His steadfast love endures forever: Psalm 136

His steadfast love endures forever

Psalm 136

Good morning! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Christmas season has officially started! Go ahead and turn in your Bibles with me, we will be anchored in Psalm 136.

This is one of the Psalms I had read Wednesday evening at the Thanksgiving  Service. And either despite of or because of the repetition in it, it is one of my favorite psalms and one that really emphasizes giving thanks to God.

One of the clearest messages from the Bible is that God deserves our thanks.. We are going to see that we are to give thanks to the LORD for two reasons. First is Who he is. The second is what He has done for us.

God has so many attributes that make him worthy of our thanksgiving and our praise and our worship. Psalm 136 gives us 26 verses of things that God is and things that God has done that make him worthy of thanks, but it repeats the same thing in the second part of every verse.

We are going to read parts of Psalm 136  this morning and I want you to follow along. I’ll be reading out of the English Standard Version. I encourage you to read along in your preferred translation. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we read a Psalm of Thanksgiving, starting in verse 1:

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures forever;

4 to him who alone does great wonders,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
5 to him who by understanding made the heavens,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
6 to him who spread out the earth above the waters,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
7 to him who made the great lights,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
8 the sun to rule over the day,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
9 the moon and stars to rule over the night,
for his steadfast love endures forever;

Now as I said, this continues on for an additional 17 verses and each one repeats “his steadfast love endures forever.” The word here translated as steadfast love, is also translated “lovingkindness” in this psalm, or just “love” in some of your translations. The Hebrew word, “chesed”

In other passages, this is often translated mercy, kindness or goodness. One commentator explains the use of the word in this psalm this way: “The LORD’s loyal love, mentioned in each of the 26 refrains, is his covenant faithfulness to his Chosen People whom he loves.”

 

So, Who is God? Why is who he is a reason to worship him, to praise him and to give thanks to him? God has spent the entire Bible (and all of time before and since then) revealing himself to us.

First, he created the universe, the world, the heavens and earth, and us. He is more awesome and powerful, more loving and merciful and good, the Most knowing and creative being that has ever been. He has spent the entire Old Testament doing mighty works, performing miracles, delivering and saving people, making himself known to the Jewish people and the nations around them. He saved nations, destroyed cities and had individuals turn to salt or swallowed by fish.

We also see that God instituted the sacrificial system in the Old Testament to make atonement for our sins. Sin requires blood and God allowed us to sacrifice animals in our place for the forgiveness of our sins. But those were not the only sacrifices, or offerings that were instituted. Leviticus 22:29 also makes reference to giving a sacrifice of Thanksgiving. Psalm 50, a psalm of Asaph tells us the same thing, saying in v 14: “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the most high.”

What’s really neat when we look at the Old Testament sacrifice of thanks, is what is required in it. The sacrifice requires a blood offering of a lamb or goat with no blemish. It requires bread or crackers made with yeast and bread or crackers made without yeast.

These three pieces are symbolic in what they represent. A lamb without blemish is a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ. His blood was sacrificed for us and poured out on the cross just like the lamb here.

The unleavened bread, or bread made without yeast is very specific as well. Yeast and leaven are associate with sin, and so bringing bread without yeast represents a life without sin, a life of holiness and purity. Again, who amongst us has lived this life? Only one man. Also, a part of the unleavened bread was that it was mixed with oil, which is often times associated with the Holy Spirit.

 

Give thanks to the LORD, His steadfast love endures forever.

Forever means forever. God’s love endures forever. Nothing can take it away; nothing can change it. It always was and always is. His steadfast love is part of who he is. This is based on his qualities, not ours. Just like the other things the psalmist lists in Psalm 136.

What I like about this psalm in particular, is that it so completely lists that many reasons to be thankful to God, and as I mentioned earlier, it splits it in to two categories, who he is and what he has done. The first 9 verses, what we just read, are about who God is. HE is the God of gods and the Lord of lords. He is good and he alone does great wonders. And it starts talking about the wonders of his creation. Genesis 1:1 starts off everything, “In the beginning, God created…” The first words of the Bible. Out of nothing, nothing! God created the Heavens and the earth, the seas and the lands, the skies and the mountains, the animals, the birds and the fish. And he created man.

 

Now we are made in God’s image, so we are born with the ability to create with the gifts and materials that he has given us, but we cannot create something out of nothing. God is greater than us and deserves our thanks, and our praise.

The next section of the Psalm takes us into some of the things he has done. In the specific context of the Psalm, they start looking back at God freeing the Israelites from Egypt and bringing them to the promised land. But towards the end, it also becomes more general so that it applies to us as well. v. 23-26 reads:

It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
24 and rescued us from our foes,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
25 he who gives food to all flesh,
for his steadfast love endures forever.

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his steadfast love endures forever.

The psalmist points out here that when we give thanks for what God has done for us, it’s not enough to just give thanks to him for the good things in our lives. The Bible makes it clear that we are to give thanks in all circumstances. Here in psalm 136, the psalmist is saying that they were in low estates.

They were down on their luck; nothing was going right. This would be where we start to wonder where God is. We wonder what possible reason we have to give him thanks. We have some of the moments and feelings in our life and some of you might be going through some of those times right now.

This is where chesed comes in. It is his ability to be faithful, not our ability to see or not see him working. But the psalmist points to God’s grace. First, specific grace that is given to his people. V 24 says that God rescued us from our foes. Second, he points to common grace. This is grace, love and gifts that are given to all people, He says in v 25 that God gives food to all flesh.

Jesus parallels this in the Sermon on the mount. In Matthew 6, Jesus tells us not to be anxious, not to worry about what clothes we will where and what food we will eat. He says in v 26, “26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

Jesus is not telling us not to plan, not to be prepared, but what he is telling us is not to doubt the love and the goodness of God. We will always have this common grace to be thankful for. Charles Spurgeon speaks of these times in our lives, saying:

Some of us think at times that we could cry “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” There are seasons when the brightness of our father’s smile is eclipsed by clouds and darkness; but let us remember that God never does really forsake us. It is only a seeming forsaking with us, but in Christ’ sake it was a real forsaking. We grieve at a little withdrawal of our fathers love; but the real turning away of Gods face from his son, who shall calculate how deep the agony which it caused him? In our case, our cry is often dictated by unbelief: in his case it was the utterance of a dreadful fact, for God had really turned away from Him for a season. O thou poor, distressed soul, who once lived in the sunshine of God’s face, but art now in darkness, remember that He has not really forsaken thee. God in the clouds is as much our God as when he shines forth in all the lustre of his grace.”

God wants us to see him in the good and the bad, and see that he is in control, that he is our creator King, and he will continue to take care of us, no matter what. James tells us right at the beginning of his letter, in verse 2, “Count it all joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of various kinds.” God has a way of working things together for his glory, that we can’t always see now, and we may not ever see.

When we read the Bible, we have the advantage of seeing from 30,000 feet. What I mean by that is that we often get to see the big picture, how God uses different circumstances and brings them around to his will and his glory. Two narratives that come to mind in the Old Testament are that of Joseph and of Job.

In Genesis, Josephs brothers do not like him and are jealous of him being their father’s favorite. They sell him into slavery, and he ends up in Egypt. He is faithful to God, becomes respected, ends up in jail on false charges, becomes respected again and ends up being the Pharaohs right hand man. He is the one who is essentially running the country.

When there is a huge famine in the area, Egypt is the only country with food and people are coming from all around to try to buy food. This includes Josephs old family. He reveals himself to them and moves his family down to Egypt. His brothers show regret and think that there will be retribution for what they did to Joseph. In Genesis 50:20-21, Joseph tells them:

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people[b] should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

Joseph was able to look back and see why God had put him through all the trials that he was put through. He saw the bigger picture. Job was not so lucky. We, reading the Bible see the part in the beginning of Job where Satan and God are talking, and God gives him permission to put him through many various trials. So, Job was put through all this to prove that he would not turn against God when everything he has was taken from him. See, Jobs fear of the LORD, his worship of God, his giving thanks to him was not only based on what God had done to him and for him, but because of who God was. Job got through the trials and God restored all that he had and more. But during the entire time that God was revealing to Job who he was and talking with him, Job never found out why he went through all the trials he did.

So, we can see in each of those stories what there is to give thanks for, what good has come of them, and who God is in them. We see them from high up in the air, putting the puzzle together and seeing it in totality. When things are happening to us, we don’t see it from up in the air, we are seeing it from the ground and we can’t always, or even often see the big picture.

But what we do have is God’s word, his promises. And his promise is that we go through the things we go through for a reason. Lets go back to James. He tells us to be thankful for the trials that we are put through, but he goes onto tell us why. Starting in v 3,

for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

When we give thanks to God during times of trials, our faith grows and we come to know God better, growing closer to him. Paul tells us that no matter what, God’s will will be done. That He is in control and that he has our best interest in mind. Our job is to worship him and to follow him, giving him thanks and praise.      Paul tells us on Romans 8,

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,[h] for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

The point of this passage is not just that God is good and will work everything to his will, which he will. But more than that it tells us a part of what his will is. That those of us that know him will be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. That we will grow to be more like Jesus and that we will grow to be closer to God. That we will give thanks and worship and praise to he who is our creator King and is all good all the time.

Now let’s be clear. The bible is not saying and I am not saying that these times aren’t hard, that they aren’t difficult and that we shouldn’t hurt. When Lazarus died, Jesus wept. His friend’s death hurt him and he mourned. What the Bible is saying is that when we know him, we can look at these circumstances and we can know that somehow, someway, someday, sometime, God will use this for his glory.

This past Thursday, our nation celebrated Thanksgiving. Many Americans sit down as a family, tell each other what they are thankful for and spend time together. Many Americans do this only on this one day of the year. But I want to challenge us to something more. Each day, tell each other what you are thankful for. Each day, whoever you are spending your time with, family, friends coworkers, tell them what you are thankful for in your day, in your life, big and small. And let everyone know who you are thankful to. For tomorrow is never promised.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer spoke on the importance of biblical thanksgiving, saying:

“The way out of spiritual trial leads through thanksgiving.  . . . When thanksgiving fails, all else fails.  If there is something in our lives that we cannot include in thanksgiving, the Devil has found an open gate.  .

Giving thanks to God, having a thankful heart and mind towards him are vital for our well-being, for our growth and for our worship and right understanding of God.

It matters to God. It should matter to us. It matters to the point that Revelation shows us in Ch 7 that the angels are on their faces before the throne of God and in v 12, : saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

The most important reason for us on a personal level, to give thanks to God is what we saw earlier in the quote by Charles Spurgeon. Our sins needed to be dealt with. We turned our back on God, we disobeyed his directions and found our selves separated from him. Because he wanted to restore that relationship, God sent Jesus Christ to take our punishment. We see that God had to forsake Jesus, to turn away from him, so that Jesus would feel that separation from God. We see the agony and the utter torment that it caused Jesus on the Cross. That was supposed to be us. Instead Jesus took it so we didn’t have to. Doesn’t that deserve Thanks?

God is Good. Give thanks to the LORD for his steadfast love endures forever.

 

Lets Pray

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ephesians 5:11-21 Christ Will Shine on You

Ephesians 5:11-21

Christ Will Shine on You

 

Kids are dismissed for Childrens church.

 

Please turn with me to Ephesians chapter 5. In Paul’s letter on unity within the church, he has been focusing on what our lives should practically look like, on Gods immeasurable riches and the change that he has caused inside of us.

The big, recent idea is that there is right and wrong, there is darkness and light, there is sin and holiness. And we were once in one camp, we were on one side. We were in the darkness. Now, through Christ, we are changed. We are now in the light.

We are putting off the old, putting on the new. We are to stop sinning and to pursue holiness. We are to be imitators of God and to walk in Christ. We are to discern what is pleasing to the LORD, to do what is good and right and true.

Paul is going to continue the light and dark illustration as we get into this week’s scriptures. Though here he will focus on the light, and the goodness of the pouring out of Gods grace and mercy and His light shining out on us.

So, let’s go ahead and read this morning’s passage, Ephesians chapter 5 verses 11 through 21. Ill be reading out of the English Standard Version. Please grab your preferred translation and follow along as we read the very Words of God.  Ephesians 5:11-21, Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, writes:

 

11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

 

 

May God Bless the Reading of His Holy Word.

 

 

Paul continues from the previous verses, what we looked at last week, he says to take no partners with the unfruitful works of darkness. Scriptures are clear throughout that we are to be careful and discerning who we partner with and who we yoke with.

We see this warning about not marrying into a relationship that is unequally yoked. We see this here with light and darkness. We see this with who and how we look to, who we hitch ourselves too politically or nationally.

When a person, when a group, when a movement or a party share a purpose, or a goal, or an ideal, but they compromise on the Gospel, and more specifically, the fruit and the commands of scripture, then they are not to be partnered with.

Just as the wrong thing done for the right reason is wrong, so too is the right thing done for the wrong reason. We are not to fight fire with fire. We are not to do whatever it takes if the cause is just. The ends do not justify the means. That is 100% unbiblical.

Scripture is clear that what is done in the dark will be brought to the light. We do not ignore evil and wrongdoing in others.

 

We do not gossip about them or slander them, but we do need to be able to say, “This is Wrong.”

And one of the reasons is because evil and wrong will become known at some point, whether in this world or the next.

And what happens to the church’s credibility, or to our individual credibility when it becomes known that someone, something, some organizations, some group we partnered with was steeped in darkness, when it or they were actually opposed to the Gospel, and it comes out that we knew about this wrongdoing and did nothing about it? Or knew they were opposed to the Gospel, and we decided that wasn’t as important as whatever the reason we partnered with them?

