Craig’s Corner-September 13, 2018

Most of us are familiar with the story. The sons of Jacob, God’s people the Israelites, became residents in the land of Egypt, and their families grew. However, by the time 400 years had passed the Egyptians had made the Israelites slavery under cruel masters. The story was not to end this way, for there was hope on the horizon. God sent Moses, a former prince-turned-outlaw back to Egypt to declare His word to Pharaoh, “Let My people go that they may worship me”. Sadly, Pharaoh did not know God and therefore did not heed His command. God, in turn, sent ten plagues, which were not random, but designed to show Israel and Egypt that the gods they feared were nothing and the one true God reigns supreme. After their release from bondage, the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, received the Law and the instructions for worship, attempted to enter the Promised Land once, were turned away, wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, and then a new generation of God’s people tried once more to enter the Promised Land under Joshua and were successful. The three facets of Exodus I wish to focus on in this article are: Grace, Law, & Worship.

Grace-It is easy to think that the Old Testament was all about “the Law” and that the New Testament focuses on grace, but this is not true. In fact the same pattern we know in the New Testament has its origins in the Old. For when it comes to the Exodus, God acted first. He always takes the initiative to save people because His heart is one full of love. It is He who hears the groans and cries of His people in bondage, and sets the plan in motion for them to experience freedom and mercy. Like the Israelites of Old, God hears our cries under the bondage of what enslaves us today, whether it be worry, work, or anything else. He set His plan in motion for us to experience freedom and mercy by giving us His Son Jesus who died on the cross so that through faith, we would have forgiveness of sins and new life. Grace is the life-pattern for the Christian.

Law-It is only after God showed us grace in freeing His people from Egypt that He then gives them the moral code in which to live their lives. This law (the Ten Commandments and the like) were a reflection of a God who is perfectly just and desired His people to reflect His character. The Law was meant to ultimately point God’s people back to Him as well as introduce to the world a new society so that all people throughout the world would come to see that not only does God exist, but He is perfectly good. Today we Jesus Christ is the perfect reflection of God, and that He is our law. Today, Christians obey the “Law of Christ” which does not contradict, but rather fulfill, the Old Testament law. We strive to live the way Jesus lived.

Worship-Part of the law in the Old Testament included a portion that God gave to His people which outlined how they were to conduct worship after they had come out of Egypt. Because they had been in slavery for so long, they needed to know that there was a God who cared for them and wanted them to worship Him with their entire hearts, souls, and minds. This God did not want empty ritual but heartfelt worship that led to a changed life of goodness. Today, when we as believers experience God’s grace, we too are compelled to give thanksgiving to Him for what He has done for us, but releasing from the chains of sin and death! God does not desire empty ritual today either. He is calling all who would follow Him to offer up their entire selves in worship, which would lead to a life of goodness. Remember Exodus is not just ancient history, it is our story too!

Your Brother, Craig

Craig’s Corner-September 7, 2018

Throughout these newsletter articles, I thought we could take a journey through the Scriptures. Genesis means “beginnings” and seeing as we are starting a new school year, I figured we could reflect on the beginning of Genesis, of God’s story, and ours. Genesis not only provides us with a narrative of how it all began, but a glimpse into how it will all conclude, and provides us some foundational truths along the way. These truths give us a way of viewing and understanding the world, a worldview. Everything we see or experience in our lives, whether they be local or international, natural or historical, fall into one of these three categories.

Creation (Gen. 1, 2)-”In the beginning, God created…” These words were spoken when the Apollo 8 shuttle orbited the moon on Dec. 24th, 1968. The truth is not only that God has created all, but that He did so peacefully, and designed humanity to live in peace and harmony with Him, one another, and the created world. It is written that God made man, “in His image” and therefore gave Adam and Eve a chance to live in loving relationship with Him, their loving Father.

Sin (Gen 3)-Sadly, a loving relationship requires both sides to freely choose to keep it. God always keeps His promise, but sadly humanity chose otherwise. Sin is a failure to trust God for everything in our lives. In Eden, the first two human saw what God had offered and said what we all do when we sin, “God, your best isn’t good enough for me so I will do better”. When sin entered the world, it was accompanied by chaos, disorder, and pain, and this touched every relationship we humans have: with each other, creation, and God. Praise the Lord we serve a determined God who loves us too much to lose us, because next came redemption.

