word out of this sentence. There’s another important word here. It says consider. And when we hear consider, we say, okay, what are we considering? You’re told to consider your present suffering and weigh them in light of the future glory that comes from Christ and that can be hard to take a step back from your suffering and look to something that you’ve never experienced before. I like to think about it like this. Imagine you’re training for a marathon. It takes a long time. There’s lots of running. You’re so tired, you have to work on eating right? You have to get good strength and stamina. And the entire training process, it’s long and difficult. It can be so easy to quit, give up and say, you know, that was past. Alex, I don’t know what I was thinking, but for the people that run marathons, there’s something that’s so worth it at the end, all of the training, the pain, the aches, the tears, the blood, the sweat, it’s all made worth it because there’s something greater at the finish line, a banana. Yes, a banana at the finish line. Marathon runners really do look forward to the banana after their runs. There’s something about the chemicals that they get that they had been expelling when they were running. I don’t get it. Don’t ask me why. I go to Bible school and you have Google so you can focus on that, but when they eat that banana, they get a boost, and they rejuvenate, and they feel good all that pain that they experience from the run, from the marathon, from the trainings, it seems so much smaller. It seems so much more tame, because they’ve accomplished something and they’ve received a reward that made it so much more worth it, and many marathon runners choose to do it again, because the glory at the end of the suffering is worth it, and Scripture tells us that we’re working towards something at the end of the suffering, something so much greater than a banana. Thank God. So when you’re experiencing suffering, when you’re sitting at the hospital bed of a loved one, or you turn on the news and you see death, destruction, terrible things in the world, and you think to yourself, how can I possibly get through this look to Christ and the glory that will be revealed? Because on the day that you stand face to face with the Creator of the universe, your suffering won’t even cross your mind looking at the majesty and the glory of the One who gave Himself for you, who loves you more than you could ever think standing in the new heavens and the new earth. You won’t even think about your suffering. You won’t even recognize that it’s gone and that it’s past. All you’ll care about is that you get to lift up praise to the one who has saved your life. Now it’s also important to recognize that when we place our faith in Christ, we don’t deny we don’t turn away from the world and say that suffering isn’t real. Instead, we get a renewed vision. We get this Christ like vision. We find hope in the truth that we can trust God because your trials are leading you to glory. We know that Christ has ascended to heaven. We know that he is preparing a place for us. He has redeemed us, realizing what we have to look forward to. It can be so easy to ask, Why do I have to wait for the glory to be revealed? It’s because Christ isn’t just preparing a place for you in Heaven, but he’s preparing you for that place. He is working to prepare you for that place. Christ is preparing you for eternity with Him. So when life hurts, when you face heartbreak, loss, betrayal, pain, suffering, anchor your hope in what lasts, not what hurts. This moment we are in now is temporary, but the glory revealed in Christ is eternal. He is preparing for us to return to what creation has made for us. As we look around at the brokenness of the world, we see war, starvation, hatred, death, we can continue to place our trust in God and our second point today specifies that where it says trust God, he will redeem the world. Romans goes on in verses 19 through 22 saying, through creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it and hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time, the fall of man and the destruction that sin brings ruined so many things. In Genesis three, we can see that at the Fall, three distinct relationships were ruined, and the first two seem pretty obvious to us. There’s a brokenness in our relationship between humanity and God. There’s also a relationship between humanity and itself. And I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve never walked side by side in a garden with God, and I get into a lot of very civil disagreements with my family, I’d say. But this third one’s interesting. There’s a brokenness in the relationship between humanity and its creation, or in God’s creation. See, creation was given to humanity for us to rule over and to take care of it. Creation was made to be perfect and to thrive, but the fallen, sinful, selfish nature of humanity has thrown the world into disorder and pain alongside those who are longing for the full glory of Christ to be revealed, you are joined by creation itself. The passage tells us that creation, creation is actively and intensely groaning for the full revelation of Christ. The word for groaning here is really interesting. It’s not this groaning that you’d experience with maybe a little kid or they’re throwing a temper tantrum and saying, Oh, I don’t want to go to the store with you, mom. It’s not that kind of groaning. It’s this neck strain and groaning, the pain that the earth is experiencing is so great to bear that all of its body, all the way up to the neck, is straining. In fact, the passage compares it to the pains of childbirth. Now I’m 21 years old. I am a male. I will never personally experience childbirth. Let’s get that out of the way first. But from what I’ve heard, my mom has told me some things some other women in my life, childbirth can be pretty painful, right? And the build up is a long process. There’s nine months of aches and pains as your body adjusts, and then the neck straining while you go into labor while giving birth, the pain is so much that the neck begins to strain as a woman pushes and the pain comes and waves, the body begins to compensate for the pain by straining every muscle in the body all the way up to the neck. But all of this is something that the woman continues to push through, because what comes after is amazing. I know that when my mom held me in her arms for the first time and experienced the newness of life, the gift that this brought her made the pain of childbirth suddenly become worth it to experience taking part in the glory of the new creation. This is the groaning the world experiences pain so great the entire body, all the way up to the neck, is strained, but it is awaiting the fullness of glory that will be revealed in Christ. Jesus, the world knows that it can bear this pain, because the passage tells us that this is pains of childbirth. These are not pains that lead to destruction, but they do lead, or they don’t lead to anything worse, but they do lead to something better. They lead to new life, new life for the eternity of creation. And what a comforting truth that Christ’s sacrifice and work is not merely to redeem your soul, but to redeem the entirety of creation. It goes beyond each and every one of us to something even greater. He doesn’t end his work by redeeming us, but by redeeming everything. Not only will the transformation you experience be amazing, but you will be joined in. In the entirety of creation, you are not alone in your suffering. You are joined by creation, and you belong to the same creator. So that hope that creation experiences is one, that you can join in, not only this, but we have what Hebrews calls a sympathetic high priest, which is Christ. He is able to sympathize with our suffering. Christ went through a lot when he took on human flesh. He has been starved, dehydrated, humiliated, beaten, lonely, stressed, tired, scared, whatever it is, you name it, he knows that this pain and suffering that you experience is difficult, but he lived a human life focused on the glory that will be revealed. He bore the cross that he might be able to bring redemption to all of us, so that one day you can join him in the new creation, in the new redeemed heaven and earth. And what a magnificent truth to look forward to, which brings us to our next point, the third point today. Trust God, we will experience full adoption now the next section, verse 23 through 25 tells us that not only so, but we, ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet, have we wait for it patiently. Hope is part of the plan. Your suffering is not meaningless at all. It reorients us, in fact, to the future promises of restoration. I want to take you back to my engagement story. We are in love, we are committed, we are planning, we are looking forward, we are excited, but we haven’t walked down the aisle yet. The commitment is made, but the celebration and the covenant fulfillment is ahead. We are not living the fulfillment of that covenant and yet, and that’s okay, in the same way, God has already brought us into his body, we have already been adopted into him. But the full unveiling of that adoption, the wedding day, the feast, is still to come, the day when Jesus Christ comes for His bride, the Church, the day when faith becomes sight, when waiting becomes joy, when the veil is lifted and we see Him face to face, when every tear is wiped away and every broken thing is made new, that’s the celebration we’re longing for right now. We live in this already, but not yet. We are spoken for, we are loved, we are promised, but we are still waiting for that final day of union, of fulfillment, of feasting, and in the waiting, we hope with this firm, confident expectation that the bridegroom is coming, he hasn’t forgotten he’s preparing a place, and when the time is right, the doors will open and the celebration will begin. So don’t grow weary in the waiting. Know that God makes good on his promise. Don’t forget who you belong to. Keep your eyes on the wedding day, the Feast is coming. We are called to faith, to hope in what we do not see. But hope in Scripture is not a wishful thinking. It is a firm, confident expectation. We know that the Lord is faithful. In fact, we get the ability to groan, because we know that there will be one day when he returns. It’s like going on a road trip or a long drive with a bunch of little kids, and in the back you hear about 40 times, are we there? Yet they’re able to ask that, because they know that eventually they will be there. They will make it to their destination.
So don’t lose heart when you see when you don’t see results, live by faith, not by sight, knowing that Christ is faithful and good to bring fulfillment to His promises, and know that it’s okay. It is okay to long for the future. But don’t forget where you are now. Don’t miss out on the present. You’re here for a reason, and there is still so much work to do. There are souls to reach, there are prayers to pray, and there are people to love, and that feels like a pretty heavy burden for us Christ, like I said earlier. He has ascended. He’s not on earth anymore, and we have been given his work.
Sorry, like I mentioned earlier, Christ has ascended. He’s not on Earth. We’re given the mission that he can I’m never going to live up to the work that Christ has done. And the great thing is that we don’t need to bear that. We don’t have to expect that all of the burden that is on Christ is on us, because we are surrounded by the body of believers and the power of Christ is in us. Our final point today reminds us of this. That point is trust God, he transforms our weakness into strength. The final section tells us that, in the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans and He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Life is hard. It can often be way too much for us to bear. Struggling at work, there’s deadlines, there’s long hours, there’s this feeling that you’re always behind and you’ll never be able to catch up. Whether it’s at home, you have a mountain of bills, you have another broken appliance, or there’s just constant noise and chaos and you can’t rest. Or there’s relationships, there’s misunderstandings, tension, distance, or just the ache of loneliness. Or your families, you realize that your parents are getting older, your kids are struggling. There’s unresolved tension between you and other family members, or you’re just trying to hold it together. When you’re falling apart inside. Sometimes it all hits at once in that in those moments, you sit there and you don’t even know what to pray, you sit in silence, you groan, you cry, and it feels like nothing is getting through. And that can be really disheartening, but here’s the good news, that’s exactly where God meets you. He doesn’t wait for us to have the right words. He doesn’t require perfect, polished prayers or emotional strength. Romans eight says that the Spirit intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. In other words, when you don’t know what to pray, he does and when all you have is silence, he speaks on your behalf. When you’re at the end of yourself, Christ is just getting started, because God meets you in your weakness. So the Spirit intercedes for us. He prays when we don’t have words. He prays when you don’t even know what we need to pray for. And that’s reassuring. I think there’s a negative pressure on believers that we need to have perfect prayers that can change lives, and we need to pray the way that Billy Graham would preach, but that’s not true. We are called to simply pray honestly and hopefully. Christ desires a relationship with you. He doesn’t expect perfection, so pray. Pray throughout your day. Pray with your family. Pray don’t be afraid to do things when you are not perfect, and know that as you pray, God will answer you, and God’s answers align with his will, not always our desires, but always his perfect plan. Verse 28 says, and we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him. It doesn’t say that all things are good. It says in all things, even the bad ones, even the hard ones, God is working for your good. I’ve had a lot of long commutes this summer, and with that, there have been plenty of times that I’m driving, I have my destination in the GPS, and then I look down and I miss my exit, or I took a wrong turn. All of a sudden, I’m lost. I have no idea where I’m at, and I’m in the worst possible part of Chicago. So I start freaking out. I don’t pull over. I just keep driving. But what I do here is this calming presence. The GPS going recalculating. It doesn’t yell at me, it doesn’t give up on me. It just reroutes. It’s calm, it’s steady. It’s determined to get me where I need to go, even if the route origin. Lee is different, and I think that’s a lot like how God works in our lives. There are going to be things. There’s going to be delays, detours, disasters that throw off your plan. You’ll make decisions you regret. You’ll take paths you never thought you would. But God doesn’t throw up his hands in frustration. Say, Alex, what are you doing? He doesn’t abandon you. He helps you find your way back to him, because, unlike a GPS, he’s not reacting to your wrong turns. He already knew they were coming. He is sovereign. He saw the suffering before it started, and he’s already worked your detour into his design. So when you feel weak, lean on the spirit. Trust that the Lord is on your side, that he is working for your good, that even in the bad situation, there is good on the other side. Surrender your plans to His purpose. There might be some of you today that are not experiencing suffering. You’re thinking, what does this have to do, possibly to my life. There are people around you that are suffering, and when others are suffering, you need to be the voice that reminds them that you are not forgotten. You are not hopeless. God is not done with you. Yet there is hope on the other side. So where does that bring us today? Romans eight. It doesn’t promise you an easy life, but it does promise you a glorious future. It doesn’t say that you won’t groan, but it says that your groaning will lead you to glory and through it, all the pain, the confusion, the weakness, the spirit is praying, the father is planning for you, and the son is coming again for us, so we can trust God, he is using your pain for His purpose. If you here today and you’re in a season of suffering, don’t give up, don’t back out. You might feel like you’re wandering without direction or progress, but scripture reminds us that there is something to hope for. He reminds us that we can trust that God is working all things to his good. If you’re feeling weak today, turn to God. Say, God, fill me with your strength. And if you’re here today, and that doesn’t apply to you, gather around those grieve, with those who grieve, joy, with those who joy. And then we get to verse 29 I know it’s not on your calendars, but I think it’s important that we look at for those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his son that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. That’s the good that verse 28 points out to us, not comfort, not this happy ending that you run off into the sunset, but Christ likeness. God is not working just to make your life easier. He is working to make you more like Jesus through every painful season, every weak moment, every unfulfilled longing, he is shaping you, molding you, chiseling away at you. And what did Jesus look like? Jesus was a man of sorrows, a man acquainted with grief, full of grace and truth, glorious in suffering, victorious in resurrection, so when it feels like life is breaking you, remember God is forming you, and when it feels like the waiting will never end, remember God is not wasting a second, and when you feel weak and can’t go on, remember the spirit is carrying you and Christ is being formed in you. Let’s pray together, Heavenly Father. We thank you for being near us in our weakness. We thank you for being near us in our weariness and in our waiting. And we thank you for the promise that our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that you will reveal in us even when we can’t see it. You are working through every trial, every detour, every tear and every unanswered question. We confess that we don’t understand what you are doing, but we choose to trust you. We believe that you are using our pain for your purpose and our struggles to shape us into the image of your son. Holy Spirit. Thank you for praying for us when we don’t have the words. Thank you that we are not alone in our groaning, that creation groans with us. We groan, and you groan with us, teaching us to hope even when it hurts. Teach us to wait with patience. Faith and to live with faith. We trust you, we love you, and we lift our eyes to the day when we will see you face to face in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Covenant Restoration June 15, 2025 | Brandon Cooper In Zephaniah chapter 2, Brandon Cooper explores God’s call for Judah to seek the Lord, emphasizing the importance of humility and repentance before divine judgment. The sermon examines God’s judgment on four nations – Philistia, Moab, Ammon, and Assyria – as examples of divine justice and a warning against pride. Cooper highlights that God rules history wisely, acts for His people, and wages war against human pride, demonstrating that judgment serves a purpose of potential reformation and redemption. The key message is to “read the times and repent in time,” recognizing that while God punishes sin, He also offers forgiveness through Christ’s redemptive work for those who humbly turn to him.

So all right, with that, you can open up to Zephaniah chapter two. Zephaniah Chapter Two as we continue in our series here in Zephaniah. So Zephaniah chapter two, as you turn in there, it was one of those days where it wasn’t just raining, but it was torrential downpour, and it happened so quickly that the water was pooling in places. So on my way home from here and I got to go across salt Creek, which can be dangerous, of course. I went, it was one of those low spots in the road where it was just a lake, and so, you know, I pulled up to it and kind of thought, like I got two options here. It looks like it’s about eight inches deep. I can kind of just go through or it’s a long way around to go the other way. And I thought, all right, no big deal. I’m just going to push my way through. Car was worth less than the puddle at that point, anyway. So whatever, we’re gonna risk it, right? And so I get in, and I’m driving through very slowly, very cautiously, driving through, and it’s deeper than I thought it was, and I could, I could tell. And so I had that moment that we often have in, you know, different life situations, where I’m thinking, I should turn back, shouldn’t I? Like, now’s the time to put it in reverse. Of course, I didn’t kept going through it, and car survived, by the way. Okay, so it worked, alright. But you understand that that feeling it can be so hard to stop, like, admit you’ve made a mistake, and turn around, go in the other direction. It was like this little living parable of a proverb that my daughters and I talked about not too long ago in our nightly proverbs. Time. Proverbs, 22 verse three says, The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty, fried car, something like that. Well, I bring this up because if you were here last week, you know that the nation of Judah, God’s people, have driven straight into the puddle, and it is a lot deeper than they were expecting the cars about to get fried. What will they do now that they’ve had this prophet call them out. Will they turn or will they just keep going into destruction? And Zephaniah, in that little analogy, he’s the guy on the sidewalk shouting at them, like, now is the time to turn around. And that’s actually exactly what he’s going to say. In our passage this morning, you’re going to say, Turn, turn, turn. Now stop, okay, kind of thing, and then give some additional encouragement to turn around. So that’s why we got kind of these two halves the the roof, you know, go ahead and turn. And then here’s why, kind of thing. So let’s take them. These two halves, not at all equal in terms of length, but very equal in terms of weight, at least. So first part, Zephaniah is coming out from the sidewalk. Seek the Lord. Chapter two, verses one to three. Let me read it for us. Chapter two, verses one to three, gather together. Gather yourselves together. You shameful nation, before the decree takes effect and that day passes like wind blown chaff, before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you before the day of the Lord’s wrath comes upon you. Seek the Lord all you humble of the land. You who do what He commands, seek righteousness, seek humility, perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger. So judgments coming again. That was all of chapter one. Judgments coming. The warning lights are flashing. What are you going to do? Is the the questions Zephaniah is asking and and he tells them what to do. He says, gather, you know, almost translate this idiomatically into into English. You know, get yourselves together, guys like, that’s what’s being said here, although it’s a really interesting. Word that’s used for gather, because it’s only ever used of straw, like hay bale kind of stuff, stubble. So it’s this really derogatory word. Actually, there’s this reminder, like you guys, at this point in your worth no more than straw. You’re just kindling for the fire. And so it says humbling image to begin with, which is then reinforced immediately because he then calls him a shameful nation, shameful, if you’re looking in different translations, it might say not longed for or not desired, or something like shameful. It’s because it could be either one of those words. They’re spelled exactly the same way, so not desire to make sense, but shameful. The word there actually means not pale. Why? Because when you’re caught doing something and you’re ashamed, the color drains from your face. Well, they were caught doing something and they don’t care in the slightest. They got all their colors, so they’re not pale. That’s shameful. But worse, they’re a shameful nation. And you’re like, Well, how is that worse? Of course, they’re a nation. No, Israel is not supposed to be a nation. This is the people of God. This is a kingdom of priests. Everyone else is the nations. In fact, it’s actually one of those Hebrew words. You might know the Hebrew word for nations is goyim, which is all of us Gentiles, or really pagans. And so the fact that Israel, Judah is getting called, the people of God are getting called, basically pagans, says something about who they are and how they’ve been living. Of course, we saw last week, they’re worshiping Baal. They’re worshiping the stars. They are. They are pagans at this point. So get yourselves together, you pagan nation, respond to the threat of judgment and do it quickly, because the day of the Lord, the day of his coming wrath, is approaching quickly. Do you notice in verse two, three times it says before, like get yourselves together before, before, before, there’s this sense of urgency in it all. The decree is going to take effect soon. The time between the announcement of this judgment, what Zephaniah is doing right then and there, and the execution of his judgment is going to be very short. It’s going to pass by like chaff on a windy day. It’s me gone in an instant. So there’s this urgent need to respond, to turn away from danger. So how, how should they do that? Verse three, we get another three fold repetition here of the word seek, which is actually interesting because chapter one, verse six, we saw last week, one of the things they weren’t doing was seeking the Lord or inquiring of him. So that’s what they need to start doing. So they’re supposed to seek, seek. What? Though this is so typical of the Bible, the first thing there to seek is the Lord Himself. The first move is always towards God Himself, which is interesting, if you think about what’s being talked about, Zephaniah is saying you’re about to go under God’s wrath. So your problem the coming storm, is God. And so if you want to get away from this storm, you need to run toward God. That’s interesting. We flee from God by fleeing to God. And if that’s confusing to you, I would submit that you have not understood the central message of Christianity yet, because that’s the gospel in a nutshell. As r c Sproul put it, the glory of the gospel is this, the one from whom we need to be saved is the one who saves us. We flee from the storm of God’s wrath by hiding ourselves in Christ, God’s Son, God Himself, who came as a sacrifice for our sakes to take the punishment we deserved on himself. I say that this is interesting because every other religion starts at the other end of the process. You get your act together. First, you start doing the things you’re supposed to do. First you become righteous, first, then you can approach deity. But God knows we can’t do that. That’s not happening. We’re not going to get our acts together, because our hearts are messed up the fundamental level. We are bent inward. So the first thing we have to do is turn to Him, and we’re transformed then in the turning. Now, who is turning? This helps us out understanding this process. It’s the humble right seek the Lord all you humble of the land. Well, it’s gonna have to be the humble who turn to him, because it’s the humble who recognize, who know that they can’t. Make themselves righteous, they can’t do what God expects them to do on their own. So if we’re not gonna be able to be righteous on our own, then we need somebody else to give us their righteousness. And of course, that is the message of the gospel again. And this is how Jesus whose righteousness we receive when we turn and trust in Him. This is how Jesus encourages us to come to humble. Right? We did the Sermon on the Mount not that long ago. We had the Beatitudes. And how do they begin? Blessed are the poor in spirit, the
humble. In other words, blessed are those who mourn. They’re not grieving death, not there, not in that context. They’re mourning their sin. They’re mourning how they fall short of God’s standard. Blessed are the meek, right? The one, not the bombastic, not the proud? No, the meek. So basically, you could sum all three of those up. But blessed are the humble. Blessed are the humble. And there, as Jesus said, is the kingdom of heaven, and they will be comforted, and ultimately, they will inherit the earth. So that’s how we come, exactly how Jesus tells us to come, how Zephaniah tells us to come here. And that humble coming to the Lord manifests in keeping his commands. Because, of course, that’s what the humble would do. The humble are happy to let God direct their lives, to listen to him, as opposed to insisting on their own way, which was the sin of Adam and Eve in Eden. You’ve got this command. We know better, right? That’s the opposite of humility. That’s pride. And so the humble say, No, we will do what you tell us to do. Now, you who do what He commands. Reads literally you who do justice. You who do justice. That is you who do what is right in any given situation. What is due another, whether that’s what’s due to the Lord, as we worship him, or do to our neighbor, whatever is owed them in different circumstances. So this might mean providing for the needs of the most vulnerable in society, just like God does, by the way, providing for us spiritually, even when we’re at our most vulnerable, or it may mean forgiving someone and being willing to reconcile with them even though they treated you poorly, because, again, God reconciled with us even when we treated him poorly. So true humility, true humility, which truly apprehends grace and mercy inevitably leads to true transformation. It is the proof that you truly have taken hold of grace, and that’s basically what the next two seeks. Say, right seek righteousness. Again, righteousness is a a right relationship between two parties. So right relationship between us and God, and then a right relationship between us and our neighbor, again, that’s kind of all scripture asks of us. Love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Love your neighbor as your self. And so that righteousness, then having that right relationship manifest in right relating to each other, humble, obedient worship of God and then doing justice to those around us to have that right relationship. Of course, you can’t put yourself first. Humility before God always leads to that willing self denial that Jesus talked about. Deny yourselves, take up your cross and follow Me. Now, if we do all that, and that was a lot, right, that we’re supposed to do, so you humble yourself, and then you do what God commands, and you you live lightly towards others and towards God. But if we do all that well, then God is obligated to deliver us, right? Not a chance. Not a chance. Did you notice how it ends? Seek righteousness. Seek humility. We’ve already sought the Lord. Perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger. Perhaps you’ll find shelter from wrath. That word, perhaps, is so important because it’s a reminder that this is all of grace. We cannot do anything to make God owe us salvation. Now, some of you are looking very uncomfortable at this moment, rightly so, I might add, because you’re like, well, then where is gospel assurance, which we sometimes sing about blessed assurance. Jesus is mine. Well, is he perhaps? Well, here’s the answer to that. I don’t think this strips gospel assurance from us by any means. I love the way one commentator put it. He says it like this. He says, perhaps that word perhaps safeguards God’s sovereign freedom. I. But the fullness of who he is relieves this, perhaps, of any anxiety or uncertainty. So on the one hand, we don’t say, of course, he owes us this now. But on the other hand, we know who God is, and so we know he is merciful and just and loving and gracious. And so of course, he will accept us when we turn to him, it just means and quoting the commentator, again, from the side of man, God’s forgiveness should not be misused as cheap grace. That’s all that’s being said here. If we confess our sins, Will said for us earlier, from First John one, verse nine, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just. That’s who he is. He is faithful and just, and he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness, but we don’t presume upon grace. We come with trembling humility, knowing what we deserve and what we’ve been spared. We come with trembling humility, especially when we consider what happens to those who don’t seek the Lord turn from sin or lay hold of grace, and that’s where we go in the rest of the chapter. So seek the Lord first, but see the nations, verses four to 15. Now let me give you just a brief introduction, because we’ll take the nations one at a time. Verse four there actually begins in Hebrew with the word for it’s untranslated in the NIV, which is fine, but in other words, this is an explanation. So verses four to 15 explain two things that we’ve seen already. First of all, it explains the worldwide judgment that was pronounced last week in chapter one. You can see it even there at the end of the chapter, verse 18, in the fire of His jealousy, the whole earth will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live on the earth. So we’re going to explain this worldwide judgment, but it also is an explanation of why we should seek the Lord, seek humility, seek righteousness. Like this is extra weight of why we should stop. Turn around. You know, go back the other way. Don’t keep driving through the puddle. It’s interesting. Also, these four nations that are mentioned come from the four points of the compass, from Judah’s perspective, at least. So you’ve got the Philistines in the West, and then Moab and Ammon are in the east, and then we move to Cush in the south and Assyria in the north. So we get the four points of the compass that’s intentional. So it is meant to be the whole earth that we’re talking about here. We’re just giving specific examples of what is a global issue so it justifies God’s worldwide wrath. This would be like an irate mom early on in the summertime, when she had told you to clean your room, and you say it’s clean, and she comes in and she says, I could look in any direction and find something that isn’t clean. Look at your desk not clean. Look under your bed. You just kick your I’m not going to open the closet, right? So that’s what’s happening here. I could look in any direction the Lord says, and my anger at sin would be justified. So with that, let’s dig in. First Nation, we’re looking to the west here to Philistia. Let me read verses four to seven. Gaza will be abandoned and Ashkelon left in ruins. At midday, ashtad will be emptied and Ekron uprooted. Woe to you who live by the sea. You Cheryl people, the word of the Lord is against you. Canaan land of the Philistines, he says, I will destroy you and none will be left. The land by the sea will become pastures, having wells for shepherds and pens for flocks. The land will belong to the remnants of the people of Judah. There they will find pasture. In the evening, they will lie down in the houses of Ashkelon, the Lord their God, will care for them. He will restore their fortunes. So neighbors to the west, of course, Gaza, you all have heard of it’s in the news a lot. That’s the west coast of what is today Israel, Palestine, the Philistines at the time, these were a seafaring people. They actually come originally from Crete, which is why they’re called Cheryl fights. You can kind of see all the same letters there in this passage. Usually have a pretty amicable relationship with Israel, with God’s people, kind of after the time of David. Not so much under Samson, Samuel David and stuff. But after David defeats them, they hang out. They’re fine. Why? Because the Philistines love the water, and the Jews did not care for the water. So they symbiotic relationship at this point. They don’t overlap much. But now disaster is coming upon the Philistines, and specifically the four major cities of Philistia are mentioned here. And why is disaster coming on them? It’s the center of verse five that tells you it the word of the Lord is against you, so God’s word is against them. You.
God. They are out of step with God’s word. They are not doing what God requires of them, and hence divine judgment will fall on them. But there is this reminder baked in there that the Word of God is the determining factor in all of human history. So we talked a lot last week about God creating us. Well, the God who created us rules us, rules us by His Word. And, of course, rules justly. And so as a result, the land by the sea, Philistia is going to get a new use and a new people we see in verses six and seven. And verse six should be a little bit shocking to us, because we just mentioned four big cities. And so there are these thriving metropolises that all of a sudden become open fields, pasture land, where the Israelites are gonna be able to graze their sheep. And it is not just that the Philistines are going to get to graze their sheep. It’s for Israel. Specifically, these can be Israelite shepherds, the remnants that is the faithful, the true Israel. Those who have not bent the knee to Baal, they’re the ones who are going to possess this land, which is kind of interesting too, because here it means that the humble are inheriting Philistia, and then Jesus expands on us in the beatitude I quoted earlier, the meek shall inherit the earth like that’s what’s happening here on a small scale. Why do they get to inherit this? Because God is faithful to his covenant. That’s why they inherited so we talked last week about the covenant quite a bit. It was, you know, judgment last week, yes, but it was covenant judgment specifically. Well, here we’re dealing with covenant restoration. So in Deuteronomy, and remember Josiah, under his reign, they redo the temple, and they find the book of Deuteronomy in one of the temple pillars. And so they they basically rediscover God’s law. And so they read the conditions of the Covenant, the conditions of Sinai. Here’s what you need to do, and then there are a whole bunch of curses attached to it. If you don’t keep the covenant, then all sorts of bad things are gonna happen to you, like you’re gonna go into exile, all that kind of stuff. And then Deuteronomy 31 to three, which Erica read for us earlier, we read what happens if they turn back in repentance after God disciplines them? So if they turn back and seek the Lord, then it says in verse three, then the Lord, your God, will restore your fortunes, which is quoted there at the end of verse seven. This is covenant gospel, hope. God’s anger is real, but his anger lasts for a moment. Joy comes in the morning. They will experience, and we will experience restoration by grace. And you can see this, feel this even in the shift of images. Because in verses four and five, we get these military images, right? It’s the Lord as a divine warrior going up against those in rebellion against Him. But in verses six and seven, we get these idyllic pastoral scenes, fluffy sheep in green fields, and of course, that would make us think immediately of the Lord as our shepherd makes us lie down in green pastures, leads us beside quiet waters, refreshes our souls. Second nation now we turn to the east, to Moab and Ammon. Let me read it for us, eight to 11. I have heard the insults of Moab and the taunts of the Ammonites who insulted my people and made threats against their land. Therefore, as surely as I live, declares the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, surely Moab will become like Sodom the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a place of weeds and salt pits, a wasteland forever, the remnant of My people will plunder them. The survivors of my nation will inherit their land. This is what they will get in return for their pride, for insulting and mocking the people of the Lord Almighty. The Lord will be awesome to them when he destroys all the gods of the earth. Distant nations will bow down to him, all of them in their own lands. I don’t know if you caught there’s this overwhelming emphasis on Judah as God’s people in these verses. Verse eight, he says, My People. Verse nine, my people again, and my nation as well. And then in verse 10, Zephaniah takes over speaking and refers to them as the people of the Lord Almighty. Now, why this intense focus on on Judah as God’s people? Maybe it’s because we’re dealing with cousins. These are all the descendants of Lot Abraham’s nephew, so they’re closely related to. To Israel. And so maybe the point here is that a near relation is not enough. It would be like someone today being like, well, I’m church adjacent. I’ve got family who go and the point is that’s not good enough, like you need to be a part of the family yourself, or else, will we see what’s coming. They will become like Sodom and Gomorrah, which, by the way, is a bit of a dig at Moab and Ammon because it reminds us of their drunken, incestual origins, which you can read about in Genesis. But what will happen? They will become like Sodom and Gomorrah. They will become not pastures for sheep, but barren wastelands. Why? Because they taunted and insulted God’s people. They made threats like they were going to invade the Land of Israel, and provoked them in their and verse 10 mentions such an important word in their pride and so again, the judgment is just. This is another specific example justifying the general wrath that is coming on the world. If you remember the image from last week, when God goes through with the with the lamps to do this, make this thorough investigation like that’s what he’s done here. Okay, the judgment is just, I’ve checked there is real sin. Not only is the judgment just because they sin, but it’s also just because the punishment fits the crime. Moab wanted to seize Israel’s territory, and so instead, Israel will get to seize Moabs, which is rightfully theirs anyway, because it was given to Abraham, and Abraham was just generous and offered it to his nephew Lot when their people got to be too big. So there’s this strong note of hope for God’s people, even in the midst of these judgment passages, justice will be done. And that is good news, but it is good news. It is news of Hope only for the humble. And again, we see why we need to seek humility. Because verse 10, look at what God does to the proud. We see it over and over again in Scripture. In fact, this very phrase is repeated multiple times in God’s Word. God opposes the proud, but gives grace, shows favor to the humble. And what is humility? Well, it’s what we see in verse 11. Humility is acknowledging the awesomeness of God, and not just that he is awesome, but that he is singularly so, that there is only one true God. And so that’s what happens in verse 11. This awesome Lord destroys all the gods of the earth. Destroys in the sense that he proves their powerlessness and ultimately their non existence, destroys the gods of the nations as he toppled their kingdoms one by one. And so what results from this will distant nations worship Him and worship Him, even in their own lands, by the way, fulfilled here in this room at this moment, because here we are in a distant land, many nations represented even worshiping the one true God. This is interesting, though, because there are other places the New Testament where it talks Testament where it talks about the nations streaming to Jerusalem in order to worship God in the temple. And in a sense, of course, that is true. All of our salvation goes through Jerusalem and through the true temple. Who is Jesus himself? As Jesus Himself said, salvation comes from the Jews. Yes, but that salvation is worldwide, and we worship. I mean, Isaiah 19 says, There we an altar in Egypt, and we read passages like this. And again, what we’re living. We see here what becomes reality, final reality in Revelation, chapter seven, which we studied not that long ago, when God is drawing individuals from every tribe and language and nation and people. It is a multi ethnic people of God, a multi ethnic New Israel. But that verse 11 reminds us that God’s judgment
and the suffering that accompanies it, which is real, has purpose. Has purpose accomplishes good, even in our lives. I mean, think of the purpose of judgment. I mean, think of three retribution, which is what we usually think of when we think of justice being done, deterrence and reformation. And that last one is a very positive purpose. So imagine you had two sons, young sons, close together in age, both of whom are very wicked. All hypothetical. Okay, I’m not talking about anyone you know. This next part actually is hypothetical, though. But imagine that one of them, you know, they both get ice cream cones, and one of them. In a fit over age, knocks the ice cream cone out of his brother’s hand and it is ruined. How does mom, in her kindergarten teacher voice respond? She’s gonna take, we’ll call him Callum. She gonna take, take Callum’s ice cream cone and give it to Amari. Why? Free purposes, retribution. Okay, you, you ruined his ice cream. No, he doesn’t get ice cream because you, you don’t get ice cream now, deterrence, next time around, Callum, hopefully will think differently, but ultimately, the hope is reformation, that this discipline offered in love leads to change in Callum’s heart, so that in future, he doesn’t attack his brother like this. And so that’s what’s happening here, just on the global scale, as punishment happen as nations fall under the judgment of God, that people would wake up and seek him in the end, by the way, think of the wonderfully careful perspective that that gives us as God’s people, the wonderfully careful perspective of this passage, because there are two truths that we hold in tension. On the one hand, we are confident that God will fight against our enemies, and that is good news. In a dark world, we are confident that God will fight against our enemies, but at the same time, we long to see God save our enemies, because we know that God saved us when we were his enemies, and so we might then be praying that God would bring justice for an evildoer, so that he would bring an evildoer to justice. But that’s not the end of our prayer. We pray that he would bring an evildoer to justice and then bring that evil doer to Christ while he’s in prison. That’s the tension that we have here and that we need to live in our own lives. Then we look to the south cush verse 12, you could almost miss it. You kushites too will be slain by my sword. Very brief, not at all poetic, by the way, actually messes up all the beautiful poetry in Zephaniah, kind of interrupts the flow. Why? Well, we gotta hit all four points of the compass, of course. But cush is also a distant nation. Cush was like saying the ends of the world at this point, it was the end of the known world. And so is this reminder that there will be not just justice for neighboring nations, but to the ends of the earth. And so it’s this short, quick, poignant reminder that there is no escape for any people, no matter how distant from the wages of sin. And then lastly, Assyria, to the north, verses 13 to 15, he will stretch out his hand against the North and destroy Assyria, leaving Nineveh utterly desolate and dry as the desert. Flocks and herds will lie down there, creatures of every kind, the desert Owl and the screech owl will roost on her columns. Their hooting will echo through the windows. Rubble will fill the doorways. The beams of cedar will be exposed. This is the city of revelry that lived in safety. She said to herself, I am the one, and there is none besides me. What a ruin she has become, a layer for wild beasts. All who pass by her scoff and shake their fists. So lastly, God stretches out his hand, which we talked about last week, to the north, against Assyria. This, by the way, is the fulfillment of Isaiah 10, where God promises to punish the wickedness of his instrument of punishment of wickedness against Israel, the northern kingdom, which Assyria sacks and destroys and carries into exile because of their sin, well after the death of Ashurbanipal in 622 which is right around the time that we’re writing right Assyria is in decline, so it would not, even though this was the world empire at this moment, it would not have been difficult to predict its fall. It’s like predicting a losing season for the White Sox this year. Like, did not need to be a prophet here. Okay, just got real. I just lost half the church. Sorry, Joe. I’m sorry, Joe, but they know. The White Sox fans know I’m not saying anything. They don’t know, right? So that’s it. So as so everyone knew this was coming, but it’s still there’s this deeply ironic and, like, amazingly historical fulfillment of this prophecy, because it says it’s gonna be desolate. Nineveh was gonna be desolate and as dry as a desert. Nineveh was built on the Tigris River and had a tremendous system of canals. So this idea that it would just be gone and barren like it did, like it doesn’t even make sense. And yet, Nineveh was so thoroughly destroyed by the Battle of. Empire in 612, BC, that in 401, when the Greek historian Xenophon visited the site, he could find no trace of it. It was gone desolate. There are no ruins even to look at. And so the people move out at this moment, because they’re conquered. And what happens? The animals move in. You remember when we’re all on lockdown and COVID, and there was like deer walking down? Walking down Broadway? Like, that’s what happened? Well, the people are gone. We’ll live here. I guess that’s kind of the picture. But there’s more to it than that, because this is like creation, reclaiming what was taken by sin. I love the way Alec was here. Well, my favorite Bible commentator, says it. He says, creation always sides with the Creator against the rebels. So this isn’t just it’s barren now so we can move in. This is like, Nope, we are reclaiming enemy territory. He goes on to say that creation grudgingly sustains sinful humanity, like the Tigris, had no choice but to provide water, but it did not like doing it, not for this empire, and it will not do so forever. Mateer says God’s world will not forever support God’s enemies. So Assyria is this warning, especially against, well, pride, right, self sufficiency. It’s the counterpart to Moabs pride. So Moab was proud, but their pride turned outward in threatening and denigrating Israel. A serious pride turned inward in smug self satisfaction. This is the place of prosperity, safety, uniqueness, superiority. Just worth pointing out. What nation does that sound like today? This is just America of the seventh century, BC, that same smug self satisfaction, because we’re on top, at least for the moment, much like Assyria and so Assyria doesn’t see or acknowledge the gift of God in their ascendancy. What did they do to create the mighty tigress? Does he answer nothing, less than nothing, yes, even the fact that God raised Assyria up to be his instrument against Israel. We saw this in Daniel God’s the one who determines what kingdoms rise and what kingdoms fall. It had nothing to do with Assyria. And so the way they speak about themselves actually turns into blasphemy. Right? When it says, I am the one, and there is none besides me. Who does that sound like? Like God in Isaiah? Honestly, he’s the one who actually can say that I am God, and there is no other I am God, and there is none like me. Isaiah 46 verse nine. You can read anywhere in the Isaiah 40s, and you’re gonna read statements like that. And so their blasphemous self exaltation leads to this pitiful humiliation where everybody who passes by makes noises at them. It’s translated scoffs. Here could be hisses. Could be whistles. I don’t really know what’s going on. And then I’m not sure shakes fist is right either, because there’s nothing really to shake your fist at. I think it’s much more condescending. I condescending, like that’s what’s happening. Just kind of wave their hand up Bye, bye. See ya Syria. You don’t talk so tough. Now, do you like that’s the image here. So what do we learn from this? And this is a big question, actually, because I think, and we can be honest here, that’s fine. We can talk the problem that a lot of us have when we read the prophets is these long judgment oracles on the nations. Even if it’s a judgment Oracle, if it’s against Israel or Judah, at least, we’re like, okay, it’s against God’s people. And we, the church, are God’s people. So I understand that this is kind of speaking to me, but Moab,
that’s not a thing anymore. So what relevance does this have for our lives? In the slightest, I think there are some important lessons that we can learn here, because this is for us. Let me give you three. You’ll probably come up with more. First of all, there is the reminder that Yahweh, the Lord, is the Lord of the whole earth, and He has plans, spiritual purposes for all nations, which is Revelation seven, again, right? I mean, that’s the great commission, go to the ends of the earth. He’s got plans for all nations. That changes how we read the newspaper. If any of you read newspapers anymore, I would say changes how we watch cable news, but I can think of no good reason to watch cable news, so I’m not even gonna say it, okay. Changes how we interact with history. Though, is my point, because it means what we’re seeing and what we know we’re seeing is the unfolding of God’s good purposes in real time, and that gives us a confidence and a hope and an all surpassing peace, even when all hell is breaking out like it is in the Middle East right now, right? We know Who holds history in his hands. That’s one that would probably be good enough right there. That’s worth reading seven. I just to get that second so God rules history wisely and justly, yes, but this God who rules history is acting for the sake of His people. God’s people are central to his plans. The church is the most important institution on God’s earth. Why is God? Are God’s people central to his plans? Because God is faithful to His promises. He won’t break his covenant, and so that means we will not suffer mistreatment in the end, which is what promised Judah here that enables us to endure suffering and mistreatment now, because we know how the stories end and story ends, and we talked a lot about that in Revelation, so that we can repay the sorts of mocking and taunting and insults that we read about here, not with evil, but with good, with blessing, with love, like Christ told us to Third. Third lesson, and one we all have to learn, is that God wages war against human pride, because it is stealing God’s glory like Assyria in assuming that we are enough, that we can do it on our own. So seek humility now the judgment on the nations prophesied here is an early warning system for us. What we should take away from this is, if God does this to the nations, why would they we think that he wouldn’t do it to his own people, who should know better. So this reinforces verses one to three. Why are we going to humble ourselves? Why are we going to turn from our sin, get out of the puddle and run back to God? Because we know what happens otherwise. That’s kind of the whole point of the nations section, right? Because it shows us the seriousness of our sin, the inevitability of judgment and the possibility of grace. So the big idea pulling the two halves of this passage together in reverse order. Read the times. Repent in time. That’s what’s being said here, read the times like understand history, learn lessons from it, so that you repent in time before it is too late, especially because these prophecies have been fulfilled. That’s why you don’t know where Moab is. It doesn’t exist anymore. So the big questions Zephaniah would be asking is, would these prophecies move Judah to respond and repent? It was a future question, but these are past acts, past facts for us, and so we have all the more reason to heed the lesson. Why are we so slow to read the times? We have abundant proof in history that God punishes sin but holds out the offer of grace. So Turn, turn, get out of the puddle, turn around before you fry your car. We have a big problem. In this passage, we have a big problem. God punishes sin. He punishes the proud who exalt themselves and seek to usurp his place by living according to their own laws. But we have an even bigger solution, and that’s the good news, because the God who punishes sin forgives sin, even our sinful pride, when we repent, when we turn from our sin and trust in Him. The culmination of this prophecy is Second Corinthians, 521, God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Jesus gets all of our sin, all of our pride. He takes it on himself and receives the punishment promised here in our place, if we trust in. Him, and what we get instead is the righteousness we could not earn on our own. It’s this beautiful exchange. So when God says, seek righteousness in chapter two, verse three, he’s telling us to seek Christ, in whom our righteousness is found, and to lay hold of his righteousness. When God tells us to seek humility, he’s reminding us that because we couldn’t do it, he sent Jesus to do it for us and in our place. Remember that glorious truth. Read the times, repent in time. Let’s pray.

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Covenant Judgment June 8, 2025 | Brandon Cooper Zephaniah prophesies God’s judgment against Judah for their idolatry and spiritual complacency, using powerful imagery of creation being unmade and a comprehensive divine investigation of sin. The sermon highlights how the people were practicing syncretism by worshiping Baal alongside Yahweh, compromising their covenant relationship with God through practical atheism and cultural drift. The text reveals God’s serious stance on sin, demonstrating His jealous love for His people by holding them accountable and warning of impending judgment. Ultimately, the message points to hope through the New Covenant in Christ, who takes the punishment for sin and offers redemption, calling believers to take their relationship with God seriously.

Good morning church. You want to go ahead grab your Bibles. You can open up to Zephaniah. Zephaniah chapter one, if you’re using the Pew Bible, the page number is there in the bulletin. If you’re not using the Pew Bible, it’s near the end of the Old Testament. That’s the best I can give you, somewhere in that range. So Zephaniah one. We’re beginning our three week series in Zephaniah this morning. And as you’re turning there, though, if you’ve spent any time in education, either as a teacher, especially, but as a student also, you have heard this question more than once, why do we need to learn this? Of what practical use will this be in my life? Once I graduate or finish this class, I asked this about math. Many, many times. Continue to ask it about math, honestly, calculator in my pocket at all times like, there’s no help here, you know. Is it going to be on the test? And if not, it’s out. It’s done. It’s you know. So let’s be honest. How many of us feel that way when we get to certain parts of the Bible also, why do we need to learn this? And I don’t think there is a test, so it’s not going to be on the test. So what are we even talking about here? So happens with genealogy, some of the long stuff about the tabernacle or temple construction, and then maybe especially when we get to the Minor Prophets, those prophets from Hosea to Malachi, the 12 books called minor only because they’re shorter than the major prophets, like Jeremiah and Ezekiel guys like that. But you look at them and you kind of go, I don’t understand this, and I’m not sure I need to understand this. A lot of times we come to it, why are they so hard to understand? We’ve got no context for these books, right? There’s no historical context when we start reading them. So we don’t know, like, what’s going on in history. There’s no geographical context. Are we speaking to the northern kingdom, the southern kingdom? Are we speaking to somebody else? A lot of harsh words, like a lot of judgment in these passages, like Jonah, we love we get that one that’s a narrative. But the rest of them are, like, I don’t know, and a lot of them are harsh words against nations that don’t even exist anymore. So like, surely, that’s not important for me to know. And yet Paul tells us in Second Timothy, All scripture, even the Minor Prophets, All scripture, is God breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. In righteousness, so that we, the servants of God, will be thoroughly equipped for every good work. So Zephaniah Paul just said, is useful for us, even if it’s not speaking directly about us. We might almost say it was not written to us, because it wasn’t but it was written for us, and I understand that what happens to the Assyrian Empire, which we’ll come to next week in the series, is not really a live issue for most of us today, considering it collapsed in 612 BC. But what that shows us, tells us about God and His sovereign rule over history. That is a live issue for us today, and that’s why we need to learn Zephaniah. And yes, it will be on the test, if by the test we mean lives in conformity with the whole counsel of God. So with that in mind, though, and knowing that this is hard for us, what exactly is the context of Zephaniah? Let’s start with Zephaniah one, one, so that we can set it in its context. Here’s Zephaniah 101, kind of the PROLOG to the book, The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah, son of cushy, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah during the reign of Josiah, son of Ammon, king of Judah. So first question, who is Zephaniah? And the short answer is, we don’t have any idea, really. Maybe he’s a Cushite, which is why he’s called a son of cushy that would be the Upper Nile region, modern day Ethiopia, maybe. But really unlikely, honestly, more likely. He is actually King Hezekiah, great, great grandson. He’s the only prophet who’s given a genealogy that goes back four generations, and that was important to establish, you know, the throne connection that was in common for kings. So maybe he is a royal descendant. That’s more likely, though not definitive by any means. Beyond that, we know nothing. His personality doesn’t really show up a ton in the book. That’s kind of it. That’s all we got. We know a lot more, though, about when he’s preaching, and that’s during the reign of Josiah. Now, Josiah, who became a king as a boy, grew up to lead a reform movement in Judah, he led the people away from paganism and back to the right worship of God after decades of rule under his wicked father and especially grandfather, Manasseh. Now it seems like in Zephaniah, we are in the early stages of this religious revival. So most likely the book of Deuteronomy, the Book of the Law, has been found while they’re restoring the temple, because there are a bunch of allusions to Deuteronomy in Zephaniah. So most likely it’s there, and Zephaniah is the one kind of given the swift kick in the rear to keep this thing moving along, and that’s probably when he’s prophesying. So we’re in maybe 620 BC, let’s say note also that this book begins with the word of the Lord. This is Yahweh S word. These are not Zephaniah’s thoughts or ideas. He’s not a motivational speaker. Now, these are God’s words, and Zephaniah is his mouthpiece, even truer here than it is in some of the other prophets. In fact, Zephaniah has this funny habit of speaking in the third person about God. You know, he says this, he did this, and then he just randomly breaks into the first person, I will destroy this nation with no indication that he’s changing. This is just God speaking, and that is important, and why? Of course, it’s in Scripture. It’s very different from what I’m doing today. You’re hearing my thoughts and my ideas, hopefully based on the Word of God, but the word has authority, and Zephaniah’s word has authority because it is God’s word. So what does God have to say? We’ll see across all three weeks, a remarkably simple message. Zephaniah never deviates from it. It is a message of doom on the one hand, but of hope on the other. And like most of the prophets, we kind of gotta go through the doom in order to get to the hope. And so this morning, in chapter one, we’ll look at three judgments in particular kind of three scenes, if you will. We’ll take them one at a time. So judgment number one, creation unmade. Let me read Zephaniah one, two to six. I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth, declares the Lord. I will sweep away both man and beast. I will sweep away the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble. When I destroy all mankind on the face of the earth, declares the Lord, I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place, the very names of the idolatrous priests, those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host, those who bow down and swear by the Lord and who also swear by Molech, those who turn back from following the Lord and neither seek the Lord nor inquire of him. So right away as we hear the judgment pronounced that God’s going to sweep away all of this. It recalls the flood story. The language is very clear. I will wipe from the face of the earth. That same phrase, right from the face of the earth, I will wipe from the face of the Earth every living creature I have made. God says in Genesis seven, verse four, so right before the flood is coming. So we’re echoing that flood story, when God floods the whole earth because of the wickedness of all humanity. And actually, the order that it’s presented here is interesting too, because it also takes us back to Genesis. Takes us back to the creation story. If you remember your days five and six, you’ll remember that God creates fish, then birds, then beasts, and then finally, like the cherry on top of the creation, Sunday, humanity, man and woman. Well, here what happens in verse three, he sweeps away, man, Beast, birds, fish. It’s exactly in reverse. It’s like he is unmaking creation. He followed, you know, the step by step guide from Ikea or whatever, to assemble the thing, and then he’s just following it in reverse to take it apart again and put it back in its packages. Hit the rewind button on creation. Why? Because just like in Noah’s day, humanity has grown so wicked that they are ripe for judgment and as creator, which, again, we’ve just reinforced here with all these creation echoes. As Creator, He has the right to rule us and judge us. That was our catechism question this morning, right? We ought to then live like he’s our Creator. We have to live lives that glorify Him as creator, because we were creator, but we haven’t. They haven’t here, and so as a creator, He has got the right to rule, to judge, like a computer programmer who’s deleting an AI program once it turns on him, Skynet style, like that’s what he’s doing here. Now, why this terrible judgment? The answer is the same as always. It’s because of the wicked, because the wickedness in our hearts. You notice that the idols that cause the wicked to stumble there in verse three, the word idols isn’t actually there. It just says the stumbling blocks, or even the ruins, like, you know, the stones that are there that you could trip over, is all that it’s talking about. But idols is exactly right, of course, because that’s what we stumble over, those things that take us away from the right worship of God, and that’s where I think this connection comes in. Again, with creation. Why do we mention the beast, the birds, the fish, as these like stumbling blocks, because they have become stumbling blocks to the people. They have become the idols that are being worshiped. If you know anything about pagan worship, you know that a lot of the gods look like creation look like animals, to what Paul talks about Romans 122, and 23 although they claimed to be wise, this is all of us, by the way, although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the Immortal God for images made to look like creation, human beings, birds, animals, reptiles. We’re worshiping the creation rather than the Creator, and because we introduced this virus into creation, of our sin. Now, well, the whole creation is infected and needs to be wiped clean, but then we get a shift in verse four, kind of an abrupt one, because we shift from all of creation to Judah, specifically to God’s covenant people. And he even mentioned Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, which is where the temple is, where God dwells on Earth, and this is just about unthinkable that God Himself would turn against. I mean, his throne in Jerusalem. This is supposed to be an invincible place, because the invincible God lives there, the shock of this, I think, would be lost on us as we read, especially because we know Jerusalem gets destroyed, the temple gets knocked down in the end, multiple times, in fact, but this would be a little bit like Jesus showing up today. And you know, we talked about this in our membership class this morning, when Jesus says, you know, this is my church, and I’m build my church, the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. That’s Matthew 16. If Jesus were to show up today and say, I will destroy my church, I’m gonna throw wide the gates of hell and let the hordes of demons out to destroy you. Like, that’s what Zephaniah just said. We’re like, no, like, this is the one place where I know he protects it, and instead, he’s he’s waging war against it. And it’s even phrased poignantly And ironically, because he says he’s going to stretch out his hand. You know why? God stretches out his hand to save especially the pious Jewish person. They would hear that phrase, and they would think, the Exodus. The exodus. That’s what happens. Here’s Exodus seven, verse five, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt, bring the Israelites out of it, deliver them from their bondage so they hear I’m going to stretch out my hand toward Jerusalem, and they’re like, right? Of course, salvation is coming. No. God’s wrath is coming. The God of the Exodus is now against Jerusalem. Well, what’s changed? Why is he stretching out his hand against them? What’s changed is that now they’re idolatrous, so that there is a Baal worship going on even in Jerusalem and even among the priests. Reads literally, there among the pagan priests, with the priests. It’s really oddly phrased in Hebrew, but it’s there. It’s you got this whole idea of like, right? You know the priests of Baal, but the priests also, like the people who are supposed to be directing you in the worship of Yahweh are worshiping Baal. And so you can see the whole thing. It’s almost like we’ve got this idea that because we’re God’s covenant people, we’ll be fine. He’s not gonna judge us. And God here is saying exactly the opposite, because you’re my covenant people, you ought to know better, and so the judgment will be more severe against you, similar to what God says through his prophet, Amos, chapter three, verse two, he says, You only speaking to Israel. You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth they’re expecting, they’re about to get their cheeks pinched, you know, like I just love you so much, therefore I will punish you for all your sins. I mean, this is a terrible analogy because it’s so small, but, you know, blow it up in your mind kind of thing. It’s like, when you’re your dad’s the coach, and you’re thinking, well, it’s gonna be easy on me, because, you know, he’s dad, he loves me. And that’s always, like, coaches are always hardest on their own kid, right? Like you should. Know better in this family, we hustle. Kind of feel like that’s what’s happening here, because there’s this covenant relationship in place. Now I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, remember how you started? Why am I listening to this? Why do I need to know any of this? We don’t worship Baal. So what does this have to do with any of us? Except let’s talk about Baal for a moment, because, who is Baal? He is the God of productivity, fertility. So he’s the God of good harvests, you know, abundant crops. He’s the God of good husbandry, lot of cattle, lot of sheep, everybody’s having and by like, good homes, lot of kids, which was important back then, since your kids were your labor force in the fields. And so one of the ways you worship Baal is through ritual prostitution. Because if He’s the god of fertility, well when we enact this fertility ritual, hopefully it spurs him on to give us the fertility we’re longing for. So let me translate that into modern parlance. Then Baal is the god of fat bank accounts and sexual libertinism. Safe to say, we still worship Baal today, don’t we? Yeah, he’s alive and well, and even in the church, because Baal is such a practical God, He gives us what we want and what we think we need. He meets those immediate, felt needs. Baal is worshiped in the church anytime what helps, what works, replaces what’s true. Let me give you an individual and a corporate analogy, so this might look like a Christian who’s gonna adopt meditative yoga practices for mental health reasons. Nothing wrong with yoga, by the way, if you’re just like stretching, okay, it’s fine. That’s not religious, but there’s a religious background to yoga. Of course, you bring some of that stuff in, the mantra, all that stuff you’re bringing it in, okay? You are now practicing paganism because it works right, because it gives you the mental health piece that you are longing for. Or take a corporate analogy, this would be when a congregation lowers its membership standards, refuses to practice church discipline, let’s say to keep one of the big givers around. These are real analogies, real possibilities, of course, and so I think we need to be very careful and listen to this message very carefully. Zephaniah then singles two groups out in particular, these Baal worshipers. First are those who worship the starry hosts up on their roof. Now, what’s interesting, of course, is it doesn’t say they reject God. They’re not done with Yahweh. They’ve just added in some other gods to help them out. The word for that, of course, is syncretism. These are people who trust God, or at least claim to trust God, but are pretty sure he needs backup in order to meet those immediate, felt needs. What would this look like today? By the way, I think the clearest example, I don’t know if it’s most common, I think money is probably the most common. Can’t serve God and mammon right, that kind of thing. But one of the clearest examples today is the evangelical Church’s relationship with politics, where it’s like, yeah, Jesus, we want your kingdom to come. And the only way that’s gonna happen is if we get these politicians into office, pick your side. By the way, it doesn’t matter. They got idolatrous worship on both sides, all right? And so that’s what that looks like, like that kind of idea. So that’s syncretism. It’s interesting, though, that they’re on the roof. Now, why are they on the roof? Because you can see your stars from there. That’s what’s happening. But it’s such an interesting picture, too, because it’s such a domesticated, individualized religion. At this point, this is what I do in my personal space. I’m going to worship my god in my way, very different, even from the temple cult, right, where people came together to worship rightly, as they were being instructed today. What would, of course, look like? What’s happening right here? But No, instead, everybody’s on their own, doing their own thing, an indirect violation, by the way, of the second commandment, which says, You shall not bow down to anything in heaven above. But this is why syncretism is so bad, because you you end up with two kings. So I don’t know if you can see there in verse five, it says, those who bow down and swear by the Lord again good, they’re worshiping the Lord and also swear by Molech. And there’s a footnote there, because it doesn’t actually say Molech. So the nib is choosing to amend the text. I’m not sure they should here. In this case, the phrase is actually their king, their kings, and that’s it. Exactly they worship. Yah. Are they, but they also worship someone else, like the king is such a good word too, because you got another master calling the shots at this point. And realistically, since you’re picking your master who’s calling the shots, you are so you have another king, and it’s you. It’s the sin of Eden all over again, I will be my own God. So we have this sin of commission, syncretism. But then there are also these sins of omission, which is the second group that singled out in verse six, those who don’t seek God, who don’t inquire of him, who, in other words, don’t let God be God because they’re made themselves their own gods. It’s just a good reminder that worshiping God demands effort, devotion we should be seeking that’s active, inquiring of him. We should want to know Him, to know His will, so that we can seek to do what pleases Him, and all of that. That’s not for a pious minority. That’s not for the, you know, the super Christians. You’ve been in Journey group. You know, we’ve done this before. I’ve been in large rooms have done this. They’ll have people raise their hand like how many of you consider yourselves a Christian. And you know, most of the womb will raise their hand at that point, and then they’ll say, How many of you consider yourself a disciple? And everyone goes, always, it’s the exact same movement. It’s hilarious. Kyle was in the room. He knows every single time, just without fail. And that’s kind of what’s happening here, right? I’m not one of those who you know, like, seeks the Lord, inquires of him, but I’m a Christian, sure, like there’s no difference. The New Testament rarely calls us New Testament. It mostly calls us disciples. You can’t be a Christian and not be a disciple. And that’s exactly what’s being said here. You claim to follow Yahweh. Guess what? You ought to be following Yahweh, then. And so things like seeking the Lord, listening to his voice as he speaks to us through His Word, inquiring of Him in prayer, gathering together to encourage one another, like these are our top priorities then, because they’re the expression of our faith in God. That’s judgment. One, creation unmade. Second one. Then sacrifice offered. Verses seven to 13, be silent before the Sovereign Lord. For the day of the Lord is near. The Lord has prepared a sacrifice. He has consecrated those He has invited. On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice, I will punish the officials and the king’s sons and all those clad in foreign clothes. On that day, I will punish all who avoid stepping on the threshold, who fill the Temple of their gods with violence and deceit. On that day, declares the Lord. A cry will go up from the fish gate, wailing from the new quarter and a loud crash from the hills wail you who live in the Market District, all your merchants will be wiped out. All who trade with silver will be destroyed. At that time, I will search Jerusalem with lamps. Punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its Dregs, who think the Lord will do nothing, either good or bad, their wealth will be plundered. Their houses demolished. Though they build houses, they will not live in them. Though they plant vineyards, they will not drink the wine.
So this section begins with the simple word Hush. And I may be reading into this, but I think this is a little bit like when a parent is rebuking a sassy teenager, and the eyes start to roll, and you can see the response form on their lips, and you go right before the response is even offered, like, I’m not done talking yet you don’t get to talk now, like that’s what the Lord is saying here. Of course, our silence is a sign of reverence and respect before him. Our silence is our way of saying, Yes, we will keep listening to what you have to say. We do this because the day of the Lord is near. And for those who lived as contemporaries of Zephaniah, the day of the Lord was the blessed hope as it is for us, they were eagerly awaiting the day of the Lord, because that was the day when God would bring salvation, which means he would route Israel’s enemies, put them to flight, and restore the fortunes of this waning nation. But then the prophets, starting with Amos, but Zephaniah also turn it around, the day of the Lord is going to be the day of God’s wrath against you, because on that day, he will punish all sin, and that means the sins of your enemies, but the sins in your own heart too. Yeah. And so it says, God prepares this sacrifice, and then he invites the consecrated. You’re like, This is amazing. This is, like, the Passover celebration or something. This is a good this is festival time. We’re excited. But then you read verse eight, and you realize Judah is the sacrifice. The word there, by the way, is slaughter, actually. So it’s Judah that’s about to be slaughtered. And so who are the consecrated, who are being invited? There are two options. One would be the pagan nations that God is bringing against Judah, Babylon, Persia, to punish them for their sin. The other option is, and if you were here with us for revelation 19. You’ll remember this image, the birds, the vultures, who are invited to feast on the carcasses of God’s people after they’ve been slaughtered. Now, why is this happening? Well, we’re narrowing our focus. Still remember, we started with the whole earth, and then we got Judah specifically, and now we’re actually looking at Judah’s leadership in particular, because, of course, they set the tone for the people. You know, there’s a saying in church, for example, as the senior pastor goes, so goes the church. And that’s kind of what’s happening here in Judah as a whole. And the bad news is the leaders are engaged in egregious idolatry, not good for the nation. It’s actually interesting that it mentions the king’s sons, specifically not the king, because Josiah is good. He is seeking the Lord. He is trying to bring revival.
Now, King’s sons could just mean his officials. Certainly what that phrase can mean could also mean his literal sons, because if you know anything about what happens after Josiah, two of his sons ascend to the throne, and they’re both bad, Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim. Are we already seeing problems? I mean, Josiah is still young at this point, most likely, maybe the kids aren’t even born yet, but God is prophesying what will take place that they will fall away. The issue, of course, is their foreign clothes. This is the worst sort of cultural appropriation, because they’ve picked up not just the dress of foreign nations, but the habits and beliefs of those nations as well. I mean, worshippers of Baal, for example, wore special clothes to mark themselves off as worshipers of Baal. You can see this in First Kings 10 Jehu, for example. And so it’s a little bit like a middle schooler who wants to be part of the cool crowd. So what’s the first thing you do dress like the cool crowd, so you kind of fit in. But what happens soon thereafter, you don’t just dress like the cool crowd, you start to act like the cool crowd. And so pretty soon, your new fancy clothes smell like cigarette smoke or whatever it is we’re doing at that point, that’s what’s happened here. Oh, I think this foreign clothes is, I mean, it’s interesting, because, like, clothes are actually a temptation for us, even today, like not just the cultural drift, but the the clothing piece of it in areas like materialism, modesty, even the message itself, materialism, right? Where that we spend more money than we ought on clothes so that it’s got the right label, because that’s how you show people you’ve succeeded, you’re one of the cool kids, or modesty. I don’t need to explain much there, but even the message, because, again, clothes serve as a cultural marker. We’re trying to say something about who we are as a billboard for what’s going on in our hearts in so many ways. So I’ll give you a ridiculous example. But I tried to bring all three together in one, and I came up with this. This would be like a teenaged girl in a you know, cleavage, revealing low cut skin, tight belly shirt that cost $200 even though there’s very little fabric there that’s promoting a song with lyrics so godless, even Satan blushes when he listens to it. And you’d kind of go, okay, that’s saying something about who you are now, because, again, we’re talking about the leaders here. Imagine that same thing, except it’s the women’s Bible Study leader at church, like that’s what Zephaniah is rebuking here. And of course, you can see why this is significant, because if you get the wrong god, which we have even verse nine, you can see that, why are they avoiding stepping on the threshold? Because that was a superstition associated with paganism, in part because at one point, the Philistines captured the ark of God, and the statue of Dagon fell down and his head broke off on the threshold. And ever since then, they don’t walk on the threshold. So you get the wrong god, but that wrong God will lead to wrong living. You’ll move from the sort of love that the Lord calls us to to the sort. Of self worship that every other pagan religion calls us to, and that’s why they’re practicing violence and deceit in the temples of their gods, because that’s what you do if you’re gonna worship Baal. Well, that means you gotta do whatever it takes exploit people to get more money, more power, whatever it might be. Then we get this geography of the slaughter that’s coming. It starts in the north, the fish gate, which is where an attack would come from. That’s where Jerusalem was vulnerable. But it is, most importantly, a total destruction, because you get the Old Quarter and the new quarter. You’re getting issues in the hills right, like the rural part surrounding town, and right there in the middle of the town, in the Market District, there’s whaling everywhere, and the Market District is mentioned specifically and at length, because, well, that’s where the money is, and they’re worshiping Baal, who is the god of a healthy bank account. Now what happens in this geographical region? God himself makes a thorough investigation. He’s going out with lamps, right? He’s checking every corner. Reminds me a little bit of the story of when God’s about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and his angels come down first to see if the report is true. God is slow to anger. He always checks first, of course, he’s omniscient. He knows everything, but he even makes a show of his checking, so that we see how just his punishment is. But as a result of this thorough investigation, no sin will be left unpunished. It’s like Psalm 139 David’s talking, and he’s like, look, if I go up in the heavens, you’re there. If I go down to the depths, you’re there. I can’t escape you, and that’s a good thing if you want God to see you because you’re lost in the woods. And that’s a bad thing if you don’t want God to see you because you’re doing something shady. God is always there and here, of course, they’re in the shady back alley kind of stuff. Again, we could reference Amos, very similar Prophet just earlier, Amos nine, three and four, though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea. There, I will command the serpent to bite them. I will keep my eye on them again. That sounds like a good thing, right? God’s gonna keep his eye on us. I will keep my eye on them for harm and not for good, because they are sinning against him. No one’s getting away with anything. Your sin will find you out as numbers says it. And then he uses this startling image to show the depths of sin. He said it’s like leaving sediment in wine. When wine is in the fermenting process, it forms sediment. If you let the sediment sit there in the bottle, it ruins the wine, turns it basically into sour jelly. And that’s what’s happened here to God’s people. They haven’t removed the impurities from their lives, and so it’s turned their hearts sour and solid stony, we might say, and so they become spiritually complacent. Why? Because they assume God isn’t active. He doesn’t do anything. He’s not acting for good or for bad. He’s far off. He’s uninvolved. And so here we have to see they don’t doubt that God exists. Everyone at this time believed God exists. They just doubt that he matters. They’re practical atheists. In other words, we’re to talk about this again in today’s terms, practical atheists are the sort of people who go to church regularly, maybe more regularly than you do, who read their Bibles and then get up and go serve their other kings. Money, both how you make it, how you spend it. A big one for us. Today, we’ve talked a lot about, of course, family in this part of the world, the priorities, the schedules, even the values. How many of us want our kids to grow up to experience the fullness of the blessing of the American dream, and not the kingdom of God or just the pursuit of happiness. What makes me happy versus what would please God? And I love the end here, because it’s almost admitting, like, even if you’re self centered and self actualizing, this is a terrible choice to make. Still, like, if you love yourself, don’t do this, because God loves you too much to give you what you want, and so all that time and effort, and it takes years, by the way, for a vineyard to produce fruit enough to make wine, years and years and years. It’s all for naught, because moth and rust eat treasure and sin devours pleasure. In the end, kind of takes us to that last section, by the way, sin, punishment, third judgment. Verses 14 to 18, the great day of the Lord is near, near and coming quickly. The cry on the day of the Lord is bitter. The mighty warrior shouts his battle cry. That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom and day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers, I will bring such distress on all people that they will grope about like those who are blind because they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord’s wrath. In the fire of His jealousy, the whole earth will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live on the earth. So here we expand on the coming Great day in what is, by the way, quite possibly the finest poetry in the whole of the Bible. So much rhyme, alliteration and all the rest. But the point is so clear, the day is near, the time is short, so get moving. It’s going to be so bad in that day that even the mighty warrior will weep. The battle hardened veteran is going to break down and bawl like a baby on that day. You won’t want to be caught in it. And these short, staccato sentences don’t even have verbs in them, by the way. Add to this sense of urgency, there is no time to waste. In verse 15 alone, we have the word day show up six times, which is interesting, by the way, because there are six days of creation, and then the Lord rests on the seventh. And you can see that reversal happening again, right? We move from light and order in Genesis one to gloom and chaos. Here, we move from life in Genesis one to death and destruction. The battle that we see here. And what do we notice? Fortresses, military preparations can’t help you in that day, blood is going to be spilled. You’ll be disemboweled. Money can’t help you in that day. You can’t buy off the foreign invaders by sending a tribute to the king. And so the whole earth will be consumed. God will make a sudden end to all, not just Judah, although there is this tiny hint of hope here, because if there’s global wrath, does that mean there’s the possibility of global salvation? We’ll have to hang on to that thought as we keep going. Now I’m reading this, and you’re looking at me like this is so painful to read to hear
it sounds like we have an angry, vindictive God, no way. And this poetry is so carefully composed you can see it because at the center of all of this is the reason why there is a center, by the way. So I’ll put it up on a slide here to show you. It’s called a chiasm that we’ve got here. So you’ve got the day of wrath expressed at the beginning, and then at the end, the day of wrath is executed. And then in between, you get the human defenses, the military fortresses are unhelpful, and human wealth is unhelpful, not going to save you dead smack in the middle and in Hebrew thought it’s the center that’s the most important. You don’t build to the climax. The center has the climax. The center of it all is the reason why verse 17, because they have sin against the Lord. That’s why. Look, this is bad news for practical atheists. God knows, God sees, and God acts. He will act justly. In the end, he’s not inactive or irrelevant, but intimately involved in creation with his people. And so this simple, direct, relentless message, let me give it to you. It’s our big idea. Take one, okay, take 110. Years first time you got in a two part. Big Idea. Okay, big idea. Take one. Take your sin as seriously as God does. That is what Zephaniah has said here, take your sin as seriously as God does. Like, what clothes do you have on right now? What cultural drift do you see in your life? Where are you practicing syncretism or hypocrisy? Do you have a stagnant or waning devotion like what if you today made as thorough an investigation into your own heart as God will make one day Psalm 139 again, right right after David says, I go there. I go, there. God’s always there. He says, search me and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts, see if there’s any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. What if that was your prayer today? Take your sin that seriously. But there is a deeper message beneath the surface of the text. The terms that are used here are too careful to be coincidental, so I want to take another pass very briefly through it all. So chapter one, verses two to six, that first section, we already saw all these references to Genesis six to nine and the flood. This is when God establishes His covenant with Noah, not to destroy the Earth by flood again. Then that second section, verses seven to 13, we have the sacrifice and the consecration of the guests, same language that’s used in Genesis 15:8. Abraham sacrifices the animals before God, as God establishes His covenant with Abraham, Abraham is the guest at that one and then verses 14 to 18, God appears to his people with darkness, with gloom, with trumpet sounds. That’s like Exodus 19, when God establishes His covenant with His people at Sinai. Do you see each section alludes to successive covenants that God made with Noah Abraham and Moses. God, in it these covenants, he binds himself to his people, promising great blessing or great cursing if they will not obey. But at the heart of all of those covenants, the covenant promise. We saw this in Revelation, again, I will be your God and you will be my people. It’s a relationship, right? And that’s why that word jealous in verse 18 is so important. It’s a covenant term. Now this is good jealous. Isn’t like middle school jealousy, right? This is good jealousy, like the jealousy a husband ought to feel for his marriage like this is the jealousy of a God who loves you too much to let you destroy yourself. God loves his people like a perfect husband loves a flawed wife. Even gave us that picture in the Minor Prophets, when Hosea he’s commanded to marry wayward Gomer, who leaves him and goes back to her pimp, Hosea has to go after her, buy her back, buy back his own wife from her pimp. And why does God have Hosea do that? It’s this enacted parable. That’s what I’m doing with you. You’re the wayward wife. You’re the one committing spiritual adultery, but I will go and get you again. And so it holds out the possibility of reconciliation, the hope of salvation, if his people will turn from sin and return to him. After all, this is a covenant of grace. Grace. God wants us to be in relationship with him. That’s why he keeps making covenants with sinful people. Doesn’t that change how we read the judgment passages then? And so that’s gonna give you the big idea. Take two. Let me just rephrase it. It’s the same thing. Take your sin as seriously as God does. I could say it a different way, take your covenant relationship as seriously as God does. That’s the exact same sentence. I just used different words. He keeps his promises to us. He’s faithful when we devote ourselves to Him and be faithful in return, especially when we consider where we are now, because we are under the New Covenant, the covenant of Christ established by his blood, I mean because of Jesus, and only because of Jesus, we pass not through the waters of the flood, but through the waters of baptism, or when Abraham cuts all those animals in half as he establishes, as God establishes His covenant with him, the reason you do that, you spill the blood on the ground, and Abraham supposed to walk through it, saying, basically, if I break the covenant, may this happen to me? May I be slaughtered? May I be the sacrifice bleeding in desert dust, except Abraham doesn’t get to walk through the blood, because God puts him in a deep prophetic sleep and he has a vision instead of God passing through. Because what does God do when we break the covenant? God is sacrificed in the person of Jesus Christ, whose blood is spilled in desert dust. And then Jesus fulfills the law of Moses and keeps it perfectly in our place. Taking the curse of the Law on himself, he becomes a curse for us so that we can receive the promises of the Covenant in his place. He did that for us. What will we do for him in return? I mean, how could we but love Him and serve Him and worship Him? Jesus’s life, death and resurrection should be the end of all practical atheism. How could we possibly say that God is inactive or irrelevant? Is he far off or uninvolved? I don’t think so. God Himself, the second person of the Trinity, God the Son, clothed himself in our wicked culture. He put on our clothes, human skin, to redeem us from it. He drew near in the incarnation. He is deeply involved in our lives. He sees and knows and experienced all of our wickedness, and so he acted in our behalf to rescue us from the coming judgment. Jesus Christ is God’s mighty warrior, our hero, as Hebrews 12 says it he. Me, and when he came to save us, he shouted his bitter battle cry, My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? That was the cost of the covenant. That was the bride price God paid to wed us to himself. That’s how seriously he takes his covenant with us. How seriously will we take it? Let’s pray, Lord. We worship you imperfectly, half heartedly, more often than we would care to admit. But we worship you because we see who you are and what you’ve done for us, the covenant you’ve cut with us the covenant you’re willing to enter into with us. When we turn to you in repentance and faith, we see the cost of that covenant in the blood of Christ, Jesus and so Lord, seeing the depths of that love and mercy and compassion, seeing the seriousness of our sin and the judgment it deserves, we turn back to you. There’s not one of us in the room who doesn’t need to confess sin right now, in light of all that we just heard, we see our syncretism, we see our hypocrisy, our cultural drift, our practical atheism. We own it God. We nail it to the cross of Christ, and we pray that you would forgive us and change us for Your name’s sake, Amen.

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For My Sin June 1, 2025 | Brandon Cooper In Psalm 38, David laments his own sin and its consequences, recognizing that suffering can expose our spiritual brokenness and lead us to honest self-examination before God. David experiences physical illness, social rejection, and enemies plotting against him, which he attributes to his own sinful actions, demonstrating how sin can have wide-ranging effects. Despite his guilt, David still confidently approaches God, trusting in His mercy and covenant relationship, knowing that God does not willingly afflict people but desires to help and restore them. The sermon’s core message is to learn to lament sin and its effects before the Lord, understanding that through lament, we can chart a course back to God and find hope in Jesus, who became a spiritual “leper” to heal and redeem us.

Good morning church. Go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Psalm 38 Psalm 38 as we wrap up our series in lament, as Kyle just mentioned. And so here we are, last series, last sermon in the series on lament. And we’re lamenting the brokenness of this world we’re lamenting. We have to learn to lament, because there is so much that is wrong in this world, so much pain, so much sorrow, so much suffering, so much evil. That raises an immediate question, of course, which is, Why is the world broken? And ultimately, of course, we know from Scripture that all sorrow and all suffering has its roots in sin. It is rooted in the problem of sin. In other words, we broke the world when we rebelled against God, when Adam and Eve rebelled against God way back in the Garden of Eden, as recorded in Genesis three. So all lament involves lamenting sins presence like that’s what we’re lamenting, the fact that sin is here and has messed things up. Sin wrecks lives, sin ruins relationships. Sin destroys everything in its path, which I think gives us a better perspective on sin. In some ways, we sometimes conceive of sin as like an individual mistake, and it may be that also, but sin is like taking a sledgehammer to this dam that is a holding back all the world’s sorrows and evils. It’s this crack in the dam, and then we’re shocked when the dam collapses and we’re drowning in sorrow like what happened here. We did it. We did this. And so we, as one writer, put it, we lament sin, not just because sin sends us to hell, but because sin makes life hell here and now Now, sometimes we can connect the dots between sin and suffering directly. We start to see right my sin here is leading to my struggle here. And when that happens, our prayers of lament morph into prayers of confession. We see this in Scripture. See this in Psalms in particular. That’s what we’re going to see today. But let me start even with an example from my own life, like how I experienced this I was, at one point, it was a number of years ago now, let go from a ministry position that I held. And I was let go, at least in my eyes, unjustly, and I would go so far even as to say vindictively. And so I was struggling, obviously, and turned to the psalms of lament as I was praying during this time, even some of the imprecatory Psalms, you know, Lord, smash the teeth of the wicked. And I’m like, you know, these are brothers in Christ. Just give them a toothache. You don’t need to smack, you know, like but so turn to the psalms of lament and praying through this, but in the process and and hearing the the psalmist like David wrestle with their own sin, I began to see not just the sin against me, but also my part in it, kind of like, okay, yes, this was unjust, maybe a little bit vindictive, but at the same time, if I hadn’t been who I was, this also probably wouldn’t have happened. And it led into confession. I think that’s how lament often works, and so the last place we need to go to complete our very brief introduction to lament is sin. In the first week, we talked about our personal suffering, our personal struggles as an individual lament for my struggle, and gave us kind of the blueprint from there last week, then we looked at what it looks like for us to lament for a corporate suffering or struggle might be a national or a local tragedy or something that happens to us as a congregation even. But this week, we look at a lament for my sin and our sin. Now we don’t know the specific context where what’s causing David to pray this prayer here in Psalm 38 but honestly, that’s helpful. Allows us to apply it in different circumstances, I think, and we are going to follow the same pattern as we look at Psalm 38 that we’ve seen in these other sermons that we preached here in the last two weeks where we look at the cry, the complaint, the case, and then ultimately the confidence so Psalm 38 A Psalm of David. Let me read the verses one to four for us as we look at David’s cry to God. Psalm 38 one to four, a Psalm of David, a petition Lord. Do not. Rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath, your arrows have pierced me. Your hand has come down on me because of your wrath, there is no health in my body, there is no soundness in my bones. Because of my sin, my guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. The word cry is exactly right here. When we read this Psalm, it almost feels like we’re committing an indecency reading it because we’re like listening in on this deeply personal conversation that David is having with God. Seven times in this psalm, he addresses God directly, including the very first word, Lord Yahweh. But again in verse nine, twice in verse 15, twice in verse 21 again in verse 22 he keeps speaking to God. He is crying Yes, but he is crying to God. Now, why does David cry out? Well, it’s because currently, God’s hand is heavy on him, in his anger, in his wrath against David’s sin. He says that God’s arrows have pierced Him, and there’s this disease of some sort that is plaguing him. As a result, there’s this interesting shift that happens as we move from verse one to verse three. You look at verse one right, do not rebuke me in your anger. Discipline me in your wrath, even verse three because of your wrath. So everything’s getting turned on, God to begin like it’s kind of your problem, Lord, until we get to the end of verse three, because of your wrath, there’s no health in my body. There’s no soundness in my bones because of my sin, my sin. So David understands that he’s the reason he’s suffering. He’s the reason for his suffering. He’s not pleading his innocence before the Lord. No, he’s pleading for mercy. Despite his lack of innocence, despite his manifest guilt, he is he says, Here sick because he sinned Now, having said that, we have to be really careful here, we’re going to need to affirm three statements in rapid succession, or we will go off track. Theologically, we’re going to pull all Scripture together here real quick, do a biblical theology of sin and sickness, three statements we have to affirm. First of all, we must affirm, because the Bible affirms it that all sickness and all suffering is a result of sin. All suffering all sickness is a result of sin in a general sense, in a general sense, because sin brings death and destruction into the world. Again, we broke it, and now we live in a broken world. Second though, not all sickness, not all suffering, is a direct result of sin,
where we can just connect the dots immediately you did this, therefore this happened. We know this because of books like job. Kind of the point of the whole book of Job, in many ways, it’s nothing that Job did. It’s not that he sinned in some way. In fact, God himself in the book of Job says that’s not what’s happening here. Job is actually the most righteous person on the planet. Something else is going on. Or John. Chapter nine, the disciples say to Jesus, who sinned, this man or his parents that he should be born blind, we need to connect the dots here, just which.do I connect it to? And Jesus goes, No, guys, not because of that. It’s so that the glory of God may be displayed in him. Second, Corinthians, 12, Paul’s praying that the thorn in his flesh would be removed, and God says it’s there for a reason. Okay, it’s keeping you humble. You’re gonna be grateful for it. So not all sickness, not all suffering, is a direct result of sin. Third statement we need to affirm, some sickness, some suffering, is a direct result of sin, where we can draw that straight line. David knows this because David has it happened twice, even in his own life, after his sin with Bathsheba and after he simply takes the census of the military men. In both cases, people suffer as a result, direct result, of his sin. Miriam Moses’s sister, when she attacks his leadership, becomes leprous, at least for a time when, of course, we could do this when it comes to sickness, even specifically what David is talking about here, there are some sins in areas like lust or gluttony that lead. Directly to certain illnesses. Of course, have to affirm all three at the same time. Now, which do we have here? Though, is this sickness a direct result or not? We have no idea. David actually doesn’t tell us here. Doesn’t say but what we are clear on is that this illness opens David’s eyes to His spiritual plight. So whether it’s a direct result or not, it causes him to look inward and see some stuff that he doesn’t like. That’s often how suffering works, by the way, when suffering hits, when sorrow hits, we see our self reliance, our practical atheism, my story again, the one that I shared to start, I saw my arrogance. It’s hard to believe. I know I’ve grown a lot, but try to picture it. And so it leads to this self examination. John Piper has got a good analogy that explains how this works. Oftentimes, our lives are a little bit like a bottle of water with a bunch of sediment in the bottom, and so if you’re looking at the bottle, it’s clear, looks pure, even you might be willing to take a sip until something jars the bottle and the sediment shakes up, and then you’re looking at that going, No, thanks, I’ll get a different bottle. And that’s what we see in our own lives, and that’s also why suffering accomplishes such good in us. I like the way John Calvin says it. He’s commenting on a psalm just a few earlier than this one. He says, No one can give himself cheerfully to prayer until he has been softened by the cross and thoroughly subdued. This is the chief advantage of afflictions, that while they make us sensible of our wretchedness, they stimulate us again to supplicate the favor of God, okay, because they make us aware of our wretchedness. That means they also make us turn to God. That’s exactly what’s happened to David here, so that he is, verse four, crushed, not just by the burden of his suffering, but by his sin and guilt as well. And so he recognizes his guilt, and he cries out to God, there’s a lesson for us in this, of course, let lament lead to self examination. Maybe, as you’re suffering, and you look at it, you’re checking in, and you can see there is a direct line, okay, repent of that. But maybe there isn’t a direct you’re just suffering as a general result of sin. Okay. Still bemoan sins power. Practicing lament like this will lead to an increasing pursuit of godliness, because it will stir that kind of self examination and a greater sensitivity to sin. I love the way Glenn Pemberton puts it. Quoted him in the first sermon as well. He says, If lament is the practice of being honest with God, it stands to reason that I must first be honest about myself, and that’s what’s happening here. Not easy, though, right? Not easy. Much easier to blame other people. But what I find interesting then, so David says, Okay, this is my fault, right? It’s my sin, it’s my guilt. But it’s interesting that owning his sin doesn’t keep David from petitioning God. He doesn’t say, I’m suffering, although it’s my fault, and then walk away. He says, I’m suffering, it’s my fault. Lord, I still want to make my complaint, and that’s where we go next. So let’s keep reading the complaint. Verses five to 12. David writes, My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly, I am bowed down and brought very low. All day long, I go about mourning. My back is filled with searing pain. There is no health in my body. I am feeble and utterly crushed. I groan in anguish of heart. All my longings lie open before you Lord. My sighing is not hidden from you. My heart pounds, my strength fails me, even though light has gone from my eyes, my friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds, my neighbors stay far away. Those who want to kill me set their traps. Those who would harm me talk of my ruin all day long. They scheme and lie. The complaint changes when we are conscious of our sin. It’s not why is this happening, Lord, but I know why this is happening, Lord, but would you please stop it still? Would you please intervene still? And that’s exactly. What David says, right? He says, My wounds fester because of my folly. And Folly is, in the Hebrew language, just a fancy way of saying spiritual stupidity, of which we are all guilty, unfortunately. Now, what folly in particular? Again, Folly is a it’s not an intellectual category, it’s a moral category. And so it means flouting God’s will, disobeying God’s commands, and expecting that he won’t notice or care. That’s folly, right there, and it is silly beyond words. And so David recognizes this owns it. But then notice how methodically he still lists his complaints three specific areas, all related and all stemming from this sin. So first of all, we know that he’s got some sort of disease, some sort of physical affliction. He’s got Festering Wounds, which is not good, because that means they probably smell bad, even, which we’ll come back to in a moment. He’s got back problems. We see in verse seven, although if you’re in a different translation, it may say sides are burning or something like that, really difficult to translate, but something is hurting anyway, like he’s got chronic pain. In fact, we’ll say that in verse 17, my pain is ever with me. It almost sounds like he’s got, like fibromyalgia or something like that’s a sort of painful experience that he’s got here at least.
Then second, his disease, his physical affliction, leads to social rejection. Verse 11, my friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds. My neighbors stay far away again, maybe because he smells bad, because his wounds stink. It’s interesting. The word he uses there in verse 11 for wounds, more literally, is plagues. But that doesn’t sound quite right to us in English, but that word plague is used most often of leprosy, and I wonder if he chose this word, even though it’s probably not the right word, in a sense, because he feels like a leper in this time, because he’s being rejected, he’s being cast out. You can’t come around us any longer. Derek Kidner comments on this verse. He says it’s ironic, although we probably have all seen it many times, but it’s ironic that the more a person needs human support, the less by his abnormality, he naturally attracts it. So when we’re in trials and again, maybe it’s a health problem, but maybe it’s something else. Grief would be a really good example. Those are the people that a lot of us avoid like the plague because we don’t know what to do with them. We don’t want to get whatever they have, something like that. It’s actually only the gospel that will overcome that tendency in us to stay away from people who are suffering and instead to rush towards them. I mean, think of Matthew eight, where a man comes to Jesus, but he comes to Jesus as a leper, which you’re not supposed to do. Of course, leper is supposed to walk away from people. Instead, this guy goes right up to Jesus, and he’s got no pretensions of any sort, no claims to control or anything like that. He’s not saying, Jesus, I’ve got most of my life together. I just need help in this one little area I’m leprous or anything like that. No, he just comes and he says, I’ve got nothing. All I have is this hope, if you are willing, you can make me clean, and Jesus says, I’m willing be clean. But do you think of the brutal self honesty that would take to come to someone and say, I have no hope except you? And that’s what’s often lacking again, where sorrow can lead to salvation from sin. Really, I’m reading a book right now about a woman. It’s her testimony of salvation. But she was addicted to psychedelic drugs, LSD, mushrooms, things like that. And she would always look at other people, heroin addicts, cocaine addicts, those were druggies. Those were addicts, not her. Her mind was just being opened. So she couldn’t bring herself to that place of saying, I need help because I am a drug addict. We have to speak that truth about ourselves. So again, we see how lament breeds that sort of self examination, that confession. And so I’m not saying it’s true in every case, you know, every illness or anything like that, but, but sometimes with this social rejection, it could lead us to go, Okay, I’m being rejected, but maybe I’m being rejected because I’m a liar, I’m rude. You. People just don’t want to be around me. Or again, in my case, my story, I’m arrogant. People get tired of it after a while. So some sort of disease, physical affliction, leads to social rejection, and then third enemies plotting his ruin. That’s verse 12. Maybe they see an opening. Here are these rivals to the throne scheming for it. If he dies, is this a chance to shame him? You know, in an honor shame culture, I don’t know. We just know that all of this is happening simultaneously and all as a result of David’s sin. So with all this going on, you know, he can’t help we couldn’t help but cry out to God in confession and complaint. And here again, is one of the great benefits of our suffering, is sin and suffering. That combination sin and suffering expose our powerlessness, that lack of control, so that we do come to Jesus like spiritual lepers. I like the way Nicholas Wolterstorff puts it. He lost his son when his son was a teenager, early 20, or something like that. And he wrote a book, a lament for the son. And he writes this. He says, we live in a time and place where, over and over, when confronted with something unpleasant, we pursue not coping, but overcoming, really true of us, by the way. So we’re not trying to figure out how to go through something. We’re always trying to figure out how to get out of something, right? And so that’s what he’s talking about here. Often we succeed. Most of humanity has not enjoyed and does not enjoy such luxury good. To keep in mind, death shatters our illusion that we can make do without coping when we have overcome absence with phone calls. He wrote this a while ago. I mean, think about face time now, winglessness with airplanes, summer heat with air conditioning when we have overcome all these and much more besides, then there will abide two things with which we must cope, the evil in our hearts and death. And so David again, he’s bringing them together here, in this moment, that sorrow, that reality, I don’t even have control over my physical body, which is wasting away day by day. That sorrow forces us to confront not God, but our sin. There’s one way, by the way that God works suffering for His glory and our good as we just sang, but that, then, in turn, shapes us into what we should be. We look inside and we go, Well, this is not matching up. I am not who I should be. I see that now. Well, that means I also see what I should be, and I think that’s what verse nine gets at all. My longings lie open before you Lord. My sighing is not hidden from you. David’s like dissecting his heart, examining his deepest desires, his affections, his loves. Now I see who I am and I see who I should be. Augustine says this about the Psalms. He says, The Psalms are given to us as a divine pedagogy for our affections like what we love most. They’re God’s way of reshaping our desires and perceptions so that they learn to lament in the right things and take joy in the right things. So it’s functioning to tune David’s heart, as it were, to God’s desires. Suffering forces David to see himself truly. So he cries out to God for mercy, complains about sin, his sin and sins of others, and then he makes his case. Verses 13 to 20. Let’s look at the case now. David continues, I am like the deaf who cannot hear, like the mute who cannot speak. I become like one who does not hear, whose mouth can offer no reply, Lord, I wait for you. You will answer, Lord my God, for I said, do not let them gloat or exalt themselves over me when my feet slip, for I’m about to fall and my pain is ever with me. I confess my iniquity. I am troubled by my sin. Many have become my enemies without cause, those who hate me without reason are numerous. Those who repay my good with evil lodge accusations against me. Do I seek only to do what is good? Now, at first glance, this all feels a little scattered. Of course, prayers offered in the midst of pain often do, but David’s actually making a tightly reasoned case for God’s action when he says in verse 13, verse 14, that he’s deaf and mute. He’s not talking about a physical affliction here. It’s not like his sickness meant that now he couldn’t speak and he couldn’t hear. Anymore. He’s talking about his settled policy with regard to his enemies. Basically, he’s adopted a Hear no evil, speak, no evil, approach, which can be tough when people are gossiping about you or slandering you. So what is it that motivates or empowers this obedience? He’s not going to get into a shouting match with his enemies, and the answer is the request that he offers in verse 16 and the confidence that he expresses about that request in verse 15. Alright, I prayed a prayer. Don’t let them gloat exalt themselves over me when my feet slip. Lord, Imma, wait for you. I know you’ll answer that prayer. Lord, He’s waiting on God. He’s trusting in God’s reply. By the way, we mentioned the these four movements in a lament, right? Cry, complaint, case and confidence. We keep talking about the fact it’s not a linear process, right? It’s messy and it’s cyclical. And it’s cyclical. And so what do we get here? We get a little confidence coming out in the middle of his case. I know you’re going to hear I know you’re going to answer Lord. He prayed for justice, and he trusts the judge.
Now it’s interesting as you read the Psalms again, it’s not the only psalm of lament about sin that you can find in Scripture. So trying to draw out some patterns that we find, we can learn a lot from studying the many reasons that the psalmists believe God will intervene. They get this kind of confidence when they’re making their case, and then the stronger the case they make, the more confidence they have. So what is the case that they offer? There are at least seven kind of main reasons. They say, Lord, you should intervene. You should step in. Now. Two have to do with the Lord. One is his reputation. Would you do this basically, for the sake of your name? God that people look and go, Wow, what a deliverer. The other one is God’s character. Really, it’s coming from I’m asking you to do something that’s consistent with what you’ve done before. So what you’ve done before? Would you do it again? Lord, would you act consistent with your past actions? Most of them have to do with the speaker. So some motivations we get there, the speaker’s guilt, which is what we have here. I know I don’t deserve this, quote, Jack, still sometimes it is the speaker’s innocence, though I’m blameless, at least in this one area, Lord, or the speaker’s helplessness or the speaker’s trust. Would you do this because I trust in You, Lord, or the speaker’s promise of future praise. When you deliver me, I will sing of your glory. What’s interesting is that several come together here in this section. I mean, he is trusting in God’s past acts. God hears prayer, answers prayer. Well, if that’s the sort of God I’m praying to, I’m gonna trust that He hears prayer and answers prayer. But mostly he’s drawing from his guilt and his innocence and his helplessness and his trust, although special emphasis is on his general guilt and specific innocence, and that’s where he goes in these next few verses, general guilt but specific innocence. These are these twin reasons that he expects a speedy answer. So first he confessed his iniquity. He says, verse 18, I confess my iniquity. I’m troubled by my sin. My sin bothers me. He’s saying, and so he’s saying, I know I deserve this, but I also know that you’re merciful, Lord. And so since I’ve owned this, would you show me mercy? But then second, he says his enemies have no reason to attack him. Many have become my enemies without cause, those who hate me without reason, right? So I’m innocent here, Lord, in this situation, at least especially because I’m trying to repay evil with good. Verse 20, only seeking to do good. And in this, of course, he reflects the character of his future savior, Jesus. So let me just trace the case again. Make sure we’re we’re following what he just said. He’s saying I’m not lashing out in anger, Lord, but entrusting my situation to you. You are the just judge. You will bring justice. I know you’ll answer my just prayer, because I’m not pretending to be what I’m not righteous, sinless, but I’m also trying to be what you asked me to be innocent here, repaying evil with good all, for your name’s sake. So there’s a lot to learn in this little section, and this is just a sample, an example of it. He’s not just cataloging his complaints. He’s not just presenting this laundry. List of issues that God needs to fix. He’s reasoning biblically, which, by the way, breeds confidence know God hears us and that we will have what we ask when we ask according to His will. First John five. And so that’s the confidence we see in these last few verses of the Psalm. Then verses 21 and 22 confidence, Lord, do not forsake me. Do not be far from me. My God come quickly to help me, My Lord and my Savior again, not a linear progress here, because we kind of get confidence ensconced in the case because he’s asking God to do something, although it is this nice little bookend to the Psalm. It opens with, Lord, don’t rebuke me. And then it closes with, come help me, Lord. And that’s interesting. It reveals just the structure of the psalm reveals this deep truth the way Alec Mateer says it. He says, The God who acts against our sin is the God to whom we can appeal for help, the very God who saves us from our sins. So that God is not just judge, but as we see here in verse 22 Savior as well, the only reason that David can wait patiently for an answer from him, as we saw in verse 15, right? It’s not because David’s got a particularly placid disposition. It’s not because he’s practicing stiff upper lip stoicism, no. It’s confidence in the covenant God. Who saves covenant God. Where he says, right, he’s using the covenant name, Yahweh, verse 21 Lord all caps. And then he says, My God, my lord, my Savior, right? We’re in relationship. You’ve bound yourself to me, to us in covenant. That’s why I can wait on you. It is the confidence what he expresses here. It’s the confidence what Hannah read for us earlier in Lamentations three verse, 33 lamentations 333. Says, For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone. He does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone. And that word, willingly, literally reads from the heart. God does not afflict from the heart. When God brings troubles into our lives, we could almost say his heart’s not in it. And again, just take a parenting example. You know exactly what you mean. You gotta spank your kid or something like that. It doesn’t make you happy when you do it, it makes you the opposite of happy, but you love them enough to do it, and that’s what’s happening here as well. So lamentations, 333, by the way, what is lamentations? It is a lament. That’s where the name comes from. Blew your minds. I know it. You had no idea it’s a lament in the midst of deep pain, and what’s going on that this writer would write lamentations. It’s the devastation of Jerusalem. The city has been sacked, the temple has been destroyed. And here the writer of Lamentations is going, Yeah, but it’s not because you wanted to do this, but because you love us enough to do it, so that our hearts will be changed, will be brought back from our sin to You. And that’s the confidence David has here. Like, why would God stay far away verse 21 or refuse to help? Verse 22 when he’s the God who keeps coming near to help people. And again, David’s thinking probably of the Exodus, when God came near to his people in Egypt and delivered them out of that suffering and anguish. But we would be thinking of Jesus. Jesus. So once again, our confidence can be even greater. Do not be far from me. Come quickly to help me. That’s what the incarnation is when God Almighty, the second person the Trinity, became flesh, became human, and lived among us, to come near to us, to bring us the help that we needed. David feels like a leper. Maybe you do too now, or have felt it at another time. Okay? Well, we know Jesus heals lepers, that’s what he came to do. But even more than that, Jesus is willing to become a spiritual leper for us, to switch spots with us, right? He’s willing to make this one leper clean. That’s great news. Even better news, he’s willing to be treated like a leper for our sakes. He’s willing to be cast out and rejected for us. So when we feel like lepers, physically and. Emotionally, spiritually, we have confidence that we can draw near to the God who is already drawing near to us. And you think about how easy that should make our confession lament, because there’s no fear, there’s no shame, there’s no guilt, when we come to God and say, I got nothing, I’m a leper, but if you’re willing, you can make me clean. So it takes us to our big idea. It’s not complicated. I don’t know if you’ve caught that. Our big idea has been the same three weeks in a row. That’s intentional. Okay, we kind of just have one big idea, learn to lament. But here this week, learn to lament sin and its effects before the Lord. Learn to lament sin and its effects before the Lord. Lament helps us chart a course back to God
when we’ve been tossed by sins, storms after that, dam breaks and sweeps us away so that we’re lost. Lament helps us admit our failures, identify sins effects on us, on others, on the world, and then to return to come back home, because Jesus has opened the way for us has become the way for us. We know we see it so clearly in the cross and the empty tomb that God does not afflict willingly, even when sin is a direct cause of our suffering. No but he loves to forgive and to show mercy and love. So as we wrap up this series, just worth asking where we go from here, because we want to be doers of the word, not just hearers of it. So let me just speak to three groups briefly here as we close. First, those of you who are skeptical still about Christianity, asking questions and pause, as I often do when I address this group. We’re so glad you’re here and asking these questions with us, not because we have any particular wisdom, but because shows that you are in earnest in asking these questions and willing to listen to God’s answers. You don’t need to hear from me, believe me, okay, but you do want to hear from God and from his words. We’re so glad you’re here and asking questions in this place. But my word to you from this series is to let lament chart your course back to God. What I mean by that is lament reminds us that something is so obviously wrong with this world. You cannot possibly look at this world and go, Yeah, this is good, right? There’s too much going on for us to think that. So let that stimulate some questions in you, like, what exactly is wrong with the world? And what’s the cause of that wrongness, because it’s more than physical right so it can’t just be Darwinian answers here there is evil like a moral problem. The Bible calls it sin. Another question you need to ask is, Can sorrow and suffering have meaning and purpose? Can it do anything in us. Can God redeem it in our lives? Not that the suffering is good, but it does good in us. And the last question for you would be, is there any hope at the end of it? Is there any hope at the end of a life that will be filled with sorrow and suffering, especially when we consider how much sorrow we bring on ourselves, Is there the hope, not just of resurrection or restoration, but is there the hope of forgiveness? And the answer is yes, and it’s found in Jesus. Second group, the majority of you here today, I’m sure, individual believers. I mean your takeaway, of course, learn to lament again. All three big ideas, learn to lament, practice what we’ve preached, but be intentional here, even if you’re not suffering greatly now, fine. Pick a minor issue, one that’s maybe not worth doing a whole lament about. But pray, you know, using this template, cry, complaint, case, confidence, grab a Psalm of lament and work your way through it and see if you can sound a little bit like David or one of the other Psalmists get used to the form and the language of lament, so that you know what to do when storms assail, because they will. It’s a guarantee. And then lastly, let me speak to us as a corporate body, as the church. I think our takeaway from this series is to hold space for others to lament, to be the sort of community where people can come in and lament. Church is not a place for happy, crappy people only we came together this. Morning to worship the one who is called a man of sorrows and one acquainted with grief because of our sin, by the way, and for our sake. So I would think that men and women of sorrow would be very welcome here. Should be expected here even. What does that look like? Of course, some of that means that we pursue hearts. You know, when you say, How you doing, and the person goes, I’m fine. You don’t go, great. This wasn’t even really a question anyway, right? No, we go tell me more about that. Let’s, let’s grab coffee. Let’s talk. Enter into grief with people, and on the flip side, by the way, and this one is maybe the harder one enter into community when grieving still come when you’re in the midst of it, so we can cry out together. I heard a wonderful story just recently really struck deep within me, but it was a somebody had reached out to their pastor and said, Hey, I’m going over to this family’s house. You know, they just had this tragic loss. And can you help me? I need I need a word. I need a passage to share with them. And the pastor, clearly, a wise, wise pastor said, I don’t have a passage for them, but I have a passage for you. Weep with those who weep. And that’s the sort of people we want to be right, to come together and go, you’re crying. I’m crying because one part of the body hurts, and we all hurt. And that can happen one on one. Of course. It can happen in groups, Journey groups, community groups. It can happen in services too. I think one of our corporate takeaways from this series needs to be the sorts of songs we sing, because I don’t think we have a single song of lament in our hymnal here, which is way out of whack with the book of Psalms. We do pray prayers of lament occasionally here in the service, we need more, but then even just coming together specifically to lament. I’ll remind you again. June 22 we’ll have a congregational prayer night that Shane and I will lead, and it will be a night of lament. Specifically we need this the way Eugene Peterson said it one of my favorite books on prayer, called answering God. Right? He speaks to us through His Word, and then we answer Him in prayer. He says, The Human Condition teeters on the edge of disaster. Human beings are in trouble most of the time, and those who don’t know they are in trouble are in the worst trouble. Lament is the way God gave us. And remember Jesus modeled for us to acknowledge that trouble, to work through it and to arrive back in that place of restful confidence. Remember the story I told about Amari right, like holding him, where you get that the breathing slows and the heartbeat slows, and the pupils get to the right size, and all that kind of stuff, to arrive back in that place of restful confidence in the arms of our Lord and our Savior. Let’s pray to him now, Lord Jesus, we come to you as the man of sorrows, ever so acquainted with grief, the grief we inflicted on you by our sins. But you did not run from us despite our spiritual leprosy, physical leprosy, every other sort of leprosy. Lord you drew near to heal us, to restore us, to redeem us, and ultimately, Lord to resurrect us in the end, and so Lord, give us that confidence that even now, we can come before you as we are, to lament sin, ours and the sins of others, and to lament sins effects in the world and in our lives, knowing that you hear us, that you answer us, that when We draw near to you, you draw near to us, that you have come to help us, that you do come to help us, and that you will come again to set all things right in the end, that’s the confidence with which we pray in Christ’s name, Amen.

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For Our Struggle May 25, 2025 | Shane Dickinson Shane Dickinson explores Psalm 80 as a powerful example of lament, explaining that lamenting is not mere complaining but a prayer in pain that leads to trust. The psalm demonstrates a community crying out to God as their shepherd, expressing confusion and pain about their current circumstances while recalling God’s past faithfulness. Through the psalm’s structure of cry, complaint, case, and confidence, Shane shows how lament requires a robust theology that acknowledges sin, salvation, God’s nature, and hope for the future. The key message is that believers should learn to lament together, bringing their pain before God with the understanding that prayer in difficult times ultimately leads to deeper trust.

Good morning. Thank you. My name is Shane, and it’s an honor to be with you this morning. Now, I made a deal with Brandon before I started, and however long I go, we’re just going to take away from his sermon next week. So settle in, get comfortable. But next week should be a little a little quicker of a service. That joke landed for a couple of people and no one else. But that’s alright. We’re going to be in Psalm chapter 80 this morning in your pew Bible. That’s page 474, so take a moment and turn there, if you would. And Psalm chapter 80, page 474, again, in your Bible.
Baseball. I love baseball. Hey, how about it? Hopefully, that’s not the only Amen and applause We get this morning. We talk about the Word of God, but baseball is the greatest. If you’ve had a chance, it’s almost like just feels natural. I’m gonna try and do this for as long in the service as we can. But if you know anything about me, if we’ve had a chance to interact, it’s probably come up that I’m a fan of baseball. I’m putting the fanatic in fan when it comes to baseball. And couple conversations later, it wouldn’t take long for you to discover that I’m a fan of the Chicago Cubs. We could say that this year, we’re doing great. It’s exciting. I heard booze. We’re going to pray for you prayer after the service. We’ll have leaders and elders up here. We’ll pray for you, hoping that you’ve come to the Cubs side. Now I love baseball, and the cubs are my team. Some really high highs, some really low lows. It’s good that we’re talking about the Cubs with lament, because 30 years of my life, many of them have been spent lamenting what could have been with them. But I love the game, and maybe you’re like me, you love the game, and I love the game, but I also love a place. Nobody’s ever said, Hey, go to your happy place. And some people might think, oh, a beach with the sand, or oh up in the mountains or a cabin in the woods. For me, when I think of my happy place, I think of 1060, West Addison Wrigley Field. It’s the best, right? They even have a video that they play at the beginning before games start, where Bill Murray is narrating, and he’s talking about the first time he ever stepped into the field. His brother covered his eyes real quick, and just that moment when his eyes opened, he got to see this majestic landscape. I feel that I am excited by that. I was so excited by my Fandom of the Cubs and my love of Wrigley Field that actually had a chance to work there in 2018 and let me tell you, it doesn’t wear off every time I go there. I absolutely love this place. Now, if you know anything about Wrigley Field, you know that it’s not one of those hip new age stadiums. It doesn’t have those meters that say, Hey, you know, get loud. Hey, you know, get excited. In fact, for a long time, they didn’t even have a video board at all, given its age and many, many warts, there’s been a lot of conversation about Wrigley Field? Should it stay up? It’s the second oldest Stadium in baseball for one, and it would make a lot of sense to do what many teams and different organizations have done, just bulldoze it and build anew, act like it never even existed. This was a really, real possibility for Wrigley Field when new ownership took over the Ricketts family and they found themselves in 2013 saying, hey, something needs to change with Wrigley. There’s leaks, there’s cracks. It’s an unsure foundation. There’s some work that needs to be done here, and fans braced for the worst. Would they really tear down Wrigley Field all up in like it never even happened before and to build something new? What were they going to do? Well, Pastor and author Paul David Tripp has a wonderful podcast, just some five to 10 Minute devotionals and talking about Psalm 80, he talked about this idea of construction and reconstruction, and he said that you can often tell what’s going to happen to something based on the size truck that is in the driveway. We know that to be true, right? If there’s bulldozers, if there’s dumpsters, there’s going to be a lot of work that’s going to be done, maybe even a remodel or a complete renovation. But if you see a handy man’s truck, or you see just a few people gathering, it’s probably not going to be a remodel. Maybe instead, they’re going to work. Work towards restoration, and thankfully, the Ricketts announced when they were talking about Wrigley Field, there would be no remodel. There would be no new stadium. Instead, they were going to work their best to restore Wrigley Field to its glory, to bring about the things that were true of it when it first was built, and hopefully would remain true of it for several years, Wrigley was to be restored. But Wrigley’s not the only thing that needs restoration. Is it? I mean, we can think in our minds or even in our shared experiences, many things that need restoration. Maybe you’re someone who’s into cars and you love this beautiful 60s Corvette. You want to bring it back to its glory. You want to restore it. Or you think back to I know myself, I have a project I want to work on this summer in restoring some a coffee table and end tables. I want to restore it and make it anew. But restoration isn’t just about fields or cars or tables or whatever we can think of. No restoration goes deeper. Maybe you’re here this morning and you’re longing for a sense of restoration in your heart, because it’s been a difficult season in some lives, the unthinkables happen. There’s been the loss of life, the loss of a job, the diagnosis of a disease, whatever it may be, and you’re sitting here saying, I need to be I want to be restored in my soul. This isn’t just a restoration idea, even that exists for individuals either no restoration is a communal reality. We long as a people to be restored, not just individually, but as a whole. I mean, just turn on the news doesn’t matter. The channel doesn’t matter, the time doesn’t matter the focus. We see the need for restoration exists across the entire globe. We think of the tragedy that struck in DC as the Jewish community is desiring to be restored in the midst of unthinkable loss of life. Or we look across the world and we see what’s happening in Israel, we see what’s happening in Ukraine, and we ask ourselves, Is there restoration that is possible, or does this all just mean nothing? It’s my hope this morning that as we walk through Psalm 80, we’re going to see perspective for our position. I hope that Psalm 80 will give us words for the worry that we experience, and I hope that Psalm 80 provides honesty from our heart, that we can speak and understand. What does it mean to take our deepest cries? What does it mean? What does it look like for our longings as a community to be brought before the Lord? So we’re gonna read Psalm 80 together, and then we’re gonna dig into it. So if you’re there, allow me to get there, and let’s read Psalm 80, as a community says this, hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock, you who sit enthroned between the cherubim shine forth before Ephraim Benjamin and Manasseh Awaken Your might come and save us, restore us. O God, make your face shine on us that we may be saved. How long Lord, God Almighty, will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people? For you have fed them with the bread of tears. You have made them drink tears by the bowl full. You have made us an object of derision to our neighbors and our enemies, mock us, restore us, God Almighty, make your face shine on us that we may be saved for you transplanted a vine from Egypt. You drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shade. The mighty cedars with its branches, its branches reached as far as the sea and its shoots as far as the river. Why have you broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes. Boars from the forest ravage and insects from the field feed on it. Return to us, God Almighty, look down from heaven and see. Watch over this vine, the root your right hand has planted the sun you have raised up for yourself, for your vine is cut down. It is burned with fire at your rebuke, your people perish. Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man that You have raised up for yourself. Then we will not turn away from you. Revive us, and we will call on your name, restore us, Lord, God Almighty, make. Your face shine on us that we may be saved. Now we find ourselves here in the second week of our series, lamentable as we learn to grieve with Jesus, and it might be interesting, but when Brandon told me that we were going to be going here this month, I got excited. Was that weird? Excited to lament. Was so excited even to learn, because this idea is something that I believe is essential for believers as a community, as essential now as it’s ever been. And the beautiful reality is it will remain essential tomorrow, to remain essential the next day and the next day, all until we reach glory, the ability, the understanding and the decision to lament is as important to us as a community now as anything else we can spend our time doing now, Brandon laid down the framework for us last week by talking about what lament is as well as what lament is not. And the chances are that before he brought that up, lament was not something that was on your mind. In fact, I was telling somebody who I work with that I was given an opportunity to preach, and they were so excited. They say, what are you going to preach on? And I said, we’re talking said, we’re talking about lament. And they said, Oh, right. Lament gets a bad rap. If it gets any rap, oftentimes we want to just keep it in the dark, because we often think, okay, if I’m going to lament, it’s going to require me to put on a bunch of black clothing and listen to some really emotional music, recite some real terrible poetry, to scream at the wall or to scream in my car, just to complain. So often, lament gets equated to complaining. And we saw last week, and my hope is that we know this week that lament is not simply complaining, no. Lament is a decision. Lament is a directive. Lament is a determination to pray despite pain in order that we may trust. Said another way, lament is prayer in pain that leads to trust. And so Brandon laid our framework that we’re going to use this morning as we look at our passage, but I wanted to speak just for another moment before we jump in about the importance of lament, because again, we have this idea that to lament is frivolous, is some would even say immature or even a waste of time. And I want to submit that the opposite is true this morning, that the action of lament when a community comes together and seeks to lament, when a community comes together to pray in the midst of pain to the Lord that leads to trust requires a theology far greater than to simply ignore. Mark Vroegop, the president of The Gospel Coalition, had this to say when speaking of lament, he said that the seeds of lament are planted in the soil of what we believe. Said another way, lament reveals the faith of the gospel that we claim to have as our own. And so quickly, there are four things that lament demands you and I have a robust theology of if we’re going to enter into it. First, if we are going to enter the practice of lament, it means we must have a robust theology of sin. We understand that sin is wrong in the world today, and that it seems sometimes that it goes on without rival. It goes on without opposition, and the presence of sin reminds us that something’s wrong, and so lament then says we bring forth these feelings, these confusions, this sadness in the midst of this chaos. And say, God, how long will sin exist in your world? Secondly, lament requires that we have a robust theology of salvation. For you and I as believers in Jesus Christ, we know God’s plan of redemption, but we also know and see that redemption has not fully found itself here in our world today. We long for the redemption that’s to come, but we still desire to see redemption take place. And as we look and as we turn and as we go, we see places that have not been redeemed, people who have not been redeemed, situations that aren’t redeemed. And so lament demands that if we trust and believe that salvation is real, and that, as the Bible says, that the Lord is going to wipe away every tear, that there’ll be no more mourning, there’ll be no more sadness, there’ll be no more death. When we choose to lament and say, I don’t see it right now, I’m confused, but I believe that my Redeemer lives, and that by him and his blood. Let alone salvation is possible. Lament demands theology. Thirdly, lament demands a robust theology of God. For if we believe God to be over all things, in all things, through all things, we believe Jesus Christ, you have existed before creation, be in the midst of creation, and be seated over all of creation. Lament states our confidence in that, because who do we bring our cries to? Who do we bring our wonderings to? Who do we bring our longings of the soul to understand what’s happening to we bring them to God. And so when we lament, we show the world that, no, we don’t trust in man, nor do we trust in government. No, we trust in God alone. Finally, lament requires we have a robust theology about our future. Again, as believers in Jesus Christ, we can confidently say that we will be with our Lord and Savior in glory and so here and now, as those who are awaiting that truth when it gets difficult, when that statement of faith is a statement of faith wrapped in confusion or doubt or wondering or wandering, making that statement of faith in lament says to the world, I believe that God is in control. So lament then requires more theology and requires us to be thinkers of the Lord, thinking of His Word, experiencing His Word, applying it to our lives, than it would be to not. In fact, it would be easier for us to stick our head into the sand and sing everything’s going to be all right than it would be to lament. And so what we’re doing here is not a waste of time. What we’re doing here is not immature. What we’re doing here is essential. So let’s begin this essential practice together as we follow the same layout that Brandon gave for us last week. It’ll be in your bulletin, in your notes. We’re gonna look at this lament in four different sections. First, we’re gonna look at the cry. Then we’re gonna look at the complaint. After, we’ll take a look at the case, and finally, we’ll take a look at the confidence. Now, if you see in your bulletin, our lament does not follow 123, all the way to the end of the verse. This week, what we’re doing is we’re engaging in Hebrew poetry, and so we’re willing to allow the psalmist to work around this idea in a non linear fashion, said another way and just, quite frankly, laments messy, and because it’s messy, it doesn’t always follow a linear thought. Rest assured, we’re going to see this in our text together, and whether it’s all in order or not, we know and can trust that the lament we are about to go into here can give us the words that we need. So let’s begin together in our first section, cry verses one and two, which state hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock, you who sit enthroned between the cherubim shine forth before Ephraim Benjamin and Manasseh awaken, your might come and save us. So our psalmist begins with an address. This isn’t uncommon. If you were to get a piece of mail, I know we don’t get a lot of mail. How about email? If you were to get an email this day. We was just talking to Jackie about this before the service. Everything’s electronic now, so we don’t get real mail. But think back to a second. You get a letter and you open it up. You know right away. If it’s mail that’s worth your time, if it says to shame, goes this says to valued customer, if it says to an individual, you’re like, I can probably just toss this. I don’t need a warranty on my home. I don’t need new windows, no. But when I get a letter that says, hey, to shame, I know to read it. Why? Because it’s been addressed to me. And what the psalmist is doing here is he’s taking the time to address the Lord who he’s going to be speaking to, hear us, Shepherd of Israel. Hear us. Shepherd of Israel. The Psalmist wants to make very clear at the beginning what I’m about to say. I’m saying to the Lord, it’s being said in community. We’re all here together in the midst of this. But I’m not spending my time addressing this to the government of the day. I’m not spending my time addressing this to my friend or my neighbor or my coworker. No, I’m taking this and before the community, we’re coming together and saying, hear us, O shepherd of Israel. It’s interesting, too, when you think about it though the fact that the psalmist begins by saying, hear us. I. Because what it means, and lest we jump on the back of the psalmist and accuse them of something, here is it seems like the psalmist has to say this because the way that life’s been going, it doesn’t sound like God’s listening. He’s saying, hear us, because he wants to make crystal clear that what’s about to be said is something of great importance, and he’s worried that the person he’s praying to isn’t hearing or hasn’t heard what’s been said before. Remember, lament is prayer in pain that leads to trust. It leads to trust. But in the midst of that pain, there’s some times that uncomfortable reality of saying, God, I need you to hear me. Because right now it sounds like I’m talking to a wall. Right now it feels like I’m doing these things. I’m saying these things. I’m here. I have my Bible open before you, and no one’s on the other end. And so when the psalmist says, Hear us, he’s saying, Lord, God, would you hear us? Because the way life is going right now, it doesn’t seem like you’re listening. But it’s not just in the hear us that we can take interest. It’s also in the fact that our psalmist refers to God as the shepherd of Israel. See, God is often referred to as Father, as creator, as Lord. But here the psalmist decides to say, shepherd. And so think to yourself, if you could for a moment, where else have we seen the Lord described as a shepherd at the end of Genesis, Jacob, at the end of his life, blesses Joseph and refers to God as the one who has been his shepherd all my life to this day, additionally, and probably most famously, Psalm 23 states that the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. Or even in John 10, Jesus refers to himself as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep, and the good shepherd who knows his own and is known by his own and so here, what the psalmist is doing is he’s addressing God as Shepherd as we walk through the remainder of the Psalm, I trust we’re able to see why he does that. But what he’s doing here is he’s saying, hear us, our shepherd, because right now it feels like the sheep have no protection. Hear us. O Shepherd, because right now it feels like the lion is on its way and you’re nowhere to be found, and we can’t protect ourselves. We can’t defend ourselves. We don’t know what to do, we don’t know what to say, we don’t know where to go. We don’t even really know who we are as a people. Hear us, O shepherd of Israel. Why? Because, again, as Psalm 23 says, What does a shepherd do? A shepherd is someone who makes it so that their sheep lack nothing. A shepherd is someone who leads sheep to lie down in green pastures. Psalm 23 says that the Lord is our shepherd, and that because he’s our shepherd, goodness and mercy will define our steps, and because the Lord is our shepherd, we will fear no evil. And so the psalmists cry on behalf of the of the community that’s gathered is to say, hear us, O shepherd of Israel, we need you to be our shepherd again. Hear us, O shepherd of Israel, we need you to be our shepherd again. And it’s the hope of the psalmist that as they go here, they’re going to be able to see and know, once again, that the Lord truly is their shepherd. We as a community, find ourselves in the same place when we look at the world around us, when we look at things that are occurring, when we open up, whether it’s our our phones or our tablets. We turn on our TV and we see the news. We see heartache. We see heartbreak. And where do we begin? Who do we cry out to do we do we open up our doors and yell facing Washington, DC, to say, hey, government, hear us. We need to make change. We need something to be different. If we do that, it falls on deaf ears. If we go and we see a need that exists and we see that people aren’t being cared for or tended to, there are some amazing organizations that are doing amazing things, but we still wouldn’t open our window and shout to them and ask that they would bring restoration that we’re seeking. No what we have to do as a community of believers is to instead spending our time opening the doors and screaming or or looking out the window and shouting to getting on our knees instead and praying and saying, hear us, oh shepherd of Israel. We need you. And just as we need to do that, the Psalmist begins in doing that. Why again? Because lament is prayer. It’s not. Just any prayer, though, it’s prayer and pain that leads to trust, and so we need to, like the psalmist, pray together in the midst of pain, pray together in the midst of confusion, and allow ourselves to be led to trusting again. That’s the idea when we lament, we’re actively saying, I don’t see right now, but I know that if I commit myself, if we commit ourselves, if, whether it’s community groups, Journey groups, the community as a whole, if we commit ourselves to saying, I don’t know what’s going on, but I know who does we’re committing ourselves not only to praying and pain, but we’re also committing ourselves to the end of that sentence too, prayer and pain that leads to trust. So if you find yourself this morning, if we find ourselves this morning as a community, saying, I don’t know if I’m trusting, we don’t know if we’re trusting, we can begin to lament with the assurance that as we seek the face of the Lord, we will trust him in the end, our psalmist continues, though, because now that he’s gotten the attention, he’s here at the beginning of the cry, he now moves to this idea of the complaint, and here we’re going to do Some jumping around in the scriptures, but our lament continues. After having heard the cry, we now need to go and see what is the complaint that’s being made before the people. Verse four, where we’ll start in the subsequent verses that follow, and then verse 12, which we’ll get to in just a moment, formulate the complaint of our community, verse four says this, how long Lord God Almighty, will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people? For you have fed them with the bread of tears. You have made them drink tears by the bowl full. You have made us an object of derision to our neighbors and our enemies mock us. So after crying out to the Lord, the Psalmist begins to share the complaint of what’s taking place. Remember, he’s saying this to God. He’s saying this to the one who has been the shepherd of the people before, who he’s seeking to see be the shepherd of the people again. And so when the psalmist says, How long Lord, God Almighty, will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people? He’s saying, How long Shepherd, will you not be a shepherd to us? For it feels as though you’re allowing a lot of things to happen. See here in the Psalms and in the life of the nation of Israel, who’s bringing forth this psalm. It’s in this moment that they’re looking back at their history and saying, it feels like God’s not here right now. Now, if you know the history of Israel, if you’ve read through the Old Testament before, you know that the Lord has brought them through so many different things, countless battles, walking across the sea, leading them through the desert land. And what the people are saying right now is not, Hey, God, could you take your hand of opposition off of us? Because it doesn’t seem like the Lord’s opposing them, but rather, what it seems like it’s saying, Hey, God, I’m not worried about your hand, but I’m worried about your eyes, because it seems like you’re not even looking at us. It seems like you’re not even taking note of us right now. It feels as though you have anger that’s towards us. That’s not in a making our life miserable, but it’s in a late making our life absent. And as a result of that, we don’t have bread to eat. As a result of that, we don’t have drink to calm our thirst. And as a result of that, we’ve gone from being this nation of Israel to be an object of derision to our neighbors, and even the source of mockery, the Lord seems to be in a holding pattern, and God’s holding pattern makes the nation uncomfortable because he doesn’t know how long the holding pattern will take place if you ever flown before, but chances are that you have and when you’re there at the airport, and you’re getting ready to go, and it’s time to board, and then all of a sudden they come on the intercom and they say, We apologize, but we’re going to have a delay in our boarding process, your flight will not be taking off on time. What’s the first question that you think of in your head? When? Okay? Like, that stinks. That’s unfortunate. That’s terrible. But like, when are we going to board, and when is this flight going to take off, and when are we going to get to our destination? The Nation here is in the midst of what sounds like the Lord has come over the intercom and said that there’s going to be a delay, but hasn’t given the details of how long or when, and so the people are confused and are uncomfortable. The people are confused and uncomfortable. You. Yeah, and they’re uncomfortable, because God has made a habit in the nation’s existence of they pray. They interact with him. He answers. They look for and long for. They hope he arrives. And right now, none of that’s taking place. So the people are confused, because isn’t this the Lord who’s supposed to hear our pleas, who’s supposed to give ear to our cry, and then, in so doing, after hearing and listening, respond, so the people are confused, see, because God’s nature has been to show, has been shown to be the one of hearing and answering when there’s a cry being there. In fact, the Psalmist has heralded the Lord for answering him. Psalm 66 goes as far as to say this, come and hear all you who fear God. Let me tell you what he has done for me, for I cried out to him with my mouth. His praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished my sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened, but God surely listened and has heard my prayer. So praise be to God who has not rejected my prayer or withheld His love from me. So the psalmist has even shared, and the people have even shared together. God’s a God who answers, but right now he doesn’t seem to be answering. He doesn’t seem to be caring about their position. Our psalmist continues in verse 12 by saying, Why have you broken down the walls so that all who pass by pickets grapes, the once promised and powerful nation who’s been established by the hand of the Lord, now has a wall that’s been opened and so that those who pass by are picking the grapes, the enemies, boars from the forest, insects from the field, are coming, and what was once held dear and captive and protective seems as though it’s no longer return to us. God Almighty, verse 14, look down from heaven and see watch over this vine, the root your right hand has planted the sun that you have raised up for yourself, for your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire, and at your rebuke, your people perish. So the nation is sharing. Hey, God, what you’ve done before, it seems like you’re not doing anymore. And you’re allowing everything that’s been established that we thought and believed and trusted and had confidence had come from you is going away. Our proud city, our strong vine, our ability to eat and to drink and to care for ourselves has now been taken away. What do we do? Where do we go? What is the point of all that you’ve built, God’s people feel unprotected, and when they’re unprotected, they feel uncared for. And that’s not just unique to the nation of Israel. That’s not just unique to the psalmist. That has been possibly our experience too. We’ve been through seasons of our lives. Maybe you’re in the midst of it right now where it feels as though the Lord has not been caring, or the Lord has not been kind, but we’ve seen his hand before, and so we stand confused. There’s a new show that’s coming to Fox. Maybe you’ve seen commercials for it before. I think it is already out, called extracted. Maybe you’ve heard it before, but the idea of the show is like a bear gryll survivalist type idea, where people go into the wilderness and they’re gonna survive as long as they can, with as much as they can, for however long it takes. But there’s a twist that while they’re out there in this survivalist camp, their family is back at a command center and base watching everything happen, and they have the opportunity at any time during the show to hit a big red button that says extract. So if it gets too hard, if it gets too difficult, if the people seem to be suffering or confused if they haven’t eaten in a few days, or they haven’t drank, or it looks as though they’re physically ill, a family member can sit there and write in the moment, extract and take them out of this situation and return them to life where they have what they need and don’t have to worry. Here in Psalm 80, it seems like we’re seeing an episode of this show play out where the psalmist is is doing what they can. They’re showing what they can. They’re saying, God, we need you to extract us. Because right now we don’t get it right now, we don’t see it right now. We’re not experiencing it. And for some reason, the Lord isn’t pressing that extract button. For some reason, the people feel as though the Lord is allowing them to continue just to live and to be confused and to not know what to do
forever. And so our psalmist moves now in its third section, from going from this idea of, I’ve made my cry, I’ve stated my complaint. God, would you extract us from this experience? Experience we’re in where we cannot see you, we cannot hear you, and we’re not experiencing you. He’s moved from cry and complaint to now making his case. Now the psalmist is making their case, and this third part we see happen throughout our Psalm in three different places. So look with me at verse three, look with me at verse seven, and look with me at verse 19, as all three say this, restore us, O God. Make your face shine on us that we may be saved. The case or the what the psalmist is desiring for the Lord to do is plainly seen here. God, would you restore us for right now? We don’t feel as though we’re seen. Would you restore us for right now? We don’t know what’s going on. Would you restore us and bring us back into right relationship with you. Let’s look at this case here and what the psalmist is saying, the case of the nation that it’s been made, it’s been raised saying, God, we need you to restore us. What do we need restoration from? We need you to restore us back to the place where you were our God, back to the place where you were, who we called to, who we longed for. We saw your hand at work in our lives. Would you restore us to that reality? And it’s interesting what the psalmist says as he finishes those verses where he says, restore us, O God, make your face shine on us that we may be saved. The case that the psalmist is making is, Hey, God, right now, it seems like you’re not paying attention to us right now. It seems as though your back is turned to us. And so if you would just turn, if we would just see the light of your face once again, we would be saved if we could see the shine of your face, we would experience the salvation we long for. That’s what the psalmist is saying. The psalmist is saying, we need to be restored, and the only way to be restored is to be restored by God. The psalmist understands, and it’s a word for us this morning, as we find ourselves in the midst of lament that the only way that anything in this life matters makes sense, receives true and legitimate healing is by God. The Psalmist isn’t asking to be restored by anyone other than the Lord he knows is capable of doing the restoration. And so we as a community, when we gather together, when we call out and cry, to understand what’s happening in this world, need to have an understanding like the psalmist does, that there’s no other name, there’s no other institution, there’s no other reality other than the Lord that will bring us the healing that we seek. God and God alone is capable of turning our sorrow and pain into trust and belief. I So we’ve seen the cry, we’ve understood the complaint, and we’ve heard the psalmist make their case. There exists now just one more part of our Psalm to look at and as our Psalm, as this lament, reaches its crescendo, I think this here is where we, too as a community, can reach a crescendo of confidence as well. See for our final section, is confidence. Why is the psalmist making this cry, why do we gather here together as a people united under one name at Cityview Community Church, to spend our time, to wake up early, to give up part of our weekend to praise the name of the Lord? Why do we do this? Because we have a confidence in the god we’re serving, and this confidence is not unlike the confidence that our psalmist then shares with the Lord as well. Look with me, if you would, at verse eight, where it says, For you transplanted a vine from Egypt. You drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it and it took root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shade. The mighty cedars with its branches, its branches reached as far as the sea. It shoots as far as the river. Verse 17 says, Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man that You have raised up for yourself. For then we will not turn away from you, revive us, and we will call on your name, John. So what’s the psalmist doing here in this final section, the Psalmist is reciting the resume of God that’s been seen to act before. This is why lament is essential. Because lament says, God, I’ve seen you do it before, and I’m asking that you do it again. Lament is saying, I don’t understand what’s happening now, but I haven’t understood what’s happened in the past before and when I’ve been confused. You know, when I was younger, I might have run to my parents. When I was growing up, I might have run to a mentor. But here, right now, in this midst of life with its big questions and its confusion, with chaos, with war, with not knowing what the future holds, the answer of my parent will be insufficient. The answer of a friend will not do what it needs to do. I need to hear an answer from the Lord alone. And this isn’t the Lord who is far off. This isn’t the Lord who sits on a throne that cannot be seen. No, this is the Lord who has been in the midst of the muck, who’s been in the midst of the chaos, who’s been in the midst of everything, and has remained faithful. See, the Psalmist is talking here about the Lord’s resume, but you and I as people on this side of the cross, we have more than just the resume that’s here. We have the cross of Jesus Christ that states and says that he is the Son of God who came down from heaven to earth and showed with once for all confidence that no matter the question, no matter the plea, no matter the cry, no matter where we find ourselves in our life, we can confidently call upon the name of the Lord, and He will hear us. We can confidently call upon the name of our God, and He will see us. We can confidently declare the name of Jesus, and we will find trust for our pain, cry, complaint, case and confidence. Here in Psalm 80, we get an example and a picture of what it looks like when a nation makes the decision to call out to the Lord. And our big idea, similar to what last week’s was, is this, we need to learn to lament together before the Lord. We need to learn to lament together before the Lord, and we’re actually going to have a chance to do that as a community of faith coming up in the month of June for our quarterly prayer gathering. June 22 I believe, is the date. You’ll get more details in the pulse, but we’re going to enter into a communal night of lament, asking in the midst of pain, shared pain, God, would you help us to see and trust you more? God, would you help us to see and understand what you are doing in our life. Lament is prayer and pain that leads to trust, and it’s our hope that as we, as a community, commit to this idea of prayer, as we walk together in trust and in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that his name will be made much and that the world around us will see that there is another way to respond to pain, there’s another way to respond to confusion, there’s another way to respond in the midst of chaos. It doesn’t have to be this statement or that. It doesn’t have to be this great big picture or uprising or or sit in or, or whatever it may be. No in the midst of pain, we, as believers in Jesus Christ, have the opportunity to show a world that’s watching that what we do with our pain is we pray, and through prayer we trust. So pray with me now, if you would, Jesus, we come before you here in your midst, and we just say, there’s no one we’d rather speak to about these matters. For you are the hands that hold the world. You made it. You sustain it, and you rule over it even now, God, though it may be hard in seasons, in time to see your hand working, though it may seem like our psalmist said that it feels as though you’ve turned your back to us help us to know and to see and to trust through lament, that you are close to the brokenhearted. You are close to those who seek your face, that you are that good shepherd, and in your shepherding, we lack nothing help us to lament as a people united, trusting and believing that you are in control and help the world that sees a. US lament, know that it is not in a confidence of flesh, but in the faith that’s put in the risen Lord Jesus that we can stand and say that pain doesn’t have the final word. Bless us, Jesus, we pray in Your name, Amen.

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For My Suffering May 18, 2025 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper discusses the concept of lament in Christianity, emphasizing its importance in dealing with grief and sorrow. He references Mitch Everingham’s experience of losing his sister and the discomfort Christians often feel with deep sadness. Cooper highlights that 40% of the Psalms are laments, which involve a cry, complaint, case, and confidence. He explains that lament is a prayer of pain that leads to trust, allowing believers to bring their sorrow to God. Cooper encourages the congregation to learn to lament, to prepare for suffering, and to support each other in their struggles, using the Psalms as a guide.

You want to go ahead and grab your Bibles, you can open up to Psalm 77. We’ll be in Psalm 77 this morning as we start our series on lament. As you’re turning there, imagine hearing this prayer: God, I pray Mitch never feels sad about his sister again. God, I pray Mitch never feels sad about his sister again. This was a real prayer prayed over a man named Mitch Everingham wrote an article about it some time ago. He had asked for prayer after the sudden death of his 13-year-old sister, and that’s what his brother in Christ prayed for him, that he wouldn’t feel sad anymore so he’d ask for prayer. He certainly hadn’t asked for prayer like that. He was taken aback, understandably, of course, began to question himself, isn’t it? Isn’t it okay that I feel sad that my 13-year-old sister just died tragically? But many Christians are uncomfortable with grief, with sorrow, with a deep and abiding sadness. I mean, after all, we’re commanded to rejoice always, aren’t we, so there’s no place for sadness. Then in the Christian life, you can see this if you share real struggles in the Christian community, Christians will often respond with visible discomfort. If you’re sharing doubt, anguish, it’s affecting your relationship with God. You’ll get unhelpful comments, certainly like the one I just mentioned. You’ll get people pushing you very quickly to get to the bright side, the silver lining, the blessing that’s underneath it all. You may get rebuke, especially if you’re expressing doubt and at worst, but probably most often, you’ll also get people who just leave, maybe not right then and there, get up and walk away, but who are just going to keep a wide berth when they see you in the future. We don’t give each other room to sit in the struggle, you’re there for the Pursuing the Heart workshop last week. You know, we talked a lot about holding space for people. Holding space like keeping that space open so that people can struggle with grief, with pain, with contrition and trusting that God is at work in it. We’re not good at this. We rush to move through it. You actually can see this even at funerals. Sometimes today, we don’t even necessarily call them funerals. In the church, you’ll hear people talk a lot about a celebration of life. Nothing wrong with that, by the way, it is a celebration of life, yes, and amen. But you know, if it’s a celebration, you shouldn’t cry at it, as you can see there, too. We don’t need to be sad. We know he’s with Jesus. Now you’re like, Okay, he is with Jesus. Now, if he was in Christ, and that is awesome for him, it’s rough for us here, Jesus wept at the only funeral we have record of him attending, knowing, by the way, his friend was going to rise again, not on the last day, but like four minutes from then, still wept because the brokenness of this world, the effects of sin and how it wounds his children. We don’t rush through, we don’t need to think that we have to rush through, and I feel so confident about that because of the Psalms, because we have the book of Psalms. These are inspired model prayers for us. Think about what that means, model prayers. In other words, we were meant to pray these. The New Testament tells us we’re to speak to one another in psalms, even so we’re supposed to pray these prayers. And they are inspired prayers, because all scripture is God breathed, and they’re in Scripture. These are God’s words for us to pray back to him. And by the way, you read Psalms, and you think, really, Lord, you want us to say that to you? And the answer is, yes, yes, he does. They’re inspired. Model prayers of struggle. Fully 40% of the book of Psalms is lament. Songs of lament, wrestling with pain and walking through the process fully, no shortcuts involved. So, what is lament? If we’re going to be talking about lament for the next three weeks, we probably should define it. I’m going to borrow Mark Rogoff’s definition from his book Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy, which I would highly recommend as a good introduction to lament. Mark Rogoff, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy. Mark was learned to lament in his own season of suffering and loss, his wife woke him up at one point frantically in middle of the night for two hours, she had been doing this, trying to get her baby to move, and so they rushed to the hospital, and their worst fears were confirmed. A baby, who was just a few days away from expected arrival, had died in the womb. So that’s where he’s coming from. When he talks about lament, and he says this, he says, Lament is a prayer of pain that leads to trust. Every word in that is important, and we’re going to talk about them all today, for sure. Lament is a prayer of pain that leads to trust. It’s prayer. It’s pain. It leads somewhere and ends in trust. So lament is how we bring sorrow to God. Lament is how we live with the tension of a good God and a hard life. Lament is how Christians grieve. It’s how we hurt. It’s how we help each other hurt as well. And so lament is for all of us then, because everyone in this room is either hurting right now or around somebody who’s hurting right now? 0% chance it’s otherwise than that. Glen Pemberton in his book hurting with God, which is another great, short definition of lament, right? Hurting with God, he was teaching a class on lament, and just there in his class the front row, there was somebody who had just lost a friend, somebody whose mom had passed away, where their dad had passed away a few years earlier, so he’s in college. He’s an orphan at this point, and somebody who’d lost a son, not like, that’s just stats, right? Like, it’s just how it is. We’re just looking around the room now and going, oh yeah. We need to lament right now. We need to learn how to lament, because I look at the grief and the suffering in this room, and I think I could preach this any Sunday between now and when Christ comes again, and it would be the right Sunday to talk about lament, because there’s just so much hurt. So it is for all of us to learn. And this is not the point of the series. But can I say also, this is a really good series for us in our culture too, because our culture is terrible at lament, because secular humanism provides no resources for dealing with suffering, because the goal of secular humanism is eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die. And so one of the key points there is, be merry. What does suffering have to do with merriment? Nothing. It’s just in the way. It’s an impediment to what we’re trying to get to. So we have no resources, and so we paper over suffering so often, numb ourselves to it, medicate to it. You know, you think about it in a consumer society like ours, what are we being offered over and over again? It is a way out of sorrow and hurt. You. Think of how dishonest advertising is like. If beer commercials showed you grieving divorcees in seedy bars, how many people are buying beer? No, you gotta show happy, impossibly beautiful people playing volleyball in the sun and the sand. Not one of them with a beer gut. By the way, not allowed to drink beer if you’re going to be in these sorts of commercials, of course, you get the point right. Like we don’t understand how to process this. We just want it over with, done with, move on. So we, as a church, and for the sake of the culture around us, need to recover the ancient art of lament.
Because our faith, our Christian community, and even our witness, will suffer without it. I think this is a part of the reason we’ve seen this trend towards deconstruction, because we have not equipped Christians to understand suffering and how to respond to it, and that’s what we aim to do. Then in this series, gonna be three weeks, pretty short series, each one, we’re going to look at a different psalm of lament, and they all have a slightly different focus. So this morning, we’re going to look at an individual psalm of lament. You can see the title is, you know, it’s a lament for my struggle. So something I’m going through personally. Next week, we’ll look at our struggle. Lament for our struggle. What happens when there’s a corporate experience of pain. Could be national, like 911 something like that. Could be local, could be just within our congregation. We’ve been through some of that recently, certainly. And then lastly, we’ll look at a lament for my or our sin, which is real as well. We’re going to see four key elements I’m. Not always neatly, by the way, I mentioned elements, not four steps, because the last thing you need in lament is steps, right? Okay, so this is not linear process. This is messy and cyclical, but these four elements are almost always present in some form. There’s a cry, a complaint, a case and a confidence. And so we’re gonna do this morning is just walk through these stages somewhat briefly to see what it looks like in Asaph life, at least so Psalm 77 let’s start with cry 77 here’s verses one and two. I cried out to God for help. I cried out to God to hear me. When I was in distress, I sought the Lord at night, I stretched out untiring hands and I would not be comforted. Lament begins. How life begins with crying. You probably don’t remember it, but the first sound you made was a cry, was a loud wail to cry is human. There are so many reasons to cry you’ve left the warmth of the womb. But then once you get out in this world, you see injustice, death, fractured relationships, disappointed expectations and even just change, like good change, but still change. Can you grieve the memories that were so no one needs to teach us to cry. In fact, you only learn not to cry in specific heartbreaking circumstances. We have friends who adopted kids out of orphanages in countries where orphanages are not run well, and the kids learned no point in crying, because no one will come and get you. So they learned that the kid didn’t know how to cry when there was pus coming out of his ear. That’s how bad the ear infection was, and he hadn’t made a peep. That’s what I mean by you only learn not to cry in the most heartbreaking of circumstances. The rest of us, we didn’t need to learn to cry, but we do need to learn to lament, because lament is not less than crying, but it is more than crying because it is a cry to God, a cry to God, it is a prayer, in other words, and because it is a prayer, it is an act of faith. Because all prayer is an act of faith. It’s one of the purest expressions of faith, the fact that you would talk to God instead of trying to do it yourself. So it’s an act of faith. And if you think about it, it is faith in defiance of present circumstances and all available evidence at that moment. It is Faith in a God who hears, who sees, who cares and who acts so Asaph tells us, I cried out to God for help, right in the day of his distress. He says, I sought the Lord. Those are acts of faith, because if he had already decided against God, and if he already made up his mind that God is not going to be able to help, he’s not good. He’s not faithful to His promises. If he already decided against God, he wouldn’t bring his complaint in the first place. So it is this act of faith. Actually think one reason why Christians Don’t lament is because we lack faith. So it feels pious. I don’t need to complain to God because I I know who God is. It’s the opposite. It’s a lack of faith. One reason Christians Don’t lament is because we have low expectations of God. We don’t think God is going to do anything. We don’t expect him to act so we don’t bother asking, although I guess as a very, very thin silver lining, we’re never disappointed when he doesn’t come through whatever that means no. Lament is for those with high expectations of God. Lament is for those who are brave enough to cry to God even when it seems like he isn’t coming through on his promises. Per the Psalms, lament affirms that God is good and powerful even when this world is bad and painful. And so it’s loaded with theology, even just in the cry, even just in the I cried out to God, there is so much faith in theology present. If I can quote rogob Again, he says, lament stands in the gap between pain and promise. Lament stands in the gap. Between pain present circumstances and promise, what we know God will do in the end, to cry is human, but to lament is Christian. It is a prayer of pain that leads to trust. If you have small kids, you know that crying is loud, so loud sometimes, right? Bawling, wailing and crying should be loud. It’s interesting. This is not a silent prayer. When it says, I cried out to God for help. I cried out to God to hear me. It reads literally, and by the way, translating poetry is really hard. Translating Hebrew poetry is even harder because Hebrew is only a couple of steps above grunting, okay. It’s a very ancient language. It’s not all there. So if you’re looking at different translations, and you’re like, that’s not what mine says, they’re doing the best they can. Okay, here’s a literal translation, though, of that verse. It says, My Voice to God, I cry my voice to God. My God to hear. Isn’t that interesting? We get the repetition of voice twice when it’s unnecessary. I cry to www. Do you think you’re going to be using and yet he says it twice. It’s my voice, my voice that I’m lifting up. In other words, there’s value in vocalizing our emotion before God. To God, by the way. Added bonus, if you say it out loud, people might hear it too, and that’s good for all of us, because then people can enter into it with you. So we cry to God, not for quick resolution, but to learn to live with him when things aren’t getting better. Quote Pemberton again, he says the question lament is asking is, how do I live in an authentic relationship with a sovereign who holds the universe together when my world is falling apart? Basically, we need an answer to that question, and we won’t get one if we don’t ask, call, cry, offer our prayer of pain leading to trust. What comes next, though, we cry to God. What do we say? Second complaint, we read verses three to six for us. I remembered you, God, and I groaned. I meditated and my spirit grew faint. You kept my eyes from closing. I was too troubled to speak. I thought about the former days, the years of long ago. I remembered my songs in the night. My heart meditated and my spirit asked, hang there for a moment. Complaint. Now, how many of you are reading this? Going, Wait, complaint isn’t complaining wrong? I’ve read the book of Exodus Numbers, Deuteronomy. They grumble in the desert, and God puts them all to death. Should we actually bring our complaints to God. Well, look at Psalms, look at Asaph even here. I mean, he says the end of verse two, I prayed right, and I would not be comforted. And then he says, in verse three, I remembered, I meditated, and it got worse. I groaned, I fainted. At that point. There’s just brutal honesty here. He just said, God, I prayed to you and it didn’t work. Have you ever felt that way? By the way, of course you have, of course we all have. So what next? Then, when you pray to God and you think it didn’t work, what next? Bury it down deep and never talk about it again. No, read the Psalms. They are full of complaints, some quite pointed, and by the way, sung liturgically in worship services, meaning that we can talk about it with God in the presence of others. That is how we are supposed to deal with it. Even Yes, I need to say it yes, some complaining is sinful. Plenty of complaining is sinful. Profoundly self centered complaining, of course, complaining that that veers into anger with God. We never have reason to feel anger with God, because that would assume that we are sitting in judgment on him. Not a good place to be, of course, but most likely just complaining to people about God. That’s when it gets really sinful, right? We’re complaining about circumstances, not before the Lord, but to other people. So yes, some complaining is sinful, but not all. Biblical complaint expresses anger at circumstances, at the brokenness of this world, and sorrow as part of the process of faith. And that’s. Words, we complain because we believe that God is God, the way Stacey glutty Smith says it, she says a lament honestly and specifically names a situation that is painful, wrong or unjust, in other words, a circumstance that does not aligned with God’s character, and therefore does not make sense within God’s kingdom. That’s a biblical complaint. It is basically telling God that he doesn’t seem very God like right now we tell a little bit more of the rogops story. A few years later, they were pregnant again, very nervous, of course, going in to their appointment, and sure enough, it didn’t go well. Because they got there, it’s not that there’s anything wrong with the baby, it’s that there was no baby. It was a false positive in the pregnancy, hormonal stuff that I don’t understand. Okay, and so there they are in the same parking lot outside the same hospital where they had been before, hearts broken yet again. And his wife prayed this. She said, God, I know you’re not mean, but it feels that way today. That’s so carefully phrased for an off the cuff prayer. I know you’re not mean, but it feels that way today. By the way, are you feeling uncomfortable right now with language like that? Because you probably should be. If you’re not feeling uncomfortable, I’m not sure you understand what we’re talking about. So yes, this is a tough prayer to pray, but what exactly is the alternative? Pretend it’s not. There, if you don’t voice your complaints in prayer, in trust. In other words, I mean, you got two options really. First, you’ll succumb to anger if you just let your soul steep in that sorrow, it will lead to a deep despair and bitterness toward God and a loss of faith. That’s one alternative. The other alternative is stoicism, like just pretend it’s not there, stiff upper lip and all of that. Those are not good options. So we make our complaint. This is not just uncontrolled venting, but a methodical process of actually dealing with the hurt and the questions before God. You know that in the midst of great suffering, your world can contract until it is just the pain. There’s nothing else we can become myopic in our suffering certain and so that’s why we need to deal with it honestly. What might that look like? Just brief suggestions here in seasons of distress journal your complaints like actually get it down on paper. What the complaints are, and then make them to God like talk to God about it again, as long as we got a pursuing the heart emphasis going right now, this is also something that we can do for others. We can draw others out. If you got somebody who’s got that anger thing going or that stoicism thing going like this is when we come in and we draw out that complaint so they can deal with it before God. But as you talk to God about the complaints, they will lose their hold on you, as we’ll see as we keep going in the Psalm. And so you’ll move from disorientation to reorientation. It’s like spiritual vertigo, and you finally get right side up again, not fast, not linear, you know, three steps and I’m done, but that’s what happens in the end. No, just very, very briefly. How do we complain? Well, so that we’re not falling into sinful complaint. There’s just four words to keep in mind. First of all, complain humbly, humbly like complain like you’re standing before the God who is there a holy and good and just and loving God absolutely fine to bring painful questions to him, but we do still come in awe of His Majesty. We complain humbly. We recognize that we don’t have the whole picture, and he does. Second, we complain biblically. That’s really helpful. Again, God gave us words template for prayer. Use it. Open the Psalms, find one that speaks to your circumstance, and go, I’m going to borrow some of this language, or even the grammatical structure would be so helpful. Complain biblically. Third, complain honestly. I don’t know why you would try to lie to God. Like, if you’re feeling like, it feels like you’re mean God, say that to him. Okay, it’s okay, and you say it carefully. It feels you didn’t say you’re mean God, that’s. Different statement, but you still can just own what’s going on inside of you. I’m doubting. I don’t even know if you’re there at this point, these are fine things to say. Psalm 73 Psalm 89 look at them. They’re stronger than even what I just said. Fourth, we complain temporarily, temporarily. It has an end. Okay? This process, it’s like spiritual surgery. I mean, what happens in surgery? Your doctor, at some point is going to use a scalpel on you. She’s going to slice you open. She does not go on slicing you open forever. At some point, she stitches you back up, right? And it’s the same thing here. Yes, the complaint is like the scalpel to get out the infection, as it were. And then, and then we move. We make a switch, frankly, we move to the next stage here. So third element stage, whatever case verses seven to nine, will the Lord reject forever, will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has His promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger, withheld His compassion? These are the questions he asked right at the end of verse six. So having made complaint, the psalmists then make their case. What are they doing? They’re calling upon God to act in accordance with his character. Here, this looks like a series of questions, honestly, questions that are sort of straddling complaint and case right, sort of in between. I’m not sure which one’s happening here, but he is certainly making a case. Now, what sorts of questions do we find in the Psalms? They’re not rhetorical, but wrestling. They’re not leading, but loaded questions. These are loaded questions, laser focused on God’s character. I mean, look at what gets mentioned here, his favor. That is the word grace, by the way, favor, love, faithfulness, in terms of whether or not he’ll keep his promises. Mercy, compassion, like this is how we describe God with these words. And so Asaph here is saying, if this is who you are and this is who you are God, then why does it seem like you’re not acting in accordance with it? That’s the case that’s being made. Now there are large categories of questions in the Psalms, and give you some of them again, look around, find the one that makes sense for you, where you are at this moment here, the big question is, why are you so angry, right? You can see it. Are going to be angry forever. We ever get compassion, mercy, grace again goes along often. So why are you so angry with the will you be angry forever? Which, of course, usually shows up in the Psalms, in that famous How long, oh Lord, how long. Sometimes the question is, why aren’t you dealing with them? Those people come back to that in a second. Or, why are you so far away, unresponsive?
All of them, though, in a nutshell, the question that’s behind them all, why aren’t you being like God, from what I can tell, but notice I keep saying it, but we gotta keep saying it. All of those questions are still based on trust, because they’re based on what we know about God’s character. I know who you are. Why does it seem like you’re not acting in accordance with it? And so that understanding then drives another way that Psalms make their case. We don’t have it here in this psalm, but often in the Psalms, we get not questions, but petitions, requests made of God. So we go from the question, God, why aren’t you acting to the petition, God, act. Do something here. Act, Lord. What sorts of requests do we get? Arise? Is a big one. Let’s not kid ourselves. What’s being said right there is basically wake up because it feels like you’re asleep on the job. God, would you wake up? Would you stand up? Would you act on our behalf? Help us is a big one, of course, help us remember is a common one. Remember what? Remember his covenant and his character. Remember his promises to us. Remember. But on the flip side, they often say, forget, remember who you are. But would you forget who we are? Forget our sins, Lord, remember them. No more. Let justice be done. Remember. One of the questions is, why aren’t you dealing with them? You’re a God of justice, they’re being unjust. Could you address it? Please? God restore us. Hear right? I’m crying out. I’m losing my voice. It’s vocalized. Lord, it’s loud. Would you hear and then also respond? Don’t be silent. Answer me. God teach me. Vindicate me. You can see again, we get this wide range of questions, wide range of requests. And that’s such good news, by the way, because that means there is a psalm for every one of us, for every moment that we are in for a great variety of circumstances. But you read these requests, you see the high expectations that the psalmists have of God. They are stepping out in faith. They are risking disappointment. What if he doesn’t rise up and do justice, not really risking it, because we know that he will. And here’s where we see, though, that the value of wrestling with the doubt and pain, making the complaint, making the case, because in the process, contradictions surface. I mean, just look at the one question we get here, verse eight, has his unfailing love vanished forever. Let me rephrase that for you. Has his unfailing love failed? And you can see, as Asaph is asking it, he’s going, well, that’s stupid. It’s unfailing love. So of course, it can’t fail. And so you begin to like tease this out, we remind ourselves of who he is, and that breeds confidence in his response. In other words, we are stirring up faith in ourselves in asking these questions, has his promise failed for all Well, no, no, that couldn’t be look at all the promises he’s kept in Scripture, even in my own life. Look at what’s coming down. No, I know that’s not the case like that’s how the process unfolds. So as we ask God questions or petitions, as we ask God the who question, begins to eclipse, the why question. You know what happens in an eclipse, right? So you get the sun beaten down on you, you’re being scorched by it. The Moon moves in front, and all of a sudden you can’t see it anymore. That’s kind of what happens here, except you got to reverse. It doesn’t work astronomically, okay, but it works the other way, because what’s really happening, it’s the moon. Is the why? Questions, right? Just a dead hunk of rock floating in space, and then the eternal God, the source of all light and life and warmth, moves between us and that rock, and we see him, and we see by him, and our questions are eclipsed by our faith in who he is. And so the lesson the psalmist begins to learn is that personal experience is an unsure foundation on which to build faith. Personal experience is not how you want to develop your faith in God, because circumstances change, we can only build our faith on the true knowledge of God’s character that is solid rock. And so in asking these questions, we receive the most important answer, aren’t you good? Aren’t you holy? Aren’t you loving? Aren’t you there? Yes, that’s what I needed to remember that produces in us, the triumph of hope over despair, and the irrepressible conviction that God is always who he always is, which then leads to that last moment element, whatever you want to call it, confidence, the longest part of the Psalm. We won’t need to spend a ton of time here, though verses 10 to 20. Then I thought to this. I will appeal the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand. I will remember the deeds of the Lord. Yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds, your ways. God are holy. What God is as great as our God. You are the God who performs miracles. You display your power among the peoples with your mighty arm. You redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. The waters saw you, God. The waters saw you and www, depths were convulsed. The clouds poured down water. The heavens resounded with thunder. Your arrows flashed back and forth. Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind. Your lightning good up the world. The earth trembled and quaked. Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen, You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. Psalms of lament invariably contain a turn in. A turn, that moment when faith breaks through, when that prayer of pain leads in the end to trust, usually marked off by a word like yet, but, or in this case, then, then what? By the way, another one that is tricky. Literally, verse 10, literally reads, then I said, this is my wounding, the years of the most High’s hand, very dense, packed and not even quite a sentence. I don’t think, I don’t, not sure it’s got a subject, a verb and a complete thought. The years of my wounding there. Sorry, this is my wounding, the years of the most High’s hand. But what happens there? That’s the turn right. This is my wounding. That’s the pain. That’s what he just talked about. And then he says the years of the most High’s hand, like when he stretched out his hand. And so that’s the move from pain to promise to power to who God is, and that is the turn that happens in the rest of it, right? So conscious shift from his pain to God’s power. You can actually see it worked out, because you get this shift. You look at the first nine verses there, you get a whole bunch of subjective I statements, and then you look at 10 to 20, and you get a bunch of objective you, statements, statements of fact. This is what you have done God. I mean, compare how he even uses vocabulary differently in the two halves, words like remember and meditate. Look at verse three. I remembered and I groaned, I meditated and I just about collapsed. Same exact words show up again in verses 11 and 12. I will remember the deeds of the Lord. I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider your works and meditate on your mighty deeds. I need objective facts. I need the proof that you are who you say you are. And so there’s that shift. He has rebuilt his faith on the solid foundation of who God is and what he’s done. He plans it out in verses 10 to 12. This is what I’m going to do. And then he works it out in verses 13 to 20. And after that turn, the Psalmist just they sound different. Just think for a moment what changed exactly, that they sound different after the turn, not their circumstances that we can tell, not in most cases, at least not God. He’s the same yesterday, today and forever, thank God. So all that’s changed is our perspective, our perspective. That’s the value of remembering and meditating. It’s like we’re taking our souls by the hand and walking back to Faith after the wrestling process. Don’t skip ahead there right after the wrestling process. This is what we do. There is a courage and conviction required to call to mind what God is like, to rehearse his deeds, his miracles, his works. Verses 13 to 15 is when he says it, I know it, okay, you are holy. He’s actually quoting Moses’ song here what God is as great as our God. I remember what you’ve done. I remember who you are. Now for the psalmists, because they are in the Old Testament, the gospel is the Exodus. That is the primary salvation event in the Old Testament. And so that’s where he takes himself. He walks through its history. We get the Red Sea in verse 16, we get Sinai in verses 17 and 18, and we get the whole leading from Egypt to the Promised Land in 19 and 20, including the Red Sea again, there in verse 19. Can I just make a brief like aside over here to just the corporate power of story? There’s this fascinating moment in Exodus, chapter 10, verses one and two, where God basically says, I’m sending the plagues so that you can tell your kids and grandkids about them, like I want you to have a story of my faithfulness to share. And it works, because one of his great, great, great, great, great grandkids is here writing Psalm 77 and reflecting on it. And now we’re reading Psalm 77 reflecting on the Exodus. And somebody could hear your story reflecting on Psalm 77 reflecting on the Exodus, and it just continues on from there. That’s the corporate power of story. And again, one of the reasons we wrestle in front of others. But there’s so much truth to ponder in the Exodus, isn’t there? And. You see his power, right? He separates the waters. And remember, in Old Testament, thought we saw this in Revelation. Of course, water is symbolic of chaos and evil, and God’s got all this power over it in verse 16, what do we have to fear? But then even there, why are they at the Red Sea in the first place? Only because God heard their cries and sent a rescuer, delivered them from slavery, because he loves them and he has promised himself to them by covenanting with Abraham. Then he binds himself anew to his people at Sinai and takes the next step in the covenant of redemption, where he reveals himself in new ways and teaches us in new ways. Then he leads and shepherds his people. By the way, what a powerful word, Shepherd. You’d sit there for a moment, couldn’t we? Aaron already took us there and putting out the Lord of Psalm 23 Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, leads me beside quiet waters, refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right path for his namesake, even when I even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not fear for you are with me all that in the word Shepherd. That’s what he does for us. Yeah, that’s going to help faith. He shepherds his people. He sends others to help shepherd them all the way my savior leads me. Whom have I to ask beside and what I love about this psalm is that it doesn’t even end. He doesn’t even have to summarize his new confidence and faith. He doesn’t say at the end, as some psalmist do, I will trust, I will yet praise you. There’s this intentional anticlimax at the end of it, what I picture here when I read this Psalm, I often have to lie down with Amari, who can get a little stirred up at bedtime. And so he does that thing where he’s like twitching in bed. Some of you probably do this too, right? And you can tell and his heart is racing. His breathing is fast and shallow. So I lie next to me, holding him for sure. And you can feel physically right as his body relaxes, and the heart slows, and then the breathing slows, becomes very regular, and eventually, honestly turns into snoring. So what happens at the end there? Amari never says, Thanks, Dad, for lying down with me. I feel much better now because he fell asleep, and that’s like, what’s happened for the psalmist here? He doesn’t even get to that point where he says, Thanks God, because it’s just like, I’m good. I’m good. I don’t even have to say it here. So that’s what I mean by confidence, that active trust, active patience that comes when you’ve voiced your complaint, you’ve made your case, and you can rest now because of you know who he is and what he’s done. Now let me ask you, do we have less reason for this confidence, or more, more because we have a greater gospel that we can preach to ourselves? Lament is in road map words, once more a road map to Christ. It is the language of a people who know the whole story, the whole Gospel story, creation, fall, redemption, consummation. God made the world good. Creation, but fall sin brought devastating consequences, sorrow and suffering. But the good news is, God is redeeming the world. And hey, we just spent 14 weeks in Revelation. We know how the story ends. We know what the consummation looks like, right? But let’s not blow past number three. God is redeeming the world. We also know redemptions cost Jesus, the perfect Son of God, came to rescue us from our own devastation and sin, and Jesus, because of that, because he came in the flesh and lived as one of us. Jesus had to lament. Jesus prays a Psalm of lament, My God, my God. Why have you forsaken me? Psalm 22, verse one, that’s a loaded question. Also, didn’t you say I will never leave you nor forsake you? Well, God, why have you forsaken me? So he has to pray a prayer of lament. Even though he’s the only truly innocent sufferer who’s ever lived, he prays a prayer of lament, because he endured all of the cruelty and injustice of this world. He knew physical pain. He knew death his own and the death of loved ones, and he knew what it felt like to have a God who is. Far off, at least for a moment. In his case, truly So, and he did all that for us. That’s why Julie read for us earlier that we have a high priest who gets it, who can sympathize with us in our weakness, and so that gospel tells us all we need to know about who God is. He is a God who keeps His promises. He is a God of love and grace and mercy, and there will not be anger forever, because Jesus dealt with that satisfied God’s wrath at the cross. By the way, those are all the questions that got asked in verses seven to nine, all of our answers at the cross of Christ and the empty tomb that follows, we have definitive answers to the questions we ask once again, the WHO eclipses the why. We know that answer. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit that doesn’t eliminate suffering, sorrow, grief, but it brings deep rest and even Joy hears the rejoice always. It’s deep though, right? It’s deep when we know that and we breathe and we sleep. So what do we do with all this? It’s a very simple, big idea this week. Just learn to lament with the Lord. Learn to lament with the Lord. We need to develop this skill urgently. So what might that look like? I’m just gonna speak to a couple of different couple of different groups of people pretty quickly here, if you haven’t suffered yet, prepare for it. And here I’m speaking most likely to a lot of the kids in the room, not all the kids in the room, some of the kids in our congregation have suffered more than I would wish in a lifetime already, but suffering will come, prepare for it so that you’re ready for it when it comes. What about those of you who have shut down or who have buried it deep, like you need to open up to God and to others. You know what happens? You bury things down deep, like this is going to be a spiritual ulcer in your soul. You need to do that surgery that we talked about, open up to God and others. Or if you’re one of the ones who’s angry, doubting great, wrestle with it, struggle through the anger and the doubt. Go through the process, messy, cyclical process, until you reach confidence and trust in God, and maybe you start slow. Maybe it’s not more than a prayer. God, I know that you’re not. Mean unfaithful, far off. Fill in the blank. God, I know you’re not this, but it feels like it today. Okay, that’s a really basic prayer of lament. We can start there, or maybe it’s stating the complaint. And all you can get to is, God, I choose to trust you today because of the gospel, I choose to trust you today. Great, that’s a start, right? It’s a start. Start somewhere, and then start reading the psalms of lament and use them as a blueprint, a template for your prayers. Again. Aaron said this. I didn’t pay him for this, by the way. Okay, you just set up my whole sermon here. The book you know, everything your child should know about prayer, and he’s like praying through the Psalms. Why am I not doing this? Exactly? Why are we not doing this? This is a prayer book for us. Pray through the Psalms. Use them as a blueprint, the cry, the complaint, the case, the confidence. And we can do this together, also pursuing each other’s hearts and drawing each other out in these ways. And speaking of by the way, parents, let me just say this too, you need to give your kids not just permission but the vocabulary to have these conversations, a vocabulary for emotion and for pain like what we find in the Psalms. Kids learn the words and practice them, cry out to the God who is there, who hears and saves and loves, learn to lament with the Lord. Let’s pray to him now, Lord, we know this world’s brokenness all too well. We know the hurt, the pain, the sorrow, the suffering, the injustice, it’s everywhere. It’s all around us. It’s inside us even. And it can be hard to trust you in the midst of it. It can be hard to hold on to faith when we. Feel these hurts so deeply. But Lord, we know who you are, and we have definitive proof in the life, death, resurrection, ascension, reign of Jesus, that you have dealt with it, that you are dealing with it, that you will set it all right in the end, and that therefore we can trust you completely. So Lord, help us to trust you wherever we are, whatever we’re experiencing, to rest in the confidence that comes from knowing Christ in whose name we pray, Amen.

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Meet Together May 11, 2025 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper explores Acts 2:42-47, highlighting how modern technology and individualism have eroded genuine community, while the early church demonstrated radical devotion to one another. He identifies four obstacles to true community – self-sufficiency, self-righteousness, self-loathing, and self-centeredness – which the gospel can overcome. Cooper offers practical steps to rebuild community, including opening homes, setting intentional goals, and prioritizing gospel-centered relationships over cultural norms. The sermon challenges listeners to disrupt their current lifestyle, devote themselves to gospel-shaped community, and actively create meaningful connections with others.

You can go ahead and grab your Bibles. Open up to Acts chapter two. Acts chapter two will be in verses 42 to 47 this morning. Acts 242, to 47 as you’re turning their recent reading came across a story of mom. She was sharing about how every year her son had the big out of town soccer tournament, one of the the capstones of the summer. Very exciting course, especially because this team had been together for years. So third grade, it was the highlight. Fourth grade, fifth grade, they’d, you know, go out for dinner the night before, they’d make sure they were staying in a hotel with a pool so they could cause as much mayhem as possible. All this was great until sixth grade. Sixth grade? Why sixth grade? Not the hormones, not this early teenager stuff. It’s because that was the year they all got smartphones, and it changed the whole experience of the tournament at dinner. Of course, everybody just did this. Only two kids on the team who didn’t have smartphones yet, and so they played in the pool by themselves, until eventually, after, you know, an hour or two, the rest of the team kind of came downstairs, probably shoot out of the room by their parents came down, you know, dipped themselves in the water and then had to get right back out. You know, check make sure that snapshot Snapchat streak is still alive. You know, that kind of stuff that is like addiction to it. Or different mom, same book that I was reading, but different mom shared a story, you know, talking to her son, and he always explained what had happened that day, what recess was like, most important class of the day, and stuff. And she noticed that he stopped talking about two of his friends, Sam and Casper. It used to be, you know, fixtures and this. And she’s like, okay, you know, pursuing the heart, like, is there relational conflict here? Or something like, what’s going on? And the son just said, Oh no, they’re phone people now, and you know what that means they’re not friends anymore, because this is how they interact with people and not this is how they don’t play anymore. If we could put it as bluntly as that bad, right? Thank goodness it’s only our kids who struggle with this. Sure it is the Louisiana elementary school teacher who gave a writing prompt of, you know, what’s a bad invention, and you’re thinking like, I don’t know, nuclear bombs comes to mind, or something like that, about a quarter of the class wished that phones had never been invented and said things like, I don’t like the phone because my parents are on their phone every day. I hate my mom’s phone, and I wish she’d never gotten it. By the way, if you have small kids, that is what they think of your phone, almost guaranteed. I know my kids think it of my phone, and I try to be fairly vigilant in this area even. And I get comments all the time about it. We understand why it’s the digitalization that we talked about week one of this series. The problem with technology in general, not just phones, but technology in general, it is that it gives us the illusion of connection. We’re more connected than ever. No, we are absolutely not, but it gives us the illusion of connection and community. But we know it’s not true. There’s a Stanford study done recently about Gen Z. These are the people who are digital natives. They had a smartphone with the umbilical cord. Kind of thing started with it, and they were trying to figure out what method of communication Gen Z kids liked best, prefer, like, really curious. Here is it email? Is it Snapchat? Is it text? Is it Do they still like phone calls? Do the phones even do that anymore kind of thing? And almost to a person, they said face to face, but you’re like, well, obviously it makes sense, but they actually surprised the Stanford people studying this, because we figured digital natives would go, no, they want the in person connection. Of course they do look at this point with everything that we’ve heard in the last two weeks, if you weren’t here, fine, everything I just said right now, like we know that we need a radical reorientation when it comes to community, that what we’re doing now is not good enough, if I can borrow a tech industry word, because I think we need to to, like turn text tricks against itself. We need disruption. Disruption. We need a massive break with what is happening currently. Now, I thought to myself, as I was listening to Kyle preach last week, and this is certainly no comment on Kyle’s preaching. I thought at this of my week, the week, week before too. I’ve heard all of this before you. From this pulpit, even I don’t think I’ve said anything Kyle or I in the last two weeks that we haven’t said before. In our series on community, in our series on hospitality, in our series on being an embodied person, in our series, I could just go on and on and on like we just keep talking about this. And so I stopped while listening to Kyle last week and went, why do I keep picking these series? Why do we keep saying the same thing over and over again? And of course, the answer is obvious. It’s because we still need to hear it. Because we have not changed yet. We have been hearers of the word and not doers of it. And I’m using the first person plural, very intentionally, put myself in this category. We need to hear it, but then we need to put it into practice. And so that’s what we’re going to talk about this week, getting intensely practical, what it would look like to put this into practice, drawing on the portrait of the earliest Church’s approach to community, which is what we see in Acts chapter two. Let me read Acts 242, to 47 now and then we’re going to kind of pull some themes out of this passage that will help us as we strive to do life together. Here it is, Acts two, beginning in verse 42 they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day, they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people and the Lord added to their number daily, those who were being saved. Let’s pause for a moment and just talk about that word. Almost at the start of the passage, devoted. They devoted themselves. So our first point devotion. What does it mean to have devotion to community? Devoted actually shows up twice in this passage. It’s only translated, devoted once right there in verse 42 but again in verse 46 every day they continued, is the same word we might say every day they devoted themselves to meeting together, shows up two times, kind of at the beginning and the end of the passage. Worth looking at that and considering, okay, what exactly does it mean they devoted themselves to this. This word devotion that’s used here is the way one commentator defines it, a persistent and submissive perseverance of a self enclosed group, all right, so a certain group of people collectively oriented toward specific goals. So it’s a group of people who are going, Okay, I’m going to submit my preferences, and I’m going to do so persistently for the sake of this collective goal. I read that definition, and you know what came to mind? It was maybe a weird one, but this is what came to mind anyway. I was thinking to myself, what would it take to get a high school boy to shave his legs. I mean, obviously losing a bet is the main one, right? But let’s assume that they wanted to do this. How would you get a high school boy to go? I am choosing to shave my legs swim team. They were devoted to the swim team, and so they were willing to submit this was not my top choice. Didn’t really want to go through with this, but I am submitting myself persistently to a team goal, to a group goal. That’s what’s being talked about here. The same word shows up in Acts chapter 10, to just describe the person who stands next to Cornelius. Cornelius is a big shot Roman, and he has its translated attendant there, but it really just says the devoted to guy, because that’s what an attendant would do. I’m only here for Cornelius’s sake, and so that gives us a good sense of what this word means, to attend constantly, to busy yourself with. And so now the question is, with what what did the early church attend to constantly? What did they busy themselves with? And we get a long list of things here in this passage. They busy themselves. They attended constantly to things like the word prayer, worship, fellowship, including meals together, like doing life together, compassion and outreach. And did you notice how all encompassing this devotion is? I mean, it says things like, everyone, all the believers, everything in common, anyone who had need every day. These are big words,
and in fact, in verse 46 we see when that word shows up again, how it affects their priorities and especially their schedules, because they are constantly meeting together daily. Be meeting together. So devotion looks like but there’s the rub for us today, because we read this and we think, Well, this is an idealized portrait. This is a maybe back then, certainly not today. We got a lot more to do these people here. I mean, they’re just like farmers and laborers, so they got plenty of free time. There’s no hard work involved in any of that, right? So yes, we have this crazy idea that somehow we have less free time than they did. And so we begin to think like, Who has time for this today? Doesn’t work in our context, especially not in the suburbs. They were in an urban environment, so maybe then it would work, but we can’t just walk, and so no way it’s not going to work. And hence our whole problem. And I know, having done this series a bunch of times already, as I just said, it is not going to work for me to tell you to try harder, do better. We’re going to need something to transform us inwardly. If we’re going to be the sorts of people who devote ourselves to community like this, what could possibly transform us inwardly? What would be point two, of course, you all know the answer, if you’ve been coming for any length of time at all, the answer is the gospel only the gospel transforms us inwardly. So let’s look at the gospel here. Point two, gospel. And you’re looking at this passage and you’re going, okay, there’s not a lot of gospel in the passage. Actually, I don’t know if you notice. I don’t even mention Jesus at any point. There’s no cross, there’s no resurrection. It does say they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, and the apostles teaching, if we could sum it up in a word, would be the gospel. So it’s there, but it just doesn’t seem to be the emphasis, okay, but we gotta make sure we set this passage in its context. I need you to trust me on this next point. Okay, I have a master’s in divinity and whatnot. Verse 42 where we began, follows verse 41 it actually follows verses 14 to 41 really important. In other words, it comes immediately after something. It comes immediately after Peter preaches the first gospel sermon, the first sermon after Christ’s death and resurrection. So the gospel is preached, and then gospel community forms really important for us to see this. It’s almost like Luke has this here. Luke, who wrote acts, has this here to answer the question, what sort of community would exist if we as a community were centered on and shaped by the gospel, if what Peter says is true and we believed it, what would it look like for us? And Luke says this, this is what it would look like. Sure, maybe it’s a little idealized, but it is not impossible. So all these excuses that we have, we don’t have time for community like this, you know. Or people don’t initiate. I want community like this. Nobody asks me to be a part of community like this. We’ll talk about that in a moment. Or community sounds great. Community with those people sounds dicey to me. Or, again, we live in the suburbs. It’s all too hard. You know, all these excuses that we have, we have to see that the gospel overcomes all of them. The Gospel overcomes in our hearts the greatest obstacles to true community, to doing life together truly. I want to look at four, four obstacles. These are big categories for sure. First of all, the Gospel overcomes self sufficiency. Self sufficiency, which is one expression of pride, by the way, self sufficiency. I don’t need anyone guys. I don’t need to be in community, because I’ve got this. I’m a rock, I’m an island. I may use people. Probably wouldn’t say it that way, but that’s what’s happening. I may want to be around people, but I don’t need people. The problem with that thinking is that Christianity has as its centerpiece the cross of Jesus Christ, and the cross outs us. It exposes that as a lie. The Cross says in the loudest possible terms, you can’t do much of anything by yourself, because you couldn’t even save yourself. You needed somebody else, Jesus Jesus Christ to come and do that for you. And Jesus says things in case you’re like, Okay, that’s salvation. But everywhere else, I’m pretty good, Jesus says things like, John 15. Apart from me, you can do nothing. So at the very least we got one, someone capital S that we need. We’re. Really badly. There’s the end of our self sufficiency already, but the weight of the New Testament suggests that actually we’re going to need some other somebody’s too. Because we read passages like Hebrews 10 that Kyle preached on last week. Don’t forsake meeting together, as some of you are in the habit of doing, but encourage one another. Okay, so there’s one another idea there. And we read passages like Ephesians, 416, which we come back to here a lot at Cityview, from Jesus, the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work. So each part is necessary. We are a body, and the body is composed of many parts and kind of needs all of them. So it’s like Paul there is saying we need to be connected to the head Jesus Christ, but we need to be connected to the rest of the body too. You are not self sufficient. You need the Church of Jesus Christ. And think also of how insulting self sufficiency is to Jesus, Jesus who was alone in the Garden of Gethsemane, abandoned and forsaken by his friends as he heads to the cross, Jesus who cries out even to our father on the cross, why have you forsaken me? Do you see that Jesus was alone? Jesus was forsaken and abandoned by God and man, so that we never have to be and then we go, I don’t need anyone else. I don’t think so. Self sufficiency doesn’t work in a gospel context. The second obstacle the gospel overcomes is self righteousness. Self righteousness, this is another expression of pride, of course. So self sufficiency means I don’t need other people. Self righteousness says I am better than other people. And I can’t think of anything that would kill community faster than looking down on the people you’re supposed to be in community with. But just look and consider the diversity of the group that’s present in Acts chapter two. And by the way, this is early, it gets way more diverse if you keep reading the rest of the book of Acts. But think of the racial, socioeconomic and religious differences. We know who’s there, because we can look back at the beginning of chapter two, verses eight and nine. We’ve got Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamians, Judeans, Cappadocians, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, Libya, near Cyrene, Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism. Means we got Gentiles there also Gentile God fears, Cretans and Arabs all here at this moment. That’s a lot of diversity. And again, it’s just nothing compared to what’s coming in the rest of Acts. So this is the sort of community that’s there. It’s this very diverse group. But that says something, of course, if you find yourself wishing that certain people weren’t a part of your fellowship. This is you. This is you self righteous. And by fellowship I mean any sort this congregation, absolutely, but maybe smaller expressions of it. I love my community group. I just, I really hope they don’t join it. That’s you, then this is your sin that you need to address. But you can see where this comes from, right? If our identity is based on those sorts of groups, again, maybe it’s racial, maybe it’s economic, but maybe it’s more just the like this would never happen in church, but play make believe with me. Maybe it’s the people who have their lives put together. That’s what you come to church to show right, where the lives put together people and so I don’t want somebody in my life whose life is messy, because that’s exhausting, or the, you know, the fun people like kind of the cool crowd, the people who make me laugh, versus the people who are a little bit awkward socially. I don’t need them in my community group. So if your identity is based on that, my life is put together. I’m one of the fun, cool people, or I’m this or that or the other thing, whatever it is, you’re always going to look down on the people who don’t measure up to your standard, because you don’t have a gospel mindset, right? The whole idea is the measuring up. I am this sort of person. If your identity, the core of your identity, is a gospel identity, then that means, what is the core of your identity? I didn’t measure up. I mean, you think just how antithetical that view is to the gospel. If this person isn’t good enough to hang out with me. You know, the only person who should have said that ever
God about you, because you are not good enough to hang out with Jesus. And what did Jesus do that? I will make a way for you to be able to hang out with me. And so that’s how we approach community. It’s. Third All right, self sufficiency, self righteousness. Third obstacle, self loathing. This one’s different. We had two expressions of pride. Now we have an expression of shame. Notice, it still starts with self though it is still self focused in so many ways. So it’s the opposite problem, but it stems from the same root, and that root is the failure to reckon with the gospel, because here you’re basically going, I’m not good enough to be a part of this community to which God says, Yep, that is correct, and neither is anyone else here. So you got that in common? You guys can hang out. You’re going to do great together, because the cross outs us, right? So what are you worried that people are going to discover about you if you’re in true community? Because some of us have that, like, if they really knew me, I would not be accepted. Okay, let me tell you what we all know about you already. Every one of us here knows this about you. You are not good enough. You are a wretched sinner, totally depraved, so wicked, you could not save yourself. Even if the Lord said, Do this and you will be saved, you wouldn’t do it. So God came and saved you. Oh, by the way you also were complicit in the murder of the Son of God. Okay, so that’s all of us. What are you gonna share that’s worse than that? All you’re gonna share is what confirms that, and we already know that about you. I love the way Dietrich bonhofer says it in his book, life together. Really good title. He stole it from me, not the other way around. He says this The pious fellowship. That’s code for church people right? The pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner, so everybody must conceal his sin from himself and from the fellowship we dare not be sinners. Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous. So we remain alone with our sin, living in lies and hypocrisy. The fact is that we are sinners. James 516 Kyle read for us earlier, confess your sins to one another. How could we not? We know it, and you will be healed, and that’s what we’re looking for. Now, one way this expresses itself, by the way, as an obstacle to community, this self loathing, is waiting for others to reach out first. That happens a lot where you’re like, Okay, I would love to be a part of this. I can’t wait for them to invite me. There’s almost this testing people, making them prove themselves to you, but there is still that focus on self at that point, right? It is not loving to go. I’m going to wait for you to reach out to me so that I know that I am loved. Now we reach out all of us, so that we love first. And this is helpful. I hear often. I know what people are saying when they say it, and I get that it’s not like wrong, but I’ll often hear people who come to Cityview, for example, and say, we are looking for community. I don’t think that’s right. I think we gotta tweak that a little bit, right? You don’t find community, you make community, you form community. So if you are looking for community, invite some people into your life. Okay, don’t wait for them to invite you into their lives. Fourth obstacle, self centeredness. Self centeredness. This is an expression of idolatry, and it is the priorities issue. All of us have other things we could be doing. Different things we could be doing right now, at this moment, and for sure, different things we could be doing at other times of the week, like when journey groups and community groups show up and things like that, and probably they seem more important most of the time. So my encouragement to you here is, if you can’t find time for true biblical community, dig deep in your heart like ask why, and I guarantee you that you will find idols there underneath it. What are some of those idols you’re going to see? I mean, there are a lot of options. Of course, kids is a big one in the western suburbs. It’s a huge one. Probably a big. Part of the reason you live in Elmhurst or nearby is because the great place to raise a family. So you got to watch out for family as an idol. Lots of good things with family, but they can become an idol, absolutely. Oh, and that will affect schedules. Then where it looks like, you know, I gotta be the perfect parent, which means my kids have got to have the perfect life. And the perfect life looks like how the world defines it, how Elmhurst defines it, not how school. Sure defines it, or we’re working hours more than we need to, because money is an idol. By the way, money is never an idol. Money buys you what your real idol is, comfort, security, things like that, pleasure, recreation, whatever it is like, ask yourself the question, what causes me to miss community? And I mean, ask at practice, like, what are the last two Sundays you missed? Why did your community group not meet last time out? Because six of you weren’t going to be there. And figure out, what was it like? What was on my calendar? Start to pay attention to the patterns that you see again. There are some good reasons to miss. There are a lot of bad reasons to miss. And so if you got bad reasons coming again and again and again, start to go okay. So what is it about this event or activity? What do I think that that? What do I think it’s giving me that is better than Christ and his community, the Gospel deals with those idols. Of course, that’s the good news, right? Because we know again, where our identity rests. We don’t need to win approval from the world as the perfect parent, because we already have the approval of the perfect parent if we are in Christ. That’s the good news. We can go from there. Of course, lots of other idols the gospel. In other words, it transforms our hearts, addressing these deep obstacles to community. But a transformed heart will, will not should, will lead to transformed practices. And that’s where we’re turning next community, our third point, and here I want to give specific, concrete steps we can take to do life together, to truly disrupt our habits and even the culture we inhabit. I’ve got five of them, kind of big categories we’ll talk about first one is just reconceive community. Reconceive community, our prevailing view today we talked a lot about this week. One is sovereign autonomy. We are all individuals, kind of standing on our own, juggling our wants and needs and responsibilities, which in an achievement society, is a lot of juggling. So juggling is really the right word, how it feels, right? Or plates spinning, something like that. You got family, you got friends, you got work, you got leisure, you got chores, you got church, you got school, you got kids, you got all that and more. Unless you’re a really good juggler, things are gonna fall. Plates are gonna crash, of course. And so what happens? I think one of the most powerful things Kyle said last week really caught me, at least, is the idea of trying to fit church in, right? And so we often try to fit church in against one of the balls we’re juggling. And so then church is one of the first balls we drop to picture a young couple, Bob and Mary. Will say, Bob and Mary pregnant find out they’re having twins. That is like chainsaws that you’re juggling at this point, right? Like I got two brothers with twins. It’s a lot for sure. You know, stuff is going to drop. Bob does not get to play golf anymore, right? At least until the kids are old enough that he, like, finds the loophole in the system I’m teaching them to play golf, right? Yeah, so he’s not playing golf for years. But what else would maybe drop? Well, church. I mean, no one would expect them to show up week one or two,
three or four, and pretty soon, it’s easy not to ever come back. But if we reconceive community in biblical terms, then at the center of our lives is the Christian community. It’s not one of the balls we juggle, it is more like the hub and the rest of our lives are spokes coming off of the hub. Talked a lot about that before. I can’t make the whole case here, so ask me about it, if you want to, but that’s what we see in Acts chapter two. Of course, it is not a collection of individuals, it is a community. So it’s not another ball to juggle, but the orienting center of our lives. So what happens to Bob and Mary, if that’s their conception and the conception of their church, of what community is? Well, that means twins is not something that happens to Bob and Mary, something that happens to the whole church, and so the whole church is going to be involved in the response, providing meals, of course, but probably not for a week or two, like maybe for a year or two. And then it’s going to look even bolder than that. This is the disruption idea. What are they going to need? Sanity breaks? And child care. So maybe there’s an empty nester mom who’s a couple blocks away, who goes, I’m just gonna come over every day from nine to 930 so that you can go upstairs and have time with Jesus. I watch the kids. Or we’re gonna provide twice a month you’re going out on date night. Just go walk, go sleep. For all I care, just go do something away from them. It looks like things like people saying, Hey, Bob, you work in Oak Brook. I work in Oak Brook. It’s not exactly on my way, but I’m gonna swing by every morning and drive you to work, and then I will drive you home every day so that again, you can sleep those extra 15 minutes, or you can read the Bible in the car. Or we can just talk and process like, I’ll ask you some questions. You can tell me what’s going on in your heart, and then I’ll pray for you for those last five minutes. We can do it again at the end of the day, like I know that, that what I just described is insane, like no one does that. That’s what I mean by disruption. We should be doing that radical reorientation, yes, but necessary reorientation, because the church community is the at the center of our new identity in Christ. Because, of course it is, because if I’m in Christ and you’re in Christ, then we’re in Christ and we’re in it, in him together. And so it’s at the center of our practices as well that’s going to affect our schedules radically, radically. It means, first and foremost, I will be so black and white on this point. It means this hour, Sunday morning, is sacrosanct and inviolable. This is the first thing in your calendar. Nothing else happens. Sunday mornings, with so few exceptions, family wedding, out of town. Of course, you’re all going to take a vacation once or twice a year, unless you’re a millennial or younger, in which case you don’t take vacations, right? Okay, we talked about that week one, but otherwise, you are here because you know, you need this time, and that might mean making sacrifices. Kyle talked about travel baseball and what they did last year, or what their approach is. Coopers are different, partly because we have twice as many kids as bjergas who had to be a little more radical. We just don’t do travel. That’s not a thing. It’s not because they’re not good enough. Sealy has been asked to play travel soccer many times, and we just said, No, it’s not gonna work for us, so she plays Park District soccer. All right, that’s what it looks like. But there are other moments also. It’s not just Sunday morning. You know what else is inviolable for me, Monday nights, 30 weeks out of the year, 30 weeks out of the year. That is a sacrifice, by the way, that Amy makes, also, because that’s journey group. Nothing gets in the way of Journey group, because I know I need that time, for my sake and for the sake of the men that I am discipling again, first thing on the calendar, because we know we need these moments. We need gospel community. We need to remind and remember in worship and prayer, in teaching, in confession, and then we need to respond. And we need people to help us respond with discernment, rebuke, hospitality and the rest. Second, second, I’m in so much trouble. Time wise, it’s Kyle’s fault. He did the parent commissioning. Second do it together. And I know some of you are like you want me to do life together together. That’s brilliant. Brandon, what I mean here is you need a network of like minded people with you and spurring you on. Like I can speak from very personal experience, it is very hard for your kid to be the only kid who doesn’t have a smartphone. It is a lot easier when you can go, no, no, no, no, they don’t have smartphones either. They don’t have smartphones either. And especially if you’re explaining why, what makes us different? It’s not smartphones, it’s Jesus. And they go, Oh, I get that. That makes sense. Mom, that makes sense. Dad, we need that otherwise. Travel sports like I said, Can I tell you I am an optimist. I know that, but I think this could happen. I don’t know why we can’t push back on culture. We’re actually a pretty significant chunk of culture. You know what? I would love to see Kyle mentioned again. They go to the coach every year and say, We don’t play Sunday mornings. And the coaches say, Okay, we’ll let you miss that game. That’s because one person did it on his team. What if six people on the team said, we won’t be there Sunday morning? What do you think would start to happen? They’d stop scheduling things on Sunday mornings. Like, you know, in Iowa they I don’t even know why it’s Iowa, like, Iowa has nothing good in it, okay? My father in law is from Iowa. Jake’s from Iowa. Whoa, Kate. I got all sorts of people angry. Okay, not my people. I don’t want me to fellowship with them. No, I love Iowa. It’s funny, they don’t have school sports on Wednesdays. Right? Because that’s when youth groups meet in Iowa. I don’t know why it’s not in Scripture, but that’s when they meet. Okay? Like, that’s what happens when we as a subculture, say, No, we’re done with this. Okay? I don’t care as much about baseball as I care about Jesus and His people. We can win this war against our culture and for our kids. I’m sorry. You know, I’m a prophet, not a pastor. Okay, so let me just say this. Don’t clap for me. Do it. Do it. That’s what we need here. I don’t even know where I am anymore. You So Much of this series has been crazy. This is so much more radical than don’t have sex before marriage. Okay, I know that we will not do it unless we have people encouraging us constantly in it, and I know I’m keenly aware of the fact that I’m speaking to two groups of people right now, that one group of you is already tuned me out because it is too much disruption, and you love the world and its values too much to do anything different. But there is another group of you who’s going, this is what I want. Find each other. They’re not hard to spot, by the way. They’re the ones who show up, find them and get this sort of network and community together. What are you going to do when you do that third point, open your home. Open your home. I love what Anna Maria Pinedo says in our article on hospitality. She says, We are short today. We are short, not only of tables that welcome strangers. That’s what the word hospitality means in Greek, by the way, the love of stranger. We are short, not only of tables that welcome strangers, but even of tables that welcome friends. Yes, that is correct. This community portrait in Acts two is almost unthinkable to us today. I mean, you look at this and you think, Nope, doesn’t work. Why not say it this way, y’all gotta eat right? So that’s 30 minutes of prep and at least 30 minutes of just eating dinner. So you got an hour every day do it together. So I mean, by opening home do it together, why not eat with somebody else? Why not pick a night each week where you go, Okay, we don’t have anything this week, so, you know, or this night and Tuesdays or whatever are open. So on Tuesdays, we’re gonna invite someone over every week that’s just our somebody comes over night of the week. Or you we do this a lot, Amy, and I should be like, Hey, we actually don’t have anything tonight, which is miraculous. Usually. Like, is there someone we can text and just text him at four and be like, Why don’t you come on over? Okay, why? I mean, first of all, what does this look like when you have them over? And why is it worth it? This is not entertaining, entertaining. And this is Jen Wilkin, who said this entertaining seeks to impress. Hospitality, seeks to bless. Entertaining is about you. Do you see what my home looks like? Do you see what sort of cook I am? Hospitality is about the other person? Hospitality is an expression of love. The good news, though, is that reduces the pressure. It eases the burden on you to do this, you’re going to entertain, you better impress, but you’re going to do hospitality, whatever, whatever you have. That’s good enough. What that means? How many of you been wondering by the Oh, it’s not there. Go to the next slide. Nope. The life together one sorry, haha. There we go. How
many been sitting here this whole time going, why that graphic? Why not like people doing life together? Big mess here? No, it’s because I knew I was going to say this back when we were putting the graphic together. What this means, this view of hospitality is we can’t have people over because the house is a mess. Doesn’t fly anymore. That’s done in a gospel context. It also, though, means, if we’re doing this in community, right, that means, then again, it’s not even necessarily I’m blessing you, but we’re getting together. That means everybody chips in. You walk in in a hospitality meal, and you go, Hey, can you chop the veggies, which you don’t do in entertaining, of course, but we do in hospitality. And then afterwards, after you eat in somebody else’s home, you pick up your plate, you carry it to the kitchen, you put it down, and you start doing the dishes. And what are they going to say to you? Oh, don’t. Don’t. Don’t. No, no, no, I’ll get that later. My wife is one of those crazy people who says those things, I’m like, Baby, like, let them do the dishes. What I I don’t want to do the dishes. So when they say that to you, you go, nope, no, no. This is biblical community. Okay? We do this together. You start doing. Dishes together, you can keep talking together then as well. And what this communicates why it matters so much. Hospitality communicates physically and spiritually. I have room for you in my life, which is about as powerful an expression of love as you could possibly make. So my challenge, we had a challenge each time. My challenge this week is have someone over to your house this week. Some of you are like, Oh man, this is the worst week ever, and I’m gonna get 18 invitations because we’re all in the room together. Have someone over this week. If it is someone from this church, you may not clean up beforehand, and you must make them do something, and they’re gonna be expecting it, because they’re in the room with you. Okay, it’s fine. Fourth gotta fly here. Fourth set specific goals. I’m stealing this from Erin lookners book. The opt out family actually gotten a couple illustrations from her here. Very good. The whole point of this is using text playbook against itself, so using text ideas against tech and so she’s like, we do need chat GPT. Specifically, we need to chat about our GPT goals, principles and truths. I love that, so have a chat GPT this week. Goals, where are we going? What sort of family do we want to be, or what sort of community do I want to be a part of as an individual? Principles, how will we get there? And here we’re talking about the thing beneath the thing, the principle is not potlucks and the like, Die Hard Baptists in the room are like, come again. Yeah, it is. But okay, it’s not potlucks, right? It’s the thing beneath potlucks, hospitality, community, something like that. So principles are usually expressed with something like in our family or in this house, we fill in the blank and then T truth. Why does it matter? Which is this is the easy one for Christians, because we got a big book of truth that we can draw from. So it looks something like this, goal, have more people over principle in our family, we practice hospitality, truth. Biblical community matters, and we will make time for it as this summer or sorry, as this series wraps up. But I said summer, because summer is such a great time to do this, because things do slow down a bit in the summer as this series wraps up. In summer, great time to set new rhythms. What goals do you have if you’re in community groups? Certainly you should be. If you haven’t gotten that in this series yet. Let me say it again. This is what you’ll be talking about in particular on this series. And then fifth point, invite others in. Because interestingly, all this leads to mission. Actually, here we’re, like, intensely focused on the church community, and it wraps up with verse 46, and seven, they’re enjoying the favor of all the people, and the Lord’s adding to their number daily. Which makes sense, of course, because it’s such a radical change from the world. Can I say it like this, when you look like the world, no one cares what you believe. Why would anyone say what makes you different if there’s nothing different about you, but when you look different, they’re gonna go, can you give me a reason for the hospitality within you? To misquote Peter, people today are longing for this. We live in a barren wasteland at this point, relationally in an inhuman world, as we said week one, people are desperate for community. When they’re not finding it, they’ll be drawn to people who have it, which is why so often people today belong before they believe they will come for the community and stay for the Christ. I like the way one book puts it total church by Chester and Timis. It says evangelism is best done out of the context of a gospel community whose corporate life demonstrates the reality of the word that gave her life. So we’re gonna proclaim a word of life and then present the Word of Life. We’re gonna be like, Yes, that makes sense. I see it in you. Jesus even told us that the world will know us by our love. And love is not something an individual does by himself that happens in community, pull all these threads together just like what could this look like? Just going to give you this closing illustration. Some of you read this before because it’s in Dustin Willis’s life and community, which a bunch of us have studied together. There’s a couple who decided to walk nightly just to meet new neighbors. In particular. That’s why they tried to walk. And sure enough, they did. Met Ted and Barb, who were first time parents, and they were out walking because their newborn was not sleeping. And so they were trying to do the like, if you they will maybe fall asleep, which is what we did with Charis. By the way, met lots of people when we did that. And so this couple, they remember those days they had four kids themselves. Not all of them were great sleepers, so they knew that this young couple needed rest, and so they said, why don’t you come over for dinner, like, we’ll cook for you sometime. That’s one meal at least off your plate. You can sit like we can help with kids, whatever, all that kind of stuff. They came over because they’re desperate for community, of course, and they’re able then these two couples to commiserate about parenting. They got to talk strategies for helping babies sleep, but mostly just experience the joy of life together. And then Ted and Barb asked this church couple why they always had cars in their driveway on Thursday nights, because that’s when they host their small group, which, by the way, gets the importance of consistently meeting its community. You do not ask your neighbors why they have cars in their driveway twice a year. We all have that, but every week is something else, and so they asked about it. Well, that’s our small group, by the way. We’d love to have you join us sometime, and they did, and they belonged before they believed, but they heard the gospel and then saw the gospel, lived in community and placed their faith in Christ. Now I have no special insight or vision, but I can peer into your hearts right now and know that most of you are thinking, I want to be like that. That’s what I want to be true of my life, our life. We want to be those sorts of people. So what is holding you back do the hard work of diagnosing your heart and set those goals and establish new rhythms and practices. Big Idea is basically just the three words we’ve looked at. It’s nothing new. I spend no time on it. Devote yourself. You know what that word means now, devote yourself to gospel shaped community. In other words, live out implications of the gospel with others, because implications of the gospel are not individual, not primarily, don’t leave here unchanged. My favorite series I ever preached here was when we did our giving campaign, not because I really like, I don’t like talking about money, most pastors don’t. But what I liked about it was, at the end of the series, everybody came up front and said, This is how my life is gonna change. As a result, it was a pledge. You know, of course, at that point, I sometimes feel like we should do that every series, like everyone just Usher forward, like, here’s what we’re gonna do coming out of here. Do it for yourself. At least do it in your community. Group, your journey group, shoot me an email. I’d love to be a part of this anyway. Like, pick one area and make a move. Devote yourselves in new ways to gospel shaped community. Let’s pray, Lord. We know we need you here.
We need the gospel. We need the gospel to change us, because in our flesh, we want to do things our own way, and that is going to lead to selfish isolation every time. And we see it, Lord. We see the effects of our sin lived out in our lives and in our inability to develop form the sort of community we want to have. We own that Lord, we confess that before you now we pray that you would change us, let the gospel change us, so that this biblical community has the place in our hearts and lives and schedules that it should have change us, Lord, make us more like Jesus. In fact, Lord, as we sing those words together. Now may it be our prayer here in this area, that we would be more like Jesus as we leave here today, we pray in Christ’s name, Amen.

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Let’s Consider May 4, 2025 | Kyle Bjerga The sermon focuses on the importance of Christian community as described in Hebrews 10, emphasizing that believers need each other to grow spiritually and support one another through life’s challenges. Kyle Bjerga highlights five key practices of community: open Bibles, open mouths, open hearts, open schedules, and open doors, which help Christians spur one another on toward love and good deeds. He challenges the congregation to prioritize church community over isolation, arguing that Christian maturity happens through relationships, not just individual study. The message concludes by reminding listeners that community is costly, beautiful, and essential, reflecting the sacrifice of Jesus in bringing believers together as a family.

Hi, good morning, and go ahead and grab your Bibles. Turn to Hebrews chapter 10 if you’re using one of the black pew Bibles on page 973, back in 2016 Jackie and I were at a family ministry conference, and there was a special concert one night with the Christian artist Mark Schultz, and he told a story behind the song. Right the behind the song, story of something that he had written. And this story was a devastating one. It was about a family a friend of theirs, who had lost a child after just three days. The family and the church were obviously devastated, and the Sunday after that family, that couple, came to church and sat in their normal spot. The difference was that when everybody else stood and sang the worship songs, they couldn’t stand. They couldn’t sing. And he went on to say that what they realized that the act of faith for that couple that morning was just showing up, was just being there that morning. And he said, someone behind them put their hand on their shoulder, and the person behind them put their hand on their shoulder, and eventually the entire congregation had their hands out stretched towards this couple as they sing the truth of God’s word. Just a domino effect. One man leaned over and told him, I know you can’t sing, but I’m going to sing for you. Mark’s reflection on this was how great it is to be surrounded by a community, by a cloud of witnesses that says we’re going to sing when you can’t we’re going to lift our hands up for you when you can’t. And that’s the community that Scripture is talking about all over when we carry one another’s burdens. That is what true community looks like. And when I hear this story, I cannot help but think of the people who missed out that Sunday, who weren’t there to experience what happened in that moment, both for that couple and for everybody that was there that morning, not able to share in that community and carry the burdens of someone else. They could not encourage them, and then they could not be encouraged by their faith, for showing up by their faith for the rest of the congregation. So last week, we saw the foundation for community, starting in Genesis two. Today we’re going to look at Hebrews 10. And before we dive into the verses 24 and 25 which is we’re going to be mainly, I want to read 19 through 25 which gives us the gospel motivation for community. Why does verses 24 and 25 even matter? We need to go back and read there first. And here’s the question as we go through this pastor today that I want you to be asking a couple questions. One, ask yourself, am I placing a priority on community over isolation? Just generally in life. And then take it a step further for the church. Am I placing a priority on the church community over isolation, or even over other communities that you’re a part of? So be thinking about those as we go through Hebrews 10. Let’s look starting in verse 19, Therefore, brothers and sisters. Since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way open for us through the curtain that is his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience, and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together summer in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another. And all the more as you see the day approaching so when it says in verse 19, therefore the writer is referring to everything that has just happened in chapter 10. And what we read there in chapter 10 is that Jesus is the once and for all. Sacrifice for our sins, our forgiveness comes through his blood, which changes everything. It changes how we approach God, our relationship with Him. It changes the way that we relate to one another as well. This is not just some relationship we add on to the book club that we do or our Pickleball league or the community band or the softball team that we’re a part of. This is a community of those who are blood bought brothers and sisters in Christ, unlike any community we’ve ever been a part of, unlike any community we ever will be a part of. Da Carson says it better than I could. So let me read what he says. He says what binds us together is not common education, common race. Common income levels, common politics, common nationality, common accents, common jobs, or anything of the sort. Christians come together not because they form a natural collocation, but because they have been saved by Jesus Christ and owe him a common allegiance. In the light of this common allegiance, in light of the fact that they have all been loved by Jesus Himself. They commit themselves to doing what he says and he commands them to love one another. In this light, they are a band of natural enemies who love one another for Jesus’s sake. Jesus sacrificed everything so that we could sit here together as the family of God, as brothers and sisters in Christ, without him, it is not possible, and that community is open to all who acknowledge that Jesus Christ is who he said he is, that He is God, that He gave His life for us. We believe in what he has done, all the things we get now we see here in 19 through 25 all the things that are true of us as those in the family of God. It’s an invitation into a deeper life with Jesus. But it’s really important to see this. It is not something we do individually. Three times. It says, Let us, let us draw near, let us hold unswervingly and let us consider. The expectation of Scripture is that the Christian life is lived in community, not in isolation. That leads us to verses 24 and 20 and 25 where we’re going to sit for a little while. We’re going to consider the call of community, the practice of community, and finally, the challenge of community. So first, let’s consider the call in verses 24 and 25 we find out a lot about the importance of community. And here’s the first truth, I need you and you need me. Okay, that’s the church. I need you and you need me. We are called to spur one another on toward love and good deeds. And man, that sounds really nice. It’s like that whole like sharp we sharpen right one another, like iron sharpens iron, we sharpen one another. Both of these things, spurring on and sharpening are not pleasant things. Okay, so we like to have these verses displayed in certain places, really pretty. But the idea here is the spurring or the provoking means this is going to cause some discomfort and displeasure. This is not going to be fun. How do I know that well, because we’re talking about spurring one another on, and I don’t know about you, but I think horses don’t like this, because when they get spurred, what happens they get moving. So they’re going to feel a little bit of discomfort, a little bit of displeasure in the moment, but the rider needs to get them going in the right direction, and this is important for us, because if we are going to make community a priority, we also have to have realistic expectations. And one of the top expectations to have when you enter into community like this is Get ready to be uncomfortable. Get ready to be uncomfortable. You should have that as an expectation, because you’re messy and I’m messy, and so if we all get together, it’s just to be a mess of a group of people. So there’s going to be some uncomfortable moments. And if you leave a church, if you leave a community, if you pull away every time you’re uncomfortable, which might look like being called out for sin, which might be called to a higher standard of living, somebody says something difficult where you need to die to yourself, if every time that happens and you’re uncomfortable, you leave, you will never actually find community, or you at least won’t be a part of a community that’s worth being a part of. Because the only way we are stimulated to grow, the only way that we’re provoked is by people doing that in our life. Because how many times do we lie to ourselves and say, I’ll just I’ll just do better tomorrow? When do we really do better when we have a group of people who are helping us along? Just look at your life, whether it was a team when you’re a kid, whether it’s in the work world, whatever it might be, you need these people spurring you on. It is not purposeless discomfort. It is not purposeless pain that leads us to love and good deeds. It’s not purposeless that’s what it does. It leads us to love and good deeds. It’s meant to get us to go in the direction of Jesus. So like spurs, get a horse moving in the direction the rider wants to go. The spurring on toward love and good deeds gets us following Jesus, living the Christian life after him.
So I can do that for you, and you can do that for me, and we desperately need each other. The second thing we see is a reminder that we must meet. Together regularly. It was not only normal to meet. At this time that this book is written, it was essential to the Christian life to be together. Hebrews was written in large part as a response to the persecution that the early church was going through. Their tendency to maybe drift away, to pull away from the community, because of the persecution they were feeling. Because meeting as Christians at this time, which is very common around the world at this point, still, is that if I meet with these other Christians, if we’re gathering together, people are going to start to take notice of us, and that could lead to really bad things in my life, like suffering and imprisonment and death, and so getting together was difficult. The easier thing to do is to isolate, to pull back and not put your neck on the line. But the writer of Hebrew says, don’t give up meeting together. Other translations say, Don’t neglect meeting together. This was an intentional withdrawing. It doesn’t mean they were kept from meeting. That’s different. You might be kept from meeting for a time. This was intentionally withdrawing from the congregation, withdrawing from the community. And so my prayer is that all of us see this gathering our brothers and sisters, the ministries of this church as essential to your Christian life, not as a burden, not as something that makes you look a certain way, and not as a checklist, but because Jesus Christ died for this, He died for this, and we need each other. So here’s my question, based off of this idea of not neglecting meeting together, if the church community, and I’m talking not just Sunday, but all of church life, if church community is not a priority now, when it’s relatively easy to be a Christian and to show up, what happens if persecution does come? What if it actually does cost us to enter this building. What do we do when things get hard? Because if it’s not a priority now, what’s going to magically happen to make it a priority? Then it will be a priority, then, because it’s a priority now. So we need to think through this, not just Sunday mornings, but all of our church community, all of the church life, because it’s way more than just Sunday but usually it starts here, of course. And so some of you are here this morning. You need to take things a step beyond just showing up. Even on Sunday mornings, like you’re here, you walk in, you listen, you take in, and then you leave. So maybe your step this morning is to spur someone on, is to encourage, is to find a way to get plugged into the life of this community the rest of the week, get to know some names and faces and be a part of what God is doing here at Cityview. And then lastly, in this passage, what do you see? How long do we need to meet for? How long should we do this, until Jesus returns, which means we just keep doing it until he does. We don’t know when that’s going to happen, but that’s what it’s talking about here. We do this all the more as you see the day approaching. So we keep spurring one another on, we keep encouraging each other, we keep meeting regularly until the very thing we are waiting for happens and Jesus returns to take us home. So what is clear from this passage is the importance of community. If Christian maturity and growth took place just from gaining knowledge, then I would say, yes, stay home. Find your favorite preacher online, study the Bible, grab some really good books, and you’ll be fine. But what we see here is Christian maturity, Christian growth, takes place only when all of that stuff gets worked out here with each other and gets worked out in the world. And that is the practice of community. So that’s what we’re going to look at next. So we’re going to kind of pull a bunch of different things together, from the New Testament, from Hebrews, from some other passages, and we’re going to see what does it mean to actually practice the community that we’re talking about. Okay, how are we going to practice this? Because we practice to get ready for the real thing. One day, you and I are going to stand before Jesus unhindered in these relationships with each other. So why would we wait till then? Let’s practice the community now, right? So when we get there, we just keep going with what we’ve always we’ve always done. So how do we practice that now? So let’s consider the practice. That’s the second point there, if you’re following along in your notes. So here at Cityview, we have five values that we talk about in community groups specifically, but these are values that are for really any community that you’re a part of whether it’s in the church or even outside the church. And so I want to walk through these five values, and I want to connect them again to what’s happening here. But I also want you to see how these connect to the things you will do out in the world when we leave this building, when we leave this these brothers and sisters to go on throughout our week, because all of these things should impact all of. Our relationships. We talked about that last week, that the foundation is that everybody’s hard wired for relationships and community. So how can we live out community here and out there? Because what we do in here will directly impact our communities and our relationships out there. Okay, that’s how it works. So these values are not pulled out of thin air. As I mentioned, we’re going to take they’re going to be in Hebrews 10. They’re going to be in a lot of the dozens of other one another passages in Scripture which you’re probably familiar with. Dozens of them talk about how we are to live in community together. And so you’ll also see that each value in your notes there starts off with the word open. Open is a very important, significant word for community, because we think about the difference between the contrast between open, being open and being closed, well, we need openness for community. Being closed means we’re going to be closed off to anybody provoking us right, spurring us on or encouragement or change. We need to be open. And so when we enter into these communities, this is the first thing when you say, I need to be open in these areas. So let’s kind of run through these five to practice community. First, open Bibles. First open Bibles. Listen to what Colossians three tells us. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly, as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns and songs from the spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. So this is where we find out how we love God. This is where we find out how we love each other, how we spur one another on, where we find encouragement. This is what makes us different, from your gym, from your fantasy football league, from your dinners with old college roommates, it’s the fact that we take this out and we open it and we say, What does God have for us? An open Bible takes us to passages like Titus two, that tell us that Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself, what a people for His very own and what are they eager to do? Eager to do? What is good love and good deeds? Jesus makes it clear that our open Bibles should lead us to be doers of the word and not hearers only. So everywhere you go in this church on a Sunday, whether you go down to kids city, whether you go to youth group, whether you are in the middle of the week at community group or journey group, or in our explore hours on Sunday morning, you are going to see open Bibles, whether they’re these or your open Bible apps, the Bible’s open, because we have nothing to say outside of what God’s word has. And so while this is obvious for the church, right, you expected this one, I hope, right, while this is an expectation for the church, does this have any impact on what we do out there when we leave this place? And it certainly does, because the more we’re in this book together here, the more it seeps into all of our life and then leaves us as we go, and we’re like that sponge that’s squeezed out. And people just say, there’s something different about the words that they say, the things that they do, because the word is in us. So this doesn’t mean that your next pickleball League, you’re gonna open the Bible in the middle of the court and say, This is it, guys. But what it does mean is that you will play differently. You will respond to situations differently, and when somebody shares something, you’re gonna be able to respond because you’ve been in this book, you’re listening, you’re hearing, and you’re speaking God’s words to them. So here’s the challenge here, every community you are a part of should look different because you are there, because this is coming through you. So every community should look different because God’s word is there, because you are there. And we need this to live out our next value, the second one. Open mouth. And some of you’re like, oh, boy, I should not open my mouth. Yes, baby, we need to be discerning and how we speak. Because, yes, we need to speak gospel truth to each other. But a lot of times we also stick our foot in our mouth, correct? I mean, come on, really, do we stick our foot in our mouths. Thank you. I’ve been around some of you. I know this. We need to speak gospel truths to each other. It’s true. We have to open our mouths. Some of you don’t talk a lot, but you’re thinking, you’re processing, then all of a sudden, you say some amazing, encouraging truth to somebody that needs to hear it. But we need open mouths. We need to speak these gospel truths to each other. Ephesians makes this clear that in order to grow and become more Christ like we, must speak the truth in love,
in love to one another. And so the Holy Spirit is prompting you this morning, even to spur someone on, to encourage them through His word and. Then please do it. Don’t leave that for another time. It’s given to you in that moment to go to that person, to give them a call, to text them and encourage them with the gospel truth they need to hear. Now, how does it work itself out in other communities, maybe not the church? What about the workplace? Kids, teens? What about school? What is your mouth known for? What are the words that you use? Are they words that build others up for their benefit? We see in Ephesians, chapter four. Listen to Proverbs. 1821, the tongue has the power of life and death. The tongue has the power of life and death. What are our mouths known for in the communities that we’re a part of, words that bring death or words that bring life? If we’re in this book, I can tell you we’re going to speak a lot of words of life. So let’s be in this book. Let’s open our mouths. Third thing, let’s open our hearts. When we open our hearts, we make ourselves vulnerable and we pursue each other. What does this look like in community? It means confessing sin, which we just had this week in our community group, somebody confessed sin, living out James 516 to confess to one another, because this is the safest place in the world to confess sin. It should be because we have the blood of Jesus and speaking these truths over someone who confesses their sins, we forgive one another. Ephesians 432, we look out for others interests, rather than our own. Philippians, two four, we love one another. John 1334, through 35 and we carry one another, another’s burdens. Galatians, six, two, that’s what an open heart looks like. Open our hearts also means we have to listen often before we open our mouths. Living out. James 122, to be quick to listen and slow to speak, but eventually we speak. First. Thessalonians five, nine through 11, brings all this together for us again, as we look at Jesus, For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath, but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him, therefore, encourage one another and build each other up just as in fact you are doing. May this be said of Cityview, may this be said of Cityview, encourage one another, build each other up just as in fact you are doing. So hopefully this is something that is true of us in other communities and other relationships, because if we are filled with God’s word, if we know how to speak gospel truths and our hearts are open, we are going to be the sorts of people that when we’re out in the work where, when we’re in school, when we’re with our friends in our neighborhoods, they will see our hearts and notice something different and want to and be drawn to conversations with us. Because you can speak hard truths to people when they know your heart, right? If you know your mom or your dad loves you and they speak a hard truth to you, you’re going to hear it differently than the stranger on the street, the person that you just met, because you know that they love you, and so when they know our hearts, they’re going to listen to us. They will not listen to your stuff online. They’re not going to listen to you just being negative all the time. What are they? Time. What are they going to listen to gospel truths and your heart that cares for them, not that you win an argument, not so that you can be defensive, but because you love them and you care for them, and they see your heart and they will listen. So Open Hearts impacts here, and it impacts our relationships out there fourth open schedules. And here’s where the spurring on that like discomfort and unpleasantness is probably going to be there for some of us. Because if the writer of Hebrews was writing to us today, and he said, Do not neglect meeting together, somewhere in the habit of doing the issue behind the neglect of meeting would not be persecution. It would be busyness and priority for the American church. That’s just what it would be. Almost two weeks ago now, some of us were at the gospel coalition conference down in Indianapolis, and at one of the breakouts, one of the panelists said something was so profound, I wrote it down, and it’s specifically for parents. And so I want parents to hear this, but I want to tease it out too and look at it for all of us, because this panel got a question. And here’s the question. It was about discipleship, family, worship and stuff. Someone asked, How can busy families fit in? Discipleship, family, worship and church community. And so first, I hope you heard that asking the question in this way says something about our culture. How can we fit in what should be the most important thing in our lives? How can we fit in discipleship, family, worship and church community? And here was the answer the panelists. Said. He said, When you sign up to be a parent, you sign up for a full life, but you do not sign up for a chaotic life. I want you to think about that. We sign up for a full life if you’re a parent, you know this, but you do not sign up for a chaotic life. If your life, your calendar, is so chaotic, you cannot worship as a family, you can’t gather and be intentional in discipleship. You can’t make it to community events for your church, then something needs to change. And it’s not the church stuff, it’s everything else, because if you’re trying to fit it in, it will not fit in. So we need to take this seriously, and if we tease this out more, so that more of us are involved in just families with kids, we have to think about the fact there are a lot of things outside of our control that will keep us from community. You’re sick, we don’t want you here, stay home, get better, but that’s outside your control. You’ve got weddings that we just heard about. You just have a baby. Like there’s all sorts of things that are outside of your control that will keep you from this community. So then, if you sit there and think, Alright, all these different things are going to take away this many times of the year, and then I’m going to willfully neglect the other times for these things. How much are you actually gathering with the community? I don’t know. It’s an important question that we all need to ask. The point is, there are things that will be outside of our control that will keep us from the gathering, and we don’t want to neglect meeting together, that willful neglect of meeting as community, so we will miss out, but let’s make sure it’s from those things that are outside of our control. One common thing that I’ve heard is that lack of tenants is just for a season, but if you sit there and you think about it, do you know what you’re saying and communicating when you say that? You’re saying for this season, this thing is more important than what Jesus Christ gave His life for, blood, bought brothers and sisters, worshiping the God of the universe, our Lord and our Savior, and saying for this season, it’s just too much. What are we communicating to not only the church, but to the world when we say that? So some questions to consider for all of us today, some of you maybe fall into some of these categories. Do you think through how your travel schedule impact the church community? Do you think through your Saturday nights to make sure you get to bed early and prepare your hearts for worship on Sunday, we should live differently on Saturdays to be ready for Sunday. Do you put church community groups, youth group, prayer meetings, etc, on your calendar and say no to other things that conflict with it, or schedule around the church community. Or do you try and fit the church in? Like these are really hard questions we have to ask, because we cannot get in the habit of fitting church community in. And so I hesitate to share this because I don’t want to come across as boastful, but I’m going to take the risk, I guess, because I think it’s important shepherding moment, and this is especially for families. The decisions you make for one kid is the decision you’re probably going to make for all your kids. So if your life is chaotic with one kid because you’re over scheduled, what’s going to happen with two and three and four? We have to have these conversations and say this is what’s most important. If we can’t do this first, then everything else has to go. So we need to make different decisions earlier on, and I’ll just share it for us. It was baseball, travel, sports. So CJ missed, is missing his game. Currently, he missed his semi final game last Sunday. Why? Because the game is at 10 o’clock on a Sunday after a morning. And I go to the coach every year and I say, I have the same conversation with him. This is what’s most important to us. So he will not be at games from this time to this time on Sundays. And every year, I say, if you don’t want us on the team, we will back out so somebody else can come and play. And every year he says, We want him. We want your family a part of our team. And so we keep doing it. And our team, we thank the Lord for them that they they are okay with that, because they don’t have to be all right. But for us, the reason I share that is for this. This for you to hear this. Have you ever had the conversation with the coach, with the director, with the teacher, with whoever it is, and said, this is a priority for us. This is what we’re doing.
And they may say, then you can’t be a part of this team, and you’re going to have a really good opportunity with your child to talk through how it costs, and then sometimes the Lord is going to bless it. And I don’t know what it’s going to be for your family, but I do know I will never regret my son being here on Sundays. He won’t either. And so my point in saying that again, it’s not to say this is what we did, because I know some of you were like, Well, you’re the pastor. You have to. You know it’s your job? No, this is our Church. This is our family. Whether I’m in full time vocational ministry or I’m not, this is the decision we would make, because we love this community. We love the body that Jesus gave us, and so when people do see us miss church for whatever reason, one of the questions lastly, what it’s like to miss church? I said it’s like, it’s missing out of that family reunion, like every Sunday with all the weird people that are there, myself included, right? Like, but I miss it. I mean, have you ever gone a couple Sundays because you were sick and you got to church like, it feels like forever. I need this community. We need to have some hard conversations and prioritize things, because this matters. I told you, it might spur you on this morning. So let me encourage you, because I’m also called to do that in this passage right here’s the encouragement. You’re here today. So this is a priority for you today, and I hope next week it’s a priority too. I hope if there’s any sort of conviction, I hope it’s not condemnation, because I want you to know we’re we’re for you, we’re on your team. We want your family here, because we know how important it is for you, how important is for a church, because we need each other, right? So we want this every single week, but I hope the spirit is convicting you to maybe say there needs to be a change in our life today and again, maybe it’s not Sunday morning, maybe it’s community group. Maybe it’s getting to the prayer meetings on Sunday nights. I don’t know what it is for you, but you and the Lord need to spend time together to figure that out. Finally, let’s keep moving open doors. This is last one. When I talk about this with community groups, I say we need to have an open front door and open back door. Okay, the front door. We need to be willing to bring others into our community, right yet, namely our community groups. But any community we’re a part of, we need to have an open door for them. So Romans 15 seven says it this way, accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you in order to bring praise to God. Other translations say, welcome one another. Okay, so we need to have that open front door. I will say this as somebody, as the person who leads the community groups here, one of the let me be careful. I always say this. Something that makes me really mad is when people say we cannot have so and so in our community group, or we can’t have this type of person in our community group because it’s uncomfortable. And I’ve had these conversations, that says a whole lot more about your maturity than it does theirs, because we’ve all been bought by the blood of Jesus. None of us is perfect. And then please think about this. At one point, you were the new person in the group, and somebody welcomed you in, and you were a mess, and they were a mess, and you were a messed together trying to faithfully follow and pursue Jesus. We are called to spur one another on, to encourage one another. So if you don’t want other people in your group, you might be missing out on a person who can encourage and spur you on, and then they miss out on you doing that for them. We have to think more community than we think individually in a series like this. We have to start thinking this way, because what we decide impacts other Christians. It impacts other people who are not in the church. Yet. We also need to have open back doors letting people leave. And I hope this isn’t leaving because they’re upset with community groups. I’m talking about leaving so they can go multiply out and start a new group. Multiply out and start a new group. If somebody walks in the door tomorrow and they want to be in a community group, I’m not going to ask them to lead that group, because they’re new to the church, right? We need members, people who’ve been a part of our groups, to do that and to say, I want to welcome people into community. And I will say this for a very good reason. We are low on community group leaders. We cannot start groups, and we have people who want groups because we don’t have the leaders for them. We need to send people out. We need to be willing to go to start this community, because they need to be encouraged. They need to be spurred on, and they need you to help them do that. So all of this bringing this all together. Here’s the big idea, we need each other, so prioritize community. We need each other. We do. So prioritize community. So the last thing I want to do is just consider the challenge. Just a few things for us to consider. If you’re here this morning, you’re still checking out Cityview, you’re trying to figure out this whole thing about who Jesus is and what this Christianity thing is, then I hope you’re drawn to this community. It is messy, but it is beautiful. It is messy, and it will continue to be messy, and we’re going to continue to see beautiful things, and that’s just the Christian life. So we want to welcome you into that. We want to welcome you into that community. So keep showing up here on. Sundays, regardless of who you are, regularly make some changes so that that can happen. But that should only be the start, right? So look for other ways, another challenge, other ways to engage in community. The most obvious ones are, come on June 1 to the junior group meeting to hear more details about journey group. These are high cost, high reward groups. Get into a community group if you’re not and when already ask me, you can go to our website. You can fill out the community group interest form. We’d love to know that you want to be a part of these groups. What do you need to be a part of a community group here at Cityview? Step one, show up on Sundays. Step two, go to community group. It’s very easy, because at our community groups, what do we do? Sermon discussion. So we open God’s Word, we read the passage, and we talk about what God was saying to us through His Word. So that’s all you have to do, is be here on Sundays, go to community group, and you get to talk through that. We get to live out James 122 and be doers of the word together. Now I say sign up for community groups. And you just heard me say, we don’t have enough leaders. So for some of you, that next step is to consider multiplying out from your group and being a leader of a new group so that we can offer the community that others need to them. Lastly, I want to encourage you to come to the pursuing the heart workshop, as Brandon already gave you a good explanation of what that is, so I’m not going to go into those details, but if you want, but if you want to pursue have those open hearts, those open mouths, then I would encourage you to be there on Saturday for this important workshop. It will greatly impact your relationships inside and outside the church. And I want to come back to the story that we started with today as we close. Mark Schultz said that when we gather for community, when we are there for someone else, like this family, this couple part of us realizes consciously or not, that one day We will be sitting in that pew.
One day, we will experience loss, we’ll have a tragedy, we’ll have a season that tests our faith. We’ll have something that happens that is bigger than us. So all of us are going to sit there and we’re going to be that couple, and what do we want? What do we need in that moment is not more head knowledge is not isolation. What we need is a hand on the shoulder. We need an encouraging word in our ears. We need the love of the community surrounding us, because I will point you to Jesus, and you will point me to Jesus, and we will grow, and we will mature in the faith, because we need each other. So prioritize community. Let’s pray.
Lord. Remind us again what it cost Jesus to bring us together as brothers and sisters in Christ and Lord, not just here, not just in this place at Cityview, but our brothers and sisters around the world that the work you did on the cross is big enough to save all of us. So Lord, let that be the motivation for why we gather together. Because we need to hear this truth over and over again, that we are loved by you, that we can be changed by you, and you have given us community to help be a part of that change. So help us to spur one another on toward love and good deeds, to encourage one another, and to do that with hearts full not of judgment, but hearts full of love, the overflow of thanksgiving for what you have done for us and who you are. We thank you for this community. We love you and we pray this in Jesus name.

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It’s Not Good April 18, 2025 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper explores how modern culture has undermined human community by promoting individualism and self-achievement, arguing that we were originally created for interconnectedness as seen in Genesis. He diagnoses the problem of our current society: people use others to validate their identity rather than genuinely connecting, driven by digital validation and personal achievement goals. The gospel offers a solution by reminding us that God exists in community (the Trinity) and calls us to love and serve one another, breaking free from self-centered isolation. Ultimately, Cooper challenges listeners to intentionally create meaningful community by physically showing up for each other, greeting one another with love and presence.

I feel like as long as we got a reception for people afterwards in the lobby, we’ll just make that a reception for Jake as well. So y’all have a chance to say goodbye to him. It was great having you here. You lasted longer than we thought you would. So on a serious note, though, do come say hi to Jake after the service, and perhaps Hannah as well. Maybe you noticed when she walked in she’s got a lecture bling on her left hand today. Congratulations. Yes, very exciting. Very exciting. All right. With that, please go ahead grab your Bibles, you can open up to page two. Page two. We will be in Genesis two today. We finished revelation right last page of the Bible, just starting over. I guess that’s that’s how this is working. No, that’s not what we’re doing, but still kind of fun. So we’ll be in Genesis 218, to 25 today. As you turn in there, if you’ve been to the zoo. You might never have heard the term, but you certainly know what the idea of zoo Kosis is. Zoo Kosis, which is when you know a lion, for example, paces back and forth in its enclosure all day, every day, wearing ruts in the ground. And they call it zoo Kosis because, of course, everyone knows watching this, that’s not the way it’s supposed to be like. This is not what this is not what the lion was made for, even though, ironically, of course, this little enclosure was made for the lion. Even still, though it’s not his home looks like Africa, but it isn’t. He got the wrong animals. You know, not supposed to have gray squirrels around now, supposed to hear the American robin singing and stuff like that. You got people staring, taking photos, talking loudly, you know, all day, all this is causing anxiety in the lion you’re smelling hot dogs and churros, which is not their diet, as best I can tell, fed well, of course, but at the same time, without getting to hunt. And so there’s like that piece that’s missing as well. Now, why do I bring this up? We are not caged in the same way, of course, as humans. And yet it is an apt metaphor for our contemporary existence. We are humans living in an inhuman culture. And the irony, of course, is that we built it. We’re the only species that could design an environment not meant for ourselves. But why is it that we have this inhuman culture now that we we’ve created, we’ve designed for ourselves, it’s because we have misconceived humans, who we are, what we are meant for. We have a bad anthropology. In other words, now this shows up in all sorts of areas. We could get into a lot of them, I’m sure, but we’re going to focus on just one in this series, which is the isolating effects of modern culture. The isolating effects of modern culture. We are no longer really living in community, doing life together. To borrow bonhoeffer’s famous phrase, we are individuals. Period. We’re individuals at this point, we are individuals living parallel lives in so many ways, not truly intersecting. And so yeah, maybe we show up at similar events, but next to each other, not really with each other, your kids baseball game at at a church service, maybe even and so our purpose today is to help us see the problem and just how dire it is, and hopefully then to motivate us to respond with urgency, to lean into community and really do life together. I’ll just say up front, by the way, I’m not talking specifically even about church community, although we’ll hit on that plenty, but I’m just talking about like people in community here. Now, if I’m talking about the problem, of course, that means that today’s gonna be largely negative. This is the diagnosis part, but we will then cast a positive vision in the next two weeks, looking more at the theory next week, and then the practice the week after that, each week, we’re also going to give you a very specific challenge, something to do, to kind of lean into community as we go, but to understand how who we really are. Because again, if it’s our bad anthropology that’s messed us up, we want to get a good anthropology to understand who we really are, what it really means to be human. We got to start at the beginning and how God made us, as the Heidelberg Catechism puts it in answer to its first question, what is our only comfort? It’s that I am not my own but belong body and soul in life and in death, to God, to Jesus Christ. So I’m gonna be reading Genesis 218, to 25 right now. Just a word about how this is happening here. I’m not preaching to 18 to 25 we did that already. Really important to go back, if you weren’t here, it was probably about eight years ago. We need the Genesis one to 11 series. So foundational. You cannot understand anything else in the Bible if you don’t have, especially these first three chapters down. So go back and listen to that, by all means. But just now, I’m gonna be pulling from all three chapters in a lot of ways, as we focus in on this idea of community. So let me read chapter two, though verses 18 to 25 here, the Lord God said, it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. And the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky, and all the wild animals. But for Adam, no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. And while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. And Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called Woman, for she was taken out of man. That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. All right, so let’s look first of all at the need like how God made us. It’s a fascinating moment that I read there in verse 18. If you read from the beginning, read Genesis one as well, you’ll see that seven times. And that’s not coincidental. We just spent a lot of time in Revelation. You know, seven is important, right? That’s the perfect number, seven times. In Genesis, one God says it’s good, including the climactic seventh declaration, when he says it’s very good. It’s very good. In fact, all of Genesis. One is written to show, not a chronology a science textbook. This is how God made the world. That’s not its point. Its point is to show the perfection of the world that God made. And so it should shock us. Then when we get to 218 and all of a sudden, God Himself says, Oh, that’s not good. That’s not good. You’re going, What do you mean? You designed this perfect place? What is not good? There is something wrong in God’s perfect creation, and what is it? It’s the fact that Adam is alone and he can’t do what God made him to do by himself. He needs a suitable helper, suitable helper, and that phrase means somebody who’s going to help him, of course, do what he’s called to do in a complimentary way. Was a terrible analogy, the best one I could think of at the time. I was gone all week, so this was a rushed process, but like a pitching battery, like if you want to baseball pitching, you got to have a pitcher and a catcher you ever played, like outside his kids or something, you know, not the catcher. It’s really irritating, isn’t it, you throw the ball, they swing and miss, and then it’s like a four minute break while you’re waiting for this as bad as football at that point, you know, like, just all the I thought that get more reaction, okay? But no, soccer just keeps going, is all I’m saying. So, so you need both if you’re going to do what you’re meant to do, which is get the batter out, of course. Now what did Adam need help doing? Interestingly, we’re not told here we got it in chapter one. You can’t make sense of Genesis two without Genesis one. So we have to go back to the last chapter, where we were already told, here’s Genesis 127, and 28 So God created mankind in his own image. And the image of God, He created them, male and female. He created them. God blessed them and said to them, and here it is, Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground. Now, Adam certainly cannot be fruitful on his own. We know how that works. Peepee just helped us, in fact, with that we can’t fill the earth either, though, because what’s meant to happen here is we got the Garden of Eden, which is almost like this temple that God has built where he’s going to dwell with humanity. We’re supposed to take that Adam and Eve are supposed to take that and cover the earth with it, so that the whole earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of God. So that’s what we are supposed to do. We can’t going back to our opening analogy design at Habitat for ourselves. Though, if we don’t understand ourselves and understand what we’re made for, we see here that we have an other, centered, communal purpose. Does that make sense? I’m not meant to live by myself. God for myself, but I’m supposed to live in community for God. So an other capital O, other centered communal purpose, to see God’s glory fill the earth, to see his kingdom come. Now, God didn’t mess up, of course, wasn’t like he woke up on, you know, the sixth day, or sometime in the afternoon or whatever, and was like, oh, man, this isn’t going to work. Is it like? No, of course not. He’s teaching Adam his need. And so he brings them all the animals. He names them all. But at the end of it, we see, nope, that’s not going to work. None of these are good enough. No pet can replace a person. So God finishes his work, the work he intended to do all along, puts Adam into a deep sleep, fashions Eve from his rib, and she is like him, and yet a compliment to him at the same time, this is who he’d been waiting for. And so he breaks into poetry, and we get the first marriage, which is good as we talk about community. Of course, this is the deepest, the fullest intimacy that we can experience in this life, because it’s the only relationship that is a one flesh union. A lot of other important relationships. Of course, when we come to the church, that is a one spirit union, equally important as well. But we see here the importance of community and how powerful community can be in our lives. Because what do we hear about Adam and Eve? They’re fully known, naked. Nothing’s hidden, right, fully known and yet fully loved, accepted. There’s no shame. Because, of course, there’s no reason to be ashamed yet, so we gotta make sure we understand this. Then, if we’re going to design a habitat, a culture for ourselves, it needs to include people, community. We were made for community. We were made to be outward facing. Jesus himself sums it up, to love God, to live for His glory, and then to love our neighbor, there’s the communal purpose, which means any cultural tendencies that we have toward self centered isolation are contrary to God’s design and will mess us up. Will mess us up because we’re not doing what we were made for. It would be like using your lawn mower to cut rope. You think, why not? It’s a blade, right? Works. It’s fine, but what happens if you cut rope with a lawn mower? It tangles around. And because the blade’s still trying to spin, the engine is eventually going to literally blow a gasket, at which point the owner will figuratively blow a gasket. I know from personal experience, by the way, we’re not trying to cut a rope. Okay, I knew that wasn’t its purpose, but got one still, and that was the end of my lawnmower. But if we live as we were designed, well that’s much better. That’s like using a lawnmower to cut grass. And this has been confirmed for us over and over and over again. Here’s just one example, a famous grant study that was done at Harvard across decades studying the importance of people community, and they found one thing talk about marriage specifically, which again, fits our text, Genesis two and all that, but having a good marriage at age 50 predicted positive aging at Age 80, whereas low cholesterol did not isn’t that interesting? I’ve shared these stats before, too. That’s coming from a different study, but the same idea to be well connected, like having friends, despite living an unhealthy lifestyle, heavy drinking, smoking, poor diet. I hear all that by the way, you know what I’m picturing. Norm from cheers, right? Like the kind of person who hangs out in a dive bar, overweight drinks too much all the rest, but he had friends, didn’t he? So somebody like that will live longer on average than your vegan marathoner with no friends. Isn’t that fascinating? Do I get an amen right there? That’s amazing. Who’s in Lee’s journey group, we got some we got some work to do here. But isn’t that fascinating? You would be like, No, your diet, your lifestyle choices matter more than No. They don’t, not even for your health. In the end, that’s how important people are to people so George valent, who oversaw the grant study for three decades, he concludes this. He says the 75 years and $20 million expended on the grant study points to a straightforward five word conclusion, happiness is love. Full stop, happiness is. Is Love. Live the way God intended, in other words, and you will experience the blessing God intended. But what happens if we don’t you pluck a leaf from a tree, it withers. Pull a log from the fire, it burns out. And this is a great danger in light of current trends. Robert Putnam catalog, some of these in Bowling Alone, there’s been a 58% drop in club memberships, like, who belongs to a club anymore? What a quaint notion at this point in our culture. 43% drop in family dinners. 35% drop in having friends over all of this is about a decade old at this point, those numbers are not getting better, I promise you, that. And here’s the one that always scares me the most. In 19 93% of men reported having no close friends today. And again, this is a few years old already, that number has risen to 15% and 28% for men under 30, no close friends. You want to know why we have school shootings? That’s it, right there. Like that’s the answer. How important this is to us. That’s not how God made us, but it is how our culture is rapidly unmaking us, and we know it’s happening. I don’t think I need to convince any of you that these are our trends. So we need to know why if we’re going to really address them. So takes us to the second point, the problem how culture unmakes us. Now, what I read for you was a lovely passage filled with goodness, but there were tiny hints of what’s coming. For example, it says they were naked and felt no shame. Now, why would you mention that? Unless you knew shame was coming? That’s like saying they were naked and they were not blue and pink polka dotted. You’re like, right? That’s a dumb thing to say. No. We’re saying it because we know that everyone reading it goes, Oh, but we feel shame. We feel shame. And then we also saw, in verse 20, man gave names all the livestock, birds in the sky, and all the wild animals. Next time we read the phrase wild animals, chapter three, verse one, Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. So we know what’s coming when that serpent slithers in and seduces us. And how does he do it? By undoing God’s good design. I mean, right there. The fact that you got one of the wild animals ruling over humanity means we’ve flipped God’s design on its head, but we’re talking community today. So what are we talking about? We go from this outward facing, communal purpose to inward facing, selfish desires. Satan says, Eat the fruit and you will be like God. You get to decide for your self what makes you happy, no matter who gets hurt in the process. And by the way, everybody gets hurt in the process. Right after it happens, Adam’s blaming Eve. There’s marital conflict, first time in history. And then we get Cain murders his brother Abel, because Abel was a threat to his carefully constructed identity, and then you get Lamech by the end of the next chapter, chapter four, boasting in his murder. It is not good to be alone. And yet now humanity is bent inward. There’s this centripetal force, selfish sin that’s constantly pulling us away from people. So he did Easter egg hunt. I was here for that, and I at one point, spun the bucket. Always fun, right? It was some kid’s mind. I absolutely blew when I did this. I don’t remember who it was. It wasn’t my boys, but it was somebody like that anyway, and they were like the bucket was upside down, and none of the eggs fell out. Like, what? What dark magic is this? Of course, we know what it is, even if we forget the terms. There is a centrifugal force that’s happening right when you swing the bucket, all the eggs want to go, but there’s a bucket, right? And so that bucket is pushing back against us, the centripetal force pushing it back in. Okay? So that’s what we’re like now. Our design, the way God made us, is to go out like the A’s, and then sin is this bucket that entraps us keeps pushing us back in on ourselves. So what happens then, to community? Well, at that point, we begin to use people to meet our own needs. This is counterfeit community. And of course, it’s antithetical to everything Christ taught us. We’re supposed to have the same mindset as Christ, who looked not to his own interests but the interests of others. And now we go, yeah, but my interests are the most important one. And you’re sitting there going, I know all this, and yeah, I’ve seen people like that. That’s not me, though. I live in community. I’m here today, aren’t I? Let me ask you a few questions. You ever avoided someone who annoys you? Is there someone in the room right now that you avoid? You see him coming and you kind of go, I could walk through the Pew this way. Have you ever said what people want to hear instead of what you know you should say because you just don’t want to offend someone cause a big problem? You ever stopped pursuing a person once they couldn’t help you anymore? Or on the flip side, have you ever clung to an unhealthy relationship, like one you know is toxic because you just don’t want to be lonely. And we use people. We are made for community, but we have fallen from that original glory. We have warped God’s design. I am my own and I do what I want. Now I’m in Genesis two and three. That means this has been true since Eden, but something feels different now. So what is that and how does that hurt our pursuit of community? So we gotta do a little cultural exegesis at this point. We gotta interpret culture. If there’s one thing that marks our culture out, especially from cultures in other parts of the world, and of course, in history as well. It’s the culture of autonomy, autonomy, individualism, right? I am my own. This is very different. Again, you grew up, and there are plenty of them in the world today. Grew up in more of a traditional culture versus a modern culture. You know, it’s got a clan feel to it. So it has its own sin tendencies, of course, clannishness, cliquist kind of thing, tribal like these. A lot of these are negative words that we use, so it’s got that, but that’s not us for the most part, in the West. In the West, we are individualists through and through. So we’ve got this culture of autonomy, and we’ve got the crushing burden that it brings also, which is why we’re drowning in anxiety and exhausted all of the time. Here’s the way Alan noble describes it. He calls it the sovereign individualism. I like that the individual is king. In other words, he says, the freedom of sovereign individualism comes at a great price. Once I’m liberate, liberated from all social, moral, natural and religious values, I become responsible for the meaning of my own life. That’s the crushing burden, because you’ve got no god to judge. You think, Well, that sounds nice, fine, but you got no god to judge to say, yes, good. That’s right, that’s what you should be doing. You’ve got no god to approve. You’ve got no god to when you realize you didn’t do what you were supposed to be doing. You’ve got no God to save either. So you got to save yourself, judge yourself, save yourself. And what happens to people again in the process, we have to use them, because now we want, and I would argue, even need others, to recognize and affirm our created identities. That’s what people are for to say, yes, what you’re trying to do, you’re doing it right. And so that’s why we need to be seen. Which explains social media, of course, come back to that. So two trends that increase this isolating, self absorption we see in our culture today. I’m drawing from the work of Korean, German philosopher Byung Chul Han. He’s a philosopher. Get a little dicey. I’m do my best make it as digestible as possible. He talks about the achievement society and digitalization. Those are the two trends, okay, achievement society and digitalization. So achievement society, what do we mean by that? In a tradition, traditional or totalitarian culture, we live in a disciplinary society. So totalitarian culture. Of course, you can picture North Korea, Iran, China, something like that. Even today, that society disciplines its subjects through punishment. People just get, you know, taken away, kind of thing. And of course, this is true. You can picture like an Amish society today, and not that long ago, even in the West, like in a church or something where you excommunicate people, that’s society disciplining again. Excommunication means nothing. Today, in our individualistic culture, you get booted out of a church because of your sin. What do you do? Go down the street the other church, they don’t care. They just want their numbers padded. That means bigger budget, right? Right salary increases for the senior pastor. We love it in a modern culture that doesn’t happen anymore. In modern culture, we have to discipline ourselves through willing self exploitation. Let me say that again. That’s not my phrase. We discipline ourselves through willing self exploitation. We exploit ourselves, in other words, and so our achievement, this is where achievement comes in. Our achievement becomes a means to our identity. No one is saying you can’t anymore. There are like no taboos left in our culture, no one’s saying you can’t, which means not only that you can, but that you should, and that you must do more and be more. I mean, how many of you struggle to just sit that’s achievement society, right there. Well, you’re sitting there going, I should be doing something. I should be doing something. Why? Because my identity depends on my doing something right now, there’s the exhaustion and the anxiety, by the way. This is why you can chart this, all the statistics and stuff, why millennials and Gen Z have a terrible work life balance, even though it’s the first culture to talk about work life balance like that, wasn’t a thing that long ago. And yet these boomers, who didn’t talk that way or whatever, still had it. So why, even though we’ve got all of these policies and rights that give you this I mean, like, paternity leaves, like a year and a half now, like, when was that a thing? Right? You get up and you start farming again. The next morning, it goes on forever. You get more vacation days than ever. And guess what? They don’t take them. We don’t take them. I’m a millennial, so I’ll just say it that way. We don’t take them. I’m guilty of that also, by the way, why millennials, Gen Z much more likely to be answering emails Sunday night? Part of that’s technology, huge part of the problem. Of course, you get the email, you go out and answer it. It’s right here. You go, I can answer it. It’s right here. But part of that’s just this sense of like, I should be doing something, I should be doing something. I should be doing something. It leads to exhaustion. Burnout, just the name of Byun Hans book, by the way, the burnout society leads to anxiety and depression. It’s why we have a mental health crisis. It’s a new kind of health crisis. We conquered bacteria. I mean, we all still die, but, you know, we know what germs are and things like that. So now there’s this new health crisis, and with the explosion of these diagnoses that were just like word of thing earlier, ADHD, borderline personality and again, depression, a lot of causes I don’t like chemical stuff is real, like, don’t hear me say any of that kind of stuff. But byum, he quotes Elaine Ehrenberg here, he says, the depressed individual is unable to measure up. He’s tired of having to become himself. That resonate with any of you, it did with me for sure, tired of having to become himself, because what happens now, you no longer have a task to accomplish, but an identity to actualize and get affirmed every day. Let me give you an example. Just you know what? What I just said, I’ll take my own life here. It’s not I have to write a sermon this week, because I could go done did that, but I have to become a great preacher. When is that ever gonna happen? And how would I even know if it happened, right? And so that’s the difference, right there. It’s no longer I did what I’m supposed to do, but I have to keep becoming who I am, and I need to show it, and have people tell me it every day. Need that dopamine hit over and over and over again. Of course, that leads to that second trend, then digitalization. We express ourselves digitally so that others can affirm us, which means we are outward facing. It’s social media. We’re more connected than ever, right, but we’re not right because it’s outward facing only to meet an inward facing need for approval. Here’s the way chan says it, man, this one hit me hard, and I remember where I was when I read this sentence. That’s how much it hit me. The function of friends is primarily to heighten narcissism by granting attention to the ego exhibited as a commodity. I’m a commodity. Now let me put myself out there as a product, and I am looking for attention. Likes, no, I see people nodding like, Yep, that sounds right. It’s exactly it. I mean, isn’t that what we mean by Facebook friend? And that’s all. It is, somebody who will like my stuff. So I get that dopamine hit. It destroys community because we. Know that online interaction is nothing like physical interaction, and yet we keep going back to it like a dog returning to its vomit. Why? Because without those likes, we feel invisible. We’ve got no one affirming us, approving of us. And think also what that does to community here in that in a digital achievement society driven by sovereign individualism, you have no reason to gather just for the sake of gathering. You can only gather to achieve something if it’s going to serve some purpose, we have instrumentalized community. In other words, community is now just a means to an unholy end. We get together when it contributes to our main purpose in life, our own self absorption, which is why nobody just hangs out anymore, because that’s a waste of time that could be doing something. All right, make no mistake, we bring this into the church. Digitalization, yeah, we got a live stream, which is great, because it means you can fit church into your busy schedule on demand, church achievement society, right? I mean, it’s church is something we can just insert into that identity that we’re trying to create, that we want others to affirm. You know what I mean by that? Right? So big social media trend recently was, you turn yourself into like an action figure or a doll or something. I didn’t fully follow this, but I saw a bunch of them. I saw some of you, in fact. And so what church you know, and you want your again, by the way, that’s how obsessed we are with our identity. I’m gonna call you out on that. Okay, some of you were like, Oh, this is kind of fun, all right. But still, we’re obsessed with ourselves. And what makes me like, those are those little toys that came with the action figure. I got a soccer ball, right? Because that’s who I am, or I got books because I want you all to know I’m learning or something, right? Like, that’s how those functions. Okay, gotta have a Bible, because that tells you about what sort of I’m a church going person. That’s part of what I want you to affirm in me, which mean, again, means we’re gonna be using each other. You think, no, I don’t come to church to use people. Let me tell you a story. It’s from James Wilhoitz book, spiritual formation, as if the church mattered, which is a great title, by the way. He tells this story. He says he met Jose and his wife. They were a young couple. You know, young kids married, of course, successful, and he was especially kind of advancing, but it had put a strain on their marriage. All of this had why? Well, they moved away from family. That’s what you do in an individualistic society, of course, move away from family. So they didn’t have that support system in place, newer to the community, all that kind of stuff. And he’s putting in long hours because you’re achieving so that you can establish your identity, you know, all the rest. Right? So they’re in church, though, because that’s part of their action figure set. And so somebody’s talking to them, you’re hearing about the marriage strain, and they say you need to join a small group so you can find friends and the support that you need already, by the way, I’m concerned. Why did they join a small group to find friends and get the support they need? So we’re already exploitative. We’re already using people well, a few months later, sees Jose again, asks him, how’s it going? We dropped out. We’re not doing small group anymore. Why? We weren’t getting anything out of it, and it was a nuisance to find a sitter every week. Some of you are really uncomfortable right now, because that’s real. What I just said, Let me translate it, in case we missed what was just said. The people I gathered with weren’t helping me to become what I want to be, so they have no value in my life. That’s the problem. That’s how culture, our culture of sovereign individualism is actively unmaking us. You’re the product of the fall and our inward, selfish bent. Is there any hope? So glad you asked. Yes. Third point, the solution gonna shock you guys. I know it. It’s the gospel. You weren’t expecting that. Were you the solution? How the gospel remakes us. Now there is no gospel in this passage because there’s no sin yet, but we get two huge hints in Genesis one and two. I quoted Genesis 127, and 28 right before it verse 26 God says, Let us make mankind in our image. Now that’s the only verse we had. I’m not sure what we would do with that. Probably just a royal we right look when the king says, We are not amused, no, but that’s not what it is. We know from the rest of Bible that we are talking about the Trinity, that our God is one God who exists eternally in three persons, Father, Son. Son and Holy Spirit. Think about what that means. Here’s how Tim Keller says it. It means that ultimate reality is a community of persons who know and love one another. Ultimate Reality, before creation, before any people existed, there was already a community of divine persons. God did not have to create us in order to love, because God is love intrinsically, and he’s been loving since eternity past, the father loving the Son and Spirit, Son, loving the Father and the Spirit, spirit, loving the Father and the Son. So of course, he made us for community, because we were made by a God, made in His image, by a God who is eternally in community. Love is the very fabric of existence. Again, no surprise then that you had to spend $20 million to figure out what the Bible tells you on page one, happiness is love. Of course, it is because God is love and God is happiness. Now we know that God, this God, who exists in community, redeems us. You can see that in chapter three, we get a sacrifice. In 321 we get the promise of the coming Savior in 315 but God redeems us, not just from the punishment of our sin, but from the effects of our sin as well. Thank God. He’s remaking us. He is restoring us like a guy restoring an old, you know, rested over 67 Shelby GT or something like, that’s what he’s doing. He’s making us all things new. We saw the end of it in our last series. He is remaking us, not as individuals, but as a people. He is remaking us as a community. And there’s your second hint here. By the way, it’s so interesting that Genesis two ends with a wedding. What’s interesting about it is because Paul quotes that verse later, man leaves his father and mother, unites his wife to become one flesh. All that he quotes that in Ephesians chapter five, and then he says, right afterwards, this is a great mystery, but I am talking about Christ and the church. This is not about human marriage. This is about Christ and the church. It’s a picture of what’s coming. And this is the community piece, because, of course, I am not the Bride of Christ. We are the bride of Christ. And so that brings us back together. In fact, that’s what the church is. You know what the word church means, the Greek word that stands behind Church, the assembly, the gathering. You can’t be the church unless you gather, and that unbends us, so that we’re not inward any longer. Of course, the Gospel does that we have God’s approval now, we have God’s affirmation in Christ, only in Christ because what he did, not because of what we’ve done. But that means we don’t need to use people to get that affirmation anymore. And so we are freed to love, truly love, not use people. So by placing us in community, God overcomes the achievement society and the digitalization that we talked about. I mean digitalization? No, we’re called to gather. I’ll talk way more about this next week, not to run a digital PR campaign, but to gather. In fact, even our purposeless gatherings, just getting together, have great purpose, because we’re gathering for the sake of loving God and loving neighbor, and not for the sake of doing something, and then we’re called to love and serve. And that overcomes the achievement society, because it constrain love, constrains our freedom. When we talk about, you know, is the state going to discipline us? We’re going to discipline ourselves? No, it’s love, God’s love, that disciplines us for the sake of others in the passage that Hannah read for us earlier, in fact, Galatians 513, you’re called to be free,
but don’t use your freedom to indulge the flesh rather serve one another humbly in love. You notice, by the way, that verse takes care of traditional and modern cultures. And one fell swoop, you’re called to be free. You don’t have to do what your clan tells you to do. But that freedom is not for your sake. It’s you’re free to love now, which means we’re called to a positive freedom, not a negative freedom. Really important. Most of us today, we think of freedom in negative terms. I am free from the Bible conceives of freedom in positive terms. We are free to we are freed to do something, to do what we should. We’re not free from all constraints. No, we are now constrained by love. Let me just give you an example so you know what I’m talking about here. I want to be a good dad. That is a high on my list of prior. Ortiz, that constrains me. I am not free to be a great jazz pianist because I don’t have the time for it. If I’m gonna love my kids the way I think they need to be loved, I’m gonna love you like I think you need to be loved. And by the way, that’s so good you don’t know why, because if I weren’t constrained by that, then it’s just my fault that I’m not a good jazz pianist. I should have been doing more. I should have been doing more. Why did I take that break? Right? There’s the exhaustion, the anxiety. Again, love is the ultimate constraining force. If you’re married, you know what I mean? Once you get married, you don’t get to make your own choices anymore and then have kids, by the way, that really changes it, of course, and that’s what we most need. But here’s the thing, it’s true of all community, not just biological community, right? It constrains us. It remakes us in God’s image, restores us to our original purpose. How we say it here, made to magnify Christ, constrains me and then sent to serve others, constrains me in love. So here’s the big idea. Amy asked me yesterday, so what’s your big idea? I was like, I don’t even know. Okay, I really struggle to put this one together. If you don’t like it, it’s on. You don’t put it through ChatGPT. Okay, not good. I don’t want to know what that says. Figure it out for yourself. What you think the big idea is, here’s what I thought it was, let the gospel FREE you to constrain yourself in community. Or if you want the short, pithy version, live to love. Live to love. I mean, think how powerfully all of this that I’m talking about speaks to an anxious, exhausted modern culture. We are to be salt and light in this world, right now, in history, where we’re located, I cannot think of a way that we could be saltier or brighter than this, like this is what people are gonna go, you have something that I don’t, and I need to know why you have that, because it’s showing the bankruptcy of sovereign individualism and the joy of constraint in community, the freedom that comes with saying, with the Heidelberg Catechism, you are not your own, but belong body and soul in life and in death to Jesus Christ. Samuel James says it like this, the church has an opportunity to proclaim good news of great rest to a weary world, but this can only happen if we’re experiencing that rest for ourselves. So take stock even now we’re gonna have a moment to do it in silence and communion here in just a second, take stock of your life now. Are you experiencing the rest that comes with gospel freedom? Have you been freed to live and love in community? Are you still achieving to create an identity and using people? We all got that to some extent, of course, own it, confess it. And here’s my challenge for you. Then, as we go from here, I told you, we’re gonna have a challenge each week. This is just to help, like, put Dan’s steps on the floor so you kind of know what to do. Leaving here. It’s a weird one, but run with me on this. Okay, we’re commanded at a few different points in Scripture to greet one another with a holy kiss. Some of you are freaking out. You’re like, I’m done. I renounce my membership right now. I love it, though. Here’s why, because a kiss requires physical presence. It’s not an emoji. I know they got the kissy face emoji. That’s not good enough. You know, that’s not good enough, right? Requires physical presence. Also requires love. I experienced this lot in pastoral ministry. There are people who come into my office whose hands I do not want to shake. Not any of you. Some of your leg is me. No, like people come off the street and stuff, and I am, I don’t want to do it. I’m not even a germaphobe. And I’m like, You don’t smell right? And so it’s this willingness to love and to be inconvenient. So my challenge to you and the Holy kisses is, it’s a cultural expression, right? It happens here in Colombia, people. Is my former student. If you don’t know, if you guys knew that, Juan Felipe, you know, I greet his wife, I kiss her on the cheek. She kiss on the cheek. That’s how we greet in Colombia. You go to some other parts of the world, I’ve had one of our missionaries whose name I can’t say on the live stream and whatnot, keeps trying to kiss me on the cheek. He’s a guy. I’m like, okay, but that’s that culture, right? So cultural expression, it happens in different ways. What does it look like for you to greet in this way, physically, lovingly and with a willingness to be inconvenienced, and then do that, which means you can’t take off right away, right? We got some time to greet. We got a lobby. We got a reception going. You got some people to see. How are you going to greet one another? Prayer after the service today. How are you going to greet one another when you show up early next week? So you have time to greet one another before you come and sit down? Because the service not about you getting what you want, what you need from it, but about us gathering in community. That’s my challenge for you. Let’s pray.
We worship You, Lord as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, eternally existing in relationship, in love and then creating us in your image, to love like that, to be in community with you and with others like that, Lord, would you help us to do so more and more, to cast aside our sinful tendencies toward self, to be remade by the good news of what you have done for us in Christ, so that we can come together in a new and powerful way for our good and for your glory. Amen.

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Four Acts of Faith April 20, 2025 | Brandon Cooper The sermon explores four acts of faith in John 20 that demonstrate how Jesus helps his followers move from ignorance to understanding, grief to meaning, fear to joy, and doubt to trust after his resurrection. Brandon Cooper walks through the biblical narrative, showing how Mary Magdalene, the disciples, and Thomas each experience a transformative encounter with the risen Jesus that challenges their initial disbelief. He emphasizes that the resurrection provides hope, meaning, and life by defeating sin and death, and offers peace and purpose to those who believe in it. The key message is to “believe and receive” – to confess sins, commit to Jesus, and trust in the life-changing power of his resurrection.

Well, good morning church. Good to see you all here this morning. If you want to go ahead and grab your Bibles, you can open up to John chapter 20. If you don’t have a Bible, there should be one right there in front of you in the pew, black Bible. If you use that one, it’s on page 880 in the black Bible in front of you. If you got your own Bible, I can’t help you with page numbers. Sorry, couple things to say about that. By the way, if you don’t own a Bible, just go ahead and take that one. Okay, that’s yours. That’s our gift to you. We would love for you to have one. So take it home. Just make sure you read it. It’s not there to collect dust, of course. Second thing is, please, really do grab that Bible and open it up to page 880, or whatever page it is in your Bible, because it’s so important that you see where I’m getting what I’m talking about. This morning, you did not come here to hear my thoughts, which are unimportant, I promise you, but we need to hear the very Word of God, John, chapter 20, as you’re turning there, what does it take for you to believe a crazy story? Let’s say your friend rushes up to you and says, You’ll never believe what just happened? I just met Taylor Swift at the local coffee shop, you know, down the street here she was with her boyfriend, the baseball player, or whatever he is. And so if this is a friend you trust, you know, never made up something like this before, you’re like, okay, that like, that’s amazing. This is awesome. Tell me about this. But others of us, maybe it’ll take a few stages before we would actually believe. You know, maybe your friend has to say, no, no, Joe was there too. You could ask him, and you go, Okay, well, he wouldn’t throw Joe under the bus unless it were true. So it’s probably true. Or, look, look, she, you know, she signed my shirt or whatever, or something like that. But, you know, I mean, you can always fake a signature, of course. How do I know this wasn’t just fan club auto pen kind of thing or something like that? And they’re like, Well, here’s the picture of us all at Elijah’s like, it’s, it’s real. And you’re like, there’s nothing we believe less than pictures these days, right? Yeah, I heard an AI, Yeah, funny story, by the way. So Kyle and I were having a conversation about how I was gonna open this sermon. This was a week or so ago, and I was running through this Taylor Swift idea with him, and he didn’t like it, by the way, but that’s okay. No, he liked it as we’re talking about it, Jake, whom you just met, was standing awkwardly outside my office door. Not unusual, but it was like, extra awkward this time. And so I finally, like Kyle, opened the door, like, what does Jake need or whatnot, and what does he have? He’s got a picture of one of our mutual friends, eight months pregnant. And he was like, Is this real? Because that was it, right? Like, you don’t believe pictures anymore. It’s like, No, it can’t be. Like, I just saw her and she wasn’t and now she’s like, like, what is this? And sure enough, you know, her finger was weird, and her, like, missing an ear and stuff, and so it was AI, but, like, that’s the point, right? So it takes a lot for us to believe crazy stories these days, you understand why I’m bringing this up, because the resurrection is a crazy story to believe. You should be skeptical about it, at least initially. And it’s not crazy just for us to believe, you know, modern folk, because we are so enlightened, supposedly, all evidence to the contrary, of course, but it was hard to believe then, too. So even Jesus’s followers were like, I don’t think so. Like, you’re gonna have to convince me. And that’s why we get these four acts of faith that we’re gonna talk about this morning, four acts like acts in a play, sure, but also these four acts that Jesus performs to get his followers to believe, to bring them along. Looking at these four acts will help us answer the question for ourselves too. What would it take for me to believe? What would it take for me to believe to receive this report as true and life changing, if true. Now, a little bit of context, just because we’re diving in John 20 here, middle of the story. Of course, we only need the resurrection because of the cross, as Kyle mentioned a moment ago. We’re only here on Sunday because what happened on Friday when Jesus is crucified by the Romans because of sedition. You know, he claimed to be king. I guess everyone kind of knew that was a made up charge. He’s crucified by the Jewish leaders, not because of sedition, but because of blasphemy. He didn’t claim to be king. He actually claimed to be God, and that is significant, of course, claimed to be God, and God’s Lamb, the sacrifice that would be offered for the sins of His people to pay this debt that we owe as a result of our rebellion against God. Now, it was no surprise to Jesus that he went to the cross. He kept saying this. He kept telling his followers, you know, I need to die, right? And then he you know, he would. Things as the day approached, like my time has come, so he knew what he was doing, and when he’s on the cross, as he’s breathing his last what does he say? He doesn’t say, I’m dying. He says, it’s finished. It’s finished. The work I came to do is done. I paid that sin debt. And then he died, and he was placed in the tomb, which we could see in the paragraph right before where we’re going to begin at the end of chapter 19. So it was no surprise to him. It was a surprise to his followers, though they were expecting, you know, kind of a political, military king who would, you know, make their lives immediately better, and so they’re a bit bummed. Saviors shouldn’t die, at least until they’ve, you know, saved the people. And so they’re confused, crestfallen and cowering in fear. They certainly don’t think Jesus is God anymore. They’re not even sure he’s a prophet anymore. Dead People can’t rescue the living, and so they’re hopeless. And if you’re going to kick them out of that moment, if you’re going to bring them into this new stage of faith, it’s going to take some proof. Jesus can have to do something to vindicate his message. And that’s where we pick up then. So John, chapter 20, let’s look at Act One, which is from ignorance to understanding. John 20 verses one to 10, from ignorance to understanding. I’ll read the passage for us early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon, Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, they have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they had put him. So Peter and the other disciples started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb. First, he bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there, but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally, the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went inside. He saw and believed they still did not understand from scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to where they were staying. Alright? Pause there. So it’s the first day of the week. That is, as Kyle just mentioned, why we celebrate on Sunday. It’s why we’re here every Sunday, because that’s the day Jesus rose from the dead and Mary approaches the tomb while it’s still dark, which is important. A lot of the other gospels say it wasn’t light yet, which is a little bit different, like we haven’t had a light break through. That’s not what John says. Because John loves this word darkness. He uses it as a metaphor for our spiritual darkness, even ignorance. So Mary is approaching it in a stage where she is still lost and confused. It is interesting that it’s Mary also says Mary Magdalene, by the way, and she she has a checkered past, so already she’s like probably not the best one to be the first person to see the empty tomb and then the first person to see Jesus after his resurrection. Plus she is a woman, which does not matter to us now, but back then mattered a lot, because a woman’s testimony wasn’t admissible in court. And so it’s really interesting that it is a woman every Gospel says this. That’s significant. Because if you’re gonna make a story up, you would you want it to be as believable as possible? Like, if you’re gonna make up a story about meeting Taylor Swift, you’re not gonna say she pulled you on stage at the Super Bowl halftime show, because, like, that’s easy to prove wrong. Like, you want it to be now it was right afterwards we were out there. There was no one else there, like, conveniently, right? And so you would fabricate the most believable story possible that wouldn’t be Mary. So it’s interesting. She arrives, it’s dark, she sees the stone has been removed, has been moved, and she assumes right away that it’s a grave robbery. This is a good assumption, grave robbery was so common back then that within about a decade, the Emperor Claudius, at the time, actually orders capital punishment for anyone caught robbing a grave. That’s how common it was. So you gotta, gotta deal with it severely. So this is a logical conclusion that she reaches. She rushes back to tell Peter and John, who is writing this gospel. By the way, he refers to himself as the disciple Jesus loved not because he thought Jesus loved him better than anyone else, but he just he couldn’t believe that Jesus would love him, and so that’s just how he talks about himself from then on. So she rushes back to tell Peter and John, you can’t even imagine that the anger and grief they must have been feeling to know that somebody had desecrated the grave of the one they loved. And so, of course, they take off running. John is almost certainly younger than Peter. He’s in better shape. He gets there first he looks in but he doesn’t go in the tomb. Why not? And he tells us it’s because he saw the strips of linen lying there. And we go so but that’s actually significant, because that’s enough for him to realize that this wasn’t a grave robbery, because if you were robbing a grave, you would not leave the expensive linen and spices sitting there and just take the body, which is, of course, worth nothing. And so wheels are already turning in John’s mind when Peter, who is a slower runner, yes, but faster at absolutely everything else, for example, talking before thinking, you know, this is his strength, right? He rushes straight in. Probably smacks his head on the doorway as he goes in, and and he sees the strips of linen as well as the cloth that was wrapped around, almost like a turban around a corpse’s head back then. Now that’s interesting that we get all this information about the linen and the cloth and they’re separate, and all that stuff that’s a lot of detail in a story that doesn’t have much detail. So what’s going on it must be important. And it’s probably important, because the contrast with Lazarus to we’re reading John’s Gospel from start to finish, this was just a few chapters earlier. It would have been just a few days earlier, really, weeks earlier, before this. But what happens when Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead? Lazarus, you know, comes hopping out like a mummy because he’s still wrapped in the linen, because Lazarus is revival was different. Jesus revived Lazarus in his same body to die again. Lazarus is not alive currently, but that’s different from Jesus. Of course, Jesus somehow passed through the linen and the spices the same way he’s going to pass through locked doors here in just a little bit, because he’s in a new body. He’s in his glorified resurrection body. He really at this point is he kind of like straddling Heaven and Earth, and sort of moves in between them as he goes. So John finally goes in after Peter sees all this. He couldn’t see it from the door, and it says that he saw and believed. John has teased out the implications. At this point, he’s moved from ignorance to understanding. He realizes the only possible explanation is resurrection. Jesus has risen from the dead, just like he kept telling his disciples he would. He said, Yes, I must die and then I’ll rise again. And John goes, Oh, he meant he must die and then rise again. I get it now. It takes us a while we understand that this is why Jesus’ burial is so important for our faith, by the way, because the tomb is empty has to be empty. Of course, we know it’s empty because the disciples begin preaching his resurrection like right there a couple days later, if he his body had been in the the tomb, they would have said, No, he didn’t rise. So we know the tomb is empty has to be and it demands an explanation. And John has realized there’s really only one explanation at this point, and that’s what John realizes here. Now, it’s true. It’s a fledgling faith. He even says that verse nine, we didn’t get it all yet, guys, okay, we didn’t get it all to fledgling faith. We’re going to see him confused again later on, but it’s it’s so encouraging for us, this fledgling faith for a couple of different reasons. First of all, it reminds us that we’re never going to come to complete understanding. Are we? We all start here with more questions than answers, and that’s okay. In Christianity, we are being asked to trust a person, not accept a proposition only, yes, there’s some propositions we accept. We’re being asked to trust a person. And you don’t need to know everything to know you can trust someone. Imagine, you know a son, you know, with his dad, and they’re hiking out west somewhere, and all of a sudden the dad says, Stop. Okay, back up, really slowly, just start walking backwards to me right now, the son has no idea what’s going on. Does not have all the answers, but he trusts his dad, and so he starts backing up when he gets there. Fine, Dad can say, I heard a rattlesnake. Okay, that’s why we moved. We’re gonna keep moving. Actually. Let’s just keep going in this direction. And that’s the point. Right to to be saved, we must trust take that first step. We back up away from sin, towards our Father, and then, once we’re in safety, we can get we can get our questions answered more and more. We love questions. Here we talk about questions all the time. We just won’t have them all, and certainly not at the beginning. Second reason this is so encouraging for us, though, is that this is exactly how we’ll have to arrive at understanding, teasing out the implications that come with the empty tomb, the resurrection appearances, the record that we have here, the birth of Christianity itself, even because we don’t get to do what happened. In the next three acts, and that is actually exactly where John’s going to take us through this story. So let’s keep reading. Here’s act two, then act two, from grief to meaning, from grief to meaning, verses 11 to 18. I’ll read it for us now. Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white seated where Jesus’s body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. And they asked her, Woman, why are you crying? They have taken my lord away, she said, and I don’t know where they put him. At this she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for thinking he was the gardener. She said, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you put him and I will get him. Jesus said to her, Mary, she turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic rabboni, which means teacher, Jesus said, do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, I am ascending to my father and your father to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news, I have seen the Lord, and she told them that he had said these things to her. So Mary lags behind. Understandably, she’d already been to the tomb, rushed back to tell Peter and John, and then they take off running. And she’s like, seriously, I just did this. So she’s there. She arrives after John and Peter have gone. She follows their lead, though, and peers in at this point, although she doesn’t notice the linen and the cloth she sees instead the angels, which is significant, of course, because it shows us that God’s power, not grave robbers moved the stone. Except in her grief, she doesn’t process this. It’s true, sometimes angels appear kind of dazzling in white, and you go, that’s not a person, but often in Scripture, angels appear as if they are humans. That must be what it is here. So she starts to have just a normal conversation. Doesn’t seem to care about the fact that the two guys sitting in an empty tomb, but whatever. Again, she’s in grief at this time, she’s talking to them, and she senses this presence behind her, and so she turns and sees, but doesn’t recognize Jesus. Again, quite common. Not sure why exactly. If he’s veiled himself, somehow it happens a bunch. That’s one of the questions we don’t have an answer to. And he says a similar sort of thing where he says, Woman, which, by the way, sounds off putting to us today, but was a term of respect, probably ma’am would be a really good translation here. Like Ma’am, what’s going on? The questions make sense on the surface level. Why are you crying? If you saw somebody just sobbing, you’d be like, what’s wrong? Can I help somehow? Who is it that you’re looking for? So they they make sense on the surface, but there’s a much deeper meaning on reflection after she gets it, why are you crying? Becomes then almost a mild rebuke. Why are you crying? I just defeated sin and death. Today is a day for joy. Why are you crying? Who is it that you are looking for? Helps her to think, what exactly did you think the Messiah was going to be? Who did you think I am? Jesus is asking her because her view had been too small. She didn’t realize that Jesus had come not to defeat Rome, but to defeat Sin and death forever and then to rise in triumph from the grave. But she’s not there yet. In fact, she thinks he’s a gardener, and so maybe he’s been told to move, you know, this criminal’s body from this nice cemetery, and she doesn’t blame him. Just says, All right, look, if you move him, just tell me where, and I’ll go take care of things from here. At this point, Jesus says just one word that is enough to change her life forever. Mary, that’s it. She hears her name, and it overcomes instantly her grief and her blindness. I mean, it’s interesting, if John’s Faith comes by reasoning, Mary’s comes by hearing and especially by hearing her name, you think of how powerful it is to hear your name. It just speaks of intimacy, recognition, of being seen like if you’re past the CEO in the hallway and he says, Tom right, you’re like he knows me like. This is exciting. Now, imagine that with God Almighty. That’s what’s just happened here. Of course, Jesus said this is exactly what would happen in John 10. He says, I’m the Good Shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know my voice, and sure enough, Mary has heard his voice, and there is instant trust teacher. She cries out, which is what she had called him. She falls at his feet, begins clinging to him. There is no more grief, only joy. I. Then we get this difficult vert, verse, verse, verse 17, where Jesus says, like, let go. Don’t cling, because I haven’t ascended. So what’s he saying here? He’s saying you can let go, because I’ll be here for a little while. It’s got 40 days, in fact, until he’s going to ascend. So this is not the time for those, you know the what I’m talking about, those hugs where you squeeze tight and you think, I’m never letting go, like your kid’s going off to college, and you’re like, sorry, gonna miss your freshman year because I refuse to Stop hugging you. So it’s coming up for me. So this is like, I don’t like this. This is more like when a vet returns from deployment. You back, right, and you hug, and you think, I don’t want to let go, and you go, it’s fine. I’m back. I live here now. Go tell Mom, go tell Dad, go get your brother. Like it’s time to party. That’s what Jesus is saying here. This is a time for a joyful sharing of good news. And so he moves Mary from grief to mission like she’s given a task, a purpose. She has a reason to go on. Her life has meaning, which can be hard to find in grief, of course, but he’s overcome the grief and given her this new purpose and meaning. And notice how good the task is, and how much meaning it gives to all those who trust in Jesus. He says, go tell my brothers the disciples. That is, go tell my brothers that I am ascending. Like that day is coming. I will ascend to my father and your father to my God and your God. It’s so carefully phrased, there is some distance. Of course, we when we trust in Christ, become children of God, the Father. But differently than Jesus is God’s Son, of course. But still, Jesus is saying, you can know the blessing of adoption into God’s family like you belong to him now. So if you go back, you can look in John’s Gospel 71 times Jesus talks about the Father, and another 27 times he talks about my father. There’s only one time in John’s Gospel where he talks about your father, and it’s right here. It’s actually the only place where he calls the disciples brothers too. Go tell my brothers, not my followers. Go tell my brothers. He’s saying to see the new relationship that we have because it’s finished, because it’s done, we are family now, which just pulls this whole scene together. Because, of course, Jesus is going to ascend. What then, like, there goes all our joy. No, it’ll be even better, because he told us already earlier in John’s gospel, I will send my Spirit to be with us, to be with us. And of course, his spirit. That’s even closer than having Jesus in close physical proximity. Jesus in the flesh, is limited in space, but not the spirit. So when Jesus leaves there, no more resurrection appearances. When he ascends into heaven, the Spirit comes and dwells, not alongside us, but within us. And this is the Spirit who calls us, who speaks with God’s voice and his sheep here. And of course, the Spirit gives meaning to our lives, as well as He equips and empowers us to do the work that God has given us to do with His very presence. So Mary goes and carries out this task that she’s been given, and that takes us to act three of our story, from fear to joy. Act Three, from fear to joy, verses 19 to 23 I’ll read it for us on the evening of that first day of the week when the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. After he said this, he showed them his hands and sighed. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord again. Jesus said, Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, I am sending you with that. He breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. So this is later that evening on that Sunday, Resurrection Sunday, the disciples are huddled together behind locked doors because they are afraid. They’re afraid that they’re going to be arrested and put to death. Not unreasonably, by the way, oftentimes when you’re trying to quash a rebellion, you know you kill the leader, but you you kill the ringing leaders, all of them together. So yeah, they’re probably going to arrest his followers. So they’re afraid. No doubt they are ignorant and grieving to although you. Expect that Peter and John have at least told them something. So maybe they’ve got hope brewing inside them, but but the primary feeling is fear. Fear. Then Jesus shows up, even though the doors are locked again, not bound by the physical realm at this point. Now, what do you think Jesus is going to say to them in this moment? I mean, think of who these men are and what they have done. Judas betrayed him. Judas is gone at this point. But even still, those who are there and Peter denied him three times, and all the disciples, except for John, abandoned Jesus in His hour of need. You can understand if Jesus is a little peeved with them, angry, disappointed, and yet here he is, and he shows up and he says, Peace. He’s not angry, he’s not disappointed. He’s so tender with the disciples and how important that is for us also. Because how many of us think, Well, if God knew who I am, and by the way, he does, we’ll get there in a moment, he would be so angry with me, so disappointed in me. That’s not how God comes to us. He comes in love and mercy and tenderness. Peace, Jesus says now peace in English usually means something like the absence of conflict. Think of your world war two history. Peace in our time means we’re pretty sure Germany is not going to invade another country at this point. I guess they’re really low bar for peace. That is not what it means in Hebrew thought, peace is this huge word. Shalom is the word. It’s this huge word that means the fullness of the blessing that God brings. Like if we could sum up Good Friday with those words. It is finished. We can sum up Easter with this word, peace, shalom. Have come so that you could have everything that I was bringing to you, joy, love, understanding, whatever it is, the full blessings of life with God and then Jesus gives them not just peace, but meaning purpose, mission too, just like he did with Mary, he sends them out, just as he had been sent out to carry on his work. Although it’s different, of course, we’re sent out as ambassadors proclaiming what he had done. We don’t do it ourselves. Like Jesus came to procure forgiveness. We go out to proclaim forgiveness. And how do we do that? By preaching his word, whether formally, in a moment like this, or in informal conversations. But that’s what that last important verse means, verse 23 if you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven. It means we present as Christians the opportunity for forgiveness by proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, and those who turn and receive this forgiveness are forgiven, and those who reject this forgiveness remain in unforgiveness. That’s what that means. Then we like we saw in the last section. Of course, we’re going to need the Spirit’s presence and power if we’re going to do this. And so Jesus promises that we will receive the Spirit, which is fulfilled after His ascension on Pentecost, the disciples are understandably overcome with joy. Why are they overjoyed? Though? Is it just because their friend is alive again? No, because that wouldn’t actually deal with their fear. Would it they could just kill him again? No, they’re overjoyed because they know that now they no longer have any reason to fear ever again. What could this world do to them that Christ hasn’t already undone. Yeah, they could kill the disciples. In fact, they do. Everyone but John is killed. Peter is crucified upside down. Philip watches his wife and children crucified in front of him before he is killed. By the way, really good sign that this was not a hoax that the disciples came up with. Because you’re watching your wife and kids be crucified, you probably go, I made it up, and he doesn’t, because it’s true. That’s why, right? So they die, and they die fearlessly because they go, Jesus is alive. We’re gonna be alive too. What do we have to fear? We can do whatever God calls us to do. That is cause for joy. So everything’s great for these disciples, except one of them, isn’t there? Bummer. That’s where we go next. Act Four from doubt to trust me. Read the rest of the chapter here, verses 24 to 31 Now Thomas, also known as Didymus, one of the 12 was. Not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, We have seen the Lord. But he said to them, Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. A week later, his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them, but the doors were locked. Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. And he said to Thomas, Put your finger here. See my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe. And Thomas said to him, My Lord and my God. Then Jesus told him, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in his name. So Thomas wasn’t there when he finally arrives, the other 10 and tell him that they saw Jesus. Of course, they’re bursting with joy. They’re probably all talking over each other. You know how this goes. But Thomas is skeptical. Can you blame him? By the way? Like it’s really unfair that we call him Doubting Thomas, all of us would have responded this way, he didn’t get what the rest of the group got. So of course, it took him a little bit longer. He has, in other words, reasonable objections, like, I’m willing to believe. I’m just gonna need a little more here again, good reminder that people at this time were not overly credulous. Like, oh, somebody rose in the dead. Of course, that makes sense. That’s what people do, right? They didn’t think that way. A week passes, Jesus is in no rush. I love that. A week passes, he’s like, that’s cool. We’ll deal with it. God’s timing is rarely our timing. And then he comes to Thomas and repeats almost verbatim what Thomas said, not to him, but to the disciples, just this reminder that God hears everything. God hears all that we say, even behind locked doors, even the secret thoughts of our locked hearts as well. So God does know who we are, every thought we’ve ever thought, every word we’ve ever spoken, every deed we’ve ever performed, comes to Thomas says this, you know, repeats back his demands to him verbatim, and basically says, Look, everything you wanted. Go ahead and do it here. What do you need? In other words, he overcomes Thomas’s obstacles to faith. Now I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, Well, yeah, if he’d do that for me, I’d believe too. Hang on to it. We got more to say about that. But notice again, how tenderly and how lovingly Jesus meets Thomas where he is he meets Thomas’s doubts and even his, you know, kind of petulant demands with grace. The rest of the disciples believed when they saw Jesus. And here Jesus tells Thomas, look, if you need to touch in order to believe Awesome. Well, we don’t get the impression that Thomas actually did. I don’t think he stuck his fingers in the wounds, because he goes, nope, this is good enough for me. Jesus really did rise. Thomas knows that now beyond a shadow of a doubt, Jesus really did rise, and he gives us all we need to believe, and is even patient with us in our petulant demands. But this leads to Jesus’ invitation. He doesn’t just say, Okay, now you know, he says, Stop doubting and believe I’ve done everything you ask Thomas. So there’s only one response at this point, and sure enough, that’s Thomas’s response, My Lord and my God. Thomas is saying, Jesus is God. I know that now he was not blaspheming when he claimed to be God. He has proven it. So we can be confident that he is God, and if he is God, that he deserves total allegiance and total trust. He is not just God, He is Lord as well. In other words, Thomas confesses the truth and then commits to live in light of that truth, commits to Jesus, and then Thomas’s climactic declaration triggers Jesus’s climactic declaration. He’s looking ahead at this point, you believed because you saw and then I love this, he starts talking about us. What about all those people after I ascend, who aren’t going to get to do this? Blessed are those who see the. Don’t get to see and yet believe. And so there’s this difference between us and Thomas, although there are a lot of similarities at the same time, because Jesus really did rise, and Jesus really does give us all we need to believe. It’s just that the gift that he gives us is different. At this point, Paul explains it in Romans. Chapter 10 will be up on the screen for you. But he says, Faith comes from, at this point, not seeing, not touching wounds. Faith comes from hearing, hearing the Word of God. Message is heard through the word about Christ. Faith comes from hearing and hearing by the Word of God. In other words, we need to hear, not see, not touch, and that’s why we get this little coda to this passage where John says, I could have written a bunch more. There are a whole bunch of other stories. They’re crazy. They blow your minds, guys. But I didn’t write those down because I chose these stories. Why? So that you may believe. I’m giving you what you need to believe so that you come to faith. Not like Thomas by touching the moons, not like the disciples through seeing Jesus in the flesh, not like Mary even by hearing an audible voice, but honestly like John by teasing out the implications. What we have here, eyewitness record of what Jesus did, making sense of the empty tomb, evidence for the resurrection, of other miracles, corroborating proof, whatever it may be, the word of the Lord, first and foremost, we’re going to have to pull all of these clues together like a detective and draw this conclusion that is beyond a reasonable doubt. We can believe, and in believing, John says we receive life in his name. Now, what does that mean? That you may have life in his name. Basically, that’s the peace he keeps offering us the fullness of life in so many ways, we are in the same spot as the characters in this story, aren’t we? I mean, anyone here ever struggled with ignorance, grief, fear, doubt, all of them right now, as I’m talking probably right in different ways. Of course, ignorance, yeah, aren’t we in the dark about some of life’s deepest questions? I know we are, because you can look at what some of the most popular Google searches are, and they’re big questions about ultimate things, and people are asking chat GPT instead of reading the Word of God, not a smart choice, by the way. Why are we typing this into Google? Though? We’re saying, Help me understand. It’s too important for me not to get it. I read once the story of a teenager growing up in India. He’d had a fight with his parents. That’s common to all cultures, of course, in those teenage years, and so he ran away. You know, he hopped on his bike and left for a bit, and he was biking past a cremation site and asked the Hindu priest who was serving there, where is this man now? And the Hindu priest looked at him and said, That’s a question you will ask for the rest of your life, and you will never have an answer. That’s what we mean by ignorance, being in the dark about life’s biggest questions, and so many of them have to do with death, which is why we’re we’re left in our grief so often. I mean, we are, all of us haunted by death every waking moment we live in the valley of the shadow of death, the knowledge that we are mortal and those we love are mortal. Do we have any reason to hope for life beyond the grave, or do we just get stuffed in a box, body decays and is eaten by worms. Most of us here probably don’t fear being arrested by the local authorities, but our whole lives are filled with fear. Again, maybe it’s not arrest, but maybe it has to do with finances or health or relationships, or how your kids are turning out. How do I know it’ll be all right in the end? And here’s the thing, you take away the resurrection of Christ, Jesus, and we are still stuck in all of those places, ignorance, grief, doubt, fear, there is no ultimate hope or meaning or joy that’s possible because death steals it all from us ultimately, like, what possible meaning Could your life have if you’re here for 70 years and then you’re gone for eternity, the sun burns out and the universe cools to nothingness? Yes, that’s a meaningless life that’ll steal your joy, that’ll steal your hope Absolutely. So how do we respond to this? Like we’ve only got a few options. We can delude ourselves. That’s probably not a big deal. We can this would be the most common one here. Certainly distract ourselves. No need to think about death. We got Netflix, it’s fine. We can detach ourselves from our desires, basically, just stop caring. Because if you don’t care about anyone, then I guess it doesn’t matter when they die. Good luck with that one, by the way. Or we can despair. Remember the Indian youth I mentioned a moment ago. That’s the option he chose. He biked home from that cremation site and attempted suicide after the Hindu priest gave that answer. By God’s grace, though he survived, and as he was recovering in the hospital, somebody gave him a Bible, and he read Jesus’s words, because I live, you also will live. And his life was changed
because the resurrection changes everything. It gives us all those things again. So Jesus’s words are hanging out there for us even now. Stop doubting and believe. Read the book that was written so that you may believe. That’s my takeaway for you today. Now you’re going to forget almost everything I said. I know that’s how it works, so I try to make this as short and as clever as possible, so that you can actually take it with you. The takeaway from this passage is, believe and receive. It rhymes, even guys, you can do this. I’ve got great faith in you, okay, believe in Jesus and receive life in his name. Understanding, meaning, joy, peace in his name. Now, what does that mean to believe and receive? It looks just like Thomas. We confess. We confess our sin. We confess that if God knew, and he does know, everything we’ve ever thought or said or done, we’re in a world of trouble. We have a sin debt that we owe and we cannot pay it. And so we confess also that Jesus paid it in our place. Again, that was good Friday. We confess, but then we commit to Jesus. We trust a person. We don’t just accept a proposition. It is finished. It’s done what Jesus came to do. He did so we can have God’s peace. Stop doubting, believe and receive let’s pray now.

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The Ironies of the Cross April 18, 2025 | Kyle Bjerga Kyle Bjerga explores the ironies surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion in John 11, highlighting how the religious leaders plotted to kill Jesus to protect their nation, unknowingly fulfilling God’s plan for salvation. He reveals three key ironies: the leaders’ fear of losing power, Caiaphas’ prophetic statement about Jesus dying for the people, and the misunderstanding that Jesus was a threat to the nation when, in fact, he was the Savior of the whole world. Jesus’ death was not just for the Jewish people, but for all scattered children of God, bringing them together under one shepherd. The sermon challenges listeners to trust God’s plan, understand the deeper meaning of suffering, and share the good news of Jesus with others.

John 11:45-53: Therefore, many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had seen what Jesus did believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. What are we accomplishing? They asked, here, is this man performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation. Then one of them, named Caiaphas, was high priest that year, spoke up. You know, nothing at all. You do not realize that it is better for you, the one man die for the people than the whole nation perish. He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, not only for the nation, but also for the scattered children of God to bring them together and make them one. So from that day on, they plotted to take his life.

If you have your Bibles, you can turn to that passage, John 11. It’s page 872, if you’re using one of the black pew Bibles in front of you, I will. I do want to offer a special welcome to anybody who is here tonight for the first time. I love to get a chance to meet you, but if you can’t tell I’m pretty sick, so I’m not going to say hi to you tonight. So my name is Kyle again. We’re happy that you’re here tonight, but afterwards, make sure you say hi to Brandon or Jake. They’d love to get a chance to meet you, but tonight, I have the privilege of bringing this text for us tonight on this Good Friday after Abraham Lincoln was killed on April 14, 1865 there were three weeks of events following his death, starting with him lying in state in Washington, DC, where 20 to 30,000 people came to see to view the casket. There were other processions, and then another 10,000 gathered to see the train that his body went on as it started, from Washington, DC to Springfield, Illinois. And that train went about 20 miles per hour the entire way, touching 180 cities, through seven different states, making 13 stops in different capitals, in line in states that more people from the nation could come and pay their respects to their president. They say over 1.5 million people viewed Lincoln’s body. Over 7 million people lined the train tracks throughout the country just to get a glimpse. They would say when it was going to be coming. And people would line the train tracks to see the train because they respected their president and all that he had done for their country. Now, Lincoln often comes out on top as one of the most influential favorites, popular presidents in the history of the United States, year after year, when they do these studies and ask people because of his leadership in one of the most important parts of our history, which is the Civil War and the freeing of the slaves, we would expect nothing less than three weeks of mourning this president because of everything that he had done. We wouldn’t expect any less than that. And yet, tonight, we gather for the most significant person who ever lived, the most important person who ever lived the most written about person of all time, the one who influenced people like Lincoln and millions of others since, in fact, He is the Savior of the world, and he got nothing like Lincoln, nothing. No flag at half mast, no procession, no line and state, no eulogies, no big ceremony for his burial. Instead, we read about an innocent man who was unlawfully arrested, tried, convicted, sentenced, killed as a criminal. His body taken off the cross and hastily prepared for burial before the Sabbath. Then he was placed in the tomb owned by someone else. And all this happened, by the way, not in three weeks, but about 12 to 18 hours from the time he had his last meal with his disciples until the time he was put in the tomb. It’s ironic that one who has been written about more than anyone else in the history of the world, the most influential figure who has ever walked this earth, and not just in Christianity, but for others as well, would be killed as a criminal, buried to be forgotten. It’s ironic that when we get together on this Friday of Holy Week, we call it Good Friday. Certainly didn’t seem good that Friday when Jesus breathed his last and his head dropped, but we know on that Good Friday, we celebrate it now, because we know what happened that weekend that changed everything, and the ironies run throughout the Gospel story, and there’s no different for our text tonight, as Owen just read in John 11, 4553 We’re going to see some more ironies of the cross, and then I want to just really kind of reflect for a little bit on these ironies and draw some things out for us, some questions to ask tonight as we come to this important evening. But let’s look first at verse 53 the last verse of our passage. Here’s what it says. So from that day on they plotted to take his life. So there have been hints throughout Jesus’s ministry that the religious leaders wanted to get rid of him, that they wanted to kill him sometimes. But what is the tipping point to here in verse 53 so from that day on, they plotted to take his life. And our passage in verse 45 starts with therefore, so we have to go back and see what came just before this. What came just before this was one of the most popular stories in the Gospel of John, and that’s the story of Lazarus. Jesus’s friend, Lazarus has died. He receives word of this, and so he goes with his disciples to see Lazarus sister, Martha and Mary. And when he arrives, he finds out that Lazarus has been dead and in the tomb for four days. Jesus goes to the tomb with all the other mourners and with Martha and Mary, and he says, remove the stone. And then he doesn’t ask Lazarus. He commands Lazarus to come out. He has an ass Lazarus, if he wants to be alive again, he just says, Lazarus, come out. And the man who hasn’t had a heartbeat for four days, who’s wrapped head to toe in linen cloth, comes out. Jesus says, Take off the grave clothes and let him go. So what would you do in this moment? If you saw this, here’s what you wouldn’t do. You get home your wife, your husband asks, How was your day? Like any other day? Not that great. Or your teenager gets in the car. Would you do with the school? Nothing like you wouldn’t say that. In fact, if this was us at this time, we’d be trying to live stream this event. We’d be face time, we’d be calling, we’d be texting, saying, You wouldn’t believe what I just saw. Well, the people can’t do all of that, so what do they do? Instead, they start telling everybody. And then we see, in verse 45 therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had seen what Jesus did. Believed in Him. They believed they responded in belief this must be someone important, because we’ve never seen anything like this. So they lean in. They lean in and they say, I’m gonna follow him. In verse 45 we see this as an immediate answer to Jesus’ prayer a few verses earlier in verse 42 so if you just look up a little bit, you’ll see it. Jesus is praying in front of the people at the stone that he’s gonna have taken away and called Lazarus out. This is what he says. I knew that you always hear me. He’s praying to His Father, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me. I’m saying this so that they would believe. They’re going to see something I want them to believe in. Verse 45 is an immediate response to that many believed in him. There’s something different about him. But then we continue reading verse 46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. They were witnesses to the same event. They knew Lazarus. They knew Lazarus before he died. They knew he didn’t have a heartbeat for four days. They see him come out of the tomb. What other explanation could they give? They saw all the same stuff. So intellectually, they’re like he was dead and now he’s alive. So we’re gonna go run tell the religious leaders what just happened, because they don’t know what to do with Jesus. Spiritually, they did not believe. They did not start to follow and trust in Jesus. They probably thought he was dangerous. They certainly just didn’t know what to do with him. And so they go tell the religious leaders what happened in both groups every time we’re in room this size, both groups are represented here, those who have said, I’m in and those who said, I don’t know what to do with Jesus quite yet. And so tonight, we’re going to hopefully answer that question. And there’s something for all of us in at this passage, as I’ve already mentioned, there’s a lot of irony in what happened on the cross. John 11 is no different. So what I want to do for the next few moments, again, is just reflect on some of these ironies, give us a question to talk, to consider, and then see how that impacts us as we celebrate Good Friday this year. Da Carson explains the ironies of the cross as the real meaning behind the raw events, the real meaning behind the raw events. Everybody saw Lazarus come out of that tomb. Not everybody saw the real meaning. Okay, everybody saw Jesus on that cross die. Not everyone knew the real meaning. And so the raw event and the real meaning behind it, we’re going to see those tonight, because the most raw event that ever happened is. Was that the Son of God was put on a cross and killed 2000 years ago. So let’s look this first one irony, one in the first few verses here, in 47 and 48 the religious leaders are worried. They’re worried because they think what Jesus is doing is going to cause a riot, going to cause a revolt, and Rome is going to respond, and Rome is going to take away their temple and their nation. The irony is that in just a few decades after they end up taking care of Jesus, so they think they’re going to end up losing their entire nation and temple anyways, in AD 70, when they decide to revolt in Rome responds, and Rome sacks Jerusalem, and everything changes. So they think in this moment, they’re taking care of it, not knowing what they’re eventually, God’s plan is underway regardless of what they do. And this is going to happen anyway, whether it’s Jesus or through another way, but everything is destroyed. And then here’s the other thing. The irony is that they want to destroy this movement, these followers of Jesus, and who Jesus is and what he’s teaching, because it’s not lying with what they’re thinking or teaching. And so they think we’re going to put this down. But what ends up happening is, when Jerusalem ends up falling in AD 70, the Christians start to spread even more throughout the world and expand. So the news that they wanted to keep in one place and hopefully see die actually spreads from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and to the ends of the earth. It’s the irony of what happens in this moment. And look at verse 47 I love this question they ask, what are we accomplishing? We can answer absolutely nothing. Like, what are we accomplishing? This guy keeps doing these things, we cannot stop him. Don’t you find it interesting that they get news that Jesus just raised Lazarus from the dead, and their response is not, we want to hear more. Tell me more about this. They see the sign. Nobody questioned whether Lazarus was dead or not. They’re just saying, like, what do we do with this, the raw event, but not understanding the real meaning behind it. They just want to stop others from believing in Jesus, because they’re worried that taking away their temple and their nation is going to take away their authority and their power. It’s going to change the status quo that they’re pretty happy with the question we must reflect on this Good Friday. Then, is this, are you more concerned with what you might lose in following Jesus than what you might gain? Are you more concerned with what you might lose in following Jesus than what you might gain? Because they certainly were. They’re more concerned with losing their power and authority and their temple and their nation, rather than their souls. Jesus says this in Matthew 16. He says, forever, who wants to save their life will lose it. Whatever loses their life, for me, will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul, like Jesus is a threat. Jesus is a threat, but not in the way that the religious leaders thought. Jesus is a threat to the status quo. He’s a threat to our personal freedom, at least the personal freedom we think we have. But he’s a threat to it. But he’s saying, there’s a much better way if you follow me. And so the question is, what are we accomplishing on our own, in our life? What do we think we’re working towards? What are we actually going to end up with? What are you accomplishing by not giving up everything to follow Jesus? Because in John 10, just before this, Jesus is talking, and he says that he has come that we might have life and have it to the what to the full. Have life to the full. And that’s what he has come to do. And a full life is worth giving everything else up for losing our lives that we can actually find it. The second irony, look at verses 49 through 51 then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year, spoke up. You know nothing at all. You do not realize it is better for you that one man die for the people than the whole nation perish. He did not say this on his own, but his high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation. So here’s the second irony, the religious leader’s secret plan and plot to kill Jesus was actually God’s plan for maternity past. It was an old plan. They think they’re doing this in secret, but they don’t actually really know what’s going to happen. Caiaphas had no idea how true his words were when he spoke them. In his words, we see human responsibility and divine sovereignty side by side, right? Because Caiaphas is saying the same exact thing that God’s plan is, but he’s just thinking about the wrong. Event ending Jesus’ life, and God sees so much more the real meaning behind what’s going to happen on Friday. And so we see these two things side by side many times. John puts things out there, and we got to kind of make our own connections. But here he gives it to us. He says, Caiaphas was speaking as a high priest that you’re in prophesying. He was saying the truth. He just didn’t understand the real meaning behind that truth. Because Caiaphas is sick of Jesus. The religious leaders are sick of Jesus. Caiaphas is also sick and of their hemming and hawing about what to do with Jesus. That’s basically what it says here when he says to them, you know, nothing at all like that. That’s not a encouraging thing to say the Sanhedrin. He’s like, You don’t know anything at all, like he’s just frustrated at this point, if you want to save the nation, we need to kill Jesus, we need to get rid of the problem. But he unknowingly is prophesying the plan of God from a passage that he would have known, Isaiah, 53 yet it was the religious leader’s will to crush him, No, yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and to cause him to suffer. And though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, He will see his offspring and prolong his days. And the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. It was the Lord’s will to crush Jesus. If Jesus was brought into the Sanhedrin at this moment, just a little while before, he will be brought before them on his trial. But if he was brought in this moment, Caiaphas said these words to Jesus, you know who would agree with him, Jesus. Jesus would say, yep, that’s the plan. We know this because three times in Jesus’ ministry in the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus says this three different times to His disciples, that I will be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the teachers of the law I will and then I must be killed. So Jesus knew the plan, their whole secret plan, Jesus already knew it. It wasn’t that secret of a plot, but there was a different meaning in Caiaphas words and the plan of God, because Caiaphas wanted his authority, status and freedom to stay the same, even if it was under Roman rule. At least they kind of got used to that, and they knew what that was like, but Jesus was kind of that whole other. We don’t really know what to do with him. We don’t know what this is going to look like, but God’s plan is, have Jesus go to cross as a substitute, a substitute again, that they would have been very familiar with as religious leaders, a sacrifice being made to God, not just a lamb, but the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He was going to do more than they could ever even think, because he was going to reconcile the world back to God. For those who would believe, Caiaphas view was not only wrong, but it was too small. His view was far too small, and many of them missed the Messiah, the one they had been waiting for since the garden when Adam and Eve gave in to temptation and sin, since the call of Abraham, since leaving Egypt since their exile. In return, he just raised a man from the dead, and they just want to figure out a way to kill him. The intentions of God’s plan for Jesus go to the cross were good the salvation of those who would believe the religious leader’s intention for Jesus was not good, because it was from a place of selfishness, of not wanting to rock the boat. And then we look at our life, and we think about what Jesus did in these moments, the plan that he knew from before time began. And then we think about our life, and we’re gonna face trials. We’re gonna face suffering. There’s more in this life that’s gonna hit us that we’re not expecting. And we’re gonna ask the questions, why is this happening? Doesn’t seem like God is in control. Doesn’t seem like God is in control. There’s no way that anything good could come from this. And I’m sure we’ve all been there in different degrees, in different ways. The question we must ask tonight is, what is the deeper meaning of the life experience I’m going through? What is the deeper meaning of the suffering that I’m enduring now, you may find out the answer to that question in this lifetime, not right away, but maybe at some point, and maybe you won’t get an answer. And if we don’t get the answer, this is the most important question that we get asked, then do I trust God? Do I trust him? Because Jesus trusted him. When Jesus went to the cross, you know, he was trusting that he was going to be raised from the dead. He was trusting that because he’s praying in the garden, right, sweating drops of blood, and he’s saying, take this cup from Me. You. It, but not my will. Your will be done. Any, any, any trust all the way to the cross. He trusts on the cross. He trusts the very last breath that God will raise him from the dead. And so when we’re going through through those things in our life, can we trust him? And I hope your answer is yes. It’s going to be hard. It’s going to be hard. We must remember that the plan for Good Friday was hard. The plot to kill Jesus. Nobody understood what was going to happen. The religious leaders had no idea what was going to happen on that cross. The disciples, Jesus followers fought it. Didn’t really understand what was going to happen on that cross, but it was the plan, the plan of God, that brought salvation to the entire world, for everyone who believes. The third irony, look at verses 52 to 53 see what we see here is the one who was seen as a threat to a nation was actually the savior of the whole world. The one who was seen as a threat to the nation was the savior of the whole world. Look at Verse 52 and not only for the nation, but also for the scattered children of God to bring them together and make them one. Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, but he was also dying for those scattered children of God to bring them together to make them one again. The view of who Jesus is and what he came to do was far too small. They just thought it was for the Jewish nation, and God said, No, it’s for the Jews, and it’s also for everyone else, the rest of the world. Jesus talked about this flip back in John 10, or just look on the page before and look at verse 16, to what Jesus says you starting in verse 14, actually, I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and My sheep know me just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. Here’s verse 16. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. You see the death sentence of Jesus. This plot to kill him was what was needed to bring people from all over the world together as one people with Jesus Christ, with Jesus Christ as their leader, with Jesus Christ as their Savior. But this goes beyond just that. God is a missional God. Throughout Scripture, God is a missional God. From the very beginning, he calls Abraham, and he tells him, you will be a blessing for all nations, a blessing for all nations. Would be blessed through him, not just the Jews. God sends His Prophet, Jonah, reluctantly, he does, you know, he doesn’t want to go, but he sends Jonah because God cares for the people, Nineveh, and he tells them, call them to repent, because he has, he cares something. He has compassion for them. God sends His Son Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins. He sends Peter to Cornelius home, so that he would hear the good news, that he would follow Jesus, him and his household, and that they would receive the Spirit. And then he sends us out. We’re part of this story. We’re a part of the mission of God to go into the world and be the voice using his words, so that people will hear and respond to the Good Shepherd and come in to the sheep pen. That’s our responsibility, and he uses us. And so this Good Friday, you need to hear this The simple but profound truth that Jesus loves you like let that sink in for a minute. Why are you here on a Friday night? Because Jesus loves you. He gave everything for you. He’s called you his own brothers and sisters of Jesus, children of God, and he did that by substituting himself for us on the cross, Jesus paid it all to make a people of his very own. So the last question we need to reflect on, from this last irony in light of these Grace truths, is, are you telling others the good news so that they will hear His voice and respond? We don’t know who’s going to come. We don’t know who these scattered children of God are. But that’s not our responsibility. Our responsibilities go to go, because what we do know is that some will respond. God has them. They’re scattered somewhere, and so we take it, and we also know they won’t come unless they. Hear it. That’s what Romans tells us. So we need to go out and tell them this good news so that they will hear it and they will respond, and the scattered children of God will be brought together with us here in this room, brought together with for with Christians from around the world as they respond to their good shepherds. Why we made such an effort to encourage you to invite your one to Easter, because we don’t want you then to wait till next Christmas or next Easter, to invite again, but to invite to the next thing and the next thing. Invite them into your life. Invite them into your home. Invite them into this book, so that they can hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and respond to him. And finally, look at verse 53 again. So from that day on, they plotted to take his life, and the plot worked. The plot worked. The religious leaders, including Caiaphas, get exactly what they wanted. As Pilate says, Yes, he will be killed. It looks like the nation is saved. It looks like the temple is saved and they’re going to survive. They have freedom to continue to operate in their positions of authority. Status quo is kept. I believe Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin and others who are opposed to Jesus slept really well on that Friday night. That’s not doesn’t say that in here, but I’m just thinking that okay, because what they thought they just did was squashed a rebellion. Because where are Jesus’ disciples? At this point, they’re gone. They fled. So what do they have left a dead leader in a tomb? I know I would sleep good if I was them. And so they figured, after they come out of their Sabbath, they’re going to be able to get back to the way things used to be with Jesus becoming a distant memory soon, the last irony for them, though, was that Friday’s moment on the cross, when Jesus cried out his last words and breathed his last breath, was just part one of the fulfillment, because Jesus doesn’t just say he’s going to die. He doesn’t say, I’m just going to be killed. Their plans should say, God’s plan, right? God’s ultimate plan, and His goodness and their plans and their evil and selfishness kicked off the greatest moment in the history of the world, if they didn’t kill him. We don’t have Sunday. Something that never happened before, hasn’t happened since, but until we get to part two, we need to remember what happened on that Friday, we need to remember the cost to the life of Jesus, and that’s what we’re going to do as we move into our time at the Lord’s table. Before we do that, I’m going to ask the worship team to come up, and I want to pray as we transition into this time. Dear Heavenly Father, it is amazing to think that you loved us enough to send your son, Jesus Christ, into this world, to save us, to make a way for us to be saved through his body and His blood. It was your plan, Father, Son and Spirit plan from eternity past to save a people who did not deserve it, to save a people who oftentimes take it for granted. And so Lord, in these moments, as we gather around your table, help us to remember exactly what you did on that Good Friday. Help us to worship you rightly in these moments we pray all this in Jesus name, Amen.

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Come! April 13, 2025 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper’s sermon on Revelation 22 focuses on living like Jesus is coming soon through three key exhortations: practice the word by putting God’s teachings into action, prepare your life by pursuing holiness and making intentional choices, and pray and proclaim the gospel to others. He emphasizes that the purpose of Revelation is not to create an end-times chart, but to motivate believers to live changed lives in light of Christ’s imminent return. The sermon highlights the importance of trusting God’s word, taking radical steps to fight sin, and inviting others to know Jesus. He concludes by encouraging the congregation to maintain an eternal perspective, be alert to spiritual dangers, and worship Jesus as the faithful and true King who will make all things right.

Well, good morning church. You can go ahead and grab your Bibles open up to Revelation 22 that will be the last page for sure. Not sure which side of the last page, but it’s there. Revelation 22 will be starting in verse six this morning, and just as you’re turning there, we have a new standard set for sermon responsiveness. Do you see how the kids responded when, you know, Jake broke the mug and stuff? That’s the level okay, that we need from here on out. Alright? Thank you. There we go. We’re ready. Revelation, 22 verse six, just as you’re turning there, imagine, you know, you wake up in the morning. You got your coffee going, or T in my case, you know, blinking your eyes awake, you spent some time in the Word because you do that before you check your phone, of course. But you finally get to the point where you check your phone and you see you’ve got an email from the Royal protection group letting you know that the king is coming to visit your house, King Charles the third, he’s on a tour of the states, or something like that. He wants to show that he’s a man of the people. And congratulations that you’re the house he’s going to visit. What would you do he’s coming next week? Spot a cleaning maybe make sure the kids shower. Maybe a home repair project that you’ve been putting off for a while, right? Like we got a chunk of drywall missing in our stairs. And I can just keep thinking, look at calamari. Like I’m not fixing drywall now, but, but maybe, maybe, if the King were coming, I actually would. The point is you would get ready if the King were coming. You know where I’m going with this. The King is coming. The King is coming, and he is coming soon, and we need to get ready. And that’s it like, that’s the big idea, right there. That’s all we’re going to talk about this morning. Okay, live like Jesus is coming soon. Live like Jesus is coming soon. Now, what does that mean practically for us, though, that’s the key question that Jesus and John and an angel are going to help us answer this morning, three kind of primary exhortations in light of everything that’s gone before in the last 21 chapters of Revelation, all that we’ve seen about what’s coming, and this is the main takeaway, that’s what’s so important. I want to make sure we have this in our mind. The purpose of the book of Revelation is not so that we’ll have an End Times chart on our wall at home with newspaper clippings attached to it so we can see what’s coming and when that wasn’t the goal ever, in part two, because it was written to people who lived in the first century and he didn’t come like they weren’t even newspapers. So you know that wasn’t ever the goal. The goal was that we would live changed lives now because of what’s coming then. And so that’s what we’re going to talk about this morning. So three exhortations. We’ll kind of take them one at a time. Ton of overlap. That’s just kind of how this works, that you could probably just put any of them anywhere, and it would work. But let’s start with the first one, which is to practice the word practice the word revelation, 22 verses six to nine. I read it for us. The angel said to me, these words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the Prophet, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place. Look, I’m coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll? I John, am the one who heard and saw these things, and when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, don’t do that. I’m a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets, with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God, but practice the word. Alright? What does John say here? The angel Jesus. So the angel says, These words are trustworthy and true. Again, these words everything that’s come before in Revelation, the past 21 chapters, and these words are trustworthy and true. And we’ve come across the phrase faithful and true a lot in Revelation. It is actually the same word. It is translated differently because we don’t usually describe words as faithful like they don’t keep promises, but they are the promises that are kept, and therefore they are trustworthy. And who is speaking these faithful and true words? It’s the one who keeps getting called Faithful and True. In other words, the words bear the character of their speaker, and we know the speaker. And John lets us know the speaker. Here, it’s God Himself. God is the one who inspires the prophets. You. And don’t miss what that means. It means that God is choosing to reveal Himself to us so that we can know him and know him accurately as he really is. The accuracy piece is important. That’s why God inspires the prophets. Here’s the way Peter says it. Second Peter one, verse 21 for prophecy never had its origins in a human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. That word carried there, they’re carried along by the Holy Spirit. In Greek, it’s the word Pharaoh. We get our word fairy from it, like, you know, boat takes cars and people across the river, or something like that. It’s, it’s a good analogy, actually, for what happens. Because you think different people get on this ferry, and they’re probably doing different things. Some of you love boats. You’re out front, you’re doing, you know, I’m the king of the world, or something like that. Somebody’s down below reading a book, because that’s what they would rather do. Somebody scanning for wildlife. Somebody’s leaning over the railing, puking their guts out. You know, we all do our own thing on a fairy. So we’re all still our individual human selves, and yet the fairy gets everybody where they need to go. Like that’s a picture of what happens in Revelation. When God inspires the prophets, He doesn’t give them a script of what to say exactly he does sometimes, like the 10 Commandments, or something like that. But ordinarily, it’s not a script, nor is it just inspiration, though, like, oh, I had this great idea. I think it came from the Lord. I’m gonna write it down, because then that would maybe not be phrased exactly right. We could trust the idea, but not the individual words. No, we’ve got a dual authorship, humans, right under God’s superintendence, so that every word is exactly the word that should be written, so that it’s free from all error. We can trust it entirely, even though it is written by distinct humans. And I mean, John’s very distinct, even you read this, John, he’s writing in Greek. That’s not his first language. It’s not even his second language. It’s most likely his third language, and it shows in the writing, by the way. But it doesn’t change the fact that you know this is what God wants us to know, that these words are trustworthy, so important. So God shows us exactly what we need to know, again, not the specific details or the specific timing, but this big picture full of symbols, these large and startling figures that show us what’s coming and what our response should be now, but it’s important that we Get this, because he is, as he says, coming soon. Now, soon is a relative term. It’s been a couple 1000 years since this was written down. And you think that doesn’t sound soon, yes, but he’s riffing on Daniel 245, we’ve come across this passage many times in Revelation. This is when Nebuchadnezzar has his dream of the statue all these kingdoms that are coming, and then there’s gonna be the last one. This rock that becomes a mountain grows to fill the whole earth. Daniel 245 says, the great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy, interesting, right? Trustworthy and true. Same words, but the great God has shown the king what will take place in the future? He says, because right now we’re still at the head of the statue, and you’ve got the, you know, the torso, you got the legs, you got the we got a whole bunch of kingdoms to go. Well, when John is writing, the rock has come, Jesus’s Kingdom is here. It’s now being realized. And so since it’s in the process of being realized even now, that means we need to be ready, like when mom texts to say, I’m on my way. That’s when you start cleaning up or stop doing whatever it is you shouldn’t have been doing. Right? That’s what’s happening here. In fact, that’s exactly what Jesus himself says about the end times. Shortly before his death, he gives a talk. It’s known as the Olivet Discourse, because he’s on the Mount of Olives when he says it to his disciples. And he says, like, I don’t even know the time Jesus as human doesn’t even know the time that it’s coming, and so we all need to be ready at all times. He says, if the owner of the house had known at what time the robbers were coming. They
would have been ready. They would have been awake. They would have turned the alarm system on, something like that. So what do we do to get ready to live like Jesus is coming soon, and we see it in this sixth benediction that is given here. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll, says it again in verse nine, that all who keep the words of this scroll, so it’s repeated. It’s so important we keep the words of this prophecy. Keep here meaning, keep like the way you keep your promises that you you. Them into practice. We keep them, by the way, because we know that they’re faithful and true these words, because they’re spoken by the one who is himself the Faithful and True, and he wants us to know them. So we cling to God’s words in this life like a shipwreck survivor clinging to a life preserver, like knowing we will not make it unless we’re holding on to this. Because what does this tell us? It reminds us who God is. I’m just saying about that. In fact, what troubles we can expect in this life, and there will be a lot of them, and they’re going to be hard, like we got that in Revelation, this is not going to be easy. It’s a time of tribulation and distress, and we know how the story ends the best part, so that we know that in the end, we have no need to fear. We can endure. We can persevere. So like I said to to keep these words is like keeping a promise, so we don’t just read them, study them, memorize them. All good things to do, of course, but no, we put into practice these words. That’s why I said this is practice the word because it tells us to I mean that that should be enough for us. God’s word says it. I will do it. We do have an added incentive to trust the word here, because John mentions in verse eight that he is an eyewitness. He’s saying, I really saw all these things. Now, John was an eyewitness already. He was an eyewitness to Christ’s life and his death and his resurrection. That’s important. We’ll actually talk about that next week. We’ll be in John’s gospel. But here he saw these things as well. He said, You can trust me. I really did see them. In other words, we’re being called not to a blind faith, but to a very reasonable faith, because we know these words are true. Then what does John do when the angel speaks, he falls down to worship the angel again. By the way, he already did this a couple chapters ago. You’re going, why didn’t he learn his lesson? By the way, just for a moment, think about what that says of the glory of God, that when people are in front even of His messengers, they’re tempted to worship, and this is just a dim reflection of God’s overwhelming glory. But why didn’t he learn his lesson that piece, of course, I mentioned last week, there’s a lot of overlap between this section and the section when the angel gives John a tour of Babylon, right? They both begin the same way, like, come with me, and I’ll give you a, you know, I’ll take give you on a tour of this city. So there’s a lot of overlap there with a vision of Babylon. That was the last time he tried to worship the angel. I think that’s intentional. And we’re going back to this moment, because remember Babylon. She’s the false bride, the harlot Babylon. One commentator says it like this. He says the hallmark of the true bride the church, in contrast to the harlot Babylon, is that she worships no one but God, and waits for no bridegroom but the lamb. And so here’s this reminder that word and worship go together. The word reveals the God who is there, and when we see him for who he is, we respond in worship, in love that manifests in obedience, putting His Word into practice. So as you get ready for Jesus to come like it’s just worth asking yourself right now, am I practicing the word am I actually putting into practice what I’m reading in this text? Is there any area where I know that I’m a hearer of God’s word, but not a doer of it? And now is the time to repent, to turn to trust and to live like we trust by living in obedience, practice the word first exhortation, second exhortation, prepare your life. Prepare your life. From verses 10 to 15, let me read it for us. Then he told me, do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong. Let the vile person continue to be vile. Let the one who does right continue to do right. Let the holy person continue to be holy. Look, I am coming soon. My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, blessed are those who wash their robes that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. So again. 10, the time is near, and that’s actually why he tells John not to seal up the prophecy, because we’re in these last days, as we talked about throughout this book, we’re in that three and a half year period, symbolic period from Christ’s ascension until he comes again. And so since we’re in those last days, we gotta know what is coming. This is very different from Daniel’s vision. Again, Daniel 12, verse four. He’s told seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. We’re in the time of the end, so now we need to know so that we can live well. And that’s exactly where the angel goes next, except it’s these really odd instructions, but the one who does wrong, just keep doing wrong. If you’re vile, just, you know, get even more vile. This doesn’t sound like scripture at first. What is happening here? Yeah, be a little bit like you’re on vacation at the Grand Canyon, and the tour guide is there, you know, and you’re kind of walking along the edge and and the tour guide begins to go through the statistics for how many people have plummeted to an untimely demise because they weren’t careful. And the tour guide wraps up by saying so by all means, if you want that perfect selfie, yep, go ahead. Stand way over the edge, you know, get your arm out. Don’t worry about your footing. I’m sure it’ll go great. Those are not instructions. That’s a warning, right? And that’s what’s being given here as well. The key point that’s being made in this verse, verse 11, is that how you’re living now is preparing you for your eternity, because you will just keep growing more and more like who you are, you’re just gonna keep becoming what you are doing, which means every choice we make matters significantly. It’s like a ship, right? Just slightly off course means you end up in a really different place than you were expecting you were hoping to head, you know, straight West, and you’re going slightly north west, you know, all of a sudden you’re in the Arctic Ocean, and your ship is surrounded by ice, and it is crushing the hull until you all perish like that’s how much this matters. Peter says something interesting at one point. He talks about some of the opponents of the opponents of the gospel, and he says they have become experts in greed, and that’s the idea we are becoming experts in either sin or righteousness. I mean, expert. Think about what that word means. He’s like these guys. They got a masters in greed. They just got new certification, because it’s an exploitative greed now, like how impressed are we with them? It reminds me of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s famous quote, sow a thought and you reap an act. Sow an act and you reap a habit. So a habit, you reap a character, so a character, and you reap a destiny. And Revelation has told us too much about that destiny for us not to take every act seriously, and you see what this looks like. Let me just give you an example in the area of lust, which is a significant one, and one where there are a lot of people who are experts in lust. You know, it starts with just a glance, a leer here or there, and pretty soon you’re graduating to pornography, something like that more and more time, more and more intense stuff. I mean, you think about what happens like they’ve done the science of the research on this right, like your brain actually changes. It is rewired so that you can’t look at people as people anymore, making true intimacy, which is what you were seeking all along, literally impossible. That’s what it looks like to become an expert in sin, for the vile person to just keep on being vile. So if that’s how serious this is, it’s worth asking the question, what’s your training regimen? What are you becoming? Are you preparing for eternity, intentionally, zealously pursue holiness today, right now.
Jesus says, If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out, because it’s better for you, he says, to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. That’s exactly what Revelation is telling us here too. Like cut it off. That means take radical action. That’s a serious step. Exactly We should take serious steps here. I talked about coveting and greed last week at the end of this sermon. You know, it’s interesting. There are two men that Jesus confronts about exactly that sin, and they respond really differently, because Zacchaeus, when he meets Jesus, he says, I sell half my possessions and everything I’ve stolen, I will pay back four times and. Was a radical step. He saw sin and he cut it out of his life. The rich young ruler he needed, actually a more radical step, because this infection of greed was deeper in his life. Jesus says, You got to sell everything, and he says, No, thanks, I prefer wealth and hell like that’s what we’re talking about. We talk about a radical step, and maybe for some of you, it is coveting and greed, like we talked about last week. Maybe it’s how you talk. You’re an incorrigible gossip, or there’s just nothing that you couldn’t find a reason to complain about. Or you lie, you’re You’re a liar. You practice it a lot. I mean, what’s a radical step there? Like, if you keep sinning with your mouth, maybe stop talking and practice the discipline of silence. That’s what this would look like. Sin is not ended by multiplying words. Proverbs tells us, so stop multiplying words. You go, I’m gonna be tempted to gossip here. Then don’t respond at all. Don’t talk. Or maybe your radical step is just you need to bring sin into the light. There’s something you need to talk to your community group about, or your journey group about this week. That’s why we have groups like Journey groups. We got that safe space. We’ve got the time, the room, to say, I need to tell you guys something, and that’s what it looks like. And some of you may be going, I’m not in a journey group and I’m not in a community group. Great, maybe that’s your step then, like, let’s get going, because the opportunity to change doesn’t last forever. We get fixed. We get stuck in our ways, like our steering wheel gets stuck, and after a while, we’re just headed off course. And there will come a moment when repentance is no longer possible because our hearts will have become irrevocably hardened, that thought should terrify us like the Grand Canyon tour guide’s words should terrify us. Light a fire under us, so that we prepare for eternity. Get ready, because Jesus is coming soon, and he tells us that he’s bringing his reward with him. Verse 12, the word reward there literally, is the word for wages, and we know what wages are. A wage is what you’ve earned. I agree to work eight hours at $20 an hour. At the end of those eight hours I am owed. Oh, man, that was too much, math, $160 okay? English, English guy, okay, that’s what I’ve earned. That’s the point. Is what I deserve exactly. I will give to each person according to what they have done, in other words, according to what they deserve, and according to that they will receive either judgment or blessing. We will receive either judgment or blessing as a result of how we’ve lived, because we do what we want, and so the choices we make show what’s in our heart and show what we deserve. Like I spent years as a teacher, when I was on the missions field, seven years English teacher, English teacher, not a math teacher. Okay, just be clear. And occasionally I would hand somebody to detention, and they’d be like, What? What am I gonna get attention for? I was like, because you didn’t do your homework, and when I talked to you about it, you were wildly disrespectful, and then I caught you in like, do I have to keep going here? Like, I didn’t think I was gonna have to explain to explain to you you’re getting a detention, not because I’m giving you one, but because you earned a detention. And that is what Jesus will say to us, this is what you deserve. And now you’re all sitting there thinking, hang on, that sounds like karma. What about grace? Yes, and amen. This is the heart of Christianity, of course, is that we don’t get what we deserve, because Jesus got what we deserve in our place. It’s like we just make this switch. He lived this perfect life, always obedient. So he’s got the reward, he’s got the blessing coming. We’ve got hell coming. And he says, I’ll switch with you. I’ll switch with you. It’s fine. I’ll go to the cross, I’ll bear the wrath of God, I’ll take the punishment in your place, and you can have my reward in my place instead. That’s the beauty of the gospel. But the proof that we have received grace is in a changed life. That’s the important point that John and Jesus are making here. James says it right. Faith without works is dead. It’s not real. Faith you have not actually taken hold of grace. He says, I’ll show you my faith by my deeds. Ephesians, two, eight and eight to 10. For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. This is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. Great doesn’t matter what I do, oh, except verse 10, For we are God’s handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do. Do good works. Peter second, Peter 110, he tells us, make every effort, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. I guess you are saved because God chose you, and he chose you not because you’re lovely, but because he’s loving. But now prove that he chose you by making every effort to confirm that choice. In other words, in Dallas, willard’s famous phrase grace is opposed to earning, not effort. If God’s grace is truly active in your life, you will make every effort to grow in holiness. You will become more like Jesus. Now, by the way, I’m not reading grace into Revelation. It’s not like I needed Peter and Paul and James to correct John here. It’s right there in the text, verse 14, blessed are those who wash their robes. Now that could sound like something we do. My robes are stained. I better wash them. You can picture, you know, like some Laura Ingalls, some prairie girl down by the creek with the washboard, you know, furiously scrubbing so that mom doesn’t know that her dress got stained, or something like that. But that’s not what this means, because we already saw how we wash our robes way back in chapter seven, Revelation, 714, they speaking of the multitude of those who belong to Christ, they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. That’s how it happens. It is all of grace, but we do apply grace to our lives in view of God’s mercies. There’s the grace we offer ourselves as living sacrifices to him. There is the effort, the work, the deeds. This is one of the things we strive to do in Journey groups. In particular, if you’ve been in Journey groups, you know what I’m talking about. This is why we go through a gospel primer. It’s why we have a gospel waltz every week, we’re learning to fight sin with the gospel, because the knowledge of the grace we’ve received is what motivates our new obedience in Christ. Because of grace, we not only can live different lives, but we want to live different lives. Just one example. Take conflict between people. You got somebody in your life that you just can’t stand anymore because they are making your life difficult, and you have run out of patience, like I just I wash my hands of this person, and then you stop and you think how difficult I have made Jesus’s life
and how patient he has been with me. And you thank God that he never said that’s it. I’m done with Brandon. I wash my hands of him. And you think I can go, I can go one more time because I sinned this much against the Lord. I can forgive this much and be patient with this much in this person’s life. So those who’ve been saved by grace live by grace. What happens to them? We get our seventh and final benediction. Blessed are those who wash their robes that they may have the right to the tree of life, may go through the gates into the city. Okay, we get to go into the city we talked about last week that renewed, restored creation, we get to eat from the tree of life and live forever. But the rest we see in verse 15 are quarantined, this idea that we keep coming back to. They’re outside the city. They’re called dogs in Scripture, by the way. Dogs are not cute and cuddly pets. They are mangy, filthy scavengers. They’re those that return to their vomit the way sinners keep returning to sin. They roll in their filth, the picture of who we are apart from Christ, people like that, people who, instead of worshiping God, seek to control God through sorcery, or people who, instead of putting self to death and following Christ, choose to worship self through things like lust and hatred and idolatry and deceit, they’re cast out. And so once more, we need to ask ourselves. You need to ask yourself right now, which Am I truly? Am I verse 14, or am I verse 15? Cuz I’m one or the other. And by the way, don’t guess that’s the point of all of this. Look at the evidence of your life. Look at your deeds. Are they showing you that you have received grace or not? And maybe you don’t just need to look at the evidence of your life, but you need to ask those around you what evidence of grace do you see in my life? Again? This is why we have community, because we cannot afford to get this answer wrong. Alright? So we’ve gotten two exhortations so far. Practice the word, prepare your life. Then lastly, pray and proclaim. Pray and proclaim verses 16 to 21 may read it for us. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David and the bright morning star, the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let the one who hears say, Come. Let the one who is thirsty come, and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll, if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this scroll, he who testifies to these things says, Yes, I am coming soon. Amen, come Lord Jesus, the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen. It’s interesting that revelation is book ended by statements about the chain of Revelation, like how we got this information. It is how we get God’s testimony. You know, in chapter one, it says that God gives it to Jesus. Here we begin with Jesus, but Jesus gives it to his angel, a messenger. The the angel gives it to John, and then John writes it down for us. The good news, though, is that we get what we need to get, so that we know what we need to know. Most especially we need to know who Jesus is and what he’s done for us. So He is the root and offspring of David. So the root, he is the one from whom David comes, which is interesting, because, of course, David’s born 1000 years before he is, and so he’s got this divine origin his he’s the Ancient of days, and then he’s also the shoot of David, the branch that grows in David’s tree. So he somehow is both just David’s ancestor and David’s descendant. There’s only one way, of course, that that makes any sense, and that is that if God becomes human, to bring humans back to God, and that is what Jesus does. All this taken from Isaiah 11. He’s also the bright and morning star taken from Numbers 24 the False Prophet Balaam, who speaks a true word about Jesus, this star that will come out of Jacob, out of Israel, who will rule over all and conquer his enemies. That’s the star that we’re talking about. It’s interesting. It’s called the Morning Star, which is Venus, by the way, and it rises in the east just before sunrise. And boy, if that isn’t a picture of what Revelation is trying to tell us when it’s dark, we have this promise. Light is coming and the night is coming to an end. So what do we do with this testimony, though this word that we’ve received, we say come. And did you notice we say come, the Spirit and the bride. It says verse 17, the bride, the Church. So the Church says, Come. Now to whom are we speaking? Are we saying Jesus come, or are we inviting the Lost come? Come and meet Jesus? The answer, of course, is both. I mean, you see John’s prayer in verse 20, amen, come, Lord Jesus, prayer of the Church has always prayed, but right after the Spirit and the bride say, Come. We read this, let the one who is thirsty come, let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. So we pray that Jesus would come, and then we proclaim that people would come to Jesus, because there’s this immediate invitation to the lost right afterwards, to those who are thirsty, to those who need this free gift, I love that we’re called the bride here too. I think it’s such a wonderful picture, because the the church is inviting the world to meet her husband, beaming like a new bride. You know who, who’s just smitten with her new husband, bursting with pride, but it’s more than just pride. She’s saying this because she knows that her husband actually can help like, imagine a young bride talking to somebody who’s in dire financial straits, going, you gotta talk to my husband. He’s a CPA. He’s really good at what he does, like, he can help you with this. He can help you figure out how to deal with your debt, how to make a budget so that you’re saving and all the rest like that’s what’s happening here. That’s the point. We have what the world needs. The husband that we’re pointing to has what the world needs so desperately. It’s available free of charge. So of course, we say, come, come by all means, come and meet Jesus. Let me ask you this, do you believe that’s true? Do you believe that the people around us are thirsty, need Jesus, and that he can actually help? Them. If the answer to that question is yes, then you will go and share boldly. You will tell people about Jesus, because you know that some people will be so excited to hear that someone can help them by as excited as a person in financial straits. You want to know what this looks like, the relief and joy and hope that people feel like talk to Katie or Carolyn, who run our Christians against poverty debt Center, where they’re talk to people who are burdened with debt, show them that there’s a way out. They are grateful for the information, and many of the people we talk to will be grateful for the information that there is salvation in Christ, Jesus, that there is hope and love and joy and peace. And you know what? Some will be annoyed. They will in the same way that you could talk to some people about finances, and they would go, mind your own business. I don’t need your help. And you go, you got $130,000 worth of credit card debt, you sure? But they’ll be annoyed. And you go, Okay, I’m here when you need me, I’ll be so happy to talk to you about this. Again, this is why we we’ve been pushing this whole invite your one idea. And again, I just talked about this in the pulse. I mentioned a number of people that we’ve invited to the Easter service, just personally, I’ve not had anyone angry with me, annoyed that I asked, and I had a lot of people who were really joyful, like most people are okay with it. Some are happy about it. I’m so glad you asked. And some have that desperate joy because they know this is what they need. By the way, if you’re questioning Christianity, still seeking, still skeptical. I mean, just know the invitation is you right now, like, come, come. This is what you need, and is available to you in Christ, Jesus. Here’s the thing, if this invitation, which is really the whole story of the Bible, of course, if this invitation is this important, you can understand why we’re told not to tamper with it. We’re not tampering even just with wedding invitations, which would be bad enough somebody misses the big day because, you know, you wrote the wrong words down. No, this would be more like somebody going around and removing all the stop signs in a city or adding in a bunch of unnecessary steps in emergency procedures so that when a fire breaks out, people don’t know what to do because they trying to do too many things, and they’re stuck there, like people who do that would face swift punishments, because they know that other people would get hurt as a result. And that’s true of Scripture too, except people get hurt eternally when we mess with the words of Scripture. So verses 18 and 19 teach the holiness of God’s Word, the holiness of God’s word because the Holy One speaks them. You don’t correct experts. I can’t even imagine what it’d be like to be a doctor, and just have to have all these conversations with people who are like, well, I read on social media that, okay, I got an MD. You should listen to me instead. Okay. Can think of a lot of other areas as well. You’re all like, I’m an expert here. I know what you’re talking about. The All Wise, all knowing, eternal. God doesn’t need your help. He knows what he’s talking about, and that is why God’s Word does not need any editing. God’s Word does not need any updating and does not need any improvements. Like, you know what this looks like? You’re like, seriously. You’re like, 35 you’ve grown up in one place, you’ve got the limited perspective of a single culture. But go ahead, talk to me about eternal truths. I’m sure you know what you’re saying. Like, we just need humility. I’m talking to all of us there something like, I’m not 35 and we’re fine. You’re 65 does that matter in the light of eternity? No. Okay, we can trust someone who’s been there a lot longer. I remember somebody saying once, it’s a little bit like, you know, I’m 40 something. And, you know, talking to my toddler, because I have one and, you know, like, bro, you’re like, 40 years younger than I am, almost to the day I you just need to listen to me here. And that’s a gap of, again, 40 years. Now, multiply that by 40 billion. Like, that’s how God feels about us. Just trust me. Okay, just trust me. Do you do what I say? Trust me here. That’s what God is saying. And yet, we’re all so sorely tempted to edit God’s word. Like, you know, we just need to get the Bible. It needs to get with the times already. Get with the times much better to get with eternity, don’t you think? And so you see this happening all over the place. Not political progressivism, I want to be clear about that, but theological progressivism has done this to Christianity for the last century. Plus, at first it was, you know, the Bible needs to get with the times. It’s full of miracles and people. Understand science. Don’t believe in miracles, so we need to get with the times. You’re going, Well, I mean, there’s a whole lot of evidence for miracles, so maybe we won’t do that. But okay, and today, of course, it’s on the issues of like sex and gender. We just did a whole class on this. There are many cults and false religions too. You don’t want to add to the Word of God, like the Book of Mormon or the Quran, both of which are adding to God’s infallible revelation, or we saw it in Revelation already, where you’ve got the False Prophet, Jezebel, and this is just the person in church who’s like, Oh, I got a word from the Lord. And if your word from the Lord contradicts the word from the Lord, then it’s not the word of Lord. And as we’ve seen, then, of course, the punishment fits the crime. If you’re going to add to God’s word, you’re going to have some plagues added to you’re going to take away from God’s word, you’ll be you’re going to have these rewards taken away from you. It’s this important reminder our place, our place is not to revise God’s word, but to recognize God’s word as God’s Word, to read God’s word and then to respond to God’s Word in worshipful obedience. And then one last time, Jesus promises he’s coming soon, and John says, Amen, the word Amen, which, of course, we use in every language. Now, it’s a Hebrew word. It comes from the root, it’s firm. That’s the idea. It’s firm, and that’s why it gets translated like in the Gospels, Jesus says, Amen, amen, I tell you, and it’ll get translated like, truly, I tell you, like, you can trust me on this one. It’s built on a firm foundation. But what a reminder that we need so often in this life is Jesus really coming soon? It can be hard to remember when you’re standing at the grave of a loved one, when you see the wicked prospering, when your suffering endures, when it looks like the church is on the run and being defeated, or even just when you’re going through a dry spell spiritually, is he really coming? And here’s the good news, friends, and this is a good week to remember it as well. It’s looked like Jesus lost before. Didn’t it look like the whole project had failed when they stuffed him in that tomb? And how’d they feel on Sunday? And that’s it like, that’s us, like we’re living in that Holy Saturday time between, between what Jesus came to do and what Jesus will come to do again, and it can be hard to remember. That’s why the disciples were cowering in fear. But we don’t need to, because we have this promise, and we know that his words are faithful and true. Is he coming? Amen? You betcha, he is. It’s firm. We can trust it. We can build our lives on this promises, firm foundation, and then we get the good news that his grace will be with his people, which is what we’re going to need to keep going through this slew of despond that is so often this world. So Jesus promises in the Great Commission, right, go and make disciples. I’m with you to the end of the age. I will be with you. His presence is enough for our perseverance. Remember when Moses said, Lord, if you don’t go with us, I’m not going and God says, Fine, I’ll go with you. But even then, it’s just this pillar of fire or or cloud that goes before them, and that was good enough for Moses. Do you know how much better we have it? We don’t have a cloud before us. We have the spirit within us. We can go. We can go. Get ready Jesus is coming soon. So live like Jesus is coming soon. Put his Word into practice. Prepare your lives. Pray and proclaim. So as we close, not just today, but the whole series, I just want to give a few brief concluding thoughts, really takeaways like this is what I want you to stuff in your pocket, carry with you for the next weeks and months. As Dennis Johnson said in his commentary on revelation in the last chapter of the book, is, what should this book do to us? That’s the question we want to have as we close revelation. What should this book do to us? Because, remember, this word is meant for us today, not just to know what’s coming then, but so that it changes today for again, big thoughts, but I’ll be brief, and you can kind of figure out what it looks like in your life. Specifically. First of all, what should this book do to us, this book should give us an eternal perspective. We know that right because we now know how the story ends, and knowing how the story ends, seeing that pot put back together again better than it was before, that’s gives us what we need to endure here. Here and now to endure the hard middle I am anti spoiler alerts. My wife is reading a kind of tense book aloud to our children right now for Lent, and she has this nasty habit of reading ahead a few pages so she knows what’s coming. She gets yelled at because I train my children well, okay, so she knows you don’t do that, except with this book. This is the one where we gotta read the end, because we’re not just reading the book. We are living the book. We gotta know how the story ends so that we can keep going. Second, what should this book do in us? It should make us alert and sober, minded to the danger that is around us, because this book has unmasked our enemies. For us, we met the dragon, we met the beast, we met the False Prophet, we met the harlot Babylon. We know how they will tempt us to power and pleasure with lies. And so I’ll give you the image we used before, right when we look at what the world offers, we are not distracted by that billboard with the impossibly beautiful people who are living young and carefree, healthy lives forever. We’re the ones who read the Surgeon General’s warning. This will kill you and will kill you eternally. And we go, good enough. I’m out of here. Okay, so we are alert and sober minded. Third this book should make us salt and light and make us zealous to be salt and light in this world. In the meantime, which looks like living pure lives. We just talked about this today. Of course, we will resist moral compromise. And then second, it looks like us witnessing, boldly proclaiming the word, the good news of what God has done for us in Christ. And then lastly, and this is most important of all, this is the one that keeps all the other ones going. We will worship Him who sits on the throne and the Lamb who is slain, who is at his right side, we have met Jesus in this book over and over and over again, even just today. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, which means he is our Creator, and he is also our consummator. He is the one who will set all things right in the end, he is the root and shoot of David, meaning he is human and divine. He is the Morning Star, the promise that light is coming. He’s the lion from the tribe of Judah. He is the Lamb who was slain for us. He is our soon and coming and conquering king. And he holds the keys to death and hades in his hand. You fix your eyes on Him who is faithful and true, and you follow in his footsteps the life he lived, the love he showed, his willingness to die for others. We don’t die to atone for sin, but we still lay our lives down for the sake of the kingdom. And then you see his resurrection, the fact that it’s all made right in the end, death is not the end of the story. You see all that you follow in those footsteps. You become faithful and true yourselves. So live today and every day like Jesus is coming soon, because he is Amen, absolutely, it’s firm. Amen, come Lord Jesus, let’s pray. Lord, don’t let us forget this word, this book that you have given us to encourage us in the darkness of death, of suffering, of evil and sin. The middle part is hard, but we know the end of the story, and we know the one who wrote the story and who wrote our stories, who’s willing to save us, not because of anything we had done, but only because of what Jesus has done for us, knowing that Lord, we can press on. We can persevere. We can live lives for your glory, for the building up of your kingdom. We can live in light of eternity. So Lord, as we go from here as we leave the book of Revelation behind us, now. Don’t let us walk away from it entirely, but help us take these truths away. Work them into our lives. And our lives are never the same as a result of knowing this truth, and you might receive all the glory as we so willingly obey you and proclaim Your Word to a world in desperate need of us. We ask this in Christ’s name, Amen.

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The New Jerusalem April 6, 2025 | Brandon Cooper Revelation 21-22 describes the New Jerusalem as a magnificent eternal city where God dwells directly with His people, adorned with precious stones and symbolizing perfect security and intimacy. The city features a river of life, the Tree of Life, and streets of gold, representing eternal restoration and the abundance of God’s presence. Cooper emphasizes that the true treasure of this new creation is God Himself, not the physical surroundings, and challenges believers to live with an eternal perspective that prioritizes God’s glory over worldly treasures. The sermon culminates in the promise that believers will see God’s face, experiencing unmediated joy and communion with Him forever, which should motivate sacrificial living and a deep longing for God’s presence.

Good morning church. You can go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to just about the last page, probably the second to last page, depending on what version you are in Revelation, chapter 21 we’ll be starting in verse nine this morning revelation, 21 nine, as you’re turning there, I was reading recently. It was American pastor who had traveled overseas in order to train up some pastors in a part of the world where it’s very difficult to be a Christian, although the church is also exploding. There just tremendous growth. And he actually was talking to pastors there that he was training, you know, kind of what’s your plan here? How are so many people come to Christ that said they have a five fold plan for church growth. Every day they want everyone in their church to read the Bible. Make sense? Pray, Yup, okay, share the gospel with someone. Absolutely not sure we do it here, but yep, expect a miracle that one’s probably beyond the bounds for a lot of us. And then this was the one that was actually the most striking. To develop a theology of suffering. That was, me key to church growth was to develop a theology of suffering. And it it was clear that this is what they were doing. So there he is, this American pastor sitting cross legged on a dirt floor, eating a thin gruel that they had offered him. He realizes he’s the only one eating in the room, and so he says, aren’t you guys going to have some too? And through the veils that they all had over their faces, they said, No, we’ve all been fasting for the last month to prepare for our ordeal, our coming ordeal. What ordeal? He asked, of course. He said, Well, you know, we we’re here illegally. We left our country illegally to come and meet with you in order to get this training, and they’ll have noticed our absence, and so when we go back, we’ll be tortured and then imprisoned. But after, you know, a number of months, maybe a year or two in prison. Then at last, we’ll be released and we can begin to minister. That was, by the way, why they had veils on their faces so they wouldn’t crack under torture. And let you know the government officials know who else had been there for the training. So again, after you know year or two are in prison, no big deal, they’ll get to minister the gospel for a little while, and then they said, eventually, when, not if, but when they are discovered, they will be executed. And only then they said, will we have rest, eternal rest. What’s maybe most interesting about that story, to my mind, is that none of these men are going to be beatified by the Catholic Church. They’re not getting invited to, you know, big EVAs, mega church, Protestant conferences here in the USA, book deals, podcast. They are nameless and in this case, even faceless, unrecognized, unsung heroes here, because their eyes are so fixed on glory and the life to come, the eternal rest, that they will enjoy the fullness of joy, the hope of heaven that we talked about, you would need that if you’re going to do what they were doing. And we need that. We need to have that end in mind if we’re going to live well now. So let’s look ahead to where we’ll dwell forever, so that we have that vision in our minds. Now we got an intro to this last week, couple verses about what the new creation is going to be like, the new heavens and the new earth. That’s like a postcard, like, you’re going to go visit your friend in Hawaii or something. They send you a postcard, and they’re like, look at where you’re going to be. And you’re like, Wow, this is amazing. Okay, today we get the tour. Like, when you show up there, and they’re like, here’s the beach, here’s the pool, whatever it is. I’ve never been to Hawaii. I have no idea. Okay, so that’s what we’re getting today. We’re getting the tour of the new creation. In these three scenes, we get to see the city, the temple and the garden, a lot of overlap, because, spoiler alert, it’s all the same place. So let’s dive in, starting with the city revelation, 21 nine to 14, one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, came and said to me, come I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he carried me away in the spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal, had a great high wall with 12 gates, with 12 angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the 12 Tribes of Israel, three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had 12 foundations, and on them were the names of the 12 Apostles of. At the lamb. It is great, by the way, to get this tour of this city, the New Jerusalem, because we already had a tour of the other city, Babylon. In fact, a lot of the same words are used here, including the angel saying, Come and I will show you what this city is like. There’s this reminder there that we have a choice before us, which city we want to inhabit, where we want to dwell, the city of man or the City of God. Now, the key to choosing, well, just in general, in life, is to see where your choice will take you, like like consulting a map almost, you know, if we we head down this path. Well, there’s death and destruction at the end of it, fallen. Fallen is Babylon, the great. And if we head down this path, well, there’s eternal glory, easy choice. Notice that the city is called the bride, which we saw last week as well. And we’re talking about the people of God, the church. That’s who the bride is the fact that we are called Christ’s bride just shows the depths of intimacy and love and joy that we will know in God’s presence forever. Like I’m doing premarital counseling with a couple right now. And there is, as there always is when I do prayer marital counseling, a palpable joy, excitement, right? They are ready to be together. It’s like the that only so much more, because it’s longer. You know, marriage in this life is until death parts us, but this marriage that is coming goes on forever and ever, and so we we keep seeing this relationship that we’re going to have with God, and how good it will be. We’re gonna be his covenant people, right? I will be your God, and you will be my people. Will be adopted as his children, so not just people, but his kids. And again, not just people, but his bride in that kind of relationship with him. Well, then John’s taken up to a high mountain for his final vision, the last time we get the phrase that he was carried away in the spirit for this last vision here. And just like Ezekiel, chapter 40, verse two, Ezekiel is also taken up to a high mountain in order to see this city that’s coming. Why a high mountain? I don’t know. Probably a good vantage point, but I’m not sure the city is descending. We talked about that last week. Just the grace of God there. We can’t get up to it, so God brings it down to us. Now, think what a city is, is a city the place, or is a city the people? And the answer is both, of course, and that’s what we see here. We have God’s people in God’s place at last, because that’s what the New Jerusalem is, where we will be saints in the new creation, dwelling with him. And what a place it will be. And it shines with the very glory of God, which is what makes it so hard to describe. By the way we’ve seen this throughout revelation, but especially back in the throne room. Vision, back in Revelation chapter four, we were trying to describe the glory of God, and words failed us. If you remember, back then, I talked about trying to explain like a video call on a smartphone to a prehistoric tribe, and that’s kind of what we get here. And so we get all these words, like, it’s like a precious jewel. It’s not a precious jewel. It’s like a precious jewel. Just a good reminder for us as we look at all of this, this is not a literal description of the city. Would be a wildly dumb looking city if it were a literal description, by the way. No, these are symbols that are meant to stir longing and wonder within us. We need these symbols because the glory of God strains the limits of speech. Just as an example here Jasper, if you’ve ever seen it, is it kind of runs the spectrum from like yellowy brown to dark brown. It is never clear, never clear as crystal. And So already we’re beyond words like picture jasper, but now make it clear, and you go, No, that doesn’t make any sense. That’s like picture a square circle. I don’t even know what to do exactly, because that’s how good glory will be. We can’t even describe it. The point is just God’s splendor, the overwhelming majesty and beauty of who he is, filling the new creation, like waters the sea. Around this city is a great high wall. City wall is very important for a city’s protection, in contrast to today, by the way, back then when the Bible was written, the city was the safest place you could be because you were inside the wall, and so you were protected from bandits and whatnot. This is why Nehemiah, for example, was so upset that the city’s walls had been broken down. Meant Jerusalem wasn’t safe. Safe. Well, here we’ve got a great high wall. Except the question, of course, is, why do we have a wall? God has already defeated all of our enemies. Well, right? Because this isn’t meant to be literal. I don’t know if there will literally be a wall there or not, but the point is, what does this suggest to us? And it suggests that this will be a place of eternal security and rest, where we will be unbothered by the hellish elements that have been cast outside the Forever city. There are 12 gates, and on each of the gates is written the name of an Israelite tribe. Course, shows that the Old Testament saints, the Old Testament people of God, are a part of God’s forever. People, of course, people like Moses, David, Isaiah, and then on the 12 foundations are written the name of one of the 12 Apostles, the 12 Disciples of Jesus. Here we’ve got the New Testament, saints, and so it’s the whole people of God together, the foundation, though it’s interesting that it’s the apostles. Of course it is, because it’s the apostolic word, the word that the apostles preach the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that is the foundation of the Forever city we know Ephesians, 220 for example, that God’s house is built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. In other words, it’s based, it’s founded on the Word of God with Christ, Jesus Himself, the word that we proclaim, of course, as the chief cornerstone. A little bit later in Ephesians, Paul goes on, though, and he talks about this mystery that God has sent him to proclaim. And he says this mystery was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the Gospel, the Gentiles are heirs, together with Israel, members of one body. So the good news, part of the good news, the New Testament, is that it’s everybody, people from everywhere. We’ve seen it in Revelation people, language, tribe, tongue, all coming together. And the very structure of new creation, the gates and the foundation, prove the truth of Paul’s remarkable words, everyone, Jews and Gentiles, dwelling together, all of God’s people now in God’s place, which shines with the splendor of his glorious presence. But if God’s there and dwelling there, it’s gotta be more than a city, right? It must be a temple also, because that’s what we call the place where God dwells. Sure enough, it is. Let’s keep reading, looking at the temple verses 15 to 27 the angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick. The wall was made of Jasper, and the city of pure gold as pure as glass. The foundations the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. First Foundation was Jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth, onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth barrel, the ninth, topaz, 10th, turquoise, the 11th, japthe and the 12th, amethyst. 12 gates were 12 pearls. Each gate is made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass. I did not see a temple in the city because the Lord God Almighty and the lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the lamb is at the lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there the glory and honor the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. So an angel then measures the city for John. Exactly what happens in Ezekiel as well. By the way, although we get way more detail in Ezekiel you’ve ever read it in your yearly Bible reading plan, you know the part where they measure the temple. It can feel a little tedious. It’s okay. We can acknowledge it. There are 91 verses measuring just every prayer like here’s what the steps going up to the temple are like. And we wonder, why do we get three chapters about the measurements of this temple in Ezekiel? And the answer is, because it’s a promise to the exiles. Ezekiel is is prophesying to those who have been exiled in Babylon. And so there’s this promise you’re going to return and rebuild, and it’s gonna be this glorious temple, this, this, this much better city. It’s gonna be this unimaginable fulfillment. You can think about how that would have encouraged them there in Babylon, except the fulfillment was actually even more unimaginable, because the fulfillment was not, not the temple that you know, guys like Zerubbabel and Haggai and Zechariah talked about, because that was such a piddling little temple that the old men cried when they saw it, because it didn’t look like the glory of Solomon’s temple. It’s not Herod’s temple. Couldn’t be, because look at who Herod was. No, who’s the temple, this unimaginable fulfillment. It’s Jesus, right? The Word became flesh and made his dwelling, His tabernacle, his temple among us, that’s the glorious fulfillment, he says. Destroyed this temple, and in three days I’ll raise it up again, right? That’s the resurrection. Well, here these two ideas are brought together, Ezekiel and John, because we have the body of Christ, His Bride now dwelling in New Jerusalem, the new temple with Christ Himself. And it’s a big place, we get some big numbers. So 12,000 stadia between 14, 1500 miles in each side. Now, why 12,000 because that’s the full number, right? 12 is like the 12 Tribes of Israel, the 12 Apostles. That’s the full number of God’s people, 12 times 10 to the third power. Lot of perfect numbers, very big numbers, exactly. So everybody who’s supposed to come in will come in, and this area here would actually be greater than the area of the Roman Empire. Roman Empire was a little longer, but a lot shorter. And so this is greater than the Roman Empire, which was the known world at that time for these people. So we have almost a geographic fulfillment of that idea of every tribe, nation, people and tongue coming in. But what’s most interesting about the measurement isn’t how big it is, it’s the fact that it’s a cube. So you can see that it is verse 16, as wide and high as it is long, it’s a cube, again, ridiculous layout for a city, by the way, the stairs are going to be killer and satellites would actually be smacking into it, based on it, you know, right now, no oxygen up there, very cold, all that kind of stuff we’re dealing in symbols. But why? Why? Why is it a cube that’s such an odd symbol, because there’s only one other significant cube in all of Scripture, the most holy place in the temple of God, not the temple with its courtyards, with, you know, the holy place you got the altar there on the porch. No, just the most holy place behind the curtain, behind that veil that tore in two. So the whole city is not just the temple, but it’s actually the Holy of Holies, the most holy place. So we’ve seen how architecturally splendid it is, with all these jewels and stuff. That’s great. But better still is that it’s this intimate place where God’s very glory dwells, the most holy place. This is the holiest place on God’s earth, only the holiest person, the high priest, holiest because of his office, not because of who he was, but the holiest person could go on go inside of only one day, the holiest day of the year, the Day of Atonement. And there was quite a ceremony for him to be able to enter in to that place. And that’s where we will dwell. 24/7, for eternity. There’s a high, wide wall we talked about that, of course, that’s the idea of the eternally secure people, and then we get to the building materials. This is where you keep costs down when you’re doing construction. So a little while ago, a couple years back, we had some water damage one of our bathrooms. Insurance gave us a couple $1,000 you know, to redo our bathroom and stuff. So I went to the store and we were looking at stuff. It became very clear very quickly, we were not going to be using real stone in our bathroom, not even close, right? So, again, this is where you keep costs down. Not a concern here. Like, let’s just talk about this for a moment. So Fort Knox famous. I mean, it’s almost a like a byword for security, right? So Fort Knox has $173 billion in gold bars inside of it. When I checked, I don’t know what the price is. Now, 170
3 billion in gold bars. It’s inside. You know, the vault granite walls. There is a blast-proof door that weighs 22 tons to keep it safe. And of course, you’re going to keep it safe. You’re keeping it safe from people, because people are the worst we’ve seen that throughout revelation. So they don’t trust anyone. There are ten different people who have to enter their unique combination in order to open this vault so that nobody can. And steal it on their own. And of course, then you got the fences, you got the walls, you got the armed guard there and all of that. What’s crazy about this is that all the gold in that vault would form a cube less than 20 feet on each side, like easily fit inside this room. Actually, even crazier. Stat, all the gold that has ever been mined in the history of the world is worth only about $6 trillion so just crazy in its own right. All the gold ever mined in the history of the world could fit, that means, inside an Olympic-sized swimming pool. That’s wild. So you get all that protection in Fort Knox for so little of something that is so valuable because it’s actually rare, in contrast to like diamonds or something, all that protection for so little of what’s so valuable, and God paves the streets with it in the New Jerusalem, except, by the way, it’s clear as glass, which gold never is, because the beauty of this city transcends human speech and fitting earthly analogies. Did I mention the jewels? Yet I haven’t gotten there. Now these precious stones, we won’t go through them all, but they’re associated with Eden, like the Garden of Eden, the paradise in which we were first place. You can see some of them in Genesis 2, but especially Ezekiel 28 talks about more of them. Solomon, when he built the first temple, he did lay the foundations with precious stones like these. It also fulfills. Isaiah, 54:12, the Prophet says, afflicted city lashed by storms and not comforted. I will rebuild you same promise of rebuilding with stones of turquoise, your foundations with lapis lazuli. I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones. And then, of course, the high priest chess piece had the 12 Stones, one for each tribe, similar stones here, for sure and the high priest were as a reminder that, like the people of God, were to be on his heart. Well, now this belongs to the whole people, because we are all priests and God’s forever kingdom. So the stones that are used here are shining forth God’s beauty that was reflected in eden, in the temple, in the high priest vestments, but here, supremely, in the New Jerusalem, there’s no temple in this city, because the temple’s purpose has been fulfilled. We can dwell with God directly. Now we don’t need to, you know, house him somewhere special, because we can’t approach him everywhere we go. Now we can dwell in God’s what the Hebrews called, God’s Shekinah, presence, like the fullness of His glory, unmediated, undimmed. We don’t need a high priest. We don’t need a most holy place. We don’t need sacrifices, because Christ offered himself once for all time we can. We can go right into his presence, Father, Son and Spirit everywhere we go. That’s why there’s no sun or moon either, because his Shekinah glory blazes instead. Now this is not an astronomy lesson. Will there be like stargazing in glory? I don’t know. Okay, I just know that that’s not the point of what’s happening here. The point that’s happening here is it’s a little bit like trying to play flashlight tag at noon. It doesn’t work, right? Did I get you? I don’t know it’s the thing even on, because there’s so much more light in God’s presence. And remember, the sun and moon were created to display God’s glory. Well, now his glory is on display directly here. And this fulfills. You’re going to hear that word a lot today, by the way. This fulfills. Isaiah 6019, and 20. Erica read some of this for us already, the sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your Sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more. The Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end. Did you notice, too, by the way, that it’s the Father’s glory that is the light? And then it says that the lamb is the lamp in verse 23, these are the Trinitarian roles, you know? So we get Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and they each have these roles, play equal in glory, but different functions. And so the father is the source of all truth, and the Son is the agent by which that truth is revealed. That’s what we have here, the Lord, it’s his glory, that’s the light, and the Son is the lamp by whom we see the light. Eight now no night means there’s no need to close the gates again. I don’t think this is an astronomy lesson. This is a little bit like there not being any sea. What we’re trying to say here is that there’s no longer any threat. Like when it’s dark outside is when it’s most dangerous. One of the reasons why the sun and moon were so important in the days before electricity and street lamps and things like that as well. There’s no threat. We live in perfect security also means that we can keep working so people are bringing their stuff. They didn’t shut the gates at any point you can, you can bring your goods into the city whenever you want. Did you notice that it’s the nations, right? It’s all peoples who are bringing their glory into the city, bringing their glory, almost as tribute to the king, as if to say, like everything we do, we are doing for your glory now, Lord, and this fulfills Isaiah, 60 verse 11, your gates will always stand open. It’ll never be shut day or night, so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations their kings led in triumphal procession, because everything’s done for him and because everything’s done for him means nothing impure will ever enter. There’s that quarantine idea that we keep talking about. Tell you what you read this and you think I’m going to misquote Liz Lemon from 30 rock here you want to go to there, like this is the place you want to be, the splendor of His glory, and yet getting to dwell with Him directly. We got one more scene still to go though, as good as it’s been, and that’s the garden. So let’s keep reading Revelation, 22 verses, one to five, and the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. Down the middle of the great street of the city, on each side of the river, stood the Tree of Life, bearing 12 crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light, and they will reign forever and ever. One of the major themes that we keep hitting in Revelation is that no word from God will ever fail. His words are trustworthy and true, and that’s why we keep seeing his words fulfilled in this passage. Here’s another one. What’s this river that we’re talking about? Here is listen to Psalm 46, verse four. There is a river whose streams make glad, the City of God, the holy place where the most high dwells. Sure enough, there is in Ezekiel, when he had this vision of the temple where he’s measuring everything and all of that, he saw a river flowing from under the temple, not directly from the throne of God, like we have here, but from the temple. And it was bringing life to the dead sea. So the Dead Sea, nothing can live in it, hence its name and whatnot, and all of a sudden this fresh water is there, and it’s turning this dead sea into a living sea. And so that’s the image that we have here, too. It’s the reign of eternal life, like death has died and life is here to stay, and that’s why it flows down Main Street. Now, in our heads, I don’t know we’re picturing the canals in Amsterdam or something, maybe not, probably not literal, but the point is just that the new life is at the center of eternity, the center of this city.
Now we can miss the importance this moment too, because water is abundant here, like you need water, we got fountains wherever you want to go. You can turn on the tap or something like that. But water is scarce in many parts of the world, and especially potable water, like drinkable water, can be hard to find, easier today, even than it would have been back then. So there are lots of people in a lot of places in the world who walk daily to go find okay water. It’s actually interesting. I just read this week, coincidentally, somebody was comparing like the if you were to divide the world’s population into like chunks of 10% each in terms of income, and they all lived on the same street, and was describing what the houses would be like. And so at one end of the street, the poorest 10% on Earth, they’re homeless, and, you know, kind of nomadic, almost, and again, walking to find water every day. The other end of the street, that would be where we live, by the way, of course, water is there in abundance. In fact, just to kind of further the illustration, they said that people had a swimming pool in their backyard. Now think about what a swimming pool is. You have a swimming pool when you have so much clean, drinkable water that you’re willing to fill a hole in your backyard with it for purely recreational purposes, and then you poison that water so that it’s not drinkable anymore. You. Uh, I’m not knocking swimming pools in the situs. That’s not my point here. I’m just saying we because we do that here, we could miss what’s being talked about, how good this would sound to so many people. And either side of this river of life, then the Tree of Life is growing. I know big tree covers both sides. I don’t know what it looks like exactly. Why is the tree of life growing there? Because there’s no more curse, because Christ has redeemed us from the curse at this point, so we can eat again from the tree of life. We got kicked out of the Garden of Eden. We couldn’t eat from it because of our sin, Adam and Eve and all of that stuff. And here we are back in that place, eating from the Tree of Life against that we live forever. Once again, we’re drawing from Ezekiel vision, Ezekiel, 47:12, says, fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of this river that he saw. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month, they will bear fruit because the water from the sanctuary flows to them, their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing. Fulfilled, fulfilled, except we bring again Genesis along with this vision in Ezekiel, so the leaves don’t wither, and these trees actually bear fruit monthly, which is not how fruit trees work. So it’s better than this existence, of course, if you’re familiar with Psalm one, you know that there are clear allusions to Psalm. One here also right blessed is one who does not walk and step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, who meditates on his law day and night. That person will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, and whose leaf does not wither. So there’s the same idea where we’re quoting this psalm quite clearly. You kind of put all these things together, though, what do you get? What that means is that when we meditate on God’s word and put it into practice, we are living this eternal life. Now we are becoming like the new creation that we will enjoy forever. And so it’s worth asking what this looks like for you today. Like, are you drawing life from this river by reading God’s word, meditating at it, memorizing it, studying it, so that you’re healthy and bearing the fruit of the Spirit? This is what brings healing to the nations. Then all around, people are seeking a return to Eden. They want the joy that they had at first. No problem is there’s only one way you got to drink from this river and eat from this tree, not going to find it elsewhere. Can’t possibly earn it. It has to be given to us in Christ, because, again, we are born under a curse, and it’s Christ who redeems us from the curse by becoming a curse for us in our place. We’ve talked a lot about the lake of fire, the wrath of God in this series, right? He took that on himself. He was cast into the lake of fire, as it were, so that those who trust in Him would not need to be, but could instead go home with him forever. And then we get the climax of it all, and they will see his face. Verse four. That’s as good as it gets. That’s what we’re all longing for. No one has ever seen God’s face before. Moses couldn’t. He asked to see God’s glory. Exodus 33 and God says, You can’t see my face, for no one may see me and live now. It’s true, same chapter, just a few verses before, it says that Moses talked to God face to face, but that’s an idiom that’s just saying like he had a one-on-one conversation with God. It certainly doesn’t mean that he actually saw his face. This is why John tells us in John chapter one, why it’s so good that Jesus came, because he says John 118, no one has ever seen God but Jesus, the one and only, has made him known. So we did get to see Jesus’s face. But of course, with Jesus, we had divine glory, veiled in human flesh, veiled in flesh, the Godhead, see, hail, the incarnate deity, all of that stuff. And yet here at last, that’s what we all get to do in his presence, basking in the light of His glory forever. Now I said that’s as good as it gets. Do you believe me? Is this what you’re most looking forward to in glory? John Piper, in his book, God is the gospel. The title kind of gives away the point of the book. Says it like this. He says, The critical question for our generation, for every generation, is this, if you could have heaven with no sickness, with all the friends you ever had on earth, all the food you ever liked, all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasure? You ever tasted, no human conflict or any natural disasters? Could you be satisfied with heaven if Christ were not there? And if we’re honest, most of us go, Sure, that sounds right. That is what I’m looking forward to. We’re wrong. We’re wrong. This is the best part, like I talked last week about the joy of our reunion with loved ones who have died in Christ and we are looking forward to that is so real and that is so good. But let me help you understand how that’s going to play out. We all kind of have the vision in our heads. I think most of us have the same vision too, right? It’s like never in a city or anything, is it? It’s always in a field, really green grass, really blue sky, sun is shining, and there is the person you’ve been waiting to see. Maybe it’s like an airport arrivals gate, you know, they got the sign, mom, dad, husband, wife, child, friend, and so like the arrival gate, you know you’re running to them, but here’s what’ll happen as you get close and you see the sign, your gaze will move. You will look over their shoulder and stand transfixed with your eyes on the glory of Jesus, Christ and the loved one who’s there with a little sign. How are they gonna respond? They’re gonna go, seriously. You’ve been talking for the last 50 years about how excited you are to see me, and now you won’t even acknowledge Mike. No, that’s not what they’re gonna do. You know what they’re gonna do? They’re going to turn with you. They look and they’re going to go, I know, isn’t he glorious? That’s how that’ll play out. Heaven is heaven because Christ is there, because we get to see God’s face, at last, to be welcomed as his bride, as his children, as His people. The treasure of the new creation is God Himself, which is why earthly treasures are used so casually in constructing this city. Doesn’t that have implications for how we live our lives today? Because a lot of us like gold and jewels and maybe even Jasper, a lot, right? We’re drinking salt water when the river of life is right there. So let’s, let’s kind of pull this together. So we get to that application implication idea, the big idea today, do all that you can to experience the best of heaven. Now, do all that you can to experience the best of heaven now.
So what does it look like to live now like God is the best part and will be forever. Now we could go a lot of directions with this, and in your community groups this week, you will have opportunity to do just that, because we probably need to work this out in our lives in different areas. But let me just take one example, riches, because they show up so much in this passage. Come in the side door, though, we’re going to get to riches, I promise. But imagine you’re out of town or something like that, and you’re visiting a different church. You’ll understand why you got to be in a different church. Here in a moment, you’re in a different church. You’re walking through the lobby, and you overhear one of the elders of the church casually sharing about the extramarital affair that he’s in with no word of rebuke from his conversation partner. But you know, kind of like, Wow, good for you, man. And as you’re backing up, like, I don’t know what I just stumbled into, you knock into one of the women’s Bible study leaders, who’s talking about how she’d been flirting with a guy at work and has now begun to make explicitly sexual advances toward him. Would you worry about that church like maybe the Spirit of God is not active in this place? There’s not real, genuine forever life there. Okay, but what if you were to walk through our lobby even in just a few minutes? Do you think you’ve ever overheard somebody complaining the home is too small and kind of run down a lot of stuff that needs to happen? Or another conversation over there with somebody who’s clearly envious of his neighbor’s new car. That’s the sin of coveting that I’m describing, and we have open conversations about it. Sin boldly in this area, think, well, that’s because it’s not the same Brandon like these are different? Are they different sins? They’re both in the Ten Commandments, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not covet. They actually get lumped together quite a bit. You can see this in Hebrews 12, or here’s Ephesians five, verse five. You can be sure of this. Paul says, no immoral, sexually immoral, impure or greedy person. Such a person is an idolater, which, by the way, is the first commandment has. Any inheritance in has Did you catch that no greedy person has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of his God? It actually makes sense that they show up so often together, because there’s significant overlap here, because in both instances, you’re seeking the fullness of joy in the things of this world. What we long for his true intimacy, and will settle for pornography because we’re dumb spiritually speaking, and what we’re longing for is the riches of glory, and will settle for gold bars. We are coveters, living in a covetous society. In our lobby is the air from Elmhurst, and that’s just a good picture of what happens with the atmosphere of the cultures we indwell. We are like those proverbial frogs being slowly boiled. So we have gone from praying, Give us today our daily bread to mountains of bread before us all the time, glutting ourselves on them so that we are overweight and sick, literally, but spiritually as well. We’re going to need something to rouse us from our sinful slumber. It’s not going to be guilt and shame that never works. No one ever changes because of that, what will rouse us is an invitation to greater joy, which is what we have in this passage. Imagine getting to the new creation and being excited about the gold, like that is not the point you’re walking on it. You go down to the river to get yourself a drink. Your shoes are muddy. You’re wiping them off on the gold because your eyes are still on Jesus. And if that’s its value in eternity, live like that’s its value now, that will move you from coveting to sacrificial generosity. That’s what would motivate a group of pastors in a closed nation to be so willing to give themselves away for the gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s how we can hold life in this age cheap, because we know that life in the age to come will be so dear. Now I will tell you I am no fan of Joel Osteen. He is a heretic. He is one of the wolves in sheep’s clothing that Jesus and Paul warned us against. But he was on to something when he encouraged us all to live our best lives. Now he was just totally wrong about what the best life is. He life is. Just need to be so clear that the best life is God. God. So do all that you can to live your best life now by experiencing the best of eternity. Now let’s pray to him, Father, open our eyes to behold your glory, to see how good you are, to see that the fullness of joy is found in you and you alone. To have the deepest desire of our heart, the longing that courses through us to be seeing you at last, face to face and seeing you as much as we can here and now, show us what that looks like, each of us here as individuals in this room, to live today like you are The best part of our lives because we know that you are. We ask this for your name’s sake. Amen.

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The Hope of Heaven March 30, 2025 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper preaches from Revelation 20-21 about the final judgment, where people are evaluated by their deeds and those not in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire. He emphasizes that salvation comes through Christ’s grace, not personal works, and describes the coming of a new heaven and earth where God dwells perfectly with His people. In this new creation, all tears, death, and pain will be eliminated, presenting a restored and glorious future for believers. Cooper’s core message is to “get ready for heaven” by living with an eternal perspective that transforms how Christians face life’s challenges and prioritize their time and actions.