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

 

It will become visible. All will be revealed. God knows all and sees all. And he won’t be fooled.

 

We also see in verse 13, that God will redeem all things for his glory. What light illuminates, it will also transform. We were dead in our sins, but he has brought us out of death into life. He has made us alive. We were asleep to the truth but now the Holy Spirit has awakened us to our sins and to the darkness.

And when we are awoken from the darkness, we are then in the light. And when we are in the light, the light of Christ will shine on us.

We are called to, and we will reflect that light that Christ is shining on us like the moon reflects the light of the sun to shine in the night. That is to be us reflecting the light of Christ and the good news of the Gospel to the dark in the world around us.

Paul tells us to be conscious and purposeful, we are to be active in choosing how you walk, how you live, how you act. Not as the unwise, but as the wise.

We cannot just stumble blindfolded through life and expect to do the things that God has called us to do.  We are to be wise as serpents but gentle as doves. We are to discern what is pleasing to the LORD, what is good and right and true.  And to do all that means we are to seek wisdom. Wisdom not of this world, but wisdom from above, the wisdom of God.

James writes in his letter, chapter 3, verses 13 through 18:

 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

 

We need the wisdom of God in order to do what he calls us to do, to be light in a dark world. To pursue righteousness, to give all the glory of all the world directly to God.

The wisdom of God reminds us to make the best use of the day because the days are evil. No one knows the time or the hour, but we do know that the days of this world do have a limit. There is an expiration date to these evil days. And so, we are to use the wisdom God has given us to, as one commentator says, “actively take advantage of every opportunity to do good.”

Essentially, the days are evil and dark and so we are to shine as much light as possible, every day, by the wisdom given to us by God.

Therefore, because of this, do not be foolish. Use the Wisdom given by God but understand what the will of God is. This is not a secret. God has not hidden his will from us. Instead, he has revealed his will to us through his word.

This is emphasizing to us that the Bible is absolutely vital to our walk with God and to us knowing him, knowing his will and being able to shine His light in this world.

Reading his word, knowing his word, seeing his wisdom, knowing his will.

His word, the Word of God, and the only perfect rule for faith, creed and conduct.

His word is where we find his will. And when we know his will, and act according to his wisdom, we will see within us what Paul describes next.

He says in verse 18, do not get drunk on wine. This is not a blanket prohibition, but Paul is addressing the effects that wine, or alcohol can have, controlling one’s mind. It affects your judgment and thought processes. It leads to foolish decisions and to living and acting in darkness.

And so, instead of letting that control you and your mind and your spirit and your judgment and your decision making, instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.

When you are filled with the spirit, Paul says this is what happens, you address one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. In other words, being filled with the Spirit results in joyful praise.

And we make melody to the LORD in our heart, giving thanks and for everything to God the Father in the name of our LORD Jesus Christ.

We are to have joyful praise and gratitude and thanksgiving at all times.

This week is thanksgiving and so, hopefully, our hearts and mind are already attuned to the things in our life that we are to be thankful for.

And we have so much to be thankful for. Friends, family, homes, jobs, food, shelter, transportation, freedom, so much.

But we need to remember the source of all that is good and right and true and where it comes from.

James 1:17 & 18:

 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.[d] 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

 

God our Father is a good and merciful God. He created us to be in perfect and eternal communion with him back in Genesis 1 & 2. Sin came into the world in Genesis 3 and separated us from that perfect and eternal communion with God. God immediately told Adam and Eve that he had a plan, a solution to this very bad problem. That solution, we now know, was Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, God himself.

? Jesus was a real live historical person. There is more historical evidence for him than for Julius Caesar.

Jesus was the Son of God who came to redeem mankind. He came to reconcile us back to God. He came to bridge the divide that sin causes between us and God. And he did it by taking our justice, our punishment for the sins we have committed.

Each and every one of us here. Each and every person born, with Jesus being the only exception, each and every person has sinned and been separated from God. Each and every person who has sinned deserves to pay the consequences of that sin, which is eternity in Hell, having the full, perfect, holy wrath of God poured out on them. The wages, meaning the payment for sin is death. That is what each and every single person here deserves, especially me.

And yet, God loved us in that while we were yet sinners, he sent his son to take that penalty, that that wrath, to substitute himself, in our place. He who knew no sin became sin so that we could become the righteousness of God. He died the death that we deserved. He took and absorbed the wrath that was justly and rightfully due to us. He paid our debt and bridged that gap for us, on our behalf.

And Jesus did this, not because we obeyed well enough. Not because we did the right thing. Not because our good outweighed our bad. Because none of that is true.

For it is by grace we have been saved, through faith. God’s grace poured out on us, through the vehicle of our faith in his son. And this is a gift, not because of us, but because of God and through God alone so that none of us may boast. And there is no name except Jesus by which we are saved. There is one mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ.

Those who are saved are saved by the grace of God alone, through Faith alone in his Son Jesus Christ alone. All of this is revealed in Scripture Alone and all of it done for the Glory of God alone.

As Jonathon Edwards famously said, we contribute nothing to our salvation except the sin that made it necessary.

Here’s the deal. If you have believed in the Son, then you get the Father. If you reject the Son, you reject the Father. That’s it. Nothing else you do matters.

And so, when we know this, when we truly know this, it is nothing to let the joy and gratitude flow out of us.

Last night at the Father/Son dinner, we sang the Doxology, letting praise for God the Father, God the son and God the Holy Spirit flow out of us.

That’s what Paul is calling us to, let the praise of God flow out of you. Bible commentator Dunnam writes:

The early church, Spirit filled, was a singing church, the dominant theme was joy. It was a thankful church. Knowing who God was, and what he had done, keeping at the surface of their awareness the fact that they were recipients if unmerited mercy and grace, gratitude was the keynote of their life.

 

How many of us can say the same? How many of us can say that our lives are marked by joy and thankfulness and gratitude? How many of us can say that others see that as our dominant theme?

Paul calls us to be filled with the Spirit and when we are, this is what flows from us. Wisdom and light, joy and gratefulness, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

That last verse is what’s called a tease for where we will go next week in the next passage.

In the meantime, let’s pray.

 

Ephesians 5:1-10 Walk in the Light

Ephesians 5:1-10

Walk in the Light

  

Kids are dismissed for Childrens Church.

 

The rest of you, please open your Bibles with me to Ephesians chapter 5.

Now, overall, through this letter that Paul has written to the church in Ephesus, Paul’s big picture theme has been unity within the church, unity within the body of Christ. He has been telling them what unity looks like, what it means and what it takes.

Paul’s early focus was that we are all one people of God, none better than the other. We all received salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christa alone, not through anything we did, but all because of the glory of God. Since we didn’t earn it, we can’t look down on others around us, but we all come together look at and recognizing God and the glory of his immeasurable riches. One body, One people, One Church.

More recently, Paul has been focusing on some of the more practical aspects of our unity, namely that sin and disobedience to God breaks unity within the church and causes division every time and on every level.

And so, Paul has been dealing with our sins. He says, take off the old and put on the new. You have been changed and it is through the power of Christ and the Work of the Holy Spirit you have been changed. So, stop doing wrong, stop sinning against God and each other. Turn your eyes and heart to Jesus and let him guide your actions and thoughts.

 

So, with that we will go ahead and read this morning’s passage, Ephesians chapter 5, verses 1 through 10. Ill be reading out of the English Standard Version. Please grab your preferred translation and follow along reading for yourself.

 

Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, writing the inerrant Word of God, writes:

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

 

Thus says the Word of God.

 

Therefore. Again, because of what I just said then this. Paul’s last comment, the last verse we have in chapter 4, he says, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

 

So, because of that, because you are to respond to Christ forgiving you by forgiving others, therefore, be imitators of God. He forgave you. Imitate him by forgiving others and each other.

Imitate God, as his beloved children. Imitate him as our children naturally try to imitate their parents. A friend of mine recently preached through Ephesians 4 and the section we look at last week, and one of his points was that we are to Take off childish clothes, put on Christ! We’ll end up looking like a little boy wearing Dad’s clothes, but we should be growing into those clothes.”

We are children of God, and we are to grow up in the likeness of Him, to be like him, to be conformed to the image of his Son, Jesus Christ. To do that, we are to imitate him. Imitating God means imitating Jesus.

And so, we are to walk in love. Just as Christ loved us. And he gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice.

Now, again, the order of what God is telling us matters. The order that we think about this matters. The order in which we have our faith and trust absolutely matters.

Do this, walk in love, forgive others, be imitators of God because of Christs love for us, his forgiveness, the redemption he has given us.

Not Do this, walk in love, forgive others, be imitators of God in order to earn or to prove our goodness, or to earn favor or to tip the eternal scales. We do it because of him, not to get him or because of ourselves.

Imitating God and walking in love is not all worldly benefits. It takes sacrifice and the giving over of oneself and life to God. There will be hard times and suffering. Jesus had to go through to worst of tough times and had to go through suffering that we will never be able to imagine, taking on himself the wrath of God on our behalf. That act of love was a fragrant offering to God the Father.

This is of course, not saying that we have to die on the cross, that we have to shed our blood to atone for others, but it is saying that it is that commitment, that dedication which is a fruit of a life committed to imitating God in our walk.

Paul then mentions a few specific sins that need to be avoided. Sexual immorality, all impurity, covetousness. All of them must be so completely avoided. These three all fit together, covetousness meaning to be greedy for your passions and lust to be satisfied, greedy for someone else’s body.

These sins can be so detrimental to the individual and to the church body as a whole that they must not even be named among you.

Proverbs 4: 14-15 keeps it simple:

Do not enter the path of the wicked,
and do not walk in the way of the evil.
15 Avoid it; do not go on it;
turn away from it and pass on.

 

We don’t just trip and fall into big sin. It starts small. A little bit at a time, bit by bit, inch by inch, it starts with small compromises, talking about sins, laughing at it, normalizing it, and then partaking in it.

Paul says there is no room for it. No room for even a hint. Not even the smallest compromises. Once a drift, once a slide down that path, it is almost impossible stem that tide.

It is easy for the church, both corporately and as made up of individuals, it is easy for us to put up a moral out shell, that makes it look to others around as if everything is fine and that we are acting holy as we are supposed to. But inside that moral outer shell, sin sits there, just below the surface. Sometimes it can be a secret, unknown sin that we don’t think anyone else knows or can find out about. Sometimes it is known but not talked about, ignored and buried, with those around us trying to wish sin away.

 

The thing is the world sees it. People outside the church see through that shell and see the sins that we don’t want to admit or acknowledge. They see the hypocrisy and it turns them off.

 

In verse 4, Paul says to let no filthiness or foul talk, or crude joking come out of our mouths. This is out of place in the church. It allows sin to grab a foothold. As I said earlier, it is the beginning of normalizing and accepting sin as ok. It doesn’t mean that it’s out of place simply in the church building, that’s it’s not ok on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings but it’s ok at work during the week or out on Saturday evening. It is out of place in the church, in you and me, it is out of place in our lives, in our minds and in our hearts.

This doesn’t mean there won’t be a struggle. Sin is that addiction that we keep around because we remember it tasting so good. The addiction we keep around, just in case. And this is all the more reason why we need to starve it, so it doesn’t stick around and grow stronger.

We starve it out of ourselves. We starve it out of the church. We starve it, not even naming it, striving to be holy as God is Holy, to be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect.

We need to remember who we are. That we are Gods Holy People. We are saints, we are separated and set apart. We are Gods children. We are the church, the bride of Christ and as such, these things are out of place among us.

Paul says, instead of the crude, filthy, foolish talk, instead of these actions which are idolatry, instead of these sins of the heart and the mind, leading to the sins of the body, let there be praises and thanksgiving to God.

We are to live focused on the good that God is, and he has done. Remembering the immeasurable riches of his grace. Basking in the glory of his forgiveness. Walking in love as Christ loved us. We are to replace the worship of idols, (in this case sex, greed, lust, etc.) with worship of the one true living and eternal God.

 

And we come to verses 5 & 6.

As we do, let me give a list of facts that the Bible is very clear about.

Fact: Sinners have no inheritance of the Kingdom of God.

Fact: The unrighteous cannot and will not enter the kingdom of God.

Fact: We are all sinners, there are none righteous.

And so, with all of that,

Question: How do we gain eternal life? How do we enter into the Kingdom that we have no natural, human right or ability to enter.

The Bible answers this as well:

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

In Christ, we are no longer sinners, but our identity is now that of saints.

In Christ, He is our righteousness.

 

And it is not that we are made righteous, but we are declared righteous in the eyes of God, In Christ. Through the blood of Christ.

In Christ, we are clothed in Christs righteousness.

 

And so, the answer to the Question, how do we enter into the Kingdom that we have no natural, human right or ability to enter?

The answer is nothing, but the grace of God poured out on us, the vehicles of which is the gift of faith that he has given us, faith in the perfect and finished work of God the Son, Jesus Christ.

When we are deemed and declared righteous in Gods eyes, we are justified. That is done in an instant. But as Paul shows us in Romans 8, God does not justify one whom he does not also sanctify which is a lifelong process and whom he does not also glorify, which is the instant we enter into Heaven and are transformed into our perfect and eternal heavenly bodies, free from sin.

But we are not yet sanctified. We are promised it, but we are not yet glorified. Our bodies are not yet free from sin.

And so, Paul is talking about who we were. The Sexually immoral. The covetous. The idolaters. The greedy. That’s who we were. But in Christ, that’s no longer who we are.

