Sermons | Bethel: Recent Episodes
Bethel Baptist Church
5 Steps to Avoid Being a Fool or 5 Steps to the Wise Life (Psalm 1:1-6)
The Wise Life Walks in the Ways of Yahweh (1:1) How happy is the one who avoids wicked company. How fitting that the entire Hymnbook of the Bible begins with a most loaded term- happiness and blessedness. Happiness is something that we all treasure and hold dear. So much, so that entire nations have been founded on the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
If the blessed life is something we all want, what is it, and how do you find it? From the Christian worldview, blessedness is twofold, dissociation from the wicked and association with the Father. The Psalmist grabs our attention from the first stanza and promises that a happy life is possible and it’s found in fellowship with your Creator.
We often see the blessed life as a result. Work hard, and you will be happy. Accomplish great things, and you will be satisfied. Find that right relationship, land the prized job, buy the right house, or get accepted into the prestigious institution, and you will achieve happiness. However, the Psalms teach us that blessedness is not a reward but the result of walking with Christ.
Are you happy? On a scale of 1-10, are you walking with Jesus daily? The blessed life is a person who lives practically as though God were present, sees God’s daily activity, and lives with righteous intention. The holy life is available to anyone who walks in the ways of the Yahweh.
The Wise Life Delights in the way of the Lord (1:2). Don’t miss the picture; the blessed life is not a walk with folded arms and a sour face but a lifetime of delight in the Father. Delight what a fascinating word that means a person’s interest or business or when someone or something pleases. The wise blessed life is not found through sheer will, white-knuckled determination, or rigid fundamentalism. Instead, the Lord has designed you to see delight and experience great indulgence in His Word and His presence.
God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in Him. – John Piper. Do you find true delight in the Word of Yahweh? Life responds to life, and spirit responds to spirit, so it is with the believer's new life. To delight in the Word means that I will treasure His teaching as a guide and a gift. To joy in the Word means that I find deep satisfaction in gospel-shaped authority and boundaries that lead to human flourishing.
The delight of the Christian is not a momentary exercise but one that is found through reflection on the Word of Christ throughout the day. Meditate pictures an animal quietly muttering under its breath. This is not the growl of an insured or angry mammal but the natural sounds of life and health.
On a scale of 1-10, how much delight for you find in the Word of God and His presence? There is no greater delight in the world than to find joy in Christ and His holy word.
The Wise Life Flourishes Spiritually (1:3) Now, the Psalmist, as they often do, provides a vivid image of the wise life. Picture a tree planted in the harsh dry climate of the Middle East; you would expect to find a sapling fighting for survival, but instead, you see magnificent greenery and abundant fruit. If there were an apple tree, you would have pie for the entire neighborhood.
To understand why this tree is beyond healthy, we must understand something about Middle Eastern agriculture. This tree is not a random seed dropped along the path. This tree has been purposely planted beside irrigation canals. Although the yearly weather patterns affect its progression, the daily water source provides growth.
If the wise life is like a tree, who is the master arborist? If the tree is stationary, who dug the canals? Yes, Yahweh is the one who provides flourishing. His will for your life is not that you dry up in the heat or scantly produce the random spiritual blueberry. In Jesus Christ, you have been planted near flowing streams to live in the abundance of spiritual life.
Fruit and foliage balance each other. The foliage helps the tree receive proper nourishment, and fruit is what the tree lives for. Fruit is not for the tree itself but the forest and the future. In essence, fruit is a tree’s offering back to the master Gardener.
On a scale from 1-10, are you flourishing spiritually today? A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance (John 10:10)
The Wise Life Stands in Righteousness (1:4-5) If the wise life walks in the ways of the Lord, delights in His Word, and drinks continually of the living water, the foolish life embodies the opposite. Read 1:4-5. Did you notice the brevity of the wicked? The righteous life is rooted, but the sinful life is shallow. The righteous life finds fulfillment, but the selfish life is left wanting.
Chaff was the waste product blown away by the wind during the harvest. Proper heavy grain remained on the floor during the threshing process, and the useless chaff or husks blew away in the wind. Dear friend, hear the Psalmist, a life without Jesus will never find usefulness and is always spiritually vulnerable. The Christian life is a life molded and used by the Lord for his glory and the good of the world. Be useful!
Not only will the foolish life not be used by God, but the wicked person also will not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. The Psalmist is very clear; the wicked life will have no leg to stand on in the judgment of a holy and righteous God.
Rev 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. 12 I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which was the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books.
The wicked will be judged according to their works; the righteous will be judged according to the work of Jesus Christ on the Christ on behalf of guilty sinners. When you stand before the Lord, how will you be judged? The wise life can stand before the throne of God, cleansed and made right by the blood of the Lamb.
The Wise Life is Embraced by the Father (1:6) Read 1:6. A life that never discovers its fundamental purpose is a life lived in futility. But there is hope, God watches, and He knows!
When the Psalmist says that God watches, he uses a verb for close personal connection. Yahweh is not distantly watching from a faraway kingdom, hoping everything will work out. Instead, The Father embraces the way of the righteous.
Think of how the Messiah demonstrates a sovereign embrace with his people. He turned back when he felt the woman of affliction touch his garment (Matt. 9:20). She was healed, but he stopped and spoke to her. Jesus touched a man with leprosy and said I am willing, be made clean (Mark 1:39). And don’t forget the Father who ran threw his arms around the lost son’s neck, kissed him, and welcomed him home (Luke 15:21).
This is the picture of the Lord who embraces the way of the righteous. If you view God as a distant or absent Father, see Him as the Eternal Father who embraces His children. If you feel distant from the Lord today, what if Yahweh is not the one who has drifted? The wise and righteous life is the one that is embraced constantly by the Father.
So What?
In 2016 an apartment building home to migrant workers collapsed, killing 22 people. The recent heavy rainfall combined with the poor quality of construction and age of the structures built by the villagers were probable contributing factors. While rescuers frantically searched for survivors, they discovered a 26-year-old shoe factory worker under a thick cement pillar draped over his daughter. The father lost his life in the collapse, but the young child survived, causing one rescuer to make this observation:
The child was able to survive entirely thanks to the fact that her dad used his own flesh and blood to prop up a life-saving space for his daughter," a rescuer told the China Youth Daily.
The embrace of a Father can change your life. In a small way, what this father did to save his daughter is a picture of what God the Father did to bring you life.
In the Christian worldview, wisdom is never only a virtue to attain or an attitude to hold. Wisdom and truth are a person, the person of Jesus Christ. Godly wisdom always calls for a response – a demand for total commitment.
Wisdom is the “right use of knowledge.” – C.H. Spurgeon
True wisdom is not a concept, virtue, or personification. Eternal wisdom is a person, the person of Jesus Christ.
Lead In Welcome to the church at Bethel, where we gather because of the gospel: Jesus in our place! Let our round of applause be a big welcome to those watching online and our guests here in person for family day.
Let me take a quick moment to share what the Lord is doing in this local church. In the past two weeks, Bethel sent out two mission teams. This past Sunday, we had our highest in-person attendance (non-special service) in over five years. This past Sunday, we have more kids (birth-6thgrade) than in the past fifteen years. We need to prepare for more growth, and we want you to be part of making a difference. Where is your SERVE?
Today we begin a two-week mini-series in the Passion narrative – the week leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection. First, we will examine how it all began, and next week we will open the Word and our hearts to how it finished.
Palm Sunday: How It All Began (Mark 1:1-6 & 11:1-8)
Preparing the Way – Mark 1:1-6 and 11:1-8 describe Yahweh preparing the world to receive His only Son as Savior and Lord.
Early on, we meet a man named John the Baptist, sent by the Father ahead of Jesus to prepare the way. John the Baptist was a unique messenger. Scriptures describe him as a voice, crying out in the wilderness, wearing a stylish prophetic coat of camel’s hair and the world’s first paleo diet – locust and wild honey.
John the Baptist’s job was to prepare the world for the incarnation – God in the flesh! While you might find John’s diet gross, locusts were the only insects permitted as food by the Mosaic law. If you find John’s fashion outdated, remember that Elijah dressed the same way. If you find John’s neighborhood lacking amenities, note that the wilderness was where God met and prepared a place for His holy community in the Old Testament. John’s entire existence prepared the way for others to know Jesus!
And with one singular voice, John cried out in the wilderness. His message came from the heart and was addressed to the heart. The one who was shouting was God; the mouthpiece was John.
You might not have a John the Baptist in your life, but God is not finished preparing the way for His Son, Jesus. You are hearing this message today because the Father has and continues to prepare the path for Jesus.
Take-Home: What circumstances, joys, triumphs, failures, life changes, 21 days of prayer, and even barriers is Yahweh shaping to draw you near today? How is God preparing the way in your life?
In the triumphal approach narrative (Mark 11), we again find our Heavenly Father preparing the world to receive His Son, Jesus. But, this time, the way is not in the wilderness but a road to Jerusalem. Jesus' disciples, at the Messiah’s personal request, receive a colt for transportation. Nowhere else in the Gospels will you find Jesus riding, but He does here. You see, an unridden colt was a sacred animal that made it appropriate for a king, and no one else could ride a king’s horse.
In response, the crowd began to remove their outer garments and set them upon the horse and along the road. These actions were abundantly extravagant and the ancient version of rolling out the red carpet. Nevertheless, the crowd knew that Jesus was unlike any other person they had ever met, and they wanted to prepare the way.
Take-Home: How are you preparing your heart and life for the Messiah? How are you preparing others to hear the Gospel?
The Lord doesn’t only have a way to prepare; He has a message to proclaim to the world! You have already read what John and the crowd did in response to the Messiah; now, hear what they said.
Read Mark 1:7-8 and 11:9-10
Proclaiming the Worth – John the Baptist prepared the way for the incarnation calling the entire Judean countryside to repentance. What did John require of the people? Repentance is more than being sorry. Biblical repentance is a change of mind and action upon realizing that you have sinned and that sin is wrong. William Gurnall described repentance in this way, “To forsake sin is to leave it without any thought reserved of returning to it again.”
Take-Home: You proclaim the worth of Jesus when you genuinely repent of your sin and say, “Jesus, I will leave it all behind for you!” Do you find yourself going back to sin? Have you truly repented with no thoughts of going back? Does your sin grieve you? Repentance is the tear of love dropping from the eye of faith when it fixes on Christ crucified.
John continued his message with more specificity. Mark 1:7 “One who is more powerful than I am is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals. Notice that John didn’t say a person but the One. To undo the sandals was the menial task of a servant of a Gentile servants and Jewish servants were not required to stoop down in such a manner. Later, John would say (John 3:30), He must increase, but I must decrease.
Take-Home: You proclaim the worth of Jesus when you refuse to take glory for yourself. May our lives constantly fade away in the distance compared to the all-surpassing value of seeing and knowing Jesus!
Now hear the voice of the crowd at the triumphal approach. Jesus, riding on the back of a young horse never ridden before, is preceded by a multitude of his followers who run ahead shouting: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father, David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!
Clearly, this is no ordinary day, no ordinary crowd, and no common entry. The congregation began to sing and chant from Psalm 118, a Hallel Psalm recited on joyous occasions like Passover, Shavuot (Weeks), and Sukkot (Booths). By joyously trumpeting Psalm 118, the people proclaimed that the God who saved in Exodus was the same God who saves today.
Take-Home: When was the last time you joyously proclaimed that life, death, and resurrection are found in Jesus Christ? Are you a Hosanna person?
Hearing the content the content of the crowd, we now turn out attention to the tone of their voices. Mark describes it this way, they shouted! We are never told why they shouted. Exuberance? So God in heaven could hear? To rouse the people of Jerusalem?
In Mark, we have only ten references to shouting: four from demons, one from a father crying, “I do believe, help my unbelief and once by the triumphal crowed. Only two times in Mark do we find a person or group shouting twice.
A blind beggar man shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” This shout is the voice of a man who needed help. This cry was the guttural declaration of a man who required mercy!
How does Jesus respond to shouts of mercy? Mark 10:52 Jesus said to him, “Go, your faith has saved you.” Did you know the Father always respond with kindness to every authentic prayer for mercy?
There is one more group that shouted twice in Mark. At the same festival of the triumphal approach, a man named Pilate asked the crowd, “what do you want me to do with King of the Jews?” Twice the multitude shouted, crucify Him, crucify Him! In contrast to the blind man, this cry was the guttural declaration of a crowd who wanted no mercy!
Take-Home: If you had to shout today, would your cry be for your need for mercy, or could you care less? All of our lives are shouting something.
How did it all begin? With a voice crying out in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord. God is still in the preparing business. He prepares your life to know Jesus as your Savior and King.
When you receive Him, you proclaim him. Like John, may our lives constantly fade away in the distance compared to the all-surpassing worth of seeing and knowing Jesus!
So What?
What if I told you that the shouting crowds didn’t have the last word? A later cry echoes the voice crying out in the wilderness:
Mark 15:37 Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 Then, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 When the centurion, who was standing opposite him, saw the way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
Prepared hearts lead to lives of proclamation that He is worthy!
Walk In Grace (Ephesians 4:1-16)
A Worthy Walk (4:1-6) For the past three chapters, Paul made a great effort to describe the riches of God’s blessings through Jesus Christ: you have been elected and adopted through the blood of the Messiah (1:7), they were made right before Yahweh through the cross (1:7), you have forgiveness sins, you were made alive spiritually and saved by grace (2:4). This is what we call orthodoxy or right belief about the Lord. Yet, it’s possible to believe the right things about God and not be in the right relationship with him.
This dilemma describes the “cultural Christian,” a person who claims the name of Jesus but does not have a saving personal faith in the Messiah. To this person, Jesus says, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say” (Luke 6:46)? If this is you, will you search your heart for the first time in your life? You will never be made right before the Lord by what you say or even do; it’s by grace through faith you are saved.
True orthodoxy always leads to orthopraxy or right living. Therefore, Paul frontloads the wealth of Christ’s grace to urge you to walk worthy of the Savior in grace.
When you receive the grace of Jesus Christ through faith, something changes. You become alive for the first time and walk with a different stance. The Bible describes the new stroll of faith as worthy. To be worthy carries the idea of rightness, truth, and weight. You don’t live your life to become worthy of the Father’s love; you walk worthy because Jesus made you right.
Walk because you have received. So, what does a worthy walk look like?
A worthy person walks with humility 4:2. To walk worthy of the upward call in Jesus Christ, you must walk with humility and gentleness. Now, if you think this is entirely ridiculous, you are not alone. Humility was uncommon in Greek society, and when the word was used, it always carried negative connotations. But something changed! When Jesus emptied himself and took in flesh in the form of a humble servant, all who are adopted into His holy family by faith clothe themselves with humility. By the second century, humility was a virtue in the Christian community and a point of ridicule from society.
Take-Home: Do you walk with humility, not overly impressed with your self-importance. A worthy walk shows the world that Jesus is the most important.
A worthy person walks with patience, one of the fruits of the Spirit. Remember, Paul is writing this as a prisoner of Christ in chains. So don’t see patience as sitting with folding hands enduring ignorant bliss. On the contrary, Christian patience is an active thing. It conveys the idea of positive endurance rather than quiet acceptance – Ajith Fernando.
Take-Home: When you walk with patience, we model the patience of a holy God towards us. Pet 3:9 The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance
A worthy person walks with love towards others. Specifically, Paul describes this kind of Christian love as bearing with one another. It’s the phrase used to describe putting up with something or someone annoying. Do you know anyone annoying– you know the ones who slurp their drink, text while driving, or grind their teeth?
Take-Home: We bear with one another because God’s posture towards us is not irritation. God’s default posture towards you is love through the blood of Jesus.
A worthy person walks with peaceful effort. Walking with Christ takes effort. On the one hand, we already have unity because of the finished work on the cross. On the other hand, we must maintain, with effort, the peace given to us.
Take-Home: The peacemaker is willing to risk pain to bring all things together in the bond of love.
Jesus did not sit idly in heaven, hoping that you would have peace with God one day. Instead, Jesus, the peacemaker, experienced pain to die on the cross for your sins that you might live in harmony with Yahweh.
Maybe you are like me when you hear this and think, wow, how will this ever be possible? Yet, here is an eternal promise: a worthy walk never walks alone (4:4). Seven times, the Word reminds you of your oneness: body, Spirit, hope, Lord, faith, baptism, and God the father.
Dear friend, you received eternal hope when you trusted Jesus as Lord through faith. This is the hope that leads you to the obedient waters of baptism, makes you one with every other believer, and unites you with the Godhead– Spirit, Son, and God the Father.
Take-Home: A redeemed person never walks alone. Walk worthy of the calling you have received.
A Wealthy Community (4:7-16) When every person saved by grace begins to live out their holy calling in a common world, we begin to see truly how wealthy we are in the riches of our Savior.
Paul describes the wealth of Jesus in this way, “grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”
A saving grace is a grace that saves sinners and is given to all who believe in Jesus as Messiah. This is the grace spoken of earlier, “For it is by grace you are saved, through faith.”
Did you know there is another sort of grace? We can call this grace, as described here, as service grace. This is a heavenly kindness that equips the people of the Lord to serve.
