The Search is Over: “God User” – Ecclesiastes 5

cubs12This has been a month of surprises. Chicago fans were gratified to see their team come to a World Series victory after a 108 year drought. Some of the nation celebrated a stunning upset at the polls in the election. Newsmen and pundits have desperately tried to explain the results in ways that maintain their own particular biases. In the end, all of us can agree this has been a time of surprise more than a “run of the mill” fulfillment cycle. For some, surprises are thrilling. For others, surprise of any kind shakes stability. It is with a special comfort, then, we approach our series called “The Search is Over” because Solomon uncovers some of life’s hidden problems – and they strip away surprising outcomes with God-planted sense.

For a few moments, we want to focus on the beginning of Ecclesiastes 5 and Psalm 15, because these passages uncover a tendency we all have to mishandle reverence and “use” God. Even more mature believers need to be reminded not to use God and their relationship with Him to justify behaviors God has no part in. Let me unpack that idea:

Perhaps during this last election season more than any other, we observed the widely varied ways people used God to justify their political positions. Many claimed God’s sanction for their view and on behalf of their candidate. Was the issue which candidate had more praying for them? Was God somehow confused by the posturing? Had God left us with confusing and contradictory principles in His Word? Instinctively, any Bible student would reject all of these possibilities. What is the answer, then? Is it possible the real problem was we didn’t listen to His Word carefully? Perhaps the real issues are how I prepare to meet Him, how I learn to listen to Him, and how I carry the message of His will to the world. In essence, how do I reverently observe my relationship with God and His Word? Solomon made clear the root problem…

Key Principle: The greatest sin committed regularly by God’s people is handling Him casually. All our other sin stems from this single transgression.

As believers and Jesus followers, some of us tend to add “God words” into sentences of mere preference. We say “I don’t think the Lord would be honored by….” in place of “I really don’t like…” Some of us have learned to routinely supplement explanations of “life moments” with words that muddy the waters of God’s true involvement and agenda. We say His name in a way that shows we don’t treat God with the care and reverence due Him – and we may not even be aware of it. That is a symptom of a larger problem – that of irreverence.

Don’t forget that in the core principles of both the Civil Code (found in Exodus and Numbers) of the Torah Law (the Law of Moses) and the Constitution Code (found in Deuteronomy), God told His people to revere Him. He cautioned them about evoking Him or using His name in a casual way! Is it possible these cautions were given because it would be easy for believers to irreverently treat God? Solomon suggests that is a root issue, and it can be identified in our walk. In fact, he argued there were a number of mistakes we make in our daily life that end up “using God” instead of helping us live for God.

Am I too casual with God? There are four great mistakes that indicate times when I am too casual with the Holy One. (1:1-7).

The first of these mistakes has to do with times I am about to seek the Lord for something. This isn’t just about Sunday morning – it is about any time I am about to come to the Lord in prayer and worship. The king said…

Mistake #1: I don’t get ready. Before I come, I need to prepare to meet with God by learning to listen much and speak little.

Reverence begins with an attitude of solemnity and careful preparation before meeting God. The write began:

Ecclesiastes 5:1 “Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil.”

He observed: “People who make promises lightly don’t recognize that God takes our word seriously.” Some make the mistake of coming to God haplessly and unprepared – and that is foolishness.

Essentially, fools are arrogant people. They tend to have simple and quick answers to complex questions, but ignore many of the unintended consequences involved in implementing their ideas. They draw conclusions by taking small pieces of information and combine them with much emotion to end up with an answer that satisfies them – even if it is wholly illogical and completely untrue. Solomon speaks heartily on behalf of learning to listen well before concluding God’s direction on a matter.

Turn, if you will, to Psalm 15 and look at the words found there. A generation before him, his father King David wrote a song about, “What kind of friends have you chosen, Lord?” This incredible song defines the kind of person God enjoys, the kind He desires us to become. These character traits are given in the frame of “preparation to spend time with God.” Take a moment and look at the preparation steps in Psalm 15. David wrote it this way:

Psalm 15:1 Master, who may dwell in your tent? Who can live on the place of your holy mountain?

When we studied that Psalm in earlier lessons, we noted that it was likely David saw some people change their clothing, and their behavior based on being in the presence of a powerful figure like their king.

• If they wanted the king’s attention to their matter, there was an expected pattern of behavior.

• If they expected to bring their matter to the king, there was an expected selection of dress.

• If they wanted to be treated with care before the king, there was an expected etiquette in their presentation.

As moderns, we don’t often see the need for pomp or exacting etiquette. We are a casual society, stopping only briefly for the royal wedding or choreographed presentation in matters of state. We still like a good inauguration on occasion, an elaborate wedding of grand graduation ceremony. We still dress up – but much more rarely than at other times in history. In any case, because King David confronted the tendency people have to change their behavior radically in order to gain access to his presence, he took that observation in a different direction than most of us would have.

He decided that if people changed themselves to be acceptable in his presence to show honor, he should carefully examine his life and decide if he had sufficiently prepared himself to enter the presence of his Holy King.

Note that David already concluded that the changes were WORTH THE SACRIFICE. He began with the words: “Who can?” He promptly devised, under the influence of the Spirit, a preparatory inspection checklist he could use to gear himself up for intense and prolonged worship and intimacy with God.

He argued that approaching God requires forethought. Many commentators seem to miss that the passage is about our approach to God, not about the EFFECTS OF WORSHIP. This ancient song offers us a checklist David used to get ready for worship and prayer.

In the question: “Master, who may dwell in your tent? Who can live on the place of your holy mountain?” are two implications:

• First, he wanted to come into the presence of God, and dwell there – or prolong the time they shared together.

• Second, he presumed that NOT EVERYONE was ready simply because they wanted time with God.

The mountain of God was HOLY (kodesh) or distinct from any other place. The question revealed that David understood that we cannot be casual with the holy. We must prepare. We must acknowledge its supreme difference from the normal.

I hear far too little about preparation for worship, and far too much about how people want worship to change us. I do not dispute the notion that worship should and will change us – I argue that preparation was also part of the plan of God. We need to take responsibility for preparation – and not spiritualize our laziness and undue familiarity by making right choices to prepare our hearts to meet God.

Keep reading the Psalm. Each verse contains specific attributes of a checklist beginning in verse 2.

Psalm 15:2 includes the first three phrases that appear to deal primarily with inner attitudes that set the stage for all the others. “הולך תמים ופעל צדק ודבר אמת בלבבו׃“

Psalm 15:2 “He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart”.

Attentive to Sin

David opened with a reminder that self-examination is needed, particularly in the area of sinful practices that have been left unattended, and have left marks on our life. He calls one who would seek God to first be attentive to sin. He calls the seeker: “One whose goings are unblemished (tawmim).”

When I was a kid, my mother told us what time we needed to be ready for church. We appeared, like a whole team (I come from a large family) at the front sidewalk before we climbed into the panel van to go to church. We were to be clean. We were to have church clothes. We were to be 100% ready. Mud on the clothing, dirt on the hands, grease in the hair – were all wholly unacceptable. Trying to cover dirt was unacceptable. That is David’s point.

Active in Doing Right

The second phrase is “and works righteousness.” David claims the one who is prepared to meet with God has been active in seeking right acts (“v’pual tsedek”), that is, he accomplishes what is right and just (15:2b).

To meet God we must be one who is busy DOING SOMETHING to help. I have to ask myself: “Am I actively working with my energies to accomplish positive tasks in the lives of others?” It is one thing to focus on walking in a way that is unblemished, but a whole different matter to be positively producing right acts with my time, talent and treasure – all received from my God to live this life.

Look back at your week. Are you able to draw a line back to specific things that helped another that didn’t also somehow make YOUR LIFE better – so that you know you weren’t really just doing it to help yourself? Have you been a DELIBERATELY POSITIVE PART of someone’s week? David urged: “Don’t just be AGAINST EVIL in life, be helping someone in a GOOD way.”

In days of 24 hour whining of what has been called “social media” – don’t forget there is no substitute for “doing.” Complaining about something isn’t the same as positively helping someone through a struggle. Your pithy sayings are remembered for a moment. Your help to another isn’t soon forgotten.

Authentic in Lifestyle

Look at the phrase in last part of Psalm 15:2 where David wrote: “And speaks truth in his heart.” The words reflect one who is authentic; one who declares in words (debar) truth (ehmeth) from his heart (layvawv).

Essentially, the verse reminds the worshipper to be intentional and clean – and not to cover sin. This evokes the old idea of “sincere.” The term comes from two Latin words, sine ceres – meaning ‘without wax’. Potters during the days of the Roman Empire, would often fill a crack, fissure, or chip in their fired pottery with wax before painting it, thus giving the impression of perfection where there was actually a deep flaw. David suggested that before coming to the Lord, you and I should dismiss our tendency, knowingly or unknowingly, to give a better impression than we warrant. A pot with no wax was a “sincere” pot. It really was consistent with its appearance.

There is no wax in the one who would become a true worshipper. He is not like the Pharisee, saying on the outside what he is not on the inside. Neither is he like the modern Evangelical Christian, who loudly proclaims his heartfelt love for Jesus, but cannot bring himself to keep the commandments. He is a cup washed inside and out who speaks the truth in his heart, and lives out the same. He doesn’t come dirty and he doesn’t come haughty.

Here is the truth: I must constantly check my heart, with God’s Word and the piercing light of God’s convicting Spirit. I must face the fact that I can be self-deceived.

If I regard lies in my heart, God’s Word will be torqued to produce hardened justifications and self-affirming feelings, rather than challenge my knees to buckle to His holy distinctiveness.

My hunger for His presence must press me to search deeply into the recesses of my heart before I can dwell in intimacy with Him. Isn’t that why David called upon God to “try his thoughts”…

An Uncompromising Tongue

Psalm 15:3 says: “He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend.” Note these three specifics relate to SPEECH and the use of the tongue. David called for speech that is guarded and gracious (the term “does not slander” is lo rawgal al-lishanu – 15:3a): He who has no hidden words that speak from behind others (i.e. rawgal: to go on foot as if to spy from rehgel: foot – 15:3).

I cannot allow poor speech about other if I am to be prepared for a prolonged intimacy with God. I exclude myself from His inner confidences and hold myself outside the chamber if I casually treat the use of my words concerning others. I must guard my mouth. James could not have been clearer (see James 1) about the devastating nature of the “tongues fire” damage.

David also called for positive speech that is not deliberately provocative. The second phrase reminds me that I must not devise inequity or trouble for my neighbor (15:3b). Though the grammar does not exclusively include only the tongue, the context demands that I address verbal traps I may have set for people. I dare not become casual with another man’s heart, another man’s reputation – I must treasure others and their care if I am prepared to stand in the presence of the Master.

A Loyal Defender

The idea continues profoundly in the next phrase, “Nor does evil to his neighbor”, where David called for my speech to be loyal. One who will not allow (lo nasa: does not take in) his neighbor to be ashamed (Charpaph is reproach from charpaw: upbraid or blaspheme) or taunted (15:3b). The idea is that this one will not accept upbraiding of his neighbor, but loyally comes to his defense.

One who desires to become a true worshipper makes every effort to defend his neighbor’s good name.

I will not only cease from casually speaking badly of another, I will refuse to be in the place where such speech occurs. I will stop it, because it will blemish my heart and make me as unusable as a dropped scalpel in an operating room. I must check my tongue for loyalty, and behind disloyal speech I will find a hunger to be affirmed by others that is both unhealthy and unholy. My value comes from my Master – not my friends. The hunger to be seen as important is a manifestation of immaturity and ungodliness. It must be tamed and quieted inside, and then sacrificed on a holy altar before God.

A Man or Woman of Choice Companions

The next verse speaks of choices I make. David wrote: (Psalm 15:4) “In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the LORD…”

The first two phrases pose a simple choice: “Do I spend my time surrounded by people that understand His Holiness and draw me toward Him, or do I casually encamp with those who have declared themselves to be His enemies, and than walk into His presence?” The first phrases are both selective ideals:

As I grow to maturity, I must learn “selective rejection” express in the idea “in whose eyes a reprobate is despised. This is not an excuse to learn to be “judgy” and “mean” as some may portray it. In order to be prepared to spend time with God, I must deliberately set aside a rejector of God and His ways. I dare not choose to pitch my tent in the camp of the scornful and agnostic men and then walk from that place into the tent of God on the Holy Hill. If I am not uncomfortable with the work of evil men, my heart is not right and ready. If I am not broken by their hardness, and wounded by their careless pride, I am not ready to worship. I don’t learn to HATE them, but I also don’t learn to TOLERATE evil. I am broken for them, but not partners with them.