Good morning church, we can go ahead and grab your Bibles, open up to Revelation chapter 20. We’ll be starting in verse 11 this morning. Revelation 20, verse 11. As you’re turning there, there’s a family that’s part of our home school community. They’re kind of an interesting family because they’ve got kids sort of the same spread as ours, which is a big spread. As you know, there are not a lot of moms that Amy can talk to where they’re talking about college prep on the one hand and potty training on the other hand. And this was one of them. So this mom and Amy were pregnant at the same time with Callum and their littlest boy, Levi. And on Thanksgiving of this last year, Levi was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor right on his brain stem was going downhill very, very quickly. And actually, it was just a few days after Morgan passed away, suddenly here that he passed away as well. And so just a few weeks back, we were at the funeral for this little three year old boy listening to didn’t think I was gonna get through that. But listening to, you know, his older brother, who’s Charis age in Charis class, deliver one of the eulogies. There’s just nothing that exposes the brokenness of this age quite like that. There’s just the overwhelming sense of wrongness that we feel, especially when the young die, and yet, after the message that we heard at the funeral, we’re all seated weeping, of course, at this time, we sang a song Brandon Lake’s gratitude. I don’t know if you’re familiar with it, and it was this little boy’s mom who stood up and lifted her arms and sang, I lift up my hands and I praise you again and again, because all that I have is a hallelujah. And believe me, everybody in the place was thinking exactly what you’re thinking right now, which is, how, how could you possibly stand and sing that so boldly at a moment like that? How do you go on? Never mind. Go on praising sorry for the heavy start. You know, it kind of just dropped us in the middle of the deepest ocean. And I knew I was going to do that. But here’s my promise to you, we may be in the middle of the ocean now, but we are swimming to Golden shores this morning, because we cannot go on. You cannot possibly do what this mom did unless we have hope, and hope is what God gives us here in this climactic passage, not just for the Book of Revelation, but for the Bible as a whole. Everything has been building up to this moment so that we can look around at the world today. We can be at a funeral like that one and say, This is not how the story ends. Something better is coming, and we will see that something better got three scenes This morning we’re going to see, first of all, the justice of hell. We’re talking about how that’s such an important part of then the hope of heaven, which is our second scene, the glory of heaven. And then finally, there’s this bit of application near the end as well. Where are we? Just in case you’re joining us for the first time this morning, we’re near the end of Revelation. We’re after the millennium. At this point, we’re after that final, final battle where Satan has been defeated and thrown into the lake of fire, where God’s justice has been vindicated, and now at long last, we are at eternity. And with that, let’s begin. Here’s revelation, 20 verses 11 to 15, as we look at the justice of hell. Then I saw a great white throne, and him who was seated on it, the earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small standing before the throne. And books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. So here we are before a great white throne. Each word is important, great showing God’s immensity and power. It is white which shows his purity, His Holiness, and it is a throne which reminds us of his right to rule, that he possesses the attributes necessary to rule. Well, he’s got the Wisdom, the sovereignty, the omniscience, omnipotence, needed to reign. We saw last week. This is coming from Daniel seven. This is, you know, thrones were before him, and the Ancient of Days took his seat, and here he is, the Ancient of days, days, whose hair is white, also not because he’s old, he’s eternal, that’s different than old, but because he is pure and splendid in His holiness, and he has this infinite wisdom to judge with justice and equity to render right verdicts. We can trust his judgment now, when he shows up and takes his place on this throne. The heavens and the earth flee the old heavens, the old earth flee from his presence, which, in a lot of ways, is just summing up the trauma that’s been inflicted on the old order throughout the book of Revelation, what we keep as seeing during the seals, the bowls, the plagues, all of this. I mean, we’ve seen what we’ve seen earthquakes, right? Mountains are collapsing, never mind cities. The stars are falling. The sun’s darkened. The moon turned to blood. The heavens are rolled up like a scroll. You get the idea, right? The Old Order is done. And why? Why do they flee? They flee because they’re stained, tainted, defiled by sin, corruption and death, and so they they cannot stand in God’s presence any longer. Now, in so many ways, this old order are the kingdoms of Daniel two that we’ve looked at so many times. And I remember Nebuchadnezzar dream, the statue. And it was all the kingdoms that were coming in human history, the gold head and then the silver of the bronze, the iron and clay. We read this in Daniel 235 then the iron, Clay, bronze, silver and gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer, the wind swept them away without leaving a trace. And that’s the old order. That’s just what happened here. The Lord speaks, and it’s gone. All that is gone. It’s like a divine skid steer coming to just remove the rubble from these shattered kingdoms and get them out of the new heavens and the new earth that he is preparing to create. But not the rock, not that mountain that destroyed these kingdoms, the rock of Jesus Christ that goes on forever, right? We we’re looking for a city with foundations. Hebrews tells us one that won’t be shaken. We’re receiving a kingdom that can’t be shaken. Hebrews 1228, says a kingdom that will never produce any Rubble, but will endure for ever. But let’s parse this out as we talk about the rubble here for a little bit. What are we talking about? Exactly? What is it this being removed in the old order, the old heavens and the old earth. I mean, think about what is being stripped away at this point. We’re talking about cancer. We’re talking about complaining and conflict between people. We’re talking about rape and robbery and rheumatoid arthritis, and how different that is from this rock, the mountain that fills the whole earth, the kingdom that is coming, which is marked by joy and peace and love and health. And you remember those differences, and you think, I’m really happy about this demolition here, right? Like we’re just ripping out black mold to make way for a new and glorious and eternal home. But when we think about this, we can’t leave it at the level of the impersonal the rubble that’s being removed includes sin and wickedness and rebellion, which means it will include sinners and the wicked and the rebellious. We talk about this a lot here, like we all want racism kicked out of heaven. Can’t get rid of racism unless we get rid of racists. Can’t get rid of human trafficking unless you get rid of human traffickers. You can’t get rid of exploitation, unless you get rid of the exploitative. You can’t get rid of pride unless you get rid of the proud you get the idea. And we want all those things gone and 100 more that we could name quite easily. We want them gone, because otherwise heaven will become hell in an instant. So how, how are they going to be gone? Now remember, as we talk about this, God has opened every door. He has made a way for all to come to him. He has made every offer of grace. In fact, this point was made forcibly to me at this little boy’s funeral, when his dad, who was a pastor, spoke, and he said, You know, I’m looking at my. And thinking, I would do anything to save him, and then thinking, and God didn’t. God said, You can have my son. That’s the offer of grace. You talk about all that God has done to make a way, and yet some will not come and will not repent. We saw this last week, after the 1000 years of the perfect reign of Christ, there are still those who would murder him. We saw this in Revelation, 1816, somewhere, one of the teens. It’s all blended together for me at this point, just Oh no, it’s 16. It is 16. There just will not repent. And what then? What then? Is what I keep saying. And not the first time I’ve said it, even in the last couple of weeks, God’s going to quarantine evil and quarantine evil doers. He casts hell outside this coming kingdom. He judges justly, yes, but he judges. And so here the dead are raised to face judgment, and two sets of books are opened at this point, again, taken from Daniel seven, the court is seated and says, books were opened. Here they are. These books are opened and the dead are judged. Now here dead, meaning both physically dead and spiritually dead as well, which we know because they’re being judged according to what they have done. Every person on earth judged according to what they have done. The sea gives up their dead, the grave death. Everybody. So this, every person on earth being judged here, if verse 15 is key, if the name was not written in the book of life, the name is not written in the book of life that will be eternally condemned justly, because they’re being judged according to what they’ve done. Make sure we understand the implication of that. That means what’s being said here, we cannot be saved by our works. We cannot be saved by our works, if we are judged any one of us, if we are judged by our deeds, all that we have done or left undone in this life, we will perish eternally. We will have earned hell. So important is like those teeny bopper magazines, you take the quiz and find out what kind of person kind of person you are. Okay, take this quiz find out what kind of person you are. You are the kind of person who deserves eternal condemnation, and they might be tough. And you might be thinking right now, you know, this is why I don’t like Christianity. Wish my parents didn’t drag me here something like that, like, even if you don’t think the Bible is right, let me ask you, how do you think you’re doing here? Really? Do you even measure up to your own standards? Like you got, you know, the Hobby Lobby grateful sign over your dining room table. Does gratitude mark every moment of your life? Or do you ever grumble and complain, and probably more often than you would care to admit maybe you got a kindness is everything sign in your front yard? I’m a big fan of kindness. It’s one of the fruits of the Spirit. I don’t know that it’s everything. I’m gonna be honest, somebody tried to kidnap my kid. Kindness is not the first thing in my mind, justice is okay. It’s not everything, but kindness is really, really important. Sure. Okay. Are you unfailingly kind? You’ve never been jealous of a friend’s success, selfish in traffic, or justified your unkindness towards somebody because they’re the wrong kind of person. You know, people who have those political views don’t deserve your kindness. There’s not anyone here in this room or on earth who would for a moment pretend that we always do what we think we should do. I don’t need to convince you of that. We all know it’s true, we fall short Somerset Maugham, the author, has said it like this. He said, If I wrote down every thought I’ve ever thought and every deed I’ve ever done, men would call me a monster of depravity. He is not alone. Like if you knew everything I’ve ever thought and said and done, not only would you fire me, you would run me out of town, and if I knew it for you, I would do the same. I would treat you the same. We are monsters of depravity. And here’s the problem, by the way, the Ancient of Days, the righteous Judge, does know every thought and word and deed. Nothing in all creation is hidden from His sight. So we’re in trouble. So we come to Jesus a little bit like the rich young ruler, if you remember him, he was a pious Jew. He comes to Jesus and asks Jesus, what must I do to enter the kingdom of heaven, to be right here in this. Moment in the book of life instead. And what does Jesus say? He starts rattling off the 10 Commandments. Why? Now the 10 Commandments are God’s standard. Yes, even for us today, we talked about this. We just did a series on 10 commandments not that long ago. But I don’t think that’s why Jesus is bringing the 10 Commandments up there. I think he’s bringing up the 10 Commandments because that’s the rich young ruler’s standards for himself, where he’s saying, right? Because that’s how the responds. So, do this, do this, do this. And the rich young ruler goes, I did it. I met my standard. I’m living up to my own standard. And Jesus says, just one thing you lack. And then he just points out very subtle part of this man’s life where he was falling short, because you’re not supposed to have any other gods before Yahweh, and this man loved money more. And what did he do? Confess a sin, repent. No, he walked away dejected. And that’s our problem, right? We if we can’t even measure up to our own standards, which is a sliding scale, like we are grading on a curve for ourselves. We know that if we can’t even measure up to our own standards, what chance do we have when the standard is perfection? Our only hope is if another measures up for us and in our place. And that’s the beauty of this scene, which is a hard scene, of course, and yet there’s this beacon of light in the middle of it, because there’s grace, we will either be judged by our deeds or by grace, because there is a book of life, the book of life, which is the eternal Roll Call. God knows his sheep, and his sheep know his voice, and they come when he calls. And even now he is calling, and maybe you’re hearing his voice right now. Now is the time to come to Jesus to say, Yeah, I’m not going to measure up. I’m not measuring up right now, and I know that. And so we’re just, we’re just going to switch. I’m going to give Jesus everything wrong that I’ve ever done, and I will take everything right that he has ever done, and I will meet the standard of perfection in Christ and for His glory, come to Jesus. Why? Because the alternative is stark and terrible, the lake of fire. This is where death and the dragon and the beasts, the False Prophet and all been thrown in the last couple of weeks. It is the second death, spiritual and eternal death. It is terrible. It is necessary and good too, because this is the consummation of justice, when God, utterly and eternally frustrates wickedness and brings evil to an end. How many times I said evil has an expiration? Date? It just expired. It’s over. We cannot have heaven if hell is still there. And so this moment, the judgment of the dead, the reality of justice, is what makes heaven possible. We gotta have that in mind as we take what’s gonna feel like a big turn here to the next sections. That was the justice of hell. Second scene, the glory of heaven. Let me read Revelation 21 one to six. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband, and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Look, God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. The old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, I am making everything new. Then he said, Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. He said to me, it is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end to the thirsty, I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. So we get the new heavens and the new earth. Because, of course, the old heavens, the old Earth, just ran away. And what’s so beautiful about this moment is that Heaven and Earth are coming back together again. Right? The city comes down from heaven unto Earth. It’s all being brought together at last. This is the whole story of the Bible. We start in Genesis, one and two, and Heaven and Earth are together. Adam and Eve are right there in God’s presence. And then we sin, and that’s it. And they’ve been separated ever since then. And how when will they come back together? Here it is, and what a sweet moment it is. It’s in fulfillment of Isaiah, chapter 65, verses 17 to 19. See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever. And what I will create for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice. Face over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and crying will be heard no more in it. This, by the way, is one of the most important passages that people will look to to figure out what the millennium is like, because there’s some stuff in the rest of Isaiah 65 that makes you go see maybe it is like an intermediate stage. But remember what I said last week. John doesn’t quote this when he’s talking about the Millennium, he quotes it when he’s talking about the new heavens and the new earth, right? This is what it looks like in the end. Part of why I think the millennial age is part of the new heavens and the new earth. The important thing here is he’s remaking Earth. He is restoring all things good to remember, too. By the way, some of you grew up thinking when you die, you know you’re going to go to heaven forever. We go to heaven, if we by Heaven, we mean the presence of God. We go there until this moment, and then we come back to Earth. Because heaven comes back to Earth. It’s a new heaven, a new earth, but it’s real, it’s physical, right? We’ll be raised physically. So Jesus doesn’t come to snatch us away, to take us home. Jesus comes to heal our home, ultimately, in the end. And then we read, there’s no longer any sea. And you’re like, that’s actually kind of a big bummer. I love the sea. I’m happiest when I am on the water. What are we talking about? Though we’re not talking remember, we’ve actually seen a sea in the throne room already sparkles like glass. Remember that one? That’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about the tumultuous, stormy abyss, like the portal to chaos. How many times we drawn on Daniel seven already, even just this morning? Well, this is Daniel seven, right? Verse three, four great beasts. These were not good beasts, right? These are the wicked kingdoms. They all come together. And The Beast of Revelation 13, these four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea. We don’t want the beasts back. And so here’s the good news, we’re done with that nonsense. That’s closed, that’s gone. There’s no more portal to chaos. I don’t think this is saying anything in particular about whether or not we get to sail or swim in glory. Then he sees the New Jerusalem descending this city. Now the city is not just the structure, of course, but the people we are talking about the people of God, the church, which is why he calls the city his bride. We know that the church is his bride. Now the city is important because we’ve been talking a lot about cities in Revelation, Babylon in particular, Babylon the prostitute who has fallen and who is finally destroyed. So she’s the counterfeit bride. Well, here at last, we get the true bride, although it’s interesting again, Babylon is not just counterfeit like that. This moment, it takes us all the way back to the to the first city, really, because Babel is the first city becomes Babylon. And what’s Babel, famous for tower, right? Genesis 11, they build this tower. So everyone comes together to try and build this tower up to heaven. Basically, I’m gonna get saved by my works. I can reach heaven, and it doesn’t work, and God frustrates their plans, scatter them, everything like that. What happens here? We’re not trying to get up. The city comes down like this is Grace, right? Here, the only way you’re going to get there is if I bring it to you, and he has brought it to us. Speaking of grace, the city is dressed beautifully as a bride, right? Because now we are clothed with Christ’s righteousness. The deeds that we are supposed to do, the fine linen clothes that were given to us to wear. We read in Revelation 19. Now we are clothed in them. This is what Jesus came to do. And how does Paul talk about Christ’s love for the church? He says this in Ephesians 5:25-27: Christ loved the church, gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water, through the Word, to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish but holy and blameless. It’s finished. It’s done. It’s come true at last, of course, it is because in verse five, his words are faithful and true. God keeps all his promises. So this is the end of our defilement, what Jesus is making us. We are finally fully and forever. I heard a story once some years ago of a woman who, as a child, was molested and abused, ultimately raped as well, all the sorts of things that we want, very definitely kicked into hell. As a result, she grew up wildly promiscuous, even as a Christian, came to Christ, but continued in her sexual immorality. It was so bad that. She was engaged to marry a Christian man who knew nothing about her past. She lied, kept all that from him, and then she actually cheated on him during their engagement, and years later, after they were married, few years later, she finally told her husband everything was a hard moment for him, because he’s looking back going, honestly, I wouldn’t have married you if I’d known what was true of you, and certainly not in fact, you cheated on me during our engagement, and he left, understandably, and she was panicked, of course. Would he come back? Is he gone for good? No, he’d gone to purchase her a new white nightgown as a symbol of this moment, right here. So he had her undress in front of him and put on this new white gown to say, This is what Jesus has done for you, right? He’s taken off your filthy deeds, and he has clothed you with His perfect righteousness. And I choose to see you as Jesus sees you, and think of how she must have felt to be literally naked and ashamed in one moment and in the next, clothed and accepted, fully known at last, by her husband, and yet fully loved still. That’s how we feel in the presence of Christ, when we turn from sin and turn to Jesus and rest in His finished work. That’s how he sees us. But the good news of this passage is That’s how we’ll actually be, in the end, closed in white. Then a voice tells us that God’s dwelling is right there with us. Again. This is the whole story of the Bible, right just back to Eden. Only better. We were with God, then we were separated. How do we get back here he is with his people. Again, this is the heart of the covenant. Promise. You want to sum up the covenant of grace in a single phrase. It’s this, Ezekiel, 3727 my dwelling place will be with them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And here it’s true now again, our context. How many we’ve been in Ezekiel, 36 to 48 for the last few weeks, we’ll be there next week also, right? So remember Ezekiel, 36 That’s the promise of the New Covenant. Sprinkle you with clean water, heart of flesh, spirit, all that stuff. 37 the valley of dry bones. It ends with this verse, the covenant promise. Here. Then we get that apocalyptic battle with Gog from Magog. And then an angel starts measuring the temple, which, by the way, we’ll get to next week specifically. But how does Ezekiel end the very last sentence of his book? The name of that city from that time on will be the Lord is there. The name of that city from that time on will be the Lord is there. It’s finished. It’s done. Look, His dwelling place is now with us. All his words come true. He’s fulfilling every promise. In fact, we can see, like the creation, the thread, the city thread, the marriage thread, the temple threads. They all are woven together here in this passage, into this glorious Gospel tapestry. And what a place it will be, because the old order, the order of sin and death, has passed away, and the new order of life, physical life and spiritual life, will endure forever. He wipes every tear from our eyes. There’s no more death, so there’s no more mourning, there’s no more pain, so there’s no more crying. Can you even imagine what a day that will be? He will swallow up death forever. Isaiah, 25 verse eight, says the Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces. Just think for a moment, when was the last time you cried
in grief, in agony, in pain, in shame, think of every time you’ve ever cried or mourned or wept because of the brokenness of this world, the suffering and evil and death the last time you were sinned against and offended, and here at last, every cause is now removed. Can you even imagine what a day that will be. The lame walk the deaf, hear the blind, see, the autistic, freed from the prison of their minds, the home bound, suffering, relentless, soul sucking, chronic pain. Freed to live and laugh and love with their God and with His people. Forever and sweetest of all, of course, those who died in Christ raised to forever life, reunited after all those years with their loved ones, Levi, with his mom, Morgan, with gage and Marie, and just fill in the blank. Every one of you has a name there. I could say most of them for you, I’ve done some of the funerals back at last, embracing forever. That’s why our friend could stand and sing. I lift up my hands and I will praise you again and again, because that is the hope of heaven and is the only hope we have. But can you even imagine what a day it’s gonna be? He is making everything new. He is the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end. That means he’s the creator, but he’s the Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet, right? He’s the consummator. He’s the one who brings it to perfection in the end and to the thirsty. That’s to us, by the way, that’s everything I just described, everything we’re longing for in this life. That’s our thirst. We’re thirsty for justice. We’re thirsty for joy and love and peace and hope. To the thirsty, he says, I got water come and drink. That’s like what Jesus said to the woman at the well who is vainly and foolishly drinking the salt water of lust to slake her thirst for love. And what does Jesus say? I’ve got something better. Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. Did you catch that there’s a water we can drink now that becomes in us eternal life. Now eternal life’s not something we get in glory. It’s something we are experiencing in Christ, even now, 2 Corinthians 5:17, right? If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. We’re already a part of this coming day. Jesus says it in John 7:3 this is eternal life that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. Do you know God? Do you know Jesus? You have eternal life now. So the offer of eternal life is there, right? It’s for the thirsty. It’s like when you’re running a marathon, you’re at, you know, mile 22 or whatever, and they got that little table with the cups of water. Well, here’s Jesus, the cup of water, to those who are dying of thirst, saying: Drink, drink. Take it. We can begin to experience eternal life even now, because He gives us His love and joy and peace. Now, will you take it? And that is the question that we asked in this last section, the choice on earth. Let me just finish this up with verses seven and eight. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God, and they will be my children, cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars. They will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. Ends on a sour note, doesn’t it a little bit like we saw that beacon of a hope in the midst of the judgment section, and now we get this reminder of judgment in the midst of the life section. Why? Well, we got to remember that judgment and reward are two sides of the same coin. The coin is shallow peace. Each of us has to make a choice. To those who are victorious. It says, if you were with us for our seven letters series last summer, you you know the revelation two and three, this is there in every single letter, to the one who overcomes, to the one who perseveres, those who are victorious will inherit all this. And what’s the all this that they inherit? It’s everything that was promised in those letters. You go back and look at those letters, you’ll you’ll see things like the one who’s victorious, you know that one won’t experience the second death, or they’ll reign with Christ forever. They’ll be dressed in white, names never blotted out of the book of life. They’ll become pillar in God’s temple in the city that is coming down, and you go, it’s done, it’s finished. He brought it to pass. He keeps every promise, He fulfills his every word. That knowledge steals us to persevere in hard times. It encourages faithfulness and hope in us, and best of all of all these problems. Says, There it is again. Of course, he will be our God. Remember, that’s the covenant promise. But then it doesn’t say we’ll be His people. It says we’ll be His children, literally, will be his son, which is important, because the Son is the heir, of course. So we get the covenant promise on the one hand, and then we get to the promise to David on the other hand, the blessing of adoption that we would get to know God as Father. But remember, we can’t have this. We cannot have that radiant, incandescent beauty of verse four without verse eight, because God cannot allow evil back in, you let just a little bit of infection in, and pretty soon everybody is sick once more. But the question for us is, to whom exactly is he speaking here? Now let’s remember who Revelation is written to in the first place. This isn’t for unbelievers. I don’t think this is a warning to hypocrites and compromisers and the double-minded in church, like those in the seven churches. I mean, that’s why those letters are there. You know, this is written to the people who are going to go, you know what? Persecution is too hard. So I think I’ll deny Christ. That’s what the word cowards means here in this one, by the way. Or, you know, this false prophetess Jezebel told me that I’m a soul and not a body, so what I do with my body doesn’t matter. So I can engage in sexual immorality and it won’t matter like that’s who’s being what’s being talked about and who’s being addressed here. In other words, this choice is being set before us right here in this room. This is a message for those of us who gather with the church each week, listening to God’s word. And what is the choice it is, on the one hand, to overcome, to conquer, to emerge victorious in Christ through Christ for Christ, or to be cast out forever. That’s the choice we’re making now. That’s what’s so important, right? Revelation is all about the end, and we learned a lot about the end in the last couple of weeks, but it’s telling us about the end, then, to change how we live now, today. We have to keep that in mind: it helps us with our big idea this morning. Pretty simple, get ready for heaven. Get ready for heaven. Start living eternal life now, make the choice today to live like that day is coming, because the hope of heaven should transform every moment of every day. It should transform how you respond to suffering in this life with gratitude instead of complaining. It should respond to how you face temptation. I’m not drinking salt water. I will drink the real stuff. It should change how you prioritize your time, because you want to build stuff that will last. You want to build for this city with a foundation, so that when God shakes the heavens and the earth, what you have done endures, it should change how how you view your purpose in life. It should change the way you witness to those around you. It should certainly transform how you face your death and the death of those that you love and miss and long to see again. Graham Albans shares the story of two dear senior, senior saints in his church in England, Malcolm and Iris, in their 90s. And Iris had kidney failure and was going in for a procedure, which, when you’re 90, is dangerous. Every procedure is dangerous at that point. And so they weren’t sure Iris would make it. So Graham and his family went to visit with her. They were leaving on vacation, and promised to bring her a shell back with him from the beach. And you know, as he was saying it, he was like, Man, I don’t think you’re gonna be here to get the shell, but, but she she did. She recovered, she came home, got the show, all that stuff. It wasn’t Iris turn, it was Malcolm’s turn, because just a little while later he collapsed on Christmas Day, and by Boxing Day, he was gone. And so Graham did the funeral, and they were leaving and walking out with Iris, and Iris was smiling, not a fake smile. You know, she’s British, stiff up her lip and all that. So this was a real smile. This was, this was, this was a deep joy welling up inside of her. It’s a little bit like the ocean in some ways. You know, sometimes storms are there on the surface and they churn up the water. Don’t they like some big waves in the ocean and stuff. You go down 567, 1000 feet. Do you think they care about the storms at all down there? It’s nothing, little gentle rain, right? Because the that water is being moved by something deeper. And older, that’s what joy is, of course, going the circumstances of life, the storms of life, they don’t threaten the deep, eternal truth that moves me. So that’s why she’s smiling. But she looks at Graham, and she says, I wouldn’t want him back. Excuse me, were the marriage troubles I didn’t know about the last 70 years. No, she said I wouldn’t want him back, because I know where he is is better by far. And he wasn’t even here. He’s not here yet, because this isn’t here yet. Even still, just being in God’s presence, this foretaste of glory is enough that she would say, I would rather he gets to be with Jesus, that his faith is sight at last. But you can always say that if you have the hope of heaven, that’s what it looks like to be ready for heaven, living eternal life here and now. Let’s pray, Lord give us this hope even now, convince us the truth of what we just read, that this is how the story ends, so that we are always being moved by those deep eternal truths and not threatened by the mere storms of life, things that are temporary and passing, like pain and suffering and evil and death. If we know that those are going to go away, Lord, that changes everything about how we live today. So change how we live today and every day until this is reality until our faith is made sight, until the day when Heaven and Earth are brought back together and we will live in your presence as your people forever, finally and fully and forever freed from all The hellishness of this world simply to enjoy your love forever stir that hope in us, Lord, we pray for Christ’s sake. Amen.

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The Millennium March 23, 2025 | Brandon Cooper The sermon explores Revelation 20’s description of the Millennium, focusing on three key stages: before, during, and after this period. Brandon Cooper emphasizes believers should long for the day when Jesus reigns, highlighting the triumph of truth, the resurrection of saints, and the ultimate justice of God’s judgment. He explains different theological views of the Millennium while stressing that the core message is that Jesus wins and believers will reign with Him. The practical application is to live now in a way that reflects hope for the eternal kingdom, transforming our work and daily lives to align with God’s ultimate purposes.

Okay, you can open up to Revelation chapter 20. Revelation 20 is where we’ll be this morning. There’s a song that, if I were to start singing it right now, there’s a good chance that most of you would bust out with me. You know, just going it starts, almost heaven. West Virginia, yep, everybody’s with me now, okay, we got it. And one of the reasons, I mean, it’s a catchy tune and all that we like it, but I think one of the reasons why we all know the song, love the song, want to sing along with the song, is because of that almost heaven idea that is probably everyone in this room has a place that they think of when they hear that phrase, almost heaven. Like this is what’s almost heaven for me, if you guys have been at the church for a while, you know for me it actually is Lake Placid New York, where my family’s been going for generations, and so everything about that place I go, Yep, this is as close to heaven as I think I’ll get in this life when I’m there. But notice that it’s almost heaven. What’s still lacking even as you’ve got your place in your head right now, what are you still longing for, even when you think of that place? And of course, the answers come pretty quickly. For as much as I love Lake Placid, my family’s had some epic blow ups there, because there’s sin, I think of the change that we’ve seen, of course, one of the reasons I love Lake Placid is because the people I’m there with, and some of those people aren’t there anymore because of Divorce, because of death, that sure doesn’t feel like heaven. So you see, there’s something we still want. We’re still longing for, and so we can’t help but think with that almost heaven, place where we’re going, Yeah, but I want something more. What would it be like to strip all that junk away in the end, the evil, the sin and the death. Can you even imagine the glory of life at that point? That’s the glory that we’re considering today. My goal here is really to stir up your imaginations, to keep you longing for the eternal, not to settle for almost heaven. We’re gonna do that by looking at the millennium, which is the only place in the Bible where it’s mentioned, which means we’re gonna be grasping about in the dark for the most part. This morning, we’re gonna do our best. Gotta warn you upfront as well. I’m gonna have to do some teaching here. Guy earlier. It was actually last week as I was finishing up, you know, hours and hours of prep and all this stuff, I went into Kyle’s office and I said, I’m ready to teach revelation 20 now. And that’s not where I wanted to be, because I’m supposed to preach revelation 20, not teach it. It’s not a class. I’m gonna try and keep that so we’re gonna do some teaching. But I do want to keep before you why this matters for us today, and not just get bogged down in the teaching piece. I’m gonna give you the big idea up front in part, just so we’ve got that like, here’s why it matters for us today, even when we get into some of the weeds. The big idea is that we should be longing for the day when Jesus reigns and raises us to reign with Him. Now, in one sense, of course, Jesus is reigning even now, but we know what we mean by that. When he is reigning fully and finally and forever, we’re longing for that day when he raises us to reign with Him. Now, there is a lot of debate about this passage, but one thing that’s really clear, at least, is we got three sections in it. One of them is talking about before the millennium. One of them is talking about the Millennium during it, and then one of them is talking about after the millennium. So that’s what we’re going to go our structure here. But in each case, I want to draw out part of what it is that we’re longing for, what we want to see come in the end the longing that we should be stirring in ourselves. So Scene one, this is before the Millennium we’re going to see. CHAPTER 20, verses one to three, we should be longing for the triumph of truth. The triumph of truth. Let me read Revelation 21, to three, and I saw an angel coming down out of heaven having the key to the abyss and holding in his hand a great chain, he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the Devil or Satan, and bound him for 1000 years. He threw him into the abyss and locked and sealed it over him to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore, until 1000 years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time, so evil continues to be ushered off stage. It started back in chapter 18, when Babylon falls. And then we saw last week that the beast is overthrown, the false prophet that second beast along with him. And now finally, at last. We get the dragon. One of the reasons why I think this is chronological, that chapter 19 comes before chapter 20 is because of that right there. We’ve got most of the characters removed, but not the big one. We’re still waiting on him. And so I think that’s where we’re going. In order here, this is not a recap of last week’s battle, although we’ve seen lots of recap in Revelation. Now there’s an angel with a key to the abyss. The Abyss is where the demonic dwells, and we’ve seen an angel do something with the Abyss already, way back when he unlocked the Abyss to let the locusts out during the plague cycles. And so this same angel is now locking it back up, which is just a great reminder, by the way, that it’s God who has the keys to the abyss. Satan doesn’t get to come and go as he pleases or anything like that. Which is even more interesting when you think about it, because do you remember the dragon? When we met the dragon, there’s the pregnant lady, she was given birth. We thought, wow, she’s really vulnerable. And then there’s this crazy, big dragon attacking her. He’s so big his tail sweeps away a third of the stars. You think this is going to be a fierce adversary, and he’s not, because it’s not even God that grabs him, just like one of God’s minions grabs him and shoves him in the abyss. God has total authority and total power, and Satan does not have either of those. It’s actually a helpful reminder for us that Satan’s superpower, if we want to call it, that, isn’t strength. He’s not strong. This is not Thor or Hulk in The Avengers. He’d be Loki, of course. Why? Because if he’s got a superpower, it’s deception. He’s crafty. That’s what. He’s good at lying, and that’s kind of it. In fact, we see deception in all these titles that are given him. So here’s the dragon. Who is the dragon? He’s that ancient serpent. That’s the snake in Genesis three that seduces Eve and Adam with a lies and half truths. Did God really say, Oh, you can eat this fruit. It’ll be fine. You won’t certainly die. And then he’s called the devil, the most common name in Greek in the New Testament. And then Satan the most common name in Hebrew for him in the Old Testament. Satan means accuser, slanderer. Devil, sorry, I’ve got this backwards. Devil means that Satan. Satan means adversary. But what sort of adversary are we talking about? Like a courtroom adversary? He’s the one who shows up and accuses and slanders like this is what he does. He’s a deceiver. You see that in Job, for example, God says, if you consider my servant Job, and Satan goes, hmm, yeah, but that’s only because you give him nice things. Take those nice things away. See what happens. We see it in Zechariah three, where the high priest, Jeshua is is standing before God in the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, he’s covered in filth that would be our sin, and Satan is right there next to him, ready to accuse him. We see it in Jude as well. This is all he’s got. He’s got lies and slander. We have absolutely no reason to fear Satan’s power. At the same time, we have every reason to guard against his lies by clinging to the truth. Of course, that’s how you guard against lies. Now some of you are going hang on now Brandon,
he’s like a lion. I know that from the Bible, and lions are strong and they eat people, so maybe we should fear his power. Let’s look at it and see what it actually says. First, Peter five, eight and nine, be alert and of sober mind your enemy. The devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour, resist him standing firm in the faith. Because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. Notice what’s being talked about here. Be alert and of sober mind, like we’re dealing with thoughts at this point. Truth, in other words, doesn’t tell us to be strong, but to be aware of his schemes. And then it says, stand firm in the faith, not in faith. You know, be ready to go. No. Stand firm in the faith. That is the teaching that has been passed down the the faith, once for all, entrusted to the saints. As Jude says, you actually see that in the armor as well. We could go to Ephesians six, I’m not going to we not going. We got to put on armor, because he’s so strong, right? What would we put on the belt of truth? What protects our mind, the knowledge of our salvation? What protects our heart, the knowledge that we have Christ’s righteousness given to ourselves. We got the shield of faith, trusting in God’s word and. Then the one offensive weapon, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word truth. Again, you see it over and over and over again. We need regular and deep Bible intake if we’re going to resist Satan. But there’s one other part, even in that first Peter passage, right? We need regular and deep Bible intake, reading, studying, memorizing, meditating, we need all of that in community. And that what Peter says, because you know that the family of believers throughout the whole world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings like we’re all in this together. We need each other here. One reason it’s so important that we gather that we’re not trying to be a lone ranger Christian, which is an oxymoron, certainly is so that we are not deceived. And it’s much easier to deceive you when you are on your own. And I had a couple of conversations this week even, which, by the way, makes it like every other week of my life where I had to talk to someone and be like, well, that’s Satan voice right there. What you’re hearing right there. That’s what Satan says to you. That’s not what God says to you. Let’s look at the word, but see what God would say to you. We need people to be doing that for us all the time. So what happens and when he’s bound for 1000 years? Perfect number? Of course, this is 10 to the third power. So lots of perfection there. I don’t know if it’s a literal 1000 years or not, probably symbolic, based on everything we’ve seen in Revelation, he’s bound for 1000 years so that he can no longer deceive the nations. That’s what I mean by the triumph of truth. This is what we should be longing for. Can you even imagine how good it will be when we’re done with deception? No more lies, no more propaganda, no more misinformation, no more seductions and temptations, no more doubting. God. Did he really say? Is he really good? Is he really on my side? No more again, temptation this will satisfy. You know why you’re unhappy right now is because God doesn’t love you enough. But you know what will make your life better if you buy that thing you’re looking at, if you sleep with that person that you’re not in a covenant relationship with? Yeah, that’s gonna SAT. Can you imagine how good it’s gonna be when that’s over? What a day that will be but after it says he’s gonna be set free for a short time. And if you’re like me, you’re going really why? Let’s just keep him there. Great question. We’re gonna have to wait until the last section to answer it. But for now, let’s move on to the second section. This is the description of what’s happening during the Millennium. And what should we be longing for? Here we’re gonna see in verses four to six, we should be longing for the reign of the resurrected, the reign of the resurrected. Here it is. I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge, and I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God, they had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ 1000 years the rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1000 years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with him for 1000 years. So John sees thrones plural, and on these thrones those who’ve been given the authority to judge. Ali read it for us earlier from Daniel seven, nine thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. So why are there all these other thrones? And who is it that’s sitting on them alongside God Almighty? Almost certainly, we are talking about believers. We are talking about the church. Why do I say that? Well, in part because it’s been talked about throughout Revelation, we keep going back to this. So we could go back to the seven letters series that we did last summer, the seven letters, the seven churches in western Turkey. That’s who gets this book originally, some of the promises that are given to them. So Revelation, 226, it says, To the one who overcomes, I will give authority to rule the nations in chapter three. Verse 21 the one who overcomes. Guess what? Gets to sit with Jesus on his throne. We keep talking about Revelation five. Verse 10, this is when John has the Throne Room vision, sees the lamb, the lion who has conquered sin and death. And it says in the middle of it, and as Jesus is receiving this praise, you have made all these people, your people, to be a kingdom. And you think, okay, sure, we’re a kingdom. He’s the king. We’re the subjects, but it goes on, gonna be a kingdom to reign on the earth. We’re gonna be kingdom and priests. Who are reigning with Jesus, first, Corinthians, 62 Paul makes a similar point, just so you see, this is throughout the New Testament. Paul is yelling at the Corinthian church, which he did a lot. Why? Because they’re suing each other in court, in a secular court, instead of working this out in church, which is how that should happen, by the way, but why? Paul says, Look, you’re you don’t think you can arbitrate a dispute between brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord’s people will judge the world like maybe start practicing a little bit. And the word judge actually means rule. There. What you can see that this is the fulfillment of a multitude of promises, all these promises, we are going to reign with Christ, and it’s a fulfillment of promises, especially to the martyrs, those who’ve been beheaded. We have here. We keep seeing them as well. Do you remember in chapter six, they were under the altar, because that’s where their blood had been splashed, and they’re crying out to God, how long? How long? And of course, we got the the answer at that point is gonna be a little longer, because actually, not all the murders have been killed yet, not our sweetest promise, but a true one, nonetheless. What that means, though, of course, is that this, this can’t be the intermediate state. What is being talked about here in this millennium can’t be those who are reigning with Christ now in heaven. Maybe that’s a fine way to describe what happens to the dearly departed believers. But, but that’s not what’s happening here. Why? Because of what it says in verse four, they came to life and reigned with Christ 1000 years now, what does came to life mean? It could mean new spiritual life. That’s a fair reading of that phrase. In fact, it’s used that way. Same exact word in John 525, when Jesus is saying, the dead are going to hear God’s voice and live. The implication there is, they will believe and so they will be reborn. They will have a new life in Christ. But that’s not normally how it’s used normally. It’s kind of like what it sounds like, which is, they came to life. They you know, it’s physical life. John 1125, Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes this will live even though they die. They will come to life even though they die. So there’ll be a death, and then there will be a resurrection. Romans, 14, nine, Christ died and returned to life again. Same word, to be the Lord of the living and the dead. How this word is used throughout revelation as well. But even if you took all that away, we know it has to mean physical life, because it gets used that way in the very next verse, verse five, the rest of the dead did not come to life until 1000 years were ended. So like clearly, it means physical life in that one, I can’t imagine anyone would change the meaning of the word that close. So we’re talking there. And then verse five about those who are spiritually dead as well as physically dead. They don’t come to life until Christ comes, until after the 1000 years. That’s why we got this talk of the first resurrection and the second resurrection. First resurrection is of believers, second resurrection is of unbelievers, the unrepentant raised to face judgment. And that’s why John says that second death, which is spiritual death, condemnation, what we would call hell, has no power over those who experience the first resurrection.
And so blessed and holy are those who share in it, who share in God’s promises to reign as his priests and kings. And you’re reading this, by the way, and you’re thinking like, Yeah, you don’t want to miss this. You want to be here for this moment. Like, reminds me the ark in a lot of ways. You know, Noah’s building this giant boat, and he’s looking around his friends and neighbors going, bad things are coming, and there’s a way out, like, get on board, literally and figuratively. Get on board. Get on the boat before it leaves. And that’s what we need to face here as well, because there will be resurrection and the reign of the resurrected in Christ, but there will be judgment as well. So what does it look like to experience this new life to it means you own your sin, you acknowledge your your rebellion against God, accept the free offer of grace that is given to us in Christ, turn from sin. Trust in Him. It’s this invitation right come and enjoy the reign of the resurrection of the resurrected, the the vindication of the saints, of the faithful and true witnesses at. Last, right, we keep looking for the day when the faithful and true won’t be killed, but instead will be rewarded for their faithfulness. And here it is, and think again of how sweet this rain will be every time you have ever longed for a righteous, just, selfless, you know, uncorrupted and incorruptible leader, you are longing for this. Like how many times we looked out at those who are in power and gone. I wish it would be somebody else. All over the world. All the time, we’re thinking this, this isn’t good enough. Here’s when it’ll be good enough. Here’s when the right people will be reigning again, a world without deception, without sin, without death, with the right leaders the way it was always meant to be. This is the final restoration, the consummation. And notice how sweet it is too, that we will be not just the Kings, but priests of God, those who are directly before the Lord Himself. I mean the great covenant, promise, I will be your God, and you will be my people. And we are all there at this point. Can’t even get our puny minds around how good it will be. It is a joy beyond reckoning. You will not want to miss it. Third section. Then, this is after the millennium. We’re looking at verses seven to 10, last longing. We should be longing for the justice of judgment. The justice of judgment. I’ll explain what I mean by that in a moment. Here’s verses seven to 10, when 1000 years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog and to gather them for battle and number, they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them, and the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown they will be tormented day and night, forever and ever. So after these 1000 years, Satan is loosed to deceive the nations again, and he gathers people from the four corners of the earth, right, every tribe, every nation, every tongue. Now, why does God let Satan loose again here? And the answer is to vindicate His justice again, to show the justness of His judgment. There’s this big question. I’ve actually gotten this question twice in just the last two weeks even. That’s how often people raise it. It seems like maybe God is unfair, because we get what an infinite punishment and an eternal punishment for what is a finite crime. Like, even if you were just as wicked as you could possibly be, you’re wicked for what, 80 years and 80 billion years later, you’re still being punished. It just feels like punishment and crime don’t match up. But here we see that’s not right at all. It is infinite punishment, but for an infinite crime, this is rebellion without end. I mean, at any point here has it seemed like the dragon or the beast or the False Prophet feel contrite remorse, wish I hadn’t gone against God? No, and neither do their followers. They have just seen 1000 years of perfection of the reign of Christ, and they still hate it, and still hate Christ. They still want God dead so they can light Hell’s fires on earth again, they are choosing lies and violence and exploitation and all the rest, even still, that is what I mean by the justice of God’s judgment. But if you’re paying close attention, you got a big question right now, which is, Who are these people? Though I thought this was the reign of the resurrected led we got the saints on Earth. Where do they come from? All the rebels are already dead. That was last week, 1921 the rest were killed. There’s no rest beyond the rest, right? That’s everyone at that point. So there are no exceptions there. What’s happening are the saints having kids, some of whom rebel against God. That doesn’t make any sense, because there’s no deception. So where would they even learn to rebel? Now that question is the strongest objection to what’s known as the pre millennial view. And with that, let’s do the teaching part real quick. Okay, and some of you are like, no, that felt like teaching already. I’m trying. I’m trying so hard. Okay, so we got to talk about. Three views here. They all have millennial in it. That’s the millennium, right? Easy. We got a prefix for each there’s pre millennial, post millennial and, ah, millennial. And that prefix talks about when Christ comes in relation to the millennium, post millennialism. Okay? Christ comes post millennium, after the millennium. And so what’s envisioned in post millennialism is that the Church continues to grow, the Gospel continues to spread, until eventually it has transformed culture so completely that we could describe it as a millennial experience on Earth, and then Christ comes. This view was really popular when things seem to be going well for the church, it is not as popular today. Does not look like we’re winning all that often we are always in some places and not in others. Doesn’t really square with the teaching of Scripture, either. So post millennialism not particularly popular today. Pre millennialism is the idea then that Christ comes before the millennium, which is what I’ve given you so far. And then ah, millennialism, ah is the Greek prefix. That means Nope. And so there’s no millennium, although that’s a little bit of a misnomer in some ways, they would see that we are in the Millennium now, but not in that like golden age that’s coming the way post millennialists would see it. So this is the church age and the millennium. Again, we’re talking about the reign of the saints in heaven, the new birth that people experience here on Earth
now, as with things like baptism and stuff, the age of the Earth, like creation, debates and stuff, where we agree matters more than where we disagree, and I want to start there. We all agree. Satan will be defeated. God will care for his people and will bring them, ultimately and forever into his reign that provides us with comfort, regardless of how the Millennium shakes out. In fact, we got to be careful even as we’re reading Revelation. That’s been one of the main points we try to get throughout this series. Don’t miss the main point because you’re arguing over details and theology. This chapter advances the book’s themes that we need to know, the defeat of evil, for example, and the vindication of the saints, as well as the justness of God’s judgment. That said, we want to try to know the whole counsel of God, and so it’s worth teasing out here just a little bit. And so I just want to share why I can’t see amillennialism or post millennialism working, although pre millennialism is a huge group of people, and I have strong disagreements, probably the strongest disagreements, with a good chunk of that as well. Some of you are laughing because you’re like, I know what he’s saying right there. I’m not going to get into all that, though. I just know I’ve been teaching that this whole time. Why do I think that amilism doesn’t work? Really, it’s a this text, and only this text right here, but because of what we saw in verses four to six, because the dead came to life physically, and that happens when Christ comes again. That’s the resurrection. This is not a spiritual birth. This is actual resurrection. The word resurrection is used, the word resurrection is not used of spiritual life in the New Testament. So if we’ve already experienced the first resurrection, then Christ has already come second. I think it has to do with what happens to Satan here in this time as well, because the binding of Satan that we see here in chapter 20 for these 1000 years is just stronger and more absolute than the triumph of the gospel, because that’s what would be talked about. So when he no longer has power to deceive the nations, why? Because we’re going to make disciples of all nations. And so the gospel is triumphing, and that’s true, but that doesn’t sound like what this sounds like like this seems so much more absolute. In fact, if you’re an amillennialist you see what happened in Revelation 12, the same as what’s happening here in Revelation 20. It’s the same event you remember there. That’s when that is the woman in the dragon and stuff. And when Christ dies and rises from the dead, Satan is cast out of heaven onto Earth. And so that would be the same thing when he’s cast out of heaven onto Earth is like when he’s being cast into the abyss here, except it’s not the same, because he’s cast to Earth there, not into the abyss, and those are different places. And then you keep reading in like 12 and 13, and the emphasis is on Satan’s activity. When he’s cast out of heaven, he goes around deceiving the nations. You remember back then, I don’t know if you remember a while ago, but like, he’s angry that his time is short, and so he goes to attack the church. That is not what we see here in verses four to six. And so I think this is really, really unlikely that those are the same event, in which case we’re talking about something else entirely. And then this beautiful vision that we have here, and this. Chapter just doesn’t square with revelations other portraits of the intermediate state. We already talked about this right, the martyrs in heaven are crying out for justice. They don’t seem satisfied with their lot. They’re still waiting for vindication. They’re not reigning in triumph. They’re told to wait, told to wait until this moment when they are raised to reign with Christ. So there you go, boom, slam dunk, premillennialism, except no, because, well, there are a couple of other things we still gotta talk about again. Where do the rebels come from? Still got that question. And then another one. My problem with a lot of primordial views is because of their use of the Old Testament, which is not reflected here in Revelation, where there is this kind of weird intermediate state and a lot of things happen. Israel is reconstituted as a nation, the temple is rebuilt, sacrifices are offered again, all of which goes against, like the whole book of Hebrews, for example. But even more interestingly is just that’s not what we get here. The prophecies that you would expect to have cited, Isaiah 65 Ezekiel 40 and the rest of that book and stuff aren’t cited here. And I don’t mind just throwing those numbers out to you. Why? Because we’re gonna get to them next week, because they’re cited for the new heavens and the new earth, not for the millennium. And there’s no mention of Israel, the temple sacrifices, anything like that in the millennial age. I think that’s really important. Let me just say here, and then I’m gonna finally answer the question, Where did these rebels come from? Because you’re like, that’s all I wanted, okay, like this whole excursus I could have my it’s every view has issues, and that’s why there are multiple views. There’s an old joke many of you know it already, where you know people say, Are you pre moneyless, or you’re non millennialist? And you say, I’m a pan millennialist. And you go, Oh, great, there’s another one. Like, Pastor didn’t even talk about that one. I’m in so much trouble now, but the joke was pan Evans. We’re gonna, just gonna see how it pans out in the end. Amen, okay, like I am a pan millennialist through and through, we know the things we really, really, really need to know. Jesus wins and the rest of it. I think we’re probably gonna get there and go, Oh, yep, did not catch that. Okay, that’s me, my bad. Alright, where do these rebels come from? The key to where they come from is actually obscured a little bit in our translation. There, in verse nine, it reads literally, they came up unto the breadth of the earth. Why is it translated as they marched across the breadth of the earth, because they came up onto the breadth of the earth. Is really awkward in English, but came up onto the surface of the Earth, as in they came up out of the underworld. They came up out of the grave. In other words, what we see here is exactly what verse five said would happen. The rest of the dead did not come to life until 1000 years were ended. So this is the second resurrection of the unrepentant of unbelievers, and when they are raised to face judgment, they set about trying to destroy God’s people yet again. No surprise, this is what we saw in Ezekiel. They’re called Gog and Magog, right? That’s Ezekiel 38 verse two. Because in Ezekiel’s vision, I talked about this a little bit last week. In Ezekiel’s vision, we get this promise. The covenant is we restored. I’m going to be your God. You’re going to be my people. We get the valley of dry bones, right? There’s this new life that’s coming. And then we get the new heavens and the new earth. That’s Chapter 40. And in between, you get this like apocalyptic battle where Gog from Magog, attacks God’s people and tries to wipe them out. Doesn’t win, but there it is. He’s defeated. The birds eat him. That was all of last week as well. Then you get the new heavens and the new earth. So that’s exactly what we see here, too. But why? So God has just raised them from the dead to face judgment. Why are they attacking him and his church like surely they know this is suicide at this point you can’t kill resurrected saints, never mind defeat God. This is idiocy, right? That’s the point. This is the insanity of sin, right here, evil. Sin never make logical sense. Sin is, in the most literal sense, stupid, like it’s just dumb. It’s a dumb choice. Why choose death and destruction when the offer of life is right there. The answer is deception, by the way, that’s why. But still, it doesn’t make any sense. I mean, take a passage like Proverbs, five, five. I could pick these almost at random, but this is talking about the adulterous woman. It says, her feet go down to death, her steps lead straight to the grave. And you think. Great, maybe don’t hang out with her then, and instead, you got a bottleneck at the door, because we’re all like I think I might find life here in sin and immorality. So just pause and ask yourself, Where are you acting insane right now? What sin addiction is it? Where you’re like, I know this leads to death, and I will not turn around. Where are you hearing God’s word and refusing to put it into practice, refusing to submit and surrender to Him? Because make sure you catch how this story ends that insane evil is utterly vanquished and eternal rebellion is punished eternally. We should be longing for this day when the insanity of evil is brought to an end, when the righteous reign with Christ, longing for the day when Christ reigns and raises us to reign with Him that will be heavenly, not almost heavenly, heavenly, as I said last week, that we should be not just longing for that day, but living for that day. And so let me just very briefly talk about what that might look like, practically. Was Saint Augustine who said that when you’re teaching God’s word, you want to teach in such a way so that the people who are listening to you on hearing may believe, on believing, may hope and on hoping, may love. Think that’s exactly what Revelation should be doing for us. What we should get out of Revelation. 20 in particular, we first believe what it teaches us about sin. God the judgment he will bring in the salvation he offers when we believe that, then we hope. Revelation had been all about hope. Kyle talked about this in his prayer, even this morning, our hope that evil has an expiration date, that suffering and death will end, and that we will see vindication and justice at last, and the hope of that day produces a new approach to life today, summed up in the word love, love, Lord God, with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, love your neighbor as yourself. I could talk about a lot of different things here. We could talk about evangelism again. Makes sense? It is the most loving act you can perform is to share with someone in danger of eternal condemnation the good news that there is a way out. We talked about this some even in the pulse devotional this week, and we’ll continue for the next few weeks as we get ready for Easter, outstanding time to make an invitation so that people can hear the good news. I could talk about that. I’m not going to talk about service. Talked about service last week, though, really important. So today I just want to consider briefly, vocation, like you’re nine to five, whatever that looks like for you, whether it’s a paid career or something else entirely. What you have been called to do the nine to five matters. I think one of our dangers as a church big capital C is that we’ve reduced ministry to like church activities, so that we expect, at the end of time for the church to be big. But that’s not what we see, even in a passage like this, what we see is not the church. What we see is the kingdom of God. The kingdom is a bigger idea than just the church. Like yes, discipleship and evangelism matter so much. That’s the commission Christ has given us, but we have a broader mission as well. We pray it every day. I hope your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Hey, in heaven, it can be done everywhere, not just in ministry areas. Every part of the new heavens and the new earth will be God’s Kingdom and His will. That means we can’t, like separate some of this stuff out. Are you about evangelism, or are you about justice? Yeah, as Christians, we are about both of those. It’s not an either or. We want to see the kingdom come in the hearts and lives of people around us as we witness to them. We want to see it come on Earth as well as we do what we can to make this world look like what it’s going to look like in the end, that transforms how we think about work. Now, like you are not doing the Lord’s work only when you evangelize your coworkers, you’re also doing the Lord’s work when you are providing necessary services through the vocation that God has given you. Many of us have heard the famous CT stud line. He was a missionary, and he said, only one life will soon be passed. Only what’s done for Christ will last. Yes, it is absolutely right, but all of what is done for Christ will. Last, not just a narrow, little ministry sliver. So we are active, working to bring in the kingdom of God on earth will last. We know what the end looks like. We know the peace, the justice, the righteousness, the healing, the worship, the joy that will be true then. So how does your work now contribute to that end? That’s the question, right? You’re not working for the weekend. You’re not working for retirement, which is an unbiblical idea, by the way, but that’s a separate story. We’re thinking like 10 gazillion years past, then you’re working for that moment, thinking of eternity. And what we do, really can. We’re going to see this a little bit, but you know, there’s a city at the end, right? Which means it was built with things that humans devise, like human technology goes on. You’re an educator. Let’s say you think some of the difference that you’ve made in people’s minds will go in into eternity, are we just blank slates when we get there? Of course, we’re gonna be ourselves like that’s an eternal work. Culture is not erased, but transformed by the final judgment. It gives it new purpose to those of us who are in things like arts and education and business and politics. We can be shaping eternity. We should be longing for the day when Christ reigns and raises us to reign with Him. But this life is like a it’s like a warm up. It’s like a pregame where we are starting to lay an eternal Foundation, prove your longing by your living believe and then hope, and then respond to that hope and active love. Let’s pray, Father, we pray that even now you would help us to long in a different way for what is coming, that even now we would be longing for your truth to prevail, even in our own lives and minds, that we would no longer be deceived, but would cling to your truth. We long for the day when righteousness will be the law of the land, when the saints are vindicated because we are able to reign with you in the millennium, in the new heavens and the new earth. We long for the day when evil is finally vanquished, and when your injustice is done and done perfectly. Lord, would you help us to bring that longing into our every moment, including, as we talked about, especially our nine to five existence. Lord, do show us what it looks like to live like we’re longing now we ask in Christ’s name, Amen.

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Armageddon March 16, 2025 | Brandon Cooper Revelation 19 explores the battle of Armageddon, focusing on Christ as the conquering king who rides a white horse and defeats evil with the power of His word. Brandon Cooper emphasizes the tension between Christ’s mercy and judgment, highlighting that Jesus comes first as a suffering servant and will return as a conquering king to make final judgments against wickedness. The passage describes an anticlimactic battle where Christ easily defeats the beast and false prophet, symbolizing the ultimate victory of good over evil. The key message is for believers to live like Christ is coming by being faithful witnesses, serving selflessly, and submitting to the true king in both big and small moments of life.

All right, you can go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Revelation 19. Revelation 19 starting in verse 11, we’ll finish up the chapter today. Revelation 1911 as you’re turning there, I just want to thank you guys for hanging in there the last couple of weeks. That was intense. I know it kind of had to be. The good news is we’re done with that. We slow down now. So for the rest of this series, we’re kind of like half a chapter at a time, which is a reasonable amount, and hopefully our sermons will have reasonable amounts as well. I make no promises there, you know that, but closer to it, we’re not gonna be hitting an hour anymore, which we did two weeks ago, which is shocking. I know it was hard, but necessary at the same time. Part of that’s because if we were to take a half chapter at a time, this is a 40 week series really quickly, we didn’t want to do that. But the other part is that in Revelation, it’s really easy to get bogged down in the details, and we wanted you guys to have the forest, and so that meant we had to move through it pretty quickly. So hopefully you got the forest. And if you’re like, I don’t remember what he said about that, that’s cool. Like, did you get the forest? Because otherwise, in Revelation, the temptation is always to, like, look at veins on the individual leaves. And that’s when we start to think ridiculous thoughts about Revelation. So thank you. We’re slowing down. Here we are. Revelation 19. Picture a skirmish, kind of at the end of World War Two, Allied forces defeat little squad of Nazi German soldiers. I know been using a lot of war analogies the last couple of weeks. I hope you understand why, because this is cosmic conflict like we’re talking about the battle of Armageddon today, specifically Now, if you’re talking about the end of World War Two with this little squad of German soldiers. I mean, most likely you’re talking about a group of teenage boys, 1718 year olds just no understanding probably what they’re doing, or the world as a whole still need to grow up. To draw from our announcement a moment ago, this is a group of confused and misled teens. And so you could almost feel a sense of pity for them that they were caught up in this, probably not a ton of pity, especially if they killed some of the members of your squadron. But you could see how you would get there at least again they were misled. So you’d feel one way about them, you would probably feel a different way about the people who misled them. Like what you think about that group of teenage boys is different than what you would think about the SS, the generals, the captains, all that stuff, who are leading this. Why do I mention this? Because the big question we’re at now in chapter 19 is Babylon has fallen, and Babylon is the humans, right? It’s all the people who have been misled by culture, Okay, what about the satanic powers behind Babylon, the ones who are misleading culture to draw individuals astray, and that’s where we’re turning today. You may remember last week we ended with a wedding supper. It’s a really abrupt shift to kind of a macabre scene this time out. And so we’ve got this tension again that we keep coming back to in Revelation. It’s almost like Jesus, you know, we’ve got the the wedding here, and so it’s like a groom saying, Hey, honey, my wedding present to you is the execution of your enemies. You’d be like, Okay, I was thinking more like the chicken dance or something. So like, that was not what I was expecting, but it will make some sense. Of course, we just got to talk about it, but that’s where we’re going. That’s the tension. I love the way Eugene Peterson expresses this tension. One of my favorite writers, he says, salvation is the intimacies and the festivities of marriage. Salvation is aggressive battle and the defeat of evil. Salvation is neither of these things by itself. It is the two energies or the embrace of love and the assault on evil in polar tension. And so we got to hold that intention, as we read today of the final battle Armageddon, where evil is once again, kind of ushered off stage again. Last week, Babylon taken off stage. This week, the beasts are taken off stage. You have to wait for till next week, for the dragon. So we’re gonna look at it. It’s three scenes Christ call and was it conflict or conquest? One of those conquest knew it started with a C. That’s the benefit of being a Baptist. Just so you know, up front, I’m gonna spend about half my time, maybe more, on this first point. So at the end of the first point, you’re like he said, it was me, shorter guys stick with me. I promise. I don’t promise, but I’m hoping revelation 19, 1116, as we look at Christ, our conqueror, I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse whose rider is called Faithful and True with justice. He judges and wages war. His eyes are like a blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows, but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter He treads the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty, on his robe and on His thigh, he has this name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. So John sees heaven open yet again. This introduces a new vision cycle. That’s what that means. In fact, every time we see something open in Revelation. It means we’re gonna get a new picture of what the Lord is doing. It started back in chapter four, when John saw a door open in heaven, and we got to see God on His throne, Jesus there alongside him, and we saw God’s purpose and Providence in history play out with the seven seals and the seven trumpets. In chapter 11, he sees the temple open, and that really starts the visions exposing this cosmic conflict that we’ve been talking about. And then in chapter 15, it’s not just the temple, but like the Holy of Holies, that gets open because we see the Ark of the Covenant, and that’s when we see the completion of God’s wrath and the bowls and the plagues. Well, now we see heaven open and we see Christ, our conquering king. And he’s given four names in this section, and that’s what we’re really going to look at here. But before we get to those names, notice that he’s riding on a white horse. We came across a white horse earlier the four horses of the Apocalypse, right? And at that time, I mentioned that some people think that that first rider on the white horse is Jesus, because here he is on a white horse here. I think it’s the other way around, though. I think Jesus is riding on a white horse here because of what that white horse represented back then, if you remember all the way back then, the white horse represents conquest, because that’s what the general would get to ride in his military triumph, if he won the battle, if Caesar conquered the Gauls, or whatever it was. But so think of what that means then, that we’ve got a white horse here with Jesus on top. Before John’s eyes even get up to Jesus, when he’s still just looking at the horse’s haunch, we already know who’s won. It’s over. He’s the Conqueror because he’s on the white horse. He triumphed. This is terrible writing, isn’t it? This is like reading a mystery novel that you find so engrossing in all these different clues, and you’re trying to piece them together, and you’re like, it might have been the dad, it might have been the mom, it might have been the brother, it might have been the fiance, might have been that pesky neighbor. And you flip over the page, and it’s all going to come together, and the title The chapter is the butler. Did it well. It’s not gonna be as tense as I was expecting here at the end. All right, so that’s what we have here. Jesus wins. It’s over, okay? Before we even get to the battle, Jesus wins. And then we get introduced to this man, this God, man who wins, his first name that he has given is faithful and true. Not the first time he’s been called Faithful and True in Revelation. All the way back in chapter one, verse five, like the introduction to the book, he is called that. And there, in particular, he was a faithful and true witness to what God is doing to God’s truth. He’s called it again in Revelation three, verse 14, this is in one of the seven letters to the seven churches. And there he was faithful and true, in contrast to some who were being tempted to be unfaithful and untrue. So he set in contrast to the complacent compromisers in this church. There’s this little reminder, right? We should be like Jesus, we should be faithful and true to God. Also, these words, though Faithful and True, are almost synonymous, because in Hebrew, thought true doesn’t mean so much. Propositionally accurate, factually correct, true has more to do with the person. Like, you’re true to your word. The way we would use it today, of course, is, you know, like a woman saying to her husband, or something like that, be true to me. And you’re saying, don’t just say accurate statements to me, actually, honey, I’m kind of tired of you at this point, like that’s not the true we’re looking for there. We’re looking for commitment, faithfulness, and that’s what’s being talked about here. So like in Jeremiah, For example, when Jeremiah refers to God as the God of truth, it’s because he keeps his word, because he keeps his covenant. You. And again, this has been a huge theme in Revelation, right? All his words are fulfilled, even at the end of our chapter or end of our section. Last week, 99 he added, these are the true words of God, true. Why? Because they are going to be fulfilled. So that’s what it means that he is faithful and true, and we then are called to be faithful and true witnesses to him, one of the major themes in Revelation, but there’s this problem that we keep coming across in Revelation, which is that those who are faithful and true witnesses to Christ keep getting killed as a result. So remember, in Greek, the word witness is actually the word martyr. And the reason why martyr means, what it means for us today is because faithful witnesses kept ended up, kept getting murdered and ended up being martyrs. And so that’s the problem, which makes sense of where we go, right? Because the writer is called Faithful and True with justice. He judges and wages war. And maybe that doesn’t make sense, right? We kind of go faithful and true. It’s this, like warm, cuddly idea, and now he’s making war. What’s going on there? Well, it’s that exactly because the faithful and true witnesses keep getting killed for his sake. What we have here is a fulfillment of Isaiah, chapter 11. We’ve come across a couple times in Revelation already, one of the great Christmas texts and all of that. So this is the the shoot from the stump of Jesse. Jesse is David’s father. So this is the the righteous branch in David’s family tree. And the seven fold Spirit is given to him, the spirit of knowledge and understanding of wisdom, all of these things. He’s the Lord’s anointed, the true son of David, the Messiah. What does it say at the end of this little section that describes him? It says, This Isaiah, 11, verse four, with righteousness, He will judge the needy with justice. He will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth with the breath of his lips, he will slay the wicked. So you can see, part of what this son of David comes to do is to offer right verdicts and just judgments. And here we get that tension again, because we all want justice. It’s one of our deepest longings as humans, one of the ways we know that we’re created in God’s image. But the tension is that in order to enact justice, Jesus must make war. Because, as we’ve seen in the end, at least at the end of time, diplomacy fails. There are those who will stubbornly resist God forever, and so at that point we need to wage war. We’ll come back to that in a little bit. But you know that he can make just judgments look. We trust Jesus to make these judgments. Why? Because his eyes are like fire. That means that he sees all. He can actually see the thoughts and intentions of our hearts, and he has the authority to make these judgments, the authority to rule as the rightful king, because he is given many crowns. Remember, the dragon got seven crowns and the Beast got 10 crowns. Well, Jesus gets more crowns than we can count. He gets many. He surpasses them in power and authority. Then we get his second name, so he’s faithful and true, but then he also has a name written on him that no one knows, but he himself. So it’s this unknown, mysterious name reminds us that there are aspects of Christ’s divinity, of who he is as God that are beyond us. Fact, it’s one of the reasons why the Lord, when He reveals Himself to Moses and gives his name, he gives it as I am, who I am, because any other name would narrow our conception of God. If we only knew him as faithful and true, we might not understand that he’s the Holy One of Israel, or whatever it is. And so we get this idea here, again, he’s beyond us. But I think there’s more to it than that, because again, in Hebrew thought to know someone’s name is to gain a certain power over them. You see this in some of the encounters that Jesus has with demons in the gospels, and he’ll often ask, What’s your name? And that shows his authority over them doesn’t just have to be there, though. I think of Jacob wrestling with the angel. Now, the angel of the Lord, possibly even the pre Incarnate Christ himself. He’s wrestling, and Jacob says, Tell me your name, and what does the angel say? Why do you ask me my name, considering it’s too wonderful for you again, it’s beyond you. We can’t understand it all. So there’s kind of these two ideas going on simultaneously. We can’t get a handle on JESUS TO KNOW HIM exhaustively, and then we also can’t get a handhold on Jesus to. Throw him to gain mastery or power over him, of course. Third name then that we’re given is the word of God. This is a favorite of John’s, of course. Now, what does the word of God mean? It is the word from God. Of course. This is the word that God, the Father, speaks. Jesus is the message God has for us, which means, of course, the word is also about Jesus, and this is the word to which we witness as faithful and true witnesses. But there is this reminder, in light of the fact that it’s a name, and what we get in John, chapter one, and the gospel in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And so we know we’re talking about God here. And then all of a sudden we read in John 114 and the Word became flesh. And so we’re talking about Jesus. And so there’s this reminder that the word of God, again, it isn’t just a fact, but it is a person. And so we owe more than just intellectual ascent, yes, yes, that’s true. Now we owe personal allegiance to him, and so there’s this beautiful truth in the Word of God. Again, this is God, good news proclaimed to us, but this gracious name, the word of God, is introduced with this grotesque image. Once again, we get the tension there because he’s dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God. So there’s this tension, and the tension here shows us the connection between salvation and judgment, the connection between salvation and judgment, which we see in the the Old Testament passage that’s referenced here. So it’s Isaiah, 63 verses, three and four. Isaiah says this, God says, through his prophet, I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath. Their blood spattered my garments and I stained all my clothing. It was for me listen to this, the day of vengeance, the year for me to redeem had come. Isn’t that interesting, right? It’s a day of vengeance. That’s why there’s blood spattering the robe and stuff. But it is also time for redemption. Now, this can be hard for us to hear. I get it. We prefer, you know, not these, these Old Testament wrath passages. You know, we really prefer the the New Testament God, the loving God. Of course, this is in the New Testament. So that shoots that to pieces. But still, okay, it it’s feels unattractive to us today, like we prefer a squishy tolerance, absolutely, but we cannot have mercy or redemption, salvation without justice and judgment. We understand how this works, like you can’t show mercy to victims of human trafficking unless you’re willing to make war on human traffickers. That’s the connection, right there, and so seeing that connection is also what frees us to show mercy and love. So like we don’t carry out the vengeance. We show mercy, we love our enemies, we pray for those who persecute us. Why? Because we have this knowledge, this hope, that in the end, the Lord will make war on wickedness. So there’s this idea today that we shouldn’t retaliate. We should be all for peace. Why? Because our God is a God of this sort of squishy love very popular in the West, like we’ve got a God who just pinches our cheeks? He’s a kindly old grandfather, isn’t he? And so if we’re like him, and we just go around pinching each other’s cheeks enough, then eventually we’ll all be in a great big circle, holding hands, seeing kumbaya till the cows come home. All available evidence to the contrary, by the way, like we know that’s an absurd belief, because how’s that going for us? Good or not good? Not good. It doesn’t work. And so I’m gonna quote here a Croatian theologian, Miroslav Volf. Quoted him before this exact passage many times, because it’s so important to our understanding. Why is it important that he’s a Croatian theologian, because it means he lived through the wars in the Balkans like he experienced these wars of genocide and ethnic cleansing and some of the the worst atrocities the last century committed there. And he writes this, if God were not angry at injustice and deception and did not make a final end to violence that God would not be worthy of worship. He writes like a theologian. I gotta apologize to that up front. Okay, so he uses a lot of big words, but I’m gonna read it slowly. The only means of prohibiting all recourse to violence by ourselves, the only way to keep us from taking vengeance is to insist that violence is. Legitimate only when it comes from God. He says, My thesis that the practice of non violence requires a belief in divine vengeance will be unpopular with many in the West. And he writes this, and this is like if you were responding to this tweet, you just do those three little fire emojis. That’s what’s happening here. It takes the quiet of a suburban home for the birth of the thesis that human non violence corresponds to God’s refusal to judge in a scorched land soaked in the blood of the innocents, it will invariably die with other pleasant captivities of the liberal mind. He goes on to say, like, if you’ve seen your father and your brothers killed and your sister raped and you’re being told, just forgive and forget, good luck. No, that’s when you go, well, then we should kill all of them in retaliation. And that is the history of humanity. Unless, unless we know that God will judge in the end, offer just judgments, write verdicts that he will make war on wickedness. And by the way, John’s revelation is not written to 21st century American suburbanites. It is written to those who are in danger of ethnic cleansing. He is writing to a persecuted church, some of them have already been killed. This is information that they need to know. Vengeance is the Lord’s so we can lay our violence down. In fact, it’s interesting even in this scene, right? And certainly next week, we’ll see this more. So we march in his army, but we actually never fight, as we’ll see in a moment, but the armies do go out with Jesus, yes, and they follow Him exactly. Do you notice they’re riding the same kind of horse? They’re wearing the same clothes? Why? Because we’re meant to be like little Christ. And here we are as he goes out to war, and we see that he’s got a sharp sword coming out of his mouth. By now, of course, you know when things come out of your mouth, they mean words. They’re words, okay, which is interesting, of course. Now this is also taken from Isaiah, 11, four. I already read this, but here it is again. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, with the breath of his lips. He will slay the wicked, wicked. So Jesus wins victory by the power of His word alone. It’s almost like a reverse creation. God says, Let there be light, and there is light, and God says, Put an end to darkness, and there is an end to darkness. Now, why is it his word? Because, of course, these are the true judgments that he is speaking, and when he speaks them, no one will be able to make reply. That is a truth we have to have in mind. When Jesus speaks his true judgments at the end of time, no one will stand up and say, That’s not fair. We will all understand who he is, who we are, what we deserve, and that helps us with the shocking imagery, of course, charting the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. The point here is his unquestioned rule, this king who has come to laugh at the raging nations, the true son of David, the Lord’s anointed, the Messiah of Isaiah 11 and Psalm two. And then we get his last title here, his last name, King of Kings and Lord of lords, titles again given to people like Nebuchadnezzar in the Old Testament, king of Babylon and Caesar, who is ruling at this time when this is written. The only difference here is that KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS is actually true of Jesus, fully and forever. So once again, we see His infinite authority. This is an important reminder, though, because if the church knows Jesus as faithful and true, the church knows that he is the word of God, that He is beyond our knowledge. The world will know Him as King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus came first as suffering servant. Right? He was the Lamb who was slain. But when He comes again, He will come as the conquering king the lion from the tribe of Judah. He came in mercy. He will come next in judgment to speak the last word, which is the true word. But this last word precipitates a last stand which will vindicate his judgment, by the way, and that’s where we turn next. So Christ, scene one. Scene two, the call just verses 17 and 18, and I saw an angel standing in the sun who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, come gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals and the mighty of horses and their riders and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and so. Small So John, next sees an angel in the sun, meaning he’s got all the glorious splendor of God himself. And he calls the birds we’re picturing like vultures in particular, right? And he issues this invitation to them. And remember, we just had a wedding, so like, it feels like a wedding invitation,
like, come to the wedding supper of the Lamb, right? And then it turns grotesque, because we realize this is an invitation to a feast after a battle. And so these are vultures you’re just going to pick at the carrion, the dead men who are there on the battlefield. This comes from Ezekiel 39 here’s verses 17 to 20. Call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood. You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the Earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bowls, the sacrifice I am preparing for you. You will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk at my table, you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind. Now Ezekiel 39 is important, like the context is key here, because what do we get in Ezekiel 36 and 37 we have the restoration of God’s people. Ezekiel 36 has got that great promise of the new covenant where we’re going to take a heart of stone, give us a heart of flesh. He’s going to put His Spirit on us. He’s going to sprinkle us with clean water. Ezekiel 37 he’s given the vision of the dry bones, like this idea that right those who are spiritually dead can actually be raised to new life. And then we get Ezekiel, 38 and 39 which are judgment on the wicked. And so it’s this exact same, you know, chronology that we’re following. And by the way, after that, he sees the vision of the new temple, which is where we’re going to be going next as well. And it makes sense like that. It happens for for God to restore his people into the new heavens and the new earth. There’s something else that needs to happen if he’s going to bring heaven and earth together, as we keep talking about. Then there has to come that moment when he kicks hell out and he removes injustice and immorality forever. And that’s what happens here. Notice that this falls on all people who will not submit to Christ, great and small, the army and the crowds. Why? As I mentioned last week, because there are no neutrals in the end. Again, like living in Nazi Germany at a certain point where you’re either going to become a Nazi through and through, or you’re going to get run over by the Nazi war machine or somehow seek to resist it. And it’s even truer spiritually speaking. So the call goes out with this invitation to this horrifying parody of the Lamb’s wedding supper. The invitation is saying the battle is coming. So get ready. Here’s the battle. Next scene, conquest. Rest of the chapter, 19 to 21 then I saw the beasts and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. The beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf. With These Signs, He had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest were killed with a sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorge themselves on their flesh. So the battle’s coming. Better get ready, except it’s not much of a battle. It’s like downright anticlimactic, terrible writing. Once again, it’s like you open up that chapter The Butler Did It, and you’re waiting for, you know, Poirot, or whoever, to pull all the pieces together, at least for you can figure out why I was the butler and not someone else. And instead, the opening scene is, Butler goes, I did it. And you’re like, This is just awful. Like, this is not the novel I wanted, except it is good in terms of how history unfolds. But what’s interesting here, because there isn’t a battle, is remember how powerful the beast is. Like, we keep seeing this beast, and he’s big and strong, like he’s part leopard, part bowl part like he’s got claws and fangs, like he should have put up a fight. And then he joins with the Kings, these 10 kings that we met in the last chapter, all these other kings, right? In other words, he’s got a full force. He’s ready to take on anyone, and the trumpet sounds. And, you know, the commander does that thing where he puts his sword down and then boom, like the cavalry start charging and stuff like that. He Yeah, it’s over. It’s done in the blink of an eye. There isn’t even a battle like no swords even Clang, if you saw, or better yet, read, Lord of the Rings, you remember the battle of polonor fields, kind of the final battle before the White City. And it looks like a stalemate for a time, right? Like the dragons there, and he’s eating some of the good guys and stuff like that. And they even maybe kind of look like they’re losing. And then all of a sudden, the green ghosts show up. Just eat everyone. That’s bad. That’s kind of what we got here, except that the battle didn’t even have a chance to be a stalemate, and the Lord speaks, and the battle’s over. The breath of His mouth is enough to capture the beast and the false prophet, and they are thrown into hell, whereas the people are killed, by the way, that’s important. It shows us that the beast and the false prophet. These are not individuals, okay, this is not some future president of Romania who turns out to be a really bad guy or something like that. These are symbols of sinful structures of power and deception in particular, and they are utterly vanquished here, whereas the individuals who are involved in rebellion against God suffer here, the first death, physical death. You’re thinking, if there’s a First, there must be a second. Yes, we’ll talk about that next week, in fact. But thank God that the beast and the false prophet are utterly vanquished here, because remember what they’ve done. We see it written here, right? They have deceived and deluded and ultimately devoured and destroyed so many image bearers. That’s it. But what do we do with it? What does the battle of Armageddon on that future day have to do with us now. How would God have us respond today to what’ll happen then? And here’s our big idea, by the way, I’ll give it to you now, and we’ll kind of unpack what it looks like. Live like Christ. Our conquering king is coming. Live like Christ, our conquering king is coming. Because he is, of course, he came first in mercy. When he comes again, He will come in judgment the faithful and true with his penetrating gaze, trampling God’s enemies in Wrath, that knowledge should terrify us. And that it should produce in us the fear of the Lord, the fear of the Lord, a right understanding again, of who God is and who we are, and all the implications the fact that he is perfect and we are not, should produce the fear of the Lord in us, all of us, even here today the church. Why? Because we also have rebelled against Him, haven’t we? And all too often and all too recently, I think of Psalm two again. Robert read it for us earlier, serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling, kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction. I mean, look at that verse. Have you served the Lord with fear always? Do you always celebrate his rule? Or are there those times when you’re sinning, when you’re going I’m not so sure about this command, and we put a little asterisk next to it, yes, present company excluded, because he wouldn’t want me to do that. He would want me to pursue my own happiness, or whatever it is. Have we always kissed his son as a sign of our love and devotion and submission to Him? Surely not that as we see the true king, and yet, too often, we enslave ourselves to the many false kings who falsely promise us what only Jesus can deliver, the power and the pleasure, especially that we’ve looked at so many times in recent weeks. I mean, we’ve given in to all the seductions of Babylon that we talked about last week. So what hope do we have? Then the only hope that we have is that Jesus is actually faithful and true, that Jesus is a God who keeps his covenant word that the Father would send the Son of David to redeem his own. Our only hope is that Jesus is the Word of God, the message that God speaks to us, offering us grace and mercy, the forgiveness of sins in Christ by His blood alone. So the hope that we have is also the choice that we have, and it’s painted for us vividly here in this passage, we can either wash our robes in the blood of the Lamb, as we’ve seen in earlier chapters, take away every stain of sin washed as white as snow, or our blood will splatter his robe. We can either eat with Christ at the wedding supper of the Lamb, where we can be eaten as our bodies decay on the battlefield, that the conquering king would come first to conquer sin in us. That the conquering king would come first to be conquered by death for us and so ironically, to conquer death. That’s what should compel us to submit to the true king, not to the beast or the False Prophet. That’s what would compel us to be joyful servants of the suffering servant. That’s what compels us to live like Christ, our conquering king is coming. And again, the key is to live now like he’s coming then. I don’t know about you, but for me, sometimes when I think about that, the trouble is that I like big I want to be part of an epic story, and this is certainly an epic story. And so I read this, and I go, yes, like as for me and my house on that day in the end, we will be on the right side. But God calls us to live this out, not just in the big, but in the little, in the daily, in the mundane. So it looks more like as for me and my house, today, I’ll submit in the little things. I will live for him in mundane circumstances. Longing for Christ’s appearing should produce in us living for His appearing, living like it’s true that he will come again. What does that look like? Let me just give you some like practical, concrete ways this might look. It certainly would look like quiet, oftentimes unnoticed, service of the sort we talked about, even in the announcement a moment ago, it looks like stepping up and saying, Yeah, I will do my part in this grand story. It might look like a commitment to truth. After all, he’s faithful and true. He is the Word of God, which we know is true. So it looks like a commitment to truth 100% not shading the story just a little bit so that I look a little better and the other person looks a little worse. Certainly it looks like selfless sacrifice. And again, some of us are like, right? Yes, I will die on the battlefield if I need to, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about selfless sacrifice. You know, in traffic, you can go in front that one’s harder than dying on the battlefield. At the end of time, for most of us, it looks like generous living. And can I just say too, you guys are an exceptionally generous church. We talk about this a lot, with money in particular, but I think generous living also includes being generous with our time and energy. And that one’s harder, that one’s harder for me, yeah, it’s harder for pretty much anyone who lives in the suburbs, because it’s costlier, so much easier to write a check than to sign up on a volunteer slot. But generous living. Why? Because he was generous toward us. Though he was rich for our sakes, he became poor. I mean, what this looks like, I think, is a willingness to be inconvenienced by other people. Why? Because when I look at Jesus’s life, I’m pretty sure he was pretty inconvenienced by me and my sin, and yet he did it willingly. And of course, this would look like, as we’ve talked throughout this book, this series, it looks like winsome and bold evangelism, that we would be faithful and true witnesses to the faithful and true, and that we would gladly speak the word about the Word of God. So I want to leave with this then, even as you leave today, like as we get ready to exit here in just a few moments, what is one step that the spirit is prompting you to take right now today to live like Christ, our conquering king is coming.

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A Tale of Two Women March 9, 2025 | Brandon Cooper We explore the metaphorical tale of two women in Revelation, depicting the world’s seductive but destructive system (Babylon) in contrast with the faithful bride of Christ. The passage uses graphic imagery of a prostitute and a beast to illustrate how worldly temptations promise life but ultimately deliver death, warning believers against trusting in temporary pleasures and power. Through an in-depth analysis of the symbolic language, Cooper emphasizes God’s sovereignty, the self-defeating nature of sin, and the importance of remaining faithful to Christ. The sermon calls believers to recognize the world’s false promises, repent of their spiritual adultery, and prepare themselves as a pure bride ready for the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Good morning church. You want to go ahead, grab your Bibles. You can open up to Revelation 17. Revelation 17. We’ll start there this morning as we turn into Revelation 17. If you’re of a certain age, you probably remember when they used to have cigarette ads. Those don’t happen anymore. I realize not in the same way. But if you go back, you can Google them, and they’re actually terrifyingly hilarious. One of the best ones I saw was whatever ad. You know, it’s the taste that expectant mothers love, and you’re like, this is this is not good guys. We did not do well here. But what almost always happened in these cigarette ads was you had these young, impossibly beautiful people living easy, pleasure filled lives. You know, it’s always the James Dean looking guy, you know, leaning up against the Mustang, and the women are swooning, because who doesn’t love nicotine stained teeth, of course. And so that’s what it is. But tucked in the corner of these ads was the Surgeon General’s warning, promising you exactly the opposite of what the ad promised you. You want a healthy, beautiful life. Maybe don’t try cigarettes, because it will take your health, it will wreck your beauty, and it will kill you in the end, most likely so it’s this pretty picture with this fatal message, it’s promising life, but delivering death. And what’s more, it also reminds us that we are our own worst enemies, because we have to have the warning there, because otherwise we’re just going to give in to these sorts of temptations all over the place. We can’t be trusted to choose what is best for us. We have to have somebody screaming at us, telling us what to do and what not to do. In a nutshell, that is exactly our passage this morning. We have a great beauty promising life, but delivering ugliness and death. Can we be trusted to choose? Probably not, probably not, unless God pulls back the curtains, unless he gives us the Surgeon General’s warning, unless he shows us the lungs blackened and spotted with cancer as result of all the years of smoking, the choice is given to us here in a tale of two women I mentioned this last week, worth mentioning again. Why women? Because the word for church or people or city, all these words are feminine in Greek and Hebrew, and so they’re personified as women. And so we are the women in this story, and the question we’re asking is, what sort will we be? It is a graphic passage. Most of revelation has been, of course, I will do my best to use euphemisms, because we got kids here and stuff. But this is a passage that is meant to shock so Flannery O’Connor, the Catholic writer from the Bible Belt, and a couple decades back, and she was writing to a group of people who were convinced they were Christians, but who were not living in line with their beliefs. And so she wrote these short stories that were certainly graphic and startling. Why? Because she said to the heart of hearing, you have to shout. And to those who are almost blind, you draw large and startling figures. What is hard for us to hear the Word of God. And spiritually speaking, we are almost blind, and so God is shouting at us in this passage and drawing these large and startling figures for us to shock us awake. He does so in three scenes, really three questions that we need to ask to help make our choice. All of these are a zoom lens on what we got at the end of last week, chapter 16, verse 19, where we saw the great city collapsing, right because God remembered Babylon, the great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of His wrath. And now what happens is we take that one verse and we look at it across a couple chapters like what exactly happens in Babylon fall? We get this expanded recap. So that is where we’re headed. The first question we get, first scene all of chapter 17. What do you want? What do you want? Let me read 17 for us. One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute who sits by many waters with her. The kings of the earth committed adultery. The inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries. And the angel carried me away in the spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and 10 horns. Woman was dressed in purple and scarlet was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. The name written on her forehead was a mystery Babylon. The great the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth. I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. The angel said to me, why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and 10 horns. The beast which you saw once was now is not and yet will come up out of the abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth, whose names have not been written in the book of life, from the creation of the world, will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was now is not and yet will come. This calls for a mind with wisdom. Seven heads. There are seven hills on which the woman sits. There are also seven kings. Five have fallen. One is the other has not yet come. When he does come, he must remain for only a little while. The Beast, who once was and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction. 10 horns you saw are 10 kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings, along with the beast, they have one purpose, and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will wage war against the Lamb, but the lamb will triumph over them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and with him will be his called chosen and faithful followers. The angel said to me, the waters you saw where the prostitutes sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages, the beast and the 10 horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked. They will eat her flesh and burn her with fire, for God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority until God’s words are fulfilled. The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth. So one of the angels that we met last week with the seven bowls and the seven plagues shows John, this great prostitute who has seduced kings and the inhabitants of this world. She is beautiful, although it is certainly a skin deep beauty. This is another one of those ones where we need a surgeon general’s warning. This is a woman where, again, may look good, but lie with her, you’re going to end up with VD and you don’t want to meet the dangerous pimp that she works with. Now, why this image, this graphic image? It’s because the whole world owes God fidelity, faithfulness, because he made us and we are his, we ought to be like a devoted wife to our perfect husband, but instead, we play the harlot and we sell ourselves to whoever seems to promise the most and the Best, and that truth should shock and disgust us like this image. I mean, Kings should serve God’s kingdom. That’s the lesson Nebuchadnezzar learned. We saw in Daniel this fall. But instead, they pursue their own power and glory and wealth, and the rest of us, the inhabitants of the earth, are intoxicated by the world and what it offers us, and so we are drunk in a godless stupor, as one commentator put it, staggering about in stupid self importance, like drunks laughing at our own Bad jokes.
Now throughout this chapter and the next revelation, is drawing on Jeremiah 51 it’s really just an extended treatment of Jeremiah 51 but like the climactic version, the climactic fall of Babylon in verse seven, we even read that Babylon is a gold cup in the Lord’s hand. She made the whole earth drunk right. The nations drank her wine, therefore they have now gone mad. That’s what we’re talking about here. That explains the many waters, by the way, as well, because just a few verses later, in verse 13, we read you who live by many waters and are rich in treasures, your end has come because Babylon situated between the two great rivers. But it’s more than that. This is meant to show the Empire’s reach, how profound the reach is. And you see that all the way down to verse 15, the waters you saw are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. So this empire is reaching the ends of the earth, this wicked empire. Now, as we read this, it’s easy, of course, for us here in the church to point fingers out there. This is what the world is like, not the church. But of course, we see this equally in here in the church, because John has used similar language, Jesus has used similar language already in Revelation chapter two, when he’s writing to the church in Thyatira and the false prophetess Jezebel uses the same graphic image of adultery to describe her heretical teachings and how she’s led the people into immorality. And it’s a reminder that this sort of. Seduction can come from those who claim the name of Christ. Can come from false teachers in the church. One thinks of the health wealth gospel that is so prominent here in the US, but which we’ve exported across the world as well, which promises us Babylon, not heaven, but Babylon, all the wealth and power that we could desire. One thinks of progressive Christianity, which is, of course, no Christian Christianity at all, because it’s Christianity stripped of sin and therefore stripped of salvation, which is made peace with the world and with the world’s morality, especially in the area of sexuality. We have to be careful here, also that Babylon doesn’t reach in Now it’s important that she’s riding on the beast that we met way back in chapter 13, we’ve looked at quite a bit, because the beast and the prostitute together are this perfect cocktail of temptation, because you’ve got seductive beauty wedded to coercive power, exactly what you would see in Rome, by the way. I mean, they’ve got all the power they rule all nations, it seems. And look what happens as a result. Look at all the the wealth and the luxury in which they live this, by the way, should give us pause, because if you wanted to talk about a nation that wedded seductive beauty with coercive power today, what would it be, the US of A wouldn’t it? We’re the ones who’ve got the most strength. We are materialisms Mecca, wedded to militarisms might, and that is why the nations flock to us, because in so many ways, our culture promises life, but to what extent do we deliver death? But let’s not miss again. It looks good. She looks good. Look at verse four. She’s purple Scarlet, glittering with gold. It looks good. You understand why it’s tempting, like that cigarette ad, she’s got beauty and wealth and power. Why wouldn’t you run to her? Is the question, and the answer is, Because of who she really is, which is a mystery. Mystery here, just meaning you need some interpretive help, and so the angel’s gonna explain it to us and we get these names, then who she really is. The names here in verse five, that’s the Surgeon General’s warning. Okay, that’s where it is, just stamped right there on it. This is who she actually is. Now, she is Babylon, the great meaning, she is the great city that we keep meeting in Revelation. And it is not just the city of Babylon, but Babylon. Remember that the great city is every city and every culture that stands in opposition to God. Takes us back not just to the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11, but really to the founding of Babel in Genesis five under Nimrod, who was opposed to God. And so it’s every city, every culture, every part of every city, and every culture that is in opposition to God. Rome, yes, at this point, but again, every other one, and of course, moving towards this climactic end of times, city, whatever it is. So she is great, yes, but she’s a harlot and a sinner as well. And worse, you see in verse six, she’s drunk, not just with immorality, but with the murder of God’s people, because the city of the world is in opposition to the city of God and has waged war on it, and so God’s faithful witnesses have been put to death time and time again. Second half of verse six, John is kind of impressed, actually, when he’s looking at this woman and the Beast again, it looks good. The angel rebukes him and exposes her the beast for what they are like. This is when the we bring out the high definition camera so you can see the wrinkles underneath the foundation. This is when the home inspector comes and and kicks the side of the house. You can start to see the rot underneath the paint as well. This is the same beast again. We met chapter 11, chapter 13. It’s the same time, right when the beast comes up. This is the church age. This is what we’re living in now. And notice that the beast and the woman together, they draw in those whose names are not written in the book of life. Just reminds us of God’s sovereignty in salvation, which is clear throughout revelation. But more interesting to my mind here is that they’re drawing in those why? Because this beast is still the same worthless counterfeit beast, because you get this, it once was now is not and yet will come. And that sounds really cool. What exactly does it mean? It means he’s pretending to be like Jesus again. Because if you think of Jesus in terms of his ministry here on earth, he once was here. Now is not because he has. Into glory and will come again. And so the beast is once again, pretending to be like Jesus. He has nothing real, genuine, original to offer. He’s the singer songwriter who only plays covers. Why would we be drawn to him? Then it gets more confusing, because the seven heads are the seven hills. Rome famously built on seven hills. But I think it’s a little bit more than that, because you notice the seven hills are also seven kings, and hills are occasionally used in Scripture as an image of a king. Where would we see that? Jeremiah, 51 crazy, right? We’re still in the same chapter. I am against you. God says, you destroying mountain, you who destroy the whole earth. This is speaking to Babylon, again, the kingdom. So the same kind of idea we get this, this great city, in other words, a city built on seven hills, but it’s this succession of kings and kingdoms. And now we get to what sounds really cool, apocalyptic stuff. Five have come. The sixth now is and then there’s gonna be a seventh. And all the Bible nerds start geeking out, right? Well, who could this be? And now we get our charts and our maps so we can figure out exactly what date Jesus is coming back. I don’t think so. It doesn’t work very well. By the way, been all sorts of efforts to get these numbers to line up with, like Nero or Domitian, or some of these other emperors who were particularly bad and stuff. And it works great up until it doesn’t, because they’ll be like, right? It’s five, and you get to Domitian, and you’re like, Well, what about those three that you skipped? And they’re like, well, they weren’t important enough. You’re like, okay, but they were still emperors. So I don’t think so. What’s happening? Seven sounds like an important number, doesn’t it? Okay? Five have already happened. We’re in six. We’re not at seven. We’re almost there, but we’re not there yet. That’s all John is saying here. That’s all that this revelation is we are near the end, right? We’re in the last days, but it is not yet the day of the Lord. That day is still coming, and that steals us to persevere. Of course, Satan has been defeated at the cross. We saw that in chapter 12, his time is short, right? It’s coming to an end, but that time will be rough, and will get rougher, unfortunately, and at the end, which is the eighth, who’s one of the seven, but it’s the beast, I don’t know. We’ll figure it out. Okay, he’s got 10 kings. 10. Another number shows the full force of the opposition against God. These 10 kings are gonna receive full authority to wage war on the lamb and on his church for one hour only. By the way, you remember, we keep looking at this, it’s like supposed to be three and a half years, but then it was actually three and a half days, and now it’s like it’s the blink of an eye, which we’ll see next week, by the way, that it really is just the blink of an eye, and it’s not gonna be much of a battle either. So come back next week, we’ll talk about that, because we’ll be at Armageddon. But notice that the Lamb who triumphs over this great city has with Him those who are called and chosen and faithful the Church of God.
Who are those, those who have heard the gospel summons. That’s what it means to be called. Of course, come all you who are weary and heavy laden, chosen and we choose Jesus only because he first chose us, and then we live in faith. In other words, God makes us faithful by His Spirit. And maybe right now you’re wondering, Is that me? Because you’re still questioning Christianity. I got good news for you, at least. The first one for sure is you, because right now you’re hearing the call. This is the invitation. This is the gospel summons, the peak behind the curtains to go. You don’t want this, but there is something better, and you could turn even now from the prostitute and the Beast and trust in the Lamb who will triumph. The end of this chapter is just shocking, because the beasts and the kings turn on the prostitute. They ruin her, abandon her, destitute, devour her and ultimately burn her. You talk about large and startling figures. Here you go. It shows the self defeating nature of sin. Of course, because the nature of sin is to serve the self, that means that ultimately we will turn on each other. Any opportunity we have, we will turn on each other unless we have been freed by the gospel to love one another. I think there’s a piece of this too, just based on the beast versus the woman that shows us reminds us that power ultimately devours pleasure the military industrial complex demands all and then you want some pictures from. History about this. I think of the women of Italy sending Mussolini their wedding rings, and that’s the idea right in service of the military, we’re giving up our wealth, and even symbolically, our marriage. There’s something more important. That’s what’s happening here. But what happens when you have a great empire as well is eventually to defend the borders. You devour the empire from within. You devour its wealth. You see that in Rome, you see that I think of Nazi Germany, for example, the whole reason the Nazis come to power is because the settlement after World War One, the reparations the Germans had to pay, it bankrupted them. And so Hitler was there to restore Germany to its national greatness, and so he’s promising, what? Prostitute, the beast, right? Wealth, luxury, pleasure and strength. But in the end, of course, the Germans are, you know, eating shoe leather to stay alive, all in service of the army. That’s what we have here. Even more interesting, though, God puts it into their hearts to do this, to accomplish his purposes. Like God is absolutely sovereign, even over human wickedness. He is not wicked. Is not cause wickedness, or anything like that, but he uses wickedness for his purposes. Of course, we see this most clearly when Herod and Judas and Caiaphas and Pilate conspire together to murder his son exactly as he had planned for maternity past to bring about our salvation. So the people in rebellion against God are actually on his side, and as they attempt to thwart his purposes, they bring them to fruition, and the great city falls. So let’s just pause and ponder for a moment what to take from this. The key question, as I mentioned in this chapter, is, what do you want? What do you want? I mean, take the image that’s here, graphic though it is, a husband. Even today, husbands will pay a harlot for a cheap imitation of the joys of marriage. That’s the large and startling figure, right? It brings up the question, why, like, why would you go to the world? Why would a husband do that when what he’s seeking can actually be found in marriage? Why would we go to the world? What does the world promise that God doesn’t freely offer you in Christ, love No. God’s promised that so loved the world, He sent His only Son money with the riches of grace available to us pleasure in his presence, our pleasure is forevermore. Psalms tells us, peace, yep, that surpasses understanding. Joy. Jesus says, my joy. I give to you that your joy may be complete, like if that’s what you want, then run to the God who gives it, and run from the city that’s got a surgeon general’s warning stamped on it takes us to the second question in what do you trust? 18 is long. Good news. It’s also pretty simple, pretty straightforward, but I’m going to break it up into chunks, just mostly for boredom sake here, and we start by reading 18, one to eight. After this, I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. With a mighty voice, he shouted, fallen. Fallen as Babylon, the great she had become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal, for all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries, the kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries. Then I heard another voice from heaven say, Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues for her sins are piled up to heaven and God has remembered her crimes, give back to her as she has given, pay her back double for what she has done, pour her a double portion from her own cup, give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart, she boasts, I sit enthroned as clean. I am not a widow. I will never mourn. Therefore, in one day, her plagues will overtake her death, mourning and famine, she will be consumed by fire. For Mighty is the Lord God who judges her again. This whole chapter is just restating Jeremiah 51 but just talking about this climactic End Times Babylon we read in Jeremiah, 5137 Babylon will be a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object, an object of horror and scorn, a place where no one lives. And so we see this Babylon is desolate here at the end, except it’s haunted not by unclean. Animals like jackals, but by unclean spirits, which shows just the depth of its depravity. It is a fit abode only for the demonic. Once again, we see the wrinkles beneath the foundation at the end of the day, there is nothing there. There’s no beauty, there’s no strength, there’s no life. And worse than that, of course, she has dragged others down with her, the many who have been caught up in her immorality and therefore caught up in her destruction. Reading this account, it’s like reading these stories of you know, the innocent neighborhood kid who falls under the sway of a charismatic gang leader and ends up in prison or worse. That’s what we have here. So what do we do? Verse four, come out of her. My people. Come out of her. My people, you read the Surgeon General’s warning and you flee. Direct quote from Jeremiah 51 verse, 44 come out of her, my people, run for your lives. Run from the fierce anger of the Lord. Now, anytime we read a phrase like, come out my people, we should be thinking of the Exodus, right? This is Exodus language, for sure, where God calls his people out of wicked, oppressive Egypt and into promised life. What does God say in the Exodus? Judgment is coming, so you need to trust and what does that trust look like in the Exodus? It looked like sacrificing a lie a lamb and then painting the door posts with the lamb’s blood. Of course, for us, the Lamb has come, and He has already been slain into His blood that we paint on the door posts of our heart when we trust in Jesus Christ. So judgment is coming, so we trust in Jesus, and then we flee. We flee from the world and pursue purity. We do so again, because judgment is coming as we keep seeing her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. God remembers the sins of the unrepentant. In the end, no one gets away with anything in this life, maybe, but ultimately, no, nothing whatsoever. And maybe you’re sitting there thinking, well, then I’m in trouble, because if you knew what I had done, he’d tell me not to come back, and certainly God is going to tell me, I got no room for you in here.
But here’s the good news, it doesn’t have to be this way. God remembers the sins of the unrepentant but the repentant when those precious promises of the gospel is also in Jeremiah, by the way, Jeremiah 31 verse 34 this is the new covenant, for I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins. No more omniscient. God chooses to forget stuff. Chooses to forget the sins of His people as if they’d never happened. We needed blood on the doorpost, though. We need to cover ourselves with the blood of Jesus Christ, because that’s where our sins were punished. Otherwise, punishment is still coming. We get the famed lex talionis, the law of retribution, an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. That’s what we have here. When it says, pay her back, double give her a double portion. It means, basically, do what she has done. The way to say it in English, where you get that double idea is duplicate, right? Duplicate her crime. So it’s not you get twice as much punishment, but we’re gonna make a copy of what you did, except this copy gets handed to you. So why did she why do we do such evil? And the answer, of course, is because we thought we’d get away with it. That’s the end of verse seven, I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow. I will never mourn right. Judgment is not coming. There will never be a reckoning. Rome certainly thought that, I mean, their power or their glory, was unmatched. Who was ever going to defeat Rome, ragtag group of barbarians is who but or again, go back to Hitler’s Germany. In the Third Reich was going to last for 1000 years. Turns out more like six. But you know, that’s that’s the way the world works. It’s an empty boast in a day she’s brought to nothing. And by the way, when God does this in the here and now, when God brings something that you trust in to nothing in the here and now, that is grace, because it is a preview of the nothingness that will be exposed in the end, pay attention and. Let that direct your trust like I think we saw this during COVID, right? We had all these grand plans that were just wiped out in an instant. And God’s going are you paying attention? Are you paying attention? Do you know how flimsy are the things in which you place your trust? The whole world participates. The whole world, it seems, trusts in Babylon. So the whole world mourns. We get three groups offering three laments, three fold wo it starts with the kings. Here’s 18, nine and 10. When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury seat to smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her, terrified at her torment. They will stand far off and cry, woe. Woe to you great city, you mighty city of Babylon. In one hour, your doom has come. The source of their power, in other words, has gone. But notice they lament, but don’t repent. And you can see their folly, by the way, because they’re still calling Babylon great and her strength mighty where you’re going, maybe consider the one who’s actually strong and mighty and great at this point, but no, and they grieve. They grieve selfishly. They grieve selfishly, because, again, the source of their power is taken away. Why do you weep when you see God punish sin? Do you weep because sin got caught? You won’t get to participate in it anymore, won’t get to do it again. Or do you weep because sin offends a holy and good and gracious God? The Kings weep. Next the merchants weep. Here’s verses 11, first half of 17, the merchants the earth will weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargos anymore, cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen, purple, silken, Scarlet cloth, every sort of Citron wood and articles, every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble. Cargos of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and carriages and human beings sold as slaves. They will say, the fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered. The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment, they will weep and mourn and cry out, whoa, Woe to you, great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls, in one hour, such great wealth has been brought to ruin. Here we see, by the way, why it’s not just the city but its inhabitants who are judged because they become like the harlot in whom they trust. They are living in luxury and self indulgence, being fattened for the day of slaughter, as James five says, and their luxury, their self indulgence, leads them to exploit others. It’s so poignantly phrased at the end of verse 13, it says, cattle and sheep, horses and carriages, bodies and souls. Literally, that’s what it reads. Because you can just say here the merchants, in their minds, they’re going right, cattle, sheep, bodies, just another thing that we sell. But of course, we know those are image bearers of God. They have souls. They have lives. Now, slavery is a particularly egregious example of this selfish exploitation. We all do it even in smaller ways. What is gossip? After all, if not selfish exploitation, to puff myself up. I gotta push someone else down, or think of something through Tiktok, like hard under the bus a couple weeks back, right? I think it’s Tiktok again, though. So I’m sorry. All right, we’re just running with our Tiktok theme here. It probably had a hashtag. Don’t know what it was, sorry, this like milkshake thing that happened where people would buy a milkshake from a fast food drive through while they’re filming themselves, and then toss the milkshake of the person who works at the counter and screech away. And for what likes that’s it clicks and views. That’s selfish exploitation, because that’s not a body, that’s a soul, that’s an image bearer right there. And by the way, who clicked on it, who viewed it, who liked it, because that’s participation in that same evil. You can see it, of course, we become like the harlot, but notice it’s all gone in the end, right? They’re seeking their best life now and transient things seem much wiser to seek Eternal glory instead. Finally, the sea captains here 17 B to 20 in one hour, such great wealth has been brought to ruin. Sorry. Every sea captain, all who travel by ship, the sailors and all who learn their living from the sea, will stand far off when they see this. Of her burning, they will exclaim, was there ever a city like this great city? They will throw dust on their heads and with weeping and mourning, cry out, woe. Woe to you, great city where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth and one hour she had been brought to ruin, Rejoice over her. You. Heavens rejoice. You. People of God rejoice, apostles and prophets, for God has judged her with the judgment she imposed on you. So again, we get this selfish woe. We became rich through her wealth, our income has been cut off. But this lament, this threefold Whoa, whoa, whoa, is followed by shocking joy and a threefold Rejoice, rejoice. Rejoice. Why? Because vindication justice has come. They’re rejoicing the same way a grieving victim’s family rejoices when the gavel bangs out guilty. There is this great question being worked out in history, and if you’re struggling with joy at the fall of Babylon, just keep this question in mind. The Great question being worked out in history is, Will God or Satan rule in the end, that’s the choice. Do you want sin and Satan to triumph so that we live together in hell forever, because we will certainly make a hell of this place we are already. And if your answer that is not, then
we need God to bring judgment so that God can rule in the end. And it is cause for joy that he does. We see this, of course, 2124 I’ll keep reading. The mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said with such a violence, the great city of Babylon will be thrown down never to be found again. The music of harpists, musicians, Piper and trumpeters will never be heard in you again. No worker of any trade will ever be found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again. The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. Your merchants were the world’s important people. By your magic spell, all the nations were led astray. In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s holy people, of all who have been slaughtered on the earth. Again, we’re drawing from the end of Jeremiah, 51 at the end of Jeremiah’s prophecy, he writes it on a scroll. He ties a rock to the scroll and hurls it into the water to show that this is a bad one’s gonna sink and never rise again. That was the prophecy. This is the fulfillment. She has been tossed into the water. At this point, the city of man is finally overthrown, and once again, the main charge is in verse 24 she murdered God’s people there from the beginning, when John first heard of the great city, the corpses of God’s faithful witnesses were lying dead in its Plaza. When he first sees her in the last chapter, she’s drunk with the blood of the church. And here we get the charge again. All that she is rests on the bodies and runs on the blood of the helpless victims she exploited to satisfy her insatiable lust for more many trusted in the great city to provide for their selfish desires, merchants, kings, captains and you. And what do you trust? Is it a sure foundation, or could it be wiped out in an hour? Last question, for whom will you live? 19, one to 10 after this, I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting hallelujah, salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants. And again they shouted, hallelujah, the smoke from her goes up forever and ever. The 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne. And they cried, amen, hallelujah. Then a voice came from the throne, saying, praise our God, all you His servants, you who fear Him, both great and small. And I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters, like loud peals of thunder, shouting, hallelujah, for our Lord, God Almighty reigns, let us rejoice and be glad and given the glory. The wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people. The angel said to me, write this, blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb. And he added, these are the true words of God at this I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, don’t do that. I’m a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus, worship God, for it is the Spirit of Prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus. Just interesting to note at the end there, by the way, that unlike all these counterfeits we’ve been meeting, this angel won’t. Receive the worship that is due God alone, the worship that is due the God who brings the Word of Jesus, the message of Jesus Christ, through the proclamation of the spirit, wonderful, little Trinitarian moment right there, there’s this great multitude. This is the the saints of old, the saints of today, and the angels all together singing, let’s praise Yahweh Hallelujah. And why? Because he brings salvation and judgment that are required for His kingdom to come. I’ve said it previously. I’ve said it kind of throughout revelation. We will rejoice in judgment in the end. It grieves us now, and in part, inspires our mission, of course, our evangelism. But we will rejoice in the end, because at the end, we will have seen fully what they are, those who are unrepentant and judged in it. There’s no hope of repentance because our hearts have hardened irrevocably. We saw this when Kyle preached. Of course, we are, all of us progressing. We’re all becoming more something in this life. And so we are either becoming more Christ like, or more beast like. And go back to it once more. It’s a little bit like Germans under Nazism, like there was a choice, something was going to happen to you in that time. Just finished the novel, All the Light We Cannot See, and there was a school there that was training up teenage boys to join the German army. And the boys became increasingly barbarous, the climax of their training, not of the book. I’m not spoiling it for you. I promise. The climax of the training was when they actually participate in the murder of a prisoner of war, these 12, 1314, year old boys, except for one who really functions as a symbol of innocence in the book, and he refuses to participate. And so what does the great city due to him, tramples him under foot, and I won’t spoil it for you, but actually preserves him in his child like innocence as a result, where all of us going to go one direction or the other, but we will, we keep going in that direction. So the proper response, though, is that is praise when God’s kingdom that we long for, that we’ve been praying for, finally comes when, when judgment happens, when vindication is there. God has fulfilled his every word. We should want him to reign right. Verse six, hallelujah, for our Lord, God Almighty, reigns. We should be longing for this, because, again, otherwise, who’s going to reign? Who else is worthy to reign for eternity? Think about how anxious we get, thinking we got four more years of this guy or that guy or the next guy. What about eternity? Thank God, our Lord, God Almighty. Imagine you’re on a transatlantic flight, and, you know, you take off, and it was a pretty rough takeoff. And then the captain comes on and goes, Hey, by the way, it’s Bring Your Daughter to Work Day. So my six year old just she’s flying the plane right now. That was rough. But, you know, hoping for good. How much relief would you find when the captain comes back on and says, it’s her nap time? I got the controls like, that’s the relief we feel here, except it’s not even just a six year old. It’s terrible. Year old. It’s terrorists that have grabbed a hold of the plane. The captain comes back and says, We’ve got it back. Hallelujah, our Lord, God Almighty, reigns. Let’s rejoice and be glad. Our king is reigning in perfect wisdom and love and power and grace and justice. We rejoice because he’s reigning, but we rejoice also because his wedding has come and the bride has made herself ready. How do brides Get ready? They spend all day? It’s hair, it’s makeup, it’s the dress, it’s all that stuff, right? Same with us, except what we put on isn’t isn’t close, it’s, it’s our righteous acts. We are saved by grace alone, yes, but the grace that saves does not stay alone. It produces good works. That’s what we see here. We see that that’s why Jesus came, what he plans for his bride. Here’s Ephesians 525, to 27 up on the screen. Not going to read it all for you. But Jesus loved us, loved the church, gave himself up for us. Why? To make us holy, to cleanse us by His Word, to present us before him without stain, wrinkle, any other blemish. And keep in mind, by the way, he came for us despite our sin, despite the fact that we’d played the harlot and served false gods. Think how that gospel that he would love us and give himself up for us, how that produces good works in us, how quickly we would be taken from greed to generosity, because we know that all of our needs have been met, how quickly we’d move from lust to chastity, because we have been loved fully and with an intimacy beyond anything. We can experience as humans, we’ll be moved from sloth to zeal because we adore our Savior and want to see him glorified in us. That’s why it says, By the way, that fine linen was given to the church right. Our righteous acts are a gift from Jesus Christ. It is all of grace, even our works blessed indeed, then are those who are invited to this marriage supper, and the invitation is good. You don’t need to worry about it being counterfeit, because all of God’s words are true. And so this raises the last question, for whom will you live? You are going to produce deeds for someone or something. Will it be for God, or will it be, ultimately, for Satan? Each one of us is the woman. I know that these two women stand for groups of people, but as individuals, we’re kind of figuring out which one we want to align ourselves with. You have the choice to play the harlot or prepare to be the bride. The answer to that question is the answer to the question, which husband do you want? Which husband do you want? You want the one who’s going to devour you in the end, provide you with nothing that lasts and who will fail fall ultimately? Or do
you want the other one? Do you want the one who has proved himself to the uttermost and who offers you more love and kindness and power and joy than you can even begin to imagine. There are no surgeon general’s warning on this picture of glory, Jesus Christ offers life to the full, the abundant life, and he delivers on his promise again, even better than we can imagine. It seems like such an easy choice, so make it a big idea, right? Just drawing right from this chapter here. Make yourself ready for your perfect husband. Jesus, make yourself ready for your perfect husband. Jesus, read the warning, flee from Babylon. Cast aside what won’t satisfy but will kill you and lay hold of him. One of the most charming characters in all of literature is little Natasha Rostova from Tolstoy’s War and Peace. She’s betrothed to a good man, a noble man, an upright man named Andre Bunski, and she’s engaged for a year because she’s young, so she’s got to grow up a little bit before she gets married, and she waits faithfully and patiently for her groom to come until the night before her wedding, when she has swept off her feet by a scoundrel named Anatole, and she agrees to elope with him. She is rescued at the last moment, doesn’t go through with it, but the damage has been done, because Andre cannot forgive her and won’t marry her. As a result, we are all of us, Natasha, because we are betrothed to the noblest, the purest, the most loving husband. Will we wait and live patiently for the wedding? Because there are many Anatoles in this world seducing us and sweeping us off our feet, promising what they cannot deliver. And in truth, we have rushed off many times. In contrast to Natasha, we have given in to temptation. We have defiled ourselves and played the harlot. And that is bad news. We are worse than Natasha. But here’s the good news, we have a better bridegroom than Andre because Jesus still forgives us and loves us and rescues us at the cost of him self. Make yourself ready for him. Make yourself ready for your perfect husband, Jesus. Would you pray with me? I’m actually going to lead us in a prayer of confession here, and I’ll give you some time to pray silently in the middle, in part because I don’t know how you’ve played the harlot, and so I don’t know what you need to confess specifically, but I’ll give you space to do just that. Let’s pray, Father. We worship you because we know that you are almighty God, that you are reigning even now, and that your kingdom will come finally, fully and forever. And we long for that day. We long for that day when temptation will finally be at an end, because we will see you face to face and live in unshaken glory for eternity between now and then the Lord, we are assailed by temptation on every side, the world and the devil conspire against us, but so does our own flesh. Ish and our Wicked, wayward hearts and so God, now would you hear our silent prayers of confession as we acknowledge the ways that we have played the harlot before you have turned from the good life that you offer Jesus and turn to the death and destruction that this world offers because it glitters like gold you
Lord, have mercy on us sinners that we are, we rejoice that you loved us enough to come for us, to give yourself up for us Jesus and to make us holy. We rejoice in the gospel and pray only that we would live lives worthy of it, as by your Spirit, you give us fine linen clothes to wear the righteous deeds that you are producing in us for Your glory. Be glorified. We pray through Christ, our Lord, amen.

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Seven Plagues & Seven Bowls March 2, 2025 | Kyle Bjerga God pours out His final seven bowls of wrath upon the earth, targeting those who have chosen to follow the beast and reject Christ, with each bowl bringing increasingly severe judgments that cause immense suffering. The sermon emphasizes that God’s wrath is a righteous response to sin, arising from His holy love and opposition to wickedness, and is not something to be taken lightly or celebrated. Despite repeated opportunities to repent, those experiencing these judgments continue to curse God and refuse to turn from their ways, demonstrating the hardness of human hearts when they choose darkness over light. The key message is an urgent call for people to repent and glorify God before His final judgment comes, recognizing that no one is under God’s wrath who doesn’t choose to be and that Jesus offers salvation to all who will turn to Him.

Good morning, and go ahead and grab your Bibles and turn to Revelation chapter 15. If you’re using one of the black pew Bibles there in front of you, it’s on page 1000 it’s Revelation, page number 1000 you’ve been with us for a while. We’ll be coming to that pretty soon, but page 1000 will be in chapters 15 and 16 this morning. Now in our home, we love to watch sports, and everyone has their favorite sports teams, and it’s a tough day in our home when those two favorites are playing each other, because now all of a sudden, there’s a little bit more at stake in the game. This happened this year in the AFC Championship game, because I have two passionate chiefs and Bills fans in my home, and on two separate occasions, both of my oldest sons came up to me and shared that they’re really struggling with this game because they really want their team to win, but they don’t want their brother’s team to lose, and those both can’t be true. All right, somebody’s going to win, somebody is going to lose, and they can’t have it both ways, where they both win or they both both lose, right? So, like, it’s going to happen. Somebody is going to be disappointed, somebody is going to get their way. And there’s a tension there, okay? There’s a tension there. Depending on what happens in the game, they’re going to probably subdue their cheers they would usually give by kind of like, keeping their hands down, voicing it just themselves. They’re excited that a good play happened, because every time that happens, that means their brother is disappointed. So you’re maybe not as joyful, at least show it as much in those moments. Now that’s for the casual fan. Now imagine those big moments where a brother versus a brother, or a sister versus a sister, and we’ve had this happen in sports. Venus and Serena Williams face each other many times in big matches, four times at Wimbledon, John and Jim Harbaugh face each other in Super Bowl. 47 two brothers coaching against each other in the biggest game. And of course, two years ago, the Kelsey brothers faced off against each other in the Super Bowl as well. So put yourself in their shoes for a moment, you are in the biggest game of your life, and your brother or sister is on the opposite side. You really want to win, but you also want your brother or sister to win too. And so there’s this tension there, and it ratchets it up in those big moments, because when victory is inevitable, when that Gatorade is going to be splashed on one of the coaches you know, in all your excitement on the other side, they are dealing with the greatest defeat upset of their playing career. And when you talk to these athletes, when they’re in these moments of competing against a brother or a sister, they talk about this tension that they feel this. That’s what they experience, even when they wake up in the morning the day of the game, because they’re going to look across the field and they’re going to see the one that they love, and they’re going to say, one of us is going to win, one of us is going to experience defeat. So what does this have to do with Revelation? What does this have to do with us? We’re far enough into the book of Revelation to know that this book, more than any other, shows us the contrast of those who are in Christ, Jesus and those who are not in Christ, Jesus, those who are in the family of God and those who are outside the family of God. So in a much greater way than sports, for those in Christ, we live with attention because we know we have victory in Christ. We know how the story goes, but because we know that, we also know what’s coming for those who don’t know Jesus. And so we wrestle with these feelings of like, I’m excited, and at the same time, I look at the people I love, and I say, I don’t think they’re going to be there with me. And so we live with this tension. There’s this mixture of joy and sorrow at the truths we read in this book. Maybe you’ve wrestled with those before, this wrath and judgment to come that we’ve talked about already. We’re going to talk about more today. And I love what da Carson says about this as we come to a book of Revelation, as we talk about these things and teach these things. He says Christians should not teach or talk about these things without tears in their eyes, because there’s nothing fun about judgment. There’s nothing for us to stand up and be puffed up about in these moments, but rather humbly fall on our faces before God. So it’s a tension that we will live with until those we love choose Jesus and we can celebrate with them, or until we see Jesus face to face, we will have this mixture of joy and sorrow, and we’re going to feel that whole range of emotions this morning in Revelation 15 and 16. So the question is, how will we live and what will we do? So let’s look first and read through Revelation 15, we’re going to see that victory comes for the people of God, I’m going to read all of chapter 15. I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign, seven angels with the seven last plagues, last because with them, God’s wrath is completed. And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and standing beside the seed. Those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name, they held harps given them by God, and sang the song of God’s servant, Moses and of the Lamb. Great and marvelous are Your deeds, Lord, God Almighty, just and true are your ways, King of the nations who will not fear you, Lord and bring glory to your name. For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed. After this, I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple that is the tabernacle of the Covenant law, and it was opened. Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shiny linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels, seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever, and the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power. And no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed. Victory comes for the people of God. John sees another sign. We saw him have a sign. Saw a sign last week in 12 through 14. We’ve seen him have other signs before. See these things, heard these things. So we’ve took it, looked at seven seals. We’ve seen seven trumpets. And now we get to these seven last plagues, the seven bowls that have the plagues. And so we’ve seen God’s judgment ratcheting up throughout the book of Revelation. And so there is a lot of similarity between the seals and the trumpets and these bowls, but there is some big difference too. So we have the recapitulation on one side. We’re like, all right, this kind of seems to be, I’m talking about the same thing, but it’s going a little bit deeper. It’s taken us a little bit farther, giving us a little bit of a different perspective on things. And as it takes us deeper, we also then see the differences that are very, very clear. So in the seven seals, we saw that a third of the Earth was impacted in the in those judgments. And then we went to the trumpets, and we saw, sorry, a quarter in the seals, we saw a third in the trumpets, and now we get complete wrath of God. That’s what chapter 15, verse one, says, because with them, God’s wrath is completed. So we’ve seen God’s judgment there, and now it’s ratcheting up to the very end. So these visions, these signs that John have has is also giving us this different perspective. So when the seals, we saw the perspective from the people of God these judgments. And then we got to the trumpets, and we saw how the rebellious see the judgments. And then today we get the perspective of heaven. How does heaven view God’s judgment on the earth? And we start off here in this vision with a glass, a sea of glass glowing with fire. We saw this sea earlier in chapter four, verse six, a sea of crystal is in front of the throne of God. But what’s key here is looking at who is standing beside the sea. And it says, standing beside the sea, where those who were victorious over the beast, the beast we looked at last week in chapter 13. And it says, when we think about these, these people like, who are they? Who is standing beside the sea having victory over the beast? Well, there’s two probably groups that are thought of in context of Revelation. The first one we see in chapter 12, verse 11, I’ll just read it for you. Can look back if you want. These were those who were martyred for their faith. Killed their blood shed because of what they believed in Jesus. It says this in chapter 12, verse 11, they triumphed over him, the accuser, by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. So that’s one group, the martyrs, those who killed were killed for their faith. The second group would be those who were victorious by not being deceived by the beast. If you remember back to chapter 13, the beast is coming and deceiving the inhabitants of the earth, but those who did not give in to those lies are victorious. And then we see that these people are singing a song of victory. It’s a song of God’s servant, Moses and of the Lamb. So I ask you the same question I asked a few weeks ago with the seven trumpets. Where have we heard this before? If we go back to Exodus chapter 14, Pharaoh decides, I don’t want to let the Israelites go. I want my slaves back. And so he chases after them with his army, and he pins them between the army and between the Red Sea. And God parts the waters miraculously, so that the Israelites can cross over to safety. And when the Egyptians follow them, God’s hand is taken away, and the waters fall on the Egyptians in judgment, and the Israelites are beside the sea. Could you imagine being on this side, seeing what you just witnessed, and being able to walk across dry land, and now it’s covered with water again, and your enemy is no longer and so what do they do? They sing Exodus 15, which we just heard, read for. US.
Picture this as they’re sitting on that side, seeing God’s judgment, seeing his deliverance of them, and they sing this song in Exodus, 15 I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted, both horse and driver. He is hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my defense. He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him. The Lord is a warrior. The Lord is his name. And I would encourage you to read that whole chapter. But to summarize, because we don’t have time for that, it basically says this, God in His justice judges wickedness and evil, and God, in His mercy and love, rescues, redeems and saves his people. That’s what the whole chapter is about. And the people see that like proof right in front of them that he has saved them and taking care of their enemy judged their wickedness. So that’s why this song here is called the song of God’s servant, Moses, because in here in Revelation, these are not direct quotes from Exodus 15. This is really like a best hits of the Old Testament, like a compilation of the greatest verses on God’s character and his works and what he has done for his people here in Revelation. But it’s also the song of the Lamb, because the Gospel story of Jesus Christ is a recapitulation of Exodus. Exodus is the Gospel story in the Old Testament. And now we come here and we think, Oh, the Passover lamb, his blood was shed and put across the door posts, and the Angel of Death, death passed over the people, and God rescued them out. And now we’re saved by the same Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, His blood shed on a cross, so that the angel of death would pass over us and we would be forgiven, redeemed and reconciled. And so we are both singing this song because we both experienced the good news, the good news of salvation from our slavery to sin, wickedness and evil. Now, when you get to a place like this in Scripture, you got to think like the only place where God is properly worshiped all the time is in heaven. It’s the only place where he is properly worshiped all the time, because everyone is singing the same song. Everybody knows what God has done for them. They see him rightly, and that’s one reason why I cannot wait to get to heaven, because a passage is like this. All the redeemed throughout history are singing the same song because we’ve all been saved. And guess what? Not one person up there is challenging God for His throne. Nobody. Everybody knows who the king is. We see him. We know him, we respect him and adore him. We revere him, and we acknowledge that He is the true king, and we can finally worship God for the first time in our life, rightly, without any hindrances, without any sin, without any imperfections or wrong views of God. That’s happening now will happen for eternity. And then John looks like we’ve seen so many times in Revelation. He looks and he saw in heaven a temple, or the tabernacle with the law, and it is open, and these angels are coming out of the temple with these seven golden bowls full of God’s wrath. The temple is filled with smoke from the glory of God and His power. We see this all throughout the Old Testament. When God shows up, when his presence is there, the smoke when his presence is there, we see things shake. There is a difference when God’s presence is around. Now, when John sees the temple is this, literal temples are going to be a temple in heaven, when we know there’s not going to be a temple in heaven. Revelation, 21 says this, I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord, God Almighty and the lamb are its temple. So what is this trying to show, again, this symbolism that we get here in Revelation. It’s saying, who was in the temple, who was in the tabernacle? It was God’s presence with his people. And so John is saying, I see God in His temple, and he is speaking. And what is he saying in this moment, it’s time for judgment. It’s his and his alone to command this judgment. It’s his wrath. So that’s why this is here to say no, this is, this is God who is bringing his judgment on the earth, the same God being sung about in verses three and four, who is marvelous, Lord, God Almighty, just true, king of nations, holy and righteous, and patient, by the way, but his patience will end when judgment comes. So all the images used here to describe this moment of what’s happening are for us to pay attention and to take God’s judgment seriously. And so here’s the tension again that I mentioned earlier, if you are a. Christian, the plagues of God’s wrath that we’re going to read about will not fall on you. They won’t the judgment wrath we deserve fell on Jesus Christ. And so we stand here victorious, saying this is not coming for us. And so we have joy in this moment when we will see Him face to face, but we also understand everything we’re going to read from this point forward in chapter 16. Chapter 16 is coming for those in our life, who we love, who don’t know Jesus, who continue to rebel, and so we’ve got that tension again, joy and sorrow. So let’s look first at the wrath that comes for the deserving. We’re going to look at chapter 16, verses one through seven. Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, Go pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth. The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died. The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, you are just in these judgments, oh holy one, you who are and who were, for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve. When I heard the altar respond, Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments. So wrath comes for the deserving. The voice of God comes from the temple. The Judgment begins with the www poured out on the earth. And when we think about the bowls, okay, when we think about bowls being poured out, this imagery is important for us to understand God’s complete judgment. As adults, when we’re carrying a bowl, we’re trying to be very careful, and we might spill a little bit when a child gets a bowl, we’re worried that the whole thing’s gonna be dumped out. Because what happens as soon as they get the idea, hey, I’m going to flip this. Everything’s out, right? And that’s what God’s judgment is going to be. It isn’t just a little bit. At this point, we’ve already seen a little bit that was meant to tell people, wake up, pay attention, repent and turn to me, and at some point he says, No. Now it’s all coming out. All the judgment, these these bowls are being turned over and poured out, and everything will come with them. I think Dennis Johnson helps us understand what’s going on here in chapter 16, he says the escalation in the scope of destruction reveals that the bull cycle portrays history’s end when God’s patience will wait no longer and this common grace will be withdrawn from all who persist in unrepentant rebellion. The first four bowls impact the same areas we saw in the trumpets, the Earth, the seas, the rivers and springs and the sky. And it’s this escalated judgment, as we’ve seen, it brings pain and death for those who have the mark of the beast. So those who were deceived by the beast followed the beast, bowed their knees to the beast, gave in to all of his deception. They are the ones who received the judgment. The people of God are spared. Everything in the sea dies. The waters all turn to blood. And if you’ve been with us last week and this week, there’s so much blood, there is, we’re talking about judgment. And maybe if you’re here this morning, and the idea of God’s wrath is an obstacle to belief, an obstacle to going all in on Jesus, an obstacle to believing anything that’s in this book. I think most of us have been there, where you are, and then for some of us, we’ve been following Jesus for a long time, but we still don’t want to think of the loving God, the kind Jesus, who is a friend of sinners. We don’t want to think of him as ever getting angry, ever bringing judgment. But that’s not for us to decide, right? That’s what the book says he will do. So it’s important to pause here and consider the character of God, to understand the wrath of God. So is God wrath. And by that, what I mean is if we understand God’s absolute attributes to be the things that are always true of him, meaning, if God never created anything and it was just him for all time, what would his attributes be? Well, there wouldn’t be wrath. Why would there be wrath against himself? There couldn’t be because he’s perfect.
Before anything was created. God in eternity, Father, Son and Spirit, the Triune God had perfect love and holiness. He was all powerful, all present, all knowing, and on and on. We can go. But there was no wrath of God in the Trinity, the Father and. The Son and the Spirit, nothing there that would be wrath. So what that means then, is God’s wrath is an outworking of his other attributes of his character. So it is the right response to something that is true of God. That’s what God’s wrath is. It’s the right response to something that is true of God. And I like how Pastor Jeremy treats says this. He says his wrath is the rightful expression of His holy love in the face of sin and evil. God’s wrath arises from his holy love and opposition to wickedness. Wrath only exists where sin exists. Wrath only exists where sin exists. And so because of this holy love, God’s wrath comes as a response to wickedness, to evil, to sin, and God’s wrath is in response to the way that people have treated his name, the attacks on his name and his character, and also it’s against the sin and evil and wickedness that are destroying those He created, those he loves. And so we’ve got to have that in our minds, as we understand the wrath of God. It is His holy love, knowing that he is perfect, knowing how He created the world and how things are supposed to work. And so he responds in righteous anger, in his wrath, when those things are not happening. And remember what I said about heaven being the only place where God is properly worshiped all the time. Look at what the angel says in verses five through seven. Okay, verses five through seven, what we see here this angel. He doesn’t question God. He sees God. He knows God. And what does he say? You are just in these judgments. O holy one, you who are and who were. When the angels see God, they know who he is, and they don’t question his judgment like we do. God is just and holy where injustice happens, where unholiness happens, God can be trusted to bring the right judgment in those moments, because he knows how things are supposed to work. And then it would take somebody being around for all eternity to see and know everything that’s ever happened, to be able to weigh everything correctly, and then to be able to distribute justice accordingly, which is exactly who God is, and what the angel says here, he says, You who are and who were. We saw this phrase back in chapter 11. We’re used to hearing God who is right, the God who was and the God who is to come, but we don’t get the God who has come here. We just get you are and you were, because the future is now. Judgment is here. It’s not future anymore. It’s happening in this moment. So this is who you are. That is who you were, and it’s always been that way. And his judgment comes in this moment. So God is holy and just and loving, and so when others hurt those God loves, he responds right? He responds against that wickedness. He responds against that sin and that evil, just like he did with the Israelites. He will do for us. He responds in righteous anger, and his treat goes on to say, he says, The wrath of God moves beyond the emotion of anger to the action of righteous judgment. That’s what’s happening here. The wrath of God moves beyond the emotion of anger to the action of righteous judgment. And the judgment of blood comes upon those who have shed blood, the blood of the prophets of old, to the Christians of this time, to the Christians who are being slaughtered right now in other countries, for all Christians who walk the face of the earth and will walk the face of the earth. And so they are getting here what we see in verse six, what they deserve, and God’s perfect judgment, the punishment fits the crime. And so for us, we need to really be honest with ourselves for a moment, no matter where you are, we need to be honest with ourselves and ask this question, what do you deserve from God? What do you deserve from God? And to do this, we have to strip away all the excuses. We have to strip away blame. We have to humble ourselves before God, before his perfect, holy standard, and say, What do I deserve from God and what do you end up with? I’ll tell you what I end up with. I’m standing before you right now 100% confident that I deserve all the wrath of God, all of it, all of his judgment on my life. And there’s all sorts of reasons for why that is. I’ll give you two because I know what’s going on in my mind and my heart, and none of you. You, but God does every single moment. He knows what I’m showing and what’s actually going on inside. The second reason I know this is because I know what my life would be like. I can see my life if my sin was left unchecked. I see my tendency to sin and my temptations, and I could see if the Spirit wasn’t in my life where I would naturally go. And so for those two reasons, I know I stand here totally deserving of God’s wrath and His judgment. So ask it a different way. Do you really think you deserve heaven? A lot of people do, do you think you deserve heaven? Do you really think you deserve to stand before the perfect and holy God of the universe according to His perfect standard? And if you answer, no, you don’t deserve heaven, chances are you’re already a Christian. Because we all have to get to this point, right? We all have to get this point where we say, No, I don’t deserve this. And so we throw ourselves at the feet of Jesus and say, we repent, we believe, we turn from our ways, and we want to follow, you know what Christ has done on our behalf. And then, as Christians, we don’t get puffed up thinking, Oh, God’s wrath. Can’t touch us anymore. Look how great we are. Instead, we humbly bow and in never ending gratitude come before Him and praise God for the work he has done in our life, not to be prideful, but to be humbled and in awe of his work, the miraculous work he’s done in our lives. And maybe you answered that question, do you really think you deserve heaven? Maybe this is the first time in this moment you said, No, I can see that I don’t deserve it. Then that is good news, because that is the Holy Spirit in your heart right now saying you don’t deserve it. And as you already heard this morning, we can continue to see in this book, that’s why Jesus came, so you can repent now turn your life over to Jesus, see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, and you can call on his name and be saved. But if you answered yes, I do deserve heaven. Or if you know people in your life, so the chances are better for a group like this. We have a lot of people in our life who would say, yes, they do, but they are deserving. We’re going to hit this tension again. Okay? Because this last part addresses those people. We’re going to see that wrath comes for the unrepentant. We’re going to finish the chapter starting in verse eight, the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were seared by the intense heat, and they cursed the name of God who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify Him. The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done. The sixth angel poured out his bowl in the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried, dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the east. Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs. They came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world to gather them for battle on the great day of God Almighty. Look, I come like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed. Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne saying, it is done. Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on Earth. So tremendous was the quake. The great city split into three parts and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon, the great, and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of His wrath. Every island fled away in the mountains could not be found from the sky. Huge hail stones, each weighing about 100 pounds, fell on people, and they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible. So before we dive in to this last section, I want to read from John three. John 318, through 19 says this, whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only son.
This is the verdict. Light has come into the world, but people love darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Matt Chandler summarized this by saying no one is under God’s wrath who doesn’t choose to be this is important for us to note as we get into this last section of chapter 16, so we understand what’s happening here. Here. So let’s start by just looking at the bowls, seeing what these different judgments are. The fourth and fifth bowls are poured out. The people are scorched by intense heat. They gnaw their tongues because they are in such pain from their sores. Then we get darkness. Mentioned. Darkness and revelation also means death and judgment. The Beast’s throne, which was given to him by the dragon, is plunged into darkness. The Beast will be judged. The Beast does lose. The Bible also uses darkness to describe Hell, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, similar to the gnawing that we see here. So we can’t necessarily point to what this judgment is exactly, but it doesn’t sound pleasant, right? I mean, this is horrific. There’s nothing about this that we think, Oh, that doesn’t sound that bad. But what doesn’t happen is it doesn’t lead to change for the people experiencing it, either. So hold on to that. We’re going to come back to that in a minute. Then we get the sixth bull. The sixth angel, pours out the wrath on this great river, Euphrates. We saw the Euphrates back with the trumpets. Euphrates is an important river throughout Scripture. In the trumpets, the angels, these four angels, were released to go into humanity and kill a third of humanity now we get the Euphrates being dried up so that the Kings can cross over from the east and attack. Who are they attacking and why? Well, in verse 13, we see the unholy trinity. Again. If you were with us last week, we were introduced to them, this unholy trinity out of their mouths come what look like frogs. So remember, the word is used is like, like frogs, not literal frogs, but it’s a reminder that the frogs were a part of the plagues in Egypt, and they wreaked havoc on the nation. And here, these demonic spirits come out of the mouths of this unholy trinity seeking to cause havoc once again. And where do they come from? They come out of the mouths of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet. What does it mean when things come out of the mouth in Revelation, words are spoken. So words are coming out of this unholy trinity, this dragon, this beast, this false prophet, they’re speaking deceptive words to the people, to these kings, to these nations, all those who are opposed to God. And they also perform many signs that show, hey, we have power. You should follow us. Does this not take you back to Egypt again with Pharaoh’s magicians trying to do the same things that Moses and Aaron did. Just say, Hey, we got these things we can show you. And so through their actions and through their words, they deceive the people and convince them to fight against God and God’s people. Now I can’t stand in God’s word here and say exactly what the deceptive words that they were speaking is but as I think about how Satan works and the lies that he tells, how he twists the truth, there’s an element here where the people are deceived into believing that they could actually win against God. They could actually stand before God, if they just get enough people, they could probably win. I mean, they’ve already been shedding the blood of God’s saints. So what’s a few more? So they’re deceived, fooled into believing they can actually win. And then you think, okay, verse 16 is going to happen. But no, we get verse 15. We get this little break in the action. And if your Bibles are like mine, these words might be in red. Okay, and I believe this is right. I do think this is the words of Jesus in this moment, because he’s uttered these words before when he says, Look, I come like a thief, Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains closed so as not to go naked, to be shamefully exposed. Look at Matthew, 2442 through 44 Jesus says, Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this, if the owner of the house had known at what time the night of night, the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come in an hour when you do not expect him. So Jesus is saying, in this moment, we you don’t know when I’m coming back like a thief. Jesus, in comparing himself to a thief and they wanting to do bad, he’s saying, You don’t know when a thief is going to come. And so just like that, you don’t know when I’m going to come. So instead of, you know, kind of toying around with sin and and kind of doing your own thing and then just getting ready at the last moment, no, he says, Be moment. No, he says, Be ready all the time. Be ready for me. And then he gives the third of the seven benedictions in Revelation. He says, Blessed are those who are ready. Blessed are those who are ready for the return of Jesus, who stand ready when he comes. And. Yeah, and if that’s true of you, will, you will not experience any of the other stuff that’s here because you’re ready for Jesus and His return. So it’s an encouragement and assurance to us that this final battle is not ours. He’s coming for us. This final battle is God’s right? It’s God’s battle. Vengeance is his, it’s his judgment. So these are encouraging words for us as believers. And then verse 16, we immediately get back to that tension again. This is great news for us, but here’s what’s coming for those who are on repentance, what’s true of those in verse 16, one of the commentators said they’re deceived into thinking they will kill God’s saints, only to find out they are facing someone else, God and His judgment. And here we read about a place called Armageddon, which, in Hebrew, means mount of Megiddo. And so when we’re reading apocalyptic literature, it’s full of symbolism, again, as we’ve talked about many times. So when we read the word Armageddon, we must read it with this kind of figurative view in mind, because it says mount to Megiddo. But Megiddo is actually a plain. It’s not a mountain. So why use mount? Well, what happens on mountains in Scripture? Really important moments, right, where God shows up and so that part of this is saying, like there’s, there’s something big coming, especially in salvation history. So to call mount Megiddo means something important that we need to pay attention to. Attention to is coming and then throughout Israel’s history, Megiddo, or the area around Megiddo, had both physical and spiritual battles taking place, some of the most significant ones in the history of Israel, things like Elijah on Mount Carmel and the prophets of Baal saying whose God is real, Deborah, defeating the Canaanites in Judges chapter five, these things are happening on Megiddo or around Megiddo. And so what is happening here is John is saying something big is going to take place. Something important in the history of the world is going to take place. So pay attention. Now that’s all we get about Armageddon here. We’re going to talk more about this kind of final battle in a couple weeks. For now, we’re going to leave that there. Then we come to the seventh bowl that is poured into the air, and the voice from the temple comes again, and God’s voice says, it is done. It is done. And with it follows what we’ve already seen before, all the lightning, all the thunder and the earthquake. And this earthquake is greater than any earthquake ever in the history of the world. And hail falls from the sky weighing 100 pounds each. I did some research. The heaviest hail that they have is 2.25 pounds, 100 pounds, the great city of Babylon is split in three, the islands and the mountains are gone. So when God says it is done, it’s done like all of those images are meant to say, This is it. This is everything. This is final judgment. The bowls have been poured out. It’s fulfilling what we already saw in chapter 15, verse one, seven angels with the seven last plagues last because with them, God’s wrath is completed, worldwide judgment. So let’s return to where we started in this last section, to John chapter three. Because you would think that all these things happening, people would turn but John three says Light has come into the world, but people love darkness instead of light, because their deeds were evil. As I mentioned already, no one is under God’s wrath that doesn’t choose to be here’s how the people respond to God’s judgment throughout bowls four through seven. All of these are warnings, a chance to see what he’s doing and repent and turn and trust and change. But in the four through seven bowls, this is how the people respond. They curse God because of what he did? They curse him. They gather for battle against him, and they refuse to repent. Every single time, the people are acting like the one they are following, because we saw Satan last week. Knows that he loses, has lost, and what does he do? He knows his time is short, and he still digs his heels in. He throws a temper tantrum, tries to bring down as many people as he possibly can with him, and we can be deceived and come to
this place. There’s a teaching out there that says Hell is a place where people are crying out to God to be saved, and he won’t, but the clear teaching of Scripture is exactly what we see here. The more God brings his judgment and his wrath to have people change, many will still have their fists raised to God in defiance, cursing words on their lips. You. Refuse to repent. T Carson says this about hell. Says this is what hell is like, an ongoing cycle of sin, rebellion, judgment, sin rebellion, judgment, world without end, because we all have our chance to repent right now, I don’t know if you’ve been around stubborn people. Maybe you are one, but you know how maddening that can be, right? When you give them warning after warning, you tell them this is going to happen, this consequence is going to happen, and you just keep saying it over and over again in one day, you follow through, and they still look at you in defiance, no change, nothing, just sitting there like I just want you to learn. I just want you to turn and change your ways. And that’s what God has been doing throughout history. This is who I am. This is what I can do. I just want you to turn and say, this way isn’t working, and follow me. And follow me. Some people love the darkness more than the light, and it will always be that way for all eternity. But here’s the thing, for you and for me, we have no idea if that’s true of these people. We don’t know, because I’m sure many of you, at one point your heart was so hard, people thought you couldn’t be saved, and you’re here because God can do what God does, all right? He can work and he can soften hearts, and so we don’t know. So we continue to pursue those people in our life. This is the tension we constantly live with. We know who we are. We know we have victory in Christ. We see the other side. And what drives us to them is we want to see them know Jesus, because we want to celebrate and sing the songs with them. It isn’t because we just want to be right. It’s because we believe this is the truth, and we want them to believe the truth and see Jesus change their life. So this is the tension we’re going to live with on this side of heaven. Now, what’s the point of all this, the big idea this morning is pretty simple. Pretty simple, repent and glorify God before his just wrath comes completely. And finally, repent and glorify God before his just wrath comes completely. And finally, as we close, God says at the seventh bowl, it is done. If you’re here this morning, checking out Christianity. See what Jesus is all about. See what the Bible teaches. You heard. We’re in Revelation trying to understand judgment. We’re so glad that you’re here, and you need to hear these words, because God says, at one point, judgment will come and it will be done. But that doesn’t have to be for you. There is a time when his patience will run out, when He will make all things right, which will include judgment on the deserving, judgment on the unrepentant, and salvation and victory for those who are in Christ, Jesus, in this moment, you can turn you can repent of your sin and start following Jesus, giving glory to him for saving you. And all of us would plead that you would with you to do that today, we can have great confidence in the Word of God here, because Jesus uttered similar words when he was on the cross. Before he breathed his last, he said, It is finished. You see, Jesus came that first time to make a way for us to be saved. And his work was completed on the cross and in the empty tomb, he came as Savior of the world to serve, not to be served, to forgive us, taking judgment and wrath of God on himself, the judgment we deserved so that we can enter in be reconciled into this perfect relationship with him. But it’s very clear in Scripture, at His second coming, he will come as Judge So repent and glorify God before that day. And for the rest of us here, we must heed Jesus’s warning to be ready for His coming. Means We must continue to repent, right? We must continue to repent because the tension for us is we’re still pulled back to the old way of life. We’re still pulled back to that old way of living, and so we need to continue to repent and trust in the finished work of Jesus. Don’t let the devil get a foothold. Live lives worthy of the gospel that we’ve been called to, and as we live in this tension, we continue to call others into a life of repentance and faith in Jesus. One more time from Don Carson, he says, We are never more than poor beggars telling others where there is bread. We are never more than condemned prisoners who have found pardon and who. Want others to enjoy the same. That’s our plea. We know where the bread of life is. We know who can set us free repent and glorify Him, because the time is coming. Well, his judgment will come completely and finally. So let’s be faithful in proclaiming the good news. Prepare ourselves, because one day we’ll all join together and sing the song of God’s servant, Moses and of the Lamb. Let’s pray,
Lord, we come before you humbly, humbly, because we know that there is nothing that we could do to deserve a relationship with you, to deserve being saved. It is all your grace, your love for us, your sacrifice through your Son, Jesus, Christ on that cross, taking the full cup of your wrath, satisfying your wrath for us. So Lord, I pray that every person here would hide themselves in Christ, Jesus, and that you would change us, make us NEW and use us through your spirit to call others to repent of their sins and to call on your name, Jesus. We love you. We pray this in Your name. Amen.
Amen.

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Cosmic Conflict February 23, 2025 | Brandon Cooper The sermon discusses the cosmic conflict behind the persecution of Christians, calling believers to choose their side, choose their God, and choose their eternal destiny wisely. It explains the symbolism of the woman, the dragon, and the beasts as representing the spiritual battle between God’s people and the forces of evil. The sermon emphasizes the importance of patient endurance, faithful obedience, and trusting in God’s ultimate victory over sin and death. It concludes by urging the congregation to make the right choice, following Jesus rather than the counterfeit powers of this world.

Well, good morning. Go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Revelation 12. Revelation 12 will be hitting 12, 13, and 14 this morning as your turn in there. Question for you history buffs out there: what caused World War One? Some of you are getting it. Excellent. All right, I can hear it being muttered out there, the assassination of the Austro Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Serbian nationalists associated with a little terror group known as the Black Hand. Why, we might ask, did they assassinate him? It’s because they had designs on Bosnia Herzegovina, which, at that time, Austria and Hungary ruled, and so that’s what was going on. Although, when I tell you that, you kind of may be thinking yourself, okay, that would explain war between the Austro-Hungarian empire and Serbia. What’s the deal, though, with Russia and Germany and France and Britain, which are probably the countries we think of when we think of World War One? And so you can start to see already the causes are probably a little bit deeper. There are these military alliances. Of course, Russia comes in on the side of Serbia immediately, which draws Germany into the War. Germany marches through Belgium into France. And so all of a sudden, France and Britain are in the war as well. Although even then, it’s not just these military alliances but it’s the fact that this continent was like a powder keg. It was ready for war because of rising nationalism and militarism and growing imperialism, which means these countries have been stepping on each other’s toes all over the world as they were trying to carve up what they saw as their colonies. You get the idea the surface explanation isn’t wrong. That’s what happened. They assassinated this guy. It’s just not sufficient. There’s more going on multiple layers of causation, and that’s what we have here as well, in Revelation, because we’re actually going over the same territory that we went over last week, like chapter 12 is just chapter 11 again, except we’re going deeper. We’re peeling back the layers like an onion, or getting a behind-the-scenes tour of what’s happening, especially in the heavenlies, the cosmic conflict that is underneath all of this, because you can see what’s going on in Revelation. Why is Revelation written in the first place? Even it’s because people are persecuting Christians, and that’s not wrong. It’s just not sufficient. There’s so much more going on, like what is driving this hostility toward the church, and what are the systems of thought that are creating this enmity? And is there a spiritual reality behind it all that we sometimes ignore? Three long scenes show us what’s really going on. This is, by the way, the longest chunk of text we’re going to hit in this series. So, you know, buckle up for that and whatnot. The good news, though, is, even though it’s three long scenes, three full chapters, they’re all gonna drive us to a single and simple reality that this is a time for choosing. It is a time for choosing. Of course, it is, by the way, because this is about war, and war is always a time for choosing. So let’s look at these three scenes, and we’ll kind of build to the choices as we go. But three choices that we’re going to make choose your side. First of all, choose your side in the war chapter 12. Let me read chapter 12 for us. A great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth, and another sign appeared in heaven, an enormous Red Dragon with seven heads and 10 horns and seven crowns on its heads, its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born, she gave birth to a son, a male child who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God into his throne. The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 12 160 days. Then, war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say, now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Messiah for the accuser of our brothers and sisters who accuses them before our God, day and night, has been hurled down, they triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. They did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice you heavens and you who dwell in them, but woe to the. Earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you. He is filled with fury because he knows that his time is short. When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. Woman was given the two wings of a great eagle so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. Then, from his mouth, the serpent spewed water like a river to overtake the woman and sweep her away with a torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Then, the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring, those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus. There are not many more vulnerable than a pregnant woman giving birth. She is, needless to say, a bit preoccupied, already unable to flee when danger comes and after giving birth, really, really weak, like not ready for a fight. And of course, the baby is about as helpless as you can imagine, as well. At the same time, there’s not much more threatening that we could imagine than a dragon, especially a dragon with seven heads and 10 horns. So you’re looking at this thinking, yep, the dragon’s gonna win, like he’s gonna devour that baby for sure, which is pretty serious because this baby, of course, is humanity’s last best hope for salvation. So that’s the drama of this scene, like all that’s going on right there. The drama of this sign, as John calls it here, a sign, meaning it symbolizes or signifies something greater that is spiritually significant; not the first time in Scripture, by the way, that a pregnant woman has been a sign like this. Isaiah chapter seven, that most of us, you know, at least think about every Christmas season, Advent season, you know, we read the Lord himself will give you a sign. The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and he’s to be called Emmanuel. So we’ve got this same sign here of a woman giving birth and honestly giving birth to Emmanuel. It’s quite clear, as we keep reading now, who is this woman? She is not named, of course, and she is almost certainly not an individual because she is this sign. I mean, she’s clothed with the sun, so right there, thinking we’re probably in symbolism at this point, and she’s royal based on all this. I mean, she got the crown on her head and whatnot. So this is not Mary, even though, yes, this woman gives birth to Jesus, maybe it includes Mary. But I think what we’re talking about here really is the Messianic community, like the people of God. And we know that, of course, because this woman actually straddles both sides of Jesus, right, gives birth to Jesus, and then is still there after Jesus ascends into glory. So I think this is the people of God here, pictured as a woman. Not unusual happens throughout Scripture because both in Hebrew and in Greek, the word for church is female, and so almost always pictured as a woman. What’s interesting here, too, though, is that this woman giving birth fulfills the first great promise of God. I mean, she gives a loud cry because childbirth is painful. Childbirth is painful because Adam and Eve sinned. And when God cursed Eve, this is one of the things he said, right, childbirth is going to hurt. And then, almost in the very next verse, he says, but by the way, snake, this the dragon. By the way, is the snake. He gets called that ancient serpent in verse nine, right? So, by the way, is he cursing the serpent? Then he says, Your seed is going to get crushed by her seed. And here he is, the snake Crusher has arrived on the scene. So all this is coming together in this sign of the woman. I actually love verse three, by the way, because in verse one, a great sign appeared in heaven. And then verse three, there’s another sign. You’re like, dude, is that dragon? Nope, nope. Not great. Not a great sign at all. Just a tiny little sign, okay, just another sign. This red dragon. It is the reminders we get this dragon, which, of course, is a mythical creature that we do not war, we know, not battle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers and the authorities and the powers of darkness. That’s who we have here. This dragon, again, it’s Satan. That’s who we’re talking about here is the one who is trying to usurp God’s rule. That’s why he’s got seven heads. That’s the perfect number, symbolizing perfect power, right? And then 10 horns. Horn is always a sign of strength. So it’s this rule and strength that belong to God alone, and he’s pretending. And this dragon that is now ready to eat the promised seed, the Messiah, God’s king. And now this makes me think immediately, of course, the many satans who have come. I mean, John himself said, right, there been many antichrists already. We have many antichrists in this scene. I mean, I think of Herod, for example. Like a literal moment when Jesus is born, physically. He is there, ready to devour God’s promised King, and so he slaughters the baby boys of Bethlehem, hoping to devour that child. Of course, he is thwarted. I think of Satan tempting Jesus in the wilderness in Matthew four. It’s the same thing. He’s trying to devour him spiritually if he possibly can. And so it’s it’s always happening. But, of course, he never wins. We read it. It’s quite quick, right? So, she gives birth to a son, this king, quoting Psalm 2. And then it says, and her child was snatched up to his God, snatched up to God and to his throne like he’s just gone like that, which is really interesting. Jesus’s life and his death and his resurrection, which, you know, are kind of big important topics in Scripture, it’s all just glossed over, like doesn’t even get a footnote or anything like that. It’s just gone the whole point, of course. We skip right to his ascension to show that Jesus is beyond Satan’s reach, and that’s important for us because it so often looks like Satan is winning in this life. And not only that, (and tell me you haven’t felt this way before), sometimes it looks like God is losing, and you’re like, Well, yeah, that’s just the flip side. But no, no, no, that’s not what I mean. I mean, sometimes it looks like God has picked a losing strategy. You got a dragon, and you got a baby. Which one are you betting on? And then that baby grows up and says things like, if somebody slaps you, turn it off the other cheek. You should love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, bless those who insult you, and you’re like, that’s a losing strategy. That just means we’re gonna get beaten up. We’re just gonna get trampled all our days. It looks like Satan is winning, but it is never true. And that’s that reminder he just snatched up no chance Satan could ever reach Him. So what does Satan do, though? And is not great news for us. He turns his attention to the woman, again, God’s people at this point, clearly including the New Testament, people of God, because we’re on the other side of Jesus. So this is the church here in both ages. And notice, by the way, the woman fled into the wilderness. So this can be taken care of for 12 160 days. We talked about this last time, right? 1260, 42 or 4212 6012, 6042, y’all remember the chiasm? You got this down perfectly. I know no questions or anything like that. We’re talking about the exact same period, of course. And this is why I think it is the whole church age, because it begins right after the ascension of Jesus, Satan begins to persecute this woman. So that’s why I said last week, I think we are talking about the whole Church Age. Here it is again, the woman is taken to the wilderness. Why the wilderness? Partly because that’s the place of testing, like Jesus is tempted in the wilderness, of course, but more so, I think, because it reminds us that Jesus is the true and better Moses, who is leading us into the new Exodus. And the exodus is the paradigm here because what happens in the Exodus, God delivers his people out of Egypt, then they’re in the wilderness for a long time, and then they’re in the Promised Land. And what has happened to us with Jesus’s life, death and resurrection, He has delivered us from death and from sin. But we’re not in the Promised Land. Yet we are not in glory, right? We gotta get to Revelation 21 before we get there. We’re in the wilderness. We’re in that time between so here we are in the wilderness. This is you and me being described right here. And what is God doing in this time in the wilderness? What he always does in the wilderness, protecting and preserving his people. You hungry, here’s manna from heaven. Here’s some quail. You need water. Smack the rock. Okay? Water will come out. I think of Elijah when he flees to the wilderness and God sends ravens to bring him food, like this is what God does in the wilderness. Then we get to verse seven, and this will be important that we understand this. Verse seven is a second pass through the same material. Okay, so this is not a new scene here. This is a second pass through the same content, except the camera is going to kind of look in different spots. Okay, so we had a lot of attention paid the woman in particular. Now we’re kind of like zooming into heaven instead. And so we see Michael, who shows up, by the way, because he’s there doing battle against Satan In Daniel we saw already. So there’s Michael again. He defeats Satan and cast him out of heaven. And this is the one time today where I’m gonna, like, blow your minds and be like, I never thought of that. But of course, it’s true, until Jesus’s death and resurrection, Satan was still in heaven. You know this because you’ve read the book of Job, for example, And God’s like talking to all the angels and. The Satan is there. You see it in Zechariah three, same idea, and Satan’s there to accuse Joshua, the High Priestess in heaven until this moment, until Christ’s death and resurrection. Because there, like Colossians, two, tells us, He disarmed the powers and made a public, public spectacle of them triumphing over them by the cross. And so it’s no surprise then that at this moment, celebration breaks out in heaven as Satan is cast out, the war has actually been won at this point. But it’s not the end. So this is not the song that we sing at the end. That’s quite clear, because it says in verse 12, you know, he’s filled with fury because he knows that his time is short, short from a prophetic standpoint, by the way, which could mean quite long for us, like couple 1000 years. But his time is short, he’s already lost, so the fatal blow has already been dealt. And so that’s why he’s angry, and that’s why he keeps attacking us. But the good news is that the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been hurled down. Of course, he has, of course, the accuser isn’t there anymore, because what can he possibly accuse us of? At this point, Jesus has saved us, so there is no longer any ground of accusation. Romans, 81 therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ, Jesus. And then the rest of Romans, eight just develops the majesty of that truth. And so we get near the end of that chapter, when we read things like, who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies, who, then is the one who condemns, no one. And we get the, you know, these great questions, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ and and Paul lists all these things. And it’s things like famine and persecution and the sword, you know, like what the dragons doing to us. And in fact, Paul even seems to acknowledge that, because he says, right after who’s going to separate us from the love of Christ? And he’s like, we are being led like lambs to the slaughter for your sake all day long. Yep, Revelation, right? We’re getting killed for your sake all day long. And then Paul says, in all this, we are more than conquerors in Christ. So Romans eight is just revelation, by the way. Okay, now you know how to read Romans eight for the rest of your life, or probably more likely, now you know how to read Revelation for the rest of your life. Just go back to Romans eight. This is exactly what we see here, even in these verses, we Christ has triumphed by his blood, and so we triumph over Satan by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony, by our faithful witness to Christ, even to the point of death, they did not love their lives so much as so as to shrink from death. And of course, all that means is that we love Jesus more than we love our physical lives. And why would we not? Of course, because to live is Christ and to die is gain. So to love Jesus more than we love our lives is to know that God is holy and powerful and wise and good and loving and merciful. And so we know that God will vindicate his people and raise them in the end. And so that means we know that it is better to die with Jesus clinging to the truths of the gospel than it is to live denying him.
And that’s why we can rejoice even while being persecuted, and frankly, if you’re ever experiencing persecution, I truly hope you rejoice in this. Just remember that that’s proving that Satan’s Time is short. The whole reason we’re being persecuted is because Satan is throwing a temper tantrum because he already lost. So when you get persecuted. You don’t think, oh no, maybe Satan’s winning. You think he knows he lost. That’s why it’s happening, and that is cause for rejoicing. But again, he didn’t get the child, so he goes after the woman, starting in verse 13, right? Same, same story, just expanding on verse six. Here, God raises her up on eagle’s wings. That makes us think of the Exodus again, of course, Exodus 19, when God is establishing His covenant at Sinai, and he says, I’m the Lord who brought you out of Egypt on eagle’s wings. So that’s what’s happening here. It’s God’s faithful protection. Again, the dragon goes after her, and he spews water. And in Revelation, when something comes out of your mouth, it is words, right, not on a literal sword, not literal fire, not literal water. It is words. And of course, it is because this is what Satan does. He deceives. We already saw that verse nine, who leads the whole world astray. And so here is his deceit. It’s the. Seat we read in the letters, if you were here for our series last summer, it’s the false prophetess Jezebel. It’s the Nicolaitan heresy, all these things. And of course, it’s the ever-present danger of heresy in every age, in every place. But the good news, of course, is that the dragon cannot triumph over the church the woman, right? And so that is the body of Christ, conceived as a whole. The gates of hell shall not prevail against God’s church. That’s the really good news. The bad news is that means that then Satan goes after the individuals that make up the church instead her offspring, right? And he can certainly kill us. And so here we are being preserved through the dragon’s attacks, right? We’re not taken off Earth where we’re being preserved through this time of testing. We are at war. We are at war. That means we cannot remain neutral. When I see that really clear, really clearly in the next chapter. We have to choose a side, and it should be such an easy choice, like, do you want triumph or defeat? Tough call, right? But that’s why Satan’s deceit matters so much, because that is an easy choice, and it gets made cloudy when Satan tries to woo our hearts away from the Lord. And how does he do it? By trying to flip that by promising us false triumph, false victory in a short-term pleasure. And so what do we get at the end of this chapter? Of course, we get the emphasis on keeping God’s commands, right? He’s attacking the individuals, those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus. It’s like the parable Jesus tells of building your house on the rock. And what is the rock? It’s not just the word of God, but it’s putting into practice God’s word. And so the question we have to ask as we close this chapter is, are you? Are you keeping God’s word? And most of us in this room would go, I’m trying, right? So where you are not keeping God’s word. How is Satan deceiving you? What is he promising you that you think actually, that sounds better than eternal glory and eternal triumph, because we are being deceived. That’s why obey. Obey. And what does it mean to obey? It just means you’re choosing your side, right? That’s my king. I’m going with him. Imma, listen to him. We choose your side. Second scene, second choice. Choose your God. Let me read chapter 13 for us. The Dragons stood on the shore of the sea, and I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had 10 horns and seven heads with 10 crowns on its horns and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leper, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, Who is like the beast, who can wage war against it? The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority. For 42 months, it opened its mouth to blaspheme God and to slander His name and His dwelling place and those who live in heaven. It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them, and was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast, all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world. Whoever has ears, let them hear. If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity, they will go if anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword, they will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people. Then, I saw a second beast coming out of the earth. Had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. It exercised all the authority of the first beef beast on its behalf and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast whose fatal wound had been healed and performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people because of the signs, it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived the second beast. Was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom with the person who has insight to calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number. Is 666, all right, I once was driving behind a BMW. We pulled up next to it at a stoplight, and I was not paying much attention to it, but kind of looking at it, and it was like, that’s not a BMW. All of a sudden, occurred to me that this was, I don’t remember what it was like a civic, or something like that. Something like that, where they just had, like, popped off the Hyundai thing and then put a little BMW thing on it instead, like, I think it still said Civic, even I was like, Who are you fooling exactly, someone obviously wouldn’t have done it. It was a counterfeit. Was the point I mentioned that because counterfeit is the keyword for chapter 13. Okay, get nothing else from 13. Get counterfeit because the first beast who comes out of the sea is a counterfeit Christ. He is an image of the dragon, of course, with all the crowns and the horns and all that stuff, in the same way that Jesus images God, the Father for us, Hebrews one. He’s the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, and so we get the image of the dragon. Of course, the the difference between Jesus and this beast is that the beast is well, Beastly, whereas Christ is beautiful, like Jesus will see, he’s given names, but they’re blasphemous names. Jesus has names written on him like Faithful and True King of Kings and Lord of lords, not this beast. Do you notice that he doesn’t just counterfeit Christ, but he counterfeits Christ’s resurrection as well? Verse three, right? He’s got this wound that seemed to be fatal, so to counterfeit resurrection because he didn’t actually die, it just looked like maybe he should have died and then the wound was healed. So who is this beast? Well, you look at all of these things and these the the details that people get bogged down in Revelation, let’s figure out what the bearer’s feet are. What is it? It’s a combination of the beasts of Daniel seven. So it’s bringing them all together, right? That’s what this is. Now, the beasts in Daniel seven all quite clearly represent worldly kingdoms that were coming. So we got in our head, you know, things like Babylon and Persia and Greece and Rome. Of course, Rome, at this point, is what we’re thinking of. That’s so that’s what the beast is. Here it is. This, this combination of these evil worldly kingdoms all brought together. Now, in Daniel, these kingdoms are all about state-sponsored persecution, like that’s a huge chunk of what the book of Daniel is about. That’s why Daniel gets tossed in a lion’s den. That’s why Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego go through the fire, all that kind of stuff. So what we’re likely dealing with here, then in this first beast, is state power being used against God’s people, state power. We’re talking about a demonized state. In other words, now, if you lived in western Turkey in the first century, what would you think of
Rome? That’s the beast, right? This worldly kingdom that is persecuting you at this point. And that’s not wrong. That is what this beast is. If you were living today in a place like China or North Korea or Iran, what would you think this would be, China or North Korea or Iran? And that’s not wrong, right? We had the preterist school of thought. We got the idealist school of thought, meaning it’s like, so that was back then. Happens all the time. And then there’s the futurist, like, there’s also going to be some climactic final Kingdom where all of these certainly come together. We can see that, by the way, in Second Thessalonians, so Paul kind of walks through the same thing, except instead of talking about a beast, he talks about a man of lawlessness. Listen to what he says. Second, Thessalonians, two that day, the day of the Lord will not come until the man of lawlessness is revealed. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he’s taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow. So you get that idea. There’s already these lawless powers at work. They’re already these like mini beasts at work. And then there’s gonna be one coming in the end, and that is the one that Jesus will overthrow. Finally, what’s most shocking to me, though, about this beast is not what a beastly beast it is. It’s the fact that people are drawn to the beast. They’re fascinated by the beast, and they worship the dragon. And then, as a result, worship the beast, by the way, in the same way that we worship the Father. And as a result, worship the Son as well. Still, the counterfeit Did you notice, by the way, that it’s a counterfeit church, because there are people from every tribe, people, language a nation just like that great multitude in heaven singing around the throne. So here we have a counterfeit church offering counterfeit praise. Robert read for us Exodus 15 earlier, and this sounds like they’re misquoting Exodus 1511 right? Who among the gods is like you, Lord, who is like you? Majestic. And holiness, awesome and glory working wonders. And they’re going, who is like the beast? So the answer to their question, the question Moses asked in Exodus 15, their answer is, well, actually, the beast kind of is, why? Why would you be drawn to something as grotesque as this? And the answer, of course, is that, that it’s because they’re drawn to power. They’re drawn to power. They want to be on the winning side. Wanna make sure they hit their wagon to the right star. And let’s not kid ourselves. That’s true with the church, too. Always has been. Why? Because we’re being deceived, by the way, by the dragon. That’s why you think of how quickly the Church of Jesus Christ went from being willing to die for the cause of Christ to being willing to kill for the cause of Christ. That’s satanic, is what that is, that’s being drawn away by the beast. And this is important for us because our culture, 21st-century America, is obsessed with power. We don’t like a losing strategy. There are people who are claiming the mantle of Christ, who are talking about the fact that we can’t afford to be like Christ. We can’t be nice the way Jesus was any longer because the stakes are too high. And you know what happens to nice people? They get crucified, they get nailed to two blocks of wood on a hill outside Jerusalem. You right? It’s a deceitful message, but it is a seductive message as well, and that’s why we have to go back to keeping the Lord’s commands. And of course, remembering that Jesus is losing strategy worked out. All right, yeah, they get crucified by Rome. Guess who wins in the end? We know the answer. That’s why we’re in Revelation. So we go on keeping the Lord’s commands. This is verse 10, the very last sentence before the break there. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people. What does that word patient mean? By the way, it doesn’t mean you smile in traffic. It means you suffer. Well, the root word Patti means suffering. We are a long-suffering people. That’s patient endurance, and we are faithful, meaning we imitate the Lord we love, and not the world that crucified Him, even when that involves sacrifice, because that’s how Jesus won us, and even more so, given the nature of the beast, because, of course, the beast is promising all this, but it’s giving its people false hope because the beast can’t actually rise from the dead. The Beast can’t actually triumph over the Lamb who was slain, and the Beast also does not love you. Kyle talked about this a few weeks back, right? You worship demons. Guess what happens? They devour you, and that’s what we see here too. This is why we go to war against the beast and the Beast in our own hearts. This is why we go to war against our idols, not little gold statues that we have hidden in cupboards, but our wrong desires and our false hopes, whatever that looks like. Maybe it’s power, maybe it’s pleasure, maybe it’s pesos. You take your pick, right? The thing about them is that they work briefly, and that’s why they’re seductive. I just read recently a pastor who was counseling a woman so she’d come to Christ out of a lifestyle of sexual immorality, and she couldn’t defeat it in her life, she kept going back right like a dog to its vomit. She kept falling into it. She was talking to her pastor, and she was like, like, how can I be so stupid that I keep doing this over and over again? And he said, You’re not as stupid as you think. Although, yes, sin makes us stupid. Sure he’s like, you’re not as stupid as you think. The problem is that sex works, which caught her off guard, by the way. Now what you’re expecting the pastor to say right there, but of course, it does, briefly, for a moment, it gave her the intimacy she craved, that feeling of lovability. The problem, of course, that it’s gone an instant and devours a little bit of your soul in the process. And that’s what we have to keep in mind. This is counterfeit, which means it’s temporary, right? In the end, this power, the power of the state, even opposed to God, it collapses. Rome fell. No one thought that was going to happen when this book was written. Rome. They fell, and so will all other kingdoms. We saw this already. The great city is knocked down in the great earthquake. So choose your god wisely. Choose the one that wins in the end. But notice you do have to choose in the end, all inhabitants, verse nine or sorry, verse eight. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast, all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. We are all going to worship in the end. We’ll either worship the beast, or we will worship the Lamb of God if our names have been written in the Book of Life since before creation, which, by the way, if you’re looking at the NIV, it’s got a little footnote for verse eight, and the footnote is probably the better translation there. But before creation, even God knew those who were his and wrote our names in the book of life. Both are true. The lamb was also slain before the creation of the world as well, because God’s whole plan of salvation had been decreed even before creation. In fact, that’s really important because God’s sovereignty is emphasized throughout this section. Did you notice back in verse five and verse seven, the repetition of the phrase was given in the in the original? It actually shows up twice in verse five, beast was given a mouth and then a beast was given authority to exercise, and then in verse seven, you can see it there shows up twice as well. So the big question then is, if we get this passive verb here was given, given by whom? Linguists have a word for this passive tense. They call it the divine passive because every time it shows up the New Testament, it’s God. God is the one giving the beast this authority for a time, in the same way that God gave Satan permission to harass Job for a time. God is in control. And then you get to verse 10, this quote from Jeremiah, and you’re like, hang on, if you’re to go into captivity, into captivity, you’re gonna go if you’re gonna be killed by the sword, you’re gonna be killed by the sword. Why? God’s in control. God is in control. He has ordained all things from eternity past. And I don’t know about you, but the fact that there is this ordained distress brings some measure of comfort to me. I don’t always love what God has ordained for my life and the lives of the people I love, but I trust the one who ordained it, and I know where it goes in the end. Then the second beast comes out, this one from the earth instead of the sea. This is the counterfeit Holy Spirit, by the way, which means we have a counterfeit Trinity, an unholy trinity. How do I know it’s the spirit that we’re mimicking here? Well, this one’s working signs and wonders like the signs and wonders that we see the Spirit work through the apostles in the book of Acts after Pentecost and in the farewell Discourse, Jesus says, I send you another comforter, right? And he’s going to lead you into all truth. Well, this one leads people into all error and into false worship in the same way that the spirit has this like floodlight ministry, directing our worship to Christ and Christ’s father. In other words, we had a corrupt, demonized state with the first beast, we have a corrupt, demonized religion with a second beast, which often happens, of course, in these authoritarian types of regimes. Again, we think of the Imperial cult that was happening in western Turkey. That’s where the persecution was coming from in this time, you think of what happens when Hitler takes over the German church, for example, all this stuff. So we got to beware of propaganda, propaganda, right? Deceit, always, not just political propaganda, but religious propaganda, all sorts of misdirection. And how do we do that? You steep your minds in the truth. That’s how you go, nope. That’s fake. I know it because I know what the truth actually is. By the way, this idea of a demonized religion is still true in a post-religious culture. What performs miraculous signs and wonders Today, technology, technology which is quite clearly demonic at points. Of course, you think of nuclear warfare. You think of the stupid devices we carry around in our pockets that have been used for such evil in so many ways. Some good, sure, plenty of bad, always with technology, right? It’s a mixed bag. But let’s get apocalyptic. Isn’t just my usual rant against your kids shouldn’t have smartphones, by the way, your kids shouldn’t have smartphones. Okay? I was reading some stuff about Tiktok just yesterday, like we’re gonna do a series about how demonic Tiktok is soon, and what it’s doing to your kids. I don’t often invite you to take your phones out. If you wanna take your phones out and delete Tiktok right now, do it. This is your pastor with all the authority I have, which ain’t much, but there’s some saying you should not have this on your phone. Things and you’re laughing and it’s not funny. I was joking with Ivan last night. I said I’m gonna tell people it’s the mark of the beast, because I knew I’ll be like, well, then I gotta delete it. It’s not the mark of the beast. Okay, you should still delete it. But let’s get apocalyptic here with technology for a moment. Okay, so there was an interview with somebody, wish I could remember, who didn’t pay attention at the time, and then it struck me later as I was prepping this sermon with a guy who was talking about AI, and he’s saying, You know what we’re doing with AI, aren’t you? We’re creating God. There you go, signs and wonders, demonic technology, some of it, at least. Well, what does this second beast do? It makes a statue. Hopefully, you’re thinking of the Nebuchadnezzar statue in Daniel chapter two, which breathes life into this image, an image of God that has life breathed into it. Y’all in Genesis, right? In your minds, that’s Adam, right? When the Spirit of God comes, the breath of God comes in, Adam, and he comes to life. So we get a counterfeit creation here. But then, just like that Nebuchadnezzar thing, this image kills those who refuse to worship it. This should encourage us, by the way, why Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? That’s why we’ve been through this before we will get through it again. Our God will deliver us through the fire. And if not, he is still good, and we will still worship him. Of course, he wins in the end. And of course, this beast then exercises control through a counterfeit seal. We got that. That’s the authoritarian control you might be picturing like a yellow star in 1930s Germany. But again, think of the power of temptation that that then brings like if you were as a father. I’m thinking as a dad here, right? As a father going, I cannot buy food for my children unless I take the mark of the beast. You think of how powerful that would be, that temptation, and how much you got to love Jesus more than your lives. This is why we cannot be Switzerland. Here. We have to choose, choose your god wisely. Do you want the counterfeit and temporary, or do you want the genuine and the real, the real and the eternal? And if you’re wavering about which one of those, let me help you choose your god wisely. Look at that number, 666, and everybody wants to know what this number is. Look it’s easier than you think it is. It’s true. The Hebrews and the Greeks love to play with like numbers and letters having points. And you can maybe spell Nero Caesar in Hebrew and get to 666, but you have to spell it wrong, like nothing really works. 666, there’s three numbers like an unholy trinity. And guess what? 666, is short of perfection. It’s not 777. Why would you settle for less than perfect when you could worship the Holy Trinity? And by the way, if you like playing with numbers and letters in Greek, Jesus adds up to 888, and it’s not that he’s better than perfection because that’s like infinity plus one, nonsense, right? But it’s the week, right? Seven days like that’s where that number seven, it’s all there in Genesis, when Jesus comes, he brings the new day. He ushers us into the new creation. What we’re going to see in Revelation 21 right? That’s why we celebrate on the Lord’s Day. It’s not the first day of the week, it’s the first day, first day of the new week. So yeah, let’s choose our God wisely. Let’s worship Jesus. Lastly, I hope you didn’t have plans for lunch. By the way, we’re going to be here all day. Choose your eternity, chapter 14. And then I looked and there before me was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him, 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven, like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. They sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, no one could learn the song except the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered his first fruits to God and the Lamb, no lie was found in their mouths. They are blameless. And I saw another angel flying in mid air, and he had the eternal Gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth, to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship Him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water. Second angel followed and said, fallen. Fallen is Babylon, the great which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries. A third angel followed them in sudden a loud voice. If anyone worships the beast in its image and receives its mark on their forehead, around their hand, they too will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb, and the smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever. Forever? Do we know rest, day or night for those who worship the beast in its image, for anyone who receives the mark of its name, this calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep His commands and remain faithful to Jesus and I heard a voice from heaven say, write this, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on, yes, says the Spirit, they will rest in their labor for their deeds will follow them. I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a Son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came out of the temple and called in the loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come for the harvest of the earth is ripe. So he was seated on the clouds, swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. Still another angel who had charge of the fire came from the altar and called a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grape from the Earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe. The Angel swung his sickle on the earth gathered its grapes and threw them into the great wine press of God’s wrath. They were trampled in the wine press outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horse’s bridles for a distance of 1600 stadia. If
any of you have seen the 1953 classic film, The robe, you’ll remember the climactic final scene. If you haven’t seen it, highly recommend. By the way, there’s a Roman aristocratic couple who come to know Christ and are sentenced to death as a result, because they will not worship the beast Caesar. And so they’re, at the end of the movie, their arm and arm, this husband and wife, and they’re going out to their death, and they look nervous. And then all of a sudden, the husband smiles, and he looks down at his wife, who smiles and looks back up at him, and as they’re walking, the Roman court behind them fades away, and it’s, you know, clouds and glory, like they have walked through persecution into heaven. It’s a powerful scene. It is exactly what just happened right here, the Roman court fades away, and we go through persecution, through gates of splendor, and in to Heaven itself. We know we’re in heaven, by the way, because we got the throne and the four living creatures and the elders, so we’re back in Revelation four and five, right? We’re back in that same throne room. And what happens here is fulfilling Psalm two, which we already had quoted. But you know, this is Psalm two. Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up. That’s all those beasts, right? The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, his Messiah, right? And then it says the Lord actually laughs. Like, what do you think is about to happen here, guys? And then we wrap up with, I have installed My King on Zion again. We’re in heaven. So we’re talking about the heavenly Zion. So it’s not Jerusalem. This is the new Jerusalem that we’re talking about. There is Jesus reigning. And we go back to the 144,000 I mentioned. There’s a lot of recapitulation between chapters seven and 14. So seven was the 144,000 here they are again in chapter 14. This is the perfect number redeemed from the whole earth. And notice that they are undefiled by the world. That’s this. The stuff about being virgins is you think of how often sex is used, especially sexual immorality, is used for our spiritual adultery. And that’s what’s being talked about now. We are at war, and so, because this is a wartime metaphor, during war, the Jewish soldiers would abstain from sex, and so that’s what’s being talked about here. But the idea is they are spiritually pure, and it’s just worth asking, as we read this how we’re doing here, like none of us, is wholly undefiled by this world. But are you killing sin, or are you letting sin kill you and again, maybe it’s sexual immorality, maybe it’s power, maybe it’s lying that gets mentioned here. But you know, are you following Jesus? That’s what we’re talking about. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. Are you following the Lamb? The good news, of course, especially for those of us who are not perfect in this area, is that our active obedience follows our passive redemption. It says that we were purchased by God, by Christ, right by the blood of the Lamb and Christ alone. Our hope is found, but we respond to redemption with repentance. That’s exactly where we head next, these three angels who give us the eternal message, meaning the message we always need to hear. And I can just sum it up really simply for you, turn, turn, turn. That’s the message. Okay, so first angel, turn from sin, right? You’re facing sin. Turn from sin and turn to God. God instead, choose the right God. The heart of sin is idolatry, exchanging the glory of the Immortal God for nothing for junk. So we turn to the Creator second turn before it’s too late, because judgment is coming. And that’s why this angel says fallen. Is Babylon the Great and you go, really, when did Babylon fall? Remember, we keep getting these previews in Revelation. Well, in two weeks, Babylon is going to fall. We’re going to see it okay in chapters 17 and 18 in particular. But that judgment is real. It hasn’t fallen, but it’s fall is certain. And so let me ask you this, are you living like the world’s kingdoms and the world’s temptations are already defeated, like what we have here, where this angel is like the leaflets they would drop in World War Two before they firebombed a city? Get out. Get out. Now, while there is still time, this place isn’t going to make it, so leave your stuff and run now. Just give you an example what this might look like when it comes the area of finances, like, are you storing up treasures here in the great city that is going to get firebombed? Or, by your generosity, are you prepping for heaven? The third angel then turned because judgment is certain and it is serious. Oh so serious, like we saw earlier that these bowls were filling up with the prayers of the saints, right? Well, here we see the cups filling up with God’s wrath. Like every one of us has a cup with our name written on it. Every time I sin little Brandon cup, another drop of God’s wrath comes into it. Every time somebody cries out against me because of how I have offended them, there was another drop in the cup of God’s wrath towards me. And guess what, all our cups are brimful and overflowing. We are in trouble. We’re gonna come back to that by the way, just hang on to that cup for now. But notice the word to church that interrupts this message. We get this call for patient endurance yet again. Why? Because we know our future is certain, and so we should respond with faithful obedience. We get the second of these seven benedictions that we’re gonna get in Revelation right here, and it encourages perseverance because we will rest from our labor, which is good because this life has been laborious. We’re enduring persecution, or we might, as Paul puts it in Galatians, grow weary of doing good. What kind of good might we grow weary doing, you know, like turning the other cheek over and over again and blessing those who curse us over and over and over again? So we get to rest from our labor, not because our deeds don’t matter, but because we know our deeds will follow us into heaven. We will receive final vindication and reward based on how we followed Christ. Yes, we are saved by grace alone, but we will be rewarded according to what we have done with that grace that is consistent in the New Testament. And then, to drive home this final vindication, we’re given the vision of these final two harvests, two destinies, two possible eternities. Choose wisely here. So Jesus is the one. You know, the white cloud seated on the cloud is one like a Son of Man with a crown of gold, like this is the vision of Daniel seven, again. So this is the Jesus, the Son of man, and he harvests his people, most likely, maybe it’s the same harvest twice, but I think this is Jesus harvesting his people, like the parable the wheat and the weeds, right? We’re the wheat. And so Jesus comes to harvest his people, to bring them home, but then the other angel harvests the wicked, and they are trampled, even as they have trampled God’s people, and these are distressing images in chapters, in verses 10 and 11 and verse 20 here about as distressing as any image in Scripture. Like even though we’ve seen the brutality, the beastliness, the wickedness of this evil regime, it’s still hard to read, and we wonder, why, like, why are they being tormented with sulfur? Sort of makes us think of of Sodom, right, and the fire that falls from heaven. Why? Why does God have to pour out His wrath? Why are they being trampled outside the city? Really, what we’re asking is, why does a good God send people to hell? That’s the question.
We gotta correct a caricature here is a lot of us, we have in our minds a contrast between heaven and hell, and so this world is kind of a proving ground to see who gets to take the escalator up and who takes the escalator down. But that is a character. You get on Bible Gateway. Type in Heaven and Hell and see how many results come up. Zero. Heaven and hell are never set in contrast in Scripture. Now, type in heaven and earth, and you need about 200 responses. That is the contrast. It’s a different story. God created heaven and earth to exist together. That’s why he was right there in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. But by our sin, we brought hell into Earth. We lit Hell’s fires, and in the process, we tore Heaven and Earth asunder. That’s why Adam and Eve got kicked out of the Garden of Eden at that moment. The rest of the Bible is about how do we bring them back together. And in Revelation, by the way, they come back together, that’s revelation 21 gonna be so good when we get there. Okay, so he’s gonna bring them back together. But you cannot have heaven where hell exists. And so, to reconcile Heaven and Earth, God has to kick hell out, and that’s maybe the key for us. Hell is not down there. Hell is out there. It’s in quarantine outside the city, which, by the way, is right there in verse 20 you can read outside the city. And that’s the picture Jesus uses. Of course, the word for hell that Jesus uses is Gehenna, which is a real place of a landfill outside Jerusalem. It was this vivid symbol of hell, because this is where the people of God had apostatized so completely that not only were they worshiping idols, they were sacrificing their children to those idols in this valley. So to defile this defiled place. The Jews made it their garbage dump, and they set the garbage on fire. It’s organic waste anyway, and the maggots are there. That’s all the images we get of hell, right? What a picture to keep the city pure. You toss the trash outside to keep heaven holy, God will toss sin outside. So hell is not a place God creates for the wicked. It is our trash and our fire. Hell is a boundary that he sets on us. Evil can go this far and no farther. It’s like a tourniquet put on the gaping wound of our sin. And for those who desire autonomy above all else, God hands them over to it. That’s Romans chapter one. The harshest judgment God can give is to give you over to your sinful desires. That is punishment enough. We will turn that into hell instantly. The only thing is, it will be outside. It will be outside. But look at the end of Revelation, just as you understand, as you’re listening, going, that sounds harsh. Still look revelation 21:25-27 on no day will it the City of God will, will its gates ever be shut? There’ll be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it. Nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful. But only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Do you see it? The gates are open. The glory of the nations can come. All may enter, but you ought to leave your sin outside. The doctrine of Hell is a doctrine of reconciliation, and it is an act of love, the renovation of the new heavens and the new earth for all who would come. But how? Because we’re all still holding our cup full of God’s wrath. And again, God www, it’s just his just response to our wickedness. And so the biggest choice we have as we’re holding the cup of God’s wrath is who will drink it? Choose wisely, because either you will drink it or Jesus will drink it for you, those are the only two options. Look in the Garden of Gethsemane. What does Jesus pray, Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me, what cup, the cup of God’s wrath, which is poured out on him at the cross, Jesus drinks it to the dregs for us who will follow him, you have been offered refuge from God’s wrath. There’s only one place where you can flee for safety from this just wrath that we deserve. And his name is Jesus, as RC Sproul put it, the glory of the gospel is this, the one from whom we need to be saved is the one who has saved us. It is a time for choosing. I almost never give you the big idea with the last sentence of the sermon, but it’s it’s been there all along. It’s not hard to remember. You don’t even need to write it down. Choose this day whom you will serve. Choose your side, choose your God. Choose. Your eternity, but choose wisely. Let’s pray, Father, we pray that even now, you would help us to choose wisely. Many of us are here because we want to follow you already give us the strength we need to follow well, to endure, patiently and faithfully obeying your commands, because you are our King, and we love you. We know what you’ve done for us, and we want to bring you the glory you so richly deserve by offering a faithful and true testimony to your goodness and glory. But Lord, I know there are people in this room who are wavering still, some who’ve grown up in the church, some who’ve been playing church for time, some who are checking church out. God, would you help them to choose wisely now and also give them a vision of what is coming? Open their eyes and their hearts wide to see the future and then to choose triumph and not defeat, glory and not death. We ask this in Christ’s name, amen.

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Word & Witness February 16, 2025 | Brandon Cooper The sermon discusses God’s protection and the church’s role in proclaiming the gospel, even in the face of persecution. It explores the symbolism in Revelation 10-11, including the mighty angel, the two witnesses, and the sounding of the seventh trumpet. The sermon emphasizes the importance of gratitude and encourages the congregation to boldly share the gospel message. It concludes by calling the listeners to participate in God’s mission, reaching out to those who do not yet believe.

Well, good morning. You can go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Revelation chapter 10. We’ll be in Revelation 10 and 11 this morning. Revelation 10 and 11. As you’re turning to Revelation 10, as a father, I take my kids’ safety very seriously, kind of always thinking about what’s going on around them. Ladies, I’m gonna let you in on a little secret. There’s not a man in this room who does not think that he couldn’t have been a super spy if he’d made that career choice early on in life. And so that’s kind of how I approach parenting. I’m looking around. I’m assessing threats all the time. We hold hands when we’re crossing the street, seat belts all the rest. But the reality is, as much as I think about this, I cannot protect my children perfectly by any means. And there are times when that’s very, very clear to me. I don’t know if you guys remember a couple of years back, if you were here, we had actually had tornadoes touched down not far from here, and there was another threat later on, you know, a couple of weeks later, or something like that. And so, you know, I did what you’re supposed to do as a dad in that situation. I got the family downstairs. We’re under the I beam, you know, the pillar and stuff like the safest spot. I made sure we had water down there in case we were trapped. But I’m nothing against the tornado, like I know that, right? And so there is that sense always this is not in my hands, and that’s really scary. Now, why do I mention this? Because God is our Father, if we belong to Him by faith in Christ, does he take our safety as seriously as I take my kids’ safety, and can he protect us in ways that I cannot from? You know, given where we are in Revelation, persecution, but even just from the run-of-the-mill brokenness of this world. And you may be thinking, Well, those are obvious questions. Those are obvious answers, but I’m not sure there are. I mean, all this takes on added weight when we remember that Jesus said things to us like, I send you out as sheep among wolves. I don’t know if you saw that animal planet or not. It didn’t go well for the sheep, right? Like Jesus just said in that verse, I am sending you out to be devoured. The same Jesus, who says, I am the good shepherd. There’s a tension there. There’s a tension there that we’re going to explore this morning as we read this passage, the reality that there is a bitter and a sweet mix in the Christian life, and when it comes to our protection, God can Protect. God will protect, and God doesn’t always protect. And if you’re wondering how those all go together, well, we got four scenes. They’re going to help us get to our answer. They kind of proceed chronologically, in a sense, in terms of how we experience them in this life, chronologically at the end of time as well. So, let’s dive in. Scene one, which is word revelation. Chapter 10, actually, all of chapter 10. I’ll read verses one to 11 for us now. Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud with a rainbow above his head. His face was like the sun and his legs were like fiery pillars. He was holding a little scroll which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and he gave a loud shout, like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven say, seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down. And the angel I had seen standing on the scene on the land raised his right hand to heaven, and he swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it. And said, there will be no more delay, but in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets. Then the voice that I had heard from Heaven spoke to me once more, go take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land. So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, take it and eat. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth, it will be as sweet as honey. I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey. In my mouth when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then I was told you must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings, alright? Bit of context, just so we remember where we are in Revelation. Kyle gave us the first six trumpets last week. And if you remember, when we were talking about the seals, even then we get this seven structure a lot, but it’s kind of the first four go together, and the first four trumpets did, and then you get two more. And that was true. They kind of had some woes connecting them and stuff. And then we get an interlude, a little break before we get the seventh seal or trumpet or whatever. So we’re in the middle of the interlude here in chapter 10. Interesting. It. It’s the only interlude where John is actually a participant, where he’s an actor in it, and I think he’s standing in for the church, for reasons that we’ll see in a moment. So a mighty angel comes to him looks exactly like the mighty angel from Daniel chapter 10. And if you remember, and I’m guessing you don’t, and that’s cool, these are the kinds of things I remember, and it’s alright that you don’t. But the mighty angel in Daniel 10, when Kyle preached through Daniel 10, he actually said he thought that that might be Jesus himself, that this might be a Christophany, an appearance of Christ in the Old Testament because he looks so much like the description of Jesus that we get in Revelation chapter one. And so here we have an angel like that. So, whatever it was in Daniel 10, the point is still the same. This angel is clothed in Christ’s glory, like that’s the idea here, and that’s important because it’s showing that this angel is speaking with Christ’s authority. It shows the divine source of his message. We see his authority because he puts one foot on Earth and one foot on the sea, kind of looks like the colossus of roads in his approach. And that’s to show His sovereignty over all, or the sovereignty of the one he represents, over all land and sea, whole Earth, right? It kind of, you know, we talked a lot about the images. They mostly come from the Old Testament, and if they don’t come from the Testament. And if they don’t come from the Old Testament, they come from the Roman imperial court. And this is definitely mocking the Emperor, because he would have coins where he was standing on earth and sea to show that he rules everything. And you’re like, No, that’s actually not true. Like you can’t even conquer death, so you’re clearly not sovereign overall. But here we know that Christ is and this angel who’s showing the authority of Christ holds this scroll in his hand. Is this the scroll that we saw in Revelation four and five, and that was slowly being unsealed. I mean, maybe because, if you know how scrolls work, if you pop off seals, you actually have to get all seven off before you could unroll the scroll and read from it. It’s also possible that that’s reading apocalyptic, apocalyptic imagery way too rigidly, because apocalyptic is just crazy, as we’ve learned at this point. And so maybe it’s a totally different scroll. It’s a different word that’s used. I don’t know. No idea. Okay, we’ll find out when we get there kind of thing. What we do know is that the scroll holds God’s plan that will be proclaimed, and as it’s proclaimed, it will be affected, it will be put in to action at the same time. Well, so we get this angel with a scroll, and kind of before we do anything with it, he roars like a lion, which is like, weird. This is the Howard Dean of angels here, and he’s just really amped up about what’s happening or something I don’t know. No actually, why he’s roaring like a lion helps us understand the point of this passage, all of Revelation 10 and 11, because it is drawing from, as we’ve come to expect, the Old Testament. This is Amos, chapter three, verses seven and eight. Surely, the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants, the prophets, the lion has roared, who will not fear the Sovereign Lord has spoken, who can but prophesy. And this whole section is about prophecy. It’s about the importance of God’s words getting to people everywhere, all people everywhere. Which is why it’s then interesting that we don’t get the seven thunders. His whole passage is about God speaking words to his people, and we get some words, and then the angel goes, no, no, don’t write that down. And I don’t know why. It may just be that the secret things belong to the Lord, as Deuteronomy, 29 says. And so there are aspects of the end the judgment that is coming that are not for us to know. We know that’s true. And so this might just be an example of it, but it may also be kind of drawing from verse six. What’s coming here in a moment that there will be no more delay, that we’re not going to get another interruption. We did the seven seals, and we get the seven trumpets and the seven plagues and the seven bulls. We’re not going to get the seven thunders also because it’s time. It’s time. I don’t know. Okay, the other one could be true. We certainly know, though, that the last trumpet will bring the end, like, that’s what he’s just said. There will be no more delay. And that idea is important enough that the angel actually takes an oath right he’s standing on the earth and see he raises his right hand, he’s he’s taking an oath to say the time is coming when God will fulfill his every promise in keeping with the words of the prophets, his servants, the prophets, quoting Amos three again, and so everything that the Old Testament has predicted is coming will be fulfilled at that time. The seed of Eve will finally crush the serpent’s head underfoot, the promises to Abraham that he be a blessing to all nations, to David, that someone will reign on his throne, the prophecies of Ezekiel and. Daniel that we keep looking at in Revelation, they will all be fulfilled in Christ’s first coming, and then in Christ’s coming again. And then John is told to take the scroll, which is important, because this actually completes the chain of revelation that we talked about way back in chapter one, verse one, on the screen for you, so you so you can see the chain of Revelation, right? The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him. If this is the scroll of Revelation, four and five, right? God the Father was holding it. Jesus took it from him. Now the angel has it. He made known by sending his angel to his servant, John. And John has taken the scroll at this point. So this is the chain of Revelation, and of course, it goes from there because John then makes it known to all of us. And that is why he must eat the scroll. That is, He is to ingest God’s Word so that he can proclaim it prophecy again. And we know that that’s what is meant here, because this is exactly what happens to Ezekiel like this is just recapping Ezekiel early life. Ezekiel, two, eight and nine. Open your mouth and eat what I give you. Then I looked and I saw a hand stretched out to me, and it was a scroll, if you remember all the way back. This is the scroll that had writing on both sides. This is the scroll that we’re talking about, right? And it will taste sweet, the angel says, which is also true of Ezekiel. In fact, that’s a quote from Ezekiel that we have here in Revelation chapter 10, but then it will upset his stomach. It’s gonna turn his stomach sour. That doesn’t happen to Ezekiel that we read, but we know it’s true because that scroll with writing on both sides had words of lament and mourning and woe, and that’s why it’s going to turn John’s stomach sour here too. Is why it will turns our stomach sour as we ingest God’s word too, because of the church’s bittersweet role that we have to play. I mean, as we take in God’s word and as we then proclaim God’s Word, we know that we will experience divine protection and at the same time, the world’s persecution. So there’s a sweetness and a bitterness there. We know the sweetness of obedience to God’s Word as we proclaim it, but the bitterness of the world’s rejecting that sweet word. And ultimately, of course, we know the sweetness of the triumph of the Lamb who was slain the lion from the tribe of Judah, but the bitterness of the judgment that comes on the unrepentant wicked at the consummation of history, the saints of God will experience the fullness of His joy and His presence forevermore, but the unrepentant will suffer unceasing anguish, and so like Jesus weeping over Jerusalem, it breaks our hearts to see this sweeter than honey message rejected, like I’ve preached Joel and Daniel and now we’re in Revelation that is A lot of judgment I take no joy in preaching the destruction of the wicked. You should take no joy in hearing about or speaking about the destruction of the wicked. For many of us, we are talking about our loved ones, family members, friends who have not yet repented. We don’t come at this, these passages dealing with judgment with like a Ha, ha, you’ll get yours attitude. We come with weeping and pleading, turn and trust in Jesus here and now. And I think it’s important to say that in the end, when this day comes, there will only be joy, even in judgment, when we see God’s glory and His goodness, the rightness and justice of his judgments, no one of us will go, why are you doing this like we will understand it perfectly. But here we grieve, and so how do we respond as we just finish up chapter 10 here, first of all, of course, we trust God. And Kyle talked about this already, right? You make it easy to trust you, and that’s even in a context like this, where hard things are happening, it is easy to trust God, because we know who he is and what he’s done. We know that everything is under his feet. He is in control. Second thing we do is we take in God’s Word. We eat this book, eat this scroll, because we want to know everything that God has for us, and we want to be prepared to proclaim it as well. Is why it’s so important that we’re in the Word of God daily, studying it, reading it, memorizing it, meditating on it. And third thing, of course, is that we then proclaim that word, and that’s where we’re going here in chapter 11. So we go from word to scene to witness. Let me read chapter 11, just verses one to six to start, I was given a read like a measuring rod, and was told, go and measure the temple of God and the altar with its worshipers, but exclude the outer court. Do not measure it. Because it has been given to the Gentiles, they will trample on the holy city for 42 months. And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth, they are the two olive trees and two lamp stands, and they stand before the Lord of the earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying. And they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want. Alright? So this scene opens very similarly to Ezekiel chapter 40, where Ezekiel is told to measure the new temple in the New Jerusalem that will be rebuilt. This measuring indicates God’s preservation and protection, like this means he’s going to keep the temple to the end. I worked just for a period of a few months for a friend who was an architect, he did a lot of remodels for houses that had had a fire in them. And you know, the smoke damage from a fire means you just gut the place right. You you strip it down to the studs. And then I would go in and I would measure the studs, basically, why? Because that was what was going to stay right. You measure what will remain, and then you build around it. And so the measuring here, that’s God saying, this is what will remain. Notice the temple includes the worshipers, very specifically, you know, the measuring the temple of God, and the altar with its worshipers. Of course, this makes sense, because we now are the temple of God. Christians are the temple of God. You see this in First Corinthians, where the temple the Holy Spirit, First Peter, where it talks about the fact that we’re all being built like living stones into a temple where God will dwell by His Spirit, even in Revelation, chapter three, one of the letters we read that those who persevere, who overcome, will be made pillars in God’s temple. I’m not going to spoil it for you, but when we get to the end of the book, Revelation, 21 and 22 we will see that the new heavens and the new earth are the temple of God. So we are talking about people. We are talking about the church. That’s what gets measured, preserved and protected. But then the angel goes out of his way to point out that you should not measure the outer court, because that’s going to get trampled. The holy city is going to get trampled. All right, what’s going on here? What exactly is the Holy City? I know our first instinct is Jerusalem, for understandable reasons, but let’s see if we can’t find clues in the book of Revelation as to what this city is. And I don’t think it’s Jerusalem, but it is the New Jerusalem. Why do I say that? Because of the end again, Revelation, 21 verses nine and 10, and an angel says to John, come I will show you the bride. And we know the bride is the Church of God throughout the New Testament, you can see that all sorts of places. So we’re talking about, again, a person. We’re talking about people. And then it says, he carried me away in the spirit to mountain, great and high, and showed me the holy city. There are those words, the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven, from God. So we’re talking about the Heavenly Jerusalem, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven to the earth. And so we’re talking again about the the people of God. Here makes sense. Remember, this is the interlude between six and seven, between the sixth seal and the seventh seal. We got an interlude of the 144,000 and then the great multitude, the people of God protected, preserved. Well. Here between the sixth trumpet and the seventh trumpet, we get the same vision, the people of God protected, except with nuance, because here the people of God are protected and trampled at the same time, God will not keep us from all harm, but he will keep his own steadfast in the midst of suffering and persecution, as G.B. Caird puts it in his commentary on Revelation, it is God’s intention that the church should remain outwardly vulnerable to the full hostility of their enemies, secure only in their faith in the crucified and risen Lord. And by the way, Jesus is such a good picture of what we’re talking about. God preserves and protects Jesus raises him from the dead, but he gets trampled first, and in being trampled. Of course, he tramples on death and the grave, and then rises in triumph. And so we see, okay, that’s what’s coming for us, too. And remember, this is written to a church, group of churches in western Turkey who are undergoing persecution right then and there. And think of what a comfort this would have been to know what. This is happening according to God’s plan. It ain’t fun, but we know how the story ends. God’s got this and good news here also, it will only be for a limited time. Persecution does not go on forever. 42 months. If you were to do the math, you would discover that that is three and a half years. Three and a half years, exactly, which is drawing from Daniel seven, but really kind of Daniel seven through 12 shows up a lot the time, times and half a time we talked about back then, why three and a half years? Because seven years would be a perfect length of time, and it’s cut in half. It’s cut short. That’s the idea. Persecution is cut short. This part’s getting tricky, alright? So just like, hang on, this is stuff that would be easier to read than to hear, but that’s, that’s how it goes. So we get 42 months, and then in the next verse, we get 12 160 days, same period. By the way, if you do 30 day months, then 12 160 is exactly three and a half years. So 42 months, then 12 160 days. And then in chapter 12, we’re going to get 12 160 days. And then in chapter 1342, months. That’s called a chiasm Greek letter chi, which looks like an X for us, so you kind of go, looks like an X. Okay, got it. And what happens we see in that the 42 months persecution, and then 1260 days protection, and then 1260 days protection and 42 months persecution. Pull all that together, and you’re going to see this more next week when we when we get to chapters 12 and 13, it helps us understand that this 42 month period is symbolic for the whole period between Christ’s first and second comings, between the ascension of Christ and when He comes again, it’ll be quite clear next week, and that helps us understand that whole period right there is going to be a pretty mixed bag for us. We’re going to experience God’s protection and the world’s persecution at the same time. So what do we do in this time of persecution and protection? Well, we would expect this, because prophecy is kind of the thread that weaves this whole passage together. We proclaim, we prophesy, and hence we the two witnesses there in verse three. I think these two witnesses are representative of the church as a whole. Why? Because everything in this passage has like major, major symbolism, right? We’ve got olive trees, we’ve got lamp stands, we’ve got fire coming out of their mouths, which we’ll talk about in a moment. It even says the word figuratively in the next couple of verses that we’ll get to here. So there’s a whole lot of symbolism. So probably this is symbolic also, and then we’ve seen lamp stand a bunch of times already in Revelation, and it is the church. So we’re talking about the church now, why two lamp stands instead of seven lamp stands? This time, probably because of the witness idea and the laws requirement that every testimony is confirmed by two witnesses, and that’s what we have here. Now, maybe these are at the end of time, like we kind of this is happening all along, and then it intensifies at the end. We’ve talked about that some. I’m hoping that you’re all looking at me glazed. I’m sorry. You know, maybe there are two literal people at the end, also, because the olive trees are two literal people in Zechariah four. We’ve met them before. Also, right. That’s Zerubbabel the king and Joshua the priest. So maybe if we live to see that and stuff, I hedged my bets. Okay, so you can be like, Oh, Brandon was right, because I was right either way. Alright, that’s the important thing that you take away from this today. But no, so they’re wearing sackcloth, these two witnesses who stand in for the church as a whole. Why? Because they’re calling the people to repentance, and then fire comes out of their mouths to devour their enemies. Now in Revelation, every time something comes out of somebody’s mouth, it’s words shocking. I know we saw this in Revelation. One already Jesus, double edged sword coming out of his mouth. That’s the word of God. We’re going to see it with the beast next week. We’ll hang on to that one. But here it is fire. How do I know that it’s a fire that is going to consume those who don’t heed the word? Because I’ve read the Old Testament, that’s how. And this is drawing from Jeremiah, the prophet Jeremiah, five, verse 14. Because the people have spoken these words, by the way. Let me just hang on to that for a second, because the people have spoken these words. What words? It was words dismissing the prophets of God. They’re saying, no, not these words, you know, like those aren’t real prophets. We don’t have to listen to that. So because they have rejected the prophets, I will make my words in your mouth of fire and these people the wood it consumes. It’s exactly the image that we have here. Of course, the fire consuming God’s enemies might make you think of Elijah against the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, where fire comes down from heaven and eats up not just Elijah’s sacrifice, but also all those who worshiped the false idols the Prophet. It’s of Baal. If you’re thinking Elijah, that’s fine, because in verse six, we definitely get Elijah, because he’s these witnesses have the power to shut up the heavens so that there’s no rain, which is exactly what Elijah did as well. And then it’s not just Elijah that we get, but we also get Moses. Why? A lot of people think these two witnesses are Elijah and Moses? Specifically, because they’ve given the power to turn water into blood and to bring plagues. Sounds a lot like Moses. So you throw all that together, we got Jeremiah, we got Moses, we got Elijah, we got Zechariah four. Like, what in the world is happening with all these images? I quote James Hamilton. I think he pulls them together really nicely for us. He says the olive trees symbolize the spirits empowering the church, because olive oil is associated with anointing, and anointing with the coming of the Spirit can make sense. Zechariah four, not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord, you’re sure the fire symbolizes divine protection for the church. The power to shut the sky points to demonstrations that Yahweh is the one true God, and the ability to bring the plagues highlights the church’s ability to liberate people from bondage through gospel proclamations. The church then is empowered by the Spirit, protected by the Father, and able to liberate people through the gospel of Jesus Christ. So two questions before we turn to the next scene. The first one is, do you know this power? Not know about it. Know this power. If you are in Christ, this power is in you because the Spirit of God dwells within you. You’re thinking, I don’t have the power to shut up the heavens or turn water into blood, yeah. But neither did Elijah or Moses, except by the Spirit of God working in and through them. And maybe you won’t do miracles like that, but you get to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. And there is no greater miracle than God bringing a sinner to salvation, to new life in Christ, raising the dead physically is nothing compared to that miracle. Do you know that that power dwells within you? And second question following from it, what are you doing with it? Are you proclaiming the Word of God? We will talk more about that as we go. So I’m just going to leave that hang in there. Third scene, war, what happens when we witness? Let me read verses seven to 14 now, when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them and overpower and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified for three and a half days. Some from every people, tribe, language and nation, will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial, the inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth. But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them. They stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, Come up here. And they went up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies looked on. At that very hour, there was a severe earthquake, and a 10th of the city collapsed. 7000 people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe has passed. The third woe is coming soon, while we witness the world tramples us under authority, by the way, from the beast from the sea. I’m not going to talk about him, because he gets to talk about in chapter 13. And it’s kind of like we’re just waiting we get this, like foreshadowing here, Revelation does this a lot just kind of casually throws out a main character or a main idea and then says nothing about it for a couple of chapters. We already saw that with the Holy City. Of course, here to get is again with the beast. So you got beast questions. Come back next week. We’ll meet him in chapter 13, for sure. But the beast has the power to kill God’s people, and so the bodies of these two witnesses that represent the church lie in the square of the great city. What is the great city?
Notice that word figuratively. It’s almost like John’s helping us out here where he’s going. Y’all are reading this symbolically, right? You know, I’m not talking about this literally, let me just okay, figuratively. Here it is, right? So pay attention to the symbols, is what he’s saying here. Now, why Sodom? And Egypt in particular. Sodom is, of course, famous for its wickedness, its depravity. And then Egypt, which is not a city, of course, so definitely figurative, Egypt is famous for its oppression of the people of God. And then Jerusalem gets mentioned. Why Jerusalem as part of this great city? Well, because in Jerusalem, the powers of wickedness and the powers of oppression conspired together to murder the Son of God. So that’s the great city then, except we still don’t know what it is later on in Revelation. It’s Babylon that is called the great city. And if you pay attention, and we’ll see this as we go, Babylon is standing for Rome. So it’s Sodom and Egypt and Jerusalem and Babylon and Rome. Everyone. Good. We’ll move on. No what is happening here the great city is in contrast to the Holy City. Like these are the images that led Augustine to write his famous city of God, the original A Tale of Two Cities, because there’s the city of man and there’s the City of God, the City of God, the holy city, the New Jerusalem, the people of God, and then the great city, Babylon, the city of man is every city that stands in opposition to God’s rule and reign in this world, which means the great city is yes, Jerusalem and Rome and Babylon and Sodom and Egypt and New York and DC and Chicago and Elmhurst, or at least those within all those cities who are against God’s rule and reign. And that makes sense, of course, of verse nine, then, because we get some from every people and tribe and language and nation, and we go, hang on, we’ve met those four before. The four meaning, you know, all four corners of the earth, the four winds, like this is everyone, right? But, but it was people were being saved from these four. Yes, exactly. So there are people in Sodom and Egypt and Jerusalem and New York and DC and Chicago and Elmhurst who belong to the holy city, and there are people in every one of those cities who belong to the great city as well. People from all over the world gaze at their dead bodies and gloat over them because they reject God. Now I am sure that some of us have been struggling with these passages of judgment. We’re going to spend a lot of time on that next week, but if you’re struggling, notice verse 10, where the unrepentant celebrate the murder of God’s witnesses celebrate their murder. They’re they’re they’re throwing parties. They’re sending gifts to each other. Why? Because the word of God that they proclaimed tormented them, which is what the Word of God does to the unrepentant. And some of you lived this for a long time. By the way, like took a while the Hound of Heaven to get you. You know that the word of God pricks your conscience, it introduces doubt, it can throw you off balance. We also know that the word of God, like brings plagues and fire from heaven, because we’ve seen that in the Old Testament also. So they’ve been tormented, and that’s why they are celebrating, but that just means they missed what God was trying to do. Here’s the way one commentator put it. He says the aim in sending the plagues is that people should be converted from idolatry. They are meant to drive people to repentance before it is too late, but people will not be warned. And that’s what we see here, and that is, of course, what turns our stomachs as the people of God in the here and now, that and the bitter persecution that we just read about. But there is sweet vindication, because after three and a half days, they rise again. I know, I know you want this to be three days, because if it’s three days, it’s the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Doesn’t matter how you spin it. You cannot make the resurrection of Jesus Christ into three and a half days. Wasn’t even 48 hours, right? But Friday night, all day, Saturday, Sunday morning. That’s 123, days in Hebrew reckoning. It’s not three and a half, though. And so three and a half has to go back to the three and a half that we keep coming up against the time times and half a time. So it’s three and a half. It’s that perfect period cut short, although it’s interesting now it’s days instead of years. It’s like God has cut it even shorter. Makes me think what Jesus said in the Olivet Discourse, unless God had cut those days short, no one would have survived. And here we see God cutting them short, and these two witnesses rise like Jesus. It’s true, except the breath of God enters them, and they stand on their feet. That’s actually all language taken from Ezekiel, 37 when the valley of dry bones, they all stand up and are closed in flesh. And then they’re they’re raptured like Elijah, when the chariot of fire swoops down to pick him up. And of course, they’re leaving on the clouds when people are looking up at them, that’s the ascension of Christ. Lot of different images all coming together. You can’t miss the point. We triumph. In the end, the people of God, His true witnesses, will be raised to new and everlasting life because of their faithful witness to Christ. And then there is a great earthquake, which, in Revelation, always signals the end. The end, the end is here. The city of man collapses. The great city collapses. Why? Because in the last earthquake, God shakes the earth, and only what is permanent will remain. And the city. Body of man is not permanent, and 7000 are killed. That is, of course, a big round number, the full number of those to be judged. But as this is happening and as events are speeding toward their conclusion, notice that some repent. End of verse 13, the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. Giving glory to God always represents true worship in Scripture, and so we must be dealing with true conversion. This is why we keep witnessing even though the world tramples on us, because this is as sweet as it comes to see people turn from death to life. It’s like we’re saying, Do your worst, and I will still love you with the gospel of Jesus, Christ. And so the takeaways from this section are clear, there must be a willingness to suffer for the cause of Christ, participation in Christ’s sufferings. And then what Paul says in Philippians, right? I want to know Christ. I want to know the power of his resurrection, and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Another great chiasm, by the way, if you follow that. But that’s it. I want to know the power of his resurrection. But if I want to know resurrection like Christ, then I need to know martyrdom like Christ also. And so all the persecution we experience for Christ’s sake is a victory for the believer, a participation in his triumph over the grave. And of course, as Justin Martyr famously said, the blood of the martyrs is seed. Seed like this is their blood is being scattered like the seed of the gospel and new life comes from it. The only evangelistic victory that we read about in Revelation follows martyrdom. It makes me think of the the Centurion standing at the foot of the cross as Jesus dies, right? As Jesus is killed. He says, surely this man was the Son of God, and that’s what we have here as well. And this reminds us, then, of the purpose of it, all right? God sends judgment, not to punish, not in this life, not to punish only, but to call people to him self, and some, the full number will come, and that is reason enough for us to keep proclaiming
this the second woe is passed. We met the first woe last week. Kyle explained that the third woe is coming. We actually never get the third woe. Most people think it’s the seventh trumpet to which we’ll turn. Now last seen worship verses 15 to 19, the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven which said, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever. The 24 elders who were seated on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, We give thanks to You, Lord, God Almighty, the one who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign, the nations were angry and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small, and for destroying those who destroy the earth. Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen, the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and earthquake and a severe hailstorm. So here the last trumpet sounds, and that means the end has come. And I know you’re like, but we got more right, because we recapitulate, right? We’re going to recap. We’re going to go back, starting next week, but the last trumpet sounds, the end has come in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, as Paul says in first Corinthians 15, at the last trumpet for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed. That’s the moment we’re at, and given the song of praise that follows there in verse 15, it’s pretty clear these trumpets are coronation trumpets, because this is Jesus ascending his throne. Now I mentioned the chiasm a couple of times, right? You know the and when you get a big chiasm in Scripture, you always want to look for the center of it. This chiasm actually goes from Revelation seven through chapter 14. We’ll talk a little bit more about it next week, even if you don’t get it, just trust me, there’s a chiasm there. These verses, right here are the centerpiece. This is what it’s all building towards. This is the moment, the climax. Jesus is King, fully, finally and forever. Now, Jesus has always been king. At no point was there any danger of him losing his throw throne. But now. While he exercises dominion over all without challenge or rival. That’s what’s happened here. The Rebellion has been put down. This is the fulfillment of Second Samuel seven, when God promises David that one of his descendants will reign on his throne forever. This is the fulfillment of Daniel two. Remember that statue, and it falls over because the mountain comes up, this rock, not cut by human hands, comes up, topples all the earthly kingdoms, and this kingdom will endure forever. It’s the fulfillment of Daniel seven, When the Son of man approaches the Ancient of Days and is given an everlasting dominion. It’s not just the fulfillment of Scripture. It’s also the answer to the prayer that we pray daily, your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Here it is God’s rule and reign over every inch. And that is the glory of the new heavens and the new earth, by the way, that at long last He is King and acknowledged as king by all in the kingdom, there is no more delay, the mystery, the sovereign unfolding of God’s hidden plan has been accomplished. And so that prompts not just praise, like we see in verse 15, but Thanksgiving that we see in verse 16. And Thanksgiving is really a part of praise. That is, we worship God for who he is and what he’s done, and the what he’s done is Thanksgiving. This is why Paul tells us in Romans 121, that the heart of sin is actually in gratitude. Although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God, nor gave thanks to him like this is the heart of sin. They forgot to give thanks to God for all that he has done. And so it’s worth asking, when we read passages like these, just how thankful Are you? How thankful Are you? How are you practicing gratitude? I was talking to my journey group guys, even just this week, we were talking about the importance of of naming what we are thankful for, especially in times when you’re not feeling particularly thankful. And my car just got totaled a couple weeks ago, I was not feeling thankful, but I had just read about this naming thing. Alright, like, I guess I better obey, otherwise not gonna be able to preach on this later. So I like and you know what? I’m thankful no one was in the car. I got hit while I was parked. Okay, no injuries to work with. I’m thankful about that. I’m thankful that the other person’s car was totaled also, which meant their insurance had to cover it. I was thankful for that, that there was justice done. That doesn’t always happen. You can ask other members of our pastoral staff about that. I was thankful. Yes, that one thankful. So, all right, you know, just going through it, it was different. I think gratitude looks like savoring experiences. Like the way you savor, feel like this is good, like, sometimes we just need to go through something. We need to step back and go, Wow, this is good. I think gratitude looks like remembering redemptively. Like redemptive remembering. How many times when tragedy strikes do we remind ourselves we’ve done it here today. We certainly did it last week. Like we remind ourselves, God works all things for the good of those who love Him. He is working for our good and for His glory. Redemptive remembering is when we get a little ways away and we look back and we go, I see, I see some of the good that he has done. I want to remember that and thank him, even for that. And we will be grateful, of course, in the end, because the one who was and who is, and did you notice it doesn’t say and is to come, God who was and is and is to come. And here it’s just was and is, why? Because he’s come, he’s back at this point, but the God who was and is reigns now, and he is worthy to reign and to reign. Well, not all acknowledge this, though the nations are still raging. We see in verse 18, when God can’t reign while the nations rage to pretend otherwise would be like to pretend to health while cancer is ravaging your body, or maybe closer to the image that we have here to pretend peace when you have daily terror attacks in your kingdom that’s not reigning and so God, again, must put the rebellion to an end. And there is no repentance here. This is the time when we are past that, when those who are going to repent have repented and those who will not repent will never repent. And so this is the time to settle every account we actually get, the lex talionis here, the law of retribution, right, because those who destroy will be destroyed. They will get what they deserve in the end, and on that day, we will rejoice. We will praise God, and we will thank God, because the end we seek what we’re all. Hoping for again, Revelation 21 no more death, no more mourning, no more pain, none of that stuff, right? None of that can happen without judgment, and that is why we will Rejoice, rejoice and praise and thank. But the end has come. Heaven’s Temple is open. The Ark is seen, the Ark which shows us the glory of both the law and mercy, because it’s got the tablets, the 10 Commandments within it. It also has the mercy seat, the Atonement Cover. But it’s not just the ark that we see here. It’s not just the exciting because the temple curtains get parted and we get to, you know, peer into the Holy of Holies. No, it’s the fact that God Himself is revealed. That’s the thunder and lightning and all of that every time that shows up, we know God is there, and that’s what we’re really waiting for in Revelation 21 but what do we do until then? What do we do until the end actually comes nothing new. We keep saying it over and over and over again, but the big idea kind of your takeaway from this passage, go on proclaiming, no matter what, until kingdom come, go on proclaiming. God has given us His word to ingest so that we can witness to it. Some of the world aren’t going to like it. There will be war. We will be trampled upon. Yes, others will turn and repent, and in the end, we will worship, because He will reign forever more. What we’ve seen, though, in this passage is that this is serious, serious business, because it ends in judgment. We have to be so reminded about this. So ask yourself even now, just as we’re wrapping up here first, am I proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ? Am I sharing the word that God has given me to ingest so that I can proclaim? Am I proclaiming? And maybe ask yourself as a follow up question to that, just to get really practical, when was the last time you shared the full gospel message with someone who does not believe. I don’t mention this to shame anyone or to guilt you into something else. That’s that’s not the point of this at all. It is to encourage convict, maybe, but to encourage us. We get to participate in God’s mission. This isn’t we have to share the gospel we’re bad Christians. We get to share the good news of what God has done for us in Christ, Jesus, whom have you told? And that’s my third question, whom would God have you reach even this week? I mean, ask the Spirit of God to lay someone’s name on your heart even now to go I
gotta talk to them. I gotta talk to them. Go on proclaiming, no matter what we see, what happens to those who reject God’s word when we see that we are willing to risk a little bit of rejection on our part, which is the worst thing that can happen, right? They get angry with us. Maybe they even trample us under foot and we die. Who cares? Right? We know how the story ends. We rise again. We can do this to bring this message to those who need it. This message here in Revelation is no different than the last message that Jesus gave his followers right before He ascended into heaven. Right? He’s getting ready to ascend, and his disciples come to Him. They go, is it time for the kingdom now, Lord, like this is what they want, right? The Kingdom, the world, has become the kingdom of our Lord and His Messiah, and we’re going to be like his Secretary of State. It’s gonna be awesome. It’s time, right? Jesus. And Jesus goes, I’m worried You weren’t listening, but Okay, nope, you got revelation to go through still. But here’s what Jesus says, Is it time for the Kingdom? Jesus says it is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. What a great reminder. As we study Revelation, the point is not to puzzle it out so that we know better than everyone else how it’s going to end. It’s not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and to the ends of the earth go witness. Go on proclaiming, no matter what the world throws at you till Christ’s kingdom comes, let’s pray. I Amen, Lord, we worship and thank you because of who you are and what you have done for us, that you have redeemed us from sin and death and raised us to new spiritual life in Christ, and you will raise us to new physical life at the end, we know as well when that trumpet sounds, we praise you God, we thank you because you then have invited us, given us the privilege of participating in your mission in the world that we get to be a part of that. Redemption in other people’s lives when we proclaim your word, God, give us a holy, winsome boldness, even this week, open our eyes to see those around us harassed and help us like sheep without a shepherd, to look on them with compassion and to be willing to take the risk to share the Good News of the Gospel with them, and God, would you open hearts and minds in response to our faithful witness, and we might see the harvest that you are reaping God, as men and women turn from sin and trust in you to the glory, the everlasting glory of your name. Amen.

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The Seven Trumpets February 9, 2025 | Kyle Bjerga The sermon emphasizes that God’s judgment comes through the prayers of His people. The trumpets in Revelation represent God’s judgment on the earth, which mirrors the plagues in Exodus. The judgment is severe but also shows God’s mercy, as only a portion is affected. The call is for believers to keep repenting, praying, and proclaiming the gospel to the unrepentant.

Well, good morning. Go ahead and grab your Bibles and turn to page 995, we’re going to be in Revelation eight. The words We sang, we trust you. We trust you. Your ways are higher than our ways. I need to pray again. If you guys would pray with me,
Lord, in these moments ahead, we come to your word because it is the solid rock in which we stand. Lord, I need your grace in this moment, we all do, and we know you have something for us this morning from Your Word, something we had to hear even before the news that we got. So Lord, we pray that you would use it today to change us. And Lord, I pray for all of us to just lean in to the fact that this hurts. Lord, that it hurts you, that the pain that we feel is because of the brokenness in this world. And sometimes when we think about hope, there’s moments like this where it just really gets in the very depths of who we are, and we’re crying out for that hope this morning that we can only find in you. So Holy Spirit, help us in these moments to hear from you. We love you, and we pray this in Jesus name. Amen, as we begin just thinking through the questions that I had written earlier this week for this morning. I know they are probably even more fresh for us, and the Lord knows we needed to ask them today. Question is, when was the last time that you prayed for justice to be done? When was the last time you prayed for God to destroy evil? When was the last time you prayed for God to make everything right? And for some of us, we haven’t prayed that for a long time, until this morning. When was the last time you cried out? How long Lord will there be suffering and evil and sickness and death? And when you think about those prayers. How many times have you walked away and been discouraged and thought God isn’t listening, or walked away and said It feels like my prayers are just hitting the ceiling and bouncing right off, that there’s no connection there. I felt that way. I’m pretty sure most of you have felt that way, too. And I think many of the writers experienced that throughout their life of following God, because those questions, how long Lord are all over, all over scripture. Last week, we started to really get into the tough stuff in Revelation. And by tough, I mean harder to understand, difficult things we kind of got to work through. And at the same time, it’s tough, because the subject matter we’re talking about judgment, and we’re going to be talking about judgment for a while now, God’s judgment on the earth, God’s judgment on people. And so if you’re here this morning, this is your first time, I’d recommend going back and listening to those sermons, because this is a hard one to kind of just jump into the sermon series, because what we’ve looked at the last number of weeks is that we need to, always, as we come to passage on judgment, look at who we are talking about, who stands behind it. All the glorious vision we get of Jesus Christ, from Revelation one all the way until now, and all the way through the book, to remember who he is, what he has done and what he will do. And so as we’re in this last book of the Bible, the last one written mainly about the end times, we’re still waiting for complete fulfillment of the things that we see in here. And if this is the last book, that means there’s 65 other books that came before it. And most of us are like, Well, we know this. Why are we? Why are you talking about again, it’s because as we read the text this morning, we should over and over again think, Where have I heard this before? Where have I heard this before? This isn’t new, and so we’re going to ask that question a lot this morning. And we’re not only going to just go back further in the Bible, just last week, chapter six and seven of Revelation, as Brandon talked about the seals, and he mentioned we have this recapitulation of the seals in the trumpets saying, okay, okay, let’s, let’s go a little bit deeper into what these things mean. It’s a retelling of the same truth, just from a different perspective. And so when we go back, we’re gonna say, Where have I heard this before? Not only in Revelation, but all the way throughout the Old Testament, and especially in the book of Exodus today. So we’re gonna see a lot in the Exodus story. And you don’t have to be very familiar with the Bible to understand what the Exodus story is about. Maybe for you, depending on your generation, it’s the 10 Commandments movie, and you kind of got a sense of what happened. Maybe it’s the prince of Egypt. Maybe it’s some other version that you’ve seen. Recently, but you you kind of get a sense of what the Exodus story is. God’s people are slave in slavery in Egypt, and God acts to save his people through different plagues. Now, there’s a few differences this morning, though, that we need to see from last week, and that is just that we’re we’re going deeper, and we will continue to go deeper into this judgment. And we have to think about God ratcheting things up here, ratcheting things up. Things are intensifying from this point forward. And then there’s another difference, and that is kind of our first point that you’ll see there is that judgment comes through prayer. Judgment comes through prayer. So let’s look at Revelation eight. I’m actually going to read verse one to where we stopped last week through verse five, Revelation eight, starting verse one, when he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour, and I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. Another angel who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all God’s people on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar and hurled it on the earth. And there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake. So judgment comes through prayer. Things are going to get really loud here in the trumpets, as these trumpets are blown, but right before we get that, we get this silence that we ended with last week, this last seal, silence in heaven. The whole point here is it’s often quiet as before the storm. So if you know anything about weather, you know there’s a lot of times where things will get really, really calm, really, really quiet, and yet, Weather experts know that’s just getting things ready for the intense storm that’s coming. And here we have that there’s there’s silence, and then all of a sudden, trumpet blasts from heaven, trumpet blasts. And we have to think again. We’ve talked about this that the seven seals doesn’t mean the seven seals happen, then the seven trumpets happen, then the seven bowls will happen. But we got again, think of these things, summarizing each other, talking about each other, going deeper and deeper and deeper in our understanding of God’s judgment over time. And so what we see here is John sees seven angels, seven angels with these trumpets. And we’re, we’re pretty well set right on understanding how the number seven is my first time preaching revelation. So we got it, okay, Revelation, or Revelation number seven, very important, God’s perfect perfection. And here we’re gonna make God’s perfect judgment represented by these seven angels who are going to blow these trumpets and carry out God’s perfect will through judgment. And trumpets were regularly used throughout the Old Testament to call people to war, to call people for judgment. And other times in Scripture, we see the trumpet will blow on the day of the Lord at the very end. And so the trumpets will blow from these angels. But before that, there’s a little bit of a preparation that happens. We get another angel who comes down with a golden censer. This should remind us of the temple, that this angel is kind of acting like a priest in this moment, has this golden sensor, and he stands at the altar of incense. The altar of incense would have been in the temple, in the holy place, and so they would offer these offerings of incense before the Lord. It was a regular practice offering it up to him. But we find out here is this is no ordinary incense, nothing like we’ve seen before, although we’ve seen it before in Revelation five eight. Revelation five eight, it says the four living creatures and the 24 elders were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people, okay, the prayers of God’s people, and this idea of these, the prayers being offered up as incense we just read in Psalm 141, you’ll see it on the screen here. But David is talking, and what he says here is, may my prayer be set before you like incense, may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. And so this golden censor has the incense, has the prayers of God’s people. You see that, like our prayers are mixed in with this, and they are the incense that is going up to God. So what types of prayers are these? Well, we get a clue here in chapter six that we looked at last week, prayers like the ones we saw are this offered up by the martyrs, those who were slain for their faith in Jesus. So if you just look back, if you’re probably just to the to the left a little bit. Look at chapter six, verse nine: these martyrs come, and they say, How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood? How? Long until evil is judged. So prayers like this have been offered throughout human history. They’re prayers we have prayed too, and the answer we find out many times, just like they find out in chapter six, is God will say you must wait a little longer. And that’s hard. You must wait a little longer. Now, where have we heard this before? Where have we heard this before? The Israelite people are enslaved in Egypt for 400-plus years. How many of those years do you think they prayed, Lord? How long, I think, over 400 years, pretty well said on that, how long until you save us? And they cry out, and they wait, and they get discouraged, and maybe some of them stop praying, some of them stop hoping. Generations come, generations go, you must wait a little longer. And we ask why. The answer is that God’s timetable is not the same as ours, but God does answer. Look at Exodus, chapter three, as he calls Moses. He says this: The Lord said, I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. God’s judgment on the nation of Egypt comes through the cries and the prayers that he hears of his people. And what we see here in Revelation is that God’s judgment on the earth, on evil, on those who are opposed to him will come because of our prayers too, the prayers of the saints over time, who cry out, God, how long until your justice is done? So when you pray against evil and injustice and sin and sickness and devastation and depression. When you cry out for God to do something, fight the temptation to think that he’s not interested. We’ve got to fight that temptation. We’ve got to fight the temptation that our prayers are just hitting the ceiling and going nowhere and that it just makes us feel good for a few moments that we’ve offered up these prayers that get nowhere. We have to fight that temptation because none of those prayers is wasted. They’re not hitting the ceiling. They are incense being offered up to God. They go past the ceiling all the way up to him. He hears every single one, and he says justice will be done, not it might it will be done. He hears them. He doesn’t forget them. Prayer makes a difference. They are one of his means that he is ordained to accomplish his purposes, to accomplish His judgment. Does that mean he’s gonna read justice and judgment every prayer we pray in the moment? No, but does he do it? Sometimes? Yes, I think sometimes he does respond to our prayers of just justice and judgment now, but the hope that we have is that all of them will be answered, every single one because he is making all things new. He’s making all things right. And so God’s answer of judgment comes in this awesome display, reminiscent of the presence of God at Mount Sinai in Exodus. Because the angel takes this fire from the altar, he puts it in the sensor, and he throws it to the earth. And what do we see? Thunder, lightning and an earthquake. Talked about last week that earthquake is always representing God’s judgment here in Revelation. So everything is prepared. Everything is prepared for these angels with these trumpets to come. And what happens next? Look at that second point there. Judgment is going to come on the earth. That’s our next section. So let’s read verses six through 13, the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them. The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the Earth was burned up. A third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all the blaze was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. The third angel sounded, sounded his trumpet, a great star blazing like a torch fell from the sky, and a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter. The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the Sun was struck, a third of the moon and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light. And also a third of the night. As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in mid-air call out in a loud voice, wo wo, wo wo, to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels. So a few things to mention here. We cannot get into all the details. I hope you saw the word like. You’re going to see the word like a lot in this again, because it’s, it’s just trying to say, this is, this is kind of what it looked like. It’s sort of like this. We’ve seen that throughout Revelation. We’re going to see it a lot today, especially in chapter nine. But a few things to mention about these first four trumpets. The first thing we see is that judgment, okay, these plagues on the earth are going to impact everything. We see the Earth, we see the seas, the waters, and we see the skies. So this judgment is coming on everything, everything will be touched. And so the first thing this should remind us of, where have I heard this before? Well, we’ve heard kind of the opposite of this, in the creation story. This is sort of a decreation story in this moment because in Genesis 1 and 2, God creates everything: the Earth, the waters, the skies. He puts everything there, and he fills it, and everything is very good. Genesis 3, sin enters the world, and everything is broken. Romans eight tells us the whole world is groaning, as in the pains of childbirth, just waiting, waiting for God to remake it, all right, waiting for that freedom to come. What creation experience at first? And so here we say, no, these things are going to change. It’s going to look a lot different than it once did. The second thing we need to notice is how much of the Earth is impacted by these plagues. We see it over and over again. Here we see a third, okay, a third of everything last week. Here’s the quiz time. How much was affected by God’s judgment on the earth? This is the participatory: a third. 1/4. I am not a math guy. I do know that that is less than 1/3, so what we see here is all of a sudden, okay, this is a little bit more intense than it once was. We go from a quarter to a third. And here’s the amazing thing: there is no reason it shouldn’t be 100%, and there’s no reason it should or shouldn’t be. All be taken out. We spend so much time thinking about the quarter, thinking about the third, and forgetting how much mercy there is, we focus on the judgment, not realizing in that judgment, God is always offering mercy, because it’s a fourth, it’s a third. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, God had every right in that moment to stop it there, to end it. That was it. He said, “If you eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, you will die.” They ate it, and spiritually, yes, in that moment, they died. They were separated from God. The relationship was broken with him. The relationship was broken with each other, but in that moment, he should have ended everything spiritual and physical. It could have all ended there, but he didn’t. Instead, he gives them hope, hope that would lead to repentance and hope that there would be a Savior who would come to save them from the sin they just committed, the sins they would commit, and the sins that all of us commit. So, we cannot presume upon God’s grace. Though, when we read a quarter, when we read a third, we cannot assume that will be the three-quarters or the two-thirds that are spared because eventually, it’s going to be 100%, so we take it seriously. Seriously, now and repent and turn to God. Finally, we look at these plagues, and we think, Where have I seen this before? Well, I hope you think Exodus right when we look at these plagues, trumpet one, we have hail and fire, sounds like the seventh plague in Egypt. Trumpet two, water into blood, like the first plague in Egypt, when the Nihil is turned to blood. Trumpet three, kind of reminds us of the same thing, because the Egyptians could not drink the water because we contaminated with blood. And here we get this water that is not they cannot drink it. It’s bitter, and if they do drink it, some of them have died because of that. And then we think also, when the Israelites are in Marah and they’re thirsty and the water is bitter, God gives Moses this piece of wood there he throws in the water, and it makes the water sweet, fit for drinking. We see this as that, as being undone. And finally, trumpet four, the ninth plague of darkness in Egypt, darkness over the land. Now, when God brings these plagues in Egypt, what is he doing? He’s demonstrating his his authority over every single Egyptian god, god of the Nile. He’s greater god of frogs. He’s greater god of locusts. He’s greater god of the sun. He’s great. Creator, because he just keeps going after that and saying, they have no authority. They are not real, true gods. I am. That’s what he’s doing. And the difference then in Egypt was that was a very small region that saw these plagues. What do we see here in Revelations? The whole earth will see God’s judgment, all of it. So now, instead of God going after the gods of Egypt, he’s showing that he has authority over all the earth, everything he created. He has authority over all of it. And all of it could vanish in a moment. It could be gone. So my question is, do you believe that? And I think we’d say yes, but do we live that way? Do we live as if tomorrow we could lose it all? Do we live as if we know that these things are temporary, that the things made by our hands could be gone in a flash? When we think about this, it’s the mercy of God on display. He’s saying, Do you remember what I did back then? Do you know what I’m doing now? And we keep seeing these judgments, and it’s all a warning. Will you learn? I mean, parents, we do this with our kids all the time. I told you, I told you I was going to do this, and then we give them a little bit of grace, and then we know what they do. I told you, I told you was coming, and we have grace, and we have grace, and eventually, that discipline comes, right? That judgment comes in that moment God saying, I’ve been showing you this mercy before the judgment. Will you listen? Will you repent? And then, in verse 13, we get a short interlude here with an eagle calling out, whoa, whoa, whoa, to the inhabitants of the earth. And this is a warning to those who are still alive after all of these judgments that have happened in these first four trumpets. So if you’re if you’ve made it through this, this eagle comes and says, Woe on you, because things are about to go from bad to worse, bad to worse. These woes are coming for humanity, coming for people. Those first four were affecting the Earth. Did affect some people, right? And living off in the earth. But now these are going to be directly on people, but not everyone, okay, not everyone. The phrase there in verse 13, says it’s going to be for the inhabitants of the earth, and we’re already seeing this, but in Revelation, when it says that it’s talking about people on the earth who are opposed to God. Those are the inhabitants of the earth, people who are living as if there is no God, who have no fear of God in their lives. So these judgments are coming specifically for those who are not followers of Jesus. Okay, we need to know that as we head into this last section. Now, we’re also going to look at two of these three woes in trumpet five and six. I know the sermon title says seven trumpets, but if you pay attention a little bit to the pattern of what’s going on here, there’s gonna be a long interlude between six and seven. So you’re gonna have to come back next week to find out what happens in trumpet seven and the third woe. So we’re gonna cover five and six, which are the first and second woes that we see here in verse 13. So, let’s look at this last section. Judgment comes for the unrepentant. We’re going to read chapter nine. We’re going to read one through 21, the whole chapter, okay? Verse one, the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the abyss. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it, like the smoke from a gigantic furnace, the sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the abyss. And out of the smoke, locusts came down in the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. They were not they were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were not allowed to kill them, but only to torture them for five months, and the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes during those days, people will seek death, but will not find it. They will long to die, but death will elude them. The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads, they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lion’s teeth. They had breastplates, like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. They had his king over them, the angel the abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek is Apollyon, that is destroyer the first woe is past. Two other woes are yet to come. The sixth angel sounded his trump, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that is before a god. It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet release the four angels who are bound to the great river Euphrates and the four angels who had been. Kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops was twice 10,000 times 10,000 I heard their number, the horses and riders. I saw my vision looked like this. Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails were like snakes having heads with which they could afflict injury. The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, still did not repent to the work of their hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood, idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts. So the fifth trumpet, a star, falls from the heavens, and the star is given a key to the shaft of the abyss. Who is this star from heaven? Best guess here is that this is an angel. Angels are referred to as stars in Scripture. If you went back to Revelation one verse 20, it says that the seven stars over the seven churches, over the seven churches are the seven angels. Okay, so these seven stars, seven angels over the churches. So we see this language used, and there’s debate on if this angel is good or bad, or is this, is this actually Satan himself, without getting into all the different possibilities I’m inclined to believe without, you know, big dogma, like dogmatic approach here, just is what I am inclined to believe, that this is a good angel, okay, sent from heaven. The Fallen is not the nature of the angel but just came from heaven. And I believe this mainly because of Revelation 20, which you’ll see on the screen. So later, almost at the very end of the book, we see this. And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven having the key to the abyss and holding it, holding in his hand a great chain. He sees the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the Devil or Satan, and bound him for 1000 years. He threw him into the abyss and locked and sealed it over him to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the 1000 years were ended. And so at judgment, the angel opens the abyss, and at the end, the angel locks and seals the abyss. So I think this is the good angel that God sends who has this key. And it doesn’t matter much who this is. The most important thing about this is who is the one who gives the key? God is the one who gives the key. It’s his to give. It’s nobody else’s. It’s God’s decision that this is the right time for judgment to come. So he sends an angel, gives him the key to open the abyss. And this angel opens this literal, or not literal pit, but this place, right? That’s representing the demons, okay? And so this is the time, again, not a literal place, but just showing that key is turned. They are released because they’re released for a very specific purpose, to bring judgment on the earth. To bring judgment on the earth. The important thing to see here is that Satan and his demons can not do anything without the permission of God. They cannot and do not operate freely outside of his will. He has opened it up. It is the time for judgment, and there’s smoke and there’s darkness again, taking us back to Egypt, the reminder of that darkness that comes and then that cloud that comes with locusts. That’s the eighth plague in Egypt, because we have the locusts who are released here. If you’re with us, last year, we looked at the book of Joel. We also talked a lot about locus at that time. So your mind might go there, might go back to Egypt, and we don’t have time to look at all the details and all the description of the locust. I’m pretty sure these are not Apache helicopters, though. Some people think that. Don’t think that’s what he’s describing here in this moment. But what is it meant to describe that evil is terrifying? That’s what Revelation does. Gives us these pictures, and the pictures we get here because locusts are about destruction. We saw that in Joel. They’re about destruction coming in and destroying the plant life, taking care of it. But these locusts are also compared to scorpions, and scorpions can inflict a lot of pain. So we have these two features of these terrifying creatures who are released on the earth. They have intelligence and strength and power, and they’re under a leader, this king that we see in verse 11. This is who I believe is Satan, not the angel who had the key to the abyss, but this destroyer, Abaddon, is usually referred to as a place. So it’s a place personified. Now, Apollyon might have something to do with the fact of, like, we’re thinking about the gods of the time and Nero and stuff. Thought he was a god, and so it might be a play on. That too. But regardless of that, it’s showing there’s some sort of authority behind them. But this authority has limited power. This authority cannot release the demons on his own. The authority comes from God, and God says it’s the time for judgment, and we keep seeing that, because there’s limits set on what these destroyers can do okay, limits set on the demons, what they can do and for how long they cannot kill. In the fifth trumpet, they are not allowed to kill, but they can harm and torture for five months. Now, five months is that literal? Is it not? Most locusts in this area lived about five months made of September. And so it’s probably just saying, just like locusts are temporary, this is going to happen for a time, and then it will be over. So most likely representing that that span of time, whatever that actually is, there’s also limits set on who they can harm. Look at verse four. I already mentioned the inhabitants of the earth, but we find out more about them. Verse four, those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads, we found out last week that those with the seal of God are believers. You have the seal. You are in Christ. Those who are saved, washed in the blood of the lamb and the demons cannot touch them. Think it’s also interesting here that you can implicitly, kind of understand, like the demons know who is God’s and who is not. Right. They know who has the seal and who does not. So, where have we seen this before? Where have we seen God’s judgment coming on the unrepentant and God’s people spared? Let’s go back to Exodus, chapter 10, the plague of darkness. It says this. Then the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand and toward the sky, so that darkness spreads over Egypt, darkness that can be felt. So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky in total darkness covered all of Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived. So the plague of darkness God’s judgment comes in the unrepentant. And yet, where the where the Israelites are, there’s light they can go about their days. And what we see here is this punishment, this judgment is coming on. Those who do not have the seal of God, those who have not repented of their sin will experience this judgment when you think about this. If the Egyptians saw that, wouldn’t you want to maybe give God a little bit of investigation, like, why did they have light and we don’t? Does the world see us and see our lives? The difference in our lives. Are they drawn to the light, attracted to that light? So there’s something different about you. Are they drawn to us and to the God that we serve? So here we have the unrepentant who are experiencing torture by this swarm. We cannot try and explain this away. They are being tortured. They are experiencing spiritual and physical torture and pain. It’s probably natural and supernatural, caused directly by demons or some through some influence of demons on humanity, but either way, they’re experiencing this pain, this devastation that the Locust caused, this pain that scorpions cause, and it’s so great, it says that they want to die, but cannot imagine that pain to want to die, but you can’t. And I’m thinking, What a contrast to those who are in Christ. When you think of the apostle Paul and what he wrote in Philippians 1. Take a look at this the way he views his own life, which included, by the way, a lot of pain and suffering. He says, I eagerly expect and hope that I will no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now, as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If you are in Christ, this is how we live. The unrepentant are living lives they wish they died and they can’t. We have hope to give them. We have life to give them. They can experience this. Whether I die, I am with Jesus, and that is far better, or if I keep serving him on the earth, I get to serve Jesus and see fruitful labor. But we look at life differently. We look at death differently. This morning, our church is grieving, and we grieve with hope, because it’s not the end of the story, it’s not we know what the end is. It’s resurrection life. That’s what we get when we’re in Christ. Now, something that’s as you’re reading this. I don’t know how you can not think this, but it’s hard that God allows and uses evil as an instrument for his own. Judgment. Okay? We see that here, Satan, its demons, its sinful humanity. God has allowed this throughout Scripture. The trumpets blast. God’s will. The key is open. It’s God’s will. Judgment comes, it’s God’s will. And there are many answers we can give. We’re not getting into the whole sovereignty of God discussion today, but I think we get one reason. Okay, one reason why this happens. Look at verse 20. Okay. Look at verse 20. It says the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, still did not repent of the work of their hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood, idols that cannot see or hear or walk. So this is how the inhabitants of the earth, those not sealed by God, are living. They are worshiping demons and idols, it says. And so I think God uses evil to bring judgment because it shows the true character of the idols. It shows the true character of the demons, that while we are deceived by Satan, his whole goal, the entire time, is to deceive us to the point where he can kill us. And so God uses it to say, all along I’ve been saying this leads to death. Idol worship leads to death. Worshiping demons leads to death. Walking in sin leads to death. And so, why does God use it in this moment? Because it’s being exactly what evil is. It’s destroying, and so he says, I’ve been telling you this whole time that this will lead to death, and now it does. What does Romans 623 say, For the wages of sin is death. We get what we deserve. This is for all of us. This is every single person who has ever lived. This is who we are in our sinful nature. And then Paul goes on to say, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ, Jesus our Lord. So, we all should get what we deserve. We should all experience this judgment. But the gift of God as eternal life in Christ, Jesus, our Lord. But to get that gift, you must repent, repent and believe in the good news, in the resurrection, in the forgiveness of Jesus. And so if you’re here this morning, do not presume upon God’s grace. Don’t think that you have time. Tomorrow isn’t promised, so take it seriously. There is a pattern where God shows judgment. He gives mercy. Would you believe? Turn your heart to Him because if you don’t, if you keep living that life, your heart will get harder and harder, just like Pharaoh’s, just like these unrepentant people who, no matter what they see, they will not bend the knee to Jesus, repent and believe the good news, and God will demolish, he’ll start demolishing today, the power of these idols and sins and strongholds that we have now. That’s the first Whoa, trumpet five. Now the second Whoa, trumpet six. We’re not going to spend a whole lot of time here. It very much follows the same pattern that we just saw, but for the sake of time, I want to kind of just move through a few different things here. Trumpet six intensifies. Okay? It’s ratcheting up again. So immediately, we’re reminded that this judgment is still coming because of the prayers of God’s people. That’s what we see here right at the beginning. Right, the sixth angel sounded his trump, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that is before God. This is where the prayers of God’s people are being offered. So, this is still in response to the people’s prayer for God’s judgment to come. Trumpet five brought pain for those who do not repent, those who refuse to submit to God, and now the judgment is even more severe. The limits have been taken off for some because now the angels are released. These four angels on the other side of the great river Euphrates, who have been restrained up until this moment, from this day, right, this month, this hour, they are meant to go at this point, and they are released to kill a third of mankind. The limits have been lifted. So they were allowed to torture, not kill. Now they can kill, but again, Mercy. It’s not everybody. It’s a third of the number here in verse 16 of this kind of army that’s coming. The quick math here is 200 million soldiers, which is like an unimaginable number to us. So just showing this is going to be across the earth. You are not safe from God’s judgment. So it seems like what’s going to happen here are going to be wars and plagues. We see this fire and sulfur and smoke. We’ve seen this on a smaller scale, the plague wiping out. How much of Europe we’ve seen COVID go across the. World. In a very short period of time, we’ve seen other things come up here or there that have wreaked havoc on society. And what we see here is 200 million are coming. Everybody will be affected by it. Now. Where have we heard of this before? In Exodus. The plagues brought pain. They brought suffering, suffering and devastation, and spiritual and physical pain. And then what was the final plague? The Angel of Death, nine different plagues with the chance to repent, and when they were unrepentant, the final plague comes, one of death, the death of the firstborn son, unless, of course, you have another’s blood to spread across your door posts somebody who would stand in that place so that the angel of death would pass over First. Corinthians tells us Christ is our Passover lamb. Every time they celebrated that they remember what happened to the unrepentant Egyptians and how God spared them in his mercy, judgment and mercy in those moments because that plague would have that angel death would have affected the Israelites too. If they didn’t have the blood, we have the blood of Jesus. Now, that’s what we walk in. That’s our hope. Now, I don’t know about you, but when you get to verses 20 and 21 you might feel a little frustrated, confused, angry. How can people keep living if they’ve if they’ve experienced all this, how can they keep living the same way, in rebellion, it in opposition to God, ignore everything that’s already happened. My first question is, how long did we go? That’s my first question. How long did we go living that way? And then, for us who are in Christ, how long have we let sin continue to linger, not killing it but kind of keeping it around a little bit? Verses 20: 21 just shows us the power of pride and selfishness. That’s what it is to see all of that and to dig your heels in even more, harden your heart. If you’ve ever known somebody who deals with addiction, something destroying their life, then you know what this is like. You’ve seen this. You’ve experienced it. You’ve talked to people who see they’re destroying their life, and they can’t stop, and you plead with them, and there’s just something there that just they dig in their heels even more in those moments. Something has to happen. Something has to break through. We’ve talked about it here, that suffering is like a megaphone, and God is very clear and very loud and very right in his judgment, and people will still not repent. This is meant to invoke feelings in us. It should invoke a desire to go out and proclaim the good news to people. So, just like an attitude, you want to tell them what’s going on, and you want to tell other people this is what is coming. And so it’s this implicit call for evangelism. People are living in bad news. Sometimes they know it, sometimes they don’t. I’m also not talking about scaring people into heaven. I don’t think we can do that. What we’re doing in those moments is having them sit there and say, Is this really the best path for you? Is this really what you think is going to bring hope and satisfaction to your life? We have good news to tell them, so maybe in that moment when you tell them they repent and believe was what we’re hoping for, maybe that moment doesn’t come years down the road for them when some sort of tragedy strikes and they take it seriously in that moment, or it’s just the grind of living in a world that’s broken with sin, till eventually, they can’t do it anymore. And yet, there’s still others whose hearts will just harden more and more. And our role, our role is just to tell others there’s something better, that there is life, that there is someone who is making all things new again. And so we must pursue with urgency and plead in prayer. That’s what we need to be about, pursuing with urgency and pleading in prayer, the apostle Paul hardened his heart so much that he went out to take the Christians to prison, to see them killed, to see this faith about this Jesus, the way done away with and yet he confessed, repented of a sin to. Turn to Jesus. Nazi soldiers confess their sins, repented and followed Jesus. There have been terrorists who have confessed their sins, repented and followed Jesus. And if you’re here this morning, you know Jesus, you did the same thing. You got to a place where you said, my sin is not the answer, it’s destroying me. So you confessed, you repented, you believed and followed Jesus. And the amazing thing is that Jesus doesn’t turn any of us away. We come to him with soft hearts, and we repent. He is there for us. He won’t turn you away this morning if you say, I repent, I believe. So, let’s bring this all together. Here’s the big idea for this morning. Prepare for God’s coming judgment through repentance and prayer. Prepare for God’s coming judgment through repentance and prayer. What does revelation 89 have to do with our life? I kind of already mentioned it. If you’re a believer here, we know evangelism is important, that we need to tell people the good news about Jesus, and then if you’re here, also, if you’re a believer, you follow Jesus. We need to keep repenting and keep praying. We have not figured out all the sins in our lives. We need to keep bringing them to God, keep laying to God, keep laying them at his feet, and keep repenting. We don’t just do it once. We do it every single day. We cannot trust in our own hands. So confess, repent and seek the Lord’s mercy, again giving him the honor due His name, and then keep praying for God’s justice while also praying for His mercy. We can pray both prayers because judgment is either going to come on those who deserve it, like we all did, or that person is going to experience the mercy of God in that moment and realize everything that they have done, every evil they have done that was placed on Jesus, on the cross, that He absorbed, all the wrath that they deserve, that we deserve. So we keep praying, we keep repenting. If you’re here this morning and you don’t believe this step is very simple, your prayer should be a prayer of repentance. Brandon mentioned this last few sermon series that evil and sin and suffering have an expiration date, they do. But we could also say that God’s patience has an expiration date because judgment is coming in full, incomplete. It’s going to happen. He will not restrain his judgment forever. So don’t leave here today without taking it seriously at this moment because God is the God of justice. He will judge according to what we’ve done. And our work will not be enough. These works that they keep offering up here keep living in what we see in verses 20 and 21: this work with our hands is not going to be enough. Instead, we need perfection. So the only way we stand with our works before God, and he says, yes, you can come out and in is if it’s Jesus’s perfection that we’re standing in, that’s it. And the only way to do that is to repent and believe in Jesus and what He has done for us. So keep praying, keep repenting, and then keep doing it again and again and again. Let’s pray.
Lord, judgment is not a topic that is fun. It’s not one that we come to lightly. And yet, Lord, we know that in your goodness, in your perfection and in your justice, you must take care of sin, you must judge. And I pray that all of us here this morning as we come to the Lord’s table, as we’ve given our life to following you for a few moments, we sit there and think about what it cost Jesus on that cross, Lord, we love you, and we pray this in Jesus name, amen.

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The Seven Seals February 2, 2025 | Brandon Cooper The sermon covers the opening of the seven seals in Revelation, which reveal God’s judgment on the world through conquest, war, famine, and plague. The fifth and sixth seals show the persecution of believers and the coming day of God’s wrath. An interlude describes God sealing and protecting his people before the final seal is opened. The sermon emphasizes the importance of looking ahead, counting the cost of sin and discipleship, and trusting in Jesus faithfully.

Good morning church. You can grab your Bibles open up to Revelation chapter six. We’ll be in chapter six and seven this morning, Revelation six and seven. As you’re turning there, if you were here last week, you just you remember how glorious it was. Just one of the greatest passages in all of Scripture, the lion lamb has triumphed. All glory be to Christ. And he’s taken the scroll from his father’s hand. He now holds history in his hands and will work it out for His Father’s glory as he brings it to its purpose. Conclusion, awesome, Christ is reigning, except is he raining? Because you look around sometimes and you can start to wonder, it doesn’t always feel like a good and gracious God is on the throne. There’s this tension in history, in our lives, and it’s a tension that we actually see in our reading this morning as well, because we have this idea Christ is king. So at least for those of us who have submitted joyfully to his rule, everything should be coming up, sunshine and rainbows, right? Blue skies, green meadows, all day, every day. So why isn’t it? Why is there so much evil and misery? Still, this tension that we feel and that we see in the text today helps us because, as we see Jesus, take the scroll, which remember, is God’s secret plan for human history, how it’s going to unfold. We see Jesus take the scroll, we begin to ask some questions. When? What exactly is going to happen here? How long is it going to take? All those questions are going to help us read Revelation really badly, but this tension pushes us in a different direction. Instead, as as Jesus slowly unseals the scroll, he’s going to point us to an answer to a much more important question, which is, why? Why? Why? Why is the world still this place of evil and violence and misery, and with it comes a second question for ourselves, which is really, how are you responding to that when you see evil and suffering, are you primarily just bummed because it makes your life hard, or is there something more to it? I’ll put it like this, is your response to all of this, me centered, or God centered, like when someone offends you, lies about you, something like that causes you distress for that reason. Do you think that person just disobeyed the two great commandments, to love the Lord to God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, to love your neighbor as yourself, they have offended a holy God, are your concerns? God’s concerns, in other words, like, is that where your heart, where your mind go? If yes, by the way, if you’re thinking, Yep, that sounds right. I get that today’s passage will make sense to you. And if that’s not how you think, if you are just thinking kind of at this level of people me and those around me, today’s passage will not make sense to you, because we’re getting into God’s wrath. We’ll be there for a while, of course, because we’re in Revelation. If you know God, you know that he is just, that he must be just, or he would cease to be God, and therefore you know his plan must involve justice, judgment. That’s where we’re headed. Now, there is a structure here that I always want to bring out up front. You can see it in the notes there. So we’re going to take this in three scenes, but we get the seven seals, and we’re going to get seven trumpets, we’re going to get seven bowls, and all of them follow the same structure, which is the first four go together, and then the next two go together, and then you get a little break, an interlude, and then you get one more. So that’s what our structure is going to do today. Four seals, four horses, okay, two seals, two groups, and then one interlude with a multitude and a final seal. So let’s dive in. Scene one, four seals, four horses. Chapter Six, verses one to eight. I watched as the Lamb open the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder come. I looked, and there before me was a white horse. Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror, bent on conquest. When the Lamb opened the second scroll, I heard the second living creature say, Come. And another horse came out, a fiery red one. His rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him, was given a large sword. When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, come. I looked, and there before me was a black horse. Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand, and I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures saying, two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine. When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, come I looked, and there before me was a pale horse. Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague and by the wild beasts of the earth. So the only worthy lamb begins to unseal the scroll. As he pops the first seal off, one of the four living creatures, says come and we understand immediately that he is calling the first horse. Now these horses, we gotta understand, are drawing from Old Testament, good. We’re catching on, okay, Old Testament. Zechariah, vision of the four chariots. There are some differences. For example, there are no chariots here, but clearly based on it? This is Zachariah 61, to three. I looked up again, and there before me were four chariots coming out from between two mountains, mountains of bronze. The first chariot had red horses, the second black, the third white, then the fourth dappled. And these horses that are coming in Zachariah vision are coming to bring judgment on those nations that reject God and oppress his people, Israel. Now we get a new order here in Revelation six, and there’s no dappled horse, but it still is the same basic idea. God is sending these horses to bring judgment on the earth. So here different order. Like I said, the first horse is white. He’s got a bow, he’s got a crown, and he is bent on conquest. Now the white horse is the trickiest one, because there really are two options as to who this could be, because we have a white horse elsewhere in Revelation, and his rider is called Faithful and True, Jesus Christ. And so there are a number of commentators who go, look white horse. White Horse probably talking about the same person, if that’s the case, because you’re like, how is Jesus a conqueror bent on conquest? Be talking about the Gospels advance across the earth, and then these other three horses are what would be happening as the church lives out its mission to spread the Gospel. Commentators that I respect enormously think that I don’t think it’s right, however, because of the other three, I think it just makes more sense to take the four of them together. And I think this first horse, this white one, is actually conquest because of the next three. So what’s the connection with the white horse? Specifically, the white horse is what a conqueror would get to ride when he had his military parade, his triumph. So we read of Caesar, for example, when he comes back from his triumph. This is the historian Dio Cassius saying he was given permission to ride in a chariot drawn by white horses. So this is a conqueror bent on conquest. What does that bring? Well, you know, that’s going to bring the next three of course, because war is what happens. If you’re going to conquer people, you’re going to have to slaughter them. And that’s really what this horse is talking about, the red one. I mean, Rome promised peace. They were famous for the Pax Romana, of course, that they brought peace to this whole region. But how many multitudes did they have to slaughter in order to conquer those people in the first place and then to keep them subdued? Conquest brings war, and war then inevitably produces famine, and see it today, like going on right now in Sudan, in Gaza, places like that. So the people here are reduced to, I understand that these words don’t mean anything to us, but they are reduced to subsistence living like this is how much you need. So a day’s wages buys you just enough food for that day. That’s what’s happened here. This is enormous inflation, even back in a culture that was way more subsistence based than we are. So we know something about inflation here. We just did some inflation in this country. It was like year over year, like 8% and everybody’s complaining. So multiply that by 100 and think of the effect that would have on your life. That’s what’s going on here. Now, what about the oil and the wine? It’s possible that this is saying the rich are fine and it’s just the poor people who are suffering, except that oil and wine were actually staples for all groups of people, every socio economic status. So more likely, I think it’s because of where we are. Remember, we’re writing all this to western Turkey, the seven churches there in Asia Minor. Asia Minor produces its own oil and wine. Does not produce grain or barley. That’s got to get shipped from somewhere else. And all this gets disrupted, supply chain disruptions. We know about those things too, right? So most of the grain comes from Egypt, or interestingly, Ukraine, Ukraine has been. The bread basket for Europe since time immemorial. So probably that’s what’s going on there. In any case, we get a fourth horse. It says pale. I know some of you are picturing like white. That’s not at pale, like sickly. So the word that’s used here, we actually get our word chlorine from it means green, like a pale green. So picture the emoji for when you’re feeling nauseous, all right, that’s the color of this horse, and it is not so much death, then, as pestilence or plague specifically, which again, inevitably results in war torn areas and in military encampments. Rome was rarely stopped in Gaul, for example, example, but, but Gallic bacteria took care of the army on multiple occasions. So that’s what’s happening here. So you get, because you see it at the end there, where it says they were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword. That’s the second horse, right? And then famine, that’s the third horse, and plague, that’s the fourth horse. That’s why I think it is plague. It’s actually the same word death that’s used in both of those. Why do they keep translating it as plague? Probably because they’re drawing from Ezekiel 1421 which will explain the wild beasts as well. Because you’re like, Where’d the wild beasts come in? Here it is Ezekiel 1421, how much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments, sword and famine and wild beasts and plague. The point of this, though, is, this is what results from humanity’s lust for conquest, for the desire to get more for yourself, whether that’s power or glory, which of course, Rome was after money, whatever it is, this is what results from the lust for conquest, death and devastation. So what are we talking about? Then? When is this happening? Exactly? Because we’ve got some options. Rome is doing this right now. When this letter is being written, I guarantee you, that’s what the seven churches would have been thinking about at this point. But we could think of people Genghis Khan, we could think of Hitler, like lots of people. Or is this a future thing? Because, you know, Revelation, we tend to think about it being about the future. There are different schools of interpretation when it comes to Revelation. If you took Kyle’s Class A couple weeks back, you know this already, one of them is called the preterist school. Preterite meaning past tense. That’s the one that looks at exactly when this was written. So if you’re going to read this from a preterist perspective, you’re going to think this is Rome, and they’re Pax Romana. There’s another option, which is the idealist option, which kind of says this sort of describes the way it always looks, Genghis Kyle Hitler, or, if you’re a futurist, another school which is looking at the future you’re gonna see. Okay, sure, all of that, but it gets more intense. The best way to read Revelation, by the way, is to read all of them. Right? It’s multiple embodiments. These are all true, like, which one of those sounded wrong to you? This is just the way it goes. That’s how it was then. That’s what it’ll be like in the future. So we get these multiple embodiments. If you were here for Joel or Daniel, you remember the mountains, right mountain peaks like that’s what we’re doing right here. If you weren’t, it’s online. Good luck to you. Okay, sorry, but I do think that this is talking especially about all of history from Jesus until the end, because of what Jesus himself says, Luke, chapter 21 this is when Jesus is giving His Olivet Discourse, his description of the end of time. And he says, when you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away. Then he said to them, Nation will rise against nation. Kingdom against kingdom. Boy, that sure sounds like conquest, doesn’t it? There will be great earthquakes, which we’ll get to in a moment, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. And Jesus is saying, that’s not the end. That’s not the end. Okay, that’s just history. That’s just what humans do to each other. So I think that’s what’s going on here. Now, what are we to take from all of this? Though, a couple things to notice here. First of all, remember, this is God’s judgment. We see that because the Old Testament background. We see that because the scroll itself, written on both sides, like Ezekiel scroll, when Ezekiel was prophesying lament and mourning and woe. So this is God’s judgment on sinful humanity. But notice that God doesn’t do anything. God’s not sending fire from heaven here. The judgment is just that God goes y’all do whatever you want. He leaves evil unchecked. And of course, our sin brings its own consequences. This is when God is most actively judging us. Is when he takes his hand off the wheel. Basically, this is Romans chapter one, right when he says, God gave them over. Hey. Handed them over to a depraved minds that they do what ought not to be done. God says, Have it your way, and this is what results, which means, of course, then this is a warning and a rebuke to us in part two, because these judgments are happening now. This is not future. This is not the end. This is what’s happening now, and God’s judgments now are acts of mercy, because there is still time to repent, because we can wake up when we experience this and turn from our sin and trust in Jesus. So this is an invitation for us to see the cost of our sin, to reckon it out, to look at it and go, You know what? This is too much. This is too much. I will not pay this price. Now. How often we ask in this world, why did God allow fill in the blank? Why did God allow this? And one answer, not the only answer, but one answer that Scripture gives over and over and over again, is so that we wake up and see our folly, and especially here, to see the clear contrast between his rule and ours. Like this is what happens when you reject the one true God and the one true King and chase after the world’s pale imitations. This is what happens when we replace the glorious, worthy Jesus with whatever chump looks good and speaks well at that moment when we do that mayhem and madness result. So let me ask you to think of this passage the next time you want to rationalize away your cherished sins, no matter how little they may be too, whatever sin it is that you are clinging to, going, it’s fine, it’s no big deal. It’s just a bit of Gossip. Gossip doesn’t bring death and destruction, except that, of course, it does. Means you destroy a person’s reputation has ended in suicide multiple times. Of course, we know that like this is what results from our sin. Think of that the next time you’re trying to excuse your sin, this is such an implicit call to repentance and to trust in the only king who can bring peace and justice. So you got a horse here. Name is Death, and Hades is coming with him. Do you remember revelation 118 the vision of Christ, who holds the keys of death and hades in his hand? What are we afraid of? Let’s worship him. Let’s follow him. And that brings us peace, even now, knowing that he is King, that knowing that God is in control of this evil, even if he’s not doing it. He is sovereign over it, and knowing also that, at least at this point, it is limited in time and scope, he saw that in verse eight, of course, only a fourth, right? And I don’t think that’s a literal number, because I don’t think the numbers in Revelation are literal. But he’s saying Not everyone, not everyone, not yet. That takes us to the second scene though two seals, two groups. So here are seals, five and six. Me keep reading the rest of chapter six. When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, how long Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood. Then each of them was given a white robe. They were told to wait a little longer until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters were killed, just as they had been. I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There’s a great earthquake. Sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair. The whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth as figs dropped from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind, the heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty and everyone else, both slave and free, hidden caves and among the rocks in the mountains, they called the mountains, and the rocks fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it. So you you see these four horses, and the churches there are reading these, hearing this the first time these four horses and and the people of God are wondering what is going to happen to them in all of this, like, What is God doing for his people here? And a partial answer is given in this vision of the martyrs, specifically in the fifth seal. Now. Now it’s not a pretty picture, of course, because they’re martyrs, their blood has been poured out. Why are they under the altar? By the way, in the Old Testament, the blood from a sacrifice is poured at the base of the altar, and since these people’s lives have been poured out as a sacrifice to their god, that’s why it’s just there at the base of the altar, is the idea. And why were they murdered? Why were they killed in the first place? The answer is because they were like Jesus. Remember, Jesus is the faithful and true witness. We’ve seen that already. We will see it again. And these men and women were faithful and true witnesses as well, so that, as it says, they maintained their testimony even in persecution and even to the point of death. So what happens now, if you remember back in Genesis four, when Cain slays his brother, Abel, and God comes to Cain and says, Your brother’s blood is crying out to me. It is crying out for vengeance, that is what is happening here, except here, since the murders are themselves, the blood poured on the base of the altar. They are crying out. And they are crying out that God would be God, that he would rule with justice, that he would vindicate them and avenge their blood. And I know some of us hear that, and we go, well, this doesn’t sound very New Testament. I thought we’re supposed to forgive our enemies and pray for those who persecute us and whatnot, but notice what they’re doing. They’re not bringing vengeance, because they know, as God himself said, Vengeance is Mine, says the Lord, they’re leaving it in God’s hands, and God will bring justice in the end. That’s what they’re crying out for here. That means there is a subtle shift, though, because in the first four seals, sinners are killing sinners. But here with the fifth seal, we have sinners destroying saints. Sinner saints. Yes, we’re all sinners. I know that, but sinners are destroying saints. And so there’s this this injustice in it. That’s why they’re crying out. And so they’re given a white robe. We’ll talk white robes more in Revelation. But obviously this is the reward for the righteous, the reward for those who overcome, who are faithful to the end. We’ve seen that in the letters, for example. And then they’re told to wait. Okay, not yet. We’re not at the end yet. Not even with the fifth seal, are we at the end. Told to wait. It’s not the end yet, and then they’re given this other promise that’s just not overly comforting. Is it like God? What about us? And God says it’s not time yet. We got to wait until the rest of them get killed, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed, just as they had been. So that’s not comforting to begin with. Let me make it more uncomfortable for you who set this number. It wasn’t Satan. He doesn’t have that power. This is God. God set the number of his children who would be killed? Now, why would God again? I think we could give multiple answers to this question, but one of them, and it’s the one that’s here, he says because of what martyrdom says. Remember the word martyr? It’s a Greek word. It means witness, every kind of witness, but since so many Christian witnesses died, it eventually became person who gets killed for their faith, but think of what martyrdom says, the witness that it gives, this is the clearest testimony you can offer that Jesus is better than everything this life has to offer, because you would not even shrink from death In order to follow Him. He will worship no false god. You will bow before no false king. You will serve the worthy God, even to the point of death. That’s what murderdom says. I think of Richard rombrand, the Romanian pastor who was imprisoned, tortured multiple times under communist rule, and they kept threatening him with death every time they torture him, you gotta renounce your faith, or else we’re gonna kill you. And he said, go ahead and kill me, because if you kill me, I’ve got all these tapes in my sermon. Now there’s cassette tapes, kids, you’re gonna have to look that up when you get home. Okay, we got all these tapes of my sermons that are out there, and what’s gonna happen is people, when they find out that I’ve been killed for this. They will say, we better listen to these tapes, because this message was so important, he was willing to die for these tapes. Have been baptized in his blood. That’s what martyrdom says. Another question, though, is, where do these murders come from? Well, these murders, they come from the seven churches. Of course, we’ve already met some of them. One of them has been killed already. We saw in the seven letters series there are others who are in danger of this death. But then we also talked about the fact that seven churches symbolically stand for all churches as well, which means the martyrs come from all churches. Martyrs might come from Cityview. There’s this implicit question just hanging out there for all of us, when we read this passage, this giant mount ball just floating out there, what will you do if it comes to this? Will you drink from death, or will you be faithful to the end and testify that Jesus is better than all that this life has to offer. With that, we open the sixth seal, and there’s a great earthquake. Now in Revelation, not in other biblical books, but in Revelation. The Great Earthquake always signals the end. This is the day of the Lord, and Jesus comes back, and the very foundations of the earth shake in His presence. This, by the way, would be powerful imagery to the churches in western Turkey, who’ve just been through two major earthquakes within their lifetime, like cities level, they would go, I know what you’re talking about here. You also have Vesuvius, having gone off in 8079 wiped out Pompeii, like they understand these signs that mean devastation. So throw in some astronomical phenomena as well, and we can certainly confirm that this is the end. Jesus said, as much same passage I quoted earlier, Luke 21 there will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. People will faint from terror, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. And the very next verse, By the way, says, At that time, you will see the Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. So we are at the end. Now that’s why there is this shaking that is happening. It’s the shaking of the old created order to make way for the new creation, the new heavens and the new earth that is coming. The language is taken from Isaiah 34 verse four, which, again, is God’s judgment on the nations. And so listen, you’ll you’ll hear what we’re talking about here. All the stars in the sky will be dissolved and the heavens rolled up like a scroll. All the starry hosts will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree. So we’re rolling up the heavens like a scroll. I mean, the image that comes to mind for me, at least, is like when you’re done camping and you roll up the tent like that’s what’s happening here you were in a temporary dwelling, and it’s time to pack that one up and go to your permanent dwelling, the new heavens and the new earth. So that’s what’s happening here. How do the people respond? Well, look at verse 15. Count them with me here, would you then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty and everyone else, both slave and free. Seven types of people, shocking seven types of people, complete judgment on all people, everyone who has not turned from their sin and trusted in Jesus. And what do they do? They run to the mountains and the caves for shelter. By the way, this proves that this is symbolic, right? We’re using apocalyptic imagery. It’s not meant to be taken totally literally, because what happened in verse 14, every mountain got removed from its place, and here, just one verse later, the mountains are all there, and you can flee to them for refuge. Okay, so we’re stacking up images. They’re not meant to make literal sense. They’re meant to startle you awake, which they certainly will do. But did you notice that the people respond here in terror before the coming of the Lord? Terror, but not repentance. What do they do when they see the Lord like Adam and Eve, they don’t run to God and say, we can’t believe we did this. They run away and they hide from him. The offer of redemption has been met with rejection. The language is taken from Isaiah two, but, but the proper response in is in Isaiah two also, and it says, people will flee to caves and the rocks and the holes in the ground from the fearful presence of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, His beauty, they are fleeing from his beauty when he rises to shake the earth like we should respond with awe, yes, trembling, awe. But we shouldn’t flee. We should be running to him, especially in light of the Lamb who was slain to rescue us from our sin, but the great day of wrath the inhabitants of the earth, just the great day of salvation for God’s people, has come. Now. I get it. We don’t like wrath today. We don’t like talking about it, but we need to understand that wrath is an expression of justice. We have to see that God is treating he’s putting sin in quarantine. That’s what happens in this moment. God is saying, I will not let the virus of sin infect the new heavens and the new earth, or you will make it into a new hell. It, because that’s what sin does. So you can either put your sin down, or you will stay out of the new heavens and the new earth. That is what wrath is. But this reminds us of the seriousness of our sin as well, because the big problem with wrath that we have is we think we’re not that bad, and God’s saying, I’d beg to differ, right? This goes back to the opening questions that we ask, like, when somebody offends you, you go, you’re actually offending a holy God. You’re grieving his heart. And you go, Eh, it’s no big deal. We are talking about the unyielding rejection of God, because even here at the end, they are still rejecting him. The question for us as Christians, though, is, how do we respond to the knowledge of God’s wrath? Good? Say more. Let me just give you three ideas. First of all, and most importantly, of course, we respond with prayerful, bold, urgent evangelism, because we know what’s coming. We know that God has plucked us out of this destruction through no merit of our own, and so if he has pulled us out of the pit, we will do all that we can, by His grace, to pluck others from the pit as well. If you can read Revelation and not think to yourself, I need to talk to my friends and family and colleagues and neighbors, I don’t think you’re reading Revelation. I don’t know what has happened to your heart. Like this should stir us so prayerful, bold, urgent evangelism. Second, grief, of course, we weep to think what is coming, especially for those that we love, if they have not turned to Jesus. But third, and it’s there also, and we can’t lose it, and it’s here in Revelation, over and over again, we respond with worship, and we will respond with worship in the end, as we see God’s perfect reign, his perfect rule, his perfect justice, his perfect holiness on display. So God is shaking creation. The image here. I’ve used it before, but I think it makes sense, you know, when you make glitter projects, so you’re asking somebody to turn about, or something like that, and you put the glue down, you know, and then you dump like, eight pounds of glitter on it, so get the thin little line, and then what do you do after the glue dries? You shake it off, right? That’s what’s God. What God is doing here? Okay, he’s shaking to see what is permanent, what should remain. That’s what Hebrews 12 tells us, when God comes again to shake the heavens, the earth only what cannot be shaken may remain. And so here, I think the question is not so much what can’t be shaken, but who can’t be shaken? The big question is there in verse 17, right? Great day, the www can withstand it. The big question is, who can stand when God shakes the earth? And that’s what leads us into the interlude. Let me read chapter seven for us and 81 after this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. I saw another angel coming up from the east having the seal the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea, do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God. And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. From each of these tribes, 12,000 Judah, Reuben, Gad Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin. After this, I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying Amen Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen, one of the elders asked me, these in white robes, who are they, and where did they come from? I answered, Sir, you know, and he said, These are they who have come out of the Great Tribulation. They’ve washed their robes, made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple. And he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. Never again will they hunger. Never again will they thirst. The sun will not be doubt on them, nor any scorching heat. For the lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd. He will lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes. When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. So the four angels here hold back the four winds of heaven. These are the judgments of the sixth seal. That’s what’s being held back here. There’s this interlude between six and seven, and what happens in this. Interlude is we are we’re given comfort for the saints. God knows who are his, and God protects who are His. What this means, though, then, is that this is out of order, because we just got the sixth seal. And then God says, Wait, hang on. Don’t do that until they’re all sealed. It’s gonna be really good to keep that in mind throughout our reading of Revelation. We like things very linear in the West, very chronological. A, B, C, D, E. That’s not how Eastern thought works. It’s really not how John works. Read First John. Sometime John writes like this, okay, getting deeper and deeper as we go and they quote GB carrot here, commentator on Revelation. I love how he describes revelation. He says the unity of John’s book is neither chronological nor arithmetical, but artistic like that of a musical theme with variations, each variation adding something new to the significance of the whole composition. If you know anything about symphonies, you know, you get recapitulation, recaps, right? The theme comes back up. That’s what’s going to happen. So things are going to be out of order here and elsewhere. The interlude shows God’s patience, okay? This is between five and six, right? So before he brings judgment. God is patient. Why? Because he wants no one to perish, but all to come to repentance. And so six won’t happen. We already saw this until the full number of martyrs is completed, and then until God’s people are sealed. The seal comes from Ezekiel nine, verse four, where God sends His angel, says, go throughout the city of Jerusalem. Put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it. That’s God’s concerns, again, right? So that’s what he’s saying. Seal those who care about the things that I care about. But the seal itself shows God’s ownership and protection, protection from spiritual harm, because these people in Jerusalem, they’re still getting sacked, even the ones who are faithful, even the ones who grieve sin, their homes still get burned. They still get shipped off into exile. They’re still experiencing famine and plague. They still are put under the sword. I mean, think about it. We just talked about these two things so that the sixth seal doesn’t happen until God’s people are sealed, so that they won’t be harmed and the full number of God’s people are killed. Okay, yep, tension. I told you, tension. We’re talking about different spheres. Of course, we’re talking about people who are sealed so that they are spared from God’s wrath, not spared from the Beast’s wrath. They haven’t met the beast yet. CHAPTER 11, we’ll meet him. Chapter 13, we’ll talk way more about him, okay, but that’s what’s happened. So we’re spirit spared spiritual harm, not physical harm, and so it’s a little bit like the sign of the Passover. Then again, God’s people in Egypt, they’re experiencing oppression. They are slaves. They are being persecuted. But they put the sign, which is like a seal on the doorpost, the blood of the Lamb, and it protects them from the destroyer, from God’s destroyer, who’s bringing the plagues, which, by the way, wait till you get to the trumpets and the bowls. Guess what? Those are the plagues. Okay, so this is all making sense to us, right? And by the way, it’s the same thing. How are we sealed? The blood of the Lamb. It’s the blood of the Lamb. It’s always the blood of the lamb that seals us. Likely not a literal mark, by the way, if we talk about sealing elsewhere in Scripture, Ephesians, 113, and 14 were sealed by God’s Spirit, the guarantee depositing our inheritance until the coming of those who are whatever. I lost it. But you get the idea, we’re sealed with the Spirit of God. You can look it up, Ephesians. One, I promise it’s there. Okay, sealed with the Spirit. So this is probably a spiritual seal that we’re talking about. Now the big question, who are the 144,000 from the 12 tribes? I will step on some toes here, I’m sure, because almost certainly, this is not referring to the Jewish people. This is referring to all the redeemed of the Lord, the multitude of chapter seven, verse nine that we just read about. Why? A couple things to think about. First of all, this is obviously a symbolic number. It’s 12, which is symbolic, times 12, which is symbolic, times 1000 which is symbolic. So we’re already not talking about little groups. If you’re trying to count out 144,000 people, and some have tried to do that in history. Good luck to you. Close the book. Find something else to do. Okay, like you’re not doing this well. But here are some reasons. I’m going to give more reasons than I normally would, because I think it’s so important to get this right. First of all, this is the answer to the question asked in 617 who can stand in the day of God’s wrath? And certainly it is not just the Jewish people who can stand at that moment. Second I’m. Notice what happens. Verse four, I heard the number of those who were sealed. And then verse nine, after that, I looked and saw a multitude, kind of like we heard about the lion from the tribe of Judah. And then John turns and he sees a lamb who was slain, and the Lion and the Lamb are the same being, and these are the same multitude. Third, they’re called servants, and the servants word is used of God’s people, all of them in Revelation, unless it is explicitly narrowed, like my servants, the prophets, or something like that. So it’s all believers in Revelation. Fourth, maybe most importantly, it is supported by revelation 14, three, which we’ll get to, of course, where these 144,000 are singing a song, and the only ones who can learn it are the 144,000 who have been redeemed from the earth, which would be a really weird way to refer To those who have been redeemed from Israel. Specifically, I the fifth, sixth, wherever I am, these are not the 12 tribes. I don’t want to get into this too much. Dan isn’t there, maybe because he’s idolatrous, but honestly, they’re all idolatrous. So that doesn’t make any sense. Usually, Levi isn’t counted because Joseph’s kids, Ephraim and Manasseh each get one. So they’re actually like 13 tribes, but Levi didn’t get lamb, but Levi is here, so Manassas here, but then it’s not Ephraim, it’s Joseph. Good luck, by the way, I read a bunch of commentaries, and they were all like, no idea, no idea. Okay, so, but if not the 12 tribes, which seems significant. And finally, Jesus himself has prepared us to read Israel, the Jewish people, as the New Testament people of God, the church of God, already in Revelation in chapter two, verse nine, when he’s speaking to one of the churches don’t remember, which maybe Smyrna, he says, you know, he’s talking about the persecution that’s happening from those who say they are Jews and are not but are a synagogue of Satan. So what makes you Jewish, in Jesus mind here in Revelation, at least, is that you believe in the same God that Abraham believed in. And that’s the point. Of course, this emphasizes our Israelite heritage as Christians, we are the seed of Abraham, not by blood, but by faith, because we have Abraham’s faith. That’s Galatians chapter three. But notice this group here is the Church on earth, right? We are on earth because these judgments are still coming. This is the Church Militant, not in the sense that we go out with sword and spear and things like that, but that we go out to serve our God. We are bent on conquest. It’s the conquest of the gospel, though not war. And we’re not willing to take life for the name of Christ, but we are willing to give our lives for the name of Christ. This is the Church on earth, but with 79 we shifted the church in heaven. This is the church triumphant. This is the group that has been taken out of the Great Tribulation. And here the emphasis is on the global character of the church from every nation, tribe, people, tongue, and what are they doing? What are they doing? They are standing before the throne and before the Lamb who can stand in the day of God’s wrath. This multitude, those who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, are standing before God’s throne, and they’ve been given white robes to wear, which, remember, is what was given to those in 611 the witnesses. Why? Because we are all witnesses, whether killed or not, we wave palm branches because that’s what you do to celebrate God’s deliverance. And they sing a song, Salvation belongs to our God. That just means he can do it. We can’t save ourselves. He alone can save it. And then we get a seven fold Praise, praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength. It’s a different one, but still a seven fold praise. And at the end of it, the elder asks John a question that’s meant to build suspense, to get us wondering about the question. He knows the answer already. Who are these people? And the elder tells us there are those who have washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb. Now we know what the white robes are, but again, the whole point is, it is the lamb’s work. We are saved by grace alone, in Christ alone, and that means it is to His glory alone. And this is the multitude who came out of the Great Tribulation, those who have come out of the Great Tribulation, that is Exodus. Language, right? Israel comes out of Egypt, which is important. It means we’re not spared from the tribulation, but we are delivered out of the Tribulation. And as a result, we serve God as priests in his. Heavenly Temple, which is the New Jerusalem we’ll see later on. And God cares for us forever, he get these three precious, precious promises, first, that we will enjoy God’s presence forever in worship. Second, that all sorrows will cease, both internal and external. Threats to our joy are removed, no hunger, no thirst, no scorching heat, and all the rest. And then third, the lamb, will shepherd us into a perfect rest. I hope you all appreciate the irony of a lamb that has been slaughtered shepherding other lambs. But that’s the glory of the gospel right there. And it takes us to the very end, of course, because this language about God wiping away every tear from their eyes. I mean, that’s revelation 21 and 22 this is the end at that point, which is interesting, because then 81 he finally opens the last seal, and there’s silence for 30 minutes. And as we will see next week, this is what ushers in the seven trumpets. But you’re all wondering, how can that be? Because history is over. We’re at the end already. Time for another theme. Okay, time for some recapitulation. That’s what’s happening here. Now, why are they silent in heaven? Question you’re asking, I know, probably taken from the Old Testament, if I had to guess, Habakkuk, 220 the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before him. It is the silence of awe before Almighty God. But also we see silence before God’s coming judgment. Zephaniah, one, verse seven, for example, be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the day of the Lord is near and again. This is when he brings his judgment on the wicked. You put them together, what do you get? Awe in God’s presence, but a trembling fear before the judgment from which we have been spared. So let’s recap, just like Revelation, where have we been? God’s people experience tribulation, distress, violence, misery. Why? Because we live in a god rejecting world, which is what brings judgment in the first place? Of course, that is the cost of sin. Sin brings death and suffering and it brings God’s wrath. It promises peace like Rome and it delivers war. So we’re being encouraged to count the cost of sin in this chapter. The question, then in response, is, so how do we endure? How do we ensure that we will stand in the end? What will make us faithful to the end? And to do that, we have to look ahead. We have to look ahead to the day of wrath or the day of salvation, and we have to make our choice, pull them together, and you get our big idea, like our takeaway from these chapters. Look ahead and count the cost. Look ahead and count the cost. There’s a choice set before us all today and absolutely every day. It is a choice between idolatry and apostasy on the one hand, faithfulness on the other, choice between judgment and salvation. And you think, easy choice, easy choice, except when it’s also a choice between pleasure or persecution, then the choice gets harder. Now, to be clear, temporary pleasure, water, after which you will thirst again and quite quickly and temporary persecution, after which you will enter your forever home, your forever rest, never thirst again, never hunger again. But persecution is a reality. Suffering is a reality in this life, which means we count the cost of sin, but we have to count the cost of disciples. Of discipleship as well. Count the Cost of Discipleship as well. When we look ahead, we see wrath, we see salvation and the glory of Christ, Jesus, and we recommit to putting Jesus first in all things, to fall down before him, just like everyone in Revelation keeps doing we see how much better Jesus is, and all of a sudden we’re willing to lose our lives in order to receive them back seven fold. We listen to Jesus Mark eight when he says, Don’t forfeit your soul to gain the whole world that will forfeit the whole world, because that’s gonna be shaken, to take hold of that which will not be shaken. So ask yourself, as you were leaving here today in your idolatry, and every one of us has got idols in our hearts, still in your idolatry, and you’re lusting for whatever it is, power, sex, fame, money, I don’t care. How are you bringing death and destruction? You see it like, are you putting in too many hours because you’re chasing that promotion that will not bring you the joy you think it will, and you’re bringing death. Faith and destruction to your family as a result, whatever it is you think of it for yourself, face it squarely and repent of it even now. Look ahead. Count the cost. Count the cost of that sin. Count the cost of your discipleship, but also count the cost of your salvation. When you see the lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, standing like a lamb who was slain for you, his bloodshed for your salvation, that is the glory of the gospel, a love so deep that it transforms our hearts so that we want to repent and follow Him and endure forever. Look ahead. Count the cost. Follow Jesus. Let’s pray, Lord. There was a lot here this morning. There’s a lot for us to take in, a lot of truth to chew on, and a lot of painful reality to reckon with. Would you give us open eyes and clear minds to sort through this as we go from here? Would you help us to count the cost clearly? You help us to see what’s coming clearly? Would you help us to see the sin and idolatry and the consequences of it in our own lives clearly as we go from here, so that we can turn from our sin and trust in you and bring you the glory that you so richly deserve. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

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Worthy Is the Lion-Lamb January 26, 2025 | Brandon Cooper The sermon focuses on Revelation 5, where no one can open a sealed scroll containing God’s plan for history until the Lion of Judah, the Lamb who was slain, is revealed as the only one worthy. The Lamb’s victory was achieved through sacrifice, not military might, prompting heavenly worship and praise directed at the Lamb’s worthiness. The sermon emphasizes the importance of worshiping the worthy Lamb, which helps believers maintain their spiritual orientation during times of confusion and uncertainty.

Well, good morning church. You want to go ahead, grab your Bibles. You can open up to Revelation. Chapter Five. We’ll go through Revelation, chapter five this morning. As you’re turning there, there’s a line that you hear every now and again in movie trailers, especially it says something like, If there’s only one man for the job, and then it goes on to, you know, it’s Bond or Bourne, or Burt Macklin or something like this, because there’s a task so difficult or so delicate that there’s only one person on earth who can pull it off, whether that’s saving the world or leading the nation or fixing your plumbing problem. Today we get the ultimate only man for the job story here in Revelation, chapter five. Now, just in case you weren’t here last week, or a refresher for those of us who were some context we are, remember, in the throne room of heaven, John has is in the Spirit. He has this vision of the throne in heaven, the Father, God Almighty, seated on the throne the heavenly being surrounding him, praising him ceaselessly, praising our indescribable, transcendent, holy creator. It was this tremendous vision, of course, although it could feel a little bit static, because day and night, they just keep saying, holy, holy. Holy is the Lord God Almighty. And so it’s this kind of like, okay, this is just on repeat. I’ve seen it, and I can move on now. But all of a sudden, here in Revelation chapter five, there’s this moment of crisis or drama or tension, where all of a sudden we’ve got a job that only one man, we hope can do. So that’s where we enter in. We’re going to look at the problem. That’s the job, right? That needs to be done, the person, the only man, and then ultimately, the praise that results as we go through this chapter, those three scenes, a Scene one, chapter, five, verses, one to four. The problem. Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll. But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside so it’s like it’s taken a moment for John’s eyes to adjust to the incandescent majesty of the scene in chapter four. But now that his eyes are slowly catching on, he notices that the Creator there on the throne the Ancient of Days, is holding a scroll. We’re told it’s got writing on both sides, and it’s sealed with seven seals. And I’m sure that number seven has no significance whatsoever in Revelation. Now, where do we go when we have questions about things like, what’s the scroll? Why does it have writing on both sides? Why is it sealed? All that stuff, we go to the Old Testament, the Old Testament. And sure enough, we’re going to find that John here is drawing from two Old Testament sources, Dan and Zeke, and it’s going to help us know what the scroll contains. So first of all, Book of Daniel. We just did this in our last sermon in Daniel, end of November. Daniel, chapter 12, verse four, we hear the angel saying to Daniel, but you Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. And this is at the end of this long vision chapters 10 to the first part of chapter 12 in Daniel, where Daniel is given a vision, not just of the next few centuries, although there was that, but then also it kind of blurs into the vision of the end itself. But it’s not time yet for all that to happen. And so the scroll is sealed. What’s going to happen in human history is sealed at this point. Then we look at Ezekiel, chapter two, verses nine and 10. Ezekiel says, Then I looked and I saw a hand stretched out to me, and it was a scroll which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe. So there it’s written on both sides interestingly, and these are words it’s unrolled. And so these are words that his ego gets to read. He’s actually supposed to eat the scroll, symbolically, I’m pretty sure he’s supposed to eat the scroll like ingest the word so that he can then proclaim the coming judgments. You put these two together, what is in the scroll? It is God’s plan for human history, including the coming judgment. It’s God’s plan for how everything will shake out. We’ll see next week, by the way, that we mean like literally shake out. But hang on until next week. So the. Fact that God is holding this scroll in his hand means that he literally holds human history in his hands, that he has control over all of it. It was very unusual to write on both sides of a scroll, in part because then you could read it. And the whole point of sealing it was that you couldn’t read it, but that means that the scroll was completely filled. They had to use up all the blank space because it contains every detail of human history. That’s what this is getting at. So every detail God has absolute sovereignty over all that is coming in human history. And if I could just mention that should give us such tremendous peace as we go about our lives knowing there is nothing that happens that catches God by surprise, where he goes, that wasn’t written, that wasn’t how this was supposed. No, he knows what’s coming, and of course, we know the end, which we’ll talk about here, even in a moment. Well, remember, Ezekiel is told to eat the scroll to be filled with God’s Word so that he could proclaim what is coming to the people he sent to speak to. But here the scroll is sealed so John can’t read it, which means John can’t proclaim it. Now the scroll is sealed until the right time. That’s what we saw in Daniel until the time when history is meant to unfold, when God’s plan is going to be launched. Well, guess what? Jesus came. He lived the perfect life. He died substitutionary death on the cross, and He rose in triumph from the grave, which means we are now in the last days, like since Pentecost, at least, we have been living in the last days. These are the End Times. Every now and again, you’ll hear somebody go like, I think we’re living in the End Times. Yep, we have been for the last 2000 years, and we will continue to be for the next 2000 years, or two minutes. I don’t know we should be ready for both, but the point is, we’re in the last days, so it’s time to open this. It’s time to read it, right? But there’s a problem, because the angel asks Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll, and that is who has the right to be given authority, not just to disclose God’s plan, but also to execute it, to put it into motion, like reading this scroll. It’s not just like reading a book. It’s more than that. It would be like reading the Emancipation Proclamation, where in the act of reading it you are freeing the slaves, or like reading a will as a lawyer, something, where in the act of reading it, you are bequeathing possessions to people. And so that’s what we’re talking about here, by the way, both really good analogies for what this scroll is talking about anyway, because that’s our salvation, right there, right? We’re freed from our slavery to sin. We’re given our inheritance, the riches of glory in Christ. So it’s time to open it. Let’s, let’s, let’s read it and set the wheels of God’s perfect plan in motion so that we can get to where history is headed to. We can get to the consummation what we’ll see in the last few weeks of Revelation, those moments where there is no more death or mourning or pain or crying or anything like that. But it is God’s perfect forever kingdom, the new heavens and the new earth. But no one is worthy. No one is worthy, not in heaven or on earth or under the earth that would seem to be angels, humans, all other creatures and demonic powers which we’re grateful they’re not worthy to open it, of course. But even still, that kind of three fold division should make us think of the second commandment, which says this, Ezekiel, 20, verse four, you shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. We get that same three fold division that seems important to me, because especially where we were just last week in chapter four, where we have this tremendous focus on God as creator. We worship Him because He created all things, as we saw in chapter four, verse 11, and so if he’s the one who made all things, of course, it makes sense why this would be true. Mere creatures, even if they’re spiritual beings, like angels, they’re still creatures. Mere creatures are incapable and unworthy. We talked a lot about this last week. We’re not supposed to trust creation. We’re supposed to trust the Creator. We shouldn’t worship creation. We should worship the Creator and so kind of pull all these together. I put it a little bit bluntly, but humans aren’t going to solve the problem of human history as human history proves like clear we don’t have the resources within us, and so we are unworthy. That has some implications, by the way, for our daily lives, for how we think about the world. It certainly doesn’t mean that we give up or anything. Like that, like we still seek to do good, but we do so with humility, knowing that we are not going to bring the kingdom by our mighty efforts. So it gives us a humility when it comes to politics or our service or something like that. It’s why we pray Your kingdom come. Instead of we got this, we’ll take care of it. Okay, you know your kingdom come, and we plead with God for that to happen. So John feels the weight of the problem that no one is worthy to open this scroll, which means human history is stuck, and he begins to weep. There’s no hope for our future. He breaks down in tears. It’s worth asking at this point, what makes you weep like this? And is it a longing to see God’s promises unfold? And the answer, by the way, is probably yes. Like, why do we weep at funerals? Because we are longing for the day when death will be no more. We are longing for God’s promises to unfold, and so our weeping turns into this pleading sort of prayer, because again, think what happens if the scroll remains sealed, there will be no perfect forever kingdom, the perfect justice that we’re promised, eternal life on broken peace, everlasting love, like if the steel does, the seal doesn’t get broken, the scroll doesn’t get opened. Then, then this life is what we get. The wicked prosper, and that’s that. Take grotesque examples, an evil man who who kidnaps and then traffics at risk children, and how does his story go, if this scroll doesn’t get opened, means he lives in luxury and dies in peace, and that’s that I don’t know about you, but that’s a huge problem for me. Like I am longing for more than that, like that reality would be enough to keep me up at night weeping. Is anyone worthy so glad you asked. Second scene person verses five to seven, then one of the elders said to me, Do not weep. See The lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals. Then I saw a Lamb looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. So there is no creature worthy to open the scroll. But don’t weep just yet, because there is one who is worthy, the Lion of Judah, the Root of David, because He has triumphed, he is worthy to open the scroll. Now, the Lion of Judah, the Root of David. These are two great titles taken from the Old Testament, both of which point to Christ’s majesty as king. So the lion from the tribe of Judah is taken from Genesis 49 verses nine and 10, says Jacob, blessing, Judah. And he says, You are a lion’s cub, Judah, you return from the prey, my son, like a lion. He crouches and lies down like a lioness who dares to rouse him, the scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet. So it’s a little odd, by the way, that he blesses Judah in this way, because, of course, Joseph is the one who’s ruling at this point. And yet, he says, no, it’s actually Judah is going to be the one who rules all nations, ultimately, because of his military victories, if he pulled in some more texts. And so this is a title, then that celebrates the Messiah’s victory over his enemies. Again, the imagery would continue if we kept reading in the passage. You know, what does a lion do? The lion goes out and and fights, hunts, wins, and then returns to its lair in triumph, sated and content. And isn’t that just exactly what Jesus did, the lion from the tribe of Judah who goes out and wins his victory in his defeat, of course, on the cross, wins his victory, rises in triumph, and then returns not to his lair, but to his father’s throne. We read this in Hebrews one, verse three after he had provided purification for sins. There’s the victory. He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven, where, by the way, we see him right now. That’s the lion from the tribe of Judah. Then the Root of David comes from Isaiah 11. I’m gonna read verse one and verse 10, because we gotta see how these kind of fit together here. So Isaiah. Seven. Verse one, A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse, from his roots. A branch will bear fruit. In that day, the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will rally to him, and as a resting place, will be glorious. Now you read this and you think verse one makes a lot of sense, Jesse, that’s David’s dad. And so this is, we’re talking about David’s lineage here. David the who is, by the way, the king from the tribe of Judah. So these already go together, right? So David the king from the tribe of Judah, and that the tree seems to like, get cut down during the exile, like there’s no king on David’s throne anymore. But a shoot is going to come out of it, out of the stump. And then that means it’s a branch in David’s tree, in the family, okay, that all makes sense, because Jesus is a descendant of David, a distant descendant of David. But then you come to verse 10, and you go, what? Because that same branch in David’s tree is also called the root of Jesse, so the Son of David is the one that David’s dad comes from. I’m not an arborist, but that’s not how it works, roots and branches and all that stuff. How can the branch be the root of the tree also? And of course, we know the answer is because the son of David is also the Son of God, who is even worthier than David to reign on David’s throne, which is why David writes in Psalm 110 the Lord Yahweh said to my Lord like I’m king and I’m calling somebody Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for My feet. There is the greater than David, who is the son of David. And so these two images go together, of course. This is the lion from the tribe of Judah, Judah, who is David’s descendant. This lion has won a great victory, as lions do, of course. But that word victory is key here too, isn’t it? He’s triumphed, right? He’s won the victory, same word that we see throughout the seven letters, I know if you remember this, if you were here for our seven letters series, but each letter contains a promise given to the one who is victorious. That is, we’re supposed to overcome, to endure in Christ, and then we have these promises that are given to us. Well, here we see how we can be victorious. We only conquer, we only overcome, we only endure. Because the lion conquered first, our victory depends on his. But how did the lion triumph? And here’s where it gets really interesting. Notice verse five, one of the elders said to me, the lion of the tribe of Judah. So John hears about a lion, and then he turns and he sees a lamb. That’s be really important for next week, by the way. So hang on to that he heard and then he saw, they’re talking about the same thing, right? Okay, but he hears about a lion and then he sees a lamb, and not just a lamb, but a lamb that looks like it has been slain. You put those images together and you go, words like shocking or ironic, don’t even begin to do it justice. This is absolutely contrary to every expectation we have for the image, like a lamb that looks like it’s been slaughtered. That’s what lions eat. So how are they the same thing that doesn’t even make any sense. What are we talking about here? Who is the lamb? The clearest reference? Because, of course, we’re going to the Old Testament. It makes sense of this. The clearest reference is the Passover Lamb, the lamb that the Jewish families slaughtered during the Exodus the night of the first Passover, so that the Angel of Death executing God’s judgment on Earth would pass over their homes. And of course, lambs are then slain throughout Israel’s history in the sacrificial system. And it all kind of culminates in Isaiah 53, and verse seven, when it says of God’s suffering servant, he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, which is exactly the word that’s used here. It’s not just slain, but slaughtered that this lamb has experienced. So the Lion of Judah is the Lamb slaughtered in place of his people. As Isaiah 53 says, He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds, we are healed. We need both these images, don’t we? We need a lion to conquer sin, but we need a lamb to cover sin, to make atonement for us, so that we can be reconciled to. God brought back into a right relationship with Him, and here, as grant Osborne says, we see how the victory was actually achieved, not by sword, but by sacrifice. Christ was indeed the conqueror, but his victory was won on the cross. That’s why John the Baptist, when he saw his cousin walk by getting ready to begin his public ministry, said, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Because that is exactly what Jesus does in his death and resurrection. And resurrection, by the way, is key for the slaughtered lamb to triumph. He has to defeat death. He has to rise from the grave. That’s the victory over sin and death, and that, by the way, is what we see here as well, because this Lamb, who was slaughtered on our behalf, a sacrifice for our sins, has seven horns and seven eyes. Now a horn is in the Old Testament, and really throughout the ancient Near East, a symbol of power could actually just be a stand in for the monarchy, like the one who is reigning, the one who has power. We saw this in Daniel. Again, we get the RAM that had one giant horn, that was a really strong RAM who conquered everybody else. So if we got seven horns, seven the number of perfection, means we’ve got he’s perfect in power. This lamb is perfect in power. The slain lamb has become, in essence, the conquering RAM. And then seven eyes. Eyes are, of course, a symbol of knowledge and even presence, like I see you. I’m here with you. I’m among the lamp stands, as we’ve seen drawn from Zechariah four. We keep going back to Zechariah four. That’s where the lamp stand comes from, and its connection to the spirit we read in Zechariah four, verse 10, the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth. God’s eyes are in everything. Put these two together again, perfect in power, perfect in knowledge and presence. What do we have? We have this lamb is omnipotent and omniscient, which is interesting, by the way, because those are words we reserve for God. And then we’re told these seven horns and seven eyes are the seven Spirits of God, or the seven fold Spirit, the Holy Spirit. Of course, this makes sense as well, because the Spirit of God is how Jesus is acting and present in the world. Now, that’s why Jesus said to His disciples, right before he was betrayed, crucified, and all the rest said, it’s better for you that I go away, because my father’s gonna send another comforter. He’s gonna send the Spirit who will be with you and will be with you in power, which is important, because, of course, remember, we’re called to conquer and triumph and overcome too, to the one who is victorious? That’s supposed to be us, and Christ was victorious. So Christ sets the pattern for us as Christians. We also fight battles. We fight spiritual battles, but not with military might or political strength like Jesus. The weapons we fight with are our endurance, our purity, our faithfulness, even to the point of death, which, remember, is a live issue for the people who are receiving this letter, this apocalypse, some of them have already been put to death. More of them are being threatened with death. And martyrdom looks like defeat, just like the cross looked like defeat, but it actually seals our victory, because it appropriates his victory that was won in defeat and in his rising from the dead. When you think of victory, is this what you think of? Is this the kind of victory you think about, or are you hoping for something else? I think what Paul says in Philippians right to live is Christ to die is gain to live is Christ meaning we emulate Christ, we imitate Christ, which, of course, means imitating Him in His faithful endurance of the suffering he experienced at the hands of wicked people. And then to die is gain, right? So murdered him, death is actually victory and not defeat. So all our victory, then, is in Christ and for Christ, because, after all, it’s only Jesus who is worthy to open the scroll, only Jesus is worthy to open the scroll. And by the way, that’s not because you weren’t born yet when this was written, right? Had you been there, you wouldn’t have been worthy either. Our only hope of victory is in him. He alone is worthy. How worthy love. Look at verse seven. This is how worthy the sheer audacity of verse seven, I mean, just the unmitigated chutzpah. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. There is no one worthy in all creation. And then this lion lamb waltzes up to the throne, making his way through throngs of angels, the 24 elders, the four living creatures who are casting their crowns down in front of Almighty God. He says, Excuse me, make way. Takes the scroll out of the Father’s hand, and in so doing, takes control of human history in his life and death and resurrection without a word of rebuke from our Creator. Except it gets even better, because now we turn to praise. Let’s keep reading rest of the chapter, verses eight to 14, and when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals because you were slain. And with your blood, you purchase for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth. And I looked and heard the voice of many angels numbering 1000s upon 1000s and 10,000 times 10,000 They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders in a loud voice, they were saying, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise. And heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea and all that is in them, saying to Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever. The four living creatures said, Amen, the elders fell down and worshiped all these heavenly beings fall down and worship the lamb. This is absolutely shocking, especially given the father’s silent approval. I mean, this is the same God who says in Isaiah, 42 verse eight, I am the Lord that is my name. I will not yield my glory to another. And here he yields it willingly to Jesus. He goes, this is right. This is proper. This is what should be happening. You should be on your faces before the lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, the suffering servant, the Lamb who was slain. It just could not be any clearer this lion Lamb, Jesus Christ is very God of very God Light from Light of the same essence as the Father. Jesus Christ is God. I’m not saying this is the only passage you go to, but in your evangelism, when you’re talking to somebody who’s going, we were never meant to worship Jesus as God, you could take them right here. When you’re talking to Muslims and Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, you go, you explain this to me then, because here is all of Heaven worshiping the lamb in the presence of the Father, and the father says Not one word of rebuke, and every one of them has a harp. That’s why you get the vision of the angels playing harps and like fireside cartoons and stuff. This is the the liar of Psalms, by the way. So it is, of course, a symbol of praise, and they’re holding a golden bowl of incense. That imagery is taken from the temple. You could read about it in Exodus 30, if you want. What’s interesting here, though, is that the golden bowls of incense are the prayers of the people. Except that’s not the first time that’s happened, because Kyle already read it for us. Psalm 141, verse two, may my prayer be set before you like incense. May the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. So these bowls of incense hold the prayers of God’s people. Pull all the threads together. What do you have here? The Lamb’s victory represents God’s answer to the prayers of His people. How many times have God’s people cried out? How long Lord will you stay silent forever? And God goes, no, because Jesus is coming into the world to win the victory that you are looking for. And these go together, by the way, the harp and the golden bull incense, because what is prayer but implicit praise? Because if you’re going to pray to God, is because you believe that God is able and good and merciful and loving, so praise is is an act of prayer. We praise God in the act of prayer. And so it’s no surprise then that we read praise next as this heavenly multitude sings a new. Song. Now, a new song is a song that is composed to celebrate God’s latest saving act. So the first new song that is written is in Exodus. 15 right after the Passover the Exodus, they marched through the Red Sea on dry ground. And Moses composes a new song of praise to God Almighty. Isaiah, 42 which we looked at earlier, talks about the new song that will be sung in the new Exodus, when God leads his people, not out of physical slavery, but out of spiritual slavery. That’s what happens after Christ. Well, this is the newest and greatest act. Then what is it that the lion lamb has purchased people for God by His blood. And how was he purchased? Why has he purchased us? This is what redemption is, right? When you buy back something that was lost, the closest analogy we have in life today would be a pawn shop, right? You sell your wedding ring because you can’t afford food that week. But then you do all you can, you know, take an extra hours, whatever, get the money to redeem your wedding ring, to purchase it back. Now, there is an ironic means here. It’s not money, it’s the lamb’s blood. Leviticus, 17 reminds us that the life is in the blood inward. He gives his life for us. So we think this is weird, though still like blood or life in exchange for a people, but Exodus already prepared us for this, because it was that Lamb that was slain that redeemed the people and purchased their freedom from slavery. In Egypt, that’s exactly what Jesus is doing. He is purchasing our freedom from slavery to sin, except it’s a really complicated slavery, because we willingly chose it. And we’ll give you an example of what that might look like. It’s a graphic example, for sure, but this would be like a woman who sold herself into prostitution in order to fund her heroin habit. And you think, okay, she’s a slave now. She belongs to her pimp at this point, yes, but she put herself there. And you say, Brandon, that’s a graphic image. And I say, Yeah, you know what? It’s a biblical image. Also is exactly how the Bible describes us. I mean, this is Hosea, right? God says, take an unfaithful wife Gomer, and she runs back to her pimps, and Hosea, the faithful husband, has to go and buy back his wife from the men to whom she sold herself into slavery. That is what God has done for us. Jesus is the faithful husband who comes and buys us back, and who is the US persons from every tribe and language and people and nation for descriptions for this group. Of course, we know what four means in Revelation, right? Like the four corners of the earth are the four winds of heaven, four means all of creation, the whole earth and people are coming from all of it. Interestingly, by the way, those four terms are repeated more or less seven times in Revelation. So we have a perfect number from the four corners of the earth and the whole earth. This is the fulfillment of Genesis 12, verse three, when God promises Abraham that he will be a blessing to all nations. And here are all nations being blessed in the seed of Abraham, who is Jesus Christ. And then we’re made to be a kingdom and priest, which we talked about already, because that shows up in Revelation. One, verse six, it’s taken from Exodus 19, when, when God is constituting a people Israel, he’s making them into a nation. He says, you’ll be a nation. You’ll be a kingdom of priests. And so in some sense, this group here is the new Israel. And in so doing, being a kingdom and priest, we are fulfilling the vision of Genesis. One. Why did God make us in His image? After all, he put us on earth to rule in his place. That’s what ancient Near Eastern kings did. They’d set up an image of themselves in a town and go, This is mine. I reign here. We’re the image of God on earth, reigning as his vice regents. Except we didn’t do so well. Did we? Adam and Eve were called to be that. But they failed. They decided to make themselves King. They usurped God’s throne, and so they were kicked out of the garden, and so God calls Israel to be a kingdom of the priests to try again. They also fail. They’re also kicked out of the promised land. But Jesus succeeded where Adam and Eve and Israel failed. This is what makes Matthew four so interesting, by the way, because you’re reading Matthew four when Jesus is tempted by Satan, and you’re going, Okay, wait. Is he the new Israel? Because he keeps quoting Deuteronomy. So where Israel failed in the desert, Jesus succeeds in the wilderness. Or is this meant to be Genesis chapter three, again, because you get that same sneaky snake showing up, tempting. Jesus, but Jesus succeeds where Adam and Eve failed. And the answer, of course, is yes, both we failed as God’s image bearers. Israel failed as God’s nation. Jesus is the second Adam and the new Israel, and he succeeded where we failed. Don’t you love this book like I told you, biblical theology is for nerds. It’s so rich. There is so much here, so many reasons to praise him. No wonder they praise him here. And John looks again in the circle widens. There are hundreds of millions of angels. In other words, angels beyond count, and they’re all crying out. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain. He’s worthy because he was slain. He’s worthy because of his defeat. As George Elden lads says, Christ’s worthiness and ability to break the seals of the scroll of human history are dependent on the victory he won by his incarnate life, if he had not come in humility as suffering Savior, He could not come as conquering Messiah. But still, this is interesting. They’re crying out worthy to the one who was defeated. We call winners worthy who gets our applause and our adulation. It’s the gold medalist. It’s the politician who wins a decisive election. Do we ever call worthy the person who stopped in the middle of the race to help the teammate who had fallen down, or the politician who loses an election because he won’t compromise his integrity? That is a Christian worthiness. That is worthiness like the lamb. What sort of worthiness is it? They say that Jesus is worthy to receive. Count them with me now power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise. Seven shocking. I’m as shocked as you are. Believe me, seven fold praise. In other words, Jesus is worthy of all praise. Jesus is worthy of our consummate praise. And you think, Man, this is so good, and then it radiates out even further. Right? Every creature, not in rebellion against God, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and the sea, all that is in them, they all cry. In other words, all of creation cries out. Why? Why is creation crying out because they are celebrating the new creation that has come in Christ. Remember, creation itself is groaning for redemption, because it’s in bondage to our sin, and here is its relief. And they’re crying out glory, glory to the father, to him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ. And this raucous song of heavenly praise is all because Jesus took control of human history. So it’s worth asking now, how are you responding to that truth? Our big idea, our takeaway, is so simple this week. He’s worthy. He’s worthy. So worship Him like that’s the only response we could possibly have. That’s the only response we see in this chapter. But I know what you’re asking. You’re asking, what does that look like? Practically, great question. Let’s talk about it. It means that you let the vision of the triune God’s undeniable worthiness center your life, just like he is in the center of our praise, especially when you get disoriented, those times when it seems like no one is in control of human history. You think, I don’t know what’s going on here. It’s in those times when circumstances are confusing. You you need to fix your eyes on Jesus like a pilot. I’m not a pilot, nor the son of a pilot. I do have a friend who’s a pilot, so I’m hoping this analogy is right, or Dave’s walking out. But as a pilot, you are trained to keep your eyes on the horizon so that you know that you’re not going like this or this or this or this. But what happens, of course, when you’re flying in the middle of the clouds, a storm, even something like that, you can’t see the horizon anymore. You are taught then to keep your eyes on the instruments, the gages that tell you whether you’re going like this or this or this or this. Your they have to be taught that, of course, because your instinct, my instinct, our instinct, would always be to trust our spatial orientation and kind of usually know which way is up, you don’t. You don’t. At that point, the bad idea. In the same way, when circumstances are tough, when we are flying through storms, we cannot trust our spiritual orientation, our spiritual instinct. We need the reorientation of praise. What is our horizon? What are our instruments? It’s the word of God. Telling us about the Word of God. Made Flesh. We keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, Christ, and that kind of worship helps us. I could go a lot of directions with this. I really like something Dennis Johnson said in his commentary on revelations, where we’re going to land today. No pun intended. We’re flying. But worship helps us guard against what he calls credulous cynicism. Credulous. Cynicism. We are cynical, and we are oh so cynical. Get on social media. We’re cynical. Okay? We are cynical because people have failed us, your parent, your pastor, your president. We’re cynical because people failed us, but we are credulous because we trusted them in the first place. What were we thinking? We thought people were going to usher in the kingdom. This is the problem of idolatry that we talked about last week, right? Like I thought I could trust this person to usher in perfect justice, and he didn’t do it. And now I’m cynical. I thought this relationship would bring me lasting joy, and it didn’t. And now I’m cynical, I’m confused and I’m broken, and the solution to that is praise, the only one who is worthy of our worship. Praise the only God, man for the job. Now, how do we keep our eyes on him? Of course, you know this. I’ll be so brief. One answer is meditation. Right? We get in the word that is about, the Word made flesh. We’re in the Word of God. Of course, we’ve seen that throughout this passage, which will lead then to right prayer. We get to have intimacy conversation with this lion lamb. How remarkable is that? Why would we ever stop talking to him? Of course, we’re not supposed to, and we know what happens to our prayers. They’re right here in the passage, there in the throne room, before God, and we do it in community, because God did not save you as an individual. He saved us as a people from every part of the earth. What I’m talking about here is the is Philippians four. Now, most of you, if you’ve been in the church for a while, you know Philippians four, six and seven, and you know Philippians 4:8. What you don’t know is Philippians four, six to eight. Let me explain what I mean by that. Philippians four, six and seven. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ, Jesus, great verse when you’re flying through storms, right? But it doesn’t stop there. That’s not the end of the letter because you’re like, Okay, prayer, petition. Got that. What else? Help me out here, Paul, I’m struggling, and he says verse eight again right afterward: finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. But what can you think of that is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy? Jesus Christ. So let me shorten that because there are a lot of words to remember when we shorten it for you so you can remember it. He’s worthy. So worship Him. Think about him. Fix your eyes on him. Treasure Him above all creation, because nothing else in all of creation is worthy of that sort of treasuring. I want to close even though I’m going long. But you know, this is good stuff, with a poem by Malcolm Guite called Oh Rex Gentium, which means oh king of nations. We sing this. When we sing Oh, desire of nations and oh come upon Emmanuel, but oh king of nations, it is a prayer to Christ, our King, the lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, is a prayer to Christ, our King, from rebels who forget to praise him, which is you and me. It’ll be up on the screen because I know poetry can be hard to follow. I’m just listening to it, but, but let this be even your prayer now as I read it aloud, oh king of our desire, whom we despise, King of the nations, never on the throne. Unfound Foundation, cast off cornerstone, rejected. Joiner, making many one you have no form or beauty for our eyes, a King who comes to give away his crown, a king within our rags of flesh and bone, we pierce the flesh that pierces our disguise. For we ourselves are found in you alone come to us now and find in us Your throne, O King within the child within the clay. O hidden king who shapes us in the play of all creation, shape us for the day your coming kingdom comes into its own. Read that and remember he’s so very worthy. So let’s worship him to join me in prayer. Now, Jesus, you are worthy to receive all our praise, our power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise you are. Worthy of it all, because in you is the perfection and majesty of God. You alone are worthy to take control, not just of human history, but of my history, of our histories, of our lives, and so we fall before you now in the sort of worship that says you are king, and I will not pretend to be king of my life any longer, I so willingly devote myself to you and your glory, Lord. Would you make that truer of us as we leave here today. Take your rightful place, not just on the throne of heaven, but on the throne of every one of our hearts. We pray for Your name’s sake, amen.

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A Throne in Heaven January 19, 2025 | Brandon Cooper The sermon emphasizes that true satisfaction is found in worshiping the indescribable, transcendent, and holy God who is the Creator rather than in idols or temporary pleasures. A vision of God’s glory is the best remedy for struggling with temptation and trials. God is at the center of all things, and we must humble ourselves and cast our crowns before Him in worship. The gospel offers us the love, peace, and security we truly desire, which are found in Christ alone.

Good morning. You can go ahead open up to Revelation chapter four. Revelation. Chapter Four is where we will be this morning as you’re turning there. No doubt you are familiar, at least with the Wizard of Oz. Have probably seen the movie, maybe a few of you have even read the book. But if you have seen it or read the book or something like that, you know that in some ways, the quest of Dorothy and her friends, The Lion, the Tin Man, the straw man, ends in disappointment, because the great and powerful wizard of Oz is, in fact, a powerless, pitiful little man with a bunch of smoke, mirrors and that kind of stuff, although it’s not total disappointment, this is, like major spoiler alert, but you know, the movie came out in like, the 1930s so that’s on you. That’s not on me. Okay, it turns out that they already had the courage, the brains, the heart that they needed. Maybe they found it within themselves. And so some people have read this as a critique of religion in some ways. And I could see that, you know, you’ve got one particularly small person who benefits from that, that would probably be the clergy or something. And then you find that everything you need is already inside of you. You don’t need to go somewhere else to someone else to get it. I mean, that’s just expressive individualism. That’s our culture right there. So we find that they’ve saved themselves, the lion, the Tin Man, the straw man, and really, all they need is for somebody else to validate the goodness within them. Maybe, maybe that’s what it’s about. I don’t know. I do know that it raises an interesting question. Still, the Wizard of Oz, it raises this interesting issue, like, if you’re going to go on a quest to find what you need, you should choose really carefully where you’re going and who you’re going to like. You don’t want to end up having devoted your life to something that is just smoke and mirrors that can’t meet your deepest needs, doesn’t satisfy your deepest thirst. And I bring this up because we are going to Oz today. We’re going to go into the throne room of the great and powerful. What will we find there? Will it satisfy our hearts? Will he be worth giving our lives to? Now, some context here, because I mentioned last week we’re skipping chapters two and three. We’re not skipping them. We already did them last summer. But that is the the context these seven letters to seven churches in western Turkey that are facing issues that are common to all churches everywhere, really, issues of temptation to things like sexual immorality and greed and self reliance and, of course, persecution and the pressure to conform to the outward culture as well. In those sorts of situations. What do we need? Brains and heart and courage, faith and hope and love, steadfastness, truth. You kind of see, even just thinking through those seven letters, never mind thinking of your own lives, that our lives throb with need. What will meet those needs? What will satisfy? That’s the question we gotta have as we look at this chapter and next week as well. These two chapters together form the Throne Room vision, and they are the center and the fulcrum of the book, because they show us the God who rules history and in whom we can trust, the one who will meet all our needs. And this may come as a surprise to us, but a vision of God’s glory is the best remedy when we’re struggling with temptation and trials like that’s what we need is to see God as He is. So let’s take a look together at him. We’re going to kind of get these four aspects of God’s character that we’ll see on display. First one is that he is indescribable. God is indescribable. Chapter four, verses one to three. Let me read it for us. After this, I looked and there before me was a door standing open in heaven, and the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this, at once, I was in the spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it, and the one who sat there had the appearance of Jasper and Ruby, a rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. Just pause there. So after this, again, after the message that the spirit has for the seven churches and for all of us, John sees a door to heaven open, and this voice, like a trumpet that we met in chapter one, that’s Jesus himself, is calling John up here to see what must take place after this. And we talked about this chapter one as well. This is a quote from Daniel two verse. 45 and that that dream that Nebuchadnezzar has of the four kingdoms the statue, and then there’s this final climactic kingdom that is coming, God’s kingdom. That’s what we’re talking about here. So this is a a future facing vision that we’re going to get in the rest of the book. But right now we’re talking about what was happening then in AD 92 or whatever in Patmos. So this is, this is the present vision of the throne in heaven. But the future facing peace is interesting too, that you know that that Jesus says, imma show you what’s going to take place after this. It’s worth just for a moment leaning into the wonder of God’s exhaustive foreknowledge of the future and his foreordination of everything that happens when we worship one, after all, as Ephesians, 111 says who has predestined us according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will. This is a God who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will. Isaiah, 46 verse 10 says something very similar. God speaking says, I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, my purpose will stand and I will do all that I please. So God not only knows what’s going to happen, but it is His purposes that are unfolding and that will be brought to complete fruition in the kingdom to come. God knows what’s coming. He’s in control. And just think what a comfort that would be to these churches who are suffering persecution at that time, or to any of us who are undergoing trials, as we certainly all will. God knows it’s in his hands. He will bring it to its purpose end. And then verse two, at once, John is in the spirit. I mentioned that in the spirit is going to be a major marker in Revelation. So this is the second time we’ve got it. This is the second major vision that John has when he sees what’s happening in heaven right then. And Jesus gives him a tour of the Throne Room. The one who sat there right we get the throne, someone’s sitting on it. The one who sat there had the appearance of Jasper and Ruby. And when we get there, we gotta stop for a moment and talk about how to read Apocalypse again. Remember Apocalypse we talked a lot, a lot about this last week. Means Revelation. So it’s meant to reveal. It’s meant to help us out here. And it doesn’t always feel that way, because oftentimes it’s kind of confusing what these images are getting at. And so I want us for a moment to imagine what it would be like if you had to explain like a video call on your smartphone to someone from the past, and think of how difficult that would be. Now, if this someone from the past had known computers or TV, that makes it a lot easier. Even radio, at least, you’d get that sense of like something through waves can come to you. I don’t know not a scientist, electricity would be helpful. Also, like the whole idea of power, you strip that way. So let’s, let’s pretend you’re telling John Calvin this. All right. You get to meet John Calvin, 16th century, and you have to explain to him how all this works. Where would you even start magic? I like it. Great. That’s it. We can close in prayer. You know, it’s kind of looks like a mirror, I guess, especially when it’s off. Of course, you know what off means? You don’t have electricity when it’s on, what mirror? Because it’s selfies, right? We’ll talk about selfies in a moment. John, okay. But then if you turn it on and you’re talking to someone, it’s like a painting, because you can see the other person. It’s this thing called a camera. You don’t know about that, but imagine, like a really tiny, really fast painter, so he can paint exactly what’s happening. And it’s like moving the image as it’s going and you can also hear the person. I don’t even know how to explain that to you. But, and then, and John, being a perceptive guy, is like, okay, and how does this come to this little mirror that you’re holding in your hand, and you go, Wi Fi? And how are you gonna explain Wi Fi again? You’re gonna have to talk waves, right? That’s all you’re gonna have. I mean, that’s what the little Wi Fi symbol means, even, right? And so you like, you know how waves like, carry a log to shore, they carry the image to you, and then you’re gonna have to talk batteries. You understand the point, though, what did I keep saying? Like, like,
like, because that’s all we can do. John Calvin is not dumber than we are. In fact, there’s a good chance he’s smarter than everyone in the room. He was he was quite brilliant. He’s not dumber. He just hasn’t experienced, hadn’t experienced what we’ve experienced. And so how do you explain what is beyond our experience? Simile, that’s it like. That’s all we’ve got. It’s like this. Well, isn’t that what we’re going to read, not just in these three verses, but in the rest of the chapter as well. But it had the appearance of Jasper and Ruby or whatever stones. These are difficult to translate stones. There’s a rainbow, like an emerald encircling the throne. These are not literal. They’re they’re suggestive, because, you know, sparkling jewels when they catch the light just right. It’s this multi faceted glory, the wondrous variety that comes with a shift of perspective. That’s what’s being talked about. And of course, the language, the image that is being used is taken from the Old Testament, as we’d expect at this point in this case, it’s Ezekiel chapter one, when Ezekiel has the vision of the portable throne, when God is going with his people into exile. And it says things like, it’s sparkled like Topaz. There’s an immense cloud like flashing light in there. These four face figures that we’ll meet a little bit later on in the sermon. And then it says this, Ezekiel 126, to 28 above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up, he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down, he looked like fire, and brilliant light surrounded him, like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell face down, and I heard the voice of one speaking. This is not a physical description of God, because God is not physical. In fact, it’s three stages removed from true sight. Like I love that this is the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. Like all these filters, all these analogies and similes, because any attempt to describe God literally would limit God as soon as we say, you know, he’s got white hair, you know, he’s old, which he is. He’s eternal, but you’re going to immediately go like a grandpa, like a grandpa, so, and now I know my grandma, and so we’re going to start to squeeze God into some sort of box and and Scripture won’t let us do that. Scripture speaks of his indescribable majesty. Ineffable, sublime, beyond description, beyond words, ultimately, and I think, and we’re going to see some of this in this chapter and the next. This is also one of the reasons why we sing, why humans make music, which is weird when you think about it, and then we’re commanded to even but why do we need to sing when we see the glory of God? Because we make music when there is something that is just a little bit beyond words, and that’s what we have here. Remember our context too. We don’t ever want to lose that. This is a real book written to real people living in a real situation in in first century, western Turkey and John is speaking to an afflicted minority experiencing state sponsored persecution. Can I tell you what those people at that time would have thought that Caesar’s throne was really impressive right up until they saw this, and they saw what Real Glory looks like, because worship centers us on the ultimate power and authority, and we have a vision of that. Well, the things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. He is indescribable. Second, he is transcendent. Let’s keep reading verses four to the first part of verse six. Surrounding the throne were 24 other thrones, and seated on them were 24 elders that were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne. Seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven Spirits of God. Also in front of the throne, there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. So God’s on the throne in the center. And there are these, you know, 24 other thrones and 24 elders seated on them around him. It is important for us to see that God is in the center of all of this, though, like he is literally in the center of the room, but figuratively as well. He is, and should be, the center of our lives. I like the way Richard Bauckham said it in commenting on this passage, he says, when you look at this vision, humanity is radically displaced from the center of things, where human beings naturally tend to place themselves. So we have this tendency to go, me, I’m the center of the world. And then we see ultimate reality, and we go, oh God. God is at the center, and he is surrounded by these 24 thrones. And again, 24 elders seated on them. Now. Who are these 24 elders? We got two big options, heavenly beings or people, and there’s evidence for both. And when then that, when that happens, we want to try and take account of all the data possible in our guests. So I think what we are dealing with here are likely heavenly beings for a couple of reasons. One is the the placement of these beings. They’re between the four living creatures and then the multitudes of angels. So it makes sense that they also are heavenly beings. It’s also the way the word elder is used in Revelation, not the rest of New Testament. New Testament talks about people, for sure, but in Revelation, elders tend to be heavenly beings. And then what’s determining, for me is Revelation 510, which we’ll get to next week, when the elders are singing this song of the lamb’s redemption. And it says, of God’s people, you have made them to be a kingdom and priest to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth. They don’t say you have made us and we so he’s talking about a different group. These 24 are talking about a different group, the people. But that being said, these 24 heavenly beings have something to do with humanity. Why 24 after all? Well, that’s 12 plus 12. We know symbolic numbers and multiples of them, we got 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 Apostles. This is the old covenant people of God and the New Covenant of people of God. And what these 24 elders are wearing crown on their heads. White robes are what we will be given to wear as well. This is part of our reward if we are steadfast to the end, as we’ll see, we keep going through Revelation. So although these are heavenly beings, they are closely associated with the people of God. They most likely represent Israel and the church. Regardless, I could be totally wrong about all of that. That’s fine. I’ll sleep at night. What exactly is the point of these 24 whoever they are, what are they doing? Why are they there? Plus the four living creatures that we’ll meet in just a moment, what do they have to do with this throne room vision? It’s a little like this. I am pastor of a reasonably small church, so if you want to talk to me, you can just walk up to me. I’ll be in the lobby after the service. We even said we’d love if you came up and talked to us after the service. If I were a pastor of a slightly larger church, it might get harder to talk to me. I know this. I have friends who are pastors of of larger churches. And occasionally I’m like, Hey, we should get get to get together for lunch, and their assistant will email me back and say, how does the 23rd sound? I’ll go, okay. This is all very official. Now it is harder to get to you, still willing to talk to me, though. Now suppose you’re in DC this week, and you think, I’ll just pop in. Congrats. Congratulate Don, you know, wish him well, let him know we’re gonna be praying for him and stuff. How close do you think you’re getting? You know, just go ahead and try and walk up to him, see what happens. But even if you were gonna go through the proper channels, man, there are channels. And like those channels have channels, the Chief of Staff is the person who decides who gets to talk to the President, the Chief of Staff has a staff, and like they all have assistants, and then the assistants have interns and stuff. You get the idea, the more important you are, the more flunkies you have, so that eventually even your flunkies have flunkies. Well, God is so transcendent, he is encircled not by mere bodyguards or groupies, but by heavenly thrones. He is surrounded by kings. And again, this would be true of Rome, like Caesar, the Emperor loved to have his you know, vanquished kings sitting around him, but those are still just humans, not Heavenly Kings. And so you see the separation, how other god is, so that we cannot simply approach God, because He is encircled by ascendingly More impressive beings. This idea of transcendence then continues in the next three images that we get in these verses, the storm, the seven spirits of God and the sea, they all point to God’s transcendence. Think of the storm. Have you ever been caught in a thunderstorm before you’re out hiking with friends or something in a sticky, hot summer afternoon when the sky darkens, and it turns that foreboding greenish gray,
and you’re nervous, and then all of a sudden, the whole sky lights up, and you and your friends who are hiking do that thing where you count in your head, and you’re probably counting faster than you should be, because you’re hoping that it’s farther away than it actually is. Right as the drops begin to fall. Thunderstorms are fun to watch from your front porch, the steaming hot cup of tea or something. They are terrifying to be caught in. And you gotta remember, at this time in history, there was no greater force on earth than nature. It. Until we split the atom, basically. And really, even still today, yes, nuclear war would be a bad thing. I’m pretty sure the earth could wipe us out faster than that super volcano or something like that. I mean, even look at what’s happening in LA right now, awful as it is, and, and we do this thing that we do in America where we blame the other side. And so if you’re on one side, it’s global warming, right and all that stuff. And that’s true. Of course, the Earth has warmed, and the other side you talk about, you know, your bureaucratic missteps of of a blue state government, you know, kind of thing. And maybe there were some bureaucratic missteps there as well. If we’d cleared more brush, if we’d, you know, made sure the reservoirs were all that’s true, none of that would have stopped the fires, because what’s most important is the way the rain falls in California or doesn’t fall, and the Santa Ana winds, and you get that we think we can control nature. And every now and again, nature goes, nope, nope. And that’s just what’s near God’s throne. The point is his unrivaled power. He is greater than anything any of them would have ever seen. Of course, the image is taken from Exodus 19 this is when God is there at Sinai. He’s revealing his law to his people. Exodus 1916 says this on the morning of the third day, there was thunder and lightning with a thick cloud over the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, everyone in the camp trembled. God can’t reveal Himself to us without scaring us, because he’s so transcendent we tremble. That’s why everybody keeps falling down like they’re dead. Every time he shows up. That’s the storm. Then we get the seven spirits, these seven lamps blazing, which are the seven Spirits of God. And you got a text note that says, that is the seven fold Spirit of God. This is the Holy Spirit. Why is he called Seven Spirits? Number of perfection. But of course, of course. But also alludes to Isaiah, chapter 11, verse one, where that’s one of your Christmas verses, and there’s this, you know, shoot that’s going to come from the stump of Jesse, and talking about the Messiah. And it says, The Spirit will be on him. And what is it’s the spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. Seven descriptions of the Spirit. Those are the seven Spirits of God. The image of the lamp stand, though, and its connection to the spirit is drawn from Zechariah, chapter four, verse two, which we looked at last week, where there’s this, you know, candelabra, this lamp stand in the temple, and it’s got the the seven branches on it. And that image was there in Zechariah to show Zechariah and the the leaders who brought the people of God back after exile, they’re rebuilding the temple. And it’s It’s to remind them the temple of God will be rebuilt. Chapter four, verse six, says, Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord. And so what are we learning from that? That the the lamp stand that was there in the temple was just this dim reflection of the original light shining in the heavenly tabernacle, which is the Spirit of God. And of course, what’s interesting in all this is that we just talk about the seven churches in chapters one, two and three. Is being these seven lamp stands, of course, because now it is the church that is the temple of the Holy Spirit. So even we shine by the Spirit’s presence among us, it’s like all these cool things coming together. There’s this article up on the gospel coalition late last week. It was called biblical theologies for nerds. And that was a point, right? Was like, you draw all these things together and you’re like, This is so much cooler than I had any idea. I’ll put it up in the pulse for you this week. But yes, there’s some nerdery for you, of just how cool this seven spirit seven lamp stand idea is finally, then we get the sea. That’s a little bit like sparkling glass. Now, I know you’re looking you’re texting, you’re saying it. It doesn’t say sparkles. It says it looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. I think sparkling is probably a better translation here, because the technology didn’t exist back then to make smooth glass, so all glass had bumps on it, imperfections, which when the light hits them, would sparkle Right? Like like waves the sea dappled by sunlight. And of course, this image is drawn from Ezekiel one, as you’d expect, verse 22 so there’s this vision of the Throne Room, again, the portable throne, and it says, spread out above the heads of the living creatures, the creatures that we’re about to meet, by the way, was what looked something like a vault. Good simile, again, sparkling like crystal and awesome. What’s interesting is, in this vision, the throne of God is seated on that vault on the sea. And even this is probably drawing from Genesis one, verse seven, when God creates the. The firmament to separate the waters from the heavens. All this highlights God’s transcendence, again, because everything is below the sea, it’s only God who is seated on it, until we get to Revelation 15, by the way, in a few weeks, when the redeemed of the Lord are standing on the sea with God, and that is a remarkable moment, because all of this reminds us that God is so totally unapproachable, we’d fall down dead in his presence. And yet he has made a way for us to draw near to Him. We have no business being in the room and yet. And then we read in Hebrews when God says, you know, come before my throne of grace boldly to receive mercy in your time of need. It’s God, after all, who throws open the door of heaven and says, come on up here that is the beauty and wonder of the gospel of Christ. So God is indescribable and transcendent, and then third, he is holy, which we sang about already this morning. Let me keep reading the rest of verse six through verse eight. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion. The second was like an ox. The third had a face like a man. The fourth was like a flying eagle, each of the four living creatures had six wings, was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night, they never stopped saying a Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. So the throne is surrounded by these four living creatures, they all get this incredibly odd description, yes, except that odd description is pointing, once again, to God’s character, and as I mentioned, taken from Ezekiel one. We won’t look at it this time. They are covered in eyes. It’s not meant to be taken literally, of course. What is the symbol getting at? They’re getting at God’s omniscience. God sees everything, and therefore God knows everything that’s happening. And we have this unceasing vigilance. Some of us have been studying Psalm 139, in Journey groups recently, and David talks about this as well, right? There’s nowhere I can go where God won’t see me. If I go to the heavens, he’s there. If I make my bed in the depths, he’s there like he’s always there. His eyes are always on me. And then these four creatures themselves. Now four is an important number. If seven is the number of perfection, four is the number for the Earth, the whole earth, the four corners the world, the four winds of heaven, we get. And so here we get these four creatures taken from the four spheres of the animal kingdom, the lion, which is the king of the beasts, of course. Then you get the ox, which is the strongest of the domesticated animals, humanity, kind of our own thing. And then the eagle, which is the most impressive of the birds of the air. These four all have characteristics associated with them. I mean, again, Lion, and he’s the king of the beast. So royalty, the ox the strongest domesticated enemy. It’s his strength. Humanity has got wisdom and intelligence, not always on display, but usually wisdom and intelligence. And then the eagle, of course, swiftness, but also a swiftness to show compassion. Passage like Isaiah 40, where it talks about God rescuing these people out of Egypt. And it says, I bore you up like an eagle’s wings. So that’s how he carries us out of our troubles. The point, of course, is that God has all the attributes he needs to rule us as Sovereign King and creator. He is the perfect King. No wonder, then that these four living creatures worship Him ceaselessly, with all the angels joining in as well as magnificent as these preachers are, they’re marked by humility and modesty, because they’re standing next to God, going well, obviously he gets all the glory. And here, of course, it sounds a lot like Isaiah chapter six, which Robert read for us earlier. There were, if you were to take Ezekiel one and Isaiah six and smoosh them together, you would get revelation chapter four, right here. And so the refrain especially is taken from that passage, holy. Holy. Holy is the Lord God Almighty.
So the three fold repetition, again, the perfection of His Holiness. Holy here means more than just his moral perfection. That’s usually what we mean when we talk about Holy. No, that person’s holy means they’re good. Yes, that’s true of God, but it’s more than that. In effect, when it’s used by itself holy simply means you are God, right? You are so totally other than we. Are so transcendent, so indescribably transcendent, that we we just gotta kind of say other. Other. You are God. This is, this is celebrating his God-ness in particular. So he’s a holy, indescribable, transcendent, holy. And then lastly, creator verses nine to 11. Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say, You are worthy our Lord and God receive glory and honor and power if you created all things and by your will, they were created and have their being so every time the four living creatures glorify God, which, by the way, is day and night never stops, right? The 24 elders fall down and worship also, which means they also never stop worshiping. And remember, the 24 elders are representing God’s people. So they show what we should be doing all the time too. Should always be falling down in worship before the Lord. And the four living creatures represent the totality of creation. So all of creation should be falling down in worship before the Lord at all times these 24 elders, they lay their crowns before God, like defeated kings before Caesar, to show their submission, to show that their life will be lived in service to Him. And you think what an important reminder for churches who are being pressured to participate in the Imperial cult, which, again, you need more about that. Go back listen to that series on the on the letters. But you know, it couldn’t really participate in civic life unless you were participating in the worship of the Emperor, and you’re going, Nope, nope, nope, like we lay our crowns down only before God. What an important reminder for us too, because in praise, in worship, we bring heaven, Heaven’s realities to Earth, like into our daily lives, by remembering the throne room, by remembering what’s at the center of it all, but remembering what is the deepest reality gets at the importance of public worship too, like what we’re doing here. This is what helps us live counter culturally in our world. And what is the church? The church is an embassy of God’s future kingdom in the here and now. So it’s a kingdom outpost. And so we we come together to remember our heavenly country, to remember what it’s really like. And when we come together, when we sing together, when we consider God’s truths together, what do we do? We We undistort reality, because the world keeps distorting reality for us, a little bit like when you go to carnival or something like that, and you go in there the fun house, and then you got the Fun House mirrors, and you know, so you’re standing next to somebody who’s taller than you, and he’s like two foot four, and then you look nine foot six. That’s what the world does for us. It makes God look small and us look enormous. But when we worship, we straighten out the fun house mirror and set things right in our minds. So again, what we talk a lot about here, we magnify Christ. He’s so much bigger, I will make myself smaller, humble myself and worship before him. Now for what do they worship God? Specifically here next week we can get some new themes. But here what we’re expanding on, this idea of a holiness. Because you are who you are. You are worthy to receive our worship, and then, most especially, because you are creator. And as creator, God is separate from everything else. Everything else is created. God alone is the uncreated one. There is no parallel here to understand our relationship to our Creator. You can picture a kid who’s, you know, making figures out of clay, okay, that’s the Creator. But those figures, they don’t have a will, whereas we do what we want, of course, or maybe parents, of course, parents don’t create kids. We do beget them, and they come into the world under our authority. We set rules and expectations for them. But of course, that’s so different too, because we are fallible, because eventually they’ll leave our rule and authority and may surpass us in many ways. And we are, of course, not the ultimate source of joy. There is no parallel here. We belong to God, body and soul. He made us so we are His. But he didn’t just make us. He made us for a purpose, and that was to be with Him, to know him. It’s right there, right Genesis, one God creates Adam and Eve. And then they they hang out together. They’re in perfect fellowship. That was it like. Even today, we designed tools to run on certain things, cobalt, lithium, gas, electricity, whatever it may be. We were made to run on God by your will. They were created and have their being. We’re meant to run on God created to find joy, satisfaction significance in relationship with Him. And so the proper response to all this is to delight in the majesty of his being. As Augustine famously said, You have made us for yourself, and we are restless until we find our rest in you when we go right. This is what I was made for. This is who I was made by. As John Piper famously said, God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him, when we delight in him. That’s what worship is, delighting in God, treasuring Christ, above all that is the deepest praise that we are to give him. The problem, of course, is that since the fall, that has not been our default setting, has it, we find delight in all sorts of other things, and think we will find our greatest joy in them. Paul talks about this, and talks about it in terms of creation, the same theme we’ve got here. He says this in Romans chapter one, speaking of wicked humanity who suppressed the truth by their wickedness, he says, For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God, nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal god for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore, God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading their bodies with one another, they exchange the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator, because we were created, and that’s true of us, and whether we deny it or not, it’s still true of us, because we were created. We were created to be worshipers like we know we belong to something else, and so we’re going to imprint on something. We’re going to worship something. And the problem that Paul talks about here, the problem that we live out every day, is the problem of cheap substitutes. I mean, like you wonder sometimes, why did anyone ever worship a little statue of a frog instead of Almighty God. I’ll tell you why, and it’s been there from the beginning, from Genesis chapter three. It’s because we are made in God’s image. There’s something about us that has the likeness of God. And so it was easy to tempt us to think that we really are like God and that we could become like God. That’s what the snake says to Adam and Eve in the garden, if you eat this fruit, you will be like God, knowing good and evil meaning, having moral autonomy, choosing for our selves. The essence of sin is acting like we are our own God. And so what do we do when we think we’re our own God? We deify our desires. Whatever I want is the most important thing. I will worship that and that ironically, leads to idolatry. I know you’re thinking that’s weird. Am I deifying myself, or am I deifying other things both at the same time, the one leads to the other, right? Deifying our desires leads to idolatry, because we make dumb statues that will then do what you want
so that we can conform everything to the purpose of our will. That’s what idolatry is. Idolatry rejects God’s God-ness, His Holiness, and then it starts to blur the distinction between creation and creator. Christopher Wright says, then a great reversal happens. God, who should be worshiped, becomes an object to be used creation, which is for our proper use and blessing becomes the object of our worship, right? So we start to treat God like a genie, and then treat people and things like a god, and that is a bad exchange. Such a bad exchange because God offers us the love for which we were created, and then we settle for an illicit sexual encounter. Or God offers us peace, but we put our trust in our 401 K, or God offers us security, but we go chasing political power statues of frogs instead of God. God, and because they are not God, they over promise and under deliver to the end of an illicit sexual encounter, you feel exploited, abandoned, empty, no love or whatever happens with money. Yeah, you know two options when it comes to money, either bankrupt or bored, right? Like you lose the money that you’re trusting for peace, or you get everything you want, that’s most of us here in this room, and you go, Yeah, that wasn’t enough. That’s not good enough. You get the idea there’s no peace. So we’re back to Oz. Like we finally get there to the end of the road, and there’s nothing there. It is smoke and mirrors. Worship is just recognizing true glory and valuing supremely what is supremely valuable. We’ll get into this more next week. But of course, this all ties into the gospel like you look at those things that we want most, like love and peace and security, where are they found in Christ. You want love God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son. You want peace. It’s done. It is finished. No circumstance can threaten your relationship with God. You want security. He vanquished sin and death and the grave. Everything we want is right there already. This is the big idea, then, like pulling all these threads together here the big idea, don’t worship what won’t satisfy. Don’t worship what won’t satisfy. Worship our indescribable, transcendent, holy creator. Don’t worship what won’t satisfy worship the God that we just met in Revelation, four indescribable, transcendent, holy creator, just as we’re wrapping up. I mean, ask yourself even now before what or who? Will you fling yourself before what or who are you flinging yourself right now in worship? Before whom are you going to cast your crowns? Is it worthy? Is it worthy of your lifelong devotion? It is such a powerful passage for those of us who are caught up with little things like don’t settle for porn or video games or new clothes or the latest technology or promotion at work, those are frogs. Those are odds. There’s nothing there. We have to keep preaching this to ourselves. What do we do when we’re when we’re resisting to temptation? We’re just saying to temptation, you are not better than the one on the throne, and I will give him my worship instead. Like what will it take to free you from idolatry, to liberate you from the world’s pole, to get you drinking streams of living water instead of sucking down the muck at the bottom of broken cisterns. It is this a vision of God as He is, because a vision of God’s glory is the best remedy for us when we are struggling with temptation. As the desert father Abba poi main said, Do not give your heart to that which will not satisfy your heart. That is the message of revelation four, don’t settle for Oz, don’t worship won’t satisfy instead, worship your indescribable, transcendent, holy creator. Let’s pray to him now. The Lord, we see you now seated on the throne in all of your multifaceted glory, we see how much better you are than what the world offers us. And Lord, once we’ve seen this, what else could we possibly do but fall down before you in worship, casting our crowns before you, giving our lives holy to you. Open our eyes even now Lord, to see you as you really are, and may the things of this world grow strangely dim. Then in the light of Your glory, we pray through Christ, our Lord, Amen.

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The Revelation from Jesus Christ January 12, 2025 | Brandon Cooper The sermon introduces Revelation as a book meant to reveal, not hide, the truth about Jesus Christ and God’s sovereign plan for history. It emphasizes the need to read Revelation symbolically rather than literally, focusing on the big picture rather than getting bogged down in the details. The sermon highlights key themes like grace, peace, worship, and the vision of Jesus as the faithful witness and ruler over all. The main application is that seeing Jesus in His full glory should replace fear with worshipful perseverance, as we love him and long for His appearance.

Okay, alright, buckle up. Here we go. Grab your Bibles. Revelation, chapter one. Revelation, chapter one. We’ll get started in our series this morning. Now, as you’re turning to Revelation chapter one, if you’re of a certain age, you probably remember the Magic Eye craze. Think it peaked kind of like mid 90s ish or something like that. And these were, if you are not of a certain age, these were these computer generated weird, you know, kind of abstract patterns. But what happened was the computer would twist the pattern just slightly, this recurring pattern to fool your brain into seeing a 3d image, kind of a hidden within the design. Now, if you were one of the Illuminati who figured out how to work this thing, and I was not, by the way, okay, but if you were one, you know that the trick was not to look at the design itself, not to look at the surface, right, but to look behind it, beyond it, beneath it, something like that. And the far sighted would actually have an advantage here, because they have trouble focusing right there anyway. And so that’s kind of how it worked. Well, the Magic Eye craze, it was a little bit of a parable for the Christian life, if you think about it, because we so often need to look behind, beneath, beyond the surface level, the circumstances that we’re in, the mundane. In order to see the deep realities of this world, we need to be, you know, if we can put it this way, spiritually, far sighted in a sense, and if we are a new pattern emerges. We get to see in 3d we see God’s Wise Providence, the big picture going on behind the details, everything from, you know, finances to foreign affairs. And as we’ll see, even in our passage this morning, what we need to see there, as we’re looking with our spiritual far sight, we need to see Jesus at the risk of blasphemy, for sure, he’s the 3d image behind the surface design. He’s the one that makes sense of history for us. You Magic Eye craze, not just a fitting parable of the Christian life, but really good introduction to Revelation as well, right? Because revelation feels like a magic eye picture, doesn’t it? Alright? Some of you been looking at it for a long time, going it doesn’t make any sense. Some of you feel like I’m never going to see the image that’s supposed to be there. It’s frustrating. Can feel a little bit mystical, like I’m I have to be part of the Illuminati in order to understand this book, and clearly I’m not. So we’re going to talk some more about that as we go even today, of course. But the good news that I want to give you up front as we dig into Revelation is that you can understand revelations. Main Idea, you can understand this book. You may not get every detail, because no one does, but you can understand most of it, and that’s what we want to talk about. We’re going to actually kind of hit that as we go by asking three questions of Revelation. Anna, the why, the what and the WHO as we go. So first of the why, why we need Revelation, the book and frankly, just the idea of Revelation. Here’s Revelation, chapter one, verses one to three, the revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant, John, who testifies to everything he saw that is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. I was man probably eight years ago now that we did Genesis and started in Genesis, one one. So it’s taken us a while to get to the end of the book, I guess. But how I started Genesis, when we were started there, is I would read it, you know, in the beginning, God, and then I would cry out, right there, stop right in the beginning. God, stop. Like we gotta stop there and go, if you don’t believe that, there’s really no point in reading the rest of the book, like we have to understand in the beginning God. God is what stands behind it all. Well, we have a similar sort of moment here in Revelation, when we read the revelation. Stop Okay, stop there, and let’s make sure we get that. Because what does revelation mean? It means God is trying to it’s going to shock you all I know, reveal something. It means to disclose, to unveil, not to hide. So we have to believe that as we start, this is meant to be revelation. This is meant to ill. Eight not to confuse. We don’t need a PhD in New Testament studies to read the book. I get that it feels complicated. It certainly does. One reason it feels so complicated, though, is because we start at the wrong end. It’s a little bit like grabbing the knife by the blade. It’s a bad idea. And so what is the blade that we always grab at. It’s the details we want to start with, understanding every little image in it, as opposed to the big picture. So we want to know what the bear’s feet represent in Revelation 13, verse two, instead of seizing the idea that God is King, that he is ruling over history and will bring it to its consummation in Christ, Jesus, that’s what’s being revealed. And so revelation is, I heard someone say this. I liked it a lot. I hope it helps you as well. Revelation is a picture book, not a puzzle book, so some of us come to Revelation like it’s Sudoku, and we think we just, you know, a pie enough brain power to it, we’re able to fill in all the bubbles and feel smart at the end of it. That’s not at all. It is a a picture book, which is why, by the way, kids tend to understand revelation better than adults, because they know how to read picture books. You just, you like, sit back, enjoy it. You just drink it in, and that’s it. Like revelation gives us these large and startling figures in, quote, Flannery O’Connor, they’re large and startling figures that that pack a lot of oomph, and they’re meant to that is the nature of apocalypse, the genre, by the way, that is the the word is a Greek word that’s translated as Revelation. So again, you hear Apocalypse, and you go, scary. I don’t know how to read that. And God’s going revelation. I’m trying to reveal something. Okay, that’s what we’re talking about here. But that’s the nature of apocalypse, is that you get this startling symbolism that’s meant to generate an impression. So think of a picture. Think of like Picasso’s Guernica or something like that. You don’t look at this picture and go, boy, I wonder why the horse’s head is turned this way. You go, wow, war is awful, and that’s what you’re supposed to get from it, and that’s what we’re supposed to get from Revelation, that impression. But all right, we got through two words. We’re doing really well here. All right, let’s get to word three, the revelation from Jesus Christ. The revelation from Jesus Christ. In other words, Jesus is the source of this revelation. What we have here are not John’s thoughts, but divine revelation, because this book has a divine author, and that, by the way, is why we pay attention to it, because this is God’s word to us. In fact, you get this incredible chain of revelation in these opening verses, the revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant, John, who testifies to everything he saw. That is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, you have this chain. We have God the Father, who gives it to God, the Son, Jesus Christ, who then sends His angel to show John, who then writes it down for us. That’s how much care God takes to make sure we understand this. And the mediation that happens there doesn’t change the origination. This is still God’s word to us. This is helpful, by the way, not just for revelation, but for the Bible as a whole. This is how God speaks to us. But notice why we get this chain of Revelation, and that is to show His servants. So again, our purpose is understanding. God’s trying to show us something and show us what must take place. What must take place. God is sovereign. This is what will happen. We can be certain that this is how the story unfolds, and that will then give us confidence to live in light of it, as we will see. But it’s not just what must take place, but what must soon take place. And I know some of you are thinking, okay, but it’s been 2000 years. Was John wrong?
Probably not. I don’t think so. We are dealing in visionary time, and visionary time is a little bit different than like clock time. So why is it going to take place soon? Because we are already in the last days. We’re in the last hour even. And we actually saw this in Daniel so Daniel, chapter two, verse 45 if you were here for our Daniel series, you might remember this. But it says, The Great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. This is, you know, Revelation very clearly, echoing this verse here. So this is Nebuchadnezzar. Is the king, and he’s got that dream of the statue, right? Gold, head, silver, bronze, and then iron legs and then feet made of iron mixed with clay. And it was in the middle of that last kingdom the iron mixed with clay, most likely the Roman Empire, that. This rock, not cut by human hands, comes in, kind of smashes the feet. The whole statue topples. And the rock is Jesus, Christ, with his coming into the world. You know, his kingdom comes, and his kingdom is the final kingdom. So why is it taking place soon? Because the rock has come. Jesus is here, right? We just celebrated at Christmas, and so we are now in the middle of that last period of history, the time between Christ first and second comings. And he is coming soon. And scripture, by the way, is so careful with this, even Jesus himself would say things like, I’m coming soon. You know, kingdom of God is here. And then he tells parables where he’s like the parable of the foolish virgins, they thought he was coming sooner than he was, and they weren’t ready to wait that long. And then he tells the parable of the wicked steward, who, you know, beats all the other servants because he thought his master was coming later than expected, and so he wasn’t ready for him to come as a we just need to be ready. We just need to be ready. That’s the point. That’s what Scripture says over and over and over again. He is coming. He’s coming soon, whatever that means. So Jesus reveals to John what will certainly happen in the last days, and we can trust John, because John wrote it down faithfully, and he wrote down faithfully the word of the one who is the original faithful witness, Jesus Christ, which can be a major theme in Revelation. We’ll keep coming back to the faithful witness idea. Jesus is the unfailing word. He is the truth itself. And if he’s truth, and if he reveals truth, and what must we do with his word, pay attention? That’s verse three, right? We get this, this benediction pronounced on those who pay attention. This is, by the way, the first of seven benedictions in the book of Revelation. That is not coincidence. Seven is going to show up a lot. We’ll talk about that in a moment. There’s this deep structure to the book again, maybe just looks like a random computer generated image. Nope, there’s a big picture behind it. This is one of the ways we can tell that. But look at this blessing specifically. I love the way the NIV renders it. Blessed is one who reads aloud, because this is a public worship setting. People didn’t have their personal Bible at home or anything like that, so we are talking about reading aloud. Nothing wrong with reading it at home. Of course, that’s great, too. But so what is the the blessing here? Blessed is the one who reads aloud. That’s me. That’s my job here today. And then Blessed are those who hear that’s you. But then it goes on to say, this is not just an empty reading or hearing or studying. No we are to take to heart what has been written down for us, to keep it, to guard it. Notice that it says we’re to take to heart the words of this prophecy specifically. And that actually makes sense, because what does prophecy do? Two things normally. One, prophecy tells us about future events. It foretells, okay, check that’s in Revelation, right? Plenty of future events. And then prophecy also tells us how we should be living in light of that truth. It fourth tells, but you put it that way, check, that’s what Revelation does as well. So we’re supposed to hear of Christ’s coming. You know, believe what it says, And then keep those words, take those words to heart by repenting of our sin and worshiping the Christ who is to come. That is the goal of Revelation. Again, if we read Revelation together, and those two things happen, that’s a win. That’s what’s what we’re supposed to be doing here. We’re blessed when we do that. But notice in the context too, we’re blessed when we do that, despite the danger of persecution, which we know is the background of this book. We’ll talk about that again here in just a moment, like I just finished Shusaku endo silence, the book about persecution of the Japanese church in the 17th century. Some of you probably saw the movie and all that stuff, and you understand the danger in those settings of actually gathering to read these words aloud. And that was the danger that these churches were facing. And so there’s this extra blessing going, yes, it’s dangerous. You may be persecuted, but persevere, read it together still. So why do we need revelation? Because we need to know and believe what’s coming and commit to living in light of it, because it is true. Second question then is the what question, what Revelation produces in us when we take it to heart. Read verses four to eight, John to the seven churches in the province of Asia, Grace and peace to you from him who is and who was and who is to come from the seven spirits before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth, to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his. Blood and has made us to be a kingdom and priest, to serve his God and Father to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all peoples on earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be. Amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come the Almighty. Alright, so we’ve got that revelation is apocalypse and also prophecy. It’s also a letter. Interestingly. This is how letters begin in Greco Roman culture. This is from John two seven churches. What are those seven churches? I’m hoping you all remember, we did this one right last summer. We did the seven letters series that was to give us the historical context, you know, the original context for this book. You weren’t here for that, or even just don’t remember, go back, listen to those kind of get ourselves in the right spot once again. But there’s a group of seven churches in western Turkey undergoing persecution and also undergoing temptation to faithlessness as a result of the persecution. So that’s who’s receiving this letter, which is also a prophecy, which is also an apocalypse, who is writing it that would be John, like the apostle John wrote the Gospel of John, first, second, third, John. How do we know it’s John? A couple different reasons, but the main one is it’s the uniform witness of church history. And we actually learn this from people who knew John personally, who were discipled by John, which sounds pretty awesome, I might add, guys like Papias and Melito and Irenaeus, there are some differences, sure, in his style here compared to the Gospel of John, that’s because he’s writing Apocalypse instead of a gospel that probably accounts for most of it. Now, it is written to these seven churches in Asia. You can see which in verse 11. We’ll read them in just a moment, but we talked about the fact when we did the seven letters series that it’s not just these seven churches. In fact, we read over and over and again in those letters, you know, to those who have here ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches plural, like all of us, we know that too, because this is Apocalypse, and in Apocalypse, in apocalyptic writing, numbers have symbolic value. The number seven has a lot of symbolic value. Imma prove it to you by just showing you some of the things that show up seven times. In Revelation, I already mentioned the benedictions, we get seven churches, seven spirits, seven lampstands, seven stars, seven torches, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven heads, seven crowns, seven plagues, seven bowls, seven mountains, seven kings, seven songs of praise. And by the way, that’s all I could fit in my notes. That was one whole line. There’s more. Alright, so do we think seven is an important number in Revelation? Yes, few other numbers that are going to show up a lot, four, like four corners of the earth 12 like 12 apostles, 1000 and multiples of all of these numbers, like 14 shows up a lot, or 144,012
times, 12 times, 1000 shows up. These are symbolic. These are symbolic numbers, okay, not a coincidence. This is usually showing the completeness and perfection of God’s work in history. Again, just like Genesis, you read Genesis one, you get these multiples of seven over and over and over again, because it’s showing God’s creation is very good. It’s perfect. Well, so is his sovereign rule over history. So these revelation is written literally to seven churches in first century, western Turkey, but also symbolically to all churches we talk about in letters here is because these are addressing issues that are common to all humanity. So there’s a lesson here that we’re going to need to learn for the rest of Revelation, which is that numbers count. Numbers count, but they count symbolically. And that’s going to help us with the book as a whole, because we get lots of symbols and lots of visions, and they’re not meant to be taken literally, because they’re symbols. And you take symbols, wait for it symbolically shocking. I know I get that some of you are really uncomfortable with that, because you know of churches, maybe even whole denominations, that say things like, we take the Bible seriously, but not literally, and those are churches and denominations that have abandoned the historic faith. And you think, well, we don’t want to do that, so we better take it literally. No, let’s read it well, let’s read it literally, which means taking the literal stuff literally, and the symbolic stuff symbolically. And some of you are like, Okay, but how do we make sure we’re doing that? Because Is there anything that is tethering our interpretation to the text so that we don’t just go. The bearer’s feet. Maybe that’s, you know, evangelicals insistence on reading the Bible literally, what is helping us ground our interpretation in the Bible? And the answer is the Old Testament, because the symbols and the visions are driven by the Old Testament. That’s what will tether our interpretation to the text as we keep going. So that’s just getting us ready for the rest of it. Alright, what do we get next? Then grace and peace from our Triune God. First we get it from the Father, who is and who was and who is to come. Really fascinating, by the way, that it doesn’t say who is and who was and who will be, but who is to come, because, yes, he is coming as our deliverer, and then we get it from the seven spirits. You can look down if you’re in the NIV. There’s a text note that says, maybe the seven fold spirit, capital S, the Holy Spirit. Yes, exactly, absolutely, right. That’s it, because where he got this Trinitarian context, we’ll talk more about this next week, though. It’s drawing on, guess what? The Old Testament, Zechariah, chapter four, next week, next week. Hang on. Okay, I’m going to be long today already, and then we get this grace from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness. And the Greek word for witness is martyr. And Jesus, of course, is both witness and martyr. And he is an example to us than a faithful perseverance, even if it leads to martyrdom. So good thing that he’s also the firstborn from the dead. That is, he is the guarantee and foundation of our resurrection hope, which, if you’re in danger of martyrdom, seems really important, doesn’t it? And then He is the true ruler who’s reigning? Not Rome, Jesus. He is the ruler over kings. Good to know as well. If you’re being persecuted by a government. There’s just a larger lesson in all of this, the reminder that we really need, which is that in the midst of challenging circumstances, we must remember who God is, and then to interpret our circumstances in light of him. Instead of giving into the temptation to interpret God in light of our circumstances, I’m being persecuted. God must not care. No, we know God cares. And so how’s that going to help me in the midst of persecution? And so, of course, we get a doxology coming out of that then, and what a doxology we get to him who loves us. Notice present tense, ongoing. This is the atmosphere in which we live, the love of God and who has freed us. That’s perfect tense, a completed action, a past finished work that accomplished our redemption, freed us from our sins by His blood. This is getting at a negative salvation, right? There’s something that’s taken away from us in salvation, namely our sins and the punishment that they deserve, but there’s a positive element to our salvation as well. We’re being saved for a purpose. There’s something that is given to us, and what is that? It’s that He has made us to be a kingdom and priest, to serve his God and Father, and as priests, we mediate God’s glory to the world, calling others into the kingdom of light, offering sacrifices of praise and giving and service, worship is the only proper response to everything that we’re seeing about who God is and what he’s done, by the way, that is exactly where we’re headed next week. It’s all worship at that point, but you can see how important this is in the context like worship this this doxology gives you a constant reorientation in the midst of spiritual warfare, like you sing these songs to remind yourselves of these truths that we need to see behind the surface to the deep reality beneath it. And that’s exactly what this collection of Old Testament references communicates, too, that we get in verse seven, he’s coming with the clouds. That’s reference to Daniel seven. Verse 13, Julie read it for us earlier, but here it is again. There before me was one like a Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. And the one who approaches the Ancient of Days like a son of man that would be Jesus, of course, is given this everlasting kingdom, this dominion that will not end, and he will rule over all nations Good to know. And then it’s joined with a vision with a quote from Zechariah 1210 which says, They will look on me the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a first born son. Of course, this is getting at Jesus’s sacrifice, pierced on the cross. Now, what does it mean when it says they will mourn because of him? Why are we mourning because of Jesus on the cross? Well, there are two options here, and certainly both are happening. It depends on who is reading it. We’re either mourning because we are grieving. Receiving our sin and the cost of our salvation, Jesus’s sacrifice, or we are mourning because we are wailing bitterly at the coming judgment. You can see in this verse, then that everything depends on how we respond to Jesus. We can either receive His love and forgiveness, be freed from our sins and live joyfully under his rule, or we will face judgment for our sins. There gonna be parts of revelation gonna be really hard to read. They’re not hard for believers, because we have been spared this coming judgment. Very hard to read as you’re thinking about the people you know and love who do not know Jesus. The point of these visions is to open our eyes. It’s a little bit like maybe you had this at your high school or something before homecoming or prom, they would do the drunk driving presentation, and like I remember from us, at least they, like, brought a car in that had been told people had died, kind of thing. It was not meant to be fun to read or to see to hear, but it was meant to make you think so, that you would choose wisely in light of what could be coming otherwise. And that is what Revelation is trying to do for us here, because Jesus will judge, because he is the judge. And once again, verse eight, we’re given everything we need to know about him to face the varied trials that are coming our way. He’s the Alpha and the Omega. That’s the first letter of the Greek alphabet, the last letter of the Greek alphabet. In other words, he’s the beginning and the end, the first and the last. And he holds everything in between as well. He holds history in his hands. He also is and was and will come, because he is also the eternal God, and He is the Almighty right, the eternal God who rules in power. So what does revelation produce in us? Then? Is a right understanding of who God is, and what our response to him should be, which is worship, worship. And really, that’s what we get in the last question as well, more worship because we have more understanding of who Jesus is, because that is the last question, the who question, who is revealed. Let me read the rest of chapter one for us, verses nine to 20,
I John your brethren, companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus. Was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord’s day, I was in the spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said, right on a scroll what you see, and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me, and when I turned, I saw seven golden lamp stands. And among the lamp stands was something like a son of man, someone like a son of man dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white, like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand, he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said, Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I was dead, and now look, I’m alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death. And Hades write, therefore what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later, the mystery of the mystery of the seven stars that you saw on my right hand, and of the seven golden lamp stands is this, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lamp stands are the seven churches. Alright? So we get kind of the end of our Prolog there in verse eight. And so verse nine is, is the beginning of the book proper, the the meat of Revelation, and John sets the stage for the first vision that he has. He’s on the island of Patmos, little island off the west coast of Turkey, and he is there because of his testimony, because of the Word of God. That is most likely. He has been exiled to Patmos because he continues to preach the gospel of Christ Jesus. What that means then is that John gets it. John understands what the seven churches are facing. And so he says, I am your brother. That’s getting at our common adoption in Christ, that we are now children’s children of the Father and therefore brothers and sisters in Christ. So I’m your brother and companion in the suffering, right? It means he experienced this persecution too, because he’s just been exiled. He knows what this imperial cult in western Turkey is like, that there really. Pro Rome, and they’re really against anybody who says somebody else like Jesus, say is king. But look at how this is phrased. I find this so fascinating, like what a phrase I am your companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, suffering and kingdom. And when you think about it, these are the two sides of the Christian experience in this life. We are heirs of God, heirs of his kingdom with Christ Himself, and we will reign with Jesus forever. And at the same time we are subject to trials and tribulations, the world will hate us like it hated our Christ. And so the main application of the revelation is is kind of bringing those two together. It’s perseverance, right? Faithful and patient endurance that are ours in Christ, Jesus, you will not patiently endure unless you have both of these truths held together in tension, like if you got kingdom and not suffering, you got a theology of glory without a theology of the cross, you will be disappointed by this world. You will think God should be doing more for you than he is, and you will quit. You will give up. And at the same time, if you think this world is just suffering and there’s no kingdom to come, well that’s just gonna breed hopelessness. Of course, you need both together. You need a quote from James Hamilton in his commentary on Revelation. You need this understanding. He says, Your Best Life is not now. Your best life will begin when the skies are split by the shout of the archangel, when you patiently endure whatever afflictions you face in your life, you follow in the footsteps of the Old Testament, prophets, the Lord Jesus and his disciples. That’s what we are called to. So John gets it. John gets all of that, what the seven churches and all of us must endure, and why we would choose to endure it. So there’s John on Patmos in exile. It’s the Lord’s Day. It’s Sunday, and he’s in the spirit. By the way, that phrase, being in the spirit, it’s going to be a major marker in Revelation. It could show up four times. That’s weird, right? Four? That’s not a symbolic number, I’m sure. And each time, it’s going to start a new major section, a new vision that’s coming, we’ll actually get the next one next week, because we’re skipping chapters two and three, since we already did them. So what happens when he’s in the Lord’s day in the Spirit, he hears a loud voice like a trumpet. That is, of course, the voice of the Almighty Exodus 19 when God reveals Himself to Israel at Sinai. Guess what it sounds like trumpets, right? So that’s it, except here it’s Jesus speaking. So we are reminded once again that Jesus is Himself God, and John is told to write this vision to seven specific churches. So we keep saying they’re for all of us. You know, anyone who’s got ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church is yes, but this book was for them too. It was written to them, specifically, seven church, real churches in a real context. That’s going to help us read this book without falling into what one commentator called newspaper eschatology. Is there? Some people want to read Revelation with the newspaper open so they can go, what’s being fulfilled, what’s being fulfilled, what’s being fulfilled, really reached its peak, like between 1960 and 1990 and by the way, go back and read those and see how dumb they sound now, because they’re all about how this was gonna happen in 1988 and stuff. And here we are in 2025 almost at 2024, 2025, didn’t happen. So slow your roll, right. Okay, put the newspaper away. Understand what it’s saying to these seven churches. It has to make sense to them. This was written to first century Turkey, not 21st century America. Gotta keep that in mind. John does what we would all do. He turns around to see who is speaking, and he has his first vision. We get seven golden lamp stands taken from Zechariah, chapter four, verse two, it’s a temple vision, and Zechariah says, I see a solid gold lamp stand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it. So it’s a single candelabra that’s right there in the temple of God, although here Zechariah is seeing it in a vision. It represents Israel seven. Wow, that sounds cool, right? Like symbol the whole nation of Israel. It is one lamp stand, because Israel is one nation. We now have seven lamp stands because there are many churches. Yes, we can comprise one global church, but these are seven separate churches, and there is one among the lamp stands. That means that Jesus is with his people. Mike. Reached Matthew 28 for us just a couple weeks ago. And Jesus says, The the promise that he closes with is, I am with you always to the end of the age. Here he is with his people among the lamp stands. Jesus is with us even now. So the the one that he sees among the lamp stands is one like a Son of Man. Again, that’s from Daniel 713, we already read that he’s dressed in a priestly robe, just like the one who’s speaking in the vision in Daniel chapter 10. And Kyle told us at that point that that was christophany, meaning an appearance of Christ, because it’s described exactly how Jesus is described here. So this priestly robe, underlining His purity, he’s got a golden sash, which is what the priests wore. It’s also what the prophets often wore. He’s got white hair. Who else has white hair in Daniel? Not the one like the Son of Man, the Ancient of Days, that the one like the Son of Man is approaching, isn’t that interesting? Here we have the Son of Man distinct from the Ancient of Days, and yet, like him, sounds like the Trinity to me, doesn’t it? So he is not the father, but he is god of God, very God, a very God, as the Athanasian Creed says it, he is himself, the second member of the Triune God. He’s got feet like bronze that’s glowing like it’s on fire, strength, sure, beauty, probably, I don’t know. He got a voice like rushing waters that would certainly seem to indicate his authority. He’s got a face shining like the sun. That’s His Majesty. All of those images, by the way, are taken from Ezekiel, chapter one, which we’ll look at next week. He holds the churches in his hand, these seven stars, right? What’s he doing there? That’s actually not from the Old Testament. The other place we’re going to draw imagery from is Rome,
so on, Domitian, whose Emperor at the time, domitians coins, Domitian is holding seven stars in his hand to show Rome’s universal rule. Now, if you know anything about Rome, you know they ruled the Mediterranean basin. That’s it. They weren’t in India, they weren’t in China, they weren’t in South Africa. They weren’t in the America. Universal rule. Jesus actually has universal rule. He’s got all the stars. He’s got all the lamp stands in His hands. His eyes are like fire. Fire often accompanies an appearance of God, but also, because His eyes are like fire, it means that he can see the secrets of our hearts and burn away our impurities. And there’s a sword coming from his mouth that is the authority of His word, of course, to bring salvation or to declare judgment, like we talked about last week in Jeremiah chapter one, the word of God, it can build up or tear down. We know it’s his word, because this imagery of the sword is used elsewhere. Ephesians, six, of course, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, or Hebrews 412, and 13. For the word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double edged sword. It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered, revealed, by the way, same word and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Note again, by the way, this is symbolic. Jesus does not have a literal sword coming out of his mouth. And so we once again see the danger of reading Revelation literally, unless it’s impossible. No, we’re going to continue to read symbolism as symbols drawing in the Old Testament. But what just happened? Like what just happened in all that? I know we ran through that quickly. John truly had a vision of Jesus. And then it makes sense the vision he drew on the Old Testament Daniel Zechariah Ezekiel, because his mind is steeped in the Word of God. And so he describes the vision in these terms, in order to encourage us, to explain it to us, because what we need to persevere faithfully is a vision of Jesus. We don’t need times and dates. We need trust. I love the way Herman bavinck says this in his reformed dogmatics, one of the greater theologians ever to live. And he talks about the relationship between eschatology and Christology. Eschatology, study of the End Times, last things, Christology, study of Christ babbing says this. He says eschatology is rooted in Christology, and is itself Christology. I love that. He says, You want to know the last things look at Jesus. So eschatology is itself. Christology, the teaching of the final, complete triumph of Christ and His kingdom over all his enemies. Let’s keep that in mind as we read. We need to know Jesus better, not left behind better. It. Well, what happens next? Exactly what you’d expect if you saw someone like this. John falls over like He’s dead. He’s got an Isaiah six moment. Woe is me. I’m undone. Okay? Like just good time to die at this point. So Jesus, what the angel does to Daniel when he has his vision, right? Jesus touches him to restore him, and says, Don’t be afraid. Which I find interesting. Jesus is not saying, don’t be afraid because I’m not terrifying because he is no one can see God and live. Scripture tells us so it’s not because he’s not terrifying, but because he’s on our side if we trust in Him. And CS Lewis, as is often the case, explains this better than anyone. When the Pevensey children first hear about Aslan and discover that he’s a giant lion, and Susan says, I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion. And Mrs. Beaver says that you will, dearie. And make no mistake, there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking. They’re either braver than most, or else just silly. And Lucy, who’s always the voice of reason in Narnia says, Then he isn’t safe, and Mr. Beaver says famous quote, safe. Course, he isn’t safe, but he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you. And that’s exactly right. It’s exactly what we get here. Is Jesus safe, no, but he’s good, and he’s the king, I tell you, and that’s good enough for us. We are only safe in his presence when we trust because, of course, Jesus must judge our rebellion. And so that rebellion will either be punished in Christ on the cross or not, in which case will be punished in us. And so that is the plea to those of you who are here today still waffling on the issue of Christ, you can either leave terrified, or you can leave trusting. You don’t have to be afraid when you see Jesus as He is, if you will receive Him as Lord and Savior, and then what does Jesus give us? More Christology. I’m the first and the last, which means again, he holds the middle also, which is where we are. And he says, I’m the living one. I was dead, and now look, I’m alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death. And Hades. Hades conquered death for us. He holds the keys to the grave. That’s what we need again. Imagine you’re one of these seven churches. You’re experiencing persecution. Members of your church have already been put to death, like Antipas in Pergamon, and you’re thinking to yourself, What if Rome kills us and Jesus says they killed me too? How’d that work out for them? Right? It turned out all right. So we can persevere in worship. That’s what the seven churches need to know. That’s what every church needs to know, which is why that last paragraph John is supposed to write all this stuff down, send him to us, explains the symbols we’re talking about, the seven churches we kind of talked through all that last summer. But when we pull this together, our big idea, just as we close, fear turns to worship. Pull perseverance when we see who Jesus is, right, we exchange fear for worship and perseverance when we see who Jesus is. Now, what fear? There are two fears, right? There’s the external fear of persecution, but there’s the internal fear temptation to sin and the fact that we’re going to have to stand before the living God. But if we look at Jesus’s person and work who he is and what he’s done for us, cast out all fear. Cast out fear of both so that we press on. We keep his word, we take his vision to heart, we stride forward in unceasing worship with the kind of perseverance that Paul talks about very end of his life. This is in Second Timothy, last letter he writes before he is martyred for his faith. And he says, I fought the good fight, right? I finished the race all that stuff. And he says, Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous judge will award to me on that day, not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing, everybody who loves and is longing for Christ to come again, which is in contrast, by the way, to Dimas, two verses later, Who left the church left Jesus because He loves this present world. You see everything we’re talking about today. It’s a question of loves. That’s all it is. Are you gonna love this world and what it offers? Are you gonna love Jesus and the world that he is bringing that future, perfect, consummated kingdom. So as we close, what do you love most? If you just love God for what you think he can give you, you will not persevere, because the first time he doesn’t give you what you want, the first time you face trials, you will. Quit. So ask yourself even now, do you love God’s goods, or do you love God’s goodness? God for who he is? Do you love Jesus? So that you love His appearing and you long for it with a terrified awe and a worshipful perseverance? If so, hear this word, believe it, take it to heart. Let’s pray now, Lord, we come before you trembling. We know that we should feel terror in your presence, because we know who we are sinners, and we know who you are, the sinless Savior as we sang earlier, the righteous judge that Paul talked about, the one with eyes like fire and feet like burning, bronze Lord, how could we stand in Your presence? We couldn’t, unless you came to love us, to free us from our sins by your blood. That is what you have done, and that is why we worship You, Lord. So help us to worship you now, to love you now, and in worship and love, to persevere no matter what this world throws our way, we pray for Your name’s sake. Amen.

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Waiting and Working January 5, 2025 | Jake Thomas The sermon discusses how God’s plans are better than our own human plans and desires for profits. It encourages being patient and persevering, even through suffering, as we wait for God’s plan to unfold. The sermon warns against the dangers of prioritizing profits over people. It emphasizes the importance of saying “yes” to God’s will daily.

