Category: Bible studies

The End of the World: “Seven Deadly Sins” – Revelation 2-3

They have been called the “Seven Deadly sins”. Solomon wrote In the Book of Proverbs: “six things the Lord hates, and the seventh His soul detests, namely: a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plots, feet that are swift to run into mischief, a deceitful witness that utters lies, and he that sows discord among brothers.” (Proverbs 6:16-19). Later, in Church History, “The Seven Deadly Sins” became known as the Capital Vices or in Latin theology the “Cardinal Sins”. These vices that have been recalled since early Christian times to instruct the church concerning fallen humanity’s sin nature. The currently recognized version of the list is usually given as wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. No matter how you slice it – we have always known there is a SIN PROBLEM in the world. To naively believe that most people are “basically good” is to show you have a VERY LIMITED life experience.

Coming back to our study in Revelation, we see the sin problem as it affected seven churches of the time of the Apostle John – at the end of the first century. It was now more than fifty-five years from the time of Jesus’ death and Resurrection. We have noted already that John wasn’t writing to individual believers, but to churches that were characterized by sin problems. Though that was true, it was equally true that each church was made up of believers that individually struggled – just as we do today.

Key Principle: There are sinful choices that can cripple believers and churches. We must identify the dangers, and deliberately choose to walk away from the temptations.

The letters as they appear in chapters two and three were sent to seven literal churches in the order of the postal route. They are perhaps easier to recall if you use the teaching device Dr. Howard Hendricks taught his students years ago. Repeat and learn the phrase: “Everybody Sing Please That Sounds Pretty Lovely”. The seven messages were loaded with information each city could recognize from its own history and experience, and it would be great if we had the time to share all of the history we cover on our trips to the seven churches. In the end, what will fulfill our purpose for today is NOT a complete study of the places and letters, but a brief look at each to ask a simple question: What is the sin problem here and how does it woo believers today? We will not avoid what we don’t identify as a problem. That is the reason for SPEED BUMP warnings, POT HOLE signs and WET PAINT notices.

Each of the seven letter is broken down into the same details:

  • The name of the city is given first. Next there is an identification of Jesus that is significant to that city. For instance, to Smyrna – an archaic city that lay in ruins by the C5th BCE and was DEAD but later reborn under Antigonus in the C4 BCE – Jesus introduced Himself as the One who was DEAD and is now ALIVE!
  • The praise for the church is given. Usually it is a simple statement of Jesus KNOWING something about the struggle of the church. For example, to Ephesus, Jesus said He knew their patience, and the purity in their struggle with the Nicolaitines.
  • The indictment or instruction usually follows the praise. An example of this would be in the case of Pergamon, where Jesus said: “Some are in the error of Balaam and Balac and still others are overtaken in the error of the Nicolaitines.” It is from this section that we will discover the sin problems in this lesson.
  • The letters also include the penalty or promise given to the church based on their sinful practices or resistance to them. Things like “a white stone of acquittal” or “hidden manna” are offered for their obedience.

Look at the pat of each letter that bears out the SIN ISSUES. What were the seven hindrances that can become deadly sins for God’s people? Each church has one, and every believer faces them.

Hindrance #1: Neglected Priorities – When we don’t place our heart for God above all else.

The letter to the church of Ephesus is found in Revelation 2:1-7. It is worth noting that as a city, the sun was setting on the prosperous port of Ephesus, and all that was left was a trinket trade and tourism to the Wonder of the Artemission – a temple to the goddess of LOVE – an old shrine on the cliff above the city. To that mother of the churches of Asia Minor, John was instructed to dictate a letter from Jesus that said:

2:1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: … 4 ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. …”

They left their first love. They began in love with the Savior – worshipping, thanking, praising and sharing because of HIM. WHAT BEGAN AS A PASSION became a PROGRAM. The issue was NOT a lack of vigilance against error (2:2), it was not a matter of endurance (2:3), nor acceptance of popular trends (2:6) – the issue was a heart for God. Without that heart – God’s church set aside the essential fiber that held it together, AND DRONED ON WITHOUT ITS PASSION THAT OFFERED ITS PURPOSE.

How does that happen to a church? How does it happen to an individual believer? There are several ways.

  • We can forget whose pleasure our life is for. We must stand against the current of spiritual drift and seek the Lord’s pleasure first in every situation. Currents will pull strongly to self satisfaction – but the focus of the believer is to be the pleasure of the Lord.
  • It can also happen by getting caught up in PROGRAM CREEP. We start to measure our walk with God and our work for God – instead of gauging our passion FOR God Himself.

Jesus offered a three-fold prescription:

  1. Remember – recognize what we have left behind (2:5).
  2. Repent – change our mind in a way that leads to a change of action (2:5).
  3. Return – restore the old works by turning back (2:5).

Surprisingly, the answer isn’t to QUIT WORKING but to go back to the reasons we were working in the first place.

Hindrance #2: Fear of Opposition – When we pull back on our witness for fear the reactions will be painful.

Forty miles north, the city that sat upon a hill that appeared as a crown above the harbor of Smyrna, but her church was afraid of the rising tide of persecution (Revelation 2:8-11). John recorded Jesus’ words:

2:8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: .. 10 ‘Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life…”

The church of Smyrna was gripped with fear. Jesus knew their physical troubles and material needs (2:9), as well as the persecution by other religious people (2:9). Instead of promising the church a FREE RIDE in the coming days – Jesus warned the people of coming persecution. He said:

  • New imprisonments will be ordered (2:10)
  • New troubles are ordained to arrive (2:10)
  • Some would be martyred (2:10)

How do believers face the fear of rising ANTI-CHRIST waves that seem to be growing in strength and severity? Even more, how do believers face the harsh reality that many are, right now, suffering severely for the cause of Christ?

First, remember that COMPLAINING was not to be the church’s water mark – so we need to check the whining. Second, we need to remember that this is not our permanent home. Believers must constantly reinforce Heaven as our home and spiritual warfare as our constant companion.

A church that is focused on creating the kingdom on earth will be tempted to lose its edge in seeing this as a temporary situation.

Hindrance #3: Compromise of Principles – When we join the corps of the unfaithful because we feel they are stronger.

From Smyrna, an hour and a half’s drive north along the coast will take us to the ruins of the once impregnable cliff city of Pergamum. The warnings against her church included the strong rebuke that the tolerance of error was eroding the truth to a dull and compromised lump.

2:12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: … 14 ‘But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. 15 ‘So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 ‘Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth… “

A careful look at the Balaam and Balak story would recall a “prophet for hire” (Num 22-24), a story that offered the warnings of a compromise of life (cp. 2 Pet 2:15; Jude 11). Suffice it to say that two kinds of false teaching were being offered to people based on the paycheck offered to their clergy:

  • Seductive teachings that drew weak away in forbidden food and immoral practices. These appear to have been focused on Christian “liberties” without restraint.
  • Mysticism of the Nicolaitians – accepting intimate revelations given privately and replacing the hierarchy of the priesthood with a new “Spirit chosen one”. The bottom line was they lacked objective accountability.

Believers that want to do things “hanging over the edge” into the world without any accountability are abundant – but every growing believer needs to beware.

Hindrance #4: Tolerating Immorality – When we allow immoral actions to continue unchecked because we don’t want to cause conflict.

If we headed from Pergamum, another sixty miles inland, we would reach the great ancient city of the Hephaestus metal workers guild and temple at Thyatira. These were believers in desperate need of the message of purity from the one whose eyes were flames and feet were fine brass.

Look at the six descriptive phrases of what was GOOD about this church in Revelation 2:19:

  • I know your deeds – it was a working church.
  • and your love – it was a church with a heart.
  • and faith – it was a Biblically focused church.
  • and service – it was a need focused church.
  • and perseverance – it was a steady and enduring church.
  • and that your deeds of late are greater than at first – it was a growing church.. sadly, it was a church about to get crushed under the weight of sin:

2:18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: .. 20 ‘But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. ..”

The deadly sin is mentioned in Revelation 2:20. The issue wasn’t their instigation of immoral teaching – it was their TOLERATION of it. Look closely at the term in 2:20: (af-ee’-ay-mee: apó, “away from” and hiēmi, “send”) – properly, send away; release (discharge). Essentially, they didn’t CUT OFF the cancer, but let it grow larger and more pronounced.

We need to check ourselves carefully: Many would rather experience God rather than study his word. Many would rather worship God or fellowship with other believers than sit under biblical teaching- unless it was tailored to felt needs…. Ahab said about Micaiah, God’s faithful prophet in 1Ki 22:8 “I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad”. Jezebel prophets prophesy only good things – peace and prosperity (Jer 23:14-17). They never prophesy judgment. It is unbalanced, unbiblical and wrong.

When believers tolerate immoral actions allowing them to continue unchecked because we don’t want to cause conflict – they kill truth and rob hope.

Hindrance #5: Spiritual Apathy – When we allow the weakness to spread unchecked by vigilance and defense of the truth.

Chapter three opens with a letter that went to the next postal route city – another two hours by modern bus today, traveling to the southeast. The proud revived city of Sardis was chastised for its pride by the One who died, and was raised again.

3:1 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 ‘Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. 3 ‘So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. …”

Sardis was one of the great cities of the ancient world, the capital city of a great empire. The Greeks referred to it as the greatest of all cities. In the previous letters, “I know thy works” had been a comforting phrase – HERE THERE WAS NOT. Here, Jesus pointed out that their reputation was different than their reality. They LOOKED strong, but they were WEAK.

They remembered the past and were complacent about the present – presuming on the future: When a church lives in the past, its reputation and its history, that church is dead. When a church is more concerned with form and ritual that church is dead. When a church is more concerned about church activities than that God be glorified through those activities, it is dead. When they try to grow and hold on to people, they become self focused. When it is more material than spiritual, it is dead.

Believers have the same temptation – look back to a former commitment, and breeze through a retirement from our faith. Vigilance is the opposite of apathy – not simply action.

The 4,000-mile-long Great Wall of China was built to keep invaders from the north. The first wall was constructed by Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China, who lived between 259 – 210 BC. But is AD 1644 the Manchus broke through the Great Wall and overran China. They did this by bribing a general of the Ming dynasty to open the gates. As Christians, we must be vigilant that nothing breaches our spiritual defenses. Even the most mature believer can never afford to let down his guard. (A-Z illustrations).

Hindrance #6: Dwindling Stability – When we won’t push to deliberately build the body of believers.

Twenty-seven miles southeast of Sardis was the earthquake battered community at Philadelphia who was promised that faithful believers could be an eternal strong pillar in God’s Temple.

3:7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: …8 ‘I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name. …”

Faithful, but barely hanging on – that is the truth behind thousands of churches and literally MILLIONS of anemic and sickly Christians. Have you seen them?

  • Alzheimer’s Christian: Remembers only selectively what God has done before, but fails to be able to connect with what may be happening in the Kingdom around him today.
  • Autistic Christian: Stuck on a phrase and often inappropriate in responses. Unable to connect to anyone that has no special training to understand them.
  • Epileptic Christian: Not in control of all energies expended. Seems passionate but strangely disconnected from the body, randomly expending great energy not directed by any leadership or head.
  • Leprous Christian: Unfeeling toward other parts of the body and infectiously causing a spreading numbness of insensitivity that kills good growth.
  • Obese Christian: Ready to sit and eat with no real intent to get up and DO anything, they become expert food critics of the messages they hear.
  • Burned Christian: Because of an experience that often has nothing to do with the current body they are in, they are in constant need of careful handling and touchy care.
  • Anorexic Christian: Unable to see themselves as God says they are, they continue to self inspect for every flaw, totally overtaken in their own issues.
  • Heart Diseased Christian: Unable to function normally because of other contributing behaviors that have weakened their endurance.

Hindrance #7: Luxury Distraction – When we focus so much on this world’s comfort, we forget this isn’t the real world.

Finally, the church set on the ridge between the hot spring cliffs of Pammukale and the snow caps of the Taurus mountains, the distracted city of Laodicea was chastised for offering a half hearted commitment to God while their focus was on themselves!

3:14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: 15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. 17 ‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked…”

Here we are, the modern believer in the west. We own many Bibles, but seldom really read any of them. We have hundreds of choices for church families – but we only go if there is something we are really encouraged by. There are lots of opportunities to serve Jesus in our community – but we cannot fit it in between the sports we play and the sports we watch. There are incredible numbers of places to share the Gospel – but there is little time because our Facebook friends need to know what we are cooking for dinner tonight. We love the children of our community – but teaching them God’s Word would take time from seeing my friends in church. We love ministry – if someone could just put it together for us and let us come. …You see, we are BUSY people. We are TIRED people. We are IMPORTANT people – at the center of our world. We seek COMFORT – not commitment. We seek PLEASURE – not persistence in the tough things.

Here we are facing the hindrances of obstacles to follow God. They are sinful choices and fallen practices.

  • I don’t always place my heart for God above all else.
  • I pull back on my witness for fear of the reactions.
  • I am tempted to join the unfaithful because they seem stronger.
  • I tolerate immorality because I don’t want to fight everything.
  • I get apathetic the truth.
  • I don’t push to deliberately build the body of believers.
  • I focus too much on this world’s success and pleasure and forget this isn’t the real world.

I am a modern Christian. There are sinful choices that can cripple believers and churches. We must identify the dangers, and deliberately choose to walk away from the temptations.

“Learning to discern the best path – Part Two” – Philippians 2

We have all been there – the choice between two paths. Robert Frost immortalized the process in his twenty line poem, “The Road Less Taken”. The ending five lines describe looking back:

I shall be telling this with a sigh  
Somewhere ages and ages hence:         
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—     
I took the one less traveled by,           
And that has made all the difference.

Obviously the choice of the path we take has everything to do with where we end up. Obviously, choosing the wrong path is perilous. What is true for our career path is also true for our walk with God. For Paul the Apostle, he chose to follow Jesus and spread the Gospel. He ended up in house arrest near the Tiber River in Rome, where he awaited a meeting with the Roman Emperor to plead his case. Some concluded that Paul made a wrong turn, and they were not afraid to say so. Yet, they were very wrong. God was at work! While waiting, he heard about the problems of the small church enclaves that dotted the Empire at Christianity’s infancy. He prayed for the believers and their struggles. He sought God on their behalf. God’s answer came in the form of a revelation of truth that Paul needed to share with the church.

The letter can easily be divided into three parts: First, the Prayer of the Church Planter (1:1-11) – where Paul showed believers how they could lose frustration and gain a positive heart. Next, the Prescriptions of the Church Planter (1:2-4:9) – where Paul showed believers how to learn to discern the best path. At the end of the letter, Paul demonstrated the Pattern of the Church Planter (4:10-23) –unlocking constant encouragement secrets.

Our last study left us in the middle of the “Prescriptions” section. Paul offered three treatments in what has become the first chapter of the letter.

  • Treatment #1: He offered vision – He helped people see that God was doing things on a broader plain:
  • Treatment #2: He demonstrated transparency – Paul shared with his spiritual family the struggles he faced, and that with honestly:
  • Treatment #3: He drew them together – He  let the team know that standing together was the secret to standing strong.

Our study this time will add yet TWO MORE treatments to the package. All of the treatments flow from a single principle…

Key Principle: Careful attention to choosing the right path is essential to getting you to your desired destination!

Paul added more to the series of treatments for their problems.

Treatment #4: He pointed out clear standards – Paul presented to the believers the “bench marks” of obedience they can follow. On this occasion, Paul offered two to the believers at Philippi.

Humility as a Bench Mark of Obedience: “Other person centeredness” was the standard modeled by our Savior. A benchmark is a tem borrowed from Mathematics and particularly from the work of Surveying that is defined as “a mark on a stone post or other permanent feature, at a point whose exact elevation and position is known: used as a reference point in surveying.” Paul offered two FIXED MEASURES of obedience to the Philippians, the first was HUMILITY.

Humility is defined differently in our culture than in our Bible. In our culture it is “the quality of being modest, and respectful”, derived from the Latin word for “from the earth”, or “low” (derived from humus, or earth). It can be an “aw shuks” quality of feeling low or insignificant. Biblically speaking, it is something far from that. Humility in the Bible is OTHER PERSON CENTEREDNESS. It is that quality of losing one’s self in something greater than self directed thought. It is thinking of another because they are more important that you to you.

Jesus was HUMBLE. He didn’t think He was less than God said of Him. He wasn’t LOWLY in the sense of misunderstanding His own importance. He was OTHER PERSON CENTERED in His actions – therefore humble. Paul used that truth to reveal something that is only offered in a shadow elsewhere in Scripture: That Jesus consciously chose to come to die for us in a dialogue with the Father BEFORE He put on skin in the form of a baby. The clearest place to see this is the text of Philippians 2. Paul’s point was that they should : “Fill out the joy you have begun in me by becoming servants one of another. Look at Jesus’ model of emptying Himself and adopt His way of thinking about yourselves. In obedience, show His changes in your life reverently, knowing that God can change multiply your work and even change your heart.”

Here is the uncut version from the Word: (2:1-4). 2:1 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

Take these verse apart and you will see the incredible truth of what Jesus chose to do.

First, Paul opened with a series of “ifs” that all have affirmative answers. There IS encouragement in Christ. There IS consolation of love from Him. There IS fellowship in and of God’s Spirit. There IS affection and compassion that believers share because of their ONENESS in Messiah. All these “ifs” can be read as “BECAUSE THERE IS…” In light of God’s lifting, loving, bonding together – Paul called on the people JOIN THEIR THINKING TOGETHER – BE OF ONE MIND.

How would that unity look in a practical way? Would everyone like the same things, choose the same desserts and music? NO… but they would STOP BEING SELFISH. The opposite of selfishness was Biblical humility.

Selfishness is never seen more clearly than a spirit of entitlement. Fiona Smith, in her blog wrote these words in 2007: ”Although born in Britain, I lived for many years in South Africa, with all its massive social problems. So when I finally ‘came home’ a few years ago I had little patience with people who moaned and complained about poor housing, transport, policing, education and healthcare. When I pointed out that compared to many other parts of the world we have it good, I was told, bluntly, that in Britain ‘we deserve more.’ The American constitution defines certain ‘inalienable rights’, while the British social welfare system sets out to deliver them. We live in an age of entitlement. We demand and expect a certain standard of living: a good house, a decent education, an above-inflation salary, streets free of crime and grime, must-have appliances, designer décor, fashionable clothes, continental holidays… And why not? We’re British. We deserve it….Psychologists and sociologists are linking this sense of entitlement to the rise in violent crime and inappropriate social behavior. If we don’t get what we think we deserve – materially and emotionally – we are easily overcome by a sense of injustice. And this can bubble over into rage: date rage; road rage; sports rage; shopping rage; parking rage … spiritual rage? ….When I was at university a young man called Graeme was very active in our Christian Union. Like Jacob, he struggled with God, and I was drawn by his passion and refusal to let go until God blessed him. But one day he just gave up and pinned his reasons for doing so to the Christian Union notice board. I wish I’d kept a copy of his declaration of the death of God. But I remember the opening sentence: ‘This is why I no longer believe in God.’ Graeme went on to list a series of promises that God had made in His word, promises that Graeme held on to, believed in and prayed for, and how they failed to materialize in his life. ‘There are only two possible conclusions I can make,’ said Graeme (and I paraphrase), ‘either there’s something wrong with me or there’s something wrong with God. I know that I’ve done everything I can, so I’ve kept up my side of the bargain, but God has not come through on His. I can only conclude that God has lied, and seeing God can’t lie, this leads me to the inevitable conclusion that He cannot really exist.’ Graeme left soon after that, and I have no idea what happened to him. I can only pray that he realizes there was a third conclusion he didn’t consider: that his understanding of God’s promises might have been wrong.”