At the same time, I learn selective affirmation, where David says I learn to place weight (kawbad) on those who revere the Lord! (15:4b).

Let me say it clearly: Who you hang out with affects your worship of God. What you laugh at in the world affects your worship. Where you were last night, and the night before has much more to do with what will happen today than you may believe!

A Reliable Friend

Writing on the subject of the use of the mouth, David continued in Psalm 15:4b “…He swears to his own hurt and does not change.”

He offered the idea of one who has an unwavering commitment: His word is his bond. He who keeps his word when he covenants to do something, refusing to exchange it when the things shows itself to be more difficult than anticipated (15:4b). It is easy for me to want the benefits of a relationship without the work in the relationship. It is easy for me to make promises but walk away from them when my attention is pulled elsewhere. In a day awash in broken promises, contracts, mortgages, marriages – believers must stand apart from the culture of casual commitment.

A Careful Steward

David finished his short list of traits in the Psalm with the words: Psalm 15:5 “He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.”

David revealed an attitude that can be uncovered in looking carefully at the use of money. When I offer help, is it for others or for myself? Am I Generous? If I give to another of my substance without an angle to personally gain from it, I don’t use what God has entrusted to be against another. (Note the term “neshek” is today a “weapon” but from the word “to bite” nawshak – 5:5a). Do I use money to “bite” another? Is this about THEM or about MY GAIN?

Using money as a weapon is wrong. All that I have has come from God’s good hand. If I want to be in His presence and walk in intimacy with Him, can I treat things as more important than the people of my life? If I am “flexible” and lenient on myself for the sake of business, I allow a blemish in my heart to grow.

The part about a bribe regards our honesty (“nor does he take a bribe”). One prepared to worship God cannot be bought to say something against innocent ones for personal gain (15:5B). This is logical next step when people are less important than money and gain in my life.

David closed the Psalm with the incredible benefit of preparation – a stable gate as I walk into God’s presence and seek His face. He wrote:

Psalm 15:5b “…He who does these things will never be shaken. Stability: לא ימוט לעולם׃ (lo yimot: won’t totter or collapse + l’olam: forever).

We’ve spent some time on the first point, but it is a neglected and important one: It is a terrible mistake to fail to prepare and enter before God with a loose tongue. As we look back into Ecclesiastes 5, Solomon isn’t finished. He continued with…

Mistake #2: I don’t give reverence. As I come, I must carefully measure my words. Any promises must be made carefully.

Ecclesiastes 5:2 Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.

The truth is that when we aren’t ready, we speak too quickly. We also make the mistake of thoughtlessly demoting God to “our friend upstairs, or our friendly genie in the sky.” Note how Solomon made clear the difference between you and I and the Creator of all – we are on one little rock in the cosmos – God is over it all.

I want every believer to become comfortable spending deep and rich times with God. At the same time, I offer Solomon’s warning: God isn’t your buddy – He is your Creator. Don’t get flippant with the One Who holds life together. Speak honestly, but thoughtfully.

Solomon continued with a third mistake he observed about how people handle God and sometimes “use Him.”

Mistake #3: I don’t remain active. As I persist before Him, I must recognize the need for personal investment.

Look at the third verse carefully, because it a proverbial statement that can be hard to grasp on a quick pass:

Ecclesiastes 5:3 For the dream comes through much effort and the voice of a fool through many words.

Here is the idea: We can easily make the mistake of thinking anything we desire is a simple matter of asking God. Yet, any dream we pursue must be matched by sincere work toward that goal. We cannot drop our request in God’s lap and make it His problem while we offer none of our efforts.

Long and loud prayers aren’t a justification for inaction in things we are able to do.

If you want a job – pray. At the same time, get some applications filled out. If you want a spouse – pray. At the same time, take the time to be where godly people are and see who you can meet there.

I have noticed that often, believers use sovereignty to push off responsibility. That isn’t right.

Solomon offered one last mistake…

Mistake #4: I don’t remember commitments.

We ask God for things. We make promises to God. We don’t take seriously that God has a fantastic memory. He wrote:

Ecclesiastes 5:4 When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! 5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. 6 Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and destroy the work of your hands?

We make a mistake when we think God will endlessly excuse our carelessness. If our word EVER matters, it matters when offered to God. The proverb in these verses is clear: Better to never promise than promise and not deliver (5). I must say less and do more (6-7). Overstated promises are not reverent promises!

The greatest sin committed regularly by God’s people is handling God casually. All of our other sin, directly or indirectly stems from this single transgression.

Solomon closed with a simple injunction:

Ecclesiastes 5:7 For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God.

Don’t talk about a walk with God. Get one. Don’t kick the opportunity down the road.

I want to end this lesson in an unusual place. Walk in your mind’s eye into a casino. Weird, huh? I confess I am far too cheap to gamble. I don’t think that is proper stewardship, but my real underlying objection is that I am miserably cheap about throwing away money. In any case, I am told if you go into a casino, you will see color, sound and excitement. What you WON’T see is a clock. At 8:00 AM there are people eating, drinking at the bar and gambling. The people don’t know what time it is, and the casino has no interest in them knowing the time. This is one of the enemy of our soul’s greatest ploys – hiding the limitations of time.

You have an opportunity to stop a pattern that is hindering your walk badly right now. You can turn to God and tell Him that you want to begin a NEW DAY of revering Him. You can also put if off… but that is a very bad idea. One sin is infecting many other areas of your life. Like the pipe leaching dangerous checmicals into your drinking water, lack of reverence is bringing poison to your soul. Every day you get weaker.

We have just celebrated Veteran’s Day. I thought it may be helpful to understand quiet reverence for God by reckoning how we honor even other men and women in our world for their sacrifice. I hope this helps to set the tone for honor and

Reportedly, it all began in 1862 during the Civil War when Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his men near Harrison’s Landing in Virginia. The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land. During the night, Captain Ellicombe heard the moans of a soldier who lay severely wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a Union or Confederate soldier, the captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention. Crawling on his stomach, the captain reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him toward his encampment. When the captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead. The captain lit a lantern and suddenly caught his breath and went numb with shock. In the dim light, he saw the face of the soldier. It was his own son. The boy had been studying music in the South when the war broke out. Without telling his father, the boy enlisted in the Confederate Army. The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission of his superiors to give his son a full military burial despite his enemy status. His request was only partially granted. The captain had asked if he could have a group of army band members play a funeral dirge for his son at the funeral. The request was turned down since the soldier was a Confederate. But, out of respect for the father, they did say he could have one musician play. The captain chose a bugler, and he asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes he had found on a piece of paper in the pocket of the dead youth’s uniform. This wish was granted, The haunting melody we now know as “Taps,” used at military funerals, was born. Source: Pulpit Helps (July 2001) article written by: Diane O. Sides, Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, MO.

The Search is Over: “Working Nine to Five” – Ecclesiastes 4

9-to-5-bThose who were familiar with the 1980’s may recall an American comedy film called “9 to 5” that starred Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, and Dabney Coleman. The film was set in the daily work life of three working women who lived out various fantasies of getting even with and eventually disposing of their boss, who they referred to as “a sexist, and an egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot”. I didn’t see the movie and I am not recommending it, because I thought it was a girl movie (and young men didn’t watch girl movies!) At the same time, it was a hit, grossing nearly $4 million in its opening weekend in the United States. It was the 20th highest-grossing comedy film and launched an already known Parton into mainstream popular culture. A television series by the same name followed, as well as a musical version (with some songs written by Parton) opened on Broadway in 2009. Surprisingly (at least to me) 9 to 5 is number 74 on the American Film Institute’s “100 Funniest Movies”- giving it a long-time placement in the ranks of comedy entertainment. The idea of the film was that an abusive boss is taken captive, by three women who change the office policies in his name and inadvertently capture the attention of the higher corporate figures by increasing their productivity. Their boss becomes well thought of because of his innovation – when it wasn’t him at all. Famous or not, I cannot see the movie as something I would like to watch unless I were held captive, but regardless of how the movie was, it does make an observation worth recalling for this lesson: It is very possible that you have learned much about human nature from your work place.

In an essay that became chapter four of Ecclesiastes, Solomon essentially asked: “Can we talk about work for a bit?”

I have to admit that much of what I learned about life came through my work experiences over the years. Watching my father at the Mobil Oil Refinery when I worked as a summer intern for two summers taught be much about my dad’s work ethic, and how other men respected him. Working beside a woman who took her own life at home one day taught me that people hide troubles and you cannot imagine the dragons some are dealing with inside. Many things about people can be learned from watching people at their job site. In fact, people scurry off to their jobs every day by the millions and they offer us some lessons.

Line them up and take a look at them closely. You may observe these seven “characters from the working world” that Solomon highlighted. He left behind a record of observations that remind us of this truth…

Key Principle: Watching people at work can reveal some of the deepest flaws we have come to see as normal in society.

Solomon started “at the top” – a place where we have all seen the self-important and undeserving at some point…

First, there is the problem of BAD BOSSES.

Can we not all agree that some people shouldn’t – under any circumstances – be given power over others? Solomon saw them as he observed people. He wrote:

Ecclesiastes 4:1 Then I looked again at all the acts of oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had no one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them. 2 So I congratulated the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. 3 But better off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

As a king, Solomon didn’t struggle through the “work a day” world, to be sure. At the same time, his perspective was a unique one. He observed the work of foremen, military leaders and community chieftains. He saw that some who led were servants, but many were simply hard-hearted “haves” who lorded over “have nots.” He concluded that some people work to beat down others in order to feel superior. Look again at his words:

First, he acknowledged that acts of oppression were taking place across a spectrum, and he took as many into account as he could see (4:1). Just as he came to understand there were seasons of life, he came to recognize there was systemic inequity in the world. He saw that inequity playing out to break down relationships. Those who were beat down and lowly cried, but there seemed no one ready and able to help them (4:1b). At the same time, it wasn’t all fun and games for those who had power. They, too, were alone in their position, unable to find the warmth and comfort they sought. It was a grievous state, and I reflected on the hardships of the poor and powerless for some time.

After a time of refection, He looked at the grave yard and thought of those who toiled for years under backbreaking labor, and he commended them for making their way through the difficulty of this laborious and unfair world (4:2). He thought of the heavy weight they carried through life, and compared it to the sufferings of the poor and downcast of his generation. He pondered the many hours of labor on crops that were lost to fire or locusts. He contemplated how tired they were when they dropped onto their small woven mats on the floor of a tiny dwelling. He wondered how many nights they went to bed hungry. His mind filled with images of beggars, lepers, lowly and sickly people – and he thought their life was so bad, so broken, that perhaps the one who died at birth was better off than those children who lived in squalor with distended bellies, sitting in a hopeless dump.

Solomon unfolded three ideas here:

First, power and privilege have their problems too. Even the powerful need love, comfort and acceptance. Alone, they feel just as lonely.

Second, life truly is unfair – and there are people who exploit other people. They bring pain and deprivation to others and muffle the sounds of their crying when they pass them by.

Third, no one seemed to be able to address the unfairness of it all. Hungry children would go on being hungry. Destitute people would try to find a way to make it another day. Powerful people would keep pushing people around and feel entitled, but they would still be unhappy inside.

In the end, Solomon could imagine a pain so great and a powerlessness so complete, that he posited some would have been better never to make an entrance on the planet. His was an observation of a thoroughly wretched kind – leaving little hope.

We must remember there is no one on the earth apart from our Creator who will be a perfect example. Everyone will have at the minimum some blind spots, while some will exhibit such open cruelty that our breath will be taken away at the moment we encounter their brazen acts and arrogant nature. Powerful people aren’t the answer to saving humanity, and they won’t save our country either. They are broken just like the rest of us.

Second, there is the problem of JEALOUS COWORKERS.

Solomon looked around at productive people and their ventures. He noted that much work seemed to be fueled by feuds, jealousy and vicious rivalry. In fact, Solomon noted that some work simply because they envy others. He noted:

Ecclesiastes 4:4 I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a man and his neighbor. This too is vanity and striving after wind.

When you read the words of Solomon, remember they are proverbial in nature. Proverbs express “truisms” and often generalize something. He isn’t saying that everything ever done was completed for a bad reason – he said that his observation is that it was so common, that appeared to be the norm. He made the point that he observed an unhealthy competitive battle that others defined as “progress.”