Redemption (Gen 3, 4-Rev)-Almost immediately afterwards, God begins to reveal His plan to redeem humanity. He began by giving a prophecy to the crafty serpent (Gen. 3:15), then later preaches salvation to Cain (Gen. 4:6-7). He saved humanity using Noah and His family (Gen. 6-9). He blesses Abraham and his descendents, including Isaac and Jacob, and calls them to keep a loving relationship with Him. Jacob then has twelve sons, including Joseph who was similar to Jesus Christ in so many ways, including the forgiveness of his brothers who mistreated him so cruelly by stating, “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good.” (Gen. 50:20). One could see parallels in the crucifixion and resurrection. Our sin is what put Jesus on the cross, and so what was once meant for evil, God redeemed and made it for good, and like Joseph, Jesus willingly and graciously forgives us and makes us his brothers and sisters. All throughout the Old and New Testaments, God drawing people to Himself to build a new humanity and set about his purpose to call a people who would be holy, reflecting His goodness and love. We are the inheritors and recipients of that grace. So, the next time you read Genesis, see yourself in the story as part of God’s plan that began with Adam, Noah, Abraham, and so much more and continues using you to bring about His purposes in the world.

Your Brother,

Craig

Here is my continuing series looking at Biblical difficulties and attempting to solve them (so you don’t have to!)

Problem we hit here:

1. In the above text, Jehoram is king is Judah, Joram is king in Israel. YET, vs. 24 says “Joram” and describes this Joram thusly
   1. He is in “the Books of Annals of the Kings of Judah” (normally Israel)
   2. He “slept with his ancestors”
   3. He is “buried with them in the city of David”
   4. His son is named Ahaziah

Implications:

1. The names were goofed in either the copying or the originals

So what do we do? Well in trying to maintain the validity, accuracy, and consistency of Scripture, we attempt an explanation.

Text: 2 Kings 8:16-29 and its parallel account, 2 Chron. 21:1-20 NLT

1. The footnote in 2 Kings says that the Hebrew version reads “Joram”, a variant on the name “Jehoram” also in 8:23,  24
2. The fact that the names Jehoram and Joram are so similar in spelling, this is not that unusual
3. Comparing this to its parallel Chronicle account, it mentions “Jehoram” when discussing the Edomite revolt
4. Seeing as every section in Kings that describes each king primarily focuses on that particular king, we are left  to conclude that Jehoram and the Joram specifically mentioned in vs. 23, 24 must be one and the same king mentioned in 2 Kings 8:20-22 and different from King Joram of Israel who ruled around the same time.

So, I was doing my daily devos and came across this little gem and had a bear of a time trying to figure out what is happening. I did some research and figured I would put it into a blog for you guys.

Problems we hit here:

1. Child Sacrifice-2 Kings 3:27
2. God Promises Victory, yet Israel, upon seeing the sacrifice of the King of Moab’s son, flees

Implications:

1. God actually honored Moab’s king’s child sacrifice (contrary to Lev. 20:2-5; Deut. 12:31; Deut. 18:10; Jer. 32:35)
2. Other gods besides God exists who actually overpowered the true God (contrary to Deut. 4:25; 6:4; Isa. 45:5)

So what do we do? Well….

Implication 2 (“multiple gods”) cannot be true (the following comes from Handbook of Christian Apologetics by P. Kreeft and R. Tacelli)

1. If God exists, He must exist without limit.
2. If it He is without limit, there cannot be more than one god, for if so there would have been some difference between them.
3. Step 2, if the second half were true, this would involve non-being (a.k.a. the one could not be what the other one was).
4. BUT if that were so, then neither one could be the limitless fullness of being.
5. This would mean what we call “God” is not the ultimate answer to our question about finite being after all.
6. BUT if “God” is the answer to that question, then he must be the limitless fullness of being and cannot be limited by another god outside himself so God must be one.

And Implication 1 (“God honored the sacrifice”) cannot be true either.

1. If God is all-good, He would be consistent with His revealed truth (a.k.a. He would not honor something that He strictly and repeatedly forbade, including instances like Gen. 22-a narrative implicitly teaching this)
2. He would not be good and yet be bloodthirsty, especially to the most innocent in society: children.

Now we go to the text itself: Here is a summary

The King of Moab, once loyal to King Ahab of Israel, now rebels against Ahab’s son, the new king Jehoram. In response, Jehoram aligns with both King Jehoshaphat of Judah and the King of Edom. Jehoshaphat summons Elisha who prophecies that the wadi will be full of pools so that the alliance of the three kings and their armies won’t die of thirst. Elisha also prophecies that just as easy as it is for God to do the impossible and deliver water to them, He will also “hand Moab over to them”.