Hey, good morning. Yeah, I’m Jake. I’m the Director of Student ministries here. Please open your Bibles to James four. I’m starting verse 13. That’s page 979, of you pew Bibles. And because I’m the Director of Student ministries here, I want to make sure the students are paying attention. So if you’re one of the students here, you find me after the service. You tell me something you learned, something you are going to do differently, or something that you have a question still about, that’s great, too. I have some Jolly Ranchers with your name on it, and if you’re hearing your kid at heart, we can figure something out. Come find the service, and we’ll make a deal. But have you ever had just one of those days? You know, I’m talking about, where everything just seems to go wrong, and everything that can go wrong does go wrong. I had one of those when I was a freshman in college. So I was freshman at my Bible college, I was playing basketball, and my front right tooth got dislocated while I was playing basketball, so it’s supposed to look like this. It was like that in my mouth. Not good. And so I had to, as an 18 year old, I had to schedule my own emergency dentist appointment. That did not go well. The next morning, I went to the dentist, and they canceled on me as I’m walking out the door. And so things are not going well, and so I do. I probably should know in the first place. I called my mom and yeah, and she scheduled an appointment for me in Chinatown. Long story. So I left to go to Chinatown. I get fixed up. I’m in Chinatown, but I mess up my prescription for my pain meds. My mouth hurts a lot, and so I’m stuck in Chinatown waiting for my pain meds to get done, because I never got my prescription for so at this point I’m in Chinatown, I’m kind of annoyed. I’m like, God, what are you doing here? Why is nothing going right? Why is this one thing after other? I get my tooth knocked out, my dentist cancels I mess up my prescription. Nothing was going right. It was just one of those days. And maybe you’re here today, and you’ve had one of those days too, you’re coming in. This is just one of those days. Or maybe it’s just one of those weeks or months, or even just one of those years, there’s nothing seems to go right, and everything that can go wrong does go wrong, and that kind of leads the question, like, God, what are you doing here? I’m not getting things that I want. These aren’t wrong things to want. Like, what? What’s happening here? Why is this happening? And it is a good question, why doesn’t God give us everything we want? Well, the book of James we look at today actually helps us understand that what God wants for us is better than what we want for ourselves. That’s actually my big idea today, is God wants better for you than you want for yourself. And the second half of that is wait and work for what God wants. And that does by the question like, well, what does God want for me, and why is it better than what I want for ourself? Great question. Let’s dig in before we get into the book of James. Just want to give a little bit of context where we’re at. So James is writing to first century Christians who were definitely having one of those days, like they were losing friends, jobs, their lives, just for being Christians. So he’s writing over there that are definitely asking this question, like, God, what are you doing here? What is happening? Why am I not getting what I want? I just want to be alive. And so James is writing exactly to that question. So we’re starting verse 413, now listen, you who say today or tomorrow, we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why? You do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, if it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that, as it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone then knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them. So James starts this passage by telling us what something that we want instead of what God wants for that. And it is we want plans. We want plans. And verse 13 kind of lays it out pretty clearly. Look, it says, Today or tomorrow, we will go out to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. What is that sentence? It’s a plan, right? It’s a plan. It’s what someone wants to do. They’re outlining that. And we all want a plan, don’t we? I think I talked to a lot of high schoolers, and they feel so much pressure to have a plan. They need to know what school they’re gonna go to, what career they’re gonna pursue, who they’re gonna date and marry, they feel like they need to have their entire life figured out, or they’re behind the curve. And yeah, maybe not all of us are making college choices soon, but I think we kind of feel that pressure, right? If we don’t have, like, a 10 year, a five year, a one year plan. We’re behind the curve, and we don’t have that security blanket. And that’s what plans offer us. That’s why I want them. They offer security don’t they, because what’s the point of this plan in verse 13? What’s the end result of it to make money? Right? So a good plan leads to good profits, which. Leads to security, and so that’s why we want plans, because they help us feel secure. But there’s a problem with plans, isn’t there? And James points it out very clearly. 14 says, Why do you not even know what’s going to happen tomorrow? Plans aren’t reliable because they’re subject to change really fast. It’s not something you can’t make a one year plan if you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow or even in the next hour. And that’s part of the reason that James calls us a mist in verse 14, that we there’s no security in our plans. They’re subject to change really fast. It kind of reminds me of this video I saw the other day. It’s of this raccoon, and a fun fact about raccoons is that if you give them food, they will wash it in water. It’s really cute. So this guy, he feeds this raccoon, he hands him some cotton candy. You see where it’s going. So the raccoon, he’s all excited. He has cotton candy, and he goes to wash it, and then his shoulders droop as it melts in his hands. He’s like, Where’d it go? It’s kind of it’s kind of sad actually. It’s like, I’ll just give him some cotton candy. You of candy. But like, don’t we kind of resemble like that a lot? If we have our plan, it’s perfect. We polish it like this is gonna happen exactly I wanted to all sudden. It’s just, it’s just gone something changed. We get, like, a phone call that changes everything. Just even someone tells us some bad news or just an accident. And everything that we planned out, our shiny plan is just it melts in our hands because we don’t know what’s tomorrow is going to bring. I think it was spring break, 2020, a lot of high schoolers went to bed just planning on going to the high school next week. The parents did too, and that then tomorrow came. That didn’t happen. We don’t know what tomorrow’s going to bring. That’s why our plans this melt like cotton candy and water. There’s no security in them. Now is James saying it’s bad to make any plans? No, I don’t believe so. Why? Because he offers a different plan. Look, look at verse 15. It says, instead, you ought to say so he’s saying there. Never say that. He’s offering a different thing to say. So it’s a different plan. And his new plan is, if it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that. So James isn’t saying that making plans is a problem. It’s making plans that don’t acknowledge God. That’s the problem. James is pointing out, because what’s the difference between the verse in 13 and verse 15? How do they start? 13 starts, we will. 15 starts, if the Lord wills, that’s the difference. We will. Plans are unreliable. If the Lord will, plans are not because the Lord knows what happens tomorrow and we don’t, and we see these we will plans a lot. I mean, it’s January, we made a lot of we will plans recently, right? Like we will lose weight this year. We will be better worth our money. We will spend more time with family. Those aren’t wrong things to plan, but they’re not reliable. They’re not trustworthy. And so one thing we need to do, instead of wanting plans, we need to want if the Lord will plans, not we will plans this year. That does beg the question, like, Okay, how do you do that? How do you make if the Lord will plan? Well, the first kind of, it seems like obvious, but have you asked the Lord what his plan for your life is, or have you like, even consider like, Hey, what are you having for me right now? God, so this year, instead of making we will plans. Ask like, God, what do you want me to do this year, this month today? But also, you can learn just what God’s plan is, generally, for people’s lives. And you can learn that through the word of God. He isn’t really hiding his plan from us. He’s made it very clear in plain what He wants us to do with our lives. And he’s also offered a lot of means to access this and to have this explained to you, like even what we’re doing right now that we’re sitting at church, so going to church, taking advantage of all the things that are offered at church. We have community groups, we talk about sermons. We have explored them out explore our Bible classes, where we explain all different stuff, and we have just Christians that have lived out more of God’s plan for their lives than than I have, for sure. I’m just a young guy, and so God has placed people around us to find out what the Lord’s plan is for life. He’s not hiding it from you, so just ask and take advantage of what he’s placed around you. Give up and chasing. We will plans and Chase, if the Lord will plans this year. But again, why do we make plans? Right? Well, remember we say in verse 13, the end result of the plan was to make money. So we want plans. We want plans that lead to prophets.
And James knows that, which is why he goes on to say, the dangers of wanting prophets. So that’s let’s go in verse chapter five. Excuse me, chapter five. Verse one says, Now listen, you rich people weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted and moths have eaten your clothes, your. Gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look the wages you failed to pay. The workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of your harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self indulgence, you fatten yourselves in the day of slaughter, you have condemned and murdered the innocent one who was not opposing you. So the second thing that James points out that we want, instead of what God wants for us, is prophets. We want prophets. And I really don’t think I have to work too hard to convince anybody of that. I think if I just had a $20 bill and said, Do you want this? Everyone would say, yes. I know I would. But the better question is not why want profit, is why we want profits. Excuse me, I misspoke. Why do we want money? What does money get us? I think James says it, well, well, he points out in verse five, you’ve lived your life in luxury and self indulgence. That’s why we want money to live the luxurious life and to indulge ourselves. That’s what money and profits gets us. So we kind of see the process James is talking us through. So we want plans. We want plans that lead the prophets, because prophets lead the prosperity, but the dangerous thing about prophets is they can corrupt those who chase after them. The desire for prosperity can actually lead to a dangerous mindset of prophets over people. That’s what you see in these verses. Look. Verse four says, The wages you failed to the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. In verse six, you have condemned and murdered the innocent one who is not opposing you. So in both of those cases, the wealthy who James is talking to in his day, they love their money more than love the people around them. And we see that through all human history, don’t we think about all the countless wars that were fought over land, oil, or even just power, and all the people who lost their lives because of those wars that were caught in the crossfire. Think about the pornography industry, one of the most profitable businesses ever, which has put a price tag on people’s behavior and is pressuring those same people into degrading themselves more and more to make a bigger and bigger profit. And probably one of, if not the most egregious examples of this was the slave trade, where, not only we’re making putting profits over people, we’re putting selling people for a profit. We were putting a price tag on a person. And those are extreme examples, but I don’t think that means that prophets don’t have a significant power in our lives, right? Like I would be shocked if someone was selling slaves in here, but I wouldn’t be surprised if someone had a money fight with their spouse. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone had, like, their kid broke something, or their roommate broke something and cost them some extra money and like, it kind of made their heart like, a little bit, or maybe your boss doesn’t give me that promotion that you deserve, and it kind of makes your heart a little angry inside. Profits are powerful, and it’s very easy to place profits over people in your life, no matter how much money you’re making. And we need some profits. I’m not denying that we have to pay bills, we have to buy groceries, we have to put food on table, like that. We need some profits, but they are so dangerous and it’s so easy to be corrupted by them. And the nice thing is that God actually built in a way to protect ourselves from the power of Prophets. Now you just to get rid of them, like the Lord advocates for a frugal and generous lifestyle that helps minimize the power profits by getting them as far away from as possible and giving the other people. And so I say like, instead of wanting profits, Live generously bless other people, actually you’ll bless yourself. So be generous. Bosses pay fair wages. Employees work hard. In those conversations about money, try and consider the other person over the money while you’re talking about it, if your kid breaks something, you can chew em out a little bit, but show some grace. And so we want plans, but we want plans that lead the prophets. Because those plans and prophets, they seem to lead the prosperity and security, but they’re not stable. They can change easily, and they are rotting, but also they can make us rotten. So James warns with the dangers of wanting plans and profits, and thankfully, he doesn’t just do that. He also tells us what God wants for us instead and offers a better path forward. It. And so that starts in verse seven. So please read with me. Be patient then brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming, see how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The judge is standing at the door, brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering. Take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Joe’s perseverance and have seen the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy above all my brothers and sisters. Do not swear by not by Heaven or by earth, by anything else. All you need to say is a simple yes or no, otherwise you will be condemned. And at first glance, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, does it? We’re just talking about plans and money. Where does patience come to picture? Why is why is that happening now? But it makes a lot of sense, and we’ll explain that a little bit. But the first question I answer is, what are we waiting for? What are we being patient for? Verse seven answers that question right away. Be patient then until the Lord’s coming. That’s what James is telling us, that God wants His people to wait for, is for the Lord’s coming, for Jesus to come back, and so he actually gives us a few like things to remember as we’re waiting. So not only does God give us a command here, he actually tells us how he wants it to look like. And so one of the first things to note, one of the first details to note about this is be patient together. The Christian life is not done alone. And look, look who James is talking to. Look at verse seven and nine and 10 and 11 and 12. What phrase keeps popping up, brothers and sisters. James is speaking to the family of God. He’s speaking to those who are waiting as a family of God for him to return. So that’s the first thing to note, is that the Christian life, you don’t wait for Jesus alone. So don’t do it alone. Wait together. And a really easy way to do that, come back next week. Seriously, like Pastor Brandon, we’re starting a new series with Revelation. Next week, we’re gonna be learning about the return of Jesus and what it’s going to look like, and so a really easy way to do what James is telling us to do right now, just come back next week and listen to what we’re going to say to what the Word of God says about the Lord’s return. So don’t wait alone, because you’re not waiting alone. But the fact that we don’t wait alone may actually be a problem for some of us. I know I had a much higher tolerance on road trips when it was just me in the back seat. Verse When I was crammed to my little brother and my little sister, a lot more fights happen the second one and so people test our patience, right? People can hurt and offend us and even just annoy us. But verse nine offers a different encouragement and challenge. Look at verse nine. It says, don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you’ll be judged. So God is asking his family to treat their family in a different way that comes naturally, to not complain and be patient for each other, because we’re all waiting for the same thing. We’re all waiting for the Lord to come back. So we had to show the same grace to each other that we were shown. So be patient with your brothers and sisters, because we don’t know how long the trip is going to be, but we know who we’re traveling with. So be patient with each other as well. But the kind of last detail that James points out is to be patient through pain. And that’s hard to say because I know in a room this size, there’s definitely some pain sitting here. At first I’ll say, I’m sorry. That’s hard. And the thing that pain makes us think about immediately the first question is, how long is it gonna last? How long is gonna keep hurting? When is it gonna be over?
And so James actually points to probably one of the most famous examples of wading through pain ever, or at least in the Bible. He points to the example of job. And if you don’t know, Job was a man in the Bible, and he lost everything he had one of those days, for sure. He lost his kids. They all died. He lost his his prophets, his his fields and his flocks. They all were carried away by enemy nations. All that he was left with was boils and sickness all over his body, and it led him to ask God, what is going. John, why are you? Why is this happening? How long is this going to keep hurting? And the craziest part of that story is that God answered him, but he answered a different question. Job asked, why, and God told him who? God did not tell job, why? But he said, I am good, and that was enough for job. Because look at we Caitlin read Job’s response, but verse three is so important. Job said, Surely I spoke of things that did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. We do that a lot, don’t we? I mean, we understand plans and profits that makes sense to us. That’s why we want them. We don’t want pain and being patient through pain, we don’t want that doesn’t make sense to us, but painful patience on God is better than wanting plans and prophets, and maybe you’re something like Jake that could just not possibly be true. How is that even remotely true? Well, what do plans and prophets rely on? Performance? Right? We only those things are only valuable if they go perfectly, and if everything runs well, if you perform your plan well, then you will get successful profits. But the problem with that is, as we’ve already talked about, no plan is going to go perfect, and profits, they’re going to fade, and not even that, they’re going to corrupt you as well. That’s part of the reason that Muhammad Ali said, everyone has a plan that they get punched in the mouth every plan is going to get punched at some point. It’s just a fact about life. But that’s where waiting patiently on God is is different. They don’t depend upon us on how well we do. Them depends on God and the promise maker, he’s said that Jesus coming back. And shouldn’t that be easier for us to trust after Jesus came the first time? Because there was a point in the history for the Family God where people weren’t sure that first time was going to happen. So shouldn’t it be like easier to wait for Jesus to come back on the other side of Christmas, and that’s where the image of the farmer is so important. Look at verse seven, the farmer. What is he waiting for? The rains and the harvest? Right? You see it. Does he control either of those things? No. The farmer is waiting for things that he can’t control, and so too is the Christian. The Christian is waiting on Jesus to come back, and he can’t control that. We can’t control what we’re waiting for. We can control who we’re waiting on, but God’s plan is just different in ours, because we want to avoid getting punched in the mouth, but God’s plan actually accounts for that. God’s plan expects to get punished in the mouth. It’s something to not be avoided, but redeemed in God’s plan. Look at verse 11. You know, we count those as blessed who persevere, getting punched in the mouth and not given up waiting patiently is actually mark. She was blessed in the family of God. So wanting patience, even painful patience, is better than wanting prophets and plans, because plans and prophets, they depend on our performance and crumble in the face of problems, but patience, even painful patience, depends on the promises of God and accounts for the punches life throws at it. And so maybe you’re sitting there and wondering, okay, like, you’ve said a lot of great things, but like, what do I do now? I don’t understand what you’re asking to do. Jake, what does it look like to live patiently? And James actually lays it out very clearly for us. Look at verse 12. All you need to say is a simple yes or no. Patience on God. Patience waiting on God is simply saying yes or no daily to the choices that he puts before you. You’re saying yes to God’s plan and no to your plan. I want plans and prophets, but I want to want you more today, God, I’m going to say yes to you and no to myself today. And the more you do that, the easier you it gets. Isn’t that what sanctification is? It’s just saying yes and yes to God’s plan more and more often, and know to know your plan more and more often. That’s what it means to die to your selfish desires. So what God wants is better than what we want. God wants for you better for you than you want for yourself. And maybe you’re here and you’re hearing God’s. Man, for the first time we’ve heard of a few times you’re still hesitant. You’re like, I don’t know my plan seems to make more sense to me. I’m just going to tell you I truly believe in God’s Word says that God’s plan for you and wants for you are better than anything you could come up with, because our plans and our prophets, they sometime lead to prosperity, but always they lead to sin and to death. But God’s plan led to death. That led to life. God’s plan was to send his son, who was perfect, to die for us to be resurrected, so that we could have promised life our land, our plans lead the painful death. God’s plan leads the promised life. So choose the better plan, please. So back to my story. So when you’re having just one of those days, nothing’s going right, and you’re just kind of grumpy. What do you do? You get food. So, so I’m in Chinatown, I’m a tourist. I’m walking around, and I go get sushi, and I’m grumpy. I’m waiting for sushi. And this guy starts talking to me. I’m grumpy. He’s asking me questions. He finds I’m a Christian. I go to Bible school. I’m grumpy. And then he asked me a question, like, Hey, you’re a Christian there, right? And so then that moment, God was presenting a yes or no opportunity for me. He was saying, Are you gonna say yes to where I put you here today, Jake, are you gonna say no and wait for your sushi? Be grumpy. And so me and this guy were talking, and he asked, like, I just don’t understand the Trinity at all. Can you explain it to me? And in my mind was shattered, because when I got called out to go take an Uber to Chinatown. I left a class early, and the class that I left was a class talking about the Trinity. And so I had notes in my backpack, and so I asked, Can I share my notes with you? And so we talked for like 15 minutes, and I went over my notes with him, and I prayed with him, I got his phone number, and at that moment, I was like, Man, I just wanted to play basketball yesterday, but what God wanted for me was just so much better. And I told that guy’s like, dude, so many things had to go wrong for me to get right here in this sushi shop. But I think God wanted me to be here to talk to you, and so that’s all it is to wait on the Lord. It’s saying yes or no whenever he placed stuff before you. So keep up chasing your plans. God wants better for you than you want for yourself, waiting work for what he wants. Say no to your plans and yes to his, because it’s just infinitely better than anything we could possibly come up with. Let’s pray Jesus, thank You that You came down and offered us a way to have life with you. I’m sorry that sometimes we want things that are not as good for us, that we want plans that don’t involve you. We want prophets that corrupt our hearts. Sometimes, I pray that You would help us grow in a desire and a wanting for patience on you, because we know we’re waiting on the only thing that could ever mean anything. And I pray that we, as we go from here, we would be come more and more like you, and we become more likely to say yes to your plan and no to our own. And is it just a simple yes or no, even in the face of pain, no matter what punches life throws us that we would keep on saying yes, because we know in the end, we don’t understand what’s happening all the time, there are things too wonderful for us to understand coming around the corner. And I pray that you would just really speak to us this moment and move our hearts and minds and hands to act. And I just pray that we would follow you Lord, and that we would wait for what else is coming down the road, because we know that what you want for us is just so much better than what we want for ourselves. I pray this in Your perfect name, Jesus, Amen.

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Your Great Commission December 29, | Guest Speaker The sermon focuses on the Great Commission, emphasizing the power, prescription, and promise of Jesus to motivate believers to fulfill their role in making disciples of all nations. The speaker draws parallels between the rebuilding of Notre Dame and the need to rebuild the spiritual church, which is declining in the West. He challenges the audience to intentionally invest in discipling one person in the coming year, drawing strength from Jesus’s authority and promise to be with them always. The overall message encourages the congregation to actively participate in the mission of God by sharing the gospel and helping others grow in their faith.

April 15, 2019 we were in the hospital, not for a bad thing, but for a good thing. It was the birth of our fifth, our fifth kid, and now we’ve given birth on the 14th, but it was the 15th, and we were watching the hospital, you know, they put the TV screen in the room, and we are seeing Notre Dame up in flames, right? Just as we’re in the country, and we’re shocked we’ve been here. We’ve we love this place. This is a massive tourist destination, and there’s just burning. The effort that took place from then until December 8, when the doors just opened, just a few weeks ago, was an unbelievable effort of reconstruction of this church, some 340,000 donors from 150 different countries contributed 846 million euros to rebuild. They brought in the best experts in the field, brought out the blueprints. The original blueprints. Got to work redesigning everything that it had been destroyed, and this UNESCO monument is now back open to the public. It’s a beautiful place. And the principle there is fairly obvious. When something you love and you value is burning to the ground, particularly a church building, it can inspire a sense of mission to come alongside and say, let’s all help contribute rebuild in the rebuilding of this place. And I want to make the metaphor in the spiritual sense to the spiritual church, because we know from Scripture that buildings are not churches, technically speaking, yes, we call it that, and that’s fine and common parlance, but the church is the people of God. And when we were sent to France, one of the first things we did was look at some of the research, and we were trying to reach North African peoples, unreached people groups in France, and I looked at some of the stats, and it looked like we were seeing amidst the couple teams that we had in the country, about five to 10 North Africans giving their life to Christ every year, for which we’re super pumped, super thankful for that. It’s a miracle when one person comes to know the Lord, let alone five or 10. Now you add to that, we’re not the only orgs there. There’s tons of churches and tons of other orgs. So let’s, let’s multiply that. Maybe there’s 100 or maybe 1000 North Africans coming to Christ every year in France. The problem is, you then compare that to the growth rate of North Africans in France of about 40,000 a year, and you realize that actually it feels like some good stuff’s happening, but actually the scales are tipping more and more and more and more away, and the church is burning. Now, I haven’t done a lot of research in America, but I’ve in the past 10 years, I’ve heard and I’ve looked at a few Gallup polls now and then, I think there was a recent one a few years ago that said the percentage of people consistently attending a service on a Sunday morning, whether that’s Christian, Jewish, Mormon, Muslim, any kind of service, religious service, it was 42% in 2000 and now it’s down to 30% which, you know, you slice that even further down for actually, who’s actually Christian and going to services, you think, well, that still sounds like a lot, but I mean, that’s a 40 million person loss in the past 20 years. And that trend is still going on, if anything, it might accelerate. And so you start thinking about it, and for me, I think, man, that’s like, Notre Dame burning. It’s like there’s a drastic change that’s been happening for 50 years in the culture, in the society. And as we look at the church, we see, we see, we see it burning at the same time. What’s so encouraging is that we can go back to the scriptures, we can bring out the blueprints, we can get back to the basics and look at the mission of God. And today we’re going to see we’re going to see how the power, this is the big idea of the message. Today we’re going to see how the power the prescription and the promise of Jesus can motivate us afresh to play our part in the Great Commission. The power of the prescription and the promise of Jesus can motivate us afresh to play our part in the Great Commission. The text today is Matthew 28 if you want to look in your pew, Bible or the Bible you brought Matthew 28 I think the page number is written in your bulletin. If you want to look at that, I’ve got one of these, and it’s on page 811, i. Matthew 28 the last words in the Gospel of Matthew, we know last words are important. We hear somebody’s last words. We tune in. We want to know what’s the last thing they’re going to say. And these are Jesus’s last words. So let’s go ahead and read it, starting in verse 16. Then the 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him. But some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, and surely I am with you always to the very end of the age. Now I want to just say a couple quick introductory comments about the context of this before we dive in to the text, just quickly think about the geographical context. In verse 16, the 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. Now what’s going on? Matthew loves to tune in to geography in his Gospel, and we’ve started in Galilee. Jesus is the light to the Gentiles. We’ve we’re ending in Galilee, and not just anywhere, but up on a mountain. A lot of scholars think this is Mount Arbol that Jesus was probably on top of about a 1200 feet high, which gives an excellent view of the Sea of Galilee here. And you just imagine, put yourself in the shoes of the disciples there and Jesus. They’re looking at all the places they’ve just experienced, miracles, the Sermon on the Mount, teaching of Jesus, the calling of the first disciples, the healing, the demons being exercised. There’s what Jesus walking on water. They’re visualizing all these places. So it’s really a perfect place to end for Jesus to give his final marching orders. Besides the geographical context, we’ve got a spiritual context too. If you noticed in verse 17, I love this verse. It’s so interesting. Is this, when they saw him, they fell down and worshiped him, but some had doubts. You two. Now what’s crazy is that Jesus does not block either group. It’s crazy for different reasons. The first group are those who fell down to worship Him. Now we know the Apostle Paul and Barnabas had this happen to them. In Acts 14, they started doing some miracles, and the people bow down and started worshiping them. And Paul and Barnabas said, Stop, stop, stop. You got you got the wrong guy. Worship God. Don’t worship a human. We’re not God’s What’s crazy is Jesus doesn’t do that here, and this has been Jesus’s MO all along. He receives worship from humans, and he doesn’t deflect that, or he receives it. He says, Yes, worship God, and yes, you may worship Me too, because Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is divine and human. So he doesn’t block the first group, but he also doesn’t block the second group who are doubting. And you might think, how are they doubting? These are like inner circle disciples. These aren’t someone that randomly heard, yeah, Jesus is going to be on the mountain at this these are the disciples that he told to meet me here for this appointment. These guys have seen it all miracles, and now they’ve seen a resurrect. This is Jesus, who was dead and now is resurrected, but they’re still doubting. And for me, that’s encouraging, because as I try to live on mission for God, I still have questions and doubts in my life. I go through seasons. I always have a couple questions in my head that I’m working through in relation to the Bible or relation to something that I’m I’m not sure about, and for me, it’s a great comfort that Jesus does not reject them either, and he says, You’re all a part of the mission right now. Now. Thirdly, another note on context, the canonical context, or just that means, is where this story falls in the big story of Scripture. And I just want to remind you that
this is a hinge point. This is a turning point in God’s big story, a major turning point the prophets. I’m going to zoom in on Isaiah, just to give you a flavor. We already saw some of the verses, but these are the Christmas verses that we love, but Christmas is synonymous with mission. I don’t know if you’ve thought about that connection, but Christmas is the mission of God coming to Planet Earth, and then whoever experiences something wonderful and joyous and incredible is naturally compelled to go on mission and talk about it. And we see that with the wise men coming, we see that with Jesus sending out, we see that all sorts of things in the Christmas story are speaking to mission. But let’s just remember Isaiah 1110, which we read a second ago in that day, the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. Isaiah, 56, seven and eight, for my house will be called the house of prayer for all nations. The Sovereign Lord declares he who gathers the exiles of Israel, I will gather still others to them, besides those already gathered, the still others are the nations. And then Isaiah, 6619 the very end of the book of Isaiah, I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations, to Tarshish, to the Libyans, to the Lydians, famous as archers, to Tubal and Greece and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory, they will proclaim My glory among the nations. And here we are. King Jesus is we’re at the hinge point where all the prophecies are coming true. The Messiah is on earth. He’s inaugurating His kingdom. And now all these prophecies about the nations and gather it. It’s starting to go viral. It’s starting to happen on a big scale. We saw the hints of it all throughout the Old Testament, but now we’re getting the massive wave, the tsunami, that’s going to go out and God’s glory is going to cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. So this is the context of these precious verses on mission. And I want us now just to zoom in on what Jesus actually says here. First of all, the power. Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. I don’t know if you caught that, but that is an unbelievable statement to say, for any person to say that it’s just they’re crazy or something’s going on that’s different than any other leader. I mean, there’s no Alexander the Great Mohammed. I’m trying to think of like the greatest worldwide leaders that have ever existed, Syrian Empire, the American empire. Of you know, nobody has said or claimed with any credibility all authority in the whole world. Oh, and by the way, the whole heavens is actually mine now, but that’s what Jesus is saying, and just a few days before, he was dying on a cross. So you see this radical dichotomy of the King who suffers and dies to accomplish his purpose, and now he’s being enthroned and given the greatest authority imaginable. Now this statement is the grounds of the Great Commission. This is the logical grounds for the Great Commission in many, many ways. I’m just going to give you one or two. The first thing to note is that the Great Commission is not motivated by any inkling of colonialism, cultural superiority, racial supremacy, political maneuvering, financial gain. These are all things that naturally go with empire building, right? These are the normal worldly motivations that motivate empires to get bigger and bigger. But Jesus’s Empire is not motivated by that in any of these statements, it’s motivated by the fact simply that he is the Emperor. That’s it. He has all authority. And so all authority is due Him. And it’s like living in line with it’s like the grain of wood. You want to go with the grain. You want to live with the grain of the wood. You don’t want to go against the grain. If Jesus has all authority, let’s live as if he has all authority. Bow the knee to him and help others to arrive at that place as well, or be going against the grain of the universe. Now I know this has never been popular, sorry, am I this? Is this distracting? With the breathing Brandon a little bit extension, how about this? Alright, no more breaths. Sorry about that. We’re not going to start over. We’re going to keep going. But think about the you know, how unpopular This is today. It was quite unpopular in the old days, in Jesus’s day as well, Roman Empire Caesar, kind of a big deal. He also claims ultimate authority. He also receives worship, and this is butting up against Caesar’s claims. This is why Polycarp, the first record we have of a martyr, written down in a beautiful story of Polycarp, you can read it. It takes like 15 minutes to read, search it on Google, but I. He’s being offered. People are saying, Just bow your head, just give a vow to the Emperor, and you’ll be fine. We’ll stop this whole martyrdom. But he’s dragged in front of an arena, and he refuses to do so because of this, there’s no I serve the ultimate emperor. His name’s Jesus, and I will not give any other form of ultimate allegiance to another earthly ruler ever, and he ends up getting killed. This is never popular. It’s definitely not popular now in post Western, post Christian America, definitely not popular. To believe this, to talk about this, the common world view today is believe in whatever higher power you want and be a good person. That’s really what matters. If you do that, well, I’ll get along everything we could. Now, there’s something appealing about that, and I appreciate the desire for peace and locking arms. And I think as Christians, we need to have the greatest spirit of peace towards everybody, the greatest sense of diversity and desire to lock arms with anybody, but not at the cost of surrendering this belief that Jesus is the ultimate, that he’s the authority and that we have a mission to accomplish. It’s not popular where I serve in the world, either. It’s a completely different perspective than America, but it’s equally unpopular I work with Muslim peoples, and in any given week, dozens of conversations that will they start really good, in the sense that they start out like, oh, well, we we respect Jesus too. Jesus is one of our prophets as well. We love Jesus just like you love Jesus. Why don’t you love Muhammad? Like we love Muhammad. That’s the weird part for them, I understand that. So it starts kind of like, Oh, we love Jesus too, but what’s really going on if you take some time to study Islam? And I’m not trying to throw Islam under the bus here. I just want you to understand and to be a little bit equipped to discuss with Muslims in your own life. But as you go a little deeper, the initial pluralism of oh, we accept all prophets. We love your Prophet too, it kind of fades away, because when you get to the Jesus of the Quran, you’re dealing with a different character. It’s the easiest way to put it, it’s not the same Jesus that’s in the Bible. It’s the same name, but it’s not the same person. And that’s true of a lot of the characters in the Quran. You’ve got the same names, but they become mouthpieces to just simply say the Islamic doctrine. I’m just going to give you one example of this. This is from surah five, 116 and 117 and on Judgment Day, Allah will say, Oh, Jesus, son of Mary, did you ever ask the people to worship you and your mother as gods? Besides Allah parentheses, there’s also a misunderstanding. We don’t worship Mary, right? This is what they’re seeing. He will answer, glory be to you. How could I ever say what I had no right to say. So Jesus is denying that, and he’s saying, I never told them anything except what you ordered me to say, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. So this Jesus becomes a spokesperson to propagate the same simple Muslim faith of there’s one God. His name is Allah, and Muhammad’s His Prophet. That’s the basis. And Jesus reiterates that when he surfaces in the Quran. So as we go deeper in conversations, we realize actually we are dealing with a Matthew 28 issue. Matthew 28 the Jesus in Matthew 28 is saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth, and you can worship Me, and this Jesus is saying something quite different. So I deal with that day in and day out. And I just want to encourage you,
when we speak of Islam, I want to speak with utmost respect and encourage a respect. I also want to encourage a kindness. As an ambassador of Christ, we’re called to be kind and to embody the character of Christ, but we also need to be equipped and be able to share the truth of Christ, who he is and what he came to do. And if that’s interesting to you, if you have neighbors or coworkers, or if that’s just an interesting subject, you want to recommend a short, simple book. It’s by a professor at Southern Seminary in Louisville. It’s called reaching your Muslim neighbor with the gospel. And it’s a quick read. He’s got great advice, and he’s got some great explanations of Islam and also how a Christian could go about sharing their faith in a respectful, kind and meaningful way. So quick recommendation on that, but lastly, on this little bit about the power of Jesus, it’s not just the logical basis that gives us the impetus to go out, but it’s an incredible encouragement. It’s an incredible encouragement when the boss, who has the power says, I’ll, you know, I’m, I’m going to be with you, and I have all the power. I just imagine, I worked with Mike Fenley for a few years. He’s here today and the landscaping crew. And when you’re new on a job and you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s really encouraging when the boss comes along and says, I’m going to be here and I’m watching you. I’m right beside you. I’m working too, and I’m here to correct you. I’m here to help you. All cover your errors, stuff like that. Now that didn’t prevent me from cutting the big cable line and, you know, cutting the multiple times. But the point being that when the boss is there who has the authority, it’s incredibly encouraging. And once a week, we go out to, or this was a thing that we started in France, we would go out to an all African marketplace, North African, and it’s all Arabic being spoken, and 100% Muslim. And we would set up a little coffee stand and put our Bibles out, and put out a couple little pieces of literature, and we’d offer free coffee, free cake, have great discussions with people. And the first couple times I went, I felt like a teeny, teeny minnow in an ocean, and I was scared, just scared to do that, to be there looking behind my back. Am I going to get killed? Am I get something horrible going to happen? But the encouragement for me was this phrase that someone told me a long time ago. They said, with Jesus, me and Jesus are the majority wherever we go. And that was something someone told me in college when we were trying to reach dorm, different dorms for Christ, you and Jesus, you might feel like it’s just you, but it’s you and Jesus equal the majority wherever you go, because he has all authority. So it’s incredible encouragement to step into the mission. Now that’s the power of Jesus. I want to move on to the prescription of Jesus. It’s probably the most famous line in the verse. It says, Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, for those that are newer to this text, or maybe just a refresher, there’s one main command and three participles. The one main command is, go make disciples. That’s the focus. Go make disciples. And then there’s three participles that modify that and say, how does that happen? There’s the going, there’s the baptizing, and then there’s the teaching to obey. And so just briefly, when you think about making disciples, I want to just give you a new year’s challenge. Look at that command. What does it look like for you? There’s a million different ways. I’m not going to say this is a method. You have to do it, but what does it what is the way for you to say in 2025 I want to make it my goal to make one disciple, and you’re not alone. It’s not a one on one project. There’s the whole church, there’s God, what God’s done in their life all up to that point. But how do you help someone move a little bit further from where they are in their faith journey forward, and we see the whole spectrum of the faith journey in the three things. The first thing, well, the first thing says, Go, right, go. You have to kind of go. And that’s why I’m giving you this challenge. It doesn’t just happen even when you’re in the business, so to speak, as I am, or Brandon as or Kyle you. It doesn’t automatically happen that you make disciples, it takes a certain LISTENING to the Holy Spirit, a certain who is in my life, at work, in my family, in my extended family, at church, in the youth group, who is, who’s out there that I could make an impact on. So there’s a listening, and then there’s an actual intentionality to go and it might be someone anywhere on the spectrum. We see the whole spectrum here laid out baptism. Think about a spectrum from negative 10 to 10. Negative 10 somebody is as far away from God in Christ as possible. Zero is their moment of faith in baptism, and 10 is they’re obeying everything, super mature, obeying everything, including this command Jesus is saying, just pick anybody on that spectrum, and you can move them forward. If they’re at negative 10, your your role in their life might be for one year to move them to negative nine. If they’re at negative one or negative point five, you might be the one who gets to see them come to Christ. And that’s an amazing, amazing experience. And you can help them be prepared for baptism. And then after baptism, we enter a discipleship phase. And discipleship, you can take people, you know, any, anybody, can help somebody grow right? And so this is the great challenge. This is the great prescription that I want to encourage us all to step into and in just another as I share this. This is one of the texts that I turn to with my Muslim friends often, because they will commonly say they’ll commonly say, Jesus was a great prophet, but the Christians. And the the Roman Empire and Constantine, they kind of made them into a god, you know, right around the time of the Council of Nicea, they they did that stuff, and then the legend became the reality and the dogma, and it just continued. And so, whether you’re working with Muslim people, I think I have a picture of some the three. There’s very a lot of people believe that. I call that the common myth today. Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that, Muslims teach that, and then skeptics, modern skeptics, teach that, like Dan Brown, that this is some kind of conspiracy thing that happened in the church. But this verse, verse 19, is like hard proof that this is original to Jesus. This is from the original source text that we have baptized them into the name of one God. Yes, but who’s that one God, Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit? I mean, the Trinity is from the beginning. It’s it’s there in the source texts of Christianity from the beginning. This isn’t a weird evolution and a political thing. So I love this verse in helping someone see now this is actually original to Scripture. One final story. Steve Bailey, an old youth pastor at this church, used to say to me, relationship plus the Word of God equals impact. And the youth group used to be called impact. I don’t know what it’s called now, but relationship plus the Word of God equals impact. And that is a simple formula for what discipleship looks like. You draw near to someone in relationship, you share the Word of God. You can look at a passage together. You can come do a Bible reading plan together. You can do a Bible study together. The church probably has great opportunities for you to do that together as well, and that leaves an impact on somebody. And so that’s my challenge for you guys in 2025 to think of this prescription of Jesus in the Great Commission. And then finally, there’s the promise, the promise of Jesus. We look the power, the prescription and the promise of Jesus in verse 20, he says, and I am with you always to the end of the age. Anyone who’s worked with kids or has kids knows the power of presence, inevitably, and our son still does this. I’m thinking of our fifth son. There’s always a reason why he can’t fall asleep. Always. I have an itch, I’m a little thirsty, I’m hearing a noise, I’m scared, right? There’s so many reasons, and all it takes is one of us going upstairs and laying behind beside his bed and saying, It’s okay. The itch is going to go away. Here’s a little bit of water. This is going to be okay. And after a couple minutes, he’s calm, and he goes to bed. It’s the same for adults with all of our fears too, whatever situation is causing anxiety in your life, you hear these words of Jesus, I am with you always. And in light of a mission, in light of a church burning of Notre Dame that’s burning in light of a declining Christianity, all this stuff. It doesn’t matter when Jesus is with us. The presence of Jesus is so encouraging, and he’s with us by His Holy Spirit, right? Because Jesus is going to ascend to heaven,
but his ability to be with every single human is made possible by the fact that he sends the Holy Spirit, who can literally be with every single Christian at the same time, which is an amazing reality. And we need this because all of us are going to put up some kind of excuses, just like my son trying to go to sleep. There’s always going to be some reason why this great commission is difficult. It might be the classic like, Well, hey, that’s great for pastors and missionaries, but that’s not my spiritual gift. I don’t make disciples. I leave that to the professionals. I don’t want to screw anything up. I’ve heard that a lot, and I understand there’s there’s situations that warrant and some expertise, like a messy divorce or walking with somebody who has mental illness, there are situations in discipleship that do require expertise, but a large part of discipleship is the ordinary. It’s the regular, the ordinary situations, and that’s given to all Christians. This command, I would argue, is not just for apostles. It’s not just for pastors missionaries. It’s for for all Christians, because they’re commanded to teach them to obey everything, and that everything includes this command. So by extension, everybody’s included in this command, right? You? Uh, just to remind you of a verse along these lines, when we think of pastors and missionaries and people who do this for a living or full time, their role is not just to do this. Ephesians, 411, God gives apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, to do the mission, no, to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, which means we’re all in this together. We all have a really important role in the mission of God and to remind us of our equal identity. Sometimes people say, Well, I’m not a pastor. I don’t do that. I say, but you are a priest. And they’ll look at me funny and say, You’re a priest. I’m not a priest. I’m not Catholic. I’m not no, no. First, Peter, two nine, you are a priest. You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. God’s special possession that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. This means priests connect God to the people and the people to God. They’re intermediaries. That’s what priests do, and we are all priests. We all have that privilege, whether that’s like I said, someone in your immediate family, a child, someone in the youth group, a co worker, a colleague, someone at work, someone you know, a neighbor, we all have a an opportunity to bless somebody that the pastor does not have and cannot do for us, and no missionary can do for us, but if we band together, we can rebuild Notre Dame, we band together. This isn’t rah rah speech. This is just the sober reality of this command. I don’t want you to be motivated by just the need. My hope here is that going back to the big idea that the power, the prescription and the promise of Jesus can motivate us afresh to play our part in the Great Commission. Let’s pray,
Father God, thank You for Your Word, which is the source of true life change by your Spirit, Father, thank You for everybody in this church that has impacted me. Lord, I am privileged to be here and to be able to just teach this simple passage, Lord, where you take us back to the blueprints and remind us how we can build together the Church of Christ, something far more glorious than Notre Dame, something far more lasting than a physical church building. Lord, to be able to take part and be co laborers with you in the construction of the invisible Church of the people of God, what a privilege. I pray for every person that you bring one person to mind this year, one person across their path, where they can help move them in that faith journey from negative 10 to 10, that we can all be disciple makers, Lord where you have put us. I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.

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Receiving Christmas December 24, 2024 | Brandon Cooper The sermon discusses how Mary’s example of giving time, consideration, and glad surrender to God’s plan is a model for how we should receive the gift of Christmas. Mary initially had questions and doubts but ultimately trusted God’s plan, even though it would bring her suffering, and her prayer of praise, the Magnificat, reflects her joyful surrender. The sermon encourages the audience to ask honest questions, seek answers, and ultimately surrender to God’s will, just as Mary did, to fully receive the gift of Christmas. The core message is that the true meaning of Christmas is found not just in the birth of Jesus but in his death and resurrection, which demonstrate God’s great love and mercy in delivering us from our sinful condition.

Well, good evening and Merry Christmas to all of you. If you want to go ahead, grab your Bibles. You can open up to Luke. Chapter one, we’ll be starting in verse 46 tonight. Luke one, verse 46. As you’re turning there, there’s an old folk tale of a king who one day decided to visit the village near his castle to greet his people, to be seen by them, to see them. And on one of the street corners that he walked by, there was a beggar. And the beggar held out his bowl expectantly, because he knew that this was a generous King, and so he was expecting a generous gift. The King comes up to him, but rather than drop anything in his bowl, the king actually asked the beggar to give him something. Taken aback the beggar begrudgingly, you know, drops three grains of rice from his bowl into the king’s outstretched hand at the end of the day when the beggar went home. Went home and, you know, dumped out his bowl and whatnot, he found his astonishment, three grains of pure gold. And he said at that point, oh, that I had given him everything. Now that’s not originally a Christmas folk tale, but it could be because, of course, at Christmas we celebrate the gift of a generous King. In fact, we celebrate his greatest gift, the gift of himself. He gives generously indeed. So how do we receive the gift? And drawing from that little folktale, maybe even the question should be, what must we give in order to receive this gift? Those are the questions we’re going to answer as we look tonight at Mary, Mary, who is an example the sort of humble faith to which we are all called, and the whole story of her pregnancy, at least climaxes in the passage we’re going to look at tonight. It’s a prayer known as the Magnificat. That’s the title up there. It’s just the Latin word for magnifies or glorifies. It’s the first word in the Latin translation of her prayer, and so it’s what her prayer is known as. Let me read it for us. This is the Magnificat. This is Mary’s prayer beginning in Luke 146, and Mary said, My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on, all generations will call me blessed for the Mighty One has done great things for me. Holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm. He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as He promised our ancestors, Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. Now, as I said, this is a climax. This is a culmination of a process that began in Mary sometime before that, and it was a journey to get to this place, a journey that we can take to because it is easy to read a prayer like this in her mature faith that is expressed in it too quickly, without seeing the work that went into her getting to this point. It’s a little bit like seeing, you know, a world class athlete do whatever it is, they do effortlessly, and you just think it’s so easy for them. And the truth, of course, is that it isn’t easy for them. It was really hard for them. They’ve just been in the gym for decades perfecting their craft. So we’re gonna treat tonight a little bit like a sports documentary, almost like we just got the championship highlight. That was the prayer she just prayed right there. And now let’s see behind the scenes. Let’s go to a, you know, training camp, or something like that, and watch the two a days that got them into the shape they were in so that they could win. What does Mary give to receive Christmas? And what must we give to receive Christmas like Mary. Three things we’ll look at. First of all, Mary gives time, and we must give time also. So I said this process unfolds gradually in her life. It’s the span of a few months. She’s now in her second trimester, so it’s been three months at least, and that time that is required for us to grow in faith. I mean, that is true of all of us every now and again. Of course, somebody has a road to Damascus experience like Paul and, you know, instant conversion, but most of us could point back to a slow, gradual unfolding process. We don’t get there all at once. Mary. He doesn’t get there all at once. Mary doesn’t start with my soul glorifies. My spirit rejoices. How could she considering what’s being asked of her and the strange circumstances in which the request comes so she doesn’t start there, but she also doesn’t close herself off from that either she remains open and lets the process unfold. Consider the angel Gabriel appears to a teenage Mary. This is chapter one, verse 28 if you want to look at it, if you’re there to be on the same page, the angel went to her and said, Greetings, you who are highly favored. The Lord is with you. And then verse 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wonder what kind of greeting this might be. She was troubled. Of course, she was wouldn’t you be? Wouldn’t you worry you were hallucinating or something, if a shining figure appeared in front of you just then? And so she wondered, as in, she’s confused. In fact, let’s keep reading and see what happens. The angel explains what’s going to happen next. Here’s verses 30 to 33 the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, you found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you were to call him Jesus. He’ll be great and will be called the Son of the Most High the Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever. His kingdom will never end. And Mary goes, what she asks another thoughtful question at this point, right? Verse 34 how will this be? Mary asked the angel, since I am a virgin, in other words, her first response isn’t blind faith, but careful investigation. Help me understand this. She asks an honest question of the angel before her. The angel explains some more, and the verses that follow the same spirit who hovered over the nothingness before time to create the world will hover over her, and the Creator Himself will have a body created within her womb. Notice her response. Then in verse 38 no more questions, but a simple acceptance. I’m the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled. I’m your servant. So okay, I guess let’s, let’s see what happens next. She’s not exactly thrilling with delight here. This is not an, oh, it all makes sense. I can’t wait for this to happen. No, it’s, I don’t get it. It does not all make sense. But I’m gonna trust and that’s such an important step, because I’m not sure that there’s anyone who comes to Jesus with all their questions answered. Quite the opposite. In fact, we have lots of questions still, and God never promises to answer all of our questions, and certainly doesn’t promise to answer all of them in a moment. He gives us enough light for each step so we can go one step further, one step further. It’s a little bit like, you know, dating or something like that, and your significant other is taking you on a surprise trip. You’re driving, and they’re navigating, they just go, turn right at the next light, and you’re like, why? Where are we going? You’re like, you’ll find out kind of what the Lord does with us. So if you’re waiting to have it all together first, if you’re waiting for total clarity before you trust God, you never will, you never will trust so just go ahead and take the first step, even with your questions. Keep yourself open. Keep asking questions and seeking answers. What does that look like? It looks like what you’re doing right now. Of course, it looks like coming to church, opening God’s word, reading the Bible, talking to friends that you have, Christian friends, maybe friends that you’re with tonight, maybe grabbing one of the books that’s out on the information desk. But keep coming and keep investigating. It is my belief that church gatherings like tonight should be filled with people who are saying, I’m not there yet. I’m not there yet, but I’m willing to keep investigating. I used to think Christianity was ridiculous, but I’m not so sure now, and honestly, some of the things I used to think I can tell are even more ridiculous than Christianity. So let’s keep going, because the process keeps unfolding, as it does for Mary, by the way, because God does keep revealing himself and bringing us along in our understanding, bringing Mary along in our understanding. So what does she do next? She visits her cousin, Elizabeth, older cousin, clearly, I don’t know if it’s a first cousin once removed situation or something like that, but older woman, so she’s an old woman, post menopausal, but pregnant, which confirms, by the way, what the angel had said in verses 36 and 37 this is almost like a sign. Even Elizabeth, your relative, is going to have a child in her old age. And she who is said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month, for no word from God will ever fail. And so you almost want. Is Mary going to visit Elizabeth to see if what God said about Elizabeth is true? Because then that’s going to help her believe that what he said about her is true. So she shows up before Elizabeth, and this is what happens in verse 42 Elizabeth, in a loud voice, exclaims, blessed are you among women, and blessed is the Child you will bear. But why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord, should come to me as this as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. So do you see? Elizabeth sees that Mary carries the Promised Messiah, and the fact that she believes that, and the fact that she’s also pregnant, even though she shouldn’t be, gives Mary assurance, and so she bursts forth in praise. She’s no longer submitting with limited understanding. You know, I don’t get it, but I’ll trust kind of thing. It is now a joyful surrender, a whole hearted a whole person ascent. This is her mind. This is her will. This is her emotions, all coming together. That’s what it means when it says, My soul glorifies the Lord. My spirit rejoices the soul and the spirit together means the whole of me, like I’m all in now. Lord is what she just said. God has seen her in her humble state, verse 48 and has acted on her behalf to deliver her verse 49 and to extend mercy to all who trust Him, to all who fear Him, verse 50. Now, why do I mention all this and the time it took for Mary to get here? I mention it because I don’t know where you are in your process, but the encouragement we get from Mary is keep going. And some of you may be there thinking, right, sure, but Mary’s process kicked off with an angel, and my process did not okay. Couple things to say to that. First of all, we actually have more and better information than Mary had, because in addition to the birth of Jesus Christ, we have His life, death and resurrection to look at as well. Second thing to say to that is, you know what the word angel means? Right? Just means Herald, like, hark, the herald angels sing. It’s redundant, hark, the Herald heralds sing, is what it is. It just means messenger. I am not a shining being, but I am a messenger tonight, giving you even the angels words here and whatnot. So there you go. I’ll be your angel tonight, kicking things off for you. How are you going to respond to the message the same time? When you look at the depth of Mary’s prayer, invoking themes like God’s mercy, His faithfulness throughout the generations, pulling on Israel and Abraham, it shows that she gave God more than just time. The second thing that she gave God, the second thing we must give God if we’re gonna receive Christmas, is consideration, so time and then consideration. She thinks deeply. She reasons. She carefully considers and investigates God’s claims, as we should too, like she doesn’t just sit there passively, letting time go by while she floats like a leaf down a stream to, you know, some destination faith, I guess. Go back to the analogy of the, you know, boyfriend or girlfriend, who’s surprising you you know, you’re driving a long term right here. You still gotta turn right at that point. That’s what Mary is doing, right? She’s active. She’s engaged right from the start. Even think back to verse 29 again, when it says she was greatly troubled and she wondered what kind of greeting this might be. That word wondered literally means to make an audit. Make an audit. Now I have, thank God, never been audited, but we do internal audits and stuff here. Whatever else an audit is, it is a thorough investigation, and that’s what Mary is doing. Like this is an intensely rational word. She’s trying to puzzle it out. She’s trying to make sense of what’s happening. This is not blind faith, in other words, and it’s so important to see that, because we’ve got the erroneous belief today to think that we’re smarter than previous generations because we’ve got better tech, that’s all it is. Right? We’re not smarter. We’re just, you know, Tech has been developing slowly but surely. So we think we’re smarter than previous generation, generations and and less credulous because we are less superstitious than they used to be, not at all, not in the slightest. There’s no evidence for that. Now, it is true that, as a pious Jew, Mary would have believed in the supernatural. Would have expected it, in a way that our culture today trains us, not to sure, but Mary also would have been trained to think that God could never become a human being like zero chance of that whatsoever. So she’s still skeptical at first. Also, she is facing barriers every bit as high as you and I face. She doubted. She asked questions. She reasoned. As we must too. In fact, the Bible, even in this story, just even here in Luke chapter one, strikes a really delicate balance when it comes to questions, and it’s in the difference between Zechariah and Mary. Now, Zechariah is Elizabeth’s wife, Elizabeth’s husband, and so when the angel tells Zechariah, Hey, your post menopausal wife is about to get pregnant. He asks a question, chapter one, verse 18, how can I be sure of this? And interestingly, that question elicits divine disapproval, whereas Mary’s question, how will this be, since I’m a virgin, in verse 34 is met with patient explanation. Why? Why? I wonder, I mentioned that we’re to ask honest questions earlier. That is questions that are genuine, genuinely seeking an answer. And certainly, God knows the heart and he can discern the difference. And there is a difference between, how can this be? How will this be like, I’m open, explain it to me. Okay, there’s a difference between that question and this cannot be how can I be sure that this is going to happen? I’m closed. In other words, prove it or else out of here. So when we think about questions, we need to reject both a blind faith that never asks questions, never wrestles through doubts whatsoever, and the sort of closed minded doubting that that doesn’t really want answers. So ask your questions. Ask your questions. Kids, if you’re here tonight, I know they’re you’re here because I can hear you all ask your questions. You should be peppering your parents with questions about the faith. Don’t ever stop asking questions. I love them. If your parents look stumped, that’s fine. Parents send them to me. I would love to answer their questions. Help them along. Kyle would love to. Jake would love to and by the way, adults, you can ask your questions too, and if you feel embarrassed, just pretend your seven year old ask it. It’s fine, you know, just like, find a kid and be like, hey, this kid was wondering, and we’ll go from there. But as you ask those questions, check your heart, because again, some are working through doubts because they want to seek answers, and some doubt to keep themselves from answers so that they can stay in control. Because if you actually work through the doubts and really find answers you might like, Mary, then need to surrender. I’m your servant. Let it be unto me according to your word, but we can see how much puzzling out Mary has done when we read her prayer of praise. Now, full disclosure, if you’re here tonight and you haven’t been with us, last couple weeks, we went through this prayer of praise slowly. In the last four weeks, we spent about three hours on it. So I’m going to just skim across the surface here. You can go back and listen to it. It’s all online. But Mary celebrates three aspects of God’s character in this prayer, because in the birth of Jesus, she sees all of them on display in Technicolor. First of all, she sees God’s mercy. Says it over and over again, right? Verse 50 His mercy extends to those who fear him. Says it again in verse 54 he’s helped to serve in Israel, remembering to be merciful, God’s mercy, His kindness to undeserving sinners, which is all of us, by the way she sees that. I mean, Mary begins by talking about her humble state, even that is a recognition of her spiritual poverty. God saw her there and acted to save her. He has done great things, mighty deeds for her, for all of us, that’s that’s exactly what he’s doing for all of us. With the birth of Jesus. Jesus is coming. God has been born in the flesh because we cannot save ourselves. We are humbled. We are undeserving, sinners. We have not done what God requires. I mean God requires. We can whittle it down to two commands. Jesus does right. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, love your neighbor as yourself. And there’s not a one of us here in this room who would go, Yeah, I nailed that perfectly. Have never struggled with any of that whatsoever. We have not done what God requires. We are guilty of treason against the high king, but in this odd bit of irony, you know, treason is usually met with Off with their heads. But in this case, Jesus has come. I don’t think I’m putting it crassly to say Off with his head in our place so that we can be rescued in his God’s mercy. Second, Mary celebrates God’s faithfulness. His faithfulness right, His mercy extends those who fear him from generation to generation. He just keeps doing this. He’s helped his servant, Israel. He’s helped Abraham, just as He promised our ancestors. This is God’s commitment to his people. He keeps all of his promises throughout the generations. What promises? All sorts of promises, to be our God and to dwell with us, if we will be his people, to send us a forever king who will establish a forever kingdom of perfect righteousness and justice to deliver us from our enemies. All these promises are coming true in Jesus Christ, because Jesus is the Forever King, the son of David, and yeah, he’s going to dwell with His people. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. That’s why he’s here. And we even read earlier that you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you were to call him Jesus, Jesus, which means the LORD Saves. He’s going to deliver us from our enemies, not the Philistines or the Babylonians or Rome, but no our greatest enemy, sin and death. And then she celebrates God’s power, God’s mighty acts to set all things right. The Mighty One has done great things for me. He’s performed mighty deeds with his arm. We get this series of reversals, where the poor are lifted up, where the oppressed are set free, where the humble are exalted. In other words, Mary’s looking out at what’s happening, and it’s almost as if she’s saying in this prayer what God said He was going to do for us sinners. He’s doing, and the proof of it is growing in my womb. And of course, we have even greater proof, because once more, we have not just his birth, but his life and his death, and especially his resurrection, the proof, the guarantee that all of God’s promises will come true, no word of God will ever fail. So what happens then, when we give this sort of time and this sort of consideration to Christianity’s claims, where does it lead? It would lead to the last gift that Mary offers and that we must give also if we’re to receive Christmas. She gives her time, she gives her consideration, and finally, she gives her glad surrender. Her glad surrender. She submits cheerfully to God’s will for her life, trusting his gracious purposes. I mean, don’t miss what’s just happened. And she says, My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior. She is filled with joy. And again, maybe you’re thinking, of course, she is. Why wouldn’t she be? She gets to bear God Himself. All nations, all generations, are going to call her blessed. Yeah, this sounds amazing, except Think for a moment of all that Mary would be asked to give. She is engaged to Joseph, but not married, and people weren’t dumb back then, as we’ve already indicated, they know where babies come from in a small moralistic community, she would always be treated as a disgrace. Jesus would always be treated as an illegitimate child, whether Joseph or someone else’s it hardly matters. You know, they can count up the months and go, yep, nope. That doesn’t work out, and still, still looking at that future that’s coming for her and that she’s experiencing even now. She says, I’m your servant. I’m your servant. My spirit rejoices in God, my Savior. I will follow you no matter the cost. This is what God’s servants say to him, by the way, in fact, Mary mentions another one. She talks about Abraham in verse 55 right? So she’s got encouragement, because she’s maybe thinking back through Abraham’s life as well. You remember Abraham? God called him out of Ur of the Chaldeans. I called him out of paganism as well, and to go to a foreign land, the promised land. Now to leave a land at that point, was to leave your security. It was to leave your whole savings, basically, because your livelihood was tied to the land, it was to leave your protection as well. There wasn’t like police forces or armies back then, like it was your clan that protected you, and he’s giving all that up for what? Well, God says, I’ll give you land, I’ll give you descendants. You’ll be a blessing to all nations, except he doesn’t really get either, as we talked about some in this series, at the end of his life, he’s got one son, not a whole bunch of descendants, and he’s got one plot of land where his wife is buried, and that’s it. But still, Abraham went and see what God did with his obedience. Because, yeah, at the end of his life, none of those promises were completely fulfilled, but certainly they were by the time Mary comes around, he does have descendants. His people have been made into a great nation, and they are there dwelling in the land even at that point. And so Mary can expect the same if I’m obedient like Abraham was. God will. Bless me as he blessed Abraham. And so can we? God will never receive our gift of surrender lightly, like we hand our grains of rice, and God returns grains of gold to us in this life and especially in the next. And if we believe that, I’m glad surrender is the only possible response. But do you believe that? It’s a question Elizabeth Elliot asked a group of would be missionaries some years ago, Elizabeth Elliot died just a few years ago. She was missionary made famous in large part because her husband and his friends were murdered and murdered while on the mission field, she knew what following God might cost, and she asked these would be missionaries, two questions. Number one, are you willing to obey any biblical command, whether you like it or not? And number two, are you willing to trust God and anything he sends into your life, whether you understand it or not? And if the answer to either of those questions is, no can you really say that you are God’s servant, that you really trust God? It’s a big question, by the way. You can spend some time thinking about it, but Mary has said yes to both of them. At least she thinks she has. She doesn’t know what she’s signing up for entirely, because, in truth, she will be called even lower than she is now. She will be called not just to experience the disgrace of an illegitimate child, but ultimately unimaginable suffering. In our Advent reading, we had Simeon’s prayer read for us, but they have a little conversation afterwards, Simeon and Mary. And Simeon says in chapter two, verse 35 and a sword will pierce your own soul too. What sword is going to pierce Mary’s soul will be the agony of watching her son’s execution. That would do it. Here’s this baby that is going to be born to her. Is born to die. He cannot save us unless he will not save himself. And so the great glory of Christmas is not the humble manger, but the horrific cross, and, of course, the empty tomb that follows it, because God took on humanity, to take on humanity’s sin, to carry it to the cross, to receive our punishment. So Christmas tells us something about us when we read that phrase humble state in Mary’s prayer, we know, in light of the cross, what that really means our humble state is that we are spiritually dead, morally selfish and legally condemned. That’s the bad news. But Christmas tells us something else too. Christmas tells us that God loves us enough to deliver us from that he has seen our humble state and done great things for us. The apostle John says it like this. This is how God showed His love among us. He sent His one and only Son into the world. That’s Christmas, by the way, right? He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his son there’s Christmas again, as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. That’s good Friday. The message of Christmas is the message of Good Friday. And Easter, you can’t celebrate just the one. So whatever big deal you made out of this season, make it out of the next one too. Because the baby, whose arms stretched wide to cling to his human mother, stretched his arms wide again, 30 some odd years later, to receive the nails in his hands and feet, and as the spear plunged into his heart, he plunged into darkest death for our sake, taking our punishment, and then three days later, burst forth in life to bring us back into a relationship with Him. We have been delivered to him and for him now, as we hear all this, I understand it is a gift that makes us a little bit uncomfortable, but which has every spiritual comfort within it. Who’d be like somebody paying off all your credit card debt, and part of you goes I think I could have gotten there. I just need to get my act together. I would have paid it off. That’s the part that makes us uncomfortable, especially when we realize, nope, there was no chance of my paying it off. But it has this comfort within it. It’s taken care of. The debt is paid. So take it. Acknowledge that you need this gift. Unwrap it and let the Father’s love wrap around you this Christmas, receive Christmas the way Mary did give God the time and consideration and glad surrender that he deserves. There’s a song we sing at Christmas a little town of Bethlehem, and it’s got this odd line in it, oh holy child of Bethlehem. Him descend to us. We pray, cast out our sin and enter in be born in us today. That’s a bold lyric, if you think about it, that God needs to enter into us and be born in us today. But it’s exactly right. It’s just saying that each of us must receive Christmas like Mary, because every Christian is in a very real sense, like Mary, because God will dwell within us also if we will invite Him in His promised Spirit indwells us when we believe and like Mary here in Luke chapter one, we should be just as shocked and awed and humbled and overjoyed that God would give us this gift. May Christ be born in your heart this Christmas season, let’s pray.
Father, we pray that even now you would be opening our hearts to receive this gift, the salvation that you offer us in Christ, Jesus, your very presence itself in our hearts and lives, we know Lord that we give to receive this gift, we give time, we give consideration, and ultimately, we give ourselves wholly and joyfully, knowing that what you Give us in return, what you have given us first, far outweighs anything that we give you. But Help us, Lord, to be open to that giving and receiving this Christmas, we pray for Your name’s sake. Amen.

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The Promise-Keeper December 22, 2024 | Kyle Bjerga God is a God of help, mercy, and promise. He has consistently fulfilled His promises throughout history, culminating in sending Jesus to save us from sin. We can trust in God’s promises, including the promise of Jesus’ return, because He has proven Himself faithful. The Christmas story is about God keeping His promises, and we should respond with joy and belief in Jesus.

Go ahead and grab your Bibles and turn to Luke chapter one. It’ll be page 831 if you’re using one of the black pew Bibles there in front of you or underneath. Maybe, if you do not have a Bible, that is our gift to us, we’d love for you to take that this morning. Well, we’ve probably all seen in a movie or a TV show, the following scenario play out. Maybe it even happened in your life. At one point, a dad hurriedly drives to his child’s game or performance, only to find out that everybody is leaving. Or maybe it’s a woman in a restaurant waiting for her husband to arrive, and an awkward amount of time passes as the server keeps coming back, and she finally says, I guess he’s not coming. And it’s in these moments that there’s a change in body language and expression of the people affected by this, because not so much that it happened, but because of the person who kind of didn’t follow through on their word. And so why is there disappointment? Why is there sadness in moments like this? It’s because of what the dad or the husband said. What did he say? I promise, I’ll be there. You can count on it. I promise. And it’s that those words, I promise that are weighty words, very few words besides that probably have more weight in our lives. Maybe I love you, I forgive you, but I promise is right there because they’re important words and not to be thrown around lightly. We don’t always trust that people will follow through. So then we get really serious, and we bring out the pinky I Pinky promise. Kids, you with me? Adults are like, yeah, we’re with you. Pinky promise, right? Because we’re gonna get really serious. And there’s a reason we do that, because we want to put weight on people’s words. We want to see them follow through. We want to believe them, but a lot of times in these situations, there is sadness, there is disappointment, there’s not a whole lot of shock, because we know we let people down, we break our promises, and so there’s this kind of expectation all the time of yeah, they might not follow through, and the more times these promises are broken, the expectation will grow in our life that I’m not really going to take their word seriously in the future. They’ve got to prove to me that they can actually follow through on what they say. So you see, our promises are a lot like this. So if I say to you, I promise, I am saying you can count on me, but then what happens? Life happens, right? I got stuck in traffic. The dog ate my homework. I had to stay late at work. I got sick. I forgot you see, this is what our promises are. Often like, something can come in, something seemingly small, and change everything, and now all of a sudden we have broken our promise. And the more times we do that, the harder it is to keep trust in the relationships that we have. In fact, a lot of people will have a hard time trusting anyone who keeps breaking their promise. Do you even care about this relationship? So here’s what I know is true of every single person in this room this morning, we want to take people at their word. We want to trust that people will do what they say in all areas of life. And not only do we want that from the relationships we have with others, the horizontal relationships we want that with God. Can I actually trust God and His Word? Will he fulfill and keep his promises, or will he break his promises? Now this morning, we’re going to imagine that these blocks here are God’s promises. Each one kids paying attention, right? Each one of these represents a promise of God that we find in Scripture. We’re going to talk about a number of these promises this morning, and we aren’t the only people that want to take God at His Word. That was true of Mary, too. So to Luke, chapter one, we go as we finish up this beautiful prayer that we’ve been looking at that Mary gives us here in the first chapter of Luke. Go ahead and look at verses 54 and 55 I’m going to read both of them, and then we’re going to go through and we’re going to see the character of God, that Mary is the God that she’s praying to His character, that he is a God of help, a God of mercy and a God of promise. But let’s read verses 54 and 55 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as He promised our ancestors. So first God is a God of help. Mary says that right right here in the verse 54 He has helped his servant Israel. In. If you know the history in the Old Testament, you know the history of the Israelite people. God has helped his people over and over again. Ever since he promised to Abraham that he would make him into a great nation. God has been helping his people. The most obvious rescue story, story of help in the Old Testament is in Exodus. As the people, the Israelite people, are oppressed by a foreign power. They’re oppressed by Egypt, a whole group of people enslaved for hundreds of years, and God sends a deliverer. He sends Moses to bring his people out of slavery. And so God actually tells Moses something in Exodus chapter six. This is what he tells him. Therefore, say to the Israelites, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm with mighty acts of judgment. And so God uses Moses, but he uses Moses as a faithful messenger. Because what we see throughout the story is that God is the one helping his people. God is the one who brings the plagues. God is the one who leads them out of Egypt. God is the one who parts the sea so they can walk across. God is the one who closes the sea on the Egyptians when they’re following behind them. It’s God’s work, and when the people cross over the Red Sea, when they see what God has done, how he has accomplished their salvation. For them in that moment, this is what they sing in Exodus, 15 they sing, I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted, both horse and driver. He has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my defense. He has become my salvation. He is my God. And I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him. God follows through on his promise. He says he would save them, and he does. And so this song and this story of God’s deliverance for the people out of slavery, plus many more times that he helped them, over and over again and generation after generation after generation. Hears these stories. Here’s how God has helped his people, all the way to a little Jewish girl hears it herself, a girl by the name of Mary, and she knows that history. She knows it. She knows how God has saved his people. And these are the things that come to her mind when Gabriel is saying, God is going to continue to help his people, and it’s going to come through you and what God is going to give you. So in her mind, in her heart, she has this whole new understanding of what it means for God to help his servant Israel. Because the words that Mary uses here aren’t just talking about the past. The words that she’s using carry with it that God is doing this in the present and he will do it in the future. This isn’t just a passing he’s doing something now, and it’s culminating in the One in whom she is carrying. God saves his people from slavery, and he saves his people from the Philistines, and we see other people groups that come and go, and come and go, and God continues to save them, continues to help them, but his greatest concern is not the foreign powers that overtake them. His greatest concern knowing our greatest need is not physical slavery to a foreign power, but spiritual slavery to sin. And for the wages of sin is death. And so he knows this is our great enemy, and he wants to destroy it. He wants to save us from it. And so when the Bible talks about sin, it’s referring to our rejection of and disobedience of God and His words, choosing our own way over his. So the problem of the Israelite people throughout their history is they keep turning away from God, and yet God keeps showing up. God keeps helping. He keeps saving them, reminding them, come back to me. He’s a God of help, and he has preserved them for this moment when the true deliverer, the Messiah, the better Moses, the help that they need is coming into the world. Look at what Paul says in Romans 616 when he talks about this idea of being slaves to sin and the change that can happen when we know Jesus, he says, Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death or to obedience which leads to righteousness. We got ourselves into this mess, choosing to disobey, choosing to go our own way, deciding against God and deciding for ourselves. And so we’ve made ourselves slaves to death, to sin, and we will never experience true freedom if we keep giving ourselves over to sin when we keep rejecting God, and His word, the God we’ve rejected, is a God of help, and so at just the right time, he sends Gabriel to visit Mary and to visit Joseph to tell them that help is coming, and this help would come through a promise. Shall. We just heard the kids sing it, because the greatest news in the history of the world was all wrapped up in one name. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins at just the right time. He sent the greatest help in the moment that we needed it, because his name means God saves when we put our trust in Him, when we believe that this is true. Here’s what Paul continues to say in Romans, chapter six, verse 22 but now that you have been set free from sin and become slaves of God. The benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. When you say no to the master of sin, you say yes to the master of God, all of a sudden we reap the benefits. We grow holy, we become more and more like Jesus, and the result of that is not death, the result is eternal life. And so if you’re here this morning, and we’re in this Advent season, and you’re wondering, what can Jesus do for me, this is what he does. This is how he helps. He can do the impossible, because we cannot save ourselves. The Israelites could not get out of slavery, so God had to come and help them. And he comes and he helps us, because we can’t do anything on our own to save ourselves from our sin, we need the help of Messiah, the One who proved himself over and over again. So God is a God of help. But why does he help us? Well, that’s our second point there? Because God is a merciful God. He is a God of mercy. Look at what Mary says right after he has helped to serve in Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever. Now, what does it mean that God remembers? Okay, that’s important. When we think about that word. But it’s not that God forgot, and later on, thought, oh, wow, I was supposed to do that. That’s not what it means when it says God remembers. When God remembers, it means he acts on what he has said. It means this is the time, this is the fulfillment. This is the time that I’m going to he always promised the Messiah. He didn’t forget. There was just waiting for the time. And so when he remembers, it means that he is acting the time has come. It has been fulfilled. Here is the moment I act. So we could say it this way, Mary is basically saying, Here, God, be who you have always been and do what you always do. Because he is a God of mercy, and he always acts as a God of mercy to his people because of his promises. That’s who he is. He is a compassionate and merciful God. Now, the thing here about God’s mercy is that it’s his active compassion. So it’s not like God just feels sorry for us. If God just felt compassion and just felt sorry for us. That’s not actually going to help us. That’s you guys all know that we’ve all experienced those times where we feel bad for someone and we do nothing. If God just looks at us, they say, Oh, poor people, and doesn’t do anything. How is that going to help us? It’s not so. In his mercy, his active compassion, he moves, he does something, and in order for God’s promises to be fulfilled, he acted compassionately, going all the way back to what Mary says here to Abraham and his descendants forever, because God promised Abraham some things, one of those being a son who we know is Isaac, The son of promise, who would be a partial fulfillment of a much larger promise that God gave Abraham back in Genesis, 12, verse two, you’ll see that on the screen. What does he say to him, I will make you into a great nation. This is a promise. I will make you into great nation, and I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. Abraham is old when he gets this promise. He’s got a wife who is well past childbearing years. So how is God going to fulfill this promise? Only through his mercy. And Mary knows this story. She knows how God provided for Abraham and Sarah when it looked like there was no possible way. And then she looks at Elizabeth, who she’s with her cousin, and she realized, Wait, Elizabeth was barren, too. And the messenger came and said she would be pregnant, and she’s pregnant, and here she is as a virgin, carrying the Son of God, all miraculous works of God, all acts of compassion, God’s mercy to his people. And so Abraham and Sarah see the promise fulfilled. They see it fulfilled in their son, Isaac, he enters into the world as this promised child, only to have God. Say to Abraham in Genesis, 22 now take your son to the mountain and offer him as a sacrifice. But God, what about the promise? What about the promise? How can the promise be fulfilled when you’re asking him to do this. But God has proven himself to Abraham over and over again in Abraham’s life, calling him from his place, keeping him safe, bringing him the place that he wants him to go. And so Abraham trusts him. God is testing Abraham to see if he will take him at his word. Do you trust my promises? Because at that time, many nations around Abraham were serving false fake gods, idols, and they would sacrifice their children to them. That is the most wicked thing you can think of, and they were doing it to fake God. So God says Abraham, in order to test whether or not you actually believe and trust in me, I’m going to ask you to do the same thing. Would you go to those same lengths to show that you are committed to me, that you believe in me. What would we do? Here’s what Abraham does. He takes his son to the mountain, and as they’re walking, Isaac asks him, where is the lamb for the sacrifice? And Abraham replies to him, God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering. My son and the two of them went on together what was going through Abraham’s mind in that moment, we get a glimpse, get a glimpse of what he might have been thinking in Hebrews chapter 11. It’s not on the screen, so I’m just going to read it for us. Here’s what it says in Hebrews 11 by faith, Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice, he who had embraced the promises, was about to sacrifice his one and only Son, even though God had said to him, it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so, in a manner of speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death. This was a test of Abraham’s faith. Would he trust the promises of God? And he did, and he proved faithful. Because just as Abraham raises that knife and he is going to come down on his son, the angel of the Lord stops him, tells him, do not harm him. Don’t do it. Stop. God is seeing your faith. He says not withholding your own son from God. And God remembers his promise again. He didn’t forget. He’s just going to act now. And what does he do? He provides the sacrifice. Look at Genesis. 2213 and 14. Abraham looked up, and there, in a thicket, he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrifices his burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place the Lord will provide. And to this day, it is said on the mountain of the Lord, it will be provided we see the better and final fulfillment of the promised child, the one Isaac was pointing to in Jesus, who is wrapped in swaddling cloths and placed in a manger, the true promised child. So we have another promise fulfilled by God. So the Lord has provided for all of us through this promised child, because his mercy was on display in a manger, and about 30 some years later, his mercy was displayed on a cross. From the manger to the cross, the mercy of God was on display in the cries of a baby in a manger, all the way to the cries of agony and pain and suffering on a cross, God kept Abraham’s hand from coming down on Isaac, instead providing a sacrifice in his place. In God’s hand, his punishment for our sins was held back from us. It did fall, but it fell on his son, who was the sacrifice in our place, taking the judgment that we deserve so on the cross, on the cross, the Lord provided fulfilling his promise that all the nations would be blessed through Abraham’s offspring, through this promised child from manger to cross. And we are part of that blessing. We’re part of it because listen what Galatians three says. So also Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Understand, then that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and announce the gospel in advance to Abraham, all nations will be blessed through you. So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. We are spiritual children of Abraham, grafted into this family, the redemption accomplished through Jesus was for all of us, and it was always meant to be, because it goes all the way back to Genesis 12 and the promises. God gave Abraham that all the nations would be blessed through him. So we have another promise of God fulfilled. So why does God keep showing mercy to his people? Why does he keep helping? Lastly, because he is a God of promise. He’s a God of promise. If he says it, he will do it. And so God gives us promises. So God will say things to us, and he’ll say, I promise to do this. When God speaks, it’s going to happen. This is who he is. So this last section here, God of promise, look at what Mary says. I’m going to read it all again. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as He promised our ancestors. So we started off this morning talking about promises and how disappointed we are when others break their promise, and we’re disappointed because we know we’ve broken promises to other people too, because we’re sinners. We’re imperfect people. We’re not totally in control, and so we will break our promises. We will fail others. But here’s the thing, when I made a promise before with this, this is dry erase marker, all of you knew what was going to happen when I erased it. It was going to come off, because that’s the character of the marker. It’s meant to right? It’s meant to come off. But when we look at God’s promises, and we say God’s promises are sure, God’s promises will always happen, because he is faithful and true, nothing can change it, because this is a permanent marker. It’s its character. It’s supposed to last. It’s who God is. He is permanent His promises. He’s the promise maker, and he’s the promise keeper, which means, when he gives a promise, no sin can can stop it, no foreign enemy can do anything to erase God’s promises. Nothing I say, Nothing I do can ever stop God’s promises from coming true. Not even death itself can do it. It’s sure God’s promises. We can count on him. We can count on his word, kids, I need you to hear that, because when you open this book and you read it, there are 1000s of promises of God to you, if you are in Christ, Jesus, and nothing we do will stop his promises from coming true. He will remember, he will act on his promises. So earlier, I said, we all want it. We all want to trust people’s word. We all want to trust God’s word. And that’s the question, can we trust him? Can we trust him? So let’s look at this tower here of Legos. If this is the promises of God, each one of these representing one of the promises of God in Scripture, and they’re fulfilled, then he just keeps saying, yes, yes. He keeps remembering, he keeps acting in mercy, this tower is going to grow and we’re going to be more and more confident in who God is and what God says, and that he’s actually going to do it. Mary doesn’t doubt God’s words. She doesn’t doubt the message that Gabriel brings her, even though it seems impossible, because Gabriel says in Luke 137 for no word from God will ever fail. Mary’s trust of God is being built up because all of these stories she’s heard growing up all the way she’s seen God help his people, Israel. And so at the very end of that message that she receives from Gabriel, she says this in verse 38 you can just kind of look back a little bit. She says, I’m the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled, she trusts it. And then Mary’s trust of God is strong, because she continues to see him fulfilling promises. Her trust is on full display, because when Elizabeth sees Mary and John, who is in Elizabeth’s womb, leaps when Mary arrives, because he knows what she is carrying at the time. This is what Elizabeth says in verse 45 Blessed is he as she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her, Mary believes because she’s seen it. Why would she doubt? Why would she doubt the promises when this is her foundation, when she’s seeing God fulfill his promises over and over again, and the Christmas story tells us we can trust God completely, completely. So here’s the big idea this morning. It is to take God at His Word, take God at His Word, and trust in the promise of the Second Advent. Take God at His Word and trust in the promise of the Second Advent. You’re thinking, Wait, the second advent. That might be a typo. I haven’t talked about this at all this morning, though, we have alluded to it a few different times already. Yes, we are talking about the second advent. We need to trust. And those promises, the promises to come, because the first advent of Jesus already happened. He already came. That’s what we’re celebrating. That’s what we remember this week. So we’re not waiting for that to be fulfilled. We are celebrating the past promises of God, all of these things being fulfilled in Jesus. And so what we are doing on this side of Christmas, on this side of the cross, on this side of the empty tomb, is we are looking forward to the return of Jesus. We’re looking forward to the second advent, the second coming. And in that first advent, when Jesus came, when he was in a manger and he went to the cross, we have to remember what happened. How did he come? Well, he told us he came as a servant and as a savior. That’s what happened the first advent, doing everything necessary to help us, doing everything necessary to put God’s mercy on display. So here’s what he did that first time, he lived a perfect life. He showed us what it means to honor our parents. He loved others, even the worst of the worst. He did everything God the father wanted him to do. He testified to the truth. He brought the kingdom of God to Earth. He was a light shining in the darkness. He died as a sacrifice on the cross in our place. He rose victoriously from the dead, crushing evil, death, sin and the devil. And then what did he do? We don’t often talk about this part. He ascended back to heaven. He did alive, back to his father, alive, and reigning at the Father’s right hand, and he’s doing that today. And I would love to have been there in Acts chapter one, when the disciples are looking up and Jesus is gone, because they’re probably thinking, what just happened? All the stuff we’ve seen Jesus do, right? And now he’s gone, and they’re just staring it says, up into the sky. And what happens? Messengers come again. Of course. Messengers Look at Acts. One verse 11, says Men of Galilee, they said, Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven. At those words, the disciples must have gone back just weeks earlier to the upper room when Jesus is eating his last meal with them, just weeks earlier and in John 14. Listen to what Jesus tells them. Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also in me. My Father’s house as many rooms if that, if that were not so what I have told you that I’m going there to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back. I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am. I will come back. So as we celebrate the first advent of Jesus, as we celebrate the Christmas season, we thank God for the promises fulfilled all the things he said he would do that he did, and we then cling to the promises yet to come because of what he’s done there, we can stand confident today that he will do what he said he will Do, and we have to put our full weight on it. And I know this is hard to understand. How do I trust God? So kids, maybe this can be helpful for adults too. I have a weight here, and if I had something up here that I didn’t really trust, I wouldn’t put this weight on there. Okay? I wouldn’t do it. But because I trust that what is here is strong. It is a solid foundation. It is God’s promises, then I have no problem putting this here and leaving it that’s what it means to trust, to put your full weight, your entire life, on Jesus. Well, God’s Word says that he has fulfilled all these promises. And so when there’s more promises, you say, of course, I’m going to lean on him. Of course, I’m going to put my full weight, my whole life, into him, because he has proven himself over and over again to be faithful and to fulfill his promises. So take God at His Word. Trust Him. Cling to His promises of His return. And so here’s some things you might need to cling to today. If today you are longing for his presence and you’re in Christ, know that His Holy Spirit is with you. Now He dwells with you, and one day He will dwell among us again in a very unique way when he says, We will be his people, and he will be our God. If today you are mourning the loss of someone, one day that mourning will cease. If today you have tears because of a broken relationship, God will wipe away every tear from your eyes. If today you are in pain, chronic pain, the. Acute pain, mental, emotional, physical. If you are in pain, remember, one day there will be no more pain. If today you believe, you believe in Jesus, but you continue to struggle with sin, you continue to struggle with doubt, you continue to struggle each day, just to keep going, one day, you will see Jesus face to face, and it will not be hard anymore. There will be no struggle, because he will look at you and say, Behold, I am making all things new. Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true, because I said I would do it, and I have, and I’ve shown you over and over again, culminating in Jesus. So if God has fulfilled all of these promises, why wouldn’t we believe these other promises that He gives us in His Word? All of those promises, they sound good. Yeah, all of those are just from Revelation. So come back in January, when we’re going to go through revelation, we’re going to see the promises of God, of things that are still to come. There’s 1000s of other ones in Scripture. And if you’re here this morning, and you’re just kind of checking it out, because, you know, Jesus is the reason for the season, and you’re kind of like, what does that mean? Like, why are we celebrating this whole thing, checking out see if it’s true? Then I want you to hear these words of the Second Coming of Jesus, you need them too, because this next time he’s going to come as King and judge, that’s what he’s coming back as he already did everything necessary for us to be saved. It’s our choice now, whether we believe it or not, he will come back as judge, and He will separate those who believe from those who do not. And you can count on him because he’s fulfilled all these other promises that He promises that He will return. You’re thinking, is he slow? Is he ever going to come actually listen to Second Peter 39 the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. You see that he is patient with you. He wants you to repent and to turn back to him, just like he had been doing with Israel for their history. Keep welcoming them back, calling them back to him. So repent of trying to free yourself from slavery to sin and find the freedom that we have in Jesus. Believe in Him. Believe in Him, repent of your sin, and maybe this would be the first Advent season that you could celebrate as a child of God, and rest in all those promises that are already been fulfilled, and praise Him for that, and start to cling to the promises that he is offering in the future and the things that we can cling to now, because if you put your full weight on him, he will not disappoint. He will not disappoint. So I want to close by reading from Luke two, because there was a man who received a promise from God that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. His name was Simeon, and when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple, Simeon was moved to go towards them. And Simeon takes Jesus in his arms. And I believe what he says in this moment wraps up everything we’ve been talking about this morning. This is what he says about this baby. He’s holding Sovereign Lord, as you have promised. You may now dismiss your servant in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people. Israel, God will keep his promises. Let’s put our full weight on him this Advent season. Let’s pray.
Lord, we are grateful, grateful to join together to hear the beautiful words the kids were singing this morning, because those words are directly from you in your word with your messenger saying, She will bear a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins, Lord, that is our greatest need to be saved from our rejection and our disobedience of you. I pray that each one of us this season spend some time confessing those sins to you, so that as we celebrate this Christmas season, we can be filled with joy, the joy to the world that came that the angels announced, because we know what you came to do. You came to reconcile us to yourself. You came to reconcile that relationship so that we could say that is my God. And when God looks at us, those are my people. And so Lord, we thank you for sending your son, Jesus. Jesus. We. Thank you for going to the cross for us, for experiencing what we should have experienced on that cross, for displaying your love to us. We thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to dwell with us now, so that when we doubt or we struggle through these promises that we have in Scripture, the Holy Spirit will strengthen us to believe, to give us the strength we need each and every day to pray for us when we don’t know what to pray for. I pray for each one of us here, Lord, this season that the Christmas story is not just a story. It’s not just something nice we do, but we understand it was you fulfilling your promises, that all the nations on the earth would be blessed through your Son, and that we would see true life transformation in our own hearts, in our community and around the world, as people hear the name of Jesus and come to believe that it’s only through him that they can be saved. Jesus, we love you and we pray this in Your name. Amen.

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The Great Reversal December 15, 2024 | Brandon Cooper The sermon discusses three key reversals that Jesus came to effect: a moral reversal where the humble are exalted, the proud are scattered, a social reversal where the rulers are brought down and the lowly are lifted up, and a material reversal where the hungry are filled and the rich are sent away empty. These reversals are rooted in the gospel and call believers to humble themselves, serve the oppressed, and share the satisfying hope found in Christ alone. The sermon challenges the congregation to examine their own hearts, wealth, and power in light of these reversals that Jesus is bringing about.

Alright, you can go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Luke. Chapter One, we will continue in the Magnificat. Mary’s prayer of praise will be in verses 51 to 53 this morning, Luke 151, to 53 as you’re turning there, everyone loves the Cinderella story. We know that for sure. Now, why is it that we all like Cinderella stories? It’s because we kind of like when the world gets flipped on its head, at least for a moment. We like the rags to riches kind of story, or we like when the weak triumph over the strong in March Madness, or something like that. We want to believe that an oppressed scullery maid can marry a prince, or that a small market team that doesn’t make salary cap or anything like that. Can, you know, through some shrewd moves in developing their farm system or whatever, defeat the Juggernaut spenders in the big market city. And we especially like that when there are hints of injustice on the one side, right when there’s a wicked stepmother as part of this process, or the Juggernaut spenders have, you know, 115 allegations of financial impropriety against them that’s being investigated right now. That’s the only reason they were able to buy all these players, or whatever it might be. So that is, we love a Cinderella story, not so much because the world gets flipped on its head, actually, but that a world that’s standing on its head finally gets flipped right side up, and that is what Jesus came to do. Jesus came to show us that might won’t go on making right forever, that the rich won’t go on exploding the poor forever, that the wicked won’t go on prospering for ever. It is kind of our big idea today, by the way, the reversals that are are coming here. I’m giving it to you up front because we’re, you know, it’s not going to make a ton of sense. We got to put some meat on its bones, but I want you to have it in your in your mind as we’re reading. The big idea is that Jesus is flipping an upside down world right side up. And so we should be too. We should be engaged in this same work. And this is what Mary celebrates in her prayer of praise, three reversals that are happening that Jesus has come to effect a moral reversal, a social reversal and a material reversal, and we’ll see them each. Let me read our whole passage for us, and then we’ll dive into the first reversal. I’m actually just going to read the whole prayer because it’s not that long. So we’ll just get going through our passage, beginning in verse 46 and Mary said, My soul glorifies the Lord. My spirit rejoices in God, my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on, all generations will call me blessed for the Mighty One has done great things for me. Holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him from generation to generation. And then here’s our passage. This morning. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm. He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty. Alright, let’s, let’s look at the first reversal from verse 51 right there, the moral reversal. Just a little bit of context. In case, this is the first week you’ve come, or you don’t remember where we’ve been in the prayer so far. Remember that God saw Mary in her humble state. When the angel Gabriel comes, makes the Annunciation, you know that she is going to bear the Messiah. So God saw her in her humble state, she says in verse 48 when she was poor, when she was oppressed, as we’ll talk about, and God saw and he acted in her life to exalt her. That’s what she celebrated so far. Now it’s like the camera lens widens, so all of a sudden we can see that this God seeing the humble and exalting them that that includes many people. It’s not just Mary. What God did for Mary. In fact, he is doing for all God fearers, which is where we ended last week. His mercy extends to those who fear him. So yes, His mercy extends to all those who fear Him, and He performs mighty deeds for them as well. But that kind of raises our next question right there, at the start of verse 51 he has performed mighty deeds. Now has God done? Is God doing, or will God do mighty deeds? And of course, the answer is yes, yes, and absolutely yes. So Mary casts a glance backward here. God has done it before. He’s performed mighty deeds before. But of course, she’s praying this right after the announcement of the birth of Jesus, and so she knows that with Jesus, this Promised Deliverer that’s growing in her womb, God is doing it. A new way, and God’s not finished yet. Of course, he’s still not finished even yet. So grammarians actually call this this tense right here in verse 51 a prophetic aorist. Aorist is the past tense in Greek, but it’s a prophetic past tense in In other words, she’s talking about the future, but it is so certain that God will do this that we could actually use the past tense. It’s like when you you know, you get to the last three minutes of a game, or something like that, and your team is up, and they’re up by enough that you know it’s over, and you go, they’ve done it. They have done it. It’s perfect. It’s finished already, even though it’s not quite finished. That’s what’s happening here, even though we’re talking centuries in advance of God finishing it. Why? How do we know that? Because we keep coming back to it, chapter one, verse 37 for no word from God will ever fail. And so Mary knows this is as good as done. So what is it, though that God has done is doing and will do? And the answer is, perform these mighty deeds with his arm. Now, arm is maybe a strange word here, and I know what you’re thinking right now. You’re thinking, God is Spirit. He doesn’t have a body, so how could he possibly have an arm? Well, we use the word arm a lot in Scripture. You’ll see it a lot as a the visible working of God’s power, like when God reaches out and does something even though he’s not reaching out physically, it’s the visible working of his power. The supreme example of this in the Old Testament, where the word gets used most often, is in the Exodus. So here’s Deuteronomy 434, Moses talking about what God has just done, bringing Israel out of slavery in Egypt. And he says this, has any God ever tried to take for himself one nation, out of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, we could almost say, mighty deeds, like all the things the Lord, your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes. So that’s what we should have in mind, a display of power like the Exodus, when we talk about God’s mighty deeds, and we talk about his outstretched arm, and you can almost see Mary thinking through this, and she’s asking questions that we should be asking of ourselves right now too. Okay, God did that then, right? He parted the Red Sea. He turned the Nile to blood. He whatever else it was. Does God have any less power now than he had then? Does God care any less or Is he any less committed to his covenant people now than he was then? No, of course not. Then we should expect this still. We should expect this still, especially in Christ, and that’s what Mary is seeing. But Mary’s not making this up either, that the arm of the Lord is especially outstretched in this moment, she’s she’s probably drawing on Isaiah, actually, is this the point Isaiah makes. Isaiah, chapter 53 verse one begins, who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Is a rhetorical question. The answer is clearly no one. But that’s interesting. To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? And Isaiah is saying, Well, really not anyone yet, because we haven’t really ever seen God’s arm truly, because the invisible has not yet been made visible until now. And that’s point. It’s again, Isaiah 53 verse one, you know Isaiah 53 really famous chapter in the Old Testament. It’s such a clear prophecy of Christ. It you almost can’t believe that it was written 700 years before he was born, one of those places where you go, Okay, I think God might be real, because this is crazy, because what? But we know we’re talking about Jesus here, right? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? The very next sentence is he grew up before him like a tender shoot. He grew up before him like a tender shoot. So the arm of the Lord is a person, and then we know what that person, what happens to him? Verses five and six, he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds, we are healed. In other words, the arm of the Lord. In Isaiah, 53, one, that should be a capital A, because that’s Jesus. Jesus is the arm of the Lord. Jesus is the visible working of God’s power, because in Christ, the invisible word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. And we have seen visible right? We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth, John 114 and
notice what’s happening. Remember we said the exodus is the supreme. An example of God’s outstretched arm until Jesus and Moses is going well. This is crazy. Never before has a god taken one nation out of another nation. But think about what happens in Christ. It’s when God takes for Himself a people from every nation and language and tribe and delivers us, not just from slavery in Egypt, but delivers us from sin and death and darkness that is might. But let’s not forget, just when we think of the second half of verse 51 that the exodus was great for the slaves, but it was bad for the Masters, and that was a tremendous reversal. You want to talk about, flipping a world on its head. That’s what happened in Egypt that day, on the day of the Exodus. In fact, Pharaoh is a poster child for that second half of verse 51 he is scared of those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. That’s Pharaoh absolutely proud in their inmost thoughts, meaning those who reject God. Moses comes to Pharaoh and says, hey, the Lord told me to tell you, Let my people go. And Pharaoh says, Who is the Lord? And he’s not asking for information there. Of course, he’s rejecting God. So those who are proud in their inmost thoughts are those who feel no need of God, those who feel no need of a deliverer, because they feel like they can rely on their own mighty deeds, mighty deeds. We’ve met some, of course, we see this throughout Scripture, what this looks like. We met a couple in Daniel even, right? Nebuchadnezzar feeling really good about his might. In fact, he gets so proud that the Lord humbles him, and he realizes that, after he’s given the mind of an animal for a period of time, and he goes, Okay, I see now or Belshazzar, who exalts himself and uses the Lord’s sacred vessels for his own orgiastic feast, and the Lord has him killed that night. It continues, of course, in the New Testament, when you get somebody like Herod Agrippa who receives praise as if he were a god, and the Lord strikes him dead right then and there. It continues, of course, into our lifetime, into the modern world. I think of Stalin, for example, Stalin who died with a raised fist that would be proud in your in most thoughts, right there, of course. And what happened to him? This, this great leader. I mean, his sculptured head now lies in junkyards across Russia. So you look at what happens to those who are proud in their inmost thoughts, and you think to yourself, thank goodness we’re not in positions of power, because I’m not sure I would want to be Nebuchadnezzar or Stalin, except Well, we all struggle with pride in our inmost thoughts, don’t we? We all tend to rely on our mighty deeds. We trust in our performance. Maybe it’s our education, maybe it’s our experience, our winning personality, our and the irony of this word, of course, our gifts, which means somebody else gave them to us. They’re not from us. And this looks different ways for different people, like there’s a secular version of this, of course, where, where we, where we try to make our own way. Who is the Lord? I don’t need him, right? I’m going to define and actualize myself without reference to God, and, frankly, without reference to others, really, either. Oh, there is a danger there. And imma mention this a little bit of a digression, but because it’ll we’re going to head there in a moment here that that that that kind of self definition, self actualization ultimately leads to oppression and exploitation, because people then necessarily become tools, instruments for your self actualization project in every area, from romance to retail. You know where you’re going to get into a relationship with somebody, and their purpose then is to make you happy, and if they stop making you happy, well then they’re no longer an effective tool, and you can get a new one, or retail where we go look, I know that this is a sketchy supply line, and this was probably made with slave labor, but you know, I look really cute in these shoes, so I’m gonna go ahead. It was a great deal buy them anyway. You see what happens? Right? It just inevitably leads to oppression and exploitation, which is in itself a pointer to God, maybe not a proof of God, but a pointer to God, because we all know we shouldn’t exploit others, but you can ask yourself, why not? Like, really, why do you think you shouldn’t exploit other people? Because that is the history of humanity, right there. I mean, slavery has been practiced in absolutely every culture under the sun from the beginning of time until the church arrived on the scene. Complicated history there we can talk about. That another day, and yet we know there’s something in us that goes, Yeah, but that’s not right, okay, but it’s also a consequence of rejecting God because you’re proud in your inmost thoughts. It’s a consequence of nihilism, atheism, secularism. It’s a consequence even a paganism, where you know what are you doing? You’re serving a God, not because the God is worthy of worship, but because you want a good harvest that year. It’s all about me. If you think that’s wrong, okay, you need to ask yourself some questions about why. So there’s that secular bent to it, but it takes a religious guys also this trusting in our mighty deeds, trusting in our performance, where you look at yourself and you go, I’m so moral and so ethical that, of course, God would have to accept me. Of course I’m in this is what Jesus attacks in his parable in Luke 18, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. These two men who are in the temple, right the Pharisee just waltzes right up, you know, practically to the altar. The tax collector stays outside. He’s like standing in the doorway. The Pharisee gets up and he goes, I thank God that I’m awesome. You’re welcome, you know. And how does he know? Because he looks at his mighty deeds. I thank God I’m not like the tax collector. Because look at all of the things I do, look at my tithes, look at my scrupulous law keeping and all of that. So yeah, of course, I made it. And the tax collectors in the background beating his breast going, God, have mercy on me, a sinner. And Jesus wraps up the parable by saying, for all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. That is the great moral reversal that Jesus effects it is not the proud, not the self righteous or the self made, but the humble who enter the kingdom of God. And so it’s not something that we can earn, but something that we must receive. So even now Humble yourselves, admit your weakness, your need, and see his mighty arm outstretched in utero in this passage, at least.
That’s the first reversal, the second reversal, a social reversal, verse 52 let me read it for us again. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble. Now this only makes sense, of course, if God is scattering his enemies, those who are proud in their inmost thoughts, that word scatter, by the way, you can see where it shows up in Scripture. It’s always a military analogy. So this is like a panicked retreat from battle. Is what’s happening there. So he’s just defeated his enemies. If that happens, if you lose a big battle like this, that means that some people are going to lose their seats of power as well rulers. Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with rulers. Of course, there are many wise, good leaders, even in Scripture, imperfect, yes, but good leaders like David. But I think we could also agree that again, just look at history, a pretty large subset of rulers would include those who are proud in their inmost thoughts, so that they’re not just rulers, but really oppressors, those who see their subjects as a means to self exalting ends. Again, what we saw with Pharaoh Nebuchadnezzar, people like that. We’ve seen it again throughout history. Slave owners, politicians who are running for vanities sake to get fame or fortune or whatever else it may be, factory owners allowing inhumane, unsafe conditions because their workers are just cogs in a machine. I mean, of course, there’s nuance here. Like, we gotta be some careful, some somewhat careful. I think it’s easy to just kind of reject, like, Well, anybody who has ever you know been in a position of management had to lay off people. Like, that’s just godlessness. Like, no, not necessarily. Again, that’s where the nuance comes in. Like, I don’t want to get into politics here, economics, that’s a little bit beyond my scope. The average company in the US, though, lasts 15 years, 15 years before it’s done, it’s bankrupt, it’s acquired whatever, something like that, and usually with razor thin margins. So yes, sometimes the choice that management faces is, do I lay off 10% of the workforce so the other 90% can keep their jobs, or do I keep that 10% and all of us will lose our jobs in three years time? Like it’s complicated again, glad we’re not in positions of power, but Mary, at least, is talking about the oppression peace, and you understand why, because you gotta remember that Mary is a poor peasant. We know she’s poor because of the sacrifice that she and Joseph bring after Jesus is born. So Leviticus 12 tells pregnant moms that they need to, after the birth of their child, bring a lamb and a dove, a lamb for the burnt offering, a dove for the sin offering. And then Leviticus 12 eight says, but if you can’t afford it, you can just bring two doves. If you can’t afford a Lent, guess what Mary and Joseph bring? Do. Doves. Okay, so they couldn’t even afford a lamb. In other words, that’s how poor they are. They’re also living under foreign oppression. You remember at this time? You know we’ve got things like the Zealots around Jesus selects one of them to be one of his disciples. Even the Zealots are the rebellion. Like they’re again, they’re trying to kick Rome out, and this is where, why there’s all this messianic fervor at this moment, because of the foreign oppression that they are under, that looks like Rome, of course, first and foremost. Now it’s just read for us the census. That’s where Rome, you know, hundreds and hundreds of miles away, just went, Hey, you all have to go somewhere else for a couple days, because we decided so. But not just Rome. I mentioned last week that Herod as well, who is not a Jew. And some of you asked me afterwards, was he Roman? He is not Roman. He was Idomian, if you need to know, which is right in that same kind of area. But his family converted to Judaism about 50 years prior for the sake of power, so that they could rule over the Jews, not because of some religious awakening or something like that, and they were very close allies of Rome. In fact, Herod had actually been kicked off his throne by the Jews, and then Rome came in and went, No, we like Herod because he likes us, and put him back. And by the way, not a good person. I don’t know if you remember where this story goes, but after Jesus is born, Herod has the boys of Bethlehem slaughtered so that he can take care of this upstart pretender to his throne. In other words, the hope for this reversal is strong for Mary in a way that it probably just doesn’t matter to us, which is why we struggle with passages like this. We live in a democracy, so if you don’t like rulers, you can just vote them out of office in a couple of years time, and we’re rich beyond all imagining, the wealthiest society in the history of the world. So we’re all going, I don’t know that we need to reverse anything. Seems okay to be right, but we get it like there is this justice bent in us because, of course, God’s moral law is written on our hearts, and that’s why we get so angry watching wicked stepmothers keep their step daughters from going to the ball, or why we root for the little guy. Whatever that means at that moment, like we should care about this. We should, we should care about it. Here, it happens sometimes, right? Somebody is a victim of injustice and and while they’re trying to get justice, you know, some multinational conglomerate just sends 18,000 lawyers to send a million, you know, motions or whatever, and just buries them in paperwork. And we go, that’s not right. We should care about that. We should care about that here. We should care about that around the globe as well, because there are people, our brothers and sisters in Christ, even, who are under oppression like this. We don’t just tune that out, get desensitized to it, the very least, we pray and see if there are ways we can support them. Certainly as we’re looking at a verse like this, if you are in a position of power, one of the application points is be really careful with your power. And as I say, I say that as someone who is in a position of power, I lead an organization, I have people underneath me, and all that stuff like Lord acton’s dictum has been proven right on more than one occasion. Power corrupts absolute. Power corrupts absolutely. So we’re supposed to be like little Christs. Well, what did Jesus say about power? Use your power to lord it over others, but to serve them. You want to be first, make yourself last the least, the servant of all. So we should never be using and always loving people. We don’t see the people underneath us as means to our ends, but ourselves as a mean to their ends that will require regular self examination. Of course, Am I guilty of any of this? But given our capacity for self deception, it means we also need to invite accountability and evaluation of the way we wield our power and to humbly accept input, even criticism. But even if you’re not in power, you’re not off the hook, because we should still act like little Christs. And Christ was committing, committed to helping the oppressed and the downtrodden, and so we can be too. God lifts the humble, like Mary and I said there, when we looked at verse 48 that should be all of us, right? We should all be humble, because we all recognize our spiritual state. If nothing else, is a humble state. In fact, we need to be humble if we’re going to enter the kingdom of God. Again. That’s the beginning of the beatitude. The Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. You want to enter the kingdom of heaven, you have to be poor in spirit. You have to recognize your spiritual poverty and the need for grace, and that’s what humility means. Of course, humility is believing, truly believing that it is all of grace. In other words, I didn’t earn this. I couldn’t possibly have earned this. But if that’s true of us, we couldn’t have earned this, if we don’t. Deserve this, then that means we can’t disdain those who haven’t made it in the same way that we have, especially if we’re dealing with any oppression or exploitation. I’ll give you an example. We support a ministry here called new name, which is ministry to sexually exploited women. There’s that word sexually exploited women. Now you might ask yourself, Well, why would we support a ministry that’s outreach to prostitutes effectively? And the answer is, because we couldn’t possibly disdain them for this. Because no one really chooses that life. There’s no six year old girl who says, When I grow up, I want to be an escort. So how do they end up there? We’re the main two drivers abuse, that would be the oppression we’re talking about here, and poverty, which is the oppression we’ll talk about in the next verse. So like, of course, we’re going to minister to those who, again, are in a different spot than we are. We can’t disdain them, but instead, actively work to lift them out of their circumstances. But let’s not forget, this is more than just a social reversal, because this is more than just social oppression. There is a spiritual oppression as well. I mean, what is the ultimate enemy that God scatters? It’s not Nebuchadnezzar, right? It’s Satan. It’s the powers of darkness. Colossians, 215 Paul describes Jesus’s triumph over powers. What does he say? Colossians, 215 it says Jesus disarmed the powers and authorities. He made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them by the cross. Well, what powers and authorities did he disarm?
Not Herod, not Rome. Rome was plenty armed right then spear and hand standing right at the foot of his cross. No He disarmed the spiritual powers of darkness. He triumphed over Satan and sin and death. And so one way we commit ourselves to serving the oppressed is to serving those who are humbled, spiritually, oppressed, spiritually. And I think a clear application for us in this then is that we must not hoard the gospel for people like us, we have a tendency to do that. Share the gospel with people who look like us, sound like us, act like us. We talk about again, nothing wrong with us. Yeah, they need the gospel too. Okay, your family, your friends, your neighbors, your colleagues, they’re probably all going to be kind of just like you go out and share it with those who are ready to receive it, who are aware of their spiritual poverty, perhaps because they’re aware of their economic poverty. So one of the reasons why we’ve got the Christians against poverty debt center that we run here at Cityview, because these are people who are not fooling themselves into thinking they can make it on their own any longer. That’s why we supported outreach. York had the Christmas store just yesterday. It was a tremendous success. I got the report, by the way, it was beautiful. Like 100 families, 250 kids served this process, and they all got the gospel, they probably don’t have the same amount of money that most of us do here. It’s even why we support something like international friendships. Nick Miller, one of our missionaries, who’s also here in our congregation. There he is. Yeah, why? Because these are people who haven’t necessarily heard the gospel, people from other cultures, from other religious backgrounds, who need to hear this for the first time, but yet they also don’t look or sound like us, and so this is why we do it. Go out and share the gospel with those who are ready to receive it. Second reversal, then the third and last reversal that we’ll talk about, verse 53 the material reversal. Question mark is not a mistake, by the way. We’ll get to that in just a moment. Verse 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty. Well, that one’s smart, doesn’t it, because you’re rich. Is God against wealth? And if he is, is there any hope for any of us? And our temptation is to just explain it away, but maybe don’t explain it away too quickly. Let me just sit in that for a moment. God just said, Mary has said, God sent the rich away empty and you are likely rich. In fact, this is a main theme in Luke’s gospel. You know why it’s a main theme in Luke’s gospel? Because it’s a main theme in Jesus’s ministry. So we should pay attention to it. I would think man mentioned Matthew five already blessed are the poor in spirit, the Beatitudes. Do you know how Luke has. In his gospel. And again, that is God breathed word to us. Luke has it as blessed are the poor period, Blessed are the poor. And in case you thought, Well, yeah, but he means poor in spirit, look where he goes right after that. Luke 624, and 25 Woe to you, who are rich, for you’ve already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. No qualifiers attached. Doesn’t say godless, rich, no. Just says rich. At this point we go from there, of course, chapter 12, we get the parable of the rich fool who’s so wealthy he’s like, I gotta keep building more barns, store more grain. And God says, You fool, won’t you realize your life is going to be demanded from you this very night. What good are your barns gonna do then? And of course, we get Luke, chapter 16, the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Rich Man doesn’t even get a name, by the way, because his whole identity was his money. So that’s it. All you need to know about him was he had money. He’s in hell, in torment, while Lazarus, the poor beggar who used to sit outside the rich man’s gate, where the dogs would come up and lick his open wounds, he is welcomed into Abraham’s bosom. And we need to ask why this shows up so often in Luke’s gospel. And the thing is, it’s not just money, but it is the attitude that wealth so often brings. And what attitude does wealth bring? Self sufficiency. Self sufficiency, pride. In other words, in our inmost thoughts, I’ve got no need for God because I’ve got a healthy checking account. That’s what we need to be wary of. And that is epitomized, of course, in the rich man. In that parable The rich man and Lazarus, he was so utterly self focused, even in hell. By the way, some people ask the question, how is it that God can send, you know, like infinite punishment for what was a finite crime? And the answer is, it’s not a finite crime. It’s an infinite crime. Because even in hell, we had this man, he gets into a theological argument with Abraham. Basically says to Abraham, you know, God’s wrong, right? Like he needs to do things differently. So there’s his pride against God, and then what else does he ask Abraham to send Lazarus as his servant? Still doesn’t see Lazarus as a person, just sees him as a means to his end. Darryl Bach says it like this, talking about the parable, He says the rich man’s self focus reflects his lack of faith and his spiritual insensitivity toward the God to whom he is responsible. Such self focus produces a lack of concern for one’s neighbor, which God condemns. Everything we’ve been talking about so far this morning, this is all the opposite of gospel humility. Of course, gospel humility means we love the God who saved us with heart, soul, mind and strength, and as a result, we love our neighbor as ourselves, because we’re already loving ourselves. We love our neighbor the same way. Why? Because he loved us when we were undeserving of it. So we love others even if they are undeserving of it. Again, a passage like this calls for self examination. Are you a rich fool? Are you trusting in riches to save you, to prove your worth or provide fullness in your life? Like we sing, Christ is enough, what we really mean is, Christ is good. And I’d like a new iPhone, and if you maybe choose between the two, well, let’s just not ask the question. Now, this is grander than just an individual question. Of course, I think Mary is thinking about this on a national scale, because that runs like a thread throughout the Old Testament. In fact, it shows up in Hannah’s prayer, and remember, Mary is almost just, she’s just plagiarizing Hannah’s prayer. Okay, let me actually read some of Hannah’s prayer here. So if you don’t remember first, Samuel, one and two, Hannah, she’s a barren woman, and she asks God, God opens her womb. Again. God doesn’t always do that, but he does for Hannah, she gives birth to Samuel, who ends up being a leader of Israel. But this is right after Hannah discovers that she’s pregnant, she prays this prayer. My heart rejoices in the Lord. Sounds just like the beginning of our prayer here, in the Lord, my horn is lifted high. Horn is a symbol of strength, and usually of the king, actually. So that’s weird. It’s like she’s almost got big here, like we’re maybe talking about the nation. My mouth boasts over my enemies. And you’re going, what enemies? Your enemy was barrenness. What are we even talking about? Again, she’s got a national view here. My mouth boasts over my enemies, For I delight in your deliverance. There’s no one holy like the Lord. There’s no one besides you. There is no rock like our God. Do not keep talking so proudly. There. Is the pride issue again, or let your mouth speak such arrogance, For the Lord is a God who knows and by him, deeds are weighed. And she goes on a little bit later, those who are full hire themselves out for food, but those who are hungry are hungry no more. That’s interesting. Mary says that the Lord sends poverty and wealth. He humbles and he exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. It’s like all of our reversals, right? Are all here in Hannah’s prayer as well. But it’s so interesting because it doesn’t fit Hannah’s circumstances, but it is her national hope, like she sees in her circumstances, a grander issue the Philistines that are oppressing and exploiting Israel at this time. And so in the same way, I don’t know that Mary’s, you know, talking about the rich land or in town. I mean, maybe, but she’s talking about Rome. She’s talking about Herod. And so again, if we’re gonna apply this to ourselves today, we gotta think, what about us? Or maybe, what about capital U, capital S, put a capital A after it too. Most powerful country on Earth, the richest nation again in the history of the world, from those to whom much is given. Much is expected. We as a society, have been given much so that we can affect these reversals, so that we can lift the poor, so that we can be generous, be little Christs. So it’s always worth asking, and probably asking in community, because of our tendency towards self deception, what does your spending say about your heart?
And just so we’re clear, your spending tells you what you need to know about your heart. Jesus said that in Matthew chapter six, where your treasure is there will your heart be also. So look at your spending, and you will see what you love. Look at your spending. What does it tell you about what you love? Great question to ask right before Christmas, right? I mean, even kids here in the room, you’re all like, I’ve been ducking this whole sermon. No, what do you want for Christmas? Kids like, Do you want more Jesus or do you want more junk? Matthew six reminds us that we can’t separate the material from the spiritual that’s why there’s the question mark in the outline. Is this material reversal, or is this a spiritual reversal here? Kind of both? Money is a diagnostic test. It’s an imaging test, right? Like an MRI, an MRI shows you what’s inside of you. That’s what money does. Money doesn’t put anything inside of us. Money reveals what’s inside of us already reveals, maybe that you’re trusting yourself and not God and proud in your inmost thoughts, in which case it reveals your spiritual need. We see that in the first half, because I’ve spent all this time on he sent the rich way empty. But what about the first part? He’s filled the hungry with good things. What does it mean when it says that God fills the hungry with good things? Are we just talking about food and toys? I mean, sure, we’re talking about those two. Psalm 107 verse nine, I think, is what Mary’s quoting here. He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. That’s talked about, by the way, Psalm 107 it’s talking about the wilderness generation. They’re wandering around in the desert. God provides water from a rock. He provides Manna and quail like from a heaven. Basically, yes, it is that, but it’s so much more than that, like the physical helps us make sense of the spiritual. One of the reasons we hunger and thirst is so that we have words to describe what’s going on inside of us spiritually. Psalm 42 one and two As the deer pants for streams of water. So my soul pants for you God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? The poor need more and better than food and clothes and shelter. They need Jesus. They need to be lifted out of their spiritual poverty, first and foremost. And so there is no better gift than we can offer this Christmas, than the gospel than Jesus. So share him. Share him this Christmas. That’s why we’ve got invite bags over in the library for you to take because only Jesus will satisfy. Jesus Himself, says as much John chapter four, when he’s talking to the Samaritan woman, he says, Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. This makes sense. Then, right of what we’ve been talking about, wealth isn’t the problem. Spiritual pride is, and so money isn’t the answer. Spiritual food is. So let me ask you, what are you. Eating and drinking now, figuratively, that you think will satisfy you, so that you don’t love God or don’t love your neighbor, as you should remember, this is a future prayer, so it’s talking about the glory to come. The Hungry will be filled in glory, and the rich will be sent away empty. So choose really wisely, because only one of those lasts eternally. You know, you know you will thirst again with anything else you have never bought anything for yourself that satisfied your soul. You have never had a sexual encounter illicit or illicit that satisfied your soul. You never gotten a promotion, a new job title that satisfied your soul. It always leaves you thirstier. If I can take an illustration from the winter months, you know how your lips get dry and what is it you want to do all the time? Then lick your lips. Does that help? No. Makes it worse, right? Even drier, even more cracked. That’s what we do. When we try and use these things to satisfy our thirst, we leave our souls cracked and dry. So drink deeply of Jesus. And by the way, we need to drink deeply of Jesus if we’re going to do any of this, because we are all upside down, and only Jesus can flip us right side up. We are all bent inward, seeking to please ourselves. So like, what will make us willing to yield our power and serve, or to yield our wealth and give generously, or to yield our spiritual pride and humble ourselves. It is this and only this. Jesus, being in very nature, God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness. That’s what we celebrate at Christmas, by the way. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Therefore God exalted him to the highest place, gave him the name that is above every name. Though rich, Jesus Christ became poor for you, and though King, King of kings, and Lord of lords, in fact, he became a servant for You, though he is himself the resurrection and the life he died for you dwell on that, and You will soon have Christ’s mindset, no more selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, valuing others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests, but each of you to the interests of others. Jesus has flipped, is flipping, and will flip an upside down world, right side up. And so we should too, like we get to, we don’t have to. We get to participate in Christ putting all things right. What a privilege that is, and the gospel should make us want to so humble yourselves. That’s the moral reversal, serve the lowly. That’s the social reversal, lift the poor. That is the material reversal. And all this, as you drink deeply of Christ, who is your life, let’s pray to him now.

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Faithful Mercy December 8, 2024 | Brandon Cooper The sermon focuses on the attributes of God’s mercy and faithfulness, as celebrated in Mary’s prayer of praise. The sermon traces God’s covenant promises and faithfulness throughout the Bible, culminating in the fulfilling these promises in Jesus Christ. Finally, the sermon calls the congregation to live in awe of God’s merciful faithfulness, demonstrated through practical steps like knowing the Bible’s storyline, praying for future generations, and taking bold steps of obedience.

Good morning church. You want to go ahead and open up to Luke chapter one, we’ll be in verse 50 this morning. Luke one, verse 50, as you’re turning there, this man named Angelino Santiago. He’s a Puerto Rican immigrant to Camden New Jersey, and when he was in his late 60s, around the turn in the millennium, he started a community garden. There was a vacant lot across the street from him, always kind of littered with junk and whatnot. Kids get into trouble, and so he turned this into a community garden. He’s been tending it faithfully for 24 years now. So he’s 93 and still tending this garden, providing fresh fruit and vegetables for the community. And I just I love stories like that. I don’t know about you, I love stories of someone’s faithfulness across the long haul, like someone who’s just there day in and day out, sacrifice, time, energy, love, all that’s required to keep meeting this need actually read another one this week. Just a friend of mine down in Louisville who has a daughter with autism. Her name is Lucy Noel, which, if my etymology is correct, means the light of Christmas. So you know me and names that have meaning, I love that. And so daughter with autism, she just turned 18, and so he and his wife have just been appointed guardians for her so that they can continue to care for her in her adulthood as well. And he was helping raising funds for this school that she’s a part of, and whatnot. And same thing, you know, like these parents to a child with disability, just committing that we’re going to keep taking this on, of course, through the years, just this beautiful faithfulness that’s required. But there’s a concern, of course, that lingers there. Also like, what happens next? You’re 93 you’re probably not caring for the garden that much longer. And what happens when the parents pass on who’s going to care for the child with disabilities who will pick up the baton after a great leader passes away, whatever it might be, there’s this haunting question that we have points to a deep need that we have as well. We need faithfulness, not just in our lives time, but we need faithfulness, really, throughout the generations. We saw last week that we are in need of help as people, we’re need of deliverance, and that’s always true, which means we always need a deliverer through the ages. Will he be faithful? Will God be found faithful even when we are not? And the answer is yes, absolutely, and that’s what Mary celebrates next in her prayer of praise. Now we are just looking at one verse this morning, and so when we do that, usually that means we’re going to trace what’s going on throughout the Bible. And that’s exactly what will happen here. So kind of looking at these three great attributes of God and asking some questions of them, Mercy is the first one, because that’s where Mary begins as well. Just what does God do for us? So let me read it for us. Imagine going to read the whole prayer up to this point. Give us some context. And Mary said, My soul glorifies the Lord. My spirit rejoices in God, my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on, all generations will call me blessed for the Mighty One has done great things for me. Holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him from generation to generation. And see, it’s interesting there. From 49 to 50, we have this shift from God’s holiness to His Mercy. So God’s holiness we talked about this last week. That’s his his perfection, his transcendence, his glorious Godness, if we could put it that way, that’s who he is. And then we shift to His Mercy, which is how he treats us. Mercy is God’s undeserved. God’s kindness expressed to undeserving sinners, God’s kindness expressed to undeserving sinners, which, of course, is all of us. We all are in need of mercy. There’s a wonderful line in the Book of Common Prayer that talks about us being miserable sinners. It’s very evocative phrase. But what? Back when I was written, people knew what miserable meant. It means something else. Now it comes from the Latin if you want to pray, Lord, have mercy on us. You pray misery, nobis, right? And so miserable meaning in need of mercy. That’s what we are. We are miserable sinners. We are sinners in need of mercy. Mary’s already acknowledged this that she needs God’s kindness to her in her undeserving state, because he says that God saw her in her humble state. She’s saying, I’m in need of help. I’m in need of rescue. And so, of course, it makes sense that she would talk about this here. In fact, we always need to follow God’s holiness with his mercy, because his perfect. Is in such a stark contrast to our miserable imperfection. It’s that time of year, so we can just say it, right? We’re all on the naughty list, right? Because that’s just who we are. We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. There’s no one righteous, no one who seeks God, no one who does good, at least in our flesh. Those are big statements that includes everybody, that includes you, that includes me as well. And so how can a holy God a God of perfection like that? How can a holy God abide the presence of sinful people like you and me? It really is the Bible’s big question. That’s the question that’s getting answered on every page, because our sin is an affront to a holy God, and God’s holiness demands a response. It’s like when you get an infection, your white blood cells just go to town. They don’t stop and ponder, what’s my response to me? They just it, just attacks it, and that’s what holiness does with sin. So how can a holy God by the presence of sinful people? The big question, it’s really the question Isaiah asks in a really famous scene in Isaiah chapter six, he is granted a vision of God’s throne room. He says, I saw the Lord high and exalted. He’s seated on the throne. The train of his robe fills the temple with glory, like he’s seated up in heaven. It’s just the hem of his robe, and it’s filling the temple with his glory. And there are angels around him. They’re the seraphim. SERAP means burning, one like flaming, well, like that’s again, God’s holiness is purity. Even the beings who surround him are as pure as fire, and they’re singing, holy, holy. Holy is the Lord God Almighty. And if that’s God, what hope do we have? Isaiah doesn’t know. What does he cry out when he sees God? Woe is me. Woe is me. I am ruined. I am undone. I am unmade in the presence of God, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I am surrounded by a people of unclean lips. It’s like the light has shined on. Have you ever brought like a white shirt out into the blazing sunlight, and you look down and you realize, oh, that is not white, is it not in every place, at least that’s just, that’s what happened to Isaiah right there. Every stain in his life is suddenly been completely visible, and so he’s expecting to be struck dead, like Uzzah is when he touches the ark, like Ananias and Sapphira, like Nadab and Abihu, we should expect to be struck dead. We should expect to be damned eternally at every moment again. That’s what Isaiah expects, but but no. Instead, the Seraph takes a coal from the altar and presses it to Isaiah’s lips to purify him. The angel says, see your guilt is removed and your sin has been atoned for. And that is God’s kindness to one undeserving sinner, at least that is His mercy, which he showers on his people now his people is is key, as we’re going to see here, as we keep going. But one reason why his people’s key even now is the word mercy that Mary’s using here in this verse is used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament to translate the Hebrew word hesed, which is one of the most important Hebrew words, one of like three that you should definitely know no matter who you are, hesed and it means God’s covenant love, like his loyal, faithful love to his people. It’s the love that that God reveals to Moses. When Moses asked to see God’s glory, this is what God shows him, says he passes by Moses, Exodus, 34, six and seven, and he proclaims the Lord, the Lord the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in the same word, mercy, that we have here, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining hesed love, mercy to 1000s, forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. And this is not just an empty declaration that God makes, either, like he has proven it already, because he’s saying this to Moses right after he turns away from his wrath, his righteous anger at the People’s sin, because what happened just the chapter before Exodus 32 they’re worshiping the golden calf. Right after God has brought them out of Egypt in the Exodus, they’ve turned away from him all ready. And yet God turns away from his wrath against idolatrous Israel and promises Moses that he will go with. Them still into the land that he has promised them. That’s mercy. That’s God’s kindness to undeserving sinners. It’s the same mercy that David celebrates as well, like Mary, he breaks out in song many, many times because of God’s mercy, which he’d experienced, of course, his elevation to the kinghood is part of this. When God promises David that one of his descendants is going to rule on his throne forever, David goes, who am I? Who is my family? That we should be brought this far? I don’t deserve this Lord. In other words, and probably because he knew some things about himself that God knew also we think of sins like Bathsheba, the census, that is still coming, even at this point. So So listen to to David’s song. Here. We’re gonna look at a good chunk of it in Psalm 103, this is what David says, Praise the Lord my soul, all my inmost being, praise his holy name. So just like Mary, he starts with God’s holiness. But just like Mary, he goes, I better keep going, otherwise I’m gonna just do the Woe is me. I’m undone thing here. Praise the Lord my soul and forget not all His benefits. Who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with, guess what? Word that is, hesed, exactly with love and compassion. He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel. And then he quotes Moses. He goes, I know what part of God’s character we’re talking about here. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in hesed. He will not always accuse nor will He harbor His anger forever. He does not treat us as our sins deserve, repay us according to our iniquities. That’s mercy, right there. God’s kindness to undeserving sinners. What we deserve is not what we get from God. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His hesed, his love for those who fear him. That’s important, because Mary quotes that right as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children to the Lord, has compassion on those who fear Him, for he knows how we are formed. He remembers that we are dust. But from everlasting to everlasting, from generation to generation, even we could say the Lord’s love is with those who fear Him and His righteousness with their children’s children. There’s the generations again, with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. I’m gonna come back to some of this as we go. But what just happened with David is what we talked about last week, right? He sees and he sings. He sees who God is, and he bursts forth in song. It’s like he’s saying to himself and saying to us, look at the record of God’s kindness to you again. That you’re even breathing right now shows that he’s not treating you as your sins deserve. He has shown you mercy. And of course, you sing all the louder when you remember how he accomplished that. I mean, how exactly did he atone for Isaiah sin? How exactly did he remove David’s transgressions from him? Well, Isaiah tells us later, of course, in his prophecy about the the servant of the Lord. We all, like sheep have gone astray. That’s again our sin. We’re on the naughty list. Again, we all like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him, the servant of the Lord, Jesus Christ, the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Our guilt was atone. Our transgressions removed. We were shown mercy because of this right here, because God made Jesus Who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness, the spotless perfection of God. That’s mercy, that’s mercy, and every one of us is living it right now. Of course, if you’re in Christ, you know that if you’ve turned from your sin and trusted in Jesus, you know that it’s all mercy. But even if you’re here and questioning or maybe even resistant to the claims of Jesus, he is still showing you mercy. How do I know that? Because you’re here, you’re breathing, you’re alive, he hasn’t struck you dead, yet he is giving you time still to turn and trust and it gets even better, because it’s not just that the Lord begrudgingly shows us mercy. The Lord delights to show us mercy. Hebrews tells us that it was for the joy set before Him that Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before him. He did it willingly. Or Micah seven, verse 18, who is a God like you who pardons sin and forgive, forgives the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance, you do not stay angry forever, but delight, but delight to show mercy. It. Can you understand why Mary highlights this attribute? That’s the very error we breathe. But for how long will His mercy go on forever? That’s the next question. Brings us to the next attribute as well, which is God’s faithfulness. So what does God do? He shows us mercy. When does he do it? Well, let’s look at it. His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation, as David said, from everlasting to everlasting, the Lord’s love is with his children’s children. There are other generations again. I love the way John Donne put it. John Don many of you probably know him as a romantic poet, but he was also a pastor later in his life, and he writes this. He says, God’s mercy has no relation to time, no limitation in time whom God loves, He loves to the end, and not only to their end, to their death, but to his end. And he’s punting here because, of course, God doesn’t have an end. So we shifted from like end to purpose, goal, aim or whatever, but he loves us to his end, and his end is that he might love them still. So we have this celebration of God’s faithfulness to his people through the ages, from Adam to Abraham to David to Jesus. And it just keeps going. This is what Mary is thinking through as she prays this prayer. Mary looks at the coming deliverance. Looks at the birth of the deliverer who is now growing in her womb. And that’s what she sees and remembers. He has been faithful what God has always done. He is doing for us once again. Psalm, 100 for the Lord is good, and his love endures forever. His faithfulness continues throughout all generations. You look at that verse right there up on the screen, you think those are bold claims. The Lord is good. His love endures forever. His faithfulness continues. He’s always being faithful to you, those are bold claims. And and you may be thinking, show me the proof. Show me the proof, especially if you’re in a season of loss or suffering right now. Doubt, questioning, is this actually true? How do I know he’s faithful, especially when we’ve been we’ve been hurt and disappointed so many times. There’s so many people like, why trust him? Is he reliable? And the good news, of course, is that our God is not just a promise making God, but a promise keeping God. And we see it from the beginning. The very first promise God makes, he makes like moments after our fall into sin, when Adam and Eve sin in the Garden of Eden. And it’s interesting too, because this promise actually comes when he is cursing the serpent. So as he’s working through the consequences of our sin, He is already promising to show us mercy. It’s remarkable. So he says to the snake that Imma put enmity hostility between you and the woman and between her offspring and your offspring. Then he says, your offspring, little baby snake, is gonna nip his heel, but Mama’s offspring is gonna crush his head. That’s the first promise right there, given again to Eve, the mother of all living things, is what her name, Eve means life. And of course, she gets us ready for Mary, like Mary is the next Eve, because she is the mother of Him who is life itself, the resurrection and the life. So we got this promise, and now we’re going wait. Is this about to be fulfilled here in the birth of Christ, when the seed of the woman will crush the seed of the serpent, the promises just keep coming, because then God, shortly thereafter, begins binding himself to his people, where he’s not just making promises, but covenants. And covenants are like promises on steroids, because there’s this guarantee. It’s like a treaty that’s that’s put together. Here he makes the covenant with Noah. After the flood, the world has now seen the seriousness of sin again. What our sins deserve, the judgment we deserve. But now God promises to forbear. He will not flood the earth again. He promises redemption. Then he’ll narrow his focus to a single man, Abraham, and a single family Israel. What does he promise Abraham through a covenant that he cuts with Abraham, it can be a great nation. He’s going to live in this land, and in fact, he’s going to be a blessing. To all nations. I told you, covenants are serious things, right? They’re bigger than promises. And so there’s a little ceremony that accompanies a covenant cutting. And it’s called cut a covenant because of what happens in the ceremony. They cut animals in half, bunch of animals. You can read about this Genesis 15, and they let the blood pour out, makes like a little river in the dirt. And basically what that is supposed to mean, you walk through the the river of dirt then, and you’re saying, If I break my promise, may this happen to me. And so Abraham’s doing this. And by the way, what’s his end of the covenant to keep God’s commandments perfectly? That’s a bad scene, right? You ever watched, like, one of those movies where the guy’s about to bet, like, everything the house, the money he doesn’t even have on this one hand? And you’re like, don’t do it. I know how this ends. It’s bad. I saw the previews. That’s how I know what it and you know that’s what’s happening here. Where you’re like, Abraham, you and your descendants are not going to be able to do this, don’t sign this covenant, but he doesn’t, not because he’s smart, by way, but because God puts him into a deep sleep, the kind of sleep that prophets have when they’re about to be granted a vision, which is exactly what Abraham gets because he has a vision, then of a fire pot. Fire like holiness, purity, right, passing through this river of blood, the fire pod is God. God is saying, I tell you, what, if either one of us breaks this covenant, let it happen to me, not to you. That’s mercy. That’s God’s kindness to undeserving sinners. But go back to the promises. All right, so Advent, I know we get confused about this. We’re gonna talk about this. We’re gonna talk about this more on the 22nd but we think we’re in the Christmas season right now. You know, you’re not in the Christmas season, right? 12 Days of Christmas starts on the 25th we’re in Advent. We skip Advent. I think it’s a mistake we make, because Advent is a period of longing, of awaiting, right? It’s a sense of things aren’t here yet. God has not set all things right. So Advent really is a time of grieving, almost. Where are the promises? Well, Abraham had that, didn’t he? Because look at the end of his life as Abraham dies. What has happened to God’s promises? You’re gonna be a great nation. He’s got one son not promising at this point, right? And you’re gonna have this land, the promised land that I’ve, you know, I promised to you. And how much land does he own at the end of his life? Tiny little piece of land where he buried his wife. That’s it. That’s all he owns. Is a burial plot. Has he been a blessing to all nations? Certainly not northern nation even knows he exists, really, and yet. And yet, can we doubt God’s faithfulness to Abraham? Now, didn’t Abraham’s descendants become a great nation? Weren’t they brought into the promised land. I mean, yeah, they got exiled again. But even they got brought back. We could talk about that. Of course, not going to, like, brought into the promised land. And of course, when I say, Oh yeah, they got brought into the Promised Land, like, that’s not a small thing. We’re talking again about the Exodus, like a massive undertaking, when God’s mercy and might are on display, leading his people out of Egypt and then bringing them into the Promised Land through the conquest. And as that’s happening at Sinai, God crystallizes the covenant, continues to bind himself to his people. Here’s the covenant in a nutshell, I will be your God, and you will be my people. That’s the promise of the covenant. And he says, I’m going to dwell with you like he lives in the middle of their camp, which is why there’s a whole bunch of laws at this time, laws dealing with things like purity and holiness. Why? Because how can a holy God abide the presence of a sinful people? That’s we gotta have a whole system set up priests and sacrifices and a temple to deal with this question so that God can dwell in their midst. The problem, of course, is that the people aren’t faithful, even though God always is. So he allows oppressors to come to shock them awake. They they get so bad, you know, everyone starts doing what’s right in their own eyes. So God eventually sends a king to lead the people. And then he promises David that his son will rule on David’s throne forever. And you think, okay, maybe now we’ve arrived. And then we meet David’s son, Solomon, who has 1000 wives and girlfriends, and each one of them brought their own God, and he worships all of them, and Solomon’s not even one of the really bad kings, either. So the Kings themselves are wicked, and so the people are sent into exile, no land, no king. They’re not even a people anymore. Hosea tells us, where are God’s promises? And God brings them back from the. Exile in his mercy. And might we talk about this a lot in Daniel and yet, and yet. I mean, look at them when they come back. The temple they rebuild is so piddly that the old men weep at the sight of its foundations being laid. This is not Solomon’s glorious temple. They’ve got an impure priest. Zechariah has a vision of Joshua, the high priest, standing before God, and His clothes are filthy with excrement. That’s how sinful even the high priest is. And of course, at this moment when Mary is praying this prayer, yeah, we’ve got a king on Israel’s throne. It’s not a son of David, it’s not even a son of Abraham is a Herod who is an immensely wicked man. But then you can see why Mary sings about this specifically because with the birth of Jesus, she knows there will be no more questions about God’s faithfulness, as Paul says, Second Corinthians, one, verse 20, for no matter how many promises God has made, they are yes in Christ. And so through him, the Amen is spoken by us to the glory of God. Every promise of God is yes. And Amen in Christ Jesus so that we cannot possibly doubt His faithfulness ever again, Jesus is the promised seed of Eve, the offspring of Eve who comes to crush Satan’s head. He’s also the the child of the promise, born to Abraham, who is made into a great people. Because, of course, the people of God are not the physical descendants of Abraham, but the spiritual descendants of Abraham who trust in God by faith, like Abraham Paul tells us in Galatians three, Jesus is the ark, as we’ve talked about in recent weeks, in whom all who trust can be rescued from the coming flood of God’s wrath. Jesus is the blessing to all nations, as he explains to the Samaritan woman, even salvation comes through the Jews. How? Because he is born a Jew, and he is our salvation. The Gentiles are grafted into the olive tree that is God’s people. Jesus is the new and better Moses and the new and better Joshua, who leads us into the true Promised Land, our eternal rest, which is not a sliver of land by the Mediterranean Sea, but the new heavens and the new earth, the New Jerusalem that will descend at the end of a time. Jesus is the true son of David. We just saw this last week, right? Verses, 32 and 33 same chapter, the Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever. His kingdom will never end. Jesus is the great high priest who offers himself as an unblemished sacrifice in the temple of his flesh. This is the fulfillment of the fire pot as Jesus’s blood flows in the desert. He’s saying, if you don’t keep the covenant, let this happen to me. It just happened to me. And there is your salvation so that we can be God’s people, and he will be our God, because our guilt is removed and our sin is taken away.
Truly, His mercy extends from generation to generation, and what that means for us today is that we have no reason ever to doubt that God will keep his promises, that he will do what he said, even in the darkness, even in the darkness, even in the waiting and the longing of Advent. We know it will happen if you did the Advent devotional that we handed out. I know some of you are doing it. You came across the phrase this week, Latin phrase post tenebras looks after darkness light. That’s the promise we have. Here it is in Revelation. This is how the story ends. This is God keeping all of his promises. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven, and the first earth had passed away. There was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Look, God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. That’s the heart of the covenant. Again. There it is. It’s fulfilled. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. Be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, the old order of things has passed away. If he came the first time and fulfilled so many promises, will he not come again to fulfill all the rest? Surely, surely he will. So we cling to His promises in the meantime, that’s the heart of the Christian life pleading the promises, right? I’ll just give you a smattering of examples. Philippians, four, six and seven. Right? Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ, Jesus. How’s that for a promise? God doesn’t promise. I’ll give you what you want in the time you. Want it. What he does promise is that you will have peace in the midst of whatever is causing you anxiety. Or Romans 828, we know that God works all things for the good of love. Those who love him and are called according to His purpose, but those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. There’s a promise, right? Not that every situation we are in will be good, but that God will use every situation for our good to make us more like Jesus. Any moment we’re walking through, we’ve got Isaiah, 4110, do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I’ll strengthen you and help you. I’ll uphold you with my righteous right hand. We cling to these promises because God has proven Himself faithful, so that we believe. Luke 137 which we talked about last week as well, for no word from God will ever fail. But, and this is a big qualifier, the promises are not for all willy-nilly, the promises are for God’s people. And that’s the last piece we gotta look at. This is the attribute of God’s holiness, which, of course, we’ve talked about, and this is the part that calls forth a response from us. How do we respond? Here’s the verse again, His mercy extends to those who fear him. From generation to generation, His mercy extends from generation to generation to those who fear Him. That is a subset of humanity that is not all people. Regardless, the covenant promises are for God’s covenant people. We see this all over. I’ve read it for you many times already this morning, like in Psalm 100 103, sorry, the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him, and His love is with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. It’s even here in the Christmas story, by the way, in the very next chapter, the angels come. They’re singing their their Gloria. Enoch, Chelsea deo, to the to the shepherds, and they say, peace to those on whom his favor rests, not peace to all. Peace to those on whom his favor rests. By the way, his favor and our obedience are flip sides of the same coin, his favor, his grace, is what prompts our love and fear and obedience. If you love me, Jesus said, keep my commandments. That’s how we show that we trust him. We obey his precepts. That’s what Godly fear is, because that’s the word that’s used here, right his mercy extends to those who fear Him, what Godly fear is. It’s not empowering in God’s presence. That’s not what we’re called to do. We’re supposed to go boldly before His throne of grace, to receive mercy in our time of need, where his children, of course. But godly fear is simultaneous acknowledgement of who God is, which is holy, and who we are in the flesh, which is sinful, imperfect. In other words, coming to God with fear is living with the tension of the Bible’s big question, how can I possibly draw near to God sinner that I am? And the answer is Jesus, Jesus, as we’ve seen. So the big question for us then is, how are you responding to Jesus? Right now? How are you responding to Jesus? You know, when Jesus was crucified in our place, for our sake, there are two thieves crucified, one on either side of him, and they kind of show the two ways you can respond to Jesus, because one mocks Jesus, the other pleads mercy. Here’s Luke, 2339 and 41 Aren’t You the Messiah? The one thief says, Save yourself and us. But the other criminal rebuked him. Don’t you fear God, he said, since you are under the same sentence, We are punished justly for we are getting what our deeds deserved. But this man has done nothing wrong. You see the two responses there? Because it’s interesting that the first thief still says, Hey, Jesus, would you save me? Is that what we’re supposed to do we all want deliverance from our sins and from the sorrows of this world, but not all of us want to acknowledge that we deserve the sorrows of this world, that we deserve the pain, the punishment and the coming wrath. So to fear God means like Isaiah, to admit your guilt and sin woe is me, and then to receive His grace and compassion. We talked about how Christ is our atoning sacrifice. You know, atone is a made up word. Word, and it literally is just two words stuck together at one, because that’s what God does through Christ. If he makes us at one with him again, there’s your answer to the Bible’s big question, how can we dwell? Because Christ has made us at one with God. He’s our God. We are His people, if we come through Christ. And when you do so overwhelmed with gratitude and love that you will delight to please your Lord. And how do you do that? You keep his commands? That’s what it looks like to fear the Lord, to live in awe and reverence before him. That is our big idea as well. Kind of our takeaway from this verse, live in awe of God’s merciful faithfulness. Live in awe of God’s merciful faithfulness. Fear the one who shows mercy from generation to generation, fear the one who should destroy but instead delivered you now. What might that look like, practically today? Just a few closing thoughts for the Christmas season, specifically, first one, get to know the Bible storyline, like what we talked about today, and we just skimmed across the surface, of course, like skipping rocks, get to know the Bible’s story line. Whether you’re like investigating Christianity right now, or you are a long term follower, learn the whole story so that you can see his faithfulness throughout the generations, because you understand what it looks like, from Adam to Abraham to David to Jesus and beyond. And by the way, parents teach this to your kids too. Help them to see it. Help them see it, from Genesis to Revelation like trace the Gospels threads throughout the whole Bible. Second one, pray for the generations. Like, have a longer view than your generation. Pray for the generations. The story is so much bigger than our provincial lives. Like, pray for your spiritual legacy. There’s a company I read about in Japan that had put together, you know, like most companies have a five year plan, 10 year plan or something, they put together a 500 year plan. Really bold, by the way, with technology and stuff like, good chance you don’t know what’s coming. But I like the the initiative at least. And here’s the good news, we know what’s coming in 500 years, because spiritual realities are unchanging. Of course, no matter what happens to technology, what’s your 500 year plan? Spiritually speaking, what difference are you going to make in 500 years? I’ve shared this before. It’s one of my favorite illustrations that you know, the cathedrals like Notre Dame just opened back up yesterday. Kind of thing like the cathedrals in Europe were built across hundreds of years. No one who started them saw them finished. Just remarkable when you think about it. So what’s the first thing that cathedral builders would do before they or as they started construction. They would plant a forest because they knew they were going to use the timber, and the next generation was going to need timber as well. How are you planting spiritual forests now your kids lives, the lives of those around you, whatever it might be, pray for the generations we know God will be faithful to them. Will we be found faithful the part we have to play? Third and finally, take a bold step of obedience today to prove your all, to prove you fear the Lord, even as I say that, like, what was your little prick of conscience? Right? There we went, right? I should, I should do that. Maybe it’s got something to do with Christmas. Maybe you can sense your leaning into materialism with the gifts you’re hoping to receive or with the gifts you’re giving. Even maybe it has something to do with family, because you’ll probably have to see them this holiday season, and not everybody’s stoked about that. Maybe, you know there’s conflict that you are not responding to biblically. Maybe it’s even in this room and you’re going, boy, God made me right with him, and I can’t make things right with so and so maybe it is leaning into lament and the waiting, or maybe it’s leaning into joy. Maybe it’s sharing the good news we talked about this morning, proclaiming it to those who need to hear it, whatever it is, take that step of obedience. Why? Because you want to live in awe of God’s merciful faithfulness. Let’s pray to him now. You, Lord, You are indeed a God of mercy and love, and your faithfulness extends from generation to generation of those who fear you. And so Lord, we come before you now with fear, knowing who we are and who you are, but we come with gratitude and joy as well, because we know that you do not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities, that you have saved us. You’ve sent your Son into the world to be the Savior of the world, so that in him, we can return to you, be made at one with you once again. And so, Lord, help us to do that. Help us to live in awe of you and to live like we are in awe of you, because we seek to please you in all that we do show us how we can do that, even we today, we pray for Your name’s sake. Amen.

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Seeing and Singing December 1, 2024 | Brandon Cooper The sermon focuses on Mary’s song of praise, the Magnificat, in which she glorifies God as the mighty, transcendent Lord who has seen her humble state and done great things for her. Mary’s worship and joy response is a model for how believers should respond to God’s salvation, recognizing His power, holiness, and care for the lowly. The sermon emphasizes memorizing Scripture and listening to theologically rich music to fuel our praise. It calls the congregation to open their eyes to the needs around them and respond with the love of Christ.

Well, good morning church. You want to go ahead grab your Bibles. You can open up to Luke chapter one, starting in verse 46 this is where we will be for the next few weeks of the Advent season. Luke one, beginning in verse 46 as you’re turning there after the tragic death of Princess Diana and kind of the resulting discussion around what happened there, a number of nations and states enacted what are known as good samaritan laws, the idea being that we have a duty to help when it’s in our power to do so, like if you see a need, you should respond to it. You should be involved in the rescue process, if you can be. Now, it is interesting, by the way, that we have that those laws and the sense behind them, this duty to respond, because that is not a law of nature, by the way, right, like, if Darwin is right about where we come from, the only duty we have is the duty to save ourselves and our progeny, because we want to replicate our genes. So where does it come from? Then, this very innate sense that we should actually respond to need. It’s a law of love, of course, that is written on our hearts. And if there’s a law of love, presumably there is a law giver of love, a God of love, who stands behind it? And yet, there’s a question you might have asked, and you might be wondering it even right now, this God of love, does he see? And if he sees, why isn’t he acting? Shouldn’t he rescue why didn’t he step in in this moment or that moment? And the answer, of course, is that God sees and saves, not necessarily in our way or in our time, but always and ultimately. And that is exactly what Mary comes to understand, and what she prays through in this her prayer of response to the good news of the Savior coming into the world. Now, a little bit of context, since we’re kind of picking up in the middle of the story here with Mary’s prayer, first of all, some cultural context is where are we in Israel’s history? Right here, Israel is a province of Rome. At this point they’re a vassal state. I mean, yes, they have their own king, but he’s a puppet from Rome. And even then, he is not a Jewish king. He is a foreign king, King Herod, and he is a wicked man at that. So the wicked seem to be prospering, as they often do. Poverty and injustice are rampant. Where are God’s promises? Where is the promised King reigning on David’s throne? Where Is The Promised Prophet, like Moses, especially in these 400 years of silence between Malachi and this moment? Where is the promised priest to purify his people. For that matter, why isn’t Israel what it’s supposed to be? You read the prophets, you know that Israel is supposed to be a blessing to all nations, a light to the Gentiles, drawing them to the faith. And yet that’s not happening. God’s people, then are praying and pleading, some undoubtedly with faith and expectation. We know that there’s this messianic fervor brewing at this point, but others undoubtedly with doubt. Now Mary is one of the ones with faith and expectation, and so what’s the immediate context, then why does Mary Pray these words that we’re about to read? Mary is newly pregnant, and she travels to visit her older cousin, Elizabeth, quite a bit older. I don’t know, first cousin once removed, or if just one of those ones, I’m the fourth born of a fourth born, like some of my cousins, are a lot older than I am, if it’s something like that, much older. She goes to visit Elizabeth. When Elizabeth sees her John, John, the Baptist that is in her womb, leaps for joy, and that causes Elizabeth then to bless her cousin, Mary. And what we get here is Mary’s response this prayer that she offers. It’s a little bit interesting too, because we’ve had pretty rushed narrative up to this point, like months at a time, just condensed into a few prepositional phrases, and then people are leaping and all this kind of stuff, and then all of a sudden we just pause, we get this chance to sit and meditate with Mary on the meaning of Christmas. Of course, that meditation is really praise. We call this prayer the Magnificat, which is the Latin first word of this prayer, means magnifies. You can see it there. I’m sure my soul magnifies the Lord. We see what God is doing. We sing his praises. That is Mary’s response. We look at. A song of praise. Slowly, again, it’s going to take us four weeks to get through these few verses. That’ll be a welcome break after Daniel, yeah, like we still got PTSD from Daniel 11, so okay, this is gonna be so much nicer next week. We got one verse, still gonna be able to go 40 minutes, no problem, okay, but one verse little less reading at least. So we’re gonna learn a song of praise slowly, trying to squeeze every last drop from it, to really slow down and focus on that meaning and see precisely why we would sing praise to God. That will be our outline this morning as well. We sing because he’s what let me go ahead and read the prayer these verses that we’re gonna look at this morning, 46 to 49 I’ll go back through it some but here’s Mary’s song. And Mary said, My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on, all generations will call me blessed for the Mighty One has done great things for me. Holy is his name. All right, looking at those first two verses, then why do we sing? First of all, let’s note that this is not an unusual response to have an extended prayer of praise. Elizabeth’s Blessing has jolted Mary awake. It’s likely that she’s been in something of a daze since Gabriel came and announced the coming of Jesus to her, you can certainly understand why. First of all, not a lot of angelic visitations in your life, so that one’s gonna stick with you. And then also, she’s an unmarried teenager, and so she probably knew at the time what was coming, that she was gonna be cast out, that people were gonna start rumors about her, of course, all that kind of stuff. And so she’s dealing with all the fall out of that. I mean, yeah, I’m sure she is just in a daze. But when Elizabeth blesses her, she wakes up, she sees God has done something magnificent in her life and in our lives for that matter. And the proper response is praise. As I said, this is not unusual. We have a number of women in Scripture who do this exactly. Something amazing happens. God does something amazing, and they pray their praise. We see it with Deborah and her song with Miriam, as the people of God are coming out of slavery in Egypt and especially, we see it with Hannah. Hannah who is a barren woman, unable to have children, and she prays and prays and prays and asks God to open her womb. God does not always open wombs, but he does for Hannah, just like he did here for Elizabeth, who is post menopausal, and yet somehow just conceived this child, John. But what does Hannah do next? She burst forth in praise, dedicates Samuel, the son for whom she had prayed. She leaves him at the temple to serve the Lord. Mary would have known this story. Mary would have known Hannah’s words. She would have memorized them. In fact, the Jewish people at this time were the most literate people in the world, for good reason, because there were people of the book. But book was different back then. Book did not mean you had one on your bookshelf. It meant maybe there was one scroll, but one scroll in the town, in the synagogue. And so if you’re going to be thinking about Scripture all day long, guess what you’re doing. You’re doing, memorizing it. So that was a lot of their education was just memorizing huge chunks of Scripture. By the way, that does something different to you, doesn’t it? It’s interesting. Socrates, you know, he never wrote any books, right? Everything we know about Socrates, they come from guys like Plato and Xenophon. It’s because Socrates was opposed to writing because he knew that if people got books, they would get lazy, they would stop memorizing things. What
do you think Socrates would think about smartphones? I mean, you think of how different it is now where it’s like, even just a few decades ago, we at least had to go, Okay, I think it’s in Philippians. We’d have to have some knowledge of Scripture. Now you can just go, Hey, Siri, where’s that verse that’s supposed to encourage me here. By the way, Siri has no idea. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried this with AI. I’ve gotten really wrong verses before, so give up on AI. Memorize Scripture. Okay, is what we’re trying to say here. But so Mary would have known Hannah’s prayer. And you can imagine if she’s traveling to visit her cousin, she’s meditating on Hannah’s prayer during this three day journey, which is no surprise, then that’s what comes out of her mouth as we go through this, especially in the next coming weeks, we’re going to see that she is referencing Hannah’s prayer over and over and over again. These these themes, not much has changed. Of course, we still meditate on what we know and what we’ve memorized, especially song lyrics, of course, because song lyrics stick easier than other words, like you can’t meditate on what you don’t have in your brain, and there are some important applications that come out of that reality. The first one is. You probably guessed where I was going with this one. Memorize Scripture. Memorize scripture, and then let that scripture inform your praise, all right, so that your prayers, your worship, is scriptural like this is the one time when it’s really good to plagiarize just just to be quoting God’s word to himself. We did this just recently. In fact, my journey group, we were in Psalm 35 and we just took it a stanza at a time. We didn’t read the stanza, but we looked at the stanza, just went around the table, and each prayed what we saw of God’s character as worship to Him. It was this wonderful exercise, something that you could certainly do as well with any part of Scripture, not just the psalm. So memorize Scripture and then the second one, because again, a hand has a prayer. Is a song, Mary’s prayer here is a song, be really careful with your listening diet, like what you listen to. There’s a study done a few years back by a LifeWay Research was published as a book called nothing lesson. And one of the things that we’re looking at was the indicators, statistically significant indicators, of children who would remain in the faith. And a lot of them were like, of course, makes sense engagement with the Word of God. For example, was the top one? Yep, that’s gonna be the top one, because we’re born again through the living and enduring word of God. The one that caught me off guard, though, was their primary musical habit. Is Christian music. Is worship music One of the main indicators. But of course, it makes sense, because that’s just what gets in you, is what you listen to all day long, like if somebody were to shake you, what would come out Taylor Swift or Isaac Watts, because you got somebody’s lyrics in your brain. For sure, you’ll notice I said Isaac Watts there. If you don’t know him, you can Google him later. But I mentioned him because it’s not just listening to Christian music or, you know, like, what has the label Christian on if you ever put on Christian radio, which I don’t necessarily recommend, but you put on Christian radio, you know, I remember hearing a song once on Christian radio. It was all about this woman learning to forgive herself. That is not a Christian message, which is about the only person you know that you don’t need to forgive is yourself, because you love yourself all the time. You have sinned against a holy God, and you have certainly sinned against your neighbor. They need to forgive you. You do not need to forgive yourself. And yet, that’s what’s going into your brain. If that’s what you’re listening to, right? Maybe I do need to forgive myself. No, listen to music that is biblically rich, theologically accurate. It’s one of the reasons why we are so careful here with the songs that we sing together as a congregation, because we want to have songs that can inform your prayers. You know that when you’re going through a trial, you’ve got a song like Christ is mine forevermore in your back pocket. You can just be praying through those lyrics which will help you out. They helped my wife out in a really difficult time, for example, great application for parents too. By the way, we got parent commission today feels like a good day for it, right? Like you set the tone for your household. When it comes to memorization and music, you set the tone for your household. And by the way, you can mix the two. Of course, recommend things like seeds, family worship, which has a lot of Scripture set to music. Randall good game just has a new album out. It’s actually for church. Even about that great opportunities for us. But what praise does Mary offer and why? As we dig into the prayer itself. Now you notice we’ve got parallel. First lines, my soul glorifies the Lord. My spirit rejoices in God, my Savior, in peril, right? Soul, spirit, same subject, you know, verb, glorify, rejoice. And then we got an object, Lord, God, my Savior. And of course, those two are parallel as well. Although they’re not exact synonyms, are they not exact synonyms? Especially the second and third pairs, there’s this subtle building and deepening that’s happening. So my soul glorifies again, literally magnifies, makes big. So we can all see it. We talked about this before. When we talk about magnifying God’s glory, we’re not talking about a microscope. We’re talking about a telescope. A microscope makes something really small seem bigger than it is, but a telescope helps you see something that is just massive for the size that it actually is, or at least close to it. That’s what we’re doing. God is infinitely great and glorious, and we just gotta, like, blow him up in our minds so that we can actually see His goodness and glory. Notice she magnifies the Lord, specifically, Lord, as in the god she’s magnifying is king, ruler, Master, creator. We belong to Him. He is holy other. Because we are creatures. We are contingent beings. He is Creator and self existent. In other words, we are talking about his transcendence. Here. God is above and beyond us. The proper response to God’s transcendence is worship, to magnify the Lord, to help everyone see his bigness. But then in the second half, we get this subtle shift, because now Mary is rejoicing, just like John the Baptist leapt for joy in his mother’s womb, and she’s rejoicing in God, her savior, this transcendent God, the big God, the the God that maybe, if we weren’t careful, we would think of as kind of a far away God, right? Because he’s in heaven and I’m on Earth, and he’s wholly different than I am, that big, maybe far God draws near to us to Mary. The word for this is imminence. By the way, we use transcendence. Sometimes we don’t use imminence very often. It’s a great time of year to talk about imminence, because we get that word from Emmanuel, which means God with us. Imminence is God’s with us Ness, which is not a word, but I just made it up. Okay, so his imminence, like this God, who is big enough to deliver us, is, if I could put it this way, small enough to come near, to help us to care, to act, and the proper response to that knowledge is delight, delight. And she’s rejoicing in God, her savior. She she knows that God is Savior that he has, in fact, drawn near because with the conception of Jesus, Mary knows that God is coming to rescue his people, at last, although it is a limited understanding at this point, like Hannah, who’s thinking of her specific circumstances, like Deborah and Miriam, who are thinking of national circumstances, foreign oppressors, things like that. Most likely, Mary is thinking here of national deliverance and not spiritual salvation. She is hoping that God is coming to rescue her and her people from Caesar, not from sin. Now in the midst of horrific circumstances, it’s hard not to pray and even praise this way. If you and your family were starving and oppressed in a war torn country, your prayers would probably be circumstantial as well so often. But we do know better. Of course, Mary eventually knew better. We know the salvation God is bringing is infinitely better than what Mary was envisioning here, which is a good reminder for us, though, because so often we want to be delivered from our circumstances. Also, we often wonder where God is and why he’s not acting. Did Mary? I mean, even at the end of her life, of course, she is still poor, still oppressed, Caesar is still on the throne. There’s the reminder, right? God might not deliver you from certain trials,
but he will save you to the uttermost. He will deliver you in and through those trials. We can trust his way and trust His timing, but don’t just trust delight and sing. That’s more than trust right delight and sing. Look at who he is, transcendent and imminent, Lord and Savior, and praise Him. Right? We sing because he is majestic. We sing because he’s majestic, right? He is all this that we’ve talked about, and so much more even, and when we realize that we can’t help but glorify and rejoice. And we do that with our whole being. The one part of the parallelism we didn’t look at was soul and spirit, but you put those two together, and it’s like Mary saying with all of me, right, every part of who I am, this is the I that is singing here with her whole being. It’s like with David dancing before the ark of the Lord. It’s why we sing. Even we don’t come together to just mutter theological truths to each other. We sing, why with drums and guitar and all the way because we have to. It’s a bodily response. We lift our arms. We shout for joy to the Lord. We clap our hands. How could we not what I love, though, is that Mary is doing this in her time of private worship. You might call it a quiet time devotional. It’s fine. Those are good things. I don’t tend to call it a quiet time because it’s not always quiet what we do in that time, but our time of private worship. This is our goal, of course, that we would see who God is and sing. I like the way Charles Spurgeon talks about this. He says, I like sometimes to leave off praying and singing and to sit still and just gaze upward till my inmost soul has seen my Lord. Then I say he is in a. Lovely. Yea. He is all together, lovely. What is Spurgeon saying there? In other words, he’s saying, take the time to see and truly sing. And then we bring that I into the we into the gathering. We move from private worship to corporate worship, which magnifies the experience. You’ve heard of the mob mentality, right? Just the idea that people who are in a crowd will behave differently than they would by themselves. Usually, it’s a bad thing, but not always. Of course, you maybe have experiences. Even you ever watched a comedy by yourself, pay attention. You don’t laugh, not out loud, you watch that same movie with someone else, and you’re gonna snicker, right? We’re just we’re different when we’re around each other. Here’s the way Martin Luther put it. At home, in my own house, there’s no warmth or vigor in me, but in the church, when the multitude is gathered together, a fire is kindled in my heart and it breaks its way through so we sing alone and together, because he is majestic, not the only reason we sing, though. Let’s keep going. Here’s verse 48 again, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on, all generations will call me blessed so Mary gives her reasons for glorifying and rejoicing in her lord and savior. The first thing she points out here in this verse is that he has seen her. It’s translated as he has been mindful, but it reads literally, he saw me. He saw what has he seen? This is a great question. I mean, look at what she says, even, of course, he has seen not her good works, not her faith, not her saintliness, no, he has seen her need. That is what God has seen. Her humble estate. She is, as Kent Hughes put it, a nobody from no place she cannot deliver herself like Hannah. Couldn’t make herself conceive like Deborah and Miriam. No way we’re going to defeat these foreign oppressors without help. She needs God to rescue her in the same way that we need God to rescue us, because this is how all of us must come to God. Through Jesus Christ, we come in humility. I mean the generations arise and call her blessed. Of course, Jesus blessed us as well. How does he describe our blessed estate? We looked at this earlier this year in the Sermon on the Mount. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn. And we talked about this, then that means mourning sin, those who grieve because of the sin in their lives, those the ones who are blessed, the ones who come to God and say nothing in my hand I bring only to the cross, I cling. This is why she also calls herself God’s servant. Here words not actually servant. There’s a word for servant that’s not the one that’s used here. It’s slave, but slave grates on our ears. We don’t tend to use that word as much, but it’s a slave. How does a slave come to a master? A slave comes before a master with no expectations. You don’t get to come and complain about working conditions or something like that. That’s not how it happens, and we recognize that’s how we stand before the Lord. God owes us nothing because of our sin. So we come in humility, as St Augustine put it, for those who would learn God’s ways, humility is the first thing. Humility is the second thing, humility is the third, but it is very good news that Mary describes herself in this way, because we also have nothing in us to commend ourselves to God. We contribute nothing to our salvation except the sin from which we need to be saved. Ours is a humble estate as well. We are the lowly, but that’s the message of Christmas, of course. Like that’s okay. The message of Christmas is that Jesus comes to the lowly as the lowly makes himself like one of us. This confuses the wise men, the Magi, doesn’t it? Where do they go to look for this newborn King? Jerusalem, the capital, the palace, and meet with King Herod. They don’t go to this backwater town, the back room where King is lying in a manger, anything like that. He comes to those who see their need and seek help, who cry out to Him for deliverance, and this is why Jesus said it’s the poor and the foolish and the weak and the sinful who are entering the kingdom of God before the rich and wise and strong and self righteous, because that latter group doesn’t recognize their humble estate and their need. So we sing then because he. Is mindful we sing because he’s mindful. He’s seen and responded. He is the original Good Samaritan. Didn’t leave us on the side of the road, didn’t leave us in our humble estate, but came to us. Mary continues her praise, though right from now on, all generations will call me blessed, which is a little bit interesting. It feels like it doesn’t necessarily follow. Now there is a missing conjunction in the NIV, probably because there are, like too many of them in a row, right? We get four. He has been mindful, because from now on, all generations will call me blessed four. The Mighty One has done great things for me. So it’s a lot of reasons in a row, but, but it makes sense, right? Because she’s saying he’s been mindful of the humble state of his servant. Because, like, who am I? Who am I that future generations should call me blessed. So she is continuing her thought exactly, God has seen her in her humble estate. But what does God do with the humble? Says it over and over and over again in Scripture, God exalts the humble, but opposes the proud, which we’ll get to verses 51 to 53 by the way, later in this series. So from now on, because God has exalted the humble, so from now on, we’ve entered this new era in salvation history, everyone will know her name, which certainly everyone does rightly. She is truly blessed. God has lavished his blessing on her. You want to think about what this looks like. I mean, did Jesus have her eyes, her nose, her hair color like that’s how remarkable. This is absolutely amazing. But what’s even more amazing is that if we are in Christ, the same is true of us. People will call us blessed, and God will bless us. Jesus says as much. Matthew 25 verse 34 says, right after the parable the sheep and the goats, and it says, Then the King will say to those on his right, Come you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. And then John tells us, first, John, three, two. We know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him. Now we might not have his eyes or his nose or his hair color because he has passed on not his physical but his spiritual DNA, but we have it, we will look like Jesus. We can praise him for that. What
does that look like? John actually goes on the very next verse and says, All who have this hope purify themselves. So one way we praise God is by putting sin to death and practicing holiness. Because it’s not just our mouths, but our whole lives that should sing of His glory. We sing because he’s majestic. We sing because he’s mindful. And then one more reason. Let’s keep reading. Verse 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me. Holy is his name. So this is the second reason Mary gives for glorifying and rejoicing in her Lord and Savior, and it’s because he has done great things for her and for all of us. Psalm 126, verse three, the Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy salvation. History is just a history of God’s great, mighty deeds on behalf of his people, but we have a personal history too. Have you kept a record of God’s faithfulness to you, like even now, when I mentioned that, what comes to mind for you, how God has proven himself to you over and over and over again, if you are in Christ, that list should be really, really long. Here’s some really big ones, right? Like He has revealed Himself to you. He opened your blind eyes. He took your heart of stone and replaced it with a heart of flesh. He regenerated you. He’s renewing you. He will restore you. And he has carried you through the trials that you have faced. He has provided for you again and again and again. You think like this, and you should start to sound like the Psalms, right? Here’s Psalm 71 verses 15 to 19. My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts, all day long, though I know not how, how to relate them all. I will come and proclaim Your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord, I will proclaim Your righteous deeds, yours alone. Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds, even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation. I love that, by the way, he’s like You can forsake me. Just let me finish my story. First, your mighty acts to all. Are to come your righteousness. God reaches to the heavens. You who have done great things, who is like you? God, may that be your song. But why mighty one? We talk about this sometimes right when we pray to God, we want to choose our address carefully, Mary certainly is. She’s being inspired by the Holy Spirit here. Why Mighty One of all the things she could have said of God? What makes sense? Because look at the promise up a little ways. Caden read it for us just a moment ago. Luke 135 The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God, that’s impossible. That’s impossible. Well, with man, with God, all things are possible. And that’s the point, right? And in fact, Angel even goes on to say that in verse 36 Even Elizabeth, your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. That was impossible, too, and it just happened, for no word from God will ever fail. Verse 37 that’s what makes him the mighty one. He does the impossible holy is his name. And again, why? Holy here? Holy meaning set apart here. We’re not talking about God’s moral perfection, although that is true, but his unique sovereign authority, again, the God who is holy, other is king. So we praise His Holiness. We praise His power. Why? Well, first reason is because none of us would have thought of this. None of us thought God was going to save us like this. I know that’s true, by the way, because you look at every other religion on the planet, and they’re all devised by humans, and they all end up being exactly the same. You need to try harder. You need to make yourself acceptable before the Lord. Karma makes sense to us. Grace does not. We would not have come up with this on our own, that God Himself would come in the flesh and rescue us from ourselves through His substitutionary death. No one would have dreamed of that. But even if we could have thought of it, we couldn’t have done it. We couldn’t have done it. Only God can do it, and so all the glory is His. So we sing because He is mighty. We sing because he’s mighty, he is able to bring about his sovereign purposes, to deliver his people in the most unexpected ways. Let me summarize where we’ve been so far. God’s people, that’s you and me, by the way, are humbled and helpless, unable to deliver themselves, physically or spiritually. Injustice and oppression so often seem to rule the day. It’s as though the fabric of the world has been ripped. We need help. Does God see? Does God care? Will God act? Well, there’s no question. God sees verse 48 he has seen the humble state of his servant, and God does verse 49 the Mighty One has done great things for us. That is why he sends his son, because he saw and he responded. In fact, he God sees more and does better than we expect, because he comes not just bringing physical deliverance, but spiritual salvation. That’s why his name is Jesus. As the angel says, right, you’re to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. Yeshua, yeah, ya be sure. Saves. God saves. The LORD Saves. This baby didn’t come to throw off the Roman yoke, but to throw off sins yoke to defeat death and reconcile us to God. And he did so at cost to himself, at the cost of Jesus’s very life, so we can’t possibly question His love, because that’s what love is, to lay down your life for your friends. This baby was born to die in our place, to deliver us from ourselves. What do you do with that? Well, that’s the big idea. Our takeaway from today, when we see what God has seen and done, when we see that, when we see the glory of the gospel we sing, how could we not? Do you believe God sees and responds? Do you believe that God sees and responds again. How could you not? Because the proof is in the Incarnation, in this baby, born to Mary, in His perfect life and substitutionary death, his triumphant resurrection, His glorious ascension, his ongoing intercession and His soon return. Has that. Knowledge led you to glorify and rejoice. And here’s a diagnostic question for you, where you’re like I don’t know. Am I glorifying and rejoicing? What do your prayers look like? Is it only ever petitions, or is every petition wrapped in praise and thanksgiving? Every time God shows up, he always sees. He always responds. Even in our trials, we know that we’ve see, that he’s seen and we sing. We can take it one step farther, though, as we close because we saw in first John already, we know that we will be like Jesus, we will be like God, which means we should be learning to do this ourselves. So open your eyes. Look at the needs around you. See and respond. Now it is different than how God responded, of course, because our response is in his power and for His glory, but still, we can see and respond. Christmas is such a great time to practice this instead of strengthening ourselves in self, love and greed, which is the mold culture would squeeze us into in this time, that’s why we do things like missionary Christmas, an Operation Christmas, child and Angel Tree and the outreach, your Christmas story. Like, I felt bad with all these announcements, right? Like, man, that’s a lot on you go, No, this is a great time for that to go, right? He saw and he responded. So we can see and we can respond. It is good that December is the time of year when giving is the highest, because as the time of year when we remember the greatest gift of all. But it’s not just our financial needs that God saw or that we see. What about the emotional, the physical, and especially the spiritual needs? What people need from you in December is the gift of your presence, not your presence. That’s really hard to say. It looks good in writing, though, I promise you. And sit with the lonely, listen to the ignored, touch the leprous, write the isolated. Pray with the hurting, serve the struggling, and above all, the most loving thing you can do, proclaim the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ that God saw us in our need and responded. Proclaim that to those who need to hear it. When we see what God has seen and done, we sing and when we see what God sees, we seek to help. Let’s pray.
Lord, our souls magnify you, and our spirits rejoice in you, God, our Savior, because you saw us in our need and you acted there was nothing in us to merit your salvation, the whole reason we’re in the mess from which we needed to be delivered is because we’d rebelled against you, our good and gracious King, and yet still you saw you had mercy, you had compassion, you had grace, you had love, and you acted. You sent Your Son to save us this Christmas season, Lord, may we be reminded of that truth, and may our hearts overflow with praise to You. May we sing Lord together in our times of private worship. May we sing as we’re shopping because Carols are playing in stores. May we sing to our neighbors that they might hear this good news. And may we also act like you Lord, as you make us like Christ, conform us to his image, so that we see and respond to the needs of others around us too. May you be magnified in us as we serve others. We pray for Your name’s sake Amen.

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The God Who Provides November 27, 2024 | Reeve Sam The sermon explores the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath, using it to encourage thankfulness to God in all circumstances – for taking away, for providing, and even for suffering. It explains how the drought and famine were God’s means of revealing himself as the true provider, in contrast to the false god Baal, and highlights how the widow’s suffering led her to acknowledge her sin and seek help from Elijah, resulting in miracles of provision and restoration. The sermon emphasizes that true thanksgiving comes from recognizing God’s sovereignty over all of life, including life and death, and trusting in his redemptive work through Jesus Christ.

Yeah, I’ve been forced by some kids to say, welcome to the Thanksgiving Reeves service. Happy Thanksgiving. Cityview family turn with me to 1 Kings 17, 7-24 and as you go there, let me tell you a story. My family got to America at the end of 2019 and my dad went job hunting for months, day in and day out, sending in applications, trying to find a place that would hire an immigrant that just moved into the country. And this was definitely one of the hardest seasons of my family’s life, and it can’t be the hardest and scariest seasons for the life of an immigrant after many months, finally, a pharmaceutical company responded to his application, and my dad started rejoicing. He was so grateful that the Lord provided him a job, and it was a pretty good job. And see, my dad is a very prayerful man, very compassionate and very trusting of the Lord. After all, it took us 14 years to get our visas approved, and if God provided for us, then surely God will provide for us now. So he takes this check, he gleefully, goes to the bank, and he gives it to the teller. And as he gives this check to the teller, the teller looks at the check, looks at him, looks back of the check and says, We can’t cast just that check. This is a fake check. My dad was shocked and startled, and he says, Are you sure this cannot be true? Except it was true. My dad’s first response after months of trying to find a job was a deviously orchestrated scam. I remember him coming home feeling so defeated and telling me about how he felt so disheartened that he, for the first time, felt a sense of hopelessness. Can I trust God? Is he really going to provide? I know moments like this are in foreign to us. Surely at some point in your life, maybe it was a job opportunity, or maybe it was just struggles and providing in any sort of form, whatever it may be, you have asked the same question, Lord, can I really trust you? Will you really provide? And maybe if we can answer that, we might actually be able to thank God for the various situations in our life. So let us look to the Word of God to answer that for us. As Ceely just read, this is the case of Elijah and the widow Zarephath in First Kings, 17 seven to 24 and before I break down to see how God’s provision in all of this, let me set the stage for you. The relationship between Ahab, the king of Israel at the time, and his wife, Jezebel, was one that led people away from worshiping the one true God, Yahweh to worshiping Baal, the Water God of Sidon. See, water meant harvest. Harvest meant daily provisions, money, keep them going. So it just made sense to worship somebody who would give us what we need. This isn’t just true to them. Of course, it’s true about us. It doesn’t really take much for us to stop coming to church and communing with this family when what we think is most essential in our lives takes priority over God. We make Gods out of the things we think about the most. Keeping this idea in mind, let me suggest to you three ways in which we ought to be thankful in light of the story, beginning with thank God for taking away in verses seven to 12, we see that the Lord God of Israel takes away the rain from the land, not just in Israel, but also in Sidon, where he ends up sending Elijah. He tells Elijah to go to this Phoenician land, where a widow will supply him with food. But as he goes there and finds this widow and makes this request, she says, I don’t have any bread, only a handful of flour and a jog and a little oil left before we even see God providing for Elijah and this widow, we have to ask, why did he cut the water supply in the first place? It seems so counter intuitive, because we have this version of God where He provides. So why would he remove? Given the context we know that this was so that the chosen people of God and the Gentiles of the world would know that God alone, Yahweh alone, is the living God. Since Baal is who the people of Israel and Sidon believed was providing water for them, it only makes sense for God to remove their water. Hosea two, five to eight helps us picture Israel failing to acknowledge who God is and how they lusted after. Baal, it goes like this. She Israel said, I will go after my lovers who give me my food and my water, my wool and my linen, my olive oil and my drink. Therefore I God will block her. Path with thorn bushes. I will wall her in so she cannot find her way. She will chase after her lovers but not catch them. She will look for them but not find them. Then she will say, I will go back to my husband as at first, for then I was better off than now. She is not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold, which they used for Baal. To you, this text may be just graphic, but to God, this text is a heartbreak. This text is not just to dig at the Israelites who failed to honor God. It is a call to you who’ve been given in abundance and still live a separate life from him. We’re so blessed. And I say that as someone who’s lived in three different countries, it is not close how much more we have in comparison to the world, and maybe we do need a lot of these things taken away from us so we can come before God and pray, Give us this day our daily bread, and actually mean it, and know that he’s been faithful in providing for us. Our abundance has clouded our faith. So the only time we acknowledge God is when something impacts our comfort. And if you are in a place where you have attributed all these blessings to yourself and you’re gripping so tightly to the things of the world, hear this message. Let go before it is taken from you, if not in this life, then definitely in the life to come, we need to thank God for taking away from us. All that stops us from taking ourselves to him. Thank God for taking away. Secondly, thank God for giving in verses 13 to 16, we see God’s response to the widow’s lack of resources. Elijah said to her, don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said, But first make me a small loaf of bread for me for what you have, and bring it to me. And then make something for yourself and your son, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug will not run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the land. She went away and did it, as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the women and for her family, for the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord, spoken by Elijah, this whole sequence is nothing short of a miracle. In fact, it is an absolutely profound miracle asking anything of a widow, especially now, but definitely back then, especially to provide just sounds like a contradiction. Being a widow implied poverty and abject need. See a widow in Iron Age Israel didn’t attend night school or gain computer skills and work at the local medical clinic, nor did she babysit children of women in the workforce. Widowhood was a dead end street. So then, why does God send Elijah to a widow in the first place. Well, we know it isn’t because he anticipated her to provide for him. God did not send Elijah to this widow because God needed something from the widow. Nor did God send Elijah to this widow because she needed something from Elijah. They both needed God, and God used both of them as instruments of His grace. For Elijah, God used the widow’s deficiency of resources to bring forth abundance. For the widow, God used the sufficiency of His Word through Elijah to bring forth sustenance. And we get a glimpse of this in the life of Jesus. And we’ve heard this story before in Matthew 14:17-21 we have here only five loaves of bread and two fish. They answered, bring them here to me, he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass, taking the five loaves and two fish and looking up to heaven. He gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people, they all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up 12 basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about 5000 men, besides women and children, every morning for this widow, was a fresh episode of the faithfulness of Yahweh to his promise, the word of Yahweh that can bring forth a famine, can at the same time sustain anyone he wills imagine thinking you’re about to die with no food, and now you get pancakes every morning. That sounds pretty bad. I’m a waffle guy myself. Nonetheless, God’s provision is absolutely unfathomable, and maybe we don’t feel this, because this feels like a story way back when God used to work in miraculous ways. But let me remind you that every single thing you have is by the grace of God, and that is a miracle you. It’s a miracle that you have a home, a family, a church, community, friends to trust. Thank God. Thank God for giving us sufficiently everything we need, day in and day out and more. Lord, I pray that you help us see that we need to receive these mercies as yours. Thank you, God for giving. And finally, the third point in this is a tough one, thank God for suffering. Something we aren’t promised in this life is comfort. If there’s something that the Bible actually assures us of is that suffering will come upon us, whether that’s because we live in a world of sin, or whether it’s because we follow Jesus, suffering is just inevitable, and we see in verse 12, the widows was experiencing a kind of suffering. She didn’t have enough food, so she and her son were about to eat their final meal and die. It’s almost certain none of us in this room probably experienced that kind of lack of resources, even in joblessness and even in circumstances where we feel like we don’t have enough. We have way more than we think. But this widow, she did experience such a deep, deep suffering she thought she was going to die because of the lack of food, but then she experiences the favor of the Lord and is provided for morning after morning. And in verse 17, we get an abrupt, dramatic twist one way, her son died and food wasn’t the problem anymore. See, food, clothing, shelter, career, are all problems that arise when we have people to live with. There’s something about people that adds meaning into our lives. When this widow lost her child, she realized one thing she lost, the only thing in her life that gave her life meaning. So in deep agony, she runs to Elijah and says, What do you have against me? O man of God, did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son? It almost sounds as though she’s complaining, but considering that she lived plenty more days, potentially years, with God’s provision, with God providing for her. Question is earnest. She lived in the abundance of God’s provision, but didn’t acknowledge her sin until the source of meaning in her life was taken away. When your child is when your trial is as great as this widows, what will your response be? She went to the only person that could bring her any comfort, she went to the man of God, Elijah. And what does Elijah do? He laments. Elijah takes her son, lays him down in the upper room, and cries out to the Lord, look at verses 20 and 21 Lord, my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I’m staying with by causing her son to die. Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to Him. Lord my God, have you brought tragedy? Lord my God, let this boy’s life return. These are words of lament. That is the language of suffering. It doesn’t make sense to experience such a devastating loss, such a meaningless moment in Elijah ticket to the Lord and cried out to recognize the beauty of Elijah’s tears, we need to ask who didn’t earnestly cry out to God, the chosen people of God, the Israelites. Isaiah, 65:1 helps to see this, I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me. I was found by those who did not seek Me to a nation that did not call my name. I said, here? Am I? Here? Am I? This is God saying I was ready to help you, but you never asked. I was ready to be found, but you were never looking. I called out to you, though you did not call my name. God is doing something so redemptive when this widow approaches Elijah, and Elijah intercedes on her behalf, what the chosen people of God failed to do this widow did. She acknowledged her sin. She acknowledged that sin brought upon death and approached Elijah, and Elijah, without dismissing or lost, brought forth an intercession on behalf of the widow to God and CD view, our God is not silent. God is not silent now and he wasn’t silent back then. God hears. God hears Elijah’s prayers and answers him by restoring the life of the widow’s son. And then we see another miracle, the widow’s response. Now, I know that you are a man of God, and that the word from the Lord, from your mouth is the truth. I. The suffering she experienced was a revelation in light of the resurrection of her son, what she knew about God till the loss of her son was that God can provide, but even Baal can do that if water is all she needed, at least that’s what she thought when she lost her son, is when she realized there’s something far more threatening than not having food or water. That’s when she realized she is experiencing true loss. Matthew 1028 says, Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who destroys both the body and soul in hell. See, this is what she realized. Yahweh is not just in control of what she needs to survive. He doesn’t just give food, water, money, sex. Yahweh is in control of life. He gives life. It is in her suffering she realizes who God is, but we can’t leave this message with the wrong idea about suffering. Look, it’s easy to thank God when the miracle comes, but what about when it doesn’t come? In fact, in this story, if you looked to First Kings 19, you see that during this famine, there were more than 7000 Israelites that did not bow down to Baal, but suffered the famine, and some even died. Thinking about the trials we face. What about when your child passes away? Well, unexpectedly, a close friend has a terminal illness. When you get news that just doesn’t make sense. How can we thank God? Then? Why should I trust him? As Christians, we don’t know why suffering exists, but we know what it doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love us. Hebrews 12 two shows a God who embodied love by enduring the suffering for the joy set before me, endured the cross, scorning its shame. Second, Corinthians 521, God made Him. God made Jesus, who had no sin, become sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Jesus took on our sinful flesh and put it to death, the death we deserve for our sin. He died on our behalf, and he gave us life in Him, we might experience loss, we might even go through some incomprehensible pain, but we will never know what it means to truly suffer the eternal death that Christ did, because in the midst of suffering, God sent His Son to experience the greatest injustice, the greatest suffering, Christ, Jesus, suffered the eternal wrath of the Father for our sins so that we may have eternal Life with him, In Him forever. Thank God for suffering, because in that we see how involved he is in our lives, in our suffering. If you’re here today and don’t know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then invite Him into your life and know that what this world offers is nothing, nothing, in comparison to the life we can have in Jesus, He gives us all the reasons to be thankful. See, this is why we can trust God, because in Christ, God did take away all our sin. He did give us the righteousness of Christ, Jesus, as Christ, Jesus suffered on our behalf that we may experience life and life to its fullest. I want to close with the words of Paul to the Thessalonians who are suffering greatly for Christ and to this greatly persecuted church. Paul says, in First Thessalonians, 516, to 18, rejoice, always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for your life. This is what Christ did when he came to the earth. This is what we’re called to do as followers of Christ. And this here in verse 18, is the big idea. Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will in your life. Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will in your life. Pray with me.

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Waiting in Exile November 24, 2024 | Brandon Cooper The world cannot be fixed, only remade by God, so we must endure suffering and wait patiently for His final deliverance. Though the timing of events is unknown, the wise will understand God’s purposes and lead others to righteousness, while the wicked will continue in their sin. We are called to live holy, obedient lives, trusting that God will fulfill His promises and save those who turn to Him. The most important thing is to do what we are supposed to do, not try to figure out what we don’t need to know.

All right, you can go ahead and grab your Bibles, then open up to Daniel chapter 12. Daniel chapter 12. We will wrap up the series in Daniel this morning. So as you’re turning to Daniel chapter 12, maybe this has happened to you many, many, many times. You know, you sit down with a friend, maybe somebody you haven’t seen for a little while. Maybe it’s somebody you go to for help, whatnot. And so you’re sharing a current struggle that’s going on in your life, and you’re sharing it with a little bit of emotion, because that’s what happens and all of that. So you share this struggle, your friend is listening what happens next. Almost every single time the friend will start offering solutions. Here’s what you need to do. Have you tried this? And why is it because you’ve done the same thing too to your friends. You know that, right? So why is it that we immediately start fixing things? I mean, one of them, of course, is that we don’t like messes. We don’t like messy people, and so if I can fix you quickly, then you won’t be a burden to me anymore. Let’s just own that that’s not good, but that’s true, but there’s also this element of human hubris in it, like the idea we believe we can fix anything that is broken. So give me 10 or 15 minutes, and I will fix your problems. We think about this. You know, everywhere in the world are your eyes going? There’s LASIK, do you not like your boss? There’s LinkedIn, global poverty, okay, that one’s trickier, but still, we got a couple of strategies that we can employ, and pretty soon, we will take care of this. You need revival in your church or community? Well, have we got a conference for you. I mean, how many sermons are actually just techniques in disguise? Follow these six simple steps and you’ll be sin free in a year. There’s just one problem with all this. Not everything can be fixed. Not everything can be fixed. I’m the dad. That means I’m the fixer in my home. And occasionally small children, boys in particular, will bring me something that they have just broken. Happened this week, in fact, and Dad, can you fix this? And sometimes I can. That’s what super glue is for, and that’s the only tool I know how to use. But sometimes yes, but sometimes no. And so it did. It happened this week where they brought me something and I went, buddy, this one, like, I can’t do anything, like wear this snap that can glue it and you will snap it again. It’s over. I mention that because that’s kind of what dad is telling us in this passage, and in apocalyptic generally, apocalyptic reminds us that this world can’t be fixed. We are not just one tweak away from paradise. This world can’t be fixed. This world needs to be remade. Which reminds us, then that we are in a waiting room of sorts. Do what we talked about this morning sermon is waiting in exile. Waiting rooms are no fun. No one wants to be in a waiting room, especially if you’re waiting for news that could kind of go one way or the other. Will the judge take this case or not? You know? So there are these questions that we ask when we are in the waiting room, and that’s what we’re going to look at this morning, although it’s interesting, because God actually gives us the answer first, and then we start asking our questions. And so there’s your outline, but let’s dig in as we go. Daniel, chapter 12, we’ll start with the answer. Verses one to four. At that time, Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as not happen from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time, your people, everyone whose name is found written in the book, will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens and those who lead many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever. But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end, many will go here and there to increase knowledge. This is the theological and literary climax of the book of Daniel, where we finally read of God’s final deliverance of his people. I mean, this is what we’ve been waiting for all along. I mean, Daniel is in exile, right? And he’s waiting for his people, for the Jewish people, to be rescued out of exile. Of course, we see there’s a bigger issue, a spiritual exile, that’s being addressed as well. Now this does continue the vision of last week. Daniel, chapter 11, really, I should have gone through verse chapter 12, verse four, last week. But long enough covered enough last week, right? So that’s why we kept this one until now. But it continues the vision of last week. So when he says at that time, what time are we talking about? We’re talking about the time of the Southern King’s demise. You weren’t here, or you don’t remember southern King near the end of the. 11, we are now talking about some big figure, the Antichrist, the one who is greater than Antiochus, the fourth who is pictured, but he’s just this image of what is coming now. Last week, we had the the bad news of judgment on the unrepentant wicked, the hard news this week, we get the positive vision. There will be a period of great distress, yes, during which Michael, who is the patron angel of Israel, or something like that, will arise and do battle against God’s enemies. This is a good reminder. Again, we hit a little bit of angelology as we’ve gone through Daniel because they show up at a few points, but angels are more involved in our lives than we probably realize most of the time. Hebrews 13 tells us that some of us have entertained angels unaware. One reason you open your home at Thanksgiving, you never know if it’s gonna be an angel or something. Okay, so that’s what’s happening. Angelic intervention is necessary for the perseverance of God’s people. God uses them in our lives. In other words, here’s Psalm 91, verses 11 and 12. For He, God will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. So God sends His angels, and his angels are the ones who are holding us, at least in that case, the hosts of heaven, in other words, are being deployed by God on these daring rescue missions. They are God’s heavenly seal, Team Six, and they come here. Michael leads the way. Well, how does it end this, this battle that that Michael wages, then we have final deliverance for those whose names are written in the book, presumably the book of life that Revelation talks about. In other words, we’re talking about Final deliverance, not just from Babylon, not just from Persia and from exile. We are talking about salvation itself, which is where we go in the next verse, those who sleep will wake some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. This is a really important verse, because this is the clearance, clearest reference in the old testament to the individual resurrection of people, either to eternal life or eternal death. Now, Jews believed in a national resurrection of sorts. You can see this Ezekiel 37 the vision of the valley of dry bones. For example, there’s a resurrection of God’s people. Or Hosea six, verse two, which has this idea of, after two days He will restore us, and on the third day he will revive us. Sorry, flip those around, he will revive us. Third day He will restore us. Now, both of those passages kind of have this sense of like, well, is this a spiritual revival, or is it really physical? Well, by Hosea 13, verse 14, we are definitely in physical Hosea says, I will deliver this people from the power of the grave. I will redeem them from death. Where O death are your plagues, where O grave is your destruction, which is, of course, quoted by Paul in First Corinthians, 15. So there is going to be this national physical resurrection. But if you’re going to raise a nation, of course, you’re going to have to raise the individuals of the nation. So it’s no surprise that we get this individual resurrection as well. Isaiah, 2619 for example, your dead will live, Lord, their bodies will rise. But what’s different here in Daniel 12 is the double resurrection. Again, resurrection, some to eternal life, some to eternal condemnation. And this resurrection is presented as the foundation of Daniel’s and our hope. And here’s the thing to provide hope. It does need to be that double resurrection, which is hard to hear. It is hard to read about some people being raised to everlasting contempt. But what else can a loving God do? It is love that motivates God’s judgment. Why? Because when you love someone, you hate, whatever it is that is destroying them, and what is destroying us is sin and evil. And so God, if he’s gonna remake this world without evil, again, that’s a vision that we’ve got here. You’re gonna remake the world without evil. There are only two options, either God can eliminate the evil in our hearts, or God is going to have to eliminate evil people,
if evil won’t get out of our hearts. I mean, like God could either eliminate racism, or he can eliminate racists. God can get rid of sexual immorality, or he can get rid of. Sexually immoral, but he has to do one or the other, or some combination of both, or otherwise, heaven would very quickly become hell if he lets it in then, I mean, God created the world perfect, and we broke it right? And if God lets us, in our current state, into heaven, we will break it. We will break it. So he’s gonna have to deal with this sin somehow. Now here’s the thing. God has provided every possible means of escape, every possible means of escape, like we can have the evil in our hearts eliminated when we come to Christ in repentance and faith, he has made away. We talked about this last week, right? And before he brings the flood, God has Noah build an ark. Anyone can get on the boat. No one does, just Noah’s family, but anyone could get on that boat. Well, God has sent a better Ark. His name is Jesus. Anyone can be saved from the storm of God’s coming wrath, if they will enter in. Jesus. CS Lewis said at one point, in the long run, the answer to all those who object to the doctrine of Hell is itself a question. What are you asking God to do if you want to get rid of hell? What are you asking God to do to wipe out their past sins and, at all costs, to give them a fresh start, smoothing every difficulty and offering every miraculous help, because he has done so on Calvary. It’s already been done. And so if the wicked Remember, all of us are wicked, we come into this world wicked. If the wicked will not repent, they cannot come in to heaven. Hell is God’s quarantine, so the evil does not infect the good place he is remaking. That is why judgment is part of the hope of resurrection. Because again, what’s the big problem in this world? Well, as we look around, the big problem is wickedness, evil, sin, right? And one of the problems is that the wicked seem to prosper, like if you were just to read the newspaper, you would not have a clear sense that this world is a moral place, that good will triumph over evil, that light will triumph over darkness from the Holocaust of the Holodomor. We’ve got proof after proof that sometimes the wicked prosper. Millions of Jews killed, millions of Ukrainians starved to death under Hitler and Stalin and Hitler met an untimely end, and Stalin lived, died a natural death, sometimes wicked seems to prosper. Will they prosper ultimately? Will the poor and oppressed and weak and marginalized go on being trampled forever when the answer is an unequivocal no thank God. History will come to a climax, and God will separate the repentant from those who will not repent. And then we get, in this vision, a little bit more about what the repentant look like in verse three, those who are wise will shine. You know, Jesus said, Let your light shine before others. And here we see that we will go on shining forever like stars in the heaven. The wise will those who, like Daniel, seek God’s truth, live in light of it, and then lead others to do so too, to lead many to righteousness. Really interesting, by the way, those are our 3l here at Cityview, aren’t they? Who seek God’s truth, they learn from Jesus, and they’re live like Jesus, to meet you in love like Jesus, and then you’re going to use that influence to affect others. You’re going to lead, for Jesus’s sake, for the sake of His kingdom. I find it so interesting that Paul in Philippians two, he actually references this verse here. He says that if we live godly lives, basically, he says, then you will shine among them, shine among the warped and crooked generation, like stars in the sky, as you hold firmly to the word of life, but that’s now, and Daniel’s talking about eternity. In other words, what we are in this life, we will be in the life to come, only perfected. So we should go on learning from Jesus, loving like Jesus, and leading for Jesus. Then we come to verse four, though, which is interesting, because this all seems like really important information, and so if people need to know it, why is it being sealed up? Well, we have to understand what the seal is doing. This is not hiding God’s revelation, but preserving it. So when a king would make a decree, they would have a duplicate copy written out, sealed placed in the records room so that you could go back and look and go, oh, oh, right. That’s what the king said back you see that right after the Jews returned from exile, and they get some opposition, and they’re like, no Cyrus told us we could come back and rebuild the temple and rebuild Jerusalem, and they go, and they find that sealed copy, go, Oh, yes, oh yes, you were right. So that’s what’s happening here. We have a copy sealed and placed in the vault. So we know God’s plan. We know that he will keep it because it’s been sealed, even if we don’t know every detail of how it will shake out. We know his plan, and we know that he’ll bring it to fruition. And that encourages us to persevere. And we know the truth. But you see at the end of verse four, then others will scurry about looking for it. Now you read that, many will go here and there to increase knowledge. And it sounds positive. It probably is not, because it’s a reference to Amos 812, Amos says people will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it. And that’s a problem, right? Because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. It’s the beginning of wisdom. So if you’re going to try and increase knowledge, and you’re not starting with God’s word, with the fear of the Lord, you’re not actually going to find it. We have to listen to him. We have to study his word, the image here, people going here and there, looking for anything else, basically, to figure out how to live. And so this is a good reminder for us. So like, if you are here this morning and you are still questioning Christianity, like you’re here because you’re checking things out, you are in the right place, that’s what this verse is saying. Why? Because it’s imperative that you seek truth, not just people’s opinions, but God’s truth. And it’s imperative that you seek it because of how much it matters, which we just saw in verse two, like it matters eternally. So I would encourage you here. Now I didn’t realize I just said that, like, you gotta find God’s truth, and you’re like, well, that’s my question. Is this God’s truth or not. I can’t get into all that right now, but, but let me ask you this, if you’re hearing questioning, how likely is it? Like, what percentage chance would you assign to the idea that Jesus’s claims about himself are true? Like, what are the chances that Jesus is who He says He is? Is it 50% 30% maybe even just 10% for you fine, even if it’s 10% it’s worth investigating, because of how important it is. Like you don’t want to be on your deathbed going, I should have checked that out. I should have looked into that more. So do it? Do it now, read His word the Bible. Start with Mark, start with John, one of the Gospels, read His Word, and keep coming to this gathering because you want to read the word in community. Of course, don’t seek truth in vain, but find the word of the Lord. This, then is the end of the vision which we started all the way back in chapter 11, verse two. Remember Kyle in in chapter 10, he gave us the beginning of the narrative frame. We now get the other side of the frame, but this vision was an answer to Daniel’s prayers. He’s praying because the people have returned from exile, some group of them, Daniel still there in Persia. But, you know, they’ve returned from exile, but it’s slow going, and they’re they’re facing entrenched opposition. They’re beginning to despair. And so Daniel is going, where is this glorious future? And this is the vision that’s given, but the people are still despairing. And so that raises some questions, which is where we go next? So let’s keep reading the first question, verses five to seven. Then I Daniel looked, and there before me stood two others, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank. One of them said to the man clothed in linen who is above the waters of the river, how long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled? The man clothed in linen who is above the waters of the river, lifted his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by Him who lives forever, saying it will be for a time, times and half a time when the power of the holy people has been finally broken. All these things will be completed. When things are going bad, two questions come to mind immediately. And the first one is, how long? How long is this going to be? How long is this going to take? You may remember, we did this a few chapters ago. Are we there yet? Right? That’s the big question. Are we there yet? You can see, this is what the Israelites are asking. How long until Jerusalem is rebuilt?
We ask it personally, how long until I find employment and can get back to work. Or we ask it on the cosmic sale scale, how long until evil ends? I mean, this is the constant refrain in the Psalms, how long O Lord? And couched in this question is the reminder that we can endure just about anything for a bit like, just let me know how long, and if I know it’s got a set period, I can get through it. I will give you a macabre example. But, you know, it’s apocalyptic. Lots of macabre examples. I don’t remember who it was, but I know after 911 when the CIA was, whatever word you want to use, but I’m gonna use word torturing some of the map. Masterminds behind it. They were waterboarding, and they had video waterboarding, which is pretty intense, right? And you can see the guy tapping his finger on the chair as he’s being waterboarded, because he knew it was gonna be 30 seconds, and he thought, I can do this, because it’s a set period of time. How long? Just tell me I can tap my finger and we will get through this. What’s interesting about this question, though, is that it’s not Daniel who asks it. So we’ve got this first man again. We met him back in chapter 10, verse five. This is the man clothed in linen. Kyle suggested. This is likely a christophany, meaning an appearance of Jesus before He became flesh. The word was in the beginning with God. So Jesus has always existed, and then the Word became flesh. Well, he was there before he became flesh. Is this Jesus? If not, it certainly is one of God’s messengers. He’s bringing the Word of God, and He gives this vision. Now, two more people appear, two more angels, most likely on both sides of the river, and one of them asks, How long until these astonishing things take place? Now, astonishing is a word that’s shown up a few times recently. It was there in chapter 11, verse 36 when it says that this this evil person is going to speak unheard of same word, unheard of things against God. Or back in chapter eight, verse 24 he was going to cause astounding devastation. In other words, this is a negative word here. This is what Antiochus, the fourth, the king of the south and his, you know, the one who’s going to succeed him and be his greater the Antichrist. What they do. So the astonishing thing that’s being asked about here is not the resurrection. It’s not our blessed hope of Christ’s return. No, it’s about the length of our suffering. How long must we endure? And what’s interesting here is that the man clothed in linen, he raises both hands, highly unusual. Raise one hand that’s taken an oath. Right which he does. He swears by Heaven, of course, but to raise both nobody even knows what exactly is going on. Just seems like he’s adding solemnity this moment, like I am really promising here. Raises both hands to add weight and emphasis to what’s coming. And then he says it’s going to last for time, times and half a time, which means something surely, possibly years. That’s what most people think. So time, times and then half a time, we get three and a half years, which would make some sense. I mean, Antiochus the fourth, he desecrates the temple for a little more than three years, from 167 to 164 BC, maybe that’s what we’re talking about. Or if you really want to get three and a half, maybe it’s between when he murders Onias the third, the high priest, and when he desecrates the temple. Except the problem there is, well, that’s three and a half and then another three. So really, that feels more like six and a half. So this is the whole problem with trying to find really specific events that all these numbers refer to. They never quite work out. We keep seeing these are probably symbolic ideas. These are meant to teach us something, not just dates. I don’t think this refers to specific events. I think the point is, in the odd progression, we teach our kids to recognize patterns right at a certain point in math class and school, you got something like, circle, circle, square, circle, circle, square, right? And then they start doing it with numbers, right? You get 2468, and then you get two, four, and you’re like, I know where this is going, 816, all right, you guys are with me now. This is the most responsive you’ve ever been, by the way, this is my favorite day. So you get time times. Well, we got options here, either three times or four times, and instead, we go time times, half a time. Do you see the pattern breaks? It’s increasing. It’s gaining momentum, and then it is arrested, abruptly stopped. And not only that, it’s abruptly stopped at the worst possible moment, like when things look their bleakest, because it is when the power of the holy people has been finally broken, which is not how we expect the end to come, right? It’s when the power of wickedness is finally broken. No, it’s when the power of the holy people is finally broken. When we come to dad and finally go and he says, it can’t be fixed. It can’t be fixed. It needs to be re made. That’s when God steps in, by the way, that is often when God steps in, often on purpose, always on purpose. Everything God does, he does with purpose, right? I mean, you think about Mary and Martha send word that Lazarus is sick, and Jesus. Goes, cool, I’m gonna stay here for a bit more wait until he dies, because if I show up, people will know I’m a healer. If I wait, people will know I can raise the dead. That’s something else entirely. Or even Daniel, okay, God can rescue Daniel from the lion’s den. That’s amazing. How about rescue him before he gets thrown in the lion’s den? Like you couldn’t have changed the King’s mind, or had this plot discovered sooner, or something like that, or the Red Sea splits the Red Sea so that Israel can walk through it. Why not? You know, break all the chariot wheels. That would also be a miracle, but then Israel wouldn’t know what God had done for them. So this is often how God works, so that we know he is the one who is saving us. So we’ve got our question how long? And our answer is, I don’t know, but not forever, not forever. Evil has an expiration date. Things will get worse, but God will deliver us in the end. Takes us to the second question. Then let’s finish up the passage and the book. Verses eight to 13. I heard, but I did not understand. Get in line, Daniel. I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, my lord, what will the outcome of all this be? He replied, Go your way, Daniel, because the words are rolled up and sealed until the time of the end, many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand. But those who are wise will understand. From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1290 days. Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1335 days, as for you go your way till the end you will rest. Then at the end of the days, you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance. Daniel is just like all of us. He wants to know more, right? And that is the second question we always ask. You know, it’s the doc. Give it to me straight question What is this? Okay? So let’s say the Lord shows you, you’re going to be unemployed, and maybe for this length of time even there’s your how long question is answered, your next question is and how bad is it going to be? Are we going to lose our home now I need to pull kids out of sports like, what is this going to look like? Exactly. So how bad is it going to be? You can understand why Daniel asks this because we just ended the last question. The answer to it with the power of the holy people will be broken. And Daniel goes, well, what’s that going to look like? How will this end? We all have more questions, but at a certain point, there are no more answers given, at least not in this life, and we just need to rest in what he has revealed so far. And one of my questions, I don’t know about you, is, why can’t we get answers to all of our questions? And I’m not sure why. I have some guesses, but I’m not sure why, but I tell you what we can trust the one who decides what information we get, because He is all knowing and all wise. So Jesus or His Messenger, whoever this man clothed in linen is, sends Daniel on his way. That’s it. That’s all you’re getting. Move on. Leave room for mystery. History will continue. The wise, those who fear the Lord, will grow more like Jesus. They’re being purified, made spotless and refined. On the other hand, the wicked, well, they’re just going to keep being wicked. We’ve got opposite trajectories in life again, which explains eternal destinations as well. It’s like, you know we’re becoming light if we are in Christ, so that we shine like stars forever. There are others who are increasing in wickedness and who are becoming darkness, and so that will continue. The question we have to answer, looking at those two trajectories, of course, is, Which am I? Is there any more important question for us to answer?
Seek truth, become wise, turn from sin and trust in Jesus, especially because the WISE will understand whereas the wicked will not. But wait, you’re saying, you just said we won’t understand, because we don’t get any more answers to these questions, because mystery blah, blah, blah. So what is it that we get to understand, then that the wicked do not understand? Not the final mysteries, not times and dates. What we understand is God’s purposes and plans, how the story ends and why it will end that way. The wicked keep being wicked because the wicked seem to prosper. Nice guys finish last. So if you want to get ahead in life, you’re probably going to have to cheat. At some point the wicked seem to prosper. No fun, being good, eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die. But the wise understand that this life is not all there is. We know that this life is just one short night in a bad motel on the way to eternal glory, and that eternal glory outweighs everything in this life. That’s what wisdom understands, and it changes how we live, so that we live wisely. Okay, but one more question, what about all these numbers? So you remember a few weeks ago, we had 2300 morning and evening sacrifices, so 11 150 days. Then we got time, times and half a time, which would be 1200 77 days, if it’s three and a half years. And then we get 1200 90 days, and then we get 1300 35 days, all in the ballpark of each other, I guess I
but
what? Only God knows. I’m sorry, that is probably the point. Of course, again, we’re not supposed to know the times and dates. It’s just that it’s a set period, and it’s not going to be forever. In fact, probably some of the reasons why these numbers change is so that we don’t try to figure out exactly what the set dates are, and maybe even some of the where we go. Hey, it’s been 12 190 days. Lord, I’ve waited long enough, and God goes, Yeah, but have you waited 13 135 days? There’s this leftover time, like the number keeps increasing just a little bit. We don’t need to worry ourselves about that part. We see this again and again in Scripture. I mean, Jesus says about that day or hour no one knows, not the angels, not even the Son of Man like Jesus Himself, says, I don’t know what day we’re talking about. Only the Father knows. If Jesus didn’t know, you’re not going to know. Okay, let’s just be really clear about that. Or here’s First Thessalonians. Five, one and two should be up on the screen for us. Paul says to the Thessalonians after he’s been talking about the end times, he says, Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates. We do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. And you know how thieves come. They come at a time when you’re not expecting because otherwise you would catch them. That’s the whole point. We’ll come at a time when we don’t expect we know what we need to know, and that isn’t the exact timing we know what we need to know. In fact, what we need to know is really verse 13, which is such a fitting conclusion to the book as a whole, as for you go your way till the end, you will rest. Then at the end of the days, you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance. This life will be marked by suffering and evil, which we have seen throughout the book of Daniel. It culminates in our death. We will die unless the Lord returns, like a thief in the night, but just based on history so far, probably not, probably going to die a natural and ordinary death. So you will suffer, you will die, but you’ve seen the coming glory. You have seen the resurrection, and you can rest in that knowledge and rest in the knowledge of verse two, the wicked don’t win. In the end, we will rise to receive our inheritance. We will hear those treasured words, well done, good and faithful servant, enter into your master’s joy. That’s all we really need to know. Much more so than dates and times, we have enough to persevere here and now. That is our big idea. We’re pulling out of this passage, do what you are supposed to do, because, you know, God will do what he’s promised to do. Just do what you’re supposed to do, because God’s got the rest, and God’s gonna keep his promises. He always does, do what you’re supposed to isn’t that what Jesus means when he tells Daniel to go his way? New Daniel, Go your way, walk the path laid for you, do what you’re supposed to do, like do what you know you need to do, instead of trying to figure out what you don’t need to know. And yeah, that’s the end time stuff. Sure, we talked a lot about that, but there are probably other questions too, where we can go? I’m not going to know the answer to this, but I know enough to do what I’m supposed to do. I mean, think about, say, the relationship between evangelism and the sovereignty of God, which, by the way, is the title of a wonderful book by Ji Packer. So if you have questions about it, can read that. We have it in our library. But evangelist and the sovereignty of God, we go, Well, if God predestines certain people to salvation and he’s going to save them anyway, why do I even need to evangelize? To which God responds? Just, just do what I told you to do, go proclaim the gospel. Okay, that’s your business. All the other stuff that’s that’s mystery, that. For me, you do what you’re supposed to do. That’s the consistent vision of the New Testament, by the way, over and over again when discussing the end of time, this is the takeaway, do what you’re supposed to do. Here’s First Corinthians 15. First Corinthians 15, one of the most majestic chapters in Scripture, all about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and how it prepares us for our own resurrection. It ends like this. Thanks be to God. He gives us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. Give yourselves fully to what God has given you to do, what you’re supposed to do. Or here, even better, second, Peter 310, and 11. This is like soaring rhetoric. Okay, so here we go. The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar. The elements will be destroyed by fire and the earth, and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives? That’s it. So we get this extraordinary vision of the end and a command to such ordinary obedience, live holy and godly lives, do what you’re supposed to do. You know that God will do what he’s promised to do. We can’t fix everything. That’s why God is going to have to remake the place, but we can do our peace with faithful endurance, and oftentimes it is very ordinary. Bring up your children in the training and instruction of the Lord. It’s pretty ordinary, changing diapers. Be a faithful presence in your workplace, and maybe you can’t proselytize company rules, all that kind of stuff, but you can live such godly lives among the pagans that they tap you on the shoulder and ask you to give a reason for the hope that you have. And by the way, if they ask you, it’s not proselytizing, fair game at that point, talk away. Maybe we can’t cure global poverty. We certainly can lift the poor one life at a time. That’s why we’ve got a Christians against poverty, debt Center here at the church even, and we can just keep doing good, ordinary good, forgiving those who wrong us, loving those who are difficult, irregular, maybe even our enemies, serving quietly, faithfully, even when no one notices. And above all, of course, proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who need to hear, being wise, making the most of every opportunity and leading many to righteousness as verse three says righteousness is a big word, big theological word. It means our performance record, right? That’s all. It is just the record of your life. Now I don’t know that we’re going to lead anyone to a spotless performance record on their own. I don’t have one. You don’t have one. What righteousness are we talking about? We’re talking about an alien righteousness, as Luther said, someone else’s righteousness. We are leading them to Jesus. I mean, think about it. Verse 11 mentions the abomination that causes desolation. We’ve looked at a few times already. We know what that was. That was when Antiochus the fourth sacrificed a pig, an unclean animal, to Zeus on the altar in God’s temple, thus desecrating God’s temple. That was an abomination. May well have been the greatest abomination the world had seen up to that point. But the worst was coming. It happened century and a half later, when the wicked seized Jesus, who is the true temple, and they beat him, spat upon him, tortured him, and ultimately crucified Him, hung his body on a tree, which is a sign that he had been cursed by God, that He was the god damned man, and they mocked him as he was dying. That is a desolating sacrilege. That is an abomination. Wasn’t the power of God’s holy people, but the power of God’s holy person. That was finally broken as he breathed his last. And just before he did, he said one more thing. Will read it for us earlier. It is finished. What’s finished? His life, our hope, no evil. Evil is finished. God’s plan has been brought to fruition. In the debt has been paid, the slaves have been redeemed. Enemies have been reconciled to God, right at the moment when evil seemed to have won, when the wicked seemed to be prospering, Christ is crowned. King triumphs over death and evil. That is the truth we proclaim. God will destroy wickedness and evil. But the good news of Jesus Christ is that he made a way to destroy wickedness while saving wicked people who will turn to him in repentance and faith. Thanks be to God, He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, Therefore, brothers and sisters, let nothing move you. Stand firm. Give yourselves fully to God’s work. Live a holy and godly lives. Do what you’re supposed to do because you know that God’s going to do what He promised to do. Let’s pray. Lord, we thank You that You have given us everything we need to know and everything we need to live godly lives, and the knowledge that we have, including the knowledge of the end, the knowledge of our resurrection, the remaking of this world, and even the judgment on the wicked, the unrepentant. All of that Lord allows us to obey you faithfully, to give ourselves fully to your work, because we know the end. We can rest in that knowledge, we do not fear those who can kill our bodies or make our lives in this world difficult. We fear you. That is the beginning of wisdom, that is beginning of knowledge, and that changes the trajectory of our lives, how we live, what we give ourselves to And Lord, we give ourselves to your glory and your kingdom, and we are such willing ambassadors for your name. Lord, would you use us as we live holy and godly lives and as we proclaim the truth of the gospel? Would you use us to bring revival in this community, among our friends and family and neighbors and colleagues, would you save the lost? Lord? We know that you have made a way for all to be saved as we proclaim that truth, Lord, would You do what you promised to do and save those who turn to you? We ask in Christ’s name, Amen.

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History in Exile November 17, 2024 | Brandon Cooper The sermon examines the complex and obscure history detailed in Daniel 11, emphasizing that God is sovereignly working out his purposes despite the chaos and suffering. The passage foreshadows the rise and fall of evil rulers like Antiochus IV, pointing to the ultimate triumph of good over evil at the appointed time. The congregation is encouraged to respond by trusting in God’s control, resisting corruption, instructing others, and interceding in prayer. The overarching message is that believers can find strength and hope, knowing God will end evil and establish his eternal kingdom.

Good morning church, you can go ahead and grab your Bibles, open up to Daniel chapter 11. Daniel chapter 11. Word of warning, as you’re turning to Daniel 11. This was the hardest passage I’ve had to prep yet in my sermon prep, and because it’s so difficult, if you read it in advance, as I know many of you do you know that it is a long and obscure history, which is bad enough, but then it’s given an apocalyptic form, so it’s doubly difficult. But even strip away the apocalyptic, and this is a hard enough passage, and in part because not everyone likes history, some of you probably agree with one of Jane Alston’s characters from Northanger Abbey who said, History I cannot be interested in. It tells me nothing that does not either Vex or weary me, the quarrels of popes and kings, with wars and pestilences on every page, the men all good for nothing and hardly any women at all. It’s all very tiresome. This is a potentially tiresome history that might well Vex or weary you especially because you’re not going to know the events or people that are talked about here. Like there are people that, if you know your world history at all, you would know. We’ve talked about a lot of them in Daniel Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Alexander the Great These are big figures you should just know in history, but we’re not talking about them. We’re talking about Seleucus and Antiochus and Ptolemy and Cleopatra, but not that one, the other one. So we’re not going to know any of these people. And so all this is going to feel and again, maybe this is your sense of history anyway. Feel a little bit like how Joseph Heller described a history which is a trash bag of random coincidences torn open in a wind not like God’s sovereign and wise rule. History is brutal and chaotic and seemingly random, and the people of God often suffer in it, which can be faith weakening for all of us, whether we’re experiencing that or just seeing it, can still weaken our faith. But as we’ve been learning throughout Daniel, God will bring history to its end, which will include just judgment on the unrepentant wicked. And part of the good news that we proclaim in the Gospel is the bad news of judgment on the unrepentant wicked. And that really is the heart of our passage. Today, God draws a line evil can go this far and no farther, not in time, not in space. A day is coming when he will bring history to its end. So that’s the big idea. I’m gonna give it to you up front we haven’t done front. We haven’t done this in a while, but this is such a tricky passage. I just want you to know what we’re gonna argue All right, so here’s the big idea. As you watch history unfold in this text right now, but in the newspaper as well, as you watch history unfold, strengthen yourself with the knowledge that God will bring evil to an end. Evil is never left unchecked. History is never random. God is never surprised. That should encourage us, an encouragement we are going to need, because, as we’re going to see, our kind of three sections today, we go from bad to worse to worst. So Daniel 11, open your Bibles. Okay, open your Bibles. Get to Daniel chapter 11. Why? It’s gonna take me a minimum of eight minutes just to read the text. And you all get fussy when I go till noon. So alright, this can be a long one, so just settle in. I’m gonna read really fast. I always read fast. I’m gonna read really fast. Scan the page as I’m reading. Okay? Daniel chapter 11, verses two to 20, which is our first era bad. Here you go. Now. Then I tell you the truth, three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power, by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. Then a mighty king will arise who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. After he has arisen, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. Will not go to his descendants, nor will have the power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others. The King of the South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger than he, and will rule his own kingdom with great power. After some years, they will become allies. The daughter of the king of the south will go to the king of the north to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his power will not last. In those days, she will be betrayed, together with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her, one from her family line, will arise to take her place. He will attack the forces of the king of the north and enter his fortress. He will fight against them and be victorious. He will also seize their gods, their metal images, and their valuable articles of silver and gold, and carry them off to Egypt. For some years, he will leave the king of the north alone. Then the King of the North will invade the realm of the king of the south, but will retreat to his own country. His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army which will sweep on like an irresistible flood and. Carry the battle as far as his fortress, then the king of the south will march out in a rage and fight against the King of the North will raise a large army, but it will be defeated when the army is carried off, the king of the south will be filled with pride and will slaughter many 1000s, yet he will not remain triumphant, for the King of the North will muster another army, larger than the first, and after several years, he will advance with a huge army, fully equipped. In those times, many will rise against the king of the south. Those who are violent among your own people will rebel in fulfillment of the vision, but without success, then the King of the North will come and build up siege ramps and will capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will be powerless to resist. Even their best troops will not have the strength to stand. The Invader will do as he pleases. No one will be able to stand against him. He will establish himself and the beautiful land will have the power to destroy it. He will determine to come with the might of his entire kingdom, and will make an alliance with the king of the south. He will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom. But his plans will not succeed or help him. Then he will turn his attention to the coastlands. Will take many of them, but a commander will put an end to his insolence and will turn his insolence back on him. After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own country, but will stumble and fall to be seen no more. His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor in a few years, however, he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle. All right. Verses two to four are a brief summary of Persian and Greek history. We go from 550-ish, when Daniel is receiving this vision, to 320, in just three verses. This is not a detailed summary, right? This is just real quick, and we get another one of those four fold schemes that we’ve seen throughout Daniel symbolic and summative, not the actual number of Kings between where we are now and Alexander the Great, although the fourth king from here is Xerxes the first. That’s Esther’s husband, if that helps you out at all, who was famed for his wealth and who was the one who first launched the invasion of Greece, which didn’t go well. He was defeated at Slammis, and it kind of set these two empires on a collision course that culminates in Alexander’s arrival, Alexander the Great, and the defeat of the Persian Empire under Darius the third. Alexander the Great. We already talked about this, right? He dies at the height of his power, and his empire is broken up into these four tetrarchies. Well, then starting in verse five, we zoom in on just two of these tetrarchies, Egypt, and then Babylon. But really kind of Syria is more where we are at this point. So that’s the rest of the section starting verse five to the end. We go from 323, to 175,
okay, so from Alexander the Great to Antiochus the fourth, and we’ll talk more about him. Just narrowly focused on these two. I’m gonna help you out. We’re gonna put the kings to the north and the kings to the south up on the slide. I used to tell my kids this, like in English class and stuff, like, there’s some things you have to master and there’s some things just to be exposed to. This is an exposure one. Okay, you’re not gonna get tested on all the Seleucids. Okay, so just you know, first two kings, king of the north, King of the South, King of the South is Ptolemy. The first king of the north is Seleucus. The first. Ptolemy, the first, is over Egypt. Seleucus is over Babylon, kind of what we would think of that whole area again, including Syria and whatnot. But he is driven out by one of the other tetrarchs, and so he becomes this ally with Ptolemies there in Egypt. And together, they defeat this other Tetrarch and drive, you know, him, out so that he can rule in Babylon syllabus, including over Palestine, which is really important, right? We’re focused on Israel. Of course. The problem is that Ptolemy occupies Syria, Syria and Palestine and Seleucus and his heirs never give up their claim to that tract of land, and that’s what sets up all these wars. Everyone having fun yet. Yeah, that was the easy part. All right, so verse six, okay, these two dads, right? Their their grandkids are involved. We skipped a generation right here. Okay, so his granddaughter Bernice, is given to the grandson Antiochus, the second in marriage to kind of shore up this alliance. Only problem is Antiochus is already married to Laodicea, so he divorces her, marries Bernice, they have a son. Then he reconciles Laodicea, who’s not a big fan of Bernice or her son. They die in mysterious circumstances. No idea how that happened, right? They were poisoned, of course, and that’s it. Did you notice, by the way, that that’s exactly what verse six says, like fulfilled to the letter. This is why some people think Daniel was written in the two hundreds, because the prophecies are so exact, you go, well, it must be the perspective of history and not prophecy. Of course, that objection only works if God isn’t real, if the God of the Bible exists. Of course, prophecy is not a problem. It actually keeps going too, like, how exact? This is verse seven. We get Ptolemy, the third, who is Bernice’s brother. One from her family line, right, who attacks Laodices Son, select Seleucus the second. Steal some of the images. Returns to Egypt. Great. Okay, moving along, Seleucus the third and Antiochus the third. His son, Antiochus the third is Antiochus the Great, by the way, they together. You know, across two generations, attack Ptolemy the fourth, and win back huge chunks of land. Most likely the fortress that keeps getting mentioned is Palestine. But there’s some debate about that. I’m not going to answer that question. Okay, we then focus on Antiochus, the third. Antiochus the Great through verse 19. Why? Partly because he was great, so he’s got a lot of history, but mostly because it’s under his reign that Jerusalem comes under Seleucid control, Seleucid rule, and it sets the stage then for everything that’s going to follow in the next section. So what do we get? Verse 11, we’ve got the Battle of Rapha in 217 where told me the fourth defeats Antiochus the third, but he doesn’t pursue the army like doesn’t wipe them out at this point. And so Antiochus is able to rebuild his army, waiting for an opportunity when he can pounce. The opportunity comes when told me the fourth dies at age 35 and told me the fifth, who is this a young boy told only the face. He six years old, he succeeds to the throne and Tyo kiss the third sees his opening, and he wins this decisive battle. Okay, but what’s happening in verse 14? Because all of a sudden, we’re talking about what’s going on among the Jews at this point. And it does capture kind of the vibe that would be happening. You got to put yourself in the shoes of the Jewish people at this point. So we do a little bit of whiplash here in this country, right? Just had an election, and so you kind of have that, like, we’re red, no wait, we’re blue. No wait, we’re red. Now we’re blue. Like, who’s in charge right now? So imagine that whiplash that we experience, except that it’s actually foreign invaders, like we’re a province of Egypt. No wait now we’re a province of Syria. And when our the same kind of thing would happen. So these invading armies just passing through your land all the time, and you would start to go, you know what? Things are better under the Egyptians, or things are better under the the Syrians? And so they kind of divide into these two camps. You actually can see them there, the to buy ads and the Oniads, which is a whole lot of fun to say, the Oniads, they’re the ones who have the high priesthood, like Onias is the high priest, and they are aligned with Egypt, with the Ptolemies. Then you’ve got the Tobias, who are this powerful, like non pure Jewish family, and who are aligned with the slow kids. What violence are we talking about exactly, who knows? Like, at some point these factions are clashing, certainly, and in fulfillment of what vision, who knows, but probably Daniel, like, probably what’s being talked about right here, in any case. So whatever is happening there in Jerusalem Antiochus, the third completes his victory. He chases the Ptolemies back into Egypt and takes control of the beautiful land, which is Palestine. So now that he’s got the upper hand, what do you do when you’re the conquering king? Verse 17, you pursue dynastic Alliance. You’re gonna have a marriage that unites these two warring parties so that everybody is friends in perpetuity. And so he gives his daughter Cleopatra, the first Cleopatra, the Syrian, because this is the, you know, she’s from Syria at this point, given to Ptolemy the fifth. Why to incline her husband towards Syria? To kind of go, No, my dad’s not bad, like we should be friends. Let’s all hang out. The only problem is, it doesn’t work. She sides with her hubby instead. No idea why, just maybe she saw a better chance for herself. He also dies early, and so she actually becomes a major power player with her son. Told me the six which is why Cleopatra is such a famous name, they end up kind of ruling Egypt in many ways. The Cleopatras. And then 18 Antiochus, the third keeps going. So he’s beaten Egypt. And then he’s like, I can take on anybody again. He’s Antiochus the Great. That’s what you do. And so he starts annexing parts of Asia, minor, which is modern day Turkey, the Greek islands, gets as far as Thrace. And at that point, this burgeoning power in the West. You may have heard of them Rome. You say, Nope, that’s enough. Okay, that’s that guy who who intervenes and puts an end to the insolence. That’s Rome. So he’s defeated. He goes home. He dies in 187 and his son, Seleucus, the fourth, succeeds him. That’s verse 20. He’s unpopular because he’s gotta keep taxing the people to keep all of the Romans away. And then what happens to sale? Kiss the fourth, well, he dies in mysterious circumstances as his brother, who was taken hostage by Rome, is just coincidentally returning to Syria. His brother’s name and TYA. Kiss the fourth. We’re going to talk a lot about him. We talk. About him already. So that’s what’s happening here. I promised you long and tedious, yeah, okay, I delivered at least on that. It is filled with wars and rumors of wars, and it all seems like it’s accomplishing very little, like I’m reading this, and in my head, I’m picturing World War One and trench warfare like, you know, the no man’s land was Israel, and it’s just basically, like, now it’s the Germans. Now it’s the French now it’s the Germans. Now it’s two miles of land. Like, that’s all that’s happened here. These, these men who are, you know, clashing over and over and over again for nothing, just chasing wind. That’s what it looks like from a historical perspective. But the perspective of faith brings peace, because in this we can see that God is actually accomplishing His purposes in the beautiful land the kings of this world cannot destroy the kingdom of God. And part of the reason we have that confidence is because God knows the end. From the beginning, he’s still saying all of this in 550 and we’re now in 170 right? And think about what that should do to us, even as we experience these kinds of clashes that are happening. You know, world powers over there that we have nothing to do with, maybe even smaller than that. I mean, maybe corporate closed your local office and you’re out of a job back in 550 BC, God knew that was coming. Like there is nothing happening outside of his purposes. Maybe the election goes wrong. Maybe you think the last one went wrong. Maybe you think the next one’s gonna go wrong. Everybody thinks one of them went wrong, at least. Guess what? God is, the one who raises up and deposes rulers. Maybe a pandemic happens and the world shuts down. We did one. Maybe where there’s another one coming. One coming. We don’t even know, right? God knows that’s the point. We can cling firmly to the knowledge of God’s sovereignty, because even the evil actions of wicked men like these can be used to accomplish his purposes, as we’ll see. We can rest in that truth. We can rest even as we go from bad to worse, second era worse, verses 21 to 35
he will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue. Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him, both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed after coming to an agreement with him. He will act deceitfully and with only a few people. He will rise to power when the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers did. He will distribute plunder, loot and wealth among his followers. He will plot the overthrow of fortresses, but only for a time with a large army. He will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the south. King of the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to stand because of the plots devised against Him. Those who eat from the king’s provisions will try to destroy him. His army will be swept away, and many will fall in battle. The two kings with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come. At the appointed time, King of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the Holy Covenant. He will take action against it, and then return to his own country. The appointed time, he will invade the south again, but this time, the outcome will be different from what it was before ships of the Western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the Holy Covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant. His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation with flattery. He will corrupt those who have violated the covenant. The people who know their God will firmly resist Him. Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. Some of the wise will stumble so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless, until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time. So we’ve got a contemptible person who is not royalty, meaning he’s not in line for the throne. Again, that’s Antiochus the fourth we met him already in Daniel eight. And he sees the throne through intrigue and deceit. He should be the uncle, protector of these you know, the boy who’s to be king instead, he’s like Richard the Third with the princes in the tower, and he seizes the power for himself. Verse 22 hits the highlights of his reign, the devastation of war, including the death of the prince of the Covenant, most likely a reference to the high priest, again, that would be Onias, the third who is killed in this conflict. Why is Onias killed? Because Antiochus allies with the Tobias, because they’re the ones who are pro Syria at this point, and so they install Onias, brother Jason, as high priest, which is good. Were both parties. Antiochus has got people he likes and who like him in power, and now they get, you know, elevated to power. These are the two groups, Antiochus, of course, but the Tobias are the ones who are for hellenizing Israel. So, you know, it’s time to just fit into the larger Empire at this point. And so they’re, they’re corrupting the purity of the Jewish religion, but the high priesthood is part of the plunder that he distributes to his followers. It also causes massive unrest and anger in Jerusalem. Like World History teaches you anything, it’s don’t mess with the high priest, with the Jews, like that always leads to bad things in the Old Testament. Well, then in verse 25 we turn our attention to Egypt, the king of the south again, and Antiochus invades. He routes Egypt under these two advisors. Those are the two who eat at the king’s table. They’re basically regents again in this kingdom. And then in verses 29 and 30, he returns later at the appointed time, just again, showing us someone is in charge at the appointed time, he returns, and he’s ready to just wipe out Egypt. At this point, ships from the Western coastland arrive. Who’s that? Well, that’s Rome again, and Rome at this point is undisputed power in the world. And so it’s hilarious story, unless you’re Antiochus, but Popeilus Lainus shows up. He’s the Roman proconsul, and he just has a bundle of sticks. He doesn’t carry weapons with them. The consul never did for Rome. The bundle of sticks actually called a fascis, which is where we get fascism from, because one stick easy to break, bunch of sticks very hard to break. That’s the idea. So shows up this bundle of sticks, no weapons. He draws a circle around Antiochus the fourth and says, Make your decision before you walk out of this circle. You head south Rome will destroy you. You go back home to the north. Everything’s copacetic. So he chooses, wisely, decides not to be destroyed. But this is humiliating for him, of course. So he is embarrassed and angry, which is not a good place for him to be, considering what’s happening in Jerusalem. Because, remember, he just went down to Egypt. Rome came. All of a sudden, rumors are circulating that Antiochus the fourth has actually been killed, and so Jerusalem rebels, the Oniads, at least rebel, here’s our opportunity. And so embarrassed and angry, he returns to Jerusalem that’s now rebelling against Him. What do you think he’s going to do? He vents his fury upon them at this point. And he also, of course, hates the covenant of God. We know that. How would a guy like this not hate God’s covenant, which is based on love the Lord your God, with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, love your neighbor as yourself makes it really tough to worship yourself the way he is doing. He desecrates the temple, sets up the abomination that’s, you know, this evil thing that that desolates the temple means it’s no longer used for its purpose to offer sacrifices to God. It’s a meteorite that’s being offered to Baal shame, which is basically the Syrian Zeus. And verse 32 we’ve seen this before, but he aligns himself with corrupt Jews. But this is a divided people. Some go with him, but some, like Daniel, remain faithful. These are the wise described in verse 33 and they are the key group in all of this. Even though they don’t seem like they have power, they’ve got more power than anybody. Why? Because they have the word of God, and they keep instructing the people in God’s covenant. That’s what wisdom is. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and they’re instructing people in the fear of the Lord, and even their suffering. You’ll notice that some of them suffer. They fall by the sword, they’re burned, they’re captured, they’re plundered, even their suffering has redemptive purposes. In verse 35 God is using it to refine them like gold in the fire, refining them for the end, which again, will come at its appointed time. Now we have to ask here, not just this section, but everything we’ve done so far, like I can usually read the room when I’m preaching, and you all are glazed over right now. And that’s fair. I told you, this one was hard. So we’re asking the question all of us internally right now, how exactly is this text useful, profitable for teaching rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that we, the servants of God, might be thoroughly equipped for every good work. It’s just an outline of ancient history. Like we would struggle to enjoy this if we were in a class that we were taking, but in a sermon like, Are we just supposed to learn the broad contours of the Egyptian Syrian conflict in the later centuries of the era before Christ. No, there’s some things we can learn in this. Of course, one thing is this passage is really hard, and that encourages us to study well God’s word, because scripture is filled with hard passages. Some of them have obscure history in them, but some of them have theological mystery in them. And all scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. Plus, let’s not forget, this wasn’t ancient history. This was prophecy.
You think of how important that is. Again, we’re getting this in 550 we’re talking about what’s going on in 170 that encourages us to trust God’s sovereign rule if he can predict all of this, because he knows what’s coming to the T that should tell us something. Why would we study God’s Word carefully? Because this is who God is like. This is his sovereignty, if he’s able to do this. Yeah, I would think we should listen to him and listen to him quite carefully, and also don’t forget, this is part of a larger story, right? Kyle told us that last week 10 to 12 is all one episode. It’s all one vision. So we saw we started it last week in chapter 10, when Daniel prayed to God, and God gave him this vision in response to prepare him for what’s coming, and so that he might live well in light of it. So that we might live well in light of what’s coming too. And I think there are some ways to live well, even just in light of this. Sinclair Ferguson, in his commentary on Daniel, suggests four truths that we would be wise to remember, to ponder, to consider, even as we study this. First of all, we certainly see that this world and its powers are passing away. So you’re gonna want to build your life on a sure foundation, like if you bet on Egypt and the Ptolemies, you lost, and if you bet on Syria, on the slow kids, you lost, if you bet on Rome, you’re going to be disappointed. Augustine had something to say about that. And arguably the most important work produced in the west the City of God is when Rome fell, the whole church went, wait, what now? Why? Because they put their hope in an unstable regime. Put your hope in the everlasting Kingdom, and the king who will reign forever, second and very closely related to it is the reminder. It’s a saying been around forever. You know, man proposes God disposes like we make our plans, and it is God’s purposes that come to fruition. You see that in the repetition of but I didn’t go through and count how many times it happens here, but just over and over and over again in this text, we read so and so did this, but this happened. So and so did this, but this happened that. But Is God intervening and overruling the purposes of worldly powers? Third, notice that evil gains a foothold among God’s people in verses 30 to 32 and this is a reminder to us, because we do live in hostile territory. We are under the authority of worldly powers, that we are always in danger of being corrupted. The danger here was Hellenization, that they would become more Greek than Jewish. What’s the danger here? Americanization, of course, the Americanization of the gospel all sorts of things we could talk about. I don’t have a time for it today. But you know what this looks like? Of course, it is a gospel of materialism. It is a gospel of individualism. It is we could go on Fourth and finally, notice that God works all things for our good. There’s a lot of bad stuff happening to the Jewish people in these centuries, and yet God is refining them. That’s what it means for God to work all things for our good, to conform us to the image of His Son, to make us like Jesus. He is refining us like gold in the fire, fitting us for heaven, so that we can live with him there, which, by the way, we get to next week. So that’s gonna be awesome. These are lessons we will need, because that what we just did was history. But this next section is what’s coming for us, too. Third Era, worst. Let me wrap up the chapter, verses 36 to 45 the king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and will say unheard of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. He will show no regard for the gods of his ancestors, for the one desired by women. Nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all. Instead of them, he will honor a God of fortresses, a god unknown to his ancestors. He will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god, and will greatly honor those who acknowledge Him. He will make them rulers over many people, and will distribute the land at a price. The time of the end, the king of the south will engage him in battle. The King of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood. He will also invade the beautiful land. Many countries will fall but Edom. Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand. He will extend his power over many countries Egypt will not escape. He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and the Cushites in submission the reports from the east and the North will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many. He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at the beautiful, holy mountain, yet he will come to his end and no one will help him. This is an exceedingly difficult passage, and you should be rightly skeptical of anyone who doesn’t acknowledge how difficult this passage is. So if you’re reading a commentary or study Bible or something that’s like, this is what this means. Put that one down. Find a different one. Okay, that says I’m gonna try my best. Okay, so I’m gonna try my best as well. The big question is, Who exactly is in mind in this section? Who are we talking about here? But it’s not just who is in mind, but also in whose mind. That complicates matters. Certainly, because it’s it’s possible that Daniel the prophet thinks that we’re talking about Antiochus the fourth still, but that the Spirit of God has broadened his view, and Daniel is speaking better than he knows this would happen, of course. Second, Peter 121, reminds us of how prophecy works. It says, For prophecy never had its origin in the human will. But prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. So is he being carried along by the Holy Spirit, again to realms that he does not know? I think yes. And there are several indications in the text that we have a broader view. First and most obvious one is this actually doesn’t fit with what we know of Antiochus, the fourth life. So we’ve gotten all these prophecies that are exactly right. So right that people go is must be history, and then right here at the end, the wheels come off. It’s like, no, that’s that’s not what happened. Like what it says about Egypt, what it says about where he dies, all that kind of stuff. It’s not true. Is the prophecy wrong? Again? Was this written in 200 so that all the history was right? And then he started making guesses, and he got that part wrong. And that’s fine if you deny God’s sovereignty, but if we take a high view of Scripture, that can’t be it. Second indication is that we’ve got cosmic language here, like we move from history textbook kinds of descriptions to this sweeping, mythical language, which would seem to indicate, again, more of a later framework. The third reason, then, the time of the end that’s talked about in verse 40, again, the time of what end Antioch is. The fourth end, maybe, or are we actually at the end? At this point, good question. We’ll come back to it in just a moment. So there are some indications that we’re talking about something else, but at the same time, there’s no clear signal that we’ve moved on to something new. If your Bible looks like mine, you get a big break, right here, new section, right? There’s no big break. Like, that’s something the editors put in later. Like, it just keeps going. So what exactly is happening? We talked about this in Joel, right? We got to keep talking about. We’ll talk about in Revelation. Also, like, this is that mountain range idea. You look at a mountain, it kind of looks like this, and if you walk around to the side, you realize, oh, it’s actually like this. There’s one peak, but then another one, and then another one is that’s what’s happening, where Daniel is looking at one peak, and we can walk around to the side and go, Oh no, something else just happened. Another way of thinking about this, they’ll actually call it telescoping, not because you’re making something far away look close, but because you remember old spy glasses and like pirate movies. And yeah, exactly. Erica is doing it for me. Thank you, Erica. You can come up here and demonstrate for everyone. No, you’re right. It’s a little one. You got it? You go, right. So it’s like one piece, and then it’s three pieces. Is that what’s happened here, where we’re looking at the spy glass, when it’s like this, and so you know this event, and then this event, and they’re close together. And you go, and actually, no, they’re centuries apart at this point, you remember nothing else from this sermon, except that’s great. I’m here to help you. This is really common in apocalyptic, by the way, in this genre, like we see telescoping in the Olivet Discourse, when Jesus talks about the end of the world, except he’s talking not about the end of the world. He’s talking about the destruction of Jerusalem in the temple. And all of a sudden they go from 8070 to the end of time. Good. Got it so? Features of Antiochus, the fourth s life, are blown up to cosmic scale in this passage. And so his life anticipates and foreshadows the coming Antichrist, or even anti Christs, because there are definitely shades of the Antichrist in Antiochus, the fourth pride. I mean, you look at him, he’s forsaking his ancestral religion, the gods of his people, the popular gods of that time, the one desired by women. Apollos, most likely. But there are some other guesses as well, and he exalts himself a. Of every god. Well, who else exalts himself above every god? Here he is, Isaiah, chapter 14, how you have fallen from heaven. Morning Star, son of the dawn. The name Lucifer, by the way, is what that is. You said in your heart, I will ascend to the heavens. I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds. I will make myself like the Most High. So this desire to lift yourself above the gods is, in his most literal sense, satanic. It’s just like the Antichrist, although it gets confusing because then it says he’s worshiping a different God, a God of fortresses. Except that’s not a God. There is no god of fortresses in the ancient Near East. The God that he’s worshiping is military might. He’s worshiping at the altar of the military industrial complex, and he sacrifices greatly for it, because armies cost a lot of money, and that’s where all that money is going. Except he is successful. And so again, the king will do as he pleases, which certainly sounds anti Christian in its description. Then at the time of the end. And again, the end of what the end of Antioch is the four, well, definitely the end of the life of this unholy king, but also the end of his arrogance. We’re going to see next week, the time of the end, the very next verses. And this is all again, one section here, the very next verses. Daniel 12, one to three talk about the end, like the resurrection of the dead, some to everlasting life, some to eternal condemnation. So we are talking about the end at this point, and then what happens between now and then? Like, are we talking about specific events when we talk about Edom and Moab and Egypt and stuff? Maybe more likely, again, we’re just talking about wars and rumors of wars. Like, history is just going to keep happening. This will be birth pangs anticipating the end of all things, the suffering and conflict that marks history will continue and even intensify. There will be a violent end to history, one that we will see in Revelation when we get there in January as well. But don’t miss the key point in all this, which is the destruction of pride and evil and suffering, God will bring that to an end at its appointed time. So like next week, we get the other side of the coin, the blessed hope of the resurrection. But here we get the good news, the good news of judgment. Why is judgment good news? Because it means evil has an expiration date, as we talked about, before Antichrists will come. They will set themselves against God. They will wage war on his people and on goodness, and they will lose in the end, history will be brutal and chaotic. It still is that will cause God’s people to suffer. They still do, but God will bring history to its appointed end. So part of the Good News of the Gospel is the bad news for the unrepentant wicked like Satan and everyone who sets themselves in opposition to Christ, these come together. It’s the same picture the flood, right, which is meant to be a symbol of the coming salvation and judgment that we will experience what happens in the flood. God wipes the filth of sin clean from this earth, and he also makes a way for anyone who wants to to be saved. There’s a giant boat. All you had to do was get in. Only eight people get in. More people will get in in Christ, of course, but that’s what’s happening, right in Christ, God triumphs over sin and Satan, he breaks Satan’s power forever, and he makes a way for us to be spared what we deserve. And deserve it we do because we participated in this great evil we have added by our sin filth to this world, which means we need to be saved. We need to be saved from ourselves, by the way. Remember that Isaiah 14, and you know, I’m going to make myself like the Most High you can read about that somewhere else too. Genesis three. Eat of this fruit and you will be like God. That’s what we all want. We want to be in control. We want to be God of our own lives. So every one of us has the anti-christ Spirit in us, by birth, by our nature, we need to be saved from ourselves, and God has done it in Christ. So as you watch history unfold, strengthen yourself with the knowledge. Knowledge that God will bring evil to an end. He has already brought evil to its knees. In Christ, evil can go this far and no farther. That is the message of this passage. God, in the end, will kick hell the fire that we lit by our sin. He will kick hell out of the new heavens and the new earth.
It will be tossed outside like leaving a trash on the curb. It’s actually the image that’s given in Scripture for hell. Gehenna was the trash dump outside, outside, outside, outside the city. And so all of our filth and wickedness will be cast outside the Eternal City. So how do we strengthen ourselves with the knowledge that God will bring evil to an end? What does it look like when we put that into practice? Let me just give you four very concrete steps that we can take as we close. The first one is and you’d be expecting this one, trust. Trust. That’s what it looks like to strengthen yourself. God is sovereign over history. History is not a trash bag that’s just been opened in the wind. God is accomplishing His purposes. Listen to what ws Towner says about this. I think he’s exactly right. He says talking about this prophecy, the fact that the predicted course has been followed in exquisite detail leads us to turn about and face forward with confidence. So we look back at the fact that God did exactly what he said he was going to do, means we look forward and go, God’s probably going to do what he said he’s going to do with confidence, certain that the future too will be as securely in God’s hand as world history has been since the Sears time. We don’t need to understand all the details. We don’t understand all the details. We don’t need to understand all of the details to experience the consolation and confidence that comes with this vision. Trust, second, Resist. Resist. I’m drawing from verse 32 here, right? The people who know their God, that would be those who trust, by the way, the people who know their God will firmly resist Him, as in, I’m not going to be corrupted, squeezed into this world’s mold, I will not be Hellenized. I will not be Americanized in whatever area we might be talking about. And yes, we know, as we keep reading in that section, we may suffer as a result of our refusal to compromise. That’s okay. We know that suffering is refining us like gold in the fire. We know that it could get worse. Some of the people in this passage are murdered. So so what like if history is unfolding without purpose, if it’s just random, then of course, there’s no point in being murdered, because you lost the only chance you’ve got at joy in this life, but if there is a resurrection, well, I could quote Jim Elliot here. He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. Third, instruct. Verse 33 those who are wise will instruct many. Do you fear the Lord? Are you growing in wisdom? Then here is your mandate, proclaim the gospel, patiently, teach and warn and admonish. Sounds like Paul in Ephesians five, be very careful. Then how you live not as unwise, but as wise. What does that look like? Making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. It’s like a commentary on Daniel 11 that verse, right? Make the most of every opportunity you have to proclaim the gospel, the good news of Jesus’ triumph over evil to those who are in such desperate need of that news. And then lastly, fourth, intercede. It’s not here in this passage, but we gotta remember the narrative frame. Kyle gave it to us last week. How many y’all been praying different prayers this week? By the way, that was lamer than I was hoping for. But that’s okay. I’m glad you all said yes, at least keep praying, though that’s a point. Remember in the narrative frame, this is not going to happen in our strength. This happens in his power, because it is his victory. Keep praying to the one who rules history. We say you have probably said people have said to you all good things must come to an end. We say that about, you know, like vacations or something, but really it’s the opposite that is true. It is evil that will be brought to an end, and joy will increase forever. For those who love God, strengthen yourself with that knowledge. Choose joy, get in the ark of Jesus Christ, trust, resist, instruct, intercede, because God wins in the end. Let’s pray to Him.

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Prayer in Exile November 10, 2024 | Kyle Bjerga The sermon emphasizes that our posture in prayer matters – we must approach God humbly yet boldly. Prayer is powerful and effective, as in Daniel’s experience, where his prayers impacted the spiritual realm. There is a cosmic spiritual battle happening that we cannot see, but we must pray big, bold prayers trusting that God is sovereign and will ultimately win. Despite facing hardship as exiles, we should not stop praying persistently, relying on God’s strength rather than our own.

Well, good morning. If you have your Bibles, go and grab them. Turn to Daniel chapter 10. Daniel chapter 10, using one of the black pew Bibles, it’ll be page 729, for you this morning. Back in high school, I had a friend who was an actress, and she would regularly act at Drury Lane, and so she invited some of our group of friends to go and see her in a few different plays. And one of the plays, she actually invited us afterward to come backstage. Not sure that was allowed. Nobody yelled at us to leave. So we ended up just going back with her. And it was pretty amazing to see all the different rooms that are back there, these kind of small rooms, bigger rooms, people with headsets on. You’ve got costumes, you’ve got props, you’ve got a bunch of different actors and actresses back there, not to mention the sound crew and the lighting and the tech and all of that that’s going on too. And for a few moments there, the curtain was kind of pulled back for me to see something that I didn’t really know anything about, that’s not the world that I lived in or grew up in. And so it was amazing to see that kind of backstage presence. And then it makes you think, as you’re sitting there watching these actors, how much is happening behind them, to make sure all this happens that we see. And so it’s fascinating, because now, once you see behind the curtain, you can never unsee it like now that I go, I kind of know what’s happening. I remember the rooms, I remember where people are, and so it’s just a different experience when you know everything that’s going on behind Well, this morning, Daniel gets a peek behind the curtain, and in a way, he’s already gotten a peek. We’ve seen him have quite a few visions already throughout this book, but most of those are really looking forward to the future, and in the next couple weeks, we’re going to see he gets more of that. But today, he actually gets a peek to something that’s happening right now and right then. That is that peak behind the curtain that very few people ever get a chance to see, because he’s going to see something that’s impacting history, the things we do see by things that are happening in the unseen world. And once he sees it, once we see it, there’s no going back. So let me tell you where we’re going this morning, because we’re going to do things a little bit different than we’ve done in the last number of weeks. One reason for that is we’re entering this last unit of Daniel. So this last unit is actually Daniel’s 10 through 12. So think of this kind of as one big sermon spread over three weeks, because we’re taking it by chapter. So today is really the introduction to this vision that Daniel is going to have. Next week is going to be the content, what the vision actually is. And then chapter 12, in two weeks, we’re going to look at God’s instructions to Daniel. So one big unit. So that’s one reason why we’re going to break things down a little bit different today. But also I want us to kind of look just at verse one, because verse one is really an introduction and really a summary of the three chapters. So it kind of acts as that summary right at the beginning, kind of saying, Hey, this is where we’re going. And so what I want to do is I want to do is I want to read that first, and then we’re actually going to read the rest of chapter 10 all at once. And then you can see in your outline, we’re going to pull some truths out of chapter 10 and talk through them. And these things that we’re going to see that are in your outline, there are really around the two major themes that we’ve seen in Daniel so if you’ve been with us, Brandon mentioned it last week, God’s sovereignty and worship, especially prayer, are two major themes that we’ve seen in every single chapter of Daniel, and we’re gonna see that again today. So we’re gonna pull out some truths that we see, especially in Daniel 10 this morning. But let’s go ahead and look at verse one so we can get some of the context, some of the background here that will help us, not only this week, but in the next couple weeks too. So chapter 10, verse one, in the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel, who was called Belteshazzar. Its message was true and it concerned a great war. The understanding of the message came to him in a vision. So we’re going to stop there in the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia. Now, when it says the third year, it’s not really referring to his whole reign over Persia, but specifically when they took over Babylon. So now they’ve been in charge in Babylon for three years, and this is a very significant marker in the life of the Israelite people, because two years before this, Cyrus had issued an edict, a decree saying that exiles like the Israelites, could start returning to their homes. They could go back. They could start rebuilding. They can start rebuilding their temples, their places of worship. And so he sends them back, and the people go, it’s a very small group, but some people go back and they start rebuilding, they start rebuilding the temple. And yet, very quickly, there’s some opposition that comes up. There are some roadblocks to this work continuing. The city did not have the same glory it once did. The temple certainly was not going to have the same glory it once did. And the walls of the city are broken down. And. If that sounds familiar, any of that you know? I know that you’ve read Ezra and Nehemiah, because that’s where we get a large chunk of this whole back to from exile and kind of what is happening in that time. But that’s the background there. And then we see here that Daniel is called Belteshazzar. It’s that reminder of his Babylonian name that he, while there’s people going back to Jerusalem, he’s still in exile. He’d be in his late 80s, early 90s, at this point, and he did not return with them. Now we’re not sure why Daniel stayed back in Babylon, but it’s probably not. We could probably safely assume it’s kind of because of his age. And I’d also like to think we know enough about Daniel now, ever we followed him most of his life here, that he could probably do more good staying in Babylon and praying and interceding for the people in Jerusalem than it could actually be in a help there. And so he stays in Babylon. He’s praying for God’s people. And in this last unit, we hear that he’s going to get a vision of a great war, and we’re not going to see anything about that great war today that’s next week. Like I said, we’re looking at this as a big unit over these next three weeks. But with that background now, let’s read the rest of chapter 10, starting in verse two. We’re going to read actually, all the way to 11. Chapter 11, verse one, verse two says, At that time I Daniel mourned for three weeks, I ate no choice food, no meat or wine. Touched my lips, and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over. On the 24th day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, I looked up, and there before me was a man dressed in linen with a belt of fine gold from you Foz around his waist. His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude. I Daniel was the only one who saw the vision. Those who were with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. So I was left alone gazing at this great vision. I had no strength. Left. My face turned deathly pale, and I was helpless. Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep. My voice, my face to the ground, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. He said, Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you and stand up for I have now been sent to you. And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling. Then he continued, do not be afraid, Daniel, since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me. 21 days then Michael, one of the chief princes came to help me because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come. While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless. Then one who looked like a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing before me, I am overcome with anguish because of the vision, my lord, and I feel very weak. How can I your servant talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe again. The one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength. Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed. He said, peace. Be strong. Now be strong. When he spoke to me, I was strengthened. And said, speak My lord, since you have given me strength. So he said, you know why I come to you. Soon I will return to fight against the Prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come. But first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. No one supports me against them, except Michael, your prince. And in the first year of Darius, the Mede, I took my stand to support and protect him. All right, so three truths that we see in chapter 10 teaching us about God’s sovereignty and worship. The first is this, that our posture matters. Okay, our posture matters as we approach God. Something is bothering Daniel. In these first few verses, something is bothering him, and the reason isn’t given to us. It’s not spelled out for us clearly, but there’s a couple hints that we see in verses one through four, plus we need to remember last week chapter nine, Daniel spent a whole lot of time repenting for his and Israel’s sin, and so Daniel is driven by God’s glory, and he’s driven by God’s people, and that’s how he comes to Lord in prayer all the time. Couple other things to consider of why he might be in mourning, why he might be coming to the Lord in prayer for these three weeks, there’s exiles that have returned to Jerusalem, but he has probably gotten reports already that things are not going well. First, the number of people that went back was not large. And now they’re facing opposition. So these things have stalled. The rebuilding of the temple is not happening. And in verse four, we find out that this vision comes in on the 24th day of the month of the first month, which means Daniel would have been praying and mourning and fasting throughout Passover, because that’s when. Passover happens in that first month, and he knows Passover is not what it once was when the temple and the sacrifices could be offered. And so all of this together, his care for God’s people, his love for the Lord drives him to mourning and praying for the people. He takes his prayer life seriously, and he takes God seriously throughout this book, and he fast, it says from certain foods and wine, he he didn’t use lotions, it says which would have been important to use in a dry climate. And so one commentator says Daniel basically, like, just let himself go, like a lot of us did during COVID, right? You just let yourself go. You weren’t going to see people, you weren’t gonna be around. So he’s just but it’s not because he doesn’t care. It’s not because he’s lazy and it’s not because he’s given up. Why does he fast? Why does he not put lotion out? Why does he not care for himself? Because he doesn’t want anything else getting in the way of his focus on prayer, his focus for God’s people and interceding for them, until the Lord answers. He goes all in with his heart for God’s glory and for God’s people. So his heart, his outward actions, are reflecting his heart. He is consumed by God. He is consumed by prayer to his God. And then we see the messenger before Daniel here, in verses 11 and 19, says to him that he is highly esteemed. He’s highly esteemed because of his posture toward God. He takes his prayer life seriously, and so he comes to the Lord in humility. Look at Verse 12, since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them, because you humbled yourself before God. This messenger comes to him, and then when he when he comes, Daniel continues to be humbled throughout this entire encounter. Look at these things. I’m just going to list the verses. You can hopefully see them there in the text. Verses eight, nine, he says he has no strength left. His face is deathly pale, and he fell into a deep sleep when he heard this man speaking. Verses 10 and 11, he is trembling. First he’s trembling on his hands and knees, and then he’s trembling when he stands. Verse 15, he is speechless. Verse 16, he’s overcome with anguish and he’s weak in verse 17, Daniel says, How can I your servant? Talk with you, my Lord, my strength is gone and I can hardly breathe. This leads to more humility. He’s prayed to God, the messenger with the answer has come before him, which doesn’t lead him to think, man, I am super important, like the Lord showed up. He answered my prayer. No, that’s not what happens. It said. It brings him to his knees, trembling, unable to even speak. It reminds me of another prophet named Isaiah. In Isaiah six, Isaiah sees a vision of the Lord on His throne, and he doesn’t say, look how great I am to be in the presence of God. What does he say? Instead, Woe is me. I am a man of unclean lips, and a people of unclean lips. He’s saying, I shouldn’t be here. Daniel sees I shouldn’t be getting this message from this messenger. And he’s right. Isaiah is right. And so an angel has to go and dig some coal from the altar and come and cleanse his lips and purify him so that he can stand before the presence of God. And similar to what we see here with Daniel, look at his posture in verses 18 and 19. Again, the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength. Do not be afraid. You are who are highly esteemed. He said, peace. Be strong. Now. Be strong. When he spoke to me, I was strengthened. And said, Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength. Daniel experiences the grace of God in this moment, his touch, his words, bringing him strength, only the humble will receive the strength of the Lord. That’s key for us. Remember only the humble will receive the strength of the Lord, the man who is weak because he’s older. He’s fasting. He’s overcome with fear. Now stands boldly before this messenger, not through his own strength, but because he says, because of the strength you gave me, there’s nothing on his own where he can stand before this messenger, Daniel understands then now that he has a role to play in the answer to the his prayers, and he’s finally ready to hear it. All right. So his posture has mattered Throughout all this, and now he stands with the strength of the Lord ready to receive and Cory 10 Boom. Once said this about prayer. We never know how God will answer our prayers, but we can expect that he will get us involved in his plan for the answer. If we are true intercessors, we must be ready to take part in God’s work on behalf of the people for whom we pray. And Daniel is ready, right? Daniel’s ready for what’s coming, not only in this chapter, but 11 and 12 and what God has for him, because he’s going to continue to have a role to play with God’s people as God’s servant. God will start to answer prayers through him. And so when we approach God, we come to him humbly, but at the same time, we come to Him boldly, which seems like can we do both? Can we come to him humbly and boldly. Because humbly we come to Him because we know there’s nothing in ourselves where we can deserve to stand before the God of the universe, to stand in His presence, but boldly, we come because of his grace. We stand in His strength that he’s given to us through His Son and the work he has accomplished for us. So my question in this first section, are you going all in on your prayers and fasting? Does it consume you? We don’t get a whole lot. We can’t get into a whole lot of theology of fasting right now. But let me just make it very practical for us. If you want to go all in on prayer, first, distraction must be minimized. And we think of food and we think of wine. Maybe that’s not the thing for us. Maybe it’s this. This is off, by the way, or else I’d be very distracted up here. This might need to be put aside for a while, because this is distracting us. This is getting us off of what we should be doing. John Piper famously wrote one of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the last day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time. Substitute whatever you wanted for Facebook and Twitter, because this was from a while ago. Substitute whatever it is for you. But at the last day, we cannot say, I did not have time to pray. We can’t so maybe this is what we need to fast from. Maybe this is what we need to put aside so that we can go all in and have our minds and our hearts consumed with God’s glory and his people, and bring all of that to Him in prayer. Because God’s glory matters. God’s people matter, and it needs to consume our prayer life as it does Daniel. So Daniel and his humility approach God in prayer often, and God answered his prayers, showing that he was working through him. So first, posture matters. Let’s continue then on that second point. What else can we pull from this? That prayer works. Prayer works. Daniel has been fasting and praying for three weeks, and now along the bank of the Tigris River, he has a vision of a man, and we get the description of this man, which clearly makes an impact on Daniel. Daniel has not described any other messenger in this way. He has not had the response to this messenger like he has with other messengers throughout the book. So there’s something different about him. And the description we get of this man is very similar, strikingly similar to what we read about when the apostle John sees the Lord Jesus Christ in Revelation one. So you’re going to see Revelation one up on the screen, I hope. And you can glance over at Daniel 10 and kind of see the similarities, but I’ll read similarities, but I’ll read from Revelation, and among the lamp stands was someone like a son of man dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white, like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. And so in this moment, my belief is that this appearance here that Daniel sees is a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus, that the second person of the Trinity appears to him in this vision, not only because of what we see here with Revelation and Daniel, but this messenger is not named. In chapters eight and nine, the messenger is named it’s Gabriel. We also read here about Michael, but we don’t get a name for this messenger that’s talking to Daniel. And then we also get the reaction of the other men who are with Daniel. Look at verse seven in chapter 10, I Daniel was the only one who saw the vision. Those who were with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. This sounds a lot like Apostle Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus, where, as he’s going to persecute Christians, Jesus shows up. A flash of light happens, and Paul hits the ground, and he sees Jesus, and Jesus talks to him and says, Paul, Paul, why are you persecuting me? And look at what it says in Acts nine, verse seven, the men traveling with Saul stood there speechless. They heard the sound, but did not see anyone. So in both of these accounts, Daniel sees the vision, right? Paul. The vision, and everybody else around them knows there’s some sort of presence there in front of them, and it causes terror. They hear it. They can’t see it. They run and hide in fear. Now, I could be wrong. This might not be the pre incarnate Jesus appearing here in this moment. Many people think it is Gabriel. Others think it’s a different Angel. But here’s what all of us agree on, and that is the message is from God, and it’s for Daniel. So whoever’s bringing it, it is God’s words to Daniel in this moment as a response to his prayers. And that matters, because the message that he receives is that Daniel’s prayers have worked. Look at verse 12 again, since the first day that you’ve set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard and I’ve come in response to them. It’s not a coincidence that when the messenger speaks to Daniel, he tells them in verse 12 that he set out to bring the message the message the very first day, Daniel started praying. And then how long did it take for him to get that message there? Three weeks, because he was resisted for 21 days. I’m not very good at math, pretty sure that’s three weeks. 21 days. Three weeks, Daniel continues to pray. Daniel’s prayers have an effect on this message getting to him. The message was sent the first day. The answer was sent the first day, and it’s held up, but Daniel continues to pray until he hears that message. Not only does God answer his prayer here, he’s going to reveal to him the future, pulling back the curtain, but he also pulls back the curtain in a very unique way, because it’s not just about the future. He also pulls it back and says, Let me show you why the message was held up for three weeks. The peak behind the curtain is this, there is a cosmic battle going on that we cannot see unless the Lord chooses to reveal it to us. In the spiritual realm, there are things happening that have a direct impact on what happens here in the seeing world. God sent the message. It was resisted for three weeks, until it finally got to Daniel, and God wants him to see why that is. And so what do we see here? There’s a reference to the Prince of Persia that is resisting this messenger and this message from getting to Daniel. This is another reason why some people think this is not the pre incarnate Jesus could, because Could he really be resisted? And all I’ll say about that is Jesus was killed on the cross, and Satan thought he won, he lost, right? So I don’t know why this might happen in this way, why God would have these 21 days, but the Lord can do that and still bring the message for his purposes, and he’s done that many times throughout Scripture, in His providence. But the reference here to the Prince of Persia is most likely referring to a evil spirit, a demon who has some sort of effect on the king of Persia, and he is resisting this message from getting to Daniel. And so we need to ask the question I’m sure you’re asking. This is some demonology and angelology. Here? Are there demons and angels over certain areas, over certain countries, over certain regimes? And this past week, I’m sure many of you saw way too much red and blue on your screen, and we saw a lot of lines drawn states and districts, we start to realize, all right, there’s different people who are responsible for those districts and those states who are being elected. Is that how it works in the heavenly realms? Is there an angel over here and an angel over there and a demon doing this? I don’t know. I don’t really know what this all means, what this all looks like, but what I do know is that there’s some sort of organization, right? There’s some sort of organization going on, right, but it’s something we cannot see unless the Lord chooses to reveal it to us. But I think when you look at world history, there are some governments, some leaders and some people that have done things so evil, there had to be something else going on beyond just what we saw, right like the evil that has existed in this country and around the world and still exists. There has to be something beyond what we see. There’s just some mystery for us. What does this look like? What does this mean? How does this impact us? There’s always going to be mystery there, but he’s resisted. We don’t know how this resistance happens, but whatever is happening, it requires the help of Michael, who we read about again later in Daniel, but also in Revelation. He’s referred to as the archangel, or the chief Angel. Only Michael and Gabriel are given names. He is important in verse 21 look at Daniel 10. Verse 21 what do we see? See that Michael is your prince. It says, and probably not referring to Daniel’s Prince, but more so the the people of Israel, right? It’s plural. It’s your prince. It’s the people of Israel’s Prince, like Michael, has some sort of responsibility for the people of Israel. It, and we don’t know what Michael did, but somehow what Michael did allowed this messenger to get to Daniel, to bring this message at this time. And we’re going to come back to Michael, like I said in later weeks in Daniel. So that’s all we’re going to kind of say for now. But what Daniel sees here is made clear in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians that peel back curtain that Daniel saw. We get a glimpse of it too. Look at Ephesians six, verse 12, For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Scripture is clear that there is a spiritual batter battle being waged right now. It’s been going on. It’s going on right now. And it’s important to know, because prayer matters and prayer works. The prayers we pray now don’t just have an impact on the physical world, the seen, but they can have an impact on the unseen world, the things that we don’t see. Daniel’s prayers helped get this answer to him, which is why this messenger pulls back the curtain so he can see why Jesus lived with this understanding of what’s behind the curtain. He saw it. He knew it. He knew there was something bigger going on in every interaction with people, in everything he saw. He knew when there was spiritual warfare happening. So a few examples from Jesus’ ministry, where prayer and spiritual warfare, where we see these two things in Jesus’ ministry. First, in Mark nine, there’s an impure spirit that the disciples cannot drive out. This is after the transfiguration. He comes down. Disciples cannot get this demon out. He comes and he drives the demon out. And then disciples asked, why couldn’t we do that? And Jesus’s answer is pretty simple. This kind can only come out by prayer. Like Jesus knew there was something bigger going on. He knew who this demon was. He knew what was going to it was going to take was prayer to get that demon from this person, John 17. Jesus is praying for His disciples, and He says, My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, he’s praying to His Father, but that you protect them from the evil one. Jesus saying, don’t take them out of the world, but protect them from the spiritual attacks of the evil one. He’s praying protection over his disciples. He’s praying protection over us from the things that we cannot see that might impact what we do, see what we do experience here and then in Luke, 22 Jesus is talking to Simon Peter, right before he’s betrayed, and he says, Simon, Simon, Satan is asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail and when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers. There was a spiritual battle going on for the disciples and for their faith, and it looks like Satan wins. It looks like they’re on his side when they run from Jesus, when he’s taken, when they betray him, when Peter disowns him, it looks like he has won. But Jesus makes it very clear in his prayers that Satan would not win. Makes it very clear because God will win the cosmic battle. When Peter turns back and strengthens his brothers right, Peter is restored, the disciples follow Jesus and continue to proclaim His name, most of them given their lives for him. So you see, Satan had no chance in this cosmic battle. He may have wanted them, but Jesus knew it wasn’t going to happen.
And Ephesians six Paul goes on to list the spiritual armor of God, which I’m sure we’re very familiar with if you’ve been in the church for a while. This is God’s armor used to help us live out our lives, our Christian lives, and defend against the schemes of the devil. So we have a belt and we have a breastplate and we have shoes, we have a shield, we have a helmet, we have a sword. That is the word of God, but then he goes on to give one more weapon that we have. It’s not referred to as a weapon, but I think we could use it that way, and that is prayer. Look at Ephesians, 618, and pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. This comes right after the armor of God is listed. We have prayer. Prayer matters, prayer works, and we can use it against the schemes of the evil one. For this, what happens here and what happens in the unseen, in the spiritual Now, anytime we talk about spiritual warfare, we talk about demons and angels. You can fall into like kind of two sides. And so we need to be a little bit careful here, because the concern is falling to one and trying to kind of say, alright, let’s bring it back a little bit more to the middle. We don’t want to look at Satan or look for Satan behind every bush. The devil did not make me do everything today. One reason, he’s not omnipresent. He’s not everywhere. The demons are not everywhere. So we can’t blame him for that. We can’t look for him at every little corner, not everything. Evil thing that is done has. Demonic oppression attached to it. In fact, I heard Greg Laurie once say that if the demons and the devil decided to take a month off, we’d still get ourselves into trouble. Yup, like that’s just because that’s the sinful nature that we have, that’s the evil in our hearts that we will choose to rebel against God. So we can’t do that. But on the other side. We can’t ignore the realities that we see here in Daniel we can’t ignore the realities that we see in Jesus’ ministry. We can’t ignore the realities that Paul tells us in Ephesians six, there is something going on that we cannot see. So we got to be careful on falling to one side or the other on the hill at Calvary in Luke 23 we read that Jesus cried out, Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit. And then he breathed his last. He died. And what people saw in that moment, the people that were there in real time, what did they experience a dead man on a cross. That’s what they saw in the seen world. They saw the sky go dark. They saw the earth shake. They saw the curtain of the temple tear in two from top to bottom. That’s what they could see. It’s hard to be there and ignore those things, not notice that they’re taking place around you. But what they didn’t see was the spiritual significance of everything in that moment, they couldn’t see it. They couldn’t see the unseen, which was the decisive blow against Satan, the decisive blow against in this war on evil. When that temple curtain tore in two, it was revealing what was happening in the spiritual realm as well. It wasn’t just a peeled back curtain. It was torn completely. And Caitlin read Colossians two for us earlier, because this is what was happening that people missed on Good Friday, when you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned it, he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross like they just thought it was just talking about Him as the Messiah, and that’s why he was being killed. No, there was so much more on that it was our sins nailed to the cross, and having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them by the cross. He triumphed over them by the cross, by his death. It doesn’t say resurrection. This is all confirmed by the resurrection three days later. But in this moment, what looked like defeat to the world, what they could see was that there was a dead man on a cross. And yet in that moment, Satan and the demons and the power of evil and the power of sin knew that this was the beginning of the end, that it was over for them, that they had lost. And when we pray to God, how does this truth? What Daniel sees in chapter 10, what we know from Ephesians six, what we see in Jesus life. How does this change the way we pray. How does this change the way we pray in exile? So here’s the question we need to ask ourselves, are your prayers big enough? Are your prayers big enough? I don’t mean, do you pray enough? This is not about quantity. That’s important. Paul says, Pray without ceasing. But what I’m saying is is I’m talking about the big bold, impossible prayers. Are we praying those? Because those are the prayers that God will use to shake heaven the unseen and shake the earth the seen, those big bold, impossible prayers. So here’s the question, how do we know if our prayers are big enough? How do we know? Well, use this thought experiment. If God was to answer all of your prayers from the past week, how different would the world look the world? How would evil be impacted by your prayers last week? Would regimes fall, would wars end, would famine turn to harvest? Would people be freed from slavery? Would persecuted Christians find favor in their countries and be able to worship freely? Those are big, bold and possible prayers. But if he answered all of them, would those things happen? Or if God were to answer your prayers from last week, would it change just your little bubble, your life, your home, your relationships, your nine to five, your finances, your health, all of which we should be praying for, right? We should be praying for those things, but what about those big, bold, impossible prayers? I am ashamed to admit that most of my prayers fall in that second category. I do not pray big enough, I do not pray bold enough, and I do not pray enough impossible prayers. We don’t. Know when God will answer our prayers, how he will answer them, but can we expect anything big to happen if we don’t pray them at all? Like, can we pray? Can we can we expect him to do the impossible if we don’t pray for it? Because that’s what Daniel did. That’s what we see him doing throughout his life. Is that true of our prayer life? This is not on the screen, but I’m just going to read James 517 and I hope it’s an encouragement. It says this, Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Elijah was a man like us, and he prayed a big, bold, impossible prayer to stop rain for three and a half years, and guess what? God did it. He was just like us. So today, here’s my challenge, start with one big prayer. What is one big prayer you can pray today that it makes you uncomfortable even to pray because it should. It should. What is that one big prayer that if God said, I’ll answer it tomorrow. What would you pray for? While we must wait for the whole vision until next week, we can deduce from this encounter something important that we must remember when we pray, and that is that God wins. That’s our last section. It’s a shocker. I know. I’m pretty sure this has been our last point of every message in Daniel, but that’s because he wins. God wins, and that’s what we need to look at when we’re praying, no matter the appearance, no matter the circumstances, God wins. So that’s our third section here. Only a sovereign God who wins knows the future. Look at verse 14, because the messenger comes with confidence in verse 14 and says, Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future. For the vision concerns a time yet to come. Only a God who wins knows that, only a sovereign God who wins can have a book referred to in verse 21 as the Book of Truth. This is the only time we get this. This This Book of Truth in this order, and it’s in this context saying what’s happening in the future. I’m going to tell you, Daniel, in response to your prayer, this is what’s going to happen in the future, and he’s going to get it in detail. And only a God who wins sees generations come and generations go. Because what does the messenger say here at the end in verse 20, he says, soon I will return to fight against the Prince of Persia, and when I go the Prince of Greece will come. And we read that, we’re like, Alright, he’s going to fight the prince for a couple weeks, and then Greece is going to come. No, there’s 200 years before this happens, before Greece takes over from Persia, only a God who wins and is sovereign can say, yeah, it’s just going to be like this much of time. It’s not a bit it’s not a big thing, because he’s over history. None of this phases him. He is the one constant, the one constant. Nations will come and go. He knows what’s going to happen. He knows he’s ruling. He will rule forever. And here, in the scene where we live in a broken world, and there is a cosmic battle going on that does impact what we see and what we experience here, there will be real, physical and spiritual hardship as Christians, because we’re exiles in a foreign land. We are not home yet, and yet, if anyone, if anyone, has seen behind the curtain, it’s us. Daniel didn’t have all of this, like he got a glimpse. Do you understand what we have here? We’re the ones that get to see behind the curtain. It’s not like, oh wow. Look at all Daniel got to see. We see it, and we see it clear and fuller than Daniel ever did. We have more. So this should encourage us to pray. This should encourage us to keep praying. Here’s the big idea that I hope we can all hold on to today, you’re going to face physical and spiritual hardship, so don’t stop praying. It’s going to happen. We are exiles, living in a foreign land. We will face physical hardship. We will face spiritual hardship. Don’t stop praying. Daniel did not pray just one time he prayed continually expectantly for three weeks. Maybe we don’t have that kind of endurance, yet we might not have endurance for three minutes, three hours, three days, three decades. How long will we pray? But Daniel keeps praying, so maybe, if you don’t have that kind of endurance yet, here’s what I would have for you as an action step, pray that the Lord would give you the endurance to keep praying. That should be your prayer. Lord, I want to give up. Lord, I’ve been praying for the same thing over and over again, like pray that he would give you endurance to keep. Praying, and maybe you want to challenge yourself with those bigger prayers. A great way to do that is to join the prayer team. Like we’re all on the prayer team. We’ve said this before, but there’s something about coming together to pray. So join the prayer team. Come to Prayer gatherings. Pray big prayers as a family, as a community group, and pray for revision the vision statement that Brandon laid out by 2033 that we’d have two churches planted. That’s a big, bold and possible prayer, by the way. Are you praying for that? Do you want to see that happen? Are you going to keep praying for it, and we’re never doing this in our own strength. We’re doing it in his strength. Maybe you’re still struggling thinking about prayer. So here are these words from AW Tozer. If when we come to prayer, our hearts feel dull and unspiritual, we should not try to argue ourselves out of it. Rather, we should admit it frankly and pray our way through. Some Christians smile at the thought of praying through but something of the same idea is found in the writings of practically every great praying saint, from Daniel to the present day, we cannot afford to stop praying till we’ve actually prayed. And that’s what I hope all of you will be encouraged with today is pray until you actually pray. Like small, small letters, pray until you like all caps, until you actually pray. Tozer says, sometimes the best time of prayer is the last 10 minutes and the first 30 were like, what was I even doing? Because at 30 minutes, you were actually getting ready to actually pray. But how often do we let that time happen, or we just say it’s too hard pray until you’ve actually prayed. Don’t stop praying until you’ve actually prayed. Get rid of the distractions, right? It should consume us, and keep praying. Let’s pray now.
All powerful God, the one who hears and answers our prayers, we come before you today and pray that You would help us to put on the full armor of God so that we can take our firm stand against the schemes of the devil. Help us to remember that we have divine power to demolish strongholds and take every thought captive, to make it obedient to Christ. There are big prayers that all of us should be praying. Lord. Show us today how we should pray. Bring these things to our mind. Give us the endurance to keep praying, and as we submit to you, help us to resist the devil, and we know he will flee from us. Lord, You have given us our salvation through your Son, Jesus, on that cross, the greatest victory in the world shook Heaven and Earth, and now we are called to pray big prayers that you will use to continue to shake Heaven and Earth for Your glory and for our good. We pray all this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

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Repentance in Exile November 3, 2024 | Brandon Cooper The sermon on Daniel 9 discusses the consequences of sin, both individually and corporately, and how Daniel’s prayer of confession and repentance models the proper response. It highlights the importance of studying God’s word, like Daniel did, and the need for the church to engage in corporate confession of sin. The sermon then explains the prophetic vision given to Daniel about the coming Messiah and the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom. Finally, it emphasizes the joy and strength that comes from receiving God’s forgiveness through repentance and faith in Christ.

Good morning. You want to go ahead, grab your Bibles. You can open up to Daniel chapter nine. We’ll be in Daniel chapter nine this morning as you are turning there. I’m sure many of you know, if you’ve got any world history in you at all, that for decades, the white minority in South Africa brutally oppressed and exploited the black majority population under the apartheid system, and in which, by the way, the church was notoriously complicit for a long time, although we should also add the church was instrumental in bringing that to an end for different reasons. But what happens then? So apartheid comes to an end, and with the rise of democracy there in South Africa, blacks began to ascend to power. And the big question was, what was going to happen next, after all these long years of oppression and injustice, what now? Because justice would seem to demand retribution, punishment, maybe even vengeance. And so in a lot of ways, the world was collectively holding its breath, expecting the bloodbath that was coming in South Africa in 1995 or so. Why? Because sin has consequences. I mean, that’s why, that’s all there is to it. Sin brings about all sorts of suffering. So if you break rules and trample rights, we get punished, and that’s what we’re expecting. It’s easy to say that, it’s easy to point that out break rules get punished when you’re pointing your fingers somewhere else, like South Africa, which is far away. But what about you? Because you have broken the rules. You have broken God’s rules. Specifically, the standard is perfection, and we all fall short. I hope I don’t need to convince you of that, but just in case, I do you know, here are some examples to think through. You can probably think of times in the last week when this has been true of you, when you’ve blown up an anger, for example, and realized the anger was not about injustice but about inconvenience. It was selfish anger, or you’ve used your words in a cutting or careless or unkind way you take stock of the relationships in your life, and you realize you got a tendency to use people to see them as means to an end, as opposed to loving them as divine image bearers. Or this is the one that I know is true of all of us, even right now in this moment, which is that we can pay lip service to worshiping God while our hearts are chasing after idols. Of course, we look to money or status or power, whatever it may be, for that significance and security that belongs to God alone comes from God alone. So we’ve all broken the rules. We’ve all sinned, which means we experience the consequences of our bad choices. Again, this is just what happens. Go back to the first example I gave. You blow up in anger and start yelling at somebody say harsh words. You’re going to suffer the consequences of a broken relationship. That’s just kind of how it goes. And of course, on a grand scale, all of our suffering is a consequence of human sin, because it was sin that brought sickness and death into God’s perfect world. We sin, we suffer. It’s that simple. So what can we do, then, in the midst of the sin and the suffering? That’s the question we want to ask as we look at Daniel chapter nine, which is a brief interruption in a series of crazy visions. Except, don’t worry, we get to a crazy vision at the end of chapter nine, still. But how do we respond to suffering? Let’s take a look at it and guess usual kind of go by scenes here. So we got three scenes, the word prayer and insight. Start with Scene one, the word and here it is Daniel nine, one to three in the first year of Darius, son of Xerxes, a Mede by descent, who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom in the first year of his reign, I Daniel understood from the scriptures, according to the Word of the Lord given to Jeremiah, the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last 70 years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting than in sackcloth and ashes. It is no surprise that we find Daniel in private worship here in this moment, worship, in fact, is one of the prominent themes in the book of Daniel. God’s sovereignty, is probably the main one, but worship might be theme number two, as one commentator put points out the issue is not so much the style of worship. That’s not what we’re talking about when we say worship is the theme here, not so much the style of worship, as it is an expression of loyalty to a particular deity, right? Not how we worship, but whom we worship that matters most. And we’ve seen this all along, right? Daniel won’t eat in certain foods. Foods in chapter one because he wants to be clear on whom he worships. He gets tossed in alliance then because he’s clear on whom he’s going to worship. His friends get put in a fiery furnace because they’re clear on whom they’re going to worship. But it is worth pondering again as we run through all those stories, you know, even in our minds, how does Daniel maintain such steadfast devotion in the midst of such severe trials? And we get our answer here in so many ways, the answer is constant prayer and study. Constant prayer and study. We see him praying under Nebuchadnezzar, and decades later we see him praying under Cyrus, the great Darius, son of Xerxes. We met him earlier. By the way, if you weren’t here, you got all the questions. Maybe Cyrus’s throne name, maybe somebody who’s in charge of the Babylonian part of the Persian Empire. I don’t know one of those two, but he’s still praying. And this is a remarkable passage. That’s why, by the way, there are only three verses I must spend as much time here as I must spend in. Gonna spend in in the other two section as well. It’s such a remarkable passage, because we’ve got Daniel who has proven himself to be a man of wisdom and insight and understanding, Daniel who can interpret dreams and visions, who can actually even tell you what you dreamed last night, Daniel is still giving careful attention to the study of God’s Word in order to grow in wisdom and understanding. I love the way John Calvin says it. He says, although Daniel was an interpreter of dreams, he was not so elated with confidence or pride as to despise the teaching delivered by other prophets. He was like, I’m not so impressive that I don’t need to read what other people have written down of God’s Word. So if Daniel thought he should study them, like, how much more should we? Because I don’t know about you, I don’t feel like Daniel most days, like we need God’s word. I could come up with many, many answers to the question, Why should I study God’s Word? But here’s one, because Daniel did. And until I’ve got Daniel’s godliness, I’m gonna assume I certainly need his means of grace. But there’s more than that. It’s not just his example, although that’s real. It’s because Daniel studying Jeremiah gives me such confidence in this book right here, because you’ve you’ve asked these questions before. Some of you may even be asking these questions now, like, how did we get the Bible? Why is it these 66 books that we have? Are they really authoritative? Aren’t there any other writings that would matter, that we should study, but we see the answer in this story, the answer, how do we get the Bible? Is that God gave us the Bible, and the people of God recognized as authoritative holy scripture from the very beginning, because Jeremiah is Daniel’s contemporary, like when Daniel is heading off into exile back in chapter one, is when Jeremiah is prophesying, and Daniel immediately goes, that’s the word of the Lord, which is what he calls it, right? The scriptures the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah, the prophet. So he’s studying it as scripture. Reminds me of what Peter says about Paul’s writings when he’s like, I know they’re hard. And guess what? That just means you should study them more the way you study the other scriptures, like it’s part of Scripture already. So Daniel is reading Jeremiah, his contemporary as the word of God. Now, a little background in Jeremiah. I’ll try not to go off on a major tangent, although it’s one of my favorite books in the Bible. But Jeremiah reflects the theology of Deuteronomy, especially Deuteronomy is all about the covenant, really is the book of the covenant. And the question Jeremiah is answering in 52 chapters is what happens when we break the covenant that God made with us. The covenant is a little bit like a treaty. Deuteronomy is written like a vassal treaty. So you get a a powerful king who conquers other kings. Therefore he’s a king of kings, right? So we see in Babylon and Persia, and he’ll set up these treaties with these lesser conquered kings, and kind of say, basically, if you obey, I’ll bless you. So if you pay tribute and don’t rebel, I’ll protect you from other kings. But if you disobey, you don’t pay tribute, and you rebel, I’ll come and sack Jerusalem, basically. And that, of course, is exactly what happens. And so Deuteronomy even lists curses, because this is God who is the King of kings, and he making this treaty with us. And so he says things like, if you disobey, then I will scatter you among the nations. For example, Deuteronomy, 2864, and Jeremiah goes, guys, we gotta pay attention to this. Like this is what’s coming any day now. Well, what Jeremiah warned Daniel, of course, lived as he was scattered among the nations. But what’s interesting about Jeremiah that Deuteronomy doesn’t have. Have is the length of the exile. Jeremiah tells us it will go for 70 years. Just gotta mention, real quick, 70 years. Symbolic number, okay, like big round number, usually a good hint that we got symbolism happening here. Think of Matthew 1822 when Peter says, How many times should I forgive Lord seven times. And Jesus says, No, 70 times, seven times. That doesn’t mean you count to 490 in your head, and then go, boom, don’t have to forgive you anymore. Jerk. Nothing like that, right? Seven is a perfect number. 70 is an even bigger perfect number multiplied by, you know, so you multiply all these perfect numbers. Like, just go on forgiving, okay? Like, that’s the whole point. Same thing here, 70 years big round number, symbolic number. And really it’s symbolic of a lifetime. That’s what 70 years is. And so God, through His Prophet, Jeremiah, is saying, you’re going to be there for one lifetime. We see this though there’s going to be just one lifetime places like Jeremiah, 29, verse 10. When 70 years are completed, for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. By the way, that’s Jeremiah 2910 anyone know Jeremiah? 2911 I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you, not to harm you. That’s what that means. By the way, that’s what that verse is about. It’s not about you getting a promotion at work. It’s about God bringing his people back from exile. Just an important reminder, because evangelicals love to rip verses out of context, like Yankees fans ripping the ball out of Mookie Betts glove. That’s not original. I wish I could take credit for that, and I saw the meme. That’s Jeremiah. 2910 here’s Jeremiah. 2511 and 12. This whole country will become a desolate wasteland. Then these nations will serve the king of Babylon 70 years. When the 70 years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt, declares the Lord, and I will make it desolate forever, by the way, you can understand then why this piques Daniel’s curiosity, because Babylon just got punished. This is in the first year of King Cyrus, the guy who conquers the Babylonian Empire. And so Daniel is going, Well, hey, if the first half of the prophecy, the destruction of Babylon is complete, then it’s probably time to start praying for the second half of the prophecy, the restoration of Israel. Notice that as he’s thinking about this, he’s not concerned about his return from exile, though, but the end to Jerusalem’s, and especially the temple’s desolation, right? I understood from the prophet Jeremiah that the desolation of Jerusalem would last 70 years. His concern here is not his circumstances. His concern is God’s worship, and at this point, at least, we need the temple in order for that to happen. So he’s pleading with God for God’s glory. Would you let your worship flourish once more? And he prays this interestingly, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. These are all expressions of mourning and really repentance. Why? Because a passage like Jeremiah requires confession like that’s the proper response, not a prayer for illumination, but a prayer of confession. And so you see it. You see his humility and his zeal in this moment. There are so many lessons for us here in these three verses, but chief among them, of course, is Daniel’s responsiveness to God’s Word in prayer. And he reads God’s word and he prayerfully responds to it. He read with an eye to God’s promises, and so when he saw one of God’s promises, he prayed it like he didn’t give into fatalism. Well, it said 70 years, so we got a little bit longer to wait. I guess I’ll just put my feet up. No. He springs into action because of the promises, and begins pleading with God, interceding, basically saying, God do what you said you were going to do. Here’s the way Matthew Henry Puritan, famous commentator on the Bible says it. He says, hear God speaking to you, and have an eye to that in everything you say to him, because you hear him, and then that should drive your response. He gives this analogy. He says, it’s like when you write an answer to a letter of business, you lay it before you. So I got to answer this email. I’m going to have that email up as I’m typing my answer, so that I can keep going back like this, God’s word must be the guide of your desires and the ground of your expectations. In prayer, we’re going to post that quote on Facebook this week. Some of you are like, I gotta write that down. It’ll be there. Okay, so this is the Puritan practice of pleading the promises, right? You read, and then you respond. God speaks, and then we answer in prayer. You ever feel like you don’t know what to pray? I mean, here is the answer, pray the promises of God like I can’t tell you how many times I because I am a sinner, still have prayed Philippians, one you said. You would carry this work to completion until the day of Christ, Jesus, the good work that you began in me. Would you do it? Lord? Would you do it? Or first, Thessalonians five, right, that God’s going to sanctify us through and through, so that our bodies, spirits, souls, be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord, Jesus, Christ. And then he says, Paul says, The one who called you is faithful, and he will do it. And you go, Look, Lord, you said you were going to do it. Would you sanctify me through and through? By the way, just a final word before we move to the next section. If this was true of Daniel reading Jeremiah, how much more should this be true of us? Because we get to read a better word, a fuller word, right? Hebrews chapter one, in the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets. In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. That’s the word we read and respond to. How do we respond? We respond in prayer. Here it is, second scene, verses four to 19, Daniel’s prayer, I prayed to the Lord my God, and confessed Lord the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of love with those who love Him and keep His commandments. We have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled. We have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants, the prophets who spoke in your name, to our kings, our princes and our ancestors and to all the people of the land, Lord, you are righteous, but this day, we are covered with shame. The people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, and all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors, are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you, the Lord, our God is merciful and forgiving. Even though we have rebelled against Him, we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through His servants, the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away refusing to obey you. Therefore, the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us because we have sinned against you. You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster under the whole heaven. Nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem, just as this is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us. The Lord our God, is righteous in everything he does, yet we have not obeyed Him. Now. Lord, our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned. We have done wrong. Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill, our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and all and your people an object of scorn to all those around us now, our God. Hear the prayers and petitions of Your servant for your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. Give ear our God and hear, open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. Lord, listen, Lord, forgive, Lord, hear and act for your sake, my God, do not delay because your city and your people bear your name. Notice, first of all, that he prays to the Lord all caps. In other words, he prays to Yabe why? It’s actually not that common in Daniel to have God’s covenant name, but it’s proper here, because he’s using the covenant name Yahweh as he talks about the covenant, because the prayer appeals to God’s covenant promises to forgive and restore his people. And of course, that’s how he addresses God in the prayer as well. He calls him great and awesome because of, as Paul house put it, because of his unstinting covenant fidelity. He is faithful to the covenant. And then, of course, he goes on and says, you know, this is the God who keeps his covenant of love. So everything he said so far, he is laser focused on God’s covenant faithfulness. Again, there’s such a lesson for us in this, the power of invocation in prayer. I know that most of us, when we pray, we kind of just go to the same address every time. Maybe it’s Dear God, maybe it’s father or Lord, but we just kind of say it and just kind of move on from there. That’s not how Daniel’s praying. That’s not how a lot of people in church history have prayed either. Like we need to remind ourselves of who God is, what aspects of his character we want to lean on in this moment so that we pray Well, a great lesson for us is is just what we get here in Daniel, where whatever address you use for God followed up with who, right so, Lord our God, who you. Keeps his promises. Who is going to, you know, finish the good work he started in me, who whatever you need to remember at that moment, include it in your invocation. But if Daniel stacks up words of praise here, he equally stacks up words of contrition as he considers the people of God, he says we’ve sinned, which means to miss the mark. He says, we’ve done wrong, which is twisting God’s word, where we’ve acted wickedly. I don’t need to explain that one. We’ve rebelled right against our King, who is God. He says, We’ve turned away from the law, and then we haven’t listened to the prophets either, so we’re ignoring God’s commands, and then also ignoring those who call us back to God’s commands. That’s a lot right there, like I read this prayer and I think, do we take sin as seriously as Daniel does here? Do we own God’s righteous judgment? And what’s even more interesting about all that is Daniel’s praying this way for corporate confession. This isn’t Daniel’s sin. This isn’t David in Psalm 51 after committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering her husband, Uriah, when he says, I have sinned against you. You know transgression, iniquity, whatever you want to call it. Yes, Lord, that’s what it was. I understand that piece, but here Daniel like, like Daniel’s done pretty well, and what we’ve seen in his life, clearly, he had sin in him, but we don’t see like these overt acts of wickedness and rebellion. And you hear saying, you are right to judge us, Lord, because he understands what it means to have solidarity with God’s covenant people. The covenant people broke God’s covenant, and so God’s covenant people, corporately, need to confess their sin. And this gets hard for some people. This is a tricky one corporate confession, because we kind of want to go that wasn’t me, right. You can imagine the church today in South Africa, the white church, kind of going like, Yeah, but I didn’t participate in apartheid, so I don’t need to talk about that. That’s South Africa. That’s really far away. Were there any instances of racial exploitation and oppression in this country that you can remember of in which the church was notoriously complicit? Yeah, so we gotta own that piece too. What about sin today? Though, something’s coming on Tuesday, Jake talked about that. I won’t talk about that too much because I get all, you know, we don’t want to go off but, but let’s just think about this. Because right now, our country is in two halves, small group of us who are like, I’m not having anything to do with either half, but you know, two halves, and we like to talk about the sins of the other half. But what would it look like for the church, the covenant people of God, who have unity in Christ, Jesus, that certainly transcends political parties, never mind nation states to confess all of our sins. I’m gonna step on everyone’s toes here. Alright? You good? We ready for this? Okay, alright, here we go. What would it look like for the Church of God to go we have sinned against you by, for example, laughing at jokes about how the nation of the island, state of Puerto Rico, is a floating pile of garbage that we have dehumanized immigrants to this country where they’re legal or illegal, we have treated them as less than God’s image bearers, which is a strange thing to do for people who talk a lot about the sanctity of human life. Oh, but we got to talk about that one too, don’t we, because what about the church, the people of God, who have compromised on issues like abortion and human sexuality and God’s plan for marriage? Because it doesn’t fit with what our Party is trying to do, Did I step on everyone’s toes? I got everyone let me know. If I didn’t, I can, I can get you later. Okay, you understand that? Like, people don’t like that, like what I just did. There probably was some part of that where you’re like, Hmm, why? Because, in corporate confession, people sometimes own what we might not be willing to but what we must, why? Because of what Daniel says here, verse seven, because, Lord, you are righteous, and that should probably scare us. The word righteous has legal and ethical overtones. So uh oh, because we are not righteous and God is here’s the good news, though, the word righteous doesn’t just mean like ethically perfect. The core word in Hebrew has the idea of wholeness, so maybe integrity would be a good English rendering of it there. Like God is whole. God is always. Who he always is, and so his righteousness is the basis both of his judgment and of His mercy. He is the God who forgives wickedness, rebellion and sin, yet does not leave the guilty unpunished. Exodus. 34 that is who he always is, which means looking at second half of verse 11, we can’t complain when he exiles his people, therefore, the curses and sworn judgments have been poured out on us, right? We can’t complain when God brings suffering into our lives, when he exiles his people into a foreign nature, nation, or allows us to suffer the consequences of our sin, because he’s just keeping His covenant character. He is who he always is, and he did what he said he’d do. If you’re a parent, you probably have had this conversation at some point with your toddler, usually right after, you know, got themselves some taps on their behind, kind of thing, and the toddler is like, why did you do this to me? And you’re like, I just told you. Like, if you say shut up to your mom and hit her again, I’m gonna paint your back porch red. We mean, why did I do this to you? Like I just but even that illustration is right? Because when I have done that, that’s a real interaction, right? Okay, even when I’ve done that, I don’t do that because I hate my kids. I do it because I love my kids. Or this is the father disciplining us in love, and that’s what we see in this moment when he keeps his covenant by bringing covenant judgment on us. Now, as I said before, the focus is on Jerusalem and the temple. We see it here again, right? That’s what verse 12 is getting at, even when it says, under the whole heaven, nothing has ever been done, like what has been done to Jerusalem? And you’re like, really? Like, we’ve been sacking cities since, you know, just about Eden. Like, what do you mean it hasn’t happened before? What hasn’t happened before is God bringing his worship to an end by allowing the temple to be destroyed. And that caught Israel off guard. They assumed they were safe because God dwells in Jerusalem, right? Because his temple was there. That’s actually why they arrest Jeremiah. Interestingly, because they’re like, no, he’s like, sinned against the temple by saying God’s going to destroy it. The only reason they don’t execute him, right then, is because they read Micah and realized, oh, wait, they did that too. And then they even say like, Yeah, but when we read Micah, we repented, and so God didn’t allow his temple to be destroyed. Maybe we should try that instead of arresting Jeremiah. But common sense did not win out there. So Jeremiah says things like this. This is the Lord speaking through Jeremiah. Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house which bears my name and say we’re safe, safe. To do all these detestable things has this house which bears my name become a den of robbers to you, famously quoted by Jesus, of course, you see the issue. What he’s bringing out there is that the people had presumed upon God’s presence, and so God had to punish them. And then in verse 13, Jeremiah said, Jeremiah, Daniel says, What about us? Have we caught on yet? Yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. They hadn’t paid attention to the word. They hadn’t turned from their sin yet. So he’s the Prophet doing what Prophets do. He’s standing at the bow of the Titanic yelling iceberg, going like turn turn, knowing that it may take a long time for the people of God to actually start to turn. So he’s turning for them in this prayer as representative of his people, and his specific request in those last two paragraphs of the prayer are, what Lord would you get your city and your temple back up and running again quickly? Why he says it over and over and over again, for your sake. Lord, do this for your sake. God, because this city and this people bear your name, act for your glory. Lord, anytime we’re praying, God would glorify himself. We know we are praying according to his will, and He will answer that prayer, but this is what responsive prayer looks like. You read the law, you see where you fall short,
you confess and repent, you read the promises of God, and you plead that God would bring them to pass. The big question, of course, is Will God answer? Let’s see as we read the last scene, Insight verses 20 to 27 while I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and making my request to the Lord my God for His holy hill, while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in Swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. He instructed. To me and said to me, Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision. 70 sevens are to creed for your people and your holy city, to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. No one understand this. From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven sevens and 62 sevens will be rebuilt with streets in a trench. But in times of trouble, after the 62 sevens, the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood. War will continue until the end and desolations have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with many for one seven. In the middle of the seven, he will put an end to sacrifice and offering, and at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. So it is while he’s still confessing and pleading that Gabriel arrives. So we get the answer to our question, yes. God hears and God answers prayer. What an encouragement to us, especially when we see how touching this response is, and he says, I’ve come because you are highly esteemed. You look, in other translations, might say loved or very precious, which is exactly what that word gets at. And again, this is probably a reminder we need, because we struggle so with guilt and shame. God loves you. If you belong to Christ. He is not disappointed in you. He is eager to respond to your prayers. Gabriel comes at the time of the evening sacrifice, which is so interesting, because guess what’s not happening right now evening sacrifices, because the temple was destroyed. Also, Daniel lives in Babylon, not Jerusalem, and we’re talking 65 years since he’s seen an evening sacrifice, and yet he still measures his life in those terms. He is unconsciously driven by God’s worship. Again, this is one where I go. Have we lost this? Maybe because worship is so easy for us, like we just get to gather. We had it taken away from us for a time during the pandemic, and so for a brief moment, corporate worship was so precious to us that we could almost go this would have been the time we would have gathered. And now it’s easy again, and now we’ve got other things to do, but Gabriel arrives to give Daniel insight at the time the evening sacrifice gives Daniel insight into Jeremiah’s prophecy, because Daniel is thinking, it’s time for desolation to end. And Gabriel comes to say, what you’re asking for is bigger than you think. We’re not talking about the end of the exile. We are talking about the coming of God’s forever kingdom. That’s what you’re really after. So God prepares him and prepares us for what’s coming. And it’s 70 sevens okay, we already talked 70 and seven, right? So everybody’s clear already. We’re talking symbolic numbers here. Okay, so if you’re going to try and find what 490 years are being talked about, even assuming that seven means years or something like that, good luck to you. Okay, it is symbolic in the perfect time, the way the gospel writers would say it would be in the fullness of time, right? Like that’s when it’s going to happen. We we have to have this in our minds as we read apocalyptic again, we’re doing revelation. Okay, I’m just prepping you. That’s the only reason, Daniel, so you’re ready for revelation in January. Okay? I remember, I think I shared this before, somebody once called the church. They wanted to talk to the pastor. They had theological questions. I answered the phone and she says, do you take the Bible literally? That was the one question. And I went, I know what you’re asking, and the answer is yes, but not to the question you ask, because you’re not asking the right question. I take the literal parts of the Bible literally, and the figurative parts I take figuratively, and the symbolic parts I take symbolically, and sometimes it’s hard to know what’s what I grant, which is why we carefully study God word and keep hoping Gabriel will show up and help us out. Because, man, this part is tricky, right here. Okay, so this is a symbolic amount of time. What happens during these 70 sevens? Well, verse 24 is really helpful for us, because it gives us the six goals. Like this is the end that Daniel is really hoping for. What is it where we’re going to stop sinning two times, right? Says it like and repeats it pretty much. We get atonement for sin, everlasting righteousness. That sounds something better than the end of exile, right? Like that’s something bigger than that. We’re going to seal up vision and prophecy, which probably means bring them all to fulfillment, all the promises of God, and then we are going to anoint the most holy place, the temple. Uh, that certainly would be what Daniel would have heard there. But of course, we know that Jesus is the temple who is coming. So probably Jesus, who is the Anointed One, the Messiah, plus it just says the Holy of Holies. It doesn’t actually say place. So was it most holy place, or is it the most holy person in Jesus? It’s one in the same. So it doesn’t really matter. But what a day that will be right when these six things are true, like that is the fulfillment of everything we are longing for, but it will be a long time coming, and that’s the point that Gabriel is making here. So we get another four fold scheme, I guess these 70 sevens. In some ways it’s two because the seven and the 62 get put together, and then there’s another seven. In some ways it’s four because that seven is divided in half, and in some ways it’s three. If I can’t even tell you how many sections we got, you know, we’re in trouble, right? Okay, so let’s talk about it. First one the seven sevens talking about, from Cyrus’s decree that the exile is over, the people of God can return to Jerusalem, to the coming of the anointed one. At least in the NIV we got a capital, a capital O, that makes us think Jesus. But of course, not necessarily. They didn’t have capitals back then and stuff. We anoint priests. We anoint kings. Are we talking about Joshua, the high priest, Zechariah three? Are we talking about Zerubabel, the king in the line of David? Or are we actually supposed to squish the 62 and the seven together? In which case, maybe we actually are talking about Jesus. I don’t know. And then at the end of the 62 the Anointed One is cut off. Okay, the city and the temple have been rebuilt by the end of that 62 although with difficulty. If you’ve read Ezra Nehemiah or Maccabees, you know just how true that is, of course. But what Anointed One is being cut off? Are we talking because of what’s coming here in a moment, about Antiochus that we met last week, and when he cuts off Anias, the third, the high priest at that time? Or are we talking about Jesus, who is the Anointed One, who is definitely cut off. And big things happen at that moment. And then the last seven the ruler shows up, although the Anointed One was called the ruler earlier, but this is a different ruler, and he desecrates the city in the temple, and he brings war, and he confirms a covenant with many, which sounds really good, unless we’re talking about a military treaty with like, bad people in Jerusalem, which Antiochus certainly had. Talk about more that more. When we get to chapter 11, is this Antiochus? Is this Titus under Rome? Does the same thing? Is this Satan? Or when we get to verse 27 is the he? They’re not talking about the ruler, but it’s talking about the anointed one, in which case it’s Jesus who establishes the new covenant with us when he’s cut off, which would be kind of cool. And then we get the second half of the last seven the abomination that causes desolation, which we know happened under Antiochus, and then again under Titus. And then Jesus talks about it like it’s still to come, I don’t know. But then it ends with until the end that is decreed is poured out on him, which is really good news. Who here is hoping Gabriel shows up in a moment like that is me summarizing the very best commentaries on Daniel. Okay, but don’t miss the point. Like, that’s the nice thing about apocalyptic, right? It’s meant to be elusive, allusive, symbolic. I think of it like expressionist paintings, if you know expressionism, right? Like they’re trying to paint joy. And what happens when people look at candy. I used to teach Kandinsky, and I would have people look at it, they’d be like, Oh yeah, you can kind of see the canons here. And you’re like, they’re not canons. Okay? He’s trying to express joy, but we just want to, like, fixate on concrete images, and that’s what we do. So we read apocalyptic and we go Apache helicopters, and God goes, No, you’re missing it. Okay, just take it in what it’s trying to express to us, what is it? Bad things will happen. The end will come. That’s what we need to get in all of this at the perfect time like Daniel wants the end of the 70, the end of exile and desolation. And Gabriel says it’s be more like 770s until true exile, our spiritual exile and true desolation ends, and God’s forever kingdom comes, but it will come because everything is going to plan. Because our big theme in Daniel, right, in spite of appearances, I was
really hoping you guys would know that one by now. In spite of appearances, God is in control. God is reigning. Everything is going according to his decrees and his promises. So what do we do in the meantime, though, like, how do we bring the two halves of this section together, the prayer of repentance on the one hand, and then this vision of the end on the other? Well, what’s the goal of the end? Again? Verse 27 the end of sin, full atonement per. Perfect righteousness from our perspective, we lay hold of that through repentance and faith. And I think that is the lesson, right? Instead of guessing when start living in light of then, like bring the future into the present, and it’s all about the covenant. So our big idea for the day when we suffer the consequences of covenant breaking. We can confess, repent and trust the covenant keeper. You notice I said, Can? We can not like we must, we should. Yes, you must and you should. But it’s not that we have to confess and repent and trust. It’s that we get to confess and repent and trust in the God who keeps the covenant like that’s the part that applies to us today. Only we’ve got so much more understanding even than Daniel did. We have broken the covenant in Adam, the human race has broken the covenant. That is why the world is bleak. That is why evil exists, and that is why we suffer, sometimes directly, as a direct result of our choices we experience as the consequences of sin, sometimes indirectly. Tornado hit Oklahoma yesterday, not because they sinned more than we did, but because we live in a broken world. That’s the bad news, but there’s such good news. What we break? God restores, preserves, keeps. It’s another part of Jeremiah. Kyle actually quoted part of it as he was reading from Hebrews this morning. Says the New Covenant, the days are coming when I will make a new covenant. God says through Jeremiah, new meaning the old is insufficient and will soon be obsolete. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors, because they broke my covenant. That was the problem with the Old Covenant, right is that we broke it, we couldn’t keep it. And so God says, this is the covenant I will make. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. That’s the heart of the Covenant right there, for I will forgive their wickedness, and we will remember and we’ll remember their sins, no more, like we need a covenant that answers the Bible’s big question, which is, how can God eradicate sin and yet still welcome sinners? That’s the big question. How can God make us into covenant keepers? What will that look like? The answer is, well, because God is righteous, that’s what it will look like. His holiness and His mercy will meet perfectly where the hill of Calvary, of course, and what does Jesus say the night before he ascends that hill? This cup is the new covenant, which is in my blood, poured out for you. That is the answer to all of our questions right there. How can God eradicate sin and still welcome sinners because of Jesus, because He punished our sin, our covenant breaking in Jesus. That’s what Jesus takes from us, and then He gives us His perfect righteousness. When we see that, it leads us to repent, because we are aware that we’ve broken the covenant, but he’s kept it, and that stirs something so deep within our hearts that we long to return to Him, to be faithful to Him. Now, we’re not perfect. The presence of sin still lingers in our lives, and so our whole life is by the way, Reformation Day was last week, right? First, the 95 theses, the whole of the Christian life is repentance, and that’s what Luther is getting at right there, right? Is because we keep sinning, we keep turning and we keep trusting, we keep repenting. Kyle read that for us as well. Hebrews 1014, right? Look at the balance in this phrase, by one sacrifice he has made perfect, there’s your everlasting righteousness, because it’s Christ’s righteousness given to us his all sufficient mercy in us now by one sacrifice he has made perfect. It’s done forever those who are being made holy, oh, it’s not done. Something still needs to happen in us. So how do we hold those two together? We acknowledge our sin, we feel godly sorrow that leads us to repentance and to seek God’s restoration. We don’t cower in guilt and shame because it’s the joy of the Lord that is our strength, that he reconciles us to himself and to each other too. Go back to South Africa just briefly. I know a lot of you know the answer to that question. You know what was coming next? Was it gonna be bloodbath? So what everyone was expecting? But that’s not what happened. Because instead of bloodshed, Archbishop Desmond Tutu headed up the Commission on truth and reconciliation, and the whole point was, basically, if you acknowledge the truth, you could experience reconciliation. So if those who participated in this great evil would come forward and admit their guilt, they would receive amnesty, certainly in terms of physical violence, but often legally as well. That is a picture of the gospel in action. It is also a. Picture of the gospel, isn’t it? Because that’s what we get here. If we come forward and admit our guilt, we receive amnesty in Christ, all because of Jesus. When we suffer the consequences of covenant breaking, we get to confess and repent and trust once more and the covenant keeper. Let’s go to Him in prayer now, Lord, we confess that we have broken the covenant. We have not lived up to the standard you have set for us. We have sinned, acted wickedly, rebelled against you. We have ignored your commands and ignored the prophets who are calling us back to your commands. We have been apathetic about corporate worship, we have been lazy when it comes to prayer and the study of Your Word. We are guilty Lord, but you are righteous. You keep your covenant with us. You will be our God, and we will be your people, and you’ve made away by the blood of Christ. Help us, Lord to remember that truth again, especially as we celebrate the Lord’s supper together now, and help us, Lord to live in light of that truth with that joy that comes from our forgiveness. Lead us to ongoing repentance and an ongoing pursuit of the holiness to which you call us. We pray for Your name’s sake. Amen.

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Victory in Exile October 27, 2024 | Brandon Cooper The sermon examines Daniel’s vision of a ram and a goat, representing various kingdoms’ rise and fall. The vision is interpreted by the angel Gabriel, who explains that it foretells the eventual defeat of evil, even though it may seem to triumph for a time. The key message is that God is in control of history and that evil has an expiration date, as proven by the resurrection of Jesus. The congregation is encouraged to take heart, be courageous, and live in light of God’s ultimate victory.

All right. Well, good morning church. Go ahead, grab your Bibles. You can open up to Daniel chapter eight. Daniel eight, as you’re turning there. I know some of you at least know that my family and I, we road tripped to Colorado this summer. And you know how road trips go when you’ve got lots of children in the back of the car. We got to, you know, wasn’t even the Iowa border, right? We’re like, maybe DeKalb, probably like Sugar Grove area. And we start getting the question, Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? And it is an important question, because it’s the question that a lot of us ask as well. When we’re going through tough seasons, we’re asking it of the Lord, are we there yet? Are we almost done? Have we reached our destination? Actually think that’s one of the reasons why, in every age since the apostles, people have thought, surely this is the end time, surely we’re almost done. Because they’re thinking the road trips got to be over soon, right? We must be there because we’re so ready to get there, to reach glory. Daniels second vision is God’s answer to our incessant Are we there? Yet, when kids ask that question, parents have two options. One is to lie through their teeth. Sure. We are so close, you know, it’s just Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, it’s like three states. Boom. We’re, you know, we’re so or at least, you know, distract. Maybe we’re not almost there, but it’s almost lunch time. We’ll stop something like that. Okay, so we can lie or distract, or we can help them face reality. We can say, honestly, no, like we’re not getting there till tomorrow evening. Okay, you might as well, just like, settle in, find something to do, start playing the license plate game. Gonna be a long, long trip. God helps us face reality. Here, in this passage, is the key to perseverance is in facing reality squarely, not in deception or distraction, as we’ll see here. We’re going to look at this. You can tell the passage kind of divides into two halves. We get the vision, and then the meaning of the vision, that’ll be our outline for today as well. And then I’ll try and draw some application for us at the end of all that. But let’s start with the vision itself. Daniel, chapter eight, verses one to 14, the third year of King Belshazzar, reign I Daniel, had a vision after the one that had already appeared to me. In my vision, I saw myself in the citadel of Susa in the province of Elam. In the vision, I was beside the Ulay canal. I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other, but grew up later. I watched the rams that charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against it, and none could rescue from its power. It did as it pleased, and became great as I was thinking about this. Suddenly, a goat with a prominent horn between its eyes came from the West, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. It came toward the two horned RAM I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at it in great rage. I saw it attack the RAM, furiously, striking the RAM and shattering its two horns. The Ram was powerless to stand against it. The goat knocked it to the ground and trampled on it, and none could rescue the RAM from its power, the goat became very great, but at the height of its power, the large horn was broken off, and in its place, four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven. Out of one of them came another horn, which started small, but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the beautiful land. It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry hosts down to the earth and trampled on them. Set itself up to be as great as the commander of the army of the Lord. Took away the Daily Sacrifice from the LORD, and his sanctuary was thrown down because of rebellion the Lord’s people and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered, and everything it did and truth was thrown to the ground. Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, how long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled, the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, the surrender of the sanctuary and the trampling under foot of the Lord’s people? He said to me, it will take 2300 evenings and mornings then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated. All right. When we last saw Daniel, he was deeply troubled, and the color was drained from his face because of the vision he got in the last chapter a couple years earlier. Based on that experience, safe to say he did not want another vision. He was not hoping for this, especially if he’s awake this time, because last time it came to him in a dream, well, he gets another one, but very different from the last one. If you remember, from last week chapter seven, Daniel was just standing beside a great sea. Doesn’t tell us where anything like that. And he’s dealing with these beasts that seem like maybe they’ve. Got some history, but they’re almost trans historical. They’re bigger than history. They could stand for a lot of different things. That’s not what we have here. Here Daniel, in his vision, is in Susa, beside the ulai canal, so he’s in a specific place, and as we’ll see, because we’re dealing with a specific history as well. Now, Susa had a long history up to this point. It was an Elamite city, but its glory was still in the future, really, because under Darius the Great, this would become the capital of the Persian Empire. Which certainly makes us think, even though right now we’re in Babylon under the Babylonian Empire, that this vision is going to have something to do with Persia. What do we see then a ram? By the way, in Hebrew, the word for RAM is the same as the word for leader or chief. So that’s, you know what we’re talking about here. We got a ram, two horns charging in every direction. So powerful. Just keeps it taking on challengers. Maybe you watch National Geographic shows, something like that. I know we watched one recently about the animals of Yellowstone. It was dealing with bison, of course. And what happens there’s going to be the alpha male, it’s going to mate with as many of the women as possible, the female bison. And so it’s got to fight off all these challengers. And it kept doing it, kept doing it, kept doing it, and so secured its, you know, DNA legacy, I suppose. But the battle had been so significant that right afterwards, its heart gave out, it collapsed and died, which is a little bit ominous then, because we got a new challenger arising, this goat from the West, just moving so swiftly that its feet don’t even touch the ground, and it attacks the RAM in a rage. Kind of interesting to contrast verse four with verse seven, because in verse four, talking about the RAM, it said none could rescue from its power. And then in verse seven, none could rescue the RAM from its power, the goat’s power at this point. In other words, it what the what the RAM did to others, the goat does to it. So it kind of gets, it’s just desserts. Like, this is a blood bath. There’s nothing close about this. I was trying to think of how to illustrate this. The best I could come up with is, it’s like, if you’re the Director of Student ministries and you got a fantasy football team going up against the senior pastor, and it’s just, you know, obliterated like demoralizing loss. You quit the sport. I hear an amen over here. It felt like there was an but then, at the height of its power, after this conquest, the great horn breaks off. That’s bad news for the senior pastor. But what happens for new horns come up. They divvy up the conquered land, all this territory that has been taken. And then verse nine, an old enemy appears, actually, this is one that we saw last week in chapter seven, that little, that little horn we met in seven, eight, the boastful beast. It seems like that’s who’s back here, and this, this horn threatens the beautiful land. By the way, the beautiful land is absolutely Israel, like that’s what’s being talked about here. Now, what’s interesting is this new horn that comes up is not an important ruler in terms of world history, not a name that most of us would have gotten in our world history class or anything like that. But it’s significant to God and in Scripture, because this ruler threatens God’s people. And it’s interesting because the the horn doesn’t just grow. The horn grows up specifically to heaven, and he attacks the hosts of heaven, and then also the starry host, knocking some of the stars out. What’s being talked about there? You know, it’s apocalyptic, right? So who has any idea, but most likely, the word host means army. And so when we talk about the host of heaven, we’re talking about Israel’s armies. And then the starry host would be the hosts of the stars. Well, the stars are pagan deities. And so in other words, this little horn is is fighting God’s people and also fighting the surrounding pagan nations as well. But he’s successful. He defeats the commander of the heavenly host, commander of the Lord’s army, based on what’s coming next, probably talking about the high priest, actually. So he defeats the high priest and then takes over the temple, including the temple sacrifices, and eventually even throws truth to the ground and tramples it under foot. This is a dark day. This is what many people fear most. They’re no longer free to worship God in the way that you believe he’s calling you to worship. This
would be a worst case scenario, and of course, it’s the lived experience of many people, Christians, even around the world and has been in different times and places you. It’s in moments like these that we begin to cry out with the psalmist, with the prophets, how long Lord Are we there yet? How long is this going to take? Do you see? Do you care? What’s going on? Interesting, of course, this is not just a question that Christians ask, or even that religious people ask exclusively. This is the complaint of Bette Midler famous song from a distance. And what’s being seen from a distance is the world. And the idea is God is at a distance, and from a distance, it just looks like a pretty blue and green marble that’s spinning around in space. And so God doesn’t notice the wars that are happening, the atrocities that are being committed. It all looks fine from far away, but has he ever come near where are you? God just watching from a distance? And that must be why all this is still happening, why he’s unwilling to intervene in Israel, here in the Sudan, in Ukraine, in a cancer ward. I understand that that’s the complaint, but that’s not the picture we get of God here is it, nor is it the picture we get of God anywhere in Scripture. God is watching up close. That’s the whole point of this prophecy. He’s watching up close. He’s involved in history. He’s reigning he’s bringing history to its purposed conclusion, and that’s even where we go next, right? Because the angel asks, How long there’s the complaint, right? There’s the question, How long, Lord? And another angel gives an immediate answer, and the little horn is term limited, he is not going to be there for ever. The the rebellion, later, has been called the abomination that causes desolation. What does it mean? So this, this great evil that causes desolation. When something is desolate, it means it’s empty, right? There’s nothing happening. That’s the temple, right? Because temple sacrifices have stopped. So the temple is desolate. No more sacrifices are being offered because of this evil that that rebellion that causes desolation, it gets 2300 morning and evening sacrifices. Now is this 2300 mornings and evenings, like days, in which case we get six years? Or is this 2300 mornings plus evenings? Which case 11 150 days more? Like three to years? So somewhere in that range, what we’re talking about here three to six year period. And in the light of eternity, three to six years is a blink of an eye. But we are in the middle of a severe trial. Three to six years is an eternity, at least, that’s how it feels. Still, too long are we there yet? But notice how this section ends, the precious promise, right? The temple will be reconsecrated. There is a good ending to this story. There’s the reminder. It’s like the milk in your fridge. Evil has an expiration date, and it may get worse as we get closer to the expiration date, but evil has an expiration date. God will throw it out in the end. That’s the vision that we see here. But what on earth does it mean? That’s our question. Thankfully, same question Daniel has. He needs some help, and so God sends some help. Let’s keep reading as we look at the meaning of this vision, verses 15 to 27 while I Daniel was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man, and I heard a man’s voice from the ULI calling Gabriel tell this man the meaning of the vision. As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate, Son of man, he said to me, understand that the vision concerns the time of the end. While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground. Then he touched me and raised me to my feet. He said, I’m going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end. The two horned RAM that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king. The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation, but will not have the same power in the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a fierce looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation, and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people. He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior when they feel secure. He will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of Princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power. The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision. And for it concerns the distant future. I Daniel was worn out. I lay exhausted for several days, and I got up and what about the King’s business? I was appalled by the vision. It was beyond understanding. So we get three men in this next little section. We’ve got Daniel, of course, and we got one who looks like a son of man. That’s Gabriel, the angel, the first named Angel in the Bible. And then we have this man’s voice, almost certainly that is God’s voice speaking here. This is the second time that Daniel, who’s interpreted so many dreams in his storied career, second time what he needs interpretive help as Gabriel approaches it’s this glorious spiritual being. He falls on his face as one does. He loses consciousness, which happens to Abraham also in Genesis 15, and then the angel revives him, which happens to John in the apocalypse as well. The Vision concerns the time of the end. We have to be careful with this, because we hear time of the end as the End Times. That’s not what it said. It said the time of the end, it is the end of what of the desolation of the Lord’s temple, not the end time specifically. And even when it says what will happen later. We’re talking about later, as in, after your lifetime, Daniel, after Daniel is dead, it’ll be later in the time of wrath. Now that’s another kind of confusing phrase there. Wrath, of course, falls on all who rebel against God’s good reign and refuse to repent. God’s wrath has fallen on Israel. Daniel knows that he’s living in exile because God has brought punishment on his people who have refused to repent. But it also falls on Israel’s enemies, who are God’s enemies as well. Here it’s falling on the little horn and the desecration of God’s temple that happens under him, the persecution of God’s people, still a little bit confused. But then all of a sudden, in you know, verse 20, we start to get some history attached. And if you know your history, this is all easy enough to understand. It all makes good sense, that the vision is there. The two horned RAM is Medo Persia, the Empires. They’re the Medes and the Persians and, you know, kind of two empires, but brought together under Cyrus, the great and Persia. We call it the Persian Empire, not the median Empire. It gets, you know, a little bit bigger, that kind of thing. So that’s the RAM. The goat is Greece. The horn is the first king, meaning the most prominent, most successful, most powerful, certainly the first king to sack Persia. That would be Alexander, who conquers the known world by his early 30s, including Persia in 331, BC. And yes, he conquers so swiftly, it’s like his feet aren’t even touching the ground. He just marches east until it’s all his. But at the height of his power, when he’s reached India, conquered western India, even he dies quite suddenly, again, in his early 30s, possibly poisoned. Who knows what happened? But he dies young when there’s no one who is ready to take his mantle. At that point, he’s got two sons. You know, what happens to two sons who are young when there’s, you know, dynastic issues, they’re murdered, of course. And so we get these four governors who come up and who rule these four tetrarchies, Macedonia, where Alexander is from, under Cassander, Asia Minor under lisimachus, Egypt under Ptolemy, and Syria under Seleucus, another four kings. Interestingly, we’ve had a number of visions of four kingdoms. Here’s another set of them.
So as I said, this is not necessarily World History stuff, but we’re, all of a sudden, are going to focus on Seleucus, because he’s the one reigning in Syria in the Middle East, you know, kind of right by Israel. And then all of a sudden we skip two centuries. Don’t worry, chapter 11 is coming. We’ll get those two centuries back. Okay? And that one’s a really weird vision. This is still the easy vision skip two centuries. Why? Because God’s view of history is different than our view of history. Things that seem really, really important in terms of world affairs, God goes, and stuff that seems really insignificant, God goes, no, that’s what mattered. Like Caesar, you know, Augustus has got a census going one baby born in Bethlehem, which one’s more important? But God knows, right? And that’s the whole point. What’s more important, and it’s what concerns his people in particular. Now, all of a sudden, this is what happens in the latter days. What latter days? The latter days of this tetrarchy, this slow kid dynasty, it’s the end of their reign, because, well, Rome’s in charge now, okay, so that’s who’s really there. But notice that this doesn’t come until the rebels have become completely wicked. It says something like when sinners have reached their perfection. When sin has been perfected, this is like reverse sanctification, right? So we’re going to reach a point in glory where we finally are made perfect. Well, this is when sin reaches its full measure. That’s what’s being talked about here. One of the reasons we ask, Are we there yet? Is because God is slow to bring judgment, and from our perspective, often too slow to bring judgment. But God is slow to bring judgment because he never brings it early. He will wait until sin has reached its full measure, especially when he’s bringing judgment on a culture. You know, some people may have gotten perfected in sin already, but to wipe out a culture is something else. This is why, you know, when Abraham loses consciousness in front of the angel of the Lord, you know God is saying things to him like, I’m going to give you this promised land you’re going to be slaves in Egypt for 400 years. First. Why? Because the sin of the Canaanites had not reached its full measure yet. So if the Lord is going to bring them into the Promised Land to conquer these nations, they better have reached full sin, so that this is a just judgment, and that’s what we have here as well, because in these latter days, when sin has reached its zenith, a fierce king will arise. He’s gonna be a master of intrigue, which is interesting because that means he’s wise, like Daniel, but his wisdom is applied to evil ends. He’s deviant. We know who this is. This is Theos Antiochus Epiphanes the Fourth. He becomes strong not through his own power, meaning not through military might like Nebuchadnezzar or Cyrus, but through cunning, you actually know this, because he was fourth in line to the throne, so you got to bump off a few people in some clever ways if you’re going to somehow ascend the throne. But that’s what he does. He brings down these kings, and then he wages war on God’s people. Also, he does this primarily by trying to hellenize Jerusalem. He’s trying to turn the Jews into good Greeks. That’s what it means to cause deceit to prosper. Don’t worry about this one true god nonsense. There are lots of Gods you can worship him. Just give in to culture, something we’ve probably heard before as well, and he will actually fight against God, even that’s when he wages war on the Prince of Princes that would be God, of course. After Rome kicks him out of Egypt, he tries to take over Egypt, take over the other tetrarchy. And Rome says, and so he gets really angry about this. And so what does he do? He vents his spleen on Jerusalem and slaughters 10s of 1000s of people without warning when they felt secure. It says here, and at that moment too, it all comes to a head. He stops the sacrifices. He effectively abolishes the Jewish religion. He sets up a statue of Zeus and sacrifices a pig, an unclean animal, to it in the temple of God in but it doesn’t work. Evil oversteps itself. He’s gone too far. The people revolt under Judas the hammer. You may know him as Judas Maccabee, and they kick him out. They rededicate the table temple. Antiochus dies outside of Jerusalem in 164 we don’t know how he died exactly. I know we’re thinking, you know, he’s gonna die, not by human power. We’re picturing like Ananias and Sapphira, like he just gets zapped, something like that, maybe. But it’s this is more like the writing on the wall that Belshazzar got. The point is he’s being brought down by God’s decree. God is saying, and you have reached your end, the writing is on his wall at this point. Now, there is no doubt that Antiochus, the fourth, is one of the antichrists that Kyle mentioned last week. Remember, John tells us it’s not one antichrist. There have been many antichrists already. Yep, here’s one of them. I said his whole name earlier. Do you know what that means? This is the name he gave himself, by the way, most illustrious God. That’s what he called himself. So he’s setting himself up against the God of gods, the Lord of lords, the King of kings. He is this type of the final antichrist. Then, like he’s a preview the coming attractions of what Satan will be like, the way David prepares us for Jesus and tych prepares us for the Antichrist still to come. And what does this Antichrist do? He gets to have his fun for a little while. For a little while, the sacrifices are actually stopped for a time, but evil has an expiration date, and it will be brought to its end. The vision is true. We learn from Gabriel, and then it’s sealed up. And that’s a big question, right? This is what drives us nuts about apocalyptic like, why did you seal this? Can you let us know the rest of it is there? More? This vision that was sealed up that we didn’t get to read. Maybe more likely, this is the vision, and it is then sealed until the time when it is to be open, in other words, those latter days when all this will come to pass. So it’s sealed to protect it through those trials. But the vision is over, the interpretation has been given. Daniel is exhausted. He’s lying sick in bed for a few days, in part because his physical life is tied to the kingdom of God, like he is so wrapped up in God’s glory that to see God’s glory threaten affects him physically. It reminds me of what Spurgeon said. He said, Let my name perish, but let the name of Jesus Christ endure. And that’s how Daniel feels here, like I don’t care what happens to me, but God’s glory like that concerns me. And so he’s weak afterwards, even after he recovers physically, he’s appalled spiritually, to see so much evil in the world. But what does he do? It says, he gets up and he goes about the King’s business, still, which is significant, because that’s what God had called him to do, like this was his vocation, this was his job. And so he does his duty when the vision of what’s coming is given to him when he sees the evil that’s about to fall on his people, he doesn’t withdraw, you know, become a desert hermit, something like that. He doesn’t, you know, get really active and, you know, form the, Let’s prevent Antiochus society or something like that. No, he just, he goes about his duty quietly and faithfully. Look at this passage, I think to myself, not much has changed. There is still so much evil in this world. There are still so many antichrists slaughtering innocence, seeking to deceive God’s people and blaspheming the Glorious Name of God. Various earthly powers have waged war and continue to wage war on God and His people. Sometimes it’s through cunning. They’re trying to hellenize us. They’re trying to Americanize us, whatever it may be, trying to squeeze us into the world’s mold. Sometimes, though, it’s just through outright persecution. In those moments, it so often looks like God has been defeated, like it would have looked like here. And this has been the major theme in the book of Daniel. I think I said it every time I’ve preached so far in Daniel, in spite of appearances, God is in control. He is reigning. He is ruling always. And that should do something in us, that knowledge, it’s our big idea for today. Again, it’s kind of the big idea of Daniel, the big idea for today, take heart. God wins in the end. Take heart. Be courageous, even joyful in affliction, because God wins in the end. Evil has an expiration date. The time has been set.
That’s what this prophecy tells us. And again, the prophecy is proof that God is in control. It’s not like any of this is catching him off guard. He just told Daniel what’s gonna happen 450 years later, and then he says it’s 2300 days. That might feel like a long time, but it’s gonna come to an end. In spite of appearances, God is in control. The time has been set. And of course, the clearest proof of that for us, which is better proof than Daniel had, is the cross of Jesus Christ, which looked like defeat, but there was a set time, and Jesus had told his apostles that, in advance, the Son of Man, is gonna be handed over to the leaders. They’re gonna beat him, they’re gonna torture him, they’re gonna crucify him. They’re gonna lay him in a tomb. Three days later, there’s your set time. Evil has an expiration date. Death is dead. Christ is alive. The resurrection is the triumph of God. And look what happens at the cross, because we got another enemy waging war on God, literally on God and His people. And this enemy tramples the truth underfoot, except here, not this, like, you know, esoteric idea of truth, but the embodiment of truth, the one who is called the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE, tramples him underfoot and desecrates the temple, not the building that Herod constructed, but Him who is the temple. Destroy this temple, Jesus says, and after three days, I will raise it again. And just as Antiochus had free reign for a time, so Satan. Does, of course, I wrote that down, and then the more I was thinking about I was like, nobody never did to have free reign, did he? That’s the whole point. God has the rains the whole time, because God is reigning the whole time, but Satan is allowed to have his fun for a little bit, and he murders the Son of God, which looks like defeat. And how bad is it? Is not just that a few stars are thrown down, but the sun itself refused to shine on that day, because evil looked like it was winning. But then Jesus rises in triumph, reconciling sinners to God and Jews and Gentiles to each other, because then we are all being built like living stones into a new, consecrated temple where God dwells by His Spirit. You see, the cross is where God gives His final answer to our rebellion and Satan’s hostility. Because on the cross, Jesus takes the full weight of our sin receives the full fury of God’s righteous wrath at our sin. As Ian Duguid says, if ever there was a time of wrath, it was during those six hours when Jesus hung on the cross bearing the wrath of God against our wickedness and idolatry. And in so doing, God brings his wrath to an end for his people, the cross is the guarantee. It is the proof that God wins in the end, that evil has overstepped itself, because, again, Satan thought he won right there. Nope, he was tripping himself. Fell into the pit that he dug, and God subjugates evil to his good purposes. Take heart. God wins in the end. Okay, great, but how like? What does it look like, practically, to take heart in the face of so much evil? Let me suggest three ways. First, we take heart when we cut our monsters down to size, and we’ve met some monsters in Daniel last chapter in particular, right? Like crazy looking beasts and stuff, like actual monsters. For most of us, when we think of our monsters, we’re not thinking of world powers. And that, by the way, is just tremendous blessing that those of us in the US experience like there are people, there are Christians in North Korea, Iran, places like that, where, yes, that’s what they’re thinking about, worldly powers. For most of us, that’s not who it is. But what keeps you up at night, like, what are the monsters hiding under your bed and in your closet? Is it finances, bills that are coming due that you don’t know how you’re going to pay? Is it health, diagnosis, not what you were hoping for. Maybe it’s not physical health, but mental health, like the monster that keeps you up at night is also the monster that keeps you from getting out of bed in the morning because you are just caught in depression, anxiety, or maybe the monsters are people, just sinners that are around you that are making life really difficult for you. Here’s the good news, right? Evil has an expiration date. Like the monsters are real, but they are really perishing also, and they cannot defeat God. And if you are in Christ, they cannot defeat you, because you are in Christ cut your monsters down to size. Second we take heart when we remember that even the strongest are ultimately weak. Alexander the Great was arguably the greatest military leader of all time, and he was dead long before he reached my age, even Antiochus, subject to Rome, had to do what they told him, also dead, by the way. Like that helps us cut our monsters down to size, for sure, remembering that even the strong are ultimately weak, but it also cuts us down to size because we are never so vulnerable as when we think we are not, because God opposes the proud. He will bring us down if he has to. So, cut yourself down to size. Paul says, Don’t let anyone think more highly of themselves than they ought. Cut yourself down to size so that God doesn’t have to reminded of the time when Uzziah, who was king of Israel, decided he could be in charge of the temple as well, which, of course, was the duty of the priest and not the king. So he waltzed into the temple, offered incense, and promptly got leprosy cut him down to size. He wasn’t able to go to the temple anymore. Wasn’t able to be in polite society anymore, like that’s the vision, right? God opposes the proud, but the good news is that he gives grace to the humble. So Humble yourselves. Therefore, before the Lord, third, we take heart when we live in light of the end, live in light of the end. And by the way, we’re talk a lot more about this next week. Never mind when we get to Revelation in January, when we read apocalyptic, it’s so that we know how to live in light of the end, instead of trying to bring the end to light. You know what I mean by that? A lot of us trying to unseal the prophecies, figure out all the numbers so that we can tell you exactly when it’s coming. Everybody else has been wrong so far. So are you okay? So stop trying to do that. Live in light of the end, instead of trying to bring the end to light. But we do know what we need to know about the end, because we know how the story ends. God wins in the end. We bring that future glory into our present bleakness. By the way, so much of what we proclaim, remember, Peter says we’re living like exiles wherever we are living right then people are going to come up. They’re going to notice something different about us. They’re going to ask us for what the reason for our hope, specifically the future glory in the present, bleak circumstances we live in light of that reality. There’s a stranger who stopped John Wesley once as he was on horseback riding to one of his itinerant preaching engagements, and the stranger asked him, What would you do if Jesus returned tomorrow at noon? Great question, by the way, because Jesus could return tomorrow at noon. He could tarry another 10,000 years. Also, we don’t know, but so he asked Wesley, what would you do if Jesus returned tomorrow at noon? And Wesley pulled out his diary, his, you know, day planner, and he read his appointments for that afternoon and evening and the next morning. So that’s what I would do. You get Wesley’s point? He was saying, I’m already living in light of Jesus’ imminent return. Nothing would need to change for me, because I’m living every day for God’s kingdom and God’s priorities. That’s what it should look like for us as well. In Matthew 24 and 25 Jesus tells three parables. This is right after the Olivet Discourse, which is when he gives his apocalyptic right. So right after that, he tells these three parables. In the first parable, the master returned later than he was expected. The next one, he returns sooner than was was expected. And in the third one, one of the servants never expects the master to return. You get Jesus’s point, right? Just be ready. Just be ready for the Master’s return. He is coming. He is coming back. Okay, be ready for his return. Whenever. What does that look like? Like? Daniel, we get up and we go about our King’s business. That’s what it looks like. Do your duty to what has God called you? What is your vocation? Be salt and light there, whether that’s your career, whether you’re a student right now, a homemaker, whatever it is, do your duty. Do your duty as an ambassador of God, one who’s been given the ministry of reconciliation by proclaiming the good news of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and coming, Return. Make every effort
to grow in grace, work out your salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that it’s God who’s at work in you. That’s what we do. We do what Caitlin read for us earlier in first Peter five. We’re sober, we’re alert, because we know that we have an enemy who’s prowling around like a lion eager to devour us, but we resist Him so that He flees from us. By the way, we see a bit about how to do that, because that’s another tricky one, right? Tricky one, right? Just resist the devil. Good. Go. How help me out here. We get some help here. Okay, we see a bit about how to do this, even in this chapter, because we have a type of Satan who shows us the types of things Satan does. This is how Satan works. His usual pattern shows us how we must respond as well. Look at verses 11 and 12 again. What does Satan do? Well, here we get the little Satan. He disrupted the daily sacrifices. And you think, Well, who cares? We don’t need sacrifices anymore. Christ sacrificed himself once for all. Yes, but Satan will still try to keep us from that sacrifice. He will keep us from thinking about that, and if we forget that Jesus died in our place, where will that leave us? Will leave us in anguish, guilt and shame because of our sin, paralyzed, or if we’re not paralyzed by guilt and shame, we’re going to respond with frenetic activity. We want to try and earn our salvation and do all the works I can do, because I don’t need a sacrifice. I can do this on my own. How do we respond? We keep the hill of Calvary always in our view, wherever we are, we preach the gospel to ourselves. It is done. You. It is finished. Christ has won. We’re forgiven. Second thing Satan does, you see it in verse 11, the sanctuary was thrown down. Yes, that’s what he always does again. He destroyed the temple, that is the body of Jesus Christ. He is still trying to destroy the temple, the new temple, the people of God. Satan loves to disrupt Christian Fellowship, and he will do that however he can. He might just be stoking grudges between you and your brothers and sisters. In Christ, there might be people in this room who are not talking to each other because they got something against each other, if I understand Matthew five correctly, and I believe I do, you shouldn’t be here right now then, because Jesus says in Matthew five, leave your gift. Go be reconciled, then come back and worship. So if you’re not reconciled to someone in this room that is satanic, that’s what we get here in this passage, go and be reconciled and do it now. Maybe it’s not that, though, sometimes Satan just loves to get us majoring in the minors, like, let’s divide not over Jesus’ deity or the trinity or the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let’s divide over who you’re voting for in a couple weeks. Well, that’s a stupid thing to divide over, right? And yet, go on Twitter and look at even prominent Christian leaders talking about, if your pastor isn’t telling you this. You need to find another church that’s satanic again, or sometimes it’s something as mundane as you knew I was gonna go here, right? Sports. The bears are playing in London. I can’t make explore hour. Can’t make the service that day. My daughter’s playing in LaGrange. We won’t be here next week. It’s the same thing, right? I got nothing against sports as sports. I got a problem with where sports are prioritized in the lives of many Americans. It’s satanic we’re seeing again, you can’t say you love Jesus and hate his bride. Love one another, whatever that means for you right now, step out and do it. Third way that Satan acts is deceitful, teaching, right? He trampled the truth under foot. This is what Paul and John and others New Testament warn us about. Wolves are going to come. They’re going to teach false things. And Paul’s saying this about places where, like he’s pastor and John is pastor, and Timothy and Apollos, if it could happen there. It could happen anywhere. It could certainly happen here. And so what is our only hope? It’s to get into the Word of God in community, not by yourself, by the way, good to do that also, but much more liable to be deceived. Then we get in community. We have conversation with the church, historically, 2000 years of Christians trying to figure out what this means, but in community, like the Bereans as well, right? They hear a preacher, and they go, hang on. They get their Bible out. They didn’t have cute little leather bound Bibles like we do. They had one copy in their synagogue. So they all got together, opened it up together, and said, Let’s see if this is truth or not. Get in the word in community, things will look bad. Things will go badly in this life. Bad people will rule and reign and wreak havoc in the world. But take heart, because God wins in the end, evil has an expiration date, and after the cross comes resurrection. Let’s pray, Father, we do take heart even now knowing that you are on your throne, and there has never been a moment in all of human history where you have not been reigning wisely, powerfully in goodness and love, compassion and mercy, and that is the truth we need to remember, Lord when we face the darkness in this world, encourage us, even now, especially with the gospel of Jesus Christ, the surest proof that we have that you win. In the end, you have defeated sin and death and Satan, it’s already done. It is already finished. May we rest in that truth today, Lord, even as we sing your praises through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

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Confidence in Exile October 20, 2024 | Kyle Bjerga The sermon discusses the shift from the narrative stories in the first half of Daniel to the apocalyptic visions in the second half, emphasizing the need to understand the metaphors and imagery. It examines Daniel’s vision of the four beasts representing earthly kingdoms, contrasting them with the eternal kingdom of the divine Son of Man. The sermon highlights the sovereignty of God, the Ancient of Days, and the confidence believers can have in Christ’s everlasting kingdom, despite the presence of evil and suffering in the world. Believers remain confident in God’s ultimate victory and our eternal inheritance with Christ.

All right, good morning. Go ahead and get your Bibles. Turn to Daniel, chapter seven, it will be page 726, if your using one of the black pew Bibles there in front of you or underneath. So in our culture, we like to customize things. And one of my favorite areas to customize is to make my own music playlists. I don’t like to change stations when I don’t want to hear a song, and so like, just having that playlist, like, why would I change it? These are my favorite songs, and I have playlists for different things, whether it’s working out, whether it’s trying to have some easy listening, something for when you’re driving, and I also have one for when I’m reading or preparing to teach. And so I was listening to that one this week and preparing for the sermon. And so I have all these instrumental songs over the years that I’ve kind of pulled from that I really like. And so I have it on shuffle, and I am listening to a beautiful arrangement of one of my favorite songs, Turn your eyes upon Jesus. And it’s just this beautiful arrangement. And it’s getting towards the end, it’s getting towards silence, and then boom. The next song starts with all percussion. And I looked down, and I had this visceral response where I like, I got taken back because I had earbuds in, and it turned out, Jesus, nice slow. And then this huge boom, and I like, had this jolt back. And I looked down, I look down, I look at my phone, and I see what song it is, this called Walk the plank, and it’s from the soundtrack of Pirates of Caribbean. So makes sense, but a bad idea to have it on shuffle at that time. Turn your eyes upon Jesus to walk the plank in a matter of seconds. And I hear, I’m in a coffee shop, and I’m sure people saw me kind of like jolt back, because this was like that whiplash moment where all of a sudden, without warning, something happens, and I react to it. And we’ve all had those whiplash moments in life where we’re in one place and all of a sudden we’re over here. And today, enter in Daniel chapter seven. This is our whiplash moment in the book of Daniel. We need to buckle up for these next six chapters, because it is very different from the first six chapters of Daniel. If you’ve been with us so far, we’ve been in these first six chapters, this first half, and this is these are the stories that we know, the characters that we know. We have children’s story Bible, children’s Bibles that tell these stories Daniel lions and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The writing on the wall, we have songs. We have Veggietales, movies made out of these. So we’re very familiar with these. And then we get to this second half of the book. And just, you know, a lot of people just stop reading after Daniel six. Some people won’t even teach Daniel chapter seven through 12, because it automatically makes this switch. And there’s no warning of this. It just happens. And it’s that whiplash moment, because now we enter into the apocalyptic literature, more specifically, really apocalyptic prophecy, like Daniel is going to get some visions here in these last six chapters, and we are going to be brought into these visions by what he shares with us. And when you get to these visions and you see these things in the visions, you want somebody you want to just sit down and say, can you explain this to me like I’m five? Because that’s really what we need. How many of you read ahead this week? We don’t often do this, but how many of you have a bookmark and read ahead? Okay, so read ahead, by the way, that’s why we have the bookmarks, because again, I don’t want you to have that kind of whiplash moment. I want us to be able to see exactly what is here in the text and what the Lord has for us this moment. But we have to before we dig in. We have to look at these lacks last six chapters, and we kind of need to have a second introduction into the book of Daniel. Because, like I said, these are very, very different, these narrative, this narrative in these stories, and then the apocalyptic. So how do we move from here? What do we need to be thinking about as we enter in to the second half? So I love how Greg Gilbert says it as we prepare to enter in chapter seven through 12, he says this, the detail in these visions can be bewildering if we spend too much energy attempting to identify every single detail, although this is sometimes possible, possible it is not, finally the main point. We must read these visions with this in mind and not obsess too much, especially on a first or 10th reading about who particularly is represented by each element. And so something important to remember as we come to any sort of apocalyptic literature, as we will be in Revelation at the start of the new year, is this, Jesus is not going to hand out trophies if we figure out every detail, okay, he’s not gonna have trouble. If you’re able to connect everything we read in apocalyptic literature to some person or some event in history, it’s for those who humble themselves and say, I need you, whether or not I know every detail, I know enough I know who Jesus is, and so that’s what we’re after as we head into these last six. Six chapters. And so I don’t want any of us to be intimidated by the apocalyptic literature. So I want to just mention a few things that we need to have in our minds this morning and in the weeks to come. And this is from Trumper Longman in his book, kind of giving us these handles for us as we head into apocalyptic literature. So here’s what he says, when we think about this genre. First, there’s a lot of metaphors. It is metaphor rich like poetry using similes and analogies. He says they throw light on difficult concepts and things by relating them to something we know from common experience. So we read about beasts this morning. We’re not going to literally see a beast. What does the beast represent? What is Daniel seen in this vision? There are lots of images, of course, used, and so the images speak truly and accurately, but not precisely. So what these images represent is something that is true and accurate, but we’re not going to be able to always pinpoint exactly who it is or when it is. And then the thing for us in this day and age is remembering what was common back then may not be common to us now. So we have that added step of saying, okay, maybe this is what they saw. But what does that actually mean here today, in our culture, in our context, and all apocalyptic apocalyptic literature is meant to invoke emotion. It’s meant to invoke some sort of response, some sort of action. So that’s that kind of intro into this second half. And so hopefully we’re a little bit more prepared to wade into the waters of these next six weeks, protect us a little bit from whiplash, and see what the Lord has for us today. So we’re going to take Daniel’s first vision in chapter seven in three scenes. You can see them there in your notes. Scene One is the C and we’re going to read verses seven, chapter seven, one through eight. Let’s read together. In the first year of King Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions passed through his mind as he was lying in bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream. Daniel said, In my vision at night, I looked and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea, four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea. The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it, and there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, get up and eat your fill of flesh. After that, I looked and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard, and on its back, it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule after that, and my vision at night, I looked and there before me was a fourth beast, terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth. It crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had 10 horns. While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully. Let’s pause there, confused yet.
One more note as we transition here into the second half of the book is really important. What we see there in verse one, all these visions now are given to Daniel. Up until this point, Daniel has been interpreting the dreams, the writing of the wall for other kings, pagan kings, Babylonian kings. And so now we have these words given to Daniel, these visions given to Daniel. And the Israelite people who are in exile, the people of God in exile, need to hear these words. And so it’s coming from a different perspective. The interpretations that Daniel gave to the Babylonian Kings was from a different perspective, for a different purpose. And now God wants His people to hear these words and these visions for a different purpose, ones that should actually bring the people of God much more confidence as they go throughout their Christian life. So chapter seven, we see in verse one actually isn’t chronological after chapter six. And we see that because what we have here is a given, a vision given to Daniel in the first year of King Belshazzar reign. And we met King Belshazzar last week in chapter five, on the last day of his life. Two weeks ago, sorry, two weeks ago. We met him on the last day of his life. And so this happened somewhere after King Nebuchadnezzar, and in that first year reign of Belshazzar is when Daniel actually receives this vision. So that’s where it puts us, about 50 years after Daniel is taken into exile and Daniel is brought to a. Sea. That’s what we have in this vision. And the wind is moving. It’s coming from all corners, all four corners, all four directions, and it’s creating this turbulent scene. The waters churn, and from that, four beasts come up. And the sea was often referred to as chaos or evil or that great unknown. So it makes a lot of sense that these beasts come up from the sea at this point, and we’re going to find out later in chapter seven, in the interpretation and but we need to know this now, that these four beasts represent four kingdoms or kings. Okay, four kingdoms or king. That’s what we have to have in our mind with these beasts, that they represent something. Now, what do these what kingdoms do they represent? And this is where we can really get caught in the weeds. If you want some fun reading, read all about this. We are not going to get into those weeds today. It doesn’t really matter so much for us. Now, in what exactly these different empires, regimes, kingdoms are at the time, there’s good chance to believe that the first Kingdom, this Lion and Eagle, is Babylon, because in chapter two, Nebuchadnezzar also had a dream of a big statue, and his kingdom was actually named as the golden head of that statue. And so we’re to take these four kingdoms in chapter two, the four kingdoms in chapter seven, we can say, okay, Babylon is probably the first one. And then after that, you’re going to get some different views on which kingdoms these actually are. But the main thing is, what is that fourth kingdom? That’s where it really gets interesting, because this is the most terrifying of the beasts, and the scholars will kind of differ on whether it’s Greece or Rome. Of course, Rome is the superpower at the time that Jesus is on the earth. But regardless of that, there’s something that we learn about these kingdoms. Okay, there could be short term fulfillment. There’s definitely long term fulfillment in this. It’s the pattern that we see throughout Daniel and so we see a pattern of four even when we’re reading this, we get the four winds, the four directions. We get four heads on the leopard, meaning that this dominion of his spreads out throughout the earth. And then we get these four kingdoms. And this pattern keeps coming up again and again, showing that this just means there are going to be kingdoms that are going to be coming until the time that God finally brings in and is fully realized in his kingdom. So what true and accurate things do these illustrations? Remember what I said? These illustrations, these images, teach true things that we need to know, even if we can’t precisely name who they are or when they are. So what do we learn about these kingdoms. First, when you look at these four kingdoms, we see that the types of animals mentioned the attributes of each represent a lot of things like power and authority and evil and things that are opposed to God and His people. That is clear in the the naming of these beasts. The second thing is that everything has been given to them, meaning God is sovereign. God knows who is in control. He knows where he will have the next leader, who it will be, and what they will do. They cannot do anything without God knowing about it. And we’ve talked about this throughout the series. We’ll probably talk about it more. Just think who’s in exile God’s own people for their disobedience, and who did God use Nebuchadnezzar to defeat them, to bring them into exile? So God is always in control. Everything these kingdoms have does not happen outside of God’s plan and purpose. Third, these kingdoms get progressively worse. As you start reading through, you start to see some of the words used, they just get scarier, until that fourth one is the most terrifying, the most frightening, and it is different than the rest. Clearly opposed to God and His people. All these kingdoms, kingdoms interested only in building up their own kingdom, no matter the cost. And this fourth kingdom, the words used to describe it very powerful, crushing, devouring and trampling its enemies. And then we get the horns. It’s got 10 horns, with one horn that came up, and three other horns fell before that one. And then it has these mouth and these eyes, and it starts to talk. And these horns represent kings, probably the 10, meaning just the fullness of kings, all the kings that were going to take place before God’s kingdom. And this one comes up, and it’s just different, and it starts to speak against God, and when we think about this, we think about these beasts, and we think about the evil that they represent. And we look around the world today. I mean, I don’t have to go through headlines right to know what type of evil is still in the world today, what kind of horror still take place when we think about what. These beasts represent. We look around and we say, I think that’s still happening. And there’s this growing anxiety in the world and in the church, made worse, definitely by social media and the 24 hour news cycle that evil is winning. That’s what we hear, that evil is winning. And if it’s not your side, it’s the other side that’s evil, but evil is winning, or so it seems to borrow from my story earlier. It almost feels like we’re as Christians walking the plank. Slowly, keep getting pushed more and more and more, and it’s terrifying. What do we do? And we think about it. Everybody in here has some sort of image in their mind, some kind of beast in your life, where you think this is too big. It keeps you up in that you think about it all the time. It consumes you. How would you describe it? What is it like? Is it? Is it cultures influence on your kids? Is that the thing that seems too big and too powerful? What about attacks against religious freedom? What about losing positions of influence in our jobs because of our faith. What about relational conflict with good friends and family who put you down for your beliefs? Like, what is it that is that image that causes you terror that you feel is too big? There’s only one way for us to get ourselves off of those visions of thinking that way to free ourselves from the mental and spiritual anguish that those can cause. Because we’re supposed to be hope filled people. Are we? Are you? Or there’s a growing number of people who are just hand wringing and anxious about everything that’s happening. So how do we release that? How do we see that freedom that God wants for us? Well, we need a bigger vision. We need something greater than what we see before us. We need to turn our gaze somewhere else, something bigger than the beast and what they represent, something that will give us hope for today and tomorrow. So let’s enter into Scene two, the courtroom. We’re going to read verses nine through 14. As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow. The hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing coming out from before him. 1000s upon 1000s attended him, 10,000 times 10,000 stood before him. The court was seated and the books were opened. Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing Fire. The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time. In my vision at night, I looked and there before me was one, like a Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power. All nations and peoples of every language worshiped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
So we move abruptly from the sea to a courtroom, and we have these thrones in place. And God is referred to here as the Ancient of Days, and he takes his place as judge. And as we read the description of the Ancient of Days, which is a name only Daniel gives to God, we only find this name in the book of Daniel, we start to see why our culture has this picture of God as this old guy with this long white hair and long white beard, right? I mean, this is what we see in all the pictures. And God is Spirit. That’s not what he looks like. Well, what do the beast represent? The beasts represent this evil and this power and authority and this rebellion against God. So what is it? What does Daniel trying to show us in the Ancient of Days? What is this description of God teaching us about who our God is. First, it comes from his name. Ancient of Days. God is not old. He is eternal. He doesn’t have age. He’s always been. He always will be. He’s not old, he’s eternal. Look at Psalm 90, verse two, Before the mountains were born, you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting. You are God. He’s always been. He always will be. He has seen kingdoms come. He’s seen kingdoms go. He’s been there through. It all. He is the one in control. He knows where the leaders are, when they’re going to be serving, when their reign will end, when the next leader will come in. He knows what’s going to happen in November here. He knows it all, because he’s eternal. And this should bring us great comfort, because if you think about somebody who’s going to judge every deed, every person who has ever lived, why would we want somebody who wasn’t there at the beginning, who’s the only one that can judge rightly, the One who created it all, the one who has seen everything, the one who doesn’t have a bias, who’s fair and just in his judgments, only one could do that, somebody who has always been and always will be. What else do we learn about him? His clothing was white as snow, showing that he is pure, perfect, spotless. And then the hair was white as wool. Again, not that he’s old. It’s showing that the Ancient of Days is all wise, which is what you want in a judge on a throne, the flaming throne, the flaming wheels, the Flaming River. All this to display his perfect power and His perfect judgment. And everyone is gathered before the Ancient of Days, before the Eternal One. And the books are open, the books with the deeds of all the people, specifically those, these beasts and what they represent, the kings and their kingdoms, and in the Lord’s books, in the Ancient of Days books, he doesn’t miss a thing. And you would think in this picture of this eternal God with his books open completely just and fair, that you would humble yourself. But what is the little horn do of this fourth beast, the one that’s different from the rest, speaks up boastful words. That’s what it says there, right in verse 11, boastful words that the horn was speaking. He’s directing these at God. He won’t stop talking. He keeps talking at God boastfully, and in a flash, God’s judgment comes upon this little horn, and he is destroyed. And this should, this should hit us, because this is us, the evil that’s in us. Like, have you ever said something to God in your own pride? Like, I know more than you do God in this situation, I know what you should do. I know what’s fair. I think we should follow my will and not yours. I mean, these are the things that we may not say, but we definitely believe. And in a flash of judgment, that’s what should happen. That’s what happens here to the horn, this little horn on this fourth beast. And I’ve had people in my life say to me, well, I’ll just tell God there wasn’t enough for me to believe when I was on the earth, or I just wanted to do things my way. And all I think about is this moment that none of that is going to be good enough. None of it in a flash, his judgment comes. There’s no battle, there’s no difficulty. For the ancient of days, God will not be mocked. He has the books open. He sees it all. He knows what the kingdom is about. He knows what we’re about. There’s no humility in this fourth beast, or any of these kings, no humility. And so he silences him and the authority that he was given. And we get this interesting part there, where these other beasts are stripped of their authority, but they’re allowed to live for a period of time. And yeah, they’re allowed to live for a period of time, but they’re shell of their former selves with little to no influence on anything at this point. And then the vision that Daniel receives is of a final kingdom, just like we saw in chapter two, another kingdom that comes there’s no kingdoms mentioned after it, either it is the final kingdom. And there is a stark contrast between the four kingdoms represented by the four beasts and this fifth and final kingdom. What are some of those contrasts? First, Daniel sees one like a Son of man, not a beast, but a human. That’s the first contrast. Second, this man comes from above with the clouds of heaven, and not from the sea. Where the beast come from, comes from heaven above. The beast come from the sea. Third, the Son of Man is led in the presence of the Ancient of Days, he’s given authority, glory and sovereign power, while the beasts are stripped of their authority, of their power, of their influence. And fourth, all the nations worship the Son of Man while the beast, full of pride, boasted about and worshiped only themselves. You start to see there’s a difference between this last kingdom and the first four one more thing then, the dominion of the Son of Man is everlasting, a kingdom that will never be destroyed, while the beast. Kingdoms were temporary, lasting for a period of time until Judgment. And so we see the Son of Man. Here. It was a common way in the Old Testament referring to humanity, okay, mentioned as the Son of Man, makes sense. But we see there’s something different about this son of man. This is not the ordinary way of describing the human because this son of man comes on the clouds. Who else comes on the clouds? In Scripture, God, God comes on the clouds. Look at Psalm 68 in this verse of praise, says, sing to God. Sing in praise of his name, extol him who rides on the clouds rejoice before him. His name is the Lord. And in Isaiah, in a prophecy of judgment, read, we read, see the Lord rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear. The Son of Man comes on the clouds because the Son of Man is divine. Who is this son of man? Listen to Greg Gilbert again. He says, This is the most exalted vision of the Messiah, the promised King, that God has yet given to His people. Here, not only does the king receive an everlasting dominion from the Most High God, he is himself unmistakably divine. No mere human comes in the clouds of heaven, and no mere human holds an everlasting dominion. Ever more shocking this divine king appears to be to Daniel, to be like a son of man that is not an angel or a spirit, but a human, a human and yet divine king, and we know there’s only one who is human, one who is divine, and that is Jesus, Christ. And Jesus sees this in Daniel, the son of man, and he refers to himself as the Son of Man About 80 times in the gospels. It’s the way he refers to himself the most. So what I want to do is I want to let Jesus speak for himself and tell us who the Son of Man is. So I’m going to we’re not going to see the verses on the screen. We’re going to go through a lot of verses. I’m just going to read them with very little comment. And I just want us to see answer this question, who is the son of man in Mark 10, Jesus says himself for the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many in John three Nicodemus, a religious leader, comes to Jesus and wants to know more about who he is. And Jesus says, no one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven, the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up that everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him. Jesus explains this to his disciples what it means to be lifted up by stating the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law, they will condemn Him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock Him and spit on him, flog him and kill him, and three days later he will rise. When Jesus was brought before the Sanhedrin, the high priest asked, Are You the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One? I am, said Jesus, and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven. And it’s that statement that they said blasphemy, and they took him to be killed in Acts one, we read about the ascension of Jesus to heaven, and what comes a cloud. A cloud hides him as he is taken back up to heaven, the angels appear and say the same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.
And Stephen, in Acts seven, right before he is stoned to death, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Look, he said, as you have been open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God, Stephen teaches us something in this vision, as his life is about to end seconds from now, to be stoned, that the beasts of evil, suffering, persecution and death do not have a hold on him. His his vision is of Jesus, the Son of Man, standing at the right hand of God. That’s what He’s overtaking with in the moment, not the stones being hurled at him, but the vision of the Son of Man. And so in that moment, all those beasts lose their power, all that evil, all that suffering, loses its power when his eyes are focused on Jesus. So when you think about those beasts in your mind, the things that are overtaking your mind that you’re thinking about constantly that cause you terror and fear. I hope that they’re losing their grip on you because of this vision. I hope they shrink, because this is the vision we need. This is the only vision that will overtake those beasts, that will overtake those evil things that are in our life, that will take away the suffering. It’s only this vision so Daniel, the one who has been interpreting dreams visions and some writing on the walls and. For these kings, has to have someone else interpret this dream for him, interesting, right? So he’s going to go to someone. He’s going to have a conversation. That’s scene three. Let’s look at it together. We’re going to start in verse 15. Read through the end of the chapter I Daniel was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this. So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things. The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth, but the holy people, the Most High, will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever. Yes, forever and ever. Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying with its iron teeth and bronze claws, the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. I also wanted to know about the 10 horns on its head and about the other horn that came up before which three of them fell, the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully as I watched this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them. Until the Ancient of days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High and the time came when they possessed the kingdom. He gave me this explanation. The fourth beast is the fourth kingdom that will appear on Earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms, and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The 10 horns are 10 kings who will come from this kingdom. After them, another king will arise different from the earlier ones. He will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws the holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time, but the court will sit and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms that are heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey Him. This is the end of the matter. I Daniel was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale. But I kept the matter to myself, so this last section is book ended by Daniel’s emotional response to what he is seen and the interpretation that he receives. Verse 15, he is troubled. In spirit. He is disturbed, and by the end in verse 28 he is deeply troubled and his face turned pale. And Daniel knows he hears that there’s good news in this last section. He He hears that, but he also sees that there’s going to be prolonged suffering for the people of God, that what they’re experiencing right now in Babylon is not the end, that there is more coming. And so he turns pale. It disturbs him, because he knows that means the people of God have more evil to deal with, more horrors before the more suffering to come. And we’ve all been there. We we know that that hurts us. We long for the day when that is gone. And so of course, even though there’s good news, he’s still a human. He still deals with emotions. He still loves people. He still loves the people of God, and He knows that they’re going to go through a lot in the coming days, years, and who knows how long, well, we have that Daniel doesn’t at this point. Is a clear picture of how, as we just read, The Son of Man came, what he went through, what he did, what he accomplished, like we see that now we know what Jesus has done, and we are not surprised by the evil and suffering that still exist in this world, especially if it comes because of our faith. Jesus promised that that would come. If they hated him, they will hate us. If we follow Him, we will be persecuted. But we know that the way to heaven is through a bloody, Rugged Cross. We know the empty tomb only means something because there was a dead body put in it at one point, and then it was gone evil and suffering seemed to win the day. They seemed to have the final say, until Jesus rose from the dead, defeating sin and death. We know that evil and suffering that we experience is temporary. We know that we know that we know that we are saved from the judgment of God when the books are open, because when those books are open, if we are in Christ, Jesus, the record God sees is his and not ours, and we will not stand before Him speaking boastfully. We will bow before him and point to Jesus and say, he’s the only reason I’m here. That’s all we can do in that moment before the Ancient of Days. But before all that happens, the people of God will experience the fourth beast, this one that really intrigued Daniel caused Daniel to be troubled in spirit. Sometimes, you know, we ask for things, then we hear what the answer is, and we regret immediately. Asking. That might be what Daniel is experiencing here, but he’s very intrigued. He wants to know, right? And this fourth beast might very well be in that short term fulfillment Rome. But it’s so much more than just that. It represents so much more. Look at Revelation. Chapter 13, we read about another beast. Says the dragon stood on the shore of the sea, and I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had 10 horns, seven heads with 10 crowns on its horn, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. And so we see this mash up of Daniel seven. See John pulling these things together in what he is seeing here the vision that he has. There’s many names and titles given to this ruler throughout Scripture. It’s a pretty good chance this is one of the first times we we see this person who will, in the New Testament, be called the man of lawlessness, the man doomed to destruction, the beast, the Antichrist, all sorts of different names. We know that the Antichrist is known to disobey God, to blaspheme him, to persecute Christians. And so all of this will happen until that time when it seems like he is winning and he’s taking over, and Christians are persecuted for their faith. And we know that there’s more to the story, because the apostle John wrote in Revelation 13, who wrote Revelation 13 also wrote in his letter, First John that there isn’t just an antichrist. What else, dear children, he says in chapter two. This is the last hour. And as you’ve heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now, many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. I think sometimes we get so caught up in who is the antichrist that we forget there’s a lot of them throughout history. There’s a lot of them throughout history, and we need to be aware of that. We can’t be waiting for that one day. We need to say, how are we going to face evil and suffering today? Do you know how many different antichrists, like big a people have thought there have been throughout history? Just read the news in the last 50 years, 100 years, how many people have have felt so confident to name the Antichrist, how about it? Just little a antichrist, people who are opposed to God, who rebel against Him and His laws, and do everything they can to build up their own kingdoms rather than submit to His kingdom. But whatever will happen, there will be judgment for this last kingdom, for this fourth kingdom. And so we think about this. We think about, okay, all this stuff is happening, all this evil and suffering is still happening. The presence of sin is still in the world. We feel the effects of it all the time. So then, why did I title this message, confidence in exile? Look at the top of your notes. Confidence in exile doesn’t seem very confident at this point. But look at three verses in this last section, and I think you’ll see why I said confidence in exile. Look at verse 18, but the holy people, the Most High, will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever. Yes, forever and ever do you see who’s going to receive the kingdom, the people of the Most High.
Look at the next verse, verse 22 until the Ancient of days came and pronounced judgment in favor of who the holy people of the Most High. And the time came when they possessed the kingdom. And then verse 27 then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to who the holy people of the Most High and his kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey Him. Why can we be confident? Because we get to rule with Christ. We possess the kingdom. When things are repeated like this in Scripture, we need to pay attention to it. It’s mentioned three times here to give us great confidence. To give Daniel confidence in the people of God, confidence that we will be with Christ forever in that fifth and final kingdom, never to be destroyed. A perfect place, a perfect king. And so here’s the big idea. The takeaway that I want for us today, it is be confident, because evil will lose and we will re with Christ in His kingdom forever. Scripture is clear, we are co heirs with Christ. We share in his inheritance. You are a son or daughter of the Most High God. When you submit to Him, repent of your sin, believe in this son of man, and we get a perfect kingdom with a perfect king with perfect intentions for us. In our lives, we don’t deserve this of. Course we deserve what came to that last kingdom, that little horn that was raised up, and yet, in God’s grace He calls us, we humble ourselves, and the outcome is reigning with Christ forever. As Christians, the reality is we live in a world where sin and evil and suffering are present. We all feel the effects of it. We all do, and we wait for that second coming of Christ, when judgment will take place, and all things will be made, right? This means there will be different beasts that look different, take different forms in our life. And when that happens, what should we do, when things seem overwhelming, when things seem real bad, when it seems that evil is actually winning the day. How does Daniel seven teach us to remain confident in this world? Well, it’s found in lyrics of that other song I mentioned at the beginning. Through death into life everlasting, he passed, and we follow Him there over us sin no more. Hath dominion for more than conquerors we are, Turn your eyes upon Jesus Look full in his wonderful face and the things Earth, the evil, the suffering, the difficulties, will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. So when we need to be confident, when we need to get rid of these beasts and be overwhelmed by all these different things, all we need to do is turn our eyes and our gaze towards Jesus. We need a bigger vision of who he is and what He has done for us in order to be confident walking out of these doors today, no matter what comes our way, let’s pray you.
Lord, we come before you. Grateful, grateful for your grace through your son. Grateful that all those years ago, in this vision that Daniel saw, he saw that a way was going to be made for us to be saved, for us to come before you humbly, not with our fists raised, not with rage, not with pride, but with open hands and open hearts, being humble to who you are, because we see you for who you truly are, the Eternal One who is perfect in every way, the one who has given us so much, has taught us the best way to live. And when we rebelled, you still came after us. You still loved us. And Lord, now we are confident in Jesus Christ. We are confident what he has done, and we want to be confident walking out of this building today with a bigger vision that will take over all the evil and the suffering and the things we can focus on. Help us to keep our eyes on you this week, Lord, we love you. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

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Courage in Exile October 13, 2024 | Brandon Cooper The sermon uses the story of Daniel in the lion’s den to encourage the congregation to be courageously faithful to God, even in the face of adversity. It highlights Daniel’s unwavering prayer life and trust in God’s sovereignty, in contrast to the powerlessness of the king. The sermon draws parallels between Daniel’s story and the life of Jesus, emphasizing the importance of being faithful to God rather than relying on human authorities. The sermon concludes by calling the congregation to develop habits of devotion and prayer and to boldly share the hope found in Jesus’ victory over death.

And with that, you can go ahead, grab your Bibles and open up to Daniel chapter six. Daniel chapter six, famous, famous story that we’re going to cover this morning. As you’re turning there, I want you to meet Lubinka, who is a 21 year old living interestingly behind the iron curtain that Herb was just talking about in one of those countries that was not a big fan of Christians or the church, let’s say. And she’d been a part of Vienna bible school for three years. She was getting ready to head back for her last year at this Bible school. And if you know anything about authoritarian regimes, you know that you don’t just get to leave the country whenever you want. You have to get an exit you have to get an exit visa. So she went to get an exit visa at one of the, you know, local places, or whatever. And, you know, you go in, and it’s just bureaucracy at its finest. It’s like the DMV that kind of feel, and it’s fine. It’s whatever, whatever. What you don’t want to have happen is what she had happen, which is you get invited into the back room. The back room is a tricky one. You probably seen this in movies. Talked to people who’ve experienced this, and it’s just like the movies they got the big picture, not of Stalin in this case, but Tito, but, you know, one of these communist dictators there, and it’s just the sparse bear, I mean, of the fluorescent lights flickering and all that stuff just lends some atmosphere to it. And there’s a guy there, you know, the commander or whatnot, who’s trying to threaten and intimidate interrogate this 21 year old girl who is, of course, quite nervous at this point. And, you know, why are you going to Vienna, I’m trying to finish up Bible school. Why would you do something as dumb as that? You know, the Bible is like, why? You know, all this kind of stuff and, and she’s a little bit braver. You know, he was expecting her to break down pretty quickly, but she was okay. So he finally, kind of in frustration, slams her passport down on the desk in front of her and says, Don’t you know I have the power to keep you from going back to Vienna and finishing your schooling, which he’s right about, by the way. And she looks at him, and this is one of those, you know, promises of Scripture where, when you get hauled before the government, the spirit is going to show you what to say, kind of thing. This is definitely one of those stories. She looks at him and she goes, My God is the King of kings and Lord of lords, and if he wants to use you to keep me from going back to Vienna, then I surrender to His will. And he’s apoplectic, as you would expect at this point, you know, purple faced, eyes bulging and all that. And he grabs the passport and stamps the exit visa in it and says, I don’t want to be used by your God, which, of course, is funny because he was being used by God to make sure that you could finish your school and to go on and as there’s in ministry even now, by the way, the Vienna Bible College is where the lamps were serving just outside of Yugoslavia, and so this is a friend of theirs. They’re the ones who told me this story earlier this week. But I mention all of this because Church and State have had a fraught relationship through the millennia. Now, even back before the church was the church, but the people of God under Israel as well, the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world overlap, of course. I mean, the Bible even tells us submit to your leaders for the Lord’s sake. So there’s overlap here. But what happens when that overlap turns into conflict when governments deny visas for you to go do what you believe the Lord has called you to do, when they shut down churches, when they decree ungodly laws, when that happens, we always have a choice. We can choose cowardice or courage, cowardly compromise, to give in to whatever it is the government is pushing you to do that is contrary to God’s will, or courageous conviction, to be steadfast and immovable. Which will we choose as we live in exile, recognizing, of course, that we enjoy tremendous religious freedom in this country, for which we are grateful, but you never know. I mean, I could tell stories of people in this room who have lost or are losing jobs because of their commitment to Christ in His ministry. So if that happens to you, how will you respond? This story points us to how we can develop that courage as we look at it. So we’ll take it as we’ve been going throughout. Daniel, we’ve done this throughout the scene. So Scene one, first of all, the evil decree here, Daniel, chapter six, verses one to nine. Let me read it for us. It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. Now, Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom at this the administrators and. Satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel and his conduct of Government Affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally, these men said, we will never find any basis for charges against this man, Daniel, unless it has something to do with the law of his God. So these administrators in satraps one is a group to the king and said, May King Darius live forever. The Royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisors and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next 30 days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lion’s den. Now, Your Majesty issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed. So King Darius put the decree in writing. So first question we have to answer, in part because I told you we’re going to answer it last week, and you’re expecting it now, is, who is Darius, the Mede? Exactly. We met him at the end of the last chapter. He took over the kingdom at the age of 62 so that’s all we know about him, right? He’s a 62 year old ruling over Babylon after Cyrus, the great conquered that empire on behalf of the Medes and Persians. The problem we run into is there is absolutely no record of him anywhere archeologically. So what are some possibilities here. One is that this actually is Cyrus the Great. And Darius the Mede is a throne name. We know from history that there are people, even around this time, who would take throne names, usually for political reasons, because you’re trying to keep subdued peoples subdued in all this and and Cyrus was about 62 when he took over the Babylonian Empire. And he was a mede. Also his mother was a Mede, although eventually it kind of becomes the Persian Empire. It was the Medo Persian Empire first. So could be Cyrus the Great. Could also be a regent that he’s put on the throne of Babylon for that first year. Especially, we do know there was a regent there. And again, would be a different name at this point. The other possibility, of course, is that this is a mistake, that this is not Darius the Mede. They got it wrong. There’s a Darius later. There’s actually three. Darius Dari. I I don’t know what the plural is, who who rule over Persia, so maybe this is somebody who’s historically uninformed, who put the wrong name down, maybe. But I doubt it. And why do I doubt that? Because that’s what they told us about Belshazzar too, remember, and then we found him in the archeology. So I think we just got to have that in our minds, that the absence of archeological evidence is not proof of a mistake when it comes to Scripture. Whoever he is, not terribly important. He sets up 120 sat traps, you know, governors, district superintendents, something like that, and then these three administrators who are going to be over them so that the king wouldn’t suffer loss. In other words, we’re worried about graft. We’re worried about not all of the taxes making it to the king, but some of them falling into the district superintendent’s hands. So no surprise, Daniel is one of the ones chosen for that role, and he’s actually going to be made chief among them, even because of his exceptional qualities, Daniel has the skills and the character to do this well, there is no corruption in him. He is trustworthy, as you’d expect of someone who trusts God, he’s not living for himself, so he’s not gonna be the kind of person who’s trying to get kickbacks for himself.
So what happens in verse four when they find out Daniel’s me in charge, all of his rivals try to find grounds for his dismissal. So it’s a little bit, we’re in election season, so we’ll use the election metaphor here. This is a little bit like, you know, hiring a private investigator to do opposition research on the other candidate so you can drop that October surprise. You know that this candidate, he’s a big fan of recreational whale torture, right? And then other of a sudden, goes, ooh, we can’t vote for that guy. And then you win the election. So that’s what they’re looking to do here. The only problem is that he is squeaky clean. There’s nothing. There are no skeletons in his closet. So they have to look elsewhere. And in verse five, they say, the only way this is going to work is if it has something to do with the law of his God. They use a specific word there. It’s actually the same word that Haman uses in Esther when he’s talking about what makes the Jews so different. They’ve got a different law, and so they are a different people, and that’s the problem, because it’s not just that they got different customs, but you know, it’s like they’re obeying someone else, almost. You might see them as enemies of the throne, even so we got to get rid of them, and that’s kind of the same idea that we have here. If he’s following a different law, that means he’s sowing disunity, which is a big problem in a big empire. This, by the way, is why, historically speaking and even. Today, across the globe, governments hate have so much conflict with the church, because the church just won’t get in line. Because we’re not supposed to. We are. We won’t act like the rest of the culture, because we are a part of a different culture. We are exiles, living in a foreign country, even if you’re in the country of your birth. Why? Because we are citizens of heaven, and so we have been set apart to be holy like we’re living Technicolor lives in a grayscale world. Spiritually speaking, we talk a lot here about the motto for kids city, which is to raise children that the world can’t ignore, and that’s just saying. We just want to raise church folk. That’s all we’re saying. Because we should be the sorts of people that the world cannot ignore. We should be strange pilgrims. I mentioned that Karis and I are going to Colombia tomorrow, and we will be different there. We will stand out. We look different. Karis in particular, looks different. And then we sound different, speak a different language, we act different. And again, that’s the whole idea. That’s what we should be, and that’s what Daniel has been. In contrast to Daniel’s integrity, though, we have this group of people who are committed to collusion and lying. You’ll see the lie right there in verse seven, when it says, we have all agreed that this is a great decree. Well, at least one person probably did not agree to this law, and that would be Daniel, but still, they’re willing to lie and then to manipulate this fault in Persian law. Persian laws were immutable. That was so that no subordinate could change them. Also, just partly had to do with how they wrote the law down, just to chisel it in stone. This is harder to change than, like, stealth editing a government website, right? Like, where different sort of things they kind of go, well, it’s there. Sorry, deal with it. That’s it. So they’re going to exploit that fault specifically by coming up with this decree. Now it’s a weird decree. Why would they have everyone in the kingdom for 30 days pray only to Darius, especially because this is a resolutely polytheistic culture, like we know we got different gods out there. You don’t want to upset people. And the quickest way to upset somebody is to tell them they can’t worship their god anymore. But that’s not really what’s happening here. Probably more the idea of petition instead of prayer, it says like that, no one can seek anyone except you, is more literal translation. So I like the way one commentator put it, this decree doesn’t deify the king, but designates him as the only legitimate representative of deity for a stated time. So he’s going to be the chief mediator between gods and humans for 30 days. Why this will help secure the throne? Because everybody’s focused on him now. So he’s the focal point of the Empire, and that is kind of the idea. Anyone who doesn’t do that, obviously, is making the throne insecure. That’s a bad idea. So you get tossed to the lions. Kings back then kept lions to hunt, meaning to slaughter, because they were just there, like unchained. It’s not that hard to hunt them then, but they would keep them in this cistern shaped pit with a little hole at the top, and so it’ll be really easy to drop someone in there. So that’s where we are so far. So good. Got the king to enact a law that flatters him and establishes his rule, and they know that Daniel will break this law. And some of you are listening to this going like, poor guy, right? Keep in mind, we started back in 605. We’re now in, like, 538, like, he’s 80. He’s 80 at this point, you’re like, hasn’t he earned a break yet? Like, why the Lord keep throwing this stuff on him? And it might be a question you’ve actually asked of yourself at various points. The reality is, you know, we think the older we get, the fewer trials we should have, but trials are meant to strengthen us, and so the older you get, the stronger you should be getting, spiritually speaking, so that you can lift a heavier burden. It’s like weightlifting, right? You show up at the gym the first time, you’re the scrawny guy who can’t even bench the bar, but a couple decades later, you got two plates on either side, and that’s what’s happening spiritually here, Daniel, at 80, is the strongest guy in the room. He’s the strongest guy in the empire by a long shot, as we’ll see, because Scene two, the king’s distress. Let me read verses 10 to 18 for us. Now. When Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room, where the windows opened toward Jerusalem three times a day, he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. And these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree. Did you not publish a decree that during the next 30 days, anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lion’s den? 10, the king answered the decree stands in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed. Then they said to the king, Daniel, who’s one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day. When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed. He was determined to rescue Daniel. Made every effort until sundown to save him. Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, remember Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians, no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed. So the king gave the order. They brought Daniel and threw him into the lion’s den. The king said to Daniel, may your God, whom you serve, continually, rescue you. The stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him, and he could not sleep. So Daniel learns the law, he learns this decree, and yet he still prays. We can actually learn quite a bit from his example of a prayer here. First of all, you’ll notice how he prayed. He he kneels. You’ve got his window open and he’s facing towards Jerusalem. It’s interesting. None of those involve a specific command. You don’t have to kneel to pray or anything like that, but there’s a specific posture, physically that helps him focus in prayer. He kneels as a sign of humility, and then he is praying toward Jerusalem, kind of in line with Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple, First Kings, 848, I’m not going to put it up there. It’s a long, long sentence, but you know, Solomon’s saying, If we sin against you, and you send us into exile, and then if we pray to you towards the city, you’ve chosen Jerusalem and toward the temple, Lord, you know, hear our prayer and answer from heaven. And so that’s what Daniel is doing here. Second, you’ll notice that not just the posture of his prayer, but the variety of his prayer is exemplary, like you’re in a crisis moment like this, we do petition, right, Lord help us. And yet, Daniel prays with thanksgiving, also, because gratitude is essential in the midst of crisis to guard our hearts in the bitterness that otherwise might come. And then third, most importantly for the story, notice that Daniel is just doing what he always does. Absolutely nothing has changed for Daniel. He has been praying three times daily for years, decades, really, three times a day. Why? Probably Psalm 55, verse 17, evening, morning and noon, I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. So in other words, throughout the whole day, I’m constantly going back to the Lord to pray. Good idea. By the way, I know a lot of us today have kind of learned the idea of a quiet time speaking of things that are not specifically commanded in Scripture, but we kind of try and get it all done at once. That would be like just eating breakfast and then hoping that that sustains you throughout the day. We need food more often than that. We probably need spiritual food as well. Just to have these set times, like it’s lunchtime, I’m just going to check in with the Lord, or I’m getting ready for bed,
I’m going to check in with the Lord. That’s what Daniel has been doing, and he does not change it just because his circumstances changed. In other words, what’s remarkable here is not that a crisis drives him to prepare prayer. That’s not remarkable that happens to everyone. What’s remarkable here is that a crisis doesn’t cause him to break his routine. You have to love seeing that it is so important. This is not a new habit for him. He’s not flaunting his disobedience to the king, which some would do today. We get these ostentatious displays of rebellion that’s very different from Daniel. So we’re going to tease this out with like a little thought experiment here. So last week, or maybe the week before, I don’t remember, was take your Bible to school day. Which I get the idea of this, by the way, it’s probably not the idea I would have come up with. So I’ll just say that up cards on the table. Okay, but I get the idea you bring your Bible, which most people in high school don’t actually have Bibles anymore. They have phones. Terrible idea. So I like the idea right there. Okay, bring an actual hard copy of the Bible to school with you, and it’s meant to spark a conversation. Your classmate sitting next to you goes, you read the Bible, and you’re like, hey, this is perfect. What I’ve been praying for, for, you know, all year long, that I get to have this kind of comment. You really think that’s true. I’m so glad you asked. So great. Okay, like that. And then also, there’s a sense of solidarity. You can look around the room and go, Wow, they’re actually six Christians in my class, which is helpful, for sure. Now I’m hoping that both of those would have happened anyway, because the reality is, you shouldn’t need to have this with you for people to know you’re a Christian. That should be that whole Technicolor in a grayscale world kind of thing. Everybody should have gone. Of course, you brought your Bible with you. Yeah, oh, and of course, I know that those five are also Christians or something like that. So again, some of my concerns with it, but, but I like it, okay. But now imagine, and it’s not hard to imagine this, either that in, you know, Illinois or something like that, they banned bringing bibles to school. You didn’t want to make other people uncomfortable with, you know, cramming your religion down their throat. I could envision that happening. Would get struck down in the Supreme Court, yes, but it might be a law for a little while. What would happen, given our culture especially, this would not become a Christianity thing, a discipleship issue. This would become a culture war issue, and you’re going to have a huge group of people who are going to go on Amazon and buy a Bible, or at the very least pull the one down off the top shelf, dust it off and start bringing it to work, people who have never read their Bible certainly don’t believe the Bible. Don’t go to church and don’t live like the Bible is true, are going to be carrying it with them. That’s the opposite of what we get here. That’s the opposite of Daniel. Daniel doesn’t change because of the government. Rather, he won’t let the government change him. That’s a big difference. It is probably worth asking, though, even with that thought experiment, if our government banned prayer for 30 days, would it make any meaningful difference in your life? Or if they banned Bible study or evangelism, would that actually change anything about how you live your life, hopefully not when kingdoms conflict. Like Daniel, we obey God’s law and not the world. And that was easy for Daniel because he was always obeying God’s law. But again, we can imagine scenarios. Let me just throw out a couple so you’re thinking through this. It might be a parent who tells their teenager they can’t go to church or youth group because they don’t want their kid, you know, getting infected with that cult I’ve seen that one for sure. Or you may be let go because you’re unwilling to work on Sunday mornings, because you know that gathering with the people of God needs to be a priority in your life. Or it may just be as simple as bowing your head in the work cafeteria before you have your meal, even if it draws unwanted attention. Well, Daniel doesn’t mind the unwanted attention. Again. He does what he always does. He knows the law targets him, but he doesn’t care. So on the one hand, he doesn’t pray to be seen, which Jesus talks about in the the Sermon on the Mount. Of course, he doesn’t pray to be seen, but at the same time, he doesn’t hide what he’s doing, either. And so the conspirators pounce. Their plan worked to perfection. They’re very shrewd. They go to the king and they remind him of the law first. You just you had a law, right? Remember correctly, it was this morning. I know. But like you said, something about 30 days, right? And so do that first, and then they disparage Daniel. It’s not Daniel the chief administrator in the kingdom. It’s Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, one of those guys. Well, he’s in trouble now, and the king is immediately distressed. He spends all day working on the problem and cannot find a way out. I don’t know what that means exactly. It could be that there is no legal loophole here. That’s a possibility, I think more likely, honestly, there’s no way for him to undo this without looking weak in front of the people he conquered like last week, and who probably he needs to look like a strong king for them at this point. So he feels stuck, and his stuckness is just so deeply ironic, too, because we had this law to test the people’s loyalty to him, and the law ends up rewarding his faithless subordinates and punishing probably the most loyal person in the kingdom, Daniel, who has been a faithful servant of successive dynasties, really. And then we set the law. We get this law to set the king up as the ultimate authority. And that law ends up imprisoning him in his authority, revealing his true impotence in the process. There’s your irony so that. And here’s the culmination of the irony. In verse 16, Darius says that he hopes God will save Daniel, the most powerful man on earth has no power to save Daniel, only God can do that. That’s a good lesson for us, isn’t it? Like, what about you in what do you hope? Like, I don’t know about you. Again, fraught political climate. All. That I am grateful for our government. I am grateful that they are here. I look at what’s happening in North Carolina and Florida, and I’m like, thank God we’ve got FEMA imperfect absolutely bureaucracies always will be but I’m glad they’re there and they’re doing the work that they are doing. But here’s the thing, FEMA can’t stop a hurricane. FEMA just cleans up after the mess. And even then there’s messes they can’t clean up because, you know what else FEMA can’t do. FEMA can’t raise the dead. Only God can do that. Or what about your hope for justice? I think that’s where a lot of us turn right. If we want justice, there’s injustice in this land. There’s injustice in the world. We want it done with that means we need better government, which would be helpful. Of course, we need to. If we get the right election, then we can get the right laws enacted, and justice will flow like a river and righteousness like a never failing stream. Except that that’s not actually how it works, because if you’re trusting in laws, what happens if an unjust ruler ends up on the throne, or what if the law isn’t passed, what then? What hope do you have? And hope is why Darius and Daniel respond so differently. We don’t actually hear from Daniel in this section, but it’s clear he’s not kicking and screaming as he’s being dragged to the lion’s den. Daniel is at peace because he knows that God is sovereign. So when he hears the law, he doesn’t prep for revolution. He just prepares himself for death. It’s fine, I’m going home, guys. So he’s at peace because he knows that God is sovereign. Darius is anxious because he knows he’s powerless. And so the king rejects food and entertainment. He tosses and turns all night long. He’s got no peace because he’s got no trust in the God who brings peace. And again, there’s the irony, the king has every pleasure available to him, and he can’t enjoy any of it, and Daniel has nothing but God’s presence and is satisfied. What a reminder for us today that true peace comes from knowing God. It does not come from money and entertainment, from power or security, especially against security, is kind of the big question, isn’t it, the only true security we have is our trust in God. Your Money can get swept away, your power can be lost, but your inheritance in Christ is kept in heaven for you, and your adoption as a child of God has been signed and sealed by the Holy Spirit. That’s so different from the vicissitudes of life. I love the way Sinclair Ferguson sums it up. He says this. He says, Darius, helplessness suggests to us that it is better to be a child of faith in a den of lions than a king in a palace without faith.
Yes, and amen, especially because let’s see how it turns out for Daniel, last section, scene three, the prophets deliverance. Let me read the rest of the chapter for us, beginning in verse 19. At the first light of dawn, the King got up and hurried to the lion’s den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice. Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions? Daniel answered, May the king live forever, my God sent his angel and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me because I was found innocent in his sight, nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty, King, was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. When Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God, the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lion’s den, along with their wives and children. Before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones, and King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language and all the earth, May you prosper greatly. I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom. People must fear and reverence the God of Daniel, for He is the Living God, and He endures forever. His kingdom will not be destroyed. His dominion will never end. He rescues, and he saves. He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions. So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian. Comment right there. By the way, some of you are like, See, they’re different people. It can’t be Cyrus. You could also translate that the reign of Darius. That is the reign of Cyrus the Persian. You got a footnote in your Bible, if you’re curious about that. So what happens here at first light, Darius rushes to the den. He must have had a glimmer of hope that God had actually saved Daniel because of what he does. He doesn’t, you know, tell some lackey, hey, go see if, like, there’s a foot left or something, and we can bury part of him, you know, give it a proper burial. No, he thinks maybe this actually happened. And the hint about his hope is in that phrase, the living God. Uh, Daniel, this is verse 20, servant of the living God. Has your God saved you? Now, LIVING GOD meaning not a lifeless god of wood and stone, not a false god like an idol. Has the God who is actually alive, the God who is there saved you. This phrase, living God, is used often in the Old Testament, almost exclusively on the lips of Jews who are going up against a foreign adversary. So Joshua uses it, for example chapter three, because he’s talking about the living God, in contrast to the gods of say, you know the people of Jericho or the rest of the promised land. And so what’s ironic here is that we have one of those foreign pagan adversaries using it about a pious Jew. So there’s the change. What I think this means, though, is that Darius at least understands the whole getting tossed in the lion’s den thing, less as an execution and more as a trial by ordeal. So like you’re gonna get put in this trial and you should die, but if you are miraculously spared, then that means you were innocent. And that’s the lesson they learned. Verse 22 they didn’t eat him because he was innocent. It actually says the lions did him no harm because he had done the king no harm. Same word was used. So in obeying God, he was not being disloyal, but actually ferociously loyal. He was probably praying for the king, because that’s what you do. Of course, we see His spirit there when he answers Darius by saying, May the king live forever. And Daniel doesn’t lie. He says an Israelite in whom there is no guile, in contrast to his rival. So when he says it, he actually means it, all because he trusted God. That’s what brought him peace in his trial. And so he’s rescued as an innocent man, new decree is given, and punishment fits the crime. Those who falsely accused Daniel, the way you say falsely accused in Aramaic is to eat pieces of someone. Punishment fits the crime because they ate pieces of Daniel. Pieces of them will be eaten, is what just happened in the lion’s den. And so Proverbs, 2810, kind of comes to mind in terms of what just happened. Says, whoever leads the upright along an evil path will fall into their own trap, but the blameless will receive a good inheritance. We just saw that lived out here. Now probably some of you are wondering about the families, right? How come the wives and kids have to go in too? I get that. It’s a tough question. First of all, note that this is not the Lord who’s commanding that punishment, but the Persian king. Of course, sometimes it’s because families are complicit, though you do see that in Joshua seven with Achan, he sins by keeping back some of the stuff that was meant for the Lord, the family was complicit because he dug a big hole in the middle of their tent. They All Saw, well, Hey, Dad, what you doing? You know, like, they knew what was happening and didn’t stop it. But what’s happening here is just the ancient view of family solidarity, kind of the sense of, like, you know, Apple doesn’t far fall from the tree. So if dad’s bad, you’re all bad. You know, plague on both your houses, Mercutio and Romeo and Juliet, exactly, the whole house is rotten, so they’re all killed, and because they were not innocent, there is no divine deliverance, no angel to shut the mouths of the lions. The Lions break there fast. And so Darius then learns a lesson similar to Nebuchadnezzar, and sends out a similar proclamation. This sounds like what we’ve seen in Daniel three and four already. God rescues his people. He does signs and wonders. THE LIVING GOD IS TO BE reverenced, right, not just tolerated, but reverenced and feared by all people and His Kingdom, in contrast to the kingdoms of this world, His kingdom will endure, which we saw in the dream of the statue in Daniel chapter two. That’s kind of the main theme of Daniel as a whole, isn’t it? In spite of appearances, God is always in control, and God is always ruling wisely. But man, those appearances can be rough sometimes, can’t they like it really looks like he’s not always in control when you got enemies plotting against you and unjust laws and you’re being threatened with death. So in those moments, how do we move from cowardly compromise to courageous conviction? Because it’s gonna take more than be like Daniel, which is impossible, you know, like just grin and bear it, kind of thing like, that’s not going to work if we’re going to develop that courageous conviction. We need to see where Daniel points so let me review this story again. Jealous rivals frame an innocent man on trumped up false charge. Is they arrest him while he’s engaged in private prayer, bring him before the king. The king realizes he’s innocent, but feels like his hands are tied. He’s power. Tries to rescue him, but but has to bow to pressure, ultimately sentence the innocent man to death and then seal him in his would be tomb, really. You all know where this is going. Whom did I just describe the true and better? Daniel, Jesus Christ. Because what happens to Jesus? His rivals, the religious leaders frame him for sedition. They arrest him while he’s praying in Gethsemane Pilate knows he’s innocent, but literally washes his hands of him because he’s bowing to the relentless pressure. There’s only one difference in these two stories, and that difference is that there is not a scratch on Daniel when he walks out, whereas Jesus is tortured, crucified and murdered, scars on his brow, his hands, his feet and his side, never mind his back. But that difference just reminds us of what makes Jesus true and better, because he also walks out of that tomb. That’s the good news. That is the proof that God rules and rules wisely, because he has the power to subjugate evil to his good purposes. From the cross, he brings forth resurrection, not just for Jesus, but for all of us who hide ourselves in Jesus. And that is a point that Peter makes at Pentecost in Acts chapter two, he says this, this man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge. God is ruling despite appearances, and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross, but God raised Him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him, God overrules evil finally and forever. That’s what we need to believe to know if we’re going to live courageously. That’s what will give us power to risk all for our faith. Daniel is not just an example to follow. Jesus is not just an example to follow. He is an example to follow. But what we get here is the foreshadowing of our final verdict.
We too will be found innocent and will survive our trial by ordeal if we trust in Jesus, not because we’re innocent, but because he was and he grants his innocence to all who trust in Him. His acquittal is ours as well. Here’s the way Iand do good put it, he says, When Daniel came forth from the lion’s den, he came out alone, but when Jesus came forth from the tomb, he came out as the head of a mighty company of people who have been redeemed from the pit through His death. I know we’re missing some of the Moody’s, but I am preaching better than you. All are Amen, and right now that gives us our big idea. Just pull it together, right? The big idea be courageously faithful even to death, because Jesus has conquered the grave already for us. Thank you. We are going to be in exile for a while, until we die or the Lord comes again. So we need to learn to live well in it, to trust and serve our God without fear, without wavering. We’ve learned a lot of lessons about how to do that in Daniel’s life, the importance of having community, the need for wisdom and consistent devotion to develop these habits of grace. We know that we need God’s power to reach the world, even our enemies, and that last word, enemies reminds us that that’s why we need to risk rejection. We’re going to have to count the cost that it will be we will be sorely tempted to take the easy way out. Again, it’s 30 days, 30 days without but whatever. Why die for this? Well, because he’s the living God. That’s why, that’s why we would risk rejection or dismissal by being bold with our colleagues. It’s why people all over the world continue to gather secretly for church and risk arrest and execution instead of just doing private worship, which would be so much safer. It’s why we defy the king. We would never defy the king unless we believe that there’s a king of kings who can and will deliver us if we’re going to be found faithful. To count the cost, we must know who God is, what he’s done and what he’ll do, and that is exactly what we learn in the gospel. We can count the cost, because Jesus counted the cost for us first, be courageously faithful, even to death, because Jesus has already conquered the grave. And with that. The narrative of Daniel comes to a close. This is the end of Daniel’s remarkable biography. We’ve seen him rise from a POW to an initiate, to a sage, to the chief state sage, to the chief administrator, to the personal advisor to the king, to third in the kingdom, to at the end of this chapter, second in the kingdom, second only, to the king. What have we learned in these six chapters, that God humbles the proud but exalts the humble, and that God is ruling history again, despite any and all circumstances, any and all appearances, the god of gospel is in control, and we need that narrative and those lessons to set the stage for what’s coming in the second half of Daniel, when we get the visions of the future, this is just your warning. Things about to get weird. Okay? Like Daniel one to six is like kids stories. I love this stuff. Daniel seven to 12 is prophecy, apocalyptic. Okay, so Kyle’s preaching next week. I’m not dealing with that. So pray for him as he gets ready for it. But let’s pray together now as well. Lord, would you help us to be courageously faithful to you? Because we know that we have nothing to fear. Ultimately, there are those who can destroy the body, but we would rather fear the one who could destroy the body and the soul. And we live in fear of you, Lord, knowing that you have rescued us from death and darkness and evil. Already, we know how the story ends, and so Lord, we have every reason to be faithful. And just as your son was found faithful and embraced death for our sake, will we be found faithful and embrace death and difficulty for your sake and for the sake of Your kingdom may be true of us, Lord, we ask Amen.