Anyone who has studied the history of business will readily admit that jealousy and theft are a regular part of the patent and invention process. That isn’t an overstatement.

• The sewing machine is thought by many to be the creation of Isaac Singer (of the Singer Corporation fame). The truth is that inventor Elias Howe patented the design in 1846, and sued Singer in 1849, for stealing the design. When the two settled in court, neither acknowledged that Walter Hunt actually created a sewing machine with a needle eye in 1834, but he chose not to patent it because of his conviction that it would lead to unemployment.

• When I was three years old, Robert Kearns invented the intermittent windshield wiper. Kearns showed his plans to each of the “big three” auto manufacturers and (according to later charges) the design was stolen by three each within one year. Kearns sued Ford in 1978 and Chrysler in 1982, eventually winning almost $30 million in compensation.

• The radio was either the brainchild of Marconi or Tesla.

• When Gordon Gould created the first laser at Columbia University, he had no idea it would take thirty years for the patent office to uphold his fight to get credit for the invention (and get royalties).

On and on it goes. Solomon wasn’t wrong – there is a lot of stealing and creative borrowing in business. The road to human progress is strewn liberally with stolen patents and inventions. Solomon found all the cut-throat business theft depressing.

We need to be careful as believers about the times in which we live. People express that as long as something is “legal” it doesn’t matter if it is moral. Increasingly, even people of faith are caught saying that if it isn’t against the law, it isn’t a problem. The fact is the law doesn’t always strictly track with what is morally right. Theft of another’s labor is fundamentally wrong. Avoiding appropriate responsibility because of a legal loophole is still an immoral decision. Solomon was depressed by the very thing that makes so many people cynical about modern life. He continued with another group he observed…

Third, there were the problematic LAZY LOUNGERS.

Solomon observed that some people just don’t know when to get to work. They seem to misunderstand the nature of society and believe that regardless of their choices, someone should help them when they don’t prepare what is necessary on their own. He wrote:

Ecclesiastes 4:5 “The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh.”

The idea is this: Foolish people don’t know when to get busy, work hard, and save what they will need for the days ahead. They eat the seed corn instead of planting it. They don’t plan – because their plan is to get someone else’s portion when they don’t have what they need.

Anyone who feels a sense of compassion knows there are some in our society who need a hand at some point along their life journey.

At the same time, the statistics suggest that we may have something else happening in our country as the twenty-first century unfold. The Department of Commerce report currently shows nearly 68,000,000 Americans receiving some form of government assistance NOT including the 70,000,000 on Medicaid. Current employment figures in the US from 2016 show that there are 125 million or so who are working 35 hours or more per week. Think about that. For every two workers, there is someone receiving aid. One fifth of the country gets a Welfare check, with the remaining number receiving some other aid.

Certainly some of the people who receive assistance are supremely worthy of the help. We have handicapped people, hurting people with extraordinary hurdles to overcome, and other special needs citizens. All of us, I believe, want them to have good lives. I know of no one who is indifferent to struggling people. The problem is, there are far too many who simply make more by not working.

Believers were told to be different than the world around them in our value system.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:9, after commanding sexual purity, Paul passed a second command to the believers of Thessalonica – they were to work hard and stay out of other people’s business as part of their testimony (4:9-12). He wrote:

1 Thessalonians 4:9 Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you… 10 …But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more, 11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, 12 so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.

It may astound modern Christians to know that Paul intended believers to get a job, work in that job and avoid making other people pay their way. In fact, the Apostle made the point that a believer’s ability to take care of others and live quietly at work was very much a part of their Christian faith. We need not meddle from the pulpit; we have Scripture before us that challenges any who would see a way around work as God’s plan.

It is true that there are disabilities that need to be taken into account – but I suggest this is an extreme much less frequent than claimed – even by believers. We cannot enshrine laziness in some kind of reward system and expect anything less than an increasing number of unproductive people. When there is a true need, a believer is not wrong to access the provision for that need – but we must be very wary here of expecting others to pay our way through life.

Some people seem unsure of a truth: Life is hard. Work is not always fun. Since the expulsion from the garden every job was given its weeds. We must be careful to check any thinking that would argue that everyone has it easier than we do. In many, if not most cases, some of our difficulty was added by our own earlier life choices. To sit and let the world go by expecting someone else to meet our need is foolish. That was Solomon’s point.

Fourth, there was the problem of HYPER HELPERS.

Have you ever been with someone who is “hyperactive” and cannot stop? Some people cannot find contentment. They just don’t know when to take a break. Solomon noticed them when he wrote:

Ecclesiastes 4:6 One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.

We saw above that we aren’t supposed to be LAZY. At the same time, God nowhere expects us to be always BUSY. Solomon made that point by praising rest. There is a time when we would get further ahead if we stopped working, walked away, and rested for a bit. Have you found that to be true?

A number of years ago I met a man who was retired from a very demanding and responsible position. I thought he was a great friend, and enjoyed his company. When we together, he would always talk about how extremely busy he was, and how it was hard for him to fit everything in his day. After a time, I began to discern the man’s self-worth hung on his busy schedule. He lived such a stress-filled life on the job, he barely found time to think. Now, in retirement, he only felt significant if he was in demand. To do that, he filled his schedule with more that he could possibly do. When he was over his head with commitments, he felt important. Solomon argued that wasn’t the right way to live.

Can I lovingly but pointedly share something with those of you who are hyper workers. You make the rest of us CRAZY. We like to take a break. We don’t always want to be ON. Some of the people I have met in this world are wrapped SO tight, particularly at election time that people get tired just standing next to them. I saw a post the other day that said: “It has gotten to the place at work where I am employed to pay for the prescriptions I now require to cope with working here!” We would like to ask you to settle down a bit. The sun will come up tomorrow or the Son will come in the clouds.

I know this kind of talk is strange. Church is a place where we talk about values and responsibilities, but seldom about rest. For reasons that are still fuzzy to me, Christianity lost a very important Jewish component of rest and celebration. We seem to know how to instruct you to do hard things, but not easy. We can help you be serious and stern – but not to be jubilant and celebratory.

Let me ask you directly: Do you know how to really REST? Do you know how to be quiet, both outside and inside? Are you able to disconnect from the electronic world and stop worrying for a bit? Solomon would tell you to get some rest, and quit thinking you are indispensable. The world will make it for a few days if you step off the treadmill.

Fifth, he observed those with SENSELESS STRESS.

In addition to the hyper, he noticed some people who seem to lead lives of purposeless labor. They don’t stop to ask why they are still pressing so hard when there really isn’t a reason to do it all. Solomon wrote:

Ecclesiastes 4:7 Then I looked again at vanity under the sun. 8 There was a certain man without a dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, “And for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure?” This too is vanity and it is a grievous task.

Reading these words, several things are unclear about the man he referred to in the verses. Was the man without a dependent and alone in the world because he didn’t make a priority out of people in life? Certainly, there are those in our society that make their life entirely about their job. On closer inspection, it seems to me Solomon is lamenting people who work to reach another goal long after they need to move past setting new work goals. Work is a part of life – but it isn’t all of life.

Just as I am duty-bound to encourage and exhort those who are not working to GET BUSY, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that some of you are overstaying your welcome at work. Go home. Learn to enjoy the people in your life. There was a stage in all our lives where our friends were mainly our co-workers. That is fine for a time. If that is still true decades later, you may want to consider what life looks like after the job!

My children will tell you the difference between the people who know their father well and those who know me in my work life. Some people think I spend all of my time steeped in books and ancient manuscripts thinking about the Bible and the depths of the universe. I admit to being a bit of a geek, nerd or whatever term best expresses my strange fascination with the ancient world. At the same time, I love art. I love history. My life is enriched by beautiful music. I can sit on my porch and watch birds dance in the wind. I can play with a grandchild and be fascinated by their ever-growing view of the world. I love the grace of the ballet, but I can take joy from watching the tractor make straight furrows in the fields. I love the depth of the sound of the cello and the smell of a chocolate smothered dessert. I like to clean and shoot guns and I like to sit in a rocking chair and read books. Museums fascinate me. My kids know I am not always reading the Bible and staring at Heaven thinking theological thoughts… I love my work, but it is a part of my life. God has enriched my life with much more.

OK, enough of me. Here is the point: Not everything is dire and serious. Not every moment needs to be an intense moment sternly gazing as watchmen at the failing world around us. Not every day needs a new attainment goal. Pushing yourself is great. At the same time, the bow always bent is easily broken.

Take some time to assess whether you are working in areas that honor and please the Lord and grow your soul, or whether you are just doing what you have always done. When my soul shrinks, my mouth gets negative, and my heart gets sour. Feed your soul. Solomon advised: Take the time to see the reasons behind your labors, or your labors will be all you have to look forward to in life.

Sixth, he noticed some LONE WOLF WORKERS.

There are many people who don’t really know why the rest of us are here. They don’t see the need to get along and become a part of a group. They relish the lone approach and prefer to accomplish everything alone. Solomon observed:

Ecclesiastes 4:9 Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. 10 For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. 11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? 12 And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

The king made the observation that we can accomplish more on a team then by ourselves. Help is nearer; and fear if farther off. Comfort is swifter, and our strength is greater. It is better to join forces than to stand alone.

Sometimes it takes someone special to understand the value of being together…

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. (Sermon Central Illustrations).

Let me get straight to Solomon’s point: You need people. If you don’t know that, the day will come when you will wish you had someone calling on your phone, but you won’t. Make your life about others, and they will feel a loss when you aren’t with them. If they don’t miss you, it may be that you are making the time you do have with them about YOU and not about THEM. Change it while you can.

Seventh, Solomon saw some POLL LED LEADERS.

You cannot help but smile when you read the end of the passage. Solomon observed: Some work only when they are lauded. They do what the polls tell them will be accepted. They don’t lead – they follow. Solomon said it this way:

Ecclesiastes 4:13 A poor yet wise lad is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive instruction.

In other words: a “street smart” kid sometimes knows better than a king that stopped being perceptive.

Ecclesiastes 4:14 For he has come out of prison to become king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom.

That ruler who stopped learning above may have started in poverty, but he learned to carefully escape it, and should see better what is happening.

Ecclesiastes 4:15 I have seen all the living under the sun throng to the side of the second lad who replaces him. 16 There is no end to all the people, to all who were before them, and even the ones who will come later will not be happy with him, for this too is vanity and striving after wind.

Solomon continued: If that king opened his eyes, he would see how easily people are discontented and looking for the prince to replace him on the throne after him. He will find it impossible to keep the people happy with him. His ending observation was: “Live to be popular and you will never be able to go beyond the crowd. People who are fixed on what others think cannot lead them well.”

The man was a king. He was supposed to be a leader. He was supposed to take what he learned as he climbed into the position of leadership and use it to better those he led. He should have learned along the path of life this critical lesson: You cannot, cannot, cannot make everyone happy. You just can’t. A fallen world will not be governed into peaceful bliss. The selfishness that permeates our broken state will cause strife. James said: We fight outside because of a war inside us. In the end, as we step into the coming week, we must remember, without God – life means nothing. Governments can’t fix that. Candidates can’t heal what is broken in our world. Let me close with this story I read recently to drive home some of Solomon’s enduring point…

A little boy is on the beach. On his knees he scoops and packs the sand with plastic shovels into a bright red bucket. Then he upends the bucket on the surface and lifts it. And, to the delight of the little architect, a castle tower is created. “All afternoon he will work. Spooning out the moat. Packing the walls. Bottle tops will be sentries. Popsicle sticks will be bridges. A sandcastle will be built. “Big city. Busy streets. Rumbling traffic. “A man in his office. At his desk he shuffles papers into stacks and delegates assignments. He cradles the phone on his shoulder and punches the keyboard with his fingers. Numbers are juggled and contracts are signed and much to the delight of the man, a profit is made. “All his life he will work. Formulating the plans. Forecasting the future. Annuities will be sentries. Capital gains will be bridges. An empire will be built. “Two builders of two castles. They have much in common.

They shape granules into grandeurs. They see nothing and make something. They are diligent and determined. And for both the tide will rise and the end will come. “Yet that is where the similarities cease.

…For the boy sees the end while the man ignores it. Watch the boy as the dusk approaches. “As the waves near, the wise child jumps to his feet and begins to clap. There is no sorrow. No fear. No regret. He knew this would happen. He is not surprised. And when the great breaker crashes into his castle and his masterpiece is sucked into the sea, he smiles. He smiles, picks up his tools, takes his father’s hand, and goes home.