Now, not everyone is in Christ. Paul says do not be deceived with empty words by those who are not in Christ, by those who are sons of disobedience.

Those who are not in Christ, often the so called, “good people,” Sometimes “truth seekers.” The tolerant and open minded. Those who seek to appease the groups of the world instead of appeasing God.

They are full of empty words and platitudes. They say things that sound really nice and loving on the surface. Love is love. Deceptive and disobedient words. Or empty words that puff up and flatter those who are disobedient to God and say things like they are against bad things and for good things, but with no source of what is good or what is bad other than the worlds definition.

 

One source I was reading however, describes the most dangerous empty words that are spoken as those that “Professing Christians can lead unrepentant, sinful lives after conversion to Christ and not suffer the consequences.”

 

A constant and unrepentant lifestyle of sin means that there is rotten fruit growing on the tree. And rotten fruit gets pruned. It receives judgment in the form of the wrath of God. The sons of Disobedience are full of empty words and unrepentant sin, and they will receive the wrath of God and they will have no inheritance of the Kingdom of God.

Verse 7, Paul is telling us, reminding us, exhorting us, do not be partners with them. Do not partner with those who are doing these things and remember light has no partnership with darkness.

Now, this does not mean not to spend time with or associate with or to love, be friends with hang out with anybody outside the church or outside the faith. But we are not to join people who are sinning. We are not to stay when they are engaging in unbiblical or unchristian behaviors.

In chapter 4, Paul just got finished telling us to no longer walk as the gentiles do. And to put away falsehoods. And now, do not become partners with the dark.

That was you. That was me. That was us. At one time we were in darkness. But now, now you are the light. You are forgiven. You are redeemed. You are justified. Now, you are being sanctified.

Now that you are light, walk in the light. Put off the old and put on the new. Not only stop doing what is wrong and start doing what’s right but show the difference between what is light and what is dark. Show your friends, your family, your community.

Show them the way that you believe, this way that you believe, it is not right. It is out of place in the church.

Any man-made view, thought, metric, behavior, action, whatever. Anything that is not rooted and grounded in the right understanding and exposition of the Word of God alone has no place in the church.

 

 

There was a big, nationally known pastor who said recently, “Jesus drew circles, not lines.”

Now, to be sure, there is a sense in which this is true. All are welcome and invited to be here, to be treated with dignity and respect, and to hear the Gospel and repent of their sins. And so, there is a way in which we draw circles.

However, at some point, lines have to be drawn. The Gospel draws lines. Salvation draws lines. The unfortunate reality is that there is no biblical basis for what is called universalism. I wish it were so, but scripture is clear that not everyone goes to heaven.

I’m sure I’ve said this here before, but Christianity is, at the same time, both he most inclusive and the most exclusive religion in the world. It is inclusive in that every single person, with no exceptions is invited to believe the Gospel and rent of their sins and become a child of God. It is exclusive in that the way that all of those who are invited can gain entrance is through the door that is Jesus Christ and him alone.

Within the church, as Gods Holy People, we are called to be unified, united, one people of God. And we are called, as Paul says in verse 10, that we are to try and discern what is pleasing to the LORD.

The Bible already tells us some of the answers.

What is pleasing to God is to follow his commands, to trust and obey, to be light, to put off the old and put on the new, to resist sin and to do what is good and right and true. Most of all to repent and believe the Gospel, the true and finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Anything else is to be held to the standard that scripture itself sets. If it does not meet that standard the church must reject it outright and with extreme prejudice.

I’m going to close today with a story from about 500 years ago. A story from this church’s long-ago heritage, coming out of the Reformation and the Lutheran tradition.

 

Martin Luther stood against the Catholic Church in the early 1500s and against there unbiblical doctrines and practices, the most offensive to him, was the practice of indulgences, essentially being able to buy time off of purgatory and buy relatives way into heaven. Buying forgiveness.

And so, there was a long-drawn-out deal between Luther and the church, and they called him to address these issues, and this took place at an assembly called the Diet of Worms.  He was told to recant of his objections and his accusations, and his response was a wonderful speech and rebuttal, but he ended with the following:

Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures or by evident reason-for I can believe neither pope nor councils alone, as it is clear that they have erred repeatedly and contradicted themselves-I consider myself convicted by the testimony of Holy Scripture, which is my basis; my conscience is captive to the Word of God. Thus I cannot and will not recant, because acting against one’s conscience is neither safe nor sound. “Here I stand; I can do no other.  God help me. Amen.

 

          Let’s Pray

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice 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 cleanses us from all sin.

 

1 John 1:5-7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Timothy 4:6-16 Life in the Local Church: What a Good Servant Looks Like

1 Timothy 4:6-16

Life in the Local Church

What a Good Servant Looks Like

Good morning. Please grab your Bibles and turn with me to 1 Timothy chapter 4.

The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, after leaving and placing Timothy in Ephesus as the Pastor, the head elder. So, not wanting to get too far off track, a quick look at the timeline of the church of Ephesus. The church was founded by Paul, likely in the early 50’s AD. Timothy arrived to be their pastor in the early 60’s. Tradition holds that the Apostle John made the Ephesian church his home in the mid to late 60s. We also know that Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians and that was likely right before Timothy arrived. So, the Ephesians had a pretty standout group of teachers and pastors and influences. And yet, by the mid 90’s, Jesus tells them, relayed through John, that while they did good works, while had the right actions, and even right doctrine, they no longer had a love for Christ, and they were told to repent in Revelation 2:1-7.

Paul wrote to Timothy in order to encourage Timothy, to build him up and to challenge him.

Timothy was placed in Ephesus in order to deal with the issues that the church was dealing with, most notably, but not limited to false teaching and the false teachers who teach them. One of the ways that Timothy should be counteracting these issues is by knowing and applying how to act in the local church.

Paul, already in this letter, has dealt with proper prayer, with worship, with church offices and the authority of those who hold leadership positions, and more. Now, Paul turns his attention to encouraging Timothy, teaching him, encouraging him and reminding him that his focus, and ours should be on building, training and growing ourselves, first, as a good servant of Christ.

Let’s go ahead and read this week’s text, 1 Timothy chapter 4, verses 6 through 16. Ill be reading out of the English Standard Version and I encourage you to follow along in your own preferred translation. Once again, 1 Timothy 4:6-16. Paul, under the inspiration of God, the Holy Spirit, bring forth the very inerrant, infallible, immutable Words of God, writes to Timothy:

If you put these things before the brothers,[a] you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we toil and strive,[b] because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

11 Command and teach these things. 12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Practice these things, immerse yourself in them,[c] so that all may see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

 

May God Bless the reading of his word.

Now, we know that the Bible is a unique book. Paul is very specifically writing here to Timothy. But we also know that Timothy is not the only person being written to and being instructed here. Like ripples emanating from a rock thrown in a pool, the ripples going out, there are many separate people groups being spoken to. First, of course, like we said, Timothy. Second, pastors, elders, church leaders are being taught through this letter how to lead Gods people. Third, as with all the Bible, all Gods people are being instructed, on “Life in the local church.”

Paul starts here, saying to put these things before the brothers. These things being the culmination of everything that we have looked at in the first 4 chapters. All the things that Paul has shared and taught Timothy up to this point. Bring all those things and put them before the brethren, the brothers and sisters, the body of Christ in the local church. Paul essentially telling Timothy, “Do the things that I am teaching you and you will serve the LORD well.”

Paul tells Timothy to be trained in the Words of the Faith. Paul gets more into what that means to Timothy specifically in his second letter to Timothy, but for here, we have one of the biggest points to take away from today; Read Yo Bible!

Be trained in what the Bible says. Above all else, above whoever else you are allowing to teach you, even above anyone else that is speaking into your life, Read Yo Bible. And then Read it again! And then again. Continue to read your Bible. Be trained by it and by the words of God in it. And then put it into action!

And we know that to put the Bible in to action correctly, we need to read it in the proper context (Ding!) Paul emphasizes this when he says that not only are we to be trained in the words of the faith, but in good Doctrine as well. Right understanding of the Word of God is so very vital and important. Context is everything! If our heart is truly Gods, then we should have a driving desire, a need to get it right!

None of the words of God are accidental or incidental. He gave us these words for very specific reasons. His words mean one thing and one thing only. And in order to know that one thing, we must study and be trained by it. In order to act on it, we must be trained by his words, fully and completely.

But we need to remember that, when you remove yourself from the Word and when you remove yourself from sound, good doctrine, you will struggle, and you will trip over the world’s and/or false teachers world views. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:33: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

What is and who are around us will influence us. What we watch, what we listen to, what we read, who we spend time with, all those things will affect us. The enemy and false teachers, they want to separate us and isolate us from God, his word and his people.

You know, I was also reading Psalm 1 and some amazing parallels jumped out at me. Psalm 1 is a short one, but a powerful one, let’s read it really quick. Psalm 1, the Psalmist writes:

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 

 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 

for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

 

In that, we see that those who are righteous, those who belong to the LORD, who know Jesus Christ, they are like trees planted next to streams. Of Course, we will see fruit that comes to bear on those trees. But what else we see is that the trees that are planted need a steady stream and they need to be planted in a single location.

If I plant a tree up by the house, then after a short time, I see no growth, and I dig it up, plant it somewhere else and continue this for a while, there will be no growth of that tree, it will wither. The same as if the water source dries up. We see that every summer here back where we were in California, and I would imagine here as well? No water, for an extended period of time and the tree will die.

We need the Word of God to teach us truth, good doctrine and right application. We need each other to help us to stay on track, to grow and to have right knowledge and right doctrine.

 

 

Paul reminds us, having mentioned this in the beginning of chapter 1 as well, that we are to have nothing to do with silly, irrelevant myths.  This includes getting into conversations about just ridiculous stuff. Supposed genealogies and the “ancestry” & “descendants” of Jesus. This is making parables out of the Gospel stories. This is putting any credence into the “lost” Gospels and into secret knowledge.

You ever have a conversation with someone, and they say something, and it’s so absurd, so out of the realm of possibility, and its everything you can do to not respond, to just let it go? That’s one of the things this is talking about. If you respond and get into this conversation, you will have wasted your time and nothing you say will have an affect on them. It is similar to casting your pearls before swine, though that is specifically talking about the Gospel.

Silly, irreverent myths are spiritually immature. They take the focus off of God the Father, His son, Jesus Christ and the Word of God itself. It places the focus on anything and everything else; trivia, minutia, unknowable speculation, the other person, and ourselves.

Paul says that instead, we should train ourselves in Godliness. The habits that we develop, the spiritual disciplines that we practice, these are the things that train us in Godliness. This is not easy. Distractions, laziness, other good but not God things, friends, family, sleep, phone calls, our favorite show, all these things will try to get in our way of practicing spiritual discipline. These and much more will attempt to stop us from practicing and training and spending the needed and necessary time in Gods Word.

Paul contrasts this with bodily training, with taking care of ourselves physically. He shows us that this is a good thing. Watching what we eat, keeping in good physical shape, taking care of the bodies that God has given us, these are good things. These are very good ideas, and they are incredibly important. They have some value. But they are not as important as spiritual training.

Spiritual training, which leads to Godliness, is everything. It is completely valuable. It is eternally valuable. It has promise and value in this life for sure. But more importantly, it has more promise and more value in the next life.

When Paul wants to really and truly emphasize a point, he says, as he does in verse 9 here, some variation of:  The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. And so, we need to pay extra attention to what Paul says here. V 10: For to this end we toil and strive,[b] because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

          We work because of our hope and our faith. We work because of what God has done for us. We work because of the living God, Jesus Christ. We work because of the work that he did on the cross, accomplishing our salvation, rising from the dead and, once and for all, defeating death and sin.

The invitation to salvation, sent out to all, extended to all. As Paul writes elsewhere, there is no Jew, no Greek, no male or female when it comes to who is able to be saved or our standing before God. And it is those who believe that accept the invitation. It is solely by the grace of God, only through the faith that he has given us, in the only way to salvation, his Son Jesus Christ that we are saved.

It is because of this that we work. It is not that we work for this, but because of this. Sometimes those small, semantic differences can make all the difference. Scripture shows us this time and time again.

Verse 11, Paul tells Timothy, Command and teach these things. Teach these things that I just shared and reminded you. First and foremost, of course, the Gospel that he just shared. Teach and share spiritual disciplines. Teach and share the importance of Godliness. Teach the focus that needs to be on God and his Word above all else.

Paul starts this last section of our passage as an encouragement and a challenge. Timothy is a timid man, quiet, maybe shy. That’s the personality that God gave him. Timothy speaks to me in that way. I see a lot of myself in him. God gives us our personalities and he uses them for his purposes. We will get back to that in a moment.

Paul addresses one of the obstacles that Timothy is dealing with in Ephesus. Paul says, let no one look down upon you, reject you or not listen to you because of your age. Age isn’t, or shouldn’t, be an issue. What is an issue is your call, your qualifications, your godliness.

I look around and I realize that, in every church that I have served, I am the youngest adult in this church. I was the youngest adult in my previous church as well. Without getting into it, we see two different ways of looking at my situation. I have served, pastored and taught some who have been Christians for longer than I have been alive. But you know what? Many would never say that. They don’t use that as a reason to not listen to me or to reject what I am saying or teaching.  Others, unfortunately, would and did.

Timothy was encountering this. I’ve encountered this before. The truth is that God has called me. He has called me to be a Pastor, a shepherd, a teacher and as a protector of the flock. I have a lot to teach and a lot to share.  Age is not an issue with who God chooses to call to certain positions.