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Judgment in Exile October 6, 2024 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper discusses the biblical story of King Belshazzar of Babylon, emphasizing the themes of pride, arrogance, and idolatry. He explains the historical context, noting the transition from Nebuchadnezzar to Belshazzar and the significance of the unmentioned kings in between. Brandon highlights the accuracy of the Bible’s historical records, confirmed by archaeological findings. He parallels modern-day sins of arrogance, blasphemy, and idolatry, urging self-examination and repentance. The story concludes with Belshazzar’s judgment, symbolized by the writing on the wall, and the call for believers to respond with humility and grace, sharing the gospel and living godly lives.

Hi. Good morning church. You can go ahead, grab your Bibles and open up to Daniel chapter five. Daniel five as we continue in our series this morning, as you’re turning there, there’s a story from Greek history that you’re probably at least somewhat familiar with. King Hiero of Syracuse wanted a new crown, and so he gave a goldsmith in his kingdom a certain amount of gold to fashion this new crown for him. Only problem was that he didn’t really trust this Goldsmith, and so he was thinking to himself, how am I going to know if this guy, you know, took some the gold for himself and substituted a cheaper metal, like silver in its place. So asked his friend, the POLYMATH Archimedes, to solve this problem for him. Archimedes is stumped, and so he does what everyone does when they’re stumped, which is, he took a nice, hot bath. Only problem was he filled the bathtub too high, so he plopped himself in and all the water was displaced. Ran over the sides of the bathtub, and he exclaimed, quite famously, he Reika, or, as we tend to say, Eureka. This was the original moment. Means I have found it. Is what that means, I have found it. So he kind of realized certain weight, certain volume, density, all this stuff, displacement, great. Okay. You know, science is another time. All right. In our passage, this morning, King Belshazzar of Babylon has his spiritual eureka moment. And it is a similar issue in some ways, because he is like this crown being weighed tested. And the question is, will he be found wanting? So bit of background, because I mentioned King Belshazzar, and you all are sitting there thinking, I know what happened to Nebuchadnezzar, because no time has passed, at least in our you know the here’s Nebuchadnezzar and here’s Belshazzar, and we get this helpful title in our Bible, but that, of course, wasn’t there in the original. So we actually have jumped more than 20 years in that little blank space. Now, the author expected us to know our Babylonian history, probably because he was writing quite close to Babylonian history, and so kind of assumed all his contemporaries would know this. We’ve actually had three kings pass by that get no mention whatsoever here, at least between Nebuchadnezzar and the current king of Babylon, who is nebonidus, not Belshazzar, by the way, nebonis, who is Nebuchadnezzar grandson, most likely kind of a, you know, one of these things, because dynastic intrigues and all that. He is the last king of Babylon, which falls to a middle Persian empire in 539 BC, his son Belshazzar, served as CO regent, though, and was reigning in Babylon in particular. And so that’s where we are at this moment in 539 BC, kind of two important takeaways from what I just shared right there, and everything we missed in that. First of all, the Bible is not concerned with history the way we are. So when we think history, we think history textbooks. And so we got to get all the names and dates in place. Can you give me the chronology and all of that the Bible is concerned with God’s work in history? What are the theological lessons evident in history? And that’s where he’s going to draw our attention today. So that’s the first takeaway, but the second one even in saying that, I know some of you heard me say the Bible is not concerned with history, which is not what I said, by the way. But that is a common view, right? And the Bible is telling all these fun myths and fables to teach us theological lessons, and whether or not it’s accurate is no big deal? No. The other takeaway is that the Bible is shockingly accurate, considering it is not trying to write a history textbook. How shockingly accurate we have no extra biblical record of Belshazzar reigning as CO Regent in Babylon until the middle of the 19th century, the only place we knew this had happened was in the book of Daniel. So naturally enough, people began to think, oh, okay, that’s because it’s made up. That’s why Bible doesn’t know what it’s talking about, you know? And so it just again, creating characters as needed, written hundreds and hundreds of years after the fact, and just got their history wrong until archeologists unearth cuneiform tablets that confirmed absolutely everything that we read right here. And so that’s important. Belshazzar is a real person who really reigned as CO Regent in Babylon, reigning there, by the way, because his dad kind of upset the Babylonians, which is a weird thing to do when you’re king of Babylon. He decided on some different gods, and so he kind of went outside the city and reigned over there, plus he’s fighting the Medo Persian Empire and whatnot. But the important part in all this is the transition from four to five, which is abrupt historically and chronologically, has no abrupt, you know, break thematically, because where did we end last week? The very end of chapter four, verse 37 and those who walk in pride, he is able to humble King Belshazzar. Okay, now we know where we’re going, because once again, we’re going to see sins of pride, arrogance, godlessness, like we saw with Nebuchadnezzar in the last few weeks. And we’re going to see what it merits, which is final judgment, and it is a harrowing account. As a result. This is not a pleasant tale, by any means, but let’s look at that. See the sin, see the judgment that results three scenes we’re going to look at this morning, the writing, the rebuking, and then ultimately the ruling starting with the writing on the wall, chapter five, verses one to 12. I’ll read it for us now, King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for 1000 of his nobles and drank wine with them. While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the Gold and Silver Goblets that Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had taken from the temple in Jerusalem so that the kings and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem. And the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone. Suddenly, the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale, and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking. The king summoned the enchanters, astrologers and diviners, and he said to these wise men of Babylon, whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means. Will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom. Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant. So King Belshazzar became even more terrified and his face grew more pale. His nobles were baffled. The Queen, hearing the voices of the king and his nobles came into the banquet hall, May the king live forever. She said, Don’t be alarmed. Don’t look so pale. There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your father, he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners. He did this because Daniel, whom the king called belteshazzar, was found to have a keen mind and knowledge and understanding and also the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means. All right, so where are we? Persia has just defeated Nabonidus, about 30 miles or so away from Babylon. So the Empire here is on the brink of collapse. And this scene, it’s like Nero fiddling as Rome burns, and the contrast between Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar is stark. Nebuchadnezzar built an empire, and Belshazzar threw a rager like that’s the difference. He should be preparing for invasion. Instead, he is planning a party. And we wonder why, of course, is this a question of calming the nerves? Might as well eat, drink and be merry. For tomorrow, we are literally going to die. This isn’t just existentialism. It’s actually the end of us, maybe more likely. He’s trying to unite all the factions, all the nobles in the empire, so that they can make their final stand. Here we see that, you know, Xerxes does this before he invades Greece, for example, a few decades later,
and while it was no doubt a surprise that the Empire was going to fall that very night, which we know to be true, by the way, Xenophon records that the the Empire fell in a night during a nighttime banquet, even it was a surprise that it happened so quickly, but it wasn’t unexpected that Persia was gonna be at the gates by morning, but they thought themselves secure within the city. They had stores of food to last for years, and so they figured they’d just wear the siege army out. In other words, Belshazzar thinks he’s more secure than he is, which has been a recurring theme in Daniel of course, were insecure and insufficient, as we know. This is probably some of why he then drinks from the temple goblets. These would have been some of the gold vessels that were there in the Most Holy Place in the temple of God in Jerusalem, that when Nebuchadnezzar sacked Jerusalem, he brought with as. You know, booty, basically, to kind of say, see, our God is stronger than your God. The contrast is there again, though, because, yes, Nebuchadnezzar sacked Jerusalem and took the holy vessels, but he still treated them as holy vessels. He didn’t add them to his, you know, regular dinnerware, or anything like that. But Belshazzar is profaning the vessels, which is odd, because it was Babylonian policy not to offend foreign deities, because that gets you into trouble. Sometimes it upsets the people who worship those gods. And if those gods are real, well that could cause problems for you too. So why is he doing it? Because it’s this reminder of the bygone glory of the Babylonian Empire. Like, yeah, we’ve got another nation here with their gods coming to sack us. But look what we’ve done before. Look at what happened to the other gods who came up against the might of Babylon, and in fact, he plays up the strength of his gods. You may notice in verse four, they actually toast their idols using God’s goblet. They’re toasting false and therefore powerless gods with the cup of the one true, living, powerful God. It takes us back to our Oscar trophy. If you were here a few weeks back when we had the props up front, because we had the king kids in the service. So this is the idolatry, again, of this thinking this little statue is going to help you, except that it’s even worse, because he’s mocking God with this statue. I can’t even think of a good example, because we don’t really do this kind of thing anymore, but you know, this would be like taking a cross and using that as the stand that you put your Oscar trophy on. Like, that’s sort of what’s happening. Like, I know which one is more important and which one is just serving the other. Here. The problem, of course, is that hunks of lifeless metal can’t save the city. We’ve been learning this lesson in Daniel and one of you is kind enough to send me a picture of it was a flood that was happening not down in the southeast, but in the Far East, and there were pictures of people wading through rivers of water, carrying their gods to make sure they rescued them, which is ironic to say the least. Your God is supposed to rescue you, not the other way around, but if it’s not a real God, that’s what this looks like. So that’s what’s happening here. And we see his sin, we see his arrogance, same arrogance that Nebuchadnezzar had, except even worse, of course, taking it a step further, because he added to arrogance blasphemy and of the idolatry as well. No wonder judgment comes. But before we get to that, especially when we’re condescending and sneering down our nose at Belshazzar. We need to pause for a moment and ask, is there any of that in us? Are there sins of arrogance, blasphemy and idolatry in us? The answer is, of course, we looked at the arrogance last week even, and how quickly we begin to think I did this. This is mine. I built this, whether it’s an empire like Nebuchadnezzar or a business or a ministry idolatry we talked about couple weeks back. That was the Oscar trophy, right? Yes, we know how quickly we worship, maybe not hunks of lifeless metal, but our achievement, or money or power or whatever else it might be. What about blasphemy? You’re like, I feel good about that one, at least. So you know I’m doing okay. You’re thinking like, Have I ever taken the Lord’s name in vain? That would be blasphemy. And you’re like, No, I don’t really do that. But blasphemy is so much more than just that. What makes blasphemy tricky for us today is that we don’t have a holy place with holy vessels any longer. There’s not a temple with golden vessels that we use. So, you know, sometimes people will talk about blasphemy because, you know, somebody vandalizes a church, and you’re like, well, first of all, it’s not a church. It’s the building where the church meets, and it’s just brick and mortar, so you’re not actually profaning anything holy there, except that that does help us out, doesn’t it? Because there is a holy place, and it is the gathered Church, which is the temple of God, the sanctuary where God dwells. Every Christian is a part of the temple of the Holy Spirit. And so now all of a sudden, actually really matters, because we could be blaspheming all the time based on how we treat people. So what Paul says in first Corinthians six, when it comes to sexual immorality in particular, he’s like, I mean, you are the most holy place if the Spirit of God dwells within you. So what happens if you go and visit a prostitute, how much have you desecrated the temple of God? Then you’re like, okay, but sexual immorality is not my problem. James makes it even worse for us. Unfortunately, James, chapter three, verse nine, he mentions the fact that with the same tongue, we praise God and curse human. Beings who are made in His likeness. We need to pay attention. In other words, all these sins are present within us. We need to pay attention. We need to do some self examination, especially when we see what comes next, because God takes this seriously. So we should take this seriously. What happens next? A disembodied hand appears and begins writing on one of the palace walls. You’ll notice it was right by a lampstand, so everybody can see it spotlights on the writing. And it’s actually interesting, because walls in palaces back then were used to put up the propaganda of the empire, of the kingdom, just finished reading a history of Persia in part preparation for this series, and they went into nauseating detail about all the reliefs carved into the different Persian palaces. And it was that arrogance, again, I did this. These are the lands I conquered. Well, so now God’s writing his history on the wall. You want to know, you know my evaluation of the Empire. Here it is, and it’s a terrifying moment, as you would expect. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a disembodied hand start writing things that would probably freak you out. It freaks Belshazzar out. Okay, so he’s plainly terrified. Color drains from his face. Says his knees were knocking. He’s shaking, right? And then it says that His legs gave way. That’s a really generous translation from the NIV, but I can’t understand why they’re doing it, because it’s a little euphemistic here. It says that the joints of his body were loosened. You want the way we’d say that euphemistically in English today, would be he lost control of his bodily functions the wet spot on the throne at this point, that’s how scared he is. And again, understandably. So. What does he do with his tear? He does what pagan kings always do. He begins offering rewards. You get, you know, purple robe and gold chain and interesting. What does he say you’ll be made third in the kingdom? This doesn’t seem very nice. Pharaoh said that Joseph be made second in the kingdom. So why third? Well, because Belshazzar is second in the kingdom. Just confirming the history that we’ve already learned, right? Nabonidus is first, then Belshazzar, you can be number three. In other words, calls the usual impotent advisors. It’s just getting amusing at this point. Every time we see this group of people call they can’t do anything yet again. So he gets even more scared, until the Queen Mother arrives. It’s called the queen here, almost certainly Queen Mother, in fact, most likely she’s the queen grandmother. This is almost certainly a Natacris, who was Nebuchadnezzar wife, and she was renowned for her wisdom. Again, even Greek historians tell us that. And so we have got an older, cooler head prevailing here. And what does she tell Belshazzar? You don’t need all these guys. They’re worthless. Trust me, we’ve seen this one before. You just need one guy. And you have them in your kingdom already you need one guy.
Where is he? That’s probably one of the questions we’ve had, like, when you need something interpreted, you call Daniel. We’ve learned this lesson, haven’t we, but Belshazzar has demoted Daniel in the same way that he’s downgraded Daniel’s God, which we saw in the blasphemy and the profanation of the temple vessels reminded of Hegel’s famous dictum, the only thing we’ve learned from history is that we’ve learned absolutely nothing from history. That’s what Belshazzar is doing right here. Well, NATO Chris is trying to remedy that. She says she wants Belshazzar to be like his father, Nebuchadnezzar, Father, by the way, being used here as just ancestor. We see that throughout the Old Testament, even it talks about your father, David, even though you’re eight generations removed, just means the guy who was on the throne at some point before you. So she wants Belshazzar to be like Nebuchadnezzar, to restore Daniel to his place of prominence in the kingdom, and with him, the one true God who is actually able to help Babylon in this time of need, there is this reminder in her appeal to history that we must not presume upon The grace God has shown to others, especially parents, your ancestors. We do not inherit Grace like it’s a spiritual trust fund that gets passed down to us. God has to show it anew to each generation. Don’t assume that God will do for you what he has done for others in the past, as soon as you assume grace, you’re on the verge of losing grace, so seek him wholeheartedly instead. And that is what Natacris is counseling here. Let’s see how it goes. Takes us to Scene two, the rebuking. Let me keep reading verses 13 to 24 and so Daniel was brought before the king, and the king said to him, are you Daniel? One of the exiles my father, the king, brought from Judah. I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you and that you have insight, intelligence and outstanding wisdom. The wise men and enchanters were brought before me to read this writing and tell me what it means, but they could not explain it. Now, I have heard that you are able to give interpretations and to solve difficult problems. If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you’ll be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you’ll be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom. And Daniel answered, the king, you may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the writing for The King and tell him what it means, Your Majesty, the most high God gave your father, Nebuchadnezzar, sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor because of the high position he gave him all the nations and peoples of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death. He put to death those he wanted to spare. He spared those he wanted to promote. He promoted and those he wanted to humble, he humbled. But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal. He lived with wild donkeys and ate grass like the ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the most high God is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and sets over them anyone he wishes. But you Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines. Drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand, but you did not honor the god who holds in his hand your life and all your ways. Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription. So Belshazzar agrees to let Daniel come. How magnanimous of him, and immediately treats him condescendingly. Your Daniel, one of the exiles that my father, Nebuchadnezzar brought from Judah. In other words, remember your place. I am the captor. You are the captive. That’s how he treats him. Calvin says it like this that he doesn’t acknowledge his negligence. There’s no sense of I’m in trouble here, and I’ve heard you could actually help that would be amazing. He doesn’t acknowledge his negligence, but interrogates Daniel without shame. Interrogates him like he was a prisoner. Of course, he is a prisoner of war. Now you may be looking at this going, I don’t know. It seems like he treats him pretty well. Here, he says some nice things about him. He gives him some honorifics, yes, but at a distance, you’ll notice, in both cases, he says, I have heard that you’ve got the spirit of the holy God. I’ve heard that you’ve got some wisdom. People are saying, but I’m reserving judgment, at least for now, that is so different, again, from Nebuchadnezzar, who says in chapter four, verse nine, I know that the spirit of the holy Gods lives in you. So there’s the difference once more, and that leads him to be conditional in his request. If you can interpret the writing, then I’ll do these things for you again. Nebuchadnezzar just goes interpret the dream because he knows Daniel will be able to, because God is with him. Belshazzar wants to lead unshackled by the past. That’s what the temple vessels are about. That’s why he’s dismissed. Nebuchadnezzar’s trusted advisor, but it’s the unshackling from the past that has made his future so grim. And so Daniel teaches him some history. First, he rejects the king’s gifts because his gifts are not for sale. That’s really important. Reminds me of Elisha with Naaman, another pagan leader, who comes to Elisha to be healed, and says, I’ll, you know, give you all this stuff if you heal me. And Elisha is like, look, I obey God, right? He’s the one who brings healing. He’s the one who interprets dreams. That’s on him. I’ll do what He asks of me. You can keep your money in both cases. That’s what’s being said here. So he says, you know, keep your gifts. I’ll interpret the writing. And then, interestingly, he doesn’t interpret the writing. Instead, he rebukes Belshazzar boldly, exactly like we saw last week. He’s not speaking from a position of power. He’s speaking on the margins of power, but he is speaking truth to a power that has rejected the truth himself, God Almighty. It’s almost like he says to Belshazzar, hey, you brought up Nebuchadnezzar. So let’s go there. Let’s talk about him like, what did he learn? Nebuchadnezzar learned from God that His. Empire was a gift God gives and, by the way, also takes away kingdoms. That’s what Nebuchadnezzar learned, and that’s the reminder that Belshazzar needs, especially because Daniel knows something that Belshazzar definitely doesn’t know. Daniel is familiar with the writings of Jeremiah, Prophet who’s more or less a contemporary of his, especially at the beginning. We know this because he’s going to quote Jeremiah later. We’ll get to chapter nine. I want to say so makes sense. Jeremiah was writing to the to the exiles in Babylon. Sent the prophecies to them. Well, who’s the most prominent Jew in Babylon? Daniel would have gotten the message. Would have read the prophecies, studied them. He would have read this Jeremiah, 27 six and seven. This is God speaking to Zedekiah, who was king of Judah at the time, right as they’re about to be conquered by Babylon. Now I will give all your countries into the hands of my servant, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, all nations will serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time for his land comes, then many nations and great kings will subjugate him. So Daniel knows this prophecy, which means he knows that time is running out for the Babylonian Empire, because we got Nebuchadnezzar and his son, Hamil Marduk and then his grandson, Nabonidus, and then it’s time, then it’s over, then somebody else comes in and subjugates them. So he knows time is running out, which means that he knows that Belshazzar will not humble himself before God Almighty, which is why he’s so bold with him. There’s a little bit of an irony in this, of course, also because Nebuchadnezzar had reason to be proud from a worldly perspective, he did, you know, kind of conquer the known world at that time. So he had reason to be proud, but was humbled. Belshazzar has no reason to be proud, and yet he refuses to be humbled, which is why he profanes the temple vessels. And here’s what makes it so bad. It’s in verse 22 I think his most important verse in this passage, Daniel says to him, You have not humbled yourself though you knew all this. You knew because you were taught Babylonian history, because that’s what kings in waiting get taught. Of course, you should have learned the lesson. Again, good reminder for us. We can learn God’s truths vicariously. We don’t have to make every mistake for ourselves. We can look around. We can learn from history, even again, whether that’s your family history or history writ large, we can learn, but Belshazzar didn’t learn, and in his arrogant idolatry, he blasphemed the Holy One of Israel.
So the God, who holds his very life in his hand, sends a hand to write on the wall. Now just to be clear, because some of you are going to wonder about this, God doesn’t have this, God doesn’t have a body. He is spirit, so he doesn’t actually have a hand. We’re using anthropomorphic language, just figurative, metaphorical description of God’s activity in the world. We see it a lot, right? It’s the arm of the Lord too short to, you know, reach out and impact this situation. Or we have the 10 Commandments, which are written by God’s finger on stone tablets, Exodus, 31, verse 18, and that’s what we have here, right? This is written by God’s very finger. Again, the judgment is sure because the judge himself is writing the ruling on the wall. And it even reads like a sentencing. It’s like machine gun fire list of charges against him. If you looked at just verses 23 and 24 you can count them up. I promise you the words you or your show up 12 times like this is just going you did this, you did this, you did this, you did this, you did this. There are the charges against you. No excuses, no way to duck this, no way to hide. Judgment is sure, and judgment is deserved. And so Daniel moves then from the rebuke to the interpretation of the writing on the wall, which is when he reads the judge’s ruling. Let’s read it together now. Scene three, the ruling. The rest of the chapter, verses 25 to 31 this is the inscription that was written many, many. Tekke parsin, here’s what these words mean. Many, God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. Tekel, you’ve been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Paris, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. Then at Belshazzar his command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom. That very night, Belshazzar, King of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius, the Mede, took over the kingdom at the age of 62 well, at long last, we get to read. The writing on the wall. So that’s exciting. We get to know what the hand wrote. It is this cryptic series of three words. These are actually all coins that are written down. So it’s Mina. Mina shekel and a half is basically what it would be. And you think to yourself, Well, why did this confuse the advisors so much? Then? Were they like, illiterate or something, not at all. It’s not that the words were too hard to read. It’s that their meaning was inscrutable. So if you saw a disembodied hand writing on the wall behind me, nickel, nickel quarter and a half, you wouldn’t be confused about the phonemes themselves, but you sure would be wondering why there’s a disembodied hand writing a bunch of coins on the wall behind me. That’s what’s happening here, too. Why would a divine hand write something like this? And God, as he’s done throughout the book of Daniel, gives Daniel the interpretation. He’s not reading the words, he’s explaining the hidden meanings that careful study wouldn’t give you. And so in this, he is truly acting as Prophet speaking God’s truth. It’s really interesting, too, when you think about this, when did Babylon first arrive on the scene? Really, biblically speaking, it was called Babel back then, if that helps you, Genesis, chapter 11 and all the same. Sins are there right, arrogance and idolatry and blasphemy. They’re trying to make their name great. There’s no humility or anything like that. What is the punishment for the sin of the Tower of Babel God confuses their language the hour of Babylon’s birth, their language is confused and at the hour of Babylon’s death, the language is confused yet again. So Daniel makes sense of it. These are not coins. He takes them as passive verbs. They’re all word play, right? This is just kind of similar sounds. So what is it? Many sounds like a mana, which is the word for numbered, like was numbered. Tekkel was weighed. Peres, which is the singular of parsin, was divided. And of course, also sounds an awful lot like Persia. So the idea is simple enough. God has put Belshazzar in the scales, and he didn’t weigh enough. He didn’t have the stuff. We could put it that way. This is a very Hebrew idea. Of course, when we talk about God’s glory in the Old Testament, the word for glory is actually weight heavy. In other words, he is filled with the most stuff. So you look around, you go, okay, you know, Brandon, he’s got 1.7 units of wisdom, and Kyle’s got, you know, 1.3 units of goodness. Okay, well, God has got infinite wisdom, infinite goodness, infinite mercy. So, of course, he weighs the most. That’s the idea. By contrast, Belshazzar doesn’t have any weight at all. He lacks wisdom, lacks goodness, lacks humility, so he’s been placed on the judge’s scales and found wanting, and so the ruling is offered. His days are numbered, and so the kingdom will be divided, separated from him, and given to the Medo-Persians, the ones who had just defeated Nabonidus a few days earlier. You know, 30 miles away. What’s odd is that Belshazzar is response doesn’t seem to fit, because he doesn’t panic, he doesn’t grieve, certainly doesn’t repent. Well, he does keep his word, though, interestingly, even though Daniel told him to keep his stuff, he’s given his reward and he’s made third in the kingdom. Except who cares, right? Because after all that very night, the Persians sack Babylon and Belshazzar is slain, so he is now third in a kingdom that no longer exists. Except the Persians had a policy of keeping the local leaders in place to smooth with the transition and probably subdue revolt as well. In other words, Daniel has been providentially placed at third in the kingdom right as a new kingdom comes in. So that Darius the Mede, whom we’ll talk quite a bit about next week, Chapter Six keeps Daniel on. Now, I know what some of you are thinking. You’re thinking Darius the Mede, we all know that it was Cyrus the Great who conquered Babylon. So help me out here another one of those massive historical inaccuracies in the Bible, to which I will tell you come back next week. Okay, we’re gonna talk about them then. So just hang it on until then. But what does all this have to do with us? Like, I know some of you were like, there were too many names that were too hard to say. You. And this was a long time ago in a kingdom Far, far away, like I don’t understand the connection, you know, I get it. Belshazzar was a bad dude, and he got what he deserved, the arrogant little punk. And that’s the takeaway from this story, right? Well, unfortunately, has quite a bit to do with us, because we’re also arrogant little punks. And it all goes back to verse 22 you knew all this. And here’s the truth of the matter, we know so much more than Belshazzar did. So this is the big idea. We’re gonna unpack it as we go here. But here’s the big idea right up front. You know all this, so respond. You know all this. We’ll get to all this in a moment. So respond even now, like we don’t want Belshazzar weird response of all, right, here’s a new road before you like, what should the response actually be? Because here’s the thing, you sit under the Word of God every week. Like, you know all this is your heart getting harder or softer under the teaching of God’s word, because it’s doing one or the other. The Puritans love to say the same. Sun hardens the clay and melts the butter, and that’s what it does to human hearts as well. Of course, even that image is interesting, because, you know, what did the clay do to get hard? It’s just what it is. What does the butter does what it is. There’s this tension even in that, and certainly the tension we see in this story between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. Because look at what’s happened in the last few chapters. Look at how patient God is with Nebuchadnezzar and how much mercy he shows him three times he teaches him, I’m the true God, until Nebuchadnezzar is finally brought to his knees before Him, Belshazzar is judged after one time. Why is that? Is it because Belshazzar was so much worse? Well, he drank from the golden goblets. You know, do you remember what Nebuchadnezzar did? He burned the temple to the ground while murdering God’s people in Judah and then carrying them off into exile. Yeah, he took the gold cups too. He didn’t drink from them. Does that sound better to you? It reminds me a little bit of Paul, right? Like, why would God save Paul, who was murdering Christians at the time, and yet God humbled him
so that he bowed before the living God. There is no such mercy for Belshazzar. He is humble, but not to the point of repentance and humility, true humility. He is humbled to the point of death and judgment. What we see in this story is exactly what Paul says in Romans nine, verse 18, just a few verses after the passage Jimmy read for us earlier, God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy and He hardens whom He wants to harden, Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. Right there, we’ve seen that. That is a hard truth, certainly. And there is a great mystery in there. You want to ask me a bunch of questions about this. I’m going to go. We’ll find out when we get there. We can ask God directly. I don’t think we’ll have that question at that point, but we could ask him, I suppose. But the takeaway from that truth that God wants will have mercy on whom He has mercy will harden whom he hardens. A takeaway from that truth for those of us who are in Christ should be such immense gratitude and humility, of course, like our response to that truth and our response to this story even should be two things simultaneously. First of all, I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve this. I should not have God’s favor in my life, because right along with it, the other truth is he is not worse than I am. Belshazzar is not any worse than I am, and that’s going to really help us out when we talk about judgment in exile, which is the name of the the sermon today, judgment in exile doesn’t like the we get to watch as as judgment happens to the people who are being mean to us. Like, how do we judge in exile? We are not the ones who weigh people and find them wanting. That’s not our job, our default, barring some sort of divine revelation, like a hand writing something on the wall next to you, barring divine revelation. Our default mode should be Daniel with Nebuchadnezzar pleading with him even now turn and trust God in. Calling you right. He was he was terrified. I wish these prophecies were about somebody else. He loved Nebuchadnezzar. That’s what we should look like as well. This is a needed reminder, even this week, because there was a hurricane that hit that not, not that long ago. And if you went into the cesspool that is social media, the usual suspects said, what about that hurricane. What they always say? You know, why Asheville got hit? Right? Because it’s filled with Democrats. I wish I were joking. I wish that were funny. It’s not or North Carolina, the rest of it actually the hardest counties that got hit, where the Maga people live. So we know what happened there didn’t this is the judgment of God on wicked people who aren’t like me, same nonsense we saw after Katrina and 911 and all the rest. Does God ever judge people and bring disaster into the world as a result? Absolutely, do we know when it’s happening? No, not unless there is divine revelation. I’m not talking about Pat Robertson. I got a word from the Lord false prophet nonsense. I’m talking actual divine revelation. Who sinned, this man or his parents that he should be born blind, and what does Jesus say? Nope, nope. Something else entirely is happening. We don’t know what God is doing. God might have brought suffering into somebody’s life for redemptive purposes, like what he’s doing with Nebuchadnezzar. And by the way, how could we say otherwise? Because which one of you wants to stand up right now before the living God and say, weigh me, I’m good. Yeah, I didn’t think so. No one got up, right? Because there’s only one who has ever weighed and found glorious, heavy, perfect, Jesus of Nazareth, the word become flesh. You’ve made his dwelling among us, and we have seen his glory, His weight has come from the Father, full of grace and truth. He’s the only one who lived a life so perfect that he was not only to able to satisfy the demands of God’s holiness for himself, but his life was so perfect he was able to satisfy God’s demands of a holiness for all who would enter in him as well, even people like Nebuchadnezzar, who was again, a really wicked person, and Paul, and also you and me, who are really wicked people. Because I know that some of you are sitting there going, I get that God is merciful, but he couldn’t possibly show it to me. Don’t let your past hold you back. Our question isn’t whether your sin is great. The question is whether Jesus is greater. And the answer is yes, he is. He is enough for you Come in, come into the kingdom, and if we come to God through Christ, what awaits us, by the way, a feast. A feast, but not one like Belshazzar involves blasphemy and hedonism. More importantly, though, one that is temporary. The feast that’s coming for us is in God’s forever kingdom. You remember that rock and toppled all the human kingdoms and that nothing else could ever topple. That’s the banquet that we’re invited to. You know all this. So respond, respond how, just briefly, well as exiles, we respond by loving those around us who are under judgment still because they have not yet come to Christ. Like Daniel, we engage in the hard but necessary work of sharing Christ’s worth and our unworthiness. We are God’s ambassadors sent to proclaim reconciliation in Christ to those who need to hear it. We also respond by living like we know all this, hearing the Word and responding in imperfect Yes until glory, imperfect, but grace infused growth in godliness, just growing day by day in godliness, because the Spirit is at work in us. So I would invite you to do a heart check even now. Like, is that true of you? Are you softening under the Ministry of the Word? Like, what are your finances? Tell you about yourself in sins of arrogance. For example, I earned this. This is my money or idolatry. What about your schedule, which shows you what you worship for sure, your desire for transformative community, your willingness to enter into it. Or how about this one? I really want you to think hard about this one you’re going to talk about in community groups. By the way, when was the last time? And you heard God’s word, whether in a sermon or journey group or your time of private worship, whatever it was, you heard God’s word. We’re convicted and changed as a result. We can look back and go, I heard this, and I knew I shouldn’t do this anymore, so I, by God’s grace, stopped doing it. Was that like yesterday or last week, or has it been a little while? We have been saved by grace, grace through faith, through no merit of our own. That’s Ephesians. Two, right, eight and nine. Is by grace. You have been saved by grace through faith. This is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast his sovereign mercy. But it doesn’t end there. The very next verse in Ephesians, two is For we are God’s handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. We’re not saved by good works, but we are saved for good works, to do good works. And you know all this, even if today is your very first time in church, your first time hearing the Word of God. You know that much at least now so respond, and respond especially to his offer of grace and mercy. Let’s pray together now, Lord, we pray once more that you would humble us before you, and especially humble us under your word, how you are speaking to us even now, and may you God, by your sovereign grace and mercy, soften our hearts, may they melt like butter under the light of Your Word, so that we can respond in worshipful, joyful, loving, grateful, humble, obedience to what you’ve called us to do, especially Lord, to share this good news and the offer of mercy with those around us, because we know that none of us will be weighed and found sufficient in ourselves. We needed mercy also to help us to preach mercy and grace to everyone around us, even those we don’t necessarily care for, who would be our enemies in the world’s eyes, like Babylon would have been in Daniel’s eyes. And do this, Lord, we ask for your name’s sake, amen.

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Wisdom in Exile September 15, 2024 | Brandon Cooper The sermon explores how to overcome insecurity not by trying harder, but by trusting in God’s power and wisdom. It examines the story of Daniel interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, highlighting Daniel’s humble wisdom and reliance on God. The sermon emphasizes the transience of earthly kingdoms and the ultimate triumph of God’s eternal kingdom. It encourages the audience to live wisely and love others, even in difficult circumstances, by trusting in the known God rather than grasping for control.

go ahead to open up to Daniel chapter two. Daniel chapter two, where we’ll be this morning as you’re turning there, I imagine maybe a handful of you who have read the book, probably many more of you have seen the movie Gone With the Wind, Gone With the Wind, which is a lament for the lost culture of the antebellum South now built as that culture was on the backs of slaves. I think we can all be grateful that that culture is gone, but at that time, the people who were experiencing the benefits of it, we’re lamenting its loss. And so the book is this struggle for the main characters, in particular Rhett and Scarlett, to adapt and survive in this new world of compromisers and carpetbaggers, how do we go on? And there’s this refrain throughout the book. You know, tomorrow is another day. This was written obviously sometime after Daniel was and yet, it’s a message that would have resonated with the Jews living in exile here in Daniel’s day. I mean, the the depiction of Atlanta in flames would certainly have resonated with the Jews who had just seen Jerusalem in flames after Nebuchadnezzar had besieged it. But it wouldn’t only be the Jews in exile. This is a message. It’s why it was such a famous movie and whatnot, a message that resonates with everyone. We all understand the transience of life, things fall apart. As Yeats said, We just sang, kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall. Kings are deposed. Of course, this is what the Jews would have just seen. I mean, Assyria was the big bad guy on the block, and now Assyria is gone, wiped off the map by Babylon, who will shortly be wiped off the map themselves. There’s this very real sense, and we’re keenly aware of it, that it’s all going to get blown away by the first stiff breeze, and so we live with a certain amount of fear and insecurity and kind of desperate, even if vain, attempts to wrest control for our cells now, every bit as much as then. I mean, maybe you’ve seen it, just be an example. Seen it someplace like at work, where you’ve got an anxiety riddled boss who you know, we need to solve this problem immediately. We got to increase our market share. Why? So that the company can survive? Because there is no guarantee that the company will survive. It’s actually interesting. I was just thinking of this this morning as I was rehearsing the ceremony. We do business here at church with a company, and I was emailing them to get some stuff. We’d paid a down payment and stuff, and they stopped returning my emails. And I was like, Well, you got, like, Well, you got, like, 1400 bucks for our money. We would like this, you know, to get our product. The company doesn’t exist anymore. 90 year old company went belly up, like, in a month, basically because of some mismanagement. Again, 90 year old company, this is, this is crazy, but that’s, that’s the transients of life that I’m talking about. We got our money back. Okay, okay, everybody’s panicked. I want my tithing for here. Okay, that’s why. All right, we live fundamentally insecure lives, at least from the human perspective. We are secure in God’s hands, but that’s a separate story. We live fundamentally insecure lives, and we need to reckon with that reality. That’s what we’re gonna look at this morning in particular. How do we reckon with it? We’re going to kind of see this movement that unfolds in three scenes. Those are the three points. You can see it in your notes there. But we’ll start with the first one where we begin, which is insecure insufficiency. So we’re moving from insecure insufficiency. Let me read chapter two, verses one to 11. In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams. His mind was troubled, and he could not sleep. So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers, to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, he said to them, I have had a dream that troubles me, and I want to know what it means. Then the astrologers answered the king, May the king live forever. Tell your servants the dream and we will interpret it. The king replied to his to the astrologers. This is what I have firmly decided. If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards in great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me. Once more, they replied, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it. Then the king answered, I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided. If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me miss. Leading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me, the astrologers answered the king. There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks. No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or Enchanter or astrologer. What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans. All right, so where are we? Just in case you weren’t here last week, Daniel and his friends are in the middle of their three year training. Still probably nearing the end of it. We’re probably in 603602 BC, somewhere around there. And this is a stressful time for Nebuchadnezzar, who is the new king of Babylon, and it’s a new dynasty as well, which means he has an insecure throne. I know most of us, we think monarchs. We think Queen Elizabeth, and she reigned for like, 150 years. Very unusual, especially because her family’s been reigning for a long time too. Usually you get, like, one or two, and that’s kind of about it. And then they start chopping heads off. Hence his troubled sleep. He is very worried for his throne, which is interesting, too, if you think about it. I mean, Nebuchadnezzar had absolutely everything that we could dream of having, like he’s got money, he’s got fame, he’s got power, but even he realizes that this is just like a mirage in a desert. Or better still, maybe it’s the difference between a canteen and an oasis in a desert. Like an oasis in a desert, it’s replenishing. It’s always there. There’s always water. The canteen, you know, if something doesn’t change, Imma run out of water real soon, and that’s where Nebuchadnezzar is living. He knows my kingdom could topple, my dynasty could topple at any moment. That is the fundamental insecurity of our lies this feel that we are grasping wind, which is really tough to hold onto, and it leads to all the sorts of things that we experience, like anxiety and depression and overwork, because we’re trying to gain control over a situation we have no control over it might even lead to nightmares, which is what Nebuchadnezzar is having. So what does he do? He calls his advisors together. We get these four groups that are mentioned. These aren’t just, you know, stacking up synonyms or something like that. These different words are not only different means of divination, let’s say, but they actually represent different nationalities as well. So he’s conquered all these other kingdoms. He’s bringing the best of the best from all these kingdoms to help him out. You know, every different field of enchantment or whatever you’ve got Egyptian wise men as that first group, the magicians, and they were famous for being able to interpret dreams. Maybe they learned it from Joseph, I don’t know. Then you’ve got that next group, the enchanters, who are supposed to be able to heal diseases in particular, and even exercise demons as needed. The Sorcerers cast spells. And then that last group, the astrologers, if you’re looking at the nib, it’s actually got a little footnote that says Chaldeans, which is just another word for Babylonians. So these are the Babylonian wise men. One of these groups should be able to help Nebuchadnezzar out, because, all right, we got a group of people interpreting dreams. Seems auspicious, if he The problem is a troubled spirit, the enchanter should be able to heal that. If this is a result of a curse, the sorcerer should be able to cast, you know, a counter spell, or something like that. And if there’s ever been a case like this in Babylonian history before, the Babylonian wise men will be able to explain what he should do. So that’s why he’s called these four groups together, and they are more than willing to do what he’s asked. Once they tell him the dream like this is what they’ve prepared for. They’re all set to go, except that he won’t tell them the dream. Why? What’s happening here is that he fears that they are traitors, that they’re part of the group that’s trying to undermine his throne. And that’s actually why the punishment is so severe, to be cut into pieces and have your house turned to rubble, that’s what happens to treasonous people, like that’s what happens to traders. So you’re gonna be treated as a traitor, because I assume that’s why you’re not helping me out here, he says, or they’re frauds, which case, they’re just utterly useless. I mean, he is worried that they’re just going to fake an interpretation, which you could do. If someone tells you their dream, you could probably make something up. Like we’re creative people, you know, a little hand me down, Freud or something like that, like we can work it out. So I’ve been talking dreams a lot this week, as we’ve been prepping for the sermon, I had somebody share an interesting dream they had with me recently where they were going to open their car door, but the problem was that their hands were made out of butter. Dreams are so weird, right? Like, we get that okay, look, you tell me that dream, I can interpret it for you. Like, no problem, right? You got butter hands. You know,
there’s something you need to do. Talk about insecurity, something you need to do, and you feel like you don’t have the resources to do. It. Boom, nailed it. The only problem, of course, is that I’m just guessing, like that was not from the Lord right there, like, maybe this is, you know, you got lactose intolerance or something, and that’s the problem here. I have no idea, right? So I’m making this up. And that’s what Nebuchadnezzar is worried about, that they’re just gonna make something up. So he says, no, no, you gotta tell me the dream. And so it’s verse seven. It’s hilarious. Where they’re like, right now, we’ll interpret the dream, but you do have to, like, they repeat their request. They think they must have misheard or something, because it’s such a ridiculous demand. Like, how could we tell you what you had just dreamed. But Nebuchadnezzar is having no none of this, right, like he’s worried. They’re trying to buy time here, hoping it says in verse nine that the situation will change. Now, the situation changing. That’s not like he’ll be more reasonable. That’s a specific phrase that that’s talking about like the political situation will have changed. So He’s worried that they’re trying to buy time until the revolution happens, until the coup d’etat is over and there’s a new monarch on a throne who won’t make unreasonable requests of them, and that’s why, in his paranoia, he won’t wait. The astrologers are beyond perplexed at this point. They ask him to be reasonable, like his predecessors, who didn’t make this request, very tactless of them, like they’re not helping their case out here. You know, you realize you’re being kind of a bad king, right? All the other kings did things. I bet a different king would do things better than you would, in fact. So, so they’re actually hurting their case, right here, but they’re trying to say that, you know, this is an unreasonable request, because no one can reveal what you dreamed, except the gods. And there is the rub, by the way, because Nebuchadnezzar is angry, ultimately, that He’s not God. That’s what’s really going on in his heart right here? Because if he were God, he’d be in control. He wouldn’t have to worry about the dream. Reminds me of what Nietzsche said. He said, If there is a God, how can I bear not to be that God? That’s what Nebuchadnezzar is saying. And this internal conflict that he’s experiencing is endemic to humans. We all feel this way because, again, if I’m not God, then that means I’m not ultimately in control. I’ve got no real power, no real self sovereignty, and that knowledge just grates on us and has been grating on us since Eden, like this is the original sin, eat the fruit and you will be like God. Ah, yes, that’s what I wanted all along. Was to be like God. It reminds me like what Nebuchadnezzar is doing here, and what most of us do most days is Scarlett O’Hara the end of Act One, shaking her fist at the heavens right, as God is my witness, I’m going to live through this, and I will never be hungry again. And you’re really impressed with the strength of her character, but she has no control over that. She cannot guarantee any of that. So you see the problem, we’re not only fundamentally insecure, but we’re also insufficient to cope with our insecurity, like these four groups of wise men that Nebuchadnezzar has called, we have no real power, like your market share doesn’t guarantee the company’s survival, Does it? We could tell lots of stories, especially in a tech age, right? You know who had a huge market share, Blockbuster. Good luck to you, right? There’s no amount of of exercise, no diet, so finely tuned that it will guarantee your health, and even if you are healthy, your story ends the same way as every other human who’s ever lived, with one notable exception, and this is Matthew six, idea that will read part of for us earlier. But you know, Jesus is looking the people who are worrying, and he’s going, Who of you by worrying can add even an hour to your life, or can change even one hair on your head to a different color. So the step one of dealing with our insecurity is acknowledging our insufficiency and to leave our foolish human efforts behind. Even if you are here today and you are not a Christian like you, are still questioning all of this, you know, God stuff, you can start here. This is a great entry point to faith. You know, as well as I do, that you have no ultimate control in your life. Some control, yes, but no ultimate control. So how will you respond to it? It’s interesting. Prophet Isaiah, kind of. Addresses this in two different chapters right next to each other. In the first part, he kind of mocks the way most of us goes isaiah 4712 to 14. It’s almost like he’s talking to Daniel’s friends here, the advisors and whatnot. He says, Keep on then with your magic spells and your many sorceries, which you have labored at since childhood. Perhaps you will succeed. Perhaps you will cause terror. You can hear the sarcasm in his voice. All the counsel you have received has only worn you out. Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you. Surely they are like stubble. The fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves from the power of the flame. You want to sum up that passage in two words, insecure, insufficiency. That’s what’s happening there. They don’t actually know what’s coming, even though they’re checking their horoscope every day. And even if they did know what was coming, they’re powerless to stop it anyway. Now contrast that with the alternative that Isaiah presents in the chapter before this, Isaiah, 46, nine and 10, says the Lord, speaking through Isaiah, I am God, and there is no other I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, my purpose will stand, and I will do all that, I please. You read those two passages and you think on which would you rather depend? Like, which one of those two choices seems smarter to you? The people who are just guessing, and even if they guess right about what’s coming, can’t do anything to change it anyway, or the one who knows the end from the beginning, and who says all my purposes will stand by the way, this sums up the rest of the book for us in a lot of ways, like we’re gonna have a lot of prophecy in Daniel, some startlingly detailed prophecy that’s gonna make us go, Okay, God might actually know the end from the beginning. Huh? We should pay attention to him. This gives us comfort, I think, just as a whole, when it comes to the faith as well, when I think of Jesus and what he came to do. And then you look back at passages like Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 and Micah five, that have predicted everything that was coming, even his torture and death, the means of his death. You read this knowing this is predicted centuries beforehand. And you go, okay, there is a plan, there is a purpose, and there’s somebody who’s working it out, which is good, because when God makes big claims for himself, like we just read in Isaiah, 46 and what we’ll see here in Daniel, I think it’s okay that there’s a little something in us that goes okay, prove it. Prove it like it’s very easy to say, I’m God and there’s no other but how do we know that’s the case? And that’s what we’re going to see in the rest of our passage. For now, let’s keep reading those so we’re moving from insecure insufficiency through humble wisdom. Kind of our next scene, let me read verses 12 to 23 for us. This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death. When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. He asked the king’s officer, why did the king issue such a harsh decree? Ariaka, then explained the matter to Daniel. At this Daniel went into the king and asked for time so that he might interpret the dream for him. Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. During the night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said, Praise be to the name of God. Forever and ever, wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons. He deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things. He knows what lies in darkness and light dwells with him. I thank and praise You, God of my ancestors, you have given me wisdom and power. You have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king. The King’s anger here in verse 12 is not unusual. This is kind of how kings worked back then, but his plan is just to execute all of the impotent, incompetent and potentially treasonous advisors, which includes Daniel and his friends. We’d almost forgotten about Daniel, hadn’t we? Right? Like this is a long introduction with no Daniel there, but
here he is. Daniel, when he hears the news that he’s about to be executed, is surprised, to say the least, but he spoke with wisdom and attacked, which is a. Important. You remember, the previous advisors were tactless in how they responded the king, not Daniel. In fact, his wisdom. Here is one of the keys to the whole chapter. Notice that Arioch, when he hears that there’s a possibility, like, he’s not bloodthirsty, he’s willing to go to the king right away, and the king really does want an answer, so he’s willing to hear from somebody else as well. They’re perfectly happy not to kill all these people. And so this is good news. So there’s a reprieve granted. Daniel’s got some time. But here’s the thing, we can’t miss this in the story. For as wise as he is at this moment, there is absolutely nothing Daniel can do to save himself. All he’s done is ask for more time, hoping that God will grant him this knowledge and wisdom and understanding. But unless God shows up, he and his friends will surely die, which is why he urges his friends to pray. Certainly, we see in this the importance of community. Again, we talked about that last week. I mean, here’s a group of people who are bearing each other’s burdens, because in exile, especially when you’re, you know, trying to stand up for your beliefs, it can feel like me against the world. One of the great gifts of the church, of course, is knowledge that it’s not right we together are standing for the faith. But as important as community is in this moment, I think even more important is prayer, of course, when you think about it, what is prayer? Petition in particular, except an acknowledgement of our insecurity and insufficiency when we make petitions of God, all we’re saying is, unless you help, we haven’t got a chance. There’s nothing we have in ourselves to fix this problem. You’re going to have to show up and deliver us. Or the story only ends one way. You think of how often this is true. I mean, I think of praying for evangelism. For example, we know I can, I can proclaim this truth, but only the Lord can open eyes and open hearts to receive this truth, or parenting another big one, right? You, I cannot parent so well that my kids don’t need a savior at the end of it, that you’re going to have to save them, Lord or provision in so many different areas. Or maybe the main one that I often feel at least is our sanctification like our being changed to be more like Jesus. How often we have to pray like unless you change me, Lord, I am not ever going to be otherwise. It is clear these patterns are established in my life. Would you show up and deliver me? It’s actually a really close parallel to what Daniel’s experiencing here, isn’t it? Because sin is that murderous enemy that’s threatening to destroy us unless God delivers us. I do think that Daniel’s praying for more than just his own skin. Though, friends praying to save more than just their own skins, you’ll notice they’re pleading for mercy, just as you know, is a big concept in Scripture, of course, because they recognize, we’re going to see this as the chapter unfolds there, they recognize their role as God’s ambassadors to Babylon. And so this prayer here is not just for their own sakes, but also for the sake of Nebuchadnezzar, whom they’re going to evangelize, and then also for God’s sake that he would be exalted in the eyes of the Babylonians. The prayer echoes the prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the temple, who again, talks about the time when people will be in exile if they don’t keep God’s covenant in First Kings 850, Solomon says this, forgive your people who have sinned against you, forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their captors to show them mercy. Same word that’s used. Daniel knew his Bible well, he would have known this prayer, and so he seems to be almost quoting it, because he’s trusting in God’s faithfulness to His promises. Would you do what you said? You’ll do, Lord, it’s exactly the attack we’re going to take in our prayer meeting tonight, by the way. So come on out for that. Sure enough, the Lord is faithful to keep his promises, and Daniel is granted a vision in the night, which is almost a stock phrase in Scripture, shows up in Job, shows up in Zechariah. This is more than a dream. This is something else. This is direct revelation. Happens often today in the Middle East, when Muslims, for example, are have visions in the night where the Lord Jesus appears to them, and even though they’ve never read the Bible, heard the gospel, are converted. So that’s the sort of experience that Daniel has here, and so he now knows the contents of the dreams. Notice his response, starting in verse 20. It’s praise and thanksgiving. It’s exactly the right response. This is. Like the the backside of a petition, like, we ask God to do something, and then when he does it, what do we do? Praise Him and thank Him. Acknowledge his power. Since we are insufficient, we have no power of our own. In fact, we’re only secure because he is sufficient. That’s what this prayer is. It is a model prayer of praise and thanksgiving. There are three elements to it. First, Daniel begins by celebrating God’s character. Verse 20, Praise be to the name of God, forever and ever. His name is his character is His glorious. It’s like Exodus 33 and 34 Moses asked of God, show me your glory. And God says, I will proclaim My name. And then he proclaims His character, the Lord, the Lord the compassionate and gracious, God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. And on from there. So glory, name and character are these closely related ideas. That’s what Daniel begins with. Celebrates who God is. Notice in particular, it’s his wisdom and power that Daniel mentions, because that’s what he needed right then. This is a great lesson for us in prayer. We don’t just come and say something about God when we begin. Don’t just, well, I always begin my prayer with Father or Lord or whatever it is. We come thinking like mindful, conscious of what part of it of God’s character we want to celebrate and praise in this moment. And then second part of the prayer is God’s deeds. We move from who he is to what he has done, verse 21 and 22 and here, especially, we’re talking about the fact that God rules he rules time the seasons. He rules history. He raises up kings, and he deposes kings, which, of course, is Nebuchadnezzar fear. And then he also gives wisdom to the wise. He’s able to reveal the hidden secrets. And then lastly, Daniel talks about God’s deliverance, which is not just what God does, but what God has done in this particular situation, in these circumstances. And here Daniel is thinking, God, you gave me what I asked of you. This is an example to all of us who are so slow to remember. And thank God, after we pray for something. We’re like kids at Christmas, eager to unwrap the present, not as eager to write the thank you notes, or like Luke chapter 17, when Jesus meets with the 10 lepers, and he tells them they’ll be healed on their way. And so they head out to Jerusalem to do what he said to do, and they’re healed on the way. And one comes back to thank Jesus, and Jesus says, weren’t there 10 of you? Where are the other nine? That’s us, for sure. So this is helpful for us. So Daniel gives us a model prayer of thanksgiving here, but he is actually a larger example for us, also, just as an example of what it means to be wise, to live wisely when we are insecure, because God possesses all power and wisdom as he’s just prayed. So why look elsewhere? He looks to the only one who can provide what he needs. This is the lesson Paul teaches as well. First, Corinthians, 118, to 20. Paul says the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved. I love that, by the way, it’s not the point of the sermon, but don’t you just love that we are being saved. This is happening in the present. It’s in the past. Yes, it’ll be in the future too, but it’s going on right now, and those of us who are being saved, it is the power of God, for it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, the intelligence, the intelligent, I will frustrate. Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? We were doing this in Daniel’s day. We would say, where is the magician? Where is the enchanter? Where is the sorcerer? Right? It’s the same question, Has not God made foolish? The wisdom of the world feels like a commentary on Daniel two almost notice what Paul says is that the message of the cross seems foolish, as it certainly does. What is the message of the cross? By the way? This isn’t the whole message of the cross, but a big part of the message of the cross is you’re insufficient. You can’t do it. That’s why Jesus had to come and do it for you, the perfect life you were supposed to lead. You didn’t sacrificial death like you and I could go on the cross and absolutely nothing would happen other than we would die physically. There’s no salvation in that. Why? Because we didn’t live that perfect light. First of all, we are insufficient, so we need to seek help from a sufficient God who has provided it graciously to us.
But remember, Wisdom by itself wouldn’t have saved Daniel. He needed God to show up and deliver him to provide. The contents of the dream. That’s why I said that what’s needed here is humble wisdom, not like try harder wisdom, but no humble wisdom like falling flat on your face before the Lord, unless you show up, we haven’t got a chance. That points us to the cross as well. Of course, Jesus is the true wise man, the wisest man who ever lived, his whole life was lived in dependence on his father. Pay attention as you read the gospels to how often he, the second member of the Trinity, God of gods, prays to his father and thanks his father even the Lord’s Supper. He takes the bread and the cup, and he thanks God for them. Remember that represents his broken body and spilled blood, and he thanks God for them still. And in his hour of trial, he had no friends to help him. Daniel looks at Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, and says, Stay up and keep watch with me. And they pray throughout the night for Daniel. And Jesus looks at Peter, James and John, and says, Stay up and keep watch with me. And they hit the snooze button, right? He had no friends in his hour of need, he faced the cross alone, and God didn’t you know what I mean by this, show up when he was on the cross to deliver him, left him there to die. My God, my God. Why have you forsaken me? Of course, that was the Father’s plan. That was the son’s plan as well. He was not delivered so that we could be delivered. God didn’t show up to deliver Jesus off of the cross so that we would always have the confidence that he would show up for us. We know it’s true because he’s delivered us already from our greatest enemy, which is sin and death. So step two of dealing with our fundamental insecurity as humans is to humble ourselves, which looks like prayer and thanksgiving, at least in part, and then to seek God’s wisdom. What does proverbs tell us? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It’s exactly what Daniel has just lived out. Right? We look at who he is versus who we are, what he’s done and can do, versus what we’ve done and what we can do. We fear him humility, and that’s the beginning of wisdom. Where do we go from there, then? So we move from insecure insufficiency through humble wisdom to loving confidence. Let me read the rest of the chapter, which, by the way, is quite long. So dig in for a moment. Verse 24 Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon. And said to him, do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king and I will interpret his dream for him. Ariak took Daniel to the king at once and said, I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means. The king asked Daniel, also called belteshazzar, are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it. Daniel replied, No Wiseman, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about. But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that pass through your mind as you were lying in bed are these, as Your Majesty was lying there. Your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen. As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that Your Majesty may know the interpretation that you may understand what went through your mind. Your Majesty looked and there before you stood a large statue, an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer, the winds swept them away without leaving a trace, but the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the King. Your Majesty. You are the King of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory in your hands. He has placed all mankind to the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky, wherever they live. He has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold. After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next the third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, for iron breaks and smashes everything, and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others, just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom. It will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay, as the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle, and just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so. The people will be a mixture, and will not remain united any more than iron mixes with clay. In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another. People will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands, a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces, the great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy. Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. The king said to Daniel, surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and revealer of mysteries, for you, were able to reveal this mystery. And the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavish many gifts on him. He made him rule over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. Moreover, as Daniel at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the Royal Court. So Arioch takes Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar. He also takes credit, which I love. I found a guy did you really know? Okay, Daniel doesn’t seem to care. We see his wisdom intact. Yet again, I love that he doesn’t blame the wise men here, like this was his chance to puff himself up. I alone, of all people have helped you, Nebuchadnezzar, but he doesn’t do that. He says, You can’t blame them. Of course, they couldn’t have done this. No one could possibly do this, myself included, by the way, the only one who could do it is God. So he gives God credit. He’s humble. Joseph says something similar when he interprets Pharaoh’s dreams, although Daniel actually surpasses Joseph, because Joseph only had to interpret. Daniel had to say the dream as well. But he says explicitly, it’s not that I’m more skilled, right? It’s not that I’m a better diviner than anyone else. Only God can reveal dreams. You see what Daniel’s doing here. We talk about this a lot at CityView. Jacob already said it for us, right? We are being made to magnify Christ. That is our purpose as humans. The problem that word magnify is that we can picture a magnifying glass, or like a microscope, right, which takes something little and makes it appear bigger than it actually is. That is not what we do for Christ and His glory. We are more like telescopes. What does a telescope do? It takes something almost unimaginably large, like a galaxy, and helps us appreciate even just a hint of its hugeness and awesomeness. And that is what we do for God and his glory. And that is what Daniel is doing. Here he is showing Nebuchadnezzar just how great our God is and he is consciously evangelizing Nebuchadnezzar as he does this. So let me just ask you, as you reflect on your own life, what would it look like to live your life this way so that everyone around you knows that God is the hero of your story, and that is not your skill and wisdom that got you to this point. Not only is Daniel consciously evangelizing Nebuchadnezzar, which is great in its own right, but keep in mind, he is loving his enemy at the same time too. Nebuchadnezzar is not his boss. Nebuchadnezzar is his captor and his subjugator. He is a slave under Nebuchadnezzar, and yet he loves him. I mean,
how many times did he say it both verse 28 and verse 30? He says, this has been revealed so that you King may know what’s going to happen. Daniel is embodying the truth that true gospel wisdom will lead you to love your neighbor and even your enemy, because you couldn’t possibly hate anybody after the Love the Lord has lavished on you. You think this person doesn’t deserve God’s love, but I don’t deserve God’s love either, and he loved me, so I will love them. That’s what Daniel is doing here. Then, starting in verse 31 finally, by the way, this has been a long chapter of like Man, this dream, this dream, this dream. Would somebody just tell me what the dream is? We finally get the dream in verse 31 it’s a statue, gold heads, silver chest, Brown’s waist, iron legs, Clay feet. It’s where our phrase clay feet comes from. By the way, if you’re wondering if you ever heard that before, this is I talked to some of my GC general contractor friends this week. This is terrible construction, by the way. You put the strongest material at the bottom right. You build a house or something like that. You put steel pilings in the grounds. They’re sitting on bedrock. You pour concrete over it, then you can build with like wood or something like that. You don’t put baked clay at the bottom and a whole bunch of heavy metals on top of that. So terrible construction, even though it is kind of a common trope, this whole idea of kingdoms giving way and getting worse as they go, like we use the phrase golden age a lot, right? That comes from Greek thought, where they thought there was an earlier phase in human history where, like, the gods and humans played together. That was the golden age. And then there was this silver age, and then there was the bronze. Age, which had nothing to do with the tools they were using, but was the quality of the kingdom. So this is a vision of history that we are granted here in this dream. You can understand Nebuchadnezzar concern after having this dream, because he’s probably thinking, this has something to do with me and my kingdom, and it’s going to fall over, right? That’s the whole issue. But Daniel tells him, No, this is actually a longer view than that. This is not like, you know, January is gold, and then, you know, December is baked clay or something like that. No, this is a long view. So the gold is is the kingdom of Babylonia. The Silver is some other kingdom that’s coming, the Medes or the Medo Persian Empire, most likely, then you’ve got the Greeks, really the Macedonians under Alexander the Great. We’ll hear more about him and Daniel, and then you’ve got Rome. Most likely people debate this exactly. It doesn’t really matter, though. It’s kind of the whole point. What we need to learn from this is kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall, and that when we look at human history, there is not progress, but decay. That’s important as well. There would be progress in some areas, of course, like technology and whatnot. But it’s not like things are getting better and better and better. This isn’t the vision of tower Babel. In other words, that if we get together and just keep working, we’ll get closer and closer to Heaven. It’s quite the opposite that is happening. So again, don’t pay attention to like, what kingdom are we talking about here? The whole point is no kingdom is going to usher in the kingdom of God, because you think of all the kingdoms that have fallen since then, too, even since Rome, like the Ottoman Empire, the British Empire, United States of America, if the Lord should tarry, we will fall from our position of strength in the world, guaranteed, because that’s just how history works. The important part of the vision is the feet. That’s the part we gotta zero in on, because the feet aren’t made right. And so the statue is going to fall, especially because of this rock that shows up. What’s happening with the rock? Okay, we’re dealing not like an earthquake, but you know how the earth shifts over time, tectonic plates, something like that, right? We’re like, talking about how mountains are formed. So there’s a little part that’s going to start bumping up right there. And what happens then to the statue that was, you know, at one point it was level, the bubble was in the right spot. And you look the next time, and you’re like, well, the bubble’s hitting the line. Now I know what’s going on. And then pretty soon it’s leaning tower of Pisa, and then it falls over. So this rock has nothing to do with humans. This rock is just coming up, destabilizing the statue. Human history will topple and then what’s going to happen to the statue afterwards? The clay is going to turn to dust. It’s going to blow away. It’ll be gone with wind. The gold probably gone with looters. You know, different thing, but this is if you remember your English class days, Percy Shelley’s poem, Ozymandias, it’s exactly what he describes. Almost sounds like he’s describing Babylon, in fact, because there’s a traveler in a distant land in a desert, and he sees a head of a statue lying on the ground, and there’s a base beside it, and it has this inscription on it. My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look on my works, ye mighty and despair. Nothing beside remains round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, the lone and level stands stretch far away. By the way, exactly what happened to Babylon, if you guys know this part. But for a long time, people who don’t take the Bible seriously thought that the Bible was wrong because there was no historical record of Babylon, like they couldn’t. They literally could not find the city of Babylon for a while. It was just sand. So that’s what, what’s coming right for all of human history. But then verse 44 we realize there’s this divine kingdom coming that will never be destroyed, will never be conquered. The thing about it, though, is that it is slow in coming, which is how rock changes happen, right? Like it comes, the way the Grand Canyon came, how the Lord, you know, created the grand cam just that slow trickle the Colorado River over time does what creates this stunning beauty. It’s where we’re living now, right in the between times, the rock is bumped out, the levels off, the statue is shaky. And so what do we pray in the between time? Come quickly, Lord Jesus. This is what we pray every morning as we pray the Lord’s Prayer. This is what you mean when you say, your kingdom come your will be done right with the rock. Push up just a little bit more. It is the recognition that it is slow in coming. Jesus said, The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed you plant. It’s tiny, the tiniest of all the seeds, and then eventually it grows and grows and grows. That’s what we’re praying. It is slow in coming. But God has His purposes. He is not slow. He is patient, wanting people to come to Him, which is why we love our enemies and evangelize others. Now we. Need this reminder of how human history ends at two times. First is when things are going badly, like when persecution or cultural decay are happening. The other time we need this reminder is when things are going well, when the Olympics are on USA, USA, we need the reminder that the Capitol dome will not grace the skyline of the New Jerusalem. God’s kingdom, God’s kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar needs to know it for that second time, because right now he’s gold like everything is going great for him. He needs a reminder now. And so verse 45 verse b, the great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. Great same word that’s used to describe the statue, by the way, the great God has shown you, and then he has proven it.
This is why David, Daniel is so confident, right? The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy. How can he say that so boldly? Because he just told Nebuchadnezzar what he dreamed. Remember, I said earlier, it was okay to say, Okay, Lord prove it. Well, the Lord has proved it, because only God can reveal dreams, and that’s what’s just happened. That is how God works, by the way. He makes bold claims about himself, but then he gives us reasons to trust those claims, supremely, of course, the resurrection of Jesus, Christ from the dead, which was prophesied centuries in advance. So not only do we know that God knows the end from the beginning, but then, by raising Christ from the dead, vindicates his message, the message of by the way, the coming Kingdom, and the same way God vindicates himself through Daniel by revealing the dream. So that Nebuchadnezzar honors God. Looks like he’s honoring Daniel here. He’s not. He’s honoring God. I mean, like, how many times in Scripture do people say, like, don’t fall down in front of me. I’m not God. Daniel doesn’t say that here. What’s going on? Nebuchadnezzar knows where the power is. Daniel told him. He even says things like, Your God is the God of gods, which is good, but not great, by the way. What he’s saying is he’s the chief god in the pantheon. He’s not there yet, but there is spiritual progress. That’s how we work. A lot of us start a journey group, not that long ago. We start by sharing our spiritual journeys, and they look like the stock market, right? Like some ups and downs. This is an up moment for never. He’s getting closer, at least, but he bows before God. Daniel is just His representative. It’s like what Alexander said when he bowed before the High Priest in Jerusalem. I bow not before him, but before the God of whom he has the honor of serving as priest. That’s what’s happening. He does still exalt Daniel, because he’s wise, and at his request, elevates Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego two, which sets us up for next week. So make sure you come on back. We must remember, though, Daniel is not the hero of this story. God is the hero of every story. The point, I’m say this a lot when we’re in Revelation, okay, Daniel’s just getting us ready for revelation. The point is not the details of the vision, but the God who gives the vision. It is an encouragement to us. In every age, whichever part of the statue we are in, we can have confidence in the ultimate triumph of God’s forever kingdom, confidence that, by the way, that allows us to go on loving even the people who persecute us. If you are in Christ, even now you are citizens of that coming kingdom. We know how the story ends, no matter our circumstances, we don’t know how our story ends. We know how the story ends, and that gives us the hope and confidence we need, because we know the God who knows the future. It was Corrie 10 Boom who said, Corrie 10 Boom who lived in some uncertain times, by the way, when she was, you know, in a concentration camp where her entire family was killed. And she was fond of saying, Never fear. Never be afraid. To trust an unknown future to a known God. That’s what Daniel is saying here as well. So what do we do in the meantime? We fear God, which is the beginning of wisdom. We strive to live wisely in all circumstances. We move from insecure insufficiency through humble wisdom to loving confidence, that is just a great blueprint for us today, like That’s wisdom in exile. It is kind of our big idea, if I can pull all the pieces together here, big idea, overcome insecurity, not by trying harder, but by trusting better overcome insecurity, not by trying harder, but by trusting better. So trying harder, what does that look like? That looks like turning to yourself or other impotent, insufficient aids that looks like elbow grease and and gritted teeth and shaking your. Fist at the heavens and new techniques, none of which will grant you ultimate control over your life, instead of trying harder, trust better. And I mean two things by that. First of all, I mean trust in the God who is better, who is greater, who knows the end from the beginning, who has power and wisdom, but then also learning to trust him better more and more every day, in light of how he has proven himself that trust to express in prayer and thanksgiving gives us hope and confidence and wisdom to meet the challenges of the day, not to retreat from the people around us like to be so heavenly minded that we’re no earthly good, because, you know this kingdom’s coming kind of thing, but no but to move toward them with loving confidence like Daniel with Nebuchadnezzar, you are, whether you admit it or not, fundamentally insecure living as you do in a transient world. If you were able to stand still long enough, you would watch everything around you turn to dust Gone With the Wind. You got two choices. In light of that reality, cling tighter to insufficient solutions, just like grasping the wind, or acknowledge your need and seek the God of all wisdom. Or to put it another way, you can try harder, or you can trust better. What choice will you make? Let’s pray.

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Identity in Exile September 8, 2024 | Brandon Cooper The sermon examines the story of Daniel and his friends in Babylon, using it to address the cultural drift and lack of stable identity in our modern world. It highlights Daniel’s firm resolve, modesty, and confidence in God as he navigates living faithfully in exile, providing a model for believers today. The sermon emphasizes the importance of finding one’s identity in God rather than in cultural trends or personal achievements. It culminates by pointing to the gospel of Christ as the key to a stable identity untouchable by the world.

Good morning church, you can go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Daniel chapter one. As Kyle mentioned, we are starting a new series this morning in the book of Daniel. We’ll be here right up until Advent, in fact. So next 12 weeks, this is where we’ll be. So Daniel chapter one, as you’re turning there, I read a story a week or so ago. Was a very odd story. I’m just going to say that up front. So it was a Tiktok influencer who was a Trad wife, which, if you haven’t heard that before, it means a wife was like, all about kind of going back to that stereotypical 1950s ideal of womanhood, you know, the lipstick, the high heels, the Martini ready for the husband when he gets home, all that kind of stuff. So traditional wife, Trad wife, she’s doing a cooking show there on Tiktok, and in the middle of it, drops the most notorious racial slur, somewhat casually, as you’d expect, bit of a backlash, right? Everything you’d expect to happen did, in fact, happen where, you know, she lost her job, lost her sponsors, all that stuff. But then the story takes an interesting turn, because what we would expect to happen next is for all the apologies to come out, trying to kind of get back into that position of influence and everything like that, so she can make a Michael Scott apology video, whatever it’s going to look like. And instead, she doesn’t. She doubles down on the racism every video she makes now is she’s just dropping slur after slur after slur because she figures I already lost this group. So I’m gonna go ahead and try and win over the alt right group, see if I can be an influencer there. They like cooking. They like Trad wives, whatever it might be. Except that the alt right, like the Neo Nazis, don’t care for her because they don’t think her racism is authentic enough, like it’s just surface level racism, not a core belief that she’s got or something like that. So they dig around and find old tweets from like summer 2020 and stuff where she’s calling out racism as this grievous evil, which in fact, it is, of course. And so she gets canceled again on the other side, like it would be amusing if it weren’t so disgusting at the same time, because this whole story just abounds in these grotesque ironies. I mean, here you’ve got a career woman cosplaying as a Trad wife, and then who is canceled because she’s a racist, but canceled again because she’s not racist enough, and you’re like, okay, so where’s pastor going with this? Because this has nothing to do with my life. I think it has a lot to do with our lives, actually, in subtle ways, because it’s such a snapshot of our cultural moment, because we live in a culture that is unmoored adrift on a sea or, you know, like a boat where the ropes have been cut, so it’s not tied to any anchor anymore. There’s no moral foundation, there’s no truth foundation. So we are adrift. So what do we do? That means we’re on our own at that point, and so as a culture, we’re the individuals who are changing our identities the way we change clothes. That’s what we see in this woman, right? She doesn’t actually care about race, one way or the other. She doesn’t care about motherhood or anything like that. What she cares about is herself. She wants to be famous, she wants to be rich, she wants to be an influencer. She has no core convictions. She’s just vainly seeking fleeting happiness wherever she might be able to find it. And she’s willing to change herself to get it. She’s willing to compromise. She’s willing to conform to new cultures. It
is so selfish.
I mean, one question I had reading this story, and it didn’t show up in the article or anything like that, what did her husband like that. What did her husband think about this? What about her kids? Like those would be fun videos to find when they’re pulling stuff together for her funeral. It didn’t even occur to her, because, again, her community didn’t matter either. It was all about her. Are we all that different now, hopefully, when it comes to the racism, yeah, we’re different, but still, and then we live in a culture of expressive individualism. You do, you right? Whatever that is, and if it changes, fine, we’re malleable. We will change and conform to kind of fit in with whatever we think is going to give us that identity and happiness at this particular moment. So we’ve got no core convictions or identity, which means we’re constantly asking ourselves the question like Derek Zoolander staring into the puddle after he lost, you know, hottest male model, who am I? Who am I? That’s a really hard question to answer, except it feels like a really important question to answer, also like we need to get it right, or else we’re gonna end up again, maybe not quite as grotesquely ironic, but we’re gonna end up like that, Trad wife. So where are we gonna go for answers? Where can we go to find this anchor to be moored, founded again. We’re gonna head to where we’re. The odd place we’re going to head to late seventh century, Babylon and to a group of Jews who are living abroad involuntarily, I might add, these are prisoners of war. These are captives and exiles who’ve been taking there and identity. If you’ve ever lived overseas for any extended period of time, you know what I mean by this, identity takes on a new significance in exile. And so because your your culture and convictions are constantly under threat. And we see this, of course, you look at immigrant communities here in the United States, for example, often will band together, and you know, they’re gonna establish things like school so they can teach the language and the culture all of that. And so that’s kind of what we’re seeing here. The identity is under threat when it’s in exile. What can we learn from Daniel and his friends about understanding who we are and maintaining a core identity in any and every circumstance? Do that, we’re now look at three questions that Daniel answers, three questions that we need to answer as well. The first question is, in whom will you trust? In whom will you trust? Let’s look at Daniel chapter one, verses one to seven, and we’ll see how he answers this question. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it, and the Lord delivered Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the Temple of his god in Babylonia and put it in the treasure house of his God. Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility, young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that, they were to enter the king’s service. Among those who were chosen were some from Judah, Daniel Hananiah Mishael and Azariah. The chief official, gave them new names to Daniel, the name Belteshasar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach and to Azariah Abednego. Pause there. So we are in the year 605 BC, when Nebuchadnezzar first invades Judah. Now Judah is the southern half of what used to be Israel. The northern half had civil war, and Northern half gets carried away into exile by the Assyrians sometime before this, we’re in the southern half of Israel called Judah. And when he invades here in 605 he begins the first of three sets of exiles that happen under him, and it begins with the Royal and noble families. That’s usually where it happens. You take the leadership class out of a culture. And so verse one gives us what happened right there from a human perspective, in that it is all because of Nebuchadnezzar activity and authority. History is written by the victors, and here’s history from the victor’s standpoint, no other explanation is needed. Nebuchadnezzar was bigger and stronger, and he won. And then in verse two, we get the heavenly perspective, because what looked like Nebuchadnezzar activity and authority was actually God’s activity and authority. It was God, the Lord, who delivered Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into Nebuchadnezzar hand. And this is a bold statement, when you think about it too, because this is the god of vanquished Israel, saying, this is actually because of me. So there’s more going on than meets the eyes. It looks like Israel’s God is weak, that’s why his people get defeated, and why his treasures from his temple get taken and put into the temple of Babylon’s God. Like, that’s their way of saying, See, our God is stronger than your God. But no, this was according to God’s will. God gave Jehoiakim to Nebuchadnezzar. It’s actually a major theme in Daniel we’re going to see it starting even next week, that God gives and takes away kings and kingdoms he rules what look like the most powerful people on Earth are really just marionettes. And right here in verse two, we see the strings for the first time. So God may have looked weak, except he told everyone he was going to do this, which is a power move, by the way, to be able to predict what’s going to happen decades or centuries in advance, is something only a real God could do. And he told how it’s all going to end as well. So we read prophecies like this in Isaiah chapter 39 This is during a serious invasion of the northern kingdom. So this is decades before Isaiah says this The time will surely come when everything in your palace, speaking to the king of Judah here, Jehoiakim’s Ancestor, when everything in your palace and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day will be carried off to. To Babylon, which was not a world power at this point, interestingly, nothing will be left, says the Lord, and some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, who will be born to you will be taken away, and they’ll become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon, exactly what we’re seeing right now. And so what happens after Isaiah says this to Hezekiah, the king. At that time, the kings of Judah get worse and worse, and the people of Judah turn from God. So he brings about the judgment that he promised, in fact, the judgment that He’d promised he was going to bring on them all the way back during Moses’s day, which was 800 years previously, where he talked about foreign invasions and siege life, and ultimately them being scattered among the nations, the people of Israel and Judah. They knew this, so they knew what was happening at this point. And that’s why we read statements like Second Kings, 24 verse three. This is their summary of what we just read about here in Daniel one, Surely these things happen to Judah according to the Lord’s command, because he told us he was going to do it according to the Lord’s command in order to remove, you know, these sinners from his presence, from his land. There is more going on than meets the eye. The Lord is reigning even in the hardest moments, like when your country is defeated and you’re carried off into exile, God is in control, and that is a reminder that Daniel and his friends need, because they’ve not only been taken away as prisoners of war, but they’ve also now been chosen for royal service. And look at the characteristics of these men, because these are the ones who are going to be chosen for royal service. I mean, these are up and comers who have it all. They’ve got looks, they’ve got brains, they’ve got connections. These are people who are going places which matters, because those are the sorts of people who tend to trust in themselves and in their abilities. This is like getting picked for American Idol or something like that, where you’re thinking, right? Because I’m a good singer, I’ve got chops. That’s why I’m here. So they might trust in their own abilities. They certainly are going to trust in the people who helped get them there. They’re going to trust in the talent scout and the vocal coach and their manager who’s going to turn those chops into a contract. That’s what Daniel and their friends have an opportunity to get right now. But at what cost? Because managers have a nasty habit of rebranding talent so they’re more palatable to the culture that they think they can reach. So it might be like a Trad wife turning, you know, alt right for a contract. This is a threat to one’s self. This is this is that moment when the ropes get cut and the boat is adrift. We’re attacking our very integrity. But what’s interesting here is that this isn’t something freely chosen. Of course. It’s not like they said. I want to be rich and famous, so I’ll do whatever it takes to get there. No, this is being inflicted on them. They’re being trained for three years. This is what we would call re education, which is not necessarily a good thing. This is honestly this Braveheart in action. Y’all remember Braveheart while ago? All right, so a lot of good lines in this movie. One of my favorite ones, my brothers and I, we are of Scottish descent. We quoted a lot. And so we said, the trouble with Scotland is that it’s full of Scots.
And that’s kind of what’s happening here. The Babylonians are looking at these Judeans, and they’re saying, the trouble with these Judeans is that they’re full of Judah. They’ve got the culture of Judah in them, and that’s what we need to get rid of here, so we’ve defeated God’s people militarily. Now we’re going to defeat them psychologically, personally, so they are utterly vanquished. I mean, just look what’s happened. They’ve been isolated from their home culture and influence. They’re being indoctrinated at this point, right? They’re being taught the language and literature of Babylon. They’re being compromised because they’re given food and drink. Gonna go out and live here and guess it’s probably not kosher food and drink, so they shouldn’t be eating it, drinking it, being compromised and confused as well, especially when it comes to changing their names. I mean, you think about how important your name is to your identity, and many of us carry many names. Like to live with two names is not unusual. You probably have more than two honestly, right? Most people call me Brandon. Some people in this room call me Pastor when I was a teacher down in Columbia for all those years I was Cooper, that whole time makes sense, right? Be coops sometimes. And then my family, my dad and my brothers in particular, they call me goose. That’s it. I’ve never called me anything else, to the best of my knowledge, and so that’s fine, like all those different names. But. Still is me, at least like, I know who’s being talked about in those times. That’s not what we have here. This isn’t like Daniel and Danny Boy, you know. No, it’s something totally different. This is more like when you’re the freshman who makes the varsity team, and the varsity captain gives you the nickname that’s meant to be insulting, and it just sticks with you. Even when you’re captain of the varsity team, everybody still calls you captain, stinky, something like it look. That’s what just happened to Daniel and his friends. They’ve been given a new name, a new identity, to show Babylon’s authority over them and to erase their cultural heritage and their identity. It also confers new status on them, like again, this is their moment to become up and comers, because it is the shift to from the Old God to the new gods. So all of the names that these men have, they all somehow exalt the one true God. You see the word el in the ends of two of them, right? Daniel and Mishael. That’s how you say God. And then you see the yah at the other two names. And that’s Yahweh, the covenant name of our God. Well, that’s all getting erased. Remember, he was the weak God. Anyway, you probably want a better God. And all the names that they’re given in their place have Babylonian god names in them, Bel and Nebo and Marduk and all the rest. So this is this seductive invitation, as much as it is a changing of their their identity, like why not trust the strong gods who brought you here? And so it’s a moment of truth for these men. They don’t have to live life and tension from here on out again. They don’t need to choose their names when they’re standing before the king, so they got two names now two identities. They’re serving in the Babylonian court, but they also want to be faithful Jews. In the meantime, that’s interesting. We’ll see even by verse 11, just in a few verses, they still call each other by their Jewish names, but then at other times, when they’re in the Babylonian call, they call each other about the Babylonian names, like they get it. I actually kind of love that, because they’re they’re loving their neighbors, like they’re okay with the nickname that culture has given them. Is they, we know they’re familiar with Jeremiah because Daniel quotes it later and stuff. But you know, like they get Jeremiah 29 when it says, You be carried off in the exile of Babylon and hey, love that city. Well, I send you like, plant gardens, build houses, dig into the culture and influence. That’s what they’re doing. They’re loving their neighbors. They’re loving Babylonia while staying Jewish. But man, that is a hard balance to strike. If we do it, we have to answer the question first, in whom will you trust? Will it be your strength, your wealth, your fame? Will you trust your circumstances so that when it looks like your God lost the battle, you stick with him or abandon him? Or do you trust that God is sovereignly arranging circumstances which can look like defeat? It is actually kind of the centerpiece of Christianity, the defeat of Christ on the cross, which was actually, of course, his victory over sin and Satan and death. But trusting in any of that circumstances, the idols that the world offers us, and trusting in any of that to fulfill your deepest longings, to provide security. You do that your life will lack stability. You’re the kind of person who will become racist in order to get famous. That’s what happens there, because we live in unstable circumstances, so trusting in anything that’s built on those circumstances, well, that’s building your house on sand, like you trust in marriage or Parenthood to give you your sense of self. What happens if the marriage crumbles, or your kids just leave home like they’re supposed to at a certain point? Now, who are you? Or you’re trusting in your achievements, right? Your grades, but then you graduate, or your your, you know, athletic prowess, but then you stop playing sports after a while, because you get old, like the rest of us, you compromise yourself to try and get your selfish desires in. Whom will you trust? Will you trust? I mean, you really are. What gets you, what you want, or will you trust? God, Daniel makes his choice, which leads us to the next section, very closely related, right? In whom will you trust? Second question, on what will you depend? And here’s the difference between these two questions. The first one is really a matter of the head and the heart, like, what am I thinking? What am I willing? But then this question is a question of the hands. What am I doing at this point on? What will you depend? Let’s keep reading verses eight to 16. But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the Royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to. Owe favor and compassion to Daniel. The official told, Daniel, I’m afraid of my lord the king who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you. Daniel then said to the guard and the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, please test your servants for 10 days, give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink, then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food and treat your servants in accordance with what you see. So he agreed to this and tested them for 10 days. The end of the 10 days, they looked healthier and better nurse than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables. Instead, there are three aspects of Daniel’s character that stand out in this section. And the first one is, without question, his firm purpose. He takes decisive action in this moment, he resolved. It says, And this is not a New Year’s resolution, but something much deeper that’s happening here. It’s the difference between somebody who says around January 1, yeah, I think I want to drink a little bit less, and then somebody who joins AA, like, that’s the difference, okay? And Daniel’s in that latter court. This is a true resolution. I’m not going to do this because I’m not going to lose my identity. He knew what Babylon was trying to do, and he was committed to standing against it, and I love that he makes the decision before it matters. That’s a really important lesson for all of us, especially for the youth. We know that, right? But for all of us too, because culture is going to squeeze us into its mold, and culture is constantly pressuring us to to dress a certain way, or to laugh at certain jokes, to participate in certain activities that we know we shouldn’t participate in, and we have to decide up front to purpose in our hearts, like Daniel does. So let me just give you an example. Here. You may be somebody you know, teen heading off to college soon, and you go, you know what? I’m not gonna do, underage drinking. When I get to college, I’m gonna be in submission to the governing authorities. Legal age is 21 that means I will not drink until I am 21 when do you think you got to make that decision? Do
you think the summer before or when somebody offers you a beer at your first frat party? Like which one of those is going to stick? Do you think that’s what I mean by preparing yourself like Daniel prepares himself for what’s coming with this resolution. I’m not going to do it. This is who I’m going to be, just such a lost art today, the power of true resolution. So Jonathan Edwards, arguably the greatest mind the United States, has produced. He wrote a series of resolutions when he was 18. By the way, 18, they say things like this, resolve never to do anything but that which tends to the glory of God. Tough resolution to keep, by the way, but that was his resolution, resolve to live as I will wish I had when I come to die, the amazing resolution, by the way, I love that. That’s what you see in Daniel here, who is in high school. By the way, like this is fitting when I talk about youth and whatnot. Daniel’s in high school, but you can hear it in his heart resolve never to let Babylon defile me, no matter what the consequences may be. But why is the question we’re probably all asking, what’s the big deal about the choice food and wine. Why vegetables and water? Is it that they’re not kosher? Well, sure, but nothing in Babylon is kosher. Has it been offered to Babylonian idols? Yes, absolutely, it has, because they offered all of their food to the idols, but that means the vegetables also. So it doesn’t really matter there either. Is it intrinsically evil, the meat and the wine or something like that, probably not, because Daniel actually eats it later, kind of once he’s made his revolution. Go back to the underage drinking example. It’s just like I did not drink until I was 21 and now I’m cool with a glass of wine with a fine steak, something like that. So Daniel eats it later, so it can’t be intrinsically evil. So why? The answer is closely tied to this story, of course, because what’s happening here, Daniel’s being prepared for service by the king, and so if Daniel and his friends prosper, then it will be because of what, because of Babylon and Babylon King Daniel is zealous for God’s honor. So he wants to prove to himself. He wants to know himself, that it was God’s favor that led to his prosperity. He wants to know it. He wants to show it also. He wants everyone else to see. He Nope, this was my God, not the Babylonian king who is responsible for this. And that’s what leads to the next character traits. We see his firm resolve, on the one hand, but then second, his modesty as he sets his plan in motion, Daniel doesn’t rail and rage against the evil culture that he’s a part of. Now, if you’re here today and not a church goer, let me ask you this, and don’t look at the person next to you, just in case it’s them. But have you ever met an obnoxious Christian? Lucky? They are everywhere, unfortunately, and this is what it looks like, right? Like it’s clear they hate the people around them, the culture that is trying to defile them. That’s not Daniel. Daniel doesn’t go to the garden. Say I’m not eating your food. I might have nothing to do with you. I’m pulling my kids out of your school, whatever else it looks like. No, he doesn’t do any of that. He asks permission really respectfully, I might add, if I could put it this way, it’s gonna sound political. I don’t mean it politically, but he works within the system to live a countercultural life. It’s a lesson for us. The culture around us should see Jesus not only in our firm resolve and our counter cultural living, but also in our counter cultural loving, in our gentle spirits, that is, we should actually look like Jesus, who I think I could put this way again, worked within the system to the point where the system killed him, which was all part of his plan. Anyway, when he was reviled, He did not revile. In return, he were paid insult with blessing. This is what we’re called to be right. We are to be in the world, not of it, but in the world, still loving our neighbors, loving even our enemies. The chief official, though, is concerned, because his neck is quite literally on the line. And you see that Daniel’s modesty again, and that he’s unwilling to risk the safety of someone else. He’s not okay with some random guard dying, even though this guard is holding him prisoner, with this guard dying for his sake. So he levels down, he goes from the chief official to the guard and tells this guard His plan, you notice? He says, Please, there it is again, right? That’s his modesty, his politeness. He says, please. But he’s got this plan test us for 10 days. He’s not going to see Nebuchadnezzar in 10 days. So we got three years still, right? So just give us 10 days, see if this works, and then King’s not going to know. Well, nobody’s health is on the line at this point. If we look worse, we won’t endanger you, he says. But in that plan, we see the third characteristic, so his firm resolve, his modesty, but third his confidence. Daniel proposes this plan because he knows that God will show him favor, because God is who He always is, a God of compassion and grace. You see it in verse nine. Now, God had caused the official to show favor and compassion. Again. Why is this happening? It’s because God is faithful. Daniel is confident that God would act to show his power and to glorify himself. Now this is not an unconditional confidence, but that’s chapter three. So hang on, come back. I’ll see you in two weeks. We’ll talk about it more there, but we’d see the confidence here, and it is the confidence again, that comes from living for God’s glory, like if you are seeking your own glory, you can have no confidence. You could sell your soul to be a Tiktok influencer among the alt right and still not be famous at the end of it. But if what you’re doing is for the glory of God, Well that brings a different confidence entirely. We need to build our lives on a solid foundation, on the foundation of a God who keeps His promises and who gives us all the desires of our hearts. In the end, part of that, of course, involves him reworking the desires of our hearts that they’re in tune with him, but he gives us the desires of our hearts. It is a promise of Scripture. You see, though, that for Daniel, this is not a momentary reaction. It can’t be a momentary reaction from us either. It needs to be the settled purpose of our hearts. And you see what they’re doing in this moment. They are training themselves for this. They are growing in this. Daniel Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, they were not born heroes. That’s so important for us to remember the rest of the book, the lion’s den, the fiery furnace, all those moments where we go, wow, these people are amazing. That’s only. Because Daniel and his friends chose early and then grew in the grace that God gave them. I think it’s so important, too to mention that that was Daniel and his friends like I wonder. It’s not here in Scripture, in this passage, anyway, but if it had just been Daniel, would he have done what he did? And that just gets the importance of the church community that we need. But this little community of exiles chose early and chose with a firm resolution, what about you? Takes us then to the third and last question for what will you live? Verses 17 to 21 read the rest of the chapter to these four young men. God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning, and Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds. At the end of the time, set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The King talked with him, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. So they entered the king’s service in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them 10 times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus. This is a very subtly subversive passage, because it looks like Babylon has won again,
because everything that the king wanted back in verse four is accomplished here, right? I want these sorts of men. Here are these sorts of men now. But here’s the subversive part. It is so clear that it is God who gave them the knowledge and understanding, even of Babylonian religious literature, God gave them knowledge and understanding, not the king. Just like God gave the kingdom to that King. He didn’t win it for himself. And we know God gives it, even if we’re like, I don’t know. Maybe this is just like a Jewish retelling of this story or something. We know that he gives it because only Daniel was given the ability to interpret dreams and visions, as we will see throughout the rest of the book. That’s not something you learn in school. That is a divine a supernatural gift the Babylonians can’t teach it, which is why, then Daniel has no equal among his advisors. King finds them 10 times better than the magicians. You might know them better as the Magi and enchanters. What is this passage telling us? All that’s telling us is this is the one true religion, and that paganism doesn’t hold a candle to it, and paganism can’t do what God can do. But simply by going, here you go, Daniel, here’s what the vision means. Wait till we see this next week, by the way, it’s me really exciting. Make sure you come back for that. So Daniel and friends trusted in the Lord depended on him for life and learning, and now Daniel sets about living for God’s name and glory and honor like he’s in service to King Nebuchadnezzar, absolutely, but he’s really in service to the King of kings, which is a Babylonian title, by the way, we’ll see it next week. So it’s a little bit like work for us today. This is a wonderful passage to take with you tomorrow morning when you head off to work, because we all work for a company. Insert company name here, but really, we work as for the Lord. That’s what Daniel is doing here. We will see it again and again and again and again throughout this book, that Daniel and friends are consciously living for God above all that is why they get into trouble, why the company sometimes decides to execute them, which hopefully your company does not do, but that’s why they get tossed into a lion and thrown into a fiery furnace and all that, though, despite the fact that they’re not living in defiance like they are set apart in terms of their faith and lifestyle, yes, but not in terms of their rebellion, let’s say like they are truly serving Babylon and Kyle said it for us earlier, like this is exactly what we try to do here at Cityview, our tagline where we made to magnify, sent to serve the made to magnify. That’s the countercultural part. That’s the firm resolution, that’s the being trained and prepared. But we do all that so that we can then be sent to serve the people around us, our neighbors, even our enemies, and we see the culmination of Daniel’s work, his truly serving the Babylonians centuries after his death in about the year two BC, in a little town about seven miles outside of Jerusalem Matt. Matthew tells us what happens after Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw a star when it rose. We’ve come to worship him. How did they know what was happening now? Is it 100% guaranteed that it was Daniel who did this? No, but it is really, really likely, because you see the position of authority and influence that Daniel had, Daniel read the prophecies, taught the prophecies to the people around him. Of course, it prophesied him self. They knew his character, the Babylonians and the Persians who supplanted them, they knew his character. They trusted his wisdom, and so they paid attention to these prophecies, ones like Micah, where it says a little town of Bethlehem, a ruler is going to come out of you. This helps us. This helps us, like seeing where it culminates in Bethlehem, because it reminds us, and I’m have to remind us of this throughout this series, that Daniel is not the hero of this story. Like, let me just help you with the Old Testament as a whole here, all the characters you know and love are never the hero of the story. God is the hero of every story in the Old Testament, and that’s true with Daniel also. So Daniel’s not the hero of this story, but he did point the people he served to the hero of every story, even in exile, even as a prisoner of war. And we got to ask the question like, how was he able to do this, why not give in to bitterness and hatred towards the people who have stolen you from your land? The answer is, he knew whose he was. Daniel had something that Babylon couldn’t take from him, and it was his trust in the Lord, and that trust bred hope in his heart, instead of bitterness or hatred. When I say hope, what I mean is something like this. This is a quote from Vaclav Havel, who was a Czech dissident during the time of the Soviet empire, and was actually eventually the first president of Czechoslovakia, back when that was a thing, and he writes this when he’s fighting for Czech independence. He says hope is an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart. It transcends the world that is immediately experienced. That’s a long way of saying circumstances. Transcends circumstances and is anchored, not on moored, anchored somewhere beyond its horizons. I love this. Then hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense regardless of how it turns out. And that is a little different than Christian hope, because, of course, we know things will turn out well in the end, we know how the story ends, but we don’t know how our story ends, and it might not go well. We don’t know if the Soviet empire will fall while we’re fighting for independence. That kind of a hope that there is meaning, regardless of how it turns out, is exactly Daniel’s perspective, and we actually can see it, just this tiny little hint of it in the last verse. Hint of it in the last verse, Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus. And why do we mention Cyrus’s first year here? Daniel actually lived longer. We have a vision from the third year of King Cyrus that we’ll come to in a few weeks. So why I mention that first year? Because that’s the year the exiles return to Jerusalem. Do you see it? Daniel outlived exile. He outlasted exile. And what a word for us so often in need of hope and trying circumstances, the exile will end like we know how the story ends, but now our story ends. Daniel outlasted exile. Daniel never goes home. He dies in Persia, still
so, so what? It
didn’t shake him, because he lived for something beyond himself. He lived for God and His Kingdom, and it is ironic, but thinking of yourself less is the key to maintaining your identity, because you can’t be shaken then you have a higher purpose beyond yourself. Daniel was firm, resolved in all that he did because his life wasn’t about him. He trusted someone else, depended on somebody else, and lived for somebody else. So again, we ask that question, Who am I? And then we try and craft an identity to answer. It may lead to conforming to our culture, compromising with. Our beliefs. Daniel didn’t ask, who am I? Am I? Daniel or Belteshazzar? No, Daniel asked, whose am I? Whose am I? He had an identity outside of himself, and it was an identity that was conferred on him. It was given to him. You are a child of God, and that can’t be lost. Robert read it for us earlier, right? There’s an inheritance that is kept for us in heaven, which means no one here can touch it. Don’t spoil, perish, fade, be stolen, anything like that. That is kind of the big idea for us today. Like, if you had a takeaway from today, it is this, if you want a stable identity in an unstable culture, no matter the circumstances right, remember whose you are. If you want a stable identity in an unstable culture, don’t ask, who am I? Ask, whose am I? Get over yourself and get into Christ. That’s how you anchor your soul, by the way, get over yourself, get into Christ, but get into community also, right? That’s still a key part of all this like, that’s how you keep that culture going. Get into a church. So if you are here this morning and believe like, you are all in on Jesus, remember that you are living in exile. You are not an American, whatever else you may be, first and foremost, only secondarily, you are a citizen of heaven. Philippians three, verse 20, and that then means what, again, Robert read for us in first Peter one that you are chosen exiles. We are living in exile. So what’s our application? Takeaway, live well in exile like Daniel. Peter goes on to tell us what this should look like. One of the most important verses in the New Testament about how we do evangelism and outreach. It’s this First Peter, 211, and 12, I urge you as foreigners and exiles to abstain from sinful desires. Resolve not to be defiled. Abstain from sinful desires. Wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. They may see your good deeds and trust you so much that they would read your prophecies six centuries later to figure out where the real King of Kings is going to be born like. This is a description of Daniel’s life. It should be a description of ours as well. But if we’re going to do this, it takes preparation, it takes a firm resolve. It takes the power of community, but that’s what will shape us to be a faithful presence in the world, not resisting culture exclusively, not compromising with culture, but reaching culture. But man, that’s a high bar. Just Just go live like Daniel. Actually go live like Jesus. Even better. Now, let me pray for us, right like the reality is we all get squeezed. We have all compromised, and the point of this story isn’t Daniel’s faithfulness, although it is a model for us absolutely but the point isn’t Daniel’s faithfulness, but God’s faithfulness and his favor and the grace that He has given us. So when we fall, when we don’t live well in exile, we remember that we can trust in the greater than Daniel, who was himself exiled for our sakes Jesus’s home is heaven, the throne of God, right? And he willingly left it. He was not carried away as a prisoner of war. He willingly left his home culture. We could put it that way, to come and live among us, not to be compromised, not to, you know, resist it absolutely and just yell at everybody, hooraying everybody who walks by, but to reach the culture, ultimately, to die for the very people who killed him. You and me, we get just a hint of the beauty of that gospel in verse four. Do you remember the kind of people that Nebuchadnezzar was looking for, young men without any physical defect? It’s a very specific word that’s used there. It gets used quite a bit in the Old Testament. It does not get used of handsome young men. You know, who gets used of
sacrifices?
This is the sacrifice you were supposed to have. You’re supposed to bring a lamb, a goat, whatever it is you’re bringing without defect. That’s not us. We are not young men and women. Right, even if you are a young man or woman without defect, we got flaws. Not talking physically, I am talking spiritually. And so we remember this. First Peter once more. Peter is the great apostle to the exiles. First Peter 118 and 19, for you know you were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, a Lamb without blemish or defect. It is His perfect life in exile that we trust in. Of course, we strive to live like Him, but when we fail, we rest in the knowledge that there is grace it depends on his performance and not ours. Now if you’re here this morning and questioning, perhaps somebody invited you because, you know, we got a picnic after know, we got a picnic afterwards. So great time to come to church, all that good stuff. What should you take away? One thing is, I would say, pay attention. Maybe it’s even to the people who invited you like see if that first Peter verses is true of them. Do their lives look different? And if so, why? And maybe just inquire about a great conversation to have at lunch. But the other takeaway here is that the key to that stable identity is the gospel of Christ, Jesus, the Lamb without defect, who was slain in our place like quit trying on new identities. Quit trying to find yourself and express yourself. Quit trying to figure out who am I, but ask whose you could be if you were to trust in Jesus. And then just think of the freedom and joy that would be yours when you have that identity kept in heaven, untouchable by this world, let’s pray, Father, we long to live well for your name’s sake. We long to see you exalted and glorified in our lives. We long to live well in exile so that we reach the people around us. The reality is that we don’t always and we know that we confess it, Lord, we confess our failures. At times we have been squeezed into the world’s mold, and we thank you Lord, that we have the assurance of pardon, because there was one without defect who came and took our place and guide the death we deserved so that we could receive the welcome that he won for us. May we trust in Him now, and may that trust breed hope in us and the fruit of a changed life for those who are here and questioning, Lord, I pray that you would open eyes to see your goodness and grace, that you would be drawing them to yourself even now we pray in Christ’s name, Amen.

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Mercy August 25, 2024 | Brandon Cooper The sermon focuses on God’s restoration and renewal of His people after the locust plague in the book of Joel. It discusses the importance of repentance and the people’s return to God, which leads to His compassionate and gracious response. The sermon explains God’s jealous, covenantal love for His people and how that motivates them to obedience and joy. It highlights God’s abundant provision and restoration of the land, animals, and people, calling them to rejoice in His faithfulness. The sermon emphasizes God’s grace in repaying the people for the years the locusts had taken, even though it was due to their sin. It discusses the prophetic promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all people, signifying a new era of renewal and equality of access to God. The sermon concludes by encouraging the congregation to respond with repentance, trust, joy, and service in the body of Christ.

Hello. Good morning church. Actually have just one more announcement before we get going with the sermon, just kind of trying to bring you guys up to date with some of the stuff that’s been happening around the church in terms of the facilities and finances, and the two are often related, of course. So you may have noticed at a few different points we’ve had some work done here this year, including the roof over this part of the building, which was in danger of collapsing, and the cupola over on above the 41 the original sanctuary back there. So we were able to do that using our capital expenditure funds budgeted from last year and this year, which is great news, it came in a little bit cheaper than we were expecting. And so that was awesome. Jake mentioned the kitchen clean out. What’s happening there? We do have quite a bit of work to do to get the kitchen up to snuff as well. And so we, the elders, have just proved making two purchases. One is for a new refrigerator and one for a hot box to keep food warm when we’re doing things just, you know, that’s kind of above and beyond budgeted expenses right there. That’ll be a capital expense. Just wanted you to be aware that that’s happening if you’ve been with us for a while, you know, at revision, which is our annual vision night back in November, I mentioned that this would happen. We just did a huge chunk of renovations, and our primary goal with any extra funds is to pay down our loan as quickly as possible. We got about $1.5 million loan right there, and we are doing that, and that’s great news. But I mentioned that there are also quite a few things that still need to happen at the church, and some of them are very urgent, like that roof and the cupola and the kitchen. And so we’re going to tackle some of those as we go as well. So you’ll hear more about that in November at the vision night. But just wanted you to be aware of it. Now if you have any questions, anything like that, of course, you can grab any of the elders. We would be happy to talk through that with you. More with that. Go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Joel, chapter two. Joel two, we’ll be starting in verse 18 this morning. Now, when I started this series, I mentioned that, you know, some of you were going to think we were doing Joel with all its focus on the plague of locusts because of the cicadas that had been here recently. Now you know it wasn’t the cicadas, it was the cicada mites. That was the real play. So keep your itching to a minimum as we dig into God’s Word together this morning, Joel, two will be starting in verse 18. As you’re turning there. We all know the feeling of waiting for the big day, kind of whatever big day that might be. For some of you, it was the first day of school. There are kids of a certain age who are still very excited for that. Other kids, of course, get less excited as the years go by. Maybe it’s a bigger day than that, even a wedding, a new baby. We just celebrated a parent commissioning. Of course, we also had a baby born to this church this week also. But I don’t know the name or gender, so I’m gonna say nothing about that, but congratulations, jaxis, anyway, a vacation the first day of the NFL season. Some of you are waiting for that. I get it. We especially are waiting for the big day when things aren’t going well, like we’re wired for hope, and so there’s just this sense of like we need something to look forward to, I actually think of it. You know, is it funny? I wrote the sermon and then found out we were doing an announcement about the work trip today. So this is coincidental, but for years now, some of the men in our church have been doing a Samaritan’s Purse trip, where they go down to areas that have been ravaged by hurricanes, floods, things like that, and rebuild homes and, you know, the families we had, our people there sometimes when the families actually get to, like, move in, when they get the key to their house that has been rebuilt, like, that’s the big day they were waiting for, like, that moment when they were restored to their home. And that’s exactly where Judah is, as we’ve seen in our weeks in Joel so far, like Judah needs a big day, the people of God, they need a big day, because the locusts have devastated their land, and there’s this like apocalyptic threat hanging over them that we keep talking about. Is there any hope of restoration? That’s the question. And so they cried out to God. We saw this last week, in repentance and faith, they returned to God because He is who he always is, the Lord, the Lord the compassionate and gracious God. And now they’re wondering, how will God answer? No surprise, compassionately and graciously, exactly as you’d expect. There is hope after judgment. If you read the passage in preparation for today, I know some of you do that, so we’ve got the bookmarks and things like that. This passage probably felt like a breath of fresh air after a couple of heavy weeks, right? And that’s okay, you know? It’s interesting. You read the prophets, and we preach the prophets and things like that. It usually it’s about a two thirds, 1/3 balance, like two thirds of judgment and 1/3 then the hope afterwards. Can I just say that as a people, we tend to skip right to the hope? Kind of like it’s probably good for us to sit in the warning and the judgment passages sometimes and just remember the seriousness of our sin. But there’s always good news, right? The prophets always get to hope, because there is always the hope of the Gospel, as we will see. So that’s where to look at this morning. There are we’ve seen in the in the past couple weeks, there been kind of two halves to this trial, right? There was a present trial in the locus plague, and then, like the, you know, camera zoomed out, and it was like this big apocalyptic trial. We get the same thing in the response, where we kind of get the response to the locust, but then we zoom out and we get an apocalyptic response as well. And the response then also, like part of it is for the people of God, and then part of it is for the nations. We’re going to focus on the people of God today. Kyle will walk us through the nations next week, but we get this response through God. So long intro, let’s dive in. Alright, first part of the Lord’s answer has to do with restoration. Alright, the restoration of the people and the land. Let me read Joel two verses 18 to 20. And the Lord was jealous for his land and took pity on his people. The Lord replied to them, I am sending you grain, new wine and olive oil enough to satisfy you fully. Never again will I make you an object of scorn to the nations. I will drive the northern horde far from you, pushing it into a parched and barren land. Its Eastern ranks will drown in the Dead Sea, and its Western ranks in the Mediterranean Sea. And its stench will go up. Its smell will rise. Surely, he has done great things. So the passage opens with then, and so you can tell it’s as a result, like after what just happened, after the people returned to God. As a result of their repentance, their lamentation, the Lord responds, and he responds in jealousy. And that’s probably not the word we were expecting there, in part, because jealousy is for us, a very negative concept, because we think in terms of romantic love, and, you know, jealous person in like, a high school relationship, you’re like, that’s weird. Okay, so that’s kind of how we think about jealousy in a romantic context. But we’re not in a romantic context here. We’re in a covenantal context, and jealousy makes a lot of sense when it comes to covenants. This is like Sinai, the passage that will read for us earlier today, like this is how the 10 Commandments begin as the covenant is being established with God’s people. He says, I’m the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me. Don’t bow down. Worship serve any other gods. Why? Because I, the Lord, am a jealous God. And so there is that sense right covenant and jealousy make sense together. And again, they should the most common covenant we enter into in our culture today is the marriage covenant. One of the things we say when we say our vows is forsaking all others, which is exactly what God just said to his people there at Sinai, forsake all other gods. He says it elsewhere, Zechariah, eight, verse two, for example, the Lord talks about this, you know, he says, I’m very jealous for Zion. I am burning with jealousy for her. So again, Lord not feeling apologetic about the jealousy he feels for his people. And it’s interesting this passage in Zechariah, same context that we get here in Joel, where it’s right before he then goes on to share the blessings he’s about to pour on his people. So covenantal context and the marriage connection like it reminds us a husband should be jealous for his wife and for his marriage, because he’s bound to her. They’re bound together. So if the wife is unfaithful, and as a result is, you know, harming herself by wandering not just from the husband, but from the Lord and handing herself over to sin and destruction. Ultimately, of course, he should be jealous, for he should pursue her and bring her back. That is very much like the Lord and His people. That’s why the Lord has Hosea live out that scenario I just described, and go after his unfaithful wife, jealously in the same way the Lord goes after us. God’s jealousy for his people is foundational to our relationship with Him.
The central basis of Christian assurance, Tim Keller tells us the central basis of Christian assurance is not how set our our hearts are on God, but how unchangeably set his heart is on us. That’s the Lord’s jealousy, right there. He won’t leave us, He won’t forsake us. That’s marriage language, right? He won’t leave us or forsake us. Why? Because he’s bound. Himself to us, and that’s the whole reason he keeps putting up with us despite our repeated unfaithfulness. And be like a wife with with an ungodly spouse just emotionally distant, unhelpful around the house. And you know, you can hear her friends being like, Why do you put up with him? The answer is, Because I covenanted with him, I bound myself to him. That’s what the Lord says. It’s interesting. He actually says he’s jealous for his land. That makes sense, because his people are in his place where he dwells, and then he takes pity on his people, and as a result, he relents from the disaster that he’s sent on them. It’s interesting in these verse 18 really answers the requests of verse 17. If you were here last week, this is where we ended. You know, spare your people. Don’t make them an object of scorn among the nations. And here the people are spared. And even says directly, Never again will I make you an object of scorn to the nations. He doesn’t just spare them, though it’s so much more than that. He sends grain and new wine and oil, and then says it’s enough to satisfy you fully. This isn’t just enough that you’re going to get by like the Lord has moved them from subsistence to satisfaction, and that is a blessing. Indeed. It’s such a picture of God’s bounty, which is a holy, undeserved and yet he keeps sending it our way. It’s interesting too, that he says it’s enough to satisfy you fully. This is interesting because when the people prayed last week, verse 14 says, Who knows he may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing, grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God. So the people are going, would you give us food again, just so we can restore our relationship with you like we just want to be making sacrifices? And the Lord goes, I want you to feast, right? I want you to feast. That’s part of it. Again, his goodness, again. He just lavishes a blessing on us. But to do this, to send this new grain, all that kind of stuff, he’s going to have to get rid of the locusts. And he does that. All four compass points get mentioned here in this section. So he he drives the northern horde. For whatever reason, the invader always comes from the north in the prophetic literature. So he drives that northern horde into the south. Doesn’t say house, but how south? But that parched in barren land, that’s the Arabah, the southern part of Israel, and they would all know what was being talked about. So there’s the north and the south. And then you see how big this Horde was, because the western flank is at the Mediterranean Sea, and the eastern flank is at the Dead Sea. So it spans the whole land of Israel. This has definitely been an invading army, and yet it gets removed. How God always removes locust plagues, if you remember, back to the Exodus, and that eighth plague of the locusts, the Lord sends a stiff breeze, and that’s what happens. So here’s Exodus 1019, the Lord changed the wind to a very strong Western wind, which caught up locusts and carried them into the Red Sea. So same thing, strong wind pushes them into the sea, and that’s the end of them. And this is often how it works. Locust plagues usually end up floating in the water at the end of it. So here’s Saint Augustine recalling a locust plague in Northern Africa, where he is from. Back in his day, he said, Africa was attacked by an immense number of locust having eaten everything. A huge swarm were drowned in the sea, thrown up dead upon the coast. The putrefaction of these insects so infected the air is to cause a pestilence so horrible that in one kingdom alone, 80,000 are said to have perished. That’s why Joel mentions the stench here, right? Like it’s so bad people were actually getting sick, at least in Africa at that point, but to the people of God, what a sweet smell of restoration. This would have been even the stench, because the plague has been removed, and it was a plague. It’s interesting. The very last sentence of verse 20, surely he has done great things. It’s definitely one possible translation. It could just as easily be. Surely it has done great things. And we don’t really know which one. You can imagine the original audience kind of going, who’s done what now? Because we were just talking about the locusts, and most likely, what they would have heard was, surely it the invading army, the horde of locusts, did great in the sense of very big things, because they brought great devastation on the land. But now it’s gone and the land is restored. So how do we respond? Let me keep reading verses 21 to 24 and we move from restoration to an imperative rejoice. Rejoice here, 21 to 24 Do not be afraid. Land of Judah. Be glad and rejoice. Surely the Lord has done great things. Do not be afraid. You wild animals, for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit. The fig tree and the vine yield their riches. Be glad, people of Zion, Rejoice in the Lord your God, for He has given you the autumn rains. Because he is faithful, He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains. As before, the threshing floors will be filled with grain. The vats will overflow with new wine and oil. Because the theme is the same in these verses, it would be easy to miss the shift that happens. So we’re talking about restoration in both cases, but we go from a bunch of declarations like I will remove this plague from the land. Kind of thing, I will make sure you get grain and wine and oil and all that. We move from I will declarations to imperatives, which is really interesting. These are only imperatives in our whole passage today. Don’t be afraid. Be glad. Rejoice. So this is our response to the bountiful goodness of God, the One who has brought us from mourning into joy once again. And the people here have every reason to rejoice, because what they’ve just experienced is the complete reversal of the devastation in chapter one, and we mentioned kind of three areas affected, the land which was mourning back there in chapter one, the animals who were panting back then, and of course, the people who are starving. Well look. Verse 21 Do not be afraid. Land of Judah. Verse 22 do not be afraid, you wild animals. Verse 23 be glad. People of Zion. So everyone who is hurting is restored at this point, the rains are falling on the land, and so the pastures are green for animals, and then the threshing floors and vats are filled with grain and new wine for the people, all because no ambiguity this time, the Lord has done great things. He has relented from his just anger, has shown mercy and has loved jealously, and there’s only one response, praise. It reminds me of Psalm 126, verse three, the Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. And that’s it. Surely the Lord has done great things. Rejoice, rejoice, be filled with joy. A lot of talk about rain in this section, and that’s important, because rains are actually tied to the covenant. Interestingly, so in Deuteronomy, 11, again, Deuteronomy, all about the covenant. These are some of the promises God makes. He says this, the land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot, as in a vegetable garden. Not a lot of rain in Egypt. There is the Nile, though, and so that’s what happened. You’re going to farm in Egypt, you need to irrigate, you need to get canals from the Nile to wherever you are farming. But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of Israel is a Land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. It is a land the Lord your God cares for. The eyes of the LORD your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end. So the Lord Himself waters the land of Israel. That’s why it says that he sends both autumn and spring rains as before, like this is what I promised to do. This is how the land has been getting its water all along it says he promised to do when he made that covenant with Israel. But it’s interesting, right before these promises here in Deuteronomy 11, we get this in verse eight, observe therefore all the commands I’m giving you today. That’s a good reminder that God’s covenant promises are for his covenant people who show that they’re his covenant people by keeping the covenant, by observing the commands that he set before them, and they didn’t observe the commands. So the covenant is broken. And yet, and yet here the Lord is keeping his end of the bargain, still sending rains. Why It even says it right there, because he is faithful. It’s because of his faithfulness, not ours. He upholds His promises. Again,
it’s actually interesting when it says that He has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. It reads literally, he’s giving you the autumn reigns for righteousness, that’s all it says. It’s very ambiguous. Again, for righteousness, that phrase gets used just a handful of times in the Old Testament, and every time it does, righteousness is the goal that is being sought. So here’s an example. Isaiah Five, Verse seven, the. Lord looked for righteousness, but heard cries of distress. So the goal there was, I’m going to look, I’m going to see righteousness, people keeping my commands. And instead, I heard something else. But the question here is, whose righteousness exactly are we talking about? You can see the NIV is translated in such a way as though it’s the Lord’s righteousness. And I think that’s a fair case. You could make it, because on the one hand, God proves himself righteous by keeping His covenant, but on the other hand, of course, he’s looking for our righteousness in response, like God keeping His covenant should stir us to keep it too, so that we begin to observe His commands again. Don’t imagine, you know, keep going back to the marriage. Example, an unfaithful husband and whatever has happened, pornography, addiction, something like that, and the wife, instead of, you know, booting him out the door, forgives, reconciles, the relationship is restored. How does this husband respond? Does he think sweet, free pass? I can do this again. Hopefully not. Hopefully that act of love and forgiveness would motivate him in a new way, to put sin to death in his life, to be a different sort of husband. That’s what the Lord is expecting here, which is why it’s so interesting that the command is, don’t be afraid, be glad and rejoice, because here’s a really important truth for us, fear will rarely lead you to keep God’s commands, but joy will. Joy and keeping commands are linked in Scripture. Think of nehemiah’s famous declaration, the joy of the Lord is our strength. It’s one of those verses that just gets pulled out of context. You go, I don’t know in what sense joy is strength, but somehow it’s strength. Well, there was a context to this declaration. Ezra is there. He’s reading the law outlet aloud for the people of Israel, they’re hearing all the commands they have broken, and they start weeping. And so Ezra and Nehemiah go, hang on, let’s actually stop reading the laws that you have broken, and instead, let’s throw a party. Let’s not remember our unfaithfulness, but let’s remember God’s faithfulness instead. And that’s when Nehemiah says, the joy of the Lord is our strength. Now, these two go together, right? Ours is a mournful joy, because we have the overwhelming sense that not just the world, but that we ourselves are not what we should be, and have not done what we should do, but God is saving us. So the joy of the Lord is our strength. The picture is it would be like a couple renewing their vows after one of them was involved in an affair, where there would be joy at the restoration but grief at the damage done the same time. And that’s sort of what we have here, but to dwell on the sin, to just sit in confession only would create such discouragement and hopelessness in us. You know, if you’re just looking at yourself and your sin all you’re going to go, I can’t save myself. I’m not good enough. I can’t change but if we’re really paying attention to the law, to the covenant, we remember God’s demands and God’s deeds again. That’s how the covenant starts. We’ll read it for us, all right. Exodus, 20 before we get to the commands, know that God’s before me. Don’t worship anyone else. Honor your father and mother. Don’t you know, commit murder, adultery, all the rest. That’s not how it starts. That comes after the opening part. I am the Lord your God who brought you up out of Egypt. It begins with God’s deeds, the joy of our salvation, God’s faithfulness to us. That’s what produces obedience. This is so important for how we change. Like, imagine you’re back in your high school chemistry class, and your high school chemistry teacher gives you a, you know, like extra credit assignment. You have to get all the air out of a laboratory beaker, and you can use any equipment in the lab. And so, you know, some of the Type A students of which I was not one, but you know, they would stay there after school and try and rig some sort of vacuum system to get all the the air out. Maybe the glass shatters, because vacuums probably not good for that and all that kind of stuff. And and at the end of it, the chemistry teacher, what does he do? He takes the beaker over to the sink and fills it with water. All the air is out. That’s how we work, too. The best way to expel our sinful desires, our inordinate love of the world, is to replace them, to be filled with gospel joy instead you. The love of God, the joy of the Lord is our strength. The Gospel arms us to do battle against our sin, because we know who God is and what He has done for us. So do not be afraid, not of locusts and not of the Lord’s wrath, but rejoice and be glad. Why? Because our God is a jealous covenant. Keeping God the Lord goes on. He’s not done yet. So let’s go on also restoration. Rejoice, repayment. Verses 25 to 27 I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten, the great locust and the young locusts, the other locusts, and the locusts swarm my great army that I sent among you. You you will have plenty to eat until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you. Never again will my people be shamed. Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other never again will my people be shamed. This section opens with a stunning promise, God will repay the years the locusts have eaten. The best way I can explain what he’s saying here is, and some of you live this scenario, I’m sure, where you lose your job, and you’re unemployed for a time, and those lost wages are really difficult to handle, and then you get a new job, and it turns out it’s a much higher salary, so that within just a few pay periods, you’ve made up for all that money that was lost during your unemployment. That’s what the Lord is saying here. The harvest is gonna be so plentiful coming up that you’re gonna forget there was ever a famine. Now, what makes this such a stunning promise is because the locusts that ate all the food were there because of the people’s sin. So why is the Lord repaying them? Like, I have children, two of them. I don’t want to name names, but they’re the masculine ones. Are among the wickedest children yet I’ve ever known, at least, you probably know your own wicked children, but so they often lose treats for the next day, or something like that, right? Like, that, right? Like, that’s it. There’s no candy, there’s no ice cream, there’s no popsicle. Don’t care how hot you get, okay, you’re not getting anything. Well, what happens then, if that day after they lose the treats? We’re like, we feel so bad that you didn’t get any sugar yesterday, that here’s a whole Portillo’s chocolate cake for you today. We’re like, well, that doesn’t make any sense. You got in trouble. Why are we rewarding you? This, by the way, is how Amy works, because she is all sweetness and goodness. Okay, me, I’m like, you don’t ever have to eat cake again. Okay? The Lord is more like Amy. That’s the point. Okay, in all sorts of ways, but that’s what he’s doing here. Like, I’m gonna repay you for this. It’s a legal term too. Repayment. It’s a legal term despite Judah having no claim. That’s the interesting part. It’s as though, like, we backed into the Lord’s car and then he gives us his insurance information. And it’s like, go ahead, file a claim with me. And you’re like, No, no, I like, I he’s, he owns. That’s the gospel. Of course. The message of this section is so simple. It’s a message of the Bible as a whole, where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more it is such lavish, undeserved blessing, and it comes to us by grace alone.
Now that’s not to say, though, that this trial wasn’t real. I mean, it’s interesting. It says I will pay you for the years the locusts have eaten like again. That’s why we gotta sit sometimes in the judgment passages like this was real trial, the effects lasted for years because the crop was eaten, there was no seed. And so our time is not always God’s time, and the Lord makes no apology for that. Did you notice that where it says in verse 25 you know, I’m going to repay you for the years the locusts have eaten my great army that I sent among you, which we talked about last week, he doesn’t apologize for sending the calamity again last week, we say God ordains what he hates to accomplish what he loves for His glory and our good, As we so often sing, and this is what wakes us up, these kind of moments when trial comes to us. And so you don’t apologize for waking somebody up if they’re asleep in a burning building. And that’s what the Lord said. Like, yeah, I sent the hour. I don’t feel bad about the fire alarm that I just sounded. We can trust his heart, because we know the covenant that he’s made with us, we can trust that he will accomplish His good purposes in us. Why? Especially we know this because we’ve seen what the Lord does with evil when he ordains what he hates to accomplish what he loves. Because what do you think he hated most of all the things that have happened in this world? It’ll be the murder of his son, probably. And yet, what did the Lord bring out of that? Can we trust his heart from that great evil, the Lord brought about our salvation, the resurrection and exaltation of Christ. So no surprise. Then, what happens next when we experience God’s Grace and Bounty, we turn. It to praise. You’re gonna have plenty to eat until you’re full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God. Not an imperative. He doesn’t say so praise the name. No, we don’t even need to make it an imperative. It’s just going to happen. It’s a simple statement of fact. But it’s not just their praise, but the wonder and awe of the surrounding nations as well. This is often the case, right? When the Lord brings Israel up out of Egypt, the Egyptians all learn something about who God is. When he brings them into Canaan the Canaanites learn something about who God is. That’s how it’s gonna be. Now also, here’s Exodus, 1511, this is Moses’ song after the Exodus, he says, Who among the gods is like you, Lord, who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? That’s not a question for Israel. That’s a question for everybody who got to see this. Like really you want to put your gods up against the one true God? No contest. No contest. And that’s what explains the repetition of this phrase, you won’t be shamed in the eyes of the nations. Israel had suffered psychologically during this trial. They and their neighbors believed that God had abandoned them, if he exists at all, and if he exists at all, he was a weak God because he couldn’t even keep the locusts out. So they’re suffering psychologically with these thoughts running through their minds. But now they and the nations know three truths without a doubt. First, that I am in Israel. God has not abandoned Israel. It’s interesting. That’s the first time in the book of Joel that the Lord has referred to them by name, but it’s right now. It’s reminding them of that you’re my people. I have not abandoned you second that I am the Lord your God. The relationship hasn’t changed. The covenant is in place. The Lord Yahweh, the name there, that’s his covenant name. He reveals it to Moses, as the covenant is being established. The Lord your God, there’s the relationship, and you’re my people. He says the relationship hasn’t changed. And then third, there is no other. He is God, and there is no other because, remember, they were questioning his strength versus the other gods. But now we know actually there’s only one God, and His name is Yahveh, and so he acts as we talked about last week, for the sake of his name. But that’s what takes away their shame. It’s the reminder that it is not Israel’s identity and activity, but God’s identity and activity that grants them their glory, their status. It’s the firm foundation on which they stand. And here’s the good news, if you are in Christ, that’s true for you too. You’re standing before God depends on Christ’s righteousness, Christ’s perfect performance, and not yours. And you think about how much joy and freedom there is in that truth, and how that spurs us on to obey, to endeavor to be worthy of the love that he has shown us. Last section, then we turn to renewal verses 28 to 32 and this is where we zoom out. Let me read it for us, and afterward, I will pour out my spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions, even on my servants, both men and women. I will pour out my Spirit in those days, I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke, the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord, and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls so God zooms out here like he did in the calamity. Remember, we kept talking about how there was something about this day with the locusts that has to do with that day when the Lord will come again. Well, now we see the opposite, like the restoration on this day, the end of the locust plague. There’s something about that that prepares us for restoration on that day, the renewal at the end of time. I gave you the mountain analogy. You look at a mountain from one side, it just looks like one mountain. And then if you look at it from the other side, you see it’s actually a series of peaks. Well, we’re looking at some of the other peaks now at this point, and it begins with and afterward, that’s a major time transition. So we are, we are talking about a distant fulfillment. It’s not the first peak. It’s a different one. And what’s interesting is we know now, of course, that actually there were two more peaks behind it, because we know that the Lord does pour out His Spirit on all people at Pentecost. And so that part’s already been fulfilled, but some of the sun and moon and all that stuff, well, that’s still to come. That’s revelation stuff. That’s Christ’s Second come. Thing, there is a shift here, though, in more than just time like well, now we’re in a different era, or something like that. We’ve also shifted from mere restoration. God’s putting things back the way they used to be, to renewal, that God in Christ, is making all things new. It’s interesting that God pours out His Spirit. We’ve used that language for so long that it doesn’t strike us as metaphorical anymore. But it’s really interesting that this is liquid language to pour and that’s what’s needed after a drought. And so we can see, we’ve seen all along, that the land really mimics our souls. There has been a spiritual drought in the land, but now the rain is falling. The Spirit of God is falling on us. And what’s so interesting is that the spirit is falling on everyone, on all people now in context, because it even goes on to say, your sons and daughters, every Jew reading this at this time would have thought, right, the Jewish people, it will fall on all the Jewish people again. Now we know what. There’s more than one peak, but let’s look there for now. Let’s just stick and hear this in Joel’s context, because this was truly all people in a new way. It says, Your sons and daughters. So there’s no longer a distinction based on sex, and then your old men and your young men. There’s no longer a distinction based on age. And then you get the servants, male and female. So breaking down the gender distinction again, but male and female servants. So there’s no more distinction based on your station in life, like your socioeconomic status, there is now equality of access to God, equal standing before God when it comes to our salvation. This is a big deal. Jewish men of this time, well into the time of Christ, even they would pray every morning, I thank God that I wasn’t born a woman, a slave or a Gentile, and it’s not because they were sexist, classist and racist. Some of them may well have been. They prayed that because every one of those groups had some barrier
to God. You could actually see it in the layout of the temple. There was the court of Gentiles. That’s as far as the Gentiles could get. That’s most of us, by the way, couldn’t get any closer to that court of women. Same thing to get this close, no farther. Same thing if you were a slave. And so that’s what they were. They were praying. It’s like, I thank you that I can get as close as possible to you, Lord. And now Joel’s saying there’s going to come a day when that’s not going to matter, except for the Gentiles. We haven’t solved the Gentile problem yet, have we? We got to sum at the next peak here to get that. It’s interesting. Peter quotes this passage in his first sermon of the church age, because they’ve just seen the spirit fall on all flesh. They’re all speaking in tongues. They got little tongues of fire above them, all that kind of stuff. And at Pentecost, so the Spirit falls on the church, and it’s a beautiful moment, because the very first time the gospel was proclaimed in the church age, it is proclaimed in every language simultaneously, like there is the welcome to all nations. This is so different from Islam. For example, if you’re going to read the Quran, you have to read it in Arabic, and the Lord has nothing to do with that. The Lord’s like, nope, all peoples, all languages, all tribes, right, that’s the idea. So it’s such a beautiful thing, but the Spirit had only fallen on Jews. Still at that point, they’re hearing it different languages, but it’s only on the Jewish people. It’s not until we get to Acts 10, and Peter shares the gospel with Cornelius, who’s the first Gentile convert that we read about, and then the Spirit falls on him. Read this acts 1045, the circumcised believers really drawing out the Jewishness there, right? The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. They weren’t expecting that. Why? Because they read Joel, and they knew that it was for our sons and our daughters, not for everyone else. But in Christ, there is no longer Jew or Gentile. He is torn down the dividing wall of hostility between us and made the two groups one. The fulfillment of this prophecy in Joel is Galatians, 328, there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female. For you are all one in Christ, Jesus, there is your equality of access to God, your equal standing before God. God is renewing all of creation for all people, people from every tribe and language and nation and every age and sex and station, as we’ve learned here. Now, because of our culture and stuff, we talk a lot about the sex and the race piece here, but like, let’s not rush past the age part either. If you are in Christ, you have the spirit kids like, whatever age you are. If. You have truly repented of your sins and trusted in Jesus, you have the Spirit of Christ, and that Spirit has given you gifts to serve his body, to serve his people. If you believe in Jesus, you are every bit as much a part of this church as your parents, and you can and should be serving God using those gifts for the common good, so that we grow and build ourselves up in love as each part does its work. That’s you too. So even now, to borrow the language from last week, like, if you’re here kids and you haven’t done this, even now, you can turn to the Lord with all your heart and trust in Him. But if that is you, then even now start serving. Of course, that’s true, not just for the kids, but for the adults too. If you’re in Christ, you have the spirit, you’ve been gifted to serve in the body. So real simple application, serve in the body like we need you. There are no spectators in Christianity. All right, everyone is an active participant. We’re a little far off, but just knowing, every October, we host a ministry fair. So if you’re newer here, and you’re like, Where can I get plugged in and use my guests to build up the church and to reach the world for Christ, make sure you’re there. It’s like, October 13 or something, and you’ll have all the ministries of the church out there. You can get plugged in as you go. Then in verses 30 and 31 we get the apocalyptic language. This is the final peak where that like now and not yet fulfillment. We have the spirit Christ has come, but we’re still waiting for that final renewal. When Christ comes again on the day of the Lord. It will be a great and dreadful day. Joel says, I understand the translation. I’m not sure there’s a better one, but dreadful sounds bad, and this word is ambiguous. Honestly, the best word would be awful, but we don’t use awful that way anymore. We use it to also mean bad. So like I said, no good translation, but awful, like it will be a day filled with awe. And for those who have rejected Christ, it will be a terrible day. It will not be good awe. For those of us who have trusted Christ, it will be, well, an awesome day. This is the big day that we’ve been waiting for, not just the going of the locusts, but for the coming of the Lord. And then all this concludes with one of the most precious promises in all of Scripture, also quoted by Peter in the early church, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. This is such a precious promise, too, because it answers that question that we saw last week that was just painful to read, right? Who then can endure it this great and dreadful day of the Lord? And we have the answer. That’s those who hide themselves in Christ, who have called on the name of the Lord, who, by the way, was crucified in Jerusalem on Mount Zion, that’s where our deliverance comes from. We are the purified remnant who can endure that day because of what he has done, not because of what we have done. But notice the last phrase, then, so everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls. So those who call on the Lord are those whom the Lord calls to call on the Lord, if that makes sense, and no, it doesn’t make a ton of sense, because there’s this tension, and it’s on every page of Scripture, really, the tension between divine sovereignty, that God works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will. So God is in charge, divine sovereignty, and then human responsibility, where we are responsible for our actions like we have volition. Of course, this is where we get into lots of theological debates. And I mean, it’s been quite clear. We’ve even seen it here in John in Joel, like, we cannot deny God’s exhaustive sovereignty over even sinful human action. It’s there over and over and over again in scripture. But we don’t need so much. Need to fight about the theology, about, like, why don’t we just worry about our part? Like, there’s the application. How do I know if the Lord has called me, call on the name of the Lord, right? That’s the part you can do. You call on the name of the Lord. That’s what we have to do. I’ve been saying this for four straight weeks, but it is still the message of Joel. Like, if you are here today and you are still questioning Christianity, you’re seeking, or you realize that you are here today because someone else made you come, but you are rejecting Christ, you are living in defiance even now, call on the name of the Lord Jesus and be saved. Turn turn from your sin to Christ. That would be your takeaway. What about for the rest of us? Though? I’m going to kind of for all of us. I’m going to pull all these strands together. The big idea today, you probably could have gotten there on your. Maybe you wouldn’t have phrased it the same way, but, but here it is, when we return, that was last week, right, when we repent, when we turn to the Lord, when we return, God renews. So rejoice. That’s it. If you are in Christ, if you are a part of His new covenant, people, the covenant that he established when he dies, what we say in communion every time, right? This is the new covenant in my blood. If you’re a part of the new covenant people, you always have cause for joy. Always have cause for joy because you’ve experienced His grace and His bounty super abundantly. Because where sin abounds, grace abounds. All the more God is still lavishing His blessings on his people, grain and oil and new wine. And I know this hasn’t changed, because we know who Jesus is and what Jesus did. Just think with me for a moment, who was the very first sign Jesus performed, it wasn’t healing the sick or feeding the poor or raising someone from the dead. The first sign that Jesus performed was turning 150 gallons of water into wine for a wedding in Cana. By the way, they needed wine because they’d already drunk the rest of the wine. Like put that into your theology real quick. Okay,
what is the point? Why would Jesus have done that? Because it’s a sign. John tells us that’s a sign. John chapter two, what is the sign pointing to? It is the super abundant goodness of God. He’s just lavishing his love on us. It’s like the new husband who sends his new bride 100 flowers every day for a month. And you’re like, Baby, I don’t need any more flowers. And he’s like, I don’t care. I just love you so much. Here you go. That’s what Jesus is saying in that moment that was God is saying to us. Now, see how much I love you. I’ve restored you, repaid. You, renewed. You poured out my spirit on you. And when we experience that restoration and repayment and renewal, what we can what can we do but rejoice God, rejoice and praise Him. This is our God. This is who he is. So we love Him and praise Him forever. Let’s pray to him now, Lord, this is who you are. You are so good to us. You have given us so much more than we deserve, because what we deserve is eternal punishment, and what you have given us instead is Grace, mercy, compassion, love, and then you have lavished blessings on us, so that we are brim full and overflowing with your goodness, Lord, what could we possibly do now but turn in repentance and trust, love, rejoice and then praise you and Lord, we’re going to sing to you now, because we can’t help but sing you have been so good to us. Be lifted up in our hearts, in our lives and in our songs, even now we pray for Your name’s sake. Amen.

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Turn August 18, 2024 | Brandon Cooper The sermon focuses on responding to disaster and calamity, using the biblical prophecy of Joel’s warning about a locust plague as a metaphor. The prophet Joel is calling the people to return to God wholeheartedly, not just through outward rituals but with genuine repentance and trust in God’s character. The sermon emphasizes the importance of the whole community gathering together in consecration and prayer, with the priests leading intercession focused on God’s glory rather than just personal salvation. A central theme is that God’s love for His own glory is the foundation of His love for His people, and this should shape how we approach Him in times of crisis. The overall message is an urgent call for the people to turn back to their gracious and compassionate God, even in the face of impending judgment and disaster.

Go ahead, grab your Bibles and open up to Joel chapter two. Joel chapter two will be in the first half of Joel two this morning, as you’re turning there to Joel two, imagine life during the London Blitz, not the happiest time, of course, for London residents. You know blackout shades and curfews and then, most especially, the panic of the air raid siren, when it goes off knowing that the German air force is coming to bomb your city, the siren would pierce the silence, and you would, of course, have this rush of emotion, grief, I’m sure, at what’s happening to your city and your country, but panic as well, all of this stemming from the deep desire within you for your own safety, but probably most especially for the safety of your loved ones. All that, though, is happening like in an instant, and then it’s going to force you to act like it’s going to prompt, provoke a response immediately you’re going to go find shelter in the short term, help other people find shelter in the long term. You might, you know, send your kids away for a time, like at the Pevensey children, you know, shipped off to a professor’s country estate where there may or may not be a magic wardrobe. We’re testing your literary skills right now. That process is what we’re seeing play out in Judah right now, the air raid siren is blaring because there is an invasion. It’s not the Luftwaffe, but it is locusts in this case, and that has provoked these emotions that we saw, especially in week one, where they were mourning and wailing in grief, all of that exposed the deep desire within them, which was not just for an end to this locust plague, but especially for the Lord behind the locusts. And now the question is, what action will that lead to we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks, kind of, we’re sort of building an argument here in a lot of ways. Lastly, let morning move you, but let morning move you to act. And so now the question is, what is the proper response when disaster comes? Whether, again, that’s national, local, personal, whatever it may be, what is the proper response when disaster comes? We’re going to try and answer that question. We got really two halves to this prophecy, so just two points this morning. In the first half, we’re going to look at God’s judgment on the people of Judah, on their sin, and there’s gonna be a lot of reiteration of what we’ve already talked about. But the main idea, of course, is that this should provoke a response, and then in the second half, we are going to see what that response is. So when disaster comes, when the air raid siren goes off, what should our response be? Let’s look at the first half now, the Lord’s punishment, chapter two, verses one to 11. It’s a little bit longer, so I’m going to kind of read it as we go. We just read verses one and two with me right now? Blow the trumpet in Zion. Sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness like Dawn spreading across the mountains. A large and mighty army comes such as never was, such as never was in ancient times, nor ever will be in ages to come. So begins with blow the trumpet, right? That’s literally the air raid siren, right there, like sound the alarm, give the warning of what’s about to come, so that the people can respond. That’s the whole point of the siren or the trumpet to alert people to the danger so they can choose to respond or not. Of course, some people may go, hey, the likelihood of this affecting me not very high. I’m sure people in London months didn’t go to the shelters. Read that other places in the world, of course. But still, this is the Prophet’s job is to blow the trumpet so that people at least have the chance to respond. This is Ezekiel. Makes this point very clear. The Lord makes it clear to Ezekiel, this is his job in blowing the trumpet. Ezekiel, 33 verses, two to four, when I bring the sword against the land, and the people the land choose one of their men and. Him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land, and blows the trumpet to warn the people. Then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning, and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. So you just get the point. The Prophet’s job here is to go. It’s in your hands. Now. You can choose to respond or not, but you know what’s coming. I’ve done my job, and the warning that Joel has given us, and we’ve seen this in the last two weeks, we’ll continue to see it. The warning is intense, because it’s not just locusts, but the day of the Lord that is coming. Talked about this last week, but if you weren’t there, you know, we kind of said there’s something about this day, the locust plague, that’s prepping us for that day, the final day, like day with a capital D, the day of the Lord. And so Joel describes this locust plague, using End Times language to show us how serious it is. Both this day and that day like this is not a time for Stiff upper lips. This is a time to tremble in fear because we can’t endure what’s coming apart from God. I mean, look at what he says. It’s close at hand this day, and it’s a day of darkness and gloom. Interesting too, because this is undoing God’s original work of creation, the Bible opens with darkness, and the Lord pierces the darkness when he says, Let there be light. And now instead, the Lord is bringing darkness to overwhelm the light. And so it’s a terrible, terrible day evokes the Exodus as well, which, of course, Joel’s audience would have known well. Would have talked about, sung about celebrated Passover to remember year in and year out, and the eighth plague in the 10 plagues during the exodus was locusts like this is familiar to them, and there were so many that they actually blackened the sky, although then the ninth plague is darkness, total darkness for three days. It says oh and oh, by the way, what’s the 10th plague? The really bad one, the death of the firstborn. So you even can see this kind of building here going, we should probably be concerned. Like this is deeply serious. The siren is blaring. We should probably respond somehow, do something. And Joel in this section, he’s quoting Zephaniah 115 that’s the whole bit about darkness, gloom, clouds and blackness. And Zephaniah himself is is drawing on Amos passage I quoted for us last week that talks about the day of the Lord being a day of darkness and not light. So we got creation, we got Exodus, we got Zephaniah, we got Amos like you get the idea. Joel is not original here, like he’s he’s stealing things. He’s anthologizing. He’s not writing new poetry or anything like that. Why he’s intentionally unoriginal, because He wants everyone who’s familiar with all these works to know that their fulfillment is happening in the present situation that like we’re on the verge of seeing some of these terrible prophecies fulfilled, so that we might as well be in the end times. So wake up, right. Respond. This is all meant to jolt us into action. So what present situation is it that’s so bad that it’s the fulfillment of these terrible prophecies? It’s this large, mighty army that is invading. Now it’s possible we’re talking about a real army here. Some commentators take it that way. I don’t think that’s the case. I think we’re describing the locusts as if they were an army, for reasons we’ll see in a moment. But it’s interesting, because in the midst of this darkness and gloom, of course, what you want is for a light to dawn. And so Joel talks about the dawn that’s coming, except it’s not a good dawn. It’s an army approaching like Dawn spreading on the mountains, and it comes like a wildfire. He sees. Let’s keep reading verses three to nine before them, fire devours behind them, a flame blazes before them. The land is like the Garden of Eden behind them a desert waste. Nothing escapes them. They have the appearance of horses. They gallop along like cavalry with a noise like that of chariots. They leap over the mountaintops like a crackling fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army drawn up for battle at the sight of them, nations are in anguish. Every face turns pale. They charge like warriors. They scale walls like soldiers. They all march in line, not swerving from their course. They do not jostle each other. Each marches straight ahead. They plunge through defenses without breaking ranks. They rush upon the city. They run along the wall. They climb into the houses like thieves. They enter through the windows,
so they come like a wildfire. I think I mentioned this last week, kind of, were there wildfires happening, or were the locusts kind of acting like a wildfire here? Especially, it seems to be the locusts themselves acting like a wildfire. This is how people will describe them. So I’ll quote a couple different. Counts of locust plagues. People say things like bamboo groves have been left standing like saplings after a rapid bushfire. Grass has been devoured, so that the bare earth appears as if burned. It looks as if the country has been burned by fire. So that’s what the locusts have done to the land. Like this is an army with a scorched earth policy for war. This is like Sherman marching to Atlanta, not just winning victory, but leaving a devastation that will endure in its wake. It is interesting, though, if we’re paying really careful attention to the text that it says that the fire devours before them. Now, how does that happen? Exactly like what’s going on here? Are we talking about? Maybe there was a drought that went first. Is this just poetic license? I think more likely what’s happening is that we’re we’re referencing a psalm to show that the locusts are actually the instrument of God here. So Julie read this for us earlier, Psalm 97 The Lord reigns. Let the earth be glad. Let the distant shores rejoice. Clouds and thick darkness surround him. Okay, that sounds a little bit like what we got in Joel. Already, righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side, his lightning lights up the world. The Earth sees and trembles. There’s the trembling again. But did you see fire goes before him? And so that’s probably what’s happening here. Joel is saying these locusts, they are the manifestation of God’s judgment and wrath. Serious stuff again. But then it gets worse, because Joel, God, speaking through Joel, deliberately reverses precious promises of restoration that we find in Ezekiel, but in Isaiah as well. So here’s Isaiah, 51 verse three, the Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins. He will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness we found in her Thanksgiving and the sound of singing we’ve seen the last couple weeks, joy and gladness are cut off from the land, and now, instead of Eden, we get a wasteland. So it’s like going backwards. Instead of going from Desert to Eden, we go from Eden to desert. This is a really tough passage to read then, especially if you were familiar with these precious promises, this would be like pouring yourself a tall glass of milk because you got two Oreos in your mouth already, and you know you’re getting that dry kind of feeling, and you take the big swig to wash it all down, and it’s only on the second swallow that you realize the milk is chunky, like that’s a bad day, but safe to say, it will provoke a response in you, even if it’s an involuntary response. So what about this? You can see Joel’s using this to kind of go, are you feeling ready to act yet? Are you feeling ready to respond yet? Because the army is coming, and this is not a fun army, like we get five rapid fire comparisons. They’re like horses, like cavalry, like chariots, the sound of chariots leaping over the mountains. That’s one of the reasons we know this is figurative, by the way. Because take, figurative, by the way, because taking chariots through the mountains is a really stupid idea. So if you’re gonna be military strategy later, don’t do that. So there’s that. Then, like fire again and like a mighty army, which is interesting. This army is like a mighty army, which makes me think again, we’re probably talking about figurative army here, locusts. But you see this army coming, and you panic at the sight of them. Nations are in anguish. Every face turns pale. These are common words to describe what happens to a woman in labor in the Old Testament. And keep in mind labor back then, no epidural, no hospitals, things like that. So this would happen with a midwife in your home. Neighbors hear what’s going on. Kids are seeing it all like they would understand the power of this image right here. And that’s how bad it is, because this is a more disciplined army than any other. They’re not people who are fickle. These are locusts. And did you notice they march through defenses? They don’t march around them like nothing gets them out of line or anything like that. No, they’ve got this unstoppable advance. And they break into the land like thieves into a house, not in the sense that they sneak in at night. Because, of course, they’re not sneaking in. Everyone knows they’re coming. It is true, the day the Lord comes like a thief in the night. But that’s not the image here. They’re thieves because they take what isn’t theirs, everything, all the food in the land, and then what happens? Let’s keep reading verses 10 and 11 before them. The earth shakes, the heavens tremble. The sun and moon are dark. And the stars no longer shine. The Lord thunders at the head of his army. His forces are beyond number, and Mighty is the army that obeys his command. The day of the Lord is great. It is dreadful. Who can endure it. It’s interesting. At the start of verse 10, when it says before them, it is actually singular there. So it could be before it, meaning the army, this horde of locusts, that is coming, but it could be before him which would prep us for what’s coming in verse 11, whichever one it is, it causes the people to tremble once more. And why wouldn’t they? We’ve got cosmic reverberations now that the locusts have shown up, the moon and the sun and the stars, they all stop shining because the locusts have darkened the sky. Maybe, again, we saw that in Exodus, but more likely, we’re drawing on some stock images here, again, like the stars and the sun the moon, they’re withholding their light in the same way that the Lord is withholding His favor from the land. Often, how this language is used in the prophets. So Isaiah, again, Isaiah 11, verses, nine to 11, see the day of the Lord is coming. So same topic that Joel has here, the stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be dark, and the moon will not give its light. Why is all this happening? Well, we see it. I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. So again, we’re dealing with God’s judgment here. And if we missed all the subtlety here, with the before him and the reference to Isaiah or whatnot, in case we had any doubt that this is God’s punishment, verse 11 confirms it. It’s the Lord, the Lord thunders at the head of his army. He’s the one in command of this force. God has brought the locusts into Judah. And that is, of course, a hard truth to reckon with. It’s not an isolated truth. It’s not like we find it here in Joel and nowhere else in Scripture. It’s everywhere. I mean, Amos three, verse six, Joel’s been drawing on Amos a lot in his preaching. He said, Amos says this, When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it? I just need to tell you right now, if you want to have a biblical theology, you got to have room for statements like this in it, like this is the Lord’s doing. Because God is in control. He is sovereign. He rules. Everything happens in conformity with the purpose of His will. Does not mean that everything that happens is good, even though the Lord is unfailingly good, that word for disaster means bad, like when a bad thing happens, has not the Lord ordained it? And Johnny Erickson, tada, helps us understand this, of course, as someone who has suffered enormously in our own life, said God ordains what he hates to accomplish what he loves and that’s what we’re seeing in Amos and Joel and all these other places. I mean, the Lord is marching against his wayward people. Why he cannot abide sin. That’s part of it. In his holiness, He will not tolerate sin, but it’s also because he loves them too much to leave them in it, and that’s really important for us to see love and judgment go together, like love and anger go together. They have to, because you only feel angry when you love something enough to get angry about it. So most of the time we get angry it’s because we love ourselves a lot and we don’t like it when people inconvenience ourselves. That’s unrighteous, selfish anger. That’s sin, by the way, but there are other times when we get angry because we love someone else and we see what is happening to them. If you love someone, you will hate whatever is destroying them. That’s why people are not fond of cancer. Picture a parent whose child is given over to an opioid addiction. How angry that parent is? Why? Because they know it’s killing their kid, and that’s how the Lord feels when he looks at us, because sin is destroying us like cancer, and yet we return to it as addicts.
All this to say, then the end of these 11 verses, in disaster, in trials and troubles, tribulations, more is going on than we sometimes think. We see locusts and in our enlightened rationalism, which is neither rational nor enlightened, we think locusts. We need our eyes open to see what’s going on behind the scenes. Now, if you remember from your yearly Bible reading, there’s this fascinating scene in Second Kings six, where. Elisha has caused the king of Aram all sorts of problems, and so the king keeps trying to kill him. Eventually figure out he’s in Dothan, and they surround the city, this army, like they’re just there to kill Elisha. Elisha, servant wakes up in the morning, looks out, sees the army, and goes, Oh no, like we’re done for and Elisha goes, No, we’re good man, like there are more of us than there are of them. And the servants, like, listen, bro. Like, like, no, there are more of them. And so Elisha prays that his eyes would be open and he sees the hills filled with chariots of fire, like the Lord’s army is here. You just couldn’t see it in enlightened rationalism, you can certainly see it with eyes that can actually see everything that is happening, including in the supernatural we need our eyes opened too. The day of the Lord is near and here and when disaster comes, it is a preview of that last day. Do we see how important this is? Because it is a great and dreadful day. Who can endure it? And if we stopped here, it would just leave us hopeless, unless there’s an answer to our question. So let’s see if there is. Keep reading. I will read the rest of our passage now, verses 12 to 17, as we see the people’s penitence even now declares the Lord, return to Me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows he may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing, grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God below the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast. Call a sacred assembly. Gather the people. Consecrate the assembly. Bring together the elders. Gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber. Let the priests who minister before the Lord weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say, spare your people, Lord. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, where is their God? So the air raid siren is blaring. Everyone is panicked. What should they be doing? What is our response? How can we endure this great and terrible day? And God tells us, at last, the day is rapidly approaching. So of course, there’s this sense of urgency, even now, like right now, there’s this brief window of time before the end even now, return to God. And return is a very important word in the Old Testament. It can be translated a couple different ways. It just means turn at its most basic, but turn return and then often is translated as repent as well, which just involves turning from sin and turning to God. They all have the same idea, right? They’re all communicating the same thing, however you want to translate it there, like God is saying, You wandered away, so return home, or you turned to idols. And maybe those were idols like Baal or something like that, but maybe those are just the idols of you thinking my money is enough security for me, I’m going to trust in that you turned to idols. So turn to God, or you sinned. So repent. But the important piece here is that you return with your whole heart. How often we hear heart and we think emotion? That is not how a good Hebrew would hear this word like the heart is all of you. It encompasses your thoughts, your emotions, certainly your desires, which we do use it that way today, too, of course, like this is where your love comes from, your heart, so your desires, your affections, your loves, and because of that, then your will, because we do what we want, we do what we desire. And Jesus says, Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks, and really out of the abundance of the heart, everything we do happens. So return with your whole heart, with all of you. I mean, already we’ve got some questions kind of here, as we think about our response, do we need to repent of half hearted following God, or do we need to repent of turning to God? Yes, but turning to idols. Also, again, where, where does my comfort, where’s my security, come from, really? And again, here in Elmhurst in 2024, probably not looking to Baal, but to our 401, okay, or our bank account, yeah, like, that actually does happen in Elmhurst, doesn’t it? So maybe we need to repent of that. You know, we’re. Trying to serve God and mammon, God and money and Jesus told us, somewhere on the mountain we looked at this spring, that doesn’t work. So how do we do this? How do we return to the Lord? I think lamentations three can be our guide. Now, Lamentations is written when Babylon is sacking Jerusalem, destroying the temple. So this is just a little bit before everything that Joel is talking about here, and that’s why it’s called lamentations. Not a happy time, right? They’re lamenting what’s going on? Lots of crying. But lamentations 340, to 42 says this. The lamenter says, Let us examine our ways and test them and let us return to the Lord same phrase, let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven and say, We have sinned and rebelled and you have not forgiven. So what do we see here? This disaster should prompt some self examination. Again. We wake up, why hasn’t God forgiven us? So Something must be going on here. We need to look at we need to examine ourselves, and then turn to God. It’s interesting too that it says, lift your hands and your hearts. Because it’s very easy to lift your hands. It’s very easy to go through the motions of repentance, right to have outward ritual without inward repentance, and Joel wants none of that. That’s one of the reasons why he says, rend your heart and not your garments. Is one of the common actions you would do to show that you are grieving is tear your clothes. You can see how easy you could manipulate that process. Great. All of you find your oldest t shirt. We’ll whip it. God will notice. He’ll be compassionate. No Joel’s saying, rend your hearts, rend your hearts, and not your garments. Let this be genuine. Your repentance is just go through the motions, even good motions like fasting and praying and calling, the kinds of things that we’ve talked about that we see here again. Don’t just go through the motions, and we need a wholehearted return, because we know that God looks at the inside and not the outside. Because if you’re doing all this on the outside and it’s not inside, that’s just hypocrisy, the Lord is no fan of hypocrisy. Jeremiah three verse 10, for example, this is talking to the people of Judah. They’ve seen their northern neighbors, the northern tribes. Israel just got destroyed by Assyria a couple generations ago. You’d think they’d have gone, okay, let’s not do what Israel did. Let’s do something else. But no, Jeremiah 310 says this, in spite of Israel’s end, basically, you know, the destruction of Israel, despite of all this, her unfaithful sister, Judah, did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense. And of course, we’ve seen this. Judah has been offering sacrifices right up until the locusts came, but had they brought broken and contrite hearts like we talked about last week. Of course, the New Testament warns us of this as well. You know, like you say you’ve got faith, like, Where’s the proof of it? Because it’s really easy to say, I believe in Jesus. You can get baptized. You can come to church, you can do all that. You can walk the aisle, you can pray the prayer that’s all really easy. Where’s the proof of it in the whole life? So Joel repeats God’s command.
Then, you know, return to the Lord your God, middle of verse 13. By the way, that’s a really comforting phrase, the Lord your God. We’ll talk about this more next week. But anytime the Lord is God’s covenant name, and then that pronoun is so important your god, this is like talking about your spouse, like you have a relationship. There is a covenant in place there, and God remembers it, and you should remember it. But why do we return to the Lord our God? Because He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in love. Now this is a stock description of God shows up seven times in the Old Testament, such a famous collection of attributes that the Hebrew people actually just called these the characteristics that was it. These are the characteristics, capital T, capital C, of God. They come from Exodus, 34 six and seven, after the golden calf, all that kind of stuff. And Moses at one point says, Lord, show me your glory. And God says, I will proclaim My name. Which is what he does. The Lord, the Lord the compassionate and gracious God, you know, as he, as his glory passes in front of Moses, and so this is where we get this, this description, from, but Joel’s point in using this language is to say that the only hope we have is who God is. That’s it. That’s our only hope, because he is perfect in. Power and Wisdom and holiness, yes, but love and compassion and grace as well, so that who knows he may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing. What a reminder, though, in that question, who knows? Who knows? The prophet is not saying if we do this, God will absolutely, 100% for sure do this. In response, there’s no guarantee. We can’t obligate God to relent from sending calamity, right to forgive our sin and so turn from the disaster that he’s bringing. We can’t obligate god, that’s why it’s called grace, which means unmerited favor, stuff you can’t earn. There’s this concerning trend in American Christianity to move from who knows to God owes so that if we do these things, we’re entitled to these benefits in response, in part, because we got a very contractual mindset instead of a covenantal mindset here. So you see this, of course, in the name it claim it prosperity gospel. If I do this, then all these blessings come automatically. But it’s wider than that. I don’t know if it’s good news or bad news, but the good news bad news is that, well, we’re not the first culture or generation to have this problem. Look at how God’s people responded to disaster in Hosea, chapter six, verses one to three, and how flippant they are with their sense of obligating God. Come. Let us return to the Lord same phrase. He has torn us to pieces, but he will heal us. He has injured us, but he will bind up our wounds. After two days, he will revive us, and the third day, He will restore us, that we may live in His presence. Let us acknowledge the Lord. Let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear. He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains, that water the earth. This is not the Prophet speaking. And this is not God speaking through his prophet these. This is the people speaking. And so they’re really overconfident here. They basically have said, Look, if we insert our return to the Lord into the cosmic vending machine, that is God, then boom, blessings pop out as a response, and that’s not how it works. We know because Hosea goes on to rebuke them. God says, Through Hosea, what do I have to do? Like to get your attention, it’s just a few verses later, we get the famous phrase from Hosea. Jesus quotes, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. Stop going through the motions and actually bring me your heart people, but you see the flippancy again, right? Like we cannot obligate God, we can only genuinely inwardly repent and return and trust in God’s character that he is who he says he is. And I will say we’ve got a little more confidence than Joel would have had, because we live on this side of Jesus, who embodies, literally, the characteristics of God, and who came to make this way for us so that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. If we are in Christ, of course we will be saved. But who knows? Joel says we don’t want to assume anything here. Let’s do our part and trust the Lord for his part. Who knows he may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing? In contrast, by the way, to the locusts, who leave behind nothing whatsoever. It’s interesting though, that they say he may leave behind a blessing, grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God, I love that, because it shows that for Joel, at least, he’s not concerned about eating. He’s concerned about fellowship with the Lord. What we saw at the end of last week, right? Like to call on the Lord, not so that he’ll help us, but because we just want he just want him, and that’s what they’re expressing here. Can be fascinating to see what happens with that next week. So there’s your teaser. Come back next week. But so let’s, let’s act. And that’s where Joel goes next. Of course, he repeats all these commands, blow the trumpet. We already saw that this week. And then, you know, declare a holy fast. Call a sacred assembly. Gather the people. That was last week, we were doing all these things, but still act like take this seriously, and everyone is involved. We gather the assembly. You know, gather the people. It’s the elders and the children and even the infants that are coming at this point, because the Gospels for all ages, part because sin and its effects affect all ages. So we all need this good news, but everyone is involved. Gospels for all ages, what a good reminder for families and even for us as the family of God like kids. Are a part of the Kingdom of God. They can be, should be, and can actively participate in it, like, you know what I think when I’m up here preaching, and I reach, like, that high point of the sermon, you know? And the heavens have opened and the spirits descending and stuff, and right as I get that, like sweet spot, the organs gonna start playing behind me and stuff. A baby starts crying. I think, good. That’s exactly what it should be like, like, it’s such a happy sound to my mind, because it’s for all of us, like we all need I love seeing our kids serve in church. When they’re on the connection team, they’re Junior helpers downstairs, like we are all involved in this. So not Joel’s point necessarily. I’m gonna get off my soapbox now. But we need to gather the whole assembly, all the people of God, and then need to consecrate the assembly as well. To make it holy, to do that, three things you gotta do if you’re gonna make an assembly holy. You abstain from food, declare fast, right? You abstain from work, right? You’re assembled. That means you’re not at work that day, and then you abstain from sex again. You’re gathered. Makes kind of good sense. But also why we get the mention of the bridegroom and the bride. It is interesting that they’re here, because usually newlyweds are exempt. In Old Testament, thought there’s a military conscription. If you were married that year, you don’t go because you need to be home with your wife. The bride and groom were exempt from offering prayers the morning of their wedding, even, which is really crazy when you think about it, except that it also isn’t crazy. Like, you know, a lot of weddings are on Saturday, right? How many of those couples show up to church on Sunday? None of them. And you know what? None of us think, seriously, you guys couldn’t have gotten flights later in the day. Like, no, you’re like, of course, you should go, you should be with one another, right? Now, that’s how the Old Testament sees it, too, except here, because it’s so serious they need to cut their honeymoon short. There’s no place for normal human joy at a time like this. And again, we live this not that long ago, like weddings got canceled because of a plague that we had not that long ago, like that’s what’s happening here, too. So this is the sacred assembly that has come together, and then, no surprise, it’s the priests who are leading the assembly. Part of the priestly task is intercession. They do it between the temple steps and the altar. That’s right, where the prayer happens. That’s why they’re between portico and altar. And what do they pray? Their prayer is so interesting because they got this slight shift in emphasis from our prayers. Generally, they don’t pray save us for our sake. Lord. What they pray is, save us for your sake, Lord, because they do not want God’s name to be dishonored. This is so common in Old Testament prayers, and so uncommon in our prayer lives. It’s worth talking about like Psalm 79 when an enemy is attacking Jerusalem sacking Jerusalem, the Psalmist Asaph cries out, help us, God, our Savior, for the glory of your name, deliver us and forgive our sins. For Your name’s sake, why should the nation say,
where is their God? Same question we get here, right? There’s this concern, like the locusts wipe us out, we all die. Then everyone around is going to think, well, Israel’s God must not have been strong enough to save us. Now I’m looking at the time we’re already late. So two things to tell you. Number one, sorry, we’re gonna be late today. Deal with it. Number two, we’re going on the deep end. All right, we had a pool party yesterday for worship team. When I’m at a pool with my kids, I toss them into the water as high as I possibly can. I give them a moment to plug their nose. Plug your nose. We’re getting tossed Okay. Here we go. God loves his glory more than he loves us. That is not how we think, because we are self absorbed creatures. How could God possibly love anything more than he loves me? No God loves his glory more than he loves us. And his love of his glory is the foundation of his love for us. This should not shock us, by the way, because all I’m saying when I say that is God is not an idolatror. He has no other gods before him, because in his infinite wisdom, he values supremely what is supremely valuable, which is him self. So his ultimate commitment is to himself and not to us, and that is the very. Best news for us that is our security, and we see it here, because God loves his glory above all, he will act to magnify His glory in the eyes of all. Again, see this throughout Scripture, Isaiah, 48 maybe most famously, another time when God’s people are under threat, and God says, for my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. I restrain my wrath, I defer my anger, for my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory. And if the Bible were a symphony, which it certainly is, like this idea, it’s not a leitmotif. It’s not that little thing. Like, every now and again, the flutes come in with it. You’re like, Oh, that’s cute. Like, this is the theme. This is the heart of it. If the Bible were Beethoven’s Fifth this is like, this is it? This is the main theme in the Bible again. Here’s Ezekiel 36 it is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I’m going to do these things, but for the sake of My Holy Name. And you think, okay, Brandon, that’s been a whole lot of Old Testament. But you know, Jesus is much nicer than the God of the Old Testament. That’s nonsense, by the way. Just wanna be so clear about that. Okay, here’s the New Testament. Ephesians, one, five and six. He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will. Why, to the praise of His glorious grace. That’s who our God is. Think of how this changes our prayer then, like, look at Moses after the golden calf, and God’s like, hang on, Moses. Can Be right back, and I’ll wipe out these people. He’s testing Moses in this moment, and Moses goes, no, no. If you do that, the Egyptians and the Canaanites will think he was able to bring his people out of Egypt, but not into the promised land. He’s a weak God. You can’t let that happen, Lord. And of course, the Lord relents from sending disaster. We see it in Jeremiah, chapter 14, chapter 17, over and over and over again, act Lord, for the sake of your name. Or how about this? You maybe know this prayer Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. First prayer loses our first priority, the holiness of God’s name, and it’s a passive tense. But who’s going to do that? We’re praying, sanctify your name, Lord, make your name great in my life, How often have I prayed that for myself when it comes to my sanctification, where I’m like Lord, because my sin, I know I’m dishonoring you. Would you change me? Would you save this person? Because if you can save a sinner like him, you can save any of us. And I want everyone to know that it leads to these like Elijah on Mount Carmel moments too, right? Elijah go up against the prophets of Baal. It’s not because he’s tired of getting bullied by Jezebel. It’s because he wants the people of Israel to cry out the Lord He is God. The Lord He is God. Yah, they is God, not Baal, and we bring that mentality into all we do, and that’s why the priests pray this here vindicate Your glory among the watching nations, Lord, otherwise Israel’s God will be defamed. Now I asked a question to begin, how should we respond when disaster comes? Like mourning moves us to act, and now we know what that looks like, right? Our big idea, our takeaway for today, right? When disaster comes, turn wholeheartedly to your gracious, compassionate God should be on the screen. Patrick’s feeling the Holy Spirit fire right now, though he’s like whoo, glory of his name, turn wholeheartedly to your gracious, compassionate God. We know he will respond. He will relent, he will forgive. He will have mercy, because he loves his glory, and he loves the glory of His Son, Jesus Christ, and He will see him exalted in our eyes, so we can trust him. So what are you waiting for? Even now? Because the day is fast approaching, brief window of time. It’s like, you know the automatic doors, you push the button and you see the people before you go in, and you’re like, I gotta get moving now, because that door’s about to go and start closing. That’s the day, Lord, it’s coming, and we don’t know when, so move even now. Return to the Lord. Maybe it’s for the first time. We know the Lord is calling you. You know how I know that? Because you’re here, you just heard it. The Lord is calling you. Maybe for the first time, turn him. Maybe you’re realizing this morning as you’re listening I have been half hearted or outward only in my following I turn it. Maybe you’re a war weary battle. Www. God wholeheartedly, inwardly and outwardly, in turn, because He is gracious and compassionate, and he will forgive and save and love us to the praise of His glorious grace. Let’s pray to Him now he.

Amen.

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Call August 11, 2024 | Brandon Cooper Summary from otter ai

So go ahead, grab your Bibles. Open up to Joel chapter one. We’ll be starting in verse 13 today. Joel one, verse 13, maybe an appropriate opening illustration with City Link and all that. But you’ve ever been you know, maybe it’s at a park or something, or your own kids, or you’re watching somebody else’s kids or something, and you see two kids kind of starting to fight and whatnot, and then one of them gets hurt in the process, and the tears come, and the screaming happens and everything. And you see the look on the face of the other kid, the one who did the damage. And there’s just panic, right? Panic, because they know that consequences are coming and still, you know, they’re like, sweating and stuff. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, you know, all that kind of stuff and and you’re watching this from the distance, and you’re in you’re thinking to yourself, you know you don’t really look sorry, at least not sorry about what you did to the person you look like you’re sorry about what’s about to happen to you. Because if you were truly sorry, those emotions would move you to act, to do something, to make it right, to care for this other person, even to own the consequences of your misbehavior. The thing is, that’s true for us spiritually too genuine spiritual emotions should move us move like as a result of them, I’m now in a different place, performing different actions. And I mention this because we had a lot of emotions in our text last week when we started Joel. First half of Joel, chapter one, we got this locust invasion happening, and there are a lot of words like mourn, wail, grieve, like these are people who are feeling deeply right now. They are feeling sorrow and desperation. But the question we’re gonna look at this morning is, will that emotion move God’s people, because something is off spiritually within them. We don’t get a ton of information on the background. So, you know, we don’t know what it is, but there’s some sin, or even just this, this spiritual stupor that they’ve been in, that this apathy or lethargy, spiritually speaking, something’s off. Will this emotion move them to make it right before a holy God? If you were here last week, you know our our big idea was when disaster comes, mourn your sin and the world’s brokenness, and our big idea this week is building on that. It’s kind of step two. We’ll actually get Step Three next week. But step two, the big idea is, okay, let morning move you to call on the Lord. Let morning move you to call on the Lord. Now, word call is important in our text. It actually be our outline as well. Kind of these three calls that happen here. So let’s start. I’m gonna read Joel chapter one, verses 13 and 14, and the first call we get is a call to fast. Here’s what Joel says, put on sackcloth. You priests and mourn wail, you who minister before the altar. Come spend the night in sackcloth. You who minister before my God for the grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. Declare a holy fast. Call a sacred assembly, summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the Lord, so we get these big emotion words again, as we start off here, there’s mourning and wailing, but that should lead Israel’s spiritual leaders, the priests, to act to call the people together and declare a national day of mourning, a national fast where they can acknowledge their sin and brokenness before the Lord. Now if you’re reading this, you notice it’s like a bit of a chutzpah on Joel’s part here, because here he is, he’s directing the spiritual leaders of Israel and what they should be doing, the priests, the people who are ministering in the temple, which, you know, these are important people. He’s telling them how to conduct their affairs. I mean, even notice the pronoun you who minister before my God, right? Like he’s he’s set himself up here as being above them. It’s not hubris or chutzpah, though. It’s Joel speaking in his authority as God’s prophet. We saw in one one the word of the Lord that came to Joel. This is God speaking through Joel, and that’s why Joel has a right to direct the service. And so that’s why he gave this summons last week, so that everyone be there. That the priest can give a summons this week too fast. Now the priest says spiritual leaders need to set the example for the people of Judah, and the example is one of continuous mourning before the Lord. They’re supposed to even spend the night in sackcloth. You would put sackcloth on, very uncomfortable, as a show of your sorrow, basically, and usually, though, you’d kind of do it as a show is right? And then you’d put your silk pajamas on afterwards and spend the night in those but here they’re, they’re in sackcloth all the time because they have moved from ritual to desperation, right from an from an outward act to an inward anguish. And you can’t turn that off. That we all know what this looks like is, this is what happens in crisis for us too. So you may pray to the Lord, maybe it’s 20 minutes every morning, or something like that. After your time in God’s Word, you respond in prayer. And you know, there’s some prayers that happen throughout the day as well, but that’s really different from when you’re going through something, you know, marriage is on the rocks, or something like that, there is a conflict, and you are praying all day, every day, like you have to interrupt your prayer in order to answer your colleagues question, and then you’re right back to pray like that’s what’s happening here with a sackcloth and ashes all day, all night. Can’t stop they’re mourning, especially because there’s no food for the offerings, which we saw last week. This is what the priests then the servants in the temple. Did they offer the sacrifices on behalf of the people? Well, now there’s nothing to offer, and as we prepare to take communion today, this is a good reminder again. I mean, think about what’s happened because of their sin, the disaster that the Lord’s brought on them. There’s no food for the offerings, which means there’s no way for them to make atonement for their sins. There’s no way to offer the sacrifice, to say to God, I’m sorry for my sin, like, if you ever needed a reminder of the need for salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, this is it, the thing that they were supposed to do, to, like, earn God’s approval. They can’t do anymore. And you think, well, that’s totally different from how we do it today, of course. Well, sure, except that a lot of us are still trying to earn God’s salvation. Do you ever run out of good works to do? Yeah, because of our sin, we’re not able to bring the offering to God that we’re supposed to bring, which is a perfect life. I mean, Paul tells us Romans 12 one kind of a famous passage, that we’re supposed to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, like we are the sacrifice that we’re supposed to bring to the Lord. The problem with living sacrifices, they got the nasty habit of crawling off the altar and going their own way, and that’s us. So we we couldn’t possibly earn this. And so thanks be to God for Jesus’s perfect sacrifice, because he stayed on the altar and he offered himself His perfect life to God, and then offers it to us, which we can receive by faith, which is saying about it in all sufficient merit, right? I’m clothed in my Lord Jesus. I’m putting His perfect life on I know I’ve shared this story before. I like to share it about once a year, because it captures it so well. What so well. What happens here? When I was a teacher down in my years on the mission field, one of my other teachers shared the story of two of his students, and I knew the students, and this made sense for them. One of them had done his chemistry homework that night, and the other one had not done his chemistry homework, so he Xeroxed the other guy’s homework and just wrote his name at the top over the Xerox name and turned this in. Not brilliant. Okay, there are better ways to cheat. You shouldn’t cheat anyway, but better ways to cheat for sure. I’m so glad they did that, though, because that’s exactly what we do with Jesus. We take His perfect life and we give it to God and we just, we just, we just write our name on the top. And he’s like, Are you sure you did this? Like, no, actually, I did not do this. Jesus did this for me. And he’s like, awesome. I will take it. That’s what it means to be clothed in our Lord Jesus. So on those days when you know I know here where the land is all dried up, on those days when it feels like your soul is all dried up and you’ve got no good works to offer God mourn and wail. Yes, by all means. But if you’re in Christ, don’t forget to preach the gospel to yourself too, that he already did it right? It is finished. We can rest in His finished work on the days when we crawl off the altar, which we shouldn’t do. But what should these priests do other than mourn? We
talked a lot about the morning last week. Well, of course, they’re supposed to let their morning move them, and here it’s moving them to declare a fast to call an assembly. This is a lot like a president or a governor calling a day of prayer because of some crisis that’s hit the nation. It’s interesting. It’s the. Exact same group as as chapter one, verse two, right? It says here in verse 14, some of the elders and all who live in the land and chapter one, verse two, hear this. You elders listen to who, all who live in the land. So it’s the same group that Joel is speaking to everybody, and now the priests are calling everybody, like the whole nation needs to come together to do something. But why fast? Why abstain from food? Specifically, fasting is an outward expression of an inward reality. We do this a lot in the Christian life, even most of you, when you pray, you go like this. Now, why? Hopefully not. Because you’re nodding off, you know. But no, it’s not because this is like a magical and now I can talk to God. It’s an expression of humility before the Lord, so we bow in His presence. Fasting is a similar sort of idea, but what does it express? Fasting expresses desperation, earnestness is maybe the best way to say it, taking God or taking the situation seriously. So look at how fasting works. In Scripture, a person might fast before making a decision. We see this in Acts 13, the people of Antioch, the church in Antioch, are fasting and praying before they send out Barnabas and Paul as missionaries. And so why fast there? Because they’re showing that they’re earnestly seeking God’s direction here, or fasting. Interestingly, in the Old Testament, fasting is only required on one day out of the year, the Day of Atonement, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. But most people, pious Jews, fasted more often than that. The Pharisees, for example, fasted twice a week. Certainly brings up a problem. Jesus had some things to say to the Pharisees about their fasting. We just did the Sermon on the Mount earlier this year, so you remember all that. But Jesus doesn’t say, well, so stop fasting. No. He just says, When you fast like it’s an assumption y’all are gonna fast. I know that. So when you fast, just make sure you’re not doing it hypocritically. But why? Why would you fast more often than is required? Because you’re showing that you’re taking communion with God seriously, like you’re expressing your hunger for him. You’re saying, I want to know you more, Lord, I want to feel hunger for you the way I feel hunger for food, like I know this always happens me. Anytime I fast, I’m like, man, it does not take me long before I feel hungry for food. And yet, how long would I go before I really felt hungry for God’s presence again? And so we’re taking this seriously. And then here another good example. We see it throughout Scripture, you might fast after sin to show the earnestness of your contrition and repentance and to seek God’s power to change, earnestly seeking His power to change, which is, by the way, why we should all be fasting, because we haven’t finished being changed yet. So we need the Lord to help us here. So the whole nation now is fasting to show the earnestness of their contrition and repentance. They’re gathering at this sacred assembly to cry out to God, it says, very end of verse 14, to seek Him, to see if he will have pity. Show compassion on his people. They acknowledge their sin. They declare this fast, this day of prayer. And then, of course, they pray together, and that’s what we get next. It is the second call. Here. Is a call to lament. Let me read verses 15 to 18 for us, alas, for that day, the day the Lord is near, will come like destruction from the Almighty. Has not the food been cut off before our very eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God. The seeds are shriveled beneath the clods. The storehouses are in ruins. The granary has been broken down for the grain has dried up. How the cattle moan? The herds mill about because they have no pasture, even the flocks of sheep are suffering. So what we have here in verses 15 to 18 are the actual words that the nation is crying out like this is the prayer of lament that is being offered at this special service that the priests have just called. If they had bulletins back then, which they didn’t, this would be the text that was printed in the bulletin. We’re gonna do this responsive prayer together now, and that’s why it’s in the I don’t know if you notice there’s the shift to the first person plural, right? Has not the food been cut off before our very eyes like we are all speaking together now. So this is a corporate prayer. There’s not a lot new, especially in verses 16 to 18. It’s kind of just reiterating the disaster that we talked about in the in the first half of the chapter last week, just reiterating it again in prayer this time, there’s a terrible fam. In it’s so bad, even the animals are suffering. Joy has withered. That’s where we ended last week, verse 12, and it’s withered even in God’s house, because they’ve got no way to bring offerings to him. Although that is interesting, because joy and gladness are cut off from the house of God. That’s more than just sacrifices being cut off. Well, it is a reminder, at least, that sacrifices are not just about making amends for sin. If you read Leviticus, for example, like yes, you’ve got the sin offering, but you’ve got a thanks offering and a fellowship offer, you’ve got all these things. Here’s how Deuteronomy 12, verse seven, puts it there in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to because the Lord your God has blessed you. This is what happens at the temple when they bring their sacrifices. There’s supposed to be joy and gladness as they celebrate together, you bring, you know, the first fruits of your harvest to God, and you thank him for it. But that’s been cut off now it’s no longer possible, which means, in a sense, it’s interesting. God experiences the drought too, like he’s experiencing this ruptured relationship as a result of the disaster that’s been brought there, of course, of course, he does, because God identifies with our sin. That’s why He then sent his son to identify completely with our sin in our place. But it does raise the question, Why would God allow even send a famine that keeps his people from offering him the gifts that He desires? So yes. First, it’s because, of course, God doesn’t need these offerings, and that is an important reminder for us. God doesn’t need food or drink from us. We bring him nothing if you want the fancy word we learned this in Journey groups this year. If you’re in Journey groups, you all go, Yes, I know what word you’re about to say, probably not. You’ll probably have forgotten, but the word is aseity, from the Latin ASA meaning from himself, of himself, and that’s it. So God is self existent. He is self sufficient. He needs absolutely nothing from us. He doesn’t get hungry so that we need to feed him. And you’re all like, obviously, why are you telling us this? Well, this was not obvious to most of the rest of the world throughout all of human history, so kind of a big deal, actually. Here’s what Paul says in Acts 17, as he’s speaking to a group of pagan philosophers in Athens, the God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth, and does not live in temples built by human hands, and he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. You see, he’s explaining to these Athenians that God doesn’t need them or their temples, which means there can’t be any quid pro quo here, like I’ll bring you a chicken, and then you’ll make sure my wife gets pregnant with a son, which would be a common pagan bargain, something like that, because God doesn’t need chickens. So this is a little bit like offering Bill Gates 10 bucks to help you move. 10 bucks is not going to do much for a guy who’s got more than enough money already if Bill Gates helps you move your sectional couch, it will be because of something else, because of some sort of relationship that you have in place already. And of course, that’s true with the Lord also. We don’t bring sacrifices so that he will do what we want him to do. And that’s the reminder that Judah is getting here. That’s the first reason God allows this famine cuts off the sacrifices that He desires. But the second one is that God doesn’t want meaningless ritual and extravagant offerings devoid of genuine devotion. You could see how easily we would fall into this. I mean, just think if all I have to do after sinning is hand God a pigeon, then what will ever teach me to hate sin and love God? Will anything? Or is it more likely that I’ll just keep gaming the system, start breeding my own pigeons or whatever, and just sin pigeon, sin, pigeon, sin, pigeon, and we go, now, you think, okay again. So glad that we don’t sacrifice animals anymore, so that we don’t have to deal with this problem anymore. Except, of course, we see this in the church all the time, don’t we? When I’ve had conversations with people throughout my ministry years, you know they’ll say things they’re in sin, and they’re like, I send my tithes check every month,
and you just say, Who cares? You think God cares in the slightest about this? Well, I’m in church. I read my Bible exactly like Israel was always doing, and the Lord kept going. I’d rather have your heart. I’d rather have your heart. And here’s the reminder again. You. Can’t make sacrifices. You’re going to have to do something else instead. And it’s actually interesting, the law provides no means to atone for willful sin. And you can look at this in Leviticus, look at the sin offering, and it says, If you sin unintentionally, that means, like, someone cuts you off in traffic and you swears came out kind of thing, and you’re like, okay, there is no sin offering for what the Bible calls high handed sin, willful, intentional sin, something like an affair, where you go, you know, I know it’s wrong, and I’m going to go sleep with her anyway. Of course, this is a big kind of question then, because we sin high handedly sometimes, don’t we? God’s people always have you think of, I don’t know. I mean a really famous adulterer like David. David knows this. David knows there are not enough cattle on Earth to atone for what I just did with Bathsheba murdering her husband, Uriah. And so when he prays his prayer of contrition and repentance, Psalm 51 a model prayer for us. What does he say? You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it. You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. No pigeon will suffice my sacrifice. Oh, God is a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. O God, you will not despise. So David knows Okay. So here’s my heart, Lord, that’s all I can offer you now. And David, in offering his repentance to God, is trusting God’s heart, that He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in love, forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin, and David is trusting in God’s heart. David is also trusting in the promise of the Messiah who will come, the sinless Savior whose death will atone even for our high handed sins, but this sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart, that’s what Israel what the people of Judah should be bringing right now, and that’s why God allows the sacrifices to be cut off, so they’ll do the hard work of actually turning from their sin. Now, I mentioned there’s not a lot new in verses 16 to 18. There was one new part in this section, though, is there in verse 15? It’s actually where we started, the beginning of the lament, alas for that day, for the day of the Lord is near now Alas for that day. Is a fine translation of the Hebrew, but the Hebrew is vague. Hebrew generally is and it just kind of says, alas today, or alas of day, for the day of the Lord is near. And so it’s interesting, there’s kind of this, this day, and then that day, the day of the Lord. But that’s important, because what Joel is saying here, what the people are crying out in this, in this, this lament, is that there’s something about this day that they’re experiencing this locust plague, something about this day that prefigures that day with a capital D, the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord is a stock phrase in the Old Testament. New Testament, it’s the last day. It’s the day when Jesus comes again. We know now. It’s the day when God comes in judgment and in victory, and at long last, he sets all things right, brings the new heavens and the new earth. The day of the Lord is a future day. Even still, it is a future day. So why are we talking about the day of the Lord now in the middle of this little locust play, which is like a big deal, but not a big deal like the day of the Lord. And the reason why is that Old Testament prophecy works a little bit the way mountains work, and that you can look at a mountain from one angle, and it looks like just one really impressive peak. And then if you walk around to the side of the mountain, you realize that actually the peak kind of looks like this, like it’s got a bunch of it’s got some foothills before it it’s got some minor peaks, and then kind of a main summit from there. That’s how Old Testament prophecy works, where we’re like, talking about something now almost always that’s like the foothill. But then there’s a later fulfillment, maybe even in Old Testament history. And then almost always, there’s some kind of fulfillment in the first coming of Christ, and then there’s a final, consummate fulfillment in the last day, the day is still to come. And so we gotta keep this in mind, because sometimes Old Testament prophecy, you get a little bit lost of like I thought you were talking about a locust plague, and now you’re talking about the day of the Lord, and the Prophet goes, I’m talking about the mountain man. And you’re like, Okay, so I gotta work out which peak we’re on. Now, I mentioned this long digression right there, because we got Daniel coming up, and then we’re doing revelation after that. Like you’re gonna need to know that one, so tuck that away right down mountain. Okay, draw a little picture in your notes or something. So you got this, I don’t have to explain it all again next time you. Yeah, but here’s the thing about the day of the Lord right here in Joel, at least, the day of the Lord was something that many Jews looked forward to in these days, especially when they’re dealing with, you know, foreign invasions. Same way Christians look forward to the day of the Lord even now. Why? Because it’s a day of vindication for God’s people and vengeance on God’s enemies, again, especially those foreign invading nations. The day of the Lord is when Egypt and Assyria get their comeuppance, finally, from the Lord. So we’re looking forward to it, until prophet Amos speaks, and Joel is definitely borrowing from Amos and a lot of his prophecy. Amos one of the earlier prophets. And Amos says this, Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord. Why do you long for the day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him. All to say, You can’t escape the punishment that is coming. You can outrun the lion, the bear will eat. You can outrun the bear. You get inside the house a snake bites you like it’s coming still. But here’s what’s so interesting about Amos five, right? Here is God is not speaking to Edom, Egypt, Assyria, Moab, not even Israel, the northern neighbors who had, you know, abandoned God and started worshiping golden cows and stuff. He is speaking to Judah, to Jerusalem, to God’s people right there around the temple, offering their sacrifices in the temple. The very next verses in Amos five are when God says He hates their sacrifices and detest their religious festivals. Why? Because of all this, right? It’s the same point that we’ve seen throughout. He doesn’t want meaningless sacrifices, meaningless rituals. He wants our hearts. And the point here is we bring in the day of the Lord. Is that when God comes, it’s not race or ritual that will save you, but repentance, repentance, wholehearted repentance, turning from your sin and trusting in the finished work of God, the finished work of Jesus Christ. So in playing on this idea of the day, Joel is telling us to get ready, right this day helps us prepare for that day. That’s what Joel’s saying. This day helps us get ready for that day. It wakes us up like we saw last week. Every disaster, every crisis, sorrow and sin and suffering grants us another chance to repent and to turn before the final day when no more turning is possible. And look, that day is coming, kind of whether you believe it or not, that day is coming, if nothing else, the day is coming for each and every one of us, because we will all die, and when we die, we will face judgment, judgment in the sense that a righteous, perfect judge will judge our lives accurately and fairly. And the question is, are you ready? Are you ready? Like for some today could be the first day where you turn to the Lord in repentance and faith, like you come to God with that broken and contrite heart that David talked about, and you come realizing my homework is not good, but I’ll turn in Jesus’ homework and the Lord will accept it in my place. And of course, the really amazing thing there too, of course, is that God doesn’t just say, All right, I’ll accept the homework that homework that you didn’t do, but then he sends Jesus spirit to tutor us so that we actually learn how to do the homework and eventually can turn it in ourselves and be like did it we learn to live like Jesus. As a result, today could be the day where you first invite Jesus into your life, accept the forgiveness that He offers, and let his spirit begin his work in you. Others, you in this room, I’m sure, think that you’ve turned to God, and you’re play acting a lot like Judah was here, like, it’s just, it’s a large enough group. I’m not thinking of somebody, if you’re lazy, talking about me, I’m not talking about anybody. Okay, just a large enough group of people here that somebody is play acting. You show up to church, you give some money, you read your Bible, whatever it might be, but your heart is still far from God. You could turn. You could turn today, right. Let the fear of the Lord, the fear of that coming day,
move us. Move us. And actually continues moving even the people here, because they move from lament. And you think about it, lament is kind of self focused, isn’t it? Like it’s got a real Woe is me. Look at all the bad things that are happening right now. Move from lament, self focus to prayer, which is God focused? And that’s what we see in this kind of last call, the call to God, let me keep let. Reading for us the rest of the chapter, verses 19 and 20. To you, Lord, I call for fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness and flames and burned up all the trees of the field, even the wild animals pant for you. The streams of water have dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness. To you, Lord, I call Joel says, first. Now what’s happening here? We’re back in the first person singular. It’s not to you we call, but to you I call. Joel is speaking on behalf of the nation. Now, again, we’re at this national service, and we kind of moved from everyone praying to the, you know, the pastor praying up front. Let’s say, in fact, even you, you listen to pastors pray up front a lot, and we kind of shift in and out of we and I don’t we. And that’s sort of what’s happened here, Lord, you know, we come to you now, like, I know how little I’ve done this week. You know, that’s, that’s what’s happening here. The shift back to I, but Joel is still modeling this proper response for us. And what is it that Joel’s saying? He’s saying, I need God. We need God. So once again, he’s seeking God, crying out for mercy and pity and compassion. Relent, save us again, Lord. The destruction is beyond reckoning. We’ve actually moved from just locusts and drought to actual wildfires at this point, so it’s getting even worse and worse and worse. It’s possible that fire is a metaphor for what the locusts have done. We’ll look at that a little bit more next week. It’s also possible, though, this is just like the trifecta, like you want, you got locust plus drought plus fire, which makes some sense. Of course, the locusts eat all the green stuff, which means there’s just dry stuff with the drought left and boom, it catches fire very easily. It’s actually got an Amos five kind of feel about it, right? Like you got the lion, the bear and the snake between the locust, the drought and the fire. But whether it’s metaphorical or literal fire is still an elusive image in Scripture. Like scripture talks about fire a lot our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews tells us and fire burns up the chaff what is worthless, but fire also purifies and refines what is going to endure, including, of course, fire refines our faith in trials. That’s what Peter says. First, Peter, chapter one, you rejoice, even though, now for a little while you’ve had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith, which is more precious than gold refined in a fire. You know, maybe, maybe, maybe tested may increase. So maybe fire is what we need. Like what we need is a trial to test us, to reveal our metal, and to force us to wake up, take stock, ask questions about ourselves. Well, it’s so bad between the locusts, the drought and the fire, that even the animals are suffering now too. Of course, they got nothing to eat. The locusts ate it all, and they got nothing to drink because of the drought. So what do they do? What do animals do when they get really thirsty? All have seen dogs. You know what they do? They pant right. The tongues hanging out. Lips are cracked, the breath is short. It’s this whole body response from the animal. I thirst. I thirst. Now, of course, that’s a description of what is actually happening to these animals, but it’s also a subtle rebuke challenge to us, do we pant like this? Because pant is another word that gets used in Scripture, like the questions there are we as spiritually sensitive as the beasts of the field, because they know they need their maker. They also don’t sin. They do what their maker wants them to do, in contrast to all of us. So do we pant? Here’s Psalm 42 verses one and two. Famous passage the Sons of Korah As the deer pants for streams of water. So my soul pants for you My God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God that’s panting, that’s thirsting, for the Lord that’s fasting, that leads you to hunger, but not for food, but for more of God’s presence. We know that some trial led to this prayer, because later on in the Psalm, it says, Why are you so downcast? O, my soul. Why so despairing within me? Put your hope in God? So something is happening that’s causing the psalmist to pant, to put his hope in God. And that’s what’s happening again. And so the challenge is there. This is what’s needed again in trials. We should feel spirit. Will thirst. We should long for God. He’s what we most need. But that is kind of a big question for us. Do we think he’s what we most need? I think what do you desire most when you are in crisis, when you are in trouble, and we know the answer to that question, most of us, most of the time, what we desire most when we are in crisis is for the crisis to be over, not for more of God, it’s the great Elizabeth Elliot quote, right? Just paraphrase it. But you know, what we want is not Christ in me, but me in different circumstances. What we should want is Christ in me, more of Christ like that’s the question this last verse forces us to answer. Do I pant for God or just for water? For what do I call our big idea again is, let morning move you to call on the Lord, but to call for the Lord. All right, so that we move from emotion, the visceral grief, the mourning and wailing, to desire. Okay, what is this emotion saying? Is happening? Okay? I see it now, what I need, what I want most, is and then, of course, we let that desire move us to action. That’s next week. We’ll get there, of course. But for now, the question is still there. What do you want most? What is your deepest desire and is it more of Christ or something else? It’s not an easy question to answer. Of course, it’s a really easy question to lie to yourself about. But trials help us out, right how we respond to sin, stemming sorrow will help us answer that question correctly. You probably heard your parents say this at some point, or a teacher or something, but it’s a question for us to Are you sorry you did it, or are you sorry you got caught? Like that’s the question that comes up there. Do you hate sin, or do you just hate the consequences of your sin? So question Paul asked the Corinthians to consider he’s just made them cry in a letter that we don’t have, that he sent to them, but it was a strong enough rebuke that they actually cried. Paul does not feel bad that he made them cry. This helps me out as a preacher. Okay? So he does not feel bad that he made them cry at all. But he says, what kind of tears are these? So here’s Second Corinthians seven. He says, godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you, what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. When sorrow is godly, like I’m sorry I sinned. I hate my sin and I want God. When sorrow is godly, we move from emotion to desire. Look at how many desire words are in that passage, like earnest longing to please God is what’s being talked about here, eagerness a lot. There’s not action, yet there’s desire that is going to prompt action. The proof of pudding is in the eating. The proof of sorrows godliness is in the earnest desire that leads to a godly response, but worldly sorrow, well, that’s just being sorry your crops failed and that you got a “rumbly in your tumbly”. So my challenge as you go from here is when, not if, but when disaster comes. Let it wake you up. Move you right. That day is coming. This day. Help you with that day. Move you from crying about circumstances to crying out to the Lord. Let it reveal your need. And his name is Jesus. And here’s the best news, when we cry out to God in real repentance and real faith in Christ, right with godly sorrow, he hears and he answers,
because when Jesus cried out, God didn’t answer. That’s where this comes from, right? Jesus, who had no sin, who never sinned in his life, he cried out in his distress, My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? And we know the answer. Why Jesus knew it too. Of course, God forsook JESUS FOR. Give us Jesus got no answer to that cry, so that we would always get an answer to ours. That’s the good news. And so even now, as we cry out to God to express our desire, let’s use the words that Caitlin read for us earlier as our guide, Psalm 73 the prayer of Asaph, look when trouble hit, Asaph’s faith faltered for a moment. He says this, this is verse 21 when my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered. There’s some big emotions, right? I was senseless and ignorant. I was a brute beast before you, except, of course, not even like a brute beasts, because the beasts know to pant for God, and Asaph wasn’t. But like the beasts in Joel’s day, Asaph, he did begin to pant not for a change of circumstances, but for God himself. And he says, Whom have I in heaven? But you and Earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. God is my deepest longing. That’s what it looks like to let morning move you to call on the Lord who is the strength of our hearts and our portion forever, all we need and all we most deeply desire. Let’s call to him together even now, Lord, we pray that you would use any and all circumstances, and even this moment now where we’ve corporately meditated on your word together to move us to godly sorrow, to self examination, to an understanding that all too often we cry out to you just for help with the problem, and not because we want more of you. Help us to call on you truly help us to feel our deep need of you, to thirst and hunger for your presence, your presence alone, and we’re so grateful Lord, that when we call on you, you answer that you hear us even now, not because of anything we have done to deserve this, but only because of the finished work of Christ in whose name we pray. Amen.

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Mourn August 4, 2024 | Brandon Cooper
The prophet Joel calls the people to wake up and pay attention to God’s work during a crisis, such as a devastating locust invasion. Joel addresses different groups – the revelers, the city, and the farmers – urging them to mourn their sins and the world’s brokenness. The proper disaster response is lament and prayer, not just anger or activism, as the people recognize God’s discipline and seek Him. Though the situation is bleak, believers can mourn sin and brokenness while also holding onto the joy and hope found in Christ’s victory over sin and death.TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

Good morning church. It is, well, it’s good to be back. So it’s been a little while. Well, I’ve been out of the pulpit. So glad for the break, but glad to be back with you as well this morning, so you can go ahead and open your Bibles to Joel chapter one. Joel Chapter One is where we will be this morning. As you’re turning to Joel chapter one, you probably know the feeling of being jolted awake. It happens. You know periodically, but you know you where you move from that, that peaceful sleep to that shot of adrenaline instantly because smoke alarms going off, or you heard a noise, something like that kid is crying, whatever it may be. But there’s that, that shift again from from sleepy stupor to not just awake, but a heightened awareness because of what is going on that happens physically to us. But what about spiritually? I mean, how often do we need to be jolted awake spiritually as well, especially because we find the command throughout Scripture not to fall asleep. We’re supposed to be awake and alert. So you know, it’s a different experience to wake up in the middle of the night when you’re like, Well, I’m supposed to be sleeping now, versus to wake up in the middle of the night when you’re the night guard at the museum or something, and you’re going, I shouldn’t have been asleep in the first place and I heard a noise. So even more going on. That’s kind of what we need so often, spiritually, something to wake us. So how does God jolt us awake? And how should we respond? That’s really the theme of Joel in a lot of ways. So we are in this new series starting this morning in the book of Joel. We’ll be here just for five weeks. We read chapter one, verse one, just kind of give you it’s almost the title of the book, as it were, Joel writes the word of the Lord that came to Joel, son of petuel. And that’s kind of it. That’s what we know about the context of the book. Right there not a lot of information. So we don’t know anything else about who Joel is. We’re also not really given any clear indication of when this is even happening, when Joel is prophesying. We know that there was a locust invasion. Hence the graphic and all of that we’re going to get to that this morning. But locust invasions do happen with enough regularity that you couldn’t say so it must have been here. There are a couple of indicators, one of the primary ones being that the temple is actually there. Means there are a couple times when it couldn’t be but we are guessing to some extent, so most likely, we’re talking right around here, 500 so this is after the exile, after Judah has returned from Babylon and actually rebuilt the temple. If you can think of the prophecies of guys like Haggai and Zechariah, we’re probably sort of in that time. I’m gonna preach like that’s sort of where we are, but it’s not all that important. If it turns out it was 300 years earlier, or something like that. It’s actually a little bit helpful that we don’t have a really clear sense of what time this is, because it gives the book a timeless flavor, which helps us then to apply it to broader circumstances. It can speak to us today, and it can speak to us today. If you read in advance, we give you the bookmark so you can kind of read the passage in advance and meditate on it throughout the week. You may be wondering, why are we in the book of Joel? Exactly? Because it doesn’t feel all that relevant. Maybe when the cicadas were out made more sense. But even then, the cicadas weren’t exactly biblical proportion or anything like that. So we’re not in the middle of crisis, a national disaster like Jude is experiencing here. If I’d preached this during covid, we would all go, okay, I get it. You know, not locus, but a plague, similar sort of idea. But why now? The simple answer to that is because all scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. And when Paul says that in Second Timothy three, he’s writing before the New Testament has been, you know, finalized, before some of it has even been written, he’s talking about the Old Testament. He’s saying the Old Testament is beneficial for us as Christians, so that we may be thoroughly equipped for every good work that He has for us to do. And so this book prepares us for crisis, because crisis will almost certainly come, maybe national crisis, local crisis, or even personal crisis. We will be asking the question, and see how Joel helps us answer the question, What is God doing? And then, what should I be doing in response, that’s really what we’re going to be looking at. We get this as we start today with a series of summons like Joel, the Prophet, is calling people to pay attention to what God is doing. So we’re going to see these four summons. We’ll start with a summons to the nation as a whole. Joel, chapter one, we read verses two to four for us. Joel says, Hear this. You elders. Listen all who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your ancestors? Tell it to your children and let your children tell it to their children and their children to the next generation? What the Locust Swarm has left the great locusts have eaten. What the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten what the young locust. Have left. Other locusts have eaten. So you can see, Joel begins the book his prophecy by summoning the whole nation. He begins by talking to the elders. And elders back then were the rulers of the nation, so this was like Congress or something, as representatives of the nation. And then turns and speaks to everyone who lives in the land. So that would be all the citizens there. This is a general call that he is issuing. He’s saying something has just jolted you awake. And now let’s talk about it. Let’s process what exactly is happening. And so, Joel, the image I have in my mind, at least, is if you’ve ever been in a hotel where an alarm has gone off or something like that. Something like that, you know, somebody usually comes out and says, Oops, you know, this was a mistake, or starts giving instructions. Here’s where you need to go, like that’s what’s happening here. Joel is the one who said, I’ve got some understanding. Let me help you figure out how to respond to what is an unprecedented crisis. It doesn’t tell us what it is right away, right has anything like this ever happened? Tell it to your children, so it’s as yet unnamed, but he’s still saying, has anything like this ever happened, even within multiple generations? And go back to your ancestor. Did your grandparents talk about anything like this? And you’re gonna be telling it to your grandkids, because it’ll be so interesting. And if I’m right that this is taking place right around 500 then we’re talking about generations that have actually seen quite a bit too like these are generations that knew crisis, like Nebuchadnezzar, sacking Jerusalem, destroying the temple, the people of Judah being carried off to Babylon and then returning again and rebuilding the temple. That’s a whole lot that’s going on, and yet, Joel still says you haven’t seen anything like this before. Something big has happened, and it’s a locust invasion on a scale that is just unprecedented, coupled with, as we’ll see in the next couple of weeks, drought and fire as well. So all this is leading to an unparalleled famine. It’s so bad that you’re going to tell these stories to your kids. In fact, it’s interesting, God actually commands them to tell these stories to their kids. Why this passage here? It sounds a little bit like Psalm 78 which we’ve talked about here before, in the context of parenting, Psalm 78 begins, I will utter hidden things, things from of old, things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. So there’s the generational passing down. We will not hide them from their descendants. We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power and the wonders he has done. Well, it makes sense in Psalm 78 because they’re proclaiming God’s deliverance, his mighty acts to save His people. But here, well, not so much. We’re talking about a really bad time. So why are they supposed to tell this to the next generation? The answer is that, because in both cases, God is at work. God is still active in history. He is the Lord of history, and he is doing something. So we need to pay attention, understand it ourselves, but then we need to teach it as well. If you’re a parent, much of your task is teaching your kids to see God’s work in the world today, His providence, his sovereignty, like we teach the Bible. Yes, yes, of course. Reminded a little bit of what Carl Bart, the Swiss theologian, used to say, you know, you preach with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other, and it’s not that they’ve got equal authority. Of course, nothing like that. But the whole point is we’re teaching the Bible in light of what’s going on, like, how does what this has to say affect what’s going on right now? And that’s what we do as parents, to see God at work and to see what our response should be to God’s work. And that’s exactly what Joel is pushing us to do. And he’s got the newspaper in his hand, and it’s big news, like big headline here, because this locust invasion, you notice, he mentions four types of locus. By the way, we have no idea what those locusts are, the young locust, the great locus, whatever. It just says, locust, Locus, Locus, Locus, four different words for locust. I don’t know, but you know, they knew back then, something like that. The point is, though, it was wave after wave after wave so that there’s nothing left to eat and there’s nothing left to plant for next year either. It’s very hard for us today, especially in the West, to understand famine like this, to imagine famine like this, I have had invaders in my garden this summer, in particular, the bunnies are everywhere, so I’m gonna be planting coyotes next year, and
so I’ve gotten no zucchini yet this year. It’s like a huge bummer. Usually zucchinis grows like a weed. They keep eating them. I find them on my driveway, my cucumbers as well, so I’m not able to do my pickles, which is, it’s heartbreaking. Okay, fine. So. But you know what I could do instead? I could run to Aldi or the other Aldi or jewel, or the other jewel, or Pete’s or marianos, all of which I could walk to and buy pickling cucumbers and make more pickles, right? Like we’ve got options, still, they didn’t have options. There was nothing else. This is it. There’s now no food. People are going to die as a result. So this is almost worse than exile, which, again, some of them lived through. But even in exile, at least they had food. I mean, Jeremiah 29 when God’s promise he’s going to prosper the people and all that. What did he do? He says you’re gonna be in Babylon, plant gardens and eat the produce. At least that’s pretty good. I’d rather eat somewhere else than starve to death here, and that’s what the nation is experiencing. So when disaster threatens, this summons that Joel’s offering. When disaster threatens, when disaster hits, wake up. Wake up. Be jolted awake spiritually. Look around, see what God is doing. And that’s why we have this prophetic summons. There is meaning in history, like God reveals himself in his actions. That’s why so much of the Bible is narrative, by the way. So study it, study his actions, at least pause and ask the question, when disaster hits, is God trying to get my attention? You just got to ask the question, same thing again. You wake up in the middle of night because you heard a noise. What do you do? You don’t jump out of bed. You go, what was that? Is this something I need to care about? Or not? Can I just go back to sleep. And so it is with us again, even with with personal disaster, if it’s a job loss or a health crisis, or there is a natural disaster, political disaster, something like that that’s happening, ask the question, pay attention. We see this in Israel’s history. You’re point to a lot of different examples, but here’s just one, after a major defeat militarily, actually in a civil war, because this is the book of Judges, which is Israel’s moral Nader Civil War. It says this, they’re just defeated. Then it says, Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening, and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord. And the Israelites inquired of the Lord, isn’t that interesting after this disaster that they’ve suffered? They don’t check their military strategy, they check God’s will. And what Joel is saying here is, it’s not the time to research pesticides. It’s time to search the Scriptures. What is God about? And it’s worth asking ourselves then, like, is this your first instinct when disaster hits? I mean, think back the most recent disaster. What most of us would think of would be covid, of course. So when covid hit was your first question. We had a bit of a wind up, of course. You know, like late January, in the middle of March, we were kind of all wondering how this was going to shake out, but when it hit, was your first question, Lord, what are you doing? What do I need to know here? I remember so clearly being in Journey group as this was all unfolding, and one of the guys in my group at the time said, You know what our response should be right now? It’s to pray, to lament and to repent, because that’s what you did, scripturally speaking, when disaster hit, is that what we were doing? Or were we wondering, how is this gonna affect my job? How’s this gonna affect you know, what are we gonna do with the sermon series? Now we’re gonna get to finish it because we’re not able to meet in person, but we get logistical, we probably need to get theological. So it’s safe to say that this is not usually our first instinct, and it wasn’t for the Israelites either, which is the whole reason they needed a prophet to summon them. We were slow to wake up. This is like when you hear the noise at night and the wife is panicking, and the husband goes, I’m sure it’s nothing, and rolls back over and goes to sleep. The nation is going to roll back over and go to sleep, and Joel is there shaking the nation awake? No, like we gotta, we gotta do something. That’s the general summons. But after this general summons all people, Joel addresses three significant groups in turn, and that’s what we’re going to turn to now. So first group that he talks to is the revelers. We’ll see what that means here we keep reading verses five to seven, wake up, you drunkards and weep wail, all you drinkers of wine, wail because of the new wine, for it has been snatched from your lips. A nation has invaded my land, a mighty army without number as the teeth of a lion the fangs of a lioness. It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees. It is stripped off their bark and thrown it away, leaving their branches white. So Joel begins these specific summons by addressing an unexpected group. Now the word drunkards here, it might be a little bit harsh. You could translate it as something more, like just people who drink. Imbibers, something like that, is what one commentator said, but maybe it is drunkards as well. In either case, this is a relevant message, right? Because we’re maybe talking to a group that has checked itself out of reality, that can’t even wake up because they’re passed out from drinking too much, from self medicating in the face of disaster, or we’re talking to a group that’s just enjoying the good life. This is like the cocktail crowd, something like that. That’s why I said revelers here. That’s kind of the group. But whichever one of those Joel was speaking to specifically, this is a group that’s going to be hard hit by the locusts and the drought, because no grapes on the vine means no new wine, which is what they would drink. Now, vines and figs, which are mentioned here also are a frequent Old Testament symbol of prosperity. So I, like just coincidentally, came across this in my Bible reading plan this week. I was in second Kings, and it says, you know one of the promises you’ll eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree. That’s how you know you’re being blessed by God. That’s what happens vines and figs. And so the ironic reversal of those images shows the the breadth of devastation. Like Herbert Hoover, President in 1928 ran his election campaign was the promise of prosperity, a chicken in every pot, two cars in every garage. Then 1929 came, hoping you remember your history, and so the next president ran on an ironic kind of campaign idea. We didn’t use it, but it’s almost as if it’s saying The problem here is that we got a chicken and no pot, no cars in the garage, and the garage is falling down through disrepair anyway. That’s what Joel has just said. All these promises of prosperity, we’ve got the opposite happening right now, and that’s true of wine as well. Like look how wine is spoken of in Scripture. Here’s Psalm 104 celebrating God’s bounty, it says he makes grass grow for the cattle and plants for people to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth, wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts. So God’s bounty includes wine in particular, that brings gladness to human hearts, which means the locusts and eating the grapes. They’re like un gladdening human hearts. They’re causing hearts to despair, especially among the revelers, the ones who drink. That should shock the revelers awake, like the smoke alarm is blaring. We’re in a pun fully intended, sobering moment here they should wake up. Can’t numb themselves to the disaster anymore, because this locust invasion is so bad, it’s compared to a military invasion, which is itself, then compared to a fearsome beast, like we’re just stacking up images for how bad this is. It’s a mighty army without number, which makes sense again, of the four waves of locusts that have come and they’ve stripped everything bare. This is how locusts work, by the way. So here’s a quote from someone in the 16th century in Europe, but describing a locust invasion, they write this, they began to arrive there one day, at nine in the morning. Till night, they did not cease next day. By 6am they began to depart, and at midday, not one was there, and not a leaf remained on a tree. At that moment, others began to arrive and remained until the next day, and these did not leave any corn with a husk nor a green blade. Thus they did for five days, one after the other. That’s exactly what Judah just experienced. So no wonder Joel says that this invading army, these locusts, have stripped even the bark and left the branches white, because that’s all that last group got to eat. The situation is hopeless. So even if you’re the sort of person who’s always partying getting drunk, in part so that you can ignore the world’s problems like it’s going to catch up to you. At some point it will catch up to you, which means there’s a better option. Don’t stick your head in the sand or try and drown your sorrows in the bottle, but wake up. Pay attention. What is God doing? What is he trying to tell you?
And it is kind of a two fold message, because, of course, we see that God, he seems to be bringing judgment here. We haven’t actually heard that yet. By the way, he has not said, because of your sin, the locusts have invaded the land. I see more of that next week, but, or the week after? I mean, we don’t know that yet, but God seems to be bringing judgment, and maybe that would be the one lesson we’d hear. But don’t miss the grace in this passage. Also, did you notice what Joel says verse six? And Joel again, he’s speaking though the Lord’s words. This is the word of the. Through Joel, a nation has invaded my land, not your land, my land. God is saying, This is my place, my people. You can see his covenant commitment, even just in that one little pronoun. He cares what happens in his land, like a father cares what happens in his home, which is exactly what Jerusalem is, by the way, God’s home at this point. Psalm 135, verse 21 Praise be to the Lord from Zion. That’s the mountain on which Jerusalem was built, to him who dwells in Jerusalem. So he does care what’s happening in his home. Which takes us to the next section, by the way, which is the summons to the city. May read verses eight to 10 for us, Joel says, more like a virgin in sackcloth grieving for the betrothed of her youth. Grain offerings and drink offerings are cut off from the house of the Lord. The priests are in mourning. Those who minister before the Lord, the fields are ruined. The ground is dried up. The grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, the olive oil fails. So what’s interesting here is the command mourn is given in the feminine singular, like Hey lady, mourn, is what it says, which makes sense under the image, mourn Like a Virgin in sackcloth. Who is the lady that we’re talking about? The lady is Jerusalem, because the word for city in Hebrew is feminine, feminine singular. So there you go. And we actually often refer to Jerusalem as a virgin daughter again. Just happened to read this week Second Kings again, 19 verse, 21 virgin daughter Zion despises you, speaking of the invading Assyrian army. Virgin daughter Zion, so the city of Jerusalem there, again, called a virgin daughter. That helps us understand the context of this stanza here, this next summons is to the city folk. It’s to the people who live in the capital, Jerusalem, which is the seat not only of the government, but also of the temple. How should the people of Jerusalem respond to this invading locust army? Well, the proper response, Joel says, is mourning Like a Virgin groaning for her betrothed. Now, things worked a little bit different. Back in Israel at this time, it was a, it was kind of a two stage marriage, so you would get engaged, but the engagement was way more significant than it is for us today. It was actually a kind of marriage, you know this, by the way, because you know the Christmas story. So Mary and Joseph are engaged, and then Mary’s pregnant, and Joseph says he’s going to divorce her. We think you don’t have to divorce her. You’re not married yet. You’re only engaged. Well, yes and no, you were mostly married at that point. So what would happen between the engagement and the actual wedding? The bride would make herself ready. The husband would go away to prepare, including, by the way, like building a home for his new family. So that’s the stage we’re in. You can imagine the excitement The bride is preparing. She knows who she can marry. She’s maybe seen how she’s gonna live in she’s like, picked out curtains and stuff, like she has seen her future life. And then her betrothed meets with an untimely death. Think of the grief that she would feel, and what Joel says is that’s how you should be grieving now. Judah the grief and the despair that Jerusalem should feel. Why not? Because they’re hungry, but because there’s nothing to offer the Lord, there’s nothing no sacrifice to bring in to the temple. Any longer, the locusts have devoured the food for the sacrifice. So there’s no wine for a drink offering, no grain for a grain offering. We’ll see next week. There’s not gonna be animals for much longer, either. So there go any of those sacrifices as well the entire cultic system has been cut off. The offerings have stopped, and it is difficult for us in a New Testament context to appreciate how awful this would be to wake up to realize you sinned yesterday, and there is now no way to make atonement for that sin not knowing what tomorrow will bring. Like if we had a grain and grape shortage today, maybe we wouldn’t be able to celebrate communion together again. We did experience this during covid. We weren’t gathered together, so we weren’t taking the Lord’s supper together, since it’s a family meal that’s bad, right? Like I mourned not being able to take communion with you during those months when we weren’t meeting. It’s bad, but it’s a sign and a seal communion. It’s not atonement. We still had our salvation in Christ. So comparison for today, an analogy would be a little bit more like if there was a penicillin. Shortage when your child had a bad infection, that would be the feeling of urgency you would have, like, I don’t care if this shortage is gonna go away, I need it now today, so that my child doesn’t die. Only we’re not talking about physical death, we’re talking about spiritual death, which is even worse. That’s the grief that the nation is experiencing, should be experiencing. And can we just say, in light of all that, it is worth pausing to revel in the glory and sufficiency of Christ’s death for us, the fact that we don’t have to worry about that his sacrifice, once for all time, means it is done. It is finished. No natural disaster can threaten our salvation right into Hebrews says, We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus, Christ, once for all, and think of what that does to us. Then when disaster strikes, Paul says, it Who shall separate us from the love of Christ Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword, by the way, those are all the things that would threaten to stop the sacrifices from happening in the temple. But in light of what Christ has done, the climax, the fulfillment, the culmination of the sacrificial system, we can answer the question, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Thanks be to God with no one and nothing. That’s good news, but it doesn’t change our needed response here still, like some things are different, yes, but some things are the same. If the people of Jerusalem can’t offer the usual sacrifices, the priests aren’t making the sacrifice. Well, what are they doing? Then? Exactly what service should be happening in the temple? Now it’s clear. It’s time for a new service. It is time for lament. We’ll actually see the lament service next week. That’s what our passage is. So if you’re prepping for next week, you’re going to just keep in mind that’s what you’re seeing. You’re seeing the the worship service when its focus is lament. But basically what lament is is crying out to God, mourning, as the passage has it, wailing, asking, why? Grieving, the current circumstances. So let me ask you now, is there room for lament in your prayer life? Like we know God is good all the time, but that certainly doesn’t mean that our circumstances are good all the time. There’s very real pain, very real sorrow, very real reason to lament. Is there room in our corporate worship life for lament? We did just a little bit this morning. But I mean, what would it look like for us to come together? Maybe we forego music, or at least the songs we sing are a little bit different. Maybe they’re not the happy, clappy not the happy clappy ones. They’re ones that cause us to reflect. Is there room for lament? Now it is true, and one of the reasons we do happy clappy songs, of course, is that our sorrow is mitigated by the joy of the resurrection of Christ, Jesus. We always have that hope. Yes, but we have hope because we don’t yet have the fulfillment of that hope. You don’t hope for what you have. Paul tells us in Romans eight the citizens of Jerusalem should mourn. They should mourn like the priests who are feeling the effect of the famine because their daily rhythm has been wrecked. They should mourn. Like the land itself actually verse 10, when it says the fields are ruined, it actually says, literally, the ground mourns. Some of you, if you’re looking at a different translation, may actually even say that the ground mourns. The ground is crying. At this point. Makes sense again. Paul tells us Romans eight, that creation itself is groaning, longing to be redeemed. That’s what’s happening here. We should be mourning like them. There is another group that’s mourning because the fields are ruined and because the ground is mourning, and that group is the people who work the fields and live on the ground. And that’s our last group here. So our last summons, summons to the country, verses 11 and 12
despair. You farmers wail you vine growers grieve for the wheat and the barley because the harvest of the field is destroyed. The vine is dried up and the fig tree is withered, the pomegranate, the palm and the apple tree, all the trees of the field are dried up. Surely the people’s joy is withered away. So we get the same basic command, right whale, grieve. Makes a lot of sense for the farmers and for the vine growers, their livelihood has perished. The city folk might not feel the devastation completely yet, but the farmers know how. Bad it is, and they know how bad it’s going to be as well. The locusts and the drought have killed it all. I mean, look at the list here. Like ages keep saying it’s all dead. Everything is dead. This is not an isolated thing, like we had the avian flu. Was it last summer we had the avian flu. Maybe was one before that, and a bunch of chickens died, and eggs got really expensive, so you bought cheese instead, like, who cares? But it’s all gone. They were not talking about an isolated shortage. It is all gone. Every tree. That means that what happens come harvest. The harvest is usually an occasion for joy. They had harvest festivals commanded in Scripture even, which is the time of celebration. But if every part of the harvest is gone, what then? Like picture a German town during Oktoberfest. Whole town come together in the city, the town square, but there’s no beer, there’s no sausage. In fact, there’s no food of any kind, like what then I said in the last section, it’s time for a new worship service. Well, Joel seems to be telling us it’s time for a new festival here as well. Festival. It’s a time to gather, but to mourn, to cry out, to pray. Now we really don’t do festivals like this as much today, but within Chicago and Lollapalooza is happening right now. I believe if you’ve ever had the misfortune of being on a train when Lollapalooza is happening like you know what this looks like, but imagine everyone going to Lollapalooza, but there’s no music, there’s no drugs or alcohol, there’s no dancing, but this group of people has gotten together just for a time of sober reflection, like that’s what’s going on here. In fact, it says the very last sentence of our passage, that the people’s joy has withered, just like the crops, and that’s what should happen again. That is the proper response, to mourn, to wail, to grieve. That is our big idea. Then kind of pulling us all together. It’s been there all along. You’re not gonna be surprised by it, the big idea, when disaster comes, mourn your sin and the world’s brokenness. When disaster comes and it will, and whether national, personal, whatever it may be, mourn, mourn your sin and the world’s brokenness. Why do I mention both of those? By the way, it’s because we can’t always connect the dots with a straight line between our sin and the disaster we’re experiencing. Sometimes God brings disaster into our lives because of our sin. That is the exile, for example, because of your sin, that’s it. Babylon is going to saturation. You all going to live in Babylon for a while. But other times we can’t make that connection, necessarily. That’s the message of the book of Job, of course, and why Job’s friends got it so wrong. John chapter nine, who sinned this man or his parents that he should have been born blind, and Jesus goes, I’m not sure you know what you’re talking about. You should listen more. So we can’t all each other. So what happens? Sometimes disaster just comes because the world is broken, because sin is in the world, not because of a specific sin. So that’s why we’re going, we’re waking up, going, what’s happening here? Lord, how should I respond? I know my response is mourning, and I can always mourn my sin. I can always mourn the world’s brokenness. Pay attention to what God is doing. Wake up. Let the disaster jolt you awake. C, S, Lewis said that pain is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world. So God uses pain to jolt us awake, and that’s a good thing. This is a hard sentence, but it’s true, pain is a good thing. Even Medically speaking, pain is a good thing, because pain is the symptom that lets you know that something is wrong. Usually, the very worst diagnoses are the ones where you didn’t feel anything wrong, and then it’s too late, the cancer has already spread, something like that. Pain is a good thing. It’s true spiritually as well. It clues us into what the underlying problems are. And so when God permits even brings disaster trouble into our lives. It is an act of love to wake us up, if you don’t know God, and it is an act of love, and that he’s giving you time to respond, time to repent, before it is too late. If you do know Jesus well, then it is disciplined. The Lord disciplines those he loves. Now what’s writer to Hebrews says, quoting from Proverbs, my son, do not make light of the Lord. Discipline, and do not lose a heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves. He chastens everyone he accepts as his son. Endure hardship. Is discipline. God is treating you as His children. It’s a good thing. God will use it for our good, and part of that good news is that his grace is sufficient. He wakes us up. We mourn our sin, but when we repent, God forgives, as we’ll see even later in the book. Again, we got Christ’s sufficient sacrifice once for all time. So wherever you are spiritually, you’ll be here this morning, a skeptic, you know, arms crossed, really hardened to the message. You could be a seeker, asking questions, what about this whole Christianity thing? Or you’re here as a mature believer. It doesn’t matter when disaster comes, wake up, wake up, mourn, cry out to God and again, this is a good word for us, because it’s not our first instinct, and think back to 2020, again. 2020. Was a year to lament, and we had covid, then we had the racial division and unrest, and then we had all the political division with the election and whatnot like this was I’ve talked to a lot of pastors who say was their least favorite year, and all their ministry. I can agree with that, by the way, what got you through those dark days, truly, what got you through those dark days? You’re thinking back to it, because our instinct in moments like that is anger and activism, and that’s what our country did, right? That’s what our culture did, for sure, anger and activism, our instinct is not lament and prayer first, at least not saying there’s no place for anger. Certainly we there is a place for righteous anger. We see it in Jesus’s life. Certainly there is a place for activism. But that comes after, after we’ve sought the Lord. I know other people speaking to one of the younger members of our congregation this week in light of this passage, and he was saying that after the attempted assassination of Trump, his generation just turned to dark humor all the memes that came out at that point. That’s a really common one for us as well. To check out more the revelers. Approach to all of this, I don’t want to really engage with the brokenness of the world, so I’m just going to kind of laugh at it and hope it goes away, instead of lament and prayer. Of course, even now today, there is much to lament. We’ve got conflict in the Middle East, in Ukraine and Ethiopia and elsewhere. We’ve got natural disasters enough lately it’s been tornadoes and mudslides across the world. We’ve got sin and injustice, and many of you are experiencing it personally. Maybe it is job loss or health crisis or relational conflict. What are you doing with it when disaster comes, mourn your sin and the world’s brokenness, feel the full force of what’s wrong with this world and run to God in lament and petition. But we run to God in lament and petition, even as we remember the unshakable joy we have in Christ, who has given us new birth into a living hope through his resurrection from the dead, I am so glad I get to preach this passage in a New Testament context after Christ’s death and resurrection, it changes everything. This is a heavy, dark passage, not going to get better either. Okay, it’s a heavy, dark book, and it’s not usually what we want to think about. Like some of you complain, we’ve literally had people leave the church because we preached the prophets, and the prophets are depressing and hard to hear because they talk a lot about sin and judgment. So this is a heavy, dark passage, not what we want to think about, even if it is necessary, because, again, it’s the symptoms that help us understand the underlying cause. But the good news is we don’t have to stop in the heaviness and the darkness.
The greatest cause for lament the world has ever known was the murder of God’s son that is sin and the world’s brokenness at its extreme to the nth degree, and yet look what God brought from it, our salvation out of that darkness, our salvation in this life and in the life to come and the life to come is A really important part of it like we know how the story ends. The whole reason we can endure hardship is discipline is because we know it doesn’t go on forever. We know what comes next, that God is simply fitting us for heaven to live with him there. So we mourn and lament, but we do. Not lose hope. God has already won the victory. Sin and brokenness have been defeated. So we wake up, pay attention, mourn and lament, but God has turned our mourning into dancing. We can enter in like in a New Testament context, it’s always a festival. Even when there is a famine, we always have cause to celebrate. Julie read it for us earlier. Isaiah, 61 this is, by the way, the passage that Jesus quotes for himself. This is what I came to do. Luke, chapter four, when he begins his ministry, the spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me to comfort all who mourn their sin and the world’s brokenness provide for those who grieve in Zion to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. What does that look like for us now in this kind of Holy Saturday, sort of moment. You know what I mean by Holy Saturday. Christ is killed on Friday, and he’s raised in resurrection power on Sunday. And then there’s Saturday. It’s just this day in between. We live in the in between. Time between Christ’s first coming and His Second Coming, sin and death have been defeated, but the finality of their defeat we haven’t experienced in its consummation just yet. This is what it looks like, mourning and joy commingled. So even in our joy in Christ, in our salvation, in the resurrection, we mourn our sin and the world’s brokenness, but even in our mourning, we have the joy of everlasting life, the hope of Christ’s death and resurrection and our life with him. Let’s pray, Lord. We do lament so much of what this world is. We grieve our sin, a sin that is so grievous that we couldn’t even deal with it. You had to send your son to deal with it for us to live the life we should have lived, and then die the death we deserve to die, so that by his taking our place, we could take his place and be welcomed again as your children by repentance and faith, we grieve our sin. God, we grieve the effects of sin in this world, the brokenness of creation that leads to natural disasters and injustice and evil and wickedness so prevalent among humanity, that leads to so much pain and devastation in so many lives. And we cry out, Lord, with many faithful people have gone before us. How long, Lord will you leave us? Will you forsake us? Forever? We know the answer is not. And so we pray with the early church even so Lord Jesus quickly come and set all things right again. But now in that between time, to help us, Lord, to mourn, to pray, to wake up, to pay attention, to see what you are doing, and to respond as you would have us respond in hope and faith and love. We ask this in Christ’s name. Amen.

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Longing for the Presence of the Lord July 21, 2024 | Meritt Raup This sermon on Psalm 84 explores the psalmist’s passionate longing to be in God’s presence. The sermon highlights three key blessings from being in God’s presence: the blessing of worship, the blessing of strength during life’s difficult journeys, and the blessing of experiencing God Himself. The preacher encourages listeners to cultivate a deep desire for God’s presence, reminding them that while God’s presence was localized in the temple in the Old Testament, for believers today, His presence is found among His people individually and collectively. The sermon emphasizes the importance of trusting in God’s protection, grace, and blessings through faith in Jesus Christ.

Good morning Cityview It is great to be with you today. Thank you for welcoming me and Sarah back. We are, we’re doing well. And so we hope you’re doing well as well. And the Lord is continuing to work through the ministry of Cityview. Here. We trust that he is. And so thank you, Brandon for the invitation. Come back. It’s always a pleasure to open God’s word. And I’m looking forward to our time together. Today, we have the opportunity of opening God’s Word together at Psalm 84. Psalm 84. So go ahead and turn in your Bibles there. And I was reading through the book of Psalms a few weeks ago. And this is one of those chapters that I lingered on a little longer. It stood out to me. It’s a it’s a well known Psalm. Charles Spurgeon, when he preached on this chapter, he, he said, quote, here flows a living stream, bring your buckets with you. I love that image. hope you brought your bucket with you today. This is a river full of riches, that we just get to dive into together. So this morning, like to take you on a journey through this Psalm. The Psalm is, it’s meant to be read as a journey. It’s a song that was most likely sung by God’s people as they were traveling to Jerusalem for a festival. And as we read through it, you’ll see that there are three distinct movements through this song and it feels like you’re traveling with the psalmist as he’s on the move on this journey. So let me read through the entire chapter, Psalm 84. And then we’ll begin our journey together through it. Okay. Let’s begin Psalm. Psalm 84, starting in verse one, is how lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty. My soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home and the Swallow and nests for herself where she may have her young, a place near your altar. Lord Almighty my King and my God bless it are those who dwell in your house they are ever praising you. Bless it are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs. The autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, until each appears before God in Zion. Hear my prayer. Lord God Almighty, listen to me, God of Jacob, look on our shield. Oh, god, look with favor on your Anointed One. Better is one day in your courts than 1000 elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the Lord God is a sun and shield the Lord bestows favor and honor and no good thing does he withhold from those who walk is blameless. Lord Almighty blessing is the one who trusts in You. Amen. Psalm 84, is all about the presence of the Lord. Specifically a wholehearted and all consuming passion to be in the presence of the Lord. This is an exclamation from someone who just can’t hold it in any longer. God’s dwelling place where where God resides, as mentioned about nine times in 12 verses and he’s picturing what it would be like, and then the the journey he would take to get there. And he’s overcome with this, this deep sense of longing. The Psalmist wants to be with the Lord. What’s his I think sort of like the the feeling a child might have about going to their grandparents house. At least that was the case for me growing up. When I was a child, I would, I would dream about going to their house. I knew that my grandparents have to spoil me with things that I didn’t get at home. Doughnuts, candy. My grandma’s french toast was the best. I think she just used a ton of butter. And that’s what made it so good. I would long to go there. And even as we were in the car on our way to their house, you could feel the anticipation building. And then when I was there, I never wanted to leave. And it wasn’t the house that I longed for, but it was the people that were in the house that I longed for. That’s the kind of longing the psalmist feels for the presence of the Lord. He wants to be in the House of Lords. Lord, because that’s where the Lord is. When he has this longing because there is great blessing that comes in the presence of the Lord. In this passage, there are three distinct blessing statements that we see come from the presence of the Lord. So those are sort of the three stops along the way on this journey that we’re going to go through together. So my hope for us this morning is that you’ll have the same longing this almost feels, but then you’ll also experience the same blessing that the psalmist experiences as well. So let’s, let’s consider our first blessing on this journey. It’s the blessing of worship, a blessing of, of worship, versus wanting to again, says how lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty, my soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the Lord, my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Again, we see this, this intense longing for the presence of the Lord, he wants to be in the temple. That’s where God’s presence was. He he sees the temple as lovely. No doubt it was a beautiful building. But he’s not referring to the building itself. Here. He’s, he’s saying that the temple is lovely to him. It’s beloved, because of the one who lives in the temple. You can just feel his intensity. Like man, I wish I was there right now. says his soul yearns. He even faints. His heart in his flesh cry out, it’s like everything within him is just overflowing in this expression of longing. So as we as we talk about the presence of the Lord, it’s worth remembering that here in the Old Testament, God’s presence was in the temple. And you had to go to the temple in order to experience God’s presence. And even then, God’s presence was behind the veil. No one could go into the holiest place except the high priest one day per year. It’s different today. For us. We don’t have a temple in the way that the psalmist did. There’s no one building that we go to to experience God’s presence. Even here in this building. This building is not special in and of itself. But for us today, God’s presence is among his people, both collectively, but then also individually. First Corinthians chapter three, verse 16, says, Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? So when we talk about God’s presence for us today, it refers to the closeness of a relationship with Him through prayer, through fellowship with other believers, hearing his voice through his word, the constellation of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, when we gathered together on a Sunday morning as the body that’s how we experience God’s presence today. You know, I enjoy watching documentaries, some of you might know, I feel like I always learned something new from them. And I recently watched a documentary about boy bands. And it talks about the the mass hysteria in our society throughout the generations over over boy bands. There’s some some recent examples of this. But it really started back in like the 60s with The Beatles, The Beatles, and I wasn’t there myself. But I saw clips of the these vast crowds just going crazy to try and get a few inches closer to the Beatles. Or even just to reach out and touch them. I saw one clip of the Beatles returning home from a tour and they were flying into a certain airport in the UK and there was a large crowds 1000s of people waiting at the airport to see them land. And the police had to set up barricades so that the people wouldn’t run out onto the tarmac to get closer to them. And a few young girls actually fainted when they saw the plane land and the beetles walking off of the plane. And so they call it in the paramedics and they had to treat these girls who had fainted, but there was a large crowd on the side of the Barricade and so they had to bring the girls over the barricades in order to have more space to treat them. So what happened was, some other girls saw what had happened. And so they decided to act like they had fainted, so that they too could be taken across the barricade and get a little closer to this band. It was a remarkable It’s crazy even.
But they had an intense longing to just be in the presence of the Beatles. I think it’s worth pausing to ask the question. When was the last time you had that kind of longing to be in the presence of the Lord? Have you ever had that longing says that his his soul, his heart, his flesh, they all longed for the presence of the Lord. Everything within him desire this, even faint for the Lord. I hope that you will have this desire today. Especially if you’ve been walking with the Lord for a while. Thank you, if we aren’t careful, our face can grow stale. And I don’t want to feed on yesterday’s bread. In my own life, whenever I’ve, I felt that that staleness start to creep up in my own heart. There’s a particular prayer from the Valley of vision. That’s been especially helpful to me. There’s there’s one line that I keep going back to, says, Lord, help me not to treat excellent matter in a defective way. Hey, Laura, I know your word is excellent. The work you’re doing in my life is, is excellent. Being in Your presence is the best thing that I could ever experience. So Lord helped me not to treat that as if it were useless. Defective. I’m convinced that if, if you prayer, if you pray that kind of prayer regularly, you will see in your own hearts, this longing start to stir up your heart, your soul, your flesh, will begin to faint for the presence of the Lord. The rest of our passage shows us why we should have this desire. So let’s keep moving along on this journey. And in verse three, the Psalm is gives us an image of what this longing is like for him. He says, Look at the birds. Look at the birds, verse three says, says even the sparrow has found a home and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young, a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my king. Oh my god. He’s, he’s picturing the temple in his mind because he’s been there before. And he remembers seeing birds flying around in the roof of the temple. like, Man, I wish I could just be one of those birds. Like they don’t realize how close they get to be to God’s presence. Like they don’t know how good they have it being a temple bird. I guess the difference between being a suburban bird versus a Disneyworld bird. I just picture the scene with me. I know this isn’t real. But imagine there’s a bunch of birds going to a bird conference. And they’re meeting other birds and they’re talking and this one bird says, says to another bird says, oh, nice to meet you. Where do you live? Where’s your nest at? And the other bird flies like oh, well, my my nest is in this subdivision and it’s on this street. And there’s this this one house and in the backyard. There’s a there’s a nice maple tree. That’s where my nest is. How about you? Where do you live? Where’s your nest? The other birds like well, I live in Florida, actually. And my nest is actually in Magic Kingdom. And I just just so happens to be at the peak of Cinderella’s castle. And the other bird is like, Oh, you’re one of those birds. And so I think that’s the picture the psalmist wants us to see here. He’s like man, like those temple birds are blessed. They don’t realize how good they have it. I wish I could just be one of those birds does have my home in the temple with the Lord does it even the sparrow finds a home at the altars of the Lord. So this is this is where we come to this the first blessing on this journey together. I mentioned before we see with these three distinct blessing statements from the presence of the Lord in this psalm. The first blessing is the blessing of of worship. Verse four, he says, Blessed are those who dwell in your house. They are ever praising you and God’s temple in the house of the Lord in God’s presence there is worship, as worship is a great blessing. See, worship blesses God. This is what we most often think about when we hear worship, gathering with God’s people to sing praise to his name, what we’re doing right now. He’s worthy of our worship. He enjoys receiving our worship. So in that sense, worship is a blessing to God, we bless God when we worship. But in a different sense, worship is a blessing to us. See, we were created as worshiping beings. We always worship something, whether we’re worshiping God the way we ought to, or we’re worshipping an idol, something else the worship is, is not just singing songs on a Sunday. Romans 12, one, we ought to present our entire bodies as a living sacrifice, which is our spiritual worship. Whatever we do, we ought to do it for the glory of God. So the point is, whenever we worship God, we are doing what we are made to do. We align our heart, our our soul, our body with God’s purpose for us. Things are the way they were meant to be. There’s great blessing in that. That’s like when, when every instrument in an orchestra is playing in tune. Even though there’s different parts there, they come together, and it creates a beautiful sound. It sounds like that’s the way things were supposed to be. You can think about it like, like working your your dream job. There was a big difference between working simply for a paycheck, and working your dream job where it feels like you’re never actually working a day in your life. There’s something powerful and fulfilling about knowing that this is where God wants me to be, was great blessing in that. When you live in the presence of the Lord, when you experience this blessing of a life of worship. That’s what you were created to do. So long for the presence of the Lord. Worship the Lord with all of your life, you’ll experience this great blessing. So that’s the first stop on our journey through Psalm 84. And it took a little bit longer than the next two stops will take had to lay a little bit of groundwork there. So we’ll move a little bit more quickly through these next two. We see the second stop on our journey is, is about the blessing of strength, the blessing of strength and we see it right away in verse five comes, comes right after verse four. It says, Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. The blessing of strength is for those who have the highways of the Lord in their hearts. Here we really see the the movement in this psalm, right in the first section, we see that the psalmist is looking from afar at the temple, God’s house and he’s, he’s wishing he was there. Then here now he’s on his way to the house. He’s on the highways to Zion. He’s moving closer and closer. He’s making a pilgrimage to the house of the Lord. And he’s experiencing the blessing of the presence of the Lord throughout the journey that he’s taking. He’s He’s treasuring in his heart, the presence of the Lord that nourishes him and sustains him for the journey. It’s almost like he’s, he’s singing to his own heart as you go. So he doesn’t get discouraged. I worked at a summer camp on the Adirondack Mountains of New York for a summer, it was a wilderness camp for boys. And we would take overnight backpacking trips throughout the mountains, with our campers, almost every time there would be, we would start the hike at the bottom of this mountain, and we would look up and see where we were, where we were headed. Like, yeah, we’re gonna, we’re gonna be up there in a few hours. And almost every time there would be one of the young boys who would look off in and see where we were about to go. And maybe never done anything like that before. And would get a little intimidated. It wasn’t sure if he could make it to the top. You know, it’s going to take several hours for us to make it there. And almost every time it wasn’t a physical problem, it was more so a mental problem. As counselors, we, we knew that the boys were physically able to make it to the top. We wouldn’t go on the hike if we didn’t know for sure that they could make it. But we needed to do our best on the journey to encourage the campers to persevere. Because when you get tired, when you start getting a little hungry, your backpack feels a little heavier than it did before. You start telling yourself to stop like, well, we’ve made it most of the way that counts, right? We can just round up. I don’t think I’m gonna make it. I just don’t feel like it anymore. I’m too tired.
So we do is we encourage the boys, we distract them from their fatigue and we encourage them to keep going to give them strength, we’re almost there. Keep pushing. That’s almost how this part of the song feels to he. He’s reminding his heart along this pilgrimage, that the Lord will sustain him with strength. And God’s presence with him means that God’s strength is with him. And we need the strength of the Lord because we get so weak in our face so often. In our own power, we can do nothing. But by God’s grace, we have everything we need. In verse six shows us what this blessing of strength looks like. It says as they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs, the autumn rains also cover it with pools. You know, this verse I think, is so fascinating to me. We don’t really know where the Valley of Baca is, if you look on a map, you won’t find it anywhere there. But I think the reason why is because it’s a play on words. The Psalmist is, is trying to get our attention here. You know, some think that the Hebrew word Baka is the name of a type of shrub or a tree that lived in this arid, dry desert Valley. And that could be the case I can see that here. But I think maybe differently the word Baka is the same root as the word for weeping. So as they go through the Valley of Baca, the valley of weeping, they make it a place of springs. You can just see the the dry, lifeless, weeping Valley turns into a place of nourishment of springs of, of new life. See, the Lord brings nourishment or or new life to us when we go through this valley of weeping because of his presence with us. But it gets even better than that. Because it says the last line there says the autumn rains also cover it with pools. The word for pools in Hebrew is Barracuda. Which is also the word in the Old Testament for blessing. We can see that the Valley of Baca is not only turned into a place of springs, but Baca is turned into Barraca. To see the the valley of weeping is turned into springs, but then it’s also turned into a place of blessing for us. So the Lord takes whatever we face on the journey of our lives. And he turns it into not only nourishment for our faith, but also he turns it into a blessing for us. And even in the seasons of life that are marked by by weeping long for the Lord’s presence in your life. He will give you the strength to endure, you may still go through the valley. But the Lord will sustain your faith through it. On Genesis chapter 50, at the end of the story of Joseph, after all of the suffering and the trials, and the difficulty that he went through in his life, when he confronts his brothers in Egypt, he’s able to say, You meant it for evil. But God meant it for good. So that many people will be saved. In God’s presence, there is strength for your journey. He will not fail you. He will bring you to the end. That’s why I think in verse seven, it says they go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. The blessing of strength doesn’t go from strength to weakness, we get tired, we might start the day feeling pretty good. But then by the end of it, we get tired. It’s the same thing with our faith. There’s there’s moments where we feel strong in our faith, then we get tired, we get weak. The Lord will not grow weary, his strength will never fade. His strength will never run out. He’s so certain about this, that he can confidently say that each one who makes this journey and is strengthened by the Lord will appear before God in Zion. Each one will appear before God. When God strengthens your faith through the journey, you can be confident that he will sustain you to the end. So in those moments, when we feel weak, we need his strength. We can cry out with Verse eight says here my prayer, Lord God Almighty, listen to me, God of Jacob. Like give me the strength. I need the strength right now. Lord, hear my prayer. The Apostle Paul fell this in his life in ministry as well. He says in Second Corinthians chapter 12, says, But he said to me, the Lord said to me, My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships and persecutions in in difficulties, for when I am weak, then I have a strong, so long for the presence of the Lord, because you will be blessed with the strength that he supplies will sustain your faith through anything that you will face in this life. That’s the second stop on this journey through Psalm 84. The first stop the psalmist is, is looking at the House of Lords from afar. He he sees the blessing of worship, and stop number two, he sees. He’s on this route to the house of the Lord, he, he’s experiencing the blessing of strength from the Lord. On the third stop on this journey comes from the final set of verses and the psalmist has arrived. He’s made it, he’s in the house of the Lord. And now he experiences the blessing of God himself. The blessing of God himself. This is what he says in in verse nine, it says, look on our shield, oh, god, look with favor on your Anointed One. You know, one of the greatest questions that the gospel answers is how can we live in God’s presence? We sort of assume that as we’ve been going so far, but the reality is, our sin separates us from God. God is a holy God. He can’t stand sin in His presence. Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden, because of their sin. I don’t know about you. But sometimes I feel that in my own heart, when I sin against God, it feels like I’ve been rejected by him, I don’t feel worthy to go into His presence. So how are we to live in God’s presence? I think this verse is, is the key. And this verse is, it’s one of the one of those instances in scripture where the original author didn’t fully understand the significance of what they were writing. Because there was going to be more that will be revealed later on. I think in God’s providence, the Holy Spirit knew exactly what to write here. So what do we say to the Lord? When we stand before Him on that day, and we give an account for our lives? What is our answer going to be? When we’re asked how, how are you to live in God’s presence? When we think that in our hearts, how can I be in God’s presence, because of my sin. I love the way that the modern him puts it says to this I hold, my sin has been defeated. Jesus now and ever is my plea. Oh, the chains are released. I can sing I am free. Yet not I, but through Christ in me. He’s saying, saying, Oh, God, like, don’t look at me. Look, look on the face of your Anointed One. Like he’s standing before him. He’s saying, like, I can’t, I’m not worthy to be in your presence God. So look on. Look on Jesus, look at him. There’s nothing that I’ve done on my own that makes me worthy to be in your presence, God. But remember your promise God, remember your Anointed One. Remember what you did to deliver me through him? That’s what our cry will be. How can we live in God’s presence? We say, God, look on the face of your Anointed One, look on Jesus. That’s my plea. And praise be to God that He sent His anointed one, to bridge that gap to bring us into His presence. That’s good news. So I think because of all of this, and even more we can say with with verse 10, better is one day in your courts, and 1000 elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. God’s presence is far better than anywhere else you could be just one day in God’s presence is better than 1000 days anywhere else. It’s even better to be the lowest person in God’s presence than to be the greatest person when the presence of evil
presence of the Lord is good. Such a blessing because we get God Himself. It’s about what God has done through his anointed. It’s about who God is in his character. Now the psalmist continues and he gives us five rapid fire truths about God and just one verse. Verse 11, I think is maybe one of the richest verses in all the Bible. So let these these truths about who God is encourage your heart this morning. Verse 11, he says, it’s for the Lord God is a sun and shield, the Lord bestows favor and honor and no good thing does he withhold from those who walk is blameless. The Lord is a sun. The sun is a source of light. By the Sun we can see, we live in a dark world, don’t we? The Lord guides us into the way we should go. says Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Jesus is the light of the world. He overcomes the darkness. Just one candle can give light to a big dark room. The darkness cannot overcome the Lord. The sun provides a life to our world as well keeps us warm, it gives food to our plants. It gives us energy. The Lord has a son I mean that the Lord sustains. He guides us he overcomes the darkness. He gives his life to our world. But the Lord is also a shield, as the Lord protects his people from the attacks of the enemy. shield of faith is part of the armor of God from Ephesians that we put on collectively together. You know the enemy is aiming his fiery arrows at us. But the Lord extinguishes them. He guards us with his shield. He breaks the bow, he bends the spear. He tells the wars to cease. The Lord fights for you. So be strong and courageous. Do not fear. It’s the Lord who fights for you. He protects you from the enemy. Let him fight for you. Let him be your shield says the Lord bestows favor. You know some translations say the Lord gives grace. Lord gives grace. You know, the Lord is a gracious God. You know, grace is grace is one of those Christian words that we use all the time, right? Like sometimes we lose sight of what that means. Grace is is unmerited favor. I use that word intentionally. I’m thankful that my name is merit because it’s a it’s a constant reminder for me that I don’t have enough merit on my own. But it’s his merit that’s now my own. Nothing that we deserve nothing we can earn it His goodness to us. The Lord Bustos favor, you know, we need grace today. We live in an anti Grace world. There’s no freebies out there. Nothing comes without a cost. And even what we do have, can so easily be taken away from us when we don’t measure up. Not so with the Lord so thankful that his grace for me in Jesus Christ is not dependent on my performance for him. Think that he is a gracious God who bestows favor on all those who trust in Him says the Lord bestows honor. You know, some translations say the Lord bestows glory. When Jesus rose from the dead he he received a new resurrection body. And we have this hope that one day we too when we enter into His presence in glory, we will have a renewed a resurrected body as well. He is the first fruits and we trust that we will follow in him after our bodies will be free from sin to live for eternity unfading imperishable, glorious will our bodies be even now we are we’re being transformed from one degree of glory to another. The Lord is making us more and more like Jesus says no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. What a tremendous promise to clean to isn’t that one. No good thing will he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. It’s not that the Lord will give you everything you want. That the Lord will give you give you every good thing that you need. If the Lord did not spare his only son, but graciously gave him up for us, all right. How will He not also with Him? Give us all things that we need. Romans eight, Lord is our heavenly Father. He loves to give good gifts to his children. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desire of your heart. So no good thing will he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. Oh, the final blessing is the blessing of God himself. This is who God is. He sent His anointed one to save us. A day in his court is better than 1000 elsewhere. He’s a son, he’s a shield, He bestows favor, He bestows honor and no good thing to see withhold from his beloved children. Playing it’s fitting then, final verse, verse 12, says Lord Almighty, bless it is the one who trusts in You. We get the blessing of God Himself. When we trust in Him. We get to be with him. This is who he is. It’s all about faith, we trust in him. Nothing we do to earn this. It’s his grace to us. We trust in the Lord we, we trust that when we put our faith in Him, we we lean on Him with our lives that will experience this blessing. By grace, we’ve been saved through faith. It’s not our own doing. It’s the gift from God. So every day we live, we live by faith. We live in his presence by faith and we experienced this blessing. So our our journey through Psalm 84 has come to an end. I hope that you’ve enjoyed taking this journey, digging deep into God’s word. I warned you at the beginning that she’d bring your bucket with you hope that your bucket is a little fuller than it was when he came in this morning. There’s so much here that we can cling to for encouragement in our faith, so long for the presence of the Lord. eagerly desire this close relationship with Him, to gather with God’s people, and experience the blessing of worship the journey with God on the way home and experience the blessing of his strength to dwell with God in his house and experience the blessing of God Himself. Let’s pray together.

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Struck July 14, 2024 | Shane Dickinson This sermon from Shane Dickinson explores the story of the Israelites complaining about the lack of water in the desert, highlighting how God always provides, even in the face of grumbling and disobedience. It contrasts the Israelites’ desire to return to Egypt with Moses’ humble leadership, emphasizing the importance of trusting God rather than longing for past comforts. The sermon then draws a parallel between Moses as an imperfect mediator and Jesus as the perfect mediator, explaining how Jesus is the Rock from which living water flows. Finally, it encourages listeners to put their trust in Jesus as the only reliable foundation and source of provision in life.

Good morning, church. Thank you, Kyle, as he said, my name is Shane, and it’s my honor to open the Word of God with you this morning. Yes, if you’ve been here before, you know, there are often props and different things that come with it when I stand here, so yes, you did see something, we’ll get to it in a minute. Open your Bibles with me if you would, please to Numbers, chapter 20. Numbers chapter 20. If you’re using a Pew Bible in front of you, that would be on page 123. Again, also, if you’re using that pew Bible in front of you, please feel free if you don’t have a Bible of your own to make it your own, and take it with you after the service. Now, while you guys are getting find in numbers, just don’t mind me, I’m gonna take a couple of moments to make sure my swing is still locked in weather might not look good and promising for golf today. But I have a round coming up that I want to make sure that I’m ready for. So I gotta remember, when I golf, don’t stand too close. Don’t stand too far, that I keep my head down. That’s the big, big thing. So beautiful, right down the middle. If only you could see what I’m seeing right down the middle, next to the next to the pin. We’ll be knocking that in for birdie. But in all seriousness, I have this golf club with me and one of the hobbies that I’ve gained interest in over the last few years is golfing. Now you would think because I’ve gained interest in it means that I’m good. I have people in the audience this morning who can attest, I am not a great golfer. I even have someone in the audience who has been my free Swing Coach who can really attest, I am not a great golfer. And why am I not a great golfer because I don’t consistently do what I’m supposed to do. As I was saying I’m lining up by making sure I don’t want to be too close to the ball too far for the ball and make sure everything’s working the way that should be want to go up nice and come through. And when I do that, beautiful things happen. The ball goes where I want it to. And the end result is that I’m happy with my round of golf instead of upset. But, and as Lee can attest what happens more times than not when I get behind the golf ball the swing, it’s not the perfect swing. Instead, what happens is some sort of version of as I swing my head, goes every which way and I miss or even sometimes worse, my head goes every which way and I hit the top of the ball, and it goes into the grass and not very far. I am not a great golfer and I’m not a great golfer because I often find myself doing things that I shouldn’t be when I have a golf club in my hand. But I’m willing to bet that I’m not the only one in the room who has situations like this in his life. Maybe it’s not golf, maybe it’s not a sport. But maybe as we look at our own lives, we can diagnose and say, hey, you know, there are areas of my life where I just keep making the same mistake over and over and over again, it might be being paralyzed by over thinking it might be being hesitant to take a step out in faith, it might be just as simple as not willing to be obedient. And so maybe you’re like me with the golf game more mistakes than not or maybe you know people in your life, whether it’s your children or relationships that you have friends that you have that you see that so often they just find themselves in positions where they’re making a mistake over and over and over again. Well, we’re not alone. At least I know that I’m not alone in my golf mistake. I’m not alone in the mistakes that I make in my life because the passage we’re going to be looking at this morning, from the book of Numbers chronicles a mistake in the life and history of the nation of Israel. Do you know anything about the Bible? You know, the Old Testament does a great job of making sure that we see and have on full display the mistakes that the nation made throughout its life and existence. And what’s happening here this morning is no different. See, because the nation finds itself in this vicious cycle that they just can’t seem to break. What happens they find themselves in an impossible situation. God comes in and miraculously creates a way for them to be free, released or provided for but then some time goes by and they forget what happened. And rather than be thankful they begin to complain again. It’s kind of like as the great theologian and 11 time world series champion Yankee catcher Yogi Berra once said, deja vu all over again. And so this morning, what we’re going to do He was going to take a look at one of these deja vu all over again moments to see in the nation of Israel. What can we learn what results from this moment and it’s my hope that as we look at the nation, we can look at ourselves and see the same hope that exists in our passage exists for us today. So that’s why we’ll be looking at numbers 20, verses one through 13. Now, at the onset, if you’re someone who likes to take notes, jot this down with me, our big idea that we’re going to be focusing on this morning is the truth and reality that God always provides. Again, God always provides, and on the surface that may be difficult for some of us to hear this morning and agree with Sure, there are some of us who are in the room who will agree that, yes, God will provide because of course he will. He is God, and he always provides but this morning, if we’re honest, that might not be everyone. Maybe you’re here this morning, and you’re having a hard time seeing, or exactly remembering how God has shown this truth to be real in your life. Maybe you’ve made your way into church this morning, or you’re listening online, and it’s really difficult to see the provision of the Lord. You might be experiencing a transition at a job or relationship that you’d come to rely upon and find identity and has been uprooted. Or honestly you just find yourself in a place where all you can see is need. So it’s my sincere hope. It’s my earnest prayer. And it has been as I’ve been preparing for this that this morning, the Lord would use this portion of Scripture and the nation of Israel to help cement this reality in our lives today. God always provides. Now we’re going to see this truth unfold across three short scenes in our text this morning, you should be open to numbers 20. Now I finally found myself there as well. We’re going to look here at the first section and seen that we’re calling the community grumbles numbers 20 verses one through five Read with me if you would. In the first month, the whole Israelite community arrived at the desert of Zen. And they stayed at kiddish. There Miriam died and was buried. Now there was no water for the community. And the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarrel with Moses and said, If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord, why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place, for it has no grain or figs, grape vines or pomegranates and there is no water to drink. We look at our opening scene, we see that the community grumbles. Now, our text opens up with the people of God, and they found themselves in the community of Kadesh. And I think it’s important for us to remind ourselves that we’re jumping into the midst of a story here, not finding ourselves at the beginning. This isn’t a fairy tale moment where it’s once upon a time the nation of Israel happened to find themselves in the nation of Kadesh. No, instead, this is we’ve jumped in, in the midst of a really, really long time of wandering, and wandering. It hasn’t been just a few moments. In fact, instead, it’s actually been a few years and more than that, it’s actually almost been 40 years, this group has been traveling for a super long period of time. And it doesn’t take long for them to realize what isn’t around them. For as the text even said to us, they arrive and they say there was no water for the community. And so I know when it comes to looking at the nation of Israel, it’s easy for us to kind of jump and attack like, how could they forget? How could they do this? How could they say this? I think here at the onset, it’s fair for us to say this is a valid complaint. They’ve been walking for a really long time. They’ve set up camp, and they’ve come to realize that there isn’t water to drink. Now I don’t know about you, but I mean, I find myself when I walk to the end of the block in need of a drink of water, let alone walking for days or months or years. So Israelites I understand. I’d be thirsty to the people are asking, Hey, Moses, where’s the water at man?
We need it. This might be valid. But as we read in the remainder of their complaint, we see that this is probably about more than just water. Water is the tipping point we would say, Have you ever been in one of those situations where one thing happens, and it’s just like the last straw tipping point, then all of a sudden, it’s this is an issue. And this is an issue and this is an issue, this is an issue. Water was the straw that broke the camel’s back. And so, if we look back at verses three through five, it says that they quarrel with Moses and said, If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord, why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness? That we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place, for it has no green or figs, grape vines or pomegranates, and there’s no water to drink. The nation’s ticked and the nation’s ticked about more than just water. But what’s important to know in what they’ve said is that the nation is just kind of complaining. The nation is rumbling the community’s upset and it’s worth looking closer at their complaint. Sure, there’s no water to drink. Admittedly, there’s no food to eat. But the response of the people is to say, in the midst of no water, and in the midst of no food, hey, we’d rather be back in Egypt, because it truly wasn’t that bad, compared to where we find ourselves now. Now, it’s at this moment that if you followed along in the nation of Israel’s history, your antenna should be up. And your antenna should be up in this moment, because what the nation is saying is utter rubbish. Truly, nothing could be further from the truth. See, because they’re complaining and desiring to go back to Egypt, which is something that is insane to consider, let alone even say out loud, it’s safe to say here in this moment that the nation of Israel has lost its mind. Life may not be super easy now, but there’s no comparison between what they’re experiencing and being enslaved. In Egypt, there’s no comparison to being able to walk free and being forced into hard labor. There’s no comparison. And in fact, we see that there’s evidence here that even helps us that should have helped the people as well. Our Verses began by stating that they arrived at the desert of Zen and Marian died and was buried. And it’s important here, we don’t get a lot of context and marry him. In this moment. We know Miriam to be the sister of Moses. And what happened here at the end of her life actually points back to something that happened before. And so this isn’t the first time the nations found themselves in a position where they need water. In fact, they found themselves there in just the last book in Exodus, we see in Exodus 17, it says that the whole Israelite community set out for the desert of sin, traveling from place to place, as the Lord had commanded. They camped at Ramadan, but there was no water for the people to drink. So they quarrel with Moses and said, Give us water to drink. Moses replied, Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test? But the people were thirsty for the water there and they grumbled against Moses. They said, Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and our livestock die? of thirst? Did you catch that? There it was, again? Why did you bring us out of Egypt? When situations get difficult in the life of the nation of Israel, they respond with Egypt. This is too difficult. I wish we were back in Egypt. We don’t have what we want or what we need. We wish we could go back to Egypt because they provided for us everything we could have ever wanted. This is what we thought it would be. I’m sure Egypt would have been better. Time and time and time again. The nation of Egypt the nation of Israel uses Egypt as their calling card for when the nation grumbles. Egypt is what they desire to go back to. Now, again, before we pile on to the nation of Israel with their desire to return to Egypt, it’s worth stopping and asking ourselves here. What’s our Egypt? What’s my Egypt? What is it that when I find a situation that’s too difficult, I wish I could go back to life’s too hard. I wish I could go back to when I was in college. This is asking too much of me. I wish I was still in that relationship. We’re working this job or in that living situation, what do we focus on in our grumbling, like the nation of Israel creating for ourselves an alternate reality in which we think somewhere we’ve been before gave us everything we needed, and everything we wanted. Because in case you were wondering, the nation of Egypt was not the land that was flowing with milk and honey, that the grumbles of the nation of Israel would have us believe. In fact, it’s the opposite because Exodus chapter one tells us that the king of Egypt when the nation was there, saw that the nation was a great threat. So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor. And worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with harsh labor and brick and mortar with all kinds of work in the fields and in their harsh labor. The Egyptians worked them ruthlessly. This is the Egypt that the nation is crying out to go back to send us back here. This is the nation that the Israelites are hoping that they would be sent back to you because surely life was better than it’s my hope that that’s a word for someone in here this morning that as absurd as the nation sounds in this moment for asking and demanding to go back to Egypt is as absurd as we sound, we find ourselves yearning to go back to the Egypt’s in our own lives. The community grumbles. And if we’re not careful, we can join them in that grumble. But let’s keep going in our store, we have more ground to cover. So after the community has shared this grumble before Moses, he stands with a decision to make. What’s he going to do? What’s he going to do in response to what he has heard, it would seem at the onset that he has two options. His first option could be to grumble with them. If you can’t beat them, join them. Or he could lash out against the people because of their grumbling and seek to do to them what they’ve done to him and putting them on blast. And admittedly, it looks like those are the only two realities. But our text offers us instead of third perspective. Let’s look back at the text starting in verse six, where instead it states that Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell facedown. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them. The Lord said to Moses, take the staff and you and your brother gather the assembly together, speak to that rock before their eyes, and it will pour out its water, you will bring water out of the rock for the community so that they and their livestock can drink. At after the community grumbles the leader humbles you see this isn’t Moses, his first time interacting with the cries of the nation of Israel. He’s been with them through numerous complaints, seasons of disobedience and regularly forgetting what the Lord has done for them. But rather than join in the chorus of crying out for Egypt, Moses cries out for help instead. So let’s contrast these actions of the crowd and the actions of Moses. When faced with difficulty and opposition, the crowd made it their focus, to grumble towards the one they thought responsible for bringing them here, Moses, how could you bring us here to die? When faced with opposition, when faced with difficulty, rather than doing that Moses is seeking wasn’t towards the people, but instead was up looking to God to understand and ask for help to make sense of what was going on. See, because Moses understood that this situation required a solution that was bigger than himself. And he couldn’t find it anywhere else, but in God. So he has previous experience in Exodus 17, which we already referenced, had prepared him for this moment. Because the first time the nation came and said, We have no water to drink, Moses went to the Lord and stated, What am I to do with these people? They’re almost ready to stone me. And I think that in this moment, we see that despite opposition, Moses continues to seek the advice of the Lord. But I think it’s also fair to say because maybe you’re here this morning and saying,
Well, of course he did. He’s Moses, like he’s a pretty big deal. You know, we’re looking at the history of the Bible, like Moses is one of the guys that were supposed to look at and say like I want to be, Have the faith like him. Well, of course, Moses did what he was supposed to. But when we do that, we lose light of the fact that if there’s anyone in our story who has a reason to grumble, man, is it Moses? Like, no offense to the community, Moses has a list of complaints he could go through. See, because Moses, his life began, being sent down the Nile River after having to escape being killed for being a male child born, while Egypt had enslaved Israel. From their Moses, his life went where he was sent out from Egypt into the wilderness wandering, only to then be sent back and told, Hey, you’re going to go back to Egypt, and you’re going to lead my people out. And it wasn’t like, you know, hey, we’ll see in a few days, it was like, No, it’s gonna take some time. And so Moses goes back into Egypt, and he’s sitting with Pharaoh attempting to ask him that he would let the people go, and Pharaoh just keep saying, no, not doing it. And even after that all happens, and finally Pharaoh says, because the Lord softens his heart, yes, you can go, Moses then leads the people. And as they’re walking out of Egypt, they come up to the sea, that they can’t cross, they have no boats, they have no chance, they have no opportunity. And they look back, and they see that Pharaohs changed his mind and is chasing after them with an army. And then after they miraculously make their way through the water by the hand of God, Moses then stands there. And they have to ask themselves, where are we supposed to go. And so Moses has to lead the people, not knowing where they’re going, not knowing what they’d have for food. So needless to say, Moses has some complaints he could make. He’s got a lot that he could get off his chest. But time and time again, when he’s faced the grumbling and disbelief of the nation of Israel, Moses has sought the guidance of the Lord, time and time again, when he has had no clue what to do, what to say how to lead or where to go next. Moses has looked to the Lord for his answer. Why? Because Moses understood that God always provides, Moses understood and had lived, had the lived experience of God’s provision. And so here, he knows that God is going to provide. See, what’s interesting is that Moses is job here as the leader of the nation of Israel was twofold. He wasn’t just a leader, but he was also the role of a mediator. See, because God had sent Moses back to Egypt, as we said, in order that he could bring my people, the Israelites out of Egypt. And in that moment, when Moses goes back, he becomes the leader of the nation. But from that point forward, he also becomes the mediator between the nation and God. When God had something to say to the people, he said it through Moses, and when the people needed to come before God, they went before him through Moses. And so his role as the mediator put him in many difficult positions, his role as the mediator made his life challenging. But as we’ve seen, at time and time again, he sought the advice and the guidance of the Lord. So I’m sure that as he’s done before, he’ll do again, in this passage, take what the Lord has said, and apply it. Look with me at our passage starting in verse nine. God’s told Moses exactly what he needs to do, and I’m sure Moses will do it here now. So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as He commanded him, he and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock, And Moses said to them, Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock? Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff
Moses didn’t do what he was supposed to do. Maybe maybe got lost in translation, maybe maybe Moses messed up had a quick meal brain fart moment, okay. It was a mistake that was made. But Moses didn’t do what he was supposed to. So then surely if he didn’t obey in the way that he was supposed to. Let’s see what happens next, picking up at the end of verse 11, after Moses had raised the Dharma struck the rock twice with the staff. Water washed out in the community and their livestock drank. So Moses didn’t do what he was supposed to yet water still came out of the rock. Moses disobeyed the Lord yet the end result was that the people still got what they needed and what they were asking for. How does this happen? Maybe Maybe this was Moses is Mulligan, he’d done a really good job, he’d made very few mistakes. This, you know, hey, I get it. Shot a little bit off to the left, can’t find the ball will do it again. I mean, as far as golfers are concerned, Moses is, this is like Tiger back in the day. You know, he’s led the people over the water. He’s led the people through the woods, he spent more than his fair share of time in the sand, but time and time again. He’s found his way to bring the people where they need to go. Surely this is a mulligan from God to Moses. Let’s see what the Lord says. Because our passage isn’t done starting in verse 12. Look with me if you would. But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land that I give them. The mediator stumbles the mediator stumbles. Why does the mediator stumble? Because the instructions that the Lord gave to Moses were to speak to that rock and water would come out not to strike it? And it’s not one of those situations where God said, Fine, you came close, we’ll still give you the right answer. No, this is not about doing and somehow receiving this is that Moses had done wrong. What were God’s direction, speak? Not strike. But maybe you’re asking yourself the same question. I’m asking myself if Moses messed up? Why did the water still come out of the rock? If Moses was supposed to speak to the rock, and then the water would come out? How does hitting the rock instead lead to water flowing? Well, it’s in this moment that we can look back to our big idea. And what’s our big idea this morning that God always provides? The Rock brought forth water because God made it bring forth water to quench the thirst of his people. In fact, as we look at everything that’s happened in the life of the nation of Israel up to this point, I don’t think it’s been Moses, who’s been the one making the difference here, all along. In fact, I know that it’s been the Lord. See, because after the plagues in Egypt, when Pharaoh allowed the nation to leave, it wasn’t because Moses, was this master negotiator. No. Instead, it was because the Lord had made the Egyptians favorite to be favorably disposed serves the people. And so they left. And once they wandered out of Egypt, it wasn’t Moses, his GPS that brought them where they were supposed to go. But instead, the Bible tells us that by day, the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, so that they could travel both by day or night. When the people came to the Red Sea, it wasn’t Moses, his hands that opened the water. No, it was God’s hands, instead, that part of the sea so that his people could walk right through it. You see where I’m going here with this time and time? Again, it was not Moses that provides, but no, instead it was God. Why? Because God always provides even in the face of grumbling, even in the aftermath of stumbling, God always provides. And this is great news for you. And for me, because I hate to break it to us. Israel isn’t the only community that’s ever grumbled. And Moses isn’t the only leader who’s ever stumbled. That’s our story to that’s been our experience. We’ve grumbled, we’ve stumbled, and we’ve fallen. And the word that we use for that is sin. We have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, just as Moses did in this moment, just as the nation has done in this moment. Just as the nation has sinned, so we too, have sinned. And this isn’t a sin like that. Stealing a cookie when you’re hoping no one’s looking. This isn’t a sin like telling that white lie hoping that it will get you out of trouble. No, this is the same sin that the Lord tells Moses he has committed after striking the rock again in verse 12, where he says because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy. That’s the sin that we’re talking about. This sin is the idea that we don’t believe God to be all powerful, all knowing are all able but that we believe ourselves to be these things instead. And why is this a problem? Because if we believe ourselves to be God, we are not allowing and believing God to be God. Four, if we put our faith if we put our trust, if we put our hope, in our own abilities, our understanding our words, we can’t possibly do that with God. And so suddenly, we find ourselves in a situation altogether worse than just longing for some water to drink. We find ourselves in a situation where we are in opposition to God. So what’s the solution here? How do we find a way to right the wrong that has occurred? Well, we must look to the mediator. Now, you may be saying to yourself shame. The third point, we literally just laid it on our bulletin, it says that the mediator stumbles, so why on earth would we look towards the mediator? Because the mediator that you and I are looking for in this moment is not Moses, he can’t help us here. In fact, the mediator we’re looking for is no one in the history of the kings are the people who have led the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, no, we are looking for a greater mediator, we are not looking simply for a mediator, we are looking for the mediator, and the mediator that we need is Jesus Christ. See, because Jesus is our mediator, just like Moses was the mediator for the nation of Israel. He went before God for them in the same way that Jesus goes before God for us. But there’s a huge difference between that mediator and this mediator. Moses was insufficient, he could not and prove that he did not have the ability to perfectly follow the words of God. Can the same be said about Jesus? Can the same be said about Jesus? That’s right. The same cannot be said about Jesus. Why? Because in fact, quite the opposite is said about him throughout the entirety of the Bible. Philippians two tells us that Jesus being in the very nature, God did not consider equality with God, something to be used to his own advantage. Rather, he made himself nothing, by taking the very nature of a servant. By being made in human likeness. And being found in the appearance as a man, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Colossians, as was read for us says that He is the image of the invisible God, He is the firstborn of all creation, For by Him all things were created in heaven, and on earth, visible and invisible, all things were created through Him and for Him, and He is before all things, and in Him, Jesus, all things hold together. John six tells us that he Jesus is the bread of life, whoever comes to him shall not hunger and over believes in him shall never thirst. Moses was the imperfect mediator, who sought assistance to bring forth water from the rock for the people of Israel. But Jesus is the perfect mediator for you. And for me, who says us that He is the rock from which all water will come, and all can drink and never be thirsty? Again. Jesus is the rock from which living water comes from. Sure, in the wilderness, the nation of Israel was thirsty. But as you and I walked through the wilderness of life, we have a deeper thirst, and one that can’t be quenched by water alone. Rather, it must be quenched by something rather someone greater and that someone greater is Jesus. Why? Because Jesus is the rock, and he’s the rock that’s been struck for our sins.
As you and I look to Jesus, the rock that has been struck for our sins, it’s important for us to note in this moment that this is not like the rock that the nation needed for water. Because time and time again, the nation got thirsty, and thirsty, and thirsty, but know what the Bible tells us and shows us what we’ve experienced in our lives if we believe in Jesus is that he is the rock who has been struck once for our sin. And then as we put our faith and trust in Him as we believe Him to be Lord of our lives, we never thirst again. We don’t wander like the nation in search of momentary refreshment. We have eternal refreshment that we need in Jesus. And so as we experienced the water salvation that flows from the rock of Christ, we gain the knowledge and confidence that now we can say exactly what our big idea was this morning. We can say with confidence that God always provides because he’s provided for us as Paul states enrollments. He who did not spare His own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also, along with him graciously give us all things. That’s the mediator that you and I are in need of. And that’s the mediator who’s ready to mediate on our behalf. In Christ you and I can stand and say this morning that God always provides.
And so as we sit at the end of our see, there are three different responses. I think that can come from our passage this morning. First, for the believer in Jesus Christ, if you’re here this morning, ask yourself this. am I allowing Jesus to be the mediator of my life? Sure, maybe I did at the start. Maybe there have been seasons in my life where I have before. But life’s gotten tough, and situations have changed. And things are different than they used to be. So like the nation of Israel, I find myself in the midst of trouble and hardship, I start looking back for better days looking back to Egypt. Too often my refrain has been has been let me go to where I was before, bring me back to that relationship. Bring me back to that job. Bring me back to that time of life. I want to go back, I need to go back. What does our passage reveal to us that we can hold on to with confidence this morning, God always provides. So let him provide as your mediator today. Don’t pined for Egypt, run instead to the rock. Come and drink from the rock that flows with water for you. Secondly, for the questioning individual who might be with us this morning, ask yourself this. If you are here and doubting that God will or even can ever provide, allow the words that we referenced from Paul, to be the confidence you need, in the face of doubt. He did not spare His own Son but gave us up gave him up for us all, how will he not also along with him, graciously give us all things God always provides. God provided for us His Son, like God provided water in the desert. The nation of Israel was not following the Lord. And then he brought forth water. No, they were grumbling. They were complaining they were calling out for a return to Egypt. Yet still, in that moment God provided water and his provision of His Son for you and I is the same. He provides Jesus for us striking the rock and bringing forth salvation while we were still actively in rebellion against Him. In light of that reality, how could we ever think you wouldn’t provide? And finally, if you’re here today, and you aren’t too sure about Jesus, maybe you’re still seeking, questioning, wondering what Christianity is. Let me say I’m glad that you’re here. Thank you for being a part of this church this morning and trusting us enough to ask questions alongside us. Here’s a question I have for you. what or whom can you trust to absolutely provide for you, because relationships will come to an end, layoffs will occur and the stock market can crash. Popularity comes and goes your family upbringing can only take you so far. Avenue after Avenue identifier after identifier. Everything has an end, and everything will fall short. Like Jake said to us last week, our lives need a foundation. And if you’re seeking to make your foundation one of any of those things, if you’re seeking to make your foundation pining to go back for Egypt, it will fail and it will fall. But like Jake reminded us last week, we need a foundation. And that foundation has to be built upon a rock that storms can’t touch. There’s only one rock and his name is Jesus. There’s only one person who will never let you down. And his name is Jesus. And so I’d invite you today to put your trust in Him. Drink from the rock and never thirst again. All other foundations will move any other source of water you will need a drink from again. But not Jesus, not the rock of our salvation, not the rock of our salvation. Allow him to provide for you that thirst quenching water and never thirst again. Let’s pray. Jesus, we come before you this morning and we admit that we so often are hoping and desiring for that which does not bring life. Father forgive us for putting our confidence in things that are not you. Forgive us for looking back and pining for a way that things used to be God would you in us build a foundation that we would put our trust and our hope, our faith in you, that we would be able to say whether it’s from the top of the mountain or in as simple as a moment. As waking up in the morning, God always provides and so he will provide this day. Help us to see, to know to understand and believe your provision, that you are the one who has always provided for us. Thank you for providing Jesus your son as our Savior. Thank you for making it possible for us to enter into life and relationship with you eternally by the way of your son, The Rock who was struck for our sins. We love you God. And in light of this truth, we come to give you praise and worship, in Jesus name. Amen.

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The Rock July 7, 2024 | Jake Thomas Jake Thomas (Director of Student Ministries) uses Psalm 62 to illustrate that God is the only reliable refuge in life’s storms. He contrasts God (The Rock) with untrustworthy people, fleeting reputations, and unstable riches as potential but inadequate refuges. Thomas emphasizes that Jesus Christ is the trustworthy rock who offers unshakable honor, unfailing love, and true security. He encourages listeners to rest in God by continually reminding themselves of His attributes and building their lives on Jesus’ teachings as a sure foundation.

Good morning, church. Please open your Bibles to Psalm 62, that’ll be on page 462 in your pew Bibles, and that’s what we’re going to be today. I think everyone knows the story of the three little pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. So three little pigs move out from mom pigs house and they each go build their own place. One pig builds his house at a hay, the other out of sticks and the third out of bricks. So one of the big bad wolf comes along, and he Huff’s and puffs and he blows down the house made of hay in the house made of sticks, and those two little piggies don’t live happily ever after. But then the third little piggy in his house of bricks and the Big Bad Wolf pulls up he Huff’s and he puffs and he can’t knock the house over, the house stands firm, and that little piggy does live happily ever after. And it’s a cute story. It’s a cute little lesson about the importance of being prepared and picking the right refuge for the trials and circumstances we face in life. And I know I’ve never faced a big bad wolf. I don’t think anyone here probably has either. But we also know the importance of picking the right refuge for a storm. There was a time that me and my mom were driving back from O’Hare Airport to Iowa, and we’re on the interstate, and they’re caught up in a huge thunderstorm. I mean, the rain was coming down, beat up the car, the wind was coming at us. I thought we’re gonna wind up in the ditch. And then I couldn’t see like we’re like, at all so I’m just like going a mile an hour. I’m gripping the stereo. my knuckles are getting wide. I’m getting pretty scared. My mom was getting scarier, which made me even more scared. But why was I scared? Because the car was the wrong refuge for the storm. The car was not designed to be in a thunderstorm. And so I drove by that premiere an hour and a half just gripping the wheel just praying, oh man, get me out of this. And eventually pulled over into the hotel parking lot. And we’ve gotten the hotel and man gotten a hotel building. I was scared anymore. Because the hotel with its walls and its roof was designed to keep out the weather. I was in the right place the right it was the right refuge for the storm I was in. So matters which refuge you pick for the songs you face. And the same is true of life. Because life is hard. We face things that are way scarier than big, bad wolves and thunderstorms each and every day. So what is the right refuge for our life? Then how can we persevere through the storms of life? I believe Psalm 62 gives us the answer to the right refuge that for life when the storms come. And so I’m gonna give you my big idea right from the front so you can follow with me you can see where I’m going. My big idea is real simple rests in the right refuge. That’s rest in the right refuge and spoiler, Jesus Christ is the right refuge. I know shocker. Jesus is the right refuge for your life. But why is he the right refuge? And how do we rest in Him? And what are the refuges seem like they’re the right refuge, but in reality, they’re gonna blow away like bricks and hey, in the storm. Psalm 62 tells us that God is the right refuge to persevere through the storms of life. And also warns about trusting any foundation that is not God. Anything that is not God is going to blow away when the storm comes. So a little background of Psalm 62 is written by a man named David who is the king of Israel. And David actually knew a lot about storms himself, his life was full of them. Let me share some stuff with you. He fought a man named Goliath. He was on the run from enemy soldiers, both from foreign nations and also his own nation because he was betrayed by the King who he had served. And then to top it off, he lost his best friend to war. And those are the outside storms or outside circumstances that he faced. Because David had some storms in her life, but also they were his own fault. They were a consequence of his sin and his life. David had an affair and then he murdered the rightful husband of his stolen bride. And then the child conceived from that affair died in miscarriage. And then his other kids that grew up, went to war against David and they also died. At just scratching the surface. David’s life was full of storms. So we don’t know exactly which storm prompted David to write this particular song, but we know he knew a thing or two about the storms of life. And so the first refuges we see David wrestle with in the first few verses is the refuge of the rock, which is God God is the rock, or the rotten, which is the people that were around us sinners. And so first we see David say, why we should trust the rock why he trusts the rock as his refuge in verses one and two, we see truly my soul finds rest in God, my salvation can was from him. Truly He is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress, I will never be shaken. So it’s kind of interesting verse because David is speaking to God. But he’s speaking to God about God. Do you think David need God to be reminded about who he was? No, David’s remind himself about who God was. And that’s the ultimate key to resting in the right refuge is David’s right himself that God is his salvation. He is his rock, his fortress, his source of rest. So David is remind himself of who God is remind us of the character of God is the key to resting on the refuge. And they’ve used the word fortress, which makes sense, David would use that word, he was a warrior where the warrior feel most safe. A fortress. So we should trust the rock, which is God, because He brings safety security policies to protect us. The rock is a mighty fortress, and we get caught up in the storms of life, we can run back to the stork fortress and be protected and seek shelter. Except we don’t always trust God, the rock, do we? Sometimes we would trust other people around us. I mean, think about this way, when a problem pops up in your life, who’s your first phone call? Is your parents, maybe you call the doctor or an expert, maybe turn on the news. I grew up in a time where the solution to every problem I ever face was a Google search or YouTube video way. It’s really easy to remember other people before we remember the rock to remember God. But David warns about trusting other people before the rock when he writes, How long will you assault me in verse three? Would all of you throw me down this leaning wall this tottering fence? Surely they intend to topple me from my lofty place? They take the light and lies with their mouths, they bless. But in their hearts, they curse. So David’s contrasting this mighty fortress, this rock he’s built up God to be with people. He uses the word, this tottering fence this leaning wall. So God is a strong and mighty fortress. And people the rotten are kind of a sketchy one. But what makes them different? What is the difference between the reliable fortress and the sketchy check? Whether you can trust them or not, whether you can trust them to protect you look at the words that he used the verse one and two, truly. He says truly twice. God is a reliable fortress because you can trust them. He says he loves you. He wants to bless you any means it. People are a different matter. I mean, newsflash, people can lie, which makes them inherently untrustworthy. He describes these people in verses four and five as enemies of him, that with their mouths, they bless but in their hearts, they curse. People that say they love you that say they’re on their team that they want to bless you. When they’re either they’re actually against you. It kinda reminds me of politicians, I know, dangerous topic. But it’s election. It’s election season. And every year, every election cycle, someone comes along, who’s a man of the people, like I want to you guys, I want to go there, I want to go to Washington, I want to bless you tax cuts with social programs, all these things, make your life better, I’m on your team, we gotta get stuff done. And they say they want to bless you. But they don’t love you. They just want your vote. You’re a number to them. That’s kind of what it’s like with rotten people, round people. They say they love you. You just enter the means for them. And we don’t have to go very far to find someone rotten. Whether you want to hear that or not. Whether you believe it. I know. I think a lot of people like me too. But there are people that are against you. Maybe a co worker, a neighbor, maybe they’re in your family. Someone that says they love you, when push comes to shove, actually curse you in their hearts. Because what motivates a rotten person? It could be a could be, I think more likely, it’s self preservation. In the heart of a rotten person, if it’s you or them, they’re choosing themselves. If it comes down in the line, all those promises of blessing I’m gonna be here. I’m on your team. They vanished like a mirage. That’s why the rotten are so untrustworthy, make our lousy fortress cuz you can’t trust them.
But there is good news. There is one person we can trust. A person who walked the earth without a rotten bone in their body, the only person that’s Jesus, Jesus. He says he wants to bless you, and He loves you. And he actually means it. And he frees us from depending upon the rotten. I mean, if that was our only option was to trust the people around us that we knew, at the end of the day weren’t trustworthy, that would be pretty awful. But Jesus frees us from that he gives us a better option to trust us, the person who his actions actually match up with his words may have never seen a politician willing to die for his voters. But Jesus was not only willing to die, he did die so that we could be blessed with eternal life. So when we need a fortress, run to the rock, which arrest in the right refuge. So you trust the rock or the rotten. And the next choice we see the solace wrestle with is choosing the rock or reputation. So we see David Right, yes, my soul find rests in God, my hope comes from Him. Truly, He is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation in my honor depend on God, He is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times you people, pour your hearts to Him for God is our refuge. So he’s once again pointing out why we should trust the rock. God is a mighty refuge of fortress arrest. But he also says something interesting. He says, My honor depends on him. Remember that that’s important to note of, for something to depend upon something else, it must rely upon it. And trust it. And that’s kind of hard. It’s hard to trust. And sometimes we’d rather depend upon ourselves when we are at least depend upon, excuse me, depend upon how others view us. David knows this, which is why he goes on to write in verse nine, surely the low bar or breath the high Warner but a lie. If weighed on a balance, they are nothing together, they are only a breath. So the high bar and the low bar it would mean kind of like the upper class, the elite, and the lower class, the nobodies. So to the eyes of everyone else, like the upper class, like they had it figured out, like they have all the money, the fame, the power, they’re doing great in life, everything’s going amazing. And the lower class, they’re not doing so hot. But David says that way on all balance, they are nothing. So in the eyes of God, this is not a difference. The upper class and the lower class have no eternal difference in the eyes of God. He even contrast, the powerful image of the rock, again to the reputation says it’s about a breath that weighs nothing.
So if you rest a reputation, you will not gain rest at all. Kim Kardashian, one of the most famous women in the world, went viral a week and a half ago, and I think she was gonna show up, did you? She went viral week and a half ago for this quote saying, “I’ve got about 10 years where I still look good. So that’s all I got it on me. And then I’ll take some time off. That’s my 10 year plan.”
So Kim has placed her whole career and reputation of being famous. And she believes she’s only famous because people view her as beautiful as attractive. And so her retirement plan isn’t when she feels like she’s done all she wants to do. Or she wants to design with family. It’s when she thinks she’s no longer beautiful. Doesn’t that sound miserable? To have her whole life propped up by whether or not people think you are valuable. And it’s easy look at that and be like oh yeah, that’s very obviously, like just awful. But we do the same thing. I mean, no one this room is a millionaire fashion model for sure. Look, we’re good. But I mean, don’t we also care about what people think about us when you’re trying to impress our bosses, so they keep employing us, to impress our friends and family. So I think we got to really put together and we’re doing all right. We’re gonna impress ourselves so that we can, like we look at in the mirror. We definitely care about what people think about us. But restaurant our reputation is exhausting. It’s like resting on a treadmill. It’s just always moving, it’s impossible to truly relax. And that’s because we make a reputation depend upon us our performance. But resting on the rock is different restaurants. It’s exactly what it sounds like as rested on security, on stability. So that’s not going to move.
David says our honor depends on him in verse seven. So the rock He grants us a new reputation honor, we rest upon it. And in verse six, it says, I will not be shaken. That honor is unchangeable. That honor is unmoving. So how can our honor depend upon him? Well, when we turn away from our sin, and we give our life to Jesus as Lord and Savior, He gives us a new name. He gives us a new reputation, we no longer have to worry about what everyone thinks about us. We can just know what Jesus believes about us. Jesus says about us. So we’re free from the pressure of trying to earn reputation, and we can rest and what is given to us. He makes us sons and daughters. And actually help us to be a little more honest. Think about this. Why do we lie? To protect your reputation? This tweak the little details make a much better version of Jake so that everyone can like me. I mean, I was I played basketball in high school, and whenever like the roster came out, you could clearly tell that someone lied about their height. Every guy did that a little bit. There were guys that were five, nine, maybe but there were six, one on the roster. And full confession time I say I’m six, four, I’m actually six foot three and a half. I know. But when we rest on the rock, we can rest comfortably on who we actually are. Yeah, I’m not six, four. But Jesus loves me. I’m not perfect. But Jesus loves me. I’m a sinner saved by grace, and Jesus loves me. We don’t have to lie anymore. We rest in the rock we can rest on who what is true? Well, we actually are to GSC frees us from the refuge reputation. We don’t have to prove ourselves to anyone anymore. We can run on what Jesus says about us, as opposed to what others think about us. And that gives us peace. So Jesus gives us an unshakable reputation. So when the storm comes, will you rest on the rock or reputation? The final question we see in this passage is will you choose the rock or riches? Verse nine is very clear. David Rice does not trust and exhaustion or put vain hope and stolen goods. Though your riches increase, do not set your hearts on them. So David is warned against trusting money over the rock. He’s saying that placing hope in stolen goods is vain, which means useless producing no results. Now you may be looking at this and be like hang on Jake Wait. Isn’t just saying like a Morley gain money is wrong, not just money in general. I hear I hear you’re saying but give me I don’t think it’s exactly the emphasis that David is trying to make in there. Look at all the actions of the passage of this verse. In verse 10, do not trust put vain hope. Do not set your heart on them. It’s not warning. It’s making money. It’s Warren against trusting money more than the rock trusting money more than God. But even the phrase stolen goods has a little bit of different meaning it also can be translated as borrowed goods. Now the term borrowed kind of begs the question like who you’re borrowing from, who owns this stuff? Psalm 24. One through two says the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. So David is not telling the people not to steal from each other. He’s saying, hey, the stuff you think you own doesn’t actually belong to you. You’re just holding on to it for a little bit. There’s this great song lyric I heard a while ago that says, You will never see a hearse with a trailer hitch. That’s true, right? All the stuff that we acquire in our lives that we, we think we own at the end of the day when we die. We don’t get to take it with us stays behind. But then why is it so easy to live like we actually own our money that we own the stuff that we acquire in our life because it seems to offer security and safety. If I could just get my savings account this amount of money, I’ll be okay. I’ll be able to weather any storm my way. If I guess I have this nice a car, I’ll be satisfied. I just go with the Disney World that many times I’ll finally be happy. But that’s not true is it? Your savings can always be a little higher. Your car is gonna get rusty, you gotta get a new car. It’s always a new model. It’s always a new vacation you can go on. And not just that, but like money problems are real. There’s always unexpected storms of money all the time, a doctor’s appointment, or a storm destroys an actual storm destroys your house or stuff gets stolen. So not only is money you can’t take it with you, it’s hard to keep in the moment is really fickle. Resting on riches like rests on a bucking bronco. Someone’s gonna get hurt is not a reliable refuge. But the rock is different. The rock is not going to move on you. It’s reliable is trustworthy. It’s my David goes on to close by writing a verse 11 One thing God has spoken to things I have heard, power belongs to you God and with you, Lord is unfailing love and you reward everyone according to what they have done. So these verses show why the rock is the right refuge because the rock has all the things you’re looking for in a refuge. You want to refuge that power you want to powerful refuge the rock has righteous power you don’t refuse to be fair and have justice. The Rock has righteous just this you’re looking to be loved. The Rock has righteous on failing love. The rock can withstand the storms of life because he is stronger than them the rock is stronger than riches money is subject the time and change the rock created time and is eternal. The rock is the right refuge because He is all powerful not just that the rock is also loving and not simply loving but on failing Lee loving the rock is better than the rotten because the rotten merely say they love you and they want to bless you the rock loves you he’s willing to die to prove that the rock is the right refuge because the rock is all loving.
And the rock is better than reputation because the rock rewards those based on what they’ve done, not what everybody thinks about them. And at first that seems like great and I have a new boss I gotta impress. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The Rock grants us honor through one act of attorney from our sin and give our lives to Jesus and then our honor is unchanging. No one can take that from you
the rock is the right refuge because he is all judging. He’s fair. The rock is the right refuge because God has unfailing love, power and justice. So we should rest on the rock to withstand the storms of life. If you’re a believer today and you’re like great, you’ve said that a logic you said rests on the rock a lot. Well what does actually even mean? How do we act to even do that, I believe David actually shows us what it looks like to rest on the rock. It’s in the structure of the song. Look at it with me. So verses one and two, we see Dave is reminding us of God’s attributes. He’s looking at what God who God is and what He says He is. And then he addresses the problem of Ron people in his life. And then in the middle, he reminds us up again to trusting God. And then he reminds others to do the same. And then he faces the problem of reputation is life. But then the end is switches. It’s not God, problem is problem. gaffed. He just had the problem of riches in his life. And then he once again remind yourself about who God is. So to rest on the rock is to remind ourselves that we’re on the rock in the first place. It’s before in the middle, and after the storms of life, remind ourselves who God is and what he’s done for us. That is how we rest on the rock. Because forgetting the rest of the rock doesn’t mean the rock isn’t there just means that we forgot about it. Maybe it’s just me, but there are some times where I’m like, I’m leaving the house. I’m in a hurry. And I’m looking for my phone. I’m looking all over the house like where’s my phone? Where’s my phone? My I can’t talk right now. Where’s my phone? Oh, my gosh
me forgetting my phone was there did not change back there was in my handle whole time. It’s the same way with the rock, forgetting that we once we give it off to Jesus, we are on the rock doesn’t change the fact that the rock is there. It just changed our perception of it. The Rock once you give him Jesus, he’s there. We just kind of forget, because we’re kind of dumped sometimes. That’s, that’s all it is. We forget. I mean, that’s well, it wasn’t my phone. I forgot because I was done a little bit. And so when we forget we need the rest on the rock. Just remember the rock is there before the storm in the middle of the storm, and after the storm, and then you’ll get the sense of peace. Right? I’m on the rock. I’m okay. I’m gonna make it and maybe you’re here and you’re not super sold on the rock as a refuge yet. You’ve seen some other things like I can trust my friends I can. I think I can trust my money. I think I can trust my reputation. And you’re unsure of taking that step until what you don’t know into the rock. As got to say the storms are coming. It’s not a question of if it’s caution or when life is hard. And not only is the right the rock the only right refuge. He wants to be your refuge. He wants to protect you and give you life and give you rest. So just let them let the rock give you rest
so Jesus actually told a story pretty similar to the three little piggies Believe it or not. He told the story of a wise man and a foolish man and the wise man built his house on the rock. And the foolish man built his house on sand. And the wise man who built his house on the rock represent anyone who built their life on Jesus and on His Word on his teachings. And when the storm came in, the wind blew in the rain came down. The man built his house in the rock his house stood firm. The man on the sand his house represents any other foundation, anything other than Jesus and His teachings as the foundation for your life. And the rain came and the wind blew and the House came tumbling down so build your life on Jesus. Build your life on the rock rests in the right refuge so that when it starts to rain you can remember you’re on the rock in the middle of storm remember you’re on the rock. Once the clouds clear remember you’re on the rock and you will gain rest and peace and not even the biggest baddest wolf life has to offer can knock you down. Let’s pray. Father, thank you. Thank you for sending your son so that we can join the right refuge. Thank you that you saw our need for safety and for life and protection. You sent down your sons that we could be with you Thank you that you’re stronger than all the other refuges that want us the rest of them. Thank you for giving us a way to be peaceful and at peace. I pray that we would be reminded to trust you more than we do that you would be patient with us as we forget sometimes that we are on the rock. We would just remember who you are, Lord, remember what you’ve done, so that we can receive rest and peace and joy. I pray these things, Lord, in Your perfect and mighty name. Amen.

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Laodicea June 30, 2024 | Brandon Cooper This sermon focuses on the letter to the church in Laodicea from Revelation 3:14-22, highlighting the danger of spiritual complacency and self-reliance. The pastor emphasizes Jesus’ rebuke of the church’s lukewarm faith and a false sense of self-sufficiency, urging them to recognize their true spiritual poverty. He stresses the importance of relying on Jesus for true spiritual riches, holiness, and understanding rather than worldly wealth and comfort. The sermon concludes by encouraging listeners to fix their eyes on Jesus, who is described as holy, creator, savior, and worthy of all praise.

Good morning church. Go ahead, grab your Bibles open up to Revelation chapter three, we will finish up the chapter this morning, starting in verse 14, Revelation 314, as you’re turning there, it’s possible you’ve done something like this before in your life, I know that I have at least where, say you’re driving in your car, and you hear a new noise that your car didn’t used to make. And you know, the inconvenience that this is going to be. So you think yourself, I’m sure it’s fine. It’s probably nothing. And you just kind of go on your merry way. And then you know, a few weeks later, whatever the belt snaps, and now it’s this huge repair and all that maybe it’s not your car, maybe it’s how slow it is. That long it takes you to get to the doctor or relational conflict, whatever it is, we have this tendency to miss evaluate how things are going. And that’s sometimes how serious conditions actually are, you know, there’s always this sense that it can’t be as bad as it looks. Because if it were that bad, I’d have to do something about it. And I don’t want to have to do that. So that bad evaluation leads to complacency and complacency can often lead to catastrophe. And here’s the thing that can happen spiritually, as well. And that’s exactly what we see in the church and loud Asiya, which is where we’re headed. Now, this is the last letter in our series, seven letters. This is the seventh. And in many ways, this is the worst of the letters. I mean, we saw Sardis. And that was a church that looked alive, but was actually dead, which sounds pretty bad. But even Sardis at least had a minority of people who hadn’t soiled their clothes. There’s no minority here in Laos to see. This is a church that has grown complacent. They are spiritually speaking fat, and lazy than unconcerned about their condition. So that’s what we’re going to look at. As we do that we’ll follow the same structure we’ve been following throughout this series. With Christ Church, charge and cheer, the only difference being I’m going to wrap up the sermon with our big idea kind of as a punctuation mark to the sermon, but also as a punctuation mark to the series as a whole. So that is where we’re headed. Let’s start by looking at what Jesus has to say about himself the first section Christ, we will see that he describes himself as a faithfully true, may read it for us, Revelation, chapter three, verse 14, to the angel of the church and allow to see, right, these are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness the ruler of God’s creation. So like last week, were given three descriptions of Jesus, all important in their own way. First of all, he calls himself the Amen. This is a Hebrew word along with hallelujah, the two Hebrew words that everyone on Earth knows and everyone says in Hebrew, even untranslated, and it means something like truly, truly. So it functions that way for the most part, but it is used as a title of God in a few different spots. One of them is Isaiah, chapter 65, verse 16, which is interesting because it’s a similar context of what we have here and Isaiah 65, the Lord begins by rebuking his people who have grown spiritually complacent and who have fallen into obstinate rebellion as a result. But the Lord also speaks of the the remnant that is faithfully pursuing him and he says this about that remnant, he says, Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the god of amen. If you’re looking in the NIV, at that verse would say the one true God which is a great way to translate it, but you know, literally reads the God of Amen or the Amen God, whoever takes an oath in the land will swear by the Amen, God so there he is called a min, this this remnant from within the spiritually complacent people will call on God he says this, this faithful God, interestingly, it’s right after he says that he’s going to give that remnant a new name, which of course we’ve seen in our series as well. Amen is also a word that Jesus uses quite a bit. He frequently introduces his conversations with people by saying, Amen, amen. I tell you, again, usually translated as something like truly, truly are very, Truly I tell you, in other words, he’s saying, I’m the one who is speaking the truth to you, which of course he did. So it makes sense then that the next description we would get of Jesus here is that he’s the faithful and true witness. We’ve seen those words Faithful and True already. In fact, we saw them last week in Revelation 19. Jesus is pictured as the rider on the white horse whose name aim is faithful and true. And I liked this because it brings the two ideas that that word true has together here, you know, we talked about true on the one hand can mean accurate, real genuine and on the other hand, it can mean faithful. And here he is both faithful and true. And so you put all this together and I mean, we get the Jesus is the most accurate witness, like everything he says is amen, amen. Faithful and True. But what about the last title, where he’s described as the ruler of God’s creation? There is a little ambiguity here because that word ruler, it can mean two different things. If you wanted to get the ambiguity in English, it probably could translate it with the word first. So he’s the first of God’s creation, does that mean first in terms of time or first in time or in terms of preeminence place? And the answer is certainly both. He is a creator, we know that. And so as Creator, He rules creation, He is preeminent, he has the right to speak authoritative ly about what he sees. We are beholden to him. But he could also be the the first in time of God’s new creation. That is Jesus is the one who kicks off the coming Kingdom, the new heavens and the new earth, which fits the context of Isaiah 65. By the way, we just read 65 Verse 16, verse 17, the very next verse says, See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. Certainly he does that. So Jesus is the creator, the Redeemer, and the one who reigns. So as creator and recreate her, he has every right to judge us truly, to make distinctions among us to describe us as we really are, especially because of the new kingdom that is coming. And because Jesus is trying to bring about a new heavens and a new earth is this perfect forever kingdom, he cannot allow corruption into it, or it will destroy that new kingdom. I remember reading it probably back in middle school. I think it was an Isaac Asimov short story, but don’t quote me on that. Well, in it this guy like cryogenically freezes himself. And then he wakes up, you know, 100 years in the future, whatever, Science Technology have advanced, and so he had some dreaded disease that they weren’t able to cure at the time and boom, they’re able to cure it, no problem right there. And he’s so grateful for this. And then he coughs a little bit. And so they give him a lethal injection. Because they hadn’t cured the common cold yet, so they just had to eradicate it. And they didn’t want to bring that corruption into their perfect society. That’s, that’s kind of what we’re talking about here. Like there is this corruption, this sickness within us. And if Jesus allows us to bring it into heaven, bring sin into heaven, we will quickly make of Heaven or Hell. And we know that because we did it once already. This is what it would look like except unrestrained in that case. So Jesus can’t allow us to bring that corruption into His coming Kingdom. And so he has to judge us rightly, when he speaks, we need to listen. When he speaks, we need to listen because we cannot judge ourselves, right? I can trust ourselves, to judge ourselves accurately, that we are not faithful and true witnesses, especially not when it comes to ourselves. We just make excuses for our evil over and over and over again, we hear the car noise and we just keep thinking It’s probably nothing. I mean, how many times have you gone back? Let’s say you had a fight with a friend or spouse or somebody like that. And you know, you walk away angry and you replay the fight in your head? How many times do you win that fight in your head? Is it every time or every time? Every time right? Because you can’t judge accurately? You’re in the middle of it. Like clearly the other person’s got some right at least in that conversation. But no, we don’t see it. We always think we’re fine. Always think we’re right. We need outside eyes. Because if somebody else had watched that interaction, they probably will be able to say yeah, but have you considered and that’s what Jesus is offering us here. Someone to tell us what we’re really like, and we need a faithfully true friend and judge to tell us what we’re really like. And allow to see who really needs faithfully true outside eyes because they’ve got no idea what they’re like they’re judging themselves completely inaccurately, as we’ll see. So that’s the next section then So Christ is faithfully true but look at the church will see that the church allowed to see it is pitifully complacent, pitifully complacent, verses 15 to 18. Let me read it for us now. Jesus says I know your deeds that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other. So because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold. I’m about to spit you out of my mouth. You say I am rich,
I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined to the fire so you can become rich and white clothes to wear so you can cover your shameful nakedness and salve to put on your eyes so you can see. So Jesus begins this section with a famous but often misunderstood image when he says that the loudest scenes are neither hot nor cold. Jesus is not talking about like spiritual heat here, he is not saying I wish you were either on fire for Jesus or just like the angriest wickedest atheists you’ve ever met? Because that makes no sense of any other passage in all of Scripture. Why would God want that? No, he’s talking about, he’s using an analogy. And so he’s using an analogy, how we use it, like how do you like your beverages? Hot or cold? Those are the two options, like a cold beverage is refreshing. And a hot beverage can be warming or medicinal. You know, cold day, you’ve got that cold that you’ll be legally injected for later on in the world. And you get a hot cup of chamomile tea, something like that. Like that’s tea. I’m not a coffee drinker. So we’re talking tea here, okay. You can have iced tea, and you can have hot tea. And the one thing you don’t drink is lukewarm tea. Because it’s gross. That’s the whole point. That’s all that Jesus is saying here. Now these are images that the loudest scenes would know well, they’re kind of part of a tri City area. So loud to see here. Propolis and Colossi all quite close together. And here opolis was famous for its hot springs that we’re medicinal, in fact, and Colossi got its water from cool mountain streams. So cold and refreshing. There’s some debate about all this, but it seems like allowed to see was fed by water from Aqua ducks didn’t have a real good water source there within the town itself, the river was kind of putrid and stuff. So they would get their water from the aqueduct. So you can imagine cold water coming across an aqueduct or hot water coming across an aqueduct to a town is all going to end up being lukewarm room temperature, also gonna pick up a lot of calcium carbonate on the way so that it is actually emetic. If you were to drink this water, you would vomit. And that is the word that’s used there the word that we get our word and Medic from, and it does not mean to spit out. Like I didn’t like it. And so I spit it out, it means to throw up to vomit. And that is kind of important to actually, um, explain why there’s a subtle Old Testament allusion here that helps us understand this. So it shows up in a few different places. I’ll just read one, this is Leviticus 20, verse 22. The Lord says, keep all my decrees and laws and follow them so that the land where I’m bringing you to live may not vomit you out. what’s being said there is this is supposed to be a holy place like God’s people in God’s place were supposed to live under his reign. And if they didn’t do that, if they profaned the land, and the land would vomit them out. Why? Because the Holy can’t abide the profane any more than our stomachs can handle rancid meat. So it’s not just that I don’t like the taste. It’s an absolute rejection. And so what’s being said here is that the consequences of spiritual complacency, spiritual uselessness, that’s what being lukewarm is right? Spiritual uselessness is getting vomited out of God’s holy place. excluded from the kingdom exiled from his presence. It’s a strong image. And so it’s worth asking ourselves Am I living water? Am I hot? Like hot springs or cold from cool mountain streams? Or am I just a lukewarm puddle? And as yourself that for right now, not what it used to be. It’s got some parallels to the Ephesian church. The first one we looked at right, they had forgotten the love they had at first, maybe at one point you were steaming hot cup of coffee. But you’re the steaming hot cup of coffee that got left on the counter as its owner went off to work. And now you were well, your coffee. So you’re disgusting to begin with. But you get the point right? You’re lukewarm no longer good. But here’s my second question. So we’re asking ourselves, you know, am I living warm or hot or cold? Am I just lukewarm? My second question though, is how do you know? How would you how are you judging yourself? How would the loudest scions know if they’re hot or cold or lukewarm? Because that raises that question of self evaluation and whether or not we’re able to do it the loudness Ian’s have gotten completely wrong. They think they’re rich. It’s what they say. And they were by the way, they were famous They’re being quite wealthy their banking system was was famous. Remember, we had a couple of towns that got knocked over by earthquakes already in this series. Well, loud to see also got knocked over by an earthquake a few decades later. The difference though is remember, Philadelphia, they like that seizure had to come in and rebuild the city and it got renamed NEOs. ESRI at that point, because they’re so grateful for what Caesar did. Well, Caesar came to LAO to see and said, let me help you rebuild the city. And they’re like, No, we good. Like, we can do this. We got we’re actually richer than you are like, Do you need help? Can we get you something like that was the level of wealth that they had. But being rich in the world’s eyes, does not mean that you are rich in God’s eyes. Because the standard is very, very different. What does the faithfully true ruler, think? This is such a good reminder for us. Because there are some words that may be good and Biblical words, but that we can invest with a totally different meaning than the Bible does. And why we got to be careful. So let me take just as an example, word that really is the chief American virtue, you may not know that it’s the chief American virtue, but I promise you it is. And if you move overseas, you will recognize that almost immediately, and that’s efficiency is what Americans value above all else, efficiency. Here’s the thing. You can be efficient in the world’s eyes, like a breathtakingly efficient, you’ve read all of your cubby and everybody else, like every 15 minute chunk of your day is chock full of whatever goals you are trying to accomplish, to be so efficient in the world’s eyes, and yet totally inefficient in God’s eyes, because you are efficiently, efficiently tackling the wrong priorities. You have devoted your life to doing things that God doesn’t care that much about. And so you’re actually inefficient in accomplishing the purpose for your life. And on the flip side, just think about how terribly inefficient Christianity is. I mean, some of the things that the most important things we’re asked to do are things like, abide in Christ. How do you abide efficiently? Or take discipleship, which is our commission, as the people of God make disciples of all nations? You cannot microwave discipleship. And an American church, of course, has tried to do just that. Like, can we do a six week class? You get your gold sticker? At the end of it, boom, your disciple? No, it’s not how it works. It just takes time. Or sometimes we think in terms of numbers, like why would I do with three people what I couldn’t do with 30 people, that would make me 10 times more efficient and my disciple making wouldn’t it, the more likely I’m actually 10 times less efficient, because I’m going to do absolutely nothing with 30 people, whereas I might be able to do something with three people. Discipleship is slow. Why? Because sanctification is slow. It’s an inefficient process in God’s providence. So we gotta be really careful how we evaluate even good terms. But to my mind, the most concerning part of verse 17, when they’re giving their their self evaluation here is not the I Am Rich part is what comes after I’ve acquired wealth and do not need a thing. If you can stand before God and say, I’m good, I don’t need a thing. I think you are in a really, really dangerous place. And that’s where they are, they are self satisfied, and self reliant. And that is the danger that money brings, or is one of the dangers of being wealthy and I’m speaking to a wealthy church lives in a wealthy community. This is a danger, we face. The problem though, because you got all this money, you think I can handle it, I can rebuild my city if an earthquake comes. The problem is that money is no bulwark against the most important storms you will face in this life. Like what good will your bank account do you on your deathbed? Not a bit of good. And we will all be called to that account at some point. Can’t Buy immortality can’t buy love as even the world recognizes. What about salvation, yet really can’t buy that one. And so there’s this reminder here, and it’s probably a needed reminder because of where we live in the world. And that’s that wealth. And the absence of troubles. Do you notice love to see it has any problems? They’re not being persecuted. Like most of the other churches we’ve seen? Why would they be persecuted? They’ve just slotted into the world’s culture so so well, there’s no need to persecute them. So wealth, and the absence of troubles are no proof of God’s blessing.
Wealth and the absence of troubles or no proof of God’s blessing, which is the end of the prosperity gospel right there. Because this is a prosperity Gospel Church, and loud Asiya they have all the world’s blessings. And they made the mistake of thinking that God was happy with them, as a result, was actually quite the opposite. And we should probably stop and think about that for a moment. Because again, we live in the richest country in the history of the world. We’re also the country, not surprisingly, that produced the prosperity gospel as a result. And so we know this kind of thinking is going to creep into our minds unless we’re vigilant against. We don’t realize how needy we are. Because we don’t feel like a daily hunger the way some people in the world do the loudest scenes didn’t realize how needy they were. So Jesus hits them right in their pride. Because better is open rebuke than hidden love. That’s Proverbs tells us and wounds from a friend can be trusted. These are wounds my friend Jesus offers them right here, and it is quite a list. You are wretched, and pitiful. It’s a good start to conversation. But again, that just shows us that the world has a very different evaluation than God, like the CEO of a Fortune 500 Country company could be a pitiful wretch, in need of what the proper working third shift and one of his factories has to offer the gospel of Jesus Christ. So that’s kind of a general one pitiful and wretched. But then he gets really specific to allow to see on these next three, they are poor, and blind, and naked. Because loud, a CEO was known for its money in banks for a Phrygian powder that they made that was used in an eye salve, and for their black wool. So the three things they were best at exactly where they think they’re strongest. That’s where Jesus says their weakest. This is like the spiritual equivalent of the emperor’s new clothes. Like everybody has their fawning about the Bible, look at you look how well dressed you are and stuff and instead of a child, it’s the omniscient God of the universe, who says you realize you’ve got nothing on spiritually, like you have no idea how pitiful you are. These are harsh words. Absolutely. But as always, there’s grace available, and grace offered in this moment. This is not the final word not yet. Jesus has counseled for them. And what is His counsel deal with your lack? Jesus is just that he’s the passenger going? Do you hear the noise in the car? Like you should go to the shop right now I will pay for the Uber man. Okay, like, like deal with your problem, issue, self reliance. Run to Jesus to get what you need. Because Jesus is the one who provides true riches, and sight and clothing. There’s a part of this verse that I kind of stumbled over maybe you did too, though, I counsel you to buy from Me gold and clothes, and the ISF. How do we buy this from Jesus? And doesn’t that kind of sound a little bit like merit based at that point? Like, do I have to earn this, or I gotta, like, earn the money so that I can do this. that would that would be a problem that would seem to go against the message of grace that the Bible proclaims over and over again, Julie helped us out on this part already. Because she read the passage for us earlier. This is an allusion to Isaiah chapter 55. Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters and you who have no money come by and eat. Again, if you stop there. What a depressing message, you have no money come buy the stuff you need. Thankfully, as a does not stop, God does not stop come buy wine and milk Without money and without cost. Why spend money on what does not bread and your labor and what does not satisfy? We know this is what passage Jesus is thinking of here what passage John’s thinking of here because almost the last words of the book of Revelation, the last word of the book of the Bible is an allusion to this passage right here. So goodbye, true riches. So you can see it’s not a real buying. It reminds me of some years ago, one of my daughters had I think it was a Little House on the Prairie birthday party. Don’t quote me on that. And so she ran a candy store as part of the party. And so we had like old school candy like they would have had back like peppermint sticks, things like that, or whatever. So we gave all the kids you know their little bags of money so that they could go and buy the candy. So you look at what happened. I bought the candy and then I gave them the money to buy the candy that I’d already provided for them. That’s great. Right? That’s what Jesus has done for us. Okay, and that’s good news but but you do have to like show up at the store with the money he gave you to purchase the thing that he already purchased for you by true riches. refined gold, not black like wool garments, but white garments, which we’ve seen throughout revelation means holy living, like our filthy clothes had been removed, and were clothed in garment stained white by Christ’s perfect righteousness, and then the salve to restore our spiritual sight, which has been lost by slow degrees. Like, cataracts forming, this isn’t you wake up one day on your blind, it’s just a little less vision every day until eventually your sight is like Monet’s paintings at the end of his life, which is a good reminder, because no one plans to drift, right? No one plans to drift spiritually. And yet, so many of us do. And so here’s Jesus saying Open your eyes. see clearly? What are you really like? Do you spend more time on your phone on social media than you do in the word or more time listening to what talking heads on cable news have to say about the world and talking to God in prayer? One of the commentators that I was reading this past week, he gave an interesting one, this will this will expose us I think a little bit. He said, You know, if you had a choice between somebody giving you like the winning Powerball ticket, billion dollars, or the promise of God’s provision, which would you choose? I would need God’s provision that right? All lottery winners eventually go bankrupt. So yeah, probably you want to choose God’s provision instead, like you get the point? These are the sorts of questions we have to be asking ourselves, especially because we live in such a similar context to allow to see, we’ve got money, we don’t need a thing. We think we’re smart, and fashionable. We are self reliant, self satisfied, and most likely self deceived. Have you become spiritually complacent? Are you spiritually fat, and lazy? It may be that the most dangerous word spiritually speaking, is content. I’m content in my faith. CS Lewis says it like this. And this is this is the section here, right? He’s just gonna slice this open with this one. He says, We think what would really satisfy us would be a God who said of anything we happen to like doing? What does it matter, so long as they are contented. We want not so much a father in heaven as a grandfather, a senile benevolence, who likes to see young people enjoying themselves, and whose plan for the universe was simply that it might be truly said at the end of each day, a good time was had by all. I think that is how most of us feel as long as I’m not doing something terribly wrong, like, I’m good. I’m good, I’m fine. And if that’s you, if that’s your feeling, and the rebuke that’s coming is for you. And that’s where we’re going next this charge verses 19 and 20. What rebuke does Jesus offer when it see that this rebuke is lovingly stern may read verses 19 and 20. For us, those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am, I stand at the door and knock if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person and they with me. So it is a rebuke. There’s the stern part. But it is a loving rebuke contract. Jesus specifically says that love is what motivating him. Lord disciplines those whom he loves, cares enough about to actually talk to engage with a loving rebuke is the only kind of rebuke that really works. Because it’s not dealing with behavior, which is the fruit of our lives. It is dealing with the heart itself. And we’re talking here about sins that are so subtle, they’re almost impossible to discern that that slow drift idea. We’re talking about sins like self sufficiency, and complacency that come from affluence, and spiritual contentment, which Jeremy Writebol in his book on the seventh letter says these sorts of sin sit deeper in the heart than adultery and murder, which is so true. And so like a slap on the wrist isn’t going to draw these sins out. The only force that can draw these sins out will be love. So Jesus is here calling us back to a relationship with him. I mean, this is like a, like a wife, marching into her husband’s office, you know, late on a Friday night after his work too much this week. Again, kids in tow saying, We love you. Come home.
We don’t want your money. We don’t care about your titles. We want you. We love you too much to let you keep doing this. Come be with your kids. Be husband to your wife. Again, that’s love that’s motivating that rebuke. Because if there wasn’t loving, just leave, right. It’s love motivating the rebuke. That’s what’s happening here to what Jesus is doing. He’s not wrecking our fun, you’re not allowed to be rich guys. It’s not at all. Jesus wants better for us than we want for ourselves. Much like the wife in that situation. He doesn’t just want a good time to be had by all he wants us to have a life and have it to the fullest. He says in John 10 men that fullness of life is found only in Him. So what command is he gives them? What’s interesting, if complacency is the problem, then what’s needed is zeal. Zeal is actually the word that’s used there is translated as a be earnest. Like, where’s your zeal? Where’s your passion? Can you get that back? Again, spiritually fat and lazy. And so Jesus needs to, like shock us out of our complacency. This is like an ex athlete who used to be fit and who still thinks oh, I used to be able to run the mile and this or whatever. And you know, somebody’s got like a hold the mirror up to them, along with a picture of what they used to look like and be like, Oh, okay, I should move. It would be a good first. Like, that’s what Jesus is saying here. Like, be earnest, get passionate again. Repent. Now we expect to cause repentance. We’ve gotten an almost every letter. But here’s how it normally feels right? Like you’ve grown spiritually fat and lazy. So repent and we kind of go right, your head slumps. You look down your feet in shame. But notice that Jesus is not offering us condemnation, but an invitation here. Jesus is knocking on the door of the self satisfied, complacent, rich church saying, let me in and we’ll stop together. Like we’ll, we’ll hang out. We cannot overstate the importance of table fellowship and an ancient Near Eastern context. Like this is not Facebook friends. This is real friendship. This is welcome, and acceptance. And that is the promise that is written across the pages of the Bible. You can come and fellowship and eat with God Himself. And all this, of course culminates in the wedding supper of the Lamb and His bride, the Church. And so Jesus is just offering this foretaste of the heavenly banquet. But it is interesting, who exactly is knocking and why, like, we know Jesus knocking, but what Jesus are we talking about here? Because there’s some knocking that goes on in the Bible. Is this the master returning like a thief in the night, wondering if his servants are ready for his return? Like we see in Luke chapter 12. Sure. Absolutely. That’s who’s knocking at the door. And so the message Eric will be ready, wake up. And, for that matter, he’s kind of coming in, even if you don’t open up, which is how the story ends. So yeah, he is the master but But is he also the bridegroom knocking on his beloved’s door like we see in the Song of Songs? Sure, absolutely. This is the invitation to intimacy. There’s that balance that this tension that the Christian life is all about. I think it’s captured so wonderfully in a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer is one of my famous favorite prayers and all of church history. It says this, begins with confession, we have followed too much the devices and desires of our hearts, we’ve offended against the Holy loss. We’ve left undone those things we ought to have done, we have done those things which we ought not to have done. There is no health in us. That’s what the servant says, when the master comes in. But then it goes on. These are the words of assurance, the Almighty and Merciful Lord grant you absolution and remission of all your sins, true repentance, amendment of life and the grace and consolation of His Holy Spirit. That’s what the beloved says when he comes in. We’ve got fear before our master and yet forgiveness in the arms of our bridegroom, one at the same time. He’s lovingly Stern, in other words, but he’s there, even now. He is knocking. Will you open willingly to him? This is a verse that’s often used in evangelism. And you’ll notice the context is not evangelism. This is Jesus knocking on the church’s door, saying, hey, we need to talk. But here’s a picture of what Jesus is doing for all of us. Also, if you are here today and don’t know Jesus, He is knocking. Now, you know how I know he’s knocking on the door of your heart, because you’re here. You just heard these words. That’s him knocking, saying, I will come in. I will come in you can have fellowship with God you offended by your sinful living, but who’s willing to forgive you because of what Jesus has done for you? You, you can receive that grace even. Now. That takes us to our final section though the cheer, the promise that motivates our continuing obedience in the Gospel. And the cheer that we’re going to get in verses 21 and 22 is that we will be eternally reigning, eternally reigning, let me read it for us. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father and His throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Jesus is speaking to power brokers, right to influencers to the wealthy to the sorts of people who could lend money to Caesar. These are people who are enjoying Rome’s favor. Now the kinds of people who in our world today would get cushy ambassadorships late in their lives, because of the favors they’ve done for the President, the donations they’ve made. So it’s to this group, those kinds of people that Jesus asked what’s better? What’s better enjoying Rome’s favor now, or Jesus’s favor forever? And that is an easy answer, especially when you consider the scale of the promise that is given, which is really the the climax and the culmination of all the promises we’ve seen in these seven letters. mean Jesus has said to the one who perseveres to the one who is victorious in this life again victorious in Jesus’s victory, which even says a heared one who was victorious I will and then we get this list of promises: we get to eat from the Tree of Life, we’re not gonna be harmed by the second death, will eat the heavenly manna that God provides for us, we get a white stone admitting us to the heavenly banquet where we get to rule over the nations, we’re clothed and garments of white. Our names are in the book of life. We’re part of the New Jerusalem, citizens of this new kingdom and pillars in God’s heavenly temple. And all of that together is saying, “Look, we get to participate in Jesus’s rule and reign forever over the new creation.” That’s better than Rome’s favor if you missed it. So again, the rebuke is loving, like it’s a real rebuke, but it’s so loving, because look at what what is the the natural and maybe supernatural reward for those who follow to the end. It is so good. It is so good. The problems these seven churches have faced are common to all times in places persecution, social and cultural pressures, tempting the church to faithlessness, heterodox teaching, or orthodox teaching with lovelessness, attached sexual immorality, complacency, and affluence and influence. These are the struggles we face today as well. So what’s needed. It’s not a can do spirit. elbow grease, try harder. What’s needed is Jesus, Jesus, the one who is speaking to the churches, even now, in a word grace. Grace is what’s needed. And so to allow to see especially but to but to all of us that the simple message this letter, but the big idea they want to have in your heads as you walk out here today is rely on Jesus, to very simple rely on Jesus, just trust and live like you trust in Jesus rely on Jesus for provision. He’s one who provides the gold rely on him for a holiness he’s the one who provides the clothing, these white garments rely on Jesus for site for understanding, because he’s the one who provides the salve. And this is such good news, because it is exhausting trying to be enough.
If the problem was self reliance, you have to rely on yourself. And it’s exhausting. Because you know, it’s a facade. And it’s a crumbling facade at that. And if the right storm comes, it’s all collapsing. It is exhausting, trying to be enough. So here’s the good news. You are not enough. But Jesus is enough. That’s it. That’s the message we’re getting here. The church under attack, and these churches are under attack. In that unholy triumvirate we see all over the place, the world the flesh and the devil. Alright, so we got the social and cultural pressures tempting us to faithlessness we’ve got persecution, that’s the world we got the flesh that’s our sinful desires, our self satisfaction on that we’ve got the devil who stands behind all of these temptations. Of course, the church under attack needs to fix its eyes on Jesus. Who is enough and in whom only in whom we can be victorious? This is the end of the seven letters, but this is not the end of the message, not the end of the book, right? It keeps going When even what happens next, chapter four, After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open and heaven. And voices come in verse two at once I was in the spirit and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. But that’s not accidental. That that’s what comes next. This is exactly what we need to see now that our eyes have been opened to see Jesus, raining it totally on his throne and knowing that we will reign with Him forever. And then we get these songs in chapters four and five. These are the songs being sung in heaven, even now. The songs help us fix our eyes on Jesus by reminding us of who Jesus is why we must fix our eyes on Him. First of all, he’s holy, and Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come, holy, that is he’s he’s transcendent. He’s a holy other absolutely above us. And that that humbles us. That’s the fear of the Lord that comes from this. It’s what we read about in Isaiah 66 Verse two, or God says, These are the ones I look on with favor grace. In other words, same word use the ones I look on with favor those who are humble, and contrite and spirit and have tremble at my word, you tremble at God’s word and you realize how holy he is. But second, we see that Jesus is creator you are worthy our Lord and God receive glory and honor and power for you created all things. And by your will they were created and have their being. Jesus alone has the power to sustain us and to recreate us. Third he is Savior and chapter five, you are worthy to take the scroll on to open it seals because you were slain, and with your blood you purchase for God persons, who every tribe and language and people and nation, you’ve made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God and they will reign on the earth, there’s the same promise. Jesus did this for us. He was the Lamb slain for us. The songs go on to sing of his absolute worthiness. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise. To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, glory, praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever. He is worthy, Jesus is enough, rely on him just trust. I said a very first sermon in this series that these are pastoral letters. These are messages given to the messengers of the churches, whether it’s an angel or a pastor, some debate there. But you know, this is what Jesus has to say to the to the churches through the messengers. So I want to leave you with an image and hopefully sums up what these letters are trying to do. What I tried to do every Sunday and the purpose of the church as a whole, there’s a painting in Luther’s pulpit, in His Church in Wittenberg where he was pastor was painted by his friend, Lucas Cranach and Luther is in the painting, he’s on the right side, and he’s preaching. And so with his right hand, he’s got his hand on the Bible, you know, pointing to the text, where he’s preaching from, with his left hand, he’s he’s pointing up. And on the left side of the painting is the congregation. And there’s some in the congregation who are sneering at Luther, he was not universally beloved, to say the least. And there are always people who reject the Word of God. And so they’re looking at each other and making these sneering faces but most of the congregation is paying close attention. But they’re not looking at Luther. They’re looking where Luther is pointing, pointing. They’re looking up because they’re in the center of the painting is Jesus Christ and Him crucified? That’s the message of these letters. It’s the message of the whole Bible. Look at Jesus. Rely on Jesus. Trust in Jesus, the Lamb who was slain for your sake, and mine. Let’s pray to him now.

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Sardis June 16, 2024 | Kyle Bjerga This sermon warns the church in Sardis against complacency and compromise, challenging them to truly live for God rather than just appearing righteous externally. It emphasizes the dangers of playing church rather than being awake to Jesus. The speaker encourages self-examination to strengthen one’s faith through repentance, remembering the gospel, and holding fast to Jesus alone. True life is found not in good deeds alone but in Christ’s perfect record and power.

Well, good morning. If you have your Bible, go ahead and turn to Revelation chapter three, you’ll find it on page 992. If you’re using one of the black pew Bibles in front of you. In reality television, there is a popular type of genre where they will have restaurant tours go into restaurants that are failing. And they will try to turn them around these places are not in a good position. And it’s amazing to hear the stories of these different restaurants and the people there because usually they have a reputation. They’ve been in a place for decades. And people know them by name. And yet, they’re at a place where they have bills piling up, and they have credit card debt, and they’re on the verge of closing their doors. So the question is, how is this possible? Like they’re a staple in the community, people know the name, people still go. But it’s really only the people who’ve been going for 50 years, who don’t care about the quality of the food anymore, because they have relationships. So they’re going to still show up, and they’re going to kind of make ends meet for a while. But what usually comes out when they’re talking to these owners of these businesses, these restaurants, they say like, we’re about two months, five months a year from closing our doors. So to them, they’re as good as dead. We can see the writing on the wall, we aren’t going to be in business much longer. unless they do something drastic, unless they change things. And what does it take to change things? Well, it usually means drastic measures tearing everything down and rebuilding from the ground up. Say, we’re not going to do things the way we used to do them anymore. We’re gonna do things a different way, we’re gonna go back to where it all started remembering the passion for which we got into this business, the passion for food, the passion for people. And it is a painful and necessary process to go through. There’s usually tears, arguments, defensive positions, there’s always that one person that doesn’t want to change. One person that just can’t see that maybe they’re the problem, that’s something they’re doing is the problem. And that is the story of the church and service. That is where we find this church this morning, the letter that we have to the church in Sardis, we’ll talk about this issue. If you’ve been with us, you remember Brandon a couple of weeks ago to kind of talk about the the layout of the seven letters. And if you think about it as a picture with a frame and a mat and a photo, those first and last letters are the frame, kind of some similarities between those letters and the churches that the written two letters two and six, same kind of thing. And then we get this photo in the middle. And we saw that there’s really this progression, actually this kind of slippery slope that happens in these three churches. So two weeks ago, we looked at the church in Pergamum. And Pergamum allowed a small group of false teachers to infiltrate the church to start teaching false things. Last week, we looked at Thyatira, that kind of had these false teachers, the people start to kind of listen to them, and they start to compromise on the truth. They start to live lives that look kind of like the rest of the culture. And then today, we get to service. And the slippery slope has taken us all the way down to a very dangerous and dark place. The difference between the church in Sardis and most of these restaurants is the church thinks that it’s okay. The church thinks it’s fine. So we’re going to read the whole passage, I want to read all of it three, one through six, because we’re going to jump around even though we’re going to follow the same outline we’ve been following the last few weeks, we’re going to kind of mention some verses as we go some things that connect. So I just want to read all of it for us. And then we’ll walk through that familiar outline this morning. So let’s look at chapter three, verse one, to the angel, the church in Sardis. Right. These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds, you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead, wake up, strengthen what remains and is about to die for I found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore what you have received and heard, hold it fast and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief. And you will not know what time I will come to you. Yet you have a few people in startups who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me dressed in white fur, they are worthy. The one who was victorious will like them or be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before My Father and His angels. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. So first, we learned something about Christ, as we have every week and why he’s writing this letter to this church. We sit right there in verse one. These are the words of him who holds the seven stars, the one who has the seven Spirits. So we’re gonna see that he is power and life, that Christ is power and life. Now a little background on Sardis, though it would be helpful. Remember, these letters are going in this kind of circle route where they the person bringing this letter is kind of moving from Thyatira 30 miles south east to Certus. There’s a couple of important things about startups and its history that we need to kind of know and hang on to for a little bit later. And that is first that it was destroyed by an earthquake in 17 ad and emperor Tiberius kind of forgave so a season of taxes so that the people could actually rebuild the city. But the city was never actually completed, and never returned to what it once was, in fact, the temple to the god Artemis, so they worshiped wasn’t ever finished, after that, kind of stayed half finished. And it was also famous for being this impregnable fortress that nobody could actually get into service. But it was attacked and destroyed by the Persians at one point and the Greeks at another Well, how was that possible if they had this great position in this great fortress? Well, like anything, it was human error. They had people who basically fell asleep on the job that thought they were just overconfident, they thought nobody’s getting in here. So we don’t really need to pay attention. And they were careless, and allow the enemy to attack and defeat them. Now, these two things, there’s unfinished city and this kind of the cost of laziness, and not taking things seriously will come back in our letter, so hold on to those for now. And so it’s to this Church that Jesus writes this letter. And he says, he has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars. And in chapter one, we learn about the seven spirits, we talked about this already, that this really means seven fold spirit, the number seven, being completeness. And so Jesus is saying, I have the Holy Spirit, the full power and life in the Spirit are mine. I hold it, and I hold it for you. There’s something they need to hear about this. And now that we know that the spirit is also life, power and life, the two things that people in Sardis need. And then he holds the seven stars. And the chapter one, verse 20, we learned that these stars are the angels, the messengers to these churches. And so he says, I have the power and the life, and my words matter. So he’s got the power life, he’s holding the messages for these churches. So that’s also important. These are not just messengers that are coming to deliver a message on their own, they’re coming with the very words of Jesus. If he has the power in life, and he has these messages, that means we need to take it seriously. They need to listen. And we see the people in SARS that they don’t listen, there is a grave outcome for them. If they don’t take his message seriously. So Jesus discloses himself in this way. And to these peoples, they read this letter, it should bring two things, it should bring terror and comfort at the same time. Because terror because God actually knows their hearts, he can look past all the things they’re doing. But if they humble themselves, and listen to his words, there is power and life for them. There is an opportunity for true revival. Now, it’s worth noting here that as we read that letter, you saw that the church as a whole was not commended for anything. There’s only two churches in the seven letters that are not committed for anything. It’s Sardis and Laodicea, which we’ll look at in a couple weeks. It’s a rebuke. It’s a warning to the people. So we need to ask what is the reality of the church in Sardis. And so let’s look at the church, that second point there and we’re gonna see kind of perception and reality in that second part of verse one. Because it says, I know your deeds. You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. So the people of service those not in the church, the people have started the community itself, know the church. They know the Christians. They see the Christians, they probably been served by the Christians. They see the poor and the sick, and the down and out being taken care of by the church. The church is always running programs. There’s always something going on at night. There’s always somebody there. And they think this is good for the community. The church is doing good. It’s taking care of the people. And so they have a good reputation. When they hear people hear the name like oh, yeah, that church, they do a lot of good things. It doesn’t mean they necessarily believe what the church stands for. That’s important. But they do have a reputation of doing good. So it’s good to have them here. Right. It’s good to have them in the community.
And can’t help but think like last nine years that I’ve been here at Cityview I’ve heard from a lot of people about this church who don’t attend this church. People who I’ve talked to have said things to me like, it sounds like things are really going well at Cityview. Or it looks like things are going really well at Cityview. And why do they say this? Well, they literally see the new building, right? They drive and they see it being done. And so like, oh, things must be going well, you have enough money to pay for a building. The parking lot is full. We have banners outside with things going on. We provide free clothing. On the first Saturday of every month, we walked to the Memorial Day Parade, everybody saw us. It’s a great thing. And I hear this and and then we’ve actually had people come here who say like, well, so and so recommended that I come here, I was like, I’ve never met that person in my life. And like, well, they watched online, or they know somebody else that goes there. And so people are sending people here who have never actually been here. That’s a reputation. That’s a name. And can I tell you that feels really good? It feels really good. Because what’s the alternative? Yeah, you don’t want to go there? Or that’s the alternative. If people hear our name, that’s what they say. But that’s not the reputation that we have. So how can the church and start does not feel good about having a good reputation in the community? Because here’s this letter, and it’s delivered from John the Apostle. And there’s the words of Jesus. Now, we just had recall, back in May, if you’re not familiar with recall, is one of our annual meetings every year, we’ll be looking back on what the Lord has done in our church. We look at the finances, how healthy are we in our financial situation? We have testimonies from many of you that say, Here’s how the ministries of Cityview are impacting our lives. And we worship. We’ve seen how Cityview has been a blessing. Now imagine at the end of all that Joe gets up the chair of our elder board and says, Hey, by the way, I have a letter from Jesus. And he says, Cityview I know your deeds. You have a reputation of being alive. But you’re dead. Like how deflating would that be. That’s what the church is artists got. You look like a great church. But I see you. I see your hearts. And there’s nothing there. There’s no heartbeat. Because the assumption for many of us is if things are growing, and things look nice and new, and people are coming, then spiritually, we must be doing something right. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. This is the danger for the church. It’s the danger for a church like ours. It’s been here for a long time that has a great history. We can very easily start to play church, and we do a really good job at it. And the outside world might never see anything different. But Jesus does. Isn’t this exactly what Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for in his ministry? Look at Matthew 23. And the woes the Pharisees, one of them he says, Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside, you appear to people as righteous, but in the inside, you are full of hypocrisy, and wickedness. These are the Pharisees, the teachers of law, the reputation of being the holy ones, the learned ones, and yet Jesus says they are whitewashed tombs, full of death. It’s important to note here parents that having good kids that listen to you that listen to the law that do good things that don’t get into trouble, too much trouble, the wrong type of trouble. That’s not enough to say they’re alive. We would love it. If it was if there was a checklist, we can just say they did that today. They’re good. That’s not how it works. It’s not how it works. Being the good church kid who treats people nicely might be all you’re ever known for. And Jesus might look at that and say, You look alive. But you’re dead. We have to be really honest, when we’re asking these questions of our lives of the lives of our kids of others in our life as well. The truth is the reputation that we want the reputation that we think we have, the good reputation we might actually have in the community is not enough. People smile at us in the parade. Right? They take our stuff from us. And that’s a good thing. It’s not something we shouldn’t be doing. But is there life in us? Are they actually seen that life does Jesus see that life because the community of Elmhurst will not stand up at the end of time before God and save that church fulfill Let’s mission that church loves Jesus. At the same time, there’s only one opinion that matters. The opinion of the one who holds the seven stars, the seven spirits of God. What he says about our church is the only thing that matters. What he says about the church and service is the only thing that matters. Now, as we read this, you might be a little bit confused, because it’s been pretty obvious in the other letters, what the churches were being warned about, or rebuked for, and we don’t really get a whole lot here in this letter, like what’s causing this death in Sardis. If they’re doing all these good things? Well, we get a couple hints. But Jesus says in verse two, that their deeds are unfinished. Before God, their deeds are unfinished, which means they’re insufficient. Okay, they’re insufficient. So we can make some educated guesses from the letters surrounding it, as well as verse four on to what the actual issue is here. So first, the other letters, we get in these three in the middle, those false teachers, and then we get the compromise of the truth. And if you have false teachers, who kind of sway you a little bit to start living like the world, pretty soon you just look like the world, but you keep doing all the good things you’ve always done as the church. And so that’s that slippery slope that we see these false teachers get in you compromise the truth, you’re like, hey, we’re gonna do good. I’m not going to take care of my sin. And that’s where we find ourselves. That’s for starters, finds itself a dead church. Second, verse four, if you look at that talks about this small group of people who have not soiled their clothes, which seems to mean the rest of the church has. Right? This is who you are, as a church, you’re dead. Hey, there’s a small group of people. The church is not being commended. But there’s a small group of people who have not soiled themselves. So what does that mean? In the Bible, a lot of times, it just means they look exactly like the world. And so they’re hypocrites. They say one thing, and they do another. They continue to live in sin, an unrepentant sin, and still do good things in the name of Jesus, of course. And the church today still has this danger, we can let things go in our life, continue to serve Him, keep letting that sin sit there, keep giving into it, keep doing good, and think we are okay. And this church probably started off strong. But remember, this city was never completed once it was destroyed. And so it seems that they have never really returned to that former glory that they had as a church. That reputation that they once had, is in danger. They’re in danger. Warren weirs, B says this about the church in Sardis. As he’s commenting on this passage, he says the unsaved people in started saw the church as a respectable group of people who are neither dangerous nor desirable. They were decent people with a dine witness, and a decaying ministry. The church was not dangerous, meaning they were liked by the community, but they’re liked because the church never actually called the people into something higher, never pushed back, never called them to a higher standard. Never told them about their sin and then brought in the grace of God at the same time. So they’re not dangerous. They’re also not desirable. Like my neighbors look exactly like me. They do some good things. But other than that they do everything else I do. So why would I want to be a part of a church like that. So they’re not dangerous, they’re not desirable, either. Nobody sees anything really different. The nonprofit down the street does the same thing. My neighbors across the street, who don’t follow Jesus do the same thing. But the Christians here live the same way I do, while still doing all those good things. So they’re decent people, nice people, with a dying witness and a decaying ministry. And if that’s the case, Jesus loves the church too much to let that continue. He gave his life for the church. So he does not want to see that continue. But in His grace and patience, he comes after us. Because he’s in the business of bringing dead things to life. Remember, he has the power and life in his hands. So that’s where we see the charge for the church next, can move on to that third point there. Here’s the charge, quit plain and get real, quit plain and get real. That’s what we see in verses two through three. Now really here that that point, that charge is just trying to summarize what Jesus is saying here in verses two and three, which are really five imperatives, these five commands that he just rattled off for the church, to show them you need to stop playing church.
You need to come back to life. And here’s how that happens. Remember, he’s got the power and the life in his hand. and they’re available to them. So kids, as you saw Jacob here, and he kind of removed that flower, shake off that dirt, set it to the side, it’s not going to be live for much longer. But if you leave it in there and you keep watering it, it’s going to keep going. And it’s going to keep going. What does it look like to truly be alive in Jesus and not just go through the motions? Well, not to be done by Jake, I’ve got my own little object lessons up here for us. Since I didn’t get to do Kids Corner today, so five imperatives, and I’m really hoping that these help us connect, what does it look like? What does it mean, to actually be alive as a church as Christians, the first thing is wake up. So this the the alarm clock in my son’s rooms, this nice little Lego alarm clock, the alarm goes off, and you keep hitting it, you keep hitting the snooze, over and over and over again. Guess what has to happen, eventually, somebody has to come in, take you by the shoulders and say Wake up, you got somewhere to be, you need to go. And you need to get up. And you need to act what this looks like in our home. And this is purely for fun. So don’t judge me for it purely for fun. There’s some ice cubes and cold water involved. For one of my sons in particular, and it just started as a fun joke. And it’s continued. But, and not only that, he wakes up and then the other two wake up because they think it’s hilarious. But I have to get him up. And so I want this thing to shock him. I want it to shock his system. And that’s what Jesus is doing here. He’s saying wake up. This matters. It matters. Because when you think about it, remember the city when they were taken by the Persians and the Greeks, why? Because they slept on the job. They got careless, and overconfident and thought they were fine. And Jesus said, just like the city should have done, you need to wake up to what I’m saying. The second thing is you need to strengthen. That’s what he says in verse three, verse two there, you need to strengthen what remains sorry, bursts to strengthen what remains and is about to die. Now, many of you have noticed my finger has a splint on it. And it’s been pretty annoying to have this on. But I know it’s doing something. Okay. I know it is. There’s a little bit of strength in my finger, but not enough I ruptured a tendon. And so if I was to take this off, my finger would be absolutely useless to me. But that tendon is still there. There’s a little bit of strength. And I need to just let this sit in it for 12 weeks, while it strengthens. While the body does what it’s supposed to do. And it nurtures itself back to health, the way that the Lord created it to, there’s a little bit of strength, not much. It needs to be strengthened, it needs to be nurtured. And eventually I’ll do PT, and I’ll start to squeeze something to get that strength and that movement back in my hand. And that’s what the church though that small group of people are in verse for that small group of people who have not yet soiled their clothes, they have something there. And she is saying, take that strengthen what remains in you. And so that’s what it looks like. We need to keep pursuing Jesus. Let him do that work and like strengthen what remains. The next thing is remember, these are one of my favorite inventions in the entire world. The Post It note. Like we write things on this kids, you probably seen these probably seen at school, you probably have them on your desk, your teacher uses them. And we’re constantly writing things down to say I need to remember this thing. And so what does Jesus say here in verse three, Remember therefore what you have received and heard. In chapter ORS are in the first letter to Ephesus, we heard the same thing. Remember, your first love, you need to remember you forgotten. And here he’s saying you forgotten you need to remember what you have received and heard from me. So if we want to be alive, you know what we need to remember. We need to write down. I am a child of God. And put it down, see it and remember it. I am a sinner saved by grace. I serve the living God. And you just keep writing these things down to remind yourself every single day, this is who I am. If you don’t, we’re forgetful people. And we forget and then we compromise the truth and we start living our own way. We need to keep coming back. Remember what we received at first. If you remember those things, you start to turn your life around. Remember the restaurants? What do they need to do? They need to remember why they got into business in the first place. I love cooking. I love seeing people happy when they’re eating food. And somewhere along the line they lose all that passion. And the church can happen the same way if we just think we just need to do doo doo We need to remember what we received. At first what we heard and received from Jesus. The fourth thing, it says that we need to then hold it fast. And so I’ve got this climbing rope here. And you’ve ever seen climbers and they hook these things in, and then they start to climb up these ropes, they’re eventually going to hold really tightly to this. We’ve seen kids at camp, get up on the climbing wall, and they look terrified. And guess what they don’t want to do let go of this thing. Right, they want to hold it tightly. And so what he’s saying here is what you’ve received and heard, you need to hold tightly to these things. The gospel is not something that we hold with an open hand. And I know a lot of times, we’re like, there’s some things that we need to have an open hand with, when we’re with other people, some of our thoughts and opinions on certain things in Scripture, the gospel is not one of them. We hold that tightly, we hold fast to that. And when you compromise the truth, you start to see your fingers, let go of the rope. We need to hold it fast fight against the slippery slope. At one point, if you’re a believer in Jesus, at one point, you said I’m going to die to myself. I’m going to I’m going to take up my cross and I’m gonna follow Jesus, and I’m gonna hold tightly to him. Then five years down the road, we’re like, where did that rope go? Something happened along the lines, we started to open up our hand, we need to hold fast to the truth. Hold fast to Jesus. And then finally, the U turn sign that we see when we’re driving kids, you probably see this when your parents are driving sometimes says do not and they do it anyways, just there’s only certain times we’re supposed to do the U turn. But this is what repent kind of looks like. You’re gonna think about it as a street sign. You take this, you turn like I’m going this way. Oh, wait, I’m supposed to go that way. And so you turn. So if you continue to do the good things, because you think other people are gonna like it, you need to turn from that. Repent, I’m gonna turn and go the other way. If you’re like, I’m gonna keep doing good things, even though I know there’s a cinema life I need to deal with, I’m gonna just keep doing the good things. Because maybe that’ll that’ll make up for it. No, you need to take a U turn. You need to repent and say, I’m gonna go back, I’m gonna ask for forgiveness. I’m going to seek out Jesus, I’m going to pursue Him. And so that’s what it looks like these five things that Jesus tells us is what real life in him looks like. It’s not that we’re going to be perfect. We’re not so we repent, right. And we go back to what we first received and heard. Now, there is an urgency in Jesus’s words here that he has for the church, he says, but if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief. And you will not know what time I will come to you. And Jesus saying you don’t know when those bad things are gonna happen, right? Like a thief coming to your house. And he says you don’t know when I’m going to come? Right? Not because he’s a thief. But because he’s just trying to say, hey, you need to pay attention. You don’t know when this is going to happen. But in this moment, what is he doing? He’s saying you have time, because you have a letter right now. So repent, this might be the only time but you have time. Because God keeps giving them this letters. That’s his patience and His grace. He could have sent the letter and said, it’s over. I’m removing your lampstand from you. But he doesn’t. He says, Listen to these words. And in this moment, repent and come back. It’s so easy to say I’ll deal with that one day. I mean, we’ve all been there, right? I’ll take care of that said at some point. It’s a really busy time, got a lot of things going on. I’ve got time. And Jesus saying, Do you? Do you have time? We don’t know that. So repent, turn, strengthen what remains? Right? We need to wake up to the warnings that Jesus gives us so that we can persevere in our faith, but he keeps giving them all some of these churches that are getting these letters as a warning and as a grace to them to make a change. Because Jesus does not say in this letter, you are dead and hopeless.
He says you are dead. And guess what I have power and life for you. Resurrection power for individuals, and churches. So if we’re going to take this charge seriously, we need to remember who we are what we received and heard from the very beginning. So what is true of the church, look at verses four through six. This is that cheer section we’re going to look at our reputation and the future. And as we look at this, let me just read I just want to read these because it’s a little bit longer. First of all, yet you have a few people in startups who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me dressed in white fur, they’re worthy. The one who was victorious will like them be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life but will acknowledge that name before My Father and His angels. Whoever has ears let them hear With the Spirit says to the churches. So as mentioned before, it kind of looks like He commends the church, but he’s really just kind of highlighting there is a small group of people in the church who have not given into a life of sin, without repentance, a small group of people who have not compromised the truth, a small group of people who are actively killing sin in their life, and actively pursuing Jesus. And this is the group they need to look to. These people have not soiled their clothes, they’re not living ungodly lives, while also trying to do good, they are living out the purity that they have received in Jesus, the purity, the righteousness that he has purchased for them. So what do they get? They get to walk with Jesus, dressed in white fur, they are worthy, not because of their perfect lives, but because of his because of his victory. They have victory, too. So here’s what Revelation 19 says about people like this. Hallelujah. For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory. For the wedding of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. Listen to this fine linen, bright and clean was given her to wear. fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people. These righteous acts are not what saved them. But instead, what they do because they have been dressed in Christ. They’ve been dressed with the righteousness of Jesus. And so they live that out. These are righteous acts not done with sin, living in the background, but actually killing sin and pursuing Jesus trying their very best to not live a hypocritical life. So what we have here is the good news. This is what we need to remember that we heard and received at first, that we have first been declared righteous. This is declared righteousness, we’ve been given fine linen bright and clean. We’ve been given perfection, a perfect record that we could never earn ourselves. And then second, we showed that we are declared righteous by living it out. And that’s what we call demonstrated righteousness, declared righteous demonstrate that righteousness in the way that we live. And I like Man, that sounds like a really big concept that I should understand. Join journey groups, gospel foundations, one whole week, we just spent talking about what is this declared righteousness? And what does this demonstrate your righteousness? And we look through and say, What is Christ has done? And what are we supposed to do now. And so I would recommend joining us for all sorts of reasons. But even just for that one class that will change the way that you look at your life, when you understand what Christ has done, and what he calls you to. These people that he mentioned verse for not going through the motions, but living lives worthy of the gospel that they’ve been called to worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In just a few minutes, we’re gonna sing one of the greatest songs that we have now on our rotation that is all sufficient merit. And I know there’s a lot of words in that song. And some of you are still getting familiar with it. So I want you to listen this morning to the declared and demonstrated righteousness that we have in this song. Things that are very much talked about in our passage today, the perfect record accomplished by Jesus. Here’s what it says it is done. It is finished. No more debt I owe paid in full, all sufficient merit. Now my own that’s the declared righteousness that has been given to us it has been done by Jesus. And when that is true of us, we now live out that truth and demonstrated righteousness. The song goes on to say I lay down my garments, any empty, boast. Good works now all corrupted by the sinful host. I’m dressed in my Lord Jesus, a crimson robe, made white, no more fear of judgment. His righteousness is mine. If the church comes back and repents, they too can join this small remnant, being closed in the righteousness of Jesus. When that happens, we gained the reputation we’ve always wanted. We get that we get a name that is written it says in the Book of Life. Revelation 21 talks about this book. And it also serves as a warning for us to look at Revelation 21. When it comes to the kingdom of God, it says nothing impure will ever enter it. nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful. That’s the church and start us right now. A reputation of being live but they are dead. These impure actually shameful and deceitful things. They’ve soiled their clothes. They’ve lived as hypocrites. They appear live but are dead. So who can enter Oh, Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life, those who have the fine linen given to them by Jesus and live out that truth through the righteous acts, and Jesus promises not only that our names will never be erased from that book, they will never be erased, but he will stand with us to he will stand with us. And what is said to the people and start as he says to His disciples, in Matthew chapter 10, verse 32, where he tells them, Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven, like how great of a promise is that you acknowledge me in this life, I will acknowledge you before my Father and His angels in heaven. So here’s the question hanging over our head this morning. Are we service? Do we have a reputation of being alive, but are actually dead? I don’t know. As I said, I don’t stand before the Lord and say whether or not we have accomplished our mission. That Jesus is the only one that can see truly what’s going on in our hearts, what’s going on in our church. But I do think there’s some things for us that we can point to some ways that we can assess quickly, I want to give you just a few of those questions. And I want to look at him through the those five imperatives that we already talked about. Because taking these three weeks together, this kind of photo in the middle of this, we need to ask some hard questions, probably. And maybe you’ve already been asking some of those hard questions. And maybe this morning is what you needed. So the first question is, are you awake? Are you awake? Maybe for the first time, maybe you’re here this morning. And you you’ve heard the message of Jesus, maybe you haven’t heard the message of Jesus. But today, you hear it. And you’re like, I want that fine. Clothing, that bright, and clean linen, that perfect record that Jesus offers. And you want that. And we want you to have that. And so all you need to do is repent, turn from what you’ve been doing, and come back to him. When you confess He’s faithful, to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So we repent and follow Him. For some of you. There’s something in your life right now that you know, this is that ice bath kind of moment, you need to wake up and deal with something in your life if you want to see your life change if you want to see life be known for having life not only by other people, but by Jesus. So that’s the first thing are you awake? Second thing? Are you strengthening what you have? Are you daily in the word and in prayer and in community stretching and challenging yourself taking what is there and building it up more and more doing the hard work of putting sin to death and walking in holiness? Third, are you remembering the good news of the gospel? are you preaching the gospel to yourself? Does the enemy’s guilt come in? Or instead of just saying no, I am righteous because of Jesus. Don’t let the enemy get in? Remember the good news of the gospel? And then are you holding fast not letting go of your grip of Jesus? Not moving an inch when it comes to the gospel? Holding on to what he has done not giving into those false teachers, not giving into the compromise, but holding fast to him? And finally, Are you repenting? Because the Christian life is one of repentance? You want to know if you are alive? How quickly do you repent? Because if you repent quickly, there is life in you. Because you take that sin, you confess it. And you say I don’t want this to be part of my life. And I repent and Jesus forgives and we keep living out of the power and the life that he gives us. So don’t think being alive means sinless. Don’t think being alive means doing all those good things being alive means I’m in Jesus. That’s what being alive is. And the quicker we repent the more we show that we understand that know that and believe in the gospel. Because all of us here today, all of us can be dressed in white all of us walking with Jesus
all have a saying he finished it on the cross. And when we do that that is a church that is truly alive. A church this truly life let’s pray
Lord, we we know this letter is one that’s just got a lot of challenging things in it. Things that we all need to hear. Maybe we’re not going through these things. Now we feel like we’re alive but we know that temptation is always there to choose other things we always know that pull back to the old life. So Lord, I pray that these words this morning your words from this book would get into our hearts and our minds. And we pray Lord more than anything this morning that we would wake up. We would wake up we will be honest, we would listen to you. We would see if there’s anything in our life that we need to bring to you right now. And we know is working to sing that we can come to you and claim our victory because you are victorious. So in these moments, Lord challenged us and encouraged us through the gospel, the good news of Jesus, what he’s done for us, and what we receive, we believe in Him. Jesus, we love you. We pray this in Your name, amen.

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Pergamum June 2, 2024 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper preached on Jesus’ letter to the church in Pergamum in Revelation 2, emphasizing the temptation to compromise values for acceptance or influence. The church in Pergamum remained faithful to Jesus despite persecution, but some were compromising by following the false teachings of the Nicolaitans. Jesus warned the church to repent and hold fast to the truth in order to receive eternal blessings like hidden manna and a new name, rather than making false promises through sin and compromise.

Good morning church. Go ahead, grab your Bibles open up to Revelation chapter two, we’ll be starting in verse 12. This morning, Revelation two, starting in verse 12. As you’re turning there, I’m willing to bet that at some point in your life, you faced a moment of compromise. A moment, you know, whether you gave in or not, where you were asked to compromise your values, your ethics, for the sake of some sort of advancement, joining a club, whatever it may be, you know that that sense of look, all you have to do is fill in the blank. And you can be one of us, the kind of stereotypical example here would be like joining a frat, or a sorority, I was not a part of a frat. So I don’t know if this is true or not, but that’s what it looks like in the movies, right, you want to join, you got to jump through a couple of very, you know, morally dubious hoops or something like that. Or this happens in business, you know, that first time where you’re asked to round up your billable hours or something like that, or in relationships, when you’re thinking of dating someone, you know, you shouldn’t date or going farther with them than you should, could be in politics. Of course, politics is kind of the art of compromise in so many ways. But we’re going well, I’m willing to put up with x, so that I can get why this moment of compromise is the situation facing the church in Pergamum. So this is the third letter, if you’re joining us for the first time. Today, the first of these seven are the third of these seven letters, which is kind of important. I mentioned in week one that you know, number seven really important and Revelation and in the Bible as a whole. And so probably not a coincidence, probably not just because there were only seven towns, but probably symbolic. And we see that somewhat in the structure here, there’s actually a little bit of, if you can picture like a picture and a picture frame, you know, the first and last letters are like the wooden frame. And they have some things in common in particular, people losing their love their love growing cold. And then the second and the second to last letters are like the mat that’s inside that picture frame. And what’s interesting about those two, the connection that they have is those are the two where Jesus doesn’t say anything against the church, they are only commended, they are not rebuked. And then the middle three letters are like the picture itself. So it kind of the centerpiece of what we’re talking about. And what’s interesting here is that there’s actually some development in the letters themselves, these three, which we’ll talk about in the next couple of weeks, this this center piece, but here, we kind of get the start of it, the temptation to compromise. And what we’re going to see as we look at this letter, and again, maybe you’ve experienced this, even in your own life is when we face temptation to compromise, we want a hall pass, we want somebody to tell us, it’s okay that we bent the rules a little bit here, we want to be able to make excuses for ourselves and to rationalize our sin. So it’s difficult to hold the line, you can imagine how much more difficult it would be to hold the line. If you had someone in your ear telling you, it’s okay. It’s okay. It’s fine. If you cut corners here, you know, you can picture kind of two authority figures giving contrary advice. Let’s just give an example like giving or something like that. So you got you know, your one spiritual authority figure over here saying, you know, like, we’re called the sacrificial giving, like it should, it should hurt when you give to support the ministry of the church missions, compassion organizations, things like that, you should notice a change in your lifestyle as a result of your giving. And then you go on YouTube, and you find another pastor somewhere else who says, Let’s not be crazy here. Like, yeah, you should give. But you know what, we don’t need to be fanatics about this. Which one are you going to be tempted to listen to? Probably the one who’s making it a little bit easier for you. And so that’s kind of the question we want to have in our minds as we’re listening to this letter. Who are what are we listening to? I mean, I think it would be safe to say that people pick churches based on this kind of thing right here, right? And can I just tell you to if you’re coming to this church, you did not pick a pastor who’s gonna go easy on you. He all know that already. So like good on you. Like hopefully this is an encouragement to us today, in some ways, but who are what are we listening to? And why that’s kind of a question want to have in our mind as we go, same outline as the last two weeks he mentioned to have that for all seven weeks here, we’re going to look at what what Jesus says about himself. So Christ, what he says about the church, the charge that he gives the church and their context, and then ultimately, the cheer the promise that will speed them on their way. So let’s start With Christ and then from chapter two, verse 12, we’re gonna see that Christ is the true judge, the true judge. Let me read it for us chapter two, verse 12, to the angel of the church and Pergamum, right? These are the words of him who has the sharp, double edged sword. Just pause there. So this is to the angel, the church and Pergamum. Again, first time here, or something like that you missed last couple of weeks, we are in western Turkey, what was known as Asia Minor back then, and we’re following the route that a letter carrier would have taken. So this is just the male route, and they’re kind of going like this. Okay, so we started on the coast, we’re working our way north up the coast, we’re 65 miles northeast of Smyrna. Now, although we are actually inland a little bit, we’re no longer on the coast and we’re at this important city in Asia Minor. Pergamum was the capital at points of Asia Minor, especially after Alexander the Great. And who is speaking to the church and Pergamum. It is the one who has the sharp double edged sword. Now that phrase is taken from chapter one, I’ve mentioned that everything Christ says about himself in these letters, he’s already said about himself in chapter one. So chapter one, verse 16. In his right hand, he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double edged sword, same phrase, but it helps us out because it’s telling us it’s coming out of his mouth, to actually see later in this letter also. So it helps us understand the imagery because the sword then is His Word. We’re not talking about a literal sword, we are talking about the Word of God, often described as a sword, you may have learned your armor of God from Ephesians, six, and what is the sword of the spirit? It’s the word of the Lord. And here it is again. But what word exactly are we talking about? The pilgrim knights would have understood this image because of where they lived because the Roman Proconsul the governor lived in their town, the Roman emperor, and his pro consoles would carry a sword around with them all the time, as a symbol of their right to rule. They’re the ones who have the power of the sword, in particular, the right to mete out justice. And so whether that looks like a you know, defending borders more like an army or enforcing laws more like a police force. That’s what the sword means. Paul uses the word the same way speaking of worldly governments, and Romans 13. That’s it. The problem though, of course, with worldly governments is that they don’t always mete out justice. Sometimes they mete out injustice, and very intentionally, and that’s actually what we get here. The church and Pergamum had seen Rome’s right to rule kind of a might makes right to rule firsthand, which we’ll see in the very next verse. So they may have been scared, you know, they’re looking at the the sword of Rome going, like this is a problem. And so Jesus is almost saying, Are you? Are you scared of the mighty sword of Rome? Don’t worry, Jesus has a mightier sword. In fact, if we got to the end of the book of Revelation, chapter 19, Jesus actually defeats the nations who have risen up and rebellion against Him with a sharp sword coming out of his mouth. And so the point is very clear what Jesus is saying here, the sword represents his decisive and accurate words of judgment. They are true, they are right. So everything he does everything he you know, he sees perfectly understands perfectly and then administers justice, perfectly, righteously as well. And so what an encouragement this would be to those who are scared of the power of Rome’s sword. But it would also be a challenge to them. Because if this is the power of Jesus’s word, well, then we as the church should probably be listening. Also, we need to heed His words, and that’s where he goes next, our second section, then the church, what does Jesus have to say to the church, he’s going to really talk about them as being the fickle faithful, we will see the fickle faithful. That’s from verses 13 to 15. Let me read it for us now.
I know where you live, where Satan has his throne, you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me not even in the days of an tapas, my faithful witness who was put to death in your city, where satan lives. Nevertheless, I have a few things against you. There are some among you who hold the teaching of balem, who taught Bayla to entice the Israelites to sin, so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the nickel A pause there, it will be our longest section just so you know, because this is the longest chunk of text. So Jesus, who we saw in week one walks among the lampstands, he is present in the churches, Jesus knows their contexts. He knows that this church is living where Satan has his throne, meaning what exactly? I mean, it’s Pergamum, like the gate to hell, or something like that, I don’t think so we got a couple of options. One thing we’re gonna love about the book of Revelation, not only in this series, but in January, we go through the rest of the book of Revelation. Nobody has any idea what any of it means. So it’d be really fun for us among a bunch of places, we’re going to come in and be like, you know, it’s fun for me. Like I read the commentaries. And the first commentators like, well, we know it’s x because it couldn’t possibly be y. And the next guy is like, well, we know it’s y, because it couldn’t possibly be x. And the next guy is like, Have you considered z. So here’s XY and Z for you three options, what we could be talking about here, the throne of satan, the temple of Satan, it could be talking about the temple to Asclepius, who was the Greek god of a healing, and there is a prominent temple to escape Yes, in Pergamum. What makes this one interesting is Asclepius is pictured as a snake, a serpent, as Satan also has been since Genesis three. So that’s one possibility. Second, at the highest point of the city, on the Acropolis is a gigantic temple to Zeus. And so this temple is towering literally over every aspect of a city life. And of course, Zeus is the chief deity in the Greek pantheon. So maybe it would be that third possibility is Pergamum, was actually the first city in Asia Minor to have a temple to the Caesars. So we start claiming that the Caesars are gods with Julius Caesar, and then Caesar Augustus. And it kind of goes from there. So this is the first place where the cult of Imperial worship takes root in Asia Minor. And so it could be that I think that is the most likely just because of the context of Revelation, and even what we’ll see in the rest of this letter. But you can imagine if you’re living where Satan has his throne, and where Rome’s got this power, it would be so easy to keep your head down and compromise. Just like don’t make waves. Don’t draw attention to yourself so that you don’t lose your head in the process. But not this church. Right, but not Pergamum. Jesus says, You’ve remained faithful, you’re you remain true to my name, the word there is actually you hold fast to my name. Reminds me a little bit of the story that Kyle shared last week of Esther on Kim, you know, you’re talking about compromise, like he or she is that, you know, her country’s just been invaded, and the Japanese are really cracking down on Christians, it would be so easy to go. So I’m gonna hide my faith, so that I don’t go to prison. And instead, what Esther Kim Do, she said, well, since I’m going to prison for my faith, I better get ready for prison. And that’s what we’re seeing here in Pergamum, as well, this is a church that’s concerned about Jesus’s honor and glory, His reputation, even if it costs them. And I think it’s fair to ask at this point, would Jesus say the same about you mean, what is there in your life that indicates that you are passionate about the name of Christ, or that would indicate that you’re not that passionate, and committed to his reputation and honor? Well, Pergamum, a church program, they got clear proof. They didn’t deny Jesus, they did not renounce your faith in me, it says the word that’s used. They’re the same word that used a Peter when he denies Christ, and pretty much the same situation. Right? Here’s Rome, Jewish leaders, but then the Roman leaders who’ve got Jesus and they’re about to crucify him and Peter knows if he says I’m with him, his story might end the way Jesus’s story ends, as indeed it does later on in his life. And so he denies Jesus Pergamum the church apartment, exact same situation, but they don’t go Peter’s route. The tense of the verb indicates a definite moment. We don’t know what that moment was. But there was a moment where they could have said, Jesus never heard of him. And instead they said, Yeah, he’s my Lord. He’s my God, he’s my savior. It’s even more impressive, because whatever that definite moment was, it happened shortly after the martyrdom of and tapas. Now we don’t know anything about Antrobus don’t know this situation is not recorded in church history anywhere else, no concrete information other than the one thing that we do know, which is that antiquus followed his master. He followed his master because he’s described as Jesus is a faithful witness. And in chapter one, verse five, Jesus is described as the faithful witness And of course, his faithful witness led to his death, his execution. And same with Antipa. So this is someone who followed Jesus right up to the point of being put to death by Rome. Now, how did this happen to Antipholus? Again, don’t totally know there was no official persecution happening at this time, we’re talking early 90s, under Domitian, the emperor, so it could have been mob violence. Because Asia Minor in particular, they were used to deified monarchs in a way that like Greece and Rome were not. So they would have been ready to kind of stand up for this, you know, Emperor that they see as a god, it could be that, or it could have been a judicial sentence. For whatever reason, they just decided this was too much. And the courts there and Pergamum decided to execute him more likely the latter, I think, in context, again, I’ve just we keep talking about Rome’s power here and stuff. But regardless of how it happened, they just watched a guy die for his faith. And now they’re getting asked about their faith. And you kind of see how this would go you ever watched, you know, like an action thriller or something like that. And maybe the guy’s got some hostages, you know, they’re trying to get the nuclear codes or something like that. And the first guy’s like, do whatever you want, will never tell you and they shoot him in the head. And then the next person is usually like, hey, so I got the nuclear codes, like, let’s talk, I would like to be on your team, you have better uniforms, that kind of thing. That’s what we’re expecting to have happen here in Pergamum, that somebody is going to crack and go, you just killed him. I don’t want to be killed. I’ll tell you what you need our announcer Jesus, whatever it takes, but that’s not what happens. Instead, it actually increases their boldness, which is a pattern we see repeated in Scripture. Persecution usually does that to the church, ironically, reminds me of Paul writing to the church in Philippi, chapter one, verses 12 to 14, Paul, who’s in prison right now as a result of his faith right into the Philippians. He says, Now, I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me by being tossed into prison for the gospel has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace garden to everyone else, that I am in chains for Christ. Because you know what happens? Right? Every guard that’s assigned to Paul Paul’s like, Hey, nice to meet you, Tom. Tom, have you ever met Jesus? I’d like to tell you about him. And so everybody knows about Jesus now. But look what happens as a result again, Paul’s in prison. And he writes, because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear. It doesn’t say in spite of my chains, they become confident and bold in their evangelists. It says, because of my change, it almost defies understanding. Except that what’s happened is the church has faced the worst in the Philippians. They’re looking at Paul in prison, and they’re going okay, so we preach Christ, we get thrown in prison, that just means we have to preach Christ to some other people. So cool. I’m okay with that. And seeing the church faithful in persecution, should lead us to bold evangelism. Because what can they do to us? Well, they can kill us like antipasto, I guess, so. They can kill the physical body that cannot kill us eternally. We get to go and be with Jesus. You know, the fastest growing church in the world right now is in Iran. I don’t know Iran, not found a Christians in Iran. And yet, this is where the church is blowing up. And you think about it, because here in the States, you know, we worry about losing our tax status, or losing Twitter followers, because of our faith in Christ. They worry about what will happen when they meet as a church. They worry about whether they’ll be abducted, tortured, killed, have their kids killed in front of them, something like that. You think about how easy it is for us to miss church. The weather’s nice, we can play golf, I got a party in the afternoon, I should you know, stay home and prepare for it. Like they could die if they go to church.
Think about what that does to the church, though. Like you know that everyone in that room is all in for Jesus. And everyone in that room has got to depend on the spirit. Just lean entirely on the Spirit of God for every step of their lives. And go figure when you lean that heavily on the spirit. That’s when the spirit moves. That’s when revival comes. So we must hold fast to Jesus’s name to desire His glory even above our own comfort. That is what will steal us for what may Come. But that’s not all Jesus has to say to this church. Because some are holding fast, same word used there are holding fast to Baylands false teaching. You see what’s happening here a little bit like you saw Lord of the Rings, Return of the King, you know that that near the end of the movie, Frodo and Sam are trying to sneak the ring into Mordor so they can throw it into mountain Doom and all that stuff. And the rest of the crew, you know, Gandalf and Aragorn and whatnot, they know that they got to distract, sour on so that Sam and Frodo can can sneak in and out. So they attack the Black Gate, right? And then sour on dye turns and he’s focused there and boom, they get to slip in. So that’s exactly what just happened in Pergamum, except the reverse. It’s like the bad guys that are doing it. So we got the Enemy at the Gates, we’ve got persecution coming from Rome. And so the whole Church’s gaze is fixed on the front door, where they’re knocking and stuff, and they left the back door open. And evil Frodo and evil Sam, just you know, snuck in with false teaching. So that’s what’s happened here. What is the false teaching Exactly? balem. If you’re not familiar with this story, it’s numbers 22 to 24. He is hired by the Moabite King Belloc to curse the Israelites. Now he is a false prophet in that he does not follow God. But He also says what God tells him to say. So there’s like some truth is prophecy. So he’s hired to curse Israel, but he can’t, because God won’t let him curse Israel. So instead, what he does is he shows the Moabite King Belak, how to bring the Israelites under God’s curse. He says, here’s what you do. Bring your finest Moabite ladies into the camp, the single ones that let them mingle with the Israelite guys, and they will sleep with and eventually marry these Moabite ladies. And so they’ll be committing sexual immorality, and then that will lead to idolatry because now your wife’s Gods also. And sure enough, that’s what happens. Now this is serious that word they’re enticed, is kind of, you know, enticing the Israelites is shorthand for would read literally as they they threw a stumbling block before the sons of Israel. And that stumbling block word is really important. So actually, our word scandal is really important because that is a sin leading to apostasy. Like these are people who have abandoned the faith as a result leading to damnation. In other words, we’re dealing with eternally significant matters in this moment. So we need to take this seriously. Compromise costs more than persecution. That’s what we’re seeing right compromised costs more than persecution, because again, persecution, they might take your life. But compromise can take your spiritual life, your eternal life. So you perish eternally. Now, we’re not actually dealing with balem here, it’s not like they brought out numbers 22, and they’re like, let’s hear what balem had to say. We’re talking about the Nicolaitans. Interestingly, this is the kind of stuff that if you’re a word nerd is really exciting. That’s me. So you all get it now to balem and Nikolaus are actually the same words the same root word so in Hebrew Bale, you all know Bay All right, it just means the Lord or ruler or something like that. And ominous people. So ruler of the people. Well, Nico means conquer. Like every time Jesus says to the one who overcomes he’s saying to the Nikko guy, and Laos, his people, so the overcomer of the people. So there’s the connection, we’re talking about the same sin for sure. the Nicolaitans are acting the part of balem. They’re like his spiritual error. How? Well in this context, it’s very different from the Israelites wandering in the desert in this context. It has to do with participation in civic life. Because if you’re going to be an important part of the city of Pergamum, you are going to have to attend these Imperial cult feasts, these banquets in honor of the Emperor, where meat, for example, would be served that had been offered to the local false gods. And then the banquets would conclude almost always with girls being brought out, so that they end in debauchery. And the question is, will you participate? That’s what’s being asked at the church here. You want to be a part of the civic life, don’t you? We want that here. We marched in the Memorial Day Parade. Why? Because we want to, we’re part of the city. We love them. We’re Cityview we’re looking at the city. We want to reach the city. Are you going to participate in the civic life because keep in mind, they would have been social outcasts if they didn’t go to these feast. You would lose status, power influence contracts for your business money in other words and pleasure, because of course, it’s finishes with prostitutes. Now, it is not hard to contextualize that for the American in the 21st century. Because that’s politics for us in a nutshell, isn’t it? We have increasingly cultish parties, the left and the right, where we are asked to pay homage to our leaders, loyalty tests, in other words to our leaders, and that will lead to compromise. And especially when it comes to sexual immorality, again on the left and the right. So it may be part of the party’s platforms, on issues like LGBTQ stuff, or abortion, it may be the politicians themselves, we’re being asked to overlook gross immorality in their own lives. But you understand the draw of compromise? Like let me give you an extreme hypothetical here. If I could promise you that we would outlaw abortion in the state of Illinois, all you had to do to make that reality was sleep with a prostitute would you do it? Or to lift the poor and oppressed, the downtrodden in your community? All you had to do is, you know, worship a false god. Or even just pretend like you’re worshipping a false god would you do you can see how easy this would be? How easy it would be to justify bending the rules and even bending the knee, you know, the ends justify the means. We get what we want, we can get that influence that power, that status. And so I always feel like there’s a temptation for us to like sneer at the people in Scripture who aren’t doing what Jesus would have them do. Without realizing that would be us to like, like, I got news for you. We got more in common with Peter than Anthropos. Probably. And I think we probably would have a lot in common with a church of Pergamum. So what does Jesus say to the church then facing this compromise and allowing these false teachers to make it easy for us to compromise in the back door, this is the next section, the charge, Kyle kind of did this last week, and we realized the better structure. So from now on your charge is just gonna be your big idea for the week, because that’s it. This is the one where Jesus says something, I will get to it in a moment. Let me read verse 16. For us here is the charge. Repent, therefore, otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. So what Jesus is saying here, in other words, like I get it, I get the temptation to compromise. But that doesn’t make it right. So repent. That’s what you do when you’re doing something not right. You change direction, you go the other way. What’s interesting here and you don’t see it in English, because English is just not the greatest language. Repent is in the singular. It’s not in the plural here, like you as an individual repent. raises the question, okay, who is repenting of what exactly then, what group are we even talking to here? There is a hint and the rest of the verse because it says, or I will come to you singular. If you’re from the south, this is Y’all not all y’all. Okay. So I will come to you singular and fight against them, plural. So them seems to be the ones who are holding to nicolaysen teaching, they need to repent to of course, because they’re the ones holding the false teaching and making these compromises. But the command is issued, especially to those who don’t hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans, who are still holding fast to Jesus’s name. So why, why are they repenting?
Because they’re not addressing the sin in their midst. They’re letting people that persist and ultimately perish in error. That’s the problem. Jesus says, you know, if you don’t repent, I’m gonna come and fight against them. Well, what does that look like? I mean, look what happens after balem in numbers 25, after the you know, they fall into Baylands, error and sin, God comes in fights against them and 24,000 Israelites die in a plague. That’s what it looks like for God to fight against someone. Even see this in the New Testament, First Corinthians 11. Looking at the Lord’s Supper, people are coming to these feasts and getting drunk. They’re not sharing with the poor, you know, they’re there. They’re treating them like a civic banquet. And Paul says rich printings 1130 This is why so many among you are weak and sick and why some have even fallen asleep. Have even die. That’s God fighting against people in error. And some of them are perishing eternally, we saw that already. This is a stumbling block a sin that leads to apostasy. So if that’s the case, the most hateful thing we could do to someone who’s falling into error is nothing. There’s nothing. The most loving thing we could do is something like get in their face, we must practice church discipline, in other words, and loving rebuke. Paul gives us an example of this first Corinthians five, someone who is caught up in sexual immorality, in fact, and the church isn’t doing anything about it. He says this, as one who is present with you in this way, I’ve already passed judgment, in the name of our Lord Jesus, I’m the one who has been doing this. So when you are assembled, and I’m with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord. That’s what this looks like. So in this case, they’re excommunicated person. This is church discipline at the extreme right there. They’re kicking the person out of the assemblies, and we cannot pretend like you’re a Christian at this point. Why? It’s not punitive, it’s restorative. The goal is restoration. The goal is that as he’s handed over, gives himself over to sin and basically hits rock bottom. And as a result comes back and repent so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord. Right, so we don’t want them to experience eternal judgment. So we pass judgment now in the hope that pain will rouse them from their sinful slumber. And Paul says this elsewhere about false teachers in particular, as a second Timothy 225 26, he says opponents must be gently instructed in the hope that God will grant them repentance, leading them to a knowledge of the truth, they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil who has taken them captive to do His will. In other words, what’s happening here, Jesus is giving us a loving rebuke, encouraging us to give a loving rebuke. That’s what’s happening. So it’s a little bit this whole, which Am I talking to the individual? Am I talking to the church? You know what, what’s happening here? It’s a little bit like maybe you’ve had this experience, like when a coach chews out the whole team. You ever had that? You know, a coach, like afterwards is like, that was the worst game I’ve ever seen. Like, I have never seen such laziness. None of you were hustlin. You want to know why you lost it because they wanted it more. The ball was loose, they went for it, and you didn’t. I’m disgusted with that display. You guys are running laps for the rest of the week. And what happens is, inevitably there’s one kid there who goes home crying, probably the only one who goes home crying. And which kid is that? The one who hustled all game long, right? And goes home. And it’s like, Dad, I hustle. Like, why is the coach yelling at me? I was hustling. And dad has to say what? I know you were hustling. So if you were hustling, you know, he’s not talking to you that that’s fine. But what do you need to do? Now you need to be team leader, you need to step up. Next time you’re on the field, you need to be the one saying hustle, get to the ball next to my year, you got to the point here is that we’re all responsible for the health of the church. We don’t get to excuse ourselves by saying yeah, but I hustled, we’re responsible to make sure everybody is hustling. We’re all responsible for the health of the church. So what does that look like for you personally, individually, and false teaching is all around us. The digital age has not made it harder to find people who will tell you what you want to hear, even in the guise of Christianity. To as you talk to people, maybe in formal settings, like journal journey groups or community groups, or maybe just informal conversation before and after a service. As you scan people on social media, you know, we’re friends with on Facebook or something like that. You see what they’re posting is you see their behavior? Do you ever offer correction? Well, let me ask you this like this. When was the last time you rebuked someone in this congregation? And if you can’t think of a time, why not? It’s not because we’re perfect. I’m sure of that. Starting with me. So we have reason to offer correction. So why aren’t we like do you see people compromising to get ahead or to get what they want? It’s a little bit like New York Post 911 You know that the big tagline come out of there was if you see something, say something. Well, if you see something you don’t say something. What Jesus just said to you is repent I repent and speak up next time. And so our charge or our big idea, no surprise is hold fast to the truth. Hold fast to the truth. It’s hard to tell because it looks like a title right there. But the truth should be capitalized that is a capital T. Jesus, who is the truth, hold fast to the truth cling to Jesus, who is the truth, no matter the circumstances, we cling to the glory of his name. But here’s the thing when we get in the rest of the passage, part of holding fast to him his glory, His honor, his reputation is helping others hold fast to him too. We got to change people’s grips, so they’re clinging to the right thing. Every year when we go up to family camp in Lake Geneva, my girls do the rock climbing wall that’s there. And when they’re very small, you know, he pretty much just pulled them up kind of thing. It’s sort of fun. But you know, they’ll like get on the wall and when they’re still within, you know, my height kind of thing. They’ll be trying to grab something and you’ll you know, you got to physically like take their hand and go try that one. That’s the picture exactly. We got people clinging to false teaching making it easy. Making excuses for cinema go. No, try that one. Cling to Jesus and said hold fast to the truth. We are made to magnifies how we say it here. Right we’re made to magnify that means hold fast to his name, his honor, his glory, but then we’re sent to serve. And what that looks like in this moment, leases loving rebuke, so that others hold fast to and here’s why. Because it’s actually better to hold fast to the truth. It’s actually better to hold on to the truth because sin makes false promises, but Jesus never does. That’s the last section. So look, look at the cheer the promised provision. From chapter two, verse 17. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches, to the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manner, I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it known only to the one who receives it. So holding fast to the truth sounds good in principle, like we would all get this answer right on a multiple choice test. Yes, you should come to Jesus not false teaching. But what happens when the rubber meets the road when trials and temptations come? Like what will cheer us on our way? Is there any promise that will keep us steadfast and immovable in the face of temptation that would motivate us to choose obedience?
Only the gospel promises of God will do that. Why and journey groups every week, when we meditate on a passage of Scripture, we always end with the question how does the gospel motivate my obedience in this area? And is there a promise to cling to hold fast to that will help me going in this direction? That’s exactly what we see here. Because just think with me for a moment, what is it that the church and Pergamum is seeking? What is it that they really want that would make them willing to compromise? It’s not just to participate in civic life, that’s not nearly exciting enough. It’s what civic life claims to promise that participation will bring provision or protection, influence. And even the sexual immorality brings that sense of intimacy, even if it’s a false intimacy, it is the love that we all seek. Can we agree that those are all good things? Nothing I said, right, there is bad provision, protection, intimacy, love, yeah, even influence. We want to use our influence for the sake of the kingdom. These are good things were made to long for those we can understand why they’re doing what they’re doing. And that’s important for us, because if in rebuke, we only give the what without the why we’re not going to see sustain transformation. There’ll be no power to change. There is such an important lesson for parents, right? Like the whole because I said so thing doesn’t work. And ultimately, because God said so doesn’t work either. Because God never just says so God also gives the reasons why. As we seeing here, Jesus is better. Like we gotta give that part how is Jesus better? So Jesus is inviting us to think what happens if we go down these two roads? My girls and I were in Proverbs right now we’re just meditate on a verse of proverb. Each night we just this past week hit proverbs 1415, the simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps. And Jesus is saying, give thought to your steps. Which direction are you walking? Where did these paths lead? How sure are you that you’re going to get where you’re going? That the destination is actually at the end of the path, like the provision or the intimacy, because here’s the reality being in the Chamber of Commerce is no guarantee that your business will succeed. And false intimacy of whatever sort, whether it’s pornography or a hookup culture, whatever, it will never heal that love The ache in your heart. But notice what Jesus promises here, hidden manna, and a new name written on a white stone. Going to need some help unpacking these images, of course, so manna, manna is the bread from heaven that God provides when the Israelites are wandering around in the desert, right around the time balem is speaking to them, by the way, and Revelation pictures the church is being in the wilderness as we certainly are. So what is the manner that is provided for us we know it part of it is the word of God, which fits the context of this letter. I mean, when Jesus is in the wilderness, and Satan comes to him, Hey, you’re hungry, Turn these stones into bread, I’ll take care of that for you. Jesus says, Can’t live on bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of our God, so holding fast to the truth, but I think there is actual provision being pictured here as well. Now, it’s a hidden manner, because it is still future. But we are still waiting, the future consummation of this promise. But everything we need, we will be given us in glory for eternity. And that the future promise encourages perseverance in trials, because that’s certain provision, certain provision. The God who provided his son as a sacrificial lamb, for the forgiveness of our sins will not fail to meet our needs. If he met our deepest spiritual need, he’s not going to fail to meet our physical needs in eternity. There’s the hidden mana but what about this white stone with a new name, another one of these ones where it got a lot of guesses, and the commentators don’t agree a couple of options. One could be an amulet to ward off evil. We have these in archaeology in Pergamum, you know, Whitestone, with a name of a false god on it. So is this an amulet with Jesus’s name on it, by the way doesn’t mean that John buys into the pagan worldview here that amulets work or something like that. It’s just an illustration assuring us of the promised blessings that Jesus brings that security that we have. Second option would be acquittal by jury, because they would vote with white and black stones, you’ve got the expression blackballed somebody who’s kicked out of a group, that’s the same thing. Black men guilty, excluded, white means not guilty, accepted. So could be that we’re, we’re innocent in Christ. And so this is a symbol of our acceptance, our acquittal, the third and what I think is the most likely would be, they actually use these as tickets to public festivals. It fits the context the best if it is true, because here it is, again, there’s the participation in the life, here’s my ad mission, and then is that status and acceptance. It’s the invitation to not just a city feast, but the Messianic banquet. Like we have a welcome with Jesus and self. And of course, that’s the intimacy we most seek as well. Now the white stone includes a new name, and might be our new name. Oh, which would be pretty cool. Especially because we just talked about new Dame this week. Jimmy, read us the passage from Isaiah, you know, this fits scripture for sure, like we are given a new name, symbolic of our new identity in Christ. Do you see throughout Scripture used to be Abram, my father is great. Now your Abraham, father of many nations, used to be Simon, now you’re Peter, the rock on which I will build this church. So could be that, or it could be Jesus’s new name, do you think is more likely we’ll see that in chapter three, verse 12, as we finish this series out, but that would mean again, we’re entering in Jesus’s name, which is exactly right. And so here it is that assurance of our acceptance, bar provision of our protection of our intimacy, whatever the exact image is, the point is the same what we’re seeking. What we really want is found only in Jesus. Sin makes false promises. If you compromise, I’ll protect you. But Jesus keeps all his promises. So we don’t hold fast. Listen to those who preach compromise. Now we hold fast to the truth. Because he keeps all his promises. We fight for the truth, we lovingly rebuke those who are turning from it because we know it’s the most loving thing to do. A certain promises the deepest, most profound love, that’s what will keep us as faithful witnesses, no matter the cost, no matter the circumstances, because we know the coming blessing with Jesus hidden manna, white stone with Jesus’s name that ensures our entrance into the New Jerusalem, the city of God, were not Satan, but where God Himself has his throne. That’s where we will dwell together. Let’s pray now. Lord, would you help us even now to turn from to compromise, to turn from temptation, and to turn from teaching that would help us make excuses for our compromise and sin, and instead to hold fast to the truth. Lord, we pray this, we want to hold fast to the truth because we know that what you offer is better than everything the world has to offer us. We see the coming glory, we see the provision, the protection, the intimacy, the acceptance, all that we longed for, we see that it comes to us in Christ. So would you help us to claim help us to give thought to our steps? And would you help us to help others to to care for the health of the church as a whole, to be willing to speak loving, gentle words of instruction and rebuke to turn others from sin, snatching them from the fire, but they might also know the blessing of knowing you being known by you and dwelling in your city. It’s in Christ’s name that we pray, Amen.