What Graeme didn’t understand was that he was not equal with God, and he was not ENTITLED to anything… but that is not our culture. We live in a culture where the soloist better be ME or I quit the church choral group. My child better be highlighted in the bulletin or I will let you know how deeply hurt I was.

We must demonstrate HUMILITY by demonstrating the UNSELFISH BEHAVIOR called up by Paul as a bench mark of obedience.

Paul then carted out the best picture of this behavior EVER on the planet… the picture of what Jesus did for us. Philippians 2:5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Paul didn’t make the Philippians WONDER about what humility looked like. He opened the door to show us a room that was long hidden by God… the room of the discussion between Jesus and His Heavenly Father before the Incarnation.

  • Jesus had the conscious attitude of other person centeredness before He had a human body (2:5-6).
  • Jesus existed in completion on the throne of God Most High and made a conscious choice (2:6).
  • Jesus deliberately “emptied Himself” – a state of self imposed limitation – to redeem us (2:7).
  • His act of humility was in meeting a need for our salvation through His death (2:8)

After Paul assured his readers that God accepted and honored the sacrifice of Christ as the Preeminent One, he returned to his main point. They were to work out the salvation they received from God through accepting Jesus, by changing their behavior that was so naturally inclined to think of SELF FIRST.

A youth minister was attending a Special Olympics where handicapped children competed with tremendous dedication & enthusiasm. One event was the 220-yard dash. Contestants lined up at the starting line, & at the signal, started running as fast as they could. One boy by the name of Andrew quickly took the lead, & was soon about 50 yards ahead of everybody else. As he approached the final turn he looked back & saw that his best friend had fallen & hurt himself on the track. Andrew stopped & looked at the finish line. Then he looked back at his friend. People were hollering, “Run, Andrew, run!” But he didn’t. He went back & got his friend, helped him up, brushed off the cinders. And hand in hand, they crossed the finish line dead last. But as they did, the people cheered, because there are some things more important than finishing first.

That is a picture of what Jesus did. Though a VICTOR, He became a SERVANT. That is the picture of what we are called to become, but this is not all.

Tranquility as a Bench Mark of Obedience: “Calm reasonableness” was the attitude they were called to exhibit consistently. There was a second BENCH MARK – and it is found in how we handle the pressures of daily life, and the stresses of interpersonal relationships one with another. Paul wrote:

Phil. 2:14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. 18 You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

Someone has written: “On the seventh day God rested….and on the eighth day God started answering complaints.” Some days it feels like that may be true – even when you are serving God. It is easy to get negative, isn’t it?

Someone else astutely observed: Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

Paul unfolded the simple truth: We need to work together without verbalizing all our selfish immaturity. We need to LIFT the discussion above whining – so that we can be SHINING EXAMPLES of what God wants to show. Let me offer this rule: “If you KNOW you are not an example of what God wants others to see, don’t verbally criticize others who are trying to be!”

Treatment #5: He fleshed out teachings on unity: Paul shared his camaraderie with others in the service of Jesus

From the end of Philippians 2, it is possible to identify at least four tests that help us know where we stand on fleshing out UNITY in the body of Christ.

The first was the CONCERN TEST:

Philippians 2:19 But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. 20 For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare.

First, it was an effort to send Timothy. Departing was not simple. That in itself should remind us that if believers are walking together as they should be – church hopping will not be simple. Parting should hurt, and take effort.

Second, note that the term “kindred spirit” (isopsyxos) is literally “equal-soul (identity)” shown in Spirit led believers who treat the moral weight of a matter similarly – with the same “right conviction”. It is used in 2 Pet 1:1 as “equally precious” or “like precious faith”. This issue is this: We stand in unity when we identify with those who have the same concerns and moral principles.

The concern test is this: Am I deeply concerned for other believers in my service to the King? Do we share the same moral precepts and critical areas of concern in life choices?

The second akin to it is the COOPERATION TEST:

Phil. 2:21 For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. 22 But you know of his proven worth, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father. 23 Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me; 24 and I trust in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly.

First and foremost, the cooperation test is about the ability to practically serve one another. Those who serve their own interests were fickle when times were hard. They were at one time with the Apostle – and then defectors when self benefit ran its course. We must be ever so careful not to allow self interest to dictate our involvement. Where do you hear it? “I’m not going to that, because I don’t feel like it really touches me, or meets my need!” Could it be that it meets a need in someone else for you to be a part of it?

Pastor Newland wrote these words, and I found them helpful: “Do you ever ask yourself on Sunday morning, “Why am I going to church? Am I going because I feel I owe a debt to God, so I’m trying to pay it back? Or because I’m carrying a heavy burden that I hope will be lifted? Or because I like the music & the fellowship & even the preaching? Why am I going?” Why should we go? Well, if we’re genuinely interested in others, the church becomes a training ground where we learn how to help one another. So when you come to church, be on the lookout. Over there is a mother with both hands full, trying to herd her kids through the door. Maybe she could use your help. Or you’re sitting near a guest, here for the first time. Introduce yourself & tell them, “I’m glad you came.” And let them know that if we can help them in any way to grow in their faith, that’s why we’re here. Or when you look at the prayer list, & learn of someone who is having a difficult time – get a card & write them a note, & let them know that you’ll be praying for them. Or if someone you know is struggling with a heavy burden of grief or loss, hold their hand, & maybe weep with them. Just let them know that you care.”

Second, it is also worth noting that the work of Timothy was advancing the Gospel by serving the one that God called to lead him. He served Jesus by serving Paul. Cooperation, not an entrepreneurial self adventure, was the evidence of God’s building up of Timothy to a worthy help in the Kingdom. Tim bent his life around what God was doing in and through Paul – not expecting Paul to conform a program to himself. Those who desire to learn should work to change their lives to conform to the offerings of the trainer – launching out more slowly and helping with greater fervency.

The cooperation test is this: Am I willing to practically serve those who God has put before us to lead us to maturity?

The third is the COMMITMENT TEST:

Phil. 2:25 But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need; 26 because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. 27 For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you.

We are living in a generation that hate responsibilities and ignore commitments. Say anything you want about Epaphroditus, you cannot argue that he was uncommitted to the work. Paul called him a BROTHER, a FELLOW LABORER, a FELLOW SOLDIER, a MESSENGER and a MINISTER. No wonder he almost died. The guy had so many jobsin the ministry, he couldn’t fit them on his Latin business card. Saving Epaphroditus’ life was a genuine prize to Paul who was worried he would be buried in administration and service if his companion died! Paul would have lost a right arm in ministry, and been sorrowful and weighted down. Paul sent him (presumably with the letter we are now studying) to assure people their prayers were answered for his restoration to health.

So often we forget those whose commitment means so much! One man asked his friend “By whose preaching were you converted?” The man replied, “NOT BY ANYONE’S PREACHING, BUT BY MOTHER’S PRACTICING.”

The commitment test is simple: “Will they miss me if I am gone?” If there would be no functional change in the body of believers because of your absence, something is desperately wrong with your commitment – and that is burning a wound in the unity of the body.

The fourth is the CONSIDERATION TEST:

Phil. 2:29 Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard; 30 because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me.

People that want unity are unafraid to honor other people. Selfish and immature believers are defensive about God’s blessing on others in their ministry works for Him. Paul directed they hold Epaphroditus in HIGH REGARD – because of the effective work he did for filling in the gap of aid to Paul. The terms “high regard” are a translation of éntimos (an adjective derived from “en” or  “in,” intensifying “timḗ” or “attributed honor”) – it is properly hold in honor, cherish, hold precious or hold in a condition of personal respect.

The consideration test is this: “Do I esteem greatly those who are working in all the areas of ministry that service our community?”

Before we go, it is worth recalling that unity is not a “pie in the sky ideal” … it was revealed to be practiced. Chuck Swindoll wrote these words: “Imagine, if you will, that you work for a company whose president found it necessary to travel out of the country and spend an extended period of time abroad. So he says to you and the other trusted employees, “Look, I’m going to leave. And while I’m gone, I want you to pay close attention to the business. You manage things while I’m away. I will write you regularly. When I do, I will instruct you in what you should do from now until I return from this trip.” Everyone agrees. He leaves and stays gone for a couple of years. During that time he writes often, communicating his desires and concerns. Finally he returns. He walks up to the front door of the company and immediately discovers everything is in a mess–weeds flourishing in the flower beds, windows broken across the front of the building, the gal at the front desk dozing, loud music roaring from several offices, two or three people engaged in horseplay in the back room. Instead of making a profit, the business has suffered a great loss. Without hesitation he calls everyone together and with a frown asks, “What happened? Didn’t you get my letters?” You say, “Oh, yeah, sure. We got all your letters. We’ve even bound them in a book. And some of us have memorized them. In fact, we have ‘letter study’ every Sunday. You know, those were really great letters.” I think the president would then ask, “But what did you do about my instructions?” And, no doubt the employees would respond, “Do? Well, nothing. But we read every one!” – Charles Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity, p. 242.

Careful attention to choosing the right path is essential to getting you to your desired destination!

The End of the World: “Meeting with the King” – Revelation 1

From Family Radio’s Harold Camping to Hollywood, the end of the world is a hot topic these days. National Geographic News (November 6, 2009) reported: “The end of the world is near—December 21, 2012, to be exact—according to theories based on a purported ancient Maya prediction and fanned by the marketing machine behind the soon-to-be-released 2012 movie. But could humankind really meet its end in 2012—drowned in apocalyptic floods, walloped by a secret planet, seared by an angry sun, or thrown overboard by speeding continents?” Probably not, the article concludes. The article reassures: “The Maya calendar doesn’t end in 2012, as some have said, and the ancients never viewed that year as the time of the end of the world, archaeologists say. But December 21, 2012, (give or take a day) was nonetheless momentous to the Maya. “It’s the time when the largest grand cycle in the Mayan calendar—1,872,000 days or 5,125.37 years—overturns and a new cycle begins,” said Anthony Aveni, a Maya expert and archaeoastronomer at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York.”

Here’s a question: “How does the world end?” What is the closing chapter of God’s story on earth as explained in the Bible? That journey begins in this series of teachings, as we look at the Book of Revelation in sufficient detail to help you make sense of a cryptic part of the Bible. Here is our task: we want to carefully understand coming events as they are revealed, but never lose sight of the reality that our lives need to be ready to meet the King. We dare not wander off in the theoretical and let younger Christians wade into mental exercises that do not call for constant surrender to the Author and Finisher of our faith.

Key Principle: God wants us to know what will happen, but He wants us to know more WHO He is – the One who is bringing all these things about! The purpose of human history is to tell Who God is – and no one can show that better than Jesus.

 

In order to see God as He is, we should look closer at the portrait of His Son, the Savior – as John reveals Him in the Book of the Revelation.

John the Man

The time was the waning years of the first century, most of the Apostles had died for their faith. Emperor Domition (81-96 CE) had exiled John to the penal colony of Patmos.

The author of the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ was none other than John the Apostle. He had been one of the twelve Disciples of Jesus, later sent out as Apostles. He was the son of Zebedee the fisherman from Bethsaida north of the Kinnereth, and his wife Salome and brother of James. Early Christian tradition maintains that he was the last surviving Apostle, and that he died of natural causes rather than being martyred.

John had an extraordinary career as a disciple. He was one of the “inner circle”. Peter, James and John were the selected sole witnesses of several important events:

  • The Raising of Jairus’ daughter in Capernaum (Mk. 5:37);
  • The Transfiguration (Mt. 17:1);
  • Preparation for the Last Supper (Lk 22:8);
  • Witness to the agony of Jesus in Gethsemane (John 18).

Called the “sons of thunder”, John and his brother desired Jesus to “call down fire from Heaven on a Samaritan town” that appeared to reject Jesus (Lk 9:51-6).  He was, by most accounts, the “disciple whom Jesus loved” –  a title showing his unique place in the earth ministry of Jesus.

As an Apostle, he was the author of the Gospel of John, three Epistles of John, and the Book of Revelation. Some believe his Gospel account may have been written, in part, to deal with Ebionite heresy (that asserted Christ did not exist before Mary gave birth to Him in the flesh). Certainly it explains the controversy with the Judean aristocracy better than any other Gospel. From the Book of Revelation we conclude that he had lived for a long time in Ephesus and greater Asia Minor until moved to the island of Patmos “for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus” (Rev. 1:9). Most scholars place the writing of Revelation near 85 CE.

As an elder in the Asian church, John discipled the early church father Polycarp – who later became Bishop of Smyrna (Izmir). Polycarp, in turn discipled Irenaeus, and passed on to him stories about John from which our traditions restore at least a shadowed image of the man. In Against Heresies, Irenaeus related how Polycarp told a humorous story of John, who went one day to bathe at a public Roman Bath in Ephesus, and rushed out of the bath-house without bathing – shouting, “Let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within. Apparently his temper and tongue were never completely subdued!

The record indicates that John survived his contemporary apostles and lived to an extreme old age, dying naturally at Ephesus in about AD 100. According to another early church father, Tertullian (c. 200 CE; The Prescription of Heretics) John was sent to the penal colony (likely at Patmos) only after being plunged into boiling oil in Rome and suffering nothing from it. Jerome, a few hundred years after John told of a tradition that John was brought to Rome during the reign of the Emperor Domitian, and was thrown in a vat of boiling oil, but was miraculously preserved unharmed. In an obvious overstatement, tradition recalls that all in the entire Colosseum audience were converted to Christianity upon witnessing this miracle. The church of “San Giovanni a Porta Latina” has been dedicated as the traditional scene of this event. John’s tomb is recalled at Selçuk, a small town in the vicinity of Ephesus.

Revelation the Letter

Revelation is unique in all the Bible because it includes an internal outline (in Rev. 1:19) that helps us understand its message. It is further unique because it was deliberately encoded. Some of the codes are obvious (locust with the face of a man), yet others are not. For instance, a careful observation of the book will help us identify “seven sevens” in the book:

  • The letter was written to seven churches of Asia Minor.
  • The letter includes seven “blessed are” statements.
  • The letter is organized into seven blocks of information about the earth
  • These sections are divided by seven blocks of information about events in Heaven.
  • There are seven identifications of those in the throne room of Heaven.
  • Each judgment set (seals, trumpets, bowls) are seven in number.
  • Rev. 14 identifies seven angels that aid the believers of the Tribulation Period.

This is not new to John, for he wrote The Gospel of John is in the same format – Jesus had seven “I Am” statements with seven “I Do” works to give evidence to His claim of Messiah-ship. John included only the ones he was directed to use to shed light on Jesus’ identity.

A Quick Look at Revelation One

An overview of chapter one leads us to a simple outline. John unfolds:

1. The Cause of the work (1:1-3): The book was written to show Jesus; explain the end; and bless the student.

2. The Collaboration (4-8): The book was written by John with the One on Heaven’s Throne, the Spirit of God and Jesus the King.

3. The Circumstances (9-10): John was AT Patmos IN worship.

4. The Commissioning (11-18): John was commissioned to record a message FROM Jesus TO the seven churches of Asia Minor.

5. The Contents (1:19): Jesus told John to write the work in three parts – the vision of the Risen Christ (1:1-8); letters to the seven local churches (2-3); and “things that come after” (4-22).

6. The Curiosity (1:20): God will give keys to SIGNS in many places.

That outline is informative, but STERILE. It is flat on the page – but what is exposed in Revelation 1 is NOT. It is earth shattering. It fills Heaven with light and song. It is a story of the veil torn back, and Heaven’s Master exposed.

Since the name of the work is The Revelation of Jesus Christ, we must begin where the book begins. This is not simply the story of the future – it is the story of Jesus, the holder of the future. Our study today must be about HIM – or we do not understand the whole of the point of the book. Revelation’s opening chapter offers a multitude of titles for Jesus. His description is the personality on which the plot of the book rests. Who is this Jesus? Is this the story of a broken man, an ex-builder from Nazareth, crushed by the Roman authorities at a Passover travesty of justice so long ago? Not at all!

Jesus is God’s One and Only Choice for our Rescue

Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, 2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

We begin this book with the simplest title of our Savior. From the beginning of the book he is called Jesus Christ.

  • Jesus: His name  “Yeshua” or “salvation” recalls his earthly ministry when He fulfilled the call of the angelic prophecy: “He will save his people from their sins” (Mt 1:21).
  • Christ: Calling Him by the Greek title “Christos” is another way of saying “Mesheach” (Messiah) or simply “God’s anointed One”.

We have said it many times and in many ways, but we dare not skip the fundamental truth that defined the Apostle’s preaching at the beginning of the church: Acts 4:8 “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people… 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead… 11 “He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. 12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

Revelation opens with Jesus as God’s choice to save us. All other choices: religious zeal, moral living, a passionate work ethic, or any other device is insufficient to save – since God has clearly declared what He accepts. God is not ambivalent, nor is He obscure. The idea that this book is designed to stop people from understanding God clearly doesn’t mesh with its opening – God wants you to know Jesus and what He is going to do to close the calendar. In addition, God considers this word on the subject TRUE. Look more closely at the opening verses:

  • The record of this revealed truth claims to be clearly from God (1:1).
  • The letter claims to be the very written “Word of God” witnessed truthfully by John (1:2).
  • The letter openly calls itself “prophecy” and demands obedience to its directives (1:3).

Jesus is One with God the Father and God the Spirit

Though God the Father and God the Spirit are described, the emphasis of this chapter is clearly on God the Son and His description. Yet Scripture is not haphazard – so let us not skip over the two descriptions that precede the imagery of Jesus the Son. God is AGAIN described as ONE in ESSENCE but three in distinct personalities. This isn’t as uncommon as some would lead you to believe in the Word. The Hebrew Scriptures show God as multiple in personality:

  • Genesis 1:26 records that God spoke in multiple language: “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
  • At Babel, Genesis 11:7 records: “Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”
  • And even in the “Shma” that opens every synagogue service, the recitation of Deuteronomy 6:4 declares: “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!” Yet the term “one” is the same as is used in Genesis 2:24, where “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” Clearly this means one in essence, and not in fact.

The Gospel accounts continue this same understanding at the record of the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River.

  • Matthew 3:13 “Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15 But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. 16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” Obviously three persons are all declared together in this passage, yet one God.

The description of God the Father is described in 1:4 as “the ever present One” – “He who was, is and is to come” seems to emphasize the same truth as found in Genesis 21:33 “Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.” The ever-in-the-present God of Abraham keeps His promises.

The description of God the Spirit is described in 1:4 as “from the seven Spirits who are before His throne”, which many understand to be a gloss description echoing Isaiah 11:2: “2The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. If that is the relationship, God’s Spirit deserves special attention and explanation as:

  • The Spirit of God’s “ever in the present completion” (Yahweh).
  • The Spirit of God’s practical ability or skillfulness to demonstrate truth (wisdom: hokhmah).
  • The Spirit of God’s revealed discernment (understanding: bi-naw).
  • The Spirit of God’s strategies (counsel: aytsaw).
  • The Spirit of God’s powerful accomplishments (strength: giborah).
  • The Spirit of God’s fierce awesomeness (fear:yiraw)

There is much more in these titles, but this is not the main emphasis of the passage – the revelation of God the Son is the main purpose.

