RCC Sermons: Recent Episodes
Rockland Community Church
In Malachi 2:17-3:3, the people are told of God’s coming. This is both a warning of his judgement, and for us as Christians, a promise of salvation.
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Transcript:
There are some people who question the existence of God, but those who question the existence of evil are very few in number. In comparison, we often take the order, beauty, and sustenance of our planet for granted, denying God credit in these things, but we have no problem noticing all the evil, all the things that have gone wrong all around us.
We see ways in which things have gone wrong in too many ways to count. We have our complaints about how things are going. Of course, the idea that things should be better than this just goes to show that we really do believe that there is a design for human life. There is a way that things ought to be and yet are not.
And so there must be a God and creator. Otherwise, everything's just by chance. There is no rhyme or reason still. We are left wondering about our muddled existence. Our familiarity with the good things of life, as well as the evil that spoils it all, in all sincerity, we might ask God, why? Why are things this way?
Is impossible for us to satisfactorily answer that question about specific instances of evil. But we know that the trouble began when we, starting with Adam and Eve, set a course for doing things our own way rather than God's way, and God has let us go our own way again and again and again, and our way leads to death.
On the other hand, we might begin questioning God about the evil around us with a hint of accusation. If God is so good, we think, why isn't he doing anything about all this? We might even become cynical, taking on the attitude that if evil seems to go unpunished, what's the harm in little old me cutting some corners. It is this attitude that God finds among the people of Israel in Malachi's day.
And the prophet says that God is sick of it. Picking up in Malachi two, verse 17 through Malachi three, one, we read, you have wearied the Lord with your words. How have we wearied him? You ask. By saying, all who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased with them or where's the God of justice?
I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come, says the Lord Almighty. Now, just as we we've anticipated in kind of this introduction, the people's attitude towards God is that he seems unconcerned about evil.
In fact, it seems that maybe he even likes evil since they see how wicked people around them continue to prosper. And so they ask, well, where is this God of justice?
God's response to their challenge is this, oh, you're looking for me? I'm coming. He says that he will send his messenger who will prepare the way before him. Now, in saying this, the prophet Malachi is recalling a, a prior prophecy that was given by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 40 verse one through five.
And this holds, this is a prophecy that holds much, much promise and good news. It says, comfort, comfort my people says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. A voice of one calling: in the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places, I lost my place in there, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Now again, this passage has a very good kind of promise to it, but as we'll see, God's coming doesn't only bring restoration, it also brings judgment. The salvation aspect of this we do see at the forefront, and we see it in the person of Jesus Christ. Now, who prepared the way for Jesus Christ? Does anyone know? John the Baptist, yes. If we look at Mark one verse one through four, we see how John the Baptist is explicitly identified as this one that Malachi is being spoke, is speaking about. Says, the beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way. A voice of one calling in the wilderness, prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Now, who is this messenger preparing the way for? Well, he's preparing the way for the Lord himself.
So this is something that's very interesting to think about. What is God promising here? He's not saying, I'm merely going to send someone to you. He's saying I myself am going to come to you. Yes, a messenger's going to prepare the way, but I myself am going to come to you. And this idea of the, the valleys being raised high and the mountains made low is this idea that nothing's going to stop the coming of God.
Nothing. The devil can't stop him. Our sin, our rebellion can't stop him. God is on the way and Malachi says, speaking for the Lord, that the Lord is going to come to his temple. The Messenger of the covenant will come.
And it's going to come with suddenness, says suddenly he will come. Now, anytime you see that word suddenly in the Old Testament, it's usually in a context in which judgment is coming. Like if you had a business and suddenly like, I don't know, the health inspector showed up or something, like suddenly they're here and you better have your ducks in a row kind of thing.
Now when we think about Jesus, we see how in the course of his ministry he really truly fulfilled this.
One sign of this we see in Matthew 21 verses 12 through 13, when Jesus goes to the temple courts, says Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. It is written, he said to them, my house will be called the house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.
Now just bring all this together here. We have this prophecy that, that is given, that the Lord would suddenly appear in his temple, that this messenger would prepare the way for his coming. Now, we come to Jesus. We see how the John, how John the Baptist prepared the way for the ministry of Jesus. And Jesus is boldly entering into the table, turning over the tables, saying, what is this mess here?
What are you doing here? And now consider that God said the Lord himself will appear in his temple. What, well, what does that tell us about Jesus? It tells us that he was not a mere man. He was not a mere good teacher. He was, in fact, the son of God, God himself, come in the flesh and to enter into his temple to cleanse his temple.
This temple, which was to be called the house of prayer. Now, Jesus' visit to the temple as an occasion of cleansing was a vivid demonstration of the purpose of his mission. And in the following verses here in Malachi, we see all the more how what God promises the people in Malachi's day is fulfilled in Jesus.
So looking again at verses two through four, but who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier or silver; he'll purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings and righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.
So verse two starts out with a question, who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? Now, there's no explicit answer given, but the implicit answer is this, nobody. No one can stand when God shows up.
Why? Because all of us are sinners. All of us are sinners before a holy God. When Isaiah finds himself in the presence of God in Isaiah six he cries out, woe to me! I'm ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips. This is the prophet Isaiah saying this about himself.
Someone who you would think would be probably the best of the best, but even him, even he says, I'm not worthy to be in God's presence. In Romans three, in verse 10, Paul says, as it is written, there's no one righteous, not even one. And in verse 23, he says, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
There's no one among us who can say, I'm all right. I don't have any problems. I'm not sinful. There's no one among us who can stand before God and say, you should let me in, God.
Because what God requires is perfection, and all of us fall short. The perfection of God, the standard of his kingdom, and if we claim to be without sin, the Apostle John tells us in First John one, eight, if we claim to be without sin, we are just deceiving ourselves. We're kidding ourselves. The truth is not in us.
So when the Lord comes, he's gonna have some work to do.
He is gonna have to clean us up. He's going to have to purify us because we're not acceptable as we are. And so he's described as being like this refiner's fire. Now I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with the processes of metallurgy, cleansing gold and things like that, but it takes a lot of heat.
It's a long, intense process to get out all the impurities, to remove them. And you also think about launderer's soap, especially when they had to do laundry by hand. How many of us are thankful we don't have to do that anymore, but imagine taking a bar of soap and you got a bad stain, maybe a bunch of stains in the clothes, and you just have to scrub and scrub.
We're deeply stained with sin. We need to be cleansed. We need to be made clean. Now, I think there's kind of a dual aspect of what's being anticipated here. On the one hand, we could say collectively that God is going to separate the wicked from the righteous to set apart people of God from those who remain in rebellion against him.
But we must also say this because all of us are sinners, that even those who will be counted among the people of God, they need to be scrubbed down.
They need to be made clean and purified. Now, as we look across the Old Testament, we see how is, how this is anticipated, how this is prophesied, and this is just astounding. I, I say this a lot, but I, I think it's always worth mentioning that these prophecies are given 500 to 700 years before Jesus showed up on the scene.
We read these verses and they say, oh, we say they sound very Christian. Well, it's because Christ fulfills them.
The very heart of the gospel isn't an innovation. It was something that was long foretold by the prophets. So we look at Isaiah one, verse 18 and verses 24 through 26, the Lord says to his people, he says, come now, let us settle the matter, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they're red as crimson, they shall be like wool. It brings very much to mind the launderer's soap scrubbing away. It says in verses 24 through 26. Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, the mighty one of Israel declares, ah, I will vent my wrath on my foes and avenge myself on my enemies. I'll turn my hand against you; I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities. I'll restore your leaders as in days of old, your rulers as at the beginning. Afterward, you'll be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city. So at that time, that was not the case with the city of Jerusalem. They were not called, they wouldn't have been considered the city of righteousness, but there is a day coming in, which that would be the case.
Now again, we anticipate personal purification here, but there is also a basic separation between the wicked and those who have been claimed as the people of God. When we go to Zechariah 13, we see more of how it's foretold how this cleansing would take place, and how someone will be saved and refined.
In Zechariah 13 verse one and verse seven through nine says, on that day, a fountain will be open to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity. Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me! Declares the Lord Almighty. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I'll turn my hand against the little ones. In the whole land, declares the Lord, two thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one third will be left in it. This third I'll put into the fire; I'll refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I'll answer them; and I'll say, they are my people, and they will say, the Lord is our God.
What's being promised there is that yes, while some will be struck down, that God is intent on claiming a people for himself, and they will be refined. And they need to be refined because there are impurities within them. Then lastly, as far as another word of prophecy, kind of putting things in different terms, but I think that clearly align with these other prophecies is Jeremiah 31, 33 through 34. And I would encourage you, if you don't remember this chapter, to just underline it because it's, it's one of those critical passages that really helps us understand, I think the old, the New Testament, and how Christ really fulfills what has been promised.
The Lord says, this is the covenant I'll make with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I'll put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, know the Lord, because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.
We see a beautiful pairing there of the promise of forgiveness and also the promise that God's people are gonna be transformed. Yes, they've been rebellious. Yes, they've, they've kicked against the ways of God, but that's not going to be the case in the future. A new covenant is going to be established in which their guilt is going to be set aside.
They are gonna be forgiven, and what's more, they're going to begin obeying God from the heart because this law is going to be written upon their heart and the commands of God are gonna be their own desire. And this is what we see that Jesus brings about. The gospel consists of this, that in Jesus Christ, because he was the perfect man that all of us were supposed to be, and he laid down his life for our sakes and was raised from the dead because he stands as our high priest, as our perfect sacrifice, we are forgiven of all our sins.
But there's more. Which is that in Jesus Christ, we are restored to be the people that God created us to be.
So as we look here at this passage here in Malachi, we see aspects of both judgment and redemption. No one can stand before God, but God is coming to restore. In verse three, he says He will purify the Levites. Refine them like gold and silver. Now, what is this business about the Levites? Remember the, the tribe of Levi was the tribe whose duty it was to supervise, to put on the worship of God.
They were in charge of the sanctuary of the temple. Certain ones of them were part of the priestly line. God is promising that he's gonna purify the Levites and refine them like gold, silver, so that the worship that God deserves would be properly offered up to him. Now remember, we've, we've read in Malachi 1:11 that this worship that God deserves is not only going to be offered up by the Jewish people. In Malachi 1:11, God says, my name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be brought to me because my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord Almighty.
So something's being anticipated here that goes beyond the temple as they knew it at that time. It's in anticipating the new temple, which is founded in Jesus Christ, a temple that is made up of people, Jew and non-Jew alike, who have put their faith in Jesus Christ. We see how in the Book of Acts there is pointed out how it seems like there's a significant turnout even among the priests hearkening back to this prophecy in Acts six, seven when we were in Acts recently. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Again, that kind of seems significant. It's kind of iconic, but it's not as though these priests alone fulfilled that which Malachi was prophesying. In fact, what Malachi is prophesying here is fulfilled as far as all of us who believe in Jesus Christ become members of this new priesthood, worshiping God not by offering animal sacrifices, but offering ourselves as living sacrifices unto God.
Now the apostle Peter points this out in, in first Peter two verses four through five. He says, as you come to him, the living stone-- rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him-- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
God's not interested in stone, he's not interested in wood. He's interested in being glorified in and through the people that he's created. And so in Jesus Christ, God is creating a spiritual household, a spiritual temple in which every single one of you who believe in Jesus Christ are set upon Christ as a spiritual stone, and together we are formed in him to be this temple of worship and praise that he deserves.
Again, this is what God deserves. He deserves to be glorified and once again, the spiritual sacrifices that we offer to him is simply this, the very substance of our lives, who we are, how we live, and of course the words of praise that we give to him. So there is a tone of redemption here in these verses, but there's also a definite tone of judgment that is accentuated in verse five. The Lord says, so I'll come to put you on trial. I'll be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me, says the Lord Almighty.
So we have some specific sins that are identified here, sorcery, which is forbidden in Deuteronomy 18, nine through 13, adultery, which is the seventh command of the 10 Commandments, and perjury, which is the ninth command of the 10 Commandments. Now sorcery includes any spiritual practices that would be considered engaging in magic.
And unfortunately we see kind of a resurgence of this in our day. There's a lot of people in our, in our society, in our community, that are playing around with things that they should not be playing around with. Practicing the dark arts of, of, of witchcraft, often putting these things in the frame of health and wellbeing.
I wanna urge you to be extremely cautious, because very often in the name of health, we might be tempted to engage in practices that are not Christian at all, that are seeking for some wellbeing from some other spiritual source than simply God himself. We have everything that we need in Jesus Christ. We don't need any Eastern spiritual practices.
We don't need any potions or crystals or anything of that sort, so we should, we should stay away from that as Christians, and we should, we should warn others from engaging in those practices because they're welcoming to their lives the powers of the demonic. Not saying that these people themselves are demonic people, these they're just people. They're people made in the image of God.
We want them to turn to Christ so that they may reflect who Jesus is in their lives rather than welcoming in the dark presence of the powers of Satan. And of course adultery, we've, we kind of alluded to that last week in talking about marriage and divorce. Greatly grieves God's heart when people engage in adultery, breaking their marriage vows.
And it's kind of an echo when we break our covenant vows with God and we see this again and again in the case of Israel, it's often put in the frame of a wife cheating on her husband, Israel, turning to false gods rather than remaining true to God. And perjury. So just general lying, but especially in the case of a law court, lying in such a way, bearing false witness, so that it results in devastating consequences for.
Someone's lives. But then there's some interesting sins here that we often don't think about. I mean, you would come to hear, you know, you might expect when you come to church and you hear a sermon that you might hear the preachers speak against sorcery, and adultery, and lying, and things like that.
But how about this: defrauding workers their wages, oppressing those who are vulnerable, oppressing widows and orphans and foreigners. A lot of times we don't think about those as sins that angers the heart of God, that brings his wrath, but it's clearly stated here and so again, we must be very careful that we don't wink at these injustices, certainly in our lives, it certainly shouldn't be the case that any of us, you know, if we're in a position where we're employing someone, we shouldn't be defrauding some of their wages. We should be giving them what they deserve. And I think that includes not just, you know, oh, I was supposed to give you your paycheck this week and I failed to give it to you, but you know what a person is worth.
You know the compensation that they're due for their work. Pay them fairly. Of course, we need to be looking out for those in our society who are downtrodden, the widow, the orphan, the foreigners. We think about the homeless.
We understand, we've talked earlier, there's, there's plenty of things that we do on our own part that leads us to being bad circumstances in life. All of us. There's also outside things that put us in a vulnerable position. In the case of the widow, husband dies, case of the orphan, they lost their parents, and not just by death, but we know in our society by drugs or just other bad life choices. We think about the foreigners. Whether, whether they're here legally or or illegally, and I don't want to get into the politics of it, but we should still care for people because they are made in the image of God, and we must treat them with the love of Jesus Christ and make sure that every person is treated justly.
These things matter just as much to the heart of God as the sorcery, very bad, the adultery, very bad, the perjury, bad, but defrauding workers' wages and oppressing the vulnerable also, very bad. And God's going to bring judgment against those who are perpetuating this injustice. Yes, Christ has come to save, but Christ is also going to come again.
And when he comes again, he'll come to claim his own and he's going to come to bring judgment. Matthew 25, verse 31 through 32. In verse 46, Jesus says, when the son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he'll separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Then they will go away into eternal punishment, that is the goats, but the righteous, the sheep, to eternal life. There's going to, there's a day coming when everyone will have to answer for what they have done. And on that day, the judge will render true justice.
So if we should ask in an accusatory tone, where is God's justice? Know this, it is coming. The question you should ask yourself is, am I ready? Because while we so readily point out all the evil out there, there's evil in here. Evil resides in our hearts and we ought to answer for it. Who among us can stand before God to make a defense? We have no excuses. We know evil when we see it, we just like to overlook our own. There is no place for evil in God's kingdom. The apostle Paul tells us this in First Corinthians six verses nine through 10. Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. Boom. But then Paul adds this, verse 11, and that is what some of you were. That is what some of you were, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by the power, by the spirit of our God.
We can't stand before God, but the Lord Jesus Christ can. He can stand on our behalf as a lamb who is slain, the perfect lamb of God, sacrificed to take away our sins. And it is in Jesus that we can be cleansed, refined, restored unto God. And it begins with a new birth. Several verses from the Apostle John as he recorded in the gospel of John.
Jesus says, very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. In First John 5:1, everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ, that is the Messiah, is born of God. First John 2: 28 through 29, and now dear children, continue in him, that is Jesus, continue in him so that when he appears, we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. If you know that he's righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him
Evil abounds in this world. Jesus has begun something new. As Peter tells us in Second Peter three, Christ hasn't returned yet because God is kind. He's being patient. He's giving us time to repent, to believe in Christ, to be born again. It's when we are born again that we can really begin to worship God. We cannot stand on our own, but with Christ, in Christ, we rise to the life that God created us for.
We become that holy priesthood. Bringing offerings and righteousness, presenting to God lives well lived in accordance with his way for humanity. The true worship he deserves. Let's pray.
Father, we are humbled before your word.
We are humbled before your word, father, because even while there has been times when we have in perfect honesty and sincerity asked, God, why is some of the evil around us happening? We confess, father, that there have been times when we've asked that question with a tone of accusation, and in so doing, father, we have overlooked our own evil, our own contribution to all the wrong and tragedy around us. Father, we thank you for your mercy and patience towards us. And Father, we thank you that in sending your son you did not send him to destroy us even while we do truly deserve judgment.
Father, we thank you that you sent your son in order that we might be refined and cleansed and restored.
Father, we pray that it would become the desire of our hearts to turn to Christ, to put our faith in him and be so redeemed so that we may offer our lives up to you as living sacrifices, offerings in righteousness so that we would give our ourselves to you in the way that you deserve.
Father, impress upon us the reality of your justice, that you are just, and that you'll bring your judgment to bear. May this spur repentance within us that we would be found obedient when Jesus returns. And may this spur us, father, to warn others to call those around us who haven't turned to Christ yet to put their faith in him, to turn from their simple ways, to turn to Christ.
To receive forgiveness in him for everything that they've done wrong, and to be restored in him. Impress that reality upon us, father, so that we would not set it aside and be become preoccupied with other things. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Malachi 2:10-16, Malachi challenges the people to be faithful to God and their spouses in their marriages.
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Transcript:
Do we not all have one father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another? Judah has been unfaithful. A distasteful thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves by marrying women who worship a foreign God.
As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord remove him from the tents of Jacob, even though he brings an offering to the Lord Almighty. Malachi two 10 and 12.
There are two things that should be said before we look at today's text, and the first is this: that it's important for us to remember that what is before us is the word of God. It's not the word of man. It's nothing that I came up with. This is the word of God given to us in scripture, and as a preacher, my aim is simply this, to tell you what the text says and to help you give a right response in applying it to your life as it stands today. I don't preach presuming to know everything about you or your story, but God knows you. He knows how you have gone astray and he knows how you have been faithful. And you can come to know this for yourself as you hear the word of God, as you learn his standard, God's wisdom, the divine way for human life.
Now, the good news is that the grace of Jesus Christ is sufficient to cover our past sins, and he is able to work repentance in us today if we are still walking in error. And one of the great benefits of preaching through books of the Bible rather than just picking or choosing texts is that it compels us to cover territory that we might otherwise avoid just because it is difficult, even painful terrain.
And as I was contemplating what I was gonna be preaching after we finished up our series in Acts and I was looking at the books and I was looking at Malachi and I was like, wow, Malachi's a powerful book. It's got some tough things in it. Initially I kind of backed off. I was like, I don't know if I want to do this.
But I felt compelled by God that I should continue in preaching Malachi, that I should preach this book. And so, as I mentioned last week, in light of God's expectations, that his priests would instruct the people of Israel. It is my responsibility to instruct you in the complete counsel of God, and I can't emphasize more strongly that this counsel includes this promise, which I reminded you of last week, First John one, nine, if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The second thing is this. Let's pay attention to the context here. I recently put out a truth rooted video on our website about the subject of noticing the context of scripture as we're reading the Bible, looking at a verse, what are are the surrounding verses saying. Well, as we are looking at today's text, we remain in the context of God confronting Israel regarding their conduct and worship.
And I talked last week about how worship is a matter of justice, giving God our very best, and that this is headlined by actual services of worship like we're in today, but also filled out all the more by offering the entirety of our lives as living sacrifices unto God. This carries it over into what the Lord now has to say to Israel about their faithless marriage practices.
So we first look at verses 10 through 12 in Malachi two. And one thing I just wanna note at the outset, if you're using the Pew Bible, while the Pew Bible is NIV, the NIV I'm using from online is a newer version, and so there'll be some differences and I'll, I'll point out some of those differences later on.
I won't point all the differences, but there's some notable ones later on. So I'll read the text again. Says, do we not all have one father? Do not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another? Judah has been unfaithful. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves by marrying women who worship a foreign God. As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord remove him from the tents of Jacob, even though he brings an offering to the Lord Almighty. First thing that we have here in verse 10 is this recollection of who God is in relation to the people of Israel.
Says, do we not all have one father? Did not one God create us? And of course, we could say the same for ourselves, especially as Christians. God created all of humanity and he is certainly our father in Jesus Christ. And we remember that at the outset of the Book of Malachi, God makes this declaration to Israel that he has loved them.
He says, I have loved you. Now, in light of this relationship that God has with Israel, his covenant people, it highlights all the more their infidelity towards him by way of their marriage practices. It says that the people of Israel profaned their covenant with God, that they've been unfaithful, in fact, to one another.
And so this raises the question, well, how have they profaned the covenant and how have they been unfaithful, even treacherous to one another. In verse 11, the way in which the covenant has been been profaned is identified as this. It says, Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves by marrying women who worship a foreign God.
Now, once again, this just underscores that the context we're dealing with here is worship. We're talking about the sanctuary of the Lord, that place in which the Lord would be worshiped, the temple that has been desecrated because Judah, the men of Judah, have been marrying women who worship a foreign God.
And the implication is this, is that these men have gone after these foreign gods and offered worship unto them rather than unto the God of Israel. And this profanes the covenant that God made with his people because he expressly forbade them, commanded them to not intermarry with the surrounding peoples.
Not because God's racist or anything like that, but because all the surrounding peoples worshiped false gods. And this is the case across the world today, but it was especially true in ancient times that, very often, where you grew up, you simply worship the God of your people. It just went, it went hand in hand.
They didn't live in pluralistic societies where you had a bunch of people worshiping various different gods in one society. That began to change over time, especially as you have more of a sprawling empire once you get into the time of of Christ, but especially at this time. You're from a particular group, they all worship this god, if you intermarry with that group, you're gonna start having some division of loyalty when it comes to the worship of God. In Exodus 34, verses 11 through 16, God commanded the people of Israel. This is at the time when Moses had received the 10 Commandments, this covenant with the people of Israel.
He says. Obey what I command you today. I'll drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. Be careful to not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you're going, or they will be a snare among you. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, and cut down their Asherah poles.
Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is jealous is a jealous God. Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they'll invite you and you'll eat their sacrifices. And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons, and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they'll lead your sons to do the same.
So the concern here again, is that if the people of Israel begin intermarrying with these other people, they would in fact abandon the one true God. And that is in fact what takes place again and again over over the course of Israel's history. God promised them, I will drive out the people of the land.
When the Israelites entered into the land, they did not finish the job and driving out the people of the land. And ultimately this sowed the seeds that ultimately bore the fruit of them profaning this covenant with God. And even after the exile, which is the situation here, the situation remains that there's people who worship false gods in the area in which they're living and they're intermarrying with them.
Now, just to once again underscore that this isn't about race, it's really about religion. We think about the woman, Ruth, has a whole book named after her. Ruth was not a Jewish woman. She was a Moabite. And so in the one sense, the fact that a Jewish man married her, not great, but we see how God redeemed her and used her. And in fact, Christ is descended from her because she turned her heart to God. In Ruth 1:16, she says to, her mother-in-law, Naomi, where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. So we're not saying that there isn't any exceptions here.
The rule is this, generally it's a good rule and it's a reason why God commanded them against intermarrying with these foreign women was that if they did this, they were eventually going to compromise their faithfulness to the one true God. They were going to enter into idolatry, and in fact, we see that this happened in the case of Solomon.
Nehemiah, who would've been writing a little bit after this time that Malachi's writing in, and it was still an issue. He talks about how Solomon engaged in this very sin. He says, was it not because of marriages like these, that Solomon King of Israel sinned among the many nations? There was no king like him.
He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin by foreign women. Must we hear now that you too are doing all this terrible wickedness and being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women? In First Kings 11 it talks about how that, in fact, was what happened with Solomon in his old age as he had married these many women from different nations, his heart was led astray.
He began worshiping these false idols, and so this unfaithfulness to God is leading them to idolatry. It's leading them astray and it is resulting in this outcome that there's this breakdown in the Israelite society because as you might imagine, if there's these men who are intermarrying with the foreign women around them, then there's fewer Israelite men to marry Israelite women.
And so it's corrupting what God has intended for his people in being set apart and exclusively devoted to his worship. Again, this is a matter of worship and if we are gonna take this and, and try to draw parallels to ourselves today, we would likewise say that this isn't a matter of race, it's a matter of of religion.
And. I wanna take us to some New Testament texts here, and I want the focus here right in this moment to be in considering, for considerations of those who are not yet married. We're gonna look at other texts that speak to those of you who are already married, may be married to people who are non-Christians.
That's the past. We can't deal with the past, that is what it is, but this word, especially for those that are not yet married. Paul, in Second Corinthians 6:14- 16, he says, do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?
What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will live with them and walk among them and I will be their God and they will be my people.
So very much again, we see God commanding his people here in Malachi saying, don't intermarry with those who worship false gods because it's gonna divide your heart. It's gonna lead you astray. And Paul is saying very much the same thing. He's saying, you're the temple of God. Don't be unequally yoked with those who have devotions to gods which are not the one true God.
And in giving some practical instruction, in First Corinthians 7: 39, Paul says that if a woman is bound, he says A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she's free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. He must belong to the Lord. So Paul is very clear that it's important for us to seek spouses that also are devoted to Christ, that worship the one true God.
Now, the point of this, again, thinking about worship, is that we wanna seek spouses that are gonna fortify our devotion in worshiping God with the entirety of our lives, not creating challenges, presenting temptations of dividing our worship. And of course, also, if the Lord so blesses that you would raise children who would worship the one true God.
And again, you know, I, I commented earlier about some of the challenges that were created probably for Israelite society by the fact that these men were marrying foreign women. We also have to consider what are the challenges that are presented to the church when Christian men and and women are not seeking spouses who are also Christians, and that puts other Christians who are also seeking spouses where they're left looking for people of the same faith because those who were of the same faith married those who didn't follow Christ. And so we have to just be very mindful in thinking about this. Again, not speaking to those who've already, who are already married, but to those that are thinking about getting married and also just thinking for those of you who are parents, who have children that are, are Christians, how, how are you going to counsel them in the future in this regard?
Because we, while we want to certainly welcome all sorts of families into the church that may be divided in the faith because that means that we're doing our job and reaching people with Christ, we don't want to premeditatedly create divided homes of faith. So again, applying this especially to those, specifically to those that are unmarried, but speaking to those that are married here in Malachi.
In this case, there's a word of judgment. He says, as for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord remove him from the tents of Jacob, even though he brings an offering to the Lord. So a very stern word, a very stern word. Now we live on the other side of the cross, and we have received the grace of Jesus Christ.
And I'm gonna be taking us to some other passages here that show us the hope that we have in Christ, even if we are married to those that don't follow Christ. And the reasons for that can be, can be various, but there is hope for us in Christ. But at this point in salvation history, God's saying this is the black and white here, and you're gonna face judgment because you have not been faithful to my ways. So Malachi turns now from those who have sought idolatrous wives to another sin that in some cases may have proceeded this sin. In verse 13, it says, another thing you do: you flood the Lord's altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer looks with favor in your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, why? It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she's your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek?
Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth. The man who hates and divorces his wife, says the Lord, the God of Israel, does violence to the one he should protect, says the Lord Almighty. So be on your guard and do not be unfaithful.
So again, it may be that these instances of a divorce may be occurring because these men are basically checking out all the foreign women around them, and so they're divorcing their Jewish wives and they're going after these other women. And so in that case they're being unfaithful, but it may be, Malachi may be simply speaking to divorce itself here.
And in that case, it remains that there's been a covenant that has been broken, the covenant of marriage, which God is a divine witness to, and it's because of this practice of divorce that is ongoing in the Israelite society that their offerings are not accepted. And the reason being is they're not repentant.
They're brazen and unrepentant in their practice of doing this, and yet they're going through the motions of offering worship and wondering why God isn't listening. It's because they're just offering him lip service. They're not actually offering their lives in worship unto God by being obedient to his commands.
And what we see being really highlighted here in this passage is the tragedy that is divorce, The breaking of that covenant, the breaking of the one flesh union. And this is why Jesus speaks against it in the way that he does in Matthew 19, verses four through six and verse nine, he says, haven't you read, he replied, that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and said, for this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh? So they're no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate. And Jesus is quoting here from Genesis 2: 24 and he's identifying there's a real union that's created here where husband and wife become one flesh, and that this is something that God himself actually makes real.
And in verse nine he says, I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife except for sexual immorality and marries another woman commits adultery. And so, you know, biblical scholars might debate exactly on the bounds of what Jesus is talking about here when he is talking about adultery. The idea though here is this, is that jesus is saying that if someone just divorces for any reason and then goes and marries another, they're in fact committing adultery because whatever man may say about oh, our union no longer stands, before God, that one flesh union remains all the same. And so unless someone has already gone ahead and broken that union by committing adultery, it is creating an opportunity for sin by pursuing divorce. Now, I think there's some, also some practical pastoral wisdom when we're thinking about situations like this. We're certainly not counseling that people should remain in circumstances if they're in actual danger. The point here that Jesus is making, in which God is really making altogether, of course, through the words of Christ, the Son of God, but also in Malachi, is the idea that this, this covenant, this marriage covenant is something that's inviable.
It's something that we must treat with great seriousness. And we see this brought up in First Corinthians seven verses 10 through 11, the firm stance that Paul takes against it, he says to the married, I give this command (not I, but the Lord): a wife must not separate from her husband, but if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband, and a husband must not divorce his wife.
Now we ask why. Why again? Why is that the case? It's because of this one flesh reality, which takes us to verse 15. It says, has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. Now this is where if you were to open up your Pew Bible and you're going to look at the text, you would notice some, some differences.
And I've created this list of various translations of how they try to translate these verses because they're difficult verses to translate and this is why, it's just, practical word of advice, it can be helpful for you to consult different translations of the Bible to really try to get a sense of what is trying to be said. Now, given the context, I actually kind of prefer the ESV translation here, which says, did he not make them one with a portion of the spirit in their union, because that's very much what Jesus is saying. That's going back to Genesis two. You can see how difficult it is just by looking at the Malachi 2: 15 one, which the NASB is a very literal translation.
It's, it says, but not one has done so who has a remnant of the spirit. And why the one? Like that's very, very difficult sort of translation work there. But again, I think the overall point here is that it's God who makes us one in this marital union and we belong to him in body and spirit. We answer to him.
And so keeping in mind Paul's command that we are to marry believers, I think that Paul also offers hope to those who are married to unbelievers because those who are in those circumstances have the opportunity to be faithful in this regard. Because we're seeing here very clearly that God doesn't like divorce. In First Corinthians seven verses 12 through 16, he says to the rest I say this (I not the Lord), when Paul says that he's not, he's not suggesting that this is any less authoritative. He's just not pulling from a prior tradition of what Christ said. He says, if any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she's willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he's willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.
For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean. But as it is, they are holy. But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or sister is not bound in such certain circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.
How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband, or how do you know husband, whether you will save your wife? So what Paul is saying here is that unless the unbelieving spouse is determined to leave the marriage, this command to faithfulness applies in full force with the sanctifying power of Jesus Christ in your marriage.
Now, let me tell you, that's good news. That is good news, and this is a major difference because if you, if you know your Old Testament well, you'll know that during this time, in fact, in Ezra 10, there's a call for the Israelite men to divorce their foreign wives and families and send them away. Now, that was then, that was on that side of the cross.
On this side of the cross, with Jesus, we see the power of his redeeming work, which is available and present in your life. God can work through you to sanctify your marriage. And Lord willing, lead your spouse to Christ and lead your your children to Christ. Now when we get down to verse 16, we just once again see very much God's rejection of this practice.
Now, if you were going to open again, open your Pew Bible, and if you're gonna look at other translations, it would say here that God hates divorce. Now this translation doesn't say that because again, it's a tricky translation because it seems like it's actually referring to the man who's doing the divorcing here.
The point remains, we're not trying to water down God's word. We can tell from this passage that God hates divorce. He doesn't, he doesn't like it. You don't need an actual verse stating that to come to that conclusion. But we see here, says the man who hates and divorces his wife, says the Lord, the God of Israel, does violence to the one he should protect.
The idea is, is this, is that these husbands in their marriages, they've been called to protect their wives, to care for them, to be faithful to them for all their days until they are parted by death.
And instead, these men are committing violence against their, their marriage, covering. Other translations pick up that, that term of covering. God in talking about his relationship with Israel speaks of how he says, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your naked body, that's Ezekiel 16:8.
These men, it's like they've taken their garment of covering over their wives. They're supposed to be protecting, caring for them, and instead they're despising that covering and they're really putting these women out into the cold. Something that I think continues to be real today, but it was especially real at that time, was just the vulnerability of these women when they were divorced.
When they were divorced, they weren't really prime marriage material to get remarried. They didn't have great means to provide for themselves, and so it was a great injustice that they were suffering. We kind of see this captured the 19th century commentator on this passage, and he, he describes it this way.
Walt Kaiser in his commentary quotes this fellow T. V. Moore, he says, she whom you thus wronged was the companion of those earlier and brighter days when in the bloom of her young beauty, she left her father's house and shared your early struggles and rejoiced in your later success; who walked arm in arm with you along the pilgrimage of life, cheering you in its trials by her gentle ministry; and now, when the bloom of her youth has faded and the friends of her youth have gone, when her father and mother whom she left for you are in the grave, then you cruelly cast her off as a worn out, worthless thing, and insult her holiest affections by putting an idolater and a heathen in her place. I think that very much captures kind of just the utter tragedy of what's going on here among the men of Israel and what they have been doing to their wives. And that's a tragedy and injustice that we see today. And, and it, and the thing is, is we can see that injustice. It's not just a, a husband against wife thing. We see it in wives against husbands too. And the faithfulness that husbands have, have shown to their wives only to be rejected later on and, and set aside.
It is, a divorce is a terrible, an injustice against spouses, husbands and wives. And it's an injustice against God, because we are dividing, we are tearing apart that which God has joined together. And so we have this, this final charge here in verse 16 says, so be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful. What this really is, is a call for being vigilant and vigilant is just a very distinct form of faithful. If I'm calling you to be faithful, to be really faithful, you're going to have to be vigilant.
And so perhaps, you know, last time I mentioned how worship is a matter of justice and perhaps you had never considered that.
Now, I want you to also consider this, that worship is a matter of vigilance to those who are unmarried. If you're going to be faithful to God in offering your life as a living sacrifice of worship, you will need to be vigilant when seeking a spouse. Does he or she truly have faith in Christ? Is he or she truly following Christ?
Can you build a life of worship together with this person, or are they going to try to put other things at the center of your life? It's difficult enough as it is with two Christians, because two Christians can be just as tempted to put the wrong things in the center. We must heed God's wisdom in seeking a spouse of the same faith.
To those who are married, faithfulness in your marriage requires vigilance. If your marriage will be an engine of worship, husband and wife, you both should guard against any divide forming between you. You have made a covenant before God. You are one flesh. Perhaps you're married to an unbeliever. It still remains that you can worship God in your marriage.
Your ardent faithfulness glorifies God and may bear fruit in the life of your spouse and children. For all marriages, Christian or mixed, don't seek divorce. Let's worship God in this one flesh covenant. Let's counsel our children and any who are single to seek spouses of the same faith.
Every difficult word we receive from the word of God, every instruction that reveals our errors and sins, only sets in greater relief the good news of God's grace towards us. And by us I mean any of us, all of us who have put our trust in Christ. You are accepted by God. You have a place in his household, not because of who you are or what you've done, but because of who Jesus Christ is and what he has done.
We confess our sins. We are forgiven and we move forward. So let's walk in obedience to the way of life that God has set before us in Jesus Christ. Let's pray.
Dear Father, we are so humbled and challenged by your word.
It is difficult to live in this world, father, and it's, it's difficult to find people that we can spend the rest of our lives with.
Father, if we are in a position where we are not yet married please help us to set above all things a desire that we would find a spouse who worships you, who's devoted to you, that for all of us who are parents or grandparents, father, those who are Christians, that we would pray the same for them.
Father, we pray that you would help us be faithful in our marriages, that if we are Christians father, that we would build each other in the faith that we share,
that we would remind ourselves of these scriptural truths. That we may seek to glorify you and our union together and that Father, if we are married to anyone that's not a Christian father, that we would seek to live out the gospel in our marriage. That we would show the grace of Jesus Christ to our spouses and children, that you would be glorified in that Father. And we pray that you would move upon their hearts, that they would come to know Jesus Christ so that homes will no longer be divided, but be united in worshiping and glorifying you, the one true God who is worthy of all our praise. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Malachi 1:6-2:9, the people and the priests are called out for offering less than their best to God.
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Transcript:
Worship is a matter of justice. It is essential that we remember that. Worship is a matter of justice. Worship is not a compliment, something that might be said or left unsaid. Worship is something that is due, is more than giving credit, but it does have that sort of sense about it. If I presented something as my own work rather than giving credit to the one who created it, that would be wrong.
It would be unjust. Credit is due to the creator. Worship is of a higher magnitude exclusive to God. He deserves our worship. Denying him his, his worship would be like denying someone their credit only infinitely worse. We are the work of his hands. Every glory belongs to him and to no one else. To worship anyone or anything else would be as injust as adultery, giving yourself to another when you have exclusively pledged yourself to your spouse. You belong to God, you are not your own, you're not at liberty to give yourself to anyone or anything else without thereby robbing God, and this is the case for every human being, not just Christians. The fundamental injustice of our world, encompassing every other injustice, is the absence of worship. This truth is seen more clearly when we understand that worship cannot be reduced to singing songs or declarations of praise.
Nor can worship be reduced to animal sacrifices, as might have been supposed in the times of the Old Testament. These are tokens of worship. Now, if the tokens are corrupted or absent, that is certainly terrible, but the totality of worship is only filled out by the complete offering of our lives to God.
He wants our hearts, that his ways would be manifest in every facet of our lives, that there would be no mistake that we are his children. This is Malachi's concern for the people of Israel. Those before the exile had failed to worship God in the way that he's due and now on the other side of the exile, even as the people have returned and as they're trying to build again, the same injustice is emerging.
So we continue on in Malachi looking at verses six through eight.
Now as it's been read, God through his prophet addresses the people and by saying things that are true, saying a son honors his father and a slave, his master, and then he turns this reality upon the people of Israel by asking them this, if I'm a father, where's the honor due me? If I'm a master, where is the respect due me?
What God is calling upon the Israelites to do is to recognize that they owe this worship to God because he is their God and they are his people. And it, and actually kind of brings to mind the 10 Commandments, we think of in Exodus 20:12, the fifth command, honor your father and your mother so that you may live long in the, in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
There's a pattern that's set in honoring our parents. It sets a pattern for us also honoring God as our father.
God is their father, and yet they have not been honoring him. They've been showing contempt for him, and this leads into a bit of a back and forth again. Last week I said there's this whole kind of dialogical style to Malachi. In verse six, they say, how have we shown contempt for your name? God responds by saying, by offering defiled food on my altar.
And verse seven, they also say, how have we defiled you? And then in verse seven, it also says by saying that the Lord's table is contemptible. And the way in which they've implicitly said that the Lord's table is contemptible is by offering animals that are diseased and lame. They, they have not been offering the best of their animals to God and the sacrifices that they've offered.
This leads God to challenge them by saying, if you were to offer these sorts of gifts to your governor, would he accept them or would he be insulted by them, essentially.
Now, God is not dropping these expectations upon them out of thin air. This is something that they knew, something that they knew that they were supposed to do, that they were to offer their best unto God. In Leviticus 22 verses 18 through 20, says speak to Aaron and his sons, and to all the Israelites and say to them, if any of you, whether an Israelite or a foreigner residing in Israel presents a gift for a burnt offering to the Lord, either to fulfill a vow or as a free will offering, you must present a male without defect from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order that it may be accepted on your behalf.
Do not bring anything with a defect because it will not be accepted on your behalf. Now again, we wonder, you know, why does God want these animals? What is God doing here in making all these regulations about sacrifice? The thing that we have to understand about sacrifices, that these sacrifices are signposts, they're revelatory, they're revealing some certain truths.
God does deserve our best in, in the case of an agrarian society, they are offer, they are to offer the best of their animals as gifts unto God. They're offering what they have, what they could possibly give to God. But in offering these things, what it's actually supposed to lead them to consider is how really, truly, they're not only supposed to offer these animals unto God.
They are to offer them very selves unto God, the totality of their lives. And so if they are faithless and just simply offering these animal sacrifices according to the manner in which God expected them to be offered, where else are they being faithless? And as we go forward in Malachi, we'll see exactly the ways in which they've been faithless.
If we go back in time to the time of the prophet Isaiah, we see this pattern going on with sacrifices being offered, but these sacrifices being displeasing because God wants even more than just these animal sacrifices. In Isaiah one, verses 13, and 16 through 17, God says, stop bringing meaningless offerings. Your incense is detestable to me. New moons, sabbaths and convocations, I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. Then he says, wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
So even if they had been offering right sacrifices, the best of their animals, it's still possibly that they could have been offering meaningless empty sacrifices by the way in which they're living their lives.
But in the time of Malachi, they're not even doing that. They're not even offering the animal sacrifices in the way that they ought to. Now, this dialogue continues into verse nine with a plea that's followed by a reality check. Now again, it's important to remember here that God's addressing all, all the people, but he's addressing them by means of really putting his finger on the priests, because the priests have a particular responsibility here, and the priests are to be interceding for God's people.
So in verse nine, it seems as though they're making this plea before God. Now plead with God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you? Says the Lord Almighty. Oh, that one of you would shut the temple door so that you would not light useless fires on my altar. I'm not pleased with you, says the Lord Almighty, and I'll accept no offerings from your hands.
My name will be great among the nations for, for where, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to me because my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord Almighty. But you profane it by saying the Lord's table is defiled, and, its food is contemptible. And you say, what a burden, and you sniff at it contemptuously, says the Lord Almighty. When you bring injured, lame, or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands? says the Lord. Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king, says the Lord Almighty, my name is to be feared among the nations.
So they have some desire here to make a plea for God to be gracious towards them. But God says, hold up. You're gonna ask for grace even as you continue to offer these second rate sacrifices, even as you continue to dishonor me in the way that you're supposedly worshiping me.
In verse 13, he says, when you bring injured, lame, or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands? Unspoken answer is, no, I shouldn't. And in fact, God says, rather than you offer these, these kinds of sacrifices, I'd rather you shut it all down. Shut the temple, end the sacrifices, end all pretense.
He's sick of their attitude, of how in the process of offering these sacrifices, they're sighing saying, oh, this is such a burden to have to offer these sacrifices, and how is they sniff, like contempt. Ugh, we gotta do this again. Now once again there's, there's a parallel for us to consider here, a parallel for us to consider between their time and our time because the offerings that they're offering are not only sin offerings.
Because when we think about sin offerings, we understand yes, Christ offered himself as our sin offering, as our offering of atonement. And so we no longer have to make any sort of sacrifice along those lines, we, Christ has made amends for us, but the Old Testament has other kinds of sacrifices, burnt offerings, offerings of fellowship, of thanksgiving, free will offerings that is, offerings that are just freely given to God to worship and glorify his name
That has carried on into the present. Not by means of animal sacrifices. The Apostle Paul tells us how this is manifest in our time on the other side of the cross as Christians. In Romans 12 verses one and two, he says, therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, wholly and pleasing to God.
This is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you'll be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing, and perfect will.
So we can continue to offer sacrifices of praise to God today. But the way in which we do it is by offering ourselves up to God. Again, not that we would justify ourselves or save ourselves by means of these sacrifices, but simply because this is the worship that God is due.
His due of everything that we have and all that we are. He's due our hearts now. Even here in Malachi, we see how there's anticipation of, of how we too. We who are outside of Israel would be included among the people of God and of how the worship of God would not be limited to Israel, but would spread across the globe.
In verse 11, he says, my, God says my name will be great among the nations from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be brought to me because my name will be great among the nations. This is an incredible prophecy. Because for all the Israelites knew, the only place you could offer a right sacrifice to God was in Jerusalem.
And we see this debate go on between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. And Jesus says, there's a day coming when you'll neither worship on this mountain Mount Gerizim or on Mount Zion. But God's people worship him in spirit and in truth. This is what God's prophesying here, incense and pure offerings will be brought to him in every place because his name will be great among the nations.
And this is just, again, an incredible thing. You see this prophecy, you step back and what do you know? That is what we see on this earth today. The name of the Lord being worshiped across the world. In fact, we see elsewhere in the Old Testament of how this is anticipated in Isaiah two, talking about the Lord's temple, how all the nations will stream to it.
Isaiah 56 talks about how the house of the Lord will be a house of prayer for all the nations. In Isaiah 60, the nations will come to your light, the kings to, to the brightness of your dawn and Isaiah 66, even in anticipation of God sending out missionaries across the world, saying, I will send some of those who survive to the nations. They will proclaim my glory among the nations.
And so bringing ourselves back now to this confrontation that God is giving to the people of Israel. This idea of the injustice and the sort of worship that they're offering is brought all the more to the surface in verse 14. It says, cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, and then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord.
So this is especially unjust because at certain times, the Israelites would make a vow to the Lord saying, I vow that I will do, I'll give you this offering. And then later on, the offering that they would follow through in giving was not the best that they had to offer. So it's not even just a free will offering where in a moment, where they might say, you know, I really wanna offer the Lord a sacrifice today and they're just grabbing what they have. They have time to think about what they're going to give to the Lord because they've made a vow and they, they said, I'm gonna follow through in giving this offering to the Lord.
And yet the time comes and they're still not offering their best to the Lord.
It's a travesty because God is due honor and respect and worship because of who he is, what he says in verse 14. For I am a great king. My name is to be feared among the nations. Again, not just Israel, but all the nations. In Zechariah 14:9 it says The Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day, there will be one Lord and his name, the only name.
This word is given to all of Israel, but again, we see here that the priest bears special responsibility. Malachi two, reading verses one through nine. It says and now, you priests, this warning is for you. If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name, says the Lord Almighty, I will send a curse on you, and I'll curse your blessings.
Yes, I have already cursed them because you have not resolved to honor me. Because of you, I'll rebuke your descendants; I will smear on your faces the dung from your festival sacrifices, and you'll be carried off with it. And you will know that I have sent you this warning so that my covenant with Levi may continue, says the Lord Almighty.
My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. True instruction was his, was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace, and uprightness, and turned many from sin. For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty and people see construction from his mouth.
But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi, says the Lord Almighty. So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people because you have not followed my ways, but have shown partiality in matters of the law.
There's something to understand about the priests they cast in Israel is that they were of the tribe of Levi. Now the tribe of Levi included more than just those that were priests. They included also those who were attendants in the priests, in the temple sanctuary. But for the tribe as a whole, and I guess you could say especially for the priests, right, as the, for the tribe as a whole, they had this covenant with, with God as to who they were supposed to be and what they were supposed to be doing as priests for the people. Now this covenant that seems, that seems to be recalled here, is one that was made between Phineas of the tribe of Levi, at the time in which the men of Israel be, were being led astray to go after foreign women. And the problem wasn't that they were foreign. The problem was is that they were foreign women who were tempting them to go and worship false gods.
And so again, a matter of worship of corrupting the nation of Israel, and Phineas struck down a man and a woman who were engaged in this. And God blessed him because he stood up with great zeal for the honor of the Lord, for the sanctity of his people. That's the sort of zeal that should fill the hearts of the tribe of Levi.
The zealousness for the holiness of the Lord in his honor and worship. And we see in Deuteronomy 33, later on verses eight through 11, when Moses is giving blessings to the various tribes. He says in verse 8 about Levi, he said, your Thummim and Urim belong to your faithful servant. You tested him at Massah; you contended with him at the waters of Meribah. He said of his father and mother, I have no regard for them. He did not recognize his brothers or acknowledge his own children, but he watched over your word and guarded your covenant. He teaches your precepts to Jacob and your law to Israel. He offers incense before you and whole burnt offerings on your altar.
Bless all his skills, Lord, and be pleased with the work of his hands. Strike down those who rise against him, his foes till they rise no more. So we see there in this blessing from Moses how there was this expectation that they would be teachers of the people. They would be leading the people of God in the ways of God, and they enjoyed a blessing for this role that they, they were given by God, but the blessings that they enjoyed it said that is turned to a curse because they've been unfaithful in instructing the people. Before, beforehand, they had been faithful. They enjoyed this covenant of life and peace with God, and they were filled with true awe. They stood before God with awe and respect, and they properly instructed the people. In verse six, it says, true instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness and turned many from sin.
And then in verse seven, we see this explicit teaching mandate for the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth. Now what had happened was that these priests were not teaching the people what they were supposed to be doing.
It was as though the people were bringing these sacrifices that were diseased, broken, lame and they're like, I guess that'll do, rather than correcting the people and teaching them what they ought to be doing and offering correct worship unto God. And so consequently, they're no longer honored, these priests, now they're despised and humiliated because they've been partial in giving instruction to the people. Now, we understand that today Jesus Christ is our great high priest and he intercedes for us. This gets back to the idea of atonement. He is the one who provides the covering for our sins. But there is again, another parallel here between the priests of the Old Testament and leaders in the church, because the role of pastors and elders is to teach the people of God.
My responsibility is to teach you how you should live your life in worship to God. And it's for this reason that the writer of Hebrews in Hebrews 13:17 tells believers this, have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account.
Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be no benefit to you.
I can tell you that's the reality that stands before me as your pastor. The reality that I'm going to have to give account to God and, and this is what spurs me to say and to do difficult things at times. Things that in my own personality and and whatnot, I would not otherwise want to do. But what it comes down to is the fear of God, and also as the Father is teaching me and conforming me, it comes down to me loving you with the love of Christ. It is a matter of upholding justice. Honoring the holiness of God. And so if I can speak a difficult word at this time, I think it would be this, which is that regular participation in the worship services of this church and other churches is not what it should be.
Now, of course, I want to emphasize this with the entirety of my heart. As a pastor, of course, from person to person, we must not jump to conclusions. I'm talking about the thousand foot view here.
There's more space in our pews here and elsewhere, not merely because of deaths, because of health circumstances, or because there are fewer converts to the faith, or even today as it just so happens to be Memorial Day weekend, pews are more empty today than in years gone by because Christians have different priorities than worship. Does this mean a service can never be skipped? Of course not, absolutely not, even Sara and I were went away a couple weeks ago, but I've been doing this long enough and I've spoken with enough pastors to know that we're not imagining that regular participation and worship has declined, and even statistics bear this out. Every generation shows a decline, a general decline in weekly attendance since 2008. That's some statistics from Ryan Burge.
So we must consider this. What would Jesus say to us? Would he say what he says in Luke six forty six? Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? Of course we understand that all of scripture is the word of God, and Christ is the word incarnate. So all of the word, all of the Bible belongs to Christ.
Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do what I say? Whatever we might say, our actions speak louder than words.
We are called to offer up our lives as living sacrifices to God and worship services are the launching point for a life of worship. He is due nothing less than our best. Anything less is cheating the Lord. And let me be clear, you can still be cheating the Lord by offering mere lip service. Muddling through the motions of showing up for worship every Sunday, and I'm sure that that was likely a sin of past generations.
But we must understand this, that worship is a matter of justice, even if it is not just a matter, it's not a matter of superficial compliance. The first and greatest command is to love God. If we love God, worship is not a burden. We do not hold it in contempt. When we love the Lord, we stand in awe of his name and desire with all our heart to worship. This is the kind of people we were created to be.
So what do we do when it's clear that we're coming up short in some regard? Well, what we don't do is deny it. As we see here in this exchange of Malachi, we own up to it. We tell the Lord, you got me. We are free to do this because Jesus has offered himself up as the perfect sacrifice. He held nothing back.
He is who we are supposed to be. And because he has offered himself for our sakes, we can be forgiven and made right before God. The apostle John reminds us of this in first John one verses eight through ten. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we can confess our sins, he's faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. When we have sinned, there's no use denying it. Time to own up to be forgiven and in Jesus Christ, begin living our lives in a way that God gives God His due, a life that is worshipful inside and out.
And you can expect me to help you to do that. God expects me to help you to do that, to teach you the way that you need to go, to both challenge and encourage, so that together we will glorify God, giving unto him the worship that he is due. Let us pray.
Father, when we read a passage like this, it is very easy for us to quickly judge the Israelites and the sacrifices that they offered Father.
Father, please humble us, humble us father to consider in what ways we might be offering you second rate sacrifices. Help us to consider Father, the ways in which we might not be offering all of ourselves to you.
Father allow this to weigh upon us as a matter of justice, not so that we would comply as as this being something, okay, I’ve just got to do it, father and it being burdensome, but Father, so that it would spur us to become the people that you're desiring us to be. A people consumed with love, awe, and zeal for you.
I pray that you would make us that sort of people, father, that you would make your church in America filled by people of that kind, that we would be consumed with a passion for worshiping you. Giving you the glory that you are due. We ask this In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
We start a new series on the book of Malachi covering chapter 1 verses 1-5. In these verses, the relentless love of God for Israel, and for all Christians through Jesus, is on full display.
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Transcript:
A prophecy, the word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi. I have loved you, says the Lord, but you ask How have you loved us? was not Esau Jacob's brother? declares the Lord. Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.
Edom may say, though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins. But this is what the Lord Almighty says. They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the wicked land, a people always under the wrath of the Lord. You'll see it with your own eyes and say great is the Lord even beyond the borders of Israel.
A reading from Malachi versus, chapter one verses one through five.
What is love? We speak of love. We toss the word around, but what does it mean? Well consider this starting point. The Apostle John tells us in First John four, eight that God is love. He doesn't say that God has love or is loving, but that God is in the very substance of his being love. If we know God, we know love.
The meaning of love is disclosed to us in every act of God. We learn the meaning of love by watching God. Over the next several weeks, we're gonna read the book of Malachi. Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament. A long story stands behind it from Adam and Eve to the present circumstances of the book.
We, what we have is a history of divine action. Sufficient to fill out the meaning of love. Now, Malachi is a man that we know very little about. His name means messenger, in effect God's messenger. And this is fitting for a prophet because God used the prophets to deliver messages to his people. Very often not only telling them what would come, but also calling the people to repent, to turn from their ways. Now, Malachi wrote sometime between 458 and 445 BC, so that's close to 500 years before Jesus Christ was on the earth. The setting is Israel after the exile. The short version of the backstory is this, is that God took the Hebrew people out of slavery from Egypt and gave them the land of Israel, the promised land, the land that had been promised to Abraham. Now, the people were not faithful to keep away from the idols and the sins of the surrounding people because when God called the people of Israel to be his people, he wasn't just saying, here, I'm gonna give you a piece of land.
Rather he was saying, I am setting you apart as my own, and so you are going to walk my ways. Unfortunately, they did not walk in the ways of God. Following a period of judges, and then kings, who after David and Solomon became mostly corrupt, the people in the northern part of Israel were sent into exile by the Assyrians.
The people in the south of Israel into exile, exile by Babylon. This was God's judgment upon them for their wickedness. They were expelled from his presence in the promised land. They got the message by the fact that he sent them into exile, that their, the way that they had been living their lives was unacceptable, but he also promised that they would return. And by command of the Persian King Cyrus, the people were allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. And we find this story told in the Book of Ezra. Later on, the people also rebuilt the walls of the city as told in the book Nehemiah. And Malachi is set some time between those two books, you'll see that Malachi is a book calling for repentance, but it begins with God through his prophet, reminding the people of the fundamental reality of his abiding love for them.
So we first look at Malachi one verses one through five, and I'm just gonna read, once again, the first several verses. A prophecy. A prophecy, the word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi. I have loved you, says the Lord, but you ask How have you loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? declares the Lord.
Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals. We see as the book opens up that God is deploying through Malachi a sort of disputation style of communicating his message to the people of Israel of a statement followed by response.
The first statement that God makes is this, I have loved you. Fact. End of sentence, I have loved you. But the response that the people would give to that declaration by God, apparently this must have been their attitude at that, at that time was, how have you loved us? In some way or fashion the people were questioning God's love for them, and we can imagine that perhaps it was because of all that had transpired, being sent into exile and the hardships that they had to endure once they returned to the land. And so it's this at this point that God throws them back to the very beginning of when he really began to set them apart as his people.
It takes us back to the time of Isaac. You'll recall if you were here for some of our Genesis series, Isaac was the son of Abraham, the promised son, and Isaac and Rebekah had twins, Esau and Jacob. Now, they were twins, but Esau was the first one to be born, and so as the first born, he deserve, he, tradition would say that he deserves all of the privileges of being the first born, a greater inheritance, the blessing, all of that.
And yet, that was not God's purpose. God's purpose was rather that the one born second, Jacob, was to be the chosen one. The one who would be the father of the people of Israel, because he himself got that name, Israel, from God. And so the nation takes its name from him. And so there was a basic choice that God had made between Esau and Jacob, and it wasn't on the basis of either of their qualities.
Because as we learn about Esau and Jacob, we find that Jacob also has qualities that aren't all that commendable either. He says was not Esau Jacob's brother? declares the Lord. Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.
God simply loves Jacob and chose him and his descendants to be his people. And God makes this all the more clear that it has nothing to do about their qualities or merits. It has nothing about, to do about who they are as to why God chose them. We see in Deuteronomy seven, verses seven through eight says, the Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples for youwere the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. We go to Deuteronomy 10, verses 14 through 15 says, the Lord set his affection on your ancestors and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants above all nations as it is today.
It's simply by God's choice, not anything that they had done that they were set apart as God's people. And in Jeremiah 31: 3, we see the Lord recalling his love for the people of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah says. The Lord appeared to us in the past saying, I have loved you with an everlasting love, an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. We see this again and again over the course of Israel's history, of how God's love is truly everlasting, enduring, and how he draws them to himself again and again, in unfailing kindness rather than just obliterating them. And what's interesting is that even around this period of when the people of Israel had come out of exile and had returned to the land, even at that time, they had recognized God's love for them. In Ezra 3:11, when they're laying the foundation of the temple, this new temple that's being reconstructed, says, with praise and thanksgiving, they sang to the Lord, he is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.
Everything else might change. They might go astray, but God's love endures. God is utterly faithful and someone might be asked, you know, they're questioning God's love. How have you loved us? God would just as easily turn the tables on them and say, how have you loved me?
Because God called them to love him with all that they are. In Deuteronomy six verse verse four through six, he says, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give to you today are to be on your heart.
This is what God calls for from Israel, and this is what he calls for from all people. Obedience to God is not complicated. It's simply this: love God with everything that you are. Now, the difficult thing is, is we're sinners and so we come up short of loving him in the way that we ought to, but he does not come up short in his love for us. And we see the depths of his love again by his faithfulness to Israel and ultimately his faithfulness to the world in keeping his promises by sending the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ.
And so we have more detail here though about how God's love is shown again by this disparity between Jacob and Esau. Now it says that, he says that Esau's hill country is going to be turned into a wasteland, and then going on into verses four and five says this. Edom may say, though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins, but this is what the Lord Almighty says They may build, but I will demolish.
It'll be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the Lord. You'll see it with your own eyes and say, great is the Lord even beyond the borders of Israel. Something to understand here is this, is that Edom is the people descendant from Esau. So you have the people of Israel, descendant from Jacob, Edom is the people descendant from Esau. And the word Edom means red, and it's supposed to kind of recall that Esau is kind of a man red, red in color. And what we learn as we read across the Old Testament is that Edom and Israel are bitter enemies. We see in Amos and in Joel and in Obadiah of stories told of their sins. Amos one. It says, because he pursued his brother, talking about Israel, with the sword and slaughtered the women of the land, because his anger raged continually and his fury flamed unchecked, in Joel three 19, but Egypt will be desolate, Edom a desert waste because of the violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood. And in Obadiah 1:10 because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you'll be covered with shame; you'll be destroyed forever. And as you look other places, and we won't look at all the passages, we learned of how Israel tried to pass through the land of Edom.
They just wanted to go through, they didn't want to do any, they didn't wanna harm them or anything and Edom gave them a hard time saying, no, you're not gonna go through our land. You'll have to go around us. We have David coming and conquering the Edomites, putting him, putting them under Israelite rule.
And then later on, the Edomites revolt and Edom takes revenge. And just one anecdote. Second Chronicles 28 17 says The Edomites had again come and attacked Judah and carried away prisoners. And so you just see this great division and conflict between the two of them. And so because of this, because Edom had set itself up as this perpetual enemy of Israel, destruction is, is promised to them in this passage and, and elsewhere we see in Jeremiah 49, 10 in verse 18, the Lord says, but I'll strip Esau bare.
I'll uncover his hiding places so that he cannot conceal himself. His armed men are destroyed, also his allies and neighbors, so there's no one to say. And then, and then down in verse 18, as Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown along with their neighboring town, says the Lord, so no one will live there; no people will dwell in it.
So it's talking about them being utterly vanquished. If you know anything about the Sodom, story of Sodom and Gomorrah, they were a city of wickedness, obliterated by fire from heaven. And Ezekiel 35 verses three through four. Again, it says, this is what the sovereign Lord says, I'm against you, Mount Seir, and this is just another name for Edom, I'll stretch out my hand against you and make you a desolate waste. I'll turn your towns into ruins and you'll be desolate. Then you will know that I am the Lord. Now, this is in fact what happens to Edom. We know that this is what happened. It's happening, in fact, during the time in which Malachi is being written.
You can see here a map of the, the larger red area was some of the territory that the Edomites would've occupied. Around this time, the Nabatean Arabs swooped in and began to push them out. So this would've been somewhere in the air, during the years between 550 BC and 400 bc, and they basically relegate them to living in this darker red area up here that became known as Idumea.
Now, the thing that's interesting is that there is an important man that would come from Idumea, and come to rule Israel named Antipater the Idumean, and his son's name was Herod the Great. So if you're wondering, you know, how the, how does the Herodian family come into play in all of this? They're not Jewish.
They're Edomite in origin, and so it's no, no accident that you see, see them in conflict with Christ. Now, ultimately the Herodian line passes away. And so very much in keeping with these promises altogether, the Edomite people don't exist anymore today. We can't point them out in any place. Now, this brings us back to this comment that was made earlier about how God says, I've loved Jacob but hated Esau, and this maybe this troubles some of you to think about God hating people. Well, the thing that we have to keep in mind here is when we're talking about hatred, we're talking comparatively speaking. Now obviously there's, there's great consequences for God's election and choosing Israel and loving them and showing faithfulness to them because while they survive, despite all their wickedness, Edom is ultimately destroyed.
But we see this idea of, of a, a certain sense of hatred when we look to the teachings of Christ in Matthew 10: 37, and Luke 14:26, this is a very shocking passage to many people. Jesus tells his disciples, anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. Anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me.
Is not worthy of me. Okay, that seems fine. But then in Luke 14:26, he says, if anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even their own life, such a person cannot be my disciple. So it's the Luke 14 passage that really, it's like, oh wow, I'm supposed to hate my relatives.
Jesus isn't calling you to hate anybody. He's calling us, comparatively speaking, that we would be so devoted to Christ that comparatively speaking, it would appear as though we hate even our natural relations, which of course we have deep and abiding love for, but all the more, should our love for God be more deep and abiding.
And so when we're thinking about hatred and love when it comes to Jacob and Esau, yes, God absolutely loves Jacob in a very special elective sort of way, setting him apart. Setting them apart as as his people. But that did not mean that he absolutely hated the people of Edom because in fact, God's salvific intent goes beyond the people of Israel.
God intends to bring his salvation to the ends of the earth. Now, in Amos nine verses 11 through 12, we have some hint of this, of both judgment and conquest on the part of Israel, but also a hint of what is to be realized in Christ. It's prophesied there. The Lord says, in that day, I'll restore David's fallen shelter, restoring David's kingdom in other words. I'll repair its broken walls and restore its ruins, and rebuild it as it used to be, so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name, declares the Lord, who will de do those thing, do these things. So notice there, Edom's included, but also so much more. Edom and all the nations that bear my name.
What's being anticipated is a messianic kingdom to come in which David's throne will be restored and will cover the face of the earth and include all peoples. Now that rule is absolute, but it's also gracious. We see the graciousness of it in Jesus Christ because he is the promised Son of David, the one to occupy this throne, and who has now brought this invitation of salvation to all people, from Edom to all the nations, that if they would turn, repent of their sins, and put their faith in him, that they might be saved.
It's by this same invitation that we ourselves are included in this kingdom as we respond in faith. And so when we get to verse five, I take it to have sort of a dual meaning here where it says, you'll see with your own eyes and say, great is the Lord even beyond the borders of, of Israel. Now, the first meaning I see is this, basically by the fact that God brings judgment on outside nations beyond the borders of Israel, God is demonstrating his universal sovereignty. It's difficult for us to think about it this way, but in the ancient world, very often they thought that the rule of the gods was circumscribed to certain territories. And so when you're talking about the God of Israel, well he might have say in Israel, but beyond the borders, there's other gods.
And they would have something to say if that, if the God of Israel was trying to, you know, hurt their people. So by God bringing judgment on outside nations, what's being demonstrated is that he's the one true God. So that's the basic first meaning there in terms of judgment. But of course we see how God, God is great even beyond the borders of Israel because of Jesus Christ, of how he brings this salvation to all people so that he is truly the God of all the nations.
What we see really here in this passage is the depths of God's love demonstrated in his radical mercy that he shows, and that radical mercy is, I think, exposed, it's brought to the surface by the juxtaposition between Edom and Israel. They are subject to wrath and it's wrath that they deserve. Now, the truth is, is that Israel also deserves wrath, and yet they receive undeserved love.
And ultimately that is the story for us all, that all of us in Jesus Christ are receiving undeserved love. So we ask, what is love? God shows us. Going on in First John four, the apostle John says this, this is how God showed his love among us. He sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
This is how he has loved us. The love of God is displayed in his complete magnitude in that he loved us, even when we didn't love him, even while we were denying him our hearts and our souls. He is faithful to the faithless, all so that we might be saved from ourselves, from our own wicked ways. For this reason Jesus calls us to love. He directs us to the example of God himself, in Luke six verses 32 and 35 through 36, he says this to his disciples. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. But love your enemies, do good to them and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.
Then your reward will be great and you'll be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your father is merciful. That's what we see here in this passage. God is addressing their ingratitude. They're ungrateful, how have you loved us? And yet he is kind to them.
He is merciful. And so God fills out for us the meaning of love, kindness, and mercy. If we wanna know what that looks like, we look to God and follow his example. Every call to obedience is set against this backdrop, the bottomless sea of the love of God. He's loved us with an everlasting love. He has drawn us with unfailing kindness.
His hand reached out inviting our grasp. He has loved you. How will you respond? Let's pray.
Dear Father,
you have shown extraordinary love to us, and we say us father, because by faith, we are included with the people of Israel, those who came before us, who received your promises and received your, your kindnesses again and again despite their faithlessness.
Father, we give you thanks for your abiding love and that this love has culminated in the appearance of your son, Jesus Christ, so that not only those among Israel might be saved Father, but that people of all nations from Edom and to all the nations Father, that all of us might be saved in Jesus Christ as we turn to him in faith.
Father, we sim, very simply just give you thanks. And Father, if, if there is any ingratitude in our hearts, if we, if we cannot appreciate the depth of your love for us, if we wrestle with that Father, we pray that you would reckon with our hearts, pierce our hearts Father, so that we appreciate how much mercy you've shown every single one of us.
And may that stir within us, father, love; a deep and abiding love for you in response. We ask this in Christ's name, amen.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Acts 11:19-30, God breaks Peter out of jail as we come to the conclusion of our series The Spirit and the Church.
Unfortunately, we had some technical issues during the sermon and only have the conclusion to post here this week.
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Transcript:
It is fitting for us to end our series though, I think, on the note that is sounded by this chapter. We recall now what Christ has done for us through his death and resurrection. He has broken our bondage to sin and the devil and restored those who believe unto God. This new life in Christ comes with a mission that Jesus sets forth before the disciples on the day of his ascension.
That's what we read in Acts one. We are to take this message of liberation and deliverance to all the world so that anyone who would believe can get back their life and know the God for whom they have been created. In Jesus Christ we are redeemed to be the living temple of God, holy and righteous, set apart, shining forth as a light in the darkness of this world.
But we can't do any of this on our own. We need the power of God to be with us. We need God to personally indwell us through the person of the Holy Spirit. We get our marching orders when Christ ascends, but we only begin to really move forward after the day of Pentecost when the Father and the Son send us the promised Holy Spirit.
It is his promised presence and activity that makes all the difference. In the name of Jesus Christ the apostles are empowered to perform signs they could never do on their own. Hearts are awakened and lives are transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit. God's temple, bit by bit, is being constructed.
Deceitfulness, division and persecution threatened at various points to tear apart the church, but God is faithfully present through it all, working together even what the enemy means for evil into good for the church and ultimately the world. Here in Acts, we see that God is not only the God of the Jews, but of all mankind and that he is calling all people to himself. Now, of course, resistance remains. Saul, the great persecutor of the church is converted, a great transformation, but other Jews maintain their persecution of Christians.
Stephen dies, James dies. But again and again, God demonstrates that their deaths and the deaths of others should not lead us to doubt in his power. The dead are raised. Here we see Peter, as good as dead, under lock and key and chains and heavy guard, delivered from prison. God has a plan that no man can destroy.
Herod, try as he might, and moreover, accepting praise as a God, is exposed to be a mere man eaten up by worms. Earthly kings, the powers of the world cannot stop the advance of the Lord Jesus and his kingdom. He begins from Jerusalem, but his kingdom will extend to the ends of the earth. So we the church march on in the power of the spirit, hard pressed on every side, but not crushed.
Perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted but not abandoned. Struck down, but not destroyed. Always carrying around in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. Let us pray.
Father,
we thank you for giving us the truth.
We know the truth of our situation in Jesus Christ. We see most clearly in him the disparity between us and him, that we are sinners, lost without hope, and that he is the perfect human being we are all supposed to be. And we see and understand, father, that because of his sacrifice on the cross, 'cause of his death and his resurrection and his ascension, that our relationship with you is restored.
That we have received the promise of resurrection, of eternal life with you. Father, we thank, give you thanks for this great truth and this sure hope that we have. But Father, we also thank you for this, that we know your power today, that the power of the Holy Spirit is present in our midst today. He personally indwells each one of us and inhabits your church collectively, father, and we thank you father for the great privilege which you've given us, which is that we will not be on the sidelines of your plan of redemption, but that you have invited us in on the action, that we should bring this good news to the ends of the world, that we might share in your glory as we point others to Jesus Christ and we can see lives transformed, lives reclaimed from death and brought unto life Father. We thank you Father, that because of Jesus Christ, we know the truth and we also know the power of God, and that we have no reason to fear because you are a God who keeps your promises and will see them through to the end. We give you praise in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Acts 9:32-11:18, God reveals his intent to redeem not only Jews but also the Gentiles in Jesus Christ.
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Transcript:
At Caesarea, there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day, at about three in the afternoon, he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God who came to him and said, Cornelius.
Cornelius stared at him in fear. What is it, Lord? He asked. The angel answered. Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon, who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the Tanner, whose house is by the sea.
Our world is full of variety among human beings. You'll encounter people with different languages, different hair, eyes, skin. In different cultures, our world is full of beautiful differences. Our world is also full of sin. When God made Israel his chosen people, he set them apart from other peoples because of the sin that occupies every human heart and even comes to dominate entire societies and cultures.
Israel was set apart not because they were different, not because the Hebrew people were any master race, but because they were called to be different. They were called to be righteous. Ezra notes this even as he confesses Israel's failure to live apart from the world in Ezra nine, verses 10 through 12, he says, but now our God, what can we say after this?
For we have forsaken the commands you gave through your servants, the prophets when you said The land you are entering to possess is a land polluted by the corruptions of its peoples, by their detestable practices. They have filled it with their impurity from one end to the other. Therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters for your sons.
Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them at any time, that you may be strong and eat the good things of the land and leave it to your children as an everlasting inheritance. So God very clearly called Israel to set themselves apart from surrounding peoples, and yet the same God who called Israel to set herself apart tells us through the prophet Isaiah of a day to come in which all people would be drawn to himself.
In Isaiah 11, 9 through 10 he says, they'll neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain for the Earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. And that day, the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will rally to him and his resting place will be glorious. A command to stand apart.
A promise of reunion, rallied around the root of Jesse, which of course is the Messiah, which is Jesus Christ. A command to stand apart, a promise of reunion, and yet also the abiding presence of human sinfulness for every right reason that God called Israel to stand apart. We are familiar with all the wrong and sinful reasons for human division.
We idolize our tribes. Insisting that every human good is carried on by our kind and every human ill carried on by those others. What the Old Testament makes clear in Israel's story is that none of us, not a single one of us, are essentially good. All of us are subject to corruption. There is no superior race.
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God as apostle, as the apostle Paul tells us in Romans 3: 23. But now I want you to imagine that you are a first century Jewish disciple of Jesus. You know your Old Testament that the Jews were called to stand apart, but you also know the Old Testament of prophecies and you know Jesus commanded you to take the gospel to the world. In practice, what will that look like? Are you to preach the gospel to the Gentiles but then have nothing to do with them? How is this going to work? What is God's idea here? In Acts 9, 10, and 11 God discloses to Peter exactly what he has in mind, but not all at once. So we begin in Acts 9 verses 32 through 35. Luke records.
He says, as Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord's people who lived in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. Aneaus, Peter said to him, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat. Immediately Aeneas got up. All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
We have a very brief account here, but it's a profound miracle. It takes place in a, in a place called Lydda, which you can see located on the map behind me, Peter finds a man named Aeneas. And there's something interesting in, in that this man's name is, is given because his name is a very Roman name. It's a name which comes from the legendary patriarch of Rome and Aeneas was said to be the father of Romulus and Remus, who stand behind the founding of that, famous city of Rome.
This man Aeneas, in some way seems to represent that Gentile population given his name, and Peter comes to him and performs a magnificent miracle. This man, Aeneas, had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years, and everyone knew this. This was no temporary thing that had just come on that he might have gotten over by chance.
Certainly wasn't any act. No one would lay in bed for eight years. Maybe some of you after a work week feel like you wanna lay in bed for eight years, but clearly, Aeneas is truly crippled by whatever's afflicting him. 📍 And yet, by a mere word, he's healed. Peter says to him, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat. There's something interesting in here that we know, and what Peter says to him, he's very explicit. He doesn't say I healed you. He doesn't just say, get up and roll, you know, roll up your mat and walk. Says Jesus Christ heals you. I don't think it's any accident that this, this miracle sounds very familiar to the miracle that Jesus himself performed in Matthew nine, six. And so what we are seeing here is that Jesus is continuing to extend his presence through the apostles, through the church, so that while he has physically ascended, his spiritual presence remains active and living.
The result of this miracle, which is really the point of any miracle and sign that God gives, is that people turn to the Lord. And it says that all those who lived in Lydda and Sharon who saw this man healed, they turned to the Lord. Everyone knew his story, saw that he was walking, they repented, put their faith in Christ.
Then we move on to another miracle. Verse 36. It says, in Joppa, there was a disciple named Tabitha, in Greek her name is Dorcas. She was always doing good and helping the poor. About that time, she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. Lydda was near Joppa. So when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, please come at once. Peter went with them and when he arrived, he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while he was still with them. Peter sent them all out of the room. Then he got down on his knees and prayed, turning toward the dead woman.
He said, Tabitha, get up. She opened her eyes and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then she called, then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa and many people believed in the Lord.
Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon. So Peter goes on and he moves on to this area of, of Joppa, which I might not have had the right picture up before, but that is Joppa and it's not that far away from, from Lydda, and it's right along the coast. Now this woman, Tabitha, in Greek, her name mean is Dorcas and which in English it all means Gazelle, which is interesting.
One commentator suggests maybe there's sort of a significant meaning behind this and the fact there are names included referring to the spread of the gospel, perhaps not. In any case, that's her name. And Tabitha is a really incredible woman and, and we see here just how important women were in the early church and how Christ really dignifies the role of women.
And we see how it's reported that she was doing good in helping the poor, and she was a clothes maker, and presumably she probably gave clothes to people. And honestly, I mean, she's the kind of woman that reminds me of many of the women here in our church. And we just see this very emotional scene where Tabitha has died and, her friends are showing Peter, look, these are all the things that she made and now she's gone.
And yet there seems like perhaps there's some sense of expectation that they're calling upon Peter in this moment, she's upstairs and Peter goes up to that upper room and praying, he turns to the dead woman and says, Tabitha, get up. And she opened her eyes and seeing Peter, she, she sat up. So again, we have another miracle here, and it's again, reminiscent of a miracle that Jesus performed in Mark 5 41 when he raised a little girl from the dead.
He says he took her by the hand and said to her Talitha koum, which means little girl, I say to you, get up. And as in the case in Lydda, when he raised, when he healed Aeneaus, so here, this miracle caused many people to believe in the Lord. And Peter stays on in Joppa for some time and he stays with a man, with a tanner named Simon.
Now, the thing that's kind of interesting about Joppa is if you know your Bible well, you'll know that Joppa is the place that Jonah, when he is gonna get in a boat to run away from God's call, that he would go to Nineveh. Now here we have Peter staying in Joppa for some time, and he's staying in the house of a man named Simon the the Tanner.
And it's in his home that he's gonna receive a sort of similar call, a call to go to foreign people. Yet we're going to see a different reaction. So we see how poetic it is, how God has ordained these steps here to put Peter in Joppa to receive this call. So we look at Acts 10, one through six.
Noah read those verses for us. Talks about how there was a, a centurion named Cornelius in Caesarea, and he's visited by an angel and he receives instructions to send men to Joppa to call upon Peter.
Now in verse seven it says, when the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa. About noon the following day as they were on their journey approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray.
He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. So Cornelius receives this vision of an angel that comes and speaks to him. And if I can get the picture up here, I think maybe I put it there. Yeah. Cornelius is in Caesarea. It's about 38 miles away from Joppa, so a good distance away.
No way that he would've known that Peter was in Joppa, really. It's about as far away as Worcester is from here. He has this vision of an angel coming to him with a message from the Lord. Now, the thing interesting about Cornelius is his background. He's a centurion. That means he was a, a, a captain of about a hundred men in the Roman army.
He says he was a centurion of the Italian regiment, which means this is likely a regiment actually from Italy. Sometimes they had companies that were from other parts of the Mediterranean, but these are Italians here. So if, if you're Italian here, this is where you show up in the story. And the thing that's interesting about Cornelius is that he's noted to be a devout, God-fearing man.
He gave to the poor, he prayed to God regularly. And in this vision that he has of an angel visiting him from God, God notes this and says that his offerings to the poor have come up before him as a memorial offering. And here we see how God honors those who seek him. And then if a person seeks God, God's gonna come to him.
God's not gonna remain closed off to anyone who seeks him.
And the instructions that the angel gives to Cornelius is this, is that he should send men to Joppa to find Simon Peter, who's living in the home of Simon the Tanner. And again, no way that he would otherwise know this. it's not like they had news reporting that Peter's staying in Joppa with this guy Simon.
And so the next day around noon, Peter says, it's interesting to see this noted. Peter gets hungry and he, he kind of falls into this trance and he has a dream about eating. Maybe some of you have had dreams like that before when you're hungry. This is the vision that Peter has as he's waiting for his meal to be prepared.
Continuing on in verse 11, it says, he saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, get up, Peter. Kill and eat. Surely not, Lord. Peter replied. I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.
The voice spoke to him a second time. Do not call anything impure that God has made clean. This happened three times and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. Now to understand the significance of what's going on here, you, you have to appreciate the, the laws under which the Jewish people had been living under the Old Covenant. In Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 there are various laws stipulated regarding how they would, how they would maintain ritual purity by avoiding eating certain foods and only eating particular sorts of foods. Basically eating kosher. Now the thing that's interesting here is that Peter was already kind of being a little bit edgy staying with Simon the Tanner because the tanning business has to do with dead animals. You have to kill the animal to tan the skins. And part of the ritual law is that you're supposed to avoid coming into contact with death, otherwise you become ritually impure. So again, Simon's already being a, Peter's already being a little bit edgy here, but this vision that he has just takes things another step further because this was a very crucial marker that set Jewish people apart from Gentile people. It's like his whole world is being turned upside down in this vision that Peter's having. He, the sheet is coming down says, with four corners. And we can reasonably conclude that what's significant about the four corners is we think about the four corners of the earth.
So if you had kind of a flat conception of the earth, we're all familiar with, from every over the four corners of the earth is a, it's indicating universally all sorts of animals. And it doubles down on that. And that there is all sorts of animals presented, including unclean animals, animals that would've been ritually impure for Peter to eat.
And yet, in verse 13, God commands Peter, it says, he says, get up, Peter, kill and eat. Now, despite the fact that God is telling him to do this, Peter resists this command from the Lord. And in doing so, he's, he's kind of echoing the stands that Ezekiel and Daniel took when it came to maintaining their commitment to purity.
We see in Ezekiel 4:14, when God had asked Ezekiel to cook some food over human excrement,, a yucky business, in order to signify the impurity of, of Israel. Ezekiel says, that's kind of a bridge too far. He says, not so sovereign Lord, I have never defiled myself from my youth until now. I have never eaten anything found dead or torn by wild animals.
No impure meat has ever entered my mouth. So Ezekiel, no. And God grants him that. He says, okay, you don't have to, you don't have to do that. And, and Daniel one eight. Daniel, it says that Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.
So we can imagine Peter saying, I know, I know this. I know how Ezekiel stood firm with his convictions. I know how Daniel stood firm, and so I'm gonna do this the same here. Maybe he's thinking it's a sort of test or something, but we see that in verse, in verse 14 that we see that God insists, he says, do not call anything impure, that God has made clean.
And so his vision's repeated three times and afterwards Peter's really not sure what to think. Continuing on in verse 17, it says, while Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon's house was and stopped at the gate. They called out asking if Simon, who was known as Peter, was staying there while Peter was still thinking about the vision.
The spirit said to him, Simon, three men are looking for you, so get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them for I have sent them. Peter went down and said to the men, I'm the one you're looking for. Why have you come? The men replied, we have come from Cornelius the Centurion. He's a righteous and God-fearing man who is respected by all the Jewish people.
A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say. Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests. The next day, Peter started out with them and some of the believers from Joppa went along. So we can imagine to hear that between Peter's vision that he had the spirit commanding him to go with these men, and the fact that these men are reporting to him that an angel has come to Cornelius telling him, telling them to, telling him to send men to go find Peter. We can imagine between all these things that Peter's beginning to connect the dots because he's being asked to go into a Gentile home and we'll see how Peter reckons that to be a significant thing. Continuing on in verse 24, it says, the following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.
As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. Stand up, he said, I'm only a man myself. While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. He said to them, you are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile.
But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?
Now, something that we might easily pass over but again, I think it's significant here in terms of just thinking about how the disciples saw themselves compared to Christ. Is when Peter shows up, they, Cornelius came to him and fell at his feet in reverence. He's bowing down to him and Peter says, oh, don't do that.
I'm only a man. Now, you can imagine if, just to play devil's advocate here, if the apostles were just starting their own cult, their own religion, you you'd imagine they might be saying, oh yeah, bring it on. Yes, bow before me. You know, you know, kiss me, show me all this honor. Peter's not like that though.
He's like, no, no, no, I'm, I'm just a man. And then we take that into comparison to how Jesus responded when people paid him that sort of honor. We see, while he wasn't conscious enough to be able to refuse this, but we see it presented positively of how when the wise men came to him as a child, they bowed before him.
The disciples in Matthew 14:33 when they're in the boat with him, and he's calmed the storm, they bow and they, they begin worshiping. They begin worshiping him. And in John 19: 38, when Thomas touches the hand, touches the hole in his hands and in his side, he says, my Lord and my God. So we have a stark comparison between Jesus and the apostles.
Jesus, you can worship. Jesus you can reverence. Not the apostles. Now, as I alluded to, Peter points out how it's significant that he is entering into the home of a gentile. While there is no Old Testament law forbidding a Jew to go into the, to the home of a Gentile, there were traditions, Jewish traditions built upon the law that prohibited Jews from doing so because fraternizing with gentiles, risked, making oneself impure.
So basically stay away from that as, as, as much as you can. But here Peter's saying, I'm not afraid of that anymore. And the reason is this is, it's from the vision and everything that's transpired. He says, but God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or clean. And it's interesting. The primary implication here is people.
It's the Gentiles themselves, the non-Jewish people themselves, that Peter says, God has shown me that I shouldn't consider you, consider you impure or unclean. Now there's secondary implications here for, as well when it comes to food that we, we gain from this vision. This is why Christians are no longer held to maintaining the dietary law of the old covenant that has passed away under the new covenant.
Those stipulations are no longer enforced. So Peter asks them, why have you asked me to come to you? He asked for more detail and this sets the stage for the absolute confirmation of God's revelation that he is already been begun disclosing to Peter. Continuing on verse 30, Cornelius answered him three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me and said, Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. Send to Joppa for Simon, who's called Peter. He's a guest in the home of Simon the Tanner who lives by the sea.
So I sent for you immediately and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us. Then Peter began to speak. I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism, but accepts from every nation, the one who fears him and does what is right.
You know the message God sent to the people of Israel announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit in power and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil because God was with him.
We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross. But God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen, by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as the judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testified about him, that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.
So speaking to Cornelius, to his entire household, which here effectively represents the gentile population, Peter tells them, I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism, but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. There's no longer any barriers for those who are non-Jewish to be accepted by God.
And we see in the case of, of Cornelius, that he is one who has feared God, who has sought God, and he is ready to accept this provision of the gospel message that God would give to him and to anyone who would fear him and do what is right. And then Peter kind of gives a summary of things that apparently they, Cornelius and some, at least some members of his household must be familiar with of Jesus' ministry, everything that transpired. And he talks about how himself and the other disciples were witnesses of these things.
And then kind of the strong point here, lands on verse 43, he says, all the prophets testify about him, that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. So it wasn't the case that Cornelius was being accepted by God because he was a really great guy, though he was. He had, he was doing many good things.
But the reality is, is that Cornelius, the Gentiles, and all the Jewish people need, needed, and we all need Christ to be our savior because all of us are sinners and we needed the forgiveness of sins that can only be found in him, and we can receive that forgiveness by believing in him. That's the heart of the gospel message that Peter's presenting here.
Believe in Christ and your sins will be forgiven. Now moving on. We see how as Peter's saying these things, his testimony is actually confirmed in real time. In verse 44, it says, while Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on to all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.
Then Peter said, surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have. So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days. Now, what is striking here is how the usual order of things has been reversed.
Typically what occurs when a person puts their faith in Christ is they believe, they're baptized in water, and at that time they also enjoy the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The person of the Holy Spirit comes to indwell the believer. But here in this case, God has jumped ahead in order to make a point. As Peter is saying these things, the Holy Spirit is poured out upon the Gentiles such that they begin speaking in tongues and praising God.
And this sign is astonishing. It's astonishing to those that were with Peter, who had come along with him, and later on we find out that six other Jewish believers, or at least those that had been circumcised, presumably Jewish believers. Six brothers who had come along were astonished to see this occur. It confirmed that God had in fact accepted them.
Now, this doesn't eliminate the command for water baptism. It just signals to Peter, of course, we're gonna baptize these folks because God has already gone ahead and baptized them in the Holy Spirit. And so they, that's what they do. They, they are, they are all baptized. Now, news of this spreads and, and it starts some controversy.
We go to Acts 11, and I'm not gonna read verses four through 13 because it's really Peter just summarizing everything that we've just read. But I'm gonna pick out a, a few verses here that are really kind of significant for our consideration of this passage. So it says, regarding this controversy, it says, the apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.
So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, you went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them. And then jumping down to verse 15 says, Peter says, as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said, John baptized with water, but you'll be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
So if God gave them the same gift he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God's way? When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God saying so then even to Gentiles, God has granted repentance that leads to life. There's a bit of a controversy that Peter runs into after these events take place.
And the controversy is this, you Peter, went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them. Now there's a bit of, it seems, it seems as though there is some surprise about these gentiles ultimately being included in the household of faith. Although we know that Samaritans have already been preached the gospel, we know that the Ethiopian eunuch had already been preached the gospel and so we, and so it's difficult to discern exactly here where the surprise and astonishment lies.
It may rest really on this element of fellowship because that seems to be their primary concern. They say so then even to gen, oh, sorry. It says, you went into the house of uncircumcised men. Ate with them. That's their issues. You went into their house and you sat down and ate with these guys and essentially risked impurity or made your yourself impure by eating with them because presumably you're eating food that wasn't ritually pure.
Now Peter gives his account, he makes his defense of what happened and by the time we get to verse 15, he says the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Peter's recalling of the day of Pentecost and the Holy Spirit was poured out upon all the believers, and so he's saying, guys, listen up.
This was, this was like a Gentile Pentecost, and he recalls Jesus' words to them in Acts one, five, where Jesus said, for John baptized with water, but in a few days you'll be baptized with the Holy Spirit. He's saying this is what happened to them just as it happened to us. And of course, those six other brothers who were with him confirmed, confirmed what Peter saying, yeah, he's not making this up.
That's exactly what happened. And so based on that testimony, they conclude so then even to the Gentiles, God has granted repentance that leads to life. So if there was any question about the Gentiles being excluded altogether or maybe just that they had some sort of secondary citizen, second class status in, in God's household, that's completely eliminated here by the sign that God gives, by bringing together events to bring Peter and Cornelius together and pouring out the Holy Spirit upon this gentile household. Paul does say in Romans 3: 23, that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but he also says in Romans 3: 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Jesus is not just good news for the Jews. He's good news for the entire world.
Turning to him does not require compliance with the stipulations under the old covenant, circumcision and kosher eating. Jesus has established a new covenant, established by the sacrifice of himself, a covenant of grace that we enter into through faith in Jesus Christ simply by believing in him, trusting ourselves to him and entering into his covenant under which we are forgiven of our sins, and given a new life, does of course demand that we abandon our old allegiances.
And I think this is what the Jerusalem believers had in mind when they say a repentance that leads to life. We can't save ourselves by our good works, but we also can't stick with our sinful ways if we are entering the way of Jesus. Setting aside the purity laws, the gentile world at that time still had plenty of sin to repent of. And the same is true for us.
The gospel invitation is open to every tribe, nation. The gospel will not leave us unchanged. There's much to change. There are various sins that flourish in American culture and European culture, and Asian culture and African culture and South American culture. In every other subculture you can imagine, Jesus welcomes all people to himself, but he pulls no punches when it comes to rooting out sin.
He's ready to preserve all that is good in our cultures, elevating our beautiful differences. But washing away, scrubbing away, all that is evil and corrupting, we have here in Peter's testimony, the confirmation of Christ's words to Nicodemus that indicate God's favor towards all. When he says in John three 16 through 17, for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish by having eternal life.
For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Let that be our belief. Let that be our conviction towards all people, and let this be the message ever on our lips. Let's pray.
Father, we thank you that, thank you, that you don't play favorites, that you don't choose one race over another, one culture over another, one people over another, father, but that your intent all along was that the whole world would be brought to yourself through Jesus Christ. Father, we thank you that in Him we're truly purified, that we are made clean.
That this is made available to all of us who would simply come to him, putting our faith in him. Father, we know that if we put our faith in him, we will be forgiven of our sins and accepted by you rejoicing and joining Fellowship with you and Fellowship with each other.
Father, make this gospel message paramount in our minds as that message that the world truly needs. Nothing else can unite us in the way that the gospel can unite us, Father, to you or to each other. And so father make us faithful preachers of it and live out the values of the gospel in our interactions with others.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
As we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, we are reminded of the truth our salvation through His sacrifice.
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Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we join our voices in song in a special service led by Deacon Dennis Prior. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Transcription:
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him.
So Peter and the other disciples started for the tomb. John 20:1-2.
Before Jesus was crucified, while his life still hung in the balance before Pontius Pilate, he told the Roman governor something interesting in his interrogation. He told Pontius, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me and to this, the governor replied, dismissively, what is truth?
We live in a world that tends to take the same posture as Pontius Pilate when it comes to the truth, we live in a world in which the truth is what we make it. The truth is whatever fits my narrative, brings me comfort, gives me hope. The truth is whatever works for me, it is my truth. If we think about religion that way, if we think about Christianity that way, it commends the assessment offered by the father of communism, Karl Marx, who offered this commentary on religion. He says, religious suffering is, at one in the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions.
It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them, to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them, to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is therefore an embryo, the criticism of that veil of tears of which religion is the halo. Now, if you weren't tracking with what Marx was saying there, what he's saying is, is that religion is just a drug. It makes us feel good in the face of the pain of this world, and if our religion entails any suffering, then we're just taking that up as an act of protest.
Again, just as a feisty sort of feel good measure. It's just some truth we've made up. Karl says we'd do better to drop the religious illusions and try to create real happiness on Earth, but if we were to take Marx at his word, we might imagine that religion would've been dropped off long ago if we could so easily obtain real happiness with just some focused effort.
The news cycle brings no hope of a coming Marxist utopia or any sort other sort of utopia. We continue to suffer. We continue to come up short again and again. Marx was a naive fool in thinking we can drum up some solution by the dent of our efforts. At the same time, though, I can sympathize with Marx if religion is all just some concoction to help us grin and bear our lot in life.
Why bother with the illusion? And this is what brings us to the matter at hand. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead. It either happened or it is a mere illusion. If Jesus was not raised from the dead, the Apostle Paul joins the opinion of Marx in 1 Corinthians 15:32 saying, if the dead are not raised, let's eat and drink for tomorrow we die. But if Jesus is raised from the dead, what then? We're going to examine this morning, this reality. Contemplating it based on the record of the Apostle John and his testimony of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. So we look at John 20, and we've already heard verses one and two read. It says that early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw the stone had been removed from the entrance.
She came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said they have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don't know where they have put him. It appears here in this situation that Mary Magdalene is functioning as a spokeswoman of sorts, because while we don't see the other women explicitly mentioned here, we do know that there were other women with her based on the testimony of the other gospels.
And we also have a little hint here because notice in verse two she says they have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don't know where they have put him. In any case, Mary's taking a, a leading role here and reporting this shocking discovery that the tomb is empty and they've gone to Peter and John, who's not named here explicitly. He refers to himself simply as the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. Now, in saying that he does, he's not, he's not suggesting that Jesus didn't love the other disciples. It's simply that John believes the most significant thing about his identity, simply that Jesus loved him. And if you really contemplate the depths of Christ's love for you, you would probably do the same. Mary goes to Peter and John because they, she supposes they'll know what to do. They can find out what has happened with Jesus' body. Now notice that Mary does not suppose that Jesus has been raised from the dead. She thinks someone's taken his body. She says, we don't know where they've, they've put him.
Peter and John don't suppose that Jesus has been from the dead either. They're concerned and so they take off to see the tomb for themselves. So in verses three and four it says, so Peter and the other disciples started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there, but did not go in.
Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus' head. The cloth was still lying in its place separate from the linen. Finally, the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went inside.
He saw and believed. They still did not understand from scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to where they were staying. Now we just get a sense of just the utter authenticity of this record based on the details that are given to us here by John. He could have just simply said that they both ran to the tomb, but he includes the detail that he beat Peter there.
It was a foot race. It was like, I'm faster than him. It has been supposed that maybe John was a little bit younger than Peter. Any case he's a little faster, and so he beat him there and he looked in the tomb, but he doesn't go in. We don't know why. Maybe it was just too much for him to take in and he didn't want to go in by himself.
Maybe he wanted to allow Peter to go in first. Any case. He's waiting. Peter finally shows up and Peter just goes straight in. In keeping with his personality, he just dives right in and what he discovers is that the strips of linen that had been wrapped around Jesus' dead body, the cloth that would've covered his face are now empty, and they're simply lying there on the tomb.
In other translations, this is the NIV translation, in other translations, in fact says that the head covering was in fact folded or rolled. So they're looking into the tomb and you can imagine what it would've looked like for Jesus' body to be wrapped. We have a depiction here of Lazarus. It's kind of like a mummy.
A lot of you kids have maybe seen some books or television, some mummies. That's what Jesus' body would've looked like when he was buried, wrapped up in cloth. But as they go into the tomb, again, they just find the cloth that had been covering him, wrapped, they, they're just laying there on, on the tomb right in place.
Now, this is an interesting detail to include. John mentions it because he believes it's significant. And when you think about it, it truly is significant because if someone had stolen his body, why would they have gone through the trouble of removing the wrappings? Certainly the Romans wouldn't have gone through the trouble of of doing that.
And if it was anyone that was Jewish that had done that, they would've not wanted to have done that because the touch of dead body, it's contaminating, not in a medical sort of sense, but in a, like a ritually, unclean sort of sort of sense. It's, it's told in the Old Testament how they shouldn't touch dead bodies.
Yet here we find that Jesus' body wrappings are left behind. Who would've gone through the trouble of doing that? And in fact, it's been suggested that maybe even the face covering itself had been underneath all the other wrappings, and it's difficult because we just don't have enough detail here to know if maybe the wrappings themselves were just simply left in place.
We don't know how Jesus came out of the wrappings, whether his body was just transported out or if he was raised up and then unwrapped like that, and then it was put on the slab on which he was lying. But in any case, the point is, is that this is truly unusual, and it's not in keeping with what someone would do if they just decided they wanted to steal the body.
They would've just grabbed it, grabbed his body, and ran. Now John finally decides to go in and when he sees this, when he sees these strips of linen laying in place where Jesus' body has been, it says that he saw and believed. Now, some commentators have suggested that, well, maybe when he, when it says that he believed he, it meant that he simply believed the report of Mary, that bodies, Jesus' body had been removed from the tomb.
But that's self-evident. It's self-evident that obviously his body's not there. It seems rather that he actually believed that Christ was raised from the dead. And yet his reasons for that are not based on what Jesus has told them or what the scriptures have said because it says right in the next verse that of both he and Peter, they still did not understand from scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.
And so it was more of like an intuition thing. It seems as though that, that John said, just said, I think he's alive. It wasn't based on what the scriptures told him he should have expected. It was just based on what he was seeing there. And in Luke 24: 12 it, it says that Peter, as he went away, it said that he was wondering to himself what had happened.
So maybe Peter himself was even rolling around in his mind, this idea that Jesus was raised from the dead, even if he didn't express that belief. Now as we go to the Old Testament, when we're talking about the scriptures in the time of the apostles, that's what they're referring to. The New Testament hasn't been written yet.
They're talking about the Old Testament. We find prophecy given, which should lead them to expect that the Messiah would die and be raised from the dead. We look at Isaiah 53, and this is one of the most significant prophecies in all of the Old Testament because it sounds like it's straight out of the New Testament.
It sounds as though it was written at the time of Christ as right at the moment in which he is being nailed to the cross and yet is written something like 700 years prior. The prophet Isaiah writes this in Isaiah 53 verses nine through 11. He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich and his death.
He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer. And though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand after he suffered. He will see the light of life and and be satisfied by his knowledge.
My righteous servant will justify many and he will bear their iniquities. So notice. Yes, it says that this suffering servant, the one who would be the Messiah, Jesus, he will bear the sins of mankind. He would be our substitute. He would share a grave with the wicked, with the rich in his death, which seems to be pointing to the fact that he was laid in the tomb of that belonged to Joseph of Arimathea.
A rich, a rich man. All of that applies. He is this offering for sin, and yet he's gonna live. He's going to die. And yet it says he will see his offspring and prolong his days. And the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. He will see the light of life and be satisfied. How can that be possible? How can he go to the grave and that be said to be true unless he needs to be raised from the dead?
Scriptures should have been pointing John and Peter to this reality, but it was not coming to their minds at that moment. All they had was, all that was coming to mind to them was just a scene that was before them, and it was enough it seems for John to believe that he had been raised from the dead.
Now we could move on to how Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, the other women, and, and that's just an important note, the fact that the women were the first ones to see Jesus, because in ancient societies at that time, women wouldn't have been considered reliable first reporters. The disciples don't care in making their record, they said, this is what happened.
The women were the first ones to see him. We could look at their testimonies, we could also look at how he eventually went to the disciples and ate and talked with them. And this testimony, all of it would point toward the reality of Jesus' resurrection. But I wanna take you to the skeptical disciple. The disciple who thought the rest of them were high on opium, the disciple Thomas.
So we jump down to verse 24. It says, now Thomas, also known as Didymus, one of the 12, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, we have seen the Lord. But he said to them, unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were and put my hands into his side, I will not believe so.
Thomas was not there, but he did hear their testimony and think about this. He knew the other disciples personally, we don't know them personally, we're believing in their testimony. Thomas knew them personally. They're saying, no, really, Thomas. We saw Jesus alive. He talked with us. He ate with us. Thomas is insistent, says, I'm not gonna believe, I saw him die. Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were and put my hands into his side, I will not believe. A pretty notable contrast here between John and Thomas. John, who just saw the, the cloth laying on the tomb and, and believed and Thomas who was like, I've gotta touch him. I've gotta put my hands right where he was wounded to believe.
Well, as it would turn out, the opportunity would arrive for him to believe based on that revelation. Continuing on in verse 26, there's a week later. You have a whole week going on here where the rest of the disciples believe, Thomas is like, Nope, I don't believe unless I see him. It says a week later, his disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them.
Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, peace be with you. Then he said to Thomas, put your finger here. See my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe. Thomas said to him, my Lord, my God. And Jesus told them, because you have seen me, you have believed.
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. The disciples were all together in the house. The doors were locked, and yet Jesus enters into their midst. This is just another signal to us that the resurrection body of Christ is a transformed body. I showed you that depiction of Lazarus, Jesus' resurrection is different than when Lazarus is raised from the dead 'cause Lazarus is raised from the dead and he died again. Jesus was raised with a transformed body that obviously could do different things like enter into a, a locked room. But as we see here was also actually material. So that he could be touched. And so that's something to keep in mind. When we look forward to our own resurrection, we are going to receive the same sort of resurrection bodies, the same sort of body that Jesus himself received on his resurrection.
So Jesus says, essentially, after it's saying, peace be with you. 'cause you can imagine it might be a little startling for Jesus to show up like that. He invites Thomas, does You want to know if I'm alive? Go ahead. Put your fingers in my hands. Put your hands on my side.
And in doing so, at least we might suppose or maybe just from seeing him, but as we might suppose, he actually went ahead and did that. Thomas concludes my Lord and my God. He believed. Now the thing that's interesting about, again, how this all transpired is you gotta imagine this was kind of embarrassing for Thomas to say, yeah, that's what happened to me.
I didn't believe, I was stubborn about it and it took Jesus showing up like that for me to believe is again pointing to the authenticity of these gospel accounts. If the disciples were concocting all this up, they could have written the story much differently in a way that would've put them all in a much better light.
But instead, what we find is that they are very human. They're very much like you and me. And Jesus anticipates that, yes, it will be difficult for many of us to believe without having this opportunity that Thomas had, but he calls us blessed, he says. Because you have seen me, Thomas, you have believed.
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. So Jesus calls all us blessed who have believed without having that opportunity. And part of the reason why we have come to believe no doubt is because of our personal experience, our personal encounter with the presence of Christ and how he has worked upon our own hearts.
We also believe on the basis of the testimony of the apostles, not just what they have said, but how they lived their lives thereafter. We think about Thomas, so many of the disciples suffered and died from the faith tradition says that Thomas went to the East, he traveled as far as India tradition says, bringing the gospel. A guy who said, I'm not gonna believe unless I touch him and see him. A guy like that doesn't change his tune unless he actually sees and believes. You don't just do that for kicks. And the disciples are utterly clear about the nature of their testimony. They don't claim that they just had this experience, a visionary experience of seeing Jesus.
They don't just go back and try to say, well, Jesus' death was really significant and he's spiritually alive in heaven. No, they insist upon the res, his resurrection from the dead. John, in his letter first John, verses one one through three says this. It says that which was from the beginning, which we have heard.
Which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched. This we proclaim concerning the word of life. The life appeared. We have seen it and testified to it, and we proclaimed to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We've proclaimed to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us, and our fellowship was with the father and with his son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus really lived. Jesus, really dying, and Jesus really rose from the dead.
And John brings his gospel to his conclusion. In John 20, verses 30 through 31, he says, Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of disciples, which are not recorded in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. It is possible for us to have life in Jesus' name by believing in him only because he lives. Because Jesus lives we can believe as he said, that he is in fact ransom for our sins. In Mark 10: 45, he says, the son of man, for even the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. We can believe what he says in Luke 24, that after, after he would suffer and die and be raised from the dead, that repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached in his name to all nations.
Beginning at Jerusalem, we see that happen. And we can believe that because he lives, we can in fact be forgiven for our sins. Because Jesus lives, we can believe that we too can live again, that death does not have the final say. In John 11, Jesus says, I'm the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even though they die, and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Great claim Jesus. You can imagine at the time, sounds great, Jesus. But how can I know that's gonna actually happen? How can I know that's gonna be true for me? We can know it's gonna be true for us because it was true for him, because though he was crucified, he was professionally killed.
Three days later he rose from the dead. And because Jesus lives we know that we can become a new creation in him. We can become new people. We can be born again and bear good fruit. We can live our, leave our old lives behind us. The past does not define our future because we have a new future in Jesus Christ.
He tells us in John 15, I'm the vine. You are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. That holds true if he is alive. If he's dead, we have no promise of anything coming alive in us. But because he lives, because we know he lives, we know that people can change, not because there's some shred of goodness in them, but because of the power of Christ, who indwells those who put their faith in him. And so we have an invitation now to join Thomas in making this confession, my Lord and my God. The apostle Paul says in Romans 10:9, if you declare with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you'll be saved.
It's as simple as that. We abandon our allegiance to sin, our allegiance to the demonic rebellion against the reign of God over his creation, and we make our confession God, I need a savior. I need Jesus. And I believe that his death is a sufficient ransom for my salvation, that because he lives I know that he's accepted by you, and I know that I too will live again.
All this is ours, forgiveness and eternal life, if we confess that Jesus is Lord and believe in him for salvation. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the pivotal truth upon which real hope for humanity rests. Apart from Jesus we are left with our self-help spirituality in utopian schemes. The resurrection of Jesus is something solid.
It's real. It's not mere opium. And when you comprehend this truth and what it means, you'll make your confession of faith and not look back. So to those who have yet to believe, I urge you, believe, and to those who do believe, be encouraged by our strong foundation of hope. Don't look back, don't look elsewhere.
Look forward to the new creation Jesus will bring at his return. Look forward to your resurrection, as you remember, and celebrate Christ's resurrection. Let's pray.
Father,
thank you.
Thank you for not abandoning us.
Thank you for not leaving us in the rottenness of our own evil and rebellion against you. Thank you, father, that in Jesus Christ, we have a confident hope of salvation. Jesus is not any mere theory, but he is a concrete reality because you sent your son to take on human flesh to live the life all of us were supposed to live. To die the death that we all deserved, and you raised him from the dead so that we may share in his resurrection life. Thank you, father, that this has really happened.
Thank you, father, that there is more to come when Christ returns and the dead will be raised and we will live forever with you. We give you praise in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Acts 9:1-31, God brings an unlikely character into His plan to spread the gospel to the world.
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Transcript:
As Saul neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Who are you, Lord? Saul asked. I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, he replied. Now, get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.
Who is the last person you would expect to become a Christian? Think about it. And don't only think about well-known people, think about the people in your life. Who is the last person you would expect to become a Christian? Who is the last person you would expect to have a change of heart?
You've got that person in your mind. Now you're thinking about them and you're thinking, yeah, that's not happening. Deep down, maybe you think it's impossible. And if you and I had a conversation about the person, maybe you wouldn't admit that, but you'd think it all the same. And if I could read your mind this morning, I'd ask you why do you think that?
Why do you think it's impossible? You'd probably say this or that about the person as to why it wouldn't happen. And that's our way. We focus on the problems. We focus on the person. We don't focus on the solution. You might say this or that about the person and to you, I would say, but what about God? Is everything you are bringing up really too much for God to overcome?
Now, that could take us down some interesting avenues. Maybe you have a small understanding of God, or maybe you believe in God's power in theory, but not in practice. You understand the truth, but lack the faith. Maybe you're confused because while you believe God is all powerful, he does seem to allow many people to persist in their hardness and rebellion.
Their hearts remain cold. We can admit some mystery here. I must certainly admit it. I can't, I can't explain, I can't explain all these things, but in the face of mystery, there are some certain facts that stand firm, as Jesus says in Matthew 11:27, no one knows the father unless the son chooses to reveal him to that person.
We would never turn to God without his grace working on us before we took the slightest step toward him. And when God calls a man, woman, or child to himself, there is no power on earth that can stop God from claiming us as his own. This is what we see clearly in Acts chapter nine, all natural explanation of Christian conversion ends here.
You could say for someone like myself given my upbringing in the church, it's no surprise I'm a Christian. That's only because you can't see the cliff I've walked. In truth, it's a miracle I'm here. The conversion of Saul of Tarsus is as clear miracle as any, so turning to Acts nine. Starting in verse one, Luke tells us.
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus so that if he found any there who belonged to the way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. At this point, we recall what Luke has already told us about Saul.
We know Saul was at the scene of Stephen's murder after Stephen, made the Sanhedrin fit with rage. They dragged Steven out and stoned him, and Saul volunteered to watch their their coats, make sure no one takes them while they're busy stoning the guy. We also heard in Acts eight of how Paul went from being an approving bystander to actually taking charge and persecuting the believers, going from house to house, arresting men and women, and Paul, Saul, when he later becomes known as Paul says, of his own life that he was a violent man, a persecutor of the church. And what we see here in the beginning of chapter nine is that Paul, Saul was no actor. In fact, he was operating with the full approval of the religious leaders. He went to the high priest and said, I want letters giving me authority to go elsewhere and arrest Christians as I find them.
And it says, it's interesting though, he doesn't use the word Christians, and I'll use the word Christians as I'm preaching, you know, as I'm preaching through these prior passages because it's just great shorthand. You all know who a, what a Christian is. But at this point they weren't known as Christians.
They were just known as those who belonged to the way, followers of the way, it's kind of a nice way of, of, of putting it i, I think. It recalls what was prophesied and what Jesus fulfilled in Isaiah 43 says, A voice of one calling in the wilderness. Prepare the way for the Lord. Make straight in the desert, a highway for our God.
Of course, John the Baptist announced the coming of Jesus, and Jesus is is that way. Jesus says of himself in John 14:6, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
So Saul has gone to the high priest to get these letters so that he might arrest those who belong to the way, whether, again, whether they're men or women, Saul's brutal and wants to arrest them and drag them back to Jerusalem for trial.
Now again, this is, this is something that was not unanticipated. Jesus foretold in John 16:2. He said, they will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they're offering a service to God.
Even I have to imagine, you know, it's, it's terrible to have to face persecution, but that's the cruelest twist about this, is that those that are persecuting the Christians think they're doing something in service to God. That's certainly Saul's thinking. He thinks I'm a stalwart defender of the Jewish faith by pursuing these Christians.
And in fact, we see this today, even now across the world. We see, especially in the case of Islamic extremism and what Christians suffer at the hands of those who believe that they're doing a service to God by by killing them. This is, this has followed the history of the church way back. And so Paul gets those letters and he begins making his way to Damascus.
But things do not go as Saul planned, as was read in verse three through six. Says, as he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Who are you, Lord? Saul asked. I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, he replied. Now get up and go into the city, and you'll be told what you must do. Now, there's something interesting about the way in which Saul is confronted. His name is used twice. Saul, Saul. And here we have a pattern that follows that which we find in the Old Testament, in Exodus 3:4, when the Lord spoke to Moses out of the burning bush. He confronts him by saying, Moses, Moses. When the Lord calls the boy Samuel, who would be his prophet, he says, Samuel, Samuel. And so here, Paul, Saul, who would be Paul the Apostle following kind of that type of being a prophet of God. He is confronted by having, hearing his name twice, Saul, Saul. Maybe it strikes a ring of familiar familiarity in his ear since he knows his scriptures well. He knows how God encounters people.
And this voice asks him, why are you persecuting me? Now Paul's like, who are you? What? What is this? He's been confronted on the road. There's been this great flash of light. He's fallen to the ground. He's having difficulty comprehending the situation here, and the reply he receives in verse five is this, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.
Now let's just contemplate the significance of what Jesus is saying here. Saul never put a hand on the physical body of Jesus. We have no record of that. He's just been persecuting these, those people that belong to the way. What Jesus is revealing here to Saul, as he would later expound upon once he was an apostle, is that we who believe in Jesus Christ are members of the body of Christ, and so when someone's persecuting us, they are in fact persecuting Jesus.
That is the nature of our union with Christ, it is very, very real.
Now this must have been quite a surprise to Saul. You can imagine this is the last person that he expected to confront him. Obviously, he wouldn't have been persecuting the Christians if he had believed that Jesus was actually raised from the dead, and yet here Jesus is confronting him. And Jesus gives him a command.
He says, now get up and go into the city, and you'll be told what you must do. And that's what Saul does. This man who is ready to persecute believers at every turn, he has no argument here. He goes.
So continuing on in verse seven, it says, the men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound, but not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes, he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind and did not eat or drink anything.
In Damascus, there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called him in a vision, Ananias! Yes, Lord, he answered.
Now it's interesting, again, to just reflect on the nature of this encounter that Saul had with Jesus. It was an experience of a great light appearing, and what's interesting is it says that Saul's companions also saw this light, and while they could hear the sound, they couldn't understand the voice. In Acts 22 Paul will go on to say that only he was able to understand the voice, but all of them, they fall down when they, when they hear this, when they, when they encounter this light, when they hear this sound. But the only one among them that was left blind from the, the encounter was Saul. When he got up from the ground, he couldn't see anymore.
And this was truly the fact. But we can also see a great metaphor here. God's revealing to Saul the darkness in which he has been walking and how he must receive his vision from Christ. If he's going to see again, he must receive new light from Christ. And so it says that for three days he did not eat or drink, and it seems that perhaps this was a form of a fast. It's all his reckoning with everything that he's done. His spirit is entering into a posture of repentance. Meanwhile, the Lord has called upon another person, a disciple named Ananias, and he comes to him in a vision. Now we don't know If Ananais was awake and he got this vision, it may seem to be the case because if he was asleep and he got it, maybe the scriptures would describe it as a dream. But in any case, the Lord comes to Ananias in a, in a vision.
And so continuing on in verse 11, we see what the Lord has to say to him. It says the Lord told him, he told Ananias. Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he's praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight. Lord, Ananias answered, I've heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem, and he has come here with authority from the chief priest to arrest all who call on your name. But the Lord said to Ananias, go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.
I'll show him how much he must suffer for my name. So the Lord tells Ananias to go to a house belonging to a fellow named Judas. Not the same Judas that betrayed Jesus, he was dead at this point. This is a different Judas. It was a popular name at that time. And he lived on straight street in Damascus. The Lord tells him you had to go there to restore the sight of this man named Saul.
And this man, Saul, has in fact had a vision of you coming to do this, Ananias. Now as Ananias is hearing, he is like, wait, I'm, I'm familiar with this guy. This is the guy we were talking about last Sunday, that kind of thing. This is the guy we were all saying, I hope he does not come here. We've heard about everything that he's doing and oh no, he has come here.
He means to arrest us. He means to kill us. Surely he's thinking, you don't mean I have to go to that guy, right God?
But here the Lord says to him quite firmly, go. Go to him because he's my chosen instrument to proclaim the name of Christ to the Gentiles and to the people of Israel. And here and seeing Ananias receive this command of the Lord to go to this man Saul, who's been such an enemy to the Christians, we see here the teaching of Christ come to life.
That teaching he gives in Matthew 5: 44 where he says, but I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Ananias is being told to go and pray for this man, to lay his hands upon him so that he may restore his sight. This man might get back his sight, even though he's taken away so much from so many other people.
We see here the gospel coming to life, that mercy come to life as Ananias is prepared to go in obedience to do as the Lord has commanded. But we do see here that Saul is going to have to suffer, and we can see here a little bit of a trade off from his past. He has caused me to suffer, he's a man that's gonna suffer a whole lot in his life, but we also understand that this is what every disciple of Jesus can anticipate.
Jesus says in John 15: 20, remember what I told you, A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they'll persecute you. Also, if they obeyed my teaching, they'll obey yours also.
So in the greatest of Ironies, this man who once persecuted the Christians is going to receive this call from the Lord and he's going to suffer greatly for the name of Christ. And so Ananias obeys the Lord's command. In verse 17, he continues saying, Ananias went to the house and entered it, placing his hands on Saul.
He said, brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. I love Luke's kind of simple account here of what Ananias said when he came to Saul. You can imagine, what do you say to this guy who's done so much harm to your fellow believers? Notice he calls him, right outta the gate, brother Saul, we see Ananias's faith up front.
He had no doubt about the transformation that God was about to bring about in Saul's heart. He calls him Brother Saul, and he simply says, I've been sent here to make you you see again. And again, there's such a deeper meaning to that than just simply the him restoring his sight. It's quite important that Paul might see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit. So if you're keeping a record here, as we're going through Acts, the Spirit and the Church, the work of the Spirit is essential. The gift of the Spirit is this great endowment from God so that we might do what he has called us to do, and Saul's gonna need the Holy Spirit to walk the path that God has called him to do.
Later on, we, in Paul's life, we see him say, you know, thinking about this idea of regaining sight. Speaking about all of our experience in 2 Corinthians 4:6, he says, for the, for God, who said, let light shine, shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ.
When he writes that, he's not speaking from secondhand, oh, I've heard this is what, what it's like. He's drawing from this experience that he's had. He knows that I've been there. I've been in the darkness. I've wandered around thinking I was doing the right thing only to realize how wrong I was, and it's only because God shone his light in my heart, giving us the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ that I am who I am today. Luke says that something like scales from Saul's eyes fell, and so there must have been some sort of actual physical affliction here associated with this loss of sight. It's interesting to think about what came together providentially by God, so that that occurred.
Supernaturally, in any case, whatever was obstructing Paul's sight falls away at this point, as Ananias lays hands upon him and he gets up and he's takes food and he's baptized.
And when he is baptized, he understands exactly what he's doing. In Acts 22, Paul gives an account of other things that Ananias said to him when he came to him. In Acts 22:16, Ananias tells him, get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name. Saul understood that by being baptized in Jesus Christ, he was getting a new start.
He was receiving a new life. And later on in his letters, we, we see how he contemplates this new reality, which is ours in Christ, which again, he's surely drawing from his own experience in this Romans six, verses three through four, he says, or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
We were therefore buried with him through baptism and into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the father, we too may live a new life.
This was the purpose for which Saul was baptized. He was baptized in Jesus Christ so that he too may live a new life. And as he says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, he says, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone. The new is here. Such good news because as Paul sees the truth here of how terrible he's been, of how he has wronged the people of God so deeply, you could imagine as that dawns upon him how he could be crushed under guilt, saying, I have no place here.
I don't belong here. I, I'm, I'm useless. How could God possibly use me? But he understands the full scope of the truth. He understands that, yes, while I have been guilty, while I have been doing these terrible things, while I have in fact been persecuting Christ himself, I might as well have been there nailing the, nailing him to the cross.
Saul recognizes that while that's true, it's also true that Christ died for a sinner like me. He died so that I might live a new life, be forgiven my sins so that I might leave the old behind and welcome in the new life, which is available in Christ. And so he walks joyfully into that new life in Christ and he begins walking by the spirit.
We see him deployed right into action in verse 20. Says at once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?
Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. The astonishment of the people is completely understandable. We have a complete 180 here. Saul had come to destroy the believers, and now he is the greatest apologist, the greatest defender of the faith.
He's going right into the synagogues proving that which he was formally trying to eviscerate, he's proving that Jesus is in fact the Messiah. He did fulfill the prophecies which were given that he is the savior of the world.
Now, once again, this was nothing of Paul's doing. In Galatians one, verses 15 through 18, he reflects on his path in life and how he came to be where he is. He writes, but when God who set me apart from my mother's womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being.
I did not go to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went to into Arabia. Later, I returned to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him 15 days. The thing that's interesting about what he says here is that God set him apart from his mother's womb and called him by God's grace.
All along, God was intending to take this man who is persecuting the church and to claim him as his own to reveal the glory of his power in taking such a man and making him his apostle.
And we also see some other interesting things here. It says that he went into Arabia and it's been speculated that in this time that he must have had some discourse with, with the Lord, and being able to comprehend the totality of the gospel message because later on when he shows up in Jerusalem and he explains his understanding of the gospel the apostle's are like, yeah, you got it. You know this inside and out. Now it says he went into Arabia. And that gets our imagination stirring like, oh, he went into Arabia. Well, something we should understand is when we're talking about Arabia, we're not talking about the lower part of the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula.
As we know where Saudi Arabia is. More likely when we're talking about Arabia, we're talking about this area. You'll see it here in the lower corner. It says Arabia Petraea. And if you were to look it up on a map today, you might be able to find the location, Petra, which is the location depicted in this picture here.
It was the region of the Kingdom of Nabatea And so he didn't have to go too, too far, but he went outside the boundaries of Israel, Syria. He went outside the boundaries of, in fact, the Roman Empire. He kind of got away for some time. And then it's interesting because Luke doesn't comment on this, on this period.
He just kind of gives us an abridged account here.
It says that, Luke goes on to tell us about how he goes to, how he's in Damascus and he ends up in Jerusalem, and that's what we pick up on here in verse 23. We see this great ironic twist where Saul the hunter becomes the hunted. It says, after many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, but Saul learned of their plan.
Day and night, they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him, but his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall. When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing he really was a disciple.
So Paul got on the bad side of some people. And Luke tells us that there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him. It's interesting to bring that together with what Saul says of his time in Damascus in second Corinthians 11:32 through 33, because he says there, in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to rest me, but I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.
So the thing that's kind of interesting to bring those together is Luke says that it was the Jews conspiring to kill Saul. Paul says later that King Aretas, who was the king of Nabatea, gave the governor of Damascus an order to get him. We can probably understand that there must have been some political manipulation here to get the powers of state to also kind of join in in trying to get him. To not allow him to leave the city of Damascus.
But he escapes in the most kind of peculiar of ways, he escapes over the wall in a basket. And this wouldn't have been any small basket obviously. It could have turned into a blooper video. You know, it is like, oh, you know, it was a big basket, very strong basket. And it was sufficient to get him out of the city of Damascus.
And he goes to Jerusalem and he tries to join the disciples there. But they're very familiar with Saul. You know, he had shown up in Damascus and people had heard about his reputation. But they had seen his transformation immediately. They never really got to know Saul, the persecutor. Well, the disciples in Jerusalem know this man.
He's the guy that's taken their brothers and sisters, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, imprisoned them, killed them, and now he's back and he's claiming that he's a believer. And it's difficult to blame them for being a tad skeptical. They know how twisted this guy and maybe he would go to such lengths as to pretend to believe, to be a believer in order to really find them out and really get them.
Now we don't know where things would've ended up, whether they would've ever trusted him, if not for the fact that there is a disciple, there is a believer who intercedes for him. Verse 27, it says, but Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.
So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. So Barnabas, who we've heard about before, it's a nickname, means son of encouragement, Barnabas intervenes on Saul's behalf saying, no, this is real. He actually has been transformed. He actually has been baptized in Jesus Christ, and it's enough to persuade the apostles, and so he stays with them.
He's speaking boldly, and as he's speaking boldly, as he's preaching, more trouble is created. Verse 29 says, he talks and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.
So it says that he talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews here and we wonder, you know, we, when we talked about Stephen, it was noted that there was a synagogue of freedmen and the synagogue was made up of Jews from areas around the Mediterranean. You kind of wonder whether he may have been debating with the very same people who conspired to kill Stephen.
And so no surprise, when the debate's not going their way, rather than saying like, okay, we lose, or like, I'm just done talking with that guy. It's is like, we're gonna kill him. We don't like that. He's making us look foolish. And since they actually tried, it wasn't just an idea. They tried to kill him. You know, we don't know exactly what, what they tried to do, but they tried to kill him.
They were not successful. And when the believers learned of this, they decide, okay. Best to kind of get you out of dodge, which is interesting. It's, again, there's a note. Christians have to be willing to be ready to suffer, but we also don't need to be foolish. It's okay to make tactical, tactical moves and relocate at times.
And it says that they moved him back to Tarsus, which was his hometown. You can see a little map here. It went down to, went up to Caesarea. And it ended up back up Tarsus. That's kind of like the southern part of Turkey, and Luke records that after this time, you know, we've just gone through a great period of tumult starting off when Stephen was killed, and then Saul persecuting the believers.
The believers are scattered all through the area, but now it says that Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. There was some relief from everything that they were suffering, and it says that they increased in numbers during this time. And kind of the keys of their, their growth here are, are given.
It says they were living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit. And when it says they're living in the fear of the Lord, that doesn't mean they're like, like, like scared, like that. It means that they feared God more than man. They were committing to being obedient to Jesus Christ no matter what, and encouraged by the Holy Spirit. They were going about just doing the things that church is supposed to be doing, worshiping God, building up the body, showing love to others, preaching the gospel. That's, that's what it looks like, the church, for the church to thrive as we live in fear of the Lord, not in, not in fear of man, what other people might think, living, I'm gonna follow Jesus and what he tells us to do. And walking by the power of the Holy Spirit, that's when the church truly flourishes.
So now, among this increasing number of believers is included the most unlikely convert of all. Saul. Saul, who tended the coats of those stoning Stephen, Saul, who hunted down men and women, imprisoned them, killed them for following Jesus, Saul, whose very breath was threats.
None of the believers turned Saul to Jesus. It was Jesus himself, Jesus, who confronted him on the road to Damascus and turned his life upside down. And yes, from there, Ananias was sent Saul's way and Saul was eventually surrounded by all the believers. No man saved Saul except the God man. The man, the son of God, the Son of man, Jesus Christ.
And it was only by the spirit that this former persecutor of Christ was requisitioned to preach Christ to the nations. We see here the power of God is the same power that saved me and you. Same power that can redeem any person from Satan's grasp. And so my appeal to you is this. Believe in the power of God.
Don't write anyone off. Not because there is something redeemable in them. There is not. The world says, oh, there's some kernel of good in everybody. There is not. We all like sheep have gone astray. There's no one who is righteous. No, not one. But Jesus is the shepherd who leaves the 99 to go after the one.
The one who seems as good as gone. Believe in the power of God, pray, believing that God can do what seems impossible and when God leads, follow the example of Ananias and step into the miraculous work that God is about to perform. Let us pray.
Father, we, we thank you for this awesome testimony of your grace.
It gives us both encouragement and hope, father. It encourages us, father, because we see that even as you have shown such great grace to a man like Saul who did so many wicked things, you have shown us that same grace. You have taken us out of the darkness and into the light and given us a new life, and we thank you for that Father.
We, we find great hope in this passage, father, because in it we are reminded of your power that no one is beyond the grasp of your grace. And so Father, we lift up those that came to mind today. Every person that came to mind, to all of you who contemplate those people, that just seem impossible. Father, we lift these people before you.
And we ask that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you would reach them with your grace, that you would turn their hearts to Christ and that insofar as you would use us, father, that when we hear you say go, we would be obedient and go, father, because we trust not in our strength or in the strength of any human being, but in your power to change the hearts of those who seem the furthest away from you. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Acts 8:26-40, Philip is led by the spirit to meet with a eunuch seeking God. Through their interaction, Philip shares the gospel and adds another person that previously would have been excluded from God’s people.
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Transcript:
Today's scripture reading is from Acts eight, verses 26 to 28. Now, an angel of the Lord said to Philip, go south to the road, the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. So he started out, and on his way, he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake, which means Queen of the Ethiopians.
This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship and was on his way, was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet.
I want you to imagine. Imagine you are a member of the early church. You as well as all the other believers know what Jesus told his disciples. The gospel needs to be shared in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. There are literally no other Christians in the world except in your little corner.
There are no cars or planes. No Google Translate. You don't even have the New Testament. How are you going to bring the gospel to the ends of the earth? Really, how are you going to do it?
Stepping back into our own shoes, we just struggle with how we're going to share the gospel with our neighbors, nevermind across the world. How in the world is it going to happen? As we'll see in today's passage, the Spirit makes a way. We look first at verses 26 through 28, and Luke tells us that an angel of the Lord came to Philip, and once again, this Philip that is being referred to here is the deacon Philip, rather than one of the apostles. An angel of the Lord goes to Philip and gives him instruction, says, go south to the road, the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. Now, something that's just kind of interesting, I think about this instruction, this command that was given to Philip is how it's kind of reminiscent to the open-endedness that of, of the command that was given to Abram when he was called to go to the promised land. When God told Abram, go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. He doesn't tell Philip exactly what, where he's going, what he's going to be doing.
He just says, walk south, get walking, and, and Philip obeys. Which I think is again a, a great example of faith, even if it's coming by a word of an angel, just to simply, okay, I don't know where I'm going, but I'm going because this is where the Lord has told me to go. And as it happens, as he is going south on the desert road, he does come across someone along the way.
He meets in Ethiopian eunuch. Now, you might be wondering, okay, who is this fellow? Where is he coming from? Well, he comes from the area of Ethiopia. Now the text is translated as Ethiopia, but we shouldn't identify the boundaries as strictly as the modern day country of Ethiopia. An alternative name for the Ethiopian nation at this time would've been Cush, and we can see kind of the heartland of it being right here. It's kind of right along the the Nile. They're very much neighbors for the nation of Egypt. This fellow was an important official who is in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake, which it says means Queen of the Ethiopians. If you've ever met anyone with the name, Candace, it's drawn from this word, Kandake. And something just to kind of understand about the Ethiopian society is that this queen would've been a very important person because the kings were determined matrilineally, that is through the mother's family.
And so she was, it seems probably the queen mother of whoever was king, and this man was in charge of her treasury, no doubt, a very important position. And because of the high position in which he served, he was someone that was made a eunuch, which if you don't understand, it means he was, he was castrated. He was not, he, his abilities to procreate were removed from him because it was a security concern. They didn't want any false heirs to the throne being introduced into the, the royalty. And so if you're gonna serve in that position, it came at quite a great cost and that was a cost that he bore. So you have this official who's traveling on the road and he's going back home.
He's been to Jerusalem to worship, so apparently he's not a Jew, but he is a man who's been interested in learning more about the God of Israel. And so he is a God seeker, and as Philip comes upon him riding in his chariot, which would've been kind of the limo of their day. Again, indicating his importance.
No one would wanna have to walk all the way back to Ethiopia. As Philip comes along, this man is reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. Now, continuing on in verse 29, we see the next set of instructions that Philip receives, this time says, not from an angel, but from the spirit. It says the spirit told Philip, go to that chariot and stay near it.
Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. Do you understand what you're reading? Philip asked. How can I, he said, unless someone explains it to me. So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. So again, Philip receives another instruction, another step. Not completely disclosed how this is gonna go down, he's been told, go south, go to this road. He's come along this chariot. Now the spirit tells him, go up alongside this chariot. Now again, this isn't an easy thing. This, the chariot is not standing still. It says Philip had to run up. He's like, Hey, how you doing? And he overhears, then when he is running alongside the chariot, he hears this man reading aloud from the prophet Isaiah. Now, at this point, Philip doesn't need any more instructions as to what he needs to do next. He sees his opportunity, he sees how God has aligned everything, and so he simply asks, do you understand what you are reading? And I think in doing this, Philip is kind of setting for us kind of a, a great example of what it looks like to step into the opportunities that God gives us. When we are following the guidance of the Holy Spirit, God will open up opportunities and we can do something as simple as just offering help to someone if someone seems to be seeking and trying to search and understanding the truth about God.
Oh, you seem curious about that. Have you ever thought about this or that? Could I help you? Oh, you're interested in the Bible. Would you wanna study, you know, the gospel with me? Or you know, would you like some prayer? Philip is put in the position where God has called him to be, and he simply steps in obedience, understanding exactly what he's supposed to do, just simply based on the command that God has given all of his disciples that they should spread the gospel.
Now the man very quickly welcomes his help. He, Philip had asked him, do you even understand what you're reading? And he says, how can I, unless someone explains it to me. It's interesting because his reply is very reminiscent to Paul's observation in his letter to the Romans in Romans 10: 14 explaining why it is necessary for us to go forward with the gospel.
He says, he says in Romans 10: 14, how then can they call on the one they have not believed in, and how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard, and how can they hear without someone preaching to them? Yes, it is important for us to be present, to be living lives that are Christian lives.
But we have to go a step beyond just merely being beside the chariot and being present and showing forth the virtues of Christ in our lives. We have to be ready to explain the hope that is within us. And so that's exactly what Philip is doing here. He's offering that explanation that is necessary in order for this man to be able to put his faith in Jesus Christ. And so he is invited up into the chariot, which I'm sure he's very relieved by. Imagine having to explain this while you're running, okay, so you see, Isaiah is meaning this. So much easier to explain once you're sitting in the chariot. Now as it turns out, the eunuch is reading one of the most profound Messianic prophecies from the book of Isaiah.
Continuing on in verse 32, it says, this is the passage of scripture the eunuch was reading. He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.
The eunuch asked Philip, tell me please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else? Then Philip began with that very passage of scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. And once again, just appreciate God's providence, God's guiding hand, in bringing all this together. He just told Philip, Head down the road, and as it happens, he meets this man on the road who's reading the book of Isaiah, and he happens to be at one of the most profound parts of the book of Isaiah pointing to Jesus Christ. People read this prophecy from Isaiah and think, oh, this must have been from the New Testament, but it's not. It's from hundreds of years before Jesus ever lived. He's reading from Isaiah 53 verses seven through eight, where it says he was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. Now as the Ethiopian eunuch is reading the text, he's wondering, is Isaiah talking about himself or is he talking about someone else?
And here, Philip steps up to to say, he's talking about someone else. He's talking about Jesus, and we see how this prophecy matches completely with what we find in Jesus because of how he went to the cross, no one took his life away from him. He did not fight back. When they came to arrest him, he willingly went to the cross in order that we would be saved so that he might be the sacrificial lamb to cover our sins and make things right between us and God, this is the good news that Philip explains to the eunuch. It's good news, not just for the Jews, but for the world. And this is why it's especially good news for the eunuch. You can find this all across the prophets, but if you just go to the chapter earlier, and you can imagine maybe the eunuch had been reading this.
In Isaiah 52 verses 13 through 15 says, see, my servant will act wisely; he'll be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Again, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Just as there were many who were appalled at him, his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being, and his form marred beyond human likeness.
So he will sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand. In Isaiah 2 it talks about how many peoples will come to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. It says very much the same thing in Micah four and in Isaiah 11.
It says, in, in that day, the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will rally to him and his resting place will be glorious.
You see something that we take for granted now was something being freshly revealed at this time, which is that the God of Israel is the God of all the nations and he is a God who has come to save and redeem all people who return to him in Jesus Christ. And isn't it profound that we see exactly what the prophet prophesied occurring today?
Christianity is not just a Jewish thing. Christianity is not just a European thing. Christianity is a global thing, and we're seeing it abound more and more, especially in the places where it has not been before. In Africa, in Asia, all of the world is called to receive the good news as presented in Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of sins and the promised restoration of our persons and the resurrection of the body. Jesus came to make things right between us and God because we had rejected God. We said we wanted to be our own gods, and in so doing, we made ourselves his enemies. And every act of disobedience that we commit is just another indication of that separation between us and him.
But Jesus came as the man that we were all supposed to be, the son of God, God himself came in the flesh in order to make amends for the wrong that we had done. So that by uniting ourselves to him in faith, by trusting in him, we might become new men and women in him. We might become the children of God in him, covered by his righteousness and receiving in him the promise that we will become a new creation.
A work that begins today by the Holy Spirit and which will be brought to completion in the day of Christ's return when we'll be raised from the dead, our bodies will be restored and we'll be perfected. Sin will no longer have any place in this world. So this is the gospel message that Philip shares with the eunuch, and we can think as we look to the prophets just all the more how profound it is that Philip has this opportunity to be sharing the gospel with him because this man's own nation is included among the prophecies given of how the world would turn to the God of Israel. In Psalm 68: 31, it says, envoys will come from Egypt. Cush will submit herself to God, and Psalm 87: 4 says, I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me.
Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Kush, and will say this one was born in Zion. See by saying this one was born in Zion, what God is saying is that all people, irrespective of their ethnic background, can become the children of God, and this becomes possible in Jesus Christ. He tears down all the walls of division that have previously stood between us.
Now we can imagine that the message here in Isaiah 53 resonates all the more with him because it says, who can speak of his descendants, talking about Jesus. Jesus didn't have any natural born children and this is the case for the eunuch. He, he doesn't enjoy that blessing himself, but of course, Jesus has more children than anyone else has ever had because these are children by faith, those who have been made his brothers and sisters, as Paul says in Romans 8: 29, for those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the first born among many brothers and sisters. And so the eunuch is being promised here in Jesus a better inheritance than anything that this world could be offered. And again, if he, maybe as he's going down the road, he reads further in the book of Isaiah, he would find this, it says in Isaiah 56, verse three through five, let no foreigner who is bound to the Lord, say The Lord will surely exclude me from his people, and let no eunuch complain, I'm only a dry tree that is not having fruit, not having kids, not having a legacy. For this is what the Lord says to the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant to them. I'll give within my temple and its walls, a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters.
I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever. This is a promise that is offered to the eunuch, a promise that can be given because of Jesus Christ. It's a promise that belongs to all of us so that we have a hope beyond our worth, our our worldly possessions and our worldly standing. See, it's not unusual for people to fall into despair as their life goes on, as they get older.
You know, people talk about a midlife crisis. Start reckoning, you know, what's my life been really about? And all this, and we begin this comparison game of, well, what I have done and what I have, and what legacy will be left behind compared to others.
The measure of what really counts is not determined by the world. The measure of what really counts is determined by Jesus Christ and whether we are united with him.
That is a legacy that lasts for eternity. So hearing this good news explained to him, the eunuch responds just as every person should says in verse 36. As they travelled along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, look, here's water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized? And he gave orders to stop the chariot.
Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
So if you're traveling on a desert road, you know there's not water all over the place, but as it happens, just as God providentially provided, after Philip has had an ample opportunity to explain the gospel to him, to the eunuch, he sees this pool of water and says, let me be baptized. Let me be baptized.
Baptism is the outward demonstration of our faith in Jesus Christ. It's the follow through on our faith. It's that sacrament in which our union with Christ is revealed as we enter into the waters, it is revealed that we are united in his death. And as we are raised from the waters, it is revealed that we are united to his resurrection life.
And as we come out of the waters, we enter into the new life and leave our old lives behind us. This is what the eunuch wants for himself. It seems like he asked rhetorically because he understands this now, but he asked is, is there anything else? What can, what can stand in the way of my being baptized?
Is there anything else that would obstruct me? We can imagine that at this point when he was leaving Jerusalem, maybe he felt a little discouraged 'cause he's like, well, I'm not a Jew and I couldn't enter into the inner courts of the temple because I was a eunuch. And that's forbidden according to the Old Testament law.
But now the message that Philip has given to him is that you're welcome all the way in, you're welcome all the way in because of Jesus Christ. And so now he understands there's nothing standing in the way between him and God because of what Jesus Christ has done. He's baptized. Now, we might imagine that this, this fellow probably has some more things to learn about the faith.
He doesn't understand everything, but he understands enough to put his faith in Jesus Christ. And that is the case with anyone that is baptized. Baptism is the beginning. It signals the beginning. It's the, it's the outward demonstration of our faith it's not the end of our journey.
And so the eunuch is baptized and he goes on rejoicing to sow the gospel in Africa. And there's a long history in Africa of Christianity, far long before we had Western missionaries go over there. And then it says that spirit, that the spirit took Philip away. It's interesting. We, we would love to know what that, that looked like as you just, like, was it, did the eunuch leave and then he disappeared or, you know, it kind of seems like maybe that was the case because it says the eunuch did not see him again, so that must have been an incredible thing to witness.
It says that he appeared at Azotus, which is different name for Ashdod, and traveled about preaching the gospel in all the towns until he re reached Caesarea. Now, Ashdod had kind of a bad reputation in the Old Testament, and Caesarea was a Gentile town. So again, this the kind of, the whole theme of this chapter is God is going to these places that were previously on the outside looking in because all are being invited to be reconciled to him in Jesus Christ.
So once again, we see here in the gospel, in Acts eight, that the gospel is for all people. The gospel is not just for the Jews, it's for the Samaritans. It's for the Ethiopians, it is for the eunuchs. It is for all people who believe in Jesus Christ, and we see here also that God is prepared to make a way for us to reach these people with the gospel.
We do not depend upon human strength. We do not wait upon human wisdom. We rely upon the provision and guidance of God made available to us by the Holy Spirit. When we look at Philip, we can say, yes, some spectacular things happened. An angel met him. He got transported across the countryside after baptizing the eunuch, but certain aspects of his mission are familiar.
He was simply told to go south along the road. Sometimes God's direction to us is simple and open-ended. He doesn't disclose everything to us at once. We want to know everything at once. I struggle with that. We want to know everything at once, but God, God doesn't disclose everything to us at once. He calls us to simply walk the path that he has set before us.
And when opportunities emerge to share the gospel, we shouldn't be surprised if the spirit prompts us to simply come up alongside someone. You might be like, I don't know what God's gonna do with this here, but I, I feel like maybe I need to be in this place. I need to talk to this person.
He's simply calling you to be present, ready, and waiting. And when opportunities emerge, we shouldn't be afraid to step up to the plate. Philip simply asked, do you understand what you're reading? In other words, he simply offered help. Opportunities will appear for you to help others understand the truth.
You'll have opportunities to pray for others when you see needs arise. All God asks is for you to offer yourselves to others. Now, of course they might decline. They might say, no, I'm, I'm alright. But if God is at work and wants to use you, then and there, he will open up the conversation just as he did with the eunuch.
The Spirit will help us know what to say. And he'll use everything that you've learned so far in your faith journey to speak to that person. God will use us in this way if we trust in him and if we obey him just as Philip did, and by walking in this way, we will share in the same great honor and privilege of advancing the gospel so that men, women, and children may have the opportunity to hear, believe, and be saved. Let us pray.
Dear Father, we thank you for your worldwide love Father.
Father, we thank you. That it is your desire not to just redeem the Jewish people, but that it was your desire to redeem the world through your son Jesus Christ, so that anyone who would turn to him in faith would be saved. Father, in so far as we have believed, put our trust in Christ. We thank you that we have the salvation, that we are no longer on the outside, but we are counted among your children. Father fill us with a passion to share this good news, this invitation with others. Father, help us to trust in your provision. To not worry and be anxious about what we might do or how we would go about this, but that we would trust that you're gonna provide every step of the way, and that we don't need to see all the steps, but that we simply need to walk by faith.
Help us to walk in the way that Philip walked. Father, we pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series The Spirit and the Church. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Acts 8:1-25, the early church faces persecution in the wake of Stephen’s death. Many of the believers scatter, and the gospel is brought to the Samaritan people.
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Transcript:
And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day, a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. Those who had been scattered, preached the word wherever they went.
Earlier this week in our family devotions, my son raised an interesting question that the school's pastor posed to the students. Why do bad things happen to good people? Now, as I told James, and as I could go into greater depth with you, there are a few ways that we could respond to this question. We could talk about the fall of humanity, the curse of sin, and how we are all subject to the consequences of humanity's separation from God.
I could even point out that no one except Jesus is truly good, and so because I deserve death for my sin, I have little ground to stand upon in really complaining about the suffering that I would endure, and these would be interesting and worthwhile avenues to explore, but I imagine they miss the heart behind the question. When we believe, when we become Christians, when we are adopted as sons and daughters of God, we might imagine that our suffering should come to an end. After all, God loves us and we are righteous in his sight because of Jesus Christ. And so unless we ourselves are caught up in some sin, we might imagine that bad things shouldn't happen to us, but they do.
I can't explain all the reasons for your suffering. I can simply say this. It is only by the power of God that your suffering can be redeemed. Apart from God, our suffering is meaningless and we can only try to make the best of things, but God, God is so powerful that he works even bad things towards the fulfillment of his good purpose.
Paul tells us this in Romans 8: 28. We know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. And we see this most clearly in the case of Jesus, his terrible crucifixion, which made the way for our salvation. I set this backdrop for you so you understand God's purpose and what is happening to the early church.
Until recently in Luke's record given here in the Book of Acts, until recently, things have seemed pretty idyllic. The church in Jerusalem enjoys great harmony. They're overcoming challenges and they're growing. Everything seems to be growing great. It's, it's kind of seemed like you wish you could be there to just kind of soak it all in.
But now tragedy has struck their beloved Deacon Stephen, a man full of wisdom in the Holy Spirit has just been stoned to death. And as we see here in verses one through four, that's just the beginning of their troubles. It says there in those opening verses of chapter eight that Saul, who again was an onlooker of Stephen's death, watching over the coats of those who are stoning Stephen. Says that Saul approved of Stephen's death, and as part of the fallout of Stephen's death, a great persecution broke out against the Christians, against the church in Jerusalem, and many of the believers except the apostles fled Jerusalem and went out into the countryside, going into the areas of Judea and Samaria. We get a glimpse of just the very real sense of loss, the true sorrow in mourning, which occurred because of Stephen's death by the note that Luke gives us here, that they buried Stephen and mourn deeply for him. And even as they're in this time of mourning, hard things are continuing to happen to them with this persecution, particularly spearheaded by the man Saul.
Luke says that he began to destroy the church. He went from house to house, and he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. Now, there's something interesting to note here when you're reading the newer translations of the Bible, NIV, a lot of times they'll include both genders just to indicate, because sometimes in older translations or different translations in the Bible, they'll just say, men, and it's meant to be inclusive. You're meant to understand it's not just exclusive to males. And so sometimes the NIV will say men and women. Here though, in verse three, that's not an interpretive choice.
It's not a translator's choice. Saul is literally, specifically, it's being noted that he's arresting not just men, who you might expect to be the ones that might be targeted as kind of, you know, leaders in the household. You and, and you might expect that they might not bother, he might not bother women and children and that kind of thing, but no, Saul is so aggressive and in fact it seems to indicate that he realizes that the women could cause problems too.
They're part of the life of the church that he's arresting both of them. He's dragging 'em off to prison. And in fact, later on when Saul becomes Paul, he testifies to his past saying that he was imprisoning the Christians and beating them. And in fact, not only was he imprisoning and beating them, but in fact when they got to prison, he was voting in favor of some of them being executed.
So it's very brutal oppression, which is going on here against all the Christians. But what's interesting to note here is that it says in verse four that as they're fleeing the city, as they're scattering across this countryside, it says in verse four, those who've been scattered, preached the word wherever they went.
Now we might imagine that if a great persecution arose like this, that the Christians might be disillusioned and be like, okay, this isn't for me. I'm done with this. I don't wanna be imprisoned, beat up, killed, stoned. I don't want any of that to happen to me. That's not the case though. There's just exercising some common sense.
We have to be willing to suffer for Christ, but that doesn't mean we have to step right in front of the stones. And so the apostles, they did stay in Jerusalem, and I think that was kind of a sign of that, them being steadfast and being like, we're immovable. The others didn't have to stay though. And as they're going, they demonstrate their faithfulness to the mission by preaching the gospel.
They still believe in Christ, and in fact, what they are doing is fulfilling the commission which Christ gave the disciples. You'll remember that in Acts one, verse eight, Jesus tells the disciples this, but you'll receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem.
And then it goes on, not just in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Up to this point, they had been faithful and following through with Christ's command and sharing the gospel in the city of Jerusalem. But we can imagine that it would've been very easy for them to stay there.
We've already seen the sort of life that they shared together. It was, it was a beautiful scene. It was very comfortable, and it was at risk of them just kind of staying a very just tight knit clique there in the city and not going outward with this gospel message. And so we see that God is able to use this terrible thing, Stephen's death and the broader persecution against the Christians for this purpose of extending the gospel message beyond the walls of Jerusalem. And let's not overlook how essential this is, because while they were comfortable and the persecution caused them a great loss and great hardship, it would've been great tragedy if the gospel stayed in those walls because that would've meant all the other people in Israel would've have been deprived of the opportunity to be forgiven of their sins, to be freed from the power of sin and death.
To have the hope of resurrection life, and by extension it means we would've been deprived of that if they had just stayed in Jerusalem.
And so God works out this great good from a great tragedy. Now it doesn't take long to see this purpose, this good appear as the Deacon Philip brings the gospel to Samaria. Continuing on in verse five, it says, Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said, for with shrieks impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.
So there was great joy in that city. Now, for some time, a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people both high and low gave him their attention, exclaimed, this man is rightly called the great power of God.
They followed him because he amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. Now, if you're not familiar where Samaria is, it's kind of in the smack dab middle of Israel, kind of between the area of Judea, Jerusalem, and then Galilee. You can see it in the green there. See Galilee up there, Judea, Jerusalem. You can see some of the cities up close there.
And as you think about Jesus' earthly ministry, you might recall the times in which they passed through Samaritan cities, and it's because it literally lies right in between Galilee and Jerusalem. They didn't have to go out of their way to go through Samaria. In fact, they would've had to go out of their way to avoid Samaria.
Philip has gone to Samaria and he's brought the gospel message there, and he's performing miraculous signs, the same sort of signs that were performed in Jerusalem, and is getting the attention of people. The signs are underscoring the truthfulness of the message that he's bringing. He's healing people.
He's casting out impure spirits. Now among some of the Satanic forces present in Samaria is this fellow named Simon, who was a sorcerer. Now, he had gained a following because of his sorcery, because of the powers that he had been demonstrating. So much so that he became known as the great power of God, which seems like a very kind of blasphemous sort of nickname, because it was that the people figured there was something almost divine about this fellow, but there was in fact nothing divine about him. He was relying on the powers of demons for the me, for the signs and miracles that he was performing. Now, what's interesting as we think about Philip going to Samaria, the gospel going here is it's a profound step because of the divide that has existed between the Jewish and Samaritan people. Some of you who have been the faith for a while may be familiar with this divide, but might be fuzzy on the details.
I have to admit, I'm, I've been fuzzy on the details for a while myself. If you wanna read a really great, it's only 30 pages, but it gives great detail about the development of this divide between the Samaritans and the Jewish people. There's this article written by Wayne Brindle called The Origin and History of the Samaritans, and this summary comes right from the article that he writes on this.
And basically what he accounts is that the divide between Jew and Samaritan was a process. The first thing that you have to understand about the Samaritans is that they are part Jewish. Their Jewish ancestry goes way back to when the Kingdom of Israel was divided into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah.
And Judah was ruled by the Davidic kings. Israel was ruled by kings of different tribes. Now, eventually the Northern Tribes, the Northern Kingdom, became overcome by the Assyrians. The people there intermarried with non-Jewish peoples and adopted some pagan religious practices. And yet over the course of their history, it was eventually brought about that there was some revival of a return to the worship of Yahweh, the God of Israel, but they had become their own version of it, a different sect. And so we see that when the Jewish people come out of exile from Babylon and rebuild the temple, the Samaritans who are living there, again, these people have Jewish ancestry, they find themselves at odds with the Jews that are returning to Israel. And later on in that history, it leads them to build a temple of their own since they had no part in the temple in Jerusalem.
And this really further the, the divide all, all the more, because the Jewish people said, there's only gonna be one temple. There can only be one place where we're gonna offer these true sacrifices to God. And as the history proceeds further, divisions are created because of empires that come in, you have Antiochus Epiphanies the fourth, who drives a wedge between them all the more because he desecrates the temple in Jerusalem and the Samaritans skip out on the persecution against the Jews by all of a sudden denying the fact of their Jewish ancestry and surrendering their faithfulness to the, to the God of Israel.
Then following that, their temple is destroyed by the high priest John Hyrcanus. And so, I mean, there's so many details that I'm, I'm just kind of skipping over here. But the point is, it's been a divide that's been in the making of hundreds of years, growing hostilities and harassments. It's a both sides sort of thing.
They, they really don't like each other. And so it's incredible that Philip would bring the gospel to them with any expectation that they might be receptive to this Jewish man who's, who's bringing this, this message of a messiah who's come. And yet continuing on verse 12, we see that something new has truly begun.
Says, but when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the Kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized, and he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria.
So we have here a profound turn of events. Peoples were once alienated from them, from each other. Jew and Samaritan are now being reconciled in Jesus Christ. Among all the miracles and signs that Philip is performing, I think there is no greater miracle than this. And in fact, as the fulfillment of biblical prophecy in Ezekiel 37, verse 16 through 17.
It's foretold that those of Israel and Judah, the north and the south would be reunited. So son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him. Then take another stick of wood and write on it, belonging to Joseph, that is to Ephraim, and all the Israelites associated with him.
Join them together into one stick so that they'll become one in your hand. They had been divided, but God prophesied that the people of Israel would be reunited, and this reunion. This reconciliation is brought about by Jesus. And Jesus in talking with the Samaritan woman at the well, foretells this himself in John 4: 21 through 24, this woman, she wants to get in a debate with him, a classic Samaritan Jewish debate about the place of worship, whether it's on Mount Gerizim or if it's in Jerusalem on Mount Zion.
Jesus tells her Woman, believe me, a time is coming when you'll worship the Father neither on this mountain nor on Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming, and has now come, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the father seeks. God is spirit and his worshipers must worship in the spirit and in truth.
Notice what Jesus is saying here. He's not giving a thumbs up to the Samaritans to what they've been doing. They've been, they've been off path, they've been off base in what they've been doing, and yet he's not asserting that worship is to be centered to Jerusalem on Mount Zion at this temple. What he's saying is that something new is coming, something new that while we would say that, yes, the Jews have been right up to this point, there's a new invitation to worship that's not going to be exclusive to Mount Zion, but is going to encompass all those that would come to the father in Jesus Christ and worship him in spirit and in truth. Now this change is just so profound that even Peter and John, the apostles, go to Samaria to see what has occurred, and again, what's so profound about this is just we think about the apostle's own antagonism towards the Samaritans. In Luke nine verses 54 through 55, it says that the disciples, James and John, John being one of the ones that went is, is going here with Peter to check out what's going on.
It says, James and John asked, saw this, they asked, Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them? They were talking about the Samaritans and the way that they were responding. Now, Jesus at the time, turned and rebuked them, but that's the sort of attitude they had. They were like, Jesus, can we just ask God to nuke these people?
Like, we're done, we're done with them. So they had no love for them. But now everything has changed. Even the disciples themselves have changed. And we notice here that Simon, this sorcerer is, is carried along also in this upswell of turning to believe in Christ. And it seems like he is maybe starstruck a little bit by just the power that's been demonstrated.
So it says that he believed and was baptized. However, this raises, should have a question here about sincerity of his conversion, the authenticity of it, and as we go on, we'll see that there's good reasons to question this. But returning back to the apostles, looking at verse 15. It says, when they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them.
They had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostle's hands, he offered them money and said give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.
Now this is very interesting. It's very interesting that the Samaritans believed in Jesus. They were baptized in His name, and yet they had not yet received the Holy Spirit. The reason why this is interesting is because that's not how things normally go. We can be assured that as far as someone has genuinely put their faith in Jesus Christ, when you are baptized, you're not just baptized in water, you are baptized in the Holy Spirit.
The person of the Holy Spirit dwells within you. And in fact, we get to taste the first fruits of eternity by that indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit because we begin to become the sorts of people that God created us to be for all eternity. So eternity begins today as the Holy Spirit begins to dwell within us, and yet he is not dwelling within the Samaritans at this point, and we ask why.
Well, the reason why would seem to be, again, it's not expressly explained here, but it would seem to be that this is an opportunity for God to demonstrate reconciliation, the true unity now that's been created in Jesus Christ. The divide no longer lays between Gerizim and Jerusalem. Instead, all are becoming one in Jesus Christ.
And Peter and John are on hand for this great reunion, and they literally lay on their hands. Jewish men laying their hands on Samaritans so that they may receive the Holy Spirit. And if you think about it, this is almost a recapitulation of what occurred with the disciples. They believed in Jesus. They certainly were baptized, but they had to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit was sent.
And now through these apostles, the Samaritans wait for the Holy Spirit to be sent. The apostles arrive and they share this gift of the dwelling, presence of the person, of the Holy Spirit with them and they are one.
Now, Simon the sorcerer sees all this going on and he is like, wow, that's really impressive. And he says, I'd like that power. I've, I've had some pretty good tricks in my day, the things I could do, I'd love this power to be able to give the Holy Spirit to other people. And so he approaches Peter and John with a proposition saying, how much would it cost?
You know, how much do I have to pay you in order that I too would have this ability. Now, what this reveals is that there's a real twist in Simon's heart, and it leads us to question about, you know, the authenticity of his conversion, and Peter addresses him accordingly. In verse 20, it says, Peter says, may your money perish with you because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money.
You have no part or share in this ministry because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin. Then Simon answered, pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me. After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.
Peter's point of condemnation is this, is that Simon thinks he can buy that which God gives freely.
God offers salvation freely. He offers the gift of the Holy Spirit freely. It recalls the prophetic words in Isaiah 55: 1 and verses six through seven, where God offers this invitation freely. He says, come all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord and he will have mercy on them and to our God for he will freely pardon. See, the problem with Simon is, is he has, he continues to have a very pagan notion here about the powers that he's seeing on display.
He thinks this is something he can acquire by, by buying it. And the thing about magical powers is it's all about manipulation, about exerting your desires to accomplish your will. This is not the power of God. This is not the power that we see being displayed in the case of the disciples and the, in, in the case of Philip.
They're submitting to the will of God, and is God working in accordance with his will. There's nothing magical going on here.
Peter is concerned about this bitterness that is in within Simon's heart because it is completely opposed to the ways of God and it has no place among the people of God. It's reminiscent of the command given in Deuteronomy 29: 18 where it says, make sure there's no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose hearts turn away from the Lord our God, to go and worship the gods of those nations.
Make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.
Simon has no part here, no part or share in this ministry because he has a bad heart. His heart's not in the right place, and so they call upon him to repent and seek forgiveness. What's interesting is that it's not totally clear whether he heeds their exhortation. It does say that he asked them, he says, pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.
Does that reveal genuine repentance? Is he seeking forgiveness? It may be, or it could just be that he's continuing to have kind of a pagan assessment of things. He's like, well, I don't wanna be under a curse so please pray for me, so I'll avoid this. In fact, it reminds us of Pharaoh's response to the curses that were brought upon upon Egypt when Pharaoh refused to let the people of Israel go. Multiple times, Pharaoh asked Moses to pray, pray to the Lord, to take away these, these curses, these plagues. He even asked Moses to pray that his sin would be forgiven, and yet Pharaoh's heart remained cold and hard towards God.
The same may be here in the case of Simon, and if you ever come across the term simony, literally the name Simon, just with a Y at the end, Simony, it's referring back to this instance and later on in history, it takes on the characterization of those that were trying to purchase religious office for their benefit.
We see this happening all the time in the medieval period as part of what led to the Protestant Reformation because people are literally buying offices as bishops and cardinals because of the gain that they got from it. And what it has in common with what we see here with Simon the sorcerer, is it's all about your personal gain rather than looking for the benefit of the kingdom in the church.
So Peter and John, after they correct Simon, they continue to expound on the, on the truth of the gospel. And then we see that they get in on the action preaching in Samaria on their way to Jerusalem. And again, this is just profound because these are the places they would've avoided in the past. So they were not brought to Samaria reluctantly. They did not reluctantly place their hands upon the Samaritans, they did so joyously and so now eagerly they go to these places. They once went outta their way to avoid, and now they're going to them bringing the gospel. So step back now and consider what these events reveal to us. To start, we see very clearly how God is able to bring about great good even through terrible suffering. We hear no complaints. We see no divisions. Many of the believers flee Jerusalem, but they're not fleeing the faith. They're leaving Jerusalem, but not Jesus. They're committed as ever, preaching the gospel to the loathsome Samaritans who they now love.
They had nothing worldly to gain from this. They shared the gospel freely with the Samaritans, even as they knew this could just bring on more trouble on them. Their attitude and the attitudes of Peter and John stand in stark contrast to Simon the sorcerer. Simon's interest in the gospel was only in what he could gain from it.
His interest was to upgrade his repertoire of powers. He tried to buy the power to bestow the Holy Spirit as if, as if this gift, along with our salvation purchased at the cost of Christ's life on the cross, could somehow be matched with silver. The riches of our salvation are given to us freely by Christ.
As we turn to him in faith, we could never purchase what we receive freely from him. From Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria, the free gift is to be given. To the ends of the earth it is to be given. The gospel is global just as Jesus Christ's victory is total. Jesus Christ is the prince of peace who makes enemies brothers and sisters. We will have trials. There is power here, but no magic. There is salvation here, but not safety. We have here the free gift, but no personal gain. This world is full of trouble. We don't escape that trouble. When we become Christians, we take it on, we take up our cross. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed, but not driven to despair.
Persecuted but not forsaken. Struck down, but not destroyed. Yes, we have trouble, but trouble does not have us, for Jesus tells us to take heart, I have overcome the world. And so wherever life takes us, whether it keeps us within the familiar walls of Jerusalem, or out into the great unknown. We go with Jesus and share his gospel wherever we go so that all may seek the Lord while he may be found and call on him while he is near.
Let us pray.
Dear Father, we come to you confessing the weakness of our understanding. Father, we cannot comprehend all the things that happen to us. We don't know all the reasons. But Father, as we see from this account in the early church, what we see, Father, here is that your good purpose and plan remains intact even when things may seem like they're falling apart. Father, help us to trust in you.
Help us to trust in you and to be faithful in the mission that you've given us. Even in the face of trial, Father, give us the vision that those early Christians had to take the gospel to all people, excluding no one so that all may receive freely the gift of salvation, the forgiveness of sins, the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit by turning to faith in Jesus Christ.
Father, give us a mind that is kingdom-minded. Let us not be out for personal gain as Simon was but fill with hearts of love that are willing to lay down our lives as we follow up Christ in carrying the cross after him. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series The Spirit and the Church. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Acts 6:8-7:60, we see Stephen, one of the deacons appointed earlier in chapter 6, brought before the Sanhedrin. As he stands before them, he rebukes them for being like their fathers: stiff necked and having uncircumcised hearts. As a result, the council drags Stephen out of the city and stones him.
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Transcript:
This is from Acts six, eight to 11. Now, Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power performed great wonders and signs among the people. Opposition arose, however, from the members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen, as it was called, Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria, as well as the provinces of, Cilicia Asia, who began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against the wisdom the spirit gave him as he spoke. Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, we have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.
If you were alive in the early two thousands, you'd know that if you heard the question can you hear me now? It should be followed by saying what? What should you say? Can you hear me now? Good. Right. Oh, man. You guys didn't watch TV in the early two thousands? Yeah. Oh, wow. Okay. Well, if you, since you don't seem to remember, it was very impressionable to me, I guess.
It's a question and remark that became famous because of a Verizon cell phone commercial that highlighted their wide range cell phone, coverage for cell service. Cell service is one of those things that's kind of easy to take for granted these days. Sometimes we have bad service, but we're mostly annoyed now because it's expected that we should be able to call from anywhere.
Of course, that wasn't always the case. Even I remember a time when the only phones in my house were a corded phone, and I'd run to the kitchen to answer it for my mom and dad. In time we got wireless handheld units, but even they had a limited range. Nothing compared to a cell phone. These days, many people don't even bother with a landline given the reliability of cell phones.
While some of us may wish to go back to those times, at least to escape the all consuming nature of smartphone screens, I don't think most of us would want to lose the pure functionality of being able to call from anywhere. We don't miss getting tangled up in phone cords or anxiously searching for a payphone.
We can only imagine how many lives have been saved and trouble spared because of cell phone coverage. It is a technological advancement worth keeping. There is a comparison here and an important difference that we'll find as we look at today's passage. We are going to hear a message from the Deacon Stephen. While he lived almost 2000 years ago, he lives on the same side of the cross as us, and we share in the same benefits. One of the radical transformations introduced by Jesus' death and resurrection and ascension, and by the sending of the Holy Spirit was the very notion of God's temple. At this time in the first century AD, the temple made of stone still stands in Jerusalem, but Jesus has introduced himself as the cornerstone of a new temple built not with granite but with the people of God as spiritual stones of a living temple. It's a development that would cause immense controversy among the Jewish people whose entire lives revolved around the temple structure as they knew it, going on pilgrimages there to offer sacrifices. But as we'll see, Stephen will argue that this shouldn't be so controversial because while this is something new, kind of like cell phone coverage, though more important, much more important and better, there's also something very old about this notion of God not being landlocked by a building. The stage is set for Stephen's sermon when a certain group of Jews begin agitating against him, and so we first look at verses 8 through 11 as Rena read.
It's noted here that Stephen, again, he is one of these seven deacons that were identified in, by the church, and appointed by the elders, by the, by the 12 disciples, by laying on of hands, and we see that Stephen was a man full of God's grace and power. Now already in verse five, which we covered last week, it was noted that he's full of wisdom and of the Holy Spirit, and it was to such extent that he was performing great signs and wonders among the people. And so while the ministry of deacon is primarily concerned with meeting the material needs of the people in the community, making sure that people in the church are being taken care of, that is not the limit of the ministry of Stephen.
Nor is that the limit of anyone who might be a deacon or deaconess. That's their primary focus, but they might have other things that they're doing as God has gifted them. And God was gifting Stephen in wondrous ways so that he was performing miraculous signs, just as the apostles were. And as we'll see also in his speech, he was a man that was just simply full of the Holy Spirit. It was like coming outta his fingers. It was just so, so immense. Now, opposition arose against Stephen, though from a group, from some members of a synagogue known as the Synagogue of the Freedmen. Now it seems like kind of a weird name. What? Why are they known as the Synagogue of the Freedmen?
The reason why they're known as the Synagogue of the Freedmen is because this is a group of Jews who were formerly enslaved, but who have gained their freedom. And it also turns out that these men, they had come from places across the Mediterranean, from Alexandria and Egypt, from the provinces of Cilicia and Asia, from Cyrene, Cyrene is in the area of Libya today.
This group, and the word synagogue just means gathering, it was a place where local Jews would gather to hear the teaching of the law. This group of Jews who had been formerly enslaved, who were part of the Diaspora, they had been spread across the Mediterranean. They rose up in opposition to Stephen and began to argue with him.
They didn't like the things that he was saying. Now the reason why this group may have been so zealous is because of their identity, because they were formally dispossessed, because they did not grow up in Israel. And so they were making their stand that they're going to hold true to Judaism. They're gonna hold the line, they're gonna prove their worth as Jewish men by entering into disputation with Stephen.
But as they argued with him, it says that they could not stand up against the wisdom that the Holy Spirit was giving Stephen as he spoke, and once again, this is fulfilling the promise that Jesus gave in Luke 21:15 to his disciples, he says, I will give you words and wisdoms that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
Now in being frustrated by that, they decide that they're going to drum up charges against Stephen, secretly persuading some men by saying We've heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God, very broad and serious charges because in saying that he's committing blasphemy against Moses, what they mean is that he's speaking against the, against the law.
Because the law, the 10 Commandments, and the law came through Moses. So Stephen's blaspheming everything they stand for, and apparently these men were so persuasive that they were able to have it so that Stephen was forced to appear before the Sanhedrin. We continue in verses 12 through 7:1.
So, so they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses who testified, this fellow never stops speaking against his holy place and against the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs moses handed down to us. All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. Then the high priest asked Stephen, are these charges true?
The group that they bring Stephen before is known as the Sanhedrin. This is the council of 70 men made up of Pharisees, Sadducees, and priests. A very August body, very intimidating. Holding much authority in Jewish society, so much authority that this is the same body which ultimately condemned Jesus Christ and worked it out that Pontius Pilate would see that he would be crucified.
And we see other similarities here between the trial of Jesus and the trial of Stephen, as in the trial of Jesus, false witnesses are produced, and as in the case of Jesus, Stephen is accused of blasphemy. And, and Jesus was likewise accused of saying that, oh, he's, he's speaking against the temple because Jesus said you can tear down this temple, but in three days it'll be raised back up.
And of course, he was talking about the resurrection of his body, but they were twisting the meaning of his words and making the worst meaning possible of it. One wonders how they thought Jesus would possibly tear down that, that that huge granite structure on his own. By any case, we, we're seeing parallels here, an echo of what happened to Jesus happening to Stephen.
Now, what's ironic about this is that they are accusing Stephen of blaspheming Moses blaspheming the law, and yet they themselves in producing false witnesses are violating the law. The ninth commandment of the 10 Commandments is you shall not give false testimony, false witness against your neighbor. Even whilst they're doing this, and you can imagine being in Stephen's shoes, how awful it would be to be in that position knowing the stakes involved, given you know that what happened to Jesus. Despite all this, it says that Stephen's face was a glow like the face of an angel.
This is reminiscent of the glowing face of Moses when he descended from Mount Sinai after receiving the law. And so you have a contrast here. You have these men conspiring, lying, creating false testimony. And then you have here Stephen, who is reflecting the very presence of God and his being. The one group knows nothing of God.
The other man is so close to God that his very glory is beaming from him.
Now. They make their charges here a little bit more specific as they proceed. They say that again, they say that he was blaspheming against Moses and God, but now we see specifically that he is speaking against the law and the temple because once again, Moses represents the law and when we think about God, it'd be very natural for them to associate him with his temple.
Now as we'll go along, we'll see that this is not true as such, that it's not true that Stephen is speaking against the law, although the law has been fulfilled in Christ. He's not speaking against the temple, though the temple has been transcended.
The high priest asks Stephen, are these charges true? Just as he asked Jesus the same, very same question, but rather than just giving a yes or no answer, Stephen takes this opportunity to launch into a testimony that will turn into a rebuke of the Sanhedrin. Now, I don't usually read the text to you at great length because I'm afraid of you losing your attention.
But I think it's important for you to hear what he has to say as a whole. And I want to assure you, I'm not going to go every over, every little detail of this. I want you to imagine that you're there, hearing Stephen give this speech and just kind of try to soak it in. And what I've also done in the slides is that I, I've highlighted some specific things that I think you should pay attention to.
And then I'm just gonna reflect on it as a whole after I read it. It's a, it's a lot of verses so, so buckle up, pay attention.
Beginning in verse two of chapter seven, Stephen begins his testimony of how God had met the people of God. He says to this, he replied, brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. Leave your country and your people, God said, and go to the land I will show you.
So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child.
God spoke to him in this way: for 400 years, your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated, but I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, God said, and afterward, they will come out of that country and worship me in this place. Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision.
And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later, Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the 12 patriarchs. Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt, but God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles.
He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace. Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food. When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit.
On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph's family. After this, Joseph sent for his father, Jacob and his whole family, 75 in all. Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money.
As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.
At that time, Moses was born and he was no ordinary child. For three months, he was cared for by his family. When he was placed outside, Pharaoh's daughter took and brought him up as her own. Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action. When Moses was 40 years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites.
He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. The next day, Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other? But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday? When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons. After 40 years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moses trembled with fear and did not dare look.
Then the Lord said to him, take off your sandals for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come back, have come down to see, set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt. This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words who made you ruler and judge.
He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt at the Red Sea and for 40 years in the wilderness. This is the Moses who told the Israelites, God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.
He was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received the living words to pass on to us. But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. They told Aaron, make us Gods who will go before us.
As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him. That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and reveled in what their own hands had made. But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the Sun, moon, and Stars.
This agrees with what is written in the book of the Prophets. Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings 40 years in the wilderness, people of Israel? You have taken up the Tabernacle of Molek and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore, I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.
Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them.
It remained in the land until the time of David, who enjoyed God's favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for him. However, the most high does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my, where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things? You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: you always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute?
They even killed those who predicted the coming of the righteous one. And now you have betrayed and murdered him-- you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.
Now, there's so much detail here, and you could dig into the detail. But I don't want you to fail to see the forest for the trees. I want you to see the big picture here of what Stephen is doing in this testimony. Here's the big theme. What Stephen is testifying to is God's abiding presence with the patriarchs.
He highlights certain figures. He, he points out God was with Abraham way before Abraham was ever in Israel, he was with Abraham in Mesopotamia, even before he was in Haran, when he got the call to go to the Promised Land. God was with Joseph in Egypt, in a pagan land. God was with him, and God was with Moses through everything while he was in Egypt, during the Exodus in the wilderness, and then even when we look at the figure of David, David did not have the temple as they knew it during the time of David. They only had the tabernacle and that that kind of moved around a little bit. The Ark of the Covenant moved around a bit during David's time. It wasn't in a set place and David wanted to build a temple, but it was only his son Solomon, who would build the temple.
So the idea that he is driving at here is God's presence with his people, regardless of being locked down to a specific place. And we see that this, this testimony abides even in the case of when the temple has been established. Stephen quotes Isaiah 66: 1 where the Lord says, what are you thinking? That you could build a temple for me that could contain me. I've made all this, and even Solomon himself at the time when they were going to build the temple, he says this in 2 Chronicles two verses five through six. The temple I'm going to build will be great because our God is greater than all other gods, but who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens cannot contain him.
Who then am am I to build a temple for him except as a place to burn sacrifices before him. See Solomon, the one who constructed the original temple, even he recognized, I'm building a temple for God, but it's not to contain him. It's not to house God. This is just a place where we're gonna offer sacrifices to God.
What Stephen is doing here is he's pushing back against the Sanhedrin notion that the temple, this, this granite structure is the end all be all. Stephen's not calling through the temple to be torn down, but what he's standing firm on is that God is on the move and he is moving on to bigger and better things than this thing made of stone.
Now there's a second theme that we also see here. There's a theme of rejection. We see how Stephen highlights in the case of Joseph, of how he was rejected by his own brothers and sold into slavery into Egypt. His brothers who would go on to be the heads of the tribes of Israel no less. Then he points to the figure of Moses and he says, this is the guy that would end up leading the people of Israel, the Hebrew people out of Egypt.
And yet when he first starts out, they reject him. They say, who made you ruler and judge over us? And not only then, they reject Moses multiple times when he's on Mount Sinai they're like, I don't know where that guy is, how about you make us a golden calf Aaron? Again and again, they reject those that God put in place to be their savior.
Joseph was a savior for the people of Israel because of the time of famine that would come against them, come upon them. When we look at the words of Moses and the teaching of the law that he gave to the people of Israel, among those teachings is this, which Stephen highlights taken from Deuteronomy 18:15, says The Lord your God will raise up for you, a prophet like me, from among you, from your fellow Israelites.
You must listen to him. Now, of course, what, Moses is prophesying here is the appearance of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, but like Jesus and like all the other prophets, the people of Israel have had a track record of rejecting their prophets. And Stephen says it's because you're stiff necked, you have these uncircumcised hearts. In Deuteronomy 10: 16, after, after the people of Israel were caught in the sin of idolatry for creating this golden calf, Moses is sent back up the mountain to receive the 10 Commandments again. And in speaking to the people once again, once he's, Moses tells them this in Deuteronomy 10: 16, he says, circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff necked any longer.
So this is, this is a theme that goes way back. This idea that God's people need their hearts circumcised, not just their flesh. And the meaning of that, of having your heart circumcised is this, is that you would actually be obedient to God's law, to what he is commanding. This is a theme that Paul picks up in Romans two saying that what God really desires is this true circumcision of the heart, a circumcision that is ultimately only able to be brought about by what Christ does in the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
So Stephen in rebuking the Sanhedrin, he is echoing Jesus's own commentary regarding how the people have received the prophets. Up to this point in Matthew 23, verse 31 and 37, Jesus says to them, so you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Then he cries Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you are not willing. Now, of course, exactly what they did to the prophets, they did to Jesus. They rejected him and they crucified him.
And so in summary, what Stephen is telling them is that you're very confused about your import, about this importance of the temple, that the temple served its purpose, but God does not need this stone temple. And what's more is you're not paying attention to God's teaching. You're not paying attention to the true teaching of the law.
You have this long track record of rejecting God's prophets, and so your charge against me is unfounded based on the teaching of scripture. Everything, our whole history contradicts your condemnation of me. And you're in no position to judge me, given that you've condemned yourselves by what you've done to Jesus.
Says, you who have received the law that was given through the angels, you've, you've not obeyed it, says you betrayed and murdered the righteous one that was predicted to come. Now in what follows we see that the Sanhedrin only goes on to prove Stephen's point. In verse 54, it says, when the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Look, he said, I see heaven open, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city, and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen, prayed, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Then he fell on his knees and cried out, Lord, do not hold the sin against them.
When he had said this, he fell asleep. So notice once again the contrast here. The contrast you have is you have the Sanhedrin, they're just furious, they're gnashing their teeth. They're so frustrated with what Stephen is saying. And on the other hand, Stephen is in pure rapture, looking up to heaven. He says, look, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God, and what he is seeing truly is fulfilling what was prophesied. He's testifying to the reality that has come to pass in Christ's ascension. Daniel and Jesus prophesied this, this fulfillment, which Stephen can attest to. Daniel 7:13. Daniel says, in my vision at night, I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the ancient of days and was led into his presence.
And Jesus, when he's on trial himself, and it leads to a very bad reaction from the authorities, and he is asked, are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed one? Jesus says, I am, and you'll see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty one and coming on the clouds of heaven. And so just as they responded to Jesus violently, so they respond to Stephen violently when he makes his testimony.
They can't stand what he's saying so much, so they cover their ears and they start yelling and they rush at him. You just imagine them mobbing around him and they drag him out to stone him. An awful way to meet your end. And then there's a little sidebar here. It says that there's a young man, Saul standing by and they lay their coats at his feet. Now this man we'll later learn would be a great persecutor of the church. And so he doesn't just happen to be there and standing there watching over the coats. He's offering his support. And when you think about it, it's a pretty twisted thing. It's like, oh, you want to kill this guy here, let me hold your jacket for you.
And it's going to make Paul's, Saul's later conversion to the Apostle Paul all, all the more incredible when we see where he's come from here.
But turning back to Stephen, we find him, even as the stones are raining down on him, he seems to be in this place of perfect peace.
He says, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Once again, we hear this echo from the cross. When Jesus says to the Father, receive my spirit. Then he says, Lord, do not hold the sin against them. Again, echoing the words of Christ. When he says, father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. This is a profound, challenging example of forgiveness that even as these men that hate him are killing him, he is extending forgiveness towards them. He's desiring their salvation even as they are desiring his destruction. And some food for thought for us to consider that when people are throwing stones at us, and most of the time it's not literal stones, but thinking figuratively here when people are throwing stones at us.