“The grownup, however, is not so wise. As the wave of years collapses on his castle he is terrified. He hovers over the sandy monument to protect it. He blocks the waves from the walls he has made. Salt-water soaked and shivering he snarls at the incoming tide. “‘It’s my castle,’ he defies. “The ocean need not respond. Both know to whom the sand belongs… “And I don’t know much about sandcastles. But children do. Watch them and learn. Go ahead and build, but build with a child’s heart. When the sun sets and the tides take — applaud. Salute the process of life, take your Father’s hand and go home” (Max Lucado, More Stories for the Heart (Multnomah: Sisters, Oregon, 1997), 224-225. From a sermon by Eric Lenhart, Seasons of Life, 8/16/2010).

The Search is Over: “The Secret to Grasping the Meaning of Life” – Ecclesiastes 3

douglas_adams_portrait_croppedThe author Douglas Adams died in 2001 at age 49 of a heart attack. He was an interesting man – a radical atheist, environmentalist, and a thinker, who wrote the popular book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, along with a number of TV shows and “Dr. Who” episodes in the UK. In the heart of the Hitchhiker’s Guide novel, he added what became a central joke to the book’s plot (if you can call the book plotted at all) which has perhaps become more famous over the years than anything else in the book. The simple quote that expressed the joke is this: “The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything is 42.” Are you puzzled? The writer explained this all-important number was calculated by an enormous supercomputer named “Deep Thought” over a period of 7.5 million years. It was a grand answer! If you are puzzled as to its meaning – so was everyone else, for no one knew what specific question the number answered. As a result, the novel suggested a special computer the size of a small planet was built from organic components and named “Earth” with the prime purpose to calculate the Ultimate Question. In classic British humor fashion, Adams showed that we have the answer, but not the question. What followed was almost cult-like. Some, with too much time on their hands, wasted years and significant effort trying to ascribe cryptic significance to the number 42 and its occurrences. In 2011, one author published a well-researched work on the uses of 42 and its symbolic meanings by great authors and thinkers, like Lewis Carroll, the writer of Alice in Wonderland. Some seemed desperate to find a deep meaning behind the number Adams inserted as a joke. When asked, Adams explained the number. “The answer to this is very simple,” Adams said. “It was a joke. It had to be a number, an ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations, base 13, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat on my desk, stared in to the garden and thought 42 will do. I typed it out. End of story.”

In spite of the fact the writer claimed he simply “made it up” – people searched the novel for something deeper. Scores of young people still associate 42 as “the humorous answer” to a question they are searching for – though only a few are serious in that search today. Many won’t recall the novel from which the question came, but they know the answer…42.

I want to take you to another book – this one not comedy, not mysticism, and not fiction. In fact, the insights you find in its pages are so raw, they will change you – yet they are often overlooked by modern readers on the search for meaning. The author of this book was a king, and reputed to be the most serious intellectual of his time. I suspect if King Solomon were here today, he may object to Adam’s number this way: “The meaning of life isn’t found in a number – it is found in a box. Consider this: Life’s meaning can only be discovered when the query is placed in a specific context. Apart from that, life simply won’t make sense, let alone have a cohesive meaning.” That is a truth offered by Solomon for our lesson today.

Before we unpack that truth, let’s recall where we have been in our study so far…

We called the first lesson from this interesting book of wisdom: “Discovering the Painful Truth.” In that walk through the opening chapters of the book, we noted that after searching the world for meaning, Solomon noted that he was forced to admit the meaning of life simply cannot be found here. The author searched high and low, experimented vigorously, and could not find the answer to the meaning of life HERE. It was only when he looked beyond this world, high into the heavens and well beyond the sun – the answer was found. To a Jesus follower, that insight makes sense without much need to expound on it. Yet, in the world around us, the search for meaning in the material world seems like it continues unabated as people continue the ancient quest for life’s meaning and significance apart from any notion of a Creator and His plan. If we are honest, we will note that increasingly our world resists the idea of a Creator – at least One Who places any controls, rules or expectations on us. They seek freedom from constraint, but cannot find so much as the meaning for the quest itself. The frustration of the venture was an important feature of the opening two chapters.

This book was a series of public addresses by a Koheleth (a preacher or public orator) given to expose a flawed view of life, and open the hearers to a proper perspective. In the opening words, Solomon exposed the emptiness of academic rationalism and experiential empiricism apart from the revelation of truth from the Creator. He said, in other words, “Life’s experiences and greatest insights are empty when not flooded with God’s truth! (Ecclesiastes 1:1-2:26).

As he continued in the third chapter, he began to carefully examine the problem of “how to properly measure depth and meaning in our lives.” Does my life matter? Am I diluting myself when I claim I mean more than my century journey through this world? (3:1-22). The Koheleth offered several essential observations that expose the answer. In essence, the passage offers this truth…

Key Principle: Life is a wonder and a joy – but only when placed in the right context. I won’t know it if I don’t frame it properly.

The beginning is familiar, poetic, pretty and (if you think of it) profoundly passive. He wrote:

Ecclesiastes 3:1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven— 2 A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. 3 A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up. 4 A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance. 5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. 6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away. 7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak. 8 A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.

In effect, Solomon offered this observation: I have concluded that everything in life has a specific time and place, sometimes referred to as a “season” (3:1-8). On the surface, that seems an obvious truth. To some, especially coming off his experimental search in Ecclesiastes 1 and 2; it sounds a bit like surrender to a fatalistic world view – but it is NOT. To others who have journeyed the planet for some time, it seems like he was indicating “there are seasons to life.”

Hang out on Earth for fifty or so years, and if you are at all observant, you will learn that life truly does pass by in “seasons.” Things that are vital in one part of life are discarded when we enter another season. Life changes. Our desires change. Our sense of who we are changes.

Consider a little girl you may have known for a moment. She began life with big dreams and the desire to be the princess to her own version of a handsome young prince. Time passes, school days give way to summer nights, which make way for high school and perhaps even college classes. Eventually, she meets her choice for a life partner. They marry. She bears several children. After a short time, her life passes from her dreams to caring for and stewarding their dreams. A few decades slip by, and those children graduate and head out into the world. One day, she awakens from the long and arduous work of managing a family, and the bedrooms are empty and children are gone. The seasons have changed.

Solomon seems like he is saying, “Stuff happens. I am one little boat in a vast ocean, and I don’t control much of what happens around me, and often even to me.” That isn’t an unrealistic insight; that’s a fact. At the same time, that isn’t all he is trying to say. Look at the words more closely.

It is true. Life moves past me and my part is relatively small.

Solomon observed: There is an appointed time, only because there is One Who makes the appointments. Life has seasons, because life has a “Director of time.” Someone has the controls, but it is not me. Life is not unplanned – the problem is I don’t make, regulate or even know the whole plan.

The old king watched life, and remarked, “There is a day when a child is ready to be born, and when an old man breathes his last.” Things have a beginning and an end. Because they are happening all around us, we tend to focus only on one at a time. As I sat in the hospital with my father after his heart surgery – tubes and wires launching in every direction from his body – we remarked about the periodic music over the sound system that indicated a newborn had just been delivered in the other wing of the hospital. He was being repaired to stay with us, and a new one had just joined life’s journey.

As Solomon looked to the terraces and fields around him, Solomon recalled, “The planting seasons aren’t my choice – the ground and weather determine them.” So much of our life is WORK, and that season is a never-ending flow of projects that are mostly determined by conditions we didn’t cause. The roof needs to be replaced, the door hinge has loosened, the boss is expecting another quarterly report…

Still looking at the farm life around his kingdom, Solomon noted: “The cycle of life determines when I must pull up the old vines and fruit trees, because they don’t bear much anymore. There is a time when the old mare needs to be put down, and another when her foal needs to have his wounds bound for healing. The day finally arrives when the old barn needs to be felled, and the new one erected over the land.

A little time on Earth and it will become perfectly obvious: things change. Nothing here lasts very long.

Sometimes that is a good thing – there are moments that our broken heart pushes tears out of our eyes without any ability to shut them off. There are dark days and nights of seemingly unbearable pain, where loss drops a curtain of darkness over my heart for a time,

Sometimes life brings the very opposite. I simply wish that single moment wouldn’t end! There are other times I can barely catch my breath in fits of uncontrolled laughter, as I fall down crying joyful tears, unable to shake the funny thing I just saw or hear. There are grand vistas from beautiful peaks that when experienced open our heart to praise and nearly get our feet dancing. Solomon passed through all of these seasons.

He said, “When the rocks ruin the long plowed furrows, we know they must be plucked from the field and tossed aside.” Sometimes things that never bothered us become a problem to us – and that problem cannot be left alone. Other times, when the rock fence barrier has collapsed and needs rebuilt, we recognize the need to carefully gather each stone to set them one on the other.

What happens with rocks also happens with people. There are times you need them close. You lean on them. You cannot imagine facing life for another day without them. Then, there are times when you must do things alone. They cannot and should not help you. They are living their life, and you are doing what YOU should do.

There are seasons when we are working toward a goal, seeking something. There are other times when we recognize the need to give up on the goal. Endless striving will break any man.

Wisely, Solomon noted: “There are times when we are filling our house with new things. It seems like we need and need and need. Then there are times when our house has become far too full, and much of what we have we no longer truly need. We call these times: “yard sale” season.

There are things we have built or fabricated that had a seasonal purpose. They served us well, but now look like an old piece of junk. We need to know when it is time to part with those old treasures. They can’t follow us beyond this life, and no one else is attached to them.

As he winds down his list, Solomon noted, “Sometimes we should speak. We should offer help. We should share our experience. In another season, we learn that is not helpful. We sit silently with a hurting friend, and no longer feel the need to observe how their choices led them to this pain. We just hold their hand and cry with them. It is what they truly need, and the choices cannot be undone. The time for a lesson is past. The time for warmth and love is now.

Solomon closed his observations with this, “There is a time when you must walk away from a relationship and build new ones.”

In his wisdom and by God’s grace, he faced what some of you have been forced to face –

• We cannot fix people.
• We cannot make takers become givers.
• We cannot help those who do not truly desire to be helped.

Sometimes we find that our help is enabling them to bypass growth and continue harmful patterns. Sometimes we need to close that door – as hard as it is to do.

Because there are those who do not want what is right, there is a time when we may be forced to fight. We don’t seek trouble or strife, but we may not have any choice. We cannot surrender the weak around us to lies. We cannot stand idly by as evil men crush tender hearts. We have a duty greater than maintaining the peace at all costs.

Each of Solomon’s observations are important, and we could spend hours searching the meanings of each line. At the same time, the truth that life changes and seasons pass by can leave us with a nagging thought…

Since I am small, does my life really matter? (3:9).

Ecclesiastes 3:9 What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils?

Solomon’s question could be simpler put, “What’s the point?” or perhaps, “Do I matter?” If I am going to spend life on this planet working, searching, and observing the seasons of change – does it count for anything?

Thankfully, Solomon does more than ask – he pours out some important components toward constructing the answer.

To discover meaning, life must be placed in context.

First, he explained what he learned having searched before us. He said, “The way I learned to identify a small piece of the plan (i.e. the part God gave me to do) was by recognizing God is the One Who weaves each life into a whole plan (3:10-11a). He said it this way,

Ecclesiastes 3:10 I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves. 11 He has made everything appropriate in its time…

Solomon made sense of life by setting his experiences and seasons in the context of God’s plan. There is a TIMER and SEASON MAKER in the heavens. He said: “I set the seasons of life inside His control – and that was the beginning of making sense of life.

The Bible declares, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7). A little later, it makes plain, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10). Despite what you may have heard in our modern academies of learning, knowing God is the beginning of knowing everything else that matters.

Solomon found that knowledge in itself, knowledge within a naturalist system devoid of reverence for the Creator – was a waste and a depressing exercise. It got him nowhere and left him empty. He made that perfectly clear in Ecclesiastes 1.
Ecclesiastes 1:18 Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.

The wise man wasn’t arguing that stupidity is to be prized and learning was to be shunned. He was explaining that in the process of unfolding his search for meaning, he discovered in the depths of learning what could be sussed out by observation and examination. The issue wasn’t what he searched, or the methods he used. The issue was the CONTEXT of his search.

Life must be understood in the context of eternal purpose and an intelligent and deliberate plan by our Creator. A random existence leads to a purposeless world and a depressing emptiness.

To discover meaning, we need to be more perceptive.