Take-Home: The grace of Jesus that saved you is the same grace that sustains and sanctifies you. God’s graces don’t end at your new birth; it carries you every second of your abundant life.
Jesus' service grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. So when you give your life to Jesus, the spotless Lamb measures out to you a unique spiritual grace to accomplish what His spiritual gift in you requires.
Take-Home: In Christ, you have everything you need to accomplish God’s holy purpose in your life and the world.
Did you know that Jesus is the best gift-giver the world has ever known? Every single Christian has been given a gift through his service grace. Twice Paul reinforces the blessings of Jesus (4:7, 4:8). Next, the NT names some of these gifts through the church's history: apostles (those who had a historical connection with Jesus), prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. But the gifts didn’t end with the five offices in the early church. You see, from the very beginning, the Lord raised leaders to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.
My grace gift as a pastor is to encourage your grace gift in Jesus. The church finds itself most like Jesus and most effective when every person called by the Father uses the gifts God has given her and him. God’s church is not a hierarchy; it’s a living organism, a body growing into the image of our Savior.
Take-Home: What service grace has the Lord given you? This is the beautify of God’s diversity. You have a unique spiritual gift that no one else has to make a difference.
The Lord richly pours out his grace upon His people so that we (plural) may grow to look more like Jesus every day. We grow to look like Jesus when we all exercise daily grace by speaking truth in love. Literally, this phrase calls us to “truthing in love.” No reference is made to speak.
Truth becomes hard if not softened by love, and love becomes soft if not strengthened by truth.
Take-Home: Are you truthing in love today? The wealth of Christ’s grace is displayed when you live out His sustaining grace in your life in this beautifully diversified kingdom called the church.
We are to be like the man who said, “Jesus has done too much for me; the rest of my life is a P.S. to his great work!”
So What?
How is your walk today? We walk worthy because Jesus walked to the cross. He emptied himself of his glory in humility and took on human flesh. With patience, Jesus calls us to confess our sins, and He is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you – every single time. In love, He united you to the Father through his atoning death on the cross. Through the resurrection, we have peace with God; we are made right forever and never have to worry about our eternal status.
Jesus has done too much for me; I will walk worthy of the calling for the rest of my life.
Are you displaying the wealth of His service grace in your life? Do you know the measure of Christ’s gift to you? Are you exercising the service grace given to you? “Jesus has done too much for me; the rest of my life is a P.S. to his great work!”
We take seriously the call to serve our Savior. Why? Because you will never be satisfied until you exercise the measure of his grace and gifts in your life.
We receive his grace and gifts because he gave up His life. The love of Christ is broad enough to encompass all mankind, long enough to last for eternity, deep enough to reach the most degraded sinner, and high enough to exalt him to heaven.
Kneeling to Know Him (Ephesians 3:14-21)
Kneeling before the Father (3:14) It’s been said that one of the best ways to discover a person’s dreams and deepest anxieties is to listen to the content and the intensity of their prayers. So in Ephesians 3:14-21, we encounter the second of Paul’s prayer for the local church at Ephesus.
So we begin where Paul commences – on his knees before his heavenly Father. Kneeling is a posture familiar to the modern hearer. We invite penitent sinners to kneel before the cross, kneel at the altar, or kneel at their seat in prayer. However, the usual posture of worship in antiquity was standing. In Jesus’s parable of prayer, both the proud Pharisee and the humble Publican stood to pray.
If kneeling was unusual, why would Paul begin with such a posture? Over and over again, kneeling was a sign of submission and intensity. In the OT, God reminded Elijah that he was not alone for over 7000 prophets had not bowed the knee to Baal.
Kneeling is a sign of allegiance and a posture of humility.
Take-Home: How would you describe your posture before Yahweh right now?
We have other examples in the Bible. In the NT, Jesus knelt with his face to the ground in the Garden of Gethsemane, a prayer so intense that Luke the physician described Jesus sweat’ as becoming like drops of blood falling to the ground (Luke22:44). Later, Stephen, the first Christian martyr, knelt before the Lord Jesus and prayed, “Lord do not hold this sin against them!” (Acts 7:60)
Throughout Scripture, people knelt when uttering emotionally charged prayers.
Take-Home: When was the last time you prayed and cried out to God from the depth of your soul? An emotionless faith is a shallow faith.
The Staircase of Faith (3:16-19) As Paul kneels, with deep conviction, he begins to walk up the staircase of faith into the presence of His heavenly Father, an apostolic prayer that includes four steps: strength, love, knowledge, and fullness.
When we pray, we must realize that God is no pauper as it would be foolish to ask an impoverished person to give you from his abundance. Instead, the riches of the Father are limitless. This is why we pray!
Take-Home: Yahweh will never be impoverished by sharing his riches with his children. Ask freely.
The first step in Paul’s staircase of faith is strength. Strength is the word used for Ruth (1:18) when she is determined to stay beside Naomi even to the very end. You see, Paul is not praying that the Lord will turn every Ephesian into a body-builder. Instead, the strength of the Spirit is an inner fortitude forged by Jesus Christ dwelling in your heart.
Paul is not addressing Christ coming into your life at the moment of salvation. Instead, the apostle's earnest prayer is that Jesus will be deeply rooted in the heart of all who call Messiah Lord.
The word used for heart is the exact phrase used for a personal residence compared to lodging for the night. So when Jesus is at home in your life, and when the Spirit settles down in your heart, you will be strengthened with power in your inner being.
Take-Home: Is Jesus “at home” in your life? Where the Savior reigns, strength resides.
The second step of faith is that you would be rooted and established in agape love. Rooted is an agricultural term reminding us that every relationship with the Father begins with the soil of the Gospel. Established is an architectural term built on the Chief Cornerstone of Jesus.
The love Paul describes is not your love to God, although a lofty goal. Instead, the apostle recounts God’s love for you on display through His only begotten Son.
Take-Home: Is your life rooted in the fertile soil of Jesus? Is your life built upon the foundation of Jesus’ love towards you?
The third step of faith in Paul’s staircase is to know Christ: to comprehend and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge. To see the love of Jesus is to know Jesus Himself. To not know Jesus is not to know or experience His love. But don’t think this is mere intellectual assent because this great everlasting agape surpasses knowledge.
Love without Christ is hollow emotion. Knowledge of the Savior without love is legalism or fundamentalism.
Take-Home: How can you know something that is beyond human comprehension? You experience it. When Paul personally experienced Jesus on the road to Damascus, his world changed forever.
The fourth step of the Apostle’s intercession is that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (3:19). At this point, we might throw our hands up in frustration and think Paul has lost his mind in solitary confinement. Yet, how can you be filled with the fullness of God? Indeed no human can aspire to such spiritual heights here on earth!
From the very moment you receive the gift of salvation through faith, the Spirit begins to work, deep work, in your heart. God didn’t save you to leave you where you were.
Day by day, you are becoming mature and reaching the fullness that Christ already possesses. Just as Yahweh is perfect, one day, you will also be perfected through the blood of the Lamb.
Take-Home: The Spirit works in every believer every day to complete God’s full purposes in you. God is carrying you to completion ¬– > capacity
Exaltation (3:20-21) I can imagine the Ephesians becoming short of breath as they walk up the staircase of Paul’s prayer for the local church. These are not small requests. Yet, the prayer is not the end. Maybe you read this and think, “ this isn’t possible, or this would never happen to me.”
When you kneel before Yahweh and walk up the staircase of faith, you end in His presence with exaltation.
The Father is able to do above anything that you can ask or think. The Word has a way of reminding us that there is nothing you can ask for or even conceive that is too big for the ableness of a Sovereign and Holy God.
Take-Home: Yahweh’s capacity for giving far exceeds your capacity for asking.
For the child of God, there is no prayer you have ever uttered that went unheard. There is no prayer you have ever prayed that is too great for His riches. There is no worry in your life too overwhelming for His eternal peace.
How did you respond to a God like this, the One True God? 21 to him be glory in the church and Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Amen – praise of God uttered from the lips of a worshiper when something they heard was also an expression of their own heart.
In Revelation, the last book in God’s Holy Word, we find this title for Jesus Christ of Nazareth: Rev 3:14 “Write to the angel of the church in Laodicea: Thus says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator of God’s creation:
Jesus Christ is the exact expression of God’s own heart. He is the Amen, the faithful and true witness. What is the Lord’s attitude towards you? Look at Jesus.
Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day, he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty
The love of Christ is broad enough to encompass all mankind, long enough to last for eternity, deep enough to reach the most degraded sinner, and high enough to exalt him to heaven.
Now What?
How do you respond to such a glorious Savior? You bow. As he knelt, Jesus’ sweat poured out like drops of blood. As he knelt, Stephen was ushered into the presence of the Father. As he knelt, Paul’s heart burst forth in praise – to him be the glory in the church and Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
What would happen if the people of God knelt before a holy God?
Yahweh’s capacity for giving far exceeds your capacity for asking.
Do you need to kneel and surrender your life for the first time and kneel before the King of Kings?
The Mystery of Grace (Ephesians 3:1-10)
Three times in this passage, the Apostle Paul writes concerning a mystery: made known by revelation (3:3), you are able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ (3:4), and the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things (3:9).
In English, a mystery is something obscure or even dark. However, In Paul’s day, a mystery was a truthinto which someone had been initiated. This is the glorious hope of the Gospel. In Christ, eternal truth is not the secret of the spiritual elite but profound wisdom understood by all who believe. Christian mysteries are open secrets that belong publicly to the church.
Take-Home: There are no “spiritual elites” in Christ. You don’t have to have the intellect or pedigree of Paul to know God. All you have to have is the same faith.
Forged by Grace (3:6-7) The mystery of Christ was not made known to previous generations, but now, through the apostles and prophets, something fundamentally changed. Listen to how Paul describes this community: the Gentiles are coheirs, members, and partners in Christ Jesus.
The community of Christ is forged by grace. When something is forged, it's made new or created into a unique shape by the blacksmith. This is what Jesus does to His people through faith in the gospel – the Messiah makes you new.
All human beings share the common ground of sin and total depravity. There is no part of you untouched by sin: mind, body, and soul. But, the grace of Christ forges you into something new. So that now, there is no part of you untouched by the forging fire of the Lord’s mercy: mind, body, and spirit.
Take-Home: Christian community is forged by grace so that you become a coheir, member, and partner in the promise in Christ through the Gospel.
Fueled by Grace (3:8-9) Let’s not stop here. In God’s eternal plan, grace comes to you because it always goes to someone else. So grace was given to proclaim (3:8) and to shed (3:9) light.
The grace that forges you is the same grace that fuels you. Fuel is any material consumed to produce heat, power, or energy. You go to the petrol station to power the rest of your journey. Some refuel on ¼ of a tank, and the most masochistic among us coast in on fumes.
In the same way, God’s amazing grace was fuel for Paul’s soul to proclaim the good news. The NLT translated it this way, “he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endlesstreasures available to them in Christ.”
The grace and mercy of our Savior is endless – endless grace to save, endless grace to sanctify, endless grace to restore relationships, endless grace to meet your every need, endless grace for eternity. This is the mystery of Grace.
Take-Home: If you by faith have received the grace of the Messiah, where is it going next? You are fueled by grace to go, and you will never empty again.
Grace Made Familiar (3:10) Now we see the complete unfolding of the mystery of the gospel. Grace which forges and fuels, is made familiar through the church. This is so that God’s multi-faceted wisdom may now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens.
One of the church’s primary roles is to make grace known in a world unfamiliar with the goodness of Christ.
In the words of John Stott, no other human community resembles the church; it is God’s new society.
What does the church make familiar? The multi-faceted wisdom of Jesus. This rare word describes something that is many-colored and diversified. It’s the same word that the LXX uses to describe Joseph’s beautiful coat of colors. God’s redemptive plan is not monolithic.
God doesn’t save you to make you look like each other; the Lord saves you to make you look like Jesus. Through the church, the radiant multi-faceted wisdom of Jesus is made familiar.
How does the church make grace familiar? The local, visible church makes grace known by living out the Gospel. Paul is not referring to the mere existence of the institution; instead, he is calling the people of Christ to radical active obedience to live out its holy calling in a common world.
We must never be a community that says, “well, people know where we are, and our doors are always open.” Instead, we have a glorious mandate to go.
Who is the church? Sadly, many in our society have constructed a spirituality that consists entirely of a personal relationship with Jesus that has nothing to do with His church. This flavor of the Christian experience is wholly alienated from biblical truth.
We may safely say that God has not abandoned his church, and if God has not abandoned it, how can we? – John Stott
Take-Home: The church is not an option for Christians; it is who you are!
The beauty of this multi-faced wisdom of the Messiah is that grace calls all of us. All Christians, not just clergy or pastors, are managers of grace made familiar.
So What?
The rare Stradivarius violin represents a beautiful mystery. How often would you look at this rare instrument of you owned the Stradivarius?
When was the last time you stood in overwhelming amazement at the mystery of grace in your life?
As a teenager, Jonathan Edwards sat down and wrote 70 resolutions that he would read every week for the rest of his life.
30 read this way, Resolved, to strive to my utmost every week to be brought higher in religion and to a higher exercise of grace than I was the week before.
When was the last time you made the grace of Jesus known to others?
No other human community resembles the church. The church, you, are God’s plan A to make his gospel known. How will a world unfamiliar with the Father’s love ever know if we don’t live, tell, and go?
Is the grace of Jesus familiar to you?
If you want to follow Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you can do so using words like this:
My life is broken—I recognize it's because of my sin. I need You.
I believe Christ came to live, die, and was raised from the dead to rescue me from my sin.
Forgive me. I turn from my selfish ways and put my trust in You.
I know that Jesus is Lord of all, and I will follow Him.
Title: The Wonder of Grace
Text: Ephesians 2:1-10
Ephesians 2:1-3
- Who You Were
A. Dead
B. Disobedient
C. Doomed
- Who You Are
Ephesians 2:4-6
Romans 5:6-8
Titus 2:11
- The Glory of Grace
Ephesians 2:6-7
Romans 5:10
Do My Prayers Even Matter? (Ephesians 1:15-19)
The church at Ephesus was no ordinary church. Started by the missionary Paul, it was strengthened by Apollos, Priscilla, and Aquilla, pastored by Timothy, and also had guidance from the Apostle John. To this church, in Eph. 1:15-19, we are privileged to open the prayer journal of the world's greatest missionary to this most beloved congregation.
Communion (1:15) Since I heard about your faith, Paul’s intercession begins as a response to what he hears about someone else. Prayer, at its very core, is not about you. We often struggle to pray because we believe that our needs, our strength, or our piety fuels prayer. For Apostle, to hear that others have given their lives to Jesus is reason enough to pray!
Praying for others draws you closer in horizontal relationships, and it draws you closer in a vertical relationship. Church, your prayers can be a response to others' faith: saving faith and practical faith. Most likely, Ephesians was sent after a seven-year absence and near the end of five years of imprisonment. And yet, when Paul prayed, it was as if the church was standing next to Paul and God at the same time.
Take-Home: Your prayers impact the lives and your love for others.
Consistency (1:16) I never stop. Now I know what you are thinking, “I have to eat and sleep, so this is impossible!” Without ceasing is rhetorical and reminds the church of Paul’s consistent prayers, which complements the Ephesian’s actions. As they continue to believe and love, Paul is continually giving thanks and praying for them. Paul wanted them to know that he did not forget the believers at his regular time of prayer. The Father wants you to have a prayerful consistency in your life.
This is how Jesus describes your prayers: Luke 18:1 Now he told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not give up. 2 “There was a judge in a certain town who didn’t fear God or respect people. 3 And a widow in that town kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 5 yet because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice, so that she doesn’t wear me out by her persistent coming.’”
A prayerful consistency sounds like the little engine that could, slowly struggling up the hill. Instead of “I think I can,” we pray, “I know you can, I know you can.”
Take-Home: Do my prayers matter? Yes, never give up! The Father never gets tired of hearing you.
Celebration (1:16) Never stop giving thanks. So often, when we draw the picture of prayer, we sketch every head bowed and every eye closed, a melancholy moment of silence. However, this is now what we see from Paul as he never stops giving thanks.
Prayer is a beautiful expression of our salvation in Christ. Prayer is part of our celebration! Our brothers around the world get this:
Nepal– Worship is not governed by time or a song list. Rather, at any time, anyone can pray aloud, even in the middle of a song. Worshipers often dance, clap, and tearfully shout their prayers to God throughout the service.
India– Loves high volume, pomp, and pizzazz, particularly in rural areas. One song may go on for ten minutes, concluded by a prayer that runs into the next song
Ghana– Musical worship in West African church services almost always includes expressive, animated dancing. Ghanaian music, like most of West Africa, is based primarily on rhythm, not melody. Local prayers reflect this heartbeat.
Take-Home: Your prayer should keep Christian praise and Christian celebration as one. Prayer is part of our celebration!
Confidence (1:17) I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father… When Paul prayed, he beseeched the throne as if God himself listened. But the Apostle did not receive superstar treatment, and he was not delirious, for anyone in Christ when you pray, the Father hears you. So, pray with confidence.
John 11:41 So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. 42 I know that you always hear me, but because of the crowd standing here, I said this so that they may believe you sent me. Jesus prayed with confidence.