Do we have that same response as Stephen, think, thinking to ourselves, praying to the father. Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.
And we know that the Lord heard Stephen, he heard his prayers. We know the Lord was with Stephen just as he was with Abraham, Joseph and Moses. He knew God's presence no less than David and Solomon. The father was with Stephen just as he remained with Jesus when all others fled, and something that I probably don't need to tell you, but I just want you to appreciate how awesome it is that God's presence in our lives is not limited to a particular time and place. God's presence in your life is not limited to Sunday morning. The Holy Spirit has taken up residence in every man, woman, and child who trusts in Jesus Christ.
Even so we will know hardship like Stephen. Jesus told his disciples this and it applies to us today also, we who are the current day disciples. Jesus says in John 15:20-21. Remember what I told you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they'll persecute you. Also. If they obey my teaching, they'll obey yours also, they'll treat you this way because of my name for they do not know the one who sent me.
Do not be surprised by rejection when you stand for the gospel truth, when you articulate the gospel message. Do not be surprised by fury, by the gnashing of teeth, by the covering of ears, by all manner of yelling. Do not be surprised by the stones, and do not be afraid. See what Stephen sees. See the son of man standing at the right hand of God.
Jesus is the king of kings. Jesus is on our side. He is with us. And so stand firm, be steadfast, be immovable because he is the victor and we will overcome. Let us pray.
Father, we give you thanks that there is no question as to whether you hear us.
Father, we thank you that in Jesus Christ we have transcended the granite structure of the temple and that Father we, we see that it is so obsolete that it no longer even stands today, Father, and it need not be erected again because Christ is the cornerstone of the new temple and we are that living temple of God.
We thank you for the assurance that we know that you are with us, that you are present with us, and that you fill us with the Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit who gave Stephen wisdom and power and that peace to make the testimony that he did against that group of 70 men.
This same Holy Spirit, he indwells within us. Father, we thank you for this gift, and Father, we pray that you would help us to be so bold as Stephen to stand firm in our testimony, confident in the authority of Jesus Christ. The surety of his victory. We ask this in his name. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series The Spirit and the Church. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Acts 6:1-7, the early church is faced with a conflict. The 12 apostles, remaining faithful to their calling as ministers, delegate some of the day to day tasks of caring for church members to 7 men, full of the spirit, who would come to be known as deacons.
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Transcript:
Good morning.
In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the 12 gathered all the disciples together and said it would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.
Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word, a reading from the book of Acts chapter six, verses one through four.
Some of you might know that my son James is in a play showing at the Assembly of theater in Harrisville. The play is Frozen Junior. They have a showing today at 2:00 PM if you want to go. The kids have put in a lot of work practicing their dancing, singing, and of course rehearsing their lines. It takes a lot to put on a play, and you need more than what appears on stage.
You need people who can run lights, run the sound, take tickets, sell concessions, work backstage. It's all important work to make the play a success. As important and essential as these tasks are, you can't have the actors doing these tasks. While they might be able to offer a hand here or there, actors need to be focused on their acting, being ready to step onto the stage. If they go MIA when they're supposed to appear, it ruins the play. Others are needed. The actors are needed to act, and more than the actors are needed to make the play a success. It's tempting for us to try to do everything ourselves. Eventually circumstances can force us to concede that we need help.
As we see the church growing in the first century, we find the 12 disciples reckoning with this reality. And so we pick up in Acts six, looking at first versus one through four. Again, it starts off in verse one by noting that the number of the disciples was increasing, and as the numbers increase, there's a problem that arises.
And the thing that I, I appreciate about this is the reality of kind of rubbing up against each other, of tensions kind of coming about in the course of living in communities is nothing new. It goes all the way back to the beginning of the church. They had to deal with these sorts of issues. We have to deal with these sorts of issues.
It's not, doesn't mean anything wrong, it's just, it's the nature of, of being human beings who have some sin problems that come into the equation, but also just practical problems that we have to work out together. And there's a problem that's arisen here because the Hellenistic Jews are complaining against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
Before we can look at the exact problem, the distribution of food, we, I have to give you a little bit of background here because you're probably wondering what in the world is a Hellenistic Jew? Is this like, like a Jew that really likes hell or something? It's like, what? What is Hellenistic? So, so Hellenism or Hellenic refers to Greece, to the Greek people, to Greek culture.
If you're familiar at all with ancient history, you might know a guy named Alexander the Great had a big empire that swept not just the Mediterranean, but even reached towards India. Well, in the course of his conquest, Alexander spread great culture as he went along. Kind of understandable that the force in dominance would have a cultural sort of impression wherever it went, and you can imagine why people might be gravitated toward the Greek culture, seeing how successful Alexander was in his exploits. Well, even after Alexander died, that impression remained and kind of the traces of his conquest remained because his empire was divided among several of his lieutenants.
And so when we go to Israel, we see that the Jewish people also were influenced by this Greek culture. And it created a tension, particularly during the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes, which has occurred about a couple hundred years before, the time that we're in right now, in the first century. And it was a especially divisive time because Antiochus began to really push Greek culture onto the Jewish people, including the idolatrous elements, the immoral elements of it, and ended up kind of turning some of the Jewish people against one another because there were some Jews that favored the Greek culture, and there was others that said, no, we're going to remain authentic to being Jewish, and especially being faithful to worshiping the one true God. And so you have this division going on amongst the Jewish people. While we still have traces of that going on into the first century, where you have these Jews who we're not saying that they're doing immoral things, but they still kind of have that Greek accent about them in the way that they go about their lives. They've grown up their, their culture is different than the Hebraic Jews culture. you can kind of think about it in our modern terms of kind of Americanization, Western values. We see how that can create tensions across the world. and so while they might have not have been doing some of the bad things like idolatry, various elements of immorality, it was still a point of tension and it created some suspicion and it was especially suspicious because in this case, what's going on is there are widows in the community of the church that need help. This, the need for widows to receive help was especially acute, acute at this time because you had no other social support systems and women couldn't just go out and get jobs as they can today. And so they really needed the support of family. And if you didn't have family, then you're in a really tough spot. So in this case, the church is really kind of being that family for these widows.
The issue, however, is that the Hellenistic Jews are saying our widows are being overlooked. And they're kind of thinking, is it because we're coming from this Hellenistic background that we're being overlooked? So the 12 are recognizing this complaint. Okay, they're saying this is an issue. And it must have been a real problem because if the Hellenistic Jews were just getting the facts wrong, I'm sure the apostles would've said to 'em, listen, you think you're being underserved, but actually you're being adequately served.
Everything's fair and square here. Apparently that wasn't the case. Now we don't know the reason why that was, that was the case. Why they were being underserved might have been prejudicial, but it could have just been a practical problem that led to that outcome. In any case, the apostles come together and they realize they need help in sorting out this issue.
And it's an issue that they need to address because it's problematic for them to allow these widows to continue to not receive the help that they need because again, the early church is the fulfillment of what God had always intended for the people of God. And so if you go to the Old Testament, these blessings and curses are set before the people of Israel as they're entering into the promised land. One of those curses is it says Deuteronomy 27: 19, cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Then all the people shall say amen. So if the church is seeking to live in accordance with God's word, they say, we have to secure justice for these widows now.
Again, the community is so big at this point. The last count was it's going over 5,000 people. The apostles realized they can't do it all on their own, and so they began thinking, we need to delegate some of this responsibility out to others. And there's a precedent for this. There's a precedent for it in the Old Testament, we see Moses delegating responsibilities, among the elders of Israel to judge between the disputes of the people of Israel. And so kind of following in that, that tradition, the apostles say we need to select seven men that can oversee this issue, make sure the needs are met. And the reason why they come to this conclusion is because they say our priority needs to be the ministry of God's word and prayer, the ministry of God's Word and prayer.
You see the apostles, were gonna get distracted from being completely devoted to those tasks if they had to concern themselves with settling these disputes, making sure people are getting the bread that they need. It is very easy for, actually for the church to get distracted from this essential task of the ministry of God's word and prayer.
We can get so caught up in helping people with some of their practical needs, things that need to be done. Again, the apostles are recognizing these are things that need to be done, but it should not come at the cost of the ministry of God's word, because if you can feed someone for a day, great. Good. If you can give 'em water for a day, good.
You've satisfied their thirst, but in the end, those people will die all the same. What the apostles are bringing in their ministry of the word of God is the bread of life, Jesus Christ, the one in whom, if anyone believes in him, they would receive eternal life, everlasting water, so that they would never thirst again.
So they, they're saying we can't, we can't attend to these things because we have to remain faithful to the preaching of God's word, and we have to remain faithful to prayer. You see, pastors and elders of the church, as well as these original 12 pastors and elders like them, we must be dedicated to the mystery of God's word and to prayer, because if we are not praying, then we're walking in the dark. One of my essential tasks as a pastor is I need to be praying, and I, I can tell you that when I stop praying, I feel it. All of a sudden, all my natural anxieties and fears come to the surface, and I feel directionless. It's essential that we seek God in prayer, in order that we might gain the wisdom that is needed to know how we should walk, what direction the church should go, but also just praying for the needs of the people and praying for the power of God to intervene in ways that are needed because natural powers are not sufficient to meet the need.
Think about the church at this time. Everything's stacked against them. All these, the high priests, the Sanhedrin, they're all militating against their early church. They need to be praying that God would cause the gospel to prosper and overcome all these obstacles.
And so they propose that these, that seven men would serve to meet this need. And again, though. This idea of serving this need, waiting on tables, is not denigrating sort of service. It actually goes right in line with the highest form of service that Jesus identified in in Matthew 20, verse 26 through 28.
Jesus is teaching his disciples on how they shouldn't seek to be like worldly leaders who have basically everyone kissing the ring kind of thing. And he says to them instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave. Just as the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
The Apostle Paul picks up on this theme in Philippians two, verses three through seven. He says, in your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus, who being in very nature, God did not consider equality with God, something to be used to his own advantage. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness.
We cannot fully appreciate how powerful Christ's example is if we do not remember that he is the son of God. Jesus is no mere man. He is the son of God. God himself come in the flesh. And when he came in the flesh, he did not come as one born into a palace, recognized as all to be king. No, he was someone that was denied, rejected by his own hometown.
Who didn't even have a, a pillow to lay his head on. Christ, though King, made himself a servant.
He washed the feet of the disciples. So if he can do that, God himself can do that, how much more can we do that, and as we do it, are we not honored to be joining the very service, which Christ himself offered to us.
So the apostle say, you need to, we need to choose these seven men, and they should be full of the spirit. And, and they must be wise. They must have wisdom, no doubt, to oversee these matters. I mean, there's a lot of people. Kind of reading between the line here is, I, I think they probably had some help in trying to meet some of these needs, but they're the ones at least in charge and making sure everything was taken care of.
And while the word itself does not appear here, what we have here actually is the first appointment of, of deacons in the church. Now, the word deacon comes from the Greek word diakonos, which simply means to serve.
And when we look to First Timothy three, we find in addition to this best basic standard that they be full, the spirit, that they have wisdom, we find in one Timothy three kind of a fuller explanation of what would be expected of those who would be deacons. Paul says in First Timothy three verses eight through thirteen, he says, in the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect. Sincere, not indulging in much wine and not pursuing dishonest gain. And they must keep hold of the deep truth of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested and then if there's nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect. Not malicious talkers, but temperate and trustworthy in everything.
A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. Those who have served well gain excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus. Now, kind of at the outset, before we consider some of these standards here, I think it's worth noting that it appears that in this passage and then also elsewhere, that the role of Deacon is not exclusive to men and, and that it's for that reason that our church has deaconesses.
In fact, I don't even think we have to call you deaconesses. It's a helpful distinction at times. But the Bible just calls 'em all deacons just kinda like it's, it's just a general term. But Paul mentions here that in the same way women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers, but temperate, trustworthy in everything.
And then we have this little just kind of side note in Romans 16, one where Paul says, I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. Now some translators might say that just means servant, but again, we just said the word servant means deacon. It's diakonos in the Greek. So there seems like there's a precedent here for both men and women serving as deacons in the church, and all of them should be full of the spirit, be known to be people filled with wisdom, and they should be known for having self-control.
They shouldn't be drunk on wine. They need to be responsible people that can be trustworthy, not talking bad about people behind their backs because they're in a position of, of trust. They have to be faithful and be in how they manage their households. They have to be faithful to their spouses because if they're not faithful to their spouse, if they can't manage their household, then how in the world would they be faithful to their service in the church? Serving the church requires great care and attention and faithfulness and trust trustworthiness, and so there's great wisdom in testing them, as Paul says, preparing them when it comes to positions like this.
And I think this would actually apply to all positions. We don't just want warm bodies and sometimes we come under this pressure as like, well, we have these positions that can be filled and we should just put someone, no, we wanna put the right people in. Because if you put the wrong people in, it can create all kinds of problems.
Way worse than just having empty positions.
And I can say for my own part as a pastor, there's nothing better than having good and faithful deacons. And we've had many of them here in our church. And the, the greatest thing about those who serve in the, the, that position faithfully is again, kind of like the apostles are talking about here, is.
You don't, as a pastor, as elders, you don't have to worry about those things entrusted to them. They're taking care of that, and that means you can focus on what you're supposed to be doing. Now, looking to verses five through seven, we find how the believers responded to the twelves plan, says this proposal pleased the whole group.
They chose Steven, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. Also, Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Now, something that's just notable here that I think we could have missed in some of these earlier verses is again, the apostles wanted the congregation of believers to choose these men and in verses five through seven we see that they in fact do this. Now, the reason why this is notable is because in some traditions of the church, the congregation really has no say in matters.
It's just the pastor or bishops or the like. Now the Bible doesn't prescribe an a comprehensive plan for how the church is supposed to be organized. It gives basic positions like pastor, elder, deacon, that sort of thing. But it doesn't give you a whole hierarchical sort of str of how denominations are supposed to be structured and things like that.
But I think what we have here, and I think, and this is why our church is a congregationalist church, is we have a precedent that in certain matters it is good for the congregation to be involved and to express their voice as the Holy Spirit leads them. That doesn't mean everything goes before the congregation.
That's why the church entrusts some things to the board or to the pastor or or other various groups. But in certain things it is good that the congregation gets involved and, and we see them do that here and, and we can see the importance of it, especially given the matter at hand. Again, there's this issue, there's this conflict, seeming conflict between the Hellenistic Jews and the Hebraic Jews.
It might threaten to divide the community, but what's notable here is that all of them, Hellenistic Jews that are believers, Hebraic Jews that are believers, all of them decide that the deacons, those who would serve as deacons are actually gonna be all Hellenistic Jews and one Gentile. Now, the reason why we can pick up on that is because these names have Greek influence to them, so, so notice how above and beyond the Hebraic Jews want to go to ensure that their brothers and sisters realize that, no, we do care for you.
We don't want there to be any confusion here about our care for you, so we're gonna put these Hellenistic, these, these Jew Jewish believers that are, come from a Hellenistic background into these positions, and we're even going to include someone who's not Jewish at all. This man, Nicolas, he, he is a gentile, a convert to Judaism.
It's a profound demonstration of, of love and care, and it's an example that we should seek to follow, making sure that each one of us is reassured of our love and care for each other, and we have one guy who's, who's kind of picked out here. It says, Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.
And we're gonna learn about him in the rest of this chapter and into the next and chapter, we're gonna see just how full of the spirit and wisdom he is. And we're also gonna hear about Philip later. We don't learn so much about about the others, but those two we hear more of and, and we'll see that their, their ministry does exceed beyond just serving tables, but this is, this is their primary task is to look after the material practical needs of the church.
That's what the deacon ministry is focused on, is making sure the people of God are being taken care of. And so the congregation elects these, these seven and the apostles have a hand of involvement still in this also though, they basically install them. They, they lay on hands upon them as they enter into this ministry.
And again, there's a precedent for this. In the Old Testament, we see how in Numbers 8:10, the Levites, when the, they're brought before the Lord, the Israelites lay their hands on them. And we, and we recognize that this isn't just a public recognition of the fact that these men are entering into these roles, but that there is some spiritual reality at play here in terms of them being equipped by the spirit to perform the tasks that they are called to. I think we have an indication of this in First Timothy and Second Timothy, Paul talking about the gift that Timothy received. Not as an elder, but I mean not as a deacon, but as an elder.
He says, Timothy, do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. That's First Timothy four, and Second Timothy one, he says, for this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
It's interesting to think about how, even while there are some kind of previous indications that obviously the congregation identified in these men that told them that, yes, these men should be deacons, in the laying on of hands, the God, God is also supplying even more by the Holy Spirit so that these men would be fully equipped for the tasks that they're called to do.
And what we see result from this is, is rapid growth. Says so the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and it says a large number of priests became obedient to the faith, which is quite a profound thing. When you think about, if you're gonna think about anyone who might resist the church, you would think maybe it's those that are in that position of priests, but we see how they're even being turned to Christ.
There can, there can be no doubt. Part of this growth was because of this important development of appointing deacons rather than descending into division, the harm, harmony of the community was upheld by these seven men who are able to minister to the material needs of the church community. The positive reputation of the church would continue forward, and instead of the 12 disciples being pulled into every single little matter, they're able to delegate and focus their attention on preaching and teaching God's word and devoting themselves to prayer.
What stands out to me as I consider this early example of the believers is their collective faithfulness to calling. The 12 were faithful to their calling, which led them to propose that deacons be chosen, who could be faithful to their calling, and the collective body of believers on the whole, were faithful in supporting the 12 in their calling and identifying those who would be called to the deaconate ministry. Sometimes we confuse busyness and faithfulness. If we're always doing something, we must be faithful, right? Or so we think. There are many good things that can be done in the church and in the world, but you must understand this. You're not called to do all the things. Over the past few years, God has been sorting that out in my own mind.
Very simply, I am called to be a pastor. There are a number of things that I might be able to do, things that in themselves are good things, but they are not the things I'm called to do right now in my life. My call is to be a pastor in this place and time, and I dare not neglect what God wants me to do.
The same is true for you. You can't meet every need in this church, and you can't chase every pursuit in life. God offers us a certain kind of peace in just accepting limits. Imagine how frantic the apostles would've been if they tried to deal with everything themselves. Our concern should simply be this.
What does God want you to be doing in his church, in his world? Don't worry about trying to figure it all out on your own. Remember, it was all the other believers who identified the seven men, telling them that they believed God was calling them to be deacon. The Holy Spirit will guide you in how you should serve in this church, both personally and through the congregation.
You also guide you in how you should use the rest of your life.
Might it be that if we would be faithful to our respective callings, singularly dedicated, undistracted, working harm harmoniously together that God would also bless us with growth. I think it's a sure possibility and it's definitely what is required. I think it's an absolute certainty that if we are unfaithful to our individual callings, if we're always busy and scatterbrained, we will not grow. Our church community will not flourish. So then, like the early believers, let us support each other in being faithful to the call that God has placed upon us, helping each other discern what God would have us do. Let's pray.
Father,
we thank you for the work of your spirit, for the work of the Holy Spirit, Father, and the wisdom that you gave to the apostles. So that they would know that they couldn't do it all on their own, and that father you gave your church deacons, who were full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, so that the needs of the church might be met.
Father, we thank you for their example of being faithful to calling, in not letting themselves be spread thin. Father, we pray that you would help each one of us to be faithful to the calling that you've placed upon us, and that if we don't know what we're supposed to be doing, father, we pray that you would give us clarity in that, that you would use our brothers and sisters here to help us discern what we're supposed to be doing here in the church, possibly outside the church Father if we don't have a sense of what we're supposed to be doing out there.
Father, we just thank you again for equipping your church, giving us everything that we need so that we might be the people that we're supposed to be, the kind of people that care for the needs of widows, that make sure that no one is overlooked. The kind of community where justice is upheld. Father, help us to be faithful so that we would be the church that you desire us to be.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series The Spirit and the Church. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Acts 5:12-42 the apostles appear before the Sanhedrin, counting it all joy to be subject to punishment for following God’s commands.
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Transcript:
If you're going to keep your job, you need to know who's in charge. Workplace dynamics can be a bit of a tricky thing. Opinions abound as to how the job should be done. Some colleagues expect everyone else to work at the frenetic pace they do. Others expect everyone to just mail it in as they do. Then there are managers or supervisors, they have their own ideas about how you should be doing your job. Finally, there's the owner, the CEO, the chief, whoever is at the top of things. If they really understand the work entrusted to their employees, then they'll have definite ideas about what should be happening. Human relations can be tricky
but, in the end, we would all agree that our final rule, the definitive expectation, begins and ends with the highest authority. In the end, if what our colleagues think, or even what our supervisors think, is fundamentally at odds with what our boss expects from us, then we must dissent. If we will be good workers, we must do the job that we were employed to do according to the standard and expectation of our employer.
But even our employer's authority is not absolute. Our employer is not above the laws of the land. All the more, our employer's demands do not supersede God's commands. In fact, the entirety of our lives boils down to this. Are we living in accordance with God's expectation? Is he pleased with us? Does he approve of us?
It is very easy to forget this. It is very easy to forget that he is in charge. It is too easy to fold under the bite of social pressure, to bend under the scowling disapproval of the world, its rulers, and its mobs. It's nothing new. The Church, the people of God, feel it today as we have felt it from the beginning.
But as we stood then, so we can stand now. We find our example in the Apostles. This morning we continue in Acts 5, beginning in verse 12. They are, Luke gives us this account. He says the apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's colonnade.
No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. So, as we've seen previously in Acts, so we see continued now, that this Holy Spirit is continuing to work through the Apostles, manifesting through them various signs and wonders, healings, through their word of teaching.
They're making quite an impression on the population of, of Jerusalem.
As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, there is a place where they often gather. They would often meet in the temple court, particularly in Solomon's Colonnade, which is depicted behind me. Now it's interesting that even as all these things were going on, these signs, these wonders, this teaching, and they're gathering quite a crowd, it says that no one dared join them, even though the apostles and the believers were all highly regarded.
And we, we may, we might wonder why that is. Why were they afraid of joining them? Why did they not dare join them? Well, we can go back to what we just talked about last week. You think about what happened to Ananias and Sapphira. They were deceitful, lying about giving all the proceeds from a sale of land for the benefit of the church.
Instead, they kept a little bit back, but said otherwise. And as a result, God struck them dead. So the people are, as this word is getting around about this, the people realize, like, this is, this is very serious. We also might surmise that the people understand that the religious authorities, the priestly authorities, are not big fans about what the apostles are doing.
And they all know what happened to Jesus. And so they're highly regarded, but people are not daring to join them. Just as a bit of an aside, I think we should be able to recognize that we can experience that dynamic even today, where as Christians, as a church, we might be highly regarded by many people and yet they won't join us.
It'd be very frustrating. I can tell you as a pastor, sometimes I find that very frustrating, but it's because they're living under the fear of the world. There's all sorts of concerns that are keeping them from coming to Christ, from joining the church. And so then as now we see that people can have high regard for the church, have high regard for Jesus Christ, and yet they don't dare join.
And yet at the same time, this is kind of the paradox, it says that they grew and grew. And we see that even today also. That even while many reject Christ, they won't take that last step, we do see that the church grows. Not just here, but in other places as well, bit by bit, the church grows all across the world.
As we continue on in verse 15, we see some of the nature of some of the wonders that were going on at this time. It says, as a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.
Isn't that amazing? That even as Peter's walking down the street and his shadow falls upon someone, they're healed. It's as though his shadow is an extension of himself. It's reminiscent of the miracle of the, that, miracles that we saw in Jesus's own ministry, when the woman that was dealing with an issue of bleeding just touched the mere fringe of Jesus's cloak and was healed.
Now of course, the healing is not because of who Peter is, but it's because of who God is, working through him by the power of the Holy Spirit. And these, these wonders are just so magnificent that people from towns all over are streaming to Jerusalem so that the sick might be healed and so that demons might be cast out.
And they did experience healing. Now, as we see this, as we hear about these wonders, as we hear about something so wonderful as even Peter's shadow crossing someone and them being healed, we might wonder, well, why doesn't that happen today? And in fact, it might cause us to wonder, you know, did this really happen given that we don't see this happening today?
I don't walk down the street and my shadow when I hit someone, people aren't healed. Well we must say that God could certainly do that. We also have to recognize, though, that God is not held to any rule as to how he would work at any time and place in history, but that he has a specific purpose for every season.
And in this season, we must remember that there's quite a bit of obstacles standing before the apostles in order for them to be able to persuade people that their message is true. Think about it. The one that they claimed to be Messiah was crucified on the cross. Everyone saw that. Not everyone saw that he was raised from the dead.
Many did. The apostles did. It says up to 500 saw him alive at one time. But not everyone saw Jesus raised from the dead. So think about how you're going to work from that small pool of people. And try to persuade a world that only understands crucifixion to be the most shameful way of being put to death and saying, that guy was the Messiah.
How are you going to persuade people? Well, the message certainly counts and the Holy Spirit was working through them as they preached the gospel message and they pointed to the Old Testament and said, this, listen, you see Jesus, he's fulfilling everything that the scripture said needed to occur. But more than this, you can imagine that what might put people, push people over the edge is if you have incredible signs like this occurring. And the fact that we are here today, that the church now spreads across the globe, I believe testifies to the reality that these things occurred, because otherwise, how could it be that the church would otherwise emerge under those kinds of circumstances.
Circumstances that completely mitigate, militated against them ever gaining ground. In fact, we see they drew so much attention by these wonders that the priestly authorities were filled with envy and malice towards them. Continuing on verse 17, it says, then the high priest and all his associates who were members of the party of the Sadducees were filled with jealousy.
They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. But during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. Go, stand in the temple courts, he said, and tell the people all about this new life.
This is quite a get by the high priests and all his associates. They're jealous. They're upset about the message that is being preached. They're jealous about what's going on. And it says that they arrested the apostles. And we can only go off of what the text is saying here and assume that they arrested all of the apostles.
Imagine they've arrested all 12 of them. They've got all the leaders here. Seems like a pretty bad situation. The church could just be snuffed out just like that, seemingly, by any sort of natural expectation. If you take, cut off the head of the snake kind of thing.
And yet we have another miraculous sign, wonder, intervention. These authorities say these men shouldn't be preaching this message. They shouldn't be doing the things that they're doing. We're going to throw them into jail. And what does God do? He overrules them. He sends an angel and releases them from jail and gives them their marching orders. Telling them go stand in the temple courts and tell the people all about this new life. Well, that would be a shot in the arm for the Apostles, wouldn't it? Something you have to appreciate is that, naturally speaking, you would expect that the Apostles would be intimidated by these leaders.
Not only because of what they did to Jesus, but just how they were conditioned their whole life. These were Jewish men. They had been brought up to respect the priestly authorities. You can imagine them thinking that maybe they should give in to their authority. In fact, we don't see those sorts of doubts circling in the disciples minds, especially given when something like this happens.
An angel of the Lord coming and saying, No, this is what you're supposed to be doing. You are to be preaching this message. Get back out there. And what they are teaching is not just, a new philosophy, a new way of looking thing at things. The angel says, tell the people all about this new life. You see, the gospel is truth.
Manifest with living power. It is no just mere dead doctrine. It's not just a set of ideas. It is the power of God, poured out because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, realized through the work of the Holy Spirit. And so, that's what the apostles do. They get back out there. Verse 21, it says, At daybreak, they entered the temple courts, as it had been told, and began to teach the people.
When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin, the full assembly of the elders of Israel, and sent to jail for the Apostles. But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported, We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors.
But when we opened them, we found no one inside. On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priest were at a loss, wondering what this might lead to. Then someone came and said, Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people. At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles.
They did not use force because they feared that the people would stone them. Now, just appreciate the hilarity of this situation. These august priestly authorities, like, we've arrested these men, and we're going to bring them now before the full assembly of the Sanhedrin to judge them. And they said, go bring these prisoners to us.
And they find that they're not there. What do you mean they're not there? They're back in the temple. They're teaching the people again. It's absolutely humiliating for them. And what it shows implicitly is these apostles are fearless. You can imagine, okay, if they got out of jail, maybe they ran to the Galilean countryside.
But no, these guys went right back to where they were. They have no fear. Instead, what we see here is that there's fear among the leaders that are arresting them. It says that the captain and his officers who went to arrest the apostles, they did so gently, said, Please come with us, please. They don't use force because they're afraid of what the people might do to them.
So the tables are completely turned. You expect the apostles are going to be afraid, it's not them. It's the captain, and the guards are afraid. The priestly authorities are full of jealousy, and they're all anxious about these guys doing what they're doing. And in any case, the apostles oblige, they're brought in.
Continuing on verse 27, it says, The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, he said. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood.
Peter and the other apostles replied, we must obey God rather than human beings. So kind of just the opening volley from the high priest, he throws his weight around saying, we gave you strict orders. You weren't supposed to be teaching in this name. You're filling Jerusalem with all this nonsense about this teaching.
And you're trying to make us look guilty. You're trying to make us look like the bad guys here. Now, they wouldn't deny that they crucified Jesus. That they did. But the trouble is about the apostle's message is that they're presenting Jesus as one who is innocent and who was shown to be truly the Messiah by God and that he was raised, Jesus was victified. He was, he, he was, his message was shown to be true. And that implies the guilt of the religious leaders.
And so, they're upset, but Peter and the Apostles are resolute and say, We must obey God rather than human beings. Now, this is a familiar tone that we've heard. You'll recall that this is echoing what Peter and John said just a chapter earlier, when they were brought before these same leaders. When they said, which is right in God's eyes, to listen to you or to him, you be the judges.
As for us, we cannot help speaking what we have heard, seen, and heard. You see, the apostles recognized that God's authority is higher than the authority of these high, of the high priests and his peers. His authority is the greater reality. And so in light of that, they can stand with courage. And it's when we recognize that, that God's authority is above all the authorities of this world.
Maybe it is your boss. Maybe it's political leaders. Maybe it's just kind of the authority of social opinion or whatever it will be. God's authority is higher. And when we reckon with that reality, when we see that He is the King, He is the Lord. That gives us good ground to stand firm.
Now, continuing on, Peter and the Apostles explain how it was revealed that God's authority is on their side. In verse 30 says The God, they say, the God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead, whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior, that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins.
We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. You see, if, if Jesus was not resurrected from the dead, he wouldn't have been exalted, and the apostles wouldn't have been standing before the Sanhedrin at this point. But it is because Jesus was raised from the dead, it is because he was vindicated by God, shown to truly be the Prince and Savior of Israel, the one in whom the forgiveness of sins might be found.
It's because of this that they now stand here. And they must stand because they are witnesses of everything that's happening. And they're standing there because the Holy Spirit who indwells them now is also witnessing to that reality through all these signs and wonders that are occurring.
The message that they're bringing, even as they are pointing out that yes, these leaders are guilty, is nonetheless not a message of revenge. They're not sending out a message saying, these leaders did this so we all should crucify them in return. They're not saying that. The message is that Jesus is the one in whom forgiveness can be found.
Repent and believe. And so while it's not stated directly, indirectly, the fact that they're preaching this to the Sanhedrin, they're saying this to them as well. This is open to you all. You too can repent and believe. Even the ones that conspired to kill Jesus, even they can be forgiven.
And that reminds us just of how amazing God's grace is, is that if they can be forgiven, the ones who conspired to kill Jesus, then certainly what we've done in our lives, we too also can be forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ, by his sacrifice. Now, while their message is powerful, these leaders are just not having it.
In verse 33, it says, When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. Then he addressed the Sanhedrin, Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men.
Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about 400 men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered.
Therefore, in the present case, I advise you, leave these men alone. Let them go. For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men. You will only find yourselves fighting against God.
This man Gamaliel is an interesting fellow. We learn later on in Acts 22: 3 that he was in fact Paul's mentor, Paul's teacher. He was a leading Pharisee. And he seems to have some, some wisdom here. Even if he doesn't come all the way around to becoming Christian himself, he dissuades the Sanhedrin from following through with wanting to kill the apostles.
And the way that he goes about bringing them around to his way of seeing things is he points out some previous failed movements. You see, during the time in which Christ appeared, there was a lot of messianic expectation. The Jewish people were expecting that the Messiah would appear and deliver them from Roman rule.
And so you had many a number of leaders who appeared and tried to kind of put on that suit. They said, okay, we're going to overthrow the Romans. Here, you guys got some swords, let's create a little, you know, guerrilla army here. We're going to cause some trouble and we'll reestablish Israel. Well, the Roman Empire is pretty big.
Their army is pretty notorious for being a very effective killing machine. And so as many times as these groups, groups rose up, they got taken down, and the movements just fell apart. The leaders were killed, and the groups just dispersed. Now what's interesting here is that we have a change in the pattern with Jesus.
Jesus gained a great following. Everyone was expecting He was going to be Messiah, and then He was killed. Now if it was going to follow the same pattern as before, He would have been killed, and then the whole movement would have dispersed. But that's not what we see happening here. Jesus was killed, and instead, his believers, his followers are rallying.
In fact, the group is growing. Now, the Sanhedrin would deny that Jesus was raised from the dead, but that's the difference. We know that's the difference here. That Jesus was killed, but he was raised from the dead, and so there's real power here. And perhaps Gamaliel recognizes this difference, or maybe he's just saying, just give it time, it will fall apart.
In any case, it seems like he's like, let's, let's tread carefully here. Why, why involve ourselves in trying to make a judgment here? Just leave them alone. If it's just a man, it's going to fall apart. But he says in verse 39, If it's from God, you will not be able to stop these men. You only find yourselves fighting against God.
And if you're fighting against God, that's a battle you're not going to win. This is testified in Scripture. We see in Lamentations 3: 37, it says, Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord does not decree it? In Proverbs 21: 30, there is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.
Isaiah 8:9-10, the word of the Lord in opposition to the powers of Assyria and all nations that would come against Israel. It says, Raise the war cry, you nations, and be shattered. Listen, in all you distant lands. Prepare for battle and be shattered. Prepare for battle and be shattered. Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted.
Propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us. For God is with us. And the disciples know this. They know that the God of Israel, the God of their fathers, is with them. They were assured by Christ that they would not be defeated. Remember what Jesus tells Peter in Matthew 16: 18. He says, Peter, you are Peter, on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. You see, the church, can experience setbacks in this world, and the way I kind of imagine it is as we go through the course of history the tide of the church, and it goes out. And when the tide of the church is going out sometime this world will build up its little kingdoms.
It's little castles, it's walls and there will be a little celebration on the part of the world saying see we're overcoming the church. We're pushing back all this Christian nonsense. But it's only a temporary setback. And they cannot resist the tide because they're just built of sand.
You see, when Christ returns, ultimately and finally, we're going to see that all opposition against Christ is going to be obliterated. But even here and now, we can see those walls come tumbling down as the tide comes back in. As the spirit, in accordance with God's plan and purpose, begins to work again in new places and times.
Nothing can stand against us so long as God is with us. Closing with verses 40 through 42, we see the effect of Gamaliel's speech and what befalls the apostles. It says, His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and let them go.
The apostles left the Sanhedrin rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the name. Day after day in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.
So coming out of this private, back behind the closed door meeting, the Sanhedrin said, Oh, here's the good news, guys. We're not going to kill you. But we will flog you.
Now I don't, don't know about you, but the idea of flogging, being flogged sounds terrifying. I would not want to experience that. They're flogged and they're told, don't talk about Jesus. Now Jesus told the disciples that this was, was going to happen to them. Mark 13, he says, you must be on guard. You'll be handed over to local councils and flogged in the synagogues.
On account of me, you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. So they know that's going to happen, but even as they know it's going to happen, once you experience being flogged, being whipped again and again and again, and their backs just opened up, you'd expect that maybe they would be discouraged at this point.
But that's not what we see here. Instead, it says in verse 41, they, they were rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace.
They were rejoicing over the fact that they got to suffer for the name of Jesus Christ.
Seems a bit strange, maybe. You're wondering, like, I don't know if I would have rejoiced. But think of where they're coming from. When Jesus was arrested, betrayed, they all scattered. They ran away. They were scared. But now things have changed. Now they're standing firm. They're standing with Jesus now. So that even as he suffered, so now they are willing to suffer for the gospel, for the kingdom of God.
And we see also that apart from just this kind of this honor of being able to stand shoulder to shoulder in Christ and suffering, Peter explains to us in his letter, 1 Peter, of how God uses suffering to shine forth the genuineness of our faith. In 1 Peter 1, verses 6- 7, it says, In all this you greatly rejoice, talking about the gospel message, essentially.
Though now, for a little while, you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith, of greater worth than gold, which perishes, even though refined by fire, may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Paul says something similar in Romans 5, talking about how we grow in our sufferings.
You see, it's easy to say that you have faith when everything's going well. But the quality of our faith, the depth of our faith is revealed when we are under duress. As a pastor, I'm always looking for analogies, and the easiest analogies for me just come from my own life. And so, as I was thinking about this, I was thinking about firefighters.
I was thinking about how it's easy to look like a good firefighter when you have the uniform on. Maybe, maybe you're sweeping the bay, you're washing the trucks. It's easy to look like a good firefighter on the good and easy days. But the excellence of a firefighter is not proven on those days. It's proven on the bad days, when everything goes sideways. When you have a three alarm fire. That's when it's proven whether you're really up to the task. When we think about our faith, we have to be able to be humble and recognize that even we ourselves don't know how we're going to hold up under the trial until the trial happens.
You can say you think you're going to stand firm, but it's only proven once that actually occurs. And so there can be a cause for rejoicing even in the trial because now that opportunity has come for us to stand forth and say, yes, I will stand shoulder to shoulder with Jesus Christ. And it's in that hour that God is glorified.
And as God is glorified, we share in that glory. We partake in it. It's an occasion for rejoicing. And so we see the apostles rejoicing. And we see that they kept going house to house even though they were told to stop. Even though they were told to stop, it says in verse 42, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.
They were defiant. They said, God's standing behind us. We're going to keep on going. It doesn't matter if you flog us. It doesn't matter if you're going to kill us. You see, we can suffer pain. We can face down our fears. We can keep going when we know that God is with us. We can stand when we know that he is the one who counts, he and his command. We can speak the truth, we can call sin, sin, and we can invite repentance and forgiveness in Jesus Christ. Just as Paul says of himself and his colleagues in 2 Corinthians 5: 20, so we can say of ourselves, we are Christ's ambassadors to the world, as though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore everyone on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. We dare not alter our message. We dare not cut corners, twist, bend, or water down. We must obey God rather than human beings. By God's grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, so shall we be obedient to Him. Let us pray.
Dear Father,
In the example of the Apostles,
We see the wonder of your provision. Of how you gave them everything that they needed, Father. Of how, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you equipped them to be able to show forth these signs and wonders so that they might gather people to Christ.
How by the Holy Spirit, you gave them the words to speak to those people. And what's more, Father, the words to speak. Father, we know that they were able to do this because of the Holy Spirit, and because they understood who their real authority was. They recognized that you are the true authority, God, and that our aim should only be to please you.
Father, help us to walk in their footsteps. Help us to be so confident. Help us to recognize even what Gamaliel recognized, that if God is with us, then we will not be defeated.
Father, we know that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. And so, Father, even if we experience setbacks, Even if we go through hard times, even if it comes to flogging, Father, let us not be filled with dismay. Father, by the Holy Spirit, fill us with rejoicing because we get to stand shoulder to shoulder with Jesus Christ. And in that joy, Father, spur us onward to keep on going, to not stop teaching, to not back down from standing on the gospel truth.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series The Spirit and the Church. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Acts 4:32-5:11, we hear how the early church is becoming a supportive community, and we learn from the example of Ananias and Sapphira about the significance of God’s holiness.
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Transcript:
Tell me if this has happened to you before. You're sitting at a table, maybe at home, maybe at a restaurant, and a delicious meal is plated before you. And you begin to eat. But as you take your next bite, you feel something strange in your mouth. It's hanging in your teeth. It's nothing that was on the menu.
It's a strand of hair. Has that happened to you before? Yeah, few of you. Now I don't always mind surprises in my food. A rogue onion ring in a bag of fries is a welcome delight, but I must say. I don't keep munching down when I find a hair in my mouth, I remove it with a shiver of disgust, and I, I trust your reaction is the same.
Perhaps even for some of you, it would just spoil the whole meal. Now we react this way because strands of hair do not belong on our plate. It's not something we eat. It's completely out of place. We are jealous to protect the sanctity of our meals. Now, I want you to take that experience and your reaction and to use that as a touch point, as an analogy for understanding the holiness of God.
Sin before God is like hair in the plate. He has no taste for sin. He only welcomes righteousness and goodness in his presence. Anything less than that is picked out and thrust from his presence. Adam and Eve once enjoyed God's presence in the Garden of Eden, but when they sinned, they were evicted. When God blessed the people of Israel with his presence, guardrails were put in place through the sanctuary of the tabernacle and the temple.
No one could just stroll into God's presence without risking their life because of sin, only the high priest could enter the inner sanctum, the holy of holies, and that only once a year, and when Israel persisted in their sins despite God's exceeding patience, God spit them out of this promised land into exile, and the temple was destroyed.
Now, later on, the temple was rebuilt and this standard remained and every human being, continued to fall short, every human, until the son of God was born. The Son of man, Jesus of Nazareth. He was righteous and good and holy. He offered himself as our atoning sacrifice on the cross, a sacrifice of obedience acceptable to God.
He was raised from the dead and he ascended into heaven entering the heavenly temple, the real deal. The Son of God, born the son of man, standing in the presence of the Father. He did this so we could stand alongside them. He did this so that with himself as the cornerstone, we who believe will be built upon him as the living temple of God, God's presence, resident in us individually and collective as a whole.
Now I tell you this because it is only with this background in mind that you can adequately understand the account that we're gonna read today. Only by understanding God's holiness, his intolerance for sin and our redemption to be his temple, will you understand the judgment that he brings when sin appears in these early days of the church.
But before we get to sin, we see testimony of the goodness that God is producing in his church. So we first look at the end of chapter four, verses 32 through 37. Once again, I'll read it says, all the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions with their own, but they shared everything they had with great power.
The apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them for from time to time, those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.
Joseph a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas, which means son of encouragement, sold the field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostle's feet. What we see here in these verses is, what we see is the fingerprints of the Holy Spirit. Luke notes that they were all one in heart and mind.
You see unity in the, among the body of believers. We also see that through the apostles, they continue to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. It says with great power, they did this testimony. So again, hinting at the work of the Holy Spirit ongoing here. And just as kind of an aside, just notice how central the resurrection is to the gospel message for them, this is why everything hinged on. If, if Jesus is not alive, if he's not raised from the dead, then they have nothing to say. Paul says as much in First Corinthians 15: 14, if Christ is not raised, then we're stuck in our sins. But because Jesus was raised from the dead and the apostles said, we saw him, we ate with him, we talked with him, we saw him ascend.
Then we truly have good news to share. And so they're preaching. But besides this preaching, you have this just awesome way of life as being cultivated among the believers by the spirit. Now we saw this testified to earlier in Acts 2 verses 44 through 45, where it says that the believers had everything in common and that, and that's what this passage is reiterating once again, is that they all cared for each other.
There was no needy persons among them. They shared with one another what they had. And again, this is just fulfilling what God's intention was all along for his people to be. God told the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 15:4 that there shouldn't, there should be no need for poor people to be among you.
You should be taking care of each other. When we hear the prophecy, anticipating the coming Messiah, a testimony that Isaiah gives in Isaiah 61 verses 1 through 2, a prophecy that is upon the lips of Jesus as he preaches to his hometown of Nazareth. It says, the spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
There's all kinds of spiritual benefits that we can talk about in terms of the good news, namely our forgiveness from sins. Our deliverance from judgment. We also look forward to the resurrection of the body, but there is good news for the poor also in the gospel, and we see it coming to life here in this community that the poor are no longer going to be neglected, but rather the people of God are going to care for one another, they're going to care for their fellow believers. And in fact, we can say that this is, this is surely good news for the world because we can see the impact that church has had upon the world. We would not see charity in this world the way it is, and we can always do better, but we wouldn't even see it as it is, if not for Jesus Christ, if not for the establishment of the church.
Our culture of charity in the United States goes back to our Christian foundations, that didn't just pop out of thin air. So when Jesus shows up, it is good news for the poor and we see it coming to life in the church and again, isn't, there's an especial responsibility we have though for one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Paul says in Galatians 6:10. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Yes, we should do good to all people, but especially we need to care for one another as brothers and sisters in Christ and in James 2 verses 14 through 17, James is talking about faith and works, and how if you really have faith, it's gonna show up in your actions. And just as an example of that, he points out the fact that if a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food, if one of you says to them, go in peace; keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?
What he's pointing out there is that as a Christian family, yeah, we should be praying for each other, but we can do more than that too. We can go and fulfill the need of, of that prayer. We're saying, God, please help Brother so and so, please help Sister so and so meet their need. Well, maybe God wants you to help meet their need.
The point is is that as Christians, we are responsible to care for each other, and we see this being lived out in the early community now. I, I think I addressed this when we looked at Acts two, but we shouldn't think as though they had like some communist system going on where they had to throw everything in a pot and no one had any property rights or anything like that.
We see, clearly that's not the case, but they, because they're still owning land, they're selling to help those who are in need. What's being called for here in terms of their example is if you have excess, if you have things that you can dispense with, then do so to help a brother or sister. And Luke points out one particular fellow who will become significant later on in the book of Acts.
A fellow named Joseph, better known as Barnabas, Barnabas meaning son of encouragement. Now that's a nickname. Wouldn't you love to have that? Maybe not actually Barnabas, but son of encouragement, that you're just so well known for being one who encourages other, that they call you a son of encouragement or or a daughter of encouragement as it would be.
And it's noted that he was from Cyprus and that he was a Levite, and at least one commentator, Patrick Shriner, suggests that maybe this is, Luke is pointing out these details because once again, it's demonstrating the fulfillment of God's call for his people. Because if you're a Levite, you're part of the, the tribe of priests.
And here Barnabas is truly fulfilling God's command by offering this sacrifice of obedience and helping care for the poor in their church community. He had a field, he sold it and he laid the proceeds at the feet of the apostles as telling them, do with this as you see fit. Now this example from Barnabus sets us up for a notable contrast, a contrast in how good practices can be twisted and perverted for wicked purposes. So we continue on into Acts five, verse, looking at verses one through six. Luke writes Now a man named Ananias, together with wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostle's feet. Then Peter said, Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold and after it was sold?
Wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God. When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body and carried him out and buried him. We have two new figures on the scene.
Ananias and Sapphira, members of this early church community, they were following in the footsteps of what others were doing. They had a field and they figured, okay, we'll sell it and we'll give the proceeds to the church, but there's a twist. They sold their field. They got the proceeds, but they did not give all of the money to the church, but that's not the problem.
The problem wasn't that they didn't give all the money to the church. The problem was that they didn't give all the money to the church, but they told the church they gave them all the money from the sale of that field. And why would they do that? Well, there's some cultural factor here that I think help our understandings. When it came to great public works in ancient society many times, if those works came about, like a fountain was to be built, for instance, or baths, it wasn't always built by taxes. Sometimes they just didn't have the tax funds to do it, or maybe the emperor was pocketing too much of it for himself. And so a great patron in the community would say, I will build the fountain for the town.
You know, something like that. And the benefit for him is he gets all this glory, because look, that's the guy that built the fountain. So you have that, that culture in that, in this time and place of patronage. And so it could be a point of pride in terms of saying, we sold this field and we gave all the money to the church.
Ananias wants that kind of glory without the complete sacrifice. Now it's interesting, we wonder how Peter came to knew, know that they had lied about this. Perhaps the spirit simply revealed it to him, perhaps there was just other people in the church that knew and they said, Hey Peter, they're saying this, but they actually kept some of the money for themselves.
They talked with the buyer, he said he paid that much. You know, that kind of thing. Whatever the case may be, Peter, Peter knows and he confronts Ananias, and notice what he says. We've been talking a lot about the Holy Spirit, notice the reversal here. We expect that as a believer, Ananias would be filled with the Holy Spirit, but instead Peter says, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit?
Ananias is the complete opposite of what he's supposed to be. And this language of Satan filling him hearkens back to descriptions of what was ongoing with Judas. For instance, in Luke 22 verse three, it says, then Satan entered Judas. So you have kind of like some Judas kind of activity going on here.
And it's in keeping with Satan that Ananias would lie because Satan is the father of lies. Jesus says in, in John eight, speaking to the religious leaders. He says, you belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth.
But there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Satan loves a good lie. We see it all the way back in the beginning of Eden where he, he twists God's words, saying, oh, God told you not even to touch the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, telling Adam and Eve that God doesn't really have your best interest in mind here. It's interesting to think about how much brokenness in this world proceeds from lies. They take on a life of their own so that Satan doesn't have to be in all places at all times, because he's not.
But he can wield a whole lot of influence through lying and as we would expect, God hates lies. From Proverbs 16, 6 rather, verses 16 through 19 says, there are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him, and now notice that three out of the seven things have something to do with lying, haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes.
You got some lying going on when you're devising a wicked scheme. Feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. God hates that stuff. He hates deceitfulness.
It's that kind of way of life you would expect to find in a temple of Satan. It's the kind of thing that you should not find in the temple of God. It is important. We, we recall here that that's exactly what the body of believers are. They are this new temple of God formed in Jesus Christ. And as we see in Zephaniah 3 verse 12 through 13, this remnant, speaking about us, this remnant should not find any lies on their tongues. It says there, but I will leave within you the meek and the humble. The remnant of Israel will trust in the name of the Lord. They will do no wrong; they will tell no lies. A deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouths. They will eat and lie down, and no one will make them afraid.
So that's pretty clear. The, the believers are to be the temple of God. They shouldn't, they shouldn't be lying. Lying is in keeping with Satan and this is why what Ananias is doing is so out of place, but there's more to this also. It's not just that it's out of place, it's that he hasn't just lied to man.
Peter says that he has lied to God. Now this is an important thing to note here, because remember what he says. He says, you have lied to the Holy Spirit. And then he says, you have not lied just to human beings, but to God. So if you're trying to keep track in your Bible of verses that help us understand the Trinity, this would be a great one to underline here because first thing we note here is that the Holy Spirit is God, you've lied to the Holy Spirit, you've lied to God. The other thing you notice here is that clearly the Holy Spirit is a person of God. Because you cannot lie to a force, you cannot lie to the wind. You cannot lie to gravity. You can only lie to people. And what Peter says here is that Ananias has lied to the Holy Spirit.
And so, adding that all together, remembering that God does not tolerate sin, we remember in the Old Testament of the judgments he brought upon the people of Israel, we think about the sin of Achan. They took stuff from Jericho that was supposed to be devoted to God, brought judgment on Israel, and then when they found out Achan and his family did it, they judged him.
We see in the Old Testament, we see Paul's testimony to God's accountability. In First Corinthians 3:17, it says, if anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person. For God's temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.
So God does just that. God destroys Ananias. He strikes him dead.
Now, if we just took verse text and we just read it, we'd say, oh, wow, that seems kind of harsh.
Well, remember what we're talking about here. We're talking about sin being present in the Holy Temple of God.
We so easily forget the seriousness, seriousness of our sin. We, we so easily forget that. Wow, this seems like a pretty brutal punishment, that in fact, at the end of the ages, on the final day, all people are going to stand before God and have to give an account for themselves, and that those outside of Christ are gonna be cast out into destruction.
Jesus makes the stakes clear in Matthew 10: 28. He says, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body and hell. So yeah, it is serious, but it's a preview of what God is going to do ultimately to those who remain committed to their wickedness.
This is sin definitively expelled from the community of the church. They come, they bury, take him out and bury him. And it kind of seems like it's, it brings to mind how those who did not live in accordance with God's commands were sent outside of the camp of, of Israel.
But there's one more person remaining who knew about this lie. It's Sapphira. Picking up in verse seven, Peter confronts her, says about three hours later, his wife came in not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land? Yes, she said, that is the price.
Peter said to her, how could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also. At that moment, she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. Something that I, I think is just worth noting here, it's how Peter is not content to allow their lie to remain in place. Peter sees it as his responsibility to address their sinfulness. And in fact, this is a responsibility that didn't belong to just Peter alone, but rather it was the responsibility of the church on the whole.
Paul notes this in First Corinthians five, makes it clear that yes, God is the one who judges those who are outside the church, but as far as those who are within the community of the church, it is our responsibility to judge sin. He says in First Corinthians 5: 13, God will judge those outside. Expel the wicked person from among you.
And then in the next chapter he talks about how the church is fully capable of judging in in these sorts of matters. Now, Peter only takes one step in that accountability here, and God just takes over. Jesus lays out a whole process of accountability in Matthew 18 where you first confront sin, then you bring other people from the church in.
But here, God basically tells Peter, I've got it from here, Ananias and Sapphira were playing games with God. They lied to God. Peter says that she was testing the spirit. She's not respecting God's holiness. And so Peter says that God would bring the same punishment upon her, and if it was not God's intent that she would receive this punishment, it's not as though Peter just has this natural power to strike people dead, it's not because Peter says it that it will happen, it's because he, he knows this is God's intent, that he's going to bring this punishment upon her.
There's a function that this punishment serves. It serves as a warning to the community of the church as if everything we hear from the Old Testament wasn't a sufficient warning enough to dissuade us from embracing sin, even as we call ourselves Christians. Paul says in First Corinthians 10 verses 5 through 11, talking about these examples we have from the Old Testament, especially as it appears in the Exodus.
It says, nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them. Their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things, as they did, do not be idolaters as some of them were. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.
We should not commit sexual immorality as some of them did; in one day, 23,000 of them died. We should not test Christ as some of them did and were killed by snakes, and do not grumble as some of them did and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warning for us on whom the culmination of the ages has come.
Isn't that interesting? I think so often in this age of Christ, we say, oh, that Old Testament stuff, that was when God was really harsh and adressed sin seriously, now, now God's really nice. He doesn't deal with sin in that kind of way. That's not Paul's reading here. Paul says, this is a warning. This is a warning to us, especially that we are now in this position in which we are living.
In the time in which the culminations of the age, ages has come upon us, the Messiah has appeared. What sort of people are we gonna be when Jesus returns? How is he going to find us? So we see that in verse 11, in the wake of Ananias and Sapphira being struck dead, says that great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. Rightly so! All of us would be seized with great fear if that happened. Right?
God was making a point. He is fully justified in making that point.
It is only when we take seriously God's perfect holiness and the seriousness of sin that we can seriously comprehend the wonder of God's grace towards us Ananias and Sapphira are an example to us. An example of what not to do. An example of what sin deserves in the presence of a Holy God. No wrong was done to them.
Sin has no place in God's temple, and this and this couple was expelled because of their sinfulness. It's certainly a sobering realization that God does not wink at sin.
But I would be remiss if I did not mention God's grace here. It does remain the case that while Ananias and Sapphira receive the punishment they deserved, there is an opportunity for us to heed what happened to them, to instead, repent from our own sins and receive the mercy of Jesus Christ.
The Apostle John perfectly captures the reality of our brokenness and our new reality as those who are united with Jesus. In First John two verses one through six, he says, my dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father in Jesus Christ, the righteous one.
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world. We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, I know him, but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anybody obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
You can call yourself a Christian. If your life isn't adding up, if we cannot find evidence that you know Jesus, we can only conclude that you are a liar. Ananias and Sappira may have claimed they knew Jesus, but their deceitfulness revealed their whole life was a lie. They were filled with Satan instead of the spirit.
It is a terrible thing if we sin, but hope remains when we recognize our sin and throw ourselves upon Christ as our advocate. We can begin again. We can begin once again, pursuing a life without sin, reckoning that we are the temple of God. And that we must be set apart and we must be holy for he is holy.
Let's pray.
Dear Father, after hearing your word and this testimony of what happened to Ananias and Sapphira Father, we are humbled. Because I know for myself, father, I consider my own life. We consider how casual have we been sometimes in our sinfulness when you have called us, you've created us. You've claimed us in Jesus Christ to be your temple.
Father Impress upon us your holiness, impress upon us the seriousness of sin.
Father, we praise you that in Jesus Christ we do have an advocate. We have one who can intercede and make amends for the wrong that we've done. But Father, we pray that we would not sin so that grace would abound.
Rather Father, fill us with the spirit, cast out the work of the devil that seeks to make us be self-consumed as Ananias and Sapphira were, deploying lies to increase their their own praise.
Father, fill us with the spirit so that we would just offer ourselves completely to you so that you would be glorified with no concern of our own gain and benefit. Father, even though we, we gain all things in you, father, we gain all things in Christ.
Father, we make this our prayer and we repent of anything we have been doing, father, and we devote ourselves to beginning again in Christ. In His name we pray. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series The Spirit and the Church. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Acts 4, we see the apostles filled with the Holy Spirit, who gives Peter and John the courage to give their defense to the high priest trying them for healing the lame man.
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Transcript:
Then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit said to them, rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness, shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: it is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is the stone you builders rejected. Which has become the cornerstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we met must be saved. Acts four, eight through 12.
How high can you climb before you become afraid? What is your breaking point? The point in which you say no more, no further. And what would it take for you to go further? I wouldn't call myself a fan of heights. I'll climb when it's needed, I do it every year to clear the leaves from the gutter, but I'd call myself risk averse.
If it's not really needed, then I become more averse to doing it. In my senior year of high school, my school went on its typical fall retreat to a camp in New Hampshire, and the annual tradition was that the senior class would go down the zip line, but to go down the zip line you had to first climb, and that's the tree that we had to climb right there.
It was about 50 feet high that we had to climb to zip line down. Now, normally I wouldn't do that. Like I said. I'm risk averse. But it was tradition. Between the pre peer pressure, the guide waiting at the top, and most especially my safety harness, I was able to do something I wouldn't normally do, so I did zip line down too, which I've got a picture of that.
You can see me a little bit blurry, but I'm zip lining down.
It's a trivial thing, but you could say that doing something like that requires a little bit of courage, and that courage was helped along by people and that harness. We need courage for zip lines, and we need courage for many more things in life. In fact, we need courage to be Christians. We need boldness.
Now, some of us are born with more of that than others just naturally, some of us are very outgoing, just bold, ready to speak our minds, but none of us have a full measure of what we'll need to follow Jesus. Quite literally, we need to be encouraged. We need encouragement to do the hard things to stand for the gospel, to speak the truth, to go against the current. But God finds us full of fear, afraid of what tomorrow holds. Afraid of losing face, afraid of forgiving others, afraid of death, afraid of so many things. For all of this, we need courage. In today's passage, we see God's readiness to give it. So we pick up in Acts four verse five.
You'll recall that from the previous chapter that something amazing had occurred. Peter and John had gone to the temple to pray, and on their way there, they had encountered a man who'd been lame from birth, and they healed that man. And they went into the temple, this man leaping and bounding, and Peter preached the gospel.
He told them, he told the crowd that gathered amazed at seeing this man healed, that he was raised because of the name of Jesus Christ, by his power, by his authority. This one who is crucified, that has now been raised from the dead and the temple authorities, the priests were not happy about this. And so they put 'em in jail overnight.
And so as we pick up here in Acts four verse five, we find them proceeding to make their judgment concerning them, says in the next day, the rulers, the elders, and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, and so were, so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and others of the high priest's family.
They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: by what power or what name did you do this? Something that's important to realize here in terms of these fellows that are interrogating Peter and John, is that this is the same group that interrogated, judged Jesus and saw that he was nailed to a cross.
Now you can imagine if you were Peter and John and you had seen Jesus crucified, that this could be a little bit fear inducing. They were willing to crucify Jesus who was the promised Messiah, literally had done nothing wrong. So if they crucified Jesus, what would stop them from crucifying you? It's a very dangerous situation.
The question that they asked Peter and John is regarding the power by which they performed this healing. They say, by what power, what name did you do this? Now, this is a question that they had heard before as they walked alongside Jesus, because Jesus is being asked all the time regarding where he got his authority from, where he got the authority to teach the way that he did, where he got the authority to forgive people's sins, where he got the authority to drive out demons.
Religious leaders preferred to think that maybe he got his powers to cast out demons from the devil rather than being able to admit that his authority, his power, was divine in nature. Now we understand the meaning of their question even more based on the way that Peter responds. Continuing on in verse eight, as was read, it says, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit said to them, rulers and elders of the people.
If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness, shown to a man who is lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: it is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
Jesus is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there's no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. It's very easy for us to miss certain details as we're caught up in the narrative, but please don't miss this.
Notice what it says in verse eight. It says that when, and when Peter began speaking to them, it notes that he was filled with the Holy Spirit. He was filled with the Holy Spirit. He was not speaking from his own resources, the words that he was able to find. The courage that he had to be able to speak to these men who had crucified his Lord, his master, his teacher, his savior. That was only possible because he was filled, fueled by the Holy Spirit, and the fact that this has, this is happening that he can draw upon this resource of the Holy Spirit, goes right along with what Jesus had promised the disciples.
In Matthew 10: 18 through 20, earlier on when Jesus was sending out his disciples, even in the course of his ministry, he says, on my account, you'll be brought before Governors and Kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles, but when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time, you'll be given what to say for it will not be you speaking, but the spirit of your father speaking through you.
And Luke 21:15, he tells him, for I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. So Peter is stepping up in this situation, knowing the promise that had been given by Jesus, that he would have everything he would need in this situation. Now, the thing that Peter kind of points out here, that's just real odd is they are on trial here because of doing a good thing, for doing a kind thing and healing a man who had been lame from birth. Kind of ridiculous when you think about it. And that's what Peter's kind of pointing out here. And so he is like, really? You're gonna put us on trial because we healed someone?
You want to know the source of the authority, the power by which we raised this man from the dead?
The source is Jesus Christ. It is in the name of Jesus Christ that he's been healed, the same Jesus Christ you killed and yet was raised from the dead. This one has raised this man to his feet, healing him. When Peter, and as we see elsewhere in scripture, when it talks about in the name of Jesus, when we're talking about the name of Jesus, we're talking about the authority of Jesus.
You think about maybe you've watched some like old crime show and they say, stop in the name of the law. What, what are they talking about there? They're talking about that the law is the authority. So when we're talking about the name of Jesus. We're talking about the authority of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
It's by that authority that this man has been healed. Now, Peter knows that they don't accept this, that they have rejected Jesus. They rejected him before. They're rejecting him now, but he says, this is no surprise. Rather, he says that this is in keeping with what was said in the scriptures. He quotes Psalm 118 where it says The stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.
The full passage there just verses 21 through 23 says, I will give you thanks for you answered me. You have become my salvation. The stone that builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes. Now in pointing to this scripture, Peter's doing two things.
First, he's saying the fact that you guys rejected Jesus, even though he is the Messiah means nothing because that's exactly what God prophesied was gonna happen. Because otherwise they think, well, we rejected him so he can't possibly be the one. Well, God said that's exactly what would happen, but also we see here that Peter is pointing to this new reality that is being established in Jesus. Jesus is the cornerstone. The cornerstone of what? He's, the cornerstone of this new temple of God. A cornerstone of a temple that is not built with granite or with marble, but with those people that God has redeemed and claimed as his own.
Peter in his letter 1 Peter verses two, chapter two, verses four through five says, as you come to him, that's Jesus, the living stone, rejected by humans, but chosen by God and precious to him, you also, like living ,stones are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
You see, we're so easily impressed by buildings. This is a wonderful building. Sometimes we go various places in the country and see these beautiful cathedrals. The temple at the time in which it was standing was a magnificent, magnificent structure, but none of these buildings compare to that structure that God is building in Jesus Christ.
This new temple, which is composed of you and I as we have been built upon Jesus Christ, it's a wonderful grand thing.
And it also points to this, this reality that Peter testifies to in verse 12. He says, salvation is found in no one else for, there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
The reality is this. According to Peter's testimony, Jesus has been revealed to be this promised king. His power to heal is demonstrated. His power to restore is demonstrated just in this one example of this man who's been raised to his feet, but so much more than that, and in fact, he is the one and only source to which we can turn in order to be saved.
There is no other. And this is nothing that Peter is concocting on his own, making anything, making more of Jesus than he himself made of himself. Because Jesus himself says in John 14, six, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. And the only re, the reason why Christ is the only way is because we are all sinners. Paul says in Romans 3: 23, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. None of us can save ourselves and there is no one else who can save us but Christ, because he is the perfect man who laid down his life, not because of his own sins, but because of our own sin. Who conquered death and conquered sin and now stands as our savior offering life to anyone who would turn to him.
And it's only by turning to him that we can get that life, to get that salvation, to get that forgiveness. And that's something we really need to remember.
Our faith is not a game in speculation, thinking, well, I think maybe Jesus is the way to salvation, but maybe other people can find other ways to salvation. If we were just groping around on our own, trying to philosophize about things, maybe you could take that sort of modest position. But that is not the testimony of scripture.
What the word of God says is this, is that there is only one way to be seen. And it is in Jesus Christ. And so for our own salvation, we must turn to him and we must turn others to Christ in order to be saved because there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. We are with Jesus, or we are without him and without salvation.
Now to say these leaders were surprised would be an understatement. Continuing on in verse 13, it says, when they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus, but since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.
So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together.
These leaders recognize that something's different about Peter and John. There's something unexpected about them because they can tell that the authority with which these men are speaking and Peter's speaking, the courage that they have in standing before them does not come from their upbringing. It doesn't come from their background.
These are just ordinary men. They're ordinary men with accents from the region of Galilee. Not a place where you expect the big important people to come from. Now, it says that they were unschooled ordinary men. It doesn't mean necessarily that they never went to any schooling, but kind of just the contrast here.
If we were gonna try to bring it into our own day, it would be like saying that. They graduated from Galilee County High School and they're standing before a bunch of guys that have their PhDs, very polished resumes, and yet they're standing there putting them to shame.
And the reason why they're able to do this is because they had been with Jesus, they recognized that they had been with Jesus and say, oh yeah, these guys look familiar. We've seen them around. But that's the reason why. Their authority came from their proximity to the king and by the work of the Holy Spirit who is enabling them to make this stand and give this testimony, but also, we must consider this, that as they're taking all this in, these religious leaders, and they're saying, okay, here's these guys who shouldn't be standing up like this.
They also recognize there's a third guy here who shouldn't be standing up like this. The guy that was lame from birth, he's standing there. How can we repudiate that evidence? What argument can we make against that? They can't. And so they say, okay, go away. We need to confer together. We need to counsel together.
So continuing on in verse 16 says, what are we going? They say, what are we going to do with these men? They ask, everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, and we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.
They don't have much of a plan here. They say we can't, we can't deny what they've done. They've healed this man. And so for that reason, also it's very difficult for them to really take any action against them because again, they did a good thing. They healed this man. And so the plan that they come up with is we're just gonna warn them in a strong angry tone to stop doing this, to stop talking about Jesus.
And so that's just what they do. Continuing on in verse 18, says, then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus, but Peter and John replied, which is right in God's eyes, to listen to you or to him. You be the judges. As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.
After further threats, they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them because all the people were praising God for what had happened. For the man who was miraculously healed was over 40 years old. Peter and John, when they're brought back before these guys and they tell them, stop it. You can't talk about Jesus anymore.
They just point to the reality of the situation. We know who Jesus is, that he is the Messiah, that he is the son of God. We know the power of God firsthand by this healing that's been performed. So what's better for us to do? Should we really listen to you or should we listen to God? They're like, we're not gonna tell you what to do, but we know what we're gonna do.
We're gonna stand with God. We're gonna be obedient to God regardless of what you decide to do. Doesn't get more courageous than that. They're saying, you know, bring it on, basically. Do whatever you want. Here we stand. And it kind of reminds me of kind of the boldness that we see from Jesus. Now when Jesus was crucified, we see him very often just being very silent and just kind of matter of fact because he was willingly submitting himself to what they had in store for him. But in Luke 13, it is just a really kind of interesting anecdote. Some of these leaders had come to him and said, Herod is planning on killing you.
Trying to threaten him, basically make him scared because here was a guy that beheaded John the Baptist. Luke 13:32 through 33. Peter says this to them. He says, go tell that fox I'll keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day, I'll reach my goal. In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day.
For surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem. Don't you just love that? He's just like, I'm gonna keep on doing it. I'm gonna drive out the demons. Nothing's stopping me. I'm marching forward.
Peter and John have that same sort of boldness about them here. Their stand is also, I think, reminiscent of the stand that we see Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego take in Daniel three. Remember, the Israelites were brought into exile and some of these young men especially were brought into the court of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and they were being compelled along with all the people that they, to bow down before this large statue that was made of Nebuchadnezzar, that they would worship him as a God. And they said no. Now the threat of saying no, the punishment of saying no to King Nebuchadnezzar was, you're gonna be thrown into a furnace. You got this big furnace burning lots of fire. We're gonna throw you in there and burn you up for defying the king.
And this is what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego say to King Nebuchadnezzar at that time, they say, king Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we, you, if we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it. He will deliver us from your majesty's hand.
But even if he does not, we want you to know, your majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. In so many words, what is it better, for us to obey you or to obey God? That is the stand that they took at that time, and this is the stand that Peter and John are taking, and it's because like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they know that God is with them.
It's not only just this authority thing where they, we should obey God rather than you, who do we fear more, but they know God is with them.
In Psalm 118, in Romans eight, we have these own reminders for our, for ourselves, and thinking about and remembering that God stands with us, he's with us as we stand for the gospel and for the truth. In Psalm 118, we hear the Lord is with me. I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? The Lord is with me.
He is my helper. I look and triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than the trust in princes. And then what Paul says in Romans 8:31, verse, very well known says, what then shall we say in response to these things?
If God is for us, who can be against us? That's the attitude we should take, following the footsteps of all those who have come before us. If God is for us, who can be against us. And so we stand because it is better to obey God than to obey man, and as fearful as the circumstances may be, if we believe in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit who dwells within us will give us the courage to stand in that day.
Now the high priest, after hearing this response from them, there was nothing else they could do. Again, because all the people were ecstatic about the healing. They couldn't punish them. And Luke notes here in his record that again, this was an incredible healing. This man was over 40 years old. He'd been lame for 40 years, and one commentator suggested that Luke in noting this may even be making an allusion to the Old Testament, thinking about the 40 years in the wilderness that that Israel spent before they got to get to the promised Land. It was a tough time for Israel. Once again, we have a beautiful picture of restoration here. This man who is lame for over 40 years regains his ability to walk.
This is a season of restoration. New things have come upon the people because Christ is truly the Messiah. And so all they could do, these high priests, is they could just threaten them and release them. And from there, Peter and John go back to the church. So we look at verse 23 through 26 in closing. It says on their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God, sovereign Lord. They said, you made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our Father, David.
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one. So they come back with this report of everything that happened and the, the believers respond with prayer and they call upon God as their sovereign Lord.
Now, thinking about the meaning of those words, sovereign Lord, they're recognizing God's control of all things, and they recognize this further by noting that he is the creator, the one who made the heavens and the earth and the sea. And this is following a pattern that we see in the Old Testament of calling upon God in this, in this manner.
As the one who's made all these things and they fill this out. It's a reality that God is sovereign. He's in control of all things by pointing to a prophecy that they have just recently seen fulfilled. Now, again, we talked about Peter being filled with the Holy Spirit as he spoke. In verse 25, it says, you spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our Father David.
We see the Holy Spirit at work, not just in the New Testament and the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit at work in all times, in all places inspiring the words of scripture. And here they quote Psalm two verses one through two. Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed.
Now, as we look at these last verses here, 27 through 31, we find their interpretation of, of what this prophecy pointed to. They say, indeed, indeed, Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.
They did, what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider the threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus. After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
So what they're saying is that that word that was spoken by David, inspired by the Holy Spirit in Psalm two is pointing to what happened to Jesus. Of, of how all the rulers, the gentile rulers, Herod, the religious leaders, they all came together to conspire against Jesus, the one who's anointed the Messiah.
And yet this is so important to realize, and yet in verse 28. They say they did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Isn't that interesting? Yes. All these leaders, they had no good intentions for Jesus. They had a wicked plan to kill an innocent man, and yet what they were conspiring to do, actually.
Fell right into line what God had been intending and planning should happen. Now, this is a mystery how God does this, but this falls right in line with what their testimony is, is that God is sovereign. Nothing takes him by surprise. He takes every free decision of ours and he works it all together from eternity past.
He sees it all. He works it all together, weaving it together for his purposes. This, this is so important for us to remember in terms of the big picture of God's plan of redemption. I think it's also important for us to remember as we think about our own lives, trying to reckon why, why does this happen?
Why does this happen? Why does that happen? And I recently heard this awesome poem by Grant Colfax tullar called the Weaver Poem that I think really drives this home. He writes. My life is but a weaving between my God and me. I cannot choose the colors he weaveth steadily. Oft times he weaveth sorrow, and I in foolish pride, forget he sees the upper, and I the underside.
Not til the loom is silent and the shuttles cease to fly, will God unroll the canvas and reveal the reason why. The dark threads are as needful in the weaver's skillful hand as the threads of gold and silver in the pattern he has planned. He knows, he loves, he cares; nothing this truth can dim. He gives the very best to those who leave the choice to him.
These believers have seen this to be absolutely the case most recently in Jesus Christ, this dark thing. Their Lord hanging on the cross and yet revealed three days later as our salvation, the good news. And they know that God's sovereign hand continues to work now for their salvation, for His glory, for their good.
Now, it's notable what the request is here. They've made a testimony here. Now they get to their request in verse verses 29 and 30. They do not ask for their enemies to be removed. They don't ask God, please remove all opposition. They do not pray for things to be made easy for them, to be made comfortable for them.
Instead, they ask, God, give us what we need to win. Verse 29, they say, enable your servants to speak your words with great boldness. Now, we've already seen the case that God has given Peter that boldness in speaking before the high priest. Now, collectively, they're praying, God, give us this boldness. We know there's gonna be opposition, but give us the boldness.
Give us the courage to stand and testify to who Christ is, to the salvation that he brings. And then they request stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus. Now, the, the purpose of these signs is it testifies to the reality of who Jesus is.
Nothing like having the guy who's been lame his whole life, standing right before you heal, now healed. They say, God, pour out more signs so that more people might turn to Christ and be saved. This is what they pray for. Not that things would be made easy, but that God would give them all the things they need for this moment.
In response, it says, it says that the room was shaken. The place where they were meeting was shaken. Now it's an interesting detail that it says that it was shaken, because it even seems as though there's some significance behind this. It's not just a random occurrence, that it's alluding back to what the Old Testament said would occur, what God promised he would do.
In Haggai two verses six through seven says, this is what the Lord Almighty says. In a little while, I'll once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations and what is desired by all nations will come and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord Almighty.
God has promised his people that he's going to overturn the powers of this world and establish his kingdom to, that he's going to fill his house with glory. And we see this come together, this prophetic anticipation with the reflection given in the book of Hebrews. Hebrews 12, verse 25 through 29.
It says, they see to it that you do not refuse him. Who speaks? If they did not escape, when they refused him, who warned them on earth? How much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven at that time? His voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, and that they refer, they're talking about God's presence at Mount Sinai, about how his presence there shook the earth.
They say once more, I will not shake not only the earth, but also the heavens. The words once more indicate the removing of what can be shaken, that is created things, so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let's be thankful and to worship God acceptably with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire, and that place is shaken. God is showing them, once again, his power. There's gonna be all kinds of forces coming against them. There are gonna be all kinds of forces that come against us today, because we are the church. We stand in continuity. It's a long time now, but we stand in absolute continuity with those early believers.
We are going to face opposition for following Jesus Christ, but no opposition can stand against the power of God. He's shaking the earth, overturning every power that stands against him. And so while everything else is shaken. We remain unshaken because we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and so we can stand firm.
Their prayer is answered. It says they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
We still need the Holy Spirit today. We need him to give us courage to give us boldness and speaking gospel truth.
But do we ask, do we ask like the church does here? I'll tell you what, I think we're more apt to ask God to just take our troubles away, to take the climb away, but perhaps it is God's will for us to climb, to stand tall, to take courage, to speak boldly. And so he takes none of it away and he waits. He waits for us to call upon him.
To ask that he would give us courage by the spirit. Do you really think he won't give us boldness if we ask for it? Of course he will give it. He is for us. He's not against us. He is with us. He is our helper. When the odds stack high, when the valleys sink low. We are tempted to despair in that moment. We must remember Christ crucified.
We must remember the cross, the intersection of a wicked conspiracy and God's perfect plan. Courage rises as we remember that our God is sovereign. Satan tewgh his best punch, and God throttled him into the dust just like he planned. Remember the cross. Your trial, your trouble, your suffering is not any more formidable than the cross.
God is at work weaving every sorrow, every trial, and every joy together for his glory and our good. What begins with death ends with resurrection, his and ours. And so we boldly stand in the name of Jesus Christ. He is the Savior, the one and only. Every single person needs him. He is ours and we are his, and so we are secure.
And so by the spirit, we are given the courage to proclaim his name to the ends of the earth and over every square inch of it. Let us pray.
Dear Father,
Thank you for sending Christ. Thank you for sending your son so that we might be saved, so that we might be delivered from our sins and from the cruel powers of this world father, that stand against your kingdom. Father, we thank you that our king and your kingdom is greater than any power of this world.
That the name of Jesus Christ is above every name, not just in stature and glory, father, but in authority. So Father, we pray that you would fill us with the Holy Spirit so that we would have the courage and boldness to testify to the truth, to the truth of the gospel. Father. To be able to persevere in the face of hardship.
Father, we thank you that we have this promise that you are with us, that we can know that we are not alone in the face of trial, and that you will supply exactly what we need as we call upon you. So Father, we pray that you, you would equip us now. So that we can testify to the salvation that is in Jesus Christ.
We ask this in his name, amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series The Spirit and the Church. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Acts 2:42-47, we see the example of the early church being lived out. Pastor Tom walks through the passage and offers ways that we can live that example out even today.
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Transcript:
They devoted themselves to the Apostles' teaching and fellowship, to breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common.
They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who was in need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
The way we live changes over time. Think about how different your life was when you were a child. You spent your time in different ways. You had different responsibilities, limitations, and freedoms. It was a different way of life. Even into adulthood, your way of life changes. My time in college was much different than when I got married and graduated.
Then kids come along. We could keep going until maybe you need to live in a nursing home. Your way of life changes over time. But time and these circumstances I've mentioned aren't the only things that can change our way of life. God can do that too. In fact, He absolutely intends to change our way of life as we come to faith in Jesus Christ and are inhabited by the Holy Spirit.
This transformation is revealed in the early church as Luke tells us in Acts 2 verses 42 through 47. Now these verses are kind of acting as a bit of a summary, kind of just a snapshot on the whole of what those early days were like for the church. This is, the summary is immediately following Luke's record of what happened on the day of Pentecost.
The disciples had been gathered in Jerusalem waiting for the outpouring of the promised Holy Spirit. And when they were baptized in the Holy Spirit, they began speaking in tongues that were not their own, foreign languages, so that people who had been gathering, gathered together in Jerusalem, devout Jews, devout converts to the Jewish faith, heard the gospel message in their own native language.
And this was certainly a sign to them of a new work that God was doing to bring together all people into the kingdom of God. Now as a result of the message that was preached that day, Peter preached a message pointing to the reality that was going on here, that the Holy Spirit had been sent and that this was because Jesus Christ was the Messiah.
And the people responded with repentance. They were convicted because they crucified him. As a result of his message and the work of the Holy Spirit, 3, 000 people came to faith. And so at this point, we could probably estimate that between there's maybe between 3, 000 to 5, 000 Christians. We know that before Jesus ascended, he appeared to 500 people all at once.
So, and maybe there was others that he, that were followers, but he just simply didn't appear to them. So, say, between 3, 000 to 5, 000, but we should also know that probably not all of that 3, 000 stayed in Jerusalem, because remember, much of the crowd had come from across the Mediterranean on a pilgrimage for the Feast of Pentecost, and so they went back to their places of origin.
And this can possibly explain how it seems certain churches emerged across the Mediterranean even before someone like the Apostle Paul showed up. Very early origins beginning from the day of Pentecost. Now we're gonna look at each of these verses, just one, one by one. It's a small passage, but just really want to focus on what each, on the weight of what each verse is saying.
In verse 42, Luke says They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. It says that they devote themselves to the apostles teaching. Something that's important for us to remember at this point is that the only Bible, the only scriptures that the early church would have had at this point would have been the Old Testament.
There was no gospels written, there was no apostolic letters written. And so their New Testament, so to speak, if you're thinking about a testament, if you're thinking about a testimony that is given, it's the teaching of the Apostles themselves. And so they're getting this first hand from the Apostles, what they should understand about the Christian faith.
And, they were devoting themselves, to teaching. Teaching is the means, the teaching of God's Word is the means by which He creates growth within us, and it's the means through which He transforms us. And it's something that we need to devote ourselves to. It's not simply a matter of understanding a few key facts about the Christian faith, believing, and then saying, okay, I'm all set.
That's not what they felt. They felt, well, we have so much to learn. And the longer that you go in the Christian faith, even as you understand the basics, and come to put your faith in Jesus, the longer that you go in the faith, the more you come to realize how much you don't know. And that's what I've come to appreciate in the course of my own studies, is that there's just so much I don't know, even as much as there is that I do know, and I'm blessed to know those things.
And that's what you'll find as you go along. But you can only know that, you can only know the depths of the riches of God's word if you're actually pressing in. Otherwise, you'll just treat it as just some cheap thing. It's like, oh, I already understand that. Nothing more to be gained there. That was not their attitude.
They were devoted to teaching. Both the teacher was devoted to teaching the students, the apostles were devoted to teaching, the students were devoted to listening, to hearing. It also says that they were devoted to fellowship. What we're talking about fellowship is we're talking about the fellowship of believers.
While they were devoted to teaching and hearing what the Apostles had to say, it wasn't just about going to lectures that the Apostles were, were offering. Yesterday, we went to a bookstore for my birthday and it just so happened while we were there, there was a couple people there giving a little talk about a book that had been written.
And there was a, I don't know, maybe Fifteen people gathered there to just hear this conversation with the author. Now they were devoted to listening to what that person had to say, but those people are not going to be probably fellowshipping with each other next week. They just came there to hear the author and then they went on their merry way.
That's not the case with the early believers. They're not just there to go and hear some teaching, get some information, and then go off on their own. No, they recognize that there's an importance to this new reality that they've been incorporated into. The body of Christ. They actually value each other, being with each other. Because God's using each one of them as members of the body of Christ to build each other up into who they're supposed to be now that they are Christians. It's not the work of any one person, and this is something that's important for us to remember even today. The work of the church is not me.
It's not just me as the pastor. It's not just any one person. God is working through the body collectively as a whole. And the fellowship of the body is essential. And it's important that we devote ourselves to that fellowship, not merely to occasions of receiving some information transfer. And if I'm honest, I think some people have neglected the fellowship of the body in recent years because of the advent of the internet.
We can get so much information there. And so a lot of people feel like, well, if I can just get that information any time, why do I need to go to church? Because the church is so much more than just the teaching. The teaching is an essential part of it, but it is also the fellowship of the body. It says also that they were devoted to the breaking of bread.
Now you're kind of like, what's that about? They just like to break loaves apart? You know, what are they doing there? It's making an allusion to the Lord's Supper. And it's very appropriate that this follows up noting that they were devoted to fellowship because the two go hand in hand. Sharing the Lord's Supper is that sign of our union together.
And very often when they would fellowship together, celebrating the Lord's Supper as such, flowed right into just a general sort of meal. I think it's fine that we do it the way that we do it here, but this was not how they did it in the first century. You can imagine them just gathered around a common table, they have the Lord's Supper, and then they have a full meal together.
And that's a beautiful image of just the reality of their fellowship, their union now in Jesus Christ. They were devoted to that. And we try to follow that example ourselves. We celebrate the Lord's Supper every week. And lastly, it says that they were devoted to prayer. And we've already talked about this in recent weeks.
The prayer was the bread and butter of the early Christian church. It is their first impulse. In Acts 1: 14, remember it says, they all joined together constantly in prayer when they first gathered in Jerusalem. And in 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul admonishes us to pray continually. They were devoted to prayer because they believed in the power of God.
And if you believe in the power of God, If you believe that God will actually answer prayers, and if you desire the Father's will, then you will be devoted to prayer. So that's what we see them doing. They're devoted to the Apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to breaking of bread, and to prayer. And they're witnessing some magnificent things happening as they are pressing in, as they are engaging in this devotion. They, along with the outsiders, were witnessing the Spirit's power being manifest in the ministry of the Apostles. We look now at verse 43. It says, everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the Apostles. Now, the reason why these signs and wonders were appearing, were not just so that they could put on some cool party tricks or something.
You note that the apostles were teaching, remember I said they were devoted to the apostles' teaching. Along with the apostles' teaching came signs and wonders that were a testament to the veracity, to the truthfulness of what they were saying. Some people may have thought what the Apostles were saying was interesting, like, okay, that sounds kind of like an interesting philosophy, but there's lots of ideas out there.
Why should I believe what they're saying? Well, at this important moment in the church, when the church is first emerging, God also gives signs along with their teaching, confirming the authority of what they are saying. Now, even this phrasing, wonders and signs, kind of recalls the exodus of God's people from Egypt.
In Deuteronomy 7: 19 it says, You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm with which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear. So as in the past, so now, God is giving wonders and signs, both to communicate his presence with the people now, God's people now, those who believe in Christ by faith.
This is a sign to them, but it is also a sign to outsiders that they should believe in Jesus Christ. Now some people wonder, why is it that we don't see this left and right today? Healings and other wondrous works? Well, we do, but we don't see it necessarily, maybe in the same amount of frequency or regularity.
And as Westerners, I think that frustrates us, because we almost want a formula for these things. We want to say, okay, you do X, Y, and Z and a miracle happens. Well, if that was the case, it would not be a miracle, it would just be a natural phenomenon if you can create a formula for it. Signs and wonders are given in accordance with God's plan and purpose.
And we do continue to see it today, especially, I think, in areas where the gospel is breaking out kind of for the first time. I don't know why we might not see it as much here in the West. God only knows. But I hear testimony again and again of how he is acting, how he is showing great signs across the world in these places where the gospel is advancing.
And I could just look up random accounts of this, but just a couple of examples that we have some direct connections to, our Advent Christian missions work over in Africa where we have, we have churches, we have Christian brothers and sisters over there already, and God is working through their ministry.
We had a few of our people over there for a conference in Tanzania, and they talk about how demons were cast out of some people that were being obviously visibly seized by demons. In November, in November 2023, there was a newsletter that talked about how pastors, I'll just read it directly, it says, Pastors Johnson Adoyo and Amos Kamanya of Tanzania journeyed to visit our new friends, the Hadzabi Bush people.
This trip issued, now, the thing about the Hadzabi people is they were not reached with the gospel at all. This is an unreached people group that Johnson and Amos were reaching. It says, this trip issued many challenges, including a power encounter with witch doctors that ended with the witch doctors falling into paralysis and blindness.
Johnson and Amos laid their hands upon them in prayer, and the infirmities were lifted. Although the witch doctors offered no allegiance to the God of the Bible, they did agree not to curse the newly established church. So God is continuing to work today in these wondrous ways, even if maybe we don't see these sorts of signs in our area, but we do even see it, I think, in our area, some of you have testimonies of, of healing. And certainly we don't want to discount the personal transformation of, of ourselves and of others from being people different than we were in the past. That's a miracle. That's a wondrous sign. But some of these visible things that Luke is obviously referring to are continuing to happen today.
Now, no doubt this led to conversions among those who witnessed these signs. But this wasn't the only thing that was leading people to be attracted to the church. It wasn't the only thing that was kind of distinguishing the community of the church. And we look at verses 44 and 45. It says, All the believers were together and had everything in common.
They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Now, if you've been in the church for a while and you're familiar with these verses, you've probably kind of wondered what that early community was like. Sometimes when we read these verses we think, is Luke describing here kind of like a socialist sort of like arrangement or something like this?
I don't think that's the case at all. And just kind of a commentary on our, our kind of impulse to think about systems. I think our world tends to believe that if we can just get the right system, whether it be socialism, capitalism, any other sort of economic arrangement, then everything will be all set.
And what we're actually looking for, I think, in trying to come up with that sort of perfect economic system is a system in which, you know, everyone gets a six figure salary and we don't have to worry about anyone. But I think that's precisely the problem. That's not the sort of people that God has created us to be.
He has not created us to be the sort of people who don't care about other people. What we want is just a system where everyone is just automatically taken care of. And so when we're looking at the early church here, we should not think that this was some automatic system, as though they came up with some new form of government, or financial policy, or something.
This is more of a situation where everyone in the community is willing to give you the shirt off their back. They said, oh, you know, Joe or Sally, they need, they need something, yeah, here. Do we need to sell a piece of property to help them out? Sure. We'll do that. No one was doing anything under compulsion.
They were doing this cheerfully, out of love for one another. And really what they were doing is fulfilling all of the Old Testament law. God has this great care for the poor that's, that's, testified to in the law that he gives the people of Israel. Deuteronomy 15, for instance, it says at the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.
This is how it is to be done. Every creditor shall cancel any loan they've made to a fellow Israelite. So you have laws given of how we're supposed to care for the, for the poor in our, in our community. Now we see here in the early church, the law being truly fulfilled. And that they're caring for one another, not under any law.
But in the freedom of the Spirit, they're just like, yes, we're going to take care of those who are weak in our community and who need help. And what this really is, is the fruit of Christ's command. In John 13, Jesus gives a new command. I want you to think for a second about what that new command might be.
Jesus gives a new command. This new command, he says, is this. A new command I give you, love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.
What they're doing here in being willing to sell their possessions and give to one another as is needed is a true testament of their love. It's easy to give lip service to people saying, oh yeah, I love you, I'm, you know, kind of thoughts and prayers sorts of thing, but what if, what about when someone really needs help?
Are you going to show up then?
The Christians, these early believers, were showing up for each other. They were truly showing forth their obedience to this command that they would love one another. And this was the mark of the fact that they were Jesus' disciples. Now, as followers of Jesus, we should, in fact, have charity towards all people.
To show mercy towards all. But we are supposed to especially care for one another as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. In Galatians 6: 10, Paul says, Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. In Romans, he says, Be devoted to one another in love.
Honor one another above yourselves. Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Now apart from just the fact that we've got Paul saying this is what we're supposed to do, Jesus saying we're to love one another as He has loved us, we also have Christ's teaching in Matthew 25 reminding us who we're truly serving when we take care of one another.
Matthew 25 verses 34 through 40.
Who is being helped here? Because very often when we read these verses, we just kind of make it generic and universal to all humanity, but that's not actually the case here. That's not what Jesus is saying. Jesus says, then the king will say to those on his right come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? The king will reply, truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. Notice what Jesus is saying here.
Whenever you see a brother or sister in the faith who is suffering in some manner, whether it be from hunger or thirst, eating clothing, or if they're imprisoned, when you care for that person, what Jesus is saying here is that, is you're showing that care to me. So that's what should be driving our care for one another as a church community.
It's just pure unadulterated love. We're not caring for each other out of obligation. We're caring for one another out of love, and to the utmost, out of love for Jesus Christ. You know, there's been this stigma, I think, especially non Christians can kind of think this way about Christians, that we do good things in order to earn, you know, to get on good, God's good side, to kind of get high marks and get into heaven. Now, we know that's not the case, that we're saved by grace.
But the reason why we do good, especially to one another, is because of this, is simply out of love for Jesus and this reality that we are the body of Christ. When we'll see later on in Paul's testimony about how he came to faith, Jesus confronts him and says, Paul, why Saul, Paul, why have you been persecuting me?
Well, Saul never did a thing to Jesus bodily, but except he did, and that he was persecuting Christians. He was harming Jesus by harming Christians. Well, the reverse is also true. As we care for one another, as believers, we are in fact showing love and care towards our Savior Himself. So, if you really love Jesus, love your brother and sister sitting next to you in the pew.
And what this is really forming is this, is, this way of living together is a pleasing sacrifice unto God. In Hebrews 13:16, it says, and do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices, God is pleased. And so, as you can imagine, the church living in this sort of way is, it's really setting them apart.
They're standing out in the midst of a kind of a cold, ruthless world where, kind of dog eat dog. You have this warmth in the church, of people caring for one another, seeking no advantage for themselves. And so this should, this should prompt us to think about the possibilities that exist for us today, and how we might care for each other, following in example.
Not saying that's impossible. Because again, they're not setting up for us a system, some socialist system. They're setting forth an example of how we should care for us in radically, care for each other in radically sacrificial ways. The believers did not hold each other out at arm's length. Their lives were woven together and filled out by this way of life together.
We see in verse 46. It says, Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.
They met together every day in the temple. Now you're probably wondering, Why are they going to the temple? Isn't the temple kind of, done with because of Jesus' sacrifice.Well, it's true, no further sacrifices need to be given, but, in Jerusalem, the temple remains to be a place of prayer, and it's also a place in which teaching would go on. And so that's what's going on when the believers gather in the temple.
They're going there to pray together, they're going there to receive teaching, and also to proclaim the gospel message to others who would hear them. They gather together every day, and this, this example that they're putting forth just echoes with the admonition that's given in Hebrews 10: 25 in which we're urged to not giving up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day approaching.
Now maybe we, we ask why? Why is it that we shouldn't? Seek to meet together as frequently as, as we can. The reason why we should seek to be together and the reason why they did is because of all the things that have been mentioned. If you're going to learn, if there's going to be teaching, if you're going to really grow in your faith, you have to show up.
You can't grow in any depth in your faith if you're not going to actually devote yourself to it. You have to be there. I'm going to be taking a course on firefighting in the next few weeks. Unfortunately, I'm missing the first class next week because I'm going to be at a pastor's conference in Florida.
The chief said, that's fine, you're going to miss the first class. That's fine if I miss one, but if I missed half the classes, how much would I actually learn from the course if I didn't show up? It's the same thing in the life of the church. You have to show up. You have to come on Sunday to hear the preaching of the Word.
If, if you're not hearing the preaching of the Word, I can't help you. It's the Word that will help you if you come and hear it's teaching. And to take any other opportunity that we have, and we're going to be sending videos out, things like that, you need to devote yourself to the teaching of the Word, and coming together is one of those ways in which that, that happens.
And when you think about fellowshipping, knowing each other's needs, how can you know each other's needs if you're not coming together? If you're not coming together, you can't know what each other needs. You can't pray together and pray for those needs. And so this is why they live this sort of lifestyle.
This is why this is their way of life. They are together all the time because that's exactly what's necessary in order for all these things to actually flourish. They didn't just meet in the temple courts. They also met in each other's homes and shared in common meals together. You can imagine maybe they had some more formal teaching in the temple, and then they went to the homes and had conversation about it, and maybe shared in the Lord's Supper there.
And what this really kind of brings to mind is what David sings in Psalm 133 when he says, how good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity. That's what the community of the church is to realize, is that perfect unity that is available to us in Jesus Christ. And actually living that out, not just saying that as an idea, but actually living it out.
They're in their homes, fellowshipping, and it says that they were praising God. When we think about the praise of God, we should recall that praising God, worship, actually goes hand in hand with teaching and instruction. Paul in Colossians 3 and 1 Corinthians 14 has some things interesting to say about this.
In Colossians 3 he says, Through, he doesn't say lectures, he says through psalms, hymns, and songs from the spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. There's something instructive in the songs that we sing, and that's why when I select the songs on a Sunday morning, I try to do it carefully, to choose good songs that are going to teach us good things and that align with the teaching of the word.
When we are singing together, we are teaching one another. In 1 Corinthians 14, he says, What then shall we say, brothers and sisters, when you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.
That's what we're doing when we gather together, when we're, when we're singing, when we're worshiping, is we're doing everything possible to build each other up in Christ. That's the point. Now the outcome of this way of life, Luke says, is that they gained favor with all the people. The people saw the way that the Christians were living, their love for one another, their care for one another, their righteousness.
And they're like, wow, that's really, I really like those people, one. And probably some of them began to think, I'd really like to be like, I'd like to be one of them. And that's why so many of them did turn to Christ. Why they were beginning to add numbers daily. And that should be what we would aspire to.
Is that we would live that sort of life in our church community so that we would have favor with all people. Now sometimes you can't help it. There are times when we're going to be in opposition to the culture and there'll be certain ways in which we are out of favor with society. But it should be the case that our neighbors see us and say, I'd really love to be one of them.
I'd really love to be a Christian. I'd really love to be part of that church, to be part of that community.
Now remember how we began here. That they were devoting themselves. They were devoted to teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, prayer. They were living the life. And as we might expect, their devotion to this way of life, born of the Spirit, was progressively bearing fruit. At the end of verse 47, it says that the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Something just important to note here. It says, This is the Lord's doing. No formula here. This is the work of God from beginning to end. Because this transformation that's happened within the people, that comes from God. They didn't come up with this on their own. There are different people because of the Holy Spirit who now inhabits them because of the work of Christ.
And people are turning to Christ because of the Holy Spirit's work in their hearts. And so this is all the Lord's doing as numbers are being added. And this growth, this growth is the fulfillment of what had been prophesied. And Daniel 2, we have this vision of this great statue made up of Various layers representing the empires of the world.
Eventually, that statue is destroyed. And it says, While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were all broken into pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer.
The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. That is the church set upon the cornerstone of Jesus Christ. The rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. That's what we see going on here in Jerusalem.
The rock of Jesus Christ growing bit by bit until it fills the whole earth. And we see it filling the whole earth today. All across this world, the Lord is still adding to our number daily, those who are being saved. This is the outcome of the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who inhabits the body of Christ, the Church.
The Spirit who cultivates a new way of life in our midst. The example of the early Church should both challenge and encourage us. Are we walking in the spirit, devoting ourselves to biblical teaching, seeking to learn and grow more at all times? Do we yearn for fellowship with each other, truly recognizing each other as real brothers and sisters in the Lord's Supper?
Do we help each other in times of need? Are we known for being a different kind of people grounded in a different way of life? Or is our way of life no different than our neighbors? I think these questions need to be asked on both a collective and a personal level. Sometimes the church collectively doesn't do the things it needs to do in order to support this way of living.
Sometimes the church collectively might go along with kind of the, the stream of culture that really promotes a very kind of individualistic sort of lifestyle. We need to press against that. When things like that happen, change needs to happen on the collective level. On the other hand though, sometimes the church is doing what it's supposed to be doing generally on a collective level.
But you and I, some of us, we miss the train. We become, we're kind of stuck, preoccupied with a different way of life. Now, we might feel guilty about coming up short of the early church's example in one way or another, but I want to impress upon you that the guilt, that guilt is not the point. We're not gaining anything by feeling down.
We should be inspired by the example of the early church. Look at the way of life that God is offering us in the spirit. Look at what's possible. We can live like them today. Now we might have to translate some things to our own set of circumstances. Like for instance, we're not going to be going to the temple.
Maybe there's, you know, the nature of our society today kind of makes it really difficult for us to be together on a daily sorts of, sort of basis. That all makes sense. But their way of life, broad stroke of it, is within reach. It's possible because the Holy Spirit makes it possible. We can be just as notorious for our love of one another.
We can be just as devoted to the truth and just as constant in prayer. The Spirit can fill us with any love that we lack. He can fill us with passion and commitment when we might otherwise just veg out on social media and watching TV. He can give us a real substantial joy in the life that we share together.
Prayer is the place to begin. Praying this way of life into existence. Praying that the Holy Spirit would make more of us than we could ever be on our own. We begin with prayer and follow with action. Let's begin with prayer. Let's pray.
Dear Father, we praise you for the work of your hands. Because that is what the church is. The church is not something man made. The church is the work of God, founded in Jesus Christ, our Savior. And Father, we are impressed by what you desire to do in us, as we see it manifested in the life of the early church. That just as they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and so devote themselves to The teaching of the Word, fellowship, communion, prayer, that Father you, you desire that for us today and that, that sort of love that they shared, that possessed them, is available to us today, Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit. And so, Father, we pray now that the, that you would pour out the Holy Spirit upon us. So that we would be filled with such passion.
That we'd be passionate about growing in our faith. That we'd be passionate about building each other up. Seeking each other's good and welfare. Loving each other as you have loved us. And as, Father, we now desire to love you by caring for one another. Father, we pray that you would bring about this work in us.
Making us more than we could ever be on our own. And that, the outcome of this, Father, is that more and more would be added to our number. Not because of what we're doing, but because of what you're doing, Father. And for your glory. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series The Spirit and the Church. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
After Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost, the people who heard his message respond with the question “What shall we do?” Peter’s tells the people to repent and be baptized, a call that still applies to us today.
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Transcript:
Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's deliberate plan and forknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. Acts 2: 22- 24.
I introduced last week's sermon by reflecting on how signs prompt us to ask for meaning. We see the check engine light and we ask, what does this mean? Once we find out what's wrong with our vehicle, another question comes up. What shall we do? Will we repair the car ourselves, or pay someone else to fix it?
Will we repair the car at all, or just have it towed to the junkyard? Understanding meaning leads to action, to doing. We respond to what we now know. We see just this kind of development on the day of Pentecost. Peter is preaching to a crowd gathered in Jerusalem, a crowd that has been astounded by the miracle of tongues - the Galilean believers speaking in the native tongues of all the devout Jews and some Gentile converts visiting Jerusalem for this holy day. They ask, what does this mean? And last week we saw that Peter began his explanation by pointing directly to the work of the Holy Spirit. The believers have been baptized in the Holy Spirit, this is the work of his presence, as anticipated by the prophet Joel, recorded in Joel 2. From pointing out the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, Peter is now going to direct the crowd's attention to the person of Jesus. So we begin. In Acts 2, verse 22, now looking at verses 22 through 24 that have been read, we see that Peter makes reference to the ministry of Jesus Christ.
That he was accredited to the people by God by everything that he did, the miracles, the wonders, and the signs. All of this wasn't just party tricks. Rather, there were things that the Jewish people would have realized were signposts revealing that Jesus was the Messiah. And this is why there's a great deal of excitement around Jesus' ministry.
There's excitement among His disciples that He was this Messiah, the promised King that was to come, that was to restore Israel, and that he was going to bring with him the kingdom of God and establish it. Now, those hopes kind of got shattered for many of the people when Christ was crucified on the cross, because they didn't see how that figured into what the Messiah was going to bring.
And yet, we still had these signs that seemed to be all indicating that he was, in fact, this Messiah.
Now, Peter says that the fact that Jesus died on the cross was no accident, that it was in fact part of God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge. God knew all along that this was going to happen, and in fact it was working together what he wanted to accomplish in Jesus, which was more than just a mere political restoration, because the human problem runs deeper than just mere politics.
So everything that happened went according to God's plan, and yet we still have this dual reality in play that Peter testifies to. He says, yes, that this man, Jesus, was handed to you, over to you by God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge. But it says, and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
You see, there is no conflict between God's divine foreknowledge, his predestination, his plan, and human responsibility. Now, albeit it is a mystery, it is a paradox for us to wrap our minds around, that God has a particular plan. God planned that Judas was going to betray Jesus, and yet Judas did so willfully.
In accordance with his will, he did that. He did exactly what he wanted to do. And so Judas was responsible for his betrayal of Jesus and all of the people were responsible for Christ's crucifixion. Now we can imagine among the crowd, there may have been some people who were in fact there that very day when Christ was crucified, maybe they were among the crowd crying, crucify him, crucify him.
Others may not have, though. Remember, there's people that are gathered here, all together, from across the Mediterranean. This just goes to show that Peter's notion of responsibility here is not mere individual responsibility, but a collective responsibility on the part of the nation that they rejected their Messiah.
So the people rejected their Messiah, despite all these signs which were given. But Peter says in verse 24, But God resurrected Jesus. God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. Now it's interesting that it says God resurrected, God raised Jesus from the dead.
When we see that, we might suppose, okay, maybe there's a difference here between Jesus and God. If we're saying that God raised Jesus. So maybe Jesus isn't God. But in fact, we see the testimony elsewhere in the New Testament makes it clear that Jesus is in fact God. And when we're talking about God raising Jesus from the dead, we're talking about a triune work, a work of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Where all three persons are inseparably operating together in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Galatians 1: 1, Paul says that God the Father raised Jesus from the dead. In Romans 8: 11, it says that the Spirit raised Jesus from the dead. And then in John 10: 18, Jesus says, I have the authority to lay my life down and the authority to take it up again.
So we see that all three persons are involved in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. So when it says that God raised Jesus from the dead, we are in no way denying the full divinity of Jesus Christ. And in fact, I think we have some indication here of Jesus's divinity by the fact that death was not able to keep its hold on him as it is able to keep its hold on all the rest of us.
Now, Peter says that it's impossible for death to keep its hold on him. Why does he say that it was impossible? Well, we could point to that divine nature that I was just talking about, but Peter says it's impossible because of what the scriptures promised. Continuing on in verse 25. It says, David said about him, Jesus, I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. My body also will rest in hope, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead. You will not let your holy ones see decay. You have made known to me the path of life. You fill me with joy in your presence.
Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet, and knew that God had promised to him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, and that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay.
God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses.
Peter points to the word of David in Psalm 16, eight through 11, in which it is, he says that it's foretold that this Messiah would not be given over to decay. Now, the reason why he says this is speaking of the Messiah is because. It cannot possibly fit the profile of David. Because, as he says, David's dead.
David was given over to the corruption of death. I mean, to just put it bluntly, the worms got to him. He turned to dust.
David was not speaking of himself. He was speaking of the son that was to ascend to the throne. And we see that Jesus fits the profile of what David prophesies here. Because Jesus was raised from the dead. Yes, he did die. But his body, quite literally, did not decay away. His body was still intact three days later, and he was raised from the dead. Now, thinking back earlier to what Peter has talked about with regard to the Holy Spirit and what is being witnessed among these believers and their speaking of tongues, we have to ask, what does Jesus have to do with this outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Continuing in verse 33, he says, Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this, God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah. You see, when we're talking about what Jesus did, we don't only say that Jesus was born a man.
We don't say he only died, we don't only say that he rose from the dead, we also say that he ascended into heaven. And Christ's ascension is probably one of the most overlooked components of the work of Christ. Because we're so excited that Christ laid down his life for our sins, and that he conquered death and his resurrection, but his ascension clinches everything. It's like, Christ's ascension to heaven is like Jesus running into the end zone. It's like, that's when you get the points. He's done all this, and now he enters into heaven, and he presents himself as this sacrificed Christ for our sakes, and he takes the throne at the right hand of the father.
So he ascends and he intercedes on our behalf and he ascends. And as a result, as Jesus has talked about, he told the disciples, go wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the father. He pours out that promised Holy Spirit.
And this is all related to his authority that is his.
Peter says in verse 33 that he has been exalted to the right hand of God. Now, again, we might ask, you know, is Jesus in some way inferior to the Father, then, if he must be exalted in this manner? The answer is no. He's not inferior to the Father. What we need to understand here is this, is that Christ has two natures.
He has his divine eternal nature, which has existed from eternity past. The Son has always existed. And he also has his human nature that he assumes in the incarnation. And so when we talk about Christ's exaltation, what we are seeing here is an extension of exaltation to his human nature. Christ is lifting up humanity into the glory of himself by taking on human flesh.
Now, if we, if we just wanted just an easy, like, you know, proof text to just point out, like, Jesus really is God. Don't get it twisted. A great verse to kind of highlight in your Bible is John 1, verses 1 through 4. Where the Apostle John says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word here is talking about the Son, it's talking about Jesus, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made. Without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. That's God stuff right there. And John is saying, that's Jesus. That applies all to Jesus. So Jesus, as far as he is the son of God, has always enjoyed that divine exaltation.
But now, that's been, humanity has been incorporated into his person, and that too now has been exalted and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
Now, regarding this authority, Peter quotes another psalm here. He quotes Psalm 110: 1, and Saying that the Lord said to my Lord sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. Now this psalm that he quotes, he quotes for the purpose of saying, well David did not ascend to heaven, but Christ has ascended.
And so this applies to Jesus. In fact, this is a passage of scripture that Jesus himself uses to demonstrate who he is. It's interesting to see Jesus quoting scripture. He does it quite frequently, but it's like Jesus shows his disciples, these are the scriptures you should point to when trying to explain to people who I am.
In Matthew 22, verses 42 through 45 Jesus says, what do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he? The son of David, they replied. He said to them, how is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him Lord? For he says, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.
If then David calls him Lord, how can he be his son? Very interesting point that Jesus is, is making here. He's saying it would seem weird David to call one of his sons his Lord. We can think about in our own parent children relationship, grandparent grandchildren relationship, to call your child or grandchild Lord, it'd seem a little inappropriate.
Like why, you would think, you would, you would be possessing a little bit more honor in the scale of family relations here. But in the case of, you know, One that David is speaking of here, he does possess a higher authority. And the reason why he possesses a higher authority is because he is not a mere man.
He is, in fact, the Son of God, come in the flesh. And so he rightly refers to him as his Lord. I think also we see here a little glimpse of the Trinity in the Old Testament, a doctrine that doesn't come into full view and until we get into the New Testament. Because it says, the Lord said to my Lord, well, you're talking about two persons there at least.
So we're having all this anticipation that's pointing the way to Jesus. Now Peter's culminating point here is seen in verse 36 says, therefore, let all Israel be assured of this. God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Messiah. Now, this certainly sounds like good news. Jesus is the Lord.
He is the Messiah, but we shouldn't miss the bad news. That certainly wasn't missed by the crowd. Yes. Jesus is the Lord. He is the Messiah, but they crucified him. They crucified the promised one. And even if many people in the crowd were not personal accomplices to his crucifixion, a collective guilt hung over the people, as a whole, for letting this happen.
It's kind of like, you just had one job. You were supposed to receive the Messiah, and accept him, and embrace him, and follow him. And instead of doing that, you crucified him. So this collective guilt hung over The people of Israel. And in fact, we could say that this collective guilt hangs over all humanity.
It seems, like in the garden of Eden, we have fallen again. Now, as we see here, the people don't make excuses like we so often do. You see, you cannot escape the truth. No, instead they believe Peter's testimony. And in verses 37 through 41, Luke records that when the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, Brothers, what shall we do? Peter replied, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off.
For all whom the Lord our God will call. With many other words he warned them; and and he pleaded with them, save yourselves from this corrupt generation. Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about 3000 were added to their number that day.
In light of their guilt, the guilt that they can see, and in light of who they see Jesus to be, the people ask, what shall we do? What shall we do? And Peter gives them a two part instruction. He says, repent. Repent. If you are truly cut to the heart, repent. Turn your back on your sinful ways. And turn to the Lord.
Now, if mere repentance was sufficient, well, Jesus would never have had to come. Because there's been calls for repentance all across Scripture in the Old Testament. We can repent all day, but we'll fall again, and again, and again. And this is why we needed Jesus Christ to come, in order to be our sacrifice.
To make amends for the wrong that we've done, and to offer His life to the Father, and introduce a new humanity in himself so that we could truly be redeemed and restored. But the question is, is how do we have access to that? So we repent, but what's next? Well, you have to believe in him. And when we're talking about believing in Jesus, we're not talking about just a rational assent to Jesus being who he is.
James says, even the demons recognize that. Now, when we talk about believing in Jesus, we're talking about putting our faith in Jesus, pledging our allegiance to Jesus, and trusting our lives to Jesus. And the way that this happens is in baptism. Now it's interesting here because what Peter says is repent and be baptized.
He doesn't say believe, but belief and baptism go hand in hand. And so whenever you're in the New Testament specifically and you're seeing for a call to belief, understand that there's also a call to be baptized there. It's all implicit. If there's a call to be baptized, there's a call for faith. And this is why in our church, in our tradition, we baptize adults.
Because we believe that there needs to be an act of faith in association with baptism. Now, we don't force people to be re baptized because we believe that by God's grace, if someone's been baptized in infancy, and if they express their faith in Christ, well, it's all held together. But there needs to be faith, and there needs to be baptism.
In baptism, we are joined to the person of Jesus Christ. His righteousness becomes our righteousness. His sacrifice is the sacrifice for our sins. And so we are forgiven.
Peter says, Be baptized everyone in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Believe and be baptized and be forgiven. I mean, it doesn't get more gospel than that. That's good news. To know that everything that you've done wrong in your life, simply by faith in Jesus Christ, can be forgiven.
You can begin anew.
But also notice this. This is part of the good news as well. You'll be forgiven of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now if I was going to give a critique of the American Gospel, I'd say, often times I think we miss out on this part. We're very good about the forgiveness of sins part, and that's central, I mean that's huge, that's awesome.
That's awesome. But don't miss out on this. This is part of the good news too. You received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now why is this so awesome? Why is it so awesome to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit? Because when we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, the person of the Holy Spirit, the person of God, this person of God dwells within us.
And yes, we receive some fantastic gifts. In the case of the believers here, they were able to speak in tongues. Some of us receive awesome gifts of being able to teach, or be able to show extraordinary mercy, or things along these lines. In some cases, being enabled to offer healing to others by the power of God.
But fundamental, is that when the Holy Spirit resides within you, He creates within you a new heart. And in fact, the only reason why we turn to Christ at all is because of the work of the Holy Spirit that's kind of paving the way for him to take up home in our hearts. When we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, we receive a new, the work of new creation in our lives, so that when you are baptized, you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
You walk out of the waters. You're literally walking into a new life. You're walking into the rest of your life that will continue on into eternity. So that you can begin to have a taste of eternity even here today. You can have a taste of who you are going to become in the end, here and now, bit by bit, as you walk forward.
And so as I meditate on that, and as I contemplate that, that makes me want to progress even more. Not to earn my salvation. Forget that. There's no earning your salvation. The reason why we want to progress in righteousness is because we want to become all that God created us to be. And the good news is, is you don't do it by your power.
You don't have to struggle by your strength. It's possible because of the power of the Holy Spirit who is now within you. That's good news. That real change is possible by the power of God. What's also good news here is that this is a promise, not just for the people in Peter's immediate audience here, but he says in verse 39, the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off.
For all of whom the Lord our God will call. We are those who are far off, 2000 years off. We are all who are far off. Peter is saying, this is for us, this is for us today. Luke goes on to say that Peter is pleading with them that they would turn to Christ, that they would save themselves from this corrupt generation.
Basically what Peter is saying is, don't look at what everyone else is doing. We know it's a corrupt generation, they crucified Jesus, don't look at what everyone else is doing. Turn to Christ. And that could apply to us just as easily today. Don't look at what everyone else is doing. Don't look at what everyone else is prioritizing.
Don't look at what they say matters. Look to Jesus. Follow Him. In response to Peter's message, it says that 3, 000 people were added today. Now that's an awesome response, isn't it? You'd love to see that. Now there's a bit of a parallel here that I think God intends. Now we've talked about how this is 50 days after Passover.
And yes, this aligns with the feast of Pentecost. It also aligns with the fact that 50 days after Passover, the people of Israel are at the Mount of Sinai and they received the law there. You might, if you know your Bible well, you might also know that when Moses was up on the mountain, the people got impatient.
They said, hey, let's make a golden calf. And worship that instead of the one true God. Well, the fallout from that, is that a bunch of people were punished with death. In Exodus 32: 28, it says, The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about 3, 000 of the people died. Notice the parallel there. The 3, 000 people died that day.
It was a bad day. Now, on this day of Pentecost, in parallel to that day when they were at Mount Sinai, 3, 000 people are saved. God is making all things new in Jesus Christ.
In light of Peter's testimony, we who live today should also ask, What shall we do? What shall we do, given all these signs that Jesus is the Messiah? He did works no one else could. He taught with authority, stripping away all the superficiality of religion, teaching us the true meaning of righteousness, striking at the heart.
And then he lived it out, being obedient to the point of death on a cross, because he loved the Father. And he loved us and was willing to lay down his life for our sakes. And yet, he did not stay dead. His body did not molder and decay away. The authorities couldn't find his body because he was raised from the dead.
The apostles saw him with their own eyes and were willing to put their necks on the line to testify that he is truly alive. He ascended to heaven. And we know that Jesus is there because he promised to send the Holy Spirit. And here he is. The Spirit is in our midst, working wonders. What shall we do in light of this?
What shall we do in light of the other truth, that we are sinners in need of a Savior. We are all guilty. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We are all like sheep who've gone astray. You look at yourself in the mirror, and you and I know the truth. We don't measure up to who we're supposed to be.
We can't fool ourselves. We wouldn't have done any different than Adam and Eve. And when they went to crucify Jesus, do we really think we would have been among the faithful few? It seems more likely crucifixion with the mob, or denying we knew him like Peter, or ignoring him altogether because we had places to be and things to do.
However, we'd stand on that day on the final day, we know that we'd all come up short when everything is told.
We're completely guilty and we're completely broken. So what shall we do? Our sin is great. But greater still is our Savior, Jesus Christ. He came not to condemn, to just kind of double down and make sure we were burying ourselves completely. He did not come to condemn. He came to save. He invites us to come clean, to admit that we're sinners and denounce that way of life.
The Apostle John tells us in 1 John 1: 8- 9, If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Jesus offers us forgiveness. He offers us a new life in the spirit.
Sin has made its mark, but God now offers to purify us from all unrighteousness. We accept this invitation by faith revealed in baptism.
So if you have not repented, if you have not believed, this is what God offers you in Jesus. A new and everlasting life in Him. And all you have to do is confess that you're a sinner. Turn your back on sin. Turn your back on sin. And trust your life to Jesus Christ. And be baptized. And if there's anyone here who's never been baptized, I'll baptize you next week, if you want to be baptized.
And if you have already believed, please, please, please, remember your baptism. Remember this new reality, which is now yours. Your sins are forgiven in Jesus Christ, and the spirit inhabits you. You are alive and free from the power of sin and free from the fear of death. Live your life in light of this.
Live in alignment with your faith. Let us pray.
Father, we thank you for Peter's testimony on the day of Pentecost. Of how he so boldly, by the power of the Holy Spirit, testified to the reality of who Jesus is. That Jesus is, in fact, the Son of God. God come to us in the flesh. That he is, in fact, our Messiah, revealed by the wonders which he did.
Foremost among them, Father, this wonder that even as he offered his life up freely to death on a cross in accordance with your plan, he was also raised from the dead and has ascended and now intercedes on our behalf and has sent the Holy Spirit to bring new life to us.
Father, make this more real to us than everything else crowding into our minds and the news cycle and social media and everything else. Father, make this more real to us and more important to us because it is. It is more real. It is more important.
Produce repentance in our hearts, Father. Give us faith, Father, and lead us in the life of the spirit which you offer us to Jesus, in Jesus if we just receive him by faith. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series The Spirit and the Church. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
As the Apostles await the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they trust in His power as they choose the disciple who will replace Judas as one of the twelve.
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Transcript:
The Apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. The present were Peter, John, James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.
They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
I don't know about you, but I've been watching the weather forecast more closely lately. With all this cold weather, I'm expecting a major snow storm at any time. I want to be able to plan accordingly, and I'm sure you do also. Even if we lament their occasional failures, we have to admit that we rely quite a bit on the forecast of meteorologists.
Our plans are shaped by what they have to say. They have our devoted attention. It makes me wonder, there's nothing wrong with how we pay attention to the weather forecast. But it does bring a comparison to mind. As much as we seek guidance from meteorologists, do we seek even more guidance from God? I'm not so sure.
Many of us, and I include myself, are tempted to reduce divine guidance to principles. To set a, to a set of rules for the road. And no doubt we find guidance in truth. But we sometimes reduce this truth to an impersonal set of facts that we are left to weigh and assess on our own. It is very western of us to do that, but it is not very Christian. The early believers expected that God would guide them. That, as Jesus said, the Spirit would guide them into all the truth. And they doggedly sought his personal direction, turning to him with absolute devotion and expectation. This is what we see from the beginning after Christ's ascension.
As we move on to verses 12 to 14, we recall what has just transpired. Jesus was crucified. Three days later, He was raised from the dead. And then for 40 days, He was with His disciples, showing them evidences of the reality of His resurrection, teaching them. And here at the outset of Acts, we've heard the testimony of his ascension to heaven.
They saw him with his eyes ascending to heaven. And they were told by a pair of angels who attended that ascension that Jesus was going to return bodily in that same manner. So as we move on to verses 12 through 14, we see them moving on from where they were on the Mount of Olives. If you look at the map here, the Mount of Olives is kind of to the right over here.
And they made their way into Jerusalem. And as they made their way, it wasn't a very long distance. It was about five, about one and a half miles. It's only a 37 minute walk just to the city center. We don't know exactly where they were going. It says they went to an upper room. Perhaps it was the same upper room in which they shared the last supper with Jesus, but in any case, not a far walk, a Sabbath day walk, which is said to be a five eighths of a mile. So perhaps a little less than the city center. And as they went along, it says, it says in Luke 24, verse 52, they returned to Jerusalem with great joy. So they were not downcast by Jesus's departure. They were filled with joy by everything that they had, that he had told them.
And what he had told them was that they needed to go and wait in Jerusalem for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which was to come. And so, they are in Jerusalem, awaiting this promised baptism. Eleven of the disciples are gathered, listed here in these verses. And it also says some of the women disciples were there as well.
Along with Mary. This is something we don't think about very often, the fact that Jesus had brothers, and he did. And in fact, later we see that his brother James becomes a great leader of the church and writes the epistle of James that we find in our New Testament. And the nature of their time together is characterized in this way in verse 14.
It says they all joined together constantly in prayer. They were together in constant prayer. From the very beginning of the life of the church, it is defined by this activity of prayer. And moving forward in the New Testament, we see again and again how believers are admonished to follow this sort of devotion, this pattern of devotion to prayer.
Romans 12: 12, Paul says be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. In Colossians 4: 2, he says devote yourselves to prayer. Be watchful and thankful. In Ephesians 6: 18, he says pray in the Spirit on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people.
When we think about the early church, we might think of their fellowship together. We might think of the preaching of the apostles, but do we think of how much their life together was saturated by prayer? It's the defining characteristic of the early church. And so as we see their example, we have to ask the question, Is this the defining characteristic of our church?
Is it the defining characteristic of the church in America today? That we are constant in prayer. That we are devoted to prayer. As we see in the following verses, they are pressing into prayer, especially on one important matter. It says in verse 15, In those days, Peter stood up among the believers, a group numbering about a hundred and twenty, and said, Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus.
He was one of our number and shared in our ministry. With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field. There he fell headlong, his body burst open, and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in that language, Akeldama, that is, field of blood.
So when Luke says that, in those days, Peter stood up and spoke to the brethren gathered there, what we're talking about here is these ten days leading up to the day of Pentecost in which this baptism of the Holy Spirit is going to occur. And we see now that there are many disciples gathered here. Again, when we think about the disciples, we usually just think about the 12.
But Jesus had many more disciples than just the 12. And we see 120 gathered here. And it's interesting to wonder where they're meeting here. Whether they're still in that upper room or not. Because if they're in that upper room, it is now a very crowded room with all of them together. Peter stands up and speaks to them because he is concerned about the fulfillment of Scripture.
All of Jesus' ministry has been characterized by everything that he's done fulfilling the Scriptures. Fulfilling something that was said would occur. In Luke 24, verse 44, he told his disciples, This is what I told you while I was still with you. Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.
And we'll see here that Peter's going to reference the Psalms. The Psalms anticipate what transpired and what will need to occur. But it's interesting to see what he says here regarding Scripture. He says something we can easily just roll past. But it's a reminder to us about the nature of Scripture.
Remember, the name of the series is The Spirit and the Church. And here, boom, we see an appearance of the Holy Spirit. Here, the Spirit spoke through David in the Psalms that he wrote. See, the Spirit wasn't just showing up on the scene here in the early church. The Spirit had been active long ago and had always been present.
And as we look to the testimony of the New Testament elsewhere, it's made very clear to us that the scriptures are not some man made creation. When we say that the Holy Scriptures are inspired, we're not saying that just some guys that were very creative wrote them up. When we say that the scriptures are inspired, we are saying that they were composed under the guiding presence and work of the Holy Spirit.
So in 2nd Peter 1, we see the Apostle Peter say this. Verses 20 through 21. He says, Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Peter's not denying that, yes, human beings have a place. They are participating in these scriptures coming into being, but they're not doing it on their own. They're writing as they are carried along by the Holy Spirit. Paul in 2 Timothy 3: 16- 17, this is a great passage to remember. If you think about John 3: 16 being kind of a pivotal verse to remember about salvation in Jesus Christ.
Think about 2 Timothy 3: 16 as being that passage for remembering the nature of Scripture. Paul says this, All Scripture is God breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. All of Scripture is God breathed.
Not just parts of it. All of it. So when we're talking about the Holy Spirit carrying along these men as they wrote the Scriptures. When we say the scriptures are inspired, we're allowing that the spirit can work through many means. It may be direct dictation, saying, to the one who is writing, write exactly this.
It may be through a visionary experience that is given to the writer. Or the Holy Spirit may be just working together, orchestrating insight on the part of the person that is writing the Scriptures, using even their background, their upbringing, working all things together, so that God is putting forth through this person exactly what needs to be said, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
And so it's in this manner that Peter says that the Holy Spirit spoke through David concerning Judas. Now, many of you know, most of you know who Judas is. It's interesting though, it's a, and sometimes the names vary just because guys go by different names sometimes. And we'll see this actually later in this passage.
So some of the lists of the apostles are slightly different. Not a discrepancy, it's just a difference in what name they're using. It's funny to see that one of the disciples gathered in this upper room was Judas son of James. Now Peter's not talking about that Judas. Poor guy. Same name as the other Judas.
Judas Iscariot. That's the Judas we're talking about. Now Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve and he betrayed Jesus. He was the keeper of the money, was actually for the group, you know, disciples need finances to get a meal, all that kind of stuff. He was the one who was the keeper of the money. He would take some of the money for himself.
And eventually at some point, he obviously became disillusioned by Jesus. And we see him complaining about when a woman anoints him with this expensive perfume and he's like, couldn't we have sold that? You know, made a bunch of money off of that. Well, instead, Judas decides, I'm going to get some money for my own.
I'm going to sell out Jesus. Sells him out to the high priest for 30 pieces of silver. Leads the guards to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. And so Jesus is ultimately led to Calvary. It says, though, that when Judas saw that Jesus was condemned, he was filled with regret for what he had done and realized that he had just led an innocent man to his death.
And so he tries to go back to the high priest and say, take the money back. And they're like, we're having nothing to do with that. That's your problem. And, and so he ends up going and he hangs himself. And we don't know exactly how this happened, but based on what Luke is saying, it kind of sounds like he hung himself, he fell, maybe had been hanging for a while, his body burst open.
Very gross scene, but it's, that's how you get the name of the field, which is Akeldama, field of, field of blood. Now, what's notable about all this, as far as what Peter's trying to say here, is that Judas was no surprise. God knew the place that Judas was going to play in his plan all along. God is completely sovereign over all circumstances.
And he was working together, even this betrayal, for the good of his children. Think about what Paul testifies in Romans 8: 28. We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. And so, specifically in the case of Judas, Peter says this.
This is what has been, this is what was anticipated. Verses 20 through 22. For, said Peter, it is written in the book of Psalms, May his place be deserted, let there be no one to dwell in it, and may another take his place of leadership. Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who has been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us.
For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection. Now, the psalms that Peter is referencing here are psalms, Psalm 69: 25 and Psalm 109: 8. And when you look at those Psalms, you'll read them, and you might look at them and say, I mean, it's not completely obvious to me that these verses are talking about Judas.
But what is obvious about those Psalms is that they're talking about a traitor. It's talking about betrayal. And remember the one who is writing these psalms, we're talking about King David. And so, what we have in Judas and Jesus in relation to these psalms, is the consummate fulfillment of what those psalms are talking about.
Judas is the consummate traitor. And so he's fulfilling that which was spoken in the psalms. And Jesus is the consummate king. The promised one, the one who would suffer as a servant king. And so it's in this way that Peter is referencing these Psalms saying, this is all anticipating what happened with Judas and with Jesus.
And so, in verse 21, he says, Therefore, meaning, therefore to fulfill these scriptures completely, because what he's talking about is that, Another one who should take the place of this one who's been the traitor. Therefore, to fulfill these scriptures, and to make sure that we have a witness who has seen everything from beginning to end in Jesus' ministry.
Not just the end, they didn't just show up when he rose from the dead, but from the very beginning when he was baptized, in order to have a complete witness, and to fulfill these scriptures, we must find someone to replace Judas.
Now, recall that 120 of them are gathered at this point. So, from that group, and however many had been with Jesus from the beginning, they needed to identify one man that would replace Judas. Now, as we'll see in these last verses, they use a method that's unfamiliar to most of us. We look at verses 23 through 26.
It says, So they nominated two men, Joseph called Barsabbas, also known as Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed, Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs. And they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias.
So he was added to the eleven apostles.
What I want you to notice in these verses is just the humble posture of the apostles in trying to identify who should replace Judas. You might imagine he's like, Oh, well, these guys had been with Jesus the whole time. Maybe they'd feel like we're going to decide who's going to enter our exclusive 12 person club.
They don't feel that way about it at all. They're coming humbly before God, recognizing that only God can determine who this man would be. God in His perfect knowledge, because God knows the heart. They say, Lord, You know everyone's heart. You see this testimony in Scripture. And in 1 Samuel 16, when Samuel's trying to identify who's to be the new king of Israel ultimately leads him to David, but he's having a tough time knowing who among all of David's brothers is to be the king, all the sons of Jesse.
The Lord reminds Samuel, he says, do not consider his appearance or his height for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Psalm 44: 20- 21 says, if we had forgotten the name of our God or spread our hands to a foreign God, would not God have discovered it since he knows the secrets of the heart?
So for good or for ill, God knows our hearts. He knows exactly what is going on there.
So if people are judging you, saying, you look like you're messed up, but maybe you're being misunderstood or something, you can know. But on the other hand, you could put on the perfect religious experience and people would think, like, yeah, that guy should be the next apostle. God knows the heart. And he knows if we're just putting on an appearance.
Now, the apostles do reduce their choice down to two men. But in this circumstance, they remove their own judgment and leave judgment to God's hand by casting lots. Again, very interesting because we don't see this today. But there is a precedence for it. It's not just something that they came up with. We see this all throughout the scripture, especially the Old Testament.
In Joshua 14, too, we see how the assignments of the land to the tribes was determined by God. In Nehemiah 10: 34, we see how the priests, the Levites, cast lots to determine who was going to be bringing wood to burn on the altar of the Lord. In Leviticus 16: 8, we see lots being cast for determining which goat would serve as the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement, and which of the goats would be offered as a sacrifice.
So we see this precedent. And what they're doing in casting these lots is not just leaving it up to luck of the dice. What they're doing is they're bringing the matter before God in order that He might make clear what is to happen. You see this very clearly elsewhere in Joshua 18: 6 when it's talking about this division of the land.
Joshua says, I will cast lots for you in the presence of the Lord our God. The point, again, is direction from God. Even among pagans, jonah 1: 7. Remember, Jonah's running away from his calling to go to Nineveh. He's on the ship, it's getting tossed all over the place by a storm. The sailors say to each other, come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.
They cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Clearly, God was working through the lots so that Jonah would be identified. In Proverbs 16: 33, it says the lot is cast into the lap, but every decision is from the Lord. And so, the primary reason why lots are used is in order to get a determination from God. We can also see how using lots could be a measure of wisdom in order to avoid conflict.
Proverbs 18: 18 says, Casting a lot settles disputes and keeps strong opponents apart. You can see how a fight might break out if it appears like you're choosing favorites. Casting lots avoids that. 1 Chronicles 24: 5 It talks about how lots were used to divide things impartially. Now, what's notable, though, is even while we have this very strong precedent for lots being used, which explains their use here, it's notable that we don't see them being used after this point.
When Paul and Barnabas are sent as apostles, out to the rest of the Mediterranean, to the Gentiles. We don't see that being sorted out by the use of lots. When the church has to later on identify those who would serve as deacons in the church, they do not use lots. When the church needs to decide, are we going to allow Gentiles who are not circumcised to be counted among the body of Christ, they don't decide the matter, yes or no, using lots.
Everything from the chronology, the storyline, the narrative that we have points to this, that things change after the Holy Spirit comes and the believers are baptized in the Holy Spirit. And we're not denying that the apostles are clearly being guided here by the Holy Spirit, but this is a very unique circumstance that's transpiring here.
The selection of one who would replace one of the Apostles number.
And, as in the case of Paul, we can see Paul wasn't identified as an Apostle by lots, but by a very unique confrontation on the road of Damascus in Galatians 1: 1, Paul says of himself, Paul an Apostle sent not from men, nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father. We can see in the same way in which Paul is trying to make it clear, like, he's not a self made apostle.
In these circumstances, it needs to be clear that this man who would be an apostle and witness was not a man made apostle. We can also imagine how this probably helps facilitate the choice, and again, making clear that it's not due to any partiality among the leaders of the church. Apparently, these two were both very fine men.
And so at the end of the day, if it was left to them, it could become arbitrary. You know, and just kind of joking, maybe one of the disciples is like, oh, I really like the bread that guy makes, so I'm going to make him the apostle. I want to have that guy around. We remove all concern of that by the casting of lots in this instance.
But because this happens before the baptism of the Holy Spirit, because we do not see this moving forward, we can know that this is not a normative means of judgment for us. That we shouldn't be pulling out a couple of knuckle bones or dice or whatever they used to cast lots in order to determine what direction we should go.
Instead, we have the presence, the indwelling presence of the person of the Holy Spirit within us, which is much more profound than the casting of lots, to guide us into what the Lord would will for our lives. And we have this promise going from all the way back into the Old Testament, verse many of you are familiar with, Proverbs three, five through six, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to him, And he will make your path straight. Clearly, in these circumstances, the apostles were led to use lots. But moving forward, trusting in the Lord, leaning not on our own understanding, looks like beseeching the Lord in constant prayer, expecting guidance from the Holy Spirit.
And Psalm 73 verses 21 through 24 says when my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant. I was a brute beast before you. Now, how many of you have felt like that before? Before God? I felt like that. I felt like that. And then it says, yet I am always with you. You hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel and afterward you will take me into glory. That's the promise that we have as Christians. Like, yeah, sometimes we're going to be brute beasts. We get way off track. But God is right there, holding us by the right hand. And He will guide us as we turn to Him and as we march towards the coming Kingdom.
The question, though, is this. Do we seek His guidance? Do we seek His counsel? Are we constant in approaching God in prayer, expecting his answer? Are we so interested in shaping our lives according to what he would reveal, as we are in arranging our lives around a mere weather forecast? This is the challenge those early believers give us.
Their life, their conduct, shows us the way. Following their pattern is both an individual and collective responsibility. It's something you must reckon in your personal life, but it's something that we must also work out together. Because we see here that they prayed together. But it's not just a responsibility for responsibility's sake.
Some arbitrary religious burden laden upon you and me. Think of the reward set before us.
We pray, and God answers. We pray, and God will guide our steps into exactly what we need to do. What else could we want?
What else could we want? Unless we are only interested in our own way. Consider these things. Let us pray.
Father,
the example of these early believers leaves an impression upon us, Father. We see their devotion to prayer, Father. How they gathered together and sought your face. And we desire that for ourselves, Father.
Father, we confess we can so often get off track. We desire that, Father, but we so easily just
resort to just looking to our own wisdom. Maybe just googling things, Father.
Father, impress upon us this. The reality of the guidance that you're offering to us. The true gift that we have in the person of the Holy Spirit. That if we will turn to you, if we will bring every matter on all occasions before you in prayer, you will guide our steps. You will guide us into what we need to do.
Father, fill us with the faith of the apostles. Make us constant in prayer so that what defines the early church would define this church today. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series The Spirit and the Church. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In the first sermon of a new series on The Spirit and the Church, Pastor Tom digs in to the first chapter of Acts, honing in on the Spirit promised to the apostles and the way that promise has been passed down to us.
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Transcript:
I'll be reading this morning from John chapter 16 verses 7 through 15. But very truly, I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own. He will speak only what he hears and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me, because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.
All that belongs to the father is mine. That is why I said, the spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.
As some of you know, I'm a volunteer at the Chopmist fire station and for the past month, our fire engine, engine 62, has been away at the shop for repairs. On Thursday, it made its return to the station, which I was very excited about, because when you ride in the tanker, you have to ride backwards. I hate riding backwards, so I like to be able to look forward on the road.
So on Thursday, I went up that afternoon to give a hand loading equipment back on the truck. Now, among the things that we put back on the truck was some of our extrication equipment. It's popularly known as kind of the Jaws of Life, which is used to rescue people when they're trapped in their vehicles in a crash.
Now, our equipment is nimble and utilizes batteries, rather than being directly connected as those ones are in the picture. And as we were returning the gear, some of the guys noticed that a few of the batteries needed charging. As powerful as the tools looked, without the batteries, they couldn't be used for anything if they didn't have any power.
After we loaded the equipment back on the truck, we also went up to fill the truck's water tank and also to make sure that the truck was, truck was fueled up. Without water, we wouldn't be putting out any fires. Without fuel, we would never make it to the scene. The truck might look impressive, the tools might look strong, but without these things, they are nothing.
We might say the same about the church. It's very easy to judge local churches by their appearances. Look at their building. Look at their staff. Look at the size of their congregation. These aren't bad things. Just as there's nothing wrong with the fire engine, as far as it goes. But like the engine, the church won't go far on these things alone.
The power of the church is not in its steeple. And the power of the church, as surprising as it may sound, is not in the people. The power of the church comes from beyond to reside within her. The power which is a person, in fact God, who brings the body of Christ, the church, to life. This is what we learn as we begin this series looking at the first half of the book of Acts.
We're going to go back to the beginning of the church. Revisiting Christ's parting words, remembering what is so easily forgotten. So I'm going to invite you to open up to Acts 1. Acts 1, it's right after the Gospel of Luke, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, oh it's actually after the Gospel of John, but you'll see why I associated with Luke in a second.
Right after the Gospel of John, we have the book of Acts. We have the first three verses here. It says, In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.
After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke about the Kingdom of God. Now the thing that's interesting about so many of the books of the Bible is they don't always say at the very outset who the human author of the text is.
But in the case of Acts, we can do some detective work on our own without merely relying on church tradition because this book is addressed to a person. It says in my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach. And when we go back to the Gospel of Luke, this is why the Gospel of Luke was on my mind, when we go back to the Gospel of Luke, we find that that Gospel is likewise addressed to Theophilus.
And so this is a continuation of the account of the early life of the Church. Of course, beginning in Jesus, but now continuing beyond the time of Christ's ascension. And the author is Luke, who is an associate of the Apostle Paul, and was witness of these things, and had access to those who were witnesses of these things.
So much of what we have here in this first chapter, actually has some overlap with the last chapter of the Gospel of Luke, which, which makes sense. It's kind of a segue between the two. Now, in these opening verses, Luke is telling Theophilus about this time that followed Christ's resurrection. A period of 40 days, in which it says that Jesus was teaching his disciples, notably it says in verse 2, giving instructions to them through the Holy Spirit.
And it's important to pick that out, I think, because so often when we think about Jesus, the Son of God, we think of Him working as an independent actor. Yes, He prays to the Father, but I mean, He's the Son of God. That should be enough, right? Well, no. When we look throughout his ministry, we in fact see him working in cooperation with the Holy Spirit.
In Luke 3, at the time of his baptism, the Holy Spirit descends upon him in the form of a dove. And then it's at that point that his ministry really commences. In Luke 4: 18, he says, he, Referencing Isaiah 61, he says the Spirit of the Lord is on me. So everything that Jesus is doing, he is doing in concert with the person of the Holy Spirit.
And so, the importance of this will become more clear as we go along. So he is teaching his apostles, he is giving instructions to them. And, during this time of 40 days, what he's doing is he's offering them convincing proofs that he really, truly has been resurrected from the dead. So we see in Luke 24, verses 36- 43, just notice here, the pains to which Christ is going in demonstrating to the disciples that, yes, I'm really here. Sometimes, I think, when we think about ancient people, we think like, Oh, they would have easily believed that someone was raised from the dead. It's not the case. In the Gospel records, we find that they're quite doubtful. And, it's interesting to see Jesus kind of going to one explanation, immediately, that might come to mind, which is that they think that maybe he's just a ghost.
It says in verse 36, While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, Peace be with you. They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your mind? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself.
Touch me and see. A ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have. When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, Do you have anything here to eat? They gave him a piece of broiled fish. And he took it and ate it in their presence.
So Jesus is like saying, Look, listen, I'm really here. Give me some fish. I'll eat it. I'll show you. See? Ghosts can't eat fish. It's important. And I could have a whole other sermon on this. It's important that Jesus is raised from the dead. It's not enough that Jesus just died. It's It wouldn't have been enough that he just died and just kind of floated up as a spirit to heaven.
Christ's resurrection from the dead demonstrates to us everything that he said about himself. That he is, in fact, the Son of God. That his sacrifice for sin is, in fact, acceptable to the Father. And it demonstrates the reality that death has been conquered. That we will be raised from the dead. And that God's intent is not, in fact, to abandon his creation.
To just scrap it, but in fact to redeem it and to restore it. And we see this in Jesus Christ. And so this is what Jesus is doing over the course of these 40 days. He appears to the 12. Paul says that in 1 Corinthians 15 that He appeared to more than 500 of the brothers and sisters at the same time. He appeared to many people.
And during the course of this time, He's teaching them about The Kingdom of God. What to expect. Now we're given the very essence of Christ's teaching during this time in verses 4- 8. Luke continues, he says, On one occasion, while he was eating with them, He gave them this command. Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my father promised which you have heard me speak about.
For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Then they gathered around him and asked him, Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
So, as Jesus is eating with his disciples, He instructs them saying that they are not to leave Jerusalem, but that they are to wait there in order to receive a gift promised to them by the Father. What is this promised gift? The promised gift is the gift of the Holy Spirit. And Jesus makes reference to this differentiation between the baptism of the Holy Spirit versus the baptism that was offered by John the Baptist.
Because The disciples were familiar with baptism. They were familiar with the baptism that John offered, which was by means of water, which Jesus himself participated in. But in the case of Jesus' baptism, we do see the Holy Spirit descend upon him. That was not the case though, for everyone else. John's baptism was merely a baptism of repentance of saying, yeah, I've done bad stuff and I really need to turn my back on it.
But it had no power. Within itself, it was just taking an act of obedience, turning your life, saying, yes, I am going to try to pursue righteousness. But John's baptism was never going to be enough. There was a reason why Christ had to be sent. He had to be, Christ had to come to offer a sacrifice for sin.
And so that the Holy Spirit might be sent. Now, John the Baptist himself recognized this in Matthew 3:11. He says, I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I'm not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. All right, so Jesus is telling the disciples, you're to wait in Jerusalem to receive this baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Great. But what is the Holy Spirit? Is it like the Christian version of the Force? That's what many people think it is, because when we think of Spirit, we just think of something kind of misty. It's important for us to understand, though, that the Holy Spirit is nothing like Star Wars. It's nothing like the Force.
Something just, I mean, not to take Star Wars too seriously, when we think about the force in Star Wars, it's something that is able to be manipulated by the dark side. It's kind of just a power. It's almost like nuclear power. You can use nuclear power for good things. You can also use nuclear power for bad things.
This is not the case with the Holy Spirit. And the reason why it's not in the case is especially because the Holy Spirit is not a mere force. The Holy Spirit is in fact a person. The Holy Spirit is, in fact, one of the persons of the Triune God, and we'll see this more clearly in Acts 5. But for now, just, these passages I'm going to show you might be worth highlighting when people ask you questions about the Holy Spirit, regarding whether it's a force or a person.
Jesus himself, in John 14, makes it very clear about the nature of, of the Holy Spirit, just implicitly in the way that he's talking about the spirit. He says, and I'll ask the Father, and he'll give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever. The spirit of truth, the world cannot accept him, him, because it neither sees him nor knows him, but you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
So we see that personal pronoun there, John 15:26 very much the same thing. He talks about the Spirit in a personal pronoun, saying that He will testify about, about me. When we go to John 16, which was read this morning, we see the same again and again, and I've highlighted the cases in which the personal pronoun appears.
And we also discover some of the purpose of the Holy Spirit, what the Holy Spirit does. Now this doesn't exhaust everything that the Spirit does, but it's important to kind of just at least set some initial groundwork here in terms of what is the Holy Spirit about, what does he do? Jesus says in verse 8 of John 16 that he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment.
So to bring conviction and condemnation. When we go on to verses 12 through 15. And again, we see all these personal pronouns here. It says that he will guide you into all the truth. Now this is especially important here for the apostles. We have to understand that they are in fact, the first audience here of what Jesus is talking about, because there is no new Testament at this point, they're going to have to figure out a whole lot of things in terms of guiding the church.
How are they going to do that? Especially once Jesus ascends, how are they going to figure out all these things? They're going to figure it out by the guidance that's going to be provided by the Holy Spirit. He will guide you into all truth. Now that said, that's something that continues to be the case today.
The Holy Spirit does guide us into the truth as we seek him. Now, just something that Jesus is at pains about throughout his ministry is to make clear that he is united with the Father, and also as we see here, that he is in perfect unanimity with the Spirit. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are working in perfect unity.
In verse 13, the latter part, he says he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. So it's not like the spirit's gonna tell you something different than what the Son would tell you or what the Father would tell you. They are all in one accord here.
And in verse 14 it says that the Holy Spirit will glorify Jesus because it is from Jesus that he will receive what he's going to make known to the disciples. So the Father is glorified by the Son, the Spirit, the Son is glorified by the Spirit. They're all in, they're in this circle of glorification, all working together for their, for the glory of God.
And the latter part of verse 15 says, He will make known, it says, That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what He will make known to you. So again, the Spirit is working here to give this guidance, this insight to the Apostles that they are going to need. Now the Spirit brings instruction, guidance, the Spirit also brings power to do that which will be required.
And we especially see this early on in the life of the church in terms of the signs that are provided in order to open up gateways for people to receive the gospel. And I think this is implied by what Jesus, Jesus says in John 14: 12, he says, very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I've been doing and they will do even greater things than these because I'm going to the father.
Well, you ask, well, how is it that the believers are going to do greater things than Jesus? Certainly not by their own strength. And what connection does it have to do with Jesus going to the Father? Well, to read between the lines here, what Jesus is saying is that they're going to be able to do these things because of the person of the Holy Spirit who's going to be sent after his ascension.
Now when we, when we're talking about the person of the Holy Spirit, another Name for the Holy Spirit is also the Spirit of Christ. And this can be helpful, because sometimes you come up, you're reading in the Scriptures, and you come across something that talks about the Spirit of Christ. Romans 8: 9 makes clear that we're talking about one and the same here.
Paul says, You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh, but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. So when we talk about Jesus living within you, having Christ within you, what we're talking about is the presence of Christ being communicated to us, within us, through the person of the Holy Spirit who now resides within us, who dwells within us.
They're both tied together, even as they are distinct persons.
Now, getting back to this idea about the Holy Spirit being promised, Paul talks about this in Galatians 3: 14 saying that we were redeemed in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. This promise of the Spirit was not something God promised.
That was merely introduced by Jesus. It was something that was, in fact, given before Christ. We could go over to a bunch of Old Testament texts. But just to look at one this morning. We look at Joel 2: 28- 29, also verse 32. It's prophesied there. It says, And afterward I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my spirit in those days. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. For on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.
The Old Testament prophets were expecting an age in which the Holy Spirit will be poured out upon the people of God. And what this reminds us of is that there is in fact an important difference of before Christ and after Christ. There is a real difference between B. C. and A. D. Before Christ, the Holy Spirit was certainly operating.
You see how the Holy Spirit comes upon David in many instances. The Holy Spirit is working. But it's only with the coming of Jesus Christ, His death, resurrection, and ascension, that a new outpouring of the Spirit is introduced, in which the Holy Spirit actually takes up residence within the people of God, making the people of God, in fact, the temple of God, collectively.
Now, hearing all this, hearing this word of how the Holy Spirit's going to come and they're to wait in Jerusalem. You can imagine this anticipation building up within the Apostles. So that naturally they would ask, Okay, is the Kingdom of God going to be introduced now? So as they gather around him and ask, Lord, are you at this time going to restore the Kingdom to Israel?
Now, again, just as with the Spirit, they should have had reason to anticipate this outpouring of the Spirit, they had reason to expect that the Kingdom was going to be restored. In Isaiah 62, verses 10 through 12, we hear it prophesied, Pass through, pass through the gates, prepare the way for the people, Build up, build up the highway, remove the stones, Raise a banner for the nations, the Lord has made proclamation to the ends of the earth.
Say to daughter Zion, see, your savior comes. See, his reward is with him and his recompense accompanies him. They will be called the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord. You'll be called sought after, the city no longer deserted. You have to understand that the Jewish people at this time were yearning for the kingdom of God to be introduced.
They felt like a city that was deserted. They felt deserted in many ways by God because they were under this Roman, this Roman occupation, this Roman subjugation. And so at this point, the apostles are thinking, this is it. This is where everything now comes to pass. The Spirit is coming, now the kingdom is going to be introduced.
But Jesus wants to make clear to them, as he has in fact throughout his ministry, There's more that has to transpire before that is going to be realized in full. In Luke 17: 20- 25, we hear Jesus talking about this. It says, Once I'm being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come. It says that Jesus replied, The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed.
Nor will people say here it is or there it is, because the kingdom of God Is in your midst. Then he said to his disciples, the time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the son of man, but you'll not see it. People will tell you there he is, or here he is, do not go running off after them.
For the son of man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. So we have a bit of a tension here in what Jesus is saying because. On the one hand, what Jesus wants to tell his disciples is that, in fact, the coming of the Kingdom of God has actually come upon you.
Because the King has come. He is the King. He's right there in their midst. And he tells these parables about how the Kingdom of God is like yeast spreading out throughout flour, throughout dough, and it gets larger and larger, even though you can't see it working. Of how it's like a mustard seed that's small, but then it's growing.
This is the nature of the Kingdom of God, and in fact, operating, it's growing right now here in our midst, even though we can't see all the ways in which it's progressing. Now we have, in fact, at this, you know, 2, 000 years on, we do see how the Kingdom of God has grown. Of how the Church has stretched across the globe.
But in the immediate, especially, you know, when you think about locally, we don't always see how the Kingdom of God is working and progressing. But it is, in fact, in our midst. But yet, there is something more yet to come. Jesus doesn't want them to be deceived and thinking, you know, there's going to be people saying, Oh, there's Jesus.
There He is right there. And He says, No. When I show up, when everything's going to be brought in full, it's going to be like lightning across the sky. You'll know it. So there is a now aspect of the Kingdom of God, but there is also a not yet. There is something yet to come. And Jesus tells the disciples, It's not your place to know the day or the time.
And he told them this 24: 36. It says, But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven or the Son but only the Father. And He doesn't want them to be concerning themselves or trying to speculate about the time of Christ's return. Their concern is only to wait upon the coming of the Holy Spirit and then to move forward in the mission that God has for them.
Now, Jesus, the sending of the Spirit was already anticipated in John 20 verses 21 through 22, Jesus said to them, peace be with you! As the Father has sent me I am sending you. And with that he breathed on them and said, receive the Holy Spirit. And then it talks, he says, you have the authority to bring the message of forgiveness to people that they would be forgiven or their forgiveness would be withheld if they don't respond to the gospel.
The sending of the Spirit goes hand in hand with this mission that is given to the apostles. Jesus has been sent to the Father.
Now Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit upon the disciples, and he tells them, wait in Jerusalem to receive the full baptism of the Holy Spirit. And so too, you are going to be sent. So Jesus has been sent, and now we have been sent. We are following in the footsteps of Jesus, and being sent out into the world.
In this mission, Jesus tells the apostles, He tells them that you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and to the ends of the earth. And we hear very much the same thing in the, in the Gospels in Matthew 28. He says, Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I commanded you.
And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age. Mark 16. He says, go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. So the Holy Spirit is essential to this work, to this mission that the church has been given. They cannot go about this work of bringing the gospel to the ends of the earth without the sending of the Holy Spirit.
And when we think about the sending of the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit is sent by the Father, through the Son. And what this demonstrates is Christ's own divinity. That He has the authority to send the Spirit. It demonstrates the unity of the Godhead though, that He's not sending, it's not as though He's sending the Spirit independently.
This is in unity with the Father. His sending the Spirit distinguishes the Spirit from Himself. Because if the Spirit is just sent by the father directly, then we think, well, maybe the father has two sons, but that's not the case. That's not what scripture reveals. Spirit is his own unique person.
By the sending of the spirit, we see the unity, the continuation of Christ's work now introduced into our own lives, that we are being enveloped into the work that Christ has done so that we are to bring this message of reconciliation to the world. So that we see at the end of Revelation 22, 17. We find the Spirit and the Bride.
And the Bride is, of course, the Church. It says, The Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let the one who hears say, Come. Let the one who is thirsty, Come. And let the one who wishes to take the free gift of the water of life. So both the Holy Spirit and the church are about this mission of inviting people to respond to the gospel.
To receive this gift of the water of life. To receive forgiveness and restoration. Now Luke records that Christ ascended to heaven following these words of instruction. We're looking at verses 9 through 11. It says, After he said this, Jesus was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.
Men of Galilee, they said, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven. These two men that came alongside them dressed in white, clearly angels. Their garb is consistent with the garb of angels described elsewhere.
The disciples are looking up, seeing Jesus ascend. And the question that was probably may have been in their minds, it might be in yours, is why. Why is Jesus ascending? Why doesn't He just stay here with us? Well, we could delve into a lot of different aspects as to the necessity of Christ's ascension. We could talk about His priestly intercession.
He's basically our representative before the Father. He stands in the gap for us, mediating on our behalf because of his own righteousness. We couldn't go to the Father on our own accord, but because of Jesus, we can come before the Father. So we pray in the name of Jesus Christ. He's our representative.
He covers our sins because of his own sacrifice. He also has to ascend because the Spirit has to be sent.
And,it'And, it'st of a myster, you know, you could think, well, why not both? Why not have Jesus stay here and the Spirit be sent? Sometimes we don't know. There's things that we don't know all the answers to. But in God's perfect wisdom, it was necessary that Christ would be asceednt and the Spirit would be sent afterwards.
Something that is very clear, though, is that Christ ascends in order to occupy His rightful place upon the throne. We have several passages here that testify to this. Hebrews 1: 3 says, The sun is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven. 1 Peter 3: 22 says Jesus Christ has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand with angels, authorities, and powers in submission to him. And when you go to Matthew 28, the verse immediately preceding the Great Commission, that therefore go into the world and make disciples, immediately preceding that, Jesus states clearly his position of authority.
It says, Jesus came to his disciples and said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Jesus is on the throne right now. His authority is present and real. And it's being revealed today, I think, through the ministry of the gospel, through the progress of the kingdom of God. And in the end, it will be revealed in full at the day of judgment.
And the angels speak to this. They say, you see him visibly ascending into heaven. You are also going to see him visibly return in the same way. And Revelation 1: 7 testifies in the same manner. It says, look, he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him. Those who pierced him, and all peoples on earth will mourn because of him.
So shall it be. Amen. And the reason why every eye will see him is because all the dead are going to be raised. Now I think what this does is it impresses upon us the reality of everything that we're talking about here. Christ visibly ascended. Imagine standing outside seeing Jesus ascend into the sky and being hidden by a cloud.
You're like, Get out of the way cloud. I want, I want to see Jesus, but there's a cloud blocking. Jesus actually ascended into heaven. He's going to actually descend. He's going to break into all of our current events, all the news going on, everything going on there's on, on in this earth. He's going to break into the midst of it all.
Everyone's going to stand in silence because their eyes are going to be turned towards the king and his descent. If you can put yourselves in the shoes of the apostles and you've just witnessed all of this, you can imagine you might be ready to run through a brick wall. You got your orders to go to the ends of the earth, and you're gonna go, but Jesus says, wait, wait, you need the Holy Spirit, you need his power, you need his guidance for everything that lies ahead. The reality is that the shoes of the apostles have been passed down to us. Yes, they had their unique place in the history of the church, certainly. But their mission has been passed down to us, and we stand in them now.
We've not seen Jesus with our own eyes, but the testimony of the Apostles has been handed down to us. They saw Jesus in the flesh. They touched him. They ate with him. For forty days Jesus talked with them. And they saw him ascend to heaven. Jesus is alive. He is enthroned in heaven. And he is coming again.
The mission he gave them is our mission and the power that he told them to wait upon, the person of the Holy Spirit, he is the one that we continue to need right here, right now. The boards of this building, our flesh and blood, are not enough. On those things alone, we will fail. In themselves, they are nothing.
They're powerless. We need the Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit to be who God has called us to be and to do what he has called us to do. And if the Holy Spirit dwells within us, we will have all the power we need. And he has given to all those who believe. Let's pray.
Dear Father.
We did not see your son with our own eyes. But we believe as the apostles believe. We believe that Jesus Christ has been risen from the dead. That he is alive, that he is the king of kings. He is the Messiah.
Father, we submit ourselves to him as our Lord. We sit at his feet, ready to hear his instructions. Father, today we recognize that instructions that he gave to the apostles continues to apply to us today, father. That we have been called to bring the gospel to bring this message of reconciliation, forgiveness, resurrection to the world, father, to our neighbors and to the ends of the earth, father.
It's a weighty mission, Father. Inspired as we are by the reality of all this, father, we confess that although the truth is a powerful thing, and we believe we have the truth, we need more, we need the power of God, we need the person of the Holy Spirit in order to enable us to be and do what you've called us to, Father, and Father, we pray that you would pour out your Holy Spirit upon this congregation, that you would fill every person in abundance with his presence, so that we would glorify you and bring worship to you as more and more added to our number so that you are praised in the way that you are due. Father, we, we come to you in weakness, but know that you would be glorified by using weak vessels like ourselves. And we open ourselves to the person of the Holy Spirit. May he dwell within us.
Father, we pray, it is in Christ's name we pray. Amen.
There's a reason why the Spirit couldn't be sent before the Son. The Spirit is sent in order to communicate that which is provided by the Son. In fact, to go to the question earlier, you know, why is it that Christ has to ascend in order for the Spirit to be sent? I think that is the explanation. That He presents Himself as that sacrifice to sin in the heavenly temple.
And the Holy Spirit communicates to us all the good that Christ has achieved by the sacrifice of Himself. So that as we come and partake in this meal, we can know that the Holy Spirit, He is present and active. So if we know any peace, it comes by the person of the Holy Spirit. If we feel the love of God, it comes to us by the Holy Spirit.
If we are made into a new people, if we're sanctified, it's because of the Holy Spirit who communicates to us the cleansing power of the blood of Christ.
But there is no work of the Holy Spirit without the work of Christ. And we receive the complete work of redemption, God's complete work of redemption, Father, Son, Holy Spirit by faith. By saying, yes, I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe He is the Messiah. And I believe that He is my Savior because He laid down His life for me and that I may receive this by faith. If you believe in Him this morning, you are invited to partake in the bread and the cup. You may come forward to receive them.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series The Spirit and the Church. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Deacon John Lotter presents Paul's exhortation in Ephesians 4 that the church be unified in Christ.
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Transcript:
Today's scripture reading is from Colossians chapter 3 verses 12 to 17.
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body, you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms hymns and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
And all God's people said Amen to that, right?
So now that all the wrapping paper has been torn, and the mysteries of what's under the tree have been solved, will you still think about the things you received last year? Or have they been all pushed aside, in favor of all the new things? So often things distract us and take us away from what is important.
Paul's letter to the Ephesians was written to remind us that some things are constant in life, no matter what is new, or even if we hold on to some of our old things.
In the first three chapters of Ephesians, Paul writes about all the wonderful things that God has given to us and transitioning to the fourth chapter begins exhorting us in what we should be doing based on all that God has done for us.
So starting in Ephesians chapter 4. Therefore, I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity in the spirit, in the bond of peace.
Paul addresses the Ephesians as the prisoner of the Lord. He's not necessarily referring to his physical captivity that the Romans have him in. It's that he is captivated by the Lord. So he has given his life to the Lord and belongs to the Lord. That is the captivity that he refers to in that statement that he makes so many times.
A lot of time, which yes, he did do his fair time. The, Romans kept him in prison for a significant amount of time, but the captivity of the Lord, the, that the Lord holds his heart is the more important aspect of that. If you are motivated and committed, then
you should walk worthy as Jesus did in response to the gifts that have been given to you.
So, if you have been captivated and are committed, then you should walk worthy, as Jesus did, in response to the gifts that have been given to you and the debts that have been forgiven by him. In this chapter, Paul is imploring us to use our walk in service to preserve unity of the Spirit in our mutual bond.
In verse 4, 4 through 6, we're told, There is one body, one spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all. In verses four through six we are given seven things that we, the body of the church, should not only agree on, but should stand firm on in our lives and in our teachings.
So going through that list, one body. The church is the body of Christ to live on this earth until he returns. One spirit, the body has one spirit that is in all of us. One hope of reaching glory in God's eyes. One Lord, Jesus, from verse one, our captivator. One faith, that Jesus is God come to earth and his teachings are from God.
One baptism, rebirth through water in faith. And of course the last one, God and father, the creator of all that is calling us to him.
Are we connected by these truths? Are we making sure that each of us is in agreement on these important points? It doesn't fall solely on the pastor to make sure each of us are educated in these topics. It is up to us to get together and spend time with one another in scripture to know where we stand on these things.
If we are not doing this, then anyone new to our group might get a mixed message and become confused or frustrated with what they are hearing and not continue to study. So these are things that we need to stand firm on that no matter who we talk to within this group of the body here at Rockland, we get that same message.
We have that same understanding of these seven points that these seven points Paul is pointing out as foundational to the unity of this group.
Similarly when a sports team takes the field, they have to have a game plan. Without a plan, the players will not know what the rest of the, how the rest of the team will react to certain situations on the field. With a well laid out plan and plenty of practice, team members can count on one another, being in position to advance their team forward toward a successful play, and then after several iterations of successful plays, it becomes a successful game and a successful team.
So No matter what game you're playing, whether it's football, baseball, anything, you need to know what your teammates are going to be doing while you're focused on the one task that you have. You know, if you're the shortstop and there's a pop fly to the right side of the field infield, you know the second baseman is going to go after that.
And if you're the shortstop, you've got to go cover second base and the third baseman goes over and backs up the second baseman in case he misses the ball and it goes past him. The whole team is moving around, getting ready for whatever might happen. And that's where we need to be in unity working together within this group.
Going to verse seven, but to each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Christ made the sacrifice for our sins, giving us an inheritance that is beyond our comprehension.
We are told it's going to be great, but we don't know exactly how great. So that is what we all work toward and for. Continuing in verse eight. Therefore, it says when he ascended on high, he led captive a host of captives and he gave gifts to men. Now this expression, he ascended, what does it mean except that he also had descended into the lower parts of the earth. He who descended is himself also he who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things. And he gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the, for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
So we see here that Christ had to leave heaven to come to earth and be a sacrifice on our behalf. He also experienced a human death before he was risen again. In coming to the earth and being able to teach, he left men with the, with the ability to teach and prepare others to again, teach and prepare others for following generations.
This is our calling. And our unity in the faith should lead us all to work toward leading and teaching all who come to the unity in the body and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Our unity will be evident when our teachings and beliefs are consistent and true to the word of God. Where does your talent and ability lie?
Are you able to stand and speak to a group? Are you able to lead small group readings and studies? Are you able to have one on one studies and mentoring? Be purposeful in making time to do, in making time to apply your talents for the helping of others.
So, again, as, as Christ has gifted us, we should be working and helping one another grow and making sure that we're touching on these seven unities as we speak to one another so that we know exactly where each one of us stands on these things.
Going on to verse 14, As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by the waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness and deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together, by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
If we are all working in unison toward the entire body achieving the glory of God, we will not be dissuaded by distractions from external teachings. As we connect in the word of God, our bonds to each other strengthen and pulls us together in becoming the body of Christ. We will no longer be a bunch of elbows and ears, but we'll each become vital parts of a complete body. By elbows and ears, what do we know about elbows and ears? They don't connect. It's impossible. So while everybody needs two elbows and two ears, If we're all elbows and ears, then we're never connecting. We're never getting together. We're never becoming a complete body.
Are we being distracted by the new things that we find under the tree? Are we balancing all that we hear and see against the word of God? We should be able to talk about these things with our brethren and know that they will help us. To know that we are receiving a message correctly, or that what we have heard might be wrong. Either way, we should know that our team will be circling around and getting into the right position to help. So again, continuing in verse 17. So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you will walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walked, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their hearts.
And they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn that, learn Christ in this way.
So I know when I first started studying in earnest, the term Gentiles kind of confused me. I always thought it was a nation, a people. But it's simply a term that refers to people who have not learned about Christ. kind of a contrast to the Jews, where the Jews had learned about God, followed his laws, the Gentiles, on the other hand, had not learned about God, and knew pretty much nothing.
So, when we, when we compare the two, we can, we can think about that as, as people who walk into this building for the first time. They might not know anything. They might know a lot more than we think. Depending on what their background is, they may have some, some false notions about things that studying and learning will improve for them.
But we need to be conversational with them in order to find out where they are and, and what they need to round out their, their learning. Same thing in, in Jesus's time, as he dealt with the Jews, it was hard to overcome what they already knew. And as he was dealing with the Gentiles, they're thinking, what do I need this for?
So two different groups of people that needed the same education, but coming at it from different directions. So, difficult to do. But even Jesus in his abilities and, and, and gifts that he was able to see into people's hearts and know where they were, picking out his apostles, from the people, they were just normal people like the rest of us, that fully put Christ on and, and went with him.
So, you know, here in America, we're, we're, there, there's a lot of Gentiles out there now. We can talk to people that are two to three generations removed from church, where, you know, a hundred years ago, that would have been unheard of. So it is a challenge for us to be able to attract those people to us, but also to keep them captivated, or get them captivated into Christ and remove them from their worldly walk. Verse 21. If indeed you have heard from, heard him and have been taught in him just as truth is in Jesus, that in reference to your former manner of life you lay aside the old self which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
No matter how long you have been a Christian, you can have times when you need to reset yourself back to the basic truths and reassess your life and how you are living. Have any issues crept into your life while you were not paying close enough attention? Have you been able to connect with a brother or sister in Christ to review scriptures and keep yourself a captive of the lord? Be sure you are looking at the scriptures when you are looking at your life and balance what you are doing against what you should be doing. Are you putting yourself in the right position to help the team as well?
Verse 25, Therefore laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor. For we are members of one another. Be angry and yet do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger and do not give the devil an opportunity. He who steals must steal no longer, but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.
We haven't done this in a while, so let's take a minute, stand up, and say hi to those around us. Let people know you're here. Stand up. Say hi. Let everybody know that you're here. Alright?
Alright. See how easy that was? That took about the same amount of time it takes to send a text. Right? During the week. Uh oh. John just called us out. Oh. Myself too. I am guilty, guilty, guilty of all the things I'm saying here today. It's, it's convicted me as well. So, you know, these are some of the things that we can think about in bonding ourselves in unity.
A simple text. If you have a little more time, a phone call. But these are things that, that we can do that prevent things like we see in verse 25 and 26, keeps the falsehoods from creeping in, prevents thing, anybody from getting angry. So, you know, those, those are the things that, that we can do.
So, and if, if your neighbor, if you or your neighbor have found sin in your life, cast it away by looking into scripture and realigning the conditions to what is right. It is okay to be angry, but do not dwell on that anger. Resolve things quickly so that the negative thoughts will not stay within you.
As we all know that, when you allow those negative thoughts to stay with you, it gives the devil opportunity. And he will pounce like a lion on it. When you are working with a person who has sin in their lives, don't allow that sin into your life, but rather set your heart toward work that will not only bless you, but others as well.
Produce good fruit.
So, please pray with me as we close out this lesson on Ephesians 4. Lord God, our Father in Heaven, please allow these inspired words from the Apostle Paul to find their ways into our hearts and give us the strength to speak where and when we should for the strengthening and nourishment of the body here at Rockland Community Church. Help us to bond with one another in unity, strong in the beliefs that are the core of the church. Give us the courage to correct when needed along with praise and encouragement for our accomplishments. Help us to reach others and bring light into this world. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Despite all of the troubles of this world, in Jesus we have a King that can redeem all things.
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Transcript:
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever. His kingdom will never end.
The celebration of Christmas completely consumes the attention of most children. I want to invite you to go back in your mind, those of you who are adults, to when you were a kid. Do you remember how excited you were? I remember being hardly able to sleep the night before, and restlessly waking at the crack of dawn so I could tear open those presents.
So great was our desire to unwrap them, to see what they had for us. As the years go on, that excitement begins to wear off. Things don't shine as they once did. We're happy and grateful for any presents we receive. But we don't long for them as we once did. As life goes on, we long for different things that can't be wrapped under a tree.
So with every year that passes, we start to look past Christmas. Seems trivial, not at all consequential for the real business of life. We are concerned about the future. What about this economy? What about our security? What about our retirement? What about our children and grandchildren? Yes, it is Christmas again.
So what?
There's no denying the importance of those concerns. They are important. But Christmas is supremely important because it encompasses all those things. Without Christmas, we could be assured only of one thing. That we will lose everything we hold dear. It is only because of Christmas that we can avoid ruin.
We are always seeking new leaders who will deliver us from all these things that we fear. One is removed from power, another elected. Promises are kept, promises are broken. Nothing really changes except the cast of players upon the stage. Something different, though, happens at Christmas. We mark the day when a different man was born.
He is everything we have looked for in others but have never found. He is the world leader that has the power to change the world. Now we are suspicious of anyone who would be a king. Wary of how he would use such power. But if there could be a good one, who would it be? If there could be one who would actually make things better, would we not go to the ends of the earth to find him?
Would we not seek him? That's just what we find when this king is born. We see the wise men seeking him in Matthew 2, verses 1 through 2. It says, After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked him, Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews?
We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. Along with wise men we see shepherds. Shepherds were not trained in the study of the stars, but they needed no degrees to comprehend an angelic proclamation. As we find in Luke 2, verses 8 through 15. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord.
This will be a sign to you. You will find a baby wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger. Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly hosts appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth, peace to those on whom his favor rests. When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.
Wise men and shepherds alike eagerly set afoot to find this king. Not just any king, but the king, the messiah, the one mankind could actually call their savior. Now they knew that he was coming because it was foretold. Over 700 years earlier, the prophet Isaiah recorded what God revealed to him regarding this.
There would be a king, unlike any other king, who would bring lasting deliverance. In Isaiah 9, he says, Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who are in distress. In the past, he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the future, he will honor Galilee of the nations by the way of the sea beyond the Jordan.
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned. For You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy. They rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.
Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. Now, King David was a great king for the people of Israel.
But what Isaiah is foretelling here is a greater king who is yet to come. One who would reign forever. Who would establish forever and ever justice, righteousness, peace. Isaiah says, all those garments of war soaked in blood are going to be burnt up. They will be no more. He says there is to be a child who will be born.
A son is to be given. And among other things, and he's given many wonderful titles, but among them is included the title, Mighty God. Mighty God! How can that be said of any man? Unless God himself comes to us in the flesh.
And as we know the rest of the story, and as we see this prophecy given by Isaiah, we begin to understand what God has been about all along. We have rebelled against God. We decided that we did not want God to be our true king, way back when. Our parents, Adam and Eve, decided they wanted to do their own thing.
But God has conspired all along that He would bring us back to Himself. That He would, in fact, truly be our King. And He would become that King through the line of David, born of the tribe of Judah. God Himself, through the Son, would take on human flesh. And this is exactly what we find in the message that is given to Mary when she is told that she will be pregnant.
In Luke 1, verses 28 through 35 it says, The angel went to her, to Mary, and said, Greetings, you who are highly favored. The Lord is with you. Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary. You have found favor with God.
You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever. His kingdom will never end. How will this be? Mary asked the angel, since I am a virgin.
The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. If you're looking at what Isaiah foretells in Isaiah 9 and you look at the message that is given here to Mary, it's very clear that Jesus is this promised king.
He is the mighty God come in the flesh. The one who would establish a rule that would last forever and ever and bring that righteousness, justice, and peace. All those conditions that we yearn for. All those things that we long to see in our own day.
And yet there are things that are curious about Jesus. He's clearly this great king. He is the mighty God. And yet, He's not born in a palace in Jerusalem. Rather, He's born in the small town of Bethlehem. He's born alongside a bunch of animals. And his bed is a feeding trough, a manger filled with hay.
Already we can see that Jesus is different than even just your average person, never mind any other royal figure. Paul points to this profound contrast of who Jesus is and yet how he came to us when instructing the Christians in Philippi. In Philippians 2, verses 5- 11, Paul says, In your relationships with one another, have the mindset as Christ Jesus, who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage.
Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place, and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
What Paul says here is that Jesus is, in fact, the mighty God. He is, in very nature, God. He's not half God, not quasi God. He is, in very nature, God. And yet, he did not use that reality to rebuff his mission. To take on human flesh. To take on this humble form of a servant. To lay down his life for the salvation of mankind.
Jesus comes to us humbled and yet, he will be exalted, not because he is being given anything that he didn't have before, but he's being recognized precisely for who he is. That he is the true king.
He is both a servant and a king. Instead of the prideful ambition that we see of politicians and political figures throughout the ages, He comes in humble obedience. Being willing to lay down his life on a cross for us. Just common folk. Worse than that, rebels. The king laid down his life for us. Now the result of what he did is that he is in fact exalted as Paul says.
He says, therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Now at the beginning of his life, we already see some of this.
The shepherds come, the wise men come, they bow before him, they worship him. But that's just the beginning. And in fact, we see all the rest, even up into our present day, now. So even if you have some doubts about Jesus, you're like, I don't know if I really believe that he's the son of God, that he's truly a king.
Well, just look at history. How is it that this Man, and he is a real man. This is not disputed by historians. He was a real man who was not born into a palace. He was a mere peasant. How is it that he has come to be worshiped and glorified throughout the globe, unless the prophecy is true, that he is the true King, that he is the mighty God come in the flesh?
You see, Christmas matters because it matters that Jesus is that king we've been looking for. He is not a mere moral teacher. He's not some spiritual guru. He is a king. He is the king. And he is good, just, merciful, and powerful. Because of who He is, and what He has done, you can be forgiven of all your sins, if you pledge yourself to Jesus.
If you put your trust in Him. He has the standing and power to do that. He has the power over all creation. Even death itself, proven by His resurrection from the dead. He is more powerful than death. He is able to raise you from the dead, to live in a new creation that He is going to introduce at His return.
Even now, through the person of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ can shape you, and transform you, to become more, and more, and more, like Him. More like how all of us are supposed to be.
As I said at the beginning, every concern we have here and now about what's going on in our world is valid. We don't need to make light of real problems. But we must be brave enough to be critical of our solutions. We must have the courage to admit our mistakes. That all policies and plans and politicians are only forestalling ultimate ruin.
Unless, unless there is an intervention. Unless there is a savior, a king who can actually save humanity. The good news is this. The intervention has occurred. It is called Christmas. The King has come. And he is coming again to bring his rule and reign here on earth as has been promised. In the face of all of our concerns, he invites you to give your life to him. To give your future to him. The mighty God. Our true King. Jesus says this to his disciples in John 14. He says, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on you do know him, and have seen him.
When you meet Jesus, you encounter a fork in the road. You can keep on the path that you're going, or you can take the path of Christ.
Where does the road you're on take you? Where will King Jesus lead you?
Don't look past him this Christmas. Run to Christ. Embrace him.
He wants you to be in his kingdom. Let us pray.
Dear Father,
We do confess that it's so easy for so many other things to seem to loom larger than Christmas. All of our concerns, Father.
Father, we thank you that you in fact address all of us. All our heartache, all our brokenness, every sorrow in the event of Christmas, through the birth of your, your son, Jesus Christ. Father, we thank you that you have given us a king who is good and powerful. A king who can actually redeem and restore us, Father.
And so we pray, Father, that this Christmas we would put our faith in Him. That we would confess our sin, we confess our rebellion, turn our back on it, and turn to Christ and say, You are my King, and I will follow You all the days of my life. Father, we thank You that You give us all the grace we need for Him, in Him so that we can be forgiven and enjoy a new life, both today and in the age to come.
Father, we glorify you for what you have done and the mercy you've shown. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Because of the gift of Christ, we can be forgiven and brought back into relationship with our God.
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Transcript:
If you've been paying attention to the news, you're familiar with the recent developments in Syria. The Assad regime, most recently headed by Bashar al-Assad, a regime that held power for some 50 odd years, has been overthrown. A dictator known for his cruelty and policy of torment is suddenly no longer in power. Videos can be found all over social media of Syrians tearing down statues of the Assads, of crowds singing in celebration, mothers lifting their children in the air with joy.
The Syrian people are filled with joy because the cruelty of Assad no longer hangs over their future. A new future has opened up before them.
They have a new future before them, the Syrian people. And we along with the rest of the world are waiting to see what that future will be. We have not suffered as they have. But we understand their reason for rejoicing. We can understand what it means to feel as though you are condemned, as though you are a dead man walking, and then to suddenly have everything change. It's the feeling of salvation. Joy reaches new heights when we are relieved of condemnation that we in fact deserve. The Syrian people didn't deserve everything they were suffering. But imagine you were suffering. Imagine you were under a state of condemnation and you deserved it all.
The story of humanity is played out under such a cloud of condemnation. The world is enveloped in a darkness of our own choosing. A life apart from the light of life. A life divorced from God. We live under God's wrath, reaping what we sow. And yet, we are invited to rejoice. Why? King David tells us in his invitation to praise in Psalm 30 verses 4- 5.
He says, Sing the praises of the Lord, you His faithful people. Praise His holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. God's people are invited to rejoice because condemnation is met with salvation. The tears are temporary, the celebration everlasting.
This morning I want us to turn to Micah 7 to consider this in more detail. So you can turn there in your Bibles. It will be on the screen as well. And to start, just so you have a bit of a background, we're going to look at a few maps. Because we're moving forward in the biblical story quite far from where we were just last week when we were talking about Joseph.
We're going about a thousand years into the future. From around 1800, 1700 BC to, it's estimated 701 BC when the book of Micah was written.
If you could put the map up, as you can see, Israel was, at a certain point, one kingdom. And it came to be that way, largely, in terms of the territory that we see here, this territory got secured during the time of King David. Now David wasn't the first king of Israel, but he was the most significant.
He was the first king to emerge from the tribe of Judah, fulfilling the prophecies that had been given that the scepter would come into Judah, that the throne would belong to the tribe of Judah. And, so he helped secure their territory and gave them a place from a time that had been under great chaos and from the time of Saul, under great threat from the Philistines, King David helped secure them.
But this united kingdom did not last. The kingdom was eventually split into two, into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. Now, the northern kingdom was especially wayward in pursuing false gods and all sorts of other injustices. But Judah was not all that far behind. Besides idolatry, their crimes included things like abusing the poor, denying them justice, taking bribes, sexual sin, and even sacrificing their own children to idols.