What is interesting to observe here is that unlike other “Divine conquest commands” found in other parts of the Old Testament, there is not the command for total destruction of human and animal life alike. Instead we find these explicit statements. This battle against Moab involves:

1. conquering “every fortified/choice city”
2. falling “every good tree”
3. stop up “every good water spring”
4. filling with stones “every good piece of land”

The next day, sure enough water does indeed flow without wind or rain and the troops are nourished. On Moab’s side, they see the water as tinted red, and they think the alliance’s troops have turned on each other, and so will be an easy target to defeat. Yet, Israel and her allies drive Moab back and indeed fulfills Elisha’s prophecy by:

1. conquering cities
2. falling every good tree
3. stopping up every good spring
4. filling with stones every good piece of land.

So far so good. Moab is on the back foot, and the king tries a political/military maneuver to break the Edom’s battle line, but it fails. In a last ditch move, the King of Moab sacrifices his firstborn son as a burnt offering on the remaining wall.

What is odd here is vs. 27b-“The fury against Israel was great; they withdrew and returned to their own land”

We had been witnessing a dramatic battle, and just when Israel and her forces seem to have Moab in checkmate, the battle ends and we are left hanging in mid-air asking the question, “Why”? “Why sacrifice your own son?” and furthermore, “Why did Israel suddenly stop?”

The most obvious answer to the first question is that Moab’s king did this in a sincere effort to regain the favor of his god Chemosh, as human sacrifice, although rare, was practiced in the ancient world.

So now, on to the second question, “Why did Israel suddenly stop?” and as a follow up, “Who’s wrath was mentioned in vs. 27?” God’s? Chemosh?

Well, we already established God would not have honored this abhorrent practice (Deut. 12:31; 18:10) and this practice is condemned later in the same book! (2 Kings 16:3; 17:7; 21:6). We also have established there would not have been any other gods, so where do we go?

Well, as Paul Copan writes, the word “wrath” does not always mean divine wrath; it could also mean human-2 Kings 5:11; 13:19 (pg. 96, Is God a Moral Monster?) If you couple that with the fact that both 1) Israel and her allies did fulfill God’s prophecy specifically about the four points mentioned above and 2) there is no divine approval or condemnation about Israel stopping the fight, which accompanies battle narratives sometimes so we do not know how God felt about all this.

Hence with all this in mind, for the answer as to “Why did Israel return to their land after seeing the child sacrifice?”  Remember, Israel under Ahab’s kingly dynasty had fallen into national spiritual apostasy, and with few exceptions, had forgotten about God. The reason they seemed to flee then, is that they were genuinely fearful of Chemosh! They shared many superstitions of the peoples around them (Judg 11:24) and after seeing the child sacrifice, their superstitious notions got the better of them. (George Harton, “The Meaning of 2 Kings 3:27)

The Bible affirms there is only one true God, and He had just proved himself by performing a miracle by providing water with no rain in a dry desert! Yet, similar to the tragic tales of the wilderness wanderings where God’s people see His actions and still turn their backs on Him, we see this played out again in this story.

Was the victory incomplete? Did Israel lose the battle? NO. Even though as far as what could have happen, it looked undone, from the perspective of God, all was complete. For as we have already seen, from the perspective of prophecy, all of the events Elisha had predicted would happen did. Eventually, Moab drops from the historical record around the time of the Persian Empire.

So what do we learn here of God and His people?

God-He is powerful enough to provide for His people, and even though Israel had fallen into apostasy, out of grace and respect for Jehoshaphat of Judah God fulfills through the battle what He had told Elisha to prophesy.

People-Looking at the big picture, this story is also a comment about the spiritual state of Israel. Had the army moved with confidence in God, nothing would have scared them from fighting Moab and overtaking its king. It is another sad story that is illustrating how far away from God that Israel as a whole is shifting. Even after seeing a miracle and then fulfilled prophecy, the army still trembles in the face of a display of wickedness and idolatry rather than trusting God the whole way.

To conclude Ephesians, Paul stresses the superiority of Christ, unity of the church, and what it means to be “in Christ” moving forward in our walks of faith.

The purpose of these final words of Paul is a series of “battle orders” calling the Christians to remember we live in a new kingdom, the Kingdom of God, and that evil still exists but that it has been defeated by Jesus Christ and it no longer has power to discourage us.

1-Instructions for armor- Why? Struggle

2-Instructions for armor-What it is

3-Instructions for armor-How we get it

 

1-“Put on” in vs. 11-In Ephesians, Paul had prayed the Christians would know God’s power, now he is praying that we would take that power and use it.

Not just once, but continuously. We must come to God daily for empowering. That is what it means to be “in Christ”. It means that when we put on the armor, we are putting on Christ Himself and walking so close to Him that we can draw what we need from Him who gives generously.