In the same way, the Messiah teaches you to pray. When you pray, the Father already knows what you need even before you ask. So don’t pray to babble on; pray with confidence.
Take-Home: It’s not your words; it’s your status as a daughter/son that bends the ear of the Father. Pray with confidence, my child.
Content (1:17-19) Now, we see the content of Paul’s prayer for the saints: saving faith (know), hope (a deeper trust), glorious riches of his inheritance, and the immeasurable greatness of his power.
For Paul, the content of his prayer is the demonstration of love poured out on the cross, the demonstration of power through the resurrection, and the demonstration of God’s plan in His Word. And Paul was just getting started!
Take-Home: You will never grow bored with prayer if the Word guides your content.
So What?
Do your prayers matter? If you only knew how much you mattered to the Father, you would never lose heart again. His children are never a bother, and they are always heard.
Who is your Paul? Whose Paul are you?
Did you know that Jesus believed so much in prayer that He prayed for you?
Jesus prayed for you.
John 17:20 “I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their word. 21May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me.
You can pray because Jesus took your place on the cross and made a way.
Your prayers (belief, being one with the Father) are the answer to our Savior’s prayer in the Garden.
It’s All About Christ (Ephesians 1:1-6)
You Have Every Spiritual Blessing (1:3) If this were a Psalm, it’s a hymn of praise, not in minor chords with a melancholy cadence but a shout of joy in double-time. “Blessed be God who has blessedus with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”
This is the power of the resurrection. God is a holy blessing in his nature and those he blesses bless Him! When was the last time you blessed and praised Yahweh? Paul blessed the Father often; he couldn’t help himself.
Take-Home: How can you not bless the One who gives every spiritual blessing?
When you find Christ, you receive eternal blessings. Not one blessing, not two blessings, but every blessing. Let that sink in, every gift that the Father has; He wants to pour out on you. Every blessing the Father has, He has reigned down upon you in Jesus Christ.
So, where can you find these blessings? They are in the heavenlies. Notice that Paul did not say heaven, but heavenlies. God’s gifts are always spiritual, which means if you are only looking for earthly blessings, you are bound to miss spiritual blessings. But every spiritual blessing impacts your life today. Like a good gumbo that marinates over time, God’s blessings fill your soul today but get better day after day.
Take-Home: When you are united with Jesus by faith in the Gospel, every blessing belongs to you.
You Have Been Chosen (1:4-6) Blessing (What) is the broad description of Yahweh's mercy; now Paul moves to the particulars (How). For he chose us in Him. To choose something is to pick someone out for yourself.
The concept of chosenness is profoundly biblical and thoroughly Jewish. Deut 7:7 “The LORD had his heart set on you and chose you, not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.
Now you might ask, “Didn’t I choose God?” Yes, you did, and freely, but only because in eternity, God had first decided and prepared a way for you (Stott).
By saying God chose and predestined (1:5) us, with deeply Exodus language, Paul juxtaposes the salvation of all who believe in Jesus with the promised redemption through the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob).
Can you imagine, you a Gentile in Ephesus, hearing that your hope and salvation is of equal value and status as the Jewish patriarchs?
Take-Home: Your salvation is not second-rate!
When Yahweh chose Abraham and made a covenant with Israel, it revealed who He is, the relational God.
Take-Home: The Father is not only interested in your submission but relationship. You will be myown possession out of all the peoples, although the whole earth is mine (Exod. 19:5). When God chose you, He changed the paradigm from duty to devotion. Duty will only carry you so far, devotion lasts forever.
It’s not about You; it’s about US – I often hear the topic of divine chosenness couched in individualistic language, “God chose/predestined me.” However, the biblical record has an entirely different emphasis. The Father’s election is primarily a corporate truth. When you think of the Father’s eternal mercy, it’s we, not me. God’s salvation was never designed as a solo endeavor. From the beginning, the Lord planned for all nations, tribes, and tongues to worship in relationship around His eternal throne!
It's not about you; it's all about Jesus – In this opening passage, the name or title of Jesus Christ is mentioned no less than fifteen times. Jesus is the way that God’s salvation comes to pass. In Christ, the open door, you experience abundant and eternal life. God puts Christ and us together in his mind from the very beginning.
God always had a plan. The Father chose us in him before the foundations of the world. A common expression in the NT, Paul affirms that your salvation was designed before creation, rooted in the mind and compassionate nature of the Triune God. Before you needed Him, the Father made a way. This is the NT’s way of saying that Yahweh did not leave your salvation to chance; He made the way, prepared the sacrifice, and offered the invitation before the foundations of the world.
Take-Home: Before you needed Him, the Father made a way.
Just because it’s not about you doesn’t mean you have no responsibility. For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him. Before the foundations of the world, God made way for you to know him and experience His love for at least two purposes:
Jesus makes you blameless, a common word that refers to the unblemished offering a person would sacrifice to God. Jesus, the innocent lamb, died for you so that you would be holy. In other words, salvation that doesn’t result in a life of change has not changed your life.
Take-Home: Jesus died and chose so that you would LIVE for Him.
You also have a new responsibility chosen by God to love deeply. John 13:34 “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Take-Home: Jesus died and chose so that you would LOVE for Him.
You have been chosen and predestined. The word predestined itself has been the cause of numerous theological debates, books, and brawls throughout history. Yet, Paul is not saying anything new but simply describing God’s choice more fully. If you will, Paul is looking at the jewel of salvation from a slightly different angle. One side he calls chosen, the other angle he terms predestined.
God choosing and predestining has nothing to do with determinism or fatalism. To ask what part of salvation is God’s part and what is man’s is misguided, assuming humanity and Yahweh stand in isolation.
Take-Home: Salvation is entirely the work of the Lord in which humans are totally involved.
Knowing that creation would be tainted by sin and the Fall, why did God create at all? In the words of John Stott, “the Father destined us for a higher dignity that even creation would bestow on us. He intended to adopt us.
Adoption, what a beautiful picture of the Lord’s mercy. Why would Paul use this language? The legal adoption process was unknown in Hebrew society, but well known in the Roman world.
I have friends in this local church who have adopted, some are fostering right now, and they tell me about the love you feel when you first walk in and see the one who is to be your child. This child is going to become part of their family. They will grow up w/ your name as your children; they are going to become heirs of your wealth.
That’s what Jesus did to us. He walked into the orphanage into our orphanage of sin and said, ‘that one... I will give that one everything.’ So when the Lord adopted you in Christ, you receive a relationship with Abba similar to Jesus’ relationship with His Father. You are part of the family.
When you adopt, one of the things you do, and one of the most difficult, teach the adopted child your values. That’s what God did. In predestining us to be sons, God determined that He would make us into people who reflected His values, people whose lives would bring him glory.
Take-Home: Relationship with the Father always leads to a life that reflects the Father’s values.Luke 6:46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say?
So What?
God did not leave your salvation to chance. Before you needed Him, the Father made a way.
If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child and having God as his father. –J.I. Packer
Do you see God as your Father? Do you feel worthy to be called His son or daughter?
If you want to follow Jesus as your Lord and Savior you can do so using words like this:
My life is broken—I recognize its because of my sin. I need You. I believe Christ came to live, die and was raised from the dead to rescue me from my sin. Forgive me. I turn from my selfish ways and put my trust in You. I know that Jesus is Lord of all, and I will follow Him.
Riches, Roots, and Righteous Returns (Timothy 6:10)
Today, we live in a culture where many obsess about wealth, where more money is spent in America on advertising (need based) than any country globally, and it's not even close. We also live in a culture where we listen to rich celebrities scold others for being wealthy, and we listen their misconceptions! How should followers of Jesus view their finances? Build your portfolio on the Word of the Lord.
Misconception # 1 – Money is the root of all evil Fact – The love of money…
You only have room for one love in your life at a time. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Love Jesus not wealth.
Misconception # 2 – The love of money is the root of all evil Fact – A root of all kinds…
This misunderstanding comes from a mistranslation in the KJV. The Greek has no definite article. The love of $ is a root, not the root. God wants good roots in your life.
Misconception # 3– Being poor is a sin Fact– Those who “want to be” rich.
Paul is writing to those who are poor and does not warn them of having little; he urges them to be content and not to have a “great desire” to seek wealth.
Misconception #4 – Having wealth is a sin Fact – Don’t set your hope on wealth
Again the NT does not address the “sinful rich people” but cautions for no many to put their hope on the uncertainty of riches. Y
Misconception # 5– If I only had $____________ I would be content. Fact – Be content with food and clothing.
Biblically, no amount of money will bring you ultimate satisfaction. Jesus alone brings eternal contentment. Therefore, you will always need the Messiah.
Roots The NT is deeply concerned about riches. The gospel is good news for the poor and the rich alike. Now Paul gets practical and likens the love of money to a root. The first thing you might note about roots is that they are hidden. They grow slowly under the soil and are the foundation of what you can see above the surface. No one but you, and God knows the hidden loves of your heart. But,God knows!
Root systems have two main functions. First, they absorb water and minerals and transportthem to the stems. Eventually, what is in the root will be seen in the fruit.
Second, root systems anchor a plant to the ground, providing stability and the ability to grow. You will never flourish spiritually if you are not anchored to the rock of Christ.
Why does the Lord care about your finances? Because what you love with your heart becomes the wellspring of your life. Wants open doors, and in this passage alone, the love of more is called temptation, trap, fall, harmful, craving, and impalement.. Even worse, it leads to all kinds of evil: Greed lies behind the marriage of convenience, perversions of justice, drug-pushing, pornography sales, blackmail, the exploitation of the weak, the neglect of good causes, and the betrayal of friends. – Stott
For some, the love of money leads them away from the faith. A constant desire for more caused persons in Ephesus to stop believing in something true and tart believing in something false.
Take-Home: Sick love leads to a sick heart.
Righteousness As He did in the Garden of Eden from the beginning, the Father always provides a cure for our curse. [Read 1 Tim. 6:17-19]
Prescription # 1 Hope in Christ There were likely quite a few rich benefactors in the Ephesians church, a city of economic prominence in the ancient world. To these people, the apostle urged: don’t hope in the uncertainty of riches. Many a person has gone to bed wealthy and awoke in poverty. When you place your eternal hope in the one who satisfies, you find new enjoyment on earth.
God is not a killjoy. Yahweh is the source of all good things for enjoyment. Hope in Christ awakens your senses to enjoy His gifts in your life more.
Prescription #2 – Be Rich in Good Many think that being poor is the biblical answer to the trapping of riches. After all, Jesus said blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heave. You don’t give to earn God’s favor. The Father doesn’t love you because of what you do but what He didfor you. Yet, Paul tells the Ephesian church to be rich in good works.
God does not want you to merely be on the lookout for ways to do good things with your money. Rather, when you give your life fully to Jesus, the result will be wealth, a habitus (we long for this day), that conforms to the way of the Savior. Be rich in good.
Prescription #3 – Be Generous Notice that the Word does not condemn wealth but commends generosity. A selfish world needs to know that Yahweh is a generous Father. Christian generosity is a picture of God’s grace. What does your generosity say to others about the Lord’s mercy?
Biblical generosity is from the first, not the leftovers. Exod 23:19 “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your land to the house of the LORD your God. You will never be generous to the Lord if you wait until the end.
Biblical generosity is constant and abundant. In the OT, the community of faith tithed (10%) on everything. For those now living through Christ, this is a grace commitment and not a legalistic weapon. For the NT believer, it is unhealthy to view tithing as a place to stop, but it can still be a good place to start.
God doesn’t do IOU’s: Debt is a generosity killer. This is why we call it “drowning in debt.” Don’t let cravings, traps, vacations, and the newest home stifle what Christ wants to do in your life. If you are in debt today, Jesus still loves you, but he wants you to truly live.
Prescription #4 – Take Hold of abundant lifeWhat’s more valuable? To be rich in this life or in the age to come? Why do we give faithfully and generously? Because we desire to take hold of what is truly life, and we proclaim to the world the source of abundant life.
In a world of uncertain mirages, Jesus is the faithful and True. Take hold of the Messiah with all you have!
Why Christian generosity?
In C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, you meet a boy named Eustace who begins as really a terrible person: always complaining and making others around him miserable, believing himself to be the victim of circumstances, arrogant, and selfish.
One day Eustace wanders off by himself when the ship puts ashore on an unexplored island where he stumbles upon a hoard of treasure. As he selfishly collects the gold, unbeknownst to Eustace, he begins to turn into a dragon, an external picture of his inward condition.
No matter what he tries, there is nothing Eustace can do to free himself from the bondage of his dragon scales. One night he follows the great lion Aslan to a spring in the midst of a garden. Although he longs to bathe in the cool refreshing waters, he is unable to shed the dragon skin that prevents him. At last, Aslan himself peels off the foul scaly skin and allows Eustace to be renewed in the water. He describes the experience:
The very first tear [Aslan] made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I’ve ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off. (Lewis)
Every time you give, Yahweh tears away the layers of greed in your heart, and sometimes it hurts. When you give cheerfully, freely, and with a deep trust in the ways of the Messiah, the more you feel the pleasure of the riches of the Father’s grace.
We give with open hands, so that they may take hold of what is truly life.
The greatest treasure is not what you give, but what God has given to you:. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!
1 Cor 6:20 for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.
Philippians 3:8-14
We are bound to lose [v. 8]
Our biggest win is our biggest gift [v. 9-11]
Chase Jesus with all you have [v. 12-14]
Fact Check: A Command, a Charade, and a Cure (Matthew 7:1-6)
At first glance, the command not to judge comes out of the left field. Jesus, in the middle of his most famous sermons, overlooking the most scenic view in all of the western shores of Galilee, delivers an assessment of those who live to assess others.
However, this is not out of place. Every core tenant of the Sermon can be divided into two categories: how God treats you (ask, seek, knock) and how you should treat others.
Take-Home: These two ideologies are inseparable for the Christian: how the Lord treats you changes how you treat others.
A Command (7:1-2) The command is straightforward and strategic and remains popular in modern culture even to this day. Do not judge so that you won’t be judged.
When uttered from the lips of culture, it goes like this, “no one has the ability or the right to judge me.” Therefore, no one can tell me how to live my life! However, Jesus did not provide a blanket statement about judgment in general.
One day, all will be judged. One day you will be held accountable for the righteous life you should have lived. This judgment will be final, right, and ultimately just. Revelation describes it this way: standing before the throne were all people great and small, and books were opened according to their works.
One day you will be judged and accountable for your life. No one can avoid the final judgment. Do you measure up?
Take-Home: Born once, die twice; born twice, die once. – Martin Luther in the margin of his Bible.
So what did Jesus mean when he said, “so that you won’t be judged?” First, the verb is in the present tense, which means Jesus proclaimed, “stop judging.” Second, the word judge can mean to condemn or avenge. This is God’s job, not yours. Only the Sovereign Lord has the final judgment according to His holy standard.
Yet, the word can also mean analyzing or evaluating, a good and healthy exercise.
It’s one thing to exercise careful and loving judgment; it’s quite another to have a judgmental attitude. The former is an action that can be carried out with the love of Christ; the latter is a negative characterquality.
When you received the Spirit of the Living God by faith, you received the Holy Spirit, not a Harassing Spirit. Godly sorrow always leads to repentance and life.
If honest, we all tend to take the truth and use it to protect our image and hammer others. Jesus did not want the hypocritical followers of the Pharisees to become the hypocritical followers of the Messiah.
Take-Home: Get rid of a critical spirit, and stop criticizing others.
A Charade (7:3-4) Now Jesus calls out hypocrisy for what it is, a charade. A charade is an absurd pretense of creating a pleasant or respectable appearance. Why do you look at the splinter in your brother when you have a beam of wood in your eye?
As a carpenter himself, the Messiah from Nazareth would have been well acquainted with the sawdust that filled the artisan's workshop. If you know anything about the eye, it only takes one speck to irritate.
Scratching and rubbing the splinter can only magnify the issue. The word Jesus uses means speck, straw, or splinter. The meaning is clear, your neighbor has something small in their eye, and even small things cause blindness!
But there is a more significant problem than sawdust! You have a beam/log in your eye, and you didn’t even notice!
Of course, Jesus is using hyperbole, and his message is much more than splinters and logs. The logs and the dust represent our shortcomings, moral failings, and iniquity. In essence, Jesus is saying that you have fallen short of the glory of God, and you don’t even care! All you are concerned about is your brother!
Take-Home: Pointing out your neighbor's sin with a critical spirit will never create a respectable appearance in your life.
A Cure (7:5-6) If Jesus’ sermon ended in verse four, your brother is perpetually irritated and visually impaired while you remain blind.
As only the Savior does, he not only delivers the diagnosis, but He provides the cure. Are you thankful for a Savior who doesn’t leave you sick, wounded, and dead in sin?
Cure #1 – First, take the beam from your eye. The Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, begs you always to ask this question first: “What about me?” Faith always says I have sinned. Faith always says, “Lord, be gracious to me!” Faith always says, “I am guilty.” Faith always says, “wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” Faith says, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” You will never taste salvation until you confess your sins and accept God’s free gift of salvation for you.
Cure #1: Always ask, “what about me?”