Now, I mentioned our personalities before, and I want to touch on those now as well. God has created each and everyone of us personally and with our unique traits and personalities. Some of us are louder, some quieter, some more outgoing, some quitter, some more cautious, some impulsive. Each given to us by God the Father himself. These are gifts and good things.

But each of these also has the potential to be a pitfall as well. The person who is quiet and timid might avoid confronting sin in others or avoid confronting false teachers and their false teachings. The person who is louder and outgoing, might offend, they might confront sin where there isn’t any, or put themselves and their thoughts, teachings above Gods.

The point that Paul was making was this, to Timothy, to me, to you, to all of us. Don’t use your personality as an excuse to sin. It’s way too easy, it takes an incredible amount of self-reflection, and it takes walking a very thin line sometimes. But do not use your personality as an excuse to sin!

We are called to deny ourselves. How often do you hear, as an excuse for sin, “I was born this way.” In a sense, that’s true. We all are born sinners.

But we are called to put that old self aside, and to repent of our sins. Paul tells us elsewhere that when we are in Christ, our old self has died, and we are now new creations. We have a new heart, we have new desires, we have a new nature when we are in Christ.   We are not to stay the way we were born, but instead, we are called to be born again.

And so, Paul says to set the believers an example. An example of Godly living. How we live and how we act. Our faithfulness to God. These are but some of the ways that we can show those around us and those who watch us the work that God has down for us all and what he expects in holiness and godliness.

In verse 13, we see again, in Paul’s exhortation to Timothy, the purpose of the local church. We see the reason that Paul (more specifically God) placed Timothy in Ephesus, and that is to combat false teaching. And we will see how. By the public reading of scripture, by exhortation and by teaching. Especially and specifically the teaching of that public reading of scripture.  This even goes back to Old Testament times. Nehemiah 8:8 says:

They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

In Verse 14, Paul points out that Timothy was given a spiritual gift from God. It is an unknown gift, though presumably teaching or preaching, something for sure along those lines of pastoring in Ephesus to combat false teachings.

And in verse 15 & 16, Paul emphasis self-inspection and spiritual growth. He says, practice your gifts. Do your duties, whether they are your gifts or not. Practice and grow your devotion to God and what he has called you to do.

As the fruit on your tree grows, as you develop your spiritual disciplines, as we grow in sanctification and maturity in Christ, People will see, and they will notice.

Verse 16, Paul tells Timothy to keep a close watch on himself and his teachings. Let me say it this way. It does no good for you to call out false teaching if you just replace it with other false teaching. The point is to replace it with the truth. Keeping a close watch on ourselves and our teachings is what will keep us from falling into false teaching or from becoming false teachers.

The single easiest way for one to start false teaching is to stop paying too close attention to what you are teaching or sharing. Often this will happen without noticing. Kind of mentally shifting into cruise control. This will have the thoughts of thinking we know it all, or that we have no need to study Gods Word or to get deeper into it.

By keeping a close watch on ourselves and our teaching, we will not only prevent ourselves from falling and failing, but because of the community we are called to, as the body of the local church, we will help others from falling into these false teachings as well, thereby saving them from, to use some language we used last week, walking out from under the umbrella of orthodoxy and into the rain of heresy.

I think that there really are three points I want you to walk away from this morning remembering. The first one, remember, was READ YO BIBLE! And make sure that you are desiring and focusing on the right and true word of God and right doctrine in how to apply it.

Second, your personality is a gift from God but don’t let it be an excuse to sin. Use your personality to share and show the Word of God, and Jesus Christ and his work on the Cross.

Lastly, keep a close watch on yourself and your teachings. Recognize and combat false teachings and make sure that you are keeping yourself in the truth and speaking the truth, no matter what else.

These things are the basis and foundation for us building up the local church and for us and the church to fulfill its purpose.

Let’s Pray on these things and remember the grace of God that we are saved despite all that is stacked against us because of sin.

2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Ambassadors for Christ

 

THis was a sermon I delivered this morning at Silver Springs Community Church in Silver Springs, NV.

 

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Ambassadors for Christ

 

 

          Good morning, everybody! If you would, please grab your Bibles and turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 5.

One of the things I hear a lot, talking with Christians and especially when they are trying to figure out the right thing to do, or the right way to act or the right way to live, is that the Bible isn’t clear. What they actually mean is that it is not as clear as they want it to be.

Over the last number of years, I have seen a lot of Christians fighting and tearing each other apart over what’s right, over what’s wrong, and over how they think we should respond and react to the wrongs going on in the world around us.

And my point is not going to be that, for many circumstances, one way is clearly right or that one way is clearly wrong. I’m not here to say that one method or one decision or one reaction is clearly right or clearly wrong. I think there is a lot of leeway for Christian Liberty here, on many subjects. The scripture is also clear that there are many subjects where we have no say over right or wrong because God has spelled it out crystal clear in his Word.

When Gods Word is clear that one action is clearly wrong, then we need to read it clearly. But often, the Bible gives principles and ways of thinking, ways of looking at things and filtering things around us that, if we follow these biblical principles, will guide us just as clearly as when the Bible says, do this, don’t do that.

In that vein, the passage I’m going to share this morning, what we will see is that in all times, in all circumstances, in all situations, that we are to model Christlikeness to all people.

 

That brings us to our text this morning. But first, let me pray.

We will be looking at 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verses 17-21. I will be reading out of the English Standard Version, but I encourage you to grab your preferred translation and follow along with me, reading and seeing for yourself what the word of God says.

2 Corinthians chapter 5, verses 16-21. In this passage, Paul writes:

 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[b] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling[c] the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

 

May God Bless the Reading of his Holy Word.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s easy to forget that, as Christians, we are held to a higher standard than what this world adheres to. Actually, kind of the point is that we are all held to the same standard, but we acknowledge the eternal truth and reality of that standard, whereas non-Christians do not recognize the authority of God to set that standard.

We are not held to the standard of the world. We are not held to the standard of society and culture. We are not held to the standard of America and the Constitution even. We are held to higher standards than that. We are held to harder standards. We are called to die to ourselves daily. We are called to bear our cross.

We are called not to respond to people and groups in the same way that they talk to us, how they act to us, or how they treat us. We are called to the standard of Christs righteousness. Jesus tells those around him, in the Sermon on the Mount that unless our righteousness exceeds even that of the Pharisees, we will not enter the kingdom of Heaven. We will expand on that in a bit, but the good news is that even though we can’t have enough of our own righteousness, we, if we are in Christ, and remember we looked at what the right understanding if that was a few weeks ago, if we are in Christ, we now have His perfect and saving righteousness.

But this idea, this concept that we are not to respond to people how they treat us, that we are to hold to a higher standard of behavior, heart and attitude, this is a foreign concept to much of the world. The prevailing instinct is to treat others how they treat you, or worse, and often, before they get a chance to. This is a concept born of the flesh.

But we are called to those ideas and concepts born of the Spirit.

Every single life, every single human being is born in the image and likeness of Christ. This goes for Americans and non-Americans. This goes for Democrats and Republicans. This goes for Christians, Muslims, and Atheists. This goes for liberals and conservatives. This goes for black, white, brown, red, yellow, purple, green, polka dot and chartreuse.

Every single human life on earth is created in Gods image and likeness. This is the entire basis and the entire and full foundation of our pro-life position. If we do not believe this, we have no right to say anything in regard to the whole sale slaughter of millions of unborn babies.

Now, born in the image and likeness does not equal a child of God. It does not mean that all are saved. That is reserved for those who have repented of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ. Those who are In Christ.

But we are not called to only be nice and to only treat well other Christians. We are called to treat every single human being in this world with the same dignity and respect that we want others to treat us with and the Bible does not give us any exceptions. We are to remember that our battle, our war is not with flesh and blood, but in the spiritual realm, against powers and principalities.

 

Now, the passage here, starts with Paul showing us that our duty is to treat others around us with Christs Spiritual standards, as opposed to the worlds physical, fleshly standards.  We used to live, believe in and act according to those standards. We are born into those actions and beliefs.

But God… Remember, what I considered one of the greatest truths of the Bible. But God, through his grace alone, delivered through our faith alone in his Son Jesus Christ alone changes us. It brings us out from death to life. It changes us from the inside out. It changes our heart. It changes our identity, and it changes our nature.

We are then New Creations. We are now reconciled to God, through Jesus Christ. Once we are reconciled to him, we are new creations, the old identity is gone, though habits, temptations and actions will remain.

Charles Spurgeon, in one of his devotions says: In every believer’s heart there is a constant struggle between the old nature and the new. The old nature is very active and loses no opportunity of employing all the weapons in its deadly arsenal against newborn grace: while on the other hand, the new nature is always on the lookout to resist and destroy its enemy.

 

          When we are new creations in Christ, the change in us should be clear and noticeable. And when that happens, we have one single job to do. We are to be Ambassadors for Christ, Ambassadors on the behalf of the Kingdom of God. My favorite title given to us in the scriptures.

We speak and share the official position and official view of the kingdom of Heaven. Now what we want the official view to be. Not what we think it might be or should be, but what it is.  And we are a conduit. We are to funnel the Word of God to the people who need to hear it.

We present and announce what our King has already decreed. We do not make laws. We do not determine official positions. We share Christ and he crucified. We Preach the Word and We Love the People. We fulfill the Great commission, making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all the Christ has commanded.

God uses us. He entrusts us with the message of the Gospel, with the ministry of reconciliation. He makes His appeal through us. God can do anything. People often say, don’t put God in a box. The truth is that He decides what Boxes he is put in, to use that terminology. God himself chooses how to save those who will be saved. He chooses to do so by his grace, through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ. Aul writes in Romans 10, Faith comes by hearing, hearing of the word of Christ. He writes here, starting in verse 18, listen to what Paul is writing:

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling[c] the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

 

God chooses who and how. He does it all. He chooses to use us, our words, our actions, our faith and testimony to show people who He is, the truth of His Word and his saving grace. And the only way to be reconciled through God is through the death, burial and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is our King. He is reigning today, here and now. He is not waiting to reign. He reigns now and forever. There is no waiting for tomorrow. Christ is King. And he will be our savior if, by God’s grace we put our faith in his son.

A few scripture passages:

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man[a] Christ Jesus,

Jesus says, repent and believe in the gospel.”

So, faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

These are the Words of Christ, written down in the Bible you hold in your hand, that is accessible to so many, so many more than ever in history. He is our King; He is our savior. We literally owe our eternal life to him. He does this free and clear, nothing we can do to earn it or to influence it or to cause it or to bring it to bear.

Jesus does, however, tell us, after we are saved, we have certain responsibilities. Top of that list and I think summing up all the others is that we are to be Ambassadors of Christ and all that this means. I encourage you to reflect on this. To think about what it means to be an ambassador.

We are messengers, as we have already touched on. But we are more than that. To start, think about movies and TV where you see a foreign ambassador. What are they? What do they do? They are messengers, relaying the message of their country’s leader, for sure. They also represent their culture, their kingdom, their citizenship to a foreign land, where they are strangers and aliens.

One friend of mine described it this way:

If you’re the United States Ambassador to Germany, you fly into Germany, you drive through Germany, but when you get to the physical US Embassy, you are literally on your country’s sovereign ground. The Ambassador would speak for the US and represent the US as German politicians came to the Embassy. So as a Christian, I am living in a nation not my own. When I talk to people, I represent the Kingdom of Christ. So, I invite people over to show them how Christ, my king, would treat them. When I speak, I represent the way Christ Speaks, his Word. Especially in this culture and climate, I may be the only representative of Christ they ever see.”

 

How are we supposed to act? IS it how we have always been taught? Or is it more complex and nuanced. How influenced are we by our family, our society, our culture, our nation, our history, our morality, our nation? Or are we influenced by the Bible, the written and inerrant and inspired and sufficient word of our King, of God himself, creator of Heaven and Earth, creator of the universe and the ultimate authority of all that is?

We are to be the messenger, the one who proclaims the message that our King has already proclaimed. We are to share what our Kings non negotiables are, the closed handed issues. We are to listen to and compromise on the things that don’t mean as much, that are open handed issues. We are to communicate and share our sympathies and share in the grief when something happens in this world, that is not our home, but is where we are sent to serve and to be the Ambassador too.

In a saying attributed to St Augustine, “In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty, and in all things, charity.”

And so that begs the question: What are the essentials, and what are the non-essentials?

One of the biggest reasons that this is one of my favorite titles that we are given is because of what it tells us about what God expects from us. As we said before, these principles that the Bible communicates are a guide for how we are to act in, think through and about and filter all circumstances. Whatever comes up, if we understand the principles of this passage, we will know what we are supposed to do, we will know what the will of God is.

Treat all people at all times with Christlikeness.

Trust in and be reconciled to God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son.

Act as the New Creation in Christ that you are.

Implore others, on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God.

Represent your kingdom, the Kingdom of God with all the authority given to you by Christ to represent Him to the people of this world, which is not our home. We are strangers and aliens, exiles and sojourners, in a land that is not our own. Ambassadors, disciples, subjects to a Sovereign King, a Child of God, adopted and sealed by the Holy Spirit. Freely saved, by the grace of God alone, through faith alone in Christ alone.

Now, we go and act like it.

Let’s Pray.

 

 

 

Luke 22:63-71 Jesus is the Son of Man: Jesus First Trial

Luke 22:63-71

Jesus is the Son of Man

Jesus First Trial

 

All right, if you would, please turn with me in your Bibles to Luke chapter 22.

So previously in Luke chapter 22! So, we have seen Jesus be arrested and brought into custody in the middle of the night by the temple guards and Roman soldiers and brought to the home of the chief priests.