Second, Solomon made clear the search was embedded within our hearts. If we are honest, we will admit we instinctively know we were made for more than the short century of our time on Earth. God inserted that little bit of information into our DNA. I believe that is the greatest reason why naturalism is fighting a constant battle in the science classroom. People may not WANT a God, because they don’t want accountability, but they KNOW something is wrong with the idea that everything got here by itself without any intelligent design or intent. We may not know all that we want to know, but we know this isn’t all there is. We just have to learn to hear what God wrote into our hearts. We were made for eternity. We were made for HIM. Solomon wrote:

Ecclesiastes 3:11b …He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

The term “set” is “nawthan” from which we take the name “Nathan.” It is the word for giving a gift, or setting something in place for someone else. The deep inner longing for Heaven and more than our time on Earth is a gift of God. It isn’t meant to confuse or frustrate us – it is meant to help us by making clear that things may not be fair on this broken planet – but one day they will be set right. That adds some level of peace to our struggle with inequity as we make the journey through life.

To discover meaning, we shouldn’t get lost in the search.

Some people can’t begin to believe unless they understand every facet of everything. That is like a man who won’t get in the car until he fully grasps a combustion engine. Solomon’s third observation was this: “I must not consume myself with questions that have no answer in the here and now (3:12 a), but rather should give myself to the joy of living in His goodness (3:12b). He wrote,

Ecclesiastes 3:12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; 13 moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—it is the gift of God.

Some people don’t get this truth. Perhaps a little illustration will help…

Imagine you got a letter in the mail and attached to it was a check from a foundation – but you never heard of them before. If you are at all in touch with the way things are in our world, you would be suspicious. You might call a friend. You may even check out the foundation on the internet. Let’s say you do all of that, and you discover they are a philanthropic organization, and are quite legitimate. You look at the check carefully. Then you read the note. The message makes plain that you have been selected to take your spouse to a Tuscan farm in Italy, and spend a few weeks enjoying life. The check is sufficient for you to buy the air tickets that suit you best, rent a car when you arrive, and all other expenses, including your meals in fabulous restaurants. You will be fully cared for upon your arrival. You check the internet again, and discover dozens of people who received over the past decade a similar letter and check, and you see their fun-filled pictures. You read their reviews carefully – and the whole thing seems to be exactly as presented. You deposit the check, wait for it to clear and buy your tickets. You make your plans, and arrive in Fiumicino airport near Rome to rent your car. What should you do with your time? Would you spend the whole time pretending you are Tom Hanks in a Dan Brown novel and try to discover the “real reason” behind the gift? Would you just decide to accept the gift and go and enjoy it? Solomon’s point was that once he was clear on the fact that life only made sense when viewed as a gift from God, he reckoned the right response was to stop trying to figure out God and accept the gift the Creator gave in his life. He stopped trying to figure out God, and started to celebrate His goodness.

Solomon’s point was that each of us should enjoy the gift of life God gave – to work and to accomplish (3:13)! The very act of living is cause for celebration. The daily opportunity to work is a wonder created for us by a God Who knows what will make us full. The act of being creative, whether in art, music, writing or even dramatic expression, is designed to be a sensational experience! There is incredible joy in exploration and learning; all are wondrous gifts from our God.

Let me ask you: Are you conscious of how GOOD God has been to you? Do you stop and thank God for what He has given you? What happened that soured you to tasting the wonder of the gift of your life? Are you happy analyzing endlessly what is wrong with the world? Solomon made the simple point that life doesn’t have to be fully comprehended to be deeply savored.

Let me ask you:

• Are you conscious of how GOOD God has been to you?
• Do you stop and thank God for what He has given you?
• What happened that soured you to tasting the wonder of the gift of your life?
• Are you happy analyzing endlessly what is wrong with the world?

Solomon made the simple point that life doesn’t have to be fully comprehended to be deeply savored.

I get it. I have sat for hours in front of paintings in some of the world’s best galleries. A few months ago, Dottie and I were in Madrid. We stayed in a little apartment across from a world famous art exhibit at Museo Nacional del Prado. One morning, I got a ticket and went across the street to sit and look at paintings in their renown collection. There were some paintings by Albrecht Durer, a few famous pieces by Rubens, some profound scenes from the Bible by Fra Angelico and many others. For about an hour, I sat on a bench and studied a painting by Raphael of the Holy Family. I looked at the blended brush strokes and then focused on the expressions of Joseph, then Mary, then Jesus. It was an opportunity to see through the eyes and hand of a master artist a scene taken as much from his life as from his Bible. I LOVED sitting there. There is a unique joy that can be experienced by quite observation of beauty. The fact that I cannot paint like that only makes it better.

To discover meaning, I have to admit there is only one plan – God’s plan.

God has no real competitors. He is alone in the Heavens, apart from the beings He Himself has made. Because that is true, I must admit that everything in life follows the plan of a Sovereign God, and that He must be revered by us (3:14). God has set seasons and cycles, and I am a part of the flow of that larger plan (3:15). He did it for His own reasons and His own joy. There is no other bigger reason for all of it. Solomon said it this way,

Ecclesiastes 3:14 I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him. 15 That which is has been already and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by.

Those observations settled Solomon; they didn’t trouble him. They helped him make sense of the features of life that otherwise wouldn’t have found a place to rest inside him.

To find meaning, we admit that God’s judgment will come to all.

Solomon looked at inequity and the unfair treatment of people here, and found peace by looking to heaven. He wrote,

Ecclesiastes 3:16 Furthermore, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is wickedness and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness. 17 I said to myself, “God will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man,” for a time for every matter and for every deed is there.

To the naturalist, every tragedy comes down to “bad luck.” There is no plan. Where is their help in the NICU as the life signs of the infant slip away? What sense can they make of that child’s life? Seriously, can an atheist encourage you after a fire wipes you home off the map, taking some of your beloved family?

Their message is simple: You and I are elegant viruses randomly mutated from stardust, meaning nothing. When tragedy strikes, they are forced to throw up their hands and say, “That’s the way it goes sometimes?” That very approach erodes the importance of life. It solves nothing for the person who was raped, the faithful spouse who felt the sting of a cheater, or the man who spoke truth, only to be rejected by his friends.

Knowing a judgment comes is a comfort to those who have been hurt by injustice. Men may measure each other by the color of their skin – but God is righteous. Men may allow injustice and buy off a jury – but there will come a day when all will be made known… and that is a GOOD THING. It adds back the missing resolve to an unfair world.

To find meaning, I must recall that life here is temporary – but here is not all there is.

Solomon closed the passage and pondered the end of both men and animals (3:18). He observed that, in a way, people here are temporary, like every living creature on earth. They are born, live a short time, and then pass away from the scene. He wrote,

Ecclesiastes 3:18 I said to myself concerning the sons of men, “God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but beasts.” 19 For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity. 20 All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust.

That’s true. We are like animals in the natural sense. Our body is temporary – but even that is mercy! Our life is transient. Our journey passes like the morning dew. At the same time, our death in this body is not our final moment. Solomon finished his observations with two questions that one must rightly answer to find meaning. The first is a “who knows” question.

Ecclesiastes 3:21 Who knows that the breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth?

Here is the point of the question: If I cannot discern the difference between the temporary nature of the animal and the eternal nature of man, I cannot grasp the meaning of life. This is the essential question of our day.

If life is only material, and there is no deliberate Creator – we have no meaning. There is no purpose. If your life is cut short by someone else’s cruelty or negligence – too bad. Life isn’t fair. There is no answer. Dogs die. People get raped. Get over it. This is all there is. Accomplish much – it won’t matter. Nothing really does.

Don’t despair, we aren’t done. Solomon has one more observation that will bring peace.

To find meaning, I need to trust God knows what I don’t.

Solomon cannot leave his flock in despair – because that wouldn’t get his hearers understanding of the truth. He finished with these words,

Ecclesiastes 3:22 I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see what will occur after him?

Solomon reminded his hearers of this truth: there is One that sees beyond this life and knows the difference, and that is God Himself. He knows what I don’t know. I can’t figure out how all of this complicated life ends up making sense – but He knows. He is the Master of history, but also of the future. My fate is in His plans. Because that is true, the best thing I can do is focus on the things God has put in my life to work at and change, and receive each day as His gift for my part of the bigger circle of life. He alone can know the truth of my life and contribution.

Honestly…

Life is a wonder and a joy – but only when placed in the right context. I won’t know it if I don’t frame it properly.

Don’t fault God for the confusion… it came because of our rebellion against Him in the Garden. Before that, Adam and Eve DAILY had His presence to celebrate during their cool morning strolls through their home garden. It was sin that caused the break and gave us both the distance from God, and the confusion of trying to find meaning without Him. In the time chosen by God, Jesus came.

Jesus didn’t come to Earth to make the bored happy; He came to make the broken whole. He came to put back the context into which we find meaning. Happiness is the byproduct of restoration to God. Strangely enough, happiness in this life is not the primary goal – meaning is. With His coming, Jesus didn’t remove us from the struggles of life; He joined us on our journey through each one. The result is not a ‘care free’ life, but a caring Companion to lead us through the darkest hours. Following where He leads restores purpose, and that provides meaning.

Howard Culbertson (of Nazarene Missions) wrote a story that should help us see this truth:

In 1904 William Borden graduated from a Chicago high school. As heir to the Borden family fortune, he was already wealthy. For his high school graduation present, his parents gave 16-year-old Borden a trip around the world. As the young man traveled through Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, he felt a growing burden for the world’s hurting people. Finally, Bill Borden wrote home about his “desire to be a missionary.”1 One friend expressed disbelief that Bill was “throwing himself away as a missionary.” In response, Borden wrote two words in the back of his Bible: “No reserves.” Even though young Borden was wealthy, he arrived on the campus of Yale University in 1905 trying to look like just one more freshman. Very quickly, however, Borden’s classmates noticed something unusual about him and it wasn’t that he had lots of money. One of them wrote, “He came to college far ahead, spiritually, of any of us. He had already given his heart in full surrender to Christ and had really done it. We who were his classmates learned to lean on him and find in him a strength that was solid as a rock, just because of this settled purpose and consecration.”2 During his college years, Bill Borden made an entry in his personal journal that defined what his classmates were seeing in him. That entry said simply, “Say ‘no’ to self and ‘yes’ to Jesus every time.”3 … During his first semester at Yale, Borden started something that would transform campus life. One of his friends described how it began. “It was well on in the first term when Bill and I began to pray together in the morning before breakfast. … We had been meeting only a short time when a third student joined us and soon after a fourth. Borden’s small morning prayer group gave birth to a movement that soon spread across the campus. By the end of his first year, 150 freshmen were meeting weekly for Bible study and prayer. By the time Bill Borden was a senior, one thousand of Yale’s 1,300 students were meeting in such groups. Borden made it his habit to seek out the most “incorrigible” students and try to bring them to salvation. …Borden’s outreach ministry was not confined to the Yale campus. He cared about widows and orphans and the disabled. He rescued drunks from the streets of New Haven. To try to rehabilitate them, he founded the Yale Hope Mission. One of Bill Borden’s friends wrote that he “might often be found in the lower parts of the city at night, on the street, in a cheap lodging house or some restaurant to which he had taken a poor hungry fellow to feed him, seeking to lead men to Christ.”7 Borden’s missionary call narrowed to the Muslim Kansu people in China. Once he fixed his eyes on that goal, Borden never wavered. He also challenged his classmates to consider missionary service. … Upon graduation from Yale, Borden turned down some high-paying job offers. In his Bible, he wrote two more words: “No retreats.” William Borden went on to do graduate work at Princeton Seminary in New Jersey. When he finished his studies at Princeton, he sailed for China. Because he was hoping to work with Muslims, he stopped first in Egypt to study Arabic. While there, he contracted spinal meningitis. Within a month, 25-year-old William Borden was dead. When the news of William Whiting Borden’s death was cabled back to the U.S., the story was carried by nearly every American newspaper. “A wave of sorrow went round the world . . . Borden not only gave (away) his wealth, but himself, in a way so joyous and natural that it (seemed) a privilege rather than a sacrifice” wrote Mary Taylor in her introduction to his biography.10 Was Borden’s untimely death a waste? Not in God’s perspective. Prior to his death, Borden had written two more words in his Bible. Underneath the words “No reserves” and “No retreats,” he had written: “No regrets.”

