Sermon for Thanksgiving Sunday (The Key to Thanksgiving) November 22, 2009
Posted by roberttalley in Faith, Leprosy, Luke, Religion, Sermons, Thanksgiving.add a comment
THE KEY TO THANKSGIVING
Luke 17:1-19
INTRODUCTION: What is the key to thanksgiving? Is it comparing yourself to others and realizing how much more you have than they? If it is, then we should be the most thankful country in the world but I am afraid we are not much more thankful, if at all, than the rest of the world.
In this passage we understand through contrast the key to thanksgiving. First, however, I want us to focus on two things in this passage that should have evoked thanksgiving in those who were healed but apparently did not, that is, we want to see from this passage what is not the key to thanksgiving.
I. The key to thanksgiving is not the meeting of a desperate need (verses 12-13).
a. There have always been people with desperate needs (verse 12).
These lepers came, no doubt, from various walks of life. We know that one was a Samaritan. The Samaritans and the Jews were archenemies. They hated everything for which the other stood. These lepers, however, all desperately needed help. Sometimes misery and pain overcome racial and religious prejudice. Not always but sometimes.
In 2 Kings 7:3 we find that the four Israelite lepers who were trapped between the city of Samaria and the Syrian army decided to go over to the enemy. This is what they said, “Why are we sitting here until we die? If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die.”
Certainly, to be a leper was a desperate situation. Verse 12 says they stood afar off. This was normal for lepers. They were not allowed to come near other people. Verse 13 says they lifted up their voices. Trench tells us, “All who have studied this terrible disease tell us that an almost total failure of voice is one of the symptoms which accompany it.” Yet they did what they could to get the Master’s attention.
b. A characteristic of desperate people is they often recognize and are ready for a solution to their problem (verse 13).
Of course, there are those who do not recognize that they have a problem. For more than 20 years, it is said, Professor Edwin Keaty of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, used to start his classes by writing on a blackboard two numbers, the numbers 2 and 4. And then he would ask his audience, “What’s the solution?” One student would shout out, “6” and another student would shout out, “2” and another student would shout out, “8” and Professor Keaty would shake his head and he would say, “Gentlemen, unless you know what the problem is, you cannot possibly find the answer.” These lepers recognized their problem and were ready to find the answer.
Notice how they addressed Jesus, “Master,” that is, an overseer or superintendent. This was a term of respect. They recognized He had authority from God but at least for nine of them, that recognition did not result in thanksgiving. “(T)he number of those who pray is greater than the number of those who praise” (Spurgeon).
For years, Martin Luther recognized his need but it drove him to hate God rather than to thanksgiving. Part of the problem was Martin Luther did not understand God’s provision to meet his need. I will never forget visiting Rome and entering the Basilica of St. John Lateran. Our guide explained to us what we were seeing – the Holy Staircase. Supposedly, the mother of Emperor Constantine, Helena, had sent the staircase from Jerusalem to Rome. The steps are said to be the actual steps that Jesus climbed the day of His crucifixion. We watched as pilgrims climbed up the steps. Although the staircase has a different location now than it did in 1510 when Martin Luther climbed the staircase on his knees, the ritual remains today the same. Climb the holy steps on your knees, saying the Lord’s Prayer on each step. With each step and with each prayer comes nine years less time in purgatory. However, when Martin Luther did so, the Holy Spirit already was sowing the seeds of conviction in the young monk’s heart when, according to his later testimony, reaching the top, he stood up, thinking, “Who knows if it’s true?”
Luther knew he had a great spiritual need. He realized eventually from God’s Word that climbing the spiritual steps of works and ritual do nothing for the soul. In his case, instead of becoming thankful he became hateful toward a God who would set up such an impossible standard. But then in God’s Word, he discovered Jesus Christ.
II. The key to thanksgiving is not the recognition of need and it is also not simply doing what you are told, that is, obedience (verses 14, 17-18).
a. Obeying the Lord’s command is commendable and effective (verses 14).
This is illustrated for us in verses 7-10. Obedience in the sense of doing our duty is nothing to brag about. It is, however, commendable and brings about good things. Faithfulness to the task is simply what is expected. It is foundational to effectiveness but in the end, God wants more than our obedience. He wants something that takes us beyond where obedience can take us.
b. Thanksgiving goes beyond obedience to the law (verses 17-18).
I don’t know how many steps they took. I doubt that it could have been too many; otherwise, the one leper might not have been able to find Jesus. Jesus would not necessarily have tarried long at the village. Neither could it have been too few, otherwise the other nine would have found it simple to return and thank the one who had healed them. Just as there are more who pray than praise, “…there are more who receive benefits than ever give praise for them … (and) more (who) obey ritual than ever obey Christ” (Spurgeon). We don’t know why these men who had such a great need met did not turn back to thank Jesus. There could have been various reasons and I’m sure they all justified those reasons in their minds if they ever even thought of turning back to thank Jesus for what He had done…
If the key to thanksgiving is not recognition of need nor obedience, what is it then?
III. The key to thanksgiving is submissive discipleship (verses 15-19).
a. The desire of the submissive disciple is to glorify God (compare verses 15 and 18).
How do you glorify God? In this situation, the man glorified God with a loud voice. Here is a man who because of his disease has possibly not hollered for months. Now he comes back with excitement in his voice. He’s having what they used to call in the Southern camp meetings, a shoutin’ fit. He could have sung a Psalm but he probably didn’t know any. The Samaritans didn’t believe in the Psalms but only in the first five books of Moses. What exactly he shouted out, the Bible does not give specifics, except to say that he glorified God.
I would like you to look at the following verse in Luke 14:10. This verse illustrates what it means to glorify someone. “But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.” This leper wanted to put God at the head of the table and He recognized that Jesus as the Messiah was the direct representative from God. Those other fellows looked to the priest or to the temple but this man, a Samaritan, somehow knew that He needed to go to Jesus in order to give God glory, in order to put God at the head of the table.
Do you want to be thankful this thanksgiving? Lift Jesus higher, put Him at the head table in your life. He is trustworthy. Would you trust Him today?
b. The proof of discipleship is a faith that enables the disciple to do the impossible (compare verses 14 and 19 with verses 3-4).
In verses 3-5, Luke discusses the impossibility of forgiving others. It is only possible (verse 6) through faith. Think of the similarly impossible things that this Samaritan leper did because of his faith.
• He obeyed the command to show himself to the high priest. Just to go to Jerusalem to the temple where the priest was, was a renunciation of everything that this man had been brought up to believe. He was taught to worship God on Mount Gerizim which overlooked Shechem, the first place where Abraham had built an altar to God (Genesis 12:6-7). Now, this man by heading to Jerusalem was at least in action acknowledging what Jesus had taught the Samaritan woman in John 4, “Salvation is of the Jews.”
• This leper, however, came back and glorified God. He recognized that Jesus was of God and came back to thank Him, even though Jesus was a Jew and Samaritans had no dealings with the Jews. Like I mentioned earlier, sometimes misery and pain overcome racial and religious prejudice but faith in Christ overcomes the racial and religious prejudices that even misery and pain cannot overcome.
Luke, the writer of this gospel uses this story to emphasize a point that he makes repeatedly in this gospel. This man, even though he was a Samaritan and not a Jew, had a faith that the others did not have. True, the nine had faith. When Jesus commanded them to go to the priest, although they also were not yet healed, they went. This obviously took some type of faith. “…(T)here are more that believe than there are that praise…There faith was about the leprosy and, according to their faith, so it was unto them… (Spurgeon)” but there was a difference in the faith of the tenth man. This phrase “made well” or “saved” can refer to either physical or spiritual healing. This man had a spiritual healing that the others did not experience. His faith made him thankful. True faith goes further than asking for help. True faith results in glorifying God, in thanksgiving to God.
We find this pattern repeated several times in the gospels. Someone asks Jesus for mercy and He recognizes that in their request, faith is active. Faith isn’t active in everyone who prays for help. James 4:1-3 describes a group of people who even when they prayed, received nothing because true faith was not active in their prayers, “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” You may ask, “How do you know that these people had an inactive faith?” When you look back at chapter 2:14-18, you can see how we know. These same people are being spoken to in that passage.
14 ¶ What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?
17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe––and tremble!