This power is to be used for one purpose: to stand with God against evil, for Christianity is an active faith.

Here is something that must be clarified first. God is all-powerful, the devil is not. Although Paul sees the world in terms of 2 different kingdoms (God and evil) these kingdoms are not equal in power.

God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is the only real legitimate Lord and Master of all. The evil and demonic are just weak usurpers trying to gain power but they never will.

Jesus Christ defeated evil on the cross and through His resurrection, transformed death so that even death does not have the final word.

Evil is real and sin is real, but they don’t get the last word. The New Testament shows us that while there is still evil in the world, it has been defeated by King Jesus and as such evil doesn’t rule over us.

We can have hope in Christ! When you look at the world around you and see the brokenness, pray and turn to Jesus and focus on Him! Read the Gospels and you will see that we may struggle against evil, but we are standing on a defeated enemy!

2-What armor do we put on? God’s armor, His armor is Jesus Christ for He gave us these by giving us Himself and we have a responsibility and a duty to put them on daily.

2.1) Belt-Truth-this means both believing the gospel and resolving to live it out!

2.2) Breastplate-this is God’s righteousness and we are to reflect that righteous character and also to do righteousness (“Do what you see God doing”)

2.3) Feet fitted with readiness that comes from Gospel of Peace-this means that no matter what situation, we must be ready to apply the gospel, even the recent horrors that have hit our nation. We must always ask, “what does the gospel say to this situation?”

2.4) Shield of faith-By faith, this does not mean our power to believe (because we all have “weak faith” at times) instead, what protects us is our relationship with God and HIs faithfulness.

2.5) Helmet of salvation-When we receive salvation, we are assured of God’s protection. Even though we still have pain and go through rough times, we are always in His hands. Even if we die, we are still His people.

2.6) Sword-The Spirit-empowered message of the Gospel.

Remember, our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against powers and ideas. Even then, if we do not use our armor wisely and as a people of peace, then we may hurt those we try to help.

3-Instructions for the armor-How do we get it? PRAY

Seek God’s presence in your everyday life, for He is never that far from you. Submit to Him daily and let your whole life by a prayer.

Christianity is not just about getting into heaven. It IS about living with Christ and for Him. Life in Christ involves every part of us, from our work, family, all of it.

The challenge to live faithfully in an evil world is high, but so is the help God offers to us for free!

God does not fear evil, and if He has given us Himself, why do we need to fear it either? In Christ, we have nothing to fear, for what can hurt me if I am in Him?

Our identity is shaped by the parts of the armor, by His truth, His righteousness, His readiness, His faith, His salvation, and His gospel.

Evil has been defeated at the cross. The resurrection is proof that good wins in the end and that we are on God’s side! Summary of Ephesians: God has provided all we need in Christ, therefore let us live lives worthy of that gift!

In this passage, Paul is showing us what it means to “apply the Gospel” to two of our closest spheres of influence, family and work.

For Paul, faith is not meant to be private, but very public and lived out, to let his (and our) light shine before people.

If there is one takeaway from this text it is this: Be Jesus to people.  

First, Paul addresses relations between children and parents, and like husbands and wives from last week, the practice in Paul’s day was that the parents (specifically the dad) had all the power over children.

Paul says: In Christ, children are full participants in the Kingdom of God. In Christ, we who are adults now must act like little children to enter that same kingdom! We must be full of trust, joy, simplicity or else we will not understand God.

Paul says to children, “obey your parents” but adds a new motivation “as part of your relationship to God”. Even though none of our parents are perfect, they are still a gift from God, and they made us into who we are today.

If you are a child, treat your parents as a gift, respect them, and be Jesus to them. If you are a parent, treat your children as a gift, respect them, and be Jesus to them.

Parents, remember you too are children, children of God, and so the responsibility os to treat your children like your Heavenly Father treats you: with undeserved goodness and boundless mercy, speaking the truth in love.

If both children and parents submit to one another and put others’ needs ahead, it is heavenly.

Well, that is the ideal, but what I have a disrespectful child, a manipulative parent, a cruel or bitter mom or dad? The command remains: Be Jesus to them. Love them, tell them the truth, always be loyal to God and trust Him with them.

Ask Him to show you want to do, even if it means walking away so God can deal with them directly and so you won’t get hurt.

Churches also have a hand to play in the raising of children, for if stewardship is the proper management of assets then

Christian stewardship means placing emphasis on the most valuable asset it has: children.

From the family, Paul moves to the second most common place we spend our time: work.