1 Taylor, Mrs. Howard. Borden of Yale ’09. (Philadelphia: China Inland Mission, 1926, page 75)
2 Ibid. page 98
3 Ibid. page 122
4 Ibid. page 90
5 Ibid. page 97
6 Ibid. page 150
7 Ibid. page 148
8 Ibid. page 149
9 Ibid. page 149
10 Ibid. page ix

Standing in Truth: “The Problem of Defection” – 1 John 2:15-29

miserable-manHe is a middle-aged man, and he is miserable. Several years ago, he attended church. His life was in a crisis, and his marriage was falling apart. After a church service one Sunday, he came forward in an altar call, and said he wanted to surrender his heart to Jesus Christ. Over the next several months, he became deeply involved in his church, said he was daily reading his Bible, and spoke of growing in his walk. The problems began showing up a few months later. Slowly, the old habits crept back in. A certain coolness toward spiritual things seemed to settle into his speech, and he didn’t appear to be as interested in growing in his walk with God. I am sure I know only a small part of what truly happened, because he didn’t share it. I noticed that he missed one service after another. His involvement diminished in the next few months to virtually zero. Six months after that, the whole Jesus thing seemed like nothing more than a phase. Was that salvation? Did he really know Jesus? If he did, why didn’t he stay with his new life?

Though the details may vary, several of us know people who fit this general description. They seem to start off with Christ, but they do not stay with Him. Some even overtly defect from a public profession of faith in Jesus and are willing to tell you they are not followers of Jesus anymore. Though for a time they claimed Jesus as their Savior, they fully disavow that commitment today. Something pulled their heart away. It may be a new relationship. It may be a change in their job. It may be a deep disappointment that coming to Jesus didn’t simply take their problems away in some area of life. In the end, they move into the arms of one of the four gods of our age – fortune, fame, power or pleasure – and serve another god that claims to offer greater fulfillment to them. In time, they find that other path empty. This is the problem for which John took time to remind believers in his epistle…

Key Principle: Many promise true satisfaction. In the end, the voice we follow will be either Jesus or a false promise.

That is the essence of the second half of the second chapter of 1 John. The aged Apostle, a local church pastor, noticed some began with Christ, but didn’t appear to continue in the faith. He remarked:

1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that [d]it would be shown that they all are not of us.

The purpose of the narrative was to help the early followers of Jesus through the pain and uncertainty of dealing with defection and to help them grasp what happened. If you have watched it in one you love, your heart will resonate with his words. He made clear that it is possible to understand defection, but only when we recognize some basic facts about walking with Jesus. He began…

1. First, we must grasp the fact that there is an unavoidable choice (2:15):

Coming to Jesus requires us to make a choice to change the direction from which we choose to draw our fulfillment. Look closely at verse fifteen.

I John 2:15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

One who has encountered God and the message of the Gospel must choose a direction in order to fill up our hearts and be satisfied with life. If we place the fulfillment of our needs impatiently in the “now,” we will surely be tempted to drift from the direction of God’s will at any time we don’t feel like God is meeting that need to our satisfaction. It is a choice to follow Jesus – but it is not the only choice we can make! Essentially John argued: “Do not love the world’s way nor the temporary things the world offers, that love runs contrary to love for God’s way” (2:15).

The issue isn’t whether we live in the world or even enjoy the world – that was intended even for the believer. God gave you taste buds and intends you to find delight in what he provides for your mouth. Godliness isn’t glum. You don’t have to move to a bare-roomed monastery, eat bread and drink water, and think only of the veil of tears in this life while you await heaven’s bliss. Honestly, some of us are likely so imbalanced gaining our delight in this world that a week at a monastery wouldn’t hurt – but that is not the way God called you to live out your days. The point of “not loving the world” is whether we find our hope, our significance and our peace in the world. It is about our primary LOVE, our primary place of desire and hope.

We will love God and His promises or we will reject those promises for more immediate satisfactions – but we will not do both. One will pull us from the other.

I want to warn you openly: Don’t overlook the incredibly strong pull of the now. It creates a strong mirage of coming satisfaction that remains just over the horizon as we continue to approach it. Here are some familiar tell-tale signs it is at work. You will hear the beckoning:

• Your next job will make you happy – put all that you are and have into your work.
• Your next child will heal your ailing love relationship – give everything you can to your family.
• Your new home will make you truly happy – shop for each decoration with the knowledge that this purchase was the answer to life’s problems.

None of these things, as good as they are, will truly answer your deepest needs. Seek them first, and you will end the race in disappointment. If you learn anything from life, you should learn: Few things have lasting significance.

It is sad but true that one day your house will look to your grandchildren as outdated as grandma’s house looked to you as you visited when you grew up. Your DVR will look like grandma’s plastic furniture covers of yesteryear! What you remember as NEW isn’t new for very long. That new car will age, get dents and be traded. Your house will wear out. Be warned: a new roof “cometh” in your future.

I am simply making one argument: Don’t trust temporary things to bring permanent satisfaction.

Skinny ties will get replaced by wide ties, only to be replaced by the next NEW big thing… the old skinny tie. Beards come; beards go. Shoes become flat, but next season they become big. Pants get tighter, then they get looser. We are now experiencing the rise of the “comb over” and bigger-haired men… Life is filled with cycles and unfathomable products of our creative culture: the earth shoe, the pet rock, the chia pet. Each has its “Andy Warhol fifteen minutes of fame,” and then gets traded to the discount rack, the “As seen on TV” rack, the yard sale, or at long last the “flea market.” What delights a child today will cause an adult tomorrow to stand there puzzling over its function.

Every believer should mature. As they grow, they should ask this question: “What does “loving the world” look like?”

• Loving the world is placing my hope in politicians to save a nation of lost souls. That is love of the world’s system to answer man’s need instead of loving Jesus enough to present him to your neighbor.

• Loving the world is placing our trust in people, experiences and products to get lasting satisfaction with life.

The fact is: We simply must choose the Father first. Jesus told us to “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” – that is to seek first God’s purposes and live according to God’s standards – and everything else we need would be added to us.

Like Abraham, we must be willing to leave the city of our birth, purchase camping equipment and move out on the journey to find the city of God.

Accommodation of sin and deliberate dabbling in evil is simply not an option for the mature man or woman of God who is serious about finding fulfillment. We cannot straddle the fence and expect to grow toward God’s best for us. There is a choice required – that is the point of verse fifteen. Keep reading…

2. Second, we must fully understand there are consequences that follow our choice (2:16-18):

The point of choices is where they lead us. John wrote”

1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. 18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.

There are a number of problems with building our life around the things of now for lasting fulfillment. The first problem should be obvious, but is often obscured: The options on the menu of this life won’t last! Hungers set on the flesh, greed waves crashing in the fallen heart and the enduring arrogance of the rebel will one day be put aside. Life here isn’t permanent, so fulfillment cannot be lasting.

The satisfaction the things of this world will promise is nothing more than a temporary quenching of a momentary thirst.

We often attain the immediate quenching of thirst by destroying an opportunity to have a permanent solution. The world offers a temporary satiation of physical desires, temporary satisfaction of our wants, and things that make us feel more important. These are not God’s way for us, but a lost world’s way of coping (2:16). These things won’t last, but the one who follows God’s way will find everlasting fulfillment (2:17).

Beyond the temporary nature, there is a second problem we must remember. There is less time to choose than we may believe. Our choice is urgent! The battle for our heart must end so we can join the team of those who will reach others.

We cannot win in the raging battle if you will not choose your side!

John wrote (my paraphrase): “Young ones, we are late in the opportunity to reach men and women, for the rising tide of opposition is swelling toward the coming of the Antichrist that will bring in the end battle (2:18).”

There is simply no way to avoid the fact that our choice for what fulfills us shows up in our daily choices – and that places us on one side of a conflict. We must ever remember the fact that the hour is late. We can neither delay, nor can we trust that choosing this world will somehow work out in the end.

The world’s system is increasingly showing itself to be anti-God, anti-Bible. One look at the trends and you will see rabid anti-creation words across the press – as if it is easier to explain the complexity of the cosmos by a purposeless accident. Our world is against the most basic definitions of morality – but desperate for the fruits that come with it. They cannot define a family, but cannot discern why children are angrily marching the streets, unable to define their own identity, sexuality or purpose. These youth are a sculpted product of modern social engineering. They are confused, conflicted and constantly tossed about by one outrageous cause after another. Listen to their words: you will struggle to even make sense of their understanding of things…

John continued…

3. Third, we must recognize that some will appear to fall away, because they were here for something other than walking with Him (2:19)!

Leaning back into the subject of defectors he wrote what we mentioned a few moments ago:

1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.

When John reminded that some were a “part” for a season, but aren’t really “of us”, he made clear that people come to the fellowship for many reasons that are not about Jesus. Over the years I have encountered many people who used the church to grow their business. All across the Bible belt, people co-opted the church as a healthy social gathering environment – a well-mannered corral for people of finer breeding in the noticeable and polite social circle. Some joined the church to find a small pond in which they can show themselves a big fish. Others were simply trying to find friends and didn’t know where else to look.

Honestly, hang out in church circles and you will discover scores who entered without a true regard for the cost of following Christ, or true longing to know Him intimately at all.

Another aspect of people abandoning Christ is this: seasons of life change. We don’t remain the same. Some found friends for a time when they needed them – but they never truly found Jesus. Some may have found Jesus as Savior, but never thought that choice bound them to follow Him.

They were saved from sin – but unwilling to become a “Christian” in the sense of following Jesus.

I want to humbly offer a third observation concerning people who fall away. I don’t mean to sound uncharitable, but I have noticed more recently that many people are not good listeners and even fewer are clear thinkers. What they think they heard from the Bible or from God bears little or no resemblance to what God actually said in His Word. They heard only parts of the message. They didn’t connect the dots between what they heard and how they lived. They didn’t evaluate whether what the preacher said this week can be connected to what he said last week. Let’s face it: Poor teaching abounds.

The longer I live, the more I recognize the Bible is a deck reshuffled by many an ambitious dealer, who has little interest if reflecting all of its counsel.

I recall years ago a discussion with a man in a church fellowship hall that argued vehemently against tattoos on the basis of his best study of Leviticus. These insights he shared while eating a ham sandwich. In his mind, it all made perfect sense, since he hated tattoos but loved ham. His theology perfectly accommodated his biases.

The truth is that fickle followers aren’t real followers. Fair weather friends aren’t true friends. Sunshine soldiers evaporate when the cold and wet night comes – and the rising tide of an anti-Christ spirit is giving way soon to the person who will openly mock God himself. John continued…

4. Fourth, we needn’t allow another’s defection to rock our confidence and commitment (2:20-21).

The truth cannot be found by popular vote, but it can be known. He wrote:

1 John 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.

The truth is that if you know God, His Spirit has marked your life (2:20). John didn’t write because they were unaware of that, but to affirm their relationship to God (20:21)!”

People DO begin with Jesus and His people and then walk away. I know some.

Interestingly, I often run into people who ask me if their friend who expressed faith in Jesus but later left the faith in total rejection was perhaps truly saved in spite of their current declaration of total disdain for the Gospel. I know many have nuanced versions of this question, and one answer doesn’t cover all the possibilities – but I want to say something that I don’t believe gets emphasized strongly enough: People don’t truly seek Christ to fulfill their deepest longing, find Him and then later find something better. That isn’t possible, because there isn’t anything better – that is a fact made plain by the most cursory study of the Word.

If they came and left, the Bible concludes they came for a different reason than Christ.

They may not truly understand: Jesus isn’t one of the options for eternal life. He isn’t one of the paths to true happiness. He is not a buffet menu placed beside other equal options. If the Bible is true, He created life at the behest of His Heavenly Father. He IS life. In Him is fulfillment.

Everything else you heard won’t get you what you want 100,000,000 years from now. Nothing else will work. The hole in your soul won’t be permanently filled by others who are falsely offering life, love, hope and lasting fulfillment.

Imagine you entered a hospital room and saw your loved one hooked in every direction to wires and tubes. The doctor smiled at you and said: “This is great! We can keep him alive virtually forever on all these machines. His heart is beating. His liver is functioning. His lungs are being mechanically filled with air. Perhaps you would look puzzled and ask: “Can he speak?” The doctor shakes his head and says: “Oh no. He will never be conscious. He will never eat, laugh or communicate. He will lie there, in need of tremendous attention by nurses. At least he is alive!” Like me, you may conclude that isn’t living.

Jesus offers life as the Author of life. Others will elegantly dress their offer for temporary satisfaction, but cannot offer eternal life. They will draw us to moments of happiness, but cannot deliver in the end. If someone falls off a cliff, you don’t have to worry about it happening to you if you don’t stand on the edge. You have no need to shake. Truth isn’t evaluated by its popularity. Remember: in this history of mankind, most people were on the wrong side of most issues.