On the whole, both were on a downward trajectory in terms of their devotion to God. And the ultimate outcome would be that both kingdoms would be conquered and large portions of their populations deported into exile. Now, Micah is writing at a time when the Assyrians have basically already done this to the northern kingdom and are threatening Judah.
His prophecy looks beyond their threat to the one that will be realized by the Babylonian empire in 586 BC. We turn to chapter 7 with this in mind, thinking about the conditions of his own time, and then also thinking about our own time. So let's look at Micah 7 verses 1 through 3. What misery is mine?
I am like one who gathers summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard. There is no cluster of grapes to eat, none of the early figs that I crave. The faithful have been swept away from the land; not one upright person remains. Everyone lies in wait to shed blood; they hunt each other with nets. Both hands are skilled in doing evil.
The ruler demands gifts, the judge accepts bribes, the powerful dictate what they desire. They all conspire together. The best of them is like a briar, the most upright, worse than a thorn hedge. The day God visits you has come, the day your watchmen sound the alarm. Now is the time of your confusion. Do not trust a neighbor.
Put no confidence in a friend. Even with the woman who lies in your embrace, guard the words of your lips. For a son dishonors his father, a daughter rises up against her mother, a daughter in law against her mother in law. A man's enemies are the members of his own household. Think about the experience that Micah is relating here in these verses.
He's trying to describe to us in very vivid terms of how miserable things are in the land. He says it's akin to going out to try to pick some fruit at the end of a harvest. You have a hankering for some sweet fruit, but if you go out to the field at the end of the harvest, you're not going to have that desire satisfied, because there's nothing going to be found there.
And the point that he's getting at, and bringing up this imagery, is to say that there is no one who is faithful, there is no one who is upright in the land. He comes up empty handed when he tries to find Instead, everyone is pursuing bloodshed. Their hands are full of evil. The rulers are interested in getting bribes.
The powerful people in society are conspiring together. Situation is so bad that he says, The best of people, the most upright, He says, kind of running with this vineyard theme, they're like a briar, or like a thorn hedge. In other words, they're not that great. If you think about our own times, I think some, we can kind of relate a little bit, where we've become accustomed in our society to judge people relative to other people as like, well, at least they're not as bad as this person, or as bad as that person.
That's kind of the situation for Micah here. He's like, The best of people, they're only relatively better than the worst. And the result is, is, of all this, is you can't trust anybody. You can't even trust your own family members.
You can expect that even your family would perhaps betray you. And, and the thing is, is the things that Micah's talking about here we could relate to today, but in fact they're, they're very timeless to the human condition. As Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 1: 9, there is nothing new under the sun. Now, having heard all this from Micah, we'd kind of expect that he would just break down in despair at this point.
But that's not what happens. Look at the verse that follows. Verse 7. It says, But as for me, I watch and hope for the Lord. I wait for God my Savior. My God will hear me. Everything is going terrible. Nothing is as Micah would have it to be, nor is it the way that God would have things.
And yet Micah doesn't despair because he knows that salvation will come from the Lord. He knows that God is his Savior and so he is watching and waiting with hope, confident that God will hear him. That God will hear his cry about the condition of everything around him and bring salvation.
When we see how Micah responds to the conditions of his society at that time, it kind of prompts a little self reflection on our part in thinking about, where are, where are our eyes turning when we see everything going bad around us? Are we watching in hope? Are we waiting in hope? Are we confident that God does hear our cries?
We're going to turn to the next few verses here. Verses 8- 9.
We look at verses 8 9. He says, Do not gloat over me, my enemy. Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. Because I have sinned against Him, I will bear the Lord's wrath until He pleads my case and upholds my cause. He will bring me out into the light. I will see His righteousness.
What we see here on the part of Micah is kind of this defiant tone, but it's not one of pride in himself, It's a humble sort of confidence. It's a humble sort of confidence that's based on the goodness and power of God because what Micah says on his own part is, he says in verse 9, I have sinned against him. I'll bear the Lord's wrath But then everything turns in terms of what God is going to do until he pleased my case and upholds my cause he will bring me out into light and I will see his righteousness. So though he has fallen and he's, Micah is not just talking about himself here, he's really talking about Israel on a whole on the whole, Though they have all fallen they will rise because God is their Savior. Then turning to verse 10, he continues and says, Then my enemy will see it and will be covered with shame. She who said to me, Where is the Lord your God? My eyes will see her downfall.
Even now she will be trampled underfoot like mire in the streets. The day for building your walls will come, the day for extending your boundaries. And that day people will come to you from Assyria, and the cities of Egypt, even from Egypt to the Euphrates, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.
The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants, as a result of their deeds. What Micah is telling here is a reversal of their fortunes. So, he's anticipating judgment, but then he's anticipating a time in which the walls of the city of Jerusalem are going to be rebuilt. A time in which their boundaries are going to be extended.
And he's also anticipating this international response of people going towards Jerusalem. Now what he's talking about is something that we're not going to see within the window of this age. This age in which we're living in. What he's looking forward to is the age to come that's going to be introduced at the return of Christ.
He's looking towards the end of the ages. But this is what he's fixing his hope upon, and it's the reason why he's rejoicing, because he knows this salvation is coming. Now, this idea about this kind of international response, this worldwide response to God, is revealed all the more as we get into verse 14.
Says, he says, shepherd your people with your staff. The flock of your inheritance, which lives by itself in a forest, in fertile pasture lands. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in days long ago. And then, verse 15, this is as though God is speaking. You see, it's kind of a call and response thing. It says, the Lord responds, As in the days when you came out of Egypt, I will show them my wonders.
Nations will see and be ashamed. Deprived of all their power, they will put their hands over their mouths and their ears will become deaf. They will lick dust like a snake, like creatures that crawl on the ground. They will come trembling out of their dens. They will turn in fear to the Lord, our God, and will be afraid of you.
Micah is calling upon God to shepherd his people. And this is, in fact, the typical role envisioned for a king in the ancient Near East. Kings were often referred to as the shepherds of the people. And so, Micah is calling upon God as King to come and shepherd his people, to take care of them, to feed them in these fertile pasture lands.
To bring about a restoration so that they would feed in the fields of Bashan and Gilead as in days long ago. Now what's really interesting is this sort of language that Micah is using here, talking about, this one, about God coming and shepherding his people, is it connects with a prophecy that he gave a couple chapters earlier in Micah 5 verses 2 through 4.
Which has a very clear messianic connotation to it and makes us think about Jesus. There Micah says, But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites.
He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. So, I mean, there's all kinds of things going off as kind of flashing lights that point us to Christ.
The fact that we're talking about Bethlehem, Bethlehem here, and of course Christ was born in Bethlehem, born of, from the tribe of Judah. And these verses are talking about a promised king who would come and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord and in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
So, when Micah's talking about this one who would come and shepherd the people of Israel, this coming king, and then he's calling upon God to come shepherd his people, he's not making two different appeals, he's making an appeal that is really one and the same, because this One who would be the Messiah, who would be born, is in fact the Son of God.
God Himself come in the flesh to shepherd His people and be their King.
It's also notable that here, how His greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And when we go back up to these verses that we're looking at in 14 through 16. In verse 16, it talks about how the people are going to, the people outside of Israel are going to be filled with remorse and respond with repentance, really, with fear to God.
And what this is really prophesying is the inclusion of the Gentile people in being brought to God and being joined to the people of Israel. And the reason why we have reason to believe this is when we go earlier in Micah 4, Micah talks about this. Micah 4 verses 1 through 2 says in the last days the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as the highest of mountains. It will be exalted above the hills and peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways so that we may walk His paths.
The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. So notice what Micah is anticipating here. Here in Micah 7 he's saying the world is going to be filled with remorse and repentance. But here in Micah 4 he's talking about how they're all going to be coming to Jerusalem. They're going to be streaming to Jerusalem because they want to know the ways of the Lord.
They're going to be desiring to walk in His paths. Now we don't see this happen in Micah's lifetime. We don't see this at any point in Micah's life before the time of Christ. But once Christ appears, what happens? The gospel goes out to all the nations and all the Gentile peoples begin responding and turning to God and repentance.
And this is exactly what Jesus says would happen. in John 12:32, he says, and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. So if you're a student of history, and you look at, okay, this is what Micah said, you know, 700 years before Christ, and then you have this guy, Jesus Christ, who shows up, says he is the Messiah, this promised king, and then after the fact, you see people from all across the globe, from all different nations and tribes, turning to him, turning to God, turning to him.
Turning to Christ as their Savior. Well, it sure looks like everything that Micah has prophesied here is being fulfilled before our eyes.
Now, part of the reason why people would turn to God is out of remorse and repentance, a certain fear, because they've realized, wow, we've really messed up here, and we really do need to, honor and glorify the one true God. But Micah closes out his chapter here with a note that points out another reason why people are going to be turning to God.
Verses 18 through 19. 18 through 20, rather. He says, Who is a God like you, who pardons sin, and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance. You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us. You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
You will be faithful to Jacob and show love to Abraham as you pledged on oath to our ancestors in days long ago. And once again, it's just so incredible to me because at least 700 years before Christ, even if, you know, you're a different kind of biblical scholar and you're like, Well, I don't know if it was actually 700 years, we're still talking hundreds of years before Christ you have this prophecy given, anticipating this message of forgiveness being offered to all people.
If you took this and you didn't know what, where it was from, you'd say, oh, this is from one of the Gospels or from the New Testament or something. Now it is noticeable, notable here that it says, when it's talking about God pardoning sin and forgiving transgression, those who are forgiven, those who are pardoned, are not everybody.
Micah is not prophesying universal salvation here in the sense that everyone is just automatically forgiven. Everyone is automatically pardoned. There have been some people over the centuries, unfortunately, who have looked at the Scriptures and twisted them and said, Well, you know, Jesus is the Savior and He just automatically saves everybody, regardless of how they respond.
Well, if you look at the scriptures, we don't have any reason to think that. People need to respond in repentance, and faith. And if they do, if they do accept this gift of salvation that's offered to them, then they are included in this remnant. This remnant of His inheritance that are pardoned, that are forgiven.
I mean, this lines up with just what we hear in Revelation 20: 15 where there is a distinction at the end of the ages. It says, anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. There's an opportunity to be pardoned and forgiven and redeemed, but we need to accept it.
We need to turn to God and accept it in Jesus Christ. Now, the forgiveness that God is offering, and Micah is describing here, Is neither reluctant, nor is it any sort of just fake sort of forgiveness. God does have real anger towards sin, but Micah says he delights to show mercy. It's important for us to remember that.
Sometimes when we, we have these images in our minds about God, they're very inaccurate. They don't reflect the God of the Bible. Sometimes we have an image of God in our minds where He's just a very stern judge. And He just really wants to whack everyone over the head. God hates sin. But God does not hate you.
God's desire is to show mercy. And He delights in showing mercy. And when He forgives you, He truly forgives you. He doesn't keep a secret list of all your sins and say, Well, what about the time you did that, that, and this. When he forgives you, it's wiped away. And I love the imagery here, it's like it's tossed into the sea.
It's like, if you took your phone, and you tossed it out into the ocean, it would be like, good luck finding that thing again. That's what God does with our sins and with our guilt. He's like, this stuff, this stuff that, you know, all these things that you've done wrong, that make you feel terrible about yourself, these things that have in fact separated you from me, well, guess what?
They no longer separate us anymore. They're getting chucked into the middle of the ocean. Nothing's going to keep us apart any longer.
All of this, Micah says, is just God simply keeping his word of promise. It says, You will be faithful to Jacob and show love to Abraham as you pledged on oath to our ancestors in days long ago. You remember, we've referred to this again and again, and I'll refer to it again in Genesis 12, verses 2 through 3, God promised Abram, He said, I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. So if you just think of this kind of umbrella of, of promise. God said, He's gonna bless the children of Abraham. Well, critical to that, them receiving that blessing, there being the possibility of forgiveness.
If they cannot be forgiven, if they cannot be restored or redeemed, then they're only under a curse. But God promised blessing. And God also promised that the world would be blessed through them. That it wouldn't just be about the Jewish people, but rather through the children of Abraham, the whole world would be blessed.
And this is what Micah is anticipating. He's anticipating the appearance of this salvation. Maybe this Christmas season you feel like Micah. You feel miserable. Not just because of the sins of others, but because of your own sin. In the midst of this, you're invited to rejoice, to be filled with joy. It doesn't make a lick of sense.
In fact, it can kind of sound crazy unless you take Christmas seriously. If Christmas is about Santa, presents, ho ho ho, and Dominic the donkey, then yes, it is foolish to sugarcoat your sorrow. But that's not what Christmas is about. Christmas is the celebration that salvation has come. The birth of Jesus is the beginning of the end for sin, death, and the devil.
All of the rottenness that we see around us are Satan's pathetic last gasps before all evil is obliterated from the universe in Christ's return. Christmas is that time that reminds us that God delights in showing us mercy. He wants to forgive us, and in Jesus we can be forgiven. We can be accepted and embraced by the Father, we can belong to him.
The apostle John reminds us in 1 John 1:8-9, if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
The truth of Christmas is our cause for rejoicing. It is the truth of our salvation that gives us joy.
If you're not feeling that joy, then maybe you need to meditate more deeply on this truth. It is very easy to lose perspective. To allow all our problems to block out this reality. Kind of like how you take your thumb and you can use it and block out the sun. You think, especially when you're a kid, you think, Oh wow, my thumb's bigger than the sun.
That's how we treat our problems sometimes in life. Oh, this thing is so huge. We lose all sense of proportion. The reality is, is that nothing is too big for Jesus Christ. He's going to roll every stone away. So let us pray that God would help us see things as they really are. And to be filled with the joy He wants us to experience.
Let's pray.
Dear Father, Father, like Micah, we, we do confess our frustration with the condition of our world. Of our society. And Father, we confess our frustration with our own personal condition. How we recognizably come up short of who we're supposed to be, often on a daily basis, Father.
Father, we pray that, You would fill us with joy, knowing that this is not all there is. That our hope is not found in the status of this world, how things are going. Our hope is not based upon what we can do about it. That our joy can be found because you are our Savior. You are our King. You are our Shepherd.
And that this has been made utterly apparent and clear because you gave us your Son, Jesus Christ, to be our King and Savior. Father, help us to turn to Him, to trust in Him, to receive this gift of forgiveness, this gift that truly removes all guilt, and removes the divide between us. Help us to delight, Father, in this good gift, knowing that you also are delighting and filled with joy to give it. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
As the children of Israel lay their father to rest, fear of retribution from Joseph starts to rise in the brothers, but Joseph offers mercy and forgiveness much like we are offered the same through Christ.
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Transcript:
Burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father. When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, what if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him? So they sent word to Joseph saying, your father left these instructions before he died.
This is what you ought to say to Joseph. I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs that they committed in treating you so badly. Now, please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.
A reward is given to those who are worthy. They deserve, they are due what they receive. Those who receive a gift have no right to demand that it be given to them. Those who give it give it freely. Of all gifts, there would seem to be no greater gift than forgiveness. Forgiveness is the epitome of someone receiving a gift they don't deserve.
Many human stories that are told center on revenge. Getting back at those who have done us wrong. The Christmas story is the complete opposite of this. And so is the story of Joseph. Then, as now, is difficult for people to believe in the real possibility of forgiveness. But as we'll see, it is both real and necessary.
We turn to Genesis 50, starting in verse 1. You'll recall, if you were with us last week, that Jacob has just passed away. And so, upon seeing his father, now lifeless, says, Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him. Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel.
So the physicians embalmed him, taking a full 40 days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him 70 days. When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh's court, if I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him my father made me swear an oath and said I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan. Now let me go up and bury my father. Then I will return.
In these opening verses we see a very real glimpse of humanity. True sorrow and grief at the loss of one's father. And the preparations that are made for Jacob are both similar and different than the preparations that we often make for our own dead. Would have been unique across the rest of the world at that time, but not unique in Egypt.
In our own time, it's not uncommon for people to be embalmed once they pass, so the body might be preserved for some time. We can assume that this wasn't something that everyone had access to, but because of Joseph's position in Egypt, this was a possibility for his own father. It makes us wonder, why did he do this?
Why did he seek to have his father embalmed? It may have been out of some sensitivity towards the religious sensibilities of the Egyptians. They had very peculiar notions about the afterlife. They believed that basically the body needed to be preserved in order for it to kind of, kind of almost act as a home base for the afterlife.
And this is why when they crack open those tombs of the pharaohs they find all kinds of trinkets and things like that, because they supposed that they were taking these things with them to the afterlife. Now, it could be that there was a religious aspect to these physicians, but it may be notable that it says that physicians embalmed Jacob, not priests.
So it may have been that Joseph was trying to respect some of those sensibilities while not trying to adopt some of their religious notions. Perhaps there is a practical element, they wanted to preserve the body as they go on this journey to Canaan. Whatever the case, it was quite a process. And it's interesting to kind of look into the process of how they embalm these bodies.
Because it was very much a surgical procedure. They took out all the organs of the body, wrapped them up, took out all the brains. Kind of gross to think about. They took a hundred yards, a hundred yards of linen and wrapped the body very intensively. And so it took forty days to accomplish that.
And it says the Egyptians altogether mourned for him seventy days. So not just Jacob's family. But all of the Egyptians went to a state of mourning, which just underscores the importance of Jacob and his family at this point in Egypt. And so they went through this process of mourning, mummified him. As I think about this, this idea of mourning someone for 70 days, it kind of, I think it's an important reminder for us that it's okay to take time to grieve for those that we love, for those that we lose.
I think in our society, we're so quick to like, okay, we have to, and we, bam, we're done with that. Now we're going to be happy, happy, joy, joy afterwards. That's not natural. What's natural is us grieving those that are dearly loved. And that grief goes beyond just 70 days. I think about holidays. For many of us, it can be a difficult time.
And for myself, it's a difficult time. A year ago, I lost my grandfather. And the pain of that grief is not as sharp as it once was, but it's still there. We think about Pastor Bill and how we lost him a year ago now. It's okay to grieve for those that we love and not to be in any rush to kind of stuff that away.
So they, they, they give all sorts of honors to Jacob. And then Joseph makes this request that he would go to Canaan to bury Jacob per the oath that he made to his father. And, continuing on in verse six, Pharaoh replies, He says, Go up and bury your father as he made you swear to do. So Joseph went up to bury his father.
All Pharaoh's officials accompanied him, the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt, besides all the members of Joseph's household and his brothers and those belonging to his father's household. Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen. Chariots and horsemen also went up with him.
It was a very large company. When they reached the threshing floor of Atad near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly, and there Joseph observed a seven day period of mourning for his father. So all these details that are being told here are just meant to communicate to us they were getting all the honors.
And, we see once they reach their destination, again, they engage in seven days of mourning. And all this ceremony was so noticeable that the Canaanites took note of it. In verse 11, it says, when the Canaanites who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, the Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning. That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim. So Jacob's sons did as he had commanded them.
They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephraim, the Hittite. So once Jacob is laid to rest, then everything else really begins. And in the case of Joseph's brothers, worry begins to set in.
Worry begins to fill their minds. Continuing on in verse 14, it says, After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father. When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?
So they sent word to Joseph, saying, Your father left these instructions before he died. This is what you are to say to Joseph. I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly. Now, please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father. Now, if you haven't been tracking this story with us the whole way, you should know that Joseph's brothers did him real wrong.
First, they just wanted to straight up kill him. They threw him in an empty cistern when he went out to check on how they and their flocks were doing. And they said, we're just going to kill him out here and tell Dad that a wild animal got to him. One of the brothers thought better of it, Judah, saying, Well, it's not the nicest thing to have our brother's blood on our hands.
That might be kind of a bad omen for, for us. So we'll just do this. We'll just sell him into slavery and we'll get some money on the side from it. And so that's what they did. They sold their own brother into Egyptian slavery and told their father that some wild animals killed him. And many years later, though, they were reunited with Joseph, under very surprising circumstances.
Circumstances they would never have expected. They were starving, their whole family was starving because of a famine going on in the land. And so they had gone to Egypt to seek food. And lo and behold, the man who was second in command was their brother Joseph. Now, they didn't realize it at the time, and through a series of circumstances that would play out, in which Joseph tested his brothers, it would eventually be revealed. And when it was revealed to them that this guy, this all powerful fellow in Egypt, was their brother, they were terrified. But at that point, in Genesis 45, he told them this, in 45, verse 5, he says, And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. Now, having seen that Joseph said that, you would figure out, okay, all's good. Everything's all set, but put yourself in the brother's shoes.
If you put yourself in their shoes, you can imagine some doubt creating, creeping in. Dad's dead now. Maybe, just maybe Joseph was just treating us nice because he knew that his father would want him to do that. What if now that Jacob has passed away, what if now he intends to get his revenge finally, and so they send this message to Joseph and saying that Jacob had left some instructions for Joseph that he was to forgive his brothers.
Now it is, it's not very clear here that this is an actual genuine message from Jacob. Kind of seems as though maybe the brothers fabricated this, this message. Joseph would have no way of knowing whether his father had told them to say this to him or not.
But whether it was a genuine message or not, when he receives it, Joseph is just absolutely broken. Continuing on in the second half of verse 17. It says, When their message came to him, Joseph wept. His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. We are your slaves, they said. But Joseph said to them, Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid.
I will provide for you and your children. And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. We notice a couple things here in Joseph's response. The first thing he says, apart from saying don't be afraid, is he says, Am I in the place of God? What Joseph is basically saying here is that I'm not the judge. I do not sit on the throne of God.
And the meaning was, is that, how could he judge them in God's place? He's not going to take measures into his own hands in holding them to account for what they've done. And this is kind of anticipating what Jesus tells his disciples. In Matthew 7, 1 through 2, says, Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged. And with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Now, when Jesus says, Don't judge, He doesn't mean that we shouldn't call evil, evil. He's not saying that we should just keep our mouths shut. Kind of as often in our society, people are kind of expected to do, Oh, don't judge man.
You do you, I do me, that kind of thing. That's not what Jesus is talking about here. What he's talking about is, do not put yourself in the position of God, so that you would either damn someone outright, or especially, most especially, taking matters into your own hands, here and now, to render justice as you see fit.
It lines up with what Paul tells the Romans in Romans 12: 19 about not taking vengeance. It says, Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written, It is mine to avenge. I will repay, says the Lord. That's what it means not to judge. It means that I'm not going to pursue revenge.
I'm going to leave it to God to set things right. Especially as Christians, it's important for us to remember how much we've been forgiven and how that should dispose us towards others who are in need of our forgiveness. Jesus tells his disciples this in Matthew 6. He says, For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. We can't expect the forgiveness of God if we're going to withhold forgiveness from others. Now, when we're talking about forgiveness, we're talking about forgiving those who show genuine repentance for the wrong that we've done, where people don't show repentance for the wrong that we've done for the wrong that they've done we're not reconciled to them, but we don't pursue vengeance because like Paul says, leave it to God, leave it to God. Show mercy. You're showing mercy in the, in those circumstances and we can all show mercy towards people regardless of whether they repent or not. But as people repent, and they say, I'm sorry, and Joseph's brothers here are indicating their sorrow. They're recognizing the wrong that they've done. As people repent, we need to offer forgiveness. Because we have been forgiven much ourselves. Now, kind of the second element here in terms of thinking about what's striking about Joseph's response is he's saying, you know, am I in the place of God?
No, I'm not in God's place. And there's kind of a corollary to this, which is that He says, I'm not in the place of God. And look what God has done through this. God has revealed this saving purpose by letting all this play out. Yes, you sold me into slavery, but it resulted in me coming into second hand command.
And the result is, is that I've been able to save many lives. The lives of the Egyptians, the lives of our neighbors, especially though, the lives of of our family members. But Joseph's kind of like, how can I stay mad now, after I've seen what God has done in this situation? How can I see all the good that God has brought from this, and decide, well, I'm still going to show, show my brothers what's what?
He's deferring to God's wisdom and sovereignty, saying, I'm not going to tread where God judges. He shows grace towards his brothers. He promises that he's going to take care of them and their children. And we can imagine that it maybe took a little time for them to really be able to accept that this was really real.
That he was going to offer this mercy and kindness to them. Because it says that he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
In these last verses of Genesis, we come to the close of Joseph's life. Verse 22 says, Joseph stayed in Egypt along with all his father's family. He lived 110 years and saw the third generation of Ephraim's children. Also, the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph's knee. And Joseph said to his brothers, I'm about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, God will surely come to your aid and then you must carry my bones up from this place. So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten.
And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt. So Joseph lives to the age of a hundred and ten. Pretty long life, especially from our point of view. Not as long as his father and his grandfather and his great grandfather's lives. Just kind of an interesting observation of how there is a decline and how long human beings are living.
Probably a result of genetic mutation. But as far as the standards of the Egyptians go, 110 was a perfect age to die, it was like, they all loved it if they could live to 110. And he was able to experience many blessings. He saw his great, great, great grandkids through Ephraim, and his great grandkid through Manasseh.
Now, you can imagine for the family, now that, you know, all the past is behind him. He is truly kind of their protector and guardian. You can imagine that the occasion of Joseph's death is a scary moment for Israel, for the people of Israel. Once again, Joseph wants to comfort his family. He tells them in verse 25, But God will surely come to your aid. And the reason why that promise is so important is because it lines up with what's anticipated in Genesis 15, with what God foretells to Abraham regarding his family.
In Genesis 15, 13 through 14, the Lord said to Abraham. Know for certain that for 400 years, your descendants will be strangers in a country, not their own, and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.
So whether or not Joseph could see all this that was going to happen, probably, certainly familiar with some of this tradition, whether he could see everything that was going to come, he wanted his family to know that God is still with you.
He's going to come to your aid.
And he's going to, not just be an aid to you in the land of Egypt, but what does it say in verse 24? It says, he's going to take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So they're not, they're going to be in Egypt for a long while, hundreds of years. But it's not home.
It's not their destination. They are still looking towards that promised land of Canaan. And God is going to bring them there. And so these burial instructions that Joseph gives to his family regarding bringing him there to that land, not on the, at the time of his death, as was the case with Jacob, but when they go, when all of them return to Canaan, and giving them those instructions, Joseph is showing his faith in God's promises.
And the writer of Hebrews comments on this faith in Hebrews 11, 22. It says, By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. And gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones. And so they follow his instructions. He is embalmed, he's placed in a coffin and he awaits his journey to the promised land of Canaan.
Over 1500 years before Jesus was born, we see the same weave of God's handiwork in the life of Joseph. God's plan of redemption cannot move forward without grace, without forgiveness. Imagine if Joseph refused to forgive. Imagine if he chose revenge instead. The people of Israel are only saved by grace.
And it's only by grace that they have a future. God's love for us is revealed by the grace He shows. Paul tells us in Romans 5: 8, But God demonstrates His own love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. There is no death, there is no resurrection if Jesus is not born. And Jesus is only born because God intended to offer us forgiveness through him if we would turn to Jesus. Even while we didn't deserve it. Even while we were active in our rebellion and our rejection of God. The Apostle John, a beloved disciple, tells us in 1 John 1: 9 If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
You see, our forgiveness doesn't await our purification. Our forgiveness does not await our perfection. We are forgiven up front in Jesus. And then our purification follows. God forgives us, and then we become who we were supposed to be. As we follow the story of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, we have seen all the ways things could have gone off the rails.
And in the end here, we might expect a divided family. A family falling apart after the death of the patriarch who's, like, holding them all together. It's a sad experience some of us know in our own families. The knives come out. But God pours out his grace through Joseph. So that there is a future for the family. The people of God. God is eager to use you as the vessel by which the grace of Jesus Christ will be poured out in your family. In all of your relationships. Especially among Christians, the Apostle Paul tells us in Colossians 3: 13. Bear with each other, and forgive one another. If any one of you has a grievance against someone.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Give the gift of forgiveness. Give freely what has been freely given to you. Don't close off the possibility of what God can do. Let the past pass away. And let God's grace give you a future. Let's pray.
Dear Father,
We stand in awe of how you were able to bring good out of so much brokenness. And we see that in the case of Joseph's story, the story of his family.
Father, we see your redeeming hand. We see your grace in Joseph's life as he offers forgiveness to his brothers who betrayed him. Father, we pray that we would follow in Joseph's footsteps. More than this, Father, we pray that we would follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, who laid down his life for us, even though we were your enemies, even while we were standing against you, Father. Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit, soften our hearts so that we would offer the same forgiveness that we've received to others. And Father, put your redeeming touch not only within the life of this church, father, but in all the points of connection beyond it. Father, help us to be lights in our family that are communicating this grace and bringing healing. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
As Jacob's life comes to a close, he offers his final words of blessing and warning to his sons.
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Transcript:
Today's reading is from Genesis 49, 8 through 12. Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's sons will bow down to you. You are a lion's cub, Judah. You, you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion crouches and lies down, like a lioness -- who dares to rouse him?
The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch. He will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.
His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.
Advent is a season of anticipation. We look towards Christmas, anticipating the birth of our Savior. Even when everything Christian gets stripped away from this holiday season, the Christmas season can't help but have this sensation of anticipation as children look forward to unwrapping presents under the tree.
A birthday party is coming. And in Christ's birth, the possibility of our new birth, of being born again, arrives with Him. This is God's gift to us. Jesus Christ, His Son. He is our blessing. He is the blessing long anticipated. We are looking back even as we look forward in our immediate calendar, a promise kept now celebrated.
But for thousands of years, God's people could only look forward, anticipating a blessing that awaited in the haze of the future. They fiercely gripped the glimpses of that glimmering hope revealed to them by God. As we near the end of Genesis, we catch one of these glimpses, disclosed in Jacob's parting words to his twelve sons; words of blessings and foreboding. So turning to that chapter, Genesis 49, starting in verse 1. It says, then Jacob called for his sons and said, gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come. Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel. Reuben, you are my firstborn.
My might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father's bed. As we turn to this chapter, we're met with a mix of both blessing and prophesying and also just describing kind of the characters of Jacob's son.
Some of these details that Jacob speaks regarding his sons are details that are that are apparent in the immediate, some of them in some years to come, and some very far in the future, as we will see in the case of Judah. And some of these details are easy to pin down, while others of them are obscure.
In the case of Reuben here, his first born son, naturally the first one that he would address he's really just speaking to the character of his son and of how much promise his son had as his firstborn and how greatly Reuben let his father down when he betrayed his trust by taking to bed his wife Bilhah.
And so we don't really have a word of blessing here for Reuben. It's interesting, it's interesting to kind of call this chapter, you know, chapter of blessing because a good many of these sons here it's not a blessing as you would expect it to be. Jacob is just really stating things as they are, and in some cases as they will be.
In the case of Reuben, he doesn't really have much of a future compared to some of the sons will have. Continuing on in verse 5, it says, Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their swords are weapons of violence. Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.
Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel. I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel. So, Jacob addresses his sons, Simeon and Levi. And as you go through these sons, you'll notice that it's following birth order. It's also following the various wives, these four wives that that Jacob had.
So he's keeping them in their sibling groupings. Simeon and Levi are brothers, full brothers of Reuben. And if you'll remember from several chapters ago, we learned about how they violently responded to the assault against their sister, Dinah. And how they, when making a deal with the men of Shechem that they should be circumcised in order for Dinah's hand to be given in marriage, used that as an opportunity to slaughter all the men, in fact the city, to ravage it, while they were incapacitated.
Clearly, based on what Jacob is saying here, there was nothing positive about what they did. He says, let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased. Now, it's interesting that it says hamstrung oxen, because in ancient times, they would not have typically hamstrung oxen, because oxen are just agricultural animals.
The animals that you would typically hamstrung would have been horses. And if you don't know what that means, it's just basically slicing their legs so they're not able to be used. So in the case of horses, you'd do that because you didn't want the enemy to use them to assault you any further. But oxen, those are assets.
You'd want to keep the oxen so you could use them for yourself and no one could really cause harm against you with them. And so some, some commentators suggest that, it's suggesting just how gross their violence was, that they assaulted, either, either that they literally assaulted these oxen, or these oxen are representative of their assault against innocent people, among those that they attacked.
And so, Jacob curses their anger. Curses their fury and he says they'll be scattered in Jacob and dispersed in Israel, and that, in fact, turns out to be the case. Simeon, the tribe of Simeon does not have a territory of its own. They have land holdings within the territory of Judah, and in the case of the Levites, you know, a very blessed tribe in the end, because they're serving in the priestly caste, but they themselves also do not have a territory of their own, they have cities.
And so, in this case, we can very clearly identify what Jacob is anticipating here. Now we turn to verse 8, verses 8 through 12, which were read. I'm just going to read it again, because this is a very, if you, if you want to mark out in your Bible significant passages in anticipation, that are anticipating the Messiah, this is one to put a star next to.
Jacob says, Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's sons will bow down to you. You are a lion's cub, Judah. You return from the prey, my son. Like a lion, he crouches and lies down, like a lioness -- who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come, and the obedience of the nation shall be his.
He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch. He will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.
From the start, in this verse, we have a little bit of a play on Judah's name. When Leah named her son Judah, in chapter 29, verse 35, she said, This time I will praise the Lord. And the reason why he's called Judah is because it seems to have some suggestion of the Hebrew word praise. And so to start, Jacob says, Judah, your brothers will praise you.
And there's a lot of poetic elements in these blessings that are lost to us as English readers. And even I myself, I'm studied in Greek, I'm not studied in Hebrew, so I'm not able to pick those things out. But, Biblical scholars say that these passages are replete with all kinds of poetic elements to it.
And so you see that very clearly though in the case here of Judah. And what Jacob foretells for Judah is that his brothers are going to bow to him, bow to his descendants. And this is something that seems very akin to what we heard in the case of Joseph. Remember he had that dream in which all his brothers are bowing down to him, even his father and his mother are bowing down to him.
The point that's being tried to made, be made here is that Judah is going to come into great authority and strength. His hand is going to be on the necks of his enemies. He's going to be like a lion. And this is where we get that, appellation, the lion of Judah.
The authority that he possesses is not going to depart. It will not leave from, the ruler's staff will not leave from between his feet until, it says in verse 10, until he to whom it belongs shall come, and the obedience of the nations will be his. It's, it's a very interesting kind of phrasing here. It's suggesting a sort of transition that's to come in the rule of Judah, but a transition that does not lead to downfall, but to something that is greater, that even surpasses that which has come before. It's anticipating a time in which a son of Judah would gain the obedience of all the nations. Now, when we look to Ezekiel 21, we're going hundreds of years later. When Judah has fallen into great sin, they've been disobedient to God, and they're going to be handed over to Babylon.
But notice what it says here in Ezekiel 21, verses 25 through 27. It says, You profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose time of punishment has reached its climax. This is what the sovereign Lord says. Take off the turban, remove the crown, it will not be as it was. The lowly will be exalted, and the exalted will be brought low.
A ruin, a ruin, I will make it a ruin. The crown will not be restored until he to whom it rightfully belongs shall come; to him I will give it. It seems here that we find Ezekiel is matching up with what is said in Genesis 49, and it tracks with the historical record, which was that after Israel was sent into exile in Babylon, they never really, truly, fully regained that former glory that they had.
And it leads the way to Christ to come as this promised king. Isaiah 11:10, it says that in that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will rally to him and his resting place will be glorious. There's this anticipation that from the Root of Jesse, and Jesse's of the tribe of Judah, that there's this king that is going to come that will gather the nations to himself.
In Psalm 2, verses 2 through 9, It says, The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles. The one enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.
I will proclaim the Lord's decree: he said to me, You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery. Now this is King David who is writing this psalm, and he never saw this in his lifetime. Yes, he was a strong king in his own territory. But the nations were never made his inheritance in his lifetime. All of this is looking forward to a coming king. And we find again and again in the Gospels of how Jesus, both in his person and what he says, and what the Apostles observe about him, Jesus is the one who's fulfilling all this anticipation.
We see this again in just another detail here in Genesis 49. So it talks about how the obedience of the nations will be his. And then it says he will tether his donkey to a vine. His colt to the choicest branch. He will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.
Very interesting imagery. This idea of tying a donkey to a vine, which, I'm guessing is probably not a great idea. Usually, especially a choice vine, because the donkey will probably be like, I'm out of here, and it's going to tear that vine away. But it's picturing for us a very, kind of, idyllic future. A future in which things have been perfected, and there's perfect tranquility.
It's giving us a picture of a royal rule that is just marked with glory and excellence. That his eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk. Now it's, it's interesting that it talks about how his garments will be washed in wine, and his robes in the blood of grapes. Now, that could be talking about kind of the color purple, and purple has kind of a royal bearing about it.
But it does make you wonder, you know, is this anticipating also Christ's suffering, the shedding of his blood? We see all these details brought together in the prophecy given in Zechariah 9, verses 9 through 10, which we also end up seeing fulfilled in Christ's ministry as He's entering into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, and they're shouting, Hosanna.
Look at what it says there in Zechariah 9. It says, Rejoice greatly, daughter Zion. Shout, daughter Jerusalem. See your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim, and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. So just in this passage, he's capturing all these details, of this, this idea of a, of a king on a donkey, and How he brings the nations together under his rule. It's incredible how Jesus fulfills this in his own ministry.
All the details that are fulfilled in him that go beyond conspiracy. Because he couldn't have possibly arranged them to all come together in that sort of way. When we think about Jesus, I think sometimes we're apt to think of him in other imagery than that of a king. Because he is so kind, because he is so humble, we can think of him as a teacher. As a healer. We even think of him as a saviour, but sometimes we don't think about him as king. But he is king. And he makes this claim for himself. This is not something that's been foisted upon him. Yes, he says, my kingdom is not of this earth. He is not a worldly king.
But when Christ is raised from the dead, and when he stands before his disciples, preparing to send them to the ends of the earth with the gospel, he tells them this in Matthew 20: 18. He says, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. That's something that a King says. That's something someone who is the King of Kings would say.
Now, these words that are being spoken to Judah, this anticipation of this King who would be the King over all the nations is, It's a promise that goes right in line with the word of promise of blessing that Jacob received from his own father. Genesis 27: 29, Isaac says to Jacob, May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you.
Be Lord over your brothers and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed. And of course, this is just playing off of what was promised to Abraham that the world would be blessed through Abraham and his descendants. And the vanguard of this blessing is this promised coming king. If you're looking at all the blessings here in this chapter, I mean, this stands out as a blinking red light.
This is really important, and it kind of overshadows everything else. So there is some other things to note here. But again, some of the details that are given here are obscure and difficult to completely understand. In verse 13, the blessings continue. It says, Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships.
His border will extend towards Sidon. Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down among the sheep pens. When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor. So just trying to pick up some of the details here. The land that Zebulun will occupy is not exactly on the shore.
It's not exactly on the coast. But some scholars, as they've looked at the words that are being used here, it can also suggest being towards the coast. And they did have dealings with the Sidonians. The Sidonians were not of Israel, a Gentile nation. As far as Issachar is concerned, what Jacob is saying here is that Issachar is, is strong and he's going to have this rest, and yet he's going to willingly, basically hand himself over to forced labor and that that does in fact happen to the tribe of Issachar.
They willingly hand themselves into Sidonian servitude. Verse 16, he says, Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path that bites the horse's heel so that it, so its rider tumbles backward. I look for your deliverance, Lord.
Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels. Asher's food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king. Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns. So again, some more details here that are difficult to kind of sift through. It seems that by saying that Dan will provide justice for his people, as one of the tribes of Israel, that what Jacob is saying is that he's going to establish his people among the people of Israel, but he's going to have trouble along the way. And we do see some indications of some of the poor character of those that were part of the tribe of Dan in Judges 18. Basically, for good or for ill, there's a lot of scrapping that, that is going on. And we see that, that's also the case with the tribe of Gad.
Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels. And Gad kind of occupied kind of a borderland, so they were to be accustomed to having to deal with some violent encounters. And it's interesting that we have this kind of very brief interlude by Jacob in verse 18. He says, I look for your deliverance, Lord.
It's interesting that he says that. And we also have this description given both for Dan and for Gad, in which they're biting or attacking after heels. Because remember, Jacob's name means the one who grabs after the heel. He's the heel grabber, because when Esau came out, he grabbed onto his heel as he was coming out.
So it may be that Jacob here is reflecting on his own life experience, and he's crying out for deliverance for his sons. It says Asher's food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king. It's not an obvious kind of, I mean, except for what it's just transparently saying there, that he's going to have some involvement with the royal food.
There's not something I can point you to to say, oh yes, you know, that's what he's talking about. But just because we don't have that doesn't mean that's not the case. But this is what Jacob's anticipating for his son, Asher. And the same thing for, for Naphtali. Just looking forward to their fruitfulness.
Then we turn to verse 22 and we turn to another major figure here, Joseph. His Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility, but his bow remained steady, his strong arm stayed limber, because of the hand of the mighty one of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, because of your father's God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb. Your father's blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers. Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.
In this blessing to, given to Joseph, we see this bit of exchange. This bit of, kind of stark comparison to what was spoken of Reuben versus what's spoken of Joseph. Reuben is the firstborn, basically cursed. You see Joseph here in the favor that he enjoys. Verse 26, identifying him as a prince among his brothers.
In 1 Chronicles 5, in terms of this kind of changing of the guard between Reuben and Joseph, it says this, it says, The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, he was the firstborn, but when he defiled his father's marriage bed, his rights as firstborn were given to the sons of Joseph, son of Israel; so he could not be listed in the genealogical record in accordance with his birthright.
And though Judah was the strongest of his brothers, and a ruler came from him, the rights of the firstborn belonged to Joseph. So this is important to keep in mind here. So, Reuben lost his status as firstborn. Yes, Judah has this incredible future that awaits, that brings promise to all of Israel. But in the immediate, Joseph is really standing as the firstborn among his brothers.
Jacob describes him as a fruitful vine. And this seems to be kind of playing off of possibly his son's name of Ephraim. In Genesis 41: 52 it says, The second son he named Ephraim and said it is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering. And Jacob says basically that, you know, Joseph's been under fire.
He's had all kinds of arrows shot at him. But he has been steady. His strong arms have been made limber. And the reason that Jacob gives is this. Verse 24 says, Because of the hand of the mighty one of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the rock of Israel, because of your Father's God who helped you, because of the Almighty who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb.
When Jacob says that Joseph has found his success, and he says that Joseph has stood firm because God has been looking over him as a shepherd, It kind of brings to mind what we hear in Psalm 23. That opening line that everyone knows, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. It's interesting, later in the Psalms, We have a Psalm that speaks along these lines, explicitly connected with Joseph.
In Psalm 80, verses 1- 3, it says, Hear us, shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock, You who sit enthroned between the cherubim. Shine forth before Ephraim, Joseph's son, Benjamin, and Manasseh, another of Joseph's sons. Awaken your might; come and save us. Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved. The God of Jacob is Joseph's. God also. And their God is a rock.
Moses in his song in Deuteronomy 32 describes God in this way, saying, He is the rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He. And as we look at these details here, of how, of the explanation that Jacob gives as to how his son was able to stand firm, it reminds us that this isn't about Joseph. It's not about how great and awesome Joseph is. It's about the God who has looked over him. The God that he has stood upon and relied upon. And this reminds us that in the hardships that we encounter, that we face down, that it's not about us. We are not strong to stand in ourselves.
The question is, is who is your shepherd? Who is looking over you? What are you standing on? Are you standing upon God as your rock? Or are you standing upon something else that will fail you? You remember Joseph's life. He could have stood on all kinds of things. He had opportunities to claim, oh yeah, the interpretation of dreams, that's my power.
Could have collected the glory for himself. He could have conspired to make his life more enjoyable. Cheated with Potiphar's wife. He could have done a bunch of things. He could have taken revenge against his brothers as soon as they showed up and had them all beheaded or something like that. But he didn't do any of that, because he was looking to God as his shepherd.
And he stands as an example to us of what we should also do when we are facing trials of our own.
Now there's just a few lines, a couple lines here regarding Benjamin. It says in verse 27, it says Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. In the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he devours the plunder. It's, this is again something we can't flesh out some great specific detail of how this is fulfilled.
This is just a characterization of who Benjamin is, his strength, some of his violence. And if we look throughout the history of the tribe of Benjamin, you do see elements of that. We recall that Saul, King Saul, the first king of Israel, that he comes from the tribe of Benjamin, and we certainly see some of those qualities in him.
Now, having spoken these words of blessing, Jacob very quickly comes to the conclusion of his life. But before passing, he offers one final word of instruction. Verse 28. It says, All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. And this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.
Then he gave them these instructions. I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. The cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. The field and the cave and it were bought from the Hittites. When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people. So, as he had told Joseph before, of how he wanted to be buried in Canaan, so he tells all his sons that this is his wish. And he wants to be buried with Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, and his wife Leah, who enjoys this honor of being buried with the patriarchs. This isn't an honor afforded to Rachel because she died in Canaan in the midst of their travels, and so she's buried in Bethlehem.
And they are buried in Hebron. That's the basic location apart from, yes, they were buried in a cave. And pictured behind me is the traditional site as to where they were buried. I think I shared that last year when we were looking at Abraham. But that ends up being the resting place for Jacob, and we'll see that transpire in the following chapter.
But this is a pivotal moment for Israel and his family. Israel's family is on the threshold. He has passed. The future awaits his sons and their children. Among them all, it is Judah's blessing that strains our eyes to the horizon, looking for the promised coming king, the king who will rule all nations and usher in everlasting peace and prosperity. We know that this is Jesus Christ, the one who possesses all authority on heaven and on earth. The one who has dispatched his disciples to the ends of the earth to gather the nations to himself.
He has come, and he is coming again. He first came to make a way for us to be redeemed, to rescue us from sin and demonic captivity. He is coming again to gather to himself those who belong to him. The Apostle John relays to us what he clearly saw on that day in his revelation, a day that is quickly approaching.
In Revelation 19, verse 11, John says, I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.
He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.
On his robe and on his thigh, he has this name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Judah's blessing is being fulfilled. We are in the midst of it. And there's more that is to come on that day. When heaven meets earth, when the heavenly city of Jerusalem lays its foundations upon this earth made anew, John tells us it will be like this in Revelation 21. Says, the nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. When glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it, nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
See, God is inviting us to be filled with anticipation, excited for what he is going to do next. But many in this world are going about life clueless, unaware, not having this sort of expectation. Instead, they're excited about the next iPhone. They're already thinking about the next election. They're counting down the days to vacation.
They're dreaming about a manned mission to Mars. They're thinking about these things, but not about what God is doing, about what is just over the horizon. And if we're honest, they are sometimes us. Now, the business of living is good. And I'm not knocking those things I just mentioned. But, they all amount to nothing if our name is not found in the Lamb's Book of Life.
King Jesus brings both salvation and a sword. Now is the day of salvation, the time to turn to Christ. Tomorrow comes the sword, the sword of judgment and deliverance. The sword that annihilates evil and establishes God's kingdom upon earth.
So we should live with anticipation. You should live with anticipation, both for your sake, and for the sake of those not yet in the book.
Don't let your hope be decided based on what seems possible, or what the experts say. Fix your hope on God's word of promise. That word of promise which has and which will come to pass. Let us pray.
Dear Father,
it is incredible,
it is incredible to look at scriptures and to see your plan. A plan that stretches across thousands of years. Father, in it, we see your faithfulness towards us. We see your mercy towards us. That rather than leaving us in our sin and our brokenness, a brokenness that is reflected in so much of these words that Jacob speaks to his sons.
In the midst of all that, Father, you planted a seed. You planted a promise, that there would be a promised King who would bring about our salvation and our redemption. Father, our prayer this morning is that we would fix our hope in him, that Father, we would receive him as our savior today and trusting ourselves to him.
And what's more Father, that as we do that, that every day from that moment that we submit ourselves to him and trust our lives to him, we would live in the hope of his return and that new reality that he's going to bring. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series entitled Israel Arises. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Through a season of hardship for Egypt and Canaan, God continues to bless the Israelite people according to His promise.
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Transcript:
Thanksgiving is an opportunity for us to take stock of all the ways that God has blessed us. It's an invitation to pick up what we have taken for granted and to see it in its proper light. God's shining goodness toward us. It's also an opportunity to double down on our praise for all the awe inspiring, expectation defying ways that God has blessed us.
Those hardships he turned to occasions for rejoicing. The defeats that give way to victory. We have been following just that kind of storyline here in Genesis. Mankind has sold itself under sin's power for the lies of the devil. But God is trailblazing a path of redemption. God promised to bless the world through Abraham. An aged, childless couple, Abraham and Sarah were promised a child through whom would come forth a nation that would dwell in the promised land of Canaan. Against all odds, years of disappointment, they were given that son through whom that nation would arise. They were given Isaac. Isaac fathered two sons, Esau and Jacob. But God promised blessings for the younger son, Jacob, over the elder brother, Esau. Much drama ensued thereafter, sin and deceitfulness, and Jacob left the land of Canaan for Haran in search of a wife.
But he leaves it with the promise that he would return. And return he did, after many years of trouble, gaining four wives and twelve sons. Though in the land of promise, he experienced great heartache along the way. His beloved Rachel died in the return. His son Joseph was later thought to be killed by wild animals, though he was in fact sold into slavery in Egypt.
But now, Jacob has learned his son is alive. He's learned that he's in fact second in command of Egypt. Jacob could not see God's hand at work before, but he, but it appears clear as day now. Joseph is inviting him and all the family to live in Egypt. But there is a question hanging over all of this. What does it mean for them to leave the promised land of Canaan?
What is the future of Jacob's, of Israel's family? We'll begin to learn what is in store today by considering chapters 46 through 48. And the first several verses of chapter 46 have been read. I'll pick up in verse 5, chapter 46. God has made promises to Jacob. And it says, Then Jacob left Beersheba, and Israel's sons took their father Jacob and their children, sorry, lost my place, and their wives in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to transport him. So Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt, taking with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan. Jacob brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons and his daughters and granddaughters, all his offspring.
So, as was told in the first four verses, that were previously read, as Israel, as Jacob, you will remember that Israel is just a different name for Jacob that was given to Jacob after his encounter with God, meaning one who wrestles with, with God. As he's leaving Canaan, going towards Egypt, he offers sacrifices to God in Beersheba. And God meets him in a vision that night, and he has some things to communicate to him. One, the first thing that he assures him is that he should not be afraid to go to Egypt. And the reason why Jacob should not be afraid to go to Egypt is because some good things are going to happen there.
He's going to be made into a great nation while in the land of Egypt. And moreover, God promises his abiding presence. He's going to go with Jacob and he's going to bring him back to the land. Now that's significant because in ancient times it was very often thought that the gods were kind of geospatially located.
So, and each god almost had, like, their own territory. Territory is no problem for Israel's God, though. He's going with him and his family into Egypt, and he's promising to bring them back to the land. So what God is telling Jacob is, My promise is sure to you. You are to inherit this land. And this is the land of promise, but you're going to spend some time over here in Egypt and become a great nation.
And lastly, on a kind of a more personal touch, he's assured that his son Joseph, his beloved son, will in fact be the one who will close his eyes at his time of death. And so, in response to what God promises him, Jacob picks up all he has and brings it to Egypt. Now, remember Pharaoh had said you didn't have to bring everything, we'll take care of you, but they didn't do that. They brought everything that they had and they didn't leave anyone behind. Which is a telling step of faith because you might imagine that he might be tempted to leave kind of a rear guard behind, so that, okay, the rest of us are going to go to Egypt.
We'll make sure you guys get fed, but I need you to stay here, so that when we come back, our, our claims on the land are secure. Jacob doesn't do that. He leaves it all behind, trusting in God's promise. Moving on into verses eight through, going through, thirty, or twenty seven. We have a record of those that went down to Egypt with Jacob.
And I'm not going to read all the verses, but I'll just kind of summarize for you. In verses sixteen through eighteen we have, or rather, verses eight through 15 rather, sorry. We have the descendants of Leah, that were born by his wife Leah. In verses 16 through 18, through her handmaiden, Zilpah.
Verses 19 through 22, the children born through Jacob's wife, Rachel. And then, in verses 23 through 27, those born through Bilhah. Now, the thing that's interesting about this genealogical record is that it's not intended to be exhaustive. It doesn't include the names of the wives. And it's also interesting because when we look at another genealogy in Numbers 26, for instance, we notice some differences between the two.
For instance, if you were to look at in verses 19 through 22 where it talks about the children born of Rachel, and you look at Benjamin, and it look, and you look at the list of his sons, two of those sons listed there, Naaman and Ard, are listed in Numbers 26 as his grandsons. Now you might think, oh, like this is an error in the Bible.
That's, there's no error in the Bible. There's an error in our understanding of what the priorities are here, and the genealogy that's being given. This is not a census record. What it is, is really more of, it's almost like a charter document, saying this is the heads, these are kind of the leaders of this emerging nation.
so it's picking out some important personages that are being represented as they go down into Egypt. And some of them aren't even alive as they go down to Egypt, but they're included on this list because of their significance, and they're counted as part of that migration. Continuing on in verse 28, it says, Now Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen.
When they arrived in the region of Goshen, Joseph had his chariot made ready and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his father and wept for a long time. Israel said to Joseph, now I'm ready to die, since I've seen for myself that you are still alive.
So once again, we see in these verses how Judah is taking a progressively more significant role as kind of a leader within the family. At this point, Joseph's still going to outrank him because he is Jacob's favorite. He's also second in command of Egypt. But it's kind of foreshadowing, once again, the role that Judah is going to play in the nation of Israel.
And it's interesting to see how, you know, Jacob's mention of death. He's like, I'm ready to die now. And now it takes a positive turn. Up to this point, we've seen him just be really brought low because of all the misfortune he's experienced between thinking Joseph is dead, Simeon being imprisoned in Egypt, and he's like, I'm basically ready to die, but in a very negative sense.
But now we see things turn around positively, where he's like, now I can, I can go to my rest, because I know all is well. Continuing on in verse 31, it says then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, I will go up and speak to Pharaoh and will say to him, my brothers and my father's household who are living in the land of Canaan have come to me.
The men are shepherds, they tend livestock and they have brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own. When Pharaoh calls you in and asks what is your occupation, you should answer your servants have tended livestock from our boyhood on just as our fathers did. Then you will be allowed to settle in the region of Goshen for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians. Joseph gives his family some tactical advice here in order to secure their settlement within the land of Goshen apart from the Egyptians. Now you ask, well, why would that be important? It would be important in order to retain their distinctiveness as a people. As the, as, in terms of kind of the big picture, as the people of God, this chosen people.
Otherwise, you could imagine that they might just kind of be absorbed into Egyptian society. Now it's interesting that it says that the, that shepherds are detestable to Egyptians. Biblical scholars are not exactly sure why they were detestable to Egyptians. It's been suggested that it may have been just kind of some prejudice against outside immigrants coming into the land, and some suspicion as well, perhaps.
And, whatever the case may be, it, it works towards their favor that they can have a set apart existence within the land while still reaping the benefits of being in Egypt with Joseph. So turning to chapter 47, we see Joseph proceeding with this planned proposal to Pharaoh. Joseph went and told Pharaoh, My father and brothers with their flocks and herds and everything they own have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.
He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh. Pharaoh asked the brothers, What is your occupation? Your servants are shepherds, they replied to Pharaoh, just as our fathers were. They also said to him, We have come to live here for a while, because the famine is severe in Canaan, and your servants flocks have no pastures.
So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen. Continuing in verse five, Pharaoh said to Joseph, Your father and your brothers have come to you, and the land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen, and if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock.
Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh, Pharaoh asked him, How old are you? And Jacob said to Pharaoh, The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my father's.
Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence. So, we see here, in these verses, just God's continued hand of blessing, continuing to be upon the family, and that they find favor with, with Pharaoh, in terms of this plan. It's interesting how Joseph selects only five of his brothers. He's like, I'm going to pick the best five of you, the rest of you, you're staying behind, I'm not bringing you to Pharaoh.
And he brings his father before Pharaoh, and, Pharaoh asks this classic question that everyone seems to ask really old people, How old are you? And, Yeah, And Jacob, Jacob's response is interesting. Because he says, The years of my pilgrimage are 130. And he says, my years have been few. Now for us, we think 130, that's a pretty long life, bud.
But it's true, compared to his father and to his grandfather. His father, Isaac, lived to the age of 180. Abraham lived to the age of 175. So relative to them, his years have been few. And he says, they've been few and difficult. And, it's, it's interesting how he describes his life in terms of the pilgrimage.
Just as he describes his, his father and grandfather's lives in terms of the pilgrimage. They have not really been rooted down. Yes, they've been in the land of Canaan, but they've been, they've been on a pilgrimage through life. Now, when you think about someone describing their life in that way, my years have been few and difficult.
I'm sure some of us here might be able to relate to that. You might feel the same way about your life.
Jacob has a clear eyed view of the trouble that he suffered in life. And yet, as we're gonna see as we go through these verses, He still counts himself blessed by God. He's still able to see God's faithfulness through the hardship that he's suffered. Picking up in verse 11. It says, So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Ramses, as Pharaoh directed.
Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their children. There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe. Both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh's palace.
Picking up in verse 15, When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is all gone. Then bring your livestock, said Joseph. I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.
So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock. So this famine is really bad. Remember that God had disclosed to Pharaoh through a dream as interpreted by Joseph that there's going to be seven good years of abundance and there's going to be seven years of famine.
Now they're in the middle of those seven years of famine here. It's so bad that they've used all their money. It's so bad that now that they don't have money, the Egyptians are in this place of having to sell their animals to Pharaoh in order to have enough food, and it just gets even worse. In verse 18, it says, when that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, we cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there's nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land.
Why should we perish before your eyes, we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die and that the land may not become desolate. So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields because the famine was too severe for them.
The land became Pharaoh's, and Joseph reduced the people to servitude from one end of Egypt to the other. Now when you read about that arrangement, you probably read that and you say, that doesn't sound very nice. You'd kind of think, why don't they just give them food? Well, I think we have to be realistic here that Pharaoh was not going to do that.
Pharaoh was a political actor. He was interested in being able to retain power and make himself wealthy. Joseph, while he's second in command, he is not top command. He's not top dog. And so as Joseph is overseeing this plan, he comes up with a solution that does work to the benefit of Pharaoh, but it also benefits the people. It takes care of them. We see continuing on in verse 22, the benefits that they received from this arrangement. So it says, however, he did not buy the land of the priests because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.
Joseph said to the people, now that I have bought you, and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground. But when the crops come in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.
You have saved our lives, they said. May we find favor in the eyes of our Lord. We will be in bondage to Pharaoh. So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt, still in force today, that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh's.
So what we see in these verses here is that the people are, are grateful to have this option available to them. Pharaoh didn't force them into slavery, he's not, he's not like, I'm going to enslave you. The situation was, is that they needed food. And the arrangement that, that Joseph set up was basically in exchange for their labor, their servitude to Pharaoh in exchange for their land.
They would be able to live on the land, and they would have enough food for themselves, so that they would keep four fifths, whatever they produced, and a fifth would go to Pharaoh. And so, their lives were saved. And so we see how God is continuing to bless both Pharaoh, the Egyptians, through Joseph. Now we wonder, you know, how is Israel doing through all of this?
Verse 27, it says, now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen, they acquired property there, and were fruitful and increased greatly in number. Jacob lived in Egypt 17 years, and the years of his life were 147,. When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph, and said to him, if I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried. I will do as you say, he said. Swear to me, he said. Then Joseph swore to him and Israel worshipped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
So while the Egyptians are enduring quite a bit of hardship because of the famine, and the land of Canaan is experiencing hardship as well, God blesses Israel's family with abundance. They acquired property, they're fruitful, and they increased greatly in number. We can almost think of Egypt kind of being a greenhouse for them.
And yes, they're not always going to stay in Egypt. But it was a place for them to grow, become larger, become strong. And so they were blessed throughout this period. Now, it's interesting, we kind of take a pretty hard shift here to the end of Jacob's life. It says that, Jacob lived in Egypt 17 years, and the years of his life are 147.
Now, it's not like, okay, we're done here. There's going to be a couple more chapters where Jacob is speaking. But we're knowing up front, like, we're going to be dealing with the end of Jacob's life now. And, as I said before, the ages of Abraham and Isaac. He, he died 20 years earlier than Abraham. He died 33 years earlier than Isaac.
So relatively young. and he goes to, he calls Joseph to himself, in order to make a promise to take care of his affairs. And the reason why he's going to Joseph is because in Egypt, Joseph is effectively the new family patriarch. And so, he asks Joseph to put his hand under his thigh, which is a practice that is weird, seems weird to us.
But that was the mode in which they made promises. Promising that when Jacob died, that they would carry him out of Egypt and bury him in Canaan with his fathers. And, Joseph says, I'll do that. I'll do that. Now, we can imagine just the kind of the family connection there, as to why Jacob would want to rest with his fathers.
But, I think, I think it also is just pointing to his hope being in this, the realization of this promise that they would dwell in the land of Canaan. He's not setting down roots in Egypt. And it says that he leans on the top of his staff, which is, I think, translators have had very great difficulty in deciding how to translate what's going on here.
But the point is really the worship. Some have suggested that it's not actually translated. He leaned on the top of the staff. Some said he bowed before his bed because it's been suggested that in ancient, in the ancient times they believed that the gods were looking over their, the tops of their beds.
And so, maybe Jacob had that sort of conception of God looking over him as well. But whatever the case, the point is he is worshipping God. He's worshipping God in light of the promises that have been given to him and this surety that he has in Joseph who has been restored to him. Turning to chapter 48, we're going to begin something that we're not going to complete today.
In which we see Joseph, I mean Jacob rather, begin to offer some blessings in anticipation of his passing to his sons. So in chapter 48, we learn that Joseph, that Jacob has fallen ill. It's really come to the end now. It says sometime later, Joseph was told your father is ill. So he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim along with him.
When Jacob was told your son Joseph has come to you, Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed. Jacob said to Joseph, God Almighty appeared to me at Luz, which is just another name for Bethel, in the land of Canaan. And there he blessed me and said to me, I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers.
I will make you a community of peoples. I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you. Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine. Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. Any children born to you after them will be yours, and the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers.
As I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath, that is Bethlehem. So, Joseph and, I mean Jacob, in calling Joseph to himself, with Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, recalls this promise that he was given by God in Bethel of many descendants, of this inheritance of the promised land.
And he tells Joseph, I'm going to count your sons as my own sons. And this helps explain why you don't hear about the tribe of Joseph. Maybe you've always wondered, maybe I've heard of the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Benjamin, I've never heard of the tribe of Joseph. The reason why you don't hear about the tribe of Joseph is because Ephraim and Manasseh become the figureheads for the tribe of Joseph. You hear the tribe of Ephraim, the tribe of Manasseh.
So, Jacob says, that's what we're going to do here, I'm going to count them as my own sons. And then he goes into this thing talking about how Rachel died on the way into the land. And we wonder, you know, is he just getting emotional here? Why is he talking about Rachel? Kind of reading between the lines, it seems like he might be implying that because Rachel died, and maybe he felt she died too soon, I'm counting, and I, he wasn't able to have any more sons with her, it's for that reason that he's counting Ephraim and Manasseh as his own. So, Joseph brings his sons before Jacob. In verse 8 it says, When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, Who are these? They are the sons God has given me here, Joseph said to his father. Then Israel said, Bring them to me so I may bless them.
Now Israel's eyes were failing because of old age and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them. Israel said to Joseph, I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children, too. Now, it's kind of funny that, you know, Israel, that Jacob asks, you know, who are these?
We kind of suppose that he would have already seen the boys, he'd know who they are. His eyesight is bad, so that might be what's partly factoring in here. But there also, this also could be kind of part of a formality in moving forward in this blessing that he's going to offer to them.
You think about how in a wedding they say, you know, who gives this woman to be this man's wife? That, that sort of thing. We all know, but it's just part of the, kind of the ceremony. And as Joseph brings his sons before his father, he's just absolutely exultant. He gives praise and thanksgiving to God because he's restored Joseph to him and he has been able to see Joseph's sons.
And so he proceeds to offer this blessing upon them, which I think is a wonderful blessing. A blessing I think any grandparent could probably offer for their, for their children, children and grandchildren. It says, Then Joseph removed them from Israel's knees and bowed down with his face to the ground.
And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh on his left toward Israel's right hand, and brought them close to him. But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim's head, though he was the younger and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh's head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.
Then he blessed Joseph and said, May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the angel who has delivered me from all harm, may he bless these boys. May they be called by my name in the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.
And may they increase greatly on the earth. When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim's head, he was displeased. So he took hold of his father's hand to remove it, to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. Joseph said to him, No, my father. This one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.
But his father refused and said, I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he and his descendants will become a group of nations. He blessed them that day and said, In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing.
May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh. So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. Then Israel said to Joseph, I am about to die, but God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers. And to you I give one more ridge of land than to your brothers, the ridge I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow. So once again, in terms of a father giving blessings to his sons or grandsons, we see this reversal of this greater blessing being given to the younger Ephraim over the older Manasseh. We saw this in Jacob's own story, how he, the younger brother, was to receive greater blessing than his older brother, Esau.
Now, it didn't involve all the drama that was entailed with Jacob and Esau's story, where Jacob had deceived his father, making him think he was Esau. Basically swindling Esau of his birthright by having him sell it for a pot of stew. We don't see any of that. God has simply disclosed to Jacob that this is how the blessing should be ordered.
And he does so accordingly. And it's interesting, because we, I mean, we don't know. We know that it was revealed that Jacob was to be favored over Esau. We don't know what Isaac did with that. It didn't seem like he listened, really. He was insistent on sticking with Esau. And so, all that deceit was the fallout from it.
Not so here.
What we see here is kind of thematic in terms of God's way of going about redemption. He doesn't choose the obvious people to bring about his blessings, to bring about salvation. you think about Jesus. Of the tribe of Judah, but born in a small place like Bethlehem, growing up in backwater place like Nazareth, wasn't born in a palace. And we think about ourselves, in terms of those who are counted among the members of Christ's body, Paul in first Corinthians 1 verses 26 through 29 says brothers and sisters think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were influential, not many were of noble birth, but God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise.
God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things that are not to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him. You see, the point is that all the glory belongs to God. And God is content to glorify himself through the weak and foolish things of this world.
Weak and foolish things like ourselves. See, what Jacob understands clearly is that everything that has transpired can only be accredited to God.
In verses 15 and 16 it said, He said, May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the angel who has delivered me from all harm, may he bless these boys. Jacob's saying, it's God who's watched over me. It's God who has been my shepherd every day of my life.
And if these boys are going to have a future, if they're going to be blessed, it's going to come from his hands. Now this is, I mean, this, this blessing is much larger in terms of God's work of redemption and, you know, bringing forth this people of Israel. But kind of like I said when I read those verses, this is the sort of blessing that we should pray for our children as well.
That when we think about success, so often we think, oh, success is really determined by your career. Really making it.
Jacob understands that success and blessing comes from God alone. And so we should pray that sort of blessing over our children. That God would shepherd those we love and deliver them from harm. In verse 20, he said, he blessed them that day and said, In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing. May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.
It's this idea of a, it's God who is bringing all this, God, it's God who's making them.
Now out of this blessing, they're also given an extra inheritance. It seems from the details that what's being referred to here is Shechem. Recall, kind of a nasty episode in which Simeon and Levi, in avenging their sister Dinah, went and killed a bunch of men when they were kind of incapacitated. Just overthrew the city, slaughtered.
They're given this extra inheritance of this city. The standing promise that they have, even as Jacob is about to die, and as they might fear, you know, what does the future look like? It's really captured in verse 21. Where he says, I'm about to die, but God will be with you, and take you back to the land of your fathers. As we've been in Genesis, we just hear this again, and again, and again, that the critical piece is God's presence.
If God is with Israel, they will succeed. If God is not with Israel, nothing is certain. It will fail. God is with them, and so they will go back to the land of your fathers, their fathers. That's what's critical for us as well. Is God's abiding presence in our life. We can count God's blessings now, just as Jacob's family had much to be thankful for at that time.
There's a whole famine going on, but they were being fruitful. They were getting bigger. It was great. But we can also say, like Jacob, as we might observe certain blessings in our life now, that we are looking for something more. Our years are few and difficult. Mercifully, some of us know a bit of the happiness that Jacob knew before he entered his rest.
God pours out his goodness even today. Even so, we are looking to some greater promise. Then, Israel anticipated their inheritance of the promised land of Canaan. Now, we anticipate inheriting all the earth in God's coming kingdom. Remember, remember this, that Jesus tells his disciples, Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
There's a true fulfillment that's going to be realized. A true fulfillment of the promise given to Abraham. A true fulfillment that's going to be realized at Christ's return. When Christ returns and he introduces new heavens and a new earth and God will make his home with us.
We are reassured in the same manner that Jacob reassures Joseph. God will be with Joseph. He will bring him back to Canaan. Christ assures us that he will always be with us saying, surely I'm with you always, to the very end of the age. Jesus tells us in John 14, Do not let your hearts be troubled. Do you believe in God?
Believe also in me. My Father's house has many rooms. If that were not so, would I have told you that I'm going to there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am. We give thanks, not just for what God has done.
We give thanks, not just for what God is doing right now. We give thanks for what God has promised to do. Jesus is coming back. Our shepherd is going to gather us together, so that we may forever know the peace of dwelling with our King and Maker. In this promise, He tells our troubled hearts, peace, be still.
Those who have ears to hear, know there is no greater gift than this peace he freely gives. Thanks be to God. Let's pray. Dear Father, the scriptures that we have read this morning offer testimony to your abiding faithfulness.
How you restored Joseph to Jacob, and how you brought the family back together and how you blessed the family of Israel and Egypt in the midst of hardship. You preserved them, Father, and you gave them a future. And I know they knew your presence was with them. Father, we thank you that that promise of your presence is not just something in the past.
We thank you that you continue to be present with us today, and that your blessings abide today. And that even while we might admit that we do face difficulty and hardship now, Father. We rest assured that something far greater is coming and will be introduced when Christ returns again. Father, we thank you for your present abiding goodness, and for the overwhelming goodness that's going to be revealed the day of his return.
In his name we give you praise and thanksgiving. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series entitled Israel Arises. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
As Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, we see the changes in their hearts as well as the incredible faith shown by Joseph. Even in immensely difficult life circumstances, Joseph looks to God for purpose in his suffering.
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Transcript:
Scripture this morning is taken from Genesis 43, 15 to 18. So the men took the gifts and doubled the amount of silver and Benjamin also. They hurried down to Egypt and presented themselves to Joseph. When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare a meal that they are to eat with me at noon.
The men did as Joseph told him and took the men in Joseph's, to Joseph's house. Then the men were frightened when they were taken to his house. They thought we were brought here because, because of the silver that was put back into our sacks the first time. He wants to attack us and overpower us and seize us as slaves and take our donkeys.
Some healing. requires cutting. It is a reality that defies our intuitions. Everything in our natures would shrink away from any blade that would cut our flesh. But as any of you know, who have suffered some cancer, some illness of your heart, some deterioration of your body, It is sometimes necessary for our bodies to be cut open for us to be made well.
We experience both fear and pain in the process. But correctly done, we are ultimately made well through gifted surgeons. Life, personally, historically, universally, life is like surgery. Life is like surgery as long as there's a kind hand behind the blade. If there is no God, then life's suffering has no rhyme or reason.
Unlike surgery, this suffering could not be working to any good end. If there is no God, there is only pain without purpose. I want to say that again because it's so important for you to remember that as we face pain and we deal with doubts. If there is no God, there is only pain without purpose.
Random, chaotic, brutish. But God does exist. His purposes for us are good, and his hand is sure. And so life is like surgery, painful, yes, but under God's hand working towards the healing and redemption of those who will belong to him. Joseph's story is marked by pain. He has been betrayed, falsely accused.
The blade is cut deep, but now the healing has begun. He has been made second in command of Egypt, enjoying great splendor. He is serving in a great mission, administrating supplies of food in a time of starvation. He has a wife and two sons. And now, when he least expected it, the brothers who sold him into slavery have come back into his life, unbeknownst to them.
They've come bowing before him, as God foretold Joseph in a dream many years earlier. He has now waited two years for what would come next. Two years wondering if they would return to reclaim their brother, Simeon, whom he imprisoned in order to test them. Waiting two years to see if they would bring with them his brother Benjamin.
Now the moment has arrived that every tragedy and triumph has been building towards. Their reunion in the next chapter for the family of Israel. So we continue in Genesis 43. And as Ernie read in verses 15 through 18, the brothers appear once again before Joseph. And when they appear before him, they brought gifts.
They brought gifts in order to smooth things over. To make sure everything was alright, because they had received their silver back in their sacks, and they were worried that this was some accident, but an accident for which they would be blamed. They brought gifts because they were afraid, and didn't want anything to befall their beloved brother Benjamin, their father's beloved son, Benjamin.
Joseph, when he sees them, invites them over to his house. He's going to host a dinner for them. A meal, at noon. And, as soon as this invitation is given, and they're being led to his house, they're totally suspicious. They think this guy's got designs on us. He's going to make us into slaves. He's trying to steal our donkeys.
Which is kind of funny. I mean, when you're second in command of Egypt, you have better things to do than to steal some guy's donkeys, you'd think. But, they're just on edge. They're paranoid. This guy's up to no good. And so, just to make sure that, you know, everything's all right between they and him, they go up to Joseph's steward.
Verse 19, it says, So they went up to Joseph's steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. We beg your pardon, our lord, they said. We came down here the first time to buy food. At the place where we stopped for the night, we opened our sacks, and each of us found his silver, the exact weight in the mouth of his sack.
So we have brought it back with us. We have also brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don't know who put our silver in our sacks. So they were like, listen, we don't know if you're trying to do something with us because of what happened, but it was totally a mistake, we brought all the silver here, we're all good, right?
It's just so funny the way that the steward, how the steward replies, putting them at complete ease. Verse 23, it says, It's all right, he said, don't be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks. I received your silver.
Then he brought Simeon out to them. The steward took the men to Joseph's house, gave them water to wash their feet, and provided fodder for their donkeys. They prepared their gifts for Joseph's arrival at noon, because they had heard that they were to eat there. It's so interesting to see how the steward reinterprets their circumstances, because if you'll remember last week, the brothers were really down about everything that was happening.
They were like, we're under a curse because of how we betrayed our brother Joseph. Jacob is feeling cursed because he believes his son is dead and his other son Simeon's imprisoned. Here, from the mouth of the steward, we hear some correction. You're not cursed. You're blessed. Now obviously, the silver didn't just appear in their sacks, it was because Joseph had it put back there.
But we see how the page is turning here, where they have to understand what God is doing, the grace that he is showing towards them. So, they're in Joseph's home, waiting for him, and he appears. Verse 26, it says, When Joseph came home, they presented to him the gifts they had brought into the house and they bowed down before him to the ground.
He asked them how they were and then he said, How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living? They replied, Your servant, our father, is still alive and well. And they bowed down, prostrating themselves before him. Verse 29 says, As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother's son, he asked, Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?
And he said, God be gracious to you, my son. Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there. After he had washed his face, he came out and controlled himself, controlling himself, saying, Serve the food.
As Joseph is in his home with his brothers, we see how his love towards them continues to bubble up to the surface. He inquires about how his father's doing. And then he sees his, his younger brother Benjamin. And the reason why he asks whether this is his brother Benjamin, is because, while he suspects he is, it's been a very long time since he saw him.
Remember when Joseph was betrayed and sold into slavery. He was 17 years old. Benjamin is younger than him. Benjamin was just a kid. At this point in the story we can estimate that Benjamin was probably around 30, maybe in his 30s thereabouts. He's a man now. And Joseph has just moved to tears. This guy's like an emotional wreck.
He's having to run out of the room just to cry it out, so he doesn't give it away. He has, he has some more things he needs to do before he discloses his identity.
The next thing he does really gets the wheels turning in his brother's head. Verse 32. It says, They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, for that is detestable to the Egyptians. The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn to the youngest, and they looked at each other in astonishment.
When portions were served to them from Joseph's table, Benjamin's portion was five times as much as anyone else's, so they feasted and drank freely with him. So the brothers are wondering, what in the world? Because, it's like, how did he know to put us seated in our birth order? It's really freaking them out.
And then, Joseph gives five times as much food to Benjamin. And you wonder, could the guy even eat all that food? In any case, he gets a lot more food than the rest of them. And you might wonder, you know, why is Joseph doing this? Well, he does love Benjamin. We just saw that. He was moved to tears seeing him again.
But we might also think that Joseph is doing a little bit of a test here. Remember, his brothers were very jealous of Joseph because of the favor that he received from his father. So jealous that they were willing to kill him, and eventually settled on just, just selling him into slavery. So now he's, we can imagine that he's probably testing his brothers here.
How are they going to respond to all the favor that I'm showing to Benjamin? Are they going to get jealous? After eating with his brothers, Joseph proceeds to the next step in his testing of them. Which is really going to bring all these things together. Continuing on in chapter 44, verse 1. Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house.
Fill the men's sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man's silver in the mouth of his sack. Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one's sack, along with the silver for his grain. And he did as Joseph said. As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys.
They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, Go after those men at once. And when you catch up with them, say to them, why have you repaid good with evil? Isn't this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.
So Joseph has already previously put silver in their sacks and you kinda wonder why the brothers might not have inspected their sacks again to see if there was silver in them again. But they don't. But, beyond just returning the silver to their sacks, he now introduces his silver cup, putting it in Benjamin's bag.
Basically setting up a worst case scenario where this youngest brother, the beloved son of Jacob, is going to be held most culpable for this high crime of stealing the second command's cup. Now it's interesting here because it says that this was a cup used for divination. And you think about that and it's like, well, that doesn't exactly sound very Christian using a cup for divination.
Well, there's a lot of questions here. There's a question of whether Joseph was just using this as a device that would have been commonly understood as a cup of divination because that was a practice at that time. What they would do is they'd take a cup like that and they might put some oil into the water or look at the ripples and try to divine some signs from that as to what the future held.
Perhaps Joseph engaged in things like that. We have to understand that, especially early on in the Biblical story, we find Biblical characters engaged in activities that aren't necessarily condoned by God later on. Right now, there is no prescription against this. But we've talked about previously how we see polygamy in the Old Testament, and how that's not God's ideal either.
So it may be that Joseph is using this cup, but it may be also that he's just using it as a device. And in an unorthodox sort of way, he is using it as a cup of divination. He's using it to test his brothers. He's using it to find out something about them. So continuing on in verse 6, the steward catches up with the brothers and it says he repeats these words to them.
But they said to him, Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that. We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found inside the mouths of our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master's house? If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die, and the rest of us will become my lord's slaves.
Very well then, he said, let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have it will become my slave. The rest of you will be free from blame. Notice how the brothers just find a way to kind of make things worse for themselves. They propose slavery and death if they're found guilty of what they're being accused of.
Death for the one that is found with the cup and slavery for the rest of them just for being found with this silver. What's interesting is that the steward doesn't agree to the death sentence. He just says, no, we'll just enslave the one who was found with the cup. It's almost like he is kind of winking at what is to happen in the story of Joseph.
How Joseph was enslaved. And now Benjamin, because we know what's going on here, Benjamin is the one with the cup, he's being put in a position where he too will be made a slave, since he is, he will be found with this cup. Well, continuing on in verse 11, it says, Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. At this they tore their clothes, and they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.
Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him.
The brothers are obviously overcome with grief, as seen by the fact that they, they tear their clothes. Classic ancient sign of grief and woe, because literally the worst case scenario is the one thing that their father told them is make sure you bring Benjamin back. And now Benjamin's been found with the cup.
And so now they are simply at the mercy of Joseph. You find Joseph's response, continuing in verse 15. Joseph said to them, What is this you have done? Don't you know that a man like me can find things out by divination? What can we say to my lord? Judah replied. What can we say? How can we prove our innocence?
God has uncovered your servant's guilt. We are now my lord's slaves. We ourselves, and the one who is found to have the cup. But Joseph said, Far be it from me to do such a thing. Only the man who is found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace. Now, it's interesting that Joseph says here, Don't you know that I could find things out by divination?
Perhaps he was giving them some indication of of leading them along those sorts of lines by the fact that he ordered them that birth order because they would have figured how else could this guy know this by other than having some deep insight like that. What's also interesting is that the brothers don't try to mount any sort of defense.
They didn't, they didn't steal anything. The stuff just appeared in their sacks. But they have no hope of being able to offer an adequate defense. They're just trying to make the best of the situation. And the best they can do in this situation is just to say, We'll all be your slaves. Remember they had said the one who was found with the cup would be put to death.
They silently pulled that off the table. Okay, how about we just all agree that we'll just all be your slaves. No more of this, you know, capital punishment business. Well, Joseph doesn't insist on any executions either, but he says, Far be it from me to do such a thing. Only the man who is found to have the cup will become my slave.
He's like, I'm a man of justice. I'm not going to make the rest of you be my slaves. It's interesting how the real issue here is just the cup, not the silver, but that seems to be the case. It's just the cup. Only the one who's taken the cup will be my slave. The rest of you can go back. Now notice how he has perfectly set everything up to test them.
He's shown great favor to Benjamin, giving him all these, you know, extra portions of food at the meal. He's now set up this situation in which the rest of them can go home. Benjamin's been found with a cup. All they have to do is just sell him down the river, leave him behind in Egypt, and go back to their father Joseph. Or Jacob, father Jacob. So how will they respond? Well, picking up in verse 18, we see how the response is far different than the treatment that Joseph received at their hand. I'm going to summarize the next series of verses. Judah steps up as the spokesman. There's been a transition that we've noticed over the past few chapters where before Reuben as the firstborn, the literal firstborn was the one who is always stepping up to the front to speak.
Now, Judah is the one who is really stepping up as the leader amongst the brothers, which is anticipating the role that the tribe of Judah is going to have in generations to come with King David and of course, Christ. Judah comes before Joseph and acknowledges Joseph's authority in the situation and basically just relates to him everything that's going on in their family situation.
Things that they've already told Joseph about how, you know, remember, remember how you asked us if we had a brother and how our father is old and how his, the youngest brother's brother, older brother, is dead. And continuing on in verses 21 through 26, they relate to him the whole situation about how Joseph demanded that they would bring this brother back to Joseph, back to Egypt.
And the conflict that that set up with their father Jacob, because he wasn't interested in that, in them bringing him back to Egypt because he was afraid that he would die.
We see that especially in verses 27 through 29. It says there, Your servant, my father, said to us, You know that my wife bore me two sons. One of them went away from me, and I said, He has surely been torn to pieces, and I've not seen him since. If you take this one from me too, and harm comes to him, you will bring my head down to the grave in misery.
So that's really setting up the whole situation there. It's just, in short, you told us that we need to bring our youngest brother back. Father didn't want us to do that. But we're, we're in this situation where we need food. We've, we've brought him back. But if we don't return home with him, our father is going to die, basically.
Verse 30 says, So now, if the boy is not with us, when I go back to your servant, my father, and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy's life, sees that the boy isn't there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow. Your servant guaranteed the boy's safety to my father.
I said, if I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life. Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord's slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No, do not let me see the misery that would come on my father.
We see here in Judah a case of radical transformation. If you go back to Genesis 37, when the brothers are trying to decide what they're going to do with Joseph, they've thrown him in a pit, they figure they'll just let him die. Judah in verse 25 of Genesis 37 says, how about we make a buck off him? How about we sell him into slavery?
Avoid some bloodshed, but it's just a very callous sort of calculation regarding Joseph. Now, these many years later, Judah is stepping up to the front and saying, don't let, don't have Benjamin be your slave. I'll be your slave. Let him return back to our father.
What we have here, really, is kind of a foreshadowing of Christ, of how he stepped up, he stepped in our place to receive the punishment that we deserved. He paid the price that we needed to offer unto God, a life of perfect obedience even unto death on a cross. In Isaiah 53, verses 4 through 5, it says, Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was on him. And by his wounds, we are healed. Christ died our deserved death. He offered the obedience due to God in order that he might offer a new way for us to come to God through himself.
We have this anticipation in Judah and how he responds in this moment. When Joseph sees that Judah has been radically transformed from the man he used to be, his emotions just break loose. In chapter 45, verse 1, it says, Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, Have everyone leave my presence.
So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh's household heard about it. Joseph said to his brothers, I am Joseph. Is my father still living? But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.
Then Joseph said to his brothers, Come close to me. When they had done so, he said, I am your brother, Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt. And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.
It's interesting what Joseph first says to his brothers when he reveals himself, he says, I'm your brother Joseph. Boom. Just laying that out there. And then he asks, is my father still living? Seems a little bit of a curious question since it seems clear from everything that the brothers have been telling him that yes, his father is still alive.
Commentators kind of suggest that what Joseph's really driving at here is he's asking, really, you know, really, how is dad doing? That kind of question. Now, as you would imagine, as all of us would feel in their shoes, the brothers are shocked, and they're terrified. They're shocked because this guy looks nothing like our 17 year old brother that we sold into slavery.
They're terrified because this guy could just kill us all. And they're probably thinking, what would I do if I was in his shoes?
Joseph realizes this. He perceives their, their fear. And so he offers reassurance. He says, don't be distressed. Don't be angry at yourselves. Can you imagine, you've already kind of got this sense of how they've been angry at themselves because of everything that's been happening. They're like, we're cursed.
We brought this on ourselves. All the trouble we've been experiencing with this back and forth with Egypt. He says, don't be angry at yourself because God has been at work here. God has had his purpose in all this trouble, all this sinfulness even. His purpose was this, is that it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.
It's to save lives.
Now the depths of that purpose are almost without measure. It was obviously to save the lives of his family. They needed food. But it's also for the sake of the Egyptians, and for the sake of all the surrounding peoples. And brings back to mind what God promised Abraham in Genesis 12, that the world would be blessed through him.
This is God's common grace being shown to humanity. And maybe we can even read so far out as to say that, yes, Joseph was a part of this story leading to Christ, that through him, as one of these stepping stones, that salvation will be brought to the world. Because if you don't have Joseph, and you don't have all this lead up that will bring Israel into Egypt and Israel out of Egypt, we don't have everything that leads to Jesus Christ.
All that hangs together. In verse 6,
joseph relates all the specific details of how specifically he's been used to save the lives of people. Verse 6, it says, For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
So then it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household, and ruler of all Egypt. Now hurry back to my father and say to him, This is what your son Joseph says. God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me. Don't delay. Continuing on in verse 10, it says, You shall live in the region of Goshen, and be near me, you, your children, and your grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have.
I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise, you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute. You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you. Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen.
And bring my father down here quickly.
So he invites them to move in. To enjoy all the blessings that God has given them, given him.
It's a picture of reconciliation. It'd be one thing if he just showed them mercy and said, I won't kill you, now go away. I don't want to have anything to do with you guys. You're the worst. You sold me into slavery. He doesn't do that. You see here a picture of complete forgiveness. Now, come. All of you.
Your whole families, even your grandkids. Bring dad back. Things are going to get tough, but we're going to hold it together here in Egypt.
We see just his emotions in verse 14 it says, Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept. And Benjamin embraced him weeping. And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterwards his brothers talked with him. When the news reached Pharaoh's palace that Joseph's brothers had come, Pharaoh and all his officials were pleased.
Pharaoh said to Joseph, tell your brothers, do this, load your animals and return to the land of Canaan, and bring your father and your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you can enjoy the fat of the land. You are also directed to tell them, do this, take some carts from Egypt for your children and your wives, and get your father and come.
Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours. Once again, we see God's blessings just on the family of Abraham that Pharaoh is just saying, move on in. Don't even worry about bringing your stuff. I mean, that's the worst thing with a move. When you're moving a new house, it's like you got to pack all the stuff into the U Haul.
You're just like, I'd just love to just jump in the car and just walk into the new house and it's all set. That's what Pharaoh is saying to them. Don't worry about having to move all this stuff. Just come over here. We're going to give you everything that you need. So in verse 21 it says, The sons of Israel did this.
Joseph gave them carts, as Pharaoh had commanded, and he also gave them provisions for their journey. To each of them he gave new clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of clothes. And this is what he sent to his father, ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other provisions for his journey.
Then he sent his brothers away, and as they were leaving, he said to them, Don't quarrel on the way. So, Joseph just continues to bless his brothers. Gives them new clothing. Gives Benjamin a set of five clothes. Now, sometimes I think it's difficult for us to appreciate the luxury of clothes. Because we have so many sets of clothes in our homes.
Clothing was not something easily produced. So the fact that he gave each of them a new set. Maybe you think of it as a nice suit. And he gave Benjamin five sets of clothing. He's just like, wow. And he sends all these gifts to his father, which I think is going to act as proof, like, yeah, this is legit. He actually is second in command of Egypt.
It's interesting, he says, don't quarrel on the way. Now maybe he thinks, I know you guys, you like to argue, you get bickering with each other. It may be though that he's concerned that along the way they're going to start having some misgivings, like this can't be real, right? Like he's inviting us, he's going to, he's going to invite us to come to Egypt with all our families and he's just going to slaughter all of us.
He's really going to punish us, you know, this is a trap. He's trying to really put them at ease and say, don't quarrel, don't worry. Make your way back here. Enjoy the blessings. So when they get back, to Canaan, you find Jacob's response to all this. It says in verse 25, So they went up out of Egypt, and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan.
They told him, Joseph is still alive. In fact, he's ruler of all Egypt. Jacob was stunned. He did not believe them. But when they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. And Israel said, I am convinced my son Joseph is still alive.
I will go and see him before I die. Jacob's fear, his abiding grief, collapses under the weight of this incredible joy. His son is alive. Jacob's spirit is revived. He's a new man. This sudden turn of fortune, this good kind of catastrophe, is the sort that awaits all of God's people. Our suffering will give way to joy.
But this is not because our suffering itself heals or restores. The power is not in our experience of pain. All the world's pain could never save it. It is only by the hand of God that good can be brought out of suffering. God has already acted decisively. In this regard, through the Son of God, Jesus Christ, by his wounds we are healed once and for all.
We do not suffice, but Jesus is all sufficient. The writer of Hebrews makes this distinction in Hebrews 7, verses 23 through 27. Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office. But because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
Such a high priest truly meets our need. One who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.
This is the gospel. It has been decided in Jesus Christ. Go to Jesus. In Him, your sins are no longer held against you. There is no condemnation in Him. Go to Jesus. Receive your salvation. He is the relief to your famine. We don't need to bring anything with us. We are told to leave it all behind. Because Jesus will give us all things when he comes to this earth again.
Today's trouble pales in comparison to the joy he has set before us. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweihs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is temporary, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Do not delay. Go to Jesus. Go to Jesus. He will wipe away every tear and invite us into his blessings. Let's pray.
Dear Father,
we see your goodness towards us in Joseph's story.
Father, we are connected to that story through Jesus Christ. And we also see ourselves in that story. Because Father, like Joseph's brothers, we have fallen far short of what you've desired for us. We've betrayed you in multitude ways. And yet, Father, you have worked, even through our wrongdoing, to make a way so that we would be saved.
So that we would be reconciled to you, so that salvation might be offered to the world, and you have done this father in Jesus Christ, your son.
Lead us to him, father, lead us to put our faith and trust in him. To set aside our distress, to no longer be angry with ourselves, father, for the messes we've made. But to receive him, and the gifts of grace and blessing that you wish to give to us in him. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series entitled Israel Arises. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
When trouble arises in Jacobs life, he is led to despair. As humans, we often find ourselves in similar situations, but God promises that though we face trouble, he has already overcome.
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Transcript:
Good morning. So Pharaoh said to Joseph, I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph's finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as his second in command, and people shouted before him, Make way!
Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, but without your word, no one will lift a hand or foot in all of Egypt.
Sometimes things just go your way. I had a moment like that on Monday. I arrived early at James's school for pick up, and so I figured I'd just go down the street and wait at a park and do some studying until I needed to go get him. After a bit of time, things got interesting. I heard sounds of yelling in the distance, and I just kind of figured it was someone out in their yard, you know, enjoying some horseplay or something.
I thought that until a police officer showed up and dashed into the woods with a man I presume called the police. I had a few minutes before I needed to leave and so I figured I'd just wait. I was a bit curious about what was going on. Before I knew it, another policeman pulled up and, and parked right behind my car.
And other police officers besides showed up on the scene. It suddenly dawned on me that I wasn't going to be pulling out to pick up James anytime soon. I figured I should begin walking the mile to pick him up. So I got out of my car, approached the street. But as soon as I stepped up onto the sidewalk, I heard a friendly holler across the street.
My grandma just so happened to be at the intersection and was offering me a ride. So I was very elated, you know, praising God, because he provides when we least expect it. But sometimes things don't seem to go our way. Last Christmas was very hard on me. I was sick with some sort of cold. You all will probably remember that.
That's why you gave me cough drops. I was sick with this terrible cold, and then my grandfather passed away. I was an emotional wreck, but I was also a physical wreck. I was getting sicker and sicker, as sick as I'd ever been. And I was later diagnosed with some form of bronchitis and had to get antibiotics and an inhaler.
It was a difficult season. It felt like nothing was going my way. It can feel like God is absent in those times. The words of Psalm 22, the words of Christ come to our lips. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me. Has he? Has he forsaken us in those times? Or is it that our eyes cannot see what he sees? As we continue Joseph's story this morning, I want you to put yourself, not in Joseph's shoes, but in the shoes of his father and brothers.
In your imagination, limit yourself to what they see, to what they know at this moment in the story. But before we get to them, we orient ourselves by getting a fuller picture of Joseph's new status as second in command of Egypt. And we're picking up in Genesis 41, verse 41. Nick read those verses for us.
And in these verses, we learn how Joseph has been raised to this position of great authority, second in command of Egypt. And he has all the symbols of authority given to him. He is given Pharaoh's signet ring, so that basically Joseph can sign off. They would make a mark with this ring. He can sign off on whatever needs to be done, and he has the authority of Pharaoh standing behind him.
He is dressed in new clothing, robes of fine linen. He has a gold chain put around his neck, signifying that he is a very important person. He's given a chariot. Not everyone had chariots back in that day. A chariot was basically a limo, the limo of its time. And so, Joseph is now riding in style, and there's men, servants, going before him saying, make way.
He was basically given secret service officers.
Altogether, he is given such authority that Pharaoh says, without your word, no one will lift hand or foot in all of Egypt. Now, in addition to these symbols of authority that Joseph is given, being raised to this position, which is just astounding, from being a slave, being a prisoner, and now he's in second command.
He also receives a new name. And begins a new life. Continuing on in verse 45. It says, Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. And gave him Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt. Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
And Joseph went out from Pharaoh's presence and traveled throughout Egypt. Now, this name that Joseph is given, commentators are not exactly sure what it means. One suggestion is that the name means, the one who knows. Which would make sense since he, he is known for his ability to interpret dreams.
He's known for his wisdom. In any case, he's beginning a new life. And, he gets himself a wife. Who is the daughter of Potiphera, who is a priest of On, so he marries into a very important priestly caste within Egypt. He's married into a very influential family. And, he's still pretty much a young man.
He's 30 years old. But think about everything that he's experienced. Remember, he was sold off into slavery at the age of 17. Imagine all the things that he experienced over those 13 years. Being a slave. Being in prison. And now he's been raised to this position. And so, now that he's got this start in life, he begins to get to work.
Continuing on in verse 47. It says, During the seven years of abundance, the land produced plentifully. Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities. In each city he put the food grown in the fields surrounding it. Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain like the sand of the sea.
It was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure. So, if, you'll recall, the reason why Joseph has been put into this position, the reason why he is collecting this grain is because he interpreted Pharaoh's dream in which Pharaoh was warned by God that there would be seven years of great abundance, followed by seven years of famine.
So during the seven years of abundance, there's this need to store up food so that Egypt would have enough for when those years of famine came. And so that's what Joseph is doing. He has a plan. He goes to each city and from the surrounding areas, they collect the food from the surrounding area into that city.
And it was so much that grain was like sand in Egypt. So, the land of Egypt is experiencing fruit, agricultural fruitfulness. But Joseph is also enjoying fruitfulness in other ways in his life. Continuing on in verse 50, it says, Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.
Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, It is because God has made me forget all my trouble in all my father's household. The second son he named Ephraim and said, It is because God has made me fruitful.
It's so interesting, we kind of get a little bit of insight here into, kind of, Joseph's emotions, given everything that has transpired. You'll recall that when he was in prison and he was requesting that the cupbearer would plead his case with Pharaoh, he was telling him about how much injustice he suffered in his life.
And now that he's in this much different place where now he has a family, he's being blessed with children, he's just so grateful. He's giving praise to God. And he's not even anticipating, at this point, any possibility of being reconciled to his family. You know, he says, in naming his son Manasseh, he says, Because God's made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household.
He's like, good enough, I'm glad to just forget them. They sold me into slavery. He's just grateful for how far God has brought him thus far. But there is going to be more to come here. Now, following the seven years of abundance, seven years of famine likewise arrive. Continuing on in verse 53. It says, The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end.
And the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food. When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, go to Joseph and do what he tells you.
When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt. And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere. So this famine that the people are suffering under is very significant.
It's not only striking Egypt. It's striking all the surrounding lands. And we can only imagine how many people would have died had not Pharaoh been warned to save up food during those seven years of abundance. Now the manner in which Joseph went about collecting that food is they basically put a 20 percent tax on all the produce.
They gathered in 20 percent of the produce into these storehouses. And then out of that abundance, they actually sold it back to the people. So, Joseph has been a very great blessing to Pharaoh in everything that's transpired here, because Pharaoh is becoming wealthy, and in fact, as they bring in other people from other countries seeking food, Egypt is getting wealthy as they're able to be basically a breadbasket for the area in this great time of need.
Now, it's at this point, in the midst of this famine, Joseph's father and Joseph's brothers are brought back into the story. So again, I want you to put yourselves in their shoes as things unfold. Continuing on in chapter 42, verse 1. It says, When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, Why do you just keep looking at each other?
He continued, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us so that we may live and not die. Then ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with the others because he was afraid that harm might come to him.
So Israel's sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also. So, Canaan is among these lands in which the famine is bad. The favorite, my favorite comment here is just, Jacob speaking to his sons saying, Why do you keep just looking at each other? He's kind of, he's like, Get doing something.
And so he sends his, his ten sons, but no Benjamin because, remember Joseph and Benjamin were born to Rachel. And Rachel was, Joseph's favorite wife. And, Joseph was his favorite son, and he already lost Joseph. And now he is fearful of losing Benjamin in some way. And so he says, the ten of you can handle this, I'm just gonna send you.
And, as they go to Egypt, they encounter their long lost brother, Joseph. Continuing on in verse six. It says, Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph's brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them.
Where do you come from? he asked. From the land of Canaan, they replied, to buy food. Now, just kind of take a pause here. Just It's, notice how everything is coming together here. It's, it's so crazy that they are encountering Joseph in these circumstances. And it's so crazy that they don't even notice any sort of striking resemblance in this man to their brother.
For the, you know, first point, it's been 13 years. He probably looks a little bit different. But he certainly looks different, given that he's in all this royal garb, he's in this position of authority. They assumed, at best, he was still a slave. At worst, he was dead. So, but Joseph recognizes them. He knows exactly who they are.
And he takes notice of the situation here and just how profoundly it fulfills what God had revealed to him. Continuing on in verse eight says, although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, you are spies. You've come to see where our land is unprotected.
No, my lord, they answered. Your servants have come to buy food. We are all sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies. No, he said to them, you have come to see where our land is unprotected. But they replied, your servants were twelve brothers, the son of one man who lives in the land of Canaan.
The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.
So Joseph recognizes his brothers, and he recognizes the situation in which they are bowing down before him, is fulfilling the dream that he had, where he dreamed that before his sheaf of wheat, all his brother's sheaves of wheat would bow down. He's like, wow, this is getting crazy. He was grateful for this, being raised up to this position of authority, but now, to see all this coming together, one can only imagine everything that's going through his mind.
Rather than just coming right out and saying, hey, I'm your brother, though, he does this interesting move of accusing his brothers of being spies. Now you might wonder, why is he doing this? Well, kind of reading between the lines here, it seems as though he's trying to set up a test. He's trying to discern the sorts of men that his brothers are now 13 years later.
So, continuing on in verse 14. He continues to insist, saying, It is just as I told you, you are spies. And this is how you will be tested. As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of your number to get your brother. The rest of you will be kept in prison so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth.
If you are not, then surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies. So, the test that Joseph is setting up here, is he wants to confirm that his younger brother is still alive. And besides just confirming that he's alive, he probably also just genuinely wants to see his brother Benjamin. And, he's interested to see how his brothers are going to respond under duress.
He initially says that, you know, the rest of you, most of you can stay in prison. Nine of you can stay in prison here and send one back to fetch this other brother. And, continuing on in verse 17, it says that he kept all of them in custody for three days. On the third day, Joseph said to them, Do this and you will live, for I fear God.
Now, if you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified, and that you may not die. This they proceeded to do. So the brothers agree on this arrangement that one of them is going to stay behind in prison, the rest of them are going to go back, in theory, to bring back Benjamin.
Now, we can kind of see the test that Joseph is putting them to here, in that, they're going to leave one brother behind, and so there's this question of, are they going to just let him rot away in prison, or are they going to come back to get him? It's an interesting dilemma that they're kind of placed in, and they begin to feel the weight of that dilemma, because they know that their father does not want Benjamin to go to Egypt, and so in verse 21, they say to one another, surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen. That's why this distress has come on us. Reuben replied, didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn't listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.
They did not realize that Joseph could understand them since he was using an interpreter. He turned away from them and began to weep, but then came back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes. So the brothers interpretation of all this misfortune that they're experiencing is that God is cursing us because of our sinfulness.
God is cursing us because of the way in which we betrayed our brother, selling him into slavery. Now, as Joseph hears them, it's so interesting that he went to such lengths to kind of cover his identity that he used an interpreter, even when he didn't need to use an interpreter. When Joseph hears what they're saying, it moves his heart.
And he began, it moves his heart to hear their regret. And so he begins weeping. But he hides his tears, so they're not like, why is this guy crying? He doesn't want to give it away at this, at this point. So they do have one of their brothers remain behind, and that brother is Simeon. And so, with Simeon imprisoned, the rest of them make their way back, bringing grain that is given to them, and, as they've purchased it.
Now in verse 25, we see how that transaction goes down. It says, Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to put each man's silver back in his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. After this was done for them, they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left. At the place where they stopped for the night, one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack.
My silver has been returned, he said to his brothers. Here it is in my sack. Their hearts sank, and they turned to each other trembling and said, What is this that God has done to us? So, their line here is that, again, Joseph wasn't giving them grain out of charity. They purchased this grain with their own silver, but Joseph put their silver back in the sack.
And one of them discovers it and is like, Again, kind of, oh man, we're under a curse here. What is God, what is God doing to us? Now we kind of wonder, what is Joseph doing here? Again, I think he's, he's putting them to a test. He's putting them to a test to see, are they honest? Are they going to bring this silver back, or are they just going to keep it to themselves?
Continuing on in verse 29, it says when they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said, the man who is lord over the land spoke harshly to us and treated us as though we were spying on the land. But we said to him, we are honest men.
We are not spies. We are twelve brothers, sons of one, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan. And then, in verses 33 through 35, Um, they continue to summarize more of what transpired. But in verse 35, they come to discover that all of them have silver in their sacks of grain.
And when they, it says, when they and their father saw the money pouches, they were all frightened. And this leads Jacob to his own response of despair at everything that's transpired. In verse 36 it says, their father Jacob said to them, you have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me. Then Reuben said to his father, you may put both my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back. But Jacob said, My son will not go down there with you. His brother is dead, and he is the only one left.
If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow.
Jacob has suffered some real loss in the life of his family. Thirteen years prior, he had lost Joseph, and he assumed that he was dead because the brothers made it look like Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. Now, his other son, Simeon, is imprisoned in Egypt. And it seems Jacob figures he's as good as dead.
And this leads him to exclaim, in verse 36, Everything is against me. Everything is against me. A very human moment, I think a lot of us can relate to, where you just, misfortune stacks upon itself, and eventually we just are put in this place of just saying, Everything feels like it's against me. And yet, we know, we understand that what Jacob cannot see is that God is bringing all things together so that his family might be restored to him.
Now, So, Reuben is really desiring to get back, to get Simeon back, and he's willing to even offer his own sons, the life of his own sons, in the case that he wouldn't bring Benjamin back alive. But, now, you wouldn't think Jacob would want to lose his grandsons, either. But whatever the case, you know, this is at least Reuben indicating how serious he is in his commitment that I'm gonna bring Benjamin back just as I would seek out, you know, the safety of the lives of my own sons.
It's not enough for Jacob. He's like, I can't take any more grief. If I lose anything else, if I lose anyone else, I'm just gonna go down to the grave as a, as a sorry man. So he, he says no. He rebuffs. He says we're not going to do this. Nonetheless, Jacob's fears could not stop the reality of famine. And so in chapter 43, verse one, it says, now the famine was still severe in the land. So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, go back and buy us a little more food. But Judah said to him, the man warned us solemnly, you'll not see my face again unless your brother is with you. If you'll send our brother along with us, we'll go down and buy food for you.
But if you'll not send him, we will not go down because the man said to us, you'll not see my face again unless your brother is with you. It's just interesting to see here, how Judah really steps up to the front here, kind of in a, as a spokesman. And this is anticipating the role that Judah, the tribe of Judah, is going to play in the life of Israel, as the tribe from which the kings of Israel would come.
This promised line of David. Jacob really wants him to go back to Egypt to get food. But Judah says, hey, the deal is we have to bring Benjamin. There's no getting food unless we bring him with us. So in verse 6, it says Israel, now remember Israel is just an alternative name for Jacob. It's the name that Jacob received from God, means struggling with God.
He says, again, just a very human moment, why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had another brother? And they replied, The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. Is your father still living, he asked us. Do you have another brother? We simply answered his questions.
How were we to know he would say, Bring your brother down here. You can kind of empathize with the brothers here. It's like, this is a super random request this guy made of us that we would bring our younger brother. You can't be mad at us that we told him about our family when he was accusing us of being spies.
They couldn't have anticipated this was going to happen. So then Judah again, steps to the front. Verse eight says, then, then Judah said to Israel, his father, send the boy along with me and we'll go at once so that we and you and our children may live and not die. I myself will guarantee his safety. You can hold me personally responsible for him if I do not bring him back to you and set him before you.
I'll bear the blame before you all my life. As it is, we had, if we had not delayed, we could have gone and returned twice. So, Judah steps up as a leader and says, I'm going to take on responsibility. I will bear the blame if Benjamin is not brought back. So between Judah's leadership and also I think the reality of the situation, the need of food, and also the fact that with Judah taking on responsibility, maybe that meant something more.
Because Reuben was the firstborn, but Reuben had already betrayed Jacob by cheating with one of Jacob's wives. And also the fact that he was kind of in charge, and on his watch, Joseph got killed. So between Judah kind of stepping to the fore as this new leader in the situation, Jacob concedes. Verse 11 says, then their father Israel said to them, if it must be, then do this.
Put some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift, a little balm and a little honey. Some spices and myrrh, some, some pistachio nuts and almonds. Take double the amount of silver with you, for you must return the silver that was put back into the mouth of your sacks.
Perhaps it was a mistake. Take your brother also and go back to the man at once, and may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I'm bereaved, I am bereaved. So Jacob says, Listen, we gotta make sure that this guy's gonna be happy when you show up.
Take gifts, bring enough silver so that you can return the silver that he gave you. That was, or that seemed, by some mistake, ended up in your sacks, enough to buy more grain. And then, he basically just is throwing himself, his family, upon God's mercy. So that, this man in Egypt, this man in second command, would allow Simeon and Benjamin to come back.
And he's kind of just resigned himself to whatever will happen. He's just like, if I'm gonna be bereaved, I'm gonna be bereaved.
Standing in the shoes of Jacob and his sons, not knowing what Joseph knows and what we know, we can imagine that we too might feel like everything is going against us. We can imagine reflecting on our past sins, wondering if God is now cursing us for what we did wrong in our lives. As we look at the story, we know that while everything seems to be going against them, God is actually working out everything for the blessings of Jacob and his family.
Joseph trusted God in his hardships, but his family is struggling with the difficulties they are facing. The reality for both is that God has not abandoned them.
We also will sometimes feel forsaken. Like everything is against us. Unless you are dealing with the direct consequences of something you did wrong, though, you should not imagine that God is punishing you because of your past. God gives us grace in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5 verses 17-19a says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come.
The old is gone, the new is here. All this is from God who reconciled to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. If God was interested in holding our sins against us, He wouldn't have ever sent Jesus in the first place.
God sent his son in order that we might receive mercy from him. Jesus knows what it's like to feel alone. He knows what it's like to feel abandoned, like everything is going against you. You can't feel any more rejected than he did when he was hanging on that cross. His comfort was the truth, the reality, that despite his terrible circumstances, the Father was with him.
He tells his disciples in John 16 this, A time is coming, and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone, yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart.
I have overcome the world. Jesus knew rejection. He knew trouble. But he has overcome. You and I are not promised a trouble free life. Jesus, in fact, assures us that things will be stacked against us. But He is our encouragement. Jesus is our encouragement because He has overcome. And because Jesus has overcome, so shall we.
Our comfort is this truth. So that in Jesus, even against all odds, we can have peace in Him. Let's pray.
Dear Father,
We can empathize so much with the emotional experiences of Jacob and his sons. Not understanding the trouble that they're suffering. Feeling as though rather than being blessed, they're being cursed. Father, we, we admit that there's times in which we do feel forsaken. As though we call out and you're not listening.
Father, our prayer this morning is that you would strengthen our faith. So that we would have confidence that even in the face of trouble, even when it seems like everything is going against us, that we would know that you are working out all things for our good. For the good of those who love you. That we would trust in your promise of blessing because we are now counted among the people of God.
We are counted among the children of Abraham because we have been saved by Jesus Christ.
Help us to proceed in faith to walk in the peace that you give to those who trust in you. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series entitled Israel Arises. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Even when circumstances seem impossible by the world’s measures, God can move and make incredible things happen.
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Transcript:
It depends on who you ask. Our study of the natural world deals very much in possibilities and impossibilities. What this or that thing can or cannot do. We learn our limits as human beings and often seek medicines and technologies to exceed those limits. But when we cannot exceed those limits. We say a thing is impossible, is impossible by the laws of nature.
But as Christians, we know that while we do live within the limits of the laws of nature, the author of creation is able to strum those laws to his pleasure and even surpass our natural limitations to accomplish his purpose. George Mueller trusted in God's power. He was confident in God's provision despite all circumstances.
George lived in England during the 1800s doing the work of a pastor, evangelist, and administrating a sprawling orphanage ministry over the course of his life. The thing that was curious about him was that he would not ask for donations to support his work. Instead, he trusted the Lord would provide what was needed.
That trust of his was put to the test on a notable occasion at his orphanage, and the story is told as follows. The children are dressed and ready for school, but there's no food for them to eat, the house mother of the orphanage informed George Mueller. George asked her to take the 300 children into the dining room and have them sit at the tables.
He thanked God for the food and waited. George knew God would provide food for the children as he always did. Within minutes a baker knocked on the door. Mr. Mueller, he said, last night I could not sleep. Somehow I knew that you would need bread this morning. I got up and baked three batches for you. I will bring it in.
Soon there was another knock at the door. It was the milkman. His cart had broken down in front of the orphanage. The milk would spoil by the time the wheel was fixed. He asked George if he could use some free milk. George smiled as the milkman brought in ten large cans of milk. It was just enough for the three hundred thirsty children.
God provides in seemingly impossible circumstances. He makes a way where there seems to be no way forward. And we see this in action in Joseph's life. We have pointed out the paradox of Joseph's life up to this point. He was favored by his father, but betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery. He was favored by his master.
But falsely accused by his master's wife, and so tossed into prison. He seems cursed, and yet he is blessed in the midst of hardship. Behind bars, seemingly as low as one could get, short of death, what hope could he have? What could God possibly do for him beyond being merely a privileged prisoner? We pick up his story in Genesis 40.
Genesis 40 beginning in verse 1. It says, Sometime later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard in the same prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them. After they had been in custody for some time, each of the two men, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison, had a dream the same night. And each dream had a meaning of its own. When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected.
So, we open up this chapter by learning that Joseph's going to get some company. There's a couple of officials of the Pharaoh who have earned his displeasure and so they're being cast into prison. Now what's interesting here is how it says that the captain of the guard assigns these two to Joseph. Now you remember the captain of the guard is Potiphar.
Potiphar, the man who had previously really favored Joseph until Potiphar's wife made false accusations against him. You'd almost imagine that after all that, that Potiphar wouldn't entrust anything to Joseph, but that's not what we see here. In fact, we see that Potiphar still recognizes something in Joseph and is showing him favor by allowing him to oversee these two newcomers.
Now these positions to, you know, us who are living in the 21st century may not seem important on the surface. What does it mean to be a cup bearer? So he's just the guy that carries a cup around or something? Or even a, a baker. You know, I mean, bakers are important. I mean, I enjoy bread. But, they are the chief, he's the chief baker, so it's like, okay, maybe he's in charge of the kitchen.
But why are these positions so vitally important? The reason is simple. If you wanted to poison Pharaoh, you'd have to pass through those guys. So the cup bearer, holding, presenting the cup to Pharaoh, he's the one who would ensure that no poison had entered that cup, to test the cup, even, to make sure. So, if anything goes sideways, he's the first to fall, and Pharaoh knows that, okay, I'm not drinking from that cup.
And the same thing with the baker. So, these are important positions among Pharaoh's officials. What's interesting is that as these men come into prison, they both experience dreams and Joseph noticed that they seem dejected, and so he inquires with them as to why they're looking so low. Picking up in verse seven, it says, so he asked Pharaoh's officials who were in custody with him and his master's house.
Why do you look so sad today? We both had dreams, they answered, but there is no one to interpret them. Then Joseph said to them, Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams. So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, and on the vine were three branches.
As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, and put the cup in his hand. So, the reason why they're so dejected here, we learned, is that there is no one to interpret their dreams. Which is kind of an interesting to think about, thing to think about, because we don't, usually in the West, put so much stock into dreams.
But in Eastern cultures, they do tend to put a lot of stock into dreams. And you'll still find that today. Now, at this time, there was actually professionals in the work of interpreting dreams to whom you would go to ask, okay, what does my dream mean? And they even put together books to offer guidance in the interpretation of dreams.
Now, Joseph is not a professionally trained interpreter of dreams, and he has no access to such a book. His source of authority for interpreting the meanings of their dreams is different. His source of authority is God. He says, do not interpretations belong to God. And it's on that basis that he invites them to tell him about their dreams.
So, picking in verse 12, he offers an interpretation. He says, this is what it means. Speaking to the cup bearer. The three branches are three days. Within three days, Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cup bearer.
But when all goes well with you, remember me, and show me kindness. Mention me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this prison. I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here, I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon. So the interpretation that Joseph gives him is that, is one of good news.
Promising that the cupbearer is going to be released from prison. That he's going to be restored to his position. That he's not going to be put to death. Now what he asks of this cupbearer in return is that, simply that he would remember him. That he would mention him to Pharaoh because of the situation that he's in.
He's suffered injustice at the hands of his brothers. That's how he ended up in Egypt in the first place. And he suffered injustice by being imprisoned under a false accusation. And so it's here at this point, we haven't really seen too much of this, up to this point. It's at this point that we see Joseph really expressing his frustration with his circumstances.
He suffered a lot. He suffered a lot of injustice in his life, and yet, he's continuing to trust God. So, we know that both things are possible. It's possible to express your frustration and disappointment when you do suffer injustice, even while you're trusting in God. You don't have to be apathetic about the wrongs that you're, you're dealing with.
Continuing on in verse 16, he turns to offer help to the baker. Baker says, hey, I want my dream interpreted as well. Says, when the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, I too had a dream. On my head were three baskets of bread. In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket in my head.
This is what it means, Joseph said. The three baskets are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head, and impale your body on a pole, and the birds will eat away your flesh. So, we see in the case of both the cupbearer and the baker, their fate rests upon three days. And just kind of as a side note here, isn't it interesting how you almost hear an echo of Jesus' three days in the grave here?
History is not repeating itself, you know, very different circumstances. But, there's a bit of a rhyme here, it feels like. Thinking about these three days, in which their fate is being determined. In the one case, in the case of the cupbearer, his head is being lifted up. He's being restored. And kind of using a play on words here, Joseph is saying in the case of the baker, your head's gonna be lifted, but it's gonna be lifted all the way off.
You're gonna get beheaded. So he brings him no good news. And besides that, he's gonna experience the indignity of his body being impaled on a pole, and it being eaten by birds. Very brutal. Joseph's not determining his fate, he's just telling him, this is what's gonna happen to you, and society back then could be quite brutal.
So when we go to verse 20, we see that everything comes to pass just as Joseph predicted. It says Now, the third day was Pharaoh's birthday and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cup bearer and the chief baker in the presence of his, of his officials. He restored the chief cup bearer to his position so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh's hand, but he impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation. The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph. He forgot him. So, once again, Joseph is experiencing some frustration. He's like, I did something good for these, for these guys. Maybe the baker didn't really want to know what was going to happen to him.
But he helped out the cupbearer. And yet again, he experiences this wrong, in that the cupbearer forgets him. He's forgotten by him, but Joseph is not forgotten by God. Desperate circumstances arise, that ultimately bring Joseph back to mind, two years later. So we continue on into chapter 41. It says in verse 1, When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream.
He was standing by the Nile, when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the river bank. And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows.
Then Pharaoh woke up. So, just to kind of take a pause here in the action here, one basic question that may come to your mind as we're, learning about this Pharaoh is, who was he? When was he living? Well, we don't know the identity of this Pharaoh, and it's not unusual at the time of the writing of this text that they wouldn't have specified the personal name of the Pharaoh.
It would have been sufficient to refer to him as Pharaoh. But based on the genealogies we have in the scriptures, we can estimate that this was probably sometime in the Middle Kingdom. And during the 12th dynasty, so you're talking sometime between around like 1963 BC and 1786 BC, likely in that 1800, period.
There's a whole lot of debate, and it's really interesting if you look online about just looking about the historicity behind that. Behind all this different theories, but there seems like there's pretty solid agreement that it's during this period that this is taking place. Now, the nature of Pharaoh's dream is employing everyday imagery.
Cows. Cows aren't unusual. Cows going into the water to cool off is not unusual. What's unusual is having some fat cows coming out of the water and some thin scraggly cows coming out of the water and the thin cows eating the cows. You don't see cows eating cows every day. so it's a pretty disturbing dream.
I'd probably wake up from a dream like that. Pharaoh woke up and it says that he ends up falling asleep again and having another dream. This, this guy's having a very restless night. So continuing on in verse five, it says he fell asleep again and had a second dream. Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk.
After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted, thin and scorched by the east wind. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up. It had been a dream. In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.
So just looking at some of the imagery here in this second dream that he experienced. You have the east wind, which is a desert wind coming along, and that's why those stalks of wheat aren't doing so great, they're really beaten up. And once again, you have this weird situation, this weird imagery of stalks of wheat consuming other stalks of wheat.
Obviously, you know, some of us, again, as Americans, some of us, if we had a dream like that, we'd be like, I'm not eating burritos again. You'd think maybe I just ate something last night and it just messed, messed me up. But, Pharaoh, especially given his position, and because there's almost like this, the Pharaohs at that time had this self understanding that they had close proximity to the gods.
And they had statues made of themselves. So if Pharaoh has a dream, he thinks it's important. And, in theory, he should be able to interpret it himself. But he himself is unable to understand what this dream is about. And he calls upon all the pros, the magicians, the wise men. No one is able to interpret this dream for him. And so he's sincerely troubled. He's not just merely curious about, you know, what does this dream mean? He's sincerely concerned about what it might hold for him and for his kingdom, and so it's at this point of desperation that his chief cupbearer comes to the rescue. Continuing on in verse nine, it says, then the chief cup bearer said to Pharaoh.
Today, I am reminded of my shortcomings. Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard.
We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us. I was restored to my position and the other man was impaled. So Joseph is remembered after all this time. And he's sent for, so it says in verse 14.
Pharaoh sent for Joseph. And he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you, that when you hear a dream, you can interpret it. I cannot do it, Joseph replied to Pharaoh, but God will give Pharaoh the answer that he desires. So they drag Joseph out of the dungeon and here we have a little bit of imagery of something of Joseph's physical appearance. We can imagine that his clothes probably were a bit shabby or not, at least up to court standards.
We also can know that he had a beard, because he had to shave. And it was typical for Semitic peoples to have beards. But it was not typical in the court of Pharaoh for people to have beards. So, I have this picture here that kind of depicts maybe what it looked like. And everyone is very, very clean shaven.
So this is the manner in which Joseph would have come before Pharaoh. And, what's interesting here Is that, as Joseph is sitting before Pharaoh, he has this prime opportunity to set himself up, to get himself out of prison, by really puffing up his image. Pharaoh says, I've heard that you can interpret dreams.
Joseph could have responded by saying, oh yeah, I'm the best interpreter of dreams. Here's my resume, I interpreted those two guys dreams, I got it right, I got you, Pharaoh. It's so interesting, he doesn't reply like that. He says, I cannot do it. And there's like a dramatic pause. He says, I cannot do it. But God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.
So even when Joseph has this opportunity to make much of himself, seemingly to his own benefit, he's continuing to trust God, by giving the glory to God, rather than pointing to himself. Once again, we just see the depth of Joseph's faith and his integrity. So, going on in verses 17 through 21. I'm not going to read this because it's basically just a reiteration of dreams that have already been described, except it's emphasized that the cows were lean and ugly.
And then in verses 22 through 24, the grain dream is also told to Joseph. And, once again, Pharaoh just emphasizes, I haven't been able to get any answers from my magicians. No one can explain these dreams. So, picking up in verse 25, Joseph says to Pharaoh, The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he's about to do.
The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years. It is one and the same dream. The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind. They are seven years of famine. So once again we see Joseph giving credit to God.
It is God who has chosen the to give you this insight, Pharaoh, by giving you this dream. He's going to show you what he's about to do. It's not that God is punishing Pharaoh, it's that God is giving Pharaoh a warning about what is going to come to pass. He's giving him a heads up. And so, Joseph has explained to Pharaoh, those Seven ugly cows that you saw, those lean ugly cows that you saw, and the seven worthless heads of grain.
Those represent the fact that you're going to have seven years of famine. Now the other seven, the other seven good cows, bring promise of something good. Continuing on in verse 28. So it says, Just as I said to Pharaoh, God has shown Pharaoh what he's about to do. Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, but seven years of famine will follow them.
Then all the abundance of Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravish the land. The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.
So first, Egypt is going to experience seven years of abundance. Things are going to be great. And then they're going to have seven years of famine. Now we can see how this would be a useful warning. It would be a useful warning under any circumstances. But, if you're going to experience a set of really good years, you might become a little bit careless and think like, the good times are just going to keep on rolling.
And Pharaoh and Egypt, they could have been blindsided by this. And the fact that the dream is presented in two forms, Joseph says, indicates that God's serious. This is going to happen. It's going to happen soon. And so, All this information is given to Pharaoh in order that he might adequately prepare in anticipation of those seven good years and these seven bad years.
And Joseph steps to the front in order to offer some counsel to Pharaoh on how he might prepare. Continuing on verse 33. It says, And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.
They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh to be kept in the cities for food. This food should be held and reserved for the country to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt. So that the country may not be ruined by the famine.
So what Joseph's prescribing here is basically storing up reserves, putting essentially a 20 percent tax on the people so they can store up enough of this food. So they're taxing food, not, not money, but you could get money if you sold the food. So he's taking the food that the farmers are producing in order that they would be ready for this famine that's going to come so that they can avoid ruin.
And Pharaoh likes the idea. Picking up in verse 37 it says, The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. So Pharaoh asked them, Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the Spirit of God? Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you.
You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you. So Joseph has come, he's interpreted these dreams, and he's offered this counsel. And Pharaoh's, like, you've said that I should appoint someone to do these things, but you seem pretty, a pretty good fit for the job, since you just kind of laid out everything that I should do here.
But what's more is that Pharaoh is acknowledging the reality that Joseph testified to. He doesn't just give the credit to Joseph. He doesn't just say, well, you're just this perfectly wise man who has these amazing powers. He says, no. This is, he recognizes that Joseph is one in whom the Spirit of God is present.
The Spirit of God is making all this known to him and giving him this wisdom in order to direct Pharaoh. And so in a way, now we're not suggesting that Pharaoh became devoted to the one true God, but in a way, Pharaoh's recognizing that he needs what God has to offer him through Joseph. And so he puts him in charge of his palace.
He puts him in second command. So it's a huge reversal of of circumstances for Joseph. I think it could be said that testimony characterizes much of Scripture, testifying to what God has done. But I think it especially characterizes this passage. By Joseph's story, we learn of God's power. How he can bring deliverance in impossible circumstances.
Joseph cannot completely comprehend God's purposes at this point. But he has trusted in him all along. And now God has shown that he's not going to disappoint Joseph's trust. It's a wonderful testimony because it has both universal and personal application. Universally, we can appreciate how God is working out all things to redeem a people for himself. He is not letting the world go to hell in a hand basket. Joseph is a piece of the puzzle that leads to Jesus Christ. And when things seem their darkest, when Christ is hanging dead on the cross, God remains present. His hand of salvation is revealed three days later. When Christ's head is lifted, and he is raised from the dead.
And now, the salvation available in Christ is being brought to the ends of the earth. You and I, we, are part of that story. We are not on the sidelines. In your personal circumstances, perhaps you feel you have hit a wall. You feel like you've met the impossible, and there is no moving forward.
All I can urge you is, do not only trust in what your eyes can see. You might not understand what God is doing, but He does. You are part of His plan. You may feel overwhelmed. But he is not overwhelmed. His power remains. Call on his power. Point to him, not yourself. Trust in him to supply what you cannot do on your own.
He will provide. That's what we see in the story of Joseph. Let's pray.
Father,
we are filled with awe at the way in which you work.
We stand in awe, Father, at your power. That you could take Joseph through such this winding path of betrayal and disappointment. To raise him up, Father, to be second in command of Egypt. Father, we pray that you would help us to have the same sort of faith that Joseph had. That rather than relying on our own strengths and pointing to ourselves and making much of ourselves, rather than just believing in ourselves, Father, to try to get ahead in life, that we would trust in you.
That we would trust in your power and provision. And that we would give all glory to you. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series entitled Israel Arises. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
After Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers, he first prospers and then finds himself in more trouble. But through it all, he holds fast to his faith in God and holds true to his character, and God blesses him for it.
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Transcript:
Good morning. The scripture reading today is Genesis 39, 1 through 5. Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man.
And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. Now his master saw that the Lord was with him, and how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight, and became his personal servant. And he made him overseer of his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge.
It came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house and over all that he owned The Lord blessed the Egyptians house on account of Joseph Thus the Lord's blessing was upon all that he owned in the house and in the field.
Most kids like Legos, some adults like Legos too. No glue is required, you just stick bricks together, and an endless variety of creations can be brought forth. While there are some true creatives out there who can imagine all the pieces required to bring a certain idea to life, most of us require instructions to bring anything very impressive to life.
Now, I have a creation here that my son built. He built this TIE fighter. Pretty, pretty cool, right? Um, it always impresses me when he puts together these things. I didn't have that kind of patience when I was a kid, to follow the instructions. I was too eager to get to the playing. Um, Now, I don't think it's any knock on him to say that he couldn't have done this without following the directions.
I think he would say the same thing himself. Um, and like I said, I, I know I certainly couldn't. Without following the instruction manual, he wouldn't have experienced the joy of creating a machine that looks just like the spacecraft on television. Without attending to each direction, he, and any of us, would only experience frustration if we tried to take shortcuts.
Now, thankfully, kids are sometimes blessed to have a father, grandfather, uncle, or maybe a mom or aunt as well, who will step in to set things right, ensuring he won't give up, ensuring the creation will, in fact, come to life. I think the process of putting together Lego creations captures some of the dynamics we see in the Old Testament.
Yes, there is a steady hand, the hand of God, working behind all things, so that even evil cannot help but work toward the good that God intends. Nothing stops his plan. Every blessing he promises is firm. But when human beings do walk in his ways, when they follow the instructions, we see that they are especially blessed, even as they walk through valleys. And we see this clearly in Joseph's story. But before we turn to him directly, Genesis gives us a bit of an interlude regarding Judah, who's one of Joseph's brothers, his half brother, and his family. A series of events transpires that will figure into God's redemptive work.
In the text, we find here striking contrasts with what we will see in Joseph's life. Now, there are some kind of like mature themes in this chapter. And so, because we are kind of focused on Joseph really this morning, kind of combined with those two considerations, I'm going to offer you a summary. But I do want to invite you to open up to Genesis 38, as we kind of summarize what transpires there.
So in Genesis 38, we'll look at first verses 1 through 12. We learn that Judah married a Canaanite woman. Now, not exactly great. Not because God is racist. God is not racist at all. But we must remember that God's intention is to form a distinct people. And we also must remember, at this time, ethnicity and religion are very tightly bound together. So by Judah marrying a Canaanite woman, he's inviting foreign religious influences into the life of the family. Now, it doesn't get into all of that in this chapter, but that's just something to keep in mind. Not great. He has three sons named Er, Onan, and Shelah.
Er marries a woman named Tamar, but he is struck dead because of his wickedness. And so the duty expected at this time was that a younger brother would marry the widow, so that the name of his older brother may be carried on into the future. This was the practice known as Levirate marriage. We see instructions about it in Deuteronomy 25.
And so it was just expected that this is what the brothers would do for each other should one of them pass before the other, and before a son could be born that would carry on his name. Now, Onan's not exactly thrilled about this duty. Because, again, it's strange to think about because it's just so foreign to the way that we think about things.
If he was to have a child with Tamar, that child, to their understanding, wouldn't be his. It would be his son's brother. His brother's son, rather. And that son would carry on his brother's name, not his own name. And so, Onan avoids completing his marital duties. Doing that which would be sufficient for Tamar to actually become pregnant. And so, God punishes him with death.
So now, Judah has lost his son, Er, and his son, Onan. And he only has one son left, Shelah. Now he tells Tamar, I will have Shelah marry you. Because this is, again, this is the expectation that this widow is supposed to be taken care of. And So that she would be able to bring forth these children for the older brother.
And this is something that Tamar's desiring for herself. It's not, again, such a foreign concept to us. We would kind of think like, well, you know, maybe she doesn't want to marry any of these brothers. But no, she really does desire a husband herself. And Judah tells her, no, you're, okay, you will wait for Shelah.
I will marry him to you. But instead of actually following through on his word, what Judah does instead is marry his son off to someone else. There's a little bit of fear operating in Judah's mind here, because he's like, Okay, my oldest has married this woman, my second has married her and died. And so he's like, well, I don't want my youngest marrying her.
Now, it had nothing to do with the woman. It had everything to do with the wickedness of these men. But that was Judah's thinking. Well, Tamar, as a result, takes matters into her own hands. And she deceives Judah into believing that she's a shrine prostitute. Now, an idea of shrine prostitute is just something that's also foreign to us.
This would have been a pagan practice where, in order to promote fertility in the land, women at temples would have offered themselves to men. Very wild, very out there, but the practice of that time, and she took advantage of that practice by presenting herself as a shrine prostitute and approaching Judah.
And Judah obliges, and he ends up, ends up that she becomes pregnant with his two sons, Perez and Zerah. Now this becomes significant much later on in the biblical narrative, because when we look at the genealogy of Jesus, we see that he's descendant from Perez so, you think about all the messiness of what's going on here.
Jesus bloodline runs through this, this messiness.
His family line runs through this messiness. Now, eventually, you know, she's, she's concealed her identity. Judah didn't know that this was his, his daughter in law. Um, but he had left with her his staff and also a seal, a kind of a seal that would have been functioning kind of as his signature. Now, when it became obvious that she was pregnant, they were prepared to stone her saying well, that's it, you were supposed to yeah, you you've you've been sleeping around that kind of thing, but then she produces his possessions and this leads Judah to admit in 38:26 that she, Tamar, is more righteous than I since I wouldn't give her to my son Shelah.
Now, this is important because again, Judah is going to be a significant figure moving forward. He ends up becoming the leading, the leading brother. You think about the tribe of Judah from whom David comes from. And of course, Jesus. We have one last little note here in this, in this chapter where it's noted how Zerah initially was the one that was being born and then his, the other brother, the other twin brother, Perez, kind of like pulls him back in and he comes, he emerges first.
And, and so this is just kind of playing into a general theme that we're finding in these chapters of younger brothers emerging above older brothers. And that's relevant in the case of the story of Joseph, because remember, he's had these dreams. He's had these dreams where his brother's sheathes bow before his sheath.
Where the sun, moon, and stars all gather and worship him. Bow before him, that is. Not worship, bow. So now we turn from this troubling episode of Judah and look at what transpires in Joseph's life. Now remember, at this point we're in Egypt, so he's gone from all the way up here, now he finds himself in Egypt. And first, we, we look at verses 1 through 5, which Rena read for us.
You'll recall that the way that he ended up in Egypt was that he was sold, effectively, effectively to the family's cousins, the Ishmaelites. And that he was purchased as a slave by Potiphar, who is a captain of the guard. Pharaoh's captain of the guard, and and he was living as a servant in Potiphar's house.
Now, despite his circumstances, which seem obviously less than ideal, he goes from being a favored son to now he's a servant in somebody's household, he prospers. He enjoys success, favor, so that eventually Potiphar puts him in charge of everything in his household. And the reason that's identified here is found in verse 2. It says, it was that, it was because the Lord was with Joseph. It was because the Lord was with Joseph that he prospered. Now this is a theme that we see running throughout Genesis with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It's because of God's abiding presence that blessing is enjoyed. And not only is Joseph blessed, But in fact, all of Potiphar's household is blessed.
Everything that belongs to Potiphar. And this goes right in line with what God promised in Genesis 12: 3. That others would be blessed through this, through this family.
And so as Potiphar raised him up and blessed Joseph, he just increased further blessing in his household.
This brings to mind uh, what the psalmist writes in Psalm 1, 1 through 3. Blessed is the one who does not walk and step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever they do prospers.
Now, the thing that's interesting about this is, we think about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They had moments in which they weren't always walking in the ways of the Lord. Or sometimes they went off a little bit. We haven't seen that with Joseph. And in fact, what we're going to see here is that he is in fact walking in the way of righteousness.
He is walking in the ways of the Lord. But it's interesting just to note this paradox. The paradox of enjoying God's blessings. And I think it's a paradox that we all experience in which we can enjoy God's blessings even in less than ideal circumstances. Think about it. These verses are talking about how blessed Joseph is.
But remember, he's still a slave. He's still a servant. But God is still blessing him even in the midst of hardship. And God is ready to do the same for us in our own lives as we're going through hardship. He doesn't promise that He'll take away the hardship. But He will bless us in the midst of the hardships that we go through.
Now, the thing is, is Joseph's enjoying all these blessings and he's thinking, Well, who knows what this is gonna, you know, where this is gonna take me. Things seem to be just getting better and better. Well, eventually some trouble emerges that seems to bring everything kind of crashing in. So looking at verses 6 through 9.
It says, again, just kind of continuing the positive themes here. So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph's care. With Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well built and handsome, and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, Come to bed with me.
But he refused. With me in charge, he told her, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house. Everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?
So, everything's going well for Joseph. He's been put in charge. He's been put in charge. Potiphar trusts him implicitly. But then, an occasion in which Joseph might violate that trust emerges when Potiphar's wife notices, hey, this guy looks pretty good. He's pretty handsome. And in short, she wants to cheat on him.
Cheat on her husband with Joseph. And it's at this point where we just see Joseph's noble character just step right into the spotlight. He says to her, How could I possibly do that? Your husband has trusted everything to me. He's not looking over my shoulder with all the things that I, I do. He's like, no, you take care of it.
It's all good. The one thing that he's withheld from me, and all his goodness has just been you. And then he says this in verse 9. He says, How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? Notice Joseph's insight here. He recognizes that this would not merely just be a sin against his master, who's been, who's been good to him.
He recognizes that this would be a sin against God. And that is the true reality of all sin, is that whatever harm we may cause someone else, ultimately our sin is against God. Because we are failing to be the sorts of people that He created us to be. We are not our own. Our being comes to us because God brought us into existence.
And so we owe all of ourselves to God, and we are to reflect His righteous character. And when we sin, we are depriving God of the life that we should live unto Him. David in Psalm 51 verse 4 recognizes this. He says, Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. So you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
So Joseph has taken this bold stand, he says, No, I'm faithful to your master, I'm faithful to my master, your husband, and I'm going to be faithful to God. And we think, that's great. Should be all set, right? He just, he just took this bold stand. Well, Potiphar's wife is not easily deterred. We read and continue in verses 10- 14.
It says, And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her, or even be with her. One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, Come to bed with me. But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.
When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, she called her household servants. And continuing on. Says she said to them, Look! This Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us. He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.
She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. Then she told him the story. That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. But as soon as I cried for, cried, screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house. I think what we've seen these verses here is just a very accurate example of the nature of temptation.
How nice would it be if just temptation only If we only encountered temptation once. And that was it. We took our one stand. We're good. Smooth sailing from here. But that's not how temptation works. You see, the devil is very much interested in seeing you stumble. He's very interested in seeing you not offer your life unto God in the way that you should.
And so, with Potiphar's wife, we see that she came to Joseph again and again, day by day.
What's interesting is to see the way in which Joseph responds to this temptation. We've already heard him articulate the reason why he's not giving into this temptation. What's notable is the actions that he takes here. Notice that it said that he even tried to avoid being with her during the day. He didn't want to be in her presence and have that temptation gnawing at him.
And ultimately, when she found the set of circumstances where she thought, Now I've got him. No one else is in the house. What does he do? How does he respond? Anyone? Yeah. He ran out of the house. He ran away. He fled temptation. He didn't stand there. He didn't say, okay, I'm going to have a debate with you about this.
It's like, listen, there's no persuading this woman. There's no getting, the only way I can get away from this temptation is to run. It's to flee. And his actions line up perfectly with the wisdom of scripture. In Proverbs, and then in Paul's words to Timothy. Proverbs 1: 10, it says, My son, if sinful men entice you, do not give in to them.
You know, be resistant, like Joseph. Proverbs 4, verses 14 through 15, Do not set foot on the path of the wicked, or walk in the way of evildoers. Avoid it. Do not travel on it. Turn from it, and go on your way. And Paul, writing to Timothy, says, Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
You see, sometimes we try to be too tough, I think, when it comes to temptation. We put ourselves in circumstances in which we are inviting failure. The best thing that you can do is, when you can, is to simply flee temptation. The other thing we need to do, though, besides just fleeing temptation is to do what Paul tells Timothy, which is pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace.
You can't just avoid that which is bad and expect to succeed. You must pursue that which is good. Ultimately, you know, what's, what's so incredible about, that we see here in the case of Joseph is he doesn't have all the benefits that we now enjoy today. We have been united with Christ. The person of the Holy Spirit dwells within us is making us into new people so that sin no longer holds power over us.
We need to lean into that if we're going to succeed, if we're going to hold off temptation. Without it, if we're putting ourselves in bad circumstances, if we're not feeding ourselves with God's word, we will fail. We will not stand in the day of trial.
Now, Joseph is so committed here that even as she's pleading with him and grabbing on him, he's like, I don't care. I'm out of here. And he leaves his cloak behind. Now we don't know what else is wearing. Maybe, maybe he had to run away naked. Who knows? But he was just, I don't care if I lose my cloak, I'm leaving that.
Well, unfortunately for him, he's like, I'm just trying to be, I'm so desperately obedient. I don't care about the cloak. Well, the cloak ends up producing problems for him. At this point you have to imagine Joseph's just like, I'm, I'm done with clothing wear, man. My, this, this nice coat that my father gave me got me thrown in a pit and sold off to slaves, as a slave.
And now this, this cloak is being used against him to tell a very different story than what transpired. He left his cloak behind because he was so desperate to get out of the situation. Instead, what the tale that Potiphar's wife spins is, well, he was really trying to, you know, tempt me, and he only ran away when I started screaming.
And, you know, he already had his cloak off and stuff, and so that's why I have it here. So terrible.
This puts Potiphar in a very difficult position when he hears this story from his wife. We continue on in verse 19. It says, When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, This is how your slave treated me, he burned with anger. Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined.
But while Joseph was there in prison, the Lord was with him. He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
It's interesting to wonder whether Potiphar truly believed his wife. Some commentators have suggested that he may not have truly believed his wife. It says that he was angry. We wonder, why was he angry? On the surface, it seems like he's just angry at Joseph. And maybe he did believe some of what his wife had said.
But apparently, he, he wasn't. He either didn't believe his wife, to some extent, or he really loved Joseph, despite even what he was told that he tried to do. Because, what we would have expected to happen would have been that he would have had Joseph executed. Joseph is a mere slave in that society. To do something like that, yeah, off with his head.
Instead, he's thrown into prison. He's thrown into prison along with the king's prisoners. So these are more like political prisoners. Guys who've kind of received kind of a softer sentence than off with their heads.
And as he is in prison, once again, verse 21, it says, the Lord was with him. The Lord was with him. And so even in prison, Joseph, he enjoys favor from the warden. And he's put in charge of the other prisoners. And he's enjoying success in prison. So once again, we see this paradox of blessing. God allowing Joseph to go through these terrible trials.
It just keeps like, it seems like it just keeps getting worse for him. In some really, you know, vivid sort of ways. Concrete ways. And yet, every step along the way, the Lord is with him, and he's able to enjoy God's blessing even in those difficult circumstances. Now, it is no surprise that Jacob's family is blessed.
We know what God promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He promised to bless them. Very often we've seen how they've been blessed despite their sinful circumstances. In the case of Joseph, we see a striking difference. While his forefathers often reacted impulsively in the face of fearful circumstances Joseph exhibits none of that.
He is courageously righteous. Despite being a slave. Despite being thrown in prison. He is resolute in his faithfulness to God. He is not deterred. He is not swayed. In his example We see a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ. Yes, Jesus was blessed. Jesus was also obedient to the point of death on a cross. He was a man familiar with sorrow and pain, and yet he was also blessed.
Joseph was taken from the favor of his father and cast into prison. But even there, he was met by favor. Jesus Christ, the Beloved Son, was sent by the Father from Heaven to make his bed in a cold tomb. But even the grave could not conceal him from the Father's favor. He arose. We have here in Joseph both example and encouragement.
When temptation calls upon you and I, we are invited to join Joseph's reply. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? We are invited into his passion for obedience. We are likewise encouraged. We are encouraged that blessing will be found. Even in hardship, God will give us everything we need for the journey in a lasting joy that no resort to sin could ever provide.
How can I say this? I can say this because God is with us just as he was with Joseph and he has promised never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. Let us pray.
Dear Father, We do thank you for your faithfulness. And we see your faithfulness again and again in the pages of Scripture as we look at the line of Abraham. As you're working out your redemptive mission, Father. We thank you, Father, for the example that we have in Joseph, who leaned into your abiding presence by responding with faithful obedience.
By doing what was right by fleeing temptation. Father, help us to do the same. Help us to be courageously righteous. Give us the wisdom to flee and avoid temptation when it arises. And Father, give us the strength to stand when we must face it down. Fill us with righteousness, Father, as we devote ourselves to the wisdom of your Word.
Strengthen us, Father, by the work of the Holy Spirit who is making us more and more like Jesus Christ day by day.
Give us comfort, Father, even through our trials, knowing that even when things get very low, that you are with us and that you are bringing us forward from the depths of the grave, the new life, which is ours in Jesus Christ. We give you praise in his name. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series entitled Israel Arises. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
RCC is doing something NEW! Introducing - Truth Rooted, our affiliate YouTube channel hosted by Pastor Tom Loghry. The purpose of TR is to root RCC (and others!) in the truth of Scripture and in the community of church. The video series we produce will culminate in supper discussions, transforming online conversations into in-person connections.
Our first series is "God + Government", exploring the purpose of government, the extent and limits of its power, and what this all means for us as Christians.
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The story focus shifts to Jacob’s son Joseph. Favored by his father, Joseph is hated by his brothers; he is despised all the more after sharing his dreams depicting him in a position of authority over his family.
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Transcript:
The reading today is from Genesis 37, 5 through 11. Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, Listen to this dream I had. We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field, when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.
His brothers said to him, Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us? And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. Then he had another dream, and told it to his brothers. Listen, he said, I had another dream. And this time, the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.
When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I, and your brothers, actually come and bow down to the ground before you? His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
I think there are a few things that human beings despise more than betrayal. If you're a New Englander, if a Red Sox player becomes a Yankee, they're dead to us. A name like Benedict Arnold becomes infamous because of his betrayal of the American Army during the Revolutionary War. He did other things, but he is only remembered for his treachery.
Of course, betrayal also hits much closer to home in our lives. Some of us can tell stories of how a family member or a friend betrayed us. Their act cuts much deeper than if it simply came from a stranger. It appears to be a chronic symptom of human sinfulness. Betrayal is very old and ever new. In the book of Genesis, we see it aplenty.
And we see it especially in the story of Joseph. And so as we turn to Genesis 37, we are turning to really a new segment of the story which will ultimately lead Jacob and his family into the land of Egypt. So looking at chapter 37, beginning in verse 1, the scene is set. It says, Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.
This is the account of Jacob's family line. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. And he brought their father a bad report about them. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age, and he made an ornate robe for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him, and could not speak a kind word to him. So, we find Jacob's family in the land of Canaan, as promised. They're living there. All seems to be going well, on the surface at least. But, as we see right here from the beginning of this chapter, there's trouble brewing within the family.
Joseph it said, who is at 17 at the time, brings back a bad report about the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah. Now this would have been his brothers Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. Basically kind of tattletales on them. Maybe he wasn't just a situation of tattletailing, though, he may have been put in a kind of supervisory role.
Because after all, it says here that Joseph was Jacob's favorite. And the reason why he was his favorite was because he was born to him in his old age. And it doesn't say this in the text, but we might also suppose it's because he was the firstborn of his most beloved wife, Rachel. And because he loved him so much, he made him an ornate robe, and this has been kind of traditionally described as a, as a coat of many colors.
Now, we don't know if it exactly looked like the rainbow, if it was, but the idea was that it was a very nice coat. And, in fact, wearing such a coat may have signaled at that time, a person occupying sort of a managerial sort of role. Almost like you think about someone wearing a suit jacket. It's nice. And in relation to his brothers, getting this nice jacket, he's kind of being identified as an important one amongst all of them.
And the brothers take notice. They notice, and you've got to consider, because Joseph was born later on, when his father was older, that means all these other brothers, most of them are older than him, if not all of them are older than him. And, so they hate him because of that. They hate him because they can see that this younger brother is usurping their own position in relation to their father.
And so they can't speak any nice word about him. And so, you have that as kind of just the baseline. They don't like Joseph because Jacob is showing favor towards him. But then things get worse. We turn to verses 5 through 11, as John read for us. Joseph has some dreams. He has some dreams first about some sheaves of grain. Now, we don't necessarily live in an agricultural society any longer, so some of you might be wondering, what is a sheaf of grain? Well, you imagine you have stalks of grain. You've got to take those stalks and then you bind them together. So you kind of have this, all this wheat gathered together, standing up. Well, Joseph had this dream that he had all these sheaves.
His sheaf stood upright, all the sheaves of his brother bowed before his sheave. And the meaning is pretty transparent. You don't have to be a, I don't know if rocket scientist is the right word, but you don't have to have any deep insight to be able to try to discern the meaning of this dream. His brothers understand it.
He says in, they say in verse 8, Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us? And so because of that, they hate him all the more because of his dream and what he said. Now, he also has another dream. And this dream, it identifies the sun, moon, and 11 stars bowing down to him. Now this is basically just the whole family bowing down to him.
His father, his mother. Now it's interesting to think, you know, who the mother is here. Was it Rachel? Rachel had already passed away at this point. Perhaps it was Leah. Perhaps it was Bilhah, because Bilhah was Rachel's handmaiden. It's difficult to know, but in any case, the significance is, is the whole family is bowing down before Joseph.
Now, this makes the brothers all the more angry, jealous. And the reason why they're responding this way, rather than just being like, That's weird, is because Joseph is not telling them these dreams as though it's just a funny story. You know, we have weird dreams sometimes. You know, I had this crazy dream last night, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
You know, isn't that nuts? When people had dreams in this time, they took it seriously as kind of foretelling something that might transpire. And even to this day in the Near East people take dreams very seriously. It's been the case that many Muslims have actually come to Christ through dream encounters with him.
That's been a big part in their conversion. So we have to just understand that we're much different people than they are when it comes to dreams. We think it's like, I ate a bad burrito last night. For them, like, this, this means something. And so Joseph is staking a claim out there. Now Jacob, when he hears, especially the second dream, about him and his, and Joseph's mother bowing before him, he's not really amused by it.
But, it says that he kept the matter in mind. So he does think to himself, there might be something to this. And it kind of recalls for us, the idea of how when Mary was told that, how she treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. It's kind of this idea of he, he knows there's something here, even if, on the surface, Jacob's like, I don't really, I don't, I don't really like your tone, young man.
That kind, that kind of thing. Now these details help us understand what follows. The brothers dislike Joseph, Jacob favors him, and now circumstances will come together bringing a conflict to a head. So looking at verses 12 through 17. Now his brothers had gone to graze their flocks near Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem.
Come, I am going to send you to them. Very well, he replied, so he said to him, go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks and bring word back to me. Then he sent him off from the valley of Hebron. When Joseph arrived at Shechem, a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, what are you looking for?
He replied, I'm looking for my brothers, can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks? They have moved on from here, the man answered. I heard them say, let's go to Dothan. So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. So just to kind of orient you to the landscape here, we've got a map.
I know you can't see it, so I'm going to zoom in in a second. This is the area we're working with. You can see the red lines. That's basically identifying the route that Joseph's journey here is going to take. Hebron, you'll see, is right down here, kind of the starting place of that red line. It's just to the west of the Dead Sea, Salt Sea.
And he's heading up to Shechem. Now remember, they had lived near Shechem before, so, and this is an, this is a family that tends to flocks. And so they gotta go where good grazing is. So, he's quite a far away from home. It's about four or five days walking journey. So he's far away from his father.
He's gone up to Shechem to try to find his brothers but he can't find them. And so he's redirected by a man that he meets out there to Dothan. He says, I heard your brothers were going up to Dothan. So that's even further up north. So, as he heads to Dothan, his brothers are able to see him coming in the distance.
So continuing on, start picking up in verse 18. It says, But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. Here comes that dreamer, they said to each other. Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him.
Then we'll see what comes of his dreams. When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. Let's not take his life, he said. Don't shed any blood. Throw him into the cistern here in the wilderness, but don't lay a hand on him. Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.
So now at this point we really truly appreciate how deep their hatred for Joseph runs. It's gone so far that they are ready to murder him. And we do know that there's some violent impulses among the brothers. We remember what Simeon and Levi did to the men of Shechem when they violated their sister Dinah.
So we know that there's some violent tendencies here, but it is shocking to see that they're ready to commit such violence against their own blood, their brother. And this just reminds us what envy does to a person, when we're jealous of people. It, in Proverbs, it says in Proverbs 14: 30, it says, A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.
When we despise what someone has, that we're lacking, and we want what they have, and in this case, they want the favor that Joseph's enjoying from Jacob, it does us no good. It just rots on the inside. And it turns us into ugly people on the inside. And it's because of that envy that's built up within them that they have such malice for their brother.
And so they conspire, we're going to kill him. We're going to kill him, and we're going to throw him in a cistern, and then we'll just make it seem like an animal got to him. So it's just important to understand exactly what they're prescribing here. First, we're going to kill him, we're going to throw him in a cistern, and then we're going to cover up.
Now, if you're wondering what a, what a cistern is, In those times, they would take, they might either dig out an area that was, had a deposit of limestone, they'd dig it out so that it could collect rainwater, because water was a important commodity so, they might dig it out, they might plaster a hole in the ground in order for it to collect water.
At this time in the year, the hole is empty, so they're not throwing them into a thing of water. It might be muddy. It's interesting in Jeremiah, we see how the prophet Jeremiah was also thrown into a, a cistern and it says it had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud, so it may not have been a very, I mean we can be assured it wasn't a nice place to be put, to be put into.
It wouldn't have mattered for Joseph though, because he would have been dead, so he would've been none the wiser. But, Reuben intervenes. Now remember, Reuben is the firstborn of the family. He's supposed to be kind of the responsible one, the one who's overseeing his brothers. Now, you'll recall though, that Reuben's kind of put him, put himself in a bad place with his dad because he slept with one of his wives.
And so, he knows that Joseph is Jacob's favorite son. So he may be thinking to himself a couple of things. One, he's the responsible one, so if he doesn't spare Joseph here, it'll just get worse for him. His father would be like, what were you doing, kind of thing. On the other hand, too, he may think, if I'm able to deliver Joseph back to my father, it may get me back into his good graces.
Of course, he could also just have genuine concern, but I think it is important for us to have a realistic look at the motivations that could be coming into play here. And so he suggests, let's not kill him. Let's not get blood on our hands. Let's just put him in the cistern. Now that's not great either, because his idea is that he's going to go back and get him later, but he doesn't tell that to his brothers.
So instead of just killing Joseph outright, they said, well, let's just put him in the cistern and let him suffer and I guess eventually die. But they go for it. They say, all right, we'll do that. So with that plan in place, they fall upon Joseph once he arrives at their camp. Picking up in verse 23. It says, So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the ornate robe he was wearing.
And they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty. There was no water in it. As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm, and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.
Judah said to his brothers, What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood. His brothers agreed. So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for 20 shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
So, this awesome jacket that Joseph has, stripped off him, he's thrown into the cistern, and just to see the callousness of his brothers, you can imagine Joseph, he's down in the cistern, he's probably, yelling, let me out, you know, and they're just there. Yeah, we're going to eat lunch. Meanwhile, Joseph's in despair.
And then they see this caravan coming along, this Ishmaelite caravan. Now it's interesting because later on in verse 28, it calls them Midianite merchants. So there, it seems as though the terms are kind of interchangeable here. And we see that actually in Judges 8 the terms used kind of interchangebly. Now, the significance of this, if you recall, is that Ishmael is a son of Abraham.
Now, Midian is a son of Keturah, who is also a wife of Abraham later on. So, what we're talking about here is basically distant relatives, cousins. Their cousins are coming toward them in this caravan, and an idea occurs to Judah. Now, Reuben's the oldest, so Judah's not the oldest. But Judah is going to be kind of a rising brother here in Genesis.
Because it's anticipating everything that's going to transpire, ultimately later on, where you'll have Judah as the one promise, as the one whom this king will come. David, and then ultimately Jesus, because Jesus is of the tribe of Judah. Now, this does not mean that Judah is perfect, and we see just how, how much of a mixed bag he is here.
He says, you know, what do we gain from killing him? Well, obviously, nothing. All they do is, they, they gain guilt, because they've shed their brother's blood. And so his proposal is, let's avoid guilt, technically, by selling him to some, you know, slave traders. Because whatever happens to him then, well, we can't be blamed for that.
And, plus as a bonus, we'll get a little bit of money in exchange for selling out our brother. And so, that's what they do. They sell Joseph as a slave to this Ishmaelite caravan for 20 shekels of silver. Which is a decent amount of money, it's two years wages, likely for a shepherd at that time, but, I mean, split among all the brothers, it's not a ton of money.
And, so they take Joseph. And where he's going to be heading is along this route. And this is a, just a common trade route that will ultimately lead him to Egypt. Now, during this time, the oldest, oldest brother, Reuben, has been away. This isn't that unusual. He may have been dealing with some flock or, you know, away from their base camp.
So he didn't realize all this was going down. So turning to verse 29, we find his response when he discovers what his brothers did. It says, When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said, The boy isn't there. Where can I turn now?
Then they got Joseph's robe, slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe in the blood. They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son's robe. He recognized it and said, It is my son's robe. Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.
Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. No, he said, I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave. So his father wept for him. Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard.
So, between Reuben's response and Jacob's response, we see kind of a very typical response of grief at that time, which is tearing one's clothes, which is no small thing because we have tons of clothes in our closet these days, but it took a lot of effort to make clothes at that time. So it's a, it's a pretty profound signal of grief that you're gonna tear some clothes that are probably fairly valuable.
And Reuben is grieving. Perhaps for, for Joseph, but if not for Joseph, probably again for himself, maybe feeling a sense of responsibility or a lost opportunity to get back in the good graces of his father, and they proceed with their original plan of saying, making it a cover up that Joseph was killed by a wild animal. They slaughtered a goat. The utility of them taking his robe was this is obviously Joseph's robe. It's not just, his father couldn't have been like, well, you know, maybe it was some, you know, stranger's robe. Nope. He knows that this is Joseph's robe. They dip it in blood and they deceive Jacob.
Now isn't this interesting about how all things come back around. Remember Jacob's own deception of his father, Isaac and securing the blessing from his father. And now he himself is being deceived by his own sons. It's the terrible cycle of sin that we see here. And he's inconsolable. Tears his clothes.
He has sackcloth on, which is not comfortable clothing. And he declares, I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave. Now, we don't see how the brothers respond to all of this, they did try to, it says that they tried to comfort him. Later on it, it does seem like perhaps they might have had some regrets after, after doing this, just seeing the way that he responded, maybe they didn't expect that he would respond quite like this. And as for Joseph, at the end of this chapter, we do have this little hint that his story's not over. We're going to pick it up, back up, and we're going to pick it back up in Egypt because he is sold there to Potiphar, who is one of Pharaoh's officials, who's the captain of the guard.
Now, as far as Joseph's brothers were concerned, he was as good as dead. There was no coming back from this. They were never going to see him again. But something much bigger than they could imagine was afoot. Many years before, the Lord told their grandfather, Abraham, that his descendants would be enslaved in a country not their own.
Genesis 15, verses 13 through 14, the Lord told Abraham, Know for certain that for four hundred years, your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.
Little did they realize it, but God was wielding their treachery to accomplish his promised word. That the family would, in fact, leave Canaan. And what's more, that Joseph's dream would come to pass. The betrayal of Joseph brings to mind the betrayal of Jesus. Joseph was sold for 20 shekels of silver.
Judas sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Joseph was rejected by his own brothers. Jesus came to his own and his own did not receive him. Jesus was the light to come into the world, but people love darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Before we sit in pride condemning Joseph's brothers, condemning those who have betrayed us, condemning those who rejected and crucified Christ, we should acknowledge our own acts of betrayal. If anything, who among us has not betrayed God? In fact, before we come to Christ, we are all active traitors, in league with the demonic horde opposing God. Even so, God acts to save us. Paul states it plainly in Romans 5, 6 through 8. He says, You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Joseph's story is an excellent mirror. It reminds us of the wretchedness of human sin. It also reminds us of God's firm purpose and plan.
Joseph's family would indeed bow before him. And every knee will indeed bow before Jesus Christ. As Paul tells us in Philippians 2, 9 through 11, Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Let us pray.
Father. Your word this morning relates to us the condition of the human heart. Of how much we are given to envy one another. So much so that we would even betray those that are our own siblings, our own family.
What we see in this story, Father, is just that. It's the great need for your intervention, your intervention to redeem humanity. And what's so wonderful, Father, is that we see that even in the midst of the terrible corruption and brokenness that we see here, we also see your hand at work bringing about that very salvation.
Father. We confess our own acts of betrayal. We confess all the ways that we've gone astray. But Father, we also trust that no amount of evil is able to foil your plan. And so, Father, we leave behind our past, our past as traitors. And look to you to walk in accordance with your will. Help us to do so, Father, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, we pray. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series entitled Israel Arises. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
As Jacob travels back to Canaan after leaving Laban in Paddan Aram, he struggles to fully place his full faith in the promises of God. Much the same, we continue to strive for our own way rather than trusting God to take care of things.
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As the tallest person in my house, I get asked to grab a lot, to grab a lot of things. Dishes for Sara, cups for James, and eliminating any bugs that appear on the ceiling, though that request isn't only due to my height. Admittedly, I often sigh at these requests. But the truth is, is I wouldn't, I really wouldn't want my family trying to get these things on their own.
Reaching for glass on your tippy toes is a recipe for disaster. I'd much rather they ask me for help so I can give them what they need. There's no need for them to strain and hurt themselves. Unlike me, God never sighs when we ask for his help. In fact, he wants us to go to him, looking to his provision.
Now, considering the account of Jacob's life in Genesis, we see a man who kind of varied in his trust in God. There was a point at which he showed great faith. You think about when he left his home and headed to Haran, but God promised him that he would bring him back, showing great faith, walking into the unknown.
And yet we know from Jacob's life that he's has a tendency to try to work out his own schemes by his own wit to secure a good life for himself. Despite his deceptive ways, despite the chaos, and drama of his polygamous marriages, God blesses him when he suffered mistreatment from Laban. God did not abandon him, and now he's on his way back to Canaan, the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
God has gotten him this far, so how will Jacob respond in the face of new danger? As we turn to chapter 32, we find Jacob coming face to face with death in the form of his brother Esau. So again, we'll, I encourage you to open up to chapter 32. We're gonna be covering chapters 32 through 36.
Some of these will be summarizing, so it's good to have the scriptures open before you so you can be tracking with what I am summarizing.
So, in chapter 32, Jacob is continuing his journey toward Canaan. And, on his way there, he encounters some angels of God. And, this becomes a boost of confidence to him, to know that God is indeed present with him. And so, he names the place Mahanaim, which means two camps. Referring to the fact that he has his own camp, but the camp of God also travels with him.
And as he's preparing to go back home, he is anticipating an encounter with Esau. And in anticipation of that encounter, he sends messengers ahead to assure Esau that he's no threat. He tells his messengers to explain how he's basically done well for himself. He's not looking to take anything from Esau and explains the reason why he's been absent.
Not because he's been trying to hide from Esau, but just because he's been bound up in Haran, working for Laban. Now, Jacob's message, messengers returned to him and, he's told that his brother Esau is coming towards their, their little caravan with 400 men.
Hearing that news, Jacob fears the worst. He says, well, this sounds like a mini army. It sounds like Esau is coming to do me and my family in. And this just compels Jacob to a place of pleading for mercy before God. Looking at verses 9 through 12, he prays this, he says, Oh God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, Lord, you who said to me, go back to your country and your relatives and I will make you prosper.
I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me and also the mothers with their children. But you have said, I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.
So, Jacob is calling upon God, he's saying, this is the situation, it feels like I'm under danger. Something else that occurred in this passage is that he had separated, his children and family so that they wouldn't get hurt potentially by this assault. And he's calling upon God saying, I know what you've promised me.
And I believe, so please come through basically, please protect me. Now after offering this prayer, Jacob does take some practical steps to try to see if he can turn away Esau's wrath. He sends a series of gifts to Esau. Various herds of animals. And at every time that one of these groups approaches Esau, they're to tell him, This is a gift from Jacob to you.
And It doesn't say that this was the intentional effect, so, but you could say the unintended effect of this, besides softening Esau's heart, would have been, it would have slown Esau down quite a bit. To keep having to, okay, we got this group, now we've got to add them. And, all of a sudden, you had a group of just 400 men there, just kind of going along, and now they've got all these animals going with them, too.
So he, so Jacob's prayed. He's deployed these gifts, and all he can do now is just wait. And that evening, he's expecting the worst from Esau, the day that will follow. But that night, Jacob has a life changing encounter. So, picking up in verse 22.
It says, That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip, so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.
Then the man said, Let me go for it is daybreak. But Jacob replied, I will not let you go unless you bless me. The man asked him, What is your name? Jacob, he answered. Then the man said, Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome. Jacob said, Please tell me your name.
But he replied, Why do you ask my name? Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared. The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. Therefore, to this day, the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob's hip was touched near the tendon.
So, Jacob is all by himself in the night on one side of the river. He sent his family over to the other, other side. And, something that's interesting to know about Jacob at this point is he's a bit advanced in age. Now I've told you before that probably, you know, their upper ages are not the same as ours because we've probably experienced a little bit more genetic mutation over a few thousand years, but he's nine, one commentator suggests that he's about the age of 97.
So no spring chicken. And he's engaging in a wrestling match with this mysterious man who appears to him in the night. Now, apparently, Jacob perceives something supernatural about this man, because he continues to wrestle him, and the reason why he's continuing to wrestle him is because, because he's seeking a blessing, and he just won't give up.
And it comes to the point that as daybreak approached, then this mysterious man tears his hip out of socket. He just pops it right out of socket.
And he tells Jacob, you know, let me go. But even at that point, after he's been injured pretty badly, I can't imagine how much that would hurt. Jacob's still holding on. He's like, bless me, bless me, bless me.
And this prompts a reply from this man, a strange reply that you might not expect, which is that he says, I'm going to change your name. Your name's no longer going to be Jacob. It's going to be Israel because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome. So, just reading that, we might think, okay, this is positive.
This is a commendation on, towards Jacob. That the fact that he has struggled with God and he has overcome. But, there's some signs here that that's not really the case. There's some signs here that Jacob might not have been going about things the right way, wrestling for a blessing. First, the fact that his hip got put out of socket, and there's a lot of speculation as to what that actually means, how that actually came about.
Some commentators suggest that, Jacob basically got punched in the groin. He got like boom, and it knocked the socket out. And if you get punched in that area, that has implications for your procreative powers. And so there might be a message being sent to Jacob and that like you're relying so much in your own power and strength and struggle, I'm going to strike you there.
We also see just Jacob's response in the end in which he is humble, but we also find in other passages of scripture indications that this wasn't exactly all positive. In Hosea, Verses 12, 2 through 5, the Lord's speaking to the tribe of Judah. To the nation of Judah. But, He refers back to this incident between Jacob and God.
It says, The Lord has a charge to bring against Judah. He will punish Jacob according to his ways. Repay him according to his deeds. In the womb, he grasped his brother's heel. As a man, he struggled with God. He struggled with the angel and overcame him. He wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there.
The Lord, God Almighty, the Lord is his name. So it's a, the Lord is saying that he's going to punish Jacob according to his deeds. And then it goes to recite some, some things that we know about. We know that Jacob grabs after the heel. He's, he's got this kind of deceptive characteristic about him. And that he also struggled with God in this, in this wrestling match.
So, all together, just thinking about the lesson that Jacob might learn here. It's that God is already prepared to bless Jacob. He's already promised blessing to Jacob. It's like, God's like, there's no need to fight, bro. Like, there's no need to be wrestling with me about, about this.
But Jacob's just so insistent on just struggling, grasping for what God is prepared to give him when it's not necessary at all. Now, after this transpires, the fact that God gives Jacob this new name, Jacob asks this man, and we understand that this man is God, he asks, What, what is your name? And the reply is, Why do you ask my name?
And there's a divine, again, there's a divine implication there.
Because to withhold the name is to preserve the authority of this figure, this man. To name someone, it's like a mother and father, when they name a child, they have the authority to name that, that child. So there's an authoritative power in naming someone. The man is named Jacob, but the name of this man cannot be, cannot be said.
Now, we can put the pieces together here and understand that this was, in fact, God, because both of, both because of Hosea's testimony, but also because of Jacob's own testimony. He understands the message here. He names the place Peniel, which means face of God. In verse 30, he says, it is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.
So that's where we see the humility here. From Jacob. He recognizes, wow. What was I thinking? Wrestling, wrestling with God for a blessing. But he's shown me mercy. He spared my life. But he has a limp. Now we don't know how long that limp lasted, but it probably lasted a good while. Maybe it lasted his whole life.
We don't know. But he's recognized he's been spared and he goes limping back off to his camp. Not the greatest way to approach your, your brother the next day. You want to appear somewhat strong. Instead, he's got this great limp going on. And it's because of this, everything that transpires here that it says that the people of Israel would not eat the tendon socket of the hip just to remember, this encounter.
The dawn of a new day with a new name brings with it Jacob's confrontation with Esau. So looking to chapter 33, we'll summarize chapter 33.
Jacob encounters Esau with his company of 400 men and he takes some protective measures. He, he orders out his, his family, basically in terms of favor, he puts the women who are just his servants, his concubines and their children first, then he puts Leah, and then he puts Rachel in the back, because he loves Rachel the most.
And he goes out in front of them to, face Esau. But what's incredible is that when Esau comes to him, he's elated to see Jacob. In fact, the encounter is reminiscent of the return of the prodigal son to his father. It says that, in verse 4, it says, Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him. He threw his arms around his neck and kissed him, and they wept.
So it's really a beautiful scene of, of reconciliation here. And he says like, what's the meaning of all these gifts? I don't need gifts, you're my brother, that kind of thing. But Jacob insists, no, I want you to have it. I've, I've got plenty. And so it seems that they are on good terms. They're on good terms, but for now, but they ultimately part ways and ultimately their, their families, the nations that would come from them, end up being at odds with each other. Esau had invited to go with him to, he invited Jacob to come with him to Seir. but that doesn't end up happening. Jacob says that he, he, he'll go there, but there's no explanation as to why he doesn't go to, where Esau is, is living, but he doesn't.
They go their separate ways. And, Jacob and his family arrive near the city of Shechem and purchase a land, that they call Sukkoth. Now, there's kind of this question of why did he stop there? Why did he stop at Shechem? Because he's not yet back into where he's supposed to be. He's not at Bethel, where God had told them to return to, where, where Jacob at least had vowed like, I'm going to offer sacrifices to you here.
He doesn't. Instead he, he stops near the outside the city of Shechem and he sets up quarters there. Really strange. He sets up an altar. He names it El Elohe Israel, God, the God of Israel. So he's continuing to worship God, but there still seems like, he's kind of dragging his feet for some reason. And we don't know the reasons why exactly.
He doesn't just proceed. You can kind of see a bit of the area here. At this point he is
down towards, he's up here in Shechem. He's supposed to go down to this area down below. Down to Bethel. So he stops short of there. We don't know why.
But it doesn't take long before trouble arises between Jacob and his new neighbors. Looking to chapter 34. That's just a little, I zoomed in a little bit. So you can see it, there's Shechem. It's like, why not just go a little further? Looking at chapter 34, we'll summarize that. Jacob runs into some trouble. His family runs into some trouble. Leah's daughter, Dinah, is violated, raped by Shechem son of Hamor, the Hivite who's a local ruler, and as you would expect, Jacob's family's enraged. And Jacob doesn't respond immediately. He waits for his sons to come back from, from their fields.
And at that point that they have a meeting with Hamor, Shechem's father. And Hamor proposes marriage between Shechem and Dinah on whatever terms Jacob's family would choose. Now, this sounds unimaginable to us. Like, why, why, why would Jacob and his family accept marriage considering it seems like, Shechem had violently assaulted Dinah. Well, there's two things to consider here. Is one, the language might not be exactly clear as to whether he violently assaulted or not.
It may have been that he just put the cart before the, before the horse and kind of, just charmed her, but it's also possible that he violently assaulted her. And the difficulties of that time were that if that occurred, there were very limited options for the women. If you're a woman, a woman and you suffered that, at that point it'd be difficult to find a hand in marriage. So the best form of restitution they could find, unfortunately,was like, yeah, lets get you two married so you at least have some security. Doesn't mean that it's good, it's just a report on the brokenness of the human condition that we see going back thousands of years, we see that brokenness in our own day, just in different forms. The deal that they strike is very interesting. So we understand that the sons of Israel, anyone that's in the family of Abraham, that they must undergo circumcision. Every male. Now Jacob's sons make that proposal to Hamor, Shechem, all the men, that they must be circumcised. And Shechem's so eager to marry Dinah that they accept the terms. And they figure that they're going to stand to benefit anyways as, as they intermarry, everything that's Jacob's will eventually become theirs.
So just, all in all, it seems like a good deal for them. Well, what appears to be a good deal for them quickly turns very sour. I'm looking at verses 25 through 31. It says that while all the men of that city were recovering from their surgeries, Simeon and Levi went in and, and slaughtered all the men and took back Dinah.
Now you're wondering, how did they manage to do that? How did they slaughter everybody? Well, they had surgery. It wasn't a great, it wasn't a great, you know, It wasn't a great instance of prowess in fighting skill, I think. The men were really debilitated. And so, it was really just an instance of great brutality.
They went in and slaughtered all these men and they took their sister back. And something that's interesting to know here is just that Dinah is the full sister of Simeon and Levi. So you understand, like, with polygamy you have a whole lot of half siblings. In this case, Simeon and Levi are the full brothers of Dinah.
So maybe they feel it most acutely, this, this wrong that's been done to their sister. And they're like, we're gonna get them. In addition, a city is plundered, and they take people and goods. So just really, really brutal, they just completely subjugate those people. Now, I think what we see here with Simeon and Levi is a desire for justice, because I think, I don't know about you, as I read this passage, you're initially sympathetic to Simeon and Levi for like, you know, You did this to our sister.
Why do you get to marry her? You're sympathetic to them wanting for there to be justice done. The trouble is, is that there's no proportionality here at all. It basically goes back to the adage, two wrongs don't make a right. And they do something wrong here.
And this is, Jacob recognizes the trouble that they've created for him in verse 30 and 31. He says, you have brought trouble on me by making me obnoxious to the Canaanites and Perrizites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they joined forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.
But they replied, should he have treated our sister like a prostitute? So again, you see that, you see that tension there where they wanted justice. They were upset about how Dinah had been treated, how their family had been treated because there's a collective identity here as, as well. But they went too far and it's creating problems.
It's producing kind of an unstable situation and eventually later on, when Jacob offers blessings for his sons in Genesis 49, he has this to say about Simeon and Levi says, Simeon and Levi are brothers, their swords are weapons of violence. Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased. Cursed be their anger, so fierce in their fury, so cruel. I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel. So clearly a very negative episode here, but it's what happened. And that's why the Bible is telling us about it. It's telling us what happened. This is a description of everything that transpired. Now following this terrible series of events, Jacob hears again from God go to chapter 35 starting with verses one through four.
And then God said to Jacob, go up to Bethel and settle there and build an altar there to God who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau. So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, get rid of the foreign gods with you and purify yourselves and change your clothes.
Then come, let us go up to Bethel where I will build an altar to God. And he answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone. So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. So, at this point, after hearing from God, Jacob and his family do leave Shechem for Bethel, per God's command, per his previous vow.
And again, we don't have details as to why he stopped in Shechem. He might not have been in disobedience to God. But at this point, anyways, as soon as he hears from God, he goes, he is obedient. He goes to Bethel and he's going there to build an altar to God. And if you're building an altar, you're building an altar to offer sacrifices.
And this is where he will present his tithe that he previously promised. But before they go, it's necessary that they purify themselves. And the way that they do that is they get rid of their foreign gods. They even get rid of their, their clothing. That's not that they were naked, but they just, they changed their clothing and they, they bury it. They bury it under the oak at Shechem. So they bury the gods and notes that they had rings in their ears. These may have, may have been some kind of idolatrous charms of some sort that they, that they buried. And so it's as though they're turning a completely new page. Or before, maybe their affections were divided. Maybe before they were occasionally calling on these other false gods, especially the members of Jacob's household. You remember, the reason why they had these, some, some of these gods anyways, or maybe it was all, all the gods that they had was because Rachel stole the household gods that had belonged to Laban.
They're living in a time where most people worship many gods. But now they're turning a new page where they're going to be worshiping the one true God. Moving on to verse 5. It says, Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them, so that no one pursued them. Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz, that is Bethel, in the land of Canaan.
There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother. Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse died and was buried under the oak outside Bethel. So it was named Allon Bakuth.. After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him.
So as they're proceeding through the land, it's notable that they don't encounter any trouble. Now this goes perhaps to the fear that Jacob had. You know, Simeon and Levi had done all these things. He's like, now they're gonna be really after us, but as they move forward, no one's giving them trouble.
Instead, the terror of God fell on the towns all around them, it says. So they arrive at Bethel and, an altar is built. And it's also noted here that this time that Rebekah's nurse, Deborah, had passed away. And it's interesting because we don't have any record of Rebekah's passing. Presumably this happened while Jacob was away from Canaan, and so that's why we don't have any record of it. But, they do have a record of the passing of her nurse, who must have been a very important member of the family. I mean, not too many women get mentioned in this context. Certainly not servants. So she must have been very important. And that goes to the fact that they named the, location where she was buried, Allon Bakuth, which means, oak of weeping.
So it was very mournful loss for them. And as, after they've done all this, God appears to him again and, and blessed him. Going on in verse 10, God said to him, your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob. Your name will be Israel. So he named him Israel and God said to him, I am God almighty, be fruitful and increase in number.
A nation and a community of nations will come from you and kings will be among your descendants. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you. And God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him. Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him.
He poured out a drink offering on it. He also poured oil on it. Jacob called the place where God had talked with him, Bethel. So we have this reiteration of Jacob's name change from Jacob to Israel. Now, throughout the story, they'll still refer to him as Jacob, but Israel is his new name, and this is why the, the, his children and those, his descendants thereafter will be referred to as Israel.
When God appears to him offering this blessing, He refers to himself as I am God Almighty, which in the Hebrew is El Shaddai. And we see that name utilized in Genesis 17 when God encounters Abraham and He forms the covenant of circumcision and promises blessing to Abraham and his descendants there as well. And just as he's promised blessings to Abraham and Isaac, he reiterates those sorts of blessings to Jacob as well.
That he's going to be a great nation, a community of nations, that kings will come from him. And then of course, that the land, the land of Canaan, will in fact become theirs. And so in response, Jacob, erects this stone pillar,. we talked about that before, how that was a common practice in the ancient near east to kind of designate this place as a house of God.
Earlier he had done this because he had seen a ladder going up and down with angels descending up and down on it. And God spoke to him then. And now like 20 years later, he's, He's doing the same. He's offering a drink offering, which is a drink. You pour it. He's, he's offering drink. He's pouring out oil.
And again, the place is called Bethel. Now from Bethel, it appears that Jacob begins to make his way to his father, Isaac in Hebron. So you've got Bethel. So this body of water here is the Dead Sea. And Jerusalem, even though it's not named here, because it wasn't so named at this time, at least it's not listed at this time, is right around where Bethlehem is.
So Bethel is just a little north of that, and he's going to be heading from Bethel down south to Beersheba. You see the red line going down there. That's where he's heading. He's heading back home, back to dad. So, looking at verses 16 through 28, it tells us that, during the course of their journey, near the area of Bethlehem, Rachel dies in childbirth.
And she was giving birth to, a son. The son that would be called Benjamin, but initially she names him Ben-Oni, which means son of my trouble. Now, no one really wants to have that as, as their name. You know, you can imagine the burden of being that son. It's like my mom died in childbirth and she called me son of my trouble.
And so Jacob instead gives him the name Benjamin, which means son of my right hand. We have a really interesting just little side note here, here in verse 22, which is that, Reuben does something very terrible and sleeps with Jacob's concubine, Bilhah, so one of his brother's mothers, and Reuben is the firstborn of the family.