He uses terms that may seem strange to us: Masters and slaves. When we hear “slave” we may think that Paul seems to be promoting the idea! This is not true at all and in fact, quite the opposite.

Again, Paul is bringing the Gospel to bear on the institutions of his day, including slavery, and he is setting the stage for its eventual and total destruction.

Gal. 3:28; 1 Cor. 7:21-23, and especially the New Testament book of Philemon lays out a case that simply said: Slavery was against God’s design for mankind, and in Christ’s church slave and master are now equals, so if the church is to reach the world, it must show that slavery is to become abolished.

Verse 9 says it all: God does not play favorites. It doesn’t matter your skin color, or age, or gender, or money level. What matters is boiled down to one question: Will you say yes to Jesus?

Paul is saying here that similar to parents and children, masters and slaves are to be Jesus to each other.

The reason is because everything, even our jobs, are redeemed by Christ and now hold new purpose for us. We do it all as if we were doing it for Jesus Himself!

That means whether you are a “master” or “servant”, a worker or a boss, we are all on equal ground, for all of us were slaves to sin and have now been freed by Christ, so that now we are slaves to Him in order that we may free others.

If you are a worker, serve your boss as if you were serving Jesus, even if your boss doesn’t deserve it, for you now only have one true Boss (Jesus). If you are a boss, serve those under you and use your power for their benefit.

Treat all as you would treat Christ Himself for all of life is lived in the Lord, to the Lord, and for the Lord.

All are equal in God’s eyes so be Jesus to one another, for that is what God’s vision is for a church: BE JESUS TO ALL PEOPLE EVERYWHERE!

We have often heard this text used when we talk about marriage relationships, but unless we read the verses that come before it, we will miss what the main point here is.

The main point: Lovingly submit to the Holy Spirit so that He can transform us to lovingly submit to one another and this impacts all relationships include marriage.

-1) What does it mean to be “filled with the Spirit” (v. 15-18)

-2) What does being filled with the Spirit look like (v. 19-21)

-3) An example from marriage (v. 22-33)

 

When Paul talks about being filled with the Holy Spirit, we must ask what he is talking about in that phrase, yet it is simple: The Holy Spirit is God and He is the presence of Christ in us.

Remember last week: The Holy Spirit is a person. He is not a force or set of rules but a person, and he must be a person because only a person can change us from the inside.

If you have submitted to Christ, you have the Holy Spirit in you. Every believer has Him, for He is the only reason we are here. He converted us.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit drew us to Himself.

So, how are we filled? The question is not how much of the Holy Spirit we have, but how much of us He has.

Does God have control over your life? Do we surrender all to Him? To be filled with the Spirit is to submit to God daily, to be constantly turning our lives over to Him.

How can we do this? Ask. The Holy Spirit conveys the presence of Jesus. Faith gives us access to Him.

We have access to God, and we are in Him because He is in us. We are all on a journey, and we must walk and live so that we will fulfill our purpose: so that Jesus will become more evident in our lives, touching every area with His light of life.

In Him doing so, we don’t lose our personalities, instead we are transformed into who God meant for us to be: Just like His Son.

If we fail to understand what it means to submit to God, the rest of this text won’t make any sense to us.

What does being filled with the Holy Spirit look like? Speaking in tongues? Powerful preaching? Not quite what you might think.

Filled with the Spirit means to submit to God by worship, and to submit to others by serving and loving them.

Often we ask what worship style we should have in our church. Traditional? Contemporary? The question we need to be asking instead is: “What is my heart attitude right now?” “Am I coming to worship the Lord with my heart open and ready to experience the living Jesus, powerful and real?”

When we come to God, being honest about our hurts and troubles, yet always remembering His love for us, the hymns and songs we sing will take on a whole new personal meaning for us.

When we submit to God by worship (daily, not just in church), it gives us the foundation for submitting to one another.

To be filled with the Spirit is to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ, and every Spirit-filled Christian is a humble and submissive one because Jesus’ standard of greatness was “if you wish to be the greatest you must be willing to become the least and if you wish to be a master you must be willing to be a servant”

We submit to others and to God because He first submitted to us. In Jesus Christ, God submitted to humanity in order to show us His love and draw us to Him.

This also impacts our home life: In the Gospel, we have a freedom no other source can give and nothing can take it away. We are free from sin, free from worry about opinions, etc.

We are free to serve others unconditionally and not because we have to, but because we genuinely love them. We read about wives submitting to their husbands, but Paul does not let husbands have dictatorial rule, instead he says, “husbands since you have more power, you have more responsibility to use that power for your wife’s betterment”.