Cure #2 – Jesus wants you to see clearly. When Christ takes your heart of stone, calloused to the ways of righteousness, and gives you a heart of flesh, receptive to holiness, then you can see clearly.
Mark 8:23 He took the blind man by the hand and brought him out of the village. Spitting on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” Mark 8:24 He looked up and said, “I see people—they look like trees walking.” Mark 8:25 Again, Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes. The man looked intently, and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
Jesus wants you to see clearly, and He takes you by the hand as your faithful guide.
Take-Home: Sanctification is the continual process of Jesus improving your spiritual vision.
Cure #3 – Take the splinter out of your brother’s eye. The Messiah does not want your brother to remain blind either. Once we have dealt with our own sins, we are then in a position to gently and lovingly to confront and try to restore others who have trangressed.
The world can smell hypocrisy from a mile away, and the world can see true love from a mile away. True love is the oncologist who will not stop until every cancer cell in the patient is removed.
Evangelism that reeks of superiority, self-righteousness, and lacks self-examination will only make hard hearts more calloused. Instead, we must say to the world, “but by the grace of God, go I.”
True Gospel love will never rest until we share the news of a Savior who can remove planks and specks. When was the last time you shared the hope you have in Jesus with someone? When was the last time you shared with someone the hope they can have in Christ?
Take-Home: Jesus doesn’t want anyone to remain blind.
So What?
Indifference: Have you been guilty of putting your head in the sand? It’s easy to run away when the charge of “don’t judge me” is used. The wrong kind of judging is a charade. The right kind of judging is a cure: properly evaluating moral matters with a humble, helpful attitude.
Jesus followers can’t be indifferent! The way God treats you changes the way you treat others.
Criticism: Have you been guilty of living with a critical spirit. So Jesus is here commanding his followers not to be characterized by judgmental attitudes (cf. Williams, “Stop criticizing others”)
Are you the one criticized? Do you feel as though you could never do anything right? Give praise to the One who makes you righteous and worthy today.
What about me? Christianity begs the question, what about me before we ask what about others. When was the last time you asked the Father to search your heart?
Ps 139:23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in an everlasting way.
Are you blind? Mark 8:23 He took the blind man by the hand and brought him out of the village. Spitting on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”
Eph 2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins. 8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—
The Eternal Word (John 1:1; 14)
What?
You might be thinking, the Word? Where in the world did the apostle John, the beloved disciple get that name? If this is your reaction, you are honest and scholarly. It takes
you seventeen verses to find the first explicit mention of the name Jesus or Christ.
Scholars have long investigated the background of the Word as a description of the Savior. If you are looking for supporting scriptures to aid your quest, you’re out of luck because Jesus as the Word only appears 4x in the NT. Three times in John 1:1 and once more in John 1:14. The fourth gospel makes the Word Christological, a new special name that reminds us of a special relationship. Names describe the relationship.
Where does the Word come from? We can immediately draw from the surrounding philosophical context. Greek philosophy, the Tom Brady of ancient rhetoric and logic, had a grounding principle called logos (the word). For the Greeks, logic was universal divine reason and transcended the cosmos and humanity. It is quite possible that John presented Jesus as the one who was greaterthan the universe and sovereign over humanity. And yet, The Greeks did not have a monopoly on the Word.
Throughout the Hebrew Bible, the Word had a prominent place in the work of Yahweh. In my view, logos was a bridge-word connecting people versed in secular philosophy to a holy reality.
In the OT, the Word shows up early and often. Gen 1:2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God created by His word, divine self-expression. This is why the heavens declare the glory of God (Ps 19) and why you are made in His image.
From the word of God, you were created, and from the breath of Yahweh, you become a living soul. The Word is Yahweh’s creative self-expression.
The Word is also God’s self-disclosure or his revelation. A hallmark of prophecy in the Hebrew Bible is an oft-repeated phrase, and the word of the Lord came to ____ saying. Jer 1:4 The word of the LORD came to me. The word of God throughout history is a reminder that the Lord wants to be known, and he wants you to know Him. God wants you to know his ways, paths that lead to life and human flourishing. God wants you to know righteousness, to run from sin, death, and harm, and find abundant life. More than anything, God, from the beginning, desired his people to know Him.
What is the chief end of man? A. Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever(Westminster shorter catechism). The Word is God’s revelation that you might know Him and enjoy Him forever.
But, there is one more wordy thread that runs throughout the Old Testament. Psalms 107:20 describes it in this way: He sent his word and healed them; he rescued them from their traps. The Psalms tie the Word of the Lord with the salvation of the Lord. If I’m honest, when I am in desperate need, I don’t want a word of God; I want his power and his salvation! But what if the Word of the Lord is salvation. For the Psalmist, all God had to do was say the word, and a person would be healed! The Word of the Lord is salvation.
So What?
Jesus is the self-expression of God. John says it this way, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. No matter how far back you try to push your imagination, you will never find a moment when Jesus “was not.” Not only was Jesus the beginning, but he was continually with God and God’s own self!
Hebrews 1:33 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. If you want to see the glory and the majesty of the Lord, look to Jesus. You can see his glory.
Jesus is the self-disclosure of God. The birth in a manger was the Lord’s formal birth announcement to the world, “come know me face to face.” The Lord, in His infinite wisdom, knew that the incarnation would be a warm invitation to abundant life. There is something about an infant that melts the hardest heart.
Can you imagine if the incarnation (1st coming) mirrored the second coming? To the shepherds: This will be a sign for you, you will find the baby wrapped in a manger and his eyes will be like flames of fire, and on his head will be many crowns, his robe will be dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of the Lord (Rev. 19:12).
Jesus the Word is the Lord’s forever invitation that you can know Him personally. And when you kiss your little baby, You’ve kissed the face of God? Know Him personally.
Jesus is the salvation of God. To see his glory and to know him personally, you must first be made holy and declared righteous. This is the ultimate reason for God made flesh. You see, in the Word you find life, and that life was the light of men, and this light shines in the darkness.
Let’s go back to Psalms for a moment: He sent his word and healed them; he rescued them from their traps. John says it this way; God sent his Word to shine in darkness (to heal them.) Heal who? You. Jesus is the salvation of the Lord, for you, your darkness, your sin, your only hope.
Word – that’s Jesus. Healed them– that’s salvation. Traps – that’s sin, death, and hell.
As long as Christmas remains a cute little kid’s story, as long as Jesus remains the big man upstairs, and one who is checking his list seeing who is naughty or nice, your eternity and redemption hang in the balance.
“We are dealing with neither the reception of light nor who will and will not have a share in the light of life, but with the light that people need to live, whether they know it or not.” – Ridderbos
Now What?
What you call someone describes your relationship.
Some call me coach Josh – soccer. Dr. Burnham – professor, academy. Burnham – high school sports/band. Pastor – shepherd/church. Juju – sister. Sweet thang – Casey. Daddy – son and daughter
In case we missed it: John 1:14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
When you look to Word, do you see the glory of the Father? Christmas calls you to glorify the Lord more and more.
When you look to Word, do you draw near to the Father? Christmas calls you to know him more and more.
When you look to the Word, do you find your salvation?
Old Doctor John Duncan taught Hebrew in Edinburgh long ago. He was sitting one day at the communion, and he was feeling so personally unworthy that when the elements came 'round, he felt he couldn't take them. He allowed the bread and wine to pass.
As he was sitting there feeling absolutely miserable, he noticed a young girl in the congregation who, when the bread and wine came 'round, also allowed them to pass, and then she broke down into tears.
That sight seemed to bring back to the old saint the truth he had forgotten. And in a carrying whisper that could be heard across the church, he was heard to say, "Take it, lassie, take it. It's meant for sinners." And he himself partook.
This is the message of Christmas; the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Take the free gift of eternal life; it’s meant for sinners.
Son of Abraham, Son of David (Matthew 1:1)
What?
As we start, let’s have a moment of cathartic confession. Raise your hand if you have ever skipped over a genealogy in the Bible. Westerners often view genealogies as supplemental material; however, ancestry tells the whole story for the ancient world.
So, Matthew begins through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit with the legacy of faith. Anytime you read Scripture, the introduction of a Book sets the stage for God’s revelation; pay careful attention. This is true of modern literature: “Call me Ismael (Moby Dick), Once upon a time (Grimm’s Fairy Tales), It was the best of times, it was the worst of times (Tale of Two Cities); once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy (Chronicles of Narnia).”
Matthew begins this way, Matt 1:1 An account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. Said another way, biblos geneseos can be translated “an account of a book of the genesis of Jesus Christ,” pointing us back to the very beginning of the Bible. This is not simply a recollection of ancestors but a reminder of God’s rescue plan from the start.
In Scripture, genealogies are often named for the first person – Adam, Noah, or Shem. Here Matthew begins with the most important person, the genealogy of Jesus Christ, pay careful attention.
Having a genealogy, Jesus is no different than you or I. He has parents, grandparents, famous ancestors, and kin we would rather not discuss. But, with these bloodlines comes the reminder that Jesus is fully God and fully man.
Primarily, as we discussed in the sermon of the name Messiah, “Son of David” is a messianic name for the Savior. Son of David identifies Jesus of Nazareth as the fulfillment of Yahweh’s covenant with David, the promised King.
As the “Son of Abraham,” Matthew reminds us that Jesus is Jewish, a common moniker for descendants of God’s covenant people. But there is more than meets the eye.
Curiously, Matthew calls Jesus the Son of David and the Son of Abraham. Of course, chronologically, this doesn’t make sense. Abraham lived prior to David. But, remember, Scripture is not the story of history but the revelation of His story.
Speaking of the patriarchs, Abraham had a unique son, a chosen son named Isaac. One day Yahweh commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only Son as a sign of obedience. No worries, ultimately, the Lord stopped Abraham’s knife and provided an appropriate sacrifice.
Matthew begins in reverse because he is telling the story of One that was born king (of David), yet a king to be sacrificed (of Abraham).
The genealogy prepares you to recognize Jesus Christ as the king who will end on the cross as the perfect sacrifice.
So What?
Matt 1:1 An account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:
Son of David – In Jesus Christ, Yahweh fulfilled His promise from long ago that one day David’s throne would be established forever and his kingdom would reign with no end (2 Sam. 7:16). Every promise that God has ever made will come to pass. Every. Single. Promise.
Jesus was the fulfillment of a earthly kingdom but the Son of David is more than an earthly king. Listen to how two blind men sitting by the road describe this Son of David: When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd demanded that they keep quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”
Take-Home: Earthly kings have the ability to spare your life, Jesus has the authority to change your life.
The promise fulfiller, Jesus the Son of David, does not sit on a throne made with human hands and he does not reign with a scepter forged by human fire, Jesus has the power to heal, to supremacy to give mercy, the authority to forgive your sins, and the right to offer you eternal and abundant life. Jesus is the Amen to the Davidic Covenant, the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lord.
The resurrection of Christ is the Amen of all His promises –John Boys
Son of Abraham – Way back in Genesis, Adonai gave this covenant promise to Abraham: I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you (12:3). The covenant included the guarantee of a Promised Land and a Promised lineage. From the beginning, Abraham was to be a blessing to all the people on the earth because the world certainly needed a blessing.
Before Abraham, God, in His perfect wisdom, created people to be with Him. The first man’s name was Adam, and he had a wife named Eve. God created them holy, perfect, and whole because to be with the Lord; a person must be perfect, righteous, and complete in his presence.
God made each of us with a purpose—to worship Him and walk with him.
But one day, Adam and Eve decided not to listen to God, who loved them and thought they knew best. Life doesn’t work when we ignore God. So Adam and Eve ate of a tree that God said don’t eat! So the first people selfishly insisted on doing things their way.
The Bible calls this sin. Because of sin, the Lord cursed Adam and Eve that one day they would die and they must immediately leave God. We all live under a curse handed down many, many years ago.
God did not want to leave us under a curse. So he sent his Son Jesus- God in human flesh- to rescue us. Matthew’s name for Jesus, Son of Abraham, demonstrates that this child, God incarnate, is the fulfillment of the hopes and prophesies of Israel and the one who would extend Yahweh’s blessing and salvation to all nations!
In Adam, blessing and relationship with Yahweh were taken away via sin and the curse. In Abraham, blessing and relationship were promised. In Jesus, the Son of Abraham, salvation is offered once and for all!
Now What?
Can knowing Jesus, the Son of David, Son of Abraham, change your life? What if, one day, Jesus called you by one of these titles?
The Gospel of Luke describes a man named Zacchaeus. We know little if anything about this man except that he was short, a good climber, a senior executive tax collector, and rich. But then, one day, he met Jesus face to face, and it changed his life. Here is what Jesus said to him:
Luke 19:9 “Today salvation has come to this house,” Jesus told him, “because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”
The Son of Abraham called Zacchaeus a son of Abraham. Zacchaeus participated in the blessings of Jesus Christ due to his faith, a faith that demonstrated repentance for his sin.
He, too, is a son of Abraham, and with these words, Zacchaeus' life was never the same. Tradition has it that Zacchaeus accompanied Peter on mission journeys, and eventually, he became a leading Christian missionary in Caesarea by the Sea.
To David: For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders.
To Abraham: 3 I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
Today our response to the Gospel is the singing of silent night and the reminder Jesus is the light we have been looking for! The candlelight is a reminder that on the darkest days of the year, Jesus reminded all who follow Him that you are the light! Delivered- Restored- Given
In Christ, light not only pierced your darkness, but you also have a calling to take His light into a dark world. Receive His light. Walk-in His light. Be the light so others may say yes to Jesus Christ.
Do you want God to be your light. Do you want the miracle of the salvation to be your miracle? What if this Christmas, salvation came to you for the first time? {Sinner’s Prayer]
Today we sing and respond to the miracle in the manger: the miracle of salvation.
The Name: Christ the Messiah (Luke 2:8-11)
What? The name of our Savior, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, has power. Phil. 2:10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth—11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Power: At the name of Christ one day every knee will bow. What about you?
The name of our Savior has influence. Even a secularized pagan world recognizes that Jesus Christ, spoken on a person's lips, carries significant weight. So, those who don’t even believe in Christ as Messiah think that on their worst day or in their frustration, Jesus Christ means something. Even in the world’s cursing—the name of Jesus Christ brings light and has influence. Read Luke 2:11.
Is Christ, Jesus’ last name? Today in the city of David, a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah (Christos) the Lord. Christ was the Greek rendering of the OT word māšı̂aḥ, anointed. Said another way, today in the city of David, a Savior was born for you, who is the anointed one.
We often take for granted that we know what Luke means because we know the rest of the story. However, for the original audience, Jesus Christ was an unusual rendering. Think like a Greek speaker for a moment. The word Christ is often associated with anointing or smearing someone with oil. In essence, the angel announced the birth in this way, “Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you who is the smeared- one.”
Luke wasn’t describing the physical smearing of oil and wasn’t giving you Jesus’ official legal surname. The angels were introducing a child that was unlike any child that had ever been born.
The terms Christ and Messiah are interchangeable. To call Jesus Messiah is to say He is the Christ. To call Jesus Christ is to say that Jesus is the Messiah.
So let’s go back several years before the angelic birth announcement. The Scriptures of Jesus were the Old Testament. But, unfortunately, “Messiah” as a technical term in the OT does not occur.
Fortunately, you will find many people in the Scriptures who were “messiah-ed” or anointed. You see, not any person would be anointed with oil. This sacred act belonged to a select group of people. The first are men like Saul, David, Absalom, Solomon, and even Jehu.
2 Sam 2:4 Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. Kings were anointed.
When you hear of Jesus called the Messiah, you should not be surprised to know that Rev. 19:16And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Kings were the anointed of the Lord.
Today in the city of David, a Savior was born for you, who is the King of Kings!
There is one other group that received the “messiah-ed” treatment in the First Testament. Leviticus tells us that they poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed and consecrated him. If the king received the throne-seat blessing of anointing, the High Priest received the sacred favor of the anointing. Do not be surprised when you hear Hebrews declare; Heb 3:1 consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession.
Today in the city of David, a Savior was born for you, who is your Holy Priest!
That’s a lot of truth in such a little word, isn’t it? And you thought Christ was just a last name. When someone was anointed, the oil represented a cherished special relationship between Yahweh and the one anointed.
Aaron, the priest, had a special relationship because the priest was an intermediary between God and man. If you wanted to be near the Lord, be near the priest and the temple.
The king had a special relationship because he presented the authority of Yahweh on the throne and among the covenant community. Did you want God’s leadership? Look to the king.
Luke 2:11 Today in the city of David, a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. Behold your King; Behold your High Priest.
So What? I doubt the shepherds would have dared to ask this question to their heavenly visitorbecause the angel’s declaration was crystal clear.
Notice that the celestial being did not say, “a Savior was born for you, who is a Messiah.” No, heaven made clear that this was THE (lack of indefinite article) Christ. So the shepherds heard right; there is only one Messiah, Jesus born in Bethlehem! But, how does Jesus THE Christ change your life?
Why do you need a perfect king? Yahweh’s people waited for over nine hundred years for the Lord to keep his promise that one day 2 Sam 7:13 He is the one who will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
Israel longed for the day when a man would again sit on the throne and establish a powerful political dynasty. But, unfortunately, they didn’t realize that the Lord had a greater kingdom and an eternal plan.