20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
You see, the first nine had faith but their works were limited to going to the priest in obedience to Christ’s command. The tenth man showed his faith by his works.
You might ask, Robert, what does it mean to have faith in Christ? It is simple, turn away from anything and everything and turn to Jesus Christ, who died for your sin. You are so spiritually sick that you are as good as dead. He died for you. He rose from the dead for you. Trust Him and only Him and learn the true key to thanksgiving.
How would Peter define what a Christian is (2 Peter 1:1-4)? July 19, 2009
Posted by roberttalley in Blood of Christ, Body of Christ, Faith, Jesus, Peter the Apostle, Religion, Second Peter, Sermons.add a comment
What is a Christian Anyway (2 Peter 1:1-4)?
When we were missionaries in Germany, we were brought in contact with a group of asylum seekers from an Islamic country. A few were sincere seekers after the truth but many wanted to convert to Christianity so that they might start a new life in a new country. In order to do this, they needed to convince immigration officials that they were truly Christian. They would come to us with lists of questions concerning the religious holidays of Christianity. Others sought baptism as a way of becoming officially Christians. It did not take long for most of them to realize that we were not going to be much help to them and they fell away. They fell away because they did not understand what it means to be a Christian.
What we are asking today is not how one becomes a Christian, although we will also be looking at that. Nor are we discussing what a Christian looks like and does in his everyday life. We will be looking at that question next week. Asked another way the question is this, “What does it mean to be a Christian?”
A Christian is one who belongs to Christ. When Peter begins this letter, he identifies himself by name and makes it clear that he is a Christian, that is, that he belongs to Christ. How does he do this?
First, he says, “I am a bondslave of Christ.” A Christian is a slave belonging to Christ. We are His slaves (verse 1a). Romans 6 explains how that we were in bondage to sin but that through the death and resurrection of Christ we become slaves of righteousness. This means that we now do what Christ wants us to do. In 1 Peter 2:13-16, Peter explains how that works in a specific situation. There was the temptation for believers to refuse to submit to the government because Jesus was their king. Peter makes it clear that our slavery to Christ’s will compels us to obey the government. In other words, a slave of Jesus Christ is one who does the will of Jesus Christ. Peter states clearly that he does that will of God, not his will and not the will of any man but rather the will of God.
Secondly, Peter claims to be a servant. He uses the word apostle, that is, a sent messenger. The word “bondslave” makes it clear that Peter does the will of Christ. The word “apostle” tells us what Christ’s will actually is, to go with a message from Christ. In the same way, we are Christ’s servants (verse 1a). We do not all hold the office of an apostle but we are all sent messengers.
We have heard this morning from Susan Blodgett about her missionary work on the college campus and her recent missionary trip to the Dominican Republic. We support her financially. We pray for her. We rejoice in the work that God has given her and the part in the work which we have. We are no different than her, however. We are also bondslaves and as bondslaves we are responsible to do the will of God and the will of God is that we witness, that we serve as messengers of the gospel of Christ. That is our commission as servants. That is our task as slaves. In John 20:21, Jesus said to his disciples, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent me, so send I you.” We are indwelt and empowered by the Holy Spirit, according to the book of Acts, for the purpose of being witnesses throughout the whole earth. In Matthew 28, Jesus said all authority is given to me. For that reason, “therefore” go and teach, that is, make disciples. We are sent out with a message under the authority of our master to follow the model of our master empowered by the Spirit of our master. That is what a Christian is. He or she is a messenger, an apostle.
We are His called ones (verses 1b, 3b). This is referred to in verse 1 through the word “obtain.” It is the word used when they cast lots letting God determine their course of action. Peter says here, “Every Christian is a Christian because of God’s determination.” Peter is an apostle who walked with Jesus Christ who was given the honor of leading the church at Jerusalem but his faith is exactly like our faith. Our faith is equal to his in value and in honor. And He obtained His faith like we obtained ours, by the grace of God.
This faith is also obtained by the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Romans 3:24-26 explains what this means, “being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” What both Paul and Peter are saying is this, although one is a Christian by grace, it is a free gift, it was not free. Jesus Christ died, demonstrating the righteousness of God through His execution for sins, making it possible to obtain salvation by faith in Jesus. In other words, if one says he believes in Jesus but refuses to believe that Jesus is the only means of salvation, that person is not a Christian. He may speak of Jesus as His Savior but without faith in His death for my sins, He is not my Savior but rather my judge.
This is the description of the calling that we find in the last part of verse 3. Five times in 1 Peter it is written that believers are called but today I only want to call your attention to one of those passages, 1 Peter 2:9-10. Peter writes that we are called out of darkness into His marvelous light so that we might obtain mercy. Christians are called ones. We are called to faith by mercy and grace through the righteous, the just death of the Son of God. Just and righteous not because He got what He deserved but just and righteous because He got what I deserved.
Since we are called with such a merciful calling, it is no wonder that we should submit ourselves to slavery in the will of God, to service in telling the message of His mercy and righteousness in His death on the cross.
This calling, this slavery, this servant hood is great and marvelous but a Christian is much, oh so much much more, than just belonging to Christ. A Christian belongs to a body, the body of Christ.
We are called to a common faith through knowledge of Jesus Christ (verses 1-3). We have already seen that our faith is the same faith as Peter’s faith both in value and honor. The phrase “with us” may seem small but it underlines that our calling is not just an individual calling but a calling of a people. Look again at 1 Peter 2:9. God does not call Robert Talley to be a Christian. Now He worked in my life as an individual and He saved me individually but He called us to a common faith through Jesus Christ. Perhaps verse 5 can explain this concept better. We are his building. Many individual stones but one building.
We are called by a unique Savior (verses 1b and 3b). The body of Christ is inseparable from its Head. It has no sustainability without its Head. We have already seen that we are called together into one body through His righteous death. We are also called by His glory and virtue.
His glory according to 1 Peter 1:11, 21 is what happened after his death, His glorious, bodily resurrection and His even more glorious ascension to heaven to sit in authority on the right hand of God. There is none like Him. His glory is like that of no other.
His virtue is also like none other. Again in 1 Peter 1 we have a description of His virtue. Verse 19 describes Him as a lamb without blemish and without spot. There was nothing inappropriate much less sinful about Him. He truly is like no other.
It is the uniqueness of Christ that is our common bond. He lived like no other man, He suffered like no other man, He was glorified as no other man. He is our head. As we saw last Wednesday night from Ephesians 4:1, 4 the knowledge of our calling by this unique Christ is the foundation for part in the body of Christ and to not commit ourselves to other believers is unworthy of our calling in this unique Christ.
We are called based on great promises (verse 4a). These promises have great value. They are precious. These promises make it possible for us to be partakers of the divine nature. You see, belonging to Christ, being a Christian is more than going to heaven, it is more than being forgiven, I along with every other believer become a partaker of God’s divine nature. That is what it means to belong to the body of Christ. We share a common faith based on our knowledge of a unique Savior but we share more. We share much more. We share His nature. Christ being are head is not just getting corporate strength and direction from Him. His nature is our nature. How is that possible? The beginning of verse 3 tells us how. By His divine power. How is it that we have God’s nature? How is it that we can be one body in Christ? By His divine power through the knowledge of Him.
This is why you should integrate yourself fully into the body of Christ as practiced within a local church. If you are a believer in Christ and do not identify with a body of believers, do not integrate yourself fully with them, bear grudges against them, you are denying the common bond that we already have. Could you imagine a building where the stones are constantly pulling away from each other or pushing each other away? You know that such a building would collapse. Yet many believers claim to be Christians but refuse to commit themselves both formally and informally to other believers. As we saw in the book of James this morning in Sunday School, such a refusal to commit to other believers ultimately brings our Christianity into question.
A Christian belongs to a new world order (verse 4b). Being a Christian, belonging to Christ, belonging to His body is radically different. It is described in Scriptures as a separate reality.
Our old nature is corrupt, that is, doomed to destruction. The next chapter of 2 Peter describes this corruption in more detail. It is not a pretty picture (2 Peter 2:12-19). They are like rabid animals hunted down so that they might be destroyed (verse 12). The lust of the human nature is like rabies. It drives the animal to its own destruction. The animal no more fears that which can harm it. It is doomed.