In an inexact correlation, the chief priest is kind of like the Chief Justice, the main leader of the Supreme Court and the Chief priest being the main leader of the Sanhedrin, the council and court of the Jewish people in the temple.

Last week, we took a brief aside from looking at the arrest and trials of Jesus to look at Peter and his denials of Christ as he was following the crowd as they took Jesus to the chief priest.

Today, we get back to Jesus and what is happening to him. Today we look at the first of three trials of Jesus.

 

So, let’s go ahead and read our passage, Luke chapter 22. Verses 63 through 71, the end of the chapter. I’ll be reading, as all of you know, out of the English Standard Version though I encourage you to grab what ever version of the Bible that you prefer reading, which ever version you understand most clearly and whichever translation helps you read the word of God for your self and get closer to him.

Without further ado, Luke 22:63-71, inspired by the Holy Spirit, the very Words of God himself:

 

Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. 64 They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” 65 And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him.

66 When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council, and they said, 67 “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, 68 and if I ask you, you will not answer. 69 But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” 70 So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” 71 Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”

 

 

Thus says the Word of God.

 

          So, the setting of this week’s passage was set back up in verse 54. The temple guards, the Roman soldiers, the servants of the chief priest, they arrest Jesus, they seized him and took him to the chief priest’s home.

And these first few verses seem to be in conjunction, time wise parallel to the passage last week of Peter in the courtyard. As it seems, Jesus is waiting for the assembly of elders, the chief priests and so on as they prepare for his trial. As he is waiting, he is being held in custody and as is common in storytelling, when an innocent man is held in custody, guards will often taunt, mistreat, abuse, mock the innocent prisoner as they are waiting. That’s what we see here.

These first three verses here, verses 63- 65, they show us how much humiliation and abuse Jesus was taking just at the beginning of this ordeal. And it was only getting started. Its only going to get worse through chapter 23.

They were mocking him, making fun of him and his position. They were blind folding him and hitting him, telling him, Prophecy who hit you! And laughing at him. Ironically, this call for him to prophecy who was hitting him was happening at the same time as a previous prophecy of Peter denying him was in the midst of coming true. These men were completely blaspheming him, as he was about to be on trial for and wrongly found guilty of blasphemy.

 

 

And he took it.

 

He absolutely took it. He didn’t act or respond how any of us would have responded. He didn’t yell for them to stop. He didn’t fight back. He didn’t struggle. He didn’t argue back at them. He is and was so much better than us.

We have to be careful how far we take this. WE are not Jesus. WE will not go through in this life what Jesus went through. Also, he was 100% completely sinless and in no way, shape or form deserved anything that happened to him. We are sinful creatures how receive mercy every single day. So, we have to be careful to not compare ourselves completely to Jesus.

However, Jesus did day that if the world hates us, it’s because they hated him first. And sometimes people will come at us, in many different ways. Sometimes it will be because we preach a truth that they don’t like. Sometimes it will be for untruths that they believe. Sometimes we receive unjust treatment, punishment or consequences when we were not guilty of what they are claiming.

When that happens, our first instinct is to lash out, to fight back. Our first reaction is to defend ourselves by any means necessary. But when that happens, I want to exhort you, that means stronger than encouraging, I want to exhort you to think back to Jesus and his actions in this moment and through the next few hours as he goes through these various trials and beatings and ultimately his crucifixion. Think about how he holds himself and responds to it all.

I’m not saying there are no times, places or methods to defend ourselves or the fight back when injustice is happening to us, please don’t hear that. There are absolutely times, places and methods. However, it is usually, if not always, never the way our first reaction indicates, or our instincts try to thrust us towards.

The key word is that we all too often lash out. We use the wrong done to us to justify the wrong we do to others, or the sin we commit in our heart and our actions. Our sin is never justified by the actions and wrongdoing of others.

 

Sit on that for a minute. When I wrote that, I needed to go back over it and ruminate on that. I hit hard.

 

So, as we move on, in verse 66, as the day came, Jesus was brought in front of the council, made up of the chief priest, scribes, elders and so on.

One real quick aside. I mentioned before, especially in the Upper Room that I want to focus on what’s Luke was focusing on when he wrote his Gospel. The four Gospels do not contradict each other, and they are all inspired as the Word of God.  But they all have different focusses. None of the four go through the trials of Jesus in their complete totality. So, there is a lot of information, nuance and events that we don’t see in Luke’s Gospel. But I want to focus on what Luke is focusing on. That being said, I want to make clear that, and this is not Luke’s focus at all, nothing about this trial was legal, moral, or done correctly or according to Jewish law and custom as laid out in the Law of Moses.

 

 

The main issue for this 1st trial comes in the two questions they ask. Are you the Christ? Are you the Son of God? They are not, of course, asking out of genuine curiosity. If they were, Jesus would have answered them much more plainly. Instead, they are asking to get his words, his admission on the official record.

It is interesting to me that three different titles for Jesus are used in this passage. The council uses the title Christ, or Messiah, and the title of Son of God. Jesus uses in his response that we will touch on in a moment, the Son of Man.

 

So, they ask him, Are you the Christ? Jesus says, even if I tell you, you won’t believe me. And that there is one of the key problems we see in the Gospels. People who ask but won’t listen to the answer. These men were blinded to the fact that Jesus really was the Christ. They knew that is what he was claiming. They knew that’s what he said. But they couldn’t believe it. Literally.

I can tell each of you here, I can tell everyone in Bangor that Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus of the Bible is the Christ, is the Messiah, is God and is the savior. And that is the job of everyone in this room, everyone listening to me right now, is to tell you friends, family, community who Jesus is. And some may respond in faith. But many wont. Many are blinded to this truth. Blinded by their sin. Blinded by their biases. Blinded by previous teachings they have been taught. Blinded by their own understanding.

Like the men on this council, they are not seeking truth, they are seeking answers to be put on the record. So, Jesus doesn’t give them what they want. By doing so, he fulfills another prophecy, in Isaiah 53:7. Instead he tells them that despite their unbelief, despite what they are about to do and what’s about to happen to him., the Son of Man reigns.

Jesus, the Son of Man, whom Daniel describes and writes about this way:

and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
14 And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.

 

That Son of Man, Jesus, he reigns. Right now, he is reigning in Heaven and over this earth. He reigns regardless of their belief or unbelief. Regardless of my belief or unbelief. Regardless of your belief or unbelief. I’m paraphrasing, but there is a saying that makes its way around online pretty commonly, and it says, the truth does not stop being true just because people don’t believe it. And Jesus is telling these men, in essence, the next time, our roles will be reverses, at the next trial, at the judgment of the living and the dead, it is I who will be judge.

 

The council was tired of running in circles. They wanted to finish this up so they could get Jesus in front of Pontius Pilate. Quit talking in circles and tell us plainly. Are you the Son of God, yes, or no?

And he says, you say I am.

Now, this is an affirmative answer. He is saying Yes. But he does so in a way that in the Greek language and culture is deflecting the responsibility back the question asker. He knows they are looking to get him on the record, they are looking for official testimony that they can use, and he won’t give it to him, even as he is answering their question.

At this point, they don’t care. None of the rest of the trial is legal or according to Jewish law anyway, so they take what he answered, and they use it to come up with the verdict they want.

He admits it! We heard it from his own mouth!

 

They recognized that he was indeed claiming to be the Son of God. They recognized that he was indeed affirming their accusations.

 

People can say and can genuinely be confused that “Jesus never claimed to be God.”  This is one of many texts that say differently. Now, I will say, especially in English, Jesus is not always as clear as we want him to be in this. As I said, some people can genuinely find this hard to see.

But Jesus was clear enough that those in his day knew clearly what he was saying and who he was claiming to be.

 

And who was he? Jesus was a real live historical person. There is more historical evidence for him than for Julius Caesar.

Jesus was the Son of God who came to redeem mankind. He came to reconcile us back to God. He came to bridge the divide that sin causes between us and God. And he did it by taking our justice, our punishment for the sins we have committed.

Each and everyone if us here. Each and every person born, with Jesus being the only exception, each and every person has sinned and been separated from God. Each and every person who has sinned deserves to pay the consequences of that sin, which is eternity in Hell, having the full, perfect, holy wrath of God poured out on them. The wages, meaning the payment for sin is death. That is what each and every single person here deserves, especially me.

And yet, God loved us in that while we were yet sinners, he sent his son to take that penalty, that that wrath, to substitute himself, in our place. He who knew no sin became sin so that we could become the righteousness of God. He died the death that we deserved. He took and absorbed the wrath that was justly and rightfully due to us. He paid our debt and bridged that gap for us, on our behalf.

And Jesus did this, not because we obeyed well enough. Not because we did the right thing. Not because our good outweighed our bad. Because none of that is true.

For it is by grace we have been saved, through faith. Gods grace poured out on us, through the vehicle of our faith in his son. And this is a gift, not because of us, but because of God and through God alone so that none of us may boast. And there is no name except Jesus by which we are saved. There is one mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ.

Those who are saved are saved by the grace of God alone, through Faith alone in his Son Jesus Christ alone. All of this is revealed in Scripture Alone and all of it done for the Glory of God alone.

As Jonathon Edwards famously said, we contribute nothing to our salvation except the sin that made it necessary.

Here’s the deal. If you have believed in the Son, then you get the Father. If you reject the Son, you reject the Father. That’s it. Nothing else you do matters.

You being here on Sunday mornings, or Wednesday mornings, or Thursday evenings or any other time of the week does not indicate that you are saved. You voting the right way does not mean that you are saved. You cheering for, believing in morals, family values, hard work, freedom, rugged individualism, ‘Merca, homeschool, capitalism, rural, small town, down homeness, Yay God! Cross or a fish on the back of your truck, bible knowledge, none of that plays one iota into whether or not you are saved. Period.

Some of that may or may not be fruit from your salvation, that’s not what I’m saying. But too many people in our community are banking on those things to fool themselves into thinking that they are saved. Many of them go to church. Many of them are not saved. Many of them will stand in front of God saying LORD LORD and he will say Depart for I never knew you.

 

 

Don’t let that be you. Repent of your sins and believe the Gospel. Accept the grace of God who gives you faith and put that faith in Jesus Christ and his finished work on the cross and him alone. Faith comes by hearing, Hearing by the Word of God.

You can’t make your friends, family, community believe. You can only control yourself. Show what repentance is, through faith, by showing people the change that takes place, the turning away form those sins that so easily entangle. Nothing we do saves us, but if we are saved, we won’t do nothing.

And then you can make sure that your family, friends and community were given the truth and chance to repent and believe.

 

Jesus calls us to that. To Repent and believe and love our neighbors as ourselves so that the thought of them not believing should be heartbreaking to us and should drive us to action.

WE are going to celebrate communion now. Because Jesus told the disciples in the upper room. I’m going to die. I’m going to do this and this sacrament, this thing we are about to do together, do it in remembrance of him. Do it to remind ourselves of what he did. Of the love he showed. Of the sacrifice he made and the pain and suffering he endured and the eternity in perfect heaven with Him that we receive as a result of it.

His blood shed on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. His death satisfied the payment for our sins. His resurrection frees us from the chains of death and sin. His Holy Spirit changes us, from the inside out. He puts to death our old sinful nature and gives birth to our new selves so that our heart desires to learn more, to grow closer to him, to serve him, to grieve our sins and to live out his grace and his mercy.

Paul makes it clear in 1 Corinthians 11 that Communion is for those who are believers only. We don’t restrict this because we can not judge a heart. Only you can judge your heart. Please check your heart, search your soul. If you believe please join us in taking part of this solemn yet celebratory event. If you are not a believer, this will not make you one, nor will it save you at all. Don’t take this to fit in or to fool yourself. Take this in remembrance of Jesus Christ and us getting to enjoy eternity with him because of what he did.

 

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26:

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for[f] you. Do this in remembrance of me.”[g] 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

 

 

If I can have Mike and Frank come on up, we will get started, passing out the elements, wafers symbolizing the broken body of Christ and the juice symbolizing the shed blood of Christ.

We will pray before taking each element as a church family, brothers and sisters in Christ, united and brought together by the blood of Christ.

 

IT has been my honor to serve and worship and to grow with you all. Thank you.

 

 

Luke 22:54-62 Jesus is the Son of Man: Peters Denial

Luke 22:54-62

Jesus is the Son of Man

Peters Denial

 

All right! Turn with me, if you will, to Luke chapter 22. As always, if you do not have a Bible or are in need of a Bible, please see me after the service and we can get one into your hands.

So, as we saw last week, we are spending the next chapter and a half or so, the rest of chapter 22 and all of chapter 23 in the darkness. This is both physical and spiritual darkness.

To catch us up, Jesus, celebrating Passover in the Upper Room with the 12 disciples, took his last opportunity to teach and prepare the disciples. Jesus told them that he would be betrayed, and he was. He told them that he will be killed and that is the institution of the new Covenant, and we are going to see that happen here.

When the disciples heard that, they didn’t like that. They had a history of not understanding, whether purposely or not, when Jesus said he had to die. Peter tried to stand in the way of it back when he confessed Jesus as the Christ, and Jesus called him out for trying to interfere with Gods plans. And here, Peter is one of the ones that promises Jesus that he is willing to die for him or go to prison for him. Jesus calmly tells him, No. In fact, this very night, you will deny me three times before the rooster crows.

Jesus and his disciples left the upper room, went to pray in the solitude of the garden for a bit and then a group led by Judas the betrayer comes up to them and are ready to take Jesus into custody. There was a brief skirmish that Jesus settles down pretty quickly and that’s where we pick up with this morning’s passage.