Jesus is Set Above all Creation by His Father

Observe for a few moments the next few verses that sprung from the worship of John’s worship time at Patmos. Surrendered to the Spirit and caught up in a vision – he saw Jesus as He is in Heavenly places. He knew the EARTHLY Savior. He spent years with Him. He leaned on His sweaty garment in the Last Supper. He laughed with Him, and cried with Him. He felt close to Him… yet this description of Jesus was not FAMILIAR… it was REVERENT. This was the Son as seen from God’s perspective – revealed in Heaven’s robe of glory!

Three Descriptions that Illuminate Jesus

The first description comes from Revelation 1:4-8, with special attention to the seven character traits illuminated in 1:5.

“John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— 6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” He is:

  • The faithful witness: Probably a reference to His Davidic ruling status – He is a statement of God’s truthfulness to David as in Isaiah 55:3 “Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; And I will make an everlasting Covenant with you, According to the faithful mercies shown to David. 4 “Behold, I have made him a witness to the peoples, A leader and commander for the peoples.”
  • The firstborn from the dead: the “Double blessed son” (A “double portion” of the paternal property was allotted by the Mosaic law in Deuteronomy 21:16-17) and the first fruits of the Resurrection (1 Cor. 15), this title reminds us that He was raised first so that He might be shown as preeminent as is Colossians 1:18: “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” Lazarus was raised but died again. Jesus was raised to life eternal, the first to have this distinction.
  • The ruler of the kings of the earth: By His resurrection He passed to glory and dominion (as in Philippians 2:9 “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name…”). His preeminence over the kings of the earth is illustrated in places like Psalm 2:2, 89:27; Isaiah 52:15; 1 Timothy 6:16; Revelation 6:15; Revelation 17:4; and Revelation 19:16.
  • The one who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.
  • The one who has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father: This echoes the voice of Peter – “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”
  • The one to whom be glory and power for ever and ever.
  • The one who is coming again in the full view of the whole world.
  • The Alpha and Omega: the beginning and the consummator of human history.

Men and women, we do not exalt Christ out of some secondary need to make Him more important in a world religion. We exalt Christ because the Father in Heaven has exalted Him. We preach His Word because of what God has said.

  • God has said that He is the One of whom the prophets spoke.
  • He bears the mark of the faithfulness of God to supply an eternal ruler to David’s throne.
  • He clearly demonstrates God’s acceptance of His sacrifice in the Resurrection from the grave.
  • He stands above all as King of all Kings of the earth.
  • He clearly showed His love for us in setting us free.
  • He installed us as intercessors and priests for our community.
  • He is worthy of GLORY, majesty and praise… and get ready… for He is COMING BACK.
  • That One who started the clock of human history and communicated the very first letter will get the LAST WORD.

Yet, still there is more… A second description is revealed after John describes in 1:9-12 the meeting with Jesus and the setting of the remarkable vision of the Risen Christ, he draws us back to the One that overwhelmed him as he fell down as dead before Him:

Revelation 1:13 “…and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. 14 His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. 15 His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. 16 In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. He is:

  • Like the Son of Man: “like a man, a human being, or in a human form.” A graphic statement about the humanity of Jesus, this title recognizes forever that Jesus is the son BORN OF A WOMAN, who took a form carried upward when he ascended into heaven, the universe is controlled by a man, the first among many brothers
  • Clothed as a Priest: A robe reaching down to the feet, leaving the feet visible. The allusion to a long, loose, flowing robe, such as was worn by kings and priests should carry us back to Isaiah 6 at the commissioning of Isaiah the prophet (cp. Ex 28:33ff). His sash seems to favor the priestly garb (Ex. 28:4).
  • Donned with bright, white hair: Hairs of old men, are compared to an almond tree in bloom (Ecclesiastes 12:5). Many NT scholars believe the hair color to be a metaphor for the antiquity of Christ, who Colossian 1:16-17 poses as the very “Ancient of days” (cp. Daniel 7:9), Who created all things at the beginning under the auspices of His Father.
  • Bright, flaming eyes. God’s eyes are penetrating, seeing everything, knowing everything. Jeremiah 16:17 – “For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes. And Hebrews 4:13 “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
  • Feet of fine bronze, still glowing: The metal that was being made in the furnace was still glowing hot. In Ezekiel 1:7, “and they” (the feet of the living creatures) “sparkled like the color of burnished brass.” The word used here – chalkolibanō – occurs in the New Testament only here and in Revelation 2:18 and means “white brass” (compound of chalkos or brass, and libanos, whiteness, from the Hebrew “lavan” or white). This is a PURIFIED state of His feet, reminiscent of the (millu’im) consecration of priests in Leviticus 8:23.
  • A voice like a rushing river: He spoke with the SOUND of GOD’S VOICE, as in Ezekiel 43:2, “And behold the glory of the God of Israel came from the east: and his voice was like the sound of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.” (cp. Revelation 14:2; Revelation 19:6).
  • Seven churches held in His hand – for He is the head of the church.
  • A sword from His mouth: He spoke with POWER of GOD’S VOICE, as Isaiah 49:2 declared: “And he made my mouth like a sharp sword.” or in Hebrews 4:12, “The Word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword,” etc.
  • Face that shone brightly, like the sun: The Bible used such a description in two ways. First, it was one INTENSELY IN LOVE WITH GOD as in Judges 5:31; “But let them that love him (the Lord) be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might”; another was as ONE WHO IS REJOICING as in  Psalm 19:5, “Which (the sun) is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.”

A clearer picture is offered anew, as the Lord revealed His Son.

  • He looks like us – he is a PERSON.
  • Though a man – He is ancient and eternal.
  • He sees everything, knows everything and understands everything.
  • His feet tread in purity.
  • His voice is loud and powerfully effective.
  • His people are held in His grasp.
  • His faces shines with excitement, energy and intense love.

Oh, but we are not finished yet… there is yet a third description is given by Jesus Himself, as He describes the position His Father has given Him in the throne room of Heaven:  Revelation 1:17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. He said He is:

  • The First and the Last.
  • The Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever.
  • The One who hold the keys of death and Hades.

Jesus is Celebrated and Revealed throughout this Letter

The sight of him was enough to make John fall at his feet as though dead. Of course it did. Is there any other like Him? No, surely not. John wasn’t done with the description of Jesus in Revelation 1. There are more descriptions than this that are found as this Book reveals Who Jesus is – that is a primary purpose of the writing.

  • There are descriptions of Jesus in every one of the seven churches special letters that we will study in another time together.
  • There is a description of the One who moves to open the final chapter of world history in Revelation  5 – the description of “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” and “the Lamb that had been slain” (5:6).
  • In Revelation 7:17 Jesus is described as the Shepherd of those who are purified in His blood.
  • In Revelation 12:5 Jesus is displayed as the one “Who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter”.
  • In Revelation 13:8 He is the owner of the “Book of life”.
  • In Revelation 19 and 20, Jesus is the Groom for the Church – set for the Wedding feast. He is the great Victor over the evil forces of the earth:

Revelation 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

  • In Revelation 21 and 22, Jesus is the lamplight of the New Jerusalem, His throne the source of the river of life, the very “Alpha and the Omega –  the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End… the Root and the Offspring of David… the bright Morning Star”.

We haven’t even really touched the “Hymns of Praise and Worship” in this book. But the point is clear enough: The purpose of human history is to tell Who God is – and no one can show that better than Jesus. God wants us to know what will happen, but He wants us to know more WHO He is – the One who is bringing all these things about! “These are true words of God.” 10Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Don’t sit still and waste your life. He is the King. Get ready… Today you may be meeting Him. He may send for you soon… or He may be on His way. In any case, Get ready to meet Him!

Grasping God’s Purpose: “First Steps” – Exodus 19

When the iPhone first offered its FACE TIME video interface that allowed people to see each other while speaking to one another, they used a commercial that was a familiar scene. They offered a dad away on a business trip the opportunity to watch their child take their very first steps. There is something warm and “Hallmark” about being in the room when a baby first takes a step for the first time. It is a beginning. It inaugurates exploration and the beginning of expression of choice made with the feet. To the experienced parent, you know all too well – the CHASE begins!

Lao-tzu, a Chinese philosopher (c. 550 BCE) contemporary to what scholars in the west call “The Classical Period of World History”. He offered this well known adage: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” What he said was simple but profound. He was not talking about the mathematics of the journey, he was urging action. He was positing that nothing of value happens until we make the effort to begin. Even more than that, he was offering encouragement – things start slowly, and incrementally – but there small size belies their true importance. Beneath this adage is the assumption that the journey is worth it all – that it is a good thing.

We have seen throughout this study in Exodus that for the believer, life is about the journey from the world of the old life to the land of Promise that awaits him at the journey’s end. The foundation of the believer’s walk is firmly set on a personal encounter with God. Moses had one, and the people were about to experience theirs – as God met the nation at the mountain of the Law. They were about to discover what every believer agrees today – that God makes the rules of the journey – for that is just common sense. At the same time, many believers do not understand that there is a FIRST STEP that God demands even before He offers the direction of the journey to us. That step is revealed at the edge of a mountain in the Sinai wilderness. Even before God offered the CONTENT of the laws to govern behavior, He demanded a vow that the believers would be dedicated to following Him.

God offered a formula: Direction follows dedication.

Have you noticed how many believers do not seem to know what God wants them to do with their lives? He gave them life, and then he gave them rescue – salvation. They know Jesus as their Savior. Yet, many lack a sense of what God put them on the planet for. For some, they encounter God and put Him in a small slice of their life. They accommodate God; they fit Him in to their schedules and feel a twinge of guilt when they recognize how little they give of themselves to Him. Still others don’t place themselves in settings where their behaviors will be challenged to conform to God’s standards. They want God to offer continuous ENCOURAGEMENT – not responsibility.

Our story is set in the shadow of the Mountain of the Law. The passage is about a PREPARATION to face God and His direction. It is about a step that must PRECEDE the revealing of the direction of God. Today we need to ask, “Are we ready to meet God as God?”

Key Principle: Being saved is about YOU being rescued by God (finding God). Being in a committed relationship (following God) is about choosing to follow what GOD wants to do through you – making His choices your choices.

One of our country’s most beloved Presidents was Abraham Lincoln. He had the great misfortune of being at the helm of our nation during one of its most troubled times. The once united States had split in two, and the armies of the North and South were waging an incessant war that claimed the lives of more men than have died in any war since. Lincoln felt the tragedy of this war more than anyone could have guessed. He mourned the deaths of soldiers and spent long periods visiting the sick and wounded in the Union hospitals. The constant shedding of blood was sometimes almost more than he could bear. Then, in the midst of the war, his own son died and the President was literally brought to his knees. In the middle of the week, Lincoln did what he often did during those days, he found refuge at a Presbyterian church in Washington, D.C. He went with an aide, sat with his stovepipe hat in his lap, and tried hard not to interrupt the meeting by sitting off to the side, near the preacher’s study. The minister opened the Scriptures and taught from God’s Word. And when he finished, the president stood quietly, straightened his coat, took his hat in hand and began to leave. His aide stopped him and said, “What did you think of the sermon, Mr. President?” He said, “I thought the sermon was carefully thought through, eloquently delivered.” The aide said, “You thought it was a great sermon?” Lincoln replied, “No I thought he failed… he did not ask of us something great. (source unknown).

In the midst of his turmoil, even Lincoln understood that when you listen to God you should expect the Lord to call you to something above the ordinary – something that requires HIM daily invited and engaged in your life to pull off that call. You should expect God to challenge us and to call us to something higher than ourselves. But the preacher Lincoln listened to on that day failed. He failed to challenge him. He failed to ask something great of the President and of the others present.

By the time of the events recorded in Exodus 19, God did many things to rescue Israel and He reminded them of the high points at the beginning of the passage of what they had already experienced. Then God asked them to do something great – God asked them for a covenant commitment to Him.

He asked them to stand up and pledge their obedience to Him, and to make a covenant that HE had the right to lead them as God!

Up until this point, God did what He’d promised their forefathers: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. He brought the people out of slavery in Egypt and given them an opportunity for a new life because that was the promise He had made to men who were now long dead. But now, as God formed a new nation out of the rabble of Israelite ex-slaves – He told them He wanted something special from them. He wanted to create a relationship with them that He could use to show the world. He wanted NO EMBARASSMENT on their part, an open and committed relationship!  No other people on the face of the earth was ever offered what He was offering them now…But there was a catch. They had to acknowledge His offer, and conform to His conditions to get the benefits. God saved them from their bondage in the world, ONLY THEN God called them to do something great. God called them to stand up and MAKE A COMMITMENT to HIM. God wants no less from us as our first step – an open dedication to Him. Before God offered the CONTENT of the laws to govern behavior, He demanded a vow that the believers would be dedicated to following Him.

The Call for a Committed Relationship (19:1-8)

The passage opened with the record of God’s call of dedication – where it was, what it was and how they could respond to it.

The Place of the Call:

Moses returned to the place God met Him before (19:1-3a). Exodus 19:1 “In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 When they set out from Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in front of the mountain. 3 Moses went up to God…”

The heat of the summer  was beginning to come in the desert winds by 50 days after they celebration the Passover (12:18) when they had left Egypt. A month and a half later, they came to the Sin wilderness. They passed from Rephidim and encamped in the shadow of the mountain. Moses went up to meet with the Lord (19:1-3). Moses knew the place, and knew that God would be there (3:1). He met God there long ago, and He returned there to have the next step of the call revealed.

God had already called Moses out of his world. God had already “paid in full” the cost of Moses life and bought him. God then did that for all Israel in Egypt. The price of a lamb paid for their salvation at Passover –  just as the Christian Scriptures reveal that our Passover lamb, Jesus, was slain and paid for you to find God.

You were CALLED by God from the world when you gave your heart to Jesus Christ. Nothing else can save you. Only HE can. But even though you have been saved, that is NOT the end of the story. That is FINDING God. This second call is about FOLLOWING God!

The Point of the Call:

God called the people at the end of verse three, and the next few verses make a simple point: God said: “I saved you, but now I want to do something more through you!” (19:4-6).

  • Prerequisites: The Lord told Moses to report what He said, and went on: a) “You saw My work with Egypt and b) you experienced my saving rescue (19:4). Exodus 19:3b “…and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel: 4‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.

You cannot experience the call to be dedicated to God, until you have experienced the salvation of God. God wants you to be saved before you are sanctified. If we try to reverse the order, we will make men and women who are MORAL, but self justified. Only those who have passed through the rescue of God can truly follow the standards of God. Think of it this way: God wants us to DO good things – works that please Him. He said to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12) – but He only said that to people who had already experienced salvation by acceptance of God’s unmerited gift through understanding what God’s Word said Jesus has already provided. God said to Israel: You have experienced my rescue – NOW I want something from you.

  • Proposals: Now, if you: a) choose to receive and obey My Word, and b) you willingly join in a covenant relationship with Me… (19:5a). Exodus 19:5 ‘Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine;

God offered a covenant relationship with them that was based on CHOICE and BEHAVIOR. Beneath their covenant was the underlying proclamation that God had promised to Father Abraham to make of them a great nation. Yet, several times on the journey God threatened to destroy them and make the nation through the loins of the aged Moses. The choice of dedication is about choosing to be the vessel through whom God does what He has planned.

  • Promises: …then: a) you will be marked as MINE, and b) be a distinct people before all others on the earth.” (19:5b-6). Exodus 19:6 “and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”

God promised them a privileged priestly position before God if they would agree to commit to Him, and then follow the specifics of that call as outlined in the next few chapters. NOW, I am asking myself: Why would God do that? Why ask the Israelites to make this verbal commitment to Him? I mean, hadn’t the Israelites followed Moses for the past month and a half? Hadn’t they spent nearly 50 days in the desert depending on God for their food and water? Hadn’t they walked thru the Red Sea and thru the desert following a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night as God had guided them to this mountain? Wasn’t that enough? Apparently not It was not because this wasn’t a casual relationship God was asking of Israel. This was a lifetime commitment. He didn’t want a DATE, He wanted a WIFE. This lifetime commitment called for a physical declaration of their intention to accept.

There is a Biblical word for God’s expectation of their verbal commitment – it is called a “Vow”. A vow was when one exclaims aloud a deliberate dedication to a call of God, and is set apart to accomplish that call for God. One example is found in Numbers 6 which records a “Nazarite Vow”. This was a vow to dedicate one to God’s service for some specific goal or task:

Numbers 6:2 “… ‘When a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to dedicate himself to the LORD, 3 he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; … no vinegar, …nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes. …5 ‘All the days of his vow of separation no razor shall pass over his head. He shall be holy until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the LORD; he shall let the locks of hair on his head grow long. 6 ‘All the days of his separation to the LORD he shall not go near to a dead person. 7 ‘He shall not make himself unclean for his father or for his mother, for his brother or for his sister, when they die, because his separation to God is on his head. 8 ‘All the days of his separation he is holy to the LORD..”

1) During the vow they would refuse to drink wine.

2) During the vow they refused to touch anything that had died – even if their parent died.

3) They would refuse to even cut their hair. Their entire lives were dedicated to some specific call of God through the time of the completion of this vow.

Deuteronomy records that someone who decided to make a special offering to God (like a shelmim – or celebration offering) was said to be making a vow. For us, of course, when someone gets married, they exchange vows before God.

A vow went far above a promise. People break promises all the time in their lives. But when someone made a vow to God… God expected them to keep it. Ecclesiastes says: “It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the [temple] messenger, ‘My vow was a mistake.’ Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands?” Ecclesiastes 5:5-6

A vow was a commitment to a special covenanted relationship with God – and God takes vows very seriously.

Let me illustrate how people misunderstand a vow today by something from a psychologist. In his book The Christian Counselors Manual, Dr. Jay Adams tells of a man who came to him and said, “I know you hate to hear this preacher but my wife and I don’t love each other and we are going to get a divorce.” The preacher said, “I do hate to hear that you don’t love each other, you need to repent of that and start loving each other because the Bible commands, “Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and you are a Christian so you have to obey the Lord’s commands. And the man said, “Well, I just don’t feel anything toward her any more.” The preacher said, “Okay, lets go down to a lower level then. The Bible commands love your neighbor as your self. She’s your closest neighbor. So you have to love her regardless of how you feel about her. That’s irrelevant.” The man said, “I am going to have to be honest with you preacher, I despise her. She despises me. We can’t stand the ground that we are walking on and we just cannot get along.” Oh! The preacher said, “You are going to have to go down to a lower lever then. The Bible also says to love your enemies as yourselves. You have no option. You are commanded to love.” He said, “How in the world can I do that when I don’t feel anything.”  “You are going to have to understand that feelings are irrelevant. That’s the Hollywood concept of love. That is the romantic concept of love. A Christians love is Agape love. Doing the right thing regardless of feeling. So make a list of the ten things that you would do if you were madly in love with her and go and do them anyway. One counselor said, “If you act the way you wish you felt, eventually you will feel the way you act.” So go do them regardless of feeling.” The man said, “I couldn’t do that – that would be hypocritical. And the preacher said, “No that is not hypocrisy. That is obedience. Hypocrisy is NOT acting contrary to the way you feel. Hypocrisy is acting contrary to the way you believe. “

God called Israel to act the way they committed to believe. The vow was the commitment – the standards followed that commitment.

The Participation in the Call:

There must be consideration and acceptance, for there is a cost of the call. Moses reported what God said, and the people proclaimed, “Count us IN!” Moses returned with their decision to the Lord (19:7-8). Exodus 19:7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the LORD had commanded him. 8 All the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do!” And Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.