But our new nature is divine. Could you imagine an animal, mad with rabies, doomed to death and dangerous to all with whom it comes in contact and then through the divine power that comes through the knowledge of Christ and through faith in Christ escapes the destructive disease and becomes not just a healthy animal but a partaker in the nature of God? It is beyond my comprehension but that is what a Christian is.
He belongs to Christ now.
He belongs to the body of Christ now.
He belongs to a new world order, a new realm of reality.
Do you belong to Christ? If you do, then you are a Christian. You belong to His body, you belong to a new world order. Do you live like it? There is nothing stranger than person who is not rabid acting as if he was. Do you walk worthy of your calling in Christ? Have you integrated yourself with the body or do you live the spiritual life of a lone wolf?
Perhaps you do not belong to Christ. The knowledge of Christ and the faith in Him produced by that knowledge will immediately make you a member of His body and a partaker of His divine nature. Will you trust Him today? Your choice is between two types of slavery. The slavery of corruption and destruction described in 2 Peter 2:12-17 or the slavery of righteousness through the death of Christ. Trust Him today!
Characters in Esther – Mordecai’s Confidence in God April 20, 2008
Posted by roberttalley in Esther, Faith, Religion, Sermons.1 comment so far
CHARACTERS IN ESTHER
MORDECAI’S CONFIDENCE IN GOD
Esther 4:13-14
As we look at the various characters of this book, we are looking at the one character who seems to openly express faith in God. As you know, God is not named as a participant in the book of Esther but the verses that we are looking at today make it clear that Mordecai had a faith in God that is consistent with what is taught elsewhere in the Old Testament. Esther, his cousin, who he has raised is now the queen. After she became queen, Mordecai was instrumental in uncovering a plot against King Ahaseurus. Everything seems to be going well but trouble by the name of Haman comes on the scene. Today we want to see how that this man had confidence and faith in God.
MORDECAI’S CONFIDENCE WAS NOT BASED ON AN UNUSUALLY RIGHTEOUS CHARACTER.
He had chosen not to return to Jerusalem as other Jews had. Now we do not want to read more into this than the Bible tells us but let us think about this for a moment. Around 50,000 Jews returned to Jerusalem and the surrounding area under Persian rule. There were many, however who for some reason or another chose not to go back to the land of their fathers. They had permission to go home but many did not, among them Mordecai and Esther. Mordecai may have held a minor office in the government, which would explain why he sat in the king’s gate and would perhaps explain why he did not return to Jerusalem. The trip back to Jerusalem was dangerous and once there, he would have had no guarantee of a living. Whatever the reason, Mordecai chose not to go back to his homeland.
Remember, Mordecai had advised Esther not to be open and honest about her ethnic identity (2:10). Certainly, it might be understandable for Mordecai to not take up his roots and move to a country which, though it was his homeland, he was unfamiliar with. It seems though that Mordecai not only was unwilling to go home with the other Jews but also that he preferred to play down his Jewish heritage. Now it should be noted that he did not keep it a complete secret (Esther 3:1-4). It is ironic that the very thing he told Esther not to do, in order to protect her, he himself did. In fact, it was Mordecai’s admission that he was Jewish that ultimately brought the whole nation into jeopardy.
MORDECAI’S REFUSAL TO BOW DOWN
Although clearly loyal to the king (Esther 2:21-23), Mordecai chose not to show respect to command of the king in honoring Haman (3:1-6). Now the command of the king was not likely a command to worship Haman. If anything the king would have reserved that privilege for himself. Haman had been lifted to an authoritative position and the king had commanded that Haman be respected. One might imagine that Haman himself had requested this honor to be shown him. Mordecai would not have been breaking any laws by bowing down to Haman. In fact, according to the commandment of Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 29:3-7 to honor Haman would have been obedience to the LORD’s command. Mordecai was obviously loyal to the king, otherwise he would not have rescued his life by betraying the conspiracy against Ahasuerus’ life. Apparently, Mordecai just did not like something about Haman. Mordecai never reveals why he reacted this way to Haman. Mordecai appears to be foolhardy. Although on the surface, Mordecai would not be candidate number one for “Most Righteous Jew of the Year;” he was according Esther 4:13-14 confident that God would protect His people.
BIBLICAL CONFIDENCE
Mordecai’s confidence was based on a knowledge of God’s promises (Compare Esther 4:14 with Jeremiah 30). He did not presume to say that he knew how God would deliver the Jews but he was confident that God would.
These promises had been clearly made (Jeremiah 30). Of course, these promises were first made to Abraham (Genesis 12), Isaac, and Jacob. God had confirmed them when he gave the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19-20) and again before Moses died in the book of Deuteronomy. I would like for us to look, though, at Jeremiah’s prophecy concerning God’s promise of protection to His people.
First, he promises to return His people to the promised land (Jeremiah 30:2-3). We will look at this promise a bit closer later on.
Secondly, God promises that no matter how bad things may get, He will save His people (Jeremiah 30:4-11). The description here is of extreme sorrow and pain. Unlike the previous promise, this event, the time of Jacob’s trouble has not yet occurred. This time of Jacob’s trouble is described for us several places in the Bible, most notably in the book of Revelation but it is also described by Joel, Daniel, Isaiah, and many other of the writing prophets, which doubtless Mordecai would have been familiar with and have known that God would never allow His people ultimately to be destroyed.
Because the first set of promises had been clearly kept, Mordecai had every expectation that God would keep the other promises (6:12-13). From his viewpoint, it appeared that the time of Jacob’s trouble had come. From his viewpoint, it was time for the Messiah to deliver his people. Because of this knowledge, he had confidence that if his cousin, who he had raised, deserted him and her people, God would deliver his people.
Notice, Mordecai did not say, I know God will deliver me. He did not know that. God had not made that promise to him individually but God had made that promise to His people and Mordecai believed that promise. He had seen what God had been able to do to move Cyrus to permit the Jews to return to Jerusalem. He knew that God through Isaiah had predicted that a man named Cyrus would do this. He knew that Jeremiah had predicted that it would happen seventy years after the captivity began. He had every reason in the world to believe that God somewhere would use someone from somewhere to somehow deliver His people.
WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM MORDECAI…
The story of Mordecai suggests that the purpose of faith in God is more than simply winning God’s favor but rather to give us insight into what God is doing, so that we might act accordingly.
Let me explain. Too many people believe that pleasing God is some type of white magic. “If I do enough good things then God will give me blessings, power to do mighty deeds, a nice home with a two car garage, kid’s who never rebel, physical and mental health, good grades, good jobs, good retirement packages, and death while we sleep with a smile on our face.” This is not Mordecai’s philosophy. He believes that God has already promised that He would rescue His people. Mordecai is convinced that he and Esther should act rather than hide themselves because he knows that God is in control and that His promises endure forever. His responsibility is simply to act accordingly. He does not need to fear that his people would be destroyed. He simply trusts in God’s providence and power and purposes.
WHAT PROMISES HAS GOD MADE TO US?
It should be clear that the national promise of protection to Israel has not been made to any other nation or group of people. There are, however, some promises that are specifically made to the Church, the Body of Christ. I will only mention a few. God has promised that if we trust Jesus Christ, His Son, as our sacrifice for our sins, that we would receive eternal life. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life, He that believes in me, though he were died, yet shall he live.” Some of you young people worry about whether you will truly go to heaven when you die. According to the Scriptures, if you have trusted Christ, you are assured of salvation forever.
Titus 3:3-7 tells that it is only in Christ that we have hope of salvation.
3 “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Others of you are worried about all sorts of things. Christ said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” This does not mean if you seek God first you will never worry. What He is saying is that you do not need to worry, you are wasting your time with worrying. God will take care of you. This is not a call to live a life pleasing to God so that you can win God’s favor but rather give priority to the things of God and He will take care of every other priority that you might have or might want to have. When you bow before God in prayer, you can pray, not my will but thy will be done because you are convinced not only that God’s will shall be done but that also His will is best.