Today we are going to look at Luke chapter 22, verses 54 through 62. Ill be reading out of the English Standard Version. I do encourage you to grab your preferred translation and follow along as we read the word of God.

Luke 22:54-62, Luke, inspired by the Holy Spirit, records:

 

Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house, and Peter was following at a distance. 55 And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. 56 Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.” 57 But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” 58 And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” 59 And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” 60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” 62 And he went out and wept bitterly.

 

 

Thus says the Word of God.

 

          So, the temple guards seize and arrest Jesus. He is now in their official custody. They lead him away from the garden, back into Jerusalem and to the home of the chief priest, the head of the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was the top group of religious leaders and decision makers among the Jewish people. They were the political elite of our day, the religious elite of their day.

And it’s interesting that they brought Jesus first to the Chief priest’s home and not to any of the Roman officials, at least not yet. This will help show the illegitimacy of the arrest of Jesus and his upcoming trials. But we will start getting into that more in the next few weeks.

So, one of the interesting things is that, at this point, we don’t know what happened to at least 9 of the twelve disciples. All we know is that the scriptures say they scattered. The other Gospels tell later what happened to Judas. And we presume, based on what happens later that John is running to go get Mary, Jesus’ mother. But in this pretrial and trial period of time, the only disciple that we have named in any way is Peter.

Peter is following the temple guards who arrested Jesus and are leading him to wherever they were going. He is following them at a distance, showing, at least more than the others, some boldness and bravery. However, he is showing it from a distance, in the dark, when its not physically costing him anything.

Now, it is likely that, as people were out that night, they would have seen and unusual scene. They would have seen this man being led through the streets by the temple guards and some Roman soldiers. This would not have been an everyday occurrence, at least I wouldn’t think so.

There would have been a lot of talk and speculation as to who and why this man was being arrested. They may have recognized Jesus as the one who was arrested. But the commotion, the something happening, something different would have drawn a crowd for sure.

Just like a car accident can cause issues in traffic, even if the wreck is not on the road, it can cause slow traffic and rubber necking, that same sort of mindset, human nature can cause crowds to gather and hang around and try to find out what’s going on.

Because it was at night, it was cool and dark. The crowd gathered outside the chief priest’s home, in the courtyard, and they started a fire to stay warm and to have some light. And Peter joins this crowd, trying to keep warm, trying to blend in, hoping no one notices him. Maybe he is trying to sneak closer. Maybe he is trying to get more information. Regardless, he is in the courtyard of the home where Jesus was taken, and he is obviously nervous.

Now, v 56, a servant girl sees him in the fire light. She says to someone, or everyone, Hey, that guy right there. He was with that guy they just paraded through here!

Peter’s response, Nope, I wasn’t with him!

 

 

And there is no indication of what his tone of voice was here.

 

We get here 3 accusations of Peter’s association with Jesus. We get 1 eyewitness, the servant girl; “He was with him!” WE see I direct, face to face accusation. “You were with him!” And we get a guy using corresponding evidence, whether its circumstantial or not, “You have a Galilean accent, just like his followers!”

And we see Peter deny each of these instances. Now, my question is why? Why did Peter deny it? Well, there are a couple of options. First, the obvious and often given answer is that he feared for his life. By why was he afraid for his life? He wasn’t arrested in the garden. The guards had no interest in him. They were only interested in Jesus.  If they wanted him, they would have had plenty of reason, after cutting off the servant’s ear and all that. But they just took Jesus and left.

So, its possible that Peter was worried that the crowd that gathered would identify him as an accomplice of the criminal that was just arrested and form a mob against him. He could also be worried that he would be chased away from where Jesus was and wouldn’t be able to gather any more information.

Regardless of the reason, regardless of what was going through Peters mind, three times someone confronted, accused, asked, that Peter was with and had known and was a follower of Jesus. And three times Peter denied knowing, having been with or following Jesus.

Immediately after Peter gave the third denial, the rooster crowed, fulfilling exactly what Jesus said would happen. Now, these three denials took place over the course of a couple of hours. Because of that, its possible that Jesus was being led out of the chief priest’s home on his way to the next trial or destination. The reason I say this is because Luke records that when Jesus heard the rooster crow, he looked directly at Peter.

We don’t know exactly what the look was. Was it forgiveness? Love? Acknowledgement? Disappointment? Pain?

Honestly, we don’t know. And honestly, it doesn’t matter. The fact is that Jesus knew exactly where peter was and the moment the rooster crowed, he looked directly at him and the way that it reads, Peter saw Jesus look at him and that look triggered the memory of what Jesus had told him hours before in the Upper Room.

What Jesus says will come true. He knows what is coming and he proved it to Peter. Peter would never forget that moment.

 

So, I want to look for a moment at how Peter is an example for us to be aware of.

Peter was a man who was full of pride. He was quick to react. He was quick to talk. That would end up serving him well in the future, but it could also get him in trouble. Part of that was his pride. 20 plus verses earlier, he told Jesus I will go to jail, and I will die for you! And he thought, he believed that he could back that up.

But he was also neglectful of his prayer time. Jesus told him in the garden, pray so that you will not enter into temptation. And instead, Peter fell asleep.

One commentator writes that this put Peter into the most vulnerable position one can be in: “Prayerless but full of presumption.” And in that position, Peter gave in to temptation. He gave in to temptation in the garden with his impulsivity in attacking the servant and cutting off his ear. He gave into temptation when he, three times, denied Jesus on this night.

Peter thought he could follow Jesus and that he could do it on his own and through his own power and ability.

 

We are not saved by our actions. Period. Full Stop. Our actions, our behavior, our morals, our anything cannot save us, at all.

However, it is our actions and our behavior that testify to and show our faith.

 

WE can say, I love you Jesus! But if we don’t act on that, if we don’t live that out, then, do we really?

We can be ready to acknowledge our faith and live it out in church, or around fellow Christians but are we ready to do so out in the world, for all to see?

Philip Ryken says it this way: “The true test of discipleship is our witness to the world, not and not just the promises we make to God.”

 

It seems to me, that Jesus had two reasons why he prophesied or predicted or whatever you want to call it, that Peter would deny him three times. First of course, is that he knows all. He knows it before it happens, and he proved it by saying this unthinkable would happen and then having it occur exactly how he said it would happen.

Second, I see in this, Jesus telling us to not make promises that you can’t and won’t keep. Don’t make promises that depend on your own strength and ability. James, the brother of Jesus touches on this in his letter later in the Bible. James 4:13-17, he writes:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

 

 

Peter didn’t think there was any chance of deny Jesus. He thought he would do anything and everything to protect Jesus, not knowing that what was going to happen needed to happen and was the will of God.

Jesus knew it all. He knew Peters sins before Peter committed them. He knew before hand, and he forgave him. He knew Peters sins beforehand and he gave Peter directions, instructions for afterwards. Remember back in this chapter back in verse 32, Jesus was saying to Peter, And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.

He was telling Peter, you will sin. After you do, after you repent and turn again back to me, use this experience, use your former sins and use your repentance to be an example and use it to strengthen your brothers.

 

Look, if Peter can fall, if he can sin this grievously, then any of us can. But, if Peter can be forgiven, if Peter can be restored and if Peter can be used by God, then any of us can.

Peter is a warning to us all, that any of us can and will mess up. We can and will sin. But Peter should also be a balm to us and should give us a sense of security.

 

After all of this, Peter went off and wept bitterly. We know that he was repentant because of what Jesus said earlier, that he would, and based on how Peter would respond and react and how he would go out and publicly spread the Gospel after the ascension of Jesus.

There is a big difference in “wishing he had never sinned,” which is a good description of what we see from Judas after all this, and truly repenting, which we see with Peter. Paul writes about the difference in 2 Corinthians 7:10:  For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 

 

Have your sins ever brought you to tears, like they did Peter? Whatever the look that Jesus Gave Peter in the courtyard was, what it accomplished was much more important. Peter saw, in that look, how bad and how serious his sins were. He saw that it was his sins that were going to send Jesus to the cross.

Peter saw that and he wept bitterly over his sins. IF we have an accurate and a right understanding of our sins and how devastating they are, how heinous they are, even the itty bitty ones that don’t affect any one and no one knows about, even those sins, each and every single one of them tears apart our relationship with God and separates us from him, if we truly know that and understand that, it should drive us to weep bitterly as well.

But if that’s all it does, it is simply the worldly sorrow that Paul mentions. But if it causes us to turn again, if it brings us to repentance, to change and to lean wholly and completely on Jesus Christ and him alone, then there is a good result from what happened.

We see the change in Peter, we see how he responds to this night. We see him going from three denials of Jesus to Jesus telling him three times on the beach that he loves him, reassuring him of his forgiveness and standing before God. We see Peter going from public denials of Jesus to the public preaching o the Gospel, repent, belief and be baptized in the beginning of the book of Acts.

Jesus first words of public ministry, back in Mark 1, Repent and believe for the Kingdom of God is at hand. And he keeps preaching that same message through his earthly ministry, through his arrest here to Peter, through his crucifixion, to the thief on the cross and after his resurrection, sending his Apostles out to preach the very same message, making disciples of all nations.

So, this is my message to you, the message that Jesus preaches. Repent and believe for the Kingdom of God is at hand.

 

Let’s Pray.

 

 

 

 

Lord God, We can and will lose anything that is dependent in us. Thank you God, Father, that our salvation is not dependent on us, but that it is solely, 100% dependent on you and your faithfulness.

Thank you or the gift of faith. Thank you for the gift of repentance. Thank you for the gift of forgiveness.  Help us to recognize our sins, and how devastating they are. Help us to repent and to believe and to go out and show our faith by our actions, depending solely and completely on you, Jesus and you alone.

 

Luke 22:47-53 Jesus is the Son of Man: Judas Betrayal/ Jesus Arrest

Luke 22:47-53

Jesus is the Son of Man

Judas Betrayal/ Jesus Arrest

          All right! Please turn in your Bibles with me to Luke chapter 22. As always, if you do not have a Bible or are in need of a Bible, please come see me after the service.

So, previously in Luke Chapter 22; Judas goes behind the back of Jesus and the rest of the disciples and makes a deal with the chief priests to turn over Jesus to be arrested.

Jesus knew this and still had the Passover meal in the Upper Room with all 12, including Judas. He predicted Judas betrayal without naming names to the group. He predicted Peters upcoming denial. He instituted the New Covenant with the sacrament of communion. He prayed for the disciples and then they left the Upper Room. At some point when they were in the Upper Room, after communion, Judas left to do what he was going to do.

Jesus and the rest of the disciples left Jerusalem and went to the Mount of Olives where they were staying. We went out into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray to the Father\, knowing what was coming. He was agonizing over the wrath of God that was about to be poured out on him.

And the section we looked at last week, Jesus came back from praying and the disciples had fallen asleep, and Jesus said to them, Wake up! Pray that you do not fall into temptation.

And that’s where we pick up in this morning’s sect, Luke chapter 22, verses 45 through 53. So, I will be reading out of the English Standard Version though I encourage you to follow along in your preferred translation. The key point being to read for yourself what the Word of God says.

Luke 22:47-53, Luke writes, inspired by the Holy Spirit:

 

 

While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” 49 And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” 50 And one of them struck the servant[h] of the high priest and cut off his right ear. 51 But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. 52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? 53 When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”

 

May God Bless the Reading of His Word

 

 

So, while Jesus was speaking to the disciples, and specifically the inner three, Peter, James and John, He would have known that Judas and the temple guards were coming right up to arrest him. Maybe he heard the clanging of the metal, the swords and the chain mail, or whatever was used as armor then. Maybe he saw the glint of the torches or lanterns through the trees as Judas lead them to the secluded spot.

And maybe that’s why Jesus left his prayer area and came back to the disciples.

But he gave those last instructions to the disciples and here comes this crowd, this group. They were isolated from the crowds and the people, outside Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives, in the Garden of Gethsemane, an olive grove.

There was no one else around. It was after dark, late in the night. The people who were around Jesus during the day in the temple, whom the chief priests were afraid of, they weren’t there that night, couldn’t do anything to stop Jesus from being arrested.

 

And here comes Judas, who had agreed to betray Jesus, leading this group. They had arranged ahead of time a signal so that the guards knew, without any mistake, without any doubt, exactly which one was the guy who they were supposed to arrest. Judas was the one who would give that signal.

He knew Jesus. He knew where they would be. He knew where they were staying because he had been staying there too. He knew Jesus’ routine, where he went to pray, because he was with him each night. He knew where to lead the group to meet and Find Jesus.

This group was a mix of temple guards, under the authorization and command of the Sanhedrin and the chief priests, and some Roman soldiers from the garrisons stationed in Jerusalem.

They came up to where Jesus and the disciples were and Judas approached Jesus and greeted him with a kiss, both a common custom of respect, but also the signal that Jesus was the one they wanted.

Jesus calls him on that. “Really, Judas? That’s how we are going to play this?” I knew you were going to betray me, that you had made this deal, but to greet me with a kiss as you do so is the ultimate in disrespect.

 

 

The Disciples saw what was starting to happen. They saw where things were headed. And they remembered what Jesus had said, just a few verses ago, likely a few hours ago in real time, about going out and buying a sword, again, completely missing the point that Jesus was making.