So he's supposed to be Mr. Reliable. He's supposed to be your top son, and he does that, and it's going to result in a curse for him, once we get to Genesis 49. Isaac dies at the age of 180. Something that's really interesting about the way that, you know, deaths are recorded in Genesis is that just because the death is recorded at this time, doesn't mean that what follows, doesn't also occur in that person's lifetime.
And so actually when you have Joseph going into Egypt, when he's sold as a slave into Egypt, Isaac's still alive at that time. Just something kind of interesting to know. And, when he dies, though, Jacob and Esau come together and they bury him. Now, the twelve sons of Israel are listed behind me.
You've got Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. Those are the sons of Leah. Joseph and Benjamin, the sons of Rachel. Dan and Naphtali, the sons of Bilhah. That was Rachel's servant. And Gad and Asher, sons of Zilpah. That was Leah's servant. So between this chapter and chapter 36, kind of all the loose ends are being tied up as we prepare to transition to Joseph's story. And that's what we have in Genesis 36.
We have a summary of the line of Esau. Part of the explanation as to why they both don't reside in Canaan is that there simply wasn't enough room for them both. We also think about the blessing that, that Esau was given by his father, where it said he'd be away from kind of the fatness of the land.
He'd be away from blessing. So that's probably, that's part of it as well. But there wasn't enough room for the both of them. And so Jacob is in Canaan. Esau is in Seir, which also would become known as Edom. And so what we have here in chapter 36 is just Esau's lineage. Also the lineage of Seir the Horite, because they intermarried into that family.
Some notable names to pick out is Amalek, so later on, in the course of Israel's history you'll hear the conflict that they had with the Amalekites, so descendant from Amalek. You also see the names Eliphaz, Teman, Uz, those names appear in the Book of Job, which suggests an Edomite connection to the book of Job, because we don't know a lot about the location of everything that's happening in Job.
So it's kind of just interesting to connect those dots there. Now, if you're reading through Genesis in your daily devotions and you come across this chapter, like I'm reading one chapter today, I'm going to read chapter 36. You're like, like, what do I get out of this passage? Important thing to remember as we read scripture, is that we are not the first audience of scripture.
That is, the Bible is written for us, but is not written to us. It is written to people at the time in which all these details would have made a whole lot of sense to them. And they'd say, oh yeah, I understand what they're talking about there. All of it's lost on us. I think what you can take away from it is this, though, is that it reminds us that these accounts are grounded in history.
Real places with real people at a real time. It's not like the Greek myths where they just make up a bunch of stuff and spin it, spin a tale. If you're doing that, if you're just only about telling a good story, you wouldn't bother with writing a whole chapter with just a bunch of lists of names. Now, covering chapters 32 through 36, there's, there's plenty for us to chew on here.
Most importantly, God's plan of redemption is moving forward. He promised Abraham countless descendants in the land of Canaan. His son, Isaac, had two sons. The son, the chosen son, Jacob, now has 12 sons. And from these the nation of Israel will emerge. Everything is moving forward, according to God's plan and by God's power.
Esau could have slaughtered Jacob and his family, but he didn't. Jacob's family could have been tossed out of Shechem and Canaan by neighboring people, but they weren't. And by now, Jacob is learning that this is God's doing. Not his own. Jacob struggles with God. He wrestles with him because he simply doesn't understand God.
God had already promised Jacob blessing. There's nothing to wrestle about. The struggle reveals Jacob's stubbornness. But all the more, it reveals God's power. By a touch, he throws Jacob's hip out of joint, even as he clings with his demands. God gives Jacob a new name, even as he keeps his name hidden. God is in charge, not Jacob.
Jacob has come face to face, not only with God, but with his own foolishness. I think Jacob's experience is instructive for Christians. Like Jacob, we have entered into relationship with God. That connection is established for us in Jesus. And we are promised a share in all that belongs to Christ. Yet, also like Jacob, many of us, myself included, prefer to wrestle God rather than resting in his promises.
We get all wound up in our pursuit of blessings rather than resting in the one who will provide. We believe we need that job, that house, that family now. We believe we need one political administration or another or else. What has Christ promised us?
He says, Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. I cannot say it emphatically enough. We will inherit the earth.
We cannot comprehend what awaits us. Just as emphatically, I tell you, now, is not the time for our inheritance.
Luxury, perfect felicity, political perfection, is not on the table in this hour. Christ did not promise us worldly kingdoms. He promised us his kingdom, the kingdom of God. So do not wrestle. Rest, rest in the God who will give all good things at his appointed time. What we need for today and everything else. All that has been promised when Christ returns.
Harken to the words that the Apostle Peter tells us.
Humble yourselves therefore, under God's mighty hand that he may lift you up in due time, cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. So you are weary. So you are burdened. Accept God's invitation. Take on the yoke that Christ honors and find rest for your soul. Let's pray.
Dear Father,
We thank you for the promises that you've given. The promises that you gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Those promises which now also belong to us because of Jesus Christ. Father, we are looking forward to the new heavens and the new earth. We're looking forward to a world in which righteousness will dwell and all will be right.
Father, we confess that in our waiting, rather than resting, sometimes we can turn to wrestling. Wrestling for the good things that you've promised us. Father, help us not to do that. Father, may it not take our hip getting knocked out of socket for us to just sit down and rest. Help us to trust in your word, a promise to us that you will bless us, that you will meet our needs, and that we'll receive far, far much more on the day of Christ's return.
Increase our faith, Father, we pray. In Christ's name. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series entitled Israel Arises. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Even through all of the trouble that Jacob faces away from home, God shows time and time again that he is with Jacob.
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Transcript:
The Bible is supreme. It is without parallel in capturing the human condition in words. One of my favorite lines of scripture in this regard is Job 5, verses 6 through 7, from the speech of Eliphaz to Job. It says there, For hardship does not spring from the soil, nor does trouble sprout from the ground.
Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward. We see again and again in our lives, we see again and again in the scriptures, how human beings have a knack for finding trouble. When we look at Jacob's life, we find all sorts of trouble. Already, he has had trouble with his family. He persuaded his brother Esau to foolishly sell his birthright to him for stew.
And he took Esau's blessing from their father Isaac by deceiving their father into thinking that he was Esau instead of Jacob. And all of this is producing all sorts of drama and conflict. Esau wants Jacob dead. Rebekah doesn't want to lose her sons. And both she and Jacob don't, she and Isaac rather, don't want Jacob to marry a Canaanite.
And so, as a result of all this turmoil, they send Jacob back off to the land of their people. The land of Haran. But in leaving Canaan, Jacob won't be leaving trouble behind. Plenty awaits him. But as he goes, he also finds that God is with him. So we're looking at verses 11 through 15 to start in chapter 28, as Ernie read.
Jacob is set off from Beersheba to Haran. It's, about a journey of 550 miles. It would have taken him over a month to complete that journey. At this point, he's several days in, and he's ready to take a nap for the night. And the most comfortable pillow he can find is a stone. I can't imagine wanting to use that for a pillow.
You'd wake up with a crooked neck, but that's the best he could do and so he lays down on his stone pillow and he has this dream, he has this dream in which he sees a stairway resting on the earth, the top reaching into heaven and angels ascending and descending on it. Now, when we think about this imagery, it seems really curious to us.
It seems kind of, I don't know, random. Why would there be a stairway going between heaven and earth? It's at this point that it's important for us to understand the context in which Jacob is living. This is a context in which stairways between heaven and earth already hold great religious significance.
Some of the most major structures of that time were called ziggurats. And they were pyramid like structures that facilitated a connection between human beings and the gods. And this is a model from a museum of that. So you can imagine, this is most likely the sort of visual that Jacob had in his dream of this staircase proceeding upward.
And you can imagine it proceeding upward into the clouds. And God, above that, speaking as these angels are ascending and descending. And what he tells Jacob is this. Is that he's going to have many descendants, as has been told numerous times. He's told that he's going to inherit the land, the promised land of Canaan.
And that all peoples on earth are going to be blessed through his family, through his offspring. Now this is the promise that has been given to Abraham, it's been given to Isaac, it's been given to Jacob. And at this point you must know it well because we've said it again and again. But we have to remember, put yourself in their shoes.
Many years have passed between these visitations. It's from one generation to the next. Jacob needs this kind of reassurance. Because, it's just, he, him and his family are being chosen out of all of humanity. The rest of humanity is given over to all sorts of paganism. Worshipping false gods, false idols.
And so God is really taking them and yanking them out of that. And so he's visiting them in a special way to reassure them that, I am your God. And God makes that very explicit in verse 15. He says, I am with you, and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.
Now, as we read these stories, and we know, you know, we know everything that follows, it kind of seems like a sure thing to us, like, of course, Jacob's going to return back to Canaan, and, you know, eventually, yes, his children will go down to Egypt, and they'll come out of Egypt and inherit the Promised Land.
We, we just take this all for granted. Jacob could take nothing for granted. He didn't know what his future would hold. He's leaving his parents. Going back to a homeland that it seems he's never been to before, to find a wife, he doesn't know exactly who he's going to marry, and for all he knows, he may never be coming back to the land of Canaan.
So this visitation from God in which God is giving him these promises holds great weight for him, and it's calling him to have faith. Trust in God as he goes forward, even as he's leaving the land and we see just that sort of response from Jacob. We, we move on to verse 16. It says, when Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, surely the Lord is in this place and I was not aware of it. He was afraid and said, how awesome is this place? This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of Heaven. Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey I am taking, and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear, so that I return safely to my father's household, then the Lord will be my God. And this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house. And of all that you've given, and of all that you give me, I will give you a tenth.
So, Jacob's response is one of awe, because he takes this dream to signal that this is a special holy place in which God is present. So when he says that This is none other than the house of God, this is the gate of heaven, we have to understand he was taking that very literally, that this was a very sacred space that he was in.
And so his response is to take the stone that he had been laying his head on, he sets it up as a pillar. So when we see a pillar, we shouldn't think of something that's very ornamental. This is probably a very, just plain stone, but he consecrates it by anointing it with oil and he calls this the house of God.
He says this will be God's house. And this lines up with the name of the place, the name that he gives to the place, which is Bethel, which means house, Beth, and then El is short for Elohim, God. So Bethel. And he makes a vow. He makes this vow that if God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey, make all the provisions and that he returns safely to his father's household, then the Lord will be my God. And this stone that I've set up as a pillar will be God's house. And then he promises that he will give a tenth of all that God gives to him. So he's promising to make an offering. He's using that tithing principle.
It's not a rule for Christians today that you have to give a tenth of all that you have, but it's a principle. And this is a principle that Jacob's going to be operating by. He says, I'm going to give as a sacrifice a tenth of all you give me. Now, probably what we're talking about here is not money, but sacrifices.
He's a herdsman, so he's going to be offering sacrifices unto God. And we're going to see his opportunity to fulfill this vow in Genesis 35. We're not going to get there today, but we are going to cover quite a bit of territory, and I'm going to summarize the next three chapters. If I went through every single detail of all these chapters, we'd be covering this story forever.
So, we're going to be doing a little bit of summarization, tracing Jacob's story once he reaches Haran. And I encourage you to open up your Bible, so you can see the text for yourself. I hate not putting the text before you, but it's just so much text. So I encourage you to open up, follow along in your Bible so you can see as I summarize it, what I'm referring to.
So, we're going to be looking at Genesis 29 now. Genesis 29. So, it says in chapter 29 that Jacob arrives in the lands of the east, very close to Haran. And he meets some herdsmen, and they say, Oh yeah, we're from Haran. And he inquires about his family, whether they know Laban. And they say that they do indeed know his uncle Laban.
And then, in fact, as Jacob's there, at this well, with these other herdsmen, they say, his daughter's actually coming. She's a shepherdess. She tends to flocks herself. And there's this interesting exchange that goes on between Jacob and these herdsmen. They ask, why didn't you, why aren't you watering your herds?
They're like, there's this big stone in front of it. As soon as Rachel shows up, he moves this large stone out of the way, so her flocks can be watered. And kind of reading in between the lines here almost seems like it's a kind of a show of, a show of strength. At least he's being very kind and taking care of her flocks, and he's filled with joy. He kisses, I don't think this is necessarily a romantic sort of kiss, because it later says that he kisses, he exchanges kisses with Laban as well. This is just one of a kiss of joy. He weeps that he's made contact with his family. Now, again, Rachel is the daughter of his uncle Laban and Jacob is welcomed into their home. He stays with them, and at a certain point, Laban offers Jacob that he could earn a wage in his household, working for wages. Instead of this, Jacob proposes that he strikes a deal to work seven years in order to receive Rachel's hand in marriage. Now, this might sound weird to you, it's like, is Laban selling his daughter?
Laban is not selling his daughter. You have to understand that in ancient times, it was expected that the husband would provide a dowry in payment. It sounds like, again, it sounds like you're buying the wife. You're not. You're, it's basically posting up a security for the wife so that if the husband was to say I'm done with you, I'm going to divorce you, there would be money in place for the woman. For the, for the daughter to be taken care of if the husband abandoned her in some way. Whether death, divorce, things like that. So that was typical. Now, the deal that Jacob is setting up here with Laban is setting up a very high bride price. He's basically saying, I will give you seven years wages in order to marry your daughter.
Um, imagine giving seven years of your wages to marry someone. It's a lot. Now, I'm sure, you know, his, his room and board, you know, they were taken care of, but everything he's given, he's giving his whole life in order to marry this woman. And Laban says, sure, that sounds like a pretty good, pretty good deal.
Um, so the wedding day comes. But Jacob discovers that he was tricked into marrying Rachel's less lovely older sister Leah. Now, part of Laban's angle here probably was because Leah's the older daughter, so trying to get her married off first. But, in any case, it's a very deceitful thing to do when a guy's been working seven years to marry your younger daughter.
Now you wonder, you know, how is it possible that Jacob could be tricked. Well, she's likely wearing a veil during whatever ceremony they may have had. It's also probable, or be understood that Jacob probably enjoyed some wine. Might have been a little bit drunk. They didn't have electricity back then. So, in any case, he wakes up in the morning and discovers, Hey! Um, I'm, I've married the wrong woman. This is, this is Leah, not, not Rachel. Nevertheless, Jacob insists that he must marry Rachel. And again, you know, I've mentioned this before, polygamy is common practice at this time. As the Bible describes, polygamy is being a norm at this time.
However, as we see polygamous relationships play out there's nothing beneficial about them. They produce all sorts of conflicts. So, and you'll see this as, as this moves forward. In any case, he agrees to work seven years more in order to receive Rachel's hand in marriage. And so he does that, and eventually marries her.
And then beyond this, he works about seven years more. It says later on, later on he talks about working for 20 years with, for Laban. So he's, he's worked basically like 20 to 21 years now for Laban. Now as he's got these two women in his household, his wives, um, he blesses Leah with children, because the Lord sees Jacob's lack of love for her.
He sees how Jacob's been kind of mistreating her. And on the other hand, Rachel remains childless. Turning to chapter 30, we see how Rachel responds to this situation. She becomes jealous. Rachel becomes very jealous, and she gives Jacob her handmaiden, Bilhah, to bear him children. Now this brings back to mind the whole situation with Abraham and Sarah, and how Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham in order to have children through her.
Once again this is kind of an ancient practice of surrogacy. Very messed up sort of system in which you can just take someone and say, oh yeah, you're gonna, you're gonna sleep with my husband in order that I can have children through you. So, while it's Bilhah's children, it's actually Rachel kind of taking ownership, mothership, of those children because it's her handmaiden that she's given to Jacob.
Surrogacy then, surrogacy now, messed up. But it was the practice of that time, and it produces issues. Because then Leah responds, she says, Oh yeah? Well, I'll give my handmaiden, Zilpah, to Jacob. And you can have children through her, because Leah comes to the point where she's no longer having children. So you, so now you've got four women involved.
They're all giving birth to children. Rachel is so desperate to have a child of her own, that when she learns that Reuben had picked some mandrakes for Leah, in order to promote her fertility, because it was believed that mandrakes, it was a certain type of plant, it was supposed that it would help with fertility, she says, Hey, I'll make a trade with you.
Give me those mandrakes, and you can be with Jacob tonight. And, Even as Rachel's trying to make this deal in order for her to become pregnant so that she can have children, Leah gets pregnant herself, even though she had given up the mandrakes. And, so we see, again and again, just kind of the conflict that's being produced here.
God had seen Leah. He had blessed her. Both in the beginning and now in this case. But then, it ultimately concludes that, it says that God remembers Rachel. Now, it doesn't, in saying that God remembers Rachel, it's not as though God forgot her. God isn't a human being so that he forgets. It's saying that he attended to the desire of her heart.
And so she, she conceives and she gives birth to Joseph. And we'll be spending a lot of time with Joseph in later chapters. So this sums up most of the trouble surrounding childbirth, though Rachel will give birth again later on. Jacob's household is now quite full with two wives, two concubines, and all their children.
And now that, now that Rachel has had a child, her position in his household is secured. And so there should be no reason why he can't leave Laban. Laban would have some reservations about him leaving before Rachel would have, would have had children. She now has a child. And so, Jacob is becoming restless.
He's longing to return to Canaan. But, Laban is not quite ready to let him go. So, looking at verses 25 through 43 in chapter 30.
Jacob expresses his desire to leave, but Laban urges him to stay because he knows, he says he's known by, he's learned by divination, that Jacob is blessed by God. And so as a result, Laban's been sharing in that blessing as Jacob's been part of his household. Now it's interesting that Laban learns this by divination, because this is a pagan practice, whatever the particulars of it may be. God is able to even intervene in, non normative ways that you should be communicating with him in order to get someone the message that they need to hear. And he wanted Laban to know that Jacob is blessed. Jacob is blessed by God. And so Jacob strikes a deal that ends up accruing to his benefit.
He says, Okay, well of all, we've got these herds of goats. Of all the goats, let me have those that are spotted, speckled goats, while you get to keep those which are solid colored. Now it's a little difficult to follow the details here, but it seems as though, and however this gets hashed out, that it doesn't, on the surface, it doesn't look well, it doesn't look good for, for Jacob because Laban ends up making it so that the herd is mostly just solid colored goats.
And Jacob's not left much to work with. And if you know anything about genetics, well, if most of the population is solid, you wouldn't expect that you'd get too many goats with varying colors. Now, the way that this situation all ends up accruing to Jacob's benefit, is because of God's hand of blessing upon him.
And, he uses a very kind of unusual practice, certainly not scientific, but again, something that God used, where he places striped branches, stripped of some of the bark, and from the strong members of the herd during mating, Which resulted in more spotted and speckled goats for himself. And so this is clearly an instance of divine intervention by, by God that this actually works.
Because I can promise you if you do this, it will, it will not work. Ask any farmer. So, but this, this blessing manages to create trouble for Jacob. His brother in laws get jealous, and Laban also seems to sour on him because Jacob's gotten the better end of the deal. And it's in this moment that God gives Jacob direction.
So now we look at chapter 31.
First looking at verses 1 through 26. Again, there's jealousy, there's discord brewing. The Lord says to Jacob, Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you. Picking up that, picking back up that promise, which he gave them nearly 20 years prior, that he's going to be with him.
He can leave Laban's house. He's going to be secure. God's going to take care of him. As it turns out, Leah and Rachel are supportive of this, of this move, because Laban has not been on the up and up in how he's handled his money that should have been reserved for them. So Jacob was giving all, he gave fourteen years labor for their hands in marriage.
Theoretically, Laban should have been setting aside, what that was worth in money, for security for those women. But he had not done that. He had just kept all the benefits for himself. And so Leah and Rachel are like, well, there's nothing, there's no, there's no securities left here for us. Yeah, we might as well hit the road.
So that's what they do. Jacob and his family secretly flee. Now, as you might imagine, Laban eventually notices and he begins in pursuit. But God, once again, comes to Laban. Verse 24, it says that, God comes to him in a dream and says to him, Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad. God's basically telling Laban, watch yourself.
I know you want to kill this guy. Don't. Don't do that. That would be a mistake. So looking at verses 26 through 55 they have this confrontation. Laban eventually catches up with them. Laban says, Well, I'm upset that you left with my family, with your family without saying goodbye. Okay, that's understandable.
We can imagine him being a little upset about that, but we can also understand why Jacob left the way that he did. Jacob says, I was afraid you weren't going to let me leave. Jacob also later goes on to talk about how he experienced all sorts of hardships when he was working for Laban and how it hadn't been really a fair deal between them, and he says in verse 42 if the God of my father the God of Abraham and the fear of Isaac had not been with me, you would surely would have sent me away empty handed. But God has seen my hardship in the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you. So Jacob's saying like listen, I don't owe you anything. Basically, everything I have is due to God and his blessings. Now, there's another dimension of conflict here because Laban's very upset because his household gods have gone missing. Now, the reason why they've gone missing is because Rachel stole them.
Now, this throws us right into the deep end in terms of the cultural context of what's going on here. It's not a monotheistic culture. Worshipping one god is not the norm. The norm is to worship many gods. And, in order for Rachel to have the ability to steal Laban's gods, which is kind of a funny concept, it kind of makes a mockery of these gods to begin with, that you could steal the gods, they were probably small statuettes. We often think of idols as kind of big, but these are small statuettes that would have been kind of set up in the home. Well, Rachel steals them. And, Laban's upset because he feels like, well, if I don't have these, they're not gonna bring favor to my household.
Now, he should know better. He's already heard about how God, the one true God has been blessing Jacob. And it's by virtue of Jacob being in his household, and God blessing Jacob, that his household has been blessed. Not because of these little gods. But, nonetheless, he wants them. He feels like they can bring him some benefit.
Rachel may believe that herself, too. I mean, she's his daughter. ,They don't give them back to him. She keeps them concealed. It's her time of the month. She has them hidden under her. She says, sorry, dad, I can't get up. And so he never finds them. Very tricky. Lots of deceit and trickery going on here. In the end, Jacob and Laban strike a peace between each other. It's not a friendly peace, though. We read this in verse 48. It says, Laban said, This heap, and they set up a stone, some stones. This heap is a witness between you and me today. That is why it was called Galeed. It was also called Mizpah, because he said, May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other.
If you mistreat my daughters, or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me. Laban also said to Jacob, Here is this heap, and here is this pillar I have set up between you and me. This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this heap to your side to harm you, and that you will not go past this heap and pillar to my side to harm me.
May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us. So again, this is kind of like a line of demarcation. This is not the sort of relationship you want to have with your father in law. It's like, you stay on your side, I'll stay on my side. If we violate this deal that we've made with each other, well, we might not be able to get each other because we'll be hundreds of miles away, but God's going to judge between us.
And they're not just saying that, oh, like, lightly. They're being serious when they make that vow that if any of us breaks this, you're going to come under divine judgment. And so it's on those terms that they part ways.
Jacob's life is messy. It's full of deception and drama. It's full of trouble. What stands out above the fray, above the chaos, is God's sovereign hand. When things seem to be going sideways, whatever the reason may be, God intervenes. We see God's sovereignty. We see God's grace. It's worth remembering that God gives Jacob this undeserved grace, not just for his sake, but for our sakes.
Remember, all of this is working together to produce the nation of Israel, the people from whom Jesus Christ would be born as our Savior. We see here, God's grace for us. In truth, we are no better than Jacob. Our lives are often just as messy, full of trouble, for all sorts of reasons, sinful and otherwise.
But our God is just as good now as he was then. He blesses us beyond what we deserve. And because we have become God's children in Jesus Christ, through faith, God's word to Jacob is our family promise. Remember, he tells Jacob, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I'll bring you back to this land.
I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. Our father is with us, watching over us. He takes care of the flowers of the field and the birds of the air, yet he cares so much more for his children. He's working all things together for the good of those who love him and who have been called by him.
He will complete the good work that he's begun in us. He will never leave us or forsake us. Jesus, the Son, our Savior, will be with us to the end of the age. And so, as we read this text, it should encourage us to move forward with the confidence of Jacob as he left Bethel, believing he would one day return because of God's word.
That same word holds eternal promise for us as we look forward to Christ's return, the resurrection of the dead. And the new creation that will be introduced in full in that coming day. Let us pray.
Dear Father,
thank you for your grace. We see it throughout human history. We see it throughout the, the text of scripture. And you have always given us much more than what we deserve. Father, we pray that you would help us to move forward with the faith of Jacob. As you met him in that moment of probably not knowing what his future held, Father, but receiving your word of promise.
Father, help us to have faith in your promises that you've made to us. Of our forgiveness in Jesus Christ, and the future that we have. Father, keep our eyes off of worrying about our future as it relates to what the next week holds or the next year holds or what the headlines foretell father. Let us instead look to the words of scripture and what they say is in store for us, what is in store for us in Jesus Christ. Help us share in that faith. And Father, help us move beyond our own sinfulness. The sinfulness we do see in the text of Scripture. Help us be the sorts of people that you desire us to be as we follow your Son.
In Jesus Christ's name we pray. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series entitled Israel Arises. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
God anticipates the reality of human sinfulness but is able to work out his good purpose of redemption.
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Transcript:
When Esau heard his father's words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, Bless me, me too, my father. But he said, Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing. Esau said, Isn't he rightly named Jacob? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me. He took my birthright, and now he's taken my blessing. Then he asked, haven't you reserved any blessing for me? Isaac answered Esau, I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son? Genesis 27, 34 through 37.
It is normal for us to make plans. And it is just as normal for our plans to collapse when some unforeseen challenge emerges. It happens so often that we coin sayings to guide us in those circumstances. Finish this saying for me. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, yes. It's a pretty apt saying.
When things go sideways, we try to make the best of things. This is our experience as human beings. But it's not God's experience. God is not taken by surprise. He knows what the future holds. He knows every action we would take in any set of circumstances. And so when God makes a plan, it does not change.
He has already accounted for everything and determined the best course. This means that when things go sideways, even when people don't act the way that they should, God is still there. God is in control, working out his purpose in all things. If God lacked such power and knowledge, and if he was also not perfectly good, we would have no reason to entrust ourselves to him.
He could be a powerful ally, but he would be no sure thing. In a world full of uncertainty, we need a God who is sure. A God who is in control. As we proceed in the story of Isaac's family, we turn back to the brewing conflict between Esau and Jacob. In Genesis 25, we learn that God's purpose is that Jacob, the younger twin, would supplant his firstborn brother Esau as the one to inherit the Abrahamic blessing, the promise of the land of Canaan, countless descendants, and worldwide blessing.
We learn also that Jacob is not a clean character. He takes advantage of Esau's sinful foolishness by persuading him to sell his birthright for some stew. Working between chapters 26 through 28, we're going to learn this morning more of Jacob's questionable character, the shortcomings of both his parents and Esau, and how God is yet able to work out his purpose in the midst of human sinfulness.
So we're going to have the scriptures behind me, but I, I do encourage you to open this morning because we're getting to kind of the part of Genesis where we're going to be covering a lot of territory. And so some of the passages I'll be summarizing, some of them I will be reading. So we're going to begin in Genesis 26, verses 34 through 35.
And I didn't include this last week because I think it kind of provides one part of a bookend, if you think about two bookends, kind of holding everything together in terms of the scriptures that we're going to be considering this morning. It says at the end of chapter 26 that Esau had married a couple of Hittite women.
When you think about the land of Canaan, you have to understand that it's made up of various tribes of people. So it's not just one tribe. And the Hittite people would have also been among those people occupying the land of Canaan. And, of course, these people weren't worshipping the one true God. They were not worshipping the God of Abraham and of Isaac.
And, so, there's a conflict there. There's also a conflict because there's a vulnerability to Esau marrying into these other tribes and his family just getting absorbed into them rather than them forming a distinct people. So there's things right up front that would suggest that he shouldn't have married these women.
But besides this, it says, That these women were, I guess, quite the daughter in laws. Because it says in verse 35, they were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah. Now, hopefully you all don't have any experience with that. But, we can just imagine what sort of trouble they may have been having with them.
When we go to Genesis 27, we're entering into kind of a pivotal moment in In the life of this family. The boys are grown. Um, we just read that Esau was 40 years old. And Esau and Jacob are twins. So Jacob's also 40 years old. Isaac's getting older. And so in Genesis 27, we read, it says, When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau, his older son, and said to him, My son.
Here I am, he answered. Isaac said, I am now an old man, and don't know the day of my death. Now then, get your equipment, your quiver and bow, and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.
Now, Isaac is an old man here, and he doesn't know when he's going to die. So, given kind of his poor condition that we read about here, his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he may be thinking, I'm, I'm going to be dying soon. Now as it turns out, he doesn't die very soon. He ends up living to the age of 180.
There's many years that pass between here and now, when he dies. But, in any case, he realizes, I need to get my affairs in order, so to speak. And he knows that he needs to give this blessing to Esau. Now the blessing that he's going to offer him is the blessing that he would receive as the firstborn.
It would be the blessing that would continue on this blessing that had been received from God, that was given to Abraham and to Isaac. And now, as Isaac would have it, to Esau. Now, you'll remember from Genesis 25, though, that God had said that it would be Jacob who would be the one that would receive this blessing, who would be the one that would be favored, rather than his older brother Esau.
And so, we're anticipating that something's gotta happen here. How it's going to happen, though, is not necessarily ideal. We go to verses 5 through 10. And we see there that Rebekah was kind of listening in, in terms of what Isaac was saying to Esau. And so when Esau goes out, she goes to Jacob and says, Listen, I heard that your father's preparing to bless Esau.
He sent him out to get some food, to have a nice meal together. So, we've got a plan here. We're gonna switch things up on them. We're gonna, bring me a couple of goats. We're gonna make a tasty dinner, just the way that he likes it. And that way, you can give him this food and he will bless you instead of Esau.
Now again, the whole reason why this scheme is even feasible is because, it's because Isaac's eyesight is just so poor. He wouldn't be able to visually tell the difference between his sons. But, Jacob anticipates a problem here. In verses 11 through 13, he says, Okay, we might be able to fool him with the food.
But I don't feel at all like my brother. My brother's a very hairy man, and I have smooth skin. So when I go to him, he's going to be able to tell right off that it's not me. And so the consequence will be, rather than receiving a blessing, I will receive a curse. And he's not just meaning that Abraham's, that Isaac's just going to curse him out.
He's meaning that something disastrous is going to happen for his future. Because this is what the blessings and curses are about. The blessing secures the son's future. The curse would doom his future. And so he's like, well, I don't want to have anything to do with that. That seems kind of dangerous.
He's not above deceiving him, but he wants to be successful. Rebekah assures him. She says, listen. If, if he's going to curse you, it's going to fall on me. Now it's difficult to figure out how that would work, but that's what, that's how she tries to assure him. And so we move on to verses 14 through 17. And the way that they go about trying to address Jacob's concern is by actually having him kind of dress like Esau.
They put, they cover him up with goat skins, so that he kind of feels kind of rough and, and hairy. Maybe, and kind of smells like Esau. And they bring the tasty food. And so, it's all prepared, and Jacob's ready to give his best imitation of Esau. And so, he proceeds to approach his father again, who is blind.
So looking at verses 18 through 22, Jacob goes in and just straight up lies to his father Isaac saying, I am Esau, you're, you're firstborn. I've got some food, eat it up. Give me your blessing. Now, Isaac is suspicious out of the gate. He says, wait, this is all kind of happened pretty fast. How did you find it so quickly, my son?
And then Isaac, I mean, Jacob just doubles down on his lie. He says, well, God supplied it to me really quick. Well, gee, that's not good. Now you're involving God in your lie. That's, that's not great. Isaac's still suspicious. It says, get close to me so I can touch you. And when Jacob touch, when Isaac touches him, he's just perplexed because he says, the voice is Jacob's, but the hands are the hands of Esau.
So, Isaac is still suspicious. But yet, he, he moves forward. Now we go to verses 23 through 27, and I will read these verses. Says that Isaac did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau. So he proceeded to bless him, proceeded to bless him despite his misgivings about the voice.
Are you really my son, Esau? Yes I am. He replied. Then he said, my son, bring me some of your game to eat so that I may give you my blessing. Jacob brought it to him and he ate and he brought some wine and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him. Come here, my son, and kiss me. So he went to him and kissed him.
When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed. So, Jacob is all in on this deception, which is wrong. On Isaac's part, He's lacking some proper caution here, given his misgivings about the voice, how quickly the game was found.
But it seemed as though he just wanted to believe that this was his son. He probably wanted to eat the tasty food that was brought, was brought to him. And so, he smells probably the odors of the goat skin and says, ah, my son. You know, it smells like the field. Everything is fake, though. But despite the appearances being unreal, the blessing that he offers is a very real blessing.
Now, I think it's important to note here that it wasn't necessary that Jacob and Rebekah, really, because she was part of this scheme, it wasn't necessary that they would have taken this route of deception in order to secure this blessing. Now, we don't know the other route by which God would have given this blessing to Jacob, but God had promised it.
And so, because God had promised it, it was a sure thing that he would have received this blessing. Jacob could have chosen better, but greater than Jacob's choices is God's purpose. Because this wasn't a kind of decisive moment either. He's going to be blessed or cursed and God had promised indeed that he would be blessed.
So God can work even through our own wrongdoing at times. It doesn't mean that those things are good. It only means that God is gracious. And so picking up in verse 28, we hear the blessing that's given to Isaac. Given to Jacob, rather. It says, May God give you heaven's dew and earth's richness, an abundance of grain and new wine.
May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who cursed you be cursed, and those who blessed you be blessed. After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father's presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting.
So this, this blessing that Isaac gives to Jacob has all the markers of the Abrahamic blessing of lordship, of nations serving him, of those who bless him being blessed, those who curse him being cursed themselves. And then very dramatically, as soon as, as soon as Jacob leaves the scene, here comes Esau.
Esau comes in ready to be blessed, but is in for a rude surprise. So, looking at verses 31 through 33. He comes in with the tasty food for his father, says pretty much the same thing, and Isaac's perplexed. He says, who are you? I just, I was just in here with you. I just gave you the blessing, and Esau is like, what do you mean?
I'm, I'm your son. Your firstborn. And that just, that just upsets Isaac terribly. It says that he trembled violently. He says, who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him and indeed he will be blessed. So it's, it's a terrible surprise for Isaac.
It's a terrible surprise, of course, for Esau, because this blessing, again, means something. It's not something that he can just take back. As he's given it, so it stands. So looking at verses 34 through 37, it says there that when Esau heard what Isaac had to say, he urged his father to give him some sort of blessing.
And then he goes and rants about Jacob. He says, ah, isn't this just like Jacob to do this? It's in keeping with his name. He's a, he's a heel grabber. He's, he's, he's always trying to get me. He recalls how he took his birthright by persuading him to sell it to him for a bowl of stew. And now, here he is.
He's, he's he's taken the blessing, and so he's desperate here, he's like, Father, isn't there some blessing that you could have for me? And Isaac's like, I gave my blessing, what can I possibly do for you now?
But Esau's insistent. And so, picking up in verse 38, we'll read here. It says, Esau said to his father, do you have only one blessing, my father. Bless me too, my father. Then Esau wept aloud. His father, Isaac, answered him, Your dwelling will be away from the earth's richness, away from the dew of heaven above.
You will live by the sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke off your neck. Esau held a grudge against Jacob, because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, The days of mourning for my father are near. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.
So, is there a blessing that Isaac can give? Yes, but it's not the same at all. It's, it's inferior, really. It says that Esau's dwelling will be away from the earth's richness. Away from the dew of heaven above. He's a guy that's going to have to live by the sword. And the only kind of positive turn that we see here is that eventually he'll throw off the yoke of his brother.
And so, hearing all this, Esau's like, that's it, I'm gonna kill him. But he's serious, he's like, I'm actually gonna kill my brother. He's ready to commit murder. And so, looking to verses 42 through 45. Once again, Rebekah's got great ears. Or she's got great sources. Because she hears that Esau said this. And she's like, alright.
I gotta make another plan again. And she goes to Jacob and says, listen, your brother's ready to kill you. Like, actually, he's going to kill you. And so, she says, I want you to go to my brother, Laban, who lives in Haran. Now, you remember Haran is where the family, going all the way back to Abraham, had originally departed from when they came to the land of Canaan.
She says, go to him, stay with him for a while, until Esau's not angry any longer, and when he's cooled down, I'll send word to you. Because I don't want to lose both of you in one day. Now, I don't know exactly what that means, in terms of losing both of them, if she was afraid, like they'd kill each other, or maybe Esau would kill Jacob, and she's like, I don't want to have anything to do with Esau because she loves Jacob so much.
And so she's willing to send her son hundreds of miles away so that he might be safe. And I'm going to show you a map in a little bit just to show you where exactly he went. But it was a really desperate move, because the reality is that Rebekah is never going to see Jacob again. She's going to die before she gets to see him again.
So the circumstances are quite dire that she would send him that, that far away. So, So, seeking a pretense that would at least satisfy Isaac so that he would in fact send Jacob away, Rebekah picks up the issues that they've been having with Esau's wives. Oh, actually, I did have the map there. Wonderful.
So that's Haran all the way up there. So we're talking about hundreds of miles. Sending him very, very, very far away. So, picking up in verse 46, going into chapter 28. Rebekah said to Isaac, I'm disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living.
So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, Do not marry a Canaanite woman. Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your father, mother's father, Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there from among the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. So, again, both Isaac and Rebekah agreed they do not like these Canaanite daughter in laws.
I just love the point that she puts on it. It says, if he takes another wife among them, my life's not going to be worth living. It's like, wow, this must have been really, really bad. So, they want to send Jacob back to their family, their people, and Paddan Aram, to the house of Laban. And he wants, because he wants Isaac, Jacob rather, sorry I keep twisting the names up there, he wants Jacob to take a wife from their home, from their hometown basically.
So this is someone that's going to be a relative of Jacob. Which is weird to us. At that time, it wasn't weird that they would be marrying within the family. But it's important in terms of God's plan, because once again, they are forming a distinct people group. And ultimately, if you're going to form a distinct people group, going back in those early years, you had to kind of marry within the family.
So, Isaac has already given Jacob a blessing, but now he's going to give him another blessing as he sends his son out. Picking up in verse 3 of chapter 28. He says to Jacob, May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful, and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. May he give you and your descendants the blessings given to Abraham, So that you may take possession of the land where you now reside as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.
Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramaean, the brother of Rebekah, who is the mother of Jacob and Esau. So once again, this blessing that he gives is explicitly referring back to the Abrahamic Promise, Isaac isn't creating his own new blessing here.
It's, it's all standing in continuity. It's going from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob. So Jacob goes forth and then we have this interesting little note here, verses six through nine where Esau observes how Isaac had blessed Jacob, sent him away so that he could get a wife from, from there. And he realizes, Oh, dad would be happy if I didn't marry Canaanite women.
And so he decides, Well, maybe to fix the issue, I'll, I'll marry some daughters of Ishmael. Now you'll remember that Ishmael was the son of Abraham. You have Abraham, he had two sons, Isaac and Ishmael. Isaac was the son of promise, Ishmael wasn't, but Ishmael is still from the family of, of Abraham. And so he marries two, two of their, their, their daughters.
And it's funny because that doesn't really fix anything. It also highlights something that, you know, is problematic, which is the practice of polygamy. Which God tolerated in the Old Testament, but was far from the ideal. And throughout the Old Testament we see how it produces problems. There's never a situation where it's like, oh, this is a great thing that's going on.
But God, like through all these messy circumstances that we've read here, is able to work even through these things. So yes, God can work out His plan even through sinfulness. He can take our rebellion, and work it according to his purpose. We see this most clearly in the case of Jesus. I know many of you recently read this passage in your small groups.
And so, I'm presenting it again, though, just to remind us of the testimony of the early believers to God's sovereignty. Acts 4, verses 24 through 28. They make this confession in prayer. They say, Sovereign Lord, You made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David.
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one. Indeed, Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, they did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.
Obviously, those who crucified Jesus, Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Jewish leaders that were involved in con conspiracy, none of them had interest in God's plan. They just wanted Jesus dead. Nevertheless, God used their sinfulness to accomplish his purpose. That Jesus would give himself up to them so he could lay down his life to be that perfect sacrifice to God.
No one took his life. He gave it just as God planned. Many bad things happen in this life. People are bad to us. We are bad to others. Sin abounds in every direction. When things go sideways, we are tempted to despair. We hear that kind of desperation voiced in the Psalms again and again. God, where are you?
What are you doing? The psalmist finds his consolation when he trusts in God. When we turn to God in faith, we have to be able to trust that our sins are not too big for Him. That of course applies to forgiveness. Jesus covers our sins by His sacrifice. But what I really mean is this. I mean that no sin of yours, or mine, or others, can foil God's plan.
If you turn to Christ in faith, you're not sunk because of your sinful past. You're not irredeemable. God is working out His plan in your life yet. You're not defeated when plans and people fail you. The game isn't up. God's plan is still clipping along smoothly. If God isn't bigger than your plans, if he isn't bigger than the wickedness around you, these circumstances, those politicians, and your sin, then he is no God at all.
God is in fact unmovable. He is unshakable. Yesterday, today, and forever. He's orchestrating all things unto his purpose, and for the good of those who love him. So don't be surprised how God can work, even through sin and tragedy. He is surprised by nothing. His plan remains firm. Let us pray.
Dear Father, It's very easy for us, as we hear this story of Isaac and Rebekah and Jacob and Esau, to point out all the flaws, to see how they went wrong. to judge them. But Father, even as we are able to point out their wrongdoing, Father, we must confess that we have gone astray so often ourselves, where you have promised us good things, and yet we've decided to try to take things into our own hands.
Father, we pray that you would help us. to not resort to the ways of this world, that we would not resort to sinful means to secure the peace, which can only come from your hands. Help us to look to you father, to wait upon you and what you will do. Father, we just pray that we would have confidence and security knowing that you are sovereign.
That even when we've messed up, even when things about, around us just don't seem to be going right, Father, that we can trust that You are in control. And that You are working out Your good purpose. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we gather for worship. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Isaac faces uncertain circumstances and is reassured by God of His promises.
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Transcript:
There was a famine in the land besides the previous famine in Abraham's time and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar. The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land where I tell you to live.
Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants, I will give all these lands, and will confirm the oath I swore to your father, Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and will give them all these lands. And through your offspring, all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commandments, my decrees, and my instructions. So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
There is something that is fearsome about the dark. We all experienced it as kids. You wondered what was under your bed. Or maybe in your closet when the lights went out. If you're an adult, you will still at times fear it. Maybe you fear the predators lurking in the woods. Maybe you fear criminals who may be looming down a dark alley in the city.
We fear the dangers hidden in the unknown. The threats beyond our sight. And light may increase our courage, but light may also illuminate the reality of our fears. The danger may really be there. Our bravery becomes more enduring when we know that we are not alone. When we know that mom and dad are down the hall.
When we know that our pal is beside us and he likes to carry bear spray. And when we see a police car take up its post in that dark alley. We can move forward if we trust the one who is with us. In Genesis 26, we see this demonstrated in Isaac's life. We find him in perilous circumstances. Darkness gathers around him.
But God reminds Isaac that he is not alone. So looking to the beginning of Genesis 26, verses 1 through 6, as were read, we learn that there's a famine that had struck the land. And it was another famine. There was a, Moses makes a distinction here between this famine and there was a famine that had happened earlier in the time of Abram. And that famine had prompted him to actually go to Egypt for a while. So he went from Haran to, he was in Canaan for a while, the famine hit and he decided, okay, I'm going to go to Egypt. Which may lead you to ask, you know, why would he go to Egypt? And the reason for that, if you can look at the map behind me.
If we can get the map up there.
Why would Egypt possibly be a fertile place?
Any wild guesses? What was that? The Nile River. Yes. The Nile River. And, the Nile River would go through the seasonal process where its waters would become great, it would flood the land, it would spread all the fertile silt all over the land and stuff, and it would help them be a very, productive country when it comes to agriculture.
And so that was why, if you were living kind of out in the area that didn't have all the water and all the resources, you decide you want to go to Egypt because they've got the food. But in the case of Isaac, God tells him not to go to Egypt. Abram did go to Egypt, but God stops Isaac from going to Egypt.
And instead, he wants him to stay in the area of Gerar. You can see it on the map there, it's kind of close to the coast. It's not all that far away from where he would have been, which would have been kind of in the area of Beersheba. Not sure exactly why he may have been motivated to go to Gerar.
It may have been just simply maybe there was greater population in that area. Maybe there was more food resources. Whatever the case may be, the instructions God gave to Isaac was that he was not to go to Egypt, that he was to live where God was going to tell him to live for a while, which was Gerar.
And then he reminds Isaac of the blessings that have been promised to him by way of Abraham. He reminds Isaac that he's going to be with Isaac. He says he's going to be with him and bless him. And that he's going to have many descendants, just as was promised to Abraham. And that he would inherit this land.
And that his descendants would be like the stars. So it's basically just a rehearsal, again, of everything that has been given to Abraham. And now God's reassuring Isaac that all that was promised to Abraham belongs to you as well. Everything that belongs to the Father belongs to the Son. And the reason that God gives for this is Abraham's response to these promises.
In verse 5 it says, Because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees, and my instructions. Now that kind of maybe prompts a question in our mind, because we think of Abraham as being this great figure of faith, and of how God's promises come by faith, and of how our salvation comes by faith, not by works.
And I think this is a good opportunity to make some very careful distinctions here. The reality is, is that there is no faith that does not have works. Faith always bears the fruit of works. At the same time, however, we would say that works do not justify. That's what God tells us. None of us can justify us by our works.
So, even if faith does produce works, that faith, in and of itself, does not justify us. It does not save us. The question is, is who is our faith in? Ultimately, because all of God's promises are leading to Christ, our faith is in Jesus Christ. And it's Jesus Christ who justifies. We don't justify ourselves.
So we can completely say that, yes, if you have faith in Jesus Christ, we should see evidence of it in your life. But you're not saved on that basis. You're only saved on the basis of Jesus Christ.
So in the circumstances that God is meeting Isaac, He's really calling him to respond with faith. Because it's a sort of tentative status. He's not really sure how he's going to be able to take care of his family adequately. Remember, there is a famine going on. That's the whole reason why this question has been brought up.
They're in some sort of peril here.
So God is calling him to say, you know, trust my plan rather than what may seem logical to go to Egypt. And also to accept the fact that you kind of don't have roots here in this land other than my promises. Hebrews 11:9 reminds us of kind of the lifestyle that Abraham and Isaac lived. And Jacob lived.
It says, by faith, he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country. Abraham lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. So a nomadic sort of lifestyle. Can't take anything for granted. It was a situation that required faith. And Isaac responds positively.
He does put his faith in what the Lord tells him. But Isaac's step of faith is soon put under a stress test when questions arise about his wife, Rebekah so we continue on in verse 7. It says, When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, She is my sister. Because he was afraid to say, She is my wife.
He thought, The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah because she is beautiful. When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife, Rebekah. So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, She is really your wife! Why did you say she is my sister?
Isaac answered him, Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her. Then Abimelech said, What is this you have done to us? One of the men might have well slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us. So Abimelech gave orders to all the people, anyone who harms this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.
Now, as we hear these details here, maybe some of you are feeling like, this sounds like a familiar story. And it should be familiar to you, because Abraham did the very same thing when he was in Egypt, and then when he was in this same area of Gerar. In Genesis 12, he first employs this tactic when he's in Egypt, and says, Oh yeah, Sarah, she's just my sister.
And Pharaoh plans to take her as a wife, and then they start getting sick. All of Pharaoh's household starts getting sick. The women, they can't give, they can't get pregnant. And so, eventually, Abraham has to say, Yeah, actually, she is my wife. Pharaoh's not happy. And then, later on, in Genesis 20, we have a record of how he does this, again, in the area of Gerar with King Abimelech, saying that she's my sister.
And then we, in Chapter 20, we get some more details as to Abraham's rationale. Um, His rationale is he thinks he's gonna get killed because people are gonna want his wife because she's beautiful. And, so we, it's interesting to see how you can see some of the good qualities reflected in Isaac in terms of him responding with faith to God's promises.
But we can also see him reflecting some of the faults of his father as well. Rebekah is beautiful. And so, because she's beautiful, he has the same fear that he's going to lose his life on account of her. Now, I'm sure most of, most of the women, most of you women probably wouldn't be very inspired by a husband like that.
You'd kind of want him to take a stand, and like, no, you're not going to take my wife. But, apparently, that was, you know, He was just very, he was very fearful, and we shouldn't discount it. Maybe it was, it was very dangerous times. I think we, you know, last time when we were in Genesis, I described it as being kind of like the Wild West.
Might makes right. So it was a dangerous situation, but Isaac should have took a stand. He should have had faith because of God's promises to him. He doesn't, though. Now, the thing that's interesting about this situation is, we don't have, no one actually takes Rebekah. There's no curses, there's no vision given, as in the case with Abraham and Abimelech, where God gave a vision to, and a dream to Abimelech warning him against touching Sarah.
None of that's required, they just observe that, the fact that, okay, this guy's interacting with her in a way that indicates that she's not his sister, she's his wife. And so, this leads Abimelech to say, anyone that's going to bother this man and his wife, they're going to face consequences, mortal consequences if they bother them.
So, despite Isaac's cowardice, we continue to see God's faithfulness. Isaac was afraid of getting killed. He doubted God's assurance. But God through Abimelech sends a loud and clear message that no one is going to touch you. No one's going to harm you. So moving on from this episode, we see how God's blessing extended beyond mere protection.
Going on to verse 12. It says, Isaac planted crops in that land; in the same year reaped a hundredfold because the Lord blessed him. The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. So all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.
Then Abimelech said to Isaac, Move away from us. You have become too powerful for us.
What we find here in this set of verses is a notable contrast to the circumstances that Isaac had found himself in. Remember, there's a famine going on. No one should be doing well in these circumstances. And yet God blesses Isaac to the extent that he becomes abundant in fruitfulness. He becomes rich.
So much so that his neighbors, the Philistines, Abimelech, they become jealous of him. They become afraid of him. It's funny, you know, Isaac had gone into the situation very fearful. Now he's emerging in this situation as someone who is feared by others. And so they ask him, they tell him, move away from us.
And that must have been pretty disappointing and discouraging for Isaac. Because even while he was living a nomadic lifestyle, he had become comfortable where he had been. They had dug wells, they had everything that they needed sorted out. And so just as things were looking up for Isaac, he takes his hit to this progress.
He has to pick up and move. He has to go and dig up new wells. And, not that this is the main point of, of this story here, but I think a lot of us can empathize with that disappointment. Where things seem to be going really well in your life and you feel like, oh yeah, God's really blessing me. And then all of a sudden you hit this roadblock.
And you stumble. And you're like, I thought things were supposed to be going well. What's interesting that we see here in the case of Isaac, is that he perseveres. He continues to put his faith and trust in God, even in the face of that disappointment. So moving on to verse 17. It says, So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the valley of Gerar where he settled.
Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father, Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died. And he gave them the same names his father had given them. Isaac's servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, The water is ours.
So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him. Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also, so he named it Sitnah. He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, now the Lord has given us room, and we will flourish in the land.
So Isaac is moving away from Gerar into the valley of Gerar. He's digging up old wells that had belonged to his father, renewing them, reclaiming them, and he's digging new wells also. But even as he's doing that, he's like, okay, we're making progress here. We're getting water for the flocks. Other herders in the area begin saying, no, those wells belong to us.
It's interesting to see how he names the wells based on the circumstances surrounding them. So you have Esek, which means dispute. So if you know Esek, you know, Esek Hopkin's field down the road, now you know, trivia fact, that's what the word, name Esek means. It means dispute. And these kind of disputes weren't uncommon.
In Genesis 21, we hear about how Abraham had a dispute with some of the servants of Abimelech, who had seized a well of his. So, he, he keeps having to dig new wells, and eventually he finds a well that he can dig where they won't bother him. Called, and he names it, Rehoboth, which basically just means space.
Like, a spacious room. And you get that sense from, kind of the statement that's made, now the Lord has given us room, and we will flourish in the land. So, Isaac is plodding forward in faith, and as he leans in, God gives him reassurance. So looking at verse 23. From there he went up to Beersheba. That night the Lord appeared to him and said, I am the God of your father Abraham.
Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham. Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well. Meanwhile, Abimelech had come to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his personal advisor and Phicol the commander of his forces.
Isaac asked them, Why have you come to me, since you are hostile to me?
So, the Lord appears to Isaac, once again, in kind of less than ideal circumstances. He's had to move around, dig multiple wells. God meets Isaac in these circumstances, and reminds him of the promises that he gave to him. He would bless Isaac, he would increase him, give him many descendants.
And the cornerstone, the foundation of God's promise is this, in verse 24, he says, Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be afraid, for I am with you.
If we were to sum up the promise that God makes to his people, it's simply that. That he promises to be present and with his people in all circumstances. He's not a father who would abandon us. And so in response to this reminder of God's promise, Isaac responds with worship. He builds an altar, he calls on the Lord, and he begins digging a well there, in that place.
And it's interesting, because as he begins this project of digging a well in this place, Guess who starts, who shows up on the scene? Abimelech and his crew. Everything leads to this climactic encounter between Isaac and Abimelech, and these leaders. We can imagine Isaac thinking to himself, What now? And we see him ask that, basically, when he says, What now?
Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away? He's like, I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with me. I've left you alone. I've gotten away from you, and now you're here. What else do you want? We find out, continuing in verse 28. They tell him this. We saw clearly that the Lord was with you.
So we said, there ought to be a sworn agreement between us, between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you, that you will do us no harm, just as we did not harm you, but always treated you well, and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the Lord. Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank.
Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they went away peacefully. That day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug. They said, We found water. He called it Sheba. And to this day, the name of the town has been Beersheba.
So it's interesting to see how everything really kind of comes together here. God had promised Isaac that he would be with him. And Abimelech and his leaders confirm that reality. They make the observation. They say, we saw clearly that the Lord is with you. And so, because they realize, listen, this guy, Isaac, he's got God's blessing.
There's just no real stopping him. They decide, we want to be on peaceful terms with you. Now, they say that they treated him well, you know, granted, you know, they didn't harm him. But it seems like a little bit of a stretch to say that they treated him well, but in any case, they're ready to try to become friends.
And it's interesting, because once again, we see a precedent here. Because, this is the sort of arrangement that Abimelech had with Abraham. In Genesis 21, 22 through 23, said that, Abimelech and Phicol came to Abraham and said, God is with you in everything you do. Now swear to me before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants.
Show to me in the country where you now reside as a foreigner the same kindness I have shown to you. So now we have this legacy of the family of Abraham in which it's been manifest that God is with them. And so this brings them to the negotiation table, to having peaceful terms with each other.
And it's sealed over a feast, over a meal, and they make oaths to each other. And it's interesting, kind of as a capstone, you know, Moses is a great storyteller here, and by that I don't mean that he's making things up, just by the way that he's stringing these details along. Because everything, all this great stuff is happening, and to kind of cap it off, in verse 32, it serves Isaac's servants come to him and say, we found water.
That well that you've been telling us to dig, after you, you know, responded with worship and praise to God when he met you, and we started digging that well, we've hit water. It's a sign of God's blessing upon Isaac. And so, he names it Sheba which means oath. The name Beersheba can mean seven, indicating seven wells, or it can mean oath.
So kind of a dual meaning going on there.
The God of Abraham is with his son Isaac. And the good news for us is that same God is with us.
David offers this testimony in the Psalms. In Psalm 23, a very well known Psalm, We hear, even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. In Psalm 27, he says, The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. When God is with us, He's not just there to look on as to what will happen in our lives. He is a strong presence in our life. He is our fortress. We hear the prophet Isaiah speaking the word of the Lord.
This promise given to Israel in Isaiah 41 says, but you Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham, my friend, I took you from the ends of the earth; from it's farthest corners I called you. I said, you are my servant. I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear for I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I'm your God.
I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous hand. This is a promise that God gives to the people of Israel. But as we've been learning, those who are God's chosen people, those who are the true descendants of Abraham, are those who have faith. And so this promise, which was given at that time to the nation of Israel, belongs to us today as well, this promise that, of God's abiding presence.
We hear this promise in the words Jesus speaks to us before he ascends to heaven. He tells us in Matthew 28, Surely I'm with you always to the very end of the age. We hear it in Hebrews 13: 5 which is recalling Deuteronomy 31: 6, reminding us, God has said, never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you.
The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, is with us. He's with us on the mountaintop. He's with us in the valley. And so, we move forward.
Whatever your circumstances, you can take courage in knowing that God is with you. Christ is beside you. You are not alone. You are not abandoned. You are not forsaken. God has never abandoned us. Everything, working from Adam and Eve, to Abraham, all the way to Jesus, has brought us to this present moment of God's continuing work.
God did not just work in the past. He's working in the present, and He's going to work in the future. He's not done with us. You and I are part of His plan. We are not too small for Him. We don't escape his attention. He's working together our lives for his glory and our good.
So do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. God is with you. God is with us. Let's pray.
Dear Father.
Even as we look to examples of human faithfulness, father such faithfulness is overshadowed by your great faithfulness to us.
Father like Isaac, we can be filled with fear and we can try to take matters into our own hands. Father, we thank you for your abiding grace, which overcomes our faults, our weaknesses. Father, we thank you for the assurance that as we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, you have promised that the work that you have begun, you will bring unto completion at the day of Christ's return.
And so father, I just pray that you would impress upon us our sensation of your presence. And that by knowing that you are with us, we would take courage to move forward in doing whatever you are calling us to do.
Knowing that we can do this father, not because of our strength, but because of your power. Because we are not alone. Father, we ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series entitled Israel Arises. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
After Abraham was chosen as the patriarch of a new nation, the story continues with his son Isaac. The mysteries of God’s plans continue into the stories of Abraham’s descendants.
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Watch on Youtube
Transcript:
The Lord said to her, two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger. When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment.
So they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out with his hand grasping Esau's heel. So he was named Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.
Football season is upon us. It's one of my, uh, favorite times of the year. If you know me, you know I'm a big Patriots fan. And with the beginning of a new NFL season, comes a fresh set of pages that will be filled with the narratives of the players careers. Lately in these parts, there's been great anticipation for the emergence of Patriots QB, Drake Maye.
He's a first round pick, highly touted. For now, he sits on the bench, under the tutelage of veteran QB Jacoby Brissett. Now, whether Drake is a success or a failure, his story will be quite a bit different from Tom Brady's story. Brady was a sixth round pick that garnered little attention or fanfare when he was drafted.
He was the backup to Drew Bledsoe, a first round QB who had recently signed a 10 year, $103 million contract. But as Bledsoe faltered and was eventually injured, Brady stepped up to the plate, took the job, and never let Bledsoe take it back. It's a story that captures the imagination. An unknown becoming the greatest QB of all time.
As surprising as it is, it's a testament to fortunate circumstance and Brady's skill and determination. His story is different than from the story we encounter in Genesis today, though it is just as surprising. In fact, it's even more surprising what we find here in Genesis, because it's not a testament to personal strength, but simply to the call of God, His plan, His purpose, despite all worldly assessment.
We have met Abraham, we've met Isaac, and now the third generation dawns. But as we will see, beginning here in verses 19 through 22, this new generation does not come without difficulty. So looking first, again, starting in verse 19. This is the account of the family line of Abraham's son, Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel, the Aramean from Paddan Aram, and sister of Laban, the Aramean.
Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife, Rebekah, became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, Why is this happening to me? So she went to inquire of the Lord. So, we have here the beginning, kind of, of a new saga.
When it's, when we see in scripture, when it says in Genesis, the generations of, in Hebrew, that's Toledot. And it usually marks, kind of, the beginning of a new section of the story. And, this section is focused on the family that emerges from Isaac and Rebekah. Now, if you may recall from last winter when we were talking about Isaac and Rebekah, Rebekah is from the town of Nahor.
She's in fact from the family of Abraham. She would be a cousin to Isaac. And Isaac married her when he was the age of 40. Now what's interesting here is when we have that number of 40, we're able to kind of look at how long they had to end up waiting to have kids. You'll recall in Genesis 24: 60, her relatives had given her a blessing, saying to her, O sister, may you increase to thousands upon thousands, may your offspring possess the cities of their enemies.
You'll also recall, of course, the even more important promise which was given to Abraham, that from him would come countless offspring. He'd be the father of many nations. And yet, Isaac and Rebekah find themselves childless. It's a detail I think we often miss in their story because it's just kind of like one sentence and then we're on to the children that they did have. But it says in verse 26 later on that Isaac was 60 when they were born. So they had to wait 20 years until they had children.
Now, something that we should recognize is that throughout this time, and in fact when these children are eventually are born, Abraham is still alive. Uh, Abraham would have been alive long enough to see the boys that would be born until they were the age of 15. So you can almost imagine Isaac going to, his father saying, dad, you know, what's going on?
We've been given this promise. Why aren't we having children? And Abraham can basically tell him, son, I've been there. I waited for you longer than 20 years. Um, and you know, we don't know what Abraham told Isaac, but Isaac took the right course and he made it a matter of prayer. He prayed that his wife would conceive and become pregnant, and it did take a while, but God did eventually enable her to conceive.
And just as kind of like an antidote, as a side note here, I think this is a good reminder to us is that we can be praying for something that's good, but sometimes God will make us wait. Or sometimes he has something else in mind, and it might be something that's, actually it is, for certain, something that is an even greater good.
I think it's important to keep that in mind, because sometimes we can be so frustrated, because you're like, God, I'm praying for something that is good. And in the case of Isaac, something you said that you were going to give to me, that you were going to bless our family with, with these many children.
But God has his timing. He has his purpose. And his plan is better than our plan. And it's really difficult to accept that, especially when you're in the middle of that 20 years. But this is where we are invited to exercise faith, which is a theme that we see again and again in Scripture, of how God desires for us to come to Him in faith.
So Rebekah is pregnant. But during the course of her pregnancy, she experiences some discomfort because she's pregnant with twins, and these twins, it's as though they're fighting within her. Now, her concern, expressed in verse 22, she says, why is this happening to me? You know, she might have some concern about the discomfort, but her concern isn't merely medical in nature.
She's taking this as some sort of omen. That she's having this disturbance within her womb. And so she's trying to understand God, what is going on here. And so it says in verse 22 that she went to inquire of the Lord. And we might ask, what does that mean? What does it mean for her to inquire of the Lord?
Well, it could mean that she simply went to Him in prayer and He revealed what was going on to her through a vision. Maybe some appearance. It could be that she went to a prophet of the Lord. We see in 1 Samuel 9: 9, this sort of language being used. It's explained there, um, in relation to the prophet Samuel.
It says, formerly in Israel, if someone went to inquire of God, they would say, Come, let us go to the seer. Because the prophet of today used to be called a seer. So it could be possible that she's going to someone who is functioning as a seer. A prophet of God. We don't know. But one way or another, she, in her confusion about what's going on, she goes to the Lord.
So we see both great examples here in Isaac and Rebekah. When she's not able to become pregnant, Isaac prays. When she doesn't understand what's going on, she inquires of the Lord. And, in fact, she was right to take what was, this disturbance going on within her as a sign from God. We look at verses 23 through 26.
The Lord tells her that two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger. When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment, so they named him Esau.
After this, his brother came out with his hand grasping Esau's heel, so he was named Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when Rebekah gave birth to them. So God explains the disturbance going on with Rebekah as a sign of the disturbance that's going to occur between these two brothers. He says that two nations are in your womb, two peoples from within you will be separated.
One will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger. Now the first part of that, one people will be stronger than the other. When you hear that, you would tend to assume like, okay, probably the older brother is going to be the stronger one here. But everything is kind of flipped on its head here, when God says that the older will serve the younger.
Now the two nations that God is speaking of here would become Israel and Edom. Now we can see a map here. You can see Israel, um, this is a map from the later age of the kingdom. So Israel would include the kingdom of Israel, the kingdom of Judah. Edom is down here towards the south. Now Israel, the nation of Israel, would have come from Jacob.
And Edom would have come from Esau. And, as would be fitting, the word Edom also, also gives a hint of, of red, which seems to be kind of a theme for Esau's name. Now, when we go further in scripture, we see how pointed the separation is between the two. In Malachi 1, verses 2 through 3, the Lord says, I have loved you, speaking to the people of Israel, says the Lord.
But you ask, How have you loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother, declares the Lord? Yet I have loved Jacob. But Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland, and left his inheritance to the desert jackals. That's a strong division there. Loved Jacob, hated Esau. So why this inverse order?
Why has God gone about things in this way? The reason is that God wants to make it utterly clear that what's about to transpire in accordance with his plan and promise is occurring by grace, by his call. It's not coming about by human convention and human strength. Now, we see this division revisited later on in Romans 9.
In Romans 9, Paul addresses an issue that's kind of occurred to the minds of those who are asking, well, what is the position of the Jewish people now that Gentiles are being welcomed into the kingdom of God through Jesus? Basically, there's an accusation that, you know, has God failed to keep his promise in some way.
Paul pushes back against it, against this notion by saying this, he says, It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel, nor Abraham's children. On the contrary, it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as children, as Abraham's offspring.
This is how the promise was stated. At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son. And then it continues on, and says, Not only that, but Rebekah's children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. Yet before the twins were born, or had done anything good or bad, in order that God's purpose in election might stand, not by works, but by him who calls, she was told, the older will serve the younger. Just as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all. For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God's mercy.
So the thing to really note there in Paul's commentary here is that God's election and call in the case of Jacob and Esau had nothing to do about who each of them were or would become. It was simply his will in order to demonstrate that it's on the basis of his mercy that those who would be his people would be redeemed.
And this is the case throughout the redemptive narrative that we find in Scripture. God elected Abraham out of all humanity, but he was not compelled to choose Abraham. He could have chosen someone else. He chose Abraham out of all humanity, but for the sake of all humanity. It wasn't just for Abraham's sake that he was elected, but for the sake of those who would come after him, and in fact, for the whole world, because the whole world would be blessed through him.
God elects Jacob, not Esau, but I think it should be noted, even though God understands what's going to happen with Esau's family, he knows they're going to go off the rails. He knows that there's going to be this enmity between them. But it should be noted in what is said here, that while there's going to be conflict and while the older will serve the younger, it does not necessarily preclude Esau humbling himself and being obedient to God.
That decision is still on his doorstep. But as we'll see, He fumbles, he fumbles the ball.
His eternal destiny and the destiny of his children is only determined by his and his descendants own response to God. And this too is true of Jacob's own descendants, though they be the elect people. Ultimately, the truly elect, the truly chosen people of God are those who are revealed to have faith in Christ.
You look at the story of Israel, even though they were the chosen people, there's all sorts of people that rebelled, went after idols, and who will not have any part in the kingdom of God. Because those who are truly the children of Abraham, those who are truly elect, are those who have faith in God.
Ultimately, Jesus Christ. Now, we can still ask why, you know, why this person, why not that person? And I've thought about this a bit, and at the end of the day, while we can work out how we can have God's predestination, election operating and directing the course of human lives and we can have that go hand in hand with human free will and choosing to respond to that grace because of that grace or to rebel from that grace.
Still at the end of the day, we have to confess we don't understand all the plans of God. And I'm always brought back again and again to God's testimony of himself in Isaiah 55: 9, where he says, as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts and your thoughts.
We have to be able to accept some mystery in God. If you want a God that can fit inside a box and is just kind of a construct, a theory, you don't really want God. You just want something that you can control and you can completely understand. When we encounter God, we encounter mystery. Now, getting back into the details here of this story with Esau and Jacob.
He has this association of red in his name. It seems like it's kind of implied because of his, when he was born, he kind of came out all red. Also said he was really hairy. I can't imagine what that looked like. Must have been a pretty interesting looking baby. Jacob, his name is kind of a play on words that brings to mind the word heel in Hebrew, because he came out holding onto Esau's heel.
Again, that must have been quite a delivery. But his name, Ya'qb El, also means may the God, El, which is talking about the one true God, may God protect. And as Jacob's story proceeds, we see how his name is fitting. He does continue to nip at Esau's heel, and he is protected by God, receiving his favor.
Moving on to verse 27, it says the boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau. But Rebecca loved Jacob. Once, when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country famished.
He said to Jacob, Quick, let me have some of that red stew. I'm famished. That is why he was also called Edom. You got the red stew association there. Now, we see here that Isaac and Rebekah are playing favorites a little bit. It says that Isaac really loved his son Esau, the rough man, the hunter, and Rebekah loves Jacob.
Now, we know it's not right to play favorites. Something we have to understand here is that just because the Bible describes something doesn't mean it's prescribing us to do that. So, it's just telling us the facts. They had favorites. It's not telling us that we should do that with our own children. But this is setting the stage for us, you know, in terms of the conflict that's going to be occurring between the two of them.
Now again, Esau, hunter, man of the open country, Jacob said he said that he was a man among the tents. It's difficult for us to completely understand what exactly that means. Some of the commentators I read seem to suggest that it was, that he had a little bit more of a sophisticated way about going, a way of going about things, and that, in fact, he was probably much more interested in the domestication of animals than just going out and hunting animals.
So you can imagine a guy that has a very kind of organized mind, and as he has this encounter with, Esau, the Bible commentator John Walton suggests that perhaps when they have this encounter that Jacob was not, in fact, at the home base, but was out in the fields kind of at a base camp for, some herds that he was tending to.
And I think that's an interesting explanation because it would kind of explain some details here. So he's out at this camp, Esau comes in, he's famished. Who knows how long he's been out hunting, now It's difficult to know here whether he was literally at the point of starvation or if he was just kind of exaggerating things. You know, all of us have been probably really hungry at some point and really wanted to eat. Probably few of us have been at the literal part point of starvation, but this idea that maybe Jacob wasn't exactly at home would explain why Esau just didn't just run to mom and dad say, please gimme some food, I'm hungry here. It seems as though in one way or another he's at Jacob's mercy. Jacob's here at camp. He's got a stew cooked up. Who knows how much of the stew there is. Maybe there's only enough for himself, and so it's either he's gonna have it or Esau's gonna have it. Whatever the case, Esau was hungry enough to become reckless.
And Jacob saw his opportunity and took it. Continuing on in verse 31. Jacob replied, First, sell me your birthright. Look, I'm about to die, Esau said. What good is the birthright to me? But Jacob said, Swear to me first. So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew.
He ate and drank and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright. Now you have to say, you know, when you see Jacob put Esau in this position, you have to say, oh, that's not exactly nice. Why don't you just share some stew with your brother? Again, this is descriptive, it's not prescriptive. It's not saying that you should, it's alright to not share your stew with your brother or sister.
But the reason why Jacob is trying to seek an advantage here is because of the standing that he had in the family as being technically the second born. And this must have been very frustrating for him because he is a twin. So he's like, I'm literally just like a few, he was grabbing onto his heel. I'm literally just a couple seconds younger than him.
But because Esau was technically first, he has a whole lot coming to him in terms of his birthright. Now the tradition at this time would have been that Esau would have received a double share of the inheritance. So if you think of the inheritance, split into thirds, it would have been that Esau would have gotten two thirds of the inheritance, and Jacob would have only gotten one third.
You can probably understand why Jacob would be a little bit frustrated with that arrangement. Now, this is a little bit of an unconventional deal, although there is some records from this time that some of one's inheritance could be traded, but obviously the trade that's set up here is not fair at all, which is why the spotlight's really on Esau.
We can say, Jacob, that wasn't very nice, but the spotlight's really on Esau here, just because of his utter foolishness. In fact, it's worse than foolishness. It's, it's that Esau is really showing contempt for his birthright. He's showing contempt for the promises of God, which should belong to him. The blessing should belong to him as a firstborn.
And we see this contempt in him by the fact that he just makes an oath just so, so easily giving away his birthright. It all indicates that Esau doesn't really have a proper fear of God. Proper respect for God. And we find this assessment in Hebrews 12: 16 of Esau. It says, See that no one is sexually immoral or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.
And so, it is rightly said in verse 34 that he despised his birthright. The story here of Jacob and Esau reminds us that God does not always choose the firstborn, the best and the brightest. The ones who look like they will be world beaters. God doesn't choose who will be his own by our standards. Paul observes that this is often the case in his letter to the Corinthians in 1st Corinthians 26: 29.
He says this, Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards. Not many were influential. Not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. Yes, a few of us might be wise, influential, or of noble birth by the world's standards. But not many of us. God showcases his power and purpose in us, who are weak in the eyes of the world.
His plan is greater than any human scheme. We who believe are the elect. We are the chosen ones. Chosen by God to receive his grace in Jesus Christ through faith. Some who say they believe will be exposed as godless in the end, like Esau. We live in a time when those in the church are under constant temptation to sell out, to exchange our promised birthright in Christ.
For the cheap stew our world offers, immediate comfort and pleasure is offered at the cost of eternity. But as Jesus tells us in Mark 8: 36, what good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Keep Christ. We are kept in Him. As Peter tells us in first Peter 1:3-4, says, praise be to the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ and his great mercy. He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade. Let us pray.
Father, we come before you having nothing to say for ourselves, because Father, we understand by the testimony of your word that we've heard here this morning, that we have been chosen, we have been redeemed, not because of our merits, but because of your mercy.
Father, I pray, we pray that you would give us a proper humility in understanding that.
And Father, help us to turn to you in our need with that understanding that it is by your power that your plan is accomplished. Not by our power, not by our strength, it is by your grace. Help us to turn to you, father, like Isaac and Rebekah turned to you as they wondered what's next.
Father, we thank you for the grace that you have given us. And father, we pray that you would help us to remain faithful. That as we've confessed and testified that we have put our faith in Christ, that we're trusting in the kingdom that is to come, that we would not forsake that kingdom for the kingdom of this world. By the strength of the Holy Spirit father help us persevere we pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series entitled Israel Arises. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom introduces the next sermon series tracing the history of God’s chosen people.
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Listen/Download on iTunes
Transcript:
God starts with Abraham in order to ultimately encompass the whole globe, all people. And isn't it interesting that when you look at human history, that's pretty much how things have transpired. Yes, there are other religions. Yes, polytheism does exist in some places. You look especially like in India, many gods there.
But still, God is in India. The gospel is present in India. The gospel is going out to all places, making all people part of God's people.
God begins with Abraham, and God begins with the children of Abraham. God begins with Israel. But we have to understand that he begins with Abraham, and he begins with Israel, not because they're exceptional people, but because He is an exceptional God. On the other side of Israel exiting Egypt, we hear this reminder in Deuteronomy seven verses six through eight. It says, for you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you, that is, Israel, out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be His people, His treasured possession. The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you are more numerous than other people, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. So again, it's not because they're exceptional that they're chosen, it's because God is exceptional and God is working through Abraham, through Israel in order that all of us might become the children of God. Paul, in his letter to the Romans testifies to this reality. Romans 4: 16 - 18 says, therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham.
He is the father of us all. As it is written, I have made you a father of many nations. He's our father in the sight of God in whom he believes. The God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed, and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, So shall your offspring be.
Paul is testifying to the reality that all of us can become children of Abraham. All of us can become recipients, partakers of this promise, insofar as we have faith. But not just faith as like an idea, as a word, but a faith specifically in the person of Jesus Christ, the one who was promised, the one who would crush the head of the serpent.
In the next chapter, Paul says this, testifying to the saving work of Christ, juxtaposed with the rebellion of Adam. For if, by the trespass of the one man, Adam, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man, the many will be made righteous. This is what God has accomplished in giving us His Son, Jesus Christ.
He's making us, who are sinners, righteous in Him. But how do we get there? How do we get to Jesus? And what will we learn about God and ourselves along the way? This is what we're going to explore across Genesis 26 through 50. We will hear the stories of Jacob and Esau, we will learn the origins of the name of Israel and the 12 tribes.
We will follow the story of Joseph, a decisive figure for the future of Israel. A man whose ups and downs offer an example for us, even today. From all of this, we will gain a clearer picture of who God is. Better knowing the God we call upon in worship. This is our backstory and we should learn it well.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series entitled Israel Arises. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom lays out the vision for the church for the next season of ministry, going back to the basics of the early church as described in Acts 2.
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Listen/Download on iTunes
Watch on YouTube
Transcript:
This reading is from the book of Acts chapter 2, verses 42 through 47. They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common.
They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
I remember a simpler life when I was a kid, watching tv using a set of rabbit ear antennas, listening to music or watching movies by cassette tape. Rolling down the windows of the family Jeep by hand crank. It's funny, the little things that you remember. It's also funny, the things that I take to be simple and basic, which were once great technological innovations in their own time.
Before there were tapes, there were records. I'm sure a few of you had some good record collections. And if you go back far, far enough, you had to sit by the fire with a guy who happened to bring a drum. Things change over time. Expectations change over time. Some things don't change though. No technological advance can replace the love of a father and mother.
That's what I remember most from my childhood. There are things so basic, they are beyond replacement. You can present the Bible in a scroll, a book, or a phone. But you cannot replace the Word of God. You can do all sorts of ministry programs over the years, but you cannot replace the people, those who are the body of Christ.
You can enjoy all sorts of happiness in this world, but none of it can match, none of it can replace the happiness of knowing God. We live in a world filled with all sorts of advances, but these basic goods remain. We live in constant danger of forsaking them. And to live in the 21st century, I believe we must perpetually reclaim them from the distractions that would sweep them away.
That would take these goods away from us. This morning, we are going to consider what that might look like at Rockland Community Church. What it would look like for us to grasp onto those good things. Maintain our grasp on them in the day that we're living. To meaningfully do that, we should view the 21st century against the backdrop of the 1st century.
We look back to the early church as we look forward now. And so the biblical foundation this morning is, as was read, Acts 2 verses 42 through 47. This is at the very beginning of the life of the church. Christ has ascended to heaven. The Holy Spirit has descended upon the believers. And now starting in Jerusalem, they're beginning the work of bringing the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ to Jerusalem, to Judea, and ultimately to the ends of the earth.
But we see that the life of the early church was marked by some basic goods. It wasn't just about a message. They had a common life together, marked by certain characteristics. We see those especially identified. You have the apostles' teaching, their fellowship, and the breaking of bread, and prayer. These are the basic goods of the early church.
And as Luke continues forward in his record of the early church, he identifies some ways in which these goods manifested themselves. So we see, for instance, in verse 43, we see how there was many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. And in a manner of speaking, we could say these were answers to prayer.
The early church believed in the power of God, and his ability to reach people who seemed unreachable. Imagine how daunting it would have been to be a member of that early church, knowing that, pretty much, there's only a couple thousand of you at that point, and you were tasked with leading the whole rest of the world to come and believe in Christ.
It must have been immensely overwhelming. But they believed in the power of God. They'd witnessed the power of God in Jesus Christ who conquered death. And so they did pray and the Spirit did provide, giving signs that led people who wouldn't have ever thought about following Jesus cause to believe. So we see them engaged in prayer in verses 44 through 45, we see the nature of their fellowship. They supported each other to such a radical extent that they actually put things together in a common pot, so that they could support each other.
Now, that's pretty radical, something that would be difficult for us today, to do today. But the point of it, I think, we find really in verse 45, which was, They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. The point here is that they just, they didn't just wish people well. It's not as though they were together, they heard about the problems in the community, and they just said, well, you know, I hope that works out for you.
Hope things get better for you. No. They actually took of their own resources to meet someone else's need in their community. It was a true, sincere, deep fellowship. And then we see in verses 46 through 47, a continuation of this fellowship, also marked by teaching. Says that, every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts, presumably to hear teaching.
They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, so they spent time together over the table. Now, the thing that's interesting about the Lord's Supper at that time is because they were gathering in homes, typically, the Lord's Supper would be integrated right into the regular meal itself.
So they'd have a full meal. And they would share in communion. Which I think is a, it's a wonderful thing. It emphasizes the nature of the relationship. When you partake in this table, you're not coming here purely as an individual. You are coming here as a member of this community, as a member of the body of Christ, sharing a table in common with others.
That's what they did all the time.
They also engaged in worship. It says that they praised God.
That's another basic mark of the life of the church, is that we are gathered together to worship. That is the reason why God has reclaimed us. It's so that we would be the temple of God. So that we bring glory and praise. And as we shine, that leads others to come to Christ as well. So that we see in the early church, they enjoyed favor with all people because of who they were, the sort of community they were. Those who didn't believe in Christ up to that point said, Wow. These people are different. And it's because, it's because of Jesus Christ, it's because of the life of the spirit, it's because they were living out these basic goods. Now, as we look at their example, we can't expect to be a carbon copy in all the details.
They lived in a different time and place. We do need to wholeheartedly support and care for each other, but our present circumstances make sharing everything in a common pot sort of thing inadvisable and unfeasible. That particular phenomenon was pretty short lived in the history of the church, but the heart of caring for each other continues into the present.
It is important for us to gather together. But we can't do it in the temple. That structure no longer exists. And, if you didn't know, we live in North America. We should gather in each other's homes. But our central gathering place is here in this building that's been constructed. This has become our common home.
Living out these basics of the first century church as the church in the 21st century comes with its challenges. We have to reckon with our social reality, some challenges that prior generations have not faced, at least to the degree that we're perhaps facing it today. We have to counter very strong outside influences that are having their effect upon us.
So you think just going back 200 years ago, you could live in a small town like this. And the biggest influences in your life would have just been the family, maybe the local newspaper, a couple of books that you had in your library and certainly your church. But so much has transpired in really less than a hundred years where you had the advent of the radio, and then the television, the internet. Now you've got smartphones with you. They're bringing the internet with you everywhere so that from all sides, we're being hit with all different sorts of influences that not all the time, but very often would counter the teaching of the church, that would counter the teaching of Christ.
And that's one social reality we have to grapple with. Another is that we live in a time in which there's a great amount of social distrust between people and there's a great deal of isolation so that people are just kind of living in their own isolated bubble. We've seen the breakdown of community outside of the church, just in society as a whole.
Now part of that is because we live in a very mobile society. If you took away all of our cars, maybe we would live together in stronger community, there'd also be some real downsides to that. But that's the effect of living in a mobile society. It's also the effect of living in a society in which we have all these online tools, where we can kind of just say, well, I'm connected, I'm friends with someone on Facebook, so I'm keeping up to date with them, but you're not having conversations with those people.
And even in, when we are together with each other face to face, very often we're distracted by these devices. So we live in a very distracted, distant sort of time that is cutting against the fellowship, the communion of the church. We're all just so busy, so busy, and we're all subject to those forces. I'm subject to it.
You're subject to it. That's a reality that we're dealing with today. We also are grappling with the reality that we live in a culture that idolizes comfort and pleasure and also idolizes technical solutions. So, if you go back again, we go back a couple hundred years. We used to have this thing called camp meetings in the Advent Christian denomination. There's still some going on today. You would take a whole week out and you listen to preaching and there'd be worship. People would use their vacation time to do this. It's difficult for us to fathom people doing that today. And in many ways it's because we've come to, idolize comfort.
I can tell you sometimes going to, having been to some of those camp meeting experiences, they're not always the most comfortable, just sometimes being in an old building. It's, you know, no, no AC and stuff. And, you know, hopefully we can provide AC for those sorts of things these days. But that's just an example. On the whole, all together in terms of making decisions about how we're going to spend our time, how we're going to devote ourselves, very often the commanding thing in our life is, well, how comfortable will I be, and how much pleasure will this bring me? Now, I'm making a distinction here between pleasure and happiness, because if you follow God, if you're obedient to Jesus Christ, you will find true happiness. It won't always result, though, in immediate pleasure.
And we're a society that's obsessed with immediate, in the moment pleasure. We also idolize technical solutions to things. So that rather than looking to God for his help, we look to technology to fix our problems, medical advances to fix our problems. And those are great gifts. I'm not, and as you're gonna see as we go forward in this, this message, we're gonna be using some of those tools.
There's a difference between utilizing those tools and idolizing those tools. And the great challenge that we face in our society is that many people believe that we're past God, that we got, we can take care of things of our own by our own genius. Now it's easy enough to just denounce these developments.
Even if we know that we're all guilty of going along with these things to one degree or another. We all are. I am. You are. We're all guilty to one degree or another. It's easy to point out these problems. The difficult work is figuring out how we will overcome these challenges as a church. To do this, we first have to know who we are.
We have to know our identity. So when we think about Rockland Community Church's identity, we can look back to some things that we've covered in the past on Vision Sunday. We know that our purpose is to know God and to make God known. To be in a genuine relationship with God and to welcome others into relationship with God, which leads us to our mission of making disciples.
And we've been doing that, emphasizing, you know, really trying to lean into this discipleship process, this three tiered process where you have worship and community life, small groups, cruxial studies, cruxial studies being just kind of a umbrella term for Christian learning, Christian education. But now, what I'd like to do this morning is just take us to some even more basic characteristics of our identity.
It's important that we understand that we are the body of Christ. We are the body of Christ. We are not like any other association in our town in Rhode Island. We're not like a club. We are the body of Christ. And that means that the power of Christ dwells in our presence. God is with us. And so that should alter our outlook on things.
Knowing that God is with us. We don't look at things from purely, you know, numbers perspective in terms of what's possible, because if we do that and we, if we look at everything that's going on around us, we might say, Oh, we feel like we're toast. I tell you, we're not toast. Because God is with us, because we are the body of Christ.
And God intends that we would have a presence here. So we are the body of Christ. It's important for us to always keep that in mind. We are also a local church. Now maybe you might be like, duh, of course we're a local church. But I would emphasize that idea of we are a local church. Given how mobile our society is today, sometimes we can just kind of feel like, well, we're a church for everybody, and we're kind of just like a global citizen.
And it's true that everyone is our neighbor. You know, Jesus, you know, Jesus is asked, well, who's my neighbor? And kind of the point of the parable of the Good Samaritan is to say everyone's your neighbor. But, we should also realize that the people that literally are our neighbors should take some first priority in terms of our responsibility and that God has put us alongside these people to reach them with the gospel.
Just as we would take responsibility for the people that are in our immediate families. Yes, we should love and care for all people, but we have to especially care for our spouses, for our kids, for our extended relations, etc. We are a local church. And so, we are especially devoted to serving and reaching the people here in this immediate area.
Scituate, Gloucester, Foster. That's our goal, that's our aim. We can't reach everybody. Um, it would be great if we could reach everybody. But this is the area that God has given us. We are also a small church. Now, another thing you might say, well of course, of course we can see that we are a small church, but I would say we're a small church unapologetically.
Um, now when you think of a small church, you would probably think of a church of our size. It's interesting if you read like church health literature. You know, some of these guys that give advice on how to make your church healthier and grow, they'll be talking about, oh yes, the small church, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and they'll say, yeah, a church of like 200, 300 people.
So it's all a matter of perspective. To some people in different parts of the country, a church of that size is a small church. Now, we know what it is to be a small church. And I think part of the reality of why we're a small church, just in terms of the numbers is because we are living in a mission field.
You cannot compare Rhode Island to say, Texas. I have family in Texas. They go to churches that have thousands of people. It's a completely different landscape. We are in a mission field here. And so I encourage you don't get discouraged because God has a special purpose in place for putting you here for having us here.
I'd also say that I think part of our philosophy is that we do want to keep things small, not to the extent that there's not going to be any more growth, but what we'd like to ultimately see is a replication of churches, of more congregations. Because once you get to a certain size, you know, if we got past like 150 people, the nature of this church would change quite a bit.
And part of the virtues of being a smaller congregation is you actually know the people in your congregation. You can actually connect with them. So in terms of ministry philosophy, I believe that's what we should be. We should embrace being a small church, and if God blesses us so that we grow to that full extent, then hopefully we can come to the place of being able to plant more small churches because of the way that God can work through congregations of that size in some special ways. Lastly, I would say we are a family of believers. Now this could tie right into being the body of Christ, they kind of go hand in hand, but I think it's important for us to emphasize that we are a family of believers if only just to push back against the idea that we are here as a Christian entertainer.
Some people view church like that. They go to church in order to receive some Christian entertainment, some Christian content. That's not what Rockland Community Church is about. We are a family of believers. So we care for each other as brothers and sisters. If you want to extend that kind of framework to different ages, aunts, uncles, grandparents.
We are a family of faith. And we do things together. We go together. We learn together. And so, that's going to affect the way that we approach ministry. It's great when you can offer different segmented ministries for different ages and things like that. But it's not the end all, be all. We should be a place that welcomes people of all ages.
Old people, the kids, all of us together growing in Christ and making sure that we're all moving together and no one's getting left behind. So in light of this identity, our commitment to timeless basic goods, all while reckoning with the reality of the day that we're living in, I'm going to bring before you a vision that can enable us to move forward, a vision marked by particular points of emphasis.
So the first emphasis that I think we must embrace is that we would be dogmatically relational. Now, usually when we use words like dogmatic, people usually think about certain beliefs being dogmatic about some particular theological opinion or something like that. I think we need to be dogmatically relational.
We need to be committed to making every effort that we can to deepen our relationships with each other, to connect with each other, to integrate new people into the community of the church. Some of the ways that we're gonna practically try to do that here I just wanna make sure it's up there. It is.
Some of the practically, practical ways we're gonna try to do that is we're gonna increase the time for fellowship that we have after service. So, in the past we had sermon circle going from 11: 15 till noon. Moving forward, what we're going to do is instead say, Sermon Circle is going to go from 11: 30 to noon. And basically when the service ends, you know, I try to end at 11. Hopefully from 11 to 11: 30 is going to be a time for fellowship. And we're going to provide refreshments in the back, coffee, food, to encourage you to stay around, to really deeply connect with the other people that are next to you in the pew and not just, you know, go beyond just the handshake or the wave hi.
And we're going to be doing that every Sunday. We're going to be doing that every Sunday, except for the Sundays when we're going to be sharing in a common meal. We're going to be trying every month to have a common meal together downstairs, and the first one's going to come up on, I think it's September 29th.
Um, the day right after neighbor day. Um, so that'll be the first one that we have. And, you know, if it makes sense, every month we'll have a meal like that in order to try to strengthen our relationships with each other. The other things we're gonna do is adapt our small groups and classes to have stronger relational components to them.
And I'll share a little bit more about that in a bit. And on the whole, the hope is that this is gonna help cultivate our abilities just to pursue relationships in informal ways as well. Not everything has to be organized. The thing that I would love to see, and I already see it among some of you, and it's great, is that you invite each other to each other's homes.
Or you go out to a restaurant. I know a couple of you go get together at Dunkin. That's that's great. I love that, that's, that's good. Those are the sorts of things that we need to do to deepen our relationships with each other This is intrinsically good for us. It's necessary for us. I also think it could be unique strength of our church, again, you know, compared to big churches, it can be difficult for them to have that sort of meaningful fellowship because there's just so many people.
This is a strength of ours. This is something that we can do. I think it's something unique that we can also offer in the face of online culture. And this is something that we're reckoning with. The reality is that if people want Christian content, they can find it online. They can look up a sermon on YouTube.
They can do all these different things and get the information. They don't have to come here to get a Christian message, but what they cannot find online is relationship. They cannot find human connection online. They cannot be a member of the body of Christ online. They receive those inputs from other members of the body and can give to other members of the body.
And so by doing this, by pressing into relationships, I think as people come into contact with our church, they'll say, that's exactly what I've been looking for. If we do it well, if we're the sort of community that we ought to be. I think also there, you know, there's an external element to this as well, in that there are some real hard limits to advertising.
We've tried to do advertising and, uh, and that's good. It gets name recognition out there. People become familiar with us, but I have to tell you, it doesn't matter how much money we spend on advertising, if all it is is just our name appearing in places, people are not going to come to this church. Real growth is going to occur when personal invitation is begins to occur, when every single one of us begins to take the initiative and say, hey, do you want to come join me at church?
Asking your co workers, your friends, family. That's how it works. You think about a lot of the people here in this congregation. You think about the family connections and stuff. That's how it actually works out. You invite the people that you know. And my hope is that we would be a church where you're so excited, you're so passionate about who we are that you would just share with other people about our church. So that if you want to think about in terms of advertising, you have word of mouth advertising. That's what's going to make a real difference, is the real human connection. You taking the initiative and invite other people here to our church.
Now, sometimes we feel intimidated about inviting people, but the reality is we shouldn't be afraid. First, and most importantly, is because God's got this. It's not about you trying to twist someone's arm and coming. If you just simply submit yourself to God and say, God, give me the opportunities.
I will submit to you and do what I can as you put me in the place to do so. He'll connect the dots. He'll give you the opportunities and he'll open people's hearts in ways that they wouldn't otherwise be opened. Second, it's because if you're living after Christ's example and you're generally friendly with the people in your life, I think, more often than not, they're gonna take it for what it is. An honest invitation on your part to share something with them that has helped you. Now, if it seems like an unnatural leap in your relationship to be inviting someone to church, then invite them over for supper. Invite them out to grab a bite to eat.
The point really is, just be friendly. Be a friendly person. We should be a friendly church when we're here and when we're outside. We need to be friendly people. We need to live alongside people the way Jesus would. Even if they decide they won't follow him. That'll make a big impact too. If you invite someone to church, and they're like, Nah, that's not for me.
And you're still really friendly to them. That's gonna make an impression. And you don't know the end from the beginning in terms of that person's story. God might have plans for them yet.
As a church. I also believe there are things we can do to make inviting others less of a hurdle. Now, last year talked about, um, Christian hospitality. And I think we need to lean in to that. Basically having this mindset, that when new people come into this church, we should not be thinking, Oh, we're just going to let them figure it out because if you just need to put yourself in their shoes. Imagine how daunting it is walking into a new place, not understanding what everything's about, how to get connected.
So some of the things we're going to do along these lines is we're gonna offer more explainer info, I'm working with Emily. I'm putting together some written materials some like rack cards and stuff that we can give to people. It can just give them a really short, quick rundown of kind of who we are. Also the fellowship, having the fellowship upstairs every week.
I'm hoping that it will be more hospitable to those that have some issues with mobility, so that they don't have to go up and down the stairs. Also, exercising some thoughtfulness in making families comfortable when they visit. Making it so that families are comfortable in the pews. Uh, looking at things like getting lap desks for the, for the kids.
New biblical toys for the family room over there. Maybe getting booster seats for some of the really small kids so that, they can be locked in in the pew, being really little, i don't remember what it was like back then but i can imagine that sometimes the pew can get a little uncomfortable. But just taking those practical steps, you think about, you go to a restaurant, the restaurant tries to make the family comfortable, we all the more should try to make families comfortable here. This also entails offering intergenerational inclusive learning. The reality is that this, is that we can't offer a bunch of different classes for different age groups. So, what we do want to do though, is include the younger ones into what we're already doing. Kind of in the style of almost like family devotion. So in Sermon Circle, we're going to be taking steps so that we can include kids that are seven and up in Sermon Circle and have them engage, and have it be a meaningful time for them We're also going to be providing what i'm calling Children's Circle out in the family room immediately adjacent for kids that are ages two through six. And we're going to start really modestly with that for now, which is we're going to have biblically themed toys, and We're going to have a volunteer available who will read them a Bible story.
And again, this is only for 30 minutes. So the hope in having those two things available is that it might encourage people after service, your kids right over there, you know, for the younger ones, they can go over there, mom and dad, they can engage in sermon circle, some of the older kids can engage in that as well.
And we're also hoping that this time of fellowship afterward would encourage people to get involved in these things We're also going to be committing more time to prayer. When we did stay to pray every month, we limited to 15 minutes, and my experience, I'm sure those who stayed your experience would probably it felt like sometimes we were kind of cramped and trying to get all these prayers in within the 15 minutes. We're going to make more time for prayer, Um, and so both Sermon Circle and Stay to Prey are gonna be 30 minutes, but it all ends at the same time it always does, still ending at, at noon.
So hand in hand with cultivating a culture of hospitality, I also believe that we need to develop a posture of meeting people where they're at. Now, as, as a church, this means that we need to be nimble and ready to innovate to overcome the hurdles before us. We do live in a culture consumed by busyness and distraction, and there are many people inside and outside of the church who have work situations that are difficult schedules that don't align with the rhythms of our church life.
Whatever the reasons may be, good or bad, I'm not content letting these things get in the way. We'll challenge people when they need challenging, but we also meet people right where they're at. And so we need to do some adapting and innovating and the way that we're going to do that is in the area of small groups and also in the way that we do some of our teaching.
So just some changes to anticipate with the small groups, the women's morning small group on Mondays is remaining very much the same. The Women's Evening Group that Sara's leading is going to be doing some changes. The first meeting of the month is going to be a Zoom meeting, making that change because we realize that many of the women that would be involved in this group, they have responsibilities at home, they've been working all day.
We want to make it easier for them to be involved in the small group. But we also want to have that face to face component. So for the second meeting of the month, there's going to be a dinner at one of the homes of the members of the group. We're starting out in our own home, and then by volunteer, figuring out who else might want to host.
But it's going to have that pattern of online, then also some deep connection over a meal. For the men's groups, we want to give some opportunity for men to kind of, for men to deepen their relationships over some common activities. As I've engaged in small groups, I've seen some great success with the women, because the women can grow really deep just giving them a time to have conversation with each other, and it's awesome.
Um, men need some other opportunities to grow their relationship outside the time of just talking with each other. And so, the first meeting of the month is, again, is going to be very much the same, but for the second meeting, what we're going to be doing is getting together for either a service activity or a recreational activity.
So, whether that's helping someone in the community or in the group, or doing something recreationally. Going for a hike, going bowling, something like that. And what I'm hoping this is going to do is give us an opportunity to invite new people into our community, into these groups. So maybe you're not comfortable inviting someone.
Uh, that you know, to the first meeting, because it's really in depth, we're, we're digging into teaching. But you might be thinking, I could invite them on a hike. I can invite them to go work on, on, on something. Um, so that's what we're going to be doing with the men's evening group. And then for the men's morning group, pattern of meeting in person as we have, but then the second meeting we're going to be getting together at a diner.
And again, with that hope, this is another opportunity to invite people into this circle of believers. The other thing that we're going to be doing in terms of adapting is really leaning further into what we've been doing with these text studies. Um, and the way that we're going to lean further into that is by producing more of our own video content, more of our written content. The last thing that we did was through Right Now Media, but moving forward, what we're going to try to do is put out short videos of about 10 minutes in length that could be building on, on each other. So like a five video series that would, as we have in the past, culminate in a supper discussion.
Um, Now, the reason why we're making this move is because it seems as though with the monthly seminars that we've been offering, we've kind of hit a hard limit in terms of the people that we've been able to reach, and it also seems that it poses a difficulty for some people when the time just does not work, the day just does not work, and while we have been recording and live streaming them, you know, they're 90 minutes long.
I have, I don't expect you necessarily to sit down on your couch and watch the video for, for 90 minutes. My hope is that if we do this in like 10 minute installations, or as with the written commentary, and I was just sending you a little bit by little bit, you can track, you can follow, you can catch up.
Um, and so you can benefit even if you can't make it to the supper discussion, because at least you have the teaching content there. There's also the benefit here, I think, of potential outreach, because what we'll be able to do that we can't do with some of the right now media videos is we can share these videos publicly on Facebook.
You can take the link and you can send it to your friend like saying, Hey, I thought you might find this interesting. My pastor's talking about this and if it times out well, we're having a supper discussion about it. Do you want to come with me? So there's some outreach opportunities as well in making this move.
So as we think about adapting and innovating, I think it's also important for us to look beyond the wall of our church to consider how we might partner with other local churches. Our church supports Together Advance the Gospel. You've heard Ed Pichette come and share about his vision of trying to bring churches together.
We very much want to lean into that. And this is just following the the model of Jesus who offered this prayer for us in John 17. He says, my prayer is not for them alone, talking about the immediate 12 there, He says, I pray also for those who believe in me through their message, talking about us, That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us so that the world may believe You that you have sent me.
I have to say that in the past 12 months, God has been doing something incredible in bringing together the pastors in, here in Northern Rhode Island. About a year ago, I was kind of on the point of despairing, of trying to bring us together. I'd been trying to get together with some of the pastors in town.
Some of you might remember we were trying to set up a good news club in the high school. That kind of fell apart. I was like, okay, this just isn't going to work. But God made some connections in the meantime, and I won't tell you the full story now, but the short of it is that we've now, I've now connected with seven other churches in Foster, Glocester, Coventry, and Scituate, and I'm getting together with these pastors for lunch this coming Tuesday.
I just made a connection with Glad Tidings Community Church this past week. And some of our conversations have been about things that we might be able to collaborate on that would help all of us, particularly in the area of youth ministry. It's very difficult for our church to put together a church youth ministry right now.
It's not just us, it's most of the churches. The only church where that's not the case right now is Glad Tidings. And so, um, what we're trying to do is have conversations about how could we come together and kind of join forces. For the benefit of our youth and for the benefit of reaching other youth here in northern rhode island with the gospel and So it doesn't all have to hang on this individual congregation in terms of finding some solutions we should lean into opportunities to join together to collaborate, and what I would encourage you is that if some opportunities arise, say for a prayer gathering or something that brings all these churches together, I would encourage you to please go to those things if we have the opportunity.
Um, because I think God's going to do something special if the churches here in Northern Rhode Island unite. It would be an awesome witness to the people in our, in our communities. In addition to these goals, we have a unique opportunity to improve our property. Because of funds that God has providentially provided for this time from a generous donor in the sale of Camp Greene, I'm not going to get into all the details of that, we're going to have a printout of it.
But just the short of it is that the proposal is refinishing the walls here, not the ceiling just the walls, so that they're a lighter color to make this a brighter space. New pews, you can see a sample chair in the back, air conditioning, and also a new play area outside, new fencing. Um, all I would ask is that as you think about these things, is that you would consider their alignment with our goals.
Now obviously it's not going to align with all of them, like painting the walls. It's difficult to think about how that might align with the goals I was just talking about. But just think about it. Think about the various things, how they might tie in to some of our goals here. And the overall thrust of what we're trying to do is, we're trying to do everything with excellence.
My greatest concern as far as property goes and all of that has only been that it shouldn't be the case that people show up and they think like these people don't care. They're apathetic. They're just kind of cutting corners.
We should be putting forth our best. Now, the best doesn't always mean the most expensive or, it doesn't mean anything in particular. It just means that we should, as far as we're able, to try to do our best. But as we think about these things, as we consider these different proposals, I also just want to encourage you to remain united.
So some of these things we might decide we don't want to do, and that's okay, because they're not the end all be all. We've been talking about those things that are essential, those things that are basic, those things that are most important. Um, I think the proposal has a lot of really good things about it, but the proposal alone isn't going to radically transform this church.
It's all the things that I've just talked about in terms of embracing the basics that's going to make a real difference here. So, while there is nothing new under the sun, I do believe that we are living in uniquely challenging times. If success depended on us, I would despair given everything stacked against us.
But we should not despair. We should not despair because God is on our side. He is for us. In the end, our responsibility is simple. We are called to obedience, to be faithful, to the basics of the church, teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, prayer. This is simple, but I would not say that it's easy. We are getting pulled in many directions.
And so are the people we are trying to reach. It is difficult to be creative, to adapt and innovate. We just want things to work. You can trust that as your pastor, that's how I feel. I just want things to work. It isn't easy. But we should trust that God will guide our steps. We will make mistakes and God will course correct to get us where he wants us.
So the way that you can live out the basics at our church is by supporting fellowship. And the way that looks like is, you know, stick around after service. Get to know people. Help with the preparations for providing those those refreshments and meals. And simply be friendly. Sometimes we have to work on that.
Sometimes, like, that's something God I feel like I'm a fairly friendly person, but something God decided to work on me is being more social, being more outgoing. I can be very content sometimes just sitting in an office with my book and studying. God's ready to grow and stretch us. Be more social, be more friendly.
That's a way that you can support the fellowship here in the church. Join a small group. That's a conduit for your and other's growth. Engage in the studies, get better equipped. It's an opportunity for outreach and fellowship. So you can sign up for the small groups on the back. When the studies go out, you can sign up to get those texts.
You can share the videos. The point is, is just show up. You need to show up. In all these things, show up on Sunday when the congregation gathers, we just need to show up. And most importantly, we need to pray. As I preached last week, we will not succeed if we do not pray. If we pray, I believe God will answer our prayers.
God is for us. He wants us here. He wants to bring the gospel to the people of Scituate. He wants us to be a city on a hill, shining in the darkness.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we begin a new series entitled Israel Arises. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Jesus teaches his disciples through a series of parables the importance of prayer and how to pray. Pastor Tom addresses some questions brought up by these teachings.
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Transcript:
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable, parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said, in a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, Grant me justice against my adversary.
For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself Even though I don't fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me I will see that she gets justice so that she won't eventually come and attack me. Luke 18 1 through 6.
My first year of college had some adventures. And as I was thinking about this, I can't remember if I've told you this story, uh, before or not. If you stick around here long enough, you'll probably hear the same story a couple times. But, one of those adventures was when I lost my keys in the snow. Um, I was studying at the Berkshire Institute for Christian Studies in Lennox, Mass., which was over two hours away from my parents home in Burrillville. I don't know how I lost my keys in the snow, but I did. Now, as I did most weekends, I had planned to go back home to see Sara. Without my keys, though, I wasn't going anywhere. But I was determined. I didn't want to tell my dad. I didn't want to suffer the embarrassment of telling him I lost my keys and that he needed to come all that way to help me.
And so, I turned to YouTube for solutions. Uh, piece by piece, I managed to take apart the key tumbler in my Camry, and before you know it, I had started my car with a screwdriver. Um, I was quickly disappointed when I learned that though the car was running, I couldn't take it anywhere, because the anti theft mechanism had locked up my steering wheel.
So, I reconciled myself to the reality that I needed my dad. And, I made the call. Turns out, in his fatherly wisdom, he had hidden a spare key in my trumpet case, which I had brought with me. He was somehow anticipating this might happen. So all my trouble taking the car apart could have been avoided if I just called him in the first place.
I think it's often the case that we try to do things ourselves, refusing to seek help from others. We can go so far that we fail to call upon God when He is the best help. And in many cases, the only help we truly have, but praying to God doesn't always manifest instantaneous results. There are times when we must persevere in prayer.
And prayer is a practice that can raise numerous questions in our minds as to why we're doing this. Why God has us wait. I'm hoping this morning that I can help answer those questions as we consider Jesus' teaching here on prayer. So first, looking at verses 1 through 6.
Jesus, very helpfully at the very outset of this chapter, I, rather I should say Luke tells us, the meaning behind what Jesus is doing here right at the outset of this parable. He says that the purpose of this parable is this, to show his disciples that they should always pray and not give up. Now, if you just wrote that down, you could walk out of here. You say, that's the sermon.
You should always pray and not give up. But there are some questions that we should reckon with here that are raised by this direction that we're given to always pray and not give up. Now, Jesus communicates this lesson to his disciples by use of this parable. And he tells the story of this judge who doesn't fear God, and honestly doesn't really care about people.
It just seems like he's kind of in it for the position. As it so happens, there was a widow who was within the jurisdiction of this judge who had experienced some sort of injustice. And she was pleading with this judge that he would hear her case and grant her justice against her adversary. Now again, this judge doesn't really care about people.
He might care if, uh, maybe the woman had some money to give him or something like that. Um, but she's just a widow. She doesn't really matter. She's not an important person. So he just keeps putting her off. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, the widow's not taking no for an answer. And some of you know, when you're dealing with government or some company, they don't want to help you.
But if you just keep bugging them enough, eventually they'll tend to your problem. And that's exactly what happens here. This woman just keeps nagging and bugging this judge so much that eventually he says, Even though I don't fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice so that she won't eventually come and attack me.
Apparently the judge was getting so frightened by the insistence of this woman that maybe he was afraid she was going to come after him with her purse or something. I don't know what this widow could have done to him, but he was like, enough's enough. I'll just deal with this. Now once again, the point of this parable is that we should always pray and not give up.
We should keep pressing in. In many ways, we should be audacious. And It's interesting because Jesus has another parable in which he illustrates this. In Luke 11, verses 5 through 13, he tells a parable of, he says, suppose you have a friend and you go to him at midnight and say, friend, lend me three loaves of bread.
A friend of mine on a journey has come to me and I have no food to offer him. And suppose the one inside answers, don't bother me. The door is already locked and my children and I are in bed. I can't get up and give you anything. I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity, he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.
So I say to you, ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. One who seeks, finds. And to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Now the point in Jesus telling this parable is not to give you instructions as to how you should treat your friends.
He's not saying it's a good idea for you to show up at your friend's house at midnight asking if you could borrow some bread. The point is, is that Jesus says that this friend of yours would give you this bread, not because of friendship, just because you're just so shameless. You have such audacity to come in the middle of the night.
And Jesus is using this example to say, as we relate to God, we should be so bold, we should be so audacious, that we would ask with expectation that God would answer, that we would seek, expecting to find, that we should knock, expecting that the door will be opened. Now, on the surface, these seem like, kind of, some strange examples, because God is not heartless.
He is just. He does care about us. But the reason why Jesus is using this example of an unjust judge is to just underscore even more powerful the reality is that we have to, this invitation that we have to come before God in prayer, bringing our needs, pressing in. Jesus is trying to encourage us on the basis of who we know God to be. Because who God is, makes all the difference in why we especially keep on praying. So going on into verses six through eight.
It says, And the Lord said, Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?
Now, in light of the parable that Jesus just told about this unjust judge, we would have grounds for persevering in prayer, even if God was unjust, with the idea of maybe if we just bug him enough, eventually he'll give in. But the thing is, God is just, and he does care about us. So how much more, if we come to him with our needs, will he answer our prayers?
For this reason that Jesus can say, will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he'll see that they get justice and quickly. Now, he says that they will get justice. I think here, Jesus is especially addressing those circumstances when we are suffering injustice.
Kind of anticipating the persecution that Christians would face in the years to come. Because we have this assurance that God is just, and he will bring justice, we are able to bring our case before God knowing that. And so he's saying that he will eventually, ultimately set things right. And for this reason, we don't have to seek vengeance.
But I do think that justice includes other things beyond just you've been wronged, and God basically judging the person that has wronged you. I think it also includes the goodness that God would desire for those who are his chosen ones, for those who are his children.
But this raises some questions, as I mentioned in the beginning. This idea of having to persevere in prayer, praying itself. The first question that you might ask as you, as you're thinking about this is, you know, why does God want us to pray? Why does God want us to pray? Why doesn't he just do the things?
Why doesn't he just meet our needs? Why doesn't he just give us justice?
Well, I think it's because there's more things going on in prayer than simply bringing our needs to God. I think several things, at least, are going on when we pray. One is, when we pray, We confess who we are, who God is, and we accept God's invitation to participate in the work that he's doing. So, in what way do we confess who we are when we come to God in prayer?
We confess who we are when we pray, insofar as when we pray, we're basically confessing we are not God. If you think you have all the power, if you think you have things under control, then you wouldn't feel the need to go to God in prayer. When you come before God in prayer, you're implicitly confessing, I don't have things under control.
There are so many things that are beyond my control, and that we need God to intervene. And so by the same token, we're confessing who God is, that he is truly God, that he is truly sovereign, that we can reliably go to him for help. I mean, I wouldn't pray to any one of you because you couldn't help me any more than I could help myself.
But we pray to God because he's God, because he holds all things in his hands, and because he's all wise and all powerful.
I also believe that God wants us to pray because he's inviting us to participate in the work that he is doing. Now we see this in other ways. We see in other ways how God wants to include us in the work that he's doing. Think about the gospel message, how God has commissioned us to bring the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ at the ends of the earth.
Now, you could just as easily ask in that set, set of circumstances, why doesn't God just do a vision to everybody? Why does he use us? Why does he send us out? The reason why he sends us out, the reason why he asks us to pray is because he wants to involve us in the work that he's doing. Now, it's not a perfect analogy, but I think.
The best analogy I can think up of is it's almost like you think back when you're a kid and your father or mother might try to include you in the work that they were doing. Maybe your dad's working in the car. He'd have you come and give him a hand. Your mother's in the kitchen baking something. Come help me bake this pie.
Now your parents were completely capable of doing those things without your help. But they want to include you for a few reasons. One, just so that you can share in the joy of the work, of a job well done, fixing this car. Enjoy the reward of baking a delicious pie. But also so that you become the sort of person that is capable of doing these things.
Of working on cars, of baking pies. Now in the case of prayer, I think it's that God wants us to be able to share in the joy of answered prayer. He included us in the work that he's doing. It's all God's power, but he included us in it, so that we might have the joy of interceding on behalf of others or for our own needs and seeing God answer, and also so that we might be aligned with God's own heart.
And we're going to talk about that a little bit more, but it's in the same way with evangelism. Why does God send us out to others? It's because he wants us to have his same love, the love of Christ, for other people. Not to just sit back. He wants us to have the same love. And so in the same way with prayer, he wants us to have the same love and care for others that we would go to him in prayer.
This leads us to another question, though. There's a bunch of questions that are raised when we think about prayer. Next question is, why doesn't God seem to answer prayer immediately? Why doesn't God seem to answer prayer immediately? It can be a little bit frustrating. You're going to God in faith, you're saying, God, I am bringing this need, I believe you can answer.
But then he doesn't answer right away. And maybe you pray for years, and the prayer is not answered, at least in the way that you're anticipating. I think all of us have had experience with this. We've shared before how, in our own family, we've experienced this, in terms of the desires that we have for our own family.
If we study the scriptures, we come to understand why it is that God doesn't always answer prayers immediately, or in the ways that we would expect. Paul says this in Romans 8, verses 28 through 29. He says, And we know then all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.
For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. So what Paul is telling us here in this passage is that God works through all the troublesome things. He can work through all circumstances in order to bring about the good that he intends for us.
And so as we go to him in prayer, we may be praying for something in particular, but it may be that God has something better in store for us. And I think, I love this other parable that Jesus gives because I think it kind of helps drive it home. In Matthew 7, verses 7 through 11. Again, picking up on this theme, theme of pressing in.
He says, Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives. The one who seeks finds. And to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. And then he says this, Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him? Now it may be that as you come to God in prayer and you're praying for some specific good that you have in mind, that may in fact be the good that God intends for you.
And He may actually supply that good.
Now, perhaps he may make you wait because there's other goods that he intends for you along the way. Namely, increasing your faith. Increasing your dependence upon him. I know that's what God's done the most in my life when I've prayed, I haven't received what I've prayed for. It's increased my, my trust in God.
Rather than trusting in my own wisdom of what I think is best right here, right now. But there's also this, you think about this imagery of a child asking their father for some bread and the father saying, well, if he's a good father, he's not going to give him a stone. I think sometimes we ask God for things that we think are going to be good for us, but in the end would only be a stone or scorpion or snake.
And so God does not answer that prayer in the way that we're hoping, but he's answering it as far as he's giving us what is actually good for us. And so to this question, I would say God answers prayer according to his wisdom and his perfect timing. He's all wise, and he knows what's best, and when to give it.
A third question that is raised when we think about prayer, is why does God want us to keep praying again and again? Why is it that we can't just simply just pray once and say, Okay, well I prayed for that once, and that should cover it. Why does he want us to be like this widow? Going again and again to him.
I believe that he wants us to come to him continually in prayer. Because he wants us to align our will with his. Now, I think we see this in the life of Jesus. Jesus is constantly in prayer and we'll see some verses demonstrating this. But kind of that culminating moment of prayer we see this demonstrated in Mark 14 verses 32 and 35. Jesus is in the garden of Gethsemane, He said tells his disciples sit here while I pray, and then verse 35 and 36 says going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible, the hour might pass from him. Abba Father, he said everything is possible for you.
Take this cup for me, yet not what I will but what you will. What Jesus is doing in that moment is demonstrating, really, the heart of prayer. Which is, not that we would come to God with our will, so that we would bend His will to our own, but that we would submit our will to His will. And to seek to pray in accordance with His will.
Now, as I just mentioned, Jesus prayed. He's praying all the time through his ministry. You think, well, Jesus is the son of God. Why would he need to pray? He does. He's praying all the time. He's taking time to get away from the disciples, come before the father, and pray. And in so doing, he's doing that because it is good and necessary in his humanity to do that.
He's also doing it because he's setting forth an example for us.
So we ask, why does God want us to keep praying again and again? And I believe the answer to this is that God has purposed that through prayer, our hearts would become aligned with His. And I've experienced this personally in my, my life. I remember several years ago, I went through a significant season of doubt.
I had questions that I wanted answered, and I asked God to just give me clarity so that I could perfectly understand the answers to these questions. And what God did instead was he said, he told me, he was, what you need is not clarity. What you need is trust. It's not that you should be able to understand everything and have all your questions answered.
It's that what you really need to do is trust me with those things that you don't understand. And he showed me how that goes right back to the very beginning with Adam and Eve, that that's their fundamental problem, is their unwillingness to trust God. And so I had been praying a bunch, and then at a particular point, God said, you're not quite praying the right way.
And I think as we go to God in prayer again and again, he teaches us to pray in accordance with His will. Now, there's another question that may come up, a very practical question that may have occurred to some of you, is, how can I pray for so many needs? There's so many things to pray for, it can often feel overwhelming.
Well, I do think we get some guidance from scripture in this. Um, Paul talks about, In Ephesians 6 and 1 Thessalonians 5, about how we can be praying at all times, he says in Ephesians, and pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayer requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people.
In 1 Thessalonians 5, he says, pray continually. Now you're like, what does that mean? Are you talking about like, literal, like, non stop prayer during your day? No, you're not, we're not talking about every single second. What we're talking about is that, as you go through this day, you have this impulse to pray.
So that as some anxiety or concern arises, you go to prayer. Doesn't mean you have, prayer doesn't always have to be super formal. It's not like you got to kneel down on the ground, close your eyes. Your eyes can be open. And you can just pray, God, this concern has just come up. Please, I ask you to intervene in this situation.
The people that I've been most inspired by are those who, when in conversation with someone and a need arises, a concern comes into the conversation. They just say, can we just stop for a second and just pray for this? It's what they're demonstrating is that impulse to prayer. Is that being their first resort rather than what we tend to do on our own and what we tend to do with others, which is we either just obsessively think about something.
It's like, OK, I'm going to figure this out. I'm just going to keep thinking. Eventually we'll sort this out. Or when we're with other people, we just go round and round and round in conversation about it as though together, we could just figure it out in our own wisdom. I'm not saying it's point, it's not pointless to think about things.
It's not pointless to have conversation with others. But we should have this impulse that before all that, why don't we just simply pray about it? Why don't we go to God in prayer about it? So when we ask this question of how can we pray for so many needs, I think part of it is, well, when a need arises, just pray for it.
It's not like you have to keep it all up in a reservoir before you pray for it. Um, and then there's also just some practical things I think I could recommend, which is, um, you know, organizing our daily prayer life. So, you know, have a piece of paper, put Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, you know, through the rest of the week.
And maybe just each day, just say, I'm going to pray for these three people on Monday, these three people on Tuesday. Pray for these three needs on Wednesday. So that way you don't feel overwhelmed by the prayer burdens. Also, you can share prayer burdens. It's not as though you have to pray for everything.
As we share our prayer needs with each other, we ensure that others are praying for these needs, even when we're possibly not praying for them. And it's true, I think, that on time, at times, we do have to practice triage. There is almost endless need in this world. But some of us are situated to pray for situations that others aren't.
Because we don't all know what's going on in each other's lives. So you might know a situation going on in someone's life that others don't. Or maybe it's just something going on in your own life that you're not comfortable sharing about. Well, you certainly want to be praying about those things. You might prioritize those things above other things that you know other people will be praying for, maybe big global catastrophes.
It's good to pray for those things, but you also know that there's going to be other people that are praying for those things as well. So just take ownership of the prayer needs that God has placed in your own life. The fifth question, and this is especially one that I think is kind of weighs upon people that are new to the faith, is what am I supposed to say when I pray? It's like you go to prayer and you feel like, all right, now what?
Like, I, I don't know what to say here. Well, we do have a model of prayer that most of you here are familiar with. The Lord's Prayer, Matthew 6, 9 through 13. I know you know it, but I'm going to read it. It says, Jesus gives this model of prayer to his disciples. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Now in giving us that prayer, Jesus isn't saying you're to repeat this as a magical incantation It's always like a magical prayer.
If you just say it just the right way like you're going to have all the fortune in the world. That's not his purpose. His purpose is to give us a framework for prayer. And it's good to pray this prayer as it's, as it's written. I, I often pray it daily and try to meditate on each piece. But the point is, is that it's laying out for us how we should pray.
Praising God, saying, hallowed be your name. Praying for God's will to be done. That's looking right to the example that Jesus just gave us in Gethsemane. Praying for our daily needs, talking about the daily bread, and then also pleading for forgiveness, reckoning with the sin in our lives. And then also praying that God would protect us from temptation.
That's something that Jesus is constantly warning his disciples about. Be on the watch, be on the lookout, because the devil is trying to find all sorts of ways to lead you astray. He tries to find ways to lead you astray. to create division in the church. We have to be praying that God would protect us.
Now you have a model of prayer there, but still you may feel though, when you go to prayer, that you're supposed to fill it up with a bunch of very nice sounding words and you might feel like, Oh, I'm not a very articulate person. Have no fear. This is, this is what Augustine says. St. Augustine, um, one of the most influential church fathers for the first few hundred years of the church.
He says, When praying, say little, yet pray much so long as your attention is fervent. For to say much in prayer is to discuss your need in too many words, whereas to pray much is to knock the door of him we pray. By the continuous and devout clamor of the heart. Indeed, this business is frequently done with groans rather than words, with tears, than with speech.
So what Augustine is saying there is that when we go to God in prayer, our primary aim is that we would be attentive. And this can be difficult. When you go to prayer, sometimes it's easy for you to start thinking about mowing the lawn or what the Patriots are doing, or like all these other things going on in your life. Our primary work in prayer is to attend to God, to attend to these needs.
But you don't need to fill it up with a bunch of words. Sometimes, there's going to be such great need in your life, you don't know how to pray for it properly. Nevertheless, you come to God in prayer, and you can know that God hears your prayer. Because we have the ministry of the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us.
Paul says this in Romans 8: 26, it says, in the same way, the spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. So I just want to encourage you, if you just are feeling like, I don't really know what I'm supposed to say here, God.
Maybe you don't even know what's going wrong with you. I've, I've been in that place before. I was like, I'm just feeling really anxious, or down, I don't even know how to properly pray for myself. All the same, pray, and know that God is going to hear your prayer.
So to the question, what am I supposed to say?
I would say we should follow the model of the Lord's Prayer, but again, this is no magical incantation because God's not seeking a fountain of words. We can trust that with few words, attentive hearts, and the intercession of the Holy Spirit, God hears us. Now, we have examples throughout scripture of how God answers prayer.
We think about Abraham, we think about Moses, we think about the prophets, and God continues to answer prayer today. And hopefully it works out. Hopefully the audio works out. I wanted to give you a more modern example of answered prayer from the life of my, my grandfather. I, uh, I've been doing this project with him where I sit down and I ask him about his life and I make recordings and early in his life, um, he experienced a miraculous healing that changed the whole course of his life.
And so I wanted to share that story with you. It's just five, just five minutes.
I was getting worse and feeling terrible. So my folks said, well, why don't you go down? They went, they had a chiropractor they went to, see if he can help you.
And, uh, I went down to this chiropractor and the first thing he did when I described my problem was to take my blood pressure. He said, I'm sorry, I can't. I can't work on you. He says, Your blood pressure's over 200 on the upside. And I don't know, I can't remember the bottom, but it was up too. And he was, he said, How did you get down here?
I, I said, I walked. He said, You shouldn't walk back. I said, I don't have any other way. I, I walked home. I'm glad I got home. But I know I did, um, something was really wrong. I told my parents what the deal was. And they said to me, well, we, uh, we better take you, uh, uh, that didn't happen right away, but, uh, they, they, we tried a local doctor.
I think I went to another doctor and he thought that I, um, would probably need some kind of surgery or something.
So we went on a bit that it was after this, that the spiritual, the physical healing took place in my life because when I started going to the doctor and wasn't getting anywhere, really, um, I, I went one day to visit. A man named, uh, what was, he was an elder, well anyway, he was a well, an elder in the, in the Napa church, maybe I'll think of it as I go on.
And he, he, he talked to me one day, I went to see him, he said, James, he said, how are you feeling? I said, um, oh, fair. You know, but I'm not any better.
A few minutes later, same question, same answer. A few minutes later, same question. But this time I answered, I said,
Ira, it was, his name was Ira. I said, where, why are you asking me this question over and over? And he said, because I have been praying for you, that you would be healed.
I, of course, I had shared with the church and so forth, and the pastor had prayed for me and, uh, and Ira Wilson was praying for me and he believed God that God was going to do it. He said, I believe he said, I've been fast. I said, then he told me he'd been fasting and praying. He wasn't a young man. He was probably in his eighties at the time.
And he, but he really believed God. And he, so it wasn't long before I was feeling a lot better.
And so, I said to my folks, I said, I think I'll look for, a job, or maybe I'll sign up for the Air Force or something, or for the military. Anyway, they said to me, well, let us, we're gonna take you over to San Francisco to the hospital, a major hospital over there. I think it was called Stanford or something.
Anyway, they, they examined me and more than one doctor, that there was a couple of doctors looked at me but one in particular and they found no problem.
I was feeling better and I was feeling better for the really I Believe God had healed me. I still believe that.
And he goes on and says that, uh, all he had left was just a little murmur left, but it wasn't, it didn't affect him at all. Before this point, it's like he couldn't work, he couldn't have joined the Air Force. And it's just interesting because if he hadn't joined the Air Force, I don't know if he would have ended up in pastoral ministry here on the East Coast because he entered into school after the Air Force.
I might not be standing before you today. And, um, it's just a powerful testimony of the church being devoted to prayer. And just thinking about the example of that man, Ira Wilson, devoting himself to prayer and fasting, believing that God could heal my grandfather. And God still does that work today. And it's for this reason that we are called to, as Paul says in Colossians 4, devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
But the question is, is that Jesus asks at the end of this parable is, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? You see, faith acts. If you have faith, it will bear itself out in your actions. I think many of us recognize how much trouble is going on around us. The world has been a troublesome place for a while, but I don't think you're crazy if you feel like it's picked up lately.
Our trouble is very real. Our God is also very real. But how often do we live in light of both realities? I can't think of anyone who denies the reality of life's troubles. We respond to that reality with fear, anxiety, our minds and even our bodies pacing back and forth.
Will Jesus find faith on the earth when he returns? Or will he find people paralyzed with anxiety? If we have faith in God and the reality of his goodness and power, then our faith should break our paralysis and act out in prayer. Not just occasionally, not just periodically, but constantly, persistently.
We can scream into the void, tantruming about our trouble, or we can call upon the God who will hear us and who will answer our prayers. This is true for your personal life. I don't know God's plans for you and those you love, but if you pray and humbly obey his commands for your life, then he will guide your steps as you trust in him.
He will lead you to the best end possible, even if the outcome exceeds our understanding for the time being. I'm not claiming we're not going to be left sometimes with a bit of a mystery on our hands.
This is also true for the life of the church. God will answer our prayers. It is my wholehearted conviction that God has mercifully sustained this church for 182 years, not because of human genius or finances, but because of those who have faithfully prayed for our congregation. If we will continue, it will be by prayer and prayer alone.
If you love your life, if you love others, if you love this church, then pray, pray, pray. He has promised. He will give justice to His chosen ones. Let us pray.
Father,
We pray that You would impress upon us our foolishness if we failed to come to You in prayer.
Because Father, You are a loving Father who is ready to meet our needs. You invite us to cast our cares upon you, to give us your, our anxiety, knowing that you are so wise and powerful that you can work out things for our good.
Father, as necessary, humble us. So insofar as we can recognize that we do need you. That we don't have control.
Lead us, Father, to bring everything to you in prayer. At all times of the day.
And that we would go to prayer believing that you will answer.
And as we wait for your answer, Father, I pray that you would increase our faith. So that we would persevere in prayer. Amen. And that as we persevere in prayer, Father, that you would align our will with your will. So that we would pray that your will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. Father, we ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we celebrate Vision Sunday. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Jesus expects his disciples to be ready for the coming of the Son of Man, being found active in their work; consequences follow for those who disregard their responsibilities.
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Transcript:
And keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly, I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table, and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose masters finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. But understand this, if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Peter asked, Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?
When there is an emergency, we call 9 1 1. We call 9 1
1, explain our emergency and a dispatch goes out calling local police, fire and rescue to the scene. We call them first responders because they immediately answered the call and they're the first to show up. Imagine if they didn't. Imagine if we called and they showed up an hour later. Or never showed up.
Our emergencies would become tragedies and our alarm would turn into outrage. We call 9 1 1 because we're counting on them. These people have stepped up to the plate to tackle these emergencies. They've made our troubles, their responsibility. They are accountable for being prepared. to respond. But they are not alone in having that sort of responsibility.
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, if you are one of his disciples, you also have a responsibility to respond. Not to emergencies, but to the expected return of Christ. Jesus is coming with his kingdom. And the pressing question is, are we prepared? Are we prepared? Jesus offers us a grouping of parables in Luke 12, that explains our need for readiness.
So looking first at Luke 12, verses 35 through 41, which were read, we find here in these verses, a similar theme that is used, shared in Matthew 24, where Jesus talks about those who would be faithful and wise servants. Also in Matthew 25, talking about those who would be right stewards of what the Master has given them while He's away.
We find a similar theme going on here, where you have some servants of a household who are waiting for their Master to return, to return to their home from a late night wedding. It's like, they're looking at the clock. They're expecting him to come back and the night goes on and on. Nevertheless, they're expected to be at the ready because they're keeping the door locked so robbers wouldn't come in.
And so you don't want to leave the master on the outside of the house knocking, let me into my own house. They're expected to be there. Ready and waiting. Dressed ready. Now we ask, you know, what does that mean? Well, if you remember from that, in ancient times, they typically wore robes. It's not very easy to run when you're in a robe.
And so they would gird up, they would tie up the robe so that they could move a little bit more swiftly. So it was a little bit more like pants. Um, And so that they'd be able to open the door as quickly as possible when the master would arrive. In verse 38 it says that it is good for them to be ready whenever the master would arrive, whether it's in the middle of the night or whether it's toward daybreak.
So imagine having to be the servant, and you'll find out you are the servants. And it's like 4 in the morning. You still got to be ready for the master to show up at 4, and, uh, you can't assume that he's not coming. You're expecting his return. Now, when we jump down to verse 40, Jesus makes it clear in telling this parable who he's referring to when he's speaking of the Master.
He's referring to himself as the Master. He talks, he says, You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. So what he's trying to tell his disciples is that you need to have this same sort of readiness, anticipating my return. And this sort of anticipation that they're to have is not one of fear, of dread of the master returning.
It's the sort of anticipation one would have if a loved one who's been away for a long time is due to arrive back at your home. You're eager for them to come. You're eager to open the door and welcome them back in. Um, maybe some of you have that same sort of eagerness, you're waiting for the pizza delivery man to come and you just spring to the door and because you want that, that food. It's with that sort of eager anticipation that we're supposed to be looking forward to Christ's return.
And we find Jesus, speaking in a similar manner, now in a much different time and place, um, in Revelation. This is after Christ has died on the cross, been raised from the dead, he's ascended. John is having this vision, and Jesus is bringing a message to the church in Laodicea. In Revelation 3: 20, he is, in speaking to the church in Laodicea, he's calling them to repentance.
And then, after giving them this call to repentance, He says in verse 20, Here I am, I stand at the door and I knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person and they with me. So Jesus is saying, inviting the Laodiceans, he's inviting his disciples to be at the ready so that they might be able to share. Now, the thing that's really surprising that appears here in this passage is verse 37.
Because, again, we're talking about the, you know, the framework here, the setting here is that of a master and his servants. They're welcoming him back into the home. You would expect that in welcoming him back into the home, they might take his slippers off, set him at the table. You know, here's a cup of wine, master, et cetera, et cetera, but that's not what Jesus describes as happening. In verse 37, he says, Truly I tell you, he, talking about the master, will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table, and will come and wait on them.
The complete picture has been turned upside down on its head. While, yes, the servants were there ready and waiting to open the door, as soon as they let the master in, he is at their service. Ready to serve them. So readiness has its reward. Now, it's not deserved because the servants are just doing what they're supposed to be doing, but it's given still nonetheless.
And this image of a master who is coming to serve perfectly aligns with the person of Jesus, because Jesus came as a servant king. We see him instructing his disciples in this, both in word and deed. In Luke 22, he says, For who is greater, the one who is at the table, or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table?
But I am among you as one who serves. And then, of course, we have this kind of iconic scene, where Jesus, this is on the occasion approaching the Lord's table, The Last Supper, he is with his disciples, and in John 13: 3- 5, we find Jesus in the act of serving. The Apostle John describes it in this way, he says, Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God.
So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water. Into a basin and began to wash his disciples feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. Isn't that incredible? You see verse three, it says, Jesus knew that the father had put all things under his power.
You know, you're setting the, the stage there. Just like Jesus knows, he's the king of kings. And at that moment, you'd expect him to say that he commanded his disciples to start washing his feet because he's all powerful. But that's not what follows this. Jesus knows all these things. But he makes himself a servant to his disciples.
And in so doing, he's setting an example for us. He's also showing that he's coming to give us the great gift of himself. He's setting an example. He's also showing that we're not earning anything that he's given to us. It's all grace that we're receiving. And so in response we are to follow in his example.
And so, again, this anticipation that the disciples ought to have, that these servants have, is not one of fear. It's one of positive anticipation, of looking forward to the return of the Master, looking forward to the return of Christ. The sort of readiness that they are to have is, that of a homeowner who's on guard for a robber showing up at their house.
I'm sure sometimes you guys have heard of things, oh, you know, a couple, you know, we've had some carjackings in the neighborhood, someone's been, someone's house has been, you know, broken into. And when that happens, we tend to kind of go on alert and kind of keep an eye out on things. And the thing is, thieves don't usually show up at a convenient hour.
They don't show up when you're ready and waiting most of the time, unless you're ready at all hours, and at all times, and thankfully, we live in the 21st century, so we can have alarm systems, and cameras, and all that, because otherwise, the only way that you could be ready and waiting is if you're awake.
You're standing at the window, looking out. Jesus says that's the sort of readiness that we are to have for Christ's return. Because Christ is going to return like a thief in the night. We don't know when he's going to return, and so we must always be ready at all times. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-6, he says, For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
While people are saying peace and safety, destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness, so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.
So then, let us not be like others who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. So once again, I just want to emphasize this. This isn't about us trying to read the tea leaves, trying to read the headlines in the news and say, okay, now we have to be really ready, because things look like they're going really sideways, and so Jesus must be returning soon.
No, that's not the point at all. The point is that regardless of whether things are seem like they're going swell in the world and people are saying peace and safety or whether things seem like they're going to hell in a handbasket, we are ready at all times for Christ's return because we know that he's going to show up like a thief in the night.. So Jesus tells this parable to his disciples and it culminates in Peter asking this question in verse 41. He says, Lord, are you telling this parable to us or to everyone?
That is, Peter's asking, are you speaking to your disciples or , you talking about all people? Jesus responds indirectly by diving into another parable that continues this master servant theme. Continuing on in verse 42. It says, The Lord answered, Who then is the faithful and wise manager whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time?
It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose the servant says to himself, My master is taking a long time in coming, and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk.
The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers. So Jesus is running with a theme of masters and servants, and in this case, he talks about a servant who's been made manager of the household.
And, If he's going to be a faithful and wise manager, which one would typically only put the servants who are faithful and wise in that sort of position, then they would take care of the other servants in the household. That's what the master is charging them to do. You're going to be making sure they're fed and taken care of.
Now, to just try to understand what Jesus is getting at in using this imagery, we can consider that in being the sorts of followers of Jesus, and being the sorts of disciples who would be faithful and wise, we're concerned not only with our personal obedience, and being righteous and following God's commands, but we're also concerned about others.
Especially, our fellow believers. So, we have a responsibility here to build each other up as disciples of Christ. It's a call to discipleship. It's a call to evangelism. To share the good news with others. It's this idea of, that you are called to be responsible for the other. So, again, once again, this idea of readiness is not one of sitting on the roof, waiting for Jesus to come.
To descend. Readiness looks like doing your job. Doing what God has tasked you to do. Now, I think the only way in which we would really take this seriously is if we really appreciate our position before Christ. Paul reminds us of this in 1st Corinthians 2: 6. Now, in this context, he's talking about why believers should not engage in sexual immorality.
But it's not exclusive to sexual immorality, his comment here. It applies to everything. He says, This, then, is how you ought to regard us. Oops, sorry. I jumped down. 1 Corinthians 6. He says, Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.
You were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies. This is what we have to understand. You don't belong to yourself anymore. You were bought at a price. You were bought at the price of Christ laying down His life for our salvation. And as we receive that gift, we no longer say, I'm going to live life on my own terms.
Now we belong to Christ, because we've been united with Him. And we've accepted His mercy. We've also confessed and said, He is the Lord of my life. And so we are very much God's servants. We belong to Him. Now, The sinful condition of man has bucked against that. That's basically the whole path of Adam and Eve.
They said, we don't belong to God. We're going to be our own gods. So in being purchased by Christ, we were, we are returned back to our original created position, which is we are the servants of God. We are to submit to his commands and his purposes for us. So the first thing that's important for us to remember, if we're going to take this charge seriously, is that you are not your own.
You submit to the will of God. The other part that kind of goes hand in hand with this is just that this idea that we are in fact given responsibilities.
That as we become followers of Jesus Christ, we're not just given responsibilities. free leisure to just do whatever we would, but that, in fact, God has a mission for us, that we are to participate in. In 1 Corinthians 4, verses 1 through 2, it says, This, then, is how you ought to regard us, as servants of Christ, and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed.
Now, it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. Now, as Paul's talking here, he's talking about him and his companions, But what he's saying here is applicable to all, in that all of us have been given a trust. All of us have been given a charge. And we must prove faithful in that.
Now, some of this is, again, is broad stroke in terms of simple obedience to God's commands, supporting the work, of discipleship, of building up the body of Christ, engaging in the work of evangelism, but how that looks in your individual lives, of course, will vary. It'll look different from person to person, but we are all encompassed in that general work and purpose, and we must prove faithful in that.
And if we are found faithful in that, then Jesus says that the servant who's so faithful the Master will put him in charge of all his possessions. Now this is an interesting point of the parable to consider, because we can ask, well what, what does that mean? What does it mean to be put in charge of all the Master's possessions?
And I can't tell you that I know with any specificity what that exactly means, because I don't know what that means. At this point, what we're doing is looking out to the eternal horizon. We are looking to the age to come and what God, what plans God has for us in that time, when Christ has returned, when the dead have been raised and we're living on a new earth with God.
I will say this though, that I'm convinced that we are going to have eternal occupations. I'm sure some of you have worried, you know, is eternal life going to be boring, just kind of sitting around singing hymns all day. Now singing hymns is great, no knock against hymns, but sometimes you worry, like, I'm going to do that forever? I'm convinced that God has eternal occupations for us and probably exceeds our imagination, what he's going to be doing, but just imagine we can see all the creativity of God just around us as it is.
And so I think we can trust that he has much more in store for us. And so, insofar as we are faithful now, with what God has given us, Jesus is saying we're going to be given even more in the age to come. Now, in verse 45, things take a bit of a turn here, because this manager, as it turns out, is not faithful and wise. Or we're at least considering the possibility of saying, supposing he's not faithful and wise. But suppose a servant says to himself, My master is taking a long time in coming, and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk.
What's clear here is that if the servant begins to take that course of action. Begins living his life in that way. Begins to neglect his responsibilities in that fashion. It becomes clear that he is no longer living as if he is the master's servant. He begins living as if he is his own. Like he has no responsibilities.
He's living like the master's not returning. Now, the truth is, is that some who begin in the church, who begin following Christ, can turn down that path. Where they start living their lives as though it's their life to live. God doesn't have any say so as to how they would live their life. They begin living as though they don't have responsibilities.
And not just responsibilities for themselves, but responsibilities for others. And we think about it in the context of the church, beginning to live like, I'm just concerned about myself. I can't take care of them, they're just gonna do their own thing, I'm just gonna do me.
That's not the way of Christ. We are called to take responsibility for each other, some in more degrees than others, like I have more responsibility than some of you, for others in this congregation. But all of us, collectively, together, have a responsibility to care and take care of each other.
And a lot of this can stem, this idea of just living as if, this life is my own, living as if there are no responsibilities that God has for me. A lot of this can stem from this idea that Jesus isn't returning. And so we feel as though we're not going to have to stand before God and give an account of how we have lived our life.
And the sort of sins that Jesus is alluding to here are not just those ones that we commit. So a lot of times we think about sin as those things that we do, like doing something wrong. It also includes those things that we fail to do. Failing to do what God is calling us to do. Now, the reason why this servant here begins living in this way is because he says, Well, the Master's taking a long time in coming.
And so then he heads down this path. Now, I think that's something that we're very vulnerable to today. I mean, we're 2, 000 years on since Christ ascended. And it's unfortunate because I have heard some people who are Christians describe their faith in ways that you could almost think that there is no return of Christ.
They have a Christianity where, well, you just die and you go to heaven. And that sort of Christianity tends to kind of let us off the hook, I think, for thinking about the real purpose and responsibility that God has for us.
That we are in fact, here, making preparations for the return of Christ. Because Christ is going to bring heaven to earth. The kingdom of God is going to be established on earth. And on that day, there's not multiple judgment days, there's one judgment day. It's on that day that Christ returns that all of us will have to give an account.
It's interesting because, you know, we might ask today, you know, where's Christ? Why isn't he returned yet? But even 2, 000 years ago, the apostles were anticipating this question. In 2 Peter 3, verses 4 through 9, Peter says this, they will say, where is this coming he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.
But they deliberately forget that long ago, by God's word, the heavens came into being, and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and the destruction of the ungodly.
Do not forget this one thing, dear friends. With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. So just to really quickly summarize that, what Peter's saying is, is you know, some people are saying, where is this coming?
You know, we thought he'd show up by now. The reason why Christ has not returned yet. It's because God is being patient with us. He's giving us time to receive his mercy. He's giving us time to repent. And our idea of God being slow is not slow at all in the eyes of God, because a thousand years is nothing to God.
We must be grateful for the time that God has given us, even as we do desire that Christ would return.
We turn to verse 46 and we see that there is judgment that will come though for the servant who abandons his responsibilities because the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him, and an hour he is not aware of very much like the thief just shows up. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.
Now, that's some pretty brutal punishment there.
What Jesus is talking about here is that the servant who has been faithless is going to face the same judgment which belongs to all unbelievers, which is destruction. Now, Jesus has just hinted that he's speaking first, he's, he's been speaking first and foremost to the disciples because He says if they fail to be faithful at the ready that will be their outcome That he's talking to the disciples, that he is talking to all of us is made all the more clear in the last two verses here in verse 47
It says The servant who knows the Master's will and does not get ready or does not do what the Master wants will be beaten with many blows, but the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded, and from the one whoís been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
See, the difference between the disciples and the rest of the world, the reason why they face great punishment is because of that knowledge. In James 4: 17, it says, If anyone then knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them. And so they receive many blows.
Jesus says, though, that those who don't know, they're still going to receive punishment, but with fewer blows. Now, once again, we're starting to enter into some murky territory here and understanding what the final judgment is going to look like. We do understand that sin is sin and all people are going to be held accountable, whether they've known Christ or whether they haven't known Christ.
In Romans 2, verses 14 through 15, It says, Indeed, when Gentiles, now just to make clear, when the Bible talks about Gentiles, it's basically talking about the whole rest of the world, besides the Jewish people. It says, Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature, things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law.
So the benefit of the law is you know exactly what God wants you to be doing, because it's right there in black and white. But what Paul's talking about here is that the non Jewish world, who didn't receive the law, they're still able, they're still able to know God's commands because of this. Verse 15 says, They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them, and at other times even defending them.
So all people are going to be held responsible. Jesus says that those who know what they're supposed to do and don't do it, they're going to receive many blows. So you can enter into speculation there, if, you know, our, the Advent Christian conviction is that sinners are ultimately destroyed in hell. Maybe that means some endure greater suffering until that comes, some less.
That's all speculative. But, it seems like it might be the case, based on what Jesus is saying here. We have other indications elsewhere, just how serious this is. Some prime examples of people who should know better. Um, we look at 2 Peter, and also James, is talking about those who are false teachers.
People who know the right things to teach, and then don't teach the truth. Second Peter 2: 21. It would've been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Then James offers this warning.
He says, not many of you should be become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. Because the teacher should know what ought to be taught. And if they fail to teach the right things, they're going to be held accountable. There's a real danger if we know what we ought to be doing and then we turn our back on doing what is right.
We're held accountable for what we know. This is made most clear, I think, in Hebrews 10. It says there, in verse 26, if we deliberately keep on sinning after we've received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
For we know him who said, it is mine to avenge, I will repay. And again, the Lord will judge his people. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Now, this passage has raised a lot of debate in the Christian circle as to, you know, is the writer of Hebrews talking here about people who were never Christians in the first place, but had kind of a passing knowledge of Christ, and turned their back on Him?
Is he talking about Christians who were really Christians, and they fell away from the faith? Interesting debate. I don't think that's what's most important here, though. We're just dealing with the basic fact here. Is that, regardless of how you got to this position, if we deliberately keep on sinning, after we know what we're supposed to be doing, we no longer have any sacrifice for sins.
We are no longer under grace. Now, it's important to make a distinction here. You know, what does it mean to keep deliberately on sinning? It doesn't mean you know, stumbling along the way. All of us, you know, I wouldn't ask, but all of us are sinners here. And you would all, if you're being honest, you would all raise your hands and say, yes, we're all sinners here.
We all make mistakes. You lose your temper. You have a moment of lust, of greed, of envy, of pride. That's different here than knowing the word of God, saying, don't do that thing, and then you say, I know that's the case, but I'm not gonna do that. I'm going to do things my way. Again, it's that question of who do you belong to?
Do you belong to Christ? Do you belong to yourself? If you deliberately keep on sinning, you're saying, I belong to myself. I'm going to make the rules. That's what Adam and Eve did. They said, we're gonna make the rules. That's what it means to deliberately keep on sinning. It doesn't mean that you fail and you stumble.
We all fail. We all stumble. That's why we need the grace of Christ. This is something very different.
As the disciples of Christ, it's essential that we remain faithful, that we realize that we're not our own, that we are found ready and responsible. It says, From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much will be, more will be asked. You see, you've been given a whole lot.
The Father gave you, He gave us His Son, so that we might be redeemed, so that we might be forgiven. God has given us grace, so that we might share that grace with others. So that others might receive the same forgiveness that we've received. So that they might be restored in the way that Christ is presently restoring us today.
We've been entrusted with the treasure of Christ. And we have to give account for how we've been been employing our time. Devoting our lives. Jesus has called us to be ready for his return. To be eagerly waiting by the door, ready to welcome him in. This means that we are leaning into the kingdom of God.
We want God's will done on earth. Until that day comes, we begin with ourselves. Our personal obedience. We are called to pursue the way of Jesus here and now. This includes living in accordance with God's commands in every aspect of our lives. It includes our care for each other, discipling each other in the faith.
It includes answering the call to bring the gospel to our neighbors and to the world. Whether that's in a leading role, or in a supporting role. You need both. You need the leading, leading role and the supporting role. We are saved by grace, but we are no longer our own. Christ purchased us on the cross.
His life now envelops ours. But if we live like we are our own, as if we have no responsibilities before God, If we live as if Jesus isn't coming back, then we will be judged on account of our own actions. Our actions tell the story of our lives. We will face the reality of life on our own terms. A life that is apart from the cross, apart from grace, apart from Jesus.
We will face destruction as sinners.
Readiness is not perfection. Being a faithful servant doesn't mean our record is spotless. It means our eyes are fixed on Jesus, not ourselves. We trust Him for salvation. We look to Him as Master and Lord. Our lives belong to Him. When He shows up, we have nothing to give him as if he depends on us. When he shows up, he sits us at the table and serves us supper.
He sits with us and communes with us. The call for readiness, the call to responsibility, is no cold demand. It is an invitation to love Jesus, to seek his joy, and so find our own joy in him.
Are you ready for him? Are you ready for Jesus? Live like it. Live like it. Let's pray.
Dear Father,
we thank you for the gift of your son, Jesus Christ.
That we have been purchased by his sacrifice so that we maybe called your children. And so that we now have this glorious honorable position of serving you, of being joined to the purposes of your mission. To bring the gospel to the earth.
To begin to lean into the full restoration of mankind. And Father, we understand that that will not come to pass completely until your Son returns to us. Father, we ask that you would help us have a posture of readiness. Father, we pray that that eagerness would manifest itself in our obedience so that we would not live like we are our own.
So that we would offer our lives completely unto him.
That our dedication, our sense of responsibility before you would not die. Father, help us to not be limited to ourselves, our own lives, but that it would extend to those that you have placed within our sphere, Father. Our brothers and sisters here in this congregation, the people in our neighborhood who don't know Christ, the nations that have yet to hear the word of the gospel, Father, Father, help us to embrace that responsibility, not as a burden, but as a privilege.
Make it the desire of our hearts, Father, that we would be found faithful and wise, so that when Christ returns, it may indeed be a joyful occasion at which we sat at a table with Him and feast.
Prick our hearts, Father, if we are living as if we are our own. And are liable to face judgment. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series on the Parables of Jesus. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom cover’s Jesus’s answer to brothers having a disagreement over their inheritance, highlighting the importance of where we put our focus.
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Transcript:
Someone in the crowd said to him, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. Jesus replied, Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbitor between you? Then he said to him, Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed. Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. Amen.
When I was 14 years old, I had different priorities in life. If I had any free time, you would probably find me on the computer, uh, playing one of my favorite games, uh, RuneScape. And, uh, and you can tell, see I'm a little bit dated, cause that's kind of the logo, they call it old school now, cause that's, I played the old version.
They have a new version of RuneScape now that they have out there. So, but I played the old school version. Um, I'd spend hours playing that game. In part because you needed hours to play it right. RuneScape invites you into a medieval world, uh, alongside thousands of other players. And talk with each other, fight each other, and trade with each other.
Every player wanted to have their computer character suited up in the best armor. And to accomplish that, you needed a trade. You needed a way to make RuneScape money to buy your gear. Now, my trade was woodcutting. Um, and see, I didn't tell Sara all about this when I first met her, because otherwise she wouldn't have, we just celebrated 11 years, um, I don't think she would have married me. I was a bit of a geek, you know? I liked my So, I liked my RuneScape, and I was a woodcutter on RuneScape. And I'd think of nothing of sitting at the computer for an hour just chopping down trees. After a while, I was doing pretty well for myself in the game. I had decent armor, I could cut any kind of wood, and I could hold my own against a number of players in the, in the game, in battle.
I had made it. But my progress on RuneScape didn't really mean anything in the real world. I was still the same 14 year old trying to navigate high school. And, uh, that's part, that's a picture from the game. And this is a picture, oh, I guess I didn't make that. I was going to share you a picture of myself when I was in high school.
And, uh, I probably better not. I was, I was the king of a spirit week. I went all out. Um, so, uh, I had my awkward moments in high school. Uh, but apart from the entertainment value that RuneScape provided, my progress on RuneScape didn't add up to anything. I still had to make something of my life. Now, I wouldn't be too hard on myself or any teen.
It's good to have fun when you're a kid. And I certainly don't have any time these days for, for the, for a game like RuneScape, but I use myself as an analogy to provoke you to consider, are you seeking progress, finding security in things that don't mean anything in the big scheme of things? In today's parable we find Jesus warning us against empty pursuits. So we look first at those opening verses that Ernie read in Luke 12, verses 13 through 15.
It begins with someone from the crowd coming to Jesus and calling upon him to adjudicate a matter between him and his brother. He says, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. So, I mean, this is kind of like a civil case. You know, maybe some of you have watched Judge Judy before. Well, this guy is coming to Jesus.
He wants to be Judge Jesus and settle this matter between him and his brother. And, uh, it's interesting that the case that he's bringing is something that the Bible tells us. does offer commentary about, in the Old Testament, Numbers 27: 36, and also in Deuteronomy 31, they have laws prescribing how inheritance should be divided among children.
Now, when Jesus hears this appeal, this request, he turns to him and refuses him. He says, Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you? Now, so, those words, judge or an arbiter between you, as I read it, it seems as though maybe Jesus is hearkening back to, uh, the words that were spoken to Moses in Exodus 2, when he was rebuffed for trying to adjudicate a matter between two Hebrews who were fighting.
In Exodus 2, it says, the next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting, and he asked the one, the wrong, why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew? And the man said, who made you ruler and judge over us? So it seems like maybe Jesus is making that appeal, that connection back to Moses there. But here, he's saying, I'm not going to come between this matter, between the two of you.
Now, the reason for this is that Jesus wants to direct this man's attention to something that is of greater concern. Which is this, in verse 15, he says, watch out for Be on your guard against all kinds of greed. Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. Jesus was able to read between the lines.
He could see what was really at the heart of the matter here, which was that these brothers were fighting because they thought that these material possessions were kind of the end all, be all. Such that they were at odds with each other, family, at odds with each other. Um, now greed is a very sort of sneaky sin because it can manifest itself in all kinds of ways.
It can manifest itself in the form of those who would be eager to spend their money and acquire many things, maybe even rack up debt in the process. That's a, that's a form of greed. Greed could also manifest itself in, in the form of someone who's very frugal. And is just saving their money, hoarding up.
Maybe they don't buy anything nice, but they're just, they're gathering money. The one finds comfort in the abundance of possession. The other finds comfort in security in knowing their bank account is full. But both find root in greed. And this idea that life does consist in an abundance of possessions.
And the, and the thing that's also very sneaky about greed, I think, is that sometimes it doesn't just appear all at once. Um, You might think of yourself as like, well, you know, I just want enough to get by. It's like, it's not like I want ten million dollars or something like that. Or, you know, I don't want a huge mansion.
I might just want a little bit of a nicer house. But that's the way that greed can sometimes work, is that it can work incrementally. I just want a little bit more, and a little bit more. And you're always just kind of chasing that carrot across your life, right? Just a little bit more and then I'll have it.
I'll have the fullness of life. Now that's precisely what Jesus is denying here. Jesus is saying, life does not consist in you getting that thing, getting those things. But again, because, it's because these brothers believe this, that there is this division and drama between them. And it's no surprise that very often we do see that unfortunately happen among families when someone passes away in the family, maybe they did have a lot to pass on to their family, all of a sudden all kinds of discord erupts in the family about who's going to get what. And the reason why is because various members of that family believe that life consists in these things in the abundance of possessions. They treat it as though it's a matter of life or death that they have to get that thing.
Now, Jesus intends to hammer home his point here by using a parable. And it's a parable of a rich farmer who just had a great harvest. So we continue on in verse 16. It says, And he told them this parable, The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, what shall I do?
I have no place to store my crops. Then he said, this is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones. And there I will store my surplus grain, and I'll say to myself, you have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink, and be merry. And we'll stop there for now. So this, so this farmer, his harvest was so good that he's led to this thought of, well, what am I going to do?
I have all this extra crop, and I have nowhere to put it. And he comes to this idea that what he's going to do is tear down his barns and build bigger ones to store the surplus grain. Now, There's not anything necessarily wrong with this idea. We see in the story of Joseph, back in Genesis 41, about how he built barns and saved up food for those lean years that God had revealed to him were to come to Egypt.
He had seven years of abundance, and then seven lean years in which they would need to tap into those storehouses. So it's not necessarily problematic, although we could also say, why not, instead of having to build bigger barns, why don't you share what God has blessed you with, with others? Why don't you give away some of it if you can't store it all and keep it all to yourself?
So that, that could be something that's problematic here, just this idea of not resorting to just being generous. But the main problem is that stands out here is his attitude, which it becomes clear in verse 19, where he says, and I'll say to myself, you have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink, and be married.
So what's, what's problematic about this attitude? What, what does it reveal? Well, the first thing that it reveals is this, is it reveals that this man thinks that He knows the future. He knows, oh, wow. If you could get me back to that slide, it just did something weird. It jumped all over the place. Um, The first thing that it reveals is that this man thinks that he's God.
That he knows the future. That he knows what's to come. And the reality is, is that none of us know that. We find this testified to in Proverbs and also in James. Proverbs 27: 1, it says, Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. And in James 4, it says, Now listen you who say today or tomorrow we will go to this city, or to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money, while you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.
What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while. And then it vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, if it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that. Now, if you've been in the church for a while, maybe some of you have heard some people say, maybe you've heard me say, you know, Lord willing, we're going to do this or that.
And I don't know about the rest of those who may say that, I always do that in order to try to even consciously for myself and to signal to others that I'm not saying that I can predict the future. I'm not saying that I'm going to lay these plans and it's going to play out perfectly. If God has taught me anything since entering into adulthood over the past like 12 years or so, um, is that I can make all the plans in the world and God will have different plans.
Um,
We just don't know what's gonna happen. Because we're finite human beings. And so it's, it's good to make that confession. But it's not so much a matter of saying, Lord willing, as though it's a legalistic thing, as though you have to say that every time you're making plans for the future. The main concern here is the attitude.
You could, you could say that and not actually believe that. You could say, Lord willing, but actually I do think these things are gonna happen. The main thing is, is that, are you approaching the future with that sort of humility that I really don't know what tomorrow is going to bring. I'm gonna try to be faithful what I, with what I have, but I'm not gonna suppose that I can foretell what is to come.
So that's one problem here. This guy thinks he's gonna build up these barns. He's gonna lay away this grain for the future, and he's not gonna have to worry about anything else for the rest of his life. That's the first problem. The second problem. Is that he's trusting in an empty promise. He's trusting in these material goods that he can't take with him in death.
The reality is, is that all of us are gonna die. And we can't take our material goods with us. The psalmist writes in Psalm 49, 16 through 20, Do not be overawed when others grow rich, when the splendor of their houses increases. For they will take nothing with them when they die. Their splendor will not descend with them.
Though while they live they count themselves blessed, and people praise you when you prosper, they will join those who have gone before them, who will never again see the light of life. People who have wealth but lack understanding are like the beasts that perish. You know, I think in America we especially become obsessed with those that are materially wealthy and are well off, and are living, you know, the good life now. But the psalmist puts it all in perspective. They're going to die, like everyone else. Death is the all time equalizer. All of us are going to die. And it doesn't matter whether you're rich or poor, you're all the same in the grave. And if you die merely wealthy, Lacking an understanding, lacking a relationship with God, then you're really, in the end, going to perish like a beast.
A glorious beast who had all this wealth, but a beast in the end. Because you didn't really know what was most important in life. You were just living for your pleasure, for your immediate satisfaction. Kind of hand in hand with this is the reality is that, so we can't take our material possessions with us when we die, and we also don't have any control over them once we die.
Um, Solomon points this out in Ecclesiastes 2, verses 18 through 21. He says, I hated all the things I toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish. Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil, into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun.
This too is meaningless. So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless, and a great misfortune.
I think, especially, especially perhaps in this age of technology when we can preserve some of our thinking and our ideas more readily, we do kind of build up this sense of being able to have control beyond death. It's starting to get creepy in terms of what they're talking about with artificial intelligence and people preserving their consciousness in a digital form and all that.
And I don't know where that's going to go. But I think it just falls in line with this idea of trying to maintain our presence beyond death. But the thing that, the thing is, is that's impossible. Once we're gone, we're gone. And everything that we've poured our lives into, all our blood, sweat, and tears, someone else is gonna get it.
And who knows what they're gonna do with it, you know? They might put dents and scratches over the things that we shined up and made the best of.
So that's the second problem. The third problem is that this man is fixing his eyes on human hopes instead of the hope that is found only in God. Now, the Apostle Paul kind of picks up on this, and you'll notice a similar language between Paul's words here and the words that are used in this parable. Where the man says, I'm going to basically sit back, eat, drink, relax.
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul is talking about the reality of the resurrection. And he's talking about everything that he has gone through for the sake of the gospel. But, he says, if I've gone through all those things without the hope of the gospel, then he comes to this conclusion. He says, if I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, that is, without the hope of the resurrection, of a future life that is to come, what have I gained?
If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. So, if there is no God, if there is no resurrection, then Paul's saying, yeah, it probably would make sense to lead the hedonistic life, just seeking immediate pleasures, because there's nothing else to be had. Now that's really honestly a pretty depressing state of affairs.
You might have some immediate satisfaction in the moment, but you always have looming before your eyes that prospect of death. That everything you did in this life really just collapses into dust. But if God does exist, if Jesus Christ is who he said he is, if he did rise from the dead, rise from the dead, and if that possibility is available to us as we put our trust in Him, then there's something more that can be gained. Something that is far greater than whatever this world is offering us immediately today. You see, what the world is offering us today is almost like a fast food sort of satisfaction. There's a certain pleasure in fast food. But how much greater is waiting?
And be able to go to that five star restaurant where you've got the steak tips and all the delicious food. I'm going to get hungry here, but it's so much, it's so much better than the fast food. But we get sucked into the immediacy of what this world has to offer when there's so much more that God wants to give us if we turn to Christ.
Jesus talks about this in, in Matthew 6. Matthew 6, verses 19 through 21. It says, Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moths and vermin destroy and where thieves break and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in the heaven where moths and vermin do not destroy and where thieves do not break and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. You see, If we want to know where we're really investing ourselves, where our treasure is, all we have to do is follow our heart. Where's our desires pointed? Where, what are we always obsessing about? And the reality is, is that living in this world, our, our lives, our hearts are very much drawn towards focusing on the abundance of material possessions, because we want the security that we think that they offer. But God offers us so much better security. This is one of my favorite verses in all the scriptures. Hebrews 13: 5. It says, Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have. Because God has said, Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you. I've got that promise written right in front of my desk. Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you. I encourage you to meditate on that. When you're going through the week, and you've got, the anxieties are rising, your worries are coming upon you, remember this. This is a promise from God to you.
Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you. Keep your eyes on Him. Don't put your eyes on these other things. Those other things, they will leave you. The material possessions, they will leave you. They will fail you. They will forsake you. God won't. The fourth problem. The fourth problem with this fellow is that he is focused on trying to possess material goods, rather than the goods of godliness. Now, I want to make a quick clarification here, because I think sometimes we think of godliness as, you know, just doing good things, and doing good works, and godliness certainly consists of those things. But godliness goes hand in hand with our relationship with God. That as we grow in godliness, we're, we're living in harmony with God.
So I don't want you to think it's anything other than a relationship with God. But if we are in true relational harmony with God, that's going to shape the way that you live. So Paul says this in first Timothy 6:6-11, but godliness with contentment is great gain for we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it.
But if we have food and clothing, we'll be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation in a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierce themselves with many griefs, but you man of God, flee from all this and pursue righteousness, godliness.
Faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Now notice there, Paul's not saying that money is evil, but he's saying that money is a root of all kinds of evil, as people love and pursue that, rather than godliness. Rather than, as he breaks it down, righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Think of all the things that you've done.
And I've done, I've done things too, so I'm not saying like this is a you thing. This is an us thing. Think about all the things we have done to try to get ahead in life by the measures of this world. Have we put forth such effort in trying to grow in godliness? Have we put in half the effort into trying to grow in godliness as we've put into trying to make it in this world?
Godliness is the far better thing. And everything else, as far as this world's possessions, what Paul says, he reiterates everything the scripture says. You come into this world basically naked. You're not taking anything out of it. If you got food and clothing, you're content with that. And you're living under this promise that we heard in Hebrews.
That God will never leave us or forsake us. He's going to take care of us. And we are liberated and freed to pursue godliness, walking with God. So in summary, we've got these four problems here. That this man, who's a mere human, he doesn't know the future, but he's acting as though he does. He knows everything that's to come.
That's the first problem. The second problem is that material wealth is an empty promise. We can't take it with us when we die. We can't control any of it after we die. The third problem being that we're leaning on something less than God. God will never leave us or forsake us. These things cannot support us in the end.
And fourth is seeking contentment in goods rather than godliness. Now, all of this is especially revealed when we die. When the parable takes its turn in verse 20, God speaks up here. It says, But God said to him, You fool, this very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?
And Jesus says, This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves, but is not rich toward God.
The reality is, you do not know if tonight will be your last night. You don't. Tonight could be the night when all your pursuits come to an end. When all those plans that you've been thinking about will evaporate into thin air. And at that moment, you will be exposed. Your life will either be found to be rich toward God, or rich in fantasies.
You will either have all the things that last for eternity, or only the preoccupations of this world. The RuneScape Mirage. In which all your progress really brings you nowhere that means anything. Life is filled with sacrifice. Heck, I even sacrificed time to that video game.
What are your sacrifices given toward? What have you been sacrificing for more money, more things, more comforts? What would you sacrifice for more of God? Think of everything that you sacrifice for worldly gain. Now realize you will not keep any of it. God only calls you to sacrifice temporary things that will not last.
To stop scratching and clawing them from your brother's hands. To stop putting your hope. In barns, or bank accounts, or anything else you would make your security other than God. Jim Elliott, a missionary who serves in the 50s, or 40s and 50s. He was a missionary to the Aka Indians in South America, and he died at the age of 28.
Died trying to bring them the gospel. And he put it like this, he said that he is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
Hold nothing back from God. Keep up nothing in place of him. Open your hands ready to exchange earthly goods for every everlasting good that is to be found in God. Let us pray.
Dear Father,
we thank you for sending your Son, Jesus Christ.
He sobers us. He speaks the truth that we need to hear.
Father, we confess that we have so often thrown our lives after things that will not matter in the end.
Father, we recognize that it's necessary for us to work and to provide for our families, and that these are good things to do. Father, we confess that sometimes our hearts have gone wild. Pursuing things that will not last. We confess, Father, that sometimes we've lived as though we know the future. And that we can secure our future with the abundance of possessions.
Father, we lay these things down now. To place our trust only in You. Father, help us to be content with what we have. And give us, Father, a burning desire to grow in godliness. To grow in our knowledge of you. And that, as things come up, Father, as we face anxieties and worries, Father, I pray that you would turn our eyes to you.
And that we would hear your promise in our ears. That you will never leave us. Amen. And you will never forsake us. Help us grow towards you, Father, and live our lives pursuing you. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series on the Parables of Jesus. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom contrasts several parables that show the difficulty of the Christian walk and the benefits to be gained by following Jesus.
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Listen/Download on iTunes
Watch on YouTube
Transcript:
So, last month, back in June, uh, James and I went on a hike. Uh, we set out to hike from my parents house to George Washington State Campground. It's a distance of about four and a half miles. We, uh, planned to camp out overnight and hike back to my parents house the next day. And I think things went pretty well.
But we were successful, we were only successful, I'd say, by the skin of our teeth. I planned just enough, I'm not always the best planner, Sara can attest to that, I'm not always the best planner, but I planned just enough, and I was able to work out some solutions along the way. If I had known how hard the hike would have been with our packs on, in the heat, I might have second guessed it.
James complained a little bit early on, but overall he was a real trooper and he rose to the occasion. I was also blessed that despite the fact that the campground did not sell firewood, I assumed they'd have firewood there for me to buy, um, I was able to forage enough deadwood for our fire. And the food I cooked was OK, it was enough to fill our bellies anyways.
So it all, it all worked out. Originally, I thought of hiking from Scituate um, but when I looked at the distance, I realized it'd be way too much. It was almost too much as it was. And the only thing that would have been less fun than not going at all would have been if I got stuck halfway to our camp in the woods with my eight year old son and I'd have to carry the extra pack.
As it was, I really do think James gave it his all and we got to enjoy a great time together. But it required nothing less than giving our all to getting to that camp. There couldn't be any quitting halfway. It really is the same when it comes to following Jesus. We need to give Him all, or nothing. Last Sunday, we looked at the parable of the sower and the seed, and I talked about how in the case of the soil of our lives, the life of Jesus will grow there, or something else, some other desire or idol.
But not both. It's one or the other. In the parables we're looking at today, Jesus is urging those who hear him to think twice about following him. You don't want to go halfway with Jesus. In the first three verses that were read, Jesus tells the crowd what it means to be all in as his disciples. So it describes him in verse 25 as he's traveling on the road with some large crowds.
And so you can imagine Jesus walking down the road and as he's going, it's very visual the way that Luke describes it, you can imagine Jesus turning as he's walking and he's talking to the crowds. And he tells them that if anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even their own life, such a person cannot be my disciple, and whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Now, when we hear that, it can be quite shocking, I think. What does Jesus mean that we're to hate our relatives if we're to follow him? What Jesus is doing is he's saying something provocative in order to to help those who are interested in following him understand the degree to which they are to love him.
They are to love Jesus so much, be so devoted to Jesus, that in comparison, it might look like they hate their own family. Now, you're supposed to love your family, I mean, as much as anyone in this world, but you're supposed to love Jesus even more. We see kind of the positive framing of this recorded in Matthew 10: 37.
He says, anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. Anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. So, we're supposed to love Jesus above all, even our closest relations. And we see this sort of devotion acclaimed even back in the Old Testament in Deuteronomy 33: 9. And speaking of the tribe of Levi, speaking of Levi, it's, it says in verse 9. He said of his father and mother, I have no regard for them. He did not recognize his brothers or acknowledge his own children, but he watched over your word and guarded your covenant. The tribe of Levi was so devoted to God.
Not to the extent that they were actually neglecting their family, but again, in that comparison, their love for God, their devotion to God was so much greater. There was no decision to be made. They were all in for God. When we think about today, we might ask, well, what does that look like? Because in Jesus' time, like that actual moment in which he is speaking, it could actually require them to say I'm setting aside my work.
I'm leaving my house and I'm going on the road following Jesus. Obviously, that's not the situation right now here for us. We're not walking down Rockland Road following Jesus, but we're nonetheless called to follow Jesus in radical ways, ways that may put us in conflict with our families. Now, sometimes we don't see that sort of deep conflict as much here in the U S though.
I think it does happen, but you especially see it in other religious contexts. So some of you might be familiar with the ministry of Voice of the Martyrs. They highlight the suffering of Christians around the world. And they share this story. This story is from last year, and this was just posted on Facebook and it talks about this man named Adnan.
It says when Adnan left Islam for Christ, his family rejected him. His brother fired him from working in his shop, and his father threatened to kill him if he ever attended church again. Adnan accepted his brother's decision, prayed for his angry father, and trusted in God. Please pray Adnan's family will come to know Christ.
Clearly, you could say that Adnan's family probably felt as though his decision to follow Christ was an instance of him having hatred to his own family. You can imagine them saying, how could you do this to us? You know, abandoning the religion of our family to follow Jesus. Do you hate us or something? It looks like hatred.
Because Adnan came to know the love of Christ. And was willing to devote himself completely to Christ, even at the cost of being separated from his family.
This brings into our lives at times a painful tension. Because we do feel that devotion, that responsibility that we have for a family. But we also know the claim that Jesus has upon our lives. And I think the only way that we can really reconcile the two is by realizing that we can only love others properly, rightly, when we've given ourselves completely to Jesus.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer talks about this in his book, The Cost of Discipleship. If you don't know anything about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, fascinating man, fascinating life, lived in the era of Nazi Germany, stood up to the Germans, um, stood up for the faith when a lot of the church was just saying, yeah, we'll go along with Hitler.
He did not. Others did not. He knew something of the cost of discipleship. But speaking about this way in which Jesus transforms our relationships with others, he says this, he says, The call of Jesus teaches us that our relation to the world has been built on an illusion. All the time we thought we had enjoyed a direct relation with men and things.
This is what had hindered us from faith and obedience. Now we learn that in the most intimate relationships of life, in our kinship with father and mother, brothers and sisters, in married love, and in our duty to community, direct relationships are impossible. So what Bonhoeffer's saying there is there's a pre existing divide in which we live.
That we aren't able to actually be in right relation with others as things stand. And he goes on and says this. Since the coming of Christ, his followers have no more immediate realities of their own, not in their family or relationships, nor in the ties with their nation, nor in the relationships formed in the process of living.
Between father and son, husband and wife, the individual and the nation stands Christ, the mediator, whether they are able to recognize him or not. We cannot establish direct contact outside ourselves except through him. Through His Word, and through our following of Him. To think otherwise is to deceive ourselves.
So what Bonhoeffer's saying there is that others in your lives might not recognize the necessity of Christ in order for you to rightly relate to them. But that's the reality of the situation all the same. That if you're gonna love your family rightly, if you're gonna love your neighbors rightly, if you're gonna love this country rightly, it can only be mediated through Jesus Christ as you are completely devoting yourself to him and as he is reconciling us to others.
Now something that Bonhoeffer doesn't mention here in this particular passage is the reality not only of our alienation from ourselves from others, but also of ourselves. And Jesus talks about that. He says, look in verse 26. If anyone comes to me and does not hate, and he goes through the relations, and then he says, yes, even if they don't hate their own life, such a person cannot be their, be my disciple.
The call of Jesus is radical. He's calling us to love Him even more than we love our own priorities. Our own fleshly desires. And, to the point of what Bonhoeffer was saying, the reason for this is that we cannot even rightly relate to ourselves apart from Christ. We cannot love ourselves properly apart from Christ.
But from the perspective of the world, by worldly standards, it will look like you hate your own life by how much you are loving and devoting yourself to Jesus.
The world believes that to love yourself is to give in to your every whim and desire. In other words, to indulge in sin. And as we do that, we do enjoy peace with the world, but we do not enjoy peace within ourselves. We do not enjoy peace with God. And while the world doesn't, may not criticize us in certain respects, we don't really enjoy a true, deep peace with others.
If we're going to follow Jesus, we have to be prepared to hate ourselves. And Jesus puts this very vividly. He says, you have to carry the cross if you're going to be my disciple. Now, when we think about the cross, we think about its ultimate end, which is you end up on a hill, crucified and you die. But, when people were sentenced to crucifixion, they were suffering leading up to that hill, where they went through a gauntlet of the crowds that were mocking and jeering them, and they were suffering on that path.
So you imagine these crowds are following Jesus, and he's talking to them saying, you have to pick up your cross and following me. The way that I'm going leads to suffering, and there's suffering along the way.
And those around you are going to be asking, why are you such a glutton for punishment? Why are you making things harder on yourself? Why don't you just go with the flow?
But to be a disciple of Jesus Christ means that you go against the flow. You go in the opposite direction of the world.
But there's no mistaking the reality that this comes with a cost. And so this brings us to the first parable here.
Jesus wants the people to understand that if they're going to follow him, they should be prepared for everything that is to come. And so he gives this parable of a man who considers constructing a tower. He says, suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Why don't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it for?
If you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you saying, this person began to build and wasn't able to finish.
You gotta be able to go all the way if you're gonna follow Jesus. Otherwise, you're just gonna be a laughing stock. You're going to look like a fool. Now, as Rhode Islanders, we know what half finished construction looks like. We see it all around us. And we roll our eyes and say, what are these guys doing?
Why isn't this job finished yet?
There's kind of an iconic symbol of this over in Scotland. It's called the National Monument of Scotland. And it also has another name, which I'll tell you in a second. Um, It's called the National Monument of Scotland on Calton Hill in Edinburgh, and Scotland's national, it is Scotland's national memorial to Scottish soldiers and sailors who died fighting in the Napoleonic Wars.
It was intended according to the inscription to be a memorial of the past and an incentive to the future heroism of the men of Scotland. And then the rest of the Wikipedia description says this was not the full design. It was intended to be a full replica of the Parthenon. And if you don't know what the Parthenon is, it kind of looks like a giant temple.
There's supposed to be a roof there, and there's supposed to be columns going around the whole thing. And instead, it's like you just have the front facade. It'd be like if you only had the columns of the Lincoln Memorial, and they didn't do anything else with it. So, the article goes on to say, it says, Construction started in 1826 and due to the lack of funds it was left unfinished in 1829.
This circumstance gave rise to various nicknames such as Scotland's Folly, Edinburgh's Disgrace, the Pride and Poverty of Scotland, and Edinburgh's Folly. You have to wonder, when those names were taken up, if this passage came to mind to some people, this image of a man who considers the cost of building a building, and whether you'll go forward, because if you only go halfway, people are going to mock you.
If you can't go all the way, if you can't finish construction, it's better just not to have built in the first place. Jesus goes on from this parable to employ another one, this time utilizing warfare. He says in verse 31, Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won't he first sit down and consider whether he's able with 10,000 men to oppose the one coming against him with 20,000?
If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness. How can it be made salty again? If it is fit neither for the soil, nor for the manure pile, it is thrown out.
Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear. So, in offering this parable of a king preparing to go to war, the suggestion, based on the details, that you only have 10, 000 men and the enemy has 20, 000, the suggestion is that you probably shouldn't go to war when they have twice as many as you do. Although, I noticed kind of in the parable, it says whether you'll be able to take on the 20, 000.
So perhaps you have a really mighty force of 10, 000 men that would be able to overcome this army. Nonetheless, the point is, is that you are going up against a formidable foe. And you have to know if you're ready to face him down and win the war.
When we follow Jesus, we have to recognize that we are entering into a war. We're entering into a war against Satan, against all the evil powers of this world, against sin in our own lives. And it's going to be a costly fight. And the question is, is are you ready to stand in the gap and battle to the last man?
When we go to the book of Revelation, it talks about how the dragon, which is imagery descriptive of Satan, it talks about how he comes and persecutes the saints. It also talks about how they stood up to him. In Revelation 12: 11, it says, They triumphed over Him, that is Satan, by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.
They did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. So they didn't do it by their own power. We're not, make no mistake, we're not saying you fight this war by your own power. They're fighting by the blood of the Lamb. It is the power and strength of Christ that is resident in us as we've been joined to Him.
And they fight by the word of their testimony. This isn't a fight with swords, or machine guns, or anything like that. They testify to the truth of who Jesus is. And it says, they do not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Are you prepared to have that sort of courage in testifying to the truth of the gospel?
If you do, You're going to carry your cross daily. Sometimes we think about the extreme situation where someone's got like a gun to your head and you're saying, you know, are you going to deny Jesus or not? And we think, well, maybe I would, maybe I would have the faith. Maybe I would have the loyalty to do that.
But the question is, are you loyal today? When that old temptation comes across your way, are you following the temptation? Are you following Jesus?
When you know that you should speak the truth to someone that doesn't know Jesus, do you stay quiet or do you testify to the hope that you have what Jesus has done in your, in your own life? Or do you stay quiet? Keep it under the covers. You see, we have opportunities every day to have, exemplify that sort of courage.
And in fact, we won't have that sort of courage in a dire situation like that unless we're living it out daily.
The choice that is before us is we can either have peace with God or peace with the world. And this is, this plays right into this parable that Jesus is giving us here. It's like, if you, if you're not ready to stand up against the world, if you're not ready to follow Jesus into the battle, it's better just to surrender and be a prisoner of war.
Be captive to this world. Be at ease in it. The worst thing that you could do would be to change your mind halfway through the battle. You see the moment in which most people died in ancient warfare was not in the immediate clash. They'd go back and forth at each other. Few guys die here and there. The battle would turn when a few started thinking we can't make it, we can't beat them and they start retreating.
It's when you start turning tail and running, that's when the whole army gets decimated. They're starting to shoot arrows into your back, stabbing you in the back.