The coming of the Messiah was a visible reminder that God’s kingdom had come. Jesus is God incarnate, Yahweh made visible.
Have you ever wondered when God would restore his kingdom? When was the last time you looked around and asked, “God come quickly!” Jesus’ immaculate birth ushered in a new kingdom, a kingdom that you can participate in by faith. And for all who believe in the name of Jesus, you are ambassadors of a better kingdom to a world under siege.
The more war-torn your world, the more beautiful His kingdom becomes. This Messiah would soon shed his own blood to save all who accept his free gift of amnesty and come over to his side. Why? You are at war. This kingdom saves sinners!
Why do you need a perfect priest? If the world of kings and kingdoms seems ancient, the domain of priests and temples feels equally distant. What if I told you that you were never allowed to approach God, you could only approach the priest who would go to the Lord on your behalf.
God is so holy that sinful man needs an intermediary. You see, when you approach the radiant throne of Yahweh on your own, in your unclean state, you will receive complete deserved judgment.
But God is a being infinitely lovely because He hath infinite excellence and beauty… So that sin against God, being a violation of infinite obligations, must be a crime infinitely heinous, and so deserving infinite punishment –Edwards
On your own, as you sit today, you could never go into the presence of the Lord. You could never receive mercy, and you would never find grace. Even if these were available, you could not receive them on your own.
Why do you need a High Priest? But in Jesus the Messiah, you can approach the throne of God with boldness so that you may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need. You don’t have to approach to priest, you can approach God himself because Jesus is God!
Luke 2:11 Today in the city of David, a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. It’s fascinating that this birth announcement is not directed to the parents of Jesus but the shepherds. You and I have a lot in common with these shepherds. First, they were not family (not even 2nd cousins). Second, they didn’t exactly have the best reputation. Call them, if you will, double outsiders. With the announcement that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, had come, God redefined what his community looked like.
Even outsiders, outcasts, and the oppressed be part of the new family through Jesus because He is the Messiah.
Now What? The shepherds never asked the ,”so what,” but the Gospel of John fills in the blanks:
John 20:31 But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in his name.
John was written when confession of Jesus as the Messiah was a lasting point of division between Jews who believed in Jesus and Jews who did not. And all these years later, the name of Christ still acts as the diving line of belief and eternal life.
Now What? At its core, Christmas (Mass of Christ) is belief and eternal life. The word "Mass" comes from the Latin word, " Missa." At one time, the people were dismissed with the words " Ite, missa est," meaning "Go, you are sent.”
Luke 2:11 Today in the city of David, a Savior was born for you, who is the anointed King, the Lord. His kingdom has come, and His will be done! Go and do!
Luke 2:11 Today in the city of David, a Savior was born for you, who is the anointed High Priest, the Lord. God sent his Son that you may come. You can approach this throne with boldness and receive merciful grace in your time of need! Believe and have life in his name.
Gratitude 102 –Breaking Your Silence (Psalm 107:1-2)
Giving thanks is Praise (107:1). Psalm 107 begins the fifth book of the psalms. Think for a moment; Israel’s hymnbook concludes with a chorus of thanksgiving to Yahweh. This doxology of gratitude lingers within the memory of His holy community.
We don’t know the specific setting, but it portrays a worshipper giving thanks to Adonai in a worship gathering.
The word “give thanks -yadah” means expressing praise, giving thanks, or making a public confession- a word uniquely tied to worship. The presence of the Lord + the praise of His child + thanksgiving goes hand in hand.
Praise and worship are so much more than a specific genre of song. Genuine praise and worship grow from a satisfied heart giving thanks to the goodness of our Savior and faithful love that endures forever.
For the Christ-follower, to be in the presence of the Lord through the open door of Jesus Christ is a praiseworthy event. The fact that we can enter into this throne is enough to make the darkest heart rejoice! The more you worship and dwell in His presence, the more thankful you become!
What if we assessed every worship gathering by the amount of thanksgiving and praise from the redeemed? Giving thanks is the heavenly language of Christian worship.
Breaking our Silence: Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever.
Give Thanks in Public (107:1) If we give thanks, where must our thanksgiving occur? Often obscured by English translations is the corporate nature of giving thanks in Psalm 107. The better reading is this: All y’all give thanks to the Lord for He is good.
In the Old Testament, the individual psalms of thanksgiving outnumber the communal psalms- possibly showing that giving thanks begins with the person and then spreads to the community. Likewise, gratitude is meant to spread.
We often hear of people spreading gossip, but what if we were known as gratitude spreaders?
Can you imagine? There is no way that Israel could remain ungrateful when a stream of individuals flowed into the temple giving testimony to the Lord’s marvelous grace. What a picture of how the grace of our Savior changes an entire community. This is the glorious picture of the church found in Hebrews: provoking love and good works.
Breaking our Silence: Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever.
Presenting Thanks (107:1) Did you notice how Psalms 107 began? Give thanks to the Lord… God is reminding His holy people that thanks is given, not withheld. The Scriptures never say repress thanks to the Lord, but GIVE!
What on earth could you ever give the Lord that he wants? Cattle? The sun, moon, or stars? You can give him your thanks.
Give means to freely transfer the possession of something to someone. It’s as if the Psalmist sees the thanksgiving of a redeemed person as an offering presented at the Temple.
The heart of gratitude is a free heart. The Lord won’t twist your arm to be thankful. He wants you to give your thanks freely. When you give thanks, you, in essence, say, “Father, you don’t owe me anything, but I freely give you praise because you give me what I don’t deserve.” When you present your thanks, you acknowledge your dependence.
Why can you depend upon the Lord?
There is no one in the world more trustworthy than Jesus. I find that the more my mouth speaks of depending and thanking, the more my heart hears the words of eternal life.
Breaking our Silence: Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks with Purpose (107:1) Did you notice how Psalm 107 began? Give thanks to the Lord, He is good, and his love endures forever. On five occasions, this chorus calls the worshippers to give thanks to the only one who is worthy of eternal thanksgiving.
Naturally and environmentally, you are conditioned to be thankful. You probably hear the echo of your parents in your ear when someone gave you candy, “what do you tell them.” The correct answer is thank you.
Naturally, have a longing to be thankful for what you have. I call this lower room thankfulness. In a two-story house, everyone enters on the ground floor. But, being thankful for something is not enough.
Psalm 107 calls us to be thankful to someone. I call this upper room gratitude. After Jesus ascended into glory, Holy Spirit didn’t descend on the disciples in the lower room. Rather, they went to the upper room and experienced the power of the Holy Spirit.
Lower room experiences are not enough. “The worst moment for an atheist is when he is really thankful and has no one to thank.” –G.K. Chesterton
For the Christian, we are not merely thankful for what we have; we are thankful to the only one who can redeem us! In Psalm 107, they are giving glory because the Lord gathered (3), rescued (6), satisfied the thirsty (9), brought them out of darkness (10), and broke their chains apart (14). Only Christ can do this! For this reason, those who experienced abundant life give thanks on purpose. We give thanks to the One who is eternally good.
Breaking our Silence: Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever.
So What?
Psalm 107 was used as a communal call to worship when the redeemed would come with their sacrifice to say amen. Giving thanks is the people of Christ breaking their silence.
The truth is that all should be thankful, but not all will give thanks. Psalm 107:8 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all humanity.
Over and over again, the Scriptures show us that Yahweh loves you, but not everyone will receive his love. John 3:16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Would today be the first time that you were thankful TO the Lord?
Breaking our Silence: Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever.
Then this response: "I'm thankful, Papa; I just don't want to say it." 101- being thankful; 102 – giving thanks.
Today- Thanksgiving Response: For the next five minutes, would you give thanks in public?
This week- Thanksgiving Challenge
Daily thank the Lord for his acts of faithful love
Daily thank someone else
Gratitude 101: Be Thankful
As mentioned previously, the Scriptures have much to say about thanksgiving. So much so that one out of every six Psalms reminds us to be thankful. Ps 7:17 I will thank the LORD for his righteousness; I will sing about the name of the LORD Most High.
Not to be outdone by the Psalmists, the whole Bible mentions thank or thanksgiving over 150 times. Intrinsically, we know that God desires His followers to be thankful people. So let’s start from the beginning. Gratitude 101—be(ginning) of thankfulness.
Be Thankful – The heartbeat of the living (Isaiah 38:18-19) In the latter portions of Isaiah, we meet a king named Hezekiah. Hezekiah was a good king, not like his father, King Ahaz. One day Hezekiah became terminally ill, and the Lord instructed him to “set his house in order.” In response, the king turned his face to the wall and poured his heart out to the Lord, who answered Hezekiah’s petition and gave fifteen more years of life. What you will find in Isaiah 38 is part of Hezekiah’s response to Yahweh’s salvation. –Read Isiah 38:18-19–
Hear the words of a dead man who has a new lease on life. Let’s start with those who cannot praise God with thanksgiving– those who are dead. Sheol cannot thank and death cannot praise His holy name. When you die, it’s too late!
For Hezekiah, such a death represented eternal separation from Yahweh, the very One he wants to thank. Sin deprives you of the privilege of being thankful.
For those who see death as only a future reality or a scare tactic of the screwed evangelist, the New Testament echoes the refrain of Isaiah: Eph 2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins. Death is a present condition of the sinful.
Gratitude 101: Ingratitude is the heartbeat of death.
Satan has a heart of ingratitude, don’t be like the prince of darkness.
If death cannot praise Yahweh, the living, only the living can be thankful. To be grateful, you must be alive. This verse can also be translated, “the living one, even the one who lives again, it is he who will praise thee!” Thankfulness is the heartbeat of a man who lives again.
Ephesian 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!
Gratitude 101: If ingratitude is the heartbeat of death, thankfulness is the heartbeat of the person who is made alive.
A Tennessee farmer once said, “What comes up in the bucket is usually what’s down in the well.” So thankfulness springs eternally from the well of Jesus Christ; it’s who we are! By spiritual birthright, Jesus’s children are gratefully adopted into a eternal family and given a heart of deep abiding thankfulness.
Gratitude 101 – Be alive
When you, by faith, receive God’s free gift of salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, something fundamentally changes. You receive abundant life, and you share a new heavenly wardrobe.
Be Thankful – Saint’s clothing (Colossians 3:12, 15) Col 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience …15 And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful.
The word “put on” means to wear a garment. Dear Christians, because you are made holy and dearly loved, put on saint’s clothing.
Gratitude 101– When you wear saint’s clothing, you become thankful.
Be thankful because Jesus has freed you from the power of darkness and transferred you into the kingdom of His eternal rule. The Messiah clothes you with thankfulness.
Be thankful because the Lord has chosen you. In Christ, God knows you and calls you by name. The Messiah clothes you with thankfulness.
Be thankful because Jesus takes your sinful stained garments and makes you holy. Though your sin was scarlet, you have been made holy and washed white as snow. The Messiah clothes you with thankfulness.
Be thankful because Jesus dearly loves you. In a world filled with hate and hurt, the Messiah dearly loves you. There is no greater love than this, that a friend would lay down his life for another. The Messiah clothes you with thankfulness.
Be thankful because the peace of Christ rules in your heart. The peace of Jesus doesn’t affect, help, or assist, it rules! Where peace rules, thankfulness is found. Jesus’ peace is much more than a lack of conflict. His peace is the restoration of wholeness. Believers should be as thankful as refugees who have escaped the bondage of a repressive culture and have found refuge in a land of freedom and opportunity. The Messiah clothes you with thankfulness.
Gratitude 101– Dear Christians, because you are made holy and dearly loved, put on saint’s clothing – the sacred tunic of thanksgiving.
Our Response
Jared Wilson illustrates Two Phases of Gratitude for Our Salvation:
Imagine you are driving down the road and your car stalls at a railroad crossing. You are understandably nervous as you try to reignite the car's engine, but you become even more so when you see a train turn the corner. The train engine's horn is blaring, and the engineer has thrown on the brakes, but you are too close, and he's coming too fast. The train is rushing toward you, and you know you're going to be hit. And you are.
Suddenly and from behind. A man in a truck behind you has decided to ram into your car and push you off the tracks, even as he is killed by the impact in the very spot you once occupied.
You get out of the car, shaken and still frightened, in shock over your rescuer's sacrifice. Yet, you are grateful in a way that you've never been grateful before because a stranger gave his life for yours.
This is what salvation looks likes. Jesus gave his life for yours. He willingly laid down his life that yours might be saved.
You feel woozy, so you sit down on the trunk of your car, and as you're trying to retrieve your cell phone from your pocket to call 911 and marveling at how minor damage the violent shove did to the rear bumper, you hear a whimper from inside.
You didn't know that before you'd left the house, as your kids were playing hide-and-seek, your youngest son decided to hide in the trunk of your car. As you open it up frantically and discover that he is miraculously unharmed, you suddenly realize the total greatness of the loss you almost suffered. Your gratitude, your amazement, your new outlook on life take a giant leap forward.
This is a glorious picture of the gospel. The more you realize what Yahweh has done for you, in you, and through you, the greater the gratitude. It’s as if the gratitude of heaven never ends!
Be Thankful—understanding that Jesus rescued you. That God sent his one and only Son, who died on a cross and traded his life for yours.
Be Thankful– understanding more and more the depth of his salvation. For the one who has tasted and seen that the Lord is good, the more you know of God’s lovingkindness, the more profound your gratitude, the more magnificent your appreciation, and the greater your affections for the things of God. Thankful doesn’t stop when you give your life to Jesus; that’s just the beginning.
Gratitude 101– the heartbeat of the living. Have you been born again? 2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins. Ephesian 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!
John 3:3 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
If you want to follow Jesus as your Lord and Savior you can do so using words like this: My life is broken—I recognize its because of my sin. I need You. I believe Christ came to live, die and was raised from the dead to rescue me from my sin. Forgive me. I turn from my selfish ways and put my trust in You. I know that Jesus is Lord of all, and I will follow Him.
Gratitude 101– Dear Christians, because you are made holy and dearly loved, will you put on saint’s clothing – the sacred tunic of thanksgiving today? If the world only knew your faith in Jesus by the measure of your thankfulness, what would they say?
A life of gratitude begins with a redeemed attitude.
A Society without Restraints (Judges 21:25)
So you don’t want a king (21:25)? In those days, there was no king in Israel. These are the words of an author, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, looking back to dark days. These days are dark because the community had no human kingly leader, and they refused to acknowledge the rightful divine king.
Make no mistake; a human king would not solve humanity's sinful core. One day soon, Israel would have a king named Saul who transgressed and offered unacceptable sacrifices. David would ascend the throne, who would become an adulterer and murder. His son Solomon took the road to political expediency and married 700 wives!
Israel did not need a king to lead them into or out of idolatry; the people did that independently.
Take-Home: Your heart is your most significant threat to abundant life.
If honest, none of us want a king because we want to be the supreme leader of our lives. But, where there is no king, Judges reminds us that we will fill the void.
One way we fill the void of true Kingship is when we worship the god of autonomy. Thus, Israel’s rejection of Yahweh was more than a simple exchange of one God for another; it exposed a fundamental desire to chart their course, realize their destiny, and find independence away from a Holy God.
The god of autonomy says, “I have perfect freedom to do what I want when I want!”
It was the worship of autonomy that led Friedrich Nietzsche to exclaim, “God is dead! God is dead! And we have killed him!”
It’s the god of autonomy that sings the famous lines, “And now the end is here, and so I face that final curtain. My friend, I'll make it clear, I'll state my case, of which I'm certain.
I've lived a life that's full; I traveled each and every highway. And more, much more
I did it; I did it my way.”
Take-Home: Many have not come to saving faith in Jesus Christ because you are doing it “your way.” Don’t let the god of autonomy send you to hell. To worshippers at the altar of autonomy, Jesus says, “Follow me.”
Without a true King, we worship the god of identity. The god of identity says your most virtuous pursuit should be the advice of chief minister Polonius in Hamlet, “this above all: to thine own self be true.”
Without a holy King, you can be anything you want to be. Judges states it this way; everyone did what seemed right to him- to thine own self be true.
When everyone does what is right in their own eyes, it produces a society in which people lose their humanity and dignity.
One manifestation of modern Identity worship is the attempt to irradicate gender boundaries and mar what Yahweh made beautiful. But, unfortunately, in doing so, our culture is producing generations in which both sexes are losing their humanity as if a society without gender provides a greater good.
A society without restraint only produces confusion.
The gender-fluid revolution began as an attack on patriarchy but concluded in the dehumanization of female personhood.
Take-Home. The lie of the god of identity is that you can be anything you want to be. But, you will never find who you are without King Jesus. Jesus gives you a new identity.
Without a true King, we worship the god of individualism. Note the shift: Judges 2:11 And the Israelites did what was offensive to the LORD. Judg 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever seemed right to him.
Israel slowly morphed into a community that disregarded one another and corporate holiness for individual expression.
This is ultimately the lie of secularism: that faith is only private and should be kept out of the public realm. In the words of George Carlin, “thou shall keep religion to thyself.” By making faith merely a private affair, we have lost the ability to see how King Jesus shapes us within the community.