During this confrontation, “one of them,” Luke doesn’t mention who. Luke is very polite and politically correct with the disciples. “I don’t want to mention who, get anyone in trouble… *cough* Peter *cough*”

John knows who, he was there after all, and he names Peter in his Gospel. Peter jumps into action, without waiting for Jesus’ advice or waiting to think, as is his personality, and he cuts off the ear of one of the high priest’s servants. One of the asides we see in this, is that unlike what he said back in verse 33, Peter is not actually prepared to go to prison for or with Jesus.

We see Jesus respond and as we do, I feel his response. It feels like a father. Kids, knock it off! The kids, the disciples are acting in ways they knew they weren’t supposed to. They were doing things with out the permission of Jesus. And he stops them in their tracks.

Enough!

 

And he gently, fully, quietly heals the servant’s ear.

The last miracle he performs before his crucifixion. He heals the ear of one of the men sent to arrest him and bring him towards his death.

And this is where we see that Jesus comments in v 36 & 37 about bringing swords are to be taken as symbolic instead of expressly literal.

One thing we have seen history prove, is that Christianity cannot, should not and will not be spread by the sword. But Christianity is and will be spread by the preaching and the hearing of the Gospel, and by the lives and example of those who follow it.

Historically, Christianity works against itself when it attempts to spread the Gospel by force. J.C. Ryle wisely says:

The Sword has a lawful office of its own. It may be used righteously, in the defense of nations against oppression; it may be positively necessary to use it, to prevent confusion, plunder and rapine upon earth: but the sword is not to be used in the propagation and maintenance of the Gospel. Christianity is not to be enforced by bloodshed, and belief in it extorted by force. Happy would it have been for the church if this sentence had been more frequently remembered! There are few countries in Christendom where the mistake has not been made of attempting to change men’s religious opinions by compulsion, penalties, imprisonment and death.  And with what effect? The pages of history supply an answer. No wars have been so bloody as those which have arisen out of the collision of religious opinions: often, mournfully often, the very men who have been most forward to promote those wars have themselves been slain.

 

          Faith comes from fear.

 

No.

 

Faith comes from vigorous moral and intellectual debates.

 

No.

 

Faith comes from trying to escape death, imprisonment, punishment.

 

No.

 

Faith comes by hearing, hearing the Word of God. Faith comes from hearing the Gospel, the Holy Spirit changing hearts to accept the Gospel and respond to it. Faith comes from the grace of God as a gift from God by the preaching of the Word.

 

 

Back to the story here. Jesus stops the disciples and heals the servant because he knew that this had to happen. He knew where this was going, and he knew that it needed to be done.

And so, he was telling the disciples, Stop trying to get in the way of my purpose! This was the same thing Peter was doing way back when, when he confessed Jesus as the Christ and then said that he would not let Jesus be killed in Jerusalem. Jesus called him Satan for trying to prevent the will of God

This is where the application is difficult when we say, not our will, but Gods will be done.

Our will, in this case the will of the disciples, and, if we are honest, the will of many of us today, only a slight change in context, is Jesus to reign over our national country, national Israel then, to expel and destroy Rome, democrats and socialists today if you listen to many churches, and to sit on a physical throne and rule as King like David.

But Lord, not our will, but your will be done. Your will, going to the cross as the Passover fulfillment. Your will, to shed your blood and dying for the forgiveness of sins. Your will, to absorb the necessary wrath of God. Your will, to resurrect from the dead, defeating death and sin. Your will, reigning spiritually right now, over spiritual Israel, all believers, in all time, called the church with a future inauguration of the physical and eternal kingdom of God.

 

Not our will, but LORD, your will be done.

 

Jesus turns and speaks to the leaders of the group coming to arrest him.

He asks them, Why the swords? Why are you acting like you are expecting violence? You are treating me like a violent criminal and all I’ve done is talk.

Again, Jesus knew this, remember he said that he would need to be identified with the transgressors.  They were seeing him as a violent insurrectionist. They were placing him in those categories that categorically did not fit.

They wouldn’t touch him during the day. They wouldn’t touch him when the crowds were there. They wouldn’t do anything when they were in the temple and there were witnesses around.

 

But nothing good happens after midnight, right?

Jesus says that darkness suits them perfectly. Darkness covers up people’s ability to see sin. It allows sin to hide. It allows sin to fester. Satan loves the dark, loves shadows, loves things to be hidden. But Light drives out darkness. And Jesus has said in many places that everything that is in the dark will be brought to the light, everything that is hidden will be made seen.

Jesus tells them, this is your hour. You are at home in the dark, at night. This is appropriate for your spiritual darkness to take action in the dark. And this is your hour, where it appears you have won.

This section, starting today, and through the rest of this chapter and through chapter 23 of Luke’s Gospel, this is the darkness. This is the section here it appears that Satan has won. This is the section where the chief priests, the Sadducees, the pharisees, and whoever else, all can start relaxing and thinking to themselves, “We got him!”

It is always darkest before dawn. The darkness that is falling on Jesus and Jerusalem will not stay.

Post Tenebras Lux. Out of Darkness, Light. The motto of the reformation.

Jesus knows and is actively allowing it to happen. Not just passively. Not sitting back and letting whatever happens to happen. But actively allowing it to happen. Actively stopping the disciples from stopping what is happening. Knowing that this all has to happen in order for you and I to have our sins forgiven. For you and I to be freed from sin. For you and I have to experience life and life abundantly. For you and I to be saved from the wrath of God and to be reconciled to God.

And so, Yup, Satan, this is your hour. Chief priests, temple guards, all of you guys, this is your hour, enjoy it while it lasts, because it wont last.

Enjoy it while it lasts because the light is coming to drive out the darkness.

 

Enjoy it while it lasts because Sundays coming.

 

Let’s Pray.

Luke 22:39-46 Jesus is the Son of Man: Praying in the Garden

Luke 22:39-46

Jesus is the Son of Man

Praying in the Garden

 

All right let’s turn in our Bibles to Luke chapter 22. As we continue through this last night of Jesus life, we look both back at what has brought us to this point, and ahead to what is coming next. And of the group of people we are looking at, only Jesus knew what was coming.

Jesus had spent the evening with his disciples, eating the Passover Meal, showing them that what he would end up doing would be the ultimate and final fulfillment of the Passover.

He instituted communion, ushering in the New Covenant. He was teaching them and giving them last minute instructions. He reassured them that even when they sinned and fell, that he would be right there with them, and that they are still his. He showed Peter that he would deny Jesus three times before the rooster crowed that next morning. And he especially warned them that hard times were coming, but that none of it would be a surprise to God and that he would be with them through it.

Jesus did all this already knowing that Judas had set in motion the events that would lead to his arrest and his crucifixion. Luke doesn’t record it, but Jesus ends his time with the disciples in the Upper Room with what’s called the High Priestly Prayer, which Frank read a part of this morning. I encourage you to go back and read John 17 when you get the chance, see his public prayer before he and the disciples leave, and we see this morning his private prayers to the God the Father.

So, let’s go ahead and read this morning’s passage, Luke chapter 22, verses 39 through 46. Ill be reading out of the English Standard Version and I encourage you to grab your preferred translation and follow along as we read the Word of God.

Luke 22:39-46, The Holy Spirit inspires Luke to record the following.

And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.[g] 45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

 

 

May God Bless the Reading of His Holy Word.

 

 

So, Jesus and his friends leave the Upper Room, and they actually would leave Jerusalem itself as well. They weren’t actually staying the week in Jerusalem. Instead, as we saw at the end of chapter 21, they were staying just outside the city, as they lodged n the Mount called Olivet, or the Mount of Olives.

So, they left the mean and their time in the Upper Room, and they made their way out of Jerusalem. This, unlike they location of their Passover meal, was not a secret. Judas, of course, knew where they would be headed, and we will see that next week. This is where they would go each and every night.

One of the things we can see in this, not the main point of course, but something that is modeled to us here is that Jesus has a routine. He has a regular way that he did things, when he was able. HE was orderly, scheduled and followed a routine.

There were things that he would not let fall by the wayside. Things that were too important to let things (even good and important things) get in the way of.

We see in scripture, that for Jesus, and there fore should be for us, that he makes a priority and makes sure is part of his routine is prayer time with God the Father. And not only public, group prayer like we see in John 17 before they leave the Upper Room, though of course, that is important and good, but uninterrupted, undistracted, specifically set aside time with the Father.

As they got to the Mount of Olives, Jesus went to pray. He went into the Olive Grove, and this seems to be something that he had done often this week. I think it’s a safe presumption to think he did this each night.

Every night when they returned from Jerusalem, he went to the place, the Garden of Gethsemane, to spend time with and pray to God the Father.

In verse 40, he tells the disciples, and the other Gospels make it clear that he is specifically talking to the inner three, Peter, James and John. He tells them Pray so that you do not enter into temptation. And we see, not for the last time, that Luke is focusing much more on Jesus and his prayer than on the disciples and their failings.

Jesus then goes a short way off and prays by himself. In those days, most people stood as they prayed. Here, Jesus, showing the solemnity and seriousness of the moment, kneels and prays. And he prayed hard. Its entirely possible that one of the reasons he kneeled was because of the physical exertion that the prayer was taking.

Now, Jesus had a full, complete Human Nature. But He also had a full, complete Divine Nature. That Human Nature was praying about what was going to come next.

He knew the sacrifice that was coming. He knew the physical pain that was about to happen. He knew the wrath and the separation of God that was on its way, just for him. He knew, as many commentators call it, “The horror of the cross.” He knew what was coming and his human nature did not want to go through it.

God, if there were any other way that we could accomplish what I came to accomplish. If there were any other way to atone for the sins of the chosen. If there were any other way to purchase forgiveness for those who have saving faith. Father, if there were any other way, please let this cup pass from me!

 

But Jesus, in his God Nature, knew the plan from the beginning, because he was part of the planning, as one third of the trinity, the persons, one God. As that, he knew there was no other way. He knew that what was more important than the wants of his human nature & will was Gods nature & will.

This is very easy for those of us who are Christians or have grown up in the church, learning this often, it can be easy to know this intellectually. That more important than our will and nature is Gods will & nature. But it can be so hard to apply, as we see here.

Our human nature & will are at war with Gods will and nature. They have been since in the first garden. Adam’s will overcame what he knew God wanted for Him.  His Will “won.” And with sin now as a part of our nature, it has been at war with Gods nature & will ever since.

We know how God calls us to live.

We know what God calls us to do.

We want to do those things and, ideally, live that way.

But that often means stepping out of our comfort zone.

It may mean upsetting our family, telling them the truth.

It may mean losing friends, changing who we used to be.

It may mean offending others, refusing to go along with everyone else and keep the peace.

Instead, it’s a lot easier to convince ourselves that we are, in fact, being faithful to God without doing those things he has clearly told us to do. “I’m the exception.” “God knows my heart.” “If you knew my situation…” “He hasn’t called me to that…” “I’ve already done it so I might as well keep doing it…”

 

IF we truly desire and are committed to His will, it means not our will. It means we die to self. It means we live for his desires, not ours. If we truly desire it, he will help us.

It won’t look the same in every person or every circumstance, but he will help us.

We see in verse43 how he helped Jesus that night. This moment, which is only recorded in Luke’s Gospel, shows an angel coming down and strengthening Jesus, helping him to seek Gods will first, to help him, like he told the disciples in verse 40, “not enter into temptation.”

This angel giving him strength does not make it easy, it helps make it possible. How and when he helps us, it will not be to help make it easy, but to help us be strong enough to move forward and to make it possible.

We see, even after the angel comes down, Jesus is still in agony. Such agony that his sweat was like great drops of blood.

Now, two things. First, Jesus’ agony. Let’s be clear. The word itself, in the original Greek, Jonathon Edwards says, “implies no common degree of sorrow, but such extreme distress that his nature had a most violent conflict with it, as a man that wrestles with all his might with a strong man.”

So where is Jesus’ agony from or directed towards?  The Puritan, Richard Baxter wrote, “His agony was not from the fear of death, but from the deep sense of Gods wrath against sin; which he as our sacrifice was to bear; in greater pain than mere dying.”

Of course, Jesus wasn’t afraid of dying, in and of itself. He knew what was on the other side. He also knew that it would not stick. But he knew what it was going to take. He knew what was in his cup. He knew the full wrath of God was going to be poured down on him and him alone.

He alone knew what that meant. We can hear that and think, ok, that’s not going to feel good, but we have no actual sense of what Gods wrath will be like. Jesus knew. And it was causing him agony.

To the point where Marks Gospel says his soul was very sorrowful, even to death. To the point where Jesus was sweat was like great drops of blood.

There is a real, documented medical condition where a human body can be under such extreme stress that the veins near the sweat glands burst and so the human body does in fact, literally sweat blood. That’s what it appears happened this neat to Jesus in the garden while praying to God.

The language is not crystal clear if it was this or that he was sweating in in a way that made the sweat thick and pouring out of him as blood would.

 

As Jesus was agonizing through his prayers, we see, especially in the other gospels, the disciples couldn’t stay awake. They couldn’t stay focused. They didn’t know what was at stake or what was going to happen. They couldn’t be bothered to pray as Jesus instructed because that was not their priority.

Verse 46, Jesus reiterates his command to them, pray to avoid temptation. Again, as I said earlier, we see Luke’s emphasis and focus are on Jesus and his prayer instead of the disciples and their failings.

 

But in that, in the glimpse of the disciples’ failures, combined with Jesus’ prayer and agony, we see so much. Jesus knew what was coming for him. And we have no idea. We get only glimpses of the wrath of God in scripture and in our lives.

Trust, no matter how bad it’s been, and some people have it incredibly bad, it is nothing compared to the wrath that Jesus willingly took and that awaits those who refused to turn to him in faith.