That's when the real downfall occurs. And that's the worst outcome that's possible for us. It's not, the worst outcome isn't if we decide to go with the world. The worst outcome certainly isn't if we stick with Jesus, we'll be victorious. The worst outcome is if you change your mind halfway through.
Because then you have neither God nor you enjoy the world. You're just miserable.
If you will not follow Jesus all the way, it's better not to start following Him at all. Now that sounds radical. It's like, what do you mean? Wouldn't it be better to be with Jesus a little while? I'm not saying that. Jesus is saying that. He's saying that to this crowd. This isn't the way you wouldn't think this would be the way to kind of win followers, but he makes it, he says, it's going to be really hard to follow me.
It's almost like he's trying to convince them not to follow him based on how hard it's going to be. That's the nature of the situation. That's the nature of the situation, that's the nature of the choice. We have to understand the cost. Peter, one of the disciples reflects this teaching of Christ in 2nd Peter. He says, If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it, and are overcome, they are worse off at the end then they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness then to have known it and then turned their backs, that image of retreating, on the sacred command that was passed on to them.
Of them the Proverbs are true. A dog returns to its vomit. And a sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud. The point here is that we welcome even just further punishment and judgment upon ourselves for abandoning Christ. We welcome greater suffering into our lives in this world when we only go halfway. See, halfway with Christ is just half baked. And we don't want half baked Christians. And I have to tell you though, I think there is a lot of half baked Christians in America.
There's lots of people who have a story of like, oh, yeah, I grew up going to church, and now they're not following Jesus. A lot of people have stories of how, yeah, I know Jesus, I like Jesus, blah, blah, blah, blah. But they haven't gone all the way. They followed Him halfway, and now they're pursuing other things.
And I would, I would be tempted to say it's, some of the problems that we see in this country is a result of this divided heart that we see.
The other way in which Jesus describes this departure of those who would quit halfway is this image of salt which loses its saltiness. Which is weird for us to consider because our table salt doesn't lose its saltiness. But what he was talking about is kind of the mineral deposits of that day. It was never just pure salt.
And so you could have salt and as the rainwater, let's say it got exposed to rainwater or something. The sodium, the salt elements of it, could be washed away. And then what you would have left, it might look like salt on the outside, but it was actually useless. It wasn't good for anything. Now Jesus, in his Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5, talks about how the disciples are the salt of the earth.
He says in Matthew 5: 13, you are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
If salt loses its saltiness, it's not good for making things taste better, that's for certain. Kind of reminds me of, have you ever gone to like a soda machine and you go to get like a soda and there's something off with the syrup in it and you go to drink it and it's just like, it's worse than if it is just seltzer water.
It's just, it's good for, I've done that before. It's just, it tastes nasty. You just, yuck. You can just throw it out. It's not satisfying at all. That's what our lives become like if we only go halfway with Jesus. Not all the syrup is there.
We're not good for anything. We're not good, we're not of any good use to the world. We're not of any good use to God. And this is why Jesus puts forth this appeal that the people would hear him. That those who have ears to hear would hear. And it doesn't, Jesus doesn't expect that all people would hear and respond positively because that only occurs as someone opens up our clogged, as God opens up our clogged ears, so that we would respond positively, as He rips away the vines of sin that have wrapped themselves around our hearts.
Now up to this point, we've seen Jesus emphasize what we must give up to follow Him. But following Jesus isn't just about what we lose. It's not just about what we leave behind. It's about what we gain. And he offers this emphasis in his parable of the hidden treasure and the valuable pearl. So when we go to the gospel of Matthew, Matthew 13 verses 44 through 46.
He says, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
Now, these parables are kind of interesting, I think, because not too many of us go digging in fields. Not too many of us are farmers here. We do have a couple that dabble in that. Um, Certainly, I don't think too many of us have found treasure in a field unless we like to go metal detecting. Um, not too many of us here are pearl merchants.
But the idea here is of, is when you find something that is of incredible worth that you can receive and gain for yourself, you go all, you go all in for it. So, um, put it maybe in a frame that would be more familiar to you. Imagine you're going shopping for a house and maybe you know artwork really well and you go into a house and you see this painting and you ask the owner, is that painting included in the house and they say, yes, now they're listening to the house for 600, 000, but you know, that painting's worth a million dollars.
Wouldn't you be like, you know, my budget originally said I only had 400, 000 to buy a house. But you know what? I'm going to buy this house, because it's got that million dollar painting. It's worth far more than anything I'm going to give up immediately here. I'm going to gain well more than what I originally had.
That's what Jesus is offering to us when he says, come and follow me. In him, we gain the kingdom of God. And we gain so much more than anything that we give up. That's like trading 600, 000 for a million dollars.
That image of the pearl merchant who finds the finest of pearls, is one of great value, and gives, sells it, everything he has to buy it. It, it points us to this reality that, when we do find Jesus, when we do see Him for who He is, and the great treasure that is the kingdom of God, we can give everything that we have and find great contentment in simply having that one thing, which is God.
We have this restlessness in our hearts and we're seeking for satisfaction in this world and we try to find it in all these different things. The Pearl Merchant is looking for the perfect pearl. He finally finds it, and he says, You know what? I can get rid of all the other pearls. This is it.
That should be our response to Christ. That when we see Jesus, we say, This is it. This is what my life is about, and I'm going to give my life completely to Him.
I think it's helpful to imagine our world as being kind of like a house on fire. And, you know, Jesus is calling us out of that house so that our lives might be saved. Follow him and find life. There's nothing in the house that could be worth anything more than your own life. And yet, what so many of us do is we run out of the house.
This is the halfway thing. You run half, halfway out of the house towards Jesus, but then you're like, Oh, I've got to get that frying pan that I really need. And we just keep running back and forth between Jesus and the house. Eventually the house is going to collapse. And you will be caught in the house if you are not with Jesus. Jesus kind of points to this reality in Mar:35-35 36, a very familiar passage to many of you. It says, For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me, for the gospel, will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?
Kind of getting back to that image of the house on fire, in one sense you are losing your life. I mean, all your family albums are in there, all the nice things you bought, everything. You're losing your life. But if you don't lose your life following Jesus, you're never really going to have your life. And what good is it for you to have everything in the house, to cling on to it, but in the end lose your soul?
But there's this fear that I think we have. Surrendering and losing ourselves to Jesus. It's because we really love control.
We like to keep a handle on everything, and we I think sometimes even fear with that we won't like ourselves as much. Sometimes we have these little elements of our personality in our lives that don't really match up with Jesus but we kind of like it and we're having a tough time surrendering it.
Sometimes we don't really want to become the new people that God wants us to be.
But the new life that God is offering us is so much better than the fraudulent life that we've been living. The real pie is better than the mud pies that we've been stuffing our face in. C. S. Lewis talks about this gain that we have in giving up ourselves to Christ. He writes this in mere Christianity.
He says, Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life, and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day, and death of your whole body in the end. Submit with every fiber of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours.
Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run, only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ, and you will find Him, and with Him, everything else thrown in.
It's not an easy path that we're called the following Christ. It is a process of giving up ourselves, losing ourselves. It is a process of lifelong death. I really love this comment from Martin Luther. He writes this in his essay, The Holy and Blessed Sacrament of Baptism. He says that , there is no help for for the sinful nature unless it dies and is destroyed with all its sin.
Therefore, the life of a Christian from baptism to the grave is nothing else than the beginning of a blessed death. For the last day, God will make him altogether new. The characteristic of the Christian life is that it is marked by death. We are dying to ourselves unto that day at which the new man, the new woman will be completely revealed.
Now even short of that day, as we are progressing towards that day, that new creation is being revealed in our lives more and more.
Jesus is calling us to that kind of life, to be joined to his death on the cross, to die to ourselves so that we can gain this. And this resurrection life is really just, it's Christ himself. We look like Jesus. So as we go about this life, in death, we are revealing Christ. Paul talks about this in 2 Corinthians 4:10-11 talking about his own ministry and his peers ministry.
He says, we always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus's sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.
Following Jesus isn't easy, but as we follow him through the hardship, through the suffering, he is revealing himself in us. So that, in the very substance of our lives, and as we travel together as brothers and sisters, others begin to encounter Jesus Christ. Those who don't know Him yet, they're able to see His life, even as you yourself are dying to yourself.
The Christian life is costly. It is difficult to be at odds with the world, at odds with your loved ones, even at odds with yourself, as sinful impulses seek to rule your life. There is no downplaying it. Jesus, following Him, is going to require everything. Sometimes, it will look like you hate yourself, or something like that.
As you stand up again and again, after every blow, outside observers would say, you're losing yourself. You're not controlling your life like you once did. It seems to be the end of you. If you want to be comfortable, if you want to do things your own way, if everything I've said sounds like too much, you shouldn't follow Jesus.
Don't go halfway. Just stay where you are and take what you can get. Eat and drink and be merry for tomorrow we die. But maybe you're ready to lose yourself. Maybe you're ready for someone else to be at the controls. Maybe you're ready to follow Jesus. He won't help you find yourself as you are. You don't have to go anywhere to figure that out.
Just keep on doing you, and that's who you are. Jesus only offers this to make you into who you should be and never could be apart from being joined to Him. This means shutting down the status quo. Embracing the end of yourself in Jesus. Beginning in your baptism and played on repeat every day of your life.
It means a new you. Not in isolation, but in communion with Jesus. Walking the road with Him. In the company of Jesus, of brothers and sisters who have joined the same death and found the same life. Yes, you need to count the cost. But you also need to count the treasure. You need to look at the size of that pearl.
What you will lose cannot compare with what you will gain in Jesus. So go all in. Go all in. Let us pray.
Dear Father,
Jesus invites us to follow Him. But He also tells us that there will be a cost in following Him.
Now some of us, Father, have already, many of us have already Answered this call to follow Jesus.
And we've known suffering and hardship in our life because of it.
We've compared our lives with our friends and family and noticed their ease. And sometimes we wish, Oh, I wish I had it as easy going as, as that. Sometimes.
Father help us to fix our eyes on Christ. Reckoning that what he has to offer is so much better, so much greater than what this burning world contains in its house.
Father help us to go all in as we follow Jesus. Holding nothing back not going halfway and retreating father, but following Him, standing firm in Him, offering our lives completely to Him. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series on the Parables of Jesus. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom begins a new series on the Parables of Jesus starting with the parable of the sower.
Please note: we were outdoors for this service, so the audio is a bit fuzzy.
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Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Galatians 6:11-18, Paul offers his final greeting to the Galatians, encouraging them to stay true to the gospel that they were preached.
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Transcript:
See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand. Those who want to impress people by the means of flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. Not even those who are circumcised keep the law. Yet they want to, they want you to be circumcised that you may boast about your circumcision in the flesh.
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcisions means anything; what counts is the new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule-- to Israel of God. From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. The grace of the Lord Christ be with your spirits, brothers and sisters. Amen. That was from Galatians 6, 11 through 18.
How many of you here have heard the saying which goes, he who dies with the most toys wins? I don't know if you've heard that before. Yeah. I, I had heard of it before, but was really struck by it when I saw it on the bumper of someone's car. Maybe that person doesn't really believe, maybe they're joking.
But with or without that bumper sticker, many Americans live that way. We live in a society that measures meaning and self worth by material success. We live among a people who find, who hope to find immortality in our material fortunes. Our culture is undoubtedly different in some important ways than that of Paul's own day in the middle of the first century.
And you might say that the people of that time are more outwardly religious than those who live in American society today. But even to this day, we hold something in common. Paul has been addressing the Galatian Christians, warning them against returning to the law, against turning toward self propelled efforts of saving themselves, rather than resting completely on Christ.
In the details, our situation is different from the Galatians. But at the heart of things, we are still subject to the same threat of looking to ourselves and other things for salvation rather than Christ. So as we look at Paul's closing words to the Galatians, do pay attention to their particular circumstances, but also consider how his words apply to our own circumstances.
So first, looking at verses 11 through 13.
There we see that Paul reminds them that he is writing this letter by his own hand. And he emphasizes this by writing those letters in all caps, basically. Um, now, it seems like an interesting comment here. You know, why is Paul mentioning this? It may be that up to this point, he hasn't been writing the letter by his own hand.
It was common practice at that time for letters to be written by the hand of a scribe. You can almost imagine, you know, if you go back 50, 60 years in this country, sometimes you had people that were typists because they're really great at typing and not everyone was great at it, so you would dictate to your secretary and they'd write it.
Well, kind of a similar sort of thing, these scribes, the Greek word would have been amanuensis, are very skilled in writing swiftly, making the most use of the page, so not writing in large letters. But, at this point, Paul picks up the pen with his own hands to add that personal touch and that personal emphasis.
He's truly trying to connect with the Galatian Christians. And his point in doing so is this. He's trying to dissuade them from following the teachings of those who have come along and told them that they need to be circumcised in order to be saved. Now, he goes into some reasons as to why it is that they are trying to compel them to be circumcised.
Um, we see in verse 12, he talks about how basically they're trying to impress people by means of the flesh. So it's almost like a notch on their belt if they can get some of the Galatians to be circumcised. That still kind of leaves you to wonder, well, who it is that they're trying to impress. And what's been suggested by commentators is it's actually perhaps some zealous Jews back in Israel who are putting pressure upon the church.
Because it's beginning to become known that the Church is welcoming in Gentiles without that requirement of being circumcised. And so, that would kind of bring some social tension there, but it would also bring persecution upon the Church. And there's segments of the Church that don't want that. They don't want to deal with that.
They just want to be counted as good Jews among the rest of them and not have this stigma attached to them that they're welcoming in Gentiles without this requirement. Which is why Paul says that they're seeking to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. Because the cross of Christ displaces the requirement for circumcision.
Circumcision was a sign of the old covenant. Christ, in dying on the cross, shedding his blood, offering himself up as a sacrifice, established a new covenant. And so, the two are incompatible, insofar as you are insisting that circumcision would be required. And that's what these people are doing. Paul doesn't care if someone would like to be circumcised.
Perhaps, maybe for a missional purpose, he does that in some certain cases, his concern is insisting on circumcision as it relates to a person being counted among the people of God and hence being saved.
They're trying to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ because it displaces that requirement and also because the cross of Christ, by hanging your hat on that, you really make things, you're making a very strong claim in a society in which the cross is a very shameful sort of reality, and it's difficult for us to completely appreciate it because we've been so conditioned to just accept, oh yes, the cross is, and this is a very positive symbol.
It's a symbol of our faith. It's a symbol of our salvation. It was not that in the first century, the cross was a symbol of shame, of utter rejection and condemnation by the government, and of complete embarrassment. The only way to compare it would be to imagine if someone puts you up on a cross, completely naked, you know, in the depictions of Christ they put a loincloth there, they were not covered.
They were completely naked, and putting you up on I 95 as people are going by. And then claiming that that person was the Son of God. An astounding claim. But that's what the Christians were claiming. They're saying, yes, He did die on a cross. And on that cross, He was in fact bearing our punishment. He was paying the price for our sins.
He was making a sacrifice of His life. And He did die on that cross, but He's not dead. He's raised from the dead. But they have no shame about the cross. They don't try to hide the cross. Because it's by the cross that this new covenant is established, by which the old requirements of the law are set aside.
So you're either with the cross or you're without the cross. And these people are trying to avoid this persecution that comes with embracing the cross alone. Paul talks about this earlier in Galatians 5. He says, and verse 11 says, Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted?
In that case, the offense of the cross has been abolished.
When we get down to looking further as to boasting, Paul says the grounds for boasting is really empty, because As they boast about keeping this law of circumcision, these advocates are failing to uphold the law in all other regards. And so they're really hypocrites. They're really harping on this one aspect, this one very superficial, obvious aspect of the law, but they're neglecting everything else, which Paul is not saying, like, that's exclusive to them. That's universal to humanity, which is why we've needed Christ. This is why we need the salvation that Christ offers, and Paul pointing out this hypocrisy echoes the words that Jesus speaks to the Pharisees in Matthew 23 15, where he says, Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are. So, even while these intruders are saying, Oh yeah, we're doing this for your good. Paul's warning them against following what they're saying because it's not for their good.
It's just going to lead them into the same hypocrisy in which these people are themselves engaged with, in which they are failing to fulfill the law, even as they claim they can be saved by the law. Their boasting in the law results in nothing but their own condemnation. So in turn, Paul tells the Galatians where his boasting can be found.
And why He has cause to boast, in order to show them where their own boasts should be found. Looking at verses 14 through 18. Paul says in verse 14, May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. So again, Paul's abandoning all reliance upon the law, in which he might make some boast about himself.
And instead, he's clinging to the cross.
And the reason why he clings to the cross, is because this is the only way in which we can be truly be freed, and be justified before God. By putting our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, we are joined to his death, so that we are no longer seeking salvation from the world. The world has been crucified to me.
I'm, I'm no longer seeking the measures that they might offer by which I might be saved. And I'm crucified to the world, so I'm not answerable to their standards, to the laws and forces of this world. In Christ, I've died and I've been raised under the new covenant of life that Christ has to offer.
Circumcision is an instance of that salvation which might be tried to be gained by means of the flesh, by the world. Now, I mean, God instituted it. But it was a signpost to what was to come. And it was revealing the situation in which we just simply couldn't live up to God's standards. Even when we had an outward sign of that from our hearts, we were falling up short.
Paul clings to the cross. He boasts in the cross because what the cross brings about is something which the law could not bring about. Which is new creation. In verse 15 he says, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything. What counts is the new creation.
Now he talks about this similarly in Philippians 3. Philippians 3, verse 3 and verses 7 through 9. He says, for it is we who are the circumcision. So, in talking about us as a new creation and denying, you know, that whether one is circumcised or uncircumcised matters, what he's actually putting forward is this reality of whatever circumcision was representing, which is that we are the people of God, that has now been fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
So that now here in Philippians 3, Paul can say, it is we who are the circumcision, not by the flesh. But by Jesus Christ, it's a spiritual circumcision. We who serve God by His Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh. But whatever were gains to me, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.
What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage that I may gain Christ. and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ.
The righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. So if you remember anything about Paul's story, he is someone who is brought up in a very strongly religious background. He was a student of Gamaliel. He was a zealot for the law. But now at this point in his life, he says, all that is meaningless.
All the accolades, all the religious accolades that I collected, they don't count for anything. Only thing that counts is Christ. And he counts something for me, insofar as I've put my faith and trust in him, so that his righteousness became, becomes my righteousness, just as he took my sins upon himself.
In gaining Christ, we become a new creation. Christ does what circumcision cannot do. Because circumcision is only skin deep, but Christ cuts to the heart. And what he does is, He creates us into new persons. Jesus both talks about this, Paul talks about this elsewhere. In John 3, verses 5 and 7, Jesus says, Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and spirit.
You should not be surprised in my saying, you must be born again. And of course, he's offering that opportunity for a new birth in himself. And Paul says in Romans 6: 4, We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death. Baptism is that outward expression of our faith in Jesus Christ, that moment in which we see that we are joined to his death.
In order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. So, as we put our faith in Christ, we leave the old life behind. Our guilt is left behind us. Our captivity to sin is left behind us, in order that we may live a new life. Living a new life is not the basis of our salvation, it's the actual end of our salvation.
We are forgiven, and God gives us a new lease on life. You know, many people kind of fascinate themselves, maybe dream about winning the lottery. Because if you won those millions of dollars, you would have a new life. You could buy the big house, pay off your debts, do all those sorts of things.
What's so interesting is you see people that do sometimes win the lottery and it actually wrecks their life. It destroys their lives. We put so much hope in the ability of material things to transform our lives. And yet, they can't really change things. But Jesus can, and that's what he's offering for us.
And it's not something we have to win by luck. It's a free gift that's offered to us if we would just receive it by faith, that he would give you a new life. So whatever's happened before, you get to leave that behind. And walk into a new life that God has for you. He's making us, individually, a new creation.
Person by person. He's making us, collectively, a new creation. So that, as you, as a person enters into the community of the church, they should encounter something like the scent of spring. Of new life. Of people who have been unburdened by their past and are walking in the freedom of grace. Ultimately, that's what the church should be.
It should be a community of grace where we're extending to each other the grace that each one of us has received. So that we continue to walk into that new life which God has for us. And in fact, this new creation, this work of new creation has transformed this world. It's influenced cultures and societies.
And sometimes, we've, I think attribution has been stolen in some ways. We talk about western values. And western values are so often celebrated. Western values are rooted in Christian values. It's important that we remember that Christianity cannot be reduced to Western culture. Before Christianity arose, Europe was as barbaric as it gets.
The West does not own the Christian faith. The wonderful news is that the Gospel invites all, and transforms all who respond with faith. No matter their skin color, no matter where they are, where they're from in the world, if they come to Jesus, they're individually transformed, and as the gospel enters into the culture, it transforms the culture.
So I don't want to diminish the challenges that we face as a society, but what America really needs, what the West really needs, is a resurgence of the gospel. And until we put our faith in Christ again, until we truly put our faith in Him again, we're going to continue living lives that smell of ashes, rather than of spring.
Now in verse 16, Paul implicitly reminds the Galatians, once again, of this morality in which they walk. He says to them, Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule to the Israel of God. Now, it's been suggested that this, this word of blessing, peace and mercy to all who follow this rule to the Israel of God, is actually drawn from some of the Jewish prayers that are offered daily.
That continues into the present. It's called the Amidah. It's the last prayer that's offered. What's interesting here, though, is that But Paul seems to include Jew and Gentile alike. This isn't a blessing that's limited to the Jewish Christian or just to the Jewish people. But rather, this blessing applies to all who would follow this rule.
Of not depending upon the flesh. Not boasting in the flesh, but instead boasting in the cross of Christ. They are the true Israel. They are the people of God. Anyone, Jew or Gentile, who puts their faith in Jesus Christ.
It reminds us of how Paul has already testified to this reality in his letter to the Galatians. In Galatians 3, verse 29, he said, Understand then that those who have faith are the children of Abraham. So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. And in his letter to the Romans, he says something very similar. He says it is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring. Once again, this is good news.
Because, not all of us are of Jewish heritage. Not all of us are biologically related to Abraham. But what Paul is testifying to here is that we are all children of Abraham, insofar as we share in the faith of Abraham. Trusting in God's promises. And the culmination of God's promise has been revealed in Jesus Christ.
Who is a blessing to the world. Who's brought salvation to the world. By the sacrifice of himself.
Now, at the beginning of this letter, kind of throughout the letter, Paul's had somewhat of a defensive posture, because his authority has been in question, I think explicitly, by the Galatians, at least implicitly, as far as they're ignoring what Paul has already been teaching them about grace is enough, and now they've been following these other teachers.
So Paul makes his final statement on this, in this regard. It says in verse 17, From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. Now, the marks that Paul is talking about here are the marks that he has suffered by his persecution. So it's as though he's saying to the Galatians, Oh, you're concerned about marks in the flesh, you know, circumcision.
I have marks in the flesh because of my faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, by visiting one of your cities, the city of Lystra is in the area of Galatia. In Acts 14 it records of how when Paul visited Lystra, he got stoned. To their thinking, to death. Because they left him. They stoned the guy. And, you know, we're talking about big stones.
Like, if you go to those beaches where they've got the big rocks, and it's kind of tough to walk on. They take up stones like that, and they stoned Paul, what they thought, to death. Somehow he survived it. And that wasn't the only sort of suffering that Paul endured in the course of his ministry. He shared in Christ's suffering.
And if you follow Christ long enough, if you follow Christ faithfully, there's a good chance that in the course of your life you will bear marks for following Jesus. And sometimes they're not always in the flesh. They're not external. But you'll experience conflicts in your relationships. You'll experience certain sorrows by faithfully following after him.
But once again, that's not the basis of our salvation. This is something that Paul counts as a joy, because he gets to share in that which Christ himself suffered. Christ who suffered and died for our salvation.
With his concluding verse here, in verse 18, he reminds us that it's really all about grace. He began his letter with a word of grace and he ends his letter with a word of grace. We saw in the first chapter, he said, grace and peace to you from God, our father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
And then here in this final verse, he says, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen. And this seems to be a, uh, a farewell that he seems to love quite a bit because he uses it elsewhere in his letters. Because after everything that he said, it just comes down to that, that salvation is by grace.
And God's work in our lives is a work of grace. It's not a work of our own mustering up ourselves by the flesh. The Galatian Christians are saved by grace, and we are saved by grace. It is, in fact, the only way we can be saved. It is the only way that God ever meant to save us. Salvation certainly doesn't come by riches.
It doesn't come by fame, it doesn't come by technological advance. And it also doesn't even come by our best religious efforts. The marks of the law, defined by circumcision, and also exemplified by dietary restrictions, and the rituals of sacrifice. All these, they could not save the Jewish people. They can't save non Jews either.
However much they might try them on for size. Even if circumcised, the rest of the law remains. The heart of righteousness that God desires and no one lives up to. We don't love Him or our neighbors like we should. What the law does is it reveals our brokenness. In fact, Paul says that we double down on our rebellion the more we know.
And it points to our desperate need for a Savior outside of ourselves. In the end, Only God can save us. He planned to save us through the incarnation of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Jesus lived the life we have not lived, died the death we all deserved, and was raised from the dead with the life we all need.
God is doing something new in Jesus Christ. He's making a new creation in all of us. No matter your race, no matter your social status, no matter if you're male or female, we are one in Jesus Christ, and He is giving us new life. This is life in the Holy Spirit, the life the law could not create in us, the life that frees us to walk with God, fully forgiven, being made more like Jesus day by day.
This salvation comes to us as a gift. It is all grace. A gift that we are accepted, invited to accept by faith. No longer striving by the flesh. No longer collecting our toys. Now, only boasting in the cross of Christ through which the world has been crucified to us. And we have been crucified to the world.
Let us pray.
Dear Father, We thank you for your word.
We thank you for
the courage that you gave the Apostle Paul. The boldness that you gave him to speak so directly to the Galatians about their need to rely completely on Christ alone for their salvation. Father, we confess that it's a needful reminder for us as well. We confess that we are tempted so often to rely either on the things of this world, or our own religious efforts.
To prop ourselves up before you. To secure ourselves against death and everything that wars against us. Father, we lay those things aside. We don't boast in those things any longer. Because, Father, today we boast alone in Jesus Christ. In his cross, his death for our sakes.
Father, help us to rest completely upon him. Seeing him as the source of our new life and nothing else.
Father, help us to live this reality out before others. No longer worrying what the world has to say.
Being willing to suffer for the sake of Christ. He has suffered for us and won our salvation. We ask this in his name. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we welcome guest preacher John Jones to the pulpit. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Galatians 6:1-10, Paul admonishes the Galatians to keep step with the Spirit, ensuring that they were walking in accordance with God’s will and gently leading their brethren back from sin.
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Transcript:
When I was a boy, I had a radio. It's not the exact radio. It kind of looks like the radio I had, though. But I had a radio. And if I was listening to music on that radio, you'd probably find me listening to the oldies, which at that time was the 60s and 70s. I've always preferred classic tunes over the latest hits.
And one of those memorable songs that would inevitably come over the radio was the 1974 hit, Cats in the Cradle by Henry Chapin. Now, I have to admit, as a child, I didn't completely comprehend the meaning of that song. It was a catchy tune, and the lyrics were memorable. But as I got older I grew to appreciate its message.
So, for those of you who are younger in the congregation, or who didn't share this love for the oldies, uh, the song begins from the perspective of a man who becomes the father of a son. The first two verses expresses his positive sentiment for his son, but he just is too busy to set aside time. to be with him.
By the third verse, the tables have turned as the boy's in college and doesn't seem to have time for his father. And in the last verse, the man says, I've long since retired, my son's moved away. I called him up just the other day. I said, I'd like to see you if you don't mind. He said, I'd love to, dad, but if I can find the time.
You see, my new job's a hassle and the kids have the flu. But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad. It's been sure nice talking to you. And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me he'd grown up just like me. My boy was just like me. Now this is clearly a sad song. It's a sobering one. The man didn't take time to be with his son, and now his son doesn't have time for him.
He has reaped what he has sown. You can imagine him wishing he had invested his time differently. You can imagine the man wishing that someone had taken him aside and warned him about what he was doing and neglecting his son. In Paul's final chapter to the Galatians, he offers that sort of warning to the Christians in Galatia and urges them to look out for each other. So first, looking at verses 1 through 6, which Clay read for us, he really wants to get the attention of the Galatians here, and so he addresses them as brothers and sisters. Now, in the original Greek, it just says Adelphoi, which is just brothers. And so if you look in other translations of the Bible, it'll just say brothers.
The NIV likes to make it clear to you that in using the word brothers, Paul's actually addressing males and females in the community, and so they make that interpretive choice. But in any case, he gets their attention saying, brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in sin, you who live by the spirit should restore that person gently.
It's a yucky kind of business having to address sin in the community, but when it takes place, what Paul is saying here is that the other Christians should bear out the fruit of the Spirit. You'll recall in Galatians 5: 23, one of the fruit of the Spirit is gentleness. And so gentleness should be manifested in the case of addressing someone in their sin.
And this is just generalized sin. This isn't even a case of where someone has sinned against you. But even in really I guess tense circumstances and where, in which someone's very oppositional to you and in their error, Paul still says that we're supposed to show gentleness. He talks about this in 2 Timothy 2.
This is an instruction he gives to Timothy. He says, And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed and the hope that God will grant them repentance, leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil who has taken them captive to do his will.
So we have some parallels here. In the case of you have someone that's caught in sin, you have someone who's captive to the devil doing his will, and in both cases, when you address that person, you should address them in gentleness. Because it's the right thing to do, but also what Paul points out here in 2 Timothy, is there's kind of a tactical approach here.
You're trying to win this person over to see things in the true light. So that they would do the right thing. So that they would repent from their sinfulness, from their false ways. Now, it's interesting that Paul's bringing this up because it kind of seems like it's coming out of left field, but you'll remember that when he was going through the acts of the flesh, identifying what those things were to the Galatians, that he includes instances of division and animosity between fellow believers. He doesn't always address that in his other letters to other Christians. It seems as though he's really trying to key in on the fact that there's been a lot of backbiting, some harshness among the Galatians. And so he's trying to address that directly, even while he's saying you do need to address sin, but the way that you address sin is with gentleness.
I think this is something that continues to be relevant for us as a local church. And thinking about the way that we address each other when we're caught up in sin. Now, I've talked with some of you who are older in the church, go way back, and I've heard many times about how in past times when areas of sin or disagreement came up in the church, sometimes those things were addressed kind of harshly.
Kind of very, very sternly. Um, and we, we love and respect those that came before us. Um, but it is important that we just don't paper over those things as just, well, they were different back then. Failing to show gentleness and kindness to each other is simply wrong. It's not the right way to do things. Um, Keeping in step with the Spirit, which Paul talks about in 5, chapter 5, verse 25, includes gentleness.
Now, I've been here, what, like 10 years? And over that time, I haven't seen signs of that here. Praise be to God. Um, and I think it's because God has been working here in our local church here at Rockland Community Church, repenting from that past. So as your pastor, if I was going to put my finger on maybe an opposite, opposite concern and repenting from harshness and sternness, it would be this, is that if we, it'd be the concern that if we see someone that is caught in sin, that we fail to address that sin, that we fail to seek to restore them.
You see, gentleness does not mean silence. It's very tempting to say, I just won't say anything. I don't want to be mean. But we have to remember the words of Solomon, Proverbs 27: 6. He said, Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. Sometimes you have to say things to other people, and initially it will hurt.
But the hurt should not come from the manner in which we address them. The only hurt should be, perhaps, the truth. Because they're convicted of something wrong that they're doing. So we must address sin. But we do it with gentleness. Now, Paul does have a warning here for the Galatians. In verse 1, he says, But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Now what does he mean there? Does he mean that in addressing this sin that they themselves may fall prey to this same sin that they're addressing? Perhaps, though that would seem a little bit strange. I think instead, and I'm coming to this conclusion based on what some other commentators have said, I think instead, what Paul is warning the Galatians against is being puffed up with pride as they address sin in the lives of others.
That's something we're very vulnerable to, where perhaps out of, initially out of love we address someone, say, hey, you need to, you know, turn away from doing that. Let's find a better way. In the process of that, you can begin to feel like, I'm pretty good. I'm telling other people the way they should be really doing things.
That ought not be our motive in addressing sin. It should not be coming from a place of self righteousness, a feeling as though we're all that.
When we address sin, when we speak up, it should only be coming from a sense of responsibility and love for one another. In verse 2, Paul says, Carry each other's burdens.
Carry each other's burdens. You're responsible for each other, because we are one body. Now, again, you know, I spoke about how sometimes we think gentleness might mean silence. I think sometimes we live under this facade of love sometimes by just not addressing things. And it might be said that, well, they're not harsh.
And if the people aren't harsh, maybe you would think that that's because they're loving, but not speaking up, not addressing sin could also be coming from a place of just apathy. I'm simply not caring what happens to that person. That's just their, their problem. And I'll tell you, that's a real issue, I think, in our society today, of this very strong sense of autonomy and individualism, where we have no sense of responsibility for the other, and if they crash and burn, oh well.
That's not to be the case in the church. Genuine love compels intervention. If I see you caught in a trap of sin, I will feel, I should feel, a divine burden to help you get free. And in so doing, what I'm only doing is this, is I'm following the example of Christ. I'm walking in the very love of God who sent his son so that we may be freed from the condemnation and power of our sin.
Now Paul does not use the word love here, but that is his meaning when he says that the Galatians ought to fulfill the law of Christ. That we should fulfill the law of Christ. And we've gone over this the past couple of weeks because it came up previously. He spoke of it in Galatians 5: 14 of how the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command, love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus identifies that as the new command. John 13, a new command I give you: love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another. And the apostle John reiterates the same. So when we address each other in our sinfulness, it's coming from a place of love. Characterized by gentleness with a desire of restoration.
And once again, Paul keeps going back and forth between, this is how you should do, be on your guard. He said, be on your guard against pride. And now here in verses 3 through 5, he offers further warning. He says, basically, don't think you're better than you actually are. We like to think we're doing alright.
And we like to come to that conclusion, especially relative to comparing ourselves to others. Where it's like, well, I know I'm doing better than this person and that person, so I must be doing pretty good. And again, this is something we can fall prey to if we're on the lookout for trying to help others, because in the process we can fall prey.
I am looking out for my brothers and sisters, and I'm like, oh, I'm noticing they have these problems in our lives, and oh, I don't have those problems, and so I can feel pretty good about myself. But Paul says, that should not be your mindset at all. In this sense, in terms of your own standing before God, you have to bear your own burden.
Other people don't enter into the equation as far as your standing before God. You have to answer for yourself. You have to examine yourself. In Romans 14, verses 10 through 12, it says, You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat, and it is written, As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before me, every tongue will acknowledge God.
So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves.
So we have this, we have this dual reality at play in which we do need to be concerned for each other. We do need to be looking out for each other, but our ultimate concern as it relates to God boils down to how am I actually living out my own life?
Am I actually doing what I'm supposed to be doing? And taking seriously the fact that each one of us is going to be standing before God, and we're going to have to give an account of ourselves. Now, those who are outside of Christ, obviously their life is already out of alignment with the Father's will.
And the thing is, is there's going to be some people who enter into the community of the church who maybe put on appearances that they're Christians, but by the fruit that they bear, they reveal that they are not in fact part of Christ. Jesus talks about that in Matthew 7: 7, about how not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven.
In 2nd Corinthians 13: 5 Paul urges the Corinthians, it says, examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you? Unless, of course, you fail the test. Now what he's meaning there is not that by your actions you're saved. That's not what he's getting at at all.
But what he's saying is, is that your actions, your life, tell the story of where your faith, where your devotion has been placed, where your trust has been placed. Have you been united with Christ? If you have been united with Christ, if Christ is truly within you, if you have been born again, you're going to see the fruit of the Spirit in your life.
And if the fruit of the Spirit is not present in your life, you have a problem.
And so, while we are to carry each other's burdens, looking out for each other, Paul wants to be clear that everyone's responsible for their own actions first. It's that whole thing of before you try taking the speck out of someone else's eye, you got to deal with the plank in your own.
And now getting down to verse six, something occurs to Paul, and it almost seems as though he's trying to cover his bases and he's been going back and forth between, okay, carry each other's burdens, but then you've got to carry your own burden. But lest the Galatians be confused, he wants to emphasize to them the importance of churches supporting their teachers.
They're not to be left to fend for themselves. He says, nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor. Now Paul says something very similar to this in 1 Timothy 5, about supporting pastors and elders. He says, The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.
For scripture says, Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain, that's taken from Deuteronomy 25, and the worker deserves his wages, and that's coming from the teachings of Christ. Luke 10: 7. Now, what's interesting is even while Paul is setting up this normative expectation that the teachers, you know, leaders of the church would be supported by the church, he himself actually accepted himself.
He didn't use that right. In 1 Corinthians 9, he says, If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn't we have it all the more, but we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put it up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.
So Paul characterizes it as a right, but it's a right that he decided not to take up for his own missional purposes. Now, as your pastor, I'm, I've been very grateful and happy for the support that you've given me and, and my family. Um, and so as we look at this passage, I'm not trying to tell you anything about the support, support I've been receiving, but it's an important thing to think about because we don't know what the future looks like.
Um, all across the church in America, there's a growing trend of bivocational ministry. Sometimes pastors work part time in the church and out in the marketplace as a strategic sort of thing, whether it's bringing on more people onto staff. I know a church where they've got like four pastors and they all are bivocational.
Um, sometimes it's out of necessity, um, because the church just can't support the pastor full time. Some like Paul choose to do it for some missional reason or another. Maybe they want to get in close contact with the people in their community. The best way to do that is to have a full time secular job, whatever the case may be in terms of the arrangements that a church may have with its pastors or other ministers, but the church ought to be doing is their best.
Doing their best for their teachers. It should not be the case where churches are approaching the arrangements of their ministers where like, oh, we're getting a good deal here. That's not in keeping with the spirit. They should offer their best. And if the pastor declines for one reason or another, then that's fine.
But the norm remains. The pastor, the teachers should be seeking to do their best in carrying out their duties. And the church should be doing its best in supporting those who teach and instruct them. Now Paul continues in verse seven by emphasizing the importance of taking responsibility, personal accountability for our actions and the outcomes that will follow.
He says, do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction. Whoever sows to please the spirit, from the spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let's do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. So Paul says in verse 7, God cannot be mocked. Kind of an interesting phrase there. What's his meaning? His meaning is this, is that God is serious about justice. He doesn't wink at wickedness.
He doesn't turn a blind eye to sin. Those who pursue evil will receive the consequences of their pursuit. Those who pursue righteousness, who pursue the spirit, will receive the reward of their pursuit. Now, if you've forgotten, or you weren't here for when we were talking about what exactly Paul means when he's talking about the flesh.
In the previous chapter, he talks about the acts of the flesh as being this. The acts of the flesh are obvious. Sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, and envy, drunkenness, orgies, and lust, and the like, and the like part there is just like, etc.
The list goes on and on. The human inventiveness of sin knows no bounds. He says, I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. So, Paul is clearly trying to make a point here to the Galatians between this chapter and the previous. Between Galatians 5 and 6, is that if you pursue, if you fill up your lives with the acts of the flesh, if you just give yourself over to wickedness and sin, you're gonna reap what you're, what you're sowing, and you're gonna reap destruction.
You are not going to inherit the kingdom of God. On the other hand, those who sow to please the Spirit will reap eternal life, and also in Galatians 5, 22 through 23, it says, The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, which is another word for patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.
Against such things, there is no law. Now, once again, I just want to remind you that it's not by these things that we are saved. As though by living out these virtues, we would save ourselves. Because the thing is, is none of us live out these virtues perfectly. All of us come up short of those virtues.
But these virtues, these fruit, are being manifest in our life because of our union with Christ. So again, as Paul said, examine yourselves, test yourselves, if Christ is in you, these things will be apparent. If not, then we'll be failing the test because we will have been sowing to the flesh. We would have been pursuing sin.
Now in verse 9, he encourages them to persevere in doing what's good. He says, Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. You know, it's really easy to grow weary in doing the right thing.
There's so much opposition. There's opposition within ourselves as far as doing the right thing, because our flesh, you know, Paul, we looked before about how Paul talks about this internal conflict within himself of wanting to do the right thing in his mind, but the flesh resisting. We have this internal opposition going on within us.
And there's external opposition in the world, at all different levels. Whether it be the principalities, and the powers, and world governments, and all that. All down to your friends. Your friends tugging you in different directions. Your family pulling you in different directions. It's very easy to grow weary.
And Jesus told his disciples this wouldn't be easy. Matthew 10: 22, he says, You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And when Jesus told his disciples that, he wasn't telling them to do something that he himself was not willing to do. When we consider in whose example we ought to follow, in persevering, in not growing weary, in persevering in doing the good, we don't need to look any further than Jesus Himself.
In Hebrews 12, verses 1 through 3, we're told this, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of faith for the joy set before him he endured the cross scorning at shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Considered him, consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
See, God is not calling us to do anything that He Himself was not willing to do. Because He sent His own Son to persevere in doing good. Even in the face of great opposition. Jesus was tempted in every way that we are tempted. So he, he dealt with the internal opposition. He dealt with the external opposition.
Christ was perfectly righteous. Now, how did he do that? It's because he's fully man and fully God.
And we know that we are broken. We are imperfect. We do have these sin natures. While Christ dealt with the vulnerability of the human condition, He was not sinful. He was not a sinner. He didn't have that sin nature.
But the good news for us, is not only that in Jesus we are saved, but we have been given the gift of the Spirit so that we might persevere in doing good. God's not asking you to do this on your own. He's giving you the example of Christ. And he's giving you the power to follow in his footsteps. So when Paul is calling the Galatians to do good, he's not asking them to do the impossible.
He's asking them to do that which God will empower them to do. And he doesn't leave the good undefined. They are to do good, he says, to all people. Not sompeople, all people. Now, when you talk about things that are not easy, it's not easy to do good for or by all people. But once again, this just takes, Paul's not introducing anything new here.
He's just applying that which Christ has already taught to the Galatians. In Matthew 5, verses 43 through 45, Jesus says, You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.
He causes his Son to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. We're to love our enemy. We are to do good to all people. That last verse, especially there, it says basically we're supposed to be patterning God. God blesses all, even those that don't deserve it.
And then Paul keys in, especially here on this last part. He says that we're supposed to do good, especially for the family of believers. We're especially to do good by each other. All of us here in this congregation.
This is among several things which sets apart the church from charity organizations. Charity organizations are concerned on the people outside the organization. I'm blessing outsiders. In the church, we are interested in helping those outside of the church. But that's not our sole or primary mission. Our primary purpose is the worship of God.
But God is glorified, as I was talking about earlier, as we were worshiping, by the substance of our lives. And the substance of our lives is captured In our life together here as a community.
And so we are to do good for each other. We're especially called to do good for each other. And so if we're looking out for the people out there, but we're neglecting each other, we're really messing up big time. We got to take care of our family, especially.
Now, doing good by our church family isn't always easy. Paul describes it as carrying each other's burdens for a reason. It is not easy to come along with someone caught in sin. It is not easy to work gently with them in setting them free.
But this is the way of Jesus, who came alongside us and bore our burdens. This is the way of the Spirit who now indwells us and makes that kind of love and gentleness possible in our lives. If we want righteousness for others, we have to first desire it for ourselves, or we'll just go about it all wrong.
We'll hurt other people, fill ourselves up with this delusional pride. Paul's charge to the Galatians and to us is this, care for others and pay close attention to your own life. Why? Because the consequences are eternal. The person possessed by sin has no part in Jesus Christ. That's true for others, and it's true for you.
Jesus gave all of himself for you and for me, so that all of who I am, all of who you are, might belong to him. We are one with Christ, or we are without him. Without him, our lives will continue to breed sin. And that's the basis for our present condemnation and looming destruction. With Christ, our lives bear out goodness and righteousness, the sign of our present and approaching salvation in Him.
So what song will you sing at the end of the day? Will it be marked by regret, or by rejoicing? Let's pray.
Dear Father,
We come before you as people who are weak,
who have wrestled with sin, who do have regrets, Father. Perhaps in the ways that we've handled things in the past, or maybe even recently.
Father, we thank you that your grace is sufficient for our salvation. That Jesus is enough for our salvation. Father, we thank you that in Him, we can always begin again.
And so, Father, we pray for hearts of repentance, while there's still time. Before we must stand before you and give account. Father we pray that as as a family of believers, that we would look out for each other and that whenever we see sin in each other's lives that we would not be apathetic, but that we would be filled with love for each other. And that the spirit would feel, fill us with courage to address each other, but also with an immense amount of gentleness and kindness toward each other as we seek to help each other escape the captivity of sin.
And Father, we know that it is possible to escape sin's grasp because of the power of the spirit. And Father, as we look out for each other, help us to examine ourselves especially, and not judge ourselves against other people, but against who you want me to be, who you want any one of these people in this room to be. Father, help us to take seriously the fact that we need to be ready to give account for how we have lived our lives.
Father, once again, we thank you that we don't do this on our own, but that we do it by the power of the Spirit. And so by that power, Father, help us to do good to all people and help us to do good for each other, especially as a family of believers. Unite us in love, Father, and close relationship with each other so that we do have that freedom and familiarity to help one another.
As we walk this journey and following Jesus Christ, help us to persevere and not weary. Father, we ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series through the Letter to the Galatians. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Galatians 5:13-26, Paul tells the Galatians of the freedom that they have through Christ. False teachers had come in and told them that they had to follow the old law, but Paul explains that Christ is the fulfillment of the law.
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Transcript:
Galatians chapter 5 verses 13 through 18. You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: love your neighbor as yourself. If you bite and devour each other, watch out, or you will be destroyed by each other.
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Well, so I have a question. How many of you here have been roller skating?
I remember when I was a kid that roller skating was kind of all the rage. It seems like every other party I went to as a kid was at a roller skating rink. There's something both limiting and liberating about strapping some wheels on your feet. Once the skates are on your feet, It becomes pretty awkward to walk.
Looks like something's wrong with ya. If you try to move around like you normally would, uh, you're just as likely to fall on your face. Skates aren't meant for walking. They're for gliding. They're for speed. In fact, the fastest downhill speed on skates was 82 miles an hour. You can never run that fast, even downhill. When you put on skates, you choose a different way of moving. You leave walking behind. Paul's message to the Christians in Galatia is very much the same. They accepted the gospel when he came to them. But in his absence, some came in who began persuading them that something more than Jesus was needed. They were told that they needed to be circumcised.
That they needed to uphold all the ritual standards of the law to be accepted by God. Paul has been reminding them that no one can be accepted by the law. We all fall short. It is only in Jesus, who fulfilled the law, that we can be accepted. But there was something more. More than just being accepted by God because of Jesus, we are also set free because of Jesus.
In verse 1 of chapter 5, Paul tells us, It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. In the remainder of chapter 5, Paul explains to the Galatians, and to us, exactly what this freedom looks like. So, looking first at verses 13 through 18, which we just read, Paul reminds the Galatians of their call to freedom.
Now, the thing that we have to understand when we're trying to reckon what Paul means when he's talking about freedom is that his meaning of freedom is something different than just mere liberty. I've talked about this a couple of times already, where liberty is this idea where you can, you can choose to do A or B.
It's just pure and simple choice. I've used the analogy of a piano where you can press any key on the piano. But, just because you have liberty, it doesn't mean that you have all the ability to do what might be possible. So to use a different analogy, you can think about how a toddler, when they're first beginning to come, coming close to walk, in, in theory, no one's saying you can't walk, kid.
No one's saying that's not allowed, so they have the choice, but they lack the ability to actually quite get there yet. So when Paul's talking about our call to freedom, he's talking about something beyond just mere liberty of choice. Everyone's had the choice to do right or wrong since human beings were created.
But since the fall, we've lacked this ability to follow through in obedience. But now that Christ has come, we are given this freedom.
To no longer indulge the flesh, but rather, what he says in verse 13, serve one another humbly in love. Elsewhere in his letters, in Romans 7: 4, he says, So my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit.
Notice how there's a purpose attached to this salvation. We died to the law through the body of Christ. And not only just so that, again, that we might be spared from punishment, but so that there'd be a positive outflow from our union with Christ. That we would bear fruit from, for God. Peter says something fairly similar in 1 Peter 2: 16. He says, live as free people. But do not use your freedom as a cover up for evil. Live as God's slaves. So Peter obviously has a very distinct notion of what freedom means here, because it's not just do whatever you please. The point of the freedom is that it's in order to make it possible that we would walk in God's ways.
And there really is only two options. We can either walk in the ways of sin, the ways of the devil, or we can walk in the ways of God. So that you could term it as living as God's slaves, but that's the best condition to be in because as we live in accordance with God's ways, we are actually living into those ways, which will result in our flourishing, in our benefit, in our good.
And so that's the purpose for which Christ came, is that we would enjoy that freedom, that we would walk in that freedom and receive those benefits of realizing all of who we were created to be. So when we consider what does it look like? What does it look like to walk in this freedom? It looks like, 13, serving one another humbly in love.
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command, Love your neighbor as yourself. Last week I talked about how love is really central to all of God's commands. And Jesus is the one that points this out explicitly in Matthew 22, when he's asked, What is the greatest command? He says, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the first and greatest command. And that's taken from Deuteronomy 6: 5, and then he says and the second, which is taken from Leviticus 19, is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commands. Love God, love others. Paul says the same thing as well, in Romans 13, verses 9 through 10.
He says, the commandments, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet. And one of, and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command. Love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Now Jesus himself is the perfect example of this. Everything at bottom that he did was done out of love. In John 13: 34 he says, A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
It's fairly simple, this idea that the command is just simply to love. In fact, its simplicity, though, makes it a great indictment against us that we fail to love properly. And I think a lot of times we actually like to try to kind of bury that fact, where we say, Oh, yeah, I have a problem with my temper. I do have a problem with some lust.
I have some problem with greed. And we paper over what is really the key and core issue, which is this, is that you simply do not love God enough. You do not love others enough. And we don't want to admit that because then you feel like, Oh, gee whiz, I'm the, I'm, I'm a bad person because I'm, I don't love God the way that I should.
And I don't love others the way that I should. And that the thing is, is we are bad persons. We are messed up in our loves.
And this is why Christ has come so that our hearts would be redeemed and restored so that we would love God in the way that we ought to. And then we might love others. And there's something about love, because when we truly love someone, we are under no compulsion to do what is right for them. I think I've used this example before, where, you know, if you love your spouse, and it's your anniversary, or it's Valentine's Day, or something like that, you're under no compulsion to to get them something nice, take them out.
It's simply an outflow of your love for them, that you do these things for them. That's the way it ought to be. I remember as, in my adolescence, when I was struggling with trying to walk in the ways that God really was calling me to, and feeling like, this just feels like it's a bunch of classroom rules.
And it felt joyless. And the reason why it was joyless is because there was a lack of love. If you love God in the way that you ought to, if you love others in the way that you ought to, all these other specific commands in the way that you should treat one another and serve God, they will not be burdens.
They'll be sources of joy for you, because you'll just be living into that love that is within your heart.
Now, in the case of the Galatians, Paul picks up on the danger that this lack of love poses to them. Because if they continue to kind of be at each other's throats, there seems to be some division and dissension because of these teachers that have crept in. It's gonna result in them destroying one another.
So, if there's a solution that's to be prescribed here for the Galatians as to how they should avoid that outcome, Paul gives it in verse 16. He says, So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. That's his prescription for the Galatians. That's his prescription for all of us.
Loving God and loving others in the way that we ought to does not come naturally to us. It does not come easily to us. It's something that can only come about by this power of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. That's how we love properly. That's how we live the Christian life. But there is conflict.
There's an ongoing conflict between the flesh and the spirit, and both continue to abide in us. At least we have the Spirit if we've believed in Christ. There's a conflict going on. And in Romans 7, Paul describes this conflict. And some of you, I'm sure, have read this passage before. And it can be a little bit, it can be a little bit difficult to follow.
But it actually, I think, perfectly captures our experience and our wrestling with sin. In Romans 7, verse 15, Paul says, I do not understand what I do, for what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate, I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, as it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.
For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do-- this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it's sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. Now sometimes it can be a little bit difficult to follow Paul there, but doesn't it capture your own experience where you know the right things to do?
And you even desire to do those things, but you find that there's a conflict within your heart where you're being pushed, tugged, and pulled to do exactly the opposite sort of thing. So you're doing what you don't really want to do, but you just keep doing it. Now, the good news for the Christian is that we are no longer captive to sin.
We are no longer slaves to sin such that there is no conflict, you know, there could be no conflict in that. We just simply do what the flesh tells us to do. And there's many people who live in that condition where they, they don't desire the things of God. And so they're just, yeah, they just kind of do whatever the flesh tells me to do.
We no longer live in that state of being. We're no longer slaves to sin. But that doesn't mean that we're at perfect peace. There's an ongoing battle within our hearts.
Paul describes it in verse 17. He talks about how the spirit and the flesh are in conflict with each other. So that you are not to do whatever you want. But, if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. And so we do have this freedom set before us that's available to us. I, I remember as I've kind of reckoned with, you know, that battle going on within my own life.
It's kind of almost as though before we came to Christ, we were sitting in a jail cell, and I was locked up, and it was like, this just kind of is what it is. Now Christ has opened up that door, and we can simply walk out of it. But sometimes we willingly sit ourselves in that dark cell. But now in Christ, we can get up and walk out.
And I think this is part of what Paul's talking about when he says, if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. As though you would be pursuing this obedience simply as a matter of compulsion, but that in fact you've been invested with new life from the spirit so that you can walk in the freedom that's being offered.
But, it is a conflict, it's a one or the other sort of thing, and this is where we begin to stumble. It's like the skating. You got to choose. You're either going to walk, or you're going to skate. If you try to do a mash up of both, it's just going to end up with you falling flat on your face. In Romans 8, uh, Paul describes this new reality that, which is ours in Jesus. He says, Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. So we're all very familiar with that idea. You come to Jesus, you put your faith in him, and you're no longer condemned. Because through Christ Jesus, the law of the spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us who do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
So if you put your faith in Jesus, all of us here who have done so have admitted that we're not perfect people. We haven't lived in the way that we've supposed to have lived. We've put our faith in Christ because in him, we find one who is able to be our sin offering because he has lived the perfect life.
He has fulfilled all the requirements of the law. But something to notice here and what. Paul is saying is that, is that Christ came and fulfilled all that, not so that we could just say, okay, now I don't have to have any interest in doing what's right because Jesus is just taking care of it. No, that's not the purpose at all. The purpose is that Christ came, gave himself as this offering for sin, in order that we may no longer be condemned.
And so that we may now walk in his ways, not by our power, but by the power of his own life. That's something that we have to understand if we're gonna properly understand verse four, what he says there. It's not saying that we are justifying ourselves, that we're saving ourselves. It's that the fullest completion of all that God has desired is only realized in Christ, insofar as He has fully fulfilled the law, and now, joined to Him, we begin manifesting the fulfillment of that, of the law, even in our own lives, as we become the righteous people that God has called us to be. So that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh, so this isn't fleshly power, but according to the Spirit.
Now if we're going to understand the actual contours of this conflict between the flesh and the spirit, it's helpful to have some examples of the actions that flow from each. And Paul gives us this. In verse 19. It says, the acts of the flesh are obvious, sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Now this isn't the first sort of list that Paul has put together, or not the only list that he's put together.
He's, he's offered this as well to the Ephesians in Ephesians 5 3. Among you there must not even be a hint of sexual immorality or of any kind of impurity or of greed because these are improper for God's holy people. This is very much similar thing to the Colossians. Now, something that's, I think, important for us to notice here is that when we're talking about sins of the flesh, these acts of the flesh, we shouldn't just simply think of sexual things, sexual sins. I think that's what a lot of us think of, because we think of it as like a very bodily sort of sin. But notice all the sins that are included here. Idolatry, witchcraft, fits of rage. And notably in verses 20 and 21, in the case of the Galatians, dissensions, factions, and envy.
That's not included in that list given to the Ephesians and the Colossians. So Paul seems to be picking up on a particular theme here, an issue with the Galatians, in that, you know, he warned them about kind of fighting and devouring each other, and now he's talking about divisions and factions between them.
But all the way, all that to say, really kind of the sum of what Paul's getting at here, in offering these examples of acts of the flesh, is that it's a particular way of being. And I would describe it as kind of a bestial, sort of animalistic, sort of way of being. Which, uh, Isn't so surprising in our own time, as we live in a society that tends to think that we're only very highly developed animals.
It's a, it's a sort of eat or be eaten kind of way of living. Just doing what feels good and getting yours. Any of that is all, all, any and all of that is in accordance with living according to the flesh. Living in that sort of bestial sort of way is not how one acts who is a son or daughter of God, who is a member of the royal family.
And this is why Paul says plainly in verse 21, those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Now, we were just talking about struggles earlier, so is Paul saying that anyone who struggles against these things isn't going to enter the kingdom of God? No. Because, once again, your own personal perfection is not the basis of your acceptance before God, it's Christ's own perfection which is the basis of that.
But, if you are truly joined to Christ, it should not be the case that you are ruled by the flesh.. Because if you're being ruled by the flesh, if there isn't, in fact, no pushback against these sins, then it's clear that you do not have the spirit. Because if the spirit is present, then there's always a conflict with the flesh.
There's always a battle, and it's a battle, which I would say that the spirit's going to progressively win, in your life. So that, From where you began in your walk with Christ, there should be a progression in your life moving forward.
The genuine Christian has the Spirit of Christ within them. Paul says this in Romans 8, verses 8 through 9. He says, those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh, but are in the realm of the Spirit. If indeed the Spirit of God lives in you, and if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
So you, see, you cannot have Christ without the Spirit of Christ. You can't have salvation without the Holy Spirit. The two go hand in hand. And so if you've been joined to Christ, these things are gonna be, begin being beaten down. Having identified the acts of the flesh, Paul now identifies the fruit of the Spirit.
So we've identified what the Christian life shouldn't look like, but what should the Christian life look like? He says, in verse 22, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, that's another word for patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Against such things there is no law.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking, and envying each other. Something that I think is important to notice here, and the fruit that Paul's describing, is that these virtues are not just internal sentiments of having, like, positive feelings towards other people. But, in fact, they're virtues that should have external manifestation. They should actually manifest themselves as actions in your life. It should kind of define your posture as you go through this world. And it's interesting when you take these examples of fruit, and set it against examples of the acts of the flesh, because you can see how they stand in direct contrast with each other.
As far as love, I mean that pretty much is in contrast to all the acts of the flesh. I remember one of my professors, he gave this example of how very often we can twist our notion of love, so that you know, spouses who might be tempted to cheat on, on their, their spouse would, by having an affair with someone else, they might think of that as love.
But the fact is, is that you cannot love someone else in that way. If I'm, if I'm stealing the spouse of another person, I'm not loving anyone in that situation. That's a perversion of love. When we think about joy, well, that's the opposite of jealousy. If I'm jealous, if I'm envious of someone, I'm lacking in joy.
If I have peace, well, that's in direct contrast to someone whose life is full of discord, always being in arguments with other people. If I'm someone who's characterized by forbearance, this being someone who's patient, that means that I'm not giving over to fits of rage and getting, you know, flying off the handle and getting angry with other people at the drop of a hat.
If I'm filled with kindness, I'm not going to be hating other people. If my life is defined by goodness, I'm not going to be given over to the chaos of debauchery. If I'm faithful, I'm not going to be given to sexual immorality.
If I'm gentle, I'm also not going to be given over fits of rage. If I'm under self control, then I'm not going to be given over to selfish ambition or drunkenness. But you can just see how everything that the spirit offers is in direct conflict with everything that the flesh is driving us to do. Now, when we look at these, the examples of this fruit, we might be tempted to think, okay, so is this a new law, like a new list of things that I have to do?
If we think that, then we're completely misunderstanding everything that Paul's been saying up to this point. He's not giving us a new law, What he's saying is that, in Christ, you have been given a new life. And I love this commentary offered by S. H. Hook. F. S. Bruce cites him in his commentary on Galatians.
Hook is a biblical scholar, and he says this. He says, a vine does not produce grapes by act of parliament, as by a law, by a decree. They are the fruit of the vine's own life. So the conduct which conforms to the standard of the kingdom is not produced by any demand, not even God's, but it is the fruit of that divine nature which God gives as the result of what he has done in and by Christ.
In Christ, things have truly changed. Before, we did have a list of God's demands. We had the law. But we did not positively respond to that. And that's what Hook's picking up on here. He's saying, it's not by just saying that these are the things to be done, that these things actually manifest themselves.
There actually has to be an internal transformation of who we are. And that transformation comes about as we have been joined to Christ. Jesus says this in John 15. He says, I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing.
See, the only way that you will bear fruit, that you will bear the fruit of the spirit, is if you are joined to Christ. If you're not joined to Christ, you can do nothing. Yeah, you might do some semblances of some things that are good things to do. I'm not denying that people in this world that are non Christians can't do good things.
But on the whole, those things tend to be twisted and perverted in their motivation. And on the whole, their hearts remain ruled by the flesh. And this isn't an us versus them sort of thing. This is the condition of all of us, you and me included, if we are not joined to Christ. The fruit which is borne out in our lives is not our own, it is Christ who is within us.
And the wondrous thing about this is that this fruit, it's not just abstract in its quality, it's actually, actually has been concretely demonstrated in Jesus Christ. It is him who has actually lived this out. And in fact, we see examples of this fruit in our communion together, in each other's lives.
Which is part of the reason why it is important for us to gather together. Because we set an example for each other. We bring encouragement to one another. Because each of us has different qualities and quantities of this fruit in our, in our lives. Some of us have more joy than others. Some of us have greater amounts of love.
Some of us have greater amounts of self control. God is intending that all of us would be rich in this fruit. And by bringing us together, he brings growth to the whole lot of us.
Another example that we can find in Paul's writing as far as Thinking about this idea of what the Christian life should look like is, is found in Colossians 3. In Colossians 3, verses 12 through 17, it says, Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
Bear with each other and forgive one another. If any of you has a grievance against someone, forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart, since as members of one body you are called to peace, and be thankful.
Look at everything that Paul's saying here to the Colossians. It's pretty much everything that he just said here to the Galatians, just recast. It's as simple as this, that the life that God desires for us to live It's borne out in our lives by the power of the Holy Spirit. And we gain the Holy Spirit, we gain His indwelling presence in our lives as we join to Christ.
And so Paul, as he's writing to these churches, he's reminding them of that reality. Because it's not just automatic. There is a conflict going on. And you can see how some Paul's urging them to walk in the freedom which has been given to them in Christ Jesus. He reminds them in verse 23 that there is no law against living out this fruit.
Verse 23. He's reminding them this freedom that you can do this because you've been given the Holy Spirit. Joined to Christ, this way of life opens up to us. All of it is centered in Christ, who died and was raised again so that we might live. So that we would live and walk and keep in step with the Spirit.
Keeping in step with the Spirit. What that means is that we are walking in the ways according to the call, which Paul said at the beginning. This freedom that we've been called to. We're walking in accordance with that call that God has placed on all of our lives. We talk about God's calling on our lives.
And very often we get caught up in the nuances of that. Like, you know, am I supposed to do this job or take up that role in the church or do this or that? Very often we would do much better focusing our attention, I think, on this broad call which applies to us all, which is that we are to keep in step with the spirit and live out these virtues.
And I think as we find, as we press into that, as we press into the fruit of the spirit, God will open up the doors and guide us as far as the nuances of our lives go. His far greater concern is that we live into this broader call which applies to us all. His purpose is to make us instruments of righteousness.
In Romans 6, Paul says this. He says, For we know that our old self was crucified with him, that's Jesus, so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin, because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. There's that freedom again. Jumping down to verse 12.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. You've got the power now. Don't let the sin rule. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of witness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
Taking that word, instrument, very literally, it's as though, you know, before this time, you know, we all have our instruments and we've just kind of been playing our own tune. And it's been pretty messy. It's been quite a racket. But now in Christ, we've been brought into this beautiful orchestra, this heavenly orchestra, in which we've been given the ability, this freedom, to follow God's direction, through the power of the Holy Spirit, who leads us.
Hit that note, get loud, get soft, do all these things, and it comes together as a, as a beautiful melody. We follow the direction of the Spirit, rather than our own way. And once again, here at the end of this passage, in verse 26. Paul is hammering the Galatians to please stop being conceited, provoking, and envying each other.
Each one of us has our own, you know, the Galatians had their issues, each of us have our own particular areas where we really need to work on.
Whatever we're dealing with isn't too big for God. It's not so powerful. It doesn't have any power that exceeds the power of the Holy Spirit. And if you've put your faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit has given you the ability to throw off those shackles and walk in the freedom that's been given.
Jesus doesn't just offer us deliverance from punishment. He offers us a new way of life. That's the complete picture of salvation. We can live like animals in the flesh. Ruled by lust and jealousy. Scratching and clawing one another. Or, we can go with Jesus Christ. Every human being does have the liberty to choose good or evil.
But we are captives. We are slaves to sin, always choosing evil and embracing broken patterns of living. Only in Jesus, only by the Spirit are we freed to walk in the goodness for which God created us. United with Jesus, the fruit of His life, His love, His joy, His patience. His kindness, His goodness, His faithfulness, His gentleness, His self control becomes our own.
By the Spirit, we become like Jesus. You can't become like Jesus independent from Him. It's only in Him that we become like Him. It's only in Him that we become who we are supposed to be. This transformation is not how we save ourselves. This transformation is the sign, the symptom of our salvation, the life of the spirit, our union with Jesus Christ.
Let's pray.
Dear Father, we thank you that in Jesus Christ, your Son we have been given new life, that we have been made free from the power of the flesh, so that we might walk by the power of the Holy Spirit. Father, we confess that we do still continue to struggle with the flesh. Father, we admit that we don't always turn to the power that's available to us to overcome sin in our lives.
So Father, we pray that we would do that. That we would walk in the Spirit. Because this is the fullness of the salvation that you've offered to us. That we would share in the love that you've given us. By loving you and loving others. And just walking in the joy of obedience, Father. That's what, that's what you've wanted for us.
So Father, transform our hearts so that, that would become the reality of our lives. And Father, I pray for anyone that is, just given over to sin, where there is no conflict.
That they would truly turn to Christ and put their faith in Him. So that they might know your forgiveness. And so that they might know this freedom. So that they may know this new life that you have offered to us. Which we can begin enjoying today. And will enjoy for all eternity. Help us to keep step with the Spirit, Father. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series through the Letter to the Galatians. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Galatians 5:2-12, Paul tells the Galatians to be wary of false teachers who would make them believe that works of the law are necessary for salvation.
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Transcript:
Our scripture is taken from the book of Galatians, chapter 5, verses 2
through 6. Mark my words, I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again, I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ.
You have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
I'd like to sponsor a late bid for me to qualify for the 2024 Olympics. Oops.
Here we go. The Olympics. What event? Well, you're going to find out in just a second. So unfortunately, they don't have a preaching, you know, part of the Summer Olympics, but I have an idea. So, this might come as a surprise. I have a plan that could get me on the USA track and field team as a runner. The plan is this, and here's where you come in.
You need to buy me these shoes, Nike Vaporflies. I don't exactly have the coin to purchase them at $269, but if I have them, I'll be sure to be a winner because that's how it works, right? You get the best shoes, and you win. No, of course, that's not, that's not how it works. But one would think that shoes must count for something.
But I have a picture I want you to examine. So, apart from a different number and skin complexion, I want you to pick out what sets apart the last runner in this picture from the rest. All right. He's, yes, exactly. He is barefoot. His name is Abebe Bikila, an Ethiopian runner who participated in the 1960 Rome Olympics.
Now, one would think he remained in last position given his lack of footwear. The other runners seemed to have the gear you would need to win. But that's not what happened. Now, Bikila didn't run a sprint barefoot. He ran a marathon. Now that's 26. 2 miles barefoot. And he won the marathon barefoot, beating his opponent by 25 seconds and breaking a world record.
In the end, despite what everyone thought, all of us would think, the gear didn't count for anything. His ability won out. Now I'm taking us to the Apostle Paul in this letter that he's writing to the Galatians. Something we should understand about the Apostle Paul is that he has a certain affinity for racing analogies.
And in Galatians 5, he uses this kind of imagery to call the Galatians back to the truth of the gospel. But before we get to that precise instance, we're going to first look at those first opening verses, verses two through six in Galatians five. Now, Paul is very emphatic in these verses and making clear that it's one or the other.
He says, mark my words.
Either you depend on circumcision, or you depend on Christ. He says, if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Now, you might ask, well, why would that be the case? Why couldn't it be the case that someone could pursue circumcision as a means of justification alongside Jesus? Maybe just kind of, you know, covering their bases kind of thing.
Well, the reason why Paul says this is, he says, it's because if you're saying that you're obligated to hold this one aspect of the law, circumcision, then you're in fact required to uphold all the law. Now, of course, the inherent problem with that is none of us do that. None of us are able or have upheld God's law in its entirety. And so, the path of circumcision is a path that leads to condemnation. Now, Paul's writing this letter because some of the Galatians have actually done this. Some of them have actually pursued the route of the law instead of remaining faithful to the means of Christ as their salvation. And so he's writing to the church of Galatia as a whole, and he offers some sobering words to those who have chosen this path.
He says, you who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ. You have fallen away from grace. Now this raises a question in our minds. Is Paul saying that these persons were previously Christians and that they have fallen out of grace? Or is he saying something else? Now this is a passage that has been widely debated for, for hundreds of years.
For my study of this passage and from the rest of scripture, I don't think what Paul is saying is that these persons were formerly Christians and that they are now non Christians. I do think, though, that he's saying that they have had an encounter with the grace of Jesus Christ. Otherwise, you couldn't, that's the only way you could make sense of him saying that they've fallen away from grace.
They've had an encounter with Christ. Maybe they've even participated in the life of the church on the outside. Everyone would think that they are Christians, but in fact, that's not the case. Now, the reason why I came to that conclusion is really from the rest of scripture, because we have indications from the rest of scripture that those who belong to Christ do not fall away.
And that it is in fact possible that there are those who are in the church who would appear to be Christians, but who are in fact later proven to not be Christians. So, kind of to that first count, the confidence that those who belong to Christ don't fall away. Jesus says in John 10, 27 through 28, he says, My sheep, listen to my voice.
I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hands. So if it's possible that someone has truly belonged to Christ, but now they no longer belong to Christ. It appeared to be in defiance to what Jesus is saying that, in fact, no one's able to snatch those who belong to him out of his hands.
Interestingly, you know, this is from the Gospel of John, so the Apostle John is writing this record of what he heard Jesus say. In his letter, 1 John, the Apostle John writes of how we can anticipate that there will be those who depart from us, who appeared to be Christians, but are proven not to be. So, in 1 John 2, verses 18 through 19, it says, Dear children, this is the last hour.
And as you, as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have come. So that's just a little interesting aside here. We get so fixated very often on like this singular figure of Antichrist. But what John's letting us know here is that, in fact, there are many Antichrists, and I mean, we're going back 2, 000 years now.
Moving on to what we're really looking at here. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their going showed that none of them belongs to us. So what the Apostle John is saying is that even while for a moment it appeared that they were part of us, their departure, in fact, proves that they were never part of us.
Because if they had, they would have remained. Now again, like I said, this is something that is widely debated among Christians. I don't think it's something that should divide fellowship. But I think the testimony of Scripture is saying that those who belong to Christ remain with Christ. And so in the case of these Galatians, they have had an encounter with the grace of Jesus Christ.
They have heard the gospel preached they have fellowshiped with the church, but now it's being revealed that they aren't truly members of his body. Now what Paul is reminding them of here is that the righteousness that they're seeking in the law is, in fact, only found in Jesus Christ. He says in verse 5, For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope.
So he's not necessarily maligning the motives here of those who are resorting to the law. At least on the surface it appears that they are seeking righteousness, but the fact remains is that true righteousness does not come from the law. The law just stands as judge, ruling that we are all guilty and fall short of the righteousness of God.
It cannot produce that righteousness within us. In his letter to the Romans, in Romans 9, he says, Verses 30 through 32, Paul talks about this anticipation of this coming righteousness, um, that the Jews were looking forward to, and that the Gentiles have been brought into. He says, What then shall we say, that the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith?
But the people of Israel who pursued the laws, the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal? Why not? They pursued it not by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. So what Paul is saying here in Romans, what he is saying here in Galatians is that the only path to true righteousness is the path of faith in Jesus Christ.
And that righteousness is twofold in kind of its dimensions. So, in Jesus Christ, we are counted righteous on the basis of Christ's own righteousness. And we're also restored to righteousness, so that we begin bearing forth good fruit in our lives. And we see this, I think, most clearly stated in Ephesians 2, verses 8 through 10.
Again, you have this perfect marriage between grace and the works that flow from grace, Paul says, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast. So clearly you're saved by grace. It's a gift, not works. But then he says this in 10, he says, for we are God's handiwork traded in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
So there's a purpose here. We receive our salvation. I want to talk to you today about the law. The law is defined as a gift of grace from God and Jesus Christ. And that's only because of who Jesus is because he is righteous. But it is for this purpose that we would be made into a new kind of people.
From whom good works are flowing out from. Now this stands in stark contrast to the law because when we're talking about the law again, it's important for us to make some, I think some precise distinctions. Because obviously Jesus Christ, even within our lives, you know, He fulfilled the law completely, but within our lives, He is fulfilling the very heart of the law, that we would actually live out the righteousness that the law was calling for.
So we're not talking about a complete removal of the law. But what Paul is actually specifying here, in speaking to the Galatians, is those particular aspects of the law. That would have been identified as means of achieving righteousness, so thinking about circumcision. There's nothing inherently righteous about circumcision, but it was given as a means of marking out God's covenant people.
And in the minds of the Jewish people that they thought, okay, if we do the circumcision, if we obey the dietary laws, if we follow these sacrificial rituals, that this will actually result in real righteousness. But none of it did. And so Paul is saying, these were all signs pointing to Christ. And so we no longer follow them because they can't actually produce that righteousness.
They're an insufficient means. There's also a distinction to be made too because the righteousness that's fleshly strength. We are God's handiwork. It's Him working within us. And that's in contrast to the righteousness that would come by the law, where, and you're trying to do all those things, circumcision, dietary law, the fast, all of that.
And, even just the basic stuff, the basic things of loving your neighbor, loving God, all those things. You're trying to do it from your own resources. That's not what's offered us in Christ. Jesus doesn't come along to say, here, I'm going to make it so you can get there on your own strength. Jesus comes along and says, you can never do it by your own strength.
I've paid it all. And now I'm going to make my home in you. The Holy Spirit is going to transform you. So any good fruit that you see in the life of the Christian is not a credit to themselves. It's a credit to the God who has worked within them.
And so, because of this, Paul's very comfortable saying that circumcision or uncircumcision, no matter which way or the other, none of it has any value. Because that was never the point. He says the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. And, this is, it's important for us to understand what he's saying here.
Faith expressed in love. What he's trying to help us understand here is, he's not talking about easy believism. He's not talking about just putting your faith in Jesus for your salvation, and then nothing changes in your life. Because that's not genuine faith. If you've truly put your faith in Jesus Christ, in the way that he described in Ephesians 2, God's going to work on you.
He's going to change you. And the ultimate change that he wants to make is the orientation of your heart. What do you love most? So Paul, well, actually, um,
I jumped a little bit ahead of my notes. Sorry about that. So in talking about faith expressing itself in love, Paul is actually bringing together here three of the virtues of the Christian faith. You have faith, hope, and love. So you see in verse five how he talks about faith and hope, and it finally culminates here in love.
And so in 1 Thessalonians 1: 3 he says, We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. And this brings us to where I was jumping ahead to, which is that genuine faith always manifests itself in its fruit, in deeds.
The Apostle James says, But someone will say, You have faith, I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. And the very heart of those deeds that faith is producing is what Jesus talks about in Mark 12, as far as what are the greatest commands. And Mark 12, he basically says this, he says, love God with the entirety of your being.
And the second is love your neighbor as yourself. There's no commandment greater than these. So you could identify all the different parts of the law saying, okay, you gotta do this, that, and the other. But it really all just boils down to are you loving God with everything that you are? And are you loving your neighbor as yourself?
And the thing is, is all of us have come short of those two basic commandments. But it's those two basic commandments that Christ is actually beginning to work out their fulfillment in our own lives, even as he has fulfilled it completely in his own. We're being conformed to be like Jesus. So that like Jesus, we love God with all that we are, that we love our neighbors as ourselves, so that we lay down our lives for each other, just in the way that Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. Moving on to verse 7, Paul applies a racing analogy to express his concern for the Galatians present confusion. So he says, you were running a good race who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?
That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough. I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. Brothers and sisters, if I'm still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted?
In that case, the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves. So, Paul, again, I said it in the introduction, Paul loves his racing analogies. We see this in 1 Corinthians and also in 2 Timothy, uh, in talking to the Corinthian Christians, he says, Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets a prize?
Run such a way to get a prize. And then thinking about his own life in 2 Timothy 4. He says, I have fought the good fight. I finished the race. I've kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will award to me on that day. And not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
So this is a very appropriate way for us to think about our journey of faith. It's a race you're running. You're pursuing Jesus Christ. You're fixing your eyes on him. But in the case of the Galatians, Paul says that someone's gotten in their way. Someone is caught in front of them. Now, when we watched the Olympics, everyone's got their nice, neat tracks.
They all stay in their own lanes. They're supposed to anyways. That's not how ancient racing was done. It was more kind of like a car race where they could all run in front of each other and get in each other's way and slow each other down. It And so Paul's picking up on this imagery that would have been familiar to them that someone has gotten in their way and is slowing them down from running to Jesus Christ.
Someone's getting in the way of them living in obedience to the truth, which is that salvation and righteousness is found in Christ alone.
And what Paul wants to tell them here is that they should have no tolerance for that. He's He says in verse 9 A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough. And then he just keeps moving on. His use of this phrase might be lost on us, but what he's talking about and using this imagery of yeast is, he's talking about the fact that this evil, this false teaching in their midst, it's just going to grow and grow if they don't address it. Um, you might be familiar that when the Jewish people celebrate Passover, they remove all the yeast from their house. And this is symbolic of the removal of evil. Yeast is a common symbol of evil, of sinfulness. And so Paul's picking up on that and talking about removing yeast and, and comparing this to yeast growing and growing, working through the whole batch. It, it's, it's kind of this idea of one bad apple can spoil the bunch.
And so the basic point of this is that they should not tolerate false teaching on essential matters. You know, as Christians, we have to be careful of, you know, rushing to declare that someone who disagrees with us is, you know, offering false teaching, because that's a really strong charge. We can have some differences of opinions on things, but then there's matters of the faith that are essential, that if we don't address, are going to divide the church.
But more, even more important than that, and that's really important, it's going to put people in spiritual peril. Because, once again, he's talked about how those who have resorted to the law have fallen away from Jesus Christ, from the grace of Jesus Christ. And if that's the case, then they are standing under the condemnation of the law, and they will not be saved.
We need to take doctrine that seriously when it comes to the essential matters of the faith. Now it's interesting, you know, as much concern as Paul's expressed up to this point, in verse 10 he says, I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. And this might be a little bit of a rhetorical ploy, to like, I trust, like, you guys are wise, you're gonna see this, you're gonna, you know, listen to the instructions that I'm giving you here.
It could also be that Paul's expressing his trust in the fact that the Spirit really is in their midst. And while there might be some who are falling away, there's going to be others that are going to heed what he is saying. And once again, just underscoring just how seriously Paul is taking this, he's saying, he says that the one who's throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty.
Now, he's not talking about a penalty of this world. He's not saying, okay, you guys are going to have to take this guy out and start flogging him. He's talking about a penalty that is going to come on the final day when that person stands before Christ as judge. Now, it's interesting, um, in verse 11, we kind of get a little bit of an insight as to perhaps what was going on in Galatia.
It had led them to believe that adopting circumcision was okay. He says, brothers and sisters, if I'm still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case, the offense of the cross has been abolished. On the basis of what Paul's saying there. It sounds like there was rumors going around that in fact, Paul did teach circumcision.
And that maybe he was holding back from the Galatians. You can imagine some false teachers coming into their midst saying, well, Paul just gave you the start. Now let's give us, give you the rest so that you can come to full maturity. He just didn't know if you were ready for the whole thing. This is what the Christians back in Judea do.
And you can imagine the argument being fairly strong because Christianity is hand in hand with the Jewish. There wouldn't have been, especially in the early years of the church, there wouldn't have been a strict division between Judaism and Christianity because Jesus is the promised messiah.
Eventually, you do see that clear division between the two. And so in their minds are thinking, well, all the Jews get circumcised, so they're making a strong argument here. But Paul's saying, no, no, no, no. That's not what I teach. Because if that was the case, why do I continue to be persecuted? Very often, the persecution that Paul suffered was not from the pagans.
Later on in Christian history, the pagans start pushing back against the Christians. But very often in Paul's journeys, he goes to a city, he teaches in the synagogue, some of the Jewish people. People believe and become Christians, others don't and get really upset with him, especially when he starts telling Gentiles that they can be brought into the household of faith and they, they cause problems.
They drive Paul out of town. They might cause problems with the authorities. We do see Paul has some issues with in Ephesus with some of the idol makers there, but all that to say. The reason why Paul is suffering quite a bit is because of him drawing a line here and saying that it's not necessary for you to live out these symbols of the law for you to be saved.
It's just Christ alone. He says, if that was the case, then the offense of the cross has been abolished. The offense of the cross? In what way is the cross offensive?
In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul gives us some indication of what he's thinking about here.
It says, Jews demand signs, and Greeks look for wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. But those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom. And the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
So the cross is problematic for Jew and Gentile alike. For those who are Greeks, the cross appears foolish. It's a slave's death. How could there be any glory in this? There's no, it defies the philosopher's wisdom. For the Jew,
the cross is a stumbling block because of its weakness. The Greeks would have picked up on that as well. And also because Christ suffers the curse of the law in order to say that he has paid it all. He has fulfilled the law completely. And that, simply by turning and trusting in Him, a person can be saved.
That's a stumbling block for people that have conditioned themselves. They've, they've come to believe that, by their own efforts, they could be saved rather than looking to God alone for their salvation. God was laying out those breadcrumbs. He was pointing them in that direction so that they would look to Him for their salvation, but when Christ appears, they stumble and instead continue to look to themselves as their own saviors.
Now Paul concludes this, this portion, this passage in verse 12 with a really strongly worded note.
He says, as for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate.
Now, I don't think I need to expand too much on this if you understand what circumcision is and you can connect the dots in what Paul is saying there in terms of them emasculating themselves. Now this is a bit shocking to us because it doesn't seem very polite and we're sometimes conditioned to believe that Christians always have to be like very polite and very nice to In the way that they speak, that they can never use, like, stark, strong language.
Clearly, that's not the case. Clearly, it's not the case that polite is always the prescription. We have examples of this in the case of John the Baptist and Jesus. Both of them refer to the Pharisees as brood of vipers. Jesus says, you snake! You brood of vipers! Can you imagine talking to anyone like that?
Maybe not, and maybe it's because you've never had to have an encounter with someone that would merit that sort of denunciation. But what's clear from the examples of John the Baptist, Jesus, and Paul is that there are occasions in which we must strongly denounce someone for the sake of the truth and protecting those who may be led astray. Paul's primary audience here is those that are at threat of being led astray. So he's not trying to persuade the people that are trying to lead them a stray. He's not trying to be winsome here. He's trying to warn the Galatians. That this is how misguided these guys are. And there's also something here, I think when it comes to the implications of emasculation on the basis of the law, because, again, if they're so fixated on the law, well, if they went all the way and emasculated themselves, Paul says in Deuteronomy, well, Paul doesn't say, he doesn't say in Deuteronomy 23, Moses records, He says that no one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the Lord.
So it may be that, apart from just giving a strong word of denunciation, Paul's also kind of insinuating, alluding to this reality that he's actually saying they should have no part of the people of God because of what they are doing. They should be cut off from the world. The assembly of the Lord. And if you're a little curious about that restriction, it's because in the Old Testament, they make strong, strong divisions between life and death.
Someone has been emasculated. That's a symbol of the absence of life, a certain quality of, of death. So that's the whole history behind that. Not to get into that too deeply, but the point is, I think more along the lines of the implications of of being emasculated and being cut off from God's people. And he's saying that because of their false teaching, I think they should be rejected, and that they really have no place among the people of God.
When they asked Abebe Bikila why he ran barefooted, he said this, I wanted the world to know that my country, Ethiopia, has always won with determination and heroism. I think Paul's message to the Galatians has some parallels here. In the race we run, we add nothing to Christ. We go barefooted. We fix our faith in him.
If we try to add the regulations of the law, or suggest that we can save ourselves by performing some good work, either apart from or on top of what Christ has done, then we begin collecting glory for ourselves. Bikila certainly got himself some glory by the race he ran. But that's not the Christian race.
We run barefooted because the world must see that victory is found in Christ alone. He ran the race none of us could run. His is the glory, but he invites us into his glory to share in his glory. In his reward, we run to him in faith because he is enough. And in fact, he is the only one that is enough and who is sufficient for our salvation.
Let's pray.
Dear father,
we thank you for the words that you gave the apostle Paul to speak to the Galatians. These words that continue to speak to us today, and that we are reminded
that our salvation is found in Christ alone. That there is no need, and that is in fact dangerous for us to try to mix our works together with his offer of salvation. As though we could, secure our justification for ourselves. Father, we come to you as people who confess our complete reliance upon Christ alone for our salvation.
And we do pray father that you would produce within us the fruits of that faith, that it would express itself in love. And Father, we pray that every person will be led to genuine faith and complete dependence upon Christ alone. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series through the Letter to the Galatians. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Galatians 4:8-5:1, we see Paul rebuking the Galatians once again for turning away from the gospel that was preached to them and explains the freedom that is found through belief in Christ.
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Transcript:
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God - or rather that you are known by God - how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you. A reading from the book of Galatians 4:8-11.
Imagine with me that the year is 1789. You are in New York City sitting at a desk, stacks of papers beside you. You glance at the mirror across the room and are able to confirm that you are indeed, if I can get my slide going, is it working back there, guys. And the next one, you are indeed George Washington. I know it's a surprise, especially for some of you ladies in the room. You led the Continental Army, persevered through dismal conditions, desertion, and early losses. You defeated the British Army, and your countrymen elected you to be their president. You did all of this for the sake of independence, breaking the chains of British tyranny so that you and your children might know freedom. But now imagine as you're sitting at your desk, you strangely become sentimental about old King George. even thinking fondly of his former rule over you and your countrymen. John Adams, your vice president, strolls into the room catching you in this strange daze. He asks you what's on your mind, and you spill the beans. Can't you imagine Mr. Adams being struck with horror and giving you a good tongue lashing? How could you ever think of returning to British rule after everything you've been through?
The apostle Paul scolds the Galatian Christians in just this kind of way. They have known freedom in Christ, but now they are flirting with Jewish law, living under the demands of circumcision, not eating certain foods, having to follow specific Sabbath regulations, regulations of feasts and fasts. Paul emphatically urges them to avoid such foolishness. We begin in verse 8 of chapter 4. He starts off by really focusing his attention here now to those Christians in Galatia who are coming from a Gentile background. It says, formerly when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who are by nature not gods. You see, before the Gentile Galatians had heard of the Gospel, they were like everyone else around them. They were worshipping pagan gods, a pantheon of gods, whatever one might do the trick for their needs. They did not believe in only one true God like the Jewish people did. And so the words that the Apostle Paul says to the Ephesians, even while it can apply to all human beings, would especially apply to the Galatians as well, because like the Ephesians, they are Gentiles. And he says this there to the Ephesians. He says, as for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
It's important for us that we truly, I think, appreciate how radically different things are when you come to Jesus Christ. It's easy for us to forget this, I think, because we live, even while we call it a post-Christian culture, it's a culture that's nonetheless influenced by Christianity, by Judeo-Christianity. And so we've seen some of the rough edges of humanity maybe softened a little bit. There was a stark contrast at this time in the ancient world between those who were pagan and those who were Jewish. And so as those who were completely devoid of the law of God, they were just utterly captive to sin. They were utterly separated from God. They were outsiders from the household of faith. Later on in Ephesians 2, Paul tells the Ephesians that they should remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. This is the same situation for the Galatians. You could say the very same thing to them. They were without God, and instead they were enslaved to those who were not gods. Now, what Paul is meaning here is that the gods that they worship aren't really gods. And as we see across scripture, we can see various testimony to this reality. You guys can pull up the next slide for that. and Isaiah. speaking about the Syrian conquest and how they overcame many nations. Every nation had their own god. And it testifies to the reason why it was that they were so successful. It says, they have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone fashioned by human hands. And Jeremiah 16:20 says, do people make their own gods? Yes. but they are not gods. Now if there is any spiritual reality behind idols, and we still see idols around us today. The reality behind them, Paul says, is demonic in origin. In 1 Corinthians 10 verses 19 through 20 he says, Do I mean then that food sacrifice to idol is anything? Or that an idol is anything? No. But the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons.
So in Paul's writing to the Corinthians, he was trying to assure them that on one hand, you can eat meat in a market that's been sacrificed to idols because an idol is nothing. But he wants them to be careful about participating in the idol feasts because in so doing, they're really kind of locking arms with forces that are demonic in nature. And this is why we should not be glib about spirituality that is outside the Christian frame, whether it be Buddhism, Hinduism, any kind of new age spirituality, crystals. There's a yearning in the human heart for something that our material secular world is not offering them. And so many people are reaching for these spiritual forces, but they are dark forces. They shouldn't be messed with. And all the more, they are not God. They cannot save us. They cannot restore us. They cannot heal and help us. But, in the case of the Galatians, things had changed for them. They had been enslaved to those that were not gods, but now they had come to know the true God. And what's more, not just know the true God, but Paul says, rather, in verse 9, known by God. I think his emphasizing that is important because the fact is that God knows us completely. And that's really what is critical. That as we stand before God that he recognizes us and accepts us as his children. There's many people who claim that they know God. And Jesus says in Matthew 7, there's going to be people who say, Lord, didn't I do this, that, and the other? And he's going to tell them, I never knew you. What's critical is that we are known by God. And it is God who draws people to Himself. Again, we're captive to sin. And so if we come and turn to God, it's because of the work of grace that God has been pouring out upon our hearts.
In John 6:44, Jesus says, No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them. And I'll raise them up at the last day. Now, what has left Paul so astounded here, in the case of the Galatians, is that they've known this freedom from these dark forces, these empty powers. And now, instead of embracing the freedom that they have, the new life that they have in Christ, he's saying they're now turning back to those forces. Now, they're not turning back to the false gods, the idols. They're turning back to the law. Now, that's an astounding comparison. It would have shocked anyone who was a non-Christian Jew, to put pagan gods and the law in the same ball field and talking about the forces of this world. But they share this in common. Both false gods and the law do not have the capacity to save us. They both ultimately only result in our condemnation. Remember what Paul says in Galatians 2:16. By the works of the law, no one will be justified. And we have an indication here that this is exactly what the Galatians have done. Because Paul makes reference to this fact that they are observing special days and months and seasons and years. And so it seems that they have begun adhering to the Judaic calendar. Now Paul has nothing against people recognizing certain feasts or fasts. He wouldn't prohibit someone from being circumcised. He circumcised Timothy. The point of contention though is that those who have crept in among the Galatian Christians are saying you have to do these things. And if you don't do these things then you're not truly part of the people of God. And that's not in keeping with the Gospel.
Paul in learning and hearing about this is fearful that he's wasted his everything, his time, his energy that he's poured into them in leading them to Christ. And so this leads him to plead with them. In verse 12, continuing, he says, I plead with you. brothers and sisters become like me for I became like you. You did me no wrong. As you know it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. And even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. Where then is your blessing of me now? I can testify that if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? So in verse 12, when Paul says that he's become like the Gentiles, what he means is that he's become like them insofar as they were not subject to the law. And Paul, because he is in Christ, is no longer subject to the law as well. This is why he would be calling them to be like him again and not be turning back to the law. He recounts his first initial visit to them, and it's under interesting conditions. Paul was sick. Now, we don't know what he was sick with, but it was enough where he was a bit of a burden to them. Probably wasn't all that much of an impressive figure. And yet, they embraced him. with love and accepted him as a messenger from God. And their love for him was so great that he says that they would have been willing to tear their eyes out for him to give their eyes to him. Now that seems like kind of a weird thing to say. But that was kind of a common way of expressing in the first century a way of deep friendship. kind of like I'd give you the shirt off my back, or I'd give you my right arm. They were so, they were filled with such love for Paul that they would take their very eyes out and give it to him. And yet, despite this deep relationship, this deep affection that they share for one another, things have seemed to change because in trying to tell them the truth that they no longer have to adhere to our word superficial forms of the law, the Galatians have come to see Paul as an enemy. And Paul says, am I an enemy to you by just telling you the truth? Paul's telling them the truth because of his love for them.
There's something here in Paul's experience that I think is universal to many of us as Christians. Where, if you try to, if you love someone and you try to tell them the truth, that doesn't mean they're going to embrace you for telling the truth. Sometimes they'll hate you, even though you're telling them what is true. Even when what you're telling them is said with the desire for their salvation, for their well-being. So Paul shares in that experience that we too experience. It's telling someone what they need to hear, but not being well received. Now tone does matter here, and sometimes we don't always take the best tone in things. And Paul's going to mention that in the next set of verses. But first he's going to kind of address the presence of zeal in the midst of all these considerations. Going on to verse 17. It says, those people are zealous to win you over but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us so that you may have zeal for them. It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you. My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you.
So these people that have come alongside the Galatian Christians to try to persuade them that they need to adhere to the law have been very zealous in making their appeal to them. And sometimes when you encounter someone that's full of zeal, you can kind of fall under the impression, well, maybe they're right. I mean, they seem pretty energetic about this. And Paul here says that zeal can be good, but whether zeal is good or not depends upon the end for which it is working. And in the case of those who have come into the midst of the Galatians, their zeal is not for any good. It's counter to the Gospel. They want to enslave the Galatian Christians again. The sort of zeal that they ought to have is for Christ in the Gospel. And that's the sort of zeal that we have. We ought to be a people that are zealous for the gospel, that are zealous for Jesus Christ. We live in an age of great zeal. You look into the political arena and literally on all sides you find people who are of great zeal. I can say that on all sides you find people of great zeal that are working for no good. What are you zealous about? Are you zealous for the gospel? Are you zealous for Christ? Paul's not calling for us to be boring here. And just kinda like, yeah, I believe in Jesus. He's saying, if you're gonna be zealous, be zealous for the right things. What are you passionate about? Be passionate about Christ.
And we see here in verse 19, Paul's heart for the Galatians. We've already heard about the heart of the Galatians for Paul and how they were willing to tear their eyes out for him. But in verse 19, we begin to see Paul's own heart. He says, my dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, I wish I could be with you now and change my tone. because I am perplexed about you. See, Paul, I think all of us observe texting people isn’t the best way to communicate emotions. Like, this is an old problem. Paul says, I wish I could just be with you in person, because I know what I'm saying is probably painful to you, but I'm coming to you with the love of a father. And Paul, very often, this is how he views those that he's led to Christ. He views himself as their spiritual father. In his letter to the Corinthians, in 1 Corinthians 4:15, he says, Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. And we see clearly here in Galatians that he has the same viewpoint with the Galatians, this sort of parenting relationship to the extent that it feels like he's in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed. And I have to say, when I read this verse, it struck me to the heart. Because it immediately produces this prompt, this point of reflection to consider, do I have that sort of passion for all of you? And as you read this passage, you should consider, do I have that sort of passion and desire for each other? And it hit me personally all the more because, you know, we've shared quite openly our desire to have more children and our struggle in that. I know how great that desire is. But do I desire to see Christ formed in you even more? This isn't an either or thing, to be clear. It has a parallel with hunger. It is good and necessary that we hunger for food. You love a good hamburger. But do you hunger even more for righteousness? Jesus talks about that in his sermon on the mount, those who hunger for righteousness. I have this desire for children. You have desire for family. You desire all these good things, but you desire all the more each other's growth, each other's formation in Jesus Christ. We need to be passionate, zealous about that, so that we're almost at pains in desiring that.
Honestly, as I think about having that sort of desire in my own heart, it seems like it's too much. It's too much for me to handle. But once again, I think it's important for us to remember that this is not by the power of the flesh. And sometimes when we read the scriptures, we think, how could I possibly do those sorts of things? How could I possibly feel that way about other people? Well, it's not natural. You don't naturally feel that way. It's something that only comes by the work of the Holy Spirit. If you call upon God, he will produce those desires in your heart. Come to him and just say, I can't do this. I know you can. That's how it's possible. And that's thematic with everything that Paul is saying here. No longer depending on the flesh, but instead living by the spirit. And yet, the Galatians are clamoring for the law. They want to go back to the ways of the flesh. But inasmuch as they're going back to the law, Paul wants to point out to them that, you know, you're going back to the law, but you're kind of missing something that's standing right in front of you, especially in light of what we've seen with Jesus Christ. So he continues in verse 21. He says, tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise. These things are being taken figuratively. The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves. This is Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem because she is in slavery with her children.
So Paul tells the Galatians, oh, you're all about the law. Well, let's look at the law. And very often when we think about the law, we think about commands, where we should understand that the law also includes a narrative. And so it includes the book of Genesis. It includes the story of Abraham, which we covered pretty recently. And he sets before them, the two figures of Hagar and Sarah. He ends up naming Hagar. He doesn't name Sarah explicitly here. But we understand that's who he's talking about. And if you aren't familiar with their stories, it's helpful to know that Abraham and Sarah were without children, very old. Sarah only ultimately gives birth at the age of 90, at a time that no one would figure that would actually be possible. Everyone laughed about it. And they named their son Isaac, which means he laughs, they laugh. And that son came by a promise. But before he was born, Abraham and Sarah had desired a child. And they kept getting disappointed again and again. And so they decided, well, let's use Hagar, Sarah's servant, to bring forth a son for Abraham. Very strange practice seemingly to us today, but that was a common practice at that time. Doesn't make it right, and it was wrong because they weren't trusting in God's timing for things. But Paul is using these two figures here, Hagar and Sarah, in an allegorical sort of way, in a figurative sort of way, to explain the difference between those who live by promise and those who live by law. And so he's using Hagar and Sarah, and he's using the two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, the one born of the flesh, the other born of promise. And he says that the two women represent two covenants, one being from Mount Sinai, talking about Hagar, and that's pointing back to the Ten Commandments because God gave them the law at Mount Sinai. He says that woman gives birth to children who are to be slaves. Now what's really interesting here though, is that he says that she corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem because she is in slavery with her children. Now you have to understand that this would have been incomprehensible to anyone from a Jewish background. thinking that Hagar would be identified with Jerusalem. But the reason is that they are subject to these forces. They are subject to the condemnation of the law, the efforts of their own flesh. And so they are enslaved.
Sarah, on the other hand, the child who would be born of promise, is not of that Jerusalem. Now again, Sarah goes unnamed here, and it's because in her place is going to be inserted the heavenly Jerusalem. Which is looking forward to the people of God. Revelation talks about the new city, heavenly Jerusalem descending down to earth. That's what we're looking forward to, heaven coming to earth in the end when Christ returns. But Paul says, in verse 26, but the Jerusalem that is above is free and she is our mother. For it is written, be glad barren woman, you who never bore a child, shout for joy and cry out loud, you who are never in labor, because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband. Now we ask, how so? How is it that this desolate woman, this barren woman, would have more to celebrate than the woman who has children by the flesh? Well, it's because the children that she brings forth are those who are children by faith, not by mere blood. Now there's a crossover here when we talk about the Jewish people. There are those who are children of Abraham by blood and by faith. But what is primary and what is only significant to God is whether we are children of God, children of Abraham by faith because we share in the faith of Abraham. And so Paul applies Isaiah 54 in talking about this barren woman who never bore a child, was shouting for joy and crying aloud because she has more children, this abundance of children. So continuing on in verse 28. Paul says to the Galatians, he says, now you, brothers and sisters like Isaac, are children of promise. At that time, the son born according to the flesh persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. But what does the scripture say? Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son. Paul is telling them because you've become part of the people of God through faith in Jesus Christ, you are children of promise. You are not children of the flesh. It's not by your adherence to the law that you're made the children of God. Because that means only ends up in condemnation and slavery. And he even picks up on this tension that's between Ishmael and Isaac. And how there was Sarah picked up on some, seemed like some growing probably animosity from Ishmael towards Isaac because Isaac was this promised son that came through Sarah. And so she compelled Abraham in accordance with God's will that Hagar and Ishmael should leave their household.
And what Paul is indicating here in referencing that episode is one, you can expect there to be some animosity between those who insist upon the law and those who have become children of promise in Jesus Christ. So that kind of explains, okay, you have these people that have come into your midst, they're insisting that you come and adhere to the law. Well, that makes sense. This is tracing back to this tension that has always been present. What's more, he's indicating that you cannot mix law and gospel. Now, as I said earlier, Paul does not forbid circumcision, observing certain fasts or feasts or Sabbath practices, none of that. But what he is insistent on is that you must not say that you must do those things in order to be accepted by God. So that's the real point here. Paul's not trying to make a point about slavery or anything like that. This is a figurative example that he's using to make a point about the differences between those who are children of the law and those who are children of the gospel. And they don't mix. And so he concludes in verse 31 and we go into the first verse of chapter 5. says, Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." That's the whole point. If you want to understand that, if you didn't understand anything up to this point, that's the point that Paul is trying to make here. Is that we are children of freedom, children who are born free in Jesus Christ, no longer burdened by the yoke of slavery.
Now, in saying that we are free from the law, Paul's not trying to say that we're free to sin, that we're free to just toss out all God's demands and live however we please. Instead, it's a different idea of freedom. The American idea of freedom is this idea of you can just do whatever you want to do. The more ancient understanding of freedom and liberty is that of being free to be able to do something. It's kind of, I think I've used this example before. It's not original to me, but it's like the piano. The American idea of freedom is I can go and I can hit any key on the piano. Well, that's great. But I'm not free to play any symphonies of Bach on the piano because I don't know how to play the piano. And that's the condition of humanity is like none of us can play Bach's symphonies. So we're freed from being subject to these external regulations of the law, and we're freed from the power of sin. And Jesus makes this clear in John 8. And this kind of ties into some of what Paul was saying about being freed from slavery and a slave having no permanent place in the household, and this idea of us being the ones who receive the inheritance. John 8:31, he says, to the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, if you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples, then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. They answered him, we are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free? Jesus replied, very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed. Now in so many words, what Jesus is kind of saying here to his audience is that while you are descendants of Abraham, and would consider yourselves not to be slaves, you are in fact slaves, if you're sinning. And if we actually look honestly at the law and compare our lives against it, we all see that we come up short of it, and so we are all slaves to sin. And so we need to be set free, we need to be liberated from sin's power. And when that occurs, when we walk no longer by the flesh but by the spirit, then the old trappings of the law, in terms of all the regulations and circumcision and all those things, they fall away. because they were only a shadow of what we have now received in Jesus Christ through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus offers freedom that the law cannot give us. The law reveals God's holiness, it exposes our sinfulness, and it demonstrates that all people stand condemned. But circumcision can't save you. Sabbath and refraining from certain foods cannot save you. And even if you focused on the rest of the law, the good you do, it's just what you're supposed to do. It makes up for nothing that you've done. Our hearts spoil even the good things that we do. Spoils it with pride. Oh, I did some good things. I'm feeling pretty good about myself. I'm gonna do something else so other people think I'm a pretty awesome guy. We spoil our good deeds with all kind of underlying motives. Our hearts pump out heaps of sinful deeds without end. It's a horrible mess. It's hopeless.
Except this, our hope is not found in ourselves. It is found in the promise of God. The promise given to Abraham and Sarah. The promise revealed in Jesus Christ. Jesus offers us a new birth in the Spirit, fulfilling to the fullest God's promise to make Abraham's children countless. And his seed, which has appeared in the person of the Son Jesus Christ, a blessing to the world. Jesus is our atonement. He is the one who makes things right. And he is the one in whom and through whom we are adopted as children of the promise. We are free from sin's power. We are free from the compulsion of the law. We are liberated to run in fields of righteousness, because our hearts now belong. So praise God, because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband. Let us shout forth with joy and burst forth in song. Let's pray.
Dear Father, We thank you for this awesome reminder that we've received from the Apostle Paul and his words to the Galatians. This reminder of the great liberty that we've received in Jesus Christ. It's great freedom that we enjoy, that we no longer must maintain. outer signs of the law father. because Jesus Christ has fulfilled it all. Father, thank you that we become your children, not by the flesh, but by your promise and receiving Jesus Christ by faith. We thank you, Father, that Jesus has accomplished what we ourselves could never accomplish. He has justified us before you. and he is presently sanctifying us through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Father, we thank you that we live by the strength of the Spirit rather than by our own strength. Fill us with zeal, Father, for Jesus Christ, for the Gospel. Put within us a great desire, the desire of Paul, for one another. So you see Christ formed in each of us. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series through the Letter to the Galatians. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Deacon John Lotter preaches on Galatians 4:1-7, discussing the promises that we are offered when we give our lives to God.
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Transcript:
What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the set, until the time set by his father. So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world.
But when the time, when the set time had fully come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are in, because you are his sons,, God sent the spirit of his son into our hearts, the spirit who calls out, Abba, Father.
So you are no longer a slave, but God's child. And since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. Galatians 4: 1- 7. Thanks be to God.
Good morning, and happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there.
Have you ever arrived at home and smelled something cooking? You don't know what it is, but you want it. You hurry through the door and head straight to the kitchen, ready to sit down and dig in, only to find out it won't be ready for a couple more hours. The roast has to finish cooking, or the cake still has to be decorated, or the bacon was just being prepped for something else that wasn't ready yet.
You are certainly disappointed for the moment, but you have something to look forward to that you know will be amazing when you finally get it.
So as Charlie read from the beginning of Galatians chapter 4, we're going to look back just a little bit at the end of chapter 3, just to go over a little bit of what Tom touched on last week in Galatians 3, 27 through 29.
For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female. You are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Paul is pointing out here that once you are a Christian, no other social, political, or gender identity matters.
Jesus has erased all of the dividing lines between all of these identifiers. This doesn't mean that there are no differences. Paul knew that there was still a difference between a Jew and a Greek, and his evangelistic approach might differ, differ to each group. From 1 Corinthians 9: 19- 21, Paul says, For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more.
To the Jew I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews to those who are under the law, as under the law, though not being myself under the law, so that I might win those who are under the law. So that's a lot of law right there going back and forth. So basically he's saying If I'm around Jews, I'm going to be as though, behave as though I am under the law and show that I can comply as long as they can comply to the law.
But he's also going to teach them Jesus. And then in verse 21, to those who are without law, As without law, though not being without the law of God, under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. So there he's speaking about the Gentiles. They were not under the Mosaic law, but under, well, most of the Gentiles were living just a worldly life at that point.
So he's coming to them, bringing them Jesus. So kind of a, a lot of the word law in those couple of passages there. So, uh, but just keep track that basically Paul is saying, I am going to try to fit in with the people that I'm speaking to. And at the end he's saying that he is going to stay under the law of Christ and live a Jesus- like life.
So, uh, going back to 27 and verse, uh, Galatians 3:27-29, where he speaks about the slave, he says this, this, the slave still had a daily obligation to obey his master, though he might be equal in Jesus.
So, Paul is saying that the, the relationship between a slave and a master is changing, and he mentions this in Ephesians 6, 5 through 9. Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters, according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, and sincerity of your heart. As Christ, or as to Christ, not only by way of eye service as men pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With goodwill render service as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. And masters do the same thing to the, to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with him. So there he's saying that the slave and the master are equal before God, even though their roles on earth are vastly different. The master is now responsible for the slave in the way that he treats the slave As well as the slave doing all things for Christ.
Again, keeping in mind that not always would both of them be Christians, but Paul is pointing out the case of if they are both Christians, they need to treat each other like Christians. And if they're a Christian, they need to treat non Christians like they're Christians as well. So a lesson for us as well when we're dealing with people in the world.
There are still different roles for male and female in the home and in the church as well. Again in Ephesians 5, 21 through 27. We're doing good so far. So, starting in verse 21, And be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. Wives, be subject to your own husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, he himself being the savior of the body.
But the church is subject to Christ also. So also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for her, so that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by washing of water with the word, that he might present himself to the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be holy and blameless.
So again, we see differences in the roles of men and women. There are differences in roles and functions, but there is none in the standing before God through faith in Jesus. When we say that Christ has abolished these distinctions, we don't mean that they do not exist, but that they no longer create any barriers to fellowship.
As Jesus said in John 13, 34 through 35, a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. So again, through these differences and through our behaviors toward one another all will know that we are followers of Christ through our behavior.
In Galatians 3:29, the end of that chapter, Paul states that if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise. Yes, that means that we all inherit the same thing from God according to his promise to Abraham in Genesis 17. Regardless of any way that we are identified.
So, Genesis 17, 4 through 8. As for me, behold my covenant, this is God speaking to Abraham. As for me, behold, my covenant is with you, and you will be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants. And your descendants after you throughout their, their generations for an everlasting covenant to be God, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.
I will give you, I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession and I will be their God.
So, keep these things in mind as we move on to chapter 4, Galatians 4, 1 through 3.
Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave, although he is owner of everything. But he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. So also, we, while we were children, we're held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.
So here, Paul is comparing a free child and a slave. Neither of them has the ability to just go off and do whatever they want. Those of us who are parents understand that. That both of us, under guardianship, do not have the freedom to use any of their potential inheritance. Think about that delicious meal I was talking about, that we couldn't touch, right?
We weren't allowed to have just yet. Paul's use of the slave as an example to compare to the child leaves us to think about the fact that the child has the hope of inheritance and freedom, while the slave will continue to be under the same conditions of his social status here on earth, just like a believer and a non believer only in terms of worldly conditions placed on people by people.
Paul uses the child as an example as he and Jesus had done in other scriptures referring to those who have not matured in their faith as children. Our inheritance is not available to us until we have clothed, clothed ourselves in Christ. Much the same, for children of that time were not eligible for their family inheritance until they had reached an age of maturity that their father had determined.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 30, Paul says, You are God's children. He sent Christ Jesus to save us and to make us wise, acceptable, and holy. In 1 Corinthians 13, verse 11, When we were children, we thought and reasoned as children. But when we grew up, we quit our childish ways. And then Jesus in Matthew 19, verse 14, But Jesus said, let the children come and don't try to stop them.
People who are like these children belong to God's kingdom.
Are we being like the children and going straight toward Jesus? Or are we going off on a tangent and circling our way back once in a while? We need to go right to Jesus, like a child to Their grandfather, their fathers, their mothers, open arms, running ahead, got to be there, right?
Moving on to Galatians 4, Galatians 4 verses 4 through 5. But when the fullness of time had come, but when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law so that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. So again, we're back to that law thing.
I feel like a lawyer today.
At the time God, the father appointed from eternity past. So this was God's plan from the beginning, uh, to bring his son to the earth as a form of redemption from the law.
He sent his son into this fallen world to fulfill his promise because Jesus was born of a woman showing him to be fully human and born under the authority of the Mosaic law. Obviously he was born before his own teachings that freed us from the law. So Jesus, Jesus was born while the Mosaic Law was still in place as a human.
After his teachings, the Mosaic Law was not taken away from us, but replaced with Jesus' teachings. And our redemption is through Jesus.
But by these things, he was able to free or redeem both Jews and Gentiles from the penalty of their sins that they deserved,
and free them from their slavery to sin as well. This redemption enables believers to be adopted as God's sons, because they are united to Jesus the son of God, because believers Regardless of their gender, ethnicity, whether they're slave or free, our sons, God sent the spirit of his son, Jesus, to live inside of them, just as the Old Testament had promised.
We see that Jesus has provided the way from our earthly sinful lives, no matter what our background, to a life pleasing to God. And the way to our inheritance through his teachings and examples we see in Ezekiel that God sent Jesus to mature us and bring us to him. Ezekiel 36: 26-28 I will take away your stubborn heart and give you a new heart and a desire to be faithful. You will have only pure thoughts because I will put my spirit in you and make you eager to obey my laws and teachings.
You will once again live in the land I gave your ancestors, you will be my people and I will be your God.
So again, we see God's promises coming to fulfillment through Christ coming to us and living on this earth as a human, but also as a God. as God.
And then Galatians 4, 6 through 7. Because you are, because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Therefore, you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir through God.
The spirit deepens our intimacy with God by crying out, Abba, Father. Abba. So in Mark 14:36 is where we see that, uh, and this is Jesus and he was saying, Abba Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me, yet not what I will, but what you will.
The term Abba was, was a term of that time, similar to a child of our time saying dad or daddy or papa.
And I say similar to that because Abba had a slightly, uh, slightly more formal meaning than than our current terms, uh, that that children often use to refer to their father. So it's kind of hard to describe but it's it's in between just saying father and daddy. So it's it's somewhere in the middle there. So when Christ is crying out Abba, Father, He's using that more personal abba and father, the, the genetic, uh, connection there. So he's using both terms to, uh, refer to his father.
And we see that all three persons of the Trinity work to, and get work together to ensure the believers salvation. As a result, believers are no longer slaves to the elements of this world, but sons who have been set free and have an inheritance from God, as Paul explained to the Romans in Romans 8: 12-17
So then brothers and sisters we are we are under obligation not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh, for if you are living in accord with the flesh you are going to die, but if by the spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the spirit of God, these are sons and daughters of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, Abba, Father. The spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
So yes, in verse 17, we do suffer with him. If we are living a Christian life in this world, we will suffer the struggles that come with that.
And we also see in verse 12, so then brothers and sisters, we are under, under obligation not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. So as we put Christ on through baptism, through our commitment to Christ, we are changing ourselves. We are not, we are no longer to live just an earthly life or to live in Christ according to him.
And again, in, in verse 14, he says that these are sons and daughters of God. And he also, it goes on to say that if we are sons and daughters of God, we are also his heirs, and that we are eligible for his promises of life everlasting with him. Going back to our scripture reading today, Galatians 4,
1 through 7, uh, I won't read it again, but it is up there. Kind of want to break it down just a little bit, uh, a little bit further. Verses one through three refer to our lives before Christ. So if we look at one through three real quick, I guess I will reread it, just in parts.
Now I say, as long as the heir, is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave, although he is owner of everything. But he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. So, if we look at this part as our lives before Christ, these first two verses. Actually three verses. Uh, so also we were, we were children.
We were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. So before Christ we were slaves to what sin and life. Once we've put Christ on in baptism, we, we become God's children. a brother of Christ.
So also while we were Children, we were held in bondage to the elemental things of this world. So that's where we were. Verses four and five tell us now where we're going. But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law so that he might redeem those who are under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons.
So Christ came to this earth to teach us, to be an example to us, brought us from that slavery that we were in, the bondage we were in to this earthly world, brought us together with him. And then verses six and seven are where we are going. So because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into our hearts, crying Abba father, therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son.
And if a son, then an heir through God. So, verses four and five, we're putting, we're coming together with Christ versus six and seven. We are told what we're looking forward to, that inheritance that we are eligible for by being sons and daughters of God, that we do have that inheritance to look forward to and that life here on earth that has changed for the better for all of us. Thank you.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series through the Letter to the Galatians. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Galatians 3:15-29 Paul tells the Galatians about the promise that they have through Christ and the inheritance that they’ve received through his sacrifice.
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Transcript:
Good morning. Today's scripture reading is from Galatians 3: 23-29. Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
So in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith. For all of you who are baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female for you all are one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed.
Good parents love their child before they have done anything that could earn their love. They love their children when they do the right things, and they still love them when they do things wrong. Love also compels parents to give their children commands for their own well being. When kids disobey repeatedly, again, and again, and again, it can be tempting for parents to lower their expectations.
They don't like to punish. They love their kid. More expectations seems to just invite more rebellion, putting the youth in an even worse position than before. Assuming the pattern continues, it would seem the relationship would grow more distant with every act of disobedience. So what should be done? I think this scenario offers us a picture of the human situation before God.
God loves us, but we are stubbornly rebellious. We break every command he gives. Now, some people might think that God should let up, lower his standards and expectations. But we know that that just papers over the problems. It fixes nothing. It'd be poor parenting. And yet the fact remains, the more he commands, the more we rebel.
Seems like the only direction we know is down. Now as Paul explains here in Galatians, God knew this. In His perfect wisdom, He prepared a way, so that through our captivity to sin, He would reveal Himself as our one and only Savior. So we continue in Galatians 3 this morning, starting in verse 15. Paul says, Brothers and sisters, Let me take an example from everyday life.
Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say, and to seeds, meaning many people, but, and to your seed, meaning one person, who is Christ. What I mean is this. The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God, and thus do away with the promise.
For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise. But God, in His grace, gave it to Abraham through a promise. So just to kind of refresh your memory here from what we covered in the first, 14 verses of this chapter. Paul is explaining here how it is that Gentiles, that is non Jewish people, can be included in the inheritance of Abraham.
The promise made to Abraham and his children. And Galatians, reminding them of how they did not receive the Holy Spirit by the law, but by faith in Christ. And so, to prove his point here about the fact that the Gentiles truly are included in this promise now because of Jesus Christ, he gives an example.
He calls it an everyday example, an everyday sort of example. And he talks about how human covenants, when they're duly established, cannot be changed. Now, most of us, when we think about legal documents, we don't think of it in terms of covenants. But, to kind of put it in modern parlance, a good example that Paul would be referring to here would be a will.
If you make out a will, and then you die, you can't really change the will. Now, maybe there's some lawyers here, people who've worked for lawyers here, that say, well, actually, there's some loopholes and stuff, but we know, for the most part, once a person passes away, the will is set in stone. There is no changing it.
And that's the point that Paul wants to make here. Not that the permanence of this covenant is dependent on anyone dying. That's not his point. His point is that God has made this covenant with Abraham. It's God's word. And by establishing this covenant, he's made it so that it cannot be changed. It needs no addition.
The promise is firm. And what he has promised is blessing, salvation, the Holy Spirit. Everything that Paul's been talking about here. But then Paul has this little aside here that's a little strange. He talks about how God did not speak the promise to seeds, to Abraham and to his seeds, but to the singular seed.
And we, we're kind of wondering, what is Paul getting at here? Why is he so fixated on trying to emphasize this idea of the singular version of seed? Because when you look at the Hebrew, and we see, In Genesis 12 24, we see how, when the Lord speaks of Abraham's seed, the translators here use the word offspring.
It is singular, so you could have a singular offspring, but the intent is plural. It's many. What Paul is doing here is not denying the reality that many people would be included in the promise that is made to Abraham, that would defeat his purpose altogether. Instead, what he's trying to do here is point us to Jesus Christ.
That specifically, ultimately, the promises that were made to Abraham were to be fulfilled and realized in Jesus. That in this one man, the many would be brought in. And we, in fact, we even see that more imminently. In the case of Abraham, he had many sons, but it was only through the one Isaac that this promise would be carried.
And Jesus is the true Isaac, the one through whom the world is added into the Abrahamic family. In Romans 9, verses 6 through 8, Paul says this, he says, It is not as though God's word is failed, for not all who are descended from Israel are Israel, nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children.
On the contrary, it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God's children, but it is the children of promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring. So, Paul completely realizes the fact that There was a biological element to this that was realized, again, in the case of Isaac.
But ultimately, those who are counted among the children of Abraham, that's not determined by genetics. It's determined by those who share the faith of Abraham. And the overall point that Paul's trying to make here, is that the promise precedes the law. In verse 17, he talks about how the law comes 430 years later.
He's talking about when the Hebrew people are exiting Egypt with Moses, and they've received the law at that point. The promise had come long before then, and so it has a standing independent from the law. So in verse 18, he says if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise.
But God, in his grace, gave it to Abraham through a promise. Now we've already talked about how if receiving the blessings of Abraham, receiving salvation, receiving the spirit was dependent on the law, well that would be hopeless, because none of us live up to the law. But the further point that Paul's trying to make here is that God has always indicated to us that we would receive the salvation, his blessings, by grace, by the simple word of his promise.
Always and ever is it on that basis, by his grace, by his promise. That's the very nature of an inheritance. You think about it, if you receive an inheritance from your parents when they pass away, you did nothing to earn that inheritance. It's simply given to you by virtue of the fact that. You are their child.
And sometimes, you know, we have people in this country that are very rich, have very rich families, and maybe they can just live off their family's wealth, you know, their whole life. And sometimes we kind of, you know, begrudge them for that. You say, you know, you should earn your keep, earn your, earn your money kind of thing.
And that's appropriate. It's good to have a good work ethic, but I do think sometimes that American work ethic, that I can't take, I can't receive anything as a gift, that I've got to earn anything, can creep into our religion. So that our mindset becomes that I've got to earn my way before God. And some people fall under the delusion that they have in fact earned their standing before God.
And that they're going to get what they deserve because they've been a good person. Now, we know that's not the case because none of us can measure up to the holiness that God desires. But the point here is that we do have a share in this inheritance because we are made children of God by sharing in the faith of Abraham.
And so we receive it as grace, as a promise. Now, this leads to a natural question that Paul anticipates. In verse 19, he says, Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator.
A mediator, however, implies more than one party. But God is one. Is the law therefore opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not. For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. But scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin.
So that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. So, to the question, why was the law given at all? Paul says, it's because of transgressions. Because of sin. Until the Savior, that promised seed, would appear. Now, it still raises some questions in our mind, okay, well why because of sin?
But, Paul sticks in here. One other consideration. And I kind of love this because it shows the personality of Paul. He is just at such pains to try to prove to the Galatians how off track they've gone. That he's trying to think of everything to persuade them back to the truth of the gospel. Then in verses 19 through 20, he adds some words here that are a little bit confusing to us.
He says, The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. A mediator, however, implies more than one party, but God is one. The argument's kind of lost on us. Okay, what are you trying to say here, Paul? This is the point he's trying to make. It might not seem like a strong argument to us, but he felt it would be persuasive to the Galatian Christians.
This is the argument he's making. He's saying that God gave his law to the people of Israel. That law was communicated through angels to a mediator, and commentators think that Paul's alluding here to Moses, and, and then the people received it. So you kind of have this long chain. Whereas in the case of this promise that was given, it was simply God coming to Abraham and saying, this is how it's going to be.
I'm going to bless you, and the whole world is going to be blessed through you. Again, what he's trying to do here is prove the supremacy and priority of this promise that God has made to Abraham. So this, once again though, turns us back to the question, so why the law then? If the promise was good enough, if the promise is what really counts, why the law?
Well, he has said, because of transgressions and because of sin. Well, why because of human sinfulness? Why would you introduce that because of human sinfulness? Well, when we look across the writings of Paul, we come to a complete understanding as to why God would add the law in the face of human sinfulness.
Romans 3: 5. The law highlights God's righteousness. Paul says, But if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? And he says here, I'm using a human argument. So we kind of caught a mid flow here, but the idea here is that the law clarifies the disparity between us and God.
And so, if we're able to see clearly now the difference On the one hand, we see God's perfect righteousness. We see God for who He truly is, and how He is not us. Isn't it notable of how, with the pagan gods, their gods look very much like human beings? Just read the Greek myths. They're terrible, they're terrible gods.
But they reflect humans perfectly. The God of Israel is different. And His law makes that utterly clear. He is perfectly righteous, whereas we are not. The other thing that it does, the introduction of the law in the face of human sin, is that it produces a consciousness on our part of our sinfulness. So this is kind of getting to the other side of this distinction here.
This divide between us and God. Paul says in Romans 7, He says, What shall we say then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not. Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had said, and not said, you shall not covet.
But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. Once I was alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life, and I died. And what Paul is getting at here is the fact that the law, to a certain extent, kind of kicks up our rebellious natures.
It exposes that there's something wrong with the insides of us that God would give us his good law. There's nothing wrong with his law. But when we see something good, rather than embracing it and accepting it, we push back. And what this does is it exposes the fact that we're broken in our hearts. We need to be fixed.
The problem isn't just sins. Very often we focus on that, Okay, I've done, you know, this wrong, that wrong, the other thing wrong. And we think that's the real big issue. And that's, that's a problem. But we commit those sins because we are sinners. We are factories of sin. We have, we're just rebels from our very own heart.
So we need to be fixed from the inside out. Paul continues in verse 10. He says, I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. So then the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.
Did that which is good then become death to me? By no means. Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, He used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment, sin might become utterly sinful. See, what the law does, in kind of kicking up our sinfulness, is it makes things utterly clear.
We're almost in a worse situation where if we don't know just how bad we are, then we can deceive ourselves to think like, I'm okay, I'm not that bad of a person. But once again, like the analogy I gave the other week, when you see a true line, you can see how bad your free hand is. That's what's going on here.
In light of the law, we see how far off course we are, how broken we are. The law is good. . And because of that we see that we are not, and this then introduces a degree of accountability before God, we know what is good and yet we don't do it. Paul says in Romans three, verses 19 through 20, now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the, under the law so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law. Rather, through the law, we become conscious of our sin. You see, when we have the law, and we know what we're supposed to do, and we understand that we're not doing those things, then we have no grounds for bragging. We have no grounds for puffing ourselves up.
And sometimes we still do that. The thing is, is that every mouth is going to be silenced. No one is going to be able to say anything for themselves. Because all of us fall short of the glory of God. None of us fulfill the law in our lives.
What God is doing by introducing the law in the face of human sin is, He's exposing our delusions. And he's pointing us to our need for grace. A grace that is only ultimately seen when Christ appears. In Romans 5: 20, Paul says, the law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. It's like, why would God do that?
Why would God want the trespass to increase? Well, we have the indication here. but where sin increased, grace increased all the more. You see, it would be a really terrible thing if God introduced the law, increased sin, and then He just destroyed us. That would be a really bad thing. But God is kicking up our sinfulness in order that He might finally save us.
Because we cannot save ourselves. Going back to Galatians 3.
Paul says, Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not. For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. It can't come by the law, though. Because we're not perfectly obedient. We rebel. But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. We're locked up in sin.
We can't do anything for ourselves, and God has done this so that we might simply receive the promise of salvation given to us in Jesus Christ and inheritance that's received by faith. I think we can kind of think of our situation in this sort of analogous sort of way. You can imagine, imagine that we were caught up in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
You're just out there by yourself, right in the middle. Now, between the two points, the shortest point between, basically, I don't know if it's, yeah, it's basically Europe and North America is 2,315 miles. Okay. Long distance. The longest anyone's ever swimmed is 155 miles. So if you're in the middle, there's no making it to shore.
But imagine you're in the water, and you're desperately trying to swim to shore. You're never going to make it. You're going to die. But you're desperately swimming. And then imagine that this Coast Guard cutter comes up. And they say, we're going to save you. Someone's going to jump in. And, uh, bring you on the boat and save you.
But you just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. I'm going to save myself. I mean, you have the right idea. You want to be saved, but you're putting your hope in the wrong thing because you're trusting in your own strength and your own abilities. And it's futile. And this is our situation striving under our own moral efforts.
This is the situation under the law. You're stuck in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. But God has promised to save us, and he's come up alongside us. And Jesus has come in, and he's just like, I'm going to take you, and I'm going to bring you on this boat. Just stop swimming. And sometimes, actually all the time, I'd say, but especially, sometimes in some very notable ways, God's got to knock us upside the head.
That's what we see in the case of the Apostle Paul. He's striving by his own righteousness, by his own zeal. Paul, persecuting Christians even, and God confronts him on the road to Damascus saying, this isn't the way, you're not saving yourself this way. And so Paul understands perfectly that no one can save themselves by trying to swim to shore when they're stuck in the middle of the ocean.
Paul continues explaining conditions under the law, verse 23. He says, Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
So in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There's neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor there's nor is there male and female, for you are all wanting Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.
Under the law, the Jewish people, and really all of us, as far as we have an understanding of the law, we're locked up under sin. Until Faith appears.
The purpose once again is that God is intended to show his mercy to all people. In Romans 11:32, Paul says, for God is bound to everyone over to disobedience, that he may have mercy on them all.
The purpose, as Paul says in verse 24, is that we might be justified by faith because that's the only possible way. There is no way to be justified under the law. And this is, in fact, what everyone's been waiting for. Everyone's been waiting for Jesus to appear. This is what the writer of Hebrews is talking about in Hebrews 11.
He gives this great chronicle of all these Old Testament saints. Great examples of faith. And then he says this, These were all commended for their faith, Yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us, so that only together with us, they would be made perfect.
God was waiting for them to receive the promise of their faith, so that we might be included in Christ. Because Christ opens the door for all people, regardless of race,, provided that they have faith. And this brings back to mind what Paul said earlier in verse 14. He said, He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus.
So that by faith, we might receive the promise of the Spirit. And so because of this, because of this, now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. Now, this use of the word guardian that Paul's pointing to here is someone who's acting as kind of a nanny over a child. I'm going to leave a little bit here, because I think John's going to probably cover some of this next week in his sermon in Galatians 4.
But the law has been functioning kind of in a nanny sort of capacity, just watching us, saying, don't do that, don't do this, swatting our hand. But now, that faith has come, we are no longer under the guardian of the law. So what does that mean, then? To not be under the law. Does that mean that we can lust as much as we want?
Does that mean that we can cheat, and steal, and do all kinds of sin? No. The point is that the outer requirements, the outer forms of the law has passed away. So, practically speaking, Paul says in Colossians 2, verses 16- 17, Therefore, do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a new moon celebration, or a Sabbath day.
These are a shadow of the things that were to come. The reality, however, is found in Christ. Very similarly, Hebrews 9: 9- 10. This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings, external regulations applying until the time of the new order.
So that's a very helpful word there in terms of thinking about what has passed away, the external regulations. regarding food and drink and ceremonies, things of that nature. What applies now is the commandments that still apply regarding the condition of our hearts. And Jesus talks about this in his Sermon on the Mount, about God's true concern for our hearts. And the thing is, is we can't fix our hearts. Only God can do that. And that's what Christ does.
All these older things have passed away because they were all pointing to Christ and now we live in the time of the new order. So you have to think of it in that sort of way. It's like we're in a new age. There's a time before Jesus and there's a distinct time after Jesus. And the time before Jesus, you should do all those things that the law prescribes.
But we now live in the time of Jesus. And this is why when you read the things in the Old Testament regarding, you know, don't eat bacon, you know, you have to not do anything on the Sabbath. Those things no longer apply now because we live in the new order. And so if this is the case, if faith has come, then we are children of God.
In verse 26, he says, So in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith. For all of you who are baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. Now, I want to kind of pick up on something here. And again, I'm going to leave a little bit of this for next week. Um, in case John speaks to some of this.
But, the reality is, is that not every human being is a child of God. You're like, whoa, what are you saying there? What do you mean, not every human being is a child of God? Every human being is made to In the image of God, all of us possess a special dignity because we've been made by our creator in his image.
But that does not mean that all of us are children of God. And the reason for that is because we've rebelled. And when we rebelled, we decided to make the devil our father. And that's just kind of the status quo now. That we decide that we would call Satan our daddy. In Jesus, though, we're reclaimed by God.
And so, the Apostle John points out this distinction between the two. 1 John 3.
And this kind of gets to the element of being clothed in Christ. The Apostle John says this, The one who does what is sinful is of the devil. Because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin because God's seed remains in them.
They cannot go on sinning because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are. Anyone who does not do what is right is not God's child. Nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
What John is talking about here is that if we put our faith in Christ, if we have become a child of God, our lives are going to be different. Our lives being different is not the basis of us becoming children of God. The basis of that is Jesus Christ. But the fact is, is that in Jesus Christ, we are different.
And it's because of Jesus Christ that we can be called the children of God. And we are no longer children of the devil. And so if we ask, well, who is a child of God, what determines that? It's simply faith. Faith in Christ. Faith in Christ brings you into the family of God. And so all the other old dividing lines that someone might have pointed to previously pass away.
People would usually maybe point to their national identity, their ethnic identity, their family line, those sorts of things. That doesn't determine who is a child of God. It's simply faith. Paul repeats this again and again in his letters. In 1 Corinthians 12, it says, It is just as a body, though one has many parts.
But all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit, so as to form one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free. And we were all given one Spirit to drink. And in Colossians 3, verses 9 through 11, he says, Do not lie to each other. Because if you're a member of the body of Christ, how could you possibly lie to each other?
Since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all. In Ephesians 3, verses 4 through 6, Paul speaks of a mystery.
It says, this is the mystery that through the Gospel, the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. That's the mystery. The great mystery that's so often lost on us, we just take it for granted, is that we have become the children of God.
Despite the fact that we are not biological children of Abraham. And that it's simply dependent on our faith in Christ. And so Paul says this in, here in verse 28. He says that we are no longer Jew or Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male or female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus.
You have to appreciate just how radical this statement is by the Apostle Paul. Because, the thing is, prejudice is the human norm. Prejudice doesn't belong to one race or another. Prejudice is a human problem.
And yet, Paul here is saying that those ethnic prejudices, those ethnic lines, is no longer. He also says that your class doesn't matter. It doesn't matter whether you're a slave or free. At that time,
in the first century A. D., about 33 percent of people would have been slaves. Difficult to fathom that.
But Paul says that no longer matters. It doesn't matter whether you're a slave or not. You have to appreciate the practical implications of that. Because what that meant was that someone could be a slave. Humbly serving their master and their household during their weekdays. But outside of that, they could be a leader in the church.
Yes, we don't see the apostles calling for political reform. They lived in an empire. They weren't calling for political reform. But, make no mistake, this is revolutionary. And it's because of this that the whole world has been changed. This was the seeds of change. So that anything that you see in our world today, as far as talking about equality among races, Not looking down upon people because of their social status.
All of that is the fruit of Christianity. It comes from nowhere else. Our world would be completely different if not for Christ.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7: 22 Where as the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord's free person. Similarly, the one who is free, when called, is Christ's slave. See, all the human statuses and divisions pass away because we are all now servants of King Jesus. Likewise, he says there's neither male nor female.
Now, he doesn't mean that there's no gender, there's no genders. It doesn't mean there's no distinctions between the genders. God created man and woman to complement each other. But there is a repudiation here of patriarchal sorts of attitudes. Any sort of chauvinistic sort of attitudes.
And that was something that needed to be addressed. In that time, there was a very popular rabbinic prayer that went like this at that time. It said, Blessed be God that he did not make me a Gentile. Blessed be God that he did not make me a slave. Blessed be God that he did not make me a woman. Notice Paul's addressing that prayer here in these verses.
He's addressing it categorically. Gentile, slave, and woman. Gender.
Paul's saying, all are equally valued. All are the children of God. It's not dependent on your gender, or your race, or your status. All of these people are children of God. This is why he can give this invocation to husbands and wives in Ephesians 5: 3 that creates this beautiful quality and harmony between them where he says however each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself and the wife must respect her husband and the love that he talks about in that passage is the very love of Jesus Christ who lays down his life for the church.
So the very sum of it that we can find here. It's just bound up in verse 29. It says, If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. If you belong to Jesus, the promise is yours. The promise is yours. You are Abraham's seed. Well, how is that? Paul didn't talk about many seeds.
It's not your individual standing. You've been united with this seed. You've been united with Jesus Christ. The one in whom there's many.
It's through that promise, fulfilled by Christ, that we see God's perfect consistency. He does love us. He loved us before we did anything. And He loves us despite all the wrong we have done. And He does remain steadfast in His expectations of righteousness. God is no pushover. He doesn't look the other way.
God sees our sin and addresses it. But not with our punishment. But by sending the Son to be our Savior. The Son who made a sacrifice of Himself. God is able to reclaim us in Jesus and him. We are forgiven in him. We are being restored. And this is the wonderful part. This reclamation is available to anyone, to anyone who puts their faith in him.
Salvation is not just for the Jews. It's for all people, Jew and Gentile alike. In Jesus, we are liberated from the ways in which the world wants to divide us by class, race, and gender. The world celebrates its divisions. We celebrate our unity in Christ. The walls are gone. They're torn down. We are one family in Jesus.
And His inheritance is our inheritance.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series through the Letter to the Galatians. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Galatians 3, after establishing his authority in the first two chapters, Paul confronts the Galatians on their quick turn from the gospel that was preached to them.
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Transcript:
I want you to pretend that you're taking a trip to Europe. In particular, I want you to imagine you're taking a trip to Madrid. You've planned a wonderful vacation. You'll take in all the tastes, sights, and sounds of Spain. And it's all made possible by the wonders of jet travel. Specifically, Spirit Airlines is providing your airfare to Europe.
You will first fly to Dublin, and then jump on a connecting flight to Madrid. The day has arrived, and you land in Ireland. As it turns out, you're not alone on your journey. You've taken some friends or family with you. Now imagine that as you're walking through the terminal to your next flight, you turn to the others and ask, Now, where can we find passage on a ship to Madrid?
Some of them might laugh, figuring you must be kidding. At least one of them would be concerned, thinking you have lost your mind. You've taken Spirit Airlines thus far in your trip. Everything is paid for. Why in the world would you now abandon jet travel to tug across the English Channel? It won't even get you all the way there.
If judged to be serious, you might expect to hear something from them like the words the Apostle Paul speaks to the Galatians. You fool! Who has bewitched you? You fool! Paul speaks so bluntly to the Galatians in chapter three, because what they are doing is no less mad than abandoning jet travel for a slow boat.
So looking at those first opening verses in Galatians 3, looking at verses 1 7, Paul begins with this exclamation, you foolish Galatians who has bewitched you. And, the reason why Paul is just at such a loss, the reason why he's so astounded by this departure on the part of the Galatians, is because he has preached the Gospel to them, with full clarity.
It says, Before your very eyes, Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. And his meaning there is that in so far as Jesus has been crucified, the requirements of the law have passed away. Not in terms of the heart of righteousness, as represented in the law. Love God with everything you are.
Love your neighbor as yourself. But outward signs that marked out the people of Israel as a covenant people, circumcision, dietary laws. Even the insistence on having, needing to practice Sabbath by law, these have passed away with the coming of Christ because he has fulfilled all righteousness. And this leads Paul to kind of ask the Galatians a pretty savvy question to try to get them to realize their error.
He says in verse 2, he says, Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Now, Paul knew that in asking this question, they would have to grant that the Gospel, that the Spirit came by the Gospel message. Not by the law. Because previously, they weren't practicing the law.
Lots of these Christians were Gentiles. So they didn't even have the law. And it's only later on now they're trying to add in these requirements of the law to give them right standing before God. But we have to back up here because I think Paul says something that maybe we wouldn't expect in asking this question.
We might expect that he would ask, you know, did you receive forgiveness by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard. We wouldn't expect him necessarily to say, Did you receive the Spirit? Did you receive the Spirit by believing what you heard, or by the works of the law. And I think the reason why we might not expect this, is because we often really miss half the gospel.
You see, the Gospel is not just about our forgiveness. That is a critical part of the Gospel. But a huge component of the Good News of the Gospel is that in Jesus Christ, we receive a new life that can only come by the Spirit. You see Jesus himself pointing to this as part of the good news in John's Gospel, John 7, verses 37 through 39.
John records, he says, On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time, the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
So what Jesus is offering to those who believe in him is that new life would spring from within them. It'd be like a river coursing throughout your body, flowing through your very heart. And John explains to us that this river is the Holy Spirit. This river of new life is the Holy Spirit.
Now the Holy Spirit, John says here, had not been given up to this point. And what he means is, it's not that the Holy Spirit wasn't operating. Because we see in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit come upon people. The Holy Spirit's operating from the beginning of Scripture to the end. But Jesus is bringing something new here
as far as our relationship with the Holy Spirit goes.
Because of Jesus, it becomes possible that the person of the Holy Spirit can take up residence within us. So it's like we have this wellspring, springing up new life within our very being. And I say the person of the Holy Spirit because it's important that we understand that the Holy Spirit is not like the Christian force.
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the one triune God.
And what's incredible about what Jesus is offering us here is that by the Holy Spirit indwelling within us, we are kind of patched into communication, into communion with God. You think about Father, Son, Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is sent by both the Father and the Son. This is why the Holy Spirit only comes after Christ ascends.
And the disciples wait in Jerusalem until the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit comes upon them. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. We receive the Holy Spirit. And the Spirit helps us enter into this communion with God. You think about how we're told elsewhere about when you don't know what to pray, that the Spirit prays on our behalf.
So we're brought into a living dynamic relation with God through the Spirit because of what Christ has done. This is something that Christ has opened up. It's a triune work all together. Our salvation, our redemption. What Jesus is really talking about here is fundamentally, a new birth. Note how he talks about the Holy Spirit in John 3.
Very well known passage. Eventually get to John 3: 16. In John 3, verses 3 through 6, though, Jesus says this to the Pharisee Nicodemus. He says,, Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. How can someone be born when they are old? Nicodemus asks, Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born.
Jesus answered, Very truly I tell you, No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but Spirit gives birth to Spirit. So think about water and Spirit. When we are baptized in Christ, we're not simply dipped in water. We are joined to the death of Christ.
And we are also baptized in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit takes up residence within us and gives us a new birth.
He begins giving us a new life. We're changed. And that change, that power manifests itself in a whole variety of ways. Some kind of exceptional, but some that are universal and common to all of us. We see in the early church this linkage between the Holy Spirit and wisdom. In Acts 6, the early church is trying to sort out how to distribute responsibilities in the church.
And the apostles say, we need some deacons. Some people that can attend to some of the material needs of the people within the church. There was a lot of widows in the church that needed help. And so they say, Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.
Now perhaps that's just coincidental, that you have those that are full of the Spirit and they're wise. But it's interesting when you go down to verses 8 through 10, because then we're given a particular example of this deacon named Stephen. He's described as a man who is full of God's grace and power, who performed great wonders and signs among the people.
Now, this didn't come from his own power, this is coming from the Holy Spirit. And he's facing this opposition, arguing with, some of the leading Jews. What's interesting, though, it says in verse 10, it says, But they could not stand against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.
So that's one of the effects of the Spirit, is that the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, gives us wisdom from God. And to think of it in a more kind of complete sort of way, what the Holy Spirit is really giving us is the mind of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 2 verses 12 through 16, Paul says this, What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the spirit that is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.
This is what we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the spirit, explaining spiritual realities with spirit taught words. The person without the spirit does not accept the things that come from the spirit of God, but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them, because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things. But such a person is not subject to merely human judgments. For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. The reason why the gospel seems like foolishness to so many in the world, why they just don't understand, It's because they do not have the mind of Christ.
The Holy Spirit has not worked upon them to give them eyes to see and ears to hear. That's something that can only come from God. We don't naturally come to the conclusion that Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the world. Because our hearts are darkened by sin. It's a miraculous work that anyone would turn from sin, turn from their rebellion, and put their faith in Christ.
And once that occurs, this work of transformation begins, such that we begin operating with a different mind. We begin seeing things differently. We begin seeing things through the eyes of Christ. And consequently, our desires change. Paul says in Romans 8, verses 5 through 10, he says, Those who live according to the flesh, just naturally, have their minds set on what the flesh desires.
But those who live in accordance with the Spirit, have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh, but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.
If we're without the spirit, we're just going to be always hitting up against what God is desiring for us. We're going to be caught in this constant tension. And this is the thing with the law. You can know what the right things to do are, but just because you know what is right, it doesn't mean that you'll do those things.
And in fact, knowing the right thing to do and not doing it just makes you under greater condemnation. And that's what Paul's really driving at here in terms of talking about how the law gives us real no hope. Because it, we just become all the more condemned by it. But with the Spirit, our desires begin to be conformed to the desires of the Spirit.
And in fact, the very presence of Christ himself, It's communicated through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. So that Paul can say, if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. So Christ is living within us through the person of the Holy Spirit.
And we begin walking more and more like Jesus. Now, we should imagine that This was the experience of the Galatians. That their desires, their minds, had begun to be transformed as they turned and believed in the gospel. We can also guess, though, that they had probably also saw some incredible signs of the work of the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps miraculous healings, or other things of that order. Maybe some demons cast out. There's lots of things of that order that occurred, especially in the early days of the church. And we see great signs like that occur, especially on the mission field, where the gospel is breaking out into unreached areas.
So in light of that, in light of what they have seen, the message they have heard, what they have seen, what they have experienced, Paul asks again, how can you be so foolish? How have you been so misled? Going back to the opening illustration, it just seems like, it's almost like you're leaving an airplane, when it's all paid for, and it'll get you there faster and directly, and just saying, I'll just go for the slow boat.
They started with the Spirit, but now they've decided, I'll do this by my natural powers. By conforming to these laws and really whipping myself into shape.
And what Paul wants to make clear here is that it's impossible for us by our own powers, our own efforts to justify ourselves. And it's also impossible for us to live in harmony with God. by our own powers and efforts. And he says, basically, if you want to look back, because they're looking back to the law, they're looking back to the old requirements.
He says, if you really want to look back, look all the way back. Look to Abraham. How was he justified? Abraham was justified by faith. Not by works. And this is appealing back to Genesis 15: 6, where it says, Abram believed the Lord and he credited it to him as righteousness. And what Paul wants to say here is that those who have faith, Jew and Gentile alike, that they are the children of Abraham by virtue of sharing the same faith that he has.
Now Paul moves on to back up this claim that even the Gentiles can be counted among Abraham's children through faith, by going back to the promise that God gave to Abraham. And then he builds from there. So we move on into verse 8 of Galatians 3. It says there that Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith.
And announced the gospel in advance to Abraham. All nations will be blessed through you. So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written. Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the book of the law.
Clearly, no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because the righteous will live by faith. The law is not based on faith. On the contrary, it says the person who does these things will live by them. So what Paul is pointing out here is the fact that from the very beginning, going back to Genesis, in this covenant promise that God made to Abraham, it was foretold that the Gentiles, the non Jews, the rest of the world will be blessed through him.
We talked about this verse a lot in our study of Abraham. He's appealing to Genesis 12: 3, where God says, I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse. And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. Blessing comes through the faith of Abraham to all who have faith. That's what Paul's talking about in verse 9.
And this is, there's a contrast here, between the blessings that come through faith, and the curses that come through the law. Because the law can only bring a curse, because we are disobedient. We're perpetually in rebellion against God. And Paul points out in verses 10 and 12 by making allusions to the Old Testament as to why it is that we're under a curse.
Because this is the standard. This is the standard we don't live up to. In Deuteronomy 27: 26, God has set before blessings and curses before the children of Israel. That if they obey, they'd be blessed. But that if they disobey, this would be the consequence. It says, Cursed is anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out.
And then all the people shall say, Amen. You gotta uphold it all. If you don't uphold it all, then you're under a curse. In Leviticus 18: 5, it says, Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord. It sounds like a great proposition, you know, obey and you will live. The trouble is, once again though, that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
Instead, what Paul is putting forward here, and what he's saying scripture has told us all along, is that the righteous will live by faith. And in verse 11, he's making an allusion to the scripture that's given in Habakkuk 2 verses 3 through 4, where it says, For the revelation awaits in a point in time.
It speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it. It will certainly come and will not delay. See, the enemy is puffed up. His desires are not upright, but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness, by the trust that he puts in the Lord. Now, this should lead us to naturally ask, Well, how is it that Abraham is counted righteous, simply on the basis of faith?
How is it that he's justified? Because there, just trusting God, in and of itself, doesn't make up for the wrong that he does, that he's done. It doesn't fix the brokenness in this world. Now, the way in which Abraham is justified by faith, and the way in which every person is justified by faith, is by trusting in God for their salvation.
Now, Abraham couldn't see the cross clearly. He could not see Jesus clearly. But he understood the promises that God was making. These promises of blessing. And that, and ultimately, these are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. So, in so far as we trust In God's provision of salvation, which has now appeared in Jesus Christ,
it's on that basis that we are saved by faith, because Christ is the one who justifies. Christ is the one who restores. Apart from putting our faith in Christ, we're all liable to the law. Whether we try to obey it or not. If you try to obey it, you're going to fail. If you don't even try, well, all the worse.
It applies equally to whether you're a Jew and you have the law, or whether you're a Gentile and the law was written on your heart. Because everyone has a moral conscience. Everyone knows the basics of what's right or wrong. And we don't even live up to those things. And all of us stand cursed because of our disobedience.
And so we need Christ.
This is why He came. To make things right. So what does He do? How does He set it right? Well, Paul says this. He says that He suffers our curse.
And this is demonstrated in this way.
It says in verses 13 and 14. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole. He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
Paul makes an interesting reference here
to this Word that was spoken in the Old Testament. Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole. It's a very kind of obscure reference. Not something that comes up in your daily devotional reading. But it's, it's found in Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 21 verses 22 through 23. It says, If someone guilty of a capital offense is put to death and their body is exposed on a pole, you must not leave the body hanging on the pole overnight.
Be sure to bury it that same day because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. So, while this is a curse that maybe a few of us were familiar with, it's something that would have been widely familiar to all of the Jewish people.
And so when they see Jesus hanging there on the cross, they can see that he is under the curse of the law. And yet, Jesus, we know, is perfectly innocent. He's perfectly obedient. He's undeserving of the curse. And so, we're able to see, with that understanding, with that knowledge, that in fact, Christ is not suffering a curse that He Himself deserved.
He's suffering the curse that we deserve. He is suffering our curse.
We also see this, that He's offering Himself for our salvation. There's kind of a dual aspect to the icon of the cross. There's one, it's showing us that He's suffering our curse. Two, He's presenting us as our Savior. And we see this elsewhere in scripture. In Numbers 21: 9, we have this kind of, it's an awesome foreshadowing of the cross.
The people of Israel had sinned, they're getting bitten by serpents, getting poisoned, basically. And Moses was instructed to make a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. In Numbers 21: 9 it says, So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.
And then we see in John 3, again, 14 through 15, Jesus says this about himself. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him. So you have this dual icon. We see on the cross that Christ is suffering our curse.
And in suffering our curse, He's offering us as the means of our salvation, if we look to Him. Now, I think there's something important that we should realize here, which is this, is that if Christ was only punished, that would not save us. If Christ was only punished, that would not save us. And maybe you're wondering, what do you mean by that?
I mean this. Let's say Jesus is walking down the streets with his disciples, and all of a sudden, A guard jumps out, grabs him, they drag him straight up to Golgotha, and crucify him. Just kind of kill him, boom, like that. It would not have been enough. And the reason is this, is that, the will of Christ, to go to the cross, rather than being dragged there, is a critical component of what's going on in our redemption. Jesus says in John 10 verses 17 through 18. He says the reason my father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my father.
Notice how Jesus is like, being very explicit here. Like, no one's taking my life from me. I am laying it down. And if you pay attention to the Gospel narratives, notice how Jesus has so many opportunities to escape from the cross. He knows that Judas is going to betray him. He doesn't tell the disciples to, like, tie Judas up and stick him in a corner.
Doesn't do anything there. Instead, he goes to Gethsemane, and he knows that he's going to go to a cross, and rather than running away to Galilee, he stays right there and says, thy will be done. He's dragged before Caesar, not Caesar, Pontius Pilate. He's dragged before Pontius Pilate. He's dragged before Herod.
And he doesn't offer any real defense. As though, it's like he's very much willing to go to the cross. And he does. All this is signaling to us that this is not against his will. He is obediently following through with the plan that the Father has for him. And the reason is this, is that Jesus suffering and death on the cross is the occasion for him to make a sacrifice of his life.
There's a distinction here to be made between punishment and sacrifice. They're not one in the same. Jesus takes our punishment and turns it into a sacrifice. He makes of it a sacrifice. He offers his life to ransom and restore. We see this kind of dual aspect here in Isaiah 53, verses 4 through 5, then we jump down to verse 10.
It says, Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed. And then we see what, what is made of it in verse ten, it says, Yet it was the Lord's will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the Lord makes His life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. I love the last part there just as a side note, because it indicates that this one who dies is, he's also going to live. So we even, this great passage that, you know, helps us anticipate the crucifixion of Christ is also pointing to his resurrection.
But notice that it says that the whole reason why all this transpires is that the Lord is making of his life an offering. for sin.
So if we ask, you know, why must Jesus die? It's so that He can taste death for all of us and break the power of death and make an offering of His life. The writer of Hebrews talks about it in this way. In Hebrews, 10, starting in verse 9. He says, But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God, he might taste death for everyone.
And bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect, through what he suffered. And the last part there is kind of interesting, because we think, well, Jesus was already perfect. Why did he, how, in what way would he have to be made perfect?
I think we can understand it in this way, is that while we understand that Christ was, in fact, perfect, true perfection reveals itself visibly in action. If you say, like, this QB's got the greatest arm in the league, well, I want to see him throw a 60 yard touchdown. That's true perfection. Actually showing up on the field.
And Jesus showed up on the field. Through what he suffered. His perfect obedience, even unto death on a cross. And continuing on in verses 14 through 17. The writer observes how important it was that he actually shared completely in our humanity. Because again, this was an offering that we had to make, and none of us could make.
But Jesus was fully human, he was fully God, and so he's able to make this sacrifice. Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity, so that by his death, he might break the power of him who holds the power of death, that is the devil. And free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. And Abraham's descendants would be all those who have faith. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.
This is everything that Jesus is doing in dying on the cross. He's going to the cross in order to be our high priest. The priest enters into the Holy of Holies as the representative of the people. Jesus is now our representative. And what he is presenting before God is his life. We can't present ourselves because our lives aren't worthy.
But Christ is worthy. Christ is raised because his sacrifice satisfies God's justice. Either all will be punished or a priceless gift of restitution will be offered. Jesus is perfect and without sin, and as the very Son of God, he offers himself as our ransom. And so we, we see everything kind of come together here as far as what Paul is talking about between the law and this good news of the gospel I think in Hebrews 10, verses 5 through 10. Says there, Therefore when Christ came into the world, he said, Sacrifice an offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me. With burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, Here I am. It is written about me in the scroll. I have come to do your will my God.
First he said sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them, though they were offered in accordance with the law. They're all offering in accordance with the law. Then he said, here I am. I have come to do your will. He sets aside the first to establish the second.
And by that will, we've been made holy. To the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all. See, it's neither us, nor Paul, that sets aside the law, and the endless sacrifices. We couldn't do that. We couldn't. Only Jesus can do it. It is Jesus on the cross for our sakes. Because it is on the cross that He fulfills the true heart of the law, which is simply this, perfect obedience to God.
I have come to do your will. And in doing this, Jesus opens up a new way.
Now, once again, if we can get back to the main slide, yeah. Once again,
We receive as being part of Abraham's blessing by faith. Forgiveness, yes, but also, was Paul saying in verse 14, so that by faith, we might receive the promise of the Spirit. That's part of the good news. That's part of the Gospel. Because, when we receive the Spirit, we enter into a new way. Paul says in Romans 7, For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death.
But now, by dying to what once bound us, because we can now die in Christ, we have been released from the law, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. And Paul can say that this is a promise, that we would be entering into this new way, because it was foretold.
Isaiah 44. We have this wonderful combination of the promise of the Holy Spirit together with an anticipation of the inclusion of those who are not Jewish. God says, For I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams in the dry ground. I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring. And so far you could think, okay, this applies maybe just to the Jewish people.
But notice these last, this last verse here. It's so interesting. It says, Some will say, I belong to the Lord. Others will call themselves by the name of Jacob. Still others will write on their hand, the Lord's, and will take the name of Israel. It's it's foretelling an addition to the people of God. They're taking on the name. They're being adopted into the family of God. And so they receive also this promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
If you have a connecting flight to Madrid, you keep it. You don't go looking for a boat. The boat will only take you so far. It'll come up short of Madrid. You'll probably have to get an Uber, or a taxi, or a bus, or something to get the rest of the way. If you have the Gospel, if you have Jesus, you stick with Him.
The law, your own efforts, will never gain you access to God's Kingdom. Apart from Jesus, every person is found guilty and condemned. With Jesus, we have forgiveness. We have assurance of resurrection. And we have new life in the Holy Spirit. If you want the mind of Jesus Christ, if you want to be transformed, it's not a matter of trying.
It's a matter of asking. Ask and it will be given. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be open to you. If you believe in Jesus Christ, you will be born again. The Holy Spirit, He will dwell within you. And so if you have put your faith in Jesus Christ, then don't stop putting your faith in Him.
Don't stop walking by the power of the Holy Spirit. Don't fight sin by your own power. That's a losing battle and I can speak from personal experience. There's been times where I've known the right thing to do, and I've struggled with that, and I've tried to conform to that simply by my own grit and determination.
I failed again, and again, and again, and again, until God, I failed enough that God taught me, you cannot be obedient on your own. And why would you try? You can only be changed by the Spirit of God. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within you. You need God's salvation. You cannot save yourself.
Not ultimately and certainly not in the immediate. We're never fine on our own. So if you honestly ask for the Spirit's power and strength God In transformation, you will receive it. I promise you that you will receive it. The Apostle John testifies to it. He says, this is the confidence we have in approaching God.
That if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have what we ask of Him. Well, guess what? It's God's will that you have new life in the Spirit. It's the very reason God sent His Son to die for us. Because as Paul says, for what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.
And so He condemned sin in the flesh in order that, this is the whole purpose, this is God's will, that In order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, we do not live according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. So don't look back on the dead ways. Keep moving forward in the spirit.
Ask, and you will receive all that you need. Let's pray.
Father, we come before you and confess that we can be as foolish as the Galatians.
Father, we confess this not because we necessarily reach back for the laws of circumcision and the dietary laws and things like that, Father, but because we do sometimes forget the basis of our standing before you. That is on the sacrifice of Christ alone, but especially this father, that we forget that we walk by the spirit and not by our own strength.
And so father, I pray for all of us that we would turn to you and ask the Holy Spirit would fill our lives, transform our hearts, give us the strength, the courage, the zeal to do your will. Christ has gone before us and we are called his followers. Thank you, Father, that we're not expected to follow him by our own strength because we couldn't keep up.
We couldn't keep up by a mile. But Father, we know we can walk in his path because you have given us a person of the Holy Spirit. So Father, we ask that he would reign in our lives. That we would surrender ourselves completely to you. No longer depending upon our own strength. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series through the Letter to the Galatians. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Galatians 2, Paul continues his defense of his own credibility and the credibility of the gospel that he preaches.
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Transcript:
Good morning. Today's reading is from Galatians 2:11-14. When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them, all, you are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it then that you force Gentiles to follow the Jewish customs?
On September 12th, 1962, President John F. Kennedy gave a landmark speech at Rice University setting forth an ambitious goal. His words are widely remembered when he said, We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills. because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win. Inspiring words. In the course of his speech, he referred to the exponential progress of technology and the advances he anticipated that would make this ambition a reality. But imagine if instead of pointing forward, he embraced an older artifact of flight. Imagine that he unveiled this as the model for reaching the moon, a hang glider. Obviously he would have been laughed off the stage. The glider had its time and it's fine for recreation but it’s not taking anyone to the moon. If going to the moon is your goal, and all you have is a glider, then you're only going to be reminded of how tightly bound to the earth you are. You always return to the ground. The ridiculous nature of this proposal and the natural response to it serves as a helpful comparison. It gives us a taste of how Paul felt when the Galatians began embracing a false gospel. As we will see in Galatians 2, this is not the first time that Paul has had to stand against returning to the past. First, we pick up where we left off.
Paul received his understanding of the gospel firsthand from Jesus, not from the other apostles. He did not spend much time with the other apostles, and at this point, he has been away from Judea, serving the church in Antioch, a church that's been known for being made up of many Gentile Christians. Now, as we go along here, we'll see that this divide between Jew and Gentile becomes the sticking point requiring absolute gospel clarity. So beginning in verse 1 of Galatians 2. Paul says, then after 14 years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. I went in response to a revelation. And meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain. Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.
So last week we talked about how Paul had received a number of revelations over the course of his life from Jesus Christ. He's received guidance from the Spirit. And once again here he receives revelation from God that he was to go to Jerusalem and meet with some of the apostles. And he was to meet with them to compare notes. He came to them and said, here's the gospel I'm preaching to the Gentiles. I'm sharing with them the good news that in Jesus Christ, they too can become the people of God. That's right, right? And so they're comparing notes. And he notes that along with him making this visit himself with Barnabas, that they took Titus along. And Titus was a man who was not a Jew. He was not circumcised. And Paul notes this because if it was the case that in order to be a member of Christ body,. if it was necessary to be circumcised to be a Christian, then Titus would have been required to be circumcised. And yet, he's not compelled to be. Apparently, Paul suggests that some controversy around this had arose because some people who were pretending to be believers had infiltrated their ranks and had been observing some of the allowances that they had made, including those that were non-Jewish, observing how they no longer felt compelled to uphold some of the rituals that were necessary under the Old Covenant. And Paul says in verse 4 that their object was to make them slaves. Now what he means by that wasn't that they intended to make them servants in someone's household, but rather that they would enslave Paul and the rest of the church, once again, to the requirements of the law, rather than walking in the liberty that was given them in Christ Jesus, a liberty that gives license not to sin, but that liberates us to live lives of righteousness, but no longer having to uphold these rules about being circumcised and dietary laws and these other things. Now, there are other occasions in which Paul does accommodate the people that he is trying to reach with the gospel, and he's sensitive to that. We see how in Acts 16-3 he circumcises Timothy. Timothy was the son of a Greek man and a Jewish mother. And so there would have been some expectation that, well, maybe Timothy should have been circumcised. Now, obviously in the gospel, because of what Christ has accomplished, that's no longer necessary. And so Paul could have said, no, we're not gonna circumcise Timothy, but he does. He accommodates for missional purposes. But here he does not accommodate. In verse five he says, we did not give into them for a moment so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. So what Paul is staking out here right at the outset is that by maintaining the expectation that believers would be circumcised, by maintaining any other sorts of expectations that were given under the law, we are actually adding and distorting the gospel by requiring those things. And so in order to preserve the truth of the gospel, Paul's not willing to give an inch.
Now, Paul continues in verse 6 with how the apostles responded to what he had to say. He says, as for those who were held in high esteem, whatever they were makes no difference to me, God does not show favoritism. They added nothing to my message. On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised just as Peter had been to the circumcised. For God who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. James, Cephas, and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.
So on the one hand, we see Paul here touting essentially this endorsement that he receives from three highly esteemed apostles, James, Cephas, which is just the Aramaic name for Peter, and John. So on the one hand, he's touting this endorsement. On the other, Paul makes it clear that he has his own right standing as an apostle himself, because he's received this revelation from Jesus Christ. And he points out the fact that God shows no partiality. God doesn't play favorites. In Deuteronomy 10:17 it says, for the Lord your God is a God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality, accepts no bribes. And we also hear in Paul's letter to the Galatians of how he observes the fact that God uses many people in order to progress the work of building the kingdom, sharing the gospel message. But that ultimately, at the end of the day, we're just instruments. It's God who gives the growth. In 1 Corinthians 3, he says, so neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything but only God who makes things grow. We have this human tendency to try to make a whole lot about people. And when you think about the apostles, you think, well, I mean, they're the apostles. You kind of make a big deal about them. But even here, Paul's reminding us they're still just humans. And they're not the ones who are transforming people's lives. This is all the work. of God. Now the apostles in hearing what Paul had to share added nothing to the gospel that he's preaching and they recognize the special calling that he has to preach to those who are uncircumcised. It's just another way to say Gentiles, it's just another way to say the whole rest of the world besides the Jews that Paul's been called especially to reach. And that on the other hand, Peter and the rest of the apostles are especially focused on reaching the Jewish people.
Now this is not a hard and fast division here, because we see Peter eventually here later in this passage in Antioch. Again, a very Gentile church. Tradition holds also that Peter made it to Rome. That's how you get the pope designated as the follower of the Jews. He falls in the line of Peter. So Peter was the bishop of Rome. So obviously, they weren't just limited to Judea, but there is a certain focus here that's being distinguished. And they're recognizing that Paul's work is good and right, and that God has called him especially to it. The only thing that they ask is that he remembers the poor. So they have this agreement together, they have this unity together, they've offered the right hand a fellowship, they're all on the same page, and they ask, just remember the poor. In asking Paul to do this, they're not asking him just to remember the poor generally. It seems that they're making an allusion to the poor in Jerusalem, particularly the poor Christians in Jerusalem. And Paul has done that, he's going to continue to do that through the course of his ministry. He notes that he was eager to do this and noting that he's once again reminding us he wasn't compelled by them to do anything, he's not getting marching orders from these apostles. They asked that he would do this, and he says of course this is exactly what I want to be doing, I want to be caring for the Jerusalem church as well.
Now at certain points here, Paul's maybe defensive, but we have to remember the context here, which is that the Galatians, for one reason or another, are doubting Paul's authority as an apostle. They're doubting his standing relative to the other apostles. This is what has led them to embrace a false gospel. What Paul is doing here is defending his unity with the other apostles. And he's also defending his equality with them. He's like, I'm an apostle in my own right. So Paul's equal footing and commitment to defending the integrity of the gospel appears especially on the occasion that Peter visits Antioch. And he relates this occasion in verse 11. It says, when Cephas, once again that's Peter, came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles, but when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy so that by their hypocrisy, even Barnabas was led astray. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, you are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile, not like a Jew. How is it then that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?
So once again, the situation here in the Antioch Church is one in which you have Jew and Gentiles together. It's a radical development, but it's a clear demonstration of the gospel reality, that Jesus has torn down the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile, made them one in himself. Now the controversy arises as there's a group of men that come from James, from Jerusalem, to the church at Antioch, and meanwhile, Peter has been sharing in fellowship with these Gentiles. The meaning of that is that he's basically been sitting at the table with them, eating food together with them. And as soon as these men arrive, Peter begins to draw back, because he knows that word could get back to the circumcision group, and he's afraid of that group. Now we don't know all the reasons why he's afraid of them. Whether it's just a point of pride of them looking down on him, which is kind of strange for us to imagine. It's like, you're Peter. You should be setting the agenda here, not these other people. It could be that. It could also be that the Jewish Christians were beginning to feel pressure back in Judea, because maybe rumors were going around that they were no longer insisting upon. following all the Jewish customs, customs of circumcision, the custom of eating kosher, you know, not eating pork. But it's more than that too, because there's more implied. It's not just not eating particular kinds of foods. Eating with Gentiles takes it a step further because the Gentiles have a certain reputation. They have a reputation for being sinful and in a particular way. by being idolaters. And you may have heard in some past sermons how I've talked about how very often the meat that people ate was sourced from sacrifices. The Jewish people ate the sacrifices offered to their God on occasions. And certainly in the pagan context, they offered these sacrifices to the God. The meat was basically barbecued. And then it went back to the market. And it was sold to people. So now you have to imagine that theoretically, Peter could be eating at the table with these Gentiles consuming meat that had been offered to pagan idols. Now he may not know one way or another, but when you're eating with a Gentile, that's a real possibility. And that's where the controversy arises.
Now there's nothing inherently sinful about that, Paul speaks elsewhere about that fact. And Peter knows better than this. He's had a vision himself of God dropping down this blanket with all these different animals and Peter saying, oh, I can't eat these unclean animals. And God tells him, no, take and eat. And then he sends him to the house of a Gentile to preach to the gospel to them. But the social pressure causes Peter to betray the gospel realities. Not just what you say, it's what you do. And that's why it's important for us as a church to remember it's not just what we say, it's how we act, how we live together as a church. And people will know the truth of the gospel based on how they see us living out our lives, especially collectively together. Now this was so bad that not only did Peter back off from fellowship with the Gentiles, Barnabas began to back off. And so now you have this possibility. Is Paul just going to follow in line with them? Is he going to back off? Because he's a Jew. He comes from deep roots. He knows all about the law. He gets the appeal. That's not what he does. Instead, he confronts Peter to his face in front of everybody. Imagine the guts it took to do that, to confront the apostle Peter. In verse 14 he says, you are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile, not like a Jew. How is it then that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? Now, the point that Paul is really getting at here isn't merely the fact of insisting upon these customs, because that's one thing to deal with, because in Christ that's no longer necessary. But what he's picking on here in particular is the fact that Peter hasn't been upholding all the customs. He has been eating with Gentiles, but now he's changing his tune. He's pointing out the fact that Peter's being a hypocrite here. He’s leading people astray. Now some of you are familiar with Christ's teaching in Matthew 18 where it says if your brother sins against you, you should go to him kind of in private, one-on-one, and address him on their sin. That's true. You should do that. But there are cases in which a public sin, especially as it's going on, as it's active, it needs to be addressed. publicly as well, especially in the case of a leader like this. Paul says elsewhere in 1 Timothy 5:19-20. He says, do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. So you shouldn't entertain accusations willy nilly. But then he says, but those elders who are sinning, you are to reprove before everyone so that the others may take warning. So this is why. Paul's doing this. He isn't, he's not trying to embarrass Peter. He's not trying to harm Peter. He's trying to correct the collective harm that's been brought about because of the actions that he's taken because he's a public figure. He's a community leader. And so he addresses him in front of everyone.
Later on, it seems that things are fine between Peter and Paul. In 2 Peter 3, Peter refers to Paul's writings as other scriptures, so he recognizes the authority of what Paul has to say. In Acts 15:7-11, at the Jerusalem council, dealing with this issue with the requirements of circumcision and the Jewish customs, he says exactly what Paul says in terms of saying this needn't be required in Christ. So it seems they're in good terms, they're united. We don't hear the rest of the story here. We'd love to kind of hear the rest of the story of how Peter responded in that moment, but we don't hear it because Paul now moves beyond the personalities. to the heart of the matter, because that's what he's concerned about. He's not concerned about just telling stories about Peter. He's using this as an illustration, as an example. He turns to the heart of the matter, which his confrontation of Peter brings to the surface. So continuing on in verse 15. He says, we who are Jews by birth, not sinful Gentiles, know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we too have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by the works of the law, no one will be justified.
So Paul is speaking from experience here. He says, we who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles. So he's speaking from the position that he's coming from. that Peter's coming from and the position that other Jewish Christians would come from. They say, okay, we're not sinful Gentiles, but we know this: that no one is justified by the works of the law. No one can justify themselves before God and say, I'm all right, you should let me into your kingdom. Rather, he says, we who are Jewish Christians, what we've learned is that we can only be saved by faith in Jesus Christ. Paul's not denying that the Jews have received a certain blessing in receiving the law. The law is good, but the law cannot save. It's kind of going back to the glider analogy. The glider is fine, but the problem with the glider is us. We bring it down. We don't add any extra power to it. We can't take ourselves to the moon in it. We just bring it back down to the ground. And that's exactly what we do with God's law. God gives us his law, it's good, but we don't obey it. And so rather than taking us to the heavens, it condemns us because we don't live up to its standards. The law only points out that we're tied down by sin and that things are actually even more hopeless maybe than they even first appeared.
Now. In pointing out the state of our humanity, the state of our sinfulness, Paul is just pulling from the biblical testimony that's already been given up to this point. Probably in particular he thinks about Psalm 143 verse 2. It says, do not bring your servant into judgment for no one living is righteous before you. We've already heard him in some of his preaching in Cyprus. Acts 13:38-39, he says, therefore my friends I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. So Jesus brings forgiveness. Jesus makes it possible for us to be forgiven and justified. And that's something we couldn't get before Jesus. That's something we couldn't get just by knowing all the right things to do. Or. especially in the case of the Jewish people, of being part of the covenant people of God. Yes, they were part of God's covenant people, but they still were not living up to God's standard. He called them to be a holy people. They were not a holy people. Jew and Gentile like, all people stand equally condemned because of our sins. But the good news is that equal grace is also available to all of us in Jesus Christ.
In Romans 3, starting in verse 19, Paul says this, Now we know that whatever the law says, It says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law. Rather, through the law, we become conscious of our sin. So what Paul's saying here is like, you don't really know how bad you are until there's a standard. It's like. It's kind of like if you have a line, sometimes you think, oh, that line looks straight until you see an actual straight line. You're like, oh wow, I was really crooked. I thought I was good at freehand. I'm not good at freehand. That's the purpose that God's law serves. It shows us how far off we are, how far off the mark we are. And if that's all God did, that'd be pretty depressing if he just showed us how far off the mark we are. But that's not all he does, he does something more. Continuing in verse 21, he says, but now apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been made known to which the law and the prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, so we're all sinners on the one hand, on the other. And all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. By believing. and putting your faith in Jesus Christ, you can be forgiven of all your sins, irrespective of the fact that you're a terrible sinner, like all the rest of us.
See, what we like to do is try to judge ourselves relative to each other. We say we like to do that, but then sometimes it makes us feel pretty terrible about ourselves, because on the one hand, maybe you look at other people in this room, or maybe people in your workplace, just people you know, you think, oh wow, they've got it really put together. They're a good person. I don't really stack up to them. The truth is, is they're a sinner. That person is a sinner that needs God's grace. On the other hand, you might look at someone and say, oh wow, that person's a real mess. And you feel pretty good about yourself as like, I'm a responsible person. I'm a good person. I care about people. You're a sinner just like that person. Everyone is in need of God's grace. and he gives us that grace through his son Jesus Christ. And if we believe in him and put our faith in him, we are forgiven and welcomed into God's kingdom. Because the thing is, part of what God's tried to make clear to us all along is that we cannot save ourselves. In the garden, we decided we wanted to strike out on our own and try to be our own gods. That hasn't turned out well for us. God gave us his law and said, try to live up to this. We can't live up to it. And all along what God has been demonstrating is that we need him. We need him to be our Savior because we cannot save ourselves.
Continuing on in verse 25, Paul says this, God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement through the shedding of his blood to be received by faith. because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed before unpunished. He did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. It is God who justifies us, not we ourselves and we need him to justify us because otherwise we're going to face judgment. That's the reality that Paul's pointing to here. God has rendered his final judgment and punishment because he's wanted to show us mercy. Because we've rebelled against God, because we've basically said to God, we don't really want you to exist, we want to be our own gods, we've become liable to punishment. We deserve to be destroyed. We don't deserve to exist because we've shown such ingratitude and rebellion to our Creator. We've spat in His face.in ways big and small, but all of them amount to, I want to be my own God, I want to make the rules, I don't want to submit to God. God has been patient. He dealt with us in order that at the right time through Jesus, he might make a way where everything could be set square between us. Because Jesus didn't live the life that all of us were supposed to live. And he offered his life as a sacrifice in a way that all of us are ultimately supposed to be offering our lives as sacrifices. It's not about the form, necessarily, a cross. That was important in terms of how God intended that specifically for Jesus to go to the cross and die. But the heart of the matter is that Jesus is offering his life completely unto God. even at the cost of great suffering. And we won't even offer our lives completely to God, even when things are easy, regardless if there was tons of suffering or anything. Jesus didn't deserve the suffering, and yet he offered himself completely to God. And so because of that sacrifice, things are made right between us, and we can start anew in him.
Paul has this great sense of anticipating rebuttals, and he preemptively responds in verse 17. He says, but if in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn't that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not. If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a law breaker, for through the law, I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing. So Paul's addressing a particular concern here. The Jewish Christians have been fraternizing with these Gentile Christians. And so, some observers might say, is, does Jesus promote sin then? Because we've already known the fact of how the Gentiles have been engaged in idolatry and all these other sinful lifestyles. And the answer is no. Clear and hard no. There's a distinction to be made here in terms of what changes under Jesus. Jesus simply sheds the ritual requirements of the law. Circumcision, dietary laws, animal sacrifices, because he's the one sacrifice for all. And the reason why he can just shed those things is because he fulfills the law's righteous demands. All those other things were just pointing, they were guardrails towards his end. He fulfills the righteous demands of the law in himself because he's the person that we're all supposed to be. And so this opens up a two-fold reality for us in himself. In Jesus, we can be accepted and forgiven. In Jesus, we can be transformed, liberated from the power of sin. And that's the order. First we're accepted in Christ and then we're changed. It's not that you have to change yourself first and then you're accepted in Christ. That's just going back to earning your salvation. You can't do that. But we should understand that our acceptance in Christ brings with us this great gift of a changed life, which Christ brings about within us. And Paul says, you know, to basically in verse 18, to run back to just trying to maintain the separation between Jew and Gentile, to maintain this division, would just be to say that you're trying to rebuild righteousness on your own terms. And once again, you can't live up to that standard. It would just indicate that you're a law breaker. Christ died on the cross in order to open up a new reality to us. So right now humanity has been under a curse, under the curse of sin. On the cross Jesus suffers that curse. He didn't deserve to suffer what he suffered, but he suffers the curse. In order to break that curse, to lift the judgment that stands over us. He dies in order so that we too might die in him and enter into a new life with him.
In Romans 7:4-6 he says, so my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the spirit and not in the old way of the written code. See, Christ died so that we would have the law written on our hearts. When it's just a written code, we fail to live up to it. It just points out our faults. But by being joined to the death of Christ, we die to the power of sin so that God can begin making our obedience just simply a matter that springs supernaturally from our hearts. We begin to do what is right because we now want to do. was right. And that's something that's only made possible through Jesus Christ. We've been crucified in Christ in order that we might live life in Christ. We die so that we might be like Jesus. But us living like Jesus doesn't begin from within our own powers. It's only by the power of Christ, by the person of Christ. And so, in light of this, kind of pushing back on this idea that Jesus is promoting sin, Paul is basically saying a sinful lifestyle is incomprehensible, because that would be at complete odds with the purpose for which Christ came. Grace has been given so that we can have a new life.
Paul says in Romans 6:1-7, What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? As though like, well I just need lots of grace so I'm gonna sin a bunch. By no means! We are those who have died to sin. How can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father. we too may live a new life. So, when Christ dies on the cross, once again, we're shown this reality that He is suffering the curse that we deserve to suffer. He doesn't deserve to suffer it. And yet, He's offering His life as a complete sacrifice unto God. Also, in His death, He dies so that we might be joined to His death. so that we can also be joined to his resurrection. That's the beautiful imagery of baptism. And we're gonna be doing some baptisms in a few weeks here. When you go down in the water, it represents your union with Christ's death. And when you come out, it represents the fact that you're joined to the new life of Christ. Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father so that we too may live a new life. In fact, that we can be a new creation. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 and 21, he says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Once again, Christ didn't deserve to die and suffer on the cross, but he died the death that sinners deserve. The reason why he died that death, that he was counted among the sinners, is so that we might be accounted among the sons and daughters of God. So that we might become the righteousness of God. The old is gone. The new is here. That's the great joy we can have as Christians in coming to Christ. When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, you leave all the baggage behind. The past life is buried with Christ. Those things you were guilty of, you're forgiven in Christ. Those things that controlled you. Well, you might still need to deal with some of those things. but they no longer have power over you because a greater power resides within you. It's the power of Jesus Christ communicated through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit within you. It's like we have an advance notice. of the salvation that will be revealed in full at Christ's return. Yes, we're looking forward to the resurrection of the body when the rest of this earth will be healed and restored, but even today, here and now, Jesus is restoring lives. And we need to proclaim that strongly. It's not just about the hereafter. Jesus is restoring lives here and now today. And many of you here can testify to that reality. I can testify to that reality, that apart from Jesus Christ, my life would have been a train wreck. And you only know the half of it. My life would have been a train wreck. That's the complete picture of salvation. that Jesus offers to us.