We worship at the altar of individualism when doing what is right - in my eyes - is the ultimate expression of truly enlightened humanity.
We honor the god of individualism when we see the gathered assembled church as optional for our faith.
Take-Home: Not everything is right in your eyes, so don’t do what is right in your eyes. Yahweh never designed your faith to be private! God’s grace has come to you because it is going to others.
Identity, autonomy, and individualism are but a few gods in the pantheon of societies without restraint.
Jesus rescues you from the idolatry of autonomy so what we can pray “your will be done.” Redeemed people ask, “Jesus what do you want me to do.”
Jesus rescues you from the idol of identity so what we can pray “Jesus, who do you want me to be?”
Jesus rescues you from the worship of individuality so what we can live in relationship with the Father and gather as His holy people.
Jesus’ response to a society without restraints
Where is God? Did you notice God mentioned at all in the final portion of Judges? Do you ever look at your broken world and cry, “Where are you, God?” While Yahweh is silent in this final chapter, He has not utterly abandoned Israel. Someday, humanity will no longer do what is right in their own eyes. One day, at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth—and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Take-Home: Where is God? He might be silent, but he has not abandoned you. You display Jesus’ glory to the world every time you bend your knee to Him as King and confess Him as Lord.
What happens when we get what we want? At the end of the day, we all want to be our own kings. A life without Jesus is not a life of love, hope, and freedom. It only leads to a chaotic culture in which the worst in human nature becomes the norm.
Take-Home: Genuine human freedom that leads to flourishing is only found within holy boundaries through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Despite all the depravity and morally bankrupt individuals in the book of Judges, the Scripture ends with a miracle. Did you catch it? There is a miracle because Judah still existed. How can you make sense of the fact that such an immoral society would still survive? Because Yahweh is gracious and his mercy is deeper than people’s iniquity.
As the Book of Act tells us, many years later, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. 21Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 After removing him, he raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man after my own heart, who will carry out all my will.’
Acts 13:23 “From this man’s descendants, as he promised, God brought to Israel the Savior, Jesus.
There was no king that would save Israel, they required a Kingly Savior.
Israel had a “Me do,” problem.
Me do – the cry of a society without restraints.
Me do- the cry of hell
He did! The cry of the redeemed.
The final solution for troubled hearts:
People who do whatever is right in their own eyes only find destruction.. Whatever lives are broken and troubled.
What is the answer to troubled heart? It’s leaving a whatever life and finding a new identity as a whoever.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Grace amid failure (Judges 16:21-22)
Be careful little eyes what you see (16:21). The new narrative section begins in horror; Samson, the mighty man of Yahweh, has been seized and blinded. What a cruel way to torture your enemy!However, there is more than meets the eye.
From the onset, Samson lived in a morally bankrupt society that did evil in the Lord’s sight (13:1). Like many today, Samson’s lifestyle echoed the culture of his day. He saw a young woman in Timnah and commanded his father to get her because she was the right one for him. Later he left to see and boast concerning the lion’s carcass he destroyed.
Samson was the man whose life was governed by sight, and who lived according to what was right in his own eyes. But, overnight, the judge would no longer be able to do anything according to sight.
Take-Home: When you live by what is right in your own eyes, you will reap spiritual blindness. Jesus people no longer live by sight but by faith. How are you living today?
The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but has no vision. –Helen Keller Be careful little eyes what you see.
Be refreshed (16:22) In the midst of Samson’s dark night of the soul, physical blindness, and spiritual void, something breathtaking occurs. Scripture describes it in the most straightforward way possible: But his hair began to grow back after being shaved. This represents no standard trim. Rather, Samson fractured every promise of faith he made to the Lord. As a result, Samson is bald, shamed, broken, humiliated, and missing his crown of glory.
Amid humiliation, a divine but happens. But is a conjunction of mercy. But, it is a reminder that the Lord doesn’t give you what you deserve. Samson’s baldness is a reminder that the Spirit of the Lord had departed. But, his hair began to grow back—that’s grace.
Nothing in Samson himself caused his hair—a visible reminder of faithfulness—to come back. Only the mercy of a loving Creator made that happen. This is good news- on your worst day, Jesus is gracious!
Unfortunately, because of his sinful life, Samson lost his holiness, lost the Spirit, he lost his eyesight and any dignity the remained. Do you feel Samson’s shame?
Take-Home: Only the grace of Jesus Christ will refresh your soul. Some are sitting in a spiritual prison, and need to experience a but God, moment. Yahweh is the God of new beginnings. Be refreshed.
Read 16:23-25. Sin will mock you (16:23-25)! As the glory of God begins again in Samson, the Philistines begin to mock and humiliate him more. The enemies of Samson have a full-blown party to their false god Dagan. They say, “Our god has handed over our enemy Samson to us.”
What they don’t realize is that the Philistines have unwittingly gives praise to the One True God. It was Yahweh who had weakened Samson.
Now, the Philistines brought Samson out to entertain the crowd and humiliate him further.
Take-Home: Sin will always mock you. Temptation will taunt you, torture you, and ultimately trash you. Samson, don’t play with sin!
“Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay. “
Things never change-- The world wants nothing more than to gloat (cancel culture) over the fall of righteousness: Revelation 11:9 Describes two mighty witnesses of Jesus who have died. And this is how Revelation describes the scene: 10 Those who live on the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and send gifts to one another because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth. Sin and a sinful world will mock you.
Take-Home: Beware the roar of the crowd. The world is not cheering for you to live for Jesus. On the contrary, a fallen world wants you to fail! But Jesus keeps you from stumbling (John 16:1).
Read 16:26-31 So, the Philistines “call Samson out” to his shame. Samson, a mighty warrior, is led to his final battle by a young lad. The spectators have been tailgating all day and are ready for the primetime event. The Scriptures describe the scene as overcrowded and overflowing with men and women on all levels to see the world’s most muscular man slumped over, leaning against two pillars.
Call to the one who hears (16:25, 28) We are not told why, but in the smoke of the chaotic revelry, possibly so soft no one could listen to, Samson calls out to the Lord. Samson calls out to the Lord who blessed him from birth (13:24) and to the Savior who stirred his Spirit in the camp of Dan (13:25). Earlier, Samson could not bring himself to use the name of the One true God (16:17); now, one last time, he appeals to the Covenant Maker.
When all hope was lost, Samson cried out to the personal God, the exclusive Lord, and the Faithful One.
Take-Home: Have you called out to the only Savior who can hear you? 9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 11 For the Scripture says Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame. Jesus hears!
Call out to the one who remembers. In surprising irony, Samson, the one who forgot his promises to Adonai, calls out and proclaims, “ Lord God, please remember me.” In the OT, remembering is not the opposite of forgetfulness. Samson knows that there is a distance between him and the Lord, but it wasn’t God who forgot or walked away; it was the judge. Remember me is a petition to “act on behalf of.” Samson, in effect, says, “Lord, you have no reason to take note of me, but one more time would you act on behalf of your servant.”
Take-Home: You have a Savior who remembers you. As Isaiah 64:4 says, “no eye has seen any God except you who acts on behalf of the one who waits for him.” Jesus remembers!
As Samson prays, his character deprivation again shines forth. If you were holding out hope that this mighty judge of Israel would humble himself through repentance, don’t hold your breath. Samson prays, “strengthen me God that I can pay back the Philistines for my two eyes.”
Samson’s life and prayerful request are utterly self-centered. Although he can no longer see physically, his physical eyes control his every thought and impulse.
His prayer is not to serve Yahweh again or deliver Israel; he only wants personal revenge. In some respects, Samson’s life is no different than the Philistines.
30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” So he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the leaders and all the people in it. And those he killed at his death were more than those he had killed in his life.
Samson pushed with all his might, and the building collapsed. How tragic that a man once set apart for the holy purposes of Yahweh wanted to die with the uncircumcised Philistines.
Samson, a man with extraordinary gifts, has wasted his life and accomplished more for Yahweh dead than alive.
So What?
Why did God hear Samson’s prayer? Why did the Lord give him strength one more time, even though Samson had broken faith over and over again? We will never know.
I can imagine Samson in prison, bound, blind, and broken singing this song: I once was holy but now I’m lost, I once could see but now I’m blind.
22 But his hair began to grow back after being shaved.
Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I'm found
Was blind, but now I see
But is a conjunction of mercy. But, it is a reminder that the Lord doesn’t give you what you deserve.
Have you ever experienced the saving grace of Jesus Christ? Call out to him, He hears. Call out to Him, Jesus remembers. There is grace in the midst of your failures.
Physical Strength and Spiritual Weakness (Judges 13:3-5; 24-25)
We read how Samson’s parents experienced the struggle of many, unable to have a child yet desperately longing for a young family. Amid their heartache, an angel appears and announces the birth of a unique child.
Take-Home: For many, the journey of infertility is your story. Yahweh sees you, and He knows your heart. Cry out to him. For some, you carry the heavy weight of not having children. God has special care for the childless. God may not give children, but by his grace, he has made us his children. Rest in His care.
Samson did not have the typical gender reveal party. Instead, an angel of the Lord announced his birth and prescribed that this boy would live with as a Nazirite for all the days of his life. Examples of Nazirites in the Bible are Samson, Samuel, and likely John the Baptist.
In the OT, only men from the tribe of Levi could serve the Lord in the Tabernacle. The Nazirite vow enabled ordinary people to serve the Lord in extraordinary ways. Through this vow, any man or woman, the ordinary Israelite, was given a special status resembling the priest, “holy to the Lord.”
Take-Home: The Nazirite vow was a visible sign that Adonai can do holy things through ordinary people. 2 Cor 5:20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” Jesus makes ordinary people holy people.
For all Yahweh followers, including Samson, the vow included three specific areas of restriction: (1) abstain from wine, beer, or any grape products + Grapico (2) avoid anything unclean, especially death and carcasses (3) no razor can touch your head for as long as the days of the vow.
So the boy grew, and the Lord blessed him, and the spirit of the Lord began to stir him.
Read 14:5-9
Samson’s first superhuman act was the slaying of a young lion. In fact, not only did Samson destroy the lion, he tore the lion apart with his bare hands! Keep in mind that they are in Timnah because of Samson’s self-pleasing heart. Surprisingly Samson tells no one. Later, walking near the exact location, a swarm of bees inhabited the carcass, and Samson got a taste of fresh wild honey.
What would have been an occasion for wonderment and celebration now becomes a test. Samson’s vow to the Lord called restrictions on death. To eat honey would be to spit on his promise to God. Failed test #1
Take-Home: Samson chose pleasure over purity, feeling over faith, comfort over conviction and refused to take his faithfulness seriously. Is your faith worth it?
Read 14:10-11 Now we find Samson back in Timnah at his wedding feast. While this party might seem benign at first, there is so much more under the surface. This was not a Chucky cheese celebration. Samson had bad company as the Philistines were known for their wine and beer - ancient pottery with built-in filters. One translator called the party a ”drinkfest.” Bad company leads to bad choices and breaks the second portion of his Nazirite vow to the Lord by participating in the feast.
Take-Home: Samson chose pleasure over holiness and refused to take his faithfulness seriously. Samson cared more about what others thought than Yahweh.
Read 16:15-17 Now we meet another one of Samson’s lady friends. This is the only female in the narrative who receives a name, Delilah. We are told that this is not one of Samson’s usual relationships because he falls in love with her. Samson doesn’t know that the Philistines are fed up and have paid Delilah 1,100 pieces of silver to help destroy the judge. Three times Samson lies with the wrong answer to his strength. Finally, he reveals the truth: my hair has never been cut because I am a Nazirite to God from birth.
This confession is remarkable because it declares that Samson is acutely aware of his spiritual calling. Yet, Samson does not reveal his covenant with Yahweh. As far as Delilah knew, Samson had a promise with the Philistine gods. Yet, at this moment, Samson’s commitment to the Lord meant so little that he lumped it in with every other deity.
Take-Home:
Who is Worthy?: In some respect, it’s quite possible that Samson was embarrassed to use the name, Yahweh. Was it possible that Samson knew the damage he was bringing to the reputation of the God of Israel within the Philistine community? Phil 1:27 Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ. Every citizen of heaven is an ambassador on this earth. Live boldly and live worthy.
Flippant Faith: The Samson story is a sad story of broken vows to God. But the more painful narrative is that Samson never takes his commitment to the Lord seriously. Is your faith genuine or simply a cultural token?
The Cost of Following Jesus: Why did Samson confess after waiting so long? Some have suggested that Samson’s vow had become a burden, and he wanted release (like any other man). Was Samson tired of the cost?
If following Jesus Christ doesn't cost you anything, it's because you've bought into 'American Christianity.' –Paul Washer
Read 16:19-20 Samson sleeps and receives the first haircut of his life. Waking, the judge did not realize that the Spirit of the Lord departed. Was the strength in his hair? Not entirely. The power of Samson flowed from his commitment to Yahweh, bound by his Nazirite vow. With his head shaved, Samson lost the final portion of his oath to Yahweh.
So What?
Samson is the reminder of how much faith matters. Unfortunately, many of us have Samson syndrome; on the outside, we look strong, but inside we lack commitment.
In Christ, are called to be anti-Samsons. 2 Cor. 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” The Gospel has room for only one hero—His name is Jesus
Like Samson’s call from above, will you embrace our holy calling? Will you find your absolute joy and reason for living in being what Jesus has called you to be?
Would you come to Jesus today and be made holy? Father, today I recognize I can’t do it in my own strength; I want to hear you, love you, and live for you! I know I fall short. I believe Christ came to live, die, and was raised from the death—to rescue me from my sin. Forgive me. I turn from me and put my trust in You. Today by faith, I recognize Jesus as my King.
Troubled Hearts and Troubled Promises (Judges 11:29-33)
To Know Yahweh and have His Spirit (11:29) From the beginning, we see a powerful picture of God’s sustaining grace: the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah. Often in the book of Judges, the spirit descends and prepares the local hero for battle, as you can read later in the life of Samson.
We are never told if Jephthah realizes that the spirit of the living Lord was giving him strength.
It’s possible to think you have the Spirit of God working in your life and His presence nowhere to be found. Judges 16:20 Then she cried, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” When he awoke from his sleep, he said, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had left him.
Never take the spirit of the Lord working in your life for granted!
It’s possible to have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and not listen to His voice (Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit. Eph. 4:30)
Not knowing, or at least trusting the work of the Spirit of Yahweh, leads Jephthah to a place of fear and phantom rejection. To accomplish his goal, the judge takes matters into his own hands. He makes a vow to the Lord.
On the surface, making a vow to the Lord is a way of demonstrating devotion and faith. The Mosaic Law prescribes how any regular citizen could partake in the Nazirite vow, Hannah dedicates Samuel to God by vow, and Paul solemnly fulfilled vows unto the Father in the NT.
Although vows are perfectly acceptable in many instances, Jephthah’s vow is entirely unnecessary. His vow arises out of fear and rejection. Spiritual fear will lead you to foolish places.
Jephthah doesn’t want consecration; he wants confirmation.
You cannot manipulate the Lord (11:30). So Jephthah makes a deal, “If you [Lord] put my enemies into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me shall be offered to You!”
In many ways, this vow was foolish. Only specific clean animals, unblemished males, were acceptable. If Jephthah’s camel immerged first from the house, then Jephthah’s offering and vow would be a transgression against the Lord.
The haphazard nature of the vow demonstrates that Jephthah’s promise is not in good faith. Instead of devotion, the vow is effectively a bribe.
Jephthah was a shrewd and calculating man. He was a mover and shaker in the community and knew how to negotiate. He was neither impulsive nor pious; he was pragmatic.
Most often, in the ANE, commanding generals would offer sacrifices or vows to the local deities with the hopes of receiving divine favor and victory. However, Jephthah assumed that Yahweh was like any other god and could be manipulated.
“If I make a promise, sacrifice, offering, then you owe me!”
How often do you fall into the same trap of trying to manipulate the Lord for your purposes?
If I attend worship, then God owes me. If I give, then God must give me more.
If I get baptized, then God will wash me. The Lord doesn’t owe you anything, and no token of religious practice will earn His favor!
God does not love you more or less because of what you do. The Father loves you fully because of what Jesus Christ did for you on the cross, and that love must be experienced by faith.
So the Ammonites were subdued, and Jephthah heads home. Read Judges 11:34-40
Hurt People Hurt People (11:34) Until this point, Jephthah has no clue what his vow entails. As a result, he decided to secure a future victory with little thought of its implications.
When he returns home, Jephthah’s only daughter runs out to meet him with tambourines and dancing. This daughter is giving a welcome that any child would give to a father returning from a military campaign.
Amid this horror, Jephthah realizes what he did, and his response tells you everything about the commander's spiritual and mental condition. No! Not my daughter! You have devastated me! Youhave brought great misery on me!
Even in his most tremendous grief, Jephthah is focused on himself. This girl has no culpability, and yet, he blames her! Hurting people hurt people.
The hidden hurt of “ambition.” How often have we sacrificed our families for personal ambition? We neglect the spiritual and emotional welfare of our kids for the sake of “providing.” Instead, we offer our spiritual nourishment on the altar of achievement (spiritual tournaments, academics, recreation) and blame others when Christ is far from our hearts and homes.
There is no victory in this world worth your soul and the souls of your family.