Jesus took the wrath, absorbed it all and do so because the love of God is all encompassing and love covers a multitude of sins. He willingly absorbed the full wrath of God so that those who believe, who may be called sons and daughters of God may be spared the wrath of God. He took the wrath we so justly and rightly deserved so that we may experience eternal communion with him and the forgiveness of our sins, past, present and future, once and for all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charles Spurgeon, preaching on this passage said this:

“Since it would not be possible for any believer, however experienced, to know for himself all that our Lord endured in mental suffering and hellish malice, it is clearly beyond the preacher’s capacity to set it forth to you. Jesus himself must give you access to the wonders of Gethsemane: as for me, I can but invite you to enter the garden.”

 

We can’t know what Jesus went through, not completely and not in any real sense. But its important to know, as much as we can. Because that’s the only way that we can truly know and appreciate everything that Jesus did.

As one commentator writes:

Its not just that Jesus died for me, but that he died this horrible, damnable, God-forsaken death that no one would ever want to die. He died this death because there was no other way for sinners to be saved, no easier road to redemption, no alternatives to the cross. Jesus thus volunteered to do what the Father willed, choosing to do the one thing that would bring the most suffering to his body and soul”

It is not that Jesus died for us. IT is not that we should feel bad for what he went through. It wasn’t that God was touched and moved by Jesus sacrifice that he magically decided, “Ok! Sins are done!” None of that. The garden is not a prescription to pray harder and want it bad enough and God will send an angel to strengthen us.

I’m going to finish with a quote on this passage from Phillip Ryken:

 

This must always be the main lesson we learn whenever we go to the Garden of Gethsemane. Luke does not show us the agony of Jesus to arouse our pity, primarily, or simply to remind us of our Savior’s humanity, but to help us see the love that Jesus has in dying for our sins. We will never have to suffer what our Savior suffered in Gethsemane, or at Calvary, for the very reason that everything he suffered there was in our place, on our behalf. The first response we make to Jesus should always be faith in the saving work he did in suffering and dying as our substitute. The lesson of Gethsemane in not that Jesus suffers with us, but that he suffered for us!

 

 

 

 

I lied; I’m actually going to finish with Romans 5:8-11. Paul writes:

 

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

 

 

 

Let’s Pray.

 

 

 

Luke 22:24-38 Jesus is the Son of Man: The Future is not what You think

Luke 22:24-38

Jesus is the Son of Man

The Future is not what You think

 

          All right! Let’s turn in our Bibles to Luke chapter 22. As always, if you do not have a Bible, or are in need of a Bible, please see me after the service and I will work to get one into your hands.

So are in the last hours of Jesus’ last day before being crucified. Jesus and his disciples, the Twelve to be specific, are eating the Passover meal in an Upper Room of the home of one of Jesus followers. Hence, this section of teaching by Jesus is called the Upper Room discourse.

Luke doesn’t share as much about this discourse as some of the other Gospel writers, but there is a lot there, a lot here to unpack. Last week we saw Jesus institute the first communion and show that he was the final and ultimate fulfillment of the Passover.

Because of the importance of this section of teaching, Jesus made sure that they would not be interrupted during this time. Jesus knew that Judas was planning on betraying him and had in fact already made the plans with the chief priests. He was planning on turning Jesus over to the religious leaders when there were not crowds of people around to cause a stir and to do something to the religious leaders. The Passover meal would have been a perfect time, but Jesus made sure that this wouldn’t happen, as he Peter and John make the plans and preparations in secret. Jesus had much too important things to do, to teach, to say to be interrupted this evening.

With that, lets go ahead and read this morning’s passage, Luke chapter 22, verses 24 through 38. As always, Ill be reading out of the English Standard Version though I encourage you to grab your own, preferred translations and follow along as we read the Word of God.

Luke 22:24-38, inspired by the Holy Spirit, Luke records the following words of Jesus:

A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25 And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. 27 For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.

28 “You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, 29 and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, 30 that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you,[d] that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” 33 Peter[e] said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” 34 Jesus[f] said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”

35 And he said to them, “When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.” 36 He said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. 37 For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.” 38 And they said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.” And he said to them, “It is enough.”

 

Thus says the Holy Word of God.

So, the last thing we saw Jesus say last week was that one of the twelve, one of the ones that were there with them, one of them would betray Him. The text says that the disciples began to question one another which it would be.

I believe that discussion, or questioning, or whatever, directly led and helped cause this first part of the text this morning. The disciples start arguing, at some point that evening, over who is the greatest. Again, I believe this stems directly from “Who’s going to betray Jesus? Certainly not I? probably Him…”

And you can just picture the ridiculousness of this.

“I did this so I’m greater!”

“I led more people to Christ so I’m greater!”

“I gave more money so I’m greater!”

“I baptized more people so I’m greater!”

“I led worship or served in this capacity so I’m greater!”

And so on and so on…

Its amazing how quickly we fall back on our base human nature. This is not a new argument between these guys. It has happened at least twice before that we have recorded in Luke’s Gospel, back in chapters 9 & 10. We do the same thing, going back time and time again to the same sins, the same temptations, the same weakness come back to haunt us.

If we have a conflict with someone, we can see that through our life, we often keep coming back to that same conflict. It may be years in between. Both you and the other person may genuinely believe that it is all behind you both, but then something strikes the match and it flairs right back up again.

That’s what we are seeing in the disciples with this argument right here. And of course, this is natural, human nature, sinful attitudes. Striving to be seen and known as the greatest. I am better than…
Jesus, of course, rebukes this attitude. He says this is how the world thinks. This is how the world acts. The unbelievers and the unregenerate. This is how the worldly Kings act and live. I’m better than everyone and so they must serve me. They sit on their throne and make everyone do everything for them. And then, get this! They act like they are doing it for the good of the people they are ruling over! Doesn’t sound modern or timeless at all…

And of course, we know, as Jesus has told, in a variety of ways, their reward is here and now. Don’t be like them. Don’t be wrong in the way that they are wrong. Don’t settle for earthly, temporary rewards. Don’t act spoiled, entitled, don’t act betta’ then.

Is Jesus acting that way? The Messiah, The son of God. The Christ, God in the Flesh. IS he acting this way? If he is not acting like this, why would we? If he is not acting this way, why would the disciples? Instead, act and lead and serve with humility, with true humbleness.

Jesus continues, and he says, don’t worry. I see you. I see your faith. I see your service. I see your loyalty. And though you may not see here and now your rewards and the benefits, I see you and I have rewards waiting for you in Heaven as you will serve in the Kingdom of God. You will be eating, drinking, sitting, serving at the wedding feast of the King and you will have responsibilities and authority then.

 

Then Jesus turns to Peter and says his name twice. Simon, Simon. This emphasizes the importance of what he is about to say. Jesus says that Satan has been asking, demanding to have you.

Two things here. First, this is a crystal-clear allusion as well to Job chapter 1, Satan wanted to have Job. And again, Satan has to ask or demand, he cannot just do or take. He has no power except what God allows or grants.

Second, the word Jesus uses here when he says you is the plural. Not to try and make light of it, but how we would understand it is that Jesus said Satan demanded to have y’all, or you all. He wasn’t talking individually to Simon Peter. He was talking to all the disciples.

But Jesus is talking to Simon Peter individually in verse 33. Jesus prayed for him, that his faith would not fail and that he would learn from his failings and use those to encourage and build up his brothers.

Jesus has a hold of Peter. Those he has a hold of, those who are in Christ and with him will never be taken away, will never be without him and will never lose him. WE will see over the course of this chapter that Peter will fail. He will sin, he will deny Jesus three times as Jesus will tell him in a moment.

But Jesus says, once you have turned again, once you have repented, once you have turned back away from sin, and turned back to follow Jesus, use that. Use it to strengthen and build up your fellow believers. Use it to teach and enrich each other’s faith and walk. Use it to encourage and edify your brothers.

Simon Peter was hearing what Jesus said and was probably still thinking about Jesus saying that one of them would betray them. HE responds to Jesus, “I will follow you to prison or to death, no matter where, no matter what, no matter the cost!”  He says, Ill follow, Ill I’m committed, I’m loyal. Don’t worry about me Jesus!

Jesus tells him, I know who you are. I know what you will do. I know that you will fail, you will sin, you will let me down. I know when, I know where and I know how.

Remember this, Jesus already knows. We should be worried about our sin. We should feel bad about it. We should feel convicted of it, and we should work to change it. Our sin is a big deal, and it is, as we focused on last week, what nailed Jesus to the cross. But we also remember what Romans 8:1 says, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Our sin does not take Jesus by surprise. IT does not change his mind. It is finished and already forgiven. That of course does not excuse our responsibility, but it is important to remember that Jesus already has it dealt with. He knew what we would do. He knew what our sin would be. When, how often, all of it. And he still chose to go to the cross for the forgiveness of that sin.

Jesus tells Peter, you will deny me three times before the sun rises, specifically before the rooster crows. Three times, you will deny that you are a follower of Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus returns to talking to the whole group of the disciples. He reminds them of some of the times that Jesus has sent them out to spread the word and to share about Jesus. One such example was back in Luke 10:1-12.

HE asks them, when I sent them out, did you lack anything? I hear their reply as them answering tentatively, No…

Jesus tells them, its not going to be that easy anymore. You are going to have to be prepared for what is to come. The individual items that he mentions are principals and examples, not the literal items themselves. And we will see this play later on in the Garden of Gethsemane as Jesus is being arrested.

But these items Jesus lists are representative of the disciples being prepared, of them being aware of the obstacles and the dangers that will arrive. It is so that the disciples will look ahead and not be taken by surprise. Again, none of it will be a surprise to Jesus and he is trying to warn his friends. They are not only to be harmless as doves, but also, remember, as wise as serpents. The going is gonna get tough, no doubt, and that’s what Jesus is trying to communicate to them.

And Jesus tells them the reason for the change. He says I will, and I must fulfill what it says in Isaiah 53:12. He was numbered with the transgressors.

Jesus was incarnated, was God made flesh, in part so that he could identify with sinners. This would be the hardest thing he would have to do. When he hung on that cross, he was hung with two criminals, two transgressors and when he gave his spirit up, the father looked down and counted him as a sinner, poured his wrath out on Jesus. Jesus identified with us so that he could absorb that wrath that was justly meant for us.  Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:21: For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

          Now, the disciples continue to be who they are and help us to not feels as bad as we could. They entirely miss the point in the moment of what Jesus was saying. They tell him, look, look, we not only have a sword, but we have two swords!

They are, of course, referencing the figurative statement Jesus made a few moments ago about selling their cloaks to buy swords. But, I believe, they are also saying to Jesus, we won’t let them “number you with the transgressors. We will stop them with force if needed.

Jesus “It is enough.”

Jesus is not saying that those two swords are enough, or even that their dedication or attitudes are enough. Instead, what he was saying is that this is enough of that sort of talk. Colloquially, “I give up.” That’s how much the disciples were missing his point.

Jesus didn’t want to spend this time arguing with his closest friends. He didn’t want to spend this special time trying to explain and convince them of something they wouldn’t understand.

Instead, Jesus was going to focus on going to pray, which is what we are going to see next week.

Now, I want to go back for a moment. Back to Jesus quoting Isaiah 53:12, saying that he would fulfill what it says, that he would be numbered with the transgressors. That statement is followed by two more statements in Isaiah as well. First, that he bore the sins of many. Second, that he makes intercession for transgressors.

That’s three things we see right there that Jesus came to do and did do. He came to identify with sinners, of whom I am the chief of all sinners. He atoned for the sins of all who believe. We looked at this last week, that his blood shed, his body broken, to deliver us form the bondage of sins and to purchase forgiveness for sin. And He would be our intercessor. He prayed for Pater He prayed for all the followers that The Father gave him. He bridges the gap between God and us. As Paul writes, there is one mediator between God and man, the LORD Jesus Christ.

We don’t need animal sacrifices. We don’t need priests to intercede on our behalf. Jesus already did it. Jesus paid it all. He reconciled our broken relationship between us and God.

And as we looked at last week, that’s what we remember when we celebrate communion. That’s what communion represents. Jesus, God become man. Came to this world, as a human baby, number with transgressors, willingly gave himself up to be crucified, shed his perfect and sinless blood. Broke sins grip on us. Died, was buried, was risen from the dead. Defeated death through that resurrection. The new covenant, that all who believe, by the grace of God alone, through faith alone in in Jesus Christ, the son of God, the Messiah, the way, the truth and the life, alone. TO those who believe he gave new hearts, he gave forgiveness, and he gave eternal life in the Kingdom of God, adopted as sons of God, sealed by the Holy Spirit, co heirs to the kingdom with Christ.

Communion is done in remembrance. IT is not salvific. It is not magic. IT does not impart righteousness, forgiveness or salvation. It is done, for believers, for Christians, to remember what Jesus did for us. TO remember what it cost God to restore that relationship with us. To remember how big of a deal or sin is.

In that vein, we do ask, that if you are not a believer, if you are not a Christian, because of the importance if this, please don’t partake. IF you want to believe, if you have questions, we would love to talk to you after the service and pray with you, but this act of remembrance is for those who have received the forgiveness that Christ purchased on the cross.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26:

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for[f] you. Do this in remembrance of me.”[g] 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

 

So, what we will do is have Mike and Frank come up and we will pass out these cups which contain both the wafers, representing Christs body and the juice which represents Christs blood. After they are passed out, one of them will pray over the wafer and we will take that together as a church family, as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Then the other will pray for the juice and we will do the same.

 

Let’s celebrate communion together.