Since truth isn’t determined by consensus, we must grasp truth apart from the crowd. Honestly, a fact is a fact even when no one believes it.

Truth is something that must be discovered – not elected.

John made clear…

5. Fifth, we will need to choose carefully the voice we will follow. We must make sure it echoes the Word of God as it was taught from the beginning (2:22-24).

1 John 2:22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.

Anyone who is trying to deny that Jesus is Messiah is empowered by God’s enemy, and not by God, regardless of what he looks like or how educated he sounds (2:22)! One who denies that Jesus is the Messiah is wrong, and has no walk with God – no matter what he promises or claims. This truth shows whether they have a walk (2:23) – are they pointing people to the Person and work of Jesus for eternal life?

It is time, John wrote, for the people of God to stand by the truth of the relationship they received in Jesus (2:24). Then John finished his words with direction…

6. Sixth, mature believers grow to understand there are responsibilities we have in relating to the struggles of the younger follower of Jesus.

We need to offer some insight to them:

1 John 2:25 This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.

Young believers need to be ever reminded to stick to the essence of our message. It is easy to get caught up in agendas of churches and more mature believers who have been swept into the current of political and social change agendas. The essential promise that Jesus made was eternal life (2:25).

We need to warn them (2:26):

1 John 2:26 These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.

Young believers will not have the discernment that mature followers should have regarding what to avoid. Children need to be warned about strangers, and young on the faith need to be so warned about deceivers. I needed to write because some are trying to deceive you and pull you away (2:26).

The fact is the world has many false prophets who WANT to deceive you. It also contains many who just don’t know what is true, but that doesn’t stop them from becoming famous.

If recent events have taught us anything, it is that our prognosticators and pundits are often famous, but “undressed prophets.” They looked at the data, but got the answers wrong. Economists seem to be guessing about the economy. Weather men promise disaster from a storm that turns a different way. Pollsters can’t add up which direction things are headed. We live in a day when the professionals aren’t inspiring much confidence in their fool-proof methodologies.

Some lie to suit their audience. Others simply make conclusions without embracing the whole of the evidence. Believers have the truth and need to walk in it.

We need to offer encouragement (2:27):

1 John 2:27 As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.

Young believers do not have to be convinced of the truth of Jesus’ changes in their lives if they are real, but they do have to be carefully trained to stay with the growing body that God has placed them within. We must encourage them, watch them, and train them – for the enemy has plans to discourage them!

John wrote: “I call upon you to remain in the truth you have learned – stay in the truth (2:27)!”

We should encourage younger followers of Jesus that with their salvation came the Spirit, and with the Spirit came Divine empowering to walk consistently with Him. It is not beyond our reach when you invite the Spirit to lead us daily. It is not too demanding and other-worldly. God has already poured onto your life the oil of His empowering; and doused you with His powerful inner change-agent.

When we present compromise and sinfulness as the normal behavior, we mimic the world. When we remind them of the power the world neither has nor understands – we speak reminders that echo the Apostle John’s encouragement. Let us offer younger believers this charge: You CAN walk with God. All things pertaining to life and godliness have been amply supplied. There is nothing more you need get to be able to change. The entire venture now rests on your honest willingness to let God work in you.

• You must become wise to block access of the world’s siren calls to your fallen nature – the old man within.

• You must brutally starve that leftover of your past life.

• You dare not dabble in the enemy’s lies, nor the world’s temptations.

These are all choices – but they have been accomplished by believers in the past. This contest isn’t new.

Don’t get sucked into the lie that those who remained married for life were somehow extraordinary or found someone who was nearly sinless to live with. They chose to honor God and keep their vows to one another and to Him. They chose to fight to stay together despite their fallen natures and sinful selves. In the same way that ordinary men stormed the beaches of Normandy in our nation’s past to free the world from the grip of evil, so ordinary men and women gave themselves to the cause of Jesus, and followed Him relentlessly in our Christian past. The Spirit boosts our endurance, sensitizes our understanding and challenges us to do our best when no one but God truly knows.

We must offer constant reminders to them (2:28-29):

…Of eternal rewards in the face of all the temporal promises (2:28):

1 John 2:28 Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.

It is clear that Jesus saves us from sin, but there is also the issue of regret and reward when our performance is judged (1 Cor. 3; 2 Cor. 5). Young followers, keep walking with Jesus so that when we stand before Him we will not be embarrassed at our behaviors, but excited to be with Him (2:28).

…Of the “marks” (2:29):

1 John 2:29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.

When Jesus is changing someone, there are marks that make those changes evident to people who observe closely. It is not that we become sinless, but a definite change marks us! If Jesus’ way is right, then those who practice that way are part of Him and us (2:29).

Many promise us true satisfaction. In the end, the voice we follow will be either Jesus or a false promise.

Years ago, A. T. Stewart challenged his congregation (my paraphrase):

Imagine you are on vacation in the mountains. You decided to walk a mountain trail at the beautiful state park. It’s a hot August afternoon and you finish the hike and are both very tired and incredibly thirsty. At the end of the trail you notice a huge refrigerator with a glass door (like in the convenience stores) filled with bottles of Crystal Springs water. The sign declares: “Free water—help yourself!” Thirsty, you dash over to the cooler and help yourself to some cool refreshing water.

As you are satisfying your thirst, your eyes catch a glimpse of another hiker. You notice the man coming to the end of the trail and he looks even more tired and thirsty than you were. To your surprise, he stopped at the end of the trail. He and knelt down and drank from a small fish pond at the end of the trail. You passed this fish pond and noticed the gold fish swimming in it—the Lilly pads, a few frogs and a turtle. Like most unattended fish ponds it was filled with algae, the water was green, stagnant, murky. You couldn’t help but ask him: “Why are you drinking out of the fish pond? Don’t you see that cooler full of free Crystal Springs water? You will get sick drinking that polluted water. There is no telling what’s in that water.” He replied: “I saw the cooler, but this fish pond was closer and much more convenient. It was easier to get and I was very thirsty.

That is where you live. That is what is happening all around you. May I simply ask you: “Are you drinking out of the fish pond today?” If you are, that water is about to bring you a deep dissatisfaction. Get ready.

Standing in Truth: “Things People Say” – 1 John 1:1-2:14

antiquitiesI was speaking with an antiquities dealer in the Near East not long ago, and he said something that made an impression on me. He told me: “In my shop there are real antiquities, and there are fakes.” I asked him, “Why do you have fakes?” He replied with a smile: “Because some of them look better than the real thing!” That never occurred to me. Some people are going to purchase an item and display the purchase. It is less important that it is authentic, than that it looks good on the shelf. Sometimes fakes look better…

Though I love painted works of the Masters of art, I am not skilled enough to discern a real master from a well-made forgery. What I do know is this: There are REAL pieces and there are FAKES that are displayed as real.

Business Insider Magazine reported: “It seems like bigger and stranger art scams are revealed each year, from the man who sold more than 200 fake Alberto Giacometti statues out of his car in Germany to the Los Angeles art dealer who commissioned a fake Picasso and sold it for $2 million… During WWII, Dutch artist Han van Meegeren didn’t start out as a forger. He simply wanted to be recognized as a legitimate artist. In fact, he wanted the title so badly that he created his own works replicating Johannes Vermeer’s style and allowed them to be sold to unknowing buyers who thought them to be genuine. For a while he got away with selling the detailed forgeries for astounding prices, reaching the equivalent of $60 million for six fake Vermeer’s sold on the Dutch market, according to The Telegraph. But when one of van Meegeren’s paintings ended up in the collection of high-ranking Nazi officer Hermann Göring (an art expert), van Meegeren was arrested for treason for refusing to name the original owner of the masterpiece. The government of the Netherlands was among the other entities duped by van Meegeren.”

It is astounding to me that paintings that were forged could get past the eyes of one expert after another. It happened again just a few years ago, when actor Steve Martin bought an expensive forged piece of art and reportedly lost millions! If the forgers are that good at what they do, why not just create some new breath-taking pieces for us to share?

As shocking as that is, our lesson today from the first letter of the Apostle John opened with a story of “forgery” that we need to pay close attention to. He reminded…

Key Principle: There are people who fake faith, but there are also markers that indicate whether someone is truly part of the body of Christ.

A believer should have certain marks on their life that show they are following God, and being led by Jesus Christ. John felt it was necessary to help believers of the first century know the difference between real and fake faith. We want to explore the identification points (like “finger prints”) he left behind, and apply them to our time, and particularly to our lives!

Before we begin the lesson, we should take a moment and remind ourselves of a few facts we have received from historical record about the Disciple turned Apostle named John – to reacquaint ourselves with the writer:

1. He was the brother of James and the son of Zebedee from Capernaum of Galilee.

2. He was one of the fishermen called by Jesus to become fishers of men.

3. Peter and Andrew worked for his father’s fishing business.

4. He was likely the youngest of the disciples, perhaps merely a teenager at the time.

5. Perhaps because of his youth, he was very close to Jesus. John refers to himself in the Gospel of John simply as the “disciple Jesus loved.”

6. Jesus nicknamed John and his brother James “sons of thunder” because of the eager way with which they were wanted to call down fire from heaven on a Samaritan village that refused to offer Jesus and company hospitality.

7. He was the last surviving apostle. The best information says that he was well into his 80’s when he died at Ephesus. For obvious reasons, he was considered an elder statesman of the church in his later years. Note in 2 John, he is simply referred to as “the elder,” a term that could mean simply an older man. The term came to refer to the respected leaders of the church (and before that the Jewish synagogue).

8. He was also the only apostle to die of natural causes, if you don’t count the rigors that an extended exile and imprisonment may have had on him. All of the other apostles, according to tradition were martyred for their faith.

Three church historical writers add what may be a bit of “texture” to the history. These aren’t certain as facts, like stories from the New Testament, but they are old and have been a part of the church’s understanding of John for centuries:

• Eusebius (3 :28) tells another story of John which he got from the works of Irenaeus. We have seen that one of the leaders of the Gnostic heresy was a man called Cerinthus. “The apostle John once entered a bath to bathe; but, when he learned that Cerinthus was within, he sprang from his place and rushed out of the door, for he could not bear to remain under the same roof with him. He advised those who were with him to do the same. `Let us flee,’ he said, `lest the bath fall, for Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within.”’ I love that story! It offers another glimpse of the temper of John. Apparently, Boanerges (a son of thunder) was not quite dead.

• Cassian tells another famous story about John. One day he was found playing with a tame partridge. A narrower and more rigid brother rebuked him for thus wasting his time, and John answered: “The bow that is always bent will soon cease to shoot straight.”

• It is Jerome who tells the story of the last words of John. When he was dying, his disciples asked him if he had any last message to leave them. “Little children,” he said, “love one another.” Again and again he repeated it; and they asked him if that was all he had to say. “It is enough,” he said, “for it is the Lord’s command.” I love that story. As a Pastor, it showed he cared how the people God entrusted to his care treated one another.

Take a moment and look at the beginning of 1 John. The opening of John’s letter explained three essential truths to understanding the early church:

• First, he addressed the message around which believers rallied.

• Second, he openly discussed the problems they faced.

• Third, he offered a brief description of his recipients – those who were truly following Jesus in his time.

His interest, as an aging Pastor, was that he frankly and openly addressed the body of believers with both excitement about his message and candidness concerning their current troubles. His opening idea is an honest assessment that still rings true… The church isn’t a perfect organization; it is flawed people with a wondrous message of the Perfect One.

With enthusiasm, John opened with a message about their message – a few words about the Gospel that caused them to gather together as one.

John essentially wrote: “Our work is all about Jesus (1:1-5)!” He offered five truths about the message that binds believers together:

First, the Gospel is ETERNAL TRUTH. It was always true. We didn’t create the faith; we discovered it. (1:1a).

1 John 1:1 What was from the beginning…

Second, it is HISTORICAL. It was a real encounter. We didn’t imagine a spiritual event; rather we but experienced Him. (1:1).

1 John 1:1b “…what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life

Third, it was DIVINELY SHARED. It was uncovered by God (He made Himself known). We didn’t sculpt its features; we merely shared our experience with you. (1:2).

1 John 1:2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—

Fourth, it was PURPOSELY COMMUNICATED. We shared what we found to offer you relationship both to us and to God (1:3).

1 John 1:3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.

Fifth, it must be STRENGTHENED. Growing in Christ will reinforce assurance of the Gospel in us. (1:4).