The hurt of blame-shifting. Instead of broken tenderness toward his only daughter, Jephthah goes on the attack. Instead of a contrite heart, Jephthah accuses.
When was the last time you lashed out at someone out of frustration? Maybe it was an interruption in your schedule, your plan, unmet expectations. It’s easy to hurt those you love the most.
Jephthah, the son of a prostitute and abandoned by his family, now destroys his family.
The hurt of not knowing the Word. I have given my word to the LORD and cannot take it back.” If Jephthah had hidden the Word of the Lord in his heart, he would have known that he had options. He could have followed Mosaic Torah and redeemed his daughter, and fulfilled his vow for twenty shekels to the priest. Instead, not knowing the Law of God resulted in destruction. Neither Jephthah nor his house knew of the Mosaic allowance for redemption or annulment of vows.
When you build your house upon your word (11:35), it always leads to hurt and destruction. Instead, build your home upon the unchanging Word of Christ. Talk about Jesus at the table, at the bedside, in the car, and redeem every moment.
If you cannot talk to your family about Christ, talk to God about your family.
In response, the only daughter affirms the vow but asks for two months to mourn her life and legacy.
In the end, the daughter’s friends wept with her, but Jephthah cried only for himself. Thus, in the end, although not explicitly detailed in the text, Jephthah foolishly sacrificed his daughter to God, even though child sacrifice is abhorrent to Yahweh.
So What?
With his selfish vow, Jephthah sacrificed his future to secure something in the present.
Isn’t this a horrific picture of sin? Temptation wants to destroy your tomorrow by offering you a short-sighted pleasure at the moment.
Jephthah is a picture of the person desperately looking for forgiveness from past sins but unable to find it. “I have given my word to the LORD and cannot take it back.”
You will never find forgiveness by looking inward.
Yahweh had already provided a way for salvation and redemption (20 shekels), and Jephthah refused.
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace
See the price of our redemption; See the Father’s plan unfold
Bringing many sons to glory; Grace unmeasured, love untold
Jephthah is a sad reminder of what manmade religious looks like.
Nowhere is human sacrifice accepted. Yet, Jephthah takes it upon himself to worship as he sees fit.
The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit.
You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God.
Are you hurting others, or have others hurt you? Never sacrifice your family on the altar of personal ambition.
Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign (Judges 6:34-40)
Here is what we know: Yahweh is going to deliver Israel through the hand of Gideon (6:36) and has clothed him with the Spirit (6:34) and surrounded him with a sizable army (6:35). During this heavenly commission, we find a surprising interaction. Then Gideon said to God, “If.”
Gideon is the only judge in the entire Book to whom God speaks directly. And amid direct divine communication, we find the human deliverer asking, “if you will… as you said.”
If, is the language of fear, insecurity, and doubt. If, is the response of a man existing in the present, but living in his past. If is the response of a man who has been beaten down for seven years and has to confront the enemy tomorrow.
Do you know what Gideon feels? For everyone who lives in the land of “if,” there is hope and his name is Jesus!
A few words before we proceed to the signs God gives: this passage has often been used as a template on how to seek God’s will. Ask God for a sign, and he will surely give, right? However, this passage has nothing to do about seeking the Lord’s will. First, Gideon knows, by divine precepts, what Adonai has asked him to do. He knows the will! Second, only the generic name of God is used in this passage, suggesting that Gideon is not calling upon the covenant relationship of the Lord. Third, although God acts, he remains silent, which speaks volumes
Gideon, overcome with hesitation, asks God for a sign. We have already noted the complete absence of the name of Yahweh in this passage. Gideon is stuck knowing about God but not knowing Him as the personal promise keeper, “If… as you said.”
This is the land that so many live. You have heard about a “big man upstairs,” but that generic god is not your personal Savior. A generic god is only convenient when you are in control, a relationship not built on trust but usefulness. You see, Gideon is not requesting a sign out of faith but unbelief because he cannot believe that Yahweh always fulfills His word.
The Lord wants you to know that He is true and always fulfills his promises. This is precisely how Jesus prayed for you in the garden of Gethsemane, “ John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” You don’t need signs when you know Him as Savior.
Take Home: The seal of the Spirit is always better than a sign.
Remarkably, God gives Gideon what he asks. The dew-soaked the fleece so much that he filled a bowl with its water. However, this is not enough! Unlike Yahweh, Gideon does not keep his wordbecause he asks for another sign.
Take-Home: Physical signs of an eternal faith are rarely convincing and will never last. Holy bargaining never works.
Now Gideon asks in reverse: make the fleece dry and the ground wet. Remarkably, Gideon was struggling, and yet the Lord did not condemn him for it.
Take-Home- for all who struggle: Mark 2:17 “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I didn’t come to call the righteous but sinners.
How gracious is the Lord? Knowing Gideon’s fears, God gave him one more encouragement that he never asked for. Read 7:9-14. On the very night, Gideon was to step out in faith; the Lord led him into the enemy camp to hear a dream.
A moldy loaf of bread came tumbling down the hill, struck a tent, and it fell. Here was the interpretation by the Midianite: This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon; God has handed the entire Midian camp over to him! This has to be the most incredible pregame speech ever! God encouraged Gideon in his moment of need, and he does the same for you!
Hebrews 4:16 Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.
Take-Home- You have no need that God cannot meet!
Back to the Battle; Read 7:1-3. With Gideon on Mt. Gilead have assembled 32,000 troops from the tribe of Manasseh. But there is a massive problem. One would expect that you need as many warriors as possible when you go into battle, but Yahweh has other plans. “You have too many troops.” So, Gideon allows the ones who are fearful to go home. So off they go, the leader has to watch 70% of his fighting force walk away.
Why? “Israel might claim for themselves the glory due to Me, thinking, ‘Our own hand has brought us victory” (JPS Translation). Are you living in such a way that gives credit to the Lord for every victory?
Take-Home: The Christian life is a “look at Him” lifestyle. 8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from works so that no one can boast.
If losing 2/3 of your infantry wasn’t enough, the Lord said to Gideon, “there are still too many troops.” Read 7:4-8. Imagine the scene. These men have lived in hiding in caves for over seven years. And now, they are drinking from a fresh stream out in the open. Can you imagine the scene?
Ps 42:1 As a deer longs for flowing streams, so I long for you, God.
Some run and drink like a dog- mouth to water. Maybe they were kneeling or perhaps on their stomach. Regardless they lapped with their tongues.
Some, which would take longer, used their hands to cup the water and bring it close. In scripture, we are not told why God chose the 300 who used their hands (Maybe God prefers manners?) All we know is that Yahweh selected the 300.
Now we find the 300 with a ram horn in one hand and a clay pot in the other, waiting for battle. Read 7:19-23. Now, something has changed.
For Gideon, the one who had lived in fear proclaims, “get up, for the Lord has handed Midian over to you (7:15).”
A newfound faith has resolved the problem of fear. And the assurance that Gideon has in Yahweh leads him to a call to action, “arise!”
Take Home: “Arise” is the cry of faith in Jesus. Faith and apathy can’t dwell together.
Something has changed about the armed forces. At Gideon’s command, every man blew into the ram’s horn and shouted, “a sword for the Lord and Gideon (7:20!”
We find a magnificent irony in this battle cry. No one in the battle carried a sword. It’s a reminder that Yahweh fights in peculiar ways.
Take-Home: Spiritual battles are always won by faith, not by the sword.
Do you remember what Gideon said in the beginning? There was a battle raging in Gideon’s soul, the battle of doubt or trust: God, if you will deliver Israel by me, as you said.
The battle of truth still rages. You can trust every word that the Lord speaks Here is how Holy Scripture speaks about the Word: (Response time begins here)
Eph 6:17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God.
Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword … It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
And the final battle: Rev 19:11 Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and with justice, he judges and makes war. 5 A sharp sword came from his mouth so that he might strike the nations with it. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty. 16 And he has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Did you notice the sword? It precedes out of the mouth of Jesus Christ. Every battle, indeed the final battle, is won by the Word of the Lord.
So What?
Was Jesus thinking about the final battle when he uttered with his mouth, “John 19:30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.”
You see, the battle was never to be won by the 32,000 or the strength of Gideon’s military prowess. The greatest battles in your life are always won by faith.
Have you trusted in the one who has already won the victory? There will be a day when every knee bends and every head bows. But, if you wait until that day to acknowledge King Jesus, it will be too late.
Are you an “iffy person?”
Is Jesus getting the glory in your life for every victory?
Alarm or Assurance (Judges 6:1-6)
Fear has many forms. In Judges 6:2, we find the Israelites living in makeshift dwellings in mountains, caves, and strongholds. They were living in the “caves within the caves.” These were natural locations hollowed out by rainwater. What would cause such mighty people to relocate in places virtually uninhabitable? Fear. Judges six is filled with the aroma of alarm: they are hiding (6:2), they are fearful (6:10), Gideon is underground (6:11), felt abandoned (6:13), weak and young (6:15), and was maneuvering under the cover of darkness (6:27). Fear has many forms.
Here is one thing we know, hiding never fixes your problems. The covenant people of Yahweh obscure themselves with the hope that their threat will go away. But, the Midianites did not go away. They came to plunder and steal crops, sheep, ox, or donkey (the big three of economic self-sufficiency). It would be like someone watching you go to the atm, taking your cash, stealing your debit card, and then taking your checkbook for good measure. Despite their hide-and-seek routine, the Israelites became poverty-stricken. They became small: both economically and emotionally.
So, friend, if you feel like you can hide from your problems and they will go away, hiding never fixes your issues; it only causes more alarm.
Read 6:7-12. I am eternally thankful for [you have] a Savior who is not content to let you hide. First, Yahweh sends a prophet with a powerful message: do not fear, but the people don’t listen (6:10). And yet, Yahweh’s compassion led him to act again. Next, he sends an angel. The heavenly messenger finds Gideon hiding from the enemy. Threshing, the process of separating the wheat from the chaff, is best conducted on a hilltop. This would allow maximum airflow, and the result is a better yield. But Gideon is not on the hilltop. He is in the bunker. This lets us know several things: Gideon has a small crop, is afraid of raiders, and is not the most likely hero if you want to change society.
The comedy is that while Gideon is hiding from the view of outsiders, the angel has been watching for a while. The angel’s greeting might be more ironic than his view, “The Lord is with you, [the] valiant warrior.” The word valiant simply means “noticeable.” The angel noticed the one who was in hiding.
If you are living in fear, listen to what the Lord said to Gideon: valiant warrior! We tend only to see ourselves as we are, based on our flaws, sins, and situations. Yahweh sees you as you could be. Only a sovereign God would look at a man hiding in a cistern and call him a fearless warrior.
2 Cor. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! If you are in hiding today, there is hope, and his name is Jesus!
Read 6:13. Now, Gideon responds to the messenger's divine interaction: “Why has all this happened.” Something has changed. The young Israelite raised in Ophrah under harsh, oppressive conditions matured into an alarmed, angry, and skeptical young man. In essence, Gideon retorted, “If God is the rescuer (6:9), why has all of this happened?” Gideon feels abandoned, and indeed, if things were going wrong, they must be the Lord’s fault.
Ever felt like Gideon? He knows that his world is broken, and he finds the right words to describe his pain difficult. To him, Yahweh may have worked long ago, but the God of Israel no longer cares, and faith has lost its relevance to the present situation.
Gideon rightly sees the chasm between him a Yahweh, but he wrongly blames God for the distance and ignores personal responsibility. In a moment of authenticity, Gideon openly verbalized his hurt.
God never instructs you to suppress your pain but direct it to the only place where you can find healing. The LORD is near the brokenhearted; he saves those crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18. Hiding pain never heals your hurt.
Read 6:14-16[we will look at the signs of God to Gideon next week]. Undeterred, the Lord promises to be with him and is not frightened by Gideon’s anger or his excuses. Adonai doesn’t let your anger or hurt determine his loving-kindness toward you.
Next, Gideon makes excuses, “our family is weak, and I am the youngest.” First, Gideon’s justifications are not accurate, as we will later see. His family has at least ten servants, and his household is the town sponsor of the local Baal cult site. At best, Gideon’s claim to be the weakest link in a weak chain is exaggerated.
Aren’t you glad for a Savior that doesn’t let your excuses have the last word? Listen to Yahweh’s response, “I will be with you.” The promised presence of the Lord is all and everything you need.
Read 6:25-29. The Lord commanded Gideon to clean house, starting with his home first. For the people of God and us today, there will never be peace and shalom with the God of the universe if you remain divided in your loyalties.
Yes, Israel’s immediate problem was oppression by the Midianites and enslavement that kept them in constant fear and alarm. However, the root of their problem was not Midian, but their addition to evil, sin, and self. The Lord would not deliver Israel until they renounced their sin and turned back to God. Repentance is always a necessary condition of the Lord’s deliverance and salvation in your life.
True worship and sin can never stand side by side. So for Gideon, and us today, repentance has to start where it is the most difficult—at home and in your heart.
Don’t expect the Lord to transform your world if you refuse to let him transform your house first.
What idol is the Lord asking you to smash today?
Responding with our heads, hands, and heart
Everyone has reasons to fear and be alarmed. Fears can be physical (covid, health concerns), spiritual (sin, lack of trust), positional (weakest, nobody cares about me), stature (most diminutive), emotional (pain, hurt, trauma) or irrational.
Fear can be caused by a lack of trust.
Fear can be caused by other’s sins.
Fear can be a produce of disobedience.
No matter the root, in Jesus Christ, you have the answer to fear. The assurance of faith by the blood of the lamb is the antidote to earthly alarm.
1 Tim. 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.
Listen to Gideon:
Fear causes you to hide as a way to cope with your life. Faith causes the Spirit to dwell with you. God doesn’t hide his presence from His children. Fear hides, faith dwells.
Fear causes you to panic, but Christ brings peace and shalom. The sweetest words you will ever hear are Judg 6:23, “Peace to you. Don’t be afraid, for you will not die.” 24 So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD Is Peace. Fear brings panic; faith brings peace.
Fear cries out, “woe is me, I am poverty-stricken” Covenant faith reminds, “I bought you out, rescued you, drove them out, and speak to you.” Do not fear. Faith cries out; fear comforts.
Fear says, “I cant.” Christ says,” You are.”
There are only two lasting answers to alarm:
First, place your hope and trust in Jesus Christ for the first time.
Rekindle your faith and assurance in the Messiah again. 2 Tim 1:6 Therefore, I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands.
Which do you need today?
Should I Stay or Should I Go (Judges 4:1-3)
So you don’t think your sin is a big deal (4:2)? Who knew such a little conjunction could carry such weight? Learn a harsh lesson from Israel, the covenant people of God—those who experienced his loving-kindness. They again did even, so the Lord gave them over to desires of their hearts. Listento Israel—there is no sin in your life, whether small or large, that does not have consequence. The wages of sin- any sin- is always death.
Israel’s sin had a natural consequence. Jabin of Hazor harshly oppressed God’s community for twenty years. Jabin hailed from Hazor, the most powerful city in northern Canaan, and today its remains are the most prominent ancient ruins in modern Israel.
Jabin’s expert commander was a man named Sisera—most likely a Hittite or Philistine mercenary. Sisera was a capable and ruthless man, a killing machine. At his disposal were 900 iron chariots. These vehicles were the latest military hardware and gave the Canaanites superiority in the Jezreel valley.
Chariots were not used to break through enemy lines but to pursue and slaughter the fleeing enemy. For Israel, 900 iron chariots were the ultimate instrument of fear and oppression. It was a reminder that no one could escape.
In like manner, you can never run away from the chariots of righteous judgment. You can’t run and ignore iniquity; you must confront it face to face. And God does just that. Salvation comes from the most unexpected places.
Salvation comes from the most unexpected place (4:4-5). Now we meet Deborah “bee,” the wife of Lappidoth and a judge. She is a female prophet in the line of Miriam, Huldah, and Anna (NT). The hope for Israel lies not in a man of conquest but a female judge.
Deborah is a reminder that the Lord gives a voice to the voiceless. Women in the ANE were seen as insignificant. Yet, Yahweh displays his power through the marginalized.
We see Deborah sitting under a tree in Ramah and Bethel. It’s interesting that while Jabin sat enthroned in might over Canaan, hope was sitting under a tree. Salvation comes from the most unexpected places.
Notice where Deborah is not— Bethel/Shiloh (the place where the ark rested). Instead, she is sitting under the palm tree in the hill country, a location easily accessible for almost every Israelite. Thus, the Lord’s salvation is open to all who come, because His grace is easily assessable by faith.
One day while sitting and judging, Barak is summoned. His name means lightning, suggesting he has hero potential. Yahweh chooses a man named lightening to one day defeat the Canaanites- whose chief deity was Baal. ANE inscriptions picture Baal riding on storm clouds—in one hand a club of thunder and in the other a spear of lightning. The One True God raises a local man Barak (lightning), to defeat the idolatry of Baal, and show there is no other god but Yahweh! Salvation comes from the most unexpected places.
[Pause] Here is what we know: Yahweh commanded Barak to fight from victory up on Mt. Tabor, a fact that Barak never disputes. And Barak responds to Deborah’s directive, “I'll go if you go.” In one breath, the commander said, “I will go” and “I will not go.” Not a great start for our leader.