Paul says in verse 21 essentially, if there was another way, if you could have just simply upheld the law and saved yourself by that means, what then would have been the point of Jesus? He would have died for nothing. So you can't say on the one hand, oh yeah, I believe in Jesus, but on the others be depending on being a good enough person. to get yourself into the kingdom of God. If you're still clinging to that, to that idea that I really am a good person, that I can stand before God and the scales will go in my favor, you're holding onto that. You're rendering the death of Christ completely irrational. What's the meaning of it? Why would the Son of God come and suffer and die if we were all right on our own? If we could have managed our salvation on our own? The Son of God came to us in the flesh, because there was no other options left. He alone can save us. There is no other way. It does not matter how fast we run. It does not matter if I climb to the highest mountains and take a giant leap. We will always descend with our gliders to the ground. Something else is needed entirely, a power that exceeds our own. that can carry us to the greatest heights. We need God to save us. The Son of God is lifted up so that all, Jew and Gentile, people from every nation, tribe, and tongue, all of them can go to Him and be saved. If you think that means a license to sin, then you don't even desire the salvation that Jesus offers. You see, he offers to save us from the dumpster. He grabs us from the flames of the incinerator so that we can be who God created us to be. And Jesus is the only one who can do it. The only one who can make things square between us and God. The only one who can make us a new creation. He does this for you. He does this for me. If we hang up our gliders and entrust our lives to him. Let's pray.
Dear Father, We come to you to confess that we are not able to justify ourselves before you. that your law, while it is good, only points out all our flaws and how short we come up in terms of being the holy people you desire us to be. Father, we give you thanks that you have offered us a way to be saved. Not by our power, not by our efforts, Father, but by your intervening hands manifested through the person of Jesus Christ, your Son. He died the death that we all deserved. He was hung on the cursed tree to reveal that he was suffering the curse for our sakes. in order to offer a sacrifice that could justify us before you. To make things right. Father, help us to trust ourselves completely to the work of Jesus Christ. It's in Him alone that we are justified and forgiven. That is, in Him alone that we are transformed into the people that you've desired us to be. And that all other efforts, whether it be by the law or self-help or anything, are completely paltry and insufficient gliders. compared to the power of Jesus Christ. who's came to save us. Lead us to trust completely in him, we pray. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series through the Letter to the Galatians. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Galatians 1:11-24, Paul continues his defense of his own credibility to drive home to the Galatians the truth and the importance of the gospel that he had preached to them, given to him by God.
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Transcript:
If I told you that King Charles III loves Five Guys Burgers and Fries, would you believe me? Yeah, perhaps you would, since I'm your pastor and you suppose I've done some serious research on the King's diet. Let's suppose in the wake of this sermon, Prince William held a press conference tomorrow issuing the statement that King Charles despises burgers all together. Who would you likely believe? Me or the prince? The prince? Yeah, the prince, of course. Yeah, you would reasonably believe William has actually discussed this with his father, whereas I would just be depending on some court reporter at best. Some sources have more authority than I do. The occasion of Paul's letter to the Galatians is a confrontation.
He is writing them because they have abandoned the true gospel for a false gospel. The text reveals that the heart of this controversy apparently stems from the fact that the Galatians doubt Paul's authority when it comes to the gospel. As we'll see later on, some others have come along who have cast doubt on Paul.
Perhaps suggesting that he is pawning a half gospel, or a mutated gospel. Not the real deal. So, if you were Paul in this situation, and people were doubting your authority, what would you do?
You'd make a defense, right? You would defend your authority. You'd defend your standing as an authoritative source for the gospel message. This is precisely what Paul does in the remainder of chapter 1. And so today, we're going to focus on that. He, that defense actually carries into chapter two, but today we're going to focus on chapter one because it gives us a good chance to slow down and acquaint ourselves with Paul.
Who is he? Why should we and the Galatians listen to him? So we first look at verses 11 through 16. They were just read. What should stand out to us is what he says in verses 11- 12. This is really the heart of everything we're looking at today. He says, I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preach is not of human origin.
I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it. Rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. That's the heart of the matter. Paul's saying, I didn't come up with this. This is not something of my own devising. It comes from God. It comes from the revelation that I've received directly from Jesus Christ.
Now, this is an interesting claim amongst the claims of the other disciples. Because, Paul, Is a late comer to the story. If you were here on Easter, you heard me preach on first Corinthians 15. First few verses of that chapter talking about the witness of the apostles to Christ's resurrection. And so you'll remember that Paul says this regarding himself. So he says in 1 Corinthians 15:7-10, he said, Then he, Jesus, appeared to James and then to all the apostles. And last of all, He appeared to me also as to one abnormally born. When he says abnormally born, he doesn't mean like he came out like in an unusual shape or something like that.
It's just as one who was born kind of lately, to the faith. He says, for I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle. It's not because he's late. But because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. So Paul is, possesses a certain degree of humility in his stature as an apostle, but it's not because he came late. It's because of who he was before. Unlike the apostles who walked with Jesus during his ministry for three years, Paul comes after the fact.
Paul arrives on the scene after Jesus lived, died, was resurrected, and ascended. And what we learn is that, in fact, Paul was antagonistic towards Christians and was persecuting them. Now, as Paul says here in Galatians, he was a very religious Jew. He was someone who was extremely zealous, and zeal is characterized very often positively in the scripture, but Paul's zeal was misguided.
And yet, he says that God set him apart, in order that the Son would be revealed in him, and so that Paul would preach to the Gentiles, that he would bring the gospel to everyone who is a non Jew, to the rest of the world, basically. So, in order to really appreciate Paul's story and where he's come from, it would benefit us to go to kind of the primary account that's offered of that.
And we find that in the Acts of the Apostles written by Luke. So we turn to Acts 22. And here, Paul is speaking in Jerusalem. There's a mob of Jews who want to see him dead. And he's basically making a defense. And he's beginning his defense by offering his story. So he says this. I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city.
I studied under Gamaliel. And was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. I persecuted the followers of this way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, as the high priest and all the council can themselves testify.
I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished. So the first thing to just kind of notice here is, like, Paul was a very seriously religious Jew. He was basically under the training of one of the top leading Pharisees of that day, Gamaliel.
And Gamaliel appears earlier in Acts of the Apostles when, The Sanhedrin drags Peter and the rest of the apostles before them because they're preaching the gospel and they want them to stop and they don't really know what to do with them because they don't really have the authority just to kill these guys, and, Gamaliel stands up and just says, let's just play this out.
Let's see what happens. If God's against them, then they'll fail. If God's for them, then, well, we shouldn't touch them. So a Gamaliel was a very well respected Jewish scholar of that day, the fact that he could persuade the entire Sanhedrin to let the apostles go. And Paul was one of his students.
But unlike Gamaliel, who had a softer hand, Paul was very insistent about persecuting the Christians. And he relates there about how he sought to imprison them. We actually see him on the scene when the first Christian is martyred for the faith. Stephen, who was a deacon in the early church, was stoned by a mob, and Paul is standing nearby, holding their coats.
Now, just as a little aside, so you're not confused as we're going along in the story, Paul's name was originally Saul. And later on, as he goes along in his ministry to the Gentiles, he becomes known as the name is Paul. We're not exactly certain why that change is made, but it's a kind of a helpful distinction, kind of a before and after.
Before he was known as Saul, later as he's come to Christ he's known as Paul. So continuing on in verse 6, Paul says, About noon, as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Who are you, Lord?
I asked. I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting, he replied. My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. What shall I do, Lord? I asked. Get up, the Lord said, and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do. My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.
So, Paul's on his way to Damascus, he's going to get him some Christians, throw them into jail, and he's confronted by Jesus in this, by this blinding light, and this voice, and Jesus tells him, you've been persecuting me. And the interesting thing about that, of course, is that, well, Jesus hasn't been there in person for Paul to be, like, nailing him to a cross or something like that, but Paul has been persecuting the church.
And so, by extension, because the church is the body of Christ, he has been persecuting Jesus himself. And as a result of this encounter, he's been blinded, and so he's on his way to Damascus to figure out what in the world is going on, because this was the last thing he was expecting. Now we get a little bit of a kind of behind the scenes look at what God exactly intends for Paul when we switch over to Acts 9.
In the city of Damascus there is a Christian named Ananias and God speaks to Ananias basically saying, You need to go to Saul, to Paul and tell him what I want you to tell him. And Ananias is like, whoa, this is the guy that's killing us. Why would I go to him? But, in verse 15, the Lord says to him, Go!
Don't question me. Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name. So there's kind of a sort of irony here about how Paul has been causing great suffering to those who confess the name of Jesus Christ.
Now God is calling Paul and he's going to have to suffer greatly for that same name himself on this mission to proclaim the gospel to the rest of the world, to the non Jewish world. We swivel back over to Acts 22. Kind of Paul's point of view here. He says in verse 12, A man named Ananias came to see me.
He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. He stood beside me and said, Brother Saul, receive your sight. And at that very moment I was able to see him. Then he said, The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the righteous one and to hear words from his mouth.
And you will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. And now what are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name. So Paul does that. He's, he's baptized, he's converted. I bold those words there because it relates directly to what Paul's saying here in Galatians that the God of our ancestors has chosen you to know as well and to see the righteous one and to hear words from his mouth.
Paul really did have an encounter with Jesus Christ. And really, this is the only thing that could account for the fact that he would go from persecuting Christians to being a great apostle for the Christians, for the gospel. And he's told that he is set apart. He's set apart. And this, this harkens back to what we find in the prophets.
Paul understands himself to be set apart, and in Jeremiah 1, verses 4 through 10, this is what God says to the prophet Jeremiah, he says, The word of the Lord came to me, saying, Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.
Alas, Sovereign Lord, I said, I do not know how to speak. I am too young. But the Lord said to me, do not say I'm too young, you must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you, declares the Lord. Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, I put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant. So Paul's very much following kind of in the pattern of the prophet of Jeremiah.
God has set him apart for this purpose of speaking to the nations, to speaking to the kings of the Gentiles, and testifying to the truth of the gospel. Now, the reason that Paul emphasizes this, all of this, his story, is that he wants the Galatians to realize the gospel he preached came directly from Christ himself.
He wasn't instructed at the feet of the other apostles about the gospel. It wasn't as though he was their student. So continuing on in verse 17, we're back in Galatians 1. Paul says, I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later, I returned to Damascus.
Then, after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas. And that's just another name for Peter. Cephas, Peter. And stayed with him fifteen days. I saw none of the other apostles, only James, the Lord's brother. I assure you, before God, that what I am writing you is no lie. And I went to Syria and Cilicia.
I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only heard the report, the man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy, and they praise God because of me. So the first thing that might probably raise your curiosity is wondering, Paul went to Arabia?
Like, maybe that's news to some of you, you didn't realize that Paul went to Arabia. Well he did. And we ask, well why? We're not really given a complete explanation here. We can assume that part of it was just to contemplate the gospel revelation that he had received. Maybe he had more experiences in communication with Christ, we can also suppose that maybe he engaged in some form of preaching.
When it says Arabia, we shouldn't think the lower part of the peninsula back here, kind of like that's what we usually think about when we think about Arabia today. pictured there in kind of bold is actually the kingdom of Nabatea. Which would have also been considered Arabia during that time. So he didn't go that far away, but he went to kind of some wilder, more desert sort, sort of parts of the land and, spent time contemplating, perhaps sharing the faith.
We do know that he did share the faith, share the gospel in Damascus and that that caused problems for him. So that he eventually had to flee Damascus, and that's what eventually brought him to Jerusalem, but it didn't bring him to Jerusalem until three years later. So there's quite a bit of a gap there.
Sometimes we kind of compress the timeline here, but we have a number of years playing out here before Paul actually makes contact with the Apostles. Now we have an account of that occasion back in Acts 9. So in Acts 9 verses 26- 30, this is Luke's account here, he's saying, When he, Paul, came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was really a disciple.
Can't blame them, I think most of us would be a little nervous. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord, and that the Lord had spoken to him. And how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.
He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. So Paul has this encounter with the apostles. He's preaching in Jerusalem. He has problems while he's in Jerusalem, though, because the people are very resistant to his message, and they try to get him killed.
I mean, talk about the tables turning here. Now Paul's preaching this message. Now he's the one on the run. And he's not in Jerusalem all that long, because recall that what he says back in Galatians 1 is that he only was there for like 15 days. He spent 15 days with Peter. He saw James. He didn't see everyone.
He wasn't there long enough to learn a whole lot from them, if that's supposedly what the Galatians are thinking, that he got all his information from them. He was there for just a short while and the persecution basically put an end to the visit. Now, it's interesting though, before he leaves and we just have a little map here for us that kind of shows where he's going to go from Jerusalem up back to his hometown of Tarsus.
But before he ends up fleeing Jerusalem, he has this visionary experience, and sometimes it's tough for us to piece the timeline together here, so these are the kinds of details that can kind of fall off our radar here in terms of understanding Paul's story, but he's gone to Jerusalem, and he has this visionary experience in the temple.
In Acts 22, he says, verse 17, when I returned to Jerusalem, and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance, and saw the Lord speaking to me. Quick, he said, leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me. Lord, I replied, these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you.
And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval in guarding the clothes of those who were killing him. Then the Lord said to me, go, I will send you far away to the Gentiles. So Paul's praying in the temple. He has this vision with once again, he's talking with Jesus. Not a usual experience the rest of us have. You know, we can pray and we say, yes, I'm talking with Jesus. But Paul is having a literal encounter with Jesus here once again. And Jesus is telling him to leave Jerusalem. This is a lot for Paul to wrap his mind around because he's like, wouldn't I be the perfect person to be speaking here in Jerusalem?
I was zealous for the law. I was persecuting the Christians. And now I've been converted. Shouldn't that be persuasive to everyone? That's basically what he's saying here. That's why he's relating his whole story here in his conversation with Jesus. He's like, shouldn't I stay? But whatever seems wise in Paul's eyes is not what is in God's plan for him.
And that's why Jesus insists, no, I will send you far away to the Gentiles. Because Paul's primary mission, even while he is going to speak to the Jewish people in the course of his mission he travels, and very often he starts at the local synagogue. All the same, though, his mission that's been given to him by God is to welcome in non Jewish people into the faith, to bring them to God in Jesus Christ.
Now, so we've, Paul had this encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. He's had this encounter with him in the temple and we see elsewhere that Paul gives indications that he's had these sort of revelatory experiences. We look at, and that's just show, that's just showing once again, the map that he goes up to Tarsus.
But we see in second Corinthians 12, he says, I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained. I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ, and Paul's talking about himself kind of in the third person here. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven.
Whether it was in the body or out of the body, I do not know, God knows. I know that this man, whether in the body or apart from the body, I do not know, but God knows, was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things. Things that no one is permitted to tell. It's a very kind of mysterious experience that Paul had here.
But it seems clear that Paul was given special access by God to Jesus Christ and these experiences that he had. So we shouldn't think that the only experience that Paul had was on the road to Damascus. That's the most famous one. But that's not the only encounter. That's not the only revelation that he received in communication with Christ.
So, Paul's claims about this direct revelation also line up with his experience. He's received this revelation that he's to go and preach to the Gentiles. And what we find is that the doors continue to open for him to actually pursue that ministry away from the Jewish mainland, away from Judea. Now we look to Acts 11, and it's interesting, we kind of find out what's going on in the background here in terms of how the ground's being developed for Paul's ministry to begin in full.
Well It says there, now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. So the Christians are being persecuted and that kind of forces them out. They're compelled to go out to the rest of the Mediterranean because of the persecution that's happening, but they're only focusing on the Jews.
Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene went to, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord's hand with them, was with them and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. News of this reached the church in Jerusalem and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.
So for a whole year, Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. That's an interesting little trivia question. You're doing a Christian trivia question, and that's, they were first called Christians in Antioch. Before that, they were just simply called followers of the way.
Now, it's, it's interesting to see how things develop. Again, initially the gospel was really only being preached to the Jewish people. Now, why? Was it that they were biased against the Gentile people? Not exactly. It was, it was that Jesus was understood to be the Messiah. He was the promised king of the Jews that had come, the promised savior.
And so it was immediately recognizable how this was relevant to the Jewish people. But the early church was only slowly beginning to comprehend that the scope of this exceeded far beyond the Jewish people. And that God's intent was to encompass the whole world. And so kind of ground zero for this development, even though it was happening elsewhere, we see Peter going to the house of Cornelius and we see things happening in Judea, but kind of the ground zero for the Gentile church is the church in Antioch.
And as things develop there, Barnabas goes and grabs Saul from Tarsus and it says, you got to come with me here. And so you have Saul, Paul and Barnabas together in Antioch teaching and it's in Antioch that we then see Paul and Barnabas get launched out on this on their first missionary journey that really kicks off the rest of Paul's life.
So in Acts 13 Luke tells us now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Menaen, who had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for me Barambas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.
So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. So once again, we see testimony to the fact that Paul has been set apart for this work of going to the Gentiles. The Holy Spirit now is testifying to this. And so they're commissioned to go by the church on this mission, when we look further on in the chapter, we have kind of the first instance of that.
Now, this isn't obviously the first time that Paul has preached, because he's preached many times before. But as far as I can tell, this is the first recorded words that we have from him and the substance of his gospel can be found here in verses 38 and 39 of Acts 13. And he says, therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus.
The forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you through him, everyone who believes is set free from every sin. A justification you are not able to obtain under the law of Moses. That's Paul's gospel. That pretty much sets it for the rest of his ministry. The idea is that you're not able to justify yourself by good works, by being a good person, by trying to uphold the law of Moses.
Under that law, everyone's condemned because everyone falls short. The only way that a person can be saved is by placing their faith in Jesus Christ as the fully sufficient sacrifice for our sins. He atones for what we've done wrong. He justifies us so that we're forgiven of our sins and we're also liberated from sin so that we can begin to lead a new life So now, continuing on in this passage, this is the Gospel Paul's preaching.
It says, When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying, and heaped abuse on him. Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly, We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it, and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.
For this is what the Lord has commanded us. I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth. When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord. And all who were appointed for eternal life believed. So the Jews that were hearing Paul preach, they were getting jealous because they were recognizing the ramifications here, that Paul was extending welcome to the non Jewish people. And when they refused to accept the message, Paul says, all right, that's fine. We were, it is incumbent upon us to go to you first to bring you this news. But now we turn to the Gentiles and here Paul links his commission with the prophetic word that was given by God. He, he offers a quote here.
He says. For the Lord has commanded us, I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth. So we ask, well, what is he quoting? What prophet is he quoting? He's quoting the prophet Isaiah, in Isaiah 49, verses 5 through 6. And once again, this is just incredible because you read this passage and it sounds like something that they probably wrote in the era of the New Testament, but it was written 700 years before, which just testifies to the reality.
That Jesus is truly the Messiah. So it says there, now the Lord says, he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength. He says it is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. That's an incredible passage because as far as the Jews were concerned, the Messiah was only for them. At best, the Messiah was going to come and bring back the Jewish people to Israel because of the persecutions that they had suffered, they had been kind of cast to the four winds.
So yes, the Messiah is going to come, he's going to rise, bring the Jewish people back. But notice what God says here. He says, and this is the suffering servant here. The Messiah, the one who is to come. He says, that's too small of a thing for you. There's something more in store for you. That, in fact, you're going to be a light for the Gentiles.
That the salvation, that my salvation would reach the ends of the earth. And that's exactly what we see going on in the New Testament era. In the era of the early church, and it continues today as we seek to bring the gospel message to the ends of the earth. Now, there is a bit of a question here, though, because I've just been talking about how Jesus fulfills this.
And yet, Paul seems to be suggesting here that he is, he and Barnabas are fulfilling this prophecy. So, how we should understand this is that Paul and Barnabas are part of the fulfillment. They've been added to the body of Christ. They are members of the body of Christ. And so by extension of Christ, they are contributing to the fulfillment of this prophecy.
In fact, we can say the same thing of ourselves, collectively. So we see in the Gospel of John, in John 1, it talks about how Jesus is the light of the world. The Word Incarnate. He's the light of the world. But then when we go to Matthew 5, we see how Jesus talks about how his disciples are the light of the world.
It says in Matthew 5, verses 14 through 16, You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good works.
And glorify your father in heaven. So in fact, this passage in Isaiah 49, yes, it is anchored and ultimately, precisely fulfilled in Jesus. But by extension, Paul and Barnabas, in fact, everyone that's participating, anyone who's a disciple of Jesus Christ is part of this fulfillment of bringing the gospel to all people.
Isn't that wonderful that all of us have a part in the fulfillment of God's prophetic word, but especially Paul, because he broke open the door here that had been kind of sealed off. They were very hesitant of reaching out to the non Jewish people. So Paul did have a special role to play, but all of us collectively are to be shining this light of the gospel to all people.
Now, the fact that the Judean churches praise God for Paul's work, though they had not met him, that perhaps testifies to the fact that they were basically indicating by their praise that they approved of his work among the Gentiles. Maybe that's not what Paul is suggesting here, but it seems like maybe that's the case.
At the very least, the fact that he had not spent prolonged time among those churches or with the apostles testifies to the fact that his knowledge of the gospel was received from Jesus Christ himself. Paul's testimony has equal standing among all the apostles. His testimony points all the more to the divine authority backing the gospel message.
Because how else can we explain his story? How else could it be that a man who is a zealous pupil of the Pharisees, who breathed murder, who wished to wipe Christians off the earth, should suddenly become a vigorous proponent of the gospel. Nothing would lead us to expect this. Paul had nothing to gain and everything to lose.
His encounter with Jesus Christ on the Damascus road changed everything. He was struck blind so that he might finally see. What followed was not a life of a crazed madness, as though like Paul just simply lost his mind. A fellow who had a mental breakdown. No. What emerged was a man who was liberated by Jesus Christ.
And who would travel the Mediterranean, teaching in countless synagogues. Who stood before kings, faced down the pagan idols and acquitted himself before the wisdom of Athens. Paul's defense of his authority to the Galatians also explains how he did any of it. It was not by his own genius. He tells us, I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preach is not of human origin.
I do not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it. Rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. The gospel is too incredible for human ingenuity. It exceeds human conspiracy. It can only be explained by a divine conspiracy. That over the course of thousands of years of human rebellion and failure, God would nonetheless lay the stepping stones to reveal his Son who would be the Savior.
Not just of the Jews. But of the entire world, for anyone who would turn to him in faith. Paul believed because he could not deny what he had seen, what he had heard, what must be told, though all the world reject him. He says this, Jews demand signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified.
A stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. Paul's gospel is our gospel. Its authority does not wait upon human approval.
It's origin is from God, not man. It's truth rests in Jesus Christ. Let's pray.
Father, as we considered Paul's testimony here, we are so struck by his confidence. The confidence he has in the message that he preaches. And father, We can see that it's a confidence that's not born because he thinks he's the greatest. He testifies himself, Father, that he's the least, that he's, he didn't deserve to be called because he was a persecutor of the faith.
Father, we see that his confidence comes from the fact that the message that he preaches is the truth, because it was not muddled together by any human mind. But because the gospel is a reality which was revealed to him. The reality that Jesus Christ is alive. That Jesus Christ is the Savior. And that anyone who turns to him in faith will be saved.
So Father, we pray this morning that you would give us that confidence in the gospel message. Thank you so much that, though people disapprove of it, maybe they push back against it, we would stand firm because we know that is the reality of things. Because Jesus has proven it by his teaching, by his life, by his death, by his resurrection.
Help us to hold fast to that message, Father, we pray. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series through the letter to the Galatians. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Galatians 1:1-10, Paul exhorts the Galatians to stay true to the gospel that they were preached. They were falling prey to other, false gospels and this warning is still relevant in today’s world.
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Transcript:
This is from Galatians, chapter 1, verses 6 through 10. I'm astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all. Evidently, some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.
But even if we are an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we have preached to you Let them be under god's curse As we have already said, so now I say again if anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than that which you accepted, let them be under God's curse. Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings or of God?
Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
We need to talk. Isn't that a line that just sends a shiver down your spine? It certainly does if you're a person who dislikes confrontation. You don't want to confront anyone, and you don't want to be confronted. Now, very often, a person with that kind of sense is said to be a people pleaser. Someone who wants to try to keep everyone happy.
Now, I think I would be right in saying that a church like ours, that has a spirit of friendliness, being flexible, one that seeks peace with one another, can sometimes run the risk of being tempted towards being people pleasers. I say tempted because pleasing others becomes problematic and sinful when it takes priority over pleasing God.
Sometimes pleasing God means you will displease others.
Paul's letter to the Galatians is a we need to talk kind of address. It is confrontational. And if you were a Galatian, you'd probably find it uncomfortable. However, it is necessary for maintaining the integrity of the gospel. And so, Paul writes this letter to the Galatians, and he first begins in Galatians 1, verse 1, by introducing himself, saying, Paul, an apostle, sent not from men, nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead, and all the brothers and sisters with me, to the churches in Galatia, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever, Amen. First thing, before we get into some of the finer details of Paul's introduction here, is we should know the audience to whom Paul is writing. He's writing to Christians living in Galatia.
Perhaps you're wondering, well, where is Galatia. Well, Galatia is located in the area of Asia Minor, otherwise known as Turkey in the present day, and kind of towards the southern part of Turkey, and you can see it actually up here. It says Pisidia, Laconia, and Galatia up there. This was an area that Paul traveled through during his first missionary travels.
And the area of Galatia got its name from a tribe of Gauls that actually, came into the land and settled themselves there. So, you have Gauls in Asia Minor, you have Gauls in France. The Gauls got around, and this is how we got to the name of Galatia. So, it seems as though that Paul is primarily writing to Christians in Southern Galatia.
Those who are Gauls tended to be more from the northern portion. There's a little bit of debate, whether it's between the North or the south that Paul's addressing, but we have reason to believe that it could have been sort of a mixed population of Christians. Here you have Christians from all different backgrounds.
You have Phrygians, Galls, Greeks, Jews, Romans, a bunch of different people that are coming together here in Asia Minor. And this would have been a letter that Paul probably wrote around like 48, 49 A. D., so fairly early on in his ministry. Now Paul says that he is an apostle. And the word apostle is taken from the Greek.
Meaning Apostolos, which equals sent, basically, one who has been sent. And he says specifically that he's one who has not been sent from men or by a man. Now that's kind of interesting because then he goes on to say that he's been sent by Jesus. And so, is Paul saying that Jesus was not a man? Well, if we examine the rest of the New Testament, we can clearly see that this is not the case.
Because Jesus was truly and fully human. We go to Hebrews 2, verses 14 through 15, and we see it affirmed there, saying that since the children have flesh and blood, Jesus too shared in their humanity, so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
So Jesus shared in everything that we are. He took on our flesh and blood in order that he might deliver us by the power, from the powers from the sin that is holding us. Okay, so we understand that Jesus is fully human. So why, we might ask, would Paul say that he's not sent by a man? It may be that he's trying to tip the hand towards the reality that Jesus is more than just a mere man.
That he is also fully God. He is the Son of God. And we see probably the clearest testimony of this in scripture in the first chapter of the Gospel of John. And I've selected a few verses from there. In John 1 verses 1- 3 and 14- 18, it says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made. Without Him nothing was made that has been made. The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God, and is in the closest relationship with the Father, has made Him known.
So it's very clear there that the Word, and John's talking about Jesus here, He was from the beginning, He was with God, the Word was God, and at the very end there, it's clearly that He is Himself God. Now this is probably a little bit difficult for us to wrap our minds around, because what's being revealed here is the triune reality of God.
That God is not a singular person, but that in fact he is one in being, but three in person. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I'm not going to explicate that fully this morning, but that's the reality. That's who God is. And we also see Paul hinting at the fact that he had a direct commission from Christ himself, even by the order that he, describes his commissioning in.
Usually when he, we see discussions about Jesus and the Father, it usually goes the Father and the Son. But here, Paul begins with Jesus, and then he says the Father. And that makes sense, actually, when we're thinking about Paul's commission. He was confronted by Jesus personally on the road to Damascus, and this is what turned his whole life around from being a persecutor of Christians to an apostle, one who's been sent.
And to the point that by in Acts 20: 24, when Paul is talking to the Ephesian elders, he tells them this about his mission. And he says, however, my, I consider my life worth nothing to me. My only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me. The task of testifying to the good news of God's grace.
Now I just had mentioned kind of this triune reality that's at play here in this description of God. And we see it come to fore, when Paul says in verse one, that it was God, the father who raised Jesus from the dead. Now, on the basis of that verse alone, you might think that, okay, so it's only the father that raised Jesus from the dead.
But we see across scripture elsewhere that, in fact, this is a cooperative work of the Trinity. We see in John 2: 19, it says, Jesus says that destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days. So Jesus is saying that I will raise myself from the dead. But then we see in Romans 8: 11, it says, if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you.
So clearly the Holy Spirit has a part in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and kind of in sum, you know, just talking about God completely, in Acts 2: 24 says, but God raised him from the dead. So Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all cooperatively present in the work of Christ Resurrection. And this is the reality of all of God's works, that even while you know it was only the son who died on the cross, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are always at work cooperatively in God's redemptive mission.
Moving on to verses three and four, Paul offers a tidings of grace and peace essentially in the name of the gospel. And he describes the gospel in these terms, that Jesus gave himself for our sins, so that we might be delivered from this evil age. And looking across the New Testament, we find testimony to this gospel.
Jesus himself says in Matthew 20:28b, he says, The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. And Paul says in Ephesians 2 that of our, of our condition as human beings is that we were dead in our transgressions and sins. So we did need a savior.
We needed Jesus to come and give his life for our ransom so that we might be delivered. And we also see Paul, well not Paul, the apostle John in 1 John 5 :19 observed the condition of this world, that it is truly an evil age. He says, we know that we are children of God and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. So these are the foundations that Paul is setting. He is an apostle sent by Jesus Christ, commissioned by him. And in fact, he also mentions others and brothers and sisters with him. So this isn't just from Paul, it's from a company of Christians here, but he's one who's been sent by Jesus Christ.
And Jesus is the son of God, God himself, who was sent for our salvation. So after such a salutation as this, Paul would often follow it up with a word of praise or thanksgiving for the audience receiving his letter. But not here. Instead, Paul firmly shifts his address to his concern for the Galatians. So turning again to verses 6- 10 that Dennis read.
It says, I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ, and are turning to a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all. Evidently, some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we have preached to you, let them be under God's curse.
As we have already said, so now I say again, if anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God's curse. Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings or of God, or am I trying to please people? If I was still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Paul expresses astonishment here because of how quickly the Galatians have apparently abandoned the gospel.
He's like, I just taught you this. You had embraced this teaching, and now you're exchanging it for something different. A different gospel. Now as the letter goes on, we'll come to understand the specifics of that, what it, what they're actually embracing instead of the gospel. But the point is, is that, what they're doing is abandoning the true word that was given to them. This is a good starting point for us because what Paul has to say here really applies to any departure from the gospel.
It's not just relevant to the departure that's particular to the Galatians. Paul is always concerned about fidelity to the gospel. Later on in his life, he urges Timothy in 1 Timothy 1: 3. It says, I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus, so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer.
Paul believes that if the Christians abandon the gospel, they are welcoming peril into their life. Eternity is literally at stake. They need to hold firm to the gospel that he gave to them. This is a gospel that's not just of his own devising, but a word that he received from Jesus Christ, and a word that was common to the apostles.
We see in Acts 4, verses 11 through 12, Peter say this, he says, Jesus is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind, by which we must be saved. That, in a nutshell, is the gospel. In Christ alone, we are saved.
In no one else, by nothing else, can we be saved.
In 1 Corinthians 3, verses 10- 11 Paul emphasizes how the one and only foundation that we can have is Jesus Christ and we must only build upon Him and nothing else. He says, By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care, for no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Paul is concerned because the Galatians are beginning to seek out other foundations than Christ. And they're vulnerable to these false Gospels because they can have the appearance of righteousness. We see how Paul in verse 8 tells them that even if an angel comes to you and tries to teach you another gospel.
Even if one of us, he says, even if one of us apostles comes to you and starts teaching you something different, you should reject it. Ignore appearances. Look at the content. What is actually being said? Does it line up with the truth of the gospel? Paul offers a similar warning in 2 Corinthians 11. He says, but I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. And he's criticizing the Corinthians here, that they're tolerating these false gospels.
But about these people preaching these false gospels, he says this, for such people are false apostles, deceitful workers masquerading as apostles of Christ, and no wonder for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
What Paul is saying here is that we have to really be on the lookout because these false teachers, these false apostles are so sneaky. Because they look good. They look alright. They don't come with a sign saying we're bad guys. Instead, they seem really nice. They seem like people of God. But they're not.
Because they're preaching a different gospel. They're teaching in a different way of salvation other than Jesus Christ. And what Paul is really pointing us to here, also, apart from just saying, okay, be on the lookout for those who would lead you away from Christ, is he's pointing us to the foundations of truth.
How, you know, what is the measure of the true gospel? The measure is the teaching of Christ and his apostles. He says in Ephesians two, that this is in fact what the church is built upon. And where do we find the teaching of Christ and his apostles? Anyone want to volunteer an answer? Where do we find that teaching?
In the Bible. The Bible is the measure of all truth, but others want to depart from that. In fact, this very weekend, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Mormons, are holding their general conference in which they have people who pretend to be prophets. They believe they're present as a prophet who can bring new revelation and add upon the scriptures.
This is relevant today. There's people who think that they can add to the scriptures and bring a new word from God that could be at odds with the word that's already been received.
False Gospels isn't a thing of the first century. It's something that persists to this very day. I'd like to identify several forms in which we find it today. So the first that we find is, I call it the Gospel of material and bodily prosperity and to identify, to kind of name some names, some people that preach this sort of gospel.
You can think of people like Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn. And just to kind of offer some explanation here is to exactly what's wrong about this teaching is that it's preaching a hope for salvation, which is bound up in our material bodily welfare. Living the good life now. And it basically makes Jesus, it makes God, just a means to the ends of us having that good life.
And it can be very deceptive, because the words sound very nice, but you have to pay close attention to what's being said. So, for instance, this comes from, I, I haven't read this book, I have to admit, I haven't read this book, but this is a quote taken from his book, so if you've read it, I'd be interested in talking to you about it.
But this is a quote taken from Joel Osteen's book, Your Best Life Now, Seven Steps to Living at Your Full Potential. And he says this, God is a good God. And he gives good things to his children. That sounds, that sounds good enough. No matter who has denigrated you or how much pain you've experienced in life, no matter how many setbacks you have suffered, you cannot allow yourself to accept that as the way life is supposed to be.
No. God has better things in store for you. You must reprogram your mind with God's word. Change that negative, defeated self image, and start seeing yourself as winning. Coming out on top. Start seeing that marriage is restored. See your business is flourishing. See your children as enjoying the good things of God.
You must see it through your eyes of faith. And then it will begin to happen. What's so deceptive here is that there's good things that he's mentioning here. But he's making promises here that God does not make. We should all desire that, yes, marriages would be restored, that our businesses would flourish, that our children would enjoy the good things of God.
But those things don't necessarily follow upon our faith. And it's important to say that because some people are really weighed down and tormented by this idea of like, I just don't have enough faith. If I had enough faith, then my marriage would be restored. Would be working. Well, guess what? It takes two to tango.
It takes two to tango. And sometimes you're married to someone that's a non believer. So, you know, how does that work? Some people feel like, Oh, if I just had enough faith, then I would have, my job would be working out. My business would be successful. Not, not necessarily. Sometimes we just go through hard times.
Or if I just had enough faith, my kids would be following Jesus. I mean, what a burden to put on people. I know there's some of you here who have been faithful to the Church, and did your best in raising your kids, and they don't necessarily follow Christ now. That's not fair. God does not condemn us for that.
Each person has to take responsibility for themselves in terms of whether they will follow Jesus Christ or not. And what he's preaching here is that no, you know, you can say that life is not supposed to be this way. And we can all agree life is not supposed to be this way, but we are not guaranteed we're going to get heaven on earth right here, right now as in the age to come. And so this is a false gospel. It's especially terrible because often these, what these preachers do, Joel Osteen lives a very wealthy life, and what they do is they, they offer these promises, people surround them, and so, if anyone lives the good life, it's them. Because their pockets get filled.
We must be on the lookout for this teaching, especially for those in our lives who become exposed to it, lest they be led astray. This isn't the only false gospel. The other false gospel that we have is salvation by works, and of course you could say that this is true of basically every other religion except Christianity, so I want to specify here.
The false gospel that Jesus came so that we could perform good works and get into heaven. Now, I have been studying Mormonism, that's how I knew about the general conference. I'm going to be offering a seminar on this, I'll give you a little preview. Basically, their understanding of the gospel is that Jesus came in order that we could perform good works to get into heaven.
There's many Catholics who have that sort of understanding. It's like, yes, Jesus came to give me grace, and now I gotta do my darndest to get into heaven by doing all the right things. That's not the gospel. The gospel is that we receive salvation by grace through faith. It is a gift. On the other end of the spectrum, so, on the other end of the spectrum of Jesus plus works, we have what I call selective grace.
Other people might call it easy believism. This idea that you just pray a prayer, and you're delivered from punishment from hell, so you can live like hell. So you can do whatever you want to do. And people don't say that in so many words, but there's many people who believe that, and there's people who preach that.
Kind of a half gospel that amounts to that. And I can especially remember as a kid growing up, seeing a lot of my friends, yeah they went forward, they prayed the prayer, nothing changed in their life. Because they hadn't actually put their faith in Christ. They hadn't actually been joined to Him. They just wanted a get outta hell free card.
That's not the gospel. The grace of Jesus Christ delivers us from hell, but his grace is effective so much that it also delivers us from the power of sin. It's not just about our guilt, it's about the power of sin and sin's control on us. In Jesus Christ, we are no longer slaves to sin and the devil We are free to become the people that God made us to be.
That's a gift! It's not, on the other end, it's not us trying to earn our way into heaven, it's that we've been now liberated. And we get to just walk forward in that liberty, knowing that when Christ returns, we will be made completely whole, even if today we're not quite there yet. Lastly, I would identify what I call the gospel of affirmation, which would say, you are wonderful just the way you are.
And Jesus came to make you feel great about yourself and say two thumbs up. It's kind of like the amazing you instead of the amazing grace. And there's a lot of this around where we have this kind of culture of like, we just need more positivity and get push against that toxic negativity. And it spreads its branches far and wide in terms of just not addressing any, any sin in a person's life, just saying like, don't let anyone judge you.
Because Jesus, that, Jesus points out our sins. He says, here's my grace, you're forgiven, now go forward and sin no more. That's what he says to the woman caught in adultery. He points out that the other guys don't have anything to hold, throw at her, because they themselves are sinners, but then he says, go and sin no more.
That's the full gospel.
But there's a lot of people that want to just say, no, Jesus just came to confirm what we're already doing. And we see that in the area of ethics, it's ramifications for sexuality, gender, all that.
Paul's emphatic that those who are preaching these sorts of false gospels are under God's curse. He, he repeats himself twice so that by verse nine, he says, if anybody's preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God's curse. Now, Paul's willing to take a firm stand here because his motive isn't to please the Galatians, to just tell them what they want to hear.
I'm sure, you know, it would have been very easy for him to just write a letter saying, you guys are doing great. Just keep on keeping on. That would have pleased them. But he's not interested in pleasing them. He's not interested in pleasing any other humans. Ultimately, what he's only interested in is pleasing God.
In 1 Thessalonians, 2, verses 3 through 4 it says, For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak of those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people, but God who tests our hearts. Paul's not concerned about the judgment of others.
He's only concerned about the judgment of God and doing what God wants him to do. In, in verse 10 Paul says, if I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. And I love that line because there's kind of, there's two sides to it. I think factually speaking, like obviously, like, if I'm serving Christ, then I'm just not going to be serving people.
I'm not going to be pleasing them. But It's almost the sense of, like, if I was really interested in pleasing people, I wouldn't be a Christian, because that's not the way to go if you're going to be a people pleaser. And inevitably at some point or another, you're going to have to take a stand in a way that might offend somebody.
But taking that stand can be a trial. It comes with temptation. Because we do want to be liked. We do want to make people happy. But what we need to understand is that this hatred, this displeasure, is not something that's particular to us. It simply stems from the gospel itself. It stems from who Jesus Christ is and what he says about himself and the claims that he makes.
John tells his disciples this in John 15 verses 18 through 19. He says, if the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belong to the world, they would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
You see, the reality is, is you're not going to win over everyone. It's good for us to try to be winsome, we should certainly be kind and gentle and loving, but included in love is speaking the truth. Jesus spoke the truth, and they crucified Jesus. So if they crucified Jesus, you can expect that there might be some people in this world ready to crucify you, metaphorically or literally.
Your concern isn't to be liked by others. To be like Jesus Christ, that's going to create a tension. You will live in tension in this world. And so I want to say, especially to those of you that are young, coming up, entering into adulthood, the tension is normal.
Christians are always going to be at odds, are always gonna be going against the grain in this world. If you wanna just get yourself in a position where you're kind of going with the flow, everything's easy peasy, you're gonna find yourself on a path to abandoning the gospel, abandoning Christ. If you follow Christ, you have to expect to carry the cross.
And what this really requires of us is to live trusting God and not fearing man. We have this excellent word in Proverbs, Proverbs 29: 25. Solomon tells us this, Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. You see, people pleasing is really a form of fear.
I'm afraid of whether they'll accept me or not, whether they'll be happy or not. And so you might give in and say, yeah, that's okay what you're doing. Or, you know, that can work for you. That's fine. Maybe your way is a little different, but it'll lead to Jesus. But the thing is, all of that is a snare. It's going to lead to your destruction, it will lead to their destruction.
Ultimately, we must vest our trust in the Lord. Knowing that He will hold us safe. Now that doesn't mean, again, that we're going to be delivered from all difficulties. Christ went to a cross. That means, ultimately, we will be delivered because He was resurrected from the dead and we will be resurrected like Him.
And so we can have that certain and final assurance that he will keep us safe.
Because we no longer live under the fear of death. It's imperative for us to remember this. Because there are many pressures around us to adjust the gospel. To update the gospel. To bend the gospel to our times. But make no mistake. This gospel is for our time. There is no salvation for humanity outside of Jesus Christ.
He is the only way. The only one who can free us from our captivity to sin. The only one who can deliver us from God's judgment. If we confess we are sinners and cast ourselves upon Jesus Christ, trusting him for salvation, he will do just that. You can add nothing to it. He has done the work and you will reap the results both today and in the age to come.
You're liberated from sin's power and you will be resurrected from the dead. You're not promised worldly prosperity. You are promised treasure that neither moth nor rust can eat up and destroy, an inheritance that is durable unto eternity. God sent his son to give you this and bring you to himself.
He didn't give us Jesus to echo back the sweet lies we already tell ourselves. We are slaves to those lies. Christ offers himself as our new master. If you hold fast to him, you will be truly free. As he tells us in John 8, If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
Let's pray.
Dear Father, we thank you for the gospel. We thank you for this good news that in Jesus Christ we can be saved from our sins and delivered from this evil age. That simply by accepting him in faith we can be forgiven and be given a new life in him with you. Father, we pray that you would help us, by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, to hold fast to the truth of the Gospel.
That we would not be people pleasers. That we would not turn to false Gospels, Father. That we wouldn't make light of false gospels Father. But that we would be those who speak the truth. Not only being faithful ourselves, but calling others to the true gospel that is available in Jesus Christ. We ask this in His holy name. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we continue our series through the letter to the Galatians. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom reminds us of the hope that we have in the resurrection of Christ.
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But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been risen. And if Christ has not been risen, our preaching is useless, and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead.
Amen. But he did not raise him, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile. You are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
Today is the day when everything changed. But you may not realize this. Perhaps you think that the church is simply a place where morals are taught. Do this, don't do that. Maybe you think that Christianity is just a bunch of speculative beliefs about God found on the shelf next to every other religion.
Possibly you even appreciate the meaning that it seems to give to some people. It's just something that's not for you. Or maybe you have found that it's for you. You have tasted and found Christ to be good. You embrace Jesus. You embrace the Church, even if you don't understand it all. Some of you might even have a decent grasp of things.
But what I will say today concerns us all because everything has, in fact, changed. Jesus died on the cross. But he did not stay dead. He rose from the dead three days later and he is still alive today. He is the first human to ever do this, but he will not be the last. This is why I say everything has changed.
You can pursue moral discipline your whole life long, but you're still going to die. You can believe all you want about God and the spiritual world. But what reason do we have to believe that it holds any water? Where's the proof? Why should I believe it? Unless something radical happens. Something like a man who claimed to be the son of God.
God in the flesh. The savior of the world. Being crucified by professional Roman killers, and yet, coming back to life in the flesh days later. That, in fact, changes everything. And it is the very core of the Gospel. The Apostle Paul addresses this in his letter to the Christians in Corinth. Within 25 years of Jesus resurrection from the dead.
We look at 1 Corinthians 15, and this is what Paul says in the first eight verses. Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preach to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preach to you.
Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I pass on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the twelve. After that he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as one abnormally born.
Paul says that this summary is the very substance of the gospel, which is just, the word gospel is taken from the Old English, which is deriving from the original Greek word euangelion, which means good news. This is the good news. He's reminding us that it is by this good news we are saved. And what's interesting is that he relates to them a series of details that seem almost formulaic.
And scholars believe that in these verses it's contained a formula that probably came together within three to five years after Christ's resurrection and ascension. So to break it down in kind of numeric order, Paul says that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. He was buried. He was raised on the third day, also in accordance with the Scriptures.
He appeared to all the apostles, Paul included, James, brother of Jesus, and 500 other disciples. So it wasn't just one or two people who saw Jesus. It was a number of people who saw Jesus. The same Jesus who was crucified, who was put in the tomb, dead as a doornail. They saw him alive. They spoke with him.
They ate with him. To pick out just a couple of the details here. Paul says that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and also that he was raised from the dead according to the scriptures. The Scriptures anticipate both Christ's death and his resurrection. Now, I won't take you to a text on the latter account, but, because I could take you all across Scripture, but just as kind of the big lens picture, all the Old Testament is pointing us towards the death and resurrection of Christ as the necessary intervention for the salvation of humanity. Because the condition of humanity, as God finds us, is one in which we are rebels. We have rebelled against God as our creator.
That's fundamentally what Adam and Eve did. They decided, we want to be our own gods, live life on our own terms, apart from God. And the thing is, God let us do that. He let us live life on our own terms, apart from Him. And apart from Him, we have known only brokenness. We have only known evil and death.
But God did not abandon us. He called the people unto Himself. Beginning with Abraham, from whom eventually the nation of Israel emerged. And He gave them His law, saying, this is how you ought to live. This is what it means to live as God's people. And yet, they did not live up to God's standards, even though they knew what they were supposed to do.
God gave them a system of sacrifice in which they would offer animals that were perfect without blemish to cleanse away their sins, to restore their communion with God. But these sacrifices had to be offered again and again, because the people in their very hearts were sinful. Now, of course, the sacrifice of animals could never accomplish true cleansing.
But what they were acting as, was a signpost pointing to Jesus Christ. Pointing to the reality that there does need to be a sacrifice for our sins. There does need to be a substitute, a representative who can stand on our behalf because we have no standing before God. We need someone who can bring true cleansing, true forgiveness.
We need God himself to, in fact, intervene on our behalf. Now, as I've said, you could go throughout the scriptures and pick out various texts that point towards this. I'm going to just take you to one, though. Probably the one that's the most striking. In Isaiah 53. This passage comes to us 700 years before Christ died on the cross and was raised from the dead.
The word of the Lord comes through the prophet Isaiah, and he says this. He was despised and rejected by mankind. Now, who is Isaiah talking about here? He's talking about one who is a suffering servant. One who is also the Messiah. And the word Messiah just means anointed one.
The promised king that was to come and deliver the people of Israel and restore their standing with God and make all things right. And yet, Isaiah is saying this. It says, He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering and familiar with pain. Like one through whom people hide their faces, He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem.
Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was on Him. And by his wounds we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray.
Each of us has turned to our own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
It's amazing how Christ so perfectly fulfills what Isaiah prophesies here because he was one who is rejected by mankind. He was one who took on the human curse, and whom everyone said, that guy's cursed by God.
And yet, while he suffered our curse, it was not because he deserved it. Because he was perfectly righteous. And that's exactly what we find in Jesus. We find the man, we find the human that every one of us is supposed to be, but are not. And so all the scriptures are pointing towards Jesus. And Jesus is bringing all that God promised to fulfillment.
Now to consider what else that Paul mentions here. He talks about the eyewitness testimony of himself, the other apostles. Jesus' own brother James.
Accounting for the claims of Jesus' resurrection among skeptics has taken various forms. One I don't even list here. One is the idea that Jesus didn't actually die. He just kind of looked like he was dead, and they put him in a tomb. That theory is easily dismissed because there'd be nothing inspiring about a guy who was up on a cross and barely somehow gets outside of the tomb, everyone would decide, okay, we're not gonna keep doing what this guy is doing because we don't want to end up like him.
But there are some more significant theories that need to be addressed. One, well, his body was just stolen by robbers. The trouble with that theory is that the disciples claimed to actually see Jesus and to eat with him. So we have to ask, why would they die for a lie? They had no reason to expect any gain for themselves.
Now, in hindsight, we might think, well, you know, I'd like to be as famous as Peter or John. But you have to realize, at that time, they had no idea that they'd become known worldwide. They were just fishermen from Galilee. They were nobodies. Their life could have been easily tossed away. So why die for a lie that would have gained them nothing?
The same response applies to the theory that they stole the body themselves. Again, what would they have to gain from that? The other that's been put forward is that, well, maybe they all just hallucinated this. The trouble with that is that hallucinations are not group experiences. I can have a hallucination, maybe you can have a hallucination, but we cannot have the same hallucination of what happened.
And we have Jesus appearing not just to individuals, but to groups of people. And so hallucination is not a sufficient explanation either. The testimony of the apostles that Jesus actually rose from the dead best explains the facts. And if you want to dig into that a little bit more, you can pick up this book.
And it will go into greater detail. To exclude this explanation, just because it is miraculous, reveals that you have changed yourself to only considering natural explanations. Even when naturalist explanations come up short. If Jesus really did rise from the dead, the consequences are monumental. Paul speaks to this as he reminds the Corinthian Christians that the resurrection is not a curious, unimportant detail of the Gospel.
In verse 12 he says, But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised our preaching is useless, and so is your faith.
More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God. For we have testified about God, that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile.
You are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
It's kind of working backwards here. Paul's addressing a theory that had emerged among the Corinthians that there would in fact be no resurrection of the dead.
Paul addresses this by saying, whoa, whoa, whoa, if that's the case, if it's the case that you If you and I are not going to be raised from the dead, then Christ himself was not raised from the dead. Because that's exactly what he came to accomplish. If Christ is raised, we will be raised. If we are not raised, then it means that Christ has not been raised.
And the real pivotal point here is this. Paul makes this in verse 14. He says, If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless, and so is your faith. If Jesus did not raise, rise from the dead on the third day, everything here is useless. You might as walk out of, might as well walk out of church now.
It's all just a sham. It's not worth anything. And the reason why it's worthless is this. He says in verse 17. He says, if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile. You are still in your sins. If Christ has not been raised, we have no reason to hope that we would overcome death. Why would we have any confidence in that?
Everything would just be speculation that maybe there's some sort of life hereafter. You wouldn't know that. You'd just be guessing. If Christ is not raised, then we are still under condemnation for our sins because of this. If Jesus just stayed dead after they crucified him, then It would seem to affirm everything that they were saying.
That he was cursed by God. That he was, in fact, blaspheming. It would prove the religious leaders right. That he was deserving of crucifixion. When Christ rises from the dead, their ruling is overturned by God Almighty.
But if he's not raised, then it's not clear at all that God has accepted his sacrifice. And if Christ is not raised, He cannot ascend to heaven, at the right hand of the Father, to mediate on our behalf. Because between us and God, there has been a beef. We've rebelled against Him. There's been this gap between us.
Christ is the bridge. He is the one who reconciles us to God. Unless He is standing there as our mediator, we don't have any standing before God. You can say nothing for yourself before God except the name of Jesus Christ. But you can't say it if he's not there. The reason why his resurrection is so significant is because by rising from the dead he makes possible the realization of all that we are supposed to be. Because He is exactly who we are supposed to be. In His resurrection, Christ opens us up a new way forward. He opens up to us a new opportunity to begin again in Him.
And Paul says that this is, in fact, the case. That Christ has, in fact, been raised from the dead. In verse 20, he says, But Christ has, indeed, been raised from the dead. The firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man.
For as Adam all died, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn. Christ the firstfruits. Then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power. For he must reign until he's put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death. Christ is the first fruits of our own resurrection. It's as though the end of history has come into the very middle of it in Jesus Christ. So that in him, we see what we will become. Adam introduced death into the world by his rebellion against God. But Christ is this new Adam, this second Adam, who is offering us an avenue of life through himself.
When will this occur? When will, when will this resurrection life be realized for ourselves? It will occur when Christ returns. It will be the culmination of His conquest over all dominion, authority, and power. That's what's going on today. Jesus is overturning all the powers.
The last enemy that He's going to overturn, once and for all, is death. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. So the question is, is how can you partake in that resurrection life? How can you gain that promise for yourself? It's not by doing a bunch of good works and proving yourself worthy. Because you can never prove yourself worthy of this salvation.
It's offered simply as a gift. A gift that we must receive by faith. We must ally ourselves with Jesus. It's as though you have two sides. You have the axis of Adam, under the power of the devil. And you have the alliance of Christ. And we bring nothing to the table. We have no assets to offer. But Christ says, come with me.
I will lead you into the new age to come. I will give you life in abundance.
Jesus says, In John 11, verses 25 through 26, on the occasion of the death of his friend Lazarus, he says to one of his sisters, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die. And whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this? Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
And if we come to Him, believing in Him, we will gain that resurrection life for ourselves. On our own, as things stand, we cannot live in God's kingdom. We cannot live forever. On our own, we have no life. Our only chance is in Jesus. In Him, we can be forgiven. In Him, our hearts can be renovated to be like His own.
In Jesus, we can exchange these bodies that are breaking down day by day for bodies that will never decay. Paul directs us to this hope, jumping down to verse 50. He says, I declare to you, brothers and sisters, That flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When Jesus returns, everything's going to be made new. Including me and you. It doesn't matter whether you're dead or alive. If you're dead at the time of Christ's return, you'll be raised from the dead and transformed.
If you're living at the time when Christ returns, you will be transformed and given the resurrection body. You see, we will not be spirits floating around. A lot of people think that's the Christian faith. That we believe we die and we become spirits and have wings and play harps and stuff. That's not Christian belief.
The Christian faith is this. Is that we will be raised with a resurrection body of Christ. The Apostle John tells us in 1 John 3: 2. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
We shall be like Christ inside and out. Our hearts will be like Christ. Our bodies will be like Christ. We will be exactly who God created us to be. This is a day that death dreads. This is a day that the devil dreads, because by death, the devil has subjugated us, intended to keep us down.
But what the devil intended for our harm, God has turned and made something beautiful, because Christ tasted death for our sake, so that we might be redeemed and restored. So that we might share in the victory, God's own victory in Jesus Christ. Paul continues in verse 54. He says, When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true.
Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you.
Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor and the Lord is not in vain.
This is why Christians view death differently. Death is tragic. It is a terrible curse that is upon us, and when one of our loved ones dies, we should not feel guilty about having sorrow in our hearts. When Jesus' friend Lazarus died, it says that Jesus wept. It's completely appropriate. But we are not those who sorrow without hope.
Because we know that the tide will turn. Because we know that the victory has been secured in Jesus. He is our champion who has taken the field. The day of Christ's resurrection is decisive. It's our D Day. It's when everything changed.
And the result of this victory is that we can live differently in the light of this reality. And that's exactly what Paul points to in verse 58. He says, therefore, therefore, in light of all of this, therefore my dear brothers and sisters stand firm, let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord.
Because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. If Christ is not raised, just abandon it all. It's worthless. But if Christ is raised, give yourself completely to Him.
Give yourself completely to Him. Because none of it will be in vain. We will overcome. Because Christ has overcome. So the question you must ask yourself today is this. What are you standing on?
What is your hope? Let's be clear eyed and sober. Let's be honest with ourselves. The career you treasure will one day replace you. They will. They will replace you. They will replace me.
The name you make for yourself will quickly fade away. The money you have saved will dissolve as you approach death. It will be spread to the four winds after you pass. The family you have raised will go their own ways. Memories will fade. And in fact, your line may end in another generation or two. All very depressing, I know, but it's the truth.
It's the truth.
You can stick your hand in the sand, you can try to ignore it, but the truth remains. So what will you stand on? If you seek the truth, you will find that you can only stand by it. On Jesus Christ, the one who will raise you from the dead and restore your life. You can stand on him because of the eyewitness testimony of the disciples.
That testimony is true. Jesus did in fact die on the cross. And three days later, he did in fact rise from the dead. And so, if you will trust in Him, pledge your allegiance to Him, you will, in fact, be raised from the dead, never to die again. All that remains to be asked is, do you believe this? Do you believe this?
Let us come before the Father in prayer and in faith.
Father, you have kept your promise. You have fulfilled the scriptures. You intervened for our salvation through the person of the Son, Jesus Christ, who came to be our sacrifice for sins. The perfect Lamb who is without blemish. One who is without sin. The one who is who we are, all are supposed to be, Father. He offered His life up for our sakes.
He offered His life so that in Him, we could be restored to You.
No longer with Adam, but with Your Son, Jesus Christ. So Father, this morning, we pray that You would strengthen our faith.
Father, if we don't, if up to this point we haven't put our faith in Christ, I pray that you would lead those here to put their faith in Jesus Christ. That they would simply confess that they are sinners, that they need Christ's sacrifice, they need Him standing on their behalf, and that they would trust in Him for the forgiveness of their sins in this resurrection life to come.
But I do pray, Father, for us who do have faith, that you would strengthen our faith. So that we would give ourselves completely to You. Because none of this is in vain. Father, help us to give ourselves completely to Christ, rather than giving ourselves completely to all these other things that are so vain and empty.
We know Christ is not empty, Father. Because He is alive. And it is only the tomb which is empty. Help us to walk by faith, Father, in your Son. Fearing not death, because we know that victory is won. We ask this in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the risen King. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we begin our new series on Paul’s letter to the Galatians. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom digs in to the meaning behind the practice of communion, digging deeper into the new covenant we are promised through Christ.
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1st Corinthians 11:23-29. For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you. The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, after the supper, he took the cup, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.
I don't enjoy folding laundry very much. Amen, yeah. But it is something I do, as I'm sure is true of most of you. I do try to add some enjoyment by watching a show while I fold. Usually it's the Alone series from the History Channel. The basic premise is a group of contestants are scattered throughout the wilderness, each alone, and that whoever survives the longest without tapping out wins. Now, when I first started watching this show, I assumed, as probably you would, that it glorifies individualism, being able to stick it out on your own. But if you really watch the show, you know that's not the case. By the end, even the winners look like sad scarecrows, desperate for some humanity and a good meal. The series actually showcases our need for others to truly flourish. Just as God says in Genesis 2, it is not good for us to be alone. As Christians, I think we can sometimes forget this. I remember when I was seventeen, often longing to run out of a church service just to be alone with God in the woods. Now, to be fair to myself and others who might feel similarly, solitude with God has its place. We see Jesus take time away from his disciples to pray, to just be one on one with the Father. On the other hand though, I had all kinds of time outside of a Sunday morning to get out to the woods to be alone with God. Solitude and community are both necessary, but we tend towards extremes. Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his book, Life Together, tells us this, whoever cannot stand being in community should beware of being alone. You are called into the community of faith. The call was not meant for you alone. If you neglect the community of other Christians, you reject the call of Jesus Christ. And thus, your being alone can only become harmful for you. Those who seek solitude without community perish in the bottomless pit of vanity, self-infatuation, and despair. Sobering words from Bonhoeffer. When we began our examination of communion last week, we mostly focused on aspects that you might consider individually. Communion represents the Christian Passover, and you are reminded that Christ covered your sins and redeemed you. The meal is an invitation for you to commune with God through Jesus, to enjoy fellowship with Him in the pattern of Israel's fellowship offerings. But what we'll see today is that communion is not a meal taken alone. It is not eaten alone because you are not saved alone. Others are included. And so our central text today is going to be 1 Corinthians 11 and Marilyn's read a good portion of it. But our examination today begins in verse 17.
Paul writes to the Christians in Corinth. He says, in the following directives, I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent, I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval. So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat. For when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the Church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this manner. So once again, Paul is writing to the church in Corinth. You can see there on the map where Corinth is basically located. And you can imagine that at this time, the church was not meeting in structures like the one we're in today. They were meeting in homes, perhaps a very rather large home that could have hosted, I don't know, let's guess, maybe between 20 to 30 people. They were home churches at that time. And usually the gatherings were centered around a feast, a meal, they would call it a love feast. And it incorporated the Lord's Supper. Commentators suggest that perhaps it was opened with sharing in the bread, with the breaking of bread, and the meal was closed by sharing in the wine. So even the way that they partook in the Lord's Supper was a little bit different than we do today. It was just built in right into their regular meal. It's important for you to understand that, to understand what Paul's critique is here. Because you might imagine based on what he's saying about them eating too much or going ahead of people that all they have is bread and wine. There's more food involved here. It's a regular meal that just incorporates the bread and the cup, the celebration of the Lord's Supper. Now, what Paul is specifically getting after the Corinthians for is for the way in which they're conducting these feasts because during that time it was very common for people to be invited to a feast but you would bring your own food, but not necessarily to be shared with other people so it wasn't quite like the potlucks that we have today. It's like everyone would bring their own meal kind of like bring your own beer, B-Y-O-B, you know, everyone's bringing their own food to the table. But some people were, particularly those who were affluent, were going ahead and starting the meal early. Perhaps they didn't have to work as long in the day as those who were perhaps day laborers or maybe slaves. So they started their meals earlier. And what's more, they were eating up so much food that if they were to share things with other people, there was nothing to be shared. And the people that basically came along later were getting the crumbs. And this disposition on the part of the Corinthian Christians was reflective of a general tendency of the culture to respect a person's status and class and society.
And this is what Paul picks on in verse 19, he says this with sarcasm, if you don't understand him saying this sarcastically it's going to be confusing for you. He says this sarcastically, no doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval. So it's like some of them are like, oh yeah, like we're going to eat the meal and we get the best cuts and stuff like that, as though to kind of demonstrate like we're really important and approved by God. Paul feels so strongly about this that this is just entirely wrong that he says in verse 20 that, So then when you come together is not the Lord's supper you eat. What they are doing is completely contrary to the spirit of the Lord's Supper. And so he gives them no commendation for their conduct. Now apart from the fact that this is the Lord's Supper, we might say that this is simply not nice. And even other pagan thinkers of that time would have agreed with that analysis. It's interesting, you can find some commentary of other people from that time saying that the way that the rich often conducted themselves in these meals was not right. But that's not the real point here. The problem isn't just that the Corinthians aren't being nice, it's that they are abusing the Lord's Supper itself. There's something about the Lord's Supper, a deeper reality that makes their actions so horrendous. Paul turns his attention to this in verses 23 through 26. I will read these again. He says, for I received from the Lord, while I also passed on to you, the Lord Jesus on the night that he was betrayed took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, after the supper, he took the cup, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. So the first thing that Paul tells them is that what Paul understands about the Lord's Supper has come from Jesus himself. And from the testimony of the apostles through the gospels we have a record of what transpired at the Lord's Supper. So this is an order that has been handed down by Christ himself. And it's a meal that's established by Jesus himself by the sacrifice of his body, by the shedding of his blood. And Paul says in particular here that this blood, this cup, is representative of this new covenant established by the shedding of Christ's blood. Matthew and Mark, they just simply say the word covenant, they don't say new covenant, but it's being implied that Jesus is establishing a new covenant. What is a new covenant? What is this new covenant?
To even understand what the new covenant is, you need to understand first what the old covenant is. What was the original covenant? Well, we find that original covenant in Exodus 24:6-8. It says there, Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant and read it to the people. They responded, we will do everything the Lord has said, we will obey. Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, this is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words. So the covenant, this original first old covenant was established between God and the people of Israel. And it was a covenant based upon human obedience. If people say, we will do everything the Lord has said, we will obey. Now did they keep their word? No, they did not keep their word. They were not obedient. They failed to uphold it. And failing to uphold God's commandments under this covenant, brings with it a curse from Deuteronomy 27:26. It says, cursed is anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out. And we clearly understand that no one has in fact succeeded in upholding God's law. Because if that were the case, there'd be no reason for Christ coming and dying. Paul observes this in Galatians 2:21. He says, if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. As it is, no one is righteous by the law. No one is obedient to God's commands. And God knew this. God was anticipating this. It was part of his revelation. Not only did we have to understand how holy and righteous God is, we also had to understand how sinful and messed up we are, that even though God tells us, because it's actually what we need to do, we still fail to do it. And so, God sets forth the promise of a new covenant which would come.
He gives this word of revelation through the prophet Jeremiah. in Jeremiah 31:31-34 He says, the days are coming declares the Lord when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor or say to one another, know the Lord, because they all will know me. From the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord, for I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. Now isn't that just such a profound prophecy? It sounds like something that could have just been taken straight out of the pages of the New Testament. That God makes this promise to his people that He would bring them the forgiveness of their sins and that would be God's doing, not our own doing. And this is the covenant, this new covenant that Jesus establishes by the sacrifice of himself. We hear the testimony of this in Hebrews 9:15, 27-28. It says there, for this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised internal inheritance, now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant, just as God promised in Jeremiah. Just as people are destined to die once and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many, and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. So Christ by the sacrifice of himself establishes this new covenant in which we can be forgiven. Because he is righteous. He is perfect in ways that we are not. And so by his perfect obedience he's able to ransom us in order that we might be forgiven by God. But there's more than this as well, and Jeremiah foretold this. Not only that we would be forgiven in Christ, but that in Christ, God would actually make us into a new people, whereas law would be written upon our hearts. Now as Paul is going about his ministry, he actually testifies to this reality transpiring. In his second letter to the Corinthians, he says this, 2 Corinthians 3:3-6, You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives light.
What Paul's talking about there is the fact that God is at work through the person of the Holy Spirit writing his law upon our hearts. And Paul, as far as his ministry goes and the competency to do that ministry, he himself testifies that this isn't even something from himself but which comes from God. And so when we think about salvation, how we put our faith in God, We understand that it's not our work, but it's the work of God in Jesus Christ for our salvation. But, that results in a transformation of our lives. So that each one of us becomes as a letter from Christ, because we've been so transformed in our being. Now this raises the next question. So there's this new covenant. In the old covenant, that was not an individual arrangement between God and just single individuals. It was between God and the people of Israel. Under the new covenant, God is also collecting to himself the people of God. And so we must ask this question, well how would one become a member of this covenant community? Paul tells us in Colossians 2:11-12, He says, in him you were also circumcised, and he's talking about Jesus, in him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God who raised him from the dead. So in order to become a member of the old covenant community is necessary for every male to be circumcised. This now passes away in Christ. The true circumcision which God desires cuts to the heart and is performed by Christ's sacrifice on the cross, His death. And we can be joined to His death through baptism. That's what Paul is testifying to here. That we are circumcised by Christ as we have been buried with him in baptism. And so what Paul is telling us here is that genuine faith ultimately leads us to baptism and this new transformation that God is seeking to bring about in Christ. We're made members of this new covenant community. And so as it relates to this, we should all realize that if you have faith enough to partake in the bread and the cup then certainly you have faith enough to be baptized. And so if you haven't been baptized yet, we're doing baptisms in May. I encourage you to be baptized because that is the entrance into this new covenant community, is the fulfillment of this confession of faith that we make. The Lord's Supper is a meal for the covenant people of God. Now, as members of this covenant community, we are again realizing that we're not alone in this covenant, but that we are baptized together with others.
So, in 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, Paul tells us this. Just as a body, though one has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit, so as to form one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free, and we were all given the one Spirit to drink, even so the body is not made up of one part, but of many. And this, I mean, realize that this passage is directly following what we're reading here in 1 Corinthians 11. So Paul is saying that, yes, while we are individuals, and while each of us have a certain gift in calling within the body of Christ so that we form many parts, nonetheless, we are one body. We all hold together. And so there should be no setup of walls. There should be no divisive distinctions among us, whether it be on the basis of race, Jews or Gentiles, or status, slave or free. And that's particularly what he's getting at here in 1 Corinthians 11, because we are all one in Christ. In the chapter before 1 Corinthians 11, in 1 Corinthians 10, he also speaks about this. And we actually read this passage last week, but I read it again. He says, therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. I speak to sensible people. Judge for yourselves what I say. Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf. We who are many are one body, for we all share the one loaf. Now we can imagine at that time that they probably very likely had one loaf and they broke it apart and gave it to the people in real time. We don't do that here, but you can understand that the bread is actually coming from one bread or a few loaves since we're a pretty good size amount of people here. Corinna doesn't bake the bread in their little individual pieces, they’re coming from one loaf. And there's symbolism there. To remind us that we are one in Jesus Christ. The Corinthian error is so pernicious because it cuts to the heart of the gospel. All are accepted and equal in Christ. All have the same standing in Christ. There's no differentiation in status. By making these distinctions among themselves, they're denying genuine fellowship with others. And so they're denying the reality of the gospel that we have all in fact become one in Jesus Christ and made this covenant people. The gospel requires us to get the camera off ourselves. It requires us to stop being so focused on me, me. The gospel is anti-narcissist.
When we become members of this body, we are certainly cared for, but we are also drawn to care for the needs of others who make up this body of believers. So yeah, we are concerned about our neighbors in the community and trying to meet their needs and help them. But above all things, we have a first duty to make sure we're caring for one another right here in this congregation. We must approach the Lord's Supper with this reality in mind. In the Supper, as Paul has said, we are participating in Christ. We cannot exclude anyone that Christ would include. But even as we tear down false walls of division, like the Corinthians are setting up, we do need to examine ourselves before this meal if we are taking its reality seriously. Paul continues in verse 27. So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ, eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. So Paul is warning the Corinthians about the manner in which they eat this supper, because if they continue eating in it in the manner that they're doing or in any other unworthy manner, what they're doing is actually sinning against the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Now as we talked about last week, we're not suggesting that the bread and the cup and their substance actually become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. This is a spiritual reality, it's a spiritual encounter that we have when we partake in this meal together in faith. And so as we are invited into this meal, if we do it in a careless sort of way, we are truly sinning against Christ. We can understand that part of the unworthy manner would be what Paul is talking to specifically here with the Corinthians going ahead of each other and not being concerned about people having enough food in their midst. But we can also understand that an unworthy manner would also include ways in which we are being unrepentant in our sinfulness.
So we recognize that all of us are messed up all of us are sinners. All of us stumble. It's one thing to confess that and recognize that and repent and turn from that. It's another to understand that I'm a sinner, I know that I'm sinning and I'm not going to change because I just want to keep doing that. And to then go and partake in the Lord's Supper is basically spitting on Christ's sacrifice because He came not only that you would be forgiven of your sin, and it's making light of the seriousness of your sin that you're just like, whatever, I don't care that I'm sinning. We also recognize that He came so that we might be made into this new people that God desires. The writer of Hebrews speaks to the seriousness of this in Hebrews 10:26-31, not just as it relates to this meal but just in general persisting in sin. He says, if we deliberately keep on sinning after we've received the knowledge of truth, no sacrifice for sins is left. but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that has sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? I will repay. And again, the Lord will judge his people. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. It's a very sobering passage and it should be sobering to anyone who's caught up in sin and is like, yeah, I'm just going to keep doing this. Now I do want to offer a word of consolation to you because I know there's some among us here who have very sensitive consciences and you recognize like, I am a sinner. In fact, as you continue more and more in the faith, you realize just how much of a sinner you are. It's good that you recognize that. And so far as you recognize that sin and confess it, you have the assurance of the grace offered in Jesus Christ that you have right standing before God. The Apostle John gives both this warning and assurance in 1 John 1:6-10. He says, if we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins, and purifies from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar, and his word is not in us. So you should just own up. This is what the apostle John is saying here. You should just own up. You're a sinner. Don't try to make it out like you're alright. You're not alright. Confess your sin, and you will be forgiven. You'll be purified from all unrighteousness. And again, I want to emphasize not only just the guilt of that unrighteousness, but as you confess your sin, and you put your faith in Jesus Christ, God's actually going to be making you into the better person that you're supposed to be. Doesn't mean that you're perfect, but this is all God's work through Christ, cleansing you of your guilt, delivering you from unrighteousness.
We also have this word of assurance from the Protestant reformer John Calvin. I was reading in his commentary on this passage in 1 Corinthians 11, and I was just really struck by kind of the pastoral tone that he offers here of care for those that are concerned about this. He says, If, however, you aspire after the righteousness of God, with the earnest desire of your mind, and humbled under a view of your misery, do wholly lean upon Christ's grace and rest upon it to approach that table. Worthy, I mean in this respect, that the Lord does not exclude you. Though in another point of view, there is something in you that is not as it ought to be. For faith, when it is but begun, makes those worthy who are unworthy. Faith makes those worthy who are unworthy. That's the truth of the gospel right there. None of us are worthy to come to this table, but by putting our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, we are made worthy. Now, Paul likewise calls for us to discern the body. And this gets back to his original concern. about the fellowship that was being shared amongst the Corinthians. And when we think about our fellowship together, we shouldn't just think about the specifics of this situation of people eating ahead of each other, because that's very specific to their situation. And that's not quite how things are played out here. But it's a lesson for us that we should avoid any point of division within this congregation, that we should be devoted to maintain the unity of this body. And so that if there is any divisions in our midst, whether it be large sorts of divisions or just an interpersonal division that you have, that's something that needs to be repented of, healed and reconciled. And Jesus speaks to this. He talks about in Matthew 5, how if someone's at the, has a gift, they're bringing a gift to the altar and they remember that their brother has something against you, that you should drop your gift there and go and be reconciled to your brother or sister. And Matthew 18 talks about how if someone sinned against you, you should go to them one on one and address the sin. And hopefully just through that one on one council things are made right. But then he outlines the whole process of making sure that sin is addressed and reconciliation can happen. It's essential, it's important that we maintain the unity of the body because it testifies to the reality of Jesus Christ. Of that love that we're to share with one another, that Jesus talks about in John 17, in which he says, we'll show the world that he was truly sent by the Father. Now failure to do this, failure to address these sorts of divisions, risks judgment from God. And Paul says that some of the Corinthians had been falling sick. Some of them had even died. That's what he means by falling asleep, that they had, some of them actually had died because of their sinful ways.
Now it's difficult to know exactly how these things came about. Was it that he was talking about naturally, how some of them, because they weren't getting enough food, died? Or was he talking about supernaturally, that they were inflicted with disease? I think the latter is entirely possible, that they were brought under God's judgment for that in a supernatural sort of way. But I don't think it's necessary that we would maintain that God would bring the same sorts of judgment upon all people in all places at all time as he did here with the Corinthians. But the fact is that God brought judgment upon them. And that should get our attention. Now, we want to avoid judgment, of course, but if we are in fact caught up in sinful patterns of behavior, we should hope that God would not let those patterns continue without his intervention. We should hope that God would intervene even with painful judgment. Paul tells us why in verse 32. He says, nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world. So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together. Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come, I will give further directions. So the purpose of God's judgment isn't punitive. God's not desiring that they would just be destroyed. The point of the judgment is that it would bring restoration to the community. So that they would not be finally condemned with the world. What Paul is calling them to is to actually cultivate a desire and live it out among themselves that when they eat that they would all eat together. And in saying this he's pointing to the complete gospel reality which is this that in Jesus Christ we are vertically reconciled between ourselves and God. But Christ also came to bring horizontal reconciliation as well between us and our fellow man. And that should especially be the case, that should especially be the case amongst Christians. Now he gives some recommendation for practical restraint. He says, if you're so hungry, just eat a bit before in your own homes or something. It's kind of funny to think about him saying, just eat a Snickers bar or something. Cut your appetite a little bit. But the point there really is that he wants them to have a certain mindset of proactive mindfulness of doing whatever is necessary to maintain the unity of the body. That they wouldn't take up any practices that would bring division.
This is the kind of behavior, it's the culture that the Lord's Supper promotes. This Supper, this communion presents to us the very substance of the Church. We are the people of the new covenant, baptized in Jesus Christ, members of his body. We are forged together to one another in Christ. His blood is our shared blood. We become kin to one another in him. We are true brothers and sisters. And so we must conduct ourselves as people of this covenant. We are people saved by God's grace. There is no individual merit or standing above or below. Our standing is equal in Christ alone. We call this congregation Rockland Community Church. If we have any real community, it can only be found in this communion. Communion is the heart of the church community. Bound together in Christ, leaving none behind. This is the salvation Jesus Christ offers. The salvation that he invites us to partake through this bread and cup signifying himself is this, nothing less, and nothing else. We must take it or leave it. We must be one in Christ, or have none of Him. Let us pray.
Dear Father, we do thank you that in Jesus Christ. our sins are covered, that we are redeemed and reconciled unto you. We thank you likewise, Father, that in Jesus Christ we were made members of a covenant community so that none of us go through the trials of this world alone. Because it's not good for us to be alone, Father. Father, we thank you that we have been given the body of Christ, so that together, forged together in Christ, you may work upon us and help carry us along until the day of Christ's return, when everything will be made as it ought to be, Father. Father, help us to be a congregation. that is emphatic about upholding the unity of the body, that stamps out any sparks of division, Father, and that all this would stem from a true heart of love for one another, the same love that we've received from Jesus Christ. We ask this in His name. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom digs in to the meaning behind the practice of communion, exploring parallels between the old covenant and the new covenant as well as our participation in Christ.
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Transcript:
Good morning. Today's scripture reading is from Mark 14, 16 through 17 and 22 through 25. The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover. When evening came, Jesus arrived with the 12. While they were eating, Jesus took bread and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples saying, take it.
This is my body. Then he took a cup and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them and they all drank from it. This is my blood of the covenant. Which is poured out for many, he said to them. Truly, I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.
When I go out to eat, I like to sit in a booth. I like booths better than just open tables. I find that it has a way of setting apart the space so that you can really focus on sharing a meal with someone. I'm not a huge fan of sitting at the counter or the bar. You can be inches away from someone you don't know, eating right next to them, but you're not really eating with them.
Now that could be changed, of course. Maybe you could order a large pizza and offer to share it with them. And if you did that, something would happen. You'd be sharing a meal. You'd no longer just be sitting next to each other. You would be with each other. You would have formed a relationship, however fleeting it may be, in which you share in the presence of another.
Now I want to ask this. Do you think of the Lord's Supper in that way? Now, in my experience, it seems like Christians very often think of this supper as merely a ritual of remembrance. A mental exercise that we perform to honor Christ's sacrifice with gratitude. Other Christians may think of the supper as a sort of spiritual supplement, perhaps part of a regimen that otherwise includes multivitamins and fish oil.
But between today and next Sunday, I hope we can piece together a clearer understanding, a full understanding of the full meaning of this meal. That while remembrance and spiritual benefit are certainly included, there is also something far more personal that God offers us in it. And this passage from Mark 14 sets the table for us.
Now, we're not going to cover everything that could be possibly covered here, because we'll be leaving some room for next Sunday. What demands our attention most immediately is the context of the Lord's Supper. The context will give us the meaning that we seek. So, Jesus has this meal with his disciples.
It's the night on which he's going to be betrayed. It's the night before the day on which he will die. And it's also the time of Passover. And so this meal that he's sharing with his disciples is to be a Passover meal. Now If you've been a Christian for a while, perhaps you have a clear understanding of what the Passover is about.
But, we would not be doing our due diligence if we didn't actually look at, well, what is the Passover? Passover is a meal in which the Jewish people remember God's deliverance from the enslavement of the Egyptians. You'll remember that there is, they were enslaved by the Egyptians for hundreds of years and God delivered them through a series of plagues, ten plagues, culminating in a final plague in which the first born of the Egyptians were killed and Pharaoh finally relented and let the Hebrew people go.
And what God is doing through this deliverance is making clear to the Jewish people that He is their God and that they are His. When we go to the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 verse 2, God says, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. That's how He IDs Himself to the people.
So, going to the time in which that meal was instituted, we go to Exodus 12, verses 1, and we'll look first at verses 1 through 7. There, God gives this instruction to Moses and Aaron. It says, This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month, each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.
If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. The animals you choose must be year old males without defect.
You may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the door frames of the houses where they eat the lambs. There's a number of details of instruction there in terms of, you know, each household having a lamb, but also sharing with another, if there's, depending on the amount of lamb that you have and the need, but something that should stand out to us in particular was that this wasn't to be just any old sort of lamb.
This was to be a lamb that was without blemish, a perfect lamb, a pristine lamb. And what God commands them to do with that lamb is interesting because it seems to have some sacrificial sorts of qualities about it. Now we don't see a mention of an altar here, and an altar is a pretty essential part of offering a sacrifice.
I saw at least one commentator suggest that maybe there was some localized altars in the area that might have been used in the slaughter of these sheep. But otherwise, just based on what the biblical text tells us, the main thing that kind of stands out as saying that this is something more than just slaughtering animals going on here, is that they are told to apply the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their house.
Now, some of you might think that sounds really gross. It's kind of like, why would you? Some of you probably want to take out the bleach and say, you've got to clean that off and stuff, it's not very sanitary. But In the ancient world, among the Hebrew people, blood represented life, not death. Usually we think of blood and think, ooh, death, murder, that kind of thing.
But blood represented life. And so what they were doing was they were covering their household with the perfect life of the lamb, represented in this blood. Now we could just dwell on the blood itself, but there's also more going on here than just blood. Applying the blood. God didn't tell them just to, okay, get blood, apply it, and then just toss out the lamb.
He has more to say. Picking up in verse 8. It says, They are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs and bread made without yeast. Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire, with the head, legs, and internal organs. Do not leave any of it till morning. If some is left till morning, you must burn it.
This is how you are to eat it, with your cloak tucked into your belt, with your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals. I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt.
I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. This is a day you are to commemorate for the generations to come. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord, a lasting ordinance.
And so, based on that last piece of instruction, that's how you get to the place where Jesus himself and his disciples are celebrating this Passover. They are celebrating this Passover in order to remember God's deliverance of the Hebrew people. But isn't it interesting that part of the instructions include how they are to eat the lamb.
That's to be roasted over a fire. And they're not to leave any of it left over. Now, what we see here, all together, the meal with the blood, is that what God is providing the people with is a sign to them of his protection and deliverance of them through the provision of this lamb. It's acting as a sign for them and for God that they would be spared in the judgment that he was bringing upon Egypt.
And in terms of God using signs, it kind of brings to mind the covenant that God made with Noah and how he put a rainbow in the sky and said this is a sign that I'm never going to flood the entire world. The blood is acting as a sign that God is going to shield and protect his people. That the people of Israel is God's chosen people.
Later on in Deuteronomy 7, verses 7 through 9, God reminds them of his commitment to them. Not on the basis of who they are, but on the basis of who God is. It says, The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors, because of God's love and his faithfulness, that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God. He's the faithful God keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. So in one, when we speak of God redeeming the Hebrew people from Egypt, we're talking very literally about God delivering them from slavery and God saying, you're mine.
You are my people. This is drawn out more explicitly when we go to Numbers 3, verses 11 and 13, when we see God choose from among the Hebrew people, the Levites, to be those that would serve in the tabernacle. And it's interesting because it goes back to God's deliverance of the people as a whole from Egypt.
It says there, The Lord also said to Moses, I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring of every Israelite woman. The Levites are mine, for all the firstborn are mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal, they are to be mine.
I am the Lord. So God, you can almost think of this like as concentric circles. God has chosen the people of Israel, but he had chosen especially the Levites that they would serve in this special capacity. But the point of both the selections, the selection of the Levites and the selection of the Hebrew people from Egypt was God marking them out as, you're my people.
And in Exodus 19 we see what that actually meant in terms of God's purposes for them as a people. In Exodus 19 verses 4- 6, God says, You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles wings, and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.
Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites. So God had chosen the people of Israel in order to be this kingdom of priests, a set apart people from all the peoples of the world.
Even though the whole world belongs to God, God can say, mine to everything. God was especially picking them out for this relationship, for this fellowship that he would share with them. So, with this context in mind, we have some meanings applied to the supper that Jesus is going to be instituting here for his disciples.
Clearly, Jesus is aligning himself with the Passover lamb. He shields believers from judgment. Everyone is worthy of God's judgment, because we're all sinners. But by putting faith in Jesus Christ, by being covered, by the blood of Jesus Christ, remember, that's not a gruesome, ugh, yucky thing. That's the life of Jesus Christ being covered by the life of Jesus Christ.
We are shielded. We are protected. But more than this, just as God redeemed and claimed Israel as His own, Jesus redeems and claims believers as His own. Peter tells us, in 1 Peter 1, 18 19, For you know that it was not with perishable things, such as silver or gold, that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
So through Jesus, God is lifting us into his arms and saying, You are mine. Still, there is more to unpack here. All this might be said just through the blood of the lamb on the doorposts. But why the Passover meal? And why does Jesus frame our relationship in terms of eating his blood, body, and drinking his blood?
We're going to explore that now by turning to 1 Corinthians 10, verses 14 through 21. This is Paul's letter to the Christians in Corinth. And he tells them this, starting in verse 14. Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. I speak to sensible people. Judge for yourselves what I say. It is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks, a participation in the blood of Christ.
And it is not the bread that we break, a participation in the body of Christ. Amen. Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body, for we all share the one loaf. Consider the people of Israel. Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything?
No. But the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons, too. You cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons. It's pretty interesting stuff there. Most of us haven't probably thought of eating at the table of demons.
So, what is the Apostle Paul talking about? Well, what he's doing here is he's giving some instruction to the Christians in Corinth in a context in which lots of people are participating in pagan feasts. And what these feasts would consist of is eating the meat that was offered and sacrificed to these pagan gods.
Now, elsewhere, Paul explains that if you bought some meat that happened to be offered to, you know, one of these idols, that you're not restricted from eating it. Like he says here, meat is meat. But that's different than actually participating in the ritual meal itself, in which everyone there is like, yeah, this is a sacrifice of Zeus, and we're all here celebrating Zeus, and we're eating this meal together.
And so, what's so interesting here, though, is that this prohibition against Christians participating in this meal provides a clarification to us of the significance of the Christian feast, the Lord's Supper. So, kind of working backwards, Paul says you can't participate in these pagan feasts, because this means that you are participating with demons.
He says, you know, the pagan gods, they're not really gods, but there is a power there, and the power is demonic. And to eat those meals, you're having, basically, fellowship with demons. And this conflicts with the Lord's Supper. In the Lord's Supper, you're participating in the blood and body of Christ. And in so doing, what you're doing is you're partaking in fellowship with Jesus Christ.
You're fellowshiping with God. Now, this idea of eating sacrifices and having this sort of participatory fellowship relationship wasn't a foreign concept to the people of Israel, to the Jewish people. In verse 18, notice that he says, Consider the people of Israel. Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar.
Now, I don't know about you, but I know kind of earlier on when I thought about sacrifices, I didn't think of people eating them. I just kind of thought they just they sacrificed the animal, they threw it on, and it got burned up. It's a little bit more complicated than that, in fact. When you read Leviticus, you see that most often the meat is eaten by the priests.
But usually the people don't eat the meat. Those who are just bringing the sacrifice themselves. Except in a select case, which we'll look at shortly. But just to this question of this relationship between the altar, the altar is this touchstone between God and human beings. We see in Exodus 29, verse 37, it says, For seven days make atonement for the altar and consecrate it.
Then the altar will be most holy, and whatever touches it will be holy. And interestingly, Jesus, in Matthew 23, verses 18 through 19, he says, If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing, but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath. And he's quoting the Pharisees here. He's critic, criticizing, a teaching that they have.
And he responds to them by saying, You blind men, which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So what, between what we have in Exodus and what Jesus is saying here is that, in the offering of these sacrifices, what was once common is now made holy, and it's made significant. And in participating in those sacrifices, you're entering into the very presence of God.
You're participating in something that is holy. Now there, like I said, there's many different types of sacrifices. You have burnt, guilt, sin offerings. The offering, though, in which there the common people, the people who are not the priests, could actually eat the meat was called a fellowship offering.
Or a peace offering. Or sometimes a thanksgiving offering. Sometimes the translation varies on the basis of what translation you have for your Bible. So we want to take a closer look at that. We turn to Leviticus 3, verses 1 through 5. First it says, If your offering is a fellowship offering, and you offer an animal from the herd, whether male or female, you are to present before the Lord an animal without defect.
That, that's the standard across the board. You don't offer animals to God that have blemishes, that have, that are defective. You're, you're to offer your very best. You are to lay your hand on the head of your offering, and slaughter it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Putting the hand on the animal signifies, this is my animal, this is the one I'm bringing to you, Lord.
It says, Then Aaron's sons, the priests, shall splash the blood against the sides of the altar. I want you to tuck away that detail in your mind. They take the blood, they like collect it, and splash it against the side of the altar. Then it says, From the fellowship offering, you are to bring a food offering to the Lord, the internal organs and all the fat that is connected with, to them, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins and the long lobe of the liver which you will remove with the kidneys.
Then Aaron's sons are to burn it on, on the altar on top of the burnt offering that is lying on the burning wood, is a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. So, what God, the demand that God always makes upon the people is that the blood belongs to me, the life. And the fat belongs to me, because it is identified as like the best portions.
So that's how the sacrifice is to proceed, in that fashion. Now here comes the participatory piece, in which the people actually eat the meat that is offered. Leviticus 7, verses 15 through 16, says, The meat of their fellowship offering of Thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it is offered. He must leave none of it till morning.
If, however, their offering is the result of a vow, or is a freewill offering, the sacrifice shall be eaten on the day they offer it. But anything left over may be eaten on the next day. So we have all those details in mind. They remember the procedure. They splash the blood against, against the altar. They offer the fat portions to God, they eat the meat, and they're really supposed to eat the meat that day.
In the case of making a vow, they can offer it the next day. Now let's bring this into comparison with Passover. Now I don't want to say that we can reduce Passover to a fellowship meal, to a fellowship offering. It's more than that. But it seems to include the meaning that we find here in these fellowship offerings.
In 2 Chronicles 35, verses 7 and 10 through 11 and verse 13, we have a record of the celebration of Passover during the reign of Josiah. And it was a very notable one. It was a very large celebration. It says, that Josiah provided for all the lay people who were there a total of 30, 000 lambs and goats for the Passover offerings.
and also 3, 000 cattle, all from the king's own possessions. The service was arranged, and the priests stood in their place with the Levites in their divisions, as the king had ordered. The Passover lambs were slaughtered, and then notice this, and the priests splashed against the altar the blood handed to them, while the Levites skinned the animals.
They roasted the Passover animals over the fires prescribed, and boiled the holy offerings in pots, cauldrons, and pans, and served them quickly to all the people. Now, it seems like it was kind of standard practice for many of the offerings that they would splash it against the side of the altar. But, we see that continuity there, that parallel there.
And we see the fact that the people take and eat the meat that is offered. So nothing is going to waste here. There an offering is made unto God, the Passover meat of, of these lambs is eaten by the people. They serve it out quickly to them. What's going on here is the people are, in fact, communing with God.
They're entering into God's presence. When we look to other places, in Exodus, in Deuteronomy, we, we see how eating these sorts of meals are, represented in that sort of fashion of being eaten in the presence of God. And next is 18:12. We find Jethro, Moses father in law. It says, He brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God.
And Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses' father in law in the presence of God. Now, he doesn't say that there's a fellowship offering there, but it says that there was other sacrifices. So it's fair to assume that a fellowship offering was presented. And they, as they ate, they were sharing in the presence of God.
Deuteronomy 27, verses 6- 7 People are instructed, Build the altar of the Lord your God with field stones and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. Sacrifice fellowship offerings there, eating them and rejoicing in the presence of the Lord your God. Now, kind of on the flip side of things, in terms of trying to avoid participating in the presence of anyone other than the one true God, we find the Prohibition in Exodus 34: 15.
Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices. So once again, the eating of sacrifices is a very common practice, and God's concern is, I want you to be in communion with me.
Not with these false gods, not in fact with these demons. So in the case of Jesus, we go back to the night of the Last Supper. He tells his disciples, after breaking, taking the bread, giving thanks, and breaking it, he says to them, take it. This is my body.
He invites them to eat his body, represented in this bread. He invites them to drink of his blood, represented in the cup. Now, this isn't the only place in which Jesus speaks of bread and cup in this sort of fashion. When we go to the Gospel of John, in John 6, verses 53 through 56, and an audience much larger than just The Twelve, including other disciples who were following Him, Jesus says this, Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.
Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For My flesh is real food, and My blood is real drink. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in them. Now that sounds kind of weird, and a lot of his disciples thought that was weird.
And so some of them left Jesus because they weren't willing to stick around to try to understand what he was teaching. But going back to 1 Corinthians 10, we have a clear teaching as to what Jesus meant. Remember what Paul says. He says, when we take of, when we give thanks. It says it's a participation in the blood of Christ and the bread that we break, that it's a participation in the body of Christ.
Now what, once again we can ask, well what does that mean? Are we saying then that the bread and the cup, are they actually transformed, like substantially, so that they actually become Jesus' body and his blood? No. We don't have any good reason to believe that. We can understand that Jesus is speaking in a figurative manner, but also a realistic sort of manner.
He talks about how his body and blood is true bread and wine. It's that true sustenance. So that in fact, we might actually say that the bread and the cup are signs of that true bread and cup, which is found in Jesus Christ. And we find Jesus talking in figurative ways elsewhere. We think about Matthew 5, in which he calls us, the salt of the earth, the light of the world.
Now, is he saying that we're actually salt? Like, would you, if you tested me, would you, like, find salt crystals in me and stuff? Maybe you would. I don't know how the body's composed. But that's not what Jesus is trying to get at. He's not saying you all are a bunch of salt shakers. He's speaking figuratively, that in a real way, more real than real salt and material salt, I mean, that we are truly the salt of the earth.
And in the same way he's talking about himself in this way. We're not talking about a magical sort of transformation here. We're talking about a spiritual reality. We think about the water we use in baptism. It's not any special holy water. The power is not in the water. The power is spiritual. It's in the ordinance.
It's in the sacrament which it is. It's a means of faith. If I just took one of you and I threw you in the baptismal, you wouldn't be baptized. Because you wouldn't have faith necessarily. But it becomes baptism as you put your faith in Jesus Christ. And the bread and the cup, it Become an encounter with Jesus Christ as we have faith in him.
So it's a spiritual form of consumption. And Dr. Gavin Ortland, you can find him on YouTube, he has this channel called Truth Unite. He talks about this as, it's a sort of spiritual encounter with Christ in the meal as a whole. So we're not saying like, it just looks like bread, but actually, you know, there's been some change in the substance.
It's that these are the means for us to spiritually encounter Jesus. And so there's a benefit in it. And that we are actually communing with Jesus. We are actually communing with God. Just as the Israelites were sharing in fellowship with God as they ate of these sacrificial meals. And we can understand how that would be spiritually beneficial, but we can also think just to our common relationships that it's beneficial to any relationship if you sit down and eat with someone.
I, it's probably about every other weekend I see my parents, and every other weekend we see Sara's parents, and we sit down and we eat together. It's good for our relationship that we do that. We want to maintain communion and fellowship with them. But what we're talking about here in our fellowship with God far outstrips any natural relationship.
Now Jesus speaks about our need to be in communion with him, to be abiding with him elsewhere. In the gospel of John in John 15: 4, he says, remain in me as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. And you go back to John 6 and notice what he says there.
He says, whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me. And I in them. So we're not going to say that this meal, that we can reduce remaining in Christ entirely to this meal. Remaining in Christ includes the whole compass, encompasses your life as a whole. But it is a core part of our remaining in Christ and being in communion with Christ.
And it's part of the reason why we should want to share in this meal on a weekly basis. The grace that we receive from God in Christ is found in our fellowship with Him. Paul characterizes it this way earlier in his letter to the first Corinthians. He says, I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.
He will also keep you firm to the end so that you'll be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. So that grace that we receive in Christ is found as we are in fellowship with him as we remain in him. Now, Jesus also speaks of the cup as his beloved covenant, and this is another important aspect of this meal, but it's one that we're going to unpack next week, because we, we've had plenty to chew on right now in just what we've covered.
To the question of what is communion, we can say this so far, it is the Christian Passover, the meal in which we remember that Christ has shielded us from sin, from judgment, redeeming and claiming us as God's own. More than mere remembrance, is the meal in which God invites us to commune with Himself through Christ.
Fulfilling the fellowship offerings of the Old Testament, we eat in the presence of God and enjoy true fellowship with Him through Jesus. So the meal is a real spiritual encounter. It's not a construct of our imagination. When shared in faith, it brings us real benefit. Not in the elements themselves, but in Christ.
All the benefits that are to be found in Christ. We are assured of forgiveness. Given the hope of forgiveness, deliverance from death, and given the fruit of a transformed life that comes from abiding in Christ. All that comes from abiding in Christ. And so we should desire it and we should eat it and enjoy our fellowship with God as we have faith in Christ.
Let's pray.
Dear Father, we thank you for the wonderful gift of your son, who by the sacrifice of himself, has made it possible for us to be claimed as your own, and to enjoy fellowship with you, Father. And not just in an abstract sort of way, but in a real way. In our daily lives, Father, but in especially as we share in the meal of the Lord's Supper.
Father, when we share in this meal, please impress upon us the reality of the grace that we receive as we are communing with Christ and enjoying fellowship with you. And may you use the grace that you pour upon us to bear fruit in our lives. So that we do shine forth as the light of the world. And so that it can truly be said that we are the salt of the earth.
We ask this, Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us this Sunday, as we wrap up our series on the question “What is Communion?”
It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Genesis 25, we reach the conclusion of the life of Abraham. Pastor Tom reviews his story and the lessons that we have learned from beginning to end.
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Transcript:
This is the last sermon in our series on Abraham. We end here. We began this series in Genesis 12, when God calls upon Abraham. But in truth, this is not where the story begins. Abraham figures in a story much bigger than himself. It goes back to the beginning with the creation of mankind. He goes back to Adam and Eve and their fatal rebellion against God that introduced death to humanity.
It is this fall that brings us to Abraham's own death. He could not live forever in this world as it is, just as none of us can. He dies here. But the story does not end here. That story goes on. It continues. It goes on to include you and me. His life closes here. But it will be opened again with a new chapter in which Abraham and all his children will walk the earth. Every promise fulfilled. Basking in the presence of the God they call their own and who calls them his own. So as Abraham comes to his rest, Moses shares some final details about his life that should be understood. So we open to Genesis 25, and we first look at verses 1 through 6.
And it says there, Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. The descendants of Dedan were the Asherites, the Letushites, and the Leummites. The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah. Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.
So some interesting details here about Abraham's life that we hadn't known up to this point. It appears that he had another wife, and her name was Keturah. Now, it is possible that he was married to Keturah while he was also married to Sarah. That's nothing ridiculous to imagine because you remember he was also married to Hagar while he was married to Sarah. And then he ended up sending Hagar away.
Now the reason why we should recognize that this is a possibility is because Genesis doesn't always relate everything to us in a strictly chronological order You'll notice later on in Genesis 25 that talks about the birth of Jacob and Esau, Isaac's sons. Abraham was actually alive when they were born.
He was 160 years old, so he would have lived to see them be 15 years old. And yet that happens later in the chapter after we've been told that Abraham has died. So we can't expect that, just because we read in a particular order, that that's the order that it necessarily happened. So it could be that Abraham had been married to her while he was married to Sarah. Now it's interesting because at the end it says that he sent away the sons of his concubine. So it's like, which is it? Is she a wife? Is she a concubine? We see later on in 1 Chronicles 1, it goes through some genealogies. It says there in verse 28 and 32, it says the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael.
And then it says interestingly in verse 32, the sons born to Keturah, Abraham's concubine. And then it goes through the names. So there seems like there's a little bit of a distinction there. But as far as Genesis 25 goes, It seems like her status was somewhat interchangeable, but there was a distinction made in 1 Chronicles.
Now, whether she was a wife or a concubine, it still opens up some questions in our minds as Christians living today. Does, on the basis of Abraham's life, does this mean that polygamy is acceptable? Is it acceptable to have many wives? Is it acceptable to have concubines? We know that other Old Testament figures did have multiple wives.
They had concubines. And it's at this point that we have to remember that just because the Bible describes something, that doesn't always mean that it's prescribing something. In this case, this is descriptive, but it's not prescriptive. And what we find in the Old Testament narratives is when they tell us about the lives of these men that had multiple wives, usually when they had multiple wives, it caused them a bit of trouble, because of conflicts within, within the family.
And we saw that in the case of Abraham, you know, Sarah was actually on board. She wanted him to marry Hagar so that they could have a child through her. but it created lots of drama between them. And, but still we ask, okay, so fine, it creates trouble, but it seems like it was permitted. So, why can't it be permitted today?
Well, I think, we find guidance here on the basis of the principle that Jesus introduces in Matthew 19 when the Pharisees come to him and they ask, can a man divorce his wife just for any cause? Because in the Old Testament, that was pretty much the case. A man could issue a certificate of divorce to his wife and just say, all right, bye. And Jesus says no. Jesus says that God only tolerated that because of the hardness of their hearts. That's something that's kind of interesting to think that God overlooks some of the flaws in the people at that time and tolerated them. I think it's interesting because very often I think we think if anything Jesus is more tolerant, and the God of the Old Testament was really like really hard nosed.
But I think what we're doing in that, when we suppose that, is that we're confusing grace with tolerance. Jesus brings us grace. He brings us forgiveness. Jesus is not tolerant of sin. Not at all. In fact, if anything, when we go from the Old Testament to the New Testament, God overlooked quite a bit. But when we come to Jesus, now God is really saying, I expect more.
Now, you can't do it on your own. You can't bring this new life that I'm desiring within you, but God is calling all people to repentance. And so God overlooked divorce in the past, he overlooked polygamy in the past, but now he's really calling his people to live up to the design that he created them to live, which was man and woman, inseparable in that union that is made before God.
And just with one, with one spouse. And we have an indication of that given by the Apostle Paul in 1st Timothy 3 when he sets up the standard for elders and for deacons. He says, therefore, an overseer must be above reproach. The husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach.
In verse 12, he says, Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. Something really important to understand about those verses there is that elders and deacons are not supposed to be the exceptions within the congregation. As though they're the only ones that are supposed to have one wife.
As though they're the only ones that are supposed to be sober minded or respectable or hospitable. Now, you know, not everyone's called to teach. But you have all these character qualities. The reason why these expectations are put in place is because overseers, elders, and deacons, they're supposed to be examples to the rest of the congregation as far as this is how you too should live.
You can't be an example if you're not living it out yourself. Otherwise you're just a hypocrite. So we see the ideal laid out there that, yes, in fact, God's design is that it's to be one man and one woman for life.
Now, kind of moving past that, it is notable that while Abraham had these many children, I mean, besides Ishmael, all these other kids, it says explicitly in verse 5 that Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. Now we already actually knew this back in chapter 24 when Abraham's servant went to Rebekah to fetch Isaac a wife.
He told Rebekah's family this, that Abraham had given everything to Isaac. And we just see that reiterated here, that everything was given to Isaac. He did give some gifts to his sons. It's not as though he didn't care for them, but Abraham was completely devoted to God's plan that the promise was going to be carried forth through his son Isaac.
So between this chapter and the last chapter, we've jumped quite a span of time. In chapter 24, Abraham was 140, and in this chapter, we have leaped 35 years to his death at 175. Now, I won't read it over again, John did a great job reading it, it says that Abraham passed away full of years at a good old age.
It's another way of just reminding us that God had truly blessed Abraham. He had blessed him with a long life, and he went to his rest in peace, just as God had promised. The phrase that is used here, I really love. You only find this phrase in Genesis. It says that he was gathered to his people. Isn't that just kind of a nice way of talking about someone's passing?
He was gathered to his people.
Abraham was at peace in his rest. And we find an interesting reunion take place. Isaac, we find Isaac and Ishmael coming back together. Now, you might have imagined that because Abraham sent Ishmael away, maybe Ishmael was like, I don't want to have anything to do with that guy. But that's not the case. And maybe we can suppose, maybe they had some sort of contact over the years or something.
Or maybe Ishmael just did truly want to honor and respect his father despite being sent away. In any case, any differences that were between the two sons, they came together in this moment to lay their father to rest in the same cave in which Sarah was buried. It's the same cave that Isaac himself and his wife Rebekah will be buried in, and as would Jacob and Leah.
All of them would be laid to rest there. And then we just have, have this kind of single signal indication that the story is going to continue forth from here. It says that God blessed his son, Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi. Isaac's going to live forth the promise that was initially given in Genesis 12.
Genesis 12 verses 1 through 3 God told Abram at that time go from your country your people and your father's household to the land. I will show you I'll make you into a great nation, and I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I'll bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. Now the thing, as we just step back, and we consider the story as a whole, and the initial calling, the thing that really stands out is that Abraham had done nothing to deserve this promise that God had given to him.
It was simply a gracious gift of blessing offered to Abraham, that he would receive it by faith, just trusting God that he would keep his word. And Abraham did respond in faith. And God would fulfill that promise. Multiple times over his life, God comes again to Abraham and reminds him of his promises. In Genesis 15, 5- 6, it says that God took Abraham outside and said, Look up at the sky and count the stars, if indeed you can count them. And he said to him, So shall your offspring be. And Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Abraham was credited as righteous on the basis of his faith in God's Word. And, in saying that Abraham had faith, what we mean is that, Abraham had trust enough in God that he, in fact, followed God where he was leading him.
He picked up his things, left Haran, went to the Promised Land, and he continued walking forward, trusting in God's promises. Now, trusting God was sometimes difficult. You'll remember that there was a couple points where there seemed like maybe there was a little bit of a departure from trusting completely in God when he tried to trick Pharaoh and Abimelech that Sarah was actually his sister instead of his wife because he was afraid of what they would do to him and that kind of put things at risk because if they had actually taken her as their wife, well, he couldn't exactly have Isaac through her in that case.
We also remember when him and Sarah decided that yes, he would marry Hagar and try to have a son through her rather than waiting on God's promise.
But, as time goes on, we see growth in Abraham. As God just repeats his promises again and again to him. So that, eventually, we see him being able to take bold steps of faith. Now, a lot of this was helped by the fact that God kept his word. Because Abraham did, in fact, see his son be born miraculously.
He's then able to trust God in radical ways. Such as what we see in Genesis 22, when God told him, you're to sacrifice that one and only son that you have. The one that I promised to you. And Abraham is prepared to do it. So that when Isaac asks him, you know, where's the animal for the sacrifice? He tells him in Genesis 22: 8, God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. Abraham was completely trusting in God. His faith was completed. And it's on this episode that the apostle James comments in James 2 verses 21 through 22. He says, Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
So at this point in his life, after having gone through all this, Abraham is kind of off and running. He has so much confidence in God that when it comes to the time that he needs to find a wife for Isaac, he's totally fine sending his servant to go find one. And he says, in Genesis 24: 7, that God will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there.
He has complete faith in God. And this is distinct from just being optimistic. So often in our culture we talk about, you know, you just gotta have faith. Like, things are gonna work out. You just gotta have faith. Well, that's kind of foolish, because you're not assured things are just gonna work just by having faith.
That's not what we're called to in Scripture. We're not called to just have faith. We're called to have faith in God. And that's what we see in the life of Abraham. He had faith in God.
So in Genesis, we learn about Abraham, but we don't just learn about Abraham. We learn about this God in whom he had faith. We learn that God, is the shield and very great reward of Abraham. And we can say the same for ourself, that God is our shield and our very great reward. We learn that God is perfectly just and merciful.
In the episode with Sodom and Gomorrah, where Abraham pleads for the lives of those who are righteous in the city, and even while it's really only Lot and his family, God still spares them. We learn from the episode with Hagar, when she first runs away from home because of the conflict she was having with Sarah, and yet God showed his mercy to her and delivered her from the perils of the desert.
We learn that God is the God who sees me. That's the observation that Hagar makes. You are the God who sees me. And he's the God who sees each one of us. We learn from that episode on the mountain where Abraham was prepared to sacrifice Isaac that our God is the God who will provide.
And ultimately that he has provided our salvation through the perfect Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. That he is the God that goes ahead of us, preparing the way so that we might fulfill his purposes. And we learn that this God is our God.
As God tells Abraham in Genesis 17, he says, The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give you as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you. And then the greatest part of this promise is this, And I will be their God.
And if this is true for the children of Abraham, and we are included among the children of Abraham, then we can say with confidence that he is our God. Abraham received God and his promises by faith. And we are invited to follow in his footsteps. The Apostle Paul in Romans 4 explains how it is that we who are not Jews are able to be included in Abraham's household of faith.
In Romans 4 verses 3 and 23 through 25, Paul says this, What does scripture say? Abraham believed God and was credited to Him as righteousness. The words that it was credited to Him were not written for Him alone, but also for us to whom God will credit righteousness. For us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. Jesus is the lynchpin of all of God's promises. He is the one who has, even now, even today, begun to turn faith into sight. Because he has brought to fulfillment that promised blessing, that through Abraham, all the nations would be blessed.
And through Jesus Christ, salvation is offered to all people. When we take God's word by faith, just as Abraham did, responding to faith and faith to Jesus Christ as God's further and final word, we are credited with a righteousness not our own. We know it's not our own because Jesus must be raised for our justification.
If we could justify ourselves, there would be no need for Jesus to die on a cross. There would be no need for him to be raised from the dead. We can't justify ourselves. We have no defense before God, and this is why we need Jesus. Jesus, in all his perfect goodness, can be our righteousness. He can be ours by faith.
You are invited to take your place in the story. To be counted among the children of Abraham, numbered among the stars, one who will be called blessed among countless brothers and sisters who have received in faith, God's word, now clearly seen in Jesus Christ. And many of you have already believed, and if you have already believed, then you can count yourself blessed.
Because you are part of the greatest story ever told. The story that neither hardship or death can snuff out. The story that is only made all the more glorious for all that is endured. Because of the kingdom that will be revealed in the coming age. Abraham will bask in the presence of his God on the first day of the new earth.
And you will too, if you believe. If you have faith. Let's pray.
Dear Father, We thank you for your grace.
Your grace is how this story begins. Because you called Abraham Abraham And gave him this promise even when he was not deserving of any of it.
Father, you offer that same grace to us in Jesus Christ. And we see, Father, as we've studied Abraham's life and as we've glimpsed ahead to what follows that life, that Jesus is the fulfillment of all those promises. And that we are now invited to share in them by trusting in Jesus.
Father, give us that faith. Trusting not in ourselves or in any roll of the dice in this world, but trusting in you as our God. Trusting you for our eternal salvation. Trusting you for the path that lays ahead of us, that leads either to our rest where we'll join Abraham or the day of Christ's return.
Help us to continue trusting you, Father, that you will continue to provide and that you will fulfill your word.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us this Sunday, as we begin a two-week series on the question “What is Communion?”
It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Genesis 24, we see the faithfulness of God in providing a wife from Isaac from the family of Abraham, and the way that He works in all circumstances.
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Transcript:
Two Sundays from now, it will be St. Patrick's Day. Many people treat the day as an occasion to celebrate their Irish heritage, or maybe their love of the color green, or perhaps their affection for alcohol. This tendency distracts us from paying much attention to the namesake of the day, the man called Patrick.
His importance emerges in light of the calling that God placed upon his life, such that we would remember him with a day of his own. God made Patrick a missionary to Ireland. In fact, the missionary through whom God would begin to turn a pagan people to Christ. That turn of events becomes quite surprising when you learn how things began for Patrick.
His family lived in Roman Britain around the 4th century AD. As a teenager, he was kidnapped by raiders to be made a slave in Ireland. Though his family was Christian, he had not been especially devout before all this happened. But that started to change. In the steepest of valleys. Reflecting on this period later in life, Patrick said, Every day, I used to look after sheep, and I used to pray often during the day.
The love of God and a holy fear of Him increased more and more in me. My faith began to grow, and my spirit was ardently stirred. Often I would pray as many as a hundred times in a single day, and nearly as many at night. Even when I was staying out in the woods or on the mountain. I would rise before dawn for prayer, in snow and frost and rain. I felt no ill effect, and there was no slackness in me. As I now realize, it was because the Spirit was maturing and preparing me for a work yet to come.
At age twenty two, he was able to escape slavery and return to Britain. He went to mainland Europe to study for ministry, and it was during that time he felt called to return to Ireland, to the people who had enslaved him, to bring them the gospel message.
He knew their language and culture because of his time in slavery. God had uniquely orchestrated his life to prepare him for this calling and the rest, as they say, is history. As we look at Genesis 24 today, I want to direct your attention to notice God's faithful presence. Nothing is left to chance or luck.
God acts in keeping with promise, with his promise to Abraham. Opening verses of this chapter show us how Abraham at this point in his life now anticipates this. So looking first at verses 1 through 4, which have already been read, it says that Abraham was now very old, and we figured Abraham was pretty old as it was because he was about a hundred when Isaac was born.
At this point though, based on information that we get from the next chapter when it says that Isaac was 40 years old when he was married, we can say that Abraham was 140 years old at this point. So yes, they had a a little bit better longevity back then, and it says that the Lord had blessed him. in every way.
So that covers about 40 years. It was just full of blessings for Abraham. But at this point, Abraham does have a concern that his son Isaac would find a wife. And so he calls upon one of his servants and it would seem to be a servant whom he trusted greatly. We might speculate that perhaps this was Eliezer who was supposed to inherit Abraham's estate if he wasn't going to have a son, but he had a son, and so it doesn't go to him.
But perhaps him, because he would have been something that, someone that Abraham trusted greatly. He calls upon the servant and tells him to put his hand under his thigh. Like, what's that about? That's, that seems weird. Well, it was an ancient way of making an oath. We have some weird things, too. Making a pinky promise. Less weird, you know, let's shake on it. The point was, this was a way of demonstrating that the servant was going to keep the oath that he was going to make to Abraham. And what Abraham was asking him to swear was this. It was that. He would go to Abraham's relatives to find a wife, rather than going to the Canaanites, amongst whom they lived.
Now, this leads us to wonder, why? Why was it that Abraham was so insistent that he would go and get a wife from very far away, rather than one right in their own neighborhood? Now, later on in scripture we do find some similar prohibitions. we find in Deuteronomy 7 verses 3 through 4 of how the Israelites are commanded not to intermarry with those who are outside of Israel.
It says, Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. For they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods. And the Lord's anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. So we see in that place, clearly, it's not so much about ethnicity.
Because we know that even in Christ's own line, that there are those who are outside of Israel that were included. Think about Ruth. She was a Moabite. She was not a Jew, ethnically speaking. But the concern of marrying outside of Israel is that when you took someone from a pagan religion, it was going to lead the people of Israel astray to follow after false gods.
Later, in the New Testament, we find a similar instruction given to us as Christians. Paul in 2 Corinthians 6: 14 says, Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? Now, this is instruction that applies beyond just marriage.
It gives us some guidance in the sort of partnerships we make with others, but it especially applies to marriage. Now, to be clear, Paul in 1 Corinthians 7 says to those that are married to unbelievers, you should absolutely remain faithful to those relationships. There's no call for divorce there. But, for those who are single, those who are seeking Christian spouses, they ought to find someone that likewise believes in Christ, who shares their faith.
And, you know, you ask why, and the very simple reason is, I mean, just think about it. What puts you in the best position to follow Jesus? The person that you're sharing your life with, if they are similarly devoted to Christ. And so it's for that reason that that instruction is given. Now that's not exactly what's going on here.
Granted, we see in Genesis 26 that later on, when Isaac has kids of his own, he and his wife are a little bit bothered by their son Esau's choice in women. He marries two Hittite women and they, it says that they give him a, it, these women basically give them a headache. They bother them greatly. And we find that later on in Genesis 27, in Genesis 27, Isaac and his wife are very, direct and mindful in sending their son Jacob elsewhere so that he does not marry a Hittite woman.
They had had enough of them. Now, some of that might be cultural difference, character difference. Probably, but we see that it wasn't necessarily because of religion, at least at this point in the case of Abraham. Now this might be a little bit surprising, but when you read the biblical narrative close, you'll notice some curious things.
So, we see later, that Abraham's relatives aren't strict monotheists. So we see in Genesis 31, that Laban, who is the brother of Isaac's wife, that he had household gods, that his daughter would end up stealing. So, the interest that Abraham has here in sending Isaac away isn't so much a concern of marrying someone who is a faithful monotheist worshipping only one God.
No, what Abraham's interest is here is to walk in accordance with God's command and promise given to him. That he would make of Abraham a distinct nation. Now, I think you can wrap your mind around this in this sort of way. Imagine if you, or maybe your son or daughter, were to live in China. If you were to marry someone from China, and then your kids were to marry someone from China, and so on and so forth, you'd really lose any sense that you were American, your family.
They would just become Chinese. And the same would be true in the opposite direction, if someone from China moved here and they just married Americans and they would become just American. The situation might be different though, if you had moved to China and then you said, Nope, I'm going to only marry someone that's from America.
And you constantly went back and you sent your kids back to America and their kids back to America. And so you'd have almost like a little American enclave within China. So that's kind of the idea of what's going on here in the case of Abraham and sending his son Isaac away. He is creating an ethnic enclave because he's been called by God to trust in this promise that he would make of him a nation.
Now, imagine the position that this service and servant is in of fetching a wife. I mean, how many of us won't want that job? Have to find someone and get her to agree with you to come back hundreds of miles to a guy that she had never met. Naturally, you might be wondering, what if she says no? How about that?
What if she says no? What am I to do then? And we see that covered in verses 5 through 8. Abraham makes it clear, you, you know, it's fine. You know, if she says no, she says no, but under no circumstances are you to take Isaac back. The reason being is because God had promised the land of Canaan to Abraham and his family.
And Abraham was concerned that Isaac would get stuck back there, and there's some wisdom in that because we see in the case of his grandson Jacob that he does get stuck over there for quite a while.
But amidst all this, what we see kind of shining forth is Abraham's confident faith. In verse 7, we see it says, the Lord the God of heaven who brought me out of my father's household in my native land, and who spoke to me and promised me on oath saying to saying to your offspring, I'll give this land, he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there.
Basically what Abraham is saying is, God has brought me this far. He called me out of that land, brought me here, gave me a son in my old age. That's kind of implied in all of this. God has been faithful so far. He's not going to fail now. He's going to go ahead of you to make sure that you're successful in finding this woman.
God has promised and God will make a way. Now, he does address the fact that, you know, if she says no, and this is really addressing the servant's concern, it's not an indication of his own lack of faith, he says, if for some reason she was to say no, then you're released from this oath. So then picking up in verse nine, it says, so the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.
Then the servant left taking with him 10 of his master's camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. He made, he had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town. It was toward evening, the time when women go out to draw water.
Now the thing that you should understand is that this was no small journey. This is basically back to the neighborhood that Abraham was living in, when he was living in Haran. Nahor is not that very, very far away from there. So we're talking about a distance of 500 miles, thereabouts, and the servant is coming with quite a caravan.
He's bringing ten camels. The reason why he brings ten camels isn't because they're cool. It's because he needs to have something to carry the gifts that he's going to bring to convince this woman to come back with him and her family to let her go with him. So he comes to Nahor and he stops by the well.
And this is a great strategic position for him to be in because he understands that the women are going to be coming to the well. Why would they go in the evening? To escape the heat of the sun. Best time to have to go and lug water back and forth. And so he goes there in hopes of finding the woman who would be the wife of his master's son.
But even though he is in a good position to meet some women, he's still very concerned about finding the right one. He can't just take anyone. And it's here that we see that Abraham's faith in God has shaped the servant's own response when facing a challenge. We see that he prays to God for help.
Picking up in verse 12, it says, Then he prayed, Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside the spring and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a young woman, please let down your jar that I might have a drink.
And she says, drink, and I'll water your camels too. Let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master. So the servant prays. And he prays to God, seeking a sign. And this isn't unusual for this time. We see this, you remember in the case of Gideon, those of you who are familiar with the story where he sets out a fleece.
It's not unusual for the people of that time to seek a sign where they basically get a basic yes or no from God. In order for it to be a sign, though, it must be something that is rather abnormal that occurs. Now, hospitality is normal in the Near East. So, it wouldn't be that unusual that if the servant was to ask for a drink, that one of these women would provide it.
What would be unusual, however, would be if she were to volunteer to water his camels. Now the reason why that would be unusual is because of the number of the camels. Remember, he's got ten camels. Now John Walton, biblical commentator, says that each camel is able to have about 25 gallons of water. And the jar at that time would have contained about 3 gallons a jar.
So that means this woman would have been willing to draw around 80 to 100 times in order to provide water for these camels, if they were to be filled up. Even if it was less than that, still lots of drawing water from a well. Who would volunteer to do that? For that reason, it's a sign. Now, we can understand that this isn't to be a normative example for us that we should ask for such incredible signs and trying to understand things.
Now, sometimes you can pray and you can ask God, I really don't know what to do here, please guide me. And God will guide you in incredible ways. But, the servant's not demanding. He's saying, may, he says, may it be that these things would play out. And, as it turns out, The incredible circumstances of him being led to this woman is going to be an important part of him persuading the woman's family to let her go with him back to Isaac, who's living hundreds of miles away.
Now, picking up in verse 15, it says, Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milkah. It was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor. The woman was very beautiful, a virgin. No man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up again.
The servant hurried to meet her and said, Please give me a little water from your jar. Drink, my lord, she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she said, I'll draw water for your camels, too, until they have had enough to drink. So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels.
Now notice here, the servant He didn't ask. It wasn't like he was trying to stack the deck, like, Oh, and will you water the camels? I just kind of want to find somebody so I can get back home. He didn't do that. She just volunteered. And at this point, he doesn't know that she's the daughter of Bethuel. He just knows that she is beautiful, and perhaps that she is unmarried.
So, continuing on in verse 21. It says, Without saying a word, The man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful. When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a becca and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels. Then he asked, whose daughter are you?
Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night? She answered him, I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milkah bore to Nahor. And she added, we have plenty of straw and fodder as well as room for you to spend the night. Then the man bowed down and worshipped the Lord, saying, Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master.
As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives. So, everything plays out. The woman has given water to the servant's camels. And, in response, The servant gives her gifts. Gives her a nose ring. See, that's not a recent innovation. Nose rings go back a long ways. Gives her a nose ring.
And he gives her two bracelets ten shekels each in gold. Now, ten shekels of silver at that time would have been about a year's wages. So, imagine that. I mean, gold is worth more. So, giving someone two gifts that are worth like two years of your wages. Unfathomable. Abraham had done very well. God had indeed blessed him.
And, so he asks after her father, you know, Who is your father? And, he learns that, it's in fact a relative of Abraham. It's, it's Abraham's nephew. And so in that case, Rebekah is Abraham's great niece. And so from all this coming together, you know, making this connection and Rebekah getting these gifts.
She's very excited. I mean most women like jewelry, like Rebekah is very excited and picking up in verse 28 says the young woman ran and told her mother's household about these things. Now, Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he hurried out to the man at the spring. As soon as he had seen the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister's arms and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring.
Come, you who are blessed by the Lord, he said, why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels. So again, offering him great hospitality, inviting the servant into their home. Laban, Rebekah's brother, you'll figure later into the story of Jacob, he recognizes, not only that this man has been good to his sister, but that he is in fact blessed by the Lord.
He says, come you are blessed by the Lord. Now, After that point, we have a whole series of verses that basically just re articulate to everything we've just gone over, so I'm not going to read those verses. I'm just going to pick out a few highlights. So first, we look at verses 32 through 38. We see that they invite him in, they sit him down to eat, put food before him, and the servant's like, I'm not going to eat until I tell you the story that I have to tell.
This is, he's on a mission. He's there to get a wife for Isaac. And so he relates to them that he's Abraham's servant and also makes it clear to them that Abraham has done very well for himself. And that, in verse 36, it says that he has given everything that he owns to his son Isaac. So he's basically trying to paint a really great picture to them, in order to persuade them to allow him to take Rebekah back to be Isaac's wife.
He'll be able to take care of her. They've done well for themselves, Abraham's family. Going on into verses 39 through 44, he once again relates Abraham's faith in God and his own faith in the God of Abraham. Of how Abraham had told them that, yes, The angel of God will go before you to make the journey a success, and how he prayed that God would give him this sign at the well.
Now the reason why this is significant here is because he's trying to show Laban and Bethuel, their family, of how God has truly orchestrated things to bring them together, that this is no accident. And so we move on to verses 45 through 48. And he relates everything that happened, how she offered to water the camels, and how he gave her these gifts, and how he worshipped God in response because of what he had done.
So just notice kind of a pattern here, just on the whole, as we kind of just look over things again. Abraham had faith that God would provide, and so did this servant. God acted, and then, in response, He worshipped. That's a great model for us of how we trust in God that He will act. We remember how He has acted in the past, particularly in the case of Jesus Christ, for our salvation, and in response, we worship Him for what He has done.
Now this leads to a conclusion, verses 49 through 51. I'll read this. It says Now if you'll show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me and if not, tell me so I may know which way to turn Laban and Bethuel answered, this is from the Lord. Again, there they're recognizing the powerful testimony that he's given.
This is from the Lord. We can say nothing to you one way or the other. Here's Rebekah, take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master's son as the Lord has directed. So between the, his gifts, the report of Abraham's wealth, and the testimony that he offered of God's divine superintendents of leading him to Rebekah, Laban and Bethuel give Abraham's servant their blessing.
And this once again leads the servant to worship God. In verse 52 it says, When Abraham's servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother.
Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night there. When they got up the next morning, he said, Send me on my way to my master. But her brother and her mother replied, Let the young woman remain with us ten days or so, then you may go. But he said to them, Do not detain me, now that the Lord has granted success to my journey.
Send me on my way, so I may go to my master. So, God had provided, just as Abraham had faith he would, the servant, as part of kind of the marriage arrangements at that time, offers this dowry of all these, this jewelry and clothing. Spends the night, and as we saw earlier, he wasn't willing to eat before he told this story.
He remains urgent and eager to get back to Isaac because of the success that God has given him. Now, Rkahcca's family is not so keen on necessarily having her leave just like that. There's a little bit of a risk involved. I mean, they just met this guy and we could also imagine, perhaps, that they wanted to spend a little bit more time with her before she's gone off hundreds of miles away.
They say, let the young woman remain with us ten days or so, then you may go. Now, it's here at this point that we see that Rebecca does actually have a say in these matters. So in verse fifty seven, we see that it says, and then they said, let's call the young woman and ask her about it. So they called Rebekah and asked her, Will you go with this man?
I will go, she said. So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way along with her nurse and Abraham's servant and his men. And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, Our sister, may you increase to thousands upon thousands. May your offspring possess the cities of their enemies. And Rebekah and her attendants got ready and mounted the camels and went back with the man.
So the servant took Rebekah and left. So we see that When Rebecca leaves, she doesn't go alone with this man. She goes with her nurse, someone who would have been with her her whole life. Her name's Deborah. That, we learn that in Genesis 35. And she has all these attendants as well. And before she leaves, her family gives her this blessing in verse 60.
Our sister, may you increase to thousands upon thousands. May your offspring possess the cities of their enemies. It's interesting because their blessing aligns with God's promise to Abraham, that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of the sky, as the grains of sand that we find in Genesis 22.
So we see how everything is really coming together here, and this leads up to the big moment that the couple meets. In verse 62, it says, now Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev. He went out into the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching.
Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel and asked the servant, who is that man in the field coming to meet us? He's my master, the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself, and then the servant told Isaac all he had done. Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah.
So she became his wife, and he loved her. And Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. So Isaac had been living in the Negev, the wilderness. He obviously could tolerate a bit of a rough sort of lifestyle. And it says that he went out to the field one evening to meditate. Now you wonder, what does that mean, meditate?
It's interesting because this is the only time this word occurs in scripture. It's from the Hebrew word suah. And they, the translators believe this is the best translation of of that word. Something to just understand is that biblical meditation is not like eastern meditation, like, that is so popular today.
It's different. Now, there's a different word used. It's also translated, meditation, but we see in Joshua 1: 8 that Joshua is called to meditate, this is the word haga, on God's law. And Christians, obviously, should meditate on God, on his word. We should totally embrace that kind of meditation. He's out in the field and he sees this woman approaching.
And when Rebekah sees him, understands that it's Isaac, she puts a veil over herself. She wouldn't have worn a veil at all times. Obviously, she wasn't wearing a veil when she was with the servant, the rest of the men there. But, kind of in keeping with the traditional, you know, wedding, where the bride wears a veil, that's what's going on here. And they are married. Now, there's no report of a ceremony taking place. That's perhaps possible. But what we do understand here is that the central reality of marriage is found in the consummation of their male female union. Which, that's, that's the, that's the very essence of marriage.
And that's why we insist that it's a male female union. There is no marriage outside of that. So, once again, all this wrapped up, tied together, we see God's continued provision. His faithfulness in providing a wife for Isaac. Even from hundreds of miles away. And it brings to mind Solomon's instruction to us in Proverbs 3, verses 5 through 6, many of you are familiar with it.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Trusting God is not just a passive affair. Just sitting back and letting things play out. Trusting God also includes knowing God's will and responding with obedience, even if you don't know how everything will come together. So maybe you are, maybe one day you'll be looking for a spouse just like Isaac.
Your eyes tell you there are more non Christians than Christians. Well, that's certainly true. But if you are called to marriage, won't you trust God to lead you to someone who will share your love for Christ? You should trust Him. Because that's what He wants for you. But this isn't just about marriage, though.
This applies to dealing honestly with others. Showing grace to people who have stepped on your toes. Being patient rather than rushing to act. And everything else included in the way that Jesus does things. The way that we are called to follow. It especially applies to our commission today. Abraham's commission was to form a family.
A nation. Our commission is to grow God's family and make disciples of all nations. Jesus tells us this in Matthew 28, verses 18 through 20. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely I'm with you always to the very end of the age. There will be occasions when you wonder whether the time, money, and energy that perhaps you've given as part of this church body is making any difference at all. You'll wonder how in a culture like ours we can find a way forward to connect with people who don't know Jesus. You will wonder, I will wonder, but this is what we can know. If this is God's command, then he has gone before us. He went ahead of Abraham. He went ahead of Patrick, and he goes before us. Jesus has told us he is with us always. to the very end of the age. Don't put your trust in probabilities.
Don't decide your path on what seems possible. Let God guide your path. Seek his will. Know his will. And obey him and trust. Let's pray.
Father in your word this morning, we have set before us the reality of who you are and an example of who we ought to be. Father, we see once again your love and care for us. Of how you are a God who keeps your promises. And how in the case of Isaac, you have prepared a wife for him. From hundreds of miles away.
And how you went before Abraham's servant, so that he might find her and bring her back to him.
Father, we know that you keep your word. In that knowledge, Father, help us, like Abraham and his servant, to trust in you. To seek your guidance, and to have confidence that you will lead us in a way that we should go. Father, help us not to resort to just the easy options that are immediately around us, but to really seek what is in accordance with your will.
Give us faith, Father, to persevere, even when everything seems against us when it seems like no one will hear of Jesus or the gospel. And it seems like everyone has turned their back on the truth. Help us to persevere, Father, because we know that you will make a way. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us this Sunday, as we continue our sermon series looking at the Bible's account of Abraham.
It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Genesis 23, we see the death of Sarah. Sarah lived a life waiting on God's promises; she received Isaac and awaits more. She is buried with promises and so are we.
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Transcript:
She died at Kiriath Arba, that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan. And Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and weep over her. Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said, I am a foreigner and a stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.
The Hittites replied to Abram, Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choices of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.
I love baking. Not doing the baking myself, of course, but reaping the benefits. I even love the process. When my mom or grandma were making a cake, I remember how they would pop off one of the metal mixers from their electric mixers so I could lick off the frosting or the cake batter. It was a wonderful treat, very sweet and full of promise. Because as good as the frosting or the batter was, the cakes or cookies were even better. This was just a foretaste of what was to come. In Genesis 23, we have come to the moment of Sarah's death. We are impressed by anyone who lives past 100. She goes a leg further, living to 127 years old.
Our time with her in the text of Genesis has covered 62 of those years. We don't know much about her first 65 years. We know that she endured the terrible irony of being named Sarai after the queen of the Akkadian moon god, the moon god who was supposed to bring blessings of fertility, and yet, for 65 years, she could never have a child.
We know that at 65, she followed her husband Abram out of the city of Haran, leaving everything familiar behind because the true God, Yahweh, had told him to leave for the land of Canaan. God had promised to give them this land and had promised to bring forth a nation from Abram. In other words, this God was promising them a child.
It was not easy following Abram. He's worried about his safety in strange lands filled with powerful men. And on at least two occasions, Abram seems to suggest this is something that he did maybe even more often than that, he made her say that she was his sister. She was nearly made a wife of Pharaoh and king Abimelech.
It was also not easy trusting God. She desperately wanted a child. To the point that she even. Convinced Abram to take her servant Hagar as a wife, to have a child through her. She ended up regretting that decision, it became a point of tension in their household. God made it clear to Abram this wasn't his plan.
And to make his point, he changed Abram's name to Abraham and Sarai's name to Sarah. In doing so, he was reminding them of the promises that he had made. As he was directing them away from the notion that Hagar's child would fulfilled this promise. The name Abraham means father of many. The change from Sarai to Sarah is not so clear.
It retains its royal rootedness in the idea of a princess. But we can speculate that maybe this change now sweeps away the pagan connection. God is telling Sarah that she is in HIs plan by giving her a new name. God was insistent on his promises, but the years rolled on. Sarah was 90, and still waiting. One day, three visitors showed up at their tent. As she prepared a meal for them in the tent, it became clear they were a mysterious bunch, for sure. One of them said she would give birth to a son by that time next year.
She laughed at the notion that this would happen now at 90. It seemed even less feasible than when she was 65. Somehow, the speaker heard and knew her thoughts even, and called her out on it. This was a visitation from God himself. It came to pass exactly as he said. She did have a son, and in obedience to God's command, and fitting the response that everyone had when they heard that she had given birth to a child.
She named him Isaac, which means he laughs. God had kept his word. After Sarah weaned Isaac, Hagar and her son Ishmael left their household for good. We are given no more details about the approximately 34 years that followed. I think the silence signals to us the peace and satisfaction that she enjoyed.
At last, at last, she was a mother. And Sarah got to raise him to be a man. God had promised this son and given her this joy. And yet, there was more that had been promised. Children upon children. And a land they could call their own. She did not live to see her grandchildren. She died without a speck of dirt to call her own.
She got a lick of the frosting, but is still waiting on the cake. In these opening verses of Genesis 23, we see that she died at Kiriath Arba, that is, Hebron. Basically their home site. Again, they did not own any property. We can see on a map, I have here, Abram that's there, just a little to the west of the Dead Sea.
I find it interesting that it says that Abraham went to her. Now perhaps, he was in very close vicinity to her. Maybe just in the next room over in their tent or something, but it makes me wonder whether he was out in the fields, out with his men and he received news of her passing. And he went to her.
And we have this picture of him going to her and just weeping over her body. Abraham's heartbroken. I mean, think about, we don't know what age they got married, but there's a good chance maybe they were married for over a hundred years. Incredible to think about. And as he's mourning, he must now deal with the very practical question of where he would bury her.
See, he didn't have any land of his own to bury her. And the practice that continued into the time of Christ was often that you'd place a body in a cave, and there the body would be allowed to decompose. And then they would gather the bones afterwards and put them in a ossuary, which was kind of like a pottery container. They removed them to a further place in the back of the cave so that other family members would also be able to share the same space when their time to die had come. Abraham did not have such a space for his wife Sarah. He was a foreigner in the land. The writer of Hebrews in Hebrews 11: 9 reminds us of this.
He says, By faith he, Abraham, made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. See, Abraham lived a nomadic life. He had herds, and he did well for himself in that. But just because he did well for himself in that did not mean that he was a land owner. That was something that was a little bit more difficult to obtain.
Abraham knows that he is a foreigner in the land, but he also knows God's promise that he was to inherit this land. That the land of Canaan was promised to him. He also knew, however, that there was difficulties that were going to come along the way. God tells him this very clearly in Genesis 15, verses 16, 13 through 16.
It says, the Lord said to him, Know for certain that for 400 years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. And what God's talking about here is the time that the Hebrew people were in Egypt. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.
You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace, and be buried at a good old age. And the fourth generation, your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure. So Abraham knows that he's going to have a burial place for himself. He's supposed to be able to go to his death in peace, but he knows that his descendants are going to run into some trouble.
And so the horizon has some uncertainties in it, even as God's promise remains, despite these difficulties. Abraham is in a difficult position here. He has no land, and he needs to convince some of the locals to sell to him. And besides this, he knows that whatever land he gets will be in limbo for those 400 years his grandchildren will be enslaved.
He must trust that God will basically turn this small land purchase into the inheritance of Canaan, just as he must trust that God will turn Isaac into a nation. So he gets up from his mourning to make a deal with his neighbors. So we continue on in verse 3. And it says that he rose from his wife and he spoke to the Hittites.
Now the Hittite people have been kind of their traditional land has been located in Anatolia, which is modern day Turkey. Not sure if this is just different people with the same name or whether these are kind of migrants from this area. But they were the ones who were occupying the land. And when Abraham comes to them, he admits his status among them.
He says, I am a foreigner and stranger among you. And he makes this plea. Sell me some property for a burial site so I can bury my dead. And then what follows from this initial request is a very nuanced negotiation, which is really difficult for us as 21st century Americans to follow, but you have to understand that there's some like social courtesies going on here in the way that they go about working out this arrangement.
Now the Hittites are prepared to try to help Abraham out. They call him a mighty prince. Elohim Nasi, and which means, in the original language, Prince of God. So they recognize that God's hand is upon Abraham. And it seems as though maybe they're going to go along with what he said, but you have to pay very closely, close attention to the details here.
Because they do not agree to sell anything to Abraham. They just say, bury your dead in the choices of our tombs. None of us will refuse his tomb for burying your dead. And if you understand that the way that the tombs work, that they could be reused, you can understand. They're basically saying, yeah, you can use our tomb for Sarah to take care of her.
But they basically skirted around his request to sell him something. They don't really want to give him a stake in the land. Now, of course, this is a nice offer, but it leaves Abraham at the mercy of the Hittites when it comes to the burial of his family. If the land is not purchased, it could be taken away just as easily as it is given.
So Abraham persists, and we pick up in verse 7. It says, Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. He said to them, If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me. Intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf, so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field.
Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you. Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people, and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city, No, my lord, he said, listen to me. I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it.
I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead. So now we have a little bit of a fuller picture of the scene that is playing out here. This is happening at the city gate of Hebron. And this is where a lot of official business was conducted in ancient times. At the city gate, this is where the elders of the city would be gathered.
So you imagine Abraham's there with all kinds of leaders of the city. And among them is Ephron the son of Zohar. Now, again, the reason why Abraham doesn't just address him directly is out of social courtesy. It would be kind of embarrassing for him to say, hey, won't you sell me your land? Instead, he says, I would like it if Ephron would consider this, please intercede on my behalf.
He's trying to show him respect. And Ephron recognizes his request and replies to him. Directly. Now again, a Abraham's approach here is completely humble. He's recognizing, he's a foreigner, a stranger in the land, and he, he goes so far as to bow before them, even though they have recognized him as a respectable man, as a mighty prince.
He bows before him, before them to make this plea, and what he is requesting very specifically is the cave of Machpelah, which is at the end of a field that Ephron owns. Now, to be specific here, Abraham had been only requesting the cave. When Ephron responds though, he mentions, I give you the field as well. He's throwing that into the mix here.
Now, the thing that's difficult for us to pick out here is, what exactly Ephron's offering here, whether he's saying, yes, I'll sell you the, the cave and I'll just throw in the field with it, or whether he's trying to suggest if I'm going to sell it to you, I want to sell both of them, or if I'm going to, or even if he's saying I'm going to give both of them to you for free, it's kind of difficult to pick that out here.
But the plain matter is, is that it seems in some way he's trying to give Abraham some sort of discount, perhaps. And the reason why he wants to include the field into this deal is it seems like taxation at that time would have included the field so it's no benefit to Ephron to separate the cave from the field.
It's really interesting that they had those kind of specifications back in that day, but, yeah, they had taxes back then, too. So for Ephron, from Ephron's viewpoint, it's like, this is a an all or nothing deal. I'm not just gonna give you the cave. Like, you gotta take the whole bundle, basically.
But once again, if, if in fact, what Ephron's doing here is trying to give Abraham a good deal, once again, Abraham refuses to take any favors, and so the dance of negotiations continues. We pick up in verse 12. It says, again, Abraham bowed down before the people of the land, humbling himself. He said, he said to Ephron in their hearing, listen to me, if you will.
I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there. Ephron answered Abraham, Listen to me, my Lord. The land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. But what is that between you and me? Bury your dead. Abraham agreed to Ephron's terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites.
Four hundred shekels of silver according to the weight current among the merchants. So this business, again, is being conducted before all these witnesses. And Abraham wants to pay the full price of the field here, in order that, in the eyes of the Hittites, they would understand that this is a completely fair purchase, and that this land truly belongs to Abraham. So, Abraham does the courtesy of, of welcoming, you know, Ephron's setting the price.
Kind of leaves it open ended. I'll just pay the price of the field. And Ephron does this kind of, again, a unique kind of social courtesy move. He says, listen to me, my lord. The land is worth 400 shekels of silver, but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead. It's kind of like he's just kind of saying, like, oh yeah, you know, the Kelley Blue Book value on the car is like 8, 000, but what is that between you and me?
You kind of make it seem like He's, he's kind of throwing out there what he'd really want, but he's like playing the courtesy game of like, oh, that's nothing. So, but Abraham agrees to it. He doesn't really care what the price is. He may have overpaid here, but again, he wants the people to see that he has a full legitimate stake in this land.
And so he pays 400 shekels, that's about 10 pounds of silver. Really difficult for us to know what that would be, the value of that would be in today's terms, because values fluctuate over time. But in any case, the deal is set in verses 17 through 20, gives the details of what Abraham got. It says, so Ephron's Field in Machpelah near Mamre, both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field were deeded, was deeded to Abraham as his property and the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city.
Afterward, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which is at Hebron, in the land of Canaan. So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site. It's kind of interesting how the passage kind of goes almost three times over and saying like this was Abraham's land.
It was deeded to him. He had the witnesses. It's interesting also that it includes the trees here. The trees are Abraham's too. Because again, they had, they specified everything. Because it was understood, even today, trees can be of value. And in that time, trees were certainly of value. And they wanted to make it clear that, yes, the trees also belonged to Abraham as well.
And so Abraham buries Sarah there. And he himself will be buried there as well. I've got a couple pictures of the traditional site of where this is. In Hebron, it's kind of got the features of a mosque because that's what it is. There's, different groups have kind of constructed over the site.
You have Christians, Muslims, and, for a long time the Jewish people couldn't even visit this site. They were forbidden from visiting it until, I think, in the past 50 years or so. And so now it's under kind of an interest divide between Muslims and Jews. It's a very tense situation there. If you go to the next picture you can kind of see, one of the things that's difficult when you go to the Near East and you visit lots of these sites, it's just so ornate, and you're like, this looks nothing like a cave, and it's just, it's not, it doesn't help your imagination at all, but you can appreciate it was done to protect the site.
So, here is supposed to be the spot where Abraham's remains are, and if you look down that vent, if you could stand over and look down it, you'd be able to look down a shaft to the cave below, supposedly, to kind of the subterranean area where, those remains are, because you have an accumulation of dirt over the ages.
It's not on level ground anymore. So, pretty interesting. I've never been there, but if you have a chance, it'd be interesting if you went and got some pictures for us. But, not just Abraham and Sarah are buried there, but also, his son Isaac and also Jacob. We hear in Genesis 49, Jacob making this request, giving this instruction when he was in Egypt. it says, then he gave them these instructions. I'm about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. The cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre and Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field is a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.
There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried. There Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried. And there I buried Leah. The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites. So, all's well in that regard. Abraham has found a burial place for Sarah. But again, we kind of go back to where we began, in which, yes, Sarah saw the promise of the son being born, but there's so much more that was promised that she didn't see, and also that Abraham himself would not live to see. And we get some commentary here from the writer of Hebrews in Hebrews 11. We're gonna read verses 13 and 16 and then jump to the end of the passage, which includes not just Abraham and Sarah, but all the prophets of the Old Testament. the writer says this, he says, all these people were still living by faith.
When they died, they did not receive the things promised. They only saw them and welcome them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.
Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. Since God had planned something better for us, so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
So what the writer is saying here is that they did not live to see these promises fulfilled, because God has always intended that we would be included in those promises. And Christ has not yet returned because there remains others who are to be included in that promise. We are born, we live, and we die, awaiting the full completion of these promises.
We're looking forward to a better country, a heavenly one. Now, I want to make, a special distinction here. We're not talking about heaven as such. Because there's a difference, there's an important difference between our intermediate state, and our final anticipation. When I say intermediate state, I mean the time between you dying and you being raised from the dead.
Now whether, you know, Advent Christians believe that people are unconscious during that time, but whether you believe that or not, and there's, it's not something that's absolutely clear. Whether you're unconscious or conscious before the presence of the Lord, that's not the final place we're going to be in heaven.
That's not our final hope. Our hope is the resurrection of the dead, and the city which is to come. And the scriptures make this clear. In Hebrews 11: 10, so just earlier in this passage, it says, For Abraham was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. So the writer of Hebrews is saying that even Abraham had this sense of something greater that lay beyond the immediate promises that were on the horizon in terms of, you know, a son and being the father of many people, but that there was something greater that was to come.
And then we learn more about this city as we go further in Hebrews, and then we look to Revelation. Hebrews 13, verses 13 through 14, says, Let us then go to Jesus outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here, he's talking about this world, we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
The city that is to come. We are not going to that city. We're looking forward to the city that is to come. And then when we get to the book of Revelation, we see exactly the manner in which that city is to come. In Revelation 21: 10, it says, And he carried me away in the spirit to a mountain great and high, this is the Apostle John speaking, and showed me the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.
See, the Christian hope is, is this, is that God is going to restore all things. That's, that's why it's important to understand this, is that God is not abandoning Earth. He's not abandoning His creation. He's redeeming and restoring what He has created. And so what our hope is, is we're looking forward to that day when Heaven and Earth are going to meet together.
And God is going to make His home on here, here on Earth with us, and we're going to dwell with Him forever.
We must remember that there is more to come. This is our hope. In our lifetimes, we might have some nice licks of frosting. But there is so much more that awaits. And we need to remember this to avoid despair. Because the truth is, is that this world is not baking us anything sweet. At the end of the day, it all ends in despair.
And that's not sweet at all. We might catch glimpses of the heavenly country, but this is no heaven. But so many people out there are trying to create heaven on earth. Whether it be in the halls of government, or in their own backyard. It's not happening. You can't make it. You won't find it. There is no heaven on earth without God.
There is no unshakable kingdom until, until Christ rules the earth as king. So, live like you believe that. Live like you believe that. We won't be satisfied until Christ returns and our faith becomes sight. We are foreigners in the land. But we can have the peace of Abraham and Sarah as we face death. We can enter our rest knowing that God keeps His promises.
And that though we die, we will live to see them fulfilled. Let's pray.
Father, we are amazed by the testimony of Sarah's life. Of how you brought her along to trust in you, to trust in your promises. And sometimes when we see a story like hers, Father, we can see how can we compare with her. We don't feel very important, but we see, Father, that we do share things in common.
That she faced death and did enter her rest and that from, for us, unless Christ returns, that's our prospect as well, Father, that we too will die. And though we share this in common, Father, this death, we are given hope because we also share in the promises which were hers, which were Abraham's. This promise, that we would live to see this city, which is to come.
This promise that we would be counted among the children of Abraham. In fact, Father, be counted as your children. And so, Father, our prayer this morning is that we would fix our eyes on that hope. That you'd give us peace, trusting in your promises, trusting in your goodness. So that we would not chase after false hopes.
So that we would not waste our time trying to make heaven on earth. But that instead, Father, we would just simply be faithful. Being faithful and obedient to do what is right today. To be your children, peacemakers, those who do good. But ultimately, Father, resting in the knowledge that it is only you who can bring complete restoration.
What a relief that is, Father, that we can trust in that promise. Help us to rest in it. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us this Sunday, as we continue our sermon series looking at the Bible's account of Abraham.
It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Genesis 22, we see God challenge Abraham’s faith by asking him to sacrifice his son, foreshadowing God’s own sacrifice for us.
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Transcript:
This is from Genesis 22 verses 1 through 5. Some time later, God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. Then God said, take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you. Early the next morning, Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him 2 of his servants and his son.
Right. 1, he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering. He set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then will come back to you.
For 6 years, our church had no meeting place. This began in April of 1861, the same month in which the Civil War came upon our country. Miles Pray, the church clerk, had been paying rent for a tabernacle, but he couldn't pay anymore. There just weren't enough people. It seems that they were down to around 13 people at that time.
I wonder what that was like. Well, I'm sure that there were some sweet times together. It must have been a season of discouragement for them, especially in the midst and aftermath of war. Yes, they persevered meeting in homes, but to do that for 6 years, that's difficult. How many times they must have prayed for spiritual renewal and for our church to grow, wondering when their prayers would be answered.
The time came on September 22, 1866. Daniel Reid, an Advent Christian evangelist assisted by some other local Advent Christians, held a 20 day tent revival here in Scituate. Somewhere between 70 to 80 people put their faith in Christ, and if you appreciate how small Scituate would have been back that time, that's a significant response. It would have been a significant response today, too. Over the next year, the church became formally organized.
They purchased a small tin shop down in the village for a chapel, and they opened the building for use on October 19, 1867. On the same day, they baptized 61 people. Can you imagine that baptizing 61 people in 1 day? The Lord provided.
RCC has known its ups and downs in all the years since that time, but one thing has remained the same. The Lord has provided. Our story is just a small thread in the larger fabric of God's history of provision which is ultimately tied together in Jesus Christ. This series has drawn us to look at Abraham. But our gaze shouldn't stop on the man.
We should look through Abraham to see God more clearly. Abraham is a God given lens so that we know who God is and his love for us, that he is the God who provides. That's exactly what we see here in Genesis 22. We open up chapter 22 with some indication that some time has passed on. It says sometime later, God comes to Abraham, speaking to him again, and as I'm going to suggest, this is actually a number of years later.
Everything up to this point in the past, the previous chapter has been pretty upbeat. This promised son, Isaac, has has come. Things seems like it's onwards and upwards from here. But then God says to Abraham in verse 2, take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the region of Moriah, sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.
When we want to talk about a plot twist, we can be sure that Abraham did not see this coming. And as it says from the beginning, verse 1, it says that God had come to Abraham with this command in order to test him. And by the time we get to verse 12, it says that after Abraham passes through this test, God tells Abraham that now I know that you fear me, that you fear God. Now, this raises 2 questions for us. First, is God tempting Abraham?
And the second is, did God not know what was in Abraham's heart? Dealing with this first question, is God tempting Abraham? What this really boils down to is our understanding of what it would mean for God to tempt Abraham. Kind of the answer we can give to this is yes and and no. We we find this dynamic in James 1 verses 12 through 14.
James says, blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say God is tempting. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.
Now, the thing that's interesting here about the language of testing and temptation is that in the Greek, it's it's the same word. It's it's the same same root. So, it's it's somewhat interchangeable. And yet, while James kind of picks out testing and trial as something that can be a positive good, he seems to make some sort of distinction here when it comes to thinking about God tempting us. So, how do we kind of split things? How do we discern the difference here?
Well, we would have to say that based on what's said in Genesis 22 and elsewhere in scripture, God does in fact will at times that we would undergo tests and trials, but that when he does allow these things and actually will these things to occur, it's not his purpose that we would fail in the face of that test. And what James is getting at is that there's times at which we as human beings, when we go through a difficult time and we stumble, we would like to blame anyone else other than ourselves. You've maybe heard it said, Well, the devil made me do it. Or, you know, in this case, you know, what James is responding to is the idea that God made me do it because I was put in this circumstance. And what James is saying is, no, it's not God who made you fail.
It's your own heart, your own sinful desire that has led you astray. Failure is not due to the test, but our hearts. And we see Jesus, he goes through tests and temptations, and that was all part of God's will that he would undergo those things. But he succeeds, because that evil is not within his heart. So it's kind of a yes and no sort of thing.
Understood properly, yes. God does will that we would sometimes go under undergo tests and trials. But he's not trying to make us fail. When we fail that just exposes what's within us. So now to the second question, did God not know what was in Abraham's heart?
Because it kind of seems like he doesn't know. Well, something that we have to appreciate is this is called an anthropomorphic way of speaking, um, which is a really fancy word, but it's basically a way in which God communicates to us in human terms in a way that we can understand. So what God was trying to communicate to Abraham is that I was interested in you proving out your faith. We understand that God knows all things and this is testified elsewhere in scripture. We see this in both the Old and the New Testament.
In Psalm 44 says, If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread our hands to a foreign God, would not God have discovered it since he knows the secrets of the heart? In the case of Jesus, Son of God incarnate, in Mark 2:8, it says, Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this is what they were thinking in their hearts. And he said to them, why are you thinking these things? In Acts 1 :24, when the apostles are trying to find a replacement for Judas, it says that they prayed saying, Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these 2 you have chosen.
So clearly, God knows what resides within our hearts, which would lead us to conclude then that God certainly knew whether Abraham actually feared him or not. So what then is the purpose? What is the purpose of this testing? Well, it seems that the purpose of this test is to bring to the surface what is hidden to everyone else. In the case of Abraham, it's faith and fear of God.
And this is to the glory of God. It's to the glory of God when people trust in him, and God is able to use that occasion to show just how good he is. We can think about, like, that kind of testing. You just open up the book of Job where Satan, the accuser, comes to God and says, no one's righteous. You know, you can't find anyone faithful, basically, on the face of the earth.
And he says, have you seen my servant Job? And then a whole test plays out. And this is to the glory of God as difficult as it is to Job. And in the end, Job is restored. I think the best way to picture this is in terms of trying to smelt down a precious metal from a raw ore.
I I think I've got a picture of some gold ore here, maybe. Is there a picture in the next 1? Yeah. So you got a picture of gold ore here. Now you can see the flecks of of gold in there, and this is actually a pretty good piece of gold ore because other ones it's not so obvious, but it doesn't have the brilliance it could possibly have if it was just smelted and separated from all the other stuff that's not worth anything.
This is what God does with us. Now, we understand that there's nothing naturally good within us, that anything that's good within us is the product of God's spirit working within us and transforming us. But the idea is that God allows us to undergo tests in order to bring that concentration of that faith, of that fear, to the surface. And this isn't just something that I've kind of invented on my own, this this sort of imagery. This is biblical imagery.
This idea of refinement. In in Psalm 66, this is 1 of my my favorite verses, verse passages. It says, For you, God tested us. You refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs.
You let people ride over our heads. We went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. I love that verse because those verses because it just seems to reflect so much our experience of going through life. Sometimes you feel like people are riding over your heads. But God brings us these through these experiences, in order to bring us out to a place of abundance.
And this is to his glory. We see likewise in the New Testament, how the testing of our faith is compared to proving pure gold. In first Peter 1, verses 6 through 7, it says, in all this you greatly rejoice. Though for now for a little while you have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith, of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
That's what's going on here in this passage. God is proving out the genuineness of Abraham's faith in him. And this is of greater worth than any goal, than it is to the glory of God. Visible proven faith is a much better thing than a hidden faith. Just as that purified gold is so much better than that just speckled gold caught up in that ore.
Now, all that said, the demand that God places upon Abraham here is very strange. It's very strange to us that God would ask him to sacrifice his son. And it would have been pretty strange to Abraham himself, though not entirely foreign to him, because human sacrifice was something that happened in those times. In fact, in some of the pagan cultures, they would sacrifice their children ironically to perpetuate their fertility. It was like the god had to have some Okay.
I'll make you fertile, but you kind of have to give me a little bit back, too. So, at this point, maybe Abraham's like, Well, I guess I have a little bit more to learn about this God. So, it's a little bit surprising, especially given the promises, but at this point, what really stands out in this passage is that Abraham is going to trust God. Now, the offering that God calls him to offer is a burnt offering, which is a complete offering, an offering which holds nothing back. So, this might be kind of news to you, but there's actually different kinds of offerings.
There's burnt offerings, there's sin offerings, there's fellowship offerings. We find these all specified, especially in the book of Leviticus. And and we see what a burnt offering looks like in Leviticus 1. We'll look at a few verses from there.
Says the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting. He said, speak to the Israelites and say to them, when anyone among you brings an offering to the Lord, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or flock. If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, you are to offer a male without defect. You must present it at the entrance to the tent of the meeting so that it will be acceptable to the lord. You are to lay your hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on your behalf to make atonement for you.
And you jump down to verses 10 through 13, and we find it specified to sheep.
It says, if the offering is a burnt offering from the flock, from either the sheep or the goats, you were to offer a male without defect. You were to slaughter it at the north side of the altar before the Lord. And Aaron's sons, the priest shall splash its blood against the sides of the altar. You were to cut it into pieces, and this priest shall arrange them, including the head and the fat on the wood that is burning on the altar. You are to wash the internal organs and the legs with water, and the priest is to bring all of them and burn them on the altar.
It is a burnt offering, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. I want you to remember that last line there, an aroma pleasing to the Lord, because we'll turn back to that again. The idea here, though, with the burnt offering is that it is a complete offering to God. Something else that you might not have known about these ancient sacrifices is that they would actually have some of it the people offering them would actually receive some of the offering themselves in order to eat it. And, actually, this kind of represented some communion with God, sharing in his offering.
But in the case of the burnt offering, everything is given to God. It's a complete total sacrifice. We can see how this sacrifice being characterized as a burnt offering is very fitting because Abraham is offering his only son. His only son. I'm sure any parents here, if you imagine being in this position, you'd understand you you'd be giving your very heart to God, and being willing to offer your child unto him.
Abraham trusts God so much that he's willing to do this. And so he's directed to the land of Moriah, to Mount Moriah. It's debated whether this is the Temple Mount because elsewhere, it's the Temple Mount is referred to as Mount Moriah, but some commentators thinks it might be actually elsewhere. Um, but in any case, wherever this is, it's not a quick journey for Abraham. It's not as though, okay, the mountain's out in the backyard, we'll climb up there, just do this.
It took him 3 days to get there. 3 days of intentionally taking step by step closer to sacrificing his son. Imagine that dwelling on your mind for, for 3 days, and those nights, those long nights having to get back up again and keep plodding onward. Now, he didn't go alone. He took Isaac obviously was with him, but they also took 2 servants.
Now, at this point, we're kind of wondering, well, how old is Isaac here? Because in verse 5, it says that he was a boy, which I guess it it shouldn't be any more or less painful, I guess, when you think about it. I mean, your kid is your kid regardless of whether they're 50 or if they're 5, but it just makes it all more acute when we imagine Isaac maybe being like a 5 year old who can't offer any sort of resistance. But we have to slow down here and be careful about rushing to that assumption just because the translators chose to use the word boy here because the same word, na'ar, that's the word word for that can be translated as boy, is also used for the 2 servants of Abraham. And then when we look elsewhere in Genesis, when we go to Genesis, when we look to the story of Joseph, we actually see Joseph being referred to as a boy when he's quite a bit older than being a child.
In Genesis 37, it uses that term to describe him when he was 17, and when the story goes on later, when the cupbearer is telling the pharaoh that, Hey, I met this guy who could interpret my dreams. He said, I saw him 2 years earlier, and then it says, Joseph rose to a position of second in command because he was able to interpret the dream. It says that he was 30 years old at that time, so if you go 2 years back, that means that he was 28. So at the very least, we're thinking about here that, you know, 17 to 28, you could still be called a boy, a na'ar. And we also recall that in the case of Ishmael, he was referred to in the same way, and he was about 14.
So we have that consideration in mind, and also, as we'll see in the following verses, that Isaac would have had to have been strong enough to carry enough wood to offer a human sacrifice. You can't load up a kid under 10 with enough wood to pull that off. It has to be a young man. So, you know, why do I, why do we focus on this? Why do we, why are we trying to figure this out?
Because I think it makes Isaac's submission all the more striking. His father is very old. It seems that he was a young man who probably would have had strength enough to say, heck no, and punch his father in the face and run away, But he doesn't do that. There's a trust there. There's a fear there on Isaac's own part either in trusting Abraham at least, and trusting God.
Now, as I mentioned earlier, Isaac himself carries the wood that will be needed for this offering. So, we pick up on this in verse 6. It says, Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son, Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the 2 of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father, Abraham, father, yes, my son. Abraham replied, the fire and wood are here, Isaac said, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?
Abraham answered, God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. And the 2 of them went on together. Now, when Abraham offers that reply that God himself will provide the lamb, Maybe we think, you know, is he deceiving Isaac? I don't think so. I think Abraham, he doesn't understand how, but he has faith in God's word that Isaac was to be this promised son.
And so that, some way, somehow, a substitute would be provided. In the worst case scenario, we learn later on in scripture, in the book of Hebrews, that Abraham had a faith actually that God could even raise Isaac from the dead. In Hebrews 11 verses 17 through 19, it says, by faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his 1 and only son, even though God had said to him, It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
So So 1 way or another, it's difficult to know exactly what was in Abraham's mind except that he had this trust that God had the power to, to raise the dead, to preserve the life of his son. He had this faith because he had already seen God's power at work in bringing forth his son from a completely barren womb. And so they trek onward to the summit. Picking up in verse 9, we read, when they reached the place God had told them about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.
Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, Abraham, Abraham. Here I am, he replied. Do not lay a hand on the boy, he said. Do not do anything to him.
Now I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son. Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place the Lord will provide. And to this day it is said, on the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.
So Abraham is prepared to go through with this sacrifice. His faith is bubbling to the surface for all to see, but God stops him at the very moment that he's actually going to go through with it, which makes it clear that God didn't have to really see anything more, because if it was a matter of God really truly knowing, if God was depending on this test and knowing, then he'd actually have to see him go through with it. God doesn't need to see that. But this is revealing Abraham's faith in God. And so he stops him.
And as I've said before, you know, a burnt offering is a complete offering. That's what he was prepared to do in offering his son, offering his whole self. But what becomes clear here, in the fact that God does not require Isaac to be sacrificed is that God has no desire for human death. If God wanted human death, then sure, he would have required human sacrifices. Even in the case of Christ, when he died on the cross, it's not the case that God desired his death as such.
We're being very, very specific here. He didn't desire his death as such. Because if that was the case, if he just wanted someone to just die, then Christ staying dead would have been enough. But we see in Christ's resurrection, that was not God's point at all. Jesus dies to rise again.
Jesus dies to bring new life. And so, the truth is that if Isaac had died, it would have gained nothing. Nothing for himself, nothing for anyone else. . We see this testified to in Psalm 49.
This is a really powerful passage that kind of anticipates our hope and resurrection. It says, no one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them. The ransom for life is costly. No payment is ever enough so that they should live on forever and not see decay. Then you get down to verse 15.
It says, but God will redeem me from the realm of the dead. He will surely take me to himself. So as the psalmist has said, there's no there's nothing that we can do to ransom a human life. And yet, the psalmist asserts his faith that God will will basically somehow redeem me. He will deliver me from death.
We see this intervention anticipated in the substitution that God makes here in the case of Isaac. The substitution of a ram for Isaac. And you have to understand a ram is just a male sheep in the biblical language. It's just a male, male sheep. It's not any, any special other sort of breed.
And so working on from this picture of the substitution of this male sheep for Isaac, we have built upon that the prophecy that's given in Isaiah 53. Or in the case of the Messiah, this promised king, this one who is a suffering servant, it's prophesied that he is going to be like such a sheep. In Isaiah 53 verses 6 through 7, it says, we all like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. It's an incredible continuation of the imagery that we have here in the case of Isaac so many years later on, spoken, recorded not by Moses, but by Isaiah, and about, like, 700 years before Jesus. This is a passage that you feel like could be coming right in the New Testament. Building upon that we have the testimony of the New Testament, though, that Jesus is this promised lamb of God. In John 1 :29, it says that John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Look, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
And in verse 36, when he saw Jesus passing by, he said, look, the lamb of God. Peter's testimony in 1 Peter 1:18-19 is this. He says, For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed.
Because as the psalmist says, you can't be redeemed by such things. We're not redeemed by these things from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ.
A lamb without blemish or defect. We've been redeemed by Jesus Christ. He is the substitute for our sakes, And because of that, something interesting happens. Because Jesus has been he's been our sin offering, he's also been our burnt offering, because he offered himself completely, something interesting happens in which, because he has made this offering, we are now enabled to offer ourselves as offerings to God, Not for our salvation only Jesus can accomplish that but as an act of worship. Paul testifies to this in his letters to the Ephesians and the Romans.
He says, follow in Ephesians 5, he says, follow God's example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Did you catch that fragrant offering? Remember how in Leviticus we read about how a burnt offering was to be a pleasing aroma to God. Now, now we understand elsewhere from scripture that God takes no satisfaction in the sacrifice of animals. These were all symbolic.
They were pointing us towards the sacrifice that God truly desires, which is a completely devoted human life. So, how do we offer a fragrant offering up to God? By following Jesus' example, walking in the way of love. Romans 12, many of us are familiar with this verse. It says, therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, that mercy we've received in Jesus, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.
So no one's dying here in the literal sense. We're a living sacrifice. Holy and pleasing think about that pleasing aroma holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship. Now, you know, when we gather here on a Sunday morning and we sing, yes, that is part of what it means to worship God.
We're glorifying God. But the very heart of worship is not merely a song. It's a life completely devoted unto God. And so, when we think about eternity, when we think about that time when Christ will return and we will dwell on earth here with God, and we think about it being worship all the time, We shouldn't think that it's just a song fest the whole time. It's that we're actually living our lives in complete devotion to God, Glorifying him in everything that we do.
And that's where we've come up short as human beings now. The truth is that we don't do that consistently. We don't always offer our lives as a burnt offering, as a living sacrifice unto God. Because of Jesus though, that's changing. We are now invited to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, and in the end we will be perfected.
Now, because God has provided this substitute in order to spare Isaac's life, Abraham calls the place, The Lord will provide. And really this designation is, is kind of thematic for everything that God has been doing in God's mission to redeem mankind. It's always God providing. It's not the human beings providing. It's always God who's making the way forward.
From the beginning, it's been about God's provision. And the promises that God has made to Abraham are going to reverberate around the globe. In response to Abraham's faith, we see God double. And at at this point, more like quadruple down on his promises to Abraham. Verse 15, we read, the angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, I swear by my self, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring, all nations on earth will be blessed because you have obeyed me.
Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba. We see here in the case of Abraham is faith being manifest in action. James picks up on this in his letter. In James 2, he says, Was not our father Abraham, considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And so in response to Abraham's faith, his trust in God proven by his actions, God doubles down on his promises. And I'm not going to read through all these verses, but we've seen these previously in Genesis 12, 13, 18. God again and again repeats his promises to Abraham. And ultimately, how this ties into is that the promises that God makes to Abraham encompass the whole globe, encompass all people.
I will read this, Galatians 3:8 Paul says, Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles, that is the non Jews, by faith and announce the gospel in advance to Abraham, all nations will be blessed through you. This is how what's happening here connects directly with us. So God promises Abraham that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars, as grains of sand. That certainly includes his natural descendants, but this would also include his descendants by faith. He promises him that his descendants will overcome enemies, and Israel will face many enemies, and there's even a signal here that you are going to face difficulties.
You are going to face tests and trials. It's not just going to be smooth sailing from here, but what is assured is victory. And in truth today we have that same assurance. The gates of hell will not prevail against the church. Yes, we will go through difficulties, tests, and trials, but we will be victorious.
And as he's promised again and again, all nations will be blessed because of Abraham's faith and the descendants which follow, specifically Jesus Christ, through whom God brings the people of God to himself. So when we look to these closing verses, we're kind of turning a page and we're getting a glimpse of the future. I'm not going to read these verses, um, but you can see them up there. They're included here in this chapter because it's acting as a bridge towards Isaac and his own life. Um, it drops the detail about how Bethel became the father of Rebekah.
And Rebekah is the one who would end up being the wife of Isaac, you know, Jacob and Esau, and then the story goes on from there. So, we have to drop that detail here in order to understand where Rebekah's coming from. God tested Abraham. He commanded him to offer his only son as a sacrifice. And ultimately he didn't require this.
Yes, we do see Abraham's faith here, but more than this, we see God's faithfulness, his provision. That's certainly what Abraham saw. And we should see this even more clearly. God so loved us that he gave his only begotten son to be our sacrifice Jesus is the ram in the thicket for our sakes. Jesus carried that wood upon his back, the cross on which he would die.
He did not protest. He did not fight back. He was in perfect agreement with the father's will. He went like a sheep to the slaughter. Unlike us, he was perfect.
There was nothing wrong with Jesus. We could not redeem ourselves, but he could redeem us. He died so that there can be no question. He offered himself completely to God. It's not death itself that God desired, but this complete devotion which Christ offers.
Jesus offers this complete devotion and opens up a new way in himself for us to be restored to God. He is raised from the dead and brings with him new life. He is the promised blessing to all nations. And so by faith, we can be united with him. His perfection becomes our own before God.
His death kills sin's power over us. His resurrection life brings forth something new in us today, the love and righteousness of Jesus. We are becoming new people, a reality that will eventually reveal itself even in our bodies when Christ returns and the dead are raised and the living are transformed to have bodies like Jesus' own transformed body. Yes. The Lord has provided, and he will always provide.
This is the basis of our faith. You see, faith is not mere optimism, a plucky will to persevere in the face of impossible odds. That's just a gambler's confidence. That's not Christian confidence. Our faith originates from a promise given by a person who can be believed, the God of all creation.
It's because of who he is. It's because of what he has done. It's because of our confidence about what he will do that we offer ourselves as living sacrifices. Not to save ourselves or the world, but to worship God with increasing devotion. It's because our faith rests upon God's proven love that we can face every single test.
Whether it be 1861, or 2024, or any other time or any other season, we know God is with us and he will provide. I close with the words of the Apostle Paul. It says in Romans 8, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, for your sake we face death all day long.
We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. No. In all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God as in Christ Jesus our Lord. Hallelujah.
Amen to that. Let us pray. Dear father, we praise you because you are the God who provides. Throughout human history, Father, we have seen your faithfulness proven. We see it proven here in the specifics of Abraham and Isaac, and you providing a substitute for Isaac father. But we see it especially all the more Father, was that is just a foreshadow of the ultimate provision which you've given us in Jesus Christ who is the substitute for us. Because we could never ransom them ourselves for our sinfulness, father. We are only due punishment. But because of Jesus Christ, the perfect lamb, your son, your 1 and only son, father, because of his complete devotion, we are ransomed and reconciled to you. Father, we pray that in response to that, that mercy that you have given us in him, that we would follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ by offering ourselves in complete devotion to you.
That we would trust you completely as Abraham has trusted you, father. And that you would be glorified in all things so that our faith, our fear of you would not be hidden under the surface like raw golden iron or but that it'll be brought forth for all to see. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us this Sunday, as we continue our sermon series looking at the Bible's account of Abraham.
It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Genesis 21, we see the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham and Sarah of a child, conflict with Hagar and Ishmael, and God's continued faithfulness despite the brokenness of man.
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Good morning. The scripture reading is from Genesis 21:1-7. Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him.
When his son Isaac was 8 days old, Abraham circumcised him as God commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Sarah said, God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me. And she added, who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children, yet I have born him a son in his old age.
It's that time again. We are in an election year, and a presidential one at that. It's a time when new promises are made, and a time when candidates remind voters of how their opponent didn't keep all the promises they made before. Very often, both sides are right about that. Politicians are great at making promises, but they all struggle to keep them. The normal situation is for Americans to brew in perpetual disappointment, always looking for the next candidate who will keep their promises.
Truth be told, I think we have grown somewhat numb on this front. We expect politicians to say things they don't really mean. We figure it goes with the territory. We do still feel the sting of broken promises elsewhere though. A couple vows till death do us part, but theone 1 or another or both breaks that promise.
A little boy or girl wait through the time that mommy or daddy promise to spend with them, but it never comes. They're too busy. It's not only the political class, we're all breaking promises and we should be wary of throwing stones in glass houses. And yet, there is someone who does keep his promises. God keeps his promises. He keeps his promises even when it seems impossible, even when we don't deserve his faithfulness.
As we've seen in the preceding chapters, Abraham and Sarah have not been perfect. God promised Abraham that a nation would come forth from him, and presumably Sarah, But instead of waiting, they resorted to make Sarah's servant Hagar a wife for Abraham through whom he could have a son. When God insisted he would keep his promise despite their old age, they initially doubted and laughed. Ultimately, they did take God at his word as crazy as it seemed. And here in chapter 21, we see that this promise does in fact come to pass.
Rena's read the passage for us so I won't read it again. You see how from the very beginning of this chapter it's noted how the fulfillment of God's promise is truly a gracious act. It says the Lord was gracious to Sarah. It was not as though Sarah deserved a son. Giving of the son was just a pure gift from God to Abraham and Sarah, and in fact, to all humanity.
Because without the birth of Isaac, there would be no Israel and there would be no Jesus Christ. And so the Lord did fulfill his promise at a very old age. Sarah would have been 90, Abraham a hundred, and in obedience to his commands they named this son Isaac. God commanded them to do this in Genesis 17. And the name Isaac means he laughs.
And earlier, we we had seen how Abraham and Sarah had laughed at the notion of them having a child in these late years. And also, though, points to the fact that others are going to laugh at this a story as well as, you know, how could this possibly come to pass? It's a it's a joyful sort of sort of laughter. Sarah knows this. She says, God has brought me laughter and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.
They also do something else as well in obedience to God's command. They circumcise Isaac, and the significance of this can be easily lost on us if we don't if we don't recall the background of how circumcision was a sign of the covenant that God had made with Abraham. We turn back to Genesis 17, and we can remind ourselves of what the substance of that covenant was. God told Abraham this. As for me, this is my covenant with you.
You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram, you'll be called Abraham, for I've made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful. I will make nations of you, and the and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you, and I will be their God.
Then God said to Abraham, as for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep. Every male among you shall be circumcised. The sign of circumcision points to the promises that God had made. It's a very small price considering everything that God has been promising to Abraham here in this covenant, that he would be the father of many nations, that kings would come from his family, that he would inherit the land of Canaan, it's all mind blowing for Abraham because at this point, he only has 1 son.
He has Ishmael. But God, again, is is going to be promising him later in this chapter. No. It's gonna be through Sarah. Somehow, you're going to be the father of many nations.
And so when they circumcise Isaac, they're acting in obedience and they're also recognizing that this is the work of God, that God has kept his promise. And we're going to live in obedience to him. And so as I've already noted, the way in which this is all being brought to complete fulfillment is that you have Abraham who fathers Isaac, and Isaac fathers Jacob and Esau. And from Jacob, you have the 12 tribes of Israel, and this ultimately culminates in Jesus, who is of the tribe of Judah. And it is from Jesus that salvation is made available to all people.
It's a time for celebration for Abraham and Sarah, but as Isaac grows older, it becomes clear that there is a conflict brewing that will need to be addressed. So we look at verses 8 through 14. It says the child grew and was weaned. And on the day Isaac was weaned, Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had born to Abraham was mocking.
And she said to Abraham, get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac. The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. But God said to him, do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the slave into a nation also because he is your offspring.
Early the next morning, Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He sent them on her shoulders and then sent her off with a boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. So at this point, Isaac's probably around the age of 3. That's when they typically finished off weaning the child, and they had a feast to celebrate.
And this son of Hagar, it's interesting he goes unnamed here, is Ishmael. And apparently, Ishmael had done something that concerns Sarah. Says that, he was mocking Isaac. And apparently, what Sarah had really identified in this act on Ishmael's part, and it's impossible to really know what he had done. What she identified in that was a certain antagonism towards Isaac that Ishmael presented a threat.
Now you have to understand here, Ishmael at this point Is a good bit older than Isaac. He's 14 years old, and if you're familiar with, you know, kind of those traditional stories of medieval times or ancient times, there can be a a very real rivalry between 2 sons who are vying for the inheritance of the household. And it's not unusual to hear about literally, like, a brother killing a brother so that he gets the throne kind of kind of thing, and so it's safe to assume that it's that sort of threat that Sarah is probably identifying here, and she's also reflecting on the fact that God had made a special covenant with Abraham regarding Isaac. This this covenant did not include Ishmael as far as it goes with him being the promised child through whom all this would be accomplished.
Ishmael was was circumcised, but he was not the promised son. Now when we see Sarah's response here, it can seem maybe a little bit mean. we've you might recall that this happened before actually in Genesis 16 when Hagar actually became pregnant, because Sarah perceived that Hagar was kind of looking down at her and disrespecting her because Sarah couldn't have a child of her own. But when we get to verse 11, we we note that God agrees with what Sarah is actually asking for here. He says, listen to whatever Sarah tells you because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.
And when Abraham hears this, he doesn't say, alright. Yeah. Hit the road, Jack, kind of thing. He He truly cares for his son Ishmael, and it distresses him. And so God offers words of comfort to him in verse 13.
He says, I will make the son of the slave into a nation also because he is your offspring. Now this isn't any new promise that God has made. In Genesis 17, God had already made this distinction between Ishmael and Isaac who was yet to be born. Genesis 17: 20, He told Abraham, and as for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will surely bless him.
I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He'll be the father of 12 rulers, and I'll make him into a great nation. And when we get to Genesis 25, we can see how that's actually fulfilled. We have a whole list of the the sons of Ishmael and, 12 tribal rulers just as God promised. Ishmael lives to be a hundred and 37 years old.
And so Ishmael had a good life. He had a great family, but it was to be distinct from what God was doing through Isaac. And so Abraham trusts God. Now it's it's difficult to imagine, you know, sending off your son and the mother of your son, I don't know kind of what the status of Abraham's relationship with Hagar was at this point, but at least the mother of your son, it's very difficult to imagine them sending them off away from your household. But he trusts that God is going to take care of them.
So he gives them food and water, and they go off into the desert of Beersheba. Now, that seems like a bad idea. I mean, most of us, if we were gonna go anywhere, you know, we probably wouldn't say let's go to the desert. But you have to remember that Hagar's from Egypt, and so it may be that she's kind of trying to set a trajectory back towards Egypt. But whatever their reason for going into the desert, they eventually do find themselves in a desperate situation.