Next Week: Haman – The Sin of Pride – Esther 6:1-14
Characters in Esther – The Queen Herself April 6, 2008
Posted by roberttalley in Esther, Faith, Religion, Sermons.1 comment so far
CHARACTERS IN ESTHER
ESTHER – STRENGTH TO DO THE NECESSARY
Esther 4:6-17
As we look at the various characters of this book, we move to the heroine, the woman God uses to protect His people from their enemies. Esther became queen after twelve months of impressing on official of the king after another and finally impressing Ahasuerus himself with her great beauty. Today we want to see how that this woman had the courage and boldness and strength to do what was necessary for her to do, if she was going to be an active participant in God’s plan.
Esther was not living as an orthodox Jew (2:8-12). This is in great contrast to the example of Daniel and his three friends in the first chapter of his prophecy. These men refused to eat the unclean food and drink the wine that was provided by the king. Esther not only becomes fully integrated with the culture of the palace but we find that when she gives a banquet for the king and Haman, it is called a banquet of wine. We do not know what kind of woman Esther was but there is no mention of her godliness. She’s apparently not living faithfully according to the law of God. She is also trying to keep it a secret that she is one of God’s chosen people.
Humanly speaking, she has good reason to keep her ethnic identity a secret. The Jews had a number of enemies in the Persian empire. Daniel, as an old man was hated by his political rivals who set a trap to have him cast into the lion’s den. As also happens in the book of Esther, they trick a foolish king, Darius, into signing a law that should have resulted in Daniel’s death. Instead Daniel’s political rivals and their families were killed. The likelihood of remaining personal animosity against the Jews because of Daniel was great.
The Jews also had political enemies who we read about in Ezra and Nehemiah. These people did not want to see the temple rebuilt nor the walls around Jerusalem rebuilt and they attempted a number of ways to bring the work to a halt and were at times successful. One of these methods was appeal to the Persian king to stop the work. They were painted in the descriptions of one of these letters as a rebellious people who would not remain submissive to the Persian king if allowed to establish themselves in Jerusalem.
Mordecai and Esther are aware of the recent history of the Jews in the Persian Empire. They also knew what type of man that Ahasuerus was and that Esther is going to have to deal with this man as his queen. We find, however, that God controlled and even used Esther’s secret for His purposes. Esther ended up queen because God needed her there.
Esther was put in a position where she was forced to make a decision about doing the will of God (4:10-14).
She needed to face her personal responsibility in this matter. It does not appear that Esther is trying to know God’s will for her life. God does not speak to her or perform some miracle or give some sort of sign. Esther does not go and read her Bible. In fact, she may not have had access to the Scriptures. She is just there in the palace minding her own business and then God works the situation to the point where she is forced to make a decision. Do I do what is right or do I try to find a way to save my hide?
God himself actively works to see that she has the opportunity to do His will. Remember that Esther did not know when she became queen that she would be used of God to deliver the Jewish people. She was not keeping her identity a secret waiting for that special day when its revelation would be salvation of the Jewish nation. All she knew was that she was now the most honored woman in the kingdom. God, however, is working. He is working before she becomes queen and after she becomes queen and even during the night between her two banquets of wine, when he takes Ahasuerus’ sleep away from him and allows him to hear of how that Mordecai rescued his life by revealing a plot against the king’s life and how that Mordecai had not been honored for his good deed and God uses this knowledge to humble Haman.
What God wants more than anything else is a willing, strong, and courageous heart. Now the book of Esther does not say this but the Bible makes it clear that what He wants from us is a willingness to simply to what is right, what is His will. How important is it to do the will of God?
Jesus put it this way in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
It is the only guarantee of eternal blessing and significance according to 1 John 2:17, “And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
Esther was willing to do God’s will despite the likely personal cost. The issue is not being in God’s will but rather doing God’s will. That is, by the way, the emphasis in the New Testament. It is not a matter of finding out what you are to be but simply doing what you already know to be the truth. That is the decision that Esther has to make. Am I going to do what is right, what God wants me to or am I going to do something else? Esther did not know whether she would survive the first step but she had faith to act, confident that this was the right thing to do. Faith and confidence are not real if you are assured of a rosy outcome. Faith and confidence show itself to be real even if the outcome appears to be disaster in the making.
Esther was encouraged to put her trust in God and she did (4:16, 5:1-8, 7:1-6). God’s will is revealed to her one step at a time and even at that it is not always clear what it is that she should do.
“If I perish, I perish! (4:16)” That is not the same as “Que sera, sera!” (Whatever will be, will be). Esther is not passive nor is she fatalistic. She is active and convinced that she must act. She did not know if she would survive but she did know that God was in control and that her responsibility was to act accordingly. She did not need to fear when the events of the day were going against her. She needed to trust in God’s providence and power and purposes.
Esther seems in 5:1-8 to be feeling her way. She does not seem to be convinced as to the best time to reveal Haman’s trap. God, however, even uses her hesitancy for His purposes. Just as God is not limited by our lack of character, he is also not limited by our inadequate plan. He will accomplish His purposes, no matter how awful we may bungle to the task we have before us. There were many records that could have been read to Ahasuerus that night but the royal reader selected exactly the portion that included the deeds of Mordecai.
When Esther at the second banquet finally revealed Haman’s plan and her identity (7:1-6), God took things up from there and shaped the situation to accomplish His purposes (7:7-8:8).
He Maketh No Mistake
My Father’s way may twist and turn
My heart may throb and ache.
But in my soul I’m glad I know
He maketh no mistake.
My cherished plans may go astray,
My hopes may fade away.
But still I’ll trust my Lord to lead
for he doth know the way.
Tho’ night be dark, and it may seem
That day will never break;
I pin my faith, my all in Him,
He maketh no mistake.
There is so much now I cannot see;
My eyesight’s far too dim.
But come what may I’ll simply trust
And leave it all to Him.
But by and by the mist will lift
And plain it all He’ll make.
Through all the way tho’ dark to me
He made not one mistake. (unknown)
You are presented almost everyday with an opportunity to do God’s will. He is giving you that opportunity. It is not easy but it is there for you. You may be no more interested in doing something great for God than Esther was but that does not absolve you from the responsibility to do what is God’s will.
Believer, young and old, where does the strength come? According to 2 Thessalonians 1:11 it comes from God,
“Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power,” Turn to Christ for the strength and the power and the courage and the boldness that you need.
Perhaps you have yet to trust Christ. Please consider Hebrews 10:35-39.
35
Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.
36
For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:
37
“For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
38
Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”
{#Hab 2:3,4}
39
But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.
Approaching Palm Sunday (Jesus in Jericho) March 2, 2008
Posted by roberttalley in Faith, Luke, Religion, Sermons.1 comment so far
JESUS IN JERICHO
Luke 18:35-19:10
Faith in God is not confidence in one’s self.
BACKGROUND: Jericho was a prosperous place. By the time of Christ, there were two Jericho’s, the old one which we know from the Old Testament and a newer prosperous Jericho. It was a city of palaces, the current one, a winter palace, was built by Herod the Great and rebuilt by his son to even greater splendor and glory. It was on the main route from Galilee into Jerusalem on the north. That journey was about eighty miles and normally took three-four days. Jericho was also the first crossing point over the Jordan River from the east just north of the Dead Sea. Although the journey to Jerusalem from Jericho was less than a days journey, it was very steep and very dangerous. It was on that road that Jesus set the parable of the Good Samaritan.
Some estimate that 100,000 people lived there and many of the wealthy Jews from Jerusalem had winter residences in Jericho. There was plenty of water for irrigation and there were fruit plantations there. At one time the area had been owned by Queen Cleopatra of Egypt. It was a place of wealth which attracted beggars looking for help. Luke introduces us to one of these beggars.
“…before we go on, you need to know that there is a little difficulty in this passage. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell this story and there is an apparent discrepancy about the number of beggars and about where Jesus actually performed this miracle. Mark and Luke only speak of one man. Mark identifies Him as Bartimaeus. Matthew speaks of two blind beggars. On the other hand, Matthew and Mark say this miracle occurred while Jesus was leaving Jericho. Luke tells us that it occurred when he was entering. Now those who do not believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, those who discount the authority of God’s word, like to pick on little passages like this and say that the Bible has mistakes…There are, however, solutions at hand to these apparent differences.
For instance, remember that Matthew was an eye witness to this account and Matthew had seen two beggars healed by the Lord. And he was interested in us knowing that fact, that the Lord Jesus had, in fact, dealt with both men. Luke and Mark were not eye witnesses of this account. They depended for their account on other eye witnesses and for some reason wanted to zero in on Bartimaeus who may have been very well known amongst the early Christian community.