Yahweh accomplishes His purposes through flawed individuals (4:8). Barak is the first judge who exhibits a reluctance to lead. Twice Deborah had to remind him of the Lord’s call and command (4:6 and 4:14).
Have you ever felt like Barak? Knowing what the Lord requires and yet on the fence? Struggling, “should I stay or should I go?” Maybe for you, that is salvation, baptism, call to missionary work or pastoral ministry, sharing the Gospel, or turning away from sin. Yet, despite Yahweh’s assurance of victory, Barak resists the call to go.
Deborah said she would go, but Barak would receive no honor because the Lord would sell Sisera to a woman. This is not Deborah saying that Barak fights like a girl. Instead, the honor would go to a non-soldier (woman). Salvation comes from the most unexpected places.
Ultimately Deborah went up with Barak, and the Lord gave Israel victory that day. The Canaanites fled, and Sisera ran. He ran into a tent of a lady named Jael, who killed him when he was sleeping. This story is immortalized in the song of Deborah—one of the most ancient works in the Hebrew Bible.
But that is not the end of Barak. Heb 11:32 And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, 33, who by faith conquered kingdoms.
If you ever felt hesitant to do what the Lord wanted, and now you feel useless, let Barak be a constant reminder that God accomplishes his flawless purposes through flawed individuals. By faith, Barak won God’s approval, and you can too!
Let’s go back to the battle (4:4:12-15). As directed by the Lord, through Deborah, Barak went up to Mt. Tabor. Today, Mt. Tabor in the Galilee region is one of the best places to paraglide in Israel. This mountain sits above the Jezreel Valley and controls one of the most critical crossroads in the region.
Something strange happened on Mt. Tabor (4:14). Sisera goes up as Barak goes down, and the Lord throws Sisera into a panic so that the entire army flees on foot (not chariot). I told you that salvation comes from unexpected places. It was not Barak that received glory, but the Lord who threw the Canaanites into a panic—the standard OT phrase for Yah routing his enemies.
Spiritual victory is not accomplished from the earth up but from heaven down.
Sisera went up the mountain, and the Lord came down. As Deborah sang about that day, “ Judges 5:20 the stars fought from the heavens; the stars fought with Sisera from their paths … March on, my soul, in strength! On that day, salvation was found on Mt. Tabor.
Many years later, Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John and led them up on a high mountain (Mt. Tabor is the traditional site of the transfiguration) by themselves. 2 He was transfigured in front of them, and his face shone like the sun; his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. 4 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it’s good for us to be here. If you want, I will set up three shelters here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
Matt 17:5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased. Listen to him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown and were terrified.
Salvation came to Israel in the valley because the Lord delivered His people on the mountain.In the same way, salvation comes to you when you recognize that His beloved Son is the way, truth, and life. Salvation comes from unexpected places.
On Mt. Tabor, Jesus revealed his glory to the disciples so that they would believe by faith. Later, Jesus would reveal his glory on a cross—a cursed instrument of Roman execution. Jesus went to the cross because there was no other way for sinners to reconcile to the Father.
Salvation is found in unexpected places: a manger, a cross, and an empty tomb.
It is by faith that Barak won God’s approval. In the same way today you can have God’s approval:, 8For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from works so that no one can boast.
God’s approval is not found in what you do, but what Jesus did for you. Salvation comes from the most unexpected place—the cross of Calvary.
Don’t you think your sin is a big deal? Look to the cross.
Feel useless? Yahweh accomplished His purposes through flawed individuals
Reluctant? You can’t go back, but you can obey Him today.
Forgetfulness leads to a troubled heart (Judges 3:7-11)
The Evil of Forgetfulness (3:7) We are not yet three complete chapters into the book of Judges until we experience God’s covenant community falling into rebellion and iniquity. Tangentially, one reason you can trust that the Holy Scriptures are inspired by God and not man is that Bible never ignores or excuses Israel’s sin. Man would never let you know about his most profound failures. Israel did evil.
The Judeo-Christian worldview gives us a framework for calling evil, evil. Evil is anything against the nature, will, or way of a Sovereign God [in the Lord’s sight]. However, when your worldview does not begin with an absolute sovereign Creator, it will lead to a place where you can’t call evil by name.
Some have tried to explain evil apart from an absolute Good God:
Evil skeptics propose describing morally despicable actions, characters, and events using more pedestrian moral concepts such as badness and wrongdoing. The most celebrated evil-skeptic, nineteenth-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, argued that the idea of evil should be abandoned because it is dangerous. It should come as no surprise that Nietzsche, describing the Enlightenment, retorted, “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. “
Without Yahweh, you have no framework to label evil. Result: you will live a life that tries to diminish evil (or magnify others) with the hopes that your personal sin will be ignored.
In Christ, evil becomes dangerous, but without Jesus, evil sees God as hazardous. May we see the world as God sees.
So what is this great evil? The people forgot and worshipped. Forgetfulness is a radically benign way to describe evil and sin, don’t you think? Yet, the Bible is full of reminders never to forget God’s faithfulness.
Moses, speaking to the Exodus generation who witnessed the ten plagues, walked through the Red Sea, read the 10 Commands said: Deut 4:9 “Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you don’t forget the things your eyes have seen and so that they don’t slip from your mind as long as you live. Teach them to your children and your grandchildren.”
King David, the psalmist, penned, “My soul, bless the Lord, and do not forget all his benefits.”
What if forgetting the promises of Christ is the greatest threat to your abundant life and spiritual vitality? Never forget!
The Consequence of Forgetfulness (3:8) As a result of covenant forgetfulness and evil, the people of God experienced the consequence of their sin. Amid their bold apostasy, the anger of Yahweh burned. Sin always has effects. Romans says that the wages of sin is death!
Not all consequences are equal:
There is a consequence of God’s wrath for those who remain outside His covenant. All die because of sin, but some will experience judgment unmitigated by grace outside his covenant. This judgment is retribution—punishment without grace- for those who reject His lovingkindness. The final permanent expression of Yahweh’s retributive justice is Hell. But, the gift of God is eternal life.
The consequences of sinful forgetfulness received by Israel were within a covenant relationship. This judgment is discipline—corrective rather than retributive—and always tempered by grace. God will let His children receive the consequences of their sin so that they may run back to His presence. God’s discipline in your life is always corrective.
The punishment for sin can be immediate or delayed, but it is sure. For those who sold out to the gods of Baal and Asherah, the Lord sold them to King Cushan-rishathaim. His name means dark and doubly wicked or evil times two. For eight years, God’s community was slaves to their sin. The punishment for sin can be immediate or delayed, but it is sure.
The Cry of Remembrance [Anti-forgetfulness] (3:9). After eight years, someone remembered Yahweh. And they began to cry out! Don’t get this confused with a shout of repentance. Fundamentally, this is a roar of anguish in a desperate situation and pain.
Even to this superficial plea, the Lord is moved to pity and immediately responds. If you have ever felt like God won’t hear your prayer because of your sin or situation, Judges teaches us to cry out! He will listen to and be moved to compassion. Before you even were aware of your sin, God made way for you to know him through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:8). A wrong call to Christ is better than no call to Him.
Even if you are living in the consequences of your sin, God can redeem you. You don’t have to stay as a slave to your sin. To see the heart of the Father is to be forever quick to repentance.
The Salvation of Remembrance (3:9-10) So is a word of redemption. Because of His mercy, the Lord raised a deliverer, a man named Othniel (God is my strength/protection), from the tribe of Judah (the tribe entrusted to go first). Othniel is an exemplary man of God. When all others intermarried with the Canaanites, Othniel married the daughter of Caleb, the mighty faithful spy.
Othniel is the first judge that the Lord raises to rescue His people. The judges (shophetim) were local charismatic leaders and military heroes more than supreme court legislators. However, although Othniel was the first and model judge, the Scriptures call him a deliver and not a judge.
Through one man, the covenant community would experience salvation and deliverance until Othniel dies.
Many years later, through one God-Man, an entire faith community would be saved. Salvation comes through remembering the sacrifice: 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Gathered worship is a way to remember. When we gather, we recite memories of the Lord’s tender mercies in our lives. It is not we who save ourselves; salvation comes from above, from God, who is our strength and protection.
The Peace of Remembrance (3:11) When the cry of help reaches the ears of the Father, he raises Othniel and brings peace to the land as long as Othniel lives. This peace not only rests upon the people but the entire land. There is no peace like the peace of Jesus!
The peace of Yahweh is a gift. Why did Israel receive peace? They cried – an unusual way to earn peace. Peace was the gracious gift of Yahweh, who raised Othniel, put his spirit upon him, and destroyed the king Cushan-rishathaim. You don’t earn Christ’s peace; you receive it.
The peace of Yahweh is the enjoyment of covenant faithfulness. Judges is a stark reminder that you can’t earn peace, but you can surely forfeit it. True peace is only enjoyed in covenant relationship to Yahweh through faith in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Enjoy!
The peace of Yahweh is absolute and comprehensive. We often speak about the peace of the Lord as if it is some inner peace without tangential qualities like it’s some beauty pageant world-peace wish. Peace is not the absence of trouble but the presence of shalom—total well-being. It’s the complete peace of knowing that because of Jesus, whatever my lot, it is well, it is well with my soul. The peace of Christ in your life is real, comprehensive, and eternal.
However, the peace through Othniel was only temporary; it lasted forty years. This is the problem with earthly peace; it only lasts as long as the leader is alive.
In Judges, the community experiences salvation only as long as the judge is alive. After the judges would come the kings of Israel. After the kings would come the Messiah, Jesus Christ. God does not desire temporary salvation for your life. That is why He sent his only Son as the eternal deliver.
So What? Forgetfulness leads to troubled hearts
What if forgetting is one of our greatest sins? Gathering together is one of the Father’s antidotes for our spiritual forgetfulness
“And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Will you ask the Father to flood your soul with remembrance of His atoning sacrifice? Will you ask the Father once again never to let you forget or get over your salvation?
If you hope that the Lord will forget your iniquities one day, this day will never happen. You can’t outlive God’s memory.
But there can be a day where God will choose not to remember your sin. For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin (Jeremiah 31:34)
In Christ, you find forgiveness for your sins, evil, and forgetfulness. Will you cry out to Him today and receive abundant life by faith in the resurrection?
In Christ, you never have to experience God’s judgment outside of a covenant relationship. In Christ, you have a Father who chooses not to remember your sins again!
If spiritual forgetfulness is the root of a troubled heart, never forget!
One generation away from extinction (Judges 2:6-13)
A Lifetime of Faith (2:6) Here we are in the book of Judges. The twelve tribes are taking possession of their inheritance, conquering, fighting, and subduing foreign nations, and amid this chaos, we see them worshipping. This statement is a summary of history. Don’t think of Israel having a worship experience; instead, think of worshippers. The people were worshippers of Yahweh (covenant name) throughout Joshua's lifetime, Caleb, and the other elders.
Let me speak to the elders for a moment. Never discount the impact that Yahweh can have in your life and through your life. What if, by your example of faithfulness, others continue in the faith. What if, by your perseverance, many who are hanging on to faith by a thread continue to fight the good fight? This is the Gospel power of a lifetime of dedication—long obedience in the same direction. Let’s honor our elders (40 + years)- we don’t celebrate your long life; we honor your long faith.
A lifetime of faith is not easy, but it is worth it. This faith only happens when you see the Lord’s great works and personally experience his saving and sustaining grace. It’s one thing to hear about the great works of God, but it is another thing to see them firsthand. The testimony of lifetime faith is so profound that the entire nation of Israel worshipped the Lord throughout the life of Joshua. Be a Joshua today! Be an elder of lifetime faith!
A Generational Faith (2:8) We know that Joshua did not live forever, although it might have felt that way. Joshua lived to the ripe old age of 110—the number of fulfillment in the model of Joseph. After his burial, something unique happens. Now the book of Judges is in the canonical order that God ordained, but not necessarily chronologically. Verse 1:1 follows 2:9. After his death, the Israelites inquire (a good start) of the Lord, “who will be the first to fight for us?” They petition because they witnessed Joshua inquiring of the Lord.
“Who?” is a natural question. Joshua is dead, and you are watching the passing of the baton of faith from one generation to another. However, they ask the wrong question. The new generation is looking for a personalitywhen they need a Person—the One true God. So, dear brother, your help is in the name of the Lord, not in the name of your favorite spiritual hero.
Not surprisingly, Judah is given the task. Judah, the first to receive the blessing of Jacob, was the largest of the clans—described as a lion. It was from Judah that one day King David would arise and ultimately the more excellent David, Jesus the Messiah.
Now back to Joshua 2:10. Linking 1:1 with 2:10, the phrase after them expresses the passing of generational faith. After them, another generation arose who did not know the Lord or his works for Israel. Keep in mind that only sixty-seven years have passed since their coming out of Egypt. So, of course, they knew about the works He had done!
Here is the grave danger of generational faith. The people knew Joshua but did not know His Savior. Personality-driven faith is a dangerous and shallow hope. If your faith is dependent upon a person, it’s not authentic faith. How often do we hear, “my grandfather was a pastor, my mom played piano for ages, my uncle led worship.” God does not have spiritual grandchildren, and mamaw’s faith will not save you! Faith in the One true God must be yours.
Did Joshua do something wrong? Of course not, but Judges is a reminder that Christianity is always one generation away from extinction. We must pass our faith to the next generation, but we cannot force them to take hold of the promises of eternal life. So pass on what is most important: prayer, not preferences, truth, not ritualistic traditions, love for the Messiah, not love for the good old days. What are you passing on? What are you known for? Every person who has ever lived is passing down something to the next generations. Give them Jesus.
A Cultural Faith (2:11) If lifetime faith is strong and generational faith shaky, cultural faith is doomed from the start. Israel’s moral decay manifests itself only two verses after Joshua’s graveside. The people did what was evil. Most don’t set out to do evil; it’s just who we are. There is no one righteous, not even one!
Evil is the concluding summation of their lives, but the root of evil begins with worship. We all worship something or someone. Worship, at its core, is giving attention and adoration to what you love.
For Israel, they worshipped the gods of Baal. I have experienced the statues of Baal up close and personally in museums throughout Israel, and never once was I tempted to bow down and pay homage to these primitive stone carvings.
Why? Because they are not part of my culture. Baal was the Canaanite thunderstorm and fertility god. The Old Testament gives evidence that Baal had a strong attraction for the Israelite farmers. Why? Because the Canaanites were successful farmers. Essentially, Israel believed that if they reoriented their lives like their culture, they would also experience success.
For the westerner, the God of Baal is void of many temptations. But the gods of our culture remain.
Money—one day, I will have enough not to rely on anyone else. Whether rich or poor, we rely upon God alone day and night. You can’t be rich enough not to depend on your Creator.
Identity—the god of being true to yourself as the highest good. “Your truth is your truth.” When in reality, we are created in His image. Your identity is broken until you embrace your image.
Sex – We live in a culture that is obsessed with sex and sexuality. A world that teaches if you are in love, it's ok to have sexual relations. Or you are defined by your sexual preferences. The Biblical sexual ethic guards intimacy within the boundaries of marriage, one man and one woman. This is where intimacy flourishes.
Do not bow down to the gods of your culture.
And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt…
Following the gods of culture and bowing down to the climate of your day only leads away from the glory of Christ and abandonment to Yahweh.
It’s the age old story of Adam desiring to “be like God,” rejected the Lord’s way, the days of Noah were filled where every heart was desperately evil, in the days of Jesus, the crowd crucified the world’s only perfect person, and in the last days, all nations will gather against the Lord in the final battle of Armageddon. From the Garden the world is daily walking away not toward the ways of Life.
You will always follow what you love. But there is another cultural idol far more deceitful than the gods of Baal. That is the god of cultural Christianity.
A mindset that places one’s eternal security in heritage (baptism or 1st communion) and a generic deity (big man in the sky) rather than the redemptive work of Jesus Christ (from the Unsaved Christian, 18).
Cultural faith makes it easy to abandon the Lord because you never really know Him. You hear about what God has done for others, but Jesus never changed your life. It’s the fatal poison of knowing the language of Christianity without loving the Savior.
It’s the thought that you are moral person, go to church on Easter, help your neighbors, and one day God will understand. A cultural faith will never save; it only leaves you empty and damned for an eternal hell away from a Holy God.
Israel knew Joshua, but they did not know the Lord or what He had done.
So What?
In a race, if you want to win, you have to pass the baton: giving or receiving.
Lifetime- Can it be said of you that others worshipped the Lord throughout your lifetime? Never underestimate the power of a lifetime of devotion to Jesus.
After the death- Have you personally experienced the saving grace of Jesus, or are you living on someone else’s faith? Maybe you feel like the new generation who knew not the Lord or His works. Yet, you can experience his love today through faith in Jesus Christ. Is today the first day you grab the baton of faith?
Baal or Yahweh-- Are you a cultural worshipper? Are you seeking success as it looks in the eyes of others? Are you a cultural Christian, content to know about the Father but not get close enough for Him to change your life? Do you know the language of Christianity, but have never personally experience His redemptive love?
As much as it depends on you, will others know Jesus?