So we look at verses 15 through 21. Says when the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down about a bow shot away, for she thought, I cannot watch the boy die. And as she sat there, she began to sob. God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, what is the matter, Hagar?
Do not be afraid. God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation. Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt. So I have a map here that shows you the kind of the basic area that They would have been in, you have Be'er Sheva, that's more modern spelling. In the Bible, it'll say, Beersheba. But this was the area they were wandering. So not so far off, but when you visit that area, it's it's very arid conditions. It's not a place you would want to be if you ran out of water. Now, I bring something else up here too as well.
I think we live in a a very big world these days. And so we come into contact with those, who have similar traditions to to the traditions that are in the Bible, but actually differ in the in details. And that's the case with, the Muslim religion, in the record of the Quran when it comes to this story. And it's interesting in the record of the Quran, if you go to the next slide, I think we've got a map of this. They record this story as happening all the way down there.
Safa and Marwa, there's these 2 hills and it records the story of Hagar running between the 2 hills, and also in that account, Ishmael is not 14 years old. He's a toddler. now the thing that we should know about the Quran is that it was written in between, like, 609 and 632 AD. So you're talking about a difference of close to 2600 years later. So it'd be like us writing the gospel, a gospel account today, 2000 years removed from the time of Jesus.
And so that's just something to be just generally aware, when you talk with people that come from that are Muslims that they have a lot of familiarity with the biblical stories, As a lot of the biblical characters, but usually the details are a little bit jumbled up. And so if you hear that story going on, you should recognize that the locations are very, very, very, far apart, from where the Bible actually records it, taking place. Returning back to the immediate circumstances of what's playing out here with Hagar and Ishmael. They don't have any water, the boy's dehydrated. Again, he's like a teenager, so you can imagine her carrying, kinda probably dragging him, trying to put him under a bush.
And she goes a distance off because she's expecting that he's gonna die, and she doesn't wanna see that. But then God shows up, and tells her I've heard the cry of your son. And this brings us back to Genesis 16 when Hagar was in the desert, and God came to her that at that moment intervened. And you might recall that she called God the name El Roi, which means you are the God who sees me. And so we see yet again that God has not forgotten Hagar, he has not forgotten Ishmael, he cares about them.
Even though, you know, Abraham and Sarah and and Isaac, you can say, you know, they're the main actors here, the primary concern, he has not neglected Hagar and Ishmael. And we can even see here maybe just, like, a very early signal of God's complete care for all the nations. You know, Ishmael is not gonna be the father of of Israel. He's gonna be the father of other other nations, but God cares for him. And ultimately that care is going to be extended and made complete in Jesus Christ.
So God does not abandon them. He keeps his promise. And, he tells her, you know, take the boy. He's going to become a great nation just as he had promised Abraham, and he he leads them to a well of water. He makes it so that she's able to to find one.
We don't know what was preventing her from finding it before, but whatever it was, God enabled her to to to find what they needed. And so God was with with them not just in that moment, but as Ishmael grew up, he became a great archer, and he became Father of a of a great nation. The chapter concludes in verses 22 through 33 with a small anecdote that seems disconnected from everything else that has transpired, but it's still important, and I'm going to briefly summarize these these verses and point out a couple of details that connect at a deeper deeper level to everything we've covered. So we look at verses 22 through 27. We find Abraham having an encounter with Abimelek again.
You'll you'll remember that Abimelech was the king of Gerar, seems as though he may have been a Philistine king, and Abraham had misled him to think that Sarah is only his his sister, and that put Abimelek's household in danger. Everything had been settled. God came to Abimelek in a dream, said, hey. This is Abraham's wife, don't touch her. And then they had gone their their separate ways.
But we find them coming together here again. Abimelek comes with, the commander of his forces, Phicol. And so this is not a social visit, it seems. It's the sort of visit that one takes when you need to hammer out some foreign relations. And the reason cited for the visit is Abimelech says, God is with you in everything you do.
Now, kind of reading behind between the lines there, seems that Abimelech's recognizing that Abraham's becoming powerful. He has a presence in the land. And so they need to kind of, figure out how their relationship is going to be moving forward. And so both Abimelek and Abraham kinda bring to the table some of their grievances. Abimelech says, hey, don't deal with me falsely.
Don't do what you did before. Abraham, and then Abraham mentions a complaint about a well of water that Abimelek's servants had seized.. And so you go on to verses 20 through 34, and Abraham offers 7 ewe lambs to Abimelech. In order that Abimelech would accept that, and that would be a symbol of the fact that this well, in fact, belongs to Abraham. No one should deny that.
And so after they make this this treaty, it says that, Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba. And very early on, we know how trees can have the significance of being kind of marking out a place where a person might call upon the Lord, and that's exactly what Abraham does here. Says that he called on the name of the Lord, the eternal God. So we asked what is the point of all this? Why why include this little episode here? The point is that it's demonstrating that God is rooting Abraham in the land.
So he has fulfilled this promise that Abraham would have a son and then through this son he would become a great nation, the father of many nations. And now by the fact that he's blessing Abraham and he's developing these treaties, he's showing that the fulfillment of this land promise that they would dwell in the land of Canaan is on its way. Even if it's not gonna be realized in Abraham's lifetime, even if they're gonna have to spend some time in Egypt and come back, it's It's signaling the fact that God is going to bring all of his promises to pass. Now perhaps at this point, you're you're thinking, That's all well and good, but what does this have to do with me? And that's understandable, but it also reveals that you probably don't really understand what the bible is about, what what it's trying to do.
You see, If you have put your faith in Jesus, this is your family story.If God does not make a covenant with Abraham, the whole world would be left in a state of God forsakenness. We remain strangers to God unless he keeps the promises he makes to Abraham. Because God keeps his promises, the people of Israel, the children of Abraham emerge as God's chosen people, set apart in a broken world. And because God keeps his promises, he doesn't stop there. He promised the whole world would be blessed through Abraham. That's That's what happens when Jesus enters the scene.
Because of Jesus, we can be adopted into the family. It's not about race or ethnicity with God, his mission has always been to gather together a people marked out by faith, Jew and non Jew alike. The apostle Paul speaks to this reality in Romans 4 verses 16 through 17. It says, Therefore the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace, it may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring, Not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.
As it is written, I have made you a father of many nations. He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed. The God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not. This is a faith, not just in anyone or anything, but in the one true God who has acted to save us through the person of the Son, Jesus the Messiah, the promised king. Through Jesus who died and rose again, God gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not. We have seen how God gives new life through the birth of Isaac from Sarah's barren womb, he is the same God today.
He offers to us a new birth in Jesus in He takes back our hearts, liberating us from the idols, the wickedness that enslaves us. He literally gives us new life, a life that begins today, and that will ultimately overcome the grave when our bodies are raised from the dead. Abraham had faith in God's promises, And this is what God has done. We get to share in the blessing when we share in the faith of Abraham. So if if you haven't believed, this is your invitation to believe.
To inherit what God has worked out over thousands of years to make available to you. Through Jesus. And if you already believe, this is your reminder to meditate on God's promises. Your hope is not here. Remember that, your hope is not here.
Is not in the next election cycle, the next technological advancement, the next job, The next child or grandchild, your hope is seated at the right hand of God the father, he is alive and well, and the day is coming when he will arrive with all the heavens to establish God's kingdom here on Earth. Worship the eternal God. He is with us today, just as he was with Abraham. Call on his name like the father of our faith.
Let us be like the psalmist who prays, I rise before dawn and cry for help. I have put my hope in your word. My eyes stay open through the watches of the night that I may meditate on your promises. Hear my voice in accordance with your love. Preserve my life, Lord, according to your laws.
Let's pray. Dear father, we praise you for your faithfulness. We praise you that You have brought forth life from the midst of death. That you made it so that Abraham and Sarah might become parents, That she might give birth to Isaac, and that through him you would bring The salvation of the world. That through what you've begun in Abraham, You would send your son Jesus Christ so that we too might be the recipients of your blessings.
The new life that you have to offer. Father, we pray that you would help us to meditate on your promises. That we would not get distracted by the false promises of this world that are always coming up short. Help us to meditate on your love That you do see us just as you saw Hagar and Ishmael when they were in the desert. Father, you see us when we feel like we're going through a desert father, and you are with us.
Lead us to Jesus Christ, That well of living water. Lead us to him. Set our hope in him, father, Because it is him in him that all your promises are kept and will be brought to pass. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our lord. Amen. .
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us this Sunday, as we continue our sermon series looking at the Bible's account of Abraham.
It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Genesis 20 we see another failure of Abraham’s trust in God’s promises and the work of God’s redemption through the brokenness of man.
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Transcript:
Life is a fragile thing. I'm reminded of this every once in a while, when I see something happen that could have been catastrophic for me or someone I love, but which turned out differently by a matter of seconds. Last summer, we had relatives from Texas visiting at the family cottage on Wilson's Reservoir.
And on the way over, they drove through the wooded lane and into the driveway. Not 30 seconds later, we heard a giant crash as a huge tree limb tumbled down from above onto that lane where they had just been. If they had been just a bit later, the circumstances could have been tragic. Yes, I've seen God's mercy in circumstances like that.
Life is a fragile thing. And to make matters worse, we are bulls in a china shop. Like me, you can look back on your life and remember shameful moments. You can remember times when you weren't the person you should have been. I remember that time in my own life. I remember that while God did allow me to stray, He also protected me from really destroying my life.
Maybe you too can remember times when God saved you from yourself. When He gave you mercy and blessings that you didn't deserve. And it made all the difference. I have to say that it's truly mysterious. It's the sort of mystery that just gets deeper the longer that you look at it. I don't understand why God intervenes when he does, especially when we don't deserve it.
But he does. The only explanation is that he loves us. And what he allows and what he holds back is anchored in his wisdom. I believe that's what we see here in Genesis 20. We see all kinds of human weakness and foolishness. Dark silhouettes against the shining brightness of God's faithfulness to his promises.
The darkness is disappointing. But the brilliant light is captivating. So before you rush to judge Abraham, Sarah, Abimelek, consider your own darkness, your own weakness, your own foolishness, and the mercy that has remained for you. And so with that in mind we turn to Genesis 20. Now the thing that's very interesting about this episode is that when you're reading it, you probably have a point of deja vu where you're like, didn't something like this happen already?
And you'd be correct in thinking that. Because you might recall that back in Genesis 12, Abraham gets himself into a similar situation in Egypt, where he tells Sarah, hey, just tell them that I'm your sister. Pharaoh took Sarah, and they eventually found out that Sarah was Abraham's wife, and Pharaoh was very upset, said leave, he gave them a bunch of things, and they left.
So it's interesting to see that this is kind of a pattern, this is kind of a, a strategy for Abraham to kind of deal with some of the uncertainties that he's facing. And we'll dig into that a little bit more. Where this is all playing out is in the area of Gerar. Now you might remember that Abraham is kind of a nomadic fellow.
He's got herds, so he doesn't necessarily stay absolutely fixed in one place, but he ranges and he spent some time in this city called Gerar, and there should be a map that shows this.
Maybe not. Maybe it didn't make it. But if you know, if you have any familiarity with the geography of Israel, if you know where the Gaza Strip is, you know how that's like right along the ocean, Gerar is just a little bit further inland from that. And so that's where he was. And it seems as though that that city was a Philistine city, that gets revealed later on in Genesis 26 where Isaac does the very same thing that Abraham does here.
Just, fascinating to see how he follows in his father's footsteps. Now, if you understand the whole story of what's going on here with Abraham and Sarah, you can understand why what's playing out here is such a problem. Why it would be a problem for Abimelek to take Sarah under the pretensions of making him, making her his wife, adding him, adding her to his harem.
Because, God has made a promise to Abraham. And to Sarah. That he was going to make a great nation from Abraham. And that the whole world would be blessed through Abraham. And that this was to come through Sarah. That Sarah was to be the one that would give birth to this child. Not Hagar, not any other woman.
It was going to be Sarah. Now, all of that seems up in the air, up for grabs. So the question is, is what is God going to do to deliver them from this problem of their own creation? But we'll see very shortly. And what he does is, is really interesting is. Rather than going to Abraham or Sarah, what God does is he goes to Abimelek.
He speaks to Abimelek, this pagan king, who apparently though had some fear of God. And he approaches him in a dream and tells him what he has in fact done, unknowingly so. Now Abimelek had sent for Sarah, it says that he sent for Sarah and took her. Which kind of sounds like not the nicest way of going about things.
It doesn't talk about how he talked with Abraham about this. Maybe it was just word had gotten around where it had been said that Sarah was only Abraham's sister. And so he was like, alright, I'm just going to swing by and pick her up. So, that's not great. But, in Abimelek's defense, He honestly didn't know that Sarah was Abraham's wife.
And so God comes to Abraham and says, you're as good as dead because you've taken a married woman. And, he says, well, you know, I, I didn't know this. And so moving on into verse six, we find God's reply. God said to him in a dream, Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me.
That is why I did not let you touch her. Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die. Early in the next morning, Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid.
Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done. And Abimelek asked Abraham, What was your reason for doing this? So, the thing that just stands out from this, how everything's playing out here, of how God has come to Abimelek to in a Dream and how, and of how Abimelek is responding is the fact that God is actually acting here to protect Abimelek.
Abimelek understood that taking another man's wife was wrong. That wasn't, that, that understanding wasn't something that was exclusive to Abraham and his family, that was widely understood in the ancient Near East. Like that was something you did not do. And, And so, this is why God has intervened in this situation, and he gives Abimelek an opportunity to do what is right.
He's been ignorant, but he has an opportunity to do what is right. And so, what he must do is return Sarah back to Abraham, and ask that Abraham would pray for him. And, this reminds us of what God has already said in Genesis 12: 3. That, that Abraham would be able to bring blessings on people but also if anyone who cursed him they would also fall under a curse and so you have this hanging in the balance either Abimelek is going to be cursed because of how he handles the situation or he's going to be blessed as he returns Sarah back to Abraham. We hear testimony of this of God's care for Abraham and all the patriarchs, in Psalm 105:5-15 says, remember the wonders he has done, his miracles and the judgments he pronounced you, his servants, the descendants of Abraham, his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.
He is the Lord our God. His judgments are in all the earth. He remembers his covenant forever. The promise he made for a thousand generations. The covenant he made with Abraham. The oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree. To Israel as an everlasting covenant. To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit.
When they were but few in number, few indeed, and strangers in it,They wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another, He allowed no one to oppress them, for their sake he rebuked kings, do not touch my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm.
So that's what's going on here with, with Abraham and Abimelek. God is intervening. He's protecting Abimelek. He's given him a chance to do what's right, but he's also protecting Abraham against the harm that would come upon him. If, if Abimelech took it, took his wife and all the plans, all the promises that God had made to him were scrambled.
And so again, what we're seeing here in this passage is it's very easy to just get caught up in Abimelek and Abraham and the dreams and all. What we should really be seeing here is, is God and his faithfulness. So Abimelek confronts Abraham in verses 9 and 10, basically saying, This is wrong, man. Why did you treat me this way?
Why would, why would you do this to me? Basically, what did I do to you? And we find Abraham's reply in verses 11 through 13, which clarifies some things, but also raises some questions. It says, Abraham replied, I said to myself, there is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.
Besides, she is really my sister, the daughter of my father, though not of my mother. And she became my wife. And when God had me wander from my father's household, I said to her, this is how you can show your love to me Everywhere we go, say of me, he is my brother. So what we learned here from Abraham is that this had become Abraham's general policy since leaving Haran for the land of Canaan.
That wherever they were to go, that Sarah was to say, He's my brother. Now why? Why did he tell her to do that? It's because he's afraid. He says, there's surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. Now, apparently, Abimelek isn't as bad as maybe Abraham suspected he would be.
He does have some, some fear, fear of God here. But it's, it, Abraham's not completely off base for having some fears. We have to understand that, I mean, the time and the place in which he's living is kind of like the wild west where might makes right. And so Abraham apparently felt vulnerable. And it seems as though Sarah must have been a fairly attractive woman.
Now, this is the thing that's really kind of interesting is because at this point, Sarah's 90. Now, nothing against 90 year olds, but, you know, not too many kings are swooping in, you know, to add a 90 year old to their harem, usually. So, this makes us kind of step back and say, is, were people aging at a different rate at this time?
I think that might be a fair supposition, to suppose that maybe they were aging at a different rate. We can also say that beauty isn't just skin deep. I think we talked about that last time when we were going talking about how the same situation played out in Egypt where she could have had a very noble bearing about herself.
So just for your imagination's sake though, maybe you could imagine that she, she looks as a woman would look maybe between like her 50s and 60s, but she just happens to be a very strikingly beautiful woman. So, Abraham's afraid. But we, at least it's asking, should he be afraid? Because remember, he has God and his promises.
God has promised that he would protect Abraham and that he would raise up this family that would be a blessing to all nations. So, really, Abraham should be trusting God rather than trusting in this ploy of kind of pulling the wolves over the eyes of the various kings in the region. So, I think we can say that what Abraham does here is not commendable.
And it's not entirely truthful either. because he is hiding the fact that she is his wife. Even while he is telling a partial truth, though, that apparently she is his sister, which at this point, we're all kind of like, that's, that's weird. He married his half sister. he says that she was the daughter of my father, though not of my mother.
Now, in some of the commentators I read, it was suggested that maybe it wasn't. maybe she was a relation through his father, like a cousin. So not literally the daughter of his father, but we can't know. So we kind of have to just take the text as, as it is. Apparently he married his, his half sister.
Now, intuitively we tell, it seems to us like that's something that you shouldn't do. And what's really interesting is that for 400 years later, In Leviticus, it's made explicit that this isn't something that should be done. In Leviticus 20: 17, it says, If a man marries his sister, the daughter of either his father or his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace.
They are to be publicly removed from their people. He who has dishonored his sister will be held responsible. We see basically the same thing in Leviticus 18 and Deuteronomy 27. So we think like, Oh, you know, this is like some big, bad contradiction here. Well, just consider something. Moses wrote the book of Genesis.
He also wrote the book of Leviticus. And everyone who was making copies of these texts had a more complete understanding of these books than we did. So it's not as though it's like some surprise to them that You know, you have this law, but then you also have the fact that Abraham is married to his half sister.
If they wanted to undo that, to kind of paper that over, they could have either dropped the fact that Sarah was his sister. They could have changed the law a little bit. But they don't. They keep both. Which, to me, that seems like a true testimony of the truthfulness of scripture. The fact that they retain both of these facts, the Abraham was married to his half sister, and that later is commanded that you should not marry your half sister. So is this a problem? No, because Abraham wasn't violating any command that was given. This is a command that was given 400 years later. And if we really want to kind of get our minds spinning, you have to think at some point, you know, in early humanity, Men and women had to marry their brothers or sisters.
Certainly their half brothers, half sisters. So, this was something that was permitted back then. There was no law. and we could also speculate, just as we were speculating that aging was different back then. that perhaps the genetic problems that we have today were not problematic back then. But it became problematic as time goes on and so it was later forbidden.
So it is a messy situation. I'm not trying to say it's not a messy situation. It is. But it's not morally problematic for Abraham because it was something that was still permitted at that time. But it still created problems for Abraham. Abimelek took Sarah, the first chance that he got. Abraham and Sarah have been less than truthful leading up to this.
And if we're just looking at everything on the whole, the only one who shines here is God. He protected Abimelek as well as Abraham and Sarah. And in verses 14 through 17, we see how everything gets squared away. It says there, Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle, and male and female slaves, and gave them to Abraham.
And he returned Sarah, his wife, to him. And Abimelek said, My land is before you. Live wherever you like. To Sarah he said, I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you. You are completely vindicated. Then Abraham prayed to God and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slave so they could have children again, for the Lord had kept all the women in Abimelek's household from conceiving because of Abraham's wife, Sarah. So the way that Abimelek rectifies the situation, even though Abraham hasn't really given a satisfactory explanation for why he's done what he's done.
If you were Abimelek, you probably wouldn't really be happy with the explanation that he's given. But still, all the same, Abimelek does what is honorable. To restore relations between him and Abraham and Sarah. To restore Sarah's honor. So he gives them sheep, cattle. He does give them slaves, obviously.
Again, we're dealing with a broken. We just talked about him marrying his half sister and just the things were much different back then. And we have the broken system of slavery back then as well. And the wonderful thing that we see along with God's redemptive plan through Abraham. How you start with one family and it goes to encompass the whole world through Jesus Christ.
As we see God beginning to heal and cure humanity as we go along forward. Where progressively it's understood that if you're to love your neighbor, you cannot enslave your neighbor. By this time, this is a convention. There are, there are no minimum wage jobs. You're not working at McDonald's. You are either a noble, a lord, or you're probably serving as, as, as a slave in someone's household.
He also gives a thousand shekels of silver for the offense. And then, Abraham prays. And Abimelech and his household are healed, but they're not healed by Abraham's prayer itself. Remember it says there that, and God healed Abimelech and his household. And I only point that out again to just notice that God is the real actor in all this.
God is the one who's really delivering this situation. And, and Abraham's just an instrument here. It's interesting to see that what God had done in order to protect Sarah was that apparently there had been some situation. We don't, we won't need to get into the detail that are speculated about that, but for some reason or another, Abimelek and, the women in his household were not able to, conceive and have children while Sarah was there.
Now this is acting as a reminder. of sorts to Abraham and Sarah that God has power in this area. Remember, their big problem is, is that they're super old. Abraham's like a hundred, Sarah's ninety. They haven't been able to have any kids. How could they possibly have kids at this point? God's reminding them that He has power in this area.
And that the promise that He's given that Sarah will bear a son will come to pass. And so He closed up the wombs of the women in, Abimelek's household, and then he opened them up, and he restored their fertility. And he's going to offer the same restoration to Sarah, so that she gives birth to a son.
There's also a little bit of an interesting comparison here, between this situation, and then what happens, like, 900 years later, when the Philistines take the Ark of the Covenant. They take the Ark of the Covenant. They bring it into the temple of Dagon, and then their idol, Dagon, falls over and cracks.
We find this in 1 Samuel 5 and 6. There's disease. There's all kinds of problems that were happening as they took the Ark of the Covenant. And things were only made right when they sent the Ark of the Covenant back with gifts. And so we see kind of some parallels here between the Ark of the Covenant and then Sarah being taken.
God protects what he has claimed as his own. You see, this passage isn't really about Abimelek, Abraham, or Sarah. It's about God and his faithfulness. And so, if you walk out of here today and someone asks you, What was the sermon about? And you're like, With all these details, sometimes you can walk out feeling, I don't know what the sermon was about.
Just remember this. It's about God. God has promised to bless the world through Abraham, Sarah and their family, and nothing is going to get in the way of that. And so he protects them in spite of their own foolishness. Not just for their sake, but for ours. God's plan to redeem mankind began with Abraham,
culminated with Jesus Christ, and now God is using the church to invite people all over the globe to become citizens of his kingdom through Jesus. God remains living and active today and you are part of his rescue plan. God planned to reclaim your life through Jesus. He planned to save you and includes you in this mission of bringing people back to God.
God's purpose is greater than our foolishness. All the foolish things we've done all of our lives. All those times that he saved you from yourself has led up to here and now. You have believed. Great. Now you should ask yourself this. You should ask God this. God, how do you want to use me? You have a role to play in this church if you will just seek it.
You have a light to shine in your workplace if you will just ask God, what do you want me to do? The great news is that while God includes us, success doesn't depend on us. We are weak. We stumble. But Jesus has stood tall where we have come short. And this has changed everything. Something new has begun.
Paul tells us this in 2 Corinthians 5, verses 17 -21. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone, the new is here. All this is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors. As though God was making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf. Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
All of us, individually, collectively, all of us have been given this ministry of reconciliation. Collectively, we are the people who get to tell others, God loves you and wants you back. Jesus has made a way. We have been given mercy so that others may also receive mercy. Let us pray.
Father, when we come to passages like this, it's very easy for us to become bewildered by the messiness of the human situation that's playing out.
Father, help us to see in this passage a mirror. That just as we see the weakness and foolishness that plays out here, that we are reminded that we too are weak and foolish. But that just as you showed your mercy and faithfulness to Abraham and Sarah and Abimelek, Father, that you have shown this same mercy. to us because of your great purpose. Father, Father, we pray that even as we enjoy this mercy that we've received because of Jesus Christ, that we would be reminded that there is a purpose in it, that you have a plan for us collectively and individually. Father, help us to live in light of that purpose.
God, help us to not be fearful as Abraham was, but that we would instead trust you and follow your leading. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us this Sunday, as we continue our sermon series looking at the Bible's account of Abraham.
It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Genesis 19, we see the justice of God played out on Sodom and Gomorrah and the mercy that he shows to Lot.
Content Warning: This passage deals with the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah as well as the sins of Lot’s daughters, which Pastor Tom deals with very directly.
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Transcript:
There are times in our lives when we'd all like a second chance. Sometimes they're offered, and sometimes they're not. I remember my Home Depot manager was displeased when he found out I was riding one of their flat carts like a skateboard across the parking lot around closing time. Still, he gave me a second chance, and I didn't do it again.
On the other hand, there was the time I accidentally cut a live wire at an electronics recycling facility and I was falsely accused of doing it intentionally. I pleaded my case, but the supervisor did not give me a second chance. We're not always given second chances. When they're offered, most times, we should probably take them.
In the case of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, we'll find that God offers no more chances. They're chronic offenders. The time for judgment has come. At the same time, we'll see that God's mercy is still living and active in the case of Lot and his family. We'll be covering all of chapter 19 today, so to do that, I'm not going to be reading every single verse, so we'll read some verses and summarize others.
But we'll start with reading some of these opening verses, beginning with verses 1 through 4. It says there that the two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. My lords, he said.
Please turn aside to your servant's house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning. No, they answered. We will spend the night in the square. But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate.
Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom, both young and old, surrounded the house. So, as you'll recall earlier in Genesis chapter 18, God had told Abraham that he was going to investigate the city of Sodom to see whether it was as wicked as he had heard. Now obviously God knew exactly how wicked that city was, but he was sending these two angels in order to demonstrate his diligence as a judge.
He's fair. He's examining all the evidence. So he sent these two angels down to Sodom. Now, just kind of preliminary details. We ask, well, where is Sodom? And that's a disputed fact, you know, where exactly Sodom is. If you go to the next slide, there's a map. So you can, these are the traditional locations of the sites mentioned here in Genesis 19, you have Sodom, they're kind of close to the very southern part of the Dead Sea, you have Gomorrah, and Zoar, and back in the day this area right to their left would have been a plain, it wouldn't have been filled with water. Now, again, like I said, these areas are disputed, some say Sodom was further north, I've actually been to the site, the traditional site of Sodom, Babadrah.
If you go to the next slide, that's a picture I took there, and it's just, it's a giant heap of dirt. It's, there's not much to look at. It's just a giant heap of, you know, it basically explains it. That's what it, that's what it looks like. it's, it covers about an area of nine to ten acres. And it suggested that the city would have had up to about 1, 200 occupants.
So a little bit of a different idea of a city than our own idea of a city today, where you have maybe tens of thousands of people. you have to think of how a city very often served as kind of a place of protection for the people living in the area. You had, you had the wall, everyone could go in when, enemies came by.
So these two angels are coming to Sodom and they encounter Lot at the gateway of the city. Now you ask, why in the world was Lot just hanging out at the gateway? Well, at the gate of the city was where typically the elders of the city would gather to hear matters of dispute and render their, their judgment.
So it was kind of a place where you could rub elbows with the, the important people of the city and so what it kind of demonstrates to us, you know, we don't know whether Lot actually occupied a position of authority, but at least he was trying to kind of fraternize with the important people in the city.
He was really trying to make himself at home in Sodom, and in fact, he really had made it his home, even though he was a foreigner. Now he sees these two angels coming in. He doesn't know they're angels right from just seeing them, but he, he offers them his hospitality. He insists that they come and stay at his home.
Now, initially the angels are like, no, we will stay in the square of the city. And you can imagine, you know, their purpose there is to make an observation. You know, they're there to examine the city. So what better way than to kind of, stay in the public square, but Lot's very insistent that they come home with him And so they do, and he doesn't give them quite as good a meal as Abraham had had given them. He just kind of throws together some some bread made without yeast, it is something you can throw together very quickly, and we soon find out why it was that he did not want them to stay in the square. We get to verse 5 and picking up there.
It says that these young and old men that had surrounded Lot's house began shouting out and they said, where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them. Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him. He said, no, my friends don't do this wicked thing.
Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof. Get out of our way, they replied. This fellow came here as a foreigner, now he wants to play the judge.
We'll treat you worse than them. They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door. Now, the description we have here is as bad as it sounds. These men from across the city had surrounded Lot's house with the intent that they wanted to rape his two guests, and it seems like they may be even threatening to do the same to Lot.
They said that we're going to treat you worse than them. Now, in response, Lot makes a very curious offer and we're uncertain whether he was serious about this or not. The Old Testament scholar John Walton suggests that when Lot offers his daughters to these men, he's actually doing it kind of in an ironic, kind of sarcastic sort of manner.
So like, I would as soon as give these men over to you as I would my own daughters. That kind of thing. Now, I don't think John Walton would, you know, be scared of saying that Lot in fact did offer his daughters to them. So that's a possibility, but we also have to entertain the possibility that he did in fact, make this offer to them which in that case is wrong. And this is something that we have to remember when we're reading the Bible even when we're reading about characters that on the whole like God's going to be trying, he's going to be delivering Lot from the situation It doesn't mean that they're perfect and doesn't mean that everything that they do is right So just because the Bible describes something doesn't mean that it prescribes. And so maybe he was just saying this ironically to point out just how egregious it was that they're asking him to do this.
Maybe he was serious, but what it underscores on either way, what it underscores is that Lot is very serious about his hospitality. It's like, you will, these guests are under my roof. You will not mistreat them. And now, of course, you know, this whole episode, right here, it has become infamous because it seems to highlight the immorality of homosexuality.
Now, LGBT interpreters of this text have tried to spin it in a different direction, by saying that, well, Sodom and Gomorrah was judged because they lacked hospitality. Now, of course, we can see how the people here are not very hospitable. They, they want to rape, rape visitors to their city.
Definitely not hospitable, but it seems like that's maybe papering over things a little bit. Now we do see, of course, that kind of front facing issue here is that they're threatening violence against these these visitors to their city. Then we do see the homosexual variety. It wouldn't have been any better if they were trying to threaten to rape, you know, women that were visiting their city.
And we should, it should be noted that there was other things going on in the city besides sexual sins. We see in Jeremiah 23: 14, and Ezekiel 16: 49, testimony of this, says in among the prophets of Jerusalem, I've seen something horrible. They commit adultery and live a lie. They strengthen the hands of evildoers so that not one of them turns from their wickedness.
They are all like Sodom to me. The people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah. So you have the sense of just a general wickedness on the part of the people of Jerusalem so that they are described as being like the people of Sodom. And then what's really, I find this passage in Ezekiel really interesting. It says, now this was the sin of your sister Sodom.
She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and unconcerned. They did not help the poor and needy. Now, I don't know about you, but usually when you think about the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, you don't think about how they failed to care for the poor and needy. So we do understand here that there is a bigger picture in terms of the wickedness.
It wasn't just limited to sexual sin. It included their violence, their lack of hospitality, and their lack of concern for the poor and needy. It's just a general pridefulness. So then, though, we do ask, well what about this homosexual activity then? Is it okay that they were engaging? And that, while we look at the rest of the testimony of scripture, I'm not going to give you a whole study of this, but just two points to look at is it's, the Bible is very clear that this wasn't just something incidental that was being pointed, kind of picked out here in the narrative, but that it was another point demonstrating the wickedness of Sodom because in Leviticus 18:22 It says, do not have sexual relations with a man as one does a woman.
That is detestable. Now remember, the author of Genesis is Moses. Moses also wrote Leviticus. So you got the same guy. He's writing, he's describing both things. And so we have this understanding that, yes, homosexuality is understood to be sinful as a person engages in that, in that practice. Now, again, those who would try to defend homosexuality would say, well, this is, this is a prohibition that has passed away, just as the prohibitions against eating pork and shellfish have, have passed away.
But when we look at the New Testament, we see that this is clearly not the case. And I think probably the most important passage on this that you should try to remember is Romans 1. Romans 1 really gives us a really big picture understanding of what's problematic about practicing homosexuality. in Romans 1, what Paul does is help us understand the iconic significance of of homosexuality, of how it reveals a greater issue going on among human beings in terms of their turn towards sin.
So, we're going to cover verses 21 through 32. I'm not going to dig super deep into it, but I just, it's important to cover this so you understand. Romans 1, starting in verse 21, it says, For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him. But their thinking became futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, and then pick up on this language of exchange. And exchanged the glory of the immortal God, for images made to look like a mortal human being, and birds and animals, and reptiles. So they traded the real God for false idols. Therefore God gave them over, in the sinful desires of their hearts, to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator, who is forever praised. It's easy to miss there, but notice that because of their turn from God toward idolatry, God, it says that God gave them over to sinful desires as it regards their sexuality.
And so there's something that's significant, literally, there's something, there's a sign in this. Paul goes on and says, because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged, so think about exchanging God for idols, you have this exchange with sexual relations. Their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.
In the same way, the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind so that they do what ought not to be done. So again, there's something iconic about this, about the rebellion of the human heart that's signified in the twisting and perversion of, of our sexual desires. Now the last verses here I think are so important because it shows that it's not just about the sex.
That, again, that this is really just kind of a capstone. We see in verse 29 that, of everything else that's included under this. It says in verse 29, they have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful.
They invent ways of doing evil. They disobey their parents. They have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things, they also approve of those who practice them. Now, aside from, you know, all the mention about homosexuality and all that, I think verses 29 through 32 really encapsulate what's going on in Sodom.
They're filled with every kind of wickedness. They're rebellious down to the core. And this is why God is bringing judgment upon them. And so, this observation of their homosexuality, I, I think is acting as a signal to us. It's a signpost pointing to Sodom's complete rebellion against God in all things.
Now at this point, you know, the angels have gone down to kind of make their observation. And you have to ask, do they need to see anything else? They literally showed up and the people of the city tried to rape them. It seems like their investigation can be wrapped up pretty quickly. And so. They, they conclude, yes, God's going to bring judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah, but God is going to show mercy to Lot.
So these men are surrounding the house and this is where I'm going to do some summarization versus 10 through 14. the men had surrounded the house. They're trying to get at Lot. The angels bring Lot back in and they blind the men that had surrounded the house so that they basically have to give up their efforts at trying to get in.
Now, you can understand at this point, once Lot has seen that these guys, these angels blinded everyone that these aren't just your regular sorts of guests, that there's something divine, angelic about them. And so when they tell them, when they tell Lot that judgment's coming upon Sodom, of course he's going to listen.
And so they tell him, you know, if you've got any relations in the city, go warn them so that they can get out with you. And Lot went to his son's in law. Now they weren't, probably at this point they hadn't been, they had not been actually married to his daughters. It says that they were pledged to be married to his daughters.
He went to them and pleaded for them to come with him, but they didn't go. They thought he was joking, maybe even mocking them. And, and, and that kind of just again illustrates just the lack of seriousness on the part of, of them as being, you know, occupants of Sodom. And the way that even today when we talk about God's judgment, maybe a lot of people shrug that off, kind of laugh that off.
Now, we can expect that Lot was disappointed by the response and his mind pretty muddled by the quick turn of events, so it's no surprise to find that he's not really moving with the needed haste. You can imagine if you were in those circumstances, you might be a little bit dazed and confused. And so in verses 15 through 20, we see God's continued mercy towards him and his family, the angels are urging him. They're saying, go, you got to get out of the city. It's to the point where it says in verse 16 that the men had to, the angels had to grab him by the hand, grab his family by the hand and say, we're going, we're getting out of the city. And it says towards the end of verse 16, it says for the Lord was merciful to them.
So this is where we were seeing a whole lot of judgment that's going to play out here, but we see God's mercy in the midst of it towards Lot and his family, even though he's kind of a weak man, he's not a, not a perfect man. Now as they're going, the angels are, are telling them, do not look back. Don't stop anywhere or you're going to be, you're going to be swept away in the judgment.
And at this point, Lot is just, he's very overwhelmed and they said, you know, we want you to flee to the mountains. Lot says, I can't pull that off. Can I just, can we just go to this little town over here? Wouldn't that be good enough? And he kind of emphasizes, I think, the fact that it's a little town to suggest that maybe it's not so wicked as the bigger town, the bigger city of Sodom.
And they make a concession. Now we don't know exactly why Lot wanted to go there, whether it was truly because he thought it was going to be too hard for him to get out of Dodge, basically, before the judgment came, or whether he was just generally intimidated by the mountains. But. In any case, they do show him that mercy, and they said, Very well, we're looking at verse 21.
The angel said, Very well, I will grant this request to you. I will not overthrow the town you speak of, but flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it. That is why the town was called Zoar. It means little, small. By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. So all of this had been happening very early in the morning.
It probably took them a few hours to get to Zoar, so it's the middle of the day. Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities and also the vegetation in the land.
But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. Now, everyone's imagination, I think, is really captured by that last bit there, that Lot's wife looked back and it was like, boom, she like turned into a pillar of salt. So we asked, well, what does that really mean? Was it quite like that, kind of like looking at Medusa and getting turned into a stone statue?
Was that what happened to Lot's wife? Actually, the commentary that we have from Jesus suggests that it wasn't just a mere glance back that resulted in Lot's wife being turned into a pillar of salt. Jesus says in Luke 17 verses 28 through 32 says it was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.
But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It'll be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who's on the housetop with possessions inside should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.
Remember lots wife. So what's Jesus suggesting there? What's Jesus suggesting there? He's suggesting that Lots wife and looking back wasn't merely just glancing back, but she was actually going back. She was going back to Sodom. This is why Jesus saying, don't go back. Don't, don't, don't go back to grab anything on the day of judgment.
And, and so Lot's wife, she had been offered mercy the same as the rest of them. She had been given this second chance, but the trouble is that she had given her heart to Sodom. Which is why she was going back, despite the fact that judgment was coming upon her. Now, the reason why she was, it says that she was turned into a pillar of salt.
It's not something that's arbitrary. Remember, this is in the area of the Dead Sea. It's a very salty sort of area. And I'm not a scientist, but in reading kind of some of the speculations on this, a lot of the natural elements in the area could come together that when you mix fire with it and then a person getting burned up.
And the fact that it's a salty area could result in someone being turned into a pillar of salt. So it's not just out of the blue, God said, like, yeah, I'll make her a pillar of salt instead of a pillar of pepper or something. You know, it's, it had to do with the area that they were actually in. and I think I have a little picture of that from, from the area of what that might've looked like.
Now, what we're seeing through all this, apart from the fact that, yes, God is bringing judgment, that He's showing mercy to Lot and his family, what we're also seeing is that God is being faithful to Abraham. Remember how Abraham had pleaded for God to be merciful to the righteous, which, in this case, really devolved down to just Lot and his family.
It wasn't even ten people. And we're reminded of this in verses 27 through 29. It says, Early the next morning, Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw a dense smoke rising from the land like smoke from a furnace.
So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham. And he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived. So remember that we, that Abraham was to be a blessing. And we see how Abraham was a blessing to Lot as he intervened, interceded on his behalf, and God was faithful to Abraham.
So, without a doubt, Sodom was evil. But the final verses of this chapter remind us that human sinfulness thrives outside the city limits of Sodom and Gomorrah. In the aftermath of all this, We have this really kind of disturbing tale told, starting in verse 30. It says Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar.
He and his two daughters lived in a cave. One day the older daughter said to the younger, Our father is old and there is no man around here to give us children, as is the custom over all the earth. Let us get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.
That night, they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up. Now, it's really interesting, this first detail. It says that, you know, Lot had, remember Lot had pled with the angels that he would be able to live in Zoar.
But after all this plays out, he's like freaked out. He's traumatized. I mean, you could imagine being traumatized by this experience. So that you wouldn't feel safe, maybe living in a populated area. And so he basically flees to the hills with his daughters and says, I'm going to live out here all by myself.
Now, just put yourself in the position of those daughters. You know, you're living in a patriarchal society. You have to follow your father. They cannot strike it out on their own. And so they're basically dragged out into the wilderness with their father. Kind of really bleak circumstances. Kind of not much hope on the horizon from, from their viewpoint.
And so, what we see playing out here is that human tendency to reach for our own solutions rather than calling on the Lord, waiting on the Lord. That's what ideally would have happened here, is that they would have called upon the Lord and that God would have provided them a way where they could be delivered from those circumstances, where they would be.
given legitimate husbands and, but instead of doing that, they came up with their own solution. And their solution was to have sex with their father so that they could have children and carry on the family line. Now, something that has to be picked out here and noticed is that the text really goes to great lengths to emphasize that Lot was unaware.
Now, that doesn't mean that Lot is a perfect guy. I mean, you could ask, well, why did he let them get him drunk? I, I, I don't know. We just understand that Lot's a very human sort of, sort of fellow here. He enjoyed some drink. He's, again, a guy that's probably traumatized. He's probably like, yeah, give me more drink.
I, I, I'm just been so messed up by everything that's happened. And so he gets drunk. And while he's drunk, he doesn't have any recollection about what's going on. And so they are able to have relations with him. And then we see in the last verses, verses 34 through 38, that the younger daughter does the same thing the next night.
And they were successful in their plot. Both of them became pregnant, and the older daughter had a son. And it says in verse 37, she named him Moab. He's the father of the Moabites, and the younger one had a son named Ben Ami, and he became the father of the Ammonites today. And we have a little map that shows you the basic area of the territories that they would have occupied.
So you can see not far from the area of the Dead Sea, they all stayed fairly local. Now what's kind of interesting that I found in studying this is it says in Deuteronomy 2 that the Israelites were instructed not to attack the Moabites and the Ammonites in the land that they occupied because it was given to them by God.
And so it seems that despite how sordid this whole situation was, that God was still intent on honoring and blessing Lot despite the terrible circumstances by which these sons were conceived and born. But we also do see later on that the Israelites do come to blows. They have battles and fights with the kingdom of Ammon and Moab. And they both are pagan nations. They're not faithful to God at all. So very different than Israel.
On the whole, just stepping back, we see that God judged the cities of the plain. But he gave a second chance to Lot and his family. And yet, Lot's wife didn't accept God's mercy. God wouldn't force his mercy upon her. The warning was clear, but she disregarded it all the same. Now we are in the same position today.
Judgment is coming. Peter tells us in 2nd Peter 3. That the heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. We don't know when this day will come, which only underscores our need to be prepared today. Jesus may return today.
You may die today. Both occasions render final the decisions you have made. God has delayed the return of Christ only so that more people can take the second chance that he offers. Peter, once again in 2 Peter 3, tells us, The Lord is not slow in keeping his promises, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
As Paul reminds us, God shows his kindness to lead us to repentance. Repentance is saying goodbye to Sodom and following Jesus. It's a change of direction. It doesn't mean you're a perfect person. Again, as we've seen, we see in Lot a weak and imperfect man. But he did follow God's lead. He knew God could save him.
The same is true for you and me. We follow Jesus. Because we know he can save us. But if we're following Jesus, that means we're not following the world. You can't do both. As Jesus says, you can't have two masters. There's the wide way that leads to destruction, and there's the narrow path of salvation that's found in Christ.
You must take your pick. So here's my challenge to you. If you're someone who hasn't decided to follow Jesus, to trust in Jesus for your salvation, today is the day. What else is there to wait for? Mercy has been offered. Take his hand and leave the city. And then also, if you're someone who has said that you're following Jesus, I want you, I want to challenge you to just check your compass.
I had a moment like that in my life when what I said with my mouth didn't match up with my actions and God brought me to my knees in a moment that decided which way I would go, whether I'd follow my sin or whether I would follow Jesus. You can't be trekking to Sodom and claim you're following Jesus.
If your life is controlled by sin, You need an intervention. And above all else and above all else, please don't deceive yourself. Don't follow a phony Jesus of your own creation, a Jesus who could be a citizen of Sodom, a Jesus who asks nothing of you, a Jesus who only pats you on the back, follow the real savior out of the city.
Father,
this passage has revealed to us the wickedness of Sodom, of the depth of their sinfulness, Father, but in truth, Father, as we see their own, their wickedness, we see a reflection of our own. The same wickedness that we see in Sodom, we see in our society today. We see it throughout the world. We've seen it throughout history, Father.
All of us deserve the judgment that Sodom received. And yet, Father, in the midst of this judgment that we've seen in this passage, we've also seen your mercy. How you mercifully intervened to leave Lot and his family out. Father, I just pray that rather than giving our hearts over to Sodom like Lot's wife did, that we would follow Christ, that we would take his hand, that we would be saved despite our weakness and imperfection, that we would follow him so that we may receive all that You want to offer us, Father.
You want to offer us a new life. You want to restore us. You want to clean us up through your Son. So, Father, help us to take the second chance that you're offering us. Help us to follow Jesus, we pray, in the name of Christ our Savior. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us this Sunday, as we continue our sermon series looking at the Bible's account of Abraham.
It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Genesis 18:16-33, God warns Abraham of what he has planned for Sodom and Gomorrah and Abraham entreats Him to save Lot.
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Transcript:
Our scripture reading this morning is from Genesis 18: 17 - 23. Then the Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham what I'm about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him. Then the Lord said, , the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin is so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.
The men turned away and then went towards Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Then Abraham approached him and said, Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
I want you to use your imagination this morning. I want you to imagine that you are sitting at a desk. You're sitting at a desk, and a mysterious man, clad in an ominous suit, has now walked up to the desk and placed a briefcase on it. He opens it up and directs your attention to a button mounted at the center of the case.
And he tells you this. Press this button and you will eliminate evil from the world. Press this button and every evil person will be eliminated. And the man walks away into the shadows. Will you press the button? Before you decide, you should consider that God could do just this. He could eliminate evil.
But he hasn't. Would you execute the judgment God has withheld? It's a lot to consider. Now, we do know that God has brought down judgment at various times and places. We see it at a universal scale in the flood. But what's so interesting about that case is that while Noah is called righteous, he and his kin propagate sinfulness and give evil a second chance.
So it can be seen that God did not entirely eliminate evil. God also brings judgment upon various nations, including Israel, but he allows other evil persons and places to continue to exist. God reveals his measure of justice, but holds back from pouring out his complete judgment. For now. In Genesis 18, Abraham's story intersects with the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah.
And the story of the fate of those two cities begins here, but will only be completed in chapter 19. For now, our attention is turned completely to God. You will recall that Abraham and Sarah were entertaining three mysterious visitors. Two of these are in fact angels, and one of them is the Lord himself.
And now, in the light of Jesus Christ, since he's been born, he lived, he died, he rose again, he's ascended. Since we know all that happened, we would say that this one, who only appears as a man at this point, is the son of God before he was born human. And he has told Abraham and Sarah to expect that they will welcome a newborn son very shortly through Sarah's own womb, despite the fact that they're very old.
And as we look further in the chapter, there's more to tell. News that will set Abraham's mind racing. And as we begin looking at verses 16 through 20, it starts by, you can almost imagine these three men being huddled together, but seemingly within earshot of Abram, Abraham, and a question is asked, seemingly rhetorically.
The Lord asks, basically, Would I really hide from Abraham what I'm about to do? Abraham's the one that I've given these promises to. God's basically saying, how can I possibly hide this from him? We see the specific reasoning, I think, in verse 19. God says, For I have chosen him so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him. So it seems that part of the reason why God is sharing what's about to befall Sodom and Gomorrah with Abraham is so that Abraham has an instructive example in the Lord about what it means to do what is right.
What it means to be a just person. And that this is going to have ramifications for all of Abraham's children because he's going to instruct them in the ways of the Lord. Now, what we, what has prompted all of this, this confrontation with Sodom and Gomorrah, is that there's been an outcry that has arisen.
Verses 20 to 21 says, The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know. Now we won't get into the specifics of what they're doing. We'll get into that next week, but it's enough to say that they've been bad.
Very evil cities. This outcry has reached God. Now it is interesting that God kinda goes through these, this process of coming down to visit these cities.
We see this sort of language used also in Genesis 11 with the Tower of Babel. It says in Genesis 11: 5, but the Lord came down to see the city and the tower. Then also later on, when you have Moses and the children of Israel leaving Egypt,
preceding that, that Exodus actually. In Exodus 3: 7- 9, the Lord says, I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land.
A land flowing with milk and honey, the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.
Is God a physical being like us such that he would have to come down and see these things? Does God have ears so that we would have to reach a certain decibel level that he would hear us? No. This is just all a manner of speaking in order for us to understand that God does see. That God does hear. That he knows what's going on. And this idea of coming down communicates to the first audience of scripture and it communicates to us that God is near nothing is hidden from God. And just as you would expect, you know, a judge to expect, you know, will show me the evidence before I render my verdict, God is taking in all the evidence. He's not missing anything. So that's what God is demonstrating by going through these steps that aren't really necessary for his divine nature, but it's helpful to us as human beings. Now, we know that things are really messed up in Sodom and Gomorrah because Abraham has no doubt about the evil in those cities.
He was familiar with them. Besides his business dealings and past military partnership, he actually kind of saved their butts. They had been conquered and he helped get all their stuff back, basically. Besides all that, his nephew Lot resided in Sodom with his family. So Abraham cares about their fate, if for any reason, because he cares about his nephew.
And in verses 22 through 25, he pleads for mercy because he knows these cities will need it. So we've read the first couple verses, but I'll, I'll read it as a whole. See, the men turned away, this is verse 22, and went towards Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Then Abraham approached him and said, Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing -- to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the judge of all the earth do right? So the case that Abraham brings before God is basically, well, what about those who are innocent? What about those who are righteous in the city? And he, he points that out and then he appeals to God's justice, will not the judge of all the Earth do right. Now, what Abraham is expressing here is something that Moses also takes up in his song later in Deuteronomy 32, in terms of assessing the character of God.
In Deuteronomy 32, verse 4, Moses says of God, He is the rock. His works are perfect and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong. Upright and just is he. So if God is just, how could God possibly also punish the righteous along with the wicked? I mean, none of us have ever liked, you know, the way that teachers have to kind of discipline their classes sometime where you have some troublemakers and then you have some kids that didn't do anything wrong, but you're going to have a pizza party and everyone loses out on the pizza party, you know, because of a few bad apples.
Surely God's not like that. That's what Abraham is basically saying here. And it's interesting. We hear Moses and Aaron make this sort of appeal in Numbers 16 as well , when you had the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram, and they basically said, God, don't consume all the people, just deal with the bad ones.
So moving on into verses 26 through 29, we find God's response and Abraham's follow up. The Lord said, If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake. Then Abraham spoke up again. Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty?
Will you destroy the whole city for a lack of five people? If I find forty five there, he said, I will not destroy it. Once again he spoke to him, what if only forty are found there? He said, for the sake of forty, I will not do it. Now at this point, we feel like Abram's getting a little bit nervy here. He's like trying to, like he's whittling down God, but we do see him demonstrate a sense of his own position before God.
He knows who he is. He says that I'm nothing but dust and ashes. I'm making an appeal to you, the God of all creation. So, Abraham's not judging God here. What he is doing is, in fact, pleading based on the character of the God that he trusts. And so, he just keeps going. He pushes further. In verse 30, it says, Then he said, May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak.
What if only 30 can be found there? He answered, I will not do it if I find thirty there. Abraham said, Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there? He said, For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it. And he said, May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more.
What if only ten can be found there? He answered, For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it. When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left. And Abraham returned home. Now, we kind of have to be grateful at this point that Abraham didn't start on a much larger figure than 50. We would have been here all day working down the numbers.
Abraham's very persistent with his petition. And this is not inappropriate. God, in fact, invites us to plead before him that he would intervene and act justly. We think about Jesus and how he taught his disciples in Luke 18 , about the parable of this persistent widow that kept basically bothering a judge, saying, you know, hear my case, do me justice, pay attention to me.
And finally, the judge was not a just judge, but he was like, I just want this woman to go away. He listened. And the point Jesus was trying to make, if even the unjust judge will listen because of this persistence, how much more will God, who is the most just judge, listen to us? So, what Abraham's doing here is not inappropriate, I think it can be understood that he's pressing into who he know, he know, he knows God is.
And as far as God kind of going through this whole rigmarole with him, it's kind of similar with the idea of going down to the city. What he's doing here is he's not entering into an actual negotiation with Abraham. Sometimes, I don't know about you, it, I know better, you know, I've, I know better. I've studied the theology, but it's so easy in our prayer lives to kind of get into negotiation with God.
It's like, okay, I'll do this, you know, God, if you do this for me, I will do this and stuff. And like, as though you could change God's mind. But the appropriate posture to come before God in prayer is, Thy will be done. I know this is true about you, God, which is what Abraham's doing here, but Thy will be done.
And what God's doing here, this whole exchange with Abraham, is He's revealing something to us. He's revealing to us His just character, and He's also revealing to us the breadth of His mercy. You've got these cities that are just filled to the brim with evil and wickedness, and if God could just find ten righteous people in those cities.
He wouldn't destroy them. He would withhold his judgment. Now, a bit of a spoiler alert, God does judge these cities. , He's not even able to find ten righteous people in Sodom or Gomorrah. And at this point, I think it's important for us also to consider that this use of the word righteous comes with an asterisk.
Because being counted righteous before a human judge is different than being counted righteous before the divine judge. Relative to one another, you know, we can be found innocent before, you know, in the law of the land when we stand before a judge. But when we stand before God, the standard is so much more high.
And we see this, I think, demonstrated just so vividly in the case of the prophet Isaiah. If you think of anyone who would be righteous, You would think it would be the prophet Isaiah. This is a man who's faithful to God. He hasn't gone along with the idolatry. He's obedient to God. He's speaking the word that no one wants to hear among his people.
And yet when he comes before God, when he's brought before God's presence, we hear him say this in Isaiah 6: 5. Woe to me, I cried, I am ruined, for I am a man of unclean lips. And I live among a people of unclean lips. And my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty. Now, what Isaiah is revealing here in his own confession is the reality that before God, none of us measure up to the standard of God's righteousness.
We come up short of it. And Scripture testifies of this elsewhere. You see this in Ecclesiastes and in Psalms. In Ecclesiastes 7: 20 it says, Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins. You have to emphasize that, and never sins. And in Psalm 53: 3, Everyone is turned away, all have become corrupt.
There is no one who does good, not even one. You could turn over to Psalm 40 and see basically the same thing. And then Paul picks this up. So there's continuity here between the Old Testament and New Testament. Paul picks this up in Romans 3. And he basically reiterates what those scriptures say in verses 10 and 11.
And then in verse 20 he says, Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law. Rather through the law we become conscious of our sin. So if we really attend to the heart of God's law that he's given us in scripture, we will come to the same conclusion that Isaiah did when he stood before God.
That we are unclean. That we are unworthy. God's law boils down to this. Love God with everything that you have. Heart, soul, mind, body, strength, spirit. All of it. And love your neighbor as yourself. And the fact is, none of us do that. We've all come up short in various ways. It cannot be said of any of us that you've never sinned.
So it's important for us to remember this because all death, all suffering is ultimately ultimately a consequence of this human rebellion that we are co conspirators in. So, you know, whether we die today, die tomorrow, we all die. We're all living under that, that judgment. And if we're unreconciled to God, on the Day of Judgment, we will be destroyed.
And there's no way for us to save us. The salvation that we need lays beyond our grasp. But, there is good news. Because God also testifies in the Scripture that He's not going to destroy all people. Isaiah 65: 8- 9 It says, this is what the Lord says, as when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes, and people say, don't destroy it, there's still a blessing in it.
So will I do in behalf of my servants. I will not destroy them all. I will bring forth descendants from Jacob and from Judah, those who will possess my mountains. My chosen people will inherit them, and there will my servants live. So on the appearance, it looks like there is no hope. But God's able to, to bring Jews from a place of nowhere, basically.
And the way that he does this is, is very unique. It's brought to pass, not because he was able to find ten righteous people, but because he found one righteous man. God offers salvation to the world for the sake of the one righteous man, Jesus Christ. He's a better intercessor for us than Abraham ever could be.
You know, you might feel great, you know, if Abraham was still living and he could intercede on your behalf, but the thing is that he couldn't, he could not come close to the intercession that we have because Jesus lives. He is at the right hand of the Father and he is our mediator.
Abraham tried just to bring a little bit of salvation by pointing to a few righteous people, but Jesus, he knew better. He points to himself because he is enough to cover all who are with him. And the book of Hebrews testifies to this beautifully. In Hebrews 7 verses 24 through 26, we have this testimony about how Jesus is our high priest, our intercessor.
It says, Because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest truly meets our need. One is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.
All those characteristics, none of us could say that about ourselves. But it can be truly said of Jesus, and that's how we can be our high priests. And the good news is, is that in Jesus, we are both forgiven and we're also restored. It's unfortunate that I, I, in some, some explanations of the gospel that I've heard, it's focused strictly on the forgiveness part, which is so essential.
We need to be forgiven of our sins. None of us are righteous. But if we were just forgiven of what we've done, that would give us no hope for tomorrow because we'd just go right back to doing what we always do. But the promise that we have in Jesus is that we are also, we are forgiven and we are also restored.
So in Hebrews 10 verses 14 through 18, it says, for by one sacrifice, he's made perfect for ever those who are being made holy. The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First, he says, this is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts. See, that's the problem.
God's law is not on our hearts. But this is what God has promised is going to happen in Jesus. I will put my laws in their hearts. And I will write them on their minds. Then he adds, their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more. It's like they didn't happen. God doesn't count it against us. And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.
Because Jesus has, has done it all. We don't have to do anything else, whether it would be by the offering of sacrificial animals, or trying to rack up a bunch of good works to save ourselves. It's all accomplished in Jesus. So let's go back to the desk. That button. It's sitting before you. And by now, you should know better than to push it.
Because to destroy all evildoers, to destroy all evil, would mean that at this moment, you yourself would be destroyed. You are not righteous enough to save Sodom and Gomorrah. You are not righteous enough to save yourself. But Jesus is righteous enough to save you if you'll turn to him. Turning to Jesus does not mean you'll be spared the curse of this world.
You will suffer and die like everyone else. The difference is that you have been joined to the one who has tasted our curse. You have been united with the one who has overcome sin's power by his obedience, and death's grip by his resurrection.
So yes, you're a sinner today, but you can be saved if you turn to Christ to intercede for you. And so if God's judgment did come today, you would have that assurance that you will be saved. But we definitely still don't want to push that button because there's more people that need to come to know Jesus.
Our present acceptance by God in Christ, unseen by the world, will be revealed on the last day when the final judgment comes. We will pass through the fire on account of Jesus and live with Him in our resurrection. This is how you can be saved. As for all those others that I've mentioned, you yourself can't save them.
But you can lead them to their salvation. We go to the world not as super saints, but as sinners who have found grace. We go in humility. As D. T. Niles has said, Christianity is one beggar telling another beggar where he found bread. We are all beggars at the point of starvation. The trouble is, is that it's just so easy for us to only care for our own hunger.
The example that we have in Abraham is that he cared. He was urgent in his efforts that his nephew Lot and his family might be spared. And, as a result, these cities along with them. You and I need that kind of urgency. Judgment is coming. It won't be put off forever. What we can do is lead our neighbors to the one righteous man through whom they can be spared.
And we need to just think practically about this, like, when's the last time you invited someone to come to church or maybe join you for a study? Go to a seminar. I'll admit like on a personal front for me, this is always a challenge because my whole life is just surrounded by like Christians, Christians, Christians, and many of them are already plugged into a church, but we need to find those people in our lives who don't need Christ, who don't know Christ, they need Christ, they don't know Christ and connect them.
Bring them to church so that they can encounter Christ in his body. We can pray that God would open their hearts to him. That's what we ultimately need. You know, you could drag someone kicking and screaming in here. Wouldn't make a lick of difference. I've said this before. Jesus met tons of people in his life who rejected them.
They saw Jesus face to face and they still rejected him. That's going to happen. Not everyone's going to believe. And that's why we need to pray that God would change their hearts. But we, in all of this, we need to be urgent. We won't be urgent, you won't be urgent, if you don't believe in judgment, if you don't believe in that one man.
Abraham believed in the reality of God's judgment, and he hoped just that some righteous contingent would be found. If God's judgment doesn't burden you, pray that he would impress its reality upon you. Pray that he would turn your heart to care for those around you and pray that the hope of Jesus Christ would burn bright before your eyes, brighter than all the flashing bulbs all around us, trying to distract us amidst all the calamities of this world so that you will urgently direct everyone to him.
Let us pray.
Dear Father,
you are so just and you are so merciful, Father. We see both these things held together, Father, because we see your mercy and that you've been so patient with us. And truth be told, Father, you were so patient with Sodom and Gomorrah. And yet in those cities, Father, we also see your justice revealed. That you will punish sin.
And while we continue to live under your mercy today, father, we understand that your justice will be accomplished. That evil will be answered. And so father, we pray that you would spur us to point people to Jesus. To point them to Him as the only one who can intercede on their behalf, Father. Help us see this reality, Father.
It's just so easy for us to just think of these things as things on a page.
Bring the reality home to our hearts. Finally, Father, we just thank You that in Jesus Christ, we are accepted. We are forgiven. And that we are restored in him. We give you praise in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us this Sunday, as we continue our sermon series looking at the Bible's account of Abraham.
It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
PS - a small section of this sermon was lost in the original recording.
Rev. William Mather (“Pastor Bill”) entered his rest on December 26, 2023 at the age of 93. Twenty-two years ago on December 23, 2001, Bill preached this Christmas message in support of Pastor Scott Aiken who was unable to preach that Sunday. Bill often helped with visitation and preaching as needed throughout his time at RCC.
Bill was well-known for his beautiful prayers and so in addition to his powerful message we have included his prayer for congregational needs that preceded it. Rest in peace Bill, we love you. Maranatha.
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Pastor Tom digs into the Old Testament to explore the promises that foreshadowed Christ’s birth.
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Transcript:
Tough things have happened in my life this week. My grandpa entered hospice at the beginning of the week and passed away on Thursday. On Friday I visited our dear brother Pastor Bill who is in hospice care. He also will soon be entering his rest. I've been so blessed by your love and prayers through all this. Things have happened things that tear my soul apart. You too, of course, have had things happen. Maybe not this week, but in your life. Death's bitter sting rears its head in our holiday celebrations, reminding us of those we wished were with us. We hope for a good future, that as one generation passes, another will arise, and we'll have more good times to share in the years to come. But the fact remains that we don't just want new faces. We want those faces from old. We want those we've loved and who have loved us. These things have happened. But today, we celebrate something else that has happened. Something that affects everything else that has happened. The birth of Jesus Christ. and this is what we find recorded in Luke chapter 2.
What I want to look at this morning are the essentials. That fact that historically speaking Jesus Christ was born. This was not a mythological birth. As though Luke was writing that once upon a time in a land far, far away there was a virgin who gave birth to a son. This is not like any of the Greek myths that would have been current at that time. Now, the author of the Gospel of Luke, Luke, is a historian. And he anchors the birth of Christ in a place in time, in the place of Bethlehem, and in proximity to a decree that was given by Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this was during the time that Quirinius was governor of Syria. Now there was another historian living in the first century named Josephus, who records this census as taking place in 6 AD. Now traditionally our understanding is that Christ was actually born around like 5 BC, so earlier because he was alive during the reign of King Herod the Great. So there's a little bit of a debate here, because we know that Luke is a good historian, he is much more vested in getting the date of the census right than Josephus does. And there's various theories as to whether there was an earlier census that happened. There's also the theory that perhaps what Luke is actually doing here is offering us a little bit of an aside in talking about a taxation that happened at a later time. In fact, Christ's birth happened earlier. It's all very interesting if you want to look into it. I'm not going to get into it this morning because it's enough to see that what Luke is testifying to is that this really happened in the course of history. He's presenting to us a historical event. So whether they went at the time of this taxation or whether it was a time before this taxation, the fact is this. Is that Jesus was born in Bethlehem among Joseph's people. And this is what Luke is really trying to do for us. He's trying to drive home the fact that Joseph really truly belongs in Bethlehem, that he is of the house in line of David. Now you ask, why is that significant? Why is it significant that Joseph is of the house in line of King David?
Well, the reason is this is that about 900 years or more before, thousand years before, God had given a promise to King David. We covered this recently in 1 Chronicles 17, 11 through 14. It's worth reading again. God told David this, "'When your days are over and you go to be with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom.' He is the one who will build a house for me and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his father and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him as I took it away from your predecessor. I will set him over my house in my kingdom forever. His throne will be established forever." Quite a promise. Something that we can be sure that David was glad to hear. something that the people of Israel would have been glad to have heard. And we see that 500 years on that this promise remains in place even while it has not yet come to pass because as it would turn out, the sons of David, they didn't measure up to this promised king. There were men who had all kinds of sins and vices, and they led the nation astray. But even so, God did not turn his back on his people. The promise remained. And so in Jeremiah 33, verses 15 through 16, it is prophesied. In those days and at that time, I will make a righteous branch sprout from David's line. He will do what is just. and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called the Lord, our righteous Savior." So again, a precious promise given to the people of Israel. Not only that this king would come, but that he would establish justice and righteousness and bring safety. That he would be their Savior. And as we see prophesied elsewhere in Micah 5, the Savior was to be born in Bethlehem. And again, all these prophecies are happening hundreds of years before Jesus was ever born. But now we ask, so what? So what that this King is to be born? So what that he is to be the Savior for Israel? Many of us here are not of Jewish descent. What sort of good news is this for us? Well, when we look further into the prophets, we learn why it is to be such good news.
You see, what ultimately is to be brought about through this king is the restoration of the entire world. And this is what Isaiah promises, speaking as God's prophet. In Isaiah 65 verses 17 through 19 and verse 25, he says, See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create. For I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people. The sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. The wolf and the lamb will feed together and the lion will eat straw like the ox. And the dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord. What God is telling us through Isaiah is that there is a time coming that will be much different than the time that we're living in today. A time when there will be no more weeping. A time when there will be true peace. When the wolf can lay down with a lamb and eat together. Now, we have it emphasized here by Luke that Jesus' father, Joseph, is from the town of Bethlehem, that he is of the line of David. But we also have to remember that Joseph is not Jesus' biological father. Joseph is Jesus' adoptive father. He's his father nonetheless, and it's significant as far as these prophecies go, but he is his adoptive father. Because as we learn in Luke 1, Mary miraculously conceived Jesus by the Holy Spirit. And there she was given the message by the angel, that this one to be born, this son, would be this promised Savior. Now as I said last week, I'm going to talk about We don't hear about that every day. It is truly miraculous. It's not a feat too big for the God who created all of creation. But we should appreciate that while this is not something that is typical, we have the miraculous alongside the historical. And this is what all the apostles testify to. Yes, they did not see all this transpire with their own eyes, but they knew Jesus. They knew Mary. and they were willing to die and suffer saying, this is what happened. What they're testifying to is that while Jesus was truly, fully human, He was the Son of David, He was also truly and fully God, the Son of God in human flesh. This is what the Apostle John testifies to at the very beginning of his Gospel in John 1:14. He says the Word, and when he's talking about the Word, he's talking about Jesus. The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. the Son of God, who existed from all eternity, came to be with us, so that we might be saved. And this isn't any sort of innovation on the part of the Apostle John in understanding it in this sort of way.
In Ezekiel 34, verses 15 and 22 through 23, we see that God promises His people that He would come to them. and shepherd them and save them and yet it's integrated with this promise regarding this Son of David, this promised Messiah. We read there, God says, I myself will tend my sheep. God's saying this, I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down declares the Sovereign Lord. I will save my flock and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them. He will tend them and be their shepherd. And so we see that, how Jesus brings everything together in his identity, where he is the son of David. And so he can be spoken of as his God's servant, David. And yet he is also God himself in the flesh, the son of God. And so if we say that Jesus is the savior, we are saying that God is our savior. Now what's incredible, again, is just the fact that God would humble Himself so much to enter into our circumstances. And we see just what those circumstances are in the manner in which Jesus was born, of how His bed was a manger. Now when we think about the stable, and I just show this again just to emphasize the historicity here. We've kind of created an image of what the stable looks like. We kind of imagine a barn and that Jesus is out in a barn. And that's what our nativity scene outside looks like, because it's a very simple way to depict that. But that was not, in fact, the situation. We have a picture. Should have a picture. The animals were actually kept in the house. I know it's strange to think about. It was built, it's almost like, you can almost imagine a garage. We have a walk, some of us have walk in garage. You have the stable. And you can see how there's mangers right there. You have a family living room where everyone was staying. And they had a guest room. And so when it says that there was no room for them in the inn traditionally, that could also be translated as guest room. Same word, catalima. And so you can imagine that Mary and Joseph were with family. It's Joseph's hometown. But they didn't have room for the baby. It was crowded in there. So they laid Jesus in the manger. Jesus was born into the first century, into the conditions of the first century world in Judea. Our attention turns from this humble scene to another.
In verses 8 through 15, we find shepherds on the night shift. And they are met by an angel of the Lord and by the heavenly host with a message of great news to them. Now, we ask, why would God, come bring this message to shepherds. Well, as we were just talking about how God promised that he would shepherd his people, we can pick out some significance there. The one who would shepherd us brings this news first to the shepherds, that he would be the shepherd of shepherds. On the other hand, it is unexpected, because we would almost expect these angels might make their visitation to the priests or something like that. But once again, we see God's love for every person here. He doesn't only care about the high and mighty, but those who are also lowly and humble. And this is the message they bring. They say, do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you. you'll find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Verse 14, they sing glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. Now, this message that they're bringing to the shepherds is something that these shepherds would have been hoping for. The shepherds aren't asking, well, what do they mean by a messiah? As though that was a novel concept to them. They were saturated in these promises that we've just gone over. That this promised king would come and deliver Israel and bring peace and justice and righteousness. And so they're receiving this news that this Messiah, this one that for hundreds of years we've been looking for, has been born. This is good news for Israel. But it's also good news for all people. It says all the people. And that all the people, it doesn't just include Israel, it includes the entire world. Isaiah 56 is a beautiful chapter. There we find God speaking through the prophet Isaiah, telling of how he's going to bring the Gentiles to himself, the foreigners to himself. You might expect of a religion that was born in a specific nationality that would just be solely concerned about the Jewish people. But that's not what we see. God has global intents. And so in Isaiah 56, 8. says the sovereign Lord declares he who gathers the exiles of Israel I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered. Now again remember the implications here. We've already heard of how God is going to make all things new. How he's going to put aside weeping. How there's going to be peace. That's a promise that belongs to us as well, even for those who aren't Jewish. Because the Messiah of the Jewish people is our Messiah as well.
The Apostle John saw that day which was to come in his book of Revelation. It recalls that imagery that we have in Isaiah. He says in Revelation 21:4, he will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death. Hallelujah. Or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed. Something new is coming. It's beginning with Jesus. And so the shepherds, you can imagine them huddling up together, and they're like, we've got to go see this thing that has happened. This is no mere theory, it's no mere story, this is something that has happened something that is as real as all the trouble that they may have suffered in their life, something that is as real as all the sorrow and hardships that we may have experienced, this is something that has happened. And so if you knew all those promises about the promised Messiah who would make all things new, you'd run to the manger too. And that's just what they do. So we see them do that in verses 16 through 21. And when they go there, and they say it's just as the angels said, and they go off glorifying and praising God. And as God had told Mary and Joseph through the angels that they were to name Jesus Jesus, they do that. And His name, Jesus, means the Lord is our salvation. fitting name. And what does it mean that Jesus is our Savior? Well, it means everything that we've brought up here, that He's going to bring this peace, righteousness, He's going to put aside death. It also means that we're going to be delivered of our sins, we're going to be forgiven of our sins.
This is the word that was given to Joseph by the angel in a dream, in Matthew 1:21. Speaking of Mary, it says, she will give birth to a son in order to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. You see, the condition of this world is not God's fault. It's not God's fault. And when we go through tough times, it can be very easy to get angry at God. You feel like, God, why does this or that happen? But we have to remember that all these things, while they might not be derived from some very specific thing that you did, it's not as though we trip over wire and then all of a sudden someone in your life dies. That's not how it works. It's that because of human sin, which goes all the way back in our family history to Adam and Eve, we have separated ourselves from God because we wanted to be our own gods. We wanted to live life on our terms rather than God's terms. And because we've been separated from God, we've lived with the consequences of that. It's like, If you take a flower, a flower needs the light of the sun in order to live and flourish. But if you put it in the darkness, it will wither and fade. We have removed ourselves from God's presence by our sin. In order to live, in order to flourish, we need to be able to dwell with God. And this is what Jesus has come to do, that we might live with him in a new order.
Peter talks of this in his letter, 1 Peter 2:24-25. He tells us how Jesus accomplishes this. He says, He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed, for you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls. You see, what Jesus has done is he's not simply been born. He actually lived. He lived a complete human life. And that he lived life in the way that it ought to be lived. In obedience to God. He is the good man, the good human being that all of us are supposed to be. And this culminates with his death on the cross. He did not deserve it. despite knowing all the suffering that it was going to bring. It's the punctuation mark of a perfect life of obedience. But it's not the end. That's just the beginning. Because in offering his life up to God completely, you can't offer your life more completely than that, he's given God a gift that ransoms us, covers all of our sins, all of our wrongdoings. And again, makes it possible, as Peter says, that we can become dead to sin, the rottenness in our heart, and be made into new people like Jesus Christ. And so he's gathering us to himself, all of us who are wayward sheep. He's gathering us to himself like a shepherd. He did not just die, he rose again three days later. and he ascended to heaven and he's living today. We don't speak of Jesus in the past tense, except when occasionally necessary, but we speak of Jesus in the present tense because he lives. and he will return again. Now this, again, just as his birth, this all seems incredible, that a man could die, that he could rise from the dead three days later and then ascend to heaven. But again, this is rooted in historical circumstances. He was crucified by Pontius Pilate, an actual governor who lived. And all of his followers saw him. They saw him die. And then they saw him alive again. And they were willing to be tortured and killed, saying that was true, despite the fact that they had nothing to gain. Mary saw it all too. And even just seeing this, what has transpired in Jesus' birth, it gets her to ponder. She stored up all these things and pondered them in her heart, just taking it all in. Her little boy, the Savior of the world. You and I are invited to ponder on who Jesus is. Jesus invites us to ponder upon him.
Jesus in talking to his disciples says this, what about you, he asks, who do you say that I am? A lot of people are asking questions about who is this guy? He's a whole lot different than the rest of us. Seems like maybe he might be the Messiah or a great prophet. They're asking this question. So he asked his disciples, who do you say that I am? And Peter answered. Peter wasn't perfect. We see all kinds of errors in Peter's life, but here he got it right because the Father revealed it to him. He says, you are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Now this is the question that all of us must answer. Who is Jesus? Who do you say that Jesus is? This is nothing that we can just shrug our shoulders about. Jesus is real. He actually lived. So either he was just a chill guy who lived, or he was, in fact, the Son of God. He was, in fact, the Messiah. He's either the Lord, or in truth, he's a liar and a lunatic, because he says all kinds of things about himself that. no sane person would say, no honest person would say. We have to settle where we stand with him, where we think about him for all the things that have happened and all the things that will happen. Something else has happened that changes everything. Jesus has been born. Our Savior has appeared. He is as real as death. He has overcome death and his resurrection. We will weep today, but we will not weep forever, because one day He will raise us from our graves. He will raise those we love from their graves. He's good, more good than we've ever been. And when we look at His goodness, we are reminded of our sinfulness, because we don't measure up to Him. But it's by His own goodness. that our sins can be washed away. You have a mountain of debt, a mountain of wrong to answer for, but Jesus takes it all away. He lives for us, He died for us, He has been raised for us, and He has ascended to the Father for us so that we can call His Father our Father. He becomes ours when we belong to Jesus. When you simply pledge yourself to Jesus and trust that he can save and restore you, overcoming all your faults. And just as there is one day when he was born, there is one day when Jesus will come for us, not metaphorically, but literally, that same body that was raised from the dead. Our King has come and he will return to us again.
Let's pray. Dear Father. Thank you for sending us our King, Jesus Christ. It's because of Him, Father, that we can call you our Father. It's because of Him that we can have peace with you. and we can seek peace with others, Father, because we have been forgiven of our sins through Jesus Christ, and so we have been free to forgive others of theirs. Father, we thank you that because Jesus, our King, has been born, we can have hope so that through this veil of tears we can see the light, the dawn of a new age which is coming. When death will be no more, sin will be completely absent, Father. and righteousness and peace will reign. Father, we look forward to that second coming. Today, Father, we celebrate the first coming of Jesus Christ. He is our precious gift. Help us like the shepherd's father to go forth glorifying and praising you, sharing the good news of his birth. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom digs into the Old Testament to explore the promises that foreshadowed Christ’s birth.
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Watch on YouTube
Transcript:
Do you want to see joy? If you want to see joy, and also hear it, I would add, then all you need to do is just go to YouTube and type into the search pregnancy announcements. In fact, I looked up funny pregnancy announcements. And what you'll find there in those videos is pure excitement, pure delight. especially for those ladies who are going to be called grandma. I remember Sara's mom being over the moon when we shared that she was pregnant with James. Now, admittedly, this news is sometimes received with a bit of apprehension for all sorts of reasons that might cause a person to fear. The single mom who worries about supporting her child. The couple who knows their child will face developmental challenges. The husband worried about making ends meet. Anxiety seeks to steal our joy. In Luke 1, Mary receives the unexpected news that she will be pregnant. The factors surrounding her pregnancy threatened to swallow her up in anxiety. But as we watch Mary, we don't see her giving into her fears. We see something else instead.
So looking to Luke 1, starting in verses 26 through 29, we see that the author of the Gospel of Luke gives us this detail that it was in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy that Mary got a special visit. To give you a little bit of a background, Elizabeth was Mary's cousin. And Luke has already told us of her own miraculous conception, though she was an old woman at the time. So we're building off of that pregnancy, which was to bring about the birth of John the Baptist, who would prepare the way for the Messiah, Jesus Christ. So we start with John, but now we're moving on to Jesus here. And so God sends the angel Gabriel to Mary. Now I've talked about this before, about how the word angel in the Greek is angelos, and that just means messenger. So you're talking about a divine supernatural being who's acting as this role of God's messenger. This isn't obviously an everyday occurrence. Maybe you've had some experience that you haven't told me about, but it's safe to say I think most of us have not had an angelic encounter that we know of. Maybe we had one that we didn't know of. But Mary had one that she knew of. Now Gabriel comes to Mary and she's a young woman, in adolescence most likely, who is pledged to be married to a man named Joseph. And it goes without saying that at this time, that before a woman was married, that she was a virgin. Otherwise, that was going to cause some serious problems for her. Now, Luke picks out this fact that Joseph is a descendant of David. because of its significance for who Jesus is to be. He is the one who is to be the Messiah, this anointed promised King who is to sit on the throne of David and bring to fulfillment all of God's promises to Israel and really to the world. Now traditionally there's been a little bit of a debate about whether Mary herself was also of the tribe of Judah and a descendant of David. And part of that debate is because you have two genealogies given of Jesus in Matthew 1 and Luke 3. And they differ a little bit. So one of the explanations given is that the one that we find in Luke 3 is the genealogy of Mary. And that's a very possible explanation. But it's also possible that she was not. Her cousin Elizabeth says that she was of the tribe of Levi. But I think the fact that Luke thinks it's of great significance that it's pointed out that Joseph is a descendant of David just reminds us of the reality of adoption in God's eyes, that Jesus was truly made a son of Joseph as he was adopted by him. And Joseph truly was his father in that respect, even though he was not his father in the flesh.
So Gabriel comes to Mary and says to her, greetings, you who are highly favored. The Lord is with you. Now, it's no surprise that Mary's a little bit thrown off by this encounter. Besides the fact that we can take a guess that there's probably some glorious aspect to Gabriel's appearance being an angel, it's just a strange thing to say. And she's just, you know. kind of just a small woman from a nowhere place. The village of Nazareth, a peasant village. And Gabriel can see this. He can see that she's thrown off by this greeting. And so in verse 30, he begins to explain to her why he would greet her in this fashion, saying that she's highly favored and that the Lord is with you. So looking at verses 30 through 33, what we see is that in fact Gabriel has come to her with a pregnancy announcement. Now this is a little bit different though because usually when you do a pregnancy announcement it's the woman who's announcing it and she's already pregnant. That's not the case here. Mary's not even pregnant yet. But Gabriel has come to tell her that you will be pregnant. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and that she is to name this son Jesus. Now, the name Jesus means the Lord is our salvation. So we see how meaning is just packed into everything, every detail here. And when the angel says this, when he says you will conceive and give birth to a son, what he is doing is. recalling a prophecy that was actually given by the prophet Isaiah. And this is certainly something that Matthew's, I mean, that Luke's picking up on here in his record here. And it's something else, it's something that Matthew picks up on explicitly in his gospel. He records, he picks up on this in the message that was given to Joseph in a dream by an angel. In Matthew 1 verses 21 through 23, Joseph is told, She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet. The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means God with us. Now the prophet, as I've already said that he's talking about, is the prophet Isaiah, and he's referring to Isaiah chapter 7 verses 14 through 17. However, when you read that passage, it's a little interesting because it seems as though the prophecy that was given would have been fulfilled within a manner of maybe like 5 to 12 years or so. Certainly well before Jesus was born. We see in Isaiah 7 verses 14 through 17 that it says that therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign and here the prophet Isaiah is speaking on behalf of God, God speaking through Isaiah, to King Ahaz, because King Ahaz didn't want to ask God for a sign, and God actually wanted him to ask for a sign, a sign that he would be able to rebuff the attacks of the northern kingdom of Israel in Syria. So God says, you don't want a sign? Well, too bad, I'm gonna give you a sign. And he says this, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. He'll be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. And this is why we have the sense that this is happening within a short period of time because kids grow up and they're able to decide between right and wrong. For before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. The Lord will bring on you and on your people on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah. He will bring the king of Assyria."
So Isaiah is saying, these enemies will be overthrown but you're going to have to pay for the fact that you did not trust in me. In fact, he had turned, Ahaz had turned to Assyria and he's going to have to pay a penalty for that. But back to what we're really talking about here in Luke 1, it seems like, well, this prophecy has already been fulfilled. So what does this have to do with Jesus? And in the case of Isaiah, when it says that a virgin will conceive and give birth, was it the case that there was actually a virgin birth before the virgin birth of Mary? Now, this can become complicated. But the simplest way to put it is that in the original Hebrew, the word virgin appears as Alma, which can also mean a young woman. But what's really interesting is that when the Jewish translators of the Hebrew Bible, about 300 years before the time of Jesus, translated the Hebrew into Greek, they chose to translate that word as Parthenos, which in Greek means virgin. And so It seemed as though the Jewish scholars at that time found there to be something interchangeable in that meaning between young woman and virgin. And that kind of makes sense, how you could see how both could be interchangeable. And what this basically indicates to us is that there's an opening for a fuller meaning, for a greater fulfillment. And this is what we see very often in the prophecy that God gives is that there can be an immediate near fulfillment, but there can also be an ultimate fulfillment. That Jesus is truly bringing fulfillment to all things, not just to the law, but also to the prophets. And it's as though throughout the course of history, God has been leaving bread crumbs leading up to the bread of life. And so maybe in just another way that you could imagine this, it's almost as though, you know, imagine if I could go back in time, 50 years before the Beatles came to be a thing and I started singing Let It Be. Now a lot of people might like this song and think that's great, but my singing of Let It Be would be a mere shadow of the Beatles actually singing it. You have the same sort of dynamic going on here with this prophetic fulfillment, where you do have this near fulfillment, but it's just a shadow. It's just a glimpse of what Jesus is. actually fulfilling here. And we can believe and understand that this is, in fact, what has been intended, because both Luke and Matthew and the record of this are pointing back to this prophecy.
So as I've already mentioned, the child is to be named Jesus, which means the Lord of our salvation. And Gabriel tells Mary that he's going to be called great. He's going to be considered great. and he will be called the son of the Most High and the son of David, which gets back to the significance of pointing out that Joseph is a descendant of David. And it's the reason why Matthew and Luke give us the genealogy of Jesus. Now, this points to the human expectation that the Messiah would be of the Lion of David. But in saying that he's going to be called the son of the Most High, Gabriel's also suggesting something maybe beyond what the Jewish people were even anticipating at that time, even though God had given them their word that they should expect this, which is that not only would this Messiah be a son of David, he would be a son of God, he would be divine. And when we go back to the prophets, we can see indications of this. You go back to Isaiah 9 verses 6 through 7. I read this to you last week. I won't read it completely, I just want to point out one word here. So, in verse 6 it says, for to us a child is born. And then it goes through all these names. And notice what this child is going to be called. Mighty God. What child can be called mighty God? It's very fascinating that they were even comfortable saying that this child to be born was to be called mighty God, because the Jewish people are very sensitive about saying there's only one true God. And so again, we have this breadcrumb here of God pointing us to what is to be fulfilled in Jesus. And likewise, in Daniel 7 verses 13-14 and 27, we see this reality of one who is a son of man, who is also properly worshiped as God. You see Jesus again and again in the gospels, referring to himself as the son of man. And when he does that, he's not only referring to his human identity, he's actually pointing to his divinity as well. Because Daniel says this in chapter 7 of his book. And my vision at night, I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the ancient of days and was led into his presence." And then check this out, it says, He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power. All nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away. His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. This is all pairing up with all the promises that were given to the one that was the son of David. Then the sovereignty, power, and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the most high. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.
Now just to emphasize again, it's not appropriate to worship anyone else who is not God. We see in Revelation 22, verses 7-8, the apostle John is so overcome by the revelation that he's receiving of what is to come that he bows before an angel and the angel scolds him saying, you know, what are you doing? Do not worship me. I cannot be worshiped. You worship only God. So as we would imagine, this is a lot for Mary to take in. First and foremost being the fact that she remains a virgin. And so she asks, how will this be? How can this come to pass? Gabriel explains in verse 35. He says, the Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, so the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. So the first thing that we have to understand here is that the conception of Jesus is nothing like what we find in the Greek myths, where you have a Greek God deciding to have a fling with a human woman. That's not what's going on here. This is something that is brought about by the Holy Spirit, and it's purely miraculous. Now, I think some of us struggle with the miraculous. Well, it's like, well, I haven't heard of there ever being a virgin birth besides this. And in fact, when you read the other miracles of Jesus, we say, well, I don't see people walking on water. And we struggle to reckon that with our day to day reality. What I want you to remember is this, is that the greatest miracle of all was just simply the creation of this world itself out of nothing. So if it's possible for God to bring everything out of nothing, what is it for him to make a man walk on water? What is it for him to create life in a virgin womb? And what I find really interesting here is that Gabriel speaks about the Holy Spirit being present and involved in this conception. And it reminds me, in fact, of the creation of the universe, of this world. You go back to Genesis 1:2 this is the situation we find on the earth. It says, now the earth was formless and empty darkness was over the surface of the deep and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Isn't that interesting? We see the Holy Spirit present at this moment just before everything comes to life here on earth. And we find the Holy Spirit present at work within the womb of Mary so that she would conceive and give birth to a son. The empty womb will be brought to life. So, Jesus is human because he is born of Mary. But as Gabriel says, he is going to be the son of God because his origins are from eternity. He comes from God himself and shares in the divine nature. And so, what this announcement is really doing for us is It's the very start of disclosing the triune reality of God. Because if you're talking about Jesus as the Son of God, then there must be a Father. And then we also see the Holy Spirit on the scene. So you have the Father implied, the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit all operating here. So Mary is going to bear within her the Son of God. And what's interesting is that once she has conceived and once she is bearing Jesus in her womb, we see indications of the divine status of her son being recognized.
She goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth. It was well along in her pregnancy at this point. And in verse 41 of Luke 1. It says, when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby, this is John the Baptist, leaped in her womb. Talk about joy, you have this baby leaping in the womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed, blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you will bear. But why am I so favored that the mother my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her." So that's kind of like the first testimony we have of who Jesus is, is this unborn baby, John the Baptist, leaping at the presence of Jesus. And then as we go further on, and it's not just limited to these verses, we find testimony from demons, soldiers, disciples, as to who Jesus is. In Mark 5:7, when we have the man that is hanging out by the grave and he's filled with the legion of demons and Jesus ends up casting them into a herd of pigs, this is what the demons say in the presence of Jesus. They say, He shouted at the top of his voice, What do you want with me, Jesus, son of the most high God? In God's name, don't torture me. When the disciples are on the boat in the Sea of Galilee, and Jesus has walked across the Sea of Galilee, invited Peter out while it's storming, and then they get in the boat, and He stills the stormy sees, they all responded in this way. It says, they worshiped Him, saying, truly, you are the Son of God. Jesus, when He dies on the cross, and the earth shakes, it's all dark and there's an earthquake it says in Matthew 27:54 that the centurion and those with him, the soldiers who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that happened they were terrified and exclaimed surely he was the son of God and then we find Thomas, this is after the point Jesus is resurrected, he's doubted. He's like, okay, y'all seen Jesus? I saw Jesus on a cross, die, and go into a grave. How can he be alive? And then Jesus appears before him and says, touch the holes in my hand, touch my side. And Thomas responds by saying, my Lord and my God. From the beginning of his life to the end of his life to his resurrection, all these people encountering Jesus are testifying to who he is, that he is in fact the Son of God. Now Gabriel tries to encourage Mary's faith to believe his word to her, this word from God. because of what has happened in the case of Elizabeth, because she was so old and yet she has now become pregnant. In verse 37 he says, for no word from God will ever fail.
This kind of reminds us of what we've been going through in Abraham with Abraham and Sarah and them being old and struggling with doubt. And God reminds them. in Genesis 18:14, is anything too hard for the Lord. Nothing is too hard for the Lord. No word from God will ever fail. And then in verse 38, we find Jesus, not Jesus, Mary's response. And it's a response of faith. She says, I am the Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled. What a profound example to us, to trust God at His word. Because we understand that she was in great peril because of this situation. Most people wouldn't believe that she had conceived a son miraculously. They would have thought that she cheated on Joseph. And to be pledged to be married to a man was as good as being married. Mary was completely signed, sealed, and delivered. It was about as close as you could be, though. She knew it was going to cause problems, and yet she has faith. She has faith in the word that God has spoken to her. And this is an example to us.
God speaks a word to you as you come to his word. As you gather here on Sunday, God is speaking his word to you. And the question is, how will you respond? Will you respond with that faith? Will you do that which is difficult and seems risky and might create anxiety? Will you trust and submit yourself to him? Mary isn't only obedient though, because we can imagine someone being like, all right, like I'm gonna obey, I'm gonna do this. She's not dreading this somehow. It's really an incredible amount of faith. No, in fact, we find that she's joyful, that she's rejoicing. We go down to verse 46 in Luke 1, and we find her responding in a way that's very similar to how Hannah responds in 1 Samuel 2, when she gives birth to Samuel, the prophet Samuel, after being unable to bear any children up to that point. This is typically referred to as Mary's Magnificat. She's giving praise to God. Says, my soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on, all generations will call me blessed, for the mighty one has done great things for me. Holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him from generation to generation. He performs mighty deeds with his arm. He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones and lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as He promised our ancestors." The thing that we pick up on here in her rejoicing is she's highlighting everything that God has done for her, for His people. It's a celebration of what God has done for us. And this is really the joy of Christmas. We're not celebrating about what we've done. We're not celebrating the exchange of gifts, which is just kind of like something kind of also along the lines of things that we do. Like, oh, I bought you this great gift, and I gave you this gift, and that's all fine and good. But that's not what Christmas is about. Christmas is about celebrating what God has done for us, and we haven't done anything in return. We have done nothing to receive this great and precious gift, our salvation in Jesus Christ. Christmas when we remember God's faithfulness to us. And that He gives us joy when we might yet be going through times of sorrow. The psalmist says in Psalm 126, verse 3, verses 5 through 6, the Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Those who sow with tears. will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaths with them.
We're under no delusion that we would be without trouble in this world. We do face trouble. We do face difficulty in this life. But the beautiful thing is that God turns our tears into seeds of joy. Everything that we're going through will give way to the salvation that God is bringing. And that salvation has already appeared in the Son of God, Jesus Christ being born. But we also understand that there is more to come. There's more to come. And we're going to come in carrying the sheaves. What we're reminded of during the season of Advent is that God desires to heal us. He desires to comfort us. That His eye does see us. That He does not overlook us. Isaiah 57 verses 15 through 19 says, For this is what the High and Exalted One says, He who lives forever, whose name is holy, I live in a high and holy place. but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. I have seen their ways, but I will heal them." So in verse 18, skip a few verses there. God notes that we're sinful people. He says, I have seen their ways, but I will heal them. I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel's mourners, greeting praise on their lips. Peace, peace to those far and near, says the Lord. and I will heal them. We have this promise of comfort. And Jesus himself confirms this promise in his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:4. He says, blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. And he can say that because he's the one that's going to deliver that comfort, who's going to bring that promise to pass. This promise. is contained in the news, then Mary will give birth to the Son of God. She is pregnant with our salvation, with her own salvation. And the person who really believes that will have a far greater joy that outshines anything you can find in those YouTube videos. Mary is not oblivious to the physical hardship she will bear. She's not unaware of the chaos this will cause her family and the trouble it will create between her and Joseph. But she believes in God's promise. She trusts in Jesus. So she is filled with the joy of her salvation. She holds nothing back, saying to Gabriel, I am the Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled. When you trust in hope in Jesus, you can have joy even when difficulty is staring you in the face. You will face difficulties when you follow Jesus. You will face disease and death. You will be tempted to throw yourself after the momentary pleasures prescribed by the world. You'll be pressured to abandon the truth and to give your amen to lies. You'll need to forgive others when it's really difficult to forgive just as you have been forgiven. None of it makes a lick of sense unless Jesus is the Son of the Most High, the Son of God who will sit on the throne of his father David to rule forever. It doesn't make sense unless Jesus is our salvation, the one who will save us from our sins. If you believe that is all true, you can have the joy of Mary. And you can say like her, I'm the Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled. Let's pray.
Dear Father. Thank you for what you have done for us. Jesus was your plan, not ours. He was conceived not by the will of man, but by your will, Father, miraculously, so that you might bring to fulfillment your promises, the promise that you would redeem us through a true King. And that, in fact, Father, Our King would be God Himself, the Son incarnate. Thank You Father that through Jesus Christ we have this assurance that we will be healed, we will be comforted, that this can begin today and that it will be brought to completion at the day of Christ's return. Thank You Father that because of this news that You have given us, we can have joy today. This news alone, Father, is a gift, because it gives us hope today. Father, give us faith. Help us to trust your word so that we might respond like Mary, both with joy and obedience, Father. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed the sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we celebrate the Advent season. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom digs into the Old Testament to explore the promises that foreshadowed Christ’s birth.
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Transcript:
Marshall your troops now, city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel's ruler on the cheek with a rod. But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will rule over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times. Therefore, Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty and the name of the Lord, his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.
Come see what I've done. It's an invitation familiar to many parents. And the results of our children's work can vary in possibilities. It can range anywhere from something terrible to inspiring. Using the living room wall as a canvas for their crayon creation falls on the terrible end of the spectrum. Constructing an Eiffel Tower out of toothpicks falls on the inspiring end of the spectrum. We usually are most impressed when our kids, or really anyone, is able to take something very ordinary and do something awesome with it. It reveals their genius. It reveals their creativity. It's something that actually follows God's own pattern of activity. He brings humans forth out of the dust of the earth. He uses a childless geriatric couple to bring forth a new nation. He makes a shepherd boy king. So it comes as no surprise that his promised Messiah, the promised King of David, would arise from someplace small. And we see this foretold in Micah 5, verses 1 through 4. Now the prophet Micah lived during the 700s BC. So you're talking about 700 years before Christ was born. And Micah had some bad news for the the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah. At this point, the nation had split in two. So you had the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. And throughout the course of his book, he tells them that they should anticipate being overthrown by the Assyrians, the northern kingdom, and that the southern kingdom is eventually going to be overcome by the Babylonians. And it seems as though verse number one here in chapter five is hinting towards that. It says, Marshal your troops now, city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel's ruler on the cheek with a rod. Micah might be anticipating what's to happen in 586 B.C. when Jerusalem falls. And speaking of the ruler of Israel being struck on the cheek with a rod, he's prophesying that the rule of Israel is going to be basically insulted. And in 2 Kings 24, we see how Jehoiachin was compelled to surrender Jerusalem. We see that later on, King Zedekiah was put to shame by his own sons being killed before him, and then his eyes being put out. So it's difficult to know with specificity which one of these things specifically fulfills what Micah is referring to here.
But there's plenty of material that fulfills what he's anticipating. So at the outset of chapter 5, it seems kind of a grim picture. The city of Jerusalem is going to be under siege. The ruler is going to be put to shame. But then we have a 180 degree turn here in verse 2. Micah sets before his audience hope, the hope of salvation, deliverance from a small place called Bethlehem Ephrathah. Now, pretty much everyone here, I'd be willing to bet, has heard of Bethlehem. But some of us might not be familiar with Bethlehem Ephrathah. Now, we ask. Why the appendage of this second name, Ephrathah? It's a mouthful. Well, the reason was is that there was actually two Bethlehems in the land of Israel. There was a Bethlehem in the land that was given to the tribe of Zebulun. And then there's the Bethlehem that is in the land given to the tribe of Judah just on the outskirts of Jerusalem. And people known as the Ephathrites, this is Jewish people, Ephathrites lived in Bethlehem. So this is being used in order to clarify what Bethlehem is being spoken about here. It'd be like talking about Scituate, Rhode Island, not Scituate, Massachusetts. Now there's something that's kind of interesting about this place, Bethlehem Ephrathah. It's small. It's not a major city, town, it's just a small place, but it's significant. Even just starting with its name, we have a hint of its significance. The name Bethlehem means house of bread. Ephrathrah, that means fruitful. So it's as though it's anticipating that something good's going to come forth from this place. And in fact, we know that something good has already come forth from it. Bethlehem Ephrathah is the hometown of King David. In 1 Samuel 17:12, it says, now David was the son of an Ephrathrite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem and Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul's time, he was very old. So. Bethlehem is the hometown of David. You'll remember last week that David was given a promise that one of his sons would arise to rule forever. In 1 Chronicles 17, verses 11 through 12. It says, when your days are over and you go to be with your ancestors, this is God speaking to David, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons. And I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for me. And I will establish his throne forever.
So it's on the basis of that anticipation that this promised king of the line of David would emerge. Combined with Micah's prophecy here, that we find the Jewish people anticipating for the Messiah to come from Bethlehem. And this is exactly what the priests and scribes tell Herod when he inquires with them, where would the Messiah be born? And they tell him in Bethlehem. We also see. this commented on in John 7:42 Jesus goes to the city of Jerusalem and the people are really struck by him but they're like this guy can't be the Messiah because he's from Galilee now we know that Jesus grew up in Nazareth and probably by the time he's in Jerusalem he has a Galilean accent Jesus is actually from a real place. He had things like accents and traditions and culture, all that. He was a real human being. So they didn't know Jesus, though. They didn't know Jesus' complete story. And so they suppose that he was born in Nazareth in Galilee. He was actually born in Bethlehem. But their whole comment there basically they too were expecting that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem. Micah notes here also that besides the fact that Bethlehem Ephrathah is small, that it's small among the clans of Judah. This reminds us of an even older promise that was given. There is a promise given to the tribe of Judah before the promise that was given to David in 1 Chronicles 17. We find it in Genesis 49:10. Now in Genesis 49:10, Jacob is blessing his sons and when he goes to bless Judah, he says this, the scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come, and the obedience of the nations shall be his." Now, I just want you to wrap your mind around this. We have this prophecy that's given. It wasn't given in the lifetime of Jesus. It wasn't given even just 100 years before Jesus was born. This was given 1,500 years before Jesus was born. It'd be like someone who lived in 500 AD predicting something that's happening today. It's incredible. It's divine. And in fact, I think we can say that we've seen this fulfilled at least in part, if not in whole, yet. The promises is that the obedience of the nation shall be his. Well, we know that there remains to be powers and nations that are opposed against God. And yet we look across this world and what do we see? But that Christianity is the largest religious group in the world. There are 2.3 to 2.6 billion Christians in the world. And while at times here in America we can kind of feel like maybe the church is going through a sort of depression, that is not the case in other parts of the world. The church is growing by leaps and bounds.
Now, doesn't that just seem like an awful great coincidence? That Jesus, who is said to be the fulfillment, that Jesus, the one who is said to be the Messiah, has gained the allegiance of peoples of all tribes and tongues across the world. It's pointing all the way back to this prophecy that's given. Now we see another detail that's introduced here as well by Micah. He gives a location, Bethlehem, and he says in verse 2, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel whose origins are from old, from ancient times. Now isn't that weird? How is it possible that this one who would emerge be one who is from ancient times? No one was living long enough to be from ancient times. And yet, when we look to the person of Jesus, and we hear his testimony, he testifies that his origins are of old, going back beyond his birth in Bethlehem. In John 1:1, we have the Apostle John testifying to this. He says, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Now, when John is speaking about the Word, he's speaking about Jesus. That becomes clear as the passage goes on. So he's saying that in the very beginning, the Son existed, and was with God, and the Son was God. Later on in John's Gospel, he records Jesus saying this in John 8:58. Jesus says, very truly I tell you, Jesus answered, before Abraham was born, I am. Now there's no other way really that Micah's prophecy could be fulfilled unless this is actually the case. How could someone be from ancient times, from of old, unless they could actually pre-exist their human existence? As is the case with Jesus. Because the Son of God took on human flesh and became one of us. So Micah says that we're to expect someone that's from ancient times. And what's also fitting here is that as we look in John's Gospel is that we see Jesus refer to himself as the bread of life in John 6. Again, just another fitting detail, given his birthplace, the house of bread, a fruitful place. That fruit is the bread of life. Now, as Micah goes along here, you read in verse 2, well that's really great news, that this ruler would arise. But in verse 3, we kind of have some bad news, it seems. It says, therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. So what's being anticipated here is there's going to be a bit of suffering.
Now we know that the people of Israel are sent into exile. The northern kingdom is overcome by the Assyrians, and they never come back. The southern tribe of Judah is taken into Babylon. And everything is left in disarray. It's a very painful experience to be stripped from your home to undergo that sort of suffering. And so when it speaks of the one who's going through these labor pains, it's recalling the suffering of the people of Israel. You can even go back further that it recalls the labor pains of Rachel when she gave birth to Benjamin, because she was actually buried in Bethlehem. We find that in Genesis 35. So we have all this crossing between these details of Rachel's suffering, the suffering of Israel as they're going into exile. But labor gives way to birth. people return from exile. But more than this, more than the people returning from exile, more than Rachel's birth pains, what this is pointing towards is Mary's giving birth to Jesus. And I said last week of how Jesus brings true fulfillment to all things, everything that we find in the Old Testament, Jesus truly fulfills to the nth degree. What Micah says they should anticipate is that there's one who is to be born. Now, when we look to one of his contemporaries, Isaiah, who lived in the 700s BC as well, we find similar testimony to a promised birth. In Isaiah 9, verses 6 through 7, he says, for to us a child is born, to us a son is given. and the government will be on his shoulders, and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace, there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing it and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. And notice how what Isaiah's prophesying here fulfills precisely what was being anticipated in 1 Chronicles 17, what God told David. Isaiah's just picking that up once again, saying this will come to pass through this child that is to be born. We see also in Isaiah 7:14, where he says, therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Emmanuel. Now at the time when Isaiah wrote that, there was an immediate fulfillment of that in Israel's history. as a sign of the times. But again, this is another prophecy which Jesus brings to true and complete fulfillment.
Both Micah and Isaiah are saying to the people of Israel, expect for a ruler to be born who will actually fulfill the promise given to David. So Micah has used the word ruler. But now here in verse four, he introduces the terminology of shepherd. And this was a common way that the Jewish people conceived of their rulers as shepherds. Now you could have good shepherds and bad shepherds, but all the same, they thought of their leaders as shepherds. And they had a bunch of bad shepherds. But this one who is to come is going to be a good shepherd. He's one who's going to shepherd the flock, it says in verse 4, in the strength of the Lord, and in the majesty of the name of the Lord is God. Now again, this shepherd king that's being anticipated is actually God himself in the flesh. So if we switch back over to the prophet Isaiah, we find him speaking about God in these terms of being the shepherd of his people. Now Isaiah 40, this is a passage that is really strongly linked with the promised coming of the Messiah, John the Baptist, a man of the wilderness. So I throw that verse in there just to kind of clue you in on that context. Isaiah 40 verse 3, and then we jump down to verses 9 through 11. It says, Voice of one calling in the wilderness, prepare the way for the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout. Lift it up, do not be afraid. Say to the towns of Judah, here is your God. He comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart. He gently leads those that have young." So you have Micah anticipating the birth of this ruler, the emergence of this ruler. who would shepherd the people of Israel. And we have Isaiah saying, it’s God who is going to shepherd his people, who's going to care for him. And who can fulfill this expectation but Jesus Christ, the one who is fully God and is fully man?
Again, we go to the Gospel of John in John 10:14. And Jesus says this of himself. He says, I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and my sheep know me. Now Micah says that under the care of this shepherd, the people will live securely. If the people are living securely, if they enjoy security, then they enjoy peace because they are under the shepherd's rule and protection. And in fact, this is a rule that's going to be so great that its greatness will reach the ends of the earth. Now in speaking of the extent of the rule of this promised one to come, Micah is just harmonizing with promises given elsewhere. We find Psalm 2, this is one of the royal Psalms, in Psalm 2 verses 6 through 8. It says, I will proclaim the Lord's decree. He said to me, you are my son. Today I have become your father. Ask me and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth. your possession. Now what this reminds us of is that there is going to be no dark corner that the light of this promised one to come is not going to reach. He's going to be a shepherd for all people. We have a hint of this when we go back to Isaiah 9. And we look at verses 1 through 3. It says, nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who are in distress. In the past, he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the future, he will honor Galilee of the nations by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan. All this is pointing beyond the nation of Israel. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. And those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy. They rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder." Now what's interesting is that Jesus refers to this passage in Matthew 4 verses 15 through 16 when He's engaging in his Galilean ministry. And of course, when we go back to John 1, and we hear the apostle describing the word incarnate as being that light which has come into the world and overcome the darkness. And so we look at all this, and the way we ought to reply is, is by saying, come see what God has done.
That's what we should be inspired to say to others who are completely oblivious to all of this. From the ashes of a fallen kingdom, a dispossessed people under Roman occupation, God brought forth our Messiah. In the little town of Bethlehem, the Son of God was born, having always existed. but now completely partaking in human existence. The mighty God became one of us, an infant child in his mother's arms. He was born to be our king, by the kind of king who prefers to be known as our shepherd, because he cares for us. He loves every sheep of his flock. and his flock is growing. The crook of his shepherd's staff is grabbing the globe, is reaching the ends of the earth. God has acted decisively, for unto us the Son is given. But this is just the beginning, not the end of all that God means to do. Jesus was not just born to be born. He was not crucified for the thrill of it. He was not raised from the dead for a good story. He was not given a throne so he could be comfortable. God begins with Jesus because he means to get to you. The Kingdom of God is not made up of streets, towers, domes, or arenas. The Kingdom of God is not things. The Kingdom of God is people. God's people. And all the heavenly beings who are servants of God. If Jesus is ruling, who is saying, yes, Lord? In response, if Jesus is the shepherd, who is he guiding and moving? It is us, brothers and sisters. God has acted in Christ, and now he means to act through us as we have been joined to Christ. Now it goes without saying that this is more incredible than constructing the Eiffel Tower out of toothpicks. It's amazing that God would do anything with us. But God will do it. He is doing it. We deny the power of God when we insist we are too weak and that this world is too big. You are very weak. I am very weak. But God will use you and me. This is the way of God. Paul tells us this in 1 Corinthians 1 verses 26 through 30. He says, brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards. Not many were influential. Not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world, and the despised things, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are. So that no one may boast before Him. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God, that is our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Look to Bethlehem. Look at the manger. See what God has done. Now look in the mirror. Look at one another and see what God will do. Let's pray.
Dear Father. It is amazing the way in which you work. bring complete fulfillment to all of your promises. of how 1,500 years before Christ was born, He gave the promise to Judah that the scepter would not leave his family, but that it would be fulfilled and won to come who would rule and reign. So how you promised David that one of his sons would establish his throne forever. And how you kept that promise, Father, even when David's sons were disobedient and one king after another was a failure again and again. And of how, Father, in your sovereignty, you brought all things together so that Christ would be born. in Bethlehem. and that by the sending of your son you would bring to completion all of your promises. That one who is the son of David would be our king. And that in fact you, O God, would be our king. Because the Son of God took on human flesh. And father, in viewing. which is the magnitude of what you've accomplished. I press upon us, Father, the continuing presence of your power, that you can work through us, that you can work through Rockland Community Church, and in all the churches in Rhode Island, Father, as we depend upon you. that you can work through us to accomplish your will, despite how great the odds may seem to be stacked against us. Give us faith, Father, we pray. We ask that you would give us your peace, knowing that Christ is indeed King. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed the sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we celebrate the Advent season. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom digs into the Old Testament to explore the promises that foreshadowed Christ’s birth.
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Transcript:
What is the meaning of Christmas? What is the meaning of all of this? It's not immediately obvious based on merely the surface details. A child is born in a stable. Well, that's certainly curious. It would fill some air time for channel 12's evening news and give the old men something to talk about at Dunkin.
It would probably get a few shares on Facebook and some shocked face emojis. But when all is said and done, it wouldn't really matter. Some buzz, some clicks, and then we'd forget about it. It wouldn't change anything. What's missing? is the backstory. Who are the parents of this child? He's a Jewish baby.
What's significant about that? What makes his birth so significant, not only for Jews, but for all people? We're pressing pause on our series on Abraham during the season of Advent, but these questions are tied into that story because Abraham's story is only part of the larger story of God's action throughout history for the salvation of humanity.
To summarize that story very simply, human beings were created by God to be with God and be the icons of his presence in the created universe. Adam and Eve rejected this call because they wanted to be their own gods. Every human being after them shares this impulse. We want to be our own gods. That can pretty much explain most everything that we see in society.
We want to be our own Gods. God could have just cast humanity aside, but he did not. God has willed to redeem humanity so that a remnant of mankind might be with him again. God's rescue mission began from the moment we fell away. It remained through the flood. It emerged most clearly when God made a covenant with Abraham.
Not only to bless him and his family, but to bless the whole world through Abraham. The covenant he made, is built on promises that would be fulfilled in the course of time. Promises that invite God's people to respond with faith. Through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob came forth the people of Israel. They inherited God's promises, not because they were perfect or the best of all nations, but because God is faithful to His Word.
His faithfulness will be proven again and again throughout their history. Even when they were faithless, God kept his promises and continued to make promises, revealing more and more of his divine plan. The significance of the birth of Jesus becomes most apparent in a promise given 900 years before his birth.
A promise that the Jewish people clung to for 900 years. A promise given to King David. And we've read a portion of that promise already. We're going to be reading more of what the prophet Nathan has to tell David in 1 Chronicles 17. We'll start at verse 1. It says there, After David was settled in his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.
Nathan replied to David, Whatever you have in mind, do it, for God is with you. But that night the word of God came to Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, This is what the Lord says, You are not the one to build me a house to dwell in. I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up out of Egypt to this day.
I have moved from one tent site to another, from one dwelling place to another. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites. Did I ever say to any of their leaders whom I commanded to shepherd my people? Why have you not built me a house of cedar? So just to kind of orient you to when this interaction between God and Nathan and David is taking place.
This is occurring about 900 years before Jesus is born. It's also about 900 years After the lifetime of Abraham, and we're talking about like 900 years, you realize we're using a pretty big scale of time here. It gives you some real perspective of how God works. Over time, things that seem like a long period of time for us, for God, is just a day.
It's just a blink of a moment over the course of human history. Now, what's going on here is that David has become settled in the city of Jerusalem and he's made the move to bring the Ark of the Covenant into the city. Sometimes it's easy for us to forget that the Ark of the Covenant wasn't always in the city of Jerusalem.
Originally, it was in a tent in Kiriath Jearim, and then when they were trying to transport it there, uh, they went to grab the Ark of the Tabernacle. Fellow is struck down dead. David's like, I'm not bringing that to my city. And so he said, I'll keep it on the outside of the city and the home of this guy named Obed Edom and his household was blessed because he was housing the Ark of the covenant.
And David was like, well, actually I'm thinking I'm going to bring the Ark of the covenant back into Jerusalem. And so that's what David did. Now, some of us aren't even really familiar with, well, what is the Ark of the covenant? The Ark of the covenant was. It was, it served as this meeting place between God and the people of Israel as it was situated in the Holy of Holies within the tabernacle.
So the tabernacle was a tent structure, and you had an outer court, and then you had a holy place, and then you had this room called the Holy of Holies where this Ark of Covenant of the Covenant was situated. Put there as though it was a throne for God and yet there was no image of God, which is what set the Israelites apart from all the other pagan peoples because they would have just had a cast image of whoever their God was. But all you have is a seat here basically with a couple cherubim putting their their wings across and this is the place where the people of Israel would meet with God through their high priests through Moses and it was the place where God signaled to his people that He was with them.
And that's something that I think sometimes we can forget just how important that is. It was very important to those people to have a very visible manifestation of that because peril lay at every side, whether it was disease or needing food or especially enemies, they wanted to know their God was with them and the tabernacle signified that to the people of Israel, that God was with them, that he was their God.
They were his people. But truth be told, I think this is something that all of us want to really know. All of us want to know that God is with us, that we aren't alone. So many of us feel alone in life that we're kind of just out there on our own, vulnerable to the vicissitudes of history of society. We all want to know that God is with us, and the Ark of the Covenant was a reminder to the people that God was with them.
Now, as David had moved the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem, he was kind of struck by the disparity in terms of the housing situation for the Ark of the Covenant, where God would come and meet his people, and David's own living situation. He's got this nice palace made out of cedar. Well, the Ark of the Covenant is in a tent.
David's probably thinking, I would not want to live in a tent. So, it's like, why am I giving a tent to God? Doesn't he deserve so much more? And he basically expresses that to Nathan, and Nathan says, well, that sounds pretty good. I mean, I think your intuition is good here, David. Two thumbs up. Yeah, make a temple for God.
But then God comes to Nathan and says, Now, you gotta pump the brakes on this. You gotta tell David, no, that he is not the one to build a house for me to dwell in. And we ask, well, why not? Why did, why was it that God didn't want David to do this? Well, there's a, there's another reason that I think that we'll, we'll see as we go along, but the specific reason as it pertains to David was because David, As much as he was a man after God's own heart, he was not a man of peace.
He was a man that was required to engage in warfare. And we know that warfare is something that is sometimes necessary. There is such a thing as a just war. But nonetheless, it's a sign of brokenness. ,And the thing that we see throughout the Old Testament is that God likes to keep strict boundaries between clean and unclean life and death.
And so it's no surprise that , in 1 Chronicles 28:3 It says that David recollecting this said, but God said to me, you are not to build a house for my name because you are a warrior and have shed blood. So this is the primary reason why David is not the one to do this. He's a man of warfare. It's not befitting the presence of God in terms of building this temple structure.
, But there's something else here as well. You know, David has a sincere impulse here. He wants to honor God. , But God kind of pushes back a little bit here, too, against David's desire in terms of just saying, Well, David, none of this is really necessary for me. , I've moved from place to place in a tent with you all, and I've never asked you why haven't you built me a house of cedar.
In Isaiah 66, verses 1 through 2a, the prophet says this, this is what the Lord says, Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being, declares the Lord. So, while we can appreciate the sincerity of David's impulse, God's pushing back here to say, Let's just be clear here.
I do not need a house. I'm the God of all creation. I've made all these things. The simple fact is that God does not need a piece of architecture. God does not need a roof over his head. He's far more powerful than that. God doesn't need David to do anything for him. In verses 7 through 10, God reminds David of his power by reminding him of what he has done and by telling him what he's going to do for David.
In verse 7, God continues, I took you from the pasture from tending the flock and appointed you rule over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you've gone and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name like the names of the greatest men on earth and I will provide a place for my people Israel.
I will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also subdue all your enemies. So what God tells Nathan to do here is remind David of my history with him.
Remind what I've already done for him. He was the youngest son in the family of Jesse, a mere shepherd in the field, and yet God chose to anoint him king. David didn't become king by the dint of his own efforts. It was by God's hand that he rose to this position. It was by God's hand that David was protected throughout all of that.
Because, if you'll recall, King Saul really wanted to kill him. He tried his best many times to kill him, and yet God protected him. Again and again, and God removed David's enemies so that he could realize this kingship. Throughout it all, God has been with David. Remember, when we're talking about the temple, that's one of the primary concerns about God being with us.
God has been with David through all this. So, God tells Nathan, remind him about the past, and now tell him something about the future. Tell him this, that I'm going to provide a place for Israel. That it will be undisturbed. That all their enemies will be subdued. Now up to this point, this is not the case.
He's not, David's not existing in perfect peace here, even though he's a dominant king. And, truth be told, we're still waiting for this. Now, David's son Solomon did enjoy a certain amount of peace during his reign, but it did not last. And peace certainly did not last for the people of of Israel from that point and you could say even up into the present where the Jewish people have suffered greatly.
But we also understand that in Jesus Christ, Israel has been redefined as the people of God by faith. So that includes both Jews and Gentiles. And so certainly, if we think about Israel in these terms, we could say the very same thing. We still are waiting for that peace, because even while we, in America, we enjoy a certain degree of peace, we know that the church worldwide continues to suffer persecution.
And so, what we see playing out in these promises, and we'll just see this more and more, is there's an aspect of now and not yet, where we'll see, like, a partial fulfillment, and yet, it's an indicator for something more, which is to come. Now all of this is good news for Israel, but God also makes promises specific to the family of David and to his son who will build this temple.
We pick up in verse 10b says, I declare to you that the Lord will build a house for you. When your days are over and you go to be with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever.
I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him as I took it away from your predecessor. I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever. His throne will be established forever. And Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation. So when God's talking about David's house, he's not, he's not talking about a physical structure.
David already has his house of cedar. What he's talking about is building a house, a household for David, a lineage. And he says that he's going to raise up your offspring, one of his own sons, to establish his kingdom. And that his throne will last forever. It's quite a promise to be made. Something that certainly would have filled David with great joy and anticipation.
And he says that this son will be different than, will be treated differently than how King Saul was treated. King Saul, because of his disobedience, was cast aside. He lost the kingship. God says to David, My relationship with your son is going to be different. I will be his father. And he will be my son.
And so he will also be the one who builds a house for me. Now, there's something very interesting about the way that this prophecy is related in 1 Chronicles 17, because it leaves out certain conditions that are included in 2 Samuel 7. Something to just know about the Bible is sometimes there's duplicate histories written.
So you have multiple accounts. We see that in the Gospels. You have four accounts of the life of Jesus. Now, these conditions are not included in 1 Chronicles 17, and it seems that it may be because of the situation in which 1 Chronicles 17 is being written in. 1 Chronicles 17 was written after the people of Israel had already gone into exile, so they'd seen a lot of failure already, and what the author of Chronicles is trying to do is set before them God's promises.
But we do see conditions to this promise. That the audience of First Chronicles would have already seen those conditions come into play. It's like in Samuel 7 verses 14 through 15. It says, I will be his father and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands.
But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed before you. And then when you go to Psalm 89, which seems to be inspired by this promise, we see very much the same. thing. We say in verse 30, it says, If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes, if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands, I will punish their sin with a rod, their iniquity with flogging, but I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.
So we see this dynamic where God is going to discipline the son. And in fact, these sons of David, because we see these kings fall apart again and again, and yet we see God promising that he's going to ever remain faithful. And this is kind of the dynamic of a father son relationship. The father doesn't abandon the son.
Now, we do see an imminent fulfillment of this in Solomon. And this is, this was David's own understanding. In 1 Chronicles 28: 6- 7, David says that God said to him Solomon your son is the one who will build my house and my courts for I have chosen Him to be my son, and I will be his father. I will establish his kingdom forever if he is unswerving and carrying out my commands and laws as is being done at this time.
Now again, it makes sense that Solomon would be the one to fulfill to some extent this promise that God had made because he was a ruler in whose time great peace was enjoyed. And in fact, Solomon's name, this is kind of a fun fact, in Hebrew, Shlomo. Isn't that so much more fun than Solomon? Shlomo. And it sounds like Shalom, right?
Shlomo. Shalom. And his name means peace. And so it's very fitting that this king of peace would be the one who builds God's temple. So to that extent, in terms of building kind of the brick and mortar temple, Solomon has fulfilled this. But, in so many other ways, we see that he comes up short.
Because he has moral failures, he has failures when it comes to idolatry. , And yet God again promises his faithfulness. We see this all come to the surface in first Kings 11 verses 9 through 13 says, the Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods.
Solomon did not keep the Lord's command. So the Lord said to Solomon, Since this is your attitude, and you have not kept my commandment, my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime.
I will tear it out of the hand of your son, yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David, my servant, and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen. It's interesting, you go down later in the chapter to verses 31, 34 through 36, 39. We see God telling Jeroboam that this is the case, the one who's going to take these tribes away.
In verse 36 and 39, he says, I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my name. I will humble David's descendants because of this, but not forever. So again, we see kind of this now, not yet dynamic being played out, where we see a certain degree of fulfillment, and yet we do see these sons of David coming up short of what God was really promising, and that there's something more to come. And so when we get to Jesus, what we have in Jesus, really, is the true Solomon. And when we see the person of Jesus, And we think about Jesus fulfilling prophecy, fulfilling all of scripture. What he, when he arrives on the scene, what he is, what he's doing is really fulfilling all the characters that really preceded him.
So, like, when in Matthew 2: 15, it says that this is the time when Jesus had to, with his family when he was just a baby, they had to flee to Egypt because Herod was trying to kill them. It says that he stayed in Egypt until the death of Herod and so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet, Out of Egypt I called my son.
Now, he's quoting there, Matthew's quoting there, Hosea 11: 1, and what he's talking about is the nation of Israel. But now he's saying that applies to Jesus, so that Jesus is the true Israel and that he's fulfilling all that God has desired of Israel. And so in turn also of the Son of David, and we see a direct comparison made by Jesus between himself and Solomon and Matthew 12:42 he says, the Queen of the South will rise of the judgment with this generation condemn it for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom.
And now something greater than Solomon is here. So Solomon was pretty, pretty awesome. He had his failures. But Jesus is so much more, so much greater than Solomon.
Likewise, we see that the New Testament offers, as they, as, as they've seen the fullness of the revelation of Jesus Christ's life, death, and resurrection. They comment and point us to understand that Jesus has fulfilled this promise about this father son relationship. In Hebrews 1, verses 1 through 5, the writer of Hebrews says this, In the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways.
But in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he also made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven.
So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, You are my son, today I have become your father. That prophecy that was given to David. Or again, I will be his father and he will be my son. Now we hear this.
Because again, in, in, during the ministry of Jesus at his baptism and his transfiguration, in Luke 9: 35, at his transfiguration, Luke records that a voice came from the clouds saying, this is my son, whom I have chosen, listen to him. So Jesus is the complete fulfillment of this father son relationship in a way that transcends again what was possible for the sons of David.
Jesus truly is the Son of God, God incarnate. Now, in Jesus, there's something that's fantastic that happens because this Sonship that He has is now extended to us all so that we can become the sons and daughters of God, and then which also ties back into this promise. About God having a temple built this passage is so amazing 2nd Corinthians 6 16 through 18 We see all this come together here.
Paul says what agreement is there between the temple of God and idols for we? And the we he's talking about there is the church. We are the temple of the Living God as God has said I will live with them and walk among them And I will be there to be their God and they will be My people again, we're thinking about God's presence with his people and we're talking about the temple Therefore come out from them and be separate says the Lord touch no unclean thing and I will receive you and I will be a father to you and then notice what Paul's doing here He's at he's offering a little bit of an editorial kind of prophetic fulfillment here He says I will be a father to you and you will be my sons and daughters Says the Lord Almighty.
So what Paul is saying here is that In Jesus, we are made sons and daughters, and more than this, we, in fact, are the temple that God has desired. God has not needed a building. In fact, He doesn't really need anything, but He has invited us to be His temple, His living temple, in which He is glorified and magnified.
And we recently preached through 1 Peter, so you might remember this in 1 Peter 2, verses 4 through 5. It says, As you come to him, the living stone rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
We are the fulfillment of God's promise to David, this promise of a temple that would be built. And the one who has built it is Jesus Christ. It's not us. It's not Solomon. It's Jesus who has made this possible. And so, the architectural temple has been superseded. And we see this recognized very early on in the church, even while the physical structure of the temple is still standing.
When the Sanhedrin dragged Stephen before him, one of the charges they made was that they said that we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place. And what they're talking about is the temple. They say this in Acts 6: 14. And what's interesting is in Stephen's testimony that he gives in the next chapter, he doesn't deny this. In fact, he really offers a case for explaining why the temple is not, the physical temple is not so important anymore. This will sound familiar because we've, we've read Isaiah 66, in Acts 7, verses 45- 51, Stephen says this, After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them.
It remained in the land until the time of David, who enjoyed God's favor, and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for him. However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says, Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things? You stiff necked people. Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors. You always resist the Holy Spirit. Again, Stephen's basically quoting from Isaiah 66 here.
And what he understood was that Jesus is the true king that was promised. And Jesus is building this new temple in the church so that the physical structure is just a shadow of what was to come. And there's something even more that we can anticipate, which John tells us in Revelation 21: 22, he says, I do not see a temple in the city.
He's speaking about this new Jerusalem that descends upon earth. He says, because the Lord God almighty and the lamb are its temple. Now, it's interesting. He says, I don't see a temple, but then he says, there is a temple. The Lord, God Almighty, and the Lamb are its temple. And again, if we're thinking about the temple, the tabernacle, being this place where God manifests his presence and meets his people, the reason why we no longer see a physical temple here is because God is with his people.
Everything has been brought together in the end. And that's what we have to look forward to, is that everything will come together and we will be with God forever. So to bring this back to the beginning, when Jesus was born, the Jewish people were longing for the arrival of this promised king. First Chronicles was written about 400 years after the time of Solomon.
And the Jews were familiar with how Solomon came up short despite building the temple and how every other king had come up short. And at the time that the text was written, the people had just returned from exile. Everything was in shambles. The temple was a shadow of its former glory and they had a Persian governor instead of their own Davidic king.
First Chronicles reminds them of God's promises, promises that they long to see fulfilled. Jesus is born of the tribe of Judah, and of the line of David. His birth comes as good news because he brings with him the fulfillment of God's promises. The promise that God's temple will be built, not out of brick and mortar, but by bringing together God's people.
As spiritual stones, the promise to bring true and lasting peace for God's people under his rule as the king of kings. His rule does not wait. Jesus is king today, and every believer is a citizen of his rule. One day his rule will be revealed completely. All eyes will see him, and the enemies of God will be no more.
But even now, we can enjoy the peace of his rule. We can enjoy peace because we know that he has overcome our sin, death and the devil. Nothing can touch us. We do not fear those who can only destroy the body but not the soul. We rest secure in the victory of Christ.
The meaning of Christmas is this. God has kept his promise to give us the king we need, and through him, make of us the true temple that he desires. Let us pray.
Dear Father,
we thank you that you are faithful to your promises, even when we are unfaithful. That even as the sons of David came up short, your promise remained. That you would bring forth a king. who would build your temple.
This temple would be not something made out of mortar and stone, Father, but would be us, would be your people. And as you gave the Apostle Paul insight to look across prophecy and see how this all came together so that we would be included, that we would be your sons and daughters, and that we could call upon you as Father.
Father, we give you, we give you thanks for this and for this joy that we have in this season remembering that our King has come, that we are the temple of God and that you will dwell with us, that you will bring all your promises to pass. And that we will enjoy eternity with you. We give you praise in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed the sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we celebrate the Advent season.
It's our joy to welcome you into our community. .
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Genesis 18, we see Sarah doubt the promise of God because of the impossibility of it from a human point of view.
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Transcript:
We all love stories where people defy the odds. We are captivated by the story of a mom that lifts her car to save her child. It's far less surprising when it's a backhoe that lifts the car. We expect the backhoe can do that. We don't expect the mom can do that. In Genesis 18, we are presented with a different set of seemingly impossible circumstances.
Sarah has been unable to conceive a child and now she's past the age of bearing children. There are no human solutions. It's an impossible situation. But Abraham, Sarah and their household are in a covenant relationship with God. He is their God, and they are his people. What is impossible to humans is possible for God.
God can give her a child. Like a backhoe easily lifting a car. God's power should be apparent to Abraham and Sarah. But we find their vision obscured by their past disappointment. It's late in the third quarter. What can be done now?
Going to Genesis 18. Looking at verse 1. Moses tells us this. The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre, while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
He said, If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way, now that you have come to your servant. Very well, they answered. Do as you say. So, something that we're reminded of as we look at this chapter is that we do have a narrator's point of view here. And the narrator is Moses, who wrote the book of Genesis, inspired by God. And we see at the outset that Moses notes that this is a divine encounter. He says, the LORD appeared to Abraham.
And when you see the LORD in all caps, again, that's just a designation in the English, through using all caps for, this is the Hebrew word Yahweh. This is the personal God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Israel. So the God of Abraham has come to meet him. Now, this isn't, this isn't unprecedented, for God to come in a bodily form to meet someone. We saw this happen in Genesis 16 with Hagar and the angel of the Lord who came to her. And what we have here then is God appearing to Abraham in human form with an entourage. Now, it's, it's three men. It appears as three men. And initially, you know, if you're thinking, you're like, okay, I'm a Christian, I understand God is three in person, one in being.
So this is the Trinity. You'd be, you might tend to think that. , But it doesn't seem that that's the case. It seems as though that one of these men is God personified in the form of a human being. Likely, what we're talking about here is the son, pre incarnate. And then the two others are attending angels, messengers that are with him. And we, and we see this clarified in Genesis 18 and 19 as these two are sent to Sodom and Gomorrah. And it's not indicated that they are the Lord. So it seems like one of these speakers is the Lord. The two others are attending, angels. Now, Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent and all of a sudden he sees these three guys.
Apparently it was kind of like they just appeared out of nowhere. He didn't notice them. But when he saw them, he rushed to meet them, and bowed before them, because apparently there was, there was something about them, apart from them just simply being strangers and guests before Abraham's presence, there, there was something that must have struck him as being particularly noble.
He calls at least one of them, my lord. Now you notice there in the text that the word for Lord there is not in all caps. That's because it's a different word, it's Adonai, or otherwise you may have heard the word Adonai. And this is a more generic form of Lord, it can certainly apply to God, but you could also call just any other human king Lord, Adonai.
And so Abraham feels honored. He has these strangers who've come along. It appears as though they've been traveling. And they appear to have some royal bearing about them. And he has the opportunity to host them as his guests. And so, he goes before them and says, Hey, come rest under the, I got these great trees here. Come, come rest. Wash your feet. Get the dust off ya. And I'm going to do, and I'm going to serve you basically hand and foot. And what we see being kind of manifested here is the value of hospitality. That's a value of hospitality is a value that, um, is very highly prized in many cultures across the world, especially in Eastern cultures.
It continues to be so today. Unfortunately, I think we've seen it kind of dip off here in the West. But it's interesting when you meet people from other cultures. I remember I would go to my best friend's house and his, his mother was from Cambodia and whenever I would go there, I would eat well, she would just like insist on just like filling me up with food because she wanted, she was trying to show me hospitality.
And that's the value that Abraham is manifesting here. This value of welcoming in the stranger and caring for them. So we see in verse 6, Abraham go about preparing the snack that he agreed to basically offer them. But it's much more than that. He says it. It says, so Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. Quick, he said, get threes seahs of the finest flour and knead it, and bake some bread. Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice tender calf, and gave it to a servant who hurried to prepare it, and then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared and sent these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.
So Abraham goes into the tent. I know my wife would kill me if I rushed in like this. And I was like, we gotta prepare a huge meal. We've got some guests here. And he said, And just to have an understanding of how huge this meal is, three seahs equals twenty quarts of flour. Like, that's a lot of bread. Like, he's putting on a legit feast for these men.
And he's also bringing them fresh meat. Now, they didn't have freezers and stuff like that to be able to just easily just have meat on hand. So, it was a, somewhat of a delicacy that, , he was going to slaughter this calf and give these guys a fresh meal, meal of beef. So he, so when he said he was going to give them some food, you know, your initial impression is like maybe he'll just give them a little bit of bread with butter or something.
But he was completely under, underplaying it. He intends to give them the very best. And he intends to serve them. You see them, they're sitting at this tree, eating. He's just standing by. Like, he's ready to serve. And again, we see again, just this, this value of, of hospitality. That Abraham is manifesting here.
And the New Testament writers pick up on this. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews, encourages us in Hebrews 13 to, it says, Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. And so obviously in the case of Abraham, he was serving angels, he was in fact serving, serving God.
It also reminds us of what Jesus tells us that, Whatever you do to the least of these, you do unto me. If you find someone that's hungry or thirsty, in need of shelter, whatever you do to the least of these, you do unto me. And so, the value of hospitality that we see Abraham living out here is a value that we ourselves ought to try to cultivate.
in our own lives, especially amongst ourselves as brothers and sisters in Christ, inviting each other into each other's homes, and also to those strangers that we might meet. Um, one of the defining characteristics that we should be known for is, you know, the people of Rockland Community Church are very hospitable people.
They're just very welcoming. Not just into our church building, but into our lives, and into our homes. So as this meal is spread before these three visitors, and they partake and eat, they ask a curious question. Verse 9 says, Where is your wife Sarah, they asked him. There in the tent, he said. Then one of them said, I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah, your wife, will have a son.
Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. And Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So just kind of out of the blue, they ask, Where is your wife Sarah? Now we have no indication up to this point that Abraham had told them the name of his wife.
And so, if he was going to get any sort of impression that this was a divine visitation, it would begin here because they know the name of his wife. And they ask, you know, where is she? And he says, well, she's there in the tent. Now, you might begin wondering, well, why was she in the tent? Why hadn't she come out at this point?
And there's no clear and obvious reason why. There's been some speculation among the commentators. One is that, traditionally there, there is often some separation between the men and the women in the Near East. One commentator actually suggested that, maybe God had already begun to show her a sign of the restoration of her fertility.
Because she was past the age of childbearing. It was basically indicated that she'd gone into menopause. In that traditional culture, when a woman was going through her period, she was to actually separate herself and stay in a tent away from everyone. And maybe she had gotten, maybe that had been restored and she'd already begun wondering.
That's, that's very speculative. But it's kind of interesting in as far as just trying to answer this question, why was she away? But in any case, she is away and they're asking, and they seem to know something about her even though these guys are, are strangers. And what this does is it sets up the message that they're going to deliver here, which is I will surely return to you about this time next year. And Sarah, your wife, will have a son. Now, this isn't news to Abraham. Remember, Abraham was already told this in Genesis 17. So why are they coming and saying, giving this message again? Well, who else is listening? Sarah. Sarah's listening. So, this message isn't, it doesn't seem that this message is primarily for Abraham.
It's for Sarah. And what this reminds us is that God sees Sarah. Now, we already talked about how God saw Hagar. God also sees Sarah. It's not all about the men. It's not all about Abraham. Sarah's not merely just this vessel to be used. She's a real person. And God wants her to believe and trust in His promises.
Frankly, though, it's very difficult for both her and Abraham because they are old. She has gone into menopause. And this is what leads her to laugh at the notion that she could possibly have a baby. So we see in verses 12 through 15 how she says, So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, After I'm worn out, my Lord is old will I now have this pleasure.
Then the Lord said to Abraham, why did Sarah laugh and say, will I really have a child now that I'm old. Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son. And that's where she gets afraid and says, I did not laugh. He says, yes, you did laugh.
Now, by this point, as they are speaking, Abraham knows that this is the Lord speaking. Because we see that the speaker refers to himself basically as anything too hard for the Lord. And he's speaking in the same way that the Lord has already spoken to Abraham. So, the mask has been removed pretty much completely now.
Now what we see here with Sarah laughing. It's, it's a sort of laugh that is cynical kind of nature that says like, this is ridiculous. How could this possibly happen?
But why would she have such little faith? Because of her past experience, because of the difficulty that she's had. But as God tells her here, is anything too hard for the Lord? Is anything too hard for the Lord?
She has a barren womb, but that's not too hard for the Lord. He can give her a child. And I think there's a bit of a parallel for us here as we think about Sarah's barren womb in our own lives. Because when we think about our lives, our lives in and of themselves are barren. They bring forth no good fruit.
There is no life in us. And in fact, there needs to be a birth. We need to be born again. This is what Jesus says to the Pharisee Nicodemus in John 3, verses 3 through 9, and he's met with the same sort of disbelief. Jesus tells him, Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God. Unless they are born again.
How can someone be born when they are old? Nicodemus asks. Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born. Jesus answered, Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit gives birth to spirit.
You should not be surprised at my saying, you must be born again. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. How can this be? Nicodemus asks. So you see that same kind of, like, questioning on the part of Nicodemus that we see with Sarah.
It's like, how can this be possible that a person can be born again? Now, what Jesus makes clear is that this is a birth that is made possible through himself. He says, whoever believes in me shall be saved. And Paul tells us that... This promise is indeed fulfilled in Christ. That it is in fact in Him that we are made alive again.
In 1 Corinthians 15 verses 21 through 22, it says, For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. So we have the promise that we will be born again. We will be made alive. And this promise includes not just a spiritual rebirth, but a material, physical rebirth.
Paul tells us in Philippians 3, verses 20 through 21. But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
It's difficult for us to imagine how our bodies will be anything different than what they already are. And the nature of our lives is we are born, we have a bit of strength, and then we just go into greater and greater weakness. Yet somehow, somehow, we will be raised and be given glorious bodies just like the body that Jesus has.
How is that possible? It's by... That same power that enables Jesus to bring everything under his control. Included with this promise that we're born again, that we have this new life, that we have these restored bodies, we have also this promise that we will dwell with God. That we will live with Him forever.
In Revelation 21 verses 3 through 4. John testifies saying, I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Look, God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
There will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine that?
It's difficult to imagine. It's difficult to imagine a day in which there will be no more pain, or death, crying, suffering. It's difficult to imagine a day when we will live with God. We will actually live with Him. But all of this is possible by the power of God. And so Sarah's been given a promise that she will receive this son.
Doesn't seem possible, but it's gonna happen because everything's possible with God. And we too have received a promise. We have received a promise that in Christ we will be born again, that we are in fact born again. And that this new birth is not limited spiritually but will manifest itself physically and will ultimately culminate in us living in a new order of things.
Because the old order will have passed away. Not possible by human power, but possible by God's power.
God makes the impossible possible. He's able to overcome our condition. And we just have to remember, I think, how miraculous it is that God has Restored us in relationship to himself. When you've been in the faith for a while, we kind of tend to think, well, like, I'm a half decent person. And we can tend to kind of minimize the, just how miraculous it is that you believe in Jesus.
That you're seeking to follow God. But the fact is, is that it is miraculous that you're here today. And it will take a miracle for any other person to believe and follow Jesus Christ. But it is possible because of, by the power of God. Paul testifies to this miracle that has occurred in our lives and can occur in the lives of other people.
In Ephesians 2 verses 1 through 5, Paul says, As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the great cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts.
Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead in our transgressions. It is by grace you've been saved. It's by grace you have been saved. It's not by any goodness that is found within you that we are saved.
Remembering that it's by grace that we are saved is important because I think sometimes we look at other people around us and we think, well that person couldn't be saved. It's like I've spent too much time with them. Like I can't imagine them darkening the door of a church. And maybe you've prayed for this person for a while.
You've tried sharing, you know, some of the truth of the gospel with them at various points, and they've been like, no, no.
And so you give up. Now I'm not saying that you shouldn't exercise wisdom about when you speak with people, when you don't, and all of that. What we should not do is give up. We should not say that it is impossible for that person to be reached by God. Because then we are limiting God to human possibilities instead of having confidence in his divine power.
And in the same, by the same token, we need to have confidence that God can in fact use us. As weak as we are. Paul in 1 Corinthians 1 verses 26 30 says, Brothers and sisters, Think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards. Not many were influential. Not many were of noble birth.
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world, and the despised things, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God, that is, our righteousness.
God can use weak people like us for his glory.
He can use weak people like us to reach other people who are dead in their transgressions and sins.
And I think what we need to do is get beyond just thinking about this theoretically. So I think everyone, almost everyone here at least would say. Well, theoretically, of course, God can do these things. It's possible that God would do these things. But will He, in fact, do it? Will He, in fact, use you? Will He, in fact, reach the person that you know who seems so far gone, like it's impossible, they would never believe in Jesus?
Will He do it? I think we need to begin expecting that God would do those things that seem impossible to us. Jesus told his disciples in Mark 10 that it was very difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. And,
when he told them that, the disciples were like, well, can anyone get in? Because they thought people who were rich were probably pretty good because God had blessed them. Jesus looked at them and said, with man this is impossible, but not with God. All things are possible with God.
We need to have that sort of attitude and understanding that all things are possible with God. And we can see Sarah begin to turn here in the text.
She, she's probably wondering how these guys knew how the speaker knew that she had laughed. And, she said, oh no, I, you know, I, I didn't laugh. Because now she's afraid, because she understands that this is, at the very least, a divine messenger. And it leads her to deny. But then God says, yes, you did laugh.
She did laugh.
And this leads us to ask the question of ourselves. Do you laugh?
I think there are many Christians who laugh in New England, not with joy, but with cynicism. They will never believe, we think, our friend, neighbor, relative, whoever they may be, simply beyond God's reach. I do not possess God's foreknowledge. I do not know who will be counted amongst God's sheep on the last day, but I can tell you this.
That notion is a demonic lie. It denies the power of God. It denies that your own salvation is a miracle, as though you are not a piece of work yourself.
God's word is foolish in the eyes of the world. But it comes to us with unyielding, unstoppable power, strong enough to pierce the sinner's heart.
In Isaiah 55, 10 through 11, the prophet Isaiah speaks, saying, As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish. So that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater. So is my word that goes out from my mouth. It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
This is the Lord speaking, saying this. This word will go out and it will not return empty. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 that God's word is the sword of the spirit and God has placed his sword in the hand of the Christian. The power of God is placed in your hands, but will you wield it?
I take courage because I have met Christians who are raising the sword. I met Christians in our state who believe that nothing is too hard. Nothing is too difficult. Nothing is impossible for our God. We can join them. We can go beyond theory and believe that God will act because God, Christ has promised us this before his ascent.
Jesus told us. That we will receive the power of the Spirit. That we will be His witnesses in the ends of the earth. That He will be with us, to the very end of the age. We have been given the power of God. Will you laugh? Or will you believe?
God knows your response. Let us pray.
Dear Father,
You are all powerful. Everything is possible for You. Nothing is impossible. Father, we pray that You would help us to trust in Your power. That we would not laugh cynically, thinking that something is too hard for You. Father, we pray that as we look upon our neighbors in our society. As we look upon our neighbors, those people in our family, and we think they just won't come to God, they just won't ever believe.
We pray, Father, that you would confront us with your power. That you would remind us that nothing is too difficult for you. And that Father, we would submit ourselves to you as your servants, as weak as we are, believing that you can use people like us for your glory, to bring people who've gone astray back to your side through Jesus Christ.
Father, I pray that you would help us individually and together as a church. To step out in faith, believing in your power, not just theoretically, but expectantly. that you will act, that you will be true to your word. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us this Sunday, as we continue our sermon series looking at the Bible's account of Abraham.
It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom challenges us to consider not only what we are thankful for, but who we are thankful to.
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Transcript:
Today's reading is from Luke, chapter 18, verses 9 through 14. To some who are confident of their own righteousness and look down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable. Two men went up to the temple to pray. One, a Pharisee, and the other, a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, God, I thank you that I am not like the other people, robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or even this tax collector.
I fast twice a week and I give a tenth of all I get. But the tax collector stood at a distance, he would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, God, have mercy on me. I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
When Thanksgiving approaches, it is fairly common for people to express what they're thankful for. And you all have done some of that today, yourself. Religious and non religious people alike will say things like, I'm thankful for my health. I'm thankful for my job. I'm thankful for my spouse, and this is all well and good, but I do think we could improve our celebration of this holiday with a slight change.
Instead of asking ourselves, what am I thankful for? We could ask, who am I thankful to? You see, if we say who we are thankful to, it will naturally follow that we will offer what we are thankful for. I could say, I'm thankful for my wife, but really only be thankful to myself thinking, well, Tom, you are quite the catch.
We know otherwise. If instead, if I instead say I'm thankful to my wife, I'll then tell you the countless ways I must thank her for her patience, for her support. For the delicious meals she makes, and on, and on. I could say that I'm thankful for my health, but only be giving thanks to myself for my healthy habits.
If I say that I'm thankful to God, I will tell you, among other things, that I'm thankful for the good health he has given me. We all know that the Thanksgiving holiday originates with the pilgrims and Native Americans coming together. But it only took its present form under President Abraham Lincoln in the midst of the Civil War.
And the words from Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation are striking when it comes to making this distinction between being thankful for and thankful to.
He made this proclamation on October 3rd, 1863, and I'm not going to read the whole thing to you, but I've taken a couple of selections. And again, we're right in the middle of the Civil War here. He says this, The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies.
To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source, from which they come. Others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and even soften the heart, which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.
And he goes on to list some various blessings that they've experienced despite there being a war going on. And he picks up and continues by saying, No human in counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out, these great things. In other words, he's saying we can't give credit to human beings for figuring these things out, for these blessings remaining.
Instead he says this, They are the gracious gifts of the most high God who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. And it seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent father who dwelleth.
As Lincoln makes clear here, Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks to God for his mercy, for his sustaining care. And when, when Lincoln talks about God showing mercy to the American people, he's not just using, that word loosely because he understands that while there's good in the American nation that we also have sins on our record that they were reckoning with at that time that God was reckoning with them at that time because of the practice of human slavery.
And there was other wicked things going on just as there's other wicked things going on in our own day. And yet God was showing his mercy. His blessings in the midst of that conflict.
We must be diligent in giving thanks to God for his mercy, for His care. And it's so easy for us to forget, as Lincoln says, to take these things for granted, to give credit to ourselves rather than to God. And the parable that we've heard from Luke 18 highlights this. Jesus gives this parable to those who feel they are self sufficient, those who are confident of their own righteousness and look down on everyone else.
And so he presents to us these two figures, the figure of the Pharisee and the figure of the tax collector. Now, the Pharisee was a person who is devoted to obeying God's law to the nth degree. Now that sounds good, but as Jesus exposes through his ministry, they created laws on top of laws, and they became consumed with superficiality.
Just having all the appearances of righteousness without the heart of righteousness. But in terms of the original impulse, there is some good there, because as you will recall from the story of the people of Israel, they had wandered into rebellion. They had exchanged the one true God for false idols, and so they had gone into exile in Babylon.
And then God brought them back to the land. And even as they were back in the land, the Greeks tried to lead them astray. But there were those Jews that held their ground. And the Pharisees are amongst that group that are concerned with holding their ground. So a good impulse. But they became consumed with their own efforts.
In taking pride in what they themselves were able to accomplish. So you have the Pharisee. And then you have the tax collector. Now, none of us likes taxes. And, uh, yeah. But the tax collector in that day was an especially disreputable figure because he was someone that had basically gotten in bed with the oppressors of the Jewish people, with the Roman Empire.
It would be like, imagine if China somehow took over our country and excised taxes from us and your neighbor decided, hey, I'm going to be the one to go excise taxes. You probably wouldn't like that guy very much. Cause you feel like you're allying yourselves, yourself with our enemies. That's how most of the Jewish felt about these tax collectors. And beyond that, these guys tended to be cheats. They took more than was actually required because in fact, that's what the Roman government had established. That was the way that they were to actually make money. They just overcharge a little bit. Well, give an inch, they take a mile.
So you have these two men, and they've both gone to the temple, and they each have a prayer to offer. Jesus first tells us of the prayer that this Pharisee offered. In verse 11 he says, God I thank you that I am not like other people, robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. The Pharisee, by all appearances, is offering thanksgiving unto God.
And you're like, alright, this might be okay if he said, But for the grace of God, I go thereto, God, I know that I could be just like them. But your mercy has made it so that I'm not like them. That's not what he says. He says, I thank you that I'm not like these other people. And then he goes on in verse 12 and says, I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.
So, it appears that the Pharisee is giving thanks to God, but in fact he's doing nothing of the sort. He's thanking himself. He's congratulating himself because he is pure. He is upright. This is what he has achieved above his fellow man.
This is a warning to us because we are equally capable of speaking out of two sides of our mouths where we show up on a Sunday and we say, thank you God for everything that you've done. I know that I'm only who I am because of who you are. We could say all that and yet during the week we can hang our hat on our own accomplishments.
We can live lives of pride and lives of judgment on all those who are around us. Such that if someone disrespects us, well, we'll show them. Because we've earned everything that we got.
We must be careful that we're not like the Pharisee. This brings us to the tax collector, and his prayer is much, much different. First, we just notice his posture. They've gone to the temple, but unlike the Pharisee, the tax collector is not drawn near. He's standing off at a distance, because he does not feel worthy to draw near to God.
Remember, the temple was no mere structure, but this was the place of meeting between God and His people. The tax collector did not feel worthy to come before God's presence. And we notice that he's beating his breasts. His soul is anguished because he knows he's so unworthy. He just prays a simple prayer.
He says, God have mercy on me, a sinner. That's it. God have mercy on me, a sinner. And Jesus comments following this, He says that He is the one who left justified because God will exalt the humble and He will humble the exalted. Now we ask why is that? Why is it that God will exalt the humble and humble the exalted?
It's because those who would exalt themselves give no credit to God, give no true thanksgiving to God.
In a certain way, they believe that they could be God themself, because they think that they can live up to his perfection. And what Jesus does over the course of his ministry is expose that lie. That none of us can live up to the perfection of God, none of us can live up to the life of Christ. So we have some, some bad news here, but the good news is that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.
That whoever comes to Him and believes in Him will be saved and will be redeemed and restored if they just believe. So that's the good news. But is that what God desires? Is that recognition of, I can't exalt myself because there's nothing to exalt. There's nothing that I have that is due to me. I have no praise due to me.
Nothing that I have is a deserved reward. Everything is mercy. Everything is grace, and this is what the tax tax collector recognizes that if he's going to receive anything from God, his daily bread, his salvation, any of it, it's all by God's mercy.
This brings us back to again thinking about Lincoln in our country, he recognized that because of our sins, we didn't deserve the good things that we received, and yet we received mercy, and so he invites the country to give thanks to God. You see, the gospel is an invitation for you to give thanks to God, because it's a recognition of what God is doing, rather than what I am doing.
When we come and believe in Jesus Christ, we say, I'm done with entrusting, I'm entrusting in my abilities, in my performance. And instead, I am trusting in Jesus Christ and what He's going to do. So that, not only for my salvation, but for anything that we do. Whether it's in our job performance, professionally.
Whether it's something that we do together, collectively, as a church. It is no credit to us, because it is not by our power. But by the power of God that these things come to pass that these good things are realized you see what you are thankful for Doesn't say as much as who you were thankful to. The Pharisee was thankful. But he wasn't really thankful to God. He was thankful to himself for his own exalted status. Until you see yourself the way that the tax collector saw himself, you too will drift into an egocentric Thanksgiving, giving yourself a good old pat on the back.
That only comes to an end when you realize that you literally can't do anything to save your life. The life we have, we cannot keep. The life we know we should live, we never do live. In testifying to this experience, Paul points us to our only hope in an exclamation of thanksgiving. In Romans 7, verses 24 through 25a, he says, What a wretched man I am, who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death.
Thanks be to God. Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord. That we live, that we can have hope is no thanks to us. It is thanks to God who in his patient mercy sustains us so that we might be redeemed in Jesus Christ. It is by Jesus Christ the humble are exalted. It is by Jesus Christ that the sinner receives mercy.
Through that simple and honest cry. God have mercy on me, a sinner. He will gladly give you this mercy in Jesus Christ when you call on Him. Just as He has gladly given you every other good thing. God has given you earthly goods. And He will give you the everlasting good found in Himself. Just cry out to Him.
God cannot be blamed when we do not ask. He must be thanked. Because it is from Him that we receive every blessing. Above all, new and everlasting life in Jesus Christ. Let us pray.
Dear Father,
have mercy on us. Have mercy on us. Because we are, we are sinners by nature, Father. We have no right to draw before your presence on our own accounts. Have mercy on us, Father. Father, we give you thanks because you have, in fact, shown us your mercy. Because you sent your Son so that we might draw near. So that by believing in him, we might be adopted as your sons and daughters and receive grace in our hour of need, Father, continued grace, daily grace, Father, because we still do wrestle with sin.
We still do mess up Father. We confess that we have no basis to exalt ourselves. And so we come before you humbly thanking you because you've given us grace. Far more than any one of us deserves, both materially, Father, and spiritually. Help us to live, Father, with an attitude of thanksgiving.
And that, in receiving your mercy, we would be filled with your own generosity. So that we would give up to others freely, just as you have given freely to us, your Son, Jesus Christ. So that we might be saved. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us this Sunday as we continue our sermon series looking at the Bible's account of Abraham. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Genesis 17, we see another continuation and confirmation of God’s promises to Abraham. A physical symbol of God’s covenant is established through the practice of circumcision.
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Transcript:
Genesis 17 verses 9 through 14. Then God said to Abraham, as for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you, for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep. Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come, every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner, those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who has not been circumcised in the flesh will be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.
Parenting is a tough balancing act. You don't need to be a parent to know this. Once we're grown up, it's not unusual for us to look back sympathetically on the struggle of our parents. Raising kids isn't easy. There are two extremes that parents are often drawn towards. On the one hand, parents are drawn towards making their kids the very best. That's not necessarily bad. But it can become bad when a parent's affection for their child becomes dependent on their performance. It becomes bad when a child feels like they're just never good enough. to earn their parents' love. The other extreme is the parent who has all the affection in the world and thinks their kid can do no wrong. That might be called the fun parent, who always says yes, and who has no expectations for their son or daughter. What we have here in these two extremes are distortions of true love. The parent who truly loves their child will love their child unconditionally while also seeking what is best. This parent will not and should not love everything their child does and will seek to direct them in the ways of wisdom and righteousness. However much that son or daughter fails or succeeds, that parental love will remain.
We have a picture of God in the image of the parent. Those who are God's people are invited to call upon Him as Father and receive care as His children. And this is the kind of relationship that we see emerging between God and Abram. Since we began in Genesis 12, God has promised Abram at least four times that he would give Abram countless descendants, that he would give him the land of Canaan, and that through Abram, the world would be blessed. Abram didn't do anything to deserve these promises. He simply believed God, and his face was counted as righteousness. But now here in Genesis 17, we see the relationship between God and Abram begin to take fuller form. We are ramping up to the birth of the Son that God has promised. So turning to Genesis 17, starting in verse 1, Moses tells us, When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, I am God Almighty. Walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you, and you will greatly increase your numbers. Abram fell face down, and God said to him, As for me, this is my covenant with you. You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram, your name will be Abraham. For I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful, I will make nations of you and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan where you now reside as a foreigner possession to you and your descendants after you, and I will be their God. One thing I just want you to kind of notice here as we go into Genesis 17 is how many years we've quickly spanned in the course of a few chapters. When we started in chapter twelve, Abram was seventy-five. And now here in chapter seventeen, he's ninety-nine. And in just the last chapter he was eighty-six. So you go from 13 years. I think this is important to notice because it reminds us that we don't have a complete biography of Abram's life. I'm sure some very interesting things happened in those 13 years, but that's not the point. The point isn't to tell the complete story of Abram. The point that God has here is to show what he is going to do in the life of Abram through him. We're being told the story of God's redemptive mission of mankind. So God appears to Abram and he says, I am God Almighty, walk before me faithfully and be blameless. So you have God telling Abram who he is, and then telling Abram who he ought to be. He tells Abram, I am God Almighty. which in the Hebrew is El Shaddai, maybe you've heard that before. El Shaddai means God Almighty. So that's who God is. He's the Almighty God who is able to bring these promises to completion. And who Abram is supposed to be is one who's to walk faithfully and blamelessly. And what God is really telling Abram here is that is what it means to be the covenant people of God. God has made these promises. In return, Abram and his descendants ought to be faithful and be blameless. Now we hear elsewhere in scripture figures like Noah, Job, we see the psalmist talking about those who are blameless. The psalmist says in Psalm 119, one, blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. So that's what it means to be blameless, to walk according to the law of the Lord. Now of course we know that no one is in fact perfect, apart from Jesus Christ. And Abram himself wasn't perfect. So when we see that word blameless, we have to understand it in a particular sort of way, within the light of faith, in which Abram's actions are manifestations of his faith and him being loyal to God. even if he's not actually perfect.
I think that's important to note just because when we get to verse two it can sound very much at first as though the covenant is completely dependent upon Abram's obedience. It says then I will make my covenant between me and you. Now if you go to other translations of the Bible it's interesting because it doesn't translate it quite that strongly because the word then isn't that's an interpretive choice here based on what had just followed in terms of God telling him to be faithful and blameless. Other translations just have it and I will make my covenant or it just says I will make my covenant. There's an idea here though that God has some expectation. Maybe state it a little bit too strongly here in the NIV, but it's an expectation nonetheless that God does have for His covenant people. When we get to Genesis 26, where God is now speaking to Isaac and extending the covenant promise to him. He says in Genesis 26 verses 4 through 5, I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me, and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees, and my instructions. So we've said Abraham wasn't perfect. but according to what God was expecting of him, he was blameless insofar as that he was faithful to God. This is just a reminder to us that faith and action do go hand in hand. Yes, it starts with belief, that's the beginning of faith, but if you actually believe and trust in someone, and particularly in God, then you're going to act out on that faith. And that's exactly what Abram has done. And what we have here in Abram is a shadow of Christ's own obedience. Now, we've already said multiple times Abram wasn't perfect, but that's why it's a shadow of Christ's obedience, and his obedience is proceeding from faith. And so when we look across the Old Testament, we find others who were also faithful and obedient in this sort of way. And so we can almost think of it as though these are the people who across history were, to kind of make a football analogy, they were able to move the ball around the field. They were faithful to God. We were able to see their progress and growth. But in themselves, they were never enough to score the touchdown. Because if they were sufficient on their own, why in the world would the Son of God take on human flesh and be crucified to a cross? It doesn't make sense if they were enough. They weren't enough. They did have faith and it was pointing towards Christ.
This is what the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 11:39. He says after referring to Abraham and a bunch of other icons of the faith, he says, these were all commended for their faith. just as God just commended Abraham for his faith when he was talking to Isaac yet none of them received what had been promised since God had planned something better for us that only together with us they would be made perfect and then it goes on into the next chapter to say Jesus Christ, he's the author and perfecter of our faith. So when we think about God's expectations that he has for his covenant people, there is a little bit of conditionality here in terms of Abraham and his descendants enjoying the blessings of that covenant. But it's the sort of conditions that a parent might set. So you can think of it like this. Like if you say, to your child, especially when they're young, eat your supper and you'll be able to watch television. So otherwise, if you don't eat, you're going to bed without dinner. Sometimes that's a consequence you might have. And you might let that play out if they refuse to eat. But just because you made that a condition then doesn't mean that you're going to now neglect your duty as a parent to care for your child and say you're never going to eat again and you're going to starve to death. No. You'd be failing your side of the covenant as a parent. And this is kind of the position that God has in relation to mankind. He does set conditions and expectations. And if we do not abide by those expectations, we face consequences for that. And yet God does not abandon us. And it points us back to Genesis 15. Remember, there was that weird ceremony where God told Abram, take these various animals, divide them in half, and then wait. And he revealed his covenant to him. He didn't make Abram walk through the animals though. Only God did. And remember the significance of that was that through walking through those animals, God was saying, this curse would be upon me if I don't hold up my promise. Now God did in fact face that curse by going to the cross, but he never broke his promise. So we know that God is going to keep his covenant promise. But in the meantime, Abraham and his descendants could face consequences for not abiding by God's expectation that they would be faithful and blameless.
It reminded me of, I watched an episode of Family Matters with Sara and James the other night. Maybe you remember that show. Eddie Winslow in the show tried to get his driving license, didn't get it, decided he was going to drive the car anyways to impress his girlfriend. And he ran into the front of his house and created a huge hole in the wall. And as you can imagine, his father was not happy. and he got grounded for a couple of months and he wasn't going to be able to try out for his driver's license again until the end of that time but his father still loved him even though there was consequences there and he still wanted what was best for him and that's the nature of God's relationship with us. We see this played out or promised I guess in Jeremiah thirty verses ten through thirteen and seventeen. Through the course of Israel's history they were not blameless, they were not faithful, and they were sent into exile ultimately. The Babylonians came in and they were forced to live in Babylon. And this is what God tells his people through the prophet Jeremiah. He says, so do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant. Do not be dismayed, Israel, declares the Lord. I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid. I am with you and will save you, declares the Lord. Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you, but only in due measure. So again, kind of that parental sense, I will discipline you. I will not let you go entirely unpunished. This is what the Lord says, your wound is incurable, your injury beyond healing. There is no one to plead your cause, no remedy for your sore, no healing for you. Sounds pretty grim. But then God says in verse 17, but I will restore you to health and heal your wounds declares the Lord. Because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares. So God anticipates, he knows that the descendants of Abraham are going to fall away, that they're not going to be faithful, that they're not going to be blameless, but he's going to keep his promise. He's going to heal the incurable wound. They couldn't fix themselves, but God is going to heal them. And he ultimately accomplishes that in Jesus Christ. So looking at the rest of the passage here, we see that God reiterates his promises to Abram that he's going to make him into a great nation, countless offspring. But there's some other things here as well besides that in inheriting the land of Canaan. Abram is given a new name. Now we get to call him Abraham, which is much easier, because I always have to think mentally, like I'm saying Abram, not Abraham. We call him Abraham.
Why did he get that name? It was to remind him of this promise that he was going to be the father of many. That's what the name Abraham means. It means father of many. And there's some additional details here as well. God tells him that your descendants are going to be kings. He also tells him in verses seven and eight that he's going to have this covenant that he has with God as an everlasting covenant. Again, reminding us of just how firm God's promise is, that it's not going to go away. And what's more, what's best of all, is God promises him that he will be Abraham's God. He's going to be his descendant's God. That's better than all the promises in the world. It's better to have the God who makes these promises, then just a blessing that might be here for today and then go away tomorrow. What God is telling Abraham is, I'm looking out for you. I'm looking over you. You have my love. God told Abraham that he expects him to be faithful and blameless. And with this expectation comes an iconic symbol of what God expects. So we look at verses 9 through 14, and Clay did a great job reading that. I'm not going to read it over again because we have a lot of verses to cover. What God expects is that Abraham and all the males of his household will be circumcised and that this would be a sign of the covenant between God and Abraham. Now this might seem a little strange to us, why would God expect this, require this? Well the practice itself was not uncommon at that time. It was very common for circumcision to take place when a male reached kind of the coming of age, kind of adolescence or at the time of marriage So it was a very familiar sort of rite. But what's different here is that God is using this rite not to show, like, OK, you've kind of come into your masculinity. It's to show that Abraham's family belongs to God, that this is his people. So that this is something that takes place not when a man, once a male grows into manhood, but in fact it happens at eight days old. That the members of Abraham's household are marked out that early on. And we see that, that happened in the case of Christ, eight days after Christ was born. He was circumcised. And notice also here that the circumcision is to be practiced not only for those who are Hebrew, who are literally physically, you know. genetically related to Abraham. But for everyone, Hebrew and non-Hebrew, and this is again kind of a foreshadowing, I think, of how God's intent has always been universal, that it's not racial, as though God was only dedicated to the Jewish people. He was working through the Jewish people in order that the whole world would be blessed. And we see a glimpse of this in Abraham's household, as those who are non-Hebrews counted among the covenant people by receiving the mark of circumcision.
Now the purpose of circumcision is a sign, as I've said. But something that we should understand here is that there's no value in circumcision itself because it is a mere sign. and what Paul says in Romans 4 is that circumcision was a sign of Abraham's faith. So we look at Romans 4, 9 through 17. He says, is this blessedness only for the circumcised or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised or before? It was not after, but before. And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe, but have not been circumcised in order that the righteousness might be credited to them. So what Paul is saying here is that because Abraham was counted righteous for his faith before he was circumcised, it's also possible that those who are uncircumcised, the Gentiles, the non-Jews, would be counted righteous by faith in Jesus Christ without having to undergo circumcision. For the purposes of Abraham, we can see circumcision acting as a sign in the same way as a ring acts as a sign of maybe love for someone. So when a man proposes to a woman that they'd get married, he presents a ring, and the woman wears the ring as a symbol of that love, of that covenant that's going to be sealed between them. Now the ring is not the love, it's just a sign of that, but it's important nonetheless so that it's marking out that I have a fiance. I'm not going to get another fiance. I belong to him and in turn when the man, even though he doesn't wear a ring, he belongs to her too. This is what circumcision is representing, is that Abraham and his family belong to God. Now what God is really desiring here though is not just a mark in the flesh. He wants the complete commitment of His people. He wants all their love. He wants sin to be cut away from their hearts and for them to be completely devoted to Him. this being indicated as being the ultimate desire of circumcision. It says, and now Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to Him, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good. just a longer way of saying what God said, I want you to be faithful and blameless. The Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. If the Lord set his affliction on your ancestors and loved them and he chose you their descendants above all the nations as it is today, circumcise your hearts therefore. and do not be stiff-necked any longer. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. That's what the physical circumcision is pointing towards, is God's desire that his people would be righteous and completely devoted to him. And even later on in Deuteronomy 30, where we have the anticipation of the Israelites being sent into exile, we also have this promise that God will, in fact, perform the circumcision of the heart. He says in Deuteronomy 30 verses 4-8, even if you've been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. He will bring you to the land that belonged to your ancestors and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors. The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts in the hearts of your descendants so that you may love him with all your heart, with all your soul and live. So again, that's the purpose of the circumcision. God is wanting to bring his people to a place where they love him with all their heart. The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you. You will again obey the Lord and follow all his commands I'm giving you today.
Paul testifies to this in Romans 2 verses 28-29 he says that circumcision is circumcision of the heart that's the true circumcision by the spirit not by the written code and in Colossians 2 verses 11-15 he indicates that this circumcision is our baptism in Jesus Christ. It's interesting to note that kind of connection there because remember when does circumcision happen? Eight days after male is born. So you can kind of see how the practice of infant baptism would emerge. Now, I disagree with that. But you can see how the association there would kind of say, oh, this is how we identify as God's covenant people. But Paul, Paul does say this about this connection in Colossians 2, 11-15. He says, In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands, just as God had promised. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness which stood against us and condemned us. He's taken it away nailing it to the cross and having disarmed the powers and authorities he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them by the cross. So in Christ our sin is cut away. Death is cut away so that we may now put on Christ and live the resurrection life that he gives us. Circumcision is not what's intrinsically valuable. It's just a signpost to what God desires. And that's why Christians are no longer expected to have to be circumcised, because that was just a sign pointing to our baptism in Christ. Paul says this is what, in fact, God desires. I'm just going to run through this real quick. We've got a series of verses here. In Galatians 6, he says, circumcision and uncircumcision don't mean anything. What counts is the new creation. In Galatians 5, he says, the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. In 1 Corinthians 7, he says, keeping God's commands is what counts. Now again, we're not saved by keeping God's commands because we couldn't possibly be saved by that because none of us keep God's commands completely. We're saved by faith in Jesus Christ who did keep God's commands completely. But our salvation in Christ results in us doing good works because that was the purpose in God redeeming and restoring us because that's what we were created for. We were created to reflect God's righteousness.
We're reminded of this again in Ephesians 2. It's such an important passage to remember, verses eight through 10. For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by work so that no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works. You've been baptized in Christ. You've been circumcised in Christ to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. So the strange practice that we don't understand, we see how it's pointing towards Christ. Now that we see Christ, we have the advantage of hindsight. We can see how it's all working together and what God's actually desiring here. After instructing Abraham on circumcision, God has a surprise for him. God has something to say about Sarai. Verse 15, God also said to Abraham, as for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai. Her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I'll bless her so that she'll be the mother of nations. Kings of peoples will come from her. Abraham fell down, fell face down. He laughed and said to himself, Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety? And Abraham said to God, Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety? Then God said, Yes. But your wife Sarah will bear you a son. and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will surely bless him. I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He'll be the father of 12 rulers and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year." So you note that change going from Sarai to Sarah. Now the meaning here isn't as obvious in the case of Abraham, because the root meaning still kind of means the same. It means princess. it may be that God is making this change in order to strip Sarah's original name, Sarai, of its pagan associations. You'll remember the first sermon we did on this, I talked about how the name Sarai was associated with the Akkadian moon god's consort, his queen, basically. So just by making that little change, what God may be doing here again is marking out Sarah as his own. You don't belong to the pagan gods, you belong to me.
Now what God tells Abraham here is a bit of a news flash. And sometimes we can miss this. For 13 years, Abraham has believed that Ishmael fulfilled the promise that God had given to him. Abraham wasn't worried anymore. And we can tell this by the way that he responded, because he pleaded with God, just let Ishmael be the one. but that's not what God has in mind. He says, no! you are going to have a son through Sarah not through Hagar. And this just makes Abraham laugh. He's like, how is that possible? A son be born to a man who's a hundred years old and Sarah bearing a child at the age of ninety. Now, I talked about this in that first sermon a little bit. Their 100 probably isn’t really our 100, and their 90 isn’t really our 90. And if you want to get scientific, they probably weren't experiencing as much genetic mutation at that time as we've experienced. But it's still really old. And based on what Abraham's saying here is you don't have any sort of expectation that this would happen. And that will become more clear as we follow Sarah's side of things in trying to wrap her mind around this. But again, Abraham had assumed that Ishmael was going to be the one, and so this is why he pleads. It just seems ridiculous that they could possibly have a child through Sarah. But God insists. He says, you're going to name him Isaac. And the name Isaac means laugh. He's like, I'm going to show you. I'm going to show you. I'm going to bring you forth a son, and I'm going to remind you of how you laughed at me making this promise. It's going to come to pass. Isaac's going to be the one who's going to receive the everlasting covenant, not Ishmael. Now he offers some encouragement, some comfort to Abraham, because Abraham truly cares for Ishmael. He says Ishmael's going to be blessed but he's not the one through whom the covenant's going to come. It's Isaac. He tells him that this is going to happen next year. Now Paul picks up on the significance of this differentiation between Isaac and Ishmael, Sarah and Hagar in Galatians 4 verses 21 through 23. He says, tell me you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a dying promise. Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise. What's Paul getting at here? Well, in the case of Hagar, We know that she was a slave in their household. And we did talk last week about how God was basically promising her that her descendants would be free, that Ishmael would be free. He would be a slave to no man. But Paul is using this figure of her as a slave to highlight the difference between human efforts and God's promises. because that's what Hagar really represents. Remember, Abram and Sarai, they had conspired that, oh, you know, I'll give you Hagar and we'll get the covenant that way. didn't amount to anything. Covenant is only realized by God working supernaturally and making it so that Sarah can conceive and give birth to Isaac. It's free. It's a free gift that's given. It's not something that they've earned or deserved.
And now because we've received that covenant ultimately through Jesus Christ, we likewise walk in freedom. We are not saved by our efforts. We are saved because God has been faithful to his promise. Now closing out the chapter, we find Abraham responding in obedience in a way that reflects his faith in God. 22 he says, when he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household are bought with his money. Every male in his household then circumcised them as God told him. Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised and his son Ishmael was 13. Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day. Every male in Abraham's household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him. Just on the way things are described here, we're reminded that this was a personal visitation from God. It was not a dream or just something that Abraham had imagined, but God had actually come and visited him, such that when it's over, it says God went up from him. And Abraham's response is striking. Now, as you might imagine most of us would not be very eager to follow up on what God is requiring here, but it says that Abraham, that very day, on that very day, did exactly what God asked him to do. He believed that it was somehow possible that God was going to make it so that Sarah would conceive and give birth to a son. That it would be worth going through all that pain and mess of circumcision, that God would be his God, that God would be the God of his people. He didn't put it off. There's an example for us, I think, in that when we have faith in God, we say we believe, we should act out of that faith. And so often we say, yeah, I believe, and yet we don't act. Abraham acted on that very day. we should have that same sort of urgency and zeal and desire to respond. Abraham was 99, Ishmael was 13, and he was obedient, circumcising everyone in his household. The covenant is now moving beyond Abraham. It includes Sarah. It incorporates everyone in their household. Above all the promises of prosperity, stands the greatest promise of all, that God would be the God of Abraham and his children. He is their God. You can give a kid many good things, clothes, food, education, but there is no greater good they can have than their parents. We can have all the riches of this world, but without God, we are hopeless. Our wounds are beyond healing. But God can heal us. God can restore us. God has promised Himself to us. He's offered Himself to us through the Son, Jesus Christ. He is the fulfillment of all God's promises to Abraham. Like Abraham, these promises become ours by faith in Jesus Christ. God becomes ours and we become his children. And like any good or earthly parent, God gives us his love without charge. But out of that same love, he desires to raise us to be the sort of people they were supposed to be. Before Jesus Christ, The children of Israel could not live up to God's expectation. None of us have. But because He loves us, God sent His Son to fulfill all those expectations. Jesus makes up for all the wrong we've done. He pays for all the holes we've put in the walls. But what's more, He gives us a future. We are no longer slaves. We are free. We are children of the promise. Whoever has been baptized and has been circumcised in the heart, and now the Holy Spirit has been given rule over your heart, your walk is improving. You're becoming more faithful. You're becoming more blameless day by day. But you're not saved by your improvement. Only Jesus saves. But He has saved you to heal your walk so that you will no longer walk with a limp. So that we can enjoy a closer walk with God until that day when we are brought to His side. We look eagerly towards that day. Let us pray.
Dear Father. We thank you that even in you laying out these expectations for Abraham, we continue to see yet again a picture of your grace, of how you didn't abandon him when he decided to come up with his own plan of having a child with Hagar, and of how you were to be faithful to your promise even when his descendants didn't live up to what you were calling them to be and to do. Father, we thank you that circumcision is just a signpost to Jesus Christ. Of the work that you've performed in Him. So that through Jesus Christ, it's now possible that the power of sin can be cut free from our hearts. So that we can become your people, your children. All that you've desired us to be. Thank you for truly loving us, Father. Thank you for loving us in such a way that you have not abandoned us. Thank you for loving us in such a way that you haven't just left us to our sin and our corruption. Give us the faith of Abraham father that we would trust in Jesus Christ and that we would act out of that faith just as he did. We ask this in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us this Sunday as we continue our sermon series looking at the Bible's account of Abraham. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Genesis 16, we see Abram losing patience with the promise of God, taking matters into his own hands to make things happen. These efforts create more strife in his household. We also see God’s continued faithfulness to all parties involved.
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Transcript:
Genesis chapter 16 verses 11 through 13. The angel of the Lord also said to Hagar, you are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man. His hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him. And he will live in hostility toward all his brothers. She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her. You are the God who sees me, for she said, I have now seen the one who sees me.
It is possible for you to want a good thing in a bad way. Take friendship, for instance. Friendship is a good thing that all people should desire. And there are many good ways to form friendships. There are also many bad ways as well. We are all familiar with the pressure of trying to fit in. And truth be told, it's not always bad. Sometimes we should be like the people around us if they're good people. But usually our parents warned us about trying to fit in, and we warn our own kids about it for a good reason. Because trying to fit in can often mean friendship at all costs. If my classmates will mock teachers, I will mock teachers. If my peers start shoplifting, I will start shoplifting. If my co-workers tell dirty jokes, I will tell dirty jokes. All in the pursuit of making friends. Friendship is good, but making friends in this way is bad. The good we seek is often obscured and disordered by the ways that we pursue it.
God has given Abram good promises. He's promised him countless descendants, a homeland, and worldwide blessings through Abram and his offspring. Now, in making those promises, God wasn't saying that Abram wasn't to do anything. They just had to sit back and relax. No, Abram and his family had to leave Haran and leave everything that they knew behind them to go to the land of Canaan and live the life of a nomad. God has promised Abram offspring. This requires action on the part of Abram and Sarai as husband and wife. God had not promised them a virgin birth, as in the case of Mary. But what do you do when you seek the good God has promised and it never seems to materialize? This is the situation of Abram and Sarai. The details of Genesis 16 reveals that it has been about ten years since Abram received God's promises. So we're taking a bit of a leap in time from chapter 15 to chapter 16, give or take 10 years. 10 years of persevering, waiting, hoping, and being left disappointed when Sarai is not pregnant. Anyone who has struggled to have kids knows the gnawing desperation this continued disappointment creates. Abraham and Sarai want something good that God has promised. They're left wondering how they can get it. Now modern problems have modern solutions, and ancient problems have ancient solutions. And in chapter 16, we see Abraham and Sarai resort to an ancient solution to get the child that they desire. So we'll be looking at Genesis 16 starting in verse 1. It's going to be on the screen. You can also turn in your Bibles there as well. Moses tells us, now Sarai, Abram's wife, had born him no children, but she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar. So she said to Abram, the Lord has kept me from having children. Go sleep with my slave. Perhaps I can build a family through her. Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So after Abram had been living in Canaan 10 years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. Now it's not completely novel to us the fact that Sarai is having difficulty in getting pregnant because if you recall back in Genesis 11 it was mentioned that she was barren, that she was having trouble giving Abram any children and she's quite old by this point. She's probably about 76. But in giving this promise to Abram that he would have many children, many offspring, become a great nation, it seemed implicit, it seemed kind of assumed that Sarai would be part of that because Sarai is his wife. And yet, it's not happening. And we find Sarai here in verse 2 blaming God for that.
She says, the Lord has kept me from having children. And this frustration on her part with not having a child, if it's seeming like God's saying no to me having a child, leads her to start thinking and spinning a plan of her own design. It comes to her mind that maybe she could give her slave Hagar to Abram, and he could have a child through her. But notice here too, this isn't any sort of thing where it's just purely altruistic for the benefit of Abram or for the benefit of Hagar. She says, through her. So Sarah's perspective here is that I'm gonna use Hagar so that I can have a child through her. Kind of a messed up situation. Her thinking that she could just use her slave in that sort of way. But when we go back to ancient times we find that this was in fact a common practice, is messed up. as it was and is. There's records from Asia Minor where a slave was used to bring forth a child for a couple and the rule was basically she bears the child and you immediately sell the slave. So the slave has nothing to do with the child, just gone. This was a practice in Egypt as well. And of course Abram and Sarah spent time in Egypt. Maybe they saw this practice going on there. Now everything about this, of course to us, is this seems obviously morally troublesome. And we can kind of judge Abraham and Sarai here, saying, how could you possibly think to do something like this? We have to take a look in the mirror as a society, because we do just as morally troublesome things of our own today. Although they're a little bit more antiseptic, I guess, in the approach that we take.