As to the location, there are various solutions that have been suggested. As I have already mentioned, there were two Jericho’s in existence during that time, the old city which had been destroyed in the Old Testament days, and then about two miles south of it, there was the new city that had been built up. So it would be entirely possible for one to be leaving the old city and entering into the new city simultaneously. (adapted from Ligon Duncan)”
We read that Bartimaeus asked for mercy. We find that he was confident that he would receive mercy because he recognized who Jesus was.
He publicly recognized Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of David (18:37-38). It is interesting that Bartimaeus hears the crowd coming and he begins to ask about what is happening. Now the road through Jericho was well traveled and it must have been a tremendous crowd to get the attention of Bartimaeus as well as of Zaccheus, who we will meet in just a few minutes. When Bartimaeus inquires about the crowd, he is told that Jesus of Nazareth is coming. Immediately he fills with excitement and cries out “Jesus…!” But Jesus was a very common name. Rather than calling out Jesus of Nazareth, Bartimaeus cries out “Jesus, son of David!” Bartimaeus, by the way he addressed Jesus recognizes Jesus as the Messiah. This was an act of faith. We do not know what all he had heard about Jesus but he had heard enough that he made his decision of faith that Jesus was the Christ, the Anointed One of God.
There were in those days many who came forth declaring themselves to be the Christ. Jericho was not some backwater where they would not be known about. Bartimaeus, however, recognized Jesus as the true Messiah. What basis did he have for this recognition.
His confidence likely was based on the Messiah’s ministry itself (18:39-41). Certainly this is the point that Luke is attempting to make in his gospel. It was well known that the ministry of the Messiah was a ministry of mercy. Look at what Jesus Himself proclaimed openly at the beginning of His ministry in Luke 4:16-21.
16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
18 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, {NU–Text omits to heal the brokenhearted.} To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” {#Isa 61:1,2}
20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
There are those who claim that Jesus never presented Himself as the Messiah but Luke makes it clear and it was clear to many of those who heard Him and heard of Him that He not only presented Himself as the Messiah but also that He was the Messiah.
His confidence in Christ was rewarded (18:40-43). Jesus, as you would expect, takes the time to have Bartimaeus brought to him. It is obvious that what he needs. It is no doubt just as obvious what his desire is but Jesus asks him, “What can I do for you?” Bartimaeus, not with presumption but with great confidence and faith, “Could I receive my sight?” Then Jesus, rather than saying “Yes, you can!” commands Bartimaeus, “Receive your sight!” There is nothing that Bartimaeus can do to receive his sight but Christ commands him to receive and then makes it possible.
Not every time Jesus healed someone was in response to someone’s faith but this man had confidence that Jesus could do exactly what he needed done. Not because Bartimaeus deserved to be healed but because of who Jesus was, the Messiah, the Son of David, the Chosen One of God.
Jesus goes on and he enters Jericho. The crowd is rejoicing. The blind man is following Jesus glorifying God for the miracle of healing. Zacchaeus hears that Jesus is coming.
Just Bartimaeus physically was in bad shape, Zacchaeus was in bad shape spiritually. He knew that he had given his life to wealth. In fact, he, as was common among the tax collectors, had stolen from others by overcharging taxes so that he could enrich himself. Zacchaeus was aware of his sinfulness and knew that he needed mercy. Like Bartimaeus, he showed his confidence in the Messiah by how he reacted to Jesus Christ.
He also had heard of Jesus and wanted to see him (19:3-4) but the crowds were so great that there was no possibility of even getting a glimpse of Jesus Christ. He was a short man and there was no possibility of seeing over the exuberant crowd. He found a tree and climbed up it. This rich man humbled himself in order to become acquainted with Jesus Christ and Jesus honored Zacchaeus’ effort and not only spoke with him but invited himself to Zacchaeus’ house.
Everyone recognized that he was sinner (19:7-10).
Many in the crowd must have known him. They knew what his job was. They knew that he had aligned himself with the Roman occupiers for the sake of money. Many of them hated him and everything that he stood for and for the dishonesty that they either knew or suspected that he was guilty of.
Zacchaeus did not try to defend himself. He knew his past. He knew His heart. He heard the accusations. He stood up, turned to Jesus and said, “I’m going to make this right. Whatever it takes, I will do.” It is interesting that Jesus did not demand that he give up all his goods. When the rich young ruler came, that was exactly what Jesus demanded. You see, what Jesus is interested in is not how much you have or do not have. Christ wants your heart and if he gets your heart, you will do the right thing with whatever it is that you have.
Jesus himself recognized that Zacchaeus had a great problem. He was lost and had been for a long time. That word “lost” does not mean “misplaced.” That word means “one who has been perishing, one who is doomed to destruction.” Jesus, however, came to seek and to save people just like Zacchaeus.
His response of faith, his confidence in Christ resulted in a transformation (19:8). Just a few days before, perhaps just a few hours before, Jesus stated that it was impossible unless God did the work to bring a wealthy man to God and then we find he does it.
There were two miracles performed in Jericho that day. A blind man was made to see and a lost man was saved from destruction. It was not their power that saved them from their fate but rather their faith in Christ that resulted in a miracle in their lives.
We have looked at the faith of two men. Men whose lives are very different from each other. What do their faith have in common and what should be characteristic of our faith in Christ?
The faith of these two was alike in its confession of unworthiness. These two men stand in stark contrast to the rich young ruler and to the Pharisee mentioned earlier in chapter 18. The more you feel that you are deserving, the weaker your faith will become.
The faith of these two was alike in defying and conquering opposition. The proof of faith is how it reacts when the times are tough, when it is not easy to express and show your faith in Christ.
The faith of these two was alike in being publicly proclaimed. Sometimes people wonder, why do you emphasize baptism so much in this church. Because we recognize that someone who does not want to proclaim their faith through baptism has a weak faith.
How about your faith? Is your confidence in Christ? If it is, it is because you recognize who He is and what you are not. If your confidence is in Christ, you will stand against whatever it is that wants you to hide your faith. there is no such thing as a private faith. Faith in Christ is a public matter. Proclaim your faith today.
Follow-up on sign seeking September 11, 2007
Posted by roberttalley in Bible, Faith, Religion, Signs and Wonders, Will of God.add a comment
Yesterday received this comment,
“Whilst waiting for an answer to prayer, is asking God for a sign as encouragement) in the meantime, a form of unbelief? Will God give the sign or He will regard it as not trusting Him?”
I gave a short answer yesterday in the comments here.
Question: Is it unbelief to ask for a sign while waiting for an answer to prayer?
Answer: It certainly could be. When we pray in God’s will, we assume that He will do what is best but there are a number of situations that can drive one to doubt God on some level and ask for a sign.
- Impatience.
- Desperation for an answer.
- Lack of confidence in His Word.
- Lack of faith that He will answer our prayer exactly as it should be answered.
Certainly we are not commanded as Ahaz was to seek a sign. Ahaz, by the way, refused to seek the sign and he was known for not having faith. So the fact that someone seeks or refuses to seek a sign tells us little about their spiritual condition.
Most often God gave signs without them being sought for. Many signs were not believed anyway. What is the attitude that causes you to seek a sign? If God refused to give you the sign, would you walk away from Him? Many do.
This brings us to the second question. Will God give the sign or will He refuse in regard to our unbelief? I don’t think I should presume to speak for God. It is possible that He sometimes gives signs. He can do what He wants but He has already given us His Word and proclaimed it sufficient. If He gives a sign, it would not be because we need it but because He had a reason to give one. But if I have the Word of God, why would I desire a sign? In other words, we do not need signs but rather God’s Word and God’s church both of which were given to us for encouragement and guidance.
Links on Mother Theresa September 3, 2007
Posted by roberttalley in Doubt, Faith, False Doctrine, Personalities, Religion, Roman Catholicism.add a comment
Had intended to get the answers up to Revelation 10 but that will have to wait. Here are some interesting links that do not all agree with each other but have something worthwhile to say.