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Smyrna May 19, 2024 | Kyle Bjerga This sermon discusses the early Christian martyr Polycarp and the persecution faced by the church in Smyrna. It emphasizes Jesus’ eternal nature and faithfulness to comfort believers suffering persecution. Christians are called to faithfully endure criticism, pressure, slander, and cancellation through preparing spiritually and living lives that honor God. Believers can persevere through temporary suffering by trusting in Jesus’ promise of eternal life.

Good morning. If you can go and grab your Bibles and turn to Revelation chapter two, if you’re using one of the black pew Bibles, you’ll find on page 992. In Acts, chapter seven, we read about the first Christian killed for his faith, Steven. In Acts 12, we read about the first of Jesus’s 12 disciples who gave his life for following Jesus. And that was James, the brother of John. And Hebrews 12, we read the hall of faith, and it ends with a bunch of names, and then a bunch of different ways that people were killed for their faith in following Jesus in early church history. And yesterday, this is the average but yesterday there was 13 Christians around the world killed, for following Jesus. We call them martyrs. Because their death is because of their faith in Jesus, that’s why they died. And most of us know the stories of the people in Scripture and, and maybe many of us have read biographies of other Christians throughout church history who have given their life for Jesus. But many of those names many of those people in those faces, we won’t know until we get to glory. And we can see them face to face. Now, the first Christian martyr that we actually read about outside of the New Testament is a man by the name of Polycarp. Has anybody known that Polycarp? Probably not. But it’s an awesome name. But Polycarp was a bishop in Smyrna, back in ad 155, which we’re going to be talking about Smyrna today, because that’s the letter that we are in now Smyrna is still around, it’s known as Izmir, Turkey. So it’s still there. And it’s got a lot of history to it, a very important place back then a very important place. Now. It’s just 35 miles north of Ephesus, and very important Harbor City. So there was a lot of things going on, in the time that the Bible is written, the time that Polycarp was alive. And it wasn’t all easy to be a Christian at that time. So Polycarp is a follower of Jesus. He’s actually also a disciple of the apostle John, one of the last people to kind of know the apostle John, before he passes. And Polycarp is now at the point where he’s a much older man, the apostle John is gone, the first generations of Christians in Smyrna are gone. But what he has is faithful Christians before him who have given their lives through suffering and persecution to following Jesus. And he has been hunted now, by the Romans. He is and ended up kind of going into hiding at the encouragement of people in his church saying, You need to get away from this, because they care about his life. And three days before he is arrested, he has he’s praying, and he has a vision. And in that vision, he is laying his head on a pillow, and the pillow is in flames. And he prophetically says to those who are with them, he says, I will be burned alive. Sorry, I was crying during King of Kings. So this is gonna be a long morning. But he’s arrested, because he will not say Caesar is Lord. He will not worship Caesar, he will not worship the Roman gods. And so the people go after him. And now there’s, he’s an older gentleman. So there’s people that are on the Roman authorities who are like, hey, just say you believe in Caesar, right? Just say Caesars, Lord, renounce your faith in Jesus, and we’ll let you live. You just have to say it. Because they feel for him. And this is what he says, 86 years I have served him. And he’s done me no wrong. How can I bless you, my king, and my Savior? And they continue to encourage him to renounce his faith by just telling them different ways that they’re going to kill him. Well, what if we do this? And what if we do this? And then he says, Why do you delay? Bring on whatever you want. And as he prophesied, he was burned alive, given his life for Jesus now, how could Polycarp be so faithful in the face of persecution and suffering? And I think we get an idea of that, how he did that today in the letter that we read to the church in Smyrna. Because this is before his time, but again, he has seen faithful Christians living in Smyrna, who have gone through a lot. And so we’re going to see in this letter, some things that we hopefully can pull out for our own lives today. And As Brandon mentioned, last week, you’ll see your outline, we’re going to use the same outline for all seven letters in this series. So we’re gonna start with Christ and work our way through but I want to read the whole passage, Revelation to eight through 11. And then we’ll go back verse by verse, So let’s read it together. To the angel of the church in Smyrna, right. These are the words of him who was the first and the last who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty, yet you are rich. I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you’re about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you In prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for 10 days, be faithful, even to the point of death. And I will give you life as your victor’s crown. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches, the one who was victorious will not be hurt at all, by the second death. So let’s first look at Christ. What do we learn about Christ that He is eternal. That’s what we learn here in this first verse in verse eight. Last week, Brandon gave us the background for these letters that Jesus shows up to the apostle John and says, write down these words and send them to the churches in Asia Minor. And so John is receiving this from Jesus, he’s writing it down. And if Jesus is the one writing these letters, he knows exactly what the people in each church need to hear. And so he starts off first by saying something true about himself that they’re going to need to hold on to, for the rest of his message. So here’s what he says, verse eight, to the angel, the church in Smyrna writes, these are the words of him who was the first and last who died and came to life again. So what Jesus says about himself to the church that he wants the church to know, is exactly how we spoke about himself in Revelation chapter one, as he appears to John, so if you would just look over, probably on the previous page for you, and verse 17, of chapter one. Here’s Johnson, when I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said, Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the living one, I was dead. And now look, I am alive forever and ever and I hold the keys of death, and Hades. This is what Jesus had just told John, to comfort him in this moment to tell him who he is. But even before that, in chapter one, verse eight, look at that, here’s God again speaking, I am the Alpha and the Omega, says, The Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. But it goes further than that. Isaiah chapter 44, which we heard read for us just a few moments ago. Verse six says, This is what the Lord says, Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty, I am the first and I am the last apart from me, there is no God. So Jesus calls the church of Smyrna to hear his words, because He is the eternal one. He’s the only God always has been, always will be. He’s the same God. And he’s holding this church tightly in his hands, which he heard last week tightly in his hands. So Jesus self description here, what He is revealing about himself, this divine attribute of eternality says, I have the final word. That’s what it means. Jesus, and I have the final word. So the Smyrna and Christians need to hear this because of what Jesus is going to tell them they’re going to experience in the near future. And he says, it needs to comfort it needs to encourage them through this tribulation, and it can only be overcome. If Jesus gets the last word. That’s the only thing that can truly comfort us the last word over suffering the last word over persecution, and death. So it might look like death wins. But death doesn’t win. It is not the end, Jesus is the Eternal One, he is the final word, so his divinity, the fact that He is eternal, will help his people persevere. But not just his divinity, we also see his humanity in this same verse, because he is the one who died, and lives again. So when Jesus speaks, he also speaks as one who has endured afflictions. He’s endured the persecution and the poverty and the slander and every other form of persecution, suffering and even his own death. So he writes as the eternal Divine One, and he writes, As a man who has experienced what they will experience. So when you think about it, when you’re going through really difficult times in your life, when you are suffering, if you are being persecuted, who do you want to hear from in your life? You want to hear from the people that have been where you are now. Right? Like, that’s what you want to hear from it doesn’t mean other people aren’t saying the right thing, the biblical thing and the encouraging thing, but when that person speaks, and you know, they have scars in their life from going through something, when you know, they see you and they know what you’re thinking, and what you’re feeling, what you’re going through what doubts and struggles you have, when you know that in the person that you’re talking to their words mean more, they have a different weight to them. And there is nobody better more qualified to give this message to this morning Christians than Jesus Himself. And that’s what he wants them to know. I am the Eternal One.
I have always been I always will be I know what you’re going through. Like he can say that. And he can also say it doesn’t when death doesn’t when I when he gets the Last Word. So that’s what we learned about Christ. Now what are we learned about the church? Look at verse nine, we see that the church is afflicted, says, I know your afflictions and your poverty, you are rich. I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but our synagogue of Satan. So Jesus sees, he sees and he knows the affliction that the people are going through. It’s interesting to note, Jesus has nothing against the church and Smyrna. He had something against the church in Ephesus, last week, he will have something against most of the other churches in these letters, except for Philadelphia. So he doesn’t have anything against them. He’s just speaking to the reality that they’re going to find themselves in. And he tells them that even though they are physically poor, spiritually, they are rich. And of course they are. We have every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. That’s what Paul tells us in Ephesians. One, every spiritual blessing. Now this is in contrast to the church and layout of Sia, which we’re gonna look at in the last week of the series. We got a sia was physically, materially rich, and spiritually poor. In fact, this is what Jesus says, he says, You are, yes, physically, materially rich, but he tells them spiritually, you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. So which one would you rather be? Truly, because we are materially rich, if you were to lose everything, and Jesus said, but you’re spiritually rich, would that be enough for you, being rich in the ways that actually matter? That’s what Jesus is getting at here with the church in Smyrna. And he knows this is true of them. But they are afflicted, it seems obvious that the afflictions here are because of their faith, that these are coming because they are Christians. And so there is persecution for them. They are experiencing things in their lives and their families in their church, that are not things that we would want to experience, especially for something that we believe or follow. And we know that because in in verse 10, we’re going to find out kind of what these different afflictions are. But we need to understand a little bit about the relationship between the Jews and the Romans and the Christians back at this time in Asia Minor, where Smyrna is located, because it’s going to help us understand what’s going on here. What is this slander that’s happening? Why are the Romans listening to the Jews? So first, there was an understanding between the Jews and the Romans at this time, so the Romans would let the Jews worship as long as they didn’t cause any problems. Okay, don’t cause any problems will let you do what you want to do worship who you want to worship. And the Romans just saw Christianity as a sect of Judaism, like basis, and what’s the difference between them, like these guys follow this rabbi, and these guys follow this Rabbi named Jesus. And so that’s kind of what they think they have this kind of vague understanding of what Christianity is, in fact, they thought that Christians were atheists. Because they had no idea what in the world they believed in, who they believed in. And that’s what they thought at this time. So that’s what the Romans think. And so when will the Romans step in and do something about the Christians? They will step in if there’s a threat to Rome, if there’s a threat to Caesar, if somebody else is going to come in and try to take over? So what did the Jews do? Let’s slander the Christians. So the Romans believed that the Christians are a threat, that they’re a threat to Rome. They’re a threat to Caesar. So here’s an example of what this might have looked like, from Paul’s ministry. So when Paul goes into all these different places, he goes to the synagogue first, he starts to preach the gospel to the Jews saying, hey, the promise one has come. But what happens when he goes to Thessalonica and preaches in the synagogue, the Jews get very upset. They get a mob of people together, and they take them to the authorities. They say this, these men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here. And Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defined Caesars decree, saying that there’s another king, one called Jesus. So they’re slander is partially true. It’s kind of like that, that half truth that they’re telling because in fact, the the Christians believe Jesus is King. So they’re right in that but what they are not doing is they are not trying to overthrow Caesar. They’re not trying to overthrow the government. They are not going against his decrees. In fact, Jesus says, Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, right, keep paying your taxes, be a good citizen, that’s the Christians are doing and that are actually doing it quite well. They’re taking care of their fellow man. But if they can slander them, and make them think that the Christians are trying to take over, that they’re trying to push that Caesar is not their king, then maybe the Romans will do something. And the slander works. The slander works, because we read in verse 10, that they’re going to be imprisoned and that they’re going to be put to death and who are the people that can do that? The Romans because the Romans are the government Authorities and the Jews know that. So they know they need to go to them and make sure that they are the ones who hand out this punishment. Sounds an awful lot like Jesus, right? Because what did the Jews do? We can’t kill them, the Romans can, they could crucify him. So what we’ll do is we’ll set up a mob, and we’ll get them before Pilate. And we’ll bring up these charges, these false charges and slander Jesus in His name, and what he’s about. And then what we’ll start saying, Crucify Him. And the Romans will end up crucifying Jesus because they are the governing authorities. And they can do that. Because the Jews want Christianity gone. Because it’s dangerous to them. And so that’s why we read this term, it’s a tough term called a synagogue of Satan. They think they are Jews, but they are not. They are a synagogue of Satan. And just a quick aside, here, throughout every generation, and especially now in the news, we know that this verse and many other verses like this have been used towards anti semitism, that people think that these types of verses say it’s okay then to have hatred toward the Jews. And I really hope I don’t have to convince you that that’s nonsense. Because Jesus was Jewish. John is Jewish, Peter’s Jewish, Matthew’s Jewish, almost every single writer of the Bible is Jewish. So they would never write that and mean that, right? So these types of verses, we need to say that’s not what it’s about. But there is a deeper meaning there. So what is the deeper meaning? Why does he say a synagogue of Satan, because Jesus wants the church to know that there is an evil beyond the people that is going after him. That is going after the church that is persecuting him. There’s a bigger plan and a bigger adversary behind all of it, somebody who’s actively working against the will of God. Now the people think the Jews think they are the people of God, they have the promises of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Moses and David. We’ve got the promises of God through these people. But Jesus says, You’ve missed the promised one, the one who came to fulfill all of it. Which means the Jews at this time are no longer judged based off of their Jewishness. They’re not judged based off of keeping the law, they are based solely on who they say Jesus is. Just like we are today, who is Jesus? You either believe in Him, He is Lord and Savior or you deny him. So we see this in what Paul writes in Romans, look at Romans 223 29, to talk about this kind of change that takes place. He says a person is not a Jew, who is one only outwardly nor a circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew, who is one inwardly. And circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code, such a person’s praises, not from other people, but from God. So you see the change that takes place with the coming of Jesus with His life, death and resurrection. Who do you say Jesus is? That’s the question. And Satan is always in opposition to God. The evil one is always in opposition to God, and anyone who lines themselves up against God lines themselves up with him. Alright, so those are our two options. And so Jesus is saying, the synagogue of Satan, there’s something beyond this and evil beyond this. What does Paul say in Ephesians 612. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. There is a darkness and evil behind this. And we see this play out in the New Testament a couple of different ways. One, jeez, is Jesus talking to the religious leaders, and they’re claiming that Abraham is their father. And Jesus says, Abraham was waiting for the day where I would come. That’s the faith that he had, and you are missing it. So Jesus tells them in Johnny 44, you belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He’s saying you’re lining up on the wrong side.
And then we think, Well, that could never happen to us. And then good old Peter steps in follower of Jesus says, You are the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus says, You are right, this has been revealed to you from heaven. And then Jesus goes on to say later, hey, by the way, I’m gonna be taken, arrested and killed. And Peter takes Jesus and rebukes him and says, No, Lord, this will never happen. And Jesus says, Get behind Me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to me. You do not have mind the concerns of God but merely human concerns. Peter loves Jesus, he cared for Jesus. But God’s plan was for Jesus to go to the cross and Peter saying, I don’t want you to go to the cross, and therefore he’s lining up on the wrong side. And so for us, it’s a matter of lining up behind Jesus in my life and not behind the evil one and if If I if I’m following Jesus, I’m gonna do what Jesus says I’m gonna follow His word. It doesn’t matter if it’s a merely human concern, doesn’t matter if it’s something else going on, I need to make sure I’m lining up in the same place. So that’s the question. Who are you lining up behind? Who are you trusting? And if I can just say this to the church, those who are opposed to Jesus will be opposed to us. Okay? If they’re opposed to Jesus, they will be opposed to us, because our allegiance is to Jesus, which means we follow His will. And his will is different than the world’s will. It’s different than my will or your will or anyone else’s will. And so if they oppose Christ, they will oppose us, especially as we follow Him. So that’s the reality in the church. Now, what is the charge that Jesus gives to these Christians? He calls them to be faithful. Look at verse 10. Do not be afraid of what you’re about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you. And you will suffer persecution for 10 days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. I love the honesty of the Christian faith, the honesty of the Bible, you will suffer, you will experience it, you are going to go through it you will be persecuted, you can count on it. And if you are not being persecuted, and you don’t suffer for your faith, then you need to ask the question, Am I in the faith? It’s legitimate question to ask because Second Timothy 312 says, in fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. If you’re living a godly life, you will be persecuted. So he’s saying, you will experience this. So the church is not supposed to flee from suffering. That’s not our call. Suffering is not something to be avoided. It’s also not something we should seek after. It’s this kind of weird tension. I don’t go out in the morning and say, Lord, I want to suffer. That’s not what I do. But I also don’t go out there and say, like, Lord, Lord, Lord, please, I don’t like I don’t want to suffer today. I want to tell everyone is that no, we just face the reality. If we follow Jesus, we will suffer, we will be persecuted. That’s what he’s seen here. If you follow me, you will suffer. Right now Christians, on average, they said 13 a day are being killed for their faith, others lose jobs, and siblings, and spouses, and relationships, and possessions and they endure unimaginable persecution for their faith. They’re risking their livelihoods and their lives together around and hear somebody, teach them the Bible. They’re doing it late at night, at weird times a day, in hushed voices as they sing worship songs. So that nobody finds them out and ends up taking away their church and possibly their lives. This is happening around the world. And it’s easy for us to think a passage like this is for them over there. But this is for us to it is we’re not up here. I’m not up here to compare how bad it is somewhere else, and how great we have it here. The fact remains, we are persecuted. As we follow Jesus, it’s just going to be different. It’s gonna look a little bit different than maybe others, others around the world. So how does this letter speak to us today? What can we apply? And there’s really kind of four ways that I see persecution being true in our lives today. And so I just want to list them off and kind of talk about each one for a second. The first one is we’re criticized. As Christians we’re criticized meaning there are people who judge and disapprove of us will criticize the things that we believe and why we believe them. They talk against it, they speak negatively about the Christian faith, about our views. So some of the things you might hear is how could you believe that? Isn’t the Bible, just archaic? And they just criticize what we believe and why we believe in. Or they might say, here’s what’s wrong with what you believe. They criticize. And here’s the temptation that we have in those moments, a sharp tongue and just start criticizing right back. What about your views? Right? And is that is that the way we’re called to suffer? In those moments, the second one is pressured. We get pressured to compromise in all sorts of areas, like this strong persuasion, or somebody’s going to try and coerce us into something squeezing us and we feel it, especially over time, if you’ve been in a job where this has happened, or with a person that says Do you feel that pressure and it just gets worse? It just gets cranked up more and more every time you are with them. And some ways that you might hear this is your faith is holding you back from experiencing something great, right? Why can’t you just give a little bit, just give a little right, you don’t have to get rid of everything you believe just just a little bit here. It’s it’s not going to be a big deal. And that pressure just keeps ramping up The temptation in those moments is to compromise. Right? Or, or we suffer Well, in those moments stand firm, instead of compromising. The third one is being slandered. It’s still they’re still here. So this morning Christians are dealing with, it’s what we’re going to deal with to, a lot of times it comes to those half truths. So here’s where this might come into your life. We believe something that the Bible says, which therefore to somebody else means we hate somebody or something. I disapprove of this, therefore, you hate me. That’s not fair. By the way. To do that, this have to do Yes, I believe the Bible says this, but it has nothing to do with what I think of you, or how I’m gonna treat you, or what I’m gonna say to you, or how I’m gonna love you. But the world wants to slander. And say, if you believe this, you necessarily have to believe that this was slander comes in. In the moment, in these moments, the temptation for us is to go on the defensive, maybe soften the truth a little bit, not push as much. But as that suffering well, and then finally, cancelled. It’s a form of persecution, if people don’t like what you believe they’ll just stop listening to you. They’re just done with it. And I know this gets talked about more in the political world and in entertainment, but it’s actually much more personal than that. Because some of you will probably lost friends, or relationships. Because it’s something you believe. So this person is just cancelled you. I’m done. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. The temptation in these moments, then, is to stay silent. Just stay on the sidelines. I don’t want to cause any issues. So we just retreat. Now, any of these things can intensify. And persecution individually or as a church can change at any time. Think about this letter that’s written to the church in Smyrna. Free long time Christianity dominated. What is modern day Turkey? Do you know what the church is in Turkey now. And the persecution that the Christians have there, now, it’s completely changed. So we don’t know when these things can happen. And so this passage for us is one that we need to be ready to read and be ready to prepare for what might come. And so what Jesus says yours is interesting, he gives us two reasons why he says, Do not be afraid of the suffering to come. cases do not be afraid of the suffering to come to gives us two reasons why he can say that. The first one is that suffering is temporary. suffering persecution is temporary. It says it’s gonna last 10 days in a book like revelation, a lot of symbolism. Could it mean 10 literal days, maybe it might just mean a period of time, but a temporary period of time, like you’re gonna experience these things. What regardless of what it is, it’s not gonna last forever. So don’t be afraid. Instead, hear the words of Paul to the Corinthians, when he says, For our light, and momentary troubles or afflictions, are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes, not on what is seen suffering, persecution, slander, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen, is eternal. So don’t be afraid. The suffering, the persecution is temporary. And the second thing is eternal life is coming. Eternal life is coming. For those who are faithful, even to the point of death, they will get life. If death comes here, what you did for Jesus, by the way, they came for Jesus, they’re still eternal life to come waiting for us endure, because Jesus final word is life. Not death. It’s life. So what should we do then in light of this, so I want to give kind of the big idea. Now I know what’s at the end of your notes, but I’m gonna kind of move it up here. Before we get to that last section. Here’s the big idea. The takeaway for today is Be faithful. That’s it.
Be faithful, that’s what he says here. Do not be afraid of the suffering. Instead, be faithful. So how can we be faithful in the face of coming or maybe current persecution that you are experiencing? Now we have to be realistic, things are nowhere near as bad as they could be. Okay. And so that’s just real for us. It could be a whole lot worse. But we also have to remember that that culture currently is not getting friendlier to the Christian faith. It’s not deciding to submit to God and His Word right now. So we’ve got these tensions to figure out okay, how can I be faithful in this culture today? Again, there’s two big ways that I think we do this number one is we prepare for it If we prepare for it, if you expect it to happen, if you believe it is coming. And we already saw, if you’re living for Jesus, it will come, you must prepare to suffer so that in those moments you can stand firm. I mean, all of us have been in that situation, we’ve been thrust into a place where we have not prepared well. standing up in front of other people trying to show something to somebody and like we’re not prepared and it just all falls apart. In moments of suffering, if it all falls apart, that’s a terrible time for to fall apart. So we have to prepare for suffering now. So how do we do that? Well to tell story about a woman named Esther on Kim. Esther was a Korean Christian during World War Two, and she was arrested by the Japanese and imprisoned for her faith for her refusal to bow to Caesar, right. Her refusal to bow to Japanese gods and war heroes of the past and dead emperor, she said she would not do it. And she showed extreme perseverance. What makes her story more incredible, though, is the preparation she went through for her persecution, like she knew this was coming. So she got ready for it. Now she got ready for it, she would go days without any food or water because she knew in prison, she would experience the same thing. She ate rotten food, because she knew that’s what she would be served in prison. And she was preparing herself physically for what it would be like to be in a prison cell and not know how long she would be there. She wouldn’t have been there for six years. Spiritually, She memorized 100 chapters of Scripture, and hymns, so that she can sing to herself and she could go over scripture over and over and over again, because she knew she could not have a physical Bible in herself. She knew this was coming in, she prepared. And because she prepared, she persevered through six years, not just making it through, but ministering to prisoners and guards, leading women to Jesus. Because she was faithful, she prepared and she persevered. She expected the persecution and she was ready for it. And so when it came, it came to her front door, she didn’t crumble, she didn’t crack, she persevered, and continued to minister through it. So we need to prepare for what this will be like. The second thing then, that we need to do, to be faithful is to live a life that makes people pay attention. Live a life that makes people pay attention, love God, love others. We talked about this last week, love God, love others. And here because the conscious will read, especially your enemies, especially those who will criticize you, especially those who will slandered you, who will cancel you who will pressure you love them. So let’s look at some of those examples that I just talked about. What does it look like in these ways to persevere, to be faithful. So first, if you’re criticized, maybe ask the person questions, start to find out what they actually believe. instead of criticizing what they believe or thinking you know that ask them questions, ask them questions to find out what is it that you believe what what do you think I believe, find out what those problems are, why they don’t like these things, these things. And you might learn a lot rather than going and the temptation of criticizing them. Instead, be interested in them. Right, get to know what they believe first, before you continue to talk about what you believe. What if you’re pressured? How are you faithful in that, don’t compromise. Instead, be willing to accept the consequences. Some of you have, and some of you will lose jobs because of your faith. Now, maybe not directly related to I’m a Christian, so you lose your job. But you will not do something that somebody wants you to do because of your faith, and you will lose your job. And here it says to suffer well is to accept those consequences, no matter the outcome because the job the boss does not have the final word Jesus does. It’s a momentary, tough, not fun situation. But it will end there is life. What if your slandered? Continue to speak the truth in love and demonstrate what you believe. By loving people? Well, we can’t do anything. If we say this and they automatically go over here. All we can do is continue to say this and love them well, and pray that the Spirit gets a hold of their heart. Not to retaliate, and then being canceled. Like we need to get off the sidelines. We cannot retreat back. We need to continue to get in the game. Continue to serve the Lord. Trust Him with your relationships with your reputation and know who you are in Christ. And families if I could just say something real quick to you. You guys know we talked about a lot that our designer film issues raised kids and teenagers that the world cannot ignore that they love Jesus and the world cannot ignore that. So that means our greatest fear is not that our kids suffer or go through persecution. That’s not our greatest fear. Our greatest fear should be when they give their life to Jesus, that they go out and they coast, that they’re ineffective, that they’re apathetic, and that they’re ignored by the world. Because those are not disciples of Jesus. So we need to stop praying that they’re suffering, and stop praying that they’re not persecuted. We praise the Lord that they are. Because that means he’s doing something. He’s doing something in their life, and he has the final word. Lastly, we look at the cheer. Verse 11, we are victorious. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says the churches, the one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death. Who is victorious? Jesus or us? Yes. If Jesus is victorious, we are victorious. And what are we victorious over we are victorious over the second death. What is the second death? For revelation 21. Brandon talked about this. As we get to the end of these letters, we start to see there’s connections made to what’s coming in the future, future part of the letter. So Revelation 21, we have this answer to what the second death is, here is Revelation 21, verse eight, I’m just going to read it for you. It’s not going to be on the screen. Here’s the description. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars, they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. The second death is eternal judgment. It is where you have finally said I line up with Jesus or I line up with the enemy. It’s hell. It’s eternal judgment of God on you because you made the choice to deny the victorious Savior. You were one that thought you were rich, but you are poor. That’s what it’s getting at. That’s what the second death is. This is the harsh reality. If you’re here this morning, you don’t know Jesus as that victorious living Savior, you need to reckon with this truth. It is not a fun truth, it is painful, it is one that you’re going to want to fight against. But instead of fighting against it, I pray that you would look to Jesus and see that he went to the cross for your sins to pay that penalty. So you too, could be victorious and extends that grace to you this morning. So say, Jesus, I trust you instead, I trust you. Now Jesus died, which means he experienced the first death. Everybody in history up to this point who has died has experienced the first death. And for the majority of us in this room, unless Jesus returns, that will be the same thing for us. John Piper says, God is not in the business of saving people from first death, most of the time. He is in the business of saving people from the second death. And that’s what we have here we are victorious over the second death. That’s what we are saved from a far more terrifying death, that judgment. He says welcome in, or you are cast out. So the questions we need to ask ourselves this morning, was we look at a passage like this as Are you experiencing persecution? Are you experiencing suffering for your faith? If you are, then praise the Lord first. Because he’s doing something people notice something in your life. If you’re not, then you need to take a hard look at your life and say, why are people not persecuting me? Why am I not suffering from my fate? It might be because you’re on the sidelines, and nobody knows. And you’re just coasting and going through the motions. And you need to come to Lord and confess that today. Are you being tempted to compromise? To stay silent? To try to avoid suffering? Are you preparing for suffering and persecution? Like don’t be afraid of the temporary affliction. Instead, be faithful to the one who has always been faithful to you, has always been faithful to us. For we close in prayer, I’m going to ask everybody just close your eyes now.
And I want to read these words from Revelation 21 that come right after the news that we just heard of those who deny Jesus, I want you to hear about the riches that you have in Christ Jesus this morning, if you are in Christ, so if you keep your eyes closed, I want to read this and then I’ll continue praying. There will be no more death or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. I am making everything new. Write this down for these words are trustworthy and true, it is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end to the thirsty, I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this and I will be there God, and they will be my children. So Father, God, we come to you this morning as your children, thanking you that we can even call you father, because of the blood of Jesus Christ. And our faith in you of a of accepting that invitation of grace. We thank you Holy Spirit for the work you’re doing in our hearts through the word so that people will look at us and see something different. I pray that it’s obvious that we’re following Jesus, that people see something different. We say, you know, I follow Jesus say that makes sense. I see that in you. They not only see it, or hear it from us, but they see the love that we have for everyone. The love that you had for those who are helpless, like sheep without a shepherd, seeing them and having compassion, and giving your life. So Lord, I pray that all of us would suffer well. That as we go from here that we prepare for what you have for us, maybe it’s this week, maybe it’s months or years down the road, but we will be pushed because of our faith. We will have opportunity to compromise or to criticize others, or to turn all these things back and someone else the Lord help us to be faithful. Because we know what we deserve. We know what we’ve been given. And we want to honor you and the way we live our lives by loving God and loving others. Well, we do love you, we thank you We pray this in Jesus name, Amen.

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Ephesus May 19, 2024 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper counsels maintaining strong love for God and others in the church by remembering one’s “first love” when first becoming a Christian. Jesus’ letter to the church in Ephesus in Revelation warns about losing love for God and others while commending their rejection of false teachings. The sermon encourages persevering in faith through serving others joyfully and balancing loving doctrine with loving people who disagree. By remembering God’s love, Christians can overcome trials through faith in Christ’s victory and be sustained to the end.

Good morning church. Grab your Bibles, you can open up to Revelation chapter two, Revelation Chapter Two, we’re in verses one to seven this morning, Revelation two, as you’re turning there, one of the best parts of my job. And there are many parts that I love. But one of the best parts is counseling, young couples. premarital counseling. In particular, I’ve done even with some of the couples in this room, always very fun or dating advice had a couple of those conversations recently as well. What makes it fun is because these are two young people who are just so in love, and it’s kind of like fun to see, you know, they can see no flaws and the other person or like it, well, maybe he’s too wonderful. That’s the only issue I’ve got with him. And as a 20 year veteran of this institution, I’m like, you might not think that later this year, we’ll see. But one of the worst parts of my job is on the other side of that conversation, marriage counseling, especially if that marriage counseling is quickly evolving into divorce, counseling, even if there are legitimate biblical grounds for the divorce, it is still heartbreaking, of course, to see a marriage come to an end. And what’s so challenging for me is to think these are the same people. Like not literally in my case, I haven’t done that whole thing. I’ve been here long enough for it. But just knowing that at some point, these couples were the young married couples who could see no flaws. Like no one goes into marriage thinking, oh, yeah, he’s got a real anger problem. I can tell he’s going to be abusive later. Or she’s a tremendous nag. In a few years, my life will be absolutely insufferable. I’m sure of it. So what happened? What changed? Exactly? And we could point to many, many things. Of course, you know, she wasn’t who I thought she was. He just stopped trying, we both changed as a result of changing circumstances. But at its root, of course, the issue is just lost love and unwillingness to love any longer, which is not just a feeling but an action, of course. And you know what the the same thing can happen in our relationship with Jesus. Love can fade, because exactly what Jesus says to the church in Ephesus. So as Kyle mentioned, we’re in a new series this week, starting the seven letters to the seven churches in Revelation. This is John, the apostle, who is writing this at 9095, somewhere in there under Emperor dome mission and this persecution that’s being loosed on the church. It certainly is written to these seven churches that we’re gonna get to learn a lot about in the next few weeks, but it is written for today, too. So Dennis Johnson, he’s writing about the West Coast churches, he says, West Coast churches face a lot of problems. As you can probably imagine, I mean, they’re not hostile environment, large chunks of the culture would really rather that Christianity just be purged from the land. They’ve got, you know, some affluent communities that breed the sort of self sufficiency that doesn’t really depend on the Lord, a lot of people who prefer personal peace and comfort to the rigors of discipleship. You know, people trusting in money are stained by sexual immorality. And that is Johnson is not talking about California, if that’s what you had in your mind. He’s talking about first century turkeys west coast, which is where the seven churches are, these are all the issues that we’re going to come across in these seven letters. And yet, they’re exactly the same issues where you know, that’s not just California, of course, he talked about churches here in Chicago that have those same issues. These are universal struggles being met with universal truths. So what John is writing to these seven churches what Jesus is saying that the seven churches, he is certainly saying to us, the murder of Torian cannon, which is an early document really important for establishing the 27 books the New Testament says about this, it says, John writes, indeed, to seven churches yet speaks to all. And so he is, I mean, just think for a moment, if Jesus were to write a letter to Cityview, what would he say? That’s what we’re being invited to consider in this series. And as we read these letters, now, all seven letters follow a similar format. So we’re actually going to follow the same structure for all seven weeks. So you’re gonna get this kind of outline here of Christ, who Jesus is going to tell us something about himself, then church, he’s going to talk about the church, The Good, the Bad, sometimes just the good sometimes just the bad usually both though, some sort of challenge in response to that, what does the church need to do and then some cheer, a promise that will encourage them to persevere. So let’s take a look at that starting here with the letter to emphasis starting with Christ. And our first point here, what we’re gonna see is presence and protection Jesus is present winds and protection. I’ll just read chapter two verse one for now. Revelation 212, the angel of the church and Ephesus right? These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. So little context, because we are picking up in chapter two, not chapter one, you can see and will was very helpful and read some of this for us already. So we got it but you know, chapter one, verse 11, John is being told to write on a scroll what he sees and send it to the seven churches here in again, western Turkey, the province of Asia Minor, but Turkey is what we think of today. And then we get this description of Jesus right, John turns around, he sees Jesus and describes him to us and Jesus says a few things about himself as well. All that we’re gonna get in the in this first part of the seven letters is drawn from this description of Jesus. In fact, look at chapter one, verse 20, the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and of the seven golden lampstands is this, the seven stars the angels of the seven churches in southern lampstands are the seven churches. So he’s already drawing this imagery from chapter one in the letter to FSS. Now, if you’re looking at a Bible like mine, at least when it says Angel, in chapter two, verse one or chapter one, verse 20, there’s a little footnote and says, or messenger, which is kind of important, actually. So this is just the Greek word on gloss, we get Angel from there, but on gloss doesn’t mean a spiritual being with wings, and a halo and stuff plays a harp on a cloud, none of which is true anyway, but it just means messenger. And since angels often delivered messages, like you know, Gabriel, with Mary, something like that, the word came to mean Angel as we think of it today. So it could be either one. In other words, this might just be the person who’s delivering the message to these churches. Could you be the pastor Honestly, these are pastoral epistles that we are reading here. Maybe that’s Jeremy right boy, I’ll quote him some of this series. That’s how he takes it Herman banquet on my favorite theologians that look how he takes it. Angel pastor doesn’t really matter. The point though, is that this is a message for the churches. This is a message that they need to hear that we need to hear. In fact, when it says these are the words of him who holds the seven stars, it reads a little bit more, you know, literally, as thus says, The one who holds the seven stars as in thus says the Lord, like this is This is Old Testament, prophetic authority, prophetic message that we get here. So what is the Prophetic Message for emphasis? All right, first church on the list here is Ephesus why Ephesus, first because it’s the the route that a mailman would take. So that’s where we’re going here. The seven churches, it’s just this little circuit that they’re going to run through in western Turkey there. But it’s, there’s some important symbolism as well. Number seven and revelation, you should probably go okay, there’s symbolism here. We’ll talk about that a little bit and week four, so you got to hang on until then, apologies to the Moody’s. You’ll just you’ll never know I’m sorry. But we start with Ephesus also because it is the foremost city in Asia Minor population of maybe 200 250,000 people it’s got the Temple of Artemis in it if you’ve read the book of Acts, you know that Temple of Artemis is one of the wonders of the the Ancient World Seven Wonders the ancient world, very wealthy town as a result of this temple. It’s a seaport on the Aegean Sea, right where the coaster river flows through, which is actually kind of fun, because it was a sea port on the Aegean Sea. But because this river brings so much sediment with it, the ruins of Ephesus are now eight miles inland from the sea kind of incredibly, nothing to do with Revelation just I like geography, so I get to inflict it on you. So a lot of pagan worship in this town. Like there’s temples to, you know, the Caesars, of course Artemis, you know all these other gods, but it’s still impressive church. It’s founded by Priscilla and Aquila, with a palace there as a teacher as well. Paul, of course, spends about a year and a half teaching every day in the School of tyrannis, which are explore our one of our tracks is named for that. So he’s discipling all these people who are then sent out to reach all of Asia Minor with a gospel, of course, later on Paulson’s Timothy to be pastor of this church. And if church tradition is correct, and there’s a lot of tradition here, then John himself was pastor of Ephesus as well. Like this is way better than Moody Church in terms of famous famous pastors that it’s had in its tenure.
So in each letter, as Jesus speaks to these churches, then he’s going to remind the church of who he is, and it will be a specific view of Jesus that the church needs. That is these are not just letters about behavior, you know, we need to tweak some Some actions here, the theology is so important theology actually precedes action. We didn’t know who Jesus is, that’s what will change us. So what two reminders diseases give the church of emphasis here. First, Jesus says that He holds the seven stars in his right hand. The pastor is really the churches, the cells. This is drawn from chapter one, verse 16, right in his right hand, he held seven stars, exhibited, it’s actually a different word there. So in chapter one, verse 16, it is the word hold, or even just has he’s got seven stars in his right hand. But when we get to chapter two, verse one, the word is much stronger. It’s like grips. Jesus holds tightly. The seven stars at this point that he’s holding tight to his people reminds me of John’s gospel, and what Jesus says as the Good Shepherd where he says, no one will snatch my sheep out of my hand. That’s what he’s saying, here he is, protecting his people. The second thing Jesus says is that he walks among these churches walks among the golden lampstands, taken from 113. among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, here’s Jesus walking among the lampstands, he is not a distant, but a present king. He knows his people, well, he’s knows what’s going on. And he knows what they need. In fact, the concerns that he raises in these letters stem from what he’s seeing, because he’s present to them. He’s got intimate knowledge and understanding of all that’s going on. So why does Jesus remind them and us of this? Because we so often forget who and where Jesus is. And that is the reminder we need because if you forget who Jesus is, and where Jesus is, that leads to discouragement when things go badly. Maybe he is it isn’t that maybe he doesn’t see maybe he doesn’t care that can lead to prayer, listlessness, and self sufficiency, and pretty soon we’re seeking fleshly solutions to spiritual problems. It’s a bad idea. So it’d be like kids, you know, at the end of a camping trip, you know, going, Hey, we’re on our own. Now. I don’t know what happened to mom and dad, like, we’re gonna go Swiss Family Robinson, like you’re in charge of building the fort. You go hunt, I’ll fight the pirates. And meanwhile, mom and dad are like 20 yards away pack in the car, like, No, Jesus is still here. You are not on your own. He has not left us as orphans. I mean, think we just did the series last week where it just wrapped it up. Right. But I mean, the Spirit of Jesus is in the room right now. Right here. Shouldn’t that change how we think and act when it comes to ministry, but just to life in general? Of course, that’s the reminder we need well as he walks among them, what does Jesus see that he wants to talk to the church about? That’s our next point. So church, verses two to four, we’re going to see two kinds of keywords here are endurance and enmity, endurance and enmity may read it for us. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles, but are not and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name and have not grown weary, yet I hold this against you, you have forsaken the love you had at first. So in light of the Hall of Fame pastors that this church has had, it is no surprise that the church is doing well. They are well taught and well equipped for the Christian life. You see this especially in how they handle false teachers who come and try and lead the church astray. They were equipped for this because Paul himself told them that hey, this is coming. So Paul, in Acts chapter 20, he meets with the Ephesian elders, and lets them know they need to be on their guard. Here’s what it says. So acts 2028 to 31 keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers be shepherds of the Church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock, even from your own number. Men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard. And what do we see here? They listened. They listened to Paul, they took him seriously and so they have tested the claims of these false teachers and discern whether they’re true or not. They rejected the false apostles. Just a good reminder for us we’re to do this still today of course, because History repeats itself halls teachers are always arising. I mean, John himself first John four verse one says, Do not believe every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world. Paul says something similar, something similar First Thessalonians five, do not treat prophecies with contempt, but test them all. Hold on to what is good. Implicitly reject what is not good, of course. So we’re to test all claims made by teachers against the the only objective standard we have, which is the authoritative word of God, the Bible. So people come and they make claims and they go, well hang on. Now, let’s open up the Bible and see if match. If somebody comes up to you and says, Hey, God told me you go, maybe, maybe, alright, we need to we need to seek this out together. But that’s exactly what the Ephesians have done. So when Paul’s prediction came true, the false apostles came, they defeated error by holding to the truth. They’re actually world famous for this. So Ignatius, Bishop of Smyrna, writing just a little bit after this time, this is what he says about the Ephesian church. He commends them here specifically, I have heard that some strangers came your way with a wicked teaching, but you did not let them so it among you, you stocked up your ears to prevent admitting what they disseminated. They’re famous for doing just this. And their model for us in that, of course, our first core value as a church is God’s word. And here’s why. Right, because we always have to go back to okay, what’s the standard? What’s the authority here? Well, in addition to holding fast to God’s word, rejecting false teaching, we see that their stalwart ministry, Jesus says, I know your deeds, your perseverance, and your your hard work. Like there’s no cheap grace here in this church. This is a church that gets Jesus’s words and Mark 834. You know, if you’re gonna follow Jesus, you’re gonna have to deny yourself, take up your cross and actually follow Jesus would open here that Jesus makes it actually it brings these two ideas together, it says, you know, verse two, you haven’t tolerated their false teaching. And in verse three, you have endured a hardship tolerated and endured are the same word. You translate it like you haven’t put up with our false teaching, but you have put up with hardship for the sake of Jesus’s name. You’re reading this and you’re thinking, Who wouldn’t want to be in a church like this? This is a good church, you got sound doctrine, and committed discipleship, church looks great. The church looks great. And that’s the issue. As part of our problem, even today, of course, is that our definitions of success are often at variance with God’s definitions of success. So we look at things like finances, attendance, how many journey groups and community groups do we have? Do we launch any new it’s all the stuff we’re gonna talk about tonight at recall, by the way, so I’m feeling very convicted. But that’s kind of how we roll but but I’m reminded of what God says to Samuel. As Samuel is getting ready to anoint David as the next king. We just had Saul Saul’s like six, six, and tall people think they’re better as kings. I don’t know why Jake has this problem already. So we’re gonna have to knock him down a few pegs, okay. But everyone looked at Saul and what? Well, of course, he’s a king, look at him. And then Samuel looks at David, the pipsqueak Shepherd and says, of course, he’s not a king. And God says, you look at the outside, I look at the heart. So how is Ephesus heart? And the answer is not so good. Jesus has something against them, because they have forsaken the love they had at first. Which sounds important, by the way, because love is the summation of the law. How many times have we said that here? It’s in the Sermon on the Mount, right? There’s just one thing we have to do as Christians love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. That’s it. So to say we’re doing well except when it comes to love. Means we’re not doing well. Okay, like we’re missing the only thing that really matters now. What love are we talking about here? Are we talking about love for God or love for people?
That’s a fair question. It could be God, certainly. If so it’s probably drawing on Jeremiah two almost seems to be quoting Jeremiah two. So in Jeremiah two verse two, God is speaking he says, I remember the devotion of your youth how as a bride, you loved me. So like going back to remember the love you had at first like that, you know, premarital counseling. You saw nothing but wonderful things in me just a little bit later. Verse 13, same prophecy My people have committed to sin. As they have forsaken me the spring of living water and have dug out for themselves cisterns. They forsake it’s a word right forsaken me. So it could be that we’ve stopped loving God. It could also be other people though. Jesus even warned against this once persecution and trouble come, what happens, and the Olivet Discourse when Jesus is talking about what happens in the end times a lot of revelation taken from it. In fact, Jesus says, because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. Of course, it would, in the midst of trials like these, when you’ve got things like persecution, and heresy, and, you know, schisms and factions that are threatening the church, there’s gonna be distrust, and that distrust breeds a lack of love for others. And certainly see this in the church today. The rise of digital world, social media has made it exponentially worse. When you get people who are self appointed heresy hunters. They’re just looking at what what’s this pastor saying? What’s this church doing? Where is it wrong, so that we can attack them? And why is that, because of our culture wars, because the church is under threat, our culture does not universally love the church. And so because we feel under threat, now we get defensive, and you get in that defensive posture. And love quickly goes out the window. So you have people sent Well, of course, that church is no good, they’re too woke, you’re just getting into Cultural Marxism. Or on the flip side, that church can’t possibly be any good. They care so much about their theology, that they’re not committed to the things that Jesus was committed to, like justice. Fighting for the oppressed. I saw an example of it this week, it was heartbreaking, absolutely heartbreaking. A pastor whose name you would know if I said it, came out and said that mental illness is made up. It’s not a thing. There’s no such thing as mental illnesses. And you understand where that’s coming from? Because that’s a defensive culture war response. We live in Philip briefs phrase, the an age of the triumph of the therapeutic, and a lot of it is ungodly. Of course, like the most important thing is that I feel good all the time. And I think there is a certainly like we can talk about this with nuance, right? There are people who want a diagnosis to excuse their sin, or the sin of their children. That’s real. That is a real thing. Absolutely. You know, what else is a real thing? Mental illness? Like, how do you hold to something like total depravity and go yes, sin has wrecked every part of the body except the brain. That’s the only part where nothing could ever possibly go wrong. It was so unloving what this man was saying. Because the love of most grows cold. When we’re in the middle of conflict like that, we want to make sure our churches got doctrine, right. So that’s what we’re talking about here now which is so is it the loss of love for God and the loss of love for people? And the answer is both of course, we don’t have to choose because the two are always connected. You cannot separate them again, what does John say first John 411 sins God so loved us we ought to love one another. Right? God pours his love into us our hearts overflow with love for him and that becomes love for other people. But our good works the deeds that Jesus is talking about with Ephesus here that we’re gonna peter out if I’m gonna borrow Tom shiners phrase here, if the oil of love no longer lubricates our relationships with one another, you will not keep doing good deeds, if you have forgotten your love for God, and others, reminded of Martyn Lloyd Jones, saying he said, Often I spend half my time telling people to study doctrine, and the other half my time telling people that doctrine is not enough. That’s almost exactly what Jesus has said to emphasis here because what’s needed beyond doctrine is love. Which, of course, is the fruit of sound doctrine, true doctrine, a right understanding of the gospel of God’s love for us will always produce love in us. We said that and then Kyle just walked you through the three L’s here that we’ve got our discipleship pathway, you learn from Jesus, what happens next? You love like Jesus. That’s just inevitable. It’s inevitable. That’s how it goes. One last point before we move on to the next section. There’s just this reminder here. And it may be important for some of us that there never was a golden age of church history. That’s a myth. Everybody’s always like, man, wish we were back in x. And you’re like, really like x chapter five and and Eisenerz Vyra you want they’re all that early church like Corinth and Galatia. And what we see here, even in Ephesus, so don’t get discouraged because I know there are times when it feels like the church is going to hell in a handbasket. I know that. This is one of the Those times for sure, there has always been trouble. There have always been problems in the church and the church has always persisted. Why? Because Jesus holds the seven stars in his right hand. No need for discouragement. Third point, the challenge. So what does Jesus say we’ve got enmity, right last loss of love and an endurance, which is good. But what does Jesus then say to the Ephesian? Church? What do you need to do in response to remember and repent? Maybe verses five and six, consider how far you have fallen, repent, and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor. You hate the practices, the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. So they have forgotten what it was like at first. So what do they need to do? They need to remember so the word there is translated consider but either way, right? Consider remember, like, remember from how far you’ve fallen, like look up used to be on the summit. And now you’re not that should cause you some concern. So remember, and then change, repent, like change your direction, at this point, start climbing again. This feels like marriage counseling. Do you remember what you guys used to think of each other and now see how far you fallen? Okay, let’s move back in this direction. So Justin buzzard, wrote a delightful little book a few years back called date your wife, where she did a men’s retreat here about seven years ago. Now on that book date. You’re right. The whole point was like, start doing the things you did at first he says this, I’m going to quote him and ladies, just hold your amens to a minimum, please. Okay. Men are idiots. Men work hard to date and pursue their girlfriends. But once they marry, it all stops. The man who dated wooed and passionately pursued his girlfriend degenerates into a husband who merely shares a home bills, conflict and problems with his wife. So the whole point of the book again, start doing what you did at first, when you were first in love with your wife back when she was your girlfriend used to write bad poems for her. And she loved them, even though they were terrible. And you would bring flowers not just on the days, like Mother’s Day, or some like you’d bring her flowers whenever you saw her, because you’re always thinking of her, you’re useless at work, because you couldn’t focus on anything used to tell her how much you loved her and precisely why you loved her. So go back to doing that. Now, this is good advice, of course for marriages. But marriage is not the application, but just an illustration here. Let’s bring that mentality into our relationship with Jesus. Do you remember how you felt when God first saved you? Remember how overwhelmed by grace you were at that moment? I got to talk to two different guys this week, younger guys who are newer to the faith. And this just came out of them. Like they could not believe God would save them. And they talked over and over again about how much they wanted to know Jesus more. Like all that stuff. Kyle was just talking about like, Man, I gotta, I gotta I gotta get with a group of guys or hold me accountable. Like I want to. I want to know the Bible and know how to pray more. I want to I want to tell people about Jesus, they were expressing all of that. Does your heart still thrill at the thought of your salvation? Are you still desperate to know Jesus more? To study and pray like that? Like, how long has it been since you felt the weight of your sin and the judgment you deserve? You come to the Lord trembling in the fear of the Lord knowing what you deserve, and yet they’re in His presence. Contemplating the height and depth and breadth and width of his immeasurable love for you the cost of your salvation, the cross of Jesus Christ, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We talked about this last week. We are now his adopted children crying out Abba, Father.
The Lord who is omniscient, who knows all things chooses to forget some things. You know what he chooses to forget your sins, if you belong to him, and he says, As far as the east is from the west, that’s how far I have taken your transgressions away from you. Does that reminder change your heart at all? Does that reminder change your heart towards others at all? Toward the last where you think they are, but for the grace of God, go i and they need to know this message. Does it change your heart toward the church? Let me just real quick say maybe you are here this morning and you actually have never felt that. Don’t consider yourself a Christian. Maybe even. Let me just encourage you to think about that now. Like, how will you make up for your misdeeds, which we all have, when we will be really honest that we all fall far short of the standard because the standard is perfection, and you have not loved perfectly. You have been selfish, I’m sure that there’s only one perfect man, the God man, Jesus Christ, the mediator between God and humanity who gave Himself as a ransom for us all. So that we can experience this beautiful exchange Paul talks about Second Corinthians five, God made Him who had no sin, to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. You could trust him, even now. turn from your sin and trust in Jesus and He will forgive your sins and you will experience that first flush of love. And you can let it change you because change you it will, remembering God’s mercy will make you merciful. Right? Remembering Jesus’s service, the Son of Man had not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. We know what that looked like. Because in John 13, Jesus, like removed his outer garment, he’s dressed like a slave, he kneels down, and he washes the feet of such undeserving men, including Judas, who has already betrayed him at that point. And yet he washes the filth muck from their feets, as a sign that he will wash the filth of sin from our hearts remembering his service will make you want to serve. Can we be honest for a moment? Sometimes church can feel like a burden. Right? You’re getting emails from Caitlin saying we need more nursery workers. It’s all Caitlin’s fault. Or, you know, you get the community group potluck lunches that we used to do after Sunday service, but who’s gonna set up because I did that last time. And I’m not wiping the tables this time. So maybe we’ll just let them die. Are we getting text from the church that we need transportation help for Safe Families, and it just feels like a lot. But that would be like an old man, thinking that his wife is a burden. Because she wants time, and affection and service from me, I got to change the light bulb? What? What a terrible husband that would be. And yet that’s how we can treat the church who Christ bought with his blood, by the way. So what does this look like you remember the first flush of your love and you’re gonna have a choice and opportunities to serve, to love with a costly love to outdo one another in showing honor to one another? Like this looks like initiative, how can I serve. So maybe that means you look around at some of the young married couples in this church with little kids and you think yourself, there’s no way they’ve had adult conversation in a year or two. I can watch the kids and see offer to babysit so they can have a date night because he’s trying to date his wife again. It maybe looks like inviting people to sit with even the difficult people, the people that talk too much and not read social cues, well inviting them to sit with you during the service and to go out for lunch with you after the service. It looks like volunteering, where you can wear their needs in the church. And that not reluctantly or begrudgingly. Because remember, Jesus knows the Ephesians deeds, they did it. Their volunteer forms were full. I guarantee you that the nursery was staffed and Jesus still had this against them. Like there is no credit I can promise you this. If I’ve got an attitude of like, like a fine, Amy, we can go out on a date this week. Or when the boys come up, you know, can you read me this book? Like there’s no credit there? That’s not love. That’s the point. No, if we’re truly motivated by the gospel, even self sacrifice will be joy. Joyful service will mark us as Christians. But then notice verse six, because this gets really interesting, right? But you have this in your favor. You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. In the perennial love versus truth debate, Jesus says both and always both. So they’ve got this ongoing battle with this sacked the Nicolaitans about which we know absolutely nothing. The only other place they show up anywhere is to letters from now to Pergamum. And all we know is that Jesus talks about balem, the False Prophet right beforehand. So if their sin is anything like the sin of balem, and Prophet false prophet from numbers, then it means that they’re encouraging sexual immorality that leads to idolatry. Maybe that’s what it is, I don’t know. What I do know is that they defeated the false apostles back in verse two, but they’re not done yet they need to defeat the next heresy. But it is so interesting that Jesus who just said you forgotten. Love goes on to say, I still appreciate that you hate the deeds of these false teachers and false believers. Now, it is so carefully worded as the Bible always is, by the way, it does say you hate their deeds, not them. And I think that is actually key, right? And understanding how this connects to the idea of love to contend against heresy and immorality is the loving thing to do. If you truly love people, you will hate what is destroying them. You have probably seen T shirts or bumper stickers that are much more colorfully worded than I could say, in a church service. Or even if you got me alone in private, talking about cancer. But I understand the sentiment, if you’re gonna throw F bombs, which I don’t, but if you’re gonna throw F bombs, cancer is a fine target. Because why why do people hate cancer, because it kills the people you love. But here’s the thing, sin is so much worse. Because cancer can only kill the body. But sin can destroy the body and the soul and that for all eternity. So of course, we have to contend against immorality, and ungodly teaching. It is such a tricky balance. It is such a tricky balance. Right to love right doctrine and wrong people at the same time. It is so easy to fall off the horse on both sides. You start to compromise on doctrine, because you just you know, you want to be nice to people, it’s very different from loving them. Of course, you want to be nice to people, or readers go charging into conflict because you’re so passionate about doctrine that you don’t care about persuading people to believe right doctrine any longer. It’s interesting, Jim Davis and Michael Graham in their book on D church. And they they talk about churches that do this, they get so passionate about doctrine. They leave people behind as one of the reasons that so many in the younger generation, especially have left the church, and they talk about it in terms of revelation to listen, they say when a church has more zeal for right doctrine than for showing people Jesus it has lost its first love. walls go up and no longer sees itself as sent into the world but focuses only on protecting itself and its doctrine from a hostile world that wants to snatch them up. And their kids especially like so we need to get this balance, right. And can I say, as your pastor, I think you do this so well, here at Cityview. Collectively, I’m sure every one of us are is on one side or the other of this divide. But collectively, I mean, you think for 115 years, this church has held to the truth unwaveringly, even during some difficult periods, like in the 1940s, when the denomination split because people compromise on truth. And this church is one of the founding churches, and the new denomination that came about clinging to truth, clinging to right doctrine was now venture church network, of course, and yet at the same time, at least now, I don’t know the church back then. But now, this is a church that loves people. So I hear two things from people who are new to this church over and over and over again, you come to any tour of the city, I guarantee you hear these two things. You love that this is a church that teaches the Bible. And this is such a warm and welcoming community. That’s it. Isn’t that what we want to be known for that right there. So my message to you guys, let’s
keep on. Let’s keep on doing this and we keep on because it is serious stuff. Notice that Jesus says in verse five, if they don’t repent, the Jesus will remove the lampstand probably talking about the Second Coming here that Jesus would when it comes again, basically refused to acknowledge them as a church, that sort of mean to take the lampstand away and and so they would have proved that they are not really Christian. In other words, because they’ve lost their love for God and love for neighbor. That’s a strong warning, but it is a strong warning because Jesus hopes for better you know, the warning is they’ll get you back on track. And so he follows the warning up with the promise and let’s close with that. This is the cheer section verses seven. And what is that last reminder is to listen and live. If you listen, you will live. That’s the promise to seven, Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the Tree of Life, which is in the paradise of God. Note, first of all this is meant to be read aloud in the churches. It does not say whoever has eyes to read, but Whoever has ears to hear. And this is one reason the reason we gather publicly as the body of Christ is so that we can read Scripture aloud together. That’s why we read passages here. I was thinking back as I was meditating on this passage this week and thinking, we’ve done some long books he here, and we have read every word of Genesis aloud, or every word of First Samuel aloud. Why? Because there’s something so powerful about the public reading of Scripture is why we do it in community groups, as well. Note also it says, what the Spirit says to the churches, which is so interesting, because Jesus is talking here. So I won’t get into all that cuz we just did this series, but you can see they are distinguishable, but inseparable, Jesus and the spirit, but it’s also what the Spirit has to say to the churches. It does not say listen to what the Spirit has to say, to the church emphasis what he’s saying to you guys, he’s saying, listen to all of it, as we certainly should, too. But what happens when we hear when we listen in the sense of heed, obey, which is you know, often the word listen or hear means obey. And Hebrew thought, what happens when we listen, God strengthens us to overcome. Perseverance is the main theme in the book of Revelation. We’re gonna see that in January, we’re gonna do the rest of Revelation. So we’re heading this direction. Okay. But that’s it. That’s the whole theme, right? There is perseverance. And so what happens to the one who endures is faithful even in the midst of persecution and is victorious? What happens is our victory is the same as Christ’s victory. First, John five, verses four and five. Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world. Even our faith, that’s so interesting. I would think the resurrection is the victory that overcomes the world right now. It’s our faith. But that also means that nothing we do our victory is not our fight, but our faith. It’s our trust in something that Jesus did. Who is it that overcomes the world, only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God, we overcome because Christ overcame, and we are in Christ. But then think for a moment, how did Christ overcome sin and death, the powers of darkness in dying, are we seeing it here right across meant to kill is my victory. That’s a strange paradox. Revelation talks about this to Revelation 1211. John describes, you know, a vision of the the martyrs who are gathered around the throne worshiping the Lamb who was slain that says that they overcome by the blood of the Lamb. So again, the lambs shed blood and by the word of their testimony, which doesn’t necessarily mean they died, except that it goes on to say they didn’t love their lives so much as to shrink from death. We overcome and dying, also, dying to self certainly, but maybe even dying, physically, Georgia and lead, one of the foremost commentators on Revelation in history says the Conqueror is the victim of persecution, whose death is not lost, but is in reality, his victory. And death is indeed victory. We see here, because then you get to eat from the Tree of Life, which planted in the paradise of God. This is a vision of our heavenly glory. Now, I mentioned to all the description of Jesus that we get in that first section Christ is taken from chapter one, all of the promises that we get in the cheer sections are taken from Revelation 21 and 22. The end of the story, this is how the world and and so what is happening, John is Jesus, really, they’re taking this vision of the future, future reality and bringing it into the present, knowing that’s what we’re going to need if we’re going to persevere to the end. It’s like a little kid pedaling up a hill. Why is the only reason he didn’t keep pedaling is because they’re Dairy Queen at the top. That’s kind of what Jesus is doing for us here except it’s just infinitely better than Dairy Queen. And so we persevere to the end. What is the end the Tree of Life, which revelation 22 tells us is growing on either side of the river running through the New Jerusalem, bears fruit each month. In other words, it bears continuous fruit and its leaves are for the healing of the nations. And all of this is in paradise, which takes us back Back to the beginning, right Genesis one and two and we dwell with God brings an end to the devastation of Genesis three when we sin and we are exiled from the garden. And it is not a stretch to say the rest of the Bible from Genesis three on is just trying to answer the question, how do we get back to the garden? How do we get back to dwelling with God in paradise? And here is the answer. That is a promise that would sustain us in love and to love even in Seoul testing trials, like persecution, and conflict. So what’s the key? Like, what’s the takeaway? What is it that we really want to remember so that we do this? Well, we already heard the word really we just got to remember to remember. So there’s your main idea as we close. Remember your first love. Remember the love you had at first, remind yourself of God’s love for you. That’s the truth, and then let it move you to love God and others. Well, let’s pray that that would be true.Amen.

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Promise May 12, 2024 | Brandon Cooper This sermon discusses the role of the Holy Spirit in assuring believers of God’s love and acceptance through adoption by faith in Jesus Christ. It emphasizes that the Spirit helps overcome doubts by sealing believers as God’s children and heirs with Christ. Despite present struggles, believers can be confident in their future inheritance by sharing in Christ’s sufferings and glory. The Spirit applies the salvation accomplished by Jesus to transform believers and bring them into God’s purposes.

Good morning church. Gonna go ahead grab your Bibles, you can open up the Romans chapter eight will pick up where we left off last week, Romans eight verses 14 to 17, Romans 814 to 17, as you’re turning there, if you’ve ever been ziplining, or anything like that, you know, the terror that accompanies that moment, especially if you’re a little bit afraid of heights, as certain members of our pastoral team are, or if you’re even more afraid of your kids on the heights, and they were there with you in Costa Rica again, I’m speaking hypothetically. So, you know, in that moment, when the terror is gripping you, you need assurances, right that like it’s going to how do I know I’m not going to fall and thankfully, there are people there to offer you those assurances. And usually it involves the carabiner, right? Because that’s the part that kind of hooks you in, so that once it’s locked, you’re safe. You’re all good, you’re not going to fall. This is I’m competent to heretical analogy. And so I apologize for that upfront. But in some ways, the Spirit is like our carabiner. Right. It reminds us that we are hooked into God and that He won’t let us go, that we cannot fall away from grace if we are well and truly saved because the spirit has us. We think about salvation. We talk a lot about Jesus and understandably but think about how important the spirit is to our salvation. Here’s Paul in Galatians three, verse 13, very familiar to us. But he goes on in verse 14, and there’s something in there that we maybe sometimes miss Paul writes, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole. He redeemed us in order that the blessing blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ, Jesus said that by faith, we might receive the promise of the Spirit. Did you hear that? Did you catch that? Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law, so that we could receive the promised spirit. That’s how important he is. And that is also our topic today, the idea of promise, the spirit is the promise. And at the same time, the spirit seals all God’s promises to us so that we know he will bring them to fruition, there’s that carabiner idea, because God promised him to us, we can be sure that he will keep all keep us until all God’s promises are true in. So that’s what we’re gonna see as we keep going in Romans eight. So last week, if you weren’t here, or just remember, we were talking about the power that the spirit provides for us the power to overcome sin so that we are transformed. What it is just agonizingly slow change sometimes isn’t it’s he ever had that where like, I could use more of the power. And so in those moments where we struggle with sin, still, you know, the question comes up, like, how do I know that I’m saved? you’ve ever had that thought? Never just been like, am I even a Christian? In light of what I keep doing? Or when that happens? You know, you have that sense of is the father displeased with us disappointed that we haven’t put sin to death fully yet. There’s their real questions. Let’s see how Paul answers them as we proceed. And Paul’s gonna walk us through this really chronologically, almost. And so that will be our outline today, as well. So we’ll start in the past who we were. And Paul talks about our past slavery. Let me read Romans 814, in the first half of verse 15, for us, for those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God, the Spirit you received does not make you slaves so that you live in fear, again. Alright, so a little context, notice that verse 14 begins with the word for that means he’s building on what he just said in the last paragraph. Like one of the ways we know that we belong to God is by putting our sin to death by the Spirit. But Paul is always very careful, though, to remind us that it is not our works that save us. So it’s interesting even says those who are led by the Spirit of God, there’s that passive tense that we see so often in Scripture, our putting sin to death is one part of our being led by the Spirit. This, if this is true of us, if we are slowly but surely putting sin to death in our lives, and that’s their, you know, one proof of our salvation then Paul says we are God’s children are literally the sons of God is an important phrase. Paul did not invent the phrase sons of God. It comes from the Old Testament and is used of Israel. So for example, the Lord is As to Pharaoh at one point Israel was my first born son in Exodus for 22. It did it to explain why he’s about to bring Israel out of Egypt. In fact, Hosea says as much the Lord through his prophet Hosea says, when Israel was a child, I loved him and out of Egypt, I called my son later is applied to Jesus, of course, or the passage that Kyle read for us earlier in Jeremiah three, how gladly would I treat you like my children? Literally sons right there, how gladly would I treat you like my sons, and then I thought you’d call me father and not turn away from following me, which just shows us that connection, again, of our being adopted as God’s sons on the one hand, and then following him, on the other hand, like keeping his commands putting sin to death. For Paul, though our sonship is dependent on another son. He’s already talked about this in Romans eight even you can look at a verse three For what the law was powerless to do, because it was weakened by the flesh God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering for us. And then all of this culminates in the end of Romans eight with what happens, knows he for new Paul says, He predestined to be conformed to the image of His son said he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. So what does it mean to be conformed to the image of Jesus? Well, it’s putting sin to death, living in the spirit, living and loving, like Jesus. So this is all very tightly connected in Paul’s mind, God’s choosing us and God’s changing us are connected.
But there’s this problem that we have, of course, in our mindset. And so that’s where Paul goes next, where he says the the promised Spirit, who leads us is not a spirit of slavery so that we live in fear again. Now, word again, seems important, because it means we used to live in fear. Why? What were we afraid of? But we were afraid of life under the law, whether that’s the Old Testament law, or even just our culture’s moral code, are we going to keep the standards that have been set for us? There’s this anxiety that plagues us when we think well, maybe I won’t live up to the standard. And you can picture a pious Jew in the in the first century, trying to keep the law, we would always have that question in the back of your mind, what if I mess up? Like what if I succumb to temptation? Or even with some of those harder laws? Like am I coveting? That’s a really hard one to discern sometimes, am I coming in here have I messed up so you could have this whole life of of godly living, of striving to keep the largest erased in a moment, because you do succumb to temptation or something like that. This is like the original canceled culture. So you’re just out I think of akin and Joshua seven, in a moment of madness, gives into his sin and keeps for himself what was meant to be devoted to the Lord and he and his family are cast out. stoned to death as a result of this erased all that godly living in a moment. Of course, I mentioned canceled culture because that spirit is alive and well still today. But you can still just be done like your life erased in a moment, a job you were about to get. You don’t get because of a tweet that resurface that you tweeted 10 years ago, we have to be perfect. We have to be perfect. We’re at least imperfect in socially acceptable ways. And so there’s just this tremendous pressure on us all the time. I mean, you stop performing at work, you get fired. You stop performing in your marriage, spouse might walk out, stop performing with your kids, you probably get shamed. Stop performing in church. Well, you’d never be judged in a place like this, I’m sure. But without grace, without grace, that’s what we all live under that relentless pressure like no wonder we live in a culture of escapism to get out from under that pressure, whatever that looks like whether that’s pornography, or gambling, which is just on the rise in insane ways, media, all sorts of different media consumption habits, whether that’s doing scrolling on social media or binge watching the latest TV show. Or I don’t know if Mother’s Day is the best time to talk about this or the worst time to talk about this, but it’s one of those two for sure. The rise of alcoholism among young mothers, so called mommy juice, which is wine by the way or something else. But why is that happening? Because young moms in particular feel this pressure. I mean, nevermind that having kids is stressful in its own right. But then you do have to live up, you know, the people around me think like, you know, cultivated this perfect life on social media so that people know what a good mom I am. There’s that relentless, nagging question, am I good enough? Have I done enough? How can I know for sure that I have measured up when you might be feeling it right now? I’m asking you these questions. And you’re like, yes, that’s what’s on my mind. There’s that little knot in your stomach. That’s like the start of a panic attack, because you know, where you are not measuring up at this point. But we don’t have to live there. Because remember, Paul says, we have not received a spirit of slavery. So that we fear again, we are not enslaved to a harsh master whose approval we have to earn who’s who’s watching our every action, looking for us to fail so that he can punish us. We don’t belong to a harsh father, whose approval we have to earn, man, how many of you are still trying to earn your parents approval? Even if they were good parents, right? Like just a lot of us. I just wanted to know I do this all the time and asked my journey group guys, except they’re bound by confidentiality, but I release you you can talk about this. About every third week and journey group, I talk about how I’m trying to earn approval still, and how that has led me into sin. Because we got these tapes playing in our head like is that really the best you can do? Is this how you repay all my sacrifice on your behalf with an effort like that. So with every deal you didn’t close, every time you hurt your spouse, or kids or friends with a careless word, every time you return to sin, like a dog returning to its vomit confirms your worst fears about your self. How could anyone love or accept me when I’m like this, except when we turn from our feeble efforts, and are wildly fluctuating performance and trust in Jesus’s perfect performance? Well, all that changes. And that’s where Paul takes us next, let me keep reading the rest of verse 15. In verse 16, I’ll read all 15. Again, the spirit you received does not make you slaves that you live in fear, again, rather, the spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, Abba, Father, the Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. We are not slaves any longer. We’re not in you know, like the worst imaginable foster care situation. I don’t want to throw foster care under the bus know many wonderful foster parents who are truly doing the Lord’s work. But you know, there’s that stereotype of a certain kind of foster family that is in it for themselves. They want the check that comes from the government. And they’re not there to love the kids. There, they’re there to you know, use and abuse the kids, like, just send me you’re gonna be in this house, you’re gonna work for us kind of thing. Like, that’s not what we experience any longer. Because we have been adapted to the parents show up at that foster home and go, we choose you. We want you to come and live with us to be not a foster child, our child, our son, or our daughter, that says, We’ve been adopted by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, so that we’ve received the Spirit of adoption, and that changes absolutely everything. Because think he chose to love us, in spite of our poor performance, that we did not earn our adoption. There was no merit in you, that made the Lord think I better I better make sure he’s on my side. So he knew us at our worst and still chose us. Ephesians one verse four in love, He predestined us for adoption to sonship it’s his love. That’s the ground of our adoption, and that overcomes our fear. Because why would he choose to love us and save us at the cost of his son’s life? When we were at our worst while we were still sinners? Christ died for us? Why would he choose to love us, then only to reject us later? That doesn’t make any sense at all. And we need to be clear here, and this is a hard piece to save, but we need to understand it. This adoption is not true of everyone, automatically. An invitation is open to all all are welcome. But we are not born adopted. John one verse 12, the prologue of John’s gospel, it says this to all who did receive him to all who did receive Jesus, you know, the Word made flesh to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. We must become children of God by risk. sieving Jesus and believing in His name, go back to our, our foster home. You know, it’s like the Father, Son and Spirit are there outside the home going, we choose you come and live with us and and you could run back into that foster home. Because even though you’re on your own, no one loves you there. You know it’s filth and squalor, at least it’s your filth and squalor, like it’s a familiar place to be how often do we do that with our sin, but the offer stands. And the father is there with open arms beckoning, you turn from your performance, and trust in grace. And then look what results by the spirit we cry, Abba, Father. This is what Jesus called his father, in get somebody when he was praying. About if it’s possible, take this cup from me, it’s this term of respectful endearment like Papa. And now we get to call God what Jesus called him. I mean, it’s such a wonderful privilege to be able to call the unit the King of the universe, Papa.
Did you notice too, that it’s by the spirit that we cry, Abba, Father? We don’t say Abba. We don’t just, you know, like call on him. No, it’s it’s crying. It’s in these moments of desperation. The Spirit points us to our father ever seen, like a little kid lost at a zoo or something like that? And just inconsolable, right? I just dissolved in tears. I want my mom I want my dad. That’s all I want everybody all these strangers round trying to help kind of thing like, nope, one thing. One thing only is gonna work right here. When mom and dad show up. Like that’s it. There’s the consolation. I was crying. And dad came he came to me actually saw this just a little bit ago. So I was meeting with one of the young moms in the church here. You know, had some questions wanted to go through some stuff. Because she’s young Mom’s got a kid with an in school yet so the kid came with son came with so we decided it would be best if we met in the nursery, instead of in my office nursery has toys for him to play with my office has books which you are not allowed to play with. So more precious to me in my own children. So yeah, no other people’s children don’t get to touch them. So we’re down in the nursery, we’re heading down to the nursery. You know, Mom’s got her son there. The problem though, is that this is a family from the church, which means the Son has been in the nursery before. So he knew where he was going. And he started bawling because you know what happens in the nursery? Mom drops you off. And then she leaves like, I’ve got abandonment issues now kind of thing. So he starts doing that like koala thing you know, like, tighten the grip is like climbing up her fingers in her eyes and nostrils and stuff. Like he’s not she keeps saying like it’s okay, but like, I’m not like Mama’s gonna stay. I’m not dropping you off. So I heard that before. Okay, not gonna fool me this time. So she like we both sat down, you know, to the rockers in the nursery. She’s still holding him. He’s still uh, you know, slowly settling, slowly settling, we start talking and having our questions and stuff and after a little while we realize he’s asleep. He’s asleep and his mother’s lap. Of course. That’s exactly what the Spirit helps us experience. Intimacy with our father, the boldness of intimacy with our Father, we can cling to him like that, and then that we can rest in our Father’s arms, what we just saying, right held in loving arms. Because of the spirit, right, Romans five, verse five, God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us, that’s exactly what verse 16 says, right? It’s almost just the same statement in synonyms. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. That is the Spirit makes us aware of the Father’s love for us, reassures us that we belong to God and we can experience the peace and security of a little child lost at the zoo, who is finally back with his or her parents. appears in preacher Thomas Goodwin says it’s a little bit like this, you know, you picture a dad walking with his young son, you know, maybe they’re holding hands or something. They’re walking down the road road, and all of a sudden, Dad scoops his son up into his arms and just kisses him on the cheek and says, I love you so much. Like, I’m always gonna be here for you. I’m so proud of you. And Goodwin says, you know, in that moment, you know, think for a moment. Right before that happened. Was he any less his father’s son? No, of course not. But he is much more aware of it now. He feels it now. He’s beaming. He’s safe, because he knows his father loves them. That’s what the Spirit does for us. He assures us of our Father’s love for us, that the father delights enough. And even when we fall short, we don’t have a spirit of fear any longer. Now, I know when we fall short, we think Yeah, but isn’t the Lord angry with our sin? Do parents get angry with their children when they rebel against their authority? Yes, of course. And the father does too. Absolutely. Do parents stop loving those kids in that moment? No, not usually, at least most parents know. Exactly. That’s the Father with us. The Spirit takes the truth of the gospel. But there is no more wrath. If we are in Christ, there is only love There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That’s how the chapter begins, right? No more wrath. Only love that the Spirit takes that truth, which in certain moments can feel like dry theology, it certainly isn’t. But it can feel that way sometimes takes that theology and like turns it into a multi sensory media experience. It’s like when you go to the museum or something, and you’re learning about something that you learned about in school, and you’re like, it was so boring, and the textbook made it sound even more boring. But when you’re there, and you like, put the VR goggles on, or you got the, you know, like the the whole presentation going, and all of a sudden you’re like, Ah, now I understand. That’s what the Spirit does. Because we don’t always feel it. Our Father’s love Dewey. It’s always true. If we are in Christ, we don’t always feel it. That’s where we ask the Spirit to help us. That’s why we pray. Some of us just worked on memorizing Psalm 90 and journey groups, right? And what’s part of Psalm 90 satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love. If that’s what we asked the spirit to do. Right? Would you remind me of how much my father loves me? You can almost hear the Father saying to you, especially in light of the cross, do you think I’m gone? Like, do you think I’m distant? Do you think I’m unloving? See how much I love you. I bought you with a blood of my own son. It’s the Spirit who reminds us. Before we move on, can we just acknowledge how hard this is to accept? Like, it’s too good to be true. I think that’s why Jesus tells us the parable, the prodigal son, so that we’re just like, No, okay, Jesus said it like it has to be true. Because what is the prodigal son, when you talk about someone who didn’t measure up? There’s a guy who goes to his dad and says that I wish you were dead? Because I’d rather have your money than your relationship. In fact, could I have the money and dad says, Okay, give him his portion of his inheritance, you know, at cost himself again, cells, part of the field kind of thing. He’s poor now as a result of his idiot, son, idiot son takes that money and squanders it on sex and drugs, and rock’n’roll. And then he gets a job caring for pigs, just an unclean animal. So he’s the lowest of the low and he looks at the pigs food and gets a little jealous because they’re eating better than he is. And he comes to his senses. And he comes back home. And as he’s on his way home, what is it that he’s thinking about? He’s got a spirit of slavery, that leads to fear. Because he comes home saying, maybe my dad will hire me back as a worker on his farm. Maybe he’ll let me be a slave again, and I can earn back all that I stole from him. That makes sense to us. That makes a lot of sense to us. What does dad do? Friends to my son, my son is back. Welcome back. He gets the ring, he gets the robe. He gets the you know, slaughtered TAF and whatnot, the big feast? How do we know we’ve measured up we just give you the most free news I could possibly give you today. You didn’t and you won’t. It’s a cross on the wall behind us as a reminder that you and I could not possibly measure up to someone else had to measure up for us. But we have been adopted in Christ if we’ve received and him and believed in his name. And he measured up for us, which means now in one sense, the father is as pleased with us as he is with Jesus. And think of what that does for us. On our best days when everything’s going well. We got no calls for pride because we know that whatever good is it analysis there because the Spirit is at work in us. But on our worst days, when we mess up again, we have no cause for fear because we know the Father loves us in the sun. Don’t you want that? We got one more piece to work through though Paul’s not done yet. And that’s to look at our future. So who we were who we are, who we will be is our future inheritance. Let me read verse 17. For us now. If we are children, then we are heirs heirs Because of God and CO heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory. This very good news that we just talked about has implications beyond the present moment. It has blessed assurance for all our days. This does help explain verse 15. Some of you probably had the question, why are we being adopted to sonship, because I’m a daughter, just to be really clear about all of that. Well, the reason why it’s adoption to sonship, and not sonship. And daughter ship, is because we’re in Rome, Book of Romans, right. And in Rome, in those days only sons could be errors. But if we are sons, even if you’re a girl, if we are sons, then we’re heirs. Heirs with Christ Himself, like we’ve been written into the will, at this point, the riches of glory, are our inheritance. Now,
this is very much about the future. Inheritance always is. And it’s so important because present reality doesn’t always align up with what’s been declared true of us. We’ve been talking about this whole series, right? Like last week, we know that God has broken sins power in our lives, so that we don’t have to sin any longer. And yet, we still do. And all too often, frankly, or we have been raised to new and eternal life, but our mortal bodies are still breaking down, we’re still awaiting the resurrection body. Right, it’s like we we belong to the new realm, that that kingdom of the Spirit, which is the kingdom of life, and yet we still live our days in the old realm of sin, and death. That’s like, I don’t know, you know, we live in a part of the world where even conquered by an imperial power for a time or something like that. And finally, you know, Freedom Fighters rise up, and they liberate you from this conquering power and whatnot. And yet you still speak the language of your conquerors. You still just eat the food and stuff because I don’t, that’s the restaurants that are there. Like, that’s how the Christian life so often goes. And on those days, you can start to wonder if any of this is true. We can doubt the Father’s love. Because Have you met me? How could he possibly love me? We can doubt his power to change us. We can doubt His faithfulness. Because why would he be faithful? When we have been so unfaithful? Will the father write us out of His will? That’s the question. It’s a common joke, right? Parents be like it out of the will sorry. Sometimes it really happens to like is that was going to happen here. Or maybe even the idea of a ruptured adoption, which is a real thing. I’ve met people who have gone through this where they adopted a child but the it didn’t take, and this child who had no attachment issues and whatnot, was unable to really come into the family and Ashley was destroying the family and they had to send the child back. Just heartbreaking situation. Is that what the Lord is going to do with us? I got good news for you. Here’s Ephesians, 113 and 14, when you believed, you were marked in him with a seal the promised Holy Spirit who is a deposit, guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession to the praise of his glory. You see, the spirit guarantees what’s coming. He guarantees what’s coming. The Promised Spirit is the Spirit of promise that all God’s promises will come true, they will happen. Now, Paul doesn’t put on rose colored glasses here, as he talks about this though, like we need this reminder because this life really is marked by sin and death and suffering. And so Paul says, We’re heirs with Christ only if we share in his sufferings, dying daily to self, just like Christ and like Christ taught us to, so that we can be raised with Him. The last day this is a foundational Christian truth that the road to glory passes by Calvary. Like Jesus, we have to learn obedience through suffering. And this is part of how God conforms us to the image of His Son. In fact, the verse right before that Romans 828 Everyone knows we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him have been called according to His purpose. God’s gonna work all things for our good. What is that good, that we be conformed to the image of Asana, that we become more like Jesus. This is how this magnificent chapter concludes with these promises, but it’s promises of glory in the midst of suffering. If God is for us, who can stand against us? If he gave us Jesus, how will you I’d also along with them graciously give us all things. But that doesn’t exclude suffering or hardship because that is the way of Jesus doesn’t even exclude our poor performance like look at the end of Romans eight. I’ll read verses 34 to 39. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died more than that, who was raised to life is that the right hand of God has also interceding for us. By the way, why would we be condemned? Because we messed up again. And the Satan says, See, there should be condemnation. And Jesus says, Nope, not from us. Not from our side. Okay, keep going, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or dangerous sword? As it is written for your sake, we face death all day long, we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered? Does that sound like victory? Does that sound like we’ve got the inheritance? Would you wonder if the Spirit is actually guaranteeing all of this as you’re experiencing these things? What does Paul say no in all these things, in this in the hardship and the suffering, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. From convinced neither death nor life nor angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth or anything else in all creation, we both separate us from the love of God, that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. That’s our guarantee. If he loved us enough to save us in Christ, he will not write us out of His will. The Spirit keeps us the Spirit reminds us this truth is sealed us for God empowers our transformation. And Spirit brings God’s purposes to fruition. It’s often said of salvation. The father administers our salvation, Christ accomplishes our salvation, and the spirit applies our salvation to the Spirit takes what Christ did on the universal scale and makes it personally true for us. You actually see this mean so most of us know that Jesus was crucified during Passover. And we know that that’s originally symbolic, right? Because on Passover you, you sacrifice a lamb, and then it’s, you know, hit the lambs blood that protects you from God’s wrath so that the angel death passes over you and right Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So like, we get that symbolism. Most of us also know that the Spirit came at Pentecost. But for most of us, Pentecost is the day when the Spirit came. It’s not it was a feast. It was a Jewish festival, much like Passover. And so we missed the symbolism there too. Because what is Pentecost? Pentecost is the feast that you have at the culmination of the harvest. And we remember God’s faithfulness, thanksgiving for us, basically, right? The harvest came in all our prayers have been answered, we will have food again. That’s it exactly. The Spirit harvests what Christ’s death has purchased. Jesus ransoms us in the spirit gathers us. And so we live and walk and change in him until Jesus comes again, to bring us home to the Father’s banqueting table. That’s our blessed assurance. What is our main idea today as well, it’s this, if you are in Christ, rest assured, you have the Spirit of adoption within you rest assured, like we can rest we can fall asleep in our father’s lap. Because we have this assurance the Spirit reminds us of the Father’s love. Right takes us back to where we began this whole series. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. We are no longer slaves to fear but adopted kids. If you’ve trusted in Christ Jesus, that is who you are, no matter how you feel right now, no matter your performance, rest assured, drink deeply from this refreshing stream, walk in the Spirit without fear. If you’re here today, and you have not trusted in Jesus, what are you waiting for? What are you waiting for? Like this could be true, have you no more fear, no more anxiety, no more guilt, no more shame nor have I done enough did I measure. The cross lays us bear you do not measure up cross lays us bear but it comforts us to reminds us that we are so dearly loved, that the father runs to us because the son has died for us. And he dies so that we might have life, the life that comes from being fully known. Including when we don’t measure up we don’t need to hide our failures any longer fully known but fully and assuredly loved. Will you receive and believe For that truth, now, there is no prep needed. Even now you could turn from your self, and turn to Jesus, and trust in His finished work. And if you do, when you believe he will be marked in Christ with a seal, which is the promised Holy Spirit, that carabiner that hooks us into the Father’s love, you can rest assured, let’s pray.
Father, we are overwhelmed by the reminder of your love for us. Overwhelmed, in large part because we know who we are. We know that we began our lives in rebellion against you that every one of us is Prone to wander into sin, to persist in a rebellion against you. But you’ve demonstrated your own love for us in this While we were still sinners, You sent Your Son to die for us. And when we believe or you send your spirit, to seal that truth for us, to keep us in your love, and remind us of that love, which is what we need if we’re going to overcome the sin in our lives and put to death and misdeeds of the body by your Spirit. Lord, remind us of your love. Now, try each and every one of us deeper into your love, especially those who do not know it yet Ford should be knocking on the doors of their hearts even now. inviting them to come into relationship with you. And then we walk in the Spirit, in light of that love for the rest of our days and to the glory of your name. Amen.Amen.

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PODCAST
Power May 5, 2024 | Brandon Cooper
Brandon Cooper preached about living in the power of the Holy Spirit for personal transformation and growth. The Spirit gives believers power to overcome sin and live according to the Spirit rather than the flesh. Cooper encouraged tapping into the Spirit’s power through prayer and Scripture for holiness, church unity, and evangelism. All Christians are called to rely on the Spirit’s gifts and presence as they witness to others about Christ.
TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

Good morning church, we’re gonna go ahead grab your Bibles, you can open up the Romans chapter eight, Romans chapter eight will be in verses five to 13 this morning, as you’re turning there, someone recently gifted my family a bouncy house, not a big one or anything like that. But you know, just a fun one, especially for the boys. And so, first sunny day, we kind of brought it out got it all set up, you know, it’s a big to do to pull it out of the bag unfold the thing I got to figure out where to tie everything off and whatnot. And, you know, get plugged into the boys are are standing there, you know, kind of mouths agape and heart racing and stuff like they just they can’t even believe what’s about to happen right now. And so, you know, drumroll kind of moment and flick the switch and nothing happened. So anticlimactic. So turns out, the ground fault had tripped. And so, yeah, we, you know, we got to fix it, it was going but you know, the problem at the moment, at least, was that there was no power going to the bouncy house. And how many of us feel that way? How many of us live that way, when it comes to the Christian life, like, we feel like we’re just missing power for what it is that we’ve been called to do. So that’s what we need is also what thank God the Spirit provides. And that’s what we’re looking at this morning. This is the second week in our short series on the Spirit. Because it is a short series, we’re kind of laser focused here on the basic ministry of the Holy Spirit in the new covenant, which is to mediate Christ’s presence to us. So the Spirit makes Christ presence felt to us so that three things happen. First, we talked about last week, and that’s personal fellowship with Jesus, Kyle talked a lot about that. And then second, is our personal transformation into Christ’s likeness. And that’s what we’re talking about this week, the power available for that, and the third, you get to come back next week. So I’m not gonna tell you, but if you and I are going to be more like Jesus, we are going to need a power outside of ourselves, like change isn’t happening without some external power, it would feel a little bit like I think how many of us approach the Christian life would be like me grabbing the little tube on the bouncy house and trying to blow the thing up like a balloon, like we just don’t have nearly enough of what we need. In order for this to happen. There will be no change without this power source, the Spirit of God, that’s exactly the point Paul makes in our passage this morning. So main idea I’m gonna give to you up front. It’s very simple. It’s basically just the title of the sermon, but it is this live in the Spirit’s power, or live in the Spirit’s power? That’s not new information. I did not just blow any minds, right there anything like that? The big question, of course, that many of you are asking even as you read that, as sure But how, and that’s hopefully we’re gonna get today, I’m going to steal a bunch of illustrations from JD Greer, just FYI, upfront, so no accusations of plagiarism later. Okay. So, from the book, Jesus continued, but he says the Spirit’s power, it’s a little bit like our pituitary gland, in the sense that, you know, maybe, you know, you know, you have a pituitary gland. And you know, that it’s necessary somehow for growth and life. But you don’t really get how, and you’re certainly not interacting with it regularly. And isn’t that how we approach the spirit. But that’s what we’re going to try and remedy this morning, not just to know that the spirit is necessary for our growth, but also to understand how to live in it, we’re going to proceed by steps, the steps that Paul takes us through in this passage, he gives us the bad news first, kind of what the problem is why we need power. He’ll then talk to us about the power itself, and then the practice of the power. What does it look like to live in that power? It also means you can kind of tell us in your notes outline there that we’re gonna spend the first half of the sermon kind of on exposition, what does the passage say? And then we’ll widen our gaze a bit at the end and look at some application, spend a bit of time there. So that’s where we’re headed. Start with the problem, though. So Romans eight let me read verses five to eight for us. Now. Paul writes, those who live according to the flesh have their mind set and what the flesh desires, but those who live in accordance with the spirit have their mind set on what the Spirit desires, the mind governed by the flesh is death, the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God, it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. So Paul here is quite clearly contrasting, living according to the flesh with living according to the Spirit. It’s almost got like a wisdoms literature proverbs kind of feel about it. Like there. There’s a fork in the road and you got the flesh path and you got the spirit path and you know, what does it look like? To go down the flesh path, you know, your mind set on what the flesh desires, it’s governed by the flesh and you are living life in the realm of the flesh and all that’s different from the Spirit path. Those contrasts are all there. halls especially looking at the different destinations to like you walk down the, the the spirit path and and the destination is life there’s this unbreakable bond between spirit and life hence the name of our series the spirit of life taken from Romans eight verse to the spirit of love Spirit who gives life. There’s also though this unbreakable bond between the flesh and death, that’s where that path leads. So he’s got this contrast these two paths, and he walks us down the bad path first he hits the negative first kind of flushes out if I can make that pun. And that’s what we get here in this section. Now, when we talk about these two paths, it’s important for us to note upfront that we are talking about the difference between believers and unbelievers, like those who have trusted in Christ, and those who have not, we’re not talking about different maturity levels here. Like, yeah, we’re all Christians, but you know, I’m kind of in the Spirit, and they’re kind of in the flesh. No, that’s not what’s being talked about here, at least. And so Paul’s point is that only those who walk in the Spirit can truly live. Why? A lot of this is because of how Paul’s using the word flesh. Here, we just talked a lot about flesh, we did a whole series on the body and nothing inherently wrong with physical being it was a good thing. But Paul often uses the word flesh with a strongly negative vibe. In fact, the NIV is a previous edition actually translated as sinful nature to kind of draw that out. We’re talking about life in rebellion to God. Well, of course, that’s not going to lead to life. Because we’re separating ourselves from the source of life, this would be like a branch of the vine saying, you know, I’m tired of you telling me what to do, like I’m going off on my own, that does not lead to life, that leads to very quickly withering and dying. This is what happens here, right? We will go down this path, we we set our minds on the flushes, desires, and your mind, meaning not just like cognition, but the whole mindset, the whole attitude of our lives, including our intention, motivation, even will me think if your motivation if your will, takes you away from life takes you away from God. It’s taking you toward death, physical and spiritual death, necessarily. It’s it’s like, you know, a child running away from a loving, but firm parent, but you know, towards a ravine or something like that, and running away saying, you know, you won’t let me live my life and you’re like, No, if you keep running this direction, that’s where life is gonna get really tricky, really quickly here. And that’s what we do when we rebel against God, and seek to please and gratify our flesh. We’re talking, by the way, when we talk about gratifying the flesh since the flesh, all that stuff, like in our minds, that can kind of sound like sexual immorality. Yeah, that’s part of it. But we’re talking about all sins here. Not even the ones that look like sins from the outside. living according to the flesh might mean that you’re an upstanding moral individual. Like, you could be a hard working small business owner, President of the Chamber of Commerce, who’s constantly volunteering with different, you know, charitable organizations around town, nothing inherently wrong with any of that, right. But the question is, why? What’s the mindset? What’s the motivation? Because you could do all of those fine things, and it still be an act of self centered rebellion against God. Maybe you’re building this business, not because you got a sense of vocation and wanting to love your neighbor, but because it’s the sin of Babel, right? You’re trying to make a name for yourself. You think if I’m President of the Chamber of Commerce and whatnot, you know, at some point, they’re gonna name a gazebo after me, and that’ll be it. I’ll have reached immortality, like I always wanted. And maybe this volunteering that you’re doing, like, maybe it’s because you love people, you want to serve them, but maybe it’s because you’re trying to make business connections. And so that’s why you’re having them whatever it may be. But you see the point, we can do good things, for bad reasons, or at the very least, mixed reasons. We all know that only to convince you of that. It’s like George and Lucille Bluth when they adopt their child, not out of the goodness of their own hearts, but because they’re being investigated by the SEC, and they thought this would make them look more sympathetic in the eyes of the jury. Like that’s what we’re talking about here that kind of doing the the good thing but for the bad reason. This all explains some of the hard sayings that we get this is a hard paragraph, isn’t it? There’s some stuff there you kind of like, oh, I don’t know about that. I mean to the life according to flesh, that that person is hostile to God sees God as an enemy. You will of course, because God threatens their autonomy so he is an enemy. And so they don’t submit to God’s law. Why would they? In God’s law, you know, we can sum up as in the word love, love the Word of God with all their heart, soul, mind, strength, love your neighbor as yourself. They reject love that outward focus for the sake of sin. elf instead. So they reject that, which means they can’t please God, if they’re in the realm of the flesh, we cannot please God before conversion. Now, that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything good. Of course, we probably know people who are not Christians who are maybe even better people than you are. And you can certainly be more moral than a recent convert, you know, you think of the Lord saving somebody out of, you know, heroin addiction and sex work or something like that. Really, okay, this person might have some serious problems for a long time as they’re growing in grace compared to the person who had wonderful parents just grew up to be that nice, moral upstanding citizen that we talked about. But but the point is, the mindset is still self centered, is still fleshly, even in altruism. What Paul’s talking about here is what theologians refer to as total depravity, which doesn’t mean that we’re as bad as we can possibly be. But it means that sin that selfishness affects absolutely every part of who we are. So it’s not just sinful acts, but sinful motivation, sinful thoughts, and all the rest. Paul’s also talking about total inability, the other theological concept, which is just the idea that we are completely unable to move towards God on our own. And of course, we are I mean, look at this, right, we’re hostile to God in the flesh can’t possibly please Him, and we see him, you know, as an enemy. So why would we take any steps towards him? We wouldn’t. So he’s got to move towards us first, like, if I’m the problem, I can’t be the solution. Paul says it like this and Ephesians two, he says, But as for you, you were dead in your transgressions. And since the point I make often hear when you’re dead, you can’t make lifestyle choices. Like that’s not the time to go, I should eat better and exercise more, it’s too late. And Paul says it’s too late. We are already dead in our transgressions and sins. So what’s our only hope that well, it gives it to us a little bit later in Ephesians. Two, but because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ. God has to act first. And then he goes on to say it is by grace than that you have been saved, not me. No, it’s not you. It’s a gift of God. This is not from your cells. So you can see we’ve got a problem. You got a problem. Life in the flesh corrupts us, keeps us from obeying and pleasing God. And so it raises the natural question, then, okay, how can we change? How can we overcome the flesh, our selfish rebellion against God, and that’s where he takes us next. So let’s look at the power than the power available to us verses nine to 11. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh, but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed, the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death, because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ in the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit, who lives in you. You can see there’s this this emphatic contrast here, right? You however, all that stuff we just talked about, that’s not true of you any longer because you’re not in the flesh, but in the spirit. If you have come to God through Christ, we have this decisive transfer to a new realm. It’s like Paul’s saying I was there at your citizenship ceremony. Right? Like when you gave up your old citizenship in the kingdom of darkness, and then you received new citizenship in the kingdom of light like you burned your old passport, you got your new passport, this has happened already. You now belong to the New Kingdom characterized by life and peace and the words of Jesus you have been born again you are a new creation in Christ. Now it doesn’t always feel that way though, does it? Really that’s what the rest of the chapter is about you keep reading in Romans eight and we’re going to see decay and death. We’re going to see that we’re susceptible to temptation and and oh, so prone to sin. But nevertheless, this is true of us. We have been made new, even if we don’t always live it out. It’s like you get an injury or something you mess up your your knee and so it hurts and so you limp all the time right walking gingerly you finally go to the doctor and whatever it is, you know they do surgery you do the rehab the PT the you know cortisone shot, whatever it is, and after a while your knee is actually better, but you still kind of limp because you’re just so used to walk in funny now you get to the stairs and you know you use all your hand strength arm strength to go up instead of actually pushing on your because you don’t trust it anymore. That’s us. Right? We we don’t always walk in the newness of life that we possess by grace through faith in Christ. We live, we live spiritually still. Now grace is the determining factor. We see that throughout these passages, right? This is true of us why? Verse 10. But if Christ is in you, verse nine, the Spirit lives in us. What does that mean? What would change that bring about I mean, verse 10, has it right? Even though the body is subject to death because of sin, like death is the punishment for sin. And because we are born in sin, our bodies still break down. And ultimately, we will die physically, we will shuffle off these mortal coils as Shakespeare says, But, but that’s not the whole story. Because yeah, the body is dead because of sin. But the Spirit gives a life because of righteousness. And so I mean, how does Paul even often talk about death for the believer, he doesn’t say we die, he says, we fall asleep, because it’s like one short sleep, and then we wake eternally, you might as well just call it a nap at that point, because that’s all it is. So we were dead because of sin. But now we are alive in the spirit because of righteousness. We got to talk about that, because that’s one of those theological terms, we don’t always understand what it means. So whose righteousness not ours? We’re not alive. Because we’ve started doing good things. We’ve already seen that that’s impossible. It’s Christ’s righteousness, which is given to us. So righteousness is basically just your performance record. It’s like turning in your transcript or something when you’re applying to colleges or handing in a resume when you’re applying for a job. And basically what happens as Christians is we get to lie on our resume. So we stand before God, and we hand in our resume, and God looks it over and he says, No, this says you lived a perfect life. And you go, yeah, yes, I did. And God says, Are you sure I remember, you lie. And you were a bit careless. And you know, in your words, and things like that, and Jesus is right there. And he goes, No, no, no, no, it’s true. He lived a perfect life that lie, though the care was whatever it was like that’s on me. That’s on me. Now. It’s his righteousness that is given to us and our sin is laid on him. Paul’s already talked about this in Romans. In fact, Romans chapter five, he compares what we get from Adam, with what we get from Jesus. So what it is we inherit in the flesh versus what we inherit in the Spirit. He says this Romans five or 17, For if, by the trespass of the one man death rain through that one man, Adam, how much more well, those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace, and have the gift of righteousness, there is the gift of righteousness, Christ’s righteousness handed to us as a gift. And what does he say it will rain in life through the one man Jesus Christ reign in life exactly what he’s describing for us here in Romans eight, because the Spirit of Life dwells within us as Christians, the inevitable result of his presence in our lives is life. He will bring life that’s what he does when he dwells in somebody, like he knows he’s dwelling in a fixer upper. Okay, so you gotta imagine, you know, fixer upper on your block, something like that. And let’s say a young power couple moves in, and he’s a general contractor, and she’s an interior designer. Do you think the House is going to look different in a few years? Probably, right. That’s what it is with the Spirit, except that it’s not a young power couple. Actually, notice who moves in the whole Trinity is present with us. We have the Spirit living in us in verse nine, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in verse 10, but if Christ is in you, and then in verse 11, and if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead who raised Jesus from the dead, that’s the Father. They’re all here, like there is so much power available to us. It’s like hooking up a rocket engine to your go kart. Do you think you’ve got enough to get down the street faster than your friends in the neighborhood? Probably right? That’s what we have more than enough power to do exactly what Paul says the end of verse 11 power to raise us not just from physical death, but power to overcome the cause of death in our lives, which is sin. But what is the key? Like, what is that power? It’s the Spirit, the Spirit who gives life it’s interesting. Paul uses the word spirit 22 times in Romans eight, and only 10 times and the rest of Romans 22 occurrences in this chapter, point six, six and all the other chapters in Romans, like you get the idea, don’t you? And yet, Romans eight is many people’s favorite chapter in the Bible, because of these precious promises that are given to us the unshakable hope that we have, I mean, you read that we sang some of these trees a moment ago, but verses 37 to 39 know when all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I’m convinced that neither death nor life neither angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Why? Because of the Spirit, because the Spirit lives within us. So what do we do with this power? You’re not going to hook up a rocket to your go kart? God’s not going to do that unless he intends to take us somewhere. So where are we going? Let’s look at the practice verses 12 and 13. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation, but it is not to the flesh to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death and misty to the body, you will live. We are citizens of a new kingdom. We don’t need to limp spiritually any longer. That’s what Paul’s saying here when he says we’ve got an obligation, but it’s not to the flesh, we are no longer obliged to obey sins, lingering presence and influence in our lives. We don’t have to sin, we don’t have to give in to our fleshly desires any longer, he breaks the power of canceled sin. So what this looks like a little bit like, you know, imagine that we’re going to a company, you got your old boss, and he’s about to retire. And you got a new boss coming in, and they got that little transition period where the ones kind of training the other and whatnot. Which one do you listen to? One of them comes the old boss comes to you and says, Hey, I need you to be working on the Penske file this week. And then the other boss, new boss comes and says, I really want you to be working on the core belay file this week, you’re like, Okay, what do I do now. And that’s often how it feels. This is why we got that conflict between flesh and spirit. Now, that’s way too easy in analogy, because of course, the old boss that you have, has been arrested, not just for, you know, embezzlement, but for crimes against humanity, and he is already in handcuffs, and he’s shouting at you as he’s being whisked out the door. So it should be a little bit easier for us to know which one we should listen to, probably the new boss, the Spirit of God himself. But notice that they’re both asking us to do something, but the spirit is really asking us to do something. And we don’t want to miss that either. We spent a lot of time in the Indicative so far in this series, where Paul is just telling us truths about who we are, we are alive in the Spirit. But the Indicative leads to an imperative. Put sin to death, put to death, the misdeeds of the body. You can’t eliminate either, right, we need the Indicative and the imperative here we need both. Like there is a genuine warning in this passage. If you live according to the flesh, you will die. That’s a tough word, genuine warning. It’s like Paul saying, grace is the sufficient condition of our eternal life. If God has saved you by grace, you will be saved to the uttermost. Grace is the sufficient condition but he’s saying obedience is the necessary condition for eternal life. It follows necessarily from the grace we’ve experienced. Here’s the way commentator John Murray puts it he says the believers once for all death to the law of sin does not free him from the necessity of modifying killing sin in his members. It makes it necessary and possible for him to do so. The spirit is there to give us the power to overcome sins influence means that the proof of grace the ultimate proof of real Grace experience in a person’s life is perseverance to the end, perseverance until death and glory. And it doesn’t always look like we we can probably all point to people that we know or have heard of who fell from grace. Herman Bavinck, says this in his Reformed Dogmatics. He reminds us that God leaves and has told us in Jesus parables, especially that God will leave unregenerate people. That is people who are just playing church who are just lip synching Jesus will leave them in the church, so that we don’t get proud or lazy. When it comes to our personal holiness. We’ll see people fall from grace and go, Man, I don’t want that to be me. I don’t want that to be I’m going to redouble my efforts here. Because it is effort. Notice how careful Paul is though, in verse 13. if by the Spirit, you put to death, the misdeeds of the body, like who acts in this situation? Is it me or is it the spirit? As both? Of course that’s like asking which wing of the plane is the one that’s making us fly? Both the both seem really, really important here. And this saves us from twin dangers. On the one hand, Legalism, like I’m going to do this and I’m going to earn this white knuckle sin. It also keeps us from the danger of cheat keep Greece easy believe ism are a passive surrender that you’ll you’ll hear sometimes in a famous slogan, let go and let God which is an asinine saying, when it comes to our sanctification. Now if you’re talking about like anxiety, fine, by all means let go and let God if you’re talking about your holiness, no trust God and get moving as the way Packer says it that’s a much more biblical phrase we have to act to. It’s like the bouncy house, right? Gotta plug it in. You need the electricity, he can’t do it without the electricity, but also had to plug it in and flip the switch. And then all sorts of good things happen. So let’s tap into the power of the Spirit as we modify sin, it’d be killing sin, or it will be killing you live in the Spirit’s power. So how, what does that look like? Exactly. And here, we’re gonna widen our lens slightly, because I want to ask the question, how do we tap into the Spirits power for the self, the church and the world, the Spirits power is there for all three. And I know this passage is about personal holiness. But personal holiness is not individualistic holiness, not by any means. Our holiness is important for more than just ourselves. I mean, we’ve got Matthew chapter five we just did in the series on the Sermon on the Mount, you know, you’re supposed to be salt and light in this world, let your light shine, people are gonna see your good deeds, your personal holiness, they’re gonna glorify your Father in heaven. It’s important for the church as well, Robert Murray McShane said once and you’re speaking as a pastor, but every one of us in the church could say this, the greatest need of my people is my personal holiness. And that is true of each other. I mean, we also need each other for personal holiness, we say here a lot change as a community project. That’s why one of our core values is transformative community. Look at this, and Hebrews 1214, and 15, if you don’t believe me, read it in Hebrew says, Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy, really important, right? Because without holiness, no one will see the Lord. So it sounds like we’re just talking about ourselves as individuals. But then he says, See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God, no bitterroot grows up to cause trouble and to fail. And then he goes on to talk about some other sins, we need each other to grow in personal holiness. So with that in mind, let’s look at how do we tap into the Spirit’s power for the self, the church in the world, first, the self, talking about personal transformation into Christ’s likeness. The spirit is the agent of our holiness. And he is one who gives us the power to live rightly, he produces his fruit in us. That’s why it’s called the fruit of the Spirit. So by His power Christians change. What this looks like is not long after I started, here’s about nine years ago, we moved, we used to live in Naperville, we moved to Lombard so that the commute was a lot shorter for us. But that meant that when I went home, I had to remember that I lived somewhere else. So I would pull out on the St. Charles here and get to the light at York, and would think to myself don’t turn left, you have to go straight now. Okay. And it was tricky. And there were many times where I turn left. So I learned some sneaky back ways. Okay. That’s kind of what this looks like, right? Where you kind of get there and you go, I’m different. I live a year now I don’t live there any longer. But the problem was, it is always just a case of forgetting. Sometimes it’s a case of desire, isn’t it? Well, you think I’d actually like to turn left, because there’s this great taco joint in my old neighborhood. And I want to go back and enjoy some sin tacos. Okay, like, that’s how we think for sure. When that happens when we get to the light, and we’re like, No, I’m turning left, and you turn left and you turn left and turn left. And after a while, you just think like, why hasn’t he changed me as you ever asked that of God? Like, how can we even change me, Lord, is sometimes it’s a little bit like buy and this is I’m stealing this illustration from Francis Chan. Not JD Greer. It’s like buying a treadmill because you want to lose some weight. And after two months, you take the treadmill back to the store and you go this thing’s broken, right? I didn’t lose a single pound. I want my money back. And the cashier says it’s still in the box. It’s still wrapped in plastic. Like I think I found the problem here. That is kind of us when it comes to the spirit, isn’t it? Like it sounds silly, but change the details and all of a sudden it doesn’t sound as funny any longer. Like, I want to return this because, you know, still struggling with porn, or still, you know, speaking these careless words or can’t forgive the person who hurt me. And that Trinity is standing there behind the counter going have you unwrapped the spirit yet? Have you tapped into this power yet? So how do we do it? The Spirit does extraordinary works through ordinary means. This is not mystical. The Spirit works through things like Our engagement with the Bible, and prayer, which of course go together. And this is maybe some of it, it is possible to read the Bible in the flesh. It is. But if we’re coming to God desperate for his power that will change how we pray before we start reading the word Kyle talked about this a little bit last week, because we’re coming going forward, I need something from this today. Like, I need you to renew my mind. And to satisfy my heart with Your love this morning. I need you to guide my steps. But then we pray. And prayer is so important in all of this. I mean, think of Elijah, we heard a little bit of his story this morning, Erica read it for us. He’s got this contest with the prophets of Baal whose God is real. And he prays in confidence, and God sends fire from heaven, burns up the whole lot burns everything up, right. That’s the power. That’s the power that we have. And we want it like that, like just turn your fire from heaven and refine me, so I’m good. That’s not always how Elijah’s life went even. And Elijah was kind of a sweet dude, you know, right. Like he got better stories. And some of us like the Lord promises and there’s a drought allowed us to prophesy that then the Lord promises to end the drought and descend rain. And so he has a ledger pray for rain. You think What could be easier than this, he just told me to pray for rain, he’s gonna send rain Lord, you send rain, he sends a servant to look to see if there any clouds, no, bright sunny day in the desert still, he prays again and again and again, again and again. And on the seventh time, the servant comes back and he says, I saw a cloud about the size of a fist. anything great. Like that’s it. That’s what we’re we are there on our knees pleading with the Lord to change us until we see even a cloud the size of a fist coming. What is often lacking on in us is that persistence in prayer, like where you are at the intersection of York and St. Charles thinking, you’re going to turn left into sin, and you are pleading with God. I need your power now. Or I’m turning left and eating the sin tacos. And the people behind you are honking and you don’t care. Like because you are not moving until you have the power to drive straight to walk in the newness of life that Christ has one for you. And here’s the really good news as you’re praying and pleading with God, the spirit is praying within you. Paul tells us that in this chapter, even right 26 and 27. In the same way the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for. but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. and He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people, in accordance with the will of God, the spirit is praying as you’re praying, which means these prayers, it’s a little bit like a laser. I’m not a scientist. I’m gonna try really hard not to say anything wrong here. I’m an English Lit guy. That’s why I coded Shakespeare and done already today. All right. But if I understood correctly, a laser works by stacking light waves. And when you stack them, you get all the photons moving in one direction. I thought a photon was the gun in Star Trek. So like I learned a lot this week, okay. It gets them all moving in the same direction. If you don’t have the photons moving in the same direction, it’s a light bulb, and it lets off a nice soft glow. You get them all moving in the same direction. There’s enough power to cut through metal. We stack our prayers on the spirits prayers, and we have enough power to cut through the sin in our lives. Persistently pleading with God like knocking on the door we did Matthew seven not that long right knocking on the door asking, seeking knowing God is inside knowing He longs to help us thing I need you. I need your power. Now. Robert murmur Shane said once you know if you could hear Christ praying for you in the next room, would that change your confidence? And then he said, well, the distance doesn’t make any difference. Like we know that. Jesus is praying for us interceding for us in heaven. But now we know also, by the way, you there isn’t even any distance because the spirit is inside of you and praying for you. Or like if God were in the next room, how tempted to send you think you would be? I mean, somewhat because you look at the disciples of Jesus, but you know, probably less tempted at least again, God is right here we are the room and he is in us. That’s the power, the confidence that we have, of course, we pray like this pleading for that power, not just for ourselves, but for our family and for our friends and for the church. And so that’s the next part. How do we tap into this power for the church? The Spirit gifts us that is one of his primary activities he gives us and empowers our service so that we all transform into Christ likeness, says this first Corinthians 12 verse seven. Now to each one, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good, or for the common good and it goes on to catalog The different manifestations of the Spirit. Its teaching, its helps its leadership, its miracles and tongues. Then he says, all these are the work of one in the same spirit. They are the work of the Spirit, he works in our work, it’s his power and our activity. If you are in Christ, the spirit has gifted you and he has given you these gifts for the sake of the body. We need every part so he says in first Corinthians 12, like you don’t get to be proud here like the eyes all hottie because the you know better than the knee or something like that we will all the parts, we want the eye, the knee, and the pituitary gland all working together if we’re going to live well, if we’re going to grow in maturity. So what he says in Ephesians, 416, right from him, the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, that’s the leaders of the church, again, didn’t study anatomy, so I’m hoping I’m not gonna say something wrong here. But that’s like the connective tissue. So the leaders are the ones who kind of pull the people together so that the body can be the body to grow and build itself up in love as each part does its work. We need your gifts, we will not reach maturity, corporately and individually without the full range of the Spirits power active in us, we need each other. This is one of my primary problems with the live stream the live stream is a necessary evil for people cannot come either for a season or for a longer period of time. But the problem with the live stream is that we don’t have them. You on the live stream don’t have us like we need the gifts working together. This can look so ordinary. It could even look like something you could do in the flesh. Right? I mean, like there are teacher teaching a teaching kids out there leading music. Have you ever met a non Christian who’s good at music? Yeah, right. Course plenty of them. So it can look so orders serving behind the scenes and areas like facilities and finances, it can also look extraordinary, where you get miracles or words of knowledge, the prompting to pray for someone where you’re like, I don’t even know what just happened, but I know I need to pray for this person. Then the next day, they’re like, man, you would not believe what happened to me like I almost died or whatever. And you’re like, Okay, wow, I think God might be real. This is kind of crazy. Like we need it all. But you have to unwrap the gift. Like unwrapping the treadmill, somebody unwrap the gift use it so that the Spirit can grow us all up. You remember the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Father Christmas like on behalf of Aslan gives the gifts to the kids. Like can you imagine if Lucy just had that potion and her brother Edmonds dying on the battlefield right there. And she was like, I would love to help but it’s sunny. So I’m gonna play golf instead of go to church this morning. That’s what we do, sometimes, isn’t it? We need each other. Alright, so that’s how we tap into power for the church. Lastly, this power, it’s not just for Christians, like how do we tap into this power for the sake of the world to Kyle quoted x one eight for us last week, even uses that word power, right, you will receive power, when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria to the ends of the earth. What I find so interesting is that like in the same breath, the same paragraph, Jesus says, don’t leave Jerusalem. But Wait x one, four, don’t leave Jerusalem, but wait, and you’re like, well, then how can I you know, be a witness at the end of the earth? If I’m waiting in Jerusalem, but wait for the gift of my Father promised? You’ve heard me speak about right? How can we be are His witnesses without the Spirit’s power? That’s the question. We can’t, we need him to turn the world upside down. When we talk about what we’re supposed to do for the world, we think of the Great Commission right, go and make disciples of all nations. But the great commission is sandwiched between two precious precious promises. The first is all authority in heaven on earth has been given to me since Jesus speaking. And that’s the foundation of our hope, like he is sovereign. So he’s going to do what he’s trying to do in and through me with the other one. The other promise on the backside is an I am with you, to the very end of the age. And that’s the Holy Spirit. He is with us so that we can do what we were called to do that changes how we approach evangelism, knowing that he is with us to the end of the age. Like how many of you when it comes to evangelism, you think to yourself, I don’t have what it takes. I have that thought regularly. I am an introvert. I don’t think you I’m just glad to like you were like, Yes, that’s me. Somebody you can can participate in these services. I don’t have any things I’m clinical introvert. I don’t really like talking to people unless I have a mic and you’re all over there. I’m fine in this situation. But you put me like with people I don’t know and I I’m not a good evangelist by nature. So I get that I don’t have what it takes except Yes, you do. Because you have the spirit. What do you mean, you don’t have what it takes. You have God himself inside of you. You can do this, as Dr. Moody said, there is not a better evangelist in the world than the Holy Spirit, and He lives in you. Like how many of you if you are been here for a while, you’ll know this. If you’re new, I’m sorry, this one’s going over your head. How many of you would feel better evangelizing if Mark Meyers was with you? Exactly. Now, no offense, Mark, I would so much rather have the Spirit of God with me than Mark Meyers. Right. And we’ve got it. So like, we can do this ever think about the early church. I mean, here’s this, like, tiny group of people, very few resources, they don’t have staff, their websites terrible, it’s like, and they’re also in this incredibly hostile culture that just murdered their leader. And they turned the world upside down. Within 300 years, they toppled the Roman Empire, so that now it’s the Holy Roman Empire, which is, you know, its own thing. We’ll talk about that another time. So how, like, how did they do this is because they leaned on the spirit because they had to the book of Acts, the full name is the Acts of the Apostles. That is a terrible name for that book. The book should actually be called the acts of the Spirit through the apostles, because that’s what’s going on here. So like, what’s lacking today is that AW Tozer said, if the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95% of what we do would go on, and no one would know the difference. I feel that like, I feel that as a preacher, because think what I had at the early church didn’t have I have a master’s degree in how to preach good. I know Greek and Hebrew, they knew Greek and Hebrew, too, but like, I’ve got it. I’ve got 1500 books in my library. Like I couldn’t do this on my own. That’s a terrifying thought. So he goes on though. So this is Tozer. Still he says, if the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament, church, 95% of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference. And you read that, and you think, let’s be like in the New Testament Church, like the same power, the same spirit, because it’s in us, we have what they had, like, go back to X one, eight, and put your name in there. The Brandon will receive power. When the Holy Spirit comes on Brandon, and Brandon will be my witness to the very ends of the earth. Hold that power for the sake of the world. And we consider of the 40 miracles recorded in Acts 39 of them happen outside of church, like the the gathered body. I think this is one of the reason we don’t see the Spirit manifest so much like yeah, we spirit, hopefully, he’s here. So we can do that whole spiritual gifts for the common good and build each other up, so that we can then scatter. And let the Spirit do His work when we’re at soccer practice with the kids, or having coffee with one of our friends or neighbors. The Spirit of God lives in you if you belong to Christ, plug in, draw on his power, live in the power of the Spirit, to tap into that power for yourself, and for the church and for the world. Let him work in your work for His glory. We are not called to a lifeless, powerless Christianity. God has given us a helper Kyle talked about that last week, he has given us himself the relationship that we have with him. That should change everything. So JD Greer tells the story of his friend who was trapped in sexual addiction, and did what a lot of us do when it comes to sin struggles, which is try really hard and fall and try really hard and fall, like get better for a bit and then right back down. And the friend eventually checked himself into an intensive ministry for a period of months, actually. And eight months later, JD Greer saw him again. And it was this guy was noticeably different. And Greer said, what changed? Like, what did you learn? I said, I don’t learn anything. I already had the Bible. What I learned was how to lean on the spirit, like to live with that desperation. For the Spirit’s work in me, he learned to tap into the Spirit’s power. Now, you might not have an addiction like that, like you might just need peace in the midst of anxiety or guidance when it comes to a decision or the ability to forgive someone or like fearlessness and evangelism. But the power is for you. And all those cases still live in the Spirit’s power. Let’s pray. Lord, as you help us even now to plug in to tap into your power in the Spirit of Him who raised Christ from the dead lives in us. That is a powerful truth for those of us who belong to Christ. Lord, would you display that power in our lives as you work in us as you empower us to work alongside you to see this transformation in our personal holiness, and our growth is the body of Christ and in our mission to the world. And we ask this in Christ’s name, amen.

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Presence April 28, 2024 | Kyle Bjerga Kyle Bjerga preached on Jesus’ teachings about the Holy Spirit in John 14-17 and how the Spirit is better than having Jesus physically present. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit as another advocate to continue his ministry of teaching and reminding believers. The Holy Spirit indwells believers and points them back to Jesus through ongoing revelation and spiritual promptings. Believers must be receptive to the Spirit’s promptings by obeying and prioritizing God’s presence. Kyle encouraged cultivating awareness of the Spirit through prayer and responding to the longings he places in believers’ hearts.

Well, good morning. You can go and grab your bibles turn to John chapter 14. If you’re using one of the black pew Bibles there in front of you, there’ll be on page 875. If you have been to the to Washington to see and seeing the Washington Monument pretty much everywhere you can there you can look up and see the monument there, this large stone pillar. It was one time the largest building in the world just for a short time. But at nights if you’ve been there, it’s even more of an impressive structure as these 1000s of dollars worth of lights are pointing up. And at it, this stone pillar is very impressive. Now imagine you go there at night, and you take your phone your camera, and while all the tourists are taking pictures of the monument, you walk over to the lights and take pictures of the lights. Everyone’s gonna look at you like what are you doing? That’s not the reason we’re here. We’re here to see the structure. The lights are just showing us what this looks like. Nobody’s saying wow, those lights are awesome. The stone pillar is brilliant. It looks great at night with all these lights. So you wouldn’t do that. Because the lights if they’re working and their function is they’re supposed to you’re just supposed to illuminate the structure in front of it supposed to show off the brilliance of the monument. And that really is the role of the Holy Spirit. The whole Holy Spirit is there to illuminate to shine on who Jesus is to bring glory to Him. J I Packer calls it his floodlight ministry, quietly turning everyone’s attention away from himself and instead to the Savior. And so it’s important to have this background as we dive into looking at to the Spirit, because we’re here for three weeks, which means we cannot do a full theology on the Holy Spirit. So we’re going to touch on a lot of things, but we’re not gonna be able to fully develop everything. So it’s good to have that background. And he is pointing us to Jesus, Romans eight two calls in the spirit of life, which is where the series title is taken from. So we’re not going to do this full theology, the spirit, but as Brandon even just prayed, this is what we’re looking at, in this three week series, how the Holy Spirit mediates Christ’s presence with us. How he mediates Christ’s presence with us the personal fellowship that we can have with God through the Holy Spirit. And we’ll do this by looking this week at the presence of the Holy Spirit, the power next week, and finishing up a couple weeks with the promise of the Holy Spirit. So that’s kind of the big picture of where we are and where we’re going in this series. Now, for today, we’re in John 14. And John 14 through 17 gives us the largest, the biggest selection of teaching that Jesus has about the Holy Spirit in his ministry. And this section of Scripture, John 14 to 17 is called a farewell discourse. And it’s the farewell discourse because Jesus is preparing his disciples for what life without him will look like, at least life like they knew it. And what that looked like, you know, in youth group right now we’re doing a series called, he said, what we’re looking at the tough sayings of Jesus. And we looked at a lot of these in the Sermon on the Mount, if you’re here with us, for that series, a lot of these shocking statements that Jesus made, and I think, in John 14 through 17, some of the most shocking statements that Jesus ever makes are made to his disciples in these pages. Because the things that he says to the ears of the disciples are shocking, not what they expect. So let’s just look at a couple examples. Look up at John 14, verse 12, we’re not going to read it this morning. But look at John 1412 says, very, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing. And they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. So he tells his disciples, I’m leaving, and you’re going to do great things, you’re going to do greater things than me. To which point we’re like Have, have you seen what Jesus did? Later in chapter 16, verse seven, you’ll need to turn that I’ll just read it for us. He says what Very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I’m going away. It’s for your good. And this is causing a crisis in the hearts and the minds of the disciples. It’s shocking to them. Jesus is saying he’s leaving, and this is better for them. They’re thinking, No, Jesus, we need you here. I mean, we know the disciples, you studied the disciples, it seems like they need him with them. To continue this ministry. We don’t know what to do. We don’t know where to go. We don’t know how to respond or the things that they’re thinking, Jesus don’t leave us. Or maybe another question would be Jesus, why would you leave us? How is this possible that this could be good news to them? That Jesus is going? Well, we’ll see your big idea there. Today, what we’re gonna see in this passage is that the Spirit in you is better than the Jesus beside you. The spirit in you is better than the Jesus beside you. Do you think the disciples believe that? Do you believe that? I’m going to read John 1415 through 21, just to give us some context, and then we’re really going to focus in on verses 16 through 17. But let’s start in verse 15. If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever. The Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you. Before long the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me because I live you also will live on that day you will realize that I am in the Father and you are in Me and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them as the one who loves me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them. In verses 16 through 17 Jesus tells the disciples a holy spear is coming. It’s why it’s better that he goes, there also spirit will not come. But what do we learn about the Spirit who is coming? That should bring comfort to the disciples in this moment? What do we see in this passage? Because the Spirit could actually encourage the disciples here, this, this coming of the Spirit can encourage them that and actually maybe start to think like maybe this is better if Jesus goes, so what do we learn about the spirit in this passage? First, in your notes, there’s the Spirit helps us. The Spirit helps us. So Jesus is going to the Father, He says, and he’s going to give him another advocate, he’s going to pray to the Father, and he’s going to give them another advocate. Now, if you aren’t sure who the advocate is, later, in John 14, verse 26, it says this, but the advocate, the Holy Spirit, so we get it here in the same chapter, Jesus is making sure very clear, the other advocate that’s coming is the Holy Spirit. This is who he is. And so we get a little bit of Trinitarian theology here. So we did the Catechism question which is kind of that that big thing that we believe about the Holy Spirit. And here we see something interesting about the relationship between the Father, the Son, and the spirit. So here, Jesus says, The Father is going to send the Spirit when I go. And just like in early earlier in John three who sent the Son, the Father sent the Son, so the Father sends the Son and the Father sends the spirit. But elsewhere in John, chapter 15, verse 26, we see Jesus say this, he says, When the advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who goes out from the Father, He will testify about Me. And so we have here the Father sends the Son, and the Son and the Father send the Spirit. This is part of that relationship that the Trinity has. And you can see the floodlight ministry in this passage of the Holy Spirit. Because what does it say? At the end, it says that the Spirit will testify about me. That’s why he is coming to shine a light on who Jesus is and what Jesus has come to do. So another advocate will come and it’s, it’s easy for us to look at that word, advocate and skip over the word right before it. The word right before it is another. This is in our passage today. In verse 60, he he’s gonna send another advocate, this is extremely important, this word because this word would mean another, like me, another of the same kind. So this helps us understand a little bit about the Holy Spirit’s ministry that his ministry is going to be like Jesus’s ministry, because he’s coming as another kind of at the same kind of advocate as Jesus is. So this is really important. So think about it this way, when Jesus says this, it’s like, when you were growing up, and the substitute teacher came in, that wasn’t a teacher, right? I taught I was a sub for a little while, too, I can say this. But you know, you sat there and the substitute would come in and get the lesson plan, which is usually pop in a movie, or give us some busy work, possibly. And so you’d have this and you just you treated the substitute a little bit different than you. It just wasn’t the same thing as having the teacher in the room. That’s not who the father is sending.
What the father is sending is a co teacher that teaches with your teacher who will come in that classroom with the lesson plan, all ready to go, knows exactly who you are, knows your name, knows the discipline, the policies and procedures of the school is going to lead you like the teacher was there because they are the same kind. That’s what Jesus is saying, I’m not sending you a substitute some second rate person, I’m sending you my spirit, he will do exactly what I have done with you. That is what he’s talking about another advocate. So the advocate is going to be just like him, which means when we look at Jesus’s ministry, we say that’s what the Spirit is going to do. So when the disciples are thinking, what are we going to do in this moment? Well, what did Jesus do? He encouraged us with these words, the Holy Spirit will encourage them with those words, that the Jesus prays for them, the spirit will pray for them. You see, anything we see in Jesus’s ministry, the spirit is going to continue to do because he’s another advocate. So Jesus saying, Take heart, be comforted by this truth, because it’s better that I go, then stay, because you will receive the Spirit. So another advocate the same kind, now, what is an advocate? Chances are some of you have a different translation than the NIV, which we’re using here. And so you might see words like helper, comforter, counselor, and all of these are fine words to use to explain the word parakeet. We don’t get this word a whole lot. And it’s not one that we necessarily have a great match for in English. So that’s why you get some different translation. shins, but all of them are trying to say the same thing. An advocate comes alongside someone and helps them in trouble. So think help her advocate, counselor comfort her. That’s what’s happening here. So it’s more important to see how does this advocate function. This is what the Spirit does. This is who spirit is. There’s one other time this word advocate is used in the New Testament, and it’s used in John’s letter, First John chapter two verse one where he says this, My dear children, I write this use that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous one. He goes on to say, actually, in verse two, he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world. What does this advocate do? He comes alongside of us, and he actually gives his life for us. He’s the perfect representative to talk and speak to God the Father on our behalf. And now we have the Spirit, who will do the same thing, he will be another advocate. So what other functions then do we see this advocate have what? How does he come alongside of us? And we can go through all the old New Testament and look at these, but I want to just focus in John 14 through 17. Because that’s again, where we find our passage today. So here’s a few different ways that this floodlight ministry of the Spirit continues in chapter 15, verses 26 through 27, Jesus says, The Spirit will testify about him. In John 16, eight through 11, it says that the Spirit will convict the world of sin. Chapter 16, verses 12 through 13, it says the Spirit will come and guide them into all truth. And chapter 16, verse 14, the spirit will glorify Jesus. That’s the spirit has come to do. So the spirit is sent by the Father to come alongside of us. He continues the ministry that Jesus started not as a second rate substitute, but as the same kind of advocate. Now I skipped over one function of the Spirit in John 14, it’s right here in verse 17. If you look at it there, it says, The Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. So the spirits also teaches us. That’s the second thing we see the Spirit also teaches us. So he’s the spirit of truth. And he’s another advocate, the same kind. So what did Jesus just say about himself in John 14, verse six, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. Same kind because now we say, well, the spirit is the truth. So which is it? That Jesus is the truth, the spirit is the truth. And so they are of the same kind, this advocate that is coming is going to continue to teach. Now one reason that disciples are nervous about Jesus leaving is because their rabbi, their teacher is leaving. I don’t know how many of you guys have dropped off a kid at camp, or college, or maybe took your kid to their first apartment in a new city with a new job. And usually, that’s a very hard thing for who the parents, lots of tears, lots of I’m not gonna leave yet a lot of that kind of stuff goes on. But we don’t often think about is what’s happening to the child, the college student or that that kid that goes off that young adult with the first job in a new city. After the initial like, Yay, Freedom wears off. What happens? It settles in quickly of like, my teachers are gone. Like the people that have told me how life works, the people that have instructed me and told me how to do these things are not here anymore. And that’s what the disciples are thinking about here. But for us, what we think about is like, I’ll just I’ll call them, I’ll call them I’ll talk to him. But the disciples like Jesus says, he’s leaving, like, he’s gone. Their teacher is going, but it’s better that he goes, because the ministry of the Spirit has continued teaching to be the spirit of truth to them. So who’s gonna explain what Jesus taught them? The spirit will. Like Jesus spent a lot of time with the disciples explaining his parables explaining his teaching, away from the crowds, the spirit will continue to do that for them. That how can they possibly remember everything? Is that really what the Spirit is going to do? Well, look down in John 14, verse 26, explains more about what the Spirit of Truth will do. We looked at just the first part of it, let’s look at all of it. But the advocate the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything. I have said to you. How much comfort with that bring the disciples in this moment our teacher is leaving, but the spirits can remind us of everything he taught us. So the disciples are going to go out, they’re going to take the message of the gospel of who Jesus is to the entire world so that they can hear about Jesus. And it’s clear that the Holy Spirit’s role is to remind them that everything that Jesus said, that’s one reason why we can’t have such confidence in this book. Because they didn’t make it up. God, the Spirit reminded them of everything that Jesus taught, the apostles could pass this on to the next generation and on to us. So we can have this in our hands, we can say this is the word of God. Because the Spirit is the one who made sure it happened. So Jesus wasn’t leaving the disciples without a teacher, he was sending another teacher like him, to be with them to remind them of everything he had taught them. Okay, so that’s the New Testament. What about the Old Testament? Well, Peter talks about this in his book. In his letter, Second Peter, chapter one says, For prophecy never had its origin in the human will. But prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. So Peter saying know everything we have, the Holy Spirit is the author of it all. Jen Wilkin and JT English. In their book, you are a theologian, which we actually are looking at in a class right now, wrote this, every biblical text has two authors, a human author, and a divine author. It is both human and divine. Who else is that true of? Jesus, right? He is human, and he is divine. He is the living word, the written word is also human, and divine. Paul has this confidence in God’s word to when he’s talking to Ephesians. And he’s describing what they have in Jesus Christ, what they can use in the armor of God. And he says, you have one offensive weapon Ephesians 617, you have the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Now, what does all this mean? Taking all this into account? We have the Spirit of God, another advocate dwelling in us. And we have the book that he wrote for us. So we have the Spirit in us, he wrote this and we have it here. So his ministry of teaching continues, the spirits floodlight ministry continues he What is he doing here other than saying everything in here is about Jesus. So let me shine that light and illuminate that. So you see that in the text. So whether you’re in the Old Testament, you’re in the New Testament, you’re in Leviticus, you’re in Matthew doesn’t matter. It’s all pointing back to Jesus. That’s what the Spirit is doing. So when we give the word to somebody, we’re not saying this is good information that you should know, we’re saying this is transformational news that you need to know. And we pray that the Spirit illuminates that so that they understand and respond to it.
The word that the Spirit inspired is there to teach us, rebuke us, correct us and train us for righteousness. It will equip us for every good work. That’s what Second Timothy three says. So we can be confident that what we have is God’s word, and it is sufficient. It is enough. And we say in this church, that God is still speaking. What we mean by that is you open this book, and you read it, and he’s speaking to you. It isn’t a new revelation, is it a new truth, it is the old, timeless truth. So when we open this up, yes, he is still speaking. And he won’t say anything that’s not in here. He won’t say anything to contradict what’s in here. That’s what we mean when we say God is still speaking, because we can open his word read it and be changed by it. There is enough in here for us to know Him, to know ourselves to know the way to to be saved. enough for us to know how to live a godly life. Now there is a danger here, it’s a danger to fall to one side or the other with the Spirit and the Word. So we can have a tendency to emphasize the spirit, the work of the Spirit without the word. And what this becomes our the phrase that’s often said in the church, which is actually a pretty dangerous thing to say, or we at least need to step back and make sure that we’re saying is actually God’s word. When we say things like the Spirit said to me, or the Spirit told me to tell you. When we say that we’re saying thus saith the Lord. If it’s not in here, that’s a really hard thing to say. I’m not saying the spirit doesn’t speak to you and prompt us and have these inward longings in our lives to do something. But we have to be very careful that if we can’t find it in here first and how that’s gonna work itself out in our life, we need to be careful saying that phrase. Okay? We need to make sure that we’re not emphasizing the work of the Spirit without the word because this is his word. So it So start here, that’s the foundation. Now the other one that’s probably more likely for us in this church, in this culture and context is we can emphasize the word without the Spirit. We can be so good at Bible study. Like we love Bible study. Like we know the words, we know the contacts, we know how to interpret it, we know how to apply it, and all those different types of things, but it doesn’t have any power. So the book becomes more inspirational than transformational. Like, I can take some good things from here and try to live my life. And maybe that’s a good thing, maybe, maybe not, but it’s not transformational. Well, we’re not letting the Spirit do the work of what he wants to do in our hearts. So we can emphasize the word and not the Spirit. We need to be careful both of those. We have the Spirit and the Word always. JD Greer, in his book, Jesus continued, which is talking about the Holy Spirit. Continuing the ministry of Jesus says it this way. It’s like riding a bicycle. The spirit’s guidance is like steering the bike. But it only works if you get up, start moving, start pedaling in obedience, and then he starts directing. Right. That’s our cooperation with the Spirit. We’re gonna talk a lot more about that next week with sanctification. One of the most important things we can do then is when we come to the Bible is to pray that the Spirit would illuminate the words in our hearts in our life. I love how Matt Smith who says this in his book before you open the Bible, he’s Chapter One is you must pray before coming to the Bible. He says the Spirit loves bringing God’s word to life day after day in the hearts of those blinded by the tyranny of worthless things. Ask the spirit to unblind you to the beauty that’s staring you right in the face. Right in the face, it’s right there in the spirits with you. Let’s pray and see spirit illuminate this text, this truth for me. Now, according to verse 17, he talks about those who are blind. Verse 17, it talks about the fact that the world cannot accept him the Spirit of truth, because it neither sees him nor knows him. So if you’re here this morning, and you don’t know the spirit, you don’t know Jesus, you’re investigating the claims of Scripture, the claims of Christ I am praying for you have been praying this week. And I hope you would pray with me that the spirit would illuminate the truth of the gospel in your heart today, that you would know who Jesus is. And then you’d see the spirit in the spirit, just say, just look to him, just look to him. He would give your life to following Him so that you would know him, you would know the Savior. So the spirit is also our teacher. Lastly, the third thing you see here in the text is that the Spirit indwells us verses 16 and 17, we see that the spirit is coming to be with the disciples, He will be with them, he will be in them. And it also says he will be with them forever. So when we believe in Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit in that moment, the Spirit indwells us and he takes up residence in her life, he is not renting or leasing space. Forever. He’s taken residents up in our hearts in our life. Romans eight says He is the Spirit of Christ. Listen to Ephesians 113 through 14. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. And when you believed you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit who was a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of his glory. We are sealed forever by the Holy Spirit. He is with us and He is with us forever. Now, I thought about this this week, and maybe some of you are with me. And you’re thinking about this? Did we not just finished a three week series on the body and the importance of the physical body, and physical presence of real face to face conversation. So maybe you’re thinking how can it be true then that it’s better that the bodily presence of Jesus go and the spirit comes? It’s a great question. It’s actually a pretty simple answer. There’s no other relationship here there will ever see or have in our life where there’s a chance that person can indwell us. That’s not happening. So the best thing we have is that physical face to face, talk, conversation, relationships. We are talking now about the spirit into wellness is an entirely different category that we don’t even understand fully how this actually happens. So that’s why it’s better. That’s what we have promised for us that the Holy Spirit coming is better than Jesus beside us. Remember, the disciples would not have thought this was better. In this moment. When Jesus is saying this then it is not better to have the spirit with them that Jesus beside them. That is until it happened because we’ve happened to change You have everything. We need to look at the book of Acts before Jesus ascends to heaven. Now remember, Jesus left them and then came back from the dead. And then he says, I’m leaving again. Like now I’m ascending. Now I’m going, right. And so in Acts one, four through five, listen that says On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command. Do not leave Jerusalem. But wait for the gift my Father promised, which you’ve heard me speak about which we’ve looked at this morning, For John baptized with water, but in a few days, you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. So we say don’t don’t go anywhere just yet. Why? Because they have the message. But they don’t have the power yet. They have the message, but they don’t have the power says you need to wait. chapter one, verse eight, he says, but you will receive power, you will when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. The Spirit does come in Acts chapter two. The Spirit falls on them when they are together in the house, they received the Holy Spirit, they start speaking in tongues, people from all over the world are they’re hearing the good news of Jesus Christ in their own language, wondering what in the world is going on. And Peter stands up. Code of no testament quoting from Joel says, this is the Spirit of God, who is with them. Acts chapter two, says God has raised this Jesus to life. And we are witnesses of it already. We’re witnesses of it. We’ve seen him. He’s exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, and has poured out what you now see and hear. God was faithful, He will send His Spirit and He pours the spirit out on them in this moment, that is what the people now see and hear. And from that point on the disciples go out and change the world, turn it upside down. Why not? Because Jesus was physically walking with them anymore. Because every single one of them had the spirit and dwelling them, and was taking him wherever they went. That’s why it’s better that Jesus leave so that the spirit could come the Spirit of Christ, the spirit of truth could go with them. So now they finally believe what Jesus told them. They finally believe it through their experience. It’s better that I go, because then the Spirit will come and be with you. Now, practically, what does this look like? Because I’ve been in the church long enough to feel this way. I’ve been in the church long enough to hear this from some of you, and in many others. I don’t feel close to the Lord. The Lord feels so far from me. Have you been there? Maybe you’re there this morning. Just hoping that you get that feeling that he is with you.
This way, I think AW Tozer is helpful. He says the approach to God to the soul, or of the soul to God is not to be thought of in spatial terms at all. There is no idea of physical distance involved in the concept. It is not a matter of miles, but of experience. When we know when we know who Jesus is what He has promised us through the Spirit, we can practice the presence of the Holy Spirit with us. He is with us. There’s no physical distance there. He’s not actually far away from you, He is with you. So what is happening? What is our experience? What’s getting in the way of our experience with the Holy Spirit? What’s getting in the way of our communion or fellowship with the Holy Spirit with the Triune God? And unfortunately, answer is us. We get in our own way, there’s nothing wrong with the Spirit inside of us. There’s nothing wrong with the Trinity. What’s wrong is us. Being in the presence of someone and growing in relationship takes time. It takes intentionality. It takes conversation is are those the things that define your life right now? Or, as I was looking at the last couple weeks of my life, is your life more like this reaction? A lack of time to busy, distracted, overwhelmed, overstimulated unrest, perfect storm, to missing real relationships. Perfect Storm, to not listening to the spirit, not being in the presence of the Spirit, not practicing the presence of the Spirit. And then you step back, you look at scripture, and you look at people in your life who you would say these people are Spirit lead like they are. They’re walking keeping in step with the Spirit, who are the ones that are practicing his presence truly communing with God? And what Tozer says and I think this is right, the difference between them and every But he else in the church who thinks God is far away, is their spiritual receptivity. Because they’re the ones who listen, respond and do something about it. When the Spirit does bring that long in your heart and prompt you to do something, the ones who are truly spirit ladder, the ones who say, I’m not gonna let that go until I do something about it. When you look at scripture, when you look at people in your life, you’re like, Why did? Why do they always seem like the spirit is, is speaking to them. He’s speaking to you, too, every time you open this book. But what happens is they say, oh, there’s something there, the Spirit wants me to do something. And so they do it. They go, they’re receptive to what the Spirit is saying. He goes on to say that these people have a spiritual awareness, and they went on to cultivate it. What does cultivation take? Time, intentionality they went on to cultivate until became the biggest thing in their lives, they different from the average person that when they felt the inward longing, they did something about it. If I could use a real common experience for most of us that I hope will make this spiritual truth more tangible. more concrete, is seen our experience of the Holy Spirit, our practice of presidents like the relationship that we have with our phones. So I don’t usually bring my phone up here, but I remembered because it was important. One, because I’ve been getting a bunch of notification in my pocket. That’s annoying. Which is why I don’t normally bring this up. But think about it, how often is your phone, not with you? They said 75% of people say their phone is always within five feet of them. Our phones are always communicating with us. There’s always a notification, something tells us to take a look. In fact, a lot of our phones are working in the background without even knowing it. And there’s these updates, and we hear the ding we feel the buzz and we have a choice to make. Do I respond or not? Do I take it out? Do I see it. And now I get in that downward spiral. That endless scroll. The difference is most of what comes through on this, we can ignore in the moment, we can let it go. But when the Spirit prompts us, the Spirit brings it along and in our heart. We can’t ignore that. And the more we ignore it, the harder it’s going to be for us to be sensitive to actually hear from the Spirit. So why do I use the phone as an example it is not to guilt and shame you. Though sometimes I think for some of us, we need to have healthier interactions with our phones. But what I want to show you is that I didn’t have to really explain much of this at all, I can just take it out and say the phone. And I think you get what presence means it’s a constant presence with us. Like that’s what we’re supposed to have with the Spirit, that constant presence. So when he says you should do this, you should go to this person, you should go serve in this way. We say yeah, I’m gonna respond, I’m gonna go, I’m going to do this. That’s what we should be doing those longings in our hearts. That’s what it means to live in the presence of the Spirit, we just have to shift our focus now to this to God. We just shift our focus and our priorities. Because the Spirit is going to bring long into art, I’m sure he’s got some today that he’s putting on your heart. So respond to them. He will convict He will testify about Jesus, He will teach. And we have a choice to make. Will we be the ones who are receptive to this and do something about it. If we do, then we’re practicing the presence of the Spirit. Because notifications are going to keep coming. The spirit is going to keep being there every time we read His word bringing something to us. And he is going to point us back to Jesus over and over and over again. That’s what His purpose is here. That’s what his role is. To show us Jesus is to point us back to him to get our eyes, our minds and our hearts back on him. So if we want to experience what it would be like to have Jesus beside us, we need to start communing with the Spirit who is in us. Let’s pray.
Holy Spirit, we pray that right now. You would be bringing things to our hearts. Things that maybe you’ve been bringing to us for a long time that we have just ignored. Bring them again. Give us the intentionality, the time, the drive to want to follow through to do something about these longings. These things that you’ve placed in our hearts and lives the people that you’ve placed in our lives. Spirit we thank you that you continue to point us to our perfect Savior Jesus Christ. We Thank you for continuing the ministry so that even though he’s not walking right beside us you are in US reminding us of His words reminding us of what he has done and help us to get on that bike and to start pedaling and then take your direction in where we need to go Lord we love you and we pray this in Jesus name, amen.

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My Body & My Neighbor April 21, 2024 | Brandon Cooper 20240421_BrandonCooper_MyBodyMyNeighbor

Brandon Cooper delivered a sermon series on embodiment of Christ’s love through our physical bodies. He emphasized the importance of face-to-face relationships and physical presence in serving others according to Scripture. Cooper warned against replacing real human connection with technology and argued for prioritizing local community over national news consumption. He encouraged listeners to evaluate how they can better embody Christ’s love through physical acts of service in their immediate communities.

Well, if you wanna go ahead, grab your Bibles open up the second Corinthians chapter four will be in verses seven to 12, mostly this morning, kind of zeroing in on verse 10, in particular, second Corinthians chapter four, as you’re turning there we are, of course, living in a digital age. And that means that we increasingly inhabit the thin spaces of virtual communities, you know, marked by things like very nationalized political, or cultural conversations. And these sorts of conversations and communities are replacing the thick spaces of place, and family, and faith communities, they’re, of course, very poor substitutes for all of these things, too. So it’s no surprise that as a culture, we are increasingly lonely. Now, we’ve talked about this before I’ve even quoted Robert Putnams Bowling Alone as kind of the A good example of this, the title comes to the fact that there are more people bowling than ever before, but fewer people bowling in leagues than ever before their bowling by themselves. And he goes through a whole list of different ways that this is manifesting. And some of the issues that come along with it. This is so bad that in the United Kingdom, they have actually appointed a national minister for loneliness, to deal with the epidemic. And it is an epidemic, it is a health epidemic, even it is killing people. Being lonely. Being friendless, is worse for your health makes you more likely to die early than the combination of drinking heavily, eating poorly and smoking. Which is remarkable when you think about it, cuz it’s not a great combination right there as long as we’re talking about the allergy of the body, but it is very real. So for example, 19 93% of men reported that they had no close friends 3%. Today, that number is 15% fivefold increase. And among men under the age of 30, the number is 28%. In other words, the graph is going like this, right. So this is a real problem that we have got to talk about. And we acknowledge the elephant in the room. It is driven by technological advances like that has what has brought this about. And so we’re going to need a critical approach to how we use technology. Technological advancement is a Faustian bargain if you remember your Dr. Faust is from your literature days sold his soul to the devil to get wisdom, yes, there is good stuff that comes from it. But there might be a little bit of a selling of our soul in the process, technological advancement gives but it does also take away and not always an equal measure. So one of the ways we see this, of course, is that we get, you know, we get our news from everywhere, all at once. I mentioned before, we have kind of a national conversation, so we don’t get local news, we just get world news all the time, we are always connected. Like right now you are connected with your devices, the overwhelming majority of you some of you are probably even getting notifications, as I’m talking about different things that are happening around the world. And some of the ways we talk about that even that word connected by the way, it’s almost Orwellian. The way we’re using language at this point, because we’re actually not connected. I’ll give you a really good example. How many of you have used FaceTime before? Like, what a stupid word because you know, the one thing you’re not doing if you’re on FaceTime, having FaceTime. You are looking at a glowing screen, not a person’s face. And why would you got to be aware of what is happening to us because this secular, anxious digital age is going to present us with significant challenges, but also opportunities as the people of God, but it will require a theology of the body, which of course is why we’re here. So last week of the series, as Kyle mentioned, the first week of the series, we talked about my body and myself, came up with a kind of, you know, controversial statement, but we tried to unpack it I am my body and what exactly that means. And then the last week we looked at my body and my God, we learned that my body is the Lord’s. This week, we’re going to look at the body and our neighbor. The big idea here for us this week is I embody Christ’s love, or at least I am meant to embody Christ’s love. And I see this in the passage. So again, Second Corinthians four, I’m going to read seminar 12, this way of context for our verse 10. There, Paul writes, but we have this treasure, that is the treasure of the gospel. By the way, we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed, perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted but not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body, for we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’s sake so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. You see the point that Paul is making there, he is willing to make bodily sacrifice for the sake of others, that they may experience new life, resurrection life in their bodies. So as we’re gonna look at here, we do it a little differently this week, and we’ve got kind of our three fill in the blanks each week. This time, rather than being kind of three totally different ideas. It’s more like we’re going deeper, we’re going to keep going down a layer, develop kind of a single idea in stages. But let’s go ahead and start with that first stage. At first level we are you know, as I embody Christ’s love, embody Christ’s love in a social body. To begin with a social body should be an easy point, I’m gonna try and make it with a lot of Scripture. So you’re gonna try and write down all the references, but good luck to you. It’ll be on YouTube later, you can look it up. So we are made for relationships with other people. Not controversial, not news to any of you. We are social people, even the introverts among us, and I count myself chief among them here, we are still made for relationships and crave relationships that has been that way from the beginning. You may remember Genesis one and two, and it’s good, good, good, good, good, good. Very good. It’s not good. And that’s kind of bracing when you come across the first time, what does God say it is not good for man to be alone. We were made for community. We’ve had the Psalm 133, quoted for us twice already this morning, how good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters dwell together in unity. And David, who wrote that psalm knew all about this. I mean, he has one of the most famous friendships in history with Jonathan. And that friendship is really what sustained him. During those years, when he was being pursued by Jonathan’s father saw in the New Testament, we see this and that we are called to be family. Very definitely Mark chapter three, Jesus looks around, and some people come to him and say, Hey, your mom and your siblings are looking for you. Because they think you’re crazy. And Jesus says, uh, who is my mother and my brothers and my sisters, and he looks around the table, looks for other people seated around him. And it says here, my mother and my brothers and my sisters, we talked about this back in January of 2020. I remember because COVID Hit not long after. So that was, you know, in my brain forever. But we talked about this, that the the importance of that statement, because the sibling relationship was the most important relationship at that point in culture, stronger than the marriage relationship, which is more how we would think today like the nuclear family. No, it was the extended family. And so Jesus is saying, your new most important relationship is the church, the people of God, he has brought us in other words into the deepest Social Union. And throughout the New Testament, we see that this should help us overcome the divisive particulars of who we are Galatians 328, good representative verse here where Paul says, There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave, nor free, male, nor female, but we’re all one in Christ Jesus. And those are some really important pairs, because Jews and Greeks are not only religiously divided, but ethnically divided, as well slave and free. That’s an economic division. And of course, male and female is the gender division. That’s most of the world’s problems right there. And those three pairs, right, most of the conflict that we’ve experienced, and Paul is saying that’s overcome. Now, in Christ, he says this in Ephesians, two, some of us looked at this this morning in our racial unity class. He says, For He Himself, Jesus himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross by which he put to death, their hostility, and here’s the consequence. Here’s what happens as a result, consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers but fellow citizens, with God’s people and also members of his household. You see the point right, both in creation and in redemption and re creation. God is bringing people together in community, we are made for relationships, we are social creatures. And so we should be marked by the desire, expressed in very concrete even physical ways should be marked by the desire to move towards people in love. We do not exist for ourselves, in other words, but for God and for other people.
When we say that here, of course, that we are made to magnify Christ and then sent to serve others yours, to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and then to love our neighbors as our selves. And that is, of course, exactly what Paul is doing in our passage. He’s enduring this hardship she describes and in vivid detail, He’s enduring this hardship for the sake of others. He calls it a ministry. Like that’s what’s bringing us about his ministry. And he says, Look at verse, chapter four, verse 15, just down a little bit from our passage, he says, All this is for your benefit. So the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God, this is for your benefit. I’m thinking of other people, as I do this. This is Paul’s am Oh, he is always giving himself up and pouring himself out for others loving God as He loves them. He says this to the church in Thessalonica. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our lives as well, a little bit later. But brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned, by being separated from you for a short time, in person, not in thought, out of our intense longing, we made every effort to see you. And I want her to be physically present with you guys. We all know this feeling of wanting to be physically present with somebody, some of you who have you know, had kids go off to college or something like that when they come back from college. It’s good, right? Owen just came back from Japan. I’m guessing didn’t ask them a bill and Laura probably happy Laura, did you hug him? Yes. Okay. Right. Of course. That’s how we feel. You see this in the joy, the arrivals gates in airports. I’m so excited to see you again. So the question we have to ask ourselves, we think about this, are you pursuing, developing strong relationships with others, your siblings in Christ, and those who do not yet know Christ, but God has placed in your life so that you can invest in them being physically present is essential to what it means to be human, may take a really simple example. It’s like making eye contact with a server at a restaurant. Like there’s that physical connection that is so important. But one of the dangers of the digital age is that we can be physically present but not really, mentally, or emotionally or spiritually present. Because we’re doing this. It could get worse, by the way, you know, VR goggles, you’ve seen these right? And they’re getting cheaper and cheaper. You know, what comes after VR goggles, is AR goggles. Augmented reality, that’d be glasses, not goggles. But basically what that means is you would have you know, what’s your Google Maps or something like that show you where to go, it would just be right in your glasses, so that we would all be physically present and actually experiencing different realities at the same time. Like that is a really bad sci fi flick right there that is dystopian future that we are headed towards. We also see this in other ways. Like how many of you have had conflict with somebody because you misread a text or an email? Mm hmm. Yep. Why? What was missing? Body language, and tone of voice, which is also physical, of course, right? So we know this, we know how much easier it is to abuse, avatars, and user names. Things you would never say to a person face to face that are really easy to type on a keyboard. That’s why social media can become so vitriolic. Like I’ve seen this before. When I have a really bad customer service experience. Some of you guys have had this to I’m sure and you’re like ready to call and you’re hopping mad and stuff. And I’m like, I’m gonna lay into this person. Like they don’t know I’m a pastor. Okay, so this is fine. Same reason I don’t have a Jesus fish on the back of my car. You know, I don’t need people to know that right? But as soon as the other person answers and you hear a voice, you just go I can’t do it. Like it wasn’t actually at her fault, his fault. Anyway, it’s this company instead, like I’m just gonna be polite to them. Instead, we need to work towards that, like I am. I am grateful for tech. I truly am even things like FaceTime, even if it’s poorly named, because I do like that we can connect better than we could have previously, when we’re distant. Got a lot of friends in Colombia where I live for seven years. I am glad that I can keep up with them that I can see pictures of their families and things like that. But we just need to know that isn’t enough. Is not what we were made for. Like John says, so well. It’s a second John verse 12. I don’t usually get to quote Second John here. So this is exciting for me. He says, I have much to write to you. But I do not want to use paper and ink. instead. I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face that our joy may be complete. If you wanted the Message version of this text up I don’t want to text I don’t want to chat. I don’t even want a video call you right I just that would be an incomplete relationship. I want to be with you in the flesh. I am by Christ’s love in my social body striving to form deep relationships with the people around me. Alright, second level then. So it’s a social body. But beyond that it is also a serving body, a serving body. What I mean by that is we are made for relationships. Yes. But more than that we are made to serve those that we relate to. We talked about Jesus washing the disciples feet last week, again, a physical act of service. It’s exactly what Paul describes, even in these verses that we’re looking at this morning, right? He, if you were to look all the way back at verse one and chapter four, he says he’s not discouraged. He’s not going to lose heart, even though his ministry has looked ineffective from the from the outside anyway, and not gonna be discouraged, even though he’s faced all this physical hardship, because he’s willing to be used up bodily, hard pressed, he says persecuted, struck down. And we know because he describes it elsewhere, we got the book of Acts what that means this was all very physical, right, like he was flogged, and stoned, and shipwrecked. So like very physical hardship, he’s willing to endure that to be used up bodily for others, he’s willing to die, so that they may live that’s verses 11 and 12. we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then death is at work in us. But life is that work in you? The story that came to mind as I was thinking through these verses, and probably because my wife just taught on them in our Christians, you should know class a little bit ago is when Jim Elliot and his companions died, were murdered, so that life could come to the hot Donnie people in Ecuador. That’s it? Exactly what happens is interesting, actually, that’s why this text that we have here leads into one of the most common funeral texts. It’s like the very next verses are verses that I preached that many funerals. Why? Because that clay pot, that jar of clay, it eventually breaks. And so what does he say? Here’s verses 16 and following, therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly, we are wasting away physically, yet inwardly, we are being renewed day by day, for late momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes, not what on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. That’s the coming resurrection body just exactly where he goes in the next few verses, the first few verses of chapter five. So you got it, you and I have been given these jars of clay, like we’re made out of clay, that’s, that’s Genesis one again, so that we can carry the treasure of Christ to others, so that we can embody Christ’s love, like Paul sharing himself with the Thessalonians, For suffering on behalf of the Corinthians, or the Philippians. He says there, you know, he’s facing death. And he says, honestly, I’d rather die, to depart would be better by far, because then I get to go be with Jesus. But what does he say? He says, but I know that I need to remain with you, for your sake, so that you can make progress in the faith and in joy. And so he expects that he will continue to serve them. And of course, this is like Jesus as well, who was hungry, thirsty, tired, overwhelmed, physically, of course, tortured, and eventually even killed, why not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. So here, especially we see the need for physical presence, then when we think about the service we are made, to offer that has to be embodied love, it is very difficult to serve people, virtually. We go over this every quarter or so in our membership class, and talk about one of the reasons why it’s important to be a member of the local church and not just the universal church is because you cannot use your spiritual gifts for example, to serve the church and Mogadishu. You can’t set up chairs there because you’re not physically there. That is the point. Of course, we need to be physically present. So Jonathan Armstrong, many of you will remember him former member here at Cityview is now serving in Germany, but in his book, virtual reality church, he talks about the limits of technology, he’s even generally more positive towards psychology than I am. And he talks about the limits still, you know, he says, at one point in the book, like if I’m sick,
you know, virtual reality might not be good enough here. I might need somebody to show up with a bowl of soup for me. And he can’t send suit virtually. And sometimes he goes on to say, you know, a text with I’m praying for you and a heart emoji just might not be enough. Right like we might need To drive over and show them what that heart emoji stood for, think of Job’s friends who were lousy friends in the end. But they were good friends in the beginning. Because what did they do? They just showed up. They just sat there, and they cried with job. And that’s what we’re called to do is show up right and learn from Job’s friends. I think what holds us back sometimes from showing up is that we’re worried we’re gonna have to talk. And we’re like, I don’t have good enough theology to do this. No, I don’t need to say something profound, I need to just sit my body down. Like, that’s what we’re called to do in those moments. And thinking of this and embodying Christ’s love, I think it’s important for us to remember the power of physical touch as well. We don’t talk a lot about in the church. And in part, because there’s so much focus on inappropriate touch, which is very real, and something of course, that we want to be aware of. But there is a human need for physical touch. So I’ve read that just recently, I can’t remember where I read it. But there’s a new thing in some of the bigger cities, especially where you can basically hire a professional cuddler. Not sexual in the slightest, right? But literally just somebody to hold you. Because people are so lonely, that they don’t have physical touch. And it’s such a human need. I mean, how many times does Paul say things like greet one another with a holy kiss? Right, like, we should be shaking hands, side hug whatever it is. Zack s wine talks about as he was ministering, he’s a pastor. And as he’s ministering to some the elderly in his congregation, he was realizing that they were experiencing a desert of touch. You think about a widow, for example, maybe on her own, let’s say no family around, I don’t visit very often, the only time she may be touched is when she’s being poked and prodded by the medical establishment. That is a failure the church, right, so sometimes serving the Lord physically just looks like hugging is sitting with someone. I think we also see the need for physical engagement, embodied love when we look at, you know, trending social issues, because how do most people respond to trending social issues today? Hashtag campaigns, which are just to be clear, worthless, just useless. I mean, maybe they raise some awareness, but I don’t think awareness is our problem. For the most part, engagement is our problem, like what is going to be more powerful? A pointed tweet with hashtag, BLM? Or an honest conversation with someone in your life? Who’s had different experiences than you have had? Or what about you guys? Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? Do you even remember what that was for? No, a lot of you some of you got it. Yes. But a lot of you were like, no. Okay, so good. It raised a lot of awareness, didn’t it? Like just my point? Exactly. But what what do we do there? So we’re just pouring an ice bucket on our head bucket of ice water on our heads, which got very performative and self focus, so that sin, not love right? Instead of writing a check, or even better, how about instead of doing was for ALS, by the way, how about going and ministering to those who are suffering this disease, volunteering in an assisted living facility or something like that? Which one would have been more helpful? Embodied love, physical presence? And I think of this and I think of the church community, especially the the verse that comes to mind is Proverbs 27, verse 10. The proverb says, Do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you. Seems weird until you realize the next part is because your relative is far away. Better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away. Why? Why? Why would that be better than family? Because they’re here. That’s why that’s what makes it better than family. Somebody who can actually sit with you hug you bring you soup, right. And there’s a both sides to the story. Of course, when you need help, it means you should ask the physical community and here’s the good news, by the way, it is family. We just saw that in you know, Ephesians two and elsewhere mark three. So this is your family and they are nearby, so you can go straight to us. But it also I think tells us on the flip side that we should be going to those in need. If we’re nearby, we go and we serve I embody Christ’s love and my serving body by showing up with soup hugging a widow, engaging physically with the issues that plague us today. And then last level, here would be that I am a specific body I embody Christ’s love in my specific body. Here’s what I mean by this. We are made for relationships. And we are made to serve those we relate to, but we are made to serve specific people. That is specific people at a specific place in a specific time. This is an extension of what we talked about in week one that we are a limited body like A finite body I exist here and now not everywhere, always. And so this is where we talk to Esther a little bit week one right where for such a time as this are for such a place as here for people like the ease. So Alan noble in his wonderful book, you are not your own, which by the way is taken from the Catechism. We started week one of the series with that catechism question, what’s our only hope and life and death, you are not your own but belong body and soul to God, you are not your own. In other words, he’s saying expressive individualism, that kind of rules our culture. Today, it’s all about me discovering and expressing myself. That’s not what’s true of us. Right, we belong to God. But he goes on to say, but that then means that we also belong to a place and a time and to people. Like where God placed you matters. All my ways are known to you, we just say, like, God doesn’t make mistakes, they’re no accident, he didn’t get your address wrong, you are where you are supposed to be. And you belong then to a church to a neighborhood to a community. And so in serving, we have to consider the needs of our specific community, especially in a transient society. Like, this is not how we think anymore. We don’t think in terms of routes any longer. You look at how people choose a career today, or where they’ll end up as a result of their career. What’s gonna make me happy? What do I want to do? Where’s the pay bass? We’re gonna get most house for my money. Very selfish, self oriented, as opposed to looking around, what are the needs in my community? And how has God made me specifically able to meet those needs? Doesn’t mean that God won’t move you like, I’m not saying if you move you send, like, remember Abraham. Okay, so yeah, God’s all about that I’ve moved before, like, that’s okay. But when God moves people, he moves them for the sake of himself, and for the sake of others, not for you, right? Like, that’s what drives the moving. You think of, you know, I mean, the most obvious example would be like a missionary or something like that. Exactly. Like Paul. Now, Paul moved around a lot. So we know moving is not bad, right? He’s already been in Corinth and Philippi and Thessalonica. We’ve seen him there already this morning. But he’s there to serve a specific people to a specific place and a specific place at a specific time. Even when he says things, you know, First Corinthians nine, he says, quite famously, I become all things to all people. So by all possible means, I might save some. And you think, okay, that’s very cosmopolitan of him, which it is. But it wasn’t all people all the time. He became all things to specific people at a specific time, specific place. And he even says that right to the Jew, I became like a Jew to the Greek I became like a Greek. So wherever I am, I was ministering to those specific people in specific ways that would be most helpful to them. So what we’re going to rabbit trail a little bit here, but just run with me. Okay. What is it that keeps us from serving our specific place and time today? I think one of the biggest areas, the biggest causes of that is the news. So let me make that argument. The news, first of all, you think about it is interesting. When you read the news, which is most of the reading that we do, or at least our most common reading experience, I would say today is the news. And what is it that you’re reading in the news, you’re reading totally unrelated topics, about totally unrelated places, the only thing that connects them is time. It’s just that it just happened. Which, by the way, we could ask a question at that point. So like, why is that necessarily what I need to be learning about right now, the fact that it just happen to happen somewhere. And worse, of course, in a consumer society, we are now selecting the news that we read, because there’s too much information available to us probably more than we were created for. And so we have to choose our information streams, like you know a lot about a person or at least you would think you would in your mind, if you found out they watch Newsmax, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, whatever it
may be. And so we’ve got now get a nationalized conversation, where we begin to feel more in common with people who have the same political cultural tribe than we do with the people who are maybe even living right next door to us. Like same weather, same pothole out in front of the driveway, all that kind of stuff, and yet we go, that’s not my neighbor. My neighbor is the person in rural Oklahoma who’s got the same set of opinions that I Do Charles Taylor philosopher he refers to this as meta topical news. So meta meaning beyond right like metaphysical beyond the physical, meta topical, he’s got a pun there, topical meaning subject guests. But top offs in Greek means place like typography. So he’s saying it’s now meta topical, it’s beyond place, and subject. It’s a conversation happening in many places about many topics related by nothing again, except for time. So it’s not a specific topic, the way like a book club would be, or even, you know, coming around something like bowling in a league, and it’s not a specific place, like the water cooler, or the local coffee shop or your front yard. And so it is a fracture and polarizing conversation. And all this happens as a result of technology, technology, the printing press, movable type leads to newspapers, that’s where it starts. It’s not that recent telegraph then meant that all this information could come to a newspaper from lots of different places. Henry David Thoreau, for example, he talked about how opposed he was to The Telegraph, because he knew the first bit of news that was going to come over the wire was the fact that Princess Adelaide had a cough. And his point was, do we need to know that? And as a culture that is still obsessed with the royal family? No, no, we did not need to know that. We still don’t need to know any of that. And yet, that’s what’s happening. It’s getting worse, because of course, now New Tech has exacerbated this problem. We get global news. We’re all connected everything all the time. And it is newer news. Because it’s instant reactions. We call them a hot takes probably a bad idea. Read the Book of Proverbs, look for the word hot. Tell me if it’s good or not. Okay, because usually, the answer is no. And of course, our attention span is getting shorter and more visual. Like if you’re getting your news from Tik Tok, you’re not getting smarter. Sorry, had to say it. Somebody had to say it. Why does this matter? Why does this matter? I mean, it’s just the way things are right? Like, let’s just embrace our cultural moment. No, let’s embody Christ’s love by pursuing a new strategy, which is really just the old strategy. If you caught none of that, by the way, I know that was a rabbit trail. That’s probably more interesting to me than you, but I’m the one talking. So that’s just how it rolls. Okay. Here’s the summary point from John Summerville. He says, For some of us, the news is where we live. Our identities are found in the periodicals we read in the programs we watch, rather than in the places we live, or the people we associate with, what if we plunged into our own lives instead? That’s the point, right, the specific time and place and people like what matters more getting outraged over a story you read about something that’s happening in a school in Virginia, or tutoring some students at the school down your street? That’s such an easy answer. And it is not the way we’re living our lives. Right now. We need an embodied presence. We need to abandon those meta topical spaces to foster real participation in a real specific place a specific time with specific people. It is probably more important, in other words, to read the Elmhurst independent. That is to read New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Chicago Tribune, maybe but you know, it gets to be pretty global, of course, as well. It might be if you’re like really desperate for social media, probably better to be on next door. Which gets a little dicey, I’ll admit, but all social media does than it is to be on Facebook or tick tock. I mean, just think about this. We’ve talked about this before, people believe what they believe. And because of three things they believe, because of evidence, like facts, their personal experiences, and community, the people that are around them. As I’ve shared before, what’s really interesting about that is they believe in reverse order. The most important factor is your community, then your experiences. And then generally speaking, we will go and find facts and evidence that support what we already planned to believe. But think about what that means that people believe things for which they have no evidence except the beliefs of the people they love. As fascinating. John Piper says, at one point, somebody had asked him, you know, why is it that you trust the Bible? And he goes on to give an answer. That’s theological. You know, good apologetics. There’s lots of evidence for why you should trust the Bible. But his first answer, why do you trust the Bible? He said, because my Mamaw said, it’s true. That’s it. That’s the point that I’m trying to make right here. That means effective evangelism must include real community wedded to embodied love. Here’s a specific example of what this might look like, comes from Gracie Olmstead an article she wrote the American Conservative Hold the art of the stroll, she talks about walking with her grandpa in Moscow, Idaho. He was, you know, multi generation, Idaho native, and her grandfather walk around as they’re walking, he would point out, you know, the homes and he would tell the history of the people who lived there. The homes themselves what it used to look, I mean, this is information you probably couldn’t get from Google even. And yet he could share it because of his experience, their irregular walks, connected him to that place and to those people. And so she calls it a ritual of love. These regular walks that he would take says that walking is a slow, porous experience. I like that porous, meaning it’s got little holes. So like, stuff gets into you, stuff goes out from you. As a result of this, she says this to walk is to be vulnerable. It forces us into physical interaction with surrounding streets, homes, and people. This can delay us, annoy us even put us in danger. But it connects us to a community in ways that cars never can. My wife lived this this week, we take frequent walks, and she was walking, I was not there. But she was walking with the boys in the stroller and just happened to be walking the same time someone else in our neighbor was was one of those like, I guess we’re walking together now kinds of things. This is a neighborhood of, you know, few Hort houses down and didn’t know her well, kind of we were the you know, wave as we walked by sorts of people. And they went around the block together. And she heard this woman’s life story, which was intense involves suffering that we had no idea about, you know, very different generation and stuff like not necessary the person we would have connected with otherwise, except because of the walk and body, Christ’s love, in my specific body engaging with specific people to specific time in a specific place. I got one last application I want to hit kind of as we wrap up this series, and actually was the impetus for this series. I was listening to a podcast some months ago on artificial intelligence. And the person being interviewed and this podcast was talking about, like, if you could go back and talk to pastors in 2006 2007, right when social media was coming like Facebook in particular at that time, and he said, you go back and you listen, and pastors weren’t talking about Facebook, because their thought was, this is dumb. Like, nobody’s really going to use this or anything. This is not affecting my people. I’m gonna talk about something more important. If you could go back 18 years and talk to those pastors, you think they do something differently? Like, just don’t get on this, it’s probably better. It’s like heroin, okay, just it’s easy not to use it, it’s hard to quit using it. And so I don’t want to make the same mistake with AI. We are already hearing stories of very lonely people who are forming very real, even romantic relationships with artificial intelligence. Again, sounds like a bad sci fi movie, except it is our present. And it’s, of course, understandable why this happens, because artificial intelligence is made to understand and respond to you to serve you think of how different that is, from the give and take have a real relationship, who is somebody who is expecting to be understood and loved and served themselves? So we’re reinforcing our self absorption, which is at the heart of all sin. Technology is no surprise dehumanizing us, we’re all worried that AI is getting like human. Like, no, I’m worried that we’re turning into AI. Like, that’s the bigger issue to my mind. But here’s how it relates to this idea of a specific body. I’ll come at this from the side here. You guys heard of WebMD? Right? How many of you need to confess that you use WebMD? Before you go to the doctor, right? Okay, your doctor hates WebMD. I’m sure of this, because people come in knowing what’s wrong with them, because they looked it up on WebMD. And usually, they’re wrong. And even still, people don’t always trust the doctor in front of them. Which is crazy, because the doctor is physically present and like, look at you take your vitals, you know, check the symptoms, all that kind of stuff in a very different way. Why do I mention that? So if you go to chat GPT and type in your symptoms, it will give you this warning. Here’s what I think. And I looked it up on WebMD for you, okay, and here’s what I think you have. I am not a doctor. I’m basically just a search engine. And so you should go talk to your doctor.
But what if you ask the same question about a spiritual matter? What if you said to AI? I don’t know how to forgive my parents. You know what, it’s not going to say to you? I’m not a pastor. You should talk to your pastor. You should talk to your community group. Are you in a community group? You should talk to your community group then? Like of course not. And that’s where the trouble comes in. You guys might remember that scene in Downton Abbey. I’m in trouble. All right, we’re gonna late today sorry, buckle in. So the scene in Downton Abbey where one of the daughters is pregnant about to give birth and the dad brings in the superstar London Doctor instead of the local doctor who’d been with his family and knew them inside and out and the girl dies in childbirth as a result, because the superstar London doctor didn’t know her personally. That’s what I’m trying to communicate to us. You bring your issues into the community with people who know you, personally, you start with real physical community, turn off your devices turn toward real people, specific people who can love you in specific ways. And I grant this is not an issue yet. I don’t think any of you are using artificial intelligence in this way yet. But 18 years from now, we might all be doing it. And don’t say you weren’t warned at that point we are made to embody Christ’s love is social serving specific people, bodies and souls. Wrap up the series. By sharing a story, I cried my way through the book, a quiet mind to suffer with by John Andrew Bryant, wonderful book, highly recommend if you want to understand what it’s like to experience mental health struggles. So he had significant OCD was actually institutionalized at one point, which is about as dehumanizing an experience as you can have. But he was not a danger to himself or to the people around him, they kind of caught on to that pretty quickly. And so he was granted a little bit more freedom, just while they like, we’re tweaking his meds, basically. And so you still walk up and down the halls at night, and he says, at 1.1 of these nights, and older nurse came and walked within, there’s the power of walking again. And he says that by her physical proximity and gentle tone of voice, she made it clear that she was not afraid of me, which means a lot when your hair is all messed up, and you can’t have things with edges, which is true. And then she asked, he says beautiful, simple questions. Tell me about your wife. Why do you like the Psalms so much? There’s the power of, you know, questions, eye contact, all of that. It’s interesting, too. He says he would love to meet this lady again, like in Costco or something. And he actually says I would like to give her a hug. There’s the power of touch. He said, I’m not a touchy person, but I would like to give her a hug. But here’s the part that really wrecked me and why I mentioned it now. He was one of only two people out of the 40 that were in the ward who had visitors every day when his wife came. And mess with me, especially as I thought of even some of the shut ins that we have in this congregation, people who don’t have visitors either I connected with one this week connected with one this week, not on FaceTime, but on Zoom. And right there, like felt the sting of conviction, like I haven’t been physically present enough to this person. But he does something interesting is in this ward, and he’s trying to find a hope in Christ. He says that what he would do when he would lie down each night is he would touch the wooden bedpost because it was important for him to know that Jesus died on a cross that he could touch, a physical cross. So he says this, he says I would lie down with the back of my head against the foot of the cross his bedpost, with his dirty dead feet, just over my head, I knew that Jesus was not a beautiful thought, or special feeling because a thought or a feeling could not get stapled to a piece of wood. That’s the idea. Right? Christ came to show us real bodily love. Jesus is literally the embodiment of God’s love, and the Spirit of Jesus lives in us. So we embody Christ’s love to the people around us, specific people, this specific time, specific place. For his sake, let’s pray. Lord, we pray that You would help us even now to see the people around us that you have given to us entrusted to us to serve physically, bodily by being present to them. Help us to evaluate our lives, to look at some of our rhythms and patterns and habits to see if there are changes we need to make so that we can better love them for your name’s sake, and for their sake that even though death may be working itself out in our lives, life may be blooming in theirs. We pray this in Christ’s name, Amen.

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My Body & My God April 14, 2024 | Brandon Cooper This sermon discusses how our bodies belong to God and are meant to honor him through worship, sanctification, and discipline. It addresses sins related to the body like lust, gluttony, and sloth. It encourages caring for our bodies through exercise, diet, and rest while recognizing our resurrected bodies will be fully submitted to God. Our worth comes from Jesus purchasing us with his blood, not from our physical appearance.

Good morning church. Well, Kyle is not kidding. We’re about to tip over again. He’ll sit on this side today. All right, that’s fine. That’s fine. Go ahead, grab your Bibles open up to First Corinthians six will be in verses 19 and 20, especially this morning, although we’ll be jumping around a bit as we did last week as we try to develop this Theology of the Body. As you’re turning there. It was in 1966, the English men’s national team won their first and only World Cup in the sport that they invented soccer or football as it’s more properly called. They’re in their home stadium at Wembley. And so they want under the captaincy of Sir Bobby Moore. And so he had the privilege of receiving the trophy from Queen Elizabeth the second. And he’s ascending the steps in your thinking like this is the crowning glory of his life, except it wasn’t as glorious a moment as you might have thought. Why? Because as he’s ascending the steps, he notices that the Queen is wearing pristine white gloves. And he has to shake her hand. And he is not pristine anymore. He is caked in mud, including his hands. So as you can see on the video, he’s actually frantically wiping his hands on his you know, wherever he can find a dry spot, trying to get them clean enough to shake the Queen’s hands. I mentioned this. Why? Because it’s how many of us feel as we worship God bodily. Like how dare we approach God when we’re as as filthy as we are, as we start wiping our hands, in the hopes that that will make some difference, not without reason, by the way, like I understand why Bobby Moore was actually caked in mud, we are actually caked in filth, we use our bodies to sin, to offend God and defile ourselves regularly. Paul talks about this all over the place. Here’s Romans seven, for example, he says, For I delight in the law of God in my inner being. But I see in my members, that is the parts of my body, another law waging war against the law of my mind and make me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members, wretched man that I am Who will deliver me from this body of deaths marked by death characterized by death, we use our bodies to sin. And perhaps most egregiously, as we’ll see, in the passage we’re looking at this morning, sexual immorality would be one really obvious example. And that’s not all we’re going to talk about this morning, but it is the context. So as I mentioned, gonna be in First Corinthians 619, and 20. I’m gonna read 12 to 20, though, just so we’ve got some context, as we get to these all important verses. Let me read it for us. Starting first Corinthians six, verse 12, I have the right to do anything you say. But not everything is beneficial. I have the right to do anything, but I will not be mastered by anything. You say food for the stomach and the stomach for food and God will destroy them both. The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord and the Lord for the body. By His power, God raised the Lord from the dead and He will raise us also, do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ Himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never, do not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her and body for the said the two will become one flesh, but whoever is united with the Lord is one with Him in spirit, Flee from sexual immorality, all other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sin sexually sins against their own body, do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit? Who is in you whom you have received from God, you are not your own. You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body’s so what does Paul say here? The body is not meant for immorality, sexual immorality, yes, but it’s not meant for immorality, but for the Lord. Because our bodies are now in fact, members of Christ, they are united with Christ. Our bodies are actually a temples of the Holy Spirit. That is He dwells within our bodily frame. And it’s all climaxes with the last part we are not our own, but we have been bought at a price and others we have been redeemed by Christ. We saw this last week when we did the new city catechism together the first question in the New City catechism what is our only hope in life and death that we are not our own, but the long body and soul to God? In fact, we are twice his if we are Christians, because he made us and so we belong to him, and then he redeemed us. He purchased us back from sin reminds me the story of the Little boy who built a wooden model ship and actually sailed it out on the lake near his home and the wind took it. And it was gone. And he, you know, went around the shore as best he could couldn’t find it anywhere. Last last last couple of weeks later, he sees it again in the store of his local thrift shop. So he had to save up his money to buy back the ship that he had made. That is a picture of us. And Christ God made us the only difference between us and the ship is the ship didn’t do anything wrong. Whereas we rebelled we didn’t get carried away by the when we rebelled, we ran away from him. And so God purchases back those whom he had made at the cost of his son. Reminds me of the story of Hosea the prophet, and the Lord has him marry a prostitute is a picture of what we are like. And what happens. Sure enough, his wife Gomer, leaves him, and goes back to her old way of living back to prostitution. And Hosea has to go and purchase back his own wife from her pimps. And why does God Hosea do that so that we would know what we are like and what his love for us is, like, such love that he would purchase us back even though we’d run away from him love like that. It’s enough to make us put away our desire for bodily autonomy, and run back to God. I mean, you just wonder, don’t you we don’t get the end of the story. How did Gomer respond after that? After Hosea bought her back? Was that love enough that at that point, she went okay. I would rather this than that. Certainly, that is the hope for us. You are not your own. You were bought at a price. So honor God with your bodies. That really is our big idea. So last week, our big idea was I am my body, right? I don’t have a body I am a body this week we take it the next step. I am my body but my body is the Lord’s my body is not my own. Not my own. It is not I know it’s a mantra today, my body my choice. But that’s not the case, biblically speaking, not when it comes to abortion, not when it comes to anything else whatsoever. Why not? Because I am God’s thank God, because he purchased me back. So what? So what does it matter that my body is the Lord’s? What sort of body am I meant to be? In that case? That’s what we’re gonna look at this morning. So we’ll do what we did last week, we’ll kind of fill it in with what sort of body we are meant to be. First of all, my body is the Lord’s that means that I am meant to be a worshiping body, a worshiping body.
Honor God with your bodies, we are made to honor God with our bodies, we are to use our bodies to worship him rather than defy him. Now, William Temple, about a century ago defined worship as the submission of all our nature to God. Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. conscience, mind, will heart. Interestingly, by the way, when he lists all these things, he forgets the body. That seems like an important one. But we know our bodies to inevitably, because we quite literally embody our wills. We know what our will is based on what we actually do in the flesh. Jesus says something similar, right? He says, Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. So it’s the mouth part of your body, right, that reveals what’s in your heart, we embody our will. So John Stott, the great British preacher of the last century, he says this, a little bit provocative. I like it. He says, No, worship is pleasing to God, which is purely inward, abstract and mystical. I don’t even know what that would mean. Honestly, it must express itself in concrete acts of service performed by our bodies, right? Because I’m not even sure what obedience would look like, without physical action. In most cases, I can maybe think of an exception here or there. But for the most part, we have to act out physically our obedience. So to worship God, we offer our bodies to him, take my life and let it be concentrated Lord, to the Take my hand, take my feet, take my mouth, take it all. That’s kind of what Paul says, isn’t it? In a very famous verse, Romans 12, verse one. Therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, this is your true and proper worship. Now notice, we do not offer our bodies to God in order to earn or win his favor, but because he has already given us His favor in Christ in view of His mercy, but given what God has done for us in Christ, the only reasonable response and that’s that phrase true and proper in your translation might even say spiritual, your spiritual act of worship. The word there means reasonable. The only reasonable response to love like that is complete surrender. In other words, it is worship. Now surely that is more than physical. What Paul’s describing here in Romans 12. One more than physical, yes, it involves our thought and our imagination and all that, but it is not less than physical, which is probably why he says offer your bodies specifically. And in fact, Paul’s already explained what this looks like a passage that many of us are memorizing and journey groups right now, Romans 612 and 13. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness. Rather, offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness, every part every member of our body. So think about this for a moment because we’re going to offer every part of our body either to sin or to righteousness, how would we offer as a sacrifice the parts of our body to sin? Again, Paul’s already told us back in Romans chapter three, he’s quoting a lot of the Old Testament, he says things like, well, your throat is an open grave, are your tongues are deceitful, your mouth is full of curses, your feet are swift to shed blood. Elsewhere, we read about hands that are prone to violence, eyes that looked lustfully whether at people or possessions, ears deaf to the cries of those in distress. But in view of God’s mercy, we were bought at such a high price that he set his love on us. We don’t do that anymore. We don’t do that anymore. No, now we offer every part of ourselves to Him as instruments of righteousness, we offer our feet to walk in his past our lips, to speak the truth in love our tongues to bring healing our hands, to wash the feet of those around us literally and figuratively as we’re kneeling, of course, on our knees, our ears, to hear in our eyes to see the needs around us. If we’re going to honor God with our bodies, that if they are places of worship, right, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We need to offer our selves concretely. And so maybe this just looks like a simple prayer each morning where you offer every part to God, Lord, I offer you today, you know, I offer you my mind. Like what I’m gonna think about I wanted to honor you, I offer you my eyes where I’m gonna look, I wanted to honor my ears, what I listened to what inputs I’m willing to allow in my life, my mouth, my you know, just on down the line we offer ourselves to God, my body is the Lord’s, and is made to be a worshiping body. As long as we’re talking about a worshiping body, and it’s probably worth mentioning how we use our bodies during public and private worship. I mean, think of something like prayer. You could hardly imagine a more internal moment than prayer. Unless you’re speaking out loud, which is fine too. But you know, you could be praying in the silence of your heart. It’s so internal and yet, look at how it gets described in Scripture. Paul tells us in First Timothy two that he wants men in corporate worship to be lifting our hands in prayer. Caitlyn, are you ready for us? Psalm 28, verse two, this is not in corporate worship. This is private worship. Hear My Cry for mercy as I call to you for help as I lift up my hands toward your most holy place. Paul is kneeling in Ephesians three as he prays for that church. John doesn’t one better he’s flat on his face prostrate before the Lord in Revelation 117. And Psalm 121. The Psalmist lifts his eyes to see where his help comes from. Whereas, the penitent tax collector and Luke 18 lowers his eyes because he sees himself unworthy to look to God and beats his breast, so much physical expression. But of course, it’s similar in the corporate setting. In Ezra, we read the whole assembly lifting their hands in worship, we are commanded over and over and over again to sing to God, even to shout to the Lord to make a joyful noise and you have to be singing right can just be grunting because that’s all you got. You’re not a good singer. That’s fine. We shout for joy to the Lord all the earth worship Lord with gladness come before him with joyful songs. Psalm 100. we clap our hands we even dance, we kneel and bow. It was interesting about all of that, of course, is there no commands other than the singing in the shouting? Nothing else is specifically commanded in Scripture. You must pray with this physical posture. It’s not a command, but we had a whole lot of descriptions that belie an expectation which is that our worship, our prayer should be an animated And physically engaging activity. But it is not play acting. We got to be careful there. Because of course you can do this and have a heart that is far from the Lord Sam Albury tells the story of his priest who grew up the Anglican tradition is priest who every week would kiss his Bible as part of the Anglican liturgy, and then would go on to deny the Bible’s authority week in and week out, probably not worth kissing the Bible at that point, right? We just did the Sermon on the Mount, we know that the external better match the internal or we’re in trouble. And honestly, that takes us to the second point. We are to be a worshiping body, we are to be a sanctified body as well. We are made to honor God with our bodies. It’s a command, therefore, honor God with your body. So we obey the command we take steps to make this reality in our lives. And the good news, of course, is that he just told us, verse 19, that the Holy Spirit dwells within us. And that’s good news, because the Spirit is the power for change so that we can be sanctified. But we take steps as Paul says elsewhere, Philippians, 212, and 13. Work out your salvation with fear and you work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good pleasure. So if worship is the submission of our whole nature to God, then maturity must of necessity be holistic sanctification, including bodily sanctification. One of my favorite benedictions in Scripture is Paul’s at the end of First Thessalonians five and what does he say? He says, may God Himself the God of peace sanctify you through and through May your whole spirit, soul and you guessed it, body, be kept blameless, coming by our Lord Jesus Christ, when it calls you is faithful and He will do it.
We are to be a sanctified body now, sanctification, one of those words that we use in church and nowhere else. And so some of you are like, I don’t know what he keeps saying, Alright, here’s your definition. Here we go. Right. Sanctification is the cooperative work of God and Christians, that sees us transformed into greater Christ’s likeness. We look more like Jesus, we act more like Jesus as a result of what he is doing and what we are doing. And that’s really important. Okay, justification is by grace alone, through faith alone. That is that moment when we are declared righteous in God’s eyes as a result of what Jesus did for us. But hear me now, sanctification is by grace alone, through faith and works. We are sanctified as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling. It is still all of grace. Yes, let’s never strip any of the glory from God is only because what he is doing, but he calls us to participate in it. So God does his part God works in convicting of us, us of sin, empowering our obedience. We respond in ways like discipline, mortification, surrender to the Spirit. But we can emphasize spiritual growth, rightly in areas like the mind, the will, emotions, our motivations. Again, if you’re in Journey group, you’re in the how we change unit right now, we just talked about all those things. Those are all really important. We can emphasize those rightly but neglect the body, as we do. So, getting there is a bodily sanctification that occurs. So Greg Allison, I mentioned him last week, he is the father of one of our missionaries. And his book was very helpful. To me, as I was preparing for this series, he writes this, it’s kind of a funny quote, but he says, When was the last time you heard a sermon on physical discipline? When was the last time you participated in a Sunday school class that broached the topics of gluttony and sloth? Three years ago? A decade? Never. I thought, so. We’re gonna crack that today. Now you got an answer for him when you meet him. Okay. You can say Dr. Allison, it was just a week ago. All right. So we’re gonna make progress in bodily sanctification. That’s our goal here as we consider the three Sins of the body historically considered. So you’ve heard the seven deadly sins that don’t come from Scripture specifically that come from Gregory the Great’s commentary on Joe, but very helpful breakdown of what Scripture says. Three of those seven deadly sins are considered the bodily since they are lost gluttony and sloth. Let’s take them kind of one at a time here and look at what this what it is and how we progress in bodily sanctification in this area. So Gluttony is the moderate consumption of food. Like the way one writer put it, where he said it is the desire for more or other than what God Odd provided it is often in Scripture, connected with drunkenness. So just as an example, here’s proverbs 23 verses 20 and 21. Be not among drunkards are among gluttonous eaters of meat for the drunkard and the gotten will come to poverty. Do you see they’re just put together drunkenness and gluttony. Why? Because they both involve the moderate consumption of food or alcohol. Right? So, drunkenness is to alcohol, what Gluttony is to food. In other words that will help us out. It is a serious sin. You’re gonna look at a glutton in Scripture, you would look at Esau because he was hungry. He committed one of the stupidest acts in all of Scripture, and shamefully immoral as well. He sells his birthright the blessing of God for a bowl of soup. Or he could consider the wilderness generation as well. So because their lack of trust in God their die in the wilderness, instead of making it into the promised land, where does this show up over and over and over again, food they’re complaining about? Look, remember I said it’s more or other than what God provides. God is literally raining down a bread from heaven for them. But it’s not what they want, but it’s not what they want. Okay, so that’s gluttony, and they all die in the wilderness as a result. In other words, it is really a deadly sin, gluttony. Now, we’re gonna be little bit careful here, of course, gluttony is not a sin because it makes you fat. In fact, it might not make you fat. And on the other hand, we got to be again, so careful here. There are other reasons why people might have a different shape body than you do. All right. So we got to be really, really careful about that. What makes gluttony wrong is because it’s the fruit of self indulgence. And so when you read writers talking about gluttony, they will mention all sorts of other things. It’s not just eating a lot of food. That’s not the only definition for gluttony. They mentioned finicky picky eaters, I will only eat certain foods, other than what God provided like the wilderness generation, or those who will only eat sumptuous foods, right? Like I’m sticking lobster and that’s it. You’re not getting anything that came out of the box, or those who eat speedily. I want actually caught me off guard, I’d like to stop and think about this for a moment. But because you’re doing it without gratitude, and usually without considering others in the process, see this in First Corinthians 11, where they start eating the rich people before the poor get there to celebrate the Lord’s supper together. And of course, obsessive eating as well. Again, obsessive doesn’t mean a lot of food, necessarily, but it means food is the orienting principle in your day. So you thinking about when’s the next time what’s the next food I’m gonna be? I’m not talking about like your anniversary dinner, and you’re so excited to go to your favorite restaurant. That’s great. That’s good. Feasting is commanded in Scripture. Absolutely. I’m talking about this is what you do all the time. How do we overcome gluttony, we feast on Christ, right? He is the bread of life. He’s the one who satisfies the deepest hunger within us, which frees us from our slavery to food. We receive it with thanksgiving, as we saw last week, and we ask the spirit to produce the fruit of self control in us as we eat. Sloth then. Now what is sloth sloth is weary or in being weary or indifferent toward the work that God has given you. So of course, we think laziness for the most part, I think that’s right. But sometimes it’s also looks like the person who is always frantic with their work. I mean, picture you know, the college students, the ones pulling an all nighter, go and look how much harder I am working and the straight A student who’s sleeping soundly right now. But it’s possible that the one point the all nighter was procrastinating earlier. That would be sloth as well. So lazy, frantic or misdirected work. A lot of this comes from not understanding that our work is our vocation. God’s calling on our lives. We need a theology of vocation we did that last summer and the series faith at work. If you weren’t here, and you got questions about this, check out that series. I’m not going to repeat it all today. But we have this responsibility to use our God given abilities to serve others. That is part of the creation mandate. That’s true of all people, Christian or not, but the slothful refuse that responsibility. Proverbs has strong things to say about the sluggard here just a couple of examples. Here’s proverbs six nine to 11 where it says a little sleep a little slumber a little folding of the hands to rest and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man. Or another series of three images kind of rapid fire proverbs 2613 to 15. I love this one a sluggard says there’s a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets, which then means lion doesn’t have to enter the slavery doesn’t have to do anything. You don’t want to go outside and be killed. So, I mean, there’s always a danger. I’m gonna run over by a bus. It’s probably best if I just stay in my basement playing video games on my couch as a door turns on its hinges so a sluggard turns on his bed. I love that one. Your door moves a lot. Does it ever go anywhere? Same with a slugger. Right? A sluggard buries his hand in the dish, he’s too lazy to bring the chip with the guacamole on it back up to his mouth.
That’s bad. I know, like guacamole, talking about receiving with thanksgiving, there it is. The New Testament does not modify this approach to the sluggard. By the way, Paul sets the standard and Second Thessalonians three that those who don’t work, don’t eat. Because there’s a group of people who had that Gnostic tendency that we talked about last week, the body is bad, you know, physical is bad, the spiritual is good. So I’m not going to solely myself by manual labor, I’m gonna sit over here and philosophize with my bros. And Paul said, that’s great. And you’re gonna be hungry, because we’re not feeding you. You don’t get any benevolence funds if you’re able but unwilling to work. In fact, Paul says one of the reasons we work hard is so that we earn enough that we can support others that we can give generously to those who are not able to work, for example. And then Paul goes on to say, First Timothy Five, Verse eight, that those who are unwilling to provide for their own families, this is strong, he says, that is someone who is worse than an unbeliever. That’s crazy. worse than an unbeliever sloth is a deadly sin. How do we overcome it? Well, we need a theology of vocation. And we talked about that already, you can go back into that series. Some people probably need structure in their lives. Like if it’s not your strength to provide the structure that ensures that you get the work done. You need to be in a field or perhaps in a school where that structure will be provided for you. You may need counseling to get at the source of the indifference towards work, for example, but more than anything else, you need to know what God did on your behalf. Of course. I mean, Jesus said, as my father is working, so I’m working like Jesus worked for us. He was tired when he was here on earth, he worked in order to save us You have been so loved to so love in action. And then lastly, lust. objectifying others to satisfy yourself takes on so many forms, of course, porn, ogling fantasies, and then eventually embodied in all sorts of illicit sexual activity. Again, we covered a lot of this in greater detail in our series, a better yes, on this passage, in fact, so you can get more of it if you want it there, but we just kind of breezed through it a little bit here. You’ll note the argument of the Corinthians there in verse 13, right food for the stomach and the stomach for food and got them destroy them both. It doesn’t really matter what I eat, because it’s going in the body and the body is going away anyway, Gnostic tendency once again. And so it’s the same thing with sex, like, we’re just dealing with a bodily appetite, who cares, the body goes away. But then Paul says, except it doesn’t. Right, the body is meant for the Lord. Like that’s our destination. As Christians, we will be raised bodily to dwell bodily with the Lord for ever in glory. And then he also says, of course, that we are now in our bodies, the temple of the Holy Spirit. So already God is dwelling with us in our flesh, which makes us a really serious sin. Then he says in verse 16, because sin sexually is the sin against our own bodies, all sorts of ways that yes, you can harm your body through sin, like drunkenness and gluttony that we’ve already mentioned. But this is sexual immorality involves not just like degrading or defiling your body, but but dragging your whole self into the sin spirit as well. Why? Because physical union brings about spiritual union, the two become one flesh that is about more than just flesh. And of course, we bring Jesus with us when we sin in these ways, because we are united with Christ, we are members of His Body, verse 17, which means you can’t check Jesus like a coat at the door of a strip club. And that, of course, all that as temples of the Holy Spirit. We don’t do temples today. So I think we can miss the force of Paul’s argument here. So, the picture this, you know, Paul is saying that we are the most holy place, because that’s where God dwells, and he dwelt in the most holy place, you know, sitting on the Ark of the Covenant in the temple in Jerusalem. Now, one guy, the high priest, could go into the most holy place one day, a year Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year. If you read like lipstick or something, you know that the high priest had to wear bells on his robe, so that he’d make noise as he walked, so they would know if God struck him dead. And they tied a rope around his ankle so that they could drag his body out because they’re not going into the most holy place to go get the dead guy. And Paul says, imagine having sex with someone who isn’t your spouse in that room. Like, I’m trying to even imagine what a New Testament equivalent would be for that. And it took me a while. So this is not like a pastor having an affair happens, right? Common enough, pastors are sinners like the rest of us. This is not even like a pastor having an affair in the church building, which I’m sure has happened many times before, also, because this building is just brick and mortar. So I wouldn’t call this room in the sanctuary. It implies that this is the holy place. It’s not we do holy things here. Yes. But it’s just a big enough room where we can all gather holy things happen at home, and in your car, they could even happen in a bar. So the closest equivalent I could think of in a New Testament would be like a pastor having an affair while serving you all communion, because that’s one of those times where the veil between heaven and earth is parted. And you know, Heaven and Earth, kiss prayers, the spirits we present in the bread and in the wine. Now, hopefully that was like a shocking and grotesque, absurd image. That’s the force of Paul’s argument here. Like that’s what sexual immorality is. It is a deadly, deadly sin. So look at verse 18. What does he say flee? And runaway? Which is interesting, because so often Paul tells us stand firm, stand firm in the faith, not with sexual immorality, you run you get out of there as fast as you possibly can. That changes how we look at things. Like we’re checking out the new TV show that everyone’s recommended to us, we don’t go, you know, how much nudity is it? No, how can I honor God with my body here? We don’t get into a relationship and go How far is too far? How far can I go and still be like, No, how can I honor God with my body? First, Thessalonians, four, three and four, it is God’s will that you should be sanctified. I know a lot of you spend a lot of time praying God, like I’m looking at college students back there, right, Lord, what’s your will for my life, here’s God’s will for your life, be sanctified, didn’t care, we go to college, be sanctified, that’s his will for your life. That you should avoid sexual immorality, that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, my body is the Lord’s and it is meant to be a sanctified body. Lastly, than it is meant to be a disciplined body. Or we are commanded to honor God with our bodies.
And we know that we work out our salvation with fear and trembling. So we need to take specific steps. To honor God with our bodies, we need to discipline ourselves bodily, in other words, like if embodiment is the proper state of our existence, as we saw last week, if the Spirit indwells our bodies as we see in our passage, and if we will dwell with God bodily in glory, it’s safe to say the body matters. And so we should discipline it caring for our bodies in areas like eating and exercising, and sleep. Neither over emphasizing nor under emphasizing the importance of the body. Like some overemphasize the importance of the body, this is the guy flexing in front of the beaten the mirror being like yeah, my body is a temple. That’s right. Like, we don’t want to be that guy. You know, the obsessive exercise, meticulous diet, you know, sculpting their body, sometimes even physically sculpting and like plastic surgery, whether driven by a desire for health or for looks, and more likely, deeper idols underneath those, like security and love. I mean, we got a body image problem in our culture, don’t we? Photoshop not helping for sure, leading to all sorts of eating disorders and the like. I know what this looks like. So Lindsey, Kate, tells a story in her book more than a body. She was on a swim team like starting at age six or something like that. And she says she, you know, she used to have our heart race as she was about to start the race because she was so excited for the sport itself. As she got older, she started think about her body more and more in her heart would race because she would wonder what she looked like in her swimsuit. She said it became all consuming if she wasn’t, you know, like on the starting block athletes. I mean, she makes sure she had her hand in a certain spot to cover up a birthmark that she had. And she made sure she stood in ways that were most flattering to her figure. She didn’t do this, but you mentioned other girls on our swim team would hang up pictures of girls from the Victoria’s Secret catalogs. I thought only boys did that. But no, the girls did it too. They did it as motivation. Remember, those are airbrushed ladies. By the way, that’s not what people look like, but they still put them up there as motivation for themselves. What happened? Of course, she stopped excelling as a swimmer because she went swimming anymore. She was just trying to show off, she stopped doing much of anything actually, she goes back and she looks with regret and all of her missed goals and missed relationships because she was obsessed with her body. That’s an overemphasis, others under emphasize the body, though, because the body is not important. It’s the spiritual that matters most right? And so who cares what happens with it? This is actually how Greg Allison starts his book embodied. He tells a story of a man named Drake, who came to see him in his office as a student at the time. And he was in bad shape physically, like, couldn’t sleep, constipated, you know, out of breath all the time and all this stuff like clearly just messed up physically struggling with anxiety struggling with all the rest. And Dr. Allison began asking him like, so what are you eating? That was junk food, by the way is all that you know, like, how often do you sleep like I just told you I had insomnia. I don’t ever sleep, you know, like, so he actually started get angry with Dr. Allison for asking him physical questions. When he wanted a spiritual diagnosis, like, Hey, you got demonic activity in your life? And like, No, you’re eating 20 Cheetos. That’s your problem. Like that was the problem here. But he didn’t want to hear it. That’s an under emphasis. And these, by the way cause divisions in the church, don’t they? Like we know we got judgment going both ways. Here. The people who are in good shape eating well exercising all the time, looking down on the fat slobs in the congregation, or on the other side, those who are going to look they’re clearly worshipping their body. Right? I mean, I’ve had I remember going to exercise when I was a teenager going to exercise with my buddy and somebody else saying, There you guys are off, you know, heading your temple to worship, your body’s going I was like, like exercises worshiping my body like I didn’t. But that’s the disdain that we start to feel for each other. The good news is that the Bible threads this needle. It has a proper emphasis on our bodies as part of ourselves. I am my body and my body is the Lord’s. Think of First Timothy four. Again, we saw First Timothy four last week, where Paul says, you know, people who are, like, inspired by demons teach things like you should abstain from certain foods and not get married. So very bottling, and Paul says, no, no, we received these things with thanksgiving. And there’s nothing wrong with them. What happens right after that, we’re just like a few verses later, First Timothy four verses seven. And he’s going against all that false teaching, but it culminates there at the end, rather, train yourselves to be godly. There’s discipline that needs to happen if we were to grow in godliness, we would expect in light of the context here, we’re talking about some of these physical areas like eating insects, that he would have a physical implication, sure enough, we see it. Here’s First Timothy four, verse eight, for physical training is of some value. But godliness has value for all things holding promise, both for the present life and the life to come. Right physical training has some value like mere exercise, as a non Christian as somebody who rejects God entirely. Mere exercise still has some value, but as Christians who are disciplining ourselves for godliness? Well, of course that discipline then would include the physical as well. So yes, the spiritual disciplines prayer, fasting, study, memorization, meditation, silence, solitude, you name it, of course. But bodily discipline to exercise, eating, sleep. Let’s look at this for a moment. Okay, so exercise like we know the value that exercise has physically promotes health, health, reduces the risk of disease and early death. But there is a spiritual element to this too, isn’t there? Like I remember a journey group leader some years ago, as someone who’s prepping to lead a new group. And we always have a little conversation of like, if you’re gonna take on this responsibility, what do you need to start doing? What do you need to stop doing so that you’ve got the time and energy to do all this? And this guy, he said, what he needed to start doing was exercising, so that he would have energy at the end of the night to lead his group? Well, because he could just tell he was he was done by the end of the day. Like there you see the spiritual benefit of exercise is actually a loving act for others. What does it look like in terms of eating? Of course, here, we’re talking about a nutritious diet. You know, we’re not that when we hear the word diet today, most of us think like that crash experience right before swimsuit season or something. That’s not what the Bible would be talking about here. We’re talking about eating well regulate. It’s actually another moment where natural law comes in. Talk natural law last week, there are things that we are supposed to put into our bodies. And there are things that we really probably shouldn’t put into our bodies, and some other things we should put into our bodies in very limited quantities. And we want to get those proportions right because we see God’s good design and how he made us and how he made the world but also looks like times of regular fasting. But also times of regular feasting. I mentioned scripture commands feasting. We see a lot of great feasts there commanded in the Old Testament, certain times we’re gonna celebrate what God had done in the history of Israel. We do this at like Christmas and Easter and stuff, great time to feast. What happens when the prodigal son comes home? Feast? Where are we going? A feast, the wedding supper of the Lamb and His Bride. And of course, the feast that we’re commanded to participate in most regularly is the Lord’s Supper. And then their sleep which I hid last week, right? We sleep so that we stop pretending that we are God. Victor Hugo, the novelist said, go to sleep and peace, God is awake. That’s good, right? That’s the mentality. So here’s the counter example because I want you to see how important this is spiritually. The counter example to all this is Robert Murray machine. A lot of you probably know him Scottish preacher, when the most famous preachers of his day came up with a Bible reading plan that a lot of us still use to this day. In fact, he died of overwork and exhaustion before his 30th birthday. Because he didn’t do this stuff. He said this as he was dying, he said, The Lord gave me a horse to ride and a message to deliver. Alas, I’ve killed the horse and cannot deliver the message. I want you to notice something in that. Did you see how bad his theology the body was? The Lord gave me a horse to ride. It’s not me my body. It’s just an instrument for something else. No, I am, my body began to sow into the body, right, he probably wouldn’t have died at 29. But he also recognized even with that bad theology, the body that he’d messed up what he did with a horse, even though it’s not a horse, really pointed out in his pulse devotional this week that this is a form of idolatry, right? This kind of over work, trusting in our own strength. And we need to discipline our body so that we can serve God for the long haul. You know, Paul’s using athletic imagery in First Timothy four for good reason, right? Because athletes do this. Well, they eat well, they exercise well. They also know how to rest.
So Michael Jordan, undisputed greatest basketball player of all time, can I get an amen? Thank you. We in Chicago, right? Okay. You know, he was famous for you know, you did all that stuff. Of course, too. Like, there were times when he would just walk back on defense. Everybody else is hustling back on defense, he would walk back because he knew he need to play all four quarters, the team was gonna win kind of thing. And so he would conserve his strength. Sometimes we got to walk back on defense, because we’re not God, we got to rest. We got to eat well, we got to exercise my body is the Lord and it is meant to be a discipline body. So what should you do walking out of here? In this area, at least I would say evaluate. Where are you in terms of exercise, eating and sleep, and maybe develop a plan of discipline, something that we can talk about in our community groups as well. There is one more point to be made here. Because we cannot eat or exercise our way to immortality. You can eat as well as possible you can exercise as often as you should, you can sleep well every night and your body is still decaying, and you will die. And that truth reminds us that one day, we will get a resurrection body. We said it already this morning, the Apostles Creed right, I believe in the resurrection of the body. That part’s talking about our bodies, not Jesus’s body, our bodies. Yes, Jesus was resurrected to but the first fruits of our resurrection. We see it in this passage, verse 14, by His power, God raise the Lord from the dead end, he will raise us also. And the good news is that we will be raised in power, meaning that we will no longer have those moments of the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, the flesh will finally be strong to obey. That’s the glory of Your coming body. We will obey God perfectly in it. It is not. In other words, when we get to glory with the resurrected body, I’ll have more hair, you’ll have a flatter stomach, right? Like that is not what is being talked about here. What the glory of the bodies that were fully submitted and offered to Jesus so that we honor God with our bodies for the rest of eternity. Like I think we have such a wrong conception in our minds of what a glorified body is. And it is conformed to our culture’s ideals. And of course, our culture is steeped in sin. Like, can I suggest something and I’m guessing this is conjecture? Hear me okay, not scripture conjecture. I’m gonna give you a little scriptural warrant for it, though, in a moment. Like what if we get to glory, and you find out that your resurrected body still has stretch marks? Or that as a carpenter, you still have calloused hands. Why? Because that’s part of your glory. That’s the well done good and faithful servant. I did what I was supposed to do in my body and here’s the glory And here’s the scriptural warrant for that when Jesus was raised from the dead, he still had his scars. These weren’t his appendectomy scars. Those probably go away. But they were the scars that revealed His glory, His great love for us. Like I understand some of you are in a broken body right now. And we will all be at the end of our lives because of age or an accident or an infirmity. I mean, you might have been listening last week with, like pain, like fearfully and wonderfully made this. You think this is fearfully and wonderfully made. But the resurrection of our bodies reminds us that it is fearfully and wonderfully made. It is wracked by sin and it is incomplete. But that day is coming from the blind will see and the deaf will hear and the lame will leap for joy. I read two accounts just this past week of human sex trafficking. It is hard to a imagine a more horrific fate than to be literally bought by somebody, not your own, but owned by someone else stripped of all dignity and worth and freedom. And get here in verses 19 and 20. That’s exactly how Paul describes us. You are not your own. You were bought at a price. But here the opposite is true. Of course. This is where true freedom and real dignity is found. Why? Because nothing shows us our worth more than Jesus being willing to shed his own blood for us. That is our only hope and life and death that we are not our own, but belong to God, body and soul. My body is the Lord’s Let’s pray. Father, we pray that You would help us by your Spirit indwelling us even now to honor you with our bodies. We are yours. You made us all of us in this room. And if we belong to you by grace through faith, then we are yours twice over because you’ve redeemed us as well. We’ve been bought at a price we are so deeply and dearly loved. Would you help us Lord, to love you in return? By doing all that we can to offer every part of ourselves to you as instruments of righteousness for the glory of your name, amen.

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My Body & My Self April 7, 2024 | Brandon Cooper
Brandon Cooper preached about embracing our identity as embodied beings created by God. He argued that we should accept our physical bodies instead of trying to change them. Cooper also discussed lovingly counseling those struggling with gender dysphoria to accept the bodies God gave them. The sermon encouraged gratitude for our bodies and living according to God’s design rather than our desires.

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The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

Good morning church. You want to go ahead and grab your Bibles, you can open up to Psalm 139. Psalm 139, will be in verses 13 to 16. This morning, as you’re turning there, I remember reading in an article, it’s probably about a year ago, and I could not track it back down. So I don’t have specifics for you. But I’m someone who struggled with gender dysmorphia, I had said, and then I’m quoting here, during puberty, you know, my body began to go through changes that I did not consent to. I thought that that was a very interesting phrase, because there’s some assumptions underneath that expression. One, of course, and maybe most importantly, is that my body is separate from the real meaning non physical me that I am something more than my body. And so then my body might be out of whack with who I really am. And kind of a second assumption baked into that, of course, is that we have every right and every reason to make physical reality conform to our desires. And of course, we do this all the time. By the way, when you’re too hot, you turn on the air conditioning, there’s a physical reality of heat. And then through technology or technique, we try and make reality conform to what we want to experience. So we see these two impulses these these two assumptions all over the place today, of course, gender and sexuality, one of the big ones technology as well, so that we can control the physical world, especially with the rise of things like artificial intelligence, where there’s this idea that there’s kind of a mind separate from the physical. We’ve got body image issues, of course, like eating disorders, and what this is a real thing. You can look it up by the way, selfie dysmorphia, or at the more philosophical level, you see things like the rise of transhumanism, which is the idea that the next stage in evolution is that we actually unshackle ourselves from the constraints of the material world and become pure consciousness. You see this and of course, sci fi movies like The Matrix Ready Player One, the framework and Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. We bring a lot of this into the church as well. I mean, think of some of our language, even when we will say things like, oh, you know, we’re all about winning souls. Not bodies don’t care about those. We’re just here to win souls. And of course, we see this how technology is shaping our approach to church as well with things like live stream and whatnot. You know, a lot of us can tell stories to our kids who almost don’t believe us. On Friday nights, we used to drive to a physical building, with a blue and yellow sign out front, and pick our way through a limited selection of VHS tapes to rent and bring home right? And that just almost seems unbelievable. Now, what if 20 3050 years from now we’re trying to tell our kids or our grandkids or whatnot, that on Sunday mornings we used to drive to a physical building, in order to gather physically with God’s people for church. What’s the point of this catalogue? Why are we going through all of this you can see we’ve got body issues. We got body issues today, like we need a sound Theology of the Body and a solid foundation on which to stand today, because we exist as our new series says, in the flesh, we exist in the flesh, we are embodied people, everything that we do involves a bodily experience. Right now for example, most of you are using your eyes to look at me perhaps somewhere else in the room as well unless you’ve already nodded off but that would be early even for my sermons. So you got your eyes when your brain your physical brain is processing the information that you are hearing you’re behind is planted firmly on the pew and your back depending on your age, you may be sitting up straight so you don’t have issues tomorrow or you may be slouching because you’re 18 and it doesn’t matter how you said your hands are perhaps and I hope clutching a physical Bible or perhaps they got a pen and paper for notes you see the point everything we do we do physically in a material world now someone when faced with that you know what what do we do with this whole idea that we are in our body some diminish the body as we’ve seen the real me is immaterial is mind or soul and as a result our body is just something we can shape it is like plastic to be molded so may exalt the body. There is no soul there is no immaterial me and so this life is all I got eat, drink, be merry, for tomorrow we die and so we obsess over looks or whatever else it may be how most of us I would say are just confused right now I don’t know how these two work together. That’s what we’re trying to address in this series, what we are and why it matters. So I’m gonna give you the big idea up front here. Now, it comes from a book called embodied written by Greg Allison, he is actually the father of one of our missionaries here at Cityview, the ones whose names I can’t say on a live stream, so you’ll just have to figure it out for yourself drawing a lot of from the series from that book, including our big idea today. He says up front and it kind of struck me I want you to be struck by it as well. So here’s the big idea for us this morning. I am my body. And of course you are your body’s isn’t the first person I am my body. Now. Let me just ask you right now, what was your first response? When you heard that statement? Did you agree with it? Or disagree with it? Are you still puzzling through it? And why exactly now I want to be clear here, I did not say I am only my body. Some of you may be going well. That’s my hang up. Okay, that’s fine. I didn’t say that. I am my body. And so we’re gonna see if that’s true as we soar through scripture, but then also gonna ask the question, what sort of body am I Exactly? And that’s really what we’re gonna look at in this series. What sort of body am I in relation to myself, which we’ll look at today, God and neighbor in the next couple of weeks. So starting with self again, Psalm 139, verses 13 to 16. Just upfront, let me tell you, we’re doing kind of a biblical theology of a body here. So I’m not going to like pick this one text apart the way we often do, but we’re gonna use it as a springboard look at some other texts as well. But here it is. Psalm 139, verses 13. To 16. David writes, For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother’s womb, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body, all the days ordained for me, were written in your book, before one of them came to be, I am my body. So what sort of body am I first of all, first point here, I am a created body, you are a created body. In fact, a Theology of the Body intersects especially with a theology of creation, doesn’t it? And it intersects with some other places too, but it certainly with creation, and we would look at the creation account to to talk about the body God created man in His own image, male and female, He created them, it says in Genesis one. And so we are embodied by design. But not just the first two, it wasn’t just Adam and Eve, who were created bodies, but every individual as we see here in Psalm 139, David at least is saying, God created right there in verse 13, right God created our in most parts, he knit us together physically. He talks about our frame, probably our skeleton, right. And even though the unformed body like when we were still that formless zygote, that was God who created us if God created it you and me as bodies then that means that we cannot separate ourselves from our bodies. You don’t have a body you are a body and that’s a really important distinction. We are not just a ghost in the machine as some Enlightenment thinkers put it your body is not like a receptacle for the real you. I was picked when I think of this man in black which I rented a blockbuster years ago. You know, like the little alien who was like working the big human guy like that’s how some of us here like there’s a real me inside this, this body that’s there. But no, in fact, let’s look at Genesis two seven against Elon the creation account, I want you to notice something. So here’s Genesis two seven, the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Notice what happened there. God didn’t make a soul first, and then find a place to stuff it. Like leftovers in Tupperware, God made a body first, and then breathed life into it in the word breath is the same as the word spirit. You see how significant our bodies are, then it’s Carl Truman says there is no i behind or before the body. There is no us that exists logically let alone chronologically independently of our flesh. And that is then randomly assigned to the bodies we have. It is inseparable my body is inseparable from who I am.
Now, some of you are saying, Yeah, but what about when we die? Which is a fair question. Paul says Second Corinthians five as long as we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord, and so isn’t the longing and then err to be away from the body and actually home with the Lord elsewhere. He says it’s better by far to depart and be with the Lord. It is true that after we die, our disembodied souls or spirits go to be with Christ. But that is a temporary state, as we await the glorious physical resurrection that is coming. Paul says that I already quoted Second Corinthians five, your second Corinthians five verse four, for while we are in this tent, temporary dwelling art body, right? We grown in our burden because we do not wish to be unclothed. Nobody, right. We do not wish to be unclothed, but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling our resurrection body so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life, We long to be truly embodied. So it’s quite clear, right? I am my created body. physical embodiment, is the proper state for our existence. In fact, we could not do what God called us to do if we weren’t embodied if we weren’t physical. may think of the Creation mandate, God creates Adam and Eve and then he says, Be fruitful and multiply fill the earth and subdue it. To be fruitful and multiply that requires a physical act. And to work the earth especially to bring forth food from the Earth is a physical act, and for a physical end to feed ourselves. It’s so fascinating to because we have these Gnostic tendencies in Christianity, Gnostic is one of the earliest heresies and is basically saying there’s a difference between flesh and spirit and that flesh is bad matter is bad spirit is good. And so once we get rid of all the flesh stuff, we’ll finally be fine. Where do we see these Gnostic tendencies in the church especially, and always have in those two areas food and sex? Those are the two that keep coming up even in the early church. Here’s Paul writing in First Timothy, these were within decades of Christ’s death, Paul hasn’t even been murdered yet. And already, this tendency has shown up listen to what he says First Timothy, For the Spirit clearly says that in later times, some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. This sounds intense, right? Like what’s going to be taught by demons here? We must be denying Christ. Maybe there’s no God at all, or something like that. What is it? No, they forbid people to marry, and order them to abstain from certain foods. That’s what’s being taught by demons, to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth for everything God created is good. And nothing is to be rejected. If it is received with thanksgiving. You see his point? I mean, this is not the only passage in the New Testament dealing with food and sex, of course, and should we be careful with created stuff? Yeah, absolutely. Should we reject it outright, not a chance, not a chance. Instead, it is actually to be received with gratitude, because of the physical bodily pleasure we receive. I mean, just think of this as an implication of the Theology of the Body very definitely. But like, we should enjoy food. God did not have to set up the world this way. He did not have to be nutritious and delicious. Like that’s bonus, right? In fact, you watch sci fi dystopian movies and whatnot. And inevitably, they’re always eating this like thin, colorless gruel. But it’s nutrient packed. Like, who cares? I don’t want that future. We are meant to enjoy food, we should be giving thanks to God as we eat it. But this thinking just creeps into the church. I’m not so sure about the body. I’m not so sure about the flesh. In fact, isn’t flesh bad? I mean, Galatians chapter five. What are we supposed to do with the flesh? Were to crucify the flesh with its desires and passions. There you have it, the flesh is bad. Sure, but Paul uses the word and the Bible uses the word flesh in different ways. We don’t want to be guilty of equivocation. And so Paul often uses the word flesh as a shorthand for our sinful nature. That’s what Galatians five is talking about? Yes. But he also uses flesh is just, you know, part of God’s creation that the meat that is on our bones, and that is not bad, but good. In fact, God said it was very good when he was done making it. I mean, David knew all about sinful flesh, didn’t he? He had some problems with created stuff, Bathsheba comes to mind, and yet he’s the one who’s writing. God created me, knit me to get I’m fearfully and wonderfully made in the flesh. Our language shapes our thought. And so I think we got to be careful how we talk. You’ll see this sometimes, perhaps somebody has told you at some point in your discipleship that you need to steward your body well, you steward your finances you steward your time you need to steward your body. That’s a weird way to phrase it, isn’t it? You steward your soul. You don’t steward your your steward gifts that you have been given, not who you are. I understand the idea. Maybe we should steward our health or something. I get that like, yes, exercise and diet. We’ll talk about that. In this series. We got to be careful here winning souls, as I talked about before, another very weird way to phrase it is a quote often attributed to CS Lewis, it’s probably not from him, I’m pretty sure it’s from George MacDonald was a brilliant writer. And he got some things wrong, though, for sure. Much like CS Lewis, but DoorBird Donald said this, you don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body? And we have to go no, no, that’s wrong. That’s exactly wrong. You are a soul you are a body. And why does this matter? And what are the implications, even applications of this truth that I am I created body? First of all, it means that we are purposefully made. See that in verse 16, right, all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be God had planned us out and gave us purpose, what that means, by the way, and I don’t know if this hits gonna hit home for some of you or not, but no one of you is unplanned. Like no matter what happened with your parents, you are not unplanned in God’s eyes, he knit you together in your mother’s womb, you are fearfully and wonderfully made and given purpose. Not only are you purposely made, but you are also personally made, as we seen there in verse 13, fearfully, wonderfully made created in most being knit together in our mother’s womb, we all have the body that God designed for us. Now, there is a giant caveat here, and I’m not gonna get into today we’ll talk about a little bit more next time, which is we also live in a fallen world. And we feel that bodily in a lot of ways, of course, so there is some brokenness here. Absolutely. Do you have the body that God designed for you? And that actually matters? Do you have your dad’s nose in your mom’s eyes? And then kind of wish that maybe you’d gotten the reverse or something? God made you personally. And he is the consummate artist, he did not make any mistakes, when he made you. And if what you are is not accidental, then it is not incidental. This is the body God designed you to have. And so your first response should be gratitude, gratitude, are you grateful for the body God made for you? How can you embrace the goodness of your physical embodiment, I am my body what sort of body am I am I created body second point, I am also a finite body, you are a finite body. We see it in verse 13. Of course, we are knit together in our mother’s womb, bound like really bound there by space. And of course, also bound by time which we see in verse 16. All the days ordained were written before one of them came to be that we will exist at a certain point in time, and exist in a certain physical space. That’s kind of the points of verses seven and eight as well. David saying, Where can I go from your spirit, we’re gonna flee from your presence, if I go up to the heavens are there if I make my bed in the depths, you are there, if I go that way, if I go that way, you are always there. God is omnipresent. In other words, God is everywhere, and I most certainly am not. And you are not. He is omnipresent, you and I can only be in one place at a time, which is often a bummer. Some of you have probably lamented that fact, more than once, God is also eternal. Whereas you and I, we had a beginning. And we will have an end, at least in terms of this bodily existence. A lot of us just memorize Psalm 90 and journey groups, you know, our days may come to 70 years or 80, if our strength and yours if our strength endures. That’s not short, 80 years, 100 years, not short, but it’s not exactly long either is it? We occupy a specific time and a specific place. And we do so as specific individuals as well. I can only be me, you can only be you. I am this height in this body, right this hair color, this eye color, this skin color. That’s who I am.
And we have certain experiences as well that shape us like I was born here, which means I speak English, for example. And I have experiences based on where I came in history. Like some people lived through the Great Depression or World War Two Vietnam or something. 911 COVID. Like those are specific experiences that we experienced the specific individuals. I’m not sure we understand just how completely shaped we are by our cultural moment. Oh, David Morgan is material culturist And he says this He says people count They cut their meat Bay’s put on clothing, sit, squat, gesticulate, wave and laugh in ways peculiar to the social bodies to which they belong. Tribe, city, nation, race or religion. Think about that you count the way you count because of when and where you were born. Do you go like this 123 Or like this 123. I lived cross culturally, for seven years, I grew up counting like this. And I now count like this weirdly, because of the cultural experiences that we have had, like we are finite and our finitude as expressed bodily. Now this can be so challenging for us. Like we want to be more like a god in these ways. omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence, the holiness thing, whatever Take it or leave it right. But I’d like to be like God here is that gesswein says, I love this is like Mark me for life. When I read this, he says, we don’t ever have to confess, you know, sin, that we failed to be omnipresent, that you couldn’t do all the things you feel like you needed to do, because you couldn’t be in two places at once. What we need to confess, is thinking like we should be omnipresent, and trying to pretend like we are omnipresent because in contrast, the infinite God, we are so decidedly finite, and will remain so in glory. By the way, we will eventually get full holiness in Christ, we never get Omnipotence that’s not ours to possess. Now, I want to argue a lot in this series, that it is the height of wisdom. And this is, by the way, a very definite point of contrast between a Christian framework and a modern, secular humanist framework, that it is the height of wisdom, to conform ourselves to reality, instead of attempting to reverse trying to conform reality to our selfish desires. And that means that as real physical people living in a real world, one thing we do is embrace our finiteness are limited in this like that is part of what true freedom is understanding what we are not free to do. And Tim Keller makes this point and he says, you know, a fish is freest when it’s in the water. When it finally breaks out of the shackles of its you know, habitat or whatever and gets out on land, it is not free any longer. Not for long anyway. And that’s how we are to like I was not because of my height, my weight, and my athleticism was never free to play in the NFL. And it just would have been foolishness to try that. And yet, that’s the folly that so many of us have, of course, to be what we are not to strive to be what we are not, we see this in some weird way. So like BBC, not too long ago, ran a program, it was phenomenally popular and spawned a whole bunch of like copycat programs was called 50 places to see before you die. They were not located in the same place on Earth. Of course, you know, you got to go all over the place. In other words, you almost had to transcend your finitude. I mean, you just talk about like, a first world approach to all of this, right? Like, you got to make sure you go on all these luxury vacations before you die. So I got money issues with all that too. But the point is, you got to go everywhere and see everything. That’s what a bucket list is, right? I’m not against travel, I enjoy travel very much. But I’ve said before, and I’ll say it again, the bucket list is for glory. Like we’re gonna have a new heavens and new earth, you have lots of time to travel and see all that stuff, then, right now, it may be better for us to echo Mordekaiser point to Esther. Like, what if God made you for such a time as this? And let me modify it slightly for such a place as this, here and now to where you are supposed to be? Why does this matter? What are the implications, even applications of this truth that I am my finite body? Let me just suggest a few here. One thing I would encourage you to do is actually to map out yourself, like figure out who exactly you are. Why did God put you here and now you know the way you’re made physically your gifts, your passions, your cultural experiences, what is your for such a time as this? We’ll talk about this more in week three, but just kind of get thinking about that. Now. Second way we embrace our finitude, live like we are finite. It’s really simple, really important. Sleep more. Not all of you were talking about sloth next week. But most of you we have a sleep epidemic in our culture. Fully 40% of American adults are poor getting less than six hours of sleep a night. The average need is eight hours that is an average need. I know exceptions. I work with one I don’t like him for For that reason, I’m like a nine hour guy. But why is it that we don’t sleep enough? Because we’re pretending to be God? I got too much to do. I’m indispensable. I’m too important. So I gotta get up and get moving. Pretend that I’m omnipresent and omnipotent, and never tiring. But only God isn’t ever tiring God, even young men stumble and fall, and youth grow faint and weary. Third, we’ll talk a lot more about this week three. But I think we need to take a critical approach to technology as well and critical just meaning we need to make good judgments about it. Because tech over promises, tech in particular promises us that we can now at last transcend space. And there are some beautiful applications that truth. Like when I look at missionaries who are across the globe, you know, it used to you just kind of kiss your parents goodbye and assume they’d be dead by the time we got back. We don’t have to do that anymore. I like watched Michigan when we were on the mission field. We didn’t have smartphones yet. But some of the people we were with had smartphones. And they were just like they’re doing that FaceTime thing like blew my mind. The first time I saw this FaceTime thing, they’re talking to their family back home in the States while they’re down there in Colombia, that’s fine. But the problem is that that tech can pluck us out of our God ordained finitude so that we are not present emotionally, mentally, spiritually, when our body is still present. Because we didn’t actually transcend space, you know what this looks like, because you’ve been out to dinner, you’ve looked over at the table next to you, or maybe it’s your table, and every single person has a glowing device in front of their faces, and no one is in here. And now for such a time as this experience. I am my body created body of finite body. Lastly, and here, we’re just you know, deep and I taught a class on racial unity this morning, and now we’re going to hit I am a gendered body. So we’re just checking all the boxes this morning. I am a gendered body, because part of what God knits together in the womb is our reproductive organs. I remember reading when Amy was pregnant with our first step by 20 weeks, a girl in the womb has all of her eggs already 78 million of them already present at 20 weeks like blows my mind that fact. But that makes sense because that is what God made us to be. And it’s right there. In the creation account. We already looked at it Genesis 127, and 28, male and female he created them. There it is right there’s a gender male and female he created them, then God bless them and said to them Be fruitful and increase in number which of course requires those sex differences. Male and female is important, by the way, because binaries dominate the creation account. Nothing and something is how it starts, God and everything else, light and dark Heaven and Earth Day and Night waters and land good and evil, the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil and the tree of life and it all climaxes in male and female. It is interesting, if you think about it, of all the differences between Adam and Eve. It is only sex that gets highlighted and celebrated. Why is it not tall and short? He created them short hair and long hair he created them. No, it is their sexual difference that is highlighted and celebrated. Because as Tim Keller says male and female have unique, non interchangeable glories, they each see and do things that the other cannot. Now our sex male and female is not accidental. It is not incidental, it is fundamental to who we are. I am my gendered body.
I know that’s not how we see it. Today, always. We have on the one hand separated sex and gender. There’s some reason for that we’ll come back to that in a moment. But we will use terms even like gender identity, which is saying what that my body is not the real me. Science, by the way, does not agree here. Absolutely every cell in our body, including the cells that fall off as we shed our skin because dust we are into dust we are actively returning. Every single cell in our body has 23 pairs of chromosomes. 22 of them are identical male and female autosomal chromosomes. But that 23rd One, there’s a bit of a difference. This last pair, women have x and x and men have x and y. We are male or female, all the way down at the molecular level. Now quick caveat. I gotta say it of course, that’s talking about our essential sex, not the expressions of our sex which do vary culture to culture, of course. First, we have to separate male and female from masculine and feminine, which can take on specific time and place bounded characteristics, some of which may be unhealthy as well like sexism is a real thing. That’s not we’re talking about right here, at least we’re talking about our essential sex. Why does this matter? What are the implications, even applications of this truth that I am my gendered body? We start with gratitude again, are you grateful God made you male or female? Or is there anything holding you back from embracing your maleness or femaleness? That’s like at this point, of course, we can’t hide from the elephant in the room, gender dysmorphia, which is something usually sets in right around puberty that we talked about in the introduction, right, that opening quote was during puberty, this person, bodies that are going through changes that it didn’t care for. And what we have to be really careful about here is to say, the feelings of gender dysmorphia are very real. Like, even if the being, you know, the wrong sex in your body, and that is not real, as we’ve seen, and we’ll continue to talk about the psychological distress is very real. And it’s something we do have to talk about as Christians. But of course, this idea there’s been an explosion recently, right? It’s widely accepted now that this is that the truth? Why that is, is very interesting. Carl Truman, I’m quoting him already wrote a book called The Rising triumph of the modern self, it’s not easy. It’s probably worth reading still, it’s okay to stretch your minds a bit. But he was basically wrote the book to ask the question, why is it that now, all of a sudden, the phrase I am a woman in a man’s body make sense to a lot of us, when in every other culture every other period in history that you would just go that know what happened? So that now it’s an interesting thing, he says, first of all, we had to psychologize the self, so that the self became psyche, right soul mind, something like that. psychologize the self, then we had to sexualize psychology. That was Freud’s contribution. And then lastly, think, looking at the sexual revolution in the 60s and 70s. Especially, we had to politicize sexuality. Those are the three steps that we had to take. But those three have been taken now. And so that statement makes sense to a lot of people for those reasons. This is so recent, those Judith Butler in her book of gender trouble in 1990. Like not that long ago, Blockbuster days, yes. But not that long ago, she was the first one to say that our sexed body is a social construct. So again, not our gender expression, how we live out masculinity or feminine, but the actual physical body is a social construct. And so then the body is incidental, not essential to who we are. And so we basically end up at the spot where I am not my body. And fundamentally, the difference is what I keep highlighting, it’s the question, do we conform our desires to reality? Or do we try to conform reality to our desires? It’s that question, you know, it’s why everything I’ve said, so far matters so much, that we are created beings, and that that matters. It also means we did it in our catechism question, I am not my own, but belong body and soul to God. But that means I’m also created to exist within God’s reality. You want the fancy term for this? This is what’s known as natural law. So natural law is the idea that we can discern God’s design in nature, we can discern something about God was intending by paying attention to nature, not nearly as authoritative as understanding what God’s design is from Scripture. Okay, this is this is different. I want to make sure we’re clear about that. But the Reformers call it the second book nature you you can get something of God from looking at nature. Let me give you an example. I just made a controversial example. And some of you write me emails, and that’s cool. That’s fine. I got a spam folder. For him. It’s no big deal. No kidding. I read your emails, it’s fine. Here’s an example of natural law. A woman reaches peak fertility at age 23. That probably has implications for how we think about adulthood, marriage and procreation. Now, I did not say a bunch of things right there. I did not say every woman should be married by 22. And she started having kids at 23. I did not get into all sorts of stuff about infertility which is involves a ton of heartache, etc. Like a lot of stuff I’m not dealing with. What I am saying is that probably a culture is no longer in line with God’s will if as as true of our culture, and we’re stat I read just this week, the most common number of children a woman has At age 35, is zero in the US. Now part of that, of course, it might even be less than half because you could have 123, or in some strange cases, six children. And that’s too many. We know that. But now, why did I mention that of all the natural law examples that could have come with why that one because it involves then a similar approach, where we decide, look, actually, I can do what I want. And technology will help me overcome nature. So I can take a totally different approach to Roman, I can have fun during my 20s, let’s say fun during my 20s. And I can pursue my career and get as far as I want, I can worry about marriage, my mid 30s. And then in my late 30s, early 40s, I can decide to have kids, because if it doesn’t work anymore, we’ve got IVF, or whatever. And again, I’m not getting into all the IVF discussions, just leave that there another day. Okay. But of course, it doesn’t always work. I know, people personally, who who waited too long and not even IVF was an option for them. You see the idea, we try to overcome nature make reality conform to our desires instead of conforming to the reality we inhabit. And it is the same as gender dysmorphia. Because yes, sex change operations exist, but they are abject failures. For one really simple fundamental reason, you cannot change your sex. Because you are sex, every molecule every cell of your body. So what happens then when we use technology to try to do this, it doesn’t work until we hit puberty blockers for example. Don’t stop puberty, but they do mess you up pretty badly. They also do things like increase the risk of stroke, and brain swelling, and lead to bone density loss. Nevermind, of course, infertility that follows. And all of that for no actual change at the fundamental level, or cross sex hormones in adults, which lead to similar risks. Lots of men, for example, taking estrogen who are admitted to hospitals with acute chest pains and blood clots. Women who develop cancer when they’re on testosterone. Why? Because the male body was not created for that much estrogen. And you can’t just pump it in and expect that there won’t be implications. I understand that everything I just said right there is not popular today. But it’s not popular, not because it’s hateful, bigotry, all that charges certainly leveled against us. It’s not popular because it exposes the lie of bodily autonomy. Because we are not our own. And the real me isn’t, you know, carried around in this Tupperware that I can exchange at will I don’t want plastic is bad for the environment. I can’t put in the microwave. I’m gonna get glass Tupperware in stead. No, I am my body. God, the Creator made it personally and purposefully. I am who I am meant to be fearfully and wonderfully made, and that includes my sex. During 1949, the Nobel Prize for science went to the man who invented the frontal lobotomy was not that many decades ago, that we gave a Nobel Prize for a destructive act of mutilation. You understand why I mentioned that example? Because the church is not on the wrong side of history here. Not by any means scientific advances untethered from natural law reality, and God’s moral imperatives lead to some bad places. So how should the church respond then? In a word, our responses love, of course, because that sums up the whole law. We talked a lot about this in a recent series. Love, earnest desire for the Beloved’s ultimate good,
earnest desire for the Beloved’s ultimate good. The ultimate good is to live in submission to God’s reality and God’s purposes for your life. Now, there are some specific applications that I think we could talk about. For one we don’t stereotype, masculinity and femininity, and culturally harmful ways. I knew a young man who was basically convinced by his peers that he was gay, because he liked poetry and gardening. And that’s what women like. It’s somebody who likes poetry and gardening by the way, I take offense at this, okay. That’s what happens when we stereotype masculinity and femininity. And by the way, that was about 15 years ago today, he probably would not have been convinced that he was gay, he would have been convinced he was a woman. So we got to be really careful with that. Of course, we don’t get into cultural pressures either. And this is a word for parents, especially, like we could end up having some heartbreaking conversations even in this congregation. Absolutely. If you have kids who are struggling gender dysmorphia, and like the pressure to relent to give in would be overwhelming we cannot do it because if not The loving thing to do. One more thing we don’t do is we don’t place trans people outside the reach of God’s grace wherever they are in that process. In fact, there’s people who are suffering, which they certainly are, they are probably more open to the hope of the gospel than some of our friends and neighbors in Elmhurst who have a large bank account and insurance and a 401k. And they don’t really need Jesus in their minds. We don’t place them outside the reach of God’s grace. What do we do instead, of course, we embrace a spectrum of gender expression that is culturally bound, but also just unique to individuals as well. We lovingly counsel people to accept the body that God knit together for them, they are fearfully and wonderfully made. And we have to commit to being willing to provide long term care and counsel and friendship and love to those who are suffering to walk alongside them for a long time. I am my body, you are your body created, finite, gendered, fearfully and wonderfully made? All of that challenges our desire for bodily autonomy to get to do what we want with our bodies, but no, we are stuck with what the Creator gave us to understand. We don’t like that always. When we have that, like when the sinful flesh chafes at that notion. I think we gotta remember Jesus. We’ve actually not talked about Jesus yet. That is really unusual for us in a sermon of this length. But think about Jesus, Jesus is God Himself, eternally existent, infinite, omnipresent. And yet He became flesh. John 114 tells us the infinite All Mighty God takes on a body created, prepared. Hebrews 10 tells us, for him, a finite body and a gendered body, I might add. I mean, Jesus was Infant Jesus had all those armies that we wanted, and yet he, like squished them. For our sake, let’s say. Here’s the way Sam Albury talks about it. Because before that Jesus became about right, Jesus. You didn’t just wear a bowtie for a few years. Jesus is right now in the flesh like we are. Sam Albury says this, he says he could have turned up as a ready made 30 year old male prepared to immediately gather His disciples teach about God’s kingdom and head to the cross. But really becoming one took something more to truly become a human. Jesus needed to become a fetus in the womb, a baby in a cot, a teenager going through puberty, a fully grown man, it wasn’t enough to have a body, He needed to truly become one. And never forget, he did that for you. He made Himself nothing took on human flesh, made in human likeness, became obedient to his father and right in submission to his father, even to the point of death on a cross. It’s why Kyle read it for us earlier why you’re living Colossians 1:22 One more time, he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body, through death, to present you holy in a sight by Christ’s physical body. To save you, body and soul. Jesus had to become a body. He didn’t cling to his autonomy and submitted to his father, and we can too in our bodies. That’s where we’re headed next week. By the way, do join me in prayer now.
Lord, we praise you because we are fearfully and wonderfully made. And we know that full well. Well, we inhabit a broken world, and our bodies are broken in many ways. We can still see the goodness of your design and celebrate the fact that you made us as we are. Would you help us, Lord, to receive the good gifts of your creation with gratitude and to live a joyful, contented life in Christ, knowing that we are who you made us to be? We are becoming what you are remaking us to be, and that we are where we are supposed to be when we are supposed to be to serve your will and to worship your name. And that is our heart’s desire. We pray through Christ, amen.

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Kingdom Decision March 24, 2024 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper preached on whether to follow Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus illustrates this choice by using the metaphors of two paths and building on rock or sand. False prophets try to make faith easy by ignoring Scripture, but true faith requires obedience through a relationship with God. God’s judgment will expose those without a solid foundation in Christ. Listeners are called to deliberately commit to Jesus’ narrow way despite its difficulty.

Good morning, church. Good to see you all here today we’re gonna go ahead grab your Bibles open up to Matthew chapter seven, we will finish up our series in the Sermon on the Mount today. Matthew chapter seven, we’re beginning in verse 13. So this is the last week. This is the conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount. We’ve been here for a while, of course, me just give you the quick overview, in case you missed some of it, you know, it starts with the introduction, especially the Beatitudes, and the bit about salt and light. And then it’s kind of structured like a five paragraph essay. And so Jesus gives us his thesis statement and Matthew 517 to 20. And he’s got to three points, right, we got to have this greater righteousness. And then he talks about in relation to the law, our personal piety, and then the world took us a lot of weeks to get through all of that. Well, now we’re in the conclusion. And the conclusion here is, if I can misapply Reagan, it’s all about a time for choosing, like this is the are you in? Or are you out moment in the sermon and in our lives as well? You know, what I mean, by the Are you in or are you out kind of moment, like we reach a point in our lives where the road forks, and you have to choose, you got to go this way, or that way, you can’t just stand there forever, you have to keep moving, take a step. So might have looked like, you know, a couple that’s dating, and they’re kind of reaching the point where they’re going, we’ve been together for a while, either we need to get married, or we need to decide we’re not gonna get married, we need to find people that maybe we could marry. Or maybe it’s early on in your career, and you’re realizing I don’t like this. I don’t like what I started doing. So maybe I it’s time for a switch, go back to school, that kind of thing. Or maybe it’s more serious, I think, you know, Bonhoeffer, for example, when he decided to resist the scourge of Nazism that was going across his country and across Europe, in each case, that the choice these people are making is obvious because of the actions that follow. So you can’t say yes, I’m all in on this relationship. But I’m still not going to pop the question. Like, we know you’re all in because you know, you get down on one knee, there’s the ring, all that kind of stuff. And we know that you’re all in on the career switch, because you’ve resigned from your job and signed up for a masters or inbound offers case because you went undercover with the resistance. You could tell they were in they made their choice. And that’s where we are now. We’ve heard what was said, what Jesus had for us in the Sermon on the Mount. Now, what is your big idea, your takeaway? It’s actually a question this week. But it’s the question that’s just a hanging over us at this point. What will you do with what you have heard? What will you do in response to the Sermon on the Mount, you have to choose this is a crisis point decision time. And Jesus is going to make this point for us using three metaphors. These are distinct but related images, each one pointing us to choose and specifically to choose kind of like what we just saying, like I’ve decided to follow Jesus, no turning back. Okay, that’s it. That’s the direction I’m going. So I’m gonna do the will of God wholeheartedly what we keep talking about the sermon on the mount that it’s all of me, it’s not just the externals, but the internal as well. So let’s look at these three images one at a time. First, we get the two paths before us. We read Matthew seven verses 13 and 14. Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many, many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. So Jesus begins the conclusion with this striking image of the choice before us. You got two gates, two roads, two destinations, which will we choose? And of course, these two couldn’t be less alike. They’re they’re so different. The one is wide gate and a broader road. The other ones is small gate and narrow roads. So it seems like an easy choice, like why not walk on the broad easy one, I should say here too, by the way, that the wide, broad easy way, it’s not so much the way of the world because that does not fit the context of the sermon on the mount. This is not, you know, the sex, drugs and rock and roll approach. But really, this is the way of external scorekeeping. Have I checked my religious boxes the easy way of the Pharisees what we’ve looked at a lot, right. I never committed adultery, so I’m good. Doesn’t matter what’s happening inside of me if there’s love, never committed murder, doesn’t matter that I’m enraged all the time. That’s what we’re talking about. Of course, we see this today. It’s not just you know, back then and the Pharisees is to be the the sort of person who, you know, hey, I’ve literally checked the box on my Bible reading plan every day. So that means I’m good, right? Even though there’s no vital communion with the Triune God. So that’s what makes it easy is because we don’t have to do the hard work of the heart work. We don’t really have to change and be like, Jesus, we can be like the rich young ruler, all these commands I’ve kept. Okay. Yeah, the only problem is you don’t actually love God You love money, like that’s an issue. No, no, no, check my boxes, I’m good. By way of contrast, though, the way of Jesus is narrow and difficult, and if you choose it because it has nothing to recommend itself, at least at first glance, I mean, just imagine like put yourself in this scene you are you are fleeing, let’s say from some people who are pursuing you. And so you are running down at a good clip down a nice wide street, it’s paved, you’re not worried about tripping, and spraining your ankle or anything like that you’re surrounded by crowds who are in good spirits, the beer is flowing like wine, you can hear the local musicians playing, you know, music pouring out from the pub or something like that, like this is a great place to be, as you’re running down this road, you pass a small gate in the stone wall, he almost didn’t even catch it, it just out of the corner of your eye, you can see that the the gate is is rusted and creaky. It looks like it’s out of a horror movie, you would have to stoop to enter through it. And as you look in just a little bit, you notice that it is choked with vegetation. Like this is an actually a way this is like maybe one person walked through here once and so some of the leaves are kind of pushed back. It is narrow, and rocky and uphill. And it’s got those roots growing everywhere on the path where you know, you are going down soon with a twisted ankle. What would induce you to enter? Like, why would you ever choose that path? Maybe you’ve done this, we’ll take a happier one, you know, you’ve gone to like Rocky Mountain National Park or something. And you’re there in the parking lot. And there’s this nice downhill paved sidewalk to the gift shop. And then there’s a 14,000 foot mountain. Why would you choose that one? You know why all that incline all that? Because the destination? That’s why, of course, do you want to see the view at the top of the mountain, you don’t have to do the hard work of actually climbing up there. And that’s exactly what Jesus says, look at where these two paths lead. Because the one leads to destruction, the other leads to life. To the broad way, yeah, you know, you’re running down at a good clip and everything. But if you keep going down this path, pretty soon it’s filled with landmines and pitfalls. And it’s a dead end and you will be caught. And you will be in chains at the end. But that narrow, difficult path. Well, if you went there, that’s the way of escape the freedom. And as you go, the way opens before you each step that you take is actually easier and easier. Sunlight starts filtering in you end and verdant meadows with happy crowds of daffodils. Which is a good reminder, because Jesus is selling himself a bit short here. And a lot of ways the same Jesus who said, the way is narrow and difficult is the same Jesus who said Come to me all you who are weary, and heavy laden, I will give you rest. My yoke is easy, and my burden is light. And you think how can that be what both are true? It’s one of the paradoxes of the Christian life. Most of the Christian life is paradox. You got to lose your life, if you want to find it and keep it like that kind of paradox. I think this is what it looks like, really, if I could describe it. Don Carson uses this metaphor. If I were Kyle, I’d have a prop up here. But you’re not getting that for me. But picture and orange traffic cone, okay, you can picture the prop in your head. And so, you know, the question is, which way is the opening there. And so Jesus is saying a lot of us, when we talk about Christianity, we make the wide end the introduction to Christianity. And so it’s very easy to enter and many are willing to take those first steps. You know, this is all joy and peace and forgiveness. Jesus will fix your marriage and help you raise better kids. But then what happens as you go along, you soon find it’s a little more confining than you had been led to believe. Because your pastor starts talking about things like discipleship, needing to take up your cross and follow Jesus repentance, you got to lay yourself down. In other words, but if we flip the cone around, and the entry is the is the, the small and the narrow point, and that’s how Jesus usually talks, right? How many times do people come to him and say, I want to follow you and he goes, No, you don’t? Really? You think so? Okay, foxes have holes, birds have nests. You know what, I got nothing. You sure you want to come after me? He’s constantly trying to talk people out of following him. You got to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me. And so what happens with a little entry like this is you have to accept Jesus’s conditions to enter in. Like, you know, you’re gonna have to get rid of the baggage, you’re gonna have to lay yourself down you’re gonna have to stoop and humble yourself in order to get in. But once you’re in you find not nearly so confining as you were led to believe that it actually is the the joy and peace and forgiveness that you were looking for more than what the world has to offer. I’m reminded of the words the old hymn fading is the worldlings pleasure all his boasted pomp and show solid joys and lasting treasure. None but Zions members know. That’s the vision of the expanding horizons that come with following Jesus. So this is the choice that Jesus asks us to make. Choose the small and hard path. And when you get to stooped, enter, because you see the destination, and that is the key right, look, and where does the path lead? What’s the end and the end of Jesus’s path is grace. It’s great. So let’s go back to our image. I said we were fleeing, remember, and we are fleeing. Now I know in your heads, you’re all like, like, because I’m like the James Bond character here. That’s why I’m fleeing. So I am the good guy. We are not the good guys. We are not the good as we are the bad guys, what we’re really escaped convicts. Here we are fleeing justice. And so this path that we’re being invited to enter, it leads not just to escape, but to freedom, not just to freedom, but to pardon and restoration. Because we are fleeing, justice, we are fleeing the judge. But he is also as we’ve seen over and over again in this series, Our Father, who delights in us who wants us to return to Him, and it’s his son, who’s pointing out the gate to us, come this way, come this way. Of course we know the son is himself the gate, the only way we can get to pardon and restoration is because the son lays his life down so that we could enter in like he lets the pursuing justice take him instead, so that we are able to escape and find our father. Again, when you look at it like that it doesn’t seem so narrow or confining, does it? It seems so welcoming, why wouldn’t we go in? Quick aside here, you may have noticed it says small is the gate narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it. The question comes up here, of course, so will only a few be saved. And I don’t think that’s the point. In fact, in Luke chapter 13, Jesus has asked this question directly like are you saying only a few will be saved? And basically Jesus, he doesn’t answer. And he said there’s things that are forgot. Like God knows that number. We know that it’s multitudes and heaven, we see that picture and Revelation. But here’s what you need to know. And so when when he gets to ask, this will only a few be saved. He says make every effort to enter by the small gate uses the same image here and whatnot. That’s the point. That’s the takeaway in this section. Go on in enter. There’s the gate, never mind the appearance, it is hard, but good. So enter. What will you do with what you have heard, and choose this day, the path you will take. And then we get to claims. Second section here is is the longest and most complicated. Let me read verses 15 to 23. Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus by their fruit, you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name, drive out demons and in your name before many miracles, then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you away from me, you evildoers. They said this is the longest most complicated section here in the conclusion. It’s got three separate metaphors in it. And they actually seem to conflict at a few points. But I promise you this is just a single unit about false teachers about false prophets. There are some subtle connections in here. For example, the repetition of the word no gets translated as recognized in verses 16 and 20. But basically, Jesus is saying by your fruit, you will know them, you will recognize you will know them and then at the end, of course, verse 23, I never knew you. So that repetition is important. Also the shift in what person is being used here. Jesus has been speaking to us like you enter through the narrow gate you Watch out for false prophets, then he switches to third person. They do that And that’s the same in verses 21 and 23. Right? It very, I will tell them plainly. So he’s talking about this other group, these false teachers, the ones who are going to try to lead us astray. And that’s the point Jesus says, Watch out for false prophets. The fact that he warns us about false prophets, of course means that they exist. So you don’t hang a Beware of Dog sign on your, you know, backyard fence. If the most dangerous pet you have the parakeet, like you put the beware there. If there’s actually danger, Jesus is saying there’s actual danger here. Now, these false prophets, I know we hear the word profit. And we always think predicting the future that’s not what’s being talked about here at all. These are just false teachers, false teachers, because a profit is the one who instructs God’s people and how to keep his covenant. So he’s not predicting the future, these false prophets, but they are leading people astray. Because they themselves are going astray. Like they’re on the wrong path. Or say, look, did you see how wide and broad this path is? You should come this way. It’s so nice. Jesus is thinking especially if the scribes and Pharisees we’ve seen throughout the Sermon on the Mount, you know, who makes it easy. Alright, love your neighbor, but go on and keep hating, you’re me, it’s fine. Like, we don’t have to be nice to them. That’s you heard that it was said like, these are the false teachers that he’s talking about. And so there’s no connection between the external acts and the internal reality. There’s no greater righteousness. They’re not really doing the will of their father, they’re on the wrong path. And so let’s unpack these three images. Briefly. First of all, Jesus says they’re like wolves in sheep’s clothing. And what makes a wolf in sheep’s clothing so dangerous is that they are not what they appear. If the wolf just came to you, you wouldn’t go, that’s a wolf, we should run. But if it looks like a sheep, then come on over, like we can hang out sheep are not dangerous. And so that’s what will destroy you. The second image, though, seems to confuse this a little bit because he says they’re like two trees. And a good tree produces good fruit and a bad tree produces bad fruit. And so you’re gonna be able to spot the difference. Good tree must be good. You know, good fruit must be good tree, vice versa. So you can see where the conflict comes in, then, are these false prophets hidden? Like they’re wolves, but they’re in sheep’s clothing? Or are they obvious so that you recognize them by their fruit? It is actually the same idea. It’s just kind of a where we are in the process. And that Jesus gives us that by this analogy and verse 16. He’s talking about actual plants that would have been familiar to his audience, they would have all gone Oh, yeah, no, I know exactly what you’re talking about. So from a distance, the buck thorns, blackberries look a little bit like grapes that are just starting to grow. And from a distance, the flower of the thistle looks a little bit like the figs they have over there. So they look the same in the same way that Oh, wolf in sheep’s clothing looks like a sheep at least for a bit until you know, the sheep smiles and you see the fangs and all that. But there is this sense of inevitability, or they may look like grapes. But as soon as you start to make a wine from them, you’re gonna know that was a buckthorn Berry. As soon as you take a bite of the figure and go, nope, that was a thistle flower. Like now I’ve got it figured out the false prophets look real at first, but they will eventually out themselves, they will reveal themselves for what they actually are. The fruit language here, which is used throughout Scripture reminds us that what we’re really talking about is character, especially. I don’t think Jesus isn’t inviting us to go heresy hunting here that would probably conflict with Matthew seven, one and two, when he says, you know, don’t judge and the measure you measure out, you know, there’s some people who are just always looking for any little statement that was wrong. I don’t think that’s what we’re talking about here. No, we’re talking about character. We’re talking about fruit. We’re talking about the Pharisees, for example, who are not righteous internally, but only outwardly. And that leads to this third image that not a not a metaphor, but a graphic picture here of these powerful prophets, who are doing amazing works. Outwardly, like the buckthorn berries look like fruit. Absolutely. But inwardly they don’t even know Jesus. Jesus does not even know them. And we know what these people are like we see them throughout the Old Testament. For example, Balem prophesized accurately, what will happen to Israel, he even prophesized the coming Messiah. And yet he is judged because he also helps the Moabites lead God’s people astray by enticing them into sexual sin, or the Egyptian magicians that Moses squares off against. They also turn the Nile into blood. But that’s an impressive at work. Paul tells us that Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
So the question is character not just works one of the earliest Christian writings outside of the Bible that you dock he says it like this not everyone who speaks in the spirit is a prophet, except he have the behavior of the Lord. That is the question. Are you like Jesus? The ultimate test is obedience, doing the Lord’s will. Paul says it to First Corinthians 13 famous passage if I have the gift of prophecy, and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, the character of a Christian, like all the commands summed up Love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, love your neighbor as yourself. If I don’t have that, then I’m nothing. I’m nothing. So the ultimate test is obedience, not just superficially correct theology. Lord, Lord, they’re speaking accurately that is who Jesus is, or flashy signs. It’s actually interesting. Jesus uses that Lord, Lord language elsewhere, too. In Luke, chapter six, verse 46. He says, Why do you call Me Lord, Lord, and then not do what I say? I think how ridiculous that is. If you’re coming to Jesus, and you’re like, You are Lord, Master, like I am in submission to you. Can you go fold the laundry? No way. Like, I didn’t sign up for that. Okay, well, then I’m not Lord. That’s his point. Why would you not then do what he says? Now, in light of the whole conclusion, and kind of where we’ve been in the Sermon on Mount, it’s quite clear that these false prophets are those who make following God too easy. You know, they got the cone, the big side facing toward you take the wide road. And that’s clear from the last phrase that’s used when Jesus says away from you evil doers, he’s quoting Psalm six, verse eight, right there, the literal phrase is you workers of lawlessness, which is a really ironic term for the Pharisees, of course, who are all about the law. And yet Jesus calls them lawless, takes us back to chapter five, verse 17, that whole thesis statement, you know, I’ve not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. The Pharisees teach law breaking, as they teach law keeping, because they’re teaching the easy way, that you only need to make it external. And so their false prophets, and their fruit exposes them. Now, that’s the Pharisees. That’s one way to make it easy. I don’t think that’s the most common one today, although it might be there. What would this look like for us today? I mean, certainly, we have false prophets, false teachers, who who will tell you you can take the easy way when it comes to your sexuality will be a huge one, your sexual expression, or even your sexual identity, which is not really a biblical idea in the slightest, but talked about a lot today, you can do that. You can just go whichever way you want. Here, it’s fine. Or we have other ones we call them health, wealth, preachers or prosperity, gospel preachers, who would say, you know, God just wants to bless you all the time, which is true, by the way, just not like that. And so your life should be easy. If you have enough faith, you know, you’re just gonna get money and health and whatever else you could possibly want showered on you all the time. Or it could be subtler than that, too. I think of how often we talk about you know, the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus. Again, good thing, you should have a personal relationship with Jesus. Absolutely. But that word personal, gets really dicey, in a culture as individualistic as ours, when we’re in thrall to expressive individualism, and the whole key here is that you choose what kind of life you want to live. And so now I got God is like one of the key decorations in the life that I am creating for myself. Very dangerous, very dangerous. So you see it there. These are the false prophets. This is the claims we have to be careful with. But this is not a passage about the false prophets. Jesus is speaking to us in this moment, it’s a warning to us watch out Be on your guard. What claims Do you listen to because we are all tempted to take the easy way? And so if you get a religious leader who’s telling you it’s fine, you can take the easy way like that’s great news, isn’t it? Except it’s not of course, because it leads to destruction. That’s the danger. I’ve seen this. I remember one time this was years ago, when we’re on the mission field, was a hard situation with a man who was caught in adultery and was unrepentant and the church elders put him under discipline. And so he just left the church and he found a church that wasn’t gonna put them under discipline because they didn’t really care about holiness that much. That’s the easy way. That’s the danger. We all have that temptation. Let’s go the easy way. I should finish that story. By the way, bye. He did come back, repent and came back into the church as well. But you see the danger there. So how might we take the easy way? And listening to these false prophet minutes give you a couple of thoughts just to get you thinking. First, we do this when we ignore the plain teaching of Scripture, especially its ethical commands. And because it’s so easy for us to dismiss them, you know, that times have changed, right? So what might have been true back then we know better. Now we’re now smarter than the All Knowing God of the minute doesn’t sound great when you say like that. But that’s kind of how we get plus, there’s always grace, right? So it doesn’t really matter if you’re striving for holiness, because we love to sin. God loves to forgive, it’s a match made in heaven. Let’s just keep on going. So we ignore the plain teaching of Scripture. Another one is when we replace relationship with religion, we’ve talked about already checking boxes, instead of knowing God and being known by him, that’s a really key word to when Jesus says, you know, Depart from me, I never knew you. It’s not like he’s saying, I am not aware of your existence. Again, he’s omniscient. He knows everything he knows all of us. The word know is all about intimacy, relationship. And Hebrew thought in Greek thought, I’ll give you the clear example. With a wink and whatnot. You know, if you remember your King James Version, back in Genesis two, it’s Adam knew Eve. And then Cain was born. You can make the connection. Okay, that’s the intimacy that we’re talking about here. Like it is relationship that’s in place. I think the problem is that some of us have with God, what can almost be described as a green card marriage. There’s no actual relationship. It really is just the externals, yes, we got a certificate so that you know, this person can stay in the country or some like that, so it’s transactional, instead of genuinely communal. Third way we might do this is to give God our actions, but not ourselves, not our hearts. This is like Saul, when the defeated the Amalekites, and he was supposed to put everything to destruction, and he didn’t, he kept the best stuff. And then he makes up a lame spiritual sounding excuse for it. And what a Samuel will say to him, to obey is better than sacrifice. I didn’t want your religious duties, what I wanted was your heart. That’s what God is saying to obey is better than sacrifice. These are strong and terrifying words. In this passage, there is very real danger here. Did you notice verse 22, it says, Many will say to me, how terrifying is that this is not something isn’t that like a person here? Or there? One or two? Maybe no Many will say to me in that time. And so we have to examine ourselves. Ask ourselves the tough questions. We know that we could come to Jesus with this same mentality. Because Where would people like this be on a Sunday morning? Right here, in church, in church, of course, Lord, Lord, didn’t we go to church regularly? Lord, Lord, didn’t you get my tithe check? I sent it every month. Lord, Lord, didn’t I grow up in a Christian home? So I know all the answers. Lord, Lord, didn’t I have my quiet time? Most days at least? And it’s not that those things don’t matter. But they don’t matter. Ultimately. They don’t matter if the relationship is not there. Are you doing the will of your Father because you know him? Because he knows you. He just delight to please him. What will you do with what you have heard? Choose this day which claim you will heed. And then the last section to foundations, verses 24 to 27 be familiar words too many of us I’m sure. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose and winds blew and beat against that house yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house and it fell with a great crash. And this is the final knockdown punch. The last image the the last choice. We got these two builders one is wise and one is foolish and what’s the difference between him? It’s interesting how much of the language is repeated verbatim. Like this is the same house it seems like it may be in a second of division like we have today. Like I know in my neighborhood, it’s like, That’s my house. And that’s my house. And that’s my house, they all look the same. From the outside, people across the street from us have the exact same house we do. The only difference is theirs is updated. We still got original floors and original kitchen and stuff, you know, the avocado, it’s linoleum, it’s just the best of the best, right? There’s this beautiful open layout. It’s all you know, it’s everything. That’s the point like maybe even that house over there is nicer than yours. It’s got better paint and nicer furniture, and a new layout, whatever. And it just reminds us how similar these two people really are. I mean, they’re in the same place these two builders aren’t they, they’re both trying to build their home right along the river, which is a great place to build a home, of course, in the same way that these two types of disciples would be right here in this room. These two builders have the same desires, they both want shelter. That’s why they’re building a home. And they both want the convenience of water, which is why they’re building it there. We want the same things true and false disciples, we want peace and joy and all the rest. And they’re doing the same thing. They both built a house, we would do the same things we would both be praying and reading and maybe living out, you know, Matthew 721 to 23 that we just looked at the one difference is the one that you can’t see. And that’s interesting, because I think we cling to the notion that the difference between true and false disciples would be obvious. And Jesus is saying here it’s not or not, at first at least. So what’s the one difference when you can’t see it’s the foundation? In the same way that you can’t see the human heart, the fruit will show inevitably, yes, you can’t see the human heart. And so we need to examine, because you can go into a place and plaster over the cracks. Without asking why there are cracks in the wall in the first place. Did the foundation shift? Because that seems important? Nope. Let’s just paint right over it. So what is the foundation? What is the difference? And this is important, because I think we get confused here. If you were to poll, most people, they would say the the rock on which we build our lives is Jesus’s words. And then sand is when you don’t build your life on Jesus’s words. It’s not what Jesus says here. He says the difference is whoever hears these words of mine, and puts them into practice. They’re both building their lives. On the words of Jesus, only one of them is putting Jesus’s words into practice, though. That is the difference. It is interesting to that he says these words of mine, like Jesus is a it’s my word that you keep like I’m the law giver. In other words, he is very definitely claiming divine sanction here. But this is key. So Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his book, the cost of discipleship, he says it like this, he says, We have listened to the Sermon on the Mount, and perhaps have understood it, but who has heard it right? Jesus gives us the answer here at the end, the person who have heard it a right is the person who puts it into practice to say, Lord, Lord, and then to do what he says simple surrender, full obedience to the very core of who we are our hearts. Now we have to be careful here. Of course, Jesus is not saying that we obey in order to earn our salvation. We’ve already seen that in the Sermon on the Mount. I mean, he begins by saying busting out the poor in spirit, the people who realize they cannot earn their salvation, but we also just have too many verses elsewhere in the New Testament, Ephesians 289. For example, four It is by grace, you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. So our good works can’t get us in. But I mean, Paul goes on here Ephesians 210. So it’s not by work so that no one can boast. But we are God’s handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. So we don’t get in through our works. But once God gets us in by grace, we do the good works that he has for us. James tells us that faith without works is dead. First, John, one six, John says if we claim to have fellowship with Him, and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. So let me quote Don Carson here. He says, it is true that no man enters the kingdom because of his obedience, but it’s equally true no man enters who is not obedient. It’s just a consequence of us entering. If you know God, and are known by Him, you will keep his commands in increasing measure not perfectly. Sin lingers, yes, but you will keep his commands in increasing measure and whole hearted They keep saying that the fruit will eventually show and it will. It is often trials that reveal it. You know who we really are, trials come. And those are the moments where you you either lean into God or you pull away from God. And that’s what Jesus talks about. He’s got the rain and the flood, and the wind and all of that. Those are the things that will expose the shoddy construction of your house. You may have thought your roofer did a great job until it rains the first time. And then you go, Okay, we’re going to have to call these people back. So there is that, but I think this image is actually a little bit scarier than that even I think Jesus is drawing from Ezekiel chapter 13. Here’s verses 10 and 11. And verse 13, he says, because they lead my people astray, saying peace when there is no peace. And because when a flimsy wall was built, they cover it with whitewash. Therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. In my wrath, I will unleash a violent wind and in my anger, hailstones, and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury. In other words, the the rain and the wind and stuff, this is what God is sending. To test us. This is a scatological judgment, like the End Times judgment that we’re talking about. If God knocks over your shoddily constructed house before then it is grace. That is an act of grace. Because it means you realize you’re not built on a solid foundation, you got a chance to examine your life but if not mean judgment is coming. It’s been the note running throughout this whole passage. And you see that verse 13. Right. broad is the road that leads to destruction. Verse 19, every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. There’s 23, I will tell you plainly, I never knew you away from me, you evildoers. And then we have this judgment. Here also judgment is coming. And this is frightening. Now we can knock this approach, maybe you have knocked it when other people have evangelized like this. It’s put somewhat crassly, but not inaccurately, that you’re trying to scare the hell out of people. That might be the Lord calling for us. So it’s time to answer right time for that, you know, is Jesus just trying to scare the hell out of people? And you’re like, yeah, yeah, kind of. And it’s fair to do that. Like he’s saying, flee the wrath to come take shelter. Now, while you still can. It’s scary, but it’s good at the same time. My cousin was up at our family’s home in Lake Placid some years ago, and they were up late. They were sitting on the balcony and stuff and they smelled smoke and notice fire at our neighbor’s house. And these are all like century old log cabins. They go up quickly. And so what did she do? took off running went into this person’s house that she did not know. Yelling, banging on their bedroom door finally stormed into their bedroom where this nice couple is asleep in bed saying your house is on fire. Did she scare them? Yeah. How’d you feel about you know, crazy people in your house in your bedroom when you’re sleeping? Were they grateful that she scared them? Of course, of course, because their house didn’t burn down. They didn’t perish? That’s what today is. It’s the pounding at your door. If you don’t know Jesus, or worse, if you don’t know that you don’t know Jesus. Listen to the knock will you wake from your sinful slumber? Will you trust and obey? And what will you do with what you have heard? Choose this day? Which foundation you will lay? So let me just briefly in clothing closing ask how can you know if you are putting Jesus’s words into practice or not? It can be hard to tell. Like we need others. One reason God calls us into community where we have things like community groups and journey groups here so that people can say, Are you sure you’re doing that? Like it’s good for us? Okay, but here are a couple questions to ask ourselves. So Do you resent the Sermon on the Mount? Have you resented even this series? It’s too hard. Okay. Like the standard is too high. Or as you’ve been listening to the Sermon on the Mount, and being humbled by it, which of course we have all been. Are you willing to accept the rebuke? It’s a little bit like a doctor giving you an unfavorable diagnosis where you’ve got to change your diet and exercise more or bad things are coming and you can be really offended by your doctor. You can go okay, she’s telling me this because she loves me and I should probably make some changes. That’s what’s happening here. Second question, having heard it, you go away and forget it. Or do you keep thinking about it? Right I asked the question that are big idea. What will you do with what you’ve heard, but we’ve been in the sermon for a long time now, it would be fair for me to ask what have you done? What have you been doing? With these words that you have heard? Are you doing anything already? Like, are you tackling sin we’re now in a unit right now in Journey groups, most of us called how we change, I think it’s the most important unit we do across the three years. But one of the things that’s delighted me so much, is that I keep having these conversations with people who aren’t in my journey group who are going, the area that I’m working on right now, the one that I chose to look at for these six weeks. And I’m like, like, that’s it. That’s the Christian life. I’m putting sin to death. I’m cultivating virtue, for God’s sake. Is that what you are doing? Are you putting it into practice joyfully? Which maybe leads us to that third and final question that I would ask, do you want to live it? Like, have you as you’re listening to the Sermon on the Mount, are you going, I wish that were true of me. It’s not yet but by God’s grace, I will get there someday, because that is a good sign. You will fail often, I fail often, when we fail. That’s when we look to Jesus. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Bless it are those who mourn for they will be comforted. Alright, I’m bankrupt. I grieve over my sin. But we look to Jesus because this sermon is about Jesus. We know that because every page of this book is about Jesus. It’s always about him. In fact, look what happens afterwards, we just keep reading the last couple of verses here, verses 2829. When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at His teaching, because he taught us one who had authority and not as their teachers of the law. When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed Him. Of course, a lot of those crowds would later abandoned him, but there they are. You see, the crowd is amazed at Jesus, like that’s their takeaway is not one of those good teaching. But wow, like that guy is something else. They’re dumbfounded by his authority as a teacher, especially no one ever taught like this before. But his authority as Messiah, which he’s talked about, he said, Don’t think that I have come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it, but I’m the one who was Come on, no one had been sent by God, Messiah. They’re amazed by his authority as a lord, did you catch that? Like the hutzpah Jesus says, Not everyone who comes to me, and says, Lord, Lord, I’m the Lord Jesus is saying, we see as authority as judge and Savior. And ultimately, as God, this is Jesus on whose words we must build our lives. And here’s the really good news. He’s the pioneer of that narrow path that we’re gonna go on. Julie read it for us earlier, right? He’s the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, you might have learned it as author and perfecter of faith. That’s not it. It’s not author, it’s Trailblazer. Jesus went before us, he made the way. Bonhoeffer says it like this. He says, We regard this way as one we follow in obedience to an external command. It is indeed an impossible way. But we behold Jesus Christ going on before step by step we shall not go astray, for he is himself the way, the narrow way, and the straight gate. That’s who Jesus is. All of us are prone to choose the easy way. But we can follow the one who chose the hard way and made the hard way. For us. Christianity is not simply high ethical ideals, although it is that too, but it is a crucified Savior, who forgives us when we repent and follow him. This is a time for choosing a time for a deliberate act of commitment and not just living out a haphazard faith any longer. What will you do with what you have heard? Let’s pray. Father, we see the road forked before us even now. And know that we must choose the you have made it so clear to us that we must choose this day which way we will go which path we will take which Prophet we will listen to, and which foundation we will build our lives on. May You give us the wisdom to choose, well, Lord, to build our lives, on Jesus’s words, and on his finished work on our behalf. We know we could not get in on our own by all our strenuous attempts at law keeping, but we get in by grace and grace alone. And so Lord, we thank you for that. Now we fix our eyes on Jesus. Now we pray that you would overwhelm us with your grace once more, and give us grace, to choose well, to follow heart after you and to grow in obedience as we do. We pray this for your names sake. Amen.

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Kingdom Prayer March 17, 2024 | Kyle Bjerga Pastor Kyle Bjerga teaches from Matthew 7 about boldly approaching God in prayer like a child approaching their father. Jesus instructs believers to ask, seek, and knock in prayer and that God eagerly gives good gifts to His children who ask according to His will. Bjerga encourages evaluating if the Sermon on the Mount teachings has changed one’s life and relationships with others for the better. Jesus fulfills the law and prophets by teaching the golden rule of loving God and others as the conclusion of His Sermon on the Mount. Believers should pray in scripture to seek God’s guidance and bring requests that are aligned with His promises in the Bible.

Good morning. Go ahead and grab your Bibles and turn to Matthew chapter seven. It’s page 788. If you use one of the black pew Bibles in front of you, some of you are like, wow, this is the guy with the props. No props this week, sorry to disappoint you. I know, I know. fourth and sixth grade retreat this week, I was with them at the City Link thing that we’ve just mentioned. And there were glitter balls in the crowd, there was all sorts of things, and it broke. So thankfully, there’s gonna be no glitter in our service today. So about 11 years ago, there was a an invention that kind of revolutionized the way we do something a very simple thing. And that is the way that we answer the door. So there was a guy who decided to fix a problem that he had, where he had people coming to his door delivering packages that he wanted, but he wasn’t hearing the doorbell ring. And other than I mean, he decided to just invent something which I just think get a louder doorbell. But he decided I’m gonna invent something different, something better. And and now he’s got a $2 billion company called the ring. So the ring doorbell was 11 years ago that were introduced to this device that supposed to make life easier. So if you are not familiar with it, maybe some of you have it. But there’s this doorbell, that will actually sense when somebody is there and can actually notify you that hey, somebody’s around your door, or will notify you when they actually press the doorbell. Now, depending on who or what you see, will determine if or how fast you go and open the door. You can also talk to the person from wherever you are, whether you’re at home or somewhere else, because everything comes up on whatever device you want. So let’s imagine one day you’re at home. And it’s a busy day at your door. Now the first time it’s just a notification that somebody’s by your door, and you check it and it’s just, it’s just the UPS guy delivering the package. And you’re like, I’m gonna keep working. No sense of urgency here. I can get it when it’s convenient. For me. Doorbell rings again, you look out, it’s somebody you don’t know. It’s a stranger to you, and everybody in your house. Nobody has any idea who it is. They don’t have any identification with them, they look a little suspicious. So when those harsh but very stern word you tell everybody don’t talk. Nobody say anything. Don’t look out the door, don’t let them know we’re home. Alright, because I don’t know who this person is. I don’t want to go to the door. And I’m going to ask who they are. Another person comes this time you see a tag on their shirt, you see them? They have a clipboard. And you think I don’t have time for this today? Not a salesman, not now I can’t do this. But then they’re like, Well, what’s what’s the Harmon? Let me just ask. So through the ring doorbell you say hey, who is it and kind of what are you here for and depending on what they’re selling, or what they’re there for, maybe you will open the door. But you’re gonna talk to them from the comfort of your home while they’re outside. And they end up going away. And then the doorbell rings one more time. And you check the screen. This time it’s your son, or your daughter? What do you do? You don’t say who is it? Why are you here? You go to the door. You open the door excitedly, say hey, it’s good to have you home. You welcomed them in, they come into the home. You give them a hug. You say How was your day, sit down, have a snack. Let’s talk. Brothers and sisters in Christ, that is God the Father to us, saying come in and talk to me. He sees us He knows us and he welcomes us in to pray. We do not get ignored by him as an outsider. He doesn’t see us as a threat. He doesn’t see us as an annoyance. Or someone who’s unknown. We are not bothering him. He sees his son or daughter coming to talk to their father. And so that’s what I want us walking away with today. That’s the big idea you see right there in your notes. And we’re gonna unpack it this morning. In Matthew seven. You have a good father who wants to hear from you. You have a good father who wants to hear from you. Now before we unpack all of this, we are coming to the close of the Sermon on the Mount. And this greater righteousness that Jesus started talking about in Matthew chapter five and and saying if this is he’s calling people they truly want to be a people, his people than they need to be what it looks like to enter the kingdom of God as people who have this greater righteousness that look like Jesus. And we started last week in chapter seven seven looking at kind of judgment and being discerning in our in our greater righteousness towards others in our relationship to people in the world. And at the end of this passage, Jesus is going to give us a very tangible way of how we are to relates to the world. But remember, you have a good fight Other who wants to hear from you. Now this father, we’re going to see as we go through this passage, he invites us, the Father gives to us. And finally the father changes us. So that’s how we’re gonna unpack this idea this morning. So let’s look at verses seven through eight. And look at that the father invites us. Ask and it will be given to you seek and you will find, knock, and the door will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives, the one who seeks finds into the one who knocks, the door will be open. Now, before we go any further into this passage, we need to take a step back and realize something. It’s amazing that we can even do what Jesus is saying here. We just sang the song boldly, I approach read these words from Hebrews chapter four, verse 16, let us then approach God’s throne of grace, with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. How is this possible? Because right now, many of us here, you probably couldn’t get a hold of the top dog in your company at this moment. And I know unless you have a secret profession, you’re not telling us. Nobody here can get a direct line to the President of the United States. We can’t contact him, we can’t talk to him, we can’t bring a request to him. But we get to do that with the God of the universe. That is an amazing thing. So before we kind of like oh, what are these words mean? Why are these here we have to, we have to record the fact like we can even do this. And that should lead us to worship. We come before the God of the universe, boldly making requests of him. He invites us in to do just that, to seek him out to find him to knock and have the door opened. And here, what do you want? What do you need? So yes, you and I, through Christ can boldly approach our father. And now that he says he will listen, and He will answer. There is no reason this should happen other than God’s grace toward us. So with this in our minds, we remember back when Jesus started the Lord’s Prayer when he was teaching his disciples to pray, even a couple of weeks ago, as we looked at this in Matthew six, what does he say? He starts off our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. So yes, we are going to talk about bringing our request to God today. But it has to start here we praise him, that we can even approach him and bring our requests at all. So back to verses seven through eight. These are memorable and meaningful words. Many of you know this, ask, seek and knock like these are familiar. You’ve read these before in this book, other places in Scripture as well. And each word is is meaningful, because it are memorable, because it kind of talks a little bit about a different aspect of asking God of coming to God in prayer. It’s also meaningful and memorable. Because Jesus is saying like, this is really important. You need to pay attention to us these three words of saying, This is what you get to do. As a child of God, this is what you get to do. So let’s look at these words just briefly. First is we ask. Now we don’t normally ask questions, if we know the answer already. We don’t normally ask people for help if we can do something ourselves. So when we come to God and ask, we are showing that there are things we know we cannot do without him. In fact, everything that we need, we cannot have without him giving it to us. And so our prayers are asking prayers are saying, Lord, I’m dependent on you completely. So we bring everything to him, even though small requests, we seek Him. And this is the idea of pursuing him. We want to ask God for things that are in line with his will, that we know he wants for us. So coming to God and say, Lord, I want to know what I’m supposed to do in this situation, would you would you show me through Your Word? Two weeks ago, we saw this in Matthew six, Seek first His kingdom, and His righteousness, pursue Him. And He will show you what’s important. He will show you what you should be asking for. And then we knock. We come to God and we knock and we don’t go away until He answers. We persevere. We’re persistent. Have you ever been around a persistent child? Do they ever ask a question just once? No. That’s what we do with God.
We say Lord, I want this I desire this. And then you bring it to him again. minutes later, hours later, days later, Lord, I want this I desire this. I’m bringing this to you and we are persistent. Two things happen. Two things can happen when we are persistent in prayer. The first is that it actually shows us what’s really most important to us. If you pray for something once the chances are, it’s really not that important to you. But if you pray for it daily, this matters to you. And so that’s something good that this teaches us. If we’re persistent in prayer, we say know that this really matters. I’m willing to bring the same prayer every day before the Lord until He answers. The other thing that persistence can teach us or does persistent prayer, gives us a better chance of our prayer, life changing us or I should say, God changing us through our prayer life. Because the more we persist in praying, the more the Lord will probably be shaping our hearts to be in line with his will. And so we will be praying, the right types of prayer. And so those two things can happen if we persist in praying. I love what John Piper says about these words, Ask, seek and knock. He says if if a child’s father is present, he asked him for what he needs. If a child’s father is somewhere in the house, but not seen, he seeks his father, for what he needs, if the child seeks and finds the father behind the closed door of his study, he knocks to get what he needs, the point seems to be that it doesn’t matter whether you find God immediately close at hand, almost touchable with His nearness, are hard to see. And even with barriers between he will hear and he will give good things to you, because you look to Him and not another, you look to Him and not another. Now ask seek and knock are written like commands in the present tense, meaning these are not just ask, seek and knock one time. This is keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. So this was a this would Jesus invites us into this the relationship with the father that he wants us to have. But what do we do with what comes after these words? Because he says Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened. What Jesus is saying is that he’s not giving us a blank check, kind of prayer life, where it says, Yeah, write in whatever you want, you can cash it in, it’s as good as done. Because we have many scriptures we can go to, to show that we need to be praying very specifically, in accordance with God’s will. Here’s one, it’s not gonna be on the screen. So I’ll just read it for you. In First John five, it says this, this is the confidence we have in approaching God, that if we ask anything, according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have will be asked of him, if it’s in accordance with His will. So two important things to remember here first, this means that God will answer our prayers, no, sometimes to our requests. God always answers prayers, right? Like he always answers it. But but it’s not always what we want to hear. And sometimes he will say no, now sometimes when he says, No, this is a way of him protecting us from our own prayer requests. From the things we think we want, or we think that the Lord wants for us, and and sometimes he’s gonna say no, because he knows something will do more harm than good. Maybe it’s just not a part of his plan. He’s got something better for us. We just can’t see it yet. It’s kind of like the the Amazon wishlist. I know how many of you guys have wish lists, or Amazon lists, and you’re like, Oh, I’m going to put this on there. I need this. I need this. I need this. And then you send it on to people. And six months later, Christmas comes around, you open something up, you’re like, I didn’t want this. Like it was on your wish list. You’re like, oh, I guess I mean, at one point, I guess maybe I did want it. But now I don’t. So now you got this thing that you have to go return? Because you didn’t really want it. But at some point you did. And it’s kind of that same way, like we need to go back and edit our list. Thankfully, God will edit it for us. He will say you, you don’t really want that. That specific request, I’ve got something better for you. So I’m gonna take that one off, I’m gonna I’m gonna say no to that one. So that that might be what happens sometimes to our prayers. Other times, they are just things that he says no to because they’re not in line with his will. And you were sitting there thinking, Lord, I think this is in line with your will. Like, I think I’m praying exactly what your word says. And it’s in those moments that are really tough, and I don’t have an answer for you. I don’t know how to explain that. We’ve all been there. We prayed prayers that we believe we’re convinced that God will answer exactly how we pray them. And we don’t see it. Maybe you’re praying those types of prayers right now. Now, sometimes in my life, the Lord has shown me that he saved me from something else in order to give me something better. Sometimes, most of the time, that’s not true. Most of the time was in there. I don’t know how else to pray. I don’t know what else to say. And I don’t know what you’re doing. And I’m sure all of us have been in that place. So as a Christian It’s in these moments, one of the most important questions we ever ask ourselves is, can I trust my father? My kids don’t understand a lot of what I do. And sometimes that’s because maybe doesn’t make sense. And I don’t even know what I’m doing. But sometimes it’s just because they’re not going to because I have a long view of their life in the long view of parenting that they can’t possibly understand at this point in their life. And if that’s true of me, than the infinite God has a much longer view than I have. So do I trust him? And the answer this question, we need to look at Jesus, we need to look at Jesus the night before the night, the night He is betrayed, as he is praying in the garden, and he comes before his father, he’s gonna be betrayed. He knows what’s coming. He’s stressed, and he’s sweating. And he’s sweating so much. And there’s so much stress and intensity in his prayers, that the capillaries are breaking, he’s sweating, and His blood is mixed with his sweat. And he’s before His Father. He says, My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me? Seems like a pretty good request. He’s asking him if there’s any other way. Maybe this can’t be taken from me. If you ever ask God to end your suffering, you ever ask God to intervene? In a situation? Jesus was seeking his father next, because what does he say ready for that? Yet, not as I will. But as you will. I’m going to ask this, and then I’m gonna pray. I’m gonna lean in and say, This is not for me, this is what you want. And then he knocks, because Jesus falls to the ground, his face before His Father and He prays, and then he gets up and he goes, and he finds his disciples sleeping. He comes back and he prays the same thing again. He gets up again, he goes to his disciples again, and they’re sleeping again. He goes back, it says, a third time, and he prays the same thing. He kept knocking. He was persistent. If there’s any other way, yet, not what I will, but what you will. And he did it over and over and over again. He’s does exactly what he’s telling us to do here with our father. And God, the Father said, No. There’s no other way. The cup will be poured out on you, not taken from you. That was the answer. One pastor I came across this week says this says because the father answered NO SINNERS of high priest, perfectly intimate with all their weaknesses, merciful and faithful. We have one who stands between us and all our ungodliness and God and all His Holiness to reconcile us and reunite us as friends rather than rebels. Because he said, No, we never fear that the father’s wrath is coming again for us. Because he said, No, we stand assured that our acceptance with God happened on completely legitimate grounds. And because he said, No, we will forever enjoy and share the glory of the Father and the Son and unending timeless age to come. So I am glad the father said no. It’s hard in the moment. It’s frustrating. But you know what kept Jesus from running away at this point when the soldiers came to take him away? What kept him from fighting back? What kept in silent during all those accusations? What kept him on the cross when they kept saying if you’re really him come down off the cross. What kept him firm? Was his trust in his father. complete trust, he trusted his father in his life. He trusted him in his death. He trusted him in his resurrection, and with everything. So the question for us is, do we? Do we trust him? Even when things are going the way we didn’t initially pray for? Even when we’re not sure what he’s doing? Do we trust our good father? The way you answer that question will drastically change the way you pray, and will drastically change the way you respond to how the Lord answers those prayers. Do we trust the Father? Now the reason we can trust Him why Jesus trusted his fathers because it’s directly tied his character who God is
and how He wants to bless His children. So we have a good father who wants to hear from us He invites us to talk to him. The second thing is the Father gives to us look at verses nine through 11. Which of you have your son asked for bread we’ll give him a stone. Or if he asked for a fish, we’ll give him a snake. If you then though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your Father and haven’t give good gifts to those who asked him. So these two rhetorical questions that Jesus asked sets up a little compare and contrast between God the Father and earthly parents. So if your child comes up and ask for bread, you’re not going to give them a stone. Now there were some stones back then that will look a lot like bread, like a loaf of bread. So you’re not going to deceive your child, give them a stone and say, Here you go, and let them break their teeth. On a stone, there’s fish that kind of look like snakes. So you’re not going to give them a snake and, and say, go ahead, here’s your food, so that that snake can turn on them and harm them when they take a bite. That’s called bad parenting. Not something we do. earthly parents don’t do that to their children, and God isn’t going to do that to us. So there’s the comparison. earthly parents give good gifts to their children. It’s built into how God has created things. We want to bless our kids give them good things, we do not seek to harm them. But then Jesus contrasts God Father, and earthly parents, because he says, If you then though you are evil. Like, ouch. Do you imagine hearing this for the first time as they’re listening to Jesus? I mean, he said a lot in the Sermon on the Mount. So they’re, they’re not caught completely by surprise. But if you then who are evil, I mean, should you say wait, we’re giving good gifts, our children shouldn’t say you who are loving and selfless and good. Of course, you give good gifts your children. Know, he says, Though you are evil, you still give good gifts. So what is Jesus saying here? Well, let’s think back to last week, and I had the the measuring stick up here, when we take that measuring stick, and we compare the way God parents us, compared to our own parenting, we will see that we fall far short of his standard of the type of parent, the type of father that he is. So the contrast here is between a perfect holy, just and good father, and sinful, fallen imperfect parents. Because we are going to mess up. I have told my kids that many times, I don’t need to tell them. But I tell them, this is going to happen, I’m going to sin against my children, I’m going to not always give them good gifts, not always intentionally. But I’m not always going to choose the best option. The quality of my parenting is always going to be impacted by my own sinful flesh. But we should still take encouragement from what Jesus is saying here. I think that’s what we’re supposed to take from this. Because even though that is true, we still give good gifts to our children. So it isn’t meant to be a rebuke of parents. It’s the reality we live in. Now Jesus is trying to set up the argument that he has already used throughout his teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, and in many other places where he says the phrase, how much more if you’re sinful, and imperfect, and give good gifts, your children, how much more will your perfect Father in heaven give good gifts to those who asked him? Our good father wants to hear from us, and He wants to give to us? Like, let me say it again, he wants to hear from us, and He wants to give good things to us. I don’t know if we always believe that. I don’t know. I’ll speak for myself, I don’t always believe that. I haven’t always believed that. That he hears me and then he wants to give me good gifts. And many times, he’s just waiting for us to ask. He’s just waiting. Are we actually asking? He wants us to ask for good things, and he will give us good things. The question is, are we asking for the right things? So we’re looking at Matthew seven, seven through 12, within this larger framework of the Sermon on the Mount. So I think this is where we need to start. We need to start in this sermon, because the people hearing this can start to make connections like what should I be asking for? What are the good things that God is ready to give me right now? If I will only ask him for it. How about asking the Lord to fulfill all the teaching that he has been giving us? Like, Lord, do this in my life to this like, we’ve gone through this since January 14. So we’re looking at a passage of scripture every week, every week, when Jesus is giving a sermon when Jesus is giving other teaching, and he’s saying these things, it’s in the larger context. They’re hearing all of it. And so we’re going to have to really like use our minds go back and kind of think through like, what are the different weeks? Where was the Lord convicting me prompting me to start praying that this needs to be true of my life? Because the Kingdom of Heaven is for those who are poor in spirit. Are we asking that the Lord would give us that kind of heart? That desperate need for God? The Beatitudes we also saw that we need to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Are we praying that we are humble, merciful, and pure in heart, like, these are the good things God wants to give us. And none of these things come naturally to us. Okay? That’s not what the sermon on the mount is for Jesus is not getting up and saying, these are all true of you. So keep doing them and saying, these are not true of you. But if you’re in the kingdom, if you’re a child of God, these these are things that can be true of you. So these are things that we cannot do ourselves. So instead, they need to come from a changed heart. So we pray that God will work these things in our lives. And there’s more, of course, I’m just gonna name a few more through the sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, we pray that God would help us to forgive. Because forgiveness is hard. We pray that he would help us love our enemies. We ask that you would, that he would help us to pray for those who persecute us. We pray that you’d help us to give to the needy, that we would serve Him and only him? So I don’t know. And we can go, of course. But I think we need to reevaluate what types of requests we’re bringing to God? Are we bringing the right types of requests, the ones that he has already told us? He will answer, if we bring them to him, If we ask, James tells us if you lack wisdom, ask, ask for wisdom. Because God gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins, and purify us from all unrighteousness. Like, these are the things he promises he will do. Are we asking him, he will do them. And when my kids come in, I asked me for something that I believe is really important. I lean in differently to those prayers, then when I know they’re asking me for something that could be harmful to them, isn’t good for them isn’t what’s best. And so when we bring our requests before God, and these are things that he has promised in Scripture to give us if we ask, he’s going to lean in, and he wants to give to us. He’s just waiting for us to ask. So you have a good father who wants to hear from you. So he invites us in. And then he gives to us. So can God be trusted? Yes. We trust God, we bring request to him. And when he gives us those gifts, there is a goal at the end of all of it. And it’s verse 12. The father changes us that’s what he does, the father changes us look at verse 12. So in everything Do to others, what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law, and the prophets. So in everything other translations actually say, therefore, connecting what we’ve just read to this statement. So since you have a good father, who invites you in, who who loves you, who who wants to give to you and has given to you now go and do to others what you would have them do to you. The father has been mentioned many, many times in the Sermon on the Mount. We’ve talked about this many times already in this series. And the father wants to see his children change. Those who enter the kingdom must have a kingdom mindset must have Kingdom ethics. So as we get to the end, as we finish up next week, has the Sermon on the Mount changed you? It’s a good question to ask every week when God’s word has opened before us, has it changed you? Are you different now than when we started back in January 14? Like last I’ve heard, I don’t know how many times this week how many of you imagine the plank in your eye? I did to like, has it changed you though? Have you given these things the Lord? Are you working on them? Has it changed you next week, we’re going to come to the point where Jesus starts talking about there’s a choice to make in this life regarding who he is and what he is teaching.
But now verse 12, seems kind of like a conclusion statement. It seems a little bit out of place here actually. So what’s happening here is that it is and it isn’t a conclusion statement. Like already said we have more to go next week in the Sermon on the Mount. However, this statement does conclude what we started this past week of looking at the Greater righteousness and relationship to the world. How we relate to other people in the kingdom of God. This statement also kind of concludes the main block of teaching that started all the way back in Matthew 517 and goes here until 712. So how do we know that? Look, look back with me at 517 You should just be able to flip over 517 and 712 beginning And with law and the prophets, they’re bookends of this teaching the inclusi Oh, that we talked about before. So look at Matthew 517, do you not think that I’ve come to abolish the law or the prophets, I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. So Jesus starts off the main block of teaching of saying, don’t think I’ve come to abolish the law and the prophets. I’ve not come to abolish them, I’ve come to fulfill them. And then he goes right into how he fulfills them. And then here we get this sums up the law and the prophets. So the law and the prophets were a way to refer to the Old Testament, that’s what they would have had at this time, in Jesus’s time. So he’s saying, I’ve come to show you what it means to live in the kingdom of God, I have come to fulfill the law and the prophets, and I’ve come to change you, so that you live out your kingdom citizenship, so that you live out the truth of this, of this truth in the world. So this sums up the law and the prophets. Do unto others what you would have them do to you. That’s the summation of the law and the prophets, in everything, in everything do to others what you’d have them do to you. So here, we get what we know is referred to as the golden rule, right? We’ve all heard it, we’ve memorized it. We’ve talked about it before. We’ve had lessons on it before your parents probably talked about it. There is another place in Matthew, where we see the foundation of the golden rule. It’s another place where Jesus summarizes all of the teaching of the law and the prophets. In Matthew 22, Jesus is challenged by an expert, an expert teacher of the law, that is sent by the Sadducees. And Pharisees and he’s asked teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law. And you know this, Jesus replied, Love the Lord your God, with all your heart, all your soul, with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets Hang On these two commandments. So you want to know what the Old Testament is about? Love God, love others. That’s, that’s the summation of it. You want to know what the kingdom of God is all about? Love God, love others. You want to know how to live out the Sermon on the Mount. Love God, love others. What is the principle guiding this golden rule? Love God, and love others. Jesus has come to fulfill to show us exactly what this looks like. He fulfills it perfectly, because he loved God, and he loved others perfectly. And now he says, Now I’m going to sum up everything here and say go and do the same. This should be what you’re about now. Because all of this is true. So in everything, go and do the same. Sinclair Ferguson, and commenting on this passage says, For Jesus, the Word of God is not an impossible complex of rules and regulations, like many of us think it is. It’s not these rules, regulations placed on men shoulders as a heavy burden. Rather, it is the outworking of this principle of love. Grasp this and everything falls into place. That is his point. There’s one more thing to notice here about what Jesus says, in many religions, belief systems, even in our culture, people will have a golden rule. But most the time it’s given the negative. We’re used to hearing it like this don’t do to others. Well, you don’t want them to do to you, Hey, don’t don’t do those things. If you don’t want them done to you don’t do them to others. But Don Carson says there’s something much deeper going on in Jesus’s words here. He says the positive form is thus far more searching than its negative counterpart. Here there’s no permission to withdraw into a world where I offended no one, but accomplished no positive good, either. What would you like done to you? What would you really like? Then do that to others duplicate both the quality of these things and their quantity in everything. So if I told you yesterday, Jackie, and I had a great day in our marriage, and we did because I didn’t make her mad. That’s it. I just didn’t make her mad. So clearly, it was it was a good day. Now what if I told you I was also gone at this conference for most of the day, we didn’t see each other hardly at all. Which is the truth. So therefore, by that standard, we don’t do to others what I don’t want them to do to me as long as I’m as long as I don’t make her mad, then things are good, right? Jesus says No Do to others, what you want them to do to you. So nothing in that shows that I have loved her well, or that there’s joy in our marriage. Ridge, it just means that they make her mad. So you see, it’s a lot easier to live a life where you just don’t do things to make people mad or upset or you didn’t step on people’s toes or whatever it is, than it is to say, go in love them like Jesus loved you. That is a lot harder to do. But that is what Jesus is calling us to. So so a lot of people I heard even in reading this week, say this isn’t so much the golden rule as it is the golden vision. And I love that it is a golden vision. The vision is that believers of Jesus Christ would be so radically transformed by the good news of Jesus, the one who is the fulfillment of the Old Testament, that we love others just like He loved us. That’s the golden vision. Which means by the way, our work is never done. Right? Because we, I can check off a box, if I didn’t do this, I didn’t do this. But can I ever truly check off the boxes I loved like Jesus loved. I don’t feel comfortable checking that box off. But it is a vision, a goal to attain a goal to work towards a goal that I need a lot of prayer in, to ask God to give me these things we see in His Word, to seek out His will for my life, for others, and then to keep knocking keep pursuing him keep asking these requests of him. Because I do believe and I hope you do, too, that you have a good father and he wants to hear from you. He wants to give you good things. I know that because he’s given us the greatest gift ever. And that’s where our relationship with Him starts. Which means everything else is icing on the cake. If that’s how our relationship starts with God, is that he gives us the gift of His Son. Everything else is a bonus. Everything. But it’s such a beautiful thing that we get to approach him and bring our requests. So for those of you who are here, and you’ve been walking in the Lord for a long time, you you pray. And maybe you’re like, I don’t pray enough. I don’t ask enough of what the Lord wants. I don’t really seek His will. I just want to give kind of one, one thought that we can take with our with us today. How can we be sure our prayers are in accordance with God’s will? How can be sure he’s going to hear them? And he’s going to respond and answer. And so the one thing I want you to take away today, it’s not the only thing. But I think it’s a good place to start. We need to pray scripture. We have to pray God’s word back to him. Because it’s the only thing that we know of when we pray he is listening, because it’s what he gave us. So already mentioned some ask ask for wisdom. If we confess our sins, like he will answer these words in our life, how he’ll do it, when he’ll do it. I can’t guarantee all of those things, but he will answer. And so we’ve given away the book a few years back now called praying the Bible. We have questions that we have on Bible study things that like how do we how do we pray this truth? So as a family talk about it, what does the Lord want us to ask coming out of the message today? What is what does God want us to ask coming out of kids city or youth group or wherever else we’re in? What should we ask? How can we seek God? How we can we persist in asking for these things? There’s other good resources that we could point you to, to be praying through scripture. But I think that’s the place we all need to start because again, if he gave it to us, he’d love to hear us pray back to him. And he will listen and He will answer because he’s a good father. He loves his son, he loves his daughter, and he wants to hear from us. Let’s pray. Lord, we, we thank you that you are good to us. That you have given us your son, made a way for us to be saved. made a way for us to approach you boldly.
And see where we stand. We sit. Maybe we lay face down before you when we pray. First in a posture of thanksgiving and praise. Because we know we don’t deserve it. We know we never earned it. So Lord, as we come this morning to your table, let us see the gloriousness the goodness the grace that was displayed in Jesus on the cross. We love you and we pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

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Kingdom Discernment March 10, 2024 | Kyle Bjerga Kyle Bjerga emphasized the importance of not judging others while being aware of one’s own flaws. He warned against self-righteousness and encouraged discernment without condemnation. There are biblical examples to illustrate removing personal sin before helping others. Christians are encouraged to welcome others without judgment and to offer mercy rather than condemnation. Kyle expressed gratitude for the church’s welcoming nature and encouraged continued grace.

Matthew chapter seven, verses one through six. Do not judge or you too will be judged for in the same way you judge others you will be judged. And with the measure you use, it will be measured. It will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there’s a plank out of your own eye. And then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Do not do God do not give dogs what is sacred. Do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
Thank you, Bella.

If you have not turned there yet, you can go ahead and get to Matthew chapter seven. If you’re using one of the black pew Bibles in front of us on page 788. If you don’t have a Bible, then that Bible is a gift from us to you. So please take that today. It is a family worship Sunday. So we’re excited to have the kids up here. Now usually pastor Brandon is preaching and I’m leading the Kids Corner where we would then have all the kids come up here. And we do a little lesson together. But since I’m preaching today, we’re just gonna include everything together. So I’ve got some props, as I often do. And I hope kids that helps you connect with the truth of God’s word, and I think it’s gonna help your parents too. But we love having you guys up here. You are a part of this church. We want you as students, as kids to love the community that God has given you here at Cityview. And just know we pray for you, often. We love you guys. And we want you to know, to love to follow and serve Jesus. And so we love having you up here so we can hear your voices, we can see you open the Word with us. And I would encourage you have your Bible open too. If you need some help. There’s somebody around you who can help you find where you’re going. But let’s jump in today. So my first thing that I want to talk about is for kids and teenagers, I want you to pay attention this and I want you to think about something. How many times do you think you have tattled told on a brother or sister? Because they did something that you did not like? And then my question is, how many times? Do you care when you do that same thing to them? So this is hypothetical never happened, right? Mom, dad? My brother kicked me. Isn’t he gonna get in trouble? Five minutes later, you kick your brother. I’m guaranteeing you don’t walk up your parents say I kicked my brother. I deserve to be in trouble. Now adults we’re not? We’re not in the clear here. Think of work. Think of your marriage? How many of you could list off a whole sheet of paper of things that your coworker does wrong and their job? Or your boss? And they go to marriage? How many of you could write lists of all the things your spouse does that they need to change? And you look at your piece of paper for the things you need to change like I’m doing all right. I’m pretty good. Maybe one or two things, but definitely not a whole sheet of paper. It’s an important thing to consider. Paul David Tripp, who counselor and pastor asked these two questions. He says, whose sin or shortcomings bother you more your own sin, or the sin of someone else? He asked it a different way who are you desperate to see change you or someone else in your life. In many ways, that’s the heart of the passage that we’re looking at today, in the Sermon on the Mount. And as Jesus has been doing throughout the sermon amount, he always gets to the heart. And so we continue this theme of greater righteousness as we jump into chapter seven, this greater righteousness that we’ve talked about for weeks and encourage you to go back and listen to past messages. If you haven’t been here yet, because we’ve been we’ve already covered chapter five and six. But as we get into chapter seven, we’re gonna see specifically, how do Christians navigate relationships? How do we engage with other people? How do we follow Jesus in our relationships? So I have three objects up here today that I hope are going to move us along in the passage you’re gonna see them there in your notes are listed for you. Because I hope that they connect these important things that Jesus is saying, and that the word really sticks with us today. So the first thing that you see in your notes is a gavel. So kids, where would you often see a gavel? Do you guys see these? Just yell it out. courtroom and who usually has the gavel? A judge a gavel represents authority. The judge can bring order to the court. People pay attention, people get quiet. A judge can also pronounce judgment of guilty or not guilty. And I think the reason I have this scale is I think this helps us understand what Jesus is actually saying, and not seen in Matthew chapter seven. So we’re gonna look at verses one and six here in this first point and kind of see what I’m talking about, because there is some misunderstanding of this passage. So look at verse one, do not judge, or you too, will be judged. This is one of the most used and abused verses in the Bible. It is very misunderstood. It’s used by Christians, and non Christians usually would hear it when you say something to somebody, and they say, Don’t judge me. And it’s usually something moral, right? You shouldn’t be doing that with don’t judge me, who are you? To judge me? It’s a common thing, a common passage. Some people know it’s the Bible. Some people don’t, but they use it. Anyway. The problem is, we need to investigate that there’s some verses around this verse that really helps us understand what it means and doesn’t mean. So we’re going to first focus on what Jesus is not saying here. So first, Jesus is not saying that we are never allowed to make any sort of judgment call telling somebody that they shouldn’t judge you is a judgment call. Because you’re saying you shouldn’t do that. And so it is a judgment call. So it can’t be all the time. Because we as Christians are called to say, what what is right or wrong? What is good and bad, what is true or false. Now, the whole sermon on the mount then is telling us that it’s okay to judge. It’s okay to discern things. Because Jesus is saying, This is what it means to live in the kingdom of God. This is what it looks like. And this is what it looks like if you follow the world. How do we know the difference unless we judge and we discern. So that’s been going on throughout the whole sermon on the mount. But even in this passage, just a few sentences later, Jesus tells us this in verse six, go ahead and look at it. He says, Do not give dogs what is sacred. Do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces. It’s a little jarring of a verse when you read it the first time. But it does make sense here. Here’s what it’s saying. He’s saying you have holy and precious things, sacred things, holy things that are yours that he has given to us. In Matthew chapter 13, he talks about this pearl, and the pearls, the good news of the kingdom of heaven. So we have this great news, these holy things. And it would be foolish to give those to people who can’t appreciate them. Don’t understand that. The the pigs and the dogs this time were scavengers, you just throw things out there and they would eat it. If you throw pearls to pigs, or dogs and they think it’s food, they’re not going to appreciate the value of the pearls. And so they’re mad that you didn’t give them actual food. And so they’re going to attack you. So what Jesus is saying here is you need to judge between those who are ready to hear the good news. And those who are not. Not everybody is willing and ready to hear. So here’s a scenario that I hope makes the point. Let’s say I take you as a Christian, you have this Holy Gospel message, and you’re ready to share it with somebody and I give you two rooms. And I tell you rule number one is a bunch of people who despise Christianity, who believe all religion is bad for the world who mock it, persecute it, ridicule it, don’t feel there’s anything like sin. They don’t need Jesus. That’s rule number one. And I say over here, rule number two, these are people who know there’s something wrong. They feel there’s something off in their life. They want hope and purpose and meaning they see that what they’re doing is not working. And so I say you have the Holy Word of God, the gospel message, Which room are you going to go in if I give you just one room? Now some of you would say room number one, because you just like a challenge.
And you’re like, well, these people need to hear it. Guess what, both rooms need to hear it. One room is ready to hear it. One room wants it. Desperate to hear it. It’s like Paul, when he would go into a play some people hated his message. Didn’t want him back and others said, We want to hear you again, Paul. We want to hear this message again. Now, it doesn’t mean room number one is never going to hear the gospel. It doesn’t mean that they’re not gonna be ready one day, but I’m just saying right now. There’s some people that if you put the time and energy and effort into sharing, they will not hear it. So Jesus said we need to judge We need to discern, we need to know who is ready to hear this message and who is not. So we need to be wise with the holy things that God has given to us. Okay, so it’s very clear that this isn’t a prohibition against all kinds of judgment. So what is Jesus saying? The word judge in every language, not just in our language, not just in the original language, but every language has multiple meanings. So how do you figure out what it’s actually saying what that word judge means? And I think that’s where the gavel is important here. Because as we take all the verses surrounding this, as we look at this whole passage, what we see is that Jesus is saying, and prohibiting a hypercritical, like self righteous, condemning judgment, a judgment of people who go like that, who make judgments pronounce judgment and condemnation on other people. He prohibits that. So the question is, is, is this a problem for us? So we need to ask some hard questions of our heart. And so I want to ask these, and maybe later, there’s some time for confession. Because these are questions that should penetrate our heart. The first one is, do you find yourself thinking you are better than others? Have you ever questioned the motives of someone’s heart? Even though you can’t know their heart? Do you assume the worst in people? Is everyone guilty? until proven innocent? Do you encourage others? Or are you always the one to quickly point out faults? The things that are wrong? If none of those picked your heart, maybe this one will. If I was to list off some names of people in public life, names, we would all know. Or I would go to your private life and list people in your life that you know how many of you, at some point, have taken the gavel and pronounce judgment on that person.
And when you pronounce judgment, how many of us had hearts that were happy? excited about it. This is a warning passage. This is something to take very seriously, we must be careful. Jesus is speaking against this condemning spirit where we play God. Because God is the only one that has the gavel. So we cannot play God, we cannot judge in this way. That’s why this is here in the Sermon on the Mount. Because playing God is a serious matter. So instead of playing God, what should be true of us, and this is that kind of first fill in the blank in your notes there. We don’t judge. be discerning, be discerning. That’s what the church is called to do. But unfortunately, sometimes because of our own. We brought this on herself in the church, we can concede that we have been judgmental. So sometimes it’s on us other times it’s an a wrong understanding of what judgment actually is. But either way the church has for many become synonymous with Judge mentalism. Just talk to some people and see what they think about Christians or the church. And you’ll probably hear it come up at some point. But this should not stop us from discerning between things that are good and evil, right or wrong, true or false. We judge between these things, because this tells us what is right and wrong, and good and evil, and true. And false. So we must discern between these things, but not at the expense of people. Not destroying relationships over it. Not making others to be our enemy, or removing ourselves so far from them. There is no relationship anymore. Because what did Jesus do? He moved closer to people without ever compromising what was true and false. Right and wrong, good or evil. He moved closer because he wanted to show them that he loved them that his father loved them. But judgmental people aren’t warm and fuzzy. You wouldn’t say that person really loves me. So we need to be discerning but we leave the gavel to gavel goes in God’s hands not ours. Jesus continues to go on in verse two. And he tells us why we shouldn’t judge others. So look at verse two with me. For the same way you judge others you be judged. And with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. So you guys see this, this measuring stick that I have up here. If I say this is the standard, this is what I say is right and wrong. This is how people should act and behave. And I hold it up to myself. Hey, I’m doing pretty good. Like, I’m exceeding the standard right here. So my eyes I’m, this is a good standard. All right, Shane, how you doing? You’re about two inches. Not so good. I go up in the balcony here, who half an inch. You see it’s prospective. Next to me, this is my standard. I’m exceeding this, but you’re not living up to my standard. But if I was to take this and give this a shame, fellas, give it to somebody in the balcony and say, now, now measure me against my own standard? How will I measure up just like they would be careful with the measure you use, because it will be measured to you. It’s 2024. We’re gonna buckle in for a fantastic year in politics. The reason I bring that up, is because of this. Both sides, measure the other side with a different standard. And then when somebody on their own side breaks their own standard, what do you do? Well get a new standard. It’s what happens, we’ll get a new standard or oh, you know what, ah, we rationalize it. We make excuses. Well, this is why this happened to them. But we don’t really have to hold them to that standard anymore because of these reasons. So dangerous. This is to say this is the measure I’m going to use? Are we really ready for it to be measured against us? We take this warning seriously, because all of us will stand before God as judge. Look at Romans 1410 through 12. We should see it on the screen. Paul says you then why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written as surely as I live says the Lord, every knee will bow before me Every tongue will acknowledge God. So then each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. Do we want to stand before God? And say use the same measure I use and other people? Do we really want to say to God that we were comfortable playing the game of being God of pronouncing judgment and condemnation on people? Are we ready for that? Don Carson in his commentary says the point of verses one and two is not that we should be moderate in our judging in order that others will be moderate toward us. There’s an element to that, of course, but rather that we should abolish judgmental attitudes lest we ourselves stand utterly condemned before God. A judgmental attitude excludes us from God’s pardon. It’s very similar to what Jesus has already said in the Sermon on the Mount in chapter six. When he says if you do not forgive others, their sins, your father will not forgive your sins. If we continue in our judgment of others, that may actually be a sign that we have never experienced the forgiveness, the grace and the mercy of God. Or else we wouldn’t judge them by our own standard. So that second fill in the blank that you have there. We don’t want to judge. Instead, give mercy give mercy. You see, there’s only one measure one standard that matters. And it’s God’s standard. And it is a perfect standard. And when it’s held up against us, we fall far, far, far short of it. We cannot attain it. You know what makes his measure even better than ours. When I hold this up, all I can see is the things that you do. When Jesus holds us up, he sees our hearts. He knows our motives. He knows what’s going on inside. He knows that things that other people won’t see us do because we don’t act on that. But he knows what’s actually building up in our heart and our thoughts and our speech. And so when he holds this up, he would be perfectly just to condemn us perfectly just in doing that. And yet when Jesus holds this up, He has mercy and compassion on us. He shouldn’t he should hold us up and say you fail. Take up the gavel condemned judged rightly, by the way that that’s not what happens instead He takes all that judgment, that condemnation on himself. And he hangs on a cross. So that Romans eight, let’s read it again. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit who gives life set you free from the law of sin, and death, For what the law was powerless to do, because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. We’re no longer condemned. Don’t meet God’s standard. You don’t need it. But we know the one who does. And he looks at us with charity. I love how RC Sproul says this, he says in light of all this, we should be charitable to a fault with each other, with others charitable to a fault, we should give people the benefit of the doubt, we should see people in the best possible light. Not always negative, not judging, not because they’re so good, or they look great against his perfect standard. But because he is good. And he has changed us and he can change them. So we need to take the gavel. It’s out of our hands, we know the perfect measure has been met in Jesus. And now we move on to the last object, the plank. Look at verses three through five. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank? In your own eye? How can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye when all the time there’s a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite. First, take the plank out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. So the question for us now is when do we judge? Right? When do we judge and so I have a plank.
And we see our brother or sister. And they have a they have a speck speck of sod us in their eye like there’s something there and needs to be removed, we want to help them. And yet we walk up to them and say hey, I want to help you. So there’s a couple things wrong with this. One, we’re going to freak them out when we come with a plank in our eye, but here’s the thing, if I try to start removing that speck of sawdust from there I one I’m going to take out their other eye first. too, if I move I’m going to hit them upside the head. It’s funny, because you think about like the Three Stooges. I grew up watching the Three Stooges. You got these guys wanted to help, they wanted some jobs. And so you’d see them in the lumberyard carrier to buy for or paint their painters, their plumbers, anything that was long on their shoulder, what happened, they started to move, and they started hit people, they start hit paint all over, and they made a mess, and they made everything worse. And it’s hilarious on the screen. But it’s not funny in life. When you think you can walk around with the plank in your eye and help other people out and know what to do. And to not be judging them in those moments. Like we should want to help. But this is not going to be helpful for anyone. It’s a perfect illustration in the Old Testament of this. King David, who had many high highs in his life and many low lows has a very low low in his life when he ends up taking another man’s wife. And then in order to cover up that sin, make sure that that guy dies in battle. And we were in the 10 commandments series last year and walked through the stories that David basically broke almost all if not all of this 10 commandments in this one episode in his life. And when he does this, God sends the prophet Nathan to him. And Nathan is going to tell David a story. Now imagine Nathan walks in before the king and David’s sitting on the throne and Nathan sees this huge plank in David’s eye. And he knows he’s going to tell them a story. And what does he tell him in Second Samuel 12 He tells him a story about a rich man. A rich man and a poor man and this rich man had many sheep, many cattle and the poor man had one little lamb that he loves. And he took care of it. It was like a child to him. And that rich man has a guest come to his house. And instead of taking from his sheep and cattle to make a meal, he he steals and takes the poor man’s one lamb and serves it to his guest as a meal. And as Nathan finishes his story, this will we find out from David In this what happens, David Burns with anger against the man and said to Nathan, as surely as the Lord lives, This man must die. He must pay the lip for the lamps four times over because he did such a thing and had no pity. David sees a little speck in the eye of the rich man, while he’s walking around like this. And Nathan holds up a mirror to David. And he says, You’re the man. It’s you. And what happens in this moment? Is Nathan goes on to tell David the judgment that is coming for him and his house and his dynasty? Because of this sin, because of this plank in his eye, and what does David do? He’s got this plank, and he responds, I have sinned against the Lord. And he goes on to write Psalm 51, in light of this whole episode, repenting of his sin, and taking the plank out of his eye, and resting in the forgiveness, the grace and the mercy of his God. Now, if I’m honest, my temptation, I hear that story is a stand up and say, Come on, David. You know what’s going on? One little lamb compared to what you did. And then I have to step back. But who am I? I’m walking around like this a lot. No, I know that. Because anytime I try to help my kids with anger, it’s usually after I get angry at them. And so my heart breaks when they’re angry. And I want to help them. But I make it worse by blowing up and being angry myself. And then I have the audacity walk in the room and say, let me help you with that. It happens far too often. So it’s good to ask the question, Why am I so angry? Why am I bothered by somebody else’s sin? When I’m not nearly as broken up about my own sin, we need to sit and pause and reflect and hold a mirror up to our face that mirror the best one is God’s word. And say, Lord, where is it in my heart, search my heart, show me show me the plank so that I can remove it. And in Christ, there’s no condemnation, we have freedom to remove the plank. We don’t have to hide it. So that’s what should happen. That’s your third point there that fill in the blank. We’re not going to judge we’re going to help humbly. Instead, help humbly we are going to be humbled by God. And when we are we are better able to help others. So when the question is asked, who has sinned, you care more about yours or someone else? If you can say my sin, now, we’re ready to help someone else. When that question of Who do you want to see change more you or someone else, when you can say I want to see change in my life, now we’re better able to help someone else. Because we’re taking care of our own sin our own struggles first. So if I can wrap all this up, you’ll see the big idea at the bottom of your notes. The big idea here of taking all this together is mercy received should be mercy, given mercy received should be mercy given? And how do we do that we’ve received the mercy of God, not condemnation and judgment. So we take the gavel out of our hands, and we give it back to God because it’s his anyways. Mercy received should be mercy given, we stop using our own measures or the measures of others. Because we know we fall far short of that perfect standard. And we point people to Jesus, Mercy received and Jesus is mercy given to others. And finally, we help humbly we deal with our own sin. And then we’re better able and equipped to help others with their sin with their speck. Because we have to go back to that they do have a speck in their eyes, they do need help. And we can help them once we’ve removed the plank from our own eyes. And so I just want to wrap up by talking to some groups of people here today. The first is if you’re here, and you’re here, because you’re here to see a baptism. Or you’re here because you’re questioning Christianity, you have questions about who Jesus is and what the gospel is. We’re so glad that you’re here. But we also need to say there’s a plank in your eye. You’re going to hear stories in the baptism today of people who had a plank in their eye. And it was the fact that we want to be God. But we end up like the Three Stooges a lot. We think we’re helping in our life and then we just make things worse. But there’s freedom from condemnation. If there’s freedom from guilt, freedom from shame, because of what Jesus has done, God will help you remove that plank, He died for that plank. So lay it down, see clearly. Because there is a God who loves you, a God who wants to be in a relationship with you, to give you that mercy and grace and the mercy you receive, can now be a mercy you give to others. So I’d encourage you to come to him today. If you’ve been walking with Jesus for a while, it’s time to ask them those diagnostic questions. Am I walking around trying to help with a plank in my own eye? You know, Jesus did not harden his hearts towards people who needed help, he softened his heart and we can soften our hearts to as we take care of that plank in our own eye, and then go and help them. So don’t be quick to judge. Don’t play god he has not given us that responsibility. Be smart, discern and leave the judgment to him. Be charitable to all discerning what is right and wrong, what is true and good. Not condemning others, but loving forgiving them and pointing them to Jesus. Kids and students. We want this to be a place where you guys can struggle with sin, and not be judged for it. But to have people who love you enough to say, this can get you into trouble. This is not the path you want to go down. We want to offer mercy, not judgment to you. So I hope you know that this is a place where you can do that. There are people here who love you, and want to help you.
And finally church, we are called to help each other, remove the specks from each other’s eyes. Remove the playing from your own. And then give permission to those around you to say, please help me lovingly rebuke me point out where I need to be called up into godly living, be there to help other people grow in their faith, the best place to do this certain community group and journey groups. But this week, we’re going to talk in community group about that plank in our eye. So bring it up, talk about it, work on it together, remove the specs from each other’s eyes. And in Journey groups who do this all the time, their accountability questions, diagnostic questions of our hearts, and where they are. So encourage you to be in one of those groups to do that, if you’re not already. This is a warning passage. There’s a whole lot of do not in here. But if I can pivot for a moment, I want to encourage you, as a church. I want to encourage you, because as a church, pastors and elders here extremely grateful for who you are extremely grateful for how you have welcomed people into this church. And I say this, because we’ve talked to them. And there are people that have come to this church in the last couple of years who have felt judged by others before, who expected to walk into this church and be judged for what they look like, for their checkered past. For the fact that they didn’t know what to do when they walked into a church. Maybe they look different than us. And what we’ve heard from them, is not this church judge me, but this church has welcomed me in. And I’m here because of them. And that is a testament to you, and your faithfulness to God. And to not judge but to welcome in. But if you’re sitting there wondering, like, I don’t know how all this stuff is supposed to kind of come together. How do we judge but not be judgmental? It’s exactly what I just said. You welcome people in and from this pulpit, we will preach that there is sin. There are things we have to give up in life and repent, have to follow Jesus. But we do it. And we love everyone who’s here. And so that’s just what it means what it looks like to do this. That’s what Jesus is saying, You don’t you don’t judge you love everyone, you give mercy. And when you give mercy, people will start to feel that sin in their life and they’ll start to deal with it, they’ll start to want to take the plank out of their their own eye because they see that mercy. They want to receive it and then they want to give it so can I just encourage you to please keep it up. Keep doing that. Keep being that type of church. Because this is what it looks like lived out. It’s easy to talk about grace and mercy. It’s very hard to live it out. So I just want to encourage you in that because we are encouraged by you. Let’s pray. Lord, we thank You for Your Word. We thank you that you have made a way for us to be saved away for us to not be condemned, to not be judged, but to be welcomed and to receive the mercy. Amen.

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Kingdom FinancesThis sermon discusses Jesus’ teachings on money and materialism in Matthew 6, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing heavenly treasures over earthly ones. It encourages examining one’s heart to determine what is truly valued and treasured. The sermon addresses both the dangers of desiring too much and fearing too little and encourages trusting in God as our Heavenly Father who cares for our needs. Listeners are challenged to seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness in all aspects of life, including finances.

Good morning church. You can go ahead and grab your Bibles open up to Matthew chapter six. We’ll be covering the second half today. Matthew six starting in verse 19. Paul tells his protege, Timothy, that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And a few centuries later, Mark Twain updated that to say it’s actually the lack of money is the root of all evil. Or another wit, Oscar Wilde said this, he said, When I was young, I thought that money was the most important thing. Now that I’m old I know it is. On the other side, though, a more skeptical approach to money you got guys like John Wooden, who said, Don’t let making a living prevent you from making a life, or the satirist Jonathan Swift, who said, a wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart. Or Ben Franklin. Money has never made man happy, nor will it. There is nothing in its nature to produce happiness, the more of it one has, the more one wants. Or one more for us, Christopher Marlowe, who famously said Money can’t buy you love. But it improves your bargaining position.

Why do I mention all these quotes? It’s because the world has a lot to say about money. And I imagine they have a lot to say about money. Because the world thinks about money, a lot probably thinks about money as much as it thinks about any other subject. And so it’s no exaggeration, I don’t think to say that what you think and feel and believe about money will go a long way to determining what sort of person you are and what your character is. And so it’s no surprise that Jesus tackles the subject in his big talk, the Sermon on the Mount, because you can’t address character and not talk about our relationship to the goods of this world. The greater righteousness that Jesus is calling us to necessarily includes a righteous Kingdom approach to money. So where are we if you’re joining us for the first time or just lost track of where we are in the Sermon on the Mount? Let me give you a brief overview here again, so the thesis statement of the whole sermon Jesus gives us way back in Matthew 517, to 20. And there he says, especially that our righteousness needs to exceed – surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, so we’re being called to a greater standard of living even than the teachers of the law at that time. And then he goes on to show what that looks like. Exactly. And so first we looked at the rest of chapter five, greater righteousness with regards to the law, and it was a righteousness not based on outward conformity to the letter of the law but inward conformity to the spirit of the law. We then looked last week at greater righteousness as it relates to our personal piety, our prayer lives, our fasting, our giving of alms. And now, in this last main section, Jesus is going to talk about greater righteousness in relation to the world, kind of two big places, the goods of the world and the people of the world. We’re looking at the goods this week. And then the next two weeks, Kyle will take us through the people of the world. And looking at our relationship to stuff the things of the world, Jesus tackles twin dangers. Now temptations common to us all, really, they are ambition and anxiety. So a desire for too much stuff. But then a fear of too little stuff at the same time, both of these driven by the world’s priorities rather than the kingdoms. And so, no surprise, Jesus is going to offer us a better way. And that’s what we’ll look at as we keep going. But let’s tackle these two dangers, one at a time, the first being the desire for too much, and we will fill in the blank as we go to figure out the better way that Jesus suggests the desire for too much from verses 19 to 24 Let me read it for us. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moths and vermin destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal For where your treasure is there your heart will be also the eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness? No one can serve two masters either you will hate the one and love the other or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Verses 19 to 21, that first paragraph, there, these are a hinge versus think of a doorway door on its hinges you know it kind of is that door at the end. The first room is at the start of the second room. And it is both, of course. And so this is a transition passage in many ways. We spent all of last week talking about the Father’s reward. Your Father, who is unseen, sees what is done in secret and will reward you, and that’s the reward. We’re talking about the treasures in heaven. But it also kind of gets us going on this next section dealing with finances like actual treasure, silver and gold and precious things, specifically. And Jesus offers us a series of choices in these three paragraphs. What will you treasure? Where will you look? And whom will you follow? These are diagnostic questions to help us see what our relationship to money really is. Now, every word is important in this opening phrase, do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth. Every word is important because it’s it’s very easy to miss here in this verse. There are a couple things Jesus says. He’s not saying – Jesus did not say – do not store stuff for yourselves. That is Jesus is not here for bidding a savings account, or retirement or insurance or something like that. In fact, Proverbs even commends, the ant tells us look to the ant, you sluggard was one of the ants, he stores for the lean season. W we might want to do the same. Jesus does not say here do not store up yourselves money on Earth, because treasures is a broader category isn’t. So you may be sitting there going, I’m fine. I live paycheck to paycheck because I have a nicer car than I can afford, a bigger house than I can afford, and more things than I can afford. Those would still be treasures, wouldn’t they? Jesus does not here forbid private property or even accumulation. Because the issue is for yourself, do not store up for yourself. So it is selfish accumulation. That Jesus is forbidding hoarding. self-indulgence, we might say. And Jesus also does not say do not store up for yourselves treasures. Because he actually goes on in the very next verse to say, store up for yourselves treasures. But the question is, where. On earth or in heaven? The question there really is. Make sure you’re storing up the right stuff. What are you treasuring storing up? The big question is the nature of the treasure itself, not so much where it is on earth or in heaven, but what that says about the nature of treasure as he goes on to explain the problem with treasure on earth is that it doesn’t last it fades away. You know, the stock market can wipe out your retirement quite quickly. Your cars are going to break down, your tools are going to rust, your favorite shirt will go threadbare. Stuff here doesn’t last. Proverbs tells us cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. That’s the idea. Exactly. So Jesus is saying, by all means, store up treasure, just make sure it’s not the kind that flies away on you make sure it’s real treasure, true and eternal treasure, not imitation and fleeting treasure. This is important because I think this corrects a fundamental misunderstanding that many people have about Christianity, and maybe you have as well. God wants us to have more joy than we want for ourselves. God is not a killjoy. I got I’m not saying make sure you don’t get those fun things that your neighbors have. God is saying, I want better for you than you want for yourself. I mentioned that, of course, the quote that springs to mind is the famous one from C. S. Lewis, where he says we are half-hearted creatures fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. That is often how it feels right there we are playing the dirt road in front of our house because we don’t know what the French Riviera is and what these free tickets will mean for us. So think about what that does to not just to our understanding of the joy God wants for us. But the pain Sometimes God allows for us, if you are there making your, you know, mud pie shop and a pedestrian who’s not paying attention walks right through it and ruins everything you have done. That actually might be the best thing for you. Because then you might go, well I might as well head to the French Riviera now, and you go, okay, that was actually a good choice. I’m glad I got pushed in that direction. That is so often what God is doing for us right is prying our fingers open from the meaningless baubles of the world that we so tightly clean to. Why is this so important? Because what Jesus says in verse 21, where your treasure is there your heart is. So this treasure thing seems to matter, doesn’t it? Because that’s where our heart is going, you know what this looks like? Doesn’t it, you know that your heart follows your money? So if I were to tell you, after the service, we’re hanging out in the lobby and tell you, I put $1,000 on the Cubs guardians game this afternoon, in your name. And if the Cubs win, you’re making whatever it is $2,500? Do you think you’ll watch that game differently? You’ll watch that game, first of all, otherwise, you’re probably not watching spring training, and you’re not gonna care. Like, why are you pulling the pitcher he’s doing leave him in there. Well, it’s spring training. That’s why he’s supposed to throw somebody, but it doesn’t matter. Your whole approach has changed because you got money riding on it now. And our heart follows our treasure. We quote Augustine a lot here when he says my Wait Is my love. Wherever I am carried, my love is carrying me. So the love about the heart has this gravitational pull in the direction of what it loves. And Jesus is saying your treasure is going to determine a lot about what you love. So what treasure Are you seeking? You got treasure in heaven. You got treasure on Earth, treasure on Earth, it’s weighing you down pulling you towards Earth, that you have treasure that is lifting you up towards heaven, and the kingdom of God. It’s a great question for parents, by the way, too, as we think about our kids. Because, on the one hand, we’re teaching our kids Jesus is better. We’re going to sing it in just a few moments more than all riches, Jesus is better. And we got, you know, almost picture, you know, a child who’s, you know, under the water struggling for breath, you can see the sunlight above, you know, the top of the ocean swimming for the surface. And we’re going Yes, exactly. Go to Jesus. Breathe deeply and have a grace that He offers all the while we’re hanging treasures around their neck. So they’re sinking deeper. Actually, we’d be so careful. But how what we give to our kids, we just put it as simply as that. Of course, that’s true for all of us, not just for parents, because we do the same thing to ourselves, also. So think with me for a moment, have you ever asked God to change your heart? Probably most of us have, right? Based on what Jesus is saying here, then that means you’re asking God to change where your treasure is. And that might be a little bit easier to do, actually easier to do, not easy, but easier to do. Like, do you wish you cared more about missions? I wish I had a greater concern for the loss to the world over well, you could invest in missions sacrificially. And where your treasure is, your heart is bound to follow. You’ll start tracking what’s going on and those parts of work. For example, Owen railing in Japan right now. And I know a number of us supported him in that endeavor. And I’m guessing those of you who were able to financially support Owen probably are thinking differently about Japan right now. Reading his newsletter in a way that maybe you don’t read the newsletters for some the other missionaries even why? Because your treasure is there. And so your heart has gone there as well. Do you wish you cared more about the eternal than Divest yourself of the temporary and invest in the eternal and watch your heart move? And then we come to verse 22. And it feels like an abrupt transition to the eye is the lamp of the body. I thought we were talking about finances. What just happened here? Feels like we’re off-topic, but actually, Jesus is continuing his thought exactly. He’s talking about how we get our heart in the right place. But what makes this passage so challenging is that it involves a lot of wordplay and metaphor and wordplay is notoriously difficult to translate, of course. So Jesus says the eye is the lamp of the body that shows us how important our vision is what we’re looking at. To state the blindingly obvious, we only see what we look at. But that then matters, what we look at. So Christ is forcing us to consider where we gaze because that’s what will illuminate the heart, our loves. You know, when do you throw open the window shades basically to let the light in because that’s the light that will flood your heart? Now the word for healthy is actually a word single, as opposed to divided. So single. Jesus is talking about a fixed gaze on a single object. And that singular gaze will really affect your behavior. So let’s take An example of a husband, who is we would even say it only has eyes for his wife. So it could be in a crowded room, lots of attractive women dressed well, and it doesn’t matter. This husband, you know, you can look at him at any point, and he’s just staring at his wife, smiling pleasantly. Now compare that to another husband in the room, whose eyes are going everywhere, roving. Following women as they pass by things like that, do you think that different gays will affect the husband’s love, of course, the one’s love will probably increase while the other’s love will be divided and probably diminishing. So not surprisingly, then the word single starts to mean generous. Because if your eyes are fixed on the eternal, you can give away the temporary quite easily you can give away the earthly. So it shows up in Romans 12. For example, Paul is talking about different gifts. And he’s kind of saying if you got these gifts, use it. So if your gift is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously. And guess what the word generously is there singly. Right. So there’s the idea single becomes generous at the same time, unhealthy, literally wicked, unhealthy or wicked. It has to do with stinginess. I can’t part with my obsession, the stuff I keep lusting after looking at. So let’s look at Proverbs 2822. We’ll look at it in two translations. So you can see the words being used here. Here’s the NIV. The stingy are eager to get rich and are unaware that poverty awaits them. The NASB, which is a more woodenly literal translation, says a man with an evil eye, a wicked eye and unhealthy eye hastens after wealth and does not know that want will come upon him. So there’s your idea. The last part of this paragraph, last part of verse 23 is ironic and terrifying as well. Because Jesus says if your light is actually darkness, well, that’s bad, right? It’s all the worst, in fact, because you don’t even realize that you are in darkness, and so you will perish in your ignorance. In other words, this matters. We need to be very careful. We need to avert our gaze when competing loves would enter our vision and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who is our one desire have to keep our eyes fixed on him because there’s always competition for our affection for him. There, other masters walk into our field of vision. And as Jesus says in the last verse 24, we cannot serve two masters. So if you’ve got double vision, you’re going back and forth between two things you want, it’s not going to end well. The weight of your love will eventually pull you in one direction. And you may well sync with those earthly weights. The danger here is that we don’t always realize that we’re serving two masters. We can fool ourselves because sometimes it looks the same. Jeremiah Burroughs, Puritan pastor, gives us an illustration back in the days when there were things like lords and servants. And so he says, you know, you imagine you’re a humble shopkeeper in London or something, and you see two gentlemen walking by and all their finery with a servant behind them. You would not know whose servant he is. In fact, he probably would happily serve both of them. If either one of them turned around and said, Fetch me some water, he would scurry off and fetch the water. So we can fool ourselves. I’m following G. He’s right there in front of me, there’s a guy next to him, but I’m gonna be right there. And that would work right up until they reached the corner, shake hands and go their separate ways. And now you’re going to know which master you’re following. To see how this would work, you might be in a situation, for example, right now where you’re like, you want me to worry about loving riches too much like I’m rationing my ramen noodles. So like, clearly, I don’t have a too much problem. Right now, I am walking behind Jesus, but you might actually be walking behind two masters. And at a certain point, disposable income is a real thing for you. And all of a sudden, the Masters go off in different directions. And then we’ll see whom we’re actually following. You’re going to hate the one and love the other is and you’ll have a preference, in other words, for one of them. So the question we ask is, which Do you obey? Which master Do you obey when they give contrary commands? That’s what we have to look at.
Now, you’ve probably heard sermons on money before if you’ve been here for any length of time. we’ve done quite a few of them. In fact, you may even want to be more generous. But it doesn’t always stick. And you might have seen this even if you’ve been here at this church, you know, we had our Citynew campaign, and a lot of us stepped up. Like, I just want to commend you for all of that. Right. The generosity outpouring of generosity was immense. And commendable. Absolutely. But then it can fade, it can, of course, we can kind of just all of a sudden, you know, I was stretching of a sacrificial it was, it was good. And now it’s just kind of, you know, I kept my giving level the same. And, slowly, the things of the world have crept back up in financial importance, so why doesn’t it stick? When we seek to become more generous? The answer is why generally, our changes don’t stick when we try to make them because we put the actions before the heart. So if your heart is still weighed down, those actions are not going to persist. That’s why we got to ask these diagnostic questions that Jesus gives us here. What do I treasure? Where am I looking? Whom do I follow? It has to start with heart. We have to see the surpassing worth of Jesus, that he actually is better. And again, Jesus says your treasure will be in heaven, not your poverty will be in heaven. Know your treasure. Like there’s more joy there. So what does that do for us? We want to overcome the desire for too much. What do we need to do? I think it’s quite clear from this passage, we need to love our master. Alright, love your master. Key word, right? I did not say follow your master. Although that’ll happen. Of course, this is more than just big grudging obedience. No, this is delight in who Jesus is. Because we know that he wants better for us than we want for ourselves. So Tie your heart to Him, and let gravity pull you towards him. That will give you a holy ambition, the desire for the right sort of too much, which is Jesus. You can never have too much Jesus. But there is another danger. There’s the desire for too much. But there’s also the fear of too little and that is where Jesus takes us.

Next, let’s look at the rest of the chapter, verses 25 to 34. Therefore, I tell you do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes, Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by wearing at a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes, see how the flowers of the field grew? They do not labor or spin? Did I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these, if that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow, is thrown into the fire? Will he not much more clothe you, you have little faith? So do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or what shall we wear? The pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom, His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Note that this section begins with the word, therefore, meaning it is directly following from what came before. That’s one problem with having little divisions in your Bible is that you start to think in concrete, discreet little sections. But no, this is all part and parcel of the same talk. It follows from what Jesus just said about the desire for too much. Why? Why does he have to make this transition? Well, first of all, it’s because of what he said in verse 19. The world really does eat your stuff, rust and mice and all the rest. But second, I think Jesus is just approaching finances and money possessions from a different angle. We looked at it from the perspective of wealth, but what about the perspective of poverty? Because it’s very easy to say verses 19 to 24 to rich people, which is, and we have to say this, most all of us in this room- you think about who Jesus was talking to at this time. Like we live better than kings back then. Because we have things like indoor plumbing, electricity, air- conditioning, like these are good things, right? So we live better lives than kings. Jesus is clearly speaking to us in those verses, but you can understand. You can say it’s easy for you to say all that, but what if I can’t feed my family? Am I allowed to be concerned about possessions, then? And so we’ve got that shift from the desire for too much to the fear of too little his main point when it comes to this fear is really simple says it three times you can’t miss it. Do not worry, says in verse 25 says it again in verse 31, says it again at the end and in verse 34. And that word worry actually shows up three other times, six times in these paragraphs. He’s talking about worrying about the necessities of life. Because he says, you don’t need to worry about the necessities of life because life is more than all that there’s a deeper life that is more important that we need to focus on. And he offers then two illustrations to help us overcome our worry, our anxiety, two illustrations from nature. And these two illustrations follow the exact same pattern where Jesus gives us the example. Then He offers us a reminder and then he gives us a little rebuke as well. So let’s look at them, but we’ll kind of look at them together since they’re saying the same thing. Jesus, first of all, says, Look at the birds. Some of us are delighted by this verse in Scripture. So John Stott, a great pastor in England last century, was an avid birder much like myself, and he kind of says, like, I get it, I know that some of you think this is a weird, eccentric hobby, but hey, Jesus told us to do it. Okay, we got a biblical warrant for it. All of you should be birders. But Jesus’ point there is that there are lessons to be learned from nature, from looking at creation. In fact, the Reformers referred to creation as the second book. So the first book is the Bible. This is the most important revelation. There’s a revelation that we will not get anywhere else except here. But there’s a lot of revelation in nature. Also, Paul talks about it in Romans 1, Psalm 19, and we could go on and on. So Jesus is saying, Get out in creation, which is good advice for us anyway, in a sterile technological, inhuman environment, get out in creation, but get on creation, and then pay attention. Pay attention because there is so much of God’s goodness and power and wisdom on display. And that is the point. Jesus is not talking about nature. Here. He’s talking about God’s character. Look at how he feeds the birds – who don’t even bother farming – lazy birds, and yet they eat. Or he says, Look at the flowers too, okay, how we clothe them, they don’t toil or spin, they’re not sewing their own clothes. And yet they are dressed even better than Solomon, who was famous for his clues. And, of course, we could multiply examples. You really could just kind of look at creation and see this all over the place. We just watched a National Geographic documentary about animal migrations recently, and I was struck over and over again by the perfect order of God’s creation, that all these animals, I, the fact that they even get back to where they were, isn’t remarkable in its own right, of course, some like the monarch butterfly, they don’t even go back to where they were. And if they still know, like, where their ancestors went, they get partway there, and then their kids pick it up from there, like it’s crazy. They all get to exactly where they need to be, like the salmon don’t get back to the rivers in Alaska, and the bears don’t eat me, Eagles don’t eat and just everything breaks down. There’s so much order in creation. God is in charge. And he’s, he’s good at it. Like he’s taking care of the animals. And so then comes the reminder. Verse 26, are you not much more valuable? Or the reminder in the second part – same phrase much more there in verse 30, will he not much more clothe you? Is an argument from the lesser to the greater if he does that, for the birds? And for the meadows. What is he going to do for you? How much more valuable are they than are you? Then they
may look, he clothed the meadow with wildflowers, even though it could get gone the next day and tossed into the fire. It’s ephemeral, but you are immortal. And that’s a big difference. So there are clearly echoes of Isaiah chapter 40 in here so Isaiah 40, verses six to eight, where the prophet says all people are like grass. All their faithfulness is like the flowers in the field, The grass withers and the flowers fall because the breath of the Lord blows on them. I didn’t write this one in my notes. So have a look at the slides. Surely the people are grass, the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever. So echoes of this passage, but it’s interesting because there Isaiah is saying, You’re like the grass here today and gone tomorrow. It’s the word of the Lord that endures forever. But it’s interesting as Peter reminds us, he quotes Isaiah 40 He says, Yeah, okay, so the word of God and dearest forever, and that is the word that was preached to you. And he goes on to say, you have been born again, by that living an enduring word, so that all of a sudden, we moved from ephemeral to immortal in Christ. And so we should have faith, then we should not be people of little faith any longer. Even what Peter says there is so important. We have to believe that the God who redeemed us not with, you know, gold and silver and precious jewels that would be as nothing the God who redeemed us by the precious blood of the unblemished lamb, His own Son, Jesus, that God will care for you. That is what makes anxiety and worry so wrong. Because it makes a wildly false claim about who God is. When we worry, when we’re anxious, we’re saying implicitly either God doesn’t know or doesn’t see. Or if he does know and see, he doesn’t care. But we know that’s not true. Because we have the cross of Christ and the empty tomb, we never have a reason to doubt God’s stance toward us. The proof is there already that Caitlin read it for us earlier, he who did not spare His own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will we not also, along with him, graciously give us all things, all things? And so that leads to this rebuke, then it’s slightly different in the two sections. When he talks about the birds, Jesus says, You can’t change a thing by worrying. You can’t even add an hour to your life by worrying. You can’t change what really matters. And so your worry is pointless. Because what Jesus is saying here, and then he says, when he’s talking about the flowers, verse 32, he says, everything while you’re worrying, that’s what pagans do. So those who are outside the kingdom are marked by anxiety, and driven by materialism, deep concern about the stuff of this world, shouldn’t we be different? And we talked about this two weeks ago, Martyn Lloyd Jones was asking us like, was there anything different about you? Well, this is one of those areas where we could certainly be different because those inside the kingdom should have very different concerns. But concerns which, by the way, is the same word as worry, isn’t it? At least in Greek, it is, in fact, the exact same word, which means there is a good sort of worry that we could talk about. There are concerns we shouldn’t we should be concerned about plenty of things in this world. There is a kingdom worry if we could put it that way. Think of Paul, for example, 2 Corinthians 11. He’s talking about all the trials he’s experienced trying to propagate the gospel. And then he says, besides everything else, forget the shipwrecks. Forget the stonings, and the getting whipped and all that stuff, you know what’s really difficult. Besides everything else I’ve faced daily, the pressure of my concern, exact same word, is worried. I feel faced at the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Are they, are they sticking to the truth? Are they remaining in the faith? Are they growing in grace? Martin Luther said we shouldn’t be worried – concerned – for the spiritual well-being of our neighbors. Of course, we should be like, What parent isn’t concerned about their children’s flourishing, physically and spiritually, of course. And we should be deeply concerned about our own sin. And have something keep you up at night? That’s something to have keeps you up at night. Why am I not different? yet? So Jesus has, then it’s not just rebuking surface worry, necessarily, does anything ever keep you up at night? But what is the cause of your worry? What is the cause of your concern? There’s a deeper issue here when you’re lying awake at night? Are you concerned for the things of God? Or are you lacking confidence in God? That’s the question. And if it’s the latter, but the lack of confidence in God, you need to stop and trust instead, which is easier said than done. I understand why this is hard. Of course. I mean, you look around even at the world, you think people are starving? Is this promise even true? That God will feed and clothe us? And it certainly is. Multiply examples from church history, George Miller comes to mind immediately Of course, this person with a whole orphanage will just run out of food, and he would go okay, children, we need to pray because we know that God feeds the birds. So if you’d asked to and then like bread truck breaks down out front of the orphanage, and they’re like, well, this breads gonna go bad once you guys have this. These are true stories of what happened. So yes, of course, this promise is true. It’s not all that stuff. I’m sure has to say about this. A God does allow persecution. And Christians may die as a result of persecution. Jesus did. So yeah, that will happen. Certainly, God will send famines and things like that because God has purposes beyond what we can see. That’s all true. And so I mean, that’s just a good reminder that this is hard. It also reminds me that people are going to hear this passage and this sermon differently, depending on where you are and where you’ve been. And Don Carson, and his commentary on this, he kind of mentions, like, three types of people who maybe would be listening to this. The first would be that happy-go-lucky, not a care-in-the-world kind of person. The second would be the type a perfectionist, every care in the world sort of person, constant worry. And the third (and is the one we spend the most time, of course, it’d be somebody who is actively suffering. You know, who’s just gotten a diagnosis that his wife has stage four cancer, and he’s watching her decay before his very eyes. Think of how those three people would hear this passage. The first would go told you I knew I wasn’t supposed to be so worried you all should have my happy-go-lucky attitude. You know, why get a 92 in the class when 71 is still a passing grade? It gets you the degree at the end. Jacob said Amen. Right. That’s the first time Jake has ever amened. Okay. The second person is going to feel the weight of everything that I am saying right now. Like, you’re like, I know, this is me, all I do is worry. And so, in a bit of irony, you’re actually gonna go home and start worrying about how much you worry. Yeah, the third person whose wife is dying, and again, I don’t think there’s anyone here, but there may be people who are experiencing suffering like this; at this moment, the most likely response is to sneer at me, understandably, and to say, you know, maybe you should watch your own wife die before you lecture me on topics you know nothing about. And so what we see is there’s a pastoral precision that’s required for each person. What is the one drawback to sermons of course, because I have to speak in general truths. But as individuals, you’re going to need to take from it what you need to hear. What that first person needs to hear is the value of discipline and hard work, go to the ant, you sluggard. Now, there is a reason for our hard work, we should be concerned about some of the things in this world. The second person needs a reminder about God’s provision, the power and intimacy of prayer. And probably both of them need to hear about how self-centered that whole approach is, worrying or not worrying if it’s driven by self, and that third person, only to talk about worrying at all. They just need someone to come alongside and weep with them, of course, but what all three need here’s the general truth that I can give to all of you what we all need is the keyword we saw last week, and it’s here again this week. It’s the word Father, Father, both illustrations, dad is there. Your father feeds the birds, verse 26, your Father knows what you need. Verse 32. Here is a charming little children’s poem from the 19th century by Elizabeth Cine. It says this is based on this passage, of course, called Overheard in an Orchard. So the Robin to the sparrow, I should really like to know why these anxious human beings rush and worry so said the sparrow, to the robin friend, I think that it must be that they have no Heavenly Father, such as cares for you and me. That’s the rebuke of this passage. That’s what the birds think of us. Why wouldn’t you trust the one who feeds us all? But that’s the point, right? How do we respond to the fear of too little? We must learn to trust our father, trust your father. And those two words go together? Of course, they don’t always in this life. Some of you might have bad dads, we think why would I ever trust the guy who abandoned or abused us, okay, but when it comes to your heavenly Father, who was welcomed us as His children because of the costly blood of Christ, of course, we can trust him trust your father. And that idea kind of takes us to the climax of this whole passage, which is in verse 33, the response we need, Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. Every one of those words is important. So seek, this has given in the present tense, by the way, which in the Greek language means it’s an ongoing command, not a one-time and ongoing. You could translate this keep on seeking His kingdom and His righteousness, Seek first. First has nothing to do with time and everything to do with priority. Right? He’s first in your heart, first in your loves. That’s the wholeheartedness, the purity of heart that we can be talking about in this whole sermon on the mount, it’s verse 24. You can’t serve two masters put Him first. He’s your first master seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. And this brings together to the twin themes of the Sermon on the Mount. Of course, this whole thing is about life in the kingdom. What does it mean to enter? What are kingdom people like, and then, of course, the thesis statement in verse 20, we need to have a greater righteousness in the scribes and Pharisees, so they’re together now life in the kingdom is marked by this greater righteousness to which Jesus calls us. Life in the kingdom is, is dedicated to his current and coming reign. And then verse 34 feels almost like an afterthought, like, Oops, I’m gonna just say it again, I guess I got an extra time here. So maybe it’s not, though. It’s the concluding agitation to all of 19 to 34, this whole section, it’s a reminder that anxiety reveals the heart. And so you got to put the two together. Verse 34 is not just saying, Stop worrying again. But again, 33 and 34. Together means get your heart right. Love your master, trust your father. And that will lead to this sort of daily bread approach that Jesus gives us in verse 34. is worried about today. Tomorrow’s got enough worries, okay? You can’t add him. I look, I know that this is where I struggle. I’m not a an anxious person by nature. But I can think about finances, and it is when I look down the road. So I look at the fact that I got five or six college tuitions coming. And for weddings coming. And I’m in ministry. You want to understand why I’ve got these concerns. I’m human. But I guess it’s not for today. But why would God give me that money now I don’t need it now. I will need it then. And I will trust in His provision will probably look different than I expect as well. I love the honesty of this verse, too, though. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. The Bible is not lying to you, your allies will not be free of trouble, but they can be free of worry. And that is the difference. So we get caught up in the world’s priorities. We’ve become functionally pagan in our approach, so often our unholy ambition and our unholy anxiety. But what’s our response? Been up for a little while right there from verse 33. Seek him first. Right? That’s the takeaway. Seek him first. Remember who he is in nature. And then what he’s done, feeding the birds clothing, tomatoes, and of course, Christ’s life and death and resurrection, chiefly, remembering that reorients our hearts and that Romans 832 sort of way so that we delight in his worth, He did not spare His own Son, give them up for us all how we not also along with him graciously give us all things you can see the question, if he did that for us, why wouldn’t he do this for us? Takes care of our anxiety. Or if he’s giving me this, all the riches of glory, why would I greedily want that, which is just going to rust in a few years anyway? And so you see, we seek Him first. All these things will be given to us. And here, I think that all things is so much more than just money. It’s more than food and clothes. Yes, that’s there, too. But all that we’re seeking underneath the food and clothes, love and joy. The big one when it comes to financial security. And really, the one that I think it’s underneath all of them is the one that kind of slices me open, might slice you open to is control, control. That’s what ambition and anxiety are all about control of our own lives. And he gives that to us. Not that he gives us control of our own lives, which is what we want. But we shouldn’t get to have control of our own lives because we’re not smart enough or mature enough to handle that. You don’t put your eight-year-old in charge of the finances and their own diet. Right where they’re like, I’m doing the reverse Atkins. It’s just sugar actually. It’s really good. It’s gonna work out for me feel great. But we have to remind her that he is in control of our lives. So some questions consider as we close just some diagnostic questions, running tests on our hearts to kind of see where’s the greed? Where’s the anxiety? Where’s that desire for control? First, what do you think about most or even daydream about most? Another way to put it: What do you want most in this life that one day worry like if I had that, or I could keep that, I know, I would be happy. Because clearly, that’s where your treasure is. Second one. And this is an interesting one, but I think it’ll help us out. What do you measure others by? We meet other people, and we size them up immediately. So what’s your standard of evaluation when you size other people up? Because that’s going to give you a good sense of your vision and values. And are these kingdom values? Or are these world values? The third one related to our Master. What good commands and all of God’s commands are good? What good commands do you struggle to keep? The reality is we are all following a master. You may think you’re following yourself. You’re not. There’s somebody in front of you. We’re all following a master. So which are you following for? What do you fret about or dread losing? And I think part of that, too, is, is it a today question, or is it a tomorrow question, reminded of what George MacDonald said, No man ever sank under the burden of today. It’s only when the burden of tomorrow is added to the burden of today that our knees collapse. Now, we might struggle to answer some of these questions. We don’t always know our own hearts. That was kind of the whole point of last week’s sermon, wasn’t it? So I think one way we can accurately diagnose what’s going on in our hearts is to pay attention to what we say out of the overflow of your heart. You know, a person speaks, Jesus tells us, so pay attention to your speech. Maybe even ask others to help you, you know, listen if I say these sorts of things. Like what if that’s a big one, right? What if this happens, that happens, the other thing happens, because what ifs are tomorrow questions and are anxiety-laden, of course. So, therefore, we’re looking, there’s a backward-looking speech. So and that’s if only, if only we hadn’t blown our money there, we would be in such a different spot. So that’s about regret, but it’s also about our treasure, certainly, but the main one I want you to listen to, and this one draws out that control piece that’s so strong enough, It’s really where anxiety meets ambition. It’s the phrase, I just need to… Hear me. Shocked at how often you say this? I just need to finish these emails. And then I can help with the kids. I just need to, you know, take care of this part of the house, and then we can get going on the next part of the house, whatever it is, I just need to, and that last one just captures the heart. We keep saying I just need to because we’ve fallen prey to our cultural addiction to more. And it might be more stuff just as easily might be more self improvement. And that’s what fuels the anxiety and the ambition. And here’s the good news. And this is such good news. When you hear yourself say I just need to, you know what you just need to do? Seek Him first. That’s it. Love your master, trust your father. That’s what you need to do. Why? Because he who did not spare His own Son gave him up for us all, how will we not also, along with him, graciously give us everything we need? Let’s pray to him now.
Father, we rest secure in your loving embrace. As we look around at creation and we see your sovereign rule, its goodness and wisdom and power, we know that we have no cause to fear or to worry. And remarkably, you consider us more valuable than the birds of the field and the flowers of the meadows. Because we and we alone are crafted in your image. And for that reason, Lord, you have redeemed us at the cost of your son’s precious blood. That’s how valuable we were to you. How that should stir love and trust in our hearts may do so even now. Lord, we pray for your namesake. Amen.

Amen.

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Kingdom Piety February 25, 2024 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper preached on avoiding hypocrisy and seeking public praise in acts of personal piety like giving, prayer, and fasting. Jesus taught that true righteousness is practiced secretly before God rather than for the praise of others. The sermon emphasized examining one’s motivations to determine if they are self-oriented or seeking to help others. True intimacy with God through secret acts of devotion was encouraged over exhibitionism and grandstanding. Believers are called to imitate Christ’s perfect righteousness through faith and sincere devotion to God alone.