In today’s world we hear many talk about “rights” and “equality”, yet I guarantee that if husbands and wives would submit and lovingly sacrifice for each other, divorces in this country would plummet. After all, it is hard to divorce someone who puts you first!

What we often do not see here is that the primary focus is not husbands wives, but Christ and the church. When Paul cites Gen. 2:24, it is meaning that we in the church are one with Christ and one in Christ!

This is the basis for everything we do as believers, for our morals, behavior, everything. The point of Ephesians: We are part of Christ and part of each other. To be effective witnesses we need to tell others the need to be united with Jesus and the possibility of being united, for only that living, dynamic relationship is what changes lives.

Although Ephesians was originally written centuries ago, it is so relevant as though it were penned in today’s world as it addresses many issues the church still faces today.

Last week we looked at what it means to be “in Christ” and how our behavior ought to reflect that. This week, Paul still addresses behavior, but it is more of a warning to us.

The three sections for today’s message are

-1) Specifics of what those in Christ are to avoid (v. 3-4)

-2) Why we are to avoid these (v. 5-7)

-3) Benefits and Responsibility as a Follower of Jesus (v. 8-14)

 

-1) Specifics of what those in Christ are to avoid–

1.1) Paul opens this section up by talking about sexual immorality. Why is this so dangerous?

→ Because it is where pride, power, and pleasure come together and destroy something that was mean to be a beautiful gift from God between a husband and a wife.

Our culture today has stripped sex of its holiness and beauty and reduced it down to physical action based only on consent. As disciples of Jesus in the church, our responsibility is to show the world that this wonderful act is a gift given by God to be used according to His standards because it binds two people together and together they reflect God’s image.

1.2) Greed-the desire to have more at any cost. More accurately, it is when desire takes God’s place and defines our life.

→ Sin-seeking to get more out of life that God put into it.

Although we commonly associate greed with money, it can be the overwhelming desire to have anything at any cost. Again, today’s culture does not really help in this regard because it encourages “champagne wishes and caviar dreams”

Yet, greed is so dangerous because it is an addiction, and like an addiction, with it we are never satisfied, but always left wanting more to fill that void.

The reason greed does not fit in with the lifestyle of the Christian is because it displays a lack of trust in God. He has promised us that He would take care of us so we need not destroy ourselves with the constant pursuit of what will never satisfy.

1.3) Obscene talk and coarse joking-Now Paul is not saying we aren’t allowed to have a sense of humor! It is not the laughter or the talking itself that is bad. It is how we use it.

Do we build others up or tear them down? Do we encourage or discourage? If we praise God yet tear down others who are made in His image, how can we say we love God? For that is the equivalent of flattering the Artist yet being scornful to the art!

So what is the solution to all three of these? Paul lays it out with one word: THANKSGIVING.

When we acknowledge God, then give thanks for His love and grace and how He has show this in Jesus Christ in our everyday lives, our hearts will be stirred and compelled to say “yes”, responsibility will be built, and life is ordered away from sin and to God and others.

Sin comes from ingratitude and thanksgiving is the antidote.

-2) Why we are to avoid these? (v. 5-7)-Paul gets straight to the point. God is a judge who executes justice.

If the idea of God’s judgment leaves a bad taste in your mouth, let me present this: If there was no judgment, God wouldn’t be worthy of worship because it would mean He doesn’t care about us or what we do. If He doesn’t care, then what we do doesn’t matter and we have no salvation or hope.

Without judgment, no mercy is needed. Yet none of us want a world with no justice. We want justice, but God has to do it by His standard, and by His standard we are all guilty. YET on the cross, justice and love met. On the cross, God took His own judgment & gave us love and mercy.

So who gets judged? Those who look at the work of Jesus on the cross and reject it.

What do we do? Live your life is such a way that makes you “in the world” but not “of the world”. Be wise, and seek to influence others instead of them influencing you.

-3) Benefits and Responsibility as a Follower of Jesus (v. 8-14)-The reason Paul writes this is because it doesn’t line up with our new identity in Christ.

Remember, Paul splits the world into 2 kingdoms: Light and Darkness. However, these two kingdoms are not equal in power because King Jesus is strongest of all.

The point Paul is making is that if you live in darkness and sin, you take on its lifestyle, but if you live in light, in Jesus Christ, then you take on his lifestyle.

This is why Christ came. He became what we are so that we could become what He is. If we live in His light of truth, goodness, and holiness, then we will be transformed into what He is. We will begin to take on His nature.

If we say we are saved and joined to Christ, we cannot share in the old, dark ways of sin and greed. That would be like saying “I love my spouse” while thinking I can freely violate the marriage covenant, for the two ideas are mutually contradictory.