Rick Phillips (a take on Mother Theresa unlike any I’ve ever read)
Dr. Al Mohler (the problem of faith and doubt)
Converted to Christ by an Atheist July 19, 2007
Posted by roberttalley in Atheism, Easter, Faith, Gospel, Repentance, Terrible Parables, Testimony.2 comments
Testimony Of Tom Dutton As Given on Easter Sunday, April 8, 2007
I’d like to take a few minutes, this morning, and tell you how I came to know Jesus Christ as Savior.
My early life was one that I would best describe as running from God, but at the same time trying to find Him. I remember trying to live up to the Ten Commandments that I had memorized in Bible School, but, at best, could only do so in short spurts. I recall thinking that God must think of me as an absolute failure. (If you have read the latest Terrible Parable on the Church web site this week, THE DEFECTIVE AFGHAN, you could add another person to that list!)
When I looked at others, I saw there were some who seemed to be able to live a righteous life, at least more righteous than mine. So I then developed a desire to meet those standards, but knew in my very being that I couldn’t do it. But why? If God gave us standards to live by, why wasn’t it reasonable to expect that his creatures would be able to obey them? It only made sense that I should be able to do so, but I couldn’t! So instead of running toward God, I ran away from Him.
I recall reading Francis Thompson’s poem, “The Hound of Heaven” which is an examination of the way God brought him to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. It also portrays, how God dealt with me in my earlier years. I too, was seeking knowledge that would reveal God to me. I too was trying to find God on my terms, in my way. When I read the Bible, it made no sense, as I was trying to find a god (little ‘g’) that would fit my definition. Thompson’s poem, “The Hound of Heaven”, begins:
“I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
A down Titanic glooms of chasmèd fears.”
This poem could well have been a commentary on my own life; as I desired to know What God was, but didn’t want to know Who He was. Or if I did, I wanted it on my own terms. It was a roller coaster ride of the worst kind.
During my mid twenties, I began to read the Bible again, this time with the teaching of a Biblical Pastor David and a couple of Christian friends Bill and Nelson. I read passages like “there is none righteous, no not one”; and “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God”; And, of course, Paul’s own self examination was an echo of my own life,
Romans 7
9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Then a little further on in the same chapter, Paul continues:
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good, I find not.
19 For the good that I would, I do not: but the evil, which I would not, that I do.
It was at this point that I began to realize that if the great Apostle Paul was in the same dilemma as I, then maybe I needed to listen a little more closely to what God was really saying in the Bible. How did Paul get out of this quandary? Paul goes on:
22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. [So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.]
But as earlier in life, I tried to intellectualize this; How could I resolve this, How could I solve this seemingly impossible riddle? I recall having many discussions with Nelson over this and other issues. How big is God and where is He? Can we really know Him if we don’t meet His standards? How could Jesus be crucified and come back to life again? How can I know if he died for me? What. How, Why???
Then one day, In the late ‘60s, I was having lunch in a restaurant in Concord NH with a fellow worker from Dartmouth College. He knew I went to church, as I had mentioned this to him before. He was an atheist and made sure everyone knew it, so when he asked the question, “Tom, are you really a Christian?” I knew he was looking for more than just a yes or no, churchgoer response.
“What do you mean by ‘a Christian’?” I asked, slowly, perhaps trying to delay my response as much as possible.
“Do you believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior?” was his response.
Uh, oh! There it was; My life’s defining moment. Now it isn’t every day that an atheist is the one that moves someone into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, but I’m here to tell you that it happens! Perhaps atheists know better than most that confession is the dividing line between faith and unbelief and Bob knew that if he could get me to deny Jesus, I would be in his camp. But I also knew that Jesus said “If you will confess me before men, I will confess you before my Father who is in heaven.” This was it! How would I respond to life’s most important question?
It came immediately, “Why, yes, Bob, He is my Lord and Savior.”
From that moment, I recall, all doubt that I had harbored, immediately fled from me. I also recall that Bob instantly changed the subject. He had asked the wrong person the right question! I had spent my whole life running from God and He spent it running after me, like the Hound of Heaven in Francis Thompson’s poem. He finally cornered me and I had no way escaping Him. I was His! And He was mine!
The “Hound of Heaven” poem ends with God’s voice:
“Rise, clasp My hand, and come !”
Halts by me that footfall :
Is my gloom, after all,
Shade of His hand, outstretched caressingly ?
Then God’s voice again:
“Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest,
I am He Whom thou seekest !
Thou dravest love from thee, who dravest Me.”
(You drove love away from yourself, when you repelled Me.)
[dravest: v. to repel or push away]
John Newton described his salvation:“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me; I once was lost, but now I’m found; was blind, but now I see!”
Galatians 2:16 “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”
There are many verses in the Bible that are very meaningful to me, but Phil 3:7 – 10 are my favorites:
7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
As you know, music is a big part of my life. Music is an expression of the soul that cannot be expressed in any other way. It’s not surprising then, that in the few glimpses we see of heaven in the Bible, that the saints are singing praises to the Risen Lamb.
Although my musical talents are limited to strumming a guitar and singing, I began then to dedicate them to God; to use them in whatever way I could to give back to Him, a small part of the great love He has for me in giving His son Jesus Christ, who died for me. And to express that love I have for Him, which is inexpressible in no other way than singing.
I love to sing when I’m alone in the car; people who see or hear me as I drive by must wonder at my sanity! The chorus, “I Love You, Lord” is a favorite of mine, one of many that I like to sing when I’m driving.
Please join me in singing it.
Second Peter 1:2-2:2 (How do we know the truth?) July 8, 2007
Posted by roberttalley in Bible, Faith, False Teachers, Forgiveness, Gospel, Holy Spirit, Inspiration, Peter the Apostle, Romans, Scripture Memorization, Second Peter, Sermons.2 comments
We continue to learn Romans 6:1-13 during these summer months. I would like for us to think on verses 5-8.
“For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.”
Paul says that there are some things that we know. He says that we are certain of the resurrection because we know that our old man was crucified with Christ, that our sinful body was done away with. How though can we be sure? He repeats this truth in verse 8 when he says that if we died with Christ, we can be convinced that we will live with Him. Again, the question is this, “How do we know?” His reply might be, because we know that the resurrected Christ will die no more. How though can we be sure?
THIS QUESTION ABOUT TRUTH IS CURRENT!
Tomorrow as we hold the memorial service for Ron French, this question will be uppermost in some minds, “How can we know that what God has said (about eternity in this case) is true?”
We have the answer in 2 Peter 1:20-21. Let us read these two verses and then we will answer the question, “How do we know?”
“…knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
Peter begins this letter by pronouncing a special blessing on his readers. We find the beginning of this blessing in 1:2. This blessing is based on knowledge. Not just any knowledge but the full knowledge of Jesus Christ. Peter then goes on to explain what exactly this full knowledge produces in the life of the believer so that those who are reading the book will understand both the blessing of this knowledge and their responsibility to it.
FULL KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST SHOWS ITSELF IN OUR CHARACTER.
1. This knowledge produces fruit (1:2-15). This is not theory but reality put into practice. The knowledge of God produces salvation and it produces the type of life that is different from that of the world.
a. Verses 1-4 tell us about the eternal fruit that is produced by the Word of God. Although I will be talking about eternal fruit of the future and earthly fruit in our present lives, I hope you will understand as Peter does, that the two are inseparable. Look at verse 3. Peter speaks of that which pertains to life and godliness. Both of them are produced by the power of God by the means of the knowledge of God.
b. Verses 5-7 tell us about the earthly fruit that is produced by the Word of God. Not only is the gospel of Christ the power that produces salvation, it is also the power that produces a godly life.
· Why then do believers not live a godly life? Why do they not add to their faith, virtue and to their virtue, knowledge until it culminates in the love of God revealed in their daily lives? It is likely because the power of God does not work in them as it should because they have shunned the knowledge of Christ. Someone asked me several months ago what the verse meant that says that if we will not forgive our brother, neither will our Father in heaven forgive us. This is the explanation. If the gospel does not transform your way of living then it is very unlikely that your heart has been transformed. So if you never develop as a Christian to the point where you can forgive those who have sinned against you, then it is likely you have never experienced the power of God for salvation.