The text is UNDERWHELMING considering the size of what the people were doing as they stood at the foot of the mountain. They were committing to be dedicated to God – and God would KNOW if they lived up to the commitment. I labor over this point because they were being called to do something GREAT, not small… and so are you. It is worth considering carefully, and is not to be responded to flippantly.

The Concerns of a Committed Relationship (19:9-25)

The call to commitment requires two important understandings: God will move because of your promise to be dedicated to Him (God’s validation of the commitment), and He will require changes in you to be able to use you properly (Preparation).

Validation: The Lord replied: “I am going to come in a way that the people will hear when I speak to you (19:9). Exodus 19:9 The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever.” Then Moses told the words of the people to the LORD.

Count on God beginning to use your life when you openly vow to Him your life in dedicated obedience. You won’t know all that He wants you to do – neither did Israel. The mountain and the Law was yet ahead. At the same time, God will take your simply commitment of obedience and dedication at face value – He will act on it and begin to meet you in profound ways in your life. Count on it.

Preparation: Get the people ready to receive Me by having them focus entirely on preparation today and tomorrow (19:10-15). God will meet you, but He will not simply drop His standards and accept you as you are. He will IMMEDIATELY begin to work in your life to press you to live out His directives. There are some preparations that He will require, even BEFORE you really know His plan for your direction. These come in three forms: a new and deliberate attention to removing dirt from your life, a commitment to remain within the limitations God placed on you, and dedicated attention to His Words as they come to you.

  • Removal of Dirt: Tell them to clean their clothes (19:10-11). 10 The LORD also said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments; 11 and let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

God will start showing you dirt spots that need to be cleaned from your life immediately upon your dedication to Him. You are a believer, but as a dedicated believer – an active and committed follower to His Word – you will quickly become more sensitive to areas of dirt that have accumulated on you.

  • Reverence and Patience: Instruct them to hold back from the mountain. If they touch the mountain before I call for them, they will die. “ (19:12-13). 12 “You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it; whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 13 ‘No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.”

People who are dedicated to following God willingly live in the parameters He places on their lives. They do not PUSH boundaries, they respect what God has placed around them, and do what He requires of them.

  • Real Focus: Moses came down and told them to prepare and additionally urged them to remain ceremonially pure by abstaining from sex as they prepared. (19:14-15). 14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people, and they washed their garments. 15 He said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.”

God created sex, so He wasn’t against it. It wasn’t dirty – that isn’t the point here. What He was doing was demanding their minds be on readying for time with HIM. He didn’t want them to have a divided heart – distracted by other needs. They needed to get ready to commune with Him – and so do we.  Filling our minds and hearts with other issues before an intense time with God cheapens that time – because we are distracted.

Note: God repeated the warnings above, and appeared to be very concerned about the preparation! God descended on the mountain with strange weather and the sound of a trumpet blast, as Moses brought the people to meet the Lord. The mountain was filled with smoke and fire, and the trumpet blasts grew. The Lord called Moses to come up to Him (19:16-20).

Exodus 19:16 So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. 19 When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder. 20 The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

In His presence, the Lord repeated to Moses: “Warn the people again not to come up for a look, and to make sure the leaders (priests) had fully prepared for the meeting with the Lord.” (19:21). Exodus 19:21 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Go down, warn the people, so that they do not break through to the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish.

Moses assured God that the people were not going to come up, but the Lord sent him down to get Aaron, and to ensure that neither the priests nor the people try to come up. Moses went down and told them all that the Lord said. (19:22-25). Exodus 19:22 “Also let the priests who come near to the LORD consecrate themselves, or else the LORD will break out against them.” 23 Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds about the mountain and consecrate it.’” 24 Then the LORD said to him, “Go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD, or He will break forth upon them.” 25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.

God knows us. Boundaries and fences are opportunities to push the limits. God wanted the people to understand the kind of God He truly is. When He says it – He means it. The boundary is the limit – and He doesn’t want us to get the idea that everything is an extenuating circumstance. We may be able to RATIONALIZE wrong in our lives, but He is not like us. Fences have meaning to God – and they should to us as well!

How like this is Romans 12:1-2!

In India there is a Bible Institute run by Dr. Samuel Thomas – a modern day hero of the Christian faith. Each year this Bible Institute has a commencement ceremony where students who have finished their studies are together for one final time before leaving this institute as graduates. What is so profound is that the climax of this commencement ceremony is the time when the entire graduation class rises and repeats words very similar to these: Today, I stand as a dead man. I declare that in Jesus Christ, I am saved by His blood, and thus I am dead to sin, and no longer dead in my sin. Today, I stand and declare that I surrender my will and my life to His will and his life. I shall go where he sends me, without asking questions. I shall go to whomever He sends me, without seeking fame. I shall preach to everyone, even if they hate me. I am an ambassador of the Cross, and must deliver the message. I shall pour my life out to reach my family, my friends, my neighbors, and my city. I embrace the shame of the Cross, and I fear nothing but God. I welcome suffering, shame, persecution, beatings, imprisonment and death, but I will not be silenced. If I am killed, I pray that my blood should be a harvest for souls. This is my city. I dare not do less. Following graduation, each student is given three, and only three items. 1. A new Bible 2. A new Bicycle 3. A one-way train ticket to their field of service They have no PLAN B, and neither should we. (sermon central illustrations).

When you became a Christian, you made a commitment at the foot of Mt. Calvary to a unique relationship with God. After that experience, God calls us to do something new – commit to a COVENANT RELATIONSHIP with Him. Quit dating Him, it is time for a WEDDING that you won’t walk away from!

Next we will be studying the CONTENT of God’s governing laws over the people in the wilderness. Don’t forget: Before God offered the CONTENT of the laws to govern behavior, He demanded a vow that the believers would be dedicated to following Him. He will not give DIRECTION until He gets DEDICATION!

Grasping God’s Purpose: “Learning to Define Responsibility” – Exodus 18:1-27

When Robert Frost wrote twice in his poem “Mending Fences” an old adage: “Good fences make good neighbors” – he disagreed with the sentiment. His poem was about a fence that was placed between the apple orchard on his property and the pine trees on his neighbor’s property. The wall was damaged each year, and required both he and his neighbor to meet in an annual ritual to rebuild the wall. Frost saw the activity as useless, as it was obvious that their mutual participation meant that they were already in good relationship, and the time spent fixing a fence was therefore useless. His neighbor repeated twice the adage: “Good fences make good neighbors” – but Frost wanted to show the man was unenlightened and dull of mind. Regardless of Frost’s objection – I want to argue in favor of the adage. It is true.

Enlightened people may not need fences, but I believe the world is not filled with such enlightened people. For most of us, we have long since concluded that boundaries are essential in the world in which we live. Many people are not willing to carry their own weight in life, and are desperate to find someone on which to saddle their responsibility. Sometimes the only way to get people to tend to their whole property is to erect a fence. The wall openly displays what is theirs to care for – and what is yours.

When we don’t set proper boundaries, we can hurt ourselves as well – taking on things we are not designed to handle.

For the believer, his life is about the journey from the world to the land of Promise that awaits him at life’s end. On the journey, some will lean hard on you because of a relationship with God you have that they are lagging behind in. Other people confuse what is your responsibility from theirs (and often you end up with more that they do!). Some of the lessons of the journey to the land of promise are individual lessons, others are communal. This lesson was in a way BOTH. One of the most critical lessons for our journey is the BOUNDARY LESSON – defining the responsibility and establishing a system to help people care for their own problems and responsibilities.

Key Principle: To deliberately mature believers, leaders must establish the pace of personal responsibility and define a system that younger followers can understand.

The boundary lesson is probably most clearly explained in Exodus 18 as it is unfolded in four parts. In this case, the lack of a boundary was set by the leader – he was killing himself rather than allowing others to use their gifts. First, the background to the lesson is set so we can grasp the problem well. Next, God sent an observer to help set Moses in order. When he spoke, Moses received a critical teaching from God into his life. Finally, the passage closes with the benefits Moses gained from the lesson.

The Background: A Worn Out Leader Run Amuck (18:1-5)

God sent a teacher to Moses when he was grinding out the work to teach him how to define responsibility and establish a system that would honor God (18:1-12).

The News Traveled (18:1-5)

Exodus 18:1 Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Moses’ wife Zipporah, after he had sent her away, 3 and her two sons, of whom one was named Gershom, for Moses said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.” 4 The other was named Eliezer, for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.” 5 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was camped, at the mount of God.

Here is one incredible moment from the photo album of Moses’ life! Jethro heard what God had done from Zipporah’s visit, and Jethro accompanied the family back, with Moses children and wife (18:1-5).

Every leader needs to recognize that God will use people in our lives that we respect and cherish to teach us truths. Look more closely at the first five verses. In them we can spot several truths of a helper that God uses to help a leader put up proper boundaries. There are five specific realities portrayed in the story of Jethro that help define and explain the process of a swamped leader getting God’s help.

First, note that God stirred in the helper’s heart (Jethro) apart from any overture by the swamped leader (Moses). The leader was buried in work (as we will see in the coming verses). He didn’t go looking for help –  God sent help. Why is that important? Because it demonstrates that while a godly leader may be working as HARD as he can, he may not be working as WELL as he can. No one leader possesses all the gifts necessary to care for a flock. In fact, leaders are at their best when teamed with other leaders who are gifted in very different ways than they.

Second, note that the helper was motivated and stirred from within – not from human pleading. While the leader was very much in need of assistance, he was yet walking in obedience to the light that he had. That obedience opened the door for God to stir in the heart of another. We must not gain our partners by manipulation and haranguing – but by seeking and obeying God. He will send our help. Before He does, He will become our fuel and our supply. When He does, He will often show His care by supplying through our team.

Third, pay close attention to the fact that the helper was someone the leader respected and cared for – someone who had deliberately invested in the leader’s life (as a mentor). The men had shown mutual respect to each other in the past. You cannot simply come from out of nowhere and offer help to a leader. They are used to integrating opinions into their decision making process, but they do not normally shift direction abruptly because someone offers them a suggestion – that would be bad leadership! Offering help and counsel should come only after we have pitched in and shown a true desire to pull together with the leader. Further, our advice is only really valuable when we have some substantive knowledge in the area we offer counsel. Strong opinions are often not the same as carefully learned truths.

Fourth, the helper brought tangible gifts that were deeply prized by the leader. Jethro showed up with Moses’ family. How incredibly symbolic! Think about the leader that is so busy at the job he hasn’t had time to be NORMAL – and to miss his wife and children. Bringing them back GROUNDED Moses back to the earth. Family tends to do that!

Finally, the helper was already invested in his own walk with God, and prepared to initiate worship, praise and instruction. Moses didn’t need to instruct, encourage, placate, lift, cajole or otherwise explain truth to Jethro – he came all set to praise, worship and walk with God. This was a clear relief to Moses.

“Help is on the Way!” (18:6-7)

Moses didn’t need a note from a distant friend chastising him for doing too much – he needed flesh and blood assistance. That would cost Jethro, and it was built on prior investment. Exodus 18:6 He sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.” 7 Then Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent.

Because Jethro sent word to Moses that they were coming (6), Moses went out to greet the family and brought them into his tent (7). Advise isn’t given until after relationship is re-established. Jethro waits to observe what is going on, and doesn’t shoot too quickly (based on Zipporah’s words..).

Share and Share Alike (18:9-12)

When the men sat down together, Moses celebrated all that God had done. He didn’t begin with all the problems of leading a whining and stubborn (and don’t forget ever hungry and thirsty) group of Jacob’s children through the hot desert. He started with the good stuff.

Exodus 18:8 Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had befallen them on the journey, and how the LORD had delivered them. 9 Jethro rejoiced over all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, in delivering them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 So Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD who delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 “Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the gods; indeed, it was proven when they dealt proudly against the people.” 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

Moses related the whole story of the Lord’s deliverance from Egypt (8) and Jethro rejoiced and worshipped the Lord in response (9-11). The climax of the worship was a communal meal before God offered by Jethro with the Israelite leadership (12). Here is the point: Moses didn’t realize how overwhelmed he was – he was used to being unbelievably taxed in the work! If he is like most leaders I know, he probably thought the boundary problem was NOT HIM, but rather some fluke or simply a “learning curve” he would grow through.

The Observation: (18:13-16)

The day after Jethro arrived, Mo went back to the normal daily work. It was a long day, and included sitting in one spot while those with disputes stood by waiting for their claims to be heard.  Exodus 18:13 It came about the next day that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood about Moses from the morning until the evening. 14 Now when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand about you from morning until evening?”

Standing in the side was Jethro who observed and then asked Moses for an explanation of the practices (14). Jethro’s words indicated some clues to his disagreement:

  • What are you doing FOR the people? Jethro was trying to get Moses to see that lack of appropriate boundaries harmed both HIM and the PEOPLE.  It is harmful to people to hold back their responsibility and do too much for them that they should do. It both overworks the leader and enables the follower. Why, then, would a leader choose to over work themselves in this way? There is one word – CONTROL. When we delegate, we lose direct control over every aspect of the work. Some leaders really struggle with it.
  • Why do you sit ALONE? It is perilous for the people to place all their hopes in one person, for that one person is all that need be undone to destroy the people! People need to be instructed to care for themselves, and their must be a long term system that does not depend on one man to keep the community going. Moses needed more than a Joshua – he needed a team. That team would both share the load, and create a check and balance for the leader. With more involved, the judgments would likely be more fair.
  • Why do the people STAND before you while you SIT before them? The people will soon not see the truth about your worth and their individual worth if YOU become the center of their attention. Good leaders know that they are not the story – they serve the One who is!

Somebody said, “If Satan can’t make you bad, then he’ll just keep you busy.” Even after this time with Jethro, Moses was known to grow so busy that he was stressed out. Numbers 11:11 recalls when Moses said, “God what have I done so bad that you have given me the burden of all these people?”

Moses made a common leadership error. He mistook busyness for accomplishment. He mistook activity for success. He mistook extreme stress for ministry. Nothing was fun anymore, because there was too much of everything. Excess is the enemy of balance. We live in a time when excess has become the norm.

We never do one thing at a time. We text while driving, read while eating, sing while showering and talk while brushing our teeth. Silence has become the enemy. Stillness, for some of us, has become a chore.

Some of us have confused busyness, making it a status symbol. We get the mistaken idea that the more successful we are the busier we should be. Writer Reggie McNeil warns those in my work: “Success can kill you just as problems can. The management of members and church work can leave a minister spiritually bankrupt.” The truth is that your occupation can and will do the very same thing – if you are not careful.

Prolonged stress and over commitment can signal to the world “success” – but it can lead to dire consequences in both your physical and your spiritual life. It can erode your otherwise pleasant personality; causing you to be irritable and inefficient at your job. It can endanger your personal relationships, your marriages, your parenting and your friendships. It can pull the life out of your desire to walk with Jesus in truth. It can, and will –wear you down. It will threaten your health.

Author Nelson Price offered in Servants Not Celebrities a list of diseases that can be caused by emotional stress, They include: asthma, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, ulcers, colon cancer, and headaches.

Moses responded, but his words also showed the flaw of what he was doing:  Exodus 18:15 Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. 16 “When they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor and make known the statutes of God and His laws.”

Moses said “The people come to ME to speak to GOD” (18:15). When the people struggle with each other, they come to ME to reveal God’s ruling on their struggle. (18:16). With the people dependent on Moses to give God’s truth, Moses held control – but at a terrible price. God told Moses to write down the law, because God wanted it to go beyond Moses. Work that is controlled is work contained; work released is work multiplied.

The Teaching (18:17-22)

Jethro watched and listened, and then Jethro spoke. He wasn’t happy about what he saw – and neither would any father-in-law be in this situation. No doubt things weren’t going to work well for his daughter or his grandkids if he didn’t step in. He told Moses the practice was NOT GOOD. I love the simplicity of Exodus 18:17: “Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good.” Note Moses’ record related not Jethro’s name, but his RELATIONSHIP. Jethro is remembered as one that has a vested interest, not one that dropped by to offer discouragement (18:17). Relationship earns us a right to speak into someone else’s pain and problem. Dropping in out of the blue is hurtful and wrong.

Jethro said simply: “18 “You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are with you, for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. He told Moses he was wrong, but he offered specific help to solve the problem. Just telling him he was on the wrong path wasn’t helpful. He told Moses that he would need to choose some helpful leadership to handle disputes they are able to, and stay out of the small stuff (18:18-22). People who have overloaded lives don’t want or need you to sit doing nothing on the sidelines and criticize their over-commitment. What they need is help, and Jethro offers practical and measurable help. He shows the bigger picture and offers solutions! He lays it out in clear ways. It will require a change for EVERYONE!

  • Moses needed to get alone with God more and really spend more time with Him! (18:19). 19 “Now listen to me: I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You be the people’s representative before God, and you bring the disputes to God, This isn’t to give him more time OFF, but time to take to the Lord what others are failing to take to the Lord. Moses had a MORE IMPORTANT role than the one he was playing – but he needed someone wiser to indicate that to him.
  • Moses needed to judge less and teach more (18:20). 20 then teach them the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they are to walk and the work they are to do. It is easier to control everything yourself in the short run, but that is short sighted. The people needed training, and Moses needed to adjust his schedule to training them. The people needed to learn the law and walk according to the rules .
  • Some of the people needed to take responsibility for helping with specific actions of leadership within the ranks of the people (18:21). 21 “Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens.  90% of successful delegation is not training but recruiting the right people. If you place the right person in leadership – with a little training and you’ll do wonders. If you vest the leadership in the wrong person – even with a lot of training and they can do untold harm to the organization. Finding a godly leader takes prayer and working together.
  • The leaders needed to know when to include Moses and when not to include him (18:22). 22 “Let them judge the people at all times; and let it be that every major dispute they will bring to you, but every minor dispute they themselves will judge. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.

The Benefits (18:23)

Exodus 18:24 So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did all that he had said. 25 Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. 26 They judged the people at all times; the difficult dispute they would bring to Moses, but every minor dispute they themselves would judge. 27 Then Moses bade his father-in-law farewell, and he went his way into his own land.

Moses LISTENED, so he got the benefit of the advice. Leaders are usually set on the defauilt setting of “doing the talking” and not the listening. Good leaders are wise enough to keep their mouth closed and ears open when valuable instruction is coming their way. Because he listened – he lasted!  He didn’t wear out! John Stroman wrote, “A life out of balance is like a tire out of balance, they both wear out quickly. The people got on with their lives and had the opportunity to have quick judgments – instead of focusing so much of their emotional and time reserves on so many disputes.

Angeles Arren wrote a short article entitled “The Flying V.” In the fall of the year, geese head south for the winter. If you have ever seen their journey, you have noticed them flying along in a V formation, and you might wonder why. As each bird flaps its wings, it creates uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in V formation, the whole flock has at least a 71 % greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own. When a goose flies out of formation, it suddenly feels that drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front. When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back into the formation, and another goose flies pointed at the head. The geese in formation honk from behind, perhaps to set a flying pattern or to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. Finally, and this is important, when a goose gets sick or wounded and falls out of formation, two other geese will fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or it dies, and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their flock.

To mature believers, we must set the pace of personal responsibility and establish a system that they can understand.