Good morning church. Want to go ahead and grab your Bibles? You can open up to Matthew chapter six will be in verses one to 18. This morning, Matthew six starting in verse one, as you’re turning there a couple of weekends ago, my wife and I were having one of those weekends, very busy, felt a little less like a married couple and a little bit more like roommates who run a chauffeur service. And so, like, just no connection, really. And you know how that goes where after a while, physical distance can kind of start to feel like emotional distance in a marriage. And so it was right after journey group, probably because we do some heart-level stuff. And during a group that I just sent a text to my wife kind of saying, like, I know there is this distance between us, I’m aware of it, you know, I want to close it. Sorry, we haven’t had that. And again, I think because I just love Journey group. And we were doing this heart-level stuff. It actually made me pause for a moment after I sent the text. And I kind of went, why exactly did I send that text? Did I send it for the love of Amy or for the love of myself? Because it meant a lot to her? Certainly, it was a good text, you know, but on the other hand, it also made my life easier. Like I looked good in her eyes when I did that. And that’s always a good thing. And then also, I knew that that meant there was a hard conversation coming later about that distance that now would be much, much easier. And so I wondered what that means, of course, is that even when we’re doing good, we can’t trust our hearts. Like I’ve asked myself that question, why did I send that text? And to be honest, I don’t know. I’m sure my motives were mixed if I’m being honest. Like we’ve got the temptation to do the right thing for the wrong reason. Maybe helps us understand what the Russian novelist Ivan Virginia has said. He said, I do not know what the heart of a bad man is like. But I do know what the heart of a good man is like, and it is terrible. And that’s exactly where we’re headed. today. We’re looking at the good we do. But the temptations that come with it where the behavior might be good, but the heart might be off. As we look at this course, we’re still unpacking the greater righteousness that Jesus calls us to if we’re going to be part of His kingdom. That was the thesis statement for the whole sermon on the mount back in chapter five, verse 20. And then we spent the next three weeks unpacking that greater righteousness in relation to the law. We’ve done that for a while now. But we’re shifting. We’ve got a new movement in the Sermon on the Mount. At this point, we’re going to look at that greater righteousness in relation to our personal piety, garb, religious acts of devotion. So what’s this going to look like Jesus is gonna give us the main idea in verse one. And then it’s gonna give us three areas to consider. And these really are illustrations, these three areas, ALMS prayer and fasting. Just kind of interesting these three areas they deal with, with different broad categories. So you think about ALMS that’s our practice of piety in relation to other people. Prayer is our piety in relation to God. And then fasting is really our piety in relation to ourselves. And so these are, again, meant to be illustrative examples here, so here’s the lesson we’re going to learn. This is the big idea. What we’re going to take away this morning is that beloved children don’t need to show off. Beloved children don’t need to show off. We’ll see what that means and why it matters as we go. But for now, let’s dive into the first section here, looking especially at alms. And the question is, are we grandstanding or giving good? Our thesis statement, our main idea here, as well may read chapter six, verses one to four. Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets. The hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets to be honored by others. Truly, I tell you, they have received a reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. So that you’re giving may be in secret, then your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Alright, as I mentioned, verse one gives us the main point. And Jesus is telling us here to be careful with our personal piety because we can do very good things for very bad reasons. Now, we do want to be careful and make sure we’re reading the text closely here. Jesus does not say don’t do these things in front of others, although that might be necessary, as we’ll see. But he says, do not practice your righteousness in front of others, to be seen by them. That’s the key phrase to be seen. The purpose of our doing it is that others will look at us and then honor and glorify us. So there’s this great danger here, especially coming out of what Jesus just said, if you were here last week, you know, we wrapped up chapter five with a saying, Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. And so Jesus here, get there no chapter divisions in the original or anything like that, right? So Jesus is just moving right on. It’s almost as though he said, be perfect, but be careful. But be careful at the same time. After all, we are trying to practice a greater righteousness than the scribes and Pharisees; greater than, or means it’s a comparative, which means now we’ve begun comparing ourselves to others. And there is some danger there. Of course, like I can remember this clearly, in my seminary days, we’ve got a large, moody contingent, you guys will probably recognize what I’m talking about here, where there was this sense of, like, we’re all going into ministry, right? So let’s see who really loves God the most, who prays more, who’s memorized more scripture, or who’s got a limited disdain for learning theology because they just want to love Jesus. And so there were these comparisons all over the place. That’s the danger we all have. That’s not just for seminary students. By the way, in striving to rise above the scribes and Pharisees, we can actually descend to their level because we’ve got the same motivation, which is to win glory from others. So here’s the danger. It’s that our desire for public praise perverts our practice of personal piety. Splendidly alliterative, right? I only had to add one “P” there. That’s just actually what this whole thing is about: our desire for public praise perverts our practice of personal piety. So we have to guard against that temptation. Temptation that Don Carson describes, he says, you know, “the demand for genuine perfection can be lost in the lesser goal of external piety. And the goal of pleasing our father is traded for its shrunken cousin, that of pleasing other people. Now, we do have to deal with the seeming contradiction in this passage, too, and is the contradiction with chapter five, verse 16, where Jesus says, and thankfully, our young man from the CAP testimony already referenced this verse, we want to hide our light, right, you gotta let your light shine, so that other people may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. So we’re supposed to do it so that people can see it or so that people can’t see it, which one is it? It is a seeming contradiction, but it is a superficial contradiction at the same time because there is a radically different purpose here. And the purpose is all about Glory, whose glory, people are going to see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven. That is a good purpose versus glorifying us for what we have done. So we’ve got to live in such a way that people can’t help but see that there is something that makes us different, but we don’t make a show of it. It should be an inevitable viewing. Now, that is a really delicate balance, I get that this is like walking on the balance beam, right? You can fall off the left or the right. I like the way AB Bruce put it. He said, oftentimes, we must show when we’re tempted to hide and hide when we’re tempted to show that’s about right, isn’t it? I’ll just give you an example. I play soccer most weeks and play with guys who are not Christians. And I don’t generally just introduce myself immediately as a Christian or something like that. But people find out. They asked me what I do. Usually, that’s the dead giveaway. But it’s interesting to always see them kind of go, “Okay, that makes sense, actually, like when we make corse jokes, you don’t participate, you don’t swear or yell at people in quite the same way.” So there is that sense of right was making a show of it, but it is there to see at least,
I think that’s what Jesus is calling us to. But resisting this temptation–that there’s a temptation for public praise matters because Jesus reminds us we’re in danger of losing our reward. Otherwise, we’ll come back to rewards in a moment, but just worth mentioning that, yeah, there are rewards. There are rewards even in heaven. And I know that messes with some of us, but it’s okay. Jesus talks about it. Paul talks about it. We’re pretty sure this is real. So we’ll come back to that in just a moment. But think of how terrifying that is the idea that we can lose our reward. One commentator kind of says, you know, you could give your life say to a compassion ministry and overseas missions where you are there, you know, caressing lepers. You know, ulcerated, a hand, you know, it all counts for nothing. In God’s eyes, counts for nothing in God’s eyes. Why? Because you’re doing it for people’s praise and not God’s approval. And if that’s all you want, and that’s all you get. So Jesus says, like if you’re just doing it for the photo app, so you can post it on Facebook and you get your, you know, dopamine hit when those likes start coming in, I hope it was worth it because that’s all that you’re getting. And so that’s the main idea, then Jesus gives us the first illustration here, which is giving. Notice, he says, when you give, it’s assumed you will be giving to relieve the needs of the people around you. Especially necessary in this culture necessary in a subsistence culture with no social safety net. And so things go bad there, you don’t have insurance, things like that, you know, that’s it, you’re destitute almost immediately. So of course, we have to help each other out, you could open almost at random to a page in the Old Testament and find some sense of how we should be caring for the poor. Here’s proverbs 1917 is just an example. Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward them for what they have done. There’s our word reward again. So we’re going to be giving for this purpose this cause but but why exactly? Are we giving alms? Is it truly our compassion for the poor? Or is it a desire for praise? I mean, you know what this looks like, right? We’ve all seen PR stunts. When corporations make a big show of what they’re giving, you’re like it was gonna get polluted the river like we know what’s happening here. You’re not fooling anybody. But that’s what some did, then, to make a show of it. A PR campaign, they would give with trumpets, it’s possible that was being talked about here is that when there was a big need, they would actually blow the temple trumpets. And then you can imagine what what happens, everybody in town can hear the trumpet going. And if you grab your money bag and start running off, everybody’s got Oh, he’s very godly. And that was the idea. Maybe that’s what’s going on? If not, I mean, we got the same sort of language in English. Today only were we talking about this as somebody who’s tooting their own horn. There’s the trumpet idea. And the problem is, of course, that it is hypocrisy. Jesus says, hypocrisy. No, hypocrisy means play acting. It’s a theater term play acting. And that’s what this is because you are pretending that you care for people when really you are just loving yourself, and your own glory. But it is a very subtle hypocrisy, isn’t it? Like most of us, when we think of hypocrisy, we are picturing the TV evangelist who’s railing against sexual immorality while sleeping with his entire staff. That’s what hypocrisy means for most of us. But this is much subtler. This is the kind of hypocrisy that you might not even be aware of. Think about that, in the same way that I wasn’t sure what was going on in my heart when I sent my wife that text. And worse, still, the recipient is grateful. They probably don’t even care if you’re being hypocritical, they just need their bills paid, right? So this is a really confusing situation, a subtle hypocrisy model I should mention, as long as we’re talking hypocrisy, some people, including perhaps some in this room, reject Christianity, because of hypocrisy in the church. And I think what we’re seeing is you are so right to hate hypocrisy. But I would not throw Jesus out with the bathwater here, the whole reason you don’t care for hypocrisy is because of Jesus. Because pretty much every other religion, it just matters what you do not why you do it. Jesus is the only one who takes us to the level of the heart. And he’s on your side. He also doesn’t like this. So his hypocrisy is a problem, the hypocrites. They are hypocrites because they’re in it for personal praise. And as we said, That’s then what they get. That’s all they get. And that is so puny. That is not a good enough reward. So there is a better option. Jesus says, when you give, there’s that word, “when” again, not if you give – when you give, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. So what Jesus is saying here, and this is a startling image, of course, that’s not actually possible with how our brains work, I don’t think, but Jesus is saying, Not only should you not tell others, but in a sense, you shouldn’t even tell yourself, what you are doing when you give that as we are not to give self consciously, maybe even conscious not just of our giving, but the fact that we’re doing it in secret. You could imagine how this would look when you’re at a banquet, and somebody mentions, you know, the matching grant was $50,000 from an anonymous donor, and you think that’s me? I’m the anonymous donor. These people don’t even know how Yeah, so our secrecy has devolved into self-righteousness yet again, which is a helpful reminder for us that secrecy does not earn you merit. It’s just a safeguard against one temptation, the desire for public praise use, but it is a safeguard against just one temptation because the ultimate desire here is, of course pleasing yourself. And you can still do that in private. Hence, we are to be self-forgetful in our giving. Which reminds us this is a question again of motivation, not just action. And that is good because there are times to talk about giving. We see this in Scripture, Second Corinthians eight. For example, Paul holds up the Macedonian church as an example of generous giving. So, apparently, he knew what they had been giving. There’s a time and a place to talk about it. And you understand why because we look at Second Corinthians eight, and their example is good for us. So I’m glad it got talked about. I think 1 Corinthians 11: 1 also when Paul says, Follow me as I follow Christ, or imitate me as I imitate Christ. And so there is a sense of invitation. You can imagine being in a discipleship relationship with a young believer new to the faith and just kind of walking through what giving might look like. You’re saying, I’m like, you know, what, for our family, at least, you know, here’s what we do. We just 10% immediately goes to the local church, there’s no discussion, there’s no How do we do this month, it just automatically goes there. And then we look for opportunities to support missions or compassionate organizations, or if there’s a greater need at church, and we just see what more we can do, you can see how that would be a helpful conversation to have with somebody who’s learning what it means to give. But we don’t need to have people see. We’re not doing it so that people could see. In fact, we don’t have to have people see what we’re doing for others. And that is a good reminder, by the way, we’re just talking about what we’re doing for others giving us one area we could think of serving as another good example. You could do that in secret. Also, not always. Sometimes you’re like, my name is on a volunteer list. Everyone knows him down there. But you know, there are times where you could do something, and you still have people like, oh, yeah, well, you know, I put all the chairs away. Okay, that’s the same idea, right? But we don’t need to have people see what we do for others. Because, as Jesus reminds us, God sees God sees it all. Kyle and I, some years ago, were on a missions trip down in Columbia and Paco’s a cute little town there. And the hills above Paco, written in giant white stones, are the words “Dios Bay”, God Sees. What a reminder, I would love to have that on a hill, we don’t have hills here. So there’s nothing we can do. It is a great reminder that we’re at, and so of course, you think most of what that is going to do the the reminder that God sees it’s going to keep us from doing hidden evil. Like God sees the deeds done in darkness. But it also keeps us hidden. Good. Because he sees it, and he rewards it. Which now brings the big question, of course, if we’re doing it for a reward, isn’t that just as bad? Isn’t that just as self-serving, almost mercenary in our goodness? But here’s the distinction. The reward is not the goal. A reward is just the result of what we do. And it is tied to the act itself. There’s a natural connection there. CS Lewis talks a bit about this. And he kind of says we understand this natural connection idea. So, for example, money is not the natural reward for love. So when somebody marries a girl for her money, we go, that’s not right, that is mercenary. What is the natural reward for that kind of love between a man and a woman? marriages. And so someone gets married, you don’t go “Well, that was mercenary”? He was just trying to get a wife. Like, no, that’s what, that’s how it should go. It’s not mercenary to desire that, and CS Lewis says the proper rewards are the activity itself in consummation. That’s what Jesus is describing. So one obvious reward here, of course, is seeing the need relieved, seeing that person lifted from truly desperate circumstances, as well as intimacy, of course, with our Father who sees so it’s time for self-examination, then, when you meet the needs of those around you giving to the benevolence fund today, for example, are you just grandstanding? Or are you truly giving? That is, are you self-oriented? Or are you others oriented? A quick reminder, as we examine ourselves, we’re not to judge others here. Kyle’s going to talk about that in two weeks, chapter seven. So if what’s going on in your mind right now is, yeah, like that guy. He’s always talking about it. Okay, go ahead and stop and then confess that sin, repent of it and do some self-examination. The only time I will give you that reminder, but that’ll be true for all three sections here. Let’s turn to the second section though prayer. The question here is exhibition or intimate See, verses five to 15. And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you they have received their award in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen, than your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because there are many words do not be like them. Your father knows what you need before you ask him. This then is how you should pray. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For if you forgive other people when they sinned against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, their sins, your father will not forgive your sins, sounding an awful lot like the Beatitudes. Blessed are those who are merciful, for they will receive mercy. But what are we doing here? So prayer, our second topic again, this is our piety before God. And the warning here, by the way shows us just how terrible sin is, is sin stocks us not just in the far country, where the prodigal runs away to squander his wealth on wine and prostitutes. Sin stocks us at the very gates of heaven. In fact, we’re not for God’s power, sin would come right on into heaven with us. So if I were to ask you to think of a sinner, you might picture a drunk, stumbling out of the bar at closing time, or two cars pulling into a seedy motel at the noon hour, or maybe even a corporate board meeting, where you got a group of people willing to exploit their workers and despoil the environment all for the sake of a bottom line. But what Jesus says here is, yeah, that might all be sin. Absolutely. What do you think of a sinner, you should also picture your pastor at a prayer meeting. That’s what Jesus just said. Here’s how Martyn Lloyd Jones puts it he says, speaking of sin, right, this, this thing of sin that has entered into our very nature and Constitution as humans is something so polluting, that when man is engaged in his highest activity, prayer, he still has a battle to wage with it. And so we have to consider one more time just the exceeding sinfulness of sin. But this is a temptation common to all what Jesus describes here. And it’s a temptation to pray differently in front of others than we do alone before God. Now Jesus is not here prohibiting public prayer. He prays in public, for example, and we do want to imitate him. We see the early church regularly gathering for prayer. So our quarterly prayer meetings, you know, like, you don’t need to start coming in ski masks or anything like that, like it’s a good thing. But certainly this tax means we got to ask ourselves some diagnostic questions as we look at our prayer lives, like do you pray with more fervency and frequency in public? Or in private? Do you love the secret place of prayer? Being alone with God? In fact, is your public prayer just the overflow of your private prayer life? Because otherwise, it is. Well, it’d be like a dad who, you know, when he’s at home with the kids, he’s constantly yelling at them, just sitting on the couch trying to watch TV, like, get away from me kind of thing, right up until other people show up. And then he’s wonder Dad, right? He’s playing with the kids. And I’m like, and you’re like, that’s gross. That’s gross. That is what’s hypocrisy, right? And that’s what Jesus is talking about. It is play acting again. Because the desire is public praise, not personal intimacy with God, which is the whole purpose of prayer. We already saw what prayer is. Robert, read it for us. So I’m 27 Verse eight, My heart says of you seek His face. Your face, Lord, I will seek. That’s prayer, the desire for intimacy. I mean, you read this, this sounds like two lovers on a date, just desperate to be with each other. That’s what prayer should be. And yet James Montgomery Boice pastor from last century said he thinks not one in 100 prayers offered in churches is actually offered to Almighty God. He says no, they’re made to people, or even to the praying one himself, so that he can pat himself on the back right. When Jesus adds another point, he Hear though, the sections a little bit longer a little different than the other ones. He says, We also must not pray like the pagans, who are trying to manipulate their false gods for selfish ends. If they pray a lot, and get loud, maybe cut themselves or something, well, then this God is going to have to be responsive. And so I’m going to do it until I get what I want. It’s very much a quid pro quo kind of exchange. And Jesus says, No, our prayers can be simple and direct. Because we know God’s will revealed to us in Scripture. And so we can simply seek it in prayer. Now, this is not all Jesus says on the subject. We also have to be careful here, right? We don’t want to get one or we need to know the whole counsel of God, because you’ve read this, you would think, okay, one or two sentences and plenty, when you think Jesus also teaches the parable of the persistent widow, to remind us that we should not give up in prayer. So the point again, is, it’s what’s going on in your heart. It’s not the outward action. It’s not the length of a prayer, but the heart behind it. Are you praying a lot, because you want to talk to God a lot. You know, if you’re praying a lot, because you think your wordiness is impressive, okay, check your heart. But at the same time, if you give up easily in prayer, because you don’t think it’s going to do okay, check your heart. That’s what Jesus is saying. And then he says, instead of pagan, or hypocritical prayer, do this. And Jesus teaches us how to pray. And let’s not miss the implication that Jesus has to teach us how to pray because prayer is by no means an obvious or unnatural act. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds us, we have to learn how to pray. It does not come naturally to us, A quick word to parents by law, really, anyone in a discipleship relationship with parents especially? Have you taught your kids how to pray? And by the way, doesn’t that complicate the whole discussion? Because how are we going to teach them to pray by praying in front of them? And so, of course, we don’t only pray in secret. We have to pray with others. But we want to make sure that our heart is in the right place as we do it.
What does Jesus teach us about prayer, I’m just gonna give us three broad ideas here. Why I’m going to skim across the Lord’s Prayer, not because it’s not important, but because it was so important that we already did a series just about it. And so go back and check it out if you need to, if you miss that. How important is the Lord’s Prayer? It’s interesting. The Sermon on the Mount is a tightly constructed sermon. The structure is remarkable, you know, beginning an introduction in three major sections, and we’re in that middle section right now. And in that middle section, there are three illustrations, and we’re in the middle one right now. And the middle of the middle one is the Lord’s Prayer. It is the center of the center of the center of the Sermon on the Mount. That’s how important it is. So go back and listen to this series again. But what are the three broad ideas we’re going to draw out of it? First of all, prayer is to be God-centered. That comes across as quite clearly hypocritical. Prayer is selfish, and self-centered, but Christian prayer is, we could almost say, God obsessed me. You look at how we pray, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, Your will be done. It is all about God. Which is good because that would be exactly the opposite of the exhibitionism that Jesus condemns. Because it’s not about my glory, I am laser-focused on his glory when I pray. Second, the broad idea: prayer is to be intelligent and thoughtful because the pagans babble, but Christians interact thoughtfully with God’s word. We’re not trying to convince him because we pray in accordance with His will. So what are we doing in prayer in so many ways, we are reorienting our own hearts. As Luther said, we are instructing ourselves more than him. Especially because verse eight, he already knows what we need. We don’t need to inform God of anything he knows. And he cares, which is the third broad idea. How we pray is determined almost entirely by our image of God. So just think for a moment about what sort of God would be interested in selfish, mindless prayers. Certainly not the God of the Bible, the God that we meet here, even in this passage, because Jesus reminds us we are praying to our Father in heaven. The father who is with us, even in the secret place, it’s interesting, you know, it keeps saying your Father who is unseen. It’s the exact same words as in secret. In the in the hiddenness. You know, what you do in the hiddenness, your Father who is in the hiddenness sees he’s with you there in the secret place, how that changes how we pray, quote, Martyn Lloyd Jones again, he says if only we realize that we are indeed his children and that whenever we pray, Just like a child going to his father, he knows all about us. He knows our every need before we tell him as a father cares for his child and looks at the child and is concerned about the child and anticipates the needs of the child. So is God with respect to all those who are in Christ Jesus? And if that’s our God, why would we ever choose exhibition over intimacy with Him? The last section, then fasting. A question here is display or discipline? Let me read verses 16 to 18, when you fast do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting, Truly, I tell you, they have received their award and full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. So last area is fasting, which again is our piety practice in relation to our cells. Notice again, when you fast, not, if you fast. When you fast there is the assumption that kingdom people will, on occasion, fast. Fasting is not well understood nor much practiced today. So let’s talk about it a little bit here. From an Old Testament perspective, it was actually only commanded on one day out of the year Yom Kippur War, the Day of Atonement. But by this time, when Jesus was walking the earth, the Pharisees at least fasted twice weekly. And so you can understand how this became a little bit more of a temptation. This is another way to show that you were a little bit better than everyone else around you. Even in the Old Testament, God cares how we fast. you’d read Isaiah 58, for example, one of those blistering chapters in all of Scripture, and it is all a denunciation of hypocritical fasting. You know, they’re fasting, they want God’s help, and they’re going to God, how come you’re not noticing how much were fasting and God dose is this the kind of fast I chose, really, you’re actually exploiting people even more in your fasting, what you should be doing in your fasting is dealing with poverty and injustice. So there’s a danger with fasting, but still, we were too fast. Joel chapter two, which we’ll get to in August, the prophet is calling Israel to repentance, and it says to return with fasting. So fasting is one way we express the mourning over our sin and the desire for repentance. We know that fasting is another way to seek God’s guidance and acts for example, the church prays and fasts before commissioning Paul and Barnabas on their mission trip. So these are times when we might consider fasting. I’ll give you a good recent example, when COVID first hit, our proper response should have been fasting. Because that’s what you do when a day of disaster comes. Alright with prayer, what’s fast? What is the Lord trying to teach us here? What do we need to repent of? So what do you do in fasting, you abstain from food, maybe drink, depending on how short or fast it is. Don’t abstain from water for too long. You will die, just want to make sure I get that public service announcement in there. But you abstain from food, or perhaps something else that is necessary and bodily for a season, in order to devote yourself more fully to the Lord. And that is key it is for a God-centered purpose. And I mentioned that because y’all heard of intermittent fasting, right? That’s not what we’re talking about. That’s a diet. Okay? That’s not anything to do with God. We’re talking about the God stuff here. Why would we fast though it is, to discipline ourselves in so many ways? Paul talks about this, he says, you know, often compares the Christian life to a race. And he says, you know, think of training for a race. You don’t just train a well, you, you got to actually train they’ll just run aimlessly. And so he says that in First Corinthians nine, and he wraps up that paragraph by saying this, No, I strike a blow to my body might actually even be referencing fasting there. But if not, it certainly would fall under that umbrella. I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I’ve preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. He says, We got to practice self mastery. We need to be self control is one of the fruits of the Spirit. And so it is good to discipline our bodies. Some of you might have given something up in this particular season. We’re in Lent right now. Why would you just give something up so that you show it does not have mastery over me? keeps us from gluttony, and intemperance and all the rest. So it’s a good thing. Fasting is a good thing, but it’s dangerous. It’s dangerous because self-discipline becomes an opportunity for self-righteousness. And how would we do that? Well, we could let people see just how much we’re suffering while we’re going without food. And so what would the Pharisees do, they would make sure they looked as disheveled, as sunken hollow-eyed as possible so that everyone would know again how awesome they are. It’s a good reminder for us again. Fasting is an illustration. It’s not the only area. There are a lot of things that we do outwardly that are meant to represent something internally, but the external signs can corrupt the internal purpose. So for example, we lift our hands in worship, and to express something or you know, our desire for God, it’s a good thing, I lift my hands in worship. to misquote Paul, I think God that I lift my hands worship more than all of you. It’s a good thing, right? But man, you understand how I could get cell focus pretty quickly, right? I’m one of the you know, people who really into worship, or on the opposite end, because everybody’s a sinner, right? You get to people, but I don’t need to lift my hands in worship, I know that it’s about what’s going on internally. Right. So we’re all you know, prone to hypocrisy, of course, or here’s another example. This is a bygone example. But not too long ago, people used to dress nicely. For the worship service as a sign of respect. As a sign of look, we are coming to meet the king. But how quickly that became our Sunday best, which then became my Sunday better than the person next to me? Did you all see my new hat kind of thing? Versus No, I’m here for the so that’s the issue that’s being dealt with here. And the thing is, of course, that then defeats the purpose entirely. Like look at fasting, the the idea is to discipline yourself.
But instead of disciplining yourself in order to demonstrate repentance, you’re actually worshiping yourself and practicing idolatry at the same time. So we must do better. And Jesus says, when we fast, we don’t let others know. And what’s being talked about here are the, you know, putting oil on your head, washing your face is basically just saying go about your normal routine. We would say it today, you know, shower, comb your hair, like that’s what Jesus just said, go through your normal routine. So that people don’t know that you did anything different. Obviously, this probably means you shouldn’t complain about how hungry you are all the time. So no one else knows. But God knows. And he sees, and he rewards. We deny food to ourselves as a way to deny ourselves. Why do we deny ourselves so we can have more of him? Alright, I must decrease He must increase. That is the natural reward for our fasting. So let’s wrap up and kind of pull these threads together. Say it again. We said at the beginning, the desire for public praise perverts our practice of personal piety, the temptation is always there. Secrecy helps overcome that temptation. It doesn’t guard against every temptation, but it does help. At the same time, absolute secrecy is impossible, and probably ill-advised. Right. So even take the fasting example. When I fast from dinner, at least my kids see. And usually I gotta let my wife know, so she doesn’t make a portion for me. Okay, so absolute secrecy is impossible. But even more than just Yes, we should probably involve some people in some of these conversations, at least, absolute secrecy is impossible, because we always have at least one spectator, God, or loving father, who is looking for opportunities to reward us. So the question we have to keep asking ourselves in our devotion is which spectators? Which spectators is interesting, the word for to be seen, is where we get our word theater from. That’s helpful, isn’t it? Because so often our religious actions can just be putting on a performance. But Christians know we’re being watched. And the audience we care about is God, and God alone. And a different audience, will lead to a very different performance. Why is that? By the way, it’s because we can fool other people. We could even fool ourselves because we don’t always know what’s going on in our hearts, but you cannot fool God. And that’s why the different audience is either going to degrade or dignify our performance. We can go even deeper than that, though, because practicing piety before God alone moves us to consider who this God is. And if we mentioned already He is father. I don’t know if you caught that in He’s 18 verses the word Father shows up 10 times. It is the major theme here to the sermon on the mount as a whole, but certainly to the center section, He is father. So as we practice our devotion, we are reminded of the wonder of our adoption, and the reward of our intimacy with Him. Which, by the way, is exactly what we’re trying to get in public. Anyway. What are we after approval, love, we might even say. So what we’re trying to get in public, and all it gives us is a little dopamine hit with our couple of likes on Facebook, we could have perfectly if it’s practiced in secret, the actual intimacy we desire only is better because he sets his love on us in Christ irrevocably. So that we don’t need to keep performing. Keep measuring up, you know, it’s like everybody claps for the singer right up until she misses the high note. You know, so often how it feels for us. But if we remember that our Father loves us, in Christ, will lead to despair on our bad days, we don’t need to boast on our good days. Why? Because beloved, children don’t need to show off. Love and children don’t need to show off because they know that dad already loves them in Christ. And that in Christ, peace is so important. Because you remember that Jesus is the only human who ever gave a perfect performance, no hypocrisy, right, no distinction between his public life and his private life. And yet he was on the cross rejected by his father cries out My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? Why he was rejected so that we could be welcomed. Because when we trust in Christ, God gives us Christ’s performance. We sing about it in the first song, All-Sufficient merit, right? I put on Christ, His righteousness. And that means I receive Christ reward a welcome my father’s arms, which means there is an invitation in this passage than invitation to all of us. But especially I would say, to those of you who are here, if you have not yet trusted in Christ, the invitation is come, come to receive that approval, and to experience that intimacy for which we all desire. And it has granted us it is it is given us as a gift. It’s not heard, and it’s certainly not faked. If you come trusting Christ, He will adopt you as his own. As we’ve seen, a piety like this. Piety that is a whole that is pure that is at the heart level. It is impossible for us. Sin stocks us even in prayer. And so when we think about coming to God in Christ, we have to remember what Jesus told Nicodemus, right, you must be born again. That is the invitation not to try harder. That is not what this passage is teaching us. You must be born again. That’s the invitation to be given a new life to be made new that changed heart, the perfect intimacy all which awaits those who come to God, through faith in Christ. I don’t know about you, but I would so much rather that than pretending than grandstanding, exhibitionist displays of a false piety, who would so much rather be a beloved child of my father, wouldn’t you? Let’s pray. Lord, we confess our sin, we confess our hypocrisy, we confess How selfish and self oriented we are, even when striving to do good things. And so we recognize that we must be born again. We need you to change us to take our Hearts of Stone and replace them with hearts of flesh that can respond to the love that you lavish on us. I pray for those Lord who have never made that exchange yet and even now, would you lead them to repentance and faith? I pray for those of us who have come to you through faith in Christ already. Would you make us more like Jesus even in our acts of piety, or prayer, or fasting or compassion? Lord, would you help us to know who you are as father and allow that precious precious truth to change everything about how we live our lives? If your namesake Amen.

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Kingdom Relationships February 11, 2024 | Brandon Cooper The passage discusses how Jesus teaches that true righteousness comes from examining one’s heart rather than outward actions alone. He warns against lust and prioritizing one’s desires over honoring others. Jesus emphasizes dealing drastically with sin through discipline and community support. He also teaches that marriage is meant to reflect Christ’s love for the church, calling believers to prioritize forgiveness and reconciliation over selfishness. Remembering Jesus’ perfect love and sacrifice through the gospel empowers Christians to love others selflessly.

Go ahead grab your Bibles open up the Matthew chapter five, we’ll be starting in verse 27. This morning, Matthew 5:27. As you’re turning there, if you were prepping this week reading the passage in advance, you may have noticed our subject matter is a little bit more adult themed. So just a quick word to parents, just be aware of the fact that we’re going to be having some these conversations today, your kids may hear some words they asked you about later. And we are so okay with that, we just need you to know that we’re okay with that. Because we want you to be having those conversations with your kids would so much rather than hear it in church, and then are able to talk to you about it, rather that they’re learning it on the playground, or wherever else. So that’s my warning to you. So Matthew 5 27, just as you’re turning there, let’s imagine you’re walking into the waiting room at the doctor’s office, you see two people waiting for the doctor, they’re in the waiting room. Well, one is obviously sick, you know, he’s pale, his eyes are sunken. He’s, you know, wheezing, and sniffing and coughing and all the rest, and you sit on the other side of the room, of course, next to the other guy who looks perfectly well, at this point, you assume he’s just there for his well visit something like that. But of course, you know that doctors are going to check some of the stuff that’s happening on the inside, not just the symptoms, and those can be really different symptoms don’t always tell you what’s really going on inside that first guy who’s coughing and all the rest, you know, maybe that’s just a sinus infection. And if he’s got a nice Doctor Who will give him a Z pack or something like that, he’s gonna be good. And two days. The other guy is the one where the doctor as he starts looking at the test results and stuff, he kind of goes, Huh, a bunch of times in a row starts recommending some specialist visits, and this guy looks good on the inside. But within you know, two months, he’s gonna be showing symptoms and by within two years, he’ll be gone completely. What’s going on in the inside? Right? That’s that’s the more important question. And that’s what Jesus keeps teaching us here. Right? We need to look on the inside, not just the symptoms, what are our actions, but what’s the state of our hearts? And does the state of our hearts actually match our actions, especially when it comes to what we talked about this morning, romantic, sexual relationships. You have somebody who could appear healthy, holy, no, married, devoted to spouse, kids, all that kind of stuff. But you know, inside is just this raging cauldron of lust, and fantasies. And that’s what Jesus is going to talk to us about this morning. These second and third illustrations that He’s given us. Just a quick reminder, if you weren’t here, in Jesus gave us the thesis statement for the Sermon on the Mount back in verses 17 to 20. The main idea is that we have to have a righteousness, a way of life that exceeds that of the Pharisees and the teachers the law. And what does that mean? He gives us these six illustrations to kind of show us what exactly that means what that greater righteousness is. And we keep seeing, we’re gonna keep seeing today that it is a heart level righteousness, it’s on the inside, because that’s what it means to be whole. But as all the parts are working together, your you know, your will, your thoughts, your emotions, your actions. These two illustrations that he gives us today, they’re they’re deeply connected, because they do deal with relationships. And so we’ve got a problem as humans, when it comes to relationships are kind of innate selfishness leads us to us, rather than Love and Honor other people. We will use people to satisfy our own longings and desires and all sorts of ways we use them so that we feel attractive or so that we feel significant and worthy and lovable. So that’s our innate tendency to use rather than honor and love people. But all that changes when we meet Jesus, as we’ll see. Because of what he offers, we have no need to keep taking for our selves. So that’s our big idea this morning, what we’re going to talk about this morning, the big idea, let the gospel shape your relationships with the opposite sex. Let the gospel shape your relationships with the opposite sex because Kingdom people the sorts of people that Jesus is describing in this sermon, kingdom, people are going to pursue gospel shaped relationships. That’s the thread that’s running throughout these verses. So we’re gonna get that in three topics. We’re gonna desire, discipline and divorce. And in each case, we’re gonna have a lesson to learn that’ll be that fill in the blank that you’ve got on your notes page. So let’s dive in. First of all, the topic of desire. Let me read Matthew chapter five verses 27 and 28. You’ve heard that it was said you shall not commit adultery, but I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. So let’s just remember the pattern before we go too far here. This is a pattern we see in all of these illustrations that Jesus gives us. It begins by him saying, you have ever heard that it was said or something like that. And he’s dealing there not with Old Testament law, but with the interpretation of that law, the tradition that has grown up around the perfect law of God. And then Jesus will follow it up by saying, but I tell you, and there he goes, he’s not contradicting the Old Testament, but he’s offering the right interpretation of it. Because he knows the danger of tradition as a danger we face even still today, right is to slowly and steadily sideline the Word of God in order to follow really a religion of our own making. And that’s what we get. That’s what we get here. Even in these verses, what is the quote, exactly? It’s the seventh commandment, Thou shalt not commit adultery. This is a good one still, in fact, laws not bad, right? So the problem was not the command. The problem was the tendency to reduce the command to the most illegal terms to make it easy for us to obey it. As long as I don’t physically commit adultery, well, then I’m not sinning. And as you can imagine, that allows for all sorts of loopholes. In fact, you might even have that now, you might have been reading this passage thinking, Oh, good, it doesn’t apply to me. Because it’s talking about a guy looking at a woman lustfully. So if you’re a woman, you’re off the hook. Or if you’re a single guy, because you can’t commit adultery, then fornication, it doesn’t say you’re committing fornication in your heart. No, that’s the kind of legal loopholes that we want to avoid, right? When we got the expansive obedience that we’re looking at here. So that was the the Pharisee mindset though, let’s, let’s find like lawyers, let’s find the loophole in the law so that we can kind of get around all that it’s asking of us. This mentality is still true today. By the way, I was listening to a podcast a couple weeks back, and they played a clip of an interview with Dennis Prager. I don’t remember when the interview took place. I mean, I have to remember who was interviewing him. But he was being asked about pornography. Specifically, Dennis Prager is Jewish if you didn’t know that. And so he was as a Jew, he was saying, Look, we don’t have anything like Matthew five, this passage is what he referenced. We don’t have anything like that. It’s not there in the Old Testament. So when it comes to pornography, for me, it’s not a big deal. And he kind of said, you just got to ask yourself some questions basically, does the pornography. Is it like, you know, a little bonus a little extra in your marriage? Or is it leading you away from your spouse? If it’s leading you away from your spouse? It’s a problem. And if not, it’s not. You’re sitting there thinking that’s ridiculous. Of course, it leads you away from your spouse, how else would that work? But there’s that loophole, mentality, it doesn’t say, don’t look at porn. So I guess I’m okay. Against that mindset. Jesus says, no, no lust, what’s going on in your heart, that’s a form of adultery. Also, to go back to the illustration we keep using it’s the first stop on the train line, but it is the same train line. The final, you know, stop is adultery. Yes,
your heart is in the wrong place. And that is, of course, the danger. Because once you’re on the train, it’s a little bit harder to get off the train. We know that desire precedes deeds. And so we want to make sure we check it at the point of desire. Look at King David with Bathsheba, for example, may never mind the fact that he shouldn’t have been there in the first place. But once he sees Bathsheba, that desire kind of blossoms within him, and then he ends up committing adultery and actually murder as well. Desire precedes deeds. But even if it stays inward, at the point of desire, it’s still wrong. Why? Because the desire itself is wicked, because in essence, you’re saying that God’s way, isn’t good enough. What God asks of you, isn’t good enough, I need more than what he was getting, which is the preposterous thing to say to God. And yet, that’s what we do when we have sinful desires. Interestingly, of course, in that scenario, you’re actually still breaking one of the 10 commandments. The 10th commandment says You shall not covet and lists your neighbor’s wife as one of the things you shouldn’t covet. But that’s the mentality right to covet is to think that God has somehow cheated you that he hasn’t given you all that you deserve. And if God has cheated you, then you’re free to cheat and other, even if it’s just in your imagination. And it was that idea, interestingly, that brought Paul to the point of conviction as part of his gospel story. Remember, we talked about this two weeks ago? Paul’s view of himself was when it comes to the law I was faultless, I kept all the the out word law. And then he says in Romans seven until he read that last commandment You shall not covet. And he wants Oh, wait, that’s inward. That one’s harder to just check a quick box. I didn’t do this one thing like that we’re dealing with desire. And he examined his desires, not his deeds, and it took him to a very different place. God wants us to examine our desires to you can’t be whole, like we keep talking. I can’t be pure in heart by avoiding just the act, because then you’re not hold your, your your divided, your hearts divided. You’re double minded. St. Matthias reminds us it’s not the fruit of adultery that God commands us to cast out, but it’s seed, where it comes from the desire. And so even to look at a woman lustfully is evidence of sin. Jesus says. So what does it mean to look lustfully? I’m guessing I don’t actually need to define this. I think most people know the difference between looking and leering. But there are always these questions. A lot of people will talk about it being the second look, which I understand the first look, you know, perhaps didn’t even know what you were looking at the time and then did you go back for more? But of course you see the danger and making a second look is that’s not what Jesus says here. All of a sudden, we got another legal loophole that as long as I don’t look a second time, I’m good. And that first case will kind of, you know, your eyes are in the back of your head at this point. Or if we were to say, okay, so you can linger with your gaze. So what did that mean? Two seconds. One sec. Okay, let’s say it’s one second. If it were one second, our legalistic hearts would very quickly learn to feel what point nine seconds feels like more than we would know our own heartbeat. You see the danger. attractive people will enter your range of vision that will happen that’s not sin. The question is, how do you respond? I like the way AB Bruce old Scottish pastor put it he says the look is not casual but persistent. And the desire not involuntary or momentary. Because you may notice somebody is attracted, that happens, that’s fine. Okay. I mean, notice that the desire is not involuntary or momentary, but cherished. Cherished, as that good word we talked about last week in Psalm 66, five cherished sin in my heart, God would not have heard me, that’s the that’s the desire. That’s the the holding to it. Cherished, by the way, because we foolishly believe life would be better if we had it. Of course, that applies to all of us in all sorts of areas. Again, coveting is very wide range here. But you see how this work? Why, why, for example, is porn, so deadly and so dangerous, because over time, what happens is the guy starts to think with my wife looked like that, or acted like that life would be better. And that will destroy a marriage from the inside out those unreasonable expectations that come about. But of course, it’s not just porn. And it’s not just men that struggle with that. It could be something else entirely. It could be if my husband, led our family spiritually like that, or pursued my heart like that, or provided for us like that. And it’s that same poison coursing through our veins. And not to imply by the way that women don’t struggle with sexual desire. I think it’s really important that we acknowledge that piece too, and just own that. So it’s the kind of thing we can talk about here. give you just one really clear proof. One of the best selling books not that long ago was 50 Shades of Grey. It was marketed towards women. And it is all about sexual desire elicit sexual desire. So it’s clearly there’s something in there, right? Let’s just agree both genders are sinful. Okay, we can all look at our hearts together here. We don’t have to decide who’s worse. But what do we do with this and with this acknowledgment when it comes to desire? Here’s the fill-in-the-blank when it comes to desire. Check your heart, check your heart, like what’s really going on inside of you. Even if you don’t act on it. What’s your intent, even in so called innocent acts, you can be jogging on the prairie path in the summer, because you want to get in shape, take care of yourself, all that kind of stuff. You could be jogging on the prairie path in the summer because you’re hoping the girls are gonna run by you in short shorts and sports bras. And only you know which one of those is true. Or maybe there’s a certain way you always walk in your office when you’re going to the coffee machine or something because you can walk by that one person who’s not trespassing, you keep hoping to see. You get the idea, right, check your heart, when you check your heart because that’s what God is examining anyway. And you are not fooling him. The old pastor who put it this way, he said, You know, God examines the heart and Alas, what sin is not committed there. And that humbles us, doesn’t it? So what what Jesus is doing here and these verses, he’s simultaneously raising the bar right, giving us that greater righteousness that we are called to, and then exposing just how far short of it we fall. What does that do for us? I think I’ve said it every sermon so far, I’m gonna keep saying it takes us back to where it all began. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Right? I’m not good enough in myself. And so I come empty, to receive the fullness that Jesus offers. You check your heart, but then you got to deal with it at the same time. Like we can’t just lament Oh, wretched man that I am. As Paul says, in Romans seven, you got to do something with it by Romans eight, Paul saying put your sin to death. And that’s where Jesus goes next as well. So let’s keep looking second topic discipline, verses 29 and 30. I’ll read it for us. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away, it’s better for you to lose one part of your body and for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away, it is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. Now, this is the practical application of that last point. All right, don’t last is the command. So Jesus is here saying do whatever it takes to make lust impossible for you? Of course, that won’t ever happen. But we’re we’re doing all we can to make it impossible for us. And this is strong language. And the question of course, we’re all asking at this point is like literally, do I literally have to gouge out my eye? If I lost? I think the answer is certainly not only it was meant to be literal, for one very simple reason. And that’s that it wouldn’t work anyway, he goes out, you’re right, I guess we’re gonna be lost. And now you’re left I don’t even know how you lost with just one of your eyes, guys are both your eyes, you can still have illicit sexual desire going on in your brain, of course. So I know, I don’t think this is meant literally. But that certainly doesn’t let us off the hook either. But the point is clear, I’ll give you your fill-in-the-blank nice and early in this one, take bold steps, deal drastically with the sin in your life act. Act on it to take care of it. Let’s look at the image here because it is the perfect analogy. Doctors don’t amputate. Unless they have good reason to do it. You probably have joked you got kids at some point, you know, your kid stubbed a toe or something like that. And they’re crying excessively more than they probably need to based on the pain they’re experiencing. And so what do you say as parents, we’ve all done this. We should probably just cut it off then, right? And then you kind of get the point, right? Like no, no, that would be excessive. Exactly right. Doctors don’t amputate unless they’ve got good reason. But if keeping the limb will kill you, because it’s gangrene or something like that, then they cut it off. That’s what we have to understand about sin. Sin is killing you. Sin is killing you. So cut it out ruthlessly. There’s John Owen put it in his classic one that everyone should read. It’s not easy by any means was written in the 17th century but mortification of sin, he says, Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you. Those are the only two options. Nothing in between be killing sin or sin will be killing you. It is better to lose your leg than to lose your life we would all agree on that amputation is not good. But better that than losing my life altogether, well better to lose an eye than to perish spiritually. So count the cost and count it carefully. We need to record this image is pointing us in this direction, right? We need to reckon with just how heinous sin is. I don’t think we get it. You know, it’s kind of what’s the big deal here. Everybody’s doing it. But that’s not how God sees it. God does not look at it and say, What’s the big deal? You want to understand how heinous sin is. You need to look at Jesus. You need to look at Jesus. Sin is so bad and corrupts us so completely, that God Himself had to come, clothe himself in flesh, and then do what no one else had ever done because no one else could do which is actually keep the law perfectly. Live that whole life no wrong desires, no wrong thoughts, no wrong words, no wrong actions. And then having lived the perfect life he received the punishment that we sinners deserve. And well and I broke him. That’s the other part you want to do heinous? It is look at Jesus in Gethsemane. As he’s being crushed under the weight of our sin, like olives under an olive press the oil draining out of me. He’s bleeding as he’s praying, it’s crushed him so entirely. That’s how awful sin is. And then he goes to receive the punishment of torture and mockery and death, and hardest of all, the wrath of God. That’s what your sin and my sin does. We don’t always see it that way. We look at sin, and we think sin is bad because we fear the consequences. Not because we fear offending a holy and oftentimes justly wrathful God. In fact, we often get upset with God for His judgment. He reads him the story, the Old Testament. You go, what’s the deal here? The deal is, that’s how bad our sin is. But look how sin corrupts and perverts us. I mean, something so small, as a second glance, has the power to rupture a covenant made before God and destroy a family. Just a good reminder, by the way, sin never shows you the price tag. Ever. Your younger days, you know, you go on a date or something, you go to a fancy restaurant and you’re trying to like act older than you are, and then you got a higher salary than you do and stuff. And the menu doesn’t even have the prices in it. And you just think, Oh, no. Oh, no. Like we’re gonna have two cups of water to go that’s it. Thank you. But that sin, that sin, right it just look at the pictures a year and what that dessert cart to come on buy, you don’t know what it’s going to cost you. But even if you resist even if there isn’t that action on it, there’s no adultery I still think we got to ask the question, why did we desire it in the first place? Desire leads us away from God, you want to know part of the price tag is that? That simple desire hardens our heart toward God’s beauty and goodness, we desire what God would not have asked desire, we are saying to him, You are not enough. Jesus, you are not enough for me. I need this. And also the other stuff that you told me I can’t have seen in that light, we start to understand the strong language. Don’t try to tame sin. Kill it, put it to death. You know, imagine you’re looking out in your backyard. You got kids, you know, like calamari, that kind of age you’re playing on the swing set or something like that. And you see a rabid coyote come into the backyard. What’s your thought they’re here, doggy, doggy. You know, make sure you stay outside. We don’t want you in the master bedroom kind of thing. No, like, you’re gonna go all Atticus Finch on that thing. If you’re packing your own animal control, whether it be or shoot that thing, why? Because of the damage it could do to you to the people you love, you kill it. That’s what Jesus says we should do with our sin put sin to death. The fancy word for it is mortification. mortifies and kill it, take whatever steps you need to take so that sin becomes increasingly impossible in your life. Maybe that means deleting social media, or getting rid of your smartphone, or stop watching a series that you really liked. But you just know you are too attracted to the main character. Maybe it means you don’t take your kids to the pool or to the beach, because you don’t need to see that. Or you got to invest in some workout equipment at home because you shouldn’t be at the gym. And the two points to make coming out of that list that I just gave you. First of all, I can’t give you a specific list. And by the way, if I did give you a specific list, you know where you’d go. Legalism. I’m good because I now have a gym membership anymore. So I must not be sinning. Okay, so that’s one problem. But the other reason I can’t give you a specific list is because people are different. Like some of those things I just said you’re like, what? Like people struggle with that. Okay, fine. That’s not you. You don’t need to cut that part of your body off but some of us do. Second thing to say about that list. It involves real cost. Look at the imagery. Jesus doesn’t say if you got sinned, put a bandaid on it. He says cut your hand off. That is cost. Will it be inconvenient for you not to have a smartphone anymore. Donald gets a fancy camera. I can’t use Google map I have to Mapquest things again and like print it out and put on my front seat. Are you kidding me? Yeah, you know why? Because it’s inconvenient. But it’s sure is a lot better than bringing your smartphone with you to hell. That’s why deal with your sin. The cost also might include people. And that one’s really hard to say. Actually, it’s interesting. There’s some overlap in the language here in this passage and later in Matthew 18. When Jesus is talking about excommunication, because what is excommunication? When you have to remove somebody from the membership of the church? Why? Because the danger is that their sin is going to work itself through the congregation like yeast through dough. But even if it’s not an excommunication issue, it may just be there’s some friends you got to lose because you know, they lead you away from Jesus is that hard? Yes. But you need to take bold steps, whatever steps you need to take, actually like it is right there in the text, isn’t it? Jesus says if your hand causes you to sin, he didn’t say we know you hadn’t causes you to sit know if, okay, is this about you or not? What do you need to do? Let me say one more thing about this before we move on to the last point, though, is, you have help as you do this. And that’s such good news, kids, teenagers. This is why God gave you parents. I would hope that in your saner moments spiritually, when you’re praying before God, you would stop and thank God, that you have parents who give you restrictions. Because they don’t want you to fall and it’s like they’re cutting the hand off before it even becomes a problem for you. But parents, of course, that means you have a role. Right? It is your job. As your kids are growing and maturing. They’re not there yet you help protect your kids. You take those steps for them. Can we agree that it’s probably a really, really bad idea to give your kids unrestricted access to the internet? Like a middle school? Boy, what could go wrong there? Nothing’s ever happened with girls and social media. We got no evidence about that. Right? What about smartphones just in general, like I can’t even see the value here. So if you’re doing these things, don’t even think about it. Whatever. Like, here’s ways to sin on a silver platter. Can
I tell you I love you enough to say that so foolish? using that word very advisedly, because we talked about it last week. There’s a time and a place to say no, I love you. That’s why I’m calling you a fool. Don’t do it. Take the steps you need to take as parents. So family is one place where we get to help churches another place where we get help. This is why we need community. Well, you need to be in community groups and journey groups. And you think Well, no, I just graduated from my journey group. I doubt that very much. I’m in my eighth year of Journey group at this point, because I keep leaving the groups but you know what I find every summer when I’m not meeting anymore, I’m like, Man, I miss my guys. Like I need that regular input in my life. We need that help. So meet whatever it looks like get together with people who know you well enough that you can be honest about your sin with them. And they can help you you can help each other most important help that we have those the Spirit of God. Thank You, Lord, that we have your spirit. How does Paul say it Romans 813. if by the Spirit, you put to death, Misty to the body, you will live? What beautiful balance, you put to death the misdeeds of your body by the Spirit. He’s the one who empowers your obedience, he would never do it in your flesh. And he is the one who is constantly reminding us of God’s love for us that we are his adopted children if we come to Him in Christ, because of Christ’s sacrifice for us. And that reminder of his love, reminder, the Gospel like that’s what unties sins cords that are wrapped around us where we go, No, that’s what I want. That’s what I’m actually after. So take bold steps, put sin to death. We’ve got one more topic and talking about lost in adultery needs leads very naturally to this next topic, and that is divorce. So let me keep reading verses 31 and 32. It has been said anyone who divorces his wife, let’s give her a certificate of divorce. But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery. And anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. So this is the next illustration. We know it’s another topic because it begins with that whole It has been said. And here we are dealing with the issue of divorce. And can I say I just read recently that at least one study have shown that about eight out of 10 of us are touched in some way by divorce. And so you can imagine like this is personal. Some of the things I’m going to say here are going to sting. Of course, I would rather not deal with it. But we have to, and yes, It’ll sting but the Sermon on the Mount, I mean, this is a surgeon’s scalpel. Like what Jesus is saying here. It cuts US Open, we cannot hide from it. We need to face it squarely we do. But what does he say? What did they hear? The quote here is from Deuteronomy 24. It’s actually not a precise quote. So every already we see that things have gotten modified a little bit. Because here’s how Deuteronomy 24 Verse one actually begins if a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to Him, because He finds something indecent about her. And then it goes on to say, and he divorces her and gives her a certificate of divorce. So it doesn’t say, you know, anyone who divorces his wife must give her her a certificate that’s just assumed there at this point. Now Jesus tells us in Mark 10, that this passage here this this law is given because of the hardness of our hearts Here’s what I mean by that this is not God’s good design, not by any means. This is God protecting women in particular in that culture by saying, Look, if you’re going to divorce her, when I know some of you are going to because the hardness of your hearts, well, then we need to make sure that she’s taken care of, she got to have a certificate of divorce in that culture, women were not gonna be able to earn a living on their own, they’re going to need to remarry. So you need to have proof that you could re marry. In other words, this is not a license to divorce your spouse because you got tired of her. This is just Moses, God saying through Moses, don’t compound your error. We know how this works. Again, think about parenting illustration here, you’re gonna kid going to a party or something like that. And you’re like, look, make good choices. Now a whole bunch of good choices make there and then you grab them and you kind of know where their sin tendencies are. And you say, Look, if you drink too much, just stay there. Okay, just stay overnight. Why? Because what do you say? If you’re dumb enough to get drunk, at least don’t be so dumb as to risk tragedy, driving home while drunk. Now when you say that as a parent, are you saying it’s cool if you get drunk? No, not by any means. You’re just saying, Don’t compound the error. That’s what God is saying here. But the hardness of our hearts leads us very quickly to that external focus. What boxes do I need to check? And so the big debate in this culture was what does that phrase something indecent mean? Right, my wife displeases me because of something indecent. And they were talking about things like well, she gained a little more weight than I thought she was going to after she had kids. Or she burned my breakfast. She keeps burning my breakfast. She didn’t buy the right toast either. I like this is a problem. I’m not even joking. Like this is where the rabbinic debates were at this point. And so you see that lamentable concession to the hardness of our hearts all of a sudden becomes that legal loophole. The Rabbi’s are debating grounds for divorce, rather than the meaning of marriage. That’s a problem. So Jesus rightly interprets Moses, Deuteronomy 24, but Genesis one also, when God creates marriage, what is Jesus’s point what he says here, basically no fault divorce, doesn’t break the covenant in God’s eyes. You are still married before God, no matter what the state thinks about it. You are married in God’s eyes. So if you divorce a woman because she displeases you, Jesus says you cause her to commit adultery. Remember, she’s gonna have to remarry at that time, in order to be taken care of. And so now, covenant still there, you’ve made her commit adultery, which is on you, you like the way it translates it, actually, it says, you make her the victim of adultery. Exactly. Now, it’s different today, actually, women initiate divorce more often than men do. In our culture, men are much more likely to be unfaithful. So again, both genders not good. Okay, like a lot of sin between us, we understand that. But the point is remarriage, is adultery. Because you’re still married in God’s eyes. Except for the one exception that’s listed here because of sexual immorality, because of adultery, Paul adds another exception abandonment. In other words, there are certain things you can do that rupture the covenant already. And then divorce is a little bit different at that point. But otherwise, if it’s just, you know, irreconcilable differences, then the covenant is still in effect in God’s eyes. This is a strong teaching. This is a word desperately needed today. But his marriage is so thoroughly despised in our culture. Divorce rates are down, actually. But that’s only because people aren’t bothering to get married in the first place. More and more common. I actually overheard this conversation this week, was like standing in line somewhere or something. And this lady was talking to her friend, and she was saying, Why would I get married again? As a single mom, the benefits are better if I stay single. But then what’s the point of the piece of paper if it doesn’t go? Well, and you know, most marriages end in divorce, she said, it’s not even true, by the way, but they say that so most marriages end in divorce, so just makes it that much harder for me to kick them out of the house when it’s over. Like that’s the view of marriage so often today, in fact, you’ll hear this people will change their vows just a little bit, you know, it’s for as long as we both shall love. Why don’t let people write their own vows here, like if I’m your pastor, we’re not doing your own vows. Okay, just be aware of that now. Okay. Sorry. But what are you saying there? I will stick with you as long as you keep making me feel the way I want to feel about my self. And so now we see the heart issue behind this. It’s not a legal discussion of the grounds of divorce. It is all about choosing a really flimsy definite And of happiness over the holiness that God calls us to and make no mistake, God’s holiness is where we will be happiest. But it doesn’t always feel that way at first. And so especially given what divorce does, except in in the extreme cases, and there are times there are exceptions are times when divorce is not only permissible, but maybe even Prudential. But except in those extreme cases. You’re committed, you’re staying, why? Because you’re choosing to love and serve others, over just pleasing your self. Of course, that’s gospel life in a nutshell, right? That’s what Jesus did for us. So that’s what we do. I mean, that was the pulse devotional this week about parking, we park by thinking of others, above our cells. And gospel shaped marriage means that you see what’s displeasing in your spouse. And there will be lots. And they see lots on YouTube, by the way. So you open eyes, see what’s displeasing in your spouse. And then you steal yourself for the long haul. And gospel shaped marriage is a tough minded commitment, to love well, to die to self to pursue holiness together, to work out differences, seek help as needed and pray.
The exceptions that Jesus offers remind us it doesn’t always work. Again times when divorce is permissible times even when divorce is Prudential. But even then, it’s a concession, not a command. Jesus never says when this happens, you divorce your spouse will always have the possibility if God can raise Jesus from the dead, he can reconcile to sinners in marriage, we always have the possibility of forgiveness and reconciliation, John Stott and otherwise, as pastors in the last century, he said, he won’t speak to anyone about divorce, until he’s spoken to them about marriage and reconciliation. And that’s right. That’s how it should be, of course, because we’re kingdom, people were the sorts of people described in the Beatitudes. And those sorts of people would seek that, especially in light of the fact that Christ reconciled you to God, you know that it’s possible. Here’s the way church father, John Chrysostom, put it centuries ago. He says, For he that is meek, and a peacemaker, and poor in spirit and merciful. How shall He cast out his wife? He that is used by God to reconcile others? How shall he be at variance with her? That is his own? Good question. So we can draw now the heart of this illustration, like what’s going on, there was not just a real narrow focus on divorce. Now, what’s the the fill in the blank here is put others first. Think of others, your spouse, especially more highly, yourself. Now just think of your wants and your needs. But how in this situation, can I love my spouse? love my kids, love my neighbor, and love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength? And you say, Well, what does that have to do with loving my neighbor or loving God? Well, because marriage is not first and foremost about your pleasure, but about your proclamation. Our marriage has a purpose, what is marriage meant to say? Here’s Paul in Ephesians, 531 and 32. For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, the two will become one flesh. That’s Genesis one, or that’s the purpose of marriage right there. But then he says, this is the profound mystery, but I’m talking about Christ and the church. He says, Don’t you get it? You’re one flesh union in marriage is just meant to be a living parable of the union we have with Christ. It’s not about you, it’s about Jesus. And that changes how we think about marriage. If it is a parable, then because what would it say for me to abandon my wife, who will proclaim to the world Jesus might stop loving you? And we know that’s not true. So it’s about not just our pleasure, but our proclamation and that raises the bar infinitely, right Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and you’re like, No, I have not done that. I know, I haven’t raised the bar infinitely. But also that reminds us of the Gospel we need so right there as you’re struggling in marriage going I’m not as good as Christ you’re remembering but my marriage pictures how Christ loves us. And so there’s this like bowing of the head and lifting of it that happens at the same time. And that’s good. There’s a really good chance that you’re feeling guilty. Right now. Maybe even ashamed. Some point in this sermon. Something hit you might be lost might be laziness and dealing with sin might might be divorce. What would Jesus say to you and your guilt and in your shame? How would that gospel reminder motivate us to pursue obedience differently. Let’s remember Jesus is the perfect husband. He did not think of himself when he came to wet us. But only thought of his people. Do you think he saw anything displeasing or indecent in us? Yeah, what did Romans five eight say? God demonstrates His own love for us in this While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. When we were at our unloveliest. Christ died for us. So it’s a little bit like Hosea buying Gomer back. Right? Remember he he is commanded by God to marry this immoral woman and she abandons him, she goes back to her old way of living, and he has to buy back his own wife from her pimps. And why does God have to do that so that we would know what we do to God that is us? Exactly. And it cost Christ to buy us back. Not just some silver or some gold, it cost him his very life. Jesus never used us, never exploited us never took from us, but actually allowed himself to be used and abused and exploited for our sakes. One last thing about Jesus to Jesus looked at us lustfully that word doesn’t just refer to sexual desire. Of course, it’s just strong desire, great desire. Did Jesus look at us with great desire? Absolutely. It was a pure and holy desire. When he looked at us who were going to be his bride. He looked, desiring our sanctification. Ken, what does Paul say in Ephesians? Five Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church. How did Christ loved the church, Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleanse cleansing her with a washing with water through the Word and presented himself as a radiant church without stain, or wrinkle or any other blemish but holy and blameless. When we remember how perfectly Jesus loved and loves us, we have no need to use others for our own gain anymore. Again, whatever we’re getting out of that relationship. feeling beautiful, feeling worthy feeling whatever it is, we are already granted it in Christ. He loves us. He loves us perfectly, we can experience perfect intimacy with Him. And that frees us then to love selflessly, just like he did his kingdom people pursuing gospel shaped relationships, because that’s the point. Right? Let the gospel shape your relationships with the opposite sex, and really all your relationships. How do we do that we check our hearts. We take bold steps to modify sin and marinate in the gospel. We put others first just like Jesus did. Let’s pray. Lord, we know we can only love because you first loved us. We only know how to treat others, how to pursue marriage relationships, because you loved us, loved us enough to send your son who came to redeem us so that we could be wed to you again, experience the perfect intimacy for what You created us. Well, we pray that that truth, the goodness of the gospel, that it would shape our hearts even now, so that we love selflessly, and purely and never selfishly and sinfully as you remake us to be like Christ, in His name, we pray. Amen.

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Kingdom Reconciliation February 4, 2024 | Brandon Cooper Brandon Cooper preached on resolving conflicts biblically by emphasizing reconciliation as taught in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Jesus challenged traditional interpretations of the law by focusing on inward motives like anger over outward actions. Anger can lead to sinful words or deeds if not addressed, so conflicts should be dealt with urgently through confession, repentance, and forgiveness. Cooper explained this through Jesus’ forgiveness on the cross and teachings to pray for forgiveness of debts. Reconciliation honors Jesus’ example of initiating forgiveness despite our offenses against him.

Good morning church want to go ahead open your Bibles to Matthew chapter five, we’ll be starting in verse 21. This morning, we continue our series in the Sermon on the Mount, as you’re turning there, let’s picture a church very much like our own, you know, kind of small enough that you know, everybody in the room. And there are two families in this church that have unresolved conflict, just a years long, cold war between them, let’s say so not really bothering anyone, it is a cold war, after all, but they’re just careful to keep their distance, you know, they’ll come into the auditorium and make sure they sit on opposite sides and not going to serve in the same ministry don’t want to have that awkwardness of they’re both in the kids city classroom together, something like that wouldn’t sign up for the same Open Table dinner or anything like that. And so they just can’t even really remember what it was, you know, those kinds of conflicts are just a series of things that just kind of grew apart and never dealt with what started it all. What’s the problem with that scenario? Or maybe even Is there a problem with that scenario? After all, they’re not hurting anybody. They’re not actively dividing the church or anything like that. There’s probably that sense inside of you that what I just described, like, you know, it’s wrong. But why exactly. And this really gets to the heart of Kingdom living, is specifically what it looks like for us to live together in the kingdom of God Didn’t Jesus say just a few verses earlier, Blessed are the peacemakers. There’s something about us where we’re supposed to be making peace that is there, there are implications for our allies, to the gospel, and the peace that Christ has won for us. And that’s what we’re gonna look at this morning. This is the first application or even really illustration that Jesus offers after his thesis statement. So if you weren’t here last week, the verses we looked at verses 17, to 20, are the thesis statement for the sermon on the mount as a whole, if you weren’t here, we’d encourage you to go back and listen to it, it helps to kind of understand where we’re going in the next few weeks. But the theme there, the thesis that he puts out is the the greater righteousness that is required of those who are in the kingdom, a righteousness that surpasses that of the Pharisees, and the teachers the law, he says, righteousness, meaning our our way of life before the Lord our conduct. And Jesus has begun to say, look, this is now a little different than maybe what you thought it was. This has to do with a gospel shaped heart. Interestingly, not just right living but a right being. And that’s really where we’re going. So he’s gonna give us six examples of this greater righteousness. Now we’re going to cover we’re going to kind of pick up our pace as we go. So we’re gonna look at the first one. Today, we’re gonna look at the next to next week, and then the last three, the week after that. So there are these six, they are normally called antitheses. That’s maybe not quite right, because it’s not really in opposition. And Jesus came to fulfill the law, not abolish it afterward, after all, but again, these illustrations of Kingdom righteousness, why does he give us these six right after his thesis statement, two purposes really. First, he’s trying to show us the sort of behavior that He requires that the king requires. And then second, he’s going to show us how the Kings law surpasses. But without contradicting the law of the Old Testament, the Torah. So again, surpasses without contradicting, that’s the whole idea right there. Here’s the way one anonymous scholar put it some years ago, he said, Christ’s commandment contains the law. But the law does not contain Christ’s commandment, Therefore whoever fulfills the commandments of Christ implicitly fulfills the commandments of the law. And that’s exactly what we’re going to see in the next three weeks. So with that kind of introduction to all of this as a whole let’s dive in this week we’re looking at resolving conflicts specifically when it comes to resolving conflict, Jesus is gonna give us three clear ideas that kind of show us that greater righteousness that Christ demand. So let’s start with the first one first idea here when it comes to resolving conflict inward, Trump’s outward in verses 21 and 22. Let me read it for us. You’ve heard that it was said to the people long ago You shall not murder and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to her brother or sister Raka is answerable to the court and anyone who says you fool will be in danger of the fire of hell. Alright, so, he begins by saying you have heard that it was said that That’s important. And then you’re gonna see it throughout all six of these moments here. So Jesus doesn’t say, it says this, you know, in the Old Testament, because he’s not abolishing the law, he certainly is not suggesting that Moses got it wrong. Somehow he’s, you know, pitting the New Testament against the Old Testament or something like that. What he’s talking about is the interpretation that the scribes, the teachers of the law have had of the law, what they taught about the law, he’s dealing with tradition. And this is important for us, because tradition can very definitely replace scripture for us. We see this whole wings of the church that would kind of begin to elevate tradition, above the Word of God itself. But it is a danger for all of us, who call ourselves Christians, to begin to teach our ideas as though they were God’s word, itself. And what makes it so dangerous is because almost always it starts in Scripture. There was some connection to the Word of God. Absolutely. And then just over time, it kind of becomes well, what we say here, that’s really what God’s law is all about what God’s Word is really all about. You kind of see how this happens right away. It’s on like page three of the Bible when Satan is tempting Eve, and she misquotes God’s commandment, and everything is off. And that’s what we do we just kind of misquote God’s commandments, we almost need to ask the question that Satan asks Eve, we need to rework it for ourselves. Did God really say? Like, Did God really say, let’s go back and look at his word specifically. There’s a scene in one of the early seasons of The Simpsons, where it’s powerful theology here. So Lou, who’s one of the police officers, he’s resigning from the force. And so he’s telling the chief that he’s quitting, and the chief is eating a very large bowl of ice cream at the time, clearly eating his feelings at this point, you know, and whatnot. And Lou is explaining why. And he says, Look, Chief, it’s nothing personal. I just think there’s better money in private security. And the chief as he’s, you know, gorging himself says, I’m hearing you say, I’m fat. And this has become kind of a running joke in our marriage. Actually, this has helped us out a lot. Because you know how sometimes in close relationships, you’re saying something, and the other person is hearing something else. And really, there’s no everybody’s been married for more than a year is like, everyone else is like, really? That happens. Yes, that happens. And so when that happens in our marriage, we just we kind of joke and say, I’m hearing you say, I’m fat. And it kind of reminds us okay, what were the actual words? What was the actual intent behind what was said, we want to listen carefully, especially when it comes to God’s word. This is why we meditate on God’s word to go to God really say, What did God really say? So what did you hear? Jesus says, You’ve heard that it was said, and then he quotes the sixth commandment, which is a good one. We just covered this one. Not that long ago, Kurt Wiggins, president of caring network preached for us, You shall not murder. And then he adds this little bit afterwards. Anyone who murders will be liable to judgment. That’s not a quote from scripture. But it is a really good summary of what Scripture says there are punishments included in the Mosaic Law for this. But then he goes on, and he says, But I tell you,
and when he says that he begins speaking, with a new kind of authority to speak in the first person about the law is just unheard of the way it would normally go, a rabbi would get up to teach, and he would say, Rabbi Hillo, spoke in the name of Rabbi Abraham who said, and Rabbi Eli’s name and then would kind of give you the interpretation of the law. nothing inherently wrong with that, by the way of kind of what I do here, isn’t it? I’m gonna be like, here’s what Calvin said, and what Edwards said, and what Martyn Lloyd Jones said, and if all three of them said it, like there’s a good chance I’m on solid footing here. In fact, if I were to get up here and go, I’m giving you a new interpretation. No one has ever read this scripture the way I’m about to read it for you right now. That’s time to run me out of town. Right? So you understand what the rabbi’s are doing but not Jesus? Jesus speaks in the first person I tell you, what he’s saying here is my interpretation of Moses is the true one. And in light of everything he’s just said, and what we looked at last week, it’s even deeper than that. What he’s really saying is, I’m the one who gave it to Moses in the first place. So I’m the only one who can rightly interpret it. And then he gives us interpretation. Now, before we get into the specifics of murder, and anger and reconciliation and all of that, what makes Jesus’s interpretation different generally, what he’s going to do here is show us that the spirit matters more than the letter of the law. is it’s not just your actions or the actions of course matter, but the heart beneath it, like what’s going on inside of you? What are your motivations? The way I put it inward? Trump’s the outward here. And as we saw in our series on the 10 commandments, the big 10 that we did last semester, there’s also a positive vision to all of these commandments. It’s not just negative. So usually phrased negatively, you know, don’t hate but there’s kind of the idea. Well, yeah, love instead, don’t curse somebody. Absolutely, you should bless them instead. This is important, because we all face the temptation to make the law easy for ourselves. If we reduce it to the letter of the law, and just the negative prohibition or something, then we can keep it, we can keep it. And if we keep it, then we don’t have to come to God, poor and spirit, do we, we can come puffed up and pride, because we’ve obeyed. So like the rich young ruler, we talked about him last week, we need to come face to face with our failure. I’ve kept all these since no, you haven’t. Not really. And he’s dejected at that point. But we don’t have to leave dejected. When that happens, we flee to Christ instead. Because once we come to Jesus, we talked about this last week, we get his law keeping His righteousness, His perfect life that’s given to us, it’s ours to wear. And then he makes us into law keepers, so that what he declares true of us, we, that becomes true of us as we grow in Christ’s likeness. That’s the wholeness, the purity of heart the perfection, that the Sermon on the Mount demands, that’s the greater righteousness of the kingdom. So what did they hear? Let’s kind of get into the specifics of the text. Now, what did they hear? Well, again, we got to focus on the letter of the law and just the action and just the negative prohibition. So did you murder anyone? Did you take someone’s life with purposeful violence? No. Well, then you’re good. We did it. This is why the rich young ruler says he’s kept all these commands since childhood, because if that’s the standard, you could actually keep them. Paul says as much Philippians three, he’s going through this and he says, when it comes to righteousness based on the law, I was faultless. And he meant it, I did it. If it’s just a matter of checking easy boxes, then I did it. But what if God requires more? And that’s what Jesus says, Jesus says, in fact, even being angry with someone makes you liable to judgment, which is exactly the same phrase that was used for murder, same punishment suggests, you know, kind of the same crime, doesn’t it? And it’s not and I want to be clear about that. There’s a difference between feeling anger in your heart and murdering somebody those are not equal. In certainly in terms of the effect it has in this world not equal at all. We use the image in pathetic moments here, it’s a little bit like being on the train line, right? So the Union Pacific West, you know, goes from Chicago through Elmhurst and lands and Elburn like murderers, elbow, maybe you’ve gotten not gotten to Elburn. But we all been on that train. We’ve all been on the anger train before. And that makes us guilty, sinful, before God. And then if you want to train further, you know, one step further, something like that. That would be when that anger gets expressed verbally. The first one raka would translate our vernacular to date, something like idiot, or moron. Because it’s talking about intellect. Whereas the next one, you fool, which we tend to think of fool as being intellectual as well, but it’s not biblically speaking, that has to do with with your character. The fool says in his heart, there is no God. And then you read the book of Proverbs, and you see that that’s how the fool lives as well. So we’re dealing with an empty head and an empty heart. The way AB Bruce, the great Scottish pastor put it, you know, it’s a first expresses contempt for man’s intellect and the second for his character. But those kinds of comments make you liable to punishment also. And we’ve got to be a little careful here too, because it sounds like things are getting worse. So if you’ve got anger in your heart makes you liable to judgment and then call somebody a dummy and you got to go to court and then call somebody a fool. And you’re getting dammed? I don’t think so. This is all the same judgment that we’re talking about, because even you know, human courts imperfectly, but there are meant to carry out God’s justice. So the point is, they all make you liable to punishment. And we understand his point, we understand why he would say this, because anger is incipient murder, it’s there. Right? So anger is to wishes someone dead is the spring from which murder flows. We can see this in Cain and Abel. Again, we’re on like page four of the Bible. Now, Keynes angry with his brother Abel, because April’s offering is accepted by God and Keynes is not and that anger that jealousy leads to the world’s first murder. This means we got to examine our heart here in this place. Do we have that kind of anger within us? I’ll give you an example that I see I’ve see this sort of sentiment expressed by you know, online trolls all sorts time, where, you know, we got two fairly old likely nominees for the presidential election, and half the country hates one of them, and half the country hates the other one. So a whole lot of hatred, right here. And you think, well, they are on the older side. You know, things could happen. Fingers crossed. To wish someone dead is incipient murder. Maybe it’s not our politicians, maybe it’s other world leaders who are doing things that we don’t care for. And we think we wish somebody would blow them up at this point, if that’s what Jesus is talking about here. But then you go, no, no, no, that’s not me. Like I’m not I’m not that into politics, first of all, which means I’m a much more peaceful person than my neighbors and stuff. But we can fool ourselves, can’t we? That there isn’t anger inside of us when actually there is. You ever had that? And again, maybe it’s a spouse or a friend who knows you? Well, where you’re but you’re angry, like, No, I’m not angry. Like, I can tell you’re angry right now. Because it manifests, doesn’t it? The jaw is clenched. And you know, hands are shaking, all that kind of stuff, cold shoulder, silence, all that kind of stuff. I think this is why God gives us these physical responses to our anger so that we can’t fool ourselves. You know, when that email comes in from that person that you got issues with and your heart starts racing, and you immediately start fighting with the person in your head, that like, that’s good. And that tells you okay, there’s something there that I got to deal with. That’s what Jesus is talking about. And again, we get it makes sense to us what he’s talking about. But wait, you say, What about Jesus? Didn’t Jesus get angry too? I seem to remember some of these stories. Is he a hypocrite in this moment? No, Jesus certainly did get angry. Can’t deny that in the slightest. Matthew 21 parallels and the other Gospels, Jesus is flipping tables over in the temple precinct. And in one version of that he actually makes a whip and starts driving them out. That looks like anger to me, Mark chapter three. It says it openly says when Jesus about to heal the man with a shriveled hand on the Sabbath. And he knows what the teachers the law are thinking that they’re upset that he’s doing this and that he’s going to do it on the Sabbath. They don’t care that this man is suffering. And it says Jesus looked on them with anger. Or here’s this one, Matthew 23, verse 17, where he speaks of that same group of people and calls them You blind fools. Zach exact word that we’re not supposed to say, right here.
But we know that Jesus was without sin, tempted in every way, just that we are yet he did not sin. So what is it about Jesus’s reactions there, that means that this wasn’t actually sinful. And here’s the difference, there is a place for righteous anger at injustice and evil in this world. That is, there are times where if your heart is functioning properly, in right relationship with God, you should shake with anger at the injustice that you were seeing. On October 7 would be a really good example, where I read a story this week on the civil war that’s happening in Sudan right now and read an account of a mother who had to watch as her two year old son, I’ve got a two year old son, right, so this one hits close to home, was beaten to death in front of her simply because he was a boy. And so they were worried he would grow up to fight against them. And I was angry. And I think that was good. Anger because there is a good kind of anger, a godly anger. Luthor calls it an anger of love, and anger of love for neighbor, one that wishes no one any evil one that is friendly to the person but hostile to the sin. That’s what we see in Jesus. The problem, though, is that we tend to get angry, not at sin and injustice, we tend to get angry at personal offense. That’s the difference. You read those stories that I mentioned, Jesus’s ego was never involved. That’s not what the problem was like. I just finished Matthew 26 In my times of private worship, and you know, he’s being betrayed by Judas, and he’s being arrested and all that stuff, and he doesn’t ever blow up in anger by Peters cutting people’s ears off. But Jesus is like, slow your roll, man, okay? Like we’re good here, take a deep breath, calm down. So that’s the difference. Compare that to yourself, What makes you shake with anger, that person who’s cutting you off in traffic. Or maybe it’s when you plop down on the couch on the couch after a long day of work, and the game is about to start and then chaos breaks out among your children. And your quiet is interrupted the quiet that you deserve or a joke that was meant in good fun, just ruffles your feathers. What’s happening in all those situations? personal offense. So what do we do here? It’s interesting, Paul, in Ephesians, four, he’s quoting Psalm 14, it says, In your anger, do not sin. That’s helpful for us right there, by the way, because it means there’s an anger, emotion, which we don’t have control over our emotions, right? And then there’s an anger like action or state of being we do have control over that, in your anger, don’t sin. So what happens is that feeling of anger, that’s like the warning light on your dashboard, where you know, you got to stop, you’ll pull the car, we got to pop the hood, see what’s going on? What’s going on in my heart that all of a sudden now I feel angry? Is my anger righteous, that evil and injustice, okay? And what do you do with that anger? And probably pray the Psalms is what you do with that. Because that’s a lot of what psalms are right? Praying, that kind of anger. And then you look for ways that you can do justice in that situation. But what if, and this is much, much, much more likely, it’s not righteous anger. It is unrighteous, self righteous anger at personal offense. Totally do then. probably move on. Proverbs 1911 tells us it’s to one’s glory to overlook an offense. And somebody can do something that’s even a little bit offensive, and you can choose not to be offended by it. It’s great advice. That’s why it’s in Proverbs. And so we can move it Love covers over a multitude of sins. It’s fine. Look at how much I angered God and yet he still loves me. I’m gonna be good. We can be good. Maybe Maybe there’s room for gentle, loving, humble admonition. Absolutely. For the sake of the other person. You go and say, hey, when you said that earlier, like I know you meant it and good fun. I don’t think the joke landed the the way you thought it was going to just, you know, heads up kind of be aware like Yeah, absolutely. That’s a great thing to do. We need to hang on to that anger when it comes to conflict, inward Trump’s outward. So don’t just look at the action, the letter of the law or the negative prohibition, ask the deeper question, am I like Jesus, when I do get angry is my anger like Jesus’s anger. Second point to the inward Trump’s outward, but then obedience, Trump’s ceremony. Next paragraph verses 23 and 24. Let me read it for us. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you leave your gift there in front of the altar, first go and be reconciled to them, then come and offer your gift. So here’s the shift from the negative to the positive. So it’s not just don’t kill or even don’t get angry. But now go and be reconciled. Deal with what caused that anger in the first place. Like there was a problem with our to church families. They didn’t ever deal with it. And so he’s just sitting there. And we tend to think, okay, so long as I’m not, you know, breaking this negative prohibition, I’m good. But no, no, no, that’s not what Jesus just said. Here’s the way Martyn Lloyd Jones says that he says, we tend to stop and say as long as I don’t say these things all as well. But our Lord tells us that we must not stop even there. We must not even harbor the thought and the feeling in our heart. We’re called to a greater righteousness, a heart level righteousness, because we got to deal with it all the way down here. Do you notice that this paragraph begins with the word therefore, that means it’s following from verses 21 and 22. Therefore, you know, if you got anger, the kind of anger that make you kill somebody or even just speak badly of them, don’t let that anger fester. You got to take positive steps to overcome it. And I think this is where we most deceive ourselves. We kind of go as long as I’m not actively indulging it, I’m going to be fine. That’s not how it works. It’s a little bit like if you got a pipe leaking in your house, you know, upper bathroom or something like that. You fix the leak, great. There’s no longer an act Do you have a problem, but your drywall soaked through now, you’re not going to want to leave that sit. You’re a mold. And the mold is going to get worse and worse and worse. That’s a toxic but accurate picture of our hearts when we let these things fester. But let’s not miss how radical This is what Jesus just said we could miss it. Because this is not our context. We don’t offer sacrifices anymore, like this. So here’s a man who is at the temple in Jerusalem. He’s passed through the court of Gentiles, he’s passed through the court of women, he’s now in the court of men. He’s got his animal there. He’s before the priests and more importantly, he is before God, like he knows that he is standing before God, what could be more important than our devotion to God? He is actively worshipping in concrete ways. And yet, that can be a way of avoiding the prick of conscience. To go about religious duties after all, I am a worshipping, how could I possibly be in the wrong? I had a friend in seminary, he did this. He knew it. He was confessing this sheepishly. But he said every time that he and his wife would get into a spat, you know, and then kind of go to different rooms for a moment, he would sit down and read his Bible. Because then when they came back to finish the conversation, well, I’ve been reading my Bible for the last 20 minutes. So I win automatically, right? That’s how we are heard I’m serving a church. I’m sacrificing my time like how could I possibly be wrong it all the while I’m leaving anger and bitterness and unforgiveness to fester in my heart, and Jesus isn’t happening. Obedience Trump’s ceremony. Love comes before religious duty before mere rituals. Isn’t that what Samuel said to Saul to obey is better than sacrifice. So let’s obey. In this way, put the sacrifice to the side for a moment and deal with a heart issue. And let’s get real for a moment. You may be angry with someone. And you may be aware that someone has something against you. That’s what Jesus says in this passage. Even if they’ve got something against you, you still initiate you always initiate biblically. Why? Because we tried to be like Jesus, and he initiated with us. So you’re aware that there is conflict. And maybe it’s easier, even, like maybe you’re sitting next to a spouse, or a family member where there’s some anger, like maybe you pulled into the parking lot, and it was DEF CON three in the minivan, because it did not go well on the way to church.
Or maybe it is a family, maybe my hypothetical to start, the sermon is real for you. Or maybe it’s not someone in this room at all. But you know, there are people that you despise, would not want to be brothers and sisters that you would not want to be in a community group with. What should you be doing right now? If that’s you? What would Jesus say to you, assuming that His word is still speaking to us today, we’re about to take communion, which is as close to the New Testament picture to offering sacrifices as you can get. We don’t need to offer sacrifices anymore, but we celebrate and remember the sacrifice that Jesus offered on our behalf. What would Jesus say to you as you get ready to take communion? Go ahead. Take it and deal with this later. It’s fine. That we know what Jesus would say because he’s saying it right here. Get up and deal with the issue. Go and be reconciled first. Then you can come back and take communion. We’re taking it again in three weeks. You can take it then that’s fine. Why? Why does this matter? Why would Jesus say this? Well, because what is the purpose of sacrifice like this? What is the purpose of participating in a worship service or taking communion or reading your Bible at home? The purpose is to know God. The purpose is intimacy with the Father, but that won’t happen when you’re hiding sin in your heart, Psalm 66 Verse 18, the psalmist said If I had cherished sin in my heart, that’s key. By the way, don’t miss that word cherish there. It does not say if I had sin in my heart, because then none of us could ever talk to God. If I cherished if I loved if I went, you know what, Lord, I hear what you’re saying, but I’m not giving this one up by a cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. God saying deal with it even before praying, for my ears will be shut up to you. So there’s no intimacy, which is the whole purpose of all our rituals. Now, quick caveat, of course, we got to say this part, reconciliation involves two people. And you are only responsible for one of those two people. So you can deal with the unforgiveness in your heart, you can attempt to reconcile and you can be rebuffed. The other person can cherish his sin in his or her heart and cling to it. Again, where’s your heart? What is the posture of your heart? Is it a forgiving posture, a gracious posture. The Bible is very real. It understands who we are as humans. Here’s Paul and Romans 1218. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you. Because Paul knows, it doesn’t just depend on you. As far as it depends on you, though. live at peace with everyone. So you can stand before the Lord and say I truly tried my hearts good. I am ready to reconcile as soon as that person is obedience, Trump’s ceremony, love Trump’s religious rights, where we got to look at the heart, not just the actions, love the way da Carson says it he says people love to substitute ceremony for integrity, purity and love. But Jesus will have none of it. So go and be reconciled. Yes, and go and be reconciled quickly. That’s our third point, urgency, Trump’s indifference. Let’s look at the rest of our passage verses 25 and 26. settle matters quickly with your adversary who’s taking you to court, do it while you are still together on the way or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, the judge may hand you over to the officer and you may be thrown into prison, Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. So go and be reconciled. But go quickly. This is another example that Jesus gives here that serves as an illustration of the need for urgency. So what’s going on here, we know we’re dealing with debt, because you don’t get out until you pay back the last penny and diverse 26. So back then, and this was true up until just recent centuries, if you couldn’t pay a debt, you were thrown into debtors prison until you could work enough to pay off the debt. By now you hopefully caught the problem with a scenario. You can’t work overtime shifts, when you’re in prison, you can’t even work your regular shift. So what would happen, of course, is that you know, family or friends would come around you ideally pay the debt, and then you know, you’re gonna pay them back or something like that. But what Jesus is saying here is the best thing you could do in that situation is settle up quickly before the legal process starts. You can’t pay it back, go talk to them, let them know that let’s get on a payment plan, something like that. So that you don’t get brought to court thrown into jail and all the rest. Now this is good advice. That that certainly flows from the previous points, right. If you’ve got issues, deal with him and do it right away, this all makes perfect sense. But it is an illustration too. And I think it’s more meant to be an illustration. After all, we have debts. Jesus is about to teach us to pray that isn’t he next chapter the Lord’s Prayer, forgive us our debts, debts. It is we have to remember that we come into this world with God as our adversary. We are at enmity with him. Paul tells us by nature objects of wrath. He’s our adversary. He’s also the judge and the officer who will throw us into prison. And we will all certainly stand before Him and be asked about this debt. So resolve that conflict quickly. Because you don’t know when you’ll be brought before the judge. None of us is promised even another day. We could all die tomorrow. You can’t earn money to pay back your debt when you’re in prison. And you can’t reconcile with your brother or sister or even with God after death and facing judgment. So urgency Trump’s indifference. Where’s the urgency come from people in debt. Feel the crushing weight of of burden. When I first heard about Christians against poverty and their debt centers, one of which we have here at this church, they showed a video of a real testimony. Someone in England and his story began with him on the side of a bridge, ready to jump, because he was hopeless. And thankfully his wife knew what was happening and police were able to find him all that and he got connected with CAP was able to deal with debt and he actually came to Christ as a result, but there’s that crushing weight. But I can’t. I can’t handle this any more. It’s like the sword of Damocles, hanging over them at all times. Here’s my question for you. Do you feel the weight of unresolved conflict? Does it haunt you the way debt haunts those who are burdened by it? Do you sense the need for a swift resolution? Or have you grown comfortable with the conflict with your bitterness and unforgiveness? Remember, this is hindering your prayers hindering your intimacy with God. Jesus will tell us in the next chapter, it’s actually reason to question your salvation, even if you have actually received grace, because that should have changed your heart if you do not forgive others their sins. Jesus says, Matthew 6:15 Your Father will not forgive yours. Those are strong words. This is serious business. Because this is the king’s law, which is deeper spiritual, talking about the heart level and positive, not just make sure you don’t do the negative one. But we read last week, we can’t enter the kingdom without keeping it. So how are we feeling right now? Hopefully humble, hopefully, humble. That’s where we should be is we’re reading this going. I have not kept the king’s law. We remember where we ended last week, or the preaching of the law drives us to Christ drives us back to Christ every time we hear it for forgiveness, and grace. Like how can you says it he says again, we are made to see their only hope is Christ who fulfilled all righteousness and offers it to us as a free gift. He gives us His law keeping, and then makes us lawkeepers. Jesus says radical demand is meant to drive us to him for grace. And then he asks the all important question. Have you done so? I love what he says at the end. He says even murderers are welcome. Maybe literal murderers. They are certainly welcome. But those of us who are holding murder in our hearts also. So the preaching the law drives us to Christ for forgiveness and grace. But then remember the rest of the quote from last week, then Jesus sends us back to the law
to learn how to live, he see the gospel, it transforms our hearts, and then motivates our new obedience. So let’s look at what this would mean here when it comes to anger, consider Jesus, and what he did with personal offenses. He suffered tremendous personal offense, and yet didn’t respond in anger, as we’ve seen, not at his arrest, not at his torture, not when they’re spitting in his face, mocking him, saying prophesy who hit you if you’re the Christ, not when they nailed Him to the cross. In fact, what does he say on the cross? Father, forgive, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing. Here’s the way Peter describes it when they hurled their insults at him. He didn’t retaliate. When he suffered, he made no threats. But it’s even more than that. Why? Why? Because He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness. He bore the sins even have some of those insulting him. He paid the debt that they owed him. He’s there on the cross, because he’s saying there is a bill you owe that you cannot pay. So I will pay it for you. And he did so with purpose, with purpose. When the hour came, Luke tells us that he set his face like a flint towards Jerusalem. Nothing was going to move him from his mission of mercy. And a love like that should prompt a response in us if we understand that He came to reconcile us to the Father despite all that we had done to him to how could we possibly harbor unforgiveness against someone else? nurture anger in our hearts. We couldn’t. And so there’s the main idea coming right out of that. If you know there’s conflict, go reconcile quickly, just as Jesus came to reconcile you, you know, there’s conflict, your side, their side doesn’t matter. Go reconcile quickly. Why? Because you know that Jesus came to reconcile you. And if you’re unwilling, this doesn’t describe you, you got to ask the question, why not? Why doesn’t this describe me? Because self righteous or unrighteous anger proves that the gospel hasn’t really penetrated our hearts yet? Are there people, maybe people in this room you can’t look at? You can’t think about without fighting with them in your head. As you consider your history, do you see a trail of broken relationships behind you, and know that you just keep walking away from friendships, with people who should have been brothers and sisters in Christ. And now you can’t even be in the same church? What that humble you, if that’s true of you, and send you back to Jesus, for grace, because we keep coming for, right, that’s how it all starts poor in spirit, be reconciled to God, God stands willing to forgive God’s 10s willing to forgive even today for the first time, you may be sitting here going, I have never done this. Let today be the day. But there are terms to his forgiveness. The terms are confession, and repentance and spiritual bankruptcy. Nothing in my hand, I bring only to the Cross I clean. That’s how we receive forgiveness, on merited faith or grace in Christ and in Christ alone, but do it without delay. You feeling convicted today? Leave your gift, run and put it right. settle matters quickly, especially with God. And let’s not forget as we do that, that God is the end. He’s the reason we keep His good commands. Right? They’re not an end in themselves. He is the end. Right? And that’s why it’s not enough to ask, Did I murder anyone today? Did I call anyone an idiot today? No, we must also ask, Do I know my father? am I experiencing intimacy with Him? Am I pleasing him? Has he been supreme in my life today? And if not, and when can we ever say Yes By the way, unreservedly? If not, we rush back to grace again. And then let the gospel motivate our obedience yet again. Some years ago, at a pastors conference in Southeast Asia, there were two groups of pastors present. One was a continuing from South Korea. The other was contingent from Japan. Contingency from Japan. And if you know anything about the history of that part of the world, you know that there is deep division there. Japan invaded Korea, all that kind of stuff. So similar to the black white divide here in the States. And so here they are at this conference, hearing the gospel again. But with this division between them, all those things I’ve described definitely going on. But they were hearing the gospel, and the Gospel is powerful. What happened was, at the end of the first day in the evening, the Japanese pastors knelt before the group from Korea and confessed their sins, confessed the division confessed the injustice the group from Korea had suffered at the hands of the Japanese. And then what happened was the next morning, the Korean pastors knelt before the group from Japan. And they confessed their anger and their bitterness and their unforgiveness. And these groups were reconciled in Christ. That’s the power of the gospel. To reconcile. That’s what a picture of the power by the way, well, we just learned we’re supposed to be salt and light in this world. You want to be salt and light seeing gospel-shaped Kingdom people reconcile like that? Is the kind of deed that will make people glorify your Father in heaven. So if you know there’s conflict, division, unforgiveness, bitterness, go, be reconciled, just as Christ came to reconcile you. Let’s pray together now. Lord, we are so grateful that Jesus came to reconcile us You had every cause to be angry with us we had no cause to be angry with you. And yet, when there was that division, you came, you initiated you set things right. You forgave us. Lord, love like that should transform us. It should leave us forever changed. And that’s what we pray for now, Lord, even now you would soften our hearts a new if there is anyone in our lives that we are unwilling to reconcile with that you would, by the power of the gospel, overcome that sin in us to the glory of your name, amen.

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Kingdom Laws January 28, 2024 | Brandon Cooper The passage discusses Jesus’ teaching on fulfilling the law of Moses and bringing a new law for his kingdom. Jesus emphasizes the importance of obeying his commands and having a righteousness that surpasses the Pharisees by coming from a pure heart. True Christians are set free from the law’s condemnation through Christ and empowered by the Spirit to joyfully keep God’s law. Entering God’s kingdom requires relying on Christ’s righteousness and being transformed inwardly to obey the King’s rules.

If you want to go ahead, grab your Bibles, you can open up to Matthew chapter five will be in verses 17 to 20. This morning, Matthew 5, 17 to 20 is your turn in there. There’s a familiar phrase perhaps you’ve heard before, perhaps you’ve even uttered it at some point or another that phrase is my house my rules. When we hear that phrase, of course, we picture usually it’s you know, kind of a stern father and probably dealing with maybe a rebellious teenager or something like that my how you’re gonna be in this house under this roof, you’re gonna live by these rules, we could picture that same phrase in a really different context, another home. Imagine here, it’s an orphan who has been plucked off the streets in his teenage years, he grew up knowing a life of poverty, but of violence of drugs, whatever else it may be. And now he’s in a new home with an adoptive father who loves him. And he loves this dad, he’s thrilled to be in this home. Now, again, maybe it’s not phrased in quite the same way my house my rules, maybe it’s more of a hay in this house. You know, we don’t use those sorts of words, or whatever it may be. It’s a really different. I mentioned this, because Jesus is about to give us the rules of the house, the rules of his house, his kingdom, He is the king, he has every right and authority to lay down the law for us. But how will we respond like rebellious teenagers or like children, struck by the love of an adoptive father, we have a good father, who loves us, despite our manifest and loveliness, and calls us to a better life, the blessedness the flourishing that we saw in the Beatitudes, this is good, that we get the rules of his house. But before we start, before we dive into the passage, just wanna make sure we know where we are in the Sermon on the Mount, we just finished the introduction is what happened. So the Beatitudes that description of Kingdom people, and then the effect that kingdom people will have on the world, we will be salt and light, that kingdom witness. So that’s the introduction kind of prepping us for what’s coming today, we get the thesis statement. So Matthew 570 to 20. That’s the thesis statement for really the rest of the Sermon on the Mountain. The main argument takes us through chapter seven, verse 12, and it’s all about the greater righteousness of those who are in the kingdom. Really, the whole sermon is going to be unpacking this unpacking that description of Jesus and ministry that we got back in chapter four, where he began preaching, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. So what does that look like? What does repentance look like? What does kingdom life look like? What does it mean to live with wholeness, integrity mean his key word we’ll see a little bit today. So that’s what we’re talking about, which all seems easy enough for sure. Except that these are some of the most difficult verses in the New Testament. So just gotta warn you up front. This is a brief but weighty passage, it’s similar to poetry really, you know, he could read like a chapter of a novel in about the same time that it takes to read a 15 line poem. Yeah, this is the 15th line poem, big terms, you’ve been used in unclear ways where we really got to think and engage, we’re going to work hard to unpack it means we’re going to need to learn some stuff today, we’re going to engage our minds, they’re going to get some exercise. And that’s a good thing, right? We want to know more about I hope, that’s why you’re here. You want to know more about God, and the word that He’s given us. But you know, if at the end of it, you’re not sweating, and your muscles don’t hurt, was it really exercise. That’s how it’s gonna be for our brains this morning. So buckle up, let’s dive in. Because this is the seat thesis statement. By the way, we’ll be a little bit later on application, because Jesus is going to give us the application and the rest of the chapter. So we’ll, we’ll keep going the next few weeks just going to speak in broad terms this morning, but I want to give you the main idea up front. It’s actually been on the screen for about five minutes. So you know it by now. So main idea up front so you can see it and follow along. I don’t want you to kind of where are we going with this? I want you to know exactly where we’re headed. You’re gonna have it in your mind as we go. The main idea to enter the kingdom. We must obey the Kings law. I know some of you here are going huh, that sounds like works. What about grace? We’ll get there. We’ll get there I promise we’re going to move in stages. We got three points that do build on each other as we go. So first point, first point the king fulfill Use the law of Moses. That’s where we start the king fulfills the law of Moses, Matthew five, when we read verses 17 and 18. For us do not think that I’ve come to abolish the law or the prophets have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen well, by any means disappear from the law until everything is accomplished. So he begins by saying, Do not think he’s got to correct a a possible misinterpretation straightaway. It it’s one that we see, really, throughout the New Testament, there’s always this danger, that if we’re saved by grace alone, well, then it doesn’t really matter what we do, we can just set the works to the side works aren’t actually necessary as long as we come, you know, poor in spirit, like we’ve been talking about, that’s good enough, just stay there. It’s this constant objection, Paul, in particular, because he preached this gospel of grace alone is always dealing with it. So he asked questions like, shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase Romans six, one? And you kind of go make sense, right? You know, I know Paul says, by no means no exaggeration to say that the books of James and Jude are written to correct a misreading of this gospel of grace. So James, famously, Faith without works is dead. Or Jude, he saying, look, there are false teachers who are using grace as a license for immorality. And so Jesus is correcting that misinterpretation at the start. Also. Plus, this would be the question on everyone’s minds at this moment. Jesus is this new Rabbi on the scene? What do rabbis do? Rabbis teach the law? What do pious Jews do? They keep the law. So talk to us about the law. This would be like, you know, some foreign affairs thing happens, and every politician is gonna be asked to comment. What do you think about what’s going on over there right now? That’s what Jesus is getting here. Well, what do you think about the law? What answer Does Jesus give? He says, I didn’t come to abolish the law, the prophets, but to fulfill them. These are big terms, big ideas, big questions attached to them. And maybe that first big question is, okay, but what about all the laws, you know, you kind of abolished? Like, here’s Mark 719. And saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean. So there go all the dietary laws? Well, I got questions, you got questions, or here’s Hebrews 813. Kind of summing up the whole idea, really, by calling this covenant new, he’s made the first one obsolete. That’d be the Mosaic Covenant. That would be you know, all the laws. And what’s obsolete and outdated will soon disappear. And we think of things that disappeared with Jesus’s coming like the priesthood, the sacrificial system, the whole temple complex, all abolished, right? So what does Jesus mean exactly? You got two key interpretive questions we want to ask and answer first one, what exactly does he mean by law? What exactly does he mean by law, law and prophets? For us, we hear the word law. And immediately we think of a list of rules and regulations. That’s what the law is you got to obey the law that’s so it’s stuff you’re supposed to do or not do. biblically speaking, we probably picturing you know Leviticus or something like that. Here’s a list of regulations. Here’s how you offer this sacrifice. Here’s how you, you know, deal with mold in your house or a skin disease, or here’s the dietary restrictions. But that word law in English, it’s translated in a Greek word, no moss, which is itself translating a Hebrew word, Torah. And what happens in translation is that shades of meaning are lost. I love the way Jonathan Pennington puts it. He says it’s a little bit like a ship that sets out on a long sea voyage. And when it gets from point A to point B, it picks up some unwanted barnacles along the way and springs, a few leaks. And that’s kind of what’s happened in our translation here as well. Because the Hebrew word torah is much broader than just law than just rules and regulations. It really means instruction. The law refers to the books of Moses, the first five books of the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Think about what’s in some of those books. Are there rules and regulations? Yes.
There’s also story like the creation, or Noah, Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. You get covenant of course, and you get redemption. And things like the Exodus event, mean even the 10 commandments, which are you know, the clearest The regulations that we’ve got begin as we saw last fall with redemption. I’m the Lord your God who brought you up out of Egypt. Now let’s talk commandments. So there’s all of this in there as well. And that’s even clearer when Jesus adds the prophets to the phrase, the Law and the Prophets. There’s what are the prophets? Do the prophets simply interpret the instruction that we were given in the first five books of the Bible, they they’re constantly calling Israel back to obedience to that instruction. They’re calling them back though, to covenant living, not commandment keeping. It’s a subtle difference, but it’s important. In fact, often the prophets will go I think you’re getting caught up a little bit too much in the rules here. You might have missed the heart behind it. Jesus will quote prophets like Hosea, chapter six, verse six, where it says, For I desire, mercy, not sacrifice was going to see you’re paying too much attention to the regulations, you missed what it’s all about, there are weightier matters. So put all that together. What do we get them with the law and the prophets? Were talking about the whole story of redemption, the mosaic and the Davidic covenants? We’re dealing with ethics. Yes, absolutely, but also with a relationship. And that will help us then when we get to the second big question, we got to answer. What does it mean that Jesus fulfills the law and the prophets. This is more than his keeping all the laws, then it’s about the story. Actually, the word fulfill has already been used seven times and Matthew’s Gospel, just kind of crazy, because we’re not that far into Matthew’s gospel at all, already been used seven times. That means, first of all, this is an important term for Matthew. And second of all, he’s given us lots of hints as to the meaning already, so we don’t need to guess here. Now some of these uses make intuitive sense. Matthew will say things like, you know, this happened to fulfill what the prophet Isaiah said, you know, a virgin will conceive and give birth to a child and he’ll be called Emanuel. Okay, real simple, predictive prophecy. Or we saw that in chapter four as well, he moves to Galilee, right, so that he can be there in Galilee, where this you know, people walking in darkness are gonna see a great light. Some of them are a little bit harder. We get in Matthew two, it talks about out of Egypt, I called my son that’s after Jesus, and Mary and Joseph, flee to Egypt, to get away from Herod the Great, who’s trying to murder them, and then come back after Herod dies. The only problem there is that that’s not what that passage is about in Hosea. So a little trickier, or the passage that Kyle took us through at the end of last year where this took place to fulfill you know, Jesus tells John the Baptist go ahead and baptize me to fulfill all righteousness. So we’re getting there maybe with what fulfill means, except that those were mostly prophecies that I was talking about. And it makes sense how you would fulfill prophecies, but how do you fulfill law because that’s what’s being talked about here? Well, Jesus himself helps us out in Matthew’s Gospel. In Matthew 11, verse 13, Jesus says, For all the prophets, and the law, prophesied until John, John the Baptist, came, so even the law prophesize In other words, the entire Old Testament has a prophetic function. It does not all prophesy point to Jesus in quite the same way though. Some are simple predictions like we saw the the Virgin giving birth to a son or you know, somebody being born in Bethlem. Okay, those are easy. Some are a little bit more like images almost, that Jesus fulfills Out of Egypt I called my son Well, that was Israel being carried off into Egypt. And then God brings them out of Egypt in the Exodus event will Jesus’s the true and better Israel. So he also goes down to Egypt and is brought back out. All of Israel’s history prepares us for Christ. Jesus fulfilled the law by his perfect obedience, including his baptism to identify with us so he can keep the law in our place, His perfect obedience in life and then His substitutionary death and in so doing, he fulfills the laws, demands and is able to give us his righteousness as our own. He fulfills the sacrificial system, of course, the temple and the priesthood. In his sacrifice. He is the great high priest who offers himself as the sacrifice in the heavenly temple. And so every sacrifice prior to that was little bit like Pavlov. You guys remember Pavlov? He’s willing to train the dogs. He’d ring a bell And then he’d feed them and he’d ring a bell, and then he’d feed them. And so eventually you could just ring the bell and they’d start salivating. They knew what was supposed to be coming. That was what the sacrificial system was, it was to train us, we’d see the sacrifice and you go, that’s right. Without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness, we need a sacrifice in order for there to be atonement with God. So he’s fulfilling all of that. And this way, this whole idea of fulfilling the law and the prophets and in different ways and answers are common but silly objection that is often made against Christianity, which is that we only keep the laws that we like. So you set aside the whole, you don’t get to eat bacon wrapped shrimp, because no one likes that law. But you know, some of the other ones, especially around say, a sexual ethic, those we’re still going to keep No, that’s not it at all. It’s that these laws have different fulfillments. And so sometimes fulfilling the law means it comes to an end. And sometimes it means the the ethical heart of the law is absolutely still, in effect, different fulfillment. Even in the Sermon on the Mount, we actually have fulfillment, because Jesus brings to fruition what Moses began. We didn’t talk a lot about this when we were introducing the Sermon on the Mount. But chapter five, verse one, when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountain side. Why does he go up on a mountain side? Isn’t that interesting? I mean, partly, it’s so people can see and hear him probably. But more than that, it’s because he’s doing what Moses did. Moses went up on the mountain to receive the law, and then proclaim it to God’s people, Jesus is the new and better Moses, the deliver, but the law giver as well. And so the sermon on the mount is really the New Testament version of the Law of Moses. Just by the way, so last semester, we did the 10 commands, we call it the big 10. What’s the name of this series? The big talk, that’s not coincidental. That was silly, you’d have the connection in your mind, this is the new bat, not substituting it, but fulfilling the 10 commandments. So Jesus fulfills the entirety of the Old Testament in diverse ways, all of it, all of it points to him, and prepares us for him. So of course, he doesn’t abolish it. Why would he abolish all this preparations to be like somebody finishing up their their college education, they’re finally certified. They set out in their career, what does that do to their education? Do you get rid of it all? Like with your doctor, at least I really hope not. Right. I hope they’re hanging on to that education. But it’s the fulfillment of it. This is why all of that happens so that this could now happen. But some things change. You don’t go to class anymore. You don’t have to take tests or turn in homework. So you know, Yeah, something’s changed, but it’s not abolished, but fulfilled, but fulfilled. That’s the idea, not a single word will fail. Jesus says, it will all be fulfilled. Not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen. That’s a jot and tittle in the old versions, right to jot Yoda is the smallest Hebrew letter, it looks like an apostrophe. It’s tiny. tittle is like a serif for us today. And so just that little bit that comes out of a letter, but in Hebrew, it’s necessary to distinguish letters that look very similar otherwise. So you say right down to the letter itself, this won’t pass away until heaven and earth disappear. And heaven and earth don’t disappear, of course, and toe will never write not until the end of time, not until Jesus comes again. Did you notice that that’s set in parallel with something so until heaven and earth disappear, not one jot, not one title, all that stuff until everything is accomplished or two until it’s done. So not until everything is in accomplished, not before the full and final fulfillment, in His Second Coming to remake the world. So let’s sum up because that was a lot. That was the hard part, by the way. So if you’re tracking with me now, we should be okay. When we go from here. To sum up, Jesus is not opposed to the Old Testament.
Though he brings to fruition all that it points to. So there’s this sense of continuity and newness all at the same time. Certain details cease. Yes, absolutely. They’re superseded in the new covenant. Because as Don Carson reminds us, whatever is prophetic must be in some sense, provisional, it’s going to give way I love the way Bishop Ryle put it to little more than a century ago. He says the Old Testament is the gospel in the bud. The New Testament is the gospel in full flower. The Old Testament is the gospel in the blade. The New Testament is the gospel in full year speaking of corn. That’s the idea right newness and continuity. The bud gives way to the flower in continuity with a but it is something new at the same time because the flower gives way to fruit. We’re grateful for that. But it newness and continuity all at once. One last point before we press on to the next part. So if all the Old Testament is pointing to Jesus, that means that Jesus is the center of attention. Even in this passage, these verses are about Jesus, not about the law. Not really. Did you notice actually, this is the first time in the sermon on the mount that Jesus shows up. The first time he talks about himself in verse 17. When he says, Do not think that I have come. He’s finally there on the scene before it was blessed are these people and then you are salt and light. And now at last we get I, Jesus is speaking in the first person I Bonhoeffer helps us understand why that is, he said, now we can see why up to now Jesus has said nothing about himself. Because between the disciples, the ones the Beatitudes are about between the disciples, and this better righteousness demanded of them that we’ll see in a moment stands the person of Christ, who came to fulfill the law of the Old Covenant. This is why we preach the Old Testament here. We’ll keep preaching we’re doing this year for them. We’re gonna do Joel in the summer, when do Daniel in the fall we’re gonna be in the Old Testament says why you should study the Old Testament. Because it’s all about Jesus helps us prepare for His coming, understand who he is, and what he came to do, it all finds fulfillment in him. We got to know the Old Testament understand the new Jesus brings the Old Testament to fruition, the king fulfills the law of Moses, and so prepares us for a new era, and a new relationship to the law, which is where we’ll go next. So next point in verse 19, the king brings a new law to teach, and obey only read it for us verse 19. Therefore, anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands, and teaches others accordingly, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. So how do the Old Testament and the New Testament relate? What is a Christians relationship to Old Testament law supposed to be? These are big questions, and points of intense debate throughout the centuries probably will not solve it all for you this morning. But let’s look at some of the options at least. So there are some notably the Reformers guys like Luther and Calvin, who see the New Testament as in perfect continuity with the Old Covenant. So that what Jesus does next, for example, when he starts to say things like you’ve heard it said, but I tell you, all he’s doing is correcting rabbinic misinterpretations of the law, that we are still under. There are others, like the the Anabaptist. At that time, who saw major discontinuity between the two covenants, there’s the old covenant, there’s the new covenant and kind of never the twain shall meet. And there are a whole parts of it that are just done away with like, truly abolished. When you get that kind of tension, looking at scripture, when you kind of go yes, this versus that. But this versus that. What are we what about this one? What about that one? Usually, it’s best to land in the middle, because you’re trying to make sense of all the data, not just half of it, of course. And so what would that mean? It means we’re dealing with radically new teaching, that supersedes the old Yes, but in continuity with it, like the flower in relationship to the BoD. Here’s the way Jesus himself said it makes me think we might be on the right track here. Here’s Matthew 13, verse 52, every teacher of the law, okay, there’s the law, the Old Covenant, right? Who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven. Okay, that’s important. That’s the switch to the new. It’s like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom, new treasures, as well as old continuity, and newness all at once we have a fresh a new approach to the Old Testament. What we saw in Matthew 1113, also, the Prophets the law, they prophesy until John, John’s the last of them, then Jesus comes and what happens after Jesus, the prophetic function is fulfilled and now it’s the kingdom that is advancing. That’s not the Old Covenant, the new kingdom that has come Did you notice that? That’s the shift we have in these verses also. How many times does he say the kingdom of heaven here and 19 and 20 says it three different times we called least in the kingdom of heaven be called great in the kingdom of heaven. You certainly can’t enter the kingdom of heaven. What do you think this passage is about? The kingdom of heaven? That’s where we are at this point. It’s all about life in the kingdom of heaven. Which is why I said, the king brings a new law. When he says these commands anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands, I don’t think we’re talking about Old Testament law. At this point, I think we are talking about Jesus’s commands, which include large chunks of the Old Covenant, of course, like the 10 commandments, which he repeats, over and over again. These are the commands though that he’s already given commands that he’ll give in the Sermon on the Mount, like the ones that we’re going to see in the rest of the chapter. These are the commands of the kingdom. Jesus is after all, the one to whom the whole Old Testament points. So it’d be the height of folly, not to listen to him. He’s the King, bringing in the New Kingdom. This is the king’s law, my house, my rules. This is the same drift we get as in Hebrews chapter two. So I think we’re on the right track here because we see it elsewhere in the New Testament, Hebrews 2123. If you don’t remember how Hebrews starts, it starts by contrasting the the, the two teachings that we get in the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets many times and in various ways, but in these last days, he’s spoken to us by his Son. So those are the two revelations that we’re talking about what is Hebrews to say, we must pay the most careful attention therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away for since the message spoken through angels was binding the message spoken through angels that the Old Covenant, Jews believed the angels gave Moses the Tablets that the law was written on all that. So if the message spoken through angels was binding in every violation and disobedience received, it’s just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? That’s the message of the sun. Now, the salvation which was first announced by the Lord, these last days, he’s spoken to us by his Son, salvation, which was first announced by the Lord was confirmed to us by those who heard Him that is the apostles. So like you paid attention to the Old Testament law, Hebrews is saying, the message of the angels, how much more important is it that you listen to the New Covenant to the Son himself, the king himself announced. In fact, if we ignore it, we ignore the Kings commands will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. And even worse if we teach others to ignore it, but if you want to be great in God’s kingdom, what did Jesus say we got to do? obey it, and teach others to obey it. How we say that here, by the way, is that we’re made to magnify and send to serve. That’s this exactly made to magnify Christ. One way we magnify Christ we glorify our Father in heaven is by joyfully keeping his law delighting in Christ so that we go his house his rules, and I’m so happy that I get to follow these rules. And then we’re sent to serve we teach others to do the same, the joy of obedience to the king. And of course, that’s exactly what Jesus gives us. Kyle mentioned it in the parent commissioning, but the very end of Matthew’s Gospel, go make disciples, okay? How do I do that? Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. The new covenant, the law of the kingdom.
So following Christ means keeping his commands, His commands, not our subjective impulses, self discovery, not just drifting with culture, but keeping his commands, we’ve got to recognize that there’s a temptation there, of course, the temptation for ourselves to go our own way, kind of look at Jesus’s law and go, I like that one. I don’t care for that one. That’s the rebellious teenager mindset. So to go our own way, but also to relax standards for others. Tremendous temptation in the name of very scruffy, squishy definition of love, stripping the commands of their force. Think of some big areas where Christians are tempted to relax God’s standards. The biblical sexual ethic is probably the main one. Divorce is another there are biblical grounds for divorce but not every divorce has biblical grounds we go we have but you over to make you happy. Or what about forgiveness, understanding supposed to forgive people used to love your enemies, but not that person that’s too hard. With a temptation to relax standards for ourselves and for others. Interestingly, those are all topics that Jesus is going to hit in the next few verses. We’ll hit them in the next few weeks. So there’s that temptation. This is one of the reasons why it’s so important that we read prayerfully and meditatively. The word, rebuke sauce Paul tells us in September At three rebukes us tells us you’re not going in the right way. You’re not living under the house rules at this point, and then it corrects us, here’s what you should be doing instead. So every time we engage with the Word of God, we’re asking those questions how how does it rebuke me here? How was it correcting me here? And then most importantly, how does the gospel that I see in this passage motivate that new obedience that my heart has changed that I want to obey, which we’ll look at in the next section even? So, before we move on to that next section, though, the questions there Right? Are you practicing Jesus’s commands? Are you following Him? Are you teaching others to obey his commands? Like your kids? For example, parent commissioning, great week for this? Are you teaching them but that is key to right? Because really, in a Christian home, it should not be my house, my rules, but the king’s house, the king has rules. And so I want to show you from scripture, why you’re being disciplined in this moment, you’re teaching your kids the goodness of God’s commands and what it means to follow them. But what about Christian community as well, places like community groups and journey groups? Are you teaching others to obey? Let me put it to you like this? When was the last time you called someone out for their sin? Humbly, yes, lovingly, absolutely. But I find as Christians so often in community, we just kind of hope they’ll figure it out on their own. Instead of teaching others to obey all that he commanded us. Are there areas where you’re relaxing standards or relying on cheap grace may quote, Martyn Lloyd Jones here, it’s a strong quote, but it’s a strong passage. He says, holiness means being righteous. And being righteous means keeping the law. Therefore, if your so called grace, which you say you have received does not make you keep the law, you have not received grace. It is a subjective experience only. But there’s objective proof of that subjective experience, salvation is actually objective. So if you’re truly safe, you truly have received grace, you will know it, you will see it, and the fruit of a changed life and the holiness that results from it true grace delivers us from the curse of the law, but then enables us to keep the king’s law and that’s exactly what Jesus says next, when we read the last part, Matthew five, verse 20, last section, the king gives us His law keeping, and makes us law keepers. Here it is verse 24, I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees, and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. This would have been an absolutely shocking statement, and still is a shocking statement. Some of you are like, I am in trouble. I’m in big, big trouble. This would have left Jesus’s audience days like this is a punch to the gut. What do you mean my righteousness has to exceed that of the Pharisees and the teachers the law these are and Sally Lloyd Jones memorable words, the extra super holy people. So how can I be even holier than the extra super holy people? That’s not possible. And in many ways, they were extra super holy people. But another way is not so yes, they were in that they were scrupulous in keeping the letter of the law, but they also have this problem of hypocrisy, not hypocrisy, how we normally think of it hypocrisy you hear that word today, and you picture the pastor who’s railing against sexual immorality while also having an affair. That is hypocrisy. Sure, but the hypocrisy of the Pharisees is a lack of a wholeness. And that kind of key idea that we’re gonna keep seeing in the sermon on the mount everything matches in my life. The problem of the Pharisees and the teachers, the law is that their hands and their heart didn’t match their behavior. And their heart don’t line up. They did the right things, but for the wrong reasons, for selfish reasons. They were not truly Kingdom people. They quote Lloyd Jones again, Martyn Lloyd Jones, not Sally Lloyd Jones, no relation, by the way, to be holy does not just mean the avoidance of certain things, or even not thinking certain things. It means the ultimate attitude of the heart towards that holy loving God. And secondly, our attitude towards our fellow men and women. It’s an attitude of the heart. And so he goes on to say the trouble with the Pharisees is they were interested in details instead of principles, interested in in actions and not motives interested in doing instead of being we got to bring all of that together. And so we must surpass the Pharisees and the teachers law in our righteousness. That means now we can kind of understand that we’re talking about a difference in quality, not quantity. It’s a different righteousness, a greater righteousness in in kind, not degree. So it’s not like well, the Pharisees they were keeping 230 laws so we can get ourselves up to 240 because then we’ll be able to enter the kingdom of heaven no. Be quote John Stott here says Christian righteousness is greater than fair say of righteousness because it is deeper, being a righteousness of the heart. So it is a call to wholeness, purity of heart, we could use the language of the Beatitudes, which is much more challenging than ticking a few legal boxes. As we’ll see in the rest of the chapter, more challenging, more rewarding. Also, it is the rewards of the Beatitudes, but definitely more challenging. We can illustrate this even using Matthew’s Gospel, Matthew, chapter 19, a rich young ruler comes to Jesus. What must I do to gain eternal life? Jesus says, If you want to enter life, interesting, same word, right? Enter life enter the kingdom of heaven. If you want to enter life, you got to keep the commands and he starts rattling off the 10 commandments. And this rich young ruler goes, boom, nailed it. Did it kept all these since I was a boy, Matthew 1921. Jesus says this, Jesus answered, If you want to be perfect, should be up on the screen by now I want you to see this. Tom, there we go. All right, Jesus answered, If you want to be perfect, that’s that word whole or complete. We’re gonna talk about this word Allah, okay, if you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven, then come follow me. Do you want to be perfect, you gotta have a whole heart. It’s not enough to check legal boxes, you got to actually want me more than anything. And he left ejected because his heart didn’t match his hands. So in such contrast to the parable, Jesus tells him Matthew 13 of the two men who are willing to sell everything, to get the field that had the treasure and to get the Pearl of Great Price. In other words, to get Jesus to get his kingdom. I want it all. I want it all. And so you can have all of me in order that I can have all of you. That’s the idea here. It’s exactly what Jesus is saying in these tough, tough word. The law is an impossible standard for us because of our sinful nature. And so we read the lot casts us down, it humbles us. So that will fly to Christ. So that will give up everything in order to buy the field without treasures contain, will count it all loss because the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord, to borrow Paul’s words, or the passage that Clint read for us earlier, Romans 814. This is all of it. And this is this is just commentary here on this passage. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the law, the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death law that you could not keep. And that therefore condemned you for what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh weakened by our flesh. What was it powerless to do to save us to deliver us if we would have just kept it but we can’t because of our flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so He condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met. In us,
His law-keeping we receive the righteous requirement of the law is fully met in us who do not now live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, there is no condemnation; we get entrance into the kingdom entrance into life because Jesus did what the law could not. And so he fulfills the law in us. The king gives us His law, keeping the righteousness that we could not earn, and then makes us lawkeepers. Because He gives us His Spirit to dwell within us to change us from the inside out, so that we willingly and joyfully obey the rules of the house. Quoting John Stott, again, he says that he says, the law sends us to Christ to be justified. Right, the law, we read the log in, we feel our inadequacy. And so it sends us to Christ where we plead nothing but grace, the law sends us to Christ to be justified. And then Christ sends us back to the law to be sanctified. Now, we know what it looks like to live in the kingdom to be Kingdom people. That’s exactly what our new city catechism question said this morning. That’s why we did it here. Right. It’s to show us that we can’t keep the law. And so we got to go to the one who could but then it also shows us how to live the new life that we’ve experienced. And so it’s not I obey, therefore, I’m accepted. But I’m accepted. Therefore I obey. I’ve been adopted. I’m in this house. So now Yes, of course I want to keep the house rules. All this takes us back to where we began. We’re gonna keep doing this. By the way, it is no coincidence that Jesus opens this sermon by saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The law will make us feel really poor in spirits. I can’t do this. And that’s why we had to start there. The entrance to the kingdom. So our keeping of the law is now in God’s eyes perfect. And you think how is such a thing even possible? The question Bonhoeffer asked, and he answers he says, because between the disciples, and the law stands, one who has perfectly fulfilled it, one with whom we live in communion, that’s the wonder of the gospel. We can’t keep the law so we can’t enter the kingdom. But Christ did, and we can enter through him. And then he lives in us and we live in him, drawing from his life like branches, drawing life from the vine, as somebody once said, The Spirit within us, so that we can keep his law in increasing measure to enter the kingdom. We must obey the Kings law, and in Christ we have and in Christ, we will, let’s pray. Father, we want our righteousness to exceed that. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law, because we want our lives to glorify you, we want people to see our good deeds and glorify You in heaven. We know our flesh, we know that we cannot do this on our own. We cannot keep the law we will not keep the law. We cannot experience that wholeness and perfection of life to which you’ve called us apart from Christ. But you sent Christ to do what we could not have made that reminder, create in us both the poverty of spirit that keeps us always running back for grace, and also a joy in spirit, knowing that we are no longer condemned but welcomed as sons and daughters, and therefore can freely and joyfully and willingly obey your good and perfect law, to the glory of your name. Amen.

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Kingdom Witness January 21, 2024 | Brandon Cooper In this sermon, the Brandon Cooper discusses Jesus calling his disciples the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world” in Matthew 5:13-16. He explains that as salt preserves and light illuminates, Christians are called to preserve society from corruption and reveal the gospel’s truth through their lives. However, the sermon warns that believers can become diluted like salt or cover their light by not living distinctly for Christ. The overall message urges Christians to boldly live as remade children of light so that outsiders will inquire about the hope found in knowing Jesus.

Good morning want to go ahead grab your bibles you can open up to Matthew chapter five will be in verses 13 to 16. This morning and Matthew 5, 13 to 16, as you’re turning there, imagine you are at the doctor’s office, perhaps you’ve, you know, I’ve been having some pain for some time or somebody or getting an item like cortisone shot or something like that. And so the doctor has got two words for you basically, look, on the one hand, this is going to hurt. And the other hand is going to be worth it, I promise. Now, what’s your response to those two statements? I’m guessing we could fall into two different camps, right? So most are gonna hear the first statement, primarily, this is going to hurt, some of us are going to lean towards the hope of the second statement is going to get better. And so you know, you got that option, we’re gonna we’re gonna be either flinching or fearless in our response. Well, I mentioned this, because last week, this is where Jesus ended. And Jesus just said that to us, it’s gonna be hard, it’s gonna hurt, it’s gonna be worth it. He said, You’re gonna be persecuted, but great, we’ll be your reward. And so both responses flinching and fearless, are possible in our witness to the kingdom. I mean, think of what this could look like in evangelism. You know, somebody’s there before you go in jail. You can’t possibly believe this nonsense. You have to be an idiot to be a Christian and we shrink inside a little bit. I don’t want to get into this conversation. I don’t want to deal with the anger. What if I lose the argument? You know, there goes any hope of salvation, that kind of stuff. Or on the flip side, you get somebody who, you know, says, If you keep preaching the gospel, we will arrest you. We will ransack your home, we will interrogate your family and the response, there is one of fearlessness. Keep preaching. Those are real situations. Of course, that’s what’s going on in China. Even this week. It’s been an uptick in persecution. flinching or fearless. Want to bring this? Where are we in the Sermon on the Mount at this point. So we just finished the Beatitudes. Really, the introduction to the Sermon on the Mountain, this is kind of the conclusion to the Beatitudes, the conclusion to the introduction. So the Beatitudes are this description of Kingdom people. This is a life characterized by shalom, that fullness, that wholeness that Jesus brings that results from kingdom life. And it’s so interesting, of course, because it ends with the flourishing and the blessedness of the persecuted specifically. But that’s for a reason because Kingdom living is impossible in private. It’s necessarily public. Visible, it will draw attention in other words, positive and negative attention. This is why Jesus shifts to the second person we caught that at the end of the Beatitudes last week, I’m sure you know, bless it, our V persecuted this is just an abstract category, bless it, are you when people persecute you, of course, Jesus keeps that that second person idea going in our passage this morning. But you know, the second person that’s that’s the Jesus saying, like things just got real, you know that I’m talking about you, I’m talking about your life. But then Jesus invites His disciples He invites us to consider the effect will have on the world. If we are kingdom, people will see that in this short passage this morning, too tightly connected metaphors, which is why our outlines a little wonky today. But you know, it’s how our kingdom living leads to Kingdom witness the reality of it, the danger that attaches to it, and then ultimately, the purpose will pull these threads together at the end then and, and kind of get our main idea when we read the passage for us now, Matthew 513 to 16. You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how could it be made salty again, it’s no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world, a town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Now that you people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Alright, so let’s start by looking at these metaphors and drawing out the the reality behind them. So what does Jesus say first, you are the salt of the earth. This is a tough phrase for us, in part because it’s kind of entered our culture’s lexicon, but it means something else right salt of the earth is like good country people or something that’s not what Jesus is talking about here. Also can lose its intended meaning because salt serves a very different purpose today than it did back then for us. Salt is primarily a seasoning. So you’re here you’re the salt of the world and you think great, we must spy See this world up or something like that? I don’t think that’s what’s being talked about all that may be true for the ancients, salt was primarily a preservative. There’s no refrigeration back then not until quite recently, in fact, and so this was the only way to keep meat especially like I forget this because refrigeration is so normal to us. Now I just read a book about pioneers to Central for Florida, just this past week. In fact, and this is one of the things that struck me in it is they keep like, they’ve got this hunt, you know, and then they have a roast that first night and then the rest of it gets smoked and salted. And it’s basically beef jerky at that point. Salt is a preservative. And that’s how the church how Kingdom people should function in this world. We are a preservative delaying the corrupting influence of sin. We’re keeping the world from spoiling how often the church is standing athwart culture yelling stop, you know, this way lies, danger. Let’s go a different direction. You keep heading down this you’re going to destroy the the shalom, the wholeness, the peace, the fullness that God intends for you. As an obvious example, you know, the church in the past 60 years has been sharply critical of the sexual revolution. Not because we’re prudes, but because we know that God’s design is better. And what’s so interesting, of course, is that the culture is actually beginning to see this in part because we’ve been unrelenting and preaching the truth there’s more and more evidence Okay, consent is not enough of an ethic and that actually there’s much greater happiness to be found in monogamy and all the rest you are the salt of the earth. Jesus says that you are the light of the world also gives us this other picture to where like a city set on a hill that gives light to the surrounding countryside which was so important back then again, lost on us because of light pollution today, but maybe you’ve been you know, camping or something like that in the far north woods on a cloudy night. That’s what darkness looks like. You know, like you put your hand on your face, you can’t even see it kind of thing. The total darkness that results when you’re not you know, within a stone’s throw of Chicago is always light here it’s only ever gets darker. It never really gets dark. I think we missed this image as well because for US cities are are dangerous. Like this is where crime ramps up because it provides anonymity of course the big city back then cities were you’d go for safety because you weren’t all by yourself and could just be attacked by anybody but there was strength in numbers plus the lights are on and there’s no greater anonymity than total darkness of course. So you see the the light from the city makes the darkness bearable. For you know, shepherds in the countryside or something like that. It offers hope, protection, salvation even this is why Jesus speaks of light dawning right we saw this in the end of Matthew chapter four, when Jesus arrives on the scene and he kind of says the people walking in darkness, I’ve seen a great light, those living in the land of the shadow of death on them a light has dawned. Because Jesus is here that hope that salvation is coming. But it is especially interesting that Jesus calls us the light of the world. If you were here last summer, you know, we did a series on the seven I am statements in John’s gospel, and one of them is Jesus says I am the light of the world. He’s there in the in the city of Jerusalem, which of course is itself a city set on a hill. And during the festival of boots, they light these two gigantic torches, which would have given light to I mean, miles and miles and miles around. And Jesus stands in front of those two torches and says actually, I’m the light of the world. So it’s a little bit interestingly, and maybe we got kind of a Sun Moon vibe going on here, right? The moon really does offer light in the nighttime, it’s just reflected light, the light of the sun probably captures a lot of our experiences too, because you think the moon does not offer the same light all the time does it? And some of us are like yeah, I’m kind of a crescent moon would like to be moving towards a full moon a little more light in my life. Are we waxing or awakening? But Jesus doesn’t say we reflect the light. Jesus doesn’t say just that we have the light. He says we are the light of the world. Which is so interesting, but of course we are why because the Spirit of Christ is within us. So if Christ is within us, then that means there’s light in us it’s a little bit like the Christmas Eve service right? But we all get our candles lit it’s like Jesus is the flame and we all bring that flame into our own lives. We shine with him is light.
Now that’s not what Jesus’s audience here would have been thinking about. We all went to John’s Gospel and the light of the world. But Jesus actually hasn’t said this yet that comes a little bit later in his life. So why do I bring it up? Because it points us in the right direction of how the audience would have heard these statements. Because it reminds us that this is not about us, you know, you’re the salt of the earth. You’re the light of the world, we start patting ourselves on the back. I am pretty awesome. Thank you for noticing. It’s not about our awesomeness, though, but about his awesomeness. Because the images of light and salt point to who Jesus is Jesus, who is the Light, who is the preserver of this world, we see this in the connection between the two images and they are connected. These images are set in parallel Hebrew. Writers love a parallelism. And oftentimes, you say the same thing, just kind of in different words, you see the parallelism here, because it says, You are the blank of the Earth, blank of the world Earth world, pretty much synonyms, right? So we’re, we’re saying the same thing in two different ways. It’s one idea, not two. So what is the connection between these two images? We don’t want to guess by the way when you’re going, I wonder what the connection here is, don’t you know, track with your imagination, First, check the Old Testament, always see if you can find the images there. And we certainly will be able to, because this salt in particular shows up in one place over and over again, in the Old Testament. And that’s with the idea of covenants. Probably because of what salt is. Salt, preservative. And salt doesn’t lose its saltiness, it remains salt. We’ll have to come back to that in a moment, of course, but you know, it remains salt. So it gets at the everlasting Enos of the Covenant itself, the commitment that’s being made. So we read, here’s just a representative verse numbers 18, verse 19. The Lord says, it is an everlasting covenant of salt, but a weird phrase, right? It’s an everlasting covenant of salt before the Lord for both you and your offspring. So they referred to covenants as salty covenants, because they persist. And this explains also why salt was used with the offerings with the sacrifices that were made to the Lord, again, representative, Leviticus 213, do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings, add salt to all your offerings. So it’s called a covenant of salt. And we’re supposed to put salt in all of our offerings as a sign of our commitment. You see, salt, it’s part of us enacting living out the covenant of God. Okay, that’s easy. But what about light? No light is tricky, because light is a rich metaphor, and open to many interpretations and probably has a couple of things going on at once. You know, light, it stresses, purity, for example, or Revelation. Yes, absolutely. We already seen it us kind of in that way. And Matthew, forget that quote from Isaiah nine and people walking in darkness, and seen a great light, something new has come, something’s Dawn, there’s new revelation. And with Jesus’s arrival, you remember that section in Matthew four, it’s a light not just for Israel, but for all nations. So again, there’s the newness piece. Well, those ideas all come together in Isaiah 42, verse six. Now Matthew is drawing on Isaiah, throughout his gospel, showing that Jesus is the fulfillment of all these prophecies of Isaiah, the whole thought of Isaiah, but Listen to Isaiah 42, verse six, I, the Lord have called you in righteousness, I will take hold of your hand, I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles. There’s the two ideas coming together of covenant and light. And God says, I will make you a covenant for them. Now he’s speaking of the suffering servant, which we know is Jesus, the one who’s pierced for our transgressions, wounded for our iniquities that that same suffering servant, and God says, I’m gonna make you a covenant, even a light for the Gentiles. So in Jesus, the New Covenant dawns, this this new way of God relating to the world, Dawn, you pull all this together, what do we get? In saying that we’re salt and light? Jesus is saying that we are heralds of the new and lasting covenant that Jesus establishes. We’re announcing, proclaiming even embodying the hope of gospel peace. You can be reconciled with God. That’s what Jesus means when he says you are salt and light Note, Let’s not miss this. Jesus doesn’t say you should be salt and light. That’s probably how a lot of us hear this right? Try harder to be salt and light. Your witnesses knee, okay, we need a little more effort. No, Jesus says You are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world. This is a present reality. If you belong to Christ, by faith in Him and are in the kingdom, this isn’t about our performance. If we work really hard, maybe we’ll get to the point where we can be the light of the world. No, we are recreated. When we trust in Christ. What Paul says anyone is in Christ, he’s a new creation, the old is gone, the new has come. This is some of the newness. We become what we weren’t before, when we come to God, and the poverty of spirit that we talked about last week, and are remade. But we will truly be remade. This is the inevitable result of a heart that’s been shaped by the gospel of Christ, like you will change Absolutely, it’s a slower process than we would like but you will be change, you will be the sort of person who loves even your enemies. Why? Because you remember that God loved you at the cost of his son. When you were his enemy. You’d be the kind of person who is patient in trials, long suffering, why because you know the good that God can bring from suffering and even great evil. Because you remember what happened, the cross of Christ, the greatest evil the world’s ever seen, and the empty tomb that follows it. You’ll be a humble person. Because pride just wilts in a gospel atmosphere, it’s really hard to be impressed with yourself. When you remember that you were so bad. God had to send his son to do what you were supposed to do, and then die to take the punishment that you deserved. Your life will be marked by selfless service, because the king of the universe, got down on his knees and washed your feet. And you’ll do likewise for others you see in Christ. When you have faith in Christ, you are made new You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. That is a present reality. I love the way Eugene Peterson says it he says this isn’t something we live up to. But it’s something we live into. Right? It’s a true story that we live into what it looks like to be Kingdom people. If you’re in Christ, you can’t help but be salt and light. Any more than then light could stop itself from shining. But of course, that does take us to the second point, the danger with these metaphors. So let’s talk about that. Now the danger what is what does Jesus say you’re the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again, it’s no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under foot. No quick chemistry lesson here, salt can’t actually lose its saltiness. That’s not how it works. Sodium chloride does not stop being sodium chloride at any point, it’s actually a fairly stable compound. But what can happen to salt practically speaking is that it gets diluted. This was a common problem in Palestine at that time, because the sodium chloride deposits there had a lot of other minerals mixed in things like gypsum and whatnot. And salt was one of the more soluble compounds and whatnot. So good rain, the salt leeches out and you’re left with bland white powder. That’s good for nothing does not cease in your food and not going to help it, you know, stick around either. So at that point, it’s got no use whatsoever, no flavor, no preservation, so you just throw it into the street where it get trampled underfoot. Why are you throwing it in the street, by the way, that’s your garbage can. That’s why everything was organic back then you didn’t have to worry about the plastics or anything like that. So it’s just garbage. Of course, that’s what it would be for us today, too. So it’s gonna look a little different for us. But maybe something like this has happened to you before where you know, you got company coming over for dinner, everything’s all ready, they’re gonna be here any minute you look and you realize the salt shaker on your table is empty, just a little bit left in or whatnot. And so in your haste, you know, you grab the salt, you fill it up real quick, put it back on, and then as you go to put the salt away, you realize it was baking powder. What you’re going to do, you’re not going to go through and pick out the baking powder or you you’re just dumping it in the trash. That’s what Jesus is saying here. There’s nothing more useless than an unchanged Christian.
It’s good for nothing whatsoever. Then he says there’s the same idea with light. Light always shines, right? You can’t turn the darkness on in a room where the lamp is on. All you can do is turn the light off. Oh, or put something over it to cover it hide the light. And that’s what Jesus says Right? Like who would do this who would light a lamp and then put a bushel over it so that you can’t see it anymore, especially back then were fairly well to do in this part of the world. But you know, everyone back then subsistence farmers and stuff, you’re not wasting money. So you get precious oil, that you’re set on fire, you know, you got the wick and all that stuff, the lamp is burning, and then you cover it, I would say that that’s like setting your money on fire, except that if you set your money on fire, at least, then you get the light in the heat. So this is even worse than setting your money on fire. This is just a waste. It’s so foolish. No one would even be able to imagine this happening. That’s the power of the image. This is like, you know, buying designer shoes that you can’t wear, because they hurt your feet instead of protecting them. You’re gonna what’s the point of that? Why would you spend money on shoes that you can’t even wear because they hurt your food, the whole point of shoes is that they protect your feet. That’s the image. According to Jesus. That’s what we do. That level of Folly is what we do when we hide the light of our new life in Christ. Jesus is getting at the scandal of an invisible Christian. Now, how would we do that? Exactly? How would we make ourselves invisible? Christians? Are there two ways and I think both are on view here. First way, is simply to keep silent. Because we’re supposed to speak we talked about this. Last week we quoted Isaiah again, everything’s in Isaiah right now as if 52 Right when Jesus is not going up. I love it. You guys always look over there. Anytime I say a verse that was not going up. We talked about this land last week. You gotta remember how beautiful on the mountains or the feet of those who bring good news who proclaim peace, who proclaim like what do you do with good news? You don’t do good news. You say good news. We’re supposed to speak. The message we Herald brings peace, hope, preservation, salvation, all these things that we’re talking about, how could we not share it be like discovering the cure for cancer and not getting around to publishing it in a medical journal? Like what would you be doing? Or like someone you know, you’re hiking in the dark woods and they dropped their wedding ring in the darkness and you won’t turn your flashlight on? It was just cruel at that point. Especially because we’ve been remade, I think of Paul in Ephesians five verse eight. He says, For You were once darkness but now you are light in the Lord. More proof by the way, rest of New Testaments, just commentary on the sermon on the mount right? Here it is, you are light in the Lord live as children of light, shine, in other words, shine. But Paul goes on just a couple verses later to say, okay, live his children in light have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds done in darkness. And that’s really the second way that we can hide our light, which is by living unchanged lives. Which should of course make us ask them questions about ourselves and our faith. We talked a lot about that last week, right? Like there’s this chain that just happens inevitably, our humbleness and poverty of spirit should lead to holiness. Absolutely. But we can dilute the saltiness of our lives by sprinkling in godlessness, and wickedness into the mix. So that we become the sorts of people who both preserve and spoil the people we’re around simultaneously. That’s not very helpful. But imagine how this could look because the temptation is there. Man, Jesus has just told us we will be persecuted because of our holiness. Because our lives are are different from others may get made fun of for being a goody two shoes or something like that. And so there’s always that temptation to dim the light. So maybe you got a group of kids in your class who are making crass and dehumanizing jokes. And you just laugh along with them. Just laugh along with them. Why? Because you don’t want to be ostracized. You don’t want to be the weirdo who’s no fun or something like that, or Team Leader proposes a solution to some problem at work. And it’s just, it’s an unethical solution. And you know what, but But you just go along without objection, because you don’t want to be that guy. And you worry that, you know, might actually hinder your ability to get a promotion later on. Or maybe it’s got nothing to do with persecution. Maybe it’s just pleasure that’s driving this, you know, you got an attractive person making eyes at you in the hotel lobby when you’re gone on a work trip. You just let the flirtation unfold. You see what’s happening in each case. It’s hiding not heralding right, hiding our light instead of heralding the New Covenant so that the people who see you have no idea that you’re a Christian that you’re a new creation in Christ or worse. They know you’re a Christian. And now they think there’s no difference between Christians And the world. Christianity is just a set of lifeless doctrines you assent to and means you can’t play golf on Sunday mornings. Unless the weather’s nice. Jesus points us in a very different direction. Right The reality is that we are salt in light. We don’t dilute the salt or dim the light. But what there’s a there’s a purpose to us having been remade there’s an invitation. So let’s talk about that. Now the purpose she gets out especially in verse 16. In the same way, let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Since your salt be savory since your light let your light shine so that people see your good deeds light will attract people in darkness will head toward light no also persecute you for you know but we got that right that the love hate relationship the world has with Jesus but people will see the light for sure. And we’ll respond. It’s like you know ever tried to sleep in and then the sun comes in through the blinds and it’s in your You can’t help it right? Like you just see light. When there is light, you can’t avoid it. And that’s what we’re to be right. It’s the light of Kingdom living living the Beatitudes, people are going to see our humility and meekness, our mercy, our purity of heart, the peace we bring, even if we don’t know why, even if they don’t know why we’re like that people will notice. And remember, it was a short while ago, we got a text from someone we’ve been reaching out to for some time and just trying to love it well, and we’d done something the sorts of things that Christians would do to help someone in a in a rough time. And he texted back he just said, You guys are the kindest people I know. That’s, that’s the light shining, because that’s not me. Like Amy is the kind of person I know I am not kind in my flesh. That’s not how but so if there’s kindness here, like that is the Lord’s work. That’s the light shining, and you just want to go you know why? Right? You know why we’re like that? Is it, Amy? Now, we can acknowledge, by the ways we talked about this, that we are not pure in heart, we talked about what that means last week, right? pure in heart means there’s nothing mixed in. We’re pretty mixed people still and will be until glory hopefully being refined day by day. But we’re still mixing the church has a very mixed record, historically, doesn’t it? And we can own the evil, our complicity in things like slavery, or the Crusades, the sex abuse scandals that keep rocking the church, Catholic Church, even now, the Southern Baptist Church like we can own the evil but don’t miss the light. At the same time. I watched a interview recently on it was on a major news station in Sydney, Australia with John Dixon. He’s now a professor at Wheaton College, but he’s Australian. And he’d done this documentary called for the love of God, subtitle something like the the better and worse of the of the church. And so he’s kind of going through and showing all the places where the church has fallen short, but at the same time, all the things that the church has done well, and so he was owning the evil, he was talking about things like the Crusades, or the the wars between the Catholic and Protestant churches in Europe and stuff and his opponent, like the guy who was not a Christian, and kind of sees the mixed record of the church interrupted him to be like, hang on now. Like what’s give you guys some credit here. Let’s talk about some of the things that church has brought about you guys like human rights, don’t you? You know where that comes from? It only comes from Christianity, you don’t find that anywhere else in the world of Christianity hasn’t touched, he says, especially when you consider the context of the Roman empire where the idea of human rights develops. In the Roman Empire, you know, who had rights. Rich dudes, that’s it. No one else. Women aren’t people. Kids aren’t people. Certainly slaves aren’t people in that context, the whole idea that we think what we just talked about, like everybody should be treated equally that comes from Christianity.
They said, What about hospitals? Do you notice a lot of hospitals have names like Good Samaritan, Redeemer, Lutheran general, like I wonder where these are coming from? But of course, it’s not even that the whole idea of hospitals comes from, you guessed it, the church. A Roman noble woman named Fabiola who came to Christ after a really bad domestic violence situation because women aren’t people so you can just hit them in a Roman context comes to Christ gives away all her wealth to found the world’s first hospital. been doing it ever since then schools are the same idea of course, because what’s the idea is we should take care of all people, not just the people who can help us back? Let me see this with lots of organizations as well. Anyone wonder why it’s called the Red Cross? It’s not there today. I know that but we know where the founding was like the fact that a red cross on a white background makes us all think of first aid is fascinating, isn’t it? The end of slavery was the church complicit where the southern church is complicit? Absolutely. And the church also brought about the end of the slave trade under guys like William Wilberforce, the whole doctrine of or the ethic of consent, when it comes to sex and marriage. That’s the Catholic Church who finally put an end to forced marriages, and said, you know, you got to make sure the woman actually wants to get married, because she is a person. And so, you know, they recognize the worth and dignity of women and kids. And so the opponent again, this is the opponent talking still. You’re like, no, no, no, no, that was Brandon. No, that was the opponent talking still. So that was the point we got to he’s like, look, wars and bloodshed exist in every culture. They’re endemic to the human heart, as because of original sin, by the way. So wars and bloodshed if we can make sense of those, these things only exist in Christian cultures. And now culture is influenced by Christian cultures. That’s assault. That’s light. That’s Jesus’s new kingdom breaking in, and people, even opponents, noticing, and frankly, praising our Father in heaven. And that’s the hope that’s the purpose of course, they will see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Such sweet Grace there, by the way, like, let’s not blow past that point that glorify your Father in heaven. He’s not just God, He’s father, he’s adopted us, the invitation to be adopted is always there for all people. What’s going to happen is people are going to see the light in us and seek its ultimate source. Especially if we’re redirecting the gaze, you know, the guys they score the touchdown, and then they immediately go like this. And you’re like, you’re really mean like this was because of God right here. But that’s what our lives should do. Of course, like yes, that was in fact, because of God. These good deeds that you’re seeing actually love it too. Though the word there isn’t really good. It certainly means that the word that’s used there is beautiful. Like we get our word calligraphy from it, because Calligraphy is beautiful writing. So beautiful deeds, in other words, deeds that attract this is an invitation to live lives that draw others so that they use Peters language. Ask you to give the reason for the hope that you have within you. Now how is it that you’re so patient are so kind are so loving? Love the way Martyn Lloyd Jones says it he says the glory of the gospel is that when the church is absolutely different from the world, she invariably attracts it. It is then that the world is made to listen to her message, though she may hate it at first. It’s exactly the balance we have in this passage, right? Well, the answer to that question, How are you so patient? How are you so loving? How are you so kind? Like, what’s different about you? The answer to that question is also the key to us being different like that. And that’s that we stay in the light, or we abide in Christ. That’s a little bit like, maybe when you were a kid, you had the glow in the dark stars that you put above your bed. And if you leave your lights off all day, and it’s a cloudy day, you know what doesn’t happen? The stars don’t shine, so disappointing. But if they’re in the light, then they become light in the darkness. That’s what we mean by staying in. The light will be like glow in the dark stickers. Now, I know some of you are hearing all of this and you’re going Yeah, but doesn’t Jesus also say and by the way, he says it in just a little bit, chapter six verse one, like we’ll get there in this series. Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Hmm, that’s interesting. They knew it Bible’s full of contradictions. This is why I’m an agnostic. No, no contradiction at all. Because the difference is the purpose. Here Jesus is saying they’re gonna see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. That’s also a result that just it just happens automatically. Whereas there you’re doing it to be seen. It is the difference between your Father’s glory and your own glory. want people to look like the Pharisees that Jesus will describe in the next chapter go wow, he prays a lot. Oh, man, I know that guy gives a lot to charity know how I know he told me. It doesn’t have like we know the difference intuitively right between those Two hearts. The person who’s got all the humble brags, and they’re posting pictures on social media all the time at the soup kitchen, they’re doing that to be seen, versus those who just happen to be seen while they’re doing what they would have been doing. Anyway, it is a question of heart, right? That one is done in a spirit of poverty. The other is done in a spirit of performance. The one the gospel motivates and the other ego motivates us. But you will be seen, when you do these things, I’ll just give you some examples of your host family with save families, which I know a number of you are in this church, periodically, you’re going to have extra kids, like in your Facebook pictures, or when you run into people in the grocery store. And you’re not gonna be like, Oh, yes, I took him in out of the goodness of my heart. It costs me a lot of money, actually. But we’re willing to bear this burden, because you know, we’re just patting ourselves. I know, but they’re still gonna go. And who’s this little one, you’re going to be seen, or they’re gonna say, you know, you got any plans? You’re going anywhere this summer. And you’re like, Yeah, I’m going to Mexico. And I really, where are you going? We’re going to Mexico to we’re like, I’m going to Tijuana Tijuana. Why would you go to Tijuana, you should go to Cancun or something like well, we’re building a home for a family in need through Homes of Hope. And you know, this whole thing with our church, you almost embarrassed to be sharing it because you’re like, I don’t want to draw attention to myself, but this is just who I am. And this is what I do. Or it’s much smaller. And it’s just the text that you send people in you know, they’re having a bad day or the questions you ask you will be seen. But it’s a different kind of scene. I actually love the way Dietrich Bonhoeffer says it he says people are not to see the disciples, but their good works. Isn’t that a nice distinction? People are not to see the disciples, but their good works as Jesus. And these works are none other than those which the Lord Jesus Himself has created in them. By calling them to be the light of the world, under the shadow of the cross. Result is inevitable, right? People are going to look past you above you really to the one who changed you. Of course they should because what are we We’re just Harold’s announcing his new kingdom. We just finished the crown. And you know, when the Herald comes in, and he says, you know, my lords and ladies, the queen. You know what people don’t look at the Herald. They want to see the Queen, they want to see the King. This is kind of our main idea that if I can pull all these pieces together what we want to take away today, main idea is this be what you’ve become, for the sake of the kingdom, like be what you are in Christ. For the sake of the kingdom, you have a kingdom purpose, right? You are light, you used to be darkness. Now your light, live as children of light live into your new story. Like you’re a new character now, which means you got new lines and a new role to play. Live into your new stories, you invite others into the story to have unquote Martyn Lloyd Jones again, he says, you know that this is the best means of evangelism, really, the world is looking for and desperately needs true Christians. What the church needs to do is not to organize evangelistic campaigns to attract outside people, but to begin herself to live the Christian life. If she did that, men and women will be crowding into our buildings, they would say, What is the secret of this?
So what do we do as we go from here, because we certainly want to be doers, the word of not just hearers of it. We want to let our light shine, may speak to a few different groups of people. Now, first of all, to us as individuals, as individual Christians, if you are in Christ, you have been remade for a kingdom purpose, to be a kingdom witness. So be what you are be Harold’s announcing the good news announcing the kingdom. This is why we have such a focus on our on our oil costs list here, if you’re newer to Cityview, maybe haven’t heard that word before. Oil costs is not a yogurt. It’s a Greek word that kind of gets at your sphere of influence. No point is God has placed us in a sphere of influence to reach the people around us. So we open our eyes we identified and we noticed them right? And then we intercede for them, we pray for them, and then we invest in their lives. And ultimately we invite them to spend time with us to come to church, especially to invite them into the kingdom of God. Here’s the thing, though, your good works should be the atmosphere in which you preach the gospel. That’s what this passage is saying. No one should be surprised when they hear you proclaim the gospel. They should go Oh, yeah, that makes sense. That makes sense of everything that I’ve seen that makes sense of your life. That’s the individual second though, what’s speak to us as a group here as the church. That’s the idea of the city on a hill right? Because what’s a city it’s a whole bunch of lights. Brought together and it shines much brighter as result for what are we known as Cityview? What do we want to be known for? Right doctrine? Yes, absolutely no doubt about it. Our political views? Probably not probably confused about what kingdom we’re proclaiming here. We would want to be known for preaching a regressive morality No, certainly not, wouldn’t want that. We want to be known for the abundance of our good works. That leads people to ask questions about who we are, and maybe learn about the doctrine we proclaim. That is we want to preach and live the gospel corporately, to know and show the beauty of the gospel. That’s what Jesus is teaching us to do here. In all the ways that Kyle talked about in his Welcome this morning, you know, this is this is clothes closet, right? This is the this is the cap debt Center, where it’s like we’re doing something we’re helping people out of debt. We’re also proclaiming the gospel as we do. In fact, if you talk to the cap people, they’ll be like, we’re evangelists who just happen to do world class debt counseling, like that’s what we want to be exactly say families, even caring network. You know, they’ll talk all the time about the fact that trying to save two lives, the life of the unborn baby with the life of the mom as well, that doesn’t really fit in our culture. God calls your wants you to choose between the two and the church goes, no, absolutely not. Absolutely not. That’s a good deal. That’s our letting our light shine. Another group parents are just very briefly here. Of course, you want to be salt and light for your kids. That’s a really important. If they don’t see it lived in your life, they will almost certainly reject it. We will have no meaning to them. They’ll have no power. So we teach Jesus we also show them Jesus. There’s one other thing I want to say too, because I hear it from parents a lot where we send our kids out into the world and are like you go be salt and light. That only works if they’re Christians. Sometimes we do this with our elementary students. This is not a comment on schooling, by the way, don’t get like we know we homeschool. It’s I’m not getting into that right now. Okay. But you know, like sentiment, the public school system was a second grader be like be salt and light, like, do know that they know Christ. And even then, are they mature enough in Christ to be salt and light in a hostile environment? Not necessarily, right? So we got to tweak how we approach this in some ways. You’re the light, you’re the salt to them, to their friends, and then by all means to their friends, families and stuff. So we’ll just be careful as parents and then finally, last group, just a word to those who are here today about questioning Christianity, like you are not at all sold on all this. First of all, we’re so glad you were here. But here’s my word to you. Look at our lives. Watch us. Every Christian in here just squirmed a little bit like are you sure about that? Maybe watch his life instead? No, watch us. We are not perfect. Not by any means. We are still living mixed lives. It’s true. But are we different? But are we different? And if so what makes us different? I hope you see in us the sacrificial love the generosity, the humility and you go why what would make them like that? And then you’re gonna do like to borrow CS Lewis’s image, just follow the Sunbeam up to the sun. Right? Don’t be looking at us. But look at the sun Christian, you are salt in light, not because of what you’ve done, but because of what he did and how he remade you. So be what you are, be what you become for the sake of the kingdom. Announce and embody kingdom life. Not flinching but fearless. Because it might hurt was gonna be worth it. Let’s pray.

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The Way Prepares January 1, 2024 | Brandon Cooper Jesus prepares the way for a new kingdom by being the new man who overcomes temptation. He calls disciples to follow him and teaches with authority, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing many. His ministry fulfills prophecy and shows what life in the kingdom will be like, calling us to repent and follow him in living out the new message, values and power of the kingdom.

Good morning church, just a word of warning before we get going I’m have a fair bit shy of full strength today. So I will do my best. But if I collapse on stage or something sorry about that. So we’re back. Go ahead grab your Bibles open up the Matthew chapter four, as we’ll wrap up our short series here, Kingdom Come, in preparation for our longer series on the Sermon on the Mount. So as you’re turning there to Matthew four, no doubt some of you perhaps all of you made some new year’s resolutions recently. And of course, there are a lot of jokes that attend to New Year’s resolutions, you know, the gyms are very full this week. And by February, they’re empty again, you know, all that kind of stuff. Because what are New Year’s resolutions, in a lot of ways they are this, this hope that we will become a new person without really changing anything, nothing fundamental about us, at least is so you know, we’re all of a sudden, for the first time in 20 years going to start exercising regularly, even though there’s been no change in our discipline habits, or something like that. That’s just normally how it goes. So we need a fundamental change first, and then that, you know, the practical outworking things come from that. So somebody might actually start exercising regularly for the first time in 20 years, if they’ve had a health scare, for example. And they just realize they need to make some changes at this point. I bring this up, because that’s how it is with the kingdom of God as well, the new kingdom that Jesus is bringing, we all want things to be different than they are now. Like, we understand that the world is not as it should be, but how is it going to change? Exactly. And I think we’re, we’re assuming we can just make a couple of tweaks here and then the you know, the new kingdom will come like, you know, what, if we got to a second David on the throne of Israel, that was the expectation in Jesus’s time at least to get somebody like David, and then we’ll be will be what? We’ll right back where we started, honestly, like, you know, think about who David was great military King. Yeah, adulterer. Uh huh, murderer, yet prone to idolatry. Absolutely. That whole sense of thing, also a terrible father, which is why the kingdom collapsed within a generation or two, we’re going to need something better if we’re going to prepare for what’s coming. So that change will actually stick. And so that’s kind of our main idea for this morning. It’s that the way, Jesus the way prepares the way for this new kingdom to dawn, the way prepares the way for this new kingdom to dawn. And so we’re gonna look at the question what is needed for this new kingdom to come, we’ll see kind of three necessities that we’ll look at. Now, you’ll notice that this main idea, there’s no real takeaway for you in that, and that’s bad. This is the sign of a bad main idea. I’ll get dinged on this in my sermon evaluation tomorrow. I know. But it’s because I want us to see what’s new with Jesus first, and then we can discern our response. And so I’ll close with kind of a modified main idea that will give you your takeaway, but for now, what exactly is needed for this new kingdom to dawn? First of all, we need a new man and that’s from verses one to 11. So a new man, let me read Matthew chapter four, verses one to 11. For us. When Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, after fasting, 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry, the tempter came to him and said, If you are the Son of God, tell the stones to become bread. Jesus answered, It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. The devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. If you are the Son of God, he said, throw yourself down for it is written, He will command as angels concerning you, they will lift you up in their hands, that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Jesus answered him, it is also written, do not put the Lord your God to the test. Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. All this I will give you He said, If you will bow down and worship me. Jesus said to him away from me, Satan, for it is written, Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only, no double left him, and angels came and attended him. You notice this starts with the word then says immediately following Jesus’s baptism, and it’s it’s closely linked to that story that Kyle walked us through last week. It’s linked by the presence of the Spirit. Of course, the Spirit descends on Jesus at His baptism, and also the repetition of that phrase, Son of God, Satan keeps saying, if you’re the Son of God, the Son of God, the Son of God, well, that’s what we just heard at the end of the last chapter when God the Father speaks from heaven and says, This is my son. So it’s almost like Satan was there at the river and he you know, he’s talking Jesus gonna hurt your dad. said and let’s, let’s test these claims here. So immediately after the baptism, Jesus is led into the wilderness, which is often a place of testing in Scripture. He’s led by the Spirit. And then he’s tested or tempted by the devil. So that’s two passive constructions in a row, if you’re, if you, you know, like grammar and all of that, which kind of shows Jesus’s submission, especially to the Father’s will. So he’s not going his own way, he is allowing himself to be led here. But I think that second passive is really key to right. The Spirit leads Jesus, he’s led by the Spirit into the wilderness, but the spirit is not the one doing the tempting. And that’s key God ordains the testing, but he doesn’t inflict it. God doesn’t tempt us, James tells us. So that’s a subtle distinction, but really important that God allows or permits this to happen. But at the same time, you don’t make no mistake, God will lead us into testing. And that’s a clear takeaway from this passage. You can see it throughout the Bible even see it in Jesus’s life. A good illustration of this is the number of times it happens at least twice, where Jesus commands His disciples to get in a boat and go across the Sea of Galilee. And then they’re caught in a tremendous storm and almost killed. They’re there in the storm, not because of disobedience, but because they obeyed Jesus’s command. So Jesus will lead us into storms into tests and trials. Why? Good question, when he probably asked when you’re in the middle of a storm, that’s because that’s where we grow. Of course, it’s similar to our physical strengthening, you know, if you want to get stronger, you got to actually work out your muscles, you need to strain them, you need to put them to the test, you know, you’re not going to get stronger, sitting on a couch, reading a book about exercise, you may learn what you need to do, but you’re still gonna have to get off the couch. Kind of similar to us spiritually, right. Like there is tremendous value in sitting in a cozy armchair, meditating on the Word of God. But at a certain point, we have to get out of the armchair and strain ourselves spiritually to put what we’ve learned to the test. I don’t think that’s the main point of what’s happening here, though. So what exactly is happening? Like Moses, Jesus fast for 40 days and 40 Nights, Moses does this on the top of Mount Sinai. It’s part of the story that’s recounted for us in Deuteronomy, which is the book Jesus keeps quoting. So he fasted for 40 days and 40 Nights. By the end of that, of course, he is weak and hungry, as you would expect. This is a really tough time to resist temptation, which Satan knows. Now I can share something about this personally, I feel very weak right now. I don’t feel well, I haven’t for about the last four days. It has been very easy for Satan to tempt me in this time, you can ask my wife and children if I’ve snapped at them more than usual recently, and the answer is, yeah, absolutely. It’s much harder to resist when we don’t feel well. And that’s what Satan’s waiting for. Here. He waits until Jesus is hungry. He’s always looking for an opportune time to strike. And not only that he then temps in this area, you’re hungry, aren’t you? You could fix that you could turn stones into bread. Some of you are probably wondering, what’s the big deal here anyway? Is it sinful to eat? Of course not. What’s let’s dig in a little bit. Notice that Jesus that the Satan assumes Jesus really is God’s son. He’s using what’s known as a first class conditional if you really want your grammar lesson for the day, which means you’re assuming the truth of the condition, we could almost translate it as since you are God’s Son. Of course, Satan knows that Jesus is God’s Son, since you are God’s Son. That’s really where the temptation is coming in. It’s the temptation to use the perks of sonship for himself. It would be similar to a friend of some member of a royal family going Look, why don’t we really open her up? Okay, you can hit 200 in this car on the highway, no problem.
What are they gonna do? arrest you, you own the police? It’s that same kind of temptation, right? You’re the king. So you can do whatever you want the way Don Carson puts it as he’s being tempted to use his sonship in ways that are inconsistent with his God ordained mission. So to be the son but not actually live like what the son is supposed to be. He is a hungry because at that moment, God willed for him that he be hungry, that he fast in the wilderness. And so the question is, will he use his power for his own ends to remove this pain from his life? And that’s why he quotes Deuteronomy. The issue isn’t bread, right? You can’t live on bread alone. but on every word that God speaks, that’s the issue. It’s God’s revealed will will he do what God has said for him to do? So Jesus says, later in John, chapter four, verse 34, My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, that’s what he’s saying to Satan here, as well. So Satan tries again, takes him to the pinnacle of the temple, throw yourself off, the angels are going to catch you. I mean, you do believe God’s faithful to His promises, don’t you? That’s the question. And especially because he is the Son of God. So if he were to fall off the highest point of the temple, there goes, you know, the whole plan of redemption, can’t die without fulfilling his mission. Now, of course, God is faithful to His promises. That doesn’t mean we should put ourselves in circumstances where miraculous deliverance is required. That would be to make God Your servant, you got to catch me now, right? That’s what you’re there for. That’s the temptation that Jesus faces here and why he says, You’re not supposed to test the Lord your God. Of course, we often do this, we actually often do this with temptation. In particular, here’s the promise of God, that is a precious promise of God. First Corinthians 10, verse 13, God is faithful, He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it to Okay, I can’t be tempted beyond what I can bear. So that means I could watch all of these ads or scroll through them without coveting, right? Or I could walk into a bar as a semi recovered alcoholic and not drink. Or I could hang out with my significant other late at night in a dark room with no one else around. And there’s no dangerous sexual immorality, because God’s got to give me a way out, right? No, God gave you the way out. Long time before that, now you’re just putting him to the test. And that’s not how this works. Right? Believing God is faithful means you don’t need to test him to see if he’ll keep his word. That’s actually the sign of a weak relationship. Right? If you’ve got a woman who’s always saying to her boyfriend, well, if you really loved me, you know, you wouldn’t go out with your friends tonight. That’s not a strong relationship. Or that’s a weak relationship. We can do better than that with God, because we know He loves us. So then Satan’s got one last attempt. And this one really strikes at the heart of the matter, takes him to a high peak shows Him the kingdoms of the world. And to quote the Grey Havens, he basically says that your bended knee, you will have everything you see, you can have all of this. It’s, of course, it’s going to be Jesus’s ultimately, anyway, I mean, His is the kingdom, right? But at what cost? Because to get it all now would mean that he wasn’t going to deal with the sin issue, which is the whole reason key came, or it is not just to receive the kingdom, but to renew the kingdom. And so his purpose is there. In fact, it’s in the passages that were quoted at His baptism, Kyle walked it through it last week, where yes, he is the royal messiah of Psalm two, he is that king who gets all the kingdoms and all the glory, but he’s also the suffering servant of Isaias prophecy. And he’s got to be the one in order to be the other in the way he came to be. So the temptation here is for Jesus to get the glory without the cross to skip the hard part. Again, a temptation we face as well. America’s one great contribution to theology is the prosperity gospel, which is a heresy of course, what is the prosperity gospel? It’s the glory without the cross. So it’s the same temptation, right? We gotta be aware of this. But this is the main temptation that Jesus faces throughout his life. It’s what he’s praying through in get somebody if it’s possible, take this cup from me, right? That’s him battling with the temptation, even as he’s on the cross. We looked at this in Matthew 27. People are saying, you know, if you’re really the deliverer, why don’t you deliver yourself? Yes, that’s what he’s being tempted to do. Again. It’s also why Jesus gets so upset with Peter and Matthew 16. When Peter, you know, Jesus says, Yes, I am the Christ, the Son of God. That’s right, Peter, good job. And here’s what’s gonna happen. The Son of Man is gonna be delivered. He’s gonna be tortured. He’s going to be killed. And Peter says, we don’t talk like that. that, like that’s not right, we can skip all that. And Jesus goes, I’ve heard that before. I’ve heard that before, Get behind Me, Satan. Because this is Satan’s temptation right here. The good news is the king said, No, the only reason we can be saved is because he said no to this temptation, he went through the cross on his way to glory, the way we’ll prepare the way has prepared the way for us to come into His kingdom. So those are the three temptations but let’s take a step back and look at it all together. Notice this is not the first time we’ve seen this story. Three times Jesus quotes Deuteronomy, in response to Satan. We keeps quoting Deuteronomy, because that is the record of Israel’s unfaithfulness, Israel, by the way, which is often referred to as God’s son in the Old Testament. So there’s God’s son, who is repeatedly unfaithful, succumbs to these exact temptations in the wilderness, as they’re wandering about for 40 years, but where Israel failed, rejecting God’s word, testing, God falling into idolatry, Jesus succeeded. That’s why we have the HOPE of salvation. But it’s another story too. So this is actually the third time we’ve seen this story. Because that same shirt serpent shows up, not in a wilderness, but in a garden. Which is kind of interesting, too, because Adam was not hungry. He had all the food he needed. And actually, he’d just been given all the kingdoms of Earth, right? Isn’t that what God said to Adam, fill the earth subdue it, it’s yours. And still, the first Adam was seduced. So it wasn’t that he wanted the glory without the cross. He just wanted the glory without the gratitude. He wanted the garden without God, but not the second, Adam. And that’s what I mean. By the way, when I say we need a new man, the word Adam just means, man, we need a new Adam, a second Adam, a new man, and he has come. And he was tempted beyond what we’ve ever been tempted. And yet he did not fall, sympathetic high priests test in every way, just as we are yet he did not sin. In fact, he’s been tempted beyond what we’ve ever been tempted, because we always succumb. We have never resisted to the end the way Jesus has. So this is important. And that means that these 11 verses this is not a not just let me say a moralistic story about how to resist temptation. That might be how you’ve been taught this before. Like the whole key here is that when you’re tempted, you need to have memorized enough Scripture so that you can quote it to resist temptation. Yes, sure, by all means, I’m for that very pro scripture memory. Yes, we use the word of God to defend ourselves against Satan’s attacks. The sword of the Spirit is the word of God. After all, we want to know God’s promises, know them well, so that we can apply them in the right ways. Yes. But that’s not primarily what this is about. Primarily, this is a new chapter in the story of redemption, because that last one has overcome temptation, and defeated the devil. The way that second Adam from above the way prepares the way for a new kingdom to dawn. Because He was sinless, tempted, yet did not sin, so that he could then be that sacrificial lamb without blemish on our behalf. The kingdom of the cross is the kingdom, the resurrection, the kingdom of glory, that he’s preparing for us because he forged that path. Was Hebrews tell us, right? He’s the pioneer and perfecter of our faith pioneer. He’s the one who blazed the trail because he forged that path we can follow in his footsteps and resist to if he didn’t do that, we’re going to walk in the first Adam’s path and Israel’s footsteps. And what does that look like? That’s like getting a gym membership without any change in your desire or discipline, but a new man has come second thing we need if we’re gonna have a new kingdom is we need a new message as well.
So let’s keep reading Matthew chapter four, verses 12 to 17. When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee, leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun, and Naphtali. To fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah, land of Zebulun, and land of Naphtali, the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people living in darkness have seen a great light on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. From that time on Jesus began to preach Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near. So John, at this point has sadly been taken off stage, he’s been arrested by Herod to be put to death. In a short while. To borrow Kyle’s analogy from last week, the opening act, they finish they’re set at this point. And so it’s time for the headliner, to take the spotlight fully. Except and this is where the analogy breaks, it breaks down. It involves a change of venue as well. So what happens here, Jesus moves from Nazareth, where he grew up to Galilee, which is a region and specifically in Capernaum. Town, they’re in Galilee. Now. You might not all have your Bible maps memorized. So let’s talk about this a little bit. If this is Jerusalem, Nazareth is northwest of Jerusalem. So I’m going to give you really imprecise American analogies here. Okay, Jerusalem, that’s like DC, right? The Capitol, all that. So this is like moving to Heartland USA. So I’m picturing like, middle of Pennsylvania, between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg kind of place where you can’t tell people where you’re from, you can only tell people where you’re by, you know, because they don’t know any of the names of any of the places. So that’s Nazareth, middle of nowhere, Heartland Israel, what not? Well, all of a sudden, now he’s moving straight north of Jerusalem. And in our analogy here, this is gonna be like moving to Buffalo. Now, why buffalo? Because if you go to Buffalo, you’re gonna meet a lot of Canadians. Not saying it’s a bad thing, by the way, okay, don’t get me wrong. Because you know, buffalo, it’s right there, right, just a bridge. That’s all it takes. And so if you’re in Buffalo, you know, you might live in Buffalo and work in Canada and have friends who live in Canada and work in Buffalo. And that’s where Jesus is now. Because where he is in Capernaum. It’s one of those like, if you lean the wrong direction, you’re in Gentile territory, in the Decapolis, that the region of the 10 cities, so there are a lot of Gentiles around. And the description that Matthew gives us of where Jesus has gone prepares us for how important that is when he says, you know, if he lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake or by the sea, and the area of Zebby, going to Naphtali. That’s a lot of information. That’s all just to prepare us for this quote that we get. Jesus did this in order to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter nine verses one and two lands nebulin land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, right, that’s the Sea of Galilee, beyond the Jordan and Galilee of the Gentiles. Now, Isaiah nine is a familiar passage to a lot of us, especially just after the Advent and Christmas ended yesterday, right with epiphany, we’re just now out of the Christmas season, 12 days of Christmas and all of that. So we can still talk about Isaiah nine, verse six, I’m gonna say it too. You’re gonna hear Handel’s Messiah in the background as you go right? For unto us. A son is born, For unto us a child is given. And he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. But it goes on to talk about what this child is going to do. He’s going to rain on David’s throne. And his reign will be characterized by righteousness and justice and of the increase of His government and the peace that results there will be no end. You see, the point, Jesus here is not fulfilling geography. He’s fulfilling a messianic prophecy. Jesus by moving to Capernaum is doing what he came to do, to bring in this new kingdom that is coming, but that requires that he be in Galilee, of the Gentiles. Why? Because Jesus came for all people, not just the lost sheep of Israel, but for all of us. In fact, how does Matthew’s Gospel conclude, go and make disciples of all nations? Word for nations is the same as the word for Gentiles. It’s where we get our word ethnic from. It just means you know them basically. This is the passage that Ali read for us earlier. Right, Simeon? I mean, as he meets the baby Jesus, even he sees this is what’s coming. This is what this is all about. My eyes have seen your salvation which you were prepared in the sight of all nations, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people, Israel. Now, what does Isaiah say about Galilee of the Gentiles? This is interesting to the second part of the quote, the people living in darkness have seen a great light on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. So let’s not miss the point in the obscure geography. The point here is that the light dawns, where it’s darkest. Capernaum is about as far away from Jerusalem as You can get and still be in Israel. So the light is dawning away from the temple, away from the priests away from the whole cultic system. And It’s dawning, in fact, kind of among the nations because there’s a whole bunch of Canadians, they’re Gentiles. What that means is that this can’t possibly be earned or deserved. Right? If it had dawned in Jerusalem, people would go, of course, of course, we’re the ones doing what we should be doing here. Yes, this makes sense. But because it’s over there, and the darkness by the Gentiles now we know it’s all about grace. It is the people who deserve it. least the people who wouldn’t even know it, when it came, they are the ones who see the light first. And so then we have to read verse 17. And Jesus’s preaching in this light, because I said what’s needed for a new kingdom is a new message. And some of you are going objection. He says the exact same thing as John, this isn’t a new message. This is examine word for word, what John said last week, in Matthew chapter three, Objection overruled, because Jesus says it in a whole new context. If I can put it in kind of simplistic terms, John says this in an Old Testament context. repent, the kingdom of heaven has come near and who comes to him to repent, people from Judea, and Jerusalem, Jews, in other words, so what’s happening with John is you have Jews recommitting to the law. I have not kept the law perfectly. I own it, acknowledge it, I need to be washed, I need to start over. But when Jesus says that Jesus says it in light of Isaiah nine, it is for the Gentiles to Jesus’s message is for those who can’t earn it. recommitment is not going to be enough people who don’t deserve it. It’s going to be all of grace. So when Jesus says repent, doesn’t involve a turning from sin and attorney from law breaking? Yes, absolutely. But fundamentally it is is a turning from godlessness in the sense of I can do this on my own. It’s a turning from performance, and false righteousness. You want to enter the new kingdom that Jesus is bringing repentance is key. But as the repentance in the words of the famous him nothing in my hand, I bring simply to the Cross I cling. That’s it. That’s all I have to offer here. And of course, we’re still living in this context, called a New Testament context. If we want Jesus’s words are for us still today, repent and receive grace. Instead of trying to earn this by works. And by the way, that’s for all of us whether you’re come from a religious background where the temptation is to earn this by doing good, or in your religious background, more of like a secular background, where the temptation is to earn this by doing your own thing, forging your own identity, repentance looks the same in both cases. I couldn’t do it couldn’t possibly can’t say myself. I need you Jesus, the way he prepares the way for a new kingdom to dawn and the key there is that he is in fact the way we enter through him. You were here last summer you remember Jake preaching how Jesus is the door right? The red door. You guys remember that? Some of you exactly. That’s what we’re talking about here as well. We enter through him not through our effort. Third thing we need for new kingdoms dawn that is a new method. So let’s keep reading chapter four verses 18 to 25. As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They’re casting a net into the lake for they were fishermen. Come follow me, Jesus said and I will send you out to fish for people at once they left their nets and followed him going on. From there. He saw two other brothers James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing the nuts. Jesus called them in immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness among the people. news about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon possessed those having seizures and the paralyzed and he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and the region across the Jordan followed him. Alright, so there’s a slight danger with Evan Gela calls. And that is that we spend so much time asking and answering the question Why did Jesus die that sometimes we forget to ask the question, How did Jesus live? There’s plenty to learn from what he did. It’s like he didn’t just come to say enough controversial things that he’d get himself executed to make atonement for our sins. No, he came to inaugurate this new kingdom that is coming with him. And that’s why passages like this, which kind of summarize Jesus’s everyday ministry are so helpful for us, they give us the flavor of the kingdom that he’s bringing. So Jesus begins by calling some disciples, two sets of brothers, Andrew, and Peter, and then James, and John. Now, these are brothers with whom he’s had prior contact, just so we’re clear, this is not the first time he meets them, you can read about, especially in John’s gospel, which starts a little bit farther back in terms of Jesus’s public ministry, so they’ve had prior contact with them. In fact, Luke’s gospel records a story that happens right before this moment, when Peter comes back from fishing, they all come back from fishing and they’ve caught nothing. And Jesus, by the way, who’s just an MDiv right? So he’s got nothing to do with fishing says you should try fishing right there right now. And Peter goes, That’s dumb. Okay, that’s dumb. I’m sorry, man. Like you may be smart when it comes to Old Testament theology. But I know how to fish and that’s the wrong place at the wrong time. But whatever, I’ll do it boom, miraculous catch all that stuff. Peter falls on his knees, Lord Depart from me, I’m a sinful man, right? So they know something of Jesus that explains the immediate response. Because I know some of you you feel guilty. As soon as you read this passage, we’re like, Man, I did not do that when Jesus came knocking on my door. Okay, it took Peter a little while to write but but still, the fact that they’ve already met him, doesn’t change just how impressive their willingness to follow Him is. This is a picture of true discipleship, which is really what we’re gonna unpack in this next series on the Sermon on the Mount. This is a radical reorientation, their lives are forever changed after this moment. Now, it isn’t absolute, what they just do. You can see them all fishing again, later on. Even after Jesus’s resurrection. They’re out fishing again. So it’s not a question of okay, that’s it. I’ve never touched a fishing ever again. But it’s a question of priorities. For these men now hear on out, Jesus is first, and they will leave whatever they need to in order to follow him. That’s the key. Now for us, it’s unlikely to be nuts, though some of us love to fish maybe more than we should. But the real question here is what vies for first place in your heart? The question is, what is it that you would be unwilling to give up if Jesus asked you to? When you become a Christian, Will Jesus make you change careers? No, probably not. Maybe, but probably not. We did a whole series on vocation and how important that is, and everything. But if Jesus asked you to change careers, what would you say? Is Jesus gonna have you leave certain relationships, friendships, dating, relationships, something like that, when you begin to follow him? Maybe? Is there any relationship where you would go? But if it’s that one, then no, I won’t follow you. Or it’s this hobby, or it’s this, whatever. As soon as there’s a moment where you go, I won’t leave this Jesus is second in your heart. That’s what’s being talked about here. So kind of drawing on the language of that last section in Jesus’s preaching, how do you know that you’ve truly repented? It’s that question. Right? Have you made this radical break with your past or not? Are your hands opening, I will drop whatever you need me to drop in order to follow you. As the two sets of brothers respond in this story. So must we. But the good news is that as they do this, they’re given new purpose in Christ, they are given a mission. And Jesus draws on their past experience, you know, their career of fishing to explain it. You’ve been fishing for fish? Well, I’m gonna send you out now to be fishers of people instead. And most of us don’t have this as a career. So I’ll give it to you in a generic form. Instead, what does that new mission, that new purpose that we’re given what we’re made to magnify, and send to serve, and that’s the new purpose. We’re made to magnify Christ so that he is that first in our hearts. And then we’re sent to serve others by helping them to magnify Christ, so that he’s first in their hearts as well. But I love this. This is so encouraging. These are some of the most encouraging words in the Gospel. When Jesus says, This is verse 19. Read it literally it says, Come follow me, Jesus said and I will make make you fishers of people. The word that you’re there, I will make you. And I love that we are being remade, renewed. Because so often what it feels like is Jesus says, You need to go do this. And now you’re on your own. No, Jesus gives us what we need to do what he’s called us to do. He makes us into what we need to be in order to follow Him. It is if we can use our our analogy that we keep going back to Jesus buys us the gym membership, sure. But he also gives us new desires, new habits, a new discipline, all the sorts of things by the way that we’ll see next week in the Beatitudes. Well, what do these men see then as they follow Jesus, again, we get this summary of his ministry at the outset, which kind of makes sense of all the episodes we’ll see, as you know, you keep reading in Matthew’s Gospel, okay, this healing makes sense, because that’s just kind of what he did. There are three main elements that Matthew lists for what Jesus’s everyday ministry looked like he was teaching, first of all, teaching. And there we mean, in the synagogues, especially, it’s even what’s mentioned. And so teaching in their synagogues, in other words, he’s unpacking the meaning of Torah, unpacking the meaning of what we would call the Old Testament, which is exactly what we’re going to see in chapters five to seven in the Sermon on the Mount, this is just an extended treatment of the law. So he’s teaching, then he’s also proclaiming, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, what we would call the gospel, the kingdom has come near salvation is dawning in Christ. And then he’s healing. And he’s healing every disease, every kind of sickness. In fact, we get this long list to show the extent of his healing, like all these different things are what about people with severe pain? Yes. Okay. How about the demon possessed Aha, you know, just on down the line. And he even says that they all these different regions brought all the sick, and Jesus was he healing them all. So we get tremendous healing ministry. Now, all of these are closely connected. And these aren’t really three separate activities. But it’s really just all of a piece. Because Jesus shows from the Old Testament, what he proclaims what we would again, called almost the New Testament ministry, and then inax lives out. So this is all about the in breaking of his sovereign reign in the world. He’s saying what was prophesied is now happening. And here’s what it looks like.
And that’s why healing is central to his ministry, not peripheral, because these miracles attest to the king’s presence. And to that future kingdom, the miracles that he’s doing here, they’re like a trailer for a new movie. Like you’re coming soon. So like, this is what it’s going to look like, when the kingdom is consummated. There’ll be no more sickness or death or mourning or pain. Because remember, all sickness and death ultimately result from sin? Not necessarily directly, sometimes, yes, you can be wildly sexually immoral and end up with an STD Okay, one to one connection, right? Between sin and sickness. But other times, you know, you get those stories where like, like, this was the best guy I knew, how did he get cancer, like I don’t see a one to one connection. But it all relates to the brokenness of the world that we brought in by our sin. So in healing, Jesus is dealing with the brokenness of the world at its deepest point, right, he’s going to deal with the sin issue, which then takes care of the sickness issue. If he doesn’t deal with sin and conquered, ultimately, we end up in the same place again, right? If Jesus allows any sin into the New Kingdom, into glory into what we might call heaven, well, we’re going to be right back where we are now all the wickedness, all the evil, all the injustice, yes, but all the sickness and pain and dying too. But I can keep going my analogy and really imprecise at this point. You know, this would be like taking the shortcut, you know, just to heal everybody kind of thing. That’s like, instead of losing the weight the hard way, getting plastic surgery, liposuction. If you don’t change your habits, guess what happens? All the weight comes right back. And that’s what Jesus isn’t willing to do is you can actually change us so that we are really healed. We don’t just look like we’re healed at this point. All of this then his ministry is related to the calling of his disciples, including us, because these men that he’s called, truly follow Jesus. They want walk in His footsteps, doing what he did. A disciple is in many ways an apprentice, and they’re apprenticing with Jesus at this point. What did the disciples do as you keep reading in the Gospels and the book of Acts, they teach in the synagogue showing the Old Testament, that Jesus is the Promised Deliverer, they proclaim the good news of the kingdom, and they even heal quite a few diseases. And guys, like Peter and Paul, where they bring all the six same sort of thing, and they’re doing it ultimately among the nations. Jesus sends out the 70, to the nations of that point. And of course, the book of Acts is all about the church reaching the nations. So this call is a call to follow, right not to go it alone. And that’s what I mean by a new method. A new method is that it’s no longer about following a list of rules, but about following a person. Not trying to forge our own way, but following in the footsteps of our Master. And why would we do that? Why would we follow three reasons that we see right here? Why the brothers would do this, why we would we see the truth of the new message is really short here. But Mira, see, the crowds are gonna be awestruck at the end of chapter seven, when he’s done with a sermon on the mountain. Absolutely. We should be awestruck by the truth of this teaching. Second, they saw the the value the the worth of the new method, that we get to participate in it, first of all, right that we are God’s method. We’re not passive spectators in redemption, but active participants in it. But we’re being sent out as people, for people to rescue people, that seems worthwhile. And then third, it’s the power of the new man, the miracles that he does, and of course, especially the resurrection, the way prepares the way for a new kingdom to dawn. Jesus does what we could not. And then he calls us to do what he does. And he overcame temptation, where we succumb where Adam succumbed. But now in Christ, we have that same spirit to resist temptation. His light dawns far from anyone who deserves it, which is, of course, no one says grace not works. So that means we can repent and trust in His finished work. Instead of frenetically trying to accomplish it on our own. He blazes, a new trail embodies the teaching values and power of this new kingdom. And we don’t then forge a different trail, but follow in his. But we really do follow. Right. I mean, that’s the point. He invites us to enter his kingdom. And then to serve in it, to go fishing for people to teach and preach and heal. And so there’s our modified main idea I promised you it was coming. Here it is. So we’re the way prepares the way for new kingdom New Dawn, but but here it is updated now with our takeaway, the way he prepares the way for us to follow, to live in and for the kingdom, the way prepares the way for us to follow to live in and for the kingdom, and really to live in and for the king. So with that in mind, let’s just ask ourselves a few questions as we close, kind of from the three segments here. First, are you fighting temptation in your own strength? Like Adam? Or are you leaning on the second Adam? Who can change your heart so that you can resist? Man, I guess a follow up there is do you need to dig into Scripture to learn not just you know, these fighter verses that help you with temptation, but the story of God’s promise unfolding and our redemption? Second question, and the second section, do you have a Jerusalem spirit? By which I mean, are you assuming that light will dawn on you because you’re so good? So of course you’ve earned this or are you aware of the direct darkness surrounding but also in you, so that you are repenting? And trusting in Jesus and Jesus alone? A third question from that last section, do you still have nuts that you were supposed to leave behind? Is there some area where you’re clinging to your former life? You’re kind of straddling two worlds at this point? Or are you following Jesus truly living out the message and values and power of the New Kingdom, the way it prepares the way for us to follow to live in and for his new kingdom. So let’s follow let’s pray now. Jesus, we are so grateful that you came as the pioneer and perfecter of our faith to blaze this new trail. You don’t send us off on our own to try and figure it out on our own but you have given us a path to follow. You have given us a way to walk in, you are the way that we walk in. And so Lord, our prayer is simple that you would help us to follow in your footsteps, to walk as you walked where you walked for the reason you walked there, that we would be about our Father’s business that we would teach and preach and bring to whatever extent we can the newness of the kingdom into the here and now that you might be glorified in us and that others might see and respond. And you’d be glorified in them as well. It’s in Christ’s name that we pray, Amen.

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Prepare the Way (Matthew 4) December 31, 2023 | Kyle Bjerga The sermon discusses John the Baptist’s ministry of preparing for Jesus’ arrival by calling people to repentance and baptism. It describes Jesus’ baptism by John, when the Holy Spirit descended and God affirmed Jesus as his Son. Kyle Bjerga emphasizes that John prepared the way for Jesus, and Christians’ purpose now is to prepare others to receive Jesus and his offer of salvation. The overall message encourages repentance, coming to Jesus in faith, and sharing the good news with others.

Go and grab your bibles turn to Matthew chapter three. Using one of the black pew Bibles in front of you, you’d find it on page 784. As Brandon was praying, I’m just reminded, every year that we talked about this at some point about how my goal is to look more like Jesus the end of 2024 than I do today. And so I look back in January 1 2023. And I hope and pray that that has been true in my life this year, I hope that’s your goal as well, they will look more and more like Jesus, hopefully, you’re praising him for that transformation your life from this year, and looking ahead to next year and how he’s going to work in your life this year. And it’s also good to know there are people in this room today, they have had massive life transformation happen in 2023. So we praise the Lord, for his work in all of our lives. Now, I was listening to a podcast this week with a popular Christian comedian. And he was discussing how He kind of broke into the comedy business. And so whether it’s comedy or to musician and artists, or some sort of entertainer, it’s always a very similar story. Because how do you start out, you start off in these very small venues, sometimes questionable places, places you don’t even know how to say or pronounce, wherever they’ll take you. And then sometimes you’ll move a little bit, you know, and get more people in the room, except for the fact that you’re just there to get them ready for the main act, the person that really matters. And so he’s talking about this, but but you’re doing all that because maybe just one day, you get that big break. And then all of a sudden, you’re the headliner, your name is on the marquee. You’re the one that everybody has come to see. And that moment does come for some, but most entertainers will never have that happen. So they may have a passion for what they’re doing. And it becomes their job to just prepare for someone else to get people ready for someone else after them someone more dynamic, more talented, funnier. So it pays the bills. But there’s a gnawing feeling of what if, what if I was the guy? What if I was that person? Now it doesn’t have to be the entertainment business or something in the public eye. It can be true in your life, as well. We think of kids and Christmas. And who is it all about Christmas? Well, we know the right answer. It’s Jesus until we’re there under the tree opening gifts. Then who’s it about? Well, whoever’s name was just called. And then you want more, and you want more, and you want it to be about you. Or in your job. It’s the climbing the ladder, it’s the next big promotion. It’s the next big thing. It’s the bigger offense. It’s the fact that people say, What do you think we should do? Like you’re the one that people turn to? You’re the one that gets the pat on the back. Your opinion matters. And people want to know what you have to say. And if we’d all be honest, we just we want to be remembered. We want to make a difference. We want people to remember us. But what if you were never meant to be the headliner? What if you were never meant to be that person? What if it was never actually about you? Last week, we were introduced to John, John the Baptist, the one we’re going to be looking at quite a bit today at his life were introduced to him last week. And Brian just kind of said, we’re going to talk about him this week, because that’s what we’re doing in Matthew chapter three. Caitlin just read a little bit about him for us. But I want to read that again. So look at John, chapter one. Start in verse six, there was a man sent from, from God, whose name was John, He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, the light, of course, being Jesus, so that through him all might believe he himself was not the light. He came only as a witness to the light, the true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. So even before John was born, his father, Zachariah was told that John would make ready a people prepared for the Lord. And so we’re gonna look at this unique purpose that John has in preparing the way for Jesus. We’re looking at it in three different ways. We’re gonna see that he is a very unique man. We’re gonna see that he has a unique ministry. And there’s this very unique moment that happens in Matthew chapter three. So let’s look first at the man John. We’re gonna look at the first 12 verses of chapter three. So let’s read together. In those days, John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, insane. Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near. This is he who has spoken up through the prophet Isaiah, a voice of one calling in the wilderness, Prepare or the way for the Lord make straight paths for him. John’s clothes were made of camels hair and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea in the whole region of the Jordan. confessing their sins. They were baptized by him in the Jordan River. When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees, coming to where he was baptized, and he said to them, You brood of vipers, who wants you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit and keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. I tell you that out of these stones, God can raise up children for Abraham. The axe is already at the root of the trees and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water for repentance. But After me comes one who’s more powerful than I whose sandals I’m not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand and he will clear His threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire. So we start off in those days, it says, And what are those days? Well, well, we just finished in Matthew chapter two, which we haven’t been in, but in chapter two, Jesus is in Nazareth. Growing up, this is where Jesus was from. So in those days, John starts his ministry while Jesus is in Nazareth. And these first six verses give us this great pilot biographical sketch of who John is an answer is five important questions for us. So we’re gonna walk through all five of those. We’ll see the answers very clearly here in the text. First question, Who is John? Well, John is a Baptist. So he’s in good company, he could be a member here. I know, it’s a terrible joke. But we’re in a Baptist church, you gotta say something about it. John isn’t a Baptist, John is the Baptist. And so John was a very common name at this time. In fact, one of Jesus’s disciples name was John. And so one way you distinguish between the different ones is you would either talk about their family where they’re from, or you would refer to what they’re known for. And John is known, according to verse six is the guy who was baptizing people in the Jordan River. So let’s call him John the Baptist. And we do this too. In my extended family, we have multiple Laura’s we have multiple Kim’s, and then believe it or not, we have multiple Luke’s and three of those Luke’s married into the bigger family. And so the way that we distinguish them is like Dr. Seuss, Luke one, Loop Two, loop three, because we’re not very clever. And you can just kind of assign whichever one you’d like, at that time is Luke one, whoever you don’t like is Luke three. Now, that’s not how we did it, we base it off the fact when they married into the family. So you married in first your Luke one. He married second year, Luke two and on it goes. But we do that because we want to be able to distinguish them. So this is John the Baptist. And this is very important, because his role is very important. So the second question then is, where is his ministry? We find out he’s preaching in the wilderness. Now, I don’t know about you. But if you wanted to start a ministry, nobody would tell you to go to a remote place and start it until people come to me. Right? That’s not That’s not how you do ministry. But there’s something about John, that’s like a magnet for people that they’re drawn to him. So they do in fact, you’ll that’s what verse five says, people went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea in the whole region of the Jordan, unique place to do ministry. And why are people going there? Well, that’s the answer to our third question. What is John like? He is unique. He’s a one of a kind person. So considering his ministry is in the wilderness, it isn’t a shocker to know that he’s not living a lavish lifestyle. In fact, he’s wearing clothes made from camels hair, he’s a leather belts. He’s living off the land eating honey, and locusts. That’s what he does. This is the same description that we get of Elijah in Second Kings. And we know that John the Baptist comes like Elijah as a prophet of God. But it wasn’t just the uniqueness of the place and the man that you people out to John, it was also his message. And that’s our next question. Our fourth question is, what is his message? What is he saying to the people
look at verse to repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near. Now, repentance is a word we use a lot here in the church. But a lot of times we’re talking about it from the standpoint that we’re believers and we want to repent of our sin and we want to turn back to God, right. We know there’s been something in our life that we need to give over to him. So we confess we repent, we turn from it. But what John is talking about here is massive. It is huge because not to talk about just a turn. He’s talking about a whole new way of life. He is saying repent, because there’s a new kingdom coming. There is a new king coming so he’s trying to get hearts and minds and attitudes to make this full switch in how they even approach life. so that they can be ready when this king and his kingdom come. So he’s trying to get them to think and believe in it in a whole new way. And it’s obvious because who is being baptized here, Jews. And this was not a common practice for them at this time. What was more common was Gentiles who were converting to Judaism being baptized. Because the thought was, of course, Gentiles who aren’t a part of the people of God who want to be in Judaism. We need to baptize them. Right to bring them into this family. When they’re converted. Of course, they have things to repent of. So let’s baptize them but the Jews are the ones being baptized, which means it isn’t enough to be Jewish, to follow Jesus. It wasn’t I’m Jewish. And so therefore, I’m going to follow the Messiah. We clearly see that throughout the Gospels, that not everybody was looking for this particular Messiah. And so John says, If you want to be ready, you need to repent. Now, John gets a rap in culture be kinda like that street preacher. You’ve seen them right? On the street corner yelling, repent, repent. And you’re thinking, Okay, well, John’s a little extreme for my taste. So let’s go to Jesus because Jesus, I like what he says he’s the loving teacher. Well, what does Jesus say when he first starts preaching to Matthew For verse 17. If you have it, you can flip over to it, but I’ll just read it for you. Jesus says, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near the same message, the same message. So standing on the street corner today, yelling, repent, may not be the best evangelistic method, it may not get a lot of people to give you an ear and listen to what you have to say. But according to John and Jesus, you are eventually going to have to deal with your sin. That is true, you are eventually going to come to the place where you say I am not the king. And so that’s a real truth that we need to reckon with that there needs to be confession, repentance, to follow this king and this kingdom. Which leads to our fifth question, what is John’s purpose? John was a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. Specifically, we get here, a quote from Isaiah, chapter 40, verse three, which says, a voice of one calling in the wilderness, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. We all know how important it is in life to find your purpose, because purpose sets the course for everything that we do. When we’re living our purpose, we feel like we’re doing exactly what God wants us to do here on this earth. And it was exactly what John was doing. This was his purpose. And it was always to make much of Jesus always. Now, verse six ends by saying that the people were coming, confessing their sins, they were being baptized, they were acknowledging their need for a Savior, by acknowledging their own sin and rebellion. And this baptism then demonstrated that they were ready for a change. Okay, that’s what this represents. That’s the baptism with water, the baptism for repentance. But not everyone had the same reason for coming out to John. When we get to verse seven, it’s almost like in a movie when an ominous music starts playing. And then you see the camera pan across this group of people walking towards our hero. That’s what’s happening here, because who’s coming in verse seven, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the religious leaders of the day. And they’re coming out to John, not because they want to be baptized, they’re coming out to John, because they’re interested. They have some questions. They want to kind of see what’s going on. And, and based on John’s responses, not the first time John has been around the religious leaders, so it’s safe to assume they’ve had many interactions already. This is not John’s first day on the job. And so they’re coming to me, he’s kind of got an understanding of their hearts. Maybe God has revealed a little bit more to him. But in either case, he knows they’re not coming with pure motives. So what happens? He calls them a brood of vipers. You brood of vipers, which basically means you are evil and your teaching is poisonous. So it’s safe to say that the Pharisees and Sadducees were not teaching about repentance at this time, they’re teaching that something else. And now when worldviews collide, I don’t know if any of you had this experience over Christmas with family and friends and you start to talk about things that really matter in life. There’s some conflict. And when you have worldviews that come in conflict with each other, there are serious sparks. Okay, serious sparks. And what happens throughout the New Testament. We’re introduced to it here with John, John and religious leaders have worldview collisions. Then Jesus and the religious leaders have worldview collisions. And then the apostles and the religious leaders have worldview collisions. There are fundamental differences in how they approach God OD. There are fundamental fundamental differences in how they view Jesus. And I see two kind of worldview clashes that we see here in John’s interaction with the religious leaders. So the first one is false repentance. Okay, he kind of warns them that there’s wrath coming. And then he says in verse eight produce fruit in keeping with repentance. Now fruit is evidence of a godly life. That’s what he’s talking about here. That’s the fruit. And so the only way to the only way to bear true and lasting fruit is it to be something that comes from a complete change of your life, which requires repentance. It’s fruit that comes from an interchange that works itself out in your life. And so you can’t just say, like, Oh, I’m going to live my life exactly how I’ve been doing it, I’m just going to add Jesus on to it. That’s not going to work. And that’s not going to lead to lasting fruit because God comes and says, Repent, first of what you’ve been doing, get ready for that change in your life. So it’s not just outward appearances, make yourself look good. By doing good things. John says the kingdom is near and requires a whole new way of living. So we want to get ready to live in that kingdom. But the religious leaders are not ready to be baptized produce fruit because they aren’t ready to enter the kingdom of God on His terms. They come and they’re going to fight against that time and time again. They’re living in what Paul would call a worldly sorrow. So you’ll see it on the screen here. Second Corinthians seven Paul says godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation. Sorry, I lost my place here leads to salvation leaves, no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. So worldly sorrow is feeling bad about something getting caught. And maybe you do feel guilty, you feel ashamed for a couple of minutes, couple hours, maybe a couple of days, but then you’re right back doing the same thing. Because there hasn’t really been repentance, you’ve just felt bad about what you’ve done in that moment. But as soon as, as you forget, which we’re very good at forgetting things pretty quickly, we fall right back into that same pattern because there hasn’t been repentance, you never intended to make that the last time. You never intended to give your entire life over to Jesus in this moment. So that’s what worldly sorrow looks like. Godly sorrow looks upward. And sees that there’s nothing that we deserve from God, other than his wrath, judgment, punishment on us. And yet, when we see him, we know we can come to Him and in His grace, we can confess, we can repent, we can ask for forgiveness, and then pray that He changes us from the inside out. That’s the difference. It’s not just about like, Oh, what happened to me? It’s how did this offend God? And how am I going to change? And what is he going to do in it. And so a good way of looking at this is with kids, and when they get in trouble, and what happens and you start to see how they interact with you, and, and really, where worldly sorrow is that they got caught. And they feel bad about that in the moment. But then five minutes later, you’re on them for the same exact thing. Because again, it’s not repentance. It’s just worldly sorrow. But then there’s those times, and you’ve experienced them to where there is real repentance. And so one of my kids a few weeks ago, asked to talk to me, and, and he wanted to confess some sin in his life. And so he wanted to talk to me about it. And so we went away in his room, and he starts to share about it with me. And he says that I wanted to tell you, because for last few days, my chest has been hurting. And I was like, ashamed, because I don’t remember the last time my chest hurt. When I sinned, and I’m sitting there, I’m like, I don’t want him to feel that way. And neither did he put the Lord was putting that there, the Holy Spirit was convicting him of his sin, so he would actually repent of it.
And when I talk about repent, I’m talking about like, he had a plan, a discipline plan for himself. And then a way to make sure didn’t happen again. And I was like, That’s repentance. That St. I want to see change in my life. A couple hours later, he shared with me he’s like, Hey, my chest doesn’t hurt anymore. I’m like, that’s, that’s the release that you get. That’s what repentance does. And that’s what John wants for us. It’s what he wants from the religious leaders. He wants them to feel that and then to feel this new king, to feel that repentance to feel that forgiveness in that moment. That’s what he’s after. That’s the difference between worldly sorrow and godly repentance, godly sorrow. So the question is, are you producing fruit in keeping with repentance? It is hard to see every day. But we know just like that seed is being true transform from the inside out will eventually produce fruit. If we are faithful if we repent, if we’re following God, we will see that inner transformation come out for others to see, as well. And when we step back, we say, it’s good to see that I’m a different person. That’s what repentance does. So that’s the first worldview clash that we have here. The second worldview, Clash has to do with status. Look at verse nine. John says, And do not think you can say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father, I tell you that out of these stones, God can raise up children for Abraham. So they’re thinking, why do we need to repent? We’re Israelites, children of Abraham children of the promise. Again, of course, the Gentiles need to repent. They’re outside the people of God, but by being virtue of a Jew, they thought they were good, like that this was it. But then you start to think like, look at the history of the Israelites in the Old Testament. How many times were they called to repent? And they chose to continue to reject God. How many times did the prophets say turn from those worthless idols and turn back to God and they didn’t time and time again? And what did God do? He brought judgment on them. And yet, they’re standing here thinking, we’re the religious leaders, we’re banking on our heritage, to save us. When God is saying, Repent, prepare yourselves. This is an important for kids and teens, and maybe somebody else in this room that’s in this boat, but you are not saved because your parents are Christians. You’re not saved because you grew up in Cityview. And went to kids city, city link cities to the only way that you are a Christian is when you repent of your sin, and you believe in Jesus. That’s it. That’s what it takes. Now, John, finishes here with a warning. And it is a warning of judgments just like the Old Testament Israelites had. The religious leaders, he says, will not escape the judgment coming if they do not repent, he says, The axe is at the root of the tree. And if you take an axe to the root, that means everything is coming up. So when this judgment comes, everything will be removed if there isn’t fruit. And he says, the one coming after me is more powerful than I. He has so much power, that his baptism is one of the Holy Spirit and fire. Like John’s like I baptize with water, for repentance, as a symbol, to show change, a desire to change. But when He comes, He will actually bring the power to change. Yes, see the difference there. Right when when John baptize is people are prepared and getting ready to to accept Jesus to be ready for this kingdom and what he’s bringing. When we are baptized with the Holy Spirit, when when he comes into our life at conversion. We have the power of God, the power of God to repent, the power of God to believe that’s the difference. And with that comes the power to bring judgment. He will come it says with a winnowing fork. And he will start to separate those who repent and believe and those who don’t. And so the whole idea here of the wheat and the chaff we’ve explained before, but you would take the winnowing fork into the wheat and you throw it up in the air and the heavy wheat, the good wheat would fall to the ground, but the chaff that outer husk would end up getting taken away by the wind would fall somewhere else. Now what would happen is both piles are going to sit there. And so what it’s saying here is Jesus is going to separate those piles and make sure those who are His who repent and believe in Him are going to be put into the store houses into the kingdom and those who do not to eternal fire. So John is warning them in this moment, he wants repentance. Question is, will they repent? So that was our longest section. We’re gonna be moving pretty quickly from here on out for the rest of the passage. But we’re gonna look now not at just one unique man, but another unique man in Jesus that John has been preparing for. And John has this very unique ministry. Look at verses 13 through 15. Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him saying, I need to be baptized by you. And do you come to me? Jesus replied, Let it be. So now, it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness. So Jesus comes from Nazareth, in Galilee, with the purpose to be baptized by John, and this is incredibly important. At this time, Jesus has not started his public ministry. He does not have followers. He has not performed a miracle. He has not preached yet. He has left his home to come be baptized by John. So first thing he does, and he shows up with this purpose. And John says, no, no, no, no. I need to be baptized by you. Now what John knows about Jesus at this point Meet, we’re not really sure. But remember, they’re in the same family. So they probably had some interactions before he knows there’s something about Jesus, that’s different. He’s gonna really be confirmed here in a second after he baptizes him. But he knows there’s something about Jesus and says, no, no, I need to be baptized by you. Have you ever been in that situation at work or at school? Or wherever you might be where somebody who’s an expert or older than you or more experience says, You Hey, you do this. You’re like, no, no. Like you do that? I am not ready for what I think like the first time somebody performed surgery on somebody. I’m not ready. You do that? For me, it was student teaching. I remember showing up the first day and my one kind of mentor teacher handed me his binder and says, Have a good day. Like, pretty sure I’m supposed to follow you for a while. And I was like, no, no, you take the clipboard like this is this is not okay. I was not ready for that. And John saying like, no, no, no, no, like you think this is this is I’ve been waiting for you. You need to baptize me. And then you think of Peter, getting his feet washed by Jesus? And he says, no, no, you shall never wash my feet. And Jesus says, I’m going to wash your feet. I’m going to set an example that yours to do this for others as well. And so Jesus is clearly leaving us an example. But even more than that, he’s bringing fulfillment. He’s bring fulfillment. Look what he says he tells Gize that let it be. So now, it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness. And if I could say it in a way that maybe we understand the language a little bit more now, it’s basically like saying, let’s do this. Because this is what God wants. And it’s what needs to happen. That’s what Jesus is saying, No, we need to do this. It’s what God wants. It’s what needs to happen. That’s what the fulfill all righteousness is it’s God’s plan. It’s God’s will. And in doing this, John is gonna see soon that God confirms that this is exactly the promise one. This is the one who is to come the one he has been preparing for, to complete God’s Will on Earth. This is right. This is the plan. And the way to show it was being baptized and identifying with sinners. So think about it, we just celebrated Christmas, Joseph and Mary are told, give him the name Jesus, because he will save their people from their sins. And then Jesus grows up and he never since he never since, completely obedient to them, the only one ever undeserving of God’s wrath and punishment. And here he is getting in the waters to be baptized by John in order to show that he would, in fact, be taken into the waters of judgment, that he would be lowered into the grave. For what sin for arson. That’s what he’s doing of getting in those waters, and identify and say, this must happen. This is what it means to fulfill all righteousness, because there was a plan before time began for this moment to happen. The most important thing for us when understanding this is to know that Jesus came to identify with us, but then also to take our place to identify with us and take our place, Jesus followed the law completely for us, succeeding in every area where we fail the whole law, fulfilled in him, completely righteous, living out God’s will perfectly. Then he took our place in the cross. He took our place to to save us through His perfect obedience, he took our place on the cross with the judgment that we deserved. First, Peter 318 says, For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. That is good news. He did it all for us. And while John’s ministry is similar to that of other prophets, it’s very unique in this sense. He’s the only one to ever baptize someone who was completely innocent.
He’s the only one to baptize the Son of God. That was his purpose, as why he came to fulfill in that moment, what was coming. And in that moment, that was a very unique moment. Let’s look at that. Now. In verses 16, and 17. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment, heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, This is my son whom I love with him. I am well pleased. When Jesus comes up out of the water is confirmed. This is to fulfill all righteousness. This is what God wants us to have and this needs to happen and we know that because the heavens open. The Holy Spirit descends like a dove on Jesus and the Father speaks. This is a unique moment. This is not a normal occurrence in Scripture to see the members of the Trinity the Godhead at the same At time, but this moment is especially unique, that the kingdom was being announced. The king was being ordained, and the rescue mission was ramping up right here, at this point. JC Ryle, the famous 19th century Anglican bishop says this while Matthew three and I love this, it was the whole Trinity, which at the beginning of creation said, Let us make man, it was the whole Trinity again, which at the beginning of the gospel seem to say, Let us save man. They were always there. But in this moment, we see something special, John sees the dog descend on Jesus. That’s why he can say when you see Jesus, the next day, there’s the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. He knew, because it was revealed to him that the spirit was on Jesus, everything Jesus is about to do, and his ministry is approved and affirmed by the words of his father in this moment. And everything he’s about to do is empowered by the Holy Spirit. Which makes us think, isn’t he God? Why does he need the Holy Spirit? Well, Jesus has a human nature. And he needs to be equipped by the Holy Spirit empowered by the Holy Spirit in his human nature, to fulfill the mission and the purpose for which he was sent. And we’re going to see a lot more of that next week in Matthew chapter four, as we see what happens next after this baptism. So come back. And you’ll you’ll get more of that part of what that looks like. But God’s words here, God, the Father speaks, and his words here are taken from two Old Testament passages, kind of this mash up of these verses, you have Psalm two and Isaiah 42. Now, knowing the context of these chapters is important, because we just get a few small words here, when he says, This is my Son, whom I love with him, I am well pleased. So knowing the context is important. Where is God the Father, bringing these passages from first psalm to is a royal song. It’s a song about the Messiah, it talks about the Lord’s anointed. What just happened now, he was anointed by the Spirit. It goes on to talk about the king who would reign a begotten son, who would reign one better than even David. So here we see Jesus is the King to come, the baptism acting as that anointing or that ordination, for his service for the role that Jesus would fulfill. So that’s Psalm two. And then then we get some of Psalm or Isaiah 42, which says, it talks about the suffering servant, who will come, one it says, Who God delights in someone he is well pleased with. And it goes on to say, I will put my Spirit on him. And he will bring justice to the nations. So these are the words that God the Father chooses to bring together at this moment in time to talk about his son. And so I love how the story of redemption Bible summarizes these truths. It says this, in essence, the voice declares Jesus to be triply crowned. He wears the eternal crown of Heaven is God’s Son. The ancient crown of David is Israel’s King, and the crown of thorns as a suffering servant. This is what’s happening in this moment. So John the Baptist is preparing the way for the for the Messiah, preparing the people in their hearts, telling them what they needed to hear. And then Jesus comes and he prepares the way for us, by saving us in doing what we could never do for ourselves. And so we could take all of this, this whole chapter together, here’s the main idea, you’ll see it’s blank at on your notes, if you want to write it in the way has been prepared. The way has been prepared for you. So repent, and come to Jesus. The way has been prepared for you So repent and come to Jesus. So if you’re here, and maybe you’re intrigued by Jesus, this whole Christmas season, maybe think about him a little bit more. But you start to think I’m living in that false repentance, like I feel bad about things, but only for so long. And then I don’t know how to change. Well, we know someone who can help you change. We know his name is Jesus. But to come into that kingdom, you need to repent of how you’ve been living, you need to repent of everything that you have done to this point to try to get yourself to that next place to save yourself. You need to get a completely over to him or maybe you’ve relied on your status of growing up in a Christian home or your status as a good person that people like and enjoy being around. What we know here is that is not enough, either, we must confess all of our sin because that we’ve sinned against God. We need to confess it, bring it to him, admit it, and he’s faithful to forgive us. The beautiful thing that happens then is when you receive Jesus, you get his spirit, the powerful one, the one who helps make that inner life change. possible. So everyone who comes in humility, admitting their need for a Savior will find the grace of Jesus Christ. And then I’ll just have this and be baptized. What Jesus did in that moment of his baptism is not the same of how we get baptized, of course. But it is a picture of what he will eventually do in his death, and rising again to new life, and what we can experience now, and what we display when we are lowered into the waters. And we were brought up to newness of life as we find ourselves in Jesus Christ. And then if you are here, and you’ve been following Jesus for a while, you remember that first time you repented, you remember what that was like. But maybe it’s been a while. The same call is for you repent, and come to Jesus. And it gets easier and easier to repent. If we get into practice, and we do this on a regular basis, it gets easier becomes a part of our life, because we know I can come to Jesus with anything because he already knows that he already died for it. So I can come at any time with anything that I’m dealing with, with any cinema life, and I can give it over to him. So practice the gospel waltz. Some of your like, I don’t know what that is. Others were very familiar with it. The Gospel said, if you get the pulse, you can go back and this week, Brandon’s devotional had the pod the waltz in it explains it a little bit. You could also ask us, Well, the Gospel, it’s those those three steps that we as Christians live in, when we sin, we repent of it, we turn immediately, well, where are we turning to? We’re turning to the Gospel. And we’re saying, Okay, I repent of this. And now I give my life over to Jesus. And I remember that he is purified me, he has cleansed me, he has forgiven me of this sin. And now through the power of His Holy Spirit, I can then go and obey. That’s the three steps repent, believe and obey. And you can do this in a matter of 30 seconds in your own mind and your own heart, maybe it’s gonna take a lot longer. But you just capture those things, you say, I know I need to turn from this. But don’t turn to just try and do better turn remember who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for you, and how he empowers you. And then you go out and you live that life of obedience to Him. So you can ask us questions, if you want to know more about that, you can go back to the polls and get a little bit more information there as well. And then finally, for us as a church, we need to repent, come to Jesus, and then prepare the way for others. I know it’s not on the screen, but write that in that main point there and prepare the way for others. John prepared the way for the people to to be ready to receive Jesus, Jesus prepared the way for us to be saved. And now when we are saved, when we have received Him and His Kingdom, what are we doing? We need to go tell others, this good news. Alright, so we need to prepare the way for others. I don’t know what that looks like in your life. I don’t know where those people are. But at some point, you need to have a conversation with them. And at some point, you’re gonna have to have that conversation about repenting. Now, maybe that’s not the language you use. It’s not the word use. But the idea is there of asking, How are things working for you? It’s one of the best questions you could ask somebody who continues to try and do things on their own. How’s that working? Let them figure that out that it’s not working, and then be there with the grace of the gospel in that moment. But John and Jesus are clear at some point we have to reckon with our sin. And if we want to live a fruitful life, we need to repent, first believe in the gospel, and obey Jesus following him. We were never put here to be the headliners. Our name was never meant to be on the marquee. We were always here to do one thing. And that is to point others to Jesus. That’s what our lives should be about. That’s what I pray Your life is about my life’s about and our church is about this year, as we turn the page to 2024 and just say this church is all about Jesus. Let’s pray.

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God & Man (John 1:1-14) December 24, 2023 morning | Brandon Cooper
Brandon Cooper preached a Christmas Eve sermon focusing on John 1:1-14. God became human through Jesus Christ in order to bring humanity back to God. Humanity rejects God and tries to be autonomous instead of relying on our Creator, leading to spiritual corruption and impotence. We cannot save ourselves through moral or religious efforts but must receive salvation through faith in Jesus, who died for our sins. Believing in Jesus involves actively trusting in him as our Savior and physician rather than passively receiving him.

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Good morning church and Merry Christmas to you. You want to go ahead and grab your Bibles. We will be in John chapter one this morning, John chapter one. If you’re in the pew Bible that is on page 860, I would definitely encourage you to grab a bible of some sort, at least an open John one, it’s very important that you are looking at the text with me so that you see that what I’m saying this morning is not my words, but the words of God Himself for us. By the way, if you don’t have a Bible of any sort, that pew Bible in front of you, that’s our gift to you. So Merry Christmas, take it home with you, we would love for you to have that. Speaking of Christmas, though, I know that for a lot of us, one of our Christmas traditions is watching some classic Christmas movies. And we can talk about which ones later. That’s a different story. But one of them of course, more recent classic, but kind of an instant classic was elf. In fact, our power went out this morning at like 530. So we were all up bright and early. And so some of the kids got to watch elf actually, just this morning. What happens in L for Walter Hobbs? He’s kind of the bad guy, right. He’s buddy’s dad, and he’s got a problem at work, he needs to get a new book idea by Christmas Eve or that’s it like he’s getting axed at his publishing house. So he’s desperate to find a solution go so far as to spend quite a bit of money to hire a top author to come in and pitch some ideas. But that’s not what saves him. Of course, there is an unexpected solution to his problem in the form of an unexpected son, who reminds him of what matters most. He was not looking for spiritual or relational salvation, right. He was just looking for vocational salvation, but but he got all that deeper stuff. Instead, of course, he gets the book as well. Although it takes a different turn than he expected. I won’t spoil the whole movie for you. Why I mentioned this, though, of course, this is remarkably similar to the actual Christmas story as well. That is, there’s a group of people with a problem, the first century Jewish people, and their problem is Rome, the fact that Rome is oppressing them, they don’t have a nation of their own any longer. So there’s a group of people with a problem who are desperate for a solution. And they know what the solution should look like. It should be a military King, who is there to throw off the Roman yoke and restore Israel to its former glory, like what it had under King David, but they get an unexpected solution in the form of an unexpected son. And he doesn’t solve the surface problem for them. In fact, they stay under Roman oppression gets worse even. But he solves the deeper problem, the salvation they weren’t looking for is what he brings as a result a little bit like buddy, the elf, he’s rejected by the people he’s come to save, because he didn’t do what they wanted him to do. Of course, this is still true of us today to that we also have problems pick your problem. I don’t know where you are this morning, specifically, but everybody’s got some sort of problem right now might be financial, might be physical, might be relational, might be a mental health issue. But we could be in danger of missing the salvation that God is bringing, because we just want help with our problem. And so this Christmas Eve, I want us to lean into the unexpectedness of it all, that we have an unexpected Savior bringing an unexpected salvation. We see it in the prologue to John’s Gospel. Now, John’s Gospel begins not with the manger, and the wise men and all that so some of the you know nativity scene that’s not here, John’s giving us more of a cosmic view of what’s happening, but he’s gonna give us the most unexpected information of all which is that this baby, frail, helpless, lying in a manger is actually God Himself. And that’s me really key. So here’s the idea that we’re going to unpack as we go this morning. Main idea from the passage, God became human. That was the most unexpected part, right? God became a human so that humanity could come back to God, God became human so that humanity could come back to God. And as I said, we’ll unpack that as we go. But for now, let’s read the passage just as John chapter one, verses one to 14. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning of through him all things were made. without Him nothing was made that has been made in Him was life and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John, He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe he himself was not the light, he came only as a witness to the light, the true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, another world was made through him, the world did not recognize him, he came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, children born out of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God, the Word became flesh, and they just dwelling among us, we have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only Son who came from the Father full of grace and truth. So God became human so that humanity could come back to God. Let’s start with that first bit, God, God, because John’s Gospel begins with in the beginning, and that’s meant to take us back to the beginning of the Bible as a whole genesis one, verse one in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. So we are talking about that creation moment. And of course, at creation, only God is present, nothing else exists. There’s no elemental forces or anything like that. It’s just God, except here we learned in John’s Gospel that the word was present to in the beginning was the word word was with God, the Word was God. That word word by the logos in Greek, it’s God’s message for the world. It’s what explains it all. The Greeks talked a lot about this, but they assumed it was some kind of impersonal idea, whereas we learn now that it is a person, a person who is with God in the beginning, and who is God. If we look closely at verses one to five, we’re gonna see all sorts of implications to this. And what do we learn about this word, Jesus? Well, we learned that he is God, the Word was God. And He is God alone, which is interesting. It’s singular. It doesn’t say he was a god, you know, like God was there and the Word was with God. So now we got like two people, but the Word was God. And so there’s only one person that gets complicated. Talk about unexpected, that would be the doctrine of the Trinity. We’re not getting into that this morning, though. Okay, so he is God. And He alone is God, He is eternal, because he is there in the beginning. He is timeless. In fact, we read in Psalm 90, from everlasting to everlasting you are God, at every moment, you are God, and He is Creator. He creates all of this from nothing. We read that in verse three through Him, all things were made without him, nothing was made that has been made. So anything that exists apart from God, Jesus made. And then by implication, he is King and sovereign. You see it in verses 10 and 11. He was in the world, the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him, he came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. They belong to him, he’s able to rule that which he created, because if you make it, it’s yours. That’s how the rules work. So if you had a little cookie decorating party, and you decorate your cookie, you make it just right with the candies you want and all that stuff, and somebody else eats it. You know that this is a crime against humanity, because you made it and so it’s yours. Jesus made us and so we are his he is our king, and sovereign. Jesus has also called the light in verse five, the light that conquers the darkness. And so we see His power, and his purity, light, often a symbol of holiness. We see His revelation as well that we can now see as a result of his being with us, Jesus is God. He is the eternal Creator. He is our king, however unexpected. He is the famous words of Isaiah chapter nine, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, our Prince of Peace. If we stopped there, we would have abundant reason to praise Him. But not to celebrate Christmas, and maybe not to celebrate it all, actually, as we’ll see in a moment, but it doesn’t stop there. So let’s keep going in our sentence. So we got God one word so far, God became human, so that humanity could come back to God let’s look at that became human piece of it all God became human. It’s right there. In verse 14, The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
So look at what just happened. He who always was became that’s shocking, wholly unexpected, the eternal enters time. The Infinite is bound by space, the all powerful is now in the form of a frail infant. The all knowing has to learn how to walk and talk. The holy of a holy ease is placed in a common feeding trough can’t think of many items more profane than that the glorious is born into obscurity and our King comes in abject poverty subject to another king. Here’s the way the church fathers Roma put it centuries ago to save us God’s son becomes the Son of Man. He awaits his birth for nine months in the womb where he experiences the most degrading conditions and then comes out to spattered with blood to be wrapped in rags and smothered and human caresses. He who contains the world in his fist, is contained in the constricted confines of a feeding trough. Talk about unexpected, and this defies expectation that God would become man. GK Chesterton, great British wit and kind of amateur theologian put it like this all these years ago the importance of this doctrine, he says, Christ is not a being apart from God and man, like an elf. He’s not like something different. He’s not yet being half human and half god, like a centaur half human and half not but both things at once and both things very thoroughly very man, and very God. This is the most unexpected truth of all, no one was ever expecting this. Although we should have been, we should have been expecting this. Is there even an passage that my daughter read for us this morning? Micah five verse two, but you Bethlehem the fact that you are small among the clans of Judah out of you will come from anyone who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. There’s the unexpectedness again, here, we’re gonna have somebody coming out of Bethlehem, someone who has not yet who’s going to come out of battle may be born in Bethlehem, and yet his origins are from ancient days. So someone who is going to be born and yet He is eternal. That only makes sense. By the way, with John chapter one, it only makes sense in light of Jesus. Otherwise, this prophecy makes no sense it all mature, this is how Micah’s audience would have heard this or what they would have been thinking maybe even Micah himself would have pictured a military leader like David like that was the expectation. That was the salvation that everyone was expecting. Because like Walter Hobbs, they’ve got this urgent problem, and they need somebody to fix that problem right there in front of them. So they weren’t paying attention to the deeper issues. Because you think about it if all Israel needed was military victory, the word didn’t need to become flesh. God has done this before. God didn’t need to become a man in order to throw off the Roman yoke. You think of Moses and Exodus, or Gideon with the Midianites. Or when Seneca rubs his Syrian armies wiped out in a night just by an act of God. God could easily send military victory in and expected even if miraculous, but unexpected, away. So why does God become man? It’s true for us to again if all we needed was help with a financial problem or a health problem, like if it’s just some money or some piece or some, you know, counseling in a relationship, and God doesn’t need to become man. So why why did God become human? Our unexpected Savior must be bringing an unexpected salvation. Let’s talk about that now. So God became human, so that humanity could come back to God, there’s the why so that humanity could come back to God. Salvation is the golden thread running through this passage. It’s right there in the abrupt transition from verse five to verse six, even we’ve got these you know, exalted terms for who Jesus is, and he’s the light of the world He’s shining in the darkness, the darkness is not overcome it, there was a man sent from God whose name was John. This cosmic story gets really provincial, all of a sudden, why? Why do we move from heaven to earth in the story, because God is sending a witness to testify to the light of the world. Witnesses, John the Baptist, by the way, we’ll talk about him next week when we’re in Matthew, chapter three is you can come back for that story. But you see the point God’s sending someone to testify because he wants us to know him. He’s making sure we understand who he is, and that, despite our rebellion, what the Bible calls sin. We already saw this in verse 11. He came to that which was his own but his or did not receive him. There’s the rebellion. We wanted nothing to do with him, even though we’re his because he made us. So this suggests that we should know God, we should recognize him. He made us were his we belong to Him. If that’s the case, then then entering into relationship with God would be a coming home, returning to where we should have been all along. I liked the way Eugene Peterson talks about this because he sometimes we kind of divide ourselves up into like spiritual types and not spiritual types. And if this passage is true, that doesn’t work. Here’s what Peterson says. He says, Biblical faith has always insisted that there are no special aptitudes for life with God, no required level of intelligence or degree of morality, no particular spiritual experience. The statement, I’m not the religious type is inadmissible. There are no religious types. There are only human beings, every one created for relationship with God. That’s personal, that eternal. Of course, it is, by the way, because our God is personal and eternal. But if this is true, what would we expect to see in us were made for God, and yet somehow don’t automatically receive Him, there would be a a restlessness in us, until we’re in relationship with him. We were made for Jesus. And if we don’t know him personally, we will be left with an aching, which we’re going to feel at some point, a thirst and we’re going to try and quench that thirst. But it’d be like taking a nice, cool glasses saltwater, it feels good going down, but leaves you thirstier at the end of it. It’s like opening up all of your Christmas presents. And very quickly discovering that that didn’t actually satisfy you. Which if you have kids, of course, you’ve seen it happens every year, right? Where it’s like three hours of bliss, and then it fades so very quickly. So it is with us, whether that’s a marriage or a career, or kids or whatnot, it never fully satisfies. But here’s the stumbling block. And this is the part we hate. Because there’s this sense in us that if God exists, and especially a God, like Jesus, who’s so kind and loving as he is, then we expect that this God should just love us as we are, like, just pinch our cheeks because we’re so cute. But that’s not what we read here. Because we didn’t receive him. We didn’t recognize him. And so what does it say? In verse 12, to those who would receive him to those who wouldn’t believe in his name, he gives the right to become children of God. There’s a clear implication in that verse that isn’t fun to consider necessarily. But it means that you and I are not born children of God. Because we have to become children of God. And to do that we need to be born anew. We need to be born again to use Jesus’s words. Why is this? We got to head back to the garden to make sense of this the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve experienced perfect intimacy with God. They’re taking walks together in the cool of the afternoon, until the moment when Adam and Eve decided they wanted to be their own gods. They wanted to make the rules for themselves, and were Adam’s and Eve’s children. So we come into the world with that same desire baked into us like we are a hardwired for rebellion against God, the root issue is godlessness. I’m not going to acknowledge God because frankly, I think I could do this myself and maybe a little bit better. That means that sin when we talk about sin, it’s not a list of maybe what we would think of as regressive or outdated laws that we transgress or pleasures that we are denied. Sin is autonomy. Sin is making the rules for ourselves. Sin is creatures rejecting the Creator, which is a problem, by the way, if you’ve ever like made a gadget, you know, I don’t know, I’m not a gadget guy. But you know, like you write a computer program or something like that, and it doesn’t do what you want it to do. What do you do next? Delete the file. That’s what we rode. God should delete us because we’re creating creatures rejecting the Creator. We’re subjects rebelling against the king, which is treason.
Treason is not a good choice when kings are involved. Again, it’s not that we broke a law in the kingdom that would be trouble that might get us a fine or some jail time. No, it’s that we want the king dead so that we can rule in his place. We You do that in a kingdom, usually gallows are involved, right? Or large axes, and you can fill in the rest of yourself. So we got to acknowledge our guilt, or shame before this creator, this king. He is right to condemn us for our sin. That’s bad news. And then John just doubles down on it. Merry Christmas, the news gets worse before it gets better, because we are not only morally corrupt, but spiritually impotent. With the clear implication of the passage, especially verse 13, right, we’re going to become children of God, children born out of natural dissent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, if you want to have kids, right? Like usually parents kind of decide this. And even if you weren’t trying to decide that there was a decision that was made somewhere in that process still so that kids resolved. But that’s not how it works with spiritual birth. It’s not something we do, not something we choose. It’s something we receive and believe this might be even harder than acknowledging our sin, which is acknowledging that we can’t fix the mess that we’ve gotten into. We like to be in control. We don’t like asking for help. Like, how many times have you languished in a problem, because you just didn’t want to bother somebody. I see it all the time. Here’s a pastor, by the way, where people would be like, by the way, you know, the recovery from surgery went well. And I was like, what surgery? We don’t want to bother. We’re the church, we would love to pray for you in this process. You need help, we are willing to help you. But we don’t like to ask for help. We got this, you know, bootstrap mentality like good Americans. Here’s the way Tim Keller puts it. He says, We believe that with hard work, and our fastidious religious observance, we can repair our relationship with God, and even put him in a position where he can’t say no to us. And that’s the really dangerous part. Impossible, but dangerous, too. Because again, our root problem is wanting to be God. So trying to fix the problem on our own just exacerbates the problem, because now we’re not only playing God, but playing Savior to so I’m going to atone for my sins on my terms. That means I’m still God. So if I’m the problem, I can’t very well be the solution to not like that. Because there’s this moral effort that we put in to try to obligate God to us. So that he owes me this, I deserve it. I have earned it. That keeps me on the phone. And it fails. In its succeeding if you were to be really, really moral, really, really religious, you’ve actually gotten yourself farther away from God. Because you’re depending on yourself even more, it’s a little bit like being tangled up in something, the more you struggle, the more tangled you get, I saw this, uh, once I was fishing, and a duck swim into my line. And the duck got really tangled and I reeled the duck in. And I worked really hard to get the duck out of the line, the duck was none too pleased with me. The duck was fighting against me the whole time. And if you’ve ever tried to reason with an unreasonable creature, that’s parenting, first of all, but but that I would just wanted to tell the duck like if you hold still, I will get you out of this and the duck kept is squirming. That’s us. Of course, we need someone capital S to come and untangle us. So there’s some bad news there. Max Stiles in his book, The Truth About lies, he tells a couple stories about his father who’s an orthopedic surgeon. And he was he was a good one that he had a good bedside manner. In other words, so what he would do is he would sit someone down and say something like, Look, your hip is in very bad shape and left on its own. Pretty soon you will not be able to walk anymore. And just kind of let that truth sink in. And that’s that was hard to hear, of course. But then he’d interject, but but, you know, with surgery, we can replace the joint, you’re gonna be better than new at that point. So you moved from the bad news to the good news. You got to let the bad news sink in so that the good news is received for the good news. That is what long last we get to the blessedly good news. Right because God became human so that humanity really can come back to God. By faith, we can humbly receive what he is offering us and become his children. And in fact, adoption is such a beautiful picture of this because, you know, adopted kids, they don’t earn their adoption. It is the gift of the parents who love them our adoption is the gift of God when we believe. So what precisely do we need to believe? Well, everything we’ve covered so far, that we were made by Him and made to know him, but chose not to the bad news and then this glorious truth that Jesus made away so that we can come back that Jesus is the way again, verse 14, The Word became flesh made his dwelling among us, why did God become man? We see it all across the Christmas story. The angel appears to Joseph in a dream and says, You’re gonna call him Jesus. Why? Because you’re gonna save His people from their sins at salvation. Why did the angels sing glory in the highest because he’s coming to bring peace, to those on whom God’s favor rests. And, of course, he spells it out in verse 29, a little bit later, where we are here where John, that witness to testify, says, look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Jesus was born to die, a sacrificial death on the cross. In order to pay humanity’s penalty, he had to become human, in order to pay an infinite penalty, he had to be infinite. Now we understand that the unexpected savior that we have God and man, only the God man could die in our place for our sins. But that means Christmas is about Good Friday and Easter to today, tomorrow, we celebrate a full manger Yes, but an empty tomb. Also, because he has conquered sin, and death, what I couldn’t do, Christ did for me. So Max Stiles, he kind of goes on telling the story about his father. Ironically, as he got older, he needed hip surgery himself. And so he’s there, you know, on the gurney being wheeled into the operating room, all the tools are out and stuff, you know, what the doctors did not do? Wheel him in there and say, good luck. Let us know how it goes. And he could have actually done the surgery, I’m not sure he could have done it on himself probably gonna pass out. But he knew what to do, at least most of us would be like, I’m sorry, what? Like, don’t worry, there’s a YouTube video you can watch. But there’s no, like, I don’t want to have to do this. That’s how most of us assume Christianity works. That God goes, You’re the tools, you’re in the operating room. Now go fix yourself. That’s not it at all. We simply receive what Jesus has done for us, He is the physician, the surgeon. There is more than just passive reception, though, of course, we are talking about active belief, trust, like an ongoing trust, where I’m not going to play God anymore. But I’m going to lean on him trust that what he says is true, and best that his commands are for my good. The joy and true satisfaction are found in Him and Him alone. So this Christmas, remember, God made a way for you to know him, personally, to come back to him. He stands before you even now offering you forgiveness, and grace to be received in a relationship he has to be trusted. But this is where it all comes to a head then there’s a choice before each and every one of us even now, what the question is not, can I come back to God through Jesus? But will I come back to God through Jesus? It is simple. There’s no prep time needed, doesn’t mean it’s not hard. By the way, it could be very hard. When we were on the mission field, we were friends with some white South Africans. And they were young enough that they had not really grown up with apartheid. In fact, their first vote was to vote for Mandela. So they kind of knew this all along. But they talked about their parents, and how difficult it was for their parents to kind of realize that they’d been wrong this whole time. They’d grown up truly believing that Apartheid was the best thing was the best way to make this society work. And all of a sudden to have a dawn on you. I’ve been wrong. I’ve been living a lie. Like everything that I think was actually the opposite of what I should have thought that it’s very hard. But hard doesn’t mean bad. I mentioned this because there might be you right now. We’re going to Yeah, but I don’t want to think any of this. I have lived my whole life up to this point thinking I don’t need Jesus that I am good enough that I can do this on my own. It might be a really hard admission but hard doesn’t mean bad.
Turn from the sin of godlessness, and turn to Jesus, saying I will not trust myself any longer. But I will trust in God through Jesus Christ. And any who would take that step truly today He gives the right to become his very children dearly, dearly loved. The cross lays us bear. It is bad news, right? It tells us that we are a rich, we are worse because we are an impotent, rich, but it comforts us there. In that moment. We are impotent, wretched, so dearly loved by the one true God, that his son was willing to become flesh and dwelt among us to die that we might have life in him. Will you take that step? Will you know Jesus personally, will you be known and loved by Almighty God? This Christmas, celebrate the unexpectedness of our King, by believing in him. Let’s pray.
Father, we pray now, in light of all that we’ve just seen about who you are, who your son is, what he became, for our sakes and what he came to do, to make a way for us to return to you in light of all of that, Lord, would you help us to prepare room in our hearts for you? To enter in. Help us to overcome the internal struggle that we will feel because we want to be our own gods, because we have believed alive for so long and it’s so hard to put away, help us to overcome, to believe and to receive all that you have for us in Christ. We pray that You Jesus, the light of the world, would overcome the darkness in us as you bring us to salvation, and the fullness of joy that you prepared for us. We pray this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

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Judge & Friend (Revelation 3:19-22) December 17, 2023 | Meritt Raup The sermon discusses how Jesus is both judge and friend according to Revelation 3:19-22. As judge, Jesus will reward believers with a seat on his throne. As friend, Jesus invites believers to open the door and have a meal with him in close fellowship. The sermon encourages believers to be victorious in faith and to be friends of Jesus by welcoming him and extending his friendship to others.

Good morning. It’s great to be with you. So we opened God’s Word together. And before we begin, let me just again, say thank you. Thank you for how you’ve welcomed Sarah and I into this church family. We’ve enjoyed getting to know so many of you. And we will, we will miss you. It’s been an honor to serve our students, to see them grow in their faith. And I’m excited to see all the great things that God will continue to do here through the people of Cityview. So, so thank you. And this week, I was thinking, what do I want to leave you with. And it’s this, Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face. On the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory, and grace. Keep your focus on him. Don’t look to the right or to the left, but look straight ahead. His face is wonderful. So look full into it. I’m confident that the things of earth this crazy, sinful, complex, uncertain world that we live in, it will look strangely dim, and the illuminating light of Christ’s glory in Christ’s grace. So Turn your eyes upon Jesus always. That’s what I want to leave you with. And it’s also what I want to hope I hope we can do this morning. As we continue our series, the unexpected King, we’re looking at the excellency of Christ, the paradoxes of his character, that make him an unexpected King. Yeah, just the king that we need. We started a few weeks ago with how Christ is both the Lion and the Lamb. Last week, we saw how Christ was both declared guilty, yet he was innocent. And so today, we are studying revelation 319 through 22, the excellency of Christ and that he is both judge, and friend. He is the sovereign judge over the entire universe. He will execute justice over all things in all people. But he’s also our friend. And he calls us to a close fellowship with him. He’s the sovereign judge, but our close friend, and I hope that our crazy world will grow strangely dimmer, as we consider the glory and the grace of Christ in this passage. So let’s read our passage. And then we’ll dive in together. Revelation chapter three, verses 19. Through 22, says this says Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me, to the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with Me on My throne. Just as I was victorious, and sat down with My Father on His throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. You know, Christ is both judge and friend. And for our purposes today, I think it’ll be helpful for us to think in terms of two seats, two seats, we’ll start with Christ as judge. So that means that we have a seat on the throne, a seat on the throne. We see it right here in Revelation three to the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with Me on My throne. Take a step back a little bit. The book of Revelation is a vision given by Jesus to the apostle John, to be shared with seven churches in Asia Minor. Jesus tells John in chapter one, he says right on a scroll what you see, and send it to the seven churches. And the purpose of the book is to encourage Christians to faithfully endure to the end. Because in the end, Jesus wins. That’s what the book of relation is all about. And each of these seven churches, they each have a short letter within the book written specifically to them. So these are the words that we just read of Jesus to the church in the town of Laodicea. We only read the second half of the letter to Laodicea. But the first half you might be familiar with. Jesus has some harsh words for this church. because they’re neither hot nor cold. They’re lukewarm. And so Jesus wants to spit them out of his mouth. The church of Laodicea was like a cup of room temperature coffee. Disgusting. Coffee is meant to be either iced or hot. You know, some people like iced coffee, not me. But if that’s you, that’s okay. But hot coffee is good as well. That’s what I prefer. I like it to be exactly 140 degrees. But lukewarm coffee, you just want to spit it out of your mouth, because it’s disgusting. That’s the way Jesus describes the church in Laodicea. They were very wealthy. They were known for their luxury. They’re known for their intellect as well. Yeah, this produced in them a tremendous pride, where they thought they didn’t even need God anymore. They thought they had it all. But in reality, they were spiritually bankrupt. We don’t have time to get into all of this passage to get into all of that, but we can learn from the church and Laodicea. Christ wanted them to see that he is judge. That’s what they needed to hear. And we can learn from this as well. Now Christ has the right to judge. He’s worthy of that of that name. In verse 21, it says that Jesus was victorious. And he sat down with His Father on His throne. Jesus is the judge because he is victorious. Jesus conquered the greatest enemies, sin and death. And he did it by becoming sin for us, by going through Death himself. Even more than this, he is the creator of the universe. He owns everything. So he has the right to judge. Now, let me say that this is not typically a topic that we talk about during Christmas time. We like to think about baby Jesus, the cute manger scene with the shepherds and the angels and the animals. Joy to the World Peace on Earth. Why are we talking about Jesus as the judge? Well, this season that we’re in Advent, the word Advent simply means coming. We celebrate Christ’s Advent him coming into the world to save us from our sins. And one of the unexpected realities of the advent of Jesus is that there will be two of them. Jesus came once already, but He will come again in the future. So even though there are two distinct Advents, we cannot entirely separate both of those Advents from each other. When we celebrate Jesus coming in the past, we must also at the very least consider how that points us forward to his second advent. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. There’s only there’s not one nice baby Jesus that we had at Christmas time. And then there’s a another judge full wrathful Jesus coming. In the end? No, there’s one Jesus. There’s one mission, but two Advents. It’s clear from John chapter three, verse 17, that during his first advent, Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but save the world. In fact, we already stand condemned by our own sin. It’s also clear that at Christ’s Second Advent, he will finish the work of judgment that has already began. That’s the significance of Christ being seated with God the Father on His throne. Elsewhere in Matthew chapter 25, Jesus says, says, When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Christ on his glorious throne, means that Christ will judge and that is good news of great joy. Because for Christ to be judge means that all sin will be dealt with. All of the sin that exists everywhere across all of time, will be finally and decisively dealt with the consequences will be laid out, and the presence of sin will be done away with. This includes the sin in our world, the corrupt systems and idolatrous institutions that serve the enemy. The diseases in the disasters decimate people’s lives.
The Division and the strife that causes disunity among people will go away. The fact that all sin will be dealt with also means every sin done against you. Have you ever been sinned against someone wronged you? Has that ever happened? And then the person that never got punished for it? Maybe you came up with a brilliant idea at work. You told your coworker about it. And then your coworker goes to the company and presents the idea as their own. They get all the credit, even though it was you that came up with that idea. That’s not right. How will that sin ever get dealt with you and I may never see the results in this life. But know that Christ sees everything he knows. When Christ comes to judge, he will set everything right. You can rest in the truth that vengeance is his, and he will repay the fact that all sin will be dealt with also includes the sin done by you. We’ve all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All of us will give an account for everything that we have ever done before Christ on that day. The apostle Paul says in Second Corinthians five, verse 10, he says, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done in the body, whether good or bad. Every single person will stand before him. No one is exempt from Christ, the judge may ask you, how do you think you will do? When you give an account for everything that you have ever done in your life? What do you think the verdict will be? Will we be innocent or guilty? On that day, there won’t be any excuses for any of us either. There won’t be a well, I did mostly good. I mean, yeah, I did a little bad too. But I did mostly good right? Now try using that excuse to get out of a parking ticket some time. Go for the judge. And you’re like, Well, yes, but most of the time I parked legally. I don’t think that’ll work. We’re all guilty. And we know we’re all guilty. Which is why it’s incredibly good news. That there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Jesus is the judge who stepped down off of his throne to become like us. He took the condemnation that we deserve, Christ is innocent. Yet he became guilty on our behalf. So that we the guilty ones, will be declared innocent. But incredibly good news. Christ’s will set all of the sin in this world, all the sin done to you and all the sin that you have done. All of it will be set right. So that means for, for believers, for those who are victorious, the day of Christ, judgment is not a day of condemnation, but a day of reward. Christ has already paid for our sin. And so then what is left is we will be rewarded for all of our righteous deeds. To those who are faithful to the end, the Lord will give you the prize to the one who is victorious. I will give the right to sit with Me on My throne is what he says. What an incredible honor. No one else in all of creation is bestowed with such a high honor. Not even the angels themselves in heaven, will sit on the phone with Jesus. At the end of his life, the apostle Paul writes in Second Timothy four he says, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. The Lord the righteous Judge, will award you for your faithfulness to Him at His Second Advent. He will grant you the crown of righteousness. You will sit on the throne with Jesus and share in his room In his reign over all creation. This is for all who along for His appearing, do you long for His appearing? Do you look forward to the day when Christ will return as judge? Can you see here the value of considering both the first advent and the second advent of Jesus, we celebrate what Jesus has already done by coming into our world as a baby. And we look forward to when He comes again to finish what he started. And I think it’s helpful that we can sing. Many of the Christmas songs that we sing about Christ’s first advent, we can also sing them in terms of a second advent. Joy to the world, the Lord is come, Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room, and let heaven and nature sing. He rules the world with truth and grace. He makes the nation’s prove the glories of His righteousness, in the wonders of His love. I think the response for us is clear. Because Jesus is Judge, be victorious, be victorious. In verse 21, it says to the one who is victorious. This is what is true. To be victorious in the book of Revelation is simply another word for faith. Faith. We can also say to the one who faithfully endures to the end, Jesus will give them the right to sail with him on his throne. Like Paul, it’s for those who fight the good fight for those who finish the race, for those who keep the faith. Those are the people who get the crown of righteousness in the seat on the throne. Just as Jesus was victorious, through His sacrifice on the cross, we are victorious through our faith in Him. So let this understanding of the advent of Jesus, deepen your faith in Him. We want to be people who longed for and love His appearing, both his first appearing and in his second appearing as well. So let this first advent this Christmas season. Let it help you love his second advent when He comes again, as judge, you know, if you’ve, if you’ve never put your faith in Jesus, let today be the day you can be victorious to without faith, you don’t have a seat on the throne. The second advent of Jesus will not be a day of reward for you. But if you put your faith in Him, you will experience the crown of righteousness, you will have a seat on the throne with him. Your sin will be paid in full by the righteous judge who came to us and he was born on that wonderful Christmas night. Be victorious. Well, this morning, we want to turn our eyes upon Jesus, we’re gonna look full in his wonderful face. glorious truth is that Christ is not only our judge, who gives us a seat on the throne, but he’s also our friend who gives us a seat at the table gives us a seat at the table. This comes from verse 20. In our passage, he says, Here I am, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person. And they with me. Friendship with Jesus is a wonderful thing. Abraham in the Old Testament is called a friend of God because of his faith. Charles Spurgeon said that is one of the sweetest things in all the world to be called a friend of Jesus. This is the relationship and the fellowship that we were created for.
And God had this friendship in himself for all of eternity, eternity past and going into eternity future. The members of the Trinity God the Father, God, the Son and God, the Spirit have a triune relationship of love that has been for all of time. And he calls us to join him in that relationship, that close fellowship with himself. That’s what we were made for. It’s why He created us. It’s through Christ as our friend, and we can experience this. Jesus is certainly much more than just our friend. You know, we don’t want to irreverently turn Jesus into our buddy or Powell. He’s much more than that. But Jesus is the The best friend that you could ever have was because Christ invites himself in. He’s the one that is standing at the door. He comes to us he says, Here I am, I stand at the door and knock. Let me in. I think of the story was that kiss? The Kiss was a wee little man. And a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a sycamore tree. For the Lord he wanted to see. It says in in Luke chapter 19. verses one through five says Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through a man who was there by the name of Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short, he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore fig tree to see him. Since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him that he has come down immediately. I must stay at your house today. Jesus shows incredible friendship to Zacchaeus by inviting himself in. Normally, it’s not polite, to invite yourself somewhere normally have to be invited by someone. But with Jesus, it’s it’s exactly this quality. That makes his friendship so wonderful. He saw Zacchaeus he called out to him and he invited himself in for a meal. The Kiss was not the person to pursue if Jesus was looking for political points, or social standing. Zacchaeus was a tax collector. He was viewed as a traitor by the Jewish people. That’s why the crowd begins to mutter, Jesus, Jesus is is a friend of sinners. You bet Jesus is a friend of sinners. That’s why his friendship is so unexpected. Yeah, so wonderful. Jesus pursues sinners, the most undeserving and most unexpected people. He invites himself in to anyone who will open the door. Now, we all agreed a few minutes ago that we were all guilty sinners, right? You standing at the door? He’s knocking. He’s calling out to you. He’s inviting himself in. Are you going to answer? See, you don’t you don’t need to go looking for Jesus. Jesus is not hiding behind a door. He’s not hiding under a rock somewhere. You don’t need to solve a riddle to discover him. He’s come to us. He came into our world as a child on that Christmas night. He’s revealed Himself to us through His Word. James Hastings, he said, we think of truth hiding behind a door that we need to find. But Christ is not hidden. He comes to us and we simply need to open the door. So Christ invites himself in. But even more than this Christ invites us in. Notice that Jesus doesn’t kick down the door. Jesus doesn’t open the door himself. Even though he certainly could. No, no, he invites us to a friendship where we play a role. This is this is what it means that we love Him because He first loved us. He isn’t forced himself onto us against our will. But it’s when our hearts are made new. We open the door and he invites us into fellowship with Him. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person. And they with me. Anyone who opens the door can have this friendship with Jesus. He invites us to open the door and and part of what that means is he invites us to join him in his mission. And John chapter 15, Jesus says to His disciples, He says, You are my friends, if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his masters business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my father, I have made known to you. Yes, it is true, that we are servants of God. But it’s also true that we are friends. Now there’s a there’s a difference between an acquaintance and a friend. You don’t share your entire life with an acquaintance. You don’t really talk about the important things of life. You kind of stick to the weather and sports and stuff like that. But with a friend, you talk about all of life. You’re open with them, you trust them, you let them into the more vulnerable parts of your life. So Jesus doesn’t call us to be acquaintances with him? He doesn’t want mere servants he doesn’t want a one dimensional relationship. No, he calls us into an all of life kind of fellowship with Him. This is why Jesus invites us into His mission. All that the Father made known to Jesus, he is made known to us. We know his business. What do you think about it, Jesus just doesn’t need us to fulfill His mission. Jesus could could spread the gospel himself. He he could appear to people he could, he could use angels even. But no, he uses us because He calls us friends. And he invites us into an all of life kind of relationship with Him, where we play a role in his mission. And as awesome as it is that Jesus invites us into this mission, it goes even further than that. Jesus invites us to a meal. Whoever opens the door, Jesus will come in and eat with that person. You know, a meal is one of the most hospitable things that you can share with someone, especially in the New Testament culture in the Middle East where hospitality was was held in such a high esteem. For someone to host a meal was to invite that that person into a partnership of fellowship with you. It’s much more significant than we view it today. It wasn’t, it was an invitation into an intimate close relationship. You might have even stayed overnight, it might have even lasted a few days. Because it wasn’t about the food itself. The meal is not just about eating it’s about the relationship. Now Jesus is not in the drive thru waiting for you to hand him that to go back. It’s not the kind of meal he’s after. No, he’s he’s after a sit down homemade family dinner on the holidays, that kind of meal. Know when you have the appetizers that that you eat, while the the main course is still cooking in the kitchen, and then the smell fills the entire house and you know that smell right? And then the the main course comes out, it’s not just any main course it’s the it’s the signature, the family recipe, it’s the best of the best that you bring out. And then there’s the obligatory nap on the couch afterwards, because you ate so much. And then after a little while the desserts come out and then you eat some more and you lose, you lose track of time because nothing else is on the schedule. And all that matters is just being together as a family, you’re simply enjoying the day. That’s a taste of the meal that Jesus invites us into. Because the meal is not the goal. The goal is a close personal relationship with Jesus. Jesus calls us friends. But his friendship is far deeper than even the greatest relationships we have here on this earth. Any worldly friendship pales in comparison to friendship with Jesus. Just like there’s a difference between an acquaintance and a friend. There’s there’s a difference between a friend and a spouse. I know my wife far greater than I know any of my friends. There’s no one on this earth that takes priority over her. She has the number one spot. Friendship with Jesus ought to be even deeper than that of a spouse. Because Jesus wants the number one spot. It’s one of the reasons why I think the the church is called the Bride of Christ. That metaphor is used to describe our relationship to him. It’s the kind of relationship he invites us into that’s, that’s the greatest earthly example that we can think of. Later in the book of Revelation, John describes the the joy in Heaven, over the wedding feast of the Lamb. A great multitude is praising God, because of the celebration of the Lamb and His Bride. Bless it are those who are invited to this feast it says
yeah, at a wedding. What’s the point of the reception? The point of the wedding reception is not primarily to enjoy a nice meal, or to dress up fancy. The point of the wedding reception is to celebrate the new relationship of the married couple. In a similar way, Jesus invites us into a close friendship, closer than any relationship on this earth, where we share an unhurried meal together. And the point is not the meal itself. But the friendship. So Jesus invites us to a seat at the table. It’s one of the sweetest things in all the world to be called Christ’s friend. He invites himself in And then He invites us in. I think the response for us is clear again, be a friend, be a friend, be a friend to Jesus. Hear him knocking, LISTEN to His voice, and open the door and let him in. join him at the table. This is Jose he has responded to the invitation of Jesus. Look again at Luke 19. It says, When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, that he has come down immediately. I must stay at your house today. So we came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, he has gone to be the guest of a sinner. But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, look, Lord, here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anybody out of money, I will pay back four times the amount. Jesus said to him, today, salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham, for the Son of Man came to seek and to save the last Zacchaeus is considered a friend of Jesus, just like Abraham was in the Old Testament. He welcomed him gladly. He came down at once, there was no hesitation. It was an invitation he couldn’t refuse. And it ought to be the same for us today. Welcome Jesus gladly prepare Him room. join him at the table. Of course, it’s not the meal itself that Jesus wants. It’s the relationship. He wants that close relationship. Spend time with him. Talk to Him in prayer. Don’t just talk to him about the sports and weather. Talk to you about everything in your life. Be a friend to Jesus. And then when you do that, join him on his mission and be a friend to others. Be a friend to others. Anyone who hears the voice of Jesus and opens the door will have a seat at the table. Jesus extends his invitation to anyone. And as his friends we know our masters business. He uses us to extend his friendship to the world. In John chapter 15, right before Jesus calls his disciples, his friends, he says this, he says, My command is this. Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Jesus showed the greatest love by laying down his life for his friends. Let’s command for us is the same. Love others the way Jesus loved us. Of course, we can’t die for others in the same way that Jesus died for us. We can follow his example as we love others. So get down on your hands and knees. Take off your robe and wash someone’s feet. Humble yourself and put the interests of others above your own. invite others into a close friendship with Jesus. Practice gospel centered hospitality. And Christmas is a great time of year to do this because we celebrate Jesus coming into our world to serve. We have an opportunity to point others to him through our service as well. Invite someone over for a meal. It’s a simple thing, invite them into your home. Not a fast food meal. But a sit down slow unhurried meal, where the relationship is the goal. Invite someone to worship here on Sunday. Be a friend of Jesus be a friend to others. Well, hope this morning you’ve been able to see the light of Christ, glory and grace. He’s the judge who gives us a seat on the throne. But he’s also our friend who gives us a seat at the table. And these two realities must be held together. If Christ is only our judge, then we lack the relationship that we were made for. But of Christ is only our friend, and we lack the justice that we long for. But Christ is excellent in that he is both so be victorious because you have a seat on the throne and be a friend because you have a seat at the table. Let’s pray together. Gracious Heavenly Father. You are excellent. unmatched in all your wisdom. You’re the judge you We’re the perfect judge who will set all things right near the judge who came down off your throne to become like us. So help us to be victorious. We want to be victorious want to finish the race, we want to want to keep the faith. We want to endure to the end and be faithful to you knowing that we have a C on your throne with you. So thank you. Well, we know you’re also our friend. You call us into a close intimate relationship with you and unhurried meal. So help us to be a friend help us to be your friend. Help us to extend this friendship to others. And Father this morning, would you give us ears to hear what you say to the church? We know that that is where true blessing is found. As you celebrate your first advent, we thank you for coming into our world and we look forward to when you will come again. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

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Guilty & Innocent (Matthew 27:11-26 December 10, 2023 | Brandon Cooper This sermon examines the trial of Jesus before Pilate as told in Matthew 27:11-26. It discusses how Jesus came as an unexpected king to save people in an unexpected way through his substitutionary death on the cross. Though innocent, Jesus remained silent at his trial in fulfillment of prophecy. He took the place of the guilty, represented by Barabbas, by being condemned to die on the cross instead of Barabbas. This allowed guilty sinners to be saved and welcomed as innocent by God. The sermon encourages listeners to submit to Jesus’ rescue through faith in him, despite it not being the rescue they wanted or expected.

Good morning church, and go ahead grab your Bibles open up to Matthew chapter 27. We’ll be starting in verse 11, Matthew 27, verse 11. As you’re turning there, I would guess that a great many of you have seen the film Finding Nemo. And you know, there’s a certain scene there where the Australian dentist goes to scoop Nemo out of the tank to give to his niece, or whatever it is, and the other fish in the tank rescue Nemo, but somewhat counter intuitively, because they want Nemo to go deeper into the net, when of course, your instinct is to swim out of the net. And then they also all get in the net with him, which seems even stranger, of course, but they save Nemo, because the whole net goes into the water and stuff like that. And then Nemo is able to do this for some other fish later on when the fishing trawler, like scooped up a whole bunch of them in the ocean, and he’s able to convince these other fish, you know, you got to swim down instead of trying to swim out and he gets in the net with them. But you know, he convinces them to to act counter intuitively, even though it really does take some convincing there for a moment. Now, why do I mention any of this? Let’s go back to our series idea, which we kind of looked at last week, the idea last week was to have any hope of salvation, we need an unexpected King, not just what we’re going to see today is it’s not just the who, but the how that is unexpected as well, because this unexpected King launches a wholly unexpected rescue plan as well. Like we did not expect rescue to come like this. We did not expect deliverance to look like this. And so our main idea up on the screen for you there to have any hope of salvation, we need our unexpected King, to save us in an unexpected way to unpack as we go this morning. I just want to give us one kind of key piece as we get started The why is the way unexpected. It’s because of who we are. As much as it is because of who Jesus is. It’s unexpected because the ones he’s come to save are guilty. We are guilty of high treason against the unexpected King. Like we’re engaged in regicide, as we’ll see. And so the fact that Jesus is coming to save those who are an act of rebellion against them leads to a series of ironies, this unexpected, you know, Nemo, like rescue that we’ve got here. So we’re gonna look at these three ironies as we unpack our passage this morning. So the first irony is that Jesus is the silent word from Matthew 27, verses 11 to 14. Let me read it for us now. Meanwhile, Jesus stood before the governor and the governor asked him, Are you the king of the Jews? You have said so Jesus replied, when he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate asked him, don’t you hear the testimony they’re bringing against you. But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge to the great amazement of the governor. So let’s just situate ourselves here, where we are. In the story. Jesus has already been tried by the Jewish leaders, the religious leaders who’ve been found guilty of blasphemy, and now they hand him over to Rome, for execution, not something that they are supposed to do. So that’s why they’re giving him to Rome, as this is going on. You know, Peter is actively disowning Jesus, Judas is hanging himself. And that’s the the meanwhile, while all that’s happening, Jesus stands before Pilate. So why is he before Pilate? He has been found guilty of blasphemy, about which Rome cares, not one jot, of course, they don’t care in the slightest what any particular Jew thinks about anything religiously. And so the religious leaders have to turn this theological issue into a political one.
He’s a threat to Caesar, that one will get Rome’s attention. By the way, he’s a threat to Caesar, because he claimed to be the Messiah, the King of the Jews. And so that’s what Pilate asked him, Are you the king of the Jews? And Jesus has this curious reply. It’s recorded in all four Gospels. So almost certainly this is verbatim what he said here, you have said so it’s a curious reply, because it does two things kind of simultaneously. On the one hand, it affirms the truth of the statement, like, Yep, you got it. But on the other hand, there’s a little bit of distance there probably because Jesus is saying like, Yes, I’m the king of the Jews, but not in the sense that you’re thinking of, like you’ve got these words in your mind but they are attached to very different concepts than what I’m thinking of. In fact, in John’s Gospel, Jesus says something to Pilate, he says, Yeah, you know, but my kingdom is not of this world. And Rome is really only interested in this world kingdoms, you know, like threat to their rule. So it’s a different sort of kingship. And Pilate gets it. You can see in this whole episode where I keep coming up against it, like Pilate is on Jesus’s side. He knows there’s no real charge here. He knows that Jesus is not a threat. And so the Jewish leaders have to keep making these accusations probably similar to some of the accusations that are thrown out in the previous chapter when he is on trial before the religious leaders, you know, Jesus has said things like, Destroy this temple and in three days, I’ll raise it up until they go see he wants to destroy the temple, which is a pretty revolutionary thing. He’s a dangerous insurrectionists like you need to take care of him. And Jesus makes no reply. Which leaves Pilate incredulous he can’t believe that Jesus isn’t defending himself, especially because he could have refuted every charge easily, like no, not dangerous revolutionary, really don’t care about Rome’s rule here right now. So pilots amazed but Matthew’s readers would have known would have seen in Jesus’s silence, a fulfillment of the prophecy that Simeon read for us earlier, the prophecy of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53, verse seven, we actually looked at part of this verse last week here, all of it is now as if 53 Verse seven, He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before it’s yours is silent. So he did not open his mouth, he remains silent. But this is unexpected, of course. I mean, here you have the King of kings, submitted to some earthly not even a king, just a Roman governor, and we have the Judge of all the earth silent at his own defense trial. This is very unexpected. But why is it happening? It’s because Jesus, who is KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS is in submission willingly to his father. We see in this moment, his perfect obedience and perfect resignation to the Father’s will. Here’s what he says in John’s gospel, John chapter 10 passage we looked at this summer, Jesus says, No one takes my life from me. But I lay it down on my own accord, I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. So the stress there is on his authority, right? He has all authority. He said that before. In fact, he even tells Pilate in John’s gospel, you couldn’t do this, unless I was letting you do this, like the authority is all mine here. And yet this command I received from my father, there’s that tension again, this kind of like lion lamb field that we looked at last week, he has all authority, and yet he has all submission. At the same time. His commitment to the cross to carrying out his Father’s Will is absolute. And so he won’t turn from that goal, which answers the big question that we all have. Why does he stay silent? Well, because part of the unexpected rescue is that he himself can’t be rescued. If he’s going to rescue us, which means he can’t defend himself here. This would be like a marine jumping on a grenade in order to save his platoon. And you’d ask him in the next life, I guess, you know, why didn’t you save yourself jump out of the hole or something? Well, because I couldn’t save them. Unless I gave up my own life. That’s where Jesus is to he needs to lose his trial. So he makes no reply. Not even one word, it says literally, again, just a tremendous irony, the word of God utter is not one word here, which is a great irony in its own right, but it’s even greater. Because Jesus’s silence here is followed by the church’s proclamation like Jesus doesn’t say anything and the church doesn’t stop talking about him. We draw this irony by looking at Pilate actually, because it is fascinating. So Donald Hagner in his commentary on Matthew, he writes this, he says, the dignity of that silence impresses even pilot who could not, however, have known that he was participating in a divine drama of such historical consequence that his own name would thereby be immortalized. Like this is interesting. So I would be willing to bet that most of you in this room, maybe just a handful of you would be accepted and most of you in this room have no idea who got as Mario says, or Cornelius Sula, who are, by the way, really important Roman figures, way more important than, like, if you were to go back and ask Plutarch or somebody like that, like, who are people going to remember Gaius Marius, the first man in Rome or pilot, he’d go who? Like guys, Maurice? I know who was the other guy who said he was governor of some backwater province once like, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Everyone here knows the name of Pilate. Why? Because he was near Jesus. That’s why Jesus was silent. And yet his name has been proclaimed, no word has been more often preached than this. Jesus, Jesus, who is God’s word spoken in creation, but proclaimed in redemption, as well. The word is what John calls him, right, John chapter one. That’s where we’ll be Christmas Eve, by the way, the word he’s the message of God. That’s what that means. What is the message of God that in Christ God is reconciling all things to himself. But we can’t proclaim that word. We can’t proclaim the possibility of redemption, unless he is the silent word here. Which leads us to the second irony in this unexpected rescue, then, Jesus can’t defend himself because he can’t deliver himself which we’ve hinted at already. So second point, Jesus second irony here that Jesus is the undelivered deliver me keep reading in verses 15 to 22. Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a well known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. So in the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, Which one do you want me to release to you, Jesus, Barabbas or Jesus who was called the Messiah, for who knew it was out of self interest that they had handed Jesus over to him. While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message don’t have anything to do with that innocent man for have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him. The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd Astra Barabbas, and to have Jesus executed. Which of the two do you want me to release to you as the governor Barabbas? They answered, What shall I do then with Jesus who is called the Messiah? Pilate asked, they all answered, Crucify Him. So Pilate knows that Jesus is not a threat to Rome. So there should be a really easy trial, except that there are political considerations at work. This is one of the really frustrating things about politics, isn’t it? Right? When you see men and women who’ve been elected to office who make terrible, terrible choices, because you know, they’re worried about a primary challenge or something like that. That’s basically where pilot is here. But he sees a way out, kind of a win win for him. And you know, for the the Jewish crowd at least, so every year and it seems as custom predates Pilate, but every year, the Roman governor would release a Jewish prisoner at Passover known as the Passover, amnesty. Really shrewd move politically because it gets everyone chummy right at a time of potential unrest. The past because what’s the Passover celebrating? It’s when God with a mighty outstretched arm delivered Israel from foreign oppression. You can understand why Rome would want to tamp that down a little bit right then. So Pilate stands before the crowd and says, We got two Jesus options here. It is fascinating, by the way that the guy’s name is Jesus. Barabbas. So Jesus very common name Joshua. Right? Very common Jewish name at this time. So first name is Joshua, and then Barabbas, which just means son of my father, tough to be son of anyone else. But there you have it. Okay. So he but he’s Jesus, son of Abba. There’s irony right there, of course, because that’s Jesus. I mean, he’s the one who prays to Abba Father teaches us to pray the same. So to Jesus options, we’ve got Barabbas, who’s an actual insurrectionist. And then the son of Abba, who is actually innocent. pilot knows that the leaders have handed Jesus over to him purely out of self interest out of envy, really, Jesus is not a threat to Roman leadership, but he is a threat to Jewish leadership. He’s a threat to their rule. And that’s his, what Pilate sees is the real problem here, so he’s like, great, again, way out. Surely the people are going to agree, they’ll ask for Jesus who’s called the Messiah. Because if you haven’t noticed so far in the Gospel, Jesus is really popular. The crowds follow him wherever he goes. In fact, pilots like what you hear on Sunday, guy came in on a donkey crowds are crying out, you know, whole Santa, and then they’re like dropping their cloaks down and the grounds are that the donkey doesn’t even have to walk in the dirt. He’s very popular. The crowds will say, Jesus is the Messiah. You know, let’s go with him. So Jesus, the innocent ones gonna be released Barabbas the terrorists gonna stay in jail and pilot gets to save face. It’s a win win win, this is perfect. Even better, actually, because pilots going to have some domestic harmony going as well, since he listened to his wife, who had this really bad dream. She knows he’s innocent. So one more when we’ll come back to the dream in the next section. The only problem with pilots plan is that the crowd is not a representative slice of Israel. Be like rallies today where you know, the polling is not quite the same as it might be in the nation as a whole. It’s a group of like minded people who are all getting really stirred up and agitated to gather. And this crowd is Jerusalem based, which will be different from the Hosanna Palm Sunday crowd, which would be from the outskirts, everyone coming into Jerusalem for Passover. So this crowd is Jerusalem based, which means they’re going to skew towards the Sanhedrin towards the Jewish ruling council. And so this crowd is easily persuaded to ask for Barabbas instead. So what about Jesus? Then? Pilate asks, it’s gonna let him rot in prison. No, no, no, no, that’d be too good for him. They shout, Crucify Him. Now, crucify whom exactly. Jesus who is called the Messiah, says that twice here in this section, verse 17, and verse 22, says what Pilate calls it but think about what’s happening here. Now Pilate doesn’t believe that Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus doesn’t hear Pilate doesn’t care if Jesus is the Messiah, that’s like meaningless to him. But still, it keeps getting said this is like, unwitting a prophecy. At this point. It’s repeated twice to bring out the irony, what is the Messiah, the Messiah is the long expected deliver. He’s the second Moses, who’s going to lead his people Israel out of this foreign oppression. The Messiah comes for this very reason to save His people. And here his people decide to kill him instead. Like there’s the irony. And again, why Jesus is not a threat to Rome, but he is a threat to the religious leaders. He’s a threat to their self rule. That’s the problem. And really, that’s why the religious leaders have a problem with Rome, too, isn’t it? Like what’s wrong with Rome? They’re really good at building aqueducts and roads, you know, like they’re gonna keep the peace and stuff like who’s decent government? I get no, but but they’re telling us how to live and we don’t like that. Of course, none of us like that. That’s the whole problem, right? It’s an issue of autonomy. We just we don’t want anyone to tell us what to do. Whether that’s Rome, or
Lord Jesus. Aw, Tozer put it like this. Decades ago. He says sin has many manifestations, but its essence is one, a moral being created to worship before the throne of God. That’s the dangerous part, right? God’s on the throne, he’s actually King unexpected or otherwise he is King. So a moral being created to worship before the throne of God sits on the throne of his own selfhood. And from that elevated position declares, I am that sin. I don’t want God, I would like to be my own God. I don’t want a king. I think I could rule my own life just fine. So why did this unexpected King come? This king came to save those who claimed his throne. That’s remarkable. Where most kings wage war to reclaim their throne, Christ waged war against our rebellion to reclaim us. That’s the wonder that we celebrated last week right as lion he conquers our sin. But as lamb he covers our sins so that we are not destroyed, even as our sin is. So we have a stunning picture of the gospel in this scene, because the guilty is set free, while the innocent is condemned to die in his place. That’s the substitution that’s at the heart of the gospel message. Barabbas has committed the crime sedition, for which the Romans will shortly crucify the innocent Christ.
In the same way that we are guilty of the sin for which God’s wrath will shortly be poured out on the sinless Christ. So Barabbas is the picture of the gospel BRABUS received freedom repeat reprieve grace, when Pilate grants him amnesty in Jesus place BRABUS gets a second chance. He’s not killed for his crimes. He gets a second chance because Christ didn’t get a first chance. The blows hammered upon Jesus’s back were meant for him. nails should have held him to that tree the grave should have embraced him Not, instead it could not hold Jesus. nd Rembrandt’s painting, the raising of the cross depicts the raising of the cross. So you know Jesus is being crucified actively in there. They’re lifting him up at this point. And what’s interesting about the painting is that Rembrandt has painted himself into the scene. He is one of the executioner’s because he knows that even separated by all those centuries, he participated in the murder of the innocent Christ, because it’s because of a his sin that Jesus was there. That’s what we need to do. We need to paint ourselves into this scene as well. How do we do that? Put yourself in Barabbas shoes. That’s where we are in this story, right? This is the gospel, what you and I and Barabbas should have suffered, Christ suffered instead, in our place. So there’s the great irony. We need an unexpected King to save us in an unexpected way by refusing to save himself. Like Nemo, he climbs into the net with other fish. The only difference is that unlike Nemo, he stays there. He dies, he is the deliver because he was not delivered. This is exactly the way they mock him later. If you were to drop down in chapter 27, verse 42, as Jesus on the cross there mocking He saved others, they said, but he can’t save himself. He’s the king of Israel, let him come down now from the cross. And we will believe in him they’ve missed the point entirely. If he were to come down from that cross, he would not be worthy of believing in he would have brought no salvation for us is because he did not deliver himself that we worship Him leads to the last irony in this unexpected rescue. The condemned is the only innocence in the story. In in in history, the condemned innocent, let’s keep reading. Matthew 27, verses 23 to 26. So they all answered, crucify him. Why? What crime has he committed as Pilate, they shouted all the louder crucify him. When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but instead an uproar was starting he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. I am innocent of this man’s blood. He said it is your responsibility. All the people answered His blood is on us and on our children. And he released BRABUS to them but he had Jesus flogged and handed him over to be crucified. What crime has he committed? To the question Pilate keeps asking, he’s done nothing deserving of death. Drag pilots at the point now where he’s going to look, I’m not even sure he’s done anything worthy of punishment. Like you’re gonna have to throw me a bone here. If you want me to condemn him, I’m gonna need some sort of pretense. Some excuses is like, you know, the cop who pulls over is when a suspect of a crime because the tail lights out. That’s what he’s looking for. Like, I don’t need to know the whole gun, like, just give me the tail light being out so I can pull them over. And we can go from there. Even my wife knows. Right? She had this dream that confirms his innocence. The word that’s used there actually is have nothing to do with that righteous man. Like we have supernatural confirmation. Jesus is innocent. God could have rearranged the stars at this moment so that it spelled it out and like blinking supernovas. Jesus is innocent, it would not have mattered. The crowd doesn’t even bother with the question. What crime has he committed? Crucify him. Why are we worried about charges kill him now? We’ll sort it out later, because that’s how mobs work. Right? This is mob justice. So they shout crucify, which is interesting, by the way, because they demand not just Jesus’s death, but they demand a certain type of death. They specify the death, they want him to die. And it is a shocking death. Like crucifixion is so horrible. Romans wouldn’t even talk about it in polite company. Cicero tells us and it couldn’t be used on Roman citizens. Like you could try to assassinate, you know, a Roman senator or something like that they would kill you. Yes, but not by crucifixion. There was no crime you could commit as a Roman that would get you crucifixion. It was a deterrent used on the lowest of the low. It was equally horrifying for Jews for different reasons. Deuteronomy 21 Verse 23. Anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse. So if you’re crucified that shows that God has cursed you. That’s why they want him crucified. That’s why they specify the means. This would be proof that the blast femur has been cursed by God that he has been dammed by God. And Paul, the apostle says, Exactly, that’s exactly what happens. Galatians 313 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. And he goes on to quote Deuteronomy 2123. Right there. This is the whole point of the Gospel, Jesus takes our place under the curse so that we can take his place under the blessing of God. Well, Powell is just reached the point where he’s tired of beating his head against the wall. It there’s an uproar coming, he can feel it, he’s not willing to risk it. So he literally washes his hands of it. Right, he wants to be innocent also. But of course, this is a perversion of justice, like hand sanitizer is not going to help you. Here he is, in fact, in charge, he should have declared Jesus innocent he’s unwilling to. But the Jewish leaders are also guilty, of course, and they take the blood guilt on themselves quite willingly. Now, this is a tough verse, in light of history. And even in light of what’s happening today. This verse has been used to justify what we sanitized by calling anti semitism, but what is really just Jew hatred. And that has been practiced even by those who would claim Christ throughout the centuries. So we got to talk about it, even though it’s a little bit off my main point here. What do we have to say about this? First of all, this does not say, you know, his blood will be on all Jews everywhere for all time. That is not what the verse says. It’s a small group of people. There are a few 100 who are gathered here, probably, at this point. And we know that because you know, there’s some other Jews in Bible like Peter, John, Paul, Okay, I’ll stop there. Okay, so one small group, it’s also for one generation. It doesn’t say, but are we behind us and our children and their children to 1000 Generations, which you can find in the Old Testament plenty knows one generation, which is actually interesting, because what happens within one generation of this moment, the fall of Jerusalem, where these people live, that’s the punishment right there. Okay. And even if it were, by the way, if I’ve completely misread all of this, which I haven’t, I’m sure. God also says things like Vengeance is Mine, says the Lord. Like it is not our business to punish people for crimes against God, God will take care of that. Oh, and among Jesus’s final words, from the cross where he’s been cursed by God, our words like Forgive them, Father, the Roman executioners, that religious leaders forgive them Father, for they do not know what they are doing. Which is exactly right. Because they are condemning an innocent man foolishly. So again, let’s step back like why are they so hell-bent on destroying Jesus? Because Jesus is an unexpected King, and he’s bringing an unexpected rescue and they don’t like it. They wanted a deliverer. They wanted a long expected Messiah, they wanted him to be clad in armor. They wanted him to toss off the Roman yoke, so that Israel could be restored to its former glory under David, what a tiny vision by the way, compared to what God has for them. But because Jesus is an unexpected King, accomplishing an unexpected rescue, they reject him utterly.
They’re as dumb as the fish trying to swim out of the net, instead of trying to swim down. And by where the analogy is apt, you know that, spiritually speaking, we come into this world dumber than fish. Because fish obey their makers voice. We’re the only ones who tried to kill our maker, dumber than fish. But why? Because we want what we want when we want it. And that’s what the religious leaders are doing here. So here’s part of the wonder of the gospels that Jesus brings us the rescue we need, not the rescue we want. It would be a little bit like a parent with a high school student who’s struggling in honors math. The parents have a little powwow and stuff that come and sit down the kid and say, hey, you know, we’re not going to have you drop down to regular or something like that. We’re gonna keep you an honors class, instead of having you drop the class and have you dropped this extracurricular because we know what you want to do. We’ve seen what God’s made you to do we know that you need this class, we’re gonna get you the help that you need. We’re gonna free up some time so you can work harder on him. The kids going no, no, no, no, no, no. Like, I don’t really like honors math, but I’m a big fan of extracurriculars. It’s the rescue. We need, not the rescue we want. What is it we want? We want God to change our circumstances so that we are free to pursue vainly happiness apart from him. Instead, God often leaves us in circumstances like Roman oppression, for example, that will teach us to cry out and desperation for the only one who will satisfy our souls. As well as Elliot said, it’s a quote I’ve said before, I will say again, the secret is Christ in me, not me. He in different circumstances, that’s the rescue we need. But it’s still not what we want. We are a lot more like the religious leaders than we care to admit. And part of that is because of this rescue implies our guilt. And we don’t like that part. Right? It’s unexpected, this whole substitution thing because we thought we were good, or at the very least, we could get good like, give us a little more time, we can make a few tweaks, we will get there. But Jesus had to die, because we are not good, not good enough and not going to become good enough. Like this passage makes shockingly clear that an innocent man goes to his death. It is a brutal injustice, because this is the only truly innocent man who has ever lived. But that happens so that guilty men and women like you and me can escape death, which by the way, is also an injustice, or injustice. When we condemn an innocent person, it’s also an injustice when the guilty go free. It is an injustice that we get to go free, but because it’s better than justice, it is grace. To have any hope of salvation, we need our unexpected King to save us in an unexpected way. At the salvation that Jesus accomplishes, it comes in those same, you know, admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies that we talked about last week, Jonathan Edwards, great quote, we see you to get right here. Here’s the man of sorrows, who for the joy set before him endured that sorrow. Here’s the King of kings and Lord of lords and willing submission to his father and to the Roman government. And here’s the only innocent man who ever lived, declared guilty before a mob. Why? Because for the guilty to be welcomed as innocent, we needed the innocent to be condemned as guilty. So how do we respond to ways that I can think of, but it’s a single word really, submission? Submission is the proper response here. So submission in two ways. First, is submit to the rescue. And then second, submit to the response. We walk you through those. So first, submit to the rescue. What I mean by that is accept the rescue that Jesus offers in the way that he offers us. Alright, so picture the scene, there’s a catastrophic flood and there’s a a wealthier woman, let’s say who’s there. She’s on the second story of her house at this point, because the first ones flooded out and whatnot. The boat comes up, you know, rickety little watercraft. It’s filled with all sorts of people. And she doesn’t want to get in why? Who want to leave her house behind? It’s got all of her nice things in it. They’re ruined now, but still, she likes him. Plus, it’s still raining outside hence the flood. She was one of mess up her hair or nice clothes. You know, she’s got the leather handbag, her shoes are suede. You want water does the suede, it’s gonna ruin it. And look at the people in the boat. Look at the people in the boat. These are the riffraff. These are people she looks down on. These are the people who are her enemies. That’s the perspective of the Pharisees. But all too often, that’s the perspective of us as well. Right? And the analogy at least we are literally in the same boat as other people. And the Pharisees are looking and going no, there are tax collectors and prostitutes in that boat. I’m not getting in. And we feel the same way. We prefer self-help. Why? When the boats right there, we prefer self-help. Because if it’s my salvation, then it’s my glory. Then I’ve earned it right? I did it. And so the woman, like so many of us, sets off swimming, which ruins her suede pumps. still okay, sets off swimming. But here’s the thing you set off swimming and you will not reach those golden shores. It doesn’t look the way she wanted it to our salvation doesn’t look the way we want it to. It doesn’t flatter us at all to know that should have been me on the cross, not just suffering the wrath of Rome but suffering the wrath of God because of my sin. That should have been me. That’s not good news. But there is better news in it. It didn’t deserve it, couldn’t earn it, and I still get it. We’re guilty. But we can be welcomed as innocent because the only innocent was condemned as guilty. So submit to the rescue by receiving the offered grace. And even today, the boat is there. The hand is outstretched own it and own your guilt receive the salvation submit to the rescue. Second, submit to the response. Speaking to those of us who’ve gotten in the boat already happily, the what I mean by this is submit to the way the world responds to those who seek to follow Christ. Jesus says at one point like of course the world hates you and is going to hate you. It hated me like Look what they did to Jesus. Why would they do anything? different to those of us who claim Jesus. So submit to the response. I’m not saying we don’t ever stand up for our rights. There’s a time and a place for all that kind of stuff. But we can certainly and should certainly emulate Jesus’s joyful sorrow and confident resignation. The example of Paul throughout the book of acts like read through at some time, especially in rapid succession, you’ll see the story play out over and over again. Paul keeps getting a hold before the magistrates, Roman magistrates, again, the Roman magistrates keep recognizing his innocence. Just sounds like this is a Jewish Theological issue. And that’s the only thing here and yet he keeps getting left in chains. Because they want to bribe or you know, whatever other reason that is happening there. But the key is that middle one, his innocence is recognized. The key for us is to make sure the charges don’t stick. We’re not going to be perfectly innocent in this life. That’s not for us. But we should certainly be growing in righteousness, holiness, Christ likeness, and it should be obvious to those around us, even those of us who don’t care for Christ. Like if you’re accused of being hateful, maybe because you, you hold to the biblical standard for sexuality, for example, the people in your life should go. But it’s not true. He’s the most loving person I know. She’s the most loving person I look at all that they do, even for those who disagree with them. They’re not hateful. I’m sorry, they’re not. The car charges shouldn’t stick. This is the way Peter puts it Peter, who gets hauled before magistrates and is crucified, much like his Lord, he says this shortly before his death, but even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Because again, you’re doing what Jesus did. Do not fear their threats, do not be frightened. What are they going to do to you kill you? Big deal, you’re going to die anyway. And by the way, resurrection from the dead, like we’re gonna be okay. If you’re the one who can destroy body and soul not just the body do not fear their threats. Do not be frightened, but in your hearts, revere Christ as Lord, He’s the King, even if he’s an unexpected one. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asked you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. Keeping a clear conscience making sure the charges don’t stick so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. We can be willing to be falsely accused to suffer unjustly so that we can proclaim the silent word. Like in following Jesus, we get into the net also does something different for sure, but we get in the net. Also, for the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before us we can endure slander, so that we can see God’s rescue unfold in the lives of the men and women around us. And that is the word I want to leave you with today. If you took nothing else away, take this away in terms of what to do proclaim the good news. I keep saying to have any hope of salvation, because we have the HOPE of salvation, right? We have the HOPE of salvation, because our unexpected King has saved us in an unexpected way. Tell people about that. Let’s pray to him now. Lord, we worship you as our unexpected king. And we bow humbly before you because we have seen our unexpected salvation. It wasn’t the rescue we wanted. Because we wanted to be left in our sin and rebellion against you. We wanted to be left in our pretended autonomy. But it was the rescue we needed. Because there is no salvation that way. There is not the fullness of joy, of a hope of peace, of love, of an eternity with you which is our highest good apart from Christ’s rescue. So humble us again, even now, so that we can recognize our guilt and embrace the innocent one who was condemned as guilty in our place, so that we can be welcomed before you as righteous in your eyes, not because of anything we have done but because of what he did for us and Lord, with news that good shouldn’t be kept to ourselves. Would you give us the courage, the love and the opportunity to share that news with others even this week we pray in Christ’s name, amen.

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Lion & Lamb (Revelation 5:5-6) December 3, 2023 | Brandon Cooper This sermon discusses how Jesus is both the lion of Judah who conquers sin through his victory on the cross, and the lamb who was slain to cover our sins. It explores how Jesus embodies paradoxical extremes of love and justice, strength and gentleness. The sermon encourages Christians to worship Jesus as both the conquering lion and sacrificed lamb through our words, lives, and as a congregation.

Good morning. I’m gonna go ahead. Grab your Bibles. You can open up to Revelation chapter five. Revelation chapter five, we’ll look at the first few verses there as we begin our new series – Advent series – an Unexpected King, and we are celebrating the coming of our King, this King of glory, infinite riches of glory are his and yet he is born in a manger. And now that odd juxtaposition kind of hints at the theme of our series that we’ll be unpacking for the next few weeks. We live in an age of extremes, I don’t think I need to convince anyone of that we are in a deeply polarized society. And so kind of our unofficial motto is no compromise. No quarter when it comes to these sorts of culture clashes that we have, you know, you got to pick a team, right? Are you Team Black Lives Matter? Or are you Team Blue Lives Matter? We got to know which one you are; make sure you put your sign in your front yard. If there is an unplanned pregnancy, do we care for the mom? Or do we care for the life of the baby? Are you allowed to play Christmas music before Thanksgiving? And the answer is no. Okay, no, it’s a mortal sin. I’m sorry. Okay. I know some of you came here looking for a salve for your conscience, but I’m not giving it to you. All right, you shouldn’t do it. But no, most of these are, of course, a false dichotomy. I mean, that’s the whole problem, right? I mean, should we care about Black Lives? Or should we care about the lives of our law enforcement? Yes. I don’t understand the question. You know, should we support a mother who’s going through an unplanned pregnancy? Or should we work to preserve the life of the baby in that employment? Yes, yes, of course, both. So it’s this strange paradox where so often, what we need is both extremes simultaneously. 100%. Like, I think sometimes we might. Either you got to pick one or the other, or let’s moderate it. Like we’re gonna be 50% Pro this and 50%. Pro that No, we got to be 100%. Both. There’s actually one reason that I’m convinced that Christianity is true. One of many reasons, I’m convinced Christianity is true, but because it rejects false dichotomies time and time again, and insists on something richer than both. I’m actually wary of Christians who are on the extremes, because almost every heresy in the history of the church comes down to somebody going, well, it’s gotta be one of the other. So let’s pick this one. When you go, no, no, no, it is both at the same time. Should we be about love or justice? Yes, right? Both what matters? The body or the spirit? Both, right, because we have a physical resurrection that is coming or look at the mysteries at the core of Christianity like the Trinity is God one, or is God three? Well, he’s three individual persons forming a cohesive unity, three in one, a tri unity Trinity. And this has all sorts of implications for us. I mean, just think about that, that Trinity idea right there, like how that cuts against both traditional and modern societies and points us in a better direction. In traditional societies, the needs and desires of an individual are subsumed under the needs of the tribe or clan, or family. I know you want to be an artist, but you got to be a doctor or lawyer. Sorry, you just got to do it. Or in a modern society, of course, it’s the needs of the individual. Doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks there’s no sense of duty or anything like that. You just You gotta you do you write expressive individualism, all that. And now Christianity goes, no, no, the individual matters, and the community matters both at the same time. 100%. Well, then we come to the person of Jesus, which is our focus today, of course, and those impossible extremes are wedded in the unlikeliest ways there is in Jesus Christ what Jonathan Edwards calls an admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies I deeply regret that we don’t talk like this anymore. And admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies right there, these extreme excellencies that somehow come together in Jesus Christ, you wouldn’t expect the combination to work and it’s so wonderful when you see it, to do what Jesus needed to do. He had to be who he is, like Jesus couldn’t just be loving, or just be just. He had to be 100%, loving 100%. Just at the same time. And that’s kind of our main idea, really, for the series as a whole. I’m going to introduce in the series today, although we’ll look at a specific point, but to have any hope of salvation, we need an unexpected King. have any hope of salvation, we need an unexpected King and we’re going to flesh this out as we go throughout the series, as I said, but the unexpectedness is in that mirror Marriage of opposites, we’re going to see it so clearly in our first passage this morning. So what I’m gonna do is I’m going to read it and actually give it some context and read more than the couple of verses we’re looking at. Give it some context. And then we’re going to draw out those diverse excellencies and celebrate them together. So let me read Revelation, chapter five. I’m gonna read verses one to seven, even though we’re going to drill down in verses five and six. Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a scroll with writing on both sides, and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll. But no one in heaven or on earth, or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept, because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside, then one of the elders said to me, Do not weep. See, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll, and its seven seals, then I saw a Lamb looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, and circled by the four living creatures, and the elders, the lamb, and seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth, he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne, and kind of goes from there. So what exactly is happening here? Again, let’s get some context. We are looking really at the beginning of the end, here, we’re looking at the end of time, which is going to begin with the opening of this scroll. Because what exactly is this scroll? Good question, right? So you’ll notice it’s got writing on both sides. This is highly unusual. In this time, scrolls are almost always written on just one side, I could explain to you why but you’re not interested. So we’re not going to talk about it. Okay. But there is one type of scroll that actually did have writing on both sides. It’s called an epistle graph, which means both sides graph basically, so that there you go, and what was it would be something like a contract or a deed. So they would, they would write the contract on the one side, seal the scroll with the seven seals, and then on the back, they’d write the details. So you’d know which scroll you were looking at, okay, I need, you know, the merger of these two companies, or here’s a divorce certificate or something like that. Those are the kinds of things that were written on both sides. But what contract would we be talking about here in Revelation? Well, based on what happens in Revelation, as well as the use of a scroll in apocalyptic writings, generally, we got a whole bunch of apocalyptic literature from this time period, like the 50 years before and after Christ, because messianic expectation had reached a fever pitch, right? So based on how scrolls get used in apocalyptic, and what we see in Revelation, what’s written on the scroll was not a contract, but God’s plan of redemption. This is how history is going to end. And in fact, unrolling the scroll is what gets it going. The closest illustration I can think of as Mission Impossible, right, where he, he opens the woudl device, or whatever, at the time, and it says, Here’s your mission, if you choose to accept it. And so it’s the opening of that, that sets this all in motion. And if the person doesn’t accept, it doesn’t click on that device, you know, Tom Cruise or whatever, then the mission doesn’t happen. That’s why John’s in such despair, when no one is worthy to open the scroll. Because, well, the mission goes unfulfilled. History doesn’t come to its culmination, there’s no salvation, God’s plan of redemption will not unfold. But then the angel comforts John, there is one worthy, and he’s an unexpected King, because he is both lion and lamb. And the two don’t belong together. Like lions and lambs are not friends, at least not for long, because one of them will be eaten quickly. Yet, here they are. And so what we want to explore this morning is why does Jesus need to be both lion and lamb? So starting in verse five, why do we need an ally and we need a lion to conquer sin? So here’s verse five again, and one of the elders said to me, Do not weep. See, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David has triumphed, he is able to open the scroll, and it’s seven seals. So there’s heavenly being one of the elders around the throne points to the lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, he’s the one who’s triumph so he’s the one who is worthy to open the scroll. Now these are two of the great Christological titles in revelation to the great titles for Christ in Revelation. Each one is taken from the Old Testament. The lion comes from the passage that the beer guys were kind enough to read for us earlier. Genesis 49, nine and 10.
Here it is for you. You are a Lions cub, Judah. You returned from the press A my son like a lion he crouches and lies down like a lioness who dares to rouse him. The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the rulers, staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come in the obedience of the nations shall be his. This comes in the context of Jacob’s blessing on his sons. And this is his blessing on Judah, which is a little bit odd, by the way, because who’s kind of chief of the sons at this point? Not Judah, Joseph is, and yet Judah is the one who’s going to be the line of kings. Apparently, he’s going to be in fact, rule over all nations, ultimately. And that will come through military victory. Brian, read that for us. In verse eight, your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. So you will have triumphed. In other words, this lion, he goes out, he fights and he wins. And then he comes back, and he lies down like he’s earned his rest. That’s why nobody’s going to rouse him at that point. So this is a title that celebrates Messiah’s victory over his enemies. And that makes perfect sense when you think about what a lion is. So lion is the animal most frequently mentioned in the Old Testament at about 150 times. And it is in the Old Testament frequently, a symbol of strength and majesty. not unique to the Bible, right? That’s just kind of how we think of lions. That’s why there are lions in all sorts of places. But you see this in the Old Testament for sure. David’s throne, for example, his son Solomon constructs, it sits on David’s throne, it has 12 lions on the steps leading up to it. It’s a little unclear if they’re all carved out of ivory or if some of them were actually lions that they just like had their which would be a little bit imposing, of course, because David was the lion of the tribe of Judah, he was the king in Judah’s line, that’s his family. But of course, he’s a foreshadowing the true lion of the tribe of Judah who had come Jesus. So that’s one way the lions used another way the lions used the Old Testament is when prophets speak of God, as a divine warrior. They use the image of a lion. You can see this in Isaiah and Jeremiah or here in Hosea, chapter five, verse 14, Jose says, For I will be like, This is God’s speaking for I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a great lion to Judah, I will tear them to pieces and go away, I will carry them off with no one to rescue them. So we don’t always like these images. I don’t always like the idea of God as a divine warrior, especially if he’s against us. We prefer our kindly grandfatherly sort of God. But at the same time we do all long for justice, also. And that’s the context of Hosea five, why is the Lord going against Judah at this point, because they are exploiting the poor of the nation. And so God is against them. This is good, right? We need a king to set things right to overcome the evil in the world, I guess is what we’re longing for. Like, why do we watch so many movies about superheroes and super spies? Because we want to know that somebody is going to win, like the right person is going to win Indiana Jones or James Bond or Loki or Ahsoka, I don’t care who it is, I just need to know the person who’s got all the power is going to do it and do it. Right. We want to know that Justice comes in the end, so that there’ll be no more trafficking, slavery, terrorism, whatever it might be. We need a lion. By the way, as long as we’re talking about the Bible here, who else is compared to a lion in the Bible? Satan? Makes sense because lions are of course, deadly carnivores. We were watching a nature show recently and a lion ate a baby zebra and it’s deeply traumatic, isn’t it? Right? So you know, it depends on which animals the hero of that particular episode, right if the lion is on the brink of starvation, you’re like, good eat the zebra. And if it’s about the baby zebra, which this one was about, it’s horrible. And yet there you have it, but this is kind of like Satan right just is looking for baby zebras to eat. He is a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Peter says in First Peter Five, Verse eight, Satan has got all the menace but none of the majesty of Jesus. But if Satan is like a roaring lion, who do you want fighting a roaring lion? Not a baby zebra. Not even a lamb. I might add. We want a lion, right? Who can defeat our enemy? We need a lion. We need somebody who’s got that power and strength. We need a lion to conquer sin. We need a lion to defeat our enemies Satan and death and the sin that still resides within us. The elder also calls this lion The route of David, that’s taken from Isaiah chapter 11. Verse 10, was our Advent series last year we looked at all these passages in Isaiah. Definitely unexpected, though, because he’s the Root of David in chapter 10. He’s the shoot of David in verse one. And so he’s both of them right there in chapter 11. So we’ll talk more about that Christmas Eve. But the Root of David is a conquering king, in Isaiah 11, verse 10, he’s lifted like a banner for the nations. It says, just a few verses later, Isaiah 1112, it says Judas enemies will be destroyed. Or a little bit earlier in verse four, it says this with righteousness, He will judge the needy, with justice, he will give decisions for the poor of the earth, He will strike the earth with the route of his mouth, with the breath of his lips, he will slay the wicked, so very similar imagery to the lion, right? Because this is the king, we need a king who brings justice, who judges rightly who defeats evil and wickedness. We need to eLion to conquer sin, to have to have any hope of salvation. You know, we need it. We need a lion like King.
Alright, so there’s the king, part of unexpected King. What about the unexpected part? Well, that’s what comes next, in verse six, we need to lie to Congress and we need a lamb to cover sin, need a lamb to cover sin. You’re talking about unexpected, though, because look what happens next. So, you know, Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, verse six, then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne encircled by the four living creatures and the elders, the lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth, he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. So the elder says, John, look, look, see the lion of the tribe of Judah. And John looks, and he says, I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain. Now we know this is the same person, because the lamb goes and takes the scroll, and only the lion was worthy to take the scroll. This is like the greatest mixed metaphor in the history of the world. Like, where is it coming from a lot to unpack. And it’s a lot of Old Testament to unpack, again, a lot of Old Testament references. We think of a lamb. In Old Testament terms. Of course, your mind should go to the Passover. Immediately, the lamb was slain the Passover lamb was slain. Back in Egypt, the the blood of the lamb was put on the doorpost of all the houses of the believers so that the Angel of Death there’s the divine warrior, right, who’s coming to make things right to the Angel of Death would pass over Israel. So there’s the sacrificial lamb. This image really climaxes in Isaiah 53 Verse seven, he was led like a lamb to the slaughter. It says there the suffering servant of God, he was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And that’s what the word slain means here doesn’t mean murdered, it means slaughtered, like in a sacrifice. So the lion is the Lamb slaughtered in the place of his people. Earlier in Isaiah 53, he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was on em. and by his wounds, we are healed. We need a lamb to cover our sin, or else we’ll be conquered and defeated to as the lions marching out to destroy, like, here’s that justice in love at the extremes. God works perfect justice in punishing our sins and yet perfect mercy, and making a way for us not to be punished as our sins are being punished. My professor Grant Osborne put it this way, in his commentary on Revelation. Here we see how the victory was actually achieved not by sword, but by sacrifice. Christ was indeed the conqueror, but his victory was one, the cross victory in defeat is unexpected, to say the least. And yet we know it’s the only way that God could save us. This is why John the Baptist, early on and Jesus’s ministry really as his ministry is beginning says to His disciples, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, because that’s exactly what he does in his death, and resurrection. The resurrection is key, though, for a lamb to triumph. He had to defeat death. He actually had to rise from the grave and we we see it here. I mean, the lamb was alive. That’s a good sign, of course, but it’s pointed out in other weighs two, it is a lamb looking like it had been slain. And the reason why it’s phrased oddly looking as if it had been slain just because it’s alive, so how could it have been slain? But it’s not just a lamb but a ram. We know it’s a ram because it’s got horns and rams have horns. It’s actually got seven horns and seven eyes and now you go, right because this is Revelation. So everything’s weird. Okay. All right. How’s it weird? By the way, when it’s weird and revelation, you got to know two things. First of all, there’s a good set of apocalyptic imagery, don’t guess, okay, you can figure it out. Second of all, it’s all about the Old Testament, which is why we keep quoting the Old Testament. So you’re gonna try and read Revelation and not going to look at the Old Testament references. Just don’t read Revelation, okay? It’s not going to help you out. You’re gonna get really confused. Alright, but so here we have it. What’s going on here, this Ram has got seven horns seven eyes, the horn is a symbol of power. symbol of power shows up all the time. In the Psalms, for example, it’s talked a lot about David as king. So here’s just, as an example, Psalm 132, verse 17, speaking of Zion of Jerusalem, here, I will make a horn grow for David and set up a lamp for My Anointed One. So basically going to establish this as a fortress for my people. No horned RAM actually becomes an image of the Messiah in the apocalyptic writings of this time, ones that are not in the Bible, things like the testament of Joseph, or first Enoch, the horned RAM is an image of the Messiah will hear that it’s seven horns, and seven is the number for perfection. So what do we have here? We sing it last week, this lamb is perfect in power. The slain lamb becomes a conquering RAM he triumphs in his death. He’s also got seven eyes, eyes are as you would expect a symbol of knowledge of discernment, and really, therefore judgment as well be able to judge rightly because he knows all He sees everything. Why are they going throughout the earth sent out into all the earth, that’s just a direct quote about from Zechariah four, verse 10, which says, the seven eyes of the Lord that ranged throughout the earth, so there it is, right. So seven eyes, perfect vision, and perfect vision of everything, because it’s ranging throughout the earth. So this mean, the slain lamb is omnipotent. Because he got seven horns, and he’s omniscient, because he’s got seven eyes. omnipotent and omniscient is interesting, because of course, those are words that we ascribe to God, and God alone. And that explains the most shocking part of this episode. Even more so than the fact that the lion is the lamb. It’s that the lamb is standing at the center of the throne. Well, that’s where God should be. In fact, look what happens next, I’m gonna read the rest of the chapter for us here. So picking up in verse eight. And when he had taken it, taking the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people, and they sing a new song saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and to open it seals because you were slain, and with your blood you purchase for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation, you have made them to be a kingdom, and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth. That I looked and heard the voice of many angels numbering 1000s upon 1000s, and 10,000 times 10,000 They encircled the throne, the living creatures and the elders and a loud voice, they were saying Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth, and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise. And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth, and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying to him, who sits on the throne, and to the land be praise and honor and glory and power forever. And ever. The four living creatures said, Amen. The elders fell down and worshipped. This is absolutely shocking, especially given the father’s silent approval, he doesn’t interrupt this praise that’s happening. He doesn’t object despite what we read all throughout the Bible. Here’s Isaiah 42, verse eight, for example, I am the Lord and that is my name, I will not yield my glory to another. And here he yields willingly to Jesus. So it couldn’t be any clearer. This Lamb standing at the center of the throne is in the words of the Creed, very God of very God, Light from Light God from God of the same essence as the Father. He is God Himself. And for reasons that we’ll see the last week of the series, of course, he had to be God. He had to be man to that’s another one of those paradoxes to have any hope of salvation. We need an unexpected cake. And we need a lion to conquer sin. We need a lamb to cover sin. As lion he’s victorious as well. lamb he’s vicarious, as a lion. We could almost say he overcomes us whereas as lamb he overcomes God. In that as lion he overcomes our sin but as lamb he overcomes the wrath we deserve. This is truly an admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies these wondrous paradoxes working for us such a wondrous Sal Vation Jesus is the Lion of Judah, He is God Himself infinitely great high. Above all this is the King of kings and Lord of lords. To Him belongs all honor and glory and praise whereas worms before him the prophets tell us all the nation’s like a drop in the bucket or like dust on the scales and yet Jesus is the slaughtered lamb, and so Infinite is is condescension that he closed himself in dust. He didn’t consider equality with God something to be grass, something to cling do something to us to his own advantage, but made Himself nothing he was born in humble poverty.
The King of Kings was born as a lowly subject to King Herod. Could any human mind ever conceive so great glory as this? Has there ever been a savior like him? He possessed the infinite riches and glory of heaven. He had he dwelt among us in obscure poverty, the son of man had no place to lay his head. He possesses infinite power so that storms stop at his word, and yet he possesses infinite meekness so that he stops at a lepers word. He’s so holy injustice, the demons swept before him, so gracious and loving that sceners flocked before him. Could any human mind ever conceive so great glory as this? Was there ever a savior like him? Here’s the way Gregory the Theologian put it centuries ago. He prays that he hears prayer, He weeps tears yet makes tears cease. As man he asks where Lazarus was laid as God he raises Lazarus, he is sold very cheaply to for a mere 30 bits of silver, yet he buys the world’s freedom at boundless costs for the price was his blood. As a sheep he’s led to the slaughter yet he himself is now shepherd of the whole earth. As a lamb he is silent get He is the Word preached by the voice of one crying in the wilderness. He is bruised and wounded, that he heals every illness and infirmity. He is lifted up pierced with nails to the tree, yet by that tree of life, he brings us back to paradise. They gave him vinegar mixed with gall to trink. To whom did they give it to him who turned water into wine? He dies that gives life and by his death, he destroys death He is buried, but bursts forth again, could any human mind ever conceive so great glory as this? Was there ever any Savior like him? To have any hope of salvation? We need an unexpected King and praise God, we have one. So what do we do with all this? How should we respond? There’s no need to guess the text tells us plainly, we join with the angels, we join with the angels. The lamb slain is the conquering lion and he is worthy of all honor and glory and praise. None of us is worthy. So that too, right? We don’t get to open the school, we don’t even get to look inside the scroll. In fact, we’re not even worthy to stand in God’s presence as we are in our cells. Yet, in a series of blessing paradoxes, God sends His Son to defeat our sin without destroying us. The only proper response is what we see here to fall down in worship before him. I will add one specific bit about how we can do this good for individuals but good, by the way, for families as well, like parents with kids. I think one thing we can do to increase our worship is to broaden our language and the images that we use in prayer. A lot of us fall into a rut of kind of beginning every prayer the same way. Maybe it’s Dear God, or father or Lord, and look, he is God and Father and Lord, but he’s also the lion of the tribe of Judah, and the Lamb who was slain. He’s the Holy One of Israel. He’s also the friend of sinners, we could think about who it is we’re praying to, and which facet of his infinite glory is worthy of remembrance in that moment, and for that need. Of course, one way that we declare Christ worthy is as Paul tells us, in Philippians, one to live lives worthy of the gospel of Christ Jesus. We live worthy lives when we live Christ like lives and we become more like Him and one way we do that is by exemplifying extremes in harmony. We keep going back to the love and justice one, right? Like, you know, you have this debate sometimes right? Should we be loving or truthful? Both right. And again, not 5050 but 100 and 100. At the same time, always lovingly truthful and truthfully loving. As God makes us more and more like Christ, we will become a little lion lambs ourselves powerful, and gentle at once majestic and meek. So, for example, we might display zealous strength in defending the truth, but a loving gentleness and seeking to win the deceiver, who, as we know, is the deceived. Which means as individuals, we need to watch our Lean, you know, we’re like on a balance beam with these extremes. And we all got a tendency to, we’re gonna fall off one side or the, the other. We got to watch our lean in all sorts of areas. I’ll give you an example. Some months ago, I wrote an article for the gospel coalition called the bottom this option manifests as one of the greatest stories in church history for sure, because he’s trying to convert the Saxons who worship Thor, and all those, you know, pantheon of gods. And so they’ve got this sacred tree, Thor’s oak, and benefis takes an axe to it. And the Saxons are like waiting for him to be struck by lightning because you know, Thor. That’s what he does, right? All that kind of stuff, and nothing happens. So Bonavista is interesting, though, because I think he embodies the extremes here. Like you want some truth, the man took an axe to their beloved idol. But you want some love? He didn’t take an axe to them. Right? He was not trying to attack the Saxons. He was loving the Saxons by exposing the powerlessness of the idols they were worshipping. Not everyone liked my article, which is fine. Jake’s laughing because he read some of the comments on Twitter they did not like this article, some of the people why because there’s a group of people in American Christianity who love a muscular Christianity. And so the picking up the axe and going after our cultural enemies is what we do. They’re fallen off the balance beam. Of course, then there are others of us who would never pick up an axe ever. I don’t wanna get into conflict like I’m gonna have the whole town watching me as I take down this tree not a chance we’ll fall off the other side, we need to watch our lien. Like Jesus we conquer, not with sword but with sacrifice. Just like our Savior, important reminder for us in our culture wars today. But so if as individuals, we need to watch our lien, can I say that as a congregation? We need to watch our lien as well. Congregations develop cultures? Absolutely. You know, do we want to be a church that’s known for our doctrine or our spirit? You know, are we going to settle for a lifeless orthodoxy or for a lively heterodoxy? That’s like the worst possible game of would you rather? You played? Would you rather you know, it’s like, you want to eat chicken eyes or chicken beaks? And you’re like, No, no, okay, I quit. I quit the game. I’m sorry, I will not answer I’m going vegan. And that’s the same thing, right? If you’re gonna make me choose between doctrine, or spirit life, I quit. We’re not we’re gonna we’re gonna go for both. Of course, we need to watch our lien as a congregation. This is one of the reasons why I love that God has called us to have a plurality of elders, a group of leaders, because none of us embodies this balance perfectly yet. And so you know, we need leadership leading the Congress and that’s got some people kind of like, well, I would lean lamb and I would lean lion and hopefully then because we’re both on the the elder board together, we’re going to actually stay on the balance beam. The mere fact that we have to watch our liens reminds us that only one is perfect. He was a perfect lion 100% And a perfect lamb 100%. As lion he conquers our sin as lamb. He covers our sin as both He is worthy of all our worship, to have any hope of salvation. We need an unexpected king, and his name is Jesus. And he came for you and me. Let’s pray to him now.
Lion and Lamb standing at the center of the throne the one who conquers our sin, the one who covers our sin. We join with the angels even now and bow before Are you submitting ourselves so joyfully and so gladly to your reign and rule because we see what kind of king you are. You could have wiped us out. We were rebels against your throne. And yet instead you redeemed us. You made a way for us to be reconciled to you. You are the lion who defeats sin, but you are the Lamb who redeems us from sin. And so we worship you. That’s, Kyle spoke earlier. We prepare room in our hearts for you. Submitting to your rule. Because we know that you are worthy because we know that you are just and loving. We want to be in surrender to you. That is where our greatest joy and hope and peace is found. draw us into your praise even now we pray for Christ’s sake, Amen.

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Fear (Exodus 20:18-21) November 26, 2023 | Brandon Cooper This sermon discusses how the Ten Commandments are meant to lead people to a fearful obedience to God, intimacy in their covenant relationship with Him, and reliance on Jesus as their gracious mediator. It encourages examining one’s own life and striving to obey God perfectly while also relying on Christ’s atoning work for the forgiveness of failures.

Good morning church, want to go ahead grab your Bibles, you can open up to Exodus chapter 20, will be in verses 18 to 21. Today, Exodus 2018 to 21. As you’re turning there, you may remember from your school years, or perhaps you’re still in your school years having assembly days. And occasionally these assemblies were about teaching kids how to avoid certain kind of harmful behavior, maybe it’s bullying, maybe it’s drug use something like that. So you’d get an assembly on this subject. And the point was to communicate the dangers or the harm involved with his behavior, to give the students strategies for resisting and in ways to engage with their friends who might be at risk. These assemblies were not meant to be just interesting information. The point was not that the students would leave these assemblies and go, that was really interesting, I got some good answers for Jeopardy next week or something like that. These assemblies were meant to provoke a response in the students to lead kids to live differently. That’s actually what the word educate means. If you look at its component parts it parts is to, to lead fourth, so to those who lead children into something else away from danger towards good why do I mention this? Because we just finished hearing the law over the last 1011 weeks the 10 commandments here. And what exactly is the purpose of the law? The purpose of the law is not our salvation. That is it is not a list of guidelines where if we keep them to insufficient measure than we will be saved will be deemed good enough to get in or something like that. That’s not the point of the law. So what exactly is the point of the law then? Paul tells us in Galatians, chapter three, verse 24, therefore the law has become our tutor, to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith that same idea of leading in fact, the word tutor there is the word pedagogue like pedagogy. Some of you studied pedagogy, I’m sure in your education classes, it’s the same idea to lead for to lead a child forth. So the 10 commandments are meant to instruct us and lead us like children, somewhere where we’re going to see this clearly in the response to the giving of the 10 words. So how does Israel respond? And why? What about Moses? What is God doing during this time, let me read the passage for us kind of see what happens here in the narrative, and then we’ll unpack it as we go. So Exodus chapter 20, here’s verses 18 to 21. When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear, they stayed at a distance and said to Moses, speak to us yourself, and we will listen, but do not have God speak to us or we will die. Moses said to the people, do not be afraid, God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sitting. People remained at a distance, while Moses approach the thick darkness, where God was. Alright, so we’re gonna see what the law is leading us to. That’s our idea today. So the law leads us to more to look at kind of three destinations or three purposes for the law, I’m actually going to give you you got three blanks there three images that will help us understand the purpose of the law as we go. This is the response that the law should provoke in us. This is what the assembly is meant to do in us to change us. So let’s look at the law leads us to first of all, the law leads us to a fearful obedience, a fearful obedience. You notice that people’s immediate response is fear. They see God’s clouded presence. There’s thunder, there’s lightning, they tremble with fear. It says in verse 18, in fact, they stayed at a distance like they’re, they’re staying far away because they’re nervous here. They’re like little children during a thunderstorm who are cowering under the blankets. There’s no wonder or all at the power of the storm, there’s just terror. Of course, this is not Oh, there is a thunderstorm there, by the way, but it’s not really the thunderstorm that they’re scared of the Israelites. It is a a person, not an abstract power, but a loving person that they’re cowering from. I mean, He is God Almighty. Yes. But God Almighty is speaking to them covenanting with them even. And so again, they’re not saying and away from a thunderstorm. They’re staying away from me more like a kid who’s hiding from a gracious benefactor who’s there to serve and protect them. I think of home alone, it’s Christmas season so we can talk home alone, right? It’s the kindly older gentleman next door, who’s always salting the sidewalks for the neighborhood ends up being the unlikely hero of the story, but it doesn’t matter. Makoki Caulkins character is terrified over him. And that’s kinda what the Israelites are doing. They’re, they’re scared of the one who’s actually there to save them. And so in one sense, fear is an entirely improper response. That’s what Moses says, verse 20, Moses said to the people, do not be afraid you should not be cowering under the blankets right now. But in another sense, fear is exactly the right response. Keep going in verse 20, do not be afraid, God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning. Just one of Christianity’s many blessings paradoxes. Here. It’s the exact same word for afraid and fear the same word that’s used. So do not fear this is happening so that you’ll fear everyone’s clear, good. Clearly, what’s happening here is that there are two types of fear that are on view. These two types of fear, we experienced them earlier this year, my parents took me and my oldest three to Costa Rica, and we were there on the beach, the Pacific in the Pacific is not Lake Michigan, nevermind like a pond or a swimming pool or something like that, like these waves are big. The Undertow is real. There are rocks on the shore, all that kind of stuff. So I wanted my girls to have a healthy fear for the ocean. During a risk, respect, the fact that the ocean could kill them really. While at the same time, I didn’t want them to stay on the beach, or up in the lodge or something like that, like I want them to get in the water. That’s what we have here, too. Even more so with God. Moses is saying, absolutely, you need to take him seriously. You need to have that proper respect and all before him but at the same time dive in, dive in to a relationship with Him. We are meant to know him not to cower far away from him. I think this is the the idea that David expresses in the Psalms, Psalm 130. When he says with you there is forgiveness, therefore you are feared. It’s it’s a relational fear. It’s a fear, even in light of the love and grace and forgiveness that we know in him. So what should this fear then produce in us two responses that you can see right there in verse 21st. We know that whatever we are doing, God is there. God has come to test you so that the fear of God will be with you. The fear of God is with us. Because God himself is with us. He sees all he knows all in one day, we will stand before Him and give an account for how we have lived our lives, which leads into the second response that fear should produce in us which is that we should have such a holy all before him that we dare not sin, writes of the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning. How can I possibly sin in the presence of this good. And Holy God, I think of Joseph here when Potiphar his wife is trying to seduce him. And he kind of catalogs all the reasons he wouldn’t do that. He said he’s talking mostly of Potiphar himself, you know, like he’s been good to me. He has, you know, given me all this responsibility and stuff. But then he wraps up by saying, how then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against not Potiphar but God, like he knows it’s in the presence of God that I dare not sin.
Now, hopefully, having walked through these 10 commandments, these 10 words were not like careless kids just diving into the ocean without thought to what the ocean could do to us what swim by the rocks. What’s the worst that could happen? What swim out farther than we should know that we have a proper respect before God while at the same time still swimming. Like that is the fearful obedience to which the law leads us. And thus, the law is here’s your image for this section. The law is like a muzzle. The law is like a muzzle of course, this is an image from like canine police squads. The muzzle is to keep us from doing what we shouldn’t be doing so that we’re free to do what we should be doing. A muzzle, you know, keeps the dog from biting, say passengers in a TSA line or something like that so that it can keep those passengers safe. If sniffed for drugs, bombs, whatever it may be, that’s the law. That’s what the law does for us. It keeps us from sin so that we’re free to obey. It keeps us from go through some of what we’ve talked about in the last few weeks. It keeps us from an idolatrous overwork, so that we’re free to rest. Where it keeps us from sexual immorality so that we’re free to experience the far greater blessings of chastity in singleness and faithfulness in covenant marriage, or foundationally. It frees us from chasing after false gods who are sure to disappoint us so that we’re free to know and love and be loved by the one true God. I think this understanding of the law answers a common but misguided objection to Christianity. The objection is that Christianity is just a long list of don’ts. kind of meant to wreck your fun, really, it is a fair point by the way, we got 10 commandments here. Eight of them are phrased as don’ts. You shall not kill you shall not steal you shouldn’t you know you’re a bunch of stuff you’re not supposed to do. To positives right. Honor your mother and father, and then remember the Sabbath. But even the Sabbath comes with remember the Sabbath, you shall not do any work on that day. So really, we’re nine out of 10 for don’ts. You understand why certain opponents of Christianity see it as a hindering our essential freedom as humans, it’s constraining us negatively. And in a culture of expressive individualism, where the the highest good is to discover what’s inside of you, and then live it out authentically. That’s just about the worst possible sin you can commit. Telling people what they can’t do. Here’s the way the French atheist philosopher Michel on Play puts it he says, religion proceeds from the Deathwish wherever life begins to move, expand vibrate, a counter current sets intending to arrest the newborn movement and immobilize its ebb and flow. As soon as life fights its way out of the tunnel death is there, ready to start the clock ticking to collapse all life’s hopes and plans, fired by the same inborn death drive, the three monotheism sets Judaism, Christianity and Islam, two of them on view right here. The three monotheism share a series of identical forms of aversion. Here’s the negative right the don’ts, hatred of reason and intelligence, hatred of freedom, hatred of sexuality, women and pleasure, hatred of the feminine hatred of the body of desires of drives. Stirring stuff, absolutely. But is it fair? Not so much? Not so much? As John Dixon points out? Yes, the grammar of the 10 commandments is negative. But the vision the morality is actually positive. He says, a few things are forbidden, because pretty much everything else is to be enjoyed. Like the original don’t mean the very first don’t is don’t eat from this one tree. And so there it is, there’s the constraint, right? Well, God doesn’t say you can eat from this tree and this tree and this tree and this tree and this tree and this tree and that bush, and that was and that was because that would be tedious. So he just draws the boundary around the one it very positive, look at all that you have to enjoy. It’s not a don’t. It’s a series of dues. But it’s easier to state the don’ts. Dixon actually invites us to imagine the law stated positively you know, here’s a list of foods you may enjoy. Section 32 spices on chicken, rosemary, oregano, time, do I have to keep going like you think reading through the law now maybe it gets a little tedious in your year we Bible reading? Can you imagine that one? Here’s a list of activities that are permitted at home careers that you can enjoy. No, let me quote GK Chesterton to make the point because he always makes it well. The truth is that the correctness of the commandments is an evidence not of the gloom and narrowness of religion. But on the contrary of its liberality and humanity. It is shorter to stay to things forbidden than the things permitted, precisely because most things are permitted, and only a few things are forbidden. So the law functions like a like a fence, then you put a fence in your backyard so that your kids can enjoy playing outside without danger. So does that fence inhibit your kids freedom? Yes, but No, not really. It actually allows them to enjoy even greater freedom. They’re free to play when you’re not outside say they’re free to play without getting lost or free to play without danger of getting run over by a car it actually allows them far greater freedom to live. So the law leads us to this kind of fearful obedience. We don’t do what God forbids. because we take him seriously, but also because we trust his heart. We know that the law is like a muzzle on those TSA dogs. The muzzle keeps the dog from harming me, so that it can help me. And that’s what the law does for my will. It keeps my will from harming me, so that it will instead help me. The law leads us to a fearful obedience. Secondly, the law leads us to a covenant intimacy, covenant intimacy. Now I will grant that at first glance, this passage doesn’t look much like intimacy, maybe covenant sure if by covenant, we mean something like treaty, because this kind of sounds like a conquering kings list of rules for his vassals. But if we dig deeper, we see it right there. In fact, it’s baked into the narrative from the beginning, even before the giving of these 10 words, in the previous chapter, Exodus 19, verse five, God says, Now, if you obey Me fully, and keep my covenant, then out of all nations, you will be my treasured possession. So there’s the covenant, yes, this list of rules, but at the same time, there’s the intimacy, you’ll be my treasured possession, like you will be my special people. But here, they’re cowering under the blankets, or they’re staying at a distance, which is the opposite of course of intimacy. In fact, they even want Moses to go in their place. So why don’t you talk, you can have the intimacy, we’ll just hang out back here. And yet, let’s look at verse 20. Again, do not be afraid, God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you. The key word there is test. Now, what does test mean? Test can certainly mean prove. It’s what we normally think of when we think of tests, right? Your teacher gives you a math test so that you can prove that you learned the material, or didn’t learn the material as the case may be. So yeah, I think that’s here. Absolutely. Will they obey? Do they really believe me? Do they really trust in me certainly elements of that. But this word test in English, but the Hebrew word that you use here as well can also have the sense of try on or try out that his test like experience this for yourself. So here’s another time of the word is used. David is getting ready to fight Goliath. And he puts on Saul’s armor. No, David is a pipsqueak saw quite tall and whatnot, so doesn’t really fit him. Well. Here’s what we read. First Samuel 17, verse 39, David fastened on Saul sword over the tunic and tried walking around because he was not used to them. That part that’s underlined, that’s the same word, because he hadn’t tested them.
So he tried it on he tested it out. That’s the idea. He’s experiencing it now firsthand for the first time. And I think that’s what God is inviting the Israelites to do, as well. Like I’m trying to bring these two ideas together of test, the closest I could think of is, so it’s like a test drive. Right? You test drive a car to see if you like the car. But then you have a driver’s test, to see if you know how to drive the car. So put them together. And this would be a very weird choice I grant. But you know, you’re 16 you’re about to get your driver’s license. You’ve saved up money all year long to buy a car. So you’re taking your car for a test drive while you’re taking your driver’s test. Again, odd choice I grant but that’s what we have going on. Here. God is inviting Israel to take the covenant for a spin, to see if this isn’t how life works best. If this isn’t an expression of God’s love and goodness towards us, the commentator John Durham says that God gives them so vivid and unforgettable an experience of himself, including his own statement of his principles for life and relationship with him. That’s the 10 commandments, that they will not only not forget, but we’ll follow his way as a first priority of life. So God is inviting them to try on the covenant and the invitation still stands for us today. These 10 words these 10 commandments they are for all people, not just for believers, because God made us and so we’re his whether we acknowledge it or not, this is how life works best regardless. This is the only way that we will find what we’re seeking in life, the fullness of life that we desire. But the trouble, of course, is that our selfish hearts miss lead us, right? The law is meant to lead us. They’re selfish hearts mislead us. And they take us away from what will give us the joy and hope and peace and love and meaning that we are seeking. The only way to find that is within this covenant within these laws, but there’s a catch, you can only see that this is the right way to go from the inside. You have to try it out, you have to test it out. Or else Yes, it’s going to look very much like what our French philosopher said, it’s going to look like arbitrary restriction. So in this then the law and here’s your image for this section, the law is like a map. The law is like a map and that it shows us how best to please the God who loves us, and how to experience the abundant life that He desires. For us. God has given us a treasure map as it were. But it only works if we follow it. Treasure Map does no good. You know, fold it up in your back pocket, you got to pull it out, you got to actually go in the way it directs you. JD Greer was preaching on Exodus 20. Recently, and he compared it to railroad tracks like they show the train where to go, but they do not make the train move. And that’s what the law is for us. But you can know God and experience deep intimacy with this God who loves you, if you will follow the map, if you will follow the law. If you love me, Jesus says John 1415. If you love me, you will keep My commandments. There’s covenant intimacy, right there. And that’s what the law leads us to the law leads us to covenant intimacy, experiencing relationship with God in ways that please Him. The law is our map home. So all leads us to a fearful obedience, and a covenant intimacy. And then lastly, a gracious mediator, a gracious mediator, notice what happens. The people are afraid and so they send Moses instead, right, verse 19, they said to Moses, speak to us yourself, and we will listen but do not have God speak to us or we will die. And sure enough, that’s how it goes down. Verse 21, under the story that people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was. So even though God is inviting them into a covenant relationship, they recognize their unworthiness to be in relationship with Him. This is like a novice violinist like a middle school violinist getting invited to sit first chair for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. But not going to take long before you go, I shouldn’t be here. I don’t know third position yet. Like I can’t play these pieces. You want me to help you tune I don’t know how to tune. I don’t have much of an ear yet. I’m not up to snuff. And that’s what the Israelites are doing before God, I’m not up to snuff. I don’t meet these requirements. I shouldn’t be here. And so in this sense law, you get your image early in this section, the law is like a mirror. The law is like a mirror. It shows us who we really are blemishes and all. And in our case, when it comes to how we live our lives, mostly blemishes. We are lawbreakers guilty before a holy God in need of forgiveness. I feel like we learned this in the series. Right? Well felt conviction a lot in this series, like a little bit uncomfortable. I think Merritt said earlier. I know this was my story. So in Journey groups, and a lot of you are in our journey group, their discipleship groups, you know, and every now and again, we’ll ask the question, you know, what’s an application you’ve made from Scripture to your life recently? And I’ve been answering this question for eight years now. And I’ve always taken it from my private worship times. Except in this series, because I just got messed up by all that like Man, this expansive obedient stuff like I am not up to snuff saw the same thing happened with the elders don’t mean to throw the elders under the bus. But hey, we’re all in this together. Right? We do ask that same question monthly, like what’s God been teaching you through His Word? And again, normally the elders answer from their times of private worship except in this series, where they just they all name different commandments. They just went through like, I’m not up to snuff. I shouldn’t be here. We’ve all felt conviction in this series. We are law breakers. We’ve sinned and fall short of God’s glory. Like the way James puts it. understatement, James three verse two, we all stumble in many ways. Yes, yes, we do. Yes, we saw that for sure. And so that’s one reason the God that God gives us the law. It humbles us. Like we realize we cannot save ourselves. If if it’s up to us keeping this, then we have no hope. So what do we do, then we have to keep reading. In Exodus, really, we got to finish the book. So I don’t know if you know how the story goes from here. And we’re not going to read the next 20 chapters. But what happens from here after Moses gets the law, he’s like, getting ready to come down the mountain. And there’s that whole Golden Calf thing. Like the Israelites, while they’re, you know, sitting at the foot of a mountain where God is present to them decide they should worship idols instead, not a great choice, but there they are. And so Moses smashes these two tablets, because the covenant has been shattered, right, but then, you know, kind of goes from there, Moses intercedes, we talked about a lot of this and, and then Exodus 34, verse one, God is speaking to Moses, and he says, chisel out two stone tablets, like the first ones, and then I’m gonna write, you know, the same words on them. So it’s two tablets, what you’ve always pictured with actually, you know, we’ve got two even up in our little graphic there, right? We always picked these, you got two tablets always. Now why are there two tablets? Is it because God ran out of room on the first stone? Should he use a smaller font size? No, not at all. Okay, he writes all 10 commandments on both tablets. Why to because when you make a covenant and agreement, each party gets a copy. And we just did this. So during our city, new renovation stuff, you know, we would do change orders and stuff. And every month, we would all three was actually three in that case, because the general contractor, the architect, and the owner would all get the agreement between us. Alright, so that’s what we have here. We’ve got these two copies, one for Israel, one for God, this is the covenant. But then notice what happens at the very end of the book. Exodus 40, verse 20, says Moses took the Tablets of the Covenant law and placed them in the ark. The Ark remembers the mercy seat. This is where God dwells in the fullness of His presence here on Earth. This is also where atonement is made. On the Day of Atonement, Moses, the high priest would sprinkle blood on the mercy seat. Alright, so this is a really key moment, inside the mercy seat inside, you know, the Ark of the Covenant, these two copies are placed, you see what’s happened. God took both copies. This is God’s seat, God took both copies, God is assuming responsibility for our covenant keeping.
That’s grace, because that’s the only hope we have takes us back to where we started Galatians 324 a law, the law was a tutor that was meant to lead us to Christ. We need a gracious mediator. It’s what Israel experiences here. Right? Like I should not be in the presence of a god, this holy, I need someone to stand between us and this Holy God, or else I will be destroyed. That’s exactly what we have in Jesus. Because what we couldn’t do, which is keep the law he did, and he did for us. And then we, we exchange rewards, so to speak, we get the blessing of his obedience, and he gets the punishment for our sin we get as if we were covenant keepers, because he’s treated like he was a covenant breaker. So now, when we approach this awesome, and a holy God, we are closed in Jesus’s righteousness, which is just a fancy religious word for like performance. The record of his performance, we get his perfection as our very clothing. So now, when we approach God, we don’t approach him. cowering in fear, knowing will be destroyed. We approach him confidently. And boldly, we approach him like Jesus, like we were his kids, which is what we are, if we are in Christ, I’m reminded of Tim Keller’s great line. If there’s only one person in the kingdom who dares wake up a king at three in the morning for a glass of water. And it’s not a treasonous rebel, right? It’s not the guy in the dungeon downstairs going, Hey, little parts down here plus my arms hurt from the rack and stuff. No, it’s the kid. Right? It’s the heir to the throne who’s going Dad, I had a bad dream and I’m thirsty, and dad’s happy to see his son, his daughter, and that is who we are now, in Christ, the law by showing us who we really are. The mirror idea leads us to our gracious mediator, who lived the life we should have lived and then died the death we deserve to die in our place. It’s the passage that Robert read for us earlier, Hebrews 915. For this reason, Christ, Christ is the mediator of a new covenant that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed, under what we’ve been studying the last couple months, the first covenant, the law, the law leads us to a fearful obedience, and covenant intimacy. And our gracious mediator it is a muzzle and a map and a mirror for us so. So what do we do now? We are meant to leave this assembly, which is a good analogy, since that’s what the word church means anyone want to leave this assembly differently than when we came in? The law should provoke a response in us. I’ve said many times before, I will continue to say this is a really dangerous place to be, isn’t it? Hearing the word of God proclaimed because now we know. And now we’re held to this standard. So how do we respond as simultaneously? Sinners and saints, sinners who have been saved by grace Thomas Watson, the great Puritan preacher gives us the blueprint for very related responses. first response is that we give full assent to the law. That is, we might not keep the law perfectly. But we agree with it wholeheartedly. We go, Yes, this is right. This is a good standard that God has given us. We give full assent to the last second, we lament that we don’t keep it perfectly. When we don’t we weep, we confess. We’re not angry with the law for restricting our freedom. We’re angry with ourselves for not living out the fullness of the life God intends for us. Which is the flip side of number three. We delight in the law and desire to keep it. Just what we aspire to be our prayer is David’s prayer in Psalm 119, verse five, oh, that my ways were steadfast in keeping your decrees, yes, that’s what I want. And then that leads us to four. We strive to obey perfectly. We won’t. But we strive to obey perfectly when we don’t we run to Christ’s blood to supply our defects. Yes, that’s great. But let us really strive. And I want us to take time as we close this series to consider how we can strive, like, what’s a step we can take I, we had a community group meeting a few weeks back, because during this series, we were talking, I was talking to the Sabbath in particular, which is, you know, kind of a big, important command. And we got to that last question, which if you’re in Community Group, you know, our last question is always the application question, you know, what is that one step you’re going to take, and we had this wonderfully rich conversation, 2025 minutes easily of just good insights and thoughts and honesty, we came to the end of it. And I was like, Guys, that was great. Like, I love that conversation. I’m so glad we had it. But did you notice that not one single person among us actually listed as step we’re going to take? Because that’s just kind of how we roll isn’t it? Like all it was so good. Moving on. Right? So let’s actually think of a step here. If you flip over your Bolton insert, you’ve got a question there, right, what’s one step you can take, to strive to obey perfectly, probably should come at that point of deepest conviction that you experienced during this series. In a moment, we’re gonna give you some space before we take the Lord’s Supper together, to pray, to reflect on this to do the self-examination that we’re supposed to do before we take the Lord’s Supper any way that we might not take it in an unworthy manner what needs to happen? And by the way, I mentioned community group but clearly, this is not the kind of thing you want to keep to yourself, right? We got to share this so that we are held to account community group be a great place to do that. That’s your last question. So I’ve spoiled that for you. Journey group. Great place to do this as a family. Great place. To do this. We need community You can do this work. If today’s your first Sunday here, questions a little bit harder, you don’t have 12 weeks to think through, you just got one. But hey, plenty of stuff still to consider, and I invite you to participate still don’t leave here, unchanged. Because God, if we’re in a covenant relationship with Him, if we’ve trusted in the finished work of his gracious mediator, God means to change us. To tell a story that Colin Smith tells in his book, your 10, greatest struggles, to close our series, I think it captures this point exactly is the story he heard of a man who was in prison, because he was a thief, is what he did. He just stole he broke the law was his lifestyle. Well, while he was imprisoned, he heard the gospel. And he was converted, not unusual in prisons, by the way, really easy to accept the bad news that you didn’t measure up when you’re in prison, which makes the good news sound really, really good. The problem with those of us on the outside is that we forget the bad news is true of us. And so the good news sounds kind of good to us. But he got it and he was converted. And as he was about to be released, he was warned of the temptation that he would face to return to his old way of life, even to his old friends who would lead him astray, of course. And so there’s one thing he wanted to do as he got out, which is find a new community. He wanted to go to church. Amen to that, by the way. So he wanted to go to church, his first free Sunday, he went there, you know, new church, of course, sitting in a wooden pew, and he’s looking up as he’s waiting for the service to begin because people who are new to church are the only ones who come on time. You know that, right? And so he’s there early, so he’s got time to look at what’s above the pulpit, and there are the 10 commandments, inscribed on plaques above. And, you know, its number eight is like mine will be in flashing neon at this point, you shall not steal. His heart sinks. It says like, this is the last thing I need to be reminded of my failures. I already know my struggles. But he kept looking up at it. As a service went on. And he’s hearing not just the law proclaimed, but the good news of grace proclaimed as well. Commands started to change like at first he heard it as a command. It’s like, reading it like Gandalf when he’s fighting the Balrog. Right. He’s like you shadow monster, I kind of feel but then by the end, because he’s hearing grace, it didn’t sound like a command, it sounded like a promise. He shall not steal.
If you notice, by the way, we got an all through all of this. These are not imperatives. Hebrew has an imperative form. They could have said Don’t steal, don’t kill, don’t commit adultery. It doesn’t. It says it in the Indicative You shall not commit adultery. Now there’s a command force to it. You know, this is a parent, right? You’ve gotten down on your knees and looked kid in the eye, hands on the shoulders. You will not throw a tantrum. And there’s a command, right? But there’s more, it really is a promise as well. You’re gonna be different. You’re gonna be a new creation. In Christ, God’s will is your sanctification. No one who calls you is faithful. And he will do it, he will accomplish it in you if you are his. He was a new person in Christ, who would not steal any longer. we are new creations, if we are in Christ, because of our gracious mediator, we are not condemned. But we are now free to obey our good and gracious God, let’s pray to him now. Father, we boldly approach your throne of grace, even now to receive mercy in our time of need. how grateful we are, Lord, that we can approach you boldly, despite the fact that we’re unworthy to approach you. Because you have made a way by the blood of Christ shed on our behalf. And so we come to you now as your adopted children loved by you, despite our being lawbreakers and what do we come to ask? But that you would keep your promise in our lives, that you would sanctify us through and through so that our spirit souls and bodies will be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We know that you are faithful and you will do it. That is our hope and our prayer. Make us new in Christ, the glory of your name, amen.

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It’s All a Gift November 22, 2023 | Brandon Cooper The sermon discusses how Fyodor Dostoevsky’s near-execution experience made him realize that life is a gift from God. It says that according to the Bible, everything we have is a gift from God so we should be thankful. We should also be humble because we are unworthy of God’s gifts. True thankfulness means willingly sacrificing what we have been given to serve God and others. The speaker encourages developing a heart of gratitude over pride and serving like the selfless apostles did.

Good evening. If you wanna go ahead grab your Bibles and open up to First Corinthians chapter four. First Corinthians chapter four will be in verse seven, especially tonight as you’re turning there in 1849, which is by the way before crime and punishment or The Brothers Karamazov, or the idiots or anything like that. Fyodor Dostoevsky was sentenced to death for conspiring against the Tsar Nicholas the First. He and a group of kind of like-minded, you know, young people gotten into mischief in the cafe’s kind of thing and so sentenced to death for this, and so, they’re, they’re on their execution day Dostoyevsky’s forced to kneel he’s, you know, allowed to kiss the cross kind of as his last rites. There’s a sword broken over his head as a symbolic beheading that he undergoes, and then he and his co-conspirators are tied to two pillars and blindfolded so that they can face the firing squad, and as they’re, they’re waiting to head to the great hereafter. Pardon arrives from the Tsar. So instead of being killed, they’re just going to be sent to Siberia for four years of hard labor. And you can imagine the effect that this had on Dostoevsky to think that that was it, you’re dead now. And then all of a sudden to be granted an almost miraculous reprieve. It would really mess with you and would probably change your outlook on life. He wrote to his brother Mikhail about this, he says, I am reborn. When I turn back to look at the past, I think of how much time has been wasted. How much of it is lost in misdirected efforts, mistakes, idleness and living the wrong way? However, I treasured life and how much I sinned against my heart and spirit. My heart bleeds now, as I think of it, life is a gift. But it took his almost miraculous escape from death in order for him to recognize this, that life is a gift and that he’d been squandering it in idleness and whatnot. Without that jolt, since most of us don’t have that kind of last-minute reprieve without that jolt, we can easily take life for granted. That is, we’re in great danger always of just kind of a thoughtless ingratitude. Not realizing how much we have been, given how much we owe to say the people who formed us, like parents and, educators, coaches are the amount of information that we have at our fingertips. I mean, what we can look up with devices that we hold in our pockets would have been the envy of philosophers and ages past, or, you know, for a few bucks a month on Spotify, you have access to all of the world’s great symphonies. And you think to yourself, well, I, you know, I paid for this. So you know, I paid my few bucks. And so I am now owed, you know, Beethoven’s Ninth or whatever. But how exactly do we repay? What listening to Ode to Joy stirs in our souls, the fire that it creates inside of us? We might speak of a convict, you know, repaying his debt to society or something like that. But how do we repay our debt to society, all the good that has been showered on us, and for that matter, whom exactly do we repay for all that we have? For family, for the culture around us, for technology, for the DNA that we were given for life itself, for that matter. You can understand why Dostoevsky, after his reprieve, took the calling humanity, the ungrateful biped. That was how he described us, we walk on two legs, and we’re ungrateful. That’s what it is to be human. Because we need a national holiday in order to stop and actually ask these questions. owlbear commu, the French existentialist author, said that humanity’s first faculty is forgetting. That’s what we’re best at is forgetting. In particular, all that we have been given. You hear it and words that we use regularly, like, Oh, he’s a self-made man. No, he is not. He has got all sorts of people who have built into him. He’s got, you know, society as a whole, helping him along, and we talked about pulling yourself up from your bootstraps. That’s kind of the American ethos, isn’t it? And yet it is, of course, impossible, not just physically but, you know, figuratively as well. That is why our whole culture tells us you owe nothing. You’ve earned this you deserve. This is what the advertisers always tell us, right? And yet all of life, never mind the Bible, answer in reply, no, you owe everything, everything. That’s what Paul says in our passage this evening. First Corinthians four verse seven, starting the second sentence, what do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? Gratitude, of course, is our theme for this evening. Gratitude is just the acknowledgment that we have received all that we have. All is a gift. All is Grace. Let’s put Paul’s questions here in some context, though, just so we know how we got here. So the Corinthians have formed factions behind their favorite apostles, Paul and Apollos and people like that. And so they’re at this point, the modern equivalent would be like rabid football fans, you know, right. I’m for the Bears. No, I’m for the Packers. I’m for the Lions, which is, of course, the right answer this season. But that’s the type of like cliquishness that they’re falling into at this point, these warring factions and into this Paul speaks chapter four verse one, he says this, then is how you ought to regard us Paul and UPAF Apollo’s and all the other apostles, you should regard us as servants of Christ. And as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed, Paul says we’re nothing special. We’re just servants who’ve been entrusted with something special, the mysteries of God. That is the gospel, which, of course, is the good news of the gift that we have been given in Christ. All of this exalts the giver and not the gifted. Like Paul, he goes on in verse two to say how this gives Paul a God word orientation. He says, Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. So he’s not overly concerned with the opinions of people. He just wants to know, am I faithful before God? That’s what he says in the rest of that paragraph. Instead of the next paragraph in verse six. He says, no, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and apologize for your benefit. So that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, Do not go beyond what is written, then you will not be puffed up and being a follower of one of us over against the other. He says if you apply this truth of sticking close to the text, in other words, it’s the authority of God. It’s what he teaches, not what the apostles are teaching. But what God teaches is what he’s done for us. That’s what matters. If you apply this truth, you’re not going to be puffed up. Because who makes you different from anyone else? And then the questions have already read, what do you have that you did not receive? And if you did not receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? So that’s our main idea. We’re going to kind of unpack our main idea as we go tonight. But it’s right there from verse seven main idea, because everything we have we have received, we should be three things will take them in turn. First of all, we should be thankful. Because of everything we have we have received, we should be thankful that flows, right? From verse seven, of course, what do you have that you did not receive? Well, if everything we have is a gift, gratitude is the obvious response. This is what your parents make you do, and you get a gift. You get to write a thank you note afterward. Gratitude is the obvious response to a gift. Now, I realize this isn’t always how we see life. We sometimes look at what we have, and we think this isn’t a gift. This is mine. The great American philosopher Bart Simpson put it like this. In a prayer. He was asked to say, Dear God, we pay for all of this ourselves. So thanks for nothing. And you understand the idea because, of course, we do this. You go to all the you swipe the credit card, right? That’s your money. Absolutely. But behind that kind of surface-level truth is a much deeper untruth. It’s not biblical, of course. Jesus teaches us to pray. Give us today our daily bread before we head out into the fields to labor for our daily bread because it is still a gift. So it’s not even it’s unbiblical. But it’s just also not in line with reality because you could go out into the fields and labor for your bread. And you can control your work habits, of course, but you can’t control the weather, can control all sorts of other factors. ever mind that you’re probably using technology that you did not invent. So that would be a gift then, as well and on and on and on. And, of course, you’re enjoying life itself, for which you most certainly did not labor. Get the idea we have 1000 A million blessings showered on us every day that we overlook. And all this despite our manifest of thankfulness. We are the cosmic equivalent of surly teenagers, whom parents just keep loving, even though we know we don’t even make eye contact, just grunt instead of Thank you. This is part of why Lincoln called for a day of Thanksgiving all those years ago. He said this we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown. Not about the numbers but the wealth and power, even truer today than when he said those words. So we’ve grown in these ways that no other nation has ever grown, but we have forgotten God. Nevertheless, God has not forgotten us. And for that, especially, we must be thankful. Must be thankful for grace. In 1546, Michelangelo did a sketch of the PA TA for his friend Victoria Kelowna. And if you know the PA Tada sculpture, Mary cradles her son, Jesus, but in this sketch, she’s not cradling him. Instead, she has her hands stretched upwards toward heaven, crying out to God and inscribed on the vertical beam of the cross in the background behind her as a line from Dante’s Inferno. No one thinks of how much blood it costs. We must think about the cost. We have forgotten God. We are by nature ungrateful and self-centered, and yet he remembers us. Merritt alluded to this verse in his prayer, Romans five, verse eight, where Paul writes, God demonstrates His own love for us in this While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. When we were at our worst, God loved us the best. What sort of gratitude should that produce in us, except a life wholly surrendered to the one who has loved us so? Well? Perhaps we should pray with the poet George Herbert, you have given so much to me. Give me one more thing, a grateful heart. unceasing gratitude for the cross for Grace should radiate outward into every nook and cranny of our lives. We should be like Dostoevsky. Because, like him, we were condemned because of our rebellion against the king. And yet, like him, we have been pardoned. We should be crying out with him that I am reborn. Life is a gift that should give us a totally different outlook. Because everything we have we have received, we should be thankful for the cross of Jesus, above all. But it doesn’t stop there. We should be thankful. But also humble. Because everything we have we have received, we should be thankful and humbled. This comes out of the next question that Paul asks. And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not use his point? Gratitude engenders humility. It’s received as a gift. So you can’t take credit for it. That’s simple. And really, the less worthy you are of the gift, the greater humility you should experience in receiving it. Let’s take an illustration from traffic to make my point here. Have you ever had that thing where you didn’t realize that the lanes merged? And so you’re the guy who pulled all the way up at the end, while everyone else was waiting patiently in the line? And you got to do that, like, sorry, and you know, kind of duck in. Alright, the person lets you in graciously. You’re unworthy of the gift you’ve just received. But you know, it was nice and whatnot. What does that elicit in you? Alright, that’s it. That’s all you do. Okay, thank you. Wait, that’s all you got. Now, let’s reverse roles, though, for a moment. So let’s suppose that happened to somebody else, they pull up next to you, and you do what your sinful flesh wants to do at that moment, right up to the bumper guy in front of you, and you kind of edge the other one out, you know, he’s up on the curb. Now you’re flipping the bird. He finally gets behind you. You do that thing where you slam on the brakes a bunch of times in a row just to really irritate him. He can see you in your rearview mirror. It’s clear that you are cursing him out. You slow down at a yellow light and then speed through it, so he gets stuck. And then you blow out your tire, and you realize you don’t have a spare, and who should pull up behind you to help you change your tire and give you his spare? But this person that you’ve just so monstrously abused. Now, what do you do? That’s a little more than a wave at this point. The less worthy we are to receive the gift, the more humility it creates in us. Now, one reason we’ve forgotten God is because we’ve puffed ourselves up. We don’t see ourselves as unworthy. Of course. It might even be worse than that. We don’t even think we’re in need of the gift. We think we’re self-realized we can pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. after all. I like the way Oz Guinness said it in his book, the call and speaking of gratitude, and all of that and receiving things as a gift. A lot of what I’m saying tonight is owed to Guinness in that book, but he writes this he says formerly, the philosopher atheists would shout defiantly there is no God. Now, the practical atheist, who is the modern manager, marketer, expert or consultant, says with quiet professional authority, there is no need for God. And frankly, this is not the time and place for such questions. That is the great boast of which humans today are guilty and the transparent untruth. Which we believe I can do this myself. You can’t. In fact, Jesus came because you couldn’t do it for yourself. Paul tells us in Ephesians two verse one you were dead in your transgressions and sins. Like Dostoevsky, right sentenced to death condemned, and here’s the thing about dead people they cannot make themselves alive. If you are sick, you might be able to make the radical lifestyle changes you need in order to stay living. But if you have already died, the time for change has passed, and you cannot raise yourself. You cannot exchange a heart of stone for a heart of flesh. That is not something we are capable of. But of course, I’m preaching mostly to the church tonight. group of people who believe what I just said, Yes, I was dead. Yes, Christ did raise me, but there is still a Christian way to do that, to have that same self-reliance. Because, like the Pharisees, we can so quickly fall into moralism and don’t have a need of grace. I mean, I’ll pay lip service to it, of course, and Christ alone. Yes, yes, yes. But I have no need for grace because I can meet the requirements myself. And by the way, if I’ve met them, and she hasn’t, well, guess what, I do have something to boast about them, don’t lie. This feels like the parable that Jesus tells of the tax collector and the Pharisee. The Pharisee comes in and lists all of his accomplishments and also says thank God, I’m not like that tax collector who has none of those accomplishments. A tax collector just says, God have mercy on me, a sinner and Jesus tells us only one of them left justified that day. Or maybe we’re more like the rich young ruler, and Mark 10, who comes to Jesus and says, What must I do to enter the kingdom? How can I prove myself here? Jesus scrolls through a list of commands that we’ve been scrolling through the past few weeks here. And the rich young, you rulers feeling pretty good about himself? All these I’ve kept? Of course, as we’ve learned in the past few months, probably not right? Not if we’re doing the expansive obedience thing, but he thinks he’s checked the boxes. So I’m good, right? And Jesus says, one thing you lack, one thing you lack. Grace. Grace is what he lacks, by the way, because he loved his stuff more than he loved God because his heart was bent inward. He was spiritually dead still. And Jesus was saying to him, if you just leave your stuff behind and come follow me, I can raise you to new life, and the man walked away dejected because he loved his stuff. Moralism leaning on our behavior and our performance, is the great danger that faces us. I’ve earned this. I deserve this. And therefore, there’s no need for gratitude, no need for humility. This attitude rephrases Paul’s questions, doesn’t it? What do I have that I didn’t earn? And if I’ve earned it, then why shouldn’t I boast about it? But if we recognize grace, it becomes impossible to boast, except, as Paul says, In Galatians 6, man never boasts except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The only boast I will make is not in what I have done but in what I could not do and what he did. For me, all of life is a gift. So I’m grateful. And it is a deeply undeserved gift. So I’m humble. With a humility that says, It’s not about me, thank God. It’s about a grace that is unbending to me. Because everything we have, we have received, we should be thankful and humble. And then lastly, servants. We should be thankful, humble servants. We see this in where Paul goes in the next paragraph, I’m actually going to read it all for us, verses eight to 13. And Paul says, already, you have all you want, already, you become rich, you’ve begun to rain and that without us, How I wish that you really had begun to rain so that we also might rain with you. For it seems to me that God has put us, apostles, on display at the end of the procession like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored. We are dishonored. To this very hour, we go hungry and thirsty. We are in rags. We are brutally treated. We are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed. We bless, we are persecuted, we endure it. We are slandered. We answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world right up to this moment. Paul says the Corinthians are living like kings already, and here’s the thing about kings they get waited on. It’s good to be the king. Now in a sense, this is true, of course. We are royalty in Christ. We will reign with Christ in glory, but for what purpose? Have we been raised now? Before glory? Because Jesus was King also. And he didn’t exactly take advantage of his kingly prerogatives when he walked among us. This question is, it’s like an 18-year-old who’s, you know, comes into an inheritance, a trust fund or something like that. This huge trust fund, you know, she, she’s a millionaire. Now just like that, she has a choice to make, if you’re gonna live it up, or give it up, she’s gonna turn to self-indulgence, or self-sacrifice. It’s the question before us. We can see which direction the apostles went. They were willing to be foolish and weak and Dishonored, homeless and hungry and persecuted all for the sake of the gospel. All so that more could come to know this ridiculous grace that we can receive all in Christ. The apostle set the pattern for us; we should be humble, thankful servants. Humble gratitude leads to selfless service inevitably, reminds me of the story Martyn Lloyd Jones tells. He says, imagine you came home from a vacation or something like that, as you’re, you know, bringing your suitcases into the house, your neighbor pops on by and says, Hey, I paid your bill for you. How do you respond? When all depends on what bill has been paid? I’m gonna paraphrase Lloyd Jones here a little bit. But you know, if it was a matter of cash on delivery kind of thing, it was a buck 50 For you to get your package, I paid the buck 50 the package here it is, you know, kind of thing? What are you gonna do your say? Thanks, I’ll hit you back next time. You know, whatever. It’s nice and easy. But if your neighbor says it was a goon squad of goons, thugs, you know, from the local crime syndicate who are here to beat the living snot out of you and your family because you owe millions upon millions in gambling debts. And because I just got this huge trust fund yesterday, I paid it all off for you. They’re not coming back. They said your debt is paid. It’s over. You won’t see them again. How are you gonna respond now? Little differently, Fall on your knees before them, kiss his feet, all that kind of stuff? How can I ever repay you? Right? How we respond depends on how much we have been given. And we have been given everything. The debt that Christ paid in our place was infinite, far greater than just millions of dollars. So we owe all to Christ. Which means we willingly, joyfully serve Him. Not to try to repay the debt because we don’t need to, he didn’t ask us to. But because of the gratitude that we feel in response, we serve Christ by serving others. Jesus says as much. Matthew 25. Whenever you did this, one of the least of these my brothers, you did it for me. It’s baked into our mission statement as a church. Even right, we’re made to magnify Christ and then sent to serve others for Christ. And in that, we follow Christ’s example. Of course, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. If he did that for us when he owed us nothing. Well, that compels us to do that for him. And to do that for others for his sake because we owe everything. What this means is that true Thanksgiving is not just gratitude, for the abundance of our possessions, for our gifts and talents, capabilities for time for life itself. True Thanksgiving is a willing sacrifice of all of that for the sake of the kingdom, knowing that it has been entrusted to us that we might steward it for God’s glory and the good of those around us. So as you go from me here, as you sit around your table tomorrow, give thanks. Yes, by all means, give things but give more than thanks. What can I do with all that I have been given, none of which I deserve? That is the question a thankful, humble servant asks. And because of everything we have, we have received from a gracious, loving God. We should be thankful. humble servants. Let’s pray. Lord, we stand before you now. Aware that everything we have received, we have received Even from you. All of life is a gift. And certainly, our spiritual life in Christ is a gift. We have to think about how much blood it costs for us to have that life. Lord, may the reminder of the gifts we have received. Transform us change our hearts even now, soften them before you that we might be thankful, humble servants expressing gratitude to you in the ways that we serve others, humbly before you stooping low in love, in order that you might be glorified in us, that others might come to know this remarkable gift as well. We thank you and love you and pray this in Christ’s name, Amen.

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Property (Exodus 20:15) November 5, 2023 | Brandon Cooper This sermon discusses the 8th commandment “You shall not steal”. The pastor talks about different ways people steal, from taking candy on Halloween to identity theft. He argues that stealing ultimately comes from a selfish nature, as we are all born as takers. However, because Jesus gave himself for us, we can live differently by giving ourselves to others rather than taking for ourselves. The pastor encourages the congregation to stop following money and start following Jesus by giving generously with their time, money and possessions. He cites examples from the early church in Acts who generously shared what they had with those in need.

Good morning church. You want to go ahead grab your Bibles open up to Exodus chapter 20. Exodus 20. We’ll be in verse 15 this morning as we continue in our series in the 10 commandments. It was Halloween this week, I’m sure you know. And so when you got little kids this is this is a big deal, of course. So we were all kind of excited to go with especially Callum and Amari, as they were doing this, and Callum, you know, did what you were hoping kids would do, which is as soon as he figured out what was happening. Like he realized this is the greatest day ever. Like people are just handing me candy. I don’t know why this is awesome. So obviously we all wanted to be there though to see this little you know, bundle of joy going from house to house and all that. So we were all there with him, which means we did what a lot of families do, we put the bowl out front, you know, the take one sign or whatever. And we’re like one house over basically, we look back and we see a pack of hooligans, like 10-year-olds hooligans who are there and you know where the story is going. dumped the bowl. Actually took the sign also, which I thought was interesting. So um, it was a good sign. I don’t think was a great sign, but they took the sign. Also, in talking to some other congregants and stuff who’ve had similar stories, I should be grateful they didn’t take the bowl, which apparently is a common thing. Some of you are like, yep, that happens. So why do I mention this? Why do I start with this story, because of course, that was theft. They took what was not theirs and took all of it. And frankly, I was a little annoyed by this. Not the only time that happened this week. So earlier this week, and you guys, most of you, would have gotten a text about this. You know, last Sunday, a car parked in our lot was hit, scraped all the way down the side. And no, no, no confession. No, nothing like that. So that’s another form of theft. Not the first time it’s happened. By the way, my car got hit here also actually. Kyle’s got hit during the week in the office parking lot. His whole bumper just devastated by this. So this is kind of common occurrence. Earlier this year, actually, twice earlier this year, I had my identity stolen. So somebody’s got a nice iPhone on me. Which they should know, I’m not an iPhone guy. So this is even, like, doubly bad. And they tried to open up a credit card. Someone else with my stuff. But that’s when we shut down because, at this point, I spent about 10,000 a month on identity protection stuff. So I’m homeless, but at least they can’t steal my identity now. A few years back my family and I were enjoying a lovely lunch at Panera and it was a nice day. So we went for a walk in Wailea Park afterward, and we were having a great time and my phone started buzzing and I was kind of ignoring it because it’s family time and it was buzzing some more and it was buzzing some more, I finally pulled my phone out. And I had notifications from every single bank that I have a credit card with because Amy’s wallet had been stolen at Panera and somebody had gone to Best Buy and spent 1000s upon 1000s of dollars in the space of just an hour or so. With our credit cards. There’s a lot of theft in the world. And it’s frustrating, like when it happens to you, you kind of get like your justice juices flowing, right? Like, as long as you do something about this kind of thing. It’s frustrating. I mean, the reason why we feel that justice is a vibe is because it breaks God’s commands. It breaks the eighth one. Real short, simple passage. If you’re there in Exodus 20:15. Even if you’re not, you’re gonna be able to track with me, I promise. You shall not steal is our passage this morning. After last week’s lengthy passage of five words, we’re back down to four. So a little shorter sermon this week. You shall not steal and yet we do. So why is it that we take what isn’t ours? As we’ll see, it’s true of all of us in different ways. I mean, I think we all break this commandment. And so we’re gonna need some self-examination as we go through the passage this morning, but more than just the diagnosis, where am I stealing what we need as a remedy and what will transform our hearts so that we don’t want to take what isn’t ours? So what we’re gonna do this morning is we’re gonna pull our main idea together as we go. That’s the fill-in-the-blanks. It’s just one sentence that’ll be your main idea once we’ve got it but we’re gonna start with the remedy this week. I want to get to the why before the how so let’s start there. Because Jesus. And that’s pretty good right there. You could, almost, don’t even need to fill in the blank just because of Jesus, right, but let’s let’s dive in here. So to get at why this matters, we’re gonna start actually in John chapter 10, instead of in Exodus already read the passage for us. But here’s John 1010. Jesus is speaking. He says this He says The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have a life and habit to the full lot of thieves in this world as I mentioned, but if you were to trace them all the way back to the beginning, it really is Satan, like Satan is the thief that we’re talking about here in this passage. He is the father of all thieves, so to speak, because what is Satan like? He comes not for the sake of the sheep, the way a shepherd does, but for his own sake, or it. He’s there, not because he loves the sheep, but because he loves a wolf, or at least the money you can sell the wolf for. And he also was a big fan of lamb chops. He is a taker doesn’t matter that the sheep aren’t his doesn’t matter that what he’s doing harms, and destroys because he’s only thinking of himself. It’s actually interesting. We know this is Satan here because the whole reason Satan rebelled against God in the first place was because he wanted what wasn’t his. He saw the praise and glory that was being offered to God and God alone. And, he thought, I want me some of that. And so he rebelled against God. But Jesus, Jesus, on the other hand, Jesus is a giver, not a taker, he says, I have come that the sheep might have abundant life. He’s freely giving, of all that he has to his people. And in a sense, it’s kind of easy. If you’ve got infinite riches, you can be pretty generous, right? You could give away billions, you could give away billions of billions, and still have the same amount of money that you started with. That’s how infinity works. But Jesus gives not just from his abundance, but at great cost to himself. In fact, the very next verse, John 10:11, Jesus says, I am the good shepherd, the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep he gives sacrificially. He becomes poor for us, even when you think about it’s not just that he lays down his life, but he actually lays down the riches of heaven, at least for a time during his incarnation. Here’s the way Paul puts it. Second Corinthians eight, verse nine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, man with the riches of heaven, yet for your sake, he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. He became a poor we know this, while he lived among us on earth, Jesus was poor, he lived in poverty. He was born into poverty, stables, not, you know, luxury resort by any means. We know that his parents were poor, because when they make the sacrifice, after he was born, they offered pigeons, which was an allowance for those who couldn’t afford the animal you’re supposed to bring. A goat, if I recall. So he was born into poverty, and then he lived in poverty. Someone comes to him and says, I want to follow you. And Jesus says, foxes have holes, birds have nests, Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. He was homeless, and quite the way we would think of it today because he certainly enjoyed the hospitality of the people who supported him. But he was not rich. He was not living in a mansion, that’s for sure. But Jesus knew and lived the truth that it is more blessed to give than to receive. And so he pours out the riches of heaven on his children. And in so doing, he sets us an example that we should do as he has done. In fact, the passage I just read in Second Corinthians eight, it’s talking about sacrificial generosity. This is in a passage where Paul is asking the Corinthians to think very hard about what they will give, in this case to his famine relief efforts. Just a few verses earlier, he talks about the Macedonian church and what they had done, he writes this, this is Second Corinthians eight, one to five. And now brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches in the midst of a very severe trial. They’re overflowing joy, and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity, For I testify that they gave as much as they were able and even beyond their ability, when they’re poor, and they’re giving sacrificially, so they’re, like really poor now entirely on their own. They urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing this service to the Lord’s people. And they exceeded our expectations. They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. So you can just see what happens when we believe the gospel,
Jesus’s example of how he lived, but even how he died that he gave himself for us the gospel, turns takers into givers verse we can afford to give, even if we’re in extreme poverty like the Macedonians. We can afford to give and not take because we have all that we need already. We are already rich. Where though that’s kind of a big question, Julie helped us out by reading the passage Matthew 6. Kyle talked about it too. Where does your treasure lie? Like you are rich if your treasure is in heaven, and it is secure there. But if your treasure is in your bank account, your 401 K if it’s in the American dream, that might be a problem. Can’t serve two masters. Jesus says that passage in Matthew 6 which some of us are studying in Journey Group even now. So if that’s the case, we need to choose carefully. We need to weigh our options carefully here, Jesus or money? What do we learn from Jesus? Let’s start to fill in the blanks here because Jesus gave Himself for you. That’s the why. Okay, because Jesus gave Himself for you. You can live differently. As we’ll see. You don’t have to follow satan, that thief who comes to steal and kill and destroy. You don’t even have to follow your own flesh, your sin nature, let’s actually start to talk about that. So because Jesus gave Himself for you, don’t something fill in the blank. I’m gonna give you a hint right now it’s not steal. So don’t be like, I know where this is going, and write steal, and you’re gonna be wrong. Okay? Even though the text says You shall not steal? Well, we know that we are called to expansive obedience as the way one writer put it. So it’s never just make sure you keep this one really narrow command, but kind of work out the implications of this. We might sum this up as saying never deprive people of what is properly there’s, there’s a lot of application there actually like the way Colin Smith put it in his book, The 10 Greatest Struggles of Your Life, about the 10 Commandments. He says that what this command is prohibiting really is the desire to get as much as possible, while giving as little as possible. That’s what’s behind this being a taker without being a giver. And I think that’s exactly right. That’s the idea. Exactly. But the problem is that we are born as takers. And that’s the way our hearts are hardwired. You know this because most kids steal. And some of you are like, yep. I mean, think of my own kids. I can also think of myself and funny actually reading a bunch of books on the 10 commandments, when I was reading these chapters, how many of the authors started with a story of when they stole as kids, maybe it’s just candy from the cupboard. But maybe you’re caught shoplifting twice, like certain pastors that you have in this church. Many kids steal. The problem is it doesn’t go away on its own either turns out many adults to steal to talk to people who work in hotels, sometimes, all the things that get taken from hotels, you know, it’s not the little shampoo bottles, it doesn’t even have anymore, but you know, it’s the hairdryer and the towels, and even the sheets. Like people would probably take the lamps off the tables if they weren’t bolted to the tables, which by the way, is why they’re bolted to the tables. So we have this sinful nature. We’re born with it and a sinful nature is a selfish nature. That’s what sin is right? Whereas the command we have is to love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind, strength, love your neighbor as yourself. So all sin is not obeying those commands because you’re loving this way instead. So it’s a selfish nature. That’s the heart of the problem here is I want what I want. It’s not really the loss of property. Oh, well, that’s a thing. That’s all that’s I mean, that’s the fill-in-the-blank, right? It’s not just don’t steal but don’t take for yourself. Because Jesus gave Himself for you don’t take for yourself. That for yourself is the selfish piece stealing benefits an individual at the expense of the community. Like we all pay for shoplifting. You think of how much stores spend on security, security systems, security guards, and never mind the loss that results from the theft. The companies can’t just eat that. Most companies operate with razor thin margins, so they pass that along to the consumer, so we are all paying for shoplifted goods. That’s how it always works. Honestly, this is why I was so annoyed with the gang of hooligans that stole my candy. It was not the loss of candy. I wanted the bowl to be empty, or there’s nothing worse than coming home with in our case, six buckets full of candy and then seeing that you got a bowl and two extra bags behind it sitting there also. So like I’m glad the bowl was empty. But I was annoyed that three kids got what was meant for the whole neighborhood. That all these other little “Callum’s”, who could have enjoyed going up and grabbing candy didn’t get it. Stealing benefits an individual at the expense of the community. So if that’s the heart of stealing, selfishly taking, instead of selflessly giving, well, there are many expressions of it. So let’s just walk through this, like what exactly is being prohibited here? Just give some examples. The most obvious one, of course, is stealing property, stealing stuff. This covers everything from, you know, robbing a bank vault, to printing personal documents at work. That’s a big spectrum, isn’t it? That’s something I do, by the way, like prepping for the ceremony, like, okay, okay, I need to stop and think about this. And periodically, and I got Katelyn as a witness here, so you can check with her, but periodically, I will just plop a 20 on Katelyn’s desk and be like, put this in office supplies? Because I just know that yeah, I’ve taken some paper clips. I’ve printed some documents. I want to make sure I cover that so that I’m not stealing. The internet age has certainly brought along some new ways of doing this too. It’s an especially tempting area today. It’s piracy. And used to look like actual, like, pirated DVDs and stuff. If you guys don’t know what DVDs are, ask your parents, they’ll help you out. Okay. You know, when it came out the most pirated movie at the time was The Passion of the Christ. I think that’s really funny. Now, obviously, it doesn’t just mean Christians. You know, like everyone watched this movie. It wasn’t just Christians. I don’t think it’s entirely our fault. But we probably were there and guilty. Also, at least we got the gospel message we needed at that point. Today. This, of course, looks more like password sharing. Right? This is still a form of theft. So stealing property, all sorts of opportunities to do that. Another one would be stealing time for which you have been paid. This is Michael Scott in The Office right, says, after he discovered YouTube, he didn’t work for five days. Because he just kept watching Cookie Monster sing Chocolate rain on repeat. Okay, one that probably most of us have been guilty of when we’re being paid. But the lunch gets a little bit longer. Or you know, I could take care of these couple of personal things. I gotta renew my driver’s license or whatever, as long as I’m here in front of a computer could look like falsifying hours as well. This is John Grisham in The Firm. If you haven’t read that one, I only worked one but I could bill two, and then I get twice as much money stealing time for what you’ve been paid. What about stealing value, just not giving your money’s worth? The stereotypical example here, of course, is the used car salesman who’s selling you a lemon, but you know, not letting you know about it. I had a family member who built a new home, a big home expensive home, nearly a million dollars. And this was some time ago. So it’d be more today. So paid top dollar for what ended up being bargain bin materials. Because just about the day the warranty ended all the drywall tape peeled off. That’s where they have a button, they push right after the warranty is over there. And now your transmission can go. So that’s just how it worked. But that’s that’s this theft here, right? We’re charging you this for this level of quality. And actually, we’re only providing this quality. What about stealing someone’s reputation? Shakespeare put it well. Shakespeare tends to put things well. He says who steals my purse steals trash. But he that filters from me my good name makes me poor indeed. Now how does that happen? Gossip and slander. That’s next week. That’s the ninth commandment, the action, but the result is the eighth commandment or stealing credit. Take taking credit for something you didn’t do. That might be passively. You know you’re accepting thanks for you know, buying somebody’s lunch when you’re just wanting to hand them the bag. You’re not the one who actually bought it. Or it’s actively perhaps some of you have been at work. And your boss is talking about the great idea that he had and all that he’s doing for and you’re like, what was my idea? Would have been that was your idea of stealing credit. And of course, plagiarism would be another example of this. One of pastors’ great temptations. You have a great line about the hotel and the tables being bolted to the lamps. The lamps have been bolted to tables. That’s Jen Wilkin. Okay, that’s not mine. But I could have gotten away with it. None of you have read it. So plagiarism, right is a big one happens. Kids as well, those of you who are in school, all that kind of stuff. Or what about stealing unpaid debts, taking out a loan that you don’t intend to pay back? Hitting a car without making restitution. So Kyle had his bumper fixed, 600 bucks if I recall. That’s what he had to pay. Someone stole that money from him. Or think back to the Great Recession. All these houses were in foreclosure. They did studies afterward. Of 70% of the homes that defaulted, the borrower’s lied on their applications. So they were making more than they were. Same idea. Or appraisers were doing the same thing. They were over-appraising houses so that when bad things happened, there was not as much value there as they thought, of course. The Great Recession brings out some of the more complicated aspects of this commandment because 2008 was not just about predatory borrowers. Certainly, most of us when we think about it would be thinking about predatory lenders. Yep, sure. People selling mortgages or re-fi’s to people who didn’t actually need them. Why? Because they were going to get a commission. They want to collect the fees, giving them stuff that looked good in the short term, but that was unsustainable in the long term. And even that brings up just the whole idea of enticing people to buy what they don’t need, which is certainly a form of theft, gets really gray in there, doesn’t it? Like I’m so glad I don’t work in marketing, because I just wouldn’t want to have to think this hard all the time about what’s happening. I am grateful for marketing. I’m grateful that people have made me aware of products that exist that I need, like, I am grateful. In particular, if you know anything about me, when publishers send me emails letting me know their new titles that have come out. I’m like, good, I want to read that book that looks really helpful. So marketing is good. But obviously, there’s a place in advertising where all of a sudden, we moved into the bad. Like if you’re selling beauty products, and you have to make someone feel ugly first so that they will then buy your beauty product. Now we’re in sin, aren’t we? So we got to be careful with all of this. I just like skimming across the surface, just like here are some categories to think about when it comes to stealing. In other words, there’s a lot here I think John Calvin sums it up nicely. He says we will duly obey this commandment then if content with our lot contentment. Two weeks from now, I’m not gonna steal Meritts thunder, if content with our lot, we are zealous to make only honest and lawful gain. If we do not seek to become wealthy through injustice, nor attempt to deprive our neighbor of his goods, to increase our own. We keep this command when we stop taking for ourselves. Of course, that’s only going to happen if we untangle our hearts from stuff. If we remember the last section, though, why we don’t need to take because we serve a God who gives that frees us from stealing from greed from miserliness. Like you know, there’s that sense of it’s your property. Sure, we’ll come back to that in a moment. But it’s also in your care as a steward. Because ultimately, everything you have is a gift that changes how we think about it, changes how we think about our stuff, and starts to move us towards a positive vision as well. Because Jesus gave Himself for you to take for yourself. But there’s something you can do here. So let’s look at it. But fill in the blank. Alright, so I keep saying it. We’ve said it throughout this series. We’ll see it again today, where an action is prohibited. The contrary, duty is commanded again, that’s the Westminster larger catechism. It’s true again here. Like the way Kevin Yun says it. He says, you know, if I want to keep this commandment fully, it means that I want to protect and promote my neighbor’s well-being. I want to be able to help my neighbor in need, right? Like there’s a positive vision here. So it’s not just don’t take for yourself but in light of the gospel. Give yourself to others. Give yourself to others. There’s your fill-in-the-blank. So stop following Mammon. Alright, stop following money. Start following Jesus. How well where your treasure goes, there goes your heart. It’s a little bit like, you buy the nice balloons at Jewel or something. And they come with a little weight on the bottom. And if you got kids, you know how this game goes, right? You throw the weight, and then the balloon goes with it. Right? That’s treasure and our heart. So you toss your treasure and your hearts gonna go after it. So if your heart’s not in the right place, start putting your treasure where you want it to go. And it’ll follow like the balloon following the weight. Can’t use says it well, former pastor at college church over in Wheaton. He says, “Every time I give, I declare that money does not control me.” And love this next part. He says, “Perpetual generosity is a perpetual de-deification of money. So every time you give, you’re saying money is not God, you’re de-guarding money, which is a good thing to do. That’s throwing the weight in the balloon to go with. But I think obeying this command, is about more than just giving money is important. No, that is good. We actually have to take it a step back, because where’s that money coming from? Where are you getting what you’re going to give? Paul, when he speaks of ethical behaviors, usually talks in terms of put-offs and put ons, see it in Ephesians. And clashes especially. And so it’s almost like changing clothes, you got to put off the old behavior, and then put on the new behavior. And look what he says about stealing. This is Ephesians four, verse 28. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, there’s the put-off, right? That’s the old clothes. So you must steal no longer but must work. And doesn’t just say give it says work. Doing something useful with their own hands that they may have something to share with those in need. There’s where the giving comes in, we are made to work. I would say a lot more about this. But we just did a series in August, on this whole idea right here, faith at work. So we’re made to work, we’re made to work for a lot of reasons. And again, you can go back and listen to that series if you forgot. But one reason we’re made to work is so that we can give generously. Part of why we earn money is so that we can give money. Because the option the other option is referred, Paul actually talks about this one too. So he he warning the Thessalonians to stay away from the idle and disruptive, those two usually go together. Of course, he points to his own example where he says I’ve been working hard, working night and day so that I wouldn’t be a burden to anyone. And then he wraps up with this Second Thessalonians three, verse 10. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule, the one who is unwilling to work shall not eat, don’t come back into the church for food, if you’re able to work and not willing to work, because honestly, that’s just another way to steal, really taking time for yourself, and making others work to keep you fed. That’s the selfishness. Again, this is not what the gospel should produce in us. You want to see what the gospel should produce in us, there’s a much better vision in Acts chapter four, verses 32 to 35. This is the early church and look at their generosity and where it comes from acts for 33 to 35. No one claimed that any of their possessions were their own, recognizing it all comes from God. They shared everything they had, and God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all. There were no needy persons among them. From time to time, those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales, and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. What I love about this passage is that they’re not commanded to do this. It’s not that the apostles get before the congregation and say, Hey, we’ve got some families in need in this congregation. So some of you’re gonna have to sell your property. All right, give us the money, and we’ll make sure it gets distributed to the people who need it. No, there’s no command here. This is just the overflow of a heart transformed by the gospel, they saw a need and they met it. Luke puts it really carefully, right? He says God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them. That’s why they did this. It’s because God’s grace was at work in them. This is the gospel at work in a person’s life was what it looks like when we truly get how much we’ve been given. We just start giving just the most natural thing in the world, start giving start giving sacrificially, you can these people in Acts chapter four, they sold real property. This was an added cost to them. You want to untangle the heart. You want to get your heart to follow your treasure? Start giving. And can I speak a quick word to the kids here in the room, as well. Like, now’s the time to start this. And by kids, I mean even slightly older kids like you know, college and career kids and stuff like this. You know what’s hard to do is to start earning money, figure out how to spend all that money, and then realize you probably should be giving some of that money to the ministry of the church, to those around you in need. Because now you got to cut expenses and cutting expenses is hard. You know, it’s much much easier and much wiser, just from the very beginning. Give 10% At least to the church and make the rest of it available to missions passion ministries or All the rest. And then you just always have why just know that Perkins like taxes, I just know this part comes out I don’t need to think about it. That’s not like in my I got a budget this category that’s just the automatically gone start now what giving looks like love that the Bible has a wonderfully nuanced view of all of this. The eighth word You shall not steal, establishes the right to private property. Because otherwise, it wouldn’t be theft. Right? Well, this is, you know, that was God’s and so I can have it right. I mean, I mean, whatever, we’re all just sharing God’s stuff kind of thing. No, it establishes the right to private property so this really is theft. But the Bible also establishes that the right to private property is not an absolute right. And certainly not the most important, right? You see this in the Old Testament, especially so what would happen is, of course, periodically, Israelites would fall into poverty, and really what we would think of as bankruptcy today, and what would they do in that situation? There are bankruptcy courts and things like that. They would sell their ancestral land that was given to them by God, you know, Book of Joshua kind of stuff, and often would sell themselves into slavery or more like indentured servitude. So a wealthier neighbor is lawfully purchasing this property, and really lawfully purchasing these people as well to be servants. That’s his property now. But not absolutely. Because every 50th year, there was a jubilee. And all that stuff would go back to its rightful owners, every slave was freed, and all the land because again, this was God’s gift to a specific family, all that land, went back to that family returns to the true owner. What a beautiful picture of what we’re talking about here. It’s a reminder that all that we have is a gift in the same way that the land of Israel with its ancestral lots you know, it was this inheritance for all time for the people. So think of how that nuanced view transforms our approach to the poor, biblically speaking, is equal 18. Verse seven sums it up exactly. It’s talking about the righteous man says the righteous man does not commit robbery, but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked. The same thing we keep talking about, right? It’s not just don’t do the bad thing, but also do the good thing. Don’t steal but give, but give you if you look back at 13th and 14th-century debates about canon law, like how should this work out in you know, what was then Christendom, right? Everybody was trying to live under Christian principles and Europe at this time, and they would talk about, what do you do when somebody steals because they’re poor? Like, what do you do with Schoenfeld Jones from lame is, so he steals a loaf of bread because his sister and her child are hungry. So that’s theft, right? But then they were debating this as lawyers and theologians and go, “Yeah, but no one should be poor, while someone else is living in luxury.” In fact, they’d go so far as to say that the true thief was the rich man who neglected the working poor at his doorstep. Did not make it into Western law. But that is the Bible’s view. Proverbs 327 do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act, when you have resources to give and actually I love this, the that phrase to whom it is due reads literally in the Hebrew, the owners. It’s there’s, I mean, you’ve got it right now. But it’s there’s actually if God gives you an abundance of wealth, and let’s just pause real quick and look around where we live. That’s us. Right? That’s us. You nod your head like, I see. Yep. If God gives you an abundance of wealth that isn’t yours, not totally absolute, in some sense, it belongs to the disadvantage around you. And you’ve been called to steward it to them. I love the way one pastor put it, I would tell you his name, but I don’t know how to pronounce it. And I don’t want to say it. So it’ll be up on Facebook this week. You can read it. Then. He says, “God has all the money he needs to help the needy. It’s in your pockets.” Because Jesus gave Himself for you. Don’t just take for yourself, or you’ve already got after riches of glory, don’t just take for yourself, but give yourself and your stuff to others. We are all thieves. I think we established that this morning like there’s no way you didn’t feel the prick of conscience somewhere in the sermon. I felt it. As I mentioned myself preparing this week. We’re all thieves. And we’ve been that way from the beginning really like we traced this one all the way back to Adam and Eve if you think about it, this was the first sin, the sin beneath the sin Sure, godlessness and pride but the actual manifestation of the sin the actual action is what Adam and Eve took, what wasn’t theirs. fruit that God had said, this tree is not yours, all the other ones, those are yours. This one’s not yours and they go great. That’s the one I want. But it’s just emblematic right Peter light heart talks about this. He says it’s far worse than just we take things that aren’t ours. The worst part of all this is that we steal ourselves from God. Every time we sin, we’re stealing ourselves from God because we belong to God it’s the very first catechism question by the way, what is our only hope and life and death? We are not our own but belong body and soul in life and death to God. We are his those of us who are Christians are his twice over where his because he made us but then were his because he also bought us at a price First Corinthians six the cost of Christ’s blood to were his every time we go our own way we are stealing ourselves from him. Got some really bad news. There’s some really good news too. Because look at how Jesus treats thieves. Picture the scene. There is Jesus, bruised and bloodied, gasping for breath as he hangs on a cross crucified between two theives. brigands. The word means, I love this translation, highwayman. Like Jesse James kind of stuff, right? Okay. So probably thieves and murderers. Actually, he’s hanging between two thieves. One thief starts mocking Jesus, if you were really the Messiah, you could save yourself, you could get down off that cross. And hey, as long as you’re getting people off crosses, how about a little help here? And the second thief rebuked him. He says this Luke chapter 23. We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. Right? We’re thieves. This Man has done nothing wrong. Jesus is innocent. Jesus is the only human who’s ever lived, who didn’t ever steal anything, not even himself from his father. Then he said, Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom? I love that this is off-topic. But I love that because at this point, I think this thief is the only person on God’s green earth who thinks Jesus is about to get a kingdom. Like even the disciples sitting there like so we were wrong. Ha. He’s not the Messiah. There’s no kingdom. I don’t realize as my right hand left-hand stuff like it’s over. And this guy goes, I can tell you’re ascending your throne right now. Would you remember me when you come into your kingdom to incredible faith at this point? And look what Jesus says, Well, son, you’re a thief. Like you said, you’re getting what you deserve. Why don’t you just hush up now and die? No, that’s not what he said. Truly, I tell you today you will be with Me in Paradise. Today. That is bad news. It means the guy is about to die, of course. But good news because he says today, there’s nothing more to be done. He does not say why don’t you clean yourself up first, get your act together, make restitution for all that you’ve stolen, which is of course what Scripture commands we shouldn’t do. This guy doesn’t have an opportunity. And Jesus goes, it’s fine. There is grace. Today you will be with Me in Paradise. We’re in the feeding business. We have been since eaten, but Jesus is in the saving thieves business. That’s the good news. This man had spent a lifetime taking what wasn’t his to get something he never found until his last day. Because everything money falsely promises comfort, pleasure, security status, Jesus freely offers us in himself. So let’s stop taking for ourselves but start giving of ourselves because we serve King Jesus who did just that for us. Let’s pray.
Father, we come to you as thieves absolutely unworthy to stand in your presence to approach your throne to ask anything of you. And yet even before we did that, before we would ever dream of approaching you or even want to approach you, you came to us. You sent your son. You had your son give up everything, all the glory of heaven, to come and find us thieves that we are and to bring us back to you to win us over once more. Lord, would you let that truth, the knowledge of your love and grace, so touch our hearts now that the thought of stealing would be unconscionable because we know how much we’ve been freely given and we couldn’t possibly think to take any more for ourselves, but instead would so much rather give of all that you have given us for the sake of others and for the glory of your name. Amen.

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Marriage October 29, 2023 | Brandon Cooper This sermon discusses the seventh commandment against adultery. God rescues us from sexual immorality to his good design for marriage, and ultimately to the best, which is our union with Jesus. Brandon discusses why sexual immorality harms us and damages society. He also talks about how God’s design for sex and marriage within the context of a lifelong covenant points to our relationship with God. The sermon applies this teaching by encouraging guarding against temptation, pursuing God’s design for relationships, and proclaiming the gospel to a lost world in need of forgiveness.