· This brings us to a second question? What is my part in producing godliness? If I am incapable of producing godliness, why then am I commanded to do so? This is why the Word of God is necessary. You see, it is the power of God that produces godliness just as it is the power of God that produces salvation and eternal life but in both cases this power is set in motion by the Word of God and we respond to it by faith. This is the difference between dead works and faith. Dead works looks at the rules and says, “I can do that.” Faith looks at the promises and says, “God can do that for me,” and then responds by striving to do what God has promised to do within me. Those promises that we look at in the Word of God are like a carrot dangling from a stick luring us away from sin and leading us in the path of godliness (HT: John Piper). It is not by my power to walk in that path but it is by my assent. It is not my capability but it is my responsibility to accept and act upon the truth.
WHEN WE BEAR SPIRITUAL FRUIT, GOD’S WORD IS CONFIRMED.
c. Verses 8-15 tell us about the necessity of spiritual fruit. We are assured by the Word of God as well as by recognizing God’s work in our heart and life. To continue strong in faith, it is absolutely necessary to be strengthened by the Word of God. I am not sure how far down the road of destruction one can go but it seems that it is possible that one can live in rejection of the Word of God to such a point that his spiritual eyesight is damaged (verse 9). In fact the implication of verse 10 is that those who have no fruit have no salvation.
GOD’S TRUTH IS NOT ONLY CONFIRMED BY OUR CHARACTER BUT ALSO BY EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS.
2. We know the truth by the confirmed word (1:16-18). Peter was not a moralist. He did not say I am going to tell you what to do over and over and over again until you get it. Peter said I am going to tell you what I have seen. He was an eyewitness. He was not talking about what he had heard from someone else but was speaking from his own personal experience. The confirmation of the truth of the Word of God is very important (Hebrews 2:1-4; 1 John 1:1-2; 1 Corinthians 15). That is what produces assurance of salvation as well as a holy life.
· Sometimes someone will tell me about some experience they have that they accredit to God. Sometimes, the experience, although totally foreign to anything that I have ever experienced seems to not only be consistent with the Word of God but also to be evidenced by godliness in the life of the person who experienced it. As long as they do not lift that experience to the level of revelation from God or inspiration by God, then I can say nothing against it. Often though, there are those who tell me about an experience they have had and they attribute that experience to God and I know by their lives that God could have nothing to do with it. If He did their lives would be different. I have no confidence in their experience not because of the experience but because it does not confirm the truth of the Word of God. If your experience does not confirm the clear truth of the Word of God, then your experience is suspect.
· Peter was different. He was not a perfect man. He was flawed but His experience with Christ changed him and now as he is coming to the end of his life, he writes and tells these people, you need to be reminded of the truth of the message of Jesus Christ. That will keep you from sin! That will establish you in the truth! It is interesting that he does not tell about the resurrection or the ascension of Christ into heaven but rather of the transfiguration, the time when Peter saw Christ in His majesty. Why? Peter understood that was the experience he had with Christ that best describes the second coming (verse 16).
WHAT IS IT THAT FRUITFUL LIVES AND EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS CONFIRM?
3. We know the truth by fruitful lives and by confirming testimony but first and foremost we know the truth by the prophetic word of God (1:19-2:2). This is what was confirmed by the eyewitnesses, the prophetic word of God. This may (or may not) imply predicting the future although the predictive prophecies that were fulfilled in Jesus Christ concerning the Messiah coming in power and majesty are certainly foremost in the mind of Peter as well as his Jewish readers.
a. A prophet never spoke his own message. It was always the message of God that he spoke and that message when believed would bring light (1:19-21).
· “The content of the Bible is revelation. The process by which that content was written down is called inspiration. And it wasn’t a high level of human activity, it wasn’t even a high level of religious human activity. Men were in the process but it didn’t originate with them and it didn’t come from their desire and their will, they were used as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit and enabled to speak from God. They spoke divine words. God used them. It was their personality. It was their background, some of their insights, their experiences, their perceptions, but every word was the word of God. (Macarthur)”
b. A false prophet not only speaks his own message but it brings destruction on those who believe it (2:1-2).
WARNING! ALL THAT IS TOLD IS NOT TRUTH.
There are a lot of wrong voices crying to be heard. These voices are described in 2 Peter 2:1-2. We find out two important things about these wrong voices, the false prophets.
First, they have always been around. Peter quickly moves into his present day but he begins by saying, “Yes, we have the Word of God but do not forget, the false prophets are from ancient times also.” Just because something is old does not make it honest or true. What makes truth is not age or lack of it but a reliable source and Peter says that the Holy Spirit speaking through men is the only reliable source of truth.
Secondly, they deny and reject Jesus Christ. It is not about believing in God. It is about trusting Christ. He is after all the only way to God. It is not about doing good works to please God. Good works deny the sufficiency of the work of Christ on the cross. It is not about the traditions of men but about the truth of Christ. How then do you know the truth? Certainly, you can look at what God has done in the lives of believers. That is evidence of the power of the knowledge of God. If you are a believer, you know now that God has given you the power to bear fruit. Strive to do it. It is very clear what the fruit should be. Make your life correspond to that fruit.
There are also the eyewitness testimonies that confirm the truth of the Word of God. Peter is one of those. Ultimately, though you are going to have to put your faith and trust in the promises of God for yourself. Only then can your way be lit to salvation in this life and in the life to come.
The Last Sermon in the Series on Abraham (Isaac Gets A Wife) June 24, 2007
Posted by roberttalley in Abraham, Faith, Genesis, Isaac, Prayer, Sermons, Spiritual Disciplines, Will of God, Worship.1 comment so far
DO YOU WORSHIP WHEN GOD ANSWERS YOUR PRAYERS?
Genesis 24
Sometimes the best way to understand a person’s heart is through their reactions. The world of acting understands this very well. Think of those characters in movies and plays and TV shows who are supposed to not show emotion or are very constrained in their emotions. When Spock raises an eyebrow, it is enough to tell us that there is a deep emotion present. When Columbo stares at someone walking away from a conversation it is enough to tell us that he smells a rat. This is true in real life also and especially in our understanding of God. Genesis 24 gives us a wonderful example of how the reactions of one man show the depth of understanding He has of God.
As we begin this chapter we find that Abraham is old. He has walked with God for many years. His wife, Sarah, has died. He can look back on his life and see that God has always been actively involved. He has been blessed of God. This is clear from verse 1. Why did God bless Abraham? The answer we find in verse 27. God’s blessing in Abraham’s life was based on His mercy and His truth, i.e. His promises.
GOD DOES NOT HELP THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES?
God works in our lives in much the same way He worked in Abraham’s life. His blessing and working in our lives is based on His mercy and His truth, i.e. His promises.
We know nothing about Abraham’s life before God called him out of Ur of the Chaldees. We assume he feared God, that he lived a life of righteousness. That is, however, a big assumption. We make this same assumption about other characters in the Bible also. For example, in Genesis 6 God says I am going to wipe out the whole earth because of their wickedness. In verse 8, when Noah is introduced to the story, the Bible does not say, “Behold, there was one good man on the earth!” rather it says, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” Noah and his family deserved to die in the flood with the rest of the wicked world.
It concerns me when we get up and say God has blessed America because of its Christian influence or because we are good to Israel or because we have had compassion on the weak or because we have the Ten Commandments hanging in the Supreme Court. As if God is impressed with us! God has mercy on whom He will have mercy is the way He expressed it when giving the Ten Commandments. Even when we are obedient, it is still of God’s mercy that we are not consumed.
MERCY AND…TRUTH
God’s work is not based solely on His mercy (verses 2-9). This misunderstanding of God is what causes many to turn from Him when bad things start happening. They feel betrayed by God. They do not want a God who allows bad things to happen. They want a God who makes them feel good. They want a God who winks at what they do and lets them get away with evil and then blesses them in spite of their evil. That is not the way God operates. His ways are mercy AND truth. When God called Abraham, He gave to him the way of truth. He said Abraham, “I am going to bless you. I am going to make from your seed a great nation. I am going to bless the world through your seed.” That was the way of truth for Abraham. What did Abraham do? He walked in the way of truth. He left Ur. He left his family in Haran. He went to a country that God would show him. He believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness when God told him that he would have a son. He believed God, when he was told that this son would come through his aged wife, Sarah. He believed God, when he was tested and commanded to sacrifice his son as a burnt offering. Abraham did many commendable things and he did them because he walked in the way of God’s dependable, faithful truth. In other words, Abraham believed God’s promises. The promises of God are what guided His life.