He Changes Everything: “Men in White” – Mark 16

Many of you are familiar with the “Men in Black” franchise of films. The first film bearing that name appeared in 1997. For the two uninitiated people on the planet that do not know of them, the Men in Black stories offered a tale of the exploits of agents “K” and “J”, members of a top-secret organization established to monitor intergalactic matters as well as police alien activity on planet Earth. Known for their uniform black suits and dark glasses, the two heroes untied a plot to destroy earth after an alien  terrorist came to assassinate two ambassadors from opposing galaxies. A few years later, movie-goers were entertained with a second slice out of the galactic pie in 2002. In this story, agent “J” became aware of an old enemy of the MIB, who returned to earth in search of a powerful artifact. “J” was forced to restore the deliberately wiped memory of his old mentor “K” to stop the Earth’s calamity. A third installment is promised to those who are waiting to save the earth – yet again – in May of 2012. Based on other movies that predict the end of the earth that year – it is a good thing we have “J” and “K” to save at least Hollywood – if not the earth!

We want to take a brief look at a different story today. This one is also intergalactic and has a SAVE THE EARTH heartbeat to it. This one has one striking difference to it – it is the TRUTH AS GIVEN BY THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE. This one enlists the help of a covert  organization as well – but they don’t dress in black. They are the ‘MEN IN WHITE’ and they truly exist. They were present long ago when the work of Jesus was done on earth… and the Bible says they are still here among us. Look at a short story that includes one of them, and listen to the words of the agent of the “Men in White”:

Mark 16:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. 2  Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3 They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. 5 Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. 7 “But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’” 8 They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

When we read the Mark account, we know that we are reading a summary of the story, not the whole story. We don’t want to forget to synthesize the story with the other account so that we will add much more richness. All four Gospel writers mention the tomb of Joseph of Arimethia (though Luke doesn’t name him, but only says a man of Arimithea). Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us that Roman soldiers guarded the tomb following Jesus’ death. The same three tell us of the group of women who prepared the spices to use them the morning after the Sabbath. On the way to the place of the burial, Mark reveals the discussion between the women – they were unsure of how the stone could be moved for them to do their work. Matthew mentions that a severe earthquake, powered by the Angel of the Lord, moved the stone from its resting place, exposing the tomb. As the women approached, their discussion about moving the stone was hushed…. Now they stood amazed the tomb was open. Entering the tomb, they heard the testimony of the man in white.

The shocking part of the story as Mark tells it is this: the man in white told the women to do something, and fear kept them from obeying him right away! How much like God’s church in this time they were!   

Key Principle: The promise that Jesus kept in His death and His resurrection is a truth designed to be shared – but our fear can keep it from reaching the ears of our neighbors!

It is true that Matthew shared that they overcame their fear and eventually ran out of excitement to the disciples to report the news. Luke explained that they “remembered Jesus’ words” (Lk. 24:8) suggesting that it took a bit of “memory jog” to snap them out of fear and get them in gear, running as they should have been. Yet, Mark’s story ends on a note of uncertainty that bothered people through the ages. Later manuscripts appeared to have added a monk’s notes that were later inserted as verses 9-20 – they don’t appear to belong in the original Gospel. [For that reason, we end our systematic study in this Gospel at verse 9. For those who want more on these “rogue verses”, we will offer the notes of another teaching on that subject.]

If Mark truly ended with the words “they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” One may wonder why he didn’t resolve the problem. There are at least two plausible answers: first, the proper ending to the text may have been lost (a view shared by many New Testament scholars) or second, perhaps he wanted to teach us something that has become relevant for every generation of inheritors of the Gospel. 

Step back for a moment and look with me at the meaning of the events of that 100 hours, in a week long ago. The death of Jesus remains to this day to be the single event that separates human history between broken by need of redemption and mending toward eventual redemption. The Cross is the watershed event of our faith. It means everything. Before the Resurrection, we must understand His death – for only when we understand that will we be truly drawn to share the message of Jesus. Let me be clear: the women didn’t share the message of His Resurrection right away, because they didn’t understand the meaning of His death. Had they grasped what Jesus was truly doing and able to complete – they would not have hesitated. For many believers, the problem is the same even today. When we don’t grasp the real hopelessness of men without the salvation offered to them – we sit silent and let them pass from our sight without offering the urgent warning.

When we hesitate from fear and do not share the Gospel – a MEMORY JOG IS IN ORDER.

Perhaps the most important study we could have in this passage is one that underscores the meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Why did Jesus die? Why was He raised? We must remember some important truths:

First, we must remember that Jesus’ Death and Resurrection satisfied the Father in Heaven:

Jesus died a criminal’s death. The Bible says that was essential. Listen to Paul’s writing to the first century church at Rome: Romans 3:21 “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.“ The words may sound complicated, so take them apart:

Paul shared that the Gospel of Jesus – the message that people can be right with God simply by trusting that the work of Jesus on the Cross paid the full and complete price for their sin – was both consistent with the Hebrew Scriptures and for everyone, both Jew and Gentile. (3:21-23).

Paul then carefully explained that God gave a right relationship – “justification” – as a gift, and that gift was in Jesus paying the price for our sin. At that point, Paul explained WHY the death had to take place from God’s perspective. He said that God PUT JESUS ON DISPLAY publicly as the complete satisfaction He was looking for as the Righteous Judge – found completely in the blood of His sacrifice. That means, from God’s point of view, His wrath (the penalty for sin – with its cause and effect relationship) was turned away by the offering of Jesus as a gift. The death of Jesus on the Cross at Calvary turned away the punishment that was judicially right for me – because I trusted in that payment. The Resurrection demonstrated clearly to those who were following Him that the payment was accepted.

Imagine a man was guilty of killing his neighbor. Imagine him being brought into the courtroom in shackles to stand before a judge. Now imagine that the judge, after hearing the jury’s verdict, gives the man this sentence: “Having been found guilty of murder in the first degree by a jury of your peers, the people demand a life for the life you have taken. You are therefore sentenced to forfeit your life by lethal injection… and may God have mercy on your soul.” Now imagine that from the back of the courtroom a voice is raised that catches the ear of the judge. “Your honor!” cries the voice. “Before an appeal can be raised for this man who has been found guilty, I would like to pay for his crime in full. I will forfeit my life in his place.” Such a suggestion would have been quickly dismissed as lunacy, but when the judge looked up, the one that said this was none other than his very own son. In our system of jurisprudence, no such substitution could be made – period. Yet, a careful look at the Bible shows that God had long before set up a system of substitution – allowing an animal (after a sinner placed his hand on that animal’s head in acknowledgement of personal sin) to represent the man and die in his place. Keep going with the illustration… Imagine that the judge tearfully allowed the substitute to carry the death penalty for the man who was found guilty. Do you think the guilty man would ask to die anyway? DO you think he would ask to be taken back to his cell and await punishment in spite of the fact that the substitute was found and the judge declared that substitute to be effective?

The problem with the Christian message is that we often repeat a fundamental truth that “God loves you!” Though this is absolutely true, when shared out of balance with man’s guilt before God, it can leave the impression that God doesn’t care about the mutiny of our hearts and the stubborn rebellion we exhibit day to day. We talk of God’s love much more than we speak of God’s “wrath to come” – a phrase taken from the Bible (Lk. 3:7) and very much part of Biblical thinking.

Ray Pritchard wisely reminds us: “When Jonathan Edwards preached his famous sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” the listeners held on to the pillars of the building lest they suddenly slip down into eternal damnation. Can anyone imagine that happening today?”

Make no mistake. God’s loving nature is not in conflict with His Righteousness. Any judge can tell you that they both have deep sympathy for people on trial and at the same time uphold the standard of righteousness in the law. God understands us and loves us, but His nature requires that He not dismiss rebellion and self will. In a very real way- parenting is a reflection of this same issue. We need to LOVE enough to DEMAND OBEDIENCE – and we cannot allow rebellion under the guise of calling it real love.

Up to the time of the death of Jesus, God provided a temporary system though animal sacrifice to turn His wrath away. There was a problem with that system – it was incomplete and could cover the sin, but not wash it away, according to the Scriptures (Hebrews 7:23-28;10:4) When Jesus died, He became a Lamb of God that was the last necessary sacrifice.

In the Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, an Englishman is caught trying to flee France during the French Revolution. He is to be put to death on the guillotine. One hour before his appointment a friend visits him in jail. He insists that they swap clothes. The Englishman refuses. The French friend tells him that at that moment his wife and child are waiting in a carriage at the door. Moments later guards led the wrong man to his execution. In some ways, our message of the Gospel fits into that scene.  We were under a sure sentence of eternal death. Our Savior took our place at the cross. At the same time, we have to admit that He did more than that. He paid a debt we could NOT pay.

Second, we must remember that God COULD NOT accept a lesser payment!

God provided Jesus as a spotless lamb – something that I could not be if I died for my own sin. We must recognize that God is NOT LIKE US if we truly want to understand the meaning of Jesus’ death on Calvary. Again, using the words of Ray Prichard, let me offer explanation: “God is infinite in holiness, and every single sin committed against him is infinite in magnitude. Only a gift of infinite value could turn away the infinite wrath of God. And only God himself (in the Person of his Son) could make such an infinite gift. That’s why our piddling efforts to turn aside God’s wrath are doomed to failure. We think that going to church or being baptized or going to Mass or saying our prayers or being good or stopping a bad habit or “trying really hard to be better” will somehow turn away the infinite wrath of God….Because God is holy, he cannot allow sin to go unpunished. His justice demands that every sin be punished—no matter how small it may seem to us. … That’s why sinners can’t simply say, “I’m sorry” and instantly be forgiven. Someone has to pay the price.”

We follow this same principle in our criminal justice system. Suppose a man is found guilty of embezzling six million dollars from his employer. Let us further suppose that just before sentencing, he stands before the judge, confesses his crime, begs for mercy, and promises never to embezzle money again. How would you react if the judge accepted his apology and released him with no punishment? Suppose the man had been convicted of rape and then was set free with no punishment simply because he apologized. …When lawbreakers are set free with no punishment, respect for the law disappears. … The same principle applies to raising children. When parents refuse to discipline with tough love, they end up raising criminals instead of responsible adults. The same is true in the spiritual realm. When sin is not punished, it doesn’t seem very sinful.“ (Prichard)

If the central message of the Good News of the Gospel is that Jesus paid the full price for my sin when I willfully trust that His substitution fully delivers me from my deserved punishment – than it is essential that I recognize the reason God will accept no other way. God has set ONE DOOR by which men can be accepted by Him. Buddha cannot offer it. Mohammed did not believe it. Confucius did not accept it. Joseph Smith did not trust in it…. No denomination can manufacture some method of obedience that compares to it.

The acceptance of Jesus as my punished substitute is the one and only way to God according to the Bible. Every attempt man makes to blow another hole in Heaven’s wall to gain access by some other good work is an affront to the price of Jesus’ blood in God’s eyes. God provided what God demanded… but we must accept that God knew the best way.

Good works lived to find Heaven’s gate are another manifestation of man’s rebellious nature. “Their must be a way I can earn it in SPITE of what God has done and said”, we tell ourselves… it is deception and rebellion revisited.

More than two hundred years ago in England, William Cowper, a man of nervous disposition who struggled with bouts of severe depression began fearing that he was under the wrath of God. “I flung myself into a chair by the window and there saw the Bible on the table by the chair. I opened it up and my eyes fell on Romans 3:25, which says of Christ, ‘Whom God has made a propitiation through faith in his blood.’ Then and there, I realized what Christ’s blood had accomplished and I realized the effects of his atonement for me. I realized God was willing to justify me, and then and there, I trusted Jesus Christ and a great burden was lifted from my soul.” Looking back on that day, William Cowper wrote a hymn that we still sing today:

There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins.
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stain.

In our mad rush to feel “ever satisfied” with every area of life, Bible preaching has left the airwaves and many pulpits. In its place a steady stream of psychological sermons that could have come from Oprah or Dr. Phil offer us management tips, diet recommendations, and child rearing truths. It was not always so…The early church quickly made the death and resurrection of Jesus the central feature of their message.  Paul wrote:

  • “We preach Christ crucified” (1 Cor. 1:23).
  • “I decided to know nothing among you except Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2).
  • “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3).
  • “But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14).

We must be firm in our commitment to preach the cross. There is simply no other message so important. No facebook status update will offer eternal life. Jesus, and His sacrifice must be proclaimed clearly by a church adrift.

One time a man was on a fishing trip and was sleeping on his house boat. He heard a splash right between his boat and the one next to his. The man on that boat had been drinking quite heavily and had apparently fallen into the water while drunk. The first man jumped in, found him and rescued him. He gave him artificial respiration, revived him, dried him off, changed his clothes, and got him into bed. An hour later he returned to his own boat, wet and exhausted. The next morning he went back to the man’s boat to check on him. The other man told him to go away, leave him alone, and mind his own business. He said, “Why are you being so mean. I saved your life last night.” The drunk did not remember. Instead of thanking him he laughed at him and then began to curse him. As this man left, unappreciated and rejected, he thought for a moment of how Jesus must feel when people reject him.

Third, we must remember that God delivered on His own promises!

The Gospels present clearly that Jesus saw His death not as some after-thought designed to touch men by the sheer size of the self-sacrifice  – but rather as the central work God called Jesus to do – and the work that He accepted beforehand (Phil. 2).

After all: “Hadn’t the Hebrew Scriptures already revealed the need for the death of Messiah?”

  • Jesus saw His call as clear in the Hebrew Scriptures: After his resurrection Jesus reminded the disciples: “These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled” (Lk. 24:44). Clearly Jesus saw his life and his death as being prophesied in the Old Testament.
  • Jesus saw His call as required by God’s promises: At the last supper Jesus explained one of these prophecies: “For I tell you that this scripture must be fulfilled in me, ‘And he was reckoned with transgressors’” (Lk. 22:37). Notice the strong word “must” that is used here. It was not a matter of choice. Since God had foreseen and predicted it, it would occur. Paul said Jesus’ death was “in accordance with the scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3).
  • Early church leaders saw this as the PLAN of God, not a surprise ending: Peter realized that the death of Christ was a part of God’s scheme of things: “This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:23). Later Peter wrote “He was destined before the foundation of the world” (1 Pet. 1:20).

Early church leaders understood this was a difficult message for Jewish people – Jews were not expecting a crucified Messiah. It was very difficult for most of them to accept Jesus as the Messiah for this reason: “We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews” (1 Cor. 1:23). The term “stumbling block” was “skandalon” – a scandal to many Jewish leaders. The Scriptures taught that anyone who was hanged on the tree was cursed. Dt. 21:23: “…his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.” Even during His ministry, Jesus saw opposition among His followers to the idea of His death. When Jesus first spoke of it, Mark reminds: “Peter took him, and began to rebuke him” (Mk. 8:32).

Because they went through the learning curve, the early church leaders explained Jesus death carefully: When Jesus was raised and the Holy Spirit was given, His followers had to go back and research the Prophets of old. They rediscovered passages like Isaiah 53 and Psalms 22 there they recognized in the shadows the crucified Messiah.

Fourth, we must remember the scene poured out God’s power in front of man:

The Bible says: “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18). It is the message that reveals the power and truth of God like no other: “For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling-block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:22-24).

  • THE CROSS REVEALS OUR NEED: “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:4-6). Look at the words “our” and “him”. Clearly the cross was a payment by an innocent on behalf of the guilty.  The cross very clearly reveals that we are sinners in need of salvation. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree” (1 Pet. 2:24).
  • THE CROSS PRODUCES CONVICTION: When Peter at Pentecost, he laid responsibility for the death of Jesus at the feet of his listeners. When many of them realized this truth, they were “pricked in their hearts” or “cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37). They were convicted of sin.
  • THE CROSS PROCLAIMS FORGIVENESS: The writer of Hebrews said: “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Heb. 9:22). Someone has said: “God forgave people under the Old Covenant in advance of full payment for sin….Figuratively speaking, they were saved on credit and Jesus finally came and “paid it all”.
  • THE CROSS CREATES LOVE: 1 John 4:9 “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” … 19 “We love, because He first loved us.”

Looking at the cross and the empty tomb, we have seen that like the women who hesitated, it takes a memory jog to get in GEAR and proclaim the Gospel.

  • We must remember that Jesus’ Death and Resurrection satisfied the Father in Heaven:
  • We must remember that God COULD NOT accept a lesser payment!
  • We must remember that God delivered on His own promises!
  • We must remember the scene poured out God’s power in front of man:

The promise that Jesus kept in His death and His resurrection is a truth designed to be shared – but our fear can keep it from reaching the ears of our neighbors! We need to remember. One Pastor wrote: “In Arizona an Indian boy was out plowing corn while his sister was playing in the mud hut in which they lived. She turned over a rock and a rattler crawled out, coiled up, struck, and bit her. She screamed loudly, and her brother came running. Quickly he killed the snake and squeezed his hands around her leg. He sucked the blood and poison out and may have saved her life. Due to a sore in his mouth the poison entered his blood system, though, and he died shortly thereafter. Long ago back in the Garden of Eden mankind was bitten by a poisonous snake called the Devil. We received the poison of sin which would surely bring about death if something was not done. Jesus came running from heaven and took that poison into his own body, dying on the cross for our sins. At the same time he struck a death stroke against the ancient Serpent, Satan. That is what God promised: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed: he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15).” (A-Z Illustrations).

“How to lose frustration and gain a positive heart” – Philippians 1:1-11

An old man was slowly laboring, as he walked up a long and dusty trail, set on an open hill. The trees were gone now, and the field grass was dried into a golden hue. In one hand the man held a stick, the rod that helped him ford streams and steady himself on the long journey that was nearly complete. In his other hand, he grasped a rope that alternated between slack and taught, as he tugged a loaded down donkey behind him. His skin was brown and cracked. His lips were parched, evidence of a long and difficult walk. The load on his beast of burden showed on his own frame. Both the man and the donkey appeared to be nearing exhaustion.

The graphic scene is the picture of many men and women who are walking into their respective ministries today. If you ask the children’s workers, many of them are overwhelmed. They are committed to work all week long, and Sunday has now become a burden. Families feel overscheduled and many believers secretly feel spiritually parched when it comes to things of God. The program has run them over. They feel depleted at best and unloved at worst. Add to that, they will work this week amid hearing the complaints of those who have spent no time, offered no sweat, bore no pain for the work. Many are quietly frustrated, unhappy and near the breaking point…. And they feel guilty about it. They believe that Jesus is worth it, but it has been a long time since that spirit of refreshment has cooled their overheated core.

  • The heartless among our ranks will simply mutter: “Well that’s there job! Nobody encourages me in my job. That’s what they get paid for!” The truth is that the vast majority of them get NOTHING for what they do in the Kingdom. They work because they believe it is what God called them to do. They are scores of Sunday School teachers, ushers, song leaders, children’s workers, etc. Among those who do get paid, few are those who make good wages among their peers in other work areas.
  • “We should encourage them more!” Another may say. That may be true, but that won’t really refresh them the way they need to be refreshed.
  • “Give them more time off!” Someone else will say. Let the children’s worker be in the service every other week!” They offer.

But even time spent without working for the Kingdom won’t restore them from the reduction gained in spiritual battle. The church cannot give them back what they have lost. They are in need of something that only God can supply. The problem is the oxygen tank of restoration is only available when we will stop working, and deliberately seek its restoring power. It is found in time with the Father, and can be found no other way.

Paul was writing the letter to the Philippians at a particularly difficult time. He was under house arrest, we can surmise a number of things about what he was going through:

  • Progress was slowed. After traveling much of the 10,000 land miles that made up his journeys, Paul was stopped and held to a single house near the Tiber River. He couldn’t physically check on the churches, or practically show live to them.
  • Attacks increased. Both existing churches and new believers were under attack, both in the public square and by sub groups within the church. Gentiles felt they were second class citizens of the Kingdom of God, while Judaizers moved about.
  • Divisions began to show. Cracks in the church were evident. People who should have been mature were picking at each other and the harmony was being interrupted by dissonant notes.