As a society, we have people who willfully separate children from their biological fathers and mothers through donorship. I'm not going to get into the details of that, but you know what I'm talking about, through donorship. They have the same thing going on through surrogacy. We see the parallels. There's that same human impulse, as in the time of Abraham and Sarai, just being played out in more technologically advanced ways in our own day. And what it is a willful contravention of the divine design. It's a move that is completely self-interested, because it's not acting in the best interests of the child. Because what's in the best interest of the child is, in ideal circumstances, is that they can be with their father and mother. On the other hand, we see in our society we do the practice of adoption, that is something done in the interest of the child because the child can no longer remain with their biological father and mother. Totally different outlook than willfully just right up front deciding we're going to separate them. You could have a whole ethical sermon on that. That's not the real point of what's going on here, but just the general point is this, is that desperation can drive us to do unethical things. And we are not morally justified, even in pursuing something as good as conceiving and bearing a child to just do whatever we want. We can't pursue conception at any and all cost. I do want to say, because maybe this is the case for some of us here, maybe it's the case for those in your life, you know, people that have taken up these options. God loves you. God loves those people. God loves the children that were conceived in those sorts of ways. God is going to love the child that's conceived through Hagar. So we're not saying anything about that in terms of they're not outside of God's love. But that doesn't change the moral truth in the situation.
What we see here with Abram and Sarai is that they're trying to pursue a good thing but by their own wisdom. And what they're exchanging is that they're exchanging the divine order for a human order. And at bottom, that's really what evil and sin is. Evil and sin is a departure from God's order and design. Sometimes we think like evil or sin is a thing, but evil or sin is not a thing, because if it was a thing, then that would have meant that God created it. Evil is the absence of good. It's a departure from the good. C.S. Lewis said, just as darkness is not a thing, it's just the absence of light, so is sin just the absence of good. So that's what's going on here. Abram and Sarai, they know how things should play out, especially based on God's promise that Sarai should bear a child. But instead of waiting and trusting, they've decided to do their own thing. They've decided to pursue their own wisdom, which goes right back to the garden when Adam and Eve are taking up the knowledge of the tree of good and evil. So. Hagar is made Abram's wife. That's notable. They didn't just say, OK, have Hagar sleep with Abram. She's actually made his wife, which does elevate her status in the household from the position of slave. So now she's a wife of Abram. And so this just raises another moral quandary for us, as you have Abram, this great man of faith, married to multiple women. Talking about polygamy here. So does that mean then that polygamy is A-OK? No.
When you read the scriptures, it's really important that you differentiate between the Bible describing something and the Bible prescribing something. The Bible describes all kinds of evil things that happen. And in describing them, God isn't necessarily saying do those things. God's not saying do those things. And in the case of polygamy, what we see God doing is he tolerates this practice, but wherever we see it crop up in the biblical narrative, things are basically going sideways. It's not a good situation. It's a lousy time for everybody. It creates trouble for the husband, it creates trouble for the wives, and we see that happening right here in this passage because it says in verse four, that Hagar begins to despise Sarai. And this is something that we see similar happen in 1 Samuel 1, 6 through 7. The mother of Samuel, before she had given birth to him, was childless like Sarai. And one of her husband's other wives was despising her and making fun of her because she couldn't have a kid. It creates all kinds of problems. Hagar is despising Sarai and looking down on her, which you can imagine for Sarai really stings because this is a woman that was formerly your slave, basically your handmaiden, and now she's kind of looking down like, oh look, like you couldn't give Abram a child, but I have. All kinds of drama. And as you might imagine, this makes Sarai big mad, like really upset. And she strikes back in verse 5. It says, then Sarai said to Abram, you are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me. Your slave is in your hands, Abram said. Do with her whatever you think best. Then Sarai mistreated Hagar, so she fled from her. So obviously not, I feel confident saying none of us have been in this situation. But the dynamics between husband and wife are kind of familiar. It seems kind of odd that Sarai is blaming Abram here because she was the one that kind of came up with the idea and said, hey, you should take Hagar and make her your wife. So you're kind of like, really? You're blaming Abram for this? But it's imaginable. We can imagine this playing out between husband and wife, where the wife gets upset. And you can imagine Sarai kind of thinking here, well, yeah, I gave her to you, but you should have said no, or something like that. And honestly though, there is some responsibility on Abram's part where he should have said no.
And this goes back to the garden. Who took the fruit first? Trivia quiz. Who took the fruit first? Yes. Eve is the correct answer. The woman took the fruit first. And then she gave it to her husband. And the husband, Adam, took it and ate it. And he shouldn't have. And he should have told Eve, don't do that. And that's what Abram should have done here. He shouldn't have taken Hagar. He should have told Sarai, no, don't do that. But he did. And so, when Sarai says, let the Lord judge between you and me. Abram has reason to believe that things aren't going to necessarily turn out well for him, especially when you remember that when they went to Egypt, he basically threw her under the bus and said, oh, yeah, she's my sister. Here you go, Pharaoh, and gave Sarai to Pharaoh. When she says, let the Lord judge between you and me, she's basically saying, God will have vengeance for the way that you've treated me. And we see this kind of language used in 1 Samuel 24 between David and Saul, where David refuses to lay a hand on Saul. But he says, let the Lord judge between you and me, because Saul was pursuing David and trying to kill him. Now, we see Abram here make a very typical kind of like husband move here in order to escape his wife's wrath. He says, do with her whatever you think best. Just do whatever you want. Just trying to make you happy. Do whatever you think is best. But of course, in doing this, he's throwing Hagar under the bus because she has become one of his wives. And so he's neglecting her. And again, this is just showing us all the problems with polygamy, because if you're trying to be faithful to one wife, you're being unfaithful to another, and it's just a huge mess. The result is that Sarai says, all right, and she begins to mistreat Hagar badly. Now, we don't know what that means, but it must have been pretty bad, bad enough that Hagar decided she was going to hit the road while pregnant. Now, if you were in this situation, where would you naturally want to run to? Anyone have an idea? Where would you want to go to? Home? Yeah. Yeah, you'd want to go home. You'd want to go back to mom and dad, basically. And that's what Hagar does.
Remember, Hagar is Egyptian, and so she naturally starts running back to Egypt. Verses seven through nine tell us, the angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert. It was a spring that is beside the road to Shur, which leads towards Egypt. And he said, Hagar, slave of Sarai. Where have you come from and where are you going? I'm running away from my mistress, Sarai, she answered. Then the angel of the Lord told her, go back to your mistress and submit to her. So Hagar has hit the road. She's running away from Abram's household. She's going back to Egypt. And again, I've showed you this before. There's a desert between the land of Canaan and Egypt. a formidable wilderness. So this is just very broad and general. You see the wilderness, for sure. So we can just estimate that she's going from here, and she's going that way. Now, a couple of things to know about the land that lays between her and Egypt. We're talking about probably like 250 to 300 miles. So that would be like me telling you, hey, you're going to get up and go walk to Philadelphia. Oh, and by the way, between here and Philadelphia, there's a desert. Oh, and also you're pregnant. It doesn't seem like much of a plan that you're going to walk to Philadelphia through a desert while pregnant. And we hear elsewhere just how bad it was. In Exodus 15:22, when Moses is leading Israel out from the Red Sea, it says that he went into the desert of Shur. This is Exodus 15:22. He says, for three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. So not a great situation if you're a pregnant woman trying to get back home. And this, so when we have these details in place, it just makes it all the more notable when the angel of the Lord appears to stop her, stop her from going. We can see this alone as a merciful intervention because, I don't know about you, but I just don't see that going well for her. So God mercifully intervenes. And in this encounter, God is really dignifying Hagar. She's a slave. But this angel appears to her, not to Abram and Sarai. And this angel of the Lord asked her, where are you coming from, where are you going to? And Sarai says, I mean, Hagar says, I'm trying to run away from Sarai. And the angel tells her. Go back to your mistress and submit to her. All right, well, that's kind of a tough message to receive. I mean, apart from being spared the desert, that seemed like a pretty rotten deal to be told go back to the place where this woman was mistreating you. Why would she want to do that? Well, the angel has more to say.
We go to verse 10. And the angel added, I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count. The angel of the Lord also said to her, you are now pregnant and you'll give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man. His hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him. And he will live in hostility toward all his brothers. She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her. You are the God who sees me. For she said, I have now seen the one who sees me. That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi. It is still there between Kadesh and Bered. Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had born. Abram was 86 years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael. Something really interesting here. We've already noted how Abram has received promises from God. And now here we see Hagar receiving promises from God. There are some similarities, but there's also some important differences in these promises. It's not just a mere copy and paste. We don't see Hagar being promised land or worldwide blessings. So this isn't part of the same promise that's given to Abram. It's its own thing. but it's no less significant. Because what God is promising her is that she's gonna have a safe pregnancy, just for starters. And that couldn't be assumed. I mean, you can't assume that today. You certainly couldn't assume that in ancient times. Childbirth is a dangerous venture. Besides this, she says the angel tells her that you're going to have a son. Again, another thing they couldn't have known back then. They didn't have the ultrasound and all that. And that was, of course, very important to that society. And it would have been personally important for Hagar, because you think, well, she is going to be going back to Abram's household, so at least for the moment, we'll see later that she's not gonna stay with Abram, but for the moment, she's gonna be with Abram, but it is important to have a son who can take care of you. She's gonna have a son. And beyond all that, we see that this son is going to have countless descendants. and that he's gonna be quite the character. Says that he's gonna be a wild donkey of a man.
Now, for us, that's kind of like a weird way to describe someone, a wild donkey of a man. But part of what you need to understand is that in the Near East, they don't have horses, really, at least at this time. It wasn't the common sort of thing that you'd find in the desert. I was wrong, they do have horses, but it's just. You wouldn't have found the horses just roaming around wild and free. And that's what the angel of the Lord is trying to communicate to Hagar here, is that your son is going to be wild and free. Now why might that be important to Hagar? Because she's a slave. She's a slave. And she's being told to go back to the house where she was a slave. What God is telling her is that your son's gonna be wild and free. And so if the image of a wild donkey isn't all that inspiring to you, you can kind of put it in American terms and say your son's gonna be a wild stallion. Kind of like a cowboy type. And no one's gonna tell him what to do. That's certainly encouraging to Hagar. And so the name of the child is to be Ishmael. And the name Ishmael means God will hear. It's a name that reflects the fact that Hagar has cried out and God has heard her. In turn, Hagar gives a name to God. It says in verse 13, she gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her. You are the God who sees me. For she said, I have now seen the one who sees me. Now, that phrase, you are the God who sees me, can be captured in a much more concise word, Hebrew word, El roi. You are the God who sees me. And that's why the well that's near there is named Beer Lahai Roi. You can kind of hear it in the name. What Hagar is. picking out here is that God actually cares for her. He's not so big, he's not so transcendent, that he doesn't see Hagar the slave. He sees. He cares. And this is a good reminder for us, because I don't know about you, but especially when you see the news and you just look at some of the big, important people in our society, you can feel kind of small. You can feel kind of inconsequential as a person. you can kind of feel like, I mean, does God really care what's going on in my small little life? Well he does. He does care what's going on in your life. You too can say of God, you are the God who sees me.
Now what's notable here though, and it's easy for us to miss this, is that Hagar says, I have now seen the one who sees me. That kind of makes you, when you really pay attention, this is, OK, let's back up here. She's saying that she has seen God. Not only that God has seen her, she has seen God. Now, how does that work? Because all that we've known up to this point is that an angel of the Lord has come to her. When seeing this angel of the Lord, she says that she has seen God. Something that's important for us to understand when we see that word angel is that it doesn't necessarily refer to a particular type of being. The word angel refers to a role. In the Greek, it's angelos. In Hebrew, it's malak. And what it means is messenger. So the messenger of God. So as a messenger, that's a function. There's lots of different types of beings who could be messengers. Now usually, it's not God. But. as we see elsewhere, it does appear that God himself takes on that role as messenger. We see elsewhere that it doesn't appear that the angel of the Lord is in fact God himself. We see this in Exodus 3, when God appears in the burning bush. We all know that story. God appears in the burning bush. But right at the very beginning it throws in the angel of the Lord. It's so easy to miss it. Exodus 3 verses 2 through 6. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in the flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire, it did not burn up. So Moses thought, I will go over and see this strange sight, why the bush does not burn up. When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush. Moses said, here I am. Do not come any closer, God said. So see how you have the angel of the Lord in the bush, and now it's God speaking. Take off your sandals for the place where you're standing is holy ground. Then he said, this angel of the Lord within the bush, father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And at this Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God. So we have that one instance there. Remember that Moses wrote Exodus. Moses also wrote Genesis. So it would make sense that he's working off the same ideas here. In Exodus 23, 20 through 21. God says, See, I am sending an angel ahead of you, to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him. He will not forgive your rebellion, since my name is in him. My name is in him. How mysterious. This doesn't seem like your run-of-the-mill angel. This brings us to the last passage I'll look at. It's kind of fun detective work to see how this is eventually fleshed out. We turn to Judges. In Judges 13, the wife of Manoah is told that she's going to bring forth his son, Samson. She receives this message from the angel of God, the angel of the Lord. In verse 6 it says, Then the woman went to her husband and told him, A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn't ask him where he came from, and he didn't tell me his name. And it goes on and says that Manoah prayed that this man of God would come again so that they could understand how to bring up the boy who was to be born. And God answered them. And this angel of God came back to the woman while she was in the field, but Manoah wasn't there. And so she goes out to get her husband, says, he's here, the man who appeared to me the other day. So again, at this point, it just seems like a man, a messenger from God. And then in verse 15, he says, Minoah said to the angel of the Lord, we would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you. The angel of the Lord replied, even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food, but if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord. All right, so keep that in mind. This guy said, don't feed me, just give an offering to God. Manoah didn't realize that it was the angel of the Lord. And then everything comes together in verses 17 through 22. It says, then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, what is your name so that we may honor you when your word comes true? Now remember about this other angel that was talked about in Exodus, about how God's name was gonna be in him. So Manoah asked, what's your name? This angel replies, why do you ask my name? is beyond understanding. Well, that's not normal. Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing, while Manoah and his wife watched. As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord. We are doomed to die, he said to his wife. We have seen God. Now the reason why they come to that conclusion is, I mean all the details, mysterious name that he won't tell me, and when they give this offering he goes up in the flame, an offering that's given to God. And so they come to the conclusion, we've had an encounter with God and we're going to die because we've seen God. Now they don't die, that's always a concern of, you know, it's a sinful people encountering a holy God that we would die in encountering him.
This was a concern of Jacob when he encountered God. At least he had it in mind in Genesis 32:30 when he named a certain place Peniel, which means facing God, saying it was because I saw God face to face and yet my life was spared. Now all this only makes sense if we understand that God is triune in nature. While God is one in being, there is one God, we affirm that, we don't believe in many gods, there is one God, but he's three in person. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And throughout the Old Testament we see breadcrumbs laid out that helps us understand that this is in fact true. But all the pieces don't come together until the incarnation of the Son, Jesus Christ. We see it revealed in the gospels. And we see Jesus acting in this way of the angel of the Lord in the Gospel of John, in John 12 verses 49 through 50. Something really important to remember about the Gospel of John. A lot of people want to dismiss it. They think, oh, this is just a Gospel that's kind of written later, and it's really making up the fact that Jesus is divine. It's right out of the gate. The Apostle John is saying, in the beginning was the Word, the Word is referring to Jesus, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. So the Apostle John makes no apologies. He believes that Jesus is the Son of God, that he's fully divine. And yet, hear how John records what Jesus has to say here about his own role in the divine relationship. John 12 verses 49 through 50. For I did not speak, this is Jesus speaking, for I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say. Jesus is playing the role of a messenger. Now it's more than that, he's obviously doing more than that in his incarnation. But that's a big part of it as well. And in these previous instances in the Old Testament, the son is not taking on human flesh. It's not the incarnation. He's appearing to people. The incarnation is its own special event happening. But the word retains that role as the messenger, the son. So it's only because of this encounter, this promise that Hagar understands who God is and she understands that He sees her and has a plan for her. It's only because of all this happening that she's willing to return. Otherwise, she wouldn't have returned because of the mistreatment. So she goes back and she bears Abram, his son, Ishmael.
And we don't have any commentary here on how Abram and Sarai received her back, but I guess we could say at least they received her back. And hopefully they treat her better after that point, although we'll see conflicts later on. There's something in Hagar's story that resonates with our own story as Christians. In this world, we suffer mistreatment. Because of that mistreatment, it's tempting for us to flee, to run away like Hagar. And we can do this. Some Christians do this when we close ourselves off from the world, seeking the safety of our own enclave. But this is not aligned with the teaching of Christ. Here, in Jesus' prayer to the Father in John 17, He says, my prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. Jesus stops us from running away. He says, go back. But like Hagar, he sends us back with promises. We might be slaves in this world, but we will be royalty in the kingdom to come. As the apostle Peter says in 2 Peter 3.13, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells. We can take comfort and courage in the current moment because our God is Elroy. He is the God who sees you. He is the God who sees me. We are not overlooked. We are not forgotten. We will suffer now, but God has a plan. As Paul says in Romans 8.28, we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. We must trust God's plan. We must trust God's goodness. We must not let our desire for what is good lead us to abandon God's ways for our own schemes. That only leads to the chaos that developed in Abram and Sarah's home. It will produce chaos in our own homes if we pursue our own way rather than trusting God's way. Let us pray and ask that God would help us to trust him.
Dear Father. Thank you that you are the God who sees us. Thank you, God, that you love us, that you do not overlook us, though we're small, though we're not important in the eyes of the world. Thank you that you care for all the small details of our lives. Father, our prayer is that we would trust you, that we would trust. in your promises. Unlike Abram and Sarai, we wouldn't create our own schemes to try to get what is good on our own terms. But rather, Father, we would wait on you. That we would wait on your timing. And that, Father, even if the good that we desire is on the other side of Christ's return, help us to wait until then rather than coming up with our own plans, Father. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us this Sunday as we continue our sermon series looking at the Bible's account of Abraham. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Genesis 15:7-21, we see God establishing a covenant with Abram reiterating the promises that He made in chapter 12.
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Transcript:
The scripture reading today is from Genesis 15:12-16. As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the Lord said to him, know for certain that for 400 years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation, your descendants will come back here. for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.
I want you to think this morning about what it takes to have a functional human society. What does it take? You might think of many things, maybe security, strong economy, or people with strong moral character. The truth is that many of these things tie into one another. What comes to my mind is a bit more basic and rather simple compared to these things. Human society begins by people making promises to one another, and it holds together by people keeping those promises. We must make promises and keep promises to have a human society. My son's school has promised to educate him and keep him safe while he's outside our home. I can release him into their care because I'm trusting they won't just let him and his classmates run wild in the streets. You think about when you come to a four-way stop, everyone's at the stop sign. You're trusting that everyone's going to stop at the stop sign. Now sometimes people break the rules there and it kind of breaks down your trust when you come to those stops. But the idea is when there's red lights, when there's stop signs, you're trusting people are going to do the right thing so we don't have a big pile up of cars. I got a small loan to buy a car earlier this year and I promised to pay the loan every month for 12 months at a particular rate of interest. And in turn, the credit card company promised to give me that money and the time to pay it back. Now, none of that happens unless both parties believe the other can keep their promise, which is why we have credit scores. Now, as it turned out, that company mistakenly charged a full amount of that loan with the regular automatic payment we have set up for our credit card statement. And it totally wiped out our bank account and put us in a real bind. They eventually restored the funds after I threaten to report them. But as you might imagine, I'm not very interested in taking a loan with them again, because they didn't keep their promise. The more you think about it, the more you'll notice how our life together is based on making and keeping promises. If we can't trust one another, and we can't work together and we won't be able to live together. In a certain sense, we find Abram striving to work and live with God. This was God's initiative, though, not Abram's. It was God who promised to make Abram into a great nation and to give him the land of Canaan.
In the remainder of Genesis 15, we see just how far God will go to build Abram's trust so that he will continue to walk with God. So we pick up in verse 7 of Genesis 15. There Moses records for us, that “God also said to him, Abram, I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it. But Abram said, Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it? So the Lord said to him, Bring me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon. Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two, and arranged the halves opposite each other. The birds, however, he did not cut in half. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away." So, with God speaking to Abram here again, He is reminding Abram that it was God's initiative that has brought Abram to this place. He was the one who called him out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give him this land. Now you'll remember earlier in this chapter, God had promised Abram that he'd have many offspring and yet Abram didn't even have one kid at this point in his old age and God reassured him of his promise by taking outside and saying look up at the stars Your children will be like the stars if you can count them now God was not upset with Abram when Abram kind of pressed him like how can I know that I'm gonna have all these kids when I don't have any, not even one. And in the same way, God's not upset here either when Abram presses again, you know, how can I know? Because what Abram's doing here is he's not doubting, he's not doubting God's promise. He's desiring it. He really wants it to be true, but it's just really difficult for him to envision this coming to pass. And so God meets Abram where he's at. And He tells him to bring together these animals, a heifer, goat, ram, dove, young pigeon, and coincidentally these are all animals that will be used in the sacrifices of Israel later on, hundreds of years later on. And he basically has Abram set up the staging for a ceremony and we'll look at that more closely as it actually gets played out. But he says divide these animals and cut them in half. And so Abram does that, and he's made to wait. And as he's waiting, these birds come flying down and trying to get the free meat, basically.
At least one commentator suggests that in some way Abram warding off these birds, it actually happened, but him warding off these birds also kind of anticipates how his faith, the faith that begins here, is going to help the people of Israel persevere as they come under attack in the years that will come. this faith of Abram will help preserve them. Now this sets the scene for the assurance that God is going to offer Abram that he will indeed gain possession of the land. We're going to read verses 12 to 15 and the scene changes quite a bit. Now we get the sense that this is happening at night time and because the sun was setting, Abram falls into a deep sleep and this thick, dreadful darkness came over him. So you can kind of just imagine the scene. It's very just dark and murky. It's just kind of seems pretty grim. And it's because God has some difficult things to tell Abram. He says that while Abraham is going to have many offspring, they're going to face some difficult times. Abraham's descendants are going to be strangers in a country not their own, and they're going to be enslaved and mistreated there. So, he's going to be enslaved, Not exactly what you want to hear. Abram's trying to get some reassurance here. Can you imagine God telling you that about your own family? That your children, your children's children, that they're going to be enslaved and mistreated. But God has a word of assurance in the midst of this kind of grim sort of news. He says, but I will punish the nation, they serve as slaves, and afterwards they will come out with great possessions.
Now what God is talking about here is the time of the people of Israel when they were in Egypt. That's the country that he's referring to. And this happens, as it's suggested, 400 years later, in Exodus 12 verses 40 through 41, Moses records, now the length of time that the Israeli people lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of the 430 years, the very day, all the Lord's divisions left Egypt. So, you saw there that God said 400 years, Moses is saying here 430 years. It's supposed to be a ballpark estimate. God's not intending that it's gotta be right down to the dot, the specific year, but it's that they're gonna be in there for basically 400 years, that amount of, which is representative of the generations that will live during that time in enslavement. But they're going to be delivered. Egypt is going to be punished. And we do in fact see that come to pass when God brings the plagues upon Egypt and the people of Israel are led of Egypt to the promised land. Abram's not going to see any of this. He's going to be long dead. So for himself he can have the assurance that he is going to have a peaceful end. He's going to go to his ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. Now, as I was thinking about this word that God gave to Abram, I was thinking about there are some parallels here, I think, between, you know, Abram in our experience as the church. where we've received the promise of resurrection in the coming kingdom as we've seen Jesus conquer the cross and be raised from the dead. But between His resurrection and His ascension, between His ascension and His second coming, the church faces some difficult times. We face dark times in which the people of God are mistreated. But in the same way that Abraham sees the light of the promise for his people and what God is saying here, we too have the light of promise that the tribulation that we go through is not the end of the story. That Christ will return, that those who are committing evil and injustice will be punished and we will enjoy eternity with God. So there's kind of an interesting sort of parallel there.
Now when God says that he's going to bring Abram's descendants back here, he's of course talking about the land of Canaan. But he says not yet and the reason why is this, in verse 16, he says in the fourth generation, again that kind of broad four hundred yearish number, in the fourth generation your descendants will come back here for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure, Now you might be wondering, the Amorites, who are the Amorites? You know you've heard of Canaanites, but what about Amorites? well you might remember how in chapter fourteen we heard about how Mamre was an Amorite and his two brothers were Amorites, obviously, as well. So the area in which Abram is living is occupied by those who would be considered Amorites, although they are not the only people living in the land of Canaan. But they are particularly iconic people, as we'll see, but something to be understood here is that those who are Amorites are in fact Canaanites. They are a Canaanite tribe. In Genesis 10 verses 15 through 19 we see all those that were descended from Canaan. Now Canaan was the son of Ham and if you go back into the story with Noah and Ham and the way in which Noah was shamed by his son, a curse was put upon the people of Canaan. And so here we see all the people of Canaan listed. and talks about how Canaan fathered Sidon, he's first born, then Hath and it just goes down and you'll see in verse 16 it mentions the Amorites. So in referring to the Amorites what God is really doing to Abraham is not saying that they're not going to also, that he's not concerned about these other people in the area but they're particularly iconic people for the reason that it seems perhaps because they have a reputation for being kind of gigantic people. Now you'll hear mention of giants in the scripture, and sometimes when you hear that word giant, you tend to think of like Jack and the Beanstalk giant, where the guy is like 20 stories high and stuff, and you're like, really? That's not the biblical idea of giants. it would be safe to assume that someone who would have been considered a giant in biblical times would have been probably someone that was like a plus size Shaquille O'Neal basically. Very tall person. We don't know what the upper limit on that is. That's speculation, but it's safe to say at least like a plus size Shaquille O'Neal. And then you have to consider everyone else is really small. I don't know if you ever dug into some of your family members you know, items up in your attic. And like I have a hat from my great grandfather. I've like put it on my head. It's like, this is like kid size. And it's because, you know, we know that people in the past tended to be smaller, less nutrition than we all have today. And so it wasn't unusual for people at that time to be like five-five, and that'd be kind of just the usual height. So if you have like a person who's five-five, and then you have plus size, Shaquille O'Neal, that certainly counts as as a giant.
In Amos 2.9, God reminds the people, he says, Yet I destroyed the Amorites before them, though they were tall as the cedars and strong as the oaks. I destroyed their fruit above and their roots below. Now in talking about the sin of the Amorites what God is kind of picking out here is the fact that these people have been particularly rebellious. Now all people, all human beings are sinful. All humans have rebelled against God including Abram and the people of Israel that will proceed from him But what God has done here in the land of Canaan is set up some borders basically to demonstrate to the world really, the holiness that he actually expects of us. So you go back to the beginning to Genesis. What happened when Adam and Eve sinned? They got cursed and what happened then after? Anyone know? They got expelled from the garden. They got kicked out. Now what we can kind of see going on here is God is kind of reduplicating that kind of scenario where he's established the land of Canaan as his promised land and those who do not live holy lives are going to be expelled from it. Now this is going to be a case even with the people of Israel themselves where when they do not live up to God's expectations they're expelled, they're sent into exile. By this point they don't occupy the land. The Amorites, all the Canaanites do. but the time for their expulsion is not now. God says that their sin is not complete. Now it's difficult to know exactly what that means, but apparently God was giving them more time. Again, we're talking about 400 years, and sometimes it's easy just for us to throw numbers out, but just try to imagine that Abram's receiving this promise that in 400 years his descendants will get this land. The US isn't even 400 years old. It's not even 250 years old. So imagine having to wait that amount of time. How much history has to transpire until all this is going to come to pass? God is giving the Amorites a lot of time here. but he will bring judgment upon them. It's a sure thing. It's not as though they're going to change course and actually Abram, we're not going to give you the land. God knows what's going to happen. He can see they're not going to change their ways, and he's going to bring judgment upon them. And we see this articulated clearly in Deuteronomy 7. We look at verses 1 through 8. And I'll read some of these verses, and some of them I'll summarize. verses 1-2, it says, When the LORD your God brings you into the land, you are entering to possess, and drives out before you many nations, the Hittites, Grigashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you. And when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you, and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. Now there's a reason for this.
You go to verses 3-5. God says, don't marry them. Don't have anything to do with them. And the reason why, the reason why God's calling them to bring this destruction and not have anything to do with them is because they are worshiping and serving false gods. And God does not want the ways of the Canaanites to become the way of His people. Because as He says in verses 6, through 8, for you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. And he goes on to say, I didn't choose you because you were the greatest, the best. It was just because I loved you that I chose you. Now, we circle back around a little bit. You think about, okay, they're worshipping false gods. We know people nowadays worship false gods today. Were these people really all that bad or were they just kind of different? Well, it's difficult to dig into the past to understand completely what was going on the ground. But when we look at the gods of the Canaanites and the in particular one of their religious practices, it becomes clear that they are very immoral people. Their gods, in the story of their gods, they are depicted as doing very wicked things, abusive things, I won't get into it here because of the mixed audience, just very wicked things. and if their gods are doing that you can imagine the people are saying well if it's good for them, it's good for the goose, it's good for the gander, that kind of thing. But they also serve this god Moloch. And I have a picture of depicting this god. And we actually know a little bit about this because of Carthage. Now if you know anything about Carthage, Carthage was actually located in North Africa kind of notorious because they went to war with Rome and the reason why they're relevant is because Carthage was founded by Phoenicians and the Phoenicians are a Canaanite people so they sailed from Israel went up to North Africa and there's very clear records there and there's records in Israel as well that they would offer their children as living sacrifices to the god. So they would take kids from infants up to four years old, and they would take it, and you see the god, and they'd put them into the fire and feed them to the god. And in Carthage, there's actually little urns that have the remains of these children in them, and basically saying, I offered my kid to this God, and I was blessed because of it. and that's a kind of a unique thing, we don't see this worldwide, it was particularly bad and sadly what we see is later in Israel's history they actually adopt some of these practices for themselves. Remember, God said don't have anything to do with them, well they had things to do with them, in Jeremiah 32:35. God speaking to his people says, they built high places for Baal in the valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Moloch, though I never commanded nor did it enter my mind that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin. So this is what God was trying to get rid of from the land of Canaan. And this judgment that we see play out later on in pages of the Old Testament where the people are in fact not only driven out but many of them are massacred. The reason why it was right for the people of Israel to do that is because they were acting under the command of God and playing out God's judgment against them. And what we have here is really an anticipatory judgment. It's difficult for us to wrap our minds around this because this is a unique command. It does not extend at all into the present day. But we have to understand that God is ultimately going to bring judgment against all human sin. That ultimately, anyone who has not found shelter in Christ and put their faith in Him, they will be destroyed in the lake of fire. And what we see going on here in the land of Canaan, what we will see going on here, is really kind of an anticipation of that judgment. Just as in a similar way, the resurrection of Christ in the middle of history is an anticipation of the resurrection that we will enjoy on the last day.
Difficult things but true things that because we have sinned we are worthy of death and God is just to bring that judgment and in this case he's going to use the children of Israel to do that. Now this is not all that God had to say though. Now we get back to the animals that Abram had divided. Verses 17 through 21. When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking fire pot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, To your descendants I give this land from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river Euphrates, the land of the Canaanites, Kenazites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites. Again, this is happening at night time. It's very dark. And we see this mysterious scene play out. A smoking fire pot, or alternately referred to as a sensor and a torch, passes through these divided animals. So why a fire pot? Why a torch? Well, when other cultures in the ancient Near East are examined, these tend to be common elements in some rituals, so there's a little bit of familiarity there. The basic purpose is to represent the invisible god. You notice that Abram doesn't have any perception of a physical being. He just sees these things like floating in the air. At least one commentator suggests that they may be even anticipating how God will lead his people by a pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud by day because the fire pot would have created a lot of smoke. You can almost think of it like if you've been to the Catholic Church and they have the incense and they're drinking it around and it's got smoke. It would have been a similar idea going on here. So great, we visualized what's going on here, but what does it mean? What does it signify? But what it signifies is the sealing of a covenant. It's a forming of a treaty of sorts between God and Abram. Now, it was a common practice during this time for a ritual like this to play out in which people would divide these animals and then both parties would walk through it as a sign that they would keep their covenant. The meaning of walking between the animals is pretty serious. And we actually see it brought up in Jeremiah 34, 18 through 20. At this point, there's many hundreds of years later, the people of Jerusalem had made a covenant that they would release their slaves because the Babylonians were about to attack the city. Then the Babylonians relented of their attack and they decided they were going to take their slaves back. Now God was not happy about this because as it was God had commanded the people of Israel to release their slaves on a regular basis. The slaves we're talking about here is their own people, the Hebrew people. So in Jeremiah 34, 18-20, God says this to them, those who have violated my covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces. The leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests and all the people of the land who walked between the pieces of the calf, I will deliver into the hands of their enemies who want to kill them. Their bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.
So what God is saying here is that you walked between these divided animals, by breaking the covenant you will become like these animals. You're going to be slaughtered. You're going to be left out for food for the wild beasts. So. There's an implied judgment on the one who walks through these divided animals and does not fulfill the promise that is made. But notice here who it is that walks between the animals. Not Abram. Abram doesn't walk through the animals. It's God. God walks between them. And we wonder, what could this mean? How could God walk through the animals? Obviously, he's trying to indicate to Abram how serious he is about his promise, that he would go to this extent to show how serious he is, but what could it mean that God could possibly have this curse come upon himself. Because we know that God is perfect, that he keeps his word. And we see through the pages of scripture that God does indeed keep His Word. And yet, we do see when we come to the New Testament that God suffers the curse of that covenant by the fact that His Son went to the cross. And in fact, by sending His Son to the cross, He is keeping His promise. Think about that. That God had promised Abraham that His children would be a blessing to all nations. God is even willing to go so far to bring a curse upon himself by sending his son to the cross in order to keep his promise to Abram. And we have a hint of that here, by God entering into this covenant, walking between the divided animals. Now, God has not only just promised Abram children, we've already looked at that earlier in the chapter, place, the land, and that's Abram's concern here, and God outlines the land that he's going to give to Abram based on the people groups, I'm not going to read those all again, and we see how it's bookended by the Wadi of Egypt and the Euphrates River. Now the Wadi of Egypt, you might be wondering what that is, and before I looked at this passage I didn't really know what it was honestly. I was set on a bit of a wild goose chase because I was reading the English Standard Version at first and it said the River of Egypt. I said well the River of Egypt that must be the Nile River and when you see the Wadi of Egypt you might suppose that it's talking about the Nile River. But that's not actually the case. The Wadi of Egypt is a seasonal river. It's not the Nile. And when we look at the rest of scripture where it talks about, it says the Wadi of Egypt rather than the River of Egypt, because the ESV is an accurate translation, it does say the River of Egypt, but it seems to be referring to the Wadi of Egypt. And we can go there today, it's called the Wadi El-Arish. It's located, you'll see familiar images, with everything that's going on. You'll see the Gaza Strip there. just over into Egypt we see the Wadi El-Arish which would have been the Wadi of Egypt also known as the brook of Egypt that's kind of a that's the one bookend of the land that God is giving to the people of Israel now elsewhere God offers different descriptions of the borders of this land So with a lot of detail but varying because you know you can describe things in different ways and be referring to the same thing. So Numbers 34 verses 2 through 12. Again I'm not going to read all the verses here but just want to point out where it appears. You see the wadi of Egypt? Appears that again. And then when we go to the next set of verses, to verses 7 through 12. We find another marker that wasn't mentioned in Genesis, talks about Lebo Hamaph. I'll show a map on that in just a second. We go to Exodus 23 verses 28 to 31. God tells Moses and the people that he's going to drive off the Canaanite people and he's going to set his borders from the Red Sea, so kind of on just the opposite side of where the Wadi of Egypt would have been, on that little land bridge there between Egypt and Israel today, and again the Euphrates River. When we get to the book of Joshua... It's said that God has kept his promises to the people of Israel by giving them everything that he promised. In Joshua 21, 43, it says, So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. And in Joshua 23, 14, Joshua, as he's kind of bidding farewell to the the people of Israel, he says, every promise has been fulfilled, not one has failed. Now, when we look at the biblical record itself, there are indications that there was actually some mop-up duty to do, and in fact the people of Israel failed to do that, which is why they got influenced to worship gods like Molech. So we ask, well, I mean, I thought it said that the promise was fulfilled, shouldn't there not be any Canaanites in the land? What's being indicated here is that God has kept up his end of the deal. Like all the people of Israel had to do was be obedient. And they didn't do that.
And there was consequences for that where that ultimately resulted into them going into exile. But they did kind of have a high water mark. We find this in the reign of Solomon in 1 Kings 8 verses Solomon says very much the same thing, praise be to the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. And then in 65 it says, so Solomon observed the festival at that time and all Israel with him, a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt. He celebrated it before the Lord our God for seven days and seven days more, 14 days in all. So now we kind of connect the dots here. a map. You see Wadi El Arish . I just plugged in Google Maps and I said, take me to Lebo Hamath, which today is Hamah in Syria. You notice it pretty well outlines the land of Israel. Now, it goes further north, obviously. We're going into Syria. But that's the influence that the Kingdom of Israel had under the rule of Solomon. And that doesn't mean that the Jewish people were living in all these places, but Solomon, at the very least, was drawing tribute from these places, and they did have a presence. It didn't last long, though. It contracted pretty quickly. The kingdom was divided. And then eventually the Syrians came in. The Babylonians came in. But we see the basic outline there of what God had promised to them. And it was fulfilled. I do think, though, that we also have here a bit of a hint of a of a universal promise that God has in mind. I think we can kind of pick up on that by these reference marks. Now, if you're wondering, you know, God had said to the Euphrates River, the Euphrates River leads up to that lake up there. So again, we're just dealing with things approximately. But elsewhere, it seems like this is kind of a way to denote a large area of land, talking about from Egypt to the Euphrates, those book ends. So we go and we look at Micah 7, 11 through 12. And God promises his people, The prophet, Micah, says, the day for building your walls will come, the day for extending your boundaries. In that day, people will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, even from Egypt to the Euphrates and from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain. Now we know when we get into the prophets, we do have that universal scope in mind of that messianic kingdom which is to come. So you work backwards, you're talking about from mountain to mountain, well that certainly seems universal, from sea to sea, and then So while yes, there's an immediate fulfillment that God has in mind in giving the people of Israel the land from the Wadi of Egypt basically up to the Euphrates, it seems like there's also a hint of something more. And when we go to the New Testament, there's indications that maybe Abram even anticipated something of this. where he was looking for something more. Hebrews 11, 8-10 says, By faith Abraham made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations whose architect and builder is God. Now that city is something that certainly exceeds what I just showed you on the map. Something certainly more than that. We think about the apostles, the disciples, after Jesus' resurrection, coming to Him and wondering about the Kingdom of God.
In Acts 1, 6-8, it says that they came to Him and said, Lord, are you at this time going to restore the Kingdom of Israel? What Jesus says to them is this, it is not for you to know the times or the dates the Father is set by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all of Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. So when they're talking about will you restore the kingdom at this time, they're very much kind of thinking within that territorial sort of framework. They'd be really glad if Jesus just kicked the Romans out. Jesus has something much larger in mind, much more universal in mind, which is indicated by what he says, I want you to be my witnesses not only here in the land of Israel, but to the ends of the earth. In Paul talking about Abram and his offspring, He says in Romans 4.13, it was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. And of course, in Jesus' sermon on the mount, talking about those who are meek, which should be his disciples, he says, they will inherit the earth. So there's a universal scope. of the promise made to Abraham that exceeds just the territorial boundaries that are initially given. Like Abram, looking to that city to come, we're looking to this city that will come, that will bring together all the people of the earth, those who have put their faith and trust in Christ. We're not looking to get a rocket off of this earth. We're not looking for an escape. We're looking for God to bring heaven to earth. This is what God tells us in Revelation 21. John says, Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband. And he carried me away in the spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. What John sees is this future in which God has brought heaven to earth, this new Jerusalem, and brings together all the nations of the earth. We have this picture of a universal reign.
Abraham can walk by faith because of the certainty of God's promise revealed in this covenant. God would sooner be destroyed himself than to not keep his word. Because it is impossible for God and His divine nature to be destroyed, so it is impossible for His word to not come to pass. Think about what this means for your life. If we live every day on the basis of mere human promises, and we enjoy the benefits of cooperating with each other, how much more will we be blessed living in the confidence of God's promise? If I can trust God at His word, I can live differently. I don't need to throw myself after gaining riches, pleasure, or fame. I don't need to live a life full of anxiety, greed, or lust. Every good thing you and I desire, and it is usually good things, but just out of proportion, every good thing you and I desire is just a mere shadow of that greater glory that will be revealed. In the course of history, God did give the people of Israel the land that was promised. They didn't keep it for long, and the Jewish people today don't possess all that territory. But this land is just a shadow of the greater inheritance for God's people. We will inherit not just a parcel of land, but the entire earth. Not merely the historic Jerusalem, but a heavenly Jerusalem which will come to earth.
The Christian's pursuit of happiness does not lead us to worthless things. It leads us to pursue God Himself, our Promise Keeper. Our shield and reward, as God told Abram at the beginning of this chapter, as we look forward to the day when he will live with us. We can live as nomads in this world because we are seeking the city with foundations whose architect and builder is gone. Let us pray.
Dear Father it is incredible how you've humbled yourself to reassure us. Truth be told, Father, we should just take you at your word when you give us your promises. But you know that we are weak. You knew that Abram was weak father. And so you went and performed this covenant ritual to show him the surgency of your word. Father, you have kept your promises because not only have you given Israel what you promised in their day. But Father, you have taken on the curse of breaking the covenant upon your Son. Father, we thank you that by His death and resurrection, by experiencing the curse for us, we can look forward to this greater inheritance which even back in the day of Abraham, you were hinting towards. Again, not a mere parcel of land, Father, but the entire earth. And that we would dwell with you in a new city that is to come. Father, help us to set our eyes on that city and to live by your promise. Not depend on the promises that the kings of this world would make, but to live on the basis of your promise. and to enjoy the peace and confidence that comes from that Father. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us this Sunday as we continue our sermon series looking at the Bible's account of Abraham. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Genesis 15:1-6, we see a continuation of God’s promise to Abram, as well as continued growth in Abram’s faith.
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Transcript:
I want you to think about the wealthiest person you know. And you have to personally actually know this person. The only rule is it can't be your employer. So anyone else other than your employer, who's the wealthiest person that you actually know? Now let's imagine that this person comes to you and says, come to my house Friday night and I will give you $5 million. It sounds pretty zany, right? But you might just do it. After all, what do you have to lose? But imagine that this person also says, before you come, make sure to tell your boss you're quitting your job. Now that ups the stakes significantly. You'd have to really believe the person to go ahead and do that. If you really trust the person, and some of you would, you might go ahead and do it. Others of you wouldn't be able to bring yourself to quit your job. Seems so risky. You don't know if you can trust this person to follow through. This is a test of faith. If you do have faith and this person's word is reliable, then you have much to gain. If you don't have faith, but their word remains reliable, then you'll be missing out.
As we follow Abram's journey, we find him passing through a series of checkpoints in which he is called to trust God. Once we've covered the entirety of his story, you'll see that there were moments in which he did lack faith. But these moments are not the whole story. Considered as a whole, we will see that he was a man of faith. Genesis 15 is another step in that journey that really crystallizes what it means to have faith. Now you'll recall previously in Genesis 14 that Abram had a little bit of a showdown with four kings the east. These four kings had come along and overthrown the cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, and other peoples in the area and they'd stolen Abram's nephew, Lot. So Abram chased them down, got Lot back, and then he has this encounter with this mysterious kingly, priestly figure by the name of Melchizedek, who blesses him. And as we talked about, this figure of Melchizedek anticipates the person of Jesus Christ, who is both King and our high priest. And after receiving that blessing from Melchizedek, Abram turned down the offer from the King of Sodom that he would keep the loot that he gained from his victory. And he refused that because he wanted all the glory to belong to God. He was trusting in God.
So now here in Genesis 15 after these things have happened God comes to Abram in a vision and we kind of wonder what does that mean? What does it mean for someone to receive a vision? Is it a dream? I tend to think that it's not a dream because the Bible understands that dreams exist and we think about the time of Joseph and how he received dreams from God that foretold that which was to transpire in his own life and the life of the family of Jacob. And so the Bible has the category of dreams. So this vision is something other than a dream, in my opinion. God comes to Abram in a vision. It seems to be that he comes to him at night based on details which follow later on, and he says to Abram, do not be afraid. Now we hear that exhortation in other places of scripture; you think about when the angels come to the shepherds in the field, they say don't be afraid, and the reason why they tell the shepherds not to be afraid is because they don't want them to freak out because they're seeing an angel. That's not what's going on here though. We've already heard God tell Abram to not be afraid. He said, and he tells him, do not be afraid, Abram, because he doesn't want Abram to fear what might happen to his life. because we've already seen Abram kind of suffer from fear from his time in Egypt. And what did he do? He tried to sell out his wife and give her to Pharaoh basically. God doesn't want Abram to be afraid of the threats around him, the things that would seem to put God's promises beyond hope. He says to him, do not be afraid Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. What a comforting word to receive from God. To have God personally tell you, don't be afraid, I am your shield, your very great reward. Meaning that every blessing that you could possibly hope to receive is found in God. If you belong to God, if God belongs to you, if He is your God, then you will be blessed. That's a great promise to have. And what God is trying to reassure Abram is that as far as he is Abram's God he's providing for him safety and a reward. And this promise that belongs to Abram is a promise that belongs to us as well, because we are the children of Abram by faith. God is our shield. And so I want you to imagine God speaking these words to you because it's not just a thing of imagination. He is actually speaking these words to you. He's telling you, I am your shield. Your very great reward. And we can believe this because we see this declared elsewhere in the Psalms, throughout the Psalms. We see the psalmist declare that God is his shield.. Look at Psalms 3:2-3. It says, many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the one who lifts my head high. In Psalm 18, the Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, and in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. In Psalm 84, for the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. In Psalm 119, you are my refuge, my shield. I have put my hope in your word. Abram has received this wonderful word from God, this word that belongs also to us. But as we see in these opening verses of this chapter, Abram doesn't just respond with, oh, great. Rather, he expresses some of his concerns. And in expressing those concerns, he is not so much doubting as he is pressing into his belief and faith in God and just seeking to understand how it is that God will deliver on his promises. In chapter 14, of course, Melchizedek had blessed Abram. In chapter 13, God had told Abram that his offspring would be as numerous as the dust is. And in chapter 12, he had told him that he would become a great nation. But what Abram wants to know is how. How can this happen? Because he remains childless. And If he has no child, it seems that these promises cannot come to pass.
What Abram desires is the complete blessing of God, not a second-hand blessing. which would be the case if his estate, if everything that he has was just left to a servant of his household, whom he names as Eliezer of Damascus. And this was a common practice at that time. If you don't have someone who's to be your heir, you leave it to someone in your household, they take care of your affairs, they make sure that you receive a proper burial. It's just an effort to try to make the best of the situation. Abrams believing for something more than this. to make best of the situation. He wants the full promise of God. And God does not begrudge him for this. In verse 4, God responds to him. He says, this man will not be your heir, talking about Eliezer, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir. He took him outside and said, look up at the sky. and count the stars, if indeed you can count them. Then he said to him, so shall your offspring be. Abram believed the Lord and he credited it to him as righteousness. So God gives Abram reassurance. that his heir will in fact be of his own flesh and blood. that his line will in fact be continued. But as we see, as we will see as we go along in the story of Abram, this is going to continue to be a kind of point of frustration because God doesn't fulfill this promise the next day. Rather Abram's got to wait twenty five years until this promise will come to pass. You can imagine waiting over that time your faith might be tested, and Abram's faith certainly was tested. But God gives him a reminder, a reminder to help him keep the faith. You think about how God put a rainbow in the sky as a sign of his covenant with Noah and the world that he would never destroy the world again by a deluge. In a similar way, God points out the stars to Abram as a sign to him. It says count the stars if you can. That's how many your offspring's gonna be. What a wonderful reminder for Abram that every night when he would look up the stars, he'd remember God's promise to him.
That didn't remove the difficulty of having that faith over those 25 years. But it's a promise that God did in fact bring to pass, which we know today because we are included as children of Abram by faith. But even just about four or five generations out, four generations out, when Moses was leading the children of Israel into the promised land in Deuteronomy 10:22 it says, your ancestors who went down to Egypt were seventy in all and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky. Wherever you see when it's making a reference to the stars in the sky in the Old Testament, it's referring back to this promise that God made to Abram right here. When God told Abram this, it says that Abram believed the Lord. And God's response to Abram's belief, his faith, is that he credited it to him as righteousness. What does that mean? Credited to him as righteousness. What does righteousness mean? Well, to be righteous can also be understood as being just. And in fact, when you're getting down to the the Hebrew word, it's zedek, and it can be translated either way, as righteous or as just. We can understand it as being cast as just because if you're a righteous person, then you're doing everything that you should unto God that you ought to do, and you're doing everything unto others as you ought to do. You're giving everyone that which they deserve, to God, and to your fellow man. And insofar as a person is righteous, they are blessed. God's righteousness, this righteousness in God's blessings go hand in hand. And so if you're someone who's blessed, which God says that he's going to bless Abraham, then he must be someone who is righteous, someone who's been doing what's right. This leads us to ask the question, well, who is righteous? Who is counted as righteous? And based on the testimony of Paul in Romans 3, no one is righteous. In Romans 3:10-12 Paul says, as it is written, there is no one righteous, not even one. There's no one who understands, there's no one who seeks God. All have turned away. They have together become worthless. There's no one who does good, not even one. And what Paul's doing here is bringing together some scriptures from the Psalms and from the Ecclesiastes and putting forward this testimony that no one is righteous. No one does good.
Now that can be a little bit difficult for us to believe. We can say, well, I see people that do good things. But what Paul is talking about is that there's no one who is completely righteous. Yes, sometimes we do the right things. but we don't even always do that. And even when we do the right things, we don't always do it with the right heart. And that's what we always see Jesus pressing into again and again in his ministry. While the Pharisees and the Sadducees are concerned with outward things, Jesus is concerned, what's the condition of your heart? Because God wants a righteous heart. Paul says that there is no such person. There's no one who does good. And yet we do hear testimony in the Old Testament of those who God considers to be righteous. I've selected several verses from Psalms and Proverbs that I think helps illuminate the dynamic that's going on here. In Psalm 112:6-7 the psalmist says, surely the righteous will never be shaken. They will be remembered forever. They will have no fear of bad news. Their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. We go to Proverbs 11:28. Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf. In Psalm 37:29-34, The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever, hope in the Lord and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it. Now there's a common thread between these three verses apart from the fact that we're speaking about righteous people here. And it is that the righteous person is the person that has faith. Their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. They're the sorts of people who don't trust in their riches, but who trust in God. the sort of people that keep their hope in the Lord. If you hope in the Lord, then you're certainly trusting the Lord. Faith and hope go together kind of like hand and glove. So with that in mind, and moving to what's been revealed in Jesus Christ, I believe what we can see and understand is that those whom God has called righteous throughout history are those who are not righteous on their own account, but insofar as they have put their faith and trust in God. And so they've been counted righteous just as Abram has been counted righteous. And this righteousness that comes by faith is something that is only possible because it's made possible by the power of God. This is what Paul says in his letter to the Romans, Romans 1:16-17. He says, ”For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes. First to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the Gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written, the righteous will live by faith."
Paul says something very similar to this in Galatians 3 as well. The thing to notice here is that in speaking about faith and belief, the salvation that comes by just believing by faith is something that is accomplished by the power of God. And so if righteousness comes by faith, then righteousness itself might be something that is accomplished by the power of God. So stick that in your mind. Righteousness is something that is accomplished by the power of God. Now Paul says that the righteous will live by faith and what he's quoting here is Habakkuk 4 where it says, See the enemy is puffed up, his desires are not upright, but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness. That's interesting. I've seen in various translations it can be translated either as faith or faithfulness. I think using that word faithfulness helps kind of capture what we mean when we're talking about faith because when we're talking about faith we're not talking about mere mental ascent. The faith that God desires, the faith that gets credited as righteousness, is a faith that acts out. Faith is not the absence of righteous deeds. Genuine faith acts. And this is what James attests to in James 2:24-26. He says, “You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone”. And he is previously talking about something that Abram did, and we'll get back to that later in our series going over Abram. But he says, “You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." What James is saying here is that if faith does not manifest itself in action, then really, it's not faith at all. It's just dead. It's like you and I. If we're not living, if we're not moving, then we're just dead. And then we're not really us. We're just a corpse. And this is the case with faith. Faith without action is just a corpse. It's not faith at all.
Now I want to take you back to the example that I opened with, thinking about this person that would offer you $5 million. But now I want to switch the positions in the relationship. Now I want to imagine that you have $5 million. You've saved a bunch of money. And you've offered this to your friend. Now imagine this person comes to you on Friday night and says, “all right. I've showed up on Friday night, now give me what I deserve." Well, you kind of say, whoa buddy, what are you talking about here? You don't deserve this money. This is money that I've worked for, that I myself have saved up. One doesn't earn five million dollars just by going over someone's house on a Friday night. I mean if that was the case, I'm going to everyone's house on Friday night. No. They don't deserve the five million dollars, but you share it with them only because they've responded with faith. If they don't show up, they can't get the five million dollars, but they have not earned it just by showing up. It remains a gift. I think this helps us understand the nature of faith in this way. We should understand that faith itself is not what saves us. It's not so uncommon that people in our society might call people and say, oh, you know, keep the faith. You know, I'm a person that believes and just has faith. Just having faith itself isn't going to do you any good. I could have faith that someone's gonna give me a million dollars, but just because I believe that doesn't mean that they can actually give it. If I went to any of you and said, I have faith you're gonna give me maybe five million dollars, that's not gonna make a lick of difference. Because you don't have the resources to just give me that. Faith does not produce five million dollars. That money, in the case of righteousness, when we think about righteousness, must come from somewhere else. In this case, it comes from God. It comes by the power of God. I'm now taking this, that this righteousness is not something that is accounted on the basis of our faith, but it's something that comes by the power of God. We can now tie this together with the blessings that God has promised Abram. Paul ties this together. In Galatians 3:5-9 Paul says, so again I ask, does God give you his spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law? Or by your believing what you heard? The reason why Paul is saying this is because the Galatians were beginning to get into not depending on righteousness that comes by faith, but by their own works. He says, so also Abram believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Understand then that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture for us saw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and announce the gospel in advance to Abraham. All nations will be blessed through you. So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. The reason why we have a share in the blessings of Abraham is because God promised that he would bless the world through Abraham. But notice what Paul is saying here is that the way in which we get access to those blessings, and it really goes hand in hand with those blessings, is that by faith we can be accredited as righteous, just as Abraham was.
Paul continues with this kind of thinking in his letter to the Romans in Romans 4:16-17 and 20-25. He says “Therefore the promise comes by faith. so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all of Abraham's offspring, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written, I have made you a father of many nations. He is our father in the sight of God in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not." So again, God's intent all along was that the children of Abraham would be those who would be counted by faith, not by mere blood, because if it was by mere blood, then the whole world could not be blessed in the way that God had in fact promised. Because if it's just based on blood, then the rest of humanity is just cursed to destruction. Continuing in verses 20-25, Paul says, yet Abraham did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had the power to do what he had promised. This is why it was credited to him as righteousness. The words it was credited to him were not written for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness, for us who believe in him who raised Jesus, our Lord, from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. So Abraham believed that God could deliver on his promises. And so because of that, He was accounted righteous. But those blessings, the promise that God had given him, included the sending of Christ and the joining of the Gentiles to the family of Abraham. And that only comes through Jesus Christ. And what Paul is saying here is that by faith and trust in Jesus Christ, we can be accredited as righteous. And there's something critical here in that it's Jesus who actually makes this possible. He is the one that provides the righteousness which is not our own. Paul says he was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. and being justified we are counted as righteous, even though on our own accounts we are not righteous. Now I've created a little bit of a list here to kind of help break down logically everything that we've been saying here, because it's easy to kind of get the wires crossed and to start losing track. If we can go to the next slide. It’s called the logic of blessings and righteousness by faith.
- So Abraham had faith. that God would bless him.
- God credits Abram as righteous because he believes God's promise to bless him.
- On their own, no human is righteous. Paul talked about that.
- If no human is righteous on their own, then the righteousness God credits to the response of faith is a separate righteousness. It's like you believing in, trusting someone who has the five million dollars to give it to you. You don't just produce the five million dollars on your own. It has to come from somewhere else.
- Only the righteous will receive God's promised blessing. We saw that indicated in the Psalms. It's implied throughout the Scriptures.
- If only the righteous will receive God's promised blessing, then faith in God's promise includes the belief that God can make persons righteous through faith. Because it's only those who are righteous who receive these blessings. It's God who makes righteous, just as he counted Abram as righteous, just for his own belief.
- If God has promised to make persons righteous through faith, and this righteousness is not their own, then God must provide and produce this righteousness. And so lastly,
- Through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God both provides and produces this righteousness for those who would have faith in Him.
And now this leads us to the critical question of, well, how does God do this? How do God and Jesus Christ provide this separate righteousness that can be applied to us for our sakes? We could do a whole other sermon on this. Only one passage I'll give you. Romans 3:25-26. Paul says, God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement through the shedding of his blood. This is how God justifies us. Jesus is perfectly righteous and He offers His life as a ransom unto God. And the nature of Christ's life is not only is it perfect, but it also is powerful. It has the power to restore creation. It has the power to restore those who would be covered by Him. So Jesus is a cleansing, restoring ransom. He makes amends. We think about how do you make things right between two people. Either you have to make amends or that person is punished. In the case here of Christ, he makes amends through the suffering that he endured. Obedience to the point of death on a cross. So if we accept that, if we believe that, that through Christ this perfect man we can be justified before God. We can have access to that separate righteousness that he has provided on his own account by faith. Paul says to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed before unpunished. So again, righteousness is, you can alternately say righteousness or justice. So he did this to demonstrate his righteousness, his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed before unpunished. Something had to be done about sin. God couldn't just withhold his just response to sin forever. Rather than destroying us, he sent Jesus Christ. So in verse 26, Paul says, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus Christ. So through the sending of Jesus Christ, we see both God's perfect mercy, because we receive a gift that we did not deserve, just as if someone offered you five million dollars, you don't deserve that. And we also see God's perfect justice, and that it's through Jesus that things are mended, because he offers the human life that all of us were to offer unto God, but have not, and he offers the human life that can restore things in a way that we cannot restore things.
You see, the good news that Jesus brings is even better than a gift of five million dollars. Your rich friend may give you a share of his wealth, but he will keep some for himself. This is not what Jesus is doing for us. Jesus is offering all of himself to us. The New Testament depicts the church as the Bride of Christ because just as in a marriage, everything that belongs to Jesus now belongs to us when we are joined to him by faith. There are no separate accounts, it's all one. We're all in the Jesus account. God has promised to bless Abram. He invites the world to share in that blessing because it is now possible through Jesus Christ. By faith in Jesus, we are credited as righteous. The devil condemns, but God declares us innocent and righteous. But most wonderful of all, God's declaration is not mere talk. It is transformative. The Apostle John says in 1 John 3:2, Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him. We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Already, today, we are the children of God because of Jesus. But our current condition will not be our lasting condition. Because we know that we're sinners. We know that we mess up. But you and I will be made like Jesus in every way. What a promise. What a blessing. Whispered in Abram's day, and now proclaimed to the world. It is your promise, your blessing, if you believe that God is your shield and your very great reward. Let us pray.
Father, we thank you for giving us what we do not deserve. Abram did not deserve the blessings that you gave him. He didn't deserve to be counted as righteous just by mere faith, Father. But both these blessings and this righteousness you gave to him as a gift. You've done this, Father, because it's possible. Because you've sent your Son into the world. Father. Give us faith so that we may share in those blessings and that righteousness. That we would believe in Jesus Christ. and that in believing in Him, we wouldn't just believe that He merely exists, Father, but that we would believe and have faith and trust in Him, that it is through Him that we can be credited as righteous, seen as just in your eyes, even though we've been terribly unjust and rebellious. That because of Jesus, Father, we believe that we can have a share in those blessings because of what He's done, not what we have done. Give us faith, Father, to believe that this is true, even though we do not see these things. Even as Abram did not see all your promises in his own time. Father, we look forward to the day of Christ's return when these full blessings will be revealed. when we will inherit the earth as the children of Abraham, and when we will be made completely righteous, not because of us, not because of anything that we've done, but because of Jesus Christ. And you will make us like him, Father. We give you praise for this. Set our hope in this, Father, we pray. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us this Sunday as we continue our sermon series looking at the Bible's account of Abraham. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Genesis 14, we see a manifestation of Abram’s faith and trust in God, as well as a foreshadowing of the person of Christ in the figure Melchizedek.
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Transcript:
After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God most high, and he blessed Abram saying, blessed be Abram by God most high, creator of heaven and earth, and praise be to God most high, who delivered your enemies into your hand. Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. Genesis 14:17-20.
I've got a question for you that I'd like you to chew on. How have you gotten to where you are today? Now, any red-blooded American will be drawn to think about the hard work that they've put into life. In that respect for myself, I could think about my years of study to be a pastor. I could think about how I took the opportunities that came before me, and of how even before ministry, I worked as a carpenter's laborer, worked in an electronics recycling warehouse, and worked gathering shopping carts and loading purchases at the Home Depot. When you think about your life, you'll probably think about some of the same sorts of things.
But of course, that's not really the whole story. I didn't get to where I am today on my own. I was able to get an education because of the upbringing and support my parents provided me. I was able to get an opportunity in ministry because Pastor Scott Aiken first took me on as a summer intern, and then you as a congregation decided to bring me on staff while I was still in the process of learning things. In many ways, seen and unseen, I have gotten to where I am today by the help of others. We're all manifestations of God's help, God's grace in our life. When you think about your life, you should think about the same kind of things. We like to tell ourselves the myth of the self-made man or woman. But every good thing we have comes to us by God's grace. And this is not something that's just exclusive to Christians. It is common to all people. Every good thing comes from Him.
As we follow Abram's story, we notice a pattern of growth. He didn't really trust God when his life was threatened in Egypt. But now back in Canaan, he is improving. When he and his nephew Lot have to part ways, Lot chose where he would go, leaving open the possibility that his nephew might choose the land God had promised to Abram. Rather than grasping for it, Abram trusted that God would sort everything out. Now turning to the next chapter, chapter 14, Abram's reliance on God is tested further when a very lucrative opportunity comes his way. So we're gonna be first looking at verses one through four of chapter 14. Moses records, At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar, Arioch king of Elassar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goyim, these kings went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela, that is Zoar. All these latter kings joined forces in the valley of Siddim, that is the Dead Sea Valley. For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer. but in the 13th year they rebelled.
A lot of confusing names there, right? These first four verses are setting the scene for us. We're at war. We've got four kings going against five kings. The four kings are the king of Shinar, Ellasar, Elam, and Goyim, and the five kings are those from Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboyim, and Bela. And just to kind of orient you to the geography of where roughly these kings are located. Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboyim, Bela are in this general vicinity. This is the area of Israel today. And Sodom would have been around this area. The valley of Siddim is right underneath the Dead Sea. See that big blue spot there? That's the Dead Sea. The smaller blue spot up there is the Sea of Galilee. So a lot of this is happening in this area. The four kings, King of Shinar, Ellasar, Elam, and Goyim are from this direction. Now, the reason why I'm being so broad is because actually a lot of the commentators and scholars are not exactly sure where all these cities are located with any certainty. Even Sodom, the location of Sodom is disputed. I've been to the purported location of it, but it's still a little bit disputed. They have the general lucidities, but that specific location, they're not sure. There's no other historical records of these kings as well. Now in every other way that the Bible has put forth a historical record where it's been able to be corroborated, it's been able to stand the test. And so it's really interesting, it's kind of something kind of incredible to imagine that the Bible is telling us all these details about a world that we don't have any other insights on, but there's clearly a lot going on. But generally, what you can understand is that these kings are coming from the area of Mesopotamia, that's modern day Iraq, and also the area of Iran. And particularly, it seems that this, kind of this boss king, Kedorlaomer, he's the king of Elam, that seems to be from a region in Iran. They had apparently at some point come through and subjugated these other kings. Now something that's important to understand about I guess the nature of governments at this time is that a king was typically not a king over many cities. There weren't many great empires at that time. Typically what it was is that you had a king and he was a king over that city. So if you were to put it in Rhode Island it would be like you have the king of Scituate and the king of Smithfield, then like the king of Glocester. That's what it would have been like in that time. Each city had its own king and so you basically have four kings, four cities versus five kings, five cities. Now these four kings had come through and subjugated and in these cities along with Sodom and Gomorrah were paying, it seems they were probably paying tribute to Kedorlaomer. He wasn't able to control what they were doing. because he was very far away, but basically what he said is, every year I expect you to send me some money, to kind of like pay your dues, I beat you up, and if you don't pay up, I'm going to come back and beat you up again. Kind of a schoolyard bully kind of thing. Well, after paying up for 12 years, these five kings decide, we don't want to do that, we want to keep our money. And so these four other kings are like, well, we're going to come back and beat you up. So it says that they rebelled in the 13th year, And then it takes a full year later, the 14th year, for these guys to show up and deliver their response. So picking up in verse five, we read, in the 14th year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim, and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El-Paran near the desert. Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat, that is Kadesh, and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who are living in Hazezon Tamar.
Generally speaking, what's going on here is these kings, they're coming from the east, and they're basically sweeping down along the eastern side of the Jordan River. That's what commentators seem to think is going on here, is they're taking this route of basically overcoming all these peoples that are living in this area is kind of a hodgepodge of people who are living in the land of Canaan. It's kind of like the wild west. And they're just conquering the people that they come along and they're eventually working down towards here where Sodom and Gomorrah are located. Continuing on in verses 8 through 12, things come to a head in this valley of Siddim. It says, Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela, that is Zoar, marched out and drew up their battle lines in the valley of Siddim against Kedorlaomer, king of Elam, Tidal, king of Goyim, Amraphel, king of Shinar, and Arioch, king of Ellasar, four kings against five. Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of the men fell into them, and the rest fled to the hills. The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food, then they went away. They also carried off Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions since he was living in Sodom. So you have this showdown between the four kings versus the five kings. You would have thought maybe the five kings would have an upper hand here since they have five kings, but apparently these five kings in their five cities weren't as strong as these four kings in their cities because Moses doesn't even give us a record of a back and forth battle. It basically seems like the four kings knocked their block off. It just says, immediately goes into talking about their retreat. Sodom and their crew basically lose handily. They're running away, and it's saying that some of the men were falling into tar pits, something that we're not too familiar with here but you know that there's lots of petroleum over in the Middle East, over in the Near East. Well, you also know that asphalt has a petroleum basis to it, tar has a petroleum basis to it. So you actually have a natural occurrence of these pits or pools of tar that comes up to the surface. Really interesting. Something you wouldn't want to step in and get stuck in. Apparently that's what was happening to some of those fellows. certainly didn't help their retreat. Well after putting them on the run these four kings basically they circle back around and because the valley of Siddim is right about here they go back and they loot Sodom and Gomorrah and they take Lot and everything that he has. Now as you might imagine Abram would take an interest in his nephew being kidnapped. And in verses 13 through 15 we see what he does when he finds out. It says a man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.
Something that's interesting here is this is the first time that we see Abram referred to as a Hebrew. That's the first occurrence that we have of this here. There's a little bit of ambiguity as to the origins of that word Hebrew. I've heard it suggested that it means across the river. I've heard it suggested that it means dispossessed people. It seems to be referring in some way to the sense that Abram's a migratory sort of person. He's from away, you'll recall that he had settled by the oaks of Mamre now as it turns out that word Mamre is not just a random word it's the name of a person he had basically settled at the property of this Amorite named Mamre and Abram had apparently become good friends with them because he counted him as an ally along with Mamre's brothers, Eshkol and Aner. And so when Abraham hears about his nephew Lot being kidnapped, he basically taps his friends and gets his own household together to go in pursuit. Now the details here makes it clear that Abraham's lifestyle is a little bit different than ours because I don't know about you but I do not have a miniature army to call upon, 318 trained men, he did. Now those men alone wouldn't have been enough to overcome these four kings at least in terms of natural sorts of chances. So it makes sense that he's calling together some allies to go and pursue. Now he had a great opportunity to do this, if we go back to the next slide to the map. So that red spot there, that's roughly where Abram is camped out. These four kings are making a route back up the west side of the Jordan. And so basically what Abram and his allies do is they're going to go cut them off up at the top, north of just north of Galilee, this is the area of Dan, and they end up chasing them into Damascus, which is up into this area, which is in modern day Syria. And so when they cross paths with them, when they catch up, they split forces, it seems like they have some kind of like surprise attack on them, perhaps, we're missing some details here. But in any case, they win, they're victorious. They recover everything, Lot included. Now, it's when Abram is making his return that things get interesting. He has a lot of loot on his hands, two cities worth. And it's difficult for us to imagine the value, but we could be very conservative here, and I believe this is very conservative. and imagine that maybe it was just one million dollars of value from each city. That keeps things simple. So say two million dollars. After risking life and limb, it would be awfully tempting to hold on to all of that. Strangely though, that's not what Abram does. Picking up in verse 17 we read, after Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the valley of Shaveh, that is the king's valley. Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram saying, “blessed be Abram by God Most High, creator of heaven and earth, and praise be to God Most High who delivered your enemies into your hand.” The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me to Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre. Let them have their share."
So, Abram has met up with two fellows. The king of Sodom and also the king of Salem, a man named Melchizedek. They meet up in this place called the Valley of Shaveh, alternatively known as the King's Valley, currently known as the Kidron Valley. That's a picture just on the very edge of it. There's a little bit more area than this, but that's the walls of Jerusalem, present day Jerusalem. This is the valley, the Kidron Valley. So somewhere in that valley they met together. it's kind of curious because at this point in the story, we've heard no mention of this king of Salem. He hasn't been part of the battle or anything, but here he makes his appearance. Again, someone we don't know where he's coming from but there's something that's significant about the names involved here so in the case of his city, the city of Salem means peace you'll notice Jerusalem the Salem, that continues to be retained in the name today, it means peace. And his own name, Melchlzedek, means my king is Zedek. The word Zedek means righteous. And so his name means my king is righteous. This fellow, just on some surface details here, it might seem that he's a pretty outstanding fellow, but on top of that, it's noted that he was a priest of the most high God and yet he's not a Hebrew, he's not a relative of Abram but he has apparently this special role the special relationship with God says that he's a priest of the most high God which in Hebrew is El Elyon and the thing that's interesting about that is that term El Elyon In the Canaanite religion, they would also use that term as well. And so if you're just going off of that, you wouldn't necessarily be able to tell, you know, is this guy worshiping the God of Abraham or is he worshiping the God of the Canaanites? You can still experience some of that confusion in the Near East today, because you can have Christians and Muslims in the same land using the word Allah and they're meaning two separate gods because the Christian God is triune in nature whereas the Muslim God is singular in nature but they use the same term. It's the same kind of dynamic going on here where you could be referring to El Elyon and have some different castings on what you're exactly meaning when you're using that word. But as we see based on his interactions with Abram, the God of Melchizedek is the God of Abram. It's the true God. Melchizedek brings bread and wine and he blesses Abram. In verses 19-20 he says, Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand. So, What Melchizedek is doing here is a couple of things. One, he's affirming God's blessing upon Abram. God has told Abram multiple times now that he's going to bless him. Melchizedek is confirming that this is the case. And he's also giving glory to God. He says, praise be to God most high who delivered your enemies into your hand. The glory doesn't belong to Abram and his allies. The glory belongs to God who delivered their enemies into their hands. And so in response, Abram offers a tithe, a tenth of the goods that he got from his victory. And this is a gift that is given to God, not to Melchizedek. Now, in terms of how does that gift get utilized, I don't know. We don't know what happens with those gifts. But the point here is that Melchizedek is acting as a priest of God. And this is a principle that ends up being carried out throughout the Old Testament among the people of Israel, where they would give a tenth of their goods to God, recognizing that it's from Him that everything that they have flows. He's the one that's credited they don't provide ultimately for themselves it's Him who is who is the giver and that's a principle that carries into the present day now we don't have to be held to a legalistic rule of you know you have to give ten percent of what you get financially because we're no longer under the law. But we are encouraged to give and it still continues to be a very good principle, just as it's a good principle to take rest, to take Sabbath rest. It continues to be a good principle to recognize that of all the things that I have, I can't say, well that's mine and no one else can have that. I say, no, what I have is because God's been gracious and merciful to me. And so I'm going to give back. This is why the apostle Paul, when he's taking up a collection for the saints in Jerusalem, as he encourages the Corinthians, he tells them this in 2 Corinthians 9.7. He says, Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. So what Paul's saying there is like, not holding you to a hard number rule here, I'm encouraging you to be a giver. to someone who gives from the heart, not reluctantly.
Setting that aside, that's just where that all originates, we have that principle established there, apart from that, step back, let's look at this figure of Melchizedek because this isn't the only place that he appears. He gets brought back into conversation further on in the Scriptures. He gets picked up by David in one of his Psalms, in Psalm 110:1-7. David writes, “The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, rule in the midst of your enemies. Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, your young men will come to you like dew from the morning's womb. The Lord is sworn and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. The Lord is at your right hand. He will crush kings on the day of his wrath. He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. He will drink from her brook along the way, and so he will lift his head high." Now, what's particularly significant about this psalm is that Jesus applies it to himself in Matthew 22. And what Jesus picks up on is the fact that David says, the Lord says to my Lord. And so apparently David has someone who's greater than himself which is quite a thing to actually testify to because I mean he's the king. In some ways, you'd expect him to say, well I don't want to say anyone's higher than me than God. And yet he's saying that he himself has a Lord. And what he's talking about is this messianic king which is to come. And so we have an interesting combination here. All the language here in Psalm 110 brings to mind a conquering king, and yet in the midst of it, it talks about this king who is a priest. You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. Now, the concept of a priest might be foreign to some of you, because I know the Catholic Church calls their pastors priests, they're not functioning in the same way as these Old Testament priests would have served or at least they shouldn't serve in that way. In the ancient times a priest acted as a mediator, as a go-between, as an intercessor between a human being and God with the understanding that a human being couldn't just simply come before God because they were not holy. They are not worthy to come before him. And so, as we get further on into the development of Israel as a nation, they actually develop a whole priestly system, where you have the sons of Aaron, the tribe of Levi, they're acting as the intercessors for the people of Israel, coming before God, offering sacrifices. Maintain that relationship with God. We can take for granted so easily our ability to come before God now that we have Christ. But the reason why we can do that isn't because the concept of priest has been tossed out. No. It's because Christ is our High Priest. The role of priest remains. It's Jesus Christ who fills it. But there's a question of how He could do that because Jesus is not of the tribe of Levi. He's of the tribe of Judah. And because of being of the tribe of Judah, he can lay claim to being the fulfillment of the Davidic line, this Messiah that was promised. So how do we sort all these details? Well we go to my favorite book, the book of Hebrews. The book of Hebrews is great for Leviticus, it's great for understanding the details going on here with Melchizedek. So I encourage you to turn your Bibles to Hebrews 7. I really wish I could read the whole chapter, but we can't because there's not enough time. So we're going to just jump along to some of these verses so we can understand why this man, Melchizedek, is so significant as it relates to Jesus Christ. So, Hebrews 7. In Hebrews 7 and the first four verses, the author of Hebrews relates to us many of the details here that we've already picked up on. In verse 2 he picks up on the fact that the name of Melchizedek means king of righteousness, the king of Salem means the king of peace. In verse 3 we also get the mysterious origin kind of picked up on. Verse 3, it says, Without a father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever. Now what's kind of significant about that detail here is that Melchizedek almost has this bearing of eternal existence about him, since we don't know where he was born, how he came, no mention of his death. And that's telling us something about Jesus Christ. If Melchizedek is resembling the Son of God in that sort of way, then we also know that Jesus is eternal. That he is in fact divine because God is without beginning and he's also without end. If Jesus was a mere man we wouldn't say that it seems as though he's without beginning of days. You would just point to Bethlehem. Of course the writer of Hebrews understands that that's not when Jesus, that Jesus' origin did not begin there. Jesus has always existed from the very beginning. In addition to this, making this connection with Jesus. it's indicated that Jesus has a greater bearing and greater importance than even Abram himself because in the case of Abram with Melchizedek, Abram gives Melchizedek this tithe indicating that he needed a mediator. And so if Jesus is fulfilling this role, then Jesus is fulfilling a greater role than even Abram had to play in God's redemptive mission. Looking at verses 11 through 14,. we get to this piece of the priesthood. It says, “if perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood, and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood, why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron. For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. He of whom these things are said belong to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe, Moses said nothing about priests."
The reason why we have this shift from the Levitical priesthood to this priesthood outside of their line in Jesus Christ, one who is from the tribe of Judah, is because the Levitical priesthood cannot accomplish what God set out to accomplish, which is the purification and restoration of the human heart. It was insufficient. And so, if you need a new priest, a new kind of priest, then the priesthood has to change, and the law has to change. And this makes the opening for us having a priest who's outside of the tribe of Levi, which then enables us to have this fascinating figure who's both king and priest. going down to verses 15 through 19, we return back to this figure of Melchizedek. It says, and what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life, for it is declared you are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek, that’s recalling Psalm 110. The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless for the law made nothing perfect. And a better hope is introduced by which we draw near to God. So now things are starting to come together here. We see that Melchizedek was a priest, not because he was a Hebrew, not because of ethnicity or any regulation. He was a priest on the basis of something else. And as we're tying together the knot with Jesus, Jesus has become this priest of the line of Melchizedek on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. something radically different. If you're going to take a priest who is a priest on the basis of an indestructible life versus a priest who is a priest only on the basis of their ethnicity and some regulation of the law, you want the priest who is a priest on the basis of an indestructible life. Because those other priests couldn't make anything perfect. What's being implied is that Jesus can make us perfect. He can restore us. and as the writer says a better hope is introduced that enables us to draw near to God. How does it enable us to draw near to God? We have the answer.
This is the last set of verses here, verses 26 through 28, it says such a high priest, this is talking about Jesus here, truly meets our need one who is holy blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priest, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints his high priest men in all their weakness, but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son who has been made perfect forever. We can be made perfect in Jesus Christ because He Himself is perfect. He is the better hope as our priest because unlike the human priest, He is holy. He is blameless. He is pure. He is at the right hand of the Father. He is perfect, and he has offered himself as a sacrifice once for all. And so because Jesus is our priest we can come before God. That's good news because on your own you cannot come before God. You're not holy, blameless, or pure. You're a sinner. That's really bad news. The good news is that Jesus is all those things and because of that we can call upon God as our father. Now obviously, going back to Genesis, Abram doesn't perceive all of this, but looking back we can see the significance, the foreshadowing, the foreshadowing of Jesus Christ. A
nd we see some more foreshadowing in another way, because as Abram's wrapping things up with Melchizedek, the king of Sodom comes to him. kind of negotiating, saying, give me the people and keep the goods for yourself. And the reason why I say negotiating is because the king of Sodom honestly didn't have much of a claim to anything. He got whooped. He was run by the tar pits. Abram could have kept everything for himself. And so he says, well, just give me the people. You can keep the goods for yourself. Now... Many people, again, we use the very conservative number, two million dollars, would say, hey, yeah, I'll keep the money. But Abram sees the actual danger here. In verses 22 through 23, he says, With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God most high, creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, I made Abram rich. Abram refuses to keep any of these goods for himself because he wants all the credit to go to God. He doesn't want the king of Sodom claiming the credit to himself. And maybe this is especially underscored by the fact that Sodom is a very wicked city. You definitely don't want that guy taking the credit for making Abram rich. Now this whole Interaction here is somewhat reminiscent of the interaction that we see between Jesus and Satan when he was tempted in the wilderness. In Matthew 4:8-10, we find Jesus being tempted in this way by the devil. It says, again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their splendor. All this I will give you, he said, if you will bow down and worship me. Jesus said to him, Away from me, Satan, for it is written, Worship the Lord your God. and serve him only. What the devil was tempting Jesus with there in the in the wilderness wasn't just merely riches and you know glory and all that stuff, that would have been tempting on its own. What he was doing was tempting Jesus with a shortcut because the thing is that Jesus is going to get all those things but his way leads to a cross. When you go back to Abram, Abram understands God has promised to make him a great nation. That he's going to immensely bless me. What the King of Sodom is really kind of offering him is a sort of shortcut to that. Abram refuses it though. Because now at this point he's trusting God and he wants all the credit to go to God. He doesn't want credit going to the King of Sodom as to why he has a blessed life. And so he says, the only thing we're going to have is the food that's already in our bellies. The food we've eaten. And then he does take care of his allies. He says they can have whatever they need, but I'm not taking anything. Abram's growing in his faith. He credits God for his success, not his own military prowess. He determines to only accept provisions that give all the glory to God, because he doesn't want the credit going to the King of Sodom.
And we, of course, can learn from this as far as who we will lean on for support. We should determine, we must determine to depend upon God as our benefactor in life. Now to be sure, God can use other people to bless us. He does. but we need to be careful about who we lean on. If we lean on someone who's going to take all the credit for themselves and helping us and deny the hand of God, then we should probably avoid that kind of help. We don't need to make deals with the devil. More importantly, the figure of Melchizedek stands before us. He is a sign of God's abiding grace. He blesses Abram, ministers to him, intercedes for him. He points us to Jesus, God's ultimately perfect manifestation of grace towards us. Jesus Christ is the perfect priest. He presents himself to God as the perfect sacrifice that justifies us before God. If we give credit to God for our earthly success. And we most certainly can only give him all the credit for any success, any victory we'll have on the day of judgment when we're found innocent. It's only by Jesus that anyone enters the kingdom of God. Even after you and I come to Jesus, all the credit belongs to Him. If I'm a better man today, if you are a better man or woman today, it's because of Jesus. It's not because of me. It's not because of you. So we follow the example of Abram in giving glory to God in all things. The money we give back, the praise we offer, the obedience we live out cannot compare with all that he has given us. Because he has given us this. His very own son, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Let's pray.
Dear Father. It's incredible all the breadcrumbs that you've put down in your word leading up to Jesus Christ. How when we look at the figure of Abram we're reminded that we should trust you and give all credit to you. And we're reminded of this Father as He interacts with this priest, Melchizedek, who prefigured Jesus Christ. Because Jesus Christ is the one that we need to intercede on our behalf. Father, we confess that we have no standing before You outside of Jesus Christ. And Father, like Abram, we want to give all credit to You for the blessings that we enjoy in our life. We know everything that we have, every good thing, comes to us as a mercy. We couldn't do anything on our own, Father. We couldn't breathe without You. Father, help us to live always remembering this. Help us to look to You boldly, because we know that we have a perfect High Priest, Jesus Christ, and that because He intercedes for us, we can always come to You. And that You will give us what we need. And that ultimately, Father, we know that whatever things this world might have to offer us, they cannot offer us the security of the age to come and the resurrection that you've promised us. Help us to fix our hopes on that rather than making deals with the kings of Sodom. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us this Sunday as we continue our sermon series looking at the Bible's account of Abraham. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
From the text of Genesis 13, Pastor Tom discusses the biblical narrative of Abram's trust, his parting with Lot, and God's promise of land and descendants, connecting it to the broader concept of God's kingdom and the fulfillment of promises through Jesus Christ.
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Transcript:
This is a reading from Genesis chapter 13 verses 14 through 18. The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, look around from where you are to the north and the south to the east and the west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth. so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you. So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched the tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.
Will I ever find a girlfriend? That was the question that loomed over my seventeen-year-old mind. See, I had just shaken myself loose from an immature relationship that I had really only taken on to boost my ego. I had never had a real girlfriend up to that point in my life. That summer, I was working at a summer camp and I met a girl that captured my attention. I tried to spend time with her during our breaks. I went bowling with her and a bunch of our friends. I'd send her Facebook messages trying to strike up a conversation. And I mostly just got back one word answers. Yeah, okay, cool. It was all code for get a hint, I'm not into you. And I did eventually get the hint. It left me feeling pretty despondent, you see, because I'm a person of action. I set my eyes on something and then worked towards it. And you can believe that even at 17, 18, I was already worried about, you know, I'm never going to get married and all of that. So I was really anxious about that. And in that moment, I just felt completely aimless. But God ministered in a unique way to me at that time. There have always been times in my life where I've been anxious for something, and having faith and finding peace have been a struggle. But at that time, God really impressed upon me that I need to leave this in His hands. and that he would take care of it. And it was so strong that I actually did that and enjoyed immense peace. I was truly trusting God to take care of it. But I was honestly surprised when only two months later God worked things together so that Sara and I would cross paths. That was enough to resolve my trust so that even when another girl seemed to try to get my attention while I was still getting to know Sara. I didn't pay that other girl any mind. I was intent on finding someone who loved the Lord, and I could tell that between the two Sara was who God had in mind. And the rest, as they say, is history.
We know from Abram's time in Egypt that he's not perfect when it comes to trusting God and having peace. He is known for his faith, but he stumbles along the way. God had promised to give him the land of Canaan and make him into a great nation, but he doubted that promise when he feared the Egyptians might kill him for his wife Sarai. And he convinced his wife to go along with his plans, just say that you're my sister, and she was taken into Pharaoh's household. Seemed like things had gone sideways, but God in His mercy intervened, bringing disease on Pharaoh's household, restoring Sarai and Abram as a couple, and bringing them again to Canaan in prosperity. And their story continues in Genesis 13. And we're gonna start in verse one. Moses records for us, he relates to us saying, so Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev with his wife and everything he had in lot went with him. Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold. From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel. So the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar, there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
So again, we hear this report, we had already heard about how Abram had gotten lots of animals and become pretty well off during his time in Egypt. He got to take all that with him into the land of Canaan, he's prosperous. And he basically reverses his journey. He goes from Egypt into the Negev, which is that desert. And then he goes to the place that he had gone to that was between Bethel and Ai, where he had built an altar. I'm not sure if we have the map on the next slide. There we go. Which is, you can't see it from where you're seated, but it's just above Jerusalem. It's right about there. That's where he was, just to the north of Jerusalem. he goes there and he calls on the name of the Lord now it's really interesting because if you go back to the whole episode in Egypt we don't see it record him calling on the Lord. Now, perhaps he did, Moses wasn't isn't telling us everything that happened, but there's no record of it given and almost seems as though the lack of that detail kind of just underscores, perhaps, Abram's lack of trust in God during that time. It also could be that the way that Egypt was socially, politically, they might not have allowed him to just build an altar to another god. Again, I think I talked about a couple weeks ago about how gods had a geographical territory and so building an altar to another god in a land that was not that god's land could perhaps upset the gods and it could put Abram on bad terms with his neighbors. But now he's back in Canaan and God has claimed Canaan as his own. He's told Abram that he's going to give the land of Canaan to him. So as we see Abram calling on the name of the Lord here, I think what we see is a renewal of Abram's trust in God. Not that he wasn't, trust and faith is always a fluctuating thing. We see this in the lives of the disciples as well, following Jesus. Where in moments they seem like they have great faith and in other ways they falter. And we see the same thing playing out here with Abram. And we can consider this maybe a higher point. in his walk where again he's coming to God. He's strengthening his faith and trust by calling upon him. It's reminiscent I think of the model that Jesus set before us during his earthly life where he's going about ministering but even he would take time away from the crowds, away from his disciples to be alone, to call upon the Lord in prayer. It's a reminder to us in our own personal lives, we need to take time to do that. Abram's trust is going to be put to the test again soon.
As we go on, we see that a dispute arises between him and his nephew Lot. Continuing in verse 5, it says, Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. And quarreling arose between Abrams herders and Lots. The Canaanites and Perrizites were also living in the land at that time. So Abram said to Lot, let's not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders or mine, for we are close relatives. It's not the whole land before you. Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right. If you go to the right, I'll go to the left. So a dispute has arisen between Lot and Abram because apparently Lot had come to accumulate some herds and people for himself as well. And the trouble that they run into is there's not space enough for the two of them because if you're taking care of herds you need grazing land, you need water. There's those kind of practical things that you have to take care of and apparently they had so much there wasn't enough for the two of them. Later on in Genesis 14 we see that Abram had at least three hundred eighteen men in his household who were acting as servants. So this is a pretty big encampment. We can see how they could come to odds with each other. Now again, they are in the land of Canaan. Abram understands that he's received this promise to God that he would receive the land of Canaan. And so we might have expected Abram to say, well, God has given me this land, so just get out, bud. I have a right to be here, not you. But that's not what we find happen. Abram wants to make peace with Lot. And he says, we don't want to fight here. We're relatives. We shouldn't fight with each other. Now, that's kind of ironic, because sometimes it seems in our relationships, it's because people are our relatives that we find cause to fight with them. But here with Abram and Lot, he's like, we shouldn't fight. You're my nephew. I'm your uncle. We should be at peace. And so rather than leaning on the promise that he's received from God, rather than leaning on his seniority as Lot uncle, Abraham makes a real move to make a peaceable offer to Lot by giving him the choice as to where he would dwell. Verse nine, he says, is not the whole land before you, let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right. If you go to the right, I'll go to the left. Notice how this is such a marked shift in Abram's disposition from his time in Egypt. When Abram was in Egypt, it seemed as though he was clinging for dear life, for survival. He had heard God's promise that he would receive these things, and yet he wasn't trusting God to preserve his own life so much so that he was like, well, I'll just throw my wife overboard. Now, God has brought Abram to this place where he's giving Lot the option to occupy the land that God has told him that he is to receive. And Abram's not worried about it. Abram's not worried if Lot says, I want to stay here and I want you to move elsewhere. It's indicating that Abram trusts that no matter what happens, he's now beginning to trust that God will work things out.
Now Lot's response here is somewhat telling. Abram is his uncle, but he doesn't defer to him to choose and say, oh, no, uncle, you should choose. You're older than me, all that. Now Lot seems very eager to get his way. Seems they must have been standing at some high point in the land. and if you travel over to Israel you'll find places like this where they have hills that just come up kind of out and then you can see very far across the plain so we can imagine them standing at some high point looking over everything, and Lot finds something that pleases his eyes. Continuing on in verse 10, it says, Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan towards Zoar was well watered like the garden of of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan, and set out towards the east. The two men parted company. Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord. So Lot looks out, and he looks out to the east. And we've got the map here. You can see down here, this is the Dead Sea, and just about southeast of that, you have Sodom and Gomorrah. So this is just on the other side of the Jordan River. And Lot's looking out in that direction. He says, that looks like a nice place to live. It's well watered, it's lush. It reminds him of Egypt. And remember why they went to Egypt. They went to Egypt because there had been a famine in the land of Canaan. Couldn't support themselves, couldn't water their herds. And so they went there because Egypt had a more stable sort of climate. So he's looking at the land in the east and he says, well that looks pretty stable and secure to me. I'm going to take that. Now you can imagine maybe Abram at this point being like kind of squirming, being like, well that looked pretty nice, you know. Abram would want that sort of security for himself as well, but again he's trusting God, he's letting Lot make this choice. And so Lot sets his eyes on the Jordanian plain. And this includes the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And it's interesting that Moses in writing this makes a note that this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because after God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah the nature of the land changes. It's not a really attractive place to live in. In fact, if you go visit there today, and I had the opportunity to do that, if you go there, it's just like a dustbin. It's just complete desert. And the city of Sodom just looks like a dirt pile. It's like if you have gravel, places you get gravel from around here and just have a big pile of dirt, that's what Sodom looks like. It does not look like Eden over there now. And it's interesting when we get to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19, that's noted. In Genesis 19:25, it says that God overthrew those cities in the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities and also the vegetation in the land. So the way that we find that area today goes all the way back to that time when God brought destruction upon them.
Now there's something, there's another detail here in these verses that kind of stands out if you're familiar with what's transpired earlier in Genesis. It says that, so Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. That might just seem kind of matter of fact. Of course he's heading to the east, that's where he saw everything, that's where he wants to go. But there's this theme in the book of Genesis of people heading towards the east and basically departing from God, being separated from God's presence in ways. We go to Genesis 3:24 and it's interesting the direction that Adam and Eve are sent when they leave the Garden of Eden. It says, after he drove the man out, he placed him on the east side of the Garden of Eden, cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the Tree of Life. Genesis 4:16 with Cain. It says, so Cain went out from the Lord's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. And in Genesis 11:1-2, where you have the people coming together to build the Tower of Babel. It says, now the whole world had one language and a common speech as people moved eastward. They found a plain in Shinar and settled there. So. This is, again, a matter of fact that he was heading to the East, that's where he wanted to live, but it also seems to kind of just resonate with this common theme of those who are kind of splitting ways with the Lord going into the East and what lies in the East but Sodom and Gomorrah, this place of sin. Now in the short term, when we think about winners or losers, it looks like Lot has it made. because he got this great place to live. But we do see cracks in the foundation because he's going to live near Sodom and Gomorrah. And you wonder, you know, did he see that while he saw the good land? Did he understand that those were wicked cities or was he oblivious to that? It looks like Eden but it's actually east of Eden. And the land that looks promising is not the land of promise. So they do part ways though. Abram and Lot part ways, but not forever. Their paths will cross again. And with his nephew gone, God comes to Abram to remind him that he has not gotten the short end of the stick.
This brings us back to verses 14-18. The Lord said to Abram after a lot had parted from him, look around from where you are to the north and south, to the east and the west. All the land that you see I will give to you in your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go walk through the length and breadth of the land for I'm giving it to you. So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord. Something that we have to understand about Abram's mode of existence at this point was that It was a wandering sort of existence. Abram didn't own property. He owned animals and he had servants in his household, but he didn't own pieces of land. He lived a nomadic lifestyle. And in living that lifestyle, one might have to feel sort of rootless. God has told him that the land of Canaan belongs to him, and yet, at this point, Abram can't really claim it as his own. But God is confirming to Abram that this land will belong to him and his offspring forever. North, south, east, and west. And God encourages him to go walk the length and breadth of the land so that now, Abram's wandering, which might seem kind of aimless at first, is no longer aimless. His wandering is transformed into conquest so that wherever he's setting foot, this is the land that will belong to Him. and to his children.
Stephen, the deacon Stephen, in his speech before the Sanhedrin in Acts 7:5 notes this. He says that God gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on, but God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. Now, it's some hundreds of years afterwards that we see the word of God's promise begin to come to fruition. This reality that not only are they going to have the land, but that Abram's offspring is going to be like the dust. That if you could count the dust, then you could count the number of the offspring of Abram. In Numbers 23, nine through 10, this is probably about like 500, 600 years later when Moses is leading the people of Israel out of Egypt into the promised land you have the prophet Balaam who is hired by King Balak to speak bad words, prophesied bad things for Israel say this Balaam couldn't help himself he could only speak the truth and Numbers 23, 9-10 he says, from the rocky peaks I see them I see a people who live apart and do not consider themselves one of the nations, who can count the dusts of Jacob, or number even a fourth of Israel. Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my final end be like theirs." So there we see that even just 500, 600 years out, we see God's Word being fulfilled to Abram, that his people have seemingly become countless. And when we go closer to like 900 years later after Abram, we see King Solomon coming before God, asking for wisdom. And one of the reasons why he asks for wisdom is because of just how numerous the people are. In 1 Kings 3, 8, he says, your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. In a way there, what Solomon's doing is acknowledging God's faithfulness to his Word by testifying to the reality that God has brought this to pass. So we had God's Word fulfilled then, but it continues to be filled out all the more in the centuries that follow up until our present day. In Acts 4:16, the apostle Paul says this, Therefore the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring. And this is a notable expansion here. Paul says, not only to those who are of the law, talking about ethnic Jews, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. Anyone who has faith in Jesus Christ has been incorporated into the family of God, into the family of Abraham, because we share in that common faith in God's promise. The promise that is ultimately culminated in the sending of Jesus Christ for the salvation of all those who would believe. And we see just how numerous and expansive the people of God become beyond any ethnic boundaries.
When we get to the very end, when we get to the book of Revelation, Revelation 5:9-10, where it says, And they sang a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood You've purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You've made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth. That's important language there because later on we learn that God was calling the nation of Israel to be a kingdom of priests to serve our God. But now we see here at the end that God's intent was to make people from all backgrounds as priests, as they've been joined to Jesus Christ. And that all of them, regardless of their ethnicity, will share in this reign on the earth, this promise to dwell in the land and rule it. Now Abram couldn't see all this when God came to him, but he heard all this and believed. He went down to Hebron, to the oaks of Mamre, and set up his tent under the cool of the trees. He didn't know how, he didn't know when, but he believed the land they wandered will one day belong to his children. So he builds an altar to the Lord. Now in truth, we are still waiting today. Yes, the ethnic people of Israel do dwell in the land, but as we've seen from recent events, there is no peace there. There's conflict. But we understand that by faith, this promise incorporates all those who have faith in Jesus Christ. And one day, the land will belong to us. And not just the land of Canaan, but the whole face of the earth. Because God will be all in all and we will live with him here forever in the age that is coming. That reality is already broken into our midst through Jesus Christ. And while it may escape the world's notice, the King of God is on the move. Abram's small beginnings in wandering the land is in keeping with the ways of the kingdom. In Matthew 13 verses 31 through 33, Jesus tells his disciples this. He told them a parable. He said, the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree. so that the birds come and perch in its branches. He told them still another parable. The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough. You see, it's all the same. Abrams countless offspring, the sprawling tree, the rising dough. God's kingdom is His people, and in Jesus Christ, the people of God have gone global. Abram was the first step. Jesus is the next step to fulfill all of God's promises. Will you wait on him?
See, it's very difficult to wait on Him. It's difficult to wait on God's promises. The world beckons us like the plains of Jordan. Our eyes are drawn to the east. The world promises to quench our need with its water, but its streams flow through Sodom and Gomorrah. What we drink today will be devoured by fire tomorrow. Jesus offers us the better country with water that will never dry. He declares in John 4, whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. And the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. Let others take the East. Wander the land with Abram. Wander the land with Jesus. We can rest secure because our inheritance is coming.
Let's pray.
Dear Father. We come to you encouraged by the example of Abram, because we find a man who is like ourselves, who is not perfect, who stumbles in his walk of faith, but a man that you remain faithful to. And Father, we recognize Your continued faithfulness to us. Because for most of us here, Father, we are not ethnically related to Abram, but we have been made members of this family by faith. Because You were faithful in sending Your Son so that all who believe might be saved. Father, we pray that we would enjoy the same peace that we see Abram enjoy on this occasion. That rather than grasping for the things of the world, we would rest secure in Your promise, knowing that You are going to work everything out even if we don't understand the plan completely. Help us to walk in His confidence. As conquerors. So that even when the world might consider us losers, so that even when it might seem like we have nothing to claim our own, we might be reminded that we are going to inherit all things because we belong to Jesus Christ. Father, strengthen our faith, we pray. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us this Sunday as we continue our sermon series looking at the Bible's account of Abraham. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Genesis 12:10-20, we see Abraham showing some doubts of God’s faithfulness. It is human nature to forget and not listen, but we must be careful to remember God’s faithfulness and listen to His promises.
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Transcript:
This is from Genesis 12, 10 through 20. Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while, because the famine was severe. As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife, Sarai, I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, this is his wife. Then they will kill me, but let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake, and my life will be spared because of you. When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels. But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife, Sarai. So Pharaoh summoned Abram. What have you done to me, he said? Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say she is my sister, so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go. Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way with his wife and everything he had.
I've been on a kick lately of watching shows with Sara that I enjoyed ten or fifteen years ago. If you told me I was going to be doing that, I wouldn't have really imagined it because I thought I would have remembered everything, but it turns out you forget everything. So I can enjoy them again, which is great. Right now we're watching 24, which if you don't recall is a sort of crisis anti-terrorist show. And in the most recent episode we watched, one of the main characters was being chased by an abusive father because she ran away with his daughter. She's the girl's nanny and is trying to protect her. Eventually at one point she hides the little girl in some boxes and tells her to stay there while she goes to get help. She goes off, but when she gets back to where she hid the girl, she's nowhere to be found. Now we don't know yet whether someone took her or if she just wandered off, because again I can't remember anything. But I kind of suspect that she didn't stay put. You see that all the time in TV shows. People are told to do something. Wait, stay put. And of course they don't. And some calamity happens. You heard what they were told, but it was like the character on TV wasn't even listening. Very frustrating. But not listening is not just a problem for TV characters. It's a problem for human beings in general. And in the remainder of Genesis 12, we see that it's a problem for Abram.
We remember what Abram was told by God in verses 1 through 3. God told them, go from your country, your people, and your father's household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you. I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse. And all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you. And you'll recall that Abram said, alright, I'll do that. He pulled up stake and took his whole family from Haran down to Canaan, a journey of about 500 miles. When he got to Canaan, he found out, hey, turns out there's a bunch of Canaanites here. Lots of pagan worship going on. But Abram still trusted God and built altars of worship to him. He didn't stay in Canaan though. By the time we got to verse 9, He was heading into the Negev, the desert, which is pictured behind me. And he was heading into that desert because on the other side of that desert, one could find Egypt. And he was going to Egypt because there was a famine in the land.
Now it turns out archaeologists have studied this, historians have studied this and there was a drought ongoing during that time in which Abram was alive, which I believe was 2100 to about 1800. It was about a 300 year drought cycle that he was in the midst of. So Canaan got hit pretty bad by that. Egypt was often protected, not that they never went through drought. If you know the story of Joseph, you know that Egypt can go through a drought too. But their pattern is different than Canaan's because they have the benefit of the River Nile. the pattern of the Nile made it so that the Nile would regularly flood and by flooding it helped enrich the soil, irrigating it, and so the people would have plenty of food. So that's why Abram and his whole household is heading down to Egypt, because there's food there.
Now as they're going into Egypt... we do start to see the wheels of Abram's faith begin to fall off. It all starts with his wife, Sarai's beauty. He says in verse 11, I know what a beautiful woman you are. Now ladies, isn't that everything you want to hear from your husband? Just hear them say, I know what a beautiful woman you are. and then probably followed up by something like, and I'm just so lucky to have you in my life, and all that. He says, I know what a beautiful woman you are. Now, it is a little interesting, it kind of makes us think, because we know that Abram's fairly old at this point, so we're wondering, well, how old is Sarai? Well, you'll remember that when he left Haran, Abram, was seventy five years old. If we go to Genesis seventeen when Abram was talking to God when Abram is a hundred he says that his wife is ten years younger basically that she's ninety and so we could roughly estimate at this point that Sarai is at least sixty five maybe a little bit older depending on how long it took for them to get from Haran to Canaan and now on their way to Egypt. Given that, and I'm not saying anything about you older ladies, but usually when we think of like a beautiful woman that the Egyptians might try to steal, it's usually not a senior lady. You know, you're thinking about like a younger woman.
And there's probably a couple of things going on here. One, we've already mentioned about how it seems that people were having kids at older ages at that time, at least there were men fathering children at older ages. So perhaps their 65 isn't quite our 65. But the other thing to note as well is that standards of beauty can change, not when it comes to just basic physical beauty, but in the sense of that beauty can encapsulate more than what our sense of beauty is today. If you think about our sense of beauty as 21st century Americans, it's a pretty thin notion. It's about skin deep, and that's about all we consider as beautiful. But for ancient people, they would have taken into consideration things about maybe kind of a noble bearing, a woman that had wisdom, intelligence about her. I've heard that this said about Cleopatra for instance. I’ve heard suggested that she might not have been the most physically beautiful woman, but she was highly intelligent And so she was an attractive person and so if you think about it in that sort of way where you know Sarai doesn't need to be Miss Universe, basically. She can be a very attractive person, and by the standards of the ancient world, she is very beautiful in terms of the totality of who she is.
So Abram's concerned. He has a beautiful wife. He's going to Egypt. And this is where the romance just completely takes a left turn here. He says, you know, I know you're a beautiful woman. And then he says, when the Egyptians see you, they will say, this is his wife. Then they will kill me, but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake, and my life will be spared because of you. Man, quite the romantic plan, right? Tell them I'm your sister, and let someone else marry me, basically. That's what's being suggested. It's not exactly I'd rather die than be without you. You know, to death do us part kind of thing. Now there is something interesting here, which we won't talk about it right now, but there is a grain of truth here because Sarai is Abram's half-sister, which I know is weird for us, but we'll look at that a little bit later because it turns out Abram has a tendency of repeating this pattern of getting really scared by kings and trying to throw his wife under the bus. But all that to say, like, Abram's not winning the husband of the year award at this point. And it's enough for him to just, you know, to earn him a good slap in the face.
But there's something more significant here in terms of what this is indicating on the part of Abram. Not merely that he's not loving his wife right, that he's disrespecting her, all that. But something much more significant. Remember what God said in Genesis 12, verses one through three, getting past the point where He told him to leave his land and everything he knew. Remember what God promised. He said, I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, whoever curses you, I will curse, and all the peoples on earth we bless through you. Now Abram's afraid the Egyptians are going to kill him for his wife. He's so afraid that he's making this whole plot. What is that indicating? What is Abram forgetting? The promise. He's forgetting everything that God said. Because if the Egyptians kill him, none of what God said can come true. It's like that promise from God never even happened. You can imagine God saying, though God doesn't confront him here, which is really interesting, you can imagine God saying, did you even listen to me? Because if God is with us, then we need to trust in God and his provision.
And this is something that God reminds his people of continually again and again, of his protective presence in their life. When we get to Deuteronomy 31:6, Moses says this to the people of Israel. He says, Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them. Talking about the Canaanites, they're heading into the promised land. For the Lord your God goes with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Now something that's really striking about this whole, the circumstances in which Moses is speaking here is he's telling the Israelites, I'm not going to go with you. God said I'm not going into the promised land with you. You're going to have another leader take you in. You can imagine the people of Israel being pretty unnerved by that because Moses is the one who led them out of the land of Egypt. He's been a pretty reliable leader. But it's at this point that Moses is reminding them, it doesn't matter if I'm with you, it matters if God is with you because He will never leave you nor forsake you. Your faith needs to be in God, not in human beings.
This is what the psalmist says in Psalm 118 verses 4 through 8. Let those who fear the Lord say, His love endures forever. When hard pressed I cried to the Lord, He brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me. I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? The Lord is with me. He is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. What a fantastic reassurance that is. And it's something that we have today as followers of Jesus Christ, as the children of Abraham by faith. In Hebrews 13, verses 5 through 6, the writer of Hebrews says, Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. So say we with confidence, the Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid, what can mere morals do to me?
This passage became so precious to me, I guess it was not this past summer, but the summer before. Many of you knew Rhoda Curtis and she passed away. And she knew that she was going to pass away because she was dealing with cancer. And this was a verse that we talked about. And it was a verse that brought her comfort, even as she saw death approaching. And it's interesting that the author talks about money. Because money is the sort of thing where we can rely on it in terms of greed and just wanting always more and more and more and trying to build up a hedge of protection around us that way. It can also be something that we desire just out of fear. And we can all understand what it's like to be in that position. Some of us, you know, you've been in between jobs, you're looking for work. The call to be content in those circumstances doesn't mean don't get a job, don't try to take care of what you need. But what it's saying is that don't make your security in that. Because you have something better than money. You have the God of all creation. He is your helper. And He will never leave you nor forsake you. So don't live out of greed or fear. Don't act out of greed or fear. Trust God.
What we see here with Abram is that he's acting out of fear. It doesn't have to do with money, but he's acting out of fear by coming up with this whole scheme. In the face of fear, Abram should have renewed his courage by remembering God's promise to him. But he doesn't do that. Instead, he played a coward, and he let the Egyptians take his wife. So we look at verses 14 through 17. He was right that they were going to find her beautiful. It wasn't just his opinion. And they do in fact take her. And there's a little bit of, there's a little bit of lack of clarity here in terms of whether they just literally went and took her or whether they had discussions with Abram first. It almost seems like they did just go and take her and say, okay, you're gonna be part of Pharaoh's harem. And then perhaps afterwards, Pharaoh realized, well, I wanna keep things good with Abram. I realized maybe I should have talked to him first. And so we see in verse 16, him lavishing Abram with all sorts of gifts. Abram was right that they would treat him well for her sake. He gets sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels. But things are not right, this is not what God was calling Abram to do but rather than God going to Abram and saying something to him as he has done before, God makes his message clear by acting. And verse 17 says that the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife, Sarah.
Now this is clearly not a normal outcome. We're seeing the hand of divine intervention here because if this was just any other person, if this was John rather than Abram or something, he just gave his wife away, he would have just lost his wife. There wouldn’t have been diseases in various households. It's not like this was just a natural outcome. This was supernatural judgment at work, and what God is demonstrating is His divine power against this and He's demonstrating His faithfulness to His promise. Abraham might be unfaithful to it, but God's going to keep His word. Pharaoh and his household knew that this was a sign of disapproval from some god. We're not told how they figured out that Abram had told them a lie, but it probably didn't take them too long to figure it out because they probably recognized that Sarai was the only new factor in their house. So we get to verses 18 through 20 and we have a confrontation between Pharaoh and Abram. And Pharaoh does not give Abram a word edgewise. He just brings statements. Says, what have you done to me? Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say she is my sister so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here's your wife, take her and go. He's like, get out of here. What did you do to me? This is a working of God's grace. God showed grace and mercy on Abram. By the fact that Pharaoh didn't want to kill him because of what he did.
Pharaoh was probably a little bit afraid that if he did anything, touched them at all, that maybe something worse would happen to him. And he didn't even take the gifts back. Pharaoh didn't say, hey, leave the sheep here. Abram gets to take all that with him, even though he doesn't deserve it at all. Again, God is showing him so much grace here by bringing his wife back to him, bringing all these things that are valuable into his possession. And if we're honest about ourselves, we'll admit that God has shown us that kind of grace, that same kind of grace again and again in our lives. We say we have faith in God's care, in God's salvation, but how many times have you and I acted out in ways that suggest that we've forgotten God's promises? How many times have we forgotten God's promise, never will I leave you, never will I forsake you? Of course, it's not easy. Even if you know God will preserve your life in the case of Abram, it's not easy knowing people might want to kill you for your wife. God doesn't hide all the scary things of life. Instead, He calls us to trust Him. To say, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. because God is with me. We counter fear with prayer.
That's the instruction that the apostle Paul gives in Philippians 4 verses 6 through 7. He says, do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God. which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. God will give you peace if you ask for his peace. If you say, here's my trouble, Lord, I'm putting it in your hands. Thy will be done. If you believe in Jesus, this is a peace He offers you. Jesus says to His disciples in John 14:27, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid. The peace of Jesus Christ is durable. It will hold up. Because it's something that is not only momentary, that meets us in whatever stressful moment we're in, it's something that God gives us today and which will be ours for all eternity.
Because death will not hold us down. We will be raised and we will dwell with God in peace. This is what enabled the deacon Stephen to stand firm when he was truly facing death. He testified that Jesus was the Messiah and he condemned the religious leaders for rejecting Jesus. In Acts 7:54 we find the response of those religious leaders. When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Look, he said, I see heaven open, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. At this they covered their ears, and yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city, and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Then he fell on his knees and cried out, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. When he had said this, he fell asleep. That right there is a peace that transcends all understanding.
That right there is the sort of faith Abram should have had on this occasion, but didn't, despite God's promises. In the face of our fears, let us pray that God would help us be like Stephen and not to stumble like Abram in Egypt.
Let us pray.
Father, we confess that like Abram, we are apt to forget your word. We're apt to forget your promises. Like Abram, Father, we see things around us that make us afraid. And rather than trusting in You, we spend all kinds of plans. We wring our hands in anxiety, rather than enjoying the peace which is ours, because of Jesus Christ. Father, we pray that you would give us the peace of Jesus Christ. That in seeing Him, Father, we would be reminded of your promise that you will never leave us or forsake us. You made that clear to us, Father, by sending us your Son. Help us to believe that word remains true. that you will never leave us or forsake us, that you are our helper, and that we would trust in you, that we would remain obedient to you in all circumstances rather than resorting to the tools of this world. Father, we ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us this Sunday as we continue our sermon series looking at the Bible's account of Abraham. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
To kick off our latest sermon series on the life of Abraham, Pastor Tom discusses the background of Abram and the incredible promises made to him by God in Genesis 12:1-3.
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Good morning.
The Lord had said to Abram, go from your country, your people, and your father's house, your father's household, to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse.
And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. Genesis 12, 1 through 3. Thanks be to God.
I never had to earn my parents love. They just loved me. The few chores I reluctantly did for them couldn't repay everything they gladly gave me. Food, clothes, home. education, and far too many other things to list. They just gave me all these things out of love. They gave their very selves to me out of love.
Now, unfortunately, not everyone has had good parents. And I'm sorry for that. But we all know how parents are supposed to be. Parents are supposed to love their children like that. Selflessly. I want you to think about that love. Think about that love. And now understand that God loves you in just that kind of way.
God loves humanity. In that kind of way. He wants to give us good things. He especially wants to give us himself. This love is all the more surprising since humanity has rebelled against God from the beginning. Adam and Eve rejected God because they wanted to be gods themselves. God let them have their life without him.
And that is a life marked with hardship that ends in death. Rather than turning back to God, their children doubled down in their rebellion, as did their children, and their children's children, and so on, down to us. Eventually, God brought judgment in the flood, destroying humanity, except for Noah and his family, because he was found faithful.
But the same root of sin was present even in them. And the same corruption sprouted after the flood. At Babel, the people thought they could manipulate God by building a tower to bring the divine down to them as they pleased. God obliterated their foolish plans by confusing their language. sending them in all directions across the earth.
We know all this because God inspired the prophet Moses to record a book of origins. It's the book called Genesis. Now, most people think of Adam and Eve when they think of Genesis. But the original couple leave the stage as quickly as they enter it. Most of Genesis is dedicated to the origins of Israel.
We see this turn from human origins to the origins of Israel, beginning in Genesis 11 and continuing into chapter 12, as Moses narrows our focus on the man named Abram. Who would later become Abraham. I'm going to invite you to open your Bibles to Genesis 11. Because as we go through this series, I'm not going to be putting every verse up on the screen.
There's just so much to take in. So some things I'm going to be summarizing. We're first going to look at Genesis 11. And we're going to be looking at verses 10 through... 32, just to start.
I want you to look at the text, kind of take it in. What you have here is a genealogy. It's the account of Shem's family line. So, Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Abram comes from the line of Shem. And Moses goes down and enlists. All the sons of Shem. And it's interesting to note some things as we look at the text.
We notice how old people lived back then. Shem lived 500 years. See, Arpachshad lived 403 years. Shelah lived 403 years. Eber lived 430 years. Peleg lived 209 years. Reu lived 207 years. You notice, though, as you're going along, the number continues to decline, which is a sign of the deterioration of the human condition.
Human beings were created for eternity, to live forever with God. But after the Fall, they enter into this decline until... We're all familiar with our lifespans today. I don't think there's any recent records of anyone living out 120 years. So it's interesting to see that decay, and it'd be really interesting if you were a scientist to look at the genetic mutation, I'm sure, that time that caused that loss of longevity.
There's something else that you should notice as well, which is that these men were fathers at very old ages. It says in verse 10 that Shem became a father at 100 years old. Became the father, our fact said. And then, when you get down to Terah, who is Abram's father, it says that he first became a father at the age of 70.
And then, when we go to the next chapter, and we see that, Terah had died, well, that's included in this chapter, but we see that Abram left at that time. If we do a little bit of math, we can figure out that he was probably around 135 when Noah, when, Abram was born. So I want you to just tuck that away in your mind, because if you're familiar with the story of Abram and Sarai, Abraham and Sarah, you know, they have some issues with giving birth to children, and it relates to that old age.
But there's obviously some things here that are foreign to our present experience of aging. Now, Terah's family was from this area called the Ur of the Chaldeans. I've got a map up here. You'll see Ur down here. It's in the area of Kuwait. , However, there's some commentators who doubt whether that's the actual location of where they were from just because it says in the text that Terah intended to take his family to Canaan.
But they ended up stopping at Haran. But if you notice, Haran is up here. Canaan is down here. Seems like a curious track to take. Now maybe there's some explanation for that. So, all that to say, they're not really sure if it's not that Ur. They don't really know where the other Ur is. It's maybe been supposed, maybe it was further up north.
But in any case, that's where his family's from. They're living in the era of like 2100 B. C., 1800 B. C., around that ballpark. And, so they left, though, Ur, and they went to Huran, on the way to Canaan. Now, we don't know for certain why they were going to Canaan. Some commentators suppose that God had actually called
Moses, I mean, not Moses, Abram, to Canaan. And that Terah was like, yeah, let's do that. But his head of household is kind of labeled as his initiative. Maybe that's the case. Maybe he was going to Canaan for other reasons other than the call of God. But in any case, on their way there, they do stop and settle in Haran.
Now, the thing that's really interesting about Haran is that. If they're coming from Ur, both Haran and Ur share the same, God of their city. Something to understand about the ancient world is that gods were territorial. So when we think about God, we think of God as being very transcendent. Above the earth, you wouldn't limit God to a particular territory.
That's not how people thought of the divine back then. Each territory had its own god. And so very significantly, when two nations went to war with each other, it was not only those people who were warring with one another, it was the gods who were warring with each other. Now that plays significant, that has significant meaning later on when you have the Isreailtes going into the land of Canaan and overcoming the Canaanites.
So each city has its own God. Now, the God of Ur and the God of Haran. These false, the false God of these cities is a God known as sin, which I know that sounds a little ironic. That's just the pronunciation of his called sin or otherwise known as Nana. I think that's in the Sumerian language is pronounced as nana.
I know, I know, and that sounds funny too, Sin and Nana. Now, what adds some interest here as well is when we look at the names of the women here, when we look at the name of Sarai and Milka, we find that these are drawn from pagan goddesses. So, the name Milka comes from Milkatu. That's the title of Ishtar, who's the daughter of the moon god.
And Sarai, otherwise known as Shiratu, was the moon god's consort. Basically, his queen. Now I mention all this just to demonstrate the context that Abram is being called out of. It's not as though he started off monotheistic, believing in only one god. He was like everyone else around him. Him and Sarai believed in the gods.
She was named after a goddess. There's something particularly ironic, though, about, Sarai's association with this god, the fact that she had this name of the consort of this moon god, because the moon god was supposed to promote fertility. And as we see here in the text, Sarai was unable to conceive. Now, when you, when people are struggling with infertility today, you know, that's obviously a very painful experience for anyone to go through.
And I would say it was even all the more painful back then because, bearing children was seen as all important. And so to not have children would be to be perceived as being cursed by the gods basically. And so that's the conditions that we have here. Pagan context, Sarai, named after this goddess of the moon god, was unable to bear kids. Doesn't look great for the continuation of this, of this line of Shem if she's not able to conceive. And we'll continue to pick this up as we go forward in the story. Now, Terah dies in Haran. He lived 205 years. And, seemingly, after his father's passing, God comes to Abram with a command and a set of promises. And we've already heard this, this read. Charlie read that for us. The first three verses of Genesis 12. God tells Abram, Go from your country, your people, and your father's household to the land I will show you. Right out the gate, God is calling Abram to something absolutely radical.
Because when he's calling Abram to leave his country, his people, and his father's household, he's basically calling him to leave all security behind. You know, nowadays, people are, you know, people are very mobile. They can move away from the place that they grew up, and they're totally fine. We have automobiles, but in this time, they didn't have those sorts of advantages.
Your security network was your family. And to leave your family was to put yourself at some peril. You also have to remember, too, that by leaving his country, by leaving his father's household, which each household even had their own sets of gods, what God is calling Abram to do is leave these other gods behind.
So, presumably, Abram had been depending on these other gods for his security, for his protection, for his well being. He'd probably been hoping that these other gods might make it able so that Sarai could conceive. But God's saying, leave all of that behind and enter into the unknown. Which... That the writer of Hebrews says that's exactly what Abram was doing.
He didn't know exactly where he was going. The fact that Abraham, Abram responds positively to this and actually does in fact leave is a bit of a report I think on his assessment of his securities in life. That as much security as his family might seem to provide, as much as these false gods might seem to provide some sort of security, he renders the assessment that, in fact, they offer him no real hope.
They offer him no real security. They are offering him just a false sense of security. It's almost like taking tent pegs and putting them into mud. It looks nice, but they won't hold firm. It seems that Abram's at the point where he recognizes that all the things that he surrounded him with, himself with, can't uphold him.
God calls Abram to leave everything he's known behind in order to receive a set of promises. Now what's really interesting about this is that we're given no indication that Abram had done anything to deserve these promises. God just simply came to him and offered them to him as generous gifts out of pure love.
He promises Abram that when he goes to the land that he will show him, that he'll make a great nation out of him. And by that means, he's not talking about Abram, like, forging political alliances and establishing democracy and stuff like that. What he's talking about is that you're going to have lots of kids.
You're going to become your own people. Very striking promise when your wife isn't able to conceive.
Along with that, he says in verse 2 that, I will make your name great. And this is striking because, When we go just the chapter before, in Genesis 11: 4, we see that that was part of the motivation behind the construction of the Tower of Babel. The people at that time said, Come, let's build ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the earth. So again, you're getting a sense of the people wanting to stay together for the sake of security so that they can make themselves a great people. There's not anything necessarily wrong with wanting some security and all of that. There's not even anything wrong with someone's name becoming great.
But what's really interesting here is that God doesn't call Abraham to go and make his own name great. He promises him that he will make his name great. He's not calling Abraham to pull himself up by his own bootstraps. He's saying, I will do this for you. Don't worry about this. It will be given. He says that Abraham's gonna be blessed.
He's gonna be called the blessed man. He says, you will be a blessing, and in turn, those who bless him will be blessed because they blessed Abram, and those who curse him will be cursed because they cursed Abram. But ultimately, kind of the terminus of all this is found at the end of verse three. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
Incredible promises that seem unreal. I would think if you're in Abram's position, not a great household, no kids, seemingly no future, and yet God's promising him that somehow the whole world's going to be blessed through him.
What God's really doing here is showing Abram a vision of his intent to bless the whole world. Beginning with him. So, and this is kind of interesting when we think about the Hebrew Scriptures. Because when you read the Hebrew Scriptures, you would think that, well, maybe this is just going to be all about how God's only going to bless the Israelites.
As though it's, maybe they just cooked up some propaganda about how God loves them best and whatever. That's not what we see. From the very beginning, we see that, yes, God does start with the man Abram. But God's scope... is aimed at including the whole world. God intends to bless the whole world. And we see this continued on later in Scripture.
It's not as though this is an anomaly. In Isaiah 56: 6 -8, the prophet Isaiah says this, And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant. These I'll bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and, and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. The sovereign Lord declares he who gathers the exiles of Israel. I'll gather still others to them besides those.
Yes, Israel did not live up to the law that God gave them. But God's turning towards the Gentiles was not a plan B. As though, like, okay, this didn't pan out with the Jews, so now I've got to expand the people I'm working with. No, before it was already played out that the Jews would fail to live up to God's command, God was always intending to include all people in this blessing.
It was God's intent from the beginning to redeem all of mankind. Not just the Jewish people. It wasn't just intending to save Abram. Abram is just the start. Peter testifies to this in Acts three verses 25 through 26, and he's speaking up at the Temple Mount. He says, and you're heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers, he said to Abraham, through your offspring, all peoples on earth will be blessed. When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways. And so we see here through Peter's testimony, how God holds both things hand in hand, His covenant faithfulness to the people of Israel, by the fact that the Son of God was born a Jewish man.
And He came to the Jews first. Because God is a faithful God, even when we are unfaithful. But yet, in that same passage, Peter's testifying to the fact that Jesus has been given in order that the whole world would be blessed. And of course, Jesus, because he is a Jew, he is a literal son of Abraham. And this is how God is working out his plan to bless the whole world.
It begins with Abraham, it culminates in Jesus, and it works now through us because we are now considered children of Abraham by faith. This is what Paul testifies in Galatians 3, verses 7 through 9. Understand then that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announce the gospel in advance to Abraham.
All nations will be blessed through you. So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. So as you believe in Jesus Christ, through whom all blessings flow, you too share in the blessing promised to Abraham. And in turn, as children of Abraham, we are blessings to the world. We are the salt of the earth. We are the light in the darkness, just as Jesus said. Abraham's faith begins when he takes that first step toward Canaan. Towards a future he has been promised. But which he cannot see. It's a move that requires him to be all in. In verses 4 through 6 in Genesis 12, we read, So Abram went as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy five years old when he set out from Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people they had acquired in Haran. And they set out for the land of Canaan. And they arrived there. Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Morah at Shechem.
At that time, the Canaanites were in the land. So, in obedience to God's command, Abram does pull up everything. He leaves everything, everything he's known, his country, his father's household, all of that behind. He takes all of his belongings with him, and he takes his nephew Lot. Now the reason why he takes Lot, seems, Lot is probably looking for some new opportunities in life because his father had died.
And so he takes his nephew Lot with him and they travel to Canaan. Now from Haran, I think the map's next, from Haran down to Canaan, that's about, 500 miles. It's a long journey to take on foot. You don't just do that willy nilly. It's a real step of faith. It would take, if you're going at a pace of, I think, about 20 miles a day, which is feasible for those people at that time, you're looking at close to a month's journey.
When they arrive in Canaan, it says that they arrive, that Abram arrives at this place called Shechem. At the site of this great tree, called the Great Tree of Morah. And I've got a picture of a tree. That, that's a picture of a tree in Israel. It's a terebinth tree. It's very possible that this was a terebinth tree.
And, you kind of read that and you're like, Okay, what's the big deal with the tree? And as you read through the Old Testament, you'll see trees come up quite frequently. And their significance is that they're very often cultic sites. There are sites where people would go to try to get in touch with the divine.
They viewed them as oracles of sorts. And if you want to get into like the mindset, the whole reason, part of the mindset is, is well, a tree grows out of the ground, it reaches towards the heavens. And so in some way, it seems that they thought that they could have a connection that way. And we've all seen trees.
A really big tree is impressive. And, and so, this tree had gained kind of this, significance for the people of that land, which was the Canaanites. It says there in verse 6 that at that time the Canaanites were in the land. God has promised Abram that, go to the land I'm going to show you. I'm going to give that land to you.
Abram goes. He shows up. He's at this tree. Which isn't a tree meant to connect with God. It's meant to connect with the false gods. And there's all these Canaanites living around him. And God tells him, This is it. This is the place. And Abram's like, uh, You can imagine him thinking like, Well, how is this going to work?
On the surface, it seems like an impossibility. It's in this seemingly impossible place where God comes to Abram again. In verse 7 we read, The Lord appeared to Abram and said, To your offspring, I will give this land. So he like doubles down on it. I will give this land to your offspring. So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.
From there, he went on toward the hills east of Bethel, and pitched his tent with Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord, and called on the name of the Lord. Then Abram set out, and continued toward the Negev. So in telling Abram that God's, that he's going to give this land to his offspring, what God is telling him is that, yeah, you don't see this right now, how this is gonna come to pass, because all these Cainites are living in the land. But I promise you, your offspring will inherit this land. He's calling Abraham to trust him beyond what he can see, which is the very nature of faith. It's trusting God beyond what we can see. Now, it doesn't mean that faith is blind. We can be given reasons to have confidence in God and As we go along in the story of Abraham, God gives him more and more reasons why he should have faith in him.
But faith doesn't require us to go beyond what we can see. We're not just trusting in our own understanding. Based on what Abram could assess here, it just seems like there's no hope. But he trusts in the God who has made these promises. And so he builds an altar. He worships God in that place. And then it says, between Bethel and Ai, he makes another altar.
And what these altars are really indicating for us is Abram's continued faith. They're markers of his faith in the land. That, yes, I know things aren't, don't seem to be shaping up right now for me to inherit this land, but I believe God at his word. And then it says that he headed into the desert. Now you can go to the next slide, it's got a map.
That's a picture of the Negev Desert. Pretty daunting terrain to head into. Because you would have to understand that the land of Canaan was very lush. And if you go over there today, the, the, the topography is kind of varied. In some places it does look like this. But, especially when you're in Galilee, it's very lush, very green.
It's very much like this area. So imagine leaving this, and then you're going to this. Doesn't look so great. You can go to the next slide. Basically, this is going, the Negev Desert is kind of going down to like the Sinai Peninsula. Yeah, there we are. So it's like going down here, you can see Negev, and it's going towards Egypt.
So that's where Abram is going with his family. And as we'll find in the following verses, which we're not going to get into today, the reason for that was that there was a famine ongoing. So, you take all these things together, like, there's Canaanites in the land, these other cultic practices, There's a famine now.
Things don't seem to be shaping up. But we don't, we aren't given any indication here that Abram has despaired. That he's lost faith. Now, as we go along, we'll see points where Abram does stumble. But we don't find that here. God doesn't rebuke him for leaving the land. God has promised him the land. But the future is not the present.
There are strong parallels for us today as Christians. We are the children of Abraham by faith. We believed God when he came to us. When the Word became flesh. Because God so loved the world. Even though we didn't deserve that love. And so we believed in Jesus Christ. And by believing in Jesus Christ, we have answered his call to be his disciples.
The call to follow Jesus is a call to leave behind all our worldly security. Just like Abram. But everything we leave behind, all these false securities, comes with a promise of a better future. That lies ahead. Peter asked Jesus in Matthew 19, verse 27, We have left everything to follow you. What then will there be for us?
In the following verses, Jesus responds by saying, Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious thrones, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or fields, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much, and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first. The word of Jesus is the promise of Abram applied to us. We will be blessed in Jesus Christ. For however much we might lose, we are going to gain tenfold more. God tells Abram, go to the promised land. And in Matthew 28: 18- 20, Jesus tells us to go and share this blessing throughout this earth.
This earth that we shall inherit. Matthew 28. Jesus says all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations. Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And teaching them to obey everything I've commanded you. And surely I'm with you always to the very end of the age.
Yes, the Canaanites are still in the land. Yes. It's hard to imagine the reign of God on earth. But we persevere in the faith of Abram. Because we know God's word is true. We build altars of praise because God has not abandoned us. Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ is coming again. Even when the desert lies before us, Jesus is with us.
He is with us to the end of the age. Let us pray.
Dear Father,
Give us the faith of Abram.
Help us to believe you at your word, Father. When you promised that though we might be last in this world, we will be first in the kingdom of God. That whatever loss, hardship, and pain we experience in this present age, Father, we will be blessed. As you say, blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Father, help us to believe you at your word. Father, we thank you for your undeserved love. How you didn't give up on humanity, but that you called Abram. Not so that he alone would be blessed, but so that through him, the whole world might be blessed through the sending of your son, Jesus Christ. Help us to be like him and have faith and go forward in obedience to your word.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us this Sunday as we continue our sermon series looking at the Bible's account of Abraham.
It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In 2 Peter 3:10-18, Peter makes a final exhortation to be prepared for Christ’s return, emphasizing the importance of focusing on things to come and not on the things of this world.
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Transcript:
Today's reading is from 2nd Peter chapter 3 verses 10 through 18. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar. The elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with Him. Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other scriptures to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever, amen.
Some of you may have heard this. Rhode Island is going to have its own professional soccer team starting in 2024. It's called Rhode Island FC. Now, I'm probably unreasonably excited about this. But it's because it seems like we've always played little brother to Massachusetts with that state serving as home for all our sports teams. Now we get a team of our own. The team is having open tryouts on Saturday, November 11th. Now I pointed this out to Sara and I joked by saying, should I go and try out? The only problem is it seemed that she missed the joke, since she responded by saying, you're not serious, are you? I'm not sure what that says about me that she thought I might be serious. Maybe she just knows that I'm a dreamer that occasionally loses touch with reality. But if I was really going to do it, I'd have to start training immediately. If I just rolled out of bed onto the field, I'd completely embarrass myself. The truth is that I could train from sunrise to sundown and I wouldn't be able to compete with the talent that will be out there. But the point that I'm getting at here is that you have to be ready for a tryout if you'll have any shot of making the team. Of course, making the team is of no concern of mine. You're not going to find me out there on November 11th. My life will go on all the same. But let's pretend. Let's pretend that having a career in soccer was your dream, and that this was your one and only chance. The stakes are you either make the team, or you spend the rest of your life doing some lousy job you despise. Wouldn't you take every measure you could to succeed? The opportunity of a lifetime is before you, but it could just slip through your fingers if you're not ready.
We are utterly serious about these kinds of episodes in life. Strangely, we can be so unserious about fundamental matters, no less real. Just stop and look around. While millions of dusty, empty planets inhabit the cosmos, this Earth teems with life. You find much more than the mere microorganisms that all the space programs search for. You find plant life of countless variety, animal life of all shapes and sizes. And you find us here, these strange bipods who have developed a world within a world. a world of things, language, culture. If you can just stop for a second and step back, can't you see that this is all very weird? We don't think about this mystery enough. We shrug off the very existence of our lives. Instead, we get all wrapped up in education, careers, retirement, schedules, bills, and on and on. Our program is occasionally interrupted by some death that gets us thinking about these fundamental things. We then quickly return to our regularly scheduled program until we ourselves die. And maybe it makes sense to keep ourselves preoccupied if that's that, if there's nothing more to be had. And secular society will try to convince you of that, that this world is all just some accident, that you really need to get back to work. The honest person knows that this is absurd. This doesn't just happen. There is a Creator. And this Creator has also revealed himself to be the Savior of humanity, Jesus Christ. He holds out to us a new life, freed from the corruption of sin and evil, from the reign of death. This is the opportunity not only of a lifetime, but of all eternity. Will you take it, or will you let it slip through your hands? It matters far more than any soccer tryout or anything else that you might lose or gain in this world.
Peter closes his letter by setting this before us. He's speaking to people who already believe, but his words are no less relevant to anyone who has not believed in Jesus. Both Old and New Testaments testify that there is a day coming. A day of judgment. The day of the Lord, which is the return of Jesus Christ. And this is what he speaks of beginning in verse 10 of 2 Peter 3. He says, “but the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare." Now he's already spoken in this chapter of how there's going to be a coming destruction. He draws a parallel with the flood of Noah. Here we have a very vivid image of its fiery nature. It made me kind of think of actually a couple... I'm not sure if it was last year or a couple years ago, where we resealed the parking lot and cracks form in a parking lot and grass pops up. And someone had a torch and was going through and burning down all the grass so that it could be resealed and filled in. That's kind of what's gonna happen to this earth. It's gonna be cleansed by fire. And there's something about this approaching destruction, this approaching judgment that really catches our attention, and that it's something that we can't really anticipate aside from always being ready. And Peter hammers home that reality by saying that the day of the Lord is going to come like a thief. Now, of course, no one knows when a thief is going to come. It's unexpected. And so if you're going to be prepared for a thief, you've got to always be ready.
And this is exactly what Jesus says. And we've got to remember here that Peter was with Jesus, and so in many ways he's just rearticulating the things that he has heard from Jesus himself. So in Luke 12 verses 39 through 40, Jesus, in talking about this return, he's been talking about the owner of a household coming back. finding his servants ready. He also says this in verses 39 through 40, If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. It's a call to always be ready. for the coming of that day. And I think a lot of Christians have been like, okay, we can't know the day or the hour, and so, okay, that's good, we recognize that as a fact, that we just can't know that. But they haven't then taken that reality as something that should be a driving force behind the way that they live their life. If we do not know when Jesus is returning, then we should always be prepared before his return, we should always be living ready. We should not be apathetic about that reality at all. And so when you take those two things together, the fact that the coming of Jesus Christ is going to be like a thief, you don't know when it's coming, and when he comes, the world is going to be cleansed by fire, you bring those two things together, Peter tells us the implications that ought to have for our lives. In verse 11 he says, since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. Now the implication here of what Peter is saying is that when this destruction comes, only that which is holy is going to remain. And so we ought to be the holy people that God has saved us to be. That's His very purpose. This is something that Peter has already brought out in his earlier letter, in 1 Peter 1, verses 13-16. He says, Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, Set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at His coming. as obedient children do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance but just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do for it is written; be holy because I am holy.
Now I think when some of us hear that we're supposed to be found as a holy people when Christ returns, it can make us really anxious, maybe. In the sense that you think, well, I don't feel like I'm very holy. I know I'm not perfect. I know I have all these flaws. Is Peter saying here that I've got to work myself up to be a perfect person in order to be saved? It can seem like that on the surface. But we have to remember the full testimony of Scripture and the full testimony of Peter. Looking at several passages we're reminded that salvation comes through faith, not by works. In 1 Peter 1 verses 8-9, he says, Though you have not seen him, he's talking about Jesus, you love him, And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him, and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, For you are receiving the end result of your faith, salvation of your souls.
See that connection that he makes there between faith and salvation. It's by faith that we are saved. And this is something that Paul really drives home, especially in Ephesians 2 verses 8-10, and I urge you to remember this passage. You know, lots of people remember John 3:16, also remember Ephesians 2:8-10, because it really helps us understand what it means to be saved. Paul says this, he says, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast. So Paul's saying salvation is a gift that we just receive by faith. It's not something you earn. But then, and you have to remember verse 10 here, because it's so crucial for filling our understanding, he says, then he says this, For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus, to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Isn't it interesting that Paul has brought all these things together. It seems like in verse 8 and 9 he's like, don't even think about works. You're not saved by works. But then in the next verse 10, he goes on talking about how we've been saved for good works. What he's trying to explain to us is, you're not saved by good works, but you are saved for good works. And it's the work of Christ in you that brings forth that fruit. in your life. So yes, you do receive Jesus as a gift, but when you receive Jesus Christ, He does not leave you unchanged. He utterly transforms you.
This is the work of God in us, and it's preparing us for that day of His return. It's a work that's going to be, in fact, completed on the day of Christ's return. In Philippians 1, verses 4-6 and 9-11, Paul says this, In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now. Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to the completion until the day of Christ Jesus. So God's already been working in you through Jesus Christ. today as you've put your faith in him. And that's a work that begins today and goes on to the day of his return. And then Paul says this in verses 9 through 11, and this is my prayer that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure in blameless for the day of Christ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. So notice there how Paul's using kind of this language of a tree bringing forth fruit, which is kind of recalling what Jesus says in John 15 about how he's the true vine and where the branches and we only bear fruit if we're attached to him. The righteousness that we have in our lives, the fruit of righteousness only comes through Jesus Christ. It's not something that you yourself produce. So even if you've come to faith, you've gone to church, you've put your faith in Jesus and now you're a much better person than you once were, you don't get to claim that as like, well gee whiz, look at me. I'm so good. That's not you, that's Jesus. That's how Jesus has transformed you. And it's that kind of transformation that Peter is saying we ought to press into.
It's almost like you think about how there's a transcontinental railroad and the two are meeting each other in the middle. It's like that's kind of what's going on here. Christ has begun this work in us and the Kingdom of God is coming and we meet each other in the middle there. But it's all Christ's work, it's not us. And this is just part and parcel of the necessary final transformation that God intends to bring about because we won't be perfected in this life. We're awaiting our complete transformation on that day. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 verses 50-52, he says, I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Nor does the imperishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. Maybe it's easy to miss what he's saying here. What he's saying here is not everyone's going to die, but all of us are going to be changed. All of us are going to be transformed. So when Jesus returns, the dead are going to be raised. Some of us are going to still be alive, but all of us are going to be changed. And then again, kind of getting to what Peter was saying about his appearance becoming like a thief. He says, in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. So God has begun changing you today, and He's going to change you ultimately and finally on that day when Jesus returns.
In verse 12, Peter says this is something we should look forward to. And something that we ought to hasten. He says, we ought to speed its coming, which is, again, kind of a funny notion, I think, to us. But we talked about it last week, how in Acts 3, verses 19 through 20, how Peter talked about in his sermon, he said, Repent then and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah who has been appointed for you, even Jesus. And so he's indicating there that the return of Christ was conditioned on the repentance that needed to be fulfilled. And this is what Jesus talks about. He says the gospel is going to go to the ends of the earth, and then once that has been accomplished, once those who have repented, who need to repent, whom God has called and who will repent have repented, then Jesus is going to return. And so when we think about speeding the return of Christ, it's not as though we can make Jesus come here any sooner than he's going to come, but it's that we're going hand in hand with God's plan. and his call and his purpose for our life, which is that we would repent and that we would call others to repentance. We can almost think of God as, there's an analogy here I think between kind of God's and wisdom and foreknowledge and kind of like a cars GPS. I don't know about you, but sometimes, last week I mentioned I run late to things a lot of the time, and so I'll punch into the GPS and I need to be somewhere at 10, and it's like, what do you mean 10:02? Like, I should be able to get there at 10. And no matter what I do, you know, I am like, I'm urgent, like I'm trying to get there, and it's just, I always get there at 10:02. The GPS knows all the bends and turns and the traffic. I think in the same way, God knows the complete course of history. He knows what you and I are going to do. And of course, he has his own interventions in all of that. And so he knows exactly when Christ is going to return.
And yet, like the person in the car driving, we are included in that plan. So it's difficult to understand but I think that kind of underscores kind of the attitude that we ought to have towards Christ's return. Just as you're in the car and you know the time on the GPS is pretty much the time that you're going to get there, you're still urgent to get to your destination. And that's the sort of urgency that we ought to have for the return of Christ, for the day of his return. We ought to approach things with that sort of urgency. It's an urgency without anxiety. We're not anxious about it. It's an urgency that comes from eagerness. It's an urgency for, not for the destruction that's going to come, but for the restoration that goes hand in hand with that.
You think about that parking lot I talked about earlier. We didn't just burn up the grass and the cracks. The grass was burned up in the cracks in order that the cracks might be filled. And this is what God is coming to do. He's coming to fill in the cracks. Even more than that, to put in a whole new parking lot really. But to bring us a new world. To completely restore things. And this is what Peter says in verse 13. He says, In keeping with his promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells. A new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells. It's so easy for us, I think, to forget that hope. So often we think about the Christian hope as just being, I die, and I go to heaven, and I'm at peace. And it's true that Christians do enjoy peace at the time of their death. But they enjoy that peace also because they have the hope of this coming resurrection. And with that resurrection comes a new creation. And when we look at the Old Testament and the New Testament, we have a vision of what that new world is going to look like. In Isaiah 65:17, God testifies, See how I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. I don't think that means that we won't literally be able to remember anything that transpired in the past, but I almost imagine it will almost be like dreamlike, because there's just going to be an entirely new reality that's going to be introduced.
And we see just how radically different, even if continuous, how radically different that reality is. In the book of Revelation, Revelation 21, the Apostle John testifies. He says, He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who is seated on the throne said, I am making everything new. And he said, write this down for these words are trustworthy and true. And if you're familiar at all with the book of Revelation, you'll recall that what John is witnessing here is the city of the heavenly Jerusalem has descended upon earth. So you have heaven coming to earth and God making his home with mankind on earth. And so, because God is here, everything is different. And because God is here, there is no place where evil is welcome. So in verse 27, he says, Nothing impure will ever enter it, speaking of that city, Nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, Only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. Peter wants us to use our anticipation of this new world that is approaching to press into the transformation of our lives today. He already told the believers they should be holy and he doubles down on this in verse 14. He says, so then dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with Him. Now again, being found spotless, blameless, and at peace with Him is not something that we bring about by our own powers. It's not through ourselves. It's through Jesus. But what He's calling us to is a life that has lived in harmony with our Savior. He's assuming that the people that He's speaking to here have already put their faith in Jesus. And now He's calling us to live in harmony with Jesus. that not only have we been covered by Jesus so that we are forgiven, but that He is in fact cleansing us of our sinfulness. Not just the past sins, but our actual sinfulness.
Now, there's many people that have not believed in Jesus, and so on that day they won't be found spotless. But there's also people who call themselves Christians, who sit in pews, who actually are not Christians. And so I think, as human beings, we can't really make that judgment. Only God. knows. But I think what Paul, what Peter's doing here is kind of saying, hey, pay attention. You say you've put your faith in Christ, great. If you've put your faith in Christ, then you should be seeing this fruit in your life. It's kind of a wake up call. Jesus is coming back. How is he going to find you? Are you in fact in right relationship with God? Have you in fact put your faith in Jesus? Now, earlier Peter talked about how God's delay in having Christ return has been an act of mercy, so that people can have time to respond. And Peter reiterates this again in verse 15. He says, The Lord's patience means salvation. The Lord is giving us time so that those who haven't heard can put their faith in Jesus, so that maybe those who their whole life have heard about Jesus, but haven't actually put their faith in Him, will actually put their faith in Him. So this time that we have is mercy from God.
Now, Peter's saying that we ought to be prepared, be found spotless, blameless, all this. He's saying we ought to be ready for Christ's return, but he's not saying that we're to be ready in order because Jesus needs something from us. In fact, he's just calling us to be ready so that we can receive the blessings of God when Christ returns. And Jesus talks about this. This is really interesting. So this is the same passage in which Jesus was talking about how his return was going to be like a thief in the night. He says this earlier in the passage. He says, Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks, they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. All this makes sense. Servants have to be ready. Servants have to be ready to serve, you think. Take care of the master when he comes home. But then Jesus says this, truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve. He'll have them recline at the table and he'll come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose masters find them ready even if he comes in the middle of the night. or toward daybreak. So the master has called his servants to take care of the house while he's away. And when he comes home, he's not saying, okay, now go do this and that and all these things. No, when he comes home, he actually offers them their reward. He himself serves them and takes care of them. What an upside down picture. The story here takes a real left turn, but that's the nature of our relationship with God. God has saved us not because he needs us, but because he loves us and wants to show his kindness to us.
Now, Peter says that in speaking of this patience, of the Lord's patience, that Paul has spoken similarly about this. And so, in verse 16, he kind of as an aside offers some comments about how other people have responded to Paul's writing. It's interesting that he notes that Paul's writing is among the other scriptures. So here we have Peter testifying that the letters of Paul are in fact scripture, that they are divinely inspired. So it's not as though only the Old Testament is inspired. And Peter observes that Paul's writing can be hard to understand, which I'm sure some of you have found at times when you're studying Paul's letters. And he says because of some of the complexity involved in his writing, some people have taken his words and twisted them. And he says that these people have done this because they are ignorant and unstable people. And so they're just using Paul's words basically to their own benefit. And it's going to lead to their destruction. And his point in saying all this is that he wants his readers to be on guard. to be wary yet again of those people that are going to try to lead them astray. Chapter 2 was pretty much all about that, you might remember. It's all about people that are trying to twist God's word, lead people astray. And he's really just reiterating what Jesus himself says in Mark 13 verses 22 through 23. Jesus says, For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible even the elect. So be on your guard. I have told you everything ahead of time. And Peter is telling them to be on guard in order that they would not fall from their secure position. Because if they have put their faith in Jesus Christ, then they do have a secure position for that day of judgment. Now, there may be some people who externally on the surface, you might think, oh, they are a Christian, who on that day will be revealed that they were not in fact, even though they you know, maybe they went to church, they did a few good things, but they never in fact put their faith in Christ and they had a bunch of skeletons in their closet and so this is why earlier, you know, at the beginning of this letter Peter says in 2nd Peter 1 verses 10 through 11, “Therefore my brothers and sisters make every effort to confirm your calling and election for if you do these things you will never stumble and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” And so if we have been called, if we have been saved in Jesus Christ, then our lives should be marked by the fruits of righteousness. And so we should always be desiring that those fruits would be manifested in our life. If we don't care about what God cares about, if we're not passionate about righteousness, if we just think that, you know, we've just kind of taken Jesus as a free meal ticket and we're like, okay, see you later, then we've really misunderstood what Jesus has come to do. He hasn't just come to save us from destruction, but he saved us to be the children of God. And so Peter says in verse 18, he urges us by saying, grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
So you're in this secure position, don't stop growing. Keep moving forward. Grow in the grace and knowledge that we've gained in Jesus. And this is kind of indicated by the fact that he uses the word grace. All of this again is from God. You don't grow without God. You don't grow without Jesus. This is why Jesus says in John 15:5, apart from me you can do nothing. And his first letter in 1 Peter 2. Peter says that like newborn babies, crave spiritual milk so that by it you may grow up in your salvation. So it's like you've been saved. You put your faith in Jesus. Yeah, you've got all these areas of weakness and sin that you're wrestling with. But you don't stay where you start out at. You've been saved in order to grow up in the salvation that you've received in Jesus. And there should be some encouragement in this, I think, because I've heard people say before, I can't go to church because I'm just not good enough. Or even Christians, once they've come to, you know, they have faith, they've even been in the church for a while, they say, well, I couldn't do this or that because I'm just not good enough. And that's kind of looking at things kind of from the wrong vantage point. Because it's not by your own goodness that you are qualified to do something. It's not by your own goodness that you're saved. It's God and Jesus Christ who saves us and qualifies us for what He calls us to do.
Paul talks about this in Colossians 1 verses 9 through 12. He says, we continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way bearing fruit in every good work growing in the knowledge of God. So again saying very much the same thing that Peter is saying being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you might have great endurance and patience giving joyful thanks to the Father who has qualified you, to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of life. Notice there, it says, it's the Father who qualifies us. God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called. You don't have to bring a resume when you come to the church. God's going to build you up and grow you up into who He wants you to be. And this just makes it really clear that all the glory belongs to God. And so it's fitting that Peter ends his letter on this note. He says to him be glory both now and forever. This is the anthem of the Christian life. I'm not saying glory to Tom. You're not saying glory to Josh or glory to Lynn or, you know, you're not saying glory to me. You're saying glory to God because of what he's done in me. and what he's doing in the body of Christ. And the fullness of God's glory is going to be revealed when Jesus returns.
That day is approaching, and God has set before us life and death. We can believe in Jesus, give our lives to Him, and be raised from the dead never to die again, We can cling to our lives, live for the moment, and lose everlasting life on the day of judgment. It's honestly difficult to imagine that day. It certainly seems strange. But that really means nothing when you remember how strange it is that we even exist. That all this around us exists. If this strange world exists, it's hardly strange that God can bring a new earth into existence. Now most of you in here are adults. You know what you can squeeze out of this world, what you can get out of it. And if you're honest, you'd say, it's not much. It’s hardship speckled with momentary happiness. Don't you want something more? Doesn't your heart know there's something more? This is what C.S. Lewis says to your experience. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. The world that you desire is the world that Jesus is bringing. You can live in that world forever. All you need to do is pledge yourself to Jesus. He sacrificed himself to offer forgiveness and resurrection life to you as a free gift. And to accept it, all you need to do is believe. Put your trust in him, not in yourself, not in this world. Trust in Jesus and let Him change you for the world to come. That's what it means to be ready. Doesn't mean that you're perfect. It means that your heart is aligning with the heart of Jesus. You want what he wants. Jesus is winning millions across this world to his side. People of every nation, tribe, and tongue, hearts aligning for the Kingdom of God. be revealed on earth. So press onward. The King is coming. Let's pray.
Dear Father, We pray that you would impress upon us the reality of the day which is to come, the day of Christ's return, in which everything's gonna be laid bare. On that day we're going to see what was really important and what was unimportant. We'll see what our lives were really made out of. And Father, we confess that we have nothing to offer of our own making that could stand at fire, that could last until eternity. But Father, we do believe that by your Son, we can see that new world which is to come. Because of His perfection, Father, we believe that we can be forgiven and we can be restored. and we can be made into the holy people that you desire us to be. And so Father, as we look forward to that day and the new world that is to come, we pray that you would transform us day by day and that we would press onward with eagerness, with urgency towards the day of Christ's return so that when he does return, he would find us ready. Ready and waiting. Not that we would serve Him or meet His needs, Father, but so that we might receive the blessings that He wants to offer to us. Father, help us to keep our priorities straight and just not get distracted by the things around us. Help us to cut through the noise and fix our eyes on Jesus. We ask this in His name, amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed the sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North City, Rhode Island, just around the bend from Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us this Sunday as we begin our sermon series looking at the Bible's account of Abraham. It's our joy to welcome you into our community.
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In 2 Peter 3:1-9, Peter reminds readers of who God is and the promise that He has given us of His return, encouraging us to hold to that promise in spite of those who don’t believe.
In 2 Peter 1:20-2:22, Peter exhorts the church to understand where the scriptures came from. Knowledge of the truth is essential in spotting false teachers and teachings.
Pastor Tom challenges the church to grow into a closer community with each other, eating together and fellowshipping like the Christians in Acts 2.
In 2 Peter 1:12-19, Peter reminds Christians to remember the basis of the gospel, not forgetting who they are serving and what they are working for.
In 2 Peter 6:1-11, Peter calls the church to equip themselves with characteristics of God, becoming more like him until the day of his return.
Deacon Chris Grissom discusses the origin of the Apostle’s creed, why it is significant, and the scriptural basis of the Creed.
In 1 Peter 5:1-14, Peter gives directions for those leading the church, reminding the shepherds caring for the church of their purpose. Peter also instructs the members of the church to keep leaders accountable.
In 1 Peter 4:12-19, Peter tells Christians that they should expect to suffer for Christ, and that they should rejoice when they share in his suffering because they will also share in his glory.
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In 1 Peter 4:1-11, Peter reminds believers that their lives now center on living for God's will, that that they live with the end of all things in my mind, and that this results in particular practices that define Christian community.
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NOTE: Last 11 minutes of audio suffered from electrical interference , Pastor Tom has inserted a brief comment before this occurs.
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In 1 Peter 3:8-18a, Peter instructs Christians on how they should treat one another and how they should respond when persecuted.
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Pastor Tom Loghry offers a sermon that will help you understand the foundational realities that leads Christians to see the world in an entirely different way. You will learn how Christian ethics isn't just a bunch of "do's and don'ts." Most importantly, you will learn how the Bible tells us a better story of human identity, not centered in sex or gender, but in God.
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In 1 Peter 3:1-7, Peter addresses Christian wives and calls them to a beauty deeper than outer appearances.
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In 1 Peter 2:18-25, Peter instructs slaves to obey their masters with service to God in mind. Pastor Tom reviews the New Testament’s assessment of slavery, clarifies differences between 1st century slavery and American slavery, and offers some application for a Western society without institutional slavery.
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In 1 Peter 2:11-17, Peter instructs Christians on how they should conduct themselves in society, especially as to how they should respond to governmental authorities.
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In 1 Peter 2:1-10, Peter urges the believers to leave behind their old ways so that they may grow up to be the priests God has saved them in Christ to be.
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In 1 Peter 1:13-25, the apostle Peter calls Christians to live lives of holiness in Christ.
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In 1 Peter 1:1-12, the Apostle addresses the churches of Asia Minor by pointing them back to the cause of their faith that allows them to rejoice, even in trials.
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The Gospel of Matthew closes in Matthew 28:16-20 with Jesus commissioning his disciples to make disciples of all nations. Their mission continues to be our mission today.
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Matthew records in 27:62-28:15 the circumstances surrounding Jesus's resurrection from the dead and we consider the full weight of what means for Jesus to be alive.
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In Matthew 27:27-61, Jesus is mocked by Roman soldiers, crucified, and buried. What does it all mean?
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In Matthew 27:1-26, Pilate lets the crowd decide whether they want Jesus the Messiah or Jesus Barabbas to be released.
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In Matthew 26:57-75, Jesus is put on trial before the Sanhedrin. Outside the court, Peter is faced with his own trial…
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In Matthew 26:47-56, Jesus is arrested and one of the disciples takes drastic action.
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In Matthew 26:31-46, Jesus shocks his disciples with the revelation that they will abandon him and prays in the garden of Gethsemane in preparation for imminent death.
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Judas Iscariot has been among the disciples all along but it's at this point in Matthew 26:14-30 that we see him step into clear view. His figure raises important questions and reveals important truths about God's plan to save the world through Jesus.
Note: Pastor Tom posted one correction to a verse he referenced in this sermon - see here!
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In Matthew 26:1-13, Jesus reminds his disciples of his approaching crucifixion and defends the lavish act of a woman in using costly oil to anoint him.
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In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus tells his disciples that when he comes in his glory he will judge all people, dividing them on the basis on how they responded to "the least of these."
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Returning to our series in the Gospel of Matthew, Pastor Tom picks up in 25:14-30 wherein Jesus offers the parable of the faithful servants and the unfaithful servant.
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In part 3/3 of the Called to Lead sermon series, Pastor Tom examines what the Bible has to say about how we are to lead one another.
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In part 2/3 of our "Called to Lead" sermon series, Pastor Tom looks at what the Bible has to say about where God is calling us as leaders.
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Working from 1 Peter 5:5-11, Deacon John Lotter reminds of our need for humility in coming to God.
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In Matthew 25:1-13, Jesus tells his disciples a parable that emphasizes the importance of being prepared for his return.
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In Matthew 24:36-51, Jesus teaches his disciples to be always be prepared for the end of the age and to live accordingly.
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In Matthew 24:1-35, Jesus tells his disciples what they should expect leading up to the destruction of the Jerusalem and the end of age and shows special concern that they not fall for false messiahs.
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In Matthew 23:1-12, Jesus instructs his disciples in how they live differently from the Jewish religious leaders who were seeking to glorify themselves rather than God.
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In Matthew 23:1-12, Jesus instructs his disciples in how they live differently from the Jewish religious leaders who were seeking to glorify themselves rather than God.
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In Matthew 22:41-46, Jesus comes to the Pharisees with a question about the Messiah - a question that implies his claim to be both the Messiah and the Son of God.
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In Matthew 22:23-33, Jesus responds to a trick question about the resurrection posed by the Sadducees.
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In Matthew 22:23-33, Jesus responds to a trick question about the resurrection posed by the Sadducees.
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In Matthew 22:15-22, Jesus reveals that the rule of government is not necessarily at odds with God's rule.
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In Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus shares a third parable in which he reveals what it means to be among God's chosen people, in contrast with the high priests and elders who rejected him and those who are shown to have no place in God's Kingdom.
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In Matthew 21:33-46, Jesus offers the high priests and elders of the people a second parable about a landowner his tenant farmers that reveals a rebuke against them and further revelation about Jesus's identity.
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In Matthew 21:23-32, Jesus turns the tables on the Jewish religious leaders when they question him on his authority.
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In Matthew 21:18-22, Jesus curses a fig tree. Why would he do that?
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In Matthew 21:1-11, Jesus enters into Jerusalem on the back of a young donkey, greeted with enthusiastic fanfare. He is fulfilling Messianic expectations, but also beginning to undermine the popular expectations of the people...
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In Matthew 21:1-11, Jesus enters into Jerusalem on the back of a young donkey, greeted with enthusiastic fanfare. He is fulfilling Messianic expectations, but also beginning to undermine the popular expectations of the people...
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In Matthew 21:1-11, Jesus enters into Jerusalem on the back of a young donkey, greeted with enthusiastic fanfare. He is fulfilling Messianic expectations, but also beginning to undermine the popular expectations of the people...
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In Matthew 20:29-34, Jesus encounters two blind men who recognize him as the Son of David and plead for him to heal them.
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In Matthew 20:29-34, Jesus encounters two blind men who recognize him as the Son of David and plead for him to heal them.
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In Matthew 20:17-28, Jesus prepares his disciples for the fate which awaits him in Jerusalem and corrects their understanding of what it means to be great in God's Kingdom.
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In Matthew 20:1-16, Jesus tells the parable of a vineyard owner who repeatedly goes to market to hire workers. By the end of the parable, Jesus has driven home what he means when he says the "last shall be first."
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In Matthew 19:13-30, Jesus reveals that God's Kingdom belongs to those who are like little children and has an encounter with a man who wants eternal life but clings to his wealth.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 19:1-12, Jesus responds to the question of the Pharisees as to whether man can divorce his wife for any reason.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
n Matthew 18:21-35, Jesus teaches his disciples the lengths to which they must go in showing mercy to those who have sinned against them.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Deacon John Lotter surveys the New Testament, reminding us of the love and care that God offers us through the Church.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 18:15-20, Jesus instructs his disciples to confront sins in each other's lives and how to go about it. Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 18:10-14, Jesus teaches his disciples that God loves every disciple with all of his heart - even those who were found wayward or have been straying.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 18:6-9, Jesus issues the warning that those who lead his disciples astray will face judgment, and that anyone who doesn't cut off those things leading them to sin will face the same consequence.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 18:1-5, Jesus explains to the disciples how they can be great in God's Kingdom.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 17:24-27, Jesus is confronted with a request to pay the temple tax - his response reveals more about his identity and a thought provoking example for us today.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 17:14-23, Jesus reminds his disciples that if they just have faith in him they will be enabled to do all he has called them to do.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 17:1-13, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to the top of a high mountain. There he is transfigured and the disciples see more clearly who he is and how they should respond to him.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Rev. Erik Reynolds takes us to Acts 1:1-8 to help us examine our life's mission.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 16:21-28, Peter's concerns blind him from seeing the place of the cross in God's plan for Jesus. In turn, Jesus reminds his disciples of the costs and rewards of following him.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 16:21-22, Jesus tells his disciples that he will suffer, die, and be raised on the third day. Peter is incredulous. Following Jesus’s example of pointing to Old Testament prophecies regarding the events of his death and resurrection, Pastor Tom lays out the divine conspiracy for the salvation of mankind as it is revealed in Scripture.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 16:13-20, Jesus ask his disciples "Who do you say that I am?" When Peter answers, Jesus responds by telling Peter about his own identity and the firm the foundation of the Church.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 16:1-12, Jesus is tested by the Pharisees and Sadducees. He warns his disciples against following in their ways.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 15:21-39, Jesus ministers to Gentiles, showing he has come to save both Jew and Gentile alike.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 15:1-20, Jesus responds to rebuke of Pharisees when they see his disciples eating with unclean hands by taking them to the heart of the matter.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 14:22-36, Jesus meets his disciples in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, revealing more of who he is and the lack of faith among the disciples.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Moving into Matthew 14, we learn of the circumstances that led to the arrest and execution of John the Baptist and consider the example this sets for us today.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Moving into Matthew 14, we learn of the circumstances that led to the arrest and execution of John the Baptist and consider the example this sets for us today.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Moving into Matthew 14, we learn of the circumstances that led to the arrest and execution of John the Baptist and consider the example this sets for us today.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 13:44-46,51-52, Jesus offers parables that indicate the great worth of God’s Kingdom and the response it should inspire in those who find it.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Deacon Chris Grissom preaches a message from 1 Corinthians 12 concerning how the Church functions as the Body of Christ.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
With the in-person service cancelled due to the blizzard, Pastor Tom offered a time of worship and a devotion from James 1:19-27.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 13:44-46,51-52, Jesus offers parables that indicate the great worth of God’s Kingdom and the response it should inspire in those who find it.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 13:24-33, 36-43, 47-50, Jesus shares a series of parables that reshapes our expectations about the presence of God's Kingdom on earth in this present moment. He also indicates what we should expect at the end of time.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 13, Jesus begins teaching the crowds in a fashion surprising to the disciples - he starts speaking in the parables. Here we learn why Jesus does this and meaning behind the first parable he tells about the sower and the soils.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
As a new year dawns, Deacon John Lotter reviews what the Bible has to say about time.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 12:43-50, Jesus reveals how our lives must be filled by him and the identity of his true family.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
People talk much about ‘peace’ at Christmas, about ending war, but it all seems to be empty words without effect. Where can the peace of Christmas be found?
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom takes us across the Old Testament to gather together some of the prophetic pieces that point to Jesus as the promised Messiah, the Branch of David.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom takes into Genesis 2 and 3 to locate the origin of ‘the problem’ of this world, clearing the way for appreciating the significance of Christ’s advent.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom takes into Genesis 2 and 3 to locate the origin of ‘the problem’ of this world, clearing the way for appreciating the significance of Christ’s advent.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom takes us to Psalm 138 to learn from David why we should be giving thanks and praise to God.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
The Pharisees press Jesus for more signs, to prove his identity as Messiah. Pastor Tom helps us consider the ways in which we similarly clamor for more signs rather than responding with faith to what has been revealed.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 12:22-37, the Pharisees call the work of the Holy Spirit in Jesus's ministry demonic. In doing this, Jesus says they both commit blasphemy and make themselves enemies of the Kingdom of God.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
With people plotting against his life, we would expect Jesus to get body guards and raise an army to secure the deliverance expected of a Messiah. Yet he does none of that, and in process fulfills prophetic expectations for the Messiah.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Confronted by the Pharisees, Jesus reveals that he is the Lord of the Sabbath - a status that underscores his divine identity and mission and which highlights the lasting rest he has come to offer mankind.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom underscores the need to bring the Gospel to every nation and introduces Jeff Walsh, the ACGC Director of International Missions, who shares the work of Advent Christian denomination on this front.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 11:25-30, Jesus offers further testimony about his identity and invites those who are weary and burdened trade their yoke in for the one he offers which brings rest.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 11:20-24, Jesus explains why woeful judgment awaits the people of Chorazin, Bethaisda, and Capernaum.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 11:1-19, Jesus begins revealing the places that he and and John the Baptist hold in God’s plan of redemption and the stature that we gain as members of his Kingdom.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Josh Hicks takes us into the book of Daniel to examine how God turned the heart of a Babylonian king to Him.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Do you fear the right things? Do you love the right things? When it comes to following Jesus, it's often our mistaken fears and disordered loves that undermine our service in God's rescue mission for humanity. Pastor Tom takes us the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:24-42.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom shares RCC’s vision for making disciples. The audio from this morning pairs well with the page on our website explaining our discipleship process found under "Programs".
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
RCC cancelled their in-person gathering due to Hurricane Henri and so Pastor Tom took us into John 6 to consider the response of the 12 disciples to Jesus’s “hard teaching”.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 10:16-23, Jesus prepares his disciples for the danger he is sending them into.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Rev. Andy Rice, president of the Berkshire Institute for Christian Studies, takes us to the prayer of King David in 1 Chronicles 29, wherein David confesses who God is and what belongs to Him.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
When you look at the world, do you see the opportunities for the Gospel that Jesus sees? And before you blame the smallness of our churches on society, have you considered that the real problem is that we are not sending enough people out? Join us for worship this Sunday as we hear the word of Christ in Matthew 9:35-38, orienting us to look upon the world with His vision.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
When you look at the world, do you see the opportunities for the Gospel that Jesus sees? And before you blame the smallness of our churches on society, have you considered that the real problem is that we are not sending enough people out? Join us for worship this Sunday as we hear the word of Christ in Matthew 9:35-38, orienting us to look upon the world with His vision.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Can Jesus really bring us back from dead? Can our sins truly be forgiven if we are united with him? Any positive answer to these questions requires us to have faith - to trust Jesus beyond what everyday realities reveal to us. But that trust can only find solid grounding if it is built on what Jesus reveals to us in the course of his earthly life. Matthew tells us that Jesus healed many who were stricken with diseases and demons and that he even brought the dead back to life. We see faith at the center of these episodes. These miracles come to those who have faith. It's under these conditions that Jesus is preparing us to see the relationship between faith and the greater miracle of our salvation that he is offering. Listen as Pastor Tom takes us into Matthew 9:18-34.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
If you can admit you're messed up, then Jesus is for you. He won't leave you that way, but make no mistake, he's telling you to come to him right now, just as you are. When the church shoos people away because they don't have their act together, they are essentially missing the point of what Jesus is doing - and maybe even drowning the grace they themselves need with their self-righteous arrogance. Jesus explains his mission in Matthew 9:9-17.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
If you can admit you're messed up, then Jesus is for you. He won't leave you that way, but make no mistake, he's telling you to come to him right now, just as you are. When the church shoos people away because they don't have their act together, they are essentially missing the point of what Jesus is doing - and maybe even drowning the grace they themselves need with their self-righteous arrogance. Jesus explains his mission in Matthew 9:9-17.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Can you be forgiven? Everyone wants to be forgiven, but we are close-handed when it comes to offering it to others. In fact, if you say someone can be forgiven, you might just get shouted down by angry mobs! They say you can't offer that to so-and-so. And on your own, maybe they are right. But what about Jesus? Can he offer forgiveness? Can we share with others what He offers? Listen as we find our answer in Matthew 9:1-8.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
The presence of evil in our world is undeniable. Humans partake in it and perpetuate it - but are we its sole cause? The Bible says there are others. There are spiritual beings that have rebelled against God, identified as Satan and his league of demons. What happens when Jesus comes face to face with these demonic terrorists? Listen as we dig into Matthew 8:28-34 to learn what goes down.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Miracles aren't random magic tricks. They are signs revealing God to us. So what does it say about Jesus when he can calm a storm by simply telling it to stop? What human can do these kind of things? It's a display of authority that invites us to trust in him as we walk in the shadow of death. If not him, who or what else will you trust? We dig into all of this in Matthew 8:23-27.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Who is Jesus? Yes, he offers profound moral teaching, but is he only a teacher? Is he only a Jewish Confucius? As Jesus ministers in the region of Galilee, he begins doing some incredible things, demonstrating powers beyond a mere philosopher. And he helps people most would overlook in his day. There is something different about Jesus. Pastor Tom takes us into Matthew 8:1-17 to learn more. Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Who is Jesus? Yes, he offers profound moral teaching, but is he only a teacher? Is he only a Jewish Confucius? As Jesus ministers in the region of Galilee, he begins doing some incredible things, demonstrating powers beyond a mere philosopher. And he helps people most would overlook in his day. There is something different about Jesus. Pastor Tom takes us into Matthew 8:1-17 to learn more. Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 7:24-39, Jesus tells us that the truly wise person will build their lives on him and his teachings - on the rock, rather than the shifting sand.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 7:15-23, Jesus warns his disciples to beware of false prophets. You know a false prophet when their word goes against God’s word and when they bear bad fruit in their lives and among those they lead. And when they stand before Jesus in the Judgment they will be sent to destruction.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
It's very inviting to go with the crowd, to do as everyone else does, to only concern yourself with your ease and comfort...but how's that going for you? And more importantly, what's at the end of trail for you?
Jesus is a straight-shooter. There are two ways before us. One leads to life. The other to death. You can't choose both. In Matthew 7:12-14, Jesus invites us to join him on the path that leads to life.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
When you have a need, do you know that God wants you to ask him to provide what is needed? Jesus teaches us that the Father invites us to call on him in prayer to receive those things that will be good for us.
What do you need? For every human being, what is our ultimate need? Join us as we explore Christ's teaching in Matthew 7:7-11 and consider these questions.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Guest preacher Pastor John Jones takes us into the Word to explore God’s redemptive purpose for humankind.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Anxiety ceaselessly bubbles up within us. Worry is our most frequent state of mind. Yet it doesn't need to be this way. God wants a better way of life for us. But where does that begin?
Jesus tells us how to find peace in Matthew 6:25-34.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
What do we find in the empty tomb? Amazing Grace.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Are you making the right investments? Your mind probably immediately goes to money, but we invest more than just money. We invest time, invest energy, we invest our hearts into all kinds of things. And all those investments tell a story about what's most important to us, about what what grips us. They reveal where we are trying to make our home.
In so many words, Jesus asks us this question in Matthew 6:19-24.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Why do you do what you do? The good things that you do - what are your motives behind them? Again and again, Jesus takes out the scalpel to perform open heart surgery. He doesn't care about appearances, how you look on the outside - he wants to see what's going on in your heart. What does Jesus find in us when he does that?
Learn in Matthew 6 what Jesus sees this in this world, what he sees in us, and what Jesus wants to see in us if we're going to follow him as disciples.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Why do you do what you do? The good things that you do - what are your motives behind them? Again and again, Jesus takes out the scalpel to perform open heart surgery. He doesn't care about appearances, how you look on the outside - he wants to see what's going on in your heart. What does Jesus find in us when he does that?
Learn in Matthew 6 what Jesus sees this in this world, what he sees in us, and what Jesus wants to see in us if we're going to follow him as disciples.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Do you know how to pray? Sometimes we don't know where to begin. Thankfully, Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray! Deacon Chris Grissom takes us into the Lord's Prayer as found in Matthew 6.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Jesus says we need to be perfect to enter God's Kingdom. But why? Why does God expect this of us? As Jesus finishes out teaching the heart of God's Law in Matthew 5, He says a few things that give us an answer to this question.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Are you good as long as you don't murder someone? As you might expect, Jesus has something to say about that. Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Reading the Old Testament can feel like entering an alien planet - the customs seem strange and the laws exacting. When Jesus appears, he seems to offer a better way. But while the way of Jesus is the best, he didn't come to replace or get rid of God's Law as revealed in the OT. He came to fulfill it! He came to tie everything together.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus teaches his disciples that they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world - sound intense? Well, whether you realized this or not, this is us! Join us as we learn what it means to be salt and light.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Many things! But in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus specifically teaches his disciples what promises belong to them even as they follow Him and go against grain of the world's formula for success. In God's Kingdom, that formula gets flipped on its head! Take a listen as Pastor Tom takes us into Matthew 5:1-12. Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
As Jesus proclaims, with words and signs, that the Kingdom of Heaven as at hand, he starts calling the disciples to follow him so he can make them fishers of men.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
What happens when Jesus gets tested by Satan?
Every person has broken trust with God at some point - it goes all the way back to Adam and Eve. Salvation begins with the restoration of trust, with someone breaking the pattern of defeat. Listen to Pastor Tom’s message from Matthew 4 to learn how Jesus does just that. "What would you do if I told you the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand?"
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
"What would you do if I told you the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand?"
John the Baptist appears on the scene and Jesus gets baptized. Pastor Tom helps us dig into the significance of these events and consider how they continue to compel a response from us today. "What would you do if I told you the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand?"
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
When Joseph is forced to flee with Jesus and Mary from Herod’s murderous blood-rage, we see how God can use bad circumstances and trials to accomplish His will.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Looking to the journey of the wise men, Pastor Tom Loghry prompts us to consider: “who do we worship?”
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom Loghry takes us to John 1 where the Apostle reveals the hope of a new beginning for mankind.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom Loghry takes us to John 1 where the Apostle reveals the hope of a new beginning for mankind.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom Loghry takes us to John 1 where the Apostle reveals the hope of a new beginning for mankind.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom Loghry reminds us why it’s important to understand the “bad news'“ if we’re to grasp why the advent of Jesus Christ is “good news.” Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Looking to 2 Corinthians 6, Pastor Tom Loghry compels us to consider why thanksgiving is so important to our relationship with God.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom closes out our series in Colossians by digging into Paul's final words of practical instructions. What do the Colossians need for the road ahead? What do we need?
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Scott Aiken concludes his 26 years of ministry at RCC with a final sermon - preceded by a word of appreciation from Pastor Tom Loghry.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Scott Aiken turns to Colossians 3:12-25, as Paul explain what it means for us to live a new life in Christ.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Unfortunately, we experienced technical difficult and are unable to provide the complete audio from Pastor Scott’s sermon in Colossians 3:1-17
Unfortunately, we experienced technical difficult and are unable to provide the complete audio from Pastor Scott’s sermon in Colossians 2:16-23.
Pastor Scott Aiken turns to Colossians 2, as Paul explain what it means for us to truly know Christ and the power of his work of salvation.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom Loghry continues in Colossians 1, as Paul explains the identity of Jesus, who He is to both the World and the Church.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Scott Aiken takes us into Colossians, beginning in chapter 1 wherein Paul exhorts the believers to walk in a manner worthy of their salvation.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Scott Aiken takes us into 1 John 5 as the Apostle John reminds us what our lives are to look like when we love Christ and are born of Him.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Scott Aiken takes us into 1 John 4 as the Apostle John reminds to wary of the spirits of deception that would seek to lead them away from the truth..
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom Loghry takes us into 1 John 3:11-23 as the Apostle John reminds the believers that love is to be their most prominent characteristic.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom Loghry takes us into 1 John 2:28-3:10 as the Apostle John prepares the believers for Christ’s return and reminds them that they are children of God and that we are born again in Christ to look like Him.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom Loghry takes us into 1 John 2:12-27 as the Apostle John reminds the believers of who they are in Christ and identifies the characteristics of those who are antichrists.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom Loghry takes us into 1 John 2:1-11 as the Apostle John offers words that both comfort and challenge us to consider what it means to live with Jesus.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Scott Aiken starts out a new series in 1 John, beginning in chapter 1 which compels every person to consider the status of their relationship with God - “Am I walking in the light?”
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Scott Aiken finishes out the book of Isaiah by taking us into chapter 66 and reminding us of the promises of God that await us. Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom takes us into Isaiah chapters 65 where we find God’s response to the pleas of His people that He intervene.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Scott surveys the Scriptures, revealing both God’s hatred for injustice and His love of grace.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom takes us into Isaiah chapters 63 and 34 where the people of Israel offer up a passionate plea to God that gives us a model for desperate prayer.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Unfortunately there were some issues with our settings Sunday, making the audio patchy. We’ve put off posting the audio given that it is difficult to listen to.
Pastor Scott takes us to Isaiah chapter 60 where God reveals to his people a vista of a restored future.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Scott takes us to Isaiah chapter 60 where God reveals to his people a vista of a restored future.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom takes us to Isaiah chapter 59 where God reveals to His people the reason why they neither know justice or righteousness in their time, and - most importantly - how lasting justice and righteousness will be established earth.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
PPastor Scott takes us to Isaiah chapter 58 where God reminds his people that he desires more than mere religious rituals - JUSTICE.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Scott takes us Isaiah chapter 56 where God offers hope even to those who are outcasts.
Intro/Outro Song Title: River MeditationArtist: Jason ShawSource:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Scott takes us Isaiah chapter 56 where
God offers hope even to those who are outcasts.
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Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Scott takes us back into Isaiah, picking up in chapter 55 where
an invitation extended to all who desire something more.
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Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom takes us to 2 Timothy 1 to recall the great gift we have been given in the person of the Holy Spirit and the call that rests upon us to utilize that gift in guarding and passing on the faith.
Listen/Download on iTunes
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom considers Christ’s ascension and what it means for us to live in the “end of the ages.”
[Note: The audio cut out during our live feed, so part of the commentary on the first passage from Acts is missing - we’ve edited the audio to make it hardly noticeable!]
Listen/Download on iTunes
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Scott takes us into Isaiah 54, where we are reminded that God promises to deliver His people from their past and to bring them restoration.
Listen/Download on iTunes
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Tom takes us to John 21:15-19 to the moment in which Jesus asks Peter the pivotal question, “Do you love me?” Listen to learn the implications of how Peter responds.
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Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Pastor Scott points to every person’s need for “kairos” moments in our lives, moments in which God intervenes in our life in a transformative way. It’s possible because of Christ’s victory.
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Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)
Preaching from Isaiah 53, Pastor Scott points to Christ as the servant who suffered for our salvation.
Listen/Download on iTunes
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)