In verses 2-6 we see how that Abraham’s understanding of the promises of God guided His decision making. First, Abraham decided that Isaac must have a wife. Now to our knowledge God did not command Abraham to get Isaac a wife. Look at verse 7. In Abraham’s command to his servant, he gives the basis for his actions. “God has promised to give my descendants this land.” Up to now, Abraham does not have descendants (plural) to whom this promise applies. He has another son, Ishmael, but God has already made it plain that Ishmael is not of the chosen seed. God has also not promised another son alongside of Isaac. All of God’s promises and Abraham’s hope both earthly and spiritual are tied up in Isaac having descendants. God’s character is riding on the outcome of Isaac’s life. If Isaac does not marry and does not have children, then God’s way is not the way of truth. Therefore, Abraham does not have to wait for God to command him to get a wife. He already knows God’s will based on God’s word, God’s promises.
ABRAHAM CONTINUES TO DISCERN GOD’S WILL
Abraham also decided that Isaac’ wife must not be a Canaanite woman. Why? Was Abraham a racist? We find the reasoning behind Abraham’s decision in Genesis 15:16. John Piper writes, “God tells Abraham that his descendants will be oppressed 400 years in Egypt and then says, ‘And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.’ The Amorites here represent all the pagan peoples of Canaan. They are marked out for judgment because of their sin, but God will not drive them out until the history of their sin is so appalling no one will accuse God of injustice when he sweeps through Canaan destroying these nations. Now if God had said that to you about the people surrounding you, would you not hear a warning against forming marriage alliances? Abraham saw a trajectory in God’s Word that probably went something like this: ‘Through your son I will fulfill my covenant to be the God of his descendants and to bless all the nations through him. So take heed lest he marry a woman who worships other gods and could bring him into a snare.’ That’s the way Moses warned Israel hundreds of years later when they were about to enter the Promised Land: ‘You shall not make marriages with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons. For they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods’ (Deuteronomy 7:3, 4).”
Based on his understanding of God’s promises Abraham made the decision, “You will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites” (24:3). In fact, you will go to my people, to my relatives, to those who know and worship the true and living God.
OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S PROMISES IS BETTER THAN OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S LAW.
Finally, Abraham decided that his son, Isaac, should not go to Nahor, where these relatives lived. There are really two parts to the promise God gives Abraham. I will give you seed and I will give you this land. For Isaac to leave the land was not against God’s law but it was against God’s promises. God promised in chapter 12 and chapter 13 and chapter 15 and chapter 17 that Isaac’s seed would inherit that land of Canaan. There was no reason to leave the Promised Land. In fact, Abraham seems in verse 7 to states this promise not only as the reason why he would not let Isaac go back to Nahor but also as the reason why he was confident that his servant would find success in finding Isaac a wife there. So we see that Abraham’s decision making and his confidence in his decisions was not based on his wisdom but on his knowledge of the promises of God.
GOD’S MERCY AND TRUTH AFFECTS OUR PRAYERS.
Now if God works in our lives in the same way, then it will affect how we live. One way that it will affect us, is in how we pray. Our prayers will be based on God’s mercy and on God’s promises (verses 12-14). The servant here is not bargaining with God. He is not asking for proof that God exists. He is basing His prayer on the mercy of God.
We sometimes have the idea that God only answers the prayers of good people. If that were true, God would never answer prayer. I know what some of you are thinking. David wrote, “If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me.” That is certainly true. God hates sin and one way that God deals with sin is by not answering the prayers of his children who tolerate sin but the answers to prayer come not because we have been good little kids but because he is merciful.
We are in the midst of toilet training our little girl. This has been a new experience for us because our son was relatively easy to toilet train. We have resorted to the “chocolate for poddy” method. We tend to view God that way, do we not? “Lord, come, see! Lord, come, see! Will you not now answer me?”
That is not what the servant is doing here. He says, “Lord, I know if you answer this prayer it will be because of your mercy! If you answer this prayer the way I wish, then I know it will not be because of my faith but because of your mercy.” Not that this was not a prayer of faith. It was but it was not based on the servant mustering up faith in God but on the promises that God has made to Abraham.
His confidence in God’s working, like that of Abraham, was based on God’s Word. How do we know this? When God answered his prayer, the servant’s response was worship.
A WORD ON THE OUTWARD FORM OF WORSHIP
Now we are primarily interested in the basis of his worship but I do want us to look a bit at form. Since I have known anything about Christianity, which is over thirty-five years now, the American church has been involved in the “Worship Wars.” Hymns versus praise songs, liturgy versus spontaneity, congregational singing versus special music, the music of the older generation versus that of the younger generation, corporate prayer versus private prayer, a suit and tie versus casual wear, seeker services versus traditional services, three services a week versus one main service and small groups. I could go on and on.
Obviously form interests us very much, so let us look at the form of this servant’s worship. He bowed before God. In verses 26-27 we find he bowed his head before God. In verse 52 we find he bowed to the ground before God. Let me say this about form in worship. The “Worship Wars” are about us. True worship is about God.
THE BASIS FOR A WORSHIPFUL RESPONSE TO ANSWERED PRAYER
Now what is the basis of a worshipful response to God’s answers to prayer? There is recognition that God has not forsaken His mercy (verse 27). Worship is not making a connection with God. Worship is recognizing that God has made a connection with us and that connection is one of mercy.
A worshipful response is also based on the fact that God has not forsaken His truth, i.e. promises (verses 26-27). That is why the servant spent so much time retelling his story to Rebekah’s brothers. They needed to know that God was at work here and they recognized that God was at work (verses 48-52).
Now think about this. The brothers’ response was not based on any miracle that they could verify. It was somehow obvious to them though that God was working in the matter. They knew about Abraham. In fact, in verses 59-60 it appears they might have even known about the promises that God had made to him. Perhaps they had heard from traders about what God was doing in Abraham’s life or had even during some of the silent times in Abraham’s story had direct or indirect contact with them. What was obvious though to them and to Abraham’s servant and should be obvious to us is this: God keeps His promises.
Last week I spoke about finding promises in God’s Word that we can depend on when the times get rough. Did you do that? Did you think on God’s Word, read God’s Word, meditate on God’s Word, memorize God’s Word and internalize a promise from God for your future or did you let it leave you like water on a duck’s back? One possible reason that we do not truly worship in our church services and in our lives may be because we live oblivious of what God has promised us. I understand that not every promise in the book is mine. I understand that God has not promised peace and prosperity to me if I keep the law. But I also understand that God’s Word was written that I might understand God’s working and that when I understand God’s working, I understand God’s promises and when I understand God’s promises I have a foundation in troubled times and guidance for the tough decisions of life. When I understand God’s promises, I have a reason to pray and a reason to worship when God answers my prayers. When I understand God’s promises, I have a motivation to tell others about those promises and how that God fulfills them.
OTHERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GOD’S WORKING IN YOUR LIFE.
Confidence in God’s working is strengthened by the telling of God’s works (verse 66). When the servant got home, he told Isaac not Abraham what had happened. He told Isaac about his prayer. He told Isaac about God’s answer. He told Isaac about Rebekah’s response and her brothers’ response. Why? Isaac needed to know that God was able to work in his life, just as He had worked in Abraham’s wife.
“Where did you get your wife, Isaac? Was she some beautiful slave girl that you took a fancy to? Is she the daughter of some rich Canaanite chieftain with whom you made a deal?”
“No, God in His mercy made a promise and this woman is the part of the fulfillment of this promise in my life.”
A PROMISE FROM GOD FOR YOU
God has made a lot of promises in His Word. The most important one has to do with the promise He made to Abraham and to Isaac, “In your seed will the nations of the earth be blessed.” The New Testament explains to us who that seed is and how through Him the nations will be blessed. The seed is Jesus Christ, the son of Abraham, the son of Isaac. God became the seed of Abraham and Isaac and lived blamelessly on this earth and died for your sin according to the Scriptures and was buried and rose again and ascended to heaven. In Him is eternal life. In Him is forgiveness of sin. In Him you can be transformed from death to life. This only applies to you though if you believe God’s promises. Will you believe Him, trust Him today?