Paul sent a letter under the Spirit’s command, and it contains three essential parts:

The Prayer of the Church Planter (1:1-11) – losing frustration and gaining a positive heart.

When the problems are mounting and the people are being pushed apart, it is easy to lose our way in the troubles and frustrations. We forget that the problems we face as we attempt to share Christ with other are NOT simply “people problems” – though that is how they will appear. Leaders must pray or they will be dragged down into the problems.

The Prescriptions of the Church Planter (1:2-4:9) – how to learn to discern the best path.

When we pray consistently, God exposes the problem and sheds His light on it. When we seek Him we get answers that are consistent with His truth and dependent on His priorities. Those exposed truths are like a healing balm in the believer who will take heed. At the very least they will understand the problems they are facing. More than likely, they will see God power through some of those problems. In all of it, they will learn to put the problems and their solutions in the order that God has them.

The Pattern of the Church Planter (4:10-23) –unlocking constant encouragement secrets.

Models are one of God’s favorite ways of sharing what He desires an obedient believer to look like. Paul was used of God, not only to share the Gospel, but to model what the Gospel did in the life of one who is obedient.

Those are the “bones” of the letter, but it all started with Paul’s prayer. He prayed and he shared about prayer.

Key Principle: Prayer is the process of exchanging burdens for energy as I deliberately spend time with my Savior.

Paul taught the Philippians even as he shared his prayers for them. He managed to show love and a positive spirit toward them in spite of their arguments and internal strife. He could look past their infantile behaviors. How did he do that? He prayed and prayed and prayed for them… Paul said: “I keep thanking God as I reflect on your journey from the beginning to now. My confidence is in the Lord to finish a work He started in you.” (1:1-6). Paul’s prayer was:

  • Public – he encouraged them by letting them know that he was praying and what he was praying about for them (1:1-2). 1:1 Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Prayer in private is POWERFUL, and prayer in public is ENCOURAGING. Paul didn’t hide his prayer for them when he saw it would lift them. Let people know that you are praying if your believe it will encourage them.
  • Positive – he shared a thankfulness and energy of excitement concerning them as he spoke with God about them (1:3-5). 1:3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, 5 in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. Instead of dwelling below the decks and working the engines of ministry, he took time in prayer to celebrate what God was doing above the deck with His people. It is easy in ministry to look at everything as a hassle, and to push against each task. We can so easily lose sight of the purpose of the grime and gears – and people that should be our joy become a hassle. Take the burdens and frustrations of working with people to Jesus and let Him offer your joy in exchange for the burden.

The organ in a large church broke down one Sunday morning just before services were to begin. A member of the congregation happened to be a organ repairman and he immediately went to work on the instrument – finding it was a simple electrical problem. When he finally got it fixed it was just about the middle of the sermon. He quietly passed a note to the organist which read: “After prayer – the power will be on.” (Pastor Jeff Strite, Sermon Central illustrations).

  • Projecting – he prayed with a sense of their great future, showing he believed in God’s ability to do great things through them (1:6). 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. We don’t grow people – God does. We don’t know how He will work in them or when. God is at work! We must remember that reaching into the lives of people is NOT what it appears to be. We are to work as though WE are solely responsible, but KNOW that we are NOT – God is at work! Because He loves His church, and because He is shaping His people, we need not feel all the burden. Look ahead! God is not done with His people! Look for the good things God is doing in others, and let Him see to their faults and flaws as you pray. Teaching people is fine, but most things simply are not accomplished and cannot be – apart for Divine work in the heart of another.

Paul’s prayer was therapy for his frustration with people. It was a re-energizing experience, as he poured out frustrations and filled up on the positive lift that comes with spending time acknowledging God’s holy presence. I am certain that Paul wanted to see changes that were slow coming. At the same time, instead of pouring those on another person in ministry (which is what we tend to do in the flesh), Paul poured them out consistently before the Lord. His prayer life was not in DESPERATION but in CONFIDENCE. I sometimes wonder how long it took for Paul to begin to be a positive person because of his prayer life? He doesn’t say – but he does show that it worked!

The story is told of a woman who lived in a remote valley in Wales. She went to a great deal of trouble and expense to have electrical power installed in her home. However, after a couple of months, the Welsh electric company noticed she didn’t seem to use very much electricity at all. Thinking there might be a problem with the hookup, they sent a meter reader out to check on the matter. The man came to the door and said, “We’ve just checked your meter and it doesn’t seem that you’re using much electricity. Is there a problem?” “Oh no” she said. “We’re quite satisfied. We turn on the electric lights every night to see how to light our lamps and then we switch them off again.”

 Now, why didn’t this woman make more use of her electricity? She believed in electricity, and she believed the promises of the electric company when they told her about it. She went to a great deal of trouble and expense to have her house wired for it, BUT – she didn’t see the value of USING IT in her home… so she used it’s power sparingly. I suspect many believers treat time with God in prayer much the same way. They believe in the THEORY OF prayer. They recognize that God has made significant promises concerning prayer. They’ve even read and heard stories about answered prayers…BUT they use prayer’s power sparingly…(adapted from sermon central illustrations).

  • Personal – he showed that he was personally attached to their situation, and truly LOVED them as people – not as a WORK.  He essentially said: “It is fitting that I have confidence in you, because you are deeply rooted within me, and I feel you are with me in this trouble. God knows how deeply I long to be with all of you.” (1:7-8). 1:7 For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. 8 For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

 He wanted the people to know he loved and respected them for who they are in Messiah, and that he would CHOOSE to be with them if he could. He called on God Himself as his witness that he wasn’t just putting on an appearance – he truly cared for them. They were in his thoughts throughout the day. People want to be loved and cared about – but they feel small when they are “our project”. Look for ways to express real love to those for whom you are praying. Allow God to move your words to Him from the secret closet to the spill out of your heart. The process began with empting frustration, feeding on time with Him – and then allowing that love to spill over on to them.

 It is clear through the words of Paul that he was consistent in his prayers for them, because he cared about them. Luke reminds: “Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” It is worth remembering that persistent prayer comes from a loving heart  – but the reverse is also true. If I don’t love what I should love, God works in me to WILL of His good pleasure –and changes what I WANT. (cp. Phil 2:13).

Leland Patrick wrote about PERSONAL PRAYER: “When we carried our son and daughter-in-law to the airport in Birmingham, as they left to go overseas, I cried. I had told myself not to cry. Get this picture. My oldest son felt led of God to spend his life serving in southeast Asia. He was about to leave. I knew that for the rest of his life I would only see him for short visits. I knew that I would never spend extensive time with my grandchildren. I had the audacity to tell myself that I was not going to cry. When they started through security, I cried. I didn’t just cry. I wailed. People were staring at my as if there was something wrong with me. There was something wrong. My heart was broken. I cried! There was no pretense. There was no cover up. People could read me like a book…That is what happens when we get real with God. We bare our soul to Him.”

  • Pointed – he wasn’t praying grand general themes (i.e. “bless my friends at Philippi”), but had specific issues he was presenting to the Master on their behalf. He said: “Here is my chief prayer for you: that rich discernment would grow from your love. I pray that you would allow that discernment lead to priorities that honor “fleshed out” in blameless behaviors until you stand before Jesus full of fruits that bring His Father pleasure.” (1:9-11). 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; 11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Paul wanted God to do a work in several specific areas of the people’s lives. First, he was concerned that the love they had would increase and not wane. Second, he wanted that love to grow toward a holy discernment that would allow them to attain the right priorities. Third, he wanted those priorities to produce practical works in the hands of the people. Paul targeted very important specifics, and he desired God to do the work behind the scenes in the lives of the people.

“It’s kind of like when you’re at a theatrical play and the curtain is closed. You don’t usually see what takes place behind the curtain. If you didn’t know better, you might never realize that while the curtain is closed the props are brought out, the scenery is changed and the actors take their positions. But every once in a while somebody slips up and the curtain is accidentally drawn back and you see what is taking place behind the scenes. That’s (in essence) what God is doing here – He’s drawing back the curtain so you see what ordinarily would be hidden from your eyes.” (Pastor Jeff Strite).

Look at the verses another way. Strip away the prayer of Paul and time spent with the Lord. Here is what Paul may have been saying to a ministry partner if he WASN’T praying, but was trying to work harder to FIX THE PROBLEMS of the ministry without God’s intervention and settling in his heart: “These people are LOVING, but they just don’t seem to GET IT. They run off after every silly thing presented to them for ministry, and can’t pick out the BEST things from the GOOD things. They choose things that are WAY OFF THE MARK of God’s real purposes. They approve of things that will defile them, and then they wonder why it doesn’t work out in their lives. We need a new class, a new seminar, a new sermon series…” Sadly, that is where the maturity stops. The church craws along in half truth and half power – because all of the answers lay in leaders spending time with God.

“God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.” -C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity

Paul publicly and personally laid before people a positive look at where God was taking them. He understood the time spent with Jesus on his knees was essential or he would lose his focus. At the same time, his prayers didn’t HINDER him from seeing the problems – the prayers INFORMED him of God’s desires concerning the problems. He GAINED FOCUS and GAINED ENERGY – rather than the sinking feeling of sharing problems with a friend or ministry partner that seems to leave you feeling powerless and victimized by problems.

Much of our prayer life can be consumed by reciting to God the problems and tossing them at God’s feet. That isn’t the response God is looking for. Look at the way God used the prayers of Paul to open his eyes to specific encouragements and exhortations that the people could grow through. Paul got SMARTER because he prayed.

God opened Paul’s eyes to truths that could be shared like a prescription that would offer medicine to the sick – but they needed to take the medicine.

George Mueller was known for his powerful prayer. In the course of his ministry to the orphans of England, he learned to count on God wholly… Once while on his way to speak in Quebec for a engagement. On the deck of the ship that was to carry him to his destination, he informed the captain that he needed to be in Quebec by Saturday afternoon. As the captain related the story, he said “’It is impossible,’ I said. ’Do you know how dense this fog is?’” “’No,’ he replied, ’my eye is not on the density of the fog, but on the living God who controls every circumstance of life. I have never broken an engagement in 57 years; let us go down into the chart room and pray.’ He knelt down and he prayed one of the most simple prayers. When he had finished I was going to pray, but he put his hand on my shoulder and told me not to pray. ’As you do not believe He will answer, and as I believe He has, there is no need for you whatever for you to pray about it.’ “I looked at him and George Mueller said, ’Captain, I have known my Lord for 57 yrs. and there has never been a single day when I have failed to get an audience with the King. Get up, Captain, and open the door and you will find that the fog has gone.’ “I got up and the fog indeed was gone, and on that Saturday afternoon George Mueller kept his promised engagement.”

Paul recognized that when the problems were mounting and the people were being pushed apart, it was not time for counseling on the “people problems” – it was time to pray and seek God for the next steps He knew that prayer is the process of exchanging burdens for energy as I deliberately spend time with my Savior. Believers must pray or they will be dragged down into the problems and overwhelmed by them.

God often allows the problems so that we will remember that we need Him. Satan often initiates the problems so that we will forget God and become independent.  

Grasping God’s Purpose: “Judging God’s Blessing by My Comfort” – Exodus 17:1-7

Based on a true story, The story, screen play and eventually the movie called “The Fifth Quarter” unfolds an emotional tale of one family’s journey through unimaginable grief. In February, 2006, a young man named Luke accepted a ride home from a fellow student following his high-school team practice. Driving recklessly over the intense objections of his friends, the teen driver lost control of the car at nearly 90 miles-per-hour, hurling off a tiny back road and landing in an embankment far below. Luke suffered instant and irreparable brain damage, and died two days later in the local hospital – just shy of his sixteenth birthday. His broken family struggled with facing their loss. Luke’s brother, Jon was a football player at Wake Forest University and considered quitting his sports career. Instead, he returned home and worked with a personal trainer to ramp up his performance on the field, just as his brother would have wanted. His newfound dedication not only affected his abilities, but encouraged his team, as well. Jon gained approval from his coach to trade his jersey for number five, the one his brother wore. In the 4th quarter of each game, he signaled the number five with an outstretched hand to his family in the stands. Soon the entire team embraces the signal and “the 5th quarter” is born. Wake Forest University went on to one of their best seasons ever. It is an inspirational tale.

That’s the kind of story I love to watch – a “feel good” fest. I don’t want the story where pain lingers and good is hard to find. Like most Americans, I want resolution in one and a half hours or less – or the movie wasn’t worth the film it was made on. I want happiness to come from sorrow. I can deal with the “grave scene” if the end is about the beautiful flowers that grow on it. I am structured for comfort and convenience. That is one of the reasons I have learned through my culture an un-Biblical way of judging experiences and challenges.

For the believer, his life is about the journey from the world to the land of Promise that awaits him at life’s end. The journey has some cool evenings and comfortable days, but also a significant number of painfully hot times of testing and trouble. Many believers get the notion that if God is in it, things will be easy. Conversely, if things are tough, God is either negligent or has left the scene. It never occurs to us that our comfort is not God’s main concern – our growth is!

Key Principle: We cannot judge God’s blessing by our comfort.

For some context to this lesson in their lives, we need to recall that this is a FIFTH LESSON in a series that God was teaching Moses and the people, as God formed a nation from a rabble. The first four were:

  • The Obedience Test (15:22-27): They were brought to bitter water when they needed to drink. This was a test in “doing what was hard to understand, while trusting the results to God. Obedience is more important than obstacles. God gives us what we NEED, not what we WANT.
  • The Goal Test: (16:1-3; 8-12): They were tested on the real problem they had in their complaints. They lived with their “eye on Canaan, but heart in Egypt. The children of Israel thought their number one issue was Moses’ leadership, but they had no self-awareness of the bigger obstacle – their departure from God. God wants our hearts tuned to following Him – and our complaints will evaporate.
  • The Consistency Test (16:4) They were given instructions concerning the manna collection. The daily GRIND of serving another’s goal goes against our nature. Those who master this are remembered as great by God. God doesn’t take care of our part without us, that isn’t the deal. Nor can we expect others to do our part. We must act when prompted by God or face lack and the withdrawal of His blessing.
  • The Limitation Test (16:16-36) They were given limits on the food they collected. This test can be summarized as the  “learning to set limits” test. This is a hard one for a culture trained in HAVE IT YOUR WAY thinking. A simple request for food gets translated into gluttony in our culture. Many Christians do to food what drunks do to alcohol. The difference is the believer doesn’t feel guilty or unjustified at all.  Our culture is all about self-indulgence – and God was curbing theirs.

Now as we look at the fifth test, note carefully the details of this short but dramatic story…

Exodus 17:1 Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me.” 5 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 He named the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us, or not?”

The Problem (17:1)

Life has its barren places. For the children of Israel, life in the wilderness proved to be theirs. This was the second shot at “lessons on water supply” in a few weeks!  Exodus 17:1 Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink.

  1. The people were moving farther into the harsh lands with no ability to turn back (17:1). Many of God’s people left Egypt reluctantly. Like Lot’s wife, they needed to be delivered but they wanted to continue to enjoy the comforts of compromise. “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:8). This was a time of full commitment – for soon they would be past the point of no return. Someone has said: “The problem with skydiving is that you can’t change your mind after you step off the plane – it is about total commitment.”

A blind man was describing his favorite sport – parachuting. When asked how this was accomplished, he said that things were all done for him: “I am placed in the door and told when to jump. My hand is placed on my release ring for me, and out I go.” “But how do you know when you are going to land?” he was asked. “I have a very keen sense of smell and I can smell the trees and grass when I am 300 feet from the ground” he answered. “But how do you know when to lift your legs for the final arrival on the ground?” he was again asked. He quickly answered “Oh, that’s easy, I attch a rock to a rope, and when we come to the ground the rock hits first and the rope goes slack”. Though you may not be able to see exactly what God is doing but He will provide subtle signs.

  1. God led them to that difficult and barren place. Now was the time to completely trust God.
  1. The place didn’t seem to have what they felt the needed – it seemed WRONG. The human body is 2/3 water. – By the time you are 70-years-old, you will have required 1½ million gallons of water. – Studies show that increasing water consumption can decrease fat deposits. Water is a natural appetite suppressant. Australian pain expert Dr. Michael Farrell study claims Going without a drink can make you more sensitive to pain. If you loose 2% of your body’s water supply, your energy will decrease by 20%. A 10% decrease in water, you will be unable to walk, and a 20% decrease – you’re dead. I think it is interesting that the need for water began their journey – Ex. 17:1-7. The need for water ends their journey – Num 20:1-13. Now was the time to recognize that all they needed to focus on was following God – and let Him provide for them.

THE PROBLEM WASN’T WATER —  IT WAS TRUST!

The Reactions: (17:2-4)

Exodus records the reactions of the people –  a perfect model for all the WRONG responses.  Exodus 17: 2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me.”

  1. Act as though there is a conspiracy by the other people in your life (17:2a). Skip the hints of God and focus on others. If you aren’t comfortable, someone must be at fault. After all, you are supposed to be comfortable – aren’t you. This comes from the misshapen notion that I deserve better than a hard life.
  1. Blame people for what God is doing, but don’t talk to Him about it! They weren’t even on speaking terms with God. Instead, they complained to Moses about God. When you have been talking to God you don’t need to be talking about God.
  1. Ascribe motives to people that uncover why they are causing the discomfort in your life. After all, by now you should be able to read their hearts and flawlessly judge their motives! (17:3a).

An old rather crotchety Christian man and his dear believing wife were suddenly killed in an auto accident and both were taken to Heaven. As they began to look all around at their setting for eternity, the sweet wife was amazed at the beauty, the peace and the contentment she felt and commented over and over about what a nice place Heaven was and how fortunate she felt to be there. The husband turned to his wife and sneered, “If it weren’t for you and your oat bran muffins & health food, we’d have been here 15 years ago.”

  1. Forget any blessing God may have given you. (When did slaves get livestock anyway? 17:3b). It is hard to complain about the livestock you didn’t even have until God gave it to you… or is it? If they took the time to think about it, so far God had provided:
  1. An opening in the heart of Pharaoh.
  2. An unexpected showering of gifts on them by their former masters.
  3. A cloud and fire navigation system.
  4. An escape corridor through the sea.
  5. Water wells at Marah and Elim.
  6. “Frosted Mini Wheats” in the desert.
  7. Quail roasters.
  1. Push leaders to the edge, become threatening and nasty. (17:4) After all, if you don’t stand up for yourself, who will? The person who followed God next to you is obviously less competent than they should be, even though you followed the same God they did. Surely they get special perks for being in charge that you don’t get, so make sure you blame them. If they can’t stand the heat, they shouldn’t be in the kitchen. After all, the perks of leading God’s people should more than replace the inconvenience of getting threatened with stoning – shouldn’t they?

By the way, many leaders mishandle the situation as well: In a short article called “Sinking Ship”, Steve Templeton wrote: Left on a sinking ship were the captain and three sailors. The captain spoke first. “Men, this business about a captain going down with his ship is nonsense. There’s a three-man life raft on board and I’m going to be on it. To see who will come with me, I will ask you each one question. The one who can’t answer will stay behind. Here’s the first question: ‘What unsinkable ship went down when it hit an iceberg?’ The first sailor answered, “The Titanic, sir.” “On to the next question: How many people perished?” The second sailor said, “One thousand five hundred and seventeen, sir.” “Now for the third question,” and the captain turned to sailor number three. “What were their names?”