All right, you can go ahead grab your Bibles open up to Exodus chapter 20. We will be in verse 14 this morning. Exodus 20, verse 14. As you’re turning there, you may remember April 9, or April 15, 2019. As the world watched, Notre Dame Cathedral was engulfed in flames in Paris. And I think one of the reasons why the world paid such close attention to what was happening was because of the longevity of Notre Dame. It had been around for so long, it actually took more than 200 years to build the cathedral and had stood for over 800 years. And yet, despite all that, it was gone. Devastated in just a few hours. Really, this is a building that had endured wars and revolutions and the ravages of a time 1000 years of history destroyed in a day by one careless act. Why do I mention this? Because my topic this morning is adultery. Where a marriage built up over the years and even decades, can be destroyed in an instant by a careless act. This means we’re in for another heavy sermon. If you were here last week, you know what that’s like. And just as a reminder that the heaviness of the sermon is a pointer to the truth. We talked about, on week one, which is that the 10 commandments are good. What’s heavy is not the command. What’s heavy is when the command is transgressed when it’s broken and the devastation that results. God’s commands are for our good, I said, week one, and I will stand by it. Life would be so much better if everyone kept all the commandments all the time. We’re gonna certainly see that this morning, even as we enter into the heaviness, but at the same time, I don’t want heaviness to be the tone. I want to set the tone early on. I don’t always do this, but we need to remember the grace that is there in Luke chapter seven. A sinful woman comes to Jesus and by the way, sinful woman is euphemistic. It’s not that they didn’t specify what sin maybe she was a gossip. Maybe you know, she had a hard time forgiving her neighbor or something like that no sinful woman, man, sexually sinful, she was sexually immoral. She comes to Jesus but she comes in repentance, she wets his feet with her tears and drives them with her hair and the religious guy who is there Simon the Pharisee. Of course, he rejects her. If Jesus knew who this woman was, if he knew what she had done, he wouldn’t allow her anywhere near him. But Jesus knows. Jesus knows what Simon is thinking as well. And his last words to the woman are not words of condemnation, but your sins are forgiven. That is a reminder we need to hear and we need to have in mind as we go through this today, there is hope. There is good news for those who have sinned sexually. This is a sermon about grace because every sermon is a sermon about grace. Part of the grace is the warning. It is the warning not to sin. It’s something we need to hear again, that will help our lives go better if we listen to it. So this is a sermon that is all about salvation. In fact, I’ve got it right there in the main idea for you. So it’s in your head the whole time. When it comes to sex. God has rescued us. He is rescued, as we’re gonna look at what that means exactly in three parts God has rescued us from the bad to the better, for the best. And that’ll be our outline this morning. We live in a broken and fallen world sexually because we have abandoned God’s good design, as we’ll see. But God is making all things new. We need to see that too. A quick word to parents before we dive in, especially those of you who got kids sitting with you right now. I imagine some of you and preparing for this week, you read the passage and you thought this would be a great time for them to be downstairs. And so you might get questions after today. It might be words they hadn’t heard before that they asked you about and can I just tell you upfront I am so unapologetic about that. And here’s why. Because they’re gonna hear all these words anyway. And how much better that they hear it in church, and then get to go home and talk about it with their parents. That’s how this should go. So embrace the uncomfortableness that’s what we should be doing. At the same time. I don’t want to leave you adrift all on your own. So look at your Family Ministries weekly. This week. Kyle is going to include a number of resources that you can purchase that will help you navigate these conversations. These are great resources. We have some of them in the Cooper household, so you’re not on your own here. But with that, let’s dive in. God has rescued us. First of all, God has rescued us from the bad. By which I mean sexual immorality God has rescued us from sexual immorality. We start with the bad because that’s our passage this morning. It is a negative command. You shall not commit adultery, short and sweet. Five words this week still just to in Hebrew, much like last week, but this is a prohibition. Right? You’re not supposed to do what will profane God’s holy design. And yet, like last week, when he looked at You shall not murder, this is about more than just what’s being prohibited. This is about more than just adultery. God is here prohibiting any sexual immorality, which is any sexual experience outside the covenant of marriage, whether that is desire or thought, or action. When you talk about a lot of things, you’re not going to spend a ton of time I think we know what sexual immorality is. But certainly, this prohibits all extramarital sexual activity. When that happens, and you’re not married, it’s called fornication when it happens and you are married. It’s called adultery. Both are forbidden, of course. And sexual activity is kind of a vague term and I’m okay with that. Because if your question in your mind right now is okay, but how far can I go? Your heart is in the wrong place. I guarantee you. The question of course should be how can I best glorify God. But it includes more than just activity. Certainly, this prohibits pornography. And as I mentioned that, of course, we need to acknowledge the fact that our media, movies, TV music, you name it has become increasingly pornographic, which means it may prohibit stuff you can find on cable TV, maybe even not cable TV, it prohibits lewd and leering and lustful glances. Jesus says in Matthew chapter five, anyone who even looks at a woman for the purpose of lusting after her, that’s the purpose right has committed adultery in his heart. So the look, the thought, the desire, all that counts as adultery as well, cultivating an epic fantasy life is prohibited here, not just here. But of course, that fantasy life breeds discontent, which is going to come up again in the 10th commandment, as well. And certainly, this prohibits our intentionally seeking anything outside of the covenant of marriage that would arouse or titillate. There’s plenty of that around us. That’s just a brief tour through the sorts of things that this commandment prohibits. But even that brief tour shows us why the Seventh Commandment might be the most irritating of all, at least in our culture. Because we live today in a culture that is zealous, I don’t have any other word for it. There’s zeal there, zealous for sexual autonomy, our culture’s mantras my body, my choice. So how dare anyone, even God, if he exists, keep me from pursuing what I think will bring me pleasure, happiness, and fulfillment. Uh, you need to get out of my bedroom. And maybe it’s a little weird that God’s so concerned about what happens in my bedroom, actually. And this is why we, as a culture, have gotten to the point where now consent is the only ethic that we have when it comes to sex as long as it’s not hurting anyone who cares. It is a victimless act. I mean, this might be something that’s happening literally just in my own mind. So why would anyone else care? If it is victimless? Well, because it’s not, of course, sexual immorality has many, many victims may take just pornography as one example. It’s a well-proven fact at this point that pornography use increases violence against women. And basically, funds, promotes sex trafficking. So think about that. The next time you’re tempted to look at porn by looking at porn here is directly funding the trafficking of young men and women.
This is not a victimless crime. But none of it is victimless it does irreparable damage, even if it’s just happening in your own mind is doing irreparable damage to you. We have to remember that God only prohibits what will harm us. What’s bad for us. Like God loves us. He wants what’s best for us. That’s why he prohibits what is not best for us. He is a loving father. I’m a father. Mother sweet loving. There are a lot of prohibitions. I got two little boys who are mischief makers in the extreme. You notice I didn’t throw the girls under the bus here, right? Just different – different categories for sure. So these boys are mischief makers, which means there are a lot of prohibitions in our household, you know, don’t touch the hot stove, you you cannot play in the front yard. When there’s no one else out there. You know, they’re too little, they could run into the street, get hit by a car or something like that. Why do I give them these prohibitions? Is it because I want to wreck their fun? Oh, it’s the opposite, right? It’s because I love them. And I’m imperfect. In fact, I know there have been times where I’ve really been at things where it’s just because it would inconvenience me personally, I’m imperfect. But God is the perfect father. He only ever prohibits what will harm us. And sexual immorality harms us. Science has proven his watch finally caught up to the Bible. That’s how science works. So what happens during sex, scientifically? In women, the hormone oxytocin is released. This is known as the attachment hormone, by the way, it’s also released when mothers nurse their babies. And so it’s meant to create this attachment, this bond between two people. And so that’s what’s happening during sex. The same is true for men. It’s a different hormone. It’s not oxytocin as much as vasopressin there, but it’s the same idea. In fact, they’ve nicknamed vasopressin, the monogamy molecule, because it binds you to the person that you’re sharing your body with. There’s one sex therapist that put it in this again, sex therapists, we’re not talking Christian, I’m not quoting the Bible here or anything like that. This is just well-known knowledge. When we have sex, we create an involuntary chemical commitment. There’s no such thing as no strings attached sex. The strings are there chemically, regardless of whether or not you want them we are designed to bond. First Corinthians six verse 16, expresses it. Well. Paul says, Don’t you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body for it, it said the two will become one flesh. There’s the binding, there’s the uniting that happens. As a Duke University professor, again, not a Christian, who is almost riffing on this passage, when she writes, don’t you know that when you sleep with someone, your body makes the promise, whether you do or not. And so you see, the problem with sexual immorality is trying to create a divide between physical intimacy on the one hand, and emotional spiritual relational intimacy, on the other hand, like people assume that there’s a clear dividing line between them between the emotional and the sexual aspects of a relationship. Where does this come from? This comes from Descartes and his dualism, it kind of the divide between a body and soul. And so you know, the body that’s just matter, and matter doesn’t matter, right? It’s your soul. You know, this, you can do whatever you want with this, this one, maybe you want to reserve for marriage, but it doesn’t actually work. Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw and his play, Too True to Be Good. He writes this, he says, when men and women pick one another up just for a bit of fun, they find they picked up more than they bargained for. Because men and women have a top story as well as the ground floor. Right? What he’s saying there is you can’t divide it right? Like you’re in the building, you’re in the building. And it’s got two stories, there’s body, but there’s soul as well. So I think this is one of the reasons why there’s so much anxiety and depression today. Because people are looking to sexual fulfillment, in essence, to save them to provide them with that meaning and fulfillment that they’re seeking. But it’s doing the opposite. Instead, it’s deeply, deeply wounding them, because sex is meant to be an expression of covenant commitment. The binding uniting that happens. This, by the way, of course, is why adultery is so devastating. Because it is the rendering of that covenant, maybe permanently, if it ends in divorce, what is the breaking of vows? That’s why it’s so hurtful. Again, not just to the spouse but just concentric circles around the marriage being devastated by this – kids, of course, but families I mean, perhaps you’ve experienced this where you know, you effectively lose an in-law is somebody you love that was a part of your family. Now they’re not any longer you lose friends, it just goes on and on and on. It’s like tossing a hand grenade into a situation devastation results. It’s so hurtful and it’s hurtful because it’s sinful. Sinful and what is sin? Sin is this selfishness. Right we basically have been given one command we talked about this a lot. We talked about it already in this series. Your one command is love. That’s it. It’s all supposed to love God with all your heart soul, mind strength, love your neighbor as yourself. And sin says Actually, no, I’m gonna love myself, and God and neighbor are on their own sexual immorality is inherently selfish. You’re using abusing people for your own pleasure. Jen Wilkin says it well. She says, if the sixth commandment You shall not murder prohibits seeing people as expendable. The Seventh Commandment forbids seeing people as consumable just objects of consumption, which is so inherently dehumanizing. You have to treat someone as less than human and treat them instead just as objects for your own pleasure really tools for your pleasure. This has reached such a point that today you can read theories of they call it sexual economics. What a satanic phrase that is. Sexual economics as though this were transactional. What’s happening in this moment, people are just a good to be consumed, even purchased. Maybe not with money, maybe it’s dinner and flowers, but it’s still being purchased.
It’s devastating. It’s why consent isn’t an insufficient ethic as well. Read an article recently, I mean, remember where but the woman was talking about the failure of the sexual revolution. Again, not a Christian or anything like that. But she said, you know, consent is enough because I might have consent have consented to the sexual act, but I didn’t consent to be ghosted the next morning. Because again, there’s the commitment that was made, and then it’s broken. That’s not enough. You’re just the way so many of us treat it today. Proverbs 30. Verse 20, says it well, this is the way of an adulterous woman. She eats and wipes her mouth and says I’ve done nothing wrong. Just fulfilling an appetite. Just physical, nothing more than that. But we know that’s not true. We’re doing irreparable harm. Consuming people and damning self in the process. Thomas Watson, the Puritan preacher has a good analogy. He says sin is like the predatory lender who feeds a man with money that makes him mortgage his land. Sin feeds his soul with delightful objects, that make him mortgage his soul. And some of you are living that right now. With all the devastation that comes with it, so no wonder God prohibits this. He loves us too much to Let us destroy each other and ourselves God has rescued us from this bad from this great evil, to something better. Let’s talk about that. Now God has rescued us to the better, which is his good design. I do sometimes think that we can spend a little bit too much time thinking about what we’ve been saved from, and not enough time on what we’ve been saved to. And again, the image of the Exodus, which is right where we are in biblical history is a good image here, right? So God rescued the people of Israel out of slavery bondage in Egypt, but then when there were they’re in the wilderness because they gotta get from point A to point B from Egypt to the Promised Land. They spend all their time thinking about what they lost. And so they start complaining almost immediately against God. Why did you bring us out here? You know, back in Egypt, we had cucumbers, yes, we were in chains, mistreated, beaten, abused, but we had cucumbers, and the desert is hot, and I’m cranky. Now. Why? Because they didn’t think about what they were being saved to. They’re almost there. Where was God taking them? If not taking them to the desert? It had cucumbers in Egypt, you know what they had in the Promised Land. They get there, they scout it out. They get a cluster of grapes, it takes two people to carry it. It’s so big God is bringing them into a land flowing with milk and honey, they’re giving up nothing. And neither are we. The better is implied in this commandment. We’ve talked about this throughout the series. That’s the Westminster larger catechism. It says you know where an activity is prohibited. The contrary, duty is required, commanded. So there’s a duty here there’s a positive vision that’s built into this negative command. So it prohibits the breaking of the marriage covenant, sure, but that means it promotes the keeping of the marriage covenant. This command tells us that marriage is good. Marriage is good. That maybe needs to be said one more time because man, I tell you what, you watch TV or something, you’d think that marriage is a prison sentence, which is nonsense. Of course, marriage is good. Of course, it is. God invented it. It is a gift to us. God Himself performs the first marriage ceremony. It promotes human happiness and stability. The statistics are overwhelming you want them, I’ll direct you to them happily. But despite what you know, sitcoms, say marriage is not a prison sentence. People are happier in marriage, just about uniformly. Not only that it is the foundation of a healthy society. Like this is a communal command here. We don’t think of it that way. We hear it as individuals because we’re a highly individualistic society. But this command, like all the commands, is about a healthy society. You see this most obviously, with kids, the best thing you can do for your kids is have a strong marriage. Again, statistics are overwhelming, happy to direct you to them. So you could almost put this command with the fifth commandment honor your mother and father as saying the strength of a human society depends on two relationships, relationship with a husband and a wife. And a relationship with a parent and a child. But against society depends on those relationships. This is why it probably sounds quaint to our ears today. But for large chunks of history, adultery was actually a crime. A public crime. Why? Because it damages society as a whole. Where family breaks down, society breaks down, as we’re seeing every day around us. The rise of cohabitation. And by the way, not shockingly, adultery is much more common in cohabiting relationships instead in marriage relationships. It’s almost like if you don’t have a commitment, you don’t feel committed to the relationship. Just shocking. I know. We’ve got the epidemic of fatherlessness in our culture, of course, the scourge of no-fault divorce, we can go on and on and on. Can I just make a quick aside here too? Because it needs to be said increasingly in our culture. If marriage is good, then you should pursue it. Like I understand that some people are called by God to singleness. Absolutely. We’ll talk more about singleness as we go. But don’t confuse culture with calling as some of you are single because you just give in to our culture’s drift away from marriage as a God-given gift. Proverbs 18:22 says, He who finds a wife finds what is good. I like that, uh, speaking to the men there because it’s probably a word for the men, right? Like single man, it’s okay. Go find what is good. Right? You should have a little checklist with you, man and woman there. Okay, check. Does he or she loves Jesus. Good, then you can make the marriage work. That’s it. That’s all that’s needed. Okay, I’ve seen a lot of marriages in my day. That’s the one that matters. I worry about the perpetual adolescence that’s gripped our culture today and what is it that is leading us in adolescence, it’s a worry about losing our freedom. Like I’m married I’m able to play video games as often as I’d like it’s true by the way I’ve not played video games for a long time. Blame the kids not the wife but still it’s there. It’s real. And you know what if you asked me to choose between Amy and Halo, okay, if you’re confused about that choice, like let’s talk okay, because that is a bad choice you’re making right there. This is true increasingly for women as well. I saw something I am not on Tiktok. I think it’s so important you know that I don’t think you should be either but I saw someone on Tiktok. This is a woman and she was made a videos where she had the engagement ring. And she started to put on her finger and it flashed to like what life was gonna be like as a married woman. And this young hip, single woman, you know, there she was. She’s scrubbing toilets, and she’s doing laundry and stuff. And she’s like, why would I choose this domestic servitude when I could be a free woman? And I love what somebody said in response. Do you not clean your toilet and do laundry as a single woman? But that might be why you’re still single actually, sweetheart. But what do you see there’s just the abdication of responsibility. And that’s what’s concerning like, marry and have kids do it. That is what most of you are called to And it’s okay marriage is good. And what that then also means though, is that sex is good. Read Song of Songs. read Proverbs chapter five, the Bible is not squeamish about sexual pleasure, you will probably blush as you read these passages. God invented it. Because of that thinking God invented sex. And he’s all for it in its proper place. It is part of his good design.
He looks at creation, He says, It’s not good for man to be alone. He brings the woman to, to Adam, and they’re naked and unashamed. Like sometimes Christians get accused of having too low of a view of sex, sex is dirty, we shouldn’t talk about it. And certainly, the church has been guilty of that, but not the Bible anyway, no way. The Bible does not have a low view of sex. Doesn’t have a crazy high view of sex either. Like some people today have made sex apocalyptic because it’s like it is going to be the fulfillment of everything I’m seeking in life. No, it’s not. We’ll get to that in a moment. The Bible has an appropriately high view of sex, which is why we’re careful with it. The more valuable something is, the more careful you are with it. You got a ’67 Shelby GT Mustang, you probably be a little bit careful about who you toss the keys to. Because it’s worth more than the Junker or something like that. And so it is with marriage. We care because it’s valuable. So what care do we take the biblical standard and since Christopher Yuan’s language I think it’s exactly right. It’s chastity and singleness, and faithfulness in marriage. That’s what God does: chastity and singleness faithfulness in marriage. I do think it needs to be said when we say it, you hear. You can experience the fullness of life in singleness. And I know this, because the most joyful man who ever lived who experienced the most fullness in life that human ever lived, never married and never had sex. His name is Jesus. By the way. You do not need sex and marriage to be fulfilled. But within marriage within its proper context, sex binds right unites a man and a woman who have covenanted together, the two become one flesh, as the Bible says, And as science shows, so that sex functions like a covenant renewal ceremony as Tim Keller’s language I love. The marriage initiates the Covenant, the wedding ceremony, but the sex, every time you have sex as a couple, you’re renewing your vows. You’re renewing that sense of self-giving. Not taking but self-giving, loving, not using. That seals covenant oneness. And that, by the way, is what we most want to be fully known, and yet fully left, naked and unashamed covenant oneness. That’s the good that we’re protecting in the seventh commandment. But that good, that better takes us to the best. Let’s turn there. Now God saves us from the bad, sexual immorality, to the better is good design for the best. What I mean by this is that sex is not the highest good. Marriage is not ultimate. Both are a pointer to the ultimate good. You’re pointing to the gospel to our union with Jesus. So that sex within covenant marriage is in CS Lewis’s words, a foretaste, and we’re looking ahead to glory here, a foretaste of the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to God, in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water. That’s it exactly marriage is good. But Jesus is better. God made us for himself and our hearts are restless until we find a rest in Him. So the marriage covenant is meant to image our spiritual union with the Triune God. It is in Piper’s famous words, a parable of permanence. So, Piper’s book on marriage is called this momentary marriage. What a great reminder that is, your marriage could be long I have friends, like could you not have been married 72 years, which is awesome. 72 years in light of in light of eternity is a blink of an eye, right? It is a momentary marriage, but it is a parable of what is permanent. So it’s a living enacted parable of this truth. Ephesians 5:31 and 32 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery. We’re tracking with Paul so far. And then he says, But I’m talking about Christ and the church. And you go, No, you’re not Paul, you’re talking about marriage. Right? Now. He’s talking about Christ and the church. Our marriage is meant to be a parable of God’s love for the church and the church’s devotion to Christ. That changes how we think about marriage. It’s not an end in itself, but as a sign pointing to something else changes how we think about adultery too, doesn’t it? There’s What does adultery then say about God? In fact, adultery throughout the Old Testament is a picture of spiritual unfaithfulness. It’s spiritual adultery. When we leave God and go chasing after idols. This is why God commands His prophet Hosea to marry a promiscuous woman, knowing that she will commit adultery, she will abandon him, she will leave him and actually, Hosea has to go and literally buy her back. The word for that is redeem, see if that’s important later, buys her back from her pimp effectively. And God says, That’s it. That’s me and you. he redeems us from our spiritual adultery brings us back into covenant marriage with him. But our adultery then distorts the parable, because it suggests that the covenant bond between Christ and his Church could be broken. And so it proclaims a false gospel. And that idea of proclamation what your marriage proclaims is so important. Here’s Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his wedding sermon from a prison cell shortly before he was murdered by the Nazis for his faith, he writes, This marriage is more than your love for each other. And your love you see only the heaven of your own happiness. But in marriage, you are placed at a post of responsibility toward the world and mankind. Your love is your own private possession. But marriage is more than something personal. It is a status and office. We take marriage vows seriously because we are enacting a parable of God’s unbreakable love for us. We take sex seriously because we’re imperfectly imaging the depth of union, we can know with a living God. Marriage and sex are not the best, they are appointed to the best to the gospel to God’s love for us. Jesus gave himself for us, to redeem us to win us back to our hearts, and to establish the covenant in his blood. That love should motivate our joyful obedience. But can quote Thomas Watson again, he writes in his book on repentance till sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet. I love that image. It helps us understand what needs to happen in order for us to obey, experiencing the sweetness of God’s love or taste and see that the Lord is good. So I’m 34. Experiencing the sweetness of God’s love exposes the bitterness of sin. And you’ve done this before, right? Where you had something sweet and you had something bitter and it’s really bitter by contrast, or how about this one, you probably have done this one at least once you ever brush your teeth, and then have a sip of orange juice. You do that once right? And never again. That’s what the gospel is right? we brush our teeth with the gospel so that then we look at sexual immorality and go nope, not a chance not drinking that orange juice. That will be disgusting. Right and so creates that joyful obedience. And so what does joyful obedience look like? We need to get there of course. So I’m just gonna look briefly at the bad, the better and the best with an application for each when it comes to the bad word of application is be very careful. If you wanted to a word it would be this guard or guard yourself. Set up a watch against temptation. Guard your eyes job 31 One I’ve made a covenant with my eyes not to look lovely on any young woman. So you’re guarding against lustful glances, you’re guarding media habits, all that kind of stuff. You need to guard your mind what you think about. I think about this, I always think about Joseph, you remember Potiphar his wife kept hitting on him, and eventually, like, seriously tried to seduce him. Joseph knew this moment was coming. If he had played that out in his head just a couple of times. It was just, kind of imagine, what this would be like. I guarantee you he does not flee sexual immorality. A disciplined mind will lead to a disciplined life
we guard our hearts against distorted desires. And all of this means that we’re going to watch our habits very carefully. Watch the company you keep, of course. Are they dragging you down or building you up? Watch the words you listen to and the words you speak. scripture prohibits coarse joking for a reason. Watch the situations you put yourself in. Those reading the Puritans on this commandment again and again, it’s probably gonna sound really quaint to our ears again, but one of the things they say is, be really careful with mixed dancing. And we go right, you know, HL Mencken was right when he said puritanism is basically just the fear that someone somewhere is having a good time. laughably nonsense, by the way, but still, that you know, like is that all you know, the Puritans understood that certain situations are going to promote sexual temptation. And by the way, mixed dancing is probably one of them. Have you ever heard anyone engage in sexual immorality after homecoming turnabout or prom? Yeah, maybe we should be a little more careful. I’m not saying you don’t do it. I’m saying be careful with the situations you put yourself in. Modesty is another one. Our culture is not modest. You should not look like culture. People should be able to look at how you dress and say that person is different. And what’s your idleness as well, devil’s workshop and all of that, when it comes to the better pursue God’s design, know and delight in His Word, and in his promises, singles whether you’re single for a season, or for a lifetime, it’s your calling. Part of this means learning believing cherishing the truth that you don’t need to live the parable to live the ultimate that you can experience that fullness of joy with Christ. And so practice contentment marrieds look maybe you got all that guard stuff needs to happen okay, but if you’re in a marriage where sexual temptation is not I mean it’s always a danger but you know it’s not like a pressing danger. It may be that your takeaway from this sermon is not you need to guard against sexual immorality but you need to work on your marriage because the reality is your marriage does not proclaim Christ on thinkable love for the church and the church’s uninhibited devotion to Christ. You just need to go look, we’re just roommates at this point. That’s not what marriage was meant to be, to pursue God’s good design and all of us whatever our context, we had the opportunity to set aside selfishness, and practice self-giving sacrificial love in all of our relationships, which will also overcome our dehumanizing tendencies to use people instead of love them. We can to see people as God sees them as image bearers and of course that takes us to the last one when it comes to the best when it comes to the best. Remember the mission? Remember that our marriage right? Our sexuality is meant to proclaim the gospel. So we should probably proclaim the gospel. Here’s my concern is that sometimes we forget that we’re dealing with a spiritual war and we only focus on the culture war, which is not the one that matters. Our culture needs the gospel. Look around you, the fields are ripe for harvest. But here’s the problem. A lot of that raping that grain is what we would consider sexual deviance the bad people the people who want to keep outside but that sort of bunker mentality I heard Trevin Wax say this at the gospel coalition. I thought it was so good. He said we can’t look at the fields are positionally. like they’re the enemy. They’re not. They’re victims of the enemy. Okay, so when we look at the field, you can’t have a bunker mentality because that kind of bunker mentality means we will miss the Samaritan woman at the well. The sinful woman who comes to Jesus in tears. Sexual deviance needs welcome here. And many of them are looking for welcome here because here and only here can they find the forgiveness they’re seeking. The sexual revolution has just chewed people up and spit them out. They need what only we can offer again it’s Luke chapter seven when it comes to in repentance. What are they here? What do we communicate to them Your sins are forgiven? I’ve gone long and I’m not sorry about it. But let me close with Word with a word For three groups, all here today I’m taking my cue from Kevin De Yong and his book on the commandments, but he offers a word to the tempted to the wayward into the brokenhearted. And I want to do the same in the word will be directly from Scripture. If you’re here and you’re tempted to engage in sexual immorality, which again is probably most of us in one way or another, first of all, I would say, look ahead, like walk down that road and see where the temptation leads, it leads to death. Like if you’re thinking of committing adultery, for example, just like, you know, go ahead and play this out in your head. When you’re packing your bags, and saying goodbye to your kids, that you won’t see every day anymore. You’ll see every other weekend. You know, as you’re talking to family that you won’t see anymore, because you’re the bad one. Now all that like work that out in your head, see if it’s worth the choice you’re about to make, but don’t just look down the road of temptation look up as well. Because that’s what you’re actually seeking is God was Chesterton, who said the man who knocks on the door of a brothel is looking for Jesus, looking for intimacy right, which is found in God, your word is Lamentations 3:22 to 25. Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed for his compassions never fail. There are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, The Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for him. The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks to the wayward. And by that I mean those of you who are living in sin and thinking you’re getting away with it. The word is very simple. Repent. Repent now, before it’s too late. Your word comes from Galatians chapter six, verses seven and eight. Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked, man reaps what he sews, where we’re supposed to please their flesh in the flesh will reap destruction over souls to please the spirit in the spirit will reap eternal life. You will reap what you sow and lastly, the brokenhearted. To those of you who have sin sexually who know you’ve messed up revel in grace. If you come to Christ like that sinful woman in Luke chapter seven, what does Jesus say to you? Paul reminds us Romans chapter eight verses one and two, therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because, through Christ Jesus the law, the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. If you the Lord kept a record of sins, who could stand but with you there is forgiveness. Therefore you are feared God has rescued us from the bad or sexual immorality to the better, his good design for the best, the Gospel. Let’s pray now. Lord, we want so desperately to be known fully, and yet loved fully. And in order to get that love, we will make a great many stupid choices for what is just a cheap imitation and one that will actually leave us more broken and feeling less loved than we did before. Would you give us the courage and the wisdom to pursue the love we’re actually seeking in you? The only perfect, unconditional love that which is found in Christ. Help us now to repent, to turn from our sin to turn to you, and to find the abundant life that we are seeking. Whether single or married, may our lives proclaim the goodness of the gospel to a watching world we pray through Christ our Lord, Amen.

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Life October 22, 2023 | Kirt Wiggins The sermon discusses how the 6th commandment against murder applies not just to killing but also to attitudes and words. It explains Jesus fulfilled the commandment perfectly and offers forgiveness to all who have broken it by turning to him in repentance. The sermon encourages believers to reconcile with others and speak words of life instead of death.

Well, it’s good to be together. Thank you. I was remarking to Kyle and Brandon, the last time I was here was years ago, I did a wedding here. And this was long before you had your audition and all the improvements. So it looks wonderful. And so you guys, just such a light for the gospel in this community, and so encouraged to be with you. And also just want to say thank you for your partnership with Caring Network. I told Tracy Kerr, some of you may know Tracy, she heads up like the baby bottles when we do those. And some of you may have anyhow, she’s like, Oh, you’re going to Cityview I love Cityview. And, and so you have a reputation of being a church that stands for life. And really, I’m grateful for that. So thank you for your partnership, and just being in it together. Well, it’s a privilege to be able to open the Bible with you. So if you would open to Exodus 20. And we’re in the middle of the 10 commandments, looking at the 10 words that God gave to His people, after he delivered them from slavery in Egypt. And so what I’d like to do is read the entire list because the one that I’m looking at the sixth commandment today is only four words. And so we’re gonna, we’re gonna just gonna listen and hear all 10 commandments. And I hope this is okay. But can we just stand as we read God’s word, I just want to want you to hear these commandments, and then they will respond. Exodus 20. And God spoke all these words, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, You shall have no other gods before me. You should not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on earth below, beneath, or in the waters below. You should not bow down to them or worship them for I the LORD your God and Majelis God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. But showing love to 1000 generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments. You should not miss us the name of the Lord your God for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it, you shall not do any work neither you nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant, or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien in your gates For in six days, the Lord made the heavens in the earth, and the sea and all that’s in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. honoring your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord is giving you, you should not murder, you should not commit adultery, you should not steal, you shall not give false testimony against your neighbor, and you shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his manservant or maidservant, his ox, donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor, the word of the Lord, please be seated. All right, pop quiz. Were these commandments given to be obeyed in order to be accepted by God? Or were they given in response to God already accepting them and to be lived out in response to him? All right. Well, if you look at the beginning of this text, verse one and two of Exodus 20, it says, And God spoke all these words, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt out of the land of slavery. See, God saves them. God delivers them. He rescues them from bondage in Egypt. And then they come out and then he meets with Moses up on Mount Sinai and he, he gives his law to them. He says, This is how I now want you to live as my people I’ve, I’ve set you apart, I’ve called you to be my own. And so we live in response to God’s rescuing work in our lives. That’s what we see here. And that’s what continues to this day. I like to think of these as the 10 commandments as guard rails and gold goalposts right guard rails, if you’re on a row that’s going through a mountain pass, it’s a steep cliff and you’re going around, it’s got guardrails, thankfully so you don’t go over the edge, you can stay on the road. You know, as followers of Jesus, we follow the narrow road. And so these are guardrails to keep us on the road. But also goalposts, right? You’ve seen maybe YouTube of somebody that’s gone to the wrong goal by accident and scores for the opposing team. Right? You don’t want to do that. You want to keep going in the direction that you’re supposed to be going. And so these set the course for the direction In that way to go and so guardrails and goalposts they protect and they direct. And so this is true for all the 10 commandments, but in particular, we’re looking at the sixth commandment, verse 13. And in order to obey the sixth commandment, we have to answer four questions. And so that’s what we’re going to do this morning. First, what is the sixth commandment saying, second, why is the commandment important? What does it have to do with us? And then what can we do about it? All right. And so just to let you know ahead of time, we’re gonna look at a number of passages, a lot of Scripture today. And so just want you to be aware of that, before we jump in. So let’s look at these four questions in order to understand and then to be able to obey this commandment, what is the sixth commandment saying, well, verse 13, says, You shall not murder and the original language and Hebrew, this commandment is simply two words, no killing. Alright, that’s what it says in the original. But what kind of killing is in mind exactly right. The Hebrew language has eight different words for killing. The word used here is never used for military or legal killing. That’s not what’s in mind, nor hunting or killing of animals. So when the King James Version says, Thou shalt not kill, it’s a bit too vague. Right? So the NIV, the ESV are closer to the original meaning when it says You shall not murder. But still, the word murder can be a bit imprecise because it can miss some of the meanings. So the Hebrew word used here, it’s actually rot sack, as the original word used includes any wrongful death of any human life. So what’s the commandment saying, well, the sixth commandment prohibits the unjust killing of a human being. That’s what it means applies to murder and cold-blooded manslaughter out of passionate rage, negligent homicide resulting from recklessness or carelessness. And so we can violate this commandment in four different ways. First of all, murder. Seems like every day in the city of Chicago, we hear about another person being murdered in 2022. There were 695 murders in the city of Chicago. And you know this that Chicago ranks first as the most violent city in the United States. across our nation, we’re all too familiar with school shootings right? Earlier this year. Maybe you remember the covenant school in Nashville, Tennessee, where a former student came in and with a gun killed three students and three teachers just horrendous. It’s become way too common that we hear stories like this. We live in a culture of death as one person has called it. Yet the reality is by the age of 18, the average American child has seen 40,000 murders depicted on movies, TVs, video games, we pay to go watch horror movies that depict some of the most horrendous violence and murder imaginable. It’s just become so routine that we we almost expect to hear about it. Murder is one of the ways we violate this. The second is euthanasia. in Waterford Township in Michigan, there’s a street called Polson Street. However, the locals call it the road of death. Because there’s a man by the name of Jack Kevorkian, who used to live on that street. He was known as Dr. Death. Maybe some of you remember he was a pathologist, and he helped 130 people take their own lives. He was convicted of murder, and he served time in prison. Although Kevorkian died in 2011, the euthanasia research organization considers him a martyr for their cause for a person’s right to choose when they want to die. Since then, Canada has legalized euthanasia. They’ve established made ma ID medical assistance in dying. And it’s now available for anyone who meets specific criterion that you would qualify for, and it’s a gross violation of God’s law. The third way we violate this commandment is suicide, suicides the wrongful taking of one’s own life. Over the past 10 years, the suicide rate has risen by 16% in our country, and among teenagers is now the second leading cause of death and committing suicide perhaps more than any other act. We defiantly say, I am the captain of my own Soul, the master of my own fate. Suicide and Euthanasia are gross violations of God’s law. The fourth way we violate this commandment is abortion. If suicide is an epidemic abortion is a national disgrace greater than the Nazi holocaust. Since abortions became legalized in 1973, until Roe vs. Wade Wade was overturned last summer in June, there were 64 million abortions in the United States. And now post roe. You know, on the other side of the Dobbs decision, we Illinois is surrounded by states that have laws protecting and prohibiting abortion. But Illinois has the most permissive abortion laws in the Midwest if and if not in the United States. And so, the estimate is that 69% More women have had abortions in Illinois since
Dobbs was overturned, that means about 80,000 abortions, are babies being killed per year in Illinois, because women are coming here to have abortions. Now. Some of you hearing this may have had an abortion, or know somebody who is facing an unexpected pregnancy. That’s why I left pastoring at Pathway to go and serve at Caring Network to come alongside women who are facing an unexpected pregnancy and to let them know that there’s love and compassion and support to be found. And to help them understand the different options that are available and to equip them to choose life, both physical life for the baby in spiritual life for her and the Father. And so we are committed to that work, we’re also committed to helping women that have had abortions to be able to help them find hope and help to find forgiveness and freedom in Jesus Christ. And we get this to hear stories of this all the time. But these these are violations of God’s commandment to not murder when to not kill others. And so we want to understand what this is saying exactly this commandment prohibits the unjust killing of another human being. Set. Second, why is this commandment important? Right? Why? Why is it here? Well, the Bible gives two examples where it’s not only permitted, but warranted to take the life of another. One such situation is self defense, the protection of oneself and family from violent attack. That’s why in Exodus 21, next chapter over verses 12, and 13, it says anyone who strikes a man and kills them shall surely be put to death. However, if he does not do it intentionally, but God lets it happen, he is to flee to a place that I will designate. And that’s why in the Old Testament, they had these things called the Cities of Refuge, they were established. So if you were being attacked, and you defended yourself, and in the process, that person died, then you could go to the city of refuge. And there you could make your case to the elders of the city, and then they could make a decision about your situation. Self defense, it also extends to just war. Some think that all killing is wrong. However, the Bible teaches that it is not unlawful to kill an enemy in wartime provided that that war is just get the the justice of the ward needs. The war needs to be considered very carefully. Dr. Philip Reich, and he’s the president at Wheaton College, he said this, Christians have long believed that a war is just only when it’s waged by legitimate government for a worthy cause, with force proportional to the attack against soldiers, not civilians, when all other means of resolution have failed. Just a couple of weeks ago, we heard about the horrendous terrorist attack of Hamas, against Israel. And since then, things that have come out have just been, I’ve just horrific. And so in response to that, then Israel declared war against Palestine because of those terrorist attacks. But before they start going into Palestine and start waging war, they told them, we’re going to come in and we’re going to start bombing and so you need to leave. We don’t want you to be killed, the civilians were trying to respond to Hamas. And so they told them, we’re coming. But that’s a just war, because they’re retaliating the terrorist attacks and trying to put it into that and we need to pray for peace not just for Israel, but for Palestine. And may the Lord intervene and bring even the Palestinians and the Israelis to, to salvation. Another situation where killing is lawful as capital punishment, it’s the execution the execution of the death sentence. It’s never right for us to take the law into our own hands into to say I’m gonna bring about justice and I’m gonna kill them. But the Bible does make a distinction between the private individual and the state. Capital punishment, when justly administered by the governing authorities is, is one is a lawful form of killing. This is taught not just in the Old Testament, but also in the New Testament. Listen to Romans 13. Four it says, For he, meaning the government authority that God has put in place, for He is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. See, although it’s always wrong for us individually to avenge an injustice against us, the government has been given authority by God to uphold and administer justice, and that includes the death penalty. But still, the question remains why Why does God permit certain forms of killing? Well, the answer is, in order to preserve life, sometimes it’s necessary to take a life. This is true in self defense, if an armed gunman comes into your home and starts to attack you and your family and is going to kill them, that it’s appropriate to defend yourself and your family for the greater good. There’s also true on a larger scale, and just war on army some sometimes has to protect the greater good of the whole nation by taking some lives. And this is also true and capital punishment. And capital punishment. By taking the person that has committed the murder, serves as a deterrent, for other would be murderers from doing the same thing. This way, in Genesis nine, six, it says, Whoever sheds the blood of a man by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God has God made man. That’s interesting. Right after that it says, to know, it says to know in verse seven, Noah Be fruitful and multiply. I think that’s interesting. I don’t know if you catch that. But he’s saying essentially don’t take life, Noah, but make life and create life. And so the first reason for the sixth commandment is because all human beings are made in the image of God we are image bearers made in His image. Last year, I took carrying network staff to a outing, because we need sometimes we go and just as a staff tried to do team building things. And so we went to a place in Glen Ellyn, where you can actually paint paintings, the thought, well, that’d be a fun thing for our staff. And so we go in, and we already are set up to to meet there and they have on display vase with flowers in it. And so then we all get our own station where we’re going to paint and they instruct us on how to do that. And we get our get set up, ready to go. And then they say, Okay, have at it. They taught us a few things, but basically just good luck. And it was fun to see different paintings. I thought mine was quite good. Actually, I was gonna bring it but I decided not to. But that at the end of that you know what I did? At the bottom right, I put k w. Kurt Wiggins, my initials, because I wanted people to know that I was the one that created that. You know, God’s signature, God’s fingerprints are all over creation. In fact, Romans one talks about how his eternal power and His divine nature is evident, it’s evident to all humanity, that He is the Creator of life. That’s especially true of human beings. Because human beings are unique from all other creation that were made in the image of God, that were his image bearers to reflect Him and that we have each of us a soul that were created for eternity with Him. And He doesn’t have to like put his initials in the corner of our, our neighborhood or in the corner of a tree because it’s evident, it’s self evident that a complex design shows there’s a creator behind it, and that’s especially true for you and for me, that were made in His likeness. But when someone takes the life of another human being unjustly, in order to preserve and uphold the sanctity of all human life, it may be necessary and appropriate to administer justice for the protection of all life. The other reason why murder is wrong is because when a person murders they play God. For Samuel to six says this, The Lord brings death and the Lord makes alive God alone is sovereign over life and death. He’s numbered our days. Scripture says, he’s decided, sometimes even through governing authorities when life begins and when life ends. But when we think we can decide when life is to begin are in we you serve God’s authority, and we play God. And so why, why is this commandment here? Why is the sixth commandment important? Because when we obey the sixth commandment, we preserve the sanctity of human life, and we promote the sovereignty of God over life and death.
Now, my guess is, at this point, many of you’re sitting here thinking, well, this doesn’t directly apply to me, or I’m not quite sure how this relates. So how does this commandment relate to us? Well, like the rest of the city, the God’s commands, the sixth commandment is a lot harder to keep than it may seem at first, right? That’s because most of us don’t think of ourselves as murderers. Right? If we’re gonna say, all murderers, raise your hand, I’m guessing not many, or maybe none would do that. Let’s see, Jesus helps us see how the sixth commandment applies not just to our outward actions, but to our attitude and to our words. Listen to what Jesus says in Matthew chapter five, verses 21 and 22. You’ve heard that it was said that people long ago Do not murder. We just looked at that. And anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you, Jesus says that anyone who’s angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And again, anyone who says to his brother Raka, is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says you fool will be in danger of the fire of hell. obedience to God, including the sixth commandment always starts in our heart. And then leads to our mouth, and it ends up in our hands. And so Jesus is going to the heart of the matter in the Sermon on the Mount. And so maybe you’re sitting here and just because you haven’t murdered someone with your hands doesn’t mean you’re not guilty of violating this commandment. Maybe you’ve murdered them in your heart or with your words. We kill people all the time with our contempt, with our malice, with hostility, with gossip, with slander, we destroy people with our words and with our attitudes. We do this when we hold a grudge. We do this when we cancel people. We treat them as if they’re dead to us. Proverbs 1821 says the tongue has the power of life, and death. The tongue James three nine says with the tongue we praise our Lord and Father. And with it we curse men who have been made in the likeness of God. Can I just ask you to do a self evaluation right now? Do you kill others with your words and your attitude? Let me just let me help us out because I’m in this with you. Do you ever say hurtful words about others? To them or to others about them? Have you ever wished someone harm or misfortune? Have you ever hated someone canceled them because you want nothing more to do with them? Have you ever driven away from a business meeting or from your spouse and just said, Man, I’d like to kill them? Do you want to make someone pay for what they’ve done to you and get what they deserve? Do you ever get so angry you’re out of control? You ever been so frustrated or angry with someone you call them a total idiot to their face or maybe not to their face but you think it I mean that’s what raka means It means empty headed idiot and full. It’s a total disregard for them as being made in the image of God. When we realize that murder starts in our heart hurts, and then comes out of our mouth, and then shows up in our hands. We’re all guilty of it, aren’t we? Let me just say why this is such a serious problem, because the Bible explicitly says that murderers will be excluded from the kingdom of God. Galatians 520. And 21 says that anyone who is guilty of hatred, of discord, of fits of rage of envy will not inherit the kingdom of God. And so if we commit murder, even in our hearts where it starts, then we deserve to go to hell.
Man, you’re like this is heavy. So what can we do about it? what hope is there? Well, the Bible says that Jesus, the Son of God, listen to this from Isaiah 53. It’s beautiful in Isaiah 53. Seven, that He was oppressed and afflicted, although he doesn’t know violence. He goes on to say that he’s like a lamb led to slaughter, he opened not his mouth and was silent. In other words, Jesus was peaceful even when violence was being done against him. He was provoked, and he never responded to it. He kept the sixth commandment listen to this perfectly, not just outwardly, but even in his in his heart. And the words that He spoke perfectly. And then when Jesus was on trial, and he was being falsely accused, the crowd demanded, you know, Pilate says, Hey, I’m washing my hands. I want nothing to do with this and the crowd just as they start chanting, right? You remember the story? You know? Who should I release to you? They’re hoping they say Jesus, but no, they say release Barabbas. Right. Remember BRABUS Barabbas was a murderer or he was truly a convicted murderer. And yet they want Jesus to be crucified. And so Jesus was put on a cross the perfect, innocent lamb of God. And when Jesus was dying on the cross, He willingly gave his life in, in place of the murderers that put him there. And we know this because Luke 2334 says he offered forgiveness to the very people who murdered him. After that, Jesus rose from the dead and he ascends into heaven and Acts chapter two, it’s the day of Pentecost, right? And so, people from all over the world had gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost and, and they’re there and the Holy Spirit’s just been poured out in power. I mean, that’s why Jesus ascended back to his father. So the the Spirit of God can be poured out and Peter’s preaching man, I wish I could have been there and heard that sermon, right. And he’s preaching Men of Israel, Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs which God did among you through him. As you yourself know, I mean, you saw them, when you with the help of wicked men put Him to death, by nailing him to the cross. But God raised Him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it’s impossible for death to keep its hold on him. Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this. God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. And when the people realize what they’ve done, they desperately wanted to know what can we do about it? Like what what’s the recourse? And Peter replied, Repent, and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. And man, they repented that day and a couple 1000 were added to the church. There’s a way for murderers to be forgiven. The very death they were guilty of demanding was the death that atoned for their sin. And for all of us here, who’ve broken the sixth commandment, in our actions, and in our words, and in our hearts and minds. There’s hope for us at the cross of Jesus Christ to repent and receive the forgiveness that only Jesus can give you. Turn to Him today and find forgiveness and freedom. Turn from your murderous sins and turn to Jesus. Listen, we do this for the very first time when we come to know Jesus Christ, that’s called salvation. But we continue to do this each time we find that we’ve sinned in our words and our actions and we repent and we turn back to Jesus and we receive His forgiveness again, and again. And again. Thank you, Jesus for your forgiveness. So what can we do about it? Well, if you’re if you’re guilty of speaking or thinking or acting, then then repent and turn to Jesus today in crowd for forgiveness. But the second thing is to go and be reconciled. It’s interesting in the Sermon on the Mount, immediately following Jesus is saying, Well, you know, you know the sixth commandment, it says, not to murder and then we just looked at that, right after that verse 23, and 24. Jesus redefines, after redefines what murder is, he instructs them and us he says, Therefore, if you’re offering your gift at the altar, and there remember, your brother has something against you, leave your gift in front of the altar, first go and be reconciled your brother then come and offer your gift. He’s saying, like, hey, you know, weed said, it’s, it’s this, you know, what you say is also murder and how you treat with your attitude is also qualified as murder. And so if you’re like, you know, getting ready to go give your gift, and you wait a sec, I said that thing to that person, right? I, the way I spoke or that attitude I had, I better go take care of that before I give my gift. Now, just a few weeks ago, I was having my devotions in the morning, and Lord brought to mind something that I had said to someone at work. And I was impatient. And I said, some things that were, you know, out of my impatience, I was, you know, a little harsh with this person. And so, you know, the Lord the way he always does, you know, I’m sitting there, and he reminds me of that. It’s like the Holy Spirit and like, Okay, you got to take care of this. And so I had to go into work that day. And I went to that person. I said, Listen, you know, the other day when I was speaking to you, I was impatient. And when I spoke that to you, I was harsh. And I said some things that were not kind, would you please forgive me? You know what, she was so glad to forgive me. But I had to be reconciled to her because of the words that I spoke were hurtful words. I wasn’t proud of that. But the Lord by His grace allowed me to be reconciled. See, if you’ve spoken to somebody with hurtful words, if you have an attitude, that’s a killer attitude. Go and be reconciled today. Go, don’t delay, and be reconciled. And tell them I was wrong. What I said to you, I was wrong. Would you forgive me? I hurt you when I called you an idiot, or when I treat you that way? Or my attitude? I mean, and this happens in marriage, doesn’t it? Like go be reconcile? And then here’s the third thing, speak words of life, and not words of death. early in our marriage, my wife Jennifer gave me a new Bible. And inside it, she wrote something and I just thought, I’d like to read it to you. So you can hear what she wrote. Says, Kurt, you’re my favorite spiritual giant. And a true Timothy. This Bible is for helping to continue your growth in the knowledge of God. It’s also the best gift I could think of for someone I love so much, Jen. Can I just tell you that those those words are life giving words? You know what it’s like when somebody says words of life to you, and it’s me I can just sit in half for a while. We’re just speak words of life, not words, of death. Our Words have the power. The Bible says this The power of life and death in our tongue. The reason Jesus had to ascend to heaven is so he could send the Holy Spirit and all who received Jesus by faith, received the gift of the Holy Spirit as a seal and also has the power to live this out. You’re not on your own in this the Lord has for us in this and he says, Here’s my helper, the Spirit to empower and equip you and and to remind you, when you get off the road, you know, you break through the guardrail. He’s like, Hey, you gotta get back on the road here. And he helps us so now we live out the law of Christ, the law of loving God and loving others. This includes not murdering murdering others with our attitude with our words with our actions, and preserving and promoting life and one of the ways we do it is through the words we speak. And just as our words can kill, they bring life. And so this is especially the case with the gospel. As we speak the words of the gospel to other people in the Lord uses that to bring eternal life. So my prayer is I’ve been preparing to come and to speak here is that God would empower this church through the Holy Spirit, to continue to promote the sanctity of life and, and to proclaim that God is sovereign over life and death, but also to be a church that speaks words of life, life, giving words to one another, and life giving words to the community around us, so that Jesus will be on display and will honor and glorify Him through that.
May that be true of this church, to God’s glory. Let’s pray oh, Lord, thank you for your your kindness and your mercy. Lord, thank You for For while we were yet sinners, you died for us murders. Thank you for making a way for us to be forgiven and reconciled and I pray today that would be true for each one here. And I pray Lord, that then you would help us as as your people and specifically help Cityview to be a church that continues to proclaim and promote life and also to do that through the words they speak in the life giving words they communicate to one another, that you might be on display and glorified through this church, Lord, so thank you for Cityview may you bless them, and may your face shine upon them. Lord, thank You for their goodness here in your name, amen.

Amen.

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Authority October 15, 2023| Kyle Bjerga This sermon discusses the importance of honoring one’s parents and other authority figures as commanded in Exodus 20:12. Western culture has become anti-authority, but honoring parents images God’s authority and leads to better life outcomes. Jesus is presented as the perfect example of honoring his parents, even though they were imperfect. The pastor encourages respecting and listening to parents in different life situations and prioritizing one’s spiritual parents in the church.

Good morning. Go and grab your Bibles and turn to Exodus chapter 20. We’re going to be in verse 12. It is such a sweet thing to see the kids up here. And I know some of you don’t get to see their faces up here as they come up to sing with us. But to see those little mouths moving and saying, God is so good. It brings joy to my heart. And I hope it does you as well, when you see them up here each and every week, we’re in Exodus 20, verse 12. And so this is honestly time. How many parents read ahead this week, to the verse and kind of nudge their kid, like, we’re going to church this week. Okay, you guys have got to hear this. But this is a passage actually, for everybody here, not just kids. And maybe you got that eyeroll from your child, when they read ahead and saw what the passage was about. But there is much for us to learn to hear from the Lord today. This past week, I watched an animated film with a couple of my boys. And as I usually do, I went on and tried to look at what the story was about, just to get a sense of it. Usually, there’s some good conversations that come out of watching the movie, especially when you know, it’s not coming from a Christian worldview. So we watch this movie, and in this movie, there comes a conflict between, you guessed it, parents, and a child. Go figure. But of course, there is there’s always conflict between parents and children. And as the story goes, there’s usually blame to be had on both sides. Neither side is perfect. There’s usually miscommunication, not understanding the different perspectives involved, but was most telling about this movie was a line that was used by this teenagers friend. At one point in the movie, there’s a conversation about this, this teenagers future, and there’s some conflict between what the Father wants them to do, and, and possibly what they want to do with their life. And so listen to what the friend says, Why should anyone tell you what you can’t do in life? To which many people would stand up and applaud? That’s right, you can’t let people tell you what to do. In this case, it was saying, Who are your parents, to tell you what you can and can’t do in life? Now we’re gonna speak directly to parents and children here throughout this morning, we’re gonna get to them in just a minute. But this quote is representative of a broader cultural issue. And it’s the view of authority. It’s the view on authority in our culture, every couple of years, you’ll see studies that are done and has been done for decades now that show trust and respect for authority in this country is waning. Who do you think number one group is that gets the negative view? Government, right, it’s been going down year after year, it’s been decreasing, the attitude that we have towards people in authority is going down every year. But it’s not just the government. It’s true in the home. It’s true in business. It’s true in the school. And it’s true in churches, every single sphere where there’s authority, has seen a lack of respect and trust in those authority figures for decades, and it’s not getting any better. So our culture keeps screaming, why should you tell me what to do? Who are you, the only person that gets to tell me what to do is me. That’s who gets to tell me that’s who truly has the authority. We live in a culture with individual autonomy, and an anti authority culture. And these are the feelings we just breathe this in. This is the air that we breathe as we walk around. These are the things that we hear in movies and conversations in the papers. And yet, all of us start up every single one of us started off in the most important relationship of a parent and a child, or an aunt, an uncle, a grandparent, a guardian, someone in your life got you to this point. Some buddy with a thority in your life got you to this point. So is that important? Yes. It’s very important. There are all sorts of authority figures that we will continue to come come into our life. And we need to understand how do we treat them to God has designed it this way. He’s designed it this way, which means it’s good. And there’s much for us to learn in this word that He gives us an exodus 20 Look at verse 12. Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you so the big idea today is this you honor the Lord. You honor the Lord when you honor the god given authority fig yours in your life. And today, like the passage says, We’re gonna spend most of our time talking about parents, and kids. But I’m talking about kids of all ages, adult children too. But hopefully, you’ll be able to make some connections between this relationship and other authority figures in your life because it does work where you can substitute this for government, for teachers, for coaches, for your boss, people who are given authority in our lives. So hopefully, you can make some those connections. I’ll try to do that for us a little bit today. I’m gonna try also not to go off on too many tangents and make this longer than it needs to be. But as a family ministry, Pastor, I begin been given this passage, which means I thought a lot about it. But we’ll see how we do. So let’s dive right in. What does it mean to honor parents? What does it mean? So a couple of things to notice here when it says, Honor your father and mother. First is this is the second week where we have a command that says we are to do something, not You shall not do this, but rather Honor, this is a positive thing, Honor your father and mother. And second, this command moves us from one table of the 10 commandments to the second table of the 10 commandments. So historically, that’s how the commandments have been broken down. So we have two tables, we have the first table over here, which is the first four commandments starting with You shall have no other gods before me. And then you come over here, and you got the last six commandments. And so this one deals with our vertical relationship with God, right between God and us. And over here, these last six they deal with our horizontal relationship, us with our parents, us with their neighbors, their family, with our friends, anybody else that you might meet. But there’s something unique about this fifth commandment. And it’s really more of a transition verse showing us how to love God and love people at the same time. Okay, it’s really straddling both tables, that that’s what the fifth commandment is doing. In fact, Jen Wilkin helpfully shows us this with her breakdown of the 10 commandments. She says, The 10 commandments deal with matters of heavenly submission. Okay, that’s the God and us earthly submission, parent child relationship, authority figures, and then mutual submission, in that order. So you can see that that earthly submission, the only one is the parent child authority, that relationship and helps bridge the gap between these two tables to help us understand, okay, if we honor the Lord, we’re going to honor our parents. And if we honor our parents, we’re going to honor the Lord. Is there any more important relationship for understanding authority than a parent and a child, regardless of age, there’s an authority that God gives to others on Earth to represent his authority. And the first place we see that is with parents, it’s different than our submission to peers. When we get to starting next week, it’s a different kind of submission when we’re with peers than it is to our parents, or to others who are given authority over us. And so you see, the main idea right here, you honor the Lord when you honor the god given authorities in your life. But what does the word honor mean? Because we don’t live in an honor culture. So what the word here means you could translate it heavy, or give weight to somebody who is weighty. In other words, we can translate it give weight to your parents, give weight to your parents. So what they say and what they do. John Dixon, and comments on the fifth commandment says this, it asks children, dependent children and adult children to adopt a stance toward their parents that pays them deep, almost divine respect. So Dixon, reminds us of something important that this commandment is not first for kids. This was a commandment given to the Israelite people, mainly adults, hearing this and hearing all the commandments and saying, Oh, this, this matters to me as an adult, with parents. And we’re going to get to the obedience of children, don’t worry. But the original command here is found is for anyone with parents, because you can honor your parents regardless of age. And so I want to talk for a moment just to parents, again, parents, if you have kids in the home outside of the home, this is for you. You have a God given authority. You image the authority of God to your kids, you are a representative and ambassador, and that is a high calling. And now you’re thinking back in the last maybe couple of hours, thinking like that’s not a good thing. Or you look back in the last week, and like is this really what I signed up for? And it is, it is a God given authority. So how do we do this? Well, that’s our question. How do we image God’s authority to our kids? Well, we look to the perfect father.
We have one. He wants us to know him. He wants to know how he parents us. There is something better than the authoritarian stance of do it because I said, so. Which has a time and a place. Theoretically, let’s imagine my kids are causing issues in the pew. I may look over and say Be quiet. And they say why? And I see because I said, so, like, we can’t have this whole lecture in a PowerPoint to go through why you should be behaving in this moment right now. So there’s a time and a place. But that should not be our only way of parenting. And it can’t be passive parenting of you guys, do whatever you want, whatever makes you happy. Are you going to do that? Sometimes? Sure. You’re gonna take them somewhere, say Just do what you want have a good time. But you can’t always parent like that. So how do we parents? We look at God and we say, how does he parent? Us? Dependent Children, adult children doesn’t matter. What is this honor? How can we parent like God? Three quick things. Number one, we lay out our expectations for our kids. Is that not what God the Father just did to the Israelite people in the 10 commandments. Here’s the expectations. This is what I expect of you, My children, the ones I just took out of Egypt. So as parents, we lay out our expectations. They should not be shocked by those because we lay them out, we talk about them. Second thing, we take delight in our kids. Children are not a burden. Children are not in our way. They’re not a problem. Someone 27 says they are a gift from the Lord. And they always are. Regardless of age of our kids, we know that. But do we believe that? Every frustrating thing your kids have ever done. You have done to God. I have done to God, every reason you’ve gotten angry with them, you have done that to God the Father, and more so and yet he delights in us. He loves us, He saved us. And the third thing is we discipline out of love. Proverbs, and Hebrews tells us that God disciplines those he loves, and we are to do the same. He leaves an example, as the perfect parent, which sometimes looks like rebuke, and correction and justice being done. Sometimes it looks like mercy, and grace. But all of it is for them to learn obedience. That’s what we’re after learning obedience and learning who God is what He has called them to see them grow up in holiness, to be reconciled to God the Father through Jesus Christ. Our desire as parents is to live lives worthy of the God given authority that we have. So that’s parents, kids, teenagers, this next part is for you. Your parents are not perfect. No, amens? Wow. Okay. Your parents are not perfect. They’re not perfect parents, but you are still called to honor them. You’re still called honor them, to give them weight, to respect them for who they are and the call God has given them in your life. So how do you honor your parents now when you’re living in, in your home, under their instruction and discipline? Well, that’s given to you in Ephesians, six Ephesians six, verse one says Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. So if you want to honor God, you honor your parents. First you can worship, honor and obey God by doing this, your parents first. And then teachers and coaches and pastors and anyone else in authority who comes into your life. Another way you give weight to your parents is by trusting that they know more than you. And I mean that they know more about the important things in life than you do. Not what’s on tick tock. Now what’s going on with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Not what is trending, because you will know more than them in that I’m talking about they know way more in life, the important things and wisdom than you do at this point. And you need to trust them, and listen to them. So let me try and guess what some of the conversations are in your home, when your parents tell you what to do. Three things that I see. Number one, know your parents and parents when you first hear your child say no, it’s a little jarring. What do you mean no, like I don’t know how to handle this right now. But that’s the first one. The second one is a wait till I’m done. Which means it’s not going to happen. And then three why Why? Which isn’t innocent? I’m seeking to understand father. It is why in the world are you disrupting what I’m doing. So you better give me really good reason to give this up to go do what you want me to do. Those are the three options that I see, possibly in my own home. Which means if I don’t give them a good reason, to do something, we’re gonna go back to number one, and they’re gonna say, no. That’s one way you can give weight to your parents trust that they know what is best, and listen to them, and obey them. Another way to give weight to our parents, is to give them more weight than you give to other people give their word more weight than you do to social media give their word more weight than you do to your friends give more weight to their authority than any other authority figure outside of God. That’s how you on your parents give weight to their words. And kids, I just want to say one thing, you do not want cool parents. You don’t want cool parents. Because that’s not what God has called them to. He has given them authority in your life for a reason. They’re there to help you grow in your faith to know who Jesus is. And they’re not going to be cool. And that’s okay. Because they’re not held to that standard by God. So don’t hold them to that either. It’s okay parents to go home and say you’re not cool. That’s fine. If we can’t give weight to our parents, who bring us into the world, who raised us who give us what we need to survive, we cannot submit to their authority. How will we ever do that? With someone else? We can’t do that most important relationship. So the second thing that we need to look at is why should we honor our parents says Honor your father, mother so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. Now there’s all sorts of reasons why you should obey your parents, why we should honor our parents, it’s the right thing to do. But when did the Israelites get these commands, they get them after God has saved them from Egypt brought them before the promised land that that’s what they’re supposed to do next. So I’ve saved you, I brought you out. Here’s my expectations for you. Before you go into the Promised Land, which meant rest, and peace, and God’s rule over God’s people, that’s what was supposed to happen. And the 10 Commandments, God is saying, This is how you should live. And if you live this way, things will go better for you. Things will go well, Brandon mentioned it a few weeks ago when we started this series. If you just took the second table, and we lived that way, how different would life be? Don’t murder. Don’t commit adultery. Don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t covet. Like, that sounds like a pretty good life. Like everything going on in this world right now. If we lived like that, how different would things be? So this is a good thing. And then you read you’ll live long in the land. Now this is not a promise for a long life in years as if you obey your parents and you live to 96. Live long in the land was meant to say was meant it meant you have an abundant and full life. Now we know this is true, because Jesus only lived until his early 30s. And he was perfectly obedient to his parents. And yet he died younger, perfectly obedient without sin, never disobeying, never an eyeroll of disrespect to his parents. And get this unlike our children, who think they more know more than we do. A lot of times, Jesus actually knew more than his parents. But he respected them. He gave weight to them. Following this command, he did all of that. And the number of his years was shorter than we would expect. But there was no one who lived a more abundant or fuller life than Jesus did. So that’s what it has to be talking about. There is blessing when we follow this command, there was blessing of the Old Covenant, and there’s blessing in the new covenant. That’s what Paul gets out in Ephesians six as we go on children obey your parents for this is right. And then what does he say? He quotes Exodus 20. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment, the promise so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the Earth. So he takes it and expands it and what it means. I tell my boys this all the time. If you listen to mom and dad, at least in our home, things will go better for you. They will. I promise you. I have never disciplined you when you’ve done the right thing.
And I promise that this will happen you will have a better life at least in our home. If you do the right Eat things. And we know this just from studies, when they do studies on risky behaviors that people will participate in in life. Who are the ones more likely to participate in these behaviors? What’s the number one indicator? home life? The relationship with their mom their relationship with their dad, or lack thereof? Because whole matters, family does matter. So what should you do when people in authority, tell you what to do? Do we say why should anyone tell me what I can and can’t do in life? Or instead, look at those people who are in our life who have been given a God given role of authority in our life? And instead ask, why wouldn’t I listen to them? Sit back and ask that question. Why wouldn’t I listen? To my parents? That’s the question we need to ask. That’s the kind of weight we need to give parents in our life. And I know what some of you were thinking, you don’t know my parents. You don’t know what they’re like. And we could point to bad examples of representatives in every area of authority. We all have examples of this. And of course, when our parents tell us to do something that’s contrary to God’s Word, we follow God’s authority first, of course, if it’s going to harm someone else, other other exceptions are there. But what I’m talking about is that posture of honor, first, a posture of honor towards those in authority. Do we respect them and listen to them first? And then think on things and then act? Or do we say who are you? Because we won’t be long before we say that same thing to God, when He tells us to do something we don’t want to do. Who are you. Because when you honor the god given authorities in your life, you will honor God as well. And once again, we look at Jesus as our perfect example of this kind of life. Because he was perfect. And his parents were not. And yet he obeyed and honored them to the very end. In Luke chapter two, we get the only story of Jesus after his kind of birth story and till his adult ministry, we get it when he’s 12 years old, and his parents travel with him to Jerusalem, for the festival. And they would have been a whole caravan of hundreds, if not 1000s of people that would have come and so they spend their time there. And then they’re going home, and they think Jesus is somewhere in the caravan like other kids are, and they quickly realized Jesus is not with them. So they head back as any good parent would to Jerusalem to find out where Jesus is. And as they’re looking for him, Where do they find him, but the temple courts, talking with the religious leaders and baffling the religious leaders, and how much he knew and understood and the questions that he was asking. And when he finds out that his parents were looking for him, what does he say? Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my father’s house. So Jesus knows who his true father is His Heavenly Father, he knew he was where he belonged. And you can almost hear any other 12 year old in the world saying to Joseph and Mary at this time, why should you tell the perfect Son of God what he can and cannot do? And that’s not what Jesus says. That’s not what he does. Look at Luke 251. Then he went down to Nazareth with them, and was obedient to them. Jesus understood that he honored his one true Heavenly Father, when he honored his earthly parents. He knew that he lived that his obedience to his parents would end. But his honor for them would not. His Honor for his parents would continue. Because Jesus was arrested, he was tried, he was mocked, he was beaten then he was put up on a cross. And they’re laboring to brief with the the weight of the sins of the entire world on his shoulders and his back, and the spiritual pain that that would have caused him. All of it is there and who is at the foot of the cross. It says near the Cross of Jesus stood his mother. And surely in that moment, anyone would give Jesus a pass, to think about himself, to worry about himself and what was happening to him be more concerned for himself, but he was more concerned as the eldest son for his mother’s well being. Look at Luke, John 19. When Jesus saw his mother there and the disciple whom he loves, which was John, standing nearby, he said to her, Woman, here’s your son. To the disciple, here is your mother. From that time on, the disciple took her into his home. Jesus honored his mother to the very end, making sure she was cared for Before he gave up his life that’s what we follow. That’s the example that we have. So the last question remains, how do we honor like this? How do we honor our parents? First, we need to remember that when Jesus lived out this command perfectly, he did it for us. Because he knew we could not do it on our own. He went to the cross and forgive us for all of our disobedience against God and our parents. That’s what he did. And he defeated that sin and death and rose from the grave victorious. And now when we believe that it’s true, we get a new heart. And we see this not as a law that’s a burden, but as God’s good grace in our life, saying, This is a good expectation for us to honor our father and mother. He showed us that he cared for his mom, to the very end. So we have parents and other authority figures in our life, therefore our good, that’s how God has designed it. So we eagerly want to follow our father and mother because we eagerly want to follow God. We eagerly listen and give weight to our parents, because we know when we do, we can honor the Lord at the same time. So in the following types of parents, you’ll see this in your notes, I’ve got five, fill in the blanks, we’re gonna go through quickly here. The different types of parents, and you can substitute parents for, again, other authority figures in your life, I’ll let you kind of work that out in your own or in community group this week. And this is for everyone. This is this is for everyone here, even if your parents are not living because you do have parents. And I’ll tell you who they are, like the last one. But first, how do you honor God honoring parents? How do you honor God honoring parents? I’ve already talked to teens and kids. So this is for everyone. Again, if you have parents who love the Lord, are walking with Jesus, and are still living, how do you honor them? The first thing you should do today, because this is a simple one is just say thank you. And not a Mother’s Day and Father’s Day card that you have to give them go out of your way to say thank you to them. Think back in your life. Think of what they have done for you see how they’ve cared for you raise you to know Jesus. Think back in their failures. And then how they ran to Jesus in that moment and ask for your forgiveness. And saw reconciliation a couple of weeks ago, I don’t do this often. Okay. As often as I should. But a couple weeks ago, at the gospel coalition conference, I texted my parents from there. And I just said, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for breaking church attendance when I was a kid a priority. Because I kept hearing these things in these different breakout sessions at this conference about how many kids walked away from the faith because their parents gave it a low priority in their home. Story after story after story, and so I just tell them, it’s just thank you for making that a priority. Did we ever miss church? Sure. But that was a disruption from the normal. We knew where we’re going. We knew what we were doing. And so I just wanted to say thank you, I want to give them that weight and that respect to say I didn’t, it wasn’t I noticed. There wasn’t a notice of I mean, it certainly wasn’t a notice by God. So say thank you. As adults give weight to what they say, parents will always give you their opinion, right? Whether you ask for it or not. They’re gonna give you their opinion. And as a child, you listen and obey. But as an adult, what do you do in that moment? How do you give them weight? You respectfully listen to them. You nod your head, you have a conversation with them, you give them your reasons, they give you yours, theirs, you say thank you, and then guess what? You go do what you want to do. Which may be taking their advice and may not be but you honor them by listening by taking everything in by thinking through it. But you’re not called to obey anymore. So you’re gonna go do your own thing, but you can honor them in getting to that point of not shrugging off their advice as just again, but listening, taking it to heart and then making a decision. Okay, second group of parents. What about the undeserving parents? For some of you this whole morning has been painful. There’s no way around it. For some of you don’t remember a time when your parents were looking out for your best interest. Or your parents caused you pain? Physical, emotional, spiritual, verbal abuse Eden. Can you honor undeserving parents? Yes, because the command is not to honor good parents. The command is not to honor deserving parents.
It is to honor your father and your mother. it’d be so easy to give a whole list of reasons why you shouldn’t honor undeserving parents. And guess what a lot of your friends in life would probably tell you. Yeah, they don’t deserve it. So don’t give it to him. But that’s not what God expects. That isn’t his view. If you read the polls this week, there was an article attached at the bottom, from Jennifer Greenberg. She was the victim of abusive father, who came to know Jesus she did. And she says this, I hope it helps. In the spirit of the law, I honored my father by refusing to come to the damage his sin inflicted. I honor my father by reporting his abuses. I honor my father by breaking the cycle and being a godly parent to my children. And I honor my father daily by not letting him near my daughters. There’s four ways right there that you can honor undeserving parents. How do you give weight to the undeserving? Another way to do this that I heard from someone recently, was you choose what to highlight about your parents. There may be 1000 reasons why they’re undeserving. But there might be that one reason that you highlight, and you honor them for that thing. It’s up to you to choose what that will be. But you can honor them. And another way you can give them weight is by just in humility, love and grace, praying for them. treating them like Jesus treated you. Because you treated him pretty poorly. You were undeserving to third, aging parents. There are many of you here who have aging parents. And you’ve witnessed that shift, just like your schedule used to fill up their calendar, and all of a sudden their schedule is filling up your calendar. Because you got to take them to the emergency room, you got to take them to appointments, you’ve got to take them all these different places, check in on them. And now all of a sudden, your life is a lot different. And our culture, and I want to say this, I want to say this. And then I want to explain why I’m saying it. Because you’d be hard to hear but our culture says put them in a home. That’s what our culture says. Do you know that that’s not a lot of cultures in the world. Because a lot of cultures in the world say take your parents in and care for them. That’s their default position. Now I say that I want to back that up by saying there is a time and a place where that needs to happen. There is care that has to happen. So I’m not saying that this isn’t something that in wisdom and conversation you can decide. We’ve had many of our family members in this one I’m seeing a biblically it’s a foreign concept. Biblically it was you take your family in you care for them. That should be our default position. And then if needed, we go outside of that. Okay. But I don’t want to apologize for that, because this is how God designed it. You took care of your family. First Timothy says that if you don’t take care of your relatives, you are worse than an unbeliever. Now, how do you care for your relatives? Maybe it is getting them that care that they need. That’s your first responsibility. Get them the care that they need. But don’t let that just go past you first. Sit there and think is this something we are called to do in this moment? So start there first, and then move on to other things. Fourth, unbelieving parents. This one’s pretty simple. How do you give weight to your unbelieving parents, you pray for them. You live your life like life, like Jesus before them, and don’t think you’re better than them. Which is a temptation. And then finally, you proclaim the gospel. Just like you do with anybody who doesn’t believe. You pray you live your life, like Jesus, you proclaim the Gospel. And finally, spiritual parents. If you don’t have parents who believe if you don’t have parents who are living any longer, you still have parents there in this church. You have fathers and mothers who care for you, who have wisdom and experience and should carry a certain weight with us. Not to be shrugged off as unimportant, or wisdom that’s outdated and doesn’t apply to today. No, we need to listen to our spiritual parents. There is somebody here that you need to talk to and listen to. Who can help you and disciple you throughout your life? That is how you honor spiritual parents by inviting them in by listening to them. For all of us today, as we leave here, there might need to be a conversation a text Call a visit with your parents, your grandparents, aunts, uncles, guardians, whoever took care of you to say thank you first. And then to do some of this if it applies in that situation. The question we should be asking from now on instead of Who are you to tell me what to do? Should be who has God placed in my life that represents his authority today? And how can I give weight to what they say? And do if we honor the authority figures in our life that God has given us than we are honoring him? Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for being our perfect father, for saving us by sending your son by changing us through Your Word, by giving us this command, by having Jesus show us what it looks like to honor our parents, no matter what. As we come to this commandment, we come to every one of these commandments. There may need to be some confession right now in our hearts before you. Because our attitude towards those in authority has never been good. We rebel and reject that authority. We shrug it off, we don’t listen to it. We don’t give it any weight in our life. So Lord, we pray that you would forgive us for that. And now, we will trust our Savior Jesus. And the song we are going to sing. It says you have said Your way is best. And we know the path you’ve chosen leads to everlasting rest. A rest provided through your blood on the cross through your victory over death, and the grave. As Lord as we sing this morning, I pray we would honor those in our life that you have given to us with authority and that we would honor You the one with ultimate authority over our life, that we would see your commands as good. Good for us. And when we live them out there for your glory. Jesus, we love you and we pray this in Your name. Amen.

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Rest October 8, 2023 | Brandon Cooper This sermon discusses the biblical concept of Sabbath rest. The pastor explains that while the specific Sabbath day changed from Saturday to Sunday, the principle of resting one day a week remains important. True rest is found not by trying to earn salvation through work, but by receiving the free gift of rest God offers through Jesus Christ. The pastor encourages applying Sabbath rest by dedicating time to rest, community, and worshiping God rather than pridefully thinking we can accomplish everything on our own.

Good morning church want to go ahead, grab your Bibles open up to Exodus chapter 20. We’re continuing our series on the 10 commandments looking this morning at the fourth commandment. As you’re turning there to Exodus 20, we have something of a routine in my household. So just outside our garage door in the garage, we have a box. And that’s where we put all of our recycling. So that we don’t have to walk out, you know, all the way to the bin in the backyard behind the garage with our every every can that we use that week. So it’s a great system, because then you just dump the box into the, into the big bin and all that stuff, except we never empty the box. It’s almost a challenge at this point, can we go the whole week without having to empty the box. And so it things start to stack up and you know, the cans as you toss them out there, they just land on the floor. And so I’ve gotten really creative over the weeks and months and years here. And as we do cereal boxes and things like that, you know, I’ll flatten them. And I’ll try and build up the sides of the box. So that it’s like higher and higher, get as much stuff in as possible. And I’ve found I can balance the stuff in there. All right, as long as nothing happens. But eventually something happens because I have to pick the box up to dump it into our recycling bin. And at that point. It all falls out everything just every week, you would think we would learn but no, we don’t. Okay. This is not just a problem for my recycling bin. I think this is a lovely and terrifying parable of our lives, and of our schedules. In particular, we’re just trying to build up, you know, the capacity of our lives. So we can keep shoving more and more stuff in there do more and more stuff, which is why we’re so so busy. And what inevitably happens is we can balance it all as long as nothing happens. And good luck to you on that. Because something’s always going to happen that’s going to jar the box and your schedule is going to collapse all over the garage floor. Like if time were liquid, I feel like most of us are trying to pack 36 gallons of water into a 24 gallon jug every single day. And we’re surprised that the floor is always wet around us. That lack of balance, that that failure to rest to press pause says something about us. That’s untrue. And we need to unsay that. And it says something about what we think we are what we think we can do, the capacity that we have. That’s untrue, we need to unsay it, and the Sabbath helps us unsay it. It reminds us and this is our main idea for this morning, nice and simple, but it reminds us for Christ’s sake, you need to rest, you need to rest. That’s the reminder, you need Sabbath rest. Now, for some of us, Sabbath might be a hard word, there might already be a little bit of a defensiveness bubbling up inside of you, or maybe it’s a guilt bubbling up as well. We get all of that perhaps you grew up in maybe a more legalistic household and so you know, there’s this is almost a triggering word for you. You know, Sabbath is the day when you have your face pressed up against the window watching all your friends play outside, because you weren’t allowed to and you think I want nothing to do with it. That was no good. Or probably most likely for most of us. Sabbath is just a confusing word. I don’t really understand what as a Christian, I’m supposed to do with this. Can I go out to eat on the Sabbath? Like not Chick fil A? I know. But what about the other ones? Are those fair game? Am I allowed to watch football on Sabbath? What exactly is prohibited? is probably the question we would ask when we think about Sabbath. And I would argue that that’s the wrong approach. You know, what am I not allowed to do is is rarely the right approach when it comes to the law of God’s The Sabbath is a good thing. We talked about this week one right all the commands of God they’re, they’re an expression of His goodness towards us. It is a gift of God because we need to rest so I want to ask some questions of the text. Don’t ask them questions of the Sabbath idea as we unpack this passage, kind of the what question what is the Sabbath? the how question How do we practice Sabbath rest? And then the big one is the why question of course. Why do we need this and we’ll track with our passage as we go. So let’s start first question what looking at the gift of arrest from Exodus chapter 20. Just verse eight to start with. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping Holy. It’s interesting, the command might be a little different than we think it is. The command is not keep the Sabbath day holy. The command is remember, we remember by keeping the Sabbath holy, but that word remember, it’s a calling to mind. It’s a rehearsal of certain truths that we already know. It’s a little bit like the Passover, how that function for Israel every year, they were to remember what God had done by bringing them up out of the land of slavery in Egypt and into the promised land. And we’re to remember in a similar way, as we keep Sabbath, of course, the word remember suggests that this is something they already know you don’t tell somebody to remember something that you haven’t taught them yet. So this word Sabbath had already been given. This is not the first time the Israelites had heard about it. They’re drawing on on past teaching and experience. In fact, even just a few chapters earlier, Exodus chapter 16, this is when God has begun giving them manna from heaven to feed them in the wilderness. And he says, Six days you gather, and then on the seventh day, don’t gather. And this is a daily bread kind of thing. So if you gather two days, on one day, any leftovers you have, they’re gonna be spoiled. And we maggots in and that was all fun for them to discover. Except, except on Friday, basically, on Friday, you’re gonna, you’re gonna gather two days worth and on Saturday mornings, you’re not gonna gather on Saturday, gonna be fresh, still gonna be fresh. So we read this exodus 1622, and 23. On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much to Omers for each person, and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses, Moses, He said to them, This is what the Lord commanded tomorrow is to be a day of Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. So they already knew this, they were already practicing this to some extent, just in terms of how they gathered mana. But actually, this idea goes back even farther all the way back to creation itself. Which is kind of an interesting thing for us to think about too, because, you know, we measure time by days and weeks and months and years. And a day, as I think you all know, is how long it takes the Earth to spin around on its axis. And a month, as the word even implies, is tied to the lunar cycle, not perfectly. But what was where it developed, at least in the year is how long it takes the Earth to go around the sun and the week has nothing whatsoever to do with anything spinning in the heavenlies. Where does the week come from? What comes from Genesis, that’s where here’s Genesis two, two, and three, by the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing so on the seventh day he rested from all His work, then God bless the seventh day and made it holy, because on it, he rested from all the work of creating, that he had done. So this seven day idea, and especially the six days of working, and one day of arresting that’s baked into the very foundation of existence, God sets apart a day to pause from working. And how important is this rhythm to God, and for his people, it’s interesting, you can probably tell just by looking at the 10 commandments in the Bible, this is actually the longest command of the 10 commandments, the most expansive involving the most people even as we’ll see that are mentioned, and even is a sign of the covenant that God is establishing with his people here at Sinai. This is the sign of the covenant that this is how you know you are a part of the people of God, here’s Exodus 31, verse 17, it will be a sign the Sabbath will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever. For in six days, the Lord made the heavens in the earth and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed. So that six seven rhythm that we’re talking about communicates to a watching world that this is a people set apart. And it would definitely set them apart. You know, somebody’s going to show up at some point some foreigner is going to knock on the door kind of thing and go, Hey, I you know, I need you to repair my car, and they’re gonna go, I’d love to come back tomorrow. That’s not common back then. So this is going to set them okay. This is a different sort of people. I wonder what’s different about them. So all of this so far seems very straightforward, then write really important command. Pretty easy to understand sign of the covenant. I get it all very straightforward, except we’re not under the covenant of Sinai any longer.
We’re under the new covenant that Jesus established. So What happens when we flip to the New Testament with this command? How does Jesus transform Sabbath? Kevin young points out in his book on the 10 commandments, every one of these commands is repeated in the New Testament, it’s there still every command is deepened and transformed by Christ. We’ll see that quite a bit. In starting in January, when we look at big talk, the sermon on the mount and what Jesus does with the 10 commandments. But this command especially is transformed is most noticeably transformed when we shift to the New Covenant. What transforms exactly what changes? Let’s look at three things. First, the New Testament changes our understanding of the Sabbath, especially because by the time of Christ, the Sabbath in the hands of the religious leaders had become a list of boxes to check, or I suppose more accurately, a list of boxes to leave unchecked, the Sabbath. So it was a it was a very specific list of rules and regulations, you can’t do work. So we better define really clearly what work is how many steps can you take on the Sabbath before it is work? These are the sorts of questions they would ask and seek to answers they would know did I actually, you know, you can’t push an elevator button on Sabbath. If you were to go to Jerusalem, you would find on Saturdays, the elevators are automatically programmed to go to every floor nonstop. They just do this all day long. So that nobody has to break Sabbath in order to press the elevator button. So that’s the questions that were being asked and answered at this time. What should I not do? I need to know exactly. You can’t harvest on this. I’d be like it’s fine to eat. That’s not work. You got to carry your plate, I suppose. But that’s not work. We got to eat okay, but you certainly can’t harvest so you can’t pick heads of grain. If you’re really hungry while you’re traveling. You should be traveling anyway. And then Jesus’s disciples do just this. And what does Jesus say? Mark chapter two, verse 27, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. It’s that first part here that I want to focus on though the The Sabbath was made for man. Jesus is saying this is meant as a gift, not as a burden. It is for our sake, as we’ll see as we keep unpacking this. In fact, that’s why Jesus heals. That’s another thing you can’t do on the Sabbath, because that’s a work. So you come by, you know, you got to shrivel hand or something like that. Come back. Sunday, we’ll talk about it then. But not today. But Jesus keeps healing. Why? Because he says it’s the day for doing good, isn’t it? It’s not a day for performing hollow rites, or checking boxes is a day for doing good. I love the way John Dixon says this. He says the Sabbath is not meant to be another wait around our necks. As some of you are probably feeling right now like as soon as I started talking about Sabbath, your shoulders slumped a little bit because you thought this is just one more thing Christians are supposed to do that I’m bad at. It was never meant to be a wait around our necks, but divine provision for those already weighed down. Thank God. So changes our understanding the Sabbath second, when we get the new covenant changes the obligation if I could put it that way, because the Sabbath was a sign of the covenant. And we’re no longer under the covenant at Sinai. And being Sabbath is no longer mandatory. But hear me carefully, no longer mandatory in this way, in the same way. So here’s Paul, for example. Colossians chapter two, verse 16. Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink or with regard to a religious festival, a new moon celebration or a Sabbath day. Interesting. Even in Romans 14, Paul says, you know, talking about the the things that divide Christians that don’t need to divide us we can just agree to disagree on and one of the things he mentioned, some people consider one day holier than others. And some considers every day like impulses, that’s fine. That’s fine. You can you know, each one be convinced in their own mind. So it’s not a specific day, I think we could put it that way. You’re not automatically sitting guaranteed if you do work on Sunday, which is good news. For me. This is a big Workday for me. So now that doesn’t mean though, that rest is optional. And that’s the part we got to talk about. Because that’s built into creation. Alright, that’s who we are as humans that’s got nothing to do with the covenant at Sinai, but the specific day is no longer mandatory that six seven rhythm is still there baked into to creation but not a specific day. And that raises the last issue as well. The third change that comes to the New Covenant is the timing. We’ve kind of seen there’s not a specific day that is a holier than others. But if we have a day that is set apart as Christians from the earliest church like even back all the way in Bible times, it’s no longer the seventh day, it’s the first day. We have a shift from the Sabbath, to the Lord’s day. Because Sunday is the day Jesus walked out of the grave. And that’s what we celebrate. So there is this shift in meaning, though, from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant, that shift is from creation to, well, new creation, the new creation that we have in Christ begins again, and it’s a new week. It’s a new era. I mean, you see this right there in the Bible, Genesis one one in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, John, one one, in the beginning, was the Word was with God, the Word was God, and we go on. From there, Jesus has brought us into a new creation. I love the way Alistair Begg says this, he says the Jewish Sabbath came at the end of six days, and spoke of a rest to come. The Christian Sunday comes at the beginning of the week, symbolizing the rest that Jesus Christ has won. For those who trust in Him. That’s gonna be a key idea. Especially we get to the last section, our practice of arrest points to the present, and future rests that we are already experiencing in Christ. Similar to what Kyle read for us in Hebrews For a moment ago. So that’s the the what, though, right, it’s a day set aside for us to remember. And rehearse. marks us out as different and it is a gift. That’s what it is. But now let’s ask the how question, how do we practice this rest? And specifically, how do we practice this rest without falling into the Pharisee ism that Jesus condemned? Let’s keep reading. So how the practice of rest, chapter 20, verses nine and 10, Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God on it, you shall not do any work, neither you nor your son or daughter knew your male or female servant or your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. First, just as long as we’re looking at this verse nine, note the goodness of work that’s communicated to us there, we just did this in the last series, right? faith at work had a long talk about this. I’m not going to belabor the point. But part of our problem with not resting as we should is because we don’t actually work as we should. One of the reasons we can’t take the sevens day off is because we don’t actually keep working six days, I’ll give you an example. And only parents are gonna say, Amen. Sometimes kids got to do homework on Sunday, because they weren’t working real hard on Friday or Saturday, right? That’s true. For all of us, though. I don’t want to just throw the teenagers under the bus here or anything like that. But that that’s the idea. Sometimes we don’t get done what we need to get done. Because we don’t procrastinate because we procrastinate, and we don’t work hard. But I also love this balance between don’t work for one day, because you are working for six days. It corrects pretty much every other culture on the planet. Because what happens in most places is the elites, the rich, work as little as possible, like the Greeks saw work as anathema. And so that was their goal is to as a you have to show up to a board meeting once a week or some weeks something like that to get your paycheck. But otherwise, you know, you just want to sit around and philosophize. That’s the good life. Okay. Meanwhile, so the the rich are doing all this leisure and then the poor. They never get to stop work, because it is trying to eke out a living. This is one of the conversations I have had with Greg and faith as we talk about Bolivia and doing life on life. disciplemaking is really hard to do discipleship when you start working at seven in the morning and you finish nine at night. And that’s all you got to do to put food on the table. So what the Sabbath does is it equalizes rest. It corrects this imbalance that is there.
We got six similar days. So we can have one really different day. And some of you are looking at me going Yeah, but we got five similar days. Do we already break this system? Probably okay. But I also think just real quick excursus the there there used to be much less a difference between home and work. Everything kind of happened in the same place as the industrial revolution that changed all that where we’re now we go to work and then we come back home used to work in your home. So yeah, you got stuff to do six days for sure. You got to you know, your yard work, all that kind of stuff. So we got six similar days where we work so we can have a one different day What is different about that day, it is three things that I want us to look at it is a day for rest, a day for community, and a day for worship, and all are here in the text. It is a Day Four rest first of all, do the day to stop doing what you usually do, so that you can recharge and re fresh. And what does Moses say on it you shall not do any work. And here again, I think the idea of doing the opposite of what you usually do can be helpful. Because if what we mean by rest is sitting, a lot of us spend 40 to 50 hours a week sitting in a box thinking, that’s what we get paid to do these days. And so it may be that you want to not be sitting on the Sabbath day, the best way for you to rest is to go for a four hour bike ride, which involves a lot of work in a lot of ways, but it’s a different sort of experience. The flipside could be true, if you’re working with your hands all day long, you know, six days a week, you’re outside of heavy physical labor. Yeah, that might be the day then to sit and read. So we do something different here. I certainly think we misunderstand. If we think the goal is to make Sunday, the dullest day of the week. That is not the goal. In fact, it should be delightful, not dull. But to do that, we need to make sure that we’re engaging in truly restful practices, there are a lot of things that we do to rest that actually make rash just about impossible. Most of them involve flickering screens. Scrolling social media, we’ve talked a lot about this increases anxiety, just demonstrably so. So probably not a good idea. Cable News, I’m guessing does not settle your heart. You can say Amen, there, it’s fine. Okay. Even TV, of course, like the brain sciences, their TV lights your brain up so that you can’t actually settle down. We don’t even need to get into all the blue light issues and things like that. But here’s like a good indicator, as you’re thinking about restful practices, if you feel more anxious at the end of what you just did, and was not resting. That is not Sabbath, not a good choice for Sabbath rest. That does help us then answer some of those tricky questions, doesn’t it? Like we’ve got a new framework? As we look at this, it’s no longer the question of what am I not allowed to do today? But how can I practice Sabbath rest? Well, you know, do I have to take a nap on the Sabbath? Do you need to take a nap on the Sabbath? Would that be helpful for you? I don’t like naps. I wake up groggy. That’s I ruins my day. Okay, but if that’s good for you, then do it. Can I watch football on Sunday? Well, how are you going to feel if the bears lose? Which is by the way really likely? Because if you’re going to be agitated the rest of the day then no, you should not watch football. But if you’re actually refueling in the process, okay, that’s something else can we go out to eat? Well, alright, that one gets a little more complicated. That takes us to our next point, because it is a day for communities a day for rest a day for community as well. The Sabbath was not meant to be an individual experience, but a communal one. It’s so interesting on it, you shall not do any work, neither you nor all the people around you. This is a communal experience. God is calling us to a rest that does not burden others. If my rest make someone else to work, then it’s not true Sabbath rest. You can see this in Jesus as well. But the heart behind this at least because Jesus, he’s about to heal someone and the religious leaders are all upset with him. And he asked this question, he says, which is lawful on the Sabbath, to do good or to do evil? And it says, By the way, that he gets angry, and then he heals the guy, but he’s like angry at that mentality. Why? What is he angry, he’s Sabbath is a day for us to seek the good of others. And that might even mean to work for their rest. You see this throughout the prophets in particular. But I love the way Jen Wilkin says this, she says, we remember the letter of the command. By resting from labor, we remember the heart of the command by laboring for the rest of others. That’s the principle. So you can look at a passage like Isaiah 58, for example, which is all about the religious practices that the Lord accepts fasting and Sabbath, for example, and it includes things like to loose the chains of injustice to set the oppressed, free and break every yoke, which is a really strange way to rest. But why because again, leisure has been a monopoly of the rich while the poor are working, multiple jobs to survive, and so Sabbath says that already equalizes rest. This is why Joseph Ratzinger later known as Benedict the 16th calls the Sabbath the heart of all so Shall legislation. Interestingly, it’s not thou shall not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal. No, he says it’s the Sabbath. That’s the heart of all social legislation, anticipating a society free of domination. And it’s a foretaste of the city to come. So one thing we do, which was to practice Sabbath Rest is to lean into that social communal dimension. The Sabbath is a great day to bring a meal to someone who’s ill, to watch the kids at a single mom, if you are gonna go out to eat, to tip really, really well as Jackie about how tips normally go with the church crowd on Sundays, it is embarrassing for Christians, that’s for sure. Now, here’s the nice thing, because there’s not one specifically a holy day, any longer as Romans 14, that’s Colossians. Two, we can share that burden and still rest. I think that’s key for us. Like there might you might be in a in a season where you can rest on Tuesday, no problem. So you got to take Tuesday as your day to chill, to recharge and refuel, so that on Sunday, you can help out a family. You know, that needs it so that that mom and dad with six small kids or something know that too personal, three small kids or something can actually have some rest that day. I do want to talk about one more piece of the community rest though just as long as we’re here. I think the other reason why this needs to be communal is because we need the encouragement of a community in order to keep doing what is so countercultural. We will not keep going if we’re doing it as a Lone Ranger’s. Let me just give you an example. Y’all know how I feel about this example already, but sports on Sundays, like what happened there. This was not how it used to be not that long ago. And yet we just let the relentless pace of culture shift this for all of us. So now you got to do it. You want to play volleyball your high school, you got to play club volleyball last Sunday morning, sorry. So what would have a look, we are not a majority gospel center, believe it Bible believing Christians are not a majority in this culture, not by any stretch of the imagination, but we are a significant minority. And what if we just all got up together? And we’re like, Nah, we’re done. If we just all stood a thought, the culture is relentless pace, yelling, stop, my kids not going, that would actually make a difference in our culture. And it’d be to the benefit of a culture as a whole. But if nothing else, even if culture was like, Fine, then we will leave you behind. At least we would be doing it in community. And our kids would see that we are doing this in community. So it wouldn’t be just you know, well, my mom and dad, no, all my friends get to know. We’re in this together. Sports on Sunday mornings, absolutely. We need this. But I know families in our church now talk about the beer sugar rule. The bureau rule is you get to miss one Sunday, a year. This semester, one of them a year, one Sunday here for sports. And usually because it’s a vacation kind of time anyways, what we’ll do one out of state tournament, we’re going to go we’re going to take vacation anyway, all that kind of stuff. And now we’ve got other families that are going look, that’s what we’re gonna do. We can do that, too. I don’t wanna tell you the Cooper rule. You’ll be mad. So but that’s okay. We still go on vacation. It’s fine. We need his help everywhere, right? Like we need this with with phones and stuff, too. Right? Like, I don’t just mean phones in general, although that is a big one too. Like your kids don’t need phones. They don’t need them that young and stuff. But like, what if we put phones down on Sundays? Like what if that was a no social media day? Well, but all my friends, no, not all your friends. Because your youth group friends, they don’t do that. Because we’re in this together because we’re a community standing for Christ’s counter culturally, homework.
And, and kind of, you know, importantly, gathering as a church as well. Which would take us to the third one that so it’s a day for rest. It’s a day for a community it is a day for worship, set apart for worship it is what does the text say? A Sabbath to the Lord your God. This is an offering as sacrifice given to God as an chance to honor and commune with God in a special way. So it is more than a time to veg out. It is a time to devote yourself to Him. Which by the way is the most refreshing practice. You can experience so we give you an example. It would be a little bit like going on a marriage retreat. Getting away from work Yes, but even the chaos of home life for a little bit. And you’re there you get you know, two days or whatever, just you and your spouse, you’re you’re retreating from all of us, you get there to go Oh, that’s great. Hon, I’m going for a hike. I’ll see you later. No, that wasn’t the point, the point of a marriage retreat was to get away from all that so we can face each other. That’s what the Sabbath is. We’re the bride, he’s the husband. This is a chance for us to face him. This reminds us again of that rest that we enjoy. In Christ, we rehearse we remember that. We preach the gospel to ourselves, we pray we study, there’s might be a time where you’ve got a longer experience of family worship in the week, whatever it may be, and of course, then we also prioritize gathering together. As the body of Christ were called to do this as a body so you will not teach your kids parents, that church matters to God, and to you. If realistically, it’s the fourth priority on your Sundays. Do we have any sports? Okay, no. Are we going on vacation? No. Okay, is there like a family gathering or something like that, that we need to get to know? Okay, we can go to church. That’s how we approach it. For the most part. I love the way Kevin Young says it. He says it forcefully and we need to hear it. Are we teaching our kids that Sunday is the day we gather as a church. With the day we try to squeeze in church? It’s a question we need to ask ourselves. And this is where the idea of Sabbath as a sign helps. Because it communicates to a watching world what matters most I cannot tell you the number of conversations I have had with fellow parents about why we don’t do travel soccer. Muslim friends, atheist friends, and they’re just hearing us say again, again, that’s not what we’re gonna do, though. And here’s why. It’s a piece of life thing. But it’s also a Sunday morning thing for us. Because think of what we get to do on Sunday mornings. Like that’s the mentality we have to have. I love the way Thomas Watson says it Puritan preacher. He says what preparation should you make for entertaining this King of glory? Just what we’re doing right now. He says when Saturday evening approaches sounder retreat, call your minds off from the world and summon your thoughts together to consider the great work of the approaching day. The great work being dressed in Christ does kind of raise a last point, of course, which is that all of this takes planning and preparation. You know, it’s not just going to happen a little bit like gathering to Omers that one day, you had food for the next day, we got to do that. Also Sabbath will not just happen. It does take some preparation, you got to think in advance, what is this going to look like I need to get all my homework done on Saturday so that I don’t have anything to do on Sunday. It takes preparation, it also takes trust. It takes trust that God will make up the difference. And I don’t know that we all believe this. Giving is a good example. That’s like our money, money and time very similar sorts of experiences in God’s providence, it is more likely that you will be able to pay all your bills, if you are giving sacrificially to the kingdom of God. I could point to a billion examples that I know of personally, that’s no exaggeration, it’s the same thing with time, you want to make sure you get all your work done. Stop working for a day. That’s how you’ll make sure you get it done. John Dixon shares a story in Korea, which is not a restful culture, even by American standards, we’re not a restful culture either, especially when it comes to education. So kids are in school all day long. Most schools off also offer evening classes. If you’re not an evening classes, you put your kids in what are known as hog ones, which are like, you know, tutoring kind of ideas. So the point is, you know, if I could learn this much in eight hours, think how much I could learn 14 hours a day. And one Christian school said, no, they said, We’re not going to do that. We’re not going to do evening classes. Not only that parents do not put your kids in Hogg ones. And you think, okay, but they’re going to fall behind, because everybody else is doing 14 hours a day, and they’re only doing eight hours a day, guess what? They’re gonna get left behind. It was the leading school in the region academically? Of course it was, because that’s God’s economy right there. Lots to consider plenty more to say I’m sure you can work this out in your community group. That’s why we do that. But you and I won’t do any of this unless our hearts change. And that’s the last one we got to get to, especially because I’m looking at the time. So why, why? Here’s the need for rest. Verse 11. For in six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. So verse 11, gives us the reason for Sabbath rest, and it’s because God rested on the seventh thing and takes us back to creation. What’s interesting is the 10 commandments are recorded for us twice in the Books of Moses. Also in Deuteronomy, chapter five. Deuteronomy literally means second law. So it’s the second giving of the law. The commandments are almost verbatim except right here. A different reason is good. Even so same texts that we’ve read so far, you know, Remember the Sabbath day, keep it holy are your daughters, your servants, all that kind of stuff. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day, really different reasons reminds us a little bit of verse two, the reason for all the commands is the grace God has shown us in rescuing us before we did anything to deserve it. But I find this really fascinating. So Exodus 20, God created the world, therefore you need to rest Deuteronomy five, God rescued you out of slavery, therefore you need to rest. And the connection between those isn’t so obvious, it’s worth teasing out kind of these two ideas that are here. So why do we find it so difficult to rest? Are we seeing such an increase in anxiety in busyness people, too busy, even for church? It’s so easy to blame circumstances. Here’s why. I got all this to do. As soon as I know how many times you said this. As soon as I get past XYZ, this season of life, then I’ll be able to relax. Did it ever happen? Did you ever get to Z? Of course not. Right? The problem is not our work. The problem is what we’re trying to make our work do the problem is the work beneath the work. Making even the good things we do try to accomplish more than they possibly can. There is an attitude beneath our busyness. The attitude is one of pride and idolatry and even godlessness like we’re trying to play God in our lives, I can do everything that God can do. And that’s the connection to creation because God rests on the seventh day. So just imagine the hutzpah involved in thinking it he took a break. You don’t need to though I can just keep going. Isaiah 40 and picturing chariots of fire in your head right now, I’m sure as we talked about this, but what happens even the best the strongest, the young, stumble and fall, they get tired, they get worried, but not God, He alone is never tiring. That is one of his incommunicable attributes means he did does not give that one to us. Like every time you go to sleep, it is the reminder I am not God. Because my father is always at work. Jesus says, But you and I, we need to sleep. We are not God. Jen Wilkin says it like this Sabbath is the deliberate cessation of any activity that might reinforce belief in my own self sufficiency. Amen, sister. That’s right. That’s why we need Sabbath is to go I’ve not got I cannot do this. But Deuteronomy. And the connection to the Exodus event takes us a little deeper. You know, at a certain point, it’s Wow, the Egyptian army is bearing down on the Israelites who are just a ragtag bunch of tourists the route to get obliterated, right? And Moses says this to them, the Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still, what a weird time to say once you guys rest for a moment. Why? Because the Lord will fight for you. You can rest because the heavy lifting has been done by God himself. He’s wanting to send the planks he’s the one who splits the Red Sea. He’s the one who destroys the Egyptian army. And
here’s the good news. This side of the cross of Jesus Christ that’s even truer. Because God has done the heaviest lifting for us already. He lifted sin and the punishment we deserve for our sin off of us and placed it on Christ in stead. We don’t always live like we believe that’s true. We don’t live like we believe we’re saved. We’re trying to do what Christ has already done. We try to play creator I can be like God, but we try to play Savior also to justify ourselves to earn something that was freely given to us. I think it’s a part of why we prize busyness and we do prize it by people say how you do on busy. There’s a lot going on at work. That means I’m important, right? We prize business. We’re impressed by our busyness. That’s idolatry. Here’s the way Sydney Pollack actor and director died a few years back, even as he was dying of cancer. He got enough money could have spent that time with his family. And so he kept making motion pictures. Why? Because he says every time I finish, I feel like I’ve done what I’m supposed to do in a sense that I’ve earned my stay for another year or so. Is trying to justify himself, trying to earn it Something still trying to prove something we all had. And so there’s no arrest, or it’s not a question of having too much work to do. It’s a question of what that work means to us. takes us back to idolatry. Right? It’s about approval. It’s about security, it’s about comfort or status or whatever it may be, will never be enough though you cannot earn that because that’s not what satisfies can’t possibly satisfy it is a fool’s errand. And so truly, there will be no rest for the weary then we keep this going. It’s it’s like the scene and Saving Private Ryan. You know, the dying, Tom Hanks says to Private Ryan, earn this. What a curse to put on somebody. The nicest thing Tom Hanks could have done in that situation was shoot Private Ryan in the head. Because that’s a burden he carried with him for the rest of his life. I have to earn this. And so at the end of his life, you see him in the last thing the movies breaking down going, I don’t know. I tried. I don’t know if I did it, though. That’s how we live what if there were a better option. There’s a work beneath the work. We’re trying to save ourselves. But there’s a rest beneath the rest. We don’t just stop working. But we stop having to do what we think that work will accomplish. Come to me all you who are weary and burdened. And I will give you rest. The enemy, the world, the flesh, your parents, your boss, your spouse, your kids are all whispering, Ernests. And Jesus says, Take this, I freely give it the gospel assures us we are accepted already. We don’t need to prove ourselves don’t need to earn it. Don’t need to search for significance for Christ’s sake. Now you understand what I mean by that in light of what Christ has done. You need to rest stop filling the bin up to overflowing you can rest from work for a day each week. Why because your souls are at rest in Christ every moment of every day of every week. Let’s pray. Father, in this time, even now help us to rest in you to rest in Christ’s finished work. And what a freeing phrase the work is finished. There’s nothing left for us to do to make ourselves right with you all that we are seeking we have already been given in you if we will simply stop, be still know that you are God and receive the gift that you have given us. All the approval all the comfort, all the security, all of love. It’s ours in Christ. We don’t need to win it. We don’t need to earn it our work can be a gift of love we give to those we serve. Because there is something overflowing and it’s not our schedules. It’s the love that you have for us poured into our hearts flowing out of us into others. May we be people like that, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

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Name October 1, 2023 | Kyle Bjerga
This morning we listened to a sermon given by Pastor Kyle Bjerga. He discussed the third commandment of not misusing God’s name. He talked about how God’s name mattered because it revealed his character. We learned that we should not have thought wrong thoughts about God or had wrong motivations, and our actions should have honored him. While we had broken this commandment many times, there was forgiveness through Jesus, who perfectly honored God. The sermon encouraged us to repent when we misused God’s name and to honor him with our thoughts, words, and actions from then on.TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

Good morning. Go ahead, grab your bibles turn to Exodus chapter 20. We’ll be in verse seven. This morning. Pastor Brian Laurits maybe you’re more familiar with his father Crawford tells a story when his dad was asked to speak it in 1980s with the Chicago Bears at their chapel service. Now the Bears were quite good back in the 80s. Not so much anymore. But they weren’t good. And they had the best running back in history by the name of Walter Payton. And as a kid, Brian gets a goat with his dad to this chapel service, and they’re gonna have breakfast with the Bears afterwards, and Brian can see you with his hero. He gets to eat at a table with Walter Payton. And as a kid, Brian ate Wheaties because Walter Payton was on a box of Wheaties, enjoying Wheaties himself. Well, Brian was horrified when he saw that Walter Payton was not eating Wheaties that morning. He was eating Raisin Bran. And the innocence of a child says, I need to ask him this question. Why are you not eating Wheaties? I eat Wheaties because you eat Wheaties,” to which Walter Payton replied, and I quote, oh kid, I hate that stuff. I don’t eat Wheaties. So he told the story. And he says, Here I am eating Wheaties every morning, which he didn’t like, as a kid, because his hero did. And then he said, My hero wasn’t buying what he was selling. Walter Payne attached his name to Wheaties, and yet his allegiance was with Raisin Bran. Now, as adults, we understand the business side of this, we understand endorsements and how they work. But we always want to know that this person uses and enjoys the product that they’re selling. Though that doesn’t always happen. We want what they show in public to be true in private. Now, to be fair, they named the NFL Man of the Year award after Walter Payton for a lot of really good reasons. This is a very small thing. But it was something for Brian as a kid that really stuck out to him. something as insignificant as cereal, when there is a name attached would change his attitude of his favorite player, even if just for a little bit. Now, what about something more important than cereal? In fact, infinitely more important than attaching your name to a serial brand is if you call yourself a Christian. If you say I’m a Christian, what are you saying? Well, back in the book of Acts, we read that at Antioch, the people they’re the followers of Jesus are the followers of the way we’re first called Christians. And what does that mean? It simply means little Christ’s. That’s what they were called. That’s what we are as Christians. So every day we’re walking around as a billboard as an advertisement for what we are attaching our name to. And others are watching. So are we buying what we’re selling? You see, it’s important that we consider this because what we’re attaching our name to, because this will then change the way we live our life. Our whole lives should be lived out to make God’s name great. We already know it is but we want others to see that and they might just see it through us. So that brings us to the third commandment today. Now kids have passed around and said, I’m gonna give you a word, I want you to be listening this morning. To a word, we’re gonna have a bunch of verses up here. And every time you see the word name, in one of those verses, I want you to say it out loud. Okay, so we’re going to practice. Alright, we’re going to read our verse, Exodus, chapter 20, verse seven, if you have your Bible open, you can read it along with me or look on your parents Bible, but I’m going to read it and when you see that word name, I want you to stay with me. So here’s Exodus chapter 20, verse seven, you shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. For the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord. Here’s the big idea. You’ll see it in your notes there. That God takes His name seriously. Because he takes himself seriously. We’re gonna see this this morning. As we look at three different things. In this passage, we’re gonna look at the fact that the name matters. We’re going to see that its use matters. And finally, your response matters. So let’s look first, at the name. The name matters. Look at that first part of the verse You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. Now in the first half of the 10 commandments in verses one through 12, we read about the Lord your God five different times. That’s how God is talking to the Israelites. And it’s the personal name of God. It’s Yahweh. Brennan gave us a little bit more of the name and the history on week one. Because before the commandments are even given, God reminds the people of what he has done for them. And so every time we see the Lord and our Bibles with a big L, and then the capital, like kind of little letters of O rd, that is translating the name, Yahweh. So what God is doing here five times in this first half is saying, remember who I am. I’m not absent. I’m not distant. I’m not indifferent. I’m not uninterested in you know, I am the Lord your God, I am intimately involved in your life. I am the promise-making, promise- keeping God who is with you. And this name, this personally he gives them it matters. So the one true God is speaking to Moses. And he makes it clear that they are not to have idols or worship anything else that he is God and God alone in these first two commandments that we’ve looked at. And he has a name. And this name is not given to him. You and I were named by someone else. God doesn’t ask Moses, hey, what’s your opinion? What should what should I be called? He doesn’t go to the Israelites and take a Twitter poll. Say what? What do you guys think I should be named? Noah, he tells us what his name is. He’s already told Moses when he appears to Moses in the burning bush and Exodus 314. God reveals Himself to Moses and cause him to lead his people out of Egypt. How long has Moses been gone from Egypt? 40 years. 40 years, he’s made a life of his own. He’s gotten married. He’s He’s away. And God says you’re gonna go back and you’ll lead my people and deliver them out of slavery and Moses like, Well, when I go, who should I say sent me? Because people are gonna have questions. Moses is a lot older at this point. And this is what God says in Exodus three, verse 14, God said to Moses, I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites, I am has sent me to you. This past week, we were at the gospel coalition conference. And John Piper actually had this verse that he was walking through in this chapter as a part of the series, we went through kind of the book of Exodus at this conference was very cool, since we’ve been in it now for a few weeks. And he gave us he just said, just casually, here’s 12 things that Yahweh means. Now we don’t have time to go through all 12 In our time together. So what was he actually doing this he was really just listening 12 attributes of God. This is what my name means. This is who I am. Because God takes His name seriously. He takes himself seriously and he knows his name and his character are tied together. So when he says, I am who I am, it means I had no beginning, and I have no end. I am who I am, there is no one besides me. I am who I am. No one tells me what to do. So for us, we try to explain God, what are the way to say that I am who I am. I don’t know how to explain him to you. He’s inexhaustible, incomprehensible. I am, who I am. Now, God continues to tell us more about himself in Exodus chapter 34. If you remember, Moses is on the mountain again. And Moses is receiving two tablets with the 10 commandments on them a second time. What happened the first time Moses got a little angry. When he came down the mountain the first time on those tablets, what did he see, he saw the people of Israel breaking the first two commandments, having a god a golden calf worshiping it as if he this thing was God. And he smashed to the tablet. So he’s on the mountain again, receiving these tablets a second time. And this is what God says Exodus 34. Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming the Lord the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to 1000s and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin, yet he does not leave the guilty on punished. He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents in the third and fourth generations. Do you see it here in this passage, that the character of God is the name of God in the name of God is the character of God we cannot separate them I am who I am. Jen will confess anytime we read the name of the Lord, you can just insert the character of the Lord. This is who he is. The name matters
Now, if any of you have had kids, you probably remember some conversations around naming your child. And so the husband comes with his list. The wife comes with her list. The family says, here’s our list. The friends say, here’s some ideas. And then you search online and you get 1000s upon 1000s of names, at some point, you need to narrow it down to one name, what are we going to call this child? And as you go through, maybe this is your experience, maybe not everybody, but I think for some of you, as you go through, you start crossing names off the list for really weird reasons. Like, no, we can’t even kid that. Because in kindergarten, I was bullied by a kid with that name. Or that’s a villain in my favorite movie. Or that girl took my boyfriend in fifth grade. So we can’t use that name. I had a student in class one year that had that name. And that was not a good student, not a good year. So we can’t name our child that way. I’ve heard of these conversations, Jackie. And I actually went through some of these reasons for why we didn’t name our kids, what we ended up naming was something different, we took that one off and cross it off. Your list gets narrowed simply because the name represents something negative to you. But it works the other way, too. There are the other names. I love that name. Because it’s my favorite Bible character’s name. It carries a lot of meaning. That was my best friend’s name. That name has been passed down in my family for generations. I love this name, because you fill in the blank. Why did you choose what you did? In both cases, a name has come to represent something to you, or to your spouse that has forever changed the way you view that name. It’s impacted you. Now God names himself, he defines himself, and he tells us to use his name. But if we use his name, we could also misuse his name. So what if we, as those who identify with Jesus misuse his name so that when others hear that name, they’re like the parents crossing the name off that list. I can’t follow that name. I’ve had too many negative experiences, memories, thoughts and feelings towards people who claimed that name. Or someone says, I want to I want to learn more about this Jesus, because the people I know the names I remember of people who follow Jesus lived their lives differently, and loved well, and cared for me and told me about this Jesus. So names matter. God’s name matters. And so is how we use it. Let’s look at that second point there. It’s use matters. Look at that first part of the verse again, you shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. Now, if you memorize this verse, when you’re younger, probably in Awana, or some other time where you went through the 10 commandments, you know, and some older translations, there’s a phrase that’s missing here. In the NIV. Most of the older translations are literal translations might say, You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. So the NIV is kind of taking the words take and in vain and putting them together and saying, Do not miss use this name. And misuse means to treat, or use improperly or misapply to something. So do not miss us the name of Lord carries with it a whole lot more than what we say. Which is probably how most of us have come at this verse. It’s all about our speech. But there’s actually so much more going on here. So that’s the first thing that comes to mind right speech, it means we don’t say the things that got us into trouble as kids, or in the church. We don’t use God’s name as an exclamation. Oh my god. We don’t use it as a punch line. We don’t use it with other vulgar words, we don’t take oaths and say I swear to God, in those moments, we are taking God’s name in vain we are Miss using the name. And I could go on and on for how we use this name, Thomas Watson actually gives us 18 ways that we misuse God’s name just simply by our speech 18 ways. So it doesn’t mean less than that, because God certainly cares about how we speak his name. And this verse definitely addresses that but it means more. Now when you have called someone out or somebody is called you out for using God’s name speaking it and misusing in this way, that defense is usually something like I didn’t mean anything by it. To which we say that’s the point. You didn’t mean anything by it. Da Carson says it this way. The usage Is profane because it’s common. It’s cheap. We are dealing with God. And we must say and do nothing that diminishes him or cheapens him is at best disrespectful, ungrateful and demeaning. At worst, it D Gods him and thus sinks against the level of idolatry. So misusing God’s name, then, is anything that treats God’s name is empty, or worthless, or on par with everything else in creation. It misses the true reality of who God is. It’s something that is done to no effect, or we can say it’s done to the wrong effect. So when you say I didn’t really mean anything by it, that’s exactly one of the ways you take God’s name in vain, is not meaning anything by it. So we need to be careful with how we use our words. So misuse doesn’t only summarize vain, but like I said, it also translates that word “take”, and the word is literally “take up”. Do not take up the name of the Lord your God, do not carry do not bear the name of God. In vain, do not misuse it. Because God has taken his name and put it on his people. Right before this in Exodus 19. God comes to the people and he says you are to be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, which means a nation set apart from the rest of nations, when they look at you, you should be different than everyone else. And then he says, reminds them that they are his treasured possession. And that doesn’t just mean Oh, that’s nice. And those like warm, fuzzy feelings like God loves me. No, that is saying, you are now my ambassadors in this world. You are the kings ambassadors in this world, you are my treasured possession. So when they go places, when they talk, when they worship, when they interact with others, they are representing Yahweh. They bring his name with them, quite literally in the tabernacle. They are bringing God with them wherever they go there representing him. Who is said, Who is this setup in the New Testament? The church, Peter picks it up. And First Peter to verse nine, he says, But you, Christian, member of Cityview if you claim Jesus, you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, to do what? That you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. You see, we do nothing different than the Israelites did. Yahweh is with us, he has taken us out of slavery brought us out of darkness and Christians, we have been taken out of the slavery of sin and death and brought into the light. It’s the same story. The Grace kids that Pastor Brandon talked about this morning is from beginning to end of the Bible. It’s not just in the New Testament. It’s everywhere. We represent Jesus to the world. Pure Light heart says speaking or silent, active or passive. We bear the name all the time. In everything we do. You hear that? If you say I’m a Christian, you bear the name in everything you do all the time. And our default setting as sinners now is to take God’s name in vain to misuse it, which is why the commandments are the way they are, you shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. That’s why it says You shall not because our default setting is I’m going to, I’m a sinner. I’ve got all this sin in my heart. So I need to be told not to do this. But that means every single commandment has a positive thing we are supposed to do. Instead, we are to honor God in our thoughts, in our feelings in our actions. And as we already talked about in our speech. So we’ve talked about speech, I want to talk about three other areas where we can misuse God’s name. And I hope to give a few examples here, but I want to say this is what we shall not do. And this is what we should be doing instead. Okay, so the first one is thoughts, our thoughts we misuse God’s name whenever we think wrong thoughts about God. Anytime your mind goes to unworthy thoughts about God, we are misusing his name. When we redefine who God is, and we say things like my God would never do X, Y, or Z. We are redefining God. We are changing his name, which means we are no longer following the God of the Bible. That is idolatry. Now why does this happen? It happens because we let opinions, our own opinions and the opinions of others seep into our thoughts.
We stop opening this and we start listening to everyone else. And then we don’t know what’s what If we let other people speak for God, rather than letting God speak for himself, when this happens, we will redefine him. And we’re no longer following the God of the Bible. So what should be true of us instead, for our thoughts, we need to think God’s thoughts after him. We let him define who he is. And here’s the thing, that means we’re going to come up to things that we don’t fully understand that we can’t fully grasp. And we want to grasp things. That’s why we try to redefine God because we want to be able to explain him. But he’s saying you just have to trust me hear. Which also means we need to trust the words he says, Even when we when we don’t like what we hear. And then we gaze at his holiness and His beauty and his glory. And we see him for who he is how he defines himself. And he defines his own, he tells us, He loves us with an everlasting love. And we need to be in this, to think God’s thoughts after him, we’re not going to find it other places, we have to be in the Word. So that’s thoughts. The next is feelings. It’s a little bit harder to pin this one down, because we know how fickle feelings can be. But we misuse God’s name. When we go through the motions of the Christian life, thinking we can appease God, or get on his good side by just doing the right things, without any thought to our heart, or our motivations. Or maybe for you, it’s doing things so that others see how good you are, might be what we call selfish ambition. Or doing things so that others owe us if we claim to be Christian, and this is how we live our life. And these are the motivations of our heart, we are misusing God’s name, because that is not how God feels. That is not how God works. So instead, when our hearts are changed by the Holy Spirit, we pray that our emotional motivations would catch up to God’s motivations, that our motivations would be like Jesus. Now we don’t live out of selfish ambition. But rather we live in humility, we see that Jesus had love and compassion for others, a desire to glorify His Father in heaven and everything he did. So instead of going through the motions, just checking the boxes, the love of Christ compels us. The love of Christ compels us not to checklists, instead of doing things for others, so that maybe they will like us more, or doing things to get something from someone, we do things for our enemies. We do things for people who can’t pay us back. That’s what it means to honor the name of the Lord, to be motivated by what he’s motivated by. And then finally, our actions. This should be probably the most obvious one, we take God’s name and we misuse it when we carry his name into the world and live exactly like the world. Our actions aren’t matching up with what we say we believe. And so we miss represent Jesus the world when we pursue the same exact things that they do. So parents, let me talk to you for a second. As a family worship Sunday, your actions are speaking to your children. You need to hear this, you are the number one influencer on your kids, for good or bad. And this is not just anecdotal. This is in every research I read. So we often think all the big bad world out there and so much influence on my kids. Yes, they do. And they’re serious stuff that we need to take into consideration and talk about as a family. But guess what, you still have the most influence over your kids? You do? There’s no doubt about that. But here’s the problem. Here’s the bad news. In the studies that they do when they ask Christian parents were the two outcomes you want most for your children. The top two that come up over and over again is I want them to be a good person, and I want them to be happy. That’s evangelical Christian parents. When they ask those same questions of secular parents who do not follow Jesus do not claim to follow Jesus, what do they say? I want my kid to be a good person, and I want them to be happy. Is that really what we’re after? Is that really what we mean? So So here’s the thing, like as Christian parents, I know, you hear that you’re like, Oh, is it but guess what, there is hope here too. I want them to be a good person. So if we mean by that, that we want them to be like Christ. He was the best person. He was a good person. He was a perfect person. If we mean that, then we’re going to want our kids to go after others and love them at a cost to their own life sometimes. So yes, sign me up for that if that’s what being a good person is for my children. But if it means I just want them to go through life and not make people mad, I just want them to be called Nice. That’s not what we’re after. Second, if we want them to be Happy, if we mean by happy in life, just doing what makes them happy, makes them feel good. They go after what’s easy and comfortable if that’s what you want for them. That’s not what we should be for them. That’s not what we want for them. If it means being happy in Jesus and following him, no matter where he calls them, then yes, that’s what we should be about. So how do you define that? Be a good person, be happy. They’re watching you. If you say we’re, I’m a Christian, your mom, your dad, we’re Christians, we’re gonna raise you in a Christian home? Are they seeing these things be true of you. And then kids and teenagers, I want you to listen for just a second. I want you to know that our goal here as a church is to raise you so that when you are sent out from here, when you graduate, when you go on to the next thing that God has for you in life, that you are people that the world cannot ignore. We want you to have hearts transformed by the gospel. So that your thoughts about Christ are what His Word says. That you honor him with the way that you speak. You honor him with the way that you act and the things that you do. And I want to explain this. But I want to say at first, we want you to be a problem in the world. We do. Because Jesus and his disciples were a problem in the world. In x, it tells us that they turn the world upside down. You don’t do that by just being a nice person who goes through life and tries to be just good. You won’t stand out because that’s what the world is going after. What we want is kids who love people well, they live with conviction, that do good to others, and love their enemies. They live lives of radical generosity and show compassion, and have an unwavering commitment to God’s word, no matter what it says. That’s what we want for you. So how does this happen? Bible’s clear, Jesus is clear. die to yourself. Take up the cross, and follow me. When we live our lives this way we bring honor to the name of Jesus first John to six says whoever claims to live in him. That’s Jesus must live, as Jesus did. So saying I’m a Christian isn’t something we take lightly, should not be done casually, because we are identifying with the Triune God. So we can’t say I’m a Christian, and thinking go live like everybody else. Because their God is not powerful ours is. We are following the Triune God is that we’ll be celebrating baptism. How important is this name. And the last words from Jesus Therefore go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name. See that? were baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Goddesses attached his name to you. We attach our name to him. X 412. Again, everybody’s you see name in this verse, I missed the last one sorry, x 412. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name. under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. Name is all over. Because the name of God is the character of God. It reveals something about him to us every time we say it. When we sing a song like how majestic is your name? Do we know what we’re saying? are we sitting here this morning singing, standing and singing his name in vain? Do we know who we’re singing to? Look, the last thing you response matters. Look at the last half of verse seven for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. God takes His name seriously because he takes himself seriously. So I hope this morning you’re convinced that you have broken this command over and over and over again. And I hope you’ve discovered the broken in ways you never even knew you did. Why do we think that’s a good thing? Because God gives us a warning here. So we want to take warnings in the Bible seriously. So if there’s going off like I have done this, I continue to do this. Okay, listen to the warning, because there is hope. But first, the warning itself is a warning of punishment. God will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. For those who don’t take his name seriously. For those who misrepresent God to others, those who reject His name outright. There is punishment coming.
And this is not just an Old Testament idea. What does Jesus say in Matthew seven, the end of the sermon on the mount he says Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven, Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in Your name, drive out demons in in your name performed many miracles. And I will tell them plainly, I never knew you, away from me, you evildoers. They said the name. They didn’t believe in the name. They use the name they miss used the name. And there’s warnings there for us. So we must take them seriously. But is there hope for us today? Of course there is. Of course there is. You see, Jesus never took God’s name in vain. Not in the words that he said, not in the thoughts that he had. Not in the feelings in his heart, not in his actions. Never once did he miss use the name of the Lord. But he did even more than that. Because in John eight before the religious leaders, they’re arguing with him about who he is, what does he do in John 858, he says, very, Truly I tell you, Before Abraham was born, I am. Not only do you not take God’s name and misuse it, he took God’s name on himself. They picked up stones in that moment to kill him. Because they knew what he was doing. He was claiming to be God. Jesus took his name very seriously. Because he took himself seriously. He took his father, and the purpose for which his father sent him very seriously. And he perfectly represented God to us. And then he perfectly represented us before God. First in following the 10 commandments, and every other of the 600 Plus laws in the Old Testament, and he fulfilled them perfectly for us. Then he represented us by going to the cross and taking up burying, carrying our sins on the cross. Taking that punishment that we deserve from our sin, from taking God’s name in vain from all breaking all the other commandments over and over again. And he died. And he rose again to say it is finished, it is complete, there is forgiveness now. So when we believe in him when we take up his name, when we bear his name, when we carry his name, God sees Jesus’s perfection in us like we always follow the 10 commandments. So what should we do? When we leave here today, and we say the wrong thing. We misuse God’s name. And we think wrong thoughts about God. And we have bad motivations in our heart, and we do the evil thing that we don’t want to do. But we do it again and give in. We repent, we repent and turn back to God and receive the forgiveness that He already has given us in the cross of Christ. And then we honor him was what we say, with what we think with our motivations and with what we do. Now, maybe you’re here and you are your whole life has been taking God’s name in vain. You’ve been misusing God’s name, all over the place. Like you know that and what you say what you think what you’ve done all of it. You know, it’s inconsistent with who God is and what he has done. There is hope for you this morning. Romans 1013, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Why is it matter to be calling the name because the character of God is there? Because he’s forgiven you. And he loves you. And there’s grace. So call on his name, and you will find that call the name of the Lord. Instead of misusing it, take it up. Take it up. For those of us who are here and have claimed to follow Jesus, we need to remember something about this passage. These words are spoken to the people of Israel, God’s people, it was not spoken to the other nations. It was spoken to God’s people. And who are these people? They were the ones who saw the mighty deeds of God in Egypt. There was a radically saved from slavery by crossing the Red Sea. And they are the ones who know their freedom is found in God alone. And God had to tell them, Don’t misuse my name. After seeing all of that, these are the ones that have the warning, don’t misuse my name. So for us, how are we representing Jesus to the world? For some people, their only understanding of who Jesus is, is being around you. That’s how important that name is. It may be you and only you that they see. So, when you don’t represent Christ, well, you repent, you turn back, you honor him, you say the things that you want that you know he wants you to say you do. Think the thoughts after him and you do the things you know he wants you to do. And you go represent him again. Because you may be the only one representing Christ, so that person and then be encouraged in the new heaven and the new earth. Listen to what it says about us. And Revelation 22, verse four, they will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads. That’s us. God’s name will be on us. It is on us. See, God has attached his name to you. He says you are mine. So let’s take God seriously. And if we do, we’ll take his name seriously, and how we live? Let’s pray.
Lord, being able to even say that name is an honor. Being able to sing songs of praise to you this morning is an honor. Being able to read your word is an honor for us. And Lord, I trust that most of us here this morning want to leave here honoring your name. And sword, I pray that each person in their heart right now would confess the area, confess the area of their life right now where they know they are misusing your name and how they’re representing you, in their family in their church, their neighborhood, workplace school community. I pray that we would confess that now. And then remember there is hope and forgiveness in Jesus Christ. That because he went to the cross for us there is forgiveness. And Lord, I pray that you would see us that you would help us go from here seeking to honor your name and all that we do. And Lord, I pray that if there’s people in our life right now who are looking at us and only us as a representation of who Jesus is, Lord, show us that we’re wrapped around them, Lord, we want you to shine through, not us. So Lord, help us represent you. As we continue to sing, we need that assurance that only you can provide through the cross and the empty tomb. We love you and we pray this in Jesus name, Amen.

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Worship September 24, 2023 | Brandon Cooper This morning we heard a sermon about properly understanding the second commandment against idolatry. Brandon explained that creating images of God reduces Him, as nothing can fully represent the Almighty. He urged us to avoid both overly emotional and intellectual views of God that neglect parts of His character. Instead, we were encouraged to get to know the true God by listening to what He has revealed about Himself in Scripture rather than relying on our own conceptions. It reminded us to seek an accurate picture of God as He really is.

Good morning church, you’re gonna go ahead grab your Bibles open up to Exodus chapter 20. And continuing our series on the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20, verses four to six this morning. As you’re turning there to Exodus 20. In the 1930s, three unruly teenagers tried to pick a fight with a guy who was sitting quietly by himself in the back of the bus and picking on for a while and he wasn’t responding. Finally, as his stop approached, he got up. Turns out he was a lot bigger than the teenagers thought he was. And he kind of just silently exited the bus and handed them his business card as he got off the business card read Joe Lewis boxer. By the way, I don’t know if that story is true, I sure hope it is. But if it isn’t, don’t you know I’m not trying to lie here or anything? But what happened there? Right? These teenagers, they didn’t treat Joe Louis Right. Because they didn’t know who he was probably would not have tried to pick a fight with the future heavyweight boxing champion of the world. Had they rightly esteemed him right, they didn’t treat him right, because they didn’t understand who he was. So you get the idea what we think of someone affects our behavior towards them. Whether we treat them as they deserve or not, that’s what the second commandment gets at. Okay, that’s what this second word that God speaks is all about, as it talks about not making or worshipping images, not going to be a little clearer here because there seems to be a quite a bit of overlap with the last commandment, the first commandment, and I want to make sure we understand the difference between them. This command here is not saying don’t make idols because you’re not supposed to have idols. We already got that one last week. Ken, we’re talking about something else. today. It’s a little bit like this is how Jen Wilkin explains it. I think she’s right here. She says the first commandment prohibits worshipping anything other than God. The second commandment prohibits worshiping any version of God that is less than God as he really is. So hold that distinction in your head last week was other than this week is less than less than, and that less than idea highlights the problem for us, and why this word is still relevant to us today. Because we seek, often unwittingly, but we seek to limit God in order to control him. Like we want to be able to get our arms, our minds around him, we want to be able to put him in a little box. And so we diminish and domesticate God, it’s a little bit like Aladdin’s Genie. Right? Phenomenal cosmic powers. Itty bitty living space. And that’s what we do with God. And probably for the same reason, right? Like, we want the phenomenal cosmic powers because we want a guy who can help us of course, but we also want to be able to carry him with us. Just pull them out when we need him so that he can serve us whenever we want. That is we want Joe Lewis walking around with us so we can punch anybody in the mouth when we need it. But we also wanna be able to push Joe Lewis around when we need to do that. So here’s our main idea today, what we’re getting at, okay? Main idea really drawn right from the Second Amendment don’t make and worship and imagined to God for three reasons. Okay, so don’t make it a mat and worship and imagine God because it’s not God. It’s not worship, and that’s a problem, but there is a solution. So that’s what we’re gonna do. Alright, let’s take them one at a time. Don’t make a worshipping imagined God because that’s not God. Exodus 20, verse four, you shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. Alright, at first glance, this is all a bit confusing. You may be confused, because it says, don’t make an image of anything in the heavens above, or the earth beneath, or the waters below. That’s everywhere. Right? That’s everything. So basically what God just said, it seems that don’t make an image of anything. Did God just prohibit representational art? So you can only do abstract art? Is that what’s being talked about? Well, that can’t be because what happens a little bit later in Exodus, even just a few chapters from now, when God commands men, like a bezel owl, and a holy OB, doesn’t just command them, but then fills them with his spirits so that they can do what He commands, which is to make images of things in the heavens above, like cherubim or on the earth beneath, like pomegranates. And by the way, these aren’t even you know, nice images like hanging the museum. This isn’t your living room art, this is all to go in the temple, even. So kind of they’re sort of associated with worship at least. So this is all got a little bit more complicated. So what’s going on exactly? The second commandment prohibits making images for the purpose of worship specifically, which is where we’re going to go in the next verse, I’ll just here it is, we’ll talk about it more in the next section, but you shall not bow down to them or worship them. So we’re definitely talking about worship, specifically. So you can’t make images to represent God. For the purpose of worship, here, you’re kind of directing your attention at something as you worship. Why? Why does God prohibit this, because representing God will necessarily reduce God, it will make him smaller than he is. Remember, we’re not talking other than we’re talking less than you will make God less than he actually is. If you put an image to him. So think of some famous images of God that you’ve seen Michelangelo’s creation of Adam, for example, famous painting and kind of picture God doing this thing, right? Does it capture God’s power? Sure. Does it capture his tenderness and mercy? No, not nearly as much. Plus it makes God look like an old guy, which I’m not sure he looks like. So we got an issue here already. Children’s Bibles often make Jesus look insipid, frankly, even something like a crucifix correctly, pictures that Jesus died for us, but misses the kind of all-important piece that he also rose again from the dead is no longer on the cross, but walked out of that tomb. You see the problem, our works of art can capture the great beauty and wonder of creation. But not the creator, that’s beyond us. We can’t possibly capture him a canvas won’t fit him. Quick word to parents that as long as we’re on the subject, what that means is you got to be really careful with the literature in the movies, TV shows in your house, the Christian ones in particular that are trying to represent God, talk about them, I got no problem. I mean, maybe I got some problems, but you know, with Bibles that have pictures of Jesus in them, but you know, we need to talk about the fact that’s not Jesus. By the way, that’s not just a word for parents is it might be a word for all of us. Because y’all heard a the chosen, right? The Passion of the Christ. Now, I am not saying don’t watch the chosen necessarily. But I’m certainly saying we need to be really careful with this. Don’t be if you’re watching The Chosen to help you kind of get a picture of what life was like back then some of the context for when Jesus is speaking or the response of the people who received his works great. But I’ve known of pastors who’ve warned their congregations against things like the chosen and the passionate because they would hear their congregants say things like, when I pray to Jesus, I picture the dude from the chosen. If that’s you, then you need to stop watching the chosen. Right? So you got to see we got to be careful with what we’re doing here. That’s the point. Because these images necessarily diminish and domesticate God. Just look at this. So Jen Wilkin again explains some of the differences between an image like the golden calf, for example, we’ll talk more about the golden calf in a moment, and God has he really is. So an image is small, fixed in space, whereas God is immense beyond all reckoning, the image is inanimate, but God is living spirits. An image is location bound, you could get GPS coordinates for it, whereas God is omnipresent and images created but God is uncreated and images knew it had a beginning in time, but God is eternal and images impotent, no help to you whatsoever but our God is omnipotent, and images destructible What does Moses do to the golden calf after all grinded up into dust and makes the Israelites eat it so that’s cool. We’ll talk about that some other day. Whereas God is invincible you’re not gonna able to destroy him. An image has a fixed value, you could put it on Etsy or eBay and somebody would pay a fixed amount of money for it but our God is just the word invaluable even begin to describe it. Certainly not an image is blind and deaf and mute, but thank God our God sees and hears and speaks and then acts on our behalf. You see the problem with an image? That’s not God? It’s a lie. Because it’s diminishing and domesticating God. Maybe this helps us out too because I’m guessing most of you do not struggle with carving images of God for yourself. I
think the main danger, as J I Packer points out for us isn’t mental images, but mental images. And metal images, by the way, are the consequence, not the cause of our mental images. That is, we think a certain way about God. And that’s why we represent Him as we do. It’s not that the statue makes us think differently about God, we already were thinking small thoughts about God. Now, our imagination is a wonderful gift of God. And it is certainly a gift of God. It is one of the ways we image him, in fact, our creativity, just dimly mirroring His infinite creativity. So it is a gift of God. It allows us to do things like talking, you know, inventing Middle Earth, and all these languages. I’m grateful for imagination. I’m grateful for our ability to make-believe but make-believe is not good for relationships. If you believe make your bring make-believe into your marriage, for example, you think of your mike no wife differently than she really is that’s going to cause problems. We’d even talk about somebody living in a fantasy world. That’s not a compliment, right? And so there’s the danger, right? We can’t have a fantasy world. When it comes to God, we need to know God as he really is. Not as we imagined him to be, because that will involve diminishing him. We can’t get our minds all the way around God, the fancy theological term for that is God is incomprehensible, doesn’t mean we can’t know him. Truly, it just means we can’t know him exhaustively. We can have adequate but not absolute knowledge of God. And so there’s a humility, a leaving room for mystery in all of this. Because because we recognize that danger. Otherwise, if we’re going to try and encompass God, we will bring him down to our level or lower, we have to make them small enough that he fits inside our minds. You remember the first temptation, of course, this is Satan speaking to Eve in the garden, you know, if you eat this fruit, you will be like God, which we still want to do them anyways, the problem is, we certainly can’t bring ourselves up to God’s level. So if we’re going to be like, God, we got to bring him down to our level, there’s the danger that we will make God like us. So what needs to happen? So we keep these commandments? Yes, Lewis gets at it. Exactly. He says this, it makes little difference, whether there are pictures and statues outside the mind, or imaginative constructions within it. My idea of God is not a divine idea. It has to be shattered time after time. He shatters it himself. God is the great iconoclast. He’s the one who shatters our images that are too small to contain him. So let God keep smashing your small, incomplete, distorted images of him know him as he truly is. We’ll talk more about how to do that in a moment, just hang on to it. I think most of us probably struggle in one direction or the other. As we talked about this, by the way, there’s the danger of having an overly sentimental version of God, driven by our emotions often will involve kind of polishing what we assumed to be God’s rough edges so that we’ve got a God of, of love without wrath, for example. The other danger, of course, is being overly intellectual, dogmatic theological, even as though I’ve got God down. Because my theology is so good. I remember at one point, when I was involved in some cross-cultural training, the person who was doing the training said, if you move overseas, your theology will change. You know, there’s the gasp in the room, like, Oh, my theology shouldn’t change, because I got good theology. But it was an honest recognition that our theology is provincial. There is no way that my theology is not white 21st century American, because, well, that’s where I am, right? So for example, a real simple one we talk about here quite a bit is my theology was largely individualistic, because that’s what our culture is like, if I were to go overseas, I would have a bigger theology. You would have a bigger perspective. Few more minds involved. Maybe we’re going a little bit closer to get around God. By the way. I am aware of the fact that I am not speaking only to Christians in this moment, that some of you are here who are still asking questions, or maybe not even asking questions. You’re pretty competent. You don’t have questions because you know this isn’t true. But this commandment is a good commandment for you also, as skeptics and atheists, you need to make sure you know, the God you claim to reject. It is not intellectually honest to reject just a figment of your imagination, and call that a rejection of Christianity. So often when people say I don’t believe in God, I and others who’ve trained me in this will say, tell me about the God you don’t believe in. Because I probably don’t believe in him either. Right? That’s the idea. So don’t make an imagined God because that’s not really God, let God smashed the idols of your mind, preserve his transcendence, his otherness, his being beyond us. That’s the first point that’s not God. Second reason is that’s not worship me keep reading just the first half of verse five, already read it for you, you shall not bow down to them or worship them. So we’re talking about worship at this point. The last section we were talking about shouldn’t make images because that’s not really God. Here, we’re saying you shouldn’t use images in worship, because that’s not really worship them. God is not against beauty, God is not against art. Not at all. He is against us thinking that a man-made object has spiritual power, or efficacy, to bring us closer to Him. Because if focusing on this image would help us to know it, him more truly hurt. So God is not saying here, I’m not made of wood, or metal or stone, we all already know that. Right? What God is saying here is don’t think you honor me, by honoring an image of me. That’s what’s being said. So give you an example. I have pictures of Amy in my office, because I like to gaze on her beauty all day long. This is a good thing, right? Nothing wrong with it. But my wife is gonna be really unimpressed with me, if every Friday night, I go out by myself for a few hours, you know, to sports bar, catch the game kind of thing. She’s at home with all the children by herself, but I call it date night, because I got a picture of her on the table next to me. I’m gonna try it, we’ll see. But I’m pretty sure not going to be impressed. And at least in that case, the photo is an accurate representation of her not dealing in Photoshop or anything like that. But as we’ve seen, our images of God are decidedly not accurate representations. So you diminish God. But if you diminish God, it means you’re going to diminish your worship as well. What is worship? Worship is when you ascribe worth to something, well, we just gave him less worth. So we can give him less worship. I think this is one of the reasons why we like to shrink God down, by the way is because then we owe him less. You can see how this works clearly. Right here in Exodus, because while Moses is getting these commands from God, on the top of Mount Sinai, what’s happening at the bottom of Mount Sinai, Aaron is making a golden calf as an image of the uncreated God. Have you ever wondered why a calf Exactly. Here’s why it’s a calf. The pagans around Aaron worshipped bowls. So they had just left Egypt. One of the chief gods in Egypt is the bol God a purpose, and they’re headed into Canaan, and the chief Canaanite God. L. You may recognize that were like El Shaddai, el el Yoda meeting translated just as God in our English language. So the chief god L in the Canaanite Pantheon was also a bull. So we got bowls all around, but Aaron doesn’t make a bowl. He makes a baby cow. What did he just do? He made a non-threatening, approachable version of a pagan god. And we do the same thing, don’t we? We are so tempted to worship our culture’s gods. We talked about this last week, right love and money and power and on down the line. So we refashion the God who is there into their image.
Take the prosperity gospel for example. Sure, it looks a lot like Pluto, the God of wealth, doesn’t it? A God who gives you what you want; the difference of course with Pluto or a pagan god is you got to sacrifice in order to get it. What if we refund? Shouldn’t our God though, make it non-threatening and approachable? Here’s a God who just wants to give it to us already. That’s perfect. No sacrifice required. I know what you’re thinking you’re thinking. That’s why we don’t preach the prosperity gospel here, right. That’s what heretics teach out there. I tell you what the prosperity gospel is alive and well in Evangelical churches. You want me to prove this to you get on Instagram or Facebook and put in a search for Hashtag blessed? Tell me what people think the blessing of God looks like. How often it’s tied to health, and wealth and circumstances going the way I wish God would make them go in my life, we equate the blessing of God with our temporal happiness. There’s Pluto refashioned in an approachable, non-threatening way I could go on down the line, of course, tell me we haven’t done that with the God of power, which for us today looks like politics. So we put our God on top of an elephant or a donkey, so that he serves what we want him to serve. You see the issue, we need to worship God. To worship God rightly we need to know him precisely. How do we do that? How do we get to know God as he really is we get a clue at Sinai again. So because of that whole golden that calf episode, when Moses comes down the mountain, he takes these stone tablets that we’ve just written his ten commandments down, and he smashes them into pieces. Well, a little bit later covenants kind of reinstated all that stuff, and he gets to write the tablets again, and the word that’s used there when Moses engraves the tablets is the same word because you all know this command if you learned it, some years ago as graven images, right? Engraved graven same word. Okay? So he’s engraving, these tablets, but he’s engraving words, not images. And that’s key. God speaks at Sinai, he isn’t put on a puppet show. Here’s the way Peter light heart put it. He says at Sinai, he does not show himself Yabe is the unseen God who speaks he is a word. That’s important. In the Bible, throughout the Bible, eyes are the organ for scrutinizing or judging, evaluating, can see this right at the beginning. God looks at the world he’s created and evaluates it, it’s good. A little bit later even looks at the fruit and evaluates it judges, it’s desirable for eating, but we don’t get to scrutinize, judge, evaluate God. That is not our responsibility, not in the slightest. The ears, however, throughout Scripture are for receiving, in fact, to hear in both Hebrew and Greek is virtually synonymous with to obey. The Greek word for obedience, for example, is two words. What’s that called? Two words go together? Whatever it is, two words put together, would you say compound word? Thank you. These are things I should know. For underhearing, that’s what obedience is, is being underhearing someone. So you see the ears are for receiving. And obeying the point is clear. We know and worship God, rightly, when we listen to His word. When we listen to His word, the Bible is the key. So as long as we’re in a worship service here, like let’s talk about this for a moment, this explains why we do things the way we do. On Sunday mornings, we read Scripture, we sing scripture, at least songs inspired by scripture, and the bulk of our time is devoted to the sermon, the application of God’s word to our specific context. Some of you guys give me a hard time about unlike my sermons, I just gotta let you know right now, I am totally unapologetic, totally unapologetic, okay. Because this is what we’re here to do is to listen to God’s word. It’s also why we don’t do some of the things we don’t do here. That’s what’s known as, again, if you want the fancy theological term, the regulative principle, which teaches that we should do in a worship service, the sorts of things that God tells us to do in a worship service. I heard somebody summarize it is basically worship God as He wants to be worshipped, and he tells us all sorts of things we should do. So you may be asking the question, why don’t we show more movie clips during the sermons make them more interesting, right? Why don’t we have dances occasionally or dramas even? And we have on occasion done some of those things, but they will be very occasional because they’re not commanded in Scripture. And because we want to focus here on hearing, and not seeing, we live in an age of spectacle, don’t we? We got enough to look at. And by the way, the church can’t compete with the spectacle out there. Right? Like there are not enough fog machines in the state of Illinois to make us as cool as what goes on outside these doors. We’re not even going to try to compete, right? We’ve got enough sights what we need is more sounds in discipleship, we must strive to know God precisely, which will lead us to worship Him rightly. How do we do that? We listen to His word, we read and study and meditate, don’t worship an imagined God because that’s not really worship, get to know God as He has come to the God who is really there. So don’t make or worship. Imagine God. Third reason, because that’s a problem. That’s a problem. There is a solution that let’s keep reading. So rest of verse five and verse six, I’ll just start at verse five, you shall not bow down to them or worship them for I, the Lord your God and Majelis God, punishing the children for the sins of the parents of the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. But showing love to 1000 generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments. Alright, there’s some hard words in these verses, we got to talk about some of them for sure. The first word is that word jealous. Jealous, which maybe rubs us the wrong way. Of course, we got to be careful with our imaginations. That’s what we’ve been talking about this morning. So in our imaginations, we hear jealous and we think teenage romance. That’s what we think about with jealous, right. Why is she talking to that guy when I got a crush on her, you know, like, that’s not okay. That would make God seem petty, fickle, insecure, all these things. But that’s definitely not the image that God gives. For us the analogy God offers us throughout his word, things like marriage and family for his relationship to us that would change the nature of jealousy. Because we are rightfully jealous for our marriages, against anything that would threaten them. You know, somebody is trying to seduce our spouse away from us. And especially because we know Look, adultery is not good. Adultery does not bring you happiness, it destroys lives, or we’re jealous for our children. Like we have friends of friends who just lost a child to a cult. And they’re jealous because they know that cult is not the cult are not good for people. You all know that right? cults are not good for your children, so they’re jealous for their child. In this situation, God cares enough about his bride and his children to feel jealous when we’re being seduced by false gods, thank God, because it means he doesn’t want us to be destroyed. But the things we would settle for in place of him, that also explains the next hard words, though, which is when God punishes sins to the third and fourth generation. Oh, God is a just God. I notice it’s the third and fourth generation of those who hate him. And we’re talking about serious stuff that you cannot be neutral on the question of God, that you either love God or hate him and there is no in between. I know some of you think you’re living in an in between and you can’t, you can’t, because you’re rejecting God as God, those who hate Him, those who diminish and domesticate him experience punishment. But the third and fourth generation catches us off guard. What does that mean? I’ll tell you what it does not mean it can’t possibly mean that God will punish the innocent, righteous grandchildren of a wicked man. Because God explicitly says, nope. Elsewhere in Scripture, here’s Ezekiel 18, verse 20. The whole chapter is really about this, but this one puts it clearly the one who sins is the one who will die, the child will not share the guilt of the parent. So we’re talking about those who follow in dad’s or granddad’s footsteps, who also hate God and diminish and domesticate him in order to serve themselves. It’s a hard word.
That’s also not the focus here, though, is it? And we can’t skip it. I don’t want to pretend to skip it. But we’ve got three or four generations, set in contrast to 1000 generations. What’s going on there now three or four generations, is the lifespan of someone who lives that you know, long full life that we talked so much about. If you live to old age, you will see grandkids their generation, great grandkids, possibly fourth generation. 1000 generations is more than the sum total of human history. I mean, Moses here is talking 3500 years ago, we’re 180 generations removed from him, not even a fifth of the way there. You see the point that God I mean, he’s using hyperbole to make this point. I think we’re supposed to really get specific and count generations here. He’s using hyperbole to make a clear point. Here’s how John Dixon sums it up. He says, God’s jealous outrage will be visible for the totality of the betrayers life, whereas God’s blessing on the faithful will be beyond the human capacity to fathom. Where’s the emphasis? His love, the emphasis is on his love. They’re both there. And again, don’t want to skip that because to think rightly, about God, which is what we’re talking about today means to hold truths intention. It’s not well, God is love, and therefore God has not wrath. Scripture says both, or God is so transcendent that he couldn’t possibly be nearer to me know God is both, right, one way we diminish and distort God is by lopping off one half of that tension. Don’t do that. In fact, frequently, the writers of Scripture, they bring the tension out for us to make us hold it. Here’s Romans 1122. Paul’s speaking to a group of people who are maybe struggling with their place in God’s economy, and he says, Consider, therefore, the kindness and sternness of God. You’re gonna get the right understanding what’s going on here. You need to make sure you understand God’s kindness and his severity, at the same time. And that’s what we have here two verses five and six, only two small verses reveal God as jealous he seeks the loyalty of those he loves, reveals God has just he judges his foes and He reveals him has gracious, he shows his love to 1000 generations. You start to understand the whole that’s a problem, and there’s a solution. And both of them are God. If we hate God, that’s a problem. God will justly judge us. But if we love God, I mean, there’s the solution. He’s made the solution for us. In fact, the harshness of the warning. And again, this is a harsh couple of verses here, I get that the harshness of the warning dissipates when we consider the logic of the warning. In essence, God is asking us to take him seriously, but only because he took us seriously. First, he took Israel seriously. First, he sent his love on his people. Before they did anything to deserve it. He proved his love by rescuing them out of slavery in Egypt, that’s verse to keep saying that’s the foundation of all the commands. God loved us first God rescued us first. And then he shows us how to love him in response. And, of course, that same logic, that same taking God seriously because he took us seriously first, that same tension is most evident, not in the Exodus, but at the cross of Jesus Christ. Because what happens there, when you have the fullest display of God’s fierce, righteous, just anger at our sin. There’s God’s sternness, but it is poured out not on us, but on Jesus Christ. There’s his love, his mercy, his grace. And that reminds us by the way, as long as we’re looking at the cross of Christ, that there is one and only one perfect image of God. And his name is Jesus. The word made flesh. And what I find so interesting is that Jesus, this perfect image of God was so unremarkable physically. We probably are expecting an Adonis, and yet we don’t get it. Isaiah 53, verse two, there is no beauty or majesty to attract us. There’s nothing about us physically about him physically, that would make us say, that must be God. But spiritually, Jesus Christ is the undiminished image of God, revealing the undimmed glory of God. As the New Testament says, over and over again, Colossians 115 The sun is the image of the invisible God. Hebrews one three the sun is the radiance of God’s glory, and the exact representation of his being. Or the passage that Julie read for us earlier, John 118 No one has ever seen God. But the one and only son who is Himself God, and is in closest relationship with the Father has made him known when we see Jesus, we see God. He makes the invisible visible to us. Although of course, interest. Anyway, we can no longer see Jesus. We read about Jesus we listen to His word, we we encounter the word incarnate. Now in the word inscribed. You want to know what God is like. Look at Jesus. You want to know what Jesus is like? Look at the Bible. Look at the Bible. And here’s what you’ll find there. A god immeasurably better than any you could possibly imagine. So don’t worship and imagine God; that’s a problem. Don’t mistake Joe Lewis, for your average Joe. Worship God as He truly is. See His glory as you listen to His word, the glory of God who loves us, to the 1,000th generation. Let’s pray together now. Lord, even now we approach you as you are, invisible, shrouded in mystery, certainly, because we know that you are beyond us. And yet so clearly and visibly glorious, good, gracious, loving, just wise, immeasurably more than anything we could imagine. Help us, Lord, to know you as you truly are, and to worship you in light of who you are. Not as we imagined you to be because our imagined picture of you will be so much less and so much worse. And what you’re really like to open our eyes and hearts and minds to understand to the best of our limited ability, who you are, why you’re worthy of our worship, and how can we can respond in worship, offering ourselves willingly, joyfully as living sacrifices to the glory of your name, and it’s in Christ in that we pray. Amen.

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Idols September 17, 2023 | Brandon Cooper We look at the first commandment to have no other gods before God from Exodus 20:3. People seek fulfillment through idols like money, approval, and success instead of finding rest in God alone. True fulfillment is only found by turning from idols to worship God wholly with one’s heart, soul, mind, and strength. One must commit to having one God only through burying idols and uniting the heart to fear God’s name. By beholding God’s perfections in Christ, one can have desires reoriented to long for Him as the greatest treasure and delight.

Good morning, Church. Want to go ahead, grab your Bibles open up to Exodus chapter 20. Exodus 20, verse 3 Verse three is where we’ll be this morning as we continue in our series, The Big 10. Looking at the 10 commandments or the 10 words that God has spoken to his people, Exodus 20 verse three. As you’re turning there, it’s the fourth century and a young man is sneaking into a North African report. He has eluded his mom with a lie. And he feels bad about it, but not bad enough to change his mind he is leaving tonight. He’s happened to ship from Carthage for Rome, the Eternal City, which is beckoning to him across the Mediterranean like the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock is beckoning to Gatsby in Rome, he knows he will find what he’s looking for. He will achieve the heights of success that he knows he’s destined for when he arrives in Rome, Augustine will indeed have arrived. Of course, that’s what he thought about Carthage also, when he left the town he grew up in and went to Carthage, he knew that’s where he was gonna find what he was looking for. Wasn’t too long, though, before it began to feel, you know, kind of provincial and, and small and backwater and all that. And sure enough, by the way, in Rome, it turns out, he doesn’t find what he’s looking for either. It’s going to be Milan, that one is really going to do it, because that’s where the Emperor lives, and he gets to work for the Emperor. So you kind of get the idea of what’s happening here right now, bit of a gamble for a sermon, I realized to start with a fourth-century African monk, but my Gamble is that that African monk just might make sense of our 21st-century restlessness, and anxiety. Because Milan is symbolic. Still, today, people will talk of Milan and you know, it’s famous for two things work and money. So this is where you go to succeed to arrive there is that sense of having arrived, when you get there, once I get there, I will be satisfied. The longings in my heart were at last fulfilled. Except, once you move, you find out it’s not all that it was cracked up to be. You’re still empty, still longing only a little more desperate than before, because now you’ve checked off one more box of things that didn’t satisfy and the list of possibilities is getting shorter and shorter. So this morning, we’re gonna be talking about that journey; a real journey for some, metaphorical for others. But why do we cross literal or figurative oceans in order to find ourselves? What is it that drives us? And why is it so often so painfully unsuccessful? That all might seem a bit strange to you because we are looking at the first commandment, which seems to have nothing whatsoever to do with that. Here’s Exodus 20, verse three, very short, you shall have no other gods before me. But that commandment, You shall have no other gods before Me raises the issue of idolatry. And idolatry is a word that explains that unfruitful search. So let’s talk about that journey. Let’s talk about the search using the language of this first commandment, this first word that God speaks, we’re going to interrogate this command with The What, The Why, and The How questions, and in each case, we’re going to have a response that flows naturally from it, you got a little fill in the blank there that fill in the blank is not an answer to the question, it is the response coming out of the question. So let’s dig into these three questions. First of all, you shall have no other gods before me. Okay. What other gods are we talking about? Exactly? What other gods, in fact, you may be reading this thinking, are there other gods? I thought we were monotheists as Christians we talk about you know, there’s no God, but one. Correct by the way, you got that right. Excellent work. But let’s bring a little nuance into our discussion and is the nuance that scripture brings. Kyle read for us earlier from Psalm 96. For Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise. He is to be feared above all gods. Okay, sounds like there are other gods then good to know, for all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens, okay, now there’s the difference. The Lord is the one true God the one who actually created all things the heavens and the earth, whereas the other gods are simply idols. Little, you know, stone statues carved by people. They’re not real gods and Isaiah 46 famous chapter on idolatry. Isaiah talks about the fact that the idols actually ended up being burdens as we speak into a people who are leaving Jerusalem because Jerusalem is being attacked. And they’re, they’re heading into exile and they have to pack up their stone and metal gods and carry them on their backs. So right at the moment when they need their gods to carry them, they have to carry their gods, they are burdens who can rescue them. And Isaiah 46, climaxes with the Lord saying, I am God and there is no other. There’s the nuance, the other gods, they’re not real beings, but they are real objects of worship. And that helps us contextualize for today. Because most of us don’t have little statues of gods in our houses, we might not bow to a statue of Aphrodite, the God of love and beauty, for example, goddess of love and beauty. But goodness knows there are quite a few people in our culture, who worship the God of love and beauty, and who make tremendous sacrifices in order to achieve one or the other or both. You’re gonna sacrifice to Pluto, the God of wealth, who is alive and well and Elmhurst, by the way, you’re probably not going to sacrifice a cow to him. But you might have sacrificed some time, some energy, maybe even your family, and neglected them in order to pursue this. God, you see the point your God, it doesn’t need to be a real being your God is what you worship, serve, love, seek, the one that set you out on that journey. We might even call it a pilgrimage. Your God is what ultimately controls you. It’s interesting in Colossians, that Paul calls covetousness idolatry, because whatever it is that you covet, whether that’s money or power, or fame, or whatever, is going to be what drives you. What controls you, you’re going to seek it and therefore you’re going to serve it. So this is a little different now than statues and stone. In the New City catechism which we use here, (we’ve read two questions already) defines idolatry like this. The answer to the question, “What is idolatry? It says idolatry is trusting in created things, rather than the Creator for our hope, happiness, significance, and security. That’s the stuff we’re seeking. We’re all on a quest for those things. And we’re constantly moving toward what we think will provide it and fulfill those dreams in us. But note, then, that that also means the journey is ultimately self-centered. We don’t love our idols. We use our idols because we love ourselves. And we want ourselves to be fulfilled. Let’s not forget Genesis, chapter three, the first false god that humanity creates, is humanity. There are no other statues in the garden, right? And yet, Adam and Eve go, if we eat this fruit, we will be like God, who? First God is us. That explains why idolatry is so easy. Why we fall into it so easily because it keeps us in control of what matters most to us what we think will bring us that fulfillment. I mean, Jesus says, Hey, you got to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. That’s hard. Idolatry says if you do X, I’ll give you why. If you bring that bowl, you can have a bountiful harvest everything you ever wanted. And so it reduces our spirituality or religion to a simple tit-for-tat exchange, I did x, you owe me why. Now, it might not be a goat for gold. But well, if I put in the time and energy, that’s my doing X and I get why I get the promotion, I get the better title, I get the pay raise. If she sleeps with him, then she gets to feel lovable. She knows that somebody will care about her. There’s x for y if I exercise, then I get to be beautiful.
I get to hold on to my good looks even in my old age. So idolatry is so easy, because it gives us that illusion of control. I can get what I want. Idolatry is easy. It’s also inevitable. As a result, because we’re all seeking fulfillment and all worshiping whatever we think will provide it to our hearts (our “idol factories”, as Calvin famously said), we just keep producing them because we just keep looking for something else to fulfill us when the last one didn’t work. The quest the journey is always unsuccessful. So we got to move to a new city, Rome, Carthage, Milan, wherever it may be, and we got to find ourselves a new god. It’s inevitable. Jamie Smith says, this, he says, “We can’t not worship, because we can’t not love something as ultimate.” We love something as ultimate. That love is the engine that drives the ship and the rudder that gets the ship where it wants to go. Our fourth-century African monk, Augustine said, “My wait is my love. Wherever I am carried, my love is carrying me.” And it’s the gravitational force that’s taking us in whatever direction we’re going. It’s a little bit like you’ve ever been at the pool, and you tried to squish a beach ball under the water. And what happens? Right comes right up. There’s that pole, right? That’s us with our idolatry, it’s going to go where it needs to go to get what it wants to Rome, to Milan to wherever. So just to recap, here, we all worship, because we’re all seeking ultimate meaning and significance. And it’s whatever we most love that drives us in that direction. Now, if that’s the case, the response then is clear. Again, this isn’t an answer to the question, this is the response to the question. But here’s the response. To keep this command we must love except we must love rightly. We must set our love on the only object truly worthy of it, God Himself. Remember, Jesus sums up all the commands by saying Love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, love your neighbor as yourself. Well, here it is the first command, Love the Lord your God, with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, make him the desire of your heart to place the gravitational pull of your heart is taking you. And by the way, that ties into the second because once we put God first, we can truly love people because we’re no longer using or sacrificing them on the altar. So God commands us to put him first to love him most. In part, though, I don’t want you to miss this. For our sakes, this is what’s best for us to love him most. We talked last week about the fact that these commands are good. They’re an expression of God’s goodness towards us. This one to God is the only worthy object of our ultimate devotion. He wants us to value supremely what is supremely valuable and that is God and God alone. So when God says You shall have no other gods before me, it’s not his insecurity or ego coming out quite the opposite. It is his love. Because the love of God most is to find rest. What if Agustin says our hearts are restless until they find rest in you. God is the only city where when you get there you go. I’m staying put. I don’t need to go anywhere else what Carthage and Rome and Milan didn’t offer or maybe today it’s Manhattan and London and well, still Milan, the City of God, the New Jerusalem does provide. Of course, I’m making an assumption and somebody you know, I cheated and you’re questioning me right now? Because I just keep saying you only find rest in God not in other idols. Is that true? Well, what’s wrong with all these other gods and idols? Let’s talk about that second question. You shall have no other gods before me, but why shouldn’t I have them? Why shouldn’t I have any other gods? So we are all worshiping because we’re all seeking we’re all on this quest for ultimate significant security meaningful filament. But this quest is a little bit like those old Choose Your Own Adventure books. Some of you did these. And the problem with those “choose your own adventure books” is that almost every adventure you chose ended in your untimely death. There were really only a few good paths while he was here, there is only one path only one adventure that doesn’t end in tragedy and despair because these other gods, these other idols cannot give you what you’re seeking. They’re not big enough to fill the vacuum in your heart. And they are so tenuous, whenever you get hold of them. Anyway. David Foster Wallace brilliant novelist who knew something about this and then despair that results from seeking after a false God says this in a commencement address. He was speaking to a group of kids at a college he says, “There is no such thing as not worshiping. Everybody worships.” We just said that that’s the last point, right? The only choice we get is what to worship. And he goes on to say, “You really got to choose carefully.” And he’s not a Christian. So it’s kind of an odd explanation that says, you know, you got to choose some spiritual type thing. Almost a Jesus, okay. But you know, he says, Why do you have to choose a spiritual-type thing? Why do you have to choose Jesus? Because pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. And again, that’s not a Christian saying, this is not the Bible. This is just a learned experience. He says, “If you worship money, it will never be enough.” So you’re always gonna have to get more and more, there’s always gonna be something newer, something better that you gotta have, you gotta always make more money. Is it beauty? Well, you’re gonna cling to it, especially as it fades as wear and tear starts to show on your body. And he says, I love the way he puts it, he says, You will die 1000 deaths before they ever plant you in the ground. You are one mistake away from losing your career. You are one injury away from losing your athletic lifestyle that you cherish so much. You are one fickle human away from the end of the relationship that matters most to you. And humans are fickle. We know that. Man, you have gotta have approval. That’s, that’s mine. If I’m going to a different god, that’s the one I’m going to think of. How painful. And the criticism will be devastating when you hear it, or even religion. We forget the grace stuff that we talked about last week, and you’re trying to earn eternity, God’s favor or something like that. You’re just one failure away from it all falling apart. And we tend to fail. So this is scary. It’s never enough. It’s never enough. That’s why you got to go from Carthage to Rome, to Milan, to the American dream, by the way, right there, isn’t it? That’s all I’m describing for us. You know, you’re in high school, you’re like, I just can’t wait till I get to college. Finally, get out of my parents get to college, and it’s fun for a while and you’re like, I can’t wait till I get out of college. And I can start my career. And you get your career. And you’re like, what will be awesome is a spouse near your spouse and you’re like, but I need a house near your house. And you’re like, actually, this career is kind of a bummer. We should do a series on vocation. Here’s some time and I want a new career. And you get a new career and then a bigger house and then you put some kids in it. And then you discover the marriage isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. So you try a new marriage. And you never got there. You never got there, did you? It’s never enough. And it’s never secure. It’s like resting your whole weight on a bridge made out of pretzel sticks. On a rainy day like today. It will collapse. The whole thing will collapse underneath you and what then? And remember, idolatry is ultimately self-centered. Especially in our culture, right? You shall have no other gods before me is not the first commandment in our culture. The first commandment in our culture is to follow your heart. Follow your heart. But you can’t save yourself. You can’t give yourself what you need. Because if you could, you would have it already. So I think we’ve failed to reckon as a culture with our undeniable dependence. We can’t declare ourselves good. It’s like declaring yourself the winner of the World Cup or something like you can do it. But it doesn’t matter that you said it. And you know, it doesn’t matter and everyone else around you knows it doesn’t matter if wee can. This is Otto rank. He was a German psychologist, a disciple of Freud, but he broke from Freud in some really important ways. One of the things he says is you can’t… we can’t affirm and accept ourselves from within ourselves. That’s so important. We can’t be the ones to say, “Good, you did it. You made it.” We need an external verdict. And we’re all looking for that external verdict. Does this dress make me look fat? Closer to home. What did you think of the sermon?
Of course, I ask my wife every week. I can’t say, “I was good.” I need somebody else to say it. Am I good enough? Am I smart enough? Do people like me? Some of you know what I’m quoting right there. So we’ve got no foundation because we’ve got no final, accurate, dependable word. And that’s why we keep searching and why we keep moving from city to city to city, but there is a better way. No more pretzel bridges. Okay? I love the way Thomas Watson puts it – a Puritan preacher. He says “The immovable is undisturbed by any commotion.” That’s what you want for the foundation, right? The immovable is undisturbed by any commotion. No amount of rain is going to make it wash away. Only God is a sufficient foundation to build our trust upon. Trusting God is to rely on his power as creator, and his love as father. And that is all the information we need, by the way. He can and he wants to. If God declares his verdict over you, it’s finished. That’s the final word. What does he say to Jesus? It’s what he’s willing to say to all of us if we are in Christ, by grace through faith. This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. That, by the way, is a picture of a soul at rest. No more hamster wheel, no more vain, striving, no more moving to the next city. But rest. So, the response is clear. Again, why should we have these other idols? Because they’re not going to work! So what’s the response? Turn, turn, turn from your idols to the one true God. Put those idols away because they are killing you. Turn from your false gods to the true God. And we have ample reason to do this, to trust him enough to make this choice. Verse two, which we looked at last week, gave us the reason, ” I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” Verse Two is the reason. It’s the explanation, the motivation for verse three, this first command. It’s the foundation for all the commands actually, God has already rescued us. So we can trust Him. We are safe in him. And notice, too, if we know the story, the backdrop behind this, he rescued Israel from false gods because there they are in Egypt. And you get the ten plagues. And each plague exposes the powerlessness of one of the Egyptian gods. Who was their most prominent God? The Son God. And then the Lord (who made the sun) goes to darkness. Which God do you want to trust now? I think, the real one would be good. God is the Lord of all, because he’s the only one that actually exists. Really, this doesn’t just take us back to Exodus. It takes us all the way back to Genesis. The first of these Ten Words is the first word of the Bible in the beginning. God created the heavens and the earth. So why would you worship, love, and seek what God made, instead of the God who made it? That doesn’t make any sense. To turn from idols to God is to turn from insanity to sanity. It’s to switch from having your feet planted in mid-air to planted on solid rock and unshakable foundation. What gets your love? What gets your trust? Where do you go when a crisis hits? And is it solid rock? So, easy choice? Right? Easy choice: turn from the false to the true. From what will eat you to what will fill you from death to life. We make that choice. The next question, of course, is, alright, how do I do that? How do I live before him? Last question. So when it says, “You shall have no other gods before me” that word “before” is ambiguous. It could mean, you know, in front of me, or it could mean like, you know, there. It reads literally against my face, in Hebrew, meaning in his presence, in other words, when God says “You shall have no other God before me”, it doesn’t mean you know God first and then all your false gods can be numbers two, three, four, five and six. It’s not “Prefer me but only me.” Which means this command is more than get rid of your idols. The Westminster Larger Catechism says (and this is a point we’ll come back to throughout the series because we got to know this), “Where a sin is forbidden, the contrary, duty is commanded.” So it’s more than just don’t murder, but you know, you should probably work for life. So I will talk about this throughout the series. But what does that mean? It’s not just you shall have no other gods before me, but you must put me before all gods, That you got to actively put me “first and only” in your heart. The image here, of course, is marriage. This is what your spouse is looking for, not “I hope that you romance me more than all the other women. But I hope you’re only romancing me.” Can you imagine the absurdity of a guy coming home, you know, wife’s cook dinner, it’s out on a table for him and says, “By the way, I want you to meet so and so this is my mistress. She’ll be joining us for dinner tonight. Don’t worry, baby, I love you most.” Try that out. Let me know how it goes. I’m really curious. You probably got to write an article for The New Yorker if you do it. So the absurdity of that is exactly what we do every day. Isn’t it? Because we bring our mistresses, our false gods, before God, against his face all the time. Keep in mind, every time you sin, every time you go against God’s will for your life. It is because you’ve got another God in your heart. And right there, you’ve decided, I’m gonna trust this God, I think this God will give me what I’m looking for not you, Lord, and is equal chapter 14. God gives the prophet Ezekiel a picture of the elders of Israel. These are the religious leaders who are coming before the Lord in worship. And then it says, “These men have set up idols in their hearts.” So they might not have a shelf with a bunch of statues of idols in their living room. But they do have a shelf in their hearts that is stacked full of spiritual idols, and they’re always with them, which means they’re always bringing them into God’s presence. The danger there, (by the way, we’re going a little deep here, but just track with me) is that when we do that, God Himself becomes a means to an end. We’re not worshiping what we should use. And using, we should worship the one we should worship. Here’s what I mean. Like it’d be an example. So it makes sense. Imagine coming into God’s presence with the idol of approval in your heart. And you’re praying to “God, you know, Lord, would you deal with my unfair critics? Break the teeth of the wicked?” Now, what’s happened there? “Lord, what I really want is people’s approval. Would you help me get what I want?” You see what I mean? How dangerous idolatry is, it makes God into a means to an end. And Jesus gets right at this problem in the passage that Merritt looked at earlier. This is Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God,” and here he says “money”. But you cannot serve both God and fill in the blank. I don’t think we believe this. So what? Let’s just talk about this for a moment. So imagine we’re back in the days of you know, lords and ladies and servants and things like that. So you’ve got to lords, you know, these are dukes, or earls or something like that. And there they are walking down a path, and they just have one servant behind them. And you’re there, you know, you’re plowing your fields or something because you’re a peasant. Let’s face it, that’s the most likely case scenario in this case. So you’re plowing your fields, you see these two fancy lords walk by with their one servant behind them, and you’re going, “I wonder which one the servant belongs to. Because it looks like he’s serving both.” Both lords. They are both. If a man’s thirsty, the servants can bring them both water right up until there’s a fork in the road. When the two lords part, the two masters part. Now we know which way the servant is going. Now we know to whom the servant really belongs. This is what happens to us. I think we often have two gods, and one of them’s Jesus and we’re feeling good about it. We’re like, “Look, I’m behind Jesus. I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m behind Jesus.” And then the road splits and we go “Oh, now I see. I was actually following the other guy. It just looked like I was behind Jesus.” Are you ever surprised when you sin? Because we probably shouldn’t be because we’ve been walking behind the guy the whole time. We just got confused because Jesus was there also. So, you got to a dad, for example, who loves sports. Nothing wrong with that. I love sports. You know, he maybe watches it more than he should but, okay, kind of thing, right? He’s got kids. Gets his kids into sports. And you know like it’s a good thing. You got the teamwork. You get the competition. You get the disappointment of losing. All important thing. As dads, maybe living a little vicariously through them. That’s the danger, you know. And then it kind of intensifies. You’ve seen this movie before, where it was, you know, Park District on Saturday mornings, just kind of fun. One practice a week. And then it was travel ball, and everything bumped up. And now it’s Sunday morning games. And after a little while, you realize that you not only have casually de-churched, but you’ve casually detached your entire family. You thought you were walking behind Jesus, you were walking behind sports that whole time and everything that sports gives you. And the road split. Now you look back, and you go, “Where’s Jesus? Where’s Jesus now?” So you had an idol in your heart. He thought you could serve two masters, and you can’t. You can only serve one, you see. We don’t have a Jesus problem as Christians, I don’t think, not most of us in this room. That’s why you’re here. We don’t have a Jesus problem. What we have is an “and” problem. Jesus and….” And we want Jesus and the spouse. We want Jesus and good health. We want Jesus and a bigger house and preferably with a smaller waist. And we might think we’ve got the order, right? God’s first, don’t worry, that’s only number two, never get more, maybe, maybe, maybe not, maybe, but it’s still isn’t God alone, which means you’ve got other idols before Him, in His presence and against his face. We have to deal with that. The way Jacob dealt with it, just Abraham’s grandson and, you know, fell into idolatry plenty in his own life that he was at a crisis point in his life, his daughter had just been violated. And because he did nothing about it, his sons took matters into their own hands, and they slaughtered the guilty and the innocent in a town. And Jacob has come face to face with his very real failures as a dad, but just as a person, that that that crisis point that he decides not just for himself, but for his family that he’s going to deal with his literal idols. Again, they’ve got the actual statues and stuff there. So he goes with them as they’re going to Bethel, which means literally “the house of God”, this is the place where Jacob met God, that whole ladder with the angels, you know, ascending and descending the house of God, he goes on, he says, We’re not going to bring any idols with us, give me your idols, and it says this Genesis 35, verse four, and they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had, and the rings in their ears, which would be like magic charms, basically. And Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. Do you see what just happened? He held a funeral for his fake gods right on the spot. By the way, right where they would have been worshipped. Otherwise, you did pagan worship under big oak trees, of course. He held a funeral for him. I love the way Jen Wilkin talks about this in her book “10 Words To Live By”. She says, “We need to, like Jacob, we need to bury our both ends. That’s what needs to happen. We need to bury our both ends. And so the response here is so clear, isn’t it? And this one really is the answer to the question. How do I live before him? Commit. Commit is the response. One God, one God only. Enough double-mindedness. Enough trying to follow two masters at once. Enough of our divided desires. We have to be like the psalmist in Psalm 86:11, who prayed, “Give me an undivided heart, Lord, that I might fear your name.” It’s one of my most common prayers. So, just let you know that right now, unite my heart to fear your name, identify your idols, then take them out back and bury them under a tree. So, what Joshua said of the nation of Israel at the end of his life. God rescued them out of Egypt, delivered them through the wilderness, providing for them for 40 years, gives them the promised land there. There, they still had foreign gods with them. And Joshua says, throw them away, choose this day, whom you will serve. If it’s Baihl, and just do it, just worship Baihl, go that direction. Stop pretending. But if it’s the Lord, let it be him and him alone. In quote, Thomas Watson again, on this point, he says this choosing is an act of mature deliberation. Having viewed the supreme excellencies in God, and being stricken with a holy admiration of his perfections the Christian singles him out from everyone and everything else to set his heart upon. Above that of love, the phrase mature deliberation does not sound like blind faith does it? Mature deliberation. In other words, Watson saying, just make the smart choice here. Follow your desires to their perfected end. And all those roads lead to the city of God, not to Milan not to Carthage, not to Rome, not to anywhere else. What are you looking for? You will find it in Christ. You want love? I’m not sure I depend on a fickle human. How about the one who said, I have loved you with an everlasting love? You want money? Maybe not the stock market then how about the riches of heaven, which are yours in Christ? every spiritual blessing poured out upon you? How about achievement? Okay, maybe maybe you get there. People don’t have to care that much. That was the only problem. How about you work for the accolade, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter your master’s joy?” We need to have God’s goodness and His glory before us, in our hearts, in our minds, right? That’s the supreme excellency of God, the holy admiration over his perfection when we see that that’s what transforms our desires and reorients our love so that that gravity’s pulling us right where it should be pulling us to Jesus. Antoine de Saint Exupery Lee, the guys know him as the author of The Little Prince, (a lot of you probably read that little book) in the book he said this. I love this. He says, “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work. But teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” That’s what we’re talking about here. We’re just not talking about boats, right? Like, you gotta set your eyes on the goal, the perfection and the beauty of Christ. Don’t finger wag your snow white knuckle, your sin, but like read a tour guide of the city, you’re headed to the New Jerusalem, the city of God. This is what we do as a community, by the way, we don’t talk about the tasks we’ve got to do. We talk about the immensity of the sea and how desperately we want to be sailing on it. That’s why we’re in community groups and journey groups. And parents, this is a special word for you. That’s what you give your kids. We’re not trying to teach them to behave a certain way. We’re trying to teach them to long for the immensity of the sea. We’re trying to teach them too long for the beauty of Christ. You get that right? The behavior will sign itself. Talk about it. Kelvin said we owe God four things. From this first word, you shall have no other gods before me. Adoration, trust, invocation, and gratitude. adoration. Whom do you worship? We like and compliment a great many things. My wife, my kids, sports heroes, whatever. But who gets the highest praise? That is who is really the treasure of your heart? Trust, whom do you count on? Like, I am grateful for all sorts of people that I do depend on doctors, for my health colleagues, for the ministry, but on whom will I stake? my very soul? Probably the one who’s never failed me yet. And never will. Christ alone, our cornerstone, whom do you call for that invocation? Right? When you need answers or help, do you look to cable news to politicians, do you turn to your phone for joy? You turn to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and then gratitude – to whom do you think we all have reasons to be grateful? One of the reasons I am a believer is because we all know we should be thanking somebody and that means there must be a somebody there. Are you thinking blind chance or dumb luck? Are you thinking of the Sovereign God who has ordered your very life? When Augustine said, “You have made us for yourself, Oh, God, and our hearts are restless until we find rest in you, “He’s not making a theoretical, theological, dogmatic claim. He is sharing with us a hard-fought epiphany after trying everything else as Jamie Smith put it, because he had tried everything else right. He had been in Carthage, and then he went to Rome, and then he went to Milan. And it wasn’t in any of those places. At least it wasn’t meeting the emperor in Milan where he found it was not with the emperor, but with his pastor in Milan, St. Ambrose, who preached Christ. What he found in Milan, was Jesus. And that’s when his heart was at rest. That’s the hard-fought epiphany. We’re talking a little bit like the prodigal son. You guys remember that story? The guy says to his dad, “Dad, I wish you were dead because then I could have your money. Could you pretend like you’re dead and give me the money now?” and the dad does. I’m not sure why. Good luck kids, it is not happening. No inheritance anyway, so. So he takes the money and runs, and he squanders it on wild living on drink, on prostitutes, on gambling. He’s got all sorts of friends because he has all sorts of money until he comes to his senses because a famine has hit. And so now he’s bankrupt, which means he’s also friendless. They might not have loved him for who he was. It turns out like it didn’t work. There’s the epiphany. Again, it didn’t work. So what does he do? He comes home. The father sees him from a long way off and runs to him, embraces him and restores him to sonship. That’s exactly that’s what we’re talking about today. The first commandment, as I said, it’s not an expression of God’s insecurity or petty jealousy. The first commandment is an invitation to come home, to come home, or choose this day, which you will serve as just another way of saying, find rest in what you’ve been looking for all along. As we close, I have bad news and good news for you. The bad news is that because we left home to find what we already had, it’s a little bit like Genesis three, like we left the Garden of Eden, and now we can’t get back in. There is a block between us and God, there’s this great chasm. So we’re there kind of like Augustine across the Mediterranean, like we can see where we want to go, but we cannot get there because there is no boat. Agustin says this. And he says, “So that we might also have the means to go, the one we were longing to go to came here from there. And what did he make a wooden raft for us to cross the sea on, for no one can cross unless carried over to it on the cross of Christ.” That’s the invitation. Leave your gods there on the other shore, get on the raft, hang on, and come home. You shall have no other gods before him because you’ve got no reason to have any other gods except him. Let’s pray to him now. Father, you are the one in whom our souls delight. You are our chief desire, the longing of our hearts. We don’t always recognize that we confess how quickly we fall into idolatry because we think these lesser gods will give us what we’ve been longing for, looking for ,all these years. But then we come to our senses. What would you wake us up so that we come to our senses to realize we still haven’t found what we’re looking for? Except when we sought it in you? All that we need. All that we want is in you. Would you reorient our hearts, order our loves, so that you are our first and only now our hearts are pulled towards you? And we might enjoy you forever and glorify you as our greatest delight. It’s in Christ’s name we pray, Amen.

Amen.

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Good News September 10, 2023 | Brandon Cooper We begin a 12-week series examining the Ten Commandments. Christians should be thrilled, rather than annoyed, that God had given them the Ten Commandments. They revealed God to humanity and established a foundation for objective morality. They stemmed from God’s grace – God rescued them and gave them the Commandments to guide their response of gratitude through obedience. 3) The Commandments expressed God’s goodness, demonstrating how to love God and others. Listeners are encouraged to consider, obey, and believe in response to God revealing himself through the Ten Commandments.

Good morning church, you want to go ahead and grab your Bibles, you can open up to Exodus chapter 20. Exodus chapter 20, where we will be for the next few months actually, if you’re newer to church, maybe newer to church, in general, don’t know where Exodus 20 is, if you look at the black Bible that’s there in front of you, it will be on page 60, page 60 in the pew Bible. So yeah, if you don’t have your Bible with you today, go ahead and grab one of those, you can take a look at it. If you don’t own a Bible, by the way, that’s yours. Just take it home with you. Okay, we would love to give you that as a gift so that you’ve got a Bible from now on. So page 60. Exodus 20. We are starting, as Kyle said a new series today called the Big 10. Looking at the 10 commandments, or as they’re called, in Hebrew, the 10 words, the 10 words, I got good news, bad news for you good news. Unlike college football, we’re actually going to keep it at 10 commandments, okay, we don’t have another six or eight to add in there. Bad news, it will take us 12 weeks to get through the 10 commandments because we’re gonna do some introduction this morning, and a conclusion at the end of the series. But why are we spending 12 weeks looking at the 10 commandments? In part because of their importance to our culture, they are the best-known moral law, and really the foundation of Western civilization, our approach to justice and morality, you can see this if you’re to walk into, say, the Supreme Court or even the US House of Representatives, Moses is given prime place and all of the murals that surround these buildings, because it really is the foundation of our justice system. So they’re the best known in one sense. And yet, in another sense, they’re really not that well known at all, at least anymore. There was a 2007 survey done, that discovered that Americans really struggled to come up with the 10 commandments and get some but not all. Whereas you know, you want the seven ingredients in a Big Mac or the six members of the Brady Bunch relative ease like could just could knock those out which I couldn’t I’m apparently an outlier. But here you go. Here’s the thing, though. I wonder too, if the 10 commandments aren’t just forgotten, you know, like we haven’t been doing our flashcards just like us state capitals couldn’t quite remember them all or something like that. Not so much forgotten as may be rejected. There was an intentional forgetting because we might see the 10 commandments as obsolete. Even regressive, you know, a grumpy God’s list of don’ts. That is how some certainly see the 10 commandments, some would like to see them replaced. In fact, a couple of well-known atheist humanists had a contest that they ran some years ago, coming up with a list of 10 non-commandments $10,000 prize. For those who could come up with these new non-commandments. They had something like 2800 entriesand a panel of 13,judges, picked them and here’s what they came up with. First, be open-minded and willing to alter your beliefs in the face of new evidence. Second, strive to understand truth as it really is not as you want it to be. Third, the scientific method is the most reliable way to understand the world around us. Fourth, every person has a right to control their own body. Fifth, God is not necessary to live a good and meaningful life. Six people mindful of the consequences of your actions and just note that you’re gonna have to take responsibility for them. Seventh, treat others as you want to be treated. Eighth, consider others when you make decisions, especially or in including future generations. Nine, there is no one right way to live. And 10 leave the world a better place than you found it. Now, the ironies abound in this list. Turns out humans are not smart enough to come up with our own list of commandments. So for example, we say you don’t need God to live a good life and then you promptly quote Jesus for one of your commandments. Or there’s my favorite, which is number nine, there is no one right way to live. But here are nine ways to live if you want to live the right way. In fact, even the name itself 10 non-commandments are a list of commands. Be open-minded; strive to understand. Treat others, consider others, right. So you see, on the one hand, we want to decide for ourselves how to live, like I get to choose my path to my happiness. And on the other hand, we know that doesn’t quite work. You can’t just let people do whatever they want to do. So maybe the rules have changed but the the idea of needing rules is still there, I’ll just give you a real simple example. Our list of words you shouldn’t say has definitely changed. We’re not so big on not taking the Lord’s name in vain anymore, right? Like, you can just turn on the TV, that’s going to happen, for sure. And yet there are words that are verboten in our society. racial slurs come to mind, for example, rightly forbidden, mind you, but so we just have a different list of thou shalt nots, there’s this tension within us. In other words, we don’t want to be told what to do. But we know we need a set of rules, a moral framework in order for us to function well. And so here’s my contention this morning. This is what I’m gonna try to argue, as we go throughout, we should be thrilled that we have these 10 commandments. We should be elated, just ecstatic that God has given us these 10 commandments. In fact, if you look closely at your bulletin, you’ll see that the name of this sermon is good news. Good news, this list of rules is good news. This is not an annoying list of rules, you know that the teenager rolls her eyes at her parents when she gets or something like that they this is this is excellent. This is awesome, that we have this. We know this, in fact, is really interesting. Deuteronomy, chapter four, Moses is speaking about when the nation of Israel received these commandments. And he says this, he says, observe them carefully. For this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations who will hear about all these decrees the 10 commandments, in other words, and say, surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. I really enjoy this verse. Because of the sheer chutzpah that Moses has just the unmitigated gall, this leader of this Podunk nation, that isn’t even a nation, they’re just a group of escaped slaves wandering around in the desert, and he says, the laws that we just received are so good that all the nations around us, they’re gonna look at us and go, Wow, those people get it. And what’s even more amazing, is Moses was right, because here we are 3500 years later, talking about these 10 commandments, which are the foundation of our civilization, like the hutzpah, and yet it came true. Why? Because there’s wisdom here. And everybody knows it. Everybody can see it, we should be thrilled we have this law. Why we’re gonna look at three reasons this more coming from the introduction, right before Moses gets to the commands before God gets to the commands. In verses one and two, we’re gonna see him. Some are pretty explicit, some are more implications of what’s said there. But we’ll look at these three reasons God, grace, and goodness from Exodus 20, verses one and two. Let me read it for us now. And God spoke all these words, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. So Reason one, we should be thrilled we have these commands these 10 words is because they reveal God to us. This is how it opens, and God spoke God. So there is a God, first of all, and the God who is there speaks, He reveals Himself to us, we can know God as he really is, including his will for our lives, how we should live, because he allows us to know him. He pulls back the curtain, he says, This is who I am no guarantees that that’s how this would have to go. God will be under no obligation to reveal Himself to us. And yet he does. And what’s even more is that there’s God who is there who reveals Himself to us as a god worth knowing. We’ll see much more of this in the next section. But even here, you know, he says, God spoke all these words. Well, what God Who are we talking about? I am the Lord your God. Now, you may have noticed that Lord is in all caps right there. It isn’t always sometimes in Bible Lord has written capital L, lowercase o r, d, when it’s written like that. It translates at least in the Old Testament, the Hebrew word I don’t like I don’t I, which just means, Lord, Master, sure, something like that. You could use it of people, but when it’s written in all caps, it’s translating not the title, Lord, but God’s name Yavi. And God’s name, he reveals Himself to Moses. We’ll look more at this later in the series. It’s his covenant name. It speaks to the relationship that he’s entered into with his people. Like his using it here.
It’d be a little bit like a newlywed woman who’s going around, you know, call me Mrs. Cooper. Not Amy. Why? Why would you do that because she wants people to I’m married. Now, this is exciting. She’s highlighting the relationship. That’s what God is doing here. He’s reminding his people that he freely and deliberately bound himself to them, that he’s committed to love, protect, and provide for them. And even says, like, “I’m yours.” Maybe we’ll look at it again, I am the Lord, your God, the pronoun matters. So these 10 words, they reveal God to us. And that is good news in its own right. But they do also point to why we need God. Because if it’s not God speaking these words, we can’t actually have a moral framework. We can’t have a universal set of principles by which we should live by I know that probably bugs some of you, some of you are going on and on, we can do this on our own. Stick with me. Let’s talk about this for a moment. First of all, we need God not Gods cannot have many gods because if you’ve got many gods, then you’ve got many modes of living. Many standards by which to live these gods have diverse goals. You know this if you ever had to read Greek mythology, right? If you read your Odyssey or Iliad or something like that, you know, Odysseus, he’s working with Athena, which means he’s working against Poseidon. So which god are you supposed to serve? Take the old hippie banner, you know, make love not war. Okay, well, that’s Aphrodite instead of Aries. But why am I choosing Aphrodite? She’s better looking. Sure. But Aries has the cooler costume, you know. So different goals, different morality. That’s why it’s so interesting in Greek and Roman, and frankly, Eastern thought, ethics are totally divorced from religion. If you want to have a conversation about ethics, you’re gonna read Plato, or Aristotle or something like that, you are not going to be talking about religion. And that’s foreign to us. We think they go together, you get your ethics from your religion, that’s because of the influence of Christianity on our culture, our thinking, it’s very air we breathe, it’s all around us. All right, but most of us aren’t probably, you know, flirting with Greek gods at this point. So the more pressing question is, do we need a God at all? I get that we would need a God not many gods. But how about no gods? I want to be clear, before I get into this, I am certainly not about to say that only Christians can do good. Not in the slightest. I’ve met a lot of Christians, I’ve met a lot of atheists, I like some of the atheists better than some of the Christians, because the way they live their lives, we could talk about why that happens. Another time, I’m not talking about our capacity for good. In other words, what I’m trying to say is, if you don’t have God, you have no way to define good. There can be no universal, or objective moral principles. Without God. This was Nietzsche’s point all those years ago, and he was one of the few atheists willing to say, Look, you can’t scrap the God of Christianity, and then keep the Christian moral framework. Like that doesn’t make any sense. That’s the foundation, you eliminate the foundation, it collapses, the building comes down. But what happens then if we don’t have this foundation, we don’t have universal objective morality, then the phrase X is wrong, whatever behavior you’re talking about this is wrong, means nothing more than I don’t like this. And I’d really prefer you not do it. And that’s just not quite strong enough. Because what happens if someone disagrees? What if you say, I don’t like this, I’d prefer you not do it. And they go, Well, tough. I like it, and I’m going to keep doing it. How do we respond? There’s no way to persuade there’s no way to compel someone to live this way. That’s that non-commandment number nine, there’s no one right way to live. So who are you to tell me I should do this or not do this. And like play this out? Again. Take Nietzsche again. Nietzsche believed that compassion for the weak, like the poor, the marginalized, the disadvantaged, he saw that compassion as a moral evil. Because, well, it’s just not very Darwinian, is it? Of course, if the hungry are going to start well, good, let them starve, less competition for the scarcity of resources around us. And what are you gonna respond? If you don’t have a moral framework, a universal standard, you could say something like, look, a society in which we care for the poor is better is preferable because you’ve got you know, more people committed to, you know, greater happiness for the greater number of people and a greatest number of people. But what’s You’re gonna say to that you can think that kind of society is preferable. I think the other kind of society is preferable. I would prefer a society where only the strong and skillful survive because that’s gonna be a better society. How are you gonna respond? At some point you’re gonna say something like, look, all people are precious, and they have certain inalienable rights, among them life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Says who? I mean, even Jefferson didn’t answer. First of all, he said, they come from God, but we just scrapped God. And then he said, These truths are self-evident. You know what self-evident means, don’t you? It means you have no argument. So you’re just trying to sneak it in? Well, you can’t even fight with me on this one. Well, you can because Nietzsche did. says, Who there’s no rational defense for something like human rights. If you strip God out of the equation, Alistair McIntyre brilliant philosopher, he’s written extensively on the failure of the Enlightenment, to establish a moral framework. So again, you stripped God out of equation, let’s do this on our own. We just need human philosophy. We can do this. And he says, It doesn’t work. Like your whole human rights thing is just made up. He says, I love this quote, he says, The truth is playing there are no such rights and belief in them is one with belief in witches and unicorns. Why? Because there is no positive argument to be put forth. And defensive, then there is no positive argument for unicorns, there’s no positive argument for you know, Marvel’s Agatha, or something like that. Those kinds of witches. They don’t exist. The Case for objective morality without God fails. Logically. This isn’t even a controversial statement. Like some of you may be going on need to see your sources like fine. First of all, I’m around after the service. Let’s talk. I’m condensing like 200 years of philosophy into nine minutes. So yeah, I’m going a little fast. I get that we can talk later, but it’s not controversial. 42 years after McIntyre said that nobody has refuted him. He you know, he put out the 25th anniversary edition of the book. And he was like, Yeah, I wouldn’t change a thing that I said, it’s all still true. And often his point is readily admitted, just kind of with a shoulder shrug. Like, here’s Richard Dawkins, the Pope of the New Atheists. He writes, In one article, the universe has precisely the properties we’d expect if there is at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, and no good. There’s no good or evil. It’s really easy to say that from a place of comfort, and affluence, which is where Dawkins is, of course, it’s not quite as easy to say, when your country has been invaded your village sacked your father murdered, your mother raped and your sister taken captive. You want to say then there’s no good or evil? There’s no one right way to live? I just don’t like this personally. Of course not. So how do we establish moral principles? We need a foundation. You see my point, the 10 words open with God spoke. Because that phrase grounds all the other commandments. It provides us with a coherent and universal framework, we should be thrilled we have this law because it gives us morality, the possibility of morality. We can quibble at the edges, but at least there’s a foundation on which to build. That’s reason, one, God, reason to which we thrill we have the law because of grace. Let’s talk about that. So I’ve just argued that we need religion, to give us moral principles. But someone disagree. Alan Dershowitz, for example, Harvard law professor argues that religion actually makes us immoral.
Because the pious are only doing good works to escape eternal punishment or to receive some eternal reward, which means it’s entirely self-serving. Although by the way, why is being self-serving wrong? Where’s your defense of that? So the Christian does good in order to earn brownie points with God whereas the atheist or the humanist can do good just for goodness sake. So that is truly moral Of course, whose definition of goodness we don’t have a definition anymore but push the logic to the side for a moment. There’s a certain power to Dershowitz’s argument, isn’t there? Like if I’m just doing this to get heaven then I’m doing it for me. I’m not actually loving other people. For them. It’s got a little bit like when a politician, you know, shows up at the soup kitchen and they, like, grab the soup, and they get the photo off, and they leave. And you just go, “That’s not good.” Let’s not kid ourselves. Is that what we’re doing? We’re just getting our photo up in front of God and then moving on? So there’s the power to Dershowitz. His argument is very real except that it completely misunderstands, to the point of the commands, and frankly completely misunderstands the heart of Christianity as well. Because how does this passage begin? I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. So what are we talking about? Here? It’s a little context, we’re talking about the nation of Israel was enslaved in Egypt for a period of 400 years or so. And then, you know, Moses comes along, Let my people go, you probably saw the movie right? 10 plagues either the 10 commandments or Prince of Egypt, either one will work here, okay. So you know, the 10 plagues, and then the, you know, the part the Red Sea, and here they are out in the desert at this point. So that’s what’s being talked about. Where I want to draw your attention, though, is the chronological order, because that is so important to understand this. What happens, God rescues first, then we respond, then come the commands, we so often get it backwards. Most of us think religion teaches, if you obey, if you keep my commandments, then I’ll rescue you, then I’ll save you, but not the God of the Bible. Because the God of buy of the Bible is a God of grace, grace as an unmerited favor, it is a gift. It’s not something you can earn it is something that is freely given. Because look what happens, right? God establishes His covenant with this people, he calls himself, your God and all of that before the Israelites obey. In fact, before the Israelites even have the list of commands to obey. And the same is true for us. Ours is a different captivity, a different slavery, we’re not enslaved in Egypt, we are enslaved in our own sin, and selfishness. But the Quran chronology is the same. But Paul says in Titus, for example, here’s Titus chapter three, verses five. And eight says he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, not because we earned it right, but because of his mercy. And Titus is, by the way, a young pastor, so Paul has given him counsel. And basically what he’s saying here is, you need to preach that you need to preach that message over and over again. What I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. What happens first, he saved us, then we learned to do good. Salvation is not the reward for doing good, in other words, but it is the motivation for doing good. God’s grace precedes and drives our goodness, it is in the words of J. I. Packer, a means of maintaining a relationship already established by grace. This is how we keep the relationship going. Maybe the clearest statement of this in the New Testament is the passage that Robert read for us earlier. Ephesians, two eight to 10. So this is right after Paul has established that we have all sinned, that we are deserving of punishment. And then he breaks him with these words, but it’s by grace you have been saved through faith. This is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do like let’s walk through the order really carefully here. Because this is this is the process of salvation. First. There’s the recognition that we need to be saved. We are in need of rescue. Why because we are not unfailingly good in ourselves. The standard is perfection, and we have all fallen short of it. I don’t need to convince you of that you know that you have chosen selfishness instead of love probably a bunch of times already this morning. I know I have as well. So we need to be saved. And then second, God sends Jesus Christ to save us. What does Jesus do? Why has he had to come? Well, first of all, he lives the life we were supposed to live. The perfect obedience, every command perfectly kept with a perfect motivation all the time. So he lived the life we were supposed to live, and then he dies the death we deserve to die. So it’s this great substitution that happens. Jesus basically says, Tell you what, I’ll take your sin and your punishment and you can have my obedience and my reward. If you trust in me and that is the key third piece, right? God sends Jesus to save us but we are saved by grace through faith. It’s a gift of God, but it’s a gift we receive by faith that is we must actually trust. turn from our sin and turn to Jesus; believe in him. Basically, to say, I say, Well, I’m not going to be God anymore because I’m not doing a good job of it. I’m going to let you be God. That’s what salvation is. That’s what faith looks like, and then forth, all of that leads to good works. Now I see I’ve been recreated in Christ to do good works. It’s not, I obey, therefore, I’m accepted. It’s, I’m accepted, therefore I obey. This all helps us understand the relationship between law and gospel then, and really, if I know some of you got this question, the relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament, if you’re using the law to try to earn your salvation, to get those brownie points, then it’s not that the law is bad, but you’re using the law badly. That’s why Paul sometimes sounds like he doesn’t care for the law. It’s not that it’s the attitude that says, I can do this on my own. You can’t Hebrews 11 Verse six, without faith, it is impossible to please God, if you’re doing this not from a position of faith, but from a position of self-righteousness, impossible to please God, what Dershowitz said would be right about you. Because you’re trying to give yourself basically a cause for boasting. You know, I earned, of course, God loves me, look at my performance record, how could he not that’s bad. But if we get the gospel, right, if we get grace, right, the law helps us know how to respond. What are those good works that we should be doing? In response to what God has done for us? The great Dutch theologian Herman Babic, says it like this, “The Gospel does not nullify the law, but restores and endorses it. It retains its authority. The law retains its authority and validity as a rule of gratitude. That’s it. That’s the keyword. It says a response of gratitude, a grateful response to this unmerited and unbelievable grace that we’ve received, what is that response? It’s to love God. How could you not after he’s loved you like this? Well, how do you love God, John 1415, if you love me, keep my commandments, keep my commandments. And that points us to reason number three, by the way, so we’ve got God and grace. And then lastly, goodness, speaking of the goodness of the commands that we have been given, let’s talk about this. If you’ve been in Christian circles for any length of time, at some point, you probably heard the phrase, it’s not about rules. It’s about a relationship. Which kind of neatly summarizes that last point well, right. Like the relationship is what matters most you can’t keep rules in order to earn this or anything like that. But if we got that last point, right. We’re still the uncomfortable fact that we’re we got a list of rules right here, don’t we? So it’s got to be about something other than just relationship and not rules. It’s because relationship and rules shouldn’t be pitted against each other. We have these rules to make the relationships work. When somebody comes to Jesus in says some of the commandments for me, there’s like 600 of them, Jesus, like helped me out here. And Jesus says, I’ll give you one, kind of two. It’s sort of two halves of one commandment, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.
So one, one command really love. That, by the way, neatly sums up the 10 commandments and the fact that they’re in two halves. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. That’s the first five commandments, and then love your neighbor as yourself. That’s the second five commandments. We’ll talk about that as we go. But that’s what happened. That’s what these rules are for, to help us know how to love. One reason the 10 commandments have a bad reputation today, even among Christians, is because we don’t like law. We think we should be led by love. But that’s a false dichotomy. The law is love. It’s showing us how to love again, Jesus, John 14, if you love Me, keep My commandments. So this expression of love, but it’s not just an expression of who, you know, a way we can express our love for God. The rules themselves are part of God’s expression of love to us. That’s a little bit like cars. I’m not a car guy. You just gotta know that upfront, but I know some things about cars. I know they have a lot of moving parts, which means there are a lot of things that can go wrong with them. So when you get a car, they also hand you an owner’s manual. Why? Because they’re kind of showing you like if you follow these things, if you change your oil, rotate your tires, you’re gonna minimize the risk of all of those bad things happening in your car. Here. God is telling us how life works best to minimize evil and suffering in this world. Just imagine for a moment, like let’s play, make-believe, like Daniel Tiger is just imagine, like four of your mom’s and you’re like, I’ve seen Daniel Tiger, the rest of you have no idea what I just said, that’s fine. Imagine for a moment that everyone everywhere kept these 10 commandments all the time. Would the world be a better place or worse place? It’s a no-brainer. If everyone kept the payments all the time, you’d have no law enforcement. no prisons, no courts, no security guard, no security systems, you’re not locking up your bike when you go to the library or something like that. No marriages wrecked by adultery. I mean, just on and on and on down the list, it would be a better place. We know that. Deuteronomy 28 speaks to the blessings that will come on the nation, if they keep the 10 commandments. But partly this is just the blessing of life working people working well together. So you see these these rules, they’re not oppressive, they’re liberating. They’re freeing. Because true freedom isn’t doing whatever you want to do. True freedom is doing what you’re meant to do. What you were created to do. It’s like picture a train. A train is free to move so long as it is on the tracks. And as soon as it gets off the tracks, bad things happen. Right? Or a fish. You know, you get the expressive individuals fist fishes like you know, Mom and Dad, tell me how to live my life like I’ve seen out there. And they got flowers and sunshine and fresh air. I’m not swimming anymore. I’m gonna go walk on land. That is not a free fish. Not for long. Well, it’s a free meal of fish. I guess if it comes out but totally different. You This is the idea. In obeying God. We’re not constrained in a box like Han Solo in carbonite, or something. We are free to be what we were supposed to be like. Michelangelo’s David being liberated from the marble. This is what I was always supposed to be, of course, because these commands come from a God of loving grace. They don’t come from a punitive taskmaster, or a cosmic killjoy. They come from our Creator, and one who is willing even to be our father. Here’s the way John puts it. First, John five verse three. In fact, this is love for God to keep His commands. We talked about that already. And his commands are not burdensome. We’re just saying this truth, didn’t we? I serve a king with good intentions. That is I serve a God who intends good for us, who wants what’s best for us. So often, we doubt God’s goodness, and doubt that he’s being good to us when he requires anything of us, like does he really have my best interests in mind when he tells me not to do this? And not to do this? And not to do that? Are the intentions of God for my life? Holy, good. Can I withhold judgment? At least for a time? Should I reserve judgment until he proves himself I got good news for you? You don’t have to wait until he proves himself because he’s already proven himself to you. That is the cross of Jesus Christ. He has proven himself decisively. He rescued us from slavery and not in Egypt, but in our sin, which is rebellion against God, he should smite us this is high treason against the king. If you ever try high treason against the king, it doesn’t usually go well for you. Usually you lose your head, that kind of thing, but not with God. He rescues the very people who are in rebellion against Him. The cross is the definitive proof of his love for us a God who loves us like that. Who loves us at the cost of his son even is it God we can trust to God we can trust he’s not burdening us. He is freeing us. The 10 words the 10 commandments are good. Kyle was telling me he grew up in a church they did a series on the 10 commandments and the name of the series with it was the Tender Commandments. I like that. They already made the poster, sorry. The tender That’s it right it’s an accent God’s tender love for us. That’s exactly what we’re gonna see in this series. And some of them are easy to see like don’t murder yep, I get it. That’s a good command. Some might be harder to see. Why is that we can’t make graven images. I don’t even know what graven means. Sweet. Come on back. Okay, we got some work to do. Still you are invited to the rest of it. We will work through it. But where do we go from here? What do we go as we we leave today what should we think and do in response to the God who has just revealed Himself to us in His Word? First, consider, consider that as give serious, sustained thought to God as He reveals Himself to the fact that it’s necessary even that we have a God who reveals Himself to us, and then to the goodness of his commands, like pay attention to your own life, even looking back, but looking forward also, is your life better or worse, when you and those around you obey God’s commands, you might find as you’re looking at the image CS Lewis used for this, the 10 commandments are a little bit like finding solid ground after a shortcut that went bad you ever gotten off the trail when you’re at you know, the arboretum or something and you discover you’re basically walking through a bog, you know, until you finally get the other side, you’re missing a shoe and all that stuff, and just feel so good to have crushed limestone under your feet again, right? Like I’m solid. That’s what these commands are gives us firm footing to know what’s right. To love all people everywhere, just just a summation of the 10 commandments filtered through Jesus Christ. So consider, don’t just consider, that’s not enough, right. Second, obey the good, obey. Try it out, do what God requires, and see what comes of it. But here’s my challenge to you especially is obey, exhaustively, obey all of the commands. Because as soon as you go, I like this command, but not this command. You don’t have a god, you’re still worshiping yourself. I am the ultimate standard of good and evil in this world, which is a really bold stance to take. So obey exhaustively. I think this is true for a lot of us even been in church for a long time. A lot of us are a little bit like Herod. You remember this story, John the Baptist called him out for his sexual sin. And so Herod put him in prison. Herod also really liked John the Baptist, it says that he used to bring him in all the time and let John preach at him. So we’re kind of like Herod in that we like listening to John. But we’re not going to give up our incestuous relationship. And in fact, when push comes to shove, we’ll chop John’s head off. Don’t be like Herod, you will never regret obedience. But you will regret disobedience. It’s the car thing again, right? You will regret deciding you’re smarter than the manual and putting orange juice instead of oil into your engine. Orange juice does not have the viscosity to keep your engine lubricated. I’m pretty sure the acid will corrode the metal, you’re gonna be in trouble soon. Right? Like, if God exists, He is so much smarter than you. Okay? Just own it. So listen to Him, obey. But for some, maybe it’s your first time in church today. First time in church and a long while maybe you’ve been coming for a long time. But you got that like religion, things still going in your head like there might be a step before obedience still. And that is belief, belief. You’re not trying to earn this. It’s been given, see his grace. Ponder His love, contemplate his sacrifice for you. And respond with faith. We just think in the end,
it is nothing. But you’re the love that God desires. That is all he asks of you. That you would love him. Know what a god he must be if this is all He requires of us. Thomas Watson 17th century preacher he says he reminds us this is so true. He says, The Lord could have demanded your children to be offered and sacrifice. Many gods in many cultures have done that he might have ordered you to cut and stab yourself. He could have required you to lie in hell a while but he only desires your love. How remarkable that truth is. You ever wonder why would God want our love? Man? Why would a king want the love of a woman who’s in debt and diseased and disfigured and yet that’s exactly what we are standing before God. Like why did God want any part of me when he rescued me all those years ago? Was it the Pimply face and the long hair? Was it the massive insecurity and a big problems with girls? There was nothing in me for him to desire. And yet he saved me and is slowly remaking me in his image of my story that could be your story to God does not Lead, God does not need our love. He does not need our love. There are angels enough in heaven to love and adore him. We add nothing to God’s essential glory, He has always been perfectly glorious. He does not need our love, but he wants it. He desires our hearts that he might heal and restore them. And he gives us these 10 words, as part of that process. They are an expression of the grace of a good God, let’s pray to him together now. Lord, how grateful we are that we can approach you the God who is there, the God who reveals Himself to us that we might know you truly. how grateful we are that you’ve revealed Your will for our lives. And I pray God that even now we would take serious consideration of how you revealed yourself that we would pay attention that we would evaluate, and we would humble ourselves before you and wonder if we might have it wrong, because you’ve got it right. Help us Lord, to to give the consideration that is do not just to consider your rules, but to consider our own lives. And to see how far short we fall even have our own standards so often, how in need of rescue we are. And help us then to consider Lord. The offer of grace before us the offer of a relationship with you. I pray for those who are here now, Lord, who are still questioning Christianity, or maybe who’ve never questioned it at all because they never really thought about any of this. Would you open minds and hearts and eyes this morning to see our need and your grace, your love and help us Lord all of us to trust and obey a God like you. So good. So gracious, so real. We are yours. We offer ourselves to you again even now. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

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Made to Work Forever September 3, 2023 | Brandon Cooper As Christians, we know the story’s final word from reading the Bible. Work was initially meant to express your worship, love, and cultivation for God but was corrupted by sin. Isaiah 65:17-25 talks about work in the new creation – that there will be perfect worship of God without sin, perfect love among God’s people, and perfect cultivation where work is enjoyable, purposeful, and fruitful. Knowing this future vision of work transformed in glory should give us a broader mission, deeper hope, and a longer view of how we approach our daily vocations. We can work to advance God’s kingdom and bring the world closer to that perfect future state through our jobs and callings.

Good morning, you want to go ahead grab your Bibles, you can open up to Isaiah chapter 65. Isaiah 65. We’ll be beginning in verse 17. This morning, Isaiah 6517, as you’re turning there, Joseph Goebbels, who was kind of the chief propaganda officer for a Hitler’s Germany, one said, Whoever says the first word to the world is always right. And this is the idea, of course, behind propaganda or even spin, you know, you got to take control of the narrative, you got to set the tone for the conversation. And ody else has to talk about it. In your terms, whoever says the first word is always right. Ironically, of course, Goebbels was very, very wrong about this. We know that because of the universal feeling that the world today has about Gimbels and Nazi Germany, whoever has the last word is actually the one who’s going to be right. It is the final word that counts once all the truth has come out. And here’s the good news. As Christians, we get to know the final word in advance. We’ve gotten to read the last page already. Really, this is what Paul means when he says that famous phrase that we live by faith and not by sight, sight gives us the first first word that the current word, but But faith tells us how it’s gonna go in the end, right? We see graveyards, but we believe in the resurrection of the dead, it is the final word that counts. Knowing how the story ends, then changes everything about our present experience. You’ve had this of course, you’ve watched a movie at some point or TV show or something like that, where you already know the you know, the character is still alive in the second season. So at the last episode of that first season, when it looks like he’s in mortal danger, you go, I’m not gonna stress out here. Like I know what’s coming. That’s the life we get to live as Christians. And here’s the thing, that’s not just true when it comes to these big subjects like death and suffering, but it’s true for work, too. It’s true for our work, too. So that’s our main idea. Today, I’m gonna give it to you upfront, and we’ll kind of unpack it as we go, main idea, knowing what work will be like in glory, what’s the last word about work? Knowing what work will be like in glory transforms how we work now. So what are we going to do this morning, you can see there kind of two pieces to that main idea, knowing what work will be like and glory. Okay, so what will work be like in glory? And then that transforms how we work now. Okay, how is that going to transform how we work? Now, as me the two halves of the sermon just you knows we’re gonna spend the first half looking at Isaiah 65, which is that last word, that picture of what work will be like in glory? And then we’re going to turn from there and ask the question, okay, how does this apply to us today? So a new kind of exposition and application let’s start with the exposition. So what will work be like in glory? Let’s read it together. I’ll read it out loud. Isaiah chapter 65, verses 17 to 25. See, I will create new heavens and new earth, the former things will not be remembered nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever and what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people, the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years, the one who dies at 100 will be thought a mere child, the one who fails to reach 100 will be considered accursed. They will build houses and dwell on them they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree so will be the days of my people. My chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands. They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children doomed misfortune for they will be a people blessed by the Lord. They and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer while they are still speaking I will hear the wolf and the lamb will feed together and the lion will eat straw like the ox and dust will be the serpent’s food and when either harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord Before we dive in, let’s have a quick recap of the series. So we started you know, we’re looking at the four eras of salvation, history creation, fall, redemption and consummation, stating started in creation with the idea that we were made to work. And that had specific expressions means we were made to worship or our work was an expression of, of worship to God, or we were made to love that is our work was an expression of, of service to those around us. And then we were made to cultivate, that is when we were given a command for creation to steward it well. But when we sin, when we rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden, all that got flipped on its head. So instead of worship, we’ve got idolatry instead of love, we got selfishness, and instead of cultivation, we’ve got toil. But there’s hope. Kyle took us through it last week. The Gospel redeems us from the curse, and renews our focus, and our motivation and our purpose. What’s our renewed focus back on God that we were worship Him with our renewed motivation, love that we would serve others, what’s our renewed purpose, everything we do we do for the glory of God and for His kingdom. That takes us then to consummation. You’ll notice by the way, same three points, I told you week one, this is just one sermon, it was just too long to do it all at once. So here we are, again, in the consummation at the end of time, and in the age to come, God restores us to our original purpose, but he perfects us. There’s no possibility of falling back into sin, he perfects us, He protects our world and he perfects our work. That is the last word. So let’s unpack it together. We get in glory, perfect worship, perfect worship. We were created after all, to live in perfect communion with God. Back in the Garden of Eden, you’ve got Adam and Eve taking afternoon walks with God. That’s the type of intimacy we were created to enjoy. But that was destroyed by sin. We were separated from God, we were exiled from the garden, even we can’t be with God anymore. But now the good news. In Christ we who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. That’s really the whole arc of salvation history. You can read from Genesis to Revelation, it’s, we used to be with God, how do we get back to living in God’s presence? And almost the last page of the Bible tells us it Ellie read this for us earlier, what do we read Revelation, chapter 21, verses one to three, then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Look, God’s dwelling places now among the people. And He will dwell with them, they will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. So here’s this vision of the end. You notice, by the way, John is actually quoting Isaiah 65, the new heaven, the new earth, he’s drawing on an expanding division of Isaiah 65. But what is the climax of it is that God will be with us, we will live with him again.
He will be our God, we will be his people. But that relationship, it’s not just king in subjects, like we’re finally faithful servants or something like that. No, it’s more than that. I mean, look at some of what I say a says in verse 19, I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people. says why John uses the the image of a bride waiting for her husband to come and get like, that’s the intimacy that we have to enjoy that, to be back in the presence of God means the complete overthrow of sin and death. There’ll be no more weeping and crying. There’ll be no more death. In Isaiah 65. It says no more untimely death. Although I really think that’s just a poetic treatment of what’s coming. In the end. If nothing else in Revelation 21 We know there is no more death at all. Why not? Because death is a punishment for and result of sin. And in glory, sin is gone, thank God. Here’s the way Augustine described the blessedness of heaven. He says on earth, God tells us not to sin. In Heaven, the reward is that we can no longer sin. On Earth. The command is that we mustn’t follow sinful desires in heaven. The reward is that we have No sinful desires. Can you even imagine that? He even imagine how good that will be. When we see God truly, for who he is face to face, not as through a glass darkly, we will at last, understand the desire of our hearts, we will understand that the desire of our hearts is God and God alone. Everything else we’ve been seeking has just been a perversion of that one pure desire to know Him, to be known by him. And so we will be a people. Verse 23, blessed by the Lord, living in perfect communion with Him. So perfect is the communion, verse 24, that before we even, you know, turn to ask God something, he’s got it for us. That’s the blessedness of the relationship, we will experience and so all we will do that will be an expression of love for our God. Every act, we perform the next note in a song of unbroken praise. Here’s the way Rudyard Kipling puts it in his poem describing what it’d be like to be an artist in glory. And I love this. And he says, and only the master shall praise us and only the master shall blame. And no one shall work for money, and no one will work for fame. But each for the joy of the working in each and his separate star shall draw the thing as he sees it, for the God of things as they are everything for the God who made us perfect worship. But that leads to perfect love, leaves perfect love. Second point perfect love. Because when our hearts are at last resting in Him, we are fully known and yet fully loved, no longer trying to create an identity for ourselves like the Tower of Babel, but but resting in his love that vertical transformation transforms the horizontal as well. Because then we’ll no longer have to see people as competition, like siblings, striving to win a distant father’s approval or something like that. No, because we have been loved by Christ, we will love others in Christ. And notice how often Isaiah in this passage and John in Revelation, talk talks about a people, a people. God is not saving individuals. He does save us individually. Yes, but he’s not saving individuals. He is saving a people for His name. We see here in Isaiah that God is rejoicing over the city, the collective, not over each member of it. It says we are a people blessed by the Lord are people meaning we’re experiencing perfect unity. Because we are at last perfectly united, and what matters most, the love of Christ for us and our love for Christ in return. And so all the almost gonna say stupid things that divide us now will be gone. Thank God, we can just love one another. Well, Isaiah depicts this beautifully. He’s looking at the natural world, let’s say but I think it’s a good picture of us as well, because you got the wolf and the lamb feeding together as almost as crazy as Republicans and Democrats hanging out together, right like that level of harmony restored. This is truly miraculous. The lion is eating straw. I’ll answer your question because I know you’re thinking about it right now. Anyway, does that mean we’re gonna be vegetarians in heaven? This is kind of a bad news. Good news thing. Okay. Bad news. Yeah, I do think it means that good news. The grass tastes like primary. So it’s, you know, the harmony of nature is restore that we don’t have that nature red in tooth and claw feel anymore. We’ve moved from survival of the fittest to fit us for heaven to live with the there. It’s actually interesting how often Paul and other writers and scriptures describe us as basically wild animals. You know, in Galatians, Paul says, You got to stop biting and devouring each other and here we’re done with it. No more biting, no more devouring. Why because we got the same focus the glory of God, we got the same motivation love for one another and we got the same purpose to build for God’s kingdom. I understand. It is so hard to get our minds around this. And it’s so hard to picture this I’ve had people say to me before they don’t want to live forever, because they don’t want to live with people forever. And I get that here. But you look at what it’s going to be like and you go okay I could do that. overflowing with love for God and for one another. Always a perfect world. Yep, perfect love. And then lastly, perfect cultivation, our work perfected at last. Now, in order to talk about this, I do have to correct some misconceptions about the end. Here, Isaiah is describing the new heavens and the new earth, but they’re together. In other words, Isaiah and John later they are describing an earthly heaven. Like there’s dirt in heaven, earth, God is making all things new. He’s not making all new things. There’s a big difference there. You can even see it in the vision of Revelation where heaven comes down to earth, we don’t float up. I know we have this picture. Like when we die, we become angels, on clouds, playing harps, and just you know, locked in an eternal choir practice. That’s not the vision of the end that we get in Scripture, we will not be angels when we die, because God created angels, and he created humans, and he created them differently for different purposes. So angels are spiritual beings, we’re not we’re physical beings, we will rise in a physical body to live on a physical Earth in glory. That means though, that we’re going to do real work on a real Earth, the new earth, we will build houses, plant vineyards, all these things that we see here, we will work in the new creation, we will work in eternity, I wanna make sure you got that. And our work will be good. In every sense of the word, it will be enjoyable, not toilsome, there’s no more drudgery, there’s no more sense of what I’m doing is meaningless, will be joyful, and purposeful. All that we do will be true and beautiful and good. You’re not gonna have to worry about buying a lemon when you go to buy your car in glory, because you can make lemons and glory. And even if you did, the salesman will never sell it to you, because He loves you too much to do that to you. There’s no questionable content in art, there’s no fake news or spin. And then maybe best of all, our work will be fruitful. It is we will do work, we will plant vineyards, but then we will enjoy our labor we will eat the fruit of those vineyards. Mentioned in week two, you know the sense of alienation we have from our work. So often you’re just a part of the process. You don’t even see the end product and you don’t get to enjoy yourself that’s over now.
But notice another piece of this is we’re talking about work in glory. The things that we do in this world can last into glory. Of course, we could think of concepts like the work we do for justice or for peace. But it’s more than that. Because at the end, where are they living, they’re in a city. A city involves technology that was not there in the Garden of Eden. So some of what we’ve invented is actually there and the new heavens and the new earth. Look at what Isaiah says earlier, Isaiah chapter two, verse four, he’s describing the last days and he says this, they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. So a couple things there. First of all, there’s the perfect love, no need for war anymore. That’s great news. But notice that the technological inventions persist it we don’t need Spears anymore, but we’re still turning them into you know, plows and stuff. The tools are going to be needed in glory and the tools will be there in glory. There is a good reminder in this verse, though, because there’s no more training for war. That does mean that there are some professions that we have now that we won’t have in heaven. Soldiers comes to mind law enforcement, and nobody’s breaking the laws, doctors because their work is finished. Pastors. You’re not gonna need me to teach you anymore. You can just ask God, okay, he can help you out. What a beautiful picture, right? No more crying, no more pain, no more death, no more sin in the perfect Cree recreation. We will delight in perfect worship and perfect Love and perfect cultivation. That’s the end of the story. And knowing what work will be like then transforms how we work now. So how, what does that vision give us today? tomorrow as we head to work is gonna give us a broader mission, a deeper hope and a longer view and take each of those one at a time. So a broader mission. First of all, you may remember what oz Guinness said. I think I quoted it the first week it’s he says it’s not that Christians aren’t where they should be. It’s Not, but it’s they are, what they should be where they are. And that’s the understanding we got to have still, why is it that so often we’re not what we should be where we are, it’s because we have reduced our concept of ministry, to advancing the church only, rather than advancing the kingdom of God, a lot of overlap in that Venn diagram, okay. But it’s not a perfect overlap. The kingdom is broader than the church. So hear me as clearly as you can possibly hear me. Discipleship and evangelism, are really important. That’s the great commission go and make disciples of all nations. But it’s not the only commission we’ve been getting, we do have a broader mission. And we even pray that daily Your kingdom come, your kingdom come. And now we’ve seen that kingdom in its fullness here and Isaiah 65, in Revelation 21. And it includes working includes fulfilling the original mandate, the creation mandate, fill the earth and subdue it. I find a lot of Christians and churches and even denominations separate the great commission from the creation mandate, and kind of good at one or the other. But what God has joined, let no one put us under. So some churches are big on evangelism. And some churches are big on justice. Crazy thought, what if we were big on both? Kind of like God is, like, take the picture here. Suppose we’ve got a large homeless population, right by us. And as a church, we want to reach them, and half the congregation is going, we need to get them food and beds. And the other half is going, we need to give them the gospel, but they need to find new life in Christ. Which group is right? That’s a dumb question, isn’t it? Like, Oh, of course, they’re all right. Let’s do it. All this is not an either, or we want to see the kingdom of God come in the hearts and lives of people as we witness Christ to them. We also want to see the kingdom of God come on earth. Because the kingdom, a kingdom, just the very concept of it. A kingdom involves a people and a place and a place. And that’s what we’re talking about. That vision transforms our work. Now, Kyle kind of said this last week, if we’re not doing the Lord’s work when you know, I evangelize my co worker, but I’m not doing the Lord’s work when I serve my clients with what he needs. It’s all the Lord’s work. CTX stud missionary, very famous quote, he said only one life will soon be passed only what’s done for Christ will last, yes and amen. But all of what is done for Christ will last. We are actively working to bring in the kingdom of God on earth, engineering the future, seeking peace and justice. Why? Because we are not just souls. And it’s not just the spiritual realm that matters. What does Paul tell us and Romans eight creation itself is groaning for redemption. The earth the physical Earth needs to be redeemed to broader mission than what you do matters and can matter eternally. broader mission, second, deeper hope. Deeper Hope is what the vision of the end gives us. Christianity Today this month had their entire issue was a tribute to Tim Keller who passed away just recently. And one of the articles in it was an excerpt from the sermon that he preached on September 16 2001, in New York City was entitled something like everything sad is coming on true, which is a nod to a line from talking. In the Sermon though he shared his recurring nightmare that he his wife had died. His wife Kathy had died. So he had this you know, Nightmare over and over and over again. And he said he was always so happy when he woke up and saw her there. Now, again, hear me clearly in this life, the nightmare is sometimes come true. Like some of you are waking up, and they’re not there. But the day is coming when we will all wake up. Right? That’s the last word. That’s the end of the story. Everything sad will in fact, come on true. And yes, when we hear that we think about death and suffering. Absolutely. But that is true for our work to the toil. The car repetition, the dehumanizing influence of work, all of that sad stuff is going to come untrue also. And here’s why that’s important, because last week, it sounded good, didn’t it? But maybe a little too easy. I know. That’s how some of you felt like you’re listening to Kyle who was not wrong, of course, what he was saying. But you know, the, the message is basically just love and serve like Jesus. And you go, yeah, but easy for you to say, Pastor. You don’t know what my Friday was like. You don’t know the stupid decisions that are being made above me that are affecting me and the people around me that I love and want to serve. You don’t know what it’s like to be yelled at, by rude and angry customers, or to have patients that you’re trying to help who don’t ever listen to what you’re saying. So they’re getting worse instead of better? Or what it’s like to be stuck in a dead end job. unemployed, underemployed, not doing what you feel called to do. How can you keep going in those situations? That is a real question. One of our informal taglines here at Cityview is honest answers to honest questions. Look, that is an honest question that deserves an honest answer. The reality is that none of us could possibly endure in this life. Without hope. It is the hope of the resurrection, the hope of redemption. And consummation is the only thing that keeps us going. Because if we know how it goes, in the end, we can persevere. Early on in our days, serving with Safe Families and Amy and I, we had a little girl with us in the house. It was over Thanksgiving weekend, and her sister older sister also needed a place to stay. And we knew this was going to stretch us and we knew this sister was a handful. The little one was a handful also, you know, spaces kind of maxed out whatnot, and we’re looking at what to do, but you’re gonna, what’s the option. And so we looked at each other and we said, okay, we can do anything for four days. We can do anything for four days, it’s knowing that there is an end that kind of allows you to persevere. And I think the reality is we can do anything for days or four years or even fourscore years. If we know the end is coming, and the end will make all things right.
And it is coming and will make all things right the the pain now is even part of the joy. Then, here’s the way CS Lewis said it he said people say have some temporal suffering, no future bliss can make up for it. Not knowing that heaven once attained, we’ll work backwards and turn even that agony into glory. This hope that we have that our agony, our drudgery, our toil now will turn into joyful glory. The good news that helps us with more than just getting on and work, you don’t enjoy it. It’s got a broader application. It gives us the strength to make the hard choices in this life, and to sacrifice as needed. Faith, your faith in Christ may cost you at work. Some of you have lived that painfully honest he may get you fired. When your boss cares more about the bottom line and would rather you’d cut some corners there. Your love for your client may lose you a sale. But in Christ, who sacrificed for us, we can joyfully sacrifice in this life. What did Jesus say whoever loses his life for My sake for the sake of the gospel. We’ll keep it. So one who’s trying to keep it that’s the one who loses it. Ultimately, this is our hope, nothing that we give up in this life for Christ. There’s nothing in this life, we give up for Christ that we won’t receive a hundredfold in the life to come. You may give up riches because of your faith in this life. Guess what? I’ve seen your eternal bank account. It’s doing great. You have the riches of glory already. It’s there. Did you Bonhoeffer as he was awaiting trial, and ultimately waiting his execution for his active work for the sake of the kingdom in this world fighting against the Nazis. He wrote something, a poem called Who am I and near the end of it, he said, is something within me still like a beaten army fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved? You ever done that as a Christian Given up fled, even though the victory is already won. Like I think Bonhoeffer is question there is the question you need to ask yourselves, on the days when work is the hardest. When it feels like we’re living in the fall more than we are in the redemption and certainly not in the consummation, we have a deeper hope. We know how the story ends. But third, we also have a longer view, we know how the story and because we know the end, we know the end, we know that there will be perfect peace and perfect justice and perfect righteousness and perfect healing and perfect worship and perfect joy. That means we can begin to ask the question, how does my work now contribute to that perfect end? I mean, think about that, even in the vocation God has given you How is your work contributing now to that perfect end? Because as Christians, we’re not working for the weekend. We’re not even working for retirement. We’re working for 10 million years past that moment, because we’re thinking of eternity. Scripture invites us over and over again, to ask ourselves which of our works will last. Here’s First Corinthians three for example, Paul says if anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is because the day will bring it to light, it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. The fire is an important picture in this image because fire burns wood and hay and straw. But fire purifies gold. The gold goes on in that story. This is by the way, why the world ends with fire. Because not destroying the world. In the end. He is renewing and purifying the world in the end. So some of what we do. If it’s gold, that’s costly stones, if it’s silver will last eternally. No. Good. I know what you’re thinking. Miroslav Volf, Croatian theologian actually asks the question we’re all thinking right now, is it not a contradiction to ascribe eternal permanence to what corruptible human beings create? A chair becomes broken in a year, bread is eaten in a day, and a speech including sermons I might add. Regrettably, a speech is forgotten in an hour. Yes, but let’s play. Make believe for a moment here. Like what’s what’s imagine one of the classic test texts of the Christian world you know, J i Packer’s knowing God AW Tozer is the knowledge of the holy is a book like that worthy of glory. These are good books. Will they be purified with fire? With with a fire, maybe burn out a sentence or two or transfigure? A word here or there? I’m sure. But I see no reason why wouldn’t be able to read these books in heaven? Well, then why not the rest of what we do if it’s done for the Lord, we’ve already seen that some of our tech and tools are going into glory, some of our invention, like you might hold a patent that’s still there and glory, that’s cool to think about. How about those of you who are engaged in the task of educating minds broadly considered so teachers, but counselors, parents, things like that? Do we forget everything we learned when we get to glory? I think so. So that’s a work that lasts investment you have in the minds of others, or those who’ve worked to heal our bodies, they’re gonna be healed in glory, you are part of that process. You see, culture is not erased but transfigured by the final judgment. And that word is key, right? When we hear judgment, you know, we think bad, but judgment, like it’s an evaluation, there’s a judging between, there are some things that are wood and hay and straw, and they’re not gonna make the cut, but other things that are gold, and silver and costly stones, and they will, and that gives such renewed purpose to those in the so called secular fields like arts and education and business and politics. You’re involved in shaping eternity to it’s not just the pastors and the missionaries. Justin Martyr was a second century apologist for the Christian faith. And he grew up over the hill from Galilee in the second century, and he notes that there are plows still in use then, that were made by Jesus It’s fascinating, isn’t it? We so often contemplate Christ’s cross, but so rarely contemplate his carpentry part of it because Scripture doesn’t tell us a lot about it. Of course. I mean, I think the cross is the focus, no doubt. But what an interesting thought whatever else we might say about Jesus’s carpentry, we know he wasn’t doing shoddy work, because he was working as for the Lord and so what he built he built to last. We can too, we can too. And in an instant, everything culture, that’s just a really good reminder, it is so important for us to take the longer view. Here’s the way Lesley Newbiggin describes that longer view. He says we can commit ourselves without reserve to all our secular work, knowing nothing we do in itself is good enough to form part of that city’s building. Knowing everything from secret prayers to public acts is part of that sin stained human nature that must go down into the valley of death. And yet, knowing that as we offered up to the Father in the name of Christ and in the power of the Spirit, it is safe with him and purged in fire will find its place in the holy city. In the end I want to close this series by sharing with you a little bit from JR are tokens short story Leaf by Niggle. So Leaf by Niggle couple things we got to know here
niggle I mean, toking he was a linguist he chose his words carefully. We don’t use the word nickel a lot today. But it means to work ploddingly and effectively. And it was how talking viewed his own work. He was trying to create Middle Earth, you know, had to like invent elvish and Dwarvish and things like that. It took him some time. Right? And he wasn’t getting it done. And he wasn’t sure that he’s going to finish especially because World War Two happened. You know, they’re bombing London, things like that, and the specter of death was hanging over him. So he’s very definitely niggle in this story. The other thing you got to know about the story is that niggle has a problem because he’s got a journey to make. And in Anglo Saxon literature, the journey that you have to make is is death. And Tolkien as a professor of Anglo Saxon literature, that’s what he meant by it. So his time was short. But he’s again talking was living with the specter of death hanging over him so niggle was a painter. And he had a vision of a painting. First, it was just a leaf that he saw. But it grew to be the whole tree and behind it the country, you know, receding in beauty. And so he got himself a huge canvas to be able to capture this vision so big he had to use a ladder to paint it. But he ended up only being able to work on one leaf. He just like he couldn’t get it done. He had he loved painting leaves. He wasn’t going to painting trees. So he wanted to get the shading, right. He wanted to get every detail exactly right. Plus, he was often distracted, because he was loving. And so he was distracted by his neighbors including his neighbor, parish. I think that’s really funny. By the way, the church is getting in the way of my work, guys. Okay. So this is part of his problem. He can finish it because he’s he keeps helping parish and in fact, one time he goes out to help parish by caring for a widow who was in need, he’s caught in the rain and in the cold he gets sick. And as a result, when he gets back from his trip, the carriages they’re waiting to take him on his journey. He dies. One leaf on a giant canvas. They found it in his studio. And they kind of went like wow, this is a great leaf. So they put it in the museum with a little title underneath it Leaf by Niggle. But it was mostly unnoticed, because who wants to look at a giant canvas with a single leaf on it kind of a depressing story except that the carriage arrives, the journey that he was going to take. And as the carriage door opens, he sees his leaf and the whole tree. Not on the painting. But in real life. There is his tree. There’s the vision of the country receding behind it. And Tim Keller who just finished his own journey, of course, he writes about this story. He says in the real world, the permanent world the last word world, the Full unfinished tree was not a fancy that died with nickel. But it was part of the truest reality that we’re live and be enjoyed forever. We could bring that perspective into our Monday’s work today. In light of that coming day, let’s pray
Father, we thank You that we know how the story ends. We see the perfection that is coming. We are not finished yet as we sang earlier, but you will finish your work in us. And our work is not finished yet. But a day is coming. When we will see the fruit of all that we’ve done, when we enter into that holy city, to continue working for Your glory and the love of our neighbors, but in perfection, in fulfillment, and in communion with You. And Lord, as we think of work, we thank you, especially for the work of Christ, on the cross on our behalf, that we might be reconciled to you so that we can be transformed every aspect of our lives including our vocations. We offer our work to you now Lord, we offer our attitude about work we pray that you would be transforming us and transforming it as we seek to worship you love others and fulfill the mandate you’ve given us it’s for your name we pray amen.

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Remade to Work August 27, 2023 | Kyle Bjerga

TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

Good morning, go and grab your Bibles and turn to Ephesians chapter six. We'll be in verses five through nine. If you use one of the black pew Bibles there in front of you, or on or underneath, it's on page 950. So how many times have you heard or said in your life? That's it, I quit. After a day of work, I can't do this anymore. I'm out. This is my last day. We usually say that not in front of people we work with, we say it in the car, we say to friends or family or just in our own head. But why do we do that? Now over the past week, I researched this question. And I've talked to some of you I've talked to others in my life, just asking what is the most frustrating part of your job? What has caused you to quit? Or what would cause you to quit? And overwhelmingly the reason is, other people. One of the top one or two reasons why employees quit is because of a boss, a manager, a CEO, a president, somebody in authority over you some direct report, right that you report to this person. People have trouble with their boss, and I can relate. Oh, sorry. Hey, he got me the last two weeks. I get one today. Some of you can relate to this, we have a very good relationship. Okay. employees think their boss isn't listening. Right? He's not listening to what we say. He doesn't care about his employees. She, she's, I think I know more than this person that's in charge of me like I could run this company better. I've heard people say that actually. And on the flip side, one of the top reasons why employers are frustrated in their work is employees, dealing with conflict, managing people and putting out fires all day, not listening, when they are told to do something, not working hard, having to repeat yourself over and over again. Now in this series, we're looking at work faith at work. And we're looking at it from the lens of the whole storyline of scripture from Genesis to Revelation, saying, What does the Bible say in these four major movements in scripture? So the first two weeks were creation, and fall, today, we're in redemption, then finally, next week, we'll be consummation, these four major plot movements in Scripture. So just to recap, week one, we talked about the fact that God created us in His image to work, because God is a working God, he creates, and he gives us the responsibility to multiply and fill the earth, to work, and to keep it to rule over the earth. And when we do that, according to His plan, things go well. Things go according to plan, they work the way he's designed them to work. And yet our experience is one of difficulty and hardship and frustration. Relational conflict, all these different things are a part of our work now. And why is that? Well, last week, we looked at Genesis three, shortly after, when Adam and Eve decided they could do this job better than God chose their own way. And what did that bring, brought strife and blame, and toil, and relational conflict. It devastated God's creation. It destroyed it, broke it down to where we now aren't living the way it's supposed to be. We just experience all the negative stuff, all the bad stuff that drives us not enjoy being with our boss or other employees. And the past two weeks, Brandon has kind of dangle this carrot before us, saying, hey, there's some good news coming. And the good news is today, because God doesn't leave us without hope, without change. So today's the day we move into a movement of redemption, when God the Father sends His Son, Jesus Christ to this earth to redeem us, to save us from our sins and to start making everything right in his kingdom. So what is the good news though? Well, we're in Ephesians. Today, so I figured if you flip over,

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Made to Work Hard (Genesis 3:17-19) August 20, 2023 | Brandon Cooper

TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

All right, you can go ahead grab your Bibles open up to page three, page three, Genesis, chapter three will be in verses 17 to 19, especially this week. So as you're turning there, perhaps you're familiar with Patrick Lencioni. His book on business management, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team fairly well-known book. I'm sure some of you have read it. Lencioni talks about these common dysfunctions that keep a business team from functioning well together. And that's thus achieving their goals to the fullest extent possible. The foundational dysfunction, according to Lencioni is the absence of trust, that people just don't really trust each other on the team. And so kind of hold things back from each other. And so he recommends that what you got to do is get people to be a little bit vulnerable. So you ask them some questions early on, you know, Well, where did you grow up? What sports did you play as a kid? You get them talking about themselves, and this increases trust among the team. So healthier team. And, of course, a healthier team means more profits, which is what we're after. So notice a couple of things. First of all, Lencioni assumes, rightly by the way, that there will be relational conflict among business teams. And people aren't going to work well together all the time, which they don't. Second. It's a little manipulative, isn't it? So you're asking people where they grew up and what sports they played, not because you care where they grew up or what sports they played, but so they will feel a sense of trust? So it's a little dehumanizing, manipulating? And then third, of course, why do you want them to feel a sense of trust? Because of profits, profits over people? Like that's what matters most. So I mean, a few caveats there. I've read the book, I liked the book, I'm not knocking on the book, I think you could do all of that without, you know, being manipulative, you could actually care about people. I've got nothing against profits, because it's probably good that your business stays in business because you get a paycheck from them. You know, all that stuff. So I don't want to knock on Lencioni too much. I'm just saying here's a really popular book. And yet it assumes or acknowledges that something has gone badly, badly wrong. So that idyllic picture that I painted last week from Genesis one is already badly marred. Like, you know, a landscape painting where one of them vandals has come in and tossed oil at it or something like that. It is messed up. So what went wrong? We did. We went wrong. We were the Vandals were the ones who messed up the painting. We rebelled against our Creator. And as a result, we broke creation. Sin breaks everything. And that's what you see in Genesis chapter three. So it's not just spiritual loss or spiritual brokenness that we experienced, but emotional, physical, relational, social, and more to our purposes in this series, yes, even vocational brokenness and loss. So this is our main idea I'm gonna give you upfront. We'll kind of work through what I mean by it as we go. But it's the sin that distorts our calling, and devastates our work, everything we talked about last week. In fact, we looked at three calls and three commands. Last week, we were called first and foremost to God, we are then called to be a people - to be a society - and we are called to work for God's kingdom. That is, we're made to worship, made to love, made to cultivate, and yet all three of those get flipped on their head. In essence, it's like in the old days of film. I know we all have digital cameras now, but if you remember film, it's like looking at the negative.

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Made to Work (Genesis 1:26-30 August 13, 2023 | Brandon Cooper

TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

All right, good morning, I want to go ahead and grab your Bibles. I felt bad the last two weeks that I made to try and find Obadiah. So we're gonna make it easy this week. Go ahead and turn to page one. Page one, you can find a Genesis one beginning in verse 26. As you're turning there, William Wilberforce is one of the most important figures in human history, in his decades-long political life, just about single-handedly brought about the end of the transatlantic slave trade. Certainly one of the turning events in world history also reformed England's morals, through and through, he was a man of tremendous energy and initiative. In fact, at one point in his life, he was leading or participating in 69 different initiatives in England's political life, several of them truly world-shaping initiatives. And yeah, we tend to think of the slavery piece as a huge part of what he did. But I mean, this is the guy who founded the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, for example, I mean, he was involved all over the place - did all this amazing work. And what's incredible to me is that it almost didn't happen. Almost didn't happen. Because when he was converted at age 25, he decided to leave politics in order to enter ministry. Assuming that spiritual work, so-called is more important than secular work, so-called. And it was only through the intervention of John Newton famous for writing Amazing Grace, that he changed his mind and stuck in politics - and did what we can certainly all agree God called him to do - is Newton who said that we are all hoping that God raised you up for the good of this nation, and really, for the good of the world, and Newton was right. But what we were forced was thinking there, it's a problem in the church isn't it is a problem for a lot of us and how we think if you were to say, go into a church library, and you're scrolling through biographies or something and you see a book that's titled, the man or the woman that God uses, you know, black and white photo on the cover or something like that, you are going to assume that you are picking up a book, a biography about a pastor, or missionary. And here, if you were thinking biblically if we were to think biblically about this, why not a book about somebody like Joseph, or Daniel, or Esther, did God use any of them? And what were they? Not priests, not prophets. They were government officials in a pluralistic nonbelieving government, even in each case, you see the issue, we must learn to think biblically about the other six days, the Monday to Saturday, part of the majority of our time, really, depending on how much you sleep, you probably spend more time working than doing any anything else. Sleep is the only thing that competes with it. And we'll talk about what I mean by work in just a moment. But if we're not intentional about thinking through that majority of our time, we will fall into unbiblical modes of thinking just automatically, we will see work as a necessary evil. It's what you do. So you earn enough money. So you can you know, buy food and have shelter. But the really important stuff you do is somewhere else that's a Greek dualism That's not biblical in the slightest. Or maybe we'll fall into an almost medieval monasticism, where certain vocations are just better than others. If you're a monk or a nun, you really love Jesus. And if you just stuck as like, a shoemaker, I'm gonna guess, okay. But let's not pretend like you're a superstar Christian or anything like that is probably most likely given where we inhabit time today will fall into the modernist post-enlightenment issue of seeing work as being about me, my identity,

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Why We Need History (Obadiah 1-14) July 30, 2023 | Brandon Cooper

TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

Good morning church. So it feels like a privilege to be back here grateful to Merritt who filled in the last three weeks, especially it's interesting, I had written an article for the gospel coalition that went up about a week and a half ago, the title was, oh, no, the youth guy is preaching. And I was not responsible for the timing, just want to be clear about that. But I mentioned the fact that we're grateful, of course, to be able to raise up the next generation of leaders and preachers, but of course, sometimes that can come with a little bit of a dip in quality. And what a privilege it is that we have merit here because you can have him preach with no dip in quality. So thank you for that. Yes. You notice I didn't say anything about Kyle there. So next week. All right. With that, go ahead, grab your Bibles, and open up to Obadiah Obadiah. As you're trying to figure out how to open up to Obadiah. That's probably something to talk about. We're starting this new series today in what is the shortest book in the Old Testament. And unless you made your way through a one out or something similar like that, there's a good chance that you won't be able to find Obadiah without the help of your table of contents, or the page number that's there in the bulletin if you're using one of our pew Bibles. And unless you have very intentionally read through the Bible, or a URI Bible reading plan or something like that, there's a good chance that you haven't read the book before, either. And so it's just a new one for us. Now, once you get there and read it, maybe some of you read it this week in preparation for the series, even you'll find that it is a strange little book. It's about Edom, not Israel. And so Edom is a nation that we know nothing about. And that doesn't exist today. So not feeling terribly relevant just yet. And the book itself is a little dark, nationalistic, maybe vengeful. And so it feels like it has little relevance for our culture. Today. It's out of place. So why, why would we bother studying it? The short, simple answer is Second Timothy 316. Is All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, All scripture, every word of it, even Obadiah comes from the very MOUTH of God and is for our good. But that might be too easy, too simplistic and answer, it's got that feel of well, because the Bible says so which is true, but that gives us the what and not the Why does the Bible say it? Exactly. So what's the why? When it comes to Obadiah? Why would we study it? JL Myers, in his book, The dawn of history opens with a chapter entitled The people who have no history. And it is a reminder, the fact that for most of humanity, most people, most cultures, even today, in many parts of the world, there is no sense of history. Things are just what they are events just kind of happen. They don't have meaning or significance. There's no purpose. There's no end towards which history is moving, no development. No story, we might even say there's certainly no arc of history that's bending and whatever your desired direction we might be talking about. In fact, for many people, the hope for a different future is nothing more than a dangerous delusion because I got bad news for you, nothing's gonna change anyway. So why would you set yourself up for that kind of disappointment? Russia invaded Ukraine? And well, of course they did. Because there's kind of a big war in Europe in every generation. And I guess that's the point we're at now. This is how most of humanity has thought. Now I realized that's not how most of us think, because it is so deeply ingrained in our culture,

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Resurrection Hope (1 Corinthians 15:35-58) July 23, 2023 | Meritt Raup

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Good morning. It's great to be with you as we finish our series. This changes everything. So would you please turn to First Corinthians 15. And we will be looking at verses 35 through the end of the chapter. And as we've seen these past few weeks, First Corinthians 15 is all about the resurrection fact that Jesus has been raised from the dead. And it really does change everything in our lives. So I hope this series has been an encouragement to you hope that being reminded of the gospel has increased your confidence in Jesus. I hope that has helped you to live in light of the resurrection today. And we still have one more week to go. And in my opinion, we've saved the best for last. This is the final part of our chapter. And it is really a great passage. You know, I, I grew up in the early 2000s. And it's common in Christian circles to make fun of the contemporary Christian music scene of that time. Many of the songs had cheesy, maybe repetitive lyrics, simple melodies, lacks musical sophistication to say that the upside is that many of them were easy to play, because they only had four chords. I still love many of those songs, though. There's many good ones. And one of the most popular Christian songs of that time was sung by a band called Mercy Me song called I can only imagine. And this song was hugely popular, both on Christian charts and non Christian charts. And it's all about imagining what heaven will be like, surrounded by your glory, what will my heart feel? Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of you be still, while I stand in your presence? Or will to my knees? Will I fall? Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all? I can only imagine. It's a catchy song. There's even a movie that was made a few years ago by the same name, and tells the story of Bart Miller, the lead singer, and his his life and what led him to write that song after his dad passed away. This is such a good song because it strikes a chord with us. It's a nerve that all of us have. We want to know what the future holds. We long for a day that's better than our own. This isn't the only example of this either. Some of the most popular Christian books and movies of recent times have been about heaven. Someone has a near death experience. And they claim to have a vision of what the afterlife is like, and they've come back to tell us about it. Or people who have even died and gone to heaven and then come back alive. These stories become wildly popular, even despite the fact that many of them are inconsistent with each other. And a lot of them don't even agree with the Bible's description of what heaven is like. nevermind the fact that they're quickly commercialized, make massive profits. You see, we have a deep desire to know what the future holds. We want to know what heaven will be like. So this begs the question, can we only imagine what heaven will be like to have to rely on subjective experiences that may or may not have capitalistic motivations behind them? Is this really the best we can do? Or she would, she would just guess as to what's going to happen. We started this series by looking at the resurrection victory that Jesus accomplished in the past. Last week, we saw how the resurrection impacts our lives in the present. So today, we will see how the resurrection impacts our lives in the future. This is something that we can truly know from God's Word. We don't need to imagine. We don't need to speculate. So the main idea for today is because Jesus has been raised from the dead. We have unshakable hope for the future. You an unshakable hope for the future. So the rest of our time we're gonna unpack what this looks like...

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Resurrection Life July 16, 2023 | Meritt Raup

TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

Well, good morning. It's great to be with you for today again, like Kyle said, Would you please turn to First Corinthians 15, we're gonna be looking at verses 12 through 34 today. And if you don't have a physical Bible with you, you can use one from the seat back in front of you. And you can find our passage on page 933. Well, we're continuing our series. It's called This changes everything. First Corinthians 15 is all about the resurrection of Jesus, it's mentioned 23 times. So because Jesus rose from the dead, this changes everything for us. Last week, we saw that by God's grace, we can share in the victory of Jesus's resurrection, as the resurrection has been declared to us. It's been proved for us. And it's been shared with us. So this week, we are focusing on how the resurrection impacts our lives today. It's not just something that happened a long time ago, in the past, but it radically transforms the kind of lives that we live in the present. It's, it's common to hear people complain about how schools failed to prepare them for the real world. Why did we learn this in school? I've never used it since then. You know, a common activity taught in school or done in school that seems to have little value in the real world is learning how to drop an egg from the second floor of a building, without it breaking. I don't know about you. But I've never had to use that skill before or since then. It's usually a competition to see who can protect their egg the best was given supplies that you need to use. And, you know, yes, I know, there's something to learn from it. There's gravity and air resistance and all that stuff. But here's the thing. We never throw eggs off the second floor of a building. And in order to consume an egg, you actually have to break it on purpose.The experiment doesn't really have much use in real life.The reality is, we should never treat the resurrection of Jesus like this. It's not something that we were taught when you were younger. And except for maybe a few exceptions, it doesn't really have much value for us today. Or it's something we talked about once during Easter, and then we're good for the year, and we can forget about it. The resurrection has huge impact on our lives today. So the question that I hope we can answer after today is this. What does the resurrection have to do with my life? Why does it matter? What difference does it make? So to help us answer this question, Paul starts by framing the conversation in negative terms. We learned that without the resurrection of Jesus, we live a pitiful life. We live a pitiful life. Look with me, verses 12 through 19 says but if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, the not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless. And so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we've testified about about God that He raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact, the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile. You're still in your sins, then those who also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life, we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. There's a strong passage, we find in verse 12, the specific issue that Paul is addressing in the Corinthian church, some of them were denying the resurrection. But not just Jesus's resurrection, resurrection in general at all. There's there's none of it.

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Resurrection Victory July 9, 2023 | Meritt Raup

TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

Well, good morning. It's great to be with you all today. Please turn to First Corinthians 15. As we begin this series, we're gonna spend the next three weeks digging into this incredible chapter. And the aim of this series is simple. It comes from the the first line of verse one says now brothers and sisters, I want to remind you have the gospel. These next three weeks, I want to remind you of the gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ that He has come to save sinners. As we'll see, an essential aspect of the gospel is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Well, we celebrate every year at Easter. And here's the truth. Easter is not the only day of the year that we can say Christ is risen. Jesus is alive every day. In first Corinthians 15, Paul gives the longest and most comprehensive explanation of the resurrection, and all that it means for us today. He mentioned it 23 times in this chapter. So if it's repeated, it's important. So as we go, we'll see that the resurrection has immense implications for our lives. You know, there are some specific days that have had a monumental impact on the course of history. If I were to say, December 7 1941. Some of you know what happened that day. President Roosevelt famously called it a day that will live in infamy. December 7 1941 was the day that Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. This event was monumental because it led to the US joining World War Two. before Pearl Harbor, the US was not directly involved in the war. We're sort of watching from afar as the war grew in Europe, there was no threat to the US soil. But because of Pearl Harbor, everything changed. That day radically altered the course of our country's history. So I can confidently say in a even more significant way, that the resurrection of Jesus changes everything. It's the title of this series, this changes everything. The resurrection was a monumental event that declared Jesus's victory in the past, that transforms our lives in the present, and gives us an unshakable hope for the future. So that's where we're headed these next three weeks. But today, we're going to look at the first few verses and focus on the victory that Jesus has won through His resurrection. So the first part of our passage we see that victory, declared. Would you read along with me first Corinthians 15, verses one and two. Now brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel, I preached to you In which you received, and on which you have taken your stand by this gospel, you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you, otherwise, you have believed in vain. You know, people can be forgetful sometimes. Have you ever been in a situation where you're meeting someone for the first time? And one of the questions you ask when you meet someone for the first time is, what is your name? And that person tells you their name. And then, as you go throughout the conversation, you realize, I have no clue what this person's name is. Isn't it's not that you, you didn't know you just didn't remember. And so in that situation, you know that they already told you so you don't need any new information. Rather, you just need to be reminded of what you've already heard. So this is similar to what Paul is facing with the Corinthians. We know Paul spent 18 months in the city of Corinth, during his second missionary journey. And Acts chapter 18 describes how Paul taught every week. Many people believed in Jesus and were saved and baptize. But it wasn't long after Paul left the church in Corinth, that they had some serious problems. Now, Paul wrote this letter only a few years after his visit, and the first 14 chapters are full of serious issues in this chur...

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title March 19, 2021 | Brandon Cooper

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Amen.

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The Good Life July 2, 2023 | Jake Thomas

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Good morning. My name is Jake and I'm interning here this summer. And you may see me around out. It's very humbled to be here before you today preaching the word of God. So if you would please open your Bibles with me to Romans 13. And we're going to start in verse eight today. That's Romans 13. And we're going to start in verse eight. And I recently learned that one of the fastest growing industries in the world is life coaching. If you don't know what life coaching is, it's people that hire clients and coach them through personal and career challenges. So in the same way, a basketball coach helps a basketball player become better at their sport, a life coach helps a person become better at life, to better organize their schedule, maintain their relationships, or just maintain healthier habits. And between 2015 and 2019, the amount of life coaches in the world increased by 33%. It also makes a lot of money this past year, a life coaching generated $2.85 billion, it's almost 3 billion. And I bring this up because those numbers tell an interesting story. I mean, seems clear, people want to know how to live, they feel like a mess, and they're willing to pay people a lot of money to figure out how to get their lives in order. And I think if people are willing to spend almost $3 billion a year, just learning how to make their schedule more organized. How much more should we care about our sanctification? Shouldn't we try to get coached up spiritually? I know I feel like a mess I'm sure you often do as well. And maybe you feel like you need a spiritual life coach. But where do we go for spiritual life coaching? believe the Word of God is our guide for life. And the Word of God says live like the Lord. And that's my main idea today is live like the Lord. Jesus gives us spiritual life coaching. And Romans 13. Eight through 14 describes three ways we can live like the Lord. So just in case you don't know the book of Romans is a letter, the apostle Paul wrote to the early church in Rome. And you can see in the first half of 13, Paul has two main points he's talking about. He's saying submit to the authorities above you and pay your taxes. And Paul uses this illustration of money to transition to our passage today. So the first way, I'm sorry, she's reading with me, please, let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another. For whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, you shall not covet. And whatever other command, there may be, are summed up in this one command. Love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore Love is the fulfillment of the law. And do this understanding the present time, the hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over the day is almost here. So let's put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. So the first way, Paul says we can live like the Lord is give love to others. And that seems pretty clear from looking at verse eight. Look at Paul says, Let no debt remain outstanding. And so he's still talking about money there. So remember, in the previous chunk, he's saying, pay what you owe. And then he uses that to talk to to talk to the Romans about how they should treat each other.

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The True Vine (John 15:1-8) June 25, 2023 | Kyle Bjerga

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Good morning. Go ahead and grab your Bibles and turn to John chapter 15. As you grab your Bibles, I'm also gonna ask you to do something that we don't normally do, I want you to grab out your smartphone. If you have your smartphone, please grab it, you can ignore all the notifications. This is not to, to check what's going on in the Cubs game or anything like that in London. But I do want to have your phones out for just a minute, we're gonna do a little exercise together. If you don't have a smartphone, I'm hoping somebody's close enough to you can see what we're going to do here. I had some people that iPhones and Androids do that this week. And it does work. But some phones are older. So this may not work for you. So again, you could look on with somebody else, if you see this. So what I want you to do, if you're an iPhone user, I want you to go to settings. And I want you to find screen time. Wow. And I want you to click on screentime. If you're an Android user, you should be able to go to settings as well tap digital well-being or parental controls, it might be the same one and see if a screen pops up. I was not expecting that reaction. But I think you know where I'm going with this. So everyone that has a smartphone and hopefully knew enough that you see this if you don't hopefully you can you can look out with someone else. This should tell you how much time you have spent on your phone today, this last week or on average for the week. You can also like my phone tells me what apps I use and how long I was on those apps, as well. So if you have that picture in your mind, you can go ahead and turn it off and now put the phone away. So we're not distracted. The average American, they say based on our spends about two months of their year on their phone. That's the average American across all ages, anybody with a smartphone. If you add smartwatches into that mix, we start to realize we are very connected to our phones to our technology. So our phones and our watches can keep track of every step. Every breath, what you're doing while you're sleeping. It congratulates you when you've done well on your fitness goals. It reminds you of things, it talks to you, you can talk back to it. And it knows what you like and what you don't like. Is there anyone in your life that knows you better than your phone? The better question might be is there anybody that you know better than your phone? Listen to a Professor Daniel Miller says about cell phones. He did this massive study through the University College London. And he says this at the end of the study. So the smartphone is no longer just a device that we use. It's become the place where we live. So there is a concern with how connected we are to technology. We know this, we've talked about this here before but there's a larger problem for American Christians. Because our stats in our phones aren't that much different than the rest of the world. But there is something that is a little bit more concerning. Because if we leave our house without our phone, we panic. We need to go back and get it. But American Christians spend 15 minutes or less a day in Bible study and prayer with Jesus. There's a big difference here in our phones and our time spent cultivating a relationship with Him. And so if we had a daily screen time that would show us how long have you spent cultivating your relationship with Jesus today or this week? Or on average? What is it for a week? What would it say? Because a lot of us have questions like why am I not growing spiritually? And a lot of times we need to look at this as possibly the reason the Scripture is clear that our spiritual growth is directly related to...

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The Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:1-14) June 18, 2023 | Brandon Cooper

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Good morning church. And go ahead grab your Bibles open up to John chapter 14 will be in John 14 this morning as we continue in our series on the I am statements of Jesus. As you're turning to John 14, I think most of you would agree which we strive to live untroubled lives, is a huge part of our energy goes into making sure that things are as smooth as possible, I would say, we almost erect shelters against life's storms. So that looks like things like we buy insurance. Of course, we've got a savings of Council, unexpected finances don't ruin us, we go into medical checkups, so we're not surprised. They're all of that, sure, but also, just the rhythms and routines of our lives, we put in place to shelter us from I mean, from reality, from brutal reality, in some ways, the tenuousness of it all, the fear that maybe none of this matters, or the fear that maybe I don't matter, at least not as much as I think I should. And so we kind of keep our eyes down, you know, just one foot in front of the other. That's what I mean by the rhythms and routines, because to look up, is to be overwhelmed at times. Of course, every now and again, events conspire to rouse us from that sort of self imposed slumber, that may be the breaking in of external circumstances, a health concern, or financial trouble, or relationship that's been lost. Absolutely. That'll, you know, jolt us awake, but it may also just be the breaking out of an internal malaise or more, you know, picture of the midlife crisis, for example, you know, there's this moment where you kind of go Yipes, you know, have I mattered? Have I made a difference? And there's this this contemplation of mortality that comes in that moment, and really is the existential crisis that we all feel, we just kind of try and tamp it down as often as possible. Why am I here? What am I supposed to be doing? Is this, it? It feels in some ways, like we start at the bottom of a great peak. And we spend our lives trying to scale it to reach glory, whatever that looks like, maybe it is a religious glory, it's nirvana or something like that. Maybe it's more of a secular glory, like meaning that the the search for significance. But there are a lot of pitfalls. It's a really steep climb, you take some wrong turns, and pretty soon you find yourself troubled and confused and realize you're gonna be completely unable to scale the summit. So head down, one foot in front of the other, don't look at the peak, you know, rhythms and routines. Didn't pay paying attention. The news this week, you've probably heard the story of the really miraculous rescue of these kids in Colombia. The kids were trapped in the jungle had to survive by themselves over a month, if I remember correctly, what did they need, they needed someone to come and get them, and to show them the way home to show them how to get back? Not so dramatic in our lives, I recognize but that's kind of a good picture of how we often feel lost, confused, helpless, hopeless, and isolated. Will someone come and get us and show us the way to go? Maybe show us how to scale this mythical summit before us. So the argument I'm trying to make this morning as we look at John 14 is that there's a choice before us in the midst of all of that we can choose trust or trouble. That is we can choose to kind of have a hearts that are constantly agitated, constantly stirred up, or we can choose a peace that surpasses understanding. I'm gonna give you the main idea up front, and you're gonna go I don't know he hasn't proven that yet. Correct. That's where we spend the rest of our time doing okay, but here's the main idea. While we wait for Jesus,

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The Resurrection and the Life (John 11:17-44) June 11, 2023 | Brandon Cooper

TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

Good morning church. That is too loud. I know I'm quiet. I'm not that quiet. Go ahead and open your book, grab your Bibles open up to John chapter 11. John chapter 11. We'll be starting in verse 17. This morning, as you're turning their John 1117. I mentioned last week, as we were going to Jesus, the Good Shepherd protects us from the wolves in our lives, that death is that last enemy, the One A wolf that for sure stalks us all. We want to really pick up there and continue with it this morning. But by talking about the fact that there's nothing right about death, it doesn't ever feel right to us. There's nothing natural or expected about it, which is kind of odd because it happens in nature. And you should probably expect it since it happens to everyone. And yet it doesn't feel natural or expected. We know that's true - when life is tragically cut short, of course. But even when someone lives What do we always say, a long full life, there is still grief, immense grief. My grandmother was 92 years old when she died. Amy's grandmother was 95 when she died. These were long, full lives, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, all of that. And guess what? We cried still. Because death doesn't feel right or expected. It's the awful finality of it all. We just can't bear the weight of unending separation. And the knowledge that that's coming hot sauce throughout our lives, colors, our relationships with those we love. Most. We can certainly agree with Alfred Lord Tennyson quoted many times here, bow made us man he knows not why he thinks he was not made to die. That's how we feel. I don't think I was meant to die. It's why we also agree if you only remember one poem from your English class, it probably was this one Dylan Thomas, "Do not go gentle into that good night. rage, rage against the dying of the light." That's how we feel about death. "No, I'm not going. You can't make me. I will rage against this." And what's interesting is this is common in every culture. Throughout history, throughout geography. The great Dutch theologian Herman Babbage set it like this, he said, All people are convinced that man is immortal by nature. And therefore, it is not immortality that must be proven but death that must be explained. Death is felt as unnatural. Everywhere. What an interesting statement from a brilliant man to go, "We have to explain death because we're so confident that we are immortal." All evidence to the contrary since we're clearly quite mortal. Why? Why do we need to explain the most certain fact of life that surrounds us daily? We're going to make sense of our world, our place in this world, we must understand death, and our discomfort with it. That's what we'll set out to do this morning, to stare death in the face, to contemplate our immortality. We'll do so by looking at a famous story when Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, I'm gonna do things a little differently this morning. I'm gonna read our whole passage upfront. Why? This one is a little bit like a masterpiece of a work of art, we just got to kind of take in the whole thing all at once. And then we can kind of zero in on some details. In the paintings, we're gonna read the full text. I'm gonna pull out some threads then as we go. I mentioned in the first week that each title for God or for Jesus really contains within it implicitly our brokenness, and then an explicit statement of the salvation God brings. And then again, implicitly, our response to that salvation. So that's the threads we're going to pull out as we go. But let me read John chapter 11, verses 17 to 44. On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four da...

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The Gate (John 10:1-10) May 28, 2023 | Jake Thomas TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
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Good morning church. It’s been said a few times. My name is Jake Thomas. And I’m a Moody Bible Institute student, and I’m working as an intern this summer. And I’m very excited to learn and to serve you all this summer. And you may recognize me. I’ve been here for a few years now. I work down in the basement of kids city. If your kid has ever told you about a Mr. Tall Jelly Bean, that’s me. It’s a long story. I don’t really understand it myself. But yeah, I’m very excited to be here today and to preach the Word of God. And I’m very humbled. So if you would, please open your Bibles with me to John 10. It’d be John 10. And we’re gonna start in verse one.
As a grown-up my dad, he had a tradition and every house we moved to every new place we would go to pretty early on in the process, he grabbed an old bucket of red paint, and an even older paint brush, and he’d go to the front door and paint the door red, bright red. And I don’t know why red, I think he just liked the color. But every house that I’ve ever lived in, has had a red front door. So whenever I saw that bright red door, I knew I was home. So whenever I leave for the day to go to school, or I go to work, I go hang out, with my friends, and I got tired, I could return to the red door and find rats, I could eat and sleep in the peace of my own home. Or whenever I became scared, and I wasn’t quite sure what was going on, I could return to the red door and lock it behind me and the fear couldn’t get to me anymore. I got safety behind the red door. Or whenever I was alone, all my friends were gone. I didn’t know anyone around me, I could return to the red door because my family was right behind it. So whenever I saw my bright red door, I knew I was home.
I think we’re all looking for home, we’re all looking for a place to find rest, and safety and community.
Ever felt tired, unsure of where to go to find rest in peace? Or felt scared, unsure where to go to find security and safety. Or maybe you felt alone? Feel like you’re not connected to anyone you’re unsure where to go to find community. So where is our home? Where it is our big red door? Where do we go to find rest and safety and community? I think a better question isn’t where is our big red door, but rather who is our big red door. So if you’re just joining us this week, or you miss the past few weeks, we’re in the middle of a series called I am Jesus. In his own words, we’re going through the I am statements of Jesus. In week one, Pastor Brandon, he talked about how Jesus is the bread of life, the better choice of calories to consume. And then last week, Pastor Kyle talked about Jesus is the light of the world that he’s come, and we are to follow him. Today. Today we’re going to be in John 10. One. So please bear with me while I read verse one. Very truly I tell you, Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. And so we’re hopping right in the middle of a story here. And to understand what’s going on, we got understand who’s talking to who who’s listening to that, and what happened before that. So we see from chapter nine that it’s Jesus is the one talking. And you see in verse one, it says who he’s talking to, he’s talking to the Pharisees. So what happened before this that led to the Pharisees in the Jesus talking, like kind of in a little bit of a spat right now. So in chapter nine, Jesus, He heals a blind guy, a guy who couldn’t see for his entire life. And even more shocking, he says, He’s the Son of Man, which is basically Jesus saying that he is God. And the Pharisees, they’re like the religious leaders of the day, and they don’t like what Jesus said, they find that unbelievable, like, Who are you to say you are God. And so Jesus, he actually doubles down on what he’s saying. He says, I am the Son of Man. And Pharisees are actually more blind than that blind guy that I healed. So naturally, the Pharisees don’t really like that. And so tensions are kind of high right now between Jesus and the Pharisees, which makes what he says next even more shocking. So we see in verse one, Jesus is laying out the image of a sheep pen, which he goes into more detail about for the rest of the passage. And so in the other verses, you see what you would expect to find a sheep pen, right, you see sheep, and you see a shepherd. Those are the things that make sense to be in the sheep pen. You also mentioned is the gate and that’s a really important image to take note of some translations that you have might say door so I’m going to use those words relatively interchangeably. When I say door I mean gate when I say gate, I mean door you guys get it. But there’s something else that Jesus mentions that doesn’t quite belong in the sheep and it’s the thieves And I think I picture the Pharisees, they’re listening to Jesus, right? They’re getting ready to refute anything’s gonna say, and they’re tracking with them. And I think they would have understood the sheep and the shepherd. I think that would have made sense to them. Because the Pharisees they, they knew their Bible, right? They were pretty well read, because in the Old Testament, in the Old Testament of the Bible, it talks about the sheep and the shepherd as images for the people of God, the sheep, and God, the shepherd, the Pharisees, they would have understood that they’re like, Okay, I’m tracking Jesus, he is talking about that. But I think what would have confused them would have been the thieves. I think they would have been like, who? Who were the thieves supposed to be? I don’t understand. Who are they? And we even know the the Pharisees didn’t get it. Because you see, in verse six, it says, The Pharisees did not understand. So let’s help the Pharisees out a little bit. Let’s build a case file on these thieves. Let’s put our Sherlock Holmes hat and figure out who the thieves are? Well, first, let’s figure out the motive of the thief. Why would the thief want to get into the sheep pen? I mean, it seems kind of obvious. But to get to the sheep, the sheep are desirable to the thief. That’s why they want to break into the sheep pen. But what did the sheep even have that are worth stealing? Well, sheep have Wolf. That’s what makes the sheep valuable in the eyes of excuse me, of a thief. So then, who are the thieves? Well, I think Jesus was actually talking to the thieves. He’s in the presence of them. You see, because the Pharisees they’re very interested in the wool of the people of God. You see the thief. The problem with him is that he doesn’t care about the sheep, only what the sheep can give them. And the Pharisees didn’t care about what the people of God about them only about what they could give them. Because in that time, the Jewish people, they needed to offer sacrifices at the temple. So they would buy an animal to go to the temple, they give it to the Pharisee. And the Pharisee would sacrifice it for forgiveness of the Jewish people since the problem though, was that the Pharisees they would upcharge the Jews on the animals, they would sell like doves and goats for way more than they were actually worth. And not only that, sometimes when they were given the animal, they would just cook it and eat in themselves, they want to actually sacrifice it to God. You see, the Pharisees, they didn’t care about the people of God, the Elland cared about the people of God could give them the wool. And yeah, you and I, if we ask people about, we don’t sacrifice animals anymore. It’s not something that we really do. But we still have wool. That is desirable. There are leaders in the modern church that don’t care about the people of God, but only care about the people of God can give them. And yeah, it’s not animals, but the there are modern church leaders who want money, and want status and even sexual gains from the people of God. And so we see the problem. And we see the intruders there are thieves wanting to get into the sheep pen, but who actually belongs in the sheep pen who actually lives and the sheep pen. Follow me as a read on. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep, the gatekeeper opens the gate for him and the sheep LISTEN to His voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leaves them out. When he’s brought out all the sheep. on his own, he goes on ahead of them and his sheep follow him because they know His voice, but they will never follow a stranger. In fact, they’ll run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice. Jesus uses figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them. So what does it mean to live in the sheep pen? Well, I think one way to understand a place is to understand who owns it. A way to understand what it means to live somewhere is understand who owns the building. Let me give you an example. So what if I invited you to come live in this amazing penthouse in downtown Chicago? It’s got an amazing view of the Michigan, Lake Michigan, and downtown Chicago. It’s got awesome stores in the basement, awesome restaurants, this is just a great place to live. I think most people be like, Yeah, that makes sense. I’ll take that deal. Now what if I told you that place was trumped our Donald Trump is an incredibly polarizing figure you either you love him or you hate him. Now, some people they get really excited by this, they put their Magga cap on, they have our suitcases packed, like when can I move in, I’m ready to go. And other people, you cannot pay them enough to set foot in that building. They feel physically ill at the thought of living in a building with his name on the side of it. So you see the to understand what it means to live somewhere is understand the owner, it’s a helpful way to understand what it means to live there.
So who owns the sheep pen? The shepherd, the shepherd is the owner of the sheep pen. Now I’m not going to go too much into the shepherd because pasture Brandon’s gonna preach on that next week. And yeah, so come next because it’s gonna be a really great sermon. So I’m gonna kind of dip and dip out. But the most important thing to learn about the shepherd in this passion is passage is his voice. You can see the power of it in verses four and five and verse 14, So that’s why the sheep follow him. They know the sound of his voice and they go down and verse five, he said they won’t follow a stranger’s voice. If someone tries to call them the sheep, they won’t go to them. That’s the power of the shepherds voice. It’s even more interesting if you know how Middle Eastern Shepherd practice worked back then. So it wasn’t like each shepherd had their own pen necessarily. So they were pens and multiple shepherds would use the same pen overnight. And other other shepherds would sleep while one shepherd washed all the sheep. And then in the morning, there wasn’t this really big concern about Okay, wait, which sheeps mine, which sheeps? Yours, the shepherd would just go to the gate and call the sheep and only his sheep would come out? The shepherd, they know the sound of the sheep, they know the shepherds voice, they’re not going to move in a way that their shepherd isn’t calling them. And so again, that’s really all we’re gonna talk about Jesus being Shepherd today. So coming in next week, Pastor brand is going to give an amazing sermon about that, I’m sure. Okay, so the shepherd, the most important thing about him is his voice. So then, what about the sheep? What is so important that the sheep, what does it mean to be a person of God to be in the flock? Well, I think if the most important thing about the shepherd is his voice, then it stands to reason that the most important thing about the sheep are their ears. The people of God are those who listen to the voice of the shepherd, the listen to the voice of Jesus. To live in the sheep in is to listen to the voice of God and submit to the homeowner of the sheep pen. And so, in the same way that sheep they didn’t move and toward a stranger’s voice, you and I, we shouldn’t move in ways that our shepherd isn’t calling us. We need to listen to the voice of God. And I don’t use that phrase is kind of interesting, the voice of God, what does that actually mean? How do we listen to the voice of God? I don’t know about you, but I’ve never had like a thundercloud speak to me or had like a dream or a vision that told me what to do and how I should honor God. So where do we go? Where do we go to listen to the voice of God? We have in our hands, the voice of God is the Bible. This book is the wisdom and truth of the Lord, his voice shouts from these pages, to be one of the sheep to be a person of God, to be in the flock is to listen to submit to the Bible, the Word of God. So then, I get to be a sheep as listen to the voice of God, but how are the sheep get into the sheep pen? How does that happen? How they access the sheep? And we know who lives there, right? We know the residents is the shepherd and the sheep. But how did the sheep get there in the first place? How do they get into the dream home? Or how to get into any place the door? So what is the door to the sheep and what is the gate to the sheep pen? Let’s read on in verse seven. Therefore, Jesus said, again, very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate, whoever is enters through me will be saved, they will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief has comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come they might have life and have it to the fool. So the door to the sheep pen, it’s not a place, it’s a person. He is how we enter the sheep in Jesus, how we get in. It feels kind of weird, right? So wait, Jesus is the shepherd and also the door? How does that make any sense? In verse nine, it’s very clear what he means by that. Jesus is saying that he is whoever enters through and will be will be saved. To enter through him is to start a relationship with Jesus. That’s how you enter the gate. That’s how we use the door. He’s a person that you have a relationship with them. And that’s how you enter through the gate. And not only that, you enter through the gate to receive salvation to receive life. So Jesus saying in this passage, is telling us to enter the gate. He’s offering a place for us to receive rest and safety and community he’s offering all a home. All we need to do is enter into a relationship with him and then we have entered the gate. But why do we even need a door in the first place? Why can’t we just be in the sheep pen? Well, the problem was that we actually used to live in the sheep pen Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. That was the original sheep and they lived with God in relationship with him. But they had to leave because they disobeyed God and they sinned. They stopped listening to the voice of God and they couldn’t live in the sheep anymore. So we need a way back. We need a way back to the sheep and because you and I we also sin as well. We’ve stopped listening to the voice of God. And we turn off our ears right we kind of not only listen to this, you know, I can figure it out myself. I don’t really need to listen to what the voice of God is telling me to do. So we need a way back, way back into the sheep pen. And Romans 323 says, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. So we all don’t listen to God. So we need a way back into the sheep pen. And Jesus gave us a way back, enter into a relationship with Him, He cleanses us of our sins, so we can be called sheep. He makes us into sheep and we enter into relationship with him. And he’s calling anyone that’s gonna listen. It’s not like there’s a category like, oh, yeah, you’re gonna be a sheep, you can be a sheep. He’s calling anyone that’s wanting to put on the ears of a sheep to listen to the voice of God and enter the gate. Anyone who’s willing to enter the gate can be a sheep. So if you think you’re not good enough to be a sheep, that’s a lie. Listen to him into the gate. Everything I just don’t really belong in church is totally my scene. That’s a lie. Listen to him into the gate. Do you think I’m just too messed up? I have too much baggage. I’m just there’s no way I’m gonna have to be a sheep. It’s the biggest lie of all Jesus is calling for you is calling for you that enter the gate, to enter into a relationship with Him so that you can receive life. But why could only Jesus be the gate? Why couldn’t God make another way into the sheep pen? It’s a good question. The key to that is in verse 10, you look at it says, Jesus says I have come. And that’s the key word for a door to be useful has to be accessible. Jesus, he couldn’t have been a door have been distant. So when he says I have come, that’s the key. He is. So we cheat. We need a way back to the sheep and right, we’re separated from the sheep and in our humaneness. Our sin has taken us away from the sheep and to be in the sheep in is to have a relationship with God. Right. So we need a way back into that. So for Jesus to be the door, he has to be both accessible to us, and also able to access the sheep and he has to access sinful humanity and access God relationship with God. And the blessing is that Jesus is fully human and fully God. And so we can do that. John 114 It says the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us we have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only Son who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. There isn’t anybody else who could even think about being the door, Jesus in the category all by himself, he, he’s able to access the sheep and access God, He gives us a way to get back into the sheep pen. Jesus being human allows us to access a relationship with Him, him being God allows them to access the sheep and we enter through the humanity of Jesus into the reward of His deity. We have to enter the gate to receive the reward of the sheep pen. And what is the reward? The ward is of the sheep in his life with the shepherd. So Jesus sees the shepherd and the door and the reward how’s it make any sense? He’s not just the door. He’s also the reward on the other side. So picture like this. If he was a real estate agent, he would just enter and he helped you find an amazing house and said I got the best house for you. Come on in. He did all the paperwork for you. I got you the keys right away. You moved in, you got all your stuff in and said Okay, going in and closed behind then left. The home feels so empty. It’s not a home as a house. Is there anything worth having in that house? Geez, he has to be reward. It’s not that the reward is to go live in the sheep and the reward is to go have life with the shepherd. She is he offers life and that he offers himself. He’s not a real estate agent. He’s a homeowner. He’s invited us to come inside. I got to play set for you right here. Come and live with me in the sheep and in the home. He gives us life because he gives us life with himself.
He offers rest life was Jesus he offers wrestle, give verse nine it says the sheep they will find pasture sheep. They are they need to be fed and they need to be sustained. And you and I we also our souls grow hungry and we need to be well fed. Jesus says that any who live in his flock will never go hungry will be well fed into the gate and find rest. Life where Jesus offers protection as well. To live in the sheep and is to be under the watchful eye of the shepherd, Ezekiel 34 It talks about the punishment for those who take advantage of the flock of God, the people of God. So woe to those who threaten the sheep because shepherd the shepherd is watching and he will take his vengeance into the gate and find safety. Life of Jesus it offers community as well to live In the flock is to not graze alone, you live with the other sheep. And not only that, even when you do kind of graze alone for a little bit, the shepherd is always nearby, comforting and listening to his sheep. You’re never alone once you’re in the sheep pen and to the gate and find community. Because when you enter the gate you find not just life, but look at excuse me, look at verse 10. Again, it says that he is life but life to the full. I don’t know if we’re shocked enough by that really small four-letter word. The life that Jesus is offering is complete, unrestricted, brimming, overflowing and abundant life. Jesus, He offers his sheep who enter the gate full life. So how does this change our lives? How does Jesus telling us to enter the gate change how we live our day to day, to those who aren’t quite sure about this whole Christian thing. The door is hoping for you. The door, the sheep gate is wide open for you not only that Jesus calling you by name. He’s saying I got a play set for you here, come join me in my home. So enter the gate, receive safety and rest and community. Because I’m sure you’ve been tired. I’m sure you felt scared before. How I’m sure you feel kind of lonely sometimes. And the sheep pen offers the answer to all of those problems, the sheep and offers rest and safety and community. Enter the gate because it’s wide open for you. And to those who have already entered the gate to the sheep, keep living like a sheep keep listening to the voice of God. And know maybe every once in a while get an ear examination. Because you and I think we let some wax build up over time. And we don’t always listen to the voice of God like we need to. So maybe there’s someone in life that can check yours for you. But just make sure you’re putting on the ears of a sheep every day, and you’re doing your best to listen to the voice of God to the words of this book. And to the parents, disciple, your kids, raise them to be little sheep. So they also enter the gate. And look, I get it like, of everybody in this room part of the least qualified to talk about this. I’m sure everyone wants to hear family advice from a young single college guy. I think that’s, that’s probably why you’re right. I’m definitely not the most popular thought about this. So I’m not going to tell you what I would do. Instead, I’m gonna tell you what my parents did. They’re actually here today over there, and my brother, too. So my parents did it at two main things. Because me and my siblings, there’s three of us. They raised us all to be sheep. We’re just a little pack of sheep over there in Iowa. And so what they did the two main things, and what tell us is do you make the church your home, raise your kids and the sheep pen. Let the sheep Enos of the older sheep rub off on your kids that the voices they listened to be the ones who listened to the voice of God. If anyone grew up in the church, it’s me my dad’s a pastor. So the lobby was my playground, my best friends growing up. Those are my Sunday school buddies. And the people that I listened to the most were the older sheep that show me the ropes like, hey, this grass is good or don’t go there, it’s not so good. So raise your kids in the sheep pen at the sheep Enos of older sheep rub off on them until they enter the gate. And the other things my parents did was, I’m sorry, the other thing you have to do as well is to help your kids listen to the voice of God, you have to listen to it yourself. You have to model what it means to be a sheep. My parents, they entered the gate a long time before I was even born. Not that long, but And so every day as me and my siblings grew up, my parents invited me and my siblings to join them in the gate. And my parents, they weren’t perfect. Obviously. There were some days they their ears a little more clean than others. But every day they invited us into the sheep pen. And so we join them. So raise your kids in the sheep pen, and live like a sheep so that your kids and then invite your kids to join you in the sheep pen. And to the sheep pen to to the church. Turn on your sheep cents when you hear things that people say about Christianity and about the Bible. Ask questions when it doesn’t sound quite right when it sounds like the voice of a stranger, not the voice of your Shepherd. When your sheep senses tingling. Follow that feeling because it could just be an honest mistake. It could be that someone just misspoke or you misunderstood them. But it could be something much worse. It could be someone trying to lead you from the sheep pen lead you from your Shepherd. But I think even more important is we need to invite people to join us in the sheep pen. We invite people to walk through the front doors of Cityview I mean, when was the last time that you invited someone to come in here? It’s a humbling question something I gotta ask myself too. We need more new faces around here. We need to live Like obnoxiously loud sheep that can’t stop making noise about the sheep pen. So we need to invite those that we know around us to come join us in the sheep. And because Jesus, he’s inviting everyone to come in. And so in the echo his call, we need to be obnoxiously loud sheep saying join us in the sheep pen calm, have full life. And not only that, we need to, we only need to just open the gates of Cityview, we need to open the gates of our own homes, I’m gonna embarrass my hosts, I’m a little bit but Andrew & Megan Massengale have just really opened the gate of their own home to me, they have welcomed me into their life these past few weeks, they and their kids have just loved me so well. It’s been amazing. And it’s not just me, they also use our house as a ministry all the time. They’re constantly hosting different parties and people, and they’re sharing their life with those around them. And we need to do the same thing. So Jesus, He gives us a home by inviting us to share in his life. So we need to model that by inviting people around us to share in our lives in the share in our homes, open the gate of your own home. Jesus said, He says enter the gate, to go into the sheep pen to have full life. And yeah, we know there are intruders, there are those who want to get to the wall of the sheep, to get to the people of God. But the shepherd, he provides rest and safety and community, a officer to the sheep to those who listen to His voice, those who put on the ears of a sheep and go in the gate. To those he offers rest, safety and community. And what he means by entering the gate is to enter into a relationship with him so we can go into the sheep. And because we needed a way back, right, because our sins, separate us from the sheep and we needed a way back. And Jesus, He gave us a way back, he is the door, he’s the way we access the sheep pen, his humanity allows the access him and his being God allows us to access the sheep pen. And he’s not a real estate agent. Remember, he’s not just an entrance, he doesn’t just throw you in the house and then leave. He’s a homeowner is offering a place to say gives, He offers life because he offers you to live with him. He’s not only the shepherd and the door, but he’s the reward on the other side. So all we need to do to have full life with the Shepherd has entered the gate. So I don’t live at my house anymore with my big red door. So whenever I see a red door even to see red, I think of home though. And whenever I go home to visit my family. The last thing I see after a long carry before I see my family is my big red door. And I know when I see it, I’m just a few steps away from the loving embrace of my family. And I think the sheep gate is actually a lot like my big red door. I think it’s actually red with the blood of Christ from the cross. And it’s painted with the blood of Christ. Because of the cross, you just die so that we could go to the sheep and we could get away back he came and he died and rose again so we could go back to the sheep pen. So when we see the big red door, the sheep gate, we know we’re just a few steps away from the life-giving loving embrace of our shepherd and to their gate, receive the reward of full life. The door is open. It’s got to coincide. Pray with me. Lord, thank you for giving us a door away back to the sheep pen and I pray that we would continue to listen to the voice of God to listen to your words, and that we would just go and live like sheep and we would invite others to join us in the sheep pen. Thank you for the reward of full life you give us and life with you and forever, we pray Amen.

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The Light of the World (John 8:12) May 21, 2023 | Kyle Bjerga TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

Well, good morning. Sounds like everybody was able to turn to John eight. So I trust you are there. Kids, I want to talk to the elementary kids because you guys are in the service with us. Today, preschool is going to join us a little later for our baptisms. But you know, on a family worship Sunday, which is today, I normally have you guys come up and we sit right about here, we do a little Kids’ Corner. So you guys can get to kind of hear a little bit about the message that morning. And usually I use some object lessons and stuff. Well, guess what? Everybody’s in Kids’ Corner today. Because you guys are gonna stay with your parents the entire time. What’s great about this is you get to just be up here with us and see what we do in the service on a Sunday morning. So you’re gonna have to open the Bibles with your parents, we’re gonna get to look on, you can even whisper some little questions that you have throughout, you have a little bulletin, you have a coloring page. So I hope you are engaging with everything that I’m saying this morning that you understand it, and you understand it. And in a deeper way, in a way that’s very clear, because we will be using some of these things up here. This isn’t typical parents for a Sunday morning that we have all this stuff up here. But we are going to have a shorter time together in God’s word because we’re gonna be celebrating a lot of baptisms today. And so I want to be very focused on John 812. So that you can also have these conversations with your kids as you go home today. So kids throughout, I will kind of get your attention to maybe look up here and see. And if your parents need some help, you can kind of poke them a little bit. And they can look up here as well when we get to those different parts. But let’s get started. So I want to start off with something a little humorous, because the kids are here for our youth group of students. So years ago, when I first started in youth ministry, I had a segment that I would do at the beginning called I survived youth ministry. And so some of you are giggling because you understand what that means. So when I was a student, or a volunteer leader, and then a youth pastor, I have lots of stories of things that happened. The types of things you said, How did my youth pastor not get arrested? Because that didn’t seem very safe. At the time, it looked like a good idea. Until we’ve been in the hospital multiple times. With students, maybe it was the question of how in the world do we actually turn out? Okay. After you hear some of the stories that I tell, but one of my favorites was we were on a Fall Retreat, and we were up in northern Wisconsin, and it was dark. And we do night games. And we do a night game called Mission Impossible. So think Capture the Flag late at night, some of you have played this with us. Not only was a dark, it was very cloudy, as well. And so it was really dark. And I remember, I was a volunteer leader this time, and I was hiding kind of where the woods met the campgrounds. And we told the students don’t go into the woods. Because it’s very dark. We didn’t want anybody to get hurt. So I was kind of right there on the edge. And one student decided not to listen. And there’s always one. You probably could have guessed actually, in our youth group who this person was, because not only was he the one that wouldn’t listen, he was also super competitive. And so I hear something behind me because I hear the scrunch of leaves. And so I hear like just some footsteps, then I hear this, like, he starts to jog a little bit. And then it’s getting faster, faster, faster, until he runs right into a shed. That was in this little clearing in the woods, where we told them not to be. And so I’m sitting there and I mean, I’m just like it was fast, fast, fast. He’s in a dead sprint until I hear that sound. And then I hear oh. And then I didn’t hear anything else. So of course, it’s very dark. And you know, kids, if your parents ever said, “It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt”? Well, he got hurt, and his game was over that evening. Now what was his problem? His problem wasn’t the game. It wasn’t the shed. It wasn’t playing with his friends. It was darkness. Darkness was his issue. Because if he played in the light, that game would have been very different for him, he would have been able to avoid the shed. And when we think about our own life, a lot of us don’t like thedark, kids. Maybe this is you. You don’t really like to be in the dark. So we have a little nightlight. And even for a lot of adults. There’s something about night, there’s something about darkness that we don’t like and it’s a physical problem. It’s something that we don’t enjoy just in life in general, but it’s a much deeper problem. Because we live in spiritual darkness from the time we are born. spiritual darkness that means that when we go through our life, we try to figure things out on our own. We try and figure out what the truth is we try and figure out which way we’re supposed to go. And we do this in darkness. Because spiritual darkness is living without God. That’s what spiritual darkness is living our lives without God and that is our problem. It is our prompt for every single one of us. The question today is where can we find the spiritual light that we need? To live in this dark world, where can we find that spiritual light that we need? And we’re going to answer that by looking at Jesus’s I am statement in John, chapter A’s. We’re in our second week of the series called I am Jesus, in his own words, and we’re going to listen to Jesus. And you can see in the notes there, it’s very simple. We’re gonna look at the context this morning because we need to understand when and where is Jesus saying, this statement. And then we’re gonna look at the claim that Jesus actually makes what does he say? And then finally, we’re gonna look at the call, why does this matter? What does Jesus say to us? So let’s start by looking at the context. There you see it right in the first part of verse 12. It says, When Jesus spoke again, to the people, he spoke again, which means this is actually connecting us back to chapter seven of John, which we didn’t look at last week, we’re in chapter six. So what’s happened in chapter seven years, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles. And the Feast of Tabernacles was this yearly celebration that the Jews had, where they came together to remember God’s provision, God’s presence, and God’s protection of them, when they were in the wilderness, once God saved them from slavery, brought them out of Egypt. And when they got out, they were supposed to follow God to the promised land. And if you know the story, well, you know, they disobey, they didn’t want to go into the land, because they were scared of the people. And so God said, therefore, you will not enter the land, at least that generation. And so 40 years there in the desert, living in temporary homes, sometimes called booths, or Tabernacles. And so kids, how many of you guys have made forts, right? forts are fun, forts are a lot of fun, you’d like to make an inside, maybe outside, maybe you want to spend the night in your, in your fort in your house, or maybe it’s outside, and it’s great. And it’s fun until it rains until the wind comes. And obviously, like, I wish I had something more permanent. Well, the people eventually get in the Promised Land, and they do have permanent homes, but God wants them to remember something. He wants them to remember this time for 40 years, and they lived in temporary homes, and he was the one that gave them everything they needed to survive. And so that’s what the Feast of Tabernacles was to remind the people of this, you’ll see on the screen, Leviticus 23, this is what it says there to do. Live in temporary shelters for seven days, all native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters. So your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt, I am the Lord your God. And so this is what they would do as a family. And they would make these temporary shelters. And remember, this is our God, this is what God has done, he saved us. And then something happened during the celebration, they would actually so up here I’ve got this little like fire, not real, don’t worry. And it’s not very big. So it’s a kind of sad representation, but representation anyways, of this giant pillar that they would have, they would have four big pillars in the temple. And what they would do is they would light these pillars. And so there’s massive fire. So they’re saying like 70 feet high. So everybody could see the light from these four pillars as it was going. And there was a purpose to this. Because God led his people through the desert, by what? A cloud and a pillar of fire. Look at Exodus 13. By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night, neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. So what did God do? He led his people, his glory, His presence, and I am with you. And He led them through saying, this is where you’re supposed to go. And what was the role of the people to follow, right to follow him to follow wherever this pillar of fire went? And so they’d like these massive pillars of fire, everybody would be able to see it, and they were called to rejoice. They were called to rejoice. And it’s with this background at the Feast of Tabernacles. Towards the end with these pillars lit that Jesus gets before the people and says, I am the light of the world. i In the light of the world, this is his claim. All right, so we’re going to be continuing with this is his claim. And it’s a massive claim. One that all the people around especially the Pharisees at the time would have known what Jesus was saying, and they were going to take issue with it as well. But that’s what we see in the first part of verse 12. I am the light of the world. So what is Jesus saying here? Because light is a rich metaphor in the Bible, all sorts of different directions. We can take this but if I could just simplify it. Jesus is just saying, the only way you make sense of the world is by me.
The only way you can look at things and make sense of them is if you look at them through me through who I am and what I’m doing what I came to accomplish, if you want to know where to go, if you want wisdom, if you want truth, if you want hope it is through me, you must look at me, I am the light of the world. CS Lewis says it this way, a famous quote, many of you probably have heard before he says, “I believe in Christianity is I believe that the son has risen. Not only because I see it, but because by it, I see everything else. When we see the son, Jesus Christ, we see everything else we say, oh, okay, I understand that now. And it’s a growing understanding, of course. But we see things differently when we see by the light of Jesus. Now, a statement like this, I’m the light of the world sounds like something God would say. That’s exactly right, because that’s what Jesus is claiming. Brandon told us that last week, as we started this series, that Jesus is taking the name of God, when Moses says, Who should I say has sent me he says, I am who I am, I m has sent you. And so Jesus is saying, I am I in the light of the world. If we were to walk through the Bible, we would learn a lot about light. And so we’re not going to walk through every single chapter. But I do want to walk through a few different sections of Scripture for us to kind of see what this idea of light means. So starting on page, one of the Bible, we have creation, and what is over the surface of the Earth, darkness, darkness is there, and God speaks and says, Let there be light. And there was light. God is the one who brought light into this world. And with it, he brought life. So John, who’s writing the gospel that we’re in, in chapter one actually uses a lot of the same language from Genesis one in his book, in his account of Jesus’s life. And he says this because he knows Jesus is the one sent by God. He says, “He was with God, in the beginning. through him, all things were made. Without him, nothing was made that has been made in Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” So what’s John saying, Jesus was there, Jesus is the Creator. Now, why does John choose to say this is the beginning of his gospel? Because he’s here, when Jesus is saying these words, he’s remembered back, oh, Jesus claimed to be the light of the world. So therefore, I have to go back and understand what is light and I have to see that he’s connecting himself back to the very beginning. He knows he was there, he created it. So he can say, I am the light of the world. What about wisdom literature? Where you heard Brandon read it for us this morning, Psalm 27. What does David say? He says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?” And so the Israelite people know that God is light and Jesus says, I am the light of the world. What about the prophets? Well, if we look at Isaiah, there are a lot of Messianic prophecies that Isaiah has in that book, and chapters 42, and 49, we’re gonna look at two verses. This one chapter 42, says, the people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned. And in chapter 49, I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth. As they say, and this is a person, this is someone who is coming, this person is bringing light, this person is bringing salvation. And now Jesus is on the scene, starting his ministry, and in John chapter six, through eighth, he continues to connect himself to the Israelites history to their past, to what we read in the Old Testament today. And he’s saying he’s connecting himself to what happened in the Exodus when theywere brought out of Egypt, into the wanderings, and then into finally that promised land. So listen to this in chapter six, we looked at this last week, Jesus was connecting himself to the manna that was sent down by God from heaven for the people and he said, I am the true and better bread. I am the bread of life. I am the one that truly satisfies. And chapter seven, we didn’t look at chapter seven last week, we’re not really looking at it much this week. But two verses that I want to draw our attention to, to again show his connection to what the Israelites experienced. Chapter 7:37-38 says, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said rivers of living water will flow from within them.” Do you remember this story? Water from Iraq? That’s what he’s referring back to saying like I am that water that will never run out and that will always satisfy. And so they’re making these connections, the manna, and the water, these things kept us alive. And now he’s the light of the world, connecting himself to the pillar of fire that led the people to the Promised Land, leading them out of spiritual darkness, leaving them out of slavery to sin, into salvation, the promised land. And for us, that is glory, that is eternal life, that is where he is leading us to. So I’m the light of the world is just saying I’m a long and awaited Messiah, God in the flesh, He came to bring salvation, and salvation to this dark world. You notice how Jesus says He is the light of the world. Not one light, among many. He is the light of the world, only one person can make these I Am statements. And that’s Jesus and Jesus alone. In our lives, if you talk to people, if you read things, you know, everyone, everyone is looking for light somewhere. Everyone’s looking for something to show them, what is their purpose? What is truth? What is the direction I should go? And the world of darkness wants to tell us that all you need to do is find that light inside of yourself. It’s there, you just got to look for it. And kids, teens, adults, whoever you are this morning, that is a lie. That is foolish. To look inside ourselves for light, we cannot look inside what’s dark. And we know honestly that we are dark. We know that we know the things that we do in secret that nobody else sees. So we think we know what we think and say about other people, what we think about them when they’re not around. We know the selfishness with which we make decisions. We know these things are true about us because we wouldn’t be embarrassed if anybody ever got into our hearts. And that is not light. You cannot find the light inside yourself. If we think the answer is inside, we’re going to start walking, then we’re going to jog and we’re going to sprint until eventually, we hit a shed. And we will, we will. And the crazy thing is for many of us, we’ll get right back up and say maybe there’s a different way. And we’ll look for anything and everything that sounds good at the time will keep running and we just keep doing this over and over again. Because we’re looking in the wrong place. There’s only one who is the Light of the world, only one that can make sense of what’s happening. Are we going to submit to Him and follow Him. In a little while right over there. In the baptismal, we’re gonna celebrate three people who are going to be baptized. And if you listen to their stories, if you listen to their testimonies, you’re going to hear a theme. The theme is that at one point, we tried to do everything on our own. Until we realized we can’t do it. Like these things, promised these certain things to us, and they came up empty. And so instead, they followed now the light of the world moving from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of light. And if you were here this morning, you don’t have that light. And you know, you don’t have it, but you want it. I would encourage you to listen to these stories. Hear how God has worked in each life, to bring them to this point. And that’s a story for a lot of us here. And it could be your story today. Stories of people who have decided to follow the light chosen to follow Jesus and do exactly what he says in the second half of verse 12. Let’s look at that third section. The call is what Jesus says. Whoever follows me, will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. So pastor Warren Weirsbee says it this way says to follow the Lord Jesus means to believe in Him to trust him. And the results are life and the light for the believer. So you see light and life in Genesis one in John one. And for our lives today go together, light and life. Let me illustrate this with a story. Maybe many of you are familiar with astronaut Jim Lovell. If you know the Apollo 13 mission or the movie that was inspired by that, he was an astronaut. Before that, he was a Navy pilot in 1953. He was flying a kind of training mission over the Pacific Ocean. He was trying to get back to his aircraft carrier. And on his way, all of his instruments went out. So he didn’t really know where he was going. And then he lost radio contact with the aircraft carrier. So he turns everything off and he realizes that, you know, reality sets in and if I don’t find it soon, I’m going to have to go into the sea and is there any hope for survival at that point? And it was in the blackness of that night of water, right? The sea is dark, the sky is dark. He cannot see anything except for a little glimmer below. And he tries to focus in and what he discovers is what you’re gonna see here on the screen. He sees bioluminescent algae, this algae that glows. And when it’s really dark, you can see it. And you can see it even better when there’s a ship that’s churning it up. And so he sees it. And he’s like, “Wow, I’m gonna follow that.” So he goes after and he continues to follow the algae and it gets brighter and brighter and brighter until it brings him right to the aircraft carrier that was churning up all these algae and leading him home, leading him home, saving his life. He landed safely on that ship, the light saved his life. It guided him back to where he needed to go. And that’s what God does for us. When we say I’m going to follow you, right? I’m going to follow you. And as we follow what we think the Israelites following the pillar of fire, not always knowing where they’re going. What’s happening, it’s been 10 years, it’s been 20 years, it’s been 30 years, where are we going, we’re gonna keep following the pillar of fire. And for us, we don’t know how long the journey will be, till eternal life. Like we know it starts now. But when is that day, when we’re in glory, we see Jesus face to face, we don’t know, we don’t know which way he’s gonna take us. But we follow Him. Because we know where he’s going. And if you want to make sense of sin, and the brokenness we see all around us and suffering and pain and relationships, and how things are supposed to work, we must follow him. It doesn’t mean that it’s going to be easy. It doesn’t mean that we all understand everything all at once. It’s like that light that level saw, it got brighter and brighter. The longer we live with Jesus, the more we’re able to say, oh, okay, I see that now. And so I’m gonna follow you still? Because I see what you did I understand what was going on there. I understand this, how you called me to live. We know God continues to teach us. He is going to faithfully lead us. Are we going to faithfully follow? That’s our question. He will faithfully lead us are we going to faithfully follow. Because if we do, we have the light of life and you will never walk in darkness again. So as we walk through life, now we have the light of salvation and truth and wisdom and hope for anything and everything that comes our way. We can sprint through life, and avoid the shed. Because we’re playing this game in the light now, which is a good way to play Mission Impossible. But here’s the thing, the world is still dark. Jesus came as a light into the dark world, the world still chose dark darkness over Jesus. And so the world we live in is still dark. And so we need to see, how can we be the light to others? You know, what’s crazy about that story about the boy and youth group. The way you got people out in that game, was using a flashlight to tag them, like shine it on them. So he hit that shed with a flashlight in his hands. But when we look at our life, this is our light. This is our light. Psalm 119: 105. “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.” Are we going through life with this in our hands and ignoring it? Are we in it regularly? I’ve told students this over the years, how can we expect to walk into a dark world that is going to lie to us from every angle, and expect to get through the day if we don’t have light to bring into it? To see what’s actually true to see what God’s Word says. So we want to follow Him we need to read what he gave us we need to follow his light. Instead of hitting the shed with it in our hands. We need to use it and see what’s in front of us and avoid it at all costs. We can shine the light and dispel the darkness. And so the main point from this morning is very simple. If you’re following along the bottom of your notes, the light has come. The light has come, follow him. The light has come, follow him. You know kids like you guys got flashlights at home, right? Maybe somewhere. And when someone 18 says that you can use God’s word as a lamp to your feet and light to your path. It means you can use it to show where you’re supposed to go. It doesn’t mean you’re going to see everything but you’re going to see what God’s Word says and what he wants for you. And so whether it’s a flashlight, or it’s more of a lantern, whatever that might look like you can carry this with you. Wherever you go. That’s representing the Bible. Talk to your parents. Like I have a decision to make. I don’t know what to do. Let’s go to God’s word. Let’s see what He says, I’m struggling with a sin, bring it into the light. And where do you find that light? Well, what does God’s Word say about that? And say, Oh, we’re supposed to repent of that, right? We’re supposed to say, I’m sorry for what I’ve done. And then guess what, in God’s word, what He says He will forgive you. That was Word says, that’s the light, he will forgive you of your sin. So every time you see a flashlight, right through God’s word is my light for my life, he’s going to guide me and lead me, he’s going to tell me what I should do. Something amazing about Jesus saying that he’s the light of the world, he also says something about us. So if you’re a Christian, and you have said yes to Jesus, you believe you’re following him. Here’s what he says about you. In Matthew five. He says, You are the light of the world. You are the light of the world. And then he says, Let your light shine before others, they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. So let me show you what this looks like. So let’s imagine kids hopefully, you can see this if you need to kneel, or I don’t want to say stand. But however, you need to see this. All right, you guys see this cup up here? Let’s say this cup of water represents your life. And we’re living our life in darkness. Right? There’s no light coming from that water. It’s all darkness. But here’s the thing, when we believe in Jesus, we have a light, we have a light that will lead us with a light who will change us. And you know, what’s interesting is that when you say, I’m going to follow Jesus, I’m going to follow the light of the world. Look what happens. You glow. You become a light. He says, I am the light of the world. Without me, you’re in darkness. But with me, you now are the light of the world. And we’re supposed to go out and live this life so that others will see it and will glorify our Father in heaven. They’ll say, what’s different about you? What’s different? Oh, there’s a light there. But listen, this is not to look how bright and great I am. Because without this, I’m living in a dark world full of darkness myself, I have to say, oh, no, there’s somebody I want to introduce you to His name is Jesus. He’s the one doing this in me. And he can do that in YouTube. And that’s what our life is supposed to be a light to the world so that they see it. And they say, I want to know Jesus. And we can say, Guess what I know the light of the world, I can tell you about him. And that’s for all of us. Regardless of what your age is, this is our call to say, Oh, we are the light of the world because he is and because he has given his light to us to shine before the world so that they will follow him. I didn’t read all of Matthew 514 through 16. So listen to it again, you are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. So what does this mean for us church? It means we don’t do this life alone. We do it together. What’s amazing is that each one of us has God’s light in us. So when we are all together, it shines a little brighter. Look at this picture the United States at night satellite image, you see all those pockets of light, right? That isn’t one giant light in Chicago, or one giant light in New York City or LA what is it? Lots and lots of lights concentrated in one area. So that even from space, we can see those places. And that’s what we’re called to be church. We’re supposed to be a bunch of lights going together. If they were to take a shot right now of this place, we should be brighter, because we’re all together. But guess what, when we go out from here, we want to see more lights join us to say I am going to follow the light of the world and become that for us so that we can line up everywhere. With the love of Jesus with the life of Jesus. That’s what Jesus has called us to. He is the light of the world. He’s called us to be light as well. If you are here this morning, you are looking for that light, I would just encourage you again, please listen to the stories we’re going to hear in just a minute. stories from different people, different ages, different backgrounds. But they along with many of us have said yes, I’m going to follow the light of the world and kids. We pray that that would be true of you as well. That you would know love, serve and worship Jesus with your lives. Let’s pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we are so thankful that You have given us the light of Jesus. The light that came into this dark, dark world The light that has exposed our sin has shown us our need for you. A light that shows us where we should go and what we should do. A light that you have given to us in Your word, so that we don’t have to guess what you would have for us but we can know confidently the kind of life that you call us to. Lord, I pray for each and every person here, Lord, if they don’t know you, and that light, I pray that they would see the light, they would see you for who you are, give their life to following you. For those of us who have been walking with you for a long time, Lord, if there’s anywhere where we are not show us that shine light on that area so that we give it to you so that we can walk in get up and walk more faithfully behind you. Lord, the only right thing for us to do now is to come and adore you to bow down before you to sing, to sing Hallelujah to the light of the world. Amen.

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The Bread of Life (John 6:25-40) May 14, 2023 | Brandon Cooper TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
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Good morning, and go ahead, grab your Bibles open up the John chapter six, John six, we will be in verses 25 to 40. This morning, as you’re turning there, I’m just gotta be, you know, up front this morning, we’re talking about the problem of empty calories. Empty calories, you know what this is like, of course. This is when you get really, really hungry. And you see the donut sitting there, and you have to, and it feels good. Like it is a quick fix. You get the sugar high going and stuff and then it kind of crash, you realize you get hungry again very quickly afterwards, which is probably why you’ve got a third or fourth donut then as well. So there’s a problem, of course, because it’s not just that the doughnuts are not really giving you much in the way of a health benefit. They’re actually kind of harming your health. There’s this net loss there. Plus, you’re still hungry at the end of it all. Why am I talking about this? It’s because spiritually, we’ve got an empty calorie problem. We’ve got an empty calorie problem. There’s this deep hunger within us. And we keep stuffing stuffing our faces. And all that’s happening is we’re still hungry, and we’ve gained weight. In particular, the weight of sin weighs us down ready to Hebrews says hungrier than when we began still. So that’s the issue that Jesus is going to address in our passage this morning. Now we are in a new series called I Am subtitle. There’s Jesus in his own words. You know, there’s this moment in the gospels, really the turning point of Jesus’s life and ministry, where he turns to his disciples, they’ve been talking about what everybody thinks about Jesus. And Jesus looks at them and says, Yeah, but who do you say that I am? Who do you say that Jesus is? It’s not overstatement? To say that that’s the most important question we will ever answer in our lives. What we’re going to get in this series is Jesus’s answer to that question, who is Jesus? So this is Jesus, in his own words, by the way, he gives us the right answer. So it’s gonna be really helpful for us to listen to this. So what we’re looking at in this series of the seven, I am statements of Jesus in John’s gospel, and they are doubly significant, not just because of what he says afterwards, I am, for example, the bread of life, like we’ll talk about this morning, but because even that phrase I am is loaded with meaning. When Moses asked God, when I go and talk to the Israelites and say, Hey, God told me to tell you guys this, they’re gonna say, yeah, what’s his name? What name did God give most of the point? He said, My name is I am, tell them I am sent you. So it’s this loaded term. In other words, Jesus is both claiming and explaining divinity. In these statements, both claiming to be God, and then revealing to us who God is, what does he really like? And why does it matter that we know this? That’s what the series is going to strive to answer starting today. What happens today, Jesus is having a conversation with a crowd, who don’t always really like what he’s saying here. And so it’s going to move in three stages. We’re going to follow them as we go. So starting with discussion, number one, what we seek let me read John, chapter six, verses 25 to 27. For us. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, Rabbi, when did you get here? Jesus answered, very, truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, for on him, God, the Father has placed His seal of approval. Alright, we need some context here, because we are picking up really mid story, nevermind, mid gospel, or what has happened at the start of chapter six, Jesus feeds the 5000, this very famous miracles, the only miracle other than the resurrection that is recorded in all four Gospels. So it’s a big deal because it shows that Jesus really is the Promised Messiah, that He will be able to provide for his people. He’s better than Elijah, who fed just 120 people. He’s better than Moses, who called down bread from heaven. The people see this, they understand this and they want to make Jesus king. They want to make Him their military King. They want Israel the nation restored to its former glory. This is not what Jesus came to do. And so he withdraws from them presumably to enter into a time of prayer. He sends His disciples across the lake in advance of him. These are fishermen some of them they know how to work a boat, but it is a bad day on the sea and so they are struggling, which means that when Jesus happens to walk by they’re still there in the middle of the lake. Which means Jesus is walking on water in the middle of the lake is actually interesting. If you were to look at John six, verse 20, they’re all freaking out. They think he’s a ghost because people don’t walk on water. And he says it is I don’t be afraid. They don’t say it is I in Aramaic, you say I am. So already we got this little clue about where we’re going. He says, I am, it’s me. I am Don’t be afraid. Well, so what happens next, as the crowd wakes up the next morning, they know the disciples left in a boat. They know that Jesus did not leave in a boat, and yet Jesus isn’t there anymore. And so they got questions. They got all sorts of questions. And so they are seeking Him. They go to him, and they say, When did you get here? How did you get here? So they’re seeking Him because they know there’s something about him. But what exactly, and Jesus says, I know why you’re seeking me. It’s not because you’re paying attention to the signs. But because you ate and you felt full afterwards. That’s key. At the end of the day, we are looking for fullness, what will satisfy me, because there’s this gnawing hunger in our souls that could misquote Augustine here. It says, If God has made us for himself, and our souls are hungry, until we find satisfaction in him, the problem we have is that we don’t know what will actually satisfy us. This group, for example, these these people who are looking for Jesus, they were content with food. So they weren’t paying attention to the signs that they just saw. They notice signed as a sign points to something else. I’ve said this before. But when you’re on vacation, or something and you see a sign that says scenic view, with an arrow pointing that way you don’t get out and take your picture with the sign. You follow the arrow down the path, you get to the scenic view. And that’s where you take your picture. Because if you don’t take a picture, of course, you didn’t actually see the view. This is the question Jesus asked, Are you are you looking at the something greater? Are you seeing Jesus? Truly Are you caught up in the sign? Are you just content with taking care of your immediate felt needs? Like I’m coming to God because I need a cosmic vending machine. That’s all I’m looking for a B three, I need a little financial security Lord h eight. I’d love a relationship if that would be okay. This is how Leon Morris said it in his commentary on John, this people. And it describes us as well. They were moved not by full hearts, but by full bellies. That’s how we work. Now why would we do that? Why would we be so concerned about the immediate needs instead of the deep hunger? I think it’s because we don’t believe that Jesus will really satisfy. We don’t think Jesus is enough. We sang it this morning. Christ is enough. And we go, yeah, but actually, what I need is what Jesus could give me. That’s the stuff that satisfies. And that’s the point that Jesus makes don’t work for food that spoils. Don’t settle for that little bit, don’t keep gorging yourself on empty calories, because it won’t last one of my favorite CS Lewis quotes, one of my daughters made it into a bookmark for me even says, you can’t get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.
sums up my life right there. Okay. But there’s a point. And I mean, it’s a silly quote, of course, but there’s a serious point, which is at the end of the day, the cup of tea is empty, and you finish the book. And there’s always the the next thing that you need, because it never fully satisfies you what will last, what will satisfy you to the very end even into eternity, only Jesus can. Only Jesus can because Jesus endures into eternity. The cup of tea never runs dry. Jesus keeps sustaining us so that we are always full, and in possession of life on ending. And we can trust what he says, By the way, because God placed his seal of approval on him. What does that mean exactly? Have you ever driven behind a work van and it’s got the seal on the back and it says, you know, authorized vendor, like we’re able to repair this particular HVAC system or something like that. That’s the seal of approval that we’re talking about here. God has said of Jesus, he’s my authorized agent. He can speak for me show the way to me. In fact, it’s even a little bit more than that. And it’s a really subtle clue. But as Jesus is speaking there in verse 27, he says, it’s the Son of man who will give this to you. This is how Jesus often refers to himself. He calls himself the Son of of man. Why, because some of the other terms that he could use for himself would confuse people we’ve already seen they want a Messiah, the Jewish people want a Messiah, they just want a military king. And so Jesus knows if he says Messiah, that’s what’s going to happen. So he says, Son of man, because nobody knows what to do with that. It sounds like Jesus is emphasizing his humanity here, like he’s Son of God and His Son of Man and Son of God is his divinity and Son of man has his humanity. It’s actually completely backwards. By the way, I won’t do Son of God today, we have to come back and hear that one another time. But Son of man, here’s how this points to his divinity. It’s a quote from Daniel seven verses 13 and 14, be up on the screen for you. In my vision, at night I looked, and there before me was one like a Son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power, all nations and peoples of every language worshipped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. So you see this Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, this, by the way, does not refer to His coming again. That is true, too. Yes, we’ll talk about that. Even in this passage when he returns to establish his forever kingdom. When Jesus is coming on the clouds of heaven. He’s coming to God. He’s approaching God’s throne, he is acceding to the throne. In that one, we just saw coronation. Right. This is like Jesus’s coronation in the Heavens, He is Almighty God. That’s why Jesus alone can satisfy. He is Himself the everlasting God, and He reigns over an invincible kingdom, so that he can fill his subjects full for all eternity. If that’s the case, then we need to be careful what we seek, like, are we We’re going for empty calories, or the real deal. We’re looking just for full bellies or for full hearts. You know how this works. We’ve all done this, what are the empty calories will gorge ourselves on it’s things like money, and stuff, or you ever bought something new, and you like you get a little buds for a bit right? And you’re feeling good with this, this might be the thing that really finally brings meaning to my life, or its power, or, or control, maybe it’s Lux, or achievement. The problem is all of these things, they function like drugs, like yeah, they give you a high, and then that goes away. And so you need another high. And of course, if you know how this works, you got to keep upping the dosage, because the high doesn’t get quite as high. Otherwise. This describes our lives. The proof by the way, I’ve said this before, but it’s still true. The proof is in celebrities, was when we got to look at celebrities, because they have everything we think will satisfy. They got all the money, they got all the fame, they got all the you know the status, they’re beautiful, of course, all that kind of stuff, and yet they’re still hungry. Because nothing in this world will satisfy. Jesus has in these few verses exposed our deepest struggle, frantically seeking what can’t satisfy. We need food that lasts. That leads the discussion to though what we see let me keep reading verses 28 to 33. Then they asked him, What must we do to do the works God requires? Jesus answered the work of God is this to believe in the one he has sent? So they asked them what sign then will you give that we may see it? And believe you what will you do? Our ancestors ate the man on the wilderness as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. And Jesus said to them, Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven. But it’s my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. The bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Well, as often happens in John’s gospel, we’ve got a serious misunderstanding in the conversation like usually, in John’s gospel, people are talking like this with Jesus. So what is Jesus talking about when he says don’t work for food that spoils work for food that lasts he’s talking about the goal, what is works goal, but the crowd latches on to that word, work. Jesus is saying, what are you working for? And the crowd says, Just tell us the work we’re supposed to do. There’s this tremendous naivete in their question, because they are absolutely convinced that they can measure up. If you give me the steps. If you give me the boxes to check, I will take care of it. I can check all the boxes and Jesus’s answer suggests otherwise, which may be an important reminder for us today. You cannot earn this. The only work you can do according to Jesus is to stop pretending you can do the work. That’s the work we’re supposed to do. Our work is to believe to trust in Jesus God’s sent one sent by God by the way To do what we could not do, to check the boxes that we could not check. Now I know the word work makes us nervous as Protestants, especially, it’s phrased differently. But really, Jesus’s point here is completely indistinguishable from Paul, who says in Romans three, for example, God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement through the shedding of his blood to be received, received by faith. That’s the work we do, we believe, says a few verses later, we maintain that a person is justified by faith, apart from the works of the law, how do we get right with God, trusting in Jesus not trying to earn God’s approval, which we can’t do, anyway, says the fundamental difference between Christianity and every other religion is that it is all of grace, grace and grace alone. It is not I obey, therefore, I’m accepted. But I’m accepted first, on the basis of what Christ did, therefore, I obey. But this is a bold claim that Jesus makes, here’s the work God wants you to do to believe in me, the crowd recognizes that this is a bold claim. And so they got questions. Okay. You’re the sent one of God, Jesus, you’re the new Moses. All right. So how about you, you know, prove it, prove it, but give us some signs. Now Moses, he was called this time the first Redeemer. So Moses, the first Redeemer provided bread from heaven. When the people of Israel were wandering in the desert for 40 years, God fed them daily with manna bread from heaven. So if that’s what Moses did, the Messiah, they called him the latter Redeemer right, the second Redeemer, the second Moses, the, the second, Moses should, should be better, you should do even more. So the crowds here feel entirely within their rights to demand a sign, you should prove yourself. Now, if you’ve read John’s Gospel up to this point, you know, Jesus is already pretty suspicious of signs. For example, John, chapter two, it says the people they saw the signs Jesus was performing, and they believed in Him. But Jesus didn’t believe in them. He wouldn’t entrust himself to them because he knew what was in their hearts. Or in John chapter four, he looks at someone who’s asking for help. And he says, Unless his generation sees signs you’ll never believe. And it’s not meant as a compliment at that point. But they still feel like yeah, I should get to have a sign here. So what’s the issue with demanding signs? The issue is insisting that God meet you on your terms. Like imagine you meet your your hero, your celebrity, some sports figure or something like that you’re there and you’re like, you know, you’re freaking out and stuff. And you go, Hey, can you sign an autograph for me? condescendingly graciously, the person says, yes, absolutely would love to you okay, just so you know, I’d like you to use blue pen. not black. I hate black ink. And if you could give me a photo with you in this unit, I like your away Jersey better than I like your home jersey. So why don’t we need one of those and make sure it’s a glossy eight by 10. Like,
this is not how it works, right? You don’t get to make demands, it kind of goes the other way. We’ll multiply that by infinity, which is a very big number. This is backwards when we demand God Meet us on our terms. Why would we do that? Because we’re trying to keep our autonomy. Like we like being in control. We like it when God serves us. And so there’s this almost contractual approach that we can take with God. And that’s what’s happening here. I need to see to believe. So if you meet the terms of agreement, then I will believe in you. God provides for them he heels, he’s revealing Himself to them even now. But what if he doesn’t next time? Well, then you cancel the contract. Right? You ask a T and T to provide internet for you. They don’t provide internet, you stop paying them. That’s often how we approach God. I mean, think of what’s happened. Jesus just fed the 5005 loaves to fish, pretty big deal. He then walked on water. He’s healed a bunch of people already. Oh, and by the way, this story, of course, ends with him rising from the dead. And yet people still didn’t believe refuse to believe it’s almost like a lack of signs is not the issue. What is the issue? Well, yeah, but he didn’t do what I wanted this time. That’s the issue. That might be an important word for you today. If you’re coming to God going God, what will you do? So that I believe God has already done enough? He has done more than enough you have everything you need to believe. In fact, you manna, this bread from heaven that God provides, while the Israelites are wandering in the wilderness is a great picture of this. Because in those years in the wilderness, God provided what the Israelites needed. Not necessarily what they wanted, which is why they keep complaining about a lack of cucumbers. God did not want them to confuse the wilderness for the Promised Land, like this was the journey. This was not the destination, guess what, Friends, this is the wilderness. The Promised Land is coming in the next life glory, and you will have everything you want, then let’s not confuse the destination with the journey. So waiting for God to prove himself is that same mindset, the grumbling in the desert, because even though bread is miraculously falling from heaven. It’s not spiced the way I like it. Here’s my list of demands. Today, God, could you please meet them? We need to be careful with what we think we need to see. Like, here’s what I expect a savior to do. Let’s see it God. No, no, no. And Jesus responds, interestingly, to this point. He’s reading the the subtext of this conversation, because they didn’t actually mention the word Moses. But he knows that’s what they’re thinking about this whole time. They’re expecting this, the second Moses. And so he knows the crowds are looking for a prophet like Moses that says Deuteronomy 18. And that they’re basically saying to him, show us that you’re better than Moses, but Jesus thinks far too much attention is being paid to Moses, and not nearly enough attention to God. I mean, who provided bread from heaven? Not Moses. God did so like, let’s keep our eyes fixed, where they should be fixed. We have similar issues today, of course, man, how many times did we especially in the American evangelical church get caught up with celebrity pastors like that is confusion, okay, what’s not confused the messenger, which is just a jar of clay for the message, which is the priceless treasure of the gospel. It’s not Moses, but God who gives the true bread from heaven, that gives life to the world. That is a significant movement in this conversation, though. I mean, think about it, first of all, is transit. Jesus here transitions from saying that he’s going to provide bread to actually being the bread that is provided. And this bread is now not just for the people of Israel, but he says for the whole world. So there has got a much wider mission, which means, by the way, that whole military King thing where we make Israel great again, is not a good enough picture of what Jesus came to do with it’s narrow. And then third, here, he mentioned that this bread gives life, life to the whole world. What does it mean that the bread gives life spiritual life now, and that as soon as we believe in Jesus, the Spirit lives in us and makes us alive with Christ. And then eternal life, we will live forever with God will be raised on the last day is what Jesus is going to say, in our next section. Even. So this bread seems pretty important. How do we get it? How do we feast on it? That’s the next question. Discussion. Number three, what we savor? Let me read the rest of our passage, verses 34 to 40. Sir, they said, always give us this bread. Then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life, Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe all those the Father gives Me will come to me, and whoever comes me, I will never drive away, For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, what to do the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent me that I shall lose none of all those He has given me, but raise them up at the last day. My father’s will, is that everyone who looks to the sun and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. So we got another misunderstanding here, they ask the question, you know, or don’t ask question, but then they make the demand, we need you to keep giving us this bread. We want to keep living. So you gotta you gotta keep giving us the bread. It’s like, man, it has to come daily. But this is a very different sort of bread. When Jesus says, I am the bread of life, Jesus Himself is the bread on which we feast. But once you eat this bread, you never go hungry. Never go hungry again. Reminds me a lot of the story of just a few chapters earlier with Jesus with a woman at the well. He talked about somebody who was trying to find satisfaction and other ways through relationships in particular, and still she was thirsty. And Jesus said, If you knew who I was, you’d ask for me Want to give you water after which you would never thirst? Again? That’s the same point here. Now how can that be? Because once we feast on Jesus once we trust in Jesus, the nine hunger in our souls is satisfied once for all time, the deepest ache is healed if you’re here last week, I quoted Pascal who talks about the infinite abyss within us well, that infinite abyss is at last filled with an infinite and immutable object God himself. That doesn’t mean we don’t need to keep coming back to him. Of course, of course, we read we pray. But it eliminates that core emptiness within us. No more empty calories, no more sex and stuff and status like this is what really fills us up, nourishes us, sustains us. That’s why we feast on him, savor him delight in him, and not in these empty spiritual calories anymore. Now, it is helpful here that Jesus is not totally metaphorical. Especially because in a little bit, and we’re not going to cover this part of the passage this morning, but in a little bit, Jesus gets even more intense with a metaphor, you need to eat my flesh and drink my blood, or else you can’t live. And that’s confusing. So I’m glad that here he gave us clues as to what he really meant here. Because notice that it says, Whoever comes to me will never go hungry. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. He’s using an illustration, just so we’re not confused. But effectively, Jesus is describing what it means to see and believe the work that we are supposed to do. trusting in Jesus, and Jesus alone for our life. And bread is what would give you life in an agrarian society. This is confusing for us today. We’re in a different context. Okay. So you hear Bread of Life, you think yourself, okay, I know how to get bread, I go to the grocery store. It is prepackaged, pre sliced, it comes in a wide variety of flavors, doesn’t that speak to us spiritually? Like choose what you I want the cinnamon raisin Jesus. And it also like we have no sense of the process involved in this. But in an agrarian society, people would have understood this, they knew that there was sacrifice involved in feeding us. So you know, the Sea Grant that it doesn’t technically die, the seed becomes something else, but the seed is not there anymore at the end of it. And then of course, once you harvest, what are you doing? You’re taking a sickle to the grain and sickle, which is a symbol of death, of course,
even in our culture today. So there’s sacrifice and then it is this staple of existence without which you can’t survive. You can survive without bread today. How many of you are on a low carb diet right now? Right? Like, this is a thing. Okay? But not back then. Not back then. That’s the point. So we need Jesus and His sacrifice, coming to Jesus, trusting in his life and death and resurrection, as the only way for us to live eternally. And that should be our response. That should be our response. Okay, of course, I’ve seen this and now I trust you. But that’s not what Jesus sees in the crowds. What does he say to them? You guys have seen lots already. And you still don’t believe you’re still seeking elsewhere for the satisfaction. And that could be a disheartening admission from Jesus. Like, what more could I do? You still don’t believe. But it isn’t disheartening. It isn’t discouraging because Jesus trusts his father. And in this, he models trust for us as well. Because Jesus’s confidence is in God in God’s sovereignty, and not if I could put it this way in his ministry. I hope you know what I mean by that. What an encouragement to us today. I’m thinking of things like our evangelism, especially, like how discouraging it can be to share the gospel time and time again, with no response, and you start to go, well, maybe I shouldn’t even share anymore. No, where’s our confidence? Is it in our ability to convince somebody to change their mind? Is a bad place to put your confidence? Or is it in God Almighty? Peter Cameron, Scott was a missionary to Africa, he and his brother went to Africa, in you know, a little more than a century ago. And it did not go well. His brother got sick and died on the field was, you know, buried just kind of in the middle of nowhere effectively. So he’s left all alone and then he himself falls ill and actually has to return to it. England having not seen fruit having not seen a harvest, and he was discouraged when he was there at Westminster Abbey, and he saw the inscription on David Livingston’s tomb, David Livingstone, missionary to Africa himself, with a quote from John 1016 on it, other sheep I have that are not of this fold. And that was it. That was all he needed to go back to Africa, because he remembered. This is God’s thing that God has. God has said, I have other sheep or other people who belong to me, whom I will call whom I will save all across the world. And that’s what keeps us persevering in ministry. But the end of verse 37 can be a little bit confusing. Okay, all those the Father gives Me will come to me, there’s that confidence that we have. And whoever comes to me, I will never drive away. This doesn’t sound like the sweetest promise in all of Scripture. If you come to Me in repentance and faith, I promise not to chase you away with a baseball bat. I mean, that’s something I guess, but again, maybe not the top promise, what is Jesus saying Arias using a rhetorical device known as lie toe tease, which is a specific form of understatement, where you deny the opposite of what you want to affirm? Everyone got that? No, let me give you an illustration. Okay. Exactly. English teacher coming out. So when you’re talking about the local billionaire, and you say he’s not poor, you don’t mean he’s not poor. You mean he’s filthy, stinking rich, or you’re astrophysicist friend, and you say he’s not an idiot. You don’t mean he’s not an idiot. You mean he is breathtakingly brilliant. So when Jesus says, I will not drive them away what Jesus is saying, Not I won’t drag them away, but I will surely keep them. So that they persevere. Why? Because Jesus is going to do his father’s will, and his Father’s Will is that he lose none of all those that God gives him. What an encouragement to us, especially in the fight against sin. If God has saved you, you will persevere to the end. Because if you don’t, then Jesus has not accomplished his father’s will. And if I could use my toe tease for a moment, that’s not likely. So we need to clarify this doctrine, though. The Doctrine known as the perseverance of the saints, that God’s people will persevere to the end, it is not a once saved, always saved, easy believe ism. As if what we’re being said here is we just need to get our kids across some imaginary finish line, where at age five, they pray to receive Jesus in Awana. And we breathed this giant sigh of relief and go, Okay, it’s done. Whatever else happens, I took care of it. Not at all. There is not a shred of support for that view anywhere in Scripture. The proof of our salvation is in our perseverance. That’s how we know we are saved because we are persevering. Are you putting sin to death? Is their fight in you Christian? Like, of course, you’re struggling with sin. We all are. But are you struggling against sin? Or have you made peace with it? That’s the question to ask those whom God chooses to save, he will save to the uttermost all the way to the end. We have the promise here. In fact, verse 40, he will raise us up at the last day, we will experience eternal life in His forever kingdom when He comes again. By the way, the conversation continues, I’m stopping here at Verse Four to the conversation keeps going, Jesus, as I said, he presses the metaphor, he got to eat my flesh and drink my blood. He’s really leaning into the fact of the bodily sacrifice that is coming. And the people begin to grumble. And the and many walk away, because it’s a hard teaching. Even some of his disciples walk away. It says, because Jesus won’t compromise the message. He will not have people coming to God on their terms, but on God’s terms, and then actually climaxes and verses 67 and 68. When Jesus turns and looks at the 12 disciples and says, you don’t want to leave to do you, and Peter answers, where else would we go? You have the words of eternal life, as we seen, in fact, you are eternal, that you are the bread of life. Where else would we go? Look, this is a hard message. You cannot earn salvation, you must receive it humbly. You must seek and see and savor Jesus and Jesus alone. That’s a hard message. But what’s the alternative? What’s the alternative? Where else are you going to go? To satisfy the deep hunger in your souls, there’s the main idea. If you want your takeaway for today, it’s this if you want to live, you got one choice, okay? If you want to live, eat the bread of life, if you want to live, eat the bread of life, there is a hunger that only the bread of life can satisfy. That’s what we have to remember. It’s actually interesting in these titles for Jesus, not just the seven I Am statements, but for all of them. And if you’ve been joining group in the last couple of years, by the way, hopefully, this will sound a little bit familiar to you. But I want you to keep this idea with you throughout the series in every title of for Jesus, we really have the gospel in miniature. Because there is an implicit explanation of the brokenness within us. And then a very explicit declaration of how Jesus meets us in that brokenness and provides hope for us. And then there is an implicit response required of us. What is the brokenness we see here? It’s our hunger, that we have this deep spiritual hunger and we keep eating empty spiritual calories. What is the salvation that Jesus is the bread of life? He is the one who satisfies Okay, so then what is the response? Well, it’s pretty easy, right? Feast ON HIM, feast on Jesus. All right, how, let’s close with this, first and foremost, and don’t try anything else until you do this, believe in the one he sent. That is the work that God has you believe in the one that he sent believe trust in Jesus. And what would hold us back from doing that? We can acknowledge this, frankly, it’s that it is sometimes tough to believe that Jesus will satisfy more than fill in your blank. It’s tough to believe that Jesus will satisfy more than that. So what is your fill in the blank and really work it out? If that fill in the blank is going to satisfy you? Is it money, the security and comfort that it provides? Well, again, we already talked about the fact that new toys you buy, they don’t keep you happy for long. And money can go away like that. When we all know people who were wealthy and lost everything. If you’re trusting in that you’re going to be hungry. Why not rather instead, put your hope in the inheritance that can never perish or spoil or fade? Store up your treasure in heaven where moth and thief and rust cannot destroy it. By trusting in Jesus? Is your fill in the blank pleasure?
Well, I mean, we know that’s a drug. We know how quickly that high fades. So why not? Bryce read it for us earlier trust that at His right hand are pleasures forevermore. Is it love? Love is always tenuous. Because the person you love could stop loving you. It’s in somebody else’s hands. What happens if they abandon you reject you just grow cold and distant towards you? Or if nothing else, die, which will happen in the end? Why not rather trust in love that will not end? The love that is freely lavished on us in Christ were adopted as God’s very children even as its status. Well, you are one mistake away from losing that status, and your eyes in the eyes of everyone else too. But if we trust in Christ, we are given his righteousness. Righteousness is just a fancy theological term for status. Everything right that he ever did is ours in him. Anything else you consume will leave you hungrier for more desperate, even so choose wisely. Choose life. Believe in Jesus once you believe. How do you respond that? Well, let’s start by watching our snacking habits. Right that’s what we need to do here. You ever gone on a diet and you realize you’re not losing weight? And what’s happening there? It’s because you do so well. Most of the time. You know you’re done well all day long. So when there’s the office birthday party where you’ve earned a piece of cake, it would be rude not to have the piece of cake frankly. And you know how this goes again? We’re not talking dieting here. It’s no different spiritually. Like how many of us here are all about Jesus? Except for the midnight snack when all of us others just a little bit? Yeah, but also Jesus plus, this. Here’s the truth every time you sin. You’re seeking fullness in something other than Gee He says in seeking it foolishly, by the way. Jesus says, Give self sacrificially, and we say, Yeah, but you know how much fun it is to live self indulgently. Jesus says, Don’t even look at a young woman. lustfully. And you go, yeah, but have you seen her? And you know how frigid My wife has been lately, where Jesus says, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. And you say, but you know what he did to me? And you know, what would happen if I were to gossip about him? And the difference in power levels in the office dynamics? Do you see how we’re seeking satisfaction in those moments, so fight sin there? What will actually fill me instead of leaving me hungrier, at the end, the best way to stop snacking on sin is to feast on Jesus, right? If you don’t want to snack on the bad stuff, just fill yourself up with the good stuff, fill your soul full every day I quoted George Miller last week, the first most important business of our day is to get our heart happy in the Lord. That’s it read the word can’t live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, pray, preach the gospel to yourself. And here’s another thought, to feast. Maybe fast. This would be a great response to recognition that Jesus is the Bread of Life fast, abstain from food, why fast, we fast in order to experience that hunger for God, think how quickly your body tells you, you should have some food. And at the same time, how slowly it can feel your soul tells you any Jesus. That’s what we’re trying to do. When you get that ache in your stomach. When you’re fasting, you’re going, that’s what I should feel for God all the time. You might also fast not just from food, but from other things fast from Gateway snacks. Those things that you know, are kind of the Yeah, but there’s a lot of satisfaction over here like Okay, so I’m gonna just, I’m going to prove that there’s no satisfaction there and give it up for a time. There’s some ideas there just want to speak to a couple of groups then as well, because this is not just for individuals. This is for us as a group parents remember this. And this is a hard word, but your your kids are watching your eating habits, literally and figuratively. They will not eat vegetables if you don’t eat vegetables. So here’s this. And again, hard word Happy Mother’s Day. They will believe not what your lips but what your life says about satisfaction. So what are you teaching them by your life like if you complain about the manner, I got news for you, your kids will too. Okay. And then lastly, as we change our eating habits, we need to remember that we do this in community. You are not meant to eat alone. I mean, how many times when we come to Lord’s Table have we said this is a family meal. Exactly. That’s what it is. And this, by the way ties into verses 38 to 40. This is how God keeps us persevering in the face. I have seen this I was a chaplain at a Christian school for many years down in South America. And as kids graduated, I could watch I could tell you which kids were gonna leave the faith with almost 100% accuracy. And you know, the one indicator that mattered what church they went to, if they were in a good gospel, healthy church, and if they weren’t, they left the faith. Guaranteed. All the research confirms this, by the way, because we need that spur. Like that’s what journey groups and community groups are for us, like an act of love is for us to say to each other spiritually. Are you sure you want that bag of chips? Like maybe try Jesus in stead, why? Because there’s a hunger that nothing in this world can satisfy. But only Jesus the bread of life if you want life, feast on Him, seek Him, not the desires of your heart which are distorted see him and not the signs that you’re insisting he perform for you and savor him, not empty calories. Jesus is the bread of life. Whoever comes to him will never hunger, whoever believes in Him, will never first let’s pray to him now. Lord, we recognize that you are the bread of life, that you and you alone will satisfy that deep hunger in our souls. In fact, Lord, we pause and acknowledge how grateful we are that you made us to hunger for you. That we would feel that restlessness that that that lack of satisfaction, so that we seek what will ultimately satisfy help us to feel that hunger now and to feast on you. And as we come unto you in repentance in trust would you fill us fall with your goodness and love and grace we pray in Christ’s name, amen.

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Hope for the Busy (Psalm 127) May 7, 2023 | Brandon Cooper TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
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Good morning church. Go ahead, grab your Bibles open up to Psalm 127. We conclude our series this week, Psalm 127. As you’re turning, they’re just quick question. Are you busy? This week? Yes. We all know the answer right now could have a rhetorical question. We all know the answer all the time, it’s probably better to ask, how busy are you this week? Is it one of those insane ones? Or just the average? I’m far too busy? Do you have any time at all? These are the kinds of questions we ask each other when we’re trying to schedule a community group get together or have a family from church over for dinner, get lunch with someone on our oil cost list? And the answer is almost always well, there’s just not enough time. I got to get the kids to practice into their games and their music lessons. And then of course school, and we do have community group and journey group all well that’s about to end at least and it’s a really busy time at work, which is different from every other time at work when it’s really busy. And I got family visiting this week, and we got to get the stuff done in the lawn because it’s spring. And have you ever stopped to ask why? Why not a passing thought between activities? Yes, we’ve all had that multiple times every day, I’m sure. But I’m talking about slow sustained reflection. I like the way Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones put it he was talking about worry and our thoughts but I think applies were scheduled to he says the trouble with the person of little faith is that instead of controlling his own thought, his thought is being controlled by something else. And he goes round and round in circles. I think that’s us. Instead of controlling our own schedules, our schedules are being controlled by something else. And as a result, we’re going round and round in circles. We are hamsters, spiritually speaking, spinning endlessly on this wheel, and yet, it seems like going nowhere, all this time, all this energy producing nothing or close to it. I would suggest to you that there may be a deep spiritual reason for our busyness. And so our busyness is not something to dismiss, but dissect the question I want to have in your minds. As we go through this passage. You might even write it at the top of your bulletin so that it’s there in front of you is this, why do you do so much? Why do you do so much what causes us to fill up our schedules, especially when that crowds out what we know matters most? Why do we fail to uphold our values? Because we just got stuff going on? We seek to answer that question. We’re going to turn to Psalms once more. Not David this time, but David’s son, Solomon, as we look for the reason for our busyness, the remedy and the response once more, as Kyle just said, not just wishing that maybe next season will be a little less busy, but actually providing hope for the busy. Let’s start with the reason. Psalm 127. I’m gonna read verses one and two, as we see the reason for our busyness is vain toiling. Here it is. Psalm 127, verses one and two, a song of a sense of Solomon. Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city that guards stand, watch in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late toiling for food to eat, for He grants sleep to those he loves. This is a psalm about overwork. But it’s not just a psalm about your job. That is it touches on work, yes, but it also touches on family, your household security. I mean, these are three huge life issues that cause us to fill up our schedules. That is this is a psalm about what you’re trying to accomplish, why you’re trying to accomplish it, and how you’re going about accomplishing it. It begins with a really important word unless that is it introduces a condition into our whole conversation. God, but let’s strip that out. For now. Let’s assume the condition is not being met. We’re gonna go through these first few verses again in a moment in point two. So let’s let’s do it. Let’s take God out of the equation in our first pass. And by the way, when we do this, we’re not talking about atheists. We’re talking about Christians, this is Solomon, who is writing to Israel. This is the people of God. So they’re not atheists but they’re living like atheists. They are functional atheists there. Nine to five, Monday to Friday and then probably Saturday to atheists. That is, there are people who could read the Catechism question every week and go, “Yes, I agree.” But is it working through every aspect of their lives? So here’s the question, then what happens when we — even when we — who profess faith — what happens when we seek to build a life with self at the center? When I get to decide, oh, well, that means then that I have to achieve, like, the danger here is okay, you’re in control. And that’s fun. But that means it’s up to you. And that’s maybe not quite as much fun. So here’s our big question. Why do you do so much? The answer that this psalm gives us is that you’re trying to build your own house. I think that’s figurative, by the way, you’re trying to build your own house. That is you’re trying to create your perfect life. And we live in a largely secular culture, which means we breathe secular air all the time. And so this is really important. That means it’s filling our lungs to. Okay, so you got like all sorts of secular ideas in your life, I think a lot of us are seeking secular salvation. That as we all know, we need to be saved. Everybody knows they need to be saved. That’s not a controversial statement at all. The question is, how do you go about getting that salvation? Well, secular salvation is found in what Philip Cushman calls a lifestyle solution, a lifestyle solution, you gotta get your life to bring about this salvation, that’s going to answer the problem of the empty self. So if you can fill yourself up full of whatever, then then you’ll be saved. And we’re made to love God and be loved by Him. But if you strip that away, there’s that unless again, right. If you strip that away, we’re left with an inner emptiness. That’s the problem. That’s why we need salvation. Blaise Pascal, the great mathematician, I mean, he wrote few centuries ago, he really described this perfectly, he says, what else does this craving than this helplessness proclaim, but that there was once in man a true happiness of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace this he tries in vain. I like that, by the way, because in vain shows up quite a bit in our passage, right? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him seeking and things that are not there, the help he cannot find, and those that are as brilliant too, right? He’s kind of you got all these things in your life, and you’re going well, this didn’t do it. So I gotta get these things in my little that didn’t do it. So let’s try these things. That’s what he’s saying. So trying to get the help seeking and things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are though none can help since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object, in other words, by God himself. So there’s the lifestyle solution, that’s what it’s getting it right, we got to find that missing element that’s going to fill this infinite abyss Good luck to you, by the way, does not matter how many finite things you stuffed into an infinite abyss is not going to fill it. That’s what infinite means. But we’re all looking for this missing element, maybe it’s a soulmate. Maybe it’s a career, maybe it’s pleasure, maybe it’s a new hobby, whatever it might be stuff, whatever it is, to fill our lives to fill ourself with meaning again. But because each element fails, we keep trying the next thing, and then the next thing and then the next thing, and now we’re hamstring again, right? That’s what’s happening there. So you get to a new relationship, because the last one was not so good. But this one for sure, or you switch careers, because that last one felt like a grind. But this one or you get the promotion, or at least you know, if you did get that promotion that would do it, or it’s a different hobby, or I can devote more time to the hobby, at least, or buy the newest thing, or improve yourself just that little more like if I could just get the diet, the exercise thing down. I’d have it my life would be full. And of course, our culture relentlessly encourages this. We have a consumer culture driven by advertising. What does advertising tells you your perfect life really is right around the next bend? It’s right there. All you got to do is buy this product. Subscribe to my podcast, check out the new book. Your perfect life is right there. You can you can as culture tell us you can build your perfect life. You’re in control. But the flip side of course, is you have to build you have to build your perfect life. It’s up to you. It’s up to you. So if your life isn’t perfect, whose fault is that? It’s yours. Oh, who’s in charge of rectifying the issue who is the complaint department? You are so you got to deal with this. What happens when we live with that mindset? My life isn’t perfect, and it’s up to me to fix it. You’re going to toil, toil, verse to a toil. And you’re in a toil in vain three times in this passage in vain builders labored man, guard stand watch and vain in vain, you rise early and stay up late toiling for food to eat. In other words, what happens when you have this mindset is you get really, really busy. That’s what happens when you have this mindset. You have to rise early. That’s the only time you’ll be able to exercise by the way, so you better be up at the crack of dawn, hopefully got a lot of time for some private worship then too. But I understand you’re busy. If you don’t have time for it, then you gotta grind all day, because that’s your career. That’s where a huge chunk of your identity comes from. You get home and of course, you’re not resting at all, you got to make dinner you got to show for the kids, because being a perfect parent is a huge part of this also, and then you got to stay up late. Of course you do. Because who else is going to clean the house? You’re going to have to? And what are you going to do that? What do you have at the end of it? A clean house, at least I suppose. But it’s a house of cards. blown over by the first stiff breeze, it is a façade that’s part of it. You ever seen a musical or a play or something? They got the house on stage. And you know, you open the store, there’s nothing in there. Like the electrical, the plumbing, it’s not in place, you have a façade, you built an empty house, because you’re trying to fill an infinite abyss with finite things. And it ain’t working. And the proof is in your continuing toil. Because if you ever feel that you would go, good, I’m done. And that didn’t happen. So you keep working. So not only is it a façade, it is a threatened façade. That’s the “house of cards” idea. Because you can’t provide security for this house. And what does someone say the guards stand watch in vain. You can have this façade looking really, really good. And all it takes is a reduction in force at your workplace. Because your industry is struggling. And there it goes. All it takes is an injury to keep you from exercise, and all of a sudden, you’re not the athletic outdoorsy person anymore and your perfect figure starting to fade a little bit as well. The stock market can wipe out your savings a relationship ends you see it can just poof, it’s gone. So culture keeps telling us you can have it all. And reality keeps reminding us no you cannot. Not a chance. Why do you do so much? It’s because you’re depending on yourself, to define yourself to build that house, even if you’re doing it by the way for others. You’re like, no, no, I’m not about me. Everything I do I do for my kids great. So that you can show the world what a great parent you are still doing it for your self that is a bankrupt approach that leads only to vain toiling. So what is the remedy? The remedy to vain toiling is gracious love. And it’s there in verses one and two. I told you — second pass through. Let’s do it again. I’m gonna read it again. I already read it. Can you read the Word of God too much? No. Let’s do it again. Unless the Lord builds the house the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guard stand watch in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late toiling for food to eat, for He grants sleep to those he loves. So the reason for our busyness is stripping God out of the equation? Well, it means the remedy is fairly simple. Let’s reinsert him into the equation. Here’s the way Eugene Peterson put it in his words about this form. He says the main difference between Christians and others is that we take God seriously. And they do not. Here’s what he means by it. He says we really do believe that he is the central reality of all existence, we really do order our lives in response to that reality. And not just some other. And since he’s talking about this Psalm, and particularly adds this last word, he says paying attention to God involves a realization that he works. God is working. So in verses one and two, Solomon recognizes the danger of self reliance, that vein toiling, but he acknowledges the remedy to he saying you have a solution already. I mean, if God doesn’t build the house, you’re in big trouble. But if he does, well, it’s a totally different story than so that unless I said this already, it introduces a conditional clause. And here’s the thing. I think we all already knew that effective work comes with a condition. I just think we have the wrong condition in our head. Most of us think effective work is conditional upon my performance. If I work hard enough, if I work smart enough, then my work will be effective. So Why do you do so much? Have you considered the possibility that you’re busy? Because you’ve taken on God’s responsibilities? That’s going to make you busy. For sure. The Lord is exceedingly gracious. may look at everything he does even in just these two verses, he builds he watches He guards He grants like we can trust Him, we can depend on him. Now, I gotta be careful here because this certainly doesn’t mean that we don’t work. We are made to work. Adam and Eve worked in Eden, even before sin came into the world were to hit this later this summer, the whole idea that we are made to work. So yes, there is hard work. Absolutely. But it’s not pointless work. And maybe more to the point for our sermon today. It’s not endless work. And that’s what happens at the end of verse two. We can go to sleep, we can go to sleep. We can go to sleep with a checklist undone. That’s great news. Why? Because we know that God keeps working. Solomon is writing in an agrarian culture. You know anything about farmers, you know, they work hard, and they rise early. They go to bed late. Absolutely. So they’ve tilled the soil, they planted the seed, they’ve watered, they fertilize, they’ve done all of this, and then they go to bed and they have to trust that God will cause the growth because they know they can’t do that part. That’s us. That’s all of us. Really, at the end of the day, we will only sleep and sleep well. If we realize it doesn’t depend on us. Restlessness is a sign of self idolatry of self reliance. But what happens when we turn from self? We receive His love. What does it say? It says he grants asleep to His Beloved to those he loves. This is interesting, by the way, because Solomon is is his throne name. His like household nickname was actually Jetta Daya. You know what Jedediah means in Hebrew. Beloved, the one Yahweh loves. So Solomon is talking to himself. He grants sleep to to me, because he loves me. And of course, if you’re in Christ, you are also beloved of God, you are also Jedediah, he grants sleep. That’s the key that unlocks rest. What I most need, I already have a loving God, who cares for me. What we most desire, we cannot accomplish, achieve or earn. They have to be gifts from a gracious God. Love, joy, peace, rest. That’s what makes overwork and sleepless nights so foolish. They’re an implicit admission that you’ve forgotten who God is, and what he’s done, and frankly, what he is still doing in your life. Here’s a preview of our next series Kyle already mentioned. We’re doing the I Am statements of John, next. Jesus, in his own words. Here’s the last one, John 15, verse five, Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing.” You can do nothing. There’s such freedom in remembering how helpless we are apart from Christ. You know, I mean, the branch if it’s not connected to the vine, it withers and dies. That’s us. Can’t save myself. I can’t give myself or my kids peace, or joy, or meaning. I can’t do work that lasts ultimately, but in Christ, drawing on his life, like a branch drawing life from the vine. We can do all of that, and help others to do it to. To this, it’s a little bit like Paul in Philippians 3. Paul, he says at one point, “you know, you think you’ve got reasons to put confidence in the flash. I’ve got more.” He’s like, go ahead. Let’s let’s talk performance. But let’s see who could build a better house. Nobody built a better house than Paul. He’s got and he goes through his his CV is his resume and it’s really good. And then he has this turning point where he goes, Yeah, but you know what? “Count all that loss. I consider it garbage. You can take it all compared to the surpassing worth knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. That is lost, but Christ is gain because of what I
get in him – guaranteed in him – what gain? What gain? Let’s just again, we’re only talking busyness right now but look what’s off your checklist. When you rest in Gospel love, then you can go to sleep even though they are not done. Here’s the first one, create and maintain a perfect identity and make sure everyone can see it all the time. Not done. Going to bed to provide my own daily bread. And let’s be honest, we don’t want daily bread in this culture, do we? So I’m going to provide significant reserves for myself as well, because I need to provide my own security. Good luck, I’m done. Going to bed. Third, give my kids happiness – that’s making sure they have and do exactly what everyone in the culture around them has, and does. And I’m going to bed before I solve every problem that comes my way at work, at home, everywhere in between, because I cannot allow a single dent in my shiny façade. Go into bed. In Christ’s finished work, we have all that we need. If we believe the message of the gospel, we move from do to done. And that’s the freedom we need to then do from there, which we’ll talk about in a moment. But the meaning is there. My life is established. A house is buil. My security is fine, because my future is in God’s hands. And I have been granted purpose as well. And let’s talk about that purpose. Let’s talk about what we do in this last section, then the response to gracious love, which is restful activity. Restful activity. This is from verses three to five. Let me read the rest of the poem for us. Children are a heritage from the Lord offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior or children born in one’s youth. Blessed it is the man whose quiver is full of them, they will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court. Did that feel like an abrupt shift to you? Right, it’s like whiplash. In fact, it’s such whiplash. There are people who think these are two separate poems that got squished together at some point not at all. Okay, not at all. There is intentional movement here, even if it’s hard to discern. Because it would be easy to conclude if all we had was verses one and two, it’d be easy to conclude that we should simply “let go and let God.” Maybe you’ve heard that phrase before. That assumes what we’re striving for is rest. Right? That’s that’s what we’re talking about. So that would assume that the opposite of rest is work. So if we want to experience rest, you got to stop working. biblically speaking, that’s not true in the slightest. The opposite of rest is restlessness. And that’s something else entirely. What that means is that we can labor from a place of rest. Rest in the deepest part of ourselves, Illinois, J. I. Packer says – J. I. packer, probably greatest theologian last century, no fan of the phrase, “let go and let God” and he said, “Here’s what it is biblically, it’s not let go and let God It’s trust God and get moving. That’s the difference, right? And so to illustrate this whole idea of laboring from rest, Solomon turns to look at kids. We got some kids in the congregation this morning. So I’m gonna speak euphemistically here, y’all contract with mom and dad are intimately involved in procreation. They have a really necessary part to play they are a necessary condition for conception. But read the Bible, and it’s very clear. It is God who gives kids and God alone who gives kids he is the sufficient condition. In fact, if we understand anything from Christ’s virgin birth, it’s that God could actually on very rare occasions, skip the necessary condition and just put a baby in a womb no problem. Only one time, but he did do it. But you see what that means. Then this whole idea, mom and dad intimately involved in procreation, it’s an illustration of acting in here’s Alec materials, words restful reliance on the Lord, an expectation of a his effective working. That’s what procreation is. In fact, it’s really interesting is one more reason why I think these are all meant to go together. This whole Psalm is basically a reflection on Genesis 11. It’s a shift from the first part of Genesis 11 to the second part of Genesis. Love what happens in the first part of Genesis 11? I know you just read it this week, so you’re fine. But first part of Genesis 11, a group of humans get together and go, “What if we built ourselves a house? What if we provided for ourselves all that meaning and significance and security that we’re seeking, we’ll call it the Tower of Babel.” You remember how that went? It ended in fiasco because it turns out humans are not supposed to do that. What’s the second half of Genesis 11? This is the part you skip in your yearly Bible reading. It’s the genealogy. It’s the genealogy when God grants obscure Tara, a son named Abraham, through whom the whole world would be blessed. The lesson is clear, I have a part to play in God’s redemptive purposes. But I am not sufficient in myself to accomplish them. God is going to have to bring it about. It’s like evangelism. And that’s another clear example. God has chosen in his providence, that we have an effective part to play in evangelism. Not gonna believe unless they hear. They’re not going to hear unless we preach – we gotta preach. And yet we all know, only God can turn a heart. That’s the image exactly. But that leads that understanding leads to restful activity, by which I mean, doing what I’m called to do, without the burden of determination, doing what I’m called to do without the burden of thinking, it depends on me. God gives God give children are What does Solomon say here and inheritance, a reward. They are not a wage, paid. At the end of my successful work, they’re an inheritance. They’re a reward. And interestingly, by the way, they provide that security that we seek seek, it’s one of the ways that God watches over us. That’s the end of verse five. It’s kind of weird, right? They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court. The guy who’s got a lot of kids doing well here, okay, this is like my passage. Why is it that they’re not put to shame, it’s because when you reach that point where you’re too old, to go defend yourself at the city gate where all this is happening, your kids will get up and go there for you. In contrast to some of the vulnerable populations that we’ve talked about in this series, like the widow and the orphan, there’s no one to contend for them. Not so this man, by the way, that’s really helpful for us, because we saw two weeks ago, we need to expand our vision of family. The truest family is the church, the truest family, the primary family is the church who would contend for the widow and the orphan? We would, that’s what the church does, because they’re our family. But that expands our vision of verses three to five. Also, some of you may be hearing this going, this is a hard passage. What does this passage have to say to our singles? What are those who didn’t or can’t have kids, you just on your own in your old age, know, the Bible, especially the New Testament, but you can see the Old Testament to speaks regularly of spiritual children. I think a Paul and Timothy, or even in Isaiah, I think it’s 56 When God says to eunuchs, who are not going to be able to have kids, right? That he will grant them a name and a legacy better than sons and daughters. Don’t even just think of the Bible. I think of my own story. The man who discipled me invested so much of his life in me, he’s single. And in one sense, he doesn’t have kids and other sons. He’s got a whole lot more kids than I do, which is an impressive feat. When we evangelize, and disciple, and teach and train and lift the poor and work for justice, we are investing in eternity. And that, by the way, is another reason for the shift from verses one and two to verses three to five, we are still talking about work, actually, we’re just talking about work that lasts. If you are an architect, I got bad news for you. The buildings you designed will eventually fall or be knocked down. If you built yourself a company, it will eventually be sold. If you wrote a book, it’s going to go out of print. If you’re working in tech industry, you’ve already seen most of what you’ve done become obsolete, and the rest of it will as well. You want to build a forever house. You want to do work that lasts, invest spiritually. You want true security store your treasure in heaven, where moth and rust and thieves got no chance. Eugene Peterson I quoted him already. But he kind of he pulls these two strands together so well and really paved the way for our response to this he says this relentless compulsive work habits which our society rewards and admirers make no difference and are seen by the psalmist as a sign of weak faith and assertive pride, as if God could not be trusted to accomplish His will. As if we could rearrange the universe by our own effort.
What does make a difference is the personal relationships that we create and develop. That’s the changed attitude that we need living in light of God’s reality and God’s rest. That change attitude leads to change. priorities, looking at what work will last. And that will then lead to changed activities. We sum it up kind of our main idea, pull all this together, it’s really simple. Do in light of what he has done, do in light of what he has done and frankly, is still doing. Again, it is finished. It’s done. That should lead us to act restfully in light of gracious love. So how do we work that out practically just a couple of words here as we close. The first and most obvious one is this means we get to leave the performance trap behind the whole building our own house approach the lifestyle solution, we’re going to need to let God do what only He can do. We do the part he’s called us to do yes, absolutely. But let God do what only He can do. I don’t think we’re good at this. So it’s a little bit like, you know, you’re you’re a parent, and you hear the crash outside. And you know, it was a bad one. And so you kind of walk around out back and you see the baseball. And then you see the shattered window. And then you see your seven year old son on his hands and knees, trying to put the pieces back together again with scotch tape. I think that’s how God sees us a lot of the time. And hands probably bleeding as a result, like not good for us to be doing this. What would you say as a father in that situation, he would say, looks on like, I appreciate it, you’re gonna have to let me repair this. This is not something you’re gonna be able to handle. That’s what the Lord is saying to us as well. There are things you’re gonna have to let me do. I say this, especially if you’re here this morning, and you’re still questioning Christianity. Like this is the word for you in particular, this might be for the first time you realize I’m going to need to let God do this. Mean, today’s the first day maybe, where you decide to take God seriously. And live in light of his reality. Surrender yourself to him and go, I’m going to trust what you’ve done. And I’m going to do only in light of that. If you’re in Christ, though, what’s your response? I think the primary one is just to take a step back and evaluate. That’s what you need to do first, at least, what does your schedule tell you about your heart? We read your schedule doesn’t lie. Whereas you might lie to yourself. You might say, these are my priorities. And your calendar says Not a chance. Not a chance. Look at your calendar, look at your schedule. What does it tell you about your heart? Are you more like babble? Or more like Tara? Are you laboring from rest? Where are you living as a functional atheist? And maybe I’ll ask it like this? Are you sleeping well, most nights? Or is your brain going all the time? Because you think it’s up to you? You’re not depending on God. And if you’re in Christ, another piece is to make sure that your restful activity focuses on what will actually last. People matter most again, we have work to do. And we’ll talk more about this this summer. I don’t want you to come away from this going so I should quit my job. No, we were called to work. But people matter most, that we have to be focused on. Discipleship, good news. There’s a workshop coming up so you can focus on it this week. Except you’re too busy to come I’m sure. Discipleship, evangelism community like these are the things that matter. Most Can I say it like this, I think we need to move from frenzied to friendship. Like, I’m hoping you have something on your calendar every night this week. I’m just hoping it’s people that you’re having over to your home. Because you know, that’s what matters. Most people in this church that you want experienced community with people in your life that you want to share Christ with. There is just a final word of warning though to the church. Let’s not kid ourselves. We can use ministry as a part of our lifestyle solution also. That is we could be building our own house the fact that it’s got the Hobby Lobby Bible verses hanging on every wall doesn’t make it Christian. Like it could still be part of the you know, Christian façade that we are creating here. Are you doing this to save yourself? If I’m such a good Christian, then everybody will accept me and then God will accept me or are you actually doing ministry from a place of rest in light of what he has done? Some decades ago, a pastor and his wife were on vacation in an island in the Caribbean and they had dinner with one of the wealthiest men alive — a billionaire who owned a good chunk of the island. And he said to them over dinner, “I am the most miserable man in the world. Look out, there’s my yacht. You know, there’s my helicopter. Look, I own this. All kinds of thing. I can go anywhere I want. I have everything I want to make my life happy yet I am as miserable as hell.” I’m not just cussing to shock you guys either. Partly it’s a quote and then partly he was speaking better than he knew. It was precisely the misery of hell. What did the pastor and his wife do? Of course, they shared Christ with him. They shared with them how he could become one of those in verse two that God loves the rest that we can know. The next dinner this pastor and his wife he said, “The next night I had dinner with a 75-year-old Baptist pastor on the island. This billionaire was also 75. So same age, Baptist pastor still ministering regularly and running this little church and also caring for his two invalid sisters — like, he was a busy, busy man. And he said, “I don’t have $2 to my name, but I’m the happiest man on this island. This pastor, by the way, was Billy Graham, and he asked his wife as they were leaving dinner that night, “Who do you think was the richer man?” Really easy question to answer, frankly. But here’s the point. They both worked. Both those men worked, they both worked hard. But one toiled in vain. The other labored from love, and found rest, even in his activity. Let’s do whatever we do, whatever God calls us to do, let’s do it in light of what he’s already done. That’s hope for the busy, let’s pray. Father, we know whether we acknowledge it or not, that our lives have a giant unless written across them. Unless we acknowledge you, unless we live in light of the reality that you exist, that you made us and that you made us for yourself. We will be restless. And as a result, we will be busy. So help us Lord to reinsert you the reality of who you are and what you’ve done into the equation of our lives. Help us to live in light of what you have done. Help us to act to do in light of Christ’s finished work. Help us to find rest and peace and meaning and security and purpose in the Gospel. In Christ’s love for us in remembering that we are those that we can be those that you love. And only then stepping out, to act in faith, committing ourselves to work that lasts committing ourselves to people knowing that we are sent to serve them to love them well, and to lead them into the same rest we pray in Christ’s name

Amen.

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Hope for the Depressed (Psalm 143) April 30, 2023 | Brandon Cooper TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

Good morning church. Go ahead, grab your bibles you can open up to Psalm 143, We’ll be in Psalm 143. This morning, as you’re turning to Psalm 143, the year is 1835 We are in Florence, Italy, and a man heads to a doctor. Because he is in absolute despair. He feels anxious all the time he feels depressed, he’s no longer eating or sleeping. He’s unwilling to be with his friends. And the doctor examines him and discovers that he’s in perfectly fine physical health. So he realizes the issue must be emotional or psychological, and decides what this man needs is a change of circumstances. He needs to laugh. And so the doctor tells him look, the circus is in town. Just go enjoy yourself, you know, laugh your head off. You know who’s there. Grimaldi, the world’s most famous clown is performing. I’ve talked to people who’ve gone they’re rolling in the aisles in the middle of this go, it will change you, I promise. And the man kept going, No, that’s not gonna work. It won’t. He says, Yes, it will. You need to laugh and Jake Grimaldi. He will do it remotely Grimaldi Grimaldi. And the man says he can’t help me. Because you see, I’m Grimaldi. Now, I have no idea if that happened or not, Grimaldi was a real clown. In fact, he kind of invented counting as we know it today. And he did struggle with depression later in his life. I don’t know if that story happened exactly as I just told it. But I know that it illustrates at least three kind of key aspects of the modern predicament. Number one is that there’s a huge number of us who are despairing and depressed. Currently, in the emerging generation, especially, you’re going to share a lot of these statistics already. Here it is again, though, but 48% of Gen Z, has said that they are moderately or extremely depressed. And one in five have had a severe depressive episode in the last year, there’s a huge number of us struggling the way Grimaldi was. Second, I think a lot of us are clinging to the mistaken belief, much like the doctor in this story, that the key is a change of circumstances. If we could just laugh, then we’d be fine. And whatever this might be, you know, if I got a job or got a new job, so I was in a new place, not in that hostile work environment anymore. If it solved these relationship problems, or got into a relationship, or whatever it is, that would solve it, or once I graduate, and I’m finally away from all these idiot classmates that I have, then I will be happy again. And then third, why I like this story in particular, there is the admission in it, though few of us have gotten there, there is the admission in it, that I can’t be the solution. Because I’m the problem. Grimaldi can’t help me. Because the problems inside of Grimaldi. I think this is honestly what social media has exposed in some ways. Why is that people who use social media, the average amount, especially teenagers, and especially teenage girls, are twice as depressed as the rest of the population. Because you’re putting yourself out there. And not making the grade. You’re putting yourself out on Instagram or Facebook or whatever. And you know, the likes aren’t there. They’re not as many as the other prisons that there’s this sense of I just didn’t measure up. And that’s what we need to tackle today. When we’re overcome with depression, when we’re feeling despair, within what do we do, I gotta give you a quick caveat, really, this is a caveat for the whole series, but especially today, I am addressing the spiritual root, because that is my wheelhouse. That’s also my task as preacher, I am not a psychologist, I just wanna be really clear about that. I’m not going to get into some of this stuff. We’re not talking about clinical depression, necessarily, I’m not gonna talk about serotonin levels, or whether or not medication will be right for you. Those are all conversations I’m willing to have. I’m mostly gonna help you find somebody who can have a better conversation with you than I can. But that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re just talking about the, the despair that that plagues us all. And once more as we address that, we’re gonna look at a prayer of David. And once more, we’re going to look at the same outline the reason for our depression, the remedy, and then ultimately, the response. So let’s start by looking at the reason for our despair. And I’ve summed it up although it’s more complicated than this with a simple phrase, God doesn’t love me. Psalm, Psalm 143. Let me read verses one to four to start us off. Lord, hear my prayer. Listen to my cry for mercy, and your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief. Do not bring your servant into judgment for no one living is righteous before you. The enemy pursues me. He crushes me to the ground. He makes me dwell in the darkness like those long dead. So my spirit grows faint within me. My heart within me is dismayed. David is crying aloud to God for relief. He’s in a bad spot. We see that in verse three, right? There’s some sort of enemy, pursuing him, crushing him even so that he feels alone and afraid he might as well be buried. That’s how alone and afraid he feels. Now, we don’t know the exact circumstances. What is going on that’s causing David to feel this way? Is it a literal or a figurative enemy that is pursuing him? I don’t know. And that’s kind of nice, by the way, because it means this is a prayer we can all pray. It’s very adaptable to our situation, because it isn’t that specific. Now, this could just be a colleague’s smear campaign against you, you know, accusing you of being unqualified, delinquent, whatever, that would be a literal enemy. And you’d be able to pray this prayer in that situation, it could be a temptation to sin, that would be the spiritual enemy that would be there as well. It could just be I mean, honestly, especially given today’s topic, that voice inside your head, just won’t go away. I keep telling you, you’re not good enough, whatever the exact situation. It causes David to despair. And so he says, verse four, my spirit grows faint within me, my heart within me is dismayed. He is in a word, depressed. Now, it’s interesting if you were to read David’s prayers, specially the first you know, 50 Psalms or so you would see over and over again that right about this moment, right after he talks about his enemies, he will say something like, help me because I’m blameless, upright, a more righteous as in, I’m not without sin, because we’re looking at David here on David Bathsheba man, like, I wouldn’t use the word blameless if I were you, okay? That’s what he’s talking about, though. He’s not saying I’m not without sin. He’s saying in this situation, I’m not the one at fault. So again, you’re being accused as shirking your real responsibilities at work or something like that. And, and you’re looking, you’re going normal, like I did this, I can show you the email actually even sent it a day early and had all the information you needed. This wasn’t on me. I’m blameless here. And that was true. And a lot of David’s life. You look at Saul and Absalom in particular, both of whom spent a lot of time pursuing him and both of them unjustly so we could say here, Lord, I’m in the right. But he doesn’t say that here, not today. Look at verse two. Look at what he says, instead, do not bring your servant into judgment for no one living is righteous before you. And righteousness. By the way, if you’re newer to church didn’t know the word. It’s just your performance record. That’s all that means the story of your life. He’s saying I, I realize no one has lived rightly, all the time. He sounds like Paul in Romans three all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God. There’s no one righteous, not even one. No one who does good all have turned away They have together become worthless. So he realizes, calling on a righteous judge like he does in verse one, and your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief. Calling on a righteous judge is a little bit dangerous, because how can a righteous God save an unrighteous man? And so David almost pulls up short as he’s praying this prayer. And this is key is going to help us as we talk through this because of our rebellion against God. We all deserve punishment. suffering, pain, The wages of sin is death, Romans 623. And that complicates the discussion when we’re in tough circumstances, of course, am I being punished? Is that what’s going on here? And in one sense, the answer is, yes. Because we live in a broken world that is the consequence of our sin as humanity, but in another sense, not necessarily. Not necessarily. We see this throughout Scripture, the disciples look at a man born blind and John chapter nine and say who sin, this man or his parents that he should be born blind. And Jesus goes,
no, okay. The answer is no, neither. That’s not you can’t draw this one to one connection. You see that in job especially, God goes out of his way to say he is suffering on justly. This was not because of his sin, He is blameless and upright, there’s no one like him on all the earth, or think of Joseph. Now Joseph was a little bit arrogant, it’s true. I am not surprised his older brothers bullied him when he said, you’re all gonna bow down to me. That’s what happens. I was a younger sibling. I know what this is like, okay. But he certainly didn’t deserve decades as a slave and a prisoner as a result of that. So there’s now this one to one connection between specific suffering and specific sin. And that’s important because there are two temptations we will face when we are suffering or when we see the suffering around us. The first temptation is towards moralism. Which is to say you get what you deserve. So if you had lived a better life, you wouldn’t be suffering, what you’re suffering. Now, it’s basically karma. The other temptation is toward cynicism, cynicism, this might not be your fault. It’s just that we live in a cruel world. And God either doesn’t see or doesn’t care, or maybe most likely, isn’t there to begin with. Interestingly, of course, both those temptations assume that God isn’t there if you’re suffering to the moralist. God isn’t there, because he’s forsaken you because of your sin to the cynic. God isn’t there because he has forgotten you. In his non existence, or in his lack of concern, either one leads to despair. Both of those are going to leave you stuck in your depression. And that’s kind of what’s going on here. Like track what happens with David, there’s an enemy causing him problems. So he’s got bad external circumstances. So he prays this despairing prayer to the Lord, but it leads him in verse to to doubt himself. And you can see it just kind of hanging there in the background to doubt God’s love. How could God possibly love me look at who I am? Maybe he has forsaken? or forgotten me? Maybe those are my only two options. Is that right? No way. Right? No way God may or may not be put up punishing specific sin, but he is definitely exposing your greatest need when you’re suffering. Here’s the way Spurgeon put it. I’m gonna quote Charles Spurgeon quite a bit. Today, he was the great preacher of the 19th century, I’m quoting him a lot because he battled depression, his entire life, never came out of it. And so what he has to say here is going to speak powerfully to us. But he says this, the next best thing to living in the light of the Lord’s love is being unhappy until we have it. That’s a hard statement. The best thing is living in the light of the Lord’s love. Absolutely. But if you’re not living in the light of the Lord’s love, the best thing for you would be to hurt until you find it, so that you will go looking for it. So like, if you’re here today, and you’re asking questions about Christianity, and you’re skeptical, still you’re seeking, the best thing for you would be to be experiencing a feeling of malaise, or melancholy or madness, so that you start to scratch your deepest itch inside your eye. That may be why you’re here today, we’re going to know about Jesus, but I know something has to change. Mark Sayer says, if you are at the end of your self, you are ripe for renewal. And so bringing us to the ends of ourselves, is one of the kindest, most loving things God can do. If you’re feeling unhappy, and hopeless. Don’t assume that God isn’t there or doesn’t love you, it’s that he loves you enough to meet your deepest need. When we reach the end of ourselves, that’s a good thing. And God is going to use our suffering, we might say, going back to that opening illustration that Grimaldi is in a good place, feeling despair, to get to the best place, which is to live in light of the Lord’s love. What that means, though, is that our external circumstances are not the root cause of our despair and our depression. They’re not the root cause they expose the root cause it’s a little bit like when you get water in your basement. The problem is not the rain. The problem is that you’ve got a cracked Foundation. The rain just exposes the crack that you didn’t even know so you’re not going to fix the league, you’re going to fix the crack until the water gets in, which means a little bit of water could actually be a good thing so that you know there’s a problem you have to address. In the same way pain is purposeful in God’s plans. I get that’s not how we think today. I quoted the stat last week that 84% of Americans think the highest goal of life is enjoying yourself. So if enjoying yourself is your highest goal What possible part could pain play? None. Zero, which is why we despair when we suffer. But if the highest goal of life isn’t enjoying ourselves, but enjoying God, which is true, by the way, that is what we were made for. Well, that changes the whole calculus, pain to be purposeful and God’s plans. And let me say it. And this is a hard word, but it doesn’t mean it’s untrue. Pain could even be loving, and God’s plans. God loves us too much to leave us in our cells. Let’s think of it this week at random a little bit of a drill sergeant, I’ve never been in the military. But if the movies are at all true, drill sergeants do not seem like loving people. They yell at you a lot. They insult you, they call you names, they break you down, it will be so easy to look at them and go see the drill sergeant doesn’t love me, the drill sergeant hates me. In fact, when the reality is, I haven’t met them all. The drill sergeant loves you enough to do what needs to be done. So that when you go to war, you’re not killed. He loves him enough to see he just want to see the kids die. That’s why he’s there. That’s what he’s doing. And that’s just a drill sergeant. By the way, that’s not the Almighty, all knowing, all loving God of the universe. The Lord loves us too much to leave us to ourselves. So the reason for our depression is manifold. bad stuff happens. Yes. When it happens, we’re not sure God sees or cares or even exists. We begin to doubt ourselves. And we certainly begin to doubt God as well. God doesn’t love me if he exists. And frankly, I can see why. Because look at my unrighteousness No wonder that’s a great jumping off point. It’s not a fun jumping off point. But that’s a great jumping off point for us. Because we won’t fix the foundation until it leaks. And we won’t ask the biggest questions until we begin to despair of ourselves like Grimaldi did. I’m the problem. I keep messing up. I’m not measuring up. I’ve got the proof on Instagram, everyone can see it. So how could God or anyone love me? There’s the reason. Let’s talk about the remedy. And it’s a pretty simple fix. God does love me. Let’s look at it though. verses five and six. And they keep reading. I remember the days of long ago, I meditate on all your works in consider what your hands have done. I spread out my hands to you I thirst for you, like a parched land. Do you see the David is not passive here. And that’s so important. He doesn’t just sit in his depression waiting for God to do something. He takes himself by the hand and leads himself from depression and dismay into hope. We must never forget. God made you to experience peace, like you are built for peace, you are built for hope. That’s why it hurts so much when you don’t have that. So of course, he’s going to provide the remedy in your hopelessness. That’s what David is aware of. So he doesn’t let himself dwell in despair. And I’m not gonna build a house here. Okay, we’re gonna we’re gonna get out of here. It’s like he’s saying, I can’t just let the tapes roll in my head. We don’t have tapes anymore. But you get the idea. You younger kids, you can ask your parents what that means later. Can I just let the tapes roll? Like, if you remember, this is another old one. But back in the days of broadcast television, when something big happened, they would come out and they say, We need to interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you this whatever.
That’s it. That’s what David’s doing. I need to interrupt my regularly scheduled programming, the tapes that are normally playing to bring different information to light. Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones, when my favorite preachers of all time said, Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is because you’re listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? That’s the key insight. David is done listening. And so he interrupts himself, he talks to himself and he walks himself into the hope of the gospel. How? By remembering what God has done, I remember right, I meditate on only works, I consider what your hands have done. These are all marks by the way, have a disciplined mind. I’m not going to think whatever thoughts just happen to flit across my brain. I’m going to choose what I’m thinking About that’s what words like meditate and consider and remember, teach us. So if you’re checking out Christianity, though, at this point, you’re asking a question of verse five, which is, okay, what works? What exactly was David meditating on? Now David is in the Old Testament, so he lived before the time of Jesus. So what are some of the things he will be thinking about, he will be thinking about God’s call of Abraham, that he chose the Israelites out of all nations on earth to be his special possession. The exodus, which we talked a lot about last week, that he brought them out of slavery in Egypt, into the promised land. And on their way there He revealed Himself to them gave him gave them that his law so that they would know who God is, and how they can please him. The fact that God dwells in their midst with the tabernacle, and eventually the temple, he’s there, he’s present to them, he can be approached, even David’s own life story that God has given them, a king, to shepherd them. These are all good things. These are things that teach David something about who God is, and frankly, about who David is. And that’s important because we can’t trust our emotions, or our circumstances when trouble comes. They both will tell us, God has abandoned you. But that’s not true. We have to trust God, or we interpret our circumstances in light of God, we never interpret God, in light of our circumstances. That’s a huge shift. So when this happens, when we start to go, Does God care? Does God see Does God love me? Is he there? What do we do we do a David, we start to flip through the scrapbook of our hearts, the record of his faithfulness to his people and to us. As Spurgeon said it well, when we cannot trust God’s hand, I’m sorry, I said that wrong. Let’s can be bad. Start over. When we cannot trace God’s hand, we must learn to trust his heart. Right when he can’t see what his hand is doing good about you. But I know who God is. And that’s unchanging. And I will trust that, of course, this side of Jesus in the New Testament era, there’s even more for us to consider, like What Works has he done returned to Jesus at this moment, what God has done for us in Christ, His perfect life, His substitutionary death, his triumphant resurrection, because that the gospel message answers our biggest questions. Can I be loved? Welcomed, accepted, even despite who I am? And what I’ve done? Can I call on a holy God to deliver me considering how unholy and unrighteous I am? Because the cross reconciles a righteous judge? who declares innocent, the unrighteous? How can that possibly happen? At the cross, when Jesus takes our place, he takes the punishment for our sin, and we take his welcome as beloved children of God. The Gospel proves his love for us, which is what sustains us in hope. That’s why David, verse six, spreads out his hands before the Lord in prayer, and acknowledges his thirst to God. It says, though, he’s saying, I know that there is hope here, and here, only. This is the only place I can go to quench my deepest spiritual thirst. Do you know that thirst is a really important word in the Bible actually shows up a lot. And at some pretty crucial moments. In fact, we thirst. We thirst a lot. Think of the Samaritan woman at the well, whom Jesus encounters. And he asked her for water because he’s thirsty at the time. And again, this little conversation, it becomes clear early on, that this woman is trying to quench that deep spiritual thirst by sleeping around, and it’s just leaving her even thirst here. And so Jesus says, if you knew who I was, you would ask me for living water, and I would give it to you, and you would never thirst again. Elsewhere, Jesus says, Blessed are those who first Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be satisfied, filled. If we’re seeking after the deep things of God, we will be able to drink our fill. That’s the promise we have revelation 2217 couldn’t read for us earlier. This is almost the last sentence of the Bible. It’s like three before the end. Let the one who is thirsty, come and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. We don’t have to thirst anymore. We don’t have to thirst anymore because of John 19 Verse 20. Eight. I’ll have it up on the screen because it’s pretty easy to remember. If you know the seven sayings of Jesus from the cross, you’ll know that this is one of them. As he’s hanging there, he says, I thirst. I thirst. Jesus thirsted. So we could drink our fill. He took our place, there’s the substitution, I’ll be thirsty. You drink in abundance, and never thirst. Again, the same substitution that we would see here in Psalm 143. Jesus, His enemies pursued him, they crushed him to the ground, they made him dwell in darkness, like those long dead turns out, he was not dead for long. But he took David’s place, he experienced all of that the tomb, so that we wouldn’t have to, ultimately he was hopeless, so that we would never have to be the essence of the gospel is always substitution. Jesus takes our place, we get to take his, that’s what we see. And that’s what we need to remember. Verse five, I remember, I remember, I remember, that’s the remedy. God does love me. That’s 100%. Guaranteed. And the proof is in the cross. If you know only one verse in Scripture, it’s probably this one, For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish will have eternal life. John 316. That’s the controlling thought. Okay, that’s, that’s the primary thought in our whole operating system. God loves me. I know it’s true, because I saw what he did for me in Christ. I know that’s true. So we may be in circumstances where we’re going, God, I don’t know what you’re doing. I don’t know why I’m in this. I don’t know what you’re doing. But I know what you’ve done. And I know what you will do. In the end. Those two are guaranteed. I might be in hard circumstances you might be in hard circumstances right now grief, and pain and loss and loneliness and anxiety. You might have put yourself out there on Instagram, and you didn’t get any likes, and all he got was a rude comment from the mean girl. God’s using that so that you will feel thirst and turn to the living water. Stop trying to satisfy yourself with what amounts to saltwater, which will just leave you thirst year in the end anything but Christ himself. So let’s drink deeply of the gospel. How do we do that? How do we respond last section, the response it’s almost as though we’re crying out to God God do love me. Please love me even now let’s look at the rest of the Psalm verses seven to 12 Answer me quickly, Lord, my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit. Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go for you I entrust my life rescue me for my enemies, Lord for a hide myself and you teach me to do Your will for you are my God. May your good spirit lead me on level ground? If your namesake Lord preserved my life in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble and your unfailing love silence my enemies destroy all my foes for I am your servant
Alright, so having repaired the foundation fixed the crack David begins the rebuilding process in his life and in a lot of ways he’s praying the same prayers of verses one to four but he’s got a different heart has a different meaning now behind them. So he knows God is his only hope. When he gets back to verse seven, answer me quickly or my spirit fails not happen in here. You’re my hope. But he’s overcome his own obstacle. The main obstacle which is his own unworthiness, I can’t call on you. I’m not worthy to be here. Yeah, except now I remember you love me despite my unworthiness. So what is it that he wants especially he wants the reminder of God’s unfailing love. Verse eight, unfailing love it’s a really difficult word to translate. unfailing love is good, by the way, because it’s got the idea of a persistent love a loyal love. In light of what we know the God of the Bible. It really is a covenant love what God’s saying I’ve committed myself to have covenanted with you. It’s like what the marriage covenant is supposed to be until death should part us and death doesn’t hurt us from God because we just go to be with him. No circumstances are going to part so it’s that kind of covenant love that he’s talking about. That by the way is what Verse 11 is getting at when he prays for your name’s sake, Lord. That’s interesting. That’s not always how we pray today is it for your namesake. It’s interesting right there. He’s not praying for His sake, David. That’s a pretty good shift. We’ve seen that a huge part of our problem is the egoism of expressive individualism, of being obsessed with yourself. So right there, the fact that he’s going, it’s not about me, it’s about you, Lord, is a key shift. But there’s more than that. What does it mean when he prays for your name’s sake, Lord. So last week, we talked about the fact that that word NAME is shorthand for God’s character, who God is. So what is David praying here, he’s saying, David, is pray, saying, God be true to who you are, to who you revealed yourself to be. act in line with your revealed character, Lord, specifically, in light of a covenant you’ve made with your people. This is a shocking thought. But it’s true. God by covenanting, with his people, by those who trust in him has, in one sense, bound his honor to us. Because if he doesn’t make good on the promises he’s given us. He will dishonor himself. That’s the prayer. Right? Why do we go to God and prayer because he must deliver us because he’s promised to deliver us. If we belong to him, by grace through faith. Now, I got a really big caveat. He must deliver us, ultimately, and on His terms, that’s key. Because as soon as you get the Lord, I need to deliver me now on my terms, that’s not a promise in Scripture. So he’s not breaking any promises when he does not come through on that He will deliver you ultimately, and on His terms, but he must deliver you ultimately on his term, or else he would be faithless, and unrighteous. And guess what? You don’t have to worry about that. God is neither one of those things that won’t happen. So we have this guarantee, I know he will keep his promises to me. Spurgeon one more time says it like this. And it’s so important. He says, Do not look to your hope, but to Christ, who is the source of your hope. That’s the difference right there. That’s the proper response. To focus on your feelings to focus on the absence of hope is to remain depressed. What we need to do is focus on Jesus, the gospel, the fact that God will deliver us for the sake of his name, and glory and honor, He has delivered us already. In fact, he defeated sin, and Satan, death and darkness, finally, on the cross, he has been victorious over them already, and He will deliver us. We live in the time between the time between it’s so hard, isn’t it? You know, it reminds me of let’s go back to the Exodus again, God brought his people out of Egypt, out of slavery, much like he brought us out of slavery to sin. And eventually, they got to the promised land, but they wandered in the wilderness for a bit. We’re in the wilderness. He’s delivered us out of sin and death, but he has not delivered us into glory, yet. That’s coming. The time between his heart that’s, that’s what makes sense of verse 12. Any of you have a hard time when you read verse 12. As you were reading in preparation for today, it’s hard to swallow, would you destroy my foes? That doesn’t sound like gospel love, necessarily. Now, our primary enemy is spiritual, that’s so important to remember. But in the time between that could be real humans also, who are our enemies. And when the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt, the Egyptians were real enemies at that point. If you were a victim of human trafficking, you would have every right to pray this prayer of Your traffickers. I know that’s hard to hear. And again, the victim would not be saying I am sinless, but I’m blameless in this at least. It’s a hard but true thought that God can’t rid the world of wickedness without reading it of wicked people. Which means he’s either got to get the wickedness out of us or to get the wicked people out of the world. Those are the only two options and so those who won’t turn from their sin who won’t repent and turn to Jesus, there is only one option we talked a lot about this in our series last fall, people got killed so I won’t belabor the point you can go back and listen to that. But one caveat before we continue, we’re gonna look in a lot at verse eight. Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love for I put my trust in you. I don’t want us to be confused. used about the let the morning bring me word. God bringing his unfailing love to us in the morning does not mean he’ll rescue you tomorrow. Again, that’s not the promise, the promise is that he will love you tomorrow, even today, not that he’ll deliver you necessarily He will deliver us finally on the final day, and he might leave us in hard circumstances, the ones that are causing us despair. For some time, we’re in a mental struggle, but he loves us throughout them. That’s the point. I just give you as an example grief persists, doesn’t it? Like that’s not one that you just get out of? Oh, I don’t miss the person anymore. Of course not. That is a wound that never fully closes in this life. But we can trust God, still. He loves you. He loves you. He loves you so fully that you can overflow with love to him and to your neighbor. In fact, like you want proof of this look at Paul and his thorn. Paul, the apostle Paul like pretty tight with God, right. And he says three times I prayed, take this thorn from me. He even says this thorn is a messenger of Satan. So this is an enemy, right? It was also a messenger of love, sent from the Lord. Because the Lord subverts all of Satan’s purposes to his own ends. It was to keep Paul from pride to keep him from conceit. God may leave us in there for some purpose that we don’t know. It’s just that that despair doesn’t get the final word. And so we have that controlling thought in our mind, which will shape our feelings slowly but surely bringing us back to hope. And we’ll certainly shape our actions and the actions we got to talk about, right, because we might say our responses to cry out God, do love me act toward me, according to your covenant love. So we remember the gospel, that’s the remedy. And then we remind ourselves of the remedy. That’s really the response. We preach the gospel to ourselves. But that’s not all we do. Because David pray some other things. I’ve skipped over a lot of verses seven to 10. Look at some of the things he prays show me the way I should go. Teach me to do Your will lead me on level ground. Anytime you see that in Scripture, by the way, it means lead me in such a way that I don’t stumble, and sin in other words, so this is not a passive response. God loved me. I’m just gonna sit here until you do kind of thing gospel. faithfulness never is passive. Yes, it is all of grace. Absolutely. But that doesn’t make it passive. But as Paul saying, Philippians two will work out your salvation, you work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Why? Because it’s God who works in you, too willing to act according to His good pleasure. So there’s an act of obedience. Again, a taking by the hand, leading your soul back to the gospel and to gospel living. We had almost summed it up like this, here’s your main idea. You
want the takeaway from today, you’ve heard it before, practice what you preach. Except that mean it a little differently. This doesn’t mean don’t be a hypocrite. That’s true, too. Okay? That’s just not what I’m talking about today. Practice what you preach. In other words, practice the truth that you’re preaching to yourself. Remember what God has done for you, and then ask Him to show you what you should do for him. How do I respond in light of the gospel, and this is really important, by the way, because if you’ve struggled with depression, ever, you know that it leads to paralysis. Like sometimes the hardest thing in the world is just getting out of bed. And so it may be Lord, show me what I should do. Get up, take a shower, get dressed. That’s a good start. Let’s do that today. But we got to figure out how we respond to practically and that’s what I want to leave you with as we go from here. I don’t know you, I don’t know where you are unnecessarily at this level. But I know that the Lord would have you be a doer of the word and not just a hearer of it. So how is God going to have you respond? Today? I got a few words for a few different groups here. For all of us, though. First of all, a response is pray like this. Right? Pray like this prayer right here. God gave us the songs so that we would have words to say when we don’t know how to pray. There is not a feeling in your heart that does not find expression somewhere in the book of Psalms. And so when you’re going I don’t know what to do with this read until you find it. We have to learn to speak Psalms fluently. It was said of Augustine that his second language was Psalms and That’s good. That’s how we should speak to it should just flow out of us. But notice, I didn’t just say talk like this, but pray like this. That is another key part of our responses. You bring this to God. You pray Your heart is the very first series I pray. I preached here at Cityview, in fact, was praying your heart, we looked at the Psalms and how to express those different feelings to God, you can go back, you can find it on our website, listen to that, if you got questions about it, second group, the church speaking to all of you, as a community, in particular, we talked a lot about the importance of community last week didn’t mean so yes, you got to bring this to God. Absolutely. But you should be bringing it to others as well. We saw last week, it is not good for us to be alone. It is not good for us to do this by our selves. So like youth, let me talk to you for a moment. If you’re Gen Z. We’ve talked a lot about a lot of stats that are not real encouraging. If any of them describe you, have you talked to your parents about it. If you talk to a teacher, if you talk to a pastor, your disciple, for that matter. And on the flip side, parents, have you asked your kids, do you have this kind of open conversation with them. But it’s not just for families, this is for the church, because this is the primary family, as we talked about last week, ask each other. Like this is what we should be doing. As a church, we must be the sort of community where people can open up about their struggles. How do we treat the suffering? That is a great test of us as a church? How do we treat the suffering, you know, the default mode for treating sufferers? among religious people? Job’s friends, right. That’s what religious people do. That’s not good. We don’t want to be those people. So we’re going to have to work ourselves out of the default mode and back into a gospel mode. Do you stay away from people with mental health struggles? Would they be welcomed in your community group? Or is that too much? I don’t have time for that. I don’t have the energy for that. Because I got news for you. That doesn’t look like Jesus. Jesus was like demonized person, let’s go religious person. Not so sure. Come back to me when you know you got problems with be like Jesus here as a church and walk into the mess. Third, group, seekers, skeptics, you’re here you’re questioning Christianity, two steps for you. The first one is verse two. You got to get yourself to verse two, you need to recognize and acknowledge that you are not right before God that you have messed up. You need to take personal responsibility by no longer tolerating yourself as you are. That’s the bad news. Then you need to get yourself diversify. That’s step two. That’s the good news. What are God’s works? So acknowledge you’re not right before God, but then figure out how to get right with God. That’s the gospel. What has he done? Maybe you read the gospels. Maybe that’s your step. Today, starting Matthew, read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, read it and community even better, keep coming to church, keep joining us, maybe you’re gonna go 10 Explore, you’re gonna set up a time to talk with me, you’re gonna get find a book to read. What’s your action step as you walk out of here today, every one of you. Because you need to practice what you preach. So ask God to show you the way you should go. What’s his will for you right now? And especially if you’re struggling with feelings of depression, and despair, and dismay, is he calling you to talk to somebody about this? Maybe it’s the prayer team. Afterwards, Mark, and Betsy will be up here. They’d love to pray with you. Maybe it’s a pastor, maybe it’s a counselor. You need help finding a counselor, I’m happy to do that. Maybe it’s your community group, your journey group, maybe it’s just one on one. Where do you need to address a crack in your foundation? Like where is despair leaking in? And how can the gospel patch it? Or maybe you need to take a concrete. Step two, remember to remind yourself, maybe in light of everything we were talking about, even the last three weeks ago, I’m just gonna be off social media for a while or forever. I’m not gonna post selfies anymore, because I know what I’m trying to do and I know the feeling I have afterwards. Or maybe you just need to go outside. Like the Lord put us in a garden for a reason. It’s really good for your mental health. Just take a walk. And better yet, take a walk with friends because maybe you just need to be with people who will speak gospel truth to you. George Molar, that great hero of a bygone century, said “the first great and primary business which I ought to attend every day is to have my soul happy in the Lord. The most important work the most important thing I do each day is to get my soul happy in the Lord in the gospel.” He did not say happy in my circumstances. There may be rough circumstances where you feel sad or depressed, but you can always be happy still in the Gospel, preach the gospel of yourself. And then practice what you preach, live in light, that glorious gospel truth. Let’s pray.
Father, we pray that You would help us even now to remember how much you love us the cost of your love for us that it costs you the blood of your own son, the only truly righteous, perfect human who ever lived. That He thirsted for us so that we wouldn’t need to thirst any longer. And Lord, as we remember, would you quench our deep spiritual thirst? Would you get our souls happy in you even now, even if we’re in the midst of the most unbearable circumstances, having the reminder that you love us that you will love us to the end that you will deliver us in the end? That that would serve as a ballast, an anchor for our souls that we might persevere? And then show us what we should do teach us to do your will or what does it look like to obey in light of the gospel today? By your good spirit direct every one of us we pray for the sake of your name, amen.