Well, what is the bottom line? Do we separate from everyone who isn’t Christian? No. So do we live as if our lives do not matter? No.

What do we do? Think about light. Light shines in darkness and transforms darkness. We must live in the world but not of the world. Live in society, but don’t sacrifice your soul for what society worships.

We need an example, and so our Father in heaven has given us one: Jesus. He walked the balance perfectly between being in the world but not of it.

He did not go hide in a bunker, but instead went out to a broken and hurting world. He never acted like the sinners, but He did eat with them. Jesus the Source of truth never compromised on truth and often He did confront sin, but He always loved sinners with such a level of compassion that they realized the truth was for their good. We are children of light, so reflect God’s light in darkness for that light you shine will then transform that darkness.

1/21/18-Eph. 4:25-5:2: In Christ: Our New Behavior

The Purpose of Ephesians: forming us into a New Community, the church.

 

We must learn to read the Scriptures not simply as a rule of “do’s” and “don’t’s” but as principles for guiding and shaping us as the body of Christ. The Scriptures were written to promote what builds community and avoid what breaks community.

 

3 Points in the Sermon: 1) Type of Behavior in New Community (v. 25-29), 2) Power for Behavior in New Community (v. 30-32), and 3) Reason for Behavior in New Community (v. 5:1-2)

 

In Ephesians, Paul follows a typical New Testament pattern of writing. Ch.1-3 talk about what GOd has done for us in Christ, and now ch. 4-6 lays forth our response to his grace.

 

God makes the first move, and now we are “in Christ”. Last time we were in Ephesians we saw what it meant to think as a Christian (Creation, Fall, Redemption). Now Paul turns to acting like one, and gets down to “brass tax”

 

Yet, we also must ask ourselves, why should us Christians be good? To earn heaven? To get the praise of others? No, we are good simply because God has been good to us first.

 

-1) Type of Behavior in the New Community

 

→”Put off Falsehood and Speak Truth (Paul backs this up with Zech. 8:16 from the Old Testament)

 

Why do we lie? Is it not to justify ourselves and make ourselves look good? But who are we trying to impress? Who’s opinion really matters in the long haul?

 

Truth may sometimes be blunt, but if it is done in love, it will heal, establish trust, and create respect. Whereas lying tears down community, truth builds it.

 

→ “In your anger, do not sin” (Paul backs it up with Psalm 4:4)-We all get angry, it’s what we do with it that matters.

 

Either we lash out and destroy others, or we bottle it up and it can destroy ourselves. We all get angry, but we cannot stay there, for anger is the devil’s trojan horse because it sneaks in and can lead us to other sins and goes everywhere.

 

The Solution? Take it to God, because He can take it. If you are angry, tell Him so, and be honest. He will give you peace

 

→ “Quit Stealing”-but notice it goes from a negative to a positive

 

This is not simply saying, “work hard but keep it all for yourself”

 

Instead, “work harder so that you have more to give and share” for in Christ, the thief must become a donor, and the taker to become the giver.

 

If you cannot work? PRAY, for that is the most important work of all!

 

→ “No Foul Talk”-Unwholesome-this words means “spoiled fruit” or “rotten meat” and hey none of us like having bad breath.

 

Speak the truth in love, for just as we are saved by grace, and empowered by grace, so it must be in grace.

 

-2) Power for Behavior in the New Community

 

→ It is nothing less than The Holy Spirit, God Himself.

 

The Gospel is good news. The Gospel is not just cold rules in an old book, but God’s gracious and loving offer: to have new life in His Son, Jesus Christ.

 

This is a transformation of who we are within. The Holy Spirit re-wires us on the inside. Rules cannot really do that because rules don’t touch the core of who we are. Our nature has to change and we must be born-again.

 

Only God, the Holy Spirit, can change us because He transforms us on the inside and makes us aware that we are continually living in God’s presence, not just in church but everywhere we go.

 

The Holy Spirit is not a force, for a force cannot change us, because it is too blunt. Only a Person can change a person because only a person can know us intimately to change us.

 

Like a person, the Holy Spirit can grieve, and when we sin, we grieve the Holy Spirit, we grieve God. For He has promised us joy and gladness, peace in this world and life in the next, and we must live with that in mind always.

 

-3) Reason for Behavior in the New Community

 

→ We have the Reason: Jesus Christ.

 

When Paul writes to the Christians of his day, he writes to us too. He writes of love. Love that builds us and binds us into a community, but that love is not a lofty, unrealistic ideal, but instead a concrete reality.

 

It is a PERSON, Jesus Christ. GOd did not just command us that we love, He also gave us an example in Jesus. We love because He first loved us. Our morals are based on that!