God’s Answer: (17:5-7)

The people took God’s testing and turned it upside down – testing God! Finally God stepped in – but it wasn’t until someone asked Him! God’s response was a six part model for times of trouble. Exodus 17: 5 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 He named the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us, or not?”

1. Get out in front of the people – reset the leadership place of Moses (17:5). Without leadership, the mass would quickly become a panicked mob. God knew that Moses would need to re-establish the place of leadership or nothing else could happen.

2. Get others to see how God works and what He can do (17:5b). God used the time to train people, because that was the point of the discomfort to begin with. The time of discomfort was about trust, obedience and confidence in Him. As long as we believe we can build a comfortable life that is sufficient for the wilderness trip, we will not trust God. Our God will be our bellies. God doesn’t have your HEART until He has your WILL, and what FULFILLS you!

Paul comments on the significance of the water which they drank in 1 Corinthians 10:4 “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.” The issue was control and fulfillment. And it still is!

3. Remember to take the gift God has given you, that He has used in the past. For Moses it was a stick. The stick that came from Moses’ shepherding days. Remember when God said so long ago, “What is that in your hands?”

What was significant about this stick was: It was what Moses had. IUt is what God has used in his life. God did not ask Moses what he didn’t have. We could all make a long list if what we don’t have. (*We don’t have enough money; *We don’t have a good education; *We don’t have a high social standing) The list can go on and on.. but God never directs our attention to what we don’t have, but to what we do have even though it seems small. God gave us everything we needed to do the job! Even though what we have seems, small, weak, insignificant, This is on purpose, because God has designed it so that what we have must be connected to him to work. The difference is the power of God. It is not your ability, your knowledge, your talent, or the size of your gift or the beauty of your gift that matters. All that matters is:  How much of God is in your stick. Your stick represents that which you have that you surrender to God. When God gets in it, it’s enough! When God gets in it – it will surprise you (Moses fled from before his rod when it turned into a serpent). The empowering is the supernatural power of God operating through the natural to produce results that are humanly impossible. When God gets in a thing it is not the same. When God gets in a thing it can scare some people. Just like Moses who had never seen his rod do anything like that before. God got in a rock and caused a river to flow out of it that quenched the thirst of the nation of Israelites. Got got in a donkey and caused it to speak and rebuke a rebellious prophet. The rod could only do what the natural human power of Moses enables it to do – until the power of God got in it. One of the greatest problems we have as Believers is we have a tendency to underestimate what we have – because when yielded – God is in what we have! (adapted from Sermon Central illustrations).

4.     Follow God to the place He will take you, promptly when He leads you. When you are talking to Him about each step, it is much easier than it sounds. (17:6). God is leading you when you are following Him. He sees you as one of great value, for He has written into your life. Others may not see you the way He does, but His view is the right view – the Eternal view. A story is told of a man who loved old books. He met an acquaintance who had just thrown away a Bible that had been stored in the attic of his ancestral home for generations. “I couldn’t read it,” the friend explained. “Somebody named Guten-something had printed it.” “Not Gutenberg!” the book lover exclaimed in horror. “That Bible was one of the first books ever printed. Why, a copy just sold for over two million dollars!” His friend was unimpressed. “Mine wouldn’t have brought a dollar. Some fellow named Martin Luther had scribbled all over it in German.” Do you realize your value to God? You may think it’s not worth much but  it has Jehovah’s writing printed on it.

5.     Obey God, no matter whether you get it or not. Don’t just follow the directions that appear to work out. That is a disaster. Follow all the things God tells you to do! Moses knew what to do, but God led him where he was to do it! Remember, Moses has been in this desert before, the people had not!

This selection is taken from records of the British governor of the Sinai region of the 1930’s, Major C.S. Jarvis – today a part of the “Palestine Exploration Fund” records:

“Several men of the Sinai Camel Corps had halted in a dry wadi and were in the process of digging about in the rough sand that had accumulated at the foot of a rock face. They were trying to get at the water that was trickling slowly out of the limestone rock. The men were taking their time about it and Besh Shawish – the color sergeant – said, “Here, give it to me”. He took the spade of one of the men and began digging furiously in the manners of NCO’s the world over who want to show their men how to do things but have no intention of keeping it up for more than a couple of minutes. One of his violent blows hit the rock by mistake. The smooth hard crust which always forms the weathered limestone split open and fell away. The soft-stone underneath was thereby exposed and out of its apertures shot a powerful stream of water. The Sudanese, who are well up in the activities of the prophets but do not treat them with a vast amount of respect, overwhelmed their sergeant with cries of ‘Look at him! Prophet Moses’!”

6.     Mark the spot and recognize the lesson, because you will need to hear it again. Not only that, but other believers coming behind you will need to learn the lesson as well! (17:7).

Reggie Jackson is well known for having played baseball for the Oakland A’s and the World Champion New York Yankees. Earlier in Jackson’s career, he played briefly for the Baltimore Orioles. O’s Manager Earl Weaver had a strict rule he expected his team to follow: He wouldn’t allow a player to try to steal a base without first receiving the go-ahead sign from him. Of course, this was an affront to a temperamental individual like Mr. October, Reggie Jackson. In one decisive game Reggie did not receive the steal sign from Weaver, but he took off for second base regardless. The future Hall of Famer slid in, barely beating the tag. As he brushed himself off, he smiled and glared at Earl Weaver in the dugout, proud of his accomplishment. After the game was over, Weaver pulled Jackson aside, “Reggie, I want you to know why I didn’t give you the steal sign. Our best power hitter, next to you, is Lee May. May was at the plate when you were on first base. When you stole second, that left first base open. So our opponents intentionally walked him. The next batter hasn’t experienced much success against the opposing pitcher. That meant I had to put in a pinch hitter. This left me with insufficient bench strength should the game go into extra innings, which it did, and I think that is why we lost.” Reggie Jackson wanted to steal a base; Earl Weaver wanted to win a ball game. As God’s people we are sometimes going to miss the Big picture.

Before you finish this, let me ask you some simple questions…. What could God do through you is He has all of you (complete surrender)? What could He do through my life if I didn’t only follow when I felt it made sense to me? What could He do through my life if I recognized the point of life was HIS GLORY and not MY COMFORT? The lesson is simple: You cannot judge God’s blessing by your comfort.

 

 

He Changes Everything: “The Old Rugged Cross”- Mark 15:22-47

A man was driving down a backstreet in a small town. He looked up into the rear view mirror, and noticed the flashing lights of the police cruiser. He looked down at recognized that he was proceeding at ten miles past the speed limit signs. He pulled over. It could be any place, any day or any time, but it would still be a familiar scene. As he pulled over, a host of issues rolled through his mind. If he is like most Americans, he is disgusted that the police officer would waste time on him instead of catching “real criminals”. If he is like most Americans, he will surmise cynically that the city is running low on cash, and that the motivation for the stop is financial. If he is like most Americans, the very last thing on his mind will be his actual infraction – buried behind a raft of good reasons why he wasn’t really as wrong as the policemen was going to suggest with the ticket.

Here is the problem: Our culture has confused GOODNESS for RIGHTEOUSNESS. In the last 100 years, the number of “mitigating circumstances” that allows a defense attorney to argue “not guilty” on our behalf has grown at a staggering rate. Don’t misunderstand me, there are mitigating circumstances that need to be considered in judgment. The problem is that people become deceived into thinking that they are truly NOT GUILTY because they believe they are basically good, and had a good reason for doing wrong.

Why do I bring this up as we look into Mark 15 and the story of the Cross of Jesus? Because the enemy is convincing our fallen culture that because they are basically good people (a left over of God’s image stamp on them in creation) – that they are also RIGHTEOUS (truly not guilty of sin under the judicial penalty of God).

Go back to our man sitting in the driver’s seat. Let’s say he is a GOOD MAN. Let’s stipulate that he volunteers at Big Brothers of America, is a scout leader, donates regularly to Good Will, is ecologically sensitive, grew up in Sunday School and helps little old ladies across the street. Let’s name him “Dudley Dooright” and give him a “A” for civic minded efforts. What does that have to do with the fact that he was GUILTY of speeding? Everything. It gives him a reason to try to justify himself in his own mind, while calling into question the law enforcement official. It has a graying affect on the black and white of his situation. It adds subjective standards to what is really objective.

Now take that same driver, and bring him to church. If it is a Bible teaching and Bible believing church – it will offer this picture of the man: HE IS A SINNER, CONDEMNED BY GOD. He will sit and look around, perhaps squirming a bit. Why is he a sinner? He is a GOOD GUY – we have already established that! What right does that Pastor have to call him a SINNER – “I’ll bet he is trying to get money out of me for the building program!” he’ll muse. Maybe he will argue in his own mind, “This guy doesn’t know me, how can he say ANYTHING about who I am?” He will leave the service feeling condemned (a bad feeling) and that will reinforce his reasons for thinking church people aren’t for him. Like in the case of his traffic violation, it will not occur to him that the whole event occurred because he was ACTUALLY GUILTY before the law (unrighteous). He confuses being GOOD GUY with being UNRIGHTEOUS in regard to violation of an absolute standard.

It was not always so. Puritan culture understood the judicial nature of our Creator. They believed they were sinners, and they needed the cross. Our twenty first century culture in America has no need for the cross as any more than a symbol of giving. It is a hallmark moment that brings an “Ahhhh” to the modern crowd. Jesus has joined the ranks of the radical peaceful protestors, alongside Mahatma Ghandi and other examples of non-violent protest.

To a student of the Bible, Jesus’ work was not simply about EXAMPLE – it was the solution to the judicial unrighteousness of man. To a Christian, the Cross on which Jesus died became a symbol of inestimable worth. It captured in time the single greatest moment in world history since the Fall of man, only to be eclipsed by the King’s return at the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom. It symbolized the breaking of sin’s inevitable hold on mankind. It symbolized the finished work to conquer sin and death (meaning a separation from God). It graphically depicted God’s love for man. It is the source of our hope.

In this passage we will go back to stand on a hill outside of Jerusalem. We will watch victory and tragedy meet. We will again be amazed at the love of our Creator, and the faithfulness of His Son…

Key Principle: The Cross changed everything. At the same time, it offers potential life to those who accept it and eternal death to those who reject it.

Before we read from Mark 15, we must understand a Biblical idea about God’s judgment. Every man or woman is judged TWICE. One judgment is for his RIGHTEOUSNESS and the other for his GOODNESS. His eternal destiny is determined by the judgment of RIGHTEOUSNESS. The degree of his reward or punishment is determined by his GOODNESS. How do I know? There are many passages, but we will suffice it with one very clear passage in the end of the Bible:

Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Note three specifics of the passage you just read:

First, there are two different measures of the passage – a single book of life by which a destiny is determined and a library of books that houses the record of one’s works in life. The Book of Life simply requires a name listing, the other books have details of works.

Second, there are two judgments – whether one is in the Book of Life and the other refers to what works one had done. Though every person not found in the Book of Life is sent to the Lake of Fire – not all are equal in the works they have done.

Third, it is possible to be GOOD in terms of works, but UNRIGHTEOUS in terms of the Book of Life. The passage we read doesn’t specify who is in the Book of Life – but the Bible elsewhere does. That is where the CROSS story comes into the problem – offering a judicial solution to UNRIGHTEOUS MAN.

Now to the Cross. There are three essential parts to the story as given by Mark. First, there is the Setting of the Execution itself. Next there is the special focus on the moment of Jesus’ death. Finally, there is the Reaction of the Observers.

The Setting of the Execution:

The very word Crucifixion brought fear to a non-citizen during the Roman period. It is still considered by most historians one of the most gruesome of deaths. Mark describes it: Mark 15:22 Then they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. 23 They tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it. 24 And they crucified Him, and divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots for them to decide what each man should take. 25 It was the third hour when they crucified Him.

These four verses offer some important truths to historically set the redemption act of Jesus. It is essential that we have details, in order that we assure each generation that these were not simply “cleverly devised myths” (2 Peter 1:6). The details given are:

The Place:

Christians use a number of words that remind us of the place of Jesus’ death, simply because the Biblical terminology for the site includes the terms Golgotha, the Aramaic word for “skull,” and Calvary, from the Latin term calvaria also meaning “skull” (Matthew 27:33, Luke 23:33, John 19:17). All that we know historically about the place was that it was outside a wall to the north and west of the city, on the western hill of ancient Jerusalem. There was a garden nearby, as well as a cemetery contemporary to Jesus’ time. The Crosses may have been ON the hill, or in a flat space BELOW the hill, since the text doesn’t indicate their actual location.

The Cross:

Mark offers four important details of the actual event: 1) the drink they offered Jesus (23), 2) the method of execution (24), 3) the parting of his personal effects by casting lots (25), 4) the time of the event (26). Each of these add special texture to the history and drama, and offer details that suggest one who was there was the source. Each of these four records are consistent with the details of an eyewitness. Since this method is now removed (thankfully) from our public life, some details of the scene may be helpful to really capture the event.

  • Their Purpose: Crucifixion was another of the “spectacles” of Roman society. Even punishment was designed to send a message to people on every level of society. The crucified were often left on display after death as a deterring warning to any who might attempt insurrection. This method was particularly slow, painful (hence the term excruciating, literally “out of crucifying”), and a terrifyingly public gruesome display. Specific methods varied with location.
  • Their Variety: “Crucifixion” applied to many forms of execution, from impaling on a stake to affixing to a tree, to an upright pole (a crux simplex) or to a combination of an upright (in Latin, stipes – 300 pounds or more) and a crossbeam (in Latin, patibulum – 75–125 pounds).
  • Use of Nails: Normally attached by rope to the wood, nails were not always used. They are specifically mentioned by Josephus Flavius, in a record of the Siege of Jerusalem (in 70 CE) where he says, “the soldiers out of rage and hatred, nailed those they caught, one after one way, and another after another, to the crosses, by way of jest.” Seneca the Younger suggest that victims were crucified completely nude. When the victim had to relieve bowel or bladder – they did so in open view, increasing the attraction of flies and insects, and adding to the awful smell of the place.
  • Other tools: In the normal course of the execution, the legs of the person executed were shattered with a club, an act called “crurifragium”– a punishment applied without crucifixion to rebellious slaves. This act hastened the death, but was not considered merciful on its face.
  • Roman Records: Roman citizens were spared this execution form, and its horrors were shunned by some eminent orators. Cicero described crucifixion as “a most cruel and disgusting punishment…the very mention of the cross should be far removed not only from a Roman citizen’s body, but from his mind, his eyes, his ears.”
  • Roman Superstitions: Strangely, just like objects associated with gladiators, the nails after a crucifixion were sought as amulets with perceived medicinal qualities.

The only clear archeological evidence of crucifixion of the Roman period in ancient Judea is that of “the case of the crucified man” at Giv’at HaMivtar. The discovery was in a tomb, unexpectedly uncovered by road and construction work in the 1960s. The tomb yielded a number of ossuaries, boxes containing the bones of the dead, which were examined by archeologists. One of the ossuaries contained a curiosity that is still the subject of much discussion (See Israel Exploration Journal, vol.35, no.1, 1985, pp. 22-7). The excavator, Vasilios Tzaferis, took the skeletal remains of a male who appeared to have been crucified at about the age of 28. Evidence for the man’s death as a crucifixion included a bent nail, still positioned in the foot bones. The nail was 11.5 cm (4.5 inches) in length. Tests were run at Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School and published by an anthropologist with the Israel Exploration Society. It was determined that the crucifixion in this particular case did not include the use of the crurifragium (a sledgehammer). Further, the victim did not appear to have evidence of hand injury, implying that his arms were roped and not nailed, and may have been nailed to an olive tree. If the same type of crucifixion were applied to the Gospel narrative, Jesus may well have been nailed to a patibulum (crossbeam) and then boosted against a small olive tree.

Note that Mark includes three statements that set the cruelty of the scene in Jesus’ case very carefully:

  • His charge: A charge was nailed above Him, explaining the Roman crime He was convicted of – INSURRECTION. Mark 15:26 The inscription of the charge against Him read, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
  • His companions: He was not crucified alone, but was a later addition to those who were killed that day. It is likely that Barabbas’ companions were those who accompanied Jesus in death. Mark 15:27 They crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left. 28 [And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with transgressors.”]
  • His curses: Mark 15:29 Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save Yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. 32 “Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.

The Death: How Jesus was Executed

Two details are drawn out of the spectacle on Calvary that morning long ago. Mark focused on Jesus’ personal agony as He perceived the Father’s turning from Him in the midst of the crucifixion. Jesus cried out:

Mark 15:33 When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” which is translated, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” 35 When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, “Behold, He is calling for Elijah.” 36 Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.” 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last.

The Gospel writer was not unaware of the theological realities he was trying to teach in his writing. In the middle of the scene, we need to recall some important truths about the Cross. Jesus made two essential changes at His death – He changed man’s potential relationship to God and He changed all Creation’s hope of redemption. The scene of the Crucifixion was not simply in Jerusalem – it was played out in HEAVENLY PLACES for all Creation to watch and learn.

The work at the Cross changed Man’s Potential Relation to God

The most profound effect of the Fall into sin was on man’s connection to God. Sin was primarily against God. It was a deliberate mutiny, not a personality flaw. For that reason, the Biblical notion of sin can be seen in the lost son’s confession in the parable of Joy (Luke 15): “I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight.” Much earlier, the wayward King David (after he had committed adultery and arranged a murder) acknowledged, Ps. 51:3 “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge.” From a Biblical view, others may be hurt by our sin, but sin is primarily directed against the character of a righteous God the way a physical attack on our President would be considered an attack against our country. Sin is the personification of self will and rebellion – the opposite of dependence upon God and the desire for submission.

From the time of the Fall, sin separated man from God. God’s revealed nature is HOLY – and holiness cannot overlook sin. Our mutiny of sin naturally separates the sinner from God as oil from water – their physical properties do not mix. Sin is a barrier ever separating permanent the fellowship between man and God that he once had in the Garden of Eden. Paul called  our state in Ephesians 2 simply “dead in sin.”

The result of sin is guilt of mutiny before God, a condition passed to every baby born of man’s sperm, where God says the defect is extended. Each sinner is responsible both by their blood (at birth) and later by their deeds – all offenses chargeable before God. Sin requires God’s condemnation – just as crime requires that of any human judge. The necessary punishment to satisfy the judicial nature of God must be met – and God set the payment terms of a holy life in exchange for an unholy one. That was Heaven’s view of the Cross of Jesus. He became the Lamb slain for me.

The Bible is not silent on the state of man without the payment of the Cross (one who chooses to try to satisfy God without relying on the work of Jesus at the Cross). “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Sinners deserve death. Paul said, “They which commit such things are worthy of death” (Rom. 1:32). “Because all men sinned, death passed upon all men.” (Rom. 5:12.)

“But I wasn’t there in the Garden!” one may object. That’s true, but one who represented you was in the Garden. Just as an Ambassador for our country represents us today before other nations, so Adam and Eve represented all of us. If our Ambassador, our President and our Congress declares war –YOU declare war. You pay for it. You support it. You send your sons and daughters to fight it. Because they represent you – they speak for you – and you pay the price. They are your FEDERAL HEAD – and so was man and woman in the Garden. One more thing: the Bible is clear, and so are our lives – we would have made the same choice. We lied and cheated without any instruction – our hearts showed self dependence since we uttered “MINE!” at age two.