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Hope for the Lonely (Psalm 68:4-6) April 23, 2023 | Brandon Cooper TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

Good morning church; you can go ahead and grab your Bibles and open up to Psalm 68. Psalm 68, we’ll be in verses four to six, some of which actually just showed up in the video a moment ago. As you’re turning there to Psalm 68, Howard Hughes, some of you may know him from the movie The Aviator. But he was at one time really the pinnacle of expressive individualism, which we talked about last week. We’ll talk some more about this week. So he was absurdly wealthy dashingly, handsome eccentrically, brilliant. He broke land speed records. He was a daredevil pilot, and he dated just about every A-list celebrity in Hollywood at the time. And yet his personal trajectory mimics a culture of expressive individualism, a trajectory as well; by the end of his life, Howard Hughes was a recluse. He was alone in a room in one of the hotels that he owned, he would sit watching his favorite movies on repeat, but so there he was staring at a screen in a darkened room alone, which kind of sums us up that’s symbolic of our culture in so many ways. As we become increasingly devoted to our own happiness. Interestingly, we’re not getting more happy, not in the slightest. We’re actually getting paralyzed, numb, and increasingly isolated. Now, like I said last week in the series, today, it’s not about technology. But we also can’t ignore the technology piece of it either. In fact, as I was thinking through this sermon, I was thinking through group watch, maybe you’ve seen on some of your streaming services, they have this feature group watch, where you can all kind of watch the same movie at the same time. But of course, you’re in your own home. Like, that’s us, right? We are alone, together. As a culture. There’s this epidemic of loneliness in our culture today. And it’s literally killing us, as we’ll see. Now, for reasons that we’re gonna explore, as we continue in the message this morning, it’s unlikely that you if you’re here in this room right now, that’s unlikely that you feel this as much as some of the people who are around you and your neighborhood that work wherever it might be. And so it’s a little different. Last week, I spoke to the anxious knowing that that’s all of us, to some extent or another. This week, I’m going to speak to the lonely but I’m also going to speak to the church and how we need to go and reach the lonely for Christ. So what can we do to move from loneliness to love? And as a reminder, in our series titled Wishing and Hoping the idea there is we can’t just you know, fingers crossed, wishing for more friends wishing for community; we know how can we actually cultivate true hope that helps us overcome this loneliness. And so once again, we’re gonna be looking at David, at one of his prayers, Psalm 68. They are just a few verses that are intently focused on God, which has been true of our series as well. So like last week, we follow the same structure. We’re going to walk through the reason for loneliness, the remedy for it, and ultimately, our response to what God has said to us this morning. Let me read Psalm 68, verses four to six for us, Psalm 68, four to six. Here’s David, sing to God, sing in praise of his name, extol him who rides on the clouds, rejoice before him. His name is the Lord, a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing, but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. Alright, let’s look, first of all, at the reason, the problem of loneliness. So a little bit of context, since we’re picking up midstream here in Psalms 68. Now, we don’t know exactly when Psalm 68 was written. That tends to be true of most Psalms, we take some educated guesses. It’s kind of nice because it means the Psalms are applicable to a wide variety of circumstances. But most likely, this is when the ark was being moved from Obed-Edom house to Jerusalem. If you were here for our People God Killed series that was that whole other business right? Right after that, in fact, the way verse one begins, may God arise. That is what the Israelites always said when they set out and when the Ark began moving. But what’s interesting here, whatever is happening is that it is expressed in terms of the Exodus when God led his enslaved people Israel out of Egypt and into the promised land. And so in other words, there was deliverance. God delivered his people because there had been a problem. Well, what’s the problem? How does David describe it? Here are three words in our passage that kind of sum up the problem: lonely, prisoners, and rebellious. So if we’re thinking in terms of the Exodus, prisoners and rebellious make a lot of sense. They were prisoners in Egypt, the Israelites. And then, of course, they were rebellious. We’ll come back to that in a moment. But that’s why they were wandering around in the wilderness for a long time afterward. But why lonely? Like there are probably a million or two people coming out of Egypt at this point, that doesn’t seem lonely. The word that’s used here, it really does mean alone. In fact, it can even mean unique in Hebrew. And so the idea that you’re like one of a kind, perhaps meaning one all by yourself, like utterly, utterly alone, desolate is the way some English versions translate it. So I would understand, you know, you set a people without a home in a home like that would make sense, or even a homeland, like that’s the Exodus. But that’s just not quite the word that’s used here. The word is lonely, alone by yourself. I think it’s being used here because it symbolizes what we all seek, which is to belong, really, to belong to a group. What’s interesting why I think David uses this here is because Israel’s national identity was forged in the Exodus. That’s when they really became a people think of Exodus 19. Right after they come out. This is when they get the 10 commandments, Peter quotes and First Peter too but you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, God’s special possession, you know, treasured among all the nations there. There’s their identity that happens here at the Exodus. They’re not alone. They’re not isolated anymore. And that matters. Because we were meant for literally made-for relationships. You learned this on I think it’s page one of your Bible might be page two, depending on how big your font is. Genesis two, verse 18, God’s looking out at creation. Everything’s good, good, good, good, very good. And then he says, It’s not good for man to be alone, Adams all by himself. He needs people with him. You pull a leaf from a tree, it triples, you pull a log out of even a raging fire, it dies out. You pull a person out of community, they withher. That’s what happens. It’s not good for us to be alone. But that’s what has happened to us in our culture. I don’t think anyone’s explored this more than Robert Putnam wrote a book a few years back called Bowling Alone. And the title itself is very interesting, because his point was actually more people are bowling now than ever. But they’re not bowling in leagues anymore. They’re Bowling Alone. We are increasingly disconnected. Here are some of the stats that he’s seen in just the past few decades. There’s been a 58% drop in club memberships, whatever club you’re talking about, okay? 58% Drop 43% Drop in family dinners, like families just getting together to eat dinner. 35% drop and having friends over. Or here’s a really scary one. In the last week, we talked about anxiety I focused on the women a bit more. We’re focused on the men a bit more today for some obvious reasons. In 1990, just 3% of men reported they had no close friends. Zero close friends. Today, that number is 15%. Five times as many, three out of every 20 men you meet would say I don’t have a friend in this world. And you know what’s even crazier, you look at men under 30. That number drops or jumps to 28%. Like three out of 10 young men have no friends, like think about Highland Park, in terms of that stat. Now all of a sudden, you understand why this matters what we’re talking about here today. As I said it is literally killing us this epidemic. By the way. There’s Putnam found that joining just one group again doesn’t even matter. The group just joining a group cuts your odds of dying in the next year and a half. That’s how important community is for us. In fact, you could be unhealthy. A person who drinks heavily eats poorly and smokes. But if you’re doing that while hanging out with friends, you will live longer than the healthy person who doesn’t hang out with friends. That’s how important community is for us. It is truly not good for us to be alone. This is a problem or this is The problem.
So why is it getting worse? It’s getting worse because of expressive individualism getting worse because of our culture. Now “expressive individuals”. I’m not going to use that a couple times. Now here’s what it means. It’s really simple. It is our prevailing ethos as a culture, the key to life, the meaning of life is to look inside yourself, and either discover or define your sense of self, which you then express to the world. You express the individual, that’s what it is. Now, individualism doesn’t necessarily mean isolation, but it invariably arrives there. That’s where it’s going to go. Why? Because what’s the focus to create your own identity? That means it’s egotistical. It’s self-centered. Like that’s our whole culture is self-centered. Here it is. This is a study by David Kinnaman. He found that 84% of Americans, which means by the way, that’s a hefty number of churchgoers, okay. 84% of Americans believe enjoying yourself is the highest goal of life. Enjoying your setup, the most important thing in life is that I make sure I’m happy. What’s that going to do? To my relationships. It’s an inherently dehumanizing approach to relationships. It becomes maybe exploitive is too strong a word, but at the very least, it’s transactional. Like you’re here to give me what I need to feel good about myself. So I hand over money for a Big Mac, I’m going to hand over some time or energy or whatever, so that you give me what I need to feel good. It’s transactional. Ernest Becker wrote a really important book a few decades ago called The Denial of Death. Won the Pulitzer Prize in fact, and he was looking at what happens when you strip transcendence out of our world and found that you got to fixate on people. It was literally our catechism question today. Like that’s idolatry. So idolatry has shifted to people. He says this, when we look for the perfect human object, we are looking for someone who allows us to express our will completely without any frustration or false notes. We’ll come back to that in a moment. But notice, when we look for the perfect human object, we’re object devising each other is an object for my use my relationships, of course, we see this and in terms of sex, primarily, that’s the clearest area where we exchange physical intimacy, it’s surely not the right word. Uh, for some sense of worth, I feel beautiful, I feel lovable, I feel important or powerful, or whatever it is. I mean, look at the growth of Tinder for example. What is Tinder if not dehumanizing. You literally don’t matter. Okay, just need to know it’s a pretty face kind of thing. And then we can hook up and go on our separate ways, or the whole idea of ghosting someone, I got what I needed from you, in order to express my individuality. So I’m out. I’m out. This is also, by the way, by David talks about the lonely in the context of the marginalized. Did you notice that verse five, a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows? That’s not coincidental. These are vulnerable populations, especially back then there’s no life insurance, anything like that, right? So a widow really had no way to survive, and ditto the orphan. So they were vulnerable because they brought no value to the table. They brought no value to the table. Now, we’ve got different groups today, maybe I would really say more groups, I think widows and orphans still fit in this category. More groups with the same truth is there, we don’t devote time to those who won’t directly benefit us. Because my goal is my happiness. And so if you’re not helping me out there, well, then why would I do that? Now you go, Hang on now. That’s not true of me. I volunteer at the soup kitchen, whatever it is, okay. Sure. Why do people volunteer? To feel good about themselves? Because it’s part of the identity that they’re creating. I’m there, I get it posted on Facebook. Everyone likes it. They see how caring I am, how altruistic I am. So even then, I’m using people for the sake of myself. Now, certainly, this transactional trend is exacerbated by technology. I mentioned Tinder already. The ubiquity of porn is another really obvious one. I mean, here, the person on the screen literally exists only for my pleasure. I don’t have to even pretend to treat them like a person, because there’s no human connection there at all. But even more wholesome apps to kind of drive this same loneliness that we’re seeing like social media, we have a whole new category of person now, don’t we? In fact, my wife would rarely use this phrase this morning, because it’s just entered our vocabulary. That’s a Facebook friend. What is a Facebook friend? Not a friend. That’s what it means, right? I mean, that’s it. That’s what we mean, I only had this connection. 15 years ago, I knew them or something, I don’t know. There are people I have on my Facebook friends, where I literally don’t know who they are; no idea how I got connected to them in the first place, anything like that. That’s it. So there’s this sense of connecting, without actually being known. It would be a little bit if I could put it in like church terms. It’s the difference between the person who just comes in and spectator on a Sunday, maybe you come in a bit late, maybe you leave a little bit early, you don’t actually connect to the new one versus the somebody who is here beforehand and stays after connecting. They’re in Journey Group. They’re in Community Group. They know people, they’re talking like, that’s the difference right there. You could be in a community without communing. And that’s kind of where we’ve reached as a culture. So this, I mentioned men, especially one of the reasons because men are video gamers. A lot of women play video games, too. They just don’t play the same way that men do. So I mentioned last week, a podcast that Sarah Zylstra did, called Scrolling Alone. She did a companion one called Gaming Alone. That one was focused on the boys. She quoted a guy. He’s a college student, and he said this as she was interviewing him. He was talking about one of his good friends; he spends a lot of time with them. And then all of a sudden, he goes, “You know, I have no idea what his real name is, actually. We all just call him dirty, Dan, because that’s what his handle is on the game.” So he’s dirty, that I know. That I know. He’s 16. I know He lives in Arizona. And I know he’s really, really, really good at whatever game it was they were playing.” There’s an irony there. Of course, I mean, this is somebody that he has spent hours upon hours with and doesn’t even know his name. Again, a symbol for our times, we are avatars of ourselves. The philosopher Charles Taylor called what’s happening excarnation, the opposite of incarnation, we know what incarnation means. It’s to be physically present. If you know your Spanish, if not your Latin in the corne, right? We’re in the flesh. That’s incarnation, excarnation, we’re now out of the flesh. We’re disembodied. He was thinking of it in terms of theology in particular, as if Christianity existed up here, we’re just thinking things. So as long as we think the right things, then we’re good Christians. That was what he was critiquing. But I think we could expand this concept. Just the whole idea that instead of offering physical presence, we are now disembodied, so that severely limits relationships. Even if you’re not pursuing relationships in an expressive individualist framework. There’s no touch, which matters. There are at least in some connections, no facial expressions, and there’s no tone of voice you know. It’s why we have emojis, right? Because gotta go. I was kidding when I said that. Because you couldn’t hear me because you couldn’t see me because we’re not actually friends. Sorry. There’s also no help. I mean, I don’t care how close this guy was to Dirty Dan or whatnot. His car breaks down on the side of the highway in the middle of the night. Guess who’s not coming? Dirty Dan. Exactly. And you think of how important, I mean, the Jewish people that have what’s known as sitting Shiva, which is when someone dies, you just go and sit in their home for seven days. I’m half-Jewish. I love this. All right. This is like my people got this, right? Okay, because it was just the physical presence, like just incarnation, but not anymore. What do we do now? We send a text.
The problem is clear. We’re an increasingly lonely society because there are very real drivers toward disembodied, dehumanizing connections. Is there a remedy? I’m glad you asked. Second point remedy, presence, of course, but specifically the presence of God. God is the remedy. In fact, I’m gonna let you in on a secret. Now we’re looking at you know, the problem of anxiety and depression, and loneliness and busyness and stuff. Really, this series is just focused on the character of God. Like that’s what we’re talking about. That’s why we’re in Psalms because that’s where we find hope. Who is God? That’s why verse four begins, Sing to God, sing his praise, extol his name. In fact, did you notice that David keeps mentioning that word name? That’s because name and Hebrew thought was shorthand for character. I’m summing up who God is. So that to proclaim God’s name is to display his glory. Moses Exodus there be two to 34 says, God, show me your glory. And God says, I will proclaim My name and cause my glory to pass in front of you. And then he does it. He says Javy, yavi, the Lord. The Lord, by the way, anytime you see in your Old Testament text the Lord and all caps, that’s the name of God. yavi. Okay, so he says, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love.” And here’s my character. And when I say my name, I’m saying who I am, well, who is yavi? Well, he’s the God of the Exodus. That’s who he is, which was the Old Testament picture of salvation. That moment when he provided a home for the homeless, when he proclaimed freedom for the captives, these groups that we’re talking about, of course, this side of the cross, and the empty tomb of who God is, and what he has done is even clearer, because he has led us all not just the Jewish people, but let us all we’re all captives prisoners to sin, to into the promised land, and the Promised Land is God Himself. He is the promised land, John 17, three when Jesus says, you know, he’s praying for us that they may have eternal life. This is eternal life, that they might know you. And basically me the one God sent Jesus. So the obvious remedy to excarnation is incarnation, that God would dwell among us, John 114. The Word became flesh Incarnate Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us and we have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only who has come from the Father full of grace and truth. But the key question we’re going to ask you the texts for today because of what we’re looking at this morning is in what sense does God set the lonely and the utterly alone in families? He rescues the marginalized–those who have no value to society. We saw that again. But look at how this happens. Note verse five, “So a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows is God in his holy dwelling.”. Specifically, that is in his heavenly temple. The temple is really important in Jewish thought because this is where you went to meet with God. This is where we could experience connection, the presence of God for David, of course, he’s thinking Jerusalem. If you were here on Good Friday, Kyle talked about the fact that God like sat on the Ark of the Covenant, the mercy seat in the temple. That’s where he was on Earth. But for us today, well, the temple was destroyed and in at 70. Why? Why would God allow his temple this meeting place to be destroyed? Because it was obsolete. It was no longer the meeting place. Jesus is the true and better temple. He said, “Destroy this temple, and, in three days, I’ll rebuild it. And now we go, Oh, I got it. I see what you did there, right. We’re talking about the resurrection. You wrote it. So you are the temple and then the New Testament writers expand on this concept. They go he’s not just a temple. He’s the cornerstone in this new temple construction, the rest of the foundation built with the apostles and prophets, that is the revealed word of God, who are the bricks that are gonna be used to build this temple though. God’s people we are, here’s Ephesians, 2:21 and 22. In Him, in Christ, the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him. You two are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit. We’re like living stones. Peter says, we are the temple of God. So now let’s read verse five, in light of that, God rescues and protects the vulnerable in his temple, which is the church because we’re the temple. That then helps us understand verse six, in Christ, God sets the lonely in the family of God, in His family, the truest family, we will ever know. By the way, your parents may reject you. That happens. Disown you. Maybe even because of your Christian faith. Siblings, we got this thing called sibling rivalry. I can’t tell you the number of funerals that I have been a part of where it was clear that was the last time those siblings were going to be in the room together. Like we don’t know the family, but not the church. The church is there. The people of God will go into eternity. Even here’s the way Jesus said it Mark 10:29 and 30. Peter says we’ve left everything seen to follow you. And Jesus says, You’re right, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me, and the gospel will fail to receive 100 times as much. Not in heaven, not in heaven, in this present age homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields. What does that mean? What does that mean? Well, we know what it means we get each other. If that wasn’t clear, he’d said it earlier in Mark’s gospel, Mark 334, and 35, Jesus’s biological family, his mother and brothers, they come in to get him because they think he’s crazy. And so somebody shows up and says, Hey, your mommy brothers are here. And he says he looked at those seated in a circle around him that his disciples are the people who were following him–the church–in other words, and said, Here, I, my mother, and my brothers, whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister, and mother. I preached a sermon on this passage a few years ago, it was January 2020, kind of an important year and all of that, and we were looking at submission. And the last subject we looked at was submission to the community, the people of God. And so we went through this passage, and I explained, I’m not going to do it all because I don’t have time, but to show that the brother-sister relationship was the most important, earthly relationship at that time. That’s not how we think we think spouse, you had to choose between your wife and your sister, you’re choosing your wife, not back then you chose your sister because blood, blood is what matters. So what Jesus is saying here is the most important earthly relationship you now have is with the Church of Christ. The truest family and all are welcome, regardless of the value to society. In the same way that God welcomed us when – let’s just agree – we didn’t bring much to the table, did we? The church, Christians can welcome and love the lonely because we have been set free, they lead the prisoners out with singing. This is why we sing together, we’ve been set free from the need to love ourselves. Because if self-love is what’s causing loneliness, and the remedy is to address that need at the root, which is precisely what the gospel does, because here’s the question, we’re all asking whether you said it out loud ever or not. The question we’re all asking is, how will I get the love I seek? And without God, we’re wishing, we’re wishing for it. And we’re wishing on what Ernest Becker gonna quoted them earlier called apocalyptic relationships, a pop apocalyptic meaning, like, I gotta pin all my hopes on it. It’s a really big deal. So Becker’s point is that we’re, we’re, you’re pinning all your wishes on a finite, and, frankly, fallen person to satisfy infinite needs. And by the way, they’re doing it to you also, there’s that transactional piece. So it takes like romance, what you’re saying to somebody, absent the love of God in a romantic relationship is I need you to make me feel good about myself all of the time. That’s a tough relationship. You can see why he calls it apocalyptic and not going to go well, especially since they’re saying the same thing to you. But we can do that. It’s not just romance. I think we got apocalyptic parenting a whole lot of parents who are going I need you kids to make me look the way I want to look to the world. We got apocalyptic friendships, we got apocalyptic all sorts of things, because only the gospel can satisfy that infinite need.
Because in the story of Jesus’s death and resurrection, we receive full and unconditional love. Robert, read it for us earlier first, John 316. This is how we know what love is. Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. Jesus Christ was not about his own ego. He wasn’t trying to enjoy himself to the fullest. So he could be outward and love us. But that means now we are completely loved. So we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. In the Gospel, we are fully known, even better than we know ourselves. God knows exactly we who we are. And yet we are fully loved. And as a result, we can love truly not transactional, I can give you a little bit of love, but you got better. You know, “I need a return on my investment here” kind of love. But, well, the Bible would call it covenantal love, because we’re already loved fully. There is a warning attached though to all of this. The remedy is God’s presence of course, but the end of verse six, the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. Again in the Exodus, those who did not believe who didn’t trust that God could deliver them into the Promised Land ended up wandering around in the desert for 40 years. There you are. They’re in a sun-scorched land, they’re rebellious. But there’s a deeper point there. If you are unwilling to follow God’s design, you will go through life parched. Lips cracked skin blistered. Like if you’re gonna keep seeking meaning through self-discovery and self-expression, you will grow increasingly isolated, like Howard Hughes. Jonathan Hite makes this point in his book, I think it’s called the happiness principle. He contrasts two people. So he talks about Bob, first of all, Bob is 35. He’s single, he’s white, attractive, athletic, lives in sunny California. He’s making six figures loves to read and go to museums. And then he introduces us to Mary and Mary’s kind of the opposite Mary’s 65. She’s overweight, she’s black. She and her husband together are pulling in maybe 40,000. And instead of sunny California, they’re stuck in snowy buffalo. So what Hite asks us to do than say which one is happier? We don’t put our money on Bob, of course. And height says you look at the research and the easy money is on Mary guaranteed why? Well, Mary is married. First of all, Mary is also involved in her church. That’s the difference right there. Mary’s in church is connected to people, whereas Bob is reading alone and going to museums alone. And that’s the whole difference as he’s blistering in the sun. Mary is basking in the warmth of genuine human relationships and gospel love, he has set the lonely in a family. The remedy is who God is, and what he’s done and is doing for us. What is that by Christ’s life and death and resurrection, setting us in his family? So what’s our response going to be? Third point? Response is then the practice of family. God sets the lonely in his family. Can we agree then we’d be fools not to gather with that family. If the response is really easy, enter into community. That’s what God is asking of us today. physical presence. By the way, we need to practice incarnation, not x carnation, we are not thinking things. Which means just getting information into our brains is not enough. Can I be blocked for a moment? Can we talk? Okay, what have you said yes, I’ll take it. It’s all I need. What that means is the live stream is not enough. The live stream is not enough. The live stream exists. The whole reason we set it up was as a help. In a worst-case scenario, a global pandemic comes to mind. But there are other more personal issues. We certainly have people who are on the live stream because they cannot gather physically okay. But that’s a help in a worst-case scenario. That’s not a crutch for your whole life. You need to set aside time and energy to practice family life. And that means prioritizing community, the family of God certainly means attending the service, I could talk to you about the statistics. And by the way, they’re true of you, too. I know what I know who’s here and who’s not here. It’s not good. Okay. means attending the service. Yes. But it also means being a part of community life, explore our Community Groups, Journey Groups, informal relationships, like people just getting together, whatever it looks like. Now, I said I wanted to speak especially to the isolated, the marginalized, the vulnerable, the lonely. But then I also said they might not be here because if you’re here and connected to the church, you have a good chance that’s not you. So I’m sending you out as ambassadors from here. You got to take this message to them. And 2016 Harvard School of Public Health Professor Tyler van der Wiel wrote an op-ed in USA Today called “Religion may be a Miracle Drug.” It opened like this. He said, if one could conceive of a single elixir to improve the physical and mental health of millions of Americans, at no personal costs, what value with our society plays on it, be high, be very high. And he goes on to say we have it. We have it go to church. That’s it. That’s the miracle drug. Regular religious participation reduces mortality rates by 20 to 30%. People who attend church regularly are more optimistic, have lower rates of depression, lower rates of suicide, less divorce. Yes, religion can be bad. You got some examples in your head. I got some examples in my head to religion can be bad, but that’s like saying drugs are bad. without distinguishing heroin from insulin. There’s a difference. A huge reason why regular religious participation is so important is relationships. So participate regularly. Gather with the church. Get to know people. Now, some of you are sitting here going. I’ve known some Christians, and they don’t make me want to go to church. Like if the church is the truest family, why is it so messed up? Good question. I am with you. I’ve asked the question too, I’ve been hurt by the church, believe me should be the safest place on Earth doesn’t mean that it always is. Of course, that just means we need more gospel, not less, right? We need more gospel, we need more true religion because the gospel is what allows for unity in diversity allows us to own to acknowledge our sin, our failures, and to welcome in broken people who are not like us and who are difficult and hard to love. Sometimes, the gospel should be freeing us from ego so that we can love like Jesus. But we’re not there yet. We’re still works in progress. We sing it right? He’s the potter. I’m the clay. I don’t look like a pot yet. I’m getting there. Okay, he’s still working and all those were being molded still. But that does not mean this isn’t a time for self-examination. If you’re not doing it, if you’re bitter, divisive, uninvolved, unloving. Why not? Why not repent, especially if your expressive individualism. It’s a point that Kyle made on Good Friday that applies here. We come, to gather, to love, to encourage to serve, not to get fed. Hebrews 10:25, we talked about this a lot, right? When Hebrews says, Don’t forsake meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing but instead doesn’t just say meet together? No. He says, instead, encourage one another. You come to encourage you come to love not to be loved, that will happen. Yes. But it’s not why you come, you come to love, because you’re already perfectly loved and satisfied in Christ. So the question is not what will I miss if I skip church. But who will miss me, if I skip church, God is sitting the lonely in a family. What happens if the family doesn’t show up, you get an orphan who’s adopted. And then no one’s ever there for dinner time. That’s not what God intends for us. So we pull our threads together here, this idea I wanted to leave you with. As we wrap up, the main idea is very simple. What the gospel provides, we practice what the gospel provides, which is family, right, what the gospel provides, we practice. So if we believe the gospel, if we’re allowing the gospel to shape us, we need to set ourselves to practicing family living, establishing routines of healthy family life. So I want to leave you with just a few practical ideas, these would be great ideas to discuss with your community group. By the way, one of the reasons why be great to discuss with your community group is because then you’d be in community, you’d be like 90% of the way there.
But I want you to set some specific action steps for yourself for the coming week even and it works best if you do that in community. So couple practical ideas. First, I’ve already said it. But I will say it again, show up, show up, show up consistently, and show up for more than the 10:30 service is the purpose of the gathering isn’t just to hear a sermon or sing a song if that’s all it were, you could get it at home on YouTube. And it would be better quality. Maybe not the worship, we got a great worship team. That preaching–I can direct you so much better preachers, for sure. The purpose of gathering is to commune, to be with one another, to encourage and love one another. So get to know people, form friendships, invest in others and let them invest in you. By the way, one of the ways this happens is before and after the service. I’m gonna talk again, alright, sorry, it’s twice in one sermon. I’m trying to say it not harshly. It’s not how I was not coming it. Pray for me. Thank you. There are people who show up consistently late. Every service. I know who you are, you know who you are, you know what you’re missing. And you know what you’re keeping us from? Is not okay, all right, like it’s wrong. Could you repent of it and get here on time, every week, a few minutes, or at least you can talk to people beforehand? And by the way, you could even do that for the 9:15 service. I’m gonna say it okay. My wife who is a single parent on Sunday mornings is here by nine o’clock with six children. None of you have an excuse. Right. That’s it. That’s all I’m saying. She can do it. You all can do it. Yes. Part of this involves seeing the church is your truest family too because it is your only eternal family. The Brandon Cooper family will not go into eternity when we get to glory, I will not be dad, I will not be husband, I will just be a brother in Christ to my family that I certainly hope will be there. That means we are the truest family.Look at each other. Like you’re the truest family. I’ll give you just one example, the number of people who have moved and God calls people to move. I’m not saying otherwise. The number of people have been who have moved in order to be close to blood family, without even considering the family of God is heartbreaking to me. And it does not usually go well, by the way, but I’ll leave it there. Second practical step is Kyle’s announcement. One way to invest intentionally is life-on-life discipleship. That could be with youth, yes, but could be with adults, too. Like we need each other. Of course, whatever God has given you, He has given you so that you can give it away. And so we got a lot of resources, we can help you with this attend the training coming up soon. It’s third, this is our whole outreach strategy. Really, this is it. This is how we reach the world. For Christ. God is still setting the lonely in families, he is still adopting children. So look around at your own costs. The people God has placed in your life and practice physical presence within our communities are filled with lonely people longing for authentic connection. That’s why effective evangelism today will be relational. And the reality is that there are very few isolated, lonely, vulnerable forgotten people who are just going to walk into our church building. We need to go and get them. We go to them first, have someone unexpected over for dinner this week, ask a lonely colleague to lunch. You look around the cafeteria sit with the student who’s not ever sitting with anybody else. And by the way that does include those in the church who are on the live stream because they have to be on the live stream. Right? We go to them to bring community to them. So they know that they’re still a part of who we are. I saw this I won’t mention names because I didn’t talk to these people beforehand. But I saw this just this week, for our Thursday Zoom prayer meeting. Were one of those families who was not able to attend our church physically anymore, was all of a sudden on the Zoom meeting. Why? Because someone in this church went over to their house and got them set up for zoom. That’s what this looks like. Like that’s what I’m leaving you with what the gospel provides we practice how can you practice gospel family life this week? Because that’s hope for the lonely. Let’s pray. Father, help us, just help us. We know that our whole bent is inward. We love ourselves. We’re trying to please ourselves. So much of the time in the Gospel, though you can unbend us you can make us straight up right again. And in experiencing the fullness of your love, we can be free to love others, including the lonely we can help you set them in families by reaching them for Christ. Give us eyes to see them and hearts to love them this week and then hands to carry that love to them we pray in Christ’s name, Amen.

Amen.

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PODCAST
Hope for the Anxious (Psalm 37) April 16, 2023 | Brandon Cooper TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

All right, go ahead, grab your Bibles open up to Psalm 37, obviously, where we’ll be this morning Psalm 37. As you’re turning there, in April of last year, the Atlantic ran an important but shocking article, really chronicling just how extreme the mental health crisis in our culture is, especially for our teens. So just as a baseline reading, they had said in 2009, about a quarter of teens felt persistent feelings of sadness and depression, hopelessness, anxiety, a quarter, okay, 25%. In 2021, that number had jumped to 44%. And fully 57% of teenage girls, six out of 10 almost felt persistently hopeless. In our culture, that’s the highest rate of teenage sadness ever recorded, by the way, during the pandemic, and a quarter of teenage girls had suicidal thoughts. Which means if you’re here today, it’s just about guaranteed that you know, a teen struggling with mental health. It might even be why you’re here, you might not normally come, but you saw the signs you thought this is something I need to hear about. Now, it’s interesting that they compared 2021 to 2009. What’s the difference between 2009 and 2021 year to sit two teenagers down next to each other, they’re gonna look pretty much the same. Or maybe one’s got skinny jeans, other ones got mom jeans, but you know, it’s basically the same idea, right? One big difference, the teenager from 2021 is going to be on her phone.
That’s the difference. That’s why they chose 2009. That was the year the iPhone became available in every mass market in the world and has changed our culture irrevocably at this point. I mean, our posture has literally changed as a result of these stupid devices.
The average global user global, not just you, as global users on their smartphone more than two hours every day, and the average teenager more than five hours a day.
This is not a series about smartphones, not by any means. But we can’t pretend to ignore this whole subject as we talk about mental health. So it’s going to return to regular because there’s just something about it that is causing this, this is not a correlation sort of thing. You all took statistics, you know, correlation does not imply causation is not correlation. We’re talking about the rates match exactly the rising anxiety, depression and feelings of self harm in our culture. Now, we’ve painted a bleak picture of our culture today, you may be living a bleak reality suffering, the bleak effects of this reality, what do we do about this?
The reality is that most of us are just kind of wishing it would go away.
This is the insanity approach. You’ve heard the saying before insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. And that’s what we’re doing, really, we’re going well, this is a bad thing. So
maybe next year, it’ll be better, we have to realize, of course, that our culture, and for that matter, our individual lives are perfectly set up to produce exactly the results we’re experiencing right now.
That’s just how cause and effect works. So we are set up to do this to produce these results. And to continue producing these results. Something has to change. We need to move from wishing to hoping I know some of you are here today going those are synonyms, dude. Okay. Like I hope the Cubs finish above 500 this year. And that’s just another way of saying I really wish it would be true. But biblically, there’s a huge difference. In biblical terms. Hope is something else entirely. Hope is the certainty that something will change. We don’t know the time necessarily, but we know the end result. Can we cultivate true biblical hope that will free us from our current mental health crisis? That’s the question is a big question for a small series, we’ll see how we do. We are starting today with anxiety. Why? Because I think that’s the most pervasive of the negative emotions that we are experiencing wh Auden the poet wrote way back in 1948, that we are living in an age of anxiety. Like that is the word that characterizes our age. 75 years later, I would say he was right. He just didn’t know how bad it was going to get so
To look at anxiety, we’re gonna look at Psalm 37. We’re gonna focus on verses one to 11. But I’m gonna draw from the whole song, which is why I had Karis read it for us. This is a wisdom Psalm, you probably even noticed that as we’re reading, it sounds a little bit like proverbs. In fact, parts of it are even quoted in Proverbs. Proverbs don’t tend to develop in a real linear fashion. It’s just kind of nuggets of wisdom. So we’re going to try and pull those nuggets of wisdom out and group them under some big headings here, what are we going to look at, we’re gonna look at the reason.
For our anxiety, we’re gonna look at the remedy. And then ultimately, we’re to look at our response. So let’s start with the reason each of these sections by the way, has a has an action word next to it. And the first one here is look, and I’ll explain what that means as we go. So the reason Look, just start with verse one. For now, do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong. Don’t fret. It’s almost an insulting way to start a song, isn’t it? Like if you go to a therapist because you got anxiety? And your therapist says, Hey, don’t be anxious anymore? You’re probably not scheduling your second appointment. Right? And that’s how this feels. Derek Kidner, one of my favorite commentators on the Psalm says, As a bear command, this would be of little use. Unless, of course, he gives us some help here. And David certainly does give us that help, we’ll get there. But notice, David also understands why we fret, he assumes there are very good reasons for our anxiety. Those who are evil, those who do wrong, he mentions right away in verse one by verse 17. He says that the wicked possess real power, they have power in our world. In fact, verse 35, it says they often flourish and succeed. They’re like a tree planted by streams of water, so that they’re just thriving, it would seem in this world, I don’t need to work hard to explain this point to you. Like, I don’t need to convince you of this. You can open your newspaper and see reasons absolutely every morning, reasons to be anxious. And often it is wicked and evil people. We get anxious about dictators, and war criminals, we get anxious about those who exploit and marginalize others, we get anxious about abusers of power. So sure, what can evil people we could think of for sure. But sometimes we get anxious just because it seems like bad often seems to be winning the battle against good. And so you could be anxious about the economy, the environment, the election. And then that’s all societal, we probably have some personal reasons to feel anxious. I don’t know what you brought in. But it could be an uncertain job situation, it could be dwindling savings, or it’s a health scare that you’re undergoing. Or you got a kid in crisis, maybe even a mental health crisis that’s causing you anxiety. In other words, one reason, the main reason we fret is because we have eyes.
We just look around and go Yeah, of course, I feel anxious. How could you not like David.
But we also live in a really different culture today. Like there’s some big differences between our culture and David’s culture way back and you know, 1000 BC or so. So, David’s looking outward and seeing causes for anxiety that hasn’t changed. But now we’ve added something else. So much of our anxiety comes from looking inward. At this point, we look within ourselves, and I just gotta warn you up front, we’re going into the weeds here a little bit. Okay, so bear with me buckle up. This is a complex issue. Our anxiety has complex causes. And I don’t think you came here this morning hoping for easy answers. Like that’s just not worth our time. So we’re really going to dig in here for a moment. So ironically, both the outward and the inward anxiety and the increase in both is related to technology, particularly the fact that we have our technology with us 24/7 At this point. So you know, that’s one reason we feel anxious is because we are now aware of all of the bad things happening everywhere in the world all of the time. We have become effectively omnipresent, and we were not made for omnipresence, that is one of God’s incommunicable attributes, meaning that is not one that he develops in us like wisdom or love. And yet there we are, or at least we’ve got the whole world in our pocket all of the time. So you just can’t escape the bad news. It’s always there. But then there’s another piece we don’t have the capacity to absorb all the wickedness of the world but we also don’t have the capacity to be on all of the time in front of our peers all the time. 24/7 like we’ve all experienced
As a core, especially if you’re little bit older, you graduated safe before smartphones came out, you know that feeling of peer pressure and whatever it is thinking of you, and then you could go home and put on your sweatpants and not care anymore. Well guess what your whole peer group comes with you now. And they’re right, they’re constantly talking to you. So you can’t go home to get away from it all anymore.
But get away from what what is that we’re trying to get away from the primary cause of our anxiety, I am convinced why it is an age of anxiety. The primary cause is
the fact that we are now trying to create and curate an identity, an image before the world really before ourselves. That is our culture is one of what Robert Bellah way back in the 1970s called expressive individualism. And 50 years later, again, we’re more so not less so expressive individualism, the idea that the meaning of life is found by looking within and maybe discovering yourself, but probably a better way to describe will be defining yourself by looking within. In other words, you have to express the individual that is within you.
This sounds freeing, but there is such immense pressure. Because now you have to create an identity for yourself. You have to define yourself, that wasn’t the way it always worked. Like if you’re in a more clan-based society or something like that, like you are who you are in relation to other people. I’m Brandon, son of Bill from Glenview. I’m probably going to learn my job from him, be an apprentice, so I already know what I’m going to do with my life. Apparently, I’m doing point-of-purchase marketing, because that’s what my dad did. And so all those questions are taken care of for me already. Not anymore. Not anymore. Now we are blank canvases.
So what if you’re a bad painter?
Now you see why we’re feeling anxious, depressed, and lonely. Because we are
constantly managing our brand at this point. And if you don’t know what I mean, by managing your brand, you’re over the age of 40.
I’m also over the age of 40. All right, so we’re in this together now making fun of anyone. Most young people could probably even articulate their brand at least to some extent. Especially if you’re on Instagram like for sure. Then you got you know, the girl who’s she’s granola, all about sustainable, healthy, all that kind of you got the outdoorsy type. You got the smart one who’s famous for her snarky one-liners, you got the Christian, you look at the Instagram feed, what are you gonna see 7000 pictures of the Bible open with a designer coffee next to it all the highlighters out with a filter on punctuated by occasional shots of your recent missions trip.
The Moody kids are laughing really hard right now, it’s almost say
didn’t mean to call you out. Sorry. What happens though, is pretty soon you’re no longer defining your brand, but your brand actually begins to define you. Because you’ve got to keep up appearances. This is who I am. And so I better keep it going all the time. Like I’m with a healthy person. That’s what I’m known for. And you know, what is a bad day and I just want cheesecake. But I can’t post that any more. Here’s the way one young woman put it in a recent podcast scrolling alone, talking about this whole phenomenon. She says the things I was doing with my day weren’t things that I wanted to do.
There were things I thought would look cool when I posted.
Okay, this is the hike I’m going to do because it has a great view because I wanted to look really cool on Instagram, and I want to look really outdoorsy and awesome. I was deciding where I wanted to eat based off what food would look good.
And here’s the thing, because some of you are feeling judgmental right now, because you’re older. This is not just social media posts. We have been doing this for a long time in our culture. So maybe when you grew up, it was just clicks, right? But you know, the preps looked like preps. And the jocks looked like jocks, and the non-conformist Goths conformed to what all the other goth kids were doing. Right? Like we’ve been doing this all along. So there’s this constant anxiety though, because now we’re going to get to keep up appearances. You’re the football star. What happens when you blow the game? What are you now or you’re the smart kid? What happens when you fail the test? Or you’re just feeling like this? This class just didn’t make sense to you and it’s never happened before. Of course we bring this into our adulthood as well. You’re the executive famous for your ability to turn things around what happens when the project is still failing. You’re the awesome mom
What happens when the laundry isn’t done and you just realize you haven’t taken your kids to the dentist in over a year?
We are anxious because who we are. Our worth always depends on what we’re doing right then to prove who we are, to justify are worth. What’s interesting though, is this individual focus leads to a systemic, a society-wide anxiety. And here’s where it gets a little complicated. Just track with me, okay, by the end of this, you’ll be like, Yes, I know what you’re saying. What does society exists for at this point, society exists to provide us with freedom to define ourselves and approval of how we’ve defined ourselves. This is true of both the right and the left, by the way. Okay, this is not a question of which team you’re on here. Which is why both the evangelical Christian and a member of the LGBTQ community both have perpetual victim status in our culture. We both feel that way, all the time, because society is not giving us the perfect approval that we think they owe us. So you see this on the right, what is the right do in terms of freedom, it’s famous for free market economics for civil libertarian liberties, things like that. What about the left, of course, here, we’re talking about sexual reproductive freedom, things like that. Both of these involve the tearing down of traditional structures that curtail freedom. Things like the church, for example. So we are suspicious now of structures that inhibit freedom, like church and family, even though those structures are essential to the mental peace that we seek. Like the way mark Sayers pastor in Australia, how he says it, he says, we are drowning in freedoms, but thirsting for meaning.
That’s right. That is there is this growing chasm between what expressive individualism promises and what it actually delivers for us. And here’s what it looks like in our society, Edwin Friedman, Rabbi and family systems theorist, talks about the fact that this toxic anxiety is spreading throughout our culture. In fact, he said, we have become so chronically anxious that we’ve actually entered a stage of emotional regression. That is, we’re getting less mature as the years go by. So we keep congratulating ourselves on our progress, but we’re actually going backwards at this point.
And so he says, there are five characteristics of emotional regression, I’m going to walk them to actually be up on the screen for you so you can track with me as we go. The first characteristic is reactivity, reactivity. So we react intensely to external circumstances with negative emotions, anxiety, primarily. Because we’re no longer driven by inner values that would provide a certain ballast for us as we navigate the storms of life that would actually help us move in a direction through the storms of life. Instead, we’re just bobbing on the sea, no balance whatsoever. So we react negatively, that then leads second to hurting, hurting. So we claim this radical individualism, I got bad news for you, the Lord made you and so you are what he made you He made you to be a social creature, and we cannot escape it. So it’s always there. We are social by nature, this increasing negativity, what does that do to our social structures? It leads to a mob mentality. Tribalism. Often how we call it today that makes sense, hurting tribalism, same idea. And what happens though, with these tribes, these are herds is that because of the emotional immaturity of the group, the goal is to please or at least not offend the least mature members of the group. It’s a little bit like how families work, anything to make the two-year-old, stop crying. We just brought that into our society as a whole that leads to three then blame displacement. There is a focus on symptoms and not root causes. And so what do we do since we’re not going to really dig in and figure out what’s going wrong, let’s just retreat into victim status and blame others or external circumstances, again, anything but ourselves. Along with that is a quick-fix mentality. Number four quick fix mentality. Again, looking at the symptoms, not the root causes. So one of the problems with our current culture is that we have a very low pain threshold. It is one of the unfortunate gifts a secular humanism is that it is hedonistic at its core, the purpose of life is to make you happy, which means then suffering can serve absolutely no purpose, while we’re the first culture in the history of the world that can’t make sense of suffering. So it’s we’ve got this low pain threshold, that means we’re not going to persevere through the pain
mean, in order to experience a breakthrough, instead, we just want a quick fix for the symptoms. Like let’s not go to the dentist and get a root canal, let’s just keep taking Tylenol all day long in the hopes that it will go away. And then fifth, coming out of this is a lack of influential leadership. Why? Because we’re too emotionally immature to allow someone to lead us away from numbers one to four. We just pick leaders who are going to help us in this quagmire that we’re stuck in. And so we just cycle through immaturity and negativity again. Edwin Friedman died in 1996.
It’s like he’s reading our newspapers, though. I mean, like this guy was a prophet. He had to be he has so completely described who we are today. Like, take what happened in Nashville. How did that shake out for us as a culture?
Immediate, intense negative reaction? And understandably, of course, but it was purely emotional. Hurting? Of course. Are you Team Red or Team Blue? Only question that matters at this point. Blame displacement, let’s not figure out the root causes. Right? Let’s not figure out why as a culture, we keep producing teens this troubled young people this troubled instead, let’s just well, if I’m on Team Read, it was team blues falls on the Team Blue Team reds fault, of course, quick fix mentality if we could just pass this one law, we would deal with the root of all evil in the human heart, of course, and where are our leaders, as the old quip has it?
There go my people and I must follow because I’m their leader, right? That’s the sort of people we have elected, of course, today.
This is why we persist and anxiety. And frankly, it feels hopeless. Like I read this, and I was not encouraged, not encouraged at all. We’re anxious because we look outward. And there plenty of causes for anxiety. We’re anxious because we look inward. And that’s got plenty of causes for anxiety. And now we’ve discovered they’re actually reinforcing each other. And here’s the first help that David offers that. David says, the problem is you’re looking outward and inward when you should be looking forward. You need to look forward. Look, look at verses one and two. Again, do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong. Why David why, for like the grass, they will soon with her like green plants, they will soon die away. So something similar in verses nine to 11, for those who are evil will be destroyed. Those hoping the Lord will inherit the land a little while and the wicked will be no more though you look for them, they will not be found. The meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity. I emphasize the word that really helps us out here will future tense, right we are looking forward. That’s the whole ad you can see it throughout the song by the way. Now look forward. By the way, it means no guarantees for today. I need you to hear me say that. Because I don’t want to set up false expectations for you. There is no guarantee that the right side will win the war that the right leader will be elected that the right decision will be made that you’ll get the right diagnosis or if the wrong diagnosis, you’ll get the right treatment, I can promise you none of that. The economy may crash environment may be completely wrecked. But God is making all things new. That’s the good news. And we just had that reminder last week, didn’t we? Because we’re living in the cross part still. Like how did it look on Friday, when they laid Jesus in the tomb? Not so good looked like the wicked and the evil were flourishing like those trees planted by streams of water how to look on Sunday a little bit better. And here’s the good news. Sunday is coming. God is making all things new. That includes judgment, by the way, which shows up throughout this psalm, including those verses I just read I know that judgment is a bad word for us today. Don’t judge me. But we want is a righteous judge. We want a judge who gets it right all the time who renders just verdicts so that the world can flourish. There can be no human flourishing apart from justice, that peace and prosperity that verse 11 talks about.
In the end, there will be perfect justice.
Right after Russia invaded Ukraine. Shane and Shane are one of the groups whose music we do here wrote a story. You wrote a song I think it’s called you’ve already won, but don’t quote me on that. It’s got this refrain in it though. I know how the story ends. Right. That’s the I know how the story ends ultimately. And when the other things they keep saying throughout the song is we’re fighting a battle that you’ve already won. And that’s the truth, that we’re fighting a battle against sin against death against evil and God’s already decisively defeated all of them the cross and the empty tomb. We need to look forward. But of course, you could be sitting there right now going Yeah, but this is just a pipe dream. Okay. Like this just sounds like the pie in the sky when you die kind of religion that Marx called an opiate of the masses. Sure, if we stop there, I agree with Marx, but there’s a set
Second step, that is we got to look forward, we really also have to look upward we need to look and trust. In other words. So that’s our second point. Let’s turn now and look at the remedy. Okay, trust. Before I started reading anything, though, let me just ask you this question as we get going, what is your remedy for the anxiety that you experience?
And then is it working?
Is it actually working? I think many of us are listening to Dory instead of David, our approach is just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Like you know, fingers crossed again, wishing, wishing here. It’ll get better. Eventually, you know, after this next project, after we get through this season, does it ever get better? You ever finished a project and when good now my life has peace? No, because the next project is always there. So this isn’t working for us, maybe yours is a little bit darker remedy. Maybe it’s another drink and a taller one the second time around. Maybe you open an incognito tab and Google Chrome, or you get on Amazon for that little buzz you get when you buy something, because this is the one that’s going to get your life in order. Finally, or most likely, for most of us, when it comes to anxiety, you just start fixing problems. Right? Just got to clean the house. I know it’s midnight, but I’m gonna I’m gonna tackle a couple of work emails so I can get ahead. I’m gonna go out and protest. I’m gonna be an activist. Whatever it is, David recommends a really different approach. With look at it. Here’s verses three to seven. Trust in the Lord, and do good. dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart, Commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him and He will do this. You will make your righteous rewards shine like the dawn your vindication like the noonday sun, be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Trust in the Lord David says, He goes on to say that there’s this type of still waiting. That leads to no more fretting. In verse seven.
We need to know who God is, what he’s done, what he’s going to do. That’s what we’ll call our anxious hearts. We have every reason to trust Him as we rehearse his character and his praiseworthy deeds. We look at just some of what David says even just in this one Psalms, I just read verses four and five, if we delight in the Lord. In other words, if we love him first he gets the right place in our hearts, he will give us the desire of our hearts. And that by the way, does not mean Maserati and a villa in the south of France. It means we discover that God is the desire of our hearts, that our hearts are restless, until we find our rest in him, as Augustine said, and in verse five, but David goes back and says, If you trust in Me, he will do this. Like there’s your guarantee by verse 13. We’ve got the Lord laughing at the wicked because he knows how the story ends. In fact, he wrote the ending of the story. This is like World Series of Poker where the guy is smirking, because his opponent just went all in and he’s going I have a royal flush. Like there’s literally no card you could be holding that could defeat me. That’s the sort of laughing that the Lord has in your verses 17 and 18. It says, “The Lord upholds the righteous so that they spend their days under his care, and that we will be given an inheritance that lasts eternally.” Verse 28, he loves the just and will not forsake the faithful. That’s not perfect people, but people who are pursuing him by verse 33. He’s saying that God won’t let the wicked overcome them. And He will never leave them. Like we don’t need blind faith here either. Like you just better believe all those verses I just read, we have the proof. Because we have the cross and the resurrection. Bad may come evil may seem to win, but not in the end. So we can trust because our future is secure. And we can look forward look upward. But there’s more to it than that also. So back to Edwin Friedman for a moment. He said the key to renewing an anxious toxic system was a non-anxious leader. That was the key to this. Somebody who would not be reactive, tribal, you know, blaming others and then quick fix problems somebody else entirely but here’s the key.
In his studies, he discovered it was not a question of the leaders, intelligence or vision or technique. It’s not like the leader actually got them out of all of these problems necessarily. What mattered was merely the ongoing presence of that leader. Just the leader being there. It was not about what they did. It was about who they were their courageous presence there swimming against the stream brought change.
Here’s the good news. It’s exactly what we have in God.
Here is one who is completely untouched by toxic anxiety.
And yet he never leaves us and never forsakes us, he is always with us. God’s presence is the healing agent in this world. That is the entire story of the Bible, by the way. Like Genesis one God is there with Adam and Eve walking with Him in the cool the afternoon. What happens in Genesis three, when we sin, when we rebel against that good and gracious God, we lose his presence. We’re exiled from the garden, the rest of the Bible, we’re just trying to get back into his presence. And to the Old Testament, Ezekiel says the name of that city what’s coming, that data is coming is the Lord will be there. And Revelation 21 and 22 Describe that exactly the end of days when we live in the city with God himself. That’s his presence. And now that makes sense of the Bible’s promises, doesn’t it? I mean, Isaiah 26 verse three. Interestingly, this is the passage I preached that last Sunday before we all had to shut down because of the pandemic, in the midst of some anxiety, we talked about this passage, you keep in perfect peace, those whose minds are steadfast, fixed is the idea there I love the way the King James says, whose minds are stayed on the like fixed on you, because they trust in you trust because they know that God is there, we got the peace of his presence, the awareness of it are Philippians, four, six, and seven. Do not be anxious about anything. Again, one of those really insulting commands, do not be anxious about anything but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, what happens to God solve all the problems? No, it’s not what it says. It says simply by speaking to the Lord who is present. There is a peace that surpasses understanding in Christ Jesus, that last part is key. In Christ Jesus, here is the fundamental transformation. As Paul says in Galatians, two, it’s no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me when I trust in Him. This scratches the deepest, most irritating itch we feel. Because what’s the big question? Who am I? Am I loved? Am I enough? Am I worthy? Am I significant? And expressive individualism is not helping us answer those questions. It’s leaving those questions unanswered. In fact, this is the this is the moment but here’s it. Here’s a word for the church. This is Sam Albury. He said this, we don’t live in a moralistic age where we need to prove people to be sinners. We live in an anxious age where we need to prove to people they’re worth something.
That’s it. That’s it exactly. And the proof is in the Gospel, who am I is answered by who is God, and what has he done. So who is God? God is the one who made you. You are fearfully and wonderfully made his merit said for us earlier. He made you he knows you. He loves you. He will neither leave you nor forsake you. Who are you? Well, first, we got to say you’re broken. That’s where you are. You are imperfect. You are messed up. Absolutely. But in Christ, you can also be forgiven, accepted, welcomed, secure.
That’s where the psalm ends. The gospel is the key to overcoming anxiety. Here’s verses 39 and 40. Let me read them for us again, the salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord. He is their stronghold in time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them, he delivers them from the wicked and saves them because they take refuge in Him. Do you see salvation is from and in the Lord. It’s not what we do. It’s what he has done for us through Christ. And all we do is take refuge in Him. We hide ourselves in Christ. We’re saved by grace through faith. In other words, we trust true trust by the way, not just intellectual assent true trust, this is leading their whole weight on the gospel. It’s like ziplining, right? You get yourself all hooked in and you’re like, I trust this process. You’re sure you hold on a little thing ease or whatever. And then there comes a moment where you got to
step off the platform. And that’s where you prove Yes, I actually trust these things are gonna hold me. That’s what we’re telling you. Your whole life is in God’s hands. You’re actually seeking refuge in Him, not in some self-created identity. You’re letting him lead all that you do. You trust. That trust is then expressed in last point, the response? The response in our key word here is act, act. So let’s look at verse three. Again, trust in the Lord.
There’s more to it than that trust in the Lord and do good by verse eight. What is David saying, “Refrain from anger. Turn from wrath. Do not fret, it leads only to evil. So if you’re anxious about wicked people and evil seeming to win the day, well, step one is don’t join them. Or don’t participate in that evil, refrain from it be blameless, David says in verse 18, do you don’t like the wicked exploiting people? I certainly don’t. Well, are you living in self-indulgence yourself? Or are you giving generously, as David says, verses 21 and 26, turn from evil and do good. He says in verse 27. And that includes speaking wise, and just words, verse 30. And I checked and went through all my Hebrew commentaries, that includes on social media, crazy, even there, we have to speak wise and just words, who are the wise and just they’re the ones who’s where the law of God is on their hearts, verse 31, so that their feet don’t slip. They’re not making missteps because they can, because they hope in the Lord, they keep his way. Verse 34, this is all throughout the psalm, this is so important. Trusting in the Lord does not produce apathy, but a confident engagement with the issues in this world. He’s shown us what He requires of us, Micah six, eight, to walk humbly, to do justice, to love mercy. So I get it, verse seven, when it says, Be still wait patiently, that sounds a little bit like lethargy, like grin, and bear it until you die or he comes again, not at all. And word be still, it’s a little bit like,
you got a lot of kids like some of us do, and one of them gets hurt, and there’s blood. And so everybody’s screaming, and the parent goes, shush,
hush.
And then you act, then the parent says, I need you to go get this, I need you to go get this, you stay with him while I go. That’s what the Lord had be still cherish, recalibrate, trust,
that renewed purpose, vigor will come then in our actions precisely because we know how the story ends, there’s not despair, there is true hope, like, Are you anxious about injustice in the world, good. Like you shouldn’t be this should grieve us deeply. But look, look forward, and trust, recalibrate, and then labor, from a place of rest. Labor from that place of peace. This would be like, imagine you’re taking an art class in college, you’re in a painting class or something like that. And it’s coming up on the end of the semester, and you are not close to being done with this painting. Because you care so much about it, you have put your heart and soul into this and you’re not going to finish and you’re now you’re painting with blurred vision, because you got tears streaming down your face, because you know how this is going to go and your professor comes over to you and says, Look, I see what you’re doing. I love it. You are painting in a different way than everyone else in this class. You have an A plus, now finish the painting.
That’s what I mean, when I say labor from rest, because honestly, that’s a perfect illustration for what we’re doing in this world. The only difference is that it’s actually God’s painting. Like he’s the master. We’re just the apprentices working in his school where he says, Hey, can you finish blending in this area for me or something like that? God will see it done. This is true for the whole world. He’s making all things new, but it’s true for your life, too. You don’t need to establish your brand. Or define yourself. You are God’s masterpiece. Ephesians 210 exactly what it says you are God’s masterpiece. Have you been vandalized by sin? Yes, yes, you have been okay. But you are being restored in Christ. If you trust in Him, the picture is there and it is glorious. You are already beautiful, loved worthy, significant. You get an A plus, if you’re in Christ, so go finish it.
I love the way Derwin Gray says it pastor, he says God wants to give us a new identity. He wants to give us a new self which is greater than a new reputation, a new identity that God gives us. It’s not something we achieved, but something that we freely receive. Said, that’s great. So as you look outward, and inward, Are you overwhelmed by anxiety? I get it. There are all sorts of reasons to feel that way. But don’t stop there. Look forward. How does the story end? look upward and trust God who he is what he did what he will do, and then from that place of peace, act, do good. Dwell
IN HIS PRESENCE, enjoy his peace. So as you go from here, I want you to be asking yourself today, how would God have me respond now? To what I just heard? How can I look and trust and act this week? So for some of you, this may mean starting at the beginning, are you going I can’t look forward or upward because I have no idea who God is you got to start by looking at the book, you got to look at the Bible. So you learn how the story ends, you learn who this God is, and what he’s done. This might be a very practical step that you feel like you need to take. It might be a social media fast, or deleting accounts altogether, limiting your news intake severely because you weren’t meant to be omnipresent. Praying before you post, you should always do that, of course, maybe God’s calling you to act to do good in this world to bring the future kingdom into the present, that would be a good thing, to practice, that non-anxious presence that can transform the world. So many of us, we look around at the causes for anxiety, and we get paralyzed. Because there’s so much to do. But practicing non-anxious presence, that’s something else entirely. It localizes. The solution, like a lot of us, for example, might be concerned about what’s being taught in college campuses all across the country, you know what you can do about that? Not a dang thing.
So stop worrying about it. You know, you could do get to know some of the kids who are the college campus within walking distance for our church. So that’s a step you could take. Let’s do that kind of stuff. Let’s act. Don’t fret. Don’t fret. But that’s not just an impossible command. Don’t fret because you look at what he’s done, and what he’s doing because you trust and delight in him and then you step out in faith and act. Let’s pray.
Father, we are speaking to you as the God who is there, we know who you are, we know Your goodness and Your Grace, your wisdom and your power, that you are omnipotent, omnipresent, omnibenevolent, omniscient, in all things and can do all things.
And so we trust in you, especially because we know what you’ve done for us. You did not relieve us in our anxiety in the world that we messed up, but you came to rescue us. You suffered the injustice of this world, you allowed your son to be put to death by the wicked and evil people that caused us such anxiety and of whom we number ourselves, of course,
but you conquered it as well. The resurrection is the proof that we can trust you that we can look forward we can put our whole lives in your hands help us to do just that ordain as we do it as you give us that peace that surpasses understanding in an anxious age. Show us how we can step out to minister your non-anxious presence to a world in such desperate need. We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Amen.

Amen.

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Seeing and Believing (John 20:24-29) April 9, 2023 | Brandon Cooper TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

Good morning church, we’re gonna go ahead and grab your Bibles, you can open up the John chapter 20. If you’re here and you don’t have a Bible, there’s a black one in front of you, you can grab that one. And if you’re here and you don’t own a Bible, that black one is yours, take it home with you. Okay? If you’re going to be in that black Bible, we’re on page 881. If you don’t have that one, I don’t know what page you’re on. Okay. But John, chapter 20, verses 20 To 2024 to 29, is where we’ll be this morning, you can start turning there now, it is really important that you actually turn there. Now, by the way, here’s why. Because you do not need to hear from me this morning. Because who am I after all, you really need to know what God says, through his living and enduring words, I want to make sure you’re looking at the text. So you know that this is what God has for you today, John 2024 to 29. As you are turning there, just imagine for a moment that you are having a conversation with somebody say in the Middle Ages, about air travel, and how that conversation would go, you’re explaining to them that hundreds of people get to fly in a giant metal tube, even across oceans. In the span of just a few hours, even. I Googled this this week. And so the max takeoff weight of a 777 is 766,000 pounds. If you could get this person you’re talking to understand how much weight that is. Imagine explaining to them that that’s going to kind of just sit on the air. They’re going to look at you funny. And they’d be right to look at you funny, of course, they would be right to be highly skeptical of what you are telling them that made sense. Then in the Middle Ages, if somebody looks at you skeptically today, when you explain that, well, now the shoes on the other foot, actually, they would be the foolish ones because we know that happens. It’s not a bit happens all the time we live right by O’Hare, we got a lot of people who work in air travel and stuff you could look up you could see plane, so something has changed so that what was ridiculous is now actually perfectly acceptable. In fact, you’d be ridiculous not to believe it. Put yourself in their shoes today, though, let’s say something that maybe you would find harder to believe that that your neighbor came to you. You were out this morning, you know, getting in your car ready to head over here something they say Did you see the UFO land at the park across the street last night? Now you’re looking at them skeptically again, you would be right to be cautious in that moment. And yet, what would it take for you to believe your neighbor’s claim? It’s not totally impossible, of course, you just you’re gonna need something to to convince you here. It’s not going to be a photo or a video, that’s for sure. There’s we got to CGI and deep fakes now, so that’s not it, I saw the pope in his puffer jacket. So like, we know, we can’t trust that anymore. How many eyewitnesses would it take for you? And what would the character is this neighbor? Or is this one of the neighbors where you’re like, Okay, I mean, this guy doesn’t tend to lie here. Is there corroborating? Evidence is there, you know, burn patterns in the park, or something like that? How many people believe this did the whole neighborhood? Go? Yeah, it was crazy. I couldn’t believe my eyes. And it was on the news that night and you’re reading about in the newspaper, you know, all that. There’s a tipping point. In other words, where it is harder to persist in skepticism than to believe it would actually be more foolish to be skeptical than to believe. So what is that tipping point? Precisely? You all are smart people. You can see where I’m going with this. It’s Easter. Okay, so we got to talk about this we’re gonna have a take a look at a famous story this morning of perhaps the world’s most famous skeptic, you know him as Doubting Thomas. But think which is more patently ridiculous at first, air travel, a UFO or some guy rising from the grave. I know which one I would find hardest to believe. So we got three scenes we’re gonna look at that will simultaneously encourage and challenge us as we consider belief in something that is at least on the face of it. absurd, just absurd. So let’s dive in. Alright, John, chapter 20. I’m starting verse 24. Scene One is the demand versus 24 and 25. I’ll read it for us now Thomas, also known as dunamis, one of the 12 was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him we have seen the Lord but he said to them, Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, put my hand into his side, I will Do not believe it little context we’re picking up in the middle of the story here. So we’re probably on Monday at this point. Okay, so maybe it’s late in the day on Easter Sunday. We know that Jesus has appeared to His disciples shortly after his resurrection. But Thomas or didn’t miss both words just mean twin different languages Thomas the twin wasn’t there. So like really bad day to have jury duty. Okay, he this is like the all time greatest FOMO okay, like he didn’t get to see what everyone else saw. So when he finally arrives, the other 10 Remember Jesus had 12 disciples, Judas is gone. Now he’s gone and hanged himself because of his guilt at betraying Jesus. So there are 11 left Thomas wasn’t there. So the other 10 disciples tell him they saw Jesus and you can picture the scene like these are not going to be calm people as they’re telling this story. 10 of them all talking over each other at the same time. Peters the loudest of course, we know that. They’re saying we saw him. Jesus who was dead is now alive. And Thomas is a bit skeptical. Can you blame him? I’ve just for one, I’m not going to turn the course of history here. I know it. But I for one find it really insulting that we call this guy doubting. He did not have more doubt than anyone else. He just didn’t get what the rest of them got. It’s unfair that we call him out. And he had the exact same objections that you and I have today. Guy was dead. Now he’s alive. That probably makes you happy. Is this just wish casting? Are you all hallucinating? Was there a lot of Passover wine leftover? Like these other questions that were be going through your mind, he’s not being unreasonable. He is willing to believe but he’s just saying it’s going to take more than what I’ve gotten so far in order for me to believe. Notice, though, this is important. For some of us here today. This story, at least this moment puts to bed once and for all. The silly notion that people back then were more credulous, more willing to believe than we are today. I think that’s the attitude a lot of us have we’re so much smarter now in the scientific west, so we don’t believe the things they used to believe we we congratulate ourselves that we’ve overcome our superstition. They used to believe in magic and fairies and spirits lurking behind every tree. But what we see here is actually wasn’t that different back then. So that somebody would come to you and say there was a dead guy, and now he’s alive. And you would go, no, no, I may not have a PhD in biochemistry. But I’ll tell you what, that’s not how this goes. Dead people stay dead. Alright, I’m enough of a scientist to know that. So Thomas asks for proof. And Thomas says, Alright, if this guy was dead, and now he’s alive, that means he’s in the flesh, he was raised bodily. And so he will have scars from where the nails pierced his hands for the spear pierced his side, I need to touch those. And then and then I will believe, by the way, notice that that means that Thomas is a assuming a physical resurrection. This is really, really important. What this book teaches is not spiritual mumbo jumbo, some sense of things will get better. That’s the message of Easter. It’s like spring, we could do bunnies, we could do eggs, we could do Jesus, whatever, they all teach us the same thing. New stuff happens, you get a fresh start, you get a second chance, that’s not going to work to console us. At our deepest point where we really have the need, we need a flesh and blood hope. We need to know that God will set this world right in the flesh. Some years ago, was when I was pastor at my previous church. pastors have to enter into some dark places. And I was called to the bedside of a family where the mom had gone in for her 38 week check. It was one of those ones where the doctors went, we’re going right now did an emergency C section. The baby lived just 45 minutes. There’s something very badly wrong with her. As I was there at their bedside trying to speak words of comfort to them, I would not dare have spoken of symbols. As if what they needed right then is to hear something like well, it’s always darkest before the light, which by the way could be nonsense. That’s not everyone’s story, not by any means they needed a physical hope. They needed to know that Bethany is alive still, that they will meet her again as CO heirs with Christ in eternity. We need to flesh and blood physical hope. Here’s
the way John Updike, the great American poet put it in his seven stanzas at Easter. He says this, let us not mock God with metaphor, right like the idea that Easter is just a metaphor for hope or something like that. What does not mock God with metaphor, analogy sidestepping transcendence making of the event, a parable, a sign painted in the faded credulity of earlier ages. Let us walk through that door. And that is what we need to do. So we get where Tom is coming from. We understand his skepticism. At the same time, that doesn’t make it right automatically, because there is a danger here of demanding that God prove himself to us. Jesus saw this some chapters earlier in John’s gospel, John, chapter four, verse 48, he says to the crowds, unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe and that, by the way, was a rebuke, not an explanation. He was not saying I get it, you guys need a sign or else you won’t believe he’s saying, why is it that you feel like you have to see a sign until you believe? Because there’s a demand in there. The demand is, unless God does fill in the blank. Unless God does this, I won’t be believe, I won’t believe he’s got to prove himself so that the fill in the blank, it might be proof like our friend, Tommy here, it might be unreasonable proof, even proof that doesn’t square with history, how historical proof works, a lot of us want mathematical or scientific proof that’s not coming for an event like this. So might be proof, but it might be power, that we’re demanding of God, unless God changes my circumstances. Unless God makes my life go the way I think it should go, I won’t believe. And that’s a problem. To problem. This is why Jesus rebukes this attitude because it is coming to God on our terms. It is as if we’re saying to God, you need to meet my standards, in order to enter my life. If God is God, and if he is even anything like the God the Bible depicts, that’s not how it’s gonna work. If God is God, we should be in awe that we get to come at all and we will certainly enter on his terms. Do you have demands? Do you have an unless list? Unless he does this? I won’t believe Do you have? And unless this, hang on to it, we’re going to talk more about it in a moment. But we ask you one more question. Is that list fair? Is it even reasonable? Where are we demanding things of God that don’t make sense? Like you don’t want to be duped? Sure, I get that I don’t want to be duped, either. I’m skeptical of most things I read in the news, for example, but you don’t wanna be late to the party either. Like if the whole city saw the UFO, at a certain point, you’re the one looking dumb. Now, we got to think about that. Because that’s exactly what we have, by the way, what the disciples did to Thomas, the church, and frankly, the Bible has done for us. It’s crying out through the ages, we saw we have seen the risen Christ. Now you don’t need to check your mind at the door. To believe this. I would never ask you that. If you’ve been coming here for any time, you know that I’m not asking you to check your mind at the door. I’m not asking you to believe without asking questions. Quite the opposite. I think we are called to a reasonable faith. But the point is, you can’t duck the claim either. The claim is sitting out there now. And you may be going okay, but there’s a burden of proof. So if the claim is Jesus rose from the dead church, you got to prove that okay, I will grant that’s true, we should mount some evidence for the resurrection. Happy to do that for you. By the way, we got a little blue book you can read that’ll help you. But there’s another burden of proof and that’s on the skeptic, which might be you this morning, you still have to explain the birth of the church. You have to explain where this claim came from in the first place. So again, maybe you don’t think your neighbor saw a UFO last night. But something happened, so that 50 of them are talking about what they saw the night before you better come up with a better explanation than what they just came up with. Especially considering we now know people back then didn’t believe things easily. You know, there are lots of dead messiahs in history. There are a bunch of them in Israel right around the time of Christ. You know what happened to those dead messiahs afterwards? Nothing. Like there’s a guy named Simon Bar Kokhba very famous would be Messiah. In fact that name Bar Kokhba means son of the star Our that was not his last name. That was the title he was given by the most famous rabbi of the day because that Rabbi knew this is the Messiah who will deliver us from Rome. Then Rome killed him, much like Rome killed Jesus. How many of you have friends who are bar copyrights today? Practicing by our cook piano tea? No one? No one. Why? Because that’s what happens to dead messiahs. Nothing except for Jesus. Now, there’s a few billion people in the world going, we’ve seen him, you have to explain why this story is different. So we see our doubt. Maybe I’ve exposed your demands a little bit. At this point, we’ve also exposed our need to render a verdict though, you can’t just be agnostic here. So we’re still looking at a tipping point, what will tip us let’s keep going scene to the demonstrates demonstration verses 26 and 27. A week later, his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors relaxed, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. And he said to Thomas, Put your finger here, see my hands, reach out your hand and put it into my side to stop doubting and believe. So a week passes. Jesus is in no rush, by the way, you ever feel that way? We’re like, Lord, I need this yesterday. And God goes, let’s talk early next week. He’s just on his own schedule. Alright, so a week passes. But Tommy’s there this time? Did you notice the disciples are still in this locked upper room, you know why the doors are locked, because they’re scared out of their wits, that what happened to Jesus is going to happen to them that the Romans and the Jews are gonna conspire together and put them to death. Also, this does not seem like a group that is on the verge of changing the world. Like a group that’s on the verge of risking life and limb to go out and proclaim this crazy, crazy message. The locked door is no problem for Jesus, by the way. It’s not that he’s coming from outside the room. I know some of you are like, so he can walk through walls. Do we get to do that when we get to heaven? That’s not what’s happening here. Jesus exists even now in the flesh. He is in his body. And yet he’s not in the universe. Currently, the physical universe, he’s not on Neptune. He’s not living on Yavin four or something. Okay, let’s see who my Star Wars nerds are with that one. That was like three of you were like, Yeah, I feel seen. The rest of you have no idea what I just said. He is in the spiritual realm that is kind of like here and not here at the same time. So what he does is he manifests his physical presence in the room at that time. What does he say to them? By the way, if that didn’t make sense to you, and you’re like, my mind can’t get around that. That’s cool. Okay, look, there is room for mystery. When it comes to the deepest truths. It makes no sense that we with our tiny little finite minds would understand all that an infinite God understands. So like, we’ll get it. We’ll get it someday. You got eternity to figure this out. Okay. So Jesus comes, he appears to them and he says, Peace be with you. This is not just a standard greeting, although it is that Shalom. It’s exactly you want the resurrection if it happened, we’ll accomplish peace, peace for us. In fact, we’re gonna spend the next few weeks unpacking this that series that Kyle told us about wishing and hoping that’s it, we’re talking about peace. How do we actually get peace in this life, even if the resurrection happened, it means that God is making everything sad, come untrue, and healing his broken world. Which means if you’re here today, you should want the resurrection to be true. Doesn’t mean it is like, and we don’t want to get into wish casting here or anything like that. You should want the resurrection to be true. Because I mean, especially after the last few weeks, right? I feel like I’d say that any given week, though, especially after the last few weeks. It’s always true. Like, we need a bit of hope we would really use some certainty that good triumphs and love wins in the end. All that we seek justice, immortality.
I mean, even something like the environmental issue, I love animals. I get really bummed out by extinctions and stuff, okay, like even some of that stuff where we’re, we’re like wrecking the earth. All that stuff gets fixed. All of that happens if the resurrection happens, and none of that happens if the resurrection isn’t true. Because look, you got two alternatives if there isn’t a physical resurrection, you could have spiritual resurrection, but the physical doesn’t go on. Or it’s just physical when there is no spiritual. So this one, you know, especially with Eastern religions in particular if it’s just spiritual in the end that none of the physical matters, who cares what happens to the earth? Who cares if there are poor all across the world who are diagnosis karma. And by the way, that’s good because it’s teaching them to throw off the shackles of the physical worlds they can experience the bliss of nirvana. If it’s just a physical world, there is no spiritual, this is all there is, you get none of what you most want. I mean, if Darwin is right, in explaining how the world works, do you think there’s gonna be justice for the poor and downtrodden and marginalize? No, they die so that the strongest can survive. And that’s a good thing within Darwin. And then what does any of it matter? Anyway, you can devote your life to your cause the sun still burns out, everybody dies, no one remembers that we were here your life does not matter. You can see why we want to physical resurrection, but still only if it’s true. Only if it’s true, wishing that the world would be so is not enough. So what Tommy needs is what we need, which is a demonstration. Do you notice that Jesus quotes Thomas, almost verbatim? It’s like he’s standing before Thomas going, everything you said which by the way, I heard because I’m the omniscient God, everything you said, that you needed me to do for you everything you wanted to do, go ahead and do it. Put your hands wherever you need to put him. Okay. He overcomes all Thomas’s obstacles. And I know what you’re thinking, as you’re sitting there. You’re thinking, if he would do that, for me, I believe to two, which I will say first of all, not necessarily. Not necessarily. I know there are a lot of us who are thinking, if I could just see a miracle, I would believe you’ve thought that before I know you have you know who saw a lot of miracles, the people who put Jesus to death, they killed him because of the miracles he performed, at least in part, so not necessary. But the other part of it is, hang on, I got more to say. All right, so just live with that. If you do that for me, then I believe live with it, we’re gonna come back to it a moment. Just pause though. And notice how tenderly and lovingly, Jesus meets Thomas where he is, like Thomas has got these doubts. And he’s got these demands. He’s like a little bit petulant, even, and Jesus meets him with grace. Jesus really did rise, which Thomas knows now. And he gives us all that we need to believe. But of course, that then leads to an invitation. What Jesus says to Thomas, Stop doubting and believe. Jesus says, I’ve done everything you’ve asked. There’s only one response. Now. Of course, the invitation is still hanging out there today. No doubt, this is what Jesus is saying to us even now. But how? How do I stop doubting and believe? Still waiting for that tipping point, still waiting that tipping point because you and I didn’t get to touch Jesus’s wounds, or see him in the flesh. Jesus knows that. And he has something to say. So let’s keep reading scene three, the declaration verses 28 and 29. Thomas said to him, My Lord and my God, then Jesus told him, because you have seen me you have believed, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. So really, there are two declarations here. Both are crucial. First, Thomas Thomas expresses this profound faith. He calls Jesus my Lord, and my God, my God, he recognizes Jesus’s divinity, resurrection will do that, won’t it? So he knows now that Jesus is more than just a good man, more than just an insightful teacher. Again, we’ve had a lot of those in history, he has something else entirely. He is divine, as he claimed to be throughout his life. So Thomas recognizes his divinity, but also his authority. He calls him, Lord, that is he saying, I’m submitting to you now as well. This is the essence of faith. It is more than just belief in certain facts. Yes, there is some of that you need to believe that Jesus rose from the dead, but it’s more it’s an ongoing trust as well. Like this is not just intellectual, but this is a whole being trust, I believe the third law of thermodynamics. It does nothing to motivate me day to day. That is not what we’re talking about, right? This is a whole person response. And notice, Thomas has this response without doing what he said he needed to do. He said unless As I put my hands in the wounds, maybe John just didn’t record it for us. But it’s not here in the text, he does not put his hands anywhere. Because seeing was enough. In fact, I’m guessing he didn’t even need to see the wounds, just seeing Jesus would be enough because he knew there was only one explanation. And so Thomas reaches his tipping point. As I said, at the start, we will remain skeptical until skepticism itself is the foolish choice. And that’s the moment Thomas has reached. And then Thomas’s climactic declaration triggers Jesus’s declaration. It’s like, he’s looking at Thomas. And then looking past him, to us here today, all the people through the centuries, who will believe later, and who won’t get what Thomas got. So Jesus looks at me and it’s like, he says, You got to see me. But I’m about to ascend, go into that spiritual world. In other words, so blessed are those who don’t see, and yet, belief. Bless it. By the way, one of those religious words we use all the time, that means almost nothing to us today, no idea what it means we just keep saying it. So bless it. I mean, happy is what it means at its root in some ways, but the heart of it is what makes us happy. It’s the experience of God’s favor our welcome that we receive. And so bless it are those of us who experience in the favor of God who believe without seeing. So here’s the point, though no one certainly not me, not the Bible. No one is arguing it’s not different today. than it was for Thomas, this is not air travel. Look outside, you’ll see a plane, not even a UFO necessarily, because the UFO could come back, I suppose. This is more like believing something from history, like did Caesar crossed the Rubicon? How are you going to know that again, you can’t, you can’t put that together in a in a lab. Euclidean geometry does nothing for us here, you can’t go back and check it. So it’s a different experience. And it’s a different coming to faith coming to that conclusion, but it’s not impossible. In fact, it’s more precious belief, because if not 100%. Again, two plus two equals four does not move my heart does not change my life. So it’s more than just a careful weighing of the evidence only. It is the spiritual work of God in your spirit. And it is a work that God is still doing today. In a sense, it’s actually exactly the same as Thomas in that Jesus really did rise, and really did does give us everything we need to believe. It’s just that the gift is different. You see this throughout the New Testament, Paul says in Romans 10, Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. We need to hear not see Peter says the same thing Peter, who saw the resurrected Christ in the flesh says the same thing. Since First Peter one versus eight nine, Though you have not seen him. I’ve seen him you haven’t seen him, though you have not seen him you love him. And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. A few verses later, Peter says, You’ve been born again through the living and enduring word of God. And that was the word that was preached to you. It’s a hearing. It’s a hearing, although Paul says to the Galatian, church before your very eyes, Jesus was portrayed, clearly portrayed as crucified. It’s as though the the preaching creates the image in our minds so that we actually can see the resurrected Christ. That’s even now you are hearing and thus are seeing what more do you need? According to Jesus? Nothing.
So what does Jesus say to us today, then? Well, nothing new. And here it is. This is the takeaway. Remember one thing from this morning remember this. You have seen enough. So stop doubting and belief. You have seen enough. So stop doubting and believe it doesn’t feel that easy. I grant I know some of you were like, hang on, not so sure about this. But do the work. I asked earlier. Do you have an unless list? Unless God does this? I won’t believe okay, what have you done with your list? Have you tried to find answers? Because seeing and touching that’s not an option anymore. So how are you going to find answers like what would it take? For you to believe that’s a good question to ask yourself, what would make you change your mind? And is it fair? Is it a reasonable standard? Or is it a different standard than everything else? You think? God did Caesar crossed the Rubicon? I don’t get mathematical or scientific proof of that. But there’s really good historical proof. One reason we know that of course, is because the Roman Republic failed. And we had the birth of the Caesar’s the Emperor’s after that I gotta explain that no thing that makes the most sense. That is Caesar crossing the Rubicon. That’s the resurrection in a nutshell. That’s all it is. How do you explain the birth of the church, something had to happen to create that. And frankly, we got a lot lot lot more evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ than we do for anything Julius Caesar did. This is too important to trifle with. You got to look for answers. You have a mountain of evidence before you’ve got the church through the ages saying we have seen many of them were eyewitnesses, even. They believed carefully on the evidence like Thomas, and they face persecution and martyrdom. All they had to do to spare their lives and their family’s lives was say, we didn’t see him. But they couldn’t, because they did see him. We got to take that testimony seriously. You can investigate the lines of evidence, the fact that Jewish Muslim, secular scholars all agree that the tomb was empty. Okay, that’s something you got to deal with that, again, the birth of the church, you got to deal with that the conversions of people like Paul, you got to deal with that. So dig in, dig in, do the work. Read a book. We’re kind of post literate today. So listen to a podcast, maybe I can give you some recommendations. That’s too much work, you want dialogue instead, sit down with me. I will buy you coffee, I will buy you a Coke, I will buy you a beer, I will take you out for breakfast, lunch or dinner. You can order lobster even if you come in good faith, like you’re ready to actually engage with our friends. Kyle mentioned another one go to Christianity explored, starts next week. 915. It’s early. It’s not that early, you can do it. Now I know the stats, you know, they say one out of four skeptics will come to a class geared towards skeptics in a church. I don’t blame you, by the way. Okay, I wouldn’t want to do that. Either. Be the one and show up. Because it matters too much. Or maybe the most important thing you could do. Without question in Scripture backing up on this, just keep coming. Just come next Sunday 1030 most important thing you could do is sit here in the church, getting to know believers, hearing the Word of God proclaimed weekend and week out. You got to do this because it matters. Let me just as we close tease out the implications here because it does matter. If Jesus rose from the dead as he did, then everything he said is true. Like that’s fair, pretty much proved he’s got at that point. If he didn’t rise from the dead, then nothing he said is true. Or whatever he said was true. He got lucky. He kind of said like Love your enemies. Okay, we could have figured that out on our own kind of thing. So when it comes to Christianity, we’re either all in or tossing to the side. Those are the only two logical options and it comes down to the question of the resurrection, of course, but being in church on Easter and all that, let’s just assume for a moment that it is true. Work with me here, okay? So it’s not just a question of believing in the resurrection. It’s more than that, like Thomas, the only fitting response is my Lord and my God. It is belief and trust. It is submission. It is an act of following Jesus it is embracing the whole kit and caboodle what Jesus claimed to be and what Jesus claimed to be doing. Why is God here clothed in flesh? Anyway? That’s a good question. That I skipped past a really important part of the story. Thomas said he wanted to see Jesus’s wounds, his wounds, his hands where the nails had pierced him when he was crucified, his side where the spear has pierced him all the way to his heart so that the Romans knew he was dead well and truly dead. Jesus didn’t just come to teach, although he did teach, he came to die and arise again. Why did he die? This was substitution. He died in our place, because he took what we deserved, which was God’s fierce and just anger at our sin, the punishment we deserve. He took it on himself so that we can receive what he deserved, which is a child’s welcome, before the Father God, all mighty. I said earlier that we should want the rest of direction to be true. Really, we should want the whole story to be true. The substitutionary death, the perfect life, the triumph and rising all of it. Why? Because whatever you are seeking, you find it in this true story. You’re looking for hope, fresh start. Second Chance. If you got history littered with failure, or abuse, or addiction, or suffering, maybe it’s your story, currently, here’s hope. There’s the possibility of new life in Christ, just as Christ was buried was raised in New Life. So we can be also if anyone is in Christ, he’s in a new creation. Paul says in first Corinthians 10. Second, are you looking for acceptance? Like you have that feeling of guilt or shame, plagues you that you don’t measure up? I’ve got bad news. And good news. The bad news is you don’t measure up, you can’t measure up, that fear of failure is always going to be with you. And it does not take much to experience it completely. And yet, even though you don’t measure up, you can be welcomed anyway. Not because anything you do this is like going to an Oscars after party with Tom Hanks. And everybody’s like, who are you? And why are you here? You’re like, I have no idea. I’m just here with Tom. Okay. Like, that’s the only reason I belong here. That’s us with Jesus in the very courts of glory, you looking for approval? Have you been rejected by parents, perhaps by a spouse, by family, by friends? Well, if this story is true, you can be adopted into God’s family, again, welcomed as His child fully known all your issues, fully known but not rejected, fully known and fully loved. Are you looking for justice? Maybe that’s personal, like I was wronged. And I need to know that that person will have to answer for how they wronged me, maybe it’s societal. You’re just looking at the world and you’re upset. I know I am daily, because the fabric of the world has just been ripped. If the resurrection is true, then every rung will be set right? In a remade world. That’s the hope we have. And then deepest of all the one we all nod our heads here, of course, are you looking for love, our deepest need. And yet no human relationship can fully satisfy us. There’s always the danger, they’ll leave. And in the end, death separates us. And yet here it is. Unconditional and eternal love in Christ. I could go on, I could go on but you see the point. This is what we need, what we want what we most seek, you’ve seen enough. So stop doubting and believe. Like Thomas, in faith, cry out, my Lord, and my God. What does that look like acknowledge who he is the Lord. And God, he’s got the divinity in the authority. You admit who you are imperfect, to say the least. Selfish, you want the older religious word for it sinful. They all mean the same thing though. Now, which really is admit who you are, and then accept the gift of grace, the title spoke of earlier, the free gift of God is eternal life we do that we get that when we cry out, my Lord, and my God, today could be the day that you are raised to new life. And if you’ve sensed God’s stirring in you now going, yes, I’ve seen enough I can stop doubting and believe. When you pray with me. Lord, we worship you, as the risen Christ. You were the Lamb of God, slain, killed, murdered, because of us and by us in our place to pay a debt we owed, but could not possibly pay. But then you rose again. And so we worship you as the triumphant and reigning king of kings and Lord of lords.
That’s who you are. Who we are. Is a sadder story. We are broken. We are messed up. We have made mistakes. We have lives filled with regret. We have hurt and used people and there’s no one in this room who could not agree with those words I just said, we know that we know that the Bible calls that sin. The word isn’t important. The reality is we deserve punishment. We don’t deserve you. We don’t deserve welcome and love and yet you have made a way for us to receive both welcome and love by your son’s death on the cross. So Lord, we confess our sin. We confess Christ’s finished work We put our hope and our trust in nothing else but in his grace would you receive us now we pray in Christ’s name, amen.

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2023 A New and Living Way (Hebrews 10:19-25)) April 7, 2023 | Kyle Bjerga TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
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If you would grab your Bibles and turn to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10, will be in verses 19 through 25. Tonight. So the Masters tournament started yesterday, and if you’re not familiar with the Masters Tournament is the first of the four major golf tournaments for the PGA. And it’s held every year the same place Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. And so if you’re a golf fan, Augusta is a pretty big deal. It’s a place you want to go and visit. And if you ever had the chance you would love to be able to play it. Well, there’s a guy that I know that actually got the chance to go to Augusta. And he told me about his experience. And this, this story that he has this happened years and years ago, mind you, and that’ll make sense and some of the things that happen. But he was flying down to to Georgia for a business trip. So he got in and then he got his rental car. And then he thought, You know what, the Masters I think I can’t remember exactly the story if the Masters was like starting was already happening or just ended. But he’s there at about that time. He was like, oh, it’d be great to just drive by Augusta and maybe see the course maybe see something cool and experience something that I haven’t been able to do. And so he drives that way. And something interesting happens that he gets to Augusta. He has a security guard who starts to wave at him and wave him in to the entrance of Augusta. So he follows the security guard. Why wouldn’t you? And then he sees another security guard thinking okay, this point I’m gonna be turned back, but this guy just keeps waving them in. gives him a little Hello and a nod. And he just keeps driving and he eventually gets to Magnolia lane, which if you know Magnolia lane, it’s a very long driveway. Actually, one of the most famous driveways in the country fill with these magnolias all the way down. He gets the founder circle, which is by the clubhouse, and he gets the player parking. So here he is parked at Augusta when he just wanted to drive by. It’s at this point he started thinking, What in the world is going on? Why am I here? I don’t deserve this. I’m not supposed to be here. He has no idea. But while I’m here, why not get out and check some things out. So he decided to get out of the car and wander around a little bit. It’s kind of soaking everything in saying I cannot believe that I am here standing at Augusta National. And then he sees it. As he walks back to his rental car on the side of the car was a magnet or decal that said official car Masters tournament. So what had happened because they would give courtesy cars to players and people who are going to the masters. Somebody at the car rental facility either forgot to take that off, or gave him the wrong car. But all the security guards saw was that decal on the side of the car. And that’s all they needed to say this guy belongs here. He should be at Augusta when guys like I had no right at all to be here. Isn’t that the Christian life. Jesus gives us what we don’t deserve. Access to God. Access to God, we don’t deserve it. We get out we look around. We think I’m not supposed to be here. I don’t deserve this. Now this access to God depends on this weekend. But we celebrate on Friday and Sunday. This access to God depends on Jesus going to the cross. It depends on Jesus dying, pain for our sins on the cross. It depends on him going into a tomb and then rising again three days later, victorious over death. And our response to what happened in that Friday changes the way that we then approach God. So here’s the point tonight that we’re going to see in our passage in Hebrews it is this enter in because you belong here. Enter in because you belong here. Now in order to make this possible, this access to God possible Jesus had to go through Friday. And he did go through Friday, which means we now have a new position. We have new privileges and we have new practices. And so that’s going to be our outline as we walk through Hebrews chapter 10 nomina read all of our verses tonight, this whole passage and then we’re gonna go through and look at the outline together and see these different truths that are there. So let’s read together 19 through 25. Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living away open for us through the curtain, that is his body. And since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. Let us consider how we may spur one another Ron toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another. And all the more as you see the day approaching. So first we see our position in verse 19. I’m gonna read it again, therefore brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus. So the writer starts off and says, Hey, brothers and sisters, other Christians. Now these are Jewish Christians, primarily that he’s talking to, right. They grew up in Jewish homes, but at some point, they decided to say I believe in Jesus. But what this means is, they were very familiar with the law. They’re very familiar with the history of Israel. They knew the tabernacle, they knew the temple, they knew the sacrifices. And when they hear the words, you can enter the most holy place. This is radical to them. These are radical words, because anyone who knew the Old Testament knew that if you walked into the temple, into the holy place, through the curtain into the most holy place, you had a death sentence. God made it very clear in his warning, nobody enters into His presence. It is off limits, except for one person, one day a year, for one purpose. That was it. So a little bit of background, and maybe you’re familiar with this, maybe you’re not. But it’ll be helpful as we walk through this passage. But we need to understand some of the things that are happening here. When the Israelite people are delivered by God out of slavery from Egypt, and they’re in the wilderness, God gives them directions to build a tabernacle, this giant tent, and he is going to dwell there, He wants His people to see that he is with them. Eventually, the tabernacle becomes a more permanent structure in Jerusalem, the temple. And we know that there’s a couple of different temples over time because of destruction and the people coming back and building again. But all of them the tabernacle, the temple had the same layout. So you’d have this courtyard, and then you’d have the temple there. And then you’d have this room that you’d walk in, that was the holy place. And in the holy place, the priests would be working and serving all the time. And then there was the large curtain. This curtain was about 60 feet tall and 30 feet wide. And it’s separated the holy place from the most holy place. And this curtain was there for a purpose to protect the people it was a barrier between an unholy sinful, rebellious people, and a perfect holy and transcendent God. That’s what it was there for. And in this place, was the Ark of the Covenant. Do you know much about the Ark of the Covenant, you know that it housed very important things like the 10 commandments. And on that was this cover this Atonement Cover also called the mercy seat. And it was in this little space between the wings of these angels that God’s presence would dwell, where it would be where he would manifest His presence, tell his people, I am with you. And so it was here that God’s presence was, this was a big deal. This was an important place. I was trying to figure out, do we have anything remotely close to this that we could wrap our minds around? And I was thinking if we went to Washington, DC, and we saw the White House, and somebody came up to us and said, Hey, you could walk right in there? They’d be like, I’m not really sure about that. Like, no, no, no, you can walk right through that gate, you can just go in with confidence, like you’re supposed to be there, you won’t get to the gate, right? Like Secret Service is tackling you on the line, you will not get to the gate. Let’s say you get to the gate and you get inside this, it just follow a map to get there. Now your life is in danger, if you’re not supposed to be there. But the most holy place is infinitely more important, more significant, more holy than the Oval Office. But that’s as close as I could get, at least in my mind of what this might be like for these people to hear this. Because again, God is there. That’s where he is. And you’re saying I can enter this place when their whole lives have been told you can’t. The writer saying yes you can. But it isn’t a place anymore, which we’ll see soon. Okay, so I can wrap my mind around I can Okay, I can get in. But can I really come in confidently into this place? Yes. You can come in in confidence because it’s not. You’re not entering because of anything you have done. What do we see here? You’re coming in by the blood of Jesus and the blood of Jesus brings us all the confidence in the world to walk in. So what are the priests do when he walks into the most holy place and this one time of the year he would bring in blood. He’d been brought blood from animal sacrifices to seek the forgiveness of God the cleansing of the peoples Since
from the very beginning, we heard sin leads to death. And so the the blood of the animals was the symbolizes and reminded people, this should be you. This should be your life. But it’s his grace that says, I’m going to use an animal in this sacrifice to again remind you of who you are, and to remind you of who I am, as well. But we read elsewhere, in Hebrews that the blood of bulls and goats cannot ultimately satisfy God’s just wrath against sinners. But the blood of Jesus can, the blood of Jesus can forgive us. So in verse 19, we’re coming right into the middle of chapter 10. And it says, Therefore, so we need to look back in chapter 10, a little bit to get a little bit of context, understand our position and what it really is. So in chapter 10, the author is talking about the once and for all sacrifice that Jesus is. And then look at verse 17. It says, there are sins and lawless acts, I will remember no more. And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary. So then we jump into verse 19. Therefore, brothers and sisters, so what are we understanding here is that we are forgiven by the blood of Jesus, that’s our position. Now, God does not hold our sins against us any longer. We’re no longer on the outside, we are brought in. So come in, enter, because you belong here. That’s our position. That’s our position. But we also get some privileges. And we see that in verses 20, and 21. Let’s read them again. It says, by a new and living way, open for us to the curtain, that is his body. And since we have a great priest over the house of God, so the curtain was a symbol that you cannot approach God. Think back to the garden when Adam and Eve are banished, what’s put there, an angel guarding the way to the tree of life, as they are banished. It is this barrier, this reminder to say you cannot enter in the presence of God anymore. And that’s what the curtain was this constant reminder that we cannot approach him. But God makes away God makes away. We just heard it read a few moments ago, if you caught it, Matthew chapter 27, verse 51, it says, At that moment, when Jesus gave up his spirit and died on the cross, at that moment, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. This is not a small or insignificant detail, one that we should just pass over it is extremely significant. Because God is the one who tears this curtain, from top to bottom 60 feet high, nobody else is doing this. God is the one who makes sure that this temple curtain is torn. Michael Kruger says it was a physical sign of spiritual reality. Now you can walk straight in to the most holy place. So Christ’s body on the cross is torn in his death. And the curtain is torn into making what we see here a new and living way. It’s new, because Jesus brings in the new covenant. That’s what we’re going to celebrate here at the Lord’s table when he said, This is the blood of the covenant. This is a new covenant in his blood. So it is a new way. But it’s also living. Because when Jesus gave up his life, he didn’t stay dead. He did rise, he is alive. And we have access to God now and through eternity. There isn’t a most holy place that we need to go to. But that’s not that’s not something we can find. We can go to God anytime, anywhere into His presence through the blood of Jesus. And so I want us to imagine a couple of different scenes and kind of see ourselves in the scenes and try and picture what’s happening. So the first scene that we’re gonna go into is the Day of Atonement. Okay, this is that one day, a year with one person for one purpose going into the most holy place. So you’re an Israelite for a little bit. Okay, and you’re standing with all other lizard lights, and you’re looking ahead, millions of Israelites see this one high priest, this imperfect man. And on this day, he’s gonna go into the most holy place. So he needs to bathe, he has to purify himself. So he baits then he puts on his new undergarments, a new tunic, a new sash and a turban. And he is going to go into the most holy place. And what is he going to take with him? Well, first he has to take the blood of a bull that he is offered as a sacrifice for his own sins. And he takes that blood into the most holy place after also taking some incense, some coals from the altar and going in and he takes us any sprinkles the blood On the Atonement Cover, to cleanse his sense to ask God for His forgiveness to reconcile him and God. And then he comes out and offers a goat. The goat is offered for the people. He goes back in with the blood of the goat and He sprinkles the blood and the Atonement Cover to appease the wrath of God, to bring forgiveness and reconciliation between us and God. And that’s what the people would see, every year. Listen to Leviticus 16, where we see the Day of Atonement we get all the directions for this day concludes this way. This has to be a lasting ordinance for you. On the 10th day of the seventh month, you must deny yourselves and not to any work, whether native born or a foreigner residing among you, because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you, then before the Lord you will be cleaned from all your sins. But do you see the key there, this had to be done, year after year, after year. Over and over again, blood being spilled for us. High Priests would come and go over this time. It never fully satisfied God’s wrath. Because again, the blood of bulls and goats is insufficient. We cannot actually be forgiven totally from the blood of bulls and goats. They were a shadow. So what Hebrews and Colossians says they’re a shadow of things to come pointing to something better, something greater than them. Now let’s go to a different scene. Not the Day of Atonement, but rather Good Friday. And I want to look at this from a couple of perspectives. One, I want to just the people who were there, what did they see that day? When Jesus on the cross, what do they see? And then we’re gonna look at it again, from what was actually happening that they probably couldn’t see. But that’s something that that God was doing. So first, just imagine you’re there in the crowds. And Jesus is before you nailed on the cross. And you see him and you hear every once in a while some words that he’s saying, as he’s able to push himself up and get a breath on the cross. And he says something. And he’s saying things like, forgive them. And he’s getting weaker and weaker, and the breaths are getting shallow, shallow. And eventually, you see that the life is draining from him. And in that moment, he cries out, it is finished. And then when he breathes his last, at that moment, what happens? The curtain tears into this was something people saw, something people witnessed, they’d see the remains of the curtain torn into what else darkness comes over the land, the earth shakes when he gives up his spirit. So that is what the people saw, and experiences are all things that we could see and experience if we were there in that moment. But there’s something else going on. There’s some things that the people didn’t see. And the author of Hebrew gives us an idea of what that is. So here’s what’s happening spiritually. When Jesus goes to the cross, he’s going as our high priest. He is our high priest. And he’s not taking the blood of a bull or a goat, but offering his body and his blood, getting nails in his hands and his feet. For us. He offers Himself a lamb without blemish. But here’s the contrast between the high priest and Jesus. He wasn’t offering a bowl for his sins. He didn’t have any sense. He didn’t need to do that. So what does he do instead is he takes on the sins of all of us, the world placed on him. Second Corinthians 521 says that God made Him who knew no sin, to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Do you see that exchange that happens? The full cup of the wrath of God poured out on Jesus on the cross. And he knew his work was done. That’s why he said it is finished. And everybody sees him take his final breath. Yes, his body was torn. But what was happening in that moment was God was tearing the temple curtain as well, to say there’s a new and living way because of what just happened on this cross. What every person there witnessed that day well, we would have seen, but not known is that the sacrificial system ended in that moment. It ended the imperfect high priests the Need for that ended in that moment.
It was over the need for continuous blood was over. The need for stone and brick Temple was over. They just missed it. They didn’t actually see what was happening on that cross. But we do we know. So what does that mean for us? It means that Good Friday was the last day of atonement. There’s the last one. Because it’s a perfect sacrifice. We don’t need a place, we don’t need a room. We don’t need a temple, we don’t need a curtain. There’s no barrier blocking our way at all, to having access to God. So how do we have this access? How do we how do we live in this we draw near to God through the blood of Jesus. That’s what Jesus is telling us. He’s saying, you belong here. Because you’re in me. So when you’re in Jesus, you are in the presence of God. And I know what some of you are thinking, I don’t belong here. I don’t deserve this. Put up the barrier again. Put up the curtain. That’s what I deserve. I’m much more comfortable having all of that up. Where is your confidence? Because it was never about you. It was never about what you did. It’s the blood of Jesus, we have all the confidence in the world to enter. It’s a new and living way for us through Jesus. John Stott knows that this is something we think about. So this is what he says. He says this about Christians and men, because many of these are things that we experience and we go through, probably oftentimes on a daily basis, and this is what he says, they are shy and timid in their approach to God and uncertain of themselves. They declare that they are unworthy to draw near. Of course they are. None of us has any worthiness which qualifies us to draw near. But what about the worthiness of Jesus Christ in His perfect sacrifice for sin? It is through Him alone that we may and must draw near. Only when we come to God through Jesus Christ who died for us, can we come with boldness instead of timidity with confidence, instead of fear? He meant to that when our position in Christ is secure, when we understand the privileges that we have in Jesus, we must now walk in them. Because we want to say, what are the steps I need to take? What does this look like? How do I live this out? We need to practice this new and living way. And that’s the last section that we have in verse 22, through 25. And I’m just gonna go through these in order because three times in these last verses, we see the phrase Let us these expectations to how to live out this new and living way. So first, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with full assurance that faith brings having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. This faith is that we are in Christ and Christ is in us. on that cross, that sacrifice of Jesus cleanse our conscience washed us with pure water washing our sins away. From crimson, red, to white as snow. You aren’t condemned anymore. You aren’t condemned anymore. He cleanses everything, every thought, every action, everything you’ve ever said, is cleansed. The things that keep you up at night, he took care of the things you still struggle with. He is there to give you cleansing to help you through it. Everything is cleansed the author here is most likely picking up something that we see in the Old Testament here I’ve got from Ezekiel, when God speaks through his ego, he says this, I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols, you see the word all all your impurity, all your idols, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. And I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh that’s what good Friday does. So Christian, you are cleansed. Put your full weight your full trust in that and draw near not in fear but in confidence. So here’s the thing when we come to God, we want to come honestly, but in confidence. So what does this look like? We don’t want to sin, but we will. So we can approach God scared and timid or we can come in competency I sin and I need your grace. I need your forgiveness. that’s coming in confidence because he says, I will forgive you. Or I don’t know what to pray for. So come in confidence to God and say, I don’t know what to pray for. We don’t want to doubt. But we will doubt. We’ll have questions. We’ll have things like, Why have some of the things happened in the last couple of weeks in this country? Why? Guess what, come confidently to God with those questions, with those doubts with those concerns. Because what the first thing he’s going to do is point you back to this moment that we’re celebrating tonight. See, I did that for you. There is a new and living way, I am doing something. So like those people there that saw Jesus died, that didn’t see everything else going on. So sometimes we see the stuff and we don’t know what’s going on. But we trust Him, we put our full weight on him. If you’re here tonight, and you haven’t heard this before, or you would like this, to have that confidence, to know what it’s like to approach God, to know that Jesus can cleanse you because he can. He can cleanse your your conscience forgive you of all your sins. There is nothing that you have done, that cannot be washed away, cannot be washed white as snow, to the blood of Jesus, nothing. Everything that you could think of in your life that you have done was nailed to the cross with Jesus. And He will cleanse you. Second thing we see the next let us it says let us hold unswervingly to the hope you profess, for He who promised is faithful. Your translation might say, Hold fast to the hope we profess. What is this hope? It’s the simple gospel message. That’s what it is. We hold fast to the truth that Jesus loved us and died for us and then was raised to new life, we hold fast to that. That’s what it means hold unswervingly to that hope that we profess. Because God promised it and he is faithful. The hope is that everything he ever did everything he has given to us everything that is coming, will come without a doubt. Because God said it. Why are Christians hopefield people because the character of our God says if he says he’s going to do something he’s going to do it he always has. He’s never lied. He’s never broken a promise everything he said that was going to happen in the Messiah in Jesus who was coming happened. And so when we think through well what is still to come, it’s worth hoping in because it will come to pass. It will. We don’t know when we don’t know how. But we can stand firm and say because his character because of who he is because he is faithful, He will do it. One of my favorite songs is called Faithful now. And there’s a line in there that says you were faithful, then you’ll be faithful now. wake up every day and say that to yourself. You were faithful then you’ll be faithful. Now. That’s what it means to hold fast to hold unswervingly to the hope we profess. And lastly, verse 24, and 25. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together. Some are in the habit of doing but encouraging one another. And all the mores you see the day approaching. So here’s what he’s saying just very simply, you are not meant to live these truths out alone. Especially when the day is approaching. And the day here is capitalized, you see that in the text, talking about the end that day, the day Jesus returns the Day of Judgment. So until that day, we need each other. When you try to live the Christian life on your own, it’s very easy to get by without loving without doing good deeds because no one’s with you. No one’s there to keep you accountable, nobody’s there to spur you on. And so you can kind of coast to the Christian life, you will be very ineffective if you think you can do that. And you need to examine your life to see if you’re in the faith. If you think it’s all about being alone. Because Jesus came to make a new people, community, brothers and sisters. And when you try to live the Christian life on your own instead of gathering with your brothers and sisters in Christ, you miss out on the chance to encourage and to be encouraged. You see that that’s what’s actually happening here. It says don’t do not neglect meeting together But encourage one another. So what does it mean when we get together then it’s about being encouraging to each other. So when you make decisions to neglect meeting with other Christians for weeks, or miss weeks during the month, we don’t think how often those decisions actually affect the whole body. Have you ever thought should we go to church or stay for somebody else. Have you ever thought that we should.
We should. Someone needs encouragement from you on Sunday. And you need encouragement from someone else. So when those decisions come to neglect, meeting with your brothers and sisters, remember that you belong here in Jesus, the person next to you belongs here in Jesus. So we encourage one another, we will do more damage to the enemy’s plans. If we’re together. Like the enemy is not scared of an army of one. But a whole church who’s living for Jesus who’s encouraging one another in the faith that terrifies him. Because those are people that God’s going to use to do something. And it’s going to push against his plans. We need encouragement. Now we’re going to need encouragement tomorrow. And we’re going to need encouragement every single day until that day arrives. So let’s be encouraged, standing together waiting for our Savior. Listen, God knows you don’t deserve to be in His presence. He saw you he saw me or he sees you now, trying to make your own way. Doing the old things, the things that will not work, the things that will not satisfy the things that ultimately lead to death. And he’s saying there’s a new and living way for you. You just need to turn to me. You need to believe and you need to walk in these truths. And you’ll see just how good it is. You know, my friend when he was at Augusta, he eventually had to get in his car and leave. Before he was found out that he shouldn’t be there. They’re going to ask for some other credentials, eventually. He was not supposed to be there and nothing he could he could do in that moment would change that fact. Thankfully, that is not true for us. That is not our experience. The curtain was torn forever. The new and living wave is open through Jesus forever. We never have to leave. And the good thing is for if you don’t know Jesus, yet, the invitation to come in is there tonight. The invitation to enter this new and living way is there tonight for you. So enter in because you belong here. Let’s pray.
Lord, we cannot thank you enough for your love. We cannot thank you enough for your grace. cannot thank you enough for your suffering, the suffering you endured that we should have endured to take our sins on yourself the sins that we committed the sins that you never committed on you. And we ask why? And the answer is your love for us and why would you love us? That’s a question we’ll ask for eternity, I’m sure. But we thank you for your love. We thank you for the assurance that we have in you because you are a faithful God. We place our trust and our hope in the faithful God. Jesus, we love you. We pray this in Your name. Amen.

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Who Makes Revival Happen? (1 Corinthians 3:1-9) April 2, 2023 | Brandon Cooper TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

Good morning church, you can go ahead and grab your Bibles open up to First Corinthians chapter three will be in verses one to nine this morning, First Corinthians three, one to nine. This is the last week in our series on Revival. So let me just recap for us or if it’s your first time out, so you’re caught up to where we are. We said in week one, that revival is an extraordinary outpouring of God’s goodness and power. But it is an extraordinary outpouring not in the sense that it is an extraordinary work. It’s an ordinary work that is blessed to an extraordinary amount. That is there is extraordinary fruit from ordinary means this would be like harvesting 100 years of corn from a single stock, which does not often happen. And so we’ve talked about having this passionate belief in the power and goodness of God to do this. And then a passionate commitment to those ordinary meanings like confession and prayer, and the proclamation of the gospel. In fact, we’ve had these I word takeaways that kind of help us keep going with the ordinary means we started by interceding for the last around us pleading with heaven to do something in their lives. And we talked about opening our eyes to identify the people and the needs around us to see the crowds and to feel compassion for them like Jesus did. And then last week, we got into the nitty gritty of the how we do this, investing our lives in the lives of those around us opening our hearts, and homes and lives to them.
Now, on the one hand, all that is pretty simple.
On the other hand, you listen to this, and you start to think well, who is sufficient for all of this? Who is sufficient for this kind of work. And so there’s this feeling of inadequacy that creeps in almost immediately. We feel like we have inadequate time. That might be the main one you’ve been feeling throughout this series and adequate time or an adequate energy. And then certainly as evangelists, we almost always feel we have inadequate skill, ability. And so you might have felt throughout this series, a little bit overwhelmed, really,
maybe even some guilt, some shame mixed in there. And I need to I need to try harder, I need to do more. And so there’s this burden that is placed on us, especially when it can seem like there’s so little fruit from the efforts that we have put forth. You may be sitting there thinking revival. Like are you out of your mind? Revival. I feel like I’ve never even had a good conversation with an unbeliever. I’ve never seen God save someone. I’ve never I’ve never, I’ve never.
So we need to recalibrate. As we close. I asked him the question who makes revival happen?
Is it up to us?
Do we have some part to play even if it isn’t up to us? What does that look like? Exactly, it was set of Pandita Ramabai, who was an Indian widow who really spread revival in her country that she trusted God as if all dependent on him, but worked as if all dependent on her?
Is that it? Is that a good summary of this process? Is that good theology? If so, what does that look like? Practically? These are the sorts of questions we want to address as we look at First Corinthians three where Paul describes his own work of ministry, and the work of his co laborers as well. So we’re going to kind of pull our main idea from these three sections. If you fill in all the blanks, you’ll get the main idea as we go. But let’s start in the first section chapter three verses one to four we can what exactly? Let me read it for us first Corinthians three, one to four brothers and sisters. I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly, mere infants in Christ, I gave you milk, not solid food for you are not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You’re still worldly. For since there’s jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For one one says I follow Paul and another I follow up Hollis. Are you not mere human beings?
I pause there a little bit of context just because we’re picking up in chapter three and there were two chapters before this.
What has Paul said so far? He is talking to a mature church, but he’s saying you have really understood the message of the cross. That is you are really Christians.
So you have the spirit and the mind of Christ. That’s where he left us in chapter two.
But you just haven’t worked out all the entailments of it yet. So he says, you know, yes, you’ve received the Spirit that happens to all Christians at conversion, but you are still not spiritual.
That is you’re not shaped by or influenced by the Spirit. Instead, you are still worldly. So they may have the spirit, but they’re not living like they have the spirit. So there’s infighting and quarreling and arrogance. They are not cross shaped people yet. And so Paul says, Really, you’re still spiritual infants at this point?
It was Jesus who said, of course, you must be born again. And so yes, they’ve been born again. But just recently, and so they’re still in the nursing stage. They still need milk at this point. What a blow to their pride, by the way in the Corinthians were very proud church because of some of the miracles they had seen. They thought they had arrived. And here Paul’s saying you’re like infants? Is there anything
more helpless than an infant nursing? I don’t think so.
And so you can almost hear them responding to polls. They’re reading this letter going, but no, no, no, that’s not true of us. Like we have food beyond milk. Again, look at all the manifestations of the Spirit and stuff. And so Paul’s almost contrasting the true food of the gospel with synthetic substitutes, that the Corinthians like food that looks good, but it’s really more chemicals than food. At this point. You all have seen us in the grocery store, of course, you’ve gone to buy fruit juice or something like that, and says, you know, contains no juice, it’s just red food dye and 12 pounds of sugar. Paul saying you want the 100% Juice stuff, you want maybe even better, like a protein shake. Like it’s chock full of everything you need. It’s enriched and fortified and easy to digest. But the Corinthians they prefer their synthetic substitute, cheap grace, easy glory, that kind of stuff. And so they can’t actually stomach the milk of the gospel at this point.
As most of you know, my wife and I have been in nursing stage for the last 14 years or so.
According to her, we’re done, but we’ll see.
I don’t get to.
That’s the only thing you’re gonna remember from the sermon.
Now, I always enjoy the burping part. Since I don’t get to participate the nursing part I gotta get to Bourbon. We had one of our kids, I won’t say who and that doesn’t narrow it down much. But one of our kids who had the amazing ability to projectile vomit during burping. And it’s incredible to but there’s nothing easier to digest than breast milk. Like that’s what it’s made for. And still, their digestive system is just not up to snuff at that point.
Well, here’s what Paul’s saying. Some of us are world class projectile vomit errs when it comes to spiritual food. And so we need to grow up.
We haven’t learned to digest the gospel yet, which is just milk. So how are we then going to understand how the gospel changes everything. What the Gospel says to relationships, sex, marriage, work, gifts, all the issues that he’s going to hit later in this letter. Until we understand the whole of the Gospel for the whole of our lives, we’re going to struggle to keep the more difficult subjects down. And that’s a good reminder for us, if you’re struggling with some part of doctrine, it may be that you need to go back and get the gospel squared away. Make sure you’ve got that right first.
And if you are still worldly, that’s verse three. Right? Paul looks at me says you’re still worldly. The word there, by the way means characterized by the flesh. So your influence isn’t the spirit your influence is still your sinful human nature. You’re still selfish, if that’s you, if you’re acting like acting, not claiming but acting like Jesus isn’t real. Stop and think.
Stop and think like, what does your life communicate to your friends and neighbors about the gospel? Do people see the transforming power of the gospel in your life?
And by the way, if you’re here today and questioning Christianity, first of all, let me just say how glad I am that you’re here and how very welcome you are to wrestle through that with us. But if you’re here today and questioning Christianity, can I just on behalf of Christians everywhere say I’m so sorry. I’m just so sorry that you’ve had to see so much fleshly living in the church.
It is both shocking and not shocking. It is not shocking because the Bible tells us quite clearly that once we come to
Christ, we are simultaneously saints,
and still sinners still works in progress. And so you are seeing that part of us come out. But it is shocking because there’s just been so much pettiness and division in the church, and always has been. It’s not just today. Here we are back in First Corinthians three. It’s Paul and apologists, you don’t know who a policy is, by the way, just a gifted teacher who’s conversion is recorded in Acts. So that’s probably not our division today. I don’t think anyone’s in the Apollo’s camp any more. But I mean, the divisions are what Republican and Democrat,
Baptist and Presbyterian, even if one of those is definitely right.
Contemporary versus traditional or whatever it may be.
When it comes to revival and admittedly we haven’t gotten to revival in the passage yet. Okay. Well, I’m looking ahead a little bit when it comes to revival there is a clear lesson here. And that’s that we can hurt the process. We can hurt the process. By living unspiritual worldly lives, distracted and divided by worthless things we can be a stumbling block to the world. So people will look at us and go, Why would I want anything to do with God? They claim, we make the gospel seem not just unattractive, but untrue. There’s no power in it clearly. Because look at the lives they’re living and so we dishonor Christ, no wonder some stay away. So take a moment mean even now, before we press on to the next point and examine your life. Are you more Corinthian than Christian?
And if so, confess, repent
and keep going.
Even as we keep going in the passage, so let me keep reading we can hurt or something else verses five and six. What after all is a palace? And what is Paul, only servants through whom you came to believe as the Lord has assigned to each his task? I planted the seed Apollo’s watered it but God has been making it grow.
So against this background of jealousy and strife, and Paul asks, what’s all this Apollo’s talk about anyway? What’s all this Paul talk about? Anyway? It’s ridiculous to rank workers according to their jobs. Since Christ is the one who assigned all their jobs to them. It’s ridiculous to rank people according to their gifts. Because well, the keys in the word right gift
not something you developed something that was given to you. So why would we rank people according to gifts? Why not just focus all of our attention on the giver of all those good gifts. This reminds me a little bit about where we ended collections. We were looking at guys like Tychicus, no nastiness, who just did really uninteresting work.
That was vital for the advancement of the kingdom of God. There are no small jobs in God’s kingdom. That’s Paul’s point. Look, we’re only servants through whom you came to believe the point isn’t the discrete tasks. But the end result. We’re all in this together, we’re cooperating to see that end result. And really, the agricultural analogy drives this home. And we’ve all got different tasks, but you know what we all want food at the end of it. Like let’s just get fed goats grow crops so that we can eat we don’t all starve to death during the winter. That’s what matters, not who got to dig the trench versus who got to water.
Actually, gardening, I think is just such a perfect picture of our work. What it is we do, when we share the gospel, we scatter seed generously,
but gently, like there’s care and precision in what we do.
I’ve said many times before, we’re called to a bold but winsome evangelism.
And gardening captures this. What do you do when you plant seed? I think symbolises Vangelis we buy a giant bag of seed and we just dump it on the ground.
That’s just bird food at that point. Okay, nothing’s gonna happen there. No, there’s got to be that care and precision you want to plant seed, you got to prep the soil. You got to know what kind of seed you’re planting and what it requires. You got to know the soil you have.
What’s the pH balance this need more? You gotta get your coffee grounds out there or something. You need to add peat to this. How deep am I supposed to dig the holes the seeds must be an inch deep are supposed to be a foot deep.
And then you you place the seat you cover it. Does it need mulch? you water it. He may even put some stuff around it because you really don’t want to trample it right after
You did all this. Well guess what a great lesson for us is don’t trample the seat. Okay? Like step one. But I mean, that’s it. That’s the picture. What do you do you invest in people,
you get to know them. The way a farmer knows the seed in the soil, you, you listen, you speak directly to them as an individual. You follow up, you care. And you do all of this, lovingly. Exactly what Peter says famous passage, First Peter three verses 15 and 16. But in your hearts, revere Christ as Lord, always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have bought.
Do this with gentleness, and respect, gentleness, keeping a clear conscience, not being worldly, all that kind of stuff so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. And that just sums up there’s a whole passage so far. First, do no harm keep a clear conscience be gentle, there’s the reminders and we can hurt or
help. Real simple fill in the blank we can hurt or help so you keep that clear conscience your your gentles that you’re not hurting, but then, but then you get to work, then you help your roll up your sleeves, you get to work, you give an answer. In Peters language, you plow the ground, you fertilize you plant your water, whatever God calls you to do at that moment.
And there’s a helpful reminder here to in all of this, because there could be a whole lot of gardeners, and there can only ever be one harvester.
You could have 10 1215 people involved with, you know, the mulching, the planting the whatever, and only one person gets to pick that ear of corn.
And that’s kind of how evangelism works to right, you might have 678 10, a dozen people building in prison, like sharing the gospel, and only one person gets to lead them to Christ. What that means is that you should be in lots of people’s stories. Even if you’re not the climax of the story, you’re not the climax of the story. Anyway, I got news for you. So we’re just helping people along use Greg kokles. Memorable phrase, we’re just putting stones in shoes, right? So people kind of walk funny until they go, Alright, I gotta stop and figure this out. You should be in lots of people’s stories. Even if you don’t get to see the end of the story. You can get the glory, you can hear the end of it, then it’ll be great. When I think of this, I think a Billy Graham in particular. I mean, I don’t think there’s been anyone in history who harvested more than Billy Graham.
But there’s an untold part of that story that we neglect. When we focus on Billy Graham so much how did all those people get to the Crusades? How did they go to hear him?
They’ve done the research, we know the answer to this question.
They came with their friends,
the person who’d been building into them
for weeks and months and years and decades. So why wait, we’ll come on, come with me.
They didn’t get to pick the ear of corn. Who cares? Who cares?
Be that friend?
Be that friend.
So you might invest a lot of time and energy in somebody, you’re having them over for dinner, you’ve shared your testimony, you’ve shared the gospel, you’ve asked questions, you’ve listened to their answers, you’ve responded, you’ve invited them to kickoff and Christmas even to Easter next week.
And maybe they start coming. Maybe they come for six months for a year. Maybe you move they’re still here. Again, who cares? Who cares? Do the work that God has given to you in that time, it doesn’t matter who harvest because it’s not about you, or me or anyone really.
It’s about God and verse six makes that shift, right? Some guy planted some guy watered. We could forget those names easily, but it is God who keeps it growing. In fact, that change of tenses so important there did you see it? I planted that’s one time. Apollos watered. That’s one time but God has been making it grow. There’s this ongoing work that God and God alone does. Chrysostom the church father summed it up like this. This is his paraphrase of this verse. He says, I first cast the word into the ground. Apollos added his own part, but the whole was of God. That’s it exactly without God’s power and God’s grace working in that situation. All our gardening is like burying pebbles in the backyard hoping for an apple tree. It’s not going to happen. There’s no harvest. There’s no life without the work of God. So we can hurt or help. Like we have a real part to play. But God is the decisive factor. And God who makes the sunshine and the rain fall; God who sustains all things by his powerful word. He causes the growth that’s so free, isn’t it?
Do you feel like a burden lifted from your shoulders?
You might not feel like Paul or Apollos. I don’t think many of us do. It doesn’t matter. God causes the growth. And he loves to use the weak and foolish as he doesn’t. And he can, he can because well, let’s keep going. So we can hurt or help. But long fill-in-the-blank here, let’s figure it out verses seven to nine. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow. One who plants the one who waters have one purpose, they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are God’s coworkers.
We are co-workers and God’s service, you are God’s field, God’s building.
So this is just as simple as can be. Right? I mean, only God can make it grow. Only God can raise us to new life, change hearts open eyes. Again, there’s such relief there such freedom, such encouragement because it’s not up to you, thank God, it is God’s work from first to last.
By the way, that’s true, not just for the worker, but for the seed as well. The seed cannot do anything to make itself grow, either. So a quick word again, if you’re here and questioning Christianity, I think I already said how glad we are that you’re here. But we are really glad that you’re here. So please hear me again. But hear this too. You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to earn this. It is not up to you. In fact, you can’t earn this, only God can cause growth. So stop trying to climb the ladder to get to heaven. And instead just confess your inadequacy.
I’m fleshly I’m worldly, I can’t even digest milk. I can’t do this. I am as selfish as the day I was born.
And then cry for help, Lord, what I can’t do would you do for me, knowing that he has done it. And the life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you cry out for help. We call that help, Grace.
So we started by talking to you. This feeling of inadequacy that we have; the reason why you feel inadequate; is because you are totally inadequate. Amen.
And yet God chooses to work through us. Like I understand the fear. I really do. We’ve got gardeners in our midst, I know, Have you ever killed a plant before
you overwatered or you’re underwater, you’re not in the right spot, the wrong all that kind of stuff. We’ve done it and you’re looking or like parents tell me you don’t have this fear, where you’re going to get your first while you’re looking at the plan and going well.
So how am I supposed to raise kids?
But then you’re thinking like I’m going to either overwater or underwater. I’m going to mess this up. And my kids are going to leave the faith.
You’ve felt that? Surely I get that, I get that fear. God is sovereign. We can trust him. He calls and uses us perfectly. We cannot forget his plans. Thank God. And frankly, God loves to use the weak and foolish, which is great. Because that’s all of you and me.
He loves to use the weakened force because then there’s no confusion about who was causing the growth. You see this throughout the Old Testament like I tell the Gideon story all the time. Gideon sets out to march against Midian, who’s invaded Israel. He’s got 30,000 strong evil warriors with Him. And God says No way. Not a chance. Because if you win this battle, you will think Man, my military strategy, these soldiers were awesome. Ha, why don’t you send 29,700 of them home, the 300 of you can go up against this formidable force.
And then when you win, there’ll be no confusion about where the victory came from. If it hadn’t been pipsqueak David but some mighty warrior who stood up against Goliath, whose name would they have been shouting?
The name of the warrior as it is they looked at David and when we should worship God, I think because clearly only he could give the victory. So that’s the good news. But that doesn’t let us off the hook at the same time. Like there’s the other flip that we talked about. You fall off the horse right? Both sides, okay, here’s the other side of the horse is you go well, then he can do it without me. Clearly, I’m not necessary in this process. He could, by the way, do it without you. That’s not challenging for him, but he chooses to work through us ordinarily. That’s verse eight. The one who plants- the one who waters- they have a purpose and it will be rewarded according to their labor we are called to do so.
Something Yeah, but it encourages us in our work.
We don’t have to be Paul or Apollos.
Just have to be willing to be used to do what he called you, to do right then according to His purpose, striving for the same and, and trusting him for growth.
So let’s pull the pieces together then we can hurt or help, but
who makes your Bible happen? God makes it happen. God makes it happen. We can hurt or help, but God makes it happen. That was so easy. You knew that already. A lot like last week, not wowed by the sermon. That’s okay. God loves to use the weak and foolish.
Easy, but let’s not skip past this part too soon, either. Like, let’s really lean into this idea that God makes it happen. Let’s take a long drink of the nutrient-rich gospel milk –who makes revival happen? God does –I knew that. But who exactly is this God, who makes revival happen?
Well, here’s who he is, when God in ages past, determined to create us to glorify and enjoy Him, and to create a place for us a place that would display His glory so that even the stars and the sun and the moon display His glory.
What did he do? All he did was speak and the cosmos came to be, and history began. That’s who this God is.
When a little while after that, God determined to set his redemptive plan in motion by calling Abraham to be the father of many nations. And Abraham raised his hand and said, That’s great, Lord, there’s one problem. I’m not even a father. And I’m pushing 100 and my wife is pushing 90. We didn’t have kids back when we were fertile. We’re past that point in life. Now. God just brought that miracle-promised child out of an aged and barren womb.
And Abraham is indeed the father of many nations today. That’s who this God is. When Abraham’s children got to Egypt, because God is really sovereign, and he did some cool stuff with Joseph, but we’re going to skip all that. And then Egypt, turn them into slaves and Israel cried out to their god for rescue in Egypt.
Well, God called weak, foolish stuttering Moses, first of all, and Moses stood before Pharaoh,
and said what God was going to do.
And as Moses spoke, God turned the Nile River, which is one of the bigger ones if I got my geography right into blood, and he sent frogs or knots or hail or darkness as the need required, and eventually his Avenger, to come and show who has the power and it is not Pharaoh, but God Almighty, to show what happens to obstinate sinners, to show what happens those who are sinners, but who cry out for grace, and put the blood on the threshold of their door. That’s who this God is.
When Pharaoh’s army saw 2 million slaves leave and thought better of it, and went after those slaves so that the nation of Israel is now trapped between a large body of water and advancing chariots with nothing but you know, some unleavened bread on their backs. Will God simply split the seas, they could walk right through it.
And when Egypt followed them into it, he closed the sea back up again. That’s who this God is. And when that nation got to the Promised Land, having seen the miracles that God had done, having walked through the Red Sea on dry land, and then looked at the people there and said, Well, they’re a little taller than we are. So I don’t think we can take this land over how quickly we forget. And so they wander around in the desert for a couple of decades. What does God do? He feeds them every day with bread from heaven. Millions of people, when they complain, they’re thirsty, he brings forth water from the rock. When they complain, they’re not getting enough protein, he sends a flock of quails into their camp. That’s who this God is. When they finally reached the promised land and coward before Jericho. Our God didn’t even have to huff and puff to blow those walls down. And when Midian invaded as a chastisement because of Israel’s sin, and God said, Well, how about 300 Soldiers only? How was it that the 300 were able to defeat that force? Is because God had already sent a dream so the Midianites were quaking in their boots before the 300 got there. All they did was blow a trumpet, and Midian took off running when a wayward Prophet thought he could outwit and outrun the Lord Almighty.
God sent him an underwater
goober to get him to the shores of Nineveh.
When there are 180,000 Assyrians at the gates of Jerusalem before their time before it was time for Jerusalem to follow the King who went home without any soldiers. Because when it comes to God versus 180,000 Soldiers 180,000 Don’t have any chance at all when it was time for Jerusalem to fall. When the Babylonians were at the gate a few decades later, they went off to exile in Babylon, God through His prophets, two different prophets set the date and the name of their return. He said, Cyrus of Persia, will send you back home, even though Cyrus hadn’t been born. And Persia wasn’t a power yet, because that’s who our God is. And when, in the fullness of time, God was ready to save his people not from Egypt or Babylon. But once for all time from sin, He placed His divine son in a virgin’s womb. And we all conspire to put that perfect son to death according to His foreknowledge and plan, we laid his broken body in that tomb. Well, you all know how that story ends, God sent some angels to roll that stone back and Jesus with keys of death in his and walked right out of that grave.
And when He comes again, He will lead us all out of that grave and into his perfect kingdom where every wrong will be set. Right? That’s who this God is.
Now, let me ask you a question.
With a God like that.
Do you think he can help you when you share the gospel with your neighbor?
What are you scared of? What are you scared of? If God is for us, if God is with us, if it is God alone, who causes the growth and who can stop us? This is back to First Peter 315. We skipped the first part, right? But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord, then you’ll be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks the reason you’ve got so much hope in you. The degree to which we’ve set apart Christ as Lord is the degree to which we will be willing to step up and speak out in Christ’s name. I’ve said before we lack confidence in the power of the gospel, how are we going to change that you increase your knowledge of who God is, that’s what will increase your confidence. The best way to increase confidence is to increase our sense of the majesty of Christ. Who is on the throne? Who is reigning? over all things?
Was Australian evangelists. John Dixon has asked the question, Who owns the room?
Who owns the room?
It’s not the politicians. It’s not the journalists. It’s not the influencers on tick tock. It’s not your snarky, antagonistic, atheist friends and neighbors and family members. Jesus owns the room, Jesus owns every room, wherever you find yourself, he is always on the throne. Jesus has never once asked you to speak up when he isn’t with you and raining at that moment. That’s good news.
Because that gives us a cheerful confidence to jump into the fray. And a cheerful humility to lose Well, if that’s what God asks us to do in that moment without fear or anger. So cheerful confidence because the guy who can split the sea and raise the dead can open eyes and change the hearts.
But even if he doesn’t, or doesn’t, as quickly as we might like, so what? He is still on the throne.
We could plant we could water and see no growth. So
does that change anything about who God is? Of course not. So there’s that cheerful willingness to lose well — to be used without seeing the fruit. I’ve shared. A few of these stories already. Martyn Lloyd Jones quoted him a lot that first week prayed for revival for decades and never got to see it. William Carey missionary to India, decades upon decades, upon decades, single digits, converts all that time. Or in Korea, which is where we started this whole series, the 80 years of a handful of churches, nothing more.
What’s God doing? You don’t think they asked that question? Of course they did. And yet, you could draw a straight line from Martyn Lloyd Jones through revival in New York City in the early 2000s. Under guys like Tim Keller, and William Carey, yeah, he did not see many converts, but he did launch the modern missionary movement, which is spread to every country on Earth. And in fact, is the whole reason they were missionaries in Korea to begin with and we know
how Korea ended because we started with that story. Or even Paul. I mean, Paul gets thrown in jail on a number of occasions, by the way. So there he is sitting in the jail cell who owns that room, by the way, the Romans,
Jesus. And so he and his buddy, start singing the hymns, because that’s what you do when you’re in jail. But you remember that Jesus is on the throne, and an earthquake comes. And the prison doors swing open. But they’ve got a cheerful willingness to lose well, so they’re not worried about their circumstances. They’re worried about the advancement of the gospel. So as the jailer goes to kill himself, because the prisoners have escaped, they go, we’re still here.
And the jailer says, What must I do to be saved? Who owns that room? By the way, because I don’t want us to get a false triumphalism here. You know that God didn’t always open Paul’s prison cells, right.
He’s eventually killed for his faith. But he’s sitting in prison chained to a Roman guard. He’s writing letters to people like the Philippians. Go on. This is great. Because you know what’s happened when I’m chained to this guard, the Gospels going out? Because Jesus owns this room, the guard comes in, he you know, gets hooked next to Paul. And Paul goes, Hey,
what’s your name? Tom. I’m Paul. Hey, Tom, let me ask you a question you’ve ever heard of Jesus. And the guy is going right up with key like, this is this is big trouble. I don’t want to be here. This is worse than that, you know, cross-continental flight kind of thing. If I’ve got the resurrection, right, if I’ve understood the point of the resurrection, that God often brings victory from defeat, like a lifeless body tossed into a tomb is how God conquered sin and death forever.
And so God can bring victory from our defeat, let me share another John Dixon story, he was asked to participate in a debate and debate in Sydney, Australia, very different context, the United States truly a post-Christian nation, which we are not at least not yet, the debate topic was the world will be better off would be better off without religion. He was part of the team arguing against this point, they lost, they lost coming into the debate, they lost, leaving the debate as well, pretty handily. In fact, they did gain one person who was like 600 to 400. Beforehand, it was like 599 to 401. When they left, and he met the one guy, the guy came up to him afterward. He’s like, I’m the one who’s like, Alright, tell me your story. He’s like, Yeah, I don’t believe in Jesus. Don’t get me wrong, but he said, Something Dixon said, asked at one point is think of the person you know, who believes and just, you know, picture that one person would the world be better off or worse off without them. And the guy said, I pictured my hand. I knew the world would be worse without her. So I changed my vote. But that’s not the point of the story here. One of his fellow debaters was the head of the religion department at Sydney College, City College, which is, you know, a secular university and whatnot. And she so enjoyed debating alongside John Dixon, that you invited him to teach a once-off class on Jesus, among other healers. And so there he is speaking in a secular public university, about Jesus among other healers, even that’s great. But she enjoyed that class so much, she invited him back to develop his own four-credit course, on Christianity, which he taught at that college for the next 10 years.
Because they lost their debate,
because they lost How did that happen? Because, because God makes it happen. God alone causes growth, God alone and can bring revival. So with that confidence and awed by the majesty of Christ, we set to work, we want to help not hurt. That’s verse eight again, right? We do what God has asked us to do precisely because we know that God causes growth.
Because we know he causes the growth we set about the task of planting and watering, trusting in His sovereignty. We work like it all depends on us because we trust and know that actually it all depends on him.
God makes it happen.
So get to work
is such a beautiful tension in the Gospel, isn’t it?
God makes it happen so get to work. These are our eyes right? We’ve had our takeaway the four I words so you get to work intercede, first of all, is begin with prayer. Because that’s the acknowledgment that God is the one who makes it happens. We’re asking him to make it happen. As we intercede for the loss, we begin to see them around us. We identify
the crowds. We see what they’re going through, we feel compassion for them. Then we invest in their lives, intercede, identify, invest. And then lastly, I didn’t give you a blank or a slide. I’m trusting you guys here. Okay. Lastly, we invite. We invite.
There’s that cheerful confidence to jump into the fray, and the cheerful willingness to lose if that’s what God has in store for us if it goes badly, but we keep calling people like Jesus calling Matthew to follow.
You invite them to Easter. Sure, absolutely. I mean, who is this God? That makes it happen? Yeah, we can make an invitation even to somebody we’re pretty sure would say no, because who knows what God will do. So grab an invite card on the way but out. The backs are blank. So you can write a handwritten note so they know it’s coming from you because you’ve invested in their lives, invite them to the series after that, which is geared towards them, doing a series called wishing and hoping, looking at the some of the greatest challenges we face today. Things like anxiety and depression and loneliness and stress. We’re talking about the difference between just wishing things would get better and hoping that things will get better and hope biblically speaking is sure in certain how does that happen? It’s a question we got to address. Invite them to dinner, invite them to coffee, invite them to tell you how their day or week went. Invite them to tell you about their troubles. Their questions. But ultimately invite them to meet Jesus. share the gospel boldly and winsomely plant the seed and trust God.
I do not know if God will grant us extraordinary revival.
That’s his business. I know that God has called us to be faithful and to leave the question of “fruitful” to him. We know he can. We know he can bring revival in our day we have the same promises. We have the same God and we have the same need. So let’s do what we’re supposed to do what’s beseech heaven and befriend centers. Let’s pray and proclaim let’s cry out and call in let’s intercede and identify and invest and invite because we know who our God is. Majestic in holiness, awesome in glory.
working wonders, let’s pray.
Lord, we stand before you now in awe and reverence
in our hearts, we revere you as Lord Christ.
We know who you are, we have seen what you have done. We know your heart, we know your character, your goodness, your holiness, your wisdom, your grace, your power, and your love. We have every reason to have all confidence in you. Would you increase our confidence, Lord?
Would you help us to believe? Help our unbelief?
In light of who you are? Would you help us to drink deeply of nutrient-rich gospel milk and to grow in grace? To grow to do the work you’ve called us to do trusting you for the results, but truly trusting you for the results. Trusting you would not have called us to work if you did not intend
for our work to accomplish your purposes.
Lord, we pray for the harvest. So this whole series has been about we pray for the harvest, we know that you are the best news. We know that what people need more than anything else is to be made right with you again.
Now all of our problems, stem from that root, that failure to know you and acknowledge you.
So God if that’s the greatest need and we can meet it because we have the gospel would you send us Would you empower us and ultimately God?
Would you cause the growth? We pray for your namesake. Amen.

Amen.

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PODCAST
How Do We Pursue Revival? (Matthew 9:9-13) March 26, 2023 | Brandon Cooper TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

Good morning, church. Good to be back. Thank you, by the way for praying for me just before I get going, was great to be in Bolivia last weekend able to train some 14 churches there in La Paz in life on life disciplemaking training went very well, a little bit exhausting, especially exhausting was trying to preach in Spanish for 45 minutes last week, but I think I’m back in English at this point. So hopefully that won’t be an issue this morning. Now you can go ahead grab your Bibles open up to Matthew chapter nine. Matthew, chapter nine will be in verses nine to 13. This morning, Matthew nine, nine to 13. As you’re turning there, there is a web site, the nicest place.net. And I know some of you are just going to be too tempted by this. So if you pull out your phone and check it out, that’s okay. I won’t yell at you, so long as you’re still listening while you do it. But the nicest place that and that if you were to go to it, what you’re going to find when you get there is a whole bunch of random strangers who have recorded themselves giving a hugs to a webcam, so that you can receive a hug virtually, from people all over the country and even the world. It’s kind of sweet, hence the name by way, the nicest place there are a lot of not nice places on the internet, like the internet, for example. But here’s one at least so kind of sweet, but it’s also really depressing if you think about it. Because why on earth would a website like that be necessary? I mean, especially because it’s so insufficient. A virtual hug is not helping anyone who is really deep in it. It exposes this deep need in our culture, then, that we feel so fragmented or lonely, isolated, unloved, that we would be willing to seek out even a virtual hug from a stranger. And that reality points us toward the answer to the question we’re asking this morning. How do we pursue revival? How do we pursue revival? Now, we’ve already talked through some of this, of course, in this series, especially week one, we talked about the importance of prayer, and confession, and yes, that’s all great. I’m speaking today specifically about how we go about our outreach efforts, though, how do we do that? What does effective outreach look like today, with a culture like ours that’s in such desperate need of a hug? I’m gonna promise you this, as we go through this this morning, I am not going to while you I’m just not some of you are like, you don’t need to tell us that we’ve been here for a few years, we know that. What I mean by this is I’m going to offer you absolutely no new strategies or ideas or program because we don’t need any of that we just need to be normal. You guys are getting better at this. I would even go so far as to say we need to read learn how to be normal, how to have normal human interactions, not virtual interactions, or hurried interactions or divided and divisive interactions. We’re going to see this by looking at the life of Jesus one story in particular, of course, we could look at dozens we could open up almost at random to one of Jesus’s story, we’d see this but it’s a very simple point I’m trying to make how do we pursue revival your main idea this morning is just two words, open up, open up. That’s how we’re gonna see three ways to open up in Jesus’s call of Matthew that hated tax collector. So let’s look at the first way from verse nine. He read it for us now. As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collectors booth. Follow me, he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him a little bit of context, just before we get to verse nine here, Jesus has just healed a paralytic, as proof of his power, yes, but also as proof of his right to forgive sins, because He is God. And so since all sin is ultimately against God, he has the right to forgive and in every sin, so this is proof of his divinity. But in that story, we’ve seen something of his heart already then. And that Jesus is not just dealing with the physical as though what this man needed most was to be able to walk. That is not what he needed most. What he needed most was to have his deep spiritual need met to be reconciled to God, all mighty. So there’s Jesus’s heart and then what do we read here in verse nine, going from there? As he as he leaves that place? We see his heart on display once more going from there, he saw nothing more. Just he saw Ah, he saw someone’s a lot like last week if you were here, I was not, but I listen to it. What we see in Matthew nine, he saw the crowds and had compassion on them, Jesus walks around with his eyes open, not just in the sense that people are in his field of vision so that he doesn’t bump into them. But this is a true seeing a scene with a heart, a scene with gospel shaped eyes as it were. And so he sees people sees Matthew before him now, as God sees him. In other words, not as a hated tax collector, a traitor to his country, a hopeless case, no possibility of someone like this being reconciled to God. Now he sees the image of God within each and every person, and he sees what the power of the gospel what grace can accomplish in his and anybody’s life. That’s not always how we see today, is it? If we see it all, I think our biggest problem is we just don’t see anything anymore. Because we’re usually rushing around us so fast that we just don’t notice. There’s a famous story, I swear they did this just so pastors would have illustrations. But when Joshua Bell, the world renowned violinists played the Stratovarius, outside of New York City subway station, and you just watched the security cameras of a hundreds and hundreds of people blowing by him, maybe, you know, toss a quarter into his Stratovarius case, it would have paid $200, the night before to see him play, but couldn’t be bothered to slow down. And listen, that’s us so often. But even when we do see, we see only the surface, we see what’s on the outside. Matthew collects taxes for the Romans, he’s bad. Period, end of story. He’s certainly not for me, not somebody I want to be friends with, have you closed your eyes to people, you know, won’t follow God. Or maybe even if we could throw open the shades of your heart for a moment here, people that you don’t really want to follow God. At its extreme, of course, this is people who’ve wounded you. And I understand that I can’t imagine being in, say, Ukraine today and praying for Russian soldiers, that God would change their hearts, that would be really, really hard. But it’s not always at that extreme. Sometimes it’s just people who are different, unlovely messy, people, you know, wouldn’t fit in that church, or in your social circle. And so you close your eyes and your life to them. What we have here really is just a short recap of last week, right? It’s the urgency of the moment, Jesus sees the great need, but here we see it embodied in a single person, Matthew, and maybe that’s the key shift we have to make. We’re not talking about abstract crowds, abstract people, we’re talking about him or her, then those people that are in your life that you see. So once we see once we identify was our eye word last week, once we identify the people around us, we do what Jesus does, which is to call them the only difference of course, saying we say, when you follow him, instead of follow me, if you’re going to follow me, you’re only following me because I’m trying to follow him. And if I get off the path, keep following him. You don’t need to worry about me. But that’s the call we make Follow. Follow comm follow Jesus. And we make that call without excluding anyone. Not even a tax collector. And I don’t know, maybe got IRS agents on your block. And this is really applicable to you right here. But for most of us is probably someone else, right? This is someone maybe it’s somebody who is from another faith, or a hardened atheist that you know, in your family or a notorious sinner, whatever that means for you. I got news for you have read the Bible, the Gospel can reach all those people, right? Absolutely.
Why is it that we are not worried about those people because what is decisive is not the person’s backstory. What is decisive is the call of God. And if God calls that person will follow. That’s the promise we have in Romans eight verse 30. Those He predestined, he also called those he called, he also justified, those he justified, he glorified. And I love that because that’s it. The future by the way, and it’s so certain that Paul talks about it like it’s in the past, you’re already glorified. Trust me, it’s come in. So we don’t rule anyone out. We don’t say no for anyone else. If God can save Paul, who wrote Romans 830 terrorists, that he was attacking the nascent Church of God, he can save anyone. Or better still, if Paul can save you, he can save anyone, because you know your sin. And you know, you got no business being here right now. That’s the confidence we have but but that requires an openness on our end, doesn’t it? How do we pursue revival we open up but how do we open up? You got to open your history, to the unexpected. Open your history, to the unexpected trust that God might use your story, or put in the record of your life, some unexpected twists and turns that God is writing a fascinating history in your life. So here’s a cool history. Just to give you a sense of what this looks like is the story I heard from a friend of mine who is a fellow trainer with life on Life Ministries down in pure yet Grace Presbyterian down there. Some of you heard this story when he trained us back in January here at church, but he told us a story of Dale, who is an engineer with Caterpillar, he lives in Peoria, therefore he works for Caterpillar that’s Can I get an amen, John. Yes. Okay. We got this down here. So Dale is Caterpillar engineer. He is a journey group leader at that church. He is also in this is not incidental, very white, very white. But He’s opening his eyes. He’s opening his life. He’s opening his history, all of that. And so he actually had selected a few members of his church who had an Indian background to be a part of his journey group. These were also cat engineers. Well, they met on Wednesday nights at church just happened to be at the same time that this church was hosting their English language learners class. And so what would happen there is you’d see all of these husbands sitting around in the atrium, while their wives were in class. Not uncommon, by the way the husband worked for cat, so they already had decent proficiency in English, but the wives were, for the most part, isolated as a result of the language barrier. So here, the wives would go into the class, and the husband were all just sitting out there. Well, they’re in Journey group. They’re learning to open their eyes to the missional opportunities that they see around them. And so they go, What if we started just a little bit later? What if we pushed our group back 1520 30 minutes and invested in these husbands? What could happen? Well, I mean, you know how the story’s gonna go, right? God called one of those husbands was actually in their journey group that next year, because he had come to Christ. But it’s even cooler than that, because the pandemic hit not long afterwards. And although Zoom is awful in so many ways, it does have one advantage. And that’s that is not bound by geography. So they hosted some exploratory gospel services, invited all these friends that they were making, they’re in Peoria, but those friends in Peoria invited friends from all over the country and actually even in India, to this gospel service. Why? Because Dale opened his personal history, to the unexpected. Instead of saying, Well, God couldn’t possibly use me with this group. I look different. They’re different. We don’t fit together. He said, Here I am. Senator, here they are, we can reach them, like Jesus, this group they saw, and they called, and those God called got up and followed Jesus. First way, we open up second way that we see here verses 10 and 11. Let’s keep reading. Well, Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? Alright, a little time has passed. This is not immediate This isn’t that evening or anything like that. But a little time has passed and Matthew invites Jesus to his house, along with a whole bunch of like real sinners. Sidenote, this is a huge part of our evangelism strategy at Cityview right here, right, it says he invited them over to his house. You know the word for house or IKEA, right there, you know, cousins with our oil costs word that is Matthew is reaching his sphere of influence. And the good news is that Matthew sphere of influence is centers with one The problems we have with being church folk, is after a while you realize I don’t know anyone, except for church folk. One of the reasons why we’re always so grateful to when sinners come into our church, because it’s like, look, we need your friends. Okay? Can you if you make some introductions for us? Can we have a party at your house, that’s what’s happening here. But notice, this is the part that shocks me is that these sinners, these outcasts, this aidid group, like the tax collectors, they came to Jesus, they wanted to be near him. Even despite his impeccable lifestyle, he was without sin, the only one of us without sin. And that’s shocking, because usually sinners don’t like to hang around with the holier than thou types. And there was no one holier than Jesus may in fact, you may be here this morning, and a little skeptical of church folk, because of that holier than thou thing. We apologize for that that’s not who Jesus is, though. We have to ask ourselves, why did they come to him? Why are they flocking to Jesus? And then the follow up question, of course is, do they come to us? And if not, why not? They came to Jesus because they saw in Jesus true gospel love. They knew that he would love them completely, even if he knew them completely, could know them from the inside out all their junk and would still love them, do our lives communicate that same heart? I mean, it’s true. We won’t love all that everyone does. That’s fair. Love gets angry at anything that threatens to destroy the beloved and sin destroys sure we won’t love all that you do. But we will always love you. Is that what our lives communicate? Mean? How complete is Jesus’s acceptance here? How fully does he enter into a relationship with these notorious sinners? He doesn’t just eat the word there is actually he reclines with them, he reclines with them. Now table fellowship is a big deal in the ancient Near East like this is saying something about these people he opened himself up entirely to them. I know some of you remember at Psalm one and journey groups and you got questions now. Bless it is the one who does not walk in step with wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers. And Jesus didn’t just walk or stand or sit, he’s lying down now. But we know what someone’s talking about is talking about influence but whose delight is in the law of the Lord who meditates on it day and night. I will not be influenced by sin. But Jesus has not been influenced by Jesus is influencing sinners. That’s what’s happening here. And he’s still doing it today. He’s still willing to have this type of fellowship with me who will come. Even today, even with you, Revelation three, verse 20, here I am, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and do just what I did with Matthew and his friends will eat with that person. Now I know the context, Revelation three, he is speaking there to a wayward church. Absolutely. But Matthew nine, our passage here makes clear the wider application, Jesus will join you. For me, if you will invite him he’s not embarrassed to be seen with you. He’s not embarrassed to be seen with anyone. Because all are welcome to come the fall to trust him. That’s not always true of those who claim Christ is it. And look at verse 11. When the Pharisees saw this, well, the religious they got a big problem with what’s happening here, don’t they?
Because for many religion is about closing yourself off. It’s about separating from them, the icky people, and there is an element of separation. Of course, that’s what holiness mean, but we are set apart in terms of our behavior, not in terms of our relationships. But for some religion becomes about separation and distinction. We’re better we’re cleaner because we are not like them. Sinners didn’t flock to the Pharisees, because they knew they were unwelcome. But Jesus is different. And God help us if we claim Christ we should be different to should be no one unwelcome who’s willing to hear no finite number of chances before you’re like Well, that’s it that person is no good. No Have you ever been to public pools like a hotel or something like that, and it’s got this sign up there that says you must shower before entering the pool. I think that’s what we do with our churches sometimes, right? You got to shower before you come in. You got to get your life in order before you’re welcome in here. That’s not how Jesus approached this, the only requirement is come, come on in, the doors are open, be sure of this. The greatest roadblock to revival is religion is religious folk, who want to hoard the seed of the gospel in their silos instead of scattering it freely in the hopes that all will come. And that is why as we said, week, one revival always, always, always begins in the church. When people like us realize we’re not following Jesus, and we repent, and maybe even convert, and then reach out to sinners. Think of how powerful a witness this would be. If this is the kind of church we were Rosaria Butterfield tells the story in her book, The Gospel comes with the hausky, which is all about this, what we’re talking about this morning, so the whole book is really about a story of her befriending a new neighbor across the street, who was kind of a weird dude. And had a girlfriend who was a weird dudette. And they were weird, and no one really liked them. But they became friends. Kids became friends with this guy, they like, you know, walk their dogs together, all that kind of stuff. How weird was he turns out, he was running a meth lab in his house. That’s what was happening. Well, they found this out when, you know, the FBI came and raided the house. And so the whole neighborhood’s in a tizzy over you’re gonna have their windows open and stuff, because there’s a danger that this noxious fumes could blow up and kill a bunch of people kind of thing. So So everybody’s freaking out the neighborhood. So the Butterfields open their home, really their front lawn to everyone in the neighborhood, they invited 300 people over to dinner that night to just have some conversation about this, especially because they knew that the Butterfield’s were the ones who were friends with these people. Some of the neighbors were angry with the Butterfields for this. And here’s the quote, This is what one of the neighbors said you want to know the problem with you Christians. You Christians are so open minded, your brains are falling out of your ears. I want to make sure you heard that you Christians are so open minded. That is not what people accuse Christians of being typically. Butterfield writes this after he says that the whole neighborhood accused us of loving this sinner was likely the best Christian witness we ever had. painful as it was, and it could be painful, but that’s exactly what’s happened to Jesus here. Jesus, you’re too open minded. You’re too open arm to open life, to let these people in. But how powerfully would that openness speak today to a culture that talks a big talk about openness and tolerance, but does not actually live it out? But you understand this requires openness. How do we pursue revival we open up but how do we open up we open your home to the unwelcome unwelcome maybe in your eyes. These are not my people. unwelcome maybe in their eyes, they’re gonna they would never let me in. I mean this figuratively and literally, so open home in the sense of just throw your the doors of your life open, but also literally open your home like we need to practice gospel hospitality. Whether that involves inviting someone over to dinner or just making eye contact with people on the street that otherwise you would look down as they were passing by. Now I can hear 150 objections fluttering through your brains right now. What’s the objection? It’s messy. It’s messy. I want to do this. And I get it. It is messy. And I don’t like messy. I have a son who’s not quite to I have been heard to say to him many, many times. But uh, you can’t hug data right now. You’re covered in peanut butter. Okay, like you need to deal with that. And then we’ll talk about hooks. I don’t like messes. So I get it. It’s messy. It’s also Christ like Kim Reisman, who does some outreach help with the Wesleyan Church here in the States tells a story about a local church that was hosted a dinner for the homeless pretty routinely. I think it was monthly and she’s like, this is great. This is what churches should be doing. Tell me about it. What do you do like wow, then the whole church is involved. There’s so much to do. All these people are setting up and they make the food. And then of course, we got somebody who shares a devotional during the dinner and then there’s all have a clean up afterwards and she’s listening and she says, Does anyone sit with them during the dinner? You could see the pastor was just like, that had never even occurred to be a normal person had not occurred to me in ministry. Because that’s the problem we have. What that’s what I mean, by open your home, like open your life, to those who are unwelcome. So what might this look like? Practically because I know some of you are going I don’t know where to start here. We do offer some ways to do this. In ministries we partner with a church or run here at church, we have a lot of Christians against poverty debt counseling center that we run here, and people who are saddled with debt are, you know, sometimes unwelcome, like that’s mess that we can enter into for sure, I know that they would be happy for more volunteers, we’ve got the clothes closet that we run monthly here. And yeah, you could just come and fold clothes. Sure, you could also engage with the people who are shopping for the clothes here. And that’s something else. We’ve got Safe Families, which is very definitely opening your home. We know what that’s like, like that was a dump truck of peanut butter. Just our house is never gonna be clean again, kind of thing in a good way, in a good way. So sure, there’s that but with the first point about just opening your eyes and seeing people like we’re talking about the people around you, too. I don’t think you need to do this through the church who’s on your block. Who do you see when you get coffee every morning? Who is the parent on your kids team or something like that? Like who do you know who’s gotten mental health struggles? That’s peanut butter, isn’t it? You gotta clean that off before I’m gonna hug you. Who do you know who’s shut in? are isolated in some other way? Who’s in tough circumstances, the single mom who’s just barely scraping by or maybe it is like our friend Dale, the immigrant, the refugee. Like Dale, I’ll tell you another story from Dale. Now his eyes are open as a home is open at this point, even to people who don’t look like he does. So he’s expanding his reach. There’s a college down there in Peoria. So he invited a grad student who was doing some internship stuff at cat and all that is another Indian student invited him over for dinner him and his family. He knew what the guy said to him when he got there. He said, We’ve been living in this country for two years. This is the first time anyone’s invited us into their home. What there’s no church in Peoria What is wrong with us? What is wrong with us? We got to deal with this. By the way, it is fine to go to them. I’ve shared a lot of examples ways we can go to people it is so powerful to invite them in to your home. We don’t like to do that. That’s boundaries. This is a safe place clean place. What if they break something? What do they smell funny? That smell just lingers in our home? I got news for you you stink to spiritually speaking. And what did Jesus say to you? Well, he did come to us, thank God but then he said I’m gonna go back I’m gonna build you a room in my Father’s house even though you stink.
Think again, how powerful this could be in our culture. Jen Pollock Michel wrote an article of Christianity Today a few months back dealing with school shootings in particular. And she said it’s time to move past tired debates. What we need is more guns or fewer guns or any of that kind of stuff. She said, what we need to do in the words of missionary Andrew walls is to embody alternatives, that challenge culture. That’s what Christians are called to do. By the way, that means we got to get our face out of cable news and into Scripture so that we can begin to embody alternatives that are taken from the Word of God and not from our culture. But she says this, she says you want to solve this issue. We know the profile of these troubled teens. I don’t mean to stereotype here. This is not to say that everyone like this will be a school shooter. But it’s just that every school shooter is in this category. Gotta make sure you got your logic going here. Okay, we what I just said, we know the profile, it is a traumatized loner. And more than that, every time one of these happens, what do we find next? Their social media profile, their YouTube channel, their journals? What do we see in it? The pain leaks in everything they do, so that they’re always these warning signs that everybody ignored? What if we didn’t ignore them? Like this is a cry for embrace, but we are too busy to isolate and to online to care, but care we must as Christians, what if every Christian just looked at our neighbors? There’s a Christian on every block in America. I guarantee that. What if every Christian just looked at their neighbors and opened their homes? Might we have solved this problem? And it wasn’t a political solution. Big surprise, we welcome the unwelcome precisely because God welcomed us When he should have slammed the door in our faces, we open our home. The unwelcome last point. Then, the third way we open up verses 12 and 13. On hearing this, Jesus said, It is not that healthy who need a doctor but the sick. But go and learn with this means I desire mercy, not sacrifice for I have not come to call the righteous but sinners. So Jesus learns of their questions the Pharisees questions and responds to lovingly but firmly sinners need forgiveness, like the sick need healing. And so he says, I’m reaching out to centers for the same reason that doctors visit patients, not despite their sickness, but precisely because of it. Why are you hanging out with sinners? Why did doctors hang out with sick people? What did you think was going to happen here? Now, you have to be clear here. He is not suggesting that the Pharisees don’t need him that the Pharisees aren’t sick. The point he’s making is that the tax collectors are at least aware of their sickness. Because who goes to a doctor, it’s the person who feels crummy. So they got symptoms. And what’s most dangerous, of course, is when you have no symptoms, and the sickness is just eating you away from the inside. That’s the problem with the Pharisees. We know that Jesus is saying this to the Pharisees because he quotes from Hosea, which Kyle read for us earlier. He quotes it with a standard rabbinic intro, by the way when he says but go and learn what this means. That’s what the rabbi’s would say to their pupils, but he’s speaking to the rabbi’s. So there’s a little bit of a twist to the knife here to kind of say you think you’re teachers, but you have not understood the Word of God yet go and learn. listen more carefully. Because what does Hosea say here? God through his prophet Jose accuses Israel, of losing the center, the heart of their faith, despite keeping the formal ritual in place. He’s saying you guys are actually apostate, you do not belong to the one you call God. It doesn’t matter what practices you’ve got in your life that’s important for us. You could go to church weekly. You could open your Bible daily. You could probably even mumble some prayers and have absolutely no relationship with Jesus. Like there’s a word for us today, of course, but what does that mean that Jesus is saying here? Jesus is not just saying, Look, Pharisees, you guys need to have more sympathy for sinners. That’s not it because then he wouldn’t use the word compassion, not mercy, the word mercy here. And Hosea is the is the word for God’s covenant love. It’s basically grace. You need grace, not ritual. So what is he saying to the Pharisees not you need to have more sympathy for sinners. He’s saying you are also apostate. unregenerate, you do not belong to God, because you kept the formal shell of religion, ritual purity, but you’ve lost its center. at its root, this is a fundamental misunderstanding of what Messiah came to do Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, what did they think the Messiah was gonna come to do? They thought he was gonna crush sinners, like tax collectors and Romans and exalt the righteous will call them Pharisees. No, Messiah came to forgive and transform sinners into the truly righteous, which is not a matter of the outside. But an internal change first, then manifests in an outward change of behavior. He came to forgive and transform sinners and to dismiss the religious hypocrites. No relevance, I’m sure today for anyone in the church. No one here who just wants people to change their behavior, so that they’re good like me. When God is in the business of changing hearts This is the gospel motivation for our outreach by the way, this is what will propel us the impetus for us to keep doing this. It is driven by our understanding of our sin and God’s grace. We are all equally undeserving and yet God welcomes us at the cost of his son. He reclines with rebels like us. This is a Romans five eight sort of love of God demonstrates His Don’t love for us in this. While we were still sinners while we were still covered in peanut butter. Christ died for us that should shock and humble us, and then should send us out proclaiming news this good to everyone that requires openness. How do we pursue revival we open up? How do we open up, you got to open your heart to the undeserving. Open your heart to the undeserving. And by the way, that is, all of us. Every one of us you to sinners need salvation, absolutely. But the religious, too often are unwilling to grant it as if it were ours to grant anyway. But Jesus is willing to heal all. So we want to exclude, to feel better about ourselves, but not Jesus, because Jesus is the friend of sinners. And thank God Jesus is the friend of hard hearted saints, who are actually sinners, and who finally realize it. And he’s willing to heal all of us. So we should be willing to share the gift of grace with all and not to rule anyone out. It’s a bit ironic, I’ll grant but this room right here, this should be the place where sinners feel the most welcome. And we’re self proclaimed saints feel the most put out. That’s what this room should be. It’s this wonderful tension in the Gospel, isn’t it? That the gospel calls out our sin boldly, but meets us with Grace beautifully. So the Gospels not going to lie and tell you that you’re okay as you are because you’re not, you need to change. But the gospel also won’t leave you there either. And in this, it provides us with true hope, the hope we’re longing for I need to change and by the grace of God, I actually can change even bad sinners like Matthew and his friends. That’s the message we proclaim when we open our hearts to the undeserving. Can we just agree that the fields are ripe for harvest where sin abounds? Because those are the people who are feeling the symptoms? Who know they need a doctor. How do we pursue revival we open up? We open our history, the unexpected. We open our homes, the unwelcome we open our hearts to the undeserving. And I know you I see you you’re all sitting there and you are so desperate for your I word this week. What is my take away? Cooper? Just give it to me.
You got your last few of course, two weeks ago, our AI word was intercede. I think it’s worth asking that one still? Are you actually praying for the people around you? Has been this become a burden in your life. You’re constantly crying out to God for them. And then last week, just as Jesus saw the crowds, and had compassion on them, we identify the people around us who are in need of compassion, who are in need of grace. And that’s everyone, by the way, so should be really easy to identify people. Third, what do we do after we identify them when we sense God calling us to minister to somebody, we invest? We invest in their lives, we invest in people, like I said in the introduction, this is not a crazy new strategy. It’s not exciting. It’s not faddish, because we don’t want to do faddish things because those are just dumb, okay. Just be a normal person, interact well with the people in your life, invest in the relationships in a word. Just love. Really just love people. That’s all I’ve said. 40 minutes said you just love people. We open our arms wide, willing to embrace anyone and everyone. In fact, that idea of embrace the hug. That’s where we started, right? The nice place the hug is a good illustration. For what I’m talking about here. There are three distinct stages to a hug, or you open your arms. Then you got to wait. And if the person comes, you close. There’s actually a fourth stage. At some point, you should open your arms. That’s to send them out do the same in the lives of others. But let’s look at those three stages. So you open your arms, you open your arms that’s reached out to all those groups. I mentioned the peanut butter challenge groups in our lives. You open your doors, your homes, your lives. One way to do this, literally and metaphorically is we’re backyard culture, we need to become a front yard culture, again, just live, where you can interact with people. This can be very intentional. I know of a church where everyone in that church has chosen two or three families that either live by them, or if they live too far away, live by the church. And they’ve got these two or three families, you know what they’re doing with them. Just getting to know them. That’s it. Just get to know them invest in people, like let’s do that. Let’s be willing to break barriers as we do. Like maybe those two or three families are saddled with that. Homeless, immigrants. loners shut ins. What do we do next? So you open your arms, and then you gotta wait. You gotta wait. We cannot make people embrace us. We really can’t make people embrace the gospel. That is not our job. But the offer is there. Now invest is a great word, because most investments take time. Like how’s your stock portfolio doing? Some of you are glad like me that I got a few decades left at least before I need to tap into this. investments take time, you might have to wait. But we’re always there. And the arms are always open. Or evangelism today will often be a chaplaincy ministry. Because chaplains are always there ready to talk. But usually people don’t call on them. Until crisis hits. And that may be what it is for us think of the parable of the prodigal son, which by the way, is this whole sermon in a parable of what happens the son comes home, the the dad arms are open and he’s waiting. We know he’s waiting because he saw the guy from a long way off. He’s always been looking for him. Good, we got that part. But why did the son come home because there was a famine. Because there was a famine. So he ran out of money. So all of a sudden, that’s what woke him up. So he came to his senses. We may be standing here until famine hits. But we wait. We wait, arms open. And then lastly, when they come we embrace. This is when we welcome people into our history into our home, into our heart into our church, and best of all into the kingdom of God. We love because he first loved us and just as he embraced us when we believe we will embrace those around us. So open up have compassion on the harass the hurting the helpless around you. Open your history to the unexpected. Your homes, the unwelcome your hearts, the undeserving, let’s pray
Father, how grateful we are that you open yourself up to us. We know this was not without costs. When Jesus stretched wide his arms to embrace us We nailed them to across love costs. We know that. But with a love like that showered upon us with a welcome that we’ve received even though we were sinners in rebellion against you, how could we not welcome others? Love them open our lives to them? So God would you help us to open our eyes to see the people around us. And then help us to open our hearts and homes and lives to those people, to love them where they are. To love them well in the Gospel, and to call them into your Kingdom trusting Lord, that you will call some they will get up they will follow you. And that’s why we’re doing this Lord. That’s what we pray for. So this series is about how we longed to see revival. Whether it’s extraordinary or ordinary Lord, would you call would you call people into your kingdom? Would you use us to do so? Would you help us to love them? Well, to grow them up in Christ, we pray for the glory of your name, amen.

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Why Do We Need Revival? (Matthew 9:35-38) March 19, 2023 | Meritt Raup TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

Amen. Well, good morning, everyone. It’s great to be with you today as we continue the series on Revival. And so I’d like to invite you to turn to Matthew chapter nine, we’re going to be looking at verses 35 through 38. If you’re using one of the Pew Bibles, you can find this on page 790. Well, something I like to do in my free time is watch documentaries. And some of them My favorites are documentaries about nature. And one of the most popular nature documentary series. It’s called Planet Earth. There’s a particular scene from one episode that maybe you’ve seen before. It’s been viewed 10s of millions of times by people everywhere, and it was filmed on a remote island on this beach, where a certain type of iguana lays its eggs. The gardens lay their eggs, and then they keep watch from the safety of a nearby cliff. When the baby iguanas hatch from their eggs, they face one of the most terrifying experiences I’ve ever seen. Snakes. Yes, snakes. I know some people like snakes. If that’s you, that’s okay. But that’s not me. I think I think there’s a reason why Satan took the form of a serpent in the Garden of Eden. But that’s a conversation for another time. But anyway, so the snakes they know that these baby iguanas are hatching on this beach during this certain time. So naturally, they want an easy meal. And this scene from this one episode focuses on one baby iguana that just hatched. And he’s standing there, he’s on the beach, his first moments of life. And he’s frozen still, because there’s snakes crawling around him. He doesn’t want to be detected by them. But soon, he gets discovered by a snake. And he takes off running to escape. And you see his little legs are just flying through the air. And it’s quite remarkable. Except when he starts running, this immediately gets the attention of every single snake on that beach. And so you see, literally dozens of snakes pouring out of the rocks chasing this one baby iguana.
It’s quite horrifying. So you start rooting for this baby iguana. Like, your heart goes out to him. Like, come on, little guy, you can do it. He looks like he is doing it. Until he gets struck by a lunch from a serpent. And he goes down. And you just see a pile of snakes engulfing this little baby iguana. All hope is lost. The little guy’s gone. Until you see a little arm poke out. And then and then you see his leg. And then you see his head, like can this be the baby, you go on? He squirms away from the snakes. Somehow, remarkably, he does it. And he continues sprinting up the side of the cliff. He jumps over boulders while more snakes are lunging and missing. And finally he makes it to the top and is reunited with his parents. He lives to fight another day. The crowd goes wild. Almost as exciting as March Madness, isn’t it? It’s it’s a roller coaster of emotion. Who knew we could get so emotionally invested in a baby iguana. So why do I share this with you? See, from the very beginning, you feel for this baby iguana. Your pulse it rises and your heart just swells up within you for this little guy. Because that baby’s going to face a dire situation. Here’s the point we ought to see our need for revival as just as dire as situation. Brothers and sisters, if we want to see the kind of revival that we’ve been praying for, we must feel the the need the weight and the urgency of the situation. Last week, we started the series by asking what is revival? We saw that revival is not when God does something altogether different. But when he does what he always does, but in an extraordinary measure. God loves to give life and we want him to do the same for us today. We want him to revive us, so that we experienced this new life in a deeper way. We want him to bring a dead people to life for the very first time. We see we saw that God does this through a renewed commitment to the normal things. That confession of sin preaching the gospel, repentance, praying passionately. So today we’re going to try to answer the question, why do we need revival? Why do we need revival? So here’s the main idea for today we need revival because the situation is dire. We need revival because the situation is dire. We see this in our passage in Matthew 935 38. So would you read along with me, says this, says Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. When he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful. But the workers are few asked the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. So what makes this situation so dire? First, there is a great need. There’s a great need. See Jesus is he’s traveling around the region of Galilee. He’s doing ministry, he’s teaching in the synagogues. He’s preaching the gospel, he’s healing the sick. So we see this great need in the people that he ministers to these great crowds that followed him around. There’s a powerful picture here that’s given to us that describes this need. He says people are like sheep, without a shepherd. This is a tragic situation. To be a sheep without a shepherd was a dire situation. Because sheep are entirely dependent on their shepherd. Sheep are not smart animals. They get frightened easily. They’re constantly anxious. They’re stubborn, they don’t know how to find food, they have no defense against predators. The Shepherd does everything for the sheep. The shepherd feeds them, protects them, leads them, cares for them. without a shepherd, the sheep have no hope. There’s three elements here to this image that are described in this passage for us what it’s like to be a sheep without a shepherd. Each of these unconvinced is directly applicable to us today. And each of them shows us our great need for revival. The first thing we see is that a sheep without a shepherd is hurting. See, Jesus is going around Galilee, he’s healing every kind of disease in sickness. This is significant, because back then even a common cold could turn into something much worse. The impact of this hurting was ever present in their day. They didn’t have the same modern medicine that we do. Many times throughout Jesus’s ministry we see desperately hurting people coming to him and basically throwing themselves in front of Jesus saying, Jesus, please heal me. You’re my only hope. I have no other options here. And it’s the same with the sheep. Whether they twisted an ankle, got stuck in a thorn bush, were wounded by a predator. We got sick from drinking some bad water. Sheep would often find themselves injured. without a shepherd, the sheep would not recover. Let’s just strikingly similar to our day, the people are like sheep without a shepherd. People are hurting. Just because we live in a world with modern medicine doesn’t mean that we don’t also feel the tremendous hurt caused by disease and sickness. I know many of you in this room are personally facing this same hurt right now. Whether in your own life or the life of a loved one. Maybe hurt isn’t even a strong enough word to describe your situation right now. So we want to weep with you. We want to we want to support you. We want to pray with you and for you. The reality is many people in our community face this same hurt every single day. Except they face it apart from Christ. All alone except they don’t have any lasting peace. no purpose, no community, no hope in the midst of their hurting
All the while they’re hurt is ever present every single day. See, this physical hurt is real, both in Jesus’s day. And in our day. Can you see a need for revival in our world? Without wanting to downplay this physical hurt at all, it’s very real. We also need to consider the spiritual hurt. That’s so prevalent in our world, as well. Think about the people in our community, without Christ are not believers. There’s no doubt that they face tremendous spiritual hurt, even if they might not fully understand it as that. Now where do they go when life feels meaningless? Where do they go when they have questions that no one can answer? Where do they go when they’ve been hurt by the church or other Christians? Where do they go when they feel the weight of the burdens of the guilt and the shame of their past? Where do they go when they have these existential longings that nothing seems to satisfy? Where do they go when they have a deep desire to be loved, but only experience rejection or even abuse? Where do they go when they are afraid of death and judgment? To just listen to the way people talk, hear their stories, ask good questions. And you’ll see that these kinds of questions are all over the place. This spiritual hurting comes up everywhere. The spiritual hurt is real in our community. Can you see the need for revival? There’s a lot of hurting people, for so many reasons. But this is only the beginning of this great need that we have. These sheep without a shepherd are not only hurting, but they’re also harassed, also harassed. See, Jesus looks out on the crowds, and he sees that they’re being harassed. You know, sheep are often harassed by gnats, or flies, mosquitoes biting at the exposed skin of their faces. We all know what that is like, right? On a summer night when the mosquitoes are flying around your head and you hear the buzzing, but you have no idea where it’s at. And so you’re just flailing at the air trying to get it away. That’s the harassment that the sheep face. In the case of these crowds, it was the Pharisees and the religious leaders, they’re imposing an extra biblical standard that was overbearing. The pressure exerted on these crowds was a social pressure and emotional pressure, a moral pressure, but most significantly, a spiritual pressure. You know, I picture a student, harassed by the always changing fashion standards trying to fit in. Even the student who is physically harassed to the point of bullying. The student who always feels the pressure to do the thing that will get them included with the in crowd. I think of the societal pressures to celebrate certain ideologies as the way to salvation. Or looking for salvation in social change, or the public sphere. The many voices that fight for our attention and our loyalty, the constant messaging we receive, we don’t need to look far before we see that people are harassed everywhere. This has been going on ever since Satan, that terrible serpent tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. Can you see the need for revival? People are harassed. But even this isn’t the end of our great need. Third, we see that sheep without a shepherd are helpless. These crowds are not only hurting in harassed, but they’re also powerless to fix it. You know, this word helpless. It carries the connotation of being cast down or thrown aside. And Philip Keller has been so helpful for me in understanding how this relates to sheep. Philip Keller spent many years as a shepherd in eastern Africa. So he he writes about how sheep will sometimes become cast down is the phrase they use. See when a sheep when their wool grows thick, maybe they’re maybe they’re a little overweight, and they lay down and sheep are prone to rolling Oh, over onto their back, when they get heavy and the wool is thick, because of their body proportions and their legs, they can’t flip themselves back over. It’s quite funny to think about for a second, when you imagine that image of a sheep just laying on the ground with its arms and legs up in the air, nothing they can do, until you realize how helpless they actually are in that situation. If a sheep stays cast down for too long, with no one there to flip them back over, they’ll eventually die. So this isn’t too far removed from the situation, that many people in our community face every day, apart from Christ, to be powerless to change the hurting or the harassment that you’re experiencing. Even if we want to, there’s no guarantee we’re going to see the situation resolved. Now we might have some power over our immediate circumstances, we can go to the doctor, we can deal with the harassment for a little while. But there’s no certainty that we will see everything resolved. And this isn’t even considering the biggest issues of our world. What can one person do to eradicate human trafficking? What can we possibly do to get rid of hunger and poverty, when so much seems to be fighting against us? Even this is just a surface level helplessness, compared to the helplessness we faced before God, apart from Christ, can we do anything to earn God’s favor? Can we do anything to free ourselves from the chains of our sin? We look up to the mountains. Where does our help come from? Our help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. Otherwise, we stand helpless. Just like these crowds, just like so many people in our community. Can you see the great need for revival? Can you see the dire situation people face every single day? See, the image here is of a wounded sheep. Stuck in a thorn bush laying on its back, all alone, with wolves howling in the distance. It’s a dire situation. And it’s meant to show us the great spiritual need that people face. See, those of us who belong to Christ, we need to feel this. We need to be revived to it again. Because this is what we once were. This used to be us. Before Christ was our shepherd. Before him, we were like sheep without a shepherd. Those in our lives who don’t belong to Christ need to feel this and be revived for the first time. This is why we need revival. While the situation is dire. There is a great need. There’s not only a great need. There’s also a great compassion, a great compassion. In verse 36, it says that Jesus saw the crowds. He wasn’t oblivious to their need. He saw the people, he saw them. And it says when he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them. Jesus has compassion on these people. Now this word for compassion is an interesting word because it literally refers to a person’s guts, their innards, their bowels. It was meant to capture the the innermost being of a person their deepest affections. You know, when you get a pit in your stomach, and you’re moved with compassion towards someone. As a church we we partner with and support caring network. So a credible ministry that does awesome work caring for women who face unplanned pregnancies. If you ever watched one of their video testimonies, you know this feeling when you hear a young woman share her story, the desperation that she faced and you’ll learn about how she came to one of these clinics and she was supported. She was cared for. She was loved. She heard about Jesus. And then in the end, she she chose life for her baby instead of an abortion. And you watch those videos and you can hardly get through them without tearing up. Because you feel for her, you have compassion towards her. And this is the kind of compassion that Jesus is feeling towards those crowds.
He feels this way because he knows that they are in a dire situation. This word for compassion is, it’s only using the Bible to describe Jesus, or used by Jesus Himself. This is much more than a human sympathy, or a shallow type of pity. It’s a divine compassion, of a creator looking out to his creation, with a tender care. He sees their need, and he can’t help but be moved with the deepest compassion. And it’s precisely because of this need, in this compassion that Jesus takes action. You know, I had a professor in, in college, who, on the first day of class, he was telling us about how we needed to make sure we turn in our homework assignments on time. And it wasn’t something that we could procrastinate and do last minute, we can just throw it together. So we’re going to have to make a plan and stick to it if we’re going to be successful in this class. And he tells us this, and then he says that there’s an important life lesson here. And he said, quote, we all know that the Bible says God helps those who help themselves, and quote, and it took everything in me not to stand up and say, the Bible doesn’t say that. To God doesn’t help those who help themselves. God helps those who can’t help themselves. That’s the very point of Jesus’s compassion here. He looks out and he sees this great need. He sees people who are hurting, harassed, and helpless. And in his innermost being, he feels compassion towards them. He says, those are the people that I want to be with. Those are the people that I want to help. So the question is, do we have the same compassion towards those people? Does your heart go out to someone, when you see them hurting, harassed, or helpless? Or do you say to yourself, I’ll help once they show me that they can help themselves. See, we must be filled with the same compassion that Jesus has. If we want to see revival, we must feel the same way towards people in need. Because the compassion of Jesus in the mission of Jesus are inseparable. We can’t have one without the other. Our mission must be fueled by a deep understanding of Christ’s compassion towards these people. John Stott he puts it this way, I think it’s so helpful. He says, The mission of Jesus was a mission of compassion. The words mission, and compassion should always be bracketed, indeed, almost hyphenated. So closely, do they belong to one another? What arouse His compassion was always human need, and whatever form he encountered it and out of compassion for people in need, he acted. We need revival. Because the compassion of Jesus is still here today. For those sheep without a shepherd. Jesus has this compassion because he knows he is the Good Shepherd. Jesus is the good shepherd that these people need. He says in John chapter 1014, and 15, he says, I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep. And My sheep know me. Just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. To Jesus can give the shepherd list sheep, what they truly need, he can be their shepherd. Jesus knows the sheep. He calls them by name. He has a relationship with each of them. He’s so intimately cares for them. And his sheep know him. What an incredible statement. This is, he says, Just as the Father knows Jesus, and Jesus knows the father. That’s the relationship between Jesus and His sheep. But even more than this, the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. And we see this this shepherding language all throughout the Bible, but perhaps the most famous passage is Psalm 23. You’ve already heard it so far, a couple of times this morning. Maybe you’ve memorized it. This is probably A familiar passage to you. So I’m going to read Psalm 23 again, and I want all of us to listen closely. Listen to this rich description of all that is yours. If you are in Jesus Christ, if Jesus is your good shepherd, this is true of you. Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his namesake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You annoy my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Isn’t that wonderful? Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He provides for us. He makes us lie down in safety. He refreshes us, He guides us. He removes our fear. He comforts us. He prepares a table for us. He anoints us with oil. He makes our cup overflow. In his goodness in his mercy will follow us all the days of our lives. And we will dwell in His house forever. Does that encourage you? I hope it does. This is yours if Jesus is your good shepherd. So if you’re listening, you don’t know Jesus today. You feel harassed or helpless. You would say Jesus is not my good shepherd right now. Know that this can be yours. If you come to Jesus, He will make this yours. You don’t need to help yourself before you come. That’s the whole point of the gospel. We were powerless to do anything. Our sin was too great. But Jesus laid down his life for the sheep. We can experience this when we have faith in him. So I hope that you would consider that today. See, we need revival. Because this compassion of Jesus is too great to keep to ourselves. So we’ve seen that there’s a great need. There’s a great compassion. And this naturally leads us to our final point. There is a great opportunity. This is what’s been implied all along. But just in case we haven’t seen it yet. Jesus makes it clear to his disciples. Verse 37, he says the harvest is plentiful. The harvest is plentiful. Oh, this is this is not something that only affects a select few. The crowds following Jesus were large crowds. Now even though we we don’t have the crowds storming down our doors to find Jesus today. Our crowd is large to think of how many people are in this room right now in our church. Try and count them up in your mind. And then think now of all the other Bible believing faithful churches in Elmhurst in our surrounding community, could probably count them on two hands. Think of all the people in those churches right now this morning. Then compare that to the total number of people in Elmhurst and the surrounding community. makes us feel kind of small in here, doesn’t it? Considering everybody out there. You know, when the the city New Project began, we did some research to better understand our community and the demographics here. We discovered that the people who are regularly attending a Bible believing faithful church was a certain number. Think of that number in your mind. What would you say it might be? The number we found was that those people were about 11%. So that means 89% of people in our immediate community here are not hearing about the good news of Jesus. They’re going through life like sheep without a shepherd Nine in 10.
So we lament this tragic reality. But we also see it as a great opportunity. The harvest is plentiful. It’s all around us. But the harvest is also here. It’s harvest time. Jesus continues, he says the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few asked the Lord of the harvest, therefore to send out workers into his harvest field. Jesus saying, look, it’s harvest time. Come on everyone, like the grains ready. It’s time to go picking. But where are the harvesters? Where are the workers who are going to bring in this plentiful crop? It’d be tragic. If the grain were to sit in the fields and go bad. Since no one was there to pick it. It’s the same with people in our lives today. Some people are ready for harvest. They feel the the weight of their great need. Except no one is there to share the compassion of Jesus with them. When they face that crisis, why would we let the harvest go to waste? In John chapter four, right after Jesus talks with the Samaritan woman at the well, you know that story he, he teaches His disciples an important point. Remember, the disciples leave Jesus, they go into town to get to get some food for lunch. And Jesus meets this woman at the well around noon. She shouldn’t have been there at that time. And he had an incredible evangelistic conversation with her. He shared the gospel with her and she believes she came to salvation. And as she’s leaving to go back into town to tell everyone what just happened, his disciples are returning. And Jesus says, Look, well, you guys were in town worried about lunch. You just missed an opportunity here. He says in John chapter four, verse 35, he says, Don’t you have a saying it’s four months until harvest. I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields. They are ripe for harvest. In other words, you all spend so much time worrying about what you’re going to eat for lunch, that you miss this opportunity that was right in front of you, like open your eyes, like look around. It was right here, you missed it. It’s harvest time. At this point, there should be names and faces in your mind. You should be thinking of specific people in your life. Who in your life doesn’t know Jesus and is hurting, harassed, or helpless? We no longer want to think of revival as a a general thing that happens out there. We want to see actual people, people that Jesus has compassion towards. And we want to see the opportunity that’s right in front of us. We don’t need to look far. We all have those neighbors, friends, family, coworkers, we can all think of those people. We must have this missional mindset because the fields are ripe. So let’s not be so worried about what we’re gonna eat for lunch in about 30 minutes or so. And miss the opportunity that could be right in front of us. But maybe you’re thinking of a certain person in your mind. Someone who’s not a believer, it seems like they’re doing fine right now. Doesn’t feel like an urgent opportunity. They don’t seem hurt, harassed or helpless on the surface. Well, it may be true that they will seem fine for a little while. But the reality is, they might be like a rotting tree. A tree that looks good on the outside, the bark is strong. The leaves are green, still standing. But deep down. They’re slowly being eaten away by something from the inside out. Over time, they’re getting weaker and weaker. So one day, that storm comes. The wind blows, the lightning strikes and it all comes crashing down. Are you going to be there for them in that moment? Who’s going to show them the compassion of Jesus when they need it most? Wouldn’t it be better for them to know about the camp Hashem Jesus before the lightning strikes. You know, the reality is we don’t really know how God will use us. Sometimes we might be planting seeds. Sometimes we might be watering those seeds. Other times we might be harvesting the fruit of that. For some people, it takes a long time, a lot of extra prayer. For other people might not come, the first conversation, but it could come the second conversation. We just don’t know. So we must be faithful harvesters. In Galatians, six, verse nine offers a great encouragement here says, Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. See the harvest is plentiful. And the harvest is here. Let’s persevere. Because in time we’ll we will see some harvest. It may not come in the way we expected, it might not come in the timing that we expected it. But if we believe that Jesus is the Lord of the harvest, we believe that it will come. He will do it. There’s a great opportunity for revival. There’s a great need. There’s a great compassion. So therefore Let’s seize the opportunity. Now each week in the series, we have a final takeaway. And each week, this takeaway starts with the letter i Easy to remember. Last week, our takeaway was to intercede, to pray for revival. That’s what we’ve been doing downstairs. That’s what we want to keep doing. We want to pray that the Lord would stir our hearts to one revival, and give us boldness to pursue it. Well, this week, our takeaway is to identify, identify, whenever never stop praying. But as we pray, we look around who in my life is hurting, harassed or helpless? Who in my life is like a sheep without a shepherd, who in my life needs to experience this compassion of Jesus. As we saw, the harvest is plentiful. And the harvest is here. Now at this point, names and faces should already be in your mind. We no longer want to think of revival generally. We want to have these specific people identified so that we can then take action. We want these people to experience the compassion of Jesus. Because the mission of Jesus and the compassion of Jesus go hand in hand. We shouldn’t be thinking especially towards Easter, there’s only a few weeks left. This is a great opportunity to introduce someone to Jesus during this season. We anticipate this room full of new faces, eager to encounter Jesus. So now is the time to identify those people. Let’s continue to pursue revival because the situation is dire. Would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, we want to come to you this morning and we want to praise You. For You are our good shepherd. We thank you for the compassion that you have shown us. How you lead us, you protect us. You feed us and care for us. You give us everything we need. Without you. We have nothing. So we thank you for that. We pray that as we consider this reality, that you would stir in our hearts, the same type of compassion that you have towards people who are like sheep without a shepherd. Give us this compassion and give us this boldness help us to identify those people in our lives who need this. Help us continue to pray passionately as we pursue revival. We know this is not something that we can produce on our own, but only something that you can do as Lord of the harvest. So we asked would you do this in us today? We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

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What Is Revival? (Habakkuk 3:2) March 12, 2023 | Brandon Cooper TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
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Good morning church. Go ahead grab your Bibles open up the Habakkuk chapter three Habakkuk chapter three near the end of the Old Testament, if you’re struggling to find it, we will just be in verse two this morning. Habakkuk Three, two, as you’re turning there, the year is 1903. We are in walls non Korea, were medical missionary named are a hardy has been battling doubt. He’s been struggling in his faith. And yet he’s been asked to speak to a group of missionaries who are gathered for prayer, etc. on prayer, specifically on Luke chapter 11, verse 13, where Jesus promises to give His Spirit to those who asked for him. And so as he gets up to speak, he’s he’s convicted looking at this passage and confesses to the group that he has relied on himself instead of on the spirit. This is not a huge confession or anything like it was pretty common, I would guess. And yet, his example moved to the other missionaries, who had not seen this sort of confession before. And so they began to confess, they took the spirit of confession back to their congregations Hardy shared with his congregation about it. And the Korean churches were strengthened and encouraged by this example from the missionaries as well. And they began to confess to in this movement of confessions spreads, still spreading a few years later when Japan annexes Korea in 1905, similar to what Russia is trying to do in Ukraine. And so this, this desperate situation calls for us for a deeper prayer. All this climax is in 1907 in Pyongyang, when a Korean leader Graham Lee, speaking at a conference with a few 1000 present asks for some people to lead in prayer. And three or four people stand up and they all keep praying. This has happened before in group prayer, right? You’ve had that where two people start and what do we do here? One of us stops. Now they don’t get kept praying. And so Pastor Lee was like, you know, that’s fine. If this is how you want to pray, then go ahead and pray and about 1500 started praying. Presbyterian missionary William Blair was there he writes this he says the prayer sounded to me like the falling of many waters, and ocean of prayer beating against God’s throne. It was not many, but one born of one spirit lifted to one Father above. Just as on the day of Pentecost, they were all together in one place of one accord praying. God is not always in the whirlwind. Neither does he always speak in a still small voice. He came to us in Pyongyang that night with the sound of weeping as the prayer continue to spirit of heaviness and sorrow for sin came down upon the audience. If you were to look at the about five year period, from when this kind of got going to about 1910 or so in Korea, they saw some 80,000 conversions, which is equal to all the conversions they’ve seen in Korea in the previous 80 years combined. Do you look at a situation like that? And yeah, ask what happened? What happened? And why did it happen? Why is Zen and why in that way? No, these are not questions that we can fully answer it on think but surely we want to ponder these questions because we’d like to see something like that in our own day. So what happened in a word it was revival, revival, the sudden and spectacular outpouring of God’s power and grace, leading to renewal inside the church and conversions outside the church. According to Jonathan Edwards, who knew a thing or two about revival, true revival does four things kind of simultaneously it exalts Jesus provoked Satan prioritizes the word and inspires love exalts, Jesus provokes Satan, ponders the word prioritizes the word and inspires love. Well, that seems important to me to remember, because I’m trying to think of when we wouldn’t want to be doing those things. That just sounds normal for the Christian life. And that’s just what we should be about. So when we’re talking about revival, we’re talking about the difference between, say, the ordinary Christian life and extraordinary revival is just a difference of degree, not of chi, the degree the pace, even of conversion and renewal. I want us to have that in mind because as we dig into revival in the next month, first of all, we’re not scheduling one. I’ve always been shocked by that. We’re having a revival here next week. You’re doing what now? Exactly. I’m gonna want to check your theology. I think we’re not scheduling one. We’re not even necessarily expecting one although I certainly would hope we’re one Oh, What are we doing? We are reviving our commitment to God’s ordinary means, we are recommitting to doing what we should always be doing that with a renewed passion. Or maybe another way of putting it is that we are trying to put the church in a position where revival can happen. I’m gonna give you an example from everyday life, if you want to sleep, you do certain things, you turn off the lights, you turn off your phone and the TV, you lie down, usually in a comfortable place. That does not guarantee that sleep will come. We’ve all had restless nights, certainly. But you got a much better chance of sleep coming doing that than you would by going out to play basketball for a few hours. For sure you’re not falling asleep then. So we’re just trying to put ourselves in a position where that sort of experience could happen. The rest is then up to God. Of course, we don’t get to create revival, that is his work. But as we think about this, there are opposite dangers. You probably came in here feeling one of these this morning. That’d be a good time for some self examination. Just go okay, which side do I lean toward? And be aware of it? As we go through this series, you gotta know yourself. The opposite dangers are that we would doubt that God can or demand that God must. I’m guessing the majority of us are on the first side that we doubt that God can. And so we come into this series going well, we know what can’t or won’t happen. But on the flip side, there may be that sense of if we do this, then we’re obligating God, he better make it happen. This series is meant to encourage us that our God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He can easily do it whenever he pleases, and we should always seek it. But at the same time, the Lord may continue to work in ordinary ways. Among us, we may never see in our lifetimes, an extraordinary outpouring of God’s power and grace. But if we were to commit to these ordinary means we were to see 1015 20 conversions a year for decades upon decades. Okay. Okay. At the same time, we thirst for this, we always long to see it come. Martyn Lloyd Jones, the great Welsh preacher said this, he said the inevitable and constant preliminary to revival has always been a thirst for God, a living thirst for knowledge of the living God, and a longing and a burning to see him acting, manifesting Himself and His power rising and scattering his enemies. And Martyn Lloyd Jones, if you know anything about his life, he never stopped pleading he always wanted to see revival, especially in Wales, his home country, which has been home to a number of really impressive revivals. He never stopped pleading and praying and professing and proclaiming, and yet he never saw it. He never saw it in his ministry. So. So he had a wonderfully fruitful ministry still. But my goal here in this series is to make you thirsty. I want to see the Lord stir up in you a passionate belief that God can revive us in a passionate commitment to the ordinary means of revival, passionate belief, and a passionate commitment. That’s what we’re after. Because you look around and you see that we are in desperate need of revival, there is a palpable feeling of decline in the American church. But we’re not the first to feel that way. I guarantee you, most churches, and most places throughout most of history have felt that way. In fact, that’s exactly where the prophet Habakkuk was. What are we going to learn as we just look at this one verse, this one prayer of his this, the main idea we’re going to look at this morning, because it is the Lord’s work, he can revive it in our day. It’s that simple, because it is the Lord’s work, not ours. Because it is the Lord’s work, he can revive it in our day. We’ll see what that looks like. Because what is revival, it’s when God repeats and reveals and remembers, and that’ll be our three points as we go through the sermon, we’re then going to take some time at the end to look at what our response should be in light of that. So let’s dig in here starting with when God repeats. We just the first part of verse two again, Habakkuk three, verse two, Lord, I ever heard of your fame, I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord, repeat them in our day.
So a little context here, because we have not been in the first several chapters of Habakkuk, although we did just do a series in Habakkuk back in 2020, right as the pandemic hit great words for us in that time. So if you your curiosity is piqued during the sermon, great, go back, listen to the series. It’s online. But what’s the context Habakkuk is looking around and he sees the spiritual decline in Judah, his country And he questions God, how long Lord? Are you just gonna tolerate wrongdoing forever? I mean, look at your people who look at what they’re doing and do something about it, Lord, and the Lord answers him, chapter one, verse five, he says, I’m going to do something in your day that you would not believe even if you were told. This is a really cool verse. A lot of people like this verse, it’s kind of verse, they talk about missions, conferences, nobody reads verse six, that’s why so in verse six, he tells us what he’s going to do in that day, and so he’s gonna bring the nation of Babylon to invade Judah to punish them for their wickedness and sin. That’s the amazing thing he’s about to do, and it would amaze Habakkuk it does amaze Habakkuk he spends the next few verses going. No, hang on. Now, Lord, what? I’m sorry, have you seen Babylon? You know that there’s even greater wickedness there. Right. So what are you doing? This raises even more questions for him? He asked these questions the Lord answers. He’s very patient with him. As Habakkuk listens to God’s answers, he humbles himself. And now as we turn to chapter three, he submits himself in prayer. He says at the beginning, I’ve listened. I’ve heard your report, what you are doing, I’ve heard the reports of what you are doing your your fame, and I stand in all, all is a weak word for us at this point, you know, we use awesome to describe like soda flavors or something. Or maybe the word fear is better, like struck dumb, because this is so intense. So I even fear your work, what you are doing your deeds. And in fact, that word for deeds there, it’s the same word that he uses back in chapter one, verse five, I’m about to do something. I’ve heard what you’re doing. And he says, I’m trembling, you know. And all as I listen to what you’re about, I see your sovereign hand at work in history. But then he asks something of the Lord, he says, Now, I ask that you do it again. Would you repeat your work? Or you might be looking at a different translation that even says, Would you revive your work? Would you make it alive? In other words, do what you always do, Lord? In fact, it’s possible that word revive, make your deeds live again, it’s a little bit like Ezekiel, the valley of dry bones, would you make them live? It’s playing off maybe Habakkuk is most famous verse Habakkuk, two, verse four, which Caitlin helpfully read for us. It’s quoted in Romans one there, the righteous will live by faith will live, will live would you make them live Lord, so that by faith, meaning we cling to the promises of God, the knowledge of what he’s doing, we then live in light of that a steadfastness and pursuing God, because we know who he is, what he’s done, and what he will do, what an encouragement that is, in difficult times. When you look around and you see spiritual decline, or you hear that the Lord is about to bring judgment on your land, because of that wickedness. We have the promises of God, we trust them. We live in light of them, what does God promise He promises that He will set things right in the end? He promises that, God will God promises that He will raise up and preserve his people. And this is what we see throughout Israel’s history. You can almost see how backups mind working as he’s praying this Would you repeat this Lord, repeat? What would you would you do what you did before? Would you deliver your people like you did back in the Exodus? Or even chasing them like you did at Kadesh Barnea? Would you? Would you purify them like you did under Josiah? When we saw that renewal? And revival? Would you do it again, Lord. And so Habakkuk makes peace with what God plans to do. And Judah had been distraught for a while, but now he makes peace with it because he says it’s needed. And I know I can trust you. Because I see what you’ve done in the past. I know you can do it again. Because it is the Lord’s work, he can repeat it in our day, he will keep doing what he has always done, which is to save His people. Before we press on the next point, I gotta say a quick word of warning here. The word repeat could be dangerous for us. We just got to clarify what we don’t mean by it. We by repeat we mean that God is going to do those same wondrous deeds but in a fresh way. Because as humans we get really practical so we assumed God’s gonna work in the same way always. So you can see this I mentioned that waterfall prayer idea and create which I believe you guys seemed to this morning and then nine o’clock hour. So what happens of course as we go look the last time we all started praying at the same time God brought revival. So the key to revival is still the Lord just pouring out grace and power and not the specific mechanism of prayer. We saw this just recently again this series been scheduled for about a year and all of that but then we had a little mini revival awakening breakout at Asbury wooded colleges around Asbury start doing well Alright, so what happened at Asbury was there’s a chapel session that never ended. We should do a chapel session that never ends. Because that’s the key to revival. No, no, no, no. Okay, let me quote a David prior here in a commentary on Habakkuk. I think he says it nicely brings out the meaning of this verse, as well as the word of warning that we need, God may never repeat himself. But he can be expected to do in a new way, when he’s in the habit of doing bringing life. When today we read of God’s work in previous days or other places, the temptation is to want him to repeat it for us. And with us, when he is committed to doing something altogether new, something which breathes new life, in the midst of our years. So that’s when God repeats. Second thing revival is when God reveals what’s the next depart, repeat them in our day, in our time, make them known your wondrous deeds make them known. So Habakkuk is basically saying, I don’t want to hand me down faith. I don’t want the faith of my ancestors who experienced these great things, we would like to see your wondrous deeds for our selves, we need a personal experience of your power and goodness and grace, we need it in our time. And that phrase, in our time, literally reads in the midst of yours, actually, same in the previous section, repeat them in our day, repeat them in the midst of yours, in the midst of yours, make them known. So in the midst of a what yours is our time
Habakkuk here he’s getting at the the idea of a time between a time between, when you’re kind of hanging, it’s like a kid who’s going off a high dive for the first time and you jump. And there’s that moment where you’re just there, then you plunge into the water. Right? So there’s that time between when you’re on the diving board, and when you’re plunged into the water. That’s the moment that Habakkuk is speaking of. What is that hanging, though, for Habakkuk for Habakkuk. It’s the time between God punishing Judah’s sin by bringing Babylon to invade them. And then God punishing those who persecute his people, and giving final victory over Israel’s enemies over Babylon specifically. Well, this seems really relevant, doesn’t it? Because we also live in a time between, in fact really the same time, the time between when God punished our sin, and when God will bring final victory over our enemies. In other words, we live in the time between the cross when by God’s grace, He punished our sin in Christ, and the second coming of Christ when He will set all things right. That is that hanging sort of time, though, isn’t it? It’s a time when God’s purposes aren’t always clear. Where there’s persecution and martyrdom, where there’s suffering and evil where we see spiritual decline, moral collapse, it is a time when people are desperate for knowledge as a result, what are you doing? God? Why? And so we need God to reveal himself afresh to us. Here’s the thing. We don’t really need new information, though, do we? Know we need the reminder of the information we already possess. As God reveals Himself to us we rehearse the great stories of the faith. And that’s exactly what Habakkuk does, actually. He says, God, would you make them known in our time and then he thinks through this is what it’s looked like, look ahead and chapter three, but verse three, he says, God came. I mean, those are big words right there, aren’t they? Sometimes that’s just a reminder we need God came, verse six, he stood and shook the earth he looked and made the nations tremble. God’s doing something by verse 13. We get to you came out. Why to deliver your people, to save your Anointed One. This is what God that’s the new information we need is the old information understood in new ways. We want God to reveal himself. Of course, that means we look at the Bible that you want to God reveal himself, you open the Word and you hear him speak to you directly. But this helps us when we’re asking these questions. What are you doing? Why are you doing it? As we look back, we remember who God is what he always does, it helps us in turn but not God, in light of our circumstances, that’s always the temptation. Well, this is happening, this is happening to me is happening to someone I love. Therefore, God must not care must not be paying attention must not have the power, whatever it is no one we we rehearse these truths, we begin to interpret our circumstances in light of God, I know what is true. I know who God is the very things Kyle read for us from Psalm 96, even a moment ago, we know this is true. And so then we know that this must be what’s happening here because it’s the Lord’s work, he can reveal himself in our day. This is who I am. This is what I’m doing. This is how you respond. And then third, revival is when God remembers. What does the backup say in wrath? Remember mercy, and wrath, remember mercy in the midst of judgment? In other words, the outpouring of God’s wrath is righteous anger at our sin. Habakkuk says, Don’t forget mercy. Would you temper your judgment and leave room for repentance? Would you have that that moment where people can turn just a little bit like when the parent says quite loudly in the hallway, I’m coming in in a moment and the room better be clean? Pause. Give them a moment to scramble. And then you come in. The Lord is coming. The Lord will do what he needs to do, of course, but have that moment of Mercy where we can turn and repent. Habakkuk understands the need for punishment, but he prays that God’s chastening work in Judah would lead to revival so that the righteous are saved, as they live by faith. Because here’s the thing, if it were up to us, there would be no hope. If we were to pray, Lord in Wrath, remember our performance. Remember how hard we tried? There is no hope at all. Because our performance is not up to snuff. In wrath, we need mercy. In other words, we’re praying Lord, would you treat us not according to what we deserve? But according to your mercy, and grace? Would you come not punishing solely but delivering us from our sin? as well? Look, this is not our favorite message today, I get that you may be sitting there, even right now going I’m not sure I like this week, so hard to hear that we deserve wrath. That is our just punishment because of what we do. But it is true. And we know it because you can look at the world around us very easily see that it is filled with evil. That evil comes from somewhere. And it comes from us. It’s the product of humans. Nobody’s blaming the birds for this right? It comes from humans, including you. And you may look and go we I’m not like those people. Sure. But we’re talking again, differences degree, not kind. The same selfishness that leads people to traffic and humans the same selfishness that leads you to cut people off in traffic. That’s the reality. So yes, we deserve wrath. So in Wrath remember, Mercy literally, in trembling. Remember, Mercy trembling that is that it’s this time of disturbance and agitations that you’re actually shaking, maybe shaking because God is shaking the Earth. We read that in verse six. He stood and shook the earth that means God is doing something to see what has foundations when God shakes the earth in that moment of trembling. It says though, we’re praying, don’t forget your saving purposes. Don’t forget your saving purposes. Lord, you still love the world. You send your only son to save us. Would you do that? Would you do that? It encourages me because things are shaken up here a bit now, aren’t they? We just went through COVID That was a pretty big deal. We’ve got cultural political, societal strife and division all over the place. Even religiously we’re thing seeing things shaken up with the rise of the so called nuns, that’s n o n e s naught and U N s, the nuns, the people who claim it no religious affiliation, they’re leaving the church in droves. Of course, there’s a cultural Christianity that they’re leaving, but they are and so in the midst of all that shaking, we’re praying God, would you remember mercy? Would you remember mercy still, in the midst of unease? In the midst of God doing something dramatic like that it is entirely proper to pray that the Lord would add to the number of the righteous as Babylon is coming in, you’re going to the Lord, that’s gonna mess with some people. Would you use that moment to save them? Would God use this moment to save money? By the way when we pray, Lord, remember, it’s not because God’s in danger of forgetting. We know that right? God knows everything. He doesn’t forget anything ever. We pray Remember, as an encouragement to ourselves, it encourages us as we pray. As CS Lewis reminds us, prayer doesn’t change God, it changes us. We don’t want to change God, He’s perfect. But we do need the encouragement that comes. This is like the little kid going, mom, dad, you remember you said we could get ice cream after the game. Remember, it’s an encouragement, the parent might have forgotten. We’re not God, of course, but because it is the Lord’s work, he will remember it. In our day, he has not forgotten mercy, or grace, or his people. So what is revival? Revival is when God remembers his gracious purposes, reveals himself afresh, and repeat his awesome deeds. And because that is the Lord’s work, he can revive it in our day. But it doesn’t mean there’s nothing for us to do. In fact, as I look at those three points, I see that there is an ordinary means to which we can devote ourselves for each one of them. Because we want the passionate belief that God can bring about revival, but we also want a passionate commitment to the ordinary means of revival. And so let’s look at those three, we’re going to take them in reverse order. But let me warn you upfront, these are truly ordinary. I am not going to blow your mind right here. I’m not I’m gonna say things like, of course. So. So what?
What’s wrong with the ordinary means during the Second Great Awakening in Philadelphia began in New York, but in Philadelphia, she was after a prayer meeting where they’d seen 1000s converted revival is happening. They handed out little booklets afterwards. And it said this by conversing with a friend, inviting him to a service getting him a book, above all, by making him the special subject of prayer in secret, simple as these means appear, they have been all powerful through the blessing of God to produce the desired result. That’s what we’re going to talk about simple means that are all powerful to the blessing of God to produce the results we long to see. So let’s look at these ordinary means, again, reverse order for what I just did. So as God remembers, remembers mercy even in the midst of wrath as God remembers, we profess, what do we profess? Specifically, we profess our sin, because that’s what’s being talked about in wrath. Right? The reminder that we deserve God’s judgment at that moment, as we’re asking God to remember mercy, we remember our sin, and the judgment that it deserves. Revival always begins with confession. I cannot think of an exception to that rule. I’m sure revivals have happened that I know nothing about my knowledge of church history isn’t perfect by any means. But I do not know of any revival that has ever started with atheists. That is, it doesn’t ever begin with non Christians coming to Christ. It always begins in the church, when the church experiences revival, and the church is ordinarily filled with nominal Christians, with people who have got kind of I liked Jesus, but you know, not all in necessarily, it is filled with hypocrites. Of course, like we know that this is not breaking news or anything like that. So begins in the church, when God shakes the church, and we begin to tremble. We confess our sin. There’s a revival in Uganda and Kenya. And the most famous preacher of that time was called the Billy Graham of Uganda was Festo Keivan. Jury, and he says this, he says revival doesn’t come to respectable Christians. This is bad news for us. By the way, I got news for you, Elmhurst very respectable, where Christians put those two together, we’re in trouble. Revival doesn’t come to respectable Christians. If you think that because you’re a good church member, because you belong to such and such an organization, you’re going to be revived, you had better forget it. He goes on. He says, the basis of revival is men and women shattered by their failures, aware that all is not well helpless to do anything about it. That’s what we profess, what we confess to each other, all is not well, all was not well in my life, and I can’t do anything to fix it. I need God to move. He then goes on to share an example, by the way from a service he was at in Kenya during this revival. Confession is happening. It’s breaking out there in the church, as it always does. And a taxi driver stands up and he had previously been a terrorist. And so he confesses to the murder of six people and he says, I’ve confessed this before the Lord, I’ve received forgiveness but one thing weighs on my mind. What if there’s a woman here even tonight, and she’s a woman who’s a husband I hanged in front of her. Could a woman like that? And forgive me. And you know how the story is gonna go, the woman is there in the crowd stands up, comes up to him and says, I forgave you that night, even as my husband prayed for you. That’s a powerful story. That’s not a respectable story isn’t. That’s not the kind of stuff we talk about here. And you go, Well, I don’t think we got murderers here. I don’t think we do either. But I’m wondering if there are sins that were unwilling to discuss here. I’m wondering if what holds us back from revival in this congregation is an unwillingness to talk about the mess within us. Even in the places we’ve created for this, like Journey groups and community groups, lots of good things that happen there. Sure, I’ve seen powerful confession. But I also know that as Christians, we can be guilty of a calculated confession. That is, there’s a way to speak about our sins, usually the respectable sins, to confess to humble ourselves before others in such a way that we are actually exalting ourselves in the eyes of others. Because we are know that they are going to be impressed with our humility, and our willingness to talk about hard things, I have seen that tendency in my own heart, even if we’re going to see true revival. We need to truly profess our sinfulness and not falsely profess our innocence or perfection, we’ve got to own it, and enter into the mass. I think that’s keeping us back. I think there’s another piece to it that’s holding us back from revival as well. Which is that I don’t think we really want revival. And you may feel that as I’m talking about this, because we don’t want the mess that comes with a revival. Because in revivals, messy people get saved. We don’t want the messy people here in this room. Because we liked the way Cityview is now it’s very respectable. After all, we all fit in here. And if messy people come in, that’s going to take time and energy and it’s going to mess with all sorts of aspects of our church life. A lot of us we can confess this, a lot of us just want the Christian life to be easy. We do. We got saved. So that was a good choice we made which is a terrible understanding of salvation anyway. And we’re gonna commit to live, you know, pretty good lives here because again, respectable Christianity. So we’re not gonna get drunk, I’m gonna sleep around none of those sorts of sins, of course. But we want no work and no mess and no change, which means no revival. And so maybe our confession begins by confessing that right there. Lord, I don’t revival because I just want this to be easy. My Plate is already too full. I got no time for Jesus to do something amazing in our day. As God remembers, we profess. Second, as God reveals. We proclaim as God reveals we proclaim His gospel think, how does God reveal himself? I already said it. In fact, God reveals Himself through His Word, primarily. It’s why we devote ourselves to His word when we gather for corporate worship. So we devote ourselves to His Word in community groups and journey groups. And God speaks to us and family worship and private worship. So that’s how God reveals Himself. All right, that’s great. So how are the unchurched going to encounter him then? Because they’re not in corporate worship, family worship or private worship? And I don’t think a 32nd Super Bowl ads gonna do it. How is God going to reveal himself to the loss is when we proclaim Him to the laws so that they can encounter Him through His Word. So we pray, God, would you reveal yourself to so and so and then we go and present God to so and so. We are His ambassadors. And we are not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes. It is a remarkable statement. Paul does not say the gospel was powerful. Paul says the gospel is God’s power that brings salvation. You and I are here this morning because the gospel worked in our hearts to bring us to faith by His grace. We have lost confidence in the power of the gospel to transform lives. Which is remarkable because it’s the only reason you’re here. What a weird thing to think. I don’t know if the gospel can actually transform people. Look at yourself. Do you think you’d be here without the gospel? No. Think about where you’d be without the gospel. Some of you got a clearer understanding of this than others. Because some of you grew up in the church. Some of us did not, and saw the trajectory we were on. The Gospel is powerful, and we are the proof of its power. There’s a story during the first Great Awakening, back in the early 18th century, guys like Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield, a story came out in the weekly history in Boston though. first Great Awakening was interesting because it spread through slaves in many ways, in the south, at least, and for understandable reasons. So what happens is slaves are being converted in tremendous numbers while a slave owner in Boston, you know, opens the door to a room and catches his slave
delivering a sermon, you know, to himself in the style of George Whitfield. And this slave owner just thinks this is a hoot. And so what does he do he invites his friends over, you know, pours them all a whiskey gives them all a pipe, and and makes the slave do what he was doing before so they can all mark this, you know, ignorant on learned full of a man. And what happens, they’re all laughing at him as he starts, until he warned them against blaspheming the Holy Spirit and spoke to them the necessity of the new birth, and quote, the weekly history at this point, it says he spoke with such authority, it struck the gentleman to heart to their hosts dismay, the men began to listen intently. And many as a result of that day’s entertainment became pious, sober men, they believed why, because the Gospel is powerful. It is powerful enough to convert people who came to mock the ones delivering it, you worried people are gonna mock you, when you proclaim the gospel, you should be they might you know what else might happen? God might do what he always does. That’s what has God changed since the first Great Awakening? Is he different today? That was weak. Is he different today? Is the gospel a different message today than it was back then? No. That means it can happen today. That God might convert the very people who are mocking you for your faith as you proclaim it. And that will encourage us Jonathan Edwards said, There’s nothing I know of which God has made such a means of promoting his work among us as news of others conversions. Why? Because that’s when we remember how powerful the gospel is. May God grant us those first few conversions. And I believe he has, by the way, and I think we’ll get to hear those stories in the coming weeks. May He grant us those first few conversions so that we can regain our confidence in the power of the gospel, and then proclaim that gospel with the winsome boldness expected of us. As God remembers, we profess as God reveals we proclaim. And then third, and really this is everything put together as God repeats his work in our day we pray, we pray, we pray for those first few conversions. And I hope you’ll join me in pleading for them. But look at Habakkuk when Habakkuk saw the need, he didn’t set to work, he first set to prayer. And that’s where we begin to the urgency of the moment. And when you may be thinking of specific loved ones. When I talk about things like the urgency of the moment, the urgency of the moment should lead us to faithful prayer, like Habakkuk prayer that God would empower the ordinary means, as we employ them. This is why we’ve got the explore our going on and we got going on right now. We need to talk about why we need to be praying for revival. We pray for the other two points as well. We pray for a spirit of a Humble Confession, to break out among us pray, even confessing that we don’t want revival, at least we’re not so sure about it. We pray for God to reveal Himself to us in new ways, and to the people around us as we speak the gospel message. And by the way, this is where we begin even for skeptics. I’m aware of the fact that there may be people in this room right now who do not believe in Christianity. And maybe you’re here because you’re checking it out. And maybe you’re here because your parents make you come or something. This is where you begin. Even when you don’t believe you pray. I can tell you a number of conversations I’ve had with people who will say things like, I want to believe like I like what you have, but I just can’t which is completely true, by the way. So what do you do? Seek the Lord who can give you the face so that you believe you pray for God to open your heart. You come before God and you say God, I don’t even know if you’re there. I may just be talking to myself right now, which is fine. My family already thinks I’m crazy. No big deal. But God if you are there, if you are there. Would you reveal Yourself to me? Would you open my eyes and my heart so that I can see you? Clear? You To begin this series, we are going to leave you with a takeaway, because we want this to be intensely practical as we pursue these ordinary means. They all start with I like to help you remember them. It’s also because we’re Baptists. So it has to be alliterated. It’s in our doctrinal statement. They all start with I this week is easy to catch, of course, this week, what is your takeaway? What do you do as you go from here this week? The takeaway is intercede. intercede. Pray, pray, pray some more. As believers, we intercede for the last. We have specific people who come to mind as we pray. We pray that God will give us the compassion and the boldness that we need that God would create opportunities for us to advance conversations. We pray that God would open our eyes to see people we hadn’t noticed before. We pray as families we pray, I hope you do family worship in your home. And I hope that it’s the focus of your prayers, at least some of the time is on the last. We talk a lot about an oil cost list here oil cost the Greek word for household, your your sphere of influence, who are the people that God has put in your life? Does your family have no way costless. Your kids know that you’re reaching out to your friends and neighbors and loved ones? Are they joining you in prayer? Church, we pray, we pray for revival to come in us first and foremost. And then through us, when it comes in us to quote Martyn Lloyd Jones as we close, he says this is what God can do. This is what God has done. So let us decide together to beseech Him, to plead with him to do this again. Not that we may have the experience or the excitement, but that His mighty hand may be known in his great naming me glorified and magnified among the people because it is the Lord’s work, he can revive it in our day. And so we passionately believe that and in believing that we passionately commit ourselves to profess our sin and proclaim the gospel and pray for revival, let’s pray even now. Lord, we begin by confessing. First we confess who you are, Lord, who we know you to be powerful, sovereign, good, wise, gracious and loving, even in Wrath remembering mercy. No one of us deserves your grace. And yet you have poured it out lavishly on us. We believe that you will pour it out lavishly on others as well. This is who you are. This is who you always are. Lord, we confess how often we forget that how little we believe that and how little we act like we believe that’s true. We confess that we don’t always want revival because people are messy. And we’re not sure how many more messy people we can handle in our lives as though you wouldn’t give us the grace to sustain us in our ministry to them. We confess that we like the way church is we like our easy Christian lives. And so we’re not sure we’re open to your work. But Lord, we also confess a desire, a hunger and a thirst that you would change us first and foremost, you would bring revival in our lives and then bringing it in our lives that you would bring it through our lives as well. Lord, would you revive your marvelous deeds in our day, in the midst of these years, and in the midst of this community? We devote ourselves to you passionately believe in you can passionately committed to doing those things that you have given us to do. In the meantime we pray through Christ our Lord, Amen.

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Open-Hearted Living (Colossians 4:7-18) March 5, 2023 | Brandon Cooper TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

Good morning. Go ahead, grab your Bibles open to Colossians we’ll be starting in verse seven, and we will be finishing Colossians. This morning. As you’re turning there, Paul writes to Timothy, Second Timothy, 316, and 17. All scripture is God breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training and righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. All scripture, I checked the Greek this week, just to make sure there are no asterisks next to the word all. Paul actually means all of it. The genealogies that part in Exodus, where it’s 15 chapters of the dimensions for the tabernacle, Leviticus. Not all scripture, I think is equally useful. I think that’s fair, I don’t feel bad saying that I don’t think all scripture is immediately useful in quite the same way you might have to work to get to it and put it like this. If you were to come to me and say, Hey, what should I memorize? You know, we’d probably choose carefully, I wouldn’t just say open at random, every verse is a good verse, memorize it, and there’s some that would be more helpful than others. But all scripture is useful and inspired by God, God doesn’t earn, there’s nothing in the Bible that shouldn’t be there. This is a good reminder for us, because we are in an asterisk sort of passage this morning, it’s gonna be one that when we look at it, it’s not going to look useful at first, we might be tempted to skip it in our reading, and certainly not going to spend 40 minutes preaching on it. Except that maybe we will. You’re lucky if it’s 40, by the way. So these are Paul’s final greetings to those in classy and around there. And they’ve got tremendous value, because Paul is speaking to and about people who embody the message he has proclaimed, when we talked about some people who actually put the flesh on these principles that he has preached, and what do they model for us, they model open hearted living, open hearted living, people are messy, and broken, and difficult. So often, you are those things, I am those things. And it’s really easy to close our hearts to other people in that situation. Because if you shut the door of your heart, look, it is a whole lot less aggravation, and a lot less exhaustion. But it’s also a lot less love, and a lot less gospel. And so there’s the main idea. We don’t want to do that. Here it is when we talk about this morning. With so much need, we must open our hearts to others, just as God opened his heart to us. So we’re looking at some different people, as I mentioned, and we’re going to see in them three commitments of open hearted living. So let’s look at the first commitment from verses seven and nine and open heart practices, little deeds, and open heart practices, little deeds, verses seven to nine. Here it is. Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He’s a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances. And that he may encourage your hearts he is coming with an SMS our faithful and dear brother who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here. So Paul sends to men to deliver this letter, because there’s no postal service. So you got to send it yourself. And also there plenty of fakes around. I mean, they hadn’t met Paul person. How do they know that this is actually a letter from him. And he’s to come with somebody who can vouch for it. They’re no verified accounts on Twitter at this point in history. So he’s sending these guys as postman and proof of the letter. The first guy he sends is Tychicus. And we know from x 20 Verse four that Tychicus is a native of Asia Minor modern day Turkey. And it almost certainly converted during a Paul’s extended ministry in Ephesus, the almost two years that he spent there. We know that he then travels extensively with Paul after his conversion. So when you get to the we passages in the later chapters of x, when Luke who is writing x is traveling along with Paul Tychicus is there too. So he experienced many of the same hardships that Paul experienced when Paul says things like I’ve been shipwrecked I’ve been in you know, in danger from exposure. I’ve been in danger from bandits Tychicus could have said that the same things he experienced that same day. Danger. So clearly he is a faithful minister and fellow laborer, as Paul says here, because he’s a faithful servant. Paul gives them these two tasks. First, he’s to deliver actually four letters, he’s to deliver four letters. Colossians five Lehmann just written to find Lehman, who lives in classes to make sense those will go together. Ephesians not too far from a classy and loudest, scions, we’ll come back. second task is to deliver news of Paul himself. We’ve just read Colossians we get a little bit of the biographical information, what’s going on in his life, but not everything. They’re gonna have questions, and so Tychicus can answer those questions. He can handle the Q and A. But here’s the thing compared to, you know, pioneering frontline missions, or church planting like a path for us had been engaged in our healing and exorcisms. This is not glamorous ministry that Tychicus is doing here. He is just Paul’s errand boy, and nothing more. And yet the little tyke does it cheerfully and willingly. He doesn’t cheerfully and willingly because he knows what Paul knows, which is that there are no small deeds done for Christ. In fact, in calling him a fellow laborer, Paul seems to be highlighting the fact that they are equal in their worth. And in their services. It says if Paul is saying to the clashes Look, don’t you think for a moment that just because I wrote the letter, and he’s carrying the letter that I’m more important than he is, we are fellow laborers in Christ’s kingdom. And these small deeds of the sort that Tychicus is undertaking have massive impact may take a military example, the the lackey, who carries the dispatch to the front lines, letting whoever’s in charge there know, though the latest information, the latest plans, is just as vital to the victory as the first man over the line, the first man to breach the compound, the different roles, absolutely, but both vital to service. And that’s Tychicus. He’s that lackey, who brings the dispatch, but without his little deed. And little should, of course, be in scare quotes. If we haven’t figured that out yet. Without his little deed, this letter doesn’t get the classy, and it doesn’t strengthen a faltering church. So this perspective transforms our entire outlook, even on our own lives. We’re not working, doing important work for Christ only when we’re preaching, teaching, evangelizing, going on short term missions. Trips are something that that’s that weird, sacred secular divide that we sometimes bring into our lives. This is the important stuff for Jesus. And this is what I need to do to you know, eat every day. No, none of that. We’re also working for Christ when we stooped down on a Sunday morning and listen to the three year old tell the story that you cannot follow in the slightest, but you got to smile and you’re paying attention to him as a person, or when you help the person who spilled the groceries in the in the grocery store I owe when you text, someone that you know, is in need just to check in and see how they’re doing when you serve faithfully at work, or at school. And what’s more, those little momentary deeds can have an eternal impact. I can’t use points this out in his commentary on Colossians, that the letters that take a kiss bore outlasted the Roman Empire who would have been expecting that? And yet, here we are 1000, you know, 1000s of miles away, and a few 1000 years later, still reading that letter, still enjoying the fruit of his little deed, long after the Caesars ceased, and Colossi collapsed? You just never know what God will do with your little deed? Has God called you to something small, changing stinky diapers down in the nursery? Or maybe you’re not the one up front with the microphone in the spotlight. Although we don’t have spotlights at this church, thank god singing but you’re the person who’s hiding in the booth up there, clicking the slides so that we’ve got the vocals so that we can look at the lyrics that we can sing along. Or maybe you’re not the one teaching the class on praying for revival, but you’re the one who helped set the chairs up so that everyone could attend that class. Remember this, there are no small deeds in God’s economy. They can all have a massive, eternal impact.
Changing stinky diapers that’s not glamorous work. It isn’t. But not only are you loving that little child Who will grow up in the nurture and admonition of Lord at this church, you’re also given mom a break, so that she can be up here and be spiritually refreshed. I mean, her take the singing one, when the slides aren’t working. Y’all been here for this? No one sings. I forget the lyrics are amazing grace regularly. So like, I can’t sing if the lyrics aren’t up there. But our vocalist will often back away from the microphone. Everybody keeps saying, we know who’s more important. You got to have the slide. There are no small deeds. That’s the point. And that’s what Tychicus demonstrates for us. The second guy who sent though with the letters is on SMS. Oh, NASA says a very different story. Own SMS is a runaway slave. Usual caveat here slavery very different in first century Roman Empire than it was in 19th century America. We got to have that caveat there always a little bit like indentured servitude here. But fie Lehmann was his master to the book of Philemon is written to this guy who was own SMS, his master own SMS ran away by Lehman as a Christian, which means we would assume we’ll have it explicitly written, but assume that he was probably a pretty decent master, because he knew that he himself was a slave of Christ. Nevertheless, so nothingness takes off. And he says, and finally men that formerly you were useless, it’s which is upon on his name, because the name Onesimus means useful, common name for slaves, kind of hoping that that’s what they’ll be. And yet he is, by his own admission, useless in his time with fine Lehman, he could have been different, he could have devoted themselves to the small deed of serving by Lehman, in that household. Instead, he steals from five Lehman, and heads to Rome, because it’s the biggest city and he’s hoping to get lost in the crowds that no one catches him. But then something unexpected happens. He runs into his masters master, he meets Jesus Christ, and meets Paul as well and his life is utterly transformed, so transformed, in fact, that Paul calls him also faithful. And a dear brother, just like Tychicus he is now beloved family in Christ, and fixed on the mission of Christ. We pause just for a moment, though, before we keep going here and just consider these descriptions. Just think about how Paul has now described Tychicus and unnecessary is faithful, dear labor, all these words, how do you want people to describe you? Like when people were describing you in a letter, what would it look like? Or maybe better exercise versus when you know people are gonna talk about you, which is at your funeral? Oh, he is a she’s a what’s in the blank, they’re cantankerous, argumentative, difficult, selfless, kind, loving. The reality is that you are filling in those blanks every day. You are writing them out? Are you doing so intentionally? Are you living from the gospel like Tychicus and own SMS? That is living as a beloved child and thus beloved family, to your brothers and sisters in Christ? And are you living for the gospel as a faithful servant, and fellow laborer may it be? So? Notice that Onassis is also bringing news, he’s another errand boy, he’s finally useful. That’s great. His little deed is huge, too, and huge in a different sort of way. Because only NSMs in coming back to classy is making things right, he would probably prefer to stay in Rome, and not face the music of his crime. And yet, here he is, he knows that he’s sinned against by Lehman, he needs to confess he needs to seek forgiveness. And finally men and you get this from reading his letter, of course knows that he needs to welcome him and extend that forgiveness probably needs to confess and receive forgiveness too. But only NSMs even in his coming back is proof of gospel transformation. He does the hard thing because it’s the right thing. And we have before us the lasting impact of his example. So these are two men who could have closed up shop could have heard the gospel you know, taking the forgiveness it’s all about me this is just me getting right with God I got my fire insurance great, I’m done enjoyed the blessing stayed on the sidelines. Or they could have looked at what God was asking of them, thought it beneath them, and hardened themselves against the need find somebody else to carry your letter, but they didn’t. They opened their hearts because God opened his hearts to them. And an open heart practices little deeds, second commitment and open heart pursues loving community. Let’s read verses 10 to 14. My fellow prisoner era starkest sends you his greetings as does mark the cousin of barn This you’ve received instructions about him becomes you welcome him. Jesus who is called Eustace also sends greeting. These are the only Jews among my co workers for the kingdom of God and they have proved a comfort to me. Epaphras is one of you and a servant of Christ, Jesus sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you. You may stand firm and the will of God, in all the will of God mature and fully assured, I vouch for him, that he is working hard for you. And for those that love to see and hear opolis Our dear friend, Luke, the doctor, and DMOZ send greetings. So we get two groups of people mentioned in these verses. The first group is a starkest mark and Eustace. Let’s talk mark for a moment though. Paul even gives extra instructions about him. You heard about Mark, I already told you about Mark. So when he comes, you’re gonna want to welcome Him, trust me. And Paul knows this because this is how Paul felt about him to in fact, at the end of his life shortly before his execution, Paul writes in Second Timothy 411, get mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. Mark is someone you want to have by your side. If you know the book of Acts, though, you know that that’s a remarkable statement, no pun intended. Because what happens in Acts 15, Paul and Barnabas are getting ready to embark on their second missionary journey. And Barnabas who is the encourager. He’s a people person. He wants to bring his cousin mark with him again, even though on the first missionary journey. Mark had quit halfway through the trip, he got homesick, he went back he wasn’t up for the work. So Barnabas says let’s let’s do it. Let’s do let’s give him another chance with a build him up. And Paul Paul was task oriented. And Paul says No way. I’m not going to do it. Okay. The gospel is too important than ministry is too important. I can’t have it sabotaged by somebody who quits halfway through and actually Paul and Barnabas split at that point, Paul goes off with Silas instead. And Barnabas. Barnabas takes Mark with him. But that’s what’s so remarkable. So we go and just a few short years from Paul saying, I won’t even let him come on the trip with me. Would you send Mark marks the one I need? What happened in those years? Barnabas happened. Barnabas happened. Barnabas loved mark. Barnabas stuck with him. Built in him Barnabas practiced the sort of slow discipleship that leads to lasting change change that Paul saw and understood. You want to know what we do in Journey groups. By the way, you heard us talk about our discipleship groups. It’s that right there. That’s the picture Barnabas and Mark is what we hope to see. So that’s what happened. But notice what else happened. Paul saw the change. Paul saw marks growth and allowed mark to change his mind about him. You ever had that where you’ve got somebody who’s disappointed you or hurt you or whatever, and you are locked in for life? There’s nothing they can do to change. I hear this about people sometimes in the church, even they’ll be like, Well, yeah, that guy, you know, he’s got he’s got issues. Yeah, 15 years ago, he’s different now. Have you let him change because goodness knows people had to let you change. So Paul sees the change recognizes the change. And Mark saw Paul’s growth. Mark saw the change in Paul and was willing to work with him again, even after the crushing insult of there’s no way that kid is coming on my trip. Like that would be the kind of thing you could hold against somebody, isn’t it? Both could have closed their hearts to each other. I’m done with him. I’m done. He had his chance. No. Instead, they open their hearts and open heart pursues real community loving community that furbearers and forgives. In other words, gospel community, the sort of community marked by confession, repentance, renewed faith in the Gospel that leads to obedience. So that was Mark, let’s go back to the group era, starkest mark and Eustace. What does Paul say about them? They’re the only Jews among my co workers for the kingdom of God. That is not a parenthetical remark that he’s making. That’s a really important one. Paul is the apostle the evangelists, to the Gentiles, specifically, these group of people who once were far away, but now had been brought near by the blood of Christ, the doors have been thrown open to them, they can join Christ, the new humanity that he is creating Jews and Gentiles together in one body. Well, the Gentiles who are hearing this message from Paul are eager to serve.
But not every Jew who heard this message from Paul was eager to serve. Not all the Jews were ready to mix at this point. In fact, you can read the New Testament you know, we got lots of issues. On this score, don’t worry, we got issues in Jerusalem. We got issues in Rome, we got issues in Galatia. Pretty much every letter, you see some issue with legalism, and Jews re erecting boundary markers to keep the Gentiles out. Even Peter does this in Galatia and Barnabas, the people person, the encourager, even he falls into this at one point. Why? Because when you’ve spent your life defining yourself in relation to others, in contrast to others, it’s really hard to erase those lines. The lines we have today are probably not Jew and Gentile, for the most part. But you could see somebody writing or saying something today, like, these are the only three African Americans in my church. Those are the only three Republicans on my ministry team. These are the only three who’ve got some real mental health struggles in my community group. He’s the only free Packers fans and my group of friends. That’s three too many. But it is hard to erase those lines, because we define ourselves by our tribal identities. But the gospel of Jesus does erase those lines, because now we are defined in relation to him. That is the only relationship that matters, the primary relationship. Are you white, you’re Republican, you’re tall, I don’t none of that matters. Are you in Christ? Are you in Christ? Well, then no more boundaries. Just one true family. And so you don’t close your heart to outsiders. An open heart loving community reaches, reaches across ethnic and economic and ecclesiastical aligns loving community reaches and restores ruptured relationships. second set of three names, then we get our Epaphras, Luke and demons. So these are the Gentiles among his traveling crew. He’s got a lot to say about Epaphras. If you notice that he spends quite a bit of time on him makes sense. We saw back in chapter one verse seven first week of the series that Epaphras is the one who planted the church and classy like he’s one of them. So of course Paul wants to talk about him. He is a servant of Jesus, like we saw with Tychicus and Anessa mess. But his service to Jesus manifests in his service to Colossi his home church, his home, people, he has been wrestling, agonizing in prayer for them specifically that they would stand firm, not cave to the heretics. They’re in Colossae but grow mature and fully assured, confident unwavering in the truth that they know and practice. Paul says he’s an eyewitness to this tireless service on their behalf, not just Colossi but the whole region louder sia and her opolis as well. This is the guy he doesn’t just love Elmhurst he loves the Chicagoland area, and he’s at work for them all. He’s counting the cost, because he cares. He could have closed his heart. A lot of people do when they leave home. You know, you go off to college or something and you leave behind, you know, those people, you you grow beyond them or something like that. But Epaphras doesn’t. He feels a constant burden for the people the church that he left behind. So he doesn’t close his heart. No, no, out of sight out of mind mentality here because he knows that loving community sacrifices and serves. Now he’s got a little less to say about Luke Paul. He says he’s the doctor. We know that. And he’s beloved, he’s dear like Tychicus and own Asmus. He says absolutely nothing about DMOZ which is a little bit interesting. I just wonder if he saw what was coming. If already in Dimas he saw what he would say again a few years later. Second Timothy four. We already quoted what he says about Mark and Luke was in that verse also here second of the 410 the verse beforehand. What he says about Dimas, there, Dimas, because he loved the world has deserted me. He’s gone somewhere else to festival Anika. Did he see that that he already see Dimas his love for the world. And so he doesn’t say he was faithful. He doesn’t say he’s Beloved. He doesn’t say he’s a fellow laborer. He’s just there. We don’t know. But it is interesting at least. One more comment before we go to the next section. Notice that Paul doesn’t prescribe this kind of community. He doesn’t say this is what you all should be doing. He just describes it, which in some ways is more powerful. And it’s like the difference between somebody getting up front on a Sunday morning and saying you all need to evangelize more, which is true. And you might nod your head and go okay, yeah. That’s a message I need to hear. But isn’t it a little bit more powerful just to be out with that guy and to see him, you know, you’re having dinner or something and he engages with the server, so that we can pray for him, shares the gospel, he that example speaks so powerfully. That’s what Paul’s giving us he it’s almost like he’s just giving us this picture. This is what inevitably happens when a community is shaped by the gospel. It produces open hearts and open hearts pursue loving community kind of community that for bears and forgives, reaches and restores, sacrifices and serves third commitment then an open heart pleads. Last points. The rest of the chapter verses 15 to 18. Only read it for us. Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters allow to see and to nympho on the church in her house. After this letter has been read, do you see that it is also read in the Church of the loudest scenes that you in turn, read the letter from louder Sia, tell Archippus See to it and you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord. I Paul write this greeting in my own hand, remember my chains, Grace, be with you. It’s not unusual for Paul to to give a few rapid fire commands at the end of a letter almost always happens. It’s usually right before he signs his name. Somebody else writes the letter for him, he’d have a scribe, but at the end, he kind of signs his name. It still is worth asking why he always does this though. Man. These final words are important final words always are. But even in just regular communication, you’re traveling or something you call home, you talk to your spouse, you talk to your kids. And right before you hang up, you say the most important things, the things you want them to have in their minds as they close the conversation. So we hear his heart hear his final please the last reminders. In a letter that is dripping with pastoral love. We get three open hearted pleas in these verses first he says greet the brothers and sisters in loud Asiya, including him from the church that meets in her house, there is a very good chance that he’s never met any of these people. But they were brothers and sisters in Christ. And so he loved them, love them truly, and wanted to speak love to them. Well, then speaking to people you’ve probably never met, he has a spirit specific word of encouragement to Archippus might be fine Lehman son, that’s his name. Also, anyway, not sure. Don’t know a lot about him. Again, what’s happened here, most likely, a papyrus has told Paul something about this young man in the congregation, a young leader who has got potential, but who needs to set himself to the task that God has given him to complete the ministry that God has given him. Notice what’s happening then. That means the most famous Christian in the world at this time, is taking the time to personally encourage the next generation. This is like being at a book signing. I don’t think Paul would have done book signings, I’m not gonna lie. But you know, with somebody like John Piper or Tim Keller, and it’s not just when you buy my book, I’ll sign your, your your copy of it or something like that. But But speaking to the these young men are coming to get you in ministry. Let me talk to you. Let me ask you some question. Let me pray for you. Or the image I have in my head. No, but we’re seeing this on the news a few years back when Noah syndergaard was at his peak as a pitcher, the Little League World Series was going on and he was there in attendance and he was sitting with the championship teams, and he was out in the dugout talking to one of the pitchers about fastball grips. He was I mean, this is an all star sitting with a 12 year old, just chatting, fastball grips. That’s what Paul’s doing here. He’s chatting fastball grips with the next big league talent. In between those two personal words. Paul pleads with them
to have this letter, read in loud Asiya. When they’re done with it again, they’re not just xeroxing it. So this is kind of a big deal. To read this letter in loudest Yeah, and to have the letter that he sends to allow to see or read in Colossae as well. So quick word, because I know you’re wondering when I said this earlier, and you’re still wondering, we do not have Paul’s letter to the loudest since some of you were like, Man, I really don’t know my New Testament as well as I thought I did know it’s not there. Okay. There is a smallest chance like 1% chance that it is actually the Letter to the Ephesians. I won’t get into all the arguments for why but it’s really unlikely. So this is just a letter that is lost to us and that raises issues of the Canon for us. How did we get the Bible that we have Why do we have these 27 books in the New Testament specifically, the process of the Bible coming together looks very human. It is slow I don’t know it is messy, but it was definitely a slow process. It looks very human from the eye. aside, it was not willy nilly mean they were laser focused on does this writing have apostolic authority behind it, but it took him some time to figure that out. Because again, it’s no verified users at that point. So from the human perspective looks messy and slow. But from the divine perspective, of course, we know that God’s super intense the whole process of God who created the world out of nothing and who redeemed is people with his plan unfolding through the money, he can make sure we get the words we’re supposed to get. Well, it’s not hard for him. But here’s what this means. If we found loud to scions tomorrow, Dead Sea Scrolls, part two, there it is, it would not be part of the canon. Why? Because it’s not what God intended, where else we would have been missing it for a couple 1000 years. So whatever this letter is, whatever, it’s not in the canon, Paul wants them to, you know, look at it anyway, was was encouraging still, Why is Paul adamant that they exchanged letters and read them aloud? The way that’s phrased, by the way means reading them aloud in the church service as Scripture, the high view he has even of his own writing, he knows that it’s divinely inspired. Why did he want them to read them aloud in service because he knew these churches needed it? He was not wrong, by the way. I mean, 30 years later, Jesus himself speaks some hard words to a lukewarm and lost loud Asiya and Revelation in chapter three. Again, Paul didn’t know them personally. chapter two verse one, he says that quite clear, he didn’t know them personally. Nevertheless, he had this tremendous burden for them. How did we get here? How did this burden come about? A pole is in prison in Rome, and 1000 miles away. There’s a little house church and tiny, classy, struggling. It’s got a young leader Epaphras saved under Paul most likely in emphasis, and all of a sudden he’s got a battle. This new heresy that we’ve been talking about for the last eight weeks is Colossian heresy that says Jesus is great. Don’t get me wrong. We love Jesus, we’re pro Jesus is he’s just not enough. You need Jesus and some other stuff. You need Jesus plus some specific disciplines and practices. You need Jesus plus some angels and intermediaries. You need all of them together to get you all the way up to God and Apophis is hearing this and he knows that it’s wrong. And it’s causing them sleepless nights and he finally gets up and decides to set off for Rome. To share with Paul what’s happening. And Paul’s keen mind tackles the problem and writes this letter in response Epaphras could have closed his heart. He could have just left for Rome and just hung out there. Paul could have closed his heart could have said not my problem. I don’t know these people. They don’t they both love Colossi loudest sia enough to fight because an open heart pleads those last points one last time we gotta go over this again. It’s as if he’s saying I love you too much. Colossi I love you too much louder sia to leave you in your error. So here’s what you need to know. And what is it that they need to know? Jesus, Jesus, that’s what this whole letter has been about who he really is what he’s really done. And that’s what we need to hear again today to do we need Jesus plus, Jesus plus, I don’t know the latest psychological or self help fad. We need Jesus plus some specific religious striving we need Jesus plus some others in the pantheon. No way. Because look at who he is. He is Christ our life. chapter three, verse three. And when you trust in Him, Paul says Your life is now hidden with Christ. don’t need any additions. He is more than enough. Paul’s told us he is supreme in all things, isn’t he? He’s supreme in creation is the image of the invisible God first born over all creation. All things were created in Him and through Him and for Him. And in fact, all things are sustained in him as well. He holds all things together he’s supreme in the church. He’s the head of the body is Kyle even prayed this morning. In him The mystery has been revealed and God’s unfolding plan of redemption has reached its climax, he supreme and salvation. He’s the firstborn from the dead, the first fruits of the resurrection. All things are reconciled to God in him so that we have peace through his blood so that we are now holy, without blemish free from accusation rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into His kingdom. Do you need anyone else? What could you possibly add to that? And that’s why Paul’s so desperate. They to hear this message, and why he’s desperate, even today that we would hear this message, especially because keep in mind. God did all of that, when we were his enemies, and separate from him, chapter one Once you were alienated from God, enemies of it, it’s because of your evil behavior. That’s the amazing part. had Jesus been like us, thank God, he’s not had Jesus been like us, he would have closed his heart to us. Because that’s what we do with our enemies of fine. Look at everything I’ve done you for you. You want to be my enemy, be my enemy. I got no problem with that. But Jesus didn’t. He opened his heart to us. He loved and redeemed us at the cost of his life. Having been loved like that. We love like that in return. We open our hearts, to others even at great cost. With so much need, we must open our hearts to others just as God opened his heart to us. And look, I get it. I get it. I’ve met people. Also, I understand why we don’t do this. I understand why we close our hearts to people. But the example of Jesus shows us that it’s worth it. Remember, it was for the joy set before him that he opened his heart endured the cross scorning its shame. To open your heart is to be open to hurt, absolutely, but also to endless possibilities of joy and wonder. If you don’t ever want to see ugliness again, you can close your eyes and pluck them out for all I care. You won’t see ugliness ever again. You also won’t see beauty ever again. You don’t want to hear whining or screaming anymore. You can stop up your ears, but you won’t get to hear music anymore. either. You don’t want to deal with messy, broken people. You don’t want to give your time and your energy you don’t want to risk hurt absolutely close your heart. But you will miss love and joy and redemption too. So as you go from here, check yourself. Check yourself right now. Are there people, situations, opportunities that you’ve closed yourself off to? And is God calling you even now to open up to practice those little large deeds, to pursue loving community that forgives and for bears and reaches and restores and sacrifices and serves and to plead one last time again, here’s what you got to hear with so much need. We must open our hearts to others just as God opened his heart to us. Let’s pray. Father, how grateful we are that you did not close your heart to us even when we were your enemies, rebelling against you running from you. You loved us you open your heart to us opened your arms to us didn’t just welcome us back when we were willing to come back but went and got us when we were still unwilling. That’s how much you loved us and loved us at great cost the cost of Christ’s blood all this so that we could be reconciled to you back in relationship with you. Love like that should transform us. The deepest parts of our hearts Lord, we know that would you work that change in us even now, so that we too are willing to love sacrificially and open heartedly open our eyes to see those in our lives that we could love well like this for your namesake. Amen.

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Words About Words (Colossians 4:2-6) February 26, 2023 | Brandon Cooper TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

morning church, want to go ahead, grab your Bibles open up the Colossians chapter four will be in verses two to six this morning classes for two to six, as you’re turning there, let me share a couple of conversations. I’ve had a recent conversation just a few weeks back with a Muslim friend of mine. And I had the opportunity to share the gospel with him very briefly, just the basic contours of the message, especially sharing the difference between Christianity and all other world religions, and that Christianity is not about earning, but about receiving grace. And about an hour later in this conversation, he came back and said, you know, Islam actually teaches the same thing that we need Allah to be merciful to us we do as much as we can. But then Allah has to make up the gap between his standard and where we actually are. Another time, had invited someone to church I think was Easter kickoff, something like that. And they had actually come and was great. They had a good time, what not, in fact, they enjoyed it so much. He went home and told his friends about the service and invited them this is this is great news. First time guest who’s immediately inviting people to church, you gotta love this. And these friends, was lesbian couple. And so they asked a question that you would expect at that point, well, does your church welcome gays and lesbians. Or here’s another one, this was a few years prior, I was doing initiative evangelism at a community college not too far from here. And having a wonderful conversation. My buddy and I with the students, college students tend to be very eager to have conversations about all sorts of things. And all of a sudden, this older lady comes out of nowhere and just starts laying into the yelling, it was drew a crowd of about 30 people, as she’s yelling at us, all you Christians are the same. You all think, you know, we got to believe what you believe in stuff, just stop trying to convert us. Like multiply examples from here. I’m hoping you could multiply examples to, by the way, some conversations that you’ve had with people. But what do all of these stories have in common? These are all conversations, moments that needed a response questions that needed answers. But not only that, there was no obvious good answer. There wasn’t a clear reply in this moment. This is a time when I needed to choose my words, with prayer, and care and wisdom. To be what God has called us to be as Christians, ambassadors heralds those announcing a message we need to speak you can’t announce a message without speaking. But we need to speak well. And so how do we do that? In our passage today, Paul addresses this topic directly. We’ve got much to learn from the greatest evangelist in history. His point is simple. This is the main idea if you want to have it in your heads, we read the passage. Now the main idea is use your words, but choose your words. Use your words, we have to speak but choose your words. So how do we choose? Let’s look at three ways that we choose. First of all, we choose prayerfully prayerfully. This is from verses two to four. Let me read it for us now. Colossians, four, two to four. Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us to that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Frankly, if we got this first part, right, I think we could skip the rest of the sermon, the rest would fall in line very carefully. If we were prayerful in choosing our words. Notice that Paul doesn’t just say pray though, he says Devote yourselves to prayer. Devote yourself to prayer the idea is an ongoing devotion. So do we have special times carved out for prayer perhaps in our morning times of private worship or something? Absolutely. But I think the idea here is that the line is always open. The speakerphone is always on you’re always speaking to God, devoted to that sort of conversation. And in devoting ourselves and Paul tells us we need to be watchful, be alert to the will of God and to the need of the world. We need to have a a mental and a spiritual alertness. What this makes me think of immediately is if you’ve ever been driving in icy conditions, in other words, if you’re from Chicago, you’ve been driving in bad conditions at some point or another and you start to feel the tires slip and All of a sudden, all of your focus contracts into you know, hands on the steering wheel, working foot, you know, brake kind of stuff, you’re paying way more attention to traffic around you than you would on a sunny 80 degree day or something like that. I’ve had times where I’ve been driving and having conversation with my wife next to me, and I can feel that I need to be paying more attention to driving, I don’t say 100 Hold on a second. I just ignore her at that point. Because I’m so focused. That’s the type of heightened awareness that Paul is talking about here. We got to have hands gripping the wheel, knowing this is something we have to pay attention to heightened senses, listening to the Spirit of God devoted to prayer. And then Paul says, As you do that, be thankful as well. To be thankful is simply to see Grace everywhere. And so to rehearse God’s goodness, and faithfulness, no matter what conditions we may be driving in at the moment, this encourages our ongoing prayer to know the God to whom we are speaking. Makes me think of Joshua, you may remember back in early chapters of Joshua, the people of Israel crossed the Jordan River and they cross it on dry land, because God has stocked up the river a little bit ahead of where they are. And so what does Joshua have the priests do? He has them all pick up a stone, one for each tribe. So 12 stones grabbed out of the bottom of the river when it was dry, and they stack them in a pile to remember, this is who God is. You think of what encouragement that would give when they faced, you know, Jericho or something, when they’re Facing insurmountable object obstacles to go. No, no, no, look who God is local goddess, we’re fine. We’re fine. Be thankful. So we’ve got this devoted prayer with watchfulness and thankfulness. But what for since devoted prayer specifically, Paul says that the door may be opened, so that we can proclaim the mystery of the gospel. Remember, the mystery in Colossians is that which was previously hidden, but which has now been revealed, and we have a part to play in revealing that mystery. But this prayer that God would open a door for our message reorients us to our primary purpose, our commission in life, what is our primary purpose? It’s to glorify God. But how do we glorify God do a lot of different ways, but one of the primary ways we glorify God by helping those around us to glorify God as well to engage in the fruitful labor of helping others magnify Christ, Paul says in Philippians one, this is our purpose, our mission as a church, we’re made to magnify and then we’re sent to serve, and how do we serve by helping others magnify Christ to so this sort of alert prayer with our missional focus at the front of our minds, keeps us from muddying the Gospels, crystal clear waters, with tangential issues like politics, and culture war issues. Arguably, the greatest hindrance to our gospel ministry today, are the sorts of distractions, we would rather win some culture war Hill instead of winning the world for Christ, it is clear that many Christians in our country prefer political victories to gospel events. God help us how difficult we make evangelism for ourselves and for others by majoring in the minors. And so here this sort of prayer refocuses us, right? This, this is what we are to be about, we’re to preach the gospel, and the Gospel. Because notice what Paul says, he’s asking God to open a door to the message, not the messenger specifically, again, there’s a laser focus there. What is important here is not that I go through the door, but that the Gospel goes through the door, the message of Christ. So there’s a laser focus, it also wakes us up to some unexpected answers that we might encounter, because we may be praying for the gospel to advance thinking we’re going to be the ones who get to say it. And then it turns out, somebody else gets to say it. I had this recently. In fact, it’s a family member that I’ve spoken to many, many times. And who told me recently, he’s like, Yeah, I was having this conversation with a co worker, and all of a sudden, she started to talk to me like the way you talk to me. I was like, that’s amazing. He’s like, I thought you’d like that. I love that.
Of course I do. And that was I’ve actually prayed that many many times. Look, I’m up I’m a brother. I’m a nobody’s gonna listen to me at this point. I’m too close kind of thing. We could bring other Christians into their lives. Let the message advance. We know how important prayer for the message to advance It is Hudson Taylor shares his story was a famous missionary to China started a number of ministry stations across inland China. And there was one station that was especially fruitful more so than all the others could never figure out why, like the guy who ran it didn’t seem to be particularly talented or anything like that. Well, he’s traveling in the States, Hudson Taylor, you know, raising money for the mission and all that stuff. And someone comes up to him and starts asking him all these questions very specifically about this one station. He’s going, Why are you so interested in this station? He says, Oh, well, since I’ve heard about it, I’ve been praying for it daily. And as well, of course, that explains it. Now. I know why this has been a fruitful mission. He didn’t go through the door. But he was praying that the gospel would go through the door. And certainly it did. Surely though, in praying this we are praying for God to provide opportunities for us to share, too. Here’s the thing, this is in the Word of God, what confidence that should give us. When we pray for open doors, according to these passages, we know that God loves to hear and answer these prayers, that he will in fact, open doors, even in chains. By the way, don’t miss that part. You know, man, I’m open door and I can proclaim the mystery of Christ for which I am in chains. It’s just a reminder, by the way, that sharing the gospel doesn’t always go well for us as messengers. And that’s okay, because we’re hoping to see the message go forth, not the messenger. What a laser focus again, though, that Paul’s like, look, I don’t care. I don’t care. I’m in chains, because the message, the mission, that’s all still happening. He’s not praying for a change of circumstances. He’s praying that God would be glorified in His circumstances, and that the gospel would advance in those circumstances. And so he says, even in chains, Pray that I may declare it clearly. That I may declare it clearly, there’s a clear way to present the gospel. And there are lots of unclear ways to present the gospel. It’s exactly what we’re working on in Journey group right now, if you guys are where my journey group is, and a lot of you are in Journey groups, or discipleship groups, and we’re working on this activity, how do you present the gospel in the most effective way so that it’s tailored to fit the person that you’re speaking to? And we see this in the book of Acts, for example, compare Paul’s evangelistic message to the Jews in Antioch Acts, chapter 13, with the pagans in Athens Acts chapter 17. These are radically different messages. Of course they are, if he’d said the same thing in Athens, that he said in Antioch, all these Athenians would have gone. What? I had no idea what you just said, they had no background in the Old Testament, He had to start somewhere else. So we have to think we have to prepare, how do we communicate this message clearly. And to avoid Christianese? That would just confuse like, again, Paul gets into Athens. And he’s like, when we talk about Leviticus, and they go, I don’t know what a Leviticus is. That’s not helpful. We say lots of not helpful things as Christians don’t wait. You know what you need to be washed in the blood? Come on. That doesn’t mean anything. Of course it does. But you got a whole lot of background that you got to get to first, there’s an old joke, is a graffiti wall at a Christian college, you know, a chalkboard kind of thing. And this was written on there, it said, Jesus said to them, who do you say that I am? Mark chapter eight. Great question. Right? And they replied, You are the eschatological manifestation of the ground of our being the Kerygma, in which we find the ultimate meaning of our interpersonal relationships. And Jesus said, what? Exactly right, exactly. Pray that we may declare it clearly, actually clarify the mystery that has been revealed. But all this talk of choosing our words, prayerfully reminds us we should never talk to a person about God until we have talked to God about that person. Even if by the way that is really frantic quick prayer, because all of a sudden, the door just flung open. You’re like, I’ve never met this person before. But it’s clear I should be talking about Jesus. Lord, would you help me? But we pray, we pray, especially when those conversations get tricky. Like the ones I mentioned in my opening examples, only fools would rushing to conversations like that. But this prayer also moves us away from self reliance to absolute dependence on God. There’s when we face conversations like that, I know what you’re thinking, because it’s what I’m thinking to. I don’t know what to do. I don’t have the answers. I am totally inadequate. Correct. You are, but you know who’s adequate. The spirit who’s indwelling you that’s why we pray. So prayer will lead us to that sort of dependence, that clarity of mission and also to purse severence in prayer, Jesus teaches us this Luke chapter 18 verse one, it says that Jesus told his disciples a parable, to show them that they should always pray and not give up. So that’s the lesson we’re about to get. And what’s the parable He tells it’s of a widow who has been denied justice. And so she keeps going to the judge and saying, Would you give me justice, and he ignores her because she’s poor, she’s insignificant. She doesn’t matter. She’s part of a marginalized community. But she shows up, and she shows up, and she shows up, and she shows up until finally the judge says, Fine, here’s your justice. Why not because he cared about justice, but because he was tired of her banging on the door. Now, the lesson to take away from this, by the way is not that God does not want to give us justice. God is not saying I’m like the unrighteous judge in this parable. All he’s saying is if even an unrighteous judge will finally give in to persistent prayer to persistent requests, how much more so you’re a loving father. That’s the lesson to take away. Look, what persistence does, how faithfully we should pray for the people around us who need to hear the gospel message. The truth is, so often we are half hearted evangelist lacking desperation for those in our lives in truth, lacking love. And so we must devote ourselves to prayer. Before we press on to the next point, I want to pivot just for a moment and address any skeptics who might be in the room this morning. If you’re here, first of all, welcome. We’re so glad that you’re here. And you are very welcome here. But everything I’ve just said so far, might be a little bit shocking to you even a little bit off putting, because you may be sitting there thinking so Wait, y’all are trying to convert me? To which I would say yes, okay. Yes, absolutely. That is right. You have heard me correctly there. I know that that is not how we talk today we live in a culture of speech is violence. And anyone who’s trying to change your mind is encroaching on your personal autonomy, like you do you right? That’s the That’s our culture of primary value. Be true to yourself? What would I say to that in light of this, and in light of the fact that we are very definitely trying to convert you. First of all, the idea of tolerance implies disagreement. You don’t tolerate someone who agrees with you on every point, you tolerate the person who disagrees with you. You go okay, but we can still be friends, even though we don’t agree on this issue or that issue. So I hope you would be open to hearing from us. But beyond that, I would say we all seek to persuade, of course we do. I mean, just look around, would you want to convert the racists in your life? Human traffickers, hate mongers, of course. And it would be right of you to do so it would be a good thing, because it’d be better for them to be freed from those sorts of terrible, terrible decisions. And that’s the key point here. We are seeking to persuade you, because we believe that this is good news. In fact, the very best news, we live in a broken world that’s evident, I don’t need to convince you of that, and we are broken people. But Jesus has come to make all things new. Even you and me. He offers us a fresh start. A second chance, hope for change, when we leave that brokenness behind and follow Him. So pray, all of us that God would open doors for us to speak that truth. And then speak it. So choose your words prayerfully. But use your words, speak that message. Second point.
So use your words, choose your words, choose them wisely, wisely. Verse five, let me read it for us, be wise, and the way you act toward outsiders make the most of every opportunity. So full confession. Of course, this is not about words. He says, Be wise in the way you act, although I think that would include our speech. And so let’s start there at least we can act in ways that implicitly deny the goodness and grace of God implicitly deny God’s presence in our lives. This was true even back then I think Paul is speaking to the clash. And specifically, here’s the way FF Bruce, the great New Testament theologian puts it he says distorted accounts of Christian conduct and belief were in circulation. It was important that Christians should give no color to these colonies, but you’d rather give the lie to them by their regular manner of life. Now things haven’t really changed. Ah, there are a lot of slanderous things said about Christians, we’re hate filled bigots. We are hypocrites, all of us, we only care about money or power, or whatever it may be. And so when we keep quoting Bruce, he says it remains true that the reputation of the gospel is bound up with the behavior of those who claim to have experienced at saving power. People who do not read the Bible for themselves or listen to the preaching of the Word of God can see the lives of those who do and form their judgment accordingly. You’ve heard it said before, I’m sure this is not an original thought, but you may be the only Bible people read and the only Jesus that people see. So what will they learn of the gospel from you? I wrote about this in the Pulse this week. In Matthew chapter nine, when Jesus heals the paralytic, how important was that the paralyzed man actually stood up and walked after Jesus said, Get up and walk like that’s the moment when people began to praise God. Jesus is trying to demonstrate His power, His authority to forgive sins, if he had said, Get up and walk and the guy had stayed on the mat, and said, What can’t you remember? I’m paralyzed? Do you think people would have praised God? No. When Jesus says, Be holy, just as your Father in heaven is a holy, and we keep lying on the mat, do you think people are gonna praise God? No, we have to live the change lives that we have experienced in Christ. A part of being wise and especially wise, and how we speak so that we live these sorts of change lives, is listening, well, listening well, we need to engage in hospitable conversation that invites outsiders in to Paul’s talking about be wise in the way you act toward outsiders and outsider here, we don’t mean people that we want to keep on the outside, we just mean people who are different from us from whatever reason who are separated from our community, it might be ethnicity that separates it might be socio economic status, it certainly would be religion as well. We want to know these people want to welcome them in, of course, how do you do that? How do you welcome somebody in in conversation, especially by asking good questions, not our strength as a culture. I don’t think social media has not helped us here either. We’re good at giving our opinion. Which by the way, makes outsiders stay away. Because why would you want to come into that? Listen to the wisdom of Proverbs here. Fools find no pleasure in understanding, but delight in airing their own opinions. That’s American culture. In a nutshell, right there. That’s us. Just stamped across the whole country. Okay. But imagine how that hinders evangelism. I mean, instead of listening to somebody, what questions do you have what objections come to mind as I speak about this? Share your background? Where are you coming from? You go, Whoa, hey, I don’t need to hear that. Okay. I’m trying to get through my can gospel presentation here. If you all could just be quiet for a moment. That is not inviting somebody in or proverbs 1813 To answer before listening, that his folly and shame. Do you think the gospel is accepted from that statement right there? No, of course not. We listen well, so that we can speak well. Fools rush into conversations, but to be wise, is to be slow to speak, and quick to listen, all while persevering in prayer, of course. At the same time, let’s not lose sight of the fact that we are being wise and prayerful for a purpose. We are aiming to make the most of every opportunity. There is an urgency to our conversations. I know that’s we I gotta said two different things. We got to be slow to speak and yet urgent. In our message. Yes, exactly. Holman intention. That’s fine. Okay. But there’s this urgency because of our love. For those around us. We need to speak this message because they need to hear this message. Let me make a brief aside here I am a firm believer that language shapes thought and as a result, shapes culture. And so we need to be very careful with the words we use and how we use them. I’ll give you just a smaller example to kind of make the point. What do you call this room? It’s kind of a big deal actually. Is this the sanctuary? So I don’t like calling it the sanctuary because sanctuary means holy place and this is not a holy place. This is just a room. It’s got brick and mortar and windows and all that stuff. What makes it holy is when we are here because this sanctuary is us. We are the living stones being built up into the temple of God. And if we met in a different room that’s the sanctuary. So why don’t I call this the sanctuary? So let’s call it the worship center. A lot of churches doing that now, right? You don’t want to like that one. Because it implies that this is the place where worship happens. You know, we’re worship should happen. Everywhere you go all the time, no matter what everything you do, dude, all the glory of God. All right, what about the auditorium then? Honestly, I like that one better, because you do listen in this room. But we also are meant to speak the truth in love to one another to sing to one another. So this is not just a place for listening for speaking as well plus auditorium implies spectating and you are not here as spectators we know that. This all that to say I don’t know what to call this room. Literally call it the gathering room in my head, at least because well, that’s I know we do that here. At least this is where we go. Okay, you see how that language those shapes our thinking. Alright, so now let’s get back to our topic. How do we speak about evangelism most often, we refer to it as sharing the gospel. But there’s a problem with that. Elliot Clark points this out in his book evangelism is exiles well worth reading. He says the problem with this is that we share when people want something from us. I use the word share a lot in my household, especially with my boys. One of them, let’s say Callum will have a truck and Mari will be sobbing next to him. Roles are often reversed. Because he wants the truck. There is a bin next to him with 800 other trucks. None of those exists. None of those are good, right? And we need this one. And so we have to say to Captain look, Amari would like a turn, you need to share it because Amari wants it we need to share. Is that what evangelism is like? Oh, that’ll inhibit evangelism, won’t it? Because how often do people come up to you and go, I really need to know how to get peace in my life. Could you help me out here? No. How does the New Testament speak of it, you can read the entirety of the New Testament, you will search in vain for the phrase share the Gospel, you know what you will see instead, proclaim the gospel. That is what we are called to do not share it, but to proclaim it. So we pray for opportunities and then we seize them. Even if there’s not an open invitation, would you please tell me about this, we searched for them like a mouse running from a cat searches for even the smallest crevice to crawl through. And when we proclaim the gospel, so we take the opportunities that God provides forth, we also seek to make opportunities where we can proclaim the gospel, I need to say something, Can I Can I say something? Can I Can we talk for a moment. We cannot do this well, with our current pace of living in the suburbs, which means our lives need to change. And I’m speaking to myself here, too. We need to slow down our pace of life so that we can see and seize these opportunities, you cannot see clearly when you are flying by I know this I was just in Costa Rica. If you know me, well, you know, I went there to look for birds. I don’t know what the rest of my family was doing. I was there for the birds. And so I would have my camera out all the time, even when we were driving in a bumpy Boston stuff. And I would go there’s no chance to take a picture, no chance to identify nothing like that. That’s us with our Gospel opportunities.
It’s gone. We need to slow down. I just wrote about this for the gospel coalition in an article called don’t reap to the edges of your life. This is the idea exactly. Most of us we have no margins left. So don’t worry, it’s taken from a little bit of Kiss. Don’t rip it out of your life. Like you gotta leave the edges of your field. For those who are in need. We don’t have fields but we do have calendars Have you left the gleanings, the edges for the people who are going to need you in your life who are hungry and desperate for word even if they don’t know what you need to cut stuff. I will not say it any less bluntly than that you need to cut stuff out of your life see a margin for mission because this is the commission God has given us and we will certainly not here well done good and faithful servant. We don’t carry out the commission that he gave us to do. Choose your words wisely. But then use them making the most of every opportunity to proclaim the gospel. Third, use your words but choose your words, choose graciously verse six, let me read it for us. Let your conversation be always full of grace. See Season with salt so that you may know how to answer everyone. Paul gives us three new keys here to choosing our words they need to be seasoned with salt addressed to individuals and full of grace. Now Season with salt is the most confusing one for us today. That’s not how we often think about our conversation. But in pagan thoughts, salt suggests wit, me quote, FF Bruce again, he says, nor will their speech be acceptable, if it is insipid. Those who are the salt of the earth may be reasonably expected to have some savor about their language. We’re not talking about being merely pithy here, those if that’s what was needed, but conversation that evidences sustained reflection that actually adds something to the conversation, the way that salt adds flavor to a bland dish. Have you thought deeply enough about the gospel to communicate its many facets to those in need? Or do you only have one version of the gospel that you can share? The one that you memorize way back when for most of us, by the way, that would be the courtroom language. We were guilty. We had a punishment that we deserved, when the judge got down off the bench and took the punishment on himself so that we can be declared innocent, not wrong, good message to speak, okay, our legal standing before God matters. But that’s a message that speaks to the guilty. You know what our culture doesn’t feel for the most part today? Guilty. You have anything else to say? Can you speak to the hopeless to the ashamed? To those who are feeling unsatisfied, even as they chase after idols? I could go on from there. This is why we need an individual focus, by the way, so Season with salt but addressed individuals. What does Paul say we know how to answer each one. So that we you may know how to answer everyone, as a unique image bearer requiring a unique presentation of gospel truths. Again, why we listen well, why we ask questions, why we speak slowly. All of that is so that we can learn how you can take Paul in Athens, he did not actually have conversation with pagan philosophers before him. But you know what he did before he spoke to them, he walked around the city. And he paid attention, so that when he spoke to them, he said, I saw, I saw that you’re very religious, that you’re you care about this stuff. But you’ve also got an altar to an unknown God. Let me talk about him. You see, he knew how to answer the people before him because he paid attention. The Gospel speaks to all of us where we are. But we got to know where people are, in order to have the gospel speak to them, we got to listen to know that takes us into the final piece, though. So it’s Season with salt addressed to individuals, but it should also be full of grace. And there is a double meaning here and both the English and the Greek full of grace talking about the content, but also the character of our speech. And that makes sense. Our speech should display the gospel. You cannot separate the message from the medium. Can you share a harsh, unkind, hateful gospel? That doesn’t even make sense? That’s a contradiction in terms true doctrine Express falsely is false. And here’s the rule Ephesians 429. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs. So that it may benefit those who listen, do not let any. But only these are absolute terms. There are no exceptions to this rule. That it may benefit those who listen more literally in the ESV renders it this way, that it may give grace to those who listen exactly as we full of grace, that it may give grace to those who listen, every conversation you have must give grace to those listening. Or else according to this verse, at least, I may be wrong here. But I think it’s sin. If it does not give grace to those who are listening, then is not in keeping with Ephesians 429. And by the way, then let me just real quick if you’re a skeptic here today and you’ve been hurt, by the way Christians have spoken to you just know that was sin. That was wrong. That was profoundly evil. And I am sorry for you. The gospel will offend you. It offends all of us. The fact that we cannot do it on our own is deeply deeply of offensive but we should give no offense other than the gospel. So playing on the double meaning let’s just talk about the character and content character side. Again, what does this look like? It looks like listening well, asking honest questions speaking with kindness and gratitude and living the gospel in deed. There is no place for Christian blowhards for endless debating for the focus on those tangential issues like politics and culture wars. There’s no place for content without the character. And we follow Jesus’s example, and think about how Jesus spoke to sinners. He spoke in such a way that the truth was always there. He was not wishy washy on truth, was he? No. And sinners flocked to him. They flocked to him. The prostitutes, the tax collectors, they’re like, where’s Jesus? If I got to be there, do they flock to you? And if not, why not? Are you not following your mast? And then even the notice how he responded when people confronted him? You are talking about the character, the Gospel? Jesus had people come at him regularly. How do you respond? Do you respond like Jesus? He often asked questions when people confronted him to defuse the situation. So I remember when I was at the community college and the lady came in, like both barrels blazing. Thankfully, I was with somebody else. This is not my strength. I’m not good at asking questions. You wanna know why? I’m a preacher? I got all the answers. This is bad. I repent. Okay, right there before you I confess, I repent. The guy next to me much better at this. All he did was he looked at the lady and he said, So what’s your name? It completely changed her demeanor. Like that was Jesus right there. And so we we respond by asking kind, gospel questions, go back to some of the stories I shared in the intro is, you know, Allah also is merciful to us. There’s no difference between this is mercy different than grace? Is there a difference between doing all you can and then seeing if God will respond and having God initiate and then doing what you can in response? Or the couple who asks, Does your church welcome gays and lesbians? Which it certainly does, by the way? Well, okay, what do you mean by welcome? Those are different words, does welcoming someone imply acceptance of every part of their life? Is there anyone that you would welcome into church but say, but the behavior? We want to see change? If somebody came in who was a member of the kk k? Would we welcome them? Yeah, they need Jesus, don’t they? Would we welcome their racism? No, no, of course not. Or the lady who was attacking you already? You’re trying to convert? Should you ever tried to persuade someone? Is it ever right? And maybe even imperative that we seek to persuade? Those are important questions. In fact, of course, that lady was trying to persuade me right then that you shouldn’t try to persuade people, all sorts of interesting conversations here. So there’s the character of the gospel, it’s not the content of the the full of grace, peace. What do we mean by that, then it means that every conversation should be about Jesus. It can be it really can be it can be about His love, His life, His death, His resurrection and his return. Does that mean we go through the front door every time? I’m glad you brought that up, let’s open up to God a gospel of John. No, not necessarily. Okay.
But the if Jesus is the focus of our hearts, He will certainly be the aim of our conversation. Again, those are some of the ones that I just mentioned, is there a difference between obeying to be accepted and being accepted? Therefore obey? Can we welcome and at the same time call out of sin? Can we persuade for good okay? Those are not conversations explicitly about Jesus. But those are conversations talking about God’s character and work the sinfulness of humanity, the foundations of morality. And those are all gospel conversations. Choose your words graciously, but then use them speak grace to those in desperate need of it. It’s an important message for us. It’s an important message for us because so often we closed doors because we are Prayerless foolish and argumentative with our words. Why is that? I’ve actually preached this message before you probably missed it because it was the first week when we weren’t meeting as a church because of COVID The last week of our better yes series and so maybe you missed it, but if you did watch and took notes or like hey, he already use these words. Yes. I did. Okay. And yet we still need to hear it. We haven’t all changed. We haven’t all been perfected, why not? So it clearly this is not just a lack of information on our part. Why do we need this message? Why do we keep speaking prayer was foolish and argumentative words, Augustine would tell us rightly, just because we got our priorities wrong. We’ve got our loves out of order. I mean, just think for a moment, why would you speak Prayerless words? Why would you ever be Prayerless? answers because you love yourself more than God? You would never say that I know. And yet it happens. Because that’s what you’re expressing when you are self reliant. Trusting in the flesh, I will speak to God when I need help. That’s a lot of us, isn’t it? And so it’s about me, like God is just the drive thru order. I’m gonna need some circumstances change today. Why would you speak foolish words? Why would you be foolish and the way you act towards outsiders, even with your schedules, for example, because you love yourself more than you love your neighbors, don’t you? And so you are pursuing salvation through activities, creating an identity for yourself by the things that you do are more likely in the suburbs by the things you have your kids do. And you cannot give that up. Because this is where your salvation lies. Why would you speak argumentative cruel words, because you love yourself more than you love the gospel. You love the issues that matter to you more than you love the gospel. And so you become tribal and narrow, instead of proclaiming the inclusive gospel of Christ. There is this thought that we all have that a good person thinks apps about abortion, LGBTQ issues, critical race theory, regulations for trains, carrying hazardous materials. And if a good person thinks those things, and you don’t think those things, good, logical syllogism you’re a bad person, and I am within my rights to disdain you and to speak disdainfully to you, so we don’t communicate the content and the character the gospel because we can’t, because our idols where we seek to establish our identity to make us hateful, disdainful, or even just dismissive. So what’s the solution? The solution is, of course, Jesus. Jesus, who loves us to the uttermost and meets us in those spaces, you don’t need to save yourself. You don’t need to create an identity for yourself. You don’t need to, to disdain other people to make yourself feel good about yourself, because God already loves you in Christ is met you and your schedule and the issues in your identity. So the gospel frees us to bless, rather than fight makes us selfless instead of selfish, just like Jesus, and Jesus was persecuted. He was attacked, how did he respond? Within salt? No, often was silence, and always with love. You ever said something you wish you hadn’t? Of course, I could have met you right now. And no, that’s true of you. Why? Because you weren’t trusting in Jesus, and you weren’t resting in his love. That’s why every time he is the word, that word of grace, that we are speaking, we need to listen. And then we need to speak that word. Use your words, but choose your words. prayerfully, wisely, graciously, just two quick words, as I close, I want to send you out with this ringing in your ears. First of all, to skeptics, again, if you’re here today and a skeptic, this has been a sermon about speaking to you. And so as you probably do it at some point, here’s what I would say to you, as you go from here. Make the most of your opportunities. And what I mean by that is making the most of your opportunity to hear the gospel to listen to it to engage with the gospel. Listen well to those who are explaining the mystery of Christ. Well, whose life matches the message they’re proclaiming? If they’re not, if they’re foolish and argumentative. Don’t quit on Christianity. But find someone else to listen to. But then listen, like actually engage with his message. Allow yourself to at least be open to persuasion because that’s just the humility of acknowledging we might not know what we’re talking about any of us about anything. And so listen to the Gospel Church, then. This is where we’re weakest. I don’t think there’s anyone here who would give us top marks for evangelistic zeal as a church. I don’t think this is our strength. So we need to keep talking about this. So that we start talking about this. With those around us merit mentioned already, we Got a revival series coming. As he mentioned, we have our sermon series usually planned about a year in advance. So we are trusting that the fact that this is coming right after Asbury is the providence of God, hopefully God is beginning something that’s about to go nationwide, we would love to see that. Because we need revival in our lives, in our church and in our communities. And we do want to be praying about this. I certainly hope that all of you who are here in this room now will be in the fellowship hall at 915. Next week, this series is building to Easter very intentionally, like it ends on Palm Sunday. Why? Because we’re going to talk about reaching out and inviting in whether that’s an inviting into church to the Easter service, sure, but most especially to a relationship with Jesus. So would you start praying now about that? Even before we get to the speaking the words would you pray is what we said, right? You got to start with prayer. Who is your one? Or two? Or three or five? Or 12? Who is your one? Would you be praying God grant me the opportunity open the door, so that I can use prayerful, wise and gracious words. Let’s pray now. Father, we pray that You would open a door so that our message can advance the gospel message, your message may advance, we pray that You would help us to be alert, watchful, thankful, devoted to prayer so that we can see and seize the opportunities around us. We pray that You would help us to listen well to ask good questions, to think, pray and prepare so that when we speak, we speak clearly making the most of every opportunity that you’ve given us. And we certainly pray, Lord, that You would be changing us so that when we speak our words, communicate not just the content, but the character of the gospel, that we would be gracious and loving in all that we do and say, But Lord, that’s not the end of our prayer. The end of our prayer is that after all that has happened, that the people who here would receive the message that they would respond, and the repentance and faith that you give them as you raise them to new life in Christ, by grace through faith, Lord, make us bold, loving, wise ambassadors for your kingdom. That’s for your glory we pray, amen.

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Home Improvement (Colossians 3:18-4:1) February 19, 2023 | Kyle Bjerga TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

Man, good morning. Go and grab your bibles turn to Colossians chapter three. If using one in the pew it is on page 955 955. For some of us here, well first, let me ask this, how many of you guys went home, threw some clothes away last week. Get rid of some clothes, donate some clothes. I know some of you did. That’s not we’re talking about today. But I hope more so that you’re able to work on some of the things we said that we need to get rid of in our life and put on the new life in Christ. But I did hear from some of you. So it’s encouraging to hear that we’ve been working on this, not just with our actual clothes, but in our spiritual lives, as well. But today, many of us here have probably are familiar with or have bought a home. And when you buy a home, there is a lot of excitement. Like you want people to come over and see your place and maybe have a housewarming party. And some of the things we may have up in our home or pictures, pillows, candles with things printed on it that says Home is where the heart is Home, sweet home, or our happy place. But it doesn’t take long until you are actually in homeownership before something breaks. Something doesn’t work, you don’t like that wall there anymore. The fridge just isn’t in the right place. So after 50 trips to Home Depot and ace and a whole lot of repairman in and outs with bills coming in, you start to think Did I buy the money pit home. Now it’s not usually that bad. But it does make you start to think as you get in and that excitement is gone. You’re like, oh, there’s that one person who said at one point, home ownership isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Like, ah, that’s that’s I’m seeing a little bit of truth in that. But these big and small issues that come up these home repairs, these home improvements, they make an impact on our time, they make an impact on possibly relationships, they make an impact on our sanity, and they make an impact on our bank account. Oh, it would be nice to not have a house with home repairs. It’s would be nice, but it’s not reality, it never will be. And then we always have the hope when somebody comes in that that thing is working the way it was supposed to. Or even better. It’s got some upgrades. And it works better than before. But there’s something else in our homes that’s broken. It’s a different kind of home repair or improvement. It actually makes for more sleepless nights, more arguments, more stress, more headaches, and more prayers. Plus, it’s a whole lot harder to fix than the honey do list. What does that problem? It’s you. It’s me. It’s anybody who lives in your home. All of us because our homes have broken relationships. at varying degrees, of course, but we’re broken people in need of a Savior. So we’re not going to have these perfect relationships. Back in chapter one of classes you saw the god is designer, he’s the creator of everything, everything in through and for Christ Jesus. That means God is the designer of our homes. And the ways our homes are set up in the relationships that we have, he made the roles and responsibilities perfectly for us to thrive, not to hold us back, but to thrive in our relationships in our life. So why do we have broken homes? Why do we have broken relationships? Well, it goes back to the garden and all the way through till now we believe we have a better plan, a better design than God did. So we live out a different design of our own choosing. And then we quickly realize that this isn’t working. Like this is a whole lot harder than fixing a broken dishwasher, or picking the wrong paint color. Jesus cares about our homes. And Paul takes us through what has been called the household code today. If you’ve been reading ahead, you saw that this week. He wants to show us that Jesus cares about our families and wants to change our families. And he can. There were a lot of ancient household codes back here. So Paul is using something that was familiar, but he says this is what a Christian household should look like. And there are differences which we’ll see. Now from the outset, we need to address a few things. Because when we come to a household code like this, we’re going to hear some words and some things that to our sensitive ears. Today, we will want to either dismiss or we’re going to want to defend or try to lessen the blow by explain some things away. To avoid that temptation, you’ll see on your notes, I have three things that I want. I just want it stated there that I want you to be thinking through if you hear one of those words, or if you have a problem with something that the Bible says to go back to these three things because I think it will help us as we go throughout. So let me go through them quickly. Number one, the household code was radical back then, and it’s still today. So that the household code is radical because women, children and slaves which are all mentioned for Listen, these three pairings, the fact that they are addressed as equals to husbands, fathers and masters. That was not true of other household codes, but they are equals. That’s a huge deal. Christianity brought with it the equality, dignity, worth and value of every single person. That, by the way, was always true in God’s creation, but it was lost along the way forgotten. It wasn’t practiced. So it was radical back then when they read this letter in the church, and it’s radical for us today. Because hearing words like submit and obey, which wouldn’t have bothered them back then bother us today, in an individualized anti authority, culture, that makes us seem stuck, or regressive, or even harmful in this culture. And we need to remember that the gospel is counterculture to every single culture it goes into, regardless of time, regardless of the people, it always will be counter culture. The second thing is Jesus is the one who defines our relationships and roles. We don’t get to take God’s good design and say, I can define this however I want and make it better. That’s not up for us to do with his his role. So God does that. We’re called to follow that design. And like we just saying, I will trust you, even if I’m not quite sure I agree with it. Or I have questions I will trust you. And third, God’s good design is still good. Even if the examples and experiences in your life are bad. Everyone here has examples and experiences where God’s design wasn’t lived out. And you have experience pain, your experience hurt, and negative feelings towards people, and probably God, and His Word and His design. But it’s not a problem with his design. Okay, it’s not a problem with his designs, because others have forgotten how to live within that design, have chosen to do things opposite of what God says. So that’s the framer, that’s where we’re coming from. So I want you to go back to those of you have a hard time with anything that we hear this morning. And the big idea today is that the Lord transforms homes, through relationships. If you want your home to change, it’s going to come to the relationships that make up your home. So we want to follow God’s design in our marriage, in our parenting, and in our work, which is our outline today. Well, last thing before we dig in, is we’re looking at three of the most important areas of our in our whole lives in 30 more minutes. Okay, so we are leaving a lot unsaid. We have to, but I really hope and my goal this morning is that this is really just something that gets you thinking and gets you into conversation with your spouse, with your kids, with your community group and your journey group and people that work and other Christians. This is this is meant to be something that drives us into these conversations today. So I won’t be able to say everything. So if you’re like, Oh, I wish he said that. I wish I could too. We don’t have time. So I’m going to try and give us as best we can an understanding of what this text means. And we’ll try to work through some practical implications of that today. But the first thing is we want to follow God’s design for marriage. Look at verse 18. Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Like I said, we start off with a big word. Submission. submission is voluntary deference to another. We all submit to someone at some point in our life. We’re all submitting to someone now. Whether that’s a boss, ultimately, it’s Jesus, but hopefully, that we’re submitting to, but it’s that voluntary deference to another. So here in this case, it is a wife to her husband. It is not a woman to every man everywhere. It’s not what the text says, a wife to her husband. And I love how Ray ortlund describes in his book on marriage. He says submission is an attitude of readiness to yield to and support her husband’s worthy headship, a readiness and attitude of readiness to yield to and support her husband’s worthy headship. This is God’s designed for to be this way. And it says in Genesis that everything God made was good. Very good. Therefore, submission and marriage according to God cannot be a bad thing. It is not a bad thing. In fact, it was meant to help us thrive in marriage. He had a purpose for marriage with a wife would be the helper, the perfect complement to the husband and his role, which is headship and we’ll get to there get to that in just a minute. But we lose something in marriage. If we lose either one of these. We lose something in marriage if we lose submission if we lose headship. So, wives
it does not mean that you cannot have an opinion I share that opinion, make decisions, question things. It doesn’t mean you stay in a relationship where you are threatened or harmed at all. That’s not what submission means. Now, why do you submit? It says in the verse that is fitting to the Lord, which simply means you are living in an attitude that is truly Christ, like in Ephesians 521, which starts off the household code in the book of Ephesians, we get this in Ephesians 521, which I think will be on the screen for you, it says, Submit, maybe it’s not submit to one another, out of reverence for Christ. That’s what Ephesians 521 says, Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. That means before you get the household code, every Christian should be submitting to every other Christian, out of reverence for Christ deferring to them. The way the wife primarily lives this out then is in her relationship to her husband. Now a quick word here, because we’re gonna see this over and over again, in this text we see here this is for the Lord. Okay, the Lord comes up in this text six times as the Lord and one time is master in heaven. So why is the Lord mentioned this many times in nine verses, when this is supposed to be a list of instructions for the household? Because it’s the only it’s only in the Lord that any of these relationships can be lived out according to His plan. That’s the only reason. All of this is grounded. The last few weeks that we were we’ve been in collage and the Colossians, three, all of it is grounded. They’re saying you have an old life and a new life, take off the old and put on the new and here is part of the new this is how you live out the new life in Christ in your family, but it has to be done in the Lord. Because only He can transform homes, only he can transform relationships. So the Lord changes the view. And that we have and how we enter in to relationships. So we’re going to hear this throughout the attachment to see the Lord and the master in heaven throughout. So just want to make sure that we’re aware of that. So as you’re, as reading these verses, keep hearing that, because that’s the reason we can do these things. Now. Alright, so back to the wives real quick, I’m, I’m going to step away here, because this is not in the Bible, I’m giving my opinion. I am pretty sure that Eve did not have a problem with a complementary marriage that her and Adam had in the garden. I think she saw that it was good, not just good that it was perfect. That she didn’t fight it, that she didn’t question it. She didn’t say why does he get to lead? Because she saw it was perfect. That is until Adam failed, and failed to fulfill his role of loving her by protecting her from the serpent in Genesis three. Do you remember the story? Even Adam are very close to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil that they’re not supposed to eat from. So close, in fact that she is tempted to take the fruit and eat it and she does take the fruit and she does eat it. And what does it say? She gave some to her husband who was with her. He was right there with her. It wasn’t she had to go to the other side of the garden to find Adam and given this fruit. He was right there. His role was to protect her and say we’re not supposed to eat that. So when he failed first, she failed. And in entered guilt and shame and blame. And the struggle has continued in marriage ever since. Where each person tries to live out their own ideas creating their own roles and responsibilities. Wives this this call of submission is a high calling. husband’s you to have a high calling. Look at verse 19. Husbands love your wives and do not be harsh with them. No Roman household code ever told the husband to love his wife. This is radical. They did not say that. And love Here’s the word agape meaning sacrificial love, self sacrifice, sacrificing your life for your wife and not just physically. Now if it came to that, yes, give your life for and I think all of us would stand up and say yes, I give my life for my wife. But it’s so much more than that. It’s denying ourselves daily for her good. As Christians, we’re called to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus. That’s what Jesus says A disciple is that’s what we’re called to do every single day. When we deny ourselves for Jesus that will help us deny ourselves in every other relationship. Do you see how that works? It’s not just for him, it’s for him and everyone else we’re going to come in contact with. And so for the husband is primarily happens in marriage with his wife, and then also with his children, and also in work. So we love self sacrificially. And it says do not be harsh. US So here’s one way you can be harsh. We can go through tons and tons of reasons. Here’s one way you can be harsh, demanding submission. That’s not what we are called to do. This is one reason why so many people have a negative view of submission in marriage, because of men who have wrongly interpreted this passage and use it abusively, incorrectly misinterpreted, whether it was on purpose or not, substituting submission for obedience. That’s not what it says, says submit voluntary deference, yielding to being prepared and ready to yield. Obedience is coming. But it’s not for this relationship. So men do not use it that way. Why Should men love their wives? We don’t get the answer here in Colossians. But we do in the parallel passage in Ephesians, five, which you saw, it’ll be up here again, says Husbands love your wives, which we just read in Colossians. And then it goes on to say, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up, for her, the most Christ like thing a husband can do for his wife is to give his life for her every single day, and prove, prove that he is a man we’re submitting to. So husbands and wives the roles and responsibilities God has given us in marriage, both require, both of them require us to give up ourselves for another. Both of them do. Both of them do. Jesus Christ comes in shows if there’s nothing wrong with God’s designed for submission. Because it is Jesus Christ God, the Son, who came in the flesh, who submits to the will of the Father, to go to the cross. They are co equal, co equal in divinity, in glory, and holiness, and yet the son submits to the Father. HIS Submission does not diminish Jesus at all, at all. And so a wife submission to her husband does not diminish her at all. Or what are we saying about Jesus? It is a high calling. Not only does Jesus display for the wife what it means, isn’t it, he also shows the Husband Husband how we’re supposed to love. Jesus is the bridegroom and the church is the bride. So he leads us perfectly this perfect sacrificial love and we are called to submit to Him. And when we follow Christ’s example, we follow that the love for our wife should leave her encouraged, should leave her lifted up and able to live out her calling of submission without any hesitation. Because she knows that her husband is submitting to and following Jesus and making decisions for her good, the good of the family, and for God’s glory. It is good design. So what does this look like in marriage? It means dancing together. And I don’t mean like actual dancing, though, if you’d like to do that, that’s awesome. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’ll explain in a second. But remember Genesis 224, it says that is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh, one flesh complementary roles, but one flesh. So husbands, listen to your wives, hear their opinions, hear their concerns, hear their wisdom, and love them well, by listening. Wives go into conversations, ready to both share your thoughts while also having the attitude of readiness to yield and support your husband and his headship in the marriage. So dance together because inevitably, this will go poorly. Okay. It’s not always gonna go well, it will happen. So dance together. What I mean by that I learned this from Ray ortlund. In that book on marriage was he said, It’s like learning a new dance. Okay, when you start learning to dance with a partner, you will step on each other’s toes, possibly a lot. You will have to learn steps, you will get out of sync with one another. You will have to separate for time and come back together, you’re gonna get frustrated, but you keep dancing. So in marriage, you ask for forgiveness. And you give forgiveness and you talk and you pray. And you remember God’s good design. Settling because you are two perfect, imperfect people. Two imperfect people trying to live out God’s good design. So keep dancing. Show the world that what? Show the world what it means to complement each other and bring the very best out of each other. I said I would rather step on each other’s toes trying to follow God’s way than when a dance competition doing our own thing.
We’re going to step on each other’s toes and that’s why we have Jesus. That’s what we look to. So I don’t know how many of you know this. But part of the story of how I even got to Cityview was a part of this headship and submission in marriage. So before coming here in 2015, I had a job offer from a church right down the road here in Western Springs. And there wasn’t even a job opening here yet. In fact, Brandon wasn’t even hired here yet. And I had this job offer and Jack and I talked about it was a good job offer was good ministry, we got to stay in the same area. It was better pay all these different things. And it was just screaming, yes, take this. But I thought maybe Brandon would get hired. And then maybe there’d be an opening for me. And then maybe I’d be here one day. That’s a whole lot of maybes when you’re supposed to be leading your family. And so Jack, and I talked about it, we prayed about it. We talked about it, we prayed about it. And she came if it was up to Jackie, this decision would have been made take the other job. Right? Because it made the most sense. This other thing didn’t make sense. Especially when I explained it to the other church when I did say no, and said I don’t have a job, but I might. And that’s why I’m saying no. And it wasn’t reckless and may sound reckless. But my point here is the fact that Jackie looked to me, she said I trust you to make the decision.
It was a good decision. But she said I trust you to make this decision for our family. Because I felt this what we’re supposed to do. It didn’t look wise. And I may have been wrong. But here’s the other thing she didn’t say to me was you better be right. She never said that to me. She said if it’s the wrong decision, then we’re doing it together. That’s what it looks like. That’s God’s good design. And finally, husbands, John Piper has a great practical way for us to live out headship. He says husbands should be the ones in their marriage to say, let’s the most let us okay. We should be the ones taking the initiatives. So we should be the one saying let’s go to bed early so we can get the church on time on Sunday. Let’s open God’s Word together. Let’s pray. Let’s serve our neighbors. Let’s give more to the church. That is us. That is our responsibility. We should be the one thing that the most in our families. So take initiative lead the way I find it very hard to believe that wives and children would not want to follow a father and a husband who does that. If you are single, or in a difficult situation, it just got to say something here. I’m sorry, it won’t. It’ll be very brief. But if you are single looking for marriage, you don’t become a good husband or wife the day you get married. So you may need to submit out of reverence for Christ to everyone you are around, start that now. Or you may need to take initiative in your life for your own spiritual life, and in other areas to prepare yourself for marriage. And if you have an unbelieving spouse, or are divorced or widowed or any other life circumstance where you know that this dance of headship and submission cannot happen. That is a tough position to be in. And you’re going to need to lean into your savior who gives grace when you need it. You have a community of believers here who can step in and help fill the gaps. And you will need to step into places that you don’t want to step into that you’re not ready to step into that you’re not sure you can. Again, the Lord gives grace, He is faithful. You have a community. So step into it, and hopefully it’s just for a time. Second thing is we need to follow God’s design for parenting. Children, listen up. This is for you. Okay, verse 20. Children obey your parents and everything for this pleases the Lord, obey your parents and everything. So I’m talking to you here this morning, if you’re under the age of 18. It’s not a magic number. Okay, but it is one that we kind of understand cuz you’re gonna be in your parents house at least till then. Alright, so here we are. You’re talking about your parents and your obedience. So adults here you can listen. But this is for the children for the teens. Sorry, I’ll call you teenagers, not just children. But what does this mean? It means you need to obey your parents not voluntarily submit, though that’s great as well. But you are called to obey them, which means you do what they say when they say it. Pretty simple. I tell my boys this all the time obeying your mom and dad will be better for you. And then I’ll ask them, Have I ever disciplined you for obeying me? Have I ever said How dare you do what I say? And how dare you do it when I say it? No, I never have and I never will. I want them to obey. They’re called to obey. We should demand obedience from our kids, not just for our home. But as they go out, they will always have somebody else’s submit to kids, you will always have somebody you submit to. And so it’s good to practice obedience now in the home even when you don’t want to but you are called to obey everything. Not just some things, not just the things you like. Everything. I like really everything Yes, as long as it’s in line with God’s word, as long as it doesn’t contradict what God says, As long as it’s within biblical wisdom. So here’s the rare time that you will say to your parents, I’m not going to obey you, if they tell you to do something that would be a sin, which I hope is extremely rare. That’s the only time where you have to say, No, I need to follow God here, and not my parents. Does that mean you’re gonna agree with him? No. Okay, it does not mean that. But that’s different than submit, you are called to do it still. And why do you do this? It’s in the verse This pleases the Lord. So kids, teenagers, you can worship God. By obeying your parents tell you worship God, God is happy when you follow his good design for you. He is created you put you in a home with parents who have authority for your good. One of our family values is home and we worship God with our lives. If you will obey your parents, you obey God and it brings him honor, you can worship Him in that. Next is fathers verse 21. Fathers do not embittered your children or they will become discouraged. Now mothers, this applies to you as well. It wouldn’t say to the Father, don’t do this. And why are moms do this? But I think we recent fathers is actually used, here’s because we’re just coming out of the headship section with the father and son saying you need to lead the way. You need to set the tone here. I also think this is possible that fathers have a tendency to do this more than moms do. But do not embittered. Or maybe your translation says provoke or exasperate. So to put in terms of understand today, don’t push your child’s buttons. Like Well, I mean, kids are great at pushing my buttons, we can push them too. So we need to be very careful with that. This is different than demanding obedience. Remember, we just came out of it. They’re supposed to obey us, we’re calling them to obey. So what does this mean? It means how do you get that obedience? Okay, how do you communicate with them the things that you expect of them? That’s very important. So we’re gonna look at different communication styles, and see how they can embittered or provoke our children lead to discouragement. So there’s kind of a self evaluation. Alright, just briefly here. One, are You aggressive? Do you wield the Bible or your authority as a weapon, my way or the highway? No ifs, ands, or buts. Your home is full of conflict, everything is a major thing. This discourages children, because they don’t understand the difference between great breaking God’s law and not meeting your expectations. Which probably aren’t always aligned. Okay. That can be discouraging, because they don’t experience a lot of forgiveness, right, somebody seeking forgiveness from them. They might live with anger or resent authority. So this discourages and disheartens them. Maybe you’re more passive, just letting things slide because you don’t want to deal with it. Not disciplining them because it takes too much time, maybe promising discipline, but not following through. Letting your children decide things they should do, that you should train them for. That you should share your wisdom with them. This can discourage children because they aren’t sure what the expectations are. They don’t know. They might have little drive, don’t understand the consequences of their actions have passed a parent’s means Does Mom, mom and dad even care? And then usually that equates to does God even care. Or maybe you’re more passive aggressive in your style comes out in snarky comments, veiled threats, sarcasm, you give them a compliment, except there’s a button on the end of it. You did a great job, but then you get a negative, right? These are passive aggressive ways that discourages children because they don’t know when it takes something seriously or not. There’s confusion, which means they may withdraw from you. They may not talk to you as much. They’re not as trusting of people. I’ve used all of these. When I look back at my parents and my kids, I have used every single one. Not like I aimed to. But I definitely have. And I’m sure you can see that in your own life as well. So how do we change? We don’t want embittered our children. We don’t want them to be discouraged. So we need to stop looking at other examples and compare ourselves to other parents. We need to stop looking for the newest best way to parent. We have a perfect father. We look to him not to compare to his standard because we know it’s perfect. But that is something to strive for. Each and every day as a father teach me more about how you parent me and help me parent my child that way too. So we strive after it. It is only through Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection That we can call God our Father. So let’s learn from him. Let’s learn from him. So what does this look like practically in the home children, it means obeying, okay? And praying that your heart catches up to that obedience. There’s some we all have to do, by the way, you aren’t always going to want to obey, you may never want to obey. But your parents don’t wake up in the morning and say, How can we make our kids day the worst day possible? No parent does that. Are they perfect? No, are they going to make mistakes? Yes. But they aren’t out to get you. They believe their parents in the best way they know how as they follow Jesus. So listen to them and trust them and obey and pray that your heart eventually gets to a point where you want to obey them. But practice it first. Even when you don’t want to, and learn from Jesus in Luke chapter two, Jesus and his parents leave Jerusalem. And Jesus knows his father is actually in heaven. But he’s got these earthly parents, Joseph and Mary. And it says that he went home and he obeyed them.
Because he knew creation, He knew God’s good design in the home. And he said, I’m going to follow that I’m going to obey. So we can learn from him even in that as well. And then parents be assertive in your parenting, Talk respectfully to your children, look at them in the eyes, be consistent and clear, provide understanding of what you’re doing and listen to them. We only get the negative command here what not to do. So we need to flip over again to the parallel passage in Ephesians, six, starts off the same way fathers do not exasperate your children. Instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. So teach them what God says, Tell them what God has done, tell them what God God wants for them, and from them. Now, if you’re a parent, struggling like I did this week with some guilt and shame, maybe even embarrassed to look at your children. Look up, look up and look to Jesus. Those are not the feelings that he wants us to have in this moment. Instead, go home and confess your children, ask for their forgiveness. And then ask them, this is a bold thing. Ask them at an age appropriate level. To tell you what you do that causes discouragement. What you do that causes them to be unhappy in the home and listen to them and pray that you will be able to discern what is truly something that needs to change. And what’s just been apparent. Because if you go home, and they tell you, I don’t like that you tell me what to do. It’s my job, okay. That’s my role. So but if they say, whenever I come and talk to you, you seem distracted. Or you don’t want to talk to me, or you say we’ll talk about it later. Or you can’t talk to me about that. Those are the types of things we need to hear. Because it’s discouraging to our children, and we want to change, okay, but we need to be able to discern that ask them those questions and be ready to hear the answer. And then rest in God’s forgiveness and grace. And then seek to obey Him. And then finally, we need to follow God’s design for work. Look at verses 22 through the end of our sorry, into chapter four verse one. Slaves, obey your earthly masters and everything, and do it not only when their eyes on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart is working for the Lord, not for human masters. Since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism. Masters provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a master in heaven. So a little background here is helpful. Because when we read the Bible, we see slavery, it makes us cringe. It brings up emotions, it makes us think about things. So before we press on just a quick couple of things that need to be said. Paul is addressing a culture that had 50% of its people as slaves in the Roman world. Biggest difference between the slavery then and what we know now and the thing we think about in our own history is that it was not ethnically based. There was no transatlantic slave trade. That’s not what it was. It doesn’t mean it was good. It doesn’t mean it was right. It doesn’t mean that every master treated a slave the way that they should be treated. Here’s I’m not I’m not saying that. But there were all sorts of reasons why someone would be a slave, and why a householder would have many slaves and many families in those in that group, but Paul is writing to people in their current state. He is not using this as a letter for political power or change. The church had zero political power back then zero political power, so this would do nothing to change. what actually was happening in that culture at this time? So what did he do? All right, the church? Right? All right, the church that has masters and slaves in it, who are all trying to figure out how to live out this new life. I’m a Christian. Now what does it mean to be a master? I’m a Christian, what does it mean to be a slave? I’m a Christian Now should I have slaves should I not? Like that’s who he’s addressing in this moment in this letter. So Paul was instead regulating something that can be used for bad of course, to try and make it something that could be used to help others see how amazing the transformation can be when you give your life to Jesus. The masters and slaves instead call each other brother and sister in Christ. Like that’s radical, that’s radical. From the outside they see Master they see slaves, but inside in the church, they see brother and sister, the book of Eileen and demonstrates this, Paul is writing to fight Lehmann, who was a slave owner, he had a slave name on SMS. And SMS ran away from phi Lehman. And somewhere along that journey, and his time with Paul came to faith in Jesus. Oh, an SMS was also a believer. So Jesus, or sorry, Paul sends an SMS back to fight Lehman with this letter. And here’s part of that. He said, Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might give him get him back forever, no longer as a slave, but better than a slave as a dear brother, he is very dear to me, but even dear to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother, in the Lord. That’s the change that can take place. So all that being said, all that all that stuff, the principles here can be used in all sorts of contexts, but especially in our vocation, in the workplace. So employers and employees, that’s, that’s really more where we’re thinking, okay, the boss and the employees. And so Paul also is writing to a household that would have slaves. This is not how we think. But I do think we need to step back and think a little bit, how much does our work still impact our home? probably quite a bit, right? With how we enter into the home after a long workday. So there’s a lot here for us to consider. But first looking employees, says you’re supposed to obey your earthly masters work hard all the time, don’t do what is wrong. So like children obey their parents, one way employees honor God is by obeying those in authority, doing what the boss says, right? And working hard in whatever job you have. And that means kids, by the way, you have a vocation, it’s called being a student. That is your calling right now. So you can even do this. Now. It’s not just for those who go into work every day, you’re going into school, this is an opportunity for you to live this out as well. And it’s not just winning, or working hard when the boss is watching. Right? Or to find favor with him or her or someone else. But realizing every minute you’re working is being done ultimately for the Lord. So maybe in your job, you have a direct report, well, there’s probably somebody behind them, and somebody behind them. And for us as Christians, it doesn’t matter how many people that are there. There’s always one more beyond that. Because God’s always looking, always watching our attitude of how we walk into work, how do we do our work? And then why do we do this, it says in the text, you are serving Christ and you will receive an inheritance, we serve Christ who will never withhold from us the riches of heaven, that are ours in him. So back then, regardless of how slaves were treated on Earth, okay. Or for us, regardless of whether or not we get fairly compensated here, or we missed that promotion, all of us are just working for temporary gain. If that’s how we look at it, instead, we need to remember the eternal reward and see the salvation that we have, and work from that. So that’s for employees. What about employers? It says, masters, you’re supposed to do what is right and fair, in this context, treating slaves as brothers in Christ, if they were Christians, or treating their slaves that they weren’t Christians in such a way that they would be drawn to Jesus. So today, if you’re an employer or manager, you have anybody who reports to you. You want to treat them in such a way that appoints them to Jesus. Whether or not you can say that to them in the workplace, you can demonstrate it. Don’t you want people to want to work for you? Don’t you want possible hires and new employees to have everybody around them telling them you love to work for him? Or for her? Jesus can do that. And why do we do this because we have a master in heaven. We have a perfect right to just and fair master and he has called us to represent him to others. And then we need to remember this. We are all servants of our Master Jesus. And it is a good thing to have a perfect Master. We must remember as servants of this master, we all have jobs, jobs that have purpose that help us fulfill the purpose God gave Adam and Eve all the way back in the garden. Because work was there before the fall. Right work was there before the fall. So we all have work to do. So everything we do matters and where our heart is in that work matters as well. Have you ever noticed out of all the professions in the Bible, that there’s a lot that people look down on like shepherds, God never looks down on a profession. Okay, unless, of course, it contradicts his word. If it doesn’t doesn’t matter how menial it is. Right, or how many people want that job or don’t want that job. The fact is, work matters regardless of what we’re doing. Because he’s given to us for one purpose, for His glory, but also to help the flourishing of society. So whatever you do work at it for the Lord. So what does it look like in the workplace, two quick things we worship through our work, you get to use the abilities, tools, education, everything God has given you to bless others and to contribute to the flourishing of society. God isn’t only concerned what you do here on Sundays, he’s concerned with what you learn here and take with you into your workplace, how that transforms the way you go into work each and every day.
And then we set an example through our work as well, others are watching us and how we approach work. If you go into work, believing that you’re ultimately serving Jesus, and not for a paycheck, but for eternal riches, then it’ll be hard to go into work with a bad attitude. People will notice, people may even ask you why you have such a good attitude when nobody else has one. And parents real quick, your children are watching you when you go to work. They’re listening to you with how you talk about work. It’s no shock that most kids don’t get excited about their career, or doing a job one day. We need to take it seriously and say this is work I’m doing for the Lord. And be honest about the fact that it’s tough. We know that from the curse, it’s going to be tough. But it’s God’s purpose for us. And we’re doing something that matters. We want our kids go into work excited because they get to live their life and work beyond the paycheck. They get to work before the Lord and help with the flourishing of society and to redeem work. So remember, the Lord transforms homes, through relationships, Jesus cares about our marriages. He cares about our parents, parenting, cares about children. He cares about our work and our attitude at work. So he not only saves us, but he renews our purpose in all of these things. Seeing this example of him in every single area and letting the spirit transform us, and let the Spirit transform how we view and enter into these relationships. So let’s follow God’s good design. He is our bridegroom. He is our Father. He is our master in heaven. Okay. Amen. Amen. Well, we’re going to pivot here, it’s very appropriate for this morning that we do this, we’re going to respond to what we just heard. I’m going to ask the beekler and Ransom families to come down to the front. We are doing a parent commissioning time where some of you have been here for others of you have not. But as they come down, you’re going to be seeing some very adorable pictures up on the screen. But I figured this morning, as we have been talking about parenting and our relationship in the home that it would it be appropriate to have a parent commission at the end of the service rather than at the beginning as we have these things running through our minds. So we do parent commissioning services, because we want to send these parents out in their home with their kids to take the name of Jesus. We want them to know that they are missionaries in their home, creating gospel centered homes where children hear about Jesus had the opportunity to respond and give their life to him we pray and then to be discipled by him in the home. And so here we have, we have Clint and Ali, we have Simon here. And we have baby boy beekler do in May. And then we have David Ashley ransom. We’ve got David, Caleb and James. And so this morning, as we come together, we are sending them out into their home and my charge this morning is gonna be a lot shorter than normal. Because we just talked a lot about parenting, okay. But my charge for you guys is this, that in Psalm 127, we find that children are a gift from the Lord. And you are called themselves morning to raise them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, a responsibility of pointing these children to Jesus. And so in looking at our passage today and the charge to you just got a few things one, you will point them to Jesus when you live out the Gospel calling as a husband and wife in front of them each and every day. You will point them to Jesus when they do disobey, showing them that Jesus Christ came to pay for their sins on the cross in their place. When you sin and provoke them to anger you will point them to Jesus when you ask them for free Goodness, showing them that you too need the saving grace of Jesus. You will point them to Jesus when you forgive them for their disobedience. You will point them to Jesus as you work hard in your job, at the workplace and in the home by seeing your work as an opportunity to serve Jesus. So parents, Clint, Ally, Dave, and Ashley, I have a few questions for you. And if you commit today to these, please say we do after I read the question. Do you recognize your children as a blessing and gift that God has entrusted to you to raise in the discipline and instruction of the Lord? Do you promise to instruct your children in the gospel of Jesus Christ and in the practice of Scripture, reading and prayer and to guide them in the development of Christ like character? And do you promise to try by God’s grace to shape the home life of your child, both by example, and family worship, by word and conduct, that at the proper time your children will come to an open confession of Christ and membership in his church? Amen. Well, they are not meant to do this work alone. So church, we have a responsibility as well to come alongside these parents, encouraging them in their parenting, and also praying for these precious children, these gifts from the Lord and pointing them to Jesus, as well. So church, I want you to stand.
This is one of my favorite moments in this church. On the screen, you’re gonna see a question I’m going to ask you to commit to before God and these families. So after I read this question, if you agree, I’d love to hear you say we do. Do you, the body of Christ here at Cityview Community Church, promise to receive these children in love? Pray for them, help instruct them in the faith and encourage and sustain them in the fellowship of believers? We do. Amen. Yes, we want to have a seat. Make sure you say hello to them real quick. This one of the things that we do we love to do is like these are milestone moments for families to be able to send out in their home. So we want to congratulate them this morning, say hello, and maybe say a prayer over them and their family, okay, but I’m gonna pray for them. And for our finishes, we now transition into singing. So let me pray for the families and I pray for the rest of our service. Lord, we thank you for the beakers, we thank you for the ransoms, we thank you for the precious gift you have given to them of children. They are truly a gift to these families. They are a gift to our church. And Lord, I want to pray for each one of these kids. Lord, we pray that we pray that they’re yours. We pray, Lord, that You would capture their hearts at a young age that they would know nothing else than knowing you. And they would see that clearly in their homes. And they would see that clearly in this church. So that when they give their lives to you, Lord, they are ready and willing to step in and to serve you and to magnify You. Lord as they are in the home, and they are hearing about you as they are seeing the gospel demonstrated in the in the marriage of their parents, as they come here on Sunday mornings and hear the good news of Jesus. As they see the body of believers coming together and encouraging one another in our faith. I pray that they would be encouraged as well. I pray that they would see each and every person here today who is committed to help them in that journey. When they see them they would see someone who will care for them, love them, ask answer questions for them, be a part of their lives. I pray for us as a church to that Clint and Allie and David ashy, would never feel like they don’t have support, that they won’t be encouraged in their parenting. So Lord, I pray blessings over these families. And I pray Lord, that these families go out and that they raise these kids to be kids that the world cannot ignore. Because they love you and they pursue you together. And Lord, we thank You for Your Word this morning. And for the time we’ve had to be able to walk through your plan for the home. Your plan for our lives, living this new life in Christ out in some of the most important areas and relationships that we have. Lord, help us to trust you. When moments are hard. Trust you when we don’t understand, trust you when we have this high calling. And when we pray that you will receive glory through all of it. Jesus, we love you. We pray this in Your name, amen.

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Hidden with Christ (Colossians 3:1-17) February 12, 2023 | Kyle Bjerga TRANSCRIPT_______________________________________________+
The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

are three of us in one of the black pew Bibles. It’s page 955. So you can find it there. When you came to church this morning, before you came, you probably gave some thought to what you were going to wear. Some of us probably gave more thought to that than others, some probably just grab whatever was closest to you. Because you had to get out the door. Right? And so when we when we come to clothing, there’s just different approaches. There’s even research done to say like, why do you choose the clothes you do? Why do you wear the things that you do? A couple months ago, many of you probably receive some new clothes at Christmas. And when you many of you were not happy about that, if you’re younger, and some the other ones i Hey, I finally got a new outfit for the year. So whatever it was, when you open that box, there was something that was clean. That was wrinkle free, that had some tags on it, maybe a new smell, everything was good. And yet, for all the new clothes that we have received over the years, there’s probably that one thing, whether that was years ago, or maybe it’s right now that one thing that you love to wear, and it’s not new, it’s old. It’s the one thing we should probably throw away. Or at least somebody in our family wants us to throw it away. But it’s one thing that you should throw away should get rid of and you should replace with something else. Maybe it’s a shirt shoes, a hoodie that’s really comfortable a hat that you like to wear. But it’s hard to get rid of those things. For one simple word. What is it? Why would you not get rid of something old that you wear, because it is comfortable. It is comfortable. All right. And if you go further, then there’s other reasons maybe it smells like you and you’re just like this is just, this is me, this is who I am, this is what I wear. Some of you may say I haven’t broken in. Right? It’s it’s been really well used. It’s just comfortable. For others, it’s sentimental reasons, your wedding dress, or somebody gifted you something that you hold on to. Or maybe it was that vacation that you bought this shirt and you have a lot of memories attached to it. And it doesn’t matter if there’s stains on it. If it’s faded, if it’s ripped, if there’s holes, one, two, or three or more, it doesn’t matter because it’s comfortable, and it means something to you. The new stuff, stuff looks good, but jeans are really uncomfortable when you first put them on, shoes aren’t always that great because you haven’t broken them in and they give you blisters, the new shirt itches your skin, whatever it might be. It’s new. And yet, it’s just not quite what you’re used to. You like the old comfortable stuff, maybe that doesn’t resonate with you, let’s let’s look at it the other side, maybe we walk into your closet, and there’s a bunch of new stuff with a lot of the tags still on them. Or maybe you wear it once or twice and you don’t plan on wearing it ever again. But it sits there. All sorts of reasons for that. Of course, it just doesn’t feel right. It didn’t look as good on me as it did on the mannequin. It’s buyer’s remorse, we buy a lot of things. And then we just let it sit there regretting that we ever bought it but don’t want to just get rid of it. And still others of you are at Goodwill or dropping things off the clothes closet every other weekend. Because there’s just another closet to go through. The amount of people that I see come through here from the community in the same cars astonishes me to drop things off for the clothes closet. It’s all the time, wherever maybe you fall in one of those categories. Today we’re going to see though that clothing has a lot to do with the Christian life. We have a lot in common. And Paul is going to show us that before we get there, we have to remember where we were last week because we are kind of moving into a new section of this letter that Paul wrote to the church in Colossae. So last week, we saw that self made or man made rules and lists cannot restrain our sinful nature can’t do it, that constant pull back to the things that are contrary to God’s Word Lists and rules and traditions cannot do that. So instead we talked about that we need to have a delightful death to these things. And that we can instead be free. And so Brannon shows that the big idea from the past is last week was that since you died, live free since you died live, free death and dying in the Christian life leads to life. real true life. Now, last week was a warning passage saying don’t do these things. And this week is a continuation and we’re going to be answering this question How can I live free? How can I live free? It is a life changing question. So here’s the big idea today. You’ll see In your outline, because they’re in your notes, because it is our outline for today. So we live free by seeking the things above, by putting to death the old self and clothing ourselves in the new life. So let’s look first at the fact that we live free. By seeking the things above, look at verses one through four. Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your heart on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds and things above, not on earthly things, For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. So we set our hearts on things above the word there is really is literally seek, okay, we want to seek these things, meaning we strive, and we pursue them continually with our whole life, which is why it says, Seek your with your hearts, right, set your hearts on things above. A few verses earlier, Paul just said Don’t let humans commands and teachings and all these different rules. Don’t Don’t let them be the thing that you run to stop looking at the earthly things. That’s what we’re seeing here, stop looking at the earthly things and look up, pursue Jesus, don’t look at all the things you could do. Instead, look at what has been done. That’s a big difference in the Christian life and every other religion in the world. Don’t look at what I can do look at what has been done, and what has been done, you have been raised with Christ. And one of the most important doctrines, things we can spend time on over and over again, is the idea of our union with Christ, our union with Christ. And this passage is one of the fullest descriptions of what that doctrine is. Four different times in this passage we read with Christ or with him. And John Stott, in his book Life in Christ says this to be with Christ is more than to enjoy his companionship. It is rather to share in the four major events of his whole saving career, his death, resurrection, ascension and return in such a way that we have experienced the first three, and will one day experience the fourth with him. So seeking the things above then means knowing the truth of what it means to be with Jesus means more specifically, the past, present and future realities that we have with Christ. So brothers and sisters, if you are in Christ today, if you are with him, these are the things we’re supposed to set our minds on. And there’s four of them, that we see in this first section. So the first is something that happened in the past, you have died, not you are dead. Not that you will die. You have your death happened 2000 years ago, on a cross in Christ because you are with him. In the past, the second thing you have been raised, when he walked out of that grave three days after he was killed, you walked out of that grave. It happened because we are with Christ. So death is defeated, a New life is given and we get to walk in it. What about the present? Look at verse three. Your life is now hidden with Christ in God. So right now we are with Christ hidden with him. And where is he? Where is he? He is seated at the right hand of God. So this is something true that for all of us that we cannot see. And nobody else can see either we are hidden with Christ. Right now. Ephesians two says a little bit more. It says and God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms. In Christ Jesus, this is reality now. We are safe and secure hidden in Jesus who sits because his work is done. His work is done. Which means our work is done. Do you see that? With Christ, our work for salvation is done. Not our work of what the Christian life looks like as Paul is gonna go on to explain what this life should be and what we do in response to this truth. But Christ is seated because there’s nothing else you or I could do to be saved. It is done. And finally we have a future reality verse for you will appear with Him in glory. There is a day when Christ will return and he will not be hidden any longer and we will not be hidden any longer. When he appears we will appear with him
with him. So that is our past that is our present that is our future if we are with Christ. In chapter one, verse 27 of Colossians we read that Christ is in you, the hope of glory. So Christ is in you and you You are in Christ united to him in his life, death, resurrection, ascension, and future coming. How does Paul explain this elsewhere? galoshes. Galatians 220 what you heard Caitlin read, a little while ago, I had been crucified with Christ, dead. I’ve been crucified with Christ and is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. The life I now live, I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Death leads to life, real true life. These are the things we’re supposed to seek. These are the heavenly things. These are the things that are above. We need to seek them pursue them with everything we have why? Listen to what AW Tozer says, On the doctrine of the union with Christ. He says, I will never be through talking about the union of the soul with the Savior, the conscious union of the believers heart with Jesus. Remember, I’m not talking about a theological union only, just something I believe. And I say with my head, I am speaking also of a conscious union, a union that is felt and experienced. We seek the things above because we want to pursue that feeling and that experience of what it means to be united with Christ. We don’t want to just say it and believe it with our heads, we want to live it out and go deeper into it. Now, it isn’t just for our future life. We have new life now. And we can live and walk in it. Now I’m convinced the longer I’m in ministry, that there are people here today, who can wrap their minds around the fact that God saved them. You say I’ve called upon the name of Jesus, I believe that he saved me, but you do not believe that you can change. You do not believe that you can maybe change in any sort of significant way. And I say that, from hearing that from people. This is who I am. This is how God made me. I can’t change. I’ve gotten this far. And I don’t think I’d go any farther. And I think what you’re going to see today is that Paul gives us a framework of what it means to actually change what we can do and how God works in us to change. Because you need to remember, first and foremost that you are with Christ died, raised to life with Him in the heavenly realms now, and you will appear with Him in glory in the future. So the truth is for you, for all of us, we have a new wardrobe. We have a new wardrobe in Christ. He’s given us the finest clothes, this eternal walk in closet with everything we could ever want. All of it is ours. There isn’t some backroom that will eventually get to one day, all of it is theirs right now, is there right now for us. name brands, if you’d like that sort of thing. It’s the best of the best, because he wouldn’t give us any less. And yet we go home. And we see that there’s still another closet, an old closet, we’ve been given everything, but we’ve got this old closet that’s there. And we look at it and say I’m really going to miss this stuff. It’s really, really hard to start putting it in garbage bags, all the things that have attachments to them, like people and memories, like a wedding dress. But that’s the old stuff. That’s the old doesn’t matter if it’s comfortable. We have to get rid of it. But the temptation is to be drawn back and say I just want to slip into something, I know something. I’m familiar with something that’s comfortable. So I’m not going to get rid of everything. I’ll get rid of some of it. And that temptation is there for all of us in the Christian life. So the second thing that we need to do is to live free is put to death, the old self, look at verses five through 11. Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature, sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways in life you once lived, but now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other since you’ve taken off your old self with its practices, and have put on the new self which has been renewed and knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all. So we put to death. The old self. Now Paul moves back and forth. Have you heard it in this section, saying this is what we need to do. We need to take drastic action and remember who you are. Remember the old self remember the new self he keeps doing that? Because I think for all of us, we need to keep hearing that. We had to keep your hand this is who you are. This was your old way. This is your new life. That has to be the motivation for what we’re going to do if we want to put our sin to death. So we need to remember our identity to keep moving forward. Word in things like the earthly things, the things of the earthly nature need to be killed in our lives. And Paul is not being overdramatic, this is not hyperbole. He gives us two lists of vices, five of them in each. And it’s because of these he says in verse six that the wrath of God is coming. God’s wrath is his righteous anger to those who have rebelled against Him who have chosen their own way over him. And this is why Paul uses the language of putting our sin to death. Our problem is that a holy God cannot continue to let sin go, and he will will put an end to it one day everybody will be held accountable. But in the Christians life, the penalty of sin has been taken care of. In the Christians life, the power of sin, and evil has been defeated. Just look back with me in chapter two. Go back to chapter two, verse 13. And let’s see that says, when you were dead in your sins, and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us, he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross, the penalty of sin for the Christian is gone. It was on the cross with Christ. Look at verse 13. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them by the cross these powers and authorities that were evil that were telling us to go a different way than Christ’s way these have been defeated. So that is the truth for us in Christ, that all of that is gone. However, we know the presence of sin is still here. The presence of sin is still around us, and will be until the end. So Christ has won the war. And now he gives us the ability through His Spirit through putting the death of these things and putting on the new self that we can win the battle, day by day. And thankfully, in Jesus, we are spared this wrath that is coming. And so we ask ourselves, why would I want to live in old life? Why would I want to go back to something like that, that brings wrath and destruction and death? Why would I want to be reminded of that reality, day in and day out? Now, the list of the vices here are in verses five and eight, does not exhaust every sin does not exhaust every reason why God’s wrath is coming. The point here is to show that anything that runs contrary to God’s word must be taken seriously, must be put to death. And so the first list we have here is focused on sexual sin. All of the words here can be used to describe the thoughts and actions of someone who follows the idol of sex. Well, that’s greed or lust or impurity or sexual immorality, it’s the thoughts to things we say it’s the things that we do. So why is that? Well, Scripture a lot of times uses sexual sin, to talk through really that downward spiral of sin. Think about Romans one. So Scripture uses this a lot to talk through what this actually looks like, what what addiction looks like. And so what we see in this list, that anything, the words that are used, or anything that’s outside of God’s creation of man, and woman in marriage, experiencing sexual intimacy together must be put to death. And that means everything that’s in here, too, we always think about the actions and things out there. But remember what Jesus said, If we look at a woman last week, we committed adultery in our hearts. His wrath is coming because of that, too. So it’s all encompassing. And I think that’s what sexual sin shows us and why Paul uses it here. Because he knew that people had a hard time with this. And hey, by the way, we do too.
Is there anything that makes people more upset in this country than talking about sexual identity, or how you live out that sexual identity, it’s not just for the church and Colossians For us, as well, if you can understand what it means to put to death, this sin that’s going to help you put to death other sins. So I think that’s one reason why Paul uses it here. But of course, he could have used all sorts of different things, all sorts. And so he goes on to a second list. And this is much more about social sins, how we interact with others. Really, it’s our attitude first, and then our action toward others. So we have this list of anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips, and line. So anger, we’ve talked about anger before, sometimes you can’t do anything about the fact that your blood pressure goes up. When something happens to you when somebody hurts you. Like that’s going to happen. This is talking about do you live a life of anger? Are you always going out there just looking for that next thing, the next person? That’s the anger that is talking about here, do you have this attitude of have anger. And then you move into rage. Rage is really where you take action on this thing. So think of it this way, when you’re in traffic and you get angry, anybody angry this morning on the way in? Okay, so you get angry and traffic, what do we call it when you’ve moved from anger to doing something about it? Road rage, right? So you so you’re angry a lot of us get angry in the car, but we won’t, we won’t fulfill what we want to do. But when that happens, it’s called road rage. We’re taking it from this attitude to actions. And then you have malice. And malice is really the intention to hurt others you want bad things for them. Slander and filthy language have to do with our tongues. What do we say to and about others? We know the tongue is powerful, we know it can ruin reputations, and leave people’s lives in ruins just simply by what we say to them, or to others about them. And then lying, of course brings disunity. And it brings distrust. So if you were to ask people in this community of Elmhurst, the surrounding communities what they thought about our church, would they use these types of words about us? If they did, that would be devastating, right? I don’t think they would, I don’t think that’s what we’re known for. I don’t think people use these words to describe us as a church. But think, personally, now. Think of your life. Would the people your friends, families, co workers, neighbors, would they use these types of words to describe their interactions with you. We have to sit with these lists, and pray and identify the things that the Lord wants us to kill in our lives. So whether it’s sexual sin, whether it’s these, this list here, we need to take it seriously. And Paul says, Don’t do any of this. That’s your old life. It’s your former way of life you used to live in that take off the old clothes, there is something better for you. The clothes you like they stink. They’re worn, they’re tattered, they’re faded. You need to get rid of them put on the new clothes, and you’ll find that they’re better than the last. So my question for all of us, is how are you doing it killing the sin in your life. Sin is not meant to be kept around. We cannot train it. We cannot control it. We cannot bring it out on just some occasions when we’re really feeling down. It must be ended, they must be killed. Because the wrath of God is coming because of it. So Jesus didn’t die for some of our sin. He died for all of it. So he wants to go after all of it in our life, too. We didn’t die two parts of our life and Christ, we die to our former way of life in Christ. years ago, there was a show that maybe some of you watch, I know the premise of it, I think. So if it doesn’t make sense, I don’t understand the premise of it was called What Not to Wear. And so these people would go, somebody would send the video in and say this person has no fashion sense. And they would show them videos and pictures of what this person looks like. And so they have these two fashion, people look at it and then come into their house, and they have the person who get dressed and all these clothes, and basically just tell them what looks terrible on them. That That doesn’t look good. You need to get rid of that stuff. And what they would do is they would then say we’re gonna get you a whole new wardrobe. And what did they do with the old stuff. They threw it away. They brought the garbage cans in and said this is gone. Because they knew something. The temptation is to run back to the familiar to the comfortable. Because the first chance they got I don’t like this AMI, I’m gonna go back to what I know. That is our temptation. If we don’t kill it, it will always be there, saying I’m comfortable. You’re used to me. It’s familiar. It feels good. We need to kill it. John Owen said in the killing center, we’ll be killing you. So we are called to then put on the new self. We have new clothes on we realized something very interesting. When we put these new clothes on, we realized we’re not the only ones wearing these new clothes. There is a community that’s wearing the same stuff as us. Other Christians get the same exact thing we do. We get the riches of Christ, we get the wardrobe of Christ. Look at verse 11. Paul is showing that the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ has broken down the barriers of class and status. There’s contrasting comparisons here between different groups and Paul says it doesn’t matter who they are. Christ is all and is in all. Remember, this is a letter. Paul has been writing this letter to the church in class, he has been building these arguments he’s trying to get to the more practical and how theology actually informs every decision we make everything we do. So earlier in the book of Colossians, and chapter one, verse 17, we saw that Christ is all that he is supreme over everything, over creation over the church over our lives, he is supreme. So Christ is all we’ve already seen that. And then chapter one, verse 27, Christ in you the hope of glory, Christ indwells believers. So what does this mean? It means that Christ is all he is supreme. And Christ is in all everybody who calls on him. He indwells. So the question is, is Christ all to you? Is Christ in you? Think about it today. This list here doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to us. We get bits and pieces of it. We know these are different groups. But think about it today. Democrat or Republican, male or female, employer or employee rich or poor, Cubs fan or Sox fan, and more appropriate for today, Eagles fan or chiefs fan. Now, none of that matters at all. Right, none of that matters at all, if Christ is all. And as in all these superficial in our differences between all of us are not what define us. What defines us as if we say Christ is all and he is in me. That’s what matters. When we’ve all died, like, look around the room to other believers, we’ve all died. It’s not just you, we’ve all died, we’ve all been raised to new life. And so we all get Christ’s life, we all get Christ close. So this is why we are closer to a brother or sister in Christ living in the slums of Haiti, a penthouse in New York City, or in a small church around the world that’s hiding right now from government persecution, because of their faith, then we are to the middle class family across the street, that looks just like us, that does the same things we do, if they don’t say Christ is all in in all. That’s the big difference. That’s the big difference. And thankfully, Christ has demolished those barriers and that wall so that all of us can say Christ is all and in all. So taking things off is one thing. I don’t know about you, but my life a lot of times I look at these lists, and I skipped the next part. I said, Alright, I’m not supposed to do these things. So I’m gonna try not to do these things. I ignore the rest of the list, because there’s something we’re supposed to put on. Right? So we put to death to things of our old self, and we live free by clothing ourselves in the new life. Look at verses 12 through 17. Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loves, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bear with each other and forgive one another. If any of you has a grievance against someone, forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one body, you recall to peace, and be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among your rich leads, you teach and admonish one another, with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father, through him. So let that first part sink in. You are chosen by God, holy and dearly loved. There is no greater joy than knowing God says you are his. no greater joy. So why wouldn’t we want to walk in that truth following after the God who loves us and saves us?
This week, I was taking a shower and Jackie wasn’t feeling well. She was laying up in our room. And I got out the shower and I looked out the door and I saw my oldest two. And it dawned on me that I didn’t have any clothes. And I’m like, in Jackie’s not feeling well. So I really didn’t want to disrupt her. I just looked down and I just thought, Boy, oh boy, I don’t have any clothes. Parker looks at me. And I just worked out. So I took a shower, because I want you to put on your workout clothes. i You want me to do that. If you’ve ever worked out and you’ve taken your clothes off, and you’ve tried to put them back on, how do they go on? It sticks to you. All this stuff you just washed off you put back on you again. And so I looked at him I just said I can’t do that. So I got to figure out something else. Because it’s gross. We don’t want that. That’s not why we just got clean. And so here we’re thinking, Okay, I want to put on these new clothes. So it would never make sense for me to go back and put on that old If we shouldn’t do it, we should want to do it, we should want the new, the clean the fresh. And that’s what I wanted in that moment. I think that’s what we all want. So like the list of vices we saw, we have this list of five virtues, again, not exhausted, exhaustive. Sometimes we see these, and we read them in our, in our mind, and we read these lists and like, Oh, I gotta be better at this, I gotta be better at that. How can I be better at these things, but I want us to take a more Pauline approach to how we read this list. So let’s look at this from the perspective of our union with Christ. Because if we are hidden with Christ, and these virtues are true of Jesus, which they are, then we can walk in them as well as we follow closely after him. So it’s not I need to do these things. It’s I need to follow Jesus who does these things and he will change me, he will help me do these things. So these virtues are saying live like Jesus, be Christ like in what you think, say and do. So what do we need to clothe ourselves with? I’ve got the ABCs here should be pretty easy to remember, we clothe ourselves with Jesus’s attitude, with Jesus’s behavior and with Jesus’s community. Okay, attitude, behavior, community. First Jesus’s attitude. We want to set our minds on things above. No one in the world ever did this more than Jesus. He set his mind on things above. So first, compassion. This is a deep care for others that moves us. It moves us, the needs of others moves us, like when Jesus saw the crowds, and Matthew 90 said, it says he had compassion on them. Why? Because they were harassed and helpless, like a sheep, like sheep without a shepherd. That’s the kind of compassion that Jesus can bring to our hearts in our life, kindness, considering others, that leads to us doing acts of good for them, especially those who don’t deserve it. Like it says in Titus three, but when the kindness and love of God our Savior peered He saved us. We didn’t deserve it. But his kindness and love led him to save us. So we get to live in that kindness as well. Humility, Jesus displayed this night before he was killed when he knelt down and washed the feet of all of his disciples in a position of servanthood. So this is our example. This is who we follow. gentleness and Matthew 11, which Merritt actually prayed through a little bit of this morning, we read the only time that Jesus really describes his own character. And he says, I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy. My burden is light. This is who we follow. If we want to be gentle, we follow Jesus and He will help us be gentle. And then patients. Paul elsewhere writes about Jesus’s patients as he’s talking about his own life in First Timothy, when he says, but for that very reason, I was showing mercy so that in me the worst of sinners, Christ, Jesus might display his immense patience. His immense patience example, for those who believe in Him and receive eternal life. Jesus is patient, we follow Him, He will help us to be patient, and finally love, we are to put on love which binds all of these together, we can only love according to First John, because God first loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. So we think about these things, these are the things about this is what Jesus thought about. This is who Jesus thought about. It’s an attitude switch, which leads to new actions. So we have a new attitude. Next, it’s Jesus’s behaviors, what do we see is true here is that we bear with each other and forgive one another. So we approach our relationships differently. We are seeking the things above rather than the earthly thing. So let’s contrast those for a minute. Rather than trying to be right all the time, we bear with others. Instead of holding a grudge against someone, we forgive that person. You see the difference being the earthly, and the things above. We know what we want to do on this earth and our earthly nature and our sinful nature. And we’re called to do something different. And the only thing that can help us do that is the fact that Jesus did all of that for us. In our place, we read that we forgive because we forgive as the Lord forgave us. And that’s a pretty high standard. Jesus forgave us of all of our sin, every act of rebellion against a holy God. Heavenly forgiveness. And we have a difficult time forgiving those on a horizontal plane. Brothers and sisters who maybe we have a grievance against, but we need to forgive them because then we’re showing we understood that Christ first forgave us. And finally, Jesus’s community. Verse loving Christ is all in his in all this community overflows with thankfulness. Now, Mara took us through these three verses back at our Thanksgiving Eve service or I’m not going to go in depth into them here. But I would encourage you go back and listen that message if you want to kind of go through each one of these more in depth. But what do we see here, we see that the people of God, those who say Christ is all in his in all should be people of thanksgiving. So we’re thankful. First, as you see in verse 15, for the peace of Christ, the peace of Christ that we experienced with God and with others, verse 16, we’re thankful for the message of Christ, the gospel message, the good news that saves us, and that impacts our worship, it impacts everything that we do. In this service. As we get in God’s word. It impacts what we do is we saturate the songs are saturated with the Word of God, and kids, city and city, Lincoln cities, to our community groups, Journey groups, the word is saturating them. And it should drive us to Thanksgiving because of this message. And then we have Thanksgiving for all of life. We see all of life as an opportunity to live for Jesus Christ, and whatever we say, or do. So when we put all of this together, we are putting on the new life we have in Christ, Out with the old and in with the new, so on to finish our time this morning by talking to a few different groups of people, the first of your here, and you know, you are not hidden with Christ. You know, that is not true of you that you look at these vices, and you see these true of your life and you’d like to get rid of them. You just don’t know how things feel hopeless. And what we’re saying is you can live free, you can by coming to faith in Jesus and saying, he took it all. So that you can say, I died, I was raised, I’m with Christ, and I will return with Him in glory. That can be true of you today, he can change he does transform lives. For all the you who called on the name of Jesus, you are a Christian, you know that. But you are struggling to take stuff off. You are struggling to get rid of that old self, it is overwhelming to look into our closet of life and think, Where do I start? Where do I go? How do I put these things aside? So I just want to encourage you today, pick one thing, pick one, don’t look at the closet, because there’s a lot there. Pick one thing today or this week that you will attack and kill in your life, not on your own. With the help of Jesus with the help of community, go after it, attack it and kill it. And then you say what else is there. But don’t get overwhelmed by the amount of stuff, we start with one thing. The other thing is considers maybe you’re too focused on the sin and not enough on the new wardrobe you have in Christ. The thing that will drive out sin more than anything else is realizing what we have in Jesus. So focus instead on that second list, and say this is who I want to be. And if I focus on these things, it would be a lot easier to peel the other things off, and to get rid of them. So focus first on what you have in Christ, who you are in Christ. And that will help you kill the sin. And then as a church.
Do you see what was true of us and our earthly nature? And what is true of us now? Do you see what should characterize us as a church family, we need to do this together. It is a community project. So think about kids, when you see a kid first start to take off their shirt, and then they get stuck at the neck. Have you ever seen this, and the whole shirt is over their head. It’s just like it’s just caught here. You laugh at first. But then you want to help them. Because it’s really frustrating when you can’t get a shirt off. And that’s what the church is for one another. When you can’t take something off, somebody else has to come in and help you remove it. It is not meant to be done alone is meant to be done in community, which means we have to identify the sin and be willing to talk about it. Be willing to say it in community groups and journey groups. And with those who we trust. We need to help one another out because it is frustrating. So we step out and step up and encourage one another anybody struggling in the body of Christ. And then do you see others struggling putting clothes on? It’s hard to live the Christian life? It is. So help them button up their shirt. Alright, so what do you want? Where do you want change? How can I help? How can I encourage you? What can I send you? Can I call you whatever it might look like but help them finish? Help them put that stuff on. This passage here is to a church not individual people. So we need to see this. This is a community project. We need to challenge one another. We need to help one another. And then one thing to end today. We need to remember that to live free in our reality of being with Christ. There’s something that I skipped over in verse 10. says this I have put on the new self, which is being renewed in the knowledge and the image of its Creator, being renewed, I want you to take great encouragement from this today. What this means is we are being renewed currently, and always will, until glory. So living free is a continuous process. When you walk out the doors, you’re in Christ, you are with Christ. But guess what life is still hard. There’s still things that take off of living in the reality that we have in Christ, it is difficult. And it’s a process that God is going to be with us and changing us. As we continue to set our minds on things above. And we set our minds and things about we get to know our God, more and more the image of our Creator. God’s desire for us is to look like Jesus. And so he saves us and then changes us to look like Jesus. So what does this mean, as you grow in your relationship with Jesus, your attitudes change, your behaviors change, and you see the community and the importance of community, and you’ll see more and more of your sin. But here’s the greatest news. I’m going to try and try and illustrate this. So you can see it. As we grow in our faith, our understanding of God’s holiness increases, we get to know our Creator more and more, we get to know our Savior more and more. And as that happens, we start to see the devastation of our sin. And that grows to Paul says he continues to write his letters, he says, I was a sinner, and then all of a sudden, I’m the worst of sinners as he gets to the end of his life, not because he was sending more, but because he understood the depths of his sin, and his brokenness. And so as that goes up, and as this goes on, the crosses in the middle here, and the cross gets larger, the Gospel becomes bigger. Because we understand God’s holiness, we understand our sin. And we see more clearly what Christ actually did on the cross. And that’s what we are continuing to do as we are renewed day by day. So when we put these things into practice, we will see God’s holiness, we will see our sin, and we will be more thankful for our Savior. And what he has done. There is stuff stuffed back in your closet that you can’t even think about right now. It’s okay. You’ll get to it. You’ll get to it. But start today with that one thing, because there’s other stuff to deal with first. And if that’s hard for you look back and where you’ve come already. We all have a testimony of God’s grace in your life. What has he already done, that will help you tomorrow? Today to deal with that sin. I’ll say in ministry besides conversion when a person comes from death to life and darkness, to light from blindness to sight, the greatest thing besides that is seeing someone live this out and see sin killed, and seeing them put on Jesus Christ. seeking the things above. Putting off the old and clothing ourselves in the new Let me close with these words from John Stott. The essence of our Christian identity is that we are with Christ at each stage of His saving career. know truth has greater power to transform us. When we grasp it. The radical discontinuity between the past and the present is glaringly evident. We can either fall back, nor standstill, we must go forward with Christ. Let’s pray. Lord, we praise you this morning. That for those of us who have called you lord and savior, we know that we are with you. That in our past, we have died, we had been raised to new life, we get to live that new life now that we are seated with you in the heavenly realms, and that we will not be hidden one day as you return is when we appear in glory with you. That is our hope. That is our desire. And we look forward to that day the Lord right now we want to live out the truth. We want to live out those truths now today and leave this place confident of who we are in you and ready to pursue you to seek you out to put off the old self into put on the new and we do this Lord because we are thankful for your salvation. We are thankful for who you are, and we want to worship you with our lives. Jesus we love you We pray this in Your name, amen.

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go ahead and grab your bibles turn to romans chapter 11. if you don’t have a bible there’s a hard cover one right in front of you if you use that bible you can find the passenger page 920 if you don’t have a bible you’re free to take that one with you this morning before we get started i just want to say thank you to all of you who were praying and encouraging our family as we were up for jackie’s surgery this past week um just wanted to update you since we prayed for it last sunday so so we’re here she’s here new heart valve in place um and so we’re just praying now going forward that the valve works the way it’s supposed to and she starts feeling better because of that so we just want to say thank you for your prayers support calls texts all of that over the last week or so so the lord is good and you know the story so we’re thankful to be in this place um with the new valve there now we’re gonna start off um a little bit differently this morning so what we’re gonna do in just a minute i’m gonna have you close your eyes and we’re gonna spend 30 seconds in silence which weirds us out i know 30 seconds in silence but you’re going to be thinking about something a question that i’m going to ask okay so we’re trying to get rid of the visual stimuli and all the distractions so go ahead and close your eyes i will keep track of the time it’s going to feel like eternity i will keep track of 30 seconds this is what i want you to think of okay who is god go aheadokay you can open your eyes if your neighbors still got their eyes closed give a little elbow all right are we good all right welcome back what came to your mind who is god what came into my did you think about his grace his love his forgiveness his faithfulness did you think about maybe an answer to prayer that you had recently did you think is god even there i don’t know what came into your mind but what i do know according to aw tozer is that what comes into our mind when we think about god is the most important thing about us what comes to mind when we think about god is the most important thing about us and here’s the reality no matter what you thought of in those 30 seconds which was not long no matter what you thought of in those 30 seconds it was too small okay your view of god was too small in that time and if i gave you more time if i gave you the whole day i still know that no matter what you tell me your view of god would still be too small so if you’re here this morning you you don’t have a personal relationship with god like you’re just kind of checking this whole thing out or you’ve been following jesus for decades we are all in the same place because we all have a small view of god if you are a child a teenager an adult a ministry leader an elder or the person preaching right now your view of god is too small that’s the main point for this morning we’re going to say it over and over again your view of god will always be too small aren’t we in church though like don’t we gather because we sing these truths about who god is like we just did we say the nice thing creed we give money to this god yes and your view is tilled too small listen to what ray ortland says you and i have never once in all our lives had even a single thought about god that matched the true magnitude of his glory our thoughts about god are like a child sketching out a copy of a rembrandtthis truth is what’s called the incomprehensibility of god okay the incomprehensibility of god that’s we’re going to look at this morning we can think about god we should think about god tozer says we learn a lot about us if we what we say when we think about god but to grasp everything there is to know about god is impossible it’s impossible to know everything to grasp everything comprehend everything about god it is impossible and the danger for us this morning is that we think we have god figured out in some area of our life we box god in somehow some way and we we do this because if god works outside of our box we deny it reject it or try and justify itthat’s how we know we’ve got this box that we built around we tried to fit god inside of it there’s popular phrases out there my god would never do that are you sure my god would never say this is that true or is it a box that we’re creating around god our worship is stunted when our view of god stops growing okay or maybe you say i’ll believe in god if he does x y or z it’s a box that we’re creating so the incomprehensibility god why even talk about this then seems kind of pointless to waste breath of something that we cannot do but let me quote tozer again in his classic book the pursuit of god part of his introduction he says something i pray is really encouraging to us this morning that what i’m saying is actually encouraging okay so listen to what he says is he’s introducing the book that he is writing he says nothing here is new except in the sense that it is a discovery which my own heart has made of spiritual realities most delightful and wonderful to me others before me have gone much farther into these holy mysteries than i have done but if my fire is not large it is yet real and there may be those who can light their candle at its flame so a small view of god is still a real view of god or it can be and that’s what he’s saying here maybe maybe it’s not as large as somebody else’s but it is real and hopefully somebody can light their candle at its flame so my hope this morning is that the small view of god that we have is real and it can ignite in us and others a passion to pursue god more and more and so we’re going to jump head first here into romans 11 which means we need to do a little bit of a flyover because we have not been in romans now shane did this because he was in romans 5 a couple weeks ago so he did a little bit of an intro into those first five chapters but we’re going to go a little bit longer for the first 11 chapters so i’m going to oversimplify things i’m going to try to give us some sort of an outline from romans 1 to this point that we come today because we have to know this in order to make sense of romans 11 33-36 so there is a good great powerful creating god that’s what paul says and he’s made each one of us all of humanity and humanity is in trouble okay all have sinned and fall short of the glory of god every single one of us because we’ve chosen to rebel against that good great powerful creating god and god is just and you would think that he could get rid of us or should get rid of us which is true except that romans 5 when shane was here a couple weeks ago was telling us that because he loved us he died for us ungodly rebellious sinners he still died for us because he loves us and then once we confess that we proclaim that we have the holy spirit indwell us we probably proclaim proclaim it to others through the baptism and say we are not ashamed of this good news we find out we’re sons and daughters adopted into the family of god and then we live our lives fighting sin killing sin in our life walking away from it and following jesus pursuing holiness and all this good news is for all jews and gentiles everybody is welcome into the family of god if we place our trust in him so that’s a snapshot real quick overview of romans 1 through 11. and paul the apostle paul is the one writing this amazing story he’s writing the story of god that’s what he’s doing in these first 11 chapters and all he can do at this point is break out into praise when he thinks back in all that god has done and that’s what brings us to romans 11 33-36 and our outline is pretty simple this morning we’re going to look at the incomprehensible god we’re going to look at finite man and then look at the worshipful response we are called to have so what i want to do is i want to read all these verses and then we’re going to go through and take them section by section so let’s read romans 11 33-36oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of god how unsearchable his judgments and his past beyond tracing out who has known the mind of the lord or who has been his counselor who has ever given to god that god should repay them for from him and through him and for him are all things to him be the glory forever amen so my purpose this morning what i hope you leave with is that you know that god’s incomprehensibility and your finitude should lead you to worship to lead you to moments like this that paul had in this letter so let’s look first the incomprehensible god let me read that verse 33 again oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of god how unsearchable his judgments and his past beyond tracing out so the character of god is on full display here like in throughout romans and even here what we see is god’s wisdom and his knowledge and his sovereignty and his justice and his holiness and on and on we can go now the word incomprehensibility isn’t mentioned here it’s not used but look at the three words that kind of say oh this is what that means this is the incomprehensible god three words depth unsearchable and beyond in your translations maybe you have um inscrutable or unfathomable but the point is depth unsearchable and beyond when you use those words there’s a reason to say this is this is too much we can’t do this we can’t go deep enough and that’s what paul is doing here saying this is the incomprehensible god now if you picked even just one attribute say you picked one attribute of guidance i’m going to devote my life to this attribute to studying it to knowing it you still would not exhaust it it is incomprehensible so let alone all of who god is if you study you could always study more you can always go deeper and then as soon as you think maybe i have god figured out i know what god is going to do he goes and does something that you weren’t expecting listen to isaiah 55 which caitlyn read for us this morning because this is a verse we probably quote quite a bit and circumstances seem a little bit beyond us he says for my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways declares the lord as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts we would expect this from a god who is incomprehensible so to see how unsearchable and beyond god is paul looks at his wisdom and his knowledge here and that’s what paul’s doing throughout romans as he’s telling the story of god but if we look back just at chapters 9 through 11 because again i don’t want to jump into this passage without looking at that the immediate context before this is 9 through 11 and if you know anything about romans 9 through 11 they are highly debated passages in the church there are some difficult things here as far as the relationship with israel what the future is for israel the gentile and israel relationship and so it is a difficult passage so paul is walking through all of that he gets to this point says oh the depth of the wisdom and knowledge of god so what is happening here paul is answering a question for his jewish readers is god faithful that’s what he’s doing in nine through eleven he’s just trying to answer the question is god faithful is he going to fulfill his promises to us okay is he going to fulfill his promises i don’t think the question is asked because they really doubt whether god can it’s more looking at israel’s history and say they are an undeserving people they continue to reject and have unbelief in their hearts and so will god come through and paul over and over again in these chapters says yes he will fulfill his promise and he does that by quoting old testament right so they can go back and they can say yes he said this and he is going to do this but then he adds something else this plan is not just for israel it’s for the gentiles as well it’s for the non-jews the plan has always been for the entire world so here’s a snapshot of what paul says in these verses which is so focused on israel as he’s just kind of putting these things in here about the gentiles so in chapter 9 he says the gentiles with the jews are objects of mercy who are prepared in advance for glory he says they have obtained a righteousness that is by faith in chapter 10 he says there’s no difference between jew and gentile the same lord as the lord of all and richly blesses those who call on him and the gentiles have been grafted in chapter 11 into the family of god so paul a jew himself right a pharisee knows the old testament knows the promises of god is there saying yes god will fulfill his promises to you but guess what he’s bringing other people into this the gentiles are also included in god’s plan so paul’s expression of praise here in this passage is looking at the amazing story of god and saying god has been faithful to generation after generation after generation of israelites and he’s including this whole new people into this bringing them into this story and saving them as well and so as he’s telling this story it’s just welling up inside of him and he says i don’t understand it i can’t grasp it or comprehend how god has done this how he’s brought us to this point it is deep it is unsearchable it is beyond tracing out in other words what paul is saying here is no one but god would write this story okay no one would but god would write this story in this way because his thoughts are not our thoughts and his ways are not our ways and so what paul says is basically the gospel doesn’t make sense to us in our finite minds because we wouldn’t write the story in this way paul says that in first corinthians what does he say we preach christ crucified it’s a stumbling block to jews in foolishness to gentiles but to those whom god has called both the jews and greeks christ the power of god and the wisdom of god so again he’s saying it doesn’t make sense to us in our finite minds we wouldn’t write the story but guess what our thoughts are not his thoughts our ways are not his ways this is god’s story this is the purpose this is what he’s been doing all along for the israelites and the gentiles and so as you step back and you think about what paul is doing what he’s experiencing this moment and he worships god and just says thank you for including everyone in this story through jesus christ now i don’t know how many times you’ve read this book i’m not sure how many times you’ve read gospel passages and you know the story and you’ve been to christmas and you’ve been to eastern so you kind of know these things but i want you to think about it it’s kind of like if you’ve ever watched the movie inception or or any movie that talks about time travel because everyone talks about time travel differently so it’s really confusing right if you watch a movie like that and you get to the end you think that everything is going to be wrapped up real nice so you can kind of explain it and then the movie ends you’re like i don’t know what i just saw or or the type of movie that your brain hurts while you’re watching this you just want to turn on the comedy so you don’t have to think because it hurts and then you go watch the movie again you see different things but you’re not quite sure if that all matches up and you’re like am i just interpreting things wrong and then you think about what god is doing here what paul is doing looking back in history says oh i’m reading this i’m understanding this and then ah i have more questions and i have answers that’s what i’ve been like in movies and that’s sometimes how i come to this where i’m reading it’s like oh okay that makes sense and it’s like oh no but what about that and i have more questions then i have answers sometimes as i continue to dig and dig because it’s deep it’s unsearchable it’s beyondpaul takes it one step further look at verse 36 he says you don’t think he’s incomprehensible now you will for from him and through him and for him are all things so try to comprehend these truths in in that simple sentence there everything is from him so before creation the only thing existing was god the triune god father son and spirit nothing else was there he was never created himself so the whole idea of creation was god’s idea so everything is from him try and comprehend that all right try and comprehend that then everything’s through him god is the only one who has truly created anything ever like we think we’re creative but we’re really just taking all the things that god created and moving it around and putting it together differently and creating he spoke things into existence he spoke matter into existence nothing was there and then it was there try to comprehend what that’s like and then for him everything is for him everything is for his glory everything should be worshiping him everything should be leaning and pointing towards him so how is your view of god is it growing i hope so it’s still too small so let’s keep moving paul shows the chasm between who god is and who humanity is by asking a couple questions look at verses 34 and 35 as we look at finite man who has known the mind of the lord or who has been his counselor who has ever given to god that god should repay them so these two questions are taken from the old testament from isaiah and from job to men who experienced the incomprehensibility of god through experiences encounters with god so isaiah a prophet of god and as merit showed us last week as he talked about isaiah 6 this is the encounter that isaiah has in the throne room of god and he’s exposed to the holiness of god now isaiah is ministering to people who will be exiled and he wants to remind the people in isaiah 40 he wants to bring comfort he wants to remind them of who god is what god’s plan is what he’s doing he wants to make sure they understand that this god is like no other and so in isaiah 40 i just want to read from where these this these questions are taken or these questions taken that paul uses but just listen to isaiah 40. who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand or with the breath of his hand marked off the heavens who has held the dust of the earth in a basket or weighed the mountains of the scales in the hills in a balance who can fathom the spirit of the lord or instruct the lord as his counselor whom did the lord consult to enlighten him and who taught him the right way who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding as you read that as you hear that that should knock us down a few notches right to think measure the waters in the hollow of his handthat’s hard to comprehend so who are we to question god who are we to bring counsel to god and then job a man who suffered all sorts of trials had all sorts of questions for god on his suffering like why is this happening and then his friends come and his friends try to give some advice and they kind of have these theological debates and perspectives on who god is and why job is suffering and this goes on for 37 chapters if you ever read the book you’re like guys stop talking37 chapters then god speaks in chapter 38 and he goes to job and he says this who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge brace yourself like a man i will question you and you shall answer methat’s terrifyinggod comes up and says i will question question you and you will answer me god then goes on to just basically ask a bunch of questions and say a bunch of things that say i am god i am like no one else this is what i did this is what i’m doing this is what i know is happening right now and then job responds this is what he says i am unworthy how can i reply to you i put my hand over my mouth i spoke once but i have no answer twice but i will say no more god’s not done though he keeps going he he continues to go on and say this is who i am this is what i’m doing he declares his greatness and then job replies once more saying i know that you can do all things no purpose of yours can be thwarted you asked who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge surely i spoke of things i did not understand things too wonderful for me to know this is job coming to terms with the fact that god is incomprehensible he’s beyond tracy now he is unsearchable and what’s amazing though is he knows it’s not necessary and not possible to know everything there is no about god and yet he can still know him right he’s incomprehensible but he is knowable that’s what isaiah job and paul understood as finite creatures following an infinite god trying to grasp all this and comprehend as much as they can they saw their smallness they saw their limitations and they verbalized that truth they recognized what moses said in psalm 90 he says we may have 70 or 80 years and in comparison he says this about god before the mountains were born you brought forth the whole world from everlasting to everlasting you are god they had the right perspective understanding their limitations and who they are as finite men before an infinite and incomprehensible god now when you think about these questions like have you ever had a five-year-old question youhave you heard a five-year-old give you advice or say dad you’re doing something wrongi have routinely this weekhave you ever had a newlywed couple that’s really in love you know weeks months into this marriage think that they can offer some advice to seasoned veterans marriages for decades i have heard these types of things i’ve got some advice for you and if you can help yourself from laughing at the newlywed couple you may smile and nod and think you have no idea what’s in store or maybe it’s that new young hot shot that your business just hired who comes in and says we’re doing everything wrong we need to do this we need to do that we need to change everything and you just say you need to sit down and know your place rightif you think about it that’s exactly how we come to godgot some advice for you so i’m gonna i’m gonna pray it but this is what i think you should do like i have wisdom to share i have experience i think this is the way that things should happen and maybe we don’t say it but we certainly think it because we start to question god why would you do it this way put our hand over our mouth we speak too soon we don’t have the knowledge and the understanding that god does if only god knew my situation and what i’m experiencing here he would think this waybut here’s the thing about those examples sometimes the five-year-old is rightin my home he’s sometimes rightsometimes the newlywed couple is right and sometimes a young kid is right but guess what those are finite people talking to other finite peoplegod will never look at us and say i think you’re right thanks for giving me that perspectivethe eternal god thank you for your 37 years of experience kylefor showing me the way that i should do things like that’s never going to happen i can’t offer him anything any counsel he won’t learn a thing from me that’s the point but like job’s friends we can just say this is what i think and we can question god the other thing that we see with job in this question is god isn’t in anyone’s debt he doesn’t owe anyone anything that’s one of the biggest differences between christianity god of the bible and other religions and other faiths other myths that are out there is that god owes you something you do something for him to he has to do something back so the whole life your whole life is is kind of trying to figure out what does god owe me now what can i do to make sure that he is in my debt and what we have here is he is never in our debt there isn’t a cosmic white board that god’s trying to see who he needs to catch upto we are completely dependent on him he is not dependent on us at all when we come face to face with god’s incomprehensibility and our finitude we can say with the psalmist in 139 verse 6 such knowledge is too wonderful for me too lofty for me to attain it’s too wonderful i don’t understand and the other thing we learned i mentioned already that job and isaiah and paul teach us is that this incomprehensible god is knowablegod speaks to isaiah and job and paulso matthew barrett says it this way god may be incomprehensible but he is not unknowable any doubt is removed the momentthe moment god opens his mouth he wants us to know him he knows we can’t figure it all out but he wants us to know him so he gave us this the incomprehensible god said i will write down my words for us and then i will send my living word my son jesus christ what does colossians say that he is the image of the invisible god that the fullness of deity dwells in him hebrews says in the last in these days he has spoken through his son he is the exact representation of his being if we want to know god we know his son we look to jesus praise god that he doesn’t require our complete comprehension of him in order to get into heaven because then that’s bad news for us the finite trying to explain the infinite cannot happen paul’s been trying his hardest in all these chapters to say this is who god is this is what he’s like this is what he’s doing but he knows that he can’t tell us everything it’s not possible for it for finite rebellious sinners to know the infinite god and everything there is to know about him but he tells us the good news in romans 10. it’s not about comprehension and knowing everything there’s no about god it’s this if you declare with your mouth that jesus is lord and believe in your heart to god raise him from the dead you will be saved he goes on to say everyone who calls in the name of the lord will be saved it isn’t full comprehension it isn’t knowing all the answers thank god it isn’t we’re saved by trust in himthat’s all it takes so is your view of god growingdoesn’t it make sense why paul would break into praise at this point he’s overwhelmed by the truth of god and the story of his salvation his view of god is growing even as he writes and i hope yours is growing too so what we learned from paul here is that theology leads us to worship that’s the last point there look at what our worshipful response should be in verse 36 just the last sentence there to him be the glory forever amen that’s it that’s what all this is leading towards to him be the glory forever i’m sure you’ve had some good news before that you wanted to share with someone you’ve had those emotions welling up in you and you just can’t wait to get it out and so paul with all the words and the phrases and the arguments and the paragraphs that he’s putting together has led to these life-changing truths and on as he’s writing it just overflows into this letter you know we get to see a lot of what paul wrote but i think there are some other things probably like as he journaled just even what would his journal be like just praises of god understanding that understanding who god is and trying to comprehend that and just overflowing into praisehas anyone ever felt that the bible is boringwe could raise our hands here how many of you thought the bible is boring at some point okay thank you how many of you have thought theology is boring like going to a theology course or something like that is boring right these things happen but guess what it’s not because they are boring we need to point the finger at us it’s not god it’s us and how our heart and how we come to these words because we can come to romans 1 through 11 here and read this and think it’s boring depending on how we’re approaching it or we can say this is the story of god and he has brought me in and it’s life-changing it’s life-changing i’ve heard from people too many times it’s dry to me i had one person say i read the bible through once why do i need to do it againand we can just go through the motions and i get that but we have to say there’s something there why did paul have this response in this waybecause he knew that this god didn’t owe us anything didn’t owe us anything yet he gave us everything so theology leads to worship there is no such thing as boring theology if we think so again we got to point the finger at us so how can we make sure we have a worshipful response like paul did we embrace the truth that our view of god is small embrace that truth okay so here’s how i want to say it as we close expect that your view of god will always be too small expect it when you wake up in the morning expect it because the other temptation is to say i have god figured out so expect that your view of god is too small as you head into the day that’s not a bad thing we’re talking about an incomprehensible god and finite minds if we expect that our view of god will always be too small that means we will never ever stop pursuing him because there’s depth he’s unsearchable he’s beyond tracing out so there’s more and there’s more and there’s more so why is it good to embrace a small view of god we’ve got five quick things expect that your view of god will always be too small and it will drive you number one to prayer and to the wordbecause if you pick up this book every time expecting that your view of god is too small there is more to learn there’s more to know there’s more to understand there’s more to experience and so you open this with that expectation that i want my view of god to grow more and moreand he’s made himself known and then for prayer your prayers will get bigger and bigger and more and more bold that’s how you’ll pray as you get to know god more and you see what he does in your life the second thing expected your view of god will always be too small and it will lead you to know jesus more and more because if we want to know god we look to jesus if we want to look more like jesus we have to continue to look at him and what he does and what he says and bring that into our life through the spirit and to live it out expect that your view of god will always be too small and it will grow your trust in and obedience of god okay you will continue to walk and trust you have to because you can’t comprehend everything i know a lot of times we want to we want to know all the facts we want to get everything laid out there before we make a decisionwe never go into that in our walk with christ saying i got it all figured out it’s step of trust and it’s going to take that initial one and then ones every single day after that so if we expect that our view god is always too small we’ll continue to trust in and walk with him each and every day and take those steps and then we will obey him because we will say i don’t need to know all the reasons why you’ve told me to do this i’m just gonna listen and i’m gonna take the step and i’m gonna obey and trust and we’ll grow more and more last week merit showed us from first peter 1 that we are called to be holy because god is holy and he said but it’s not about perfection for us because perfection was one on the cross through christ we’re not going to be perfect so what is it it’s progress it’s moving forward and it’s the same idea here if we know god and we’re growing in our understanding of who god is if our comprehension is growing then we’re going to see progress in our trust we’re going to see progress in our obedience it’s not knowing the full depths of everything there is to know about god it’s just running to him every day and trusting that he will show us more and more of who he is fourth one expect that your view of god will always be too small and it will deepen your understanding of the gospel if you’re in this word and you’re honest and you’re confessing each and every day god will show you how deep your sin goes and at the same time you will see the holiness of god growing and when that happens the cross gets bigger okay the cross gets bigger because we start to see who we are apart from christ and who he is in his holiness and the cross gets bigger and we understand and appreciate the gospel more and more and finally expect that your view of god will always be too small and it will keep you humble it’ll keep you humble if you’re here this morning you still have questions you still have doubts you don’t know what all this means let me just tell you every single person in here has questions stillno one in here can understand god completely exhaustively the difference is are you willing to submit and say i don’t need to know all of it i just need to know him just need to know jesus and i just need to follow and trust him because that’s what we have done if you’re in christ it’s just saying i don’t know everything but he does and he’s made himself known to me so that i can respond and follow him and i do have some homework for you guys todaythe homework is pretty simple i want you to go home today tomorrow i want you to think about god just by yourself with the word open and i want you to jot down what the spirit does in your heart and how he leads you to worship pick a psalm pick a gospel passage pick any passage you want and read it and study it and pray over it and then see how the spirit leads you to worship like paul does here and i want you to write that down and then hopefully in five years you look at that and you read it and you say oh my goodness my view of god was so smalland then you write more and then 20 years down the road you find that one you say oh my goodness my view of god was so small then another 10 years and you keep saying that over and over again but guess what every time you do you see your view of god growing growing growing and you see that in your trust of him you see that in your obedience of him you see it how you talk to other people how you interact with them how you lovethat’s when we know we’re growing because we will see jesus face to face and i would like to know as much about jesus when i get to that point as i can i want there to be a near a smaller gap between what i don’t know what i do know about him and that starts now each and every day so i want to start off again as i did at the beginning with some time of silence but this time it’s going to be in confession okay so i’m going to ask if everybody could because i’m going to we’re going to do this i’m going to confess i’m going to try and lead you in some of this and then we’re going to move into our time of prayer and singing so let’s close our eyes if you’re here this morning and any of these apply to you just confess it in your heart before the lord because he knows it but he wants us to respond he wants to hear it from us so maybe this morning you just simply need to confess that your view of god is too smallor maybe you need to confess that you have boxed god inmaybe you need to confess that you find the bible and theology boringconfess that you’ve been trying to convince god to do things your wayconfess you are stagnant in your growth you’ve not been viewed you’ve not been growing your view of godwith your eyes closed just hear these words this morning as you confess those things before the lord to the incomprehensible god i want you to hear these words from romans 10 this morning i hope you rest in them i hope you’re encouraged by them the word is near you it is in your mouth and in your heart that is the message concerning faith that we proclaim if you declare with your mouth that jesus is lord and believe in your heart that god raised him from the dead you will be saved for is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved as scripture says anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame there is no difference between jew and gentile the same lord is lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him for everyone who calls on the name of the lord will be saved let’s pray lord wewe come before you thankful for the assurance of your wordthat in understanding our small view of you the fact that we cannot comprehend everything there is to know about you we can read those words because you have made yourself known to uswe will never know everything there is to know and that’s a good thing because you are an incomprehensible god and you love us and you’ve called us to trust you and to follow youand all we need to do is turn turn and trust in you help us to see help us to understand more and more of you so that we see our view of you growing but help us and never be content with what we know today help us to pursue you more and more because we want that view of you to grow we want others to see that if our fire is not yet large it is real we want others in our family in our community in our church in our workplace to see that fire and they can ignite their candle at its flame and pursue you as wellyou are deep unsearchable and beyond and yet you are knowable and you’ve made a way for us to be saved and we praise you for that this morning we love you and we pray this in jesus name amen[/scrollabletext]

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