 

God did not wait for us to grope around in darkness and ignorance. Rather, He came to us! He sought us out. Jesus Christ, God-in-the-flesh sacrificed Himself lovingly for us, you and I.

 

Remember, He became like us so that we could become like Him. And because Jesus was resurrected, it proves His death was not in vain, and that goodness and love conquers all and is the right way to live.

 

To we who have been forgiven, we need to forgive. We as Christians must break the cycle of violence in our world today and must leave vengeance to God. He will handle it because only He knows how.

 

How do I forgive? How do I tell the truth? Refuse anger? Live like Jesus? How? ASK

 

One final point: In Ephesians, Paul closes this section by saying, “be imitators of God”

 

The church is like a New Eden

 

In the Garden, God created man “in His image” and so Adam and Eve already imitated God because they were like Him. Then the lie was that man could replace God.

 

Now, in Jesus Christ, God offers mankind a chance to be re-made, better than Adam. Just as God placed man in community where he had harmony with God, each other, and all creation, so now God has re-created us and called us to be a new community, a new Eden and we are to bear His image as a new humanity in community. Love God and one another so much that the desire to hurt others is squeezed out!

12/24/17-5th Sunday in Advent-God’s Christmas Promise Made (Isa. 42:1-9; 49:1-13)

This is the story of a promise, a promise made by God to us.

 

Isaiah was a prophet that lived around 700 B.C. and a great deal to say warning about destruction, but he also delivered messages of hope of One to come to restore, a Servant of God.

 

To know more about this Servant, this sermon asks 3 questions: Where is He from? What is He like? & Why has He come?

 

Where is He from?-To be a perfect servant who carries messages to others, you need to know both ends of the relationship: The Master’s message and how people need to receive it.

 

If you are the Servant-Messenger between God and humanity, the same applies. The Servant must know the Master (He did because the Servant is God) and the servant must know the people (He did because the Servant is human).

 

So, Isaiah 49:1-the Servant is a man, and Isaiah 7:14 says he is to be virgin born. So He is Divine yet human.

 

Isaiah 49:1 also says the Lord, “Delights in Him & Upholds Him”-this would almost indicate a relationship more intimate that just servant and master.

 

If you combine this with Isaiah 7:14, and it says later of this Servant, “this is my Son, whom I love and with Him I am well pleased”.

 

Isaiah 49 also says, God’s Spirit will be upon the Servant, and later on we would read of the Holy Spirit coming down as a dove from heaven and resting on a recently baptised One.

 

Finally, God is faithful because He uses His own holy name to promise this guarantee and will protect and keep His servant safe, now compare this to One later whom God would protect as a child and bring Him home from Egypt when his parents fled.

 

Where is the Servant from? From God and humanity both, for He is completely one and the other.

 

What is He like?-The Servant will be Gentle and Encouraging, He will show justice and truth.

 

Isaiah 42:3-”says that a bruised reed He will not break and smoldering wick He will not snuff out”-This means the Servant will see us when we are hurting, and He will gently pick us up with loving hands.

 

When the Servant comes, He will not arrive in pomp and fanfare, but poor and lonely, and instead of riding a white horse which would be a symbol of war victory, this Servant will be riding a donkey, a humble animal of peace.

 

Simply put, this Servant will be perfect in every way. He will be a Perfect King, a Perfect Servant, will be perfectly loving, perfectly protective, perfectly humble.

 

Why is He coming?-To show God to the world.

 

Mankind has always asked “is there a such a thing as god?” “if so, can I know Him/Her/It?” In the Servant we hear God give a loud YES!

 

The Servant does something amazing-He brings God’s new holy agreement, His covenant to humanity, and yet even more, the Servant does not just bring the covenant, He is the covenant!

 

The Servant is God’s hands reaching out to catch humanity, so we won’t fall, and to pick us up when we do.

 

This Servant brings and is a New Covenant from God, and what does it include?

-Sins are forgiven

-Past wrongs are done away with

-Freedom from sin’s grip is promised

-Freedom from anger, hatred, and addiction

-Freedom from fear and guilt

-Freedom from sadness, loneliness, poverty, debt, hunger

 

God loves us so much He doesn’t want us to stay trapped in these struggles, instead He sends this Servant who comes and says, “I came not to be served but to serve and give my life as a ransom for many”

 

This Servant who we celebrate who lay in a manger, comes to offer us God’s grace, a chance for life as it was meant to be, so that we are no longer a slave to sin, but a child of God.  

 

Why has this One come? To show God and His love, because that’s exactly who He is!