God is life – and he who rejects God, rejects LIFE – and asks for the penalty of death. Choosing door number two means you rejected door number one – that is the very nature of choice.

Biblically, in His sacrifice Jesus took the believer’s place. He paid the debt left by sin on behalf of the sinner that opts into the program. Just like TRAVEL INSURANCE you cannot expect to be covered if YOU OPTED OUT OF THE COVERAGE.

The man who OPTS OUT of sin coverage of Jesus lives self-centered instead of God-centered – EVEN IF HE IS A GOOD PERSON. The righteous standard is determined by the JUDGE, who has written that man cannot live righteously until he is living godly. Man’s goodness to his neighbor is meant to be a social expression of his redemptive relationship with God. We only really love our neighbor as self when we first have a walk with God and reflect the values God has stated in every other relationship – so says the Creator. Ultimately, GOOD is subservient to RIGHTEOUS. That is why the Bible says that “No one does good!”

Mark includes the detail of the curtain of the Temple to show that the division between God and man was changed at the Cross. Mark 15:38 And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

The Response of Observers:

One final feature of the scene of the Cross in Mark’s Gospel is perhaps the most relevant part of the story to anyone studying the event today – the reactions of people. Why is this more relevant? Because the work of the Cross only POTENTIALLY changed a man’s destination. If they don’t accept the work of Jesus – the work has only one impact on them – it becomes a STANDARD OF CONDEMNATION before God. The check box to OPT OUT becomes the CONDEMNING CHOICE by which your claim to Heaven is denied.

Consider three who appeared to be moving toward the Cross:

The Centurion as a leader of 80 men in the Roman army, and perhaps the highest official on the scene, knew that Jesus was not guilty of subversion, and thought His death was a statement of WHO JESUS IS: Mark 15:39 When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

The women who stood back and watched were shocked into Covert Action. They loved Jesus, but could not understand the plan: Mark 15:40 There were also some women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the Less and Joses, and Salome. 41 When He was in Galilee, they used to follow Him and minister to Him; and there were many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.

The Pharisee Joseph showed Courage, and wanted to honor Jesus by offering his tomb for a proper burial. Mark 15:42 When evening had already come, because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead. 45 And ascertaining this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. 46 Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth and laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were looking on to see where He was laid.

The real question is not whether you RESPECT Jesus, love Jesus’ example, or want to HONOR Jesus through some show of self sacrifice. The real question is whether you will OPT IN to accepting Jesus as the only satisfaction for sin before the justice of God.

If you believe you are too GOOD to be UNRIGHTEOUS – you are confusing the judicial standard, and answering the wrong judgment. The Cross changed everything. At the same time, it offers potential life to those who accept it and eternal death to those who reject it.

Grasping God’s Purpose: “Testing, testing, 1,2,3…testing” – Exodus 16

For some strange reason, at the beginning of most sound checks on the microphones, no matter where I am, people use the opening line: “Testing, testing, 1,2,3, testing..” I was watching karaoke on a cruise ship a few years ago, and a Japanese man that could barely speak English, got up and clearly said those words. I was amazed! Obviously the idea of the phrase is to offer sound for the tech person to adjust levels of microphones and be sure they are working. At the same time, there is something more powerful to be learned from that simple and common exercise: Tests prepare for optimum performance.

For the believer, his life is about the journey through this world to the land of Promise that awaits him at life’s end. The journey has some cool evenings and comfortable days, but many report that there are a significant number of painfully hot times of testing. Is it because God is disconnected or cruel? No, of course not. Testing prepares for optimum performance. Testing helps us know what is improperly set in our lives. It helps us have an opportunity to take corrective steps. That is the point of the middle section of Exodus that highlights the journey through the “hot by day and cold by night” dusty desert

Life is filled with tests: At the beginning of a new year, a high school principal decided to post his teachers’ new year’s resolutions on the bulletin board. As the teachers gathered around the bulletin board, a great commotion started. One of the teachers was complaining. “Why weren’t my resolutions posted?” She was throwing such a temper tantrum that the principal hurried to his office to see if he had overlooked her resolutions. Sure enough, he had mislaid them on his desk. As he read her resolutions he was astounded. This teacher’s first resolution was not to let little things upset her in the New Year.

Key Principle: Testing may be an unwanted gift, but it shows us our trouble spots.

God is very present in our testing! We must understand that the absence of trouble does not signal the presence of the Lord – and conversely, the presence of the Lord does not mean the absence of trouble.

We left off in our story last time in the end of Exodus 15, where the real tests of the desert began to become clear to Moses and the children of Israel. The tests are such a feature of the life of the believer, they are mentioned in many places. In the opening chapter of James, the writer of the Epistle begins with tests of the believer (Lit: “peirasmos”or approving tests, an alchemy term, cp. James 1:2-12). James argues they should not be viewed as enemies, but rather as a normal part of the battlefield lifestyle. Moses was just about to find that out.

The Obedience Test (15:22-27)

Look back a few verses into our last lesson to begin where the real testing started. This time of trouble we will call the “Obedience Test”. All were indirectly tests of obedience. This one was a test in “doing what was hard to understand, while trusting the results to God. Obedience is more important than obstacles.

Exodus 15:22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah. 24 So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 Then he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet. There He made for them a statute and regulation, and there He tested them. 26 And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer.”  27 Then they came to Elim where there were twelve springs of water and seventy date palms, and they camped there beside the waters.

Note the progression of the testing process, and you will uncover a pattern that will repeat many times in the text:

First, there was the disappointment: When they finally got to a place with water, they found that drinking the water made them ill (15:23). Having just come from God’s great miracle at the Sea of Reeds, followed by a tear-filled time of deep worship, the contrast was striking and painful. With time, they would learn there was nothing WRONG with facing tests, and they should expect them. “They could not drink” can be translated they could not bear to drink (elo yakoli). From the initial shock and disappointment, there arose a sense of disgust: What do we do now? (15:24). Voices that were quick to celebrate will be equally quick to complain! The test began in fear and quickly manifest in COMPLAINT.

Faced with an insurmountable problem, Moses cried to the Lord for deliverance. The Lord directed him to collaboration on the problem —  he needed to cast a tree limb into the water to make it potable without any ill effects (15:25a). God provided a way of escape after they failed to drink water that would make them ill – but Moses had to ACT to access the deliverance. By the end of verse 25, we can clearly see the whole thing was a test from God (15:25b). God wanted to help them by making them sick, and getting the parasites of Egypt from them. If we simply obey, it may seem more painful up front, but it is the BEST way to get through the wilderness!

In the shadow of the deliverance was the directive of God: He told them, “Next time do what I say, even if you think it will make you sick, I am working a plan!” (15:26). God knows what He is asking, and why! He is the healer! When the people were cared for, He took time to carefully teach them WHY He tested them.

The test ended with some needed “down time”: They arrived at a place of rest, with fresh water and no further test. This was a time to enjoy the delights of God after a difficult lesson. At the same time, it reminds us that many people get to Marah and never leave. They can’t go on to Elim – for they prefer to sit in bitterness and wallow at what appears to be an unfairness in the testing. To most, God gave them an escape and they were all able to continue, but they learned a critical lesson – trust God and don’t always expect an easy way out of troubles!

In this study we are in Exodus 16, where we find three more of life’s tests (sponsored by our Creator) illustrated. The three tests are the “Goal Test”, the “Consistency Test” and the “Limitation Test”. Let’s look at each.

The Goal Test: (16:1-3; 8-12)

In order to achieve success, or attain a goal, you must have a deliberate mind. This test is aimed at the mind and focus. It can be quickly summarized as the “eye on Canaan, heart in Egypt” test. The text opens with three symptoms of the need for the test:

Exodus 16:1 Then they set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt. 2 The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 The sons of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the LORD’S hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Symptoms of the Need for the Test (16:1-3)

FEAR: First, there was a fear of the future that set in when they recognized the discomfort of their choice to follow God. The Israelites left the comfort of Elim and entered the foreboding environment of Sin a month after their departure from Egypt (16:1). The place of Elim (Hebrew: אֵילִם‎, ’êlim) is referenced both here and in Numbers 33.9 as a place where “there were twelve wells of water, and seventy date palms,” and that the Israelites “camped there near the water”.

It is described as being between Marah and the Wilderness of Sin, interior to the Sinai, and has been debated by some scholars to be in Wadi Gharandel, an oasis 100 km southeast of Suez. In the late 1960’s, Professor Menashe Har-El (a researcher of the ancient geography and history of Israel and the Mideast, formerly a lecturer at the teachers’ seminaries of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University) proposed Elim to be `Ayun Musa “the springs/wells of Moses.” He noted that in 1907 the geologist Thomas Barron had observed that 12 springs existed at this site along with palm trees.  That location is still debated. What is NOT DEBATED is the meaning of the name, “gods” or “strong ones”. It was a place of gaining strength, and it was a place of LIFE to a people lost in the desert. In protest, they became one giant “Back to Egypt Committee,” acting as though slavery with water was preferable to freedom without. The problem with the FEAR was that it blocked out God. We cannot see faith through fear, but the reverse is also true: We cannot see fear through faith.

FUSSING: A second symptom that surfaced from the inner fear was the whining about the circumstances – a mere verbalization of disbelief in God’s power and purposes. When the discomfort grew intense the contagion was released and spread like wild fire (16:2). Some people can complain about anything! One writer tells the story of a young man writing at a post office desk who was approached by an older fellow with a post card in his hand. The old man said, “Young man, could you please address this post card for me?” The young man gladly did so, then agreed to write a short message when asked and to sign the card for the man. Finally the younger man asked, “Is there anything else I can do for you?” The old man looked at the post card, thought about it for a moment, and said, “Yes, at the end put, ’P.S. Please excuse the sloppy handwriting.’” (Complaining Saints by Quintin Morrow Exodus 16:1-15, SermonCentral.com)

FORGETFULNESS: A third common call for the GOAL TEST is the manifestation of a selective memory, when we recall the past differently than it really was! (16:3). It is astounding how quickly they forgot their sorry in Egypt and recalled it romantically. Though memories are great to have, we never move forward by looking behind us. Israel was so consumed with the memories of leeks and onions by the Nile they failed to wait on the One who was taking them to a “land flowing with milk and honey”! Why? Simply because they hadn’t LET GO. Although God released them from Egypt, they hadn’t released Egypt from within them! When we won’t let go of the past life, we won’t follow God in faith in the present life.

The Process of the Testing (16:8-12):

Exodus 16:8 Moses said, “This will happen when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening, and bread to the full in the morning; for the LORD hears your grumblings which you grumble against Him. And what are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against the LORD.”

WRONG DIAGNOSIS: When the Lord provided for the needs, they should have quickly realized they had rejected His plan, not just their own dreams and ideas (16:8). The people needed to look beyond THEMSELVES to see the hand of God and the purposes of God. When we are hurting and needy, we don’t easily see others, and God is buried deep in the pile.

Jim Smith went to church on Sunday morning. He heard the organist miss a note during the prelude, and he winced. He saw a teenager talking when everybody was supposed to be bowed in silent prayer. He felt like the usher was watching to see what he put in the offering plate and it made him boil. He caught the preacher making a slip five times in the sermon by actual count. As he slipped out through the side door during the closing hymn, he muttered to himself, “Never again, what a bunch of clods and hypocrites!” … Ron Jones went to the same church that Sunday morning. He heard the organist play an arrangement of “A Mighty Fortress” and he thrilled at the majesty of it. He heard a young girl take a moment in the service to speak her simple moving message of the difference her faith makes in her life. He was glad to see that this church was sharing in a special offering for the hungry children of Nigeria. He especially appreciated the sermon that Sunday – it answered a question that had bothered him for a long time. He thought as he walked out the doors of the church, “How can a man come here and not feel the presence of God?” (Illustrations Unlimited, James Hewett). The reality of these two men are that each HAD A DIFFERENT ATTITUDE about church, life and God.

The children of Israel thought their number one issue was Moses’ leadership, but they had no self-awareness of the bigger obstacle – their departure from God. Their failed relationship with the Lord was at the heart of their grumbling – and so is OURS.

DIVIDED HEARTS: The children of Israel looked one way and thought another…. They talked freedom, but dreamed slavery….They followed God’s cloud, but dreamed about Pharaoh’s provision. The PROMISED LAND and the PAST LIFE were is opposite directions – and they knew what their heart was beckoning for.

Exodus 16:9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, ‘Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your grumblings.’” 10 It came about as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. 11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel; speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’”

When we recognize the Lord has heard our voice whining, we may be afraid He will judge us, but we if we don’t back away from Him we will discover new things about God and His character (glory-16:10; provision- 16:12a; mastery over all things- 16:12b; creative ability to care for you- 16:13-15). God was about to give them BREAKFAST CEREAL for the morning, and QUAIL for the evening grill.

To think about Egypt, their minds would slip across the burning desert sands, and back across the sea, where slime bricks and slavery were quick forgotten but the smell of leeks lingered and held sway. But to think of Canaan, their minds would have to lift past the burning sand of their feet to the promised land of the distant hills… Canaan or Egypt… Forgotten shackles in one, future songs in the other…. Freedom in Canaan, full stomachs in Egypt… The key question is always, Would we rather stay in bondage than pay the price for freedom?

The key to the focus test is this: We need to keep our eyes on the Lord of our journey, not simply on the destination of our journey, or we lose heart!

The Consistency Test (16:4,27)

This can be easily summarized as the “use only as directed” test. The text shares: Exodus 16:4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.

The clear point of the Consistency Test is obedience – not once, but ongoing. The daily GRIND of serving another’s goal goes against our nature. Those who master this are remembered as great by God.

In the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of court life and the pressures of being a monarch. He made application to Prior Richard at a local monastery, asking to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the monastery. “Your Majesty,” said the Prior Richard, “do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That will be hard because you have been a king.” “I understand,” said Henry. “The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you.” “Then I will tell you what to do,” said Prior Richard. “Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you.” When King Henry died, a statement was written: “The king learned to rule by being obedient.” (Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching 155, ed. By Craig Brian Larson Baker 1993).

God met their need, but not so that they would begin to place their trust in the FOOD, but rather that they would recall their Master – and TRUST HIM. Food was supplied faithfully all the while they were in the desert until after they came into the land (Josh. 5:12). They had sufficient clothing and sandles (Dt. 29:5). They saw His hand in their lives in profound ways – a pillar of fire, a cloud, provisions of food and water – and this was just the beginning. The old English word for “rely” comes from the word, rally; so to rely on the Lord means having the confidence that He will rally to you, coming to the right place at the right time with the right help. Dependence on the Lord is not blind faith; it comes with instructions from God’s Word. For fullness — they had to follow orders.

What were the instructions?

God’s Word told Israel exactly what it tells us  — what was meant to enjoy, what they should evade, and what they should expect along the way. God told the Israelites how to enjoy their food: knowing when to collect, what to do with it, and how much was needed. It meant gathering food in proportion to the storage of the stomach and the people in the family (16:15). Exodus 16:15 “When the sons of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.”

God’s Word told Israel exactly what it tells us…They were expected to work together in collaboration with God to get the job done, day by day. Exodus 16:4 “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.” God wanted them to celebrate HIS WORK and do THEIR WORK. Effective prayer involves the balanced tension between total dependence on God and responsible action by the one who prays. R. C. Sproul has noted, “To pray without action is hypocrisy. To act without prayer is pagan.”.

God’s Word told Israel exactly what it tells us — Each person became responsible to care for their own collecting, with each family caring for the needs of their family.  Exodus 16:17  The sons of Israel did so, and some gathered much and some little. 18 When they measured it with an omer, he who had gathered much had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered as much as he should eat.

God’s Word told Israel exactly what it tells us – Obedience is time sensitive. He explained not only the fact that it is to be done daily, but when in the day it is to be done (16:21). Exodus 16:21 They gathered it morning by morning, every man as much as he should eat; but when the sun grew hot, it would melt.

God’s Word told Israel exactly what it tells us — Those who did not follow instructions found themselves without and hungry. Exodus 16: 27 It came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. 28 Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions? This same idea was repeated many times, as in 2 Thess. 3:10 “For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. 11 For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. 12Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread. 13But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good.“

The key to the Consistency Test is this: We can’t expect God to take care of everything without us, that isn’t the deal. Nor can we expect others to do our part. We must act when prompted by God or face lack and the withdrawal of His blessing.

The Limitation Test (16:16-36)

Exodus 16:16 “This is what the LORD has commanded, ‘Gather of it every man as much as he should eat; you shall take an omer apiece according to the number of persons each of you has in his tent.’” 17 The sons of Israel did so, and some gathered much and some little. 18 When they measured it with an omer, he who had gathered much had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered as much as he should eat. 19 Moses said to them, “Let no man leave any of it until morning.” 20 But they did not listen to Moses, and some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them. 21 They gathered it morning by morning, every man as much as he should eat; but when the sun grew hot, it would melt. 22 Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, 23 then he said to them, “This is what the LORD meant: Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.” 24 So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and it did not become foul nor was there any worm in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. 26 “Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, there will be none.” 27 It came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. 28 Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions? 29 “See, the LORD has given you the sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day. 31 The house of Israel named it manna, and it was like coriander seed, white, and its taste was like wafers with honey. 32 Then Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded, ‘Let an omerful of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” 33 Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omerful of manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept throughout your generations.” 34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the Testimony, to be kept. 35 The sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 (Now an omer is a tenth of an ephah.)

This test can be summarized as the  “learning to set limits” test. This is a hard one for a culture trained in HAVE IT YOUR WAY thinking. Look at these five truths:

  • First, the amount of food was specified: The amount that each person needed was given by God. They were to live within the amount He said they needed to be healthy. The amount was checked and divided as specified. (16:16-18)
  • Second, when to eat the supply was specified: Moses told them to eat it that day, and not leave any for later. God wanted them to work daily and need Him daily, but not hoard or begin to sell and take advantage of the system. (He must have seen what happens to relief food supplies of the UN! 16:19-20).
  • Third, when to gather was specified: The pattern of doing it every morning got the camp up and stirring early in a way that kept them disciplined (16:21).
  • Fourth, when to plan was specified: They were given opportunity to effectively plan for the Sabbath weekly (16:22-24).
  • Fifth, when to rest was specified: Nothing would be given them if they tried to run without rest and keep gathering (16:25-30).

A simple request for food gets translated into gluttony in our culture. There is nothing wrong with looking out for tomorrow, but when it becomes an opportunity to hoard things, our heart toward God grows cold as our heart warms to more and more things. We are living in the days of all-you-can-eat buffets. We stop at the food spread and eat until we can’t move. Often, we eat too much, even to the point of gluttony. Many Christians do to food what drunks do to alcohol. The difference is they don’t feel guilty at all.  Our culture is all about self-indulgence. It’s about the drive to obtain things that we think will make us happy.

Funny things happen on the way to the Promised Land, don’t they. We tend to forget what is really important. We tend to stop trusting God. We forget our past and begin to doubt our future. Our fear of what may happen tomorrow can some times turn us into gluttons because we’re not sure that what we want will be available when we want it. So we stock up. We load up. We hoard all that we can get. Gluttony is in its essence, a failure or a refusal to trust God in everything.

The key to the Limitation test is this: God wants us to work hard, but to control our desire to have everything we want when we want it. Failure to control our appetites, work and plan will hurt our walk with Him and our understanding of Him!

Testing may be an unwanted gift, but it shows us our trouble spots. God is very present in our testing! The absence of trouble does not signal the presence of the Lord – and conversely, the presence of the Lord does not mean the absence of trouble.