1 John 1:4 These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.

Sixth, it has an OBVIOUS EFFECT. The Gospel is unique and profound; it stands out and cannot be mixed with other messages (1:5).

1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

Review those truths for a second. John said: “Our message is one that existed from the beginning – but for a time was obscure. We heard it audibly, saw it physically, and handled it personally- we have a relationship with God through personally experiencing the Person and work of Jesus the Messiah. We shared with you the way to God just as He, the “life-giver,” revealed the path to us. We continue to offer the message of a growing relationship with God. We offer this letter to continue your growth in Him and help complete the work, bringing you to greater assurance in your life in Christ. Here is the truth: The encounter with Jesus changes you, and that profound change should be unique and obvious before men.”

The message that drew us together is from the Creator. It is a message that changes, and should excite us as we gaze at it. John wanted the wonder of the message that God has set us free to again cause us to think about God’s goodness.

That was the opening, but that wasn’t the problem. Our message never is. He openly discussed the fact that some were claiming faith, but their life didn’t show it to be truly theirs.

All of us who know Jesus openly acknowledge we have this profound problem… There are imitation followers (1:6-2:11). They say they have embraced the Gospel, but their life doesn’t show the obvious and profound change that should accompany belief and surrender to Jesus. We have people in our midst that TALK FAITH but don’t WALK FAITH. Some may not realize it. Others do it intentionally.

To make the point very clear, some mechanics of Bible study may be in order. Let’s try to see if we can cut through the verbiage and see a pattern that will help us follow John’s line of thinking. Look at the rest of 1 John 1. Notice a phrase that emerges and is repeated. In verse six (1:6) you may note the phrase: “If we say…” You will see it again in verse eight (1:8) and verse ten (1:10). Follow the words into the second chapter. A similar phrase carries the issue over in verse four (2:4) with the words: “one who says” – repeated again in verse six (2:6) and in verse nine (2:9). We can easily see John is making clear that people say things that don’t reflect their true inner state. He used descriptions of them like “liar” in 1:6, “self-deceived” in 1:8, as well as those who “make God a liar” in 1:10.

Now go back to the first chapter. In contrast to the WORDS of some “so-called” followers of Jesus, John made clear that ACTIONS were used to measure the reality of their true faith. He used terms about their actual lifestyle like “if we walk in darkness” in 1:6 or if he “does not keep His commandments” in 2:4. Just by that brief overview, it becomes possible to recognize the central idea: People CANNOT ask us to believe they are truly followers of Jesus if their lifestyle reflects the value system of the world.

In the opening to his letter, John made the clear point that anyone can claim to be a Christian, but their life choices show whether that claim is true. If being a Christian strictly means “being a follower of Jesus Christ”, only those who are walking along a path Jesus would walk can honestly say they are Christian. It is the walk that validates the talk.

Follow the terms: “If we say…”

Claiming we know Jesus isn’t the same as knowing Jesus. Saying we have heard of Him and know of Him isn’t the same as surrendering our daily choices to Him and reaching for His hand to daily lead us. When He leads, we will be changed. Where He leads, we will live a distinct lifestyle from the world around us. Don’t be duped by talkers that aren’t walkers…If we follow Him, we won’t think we are better than others, but we will know His cleansing of us changed the deepest hungers within us. John wrote:

1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

John simply wrote: If we claim to be a Christian but walk like we aren’t – we just aren’t being honest – with ourselves and others around us. The daily practice of our faith is essential evidence of its claim over us. 1:6-7.

John faced the reality that some boldly claimed they were fellowshipping with Jesus, but they were walking according to the pattern of the dark world of the lost. He simply argued that both cannot be true! (1:6).

John’s words are clear: When we choose to follow Jesus, we are choosing a path that affects our daily life. We are choosing to live in a way that He would live. We are choosing to lock arms with others who have made that choice as well. Our cleansing is from Him and not from our work, but our lives show the relationship with Jesus in a way as profound as light piercing through a dark room. There is little ambiguity in the lifestyle of those who walk in relationship to Jesus, for we fellowship with other believers and ever humbly thank Jesus for cleansing us from our sin (1:7).

John argued: “If there isn’t a noticeable distinction between the world’s values and your values, you need to be concerned about whether you are lying to yourself about your faith.

Christianity isn’t simple theological assent to a set of historical events – the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus – it is surrender of choices to the One Who saved us. It is a change in life NOW, not simply a change in destination at DEATH. If that were not the case, John wouldn’t state that our faith should be seen in our daily walk.

Note that two issues were presented in the way we show our faith to the world.

• The first was a “walk in darkness” as opposed to a profound change toward a walk in the light of our relationship to Jesus.

• The second is our open willingness to walk through life together, counting on the cleansing work of the Savior.

It should be clear to the reader of his letter, then, that a Christian is one who was profoundly affected by their meeting with Christ, and is now a part of others who met Him. The fact is that Christianity wasn’t designed to be a lone journey. It wasn’t simply you and Jesus facing life. Coming to Christ means joining others who have come to Him, and seeking to reflect the powerful light of Jesus in a dark world.

The words of John penetrate deeply. Our nature has changed in our coming to Christ. Our hungers should change. Our companions should change as well. John continued with yet another lie some have been repeating within. He wrote:

If we claim we have no need of cleansing in Christ – we are self-deceived. We are in constant need for His forgiveness and renewal. 1:8-9

1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Apparently, John heard some in the faith community that were saying their salvation provided complete cleansing, so they no longer needed to battle with a sin nature in their daily choices. He remarked: “That is self-deception!” (1:8). There is a small possibility that John was addressing those who thought they never needed a Savior, but that doesn’t fit the context well, so I will simply dismiss that idea.

When we turn our attention to believers, however, there are two issues that often arise always when there is a call to holy living like the one John opened with:

First, that call has a tendency to distress some because they think that holiness implies perfection in our daily walk. Usually, this is a problem to the most responsible among us. (If you are the kind of person who apologizes for things someone else in your group did that had nothing to do with you, this may be a problem for you!)

The fact is that every believers fails to follow Jesus at times. We know that we don’t always do right, even if we are daily calling on the Spirit’s aid and working hard at submission. Does that mean we don’t really know God at all? Nothing is further from John’s mind. Encouragement to do right was not intended to make you feel worse. It wasn’t John’s purpose to cause guilt or angst, but rather to invite people to consistently and intentionally choose to follow Jesus in their daily life. The Gospel isn’t intended to spread guilt, but rather to bring us to freedom by bridging the gap fixed between God and the sinner. Telling people their value system would change when they are “in Christ” was a way to help them identify if they truly knew Jesus.

Perhaps a good way to think of the call to walk with Jesus is found in the imagery used by the Apostle Paul in the New Testament – that of a marriage. As believers, we are a part of the body of Christ, but we are also referred to as the “Bride of Christ.” This image makes our walk more understandable.

When we marry, we change our state from singleness, and become a part of the union with another. Our marriage is not only a singular choice, as in we “want to be married for a moment,” but rather the change of a state that must be demonstrated by continuous choice to act within that state. A marriage is not a simple attendance at a wedding – it is a daily choice to act out the vows made at the wedding ceremony. In the same way, the Gospel began a relationship, and it is one that implies ongoing choices to signal the initial choice was sincere.

Now, every analogy breaks down at some point, and our relationship with God through Christ cannot be summarized neatly is a short analogy without some limitations, but hopefully this helps to make the general idea more clear.

Second, there are some who rebuff calls to holiness because they understand the Gospel to give them license to live according to their desires without penalty.

There is a theology that was born from the conflict inside the strong-willed believer. This is the person who is most opposite of the “constantly guilty Christian” we discussed a moment ago, for they seem to celebrate a theological concept that allows guilt to be set aside regardless of current lifestyle or behavior. You will find them in many church circles. They are people who believe in Jesus but feel no particular need to act on that belief – and they offer a theological reason why they feel as they do.

Here is their line of logic in a brief summation: The end of verse seven promised: “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” If Jesus saved me from all my sin – past, present and future – as one covered by His blood, I may continue on my way through life with a perpetually clean account before God regardless of my choices after I am saved. After all, since there is “no condemnation” for me, I am in Christ (Romans 8) and I am assured Heaven because of the finished work of Jesus, why should I fret over my failings? Isn’t His death supposed to make me secure in my life? With such a refuge, why would I care about what I choose today? My walk has no bearing on my eternity.

There is some truth to that position, but there is also a serious flaw. Here is the central issue: Within each of us is a deep inner hunger for license to “live for self.” Every believer faces it, and every day brings a new challenge to surrender will to the Master. When that urge gets paired with the knowledge that Jesus made me completely clean, it can produce in us a problem for our daily walk. My old nature, lurking beneath the surface of my trained veneer, is ever enticed to follow the siren call of the fallen world around me, that lives in perpetual rebellion against God. A theology of forgiveness that immediately frees me from the need to care about sin sounds like a gift to one who doesn’t want to push against a sinful nature.

In the letter, the Apostle John asserted a truth to bring people back to the main thought behind the Biblical presentation of salvation – the Gospel offers us a walk with God. It is an error to think the center of the message of Christianity is to provide Heaven for people; it isn’t. It is to reconcile people to God. The central message of the Gospel isn’t about Heaven – it is about a relationship with the Living God through Christ’s work on the Cross.

Believers must remember the focal point of our destiny isn’t merely a tearless gaze upon shining streets of gold, but a future time of unending intimacy with God!

It is true that Jesus paid for all of our sin, and we stand faultless before God when we acknowledge the payment as fully sufficient. At the same time, Jesus paid for our sins on the Cross with the primary purpose of pulling us back into an intimate and personal relationship with God. When we treat our cleansed state in Christ as a license for an indulgent but guiltless life, we miss the whole point of salvation. We were saved to walk with Him. Thinking of salvation as a ticket to do as I please is a form of self-deception.

As a result, God provided a way to deal with sin in a believer’s life that includes coming back to Him for a renewal (1 John 1:9). The process begins with confession – a mere open agreement with God that what I did was self-focused and pulled me from a proper walk with Him. Pretending that my state of righteousness has become a license is no way to honor God with my life.

Not only that, but when we live like we don’t need Him, we live a lie. For those who may argue they don’t need a Savior, they are just plain wrong (1 John 1:10). John wrote:

1 John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

You cannot claim to be able to live as you please and yet have a vibrant walk with God. By the same token, you cannot claim you follow His Word if you live a theology that invites self-will over surrender. John continued:

1 John 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. 3 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.

He made clear that his desire was to share what he could to help the people grow in their faith and walk in truth. He wanted them to set aside sinful behavior and renew their walk with Jesus! He reminded them we have an advocate if we sin that will represent us (2:1) and He IS our payment (2:2). We can walk in assurance by walking in obedience.

When we try to hide that we have sinned, we disrupt, at least for a time, God’s use of our lives, and kill the growth of His grace within us! We remain in bondage instead of moving ahead in victory. It reminds me of a famous story:

“I PLEAD GUILTY!” The great “prince of preachers” Charles Haddon Spurgeon used to tell this story: “A certain ruler once boarded a galley ship. As he passed the crew of slaves, he asked several of them what their offenses were. Almost every man claimed he was innocent. They laid the blame on someone else or accused the judge of yielding to bribery. One young fellow, however, spoke out, ‘Sir, I deserve to be here. I stole some money. No one is at fault but myself. I’m guilty.’ Upon hearing this, the duke seized him by the shoulder and shouted, ‘You scoundrel, you! What are you doing here with all these honest men? Get out of their company at once!’ He was then set at liberty while the rest were left to tug at the oars.” The key to this prisoner’s freedom was the admission of his guilt.

John repeated the claim he made in 1 John 1:6-7. He reminded: “If we say we know Jesus, but walk as though we do not – this is a lie! (2:4).

1 John 2:4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:

Obedience is the prerequisite for completion in His love (2:5), for what we truly believe comes out in our lives. It is not the Sunday church us, but the Monday morning us that our children read as the “real us”. In fact, to drive home the point, someone quipped: “A hypocrite is a person who is not himself on Sunday.” Another man, an obvious skeptic, who’d apparently seen hypocritical Christian behavior wrote, “A Christian is a man who feels sorry on a Sunday for what he did on Saturday and is going to do on Monday.

We need to get past the surface of our lives and concern ourselves more with what God thinks than everyone else. We need to be honest. We aren’t nearly as good at covering our hypocrisy as we may think. Someone told me a story some time back that makes the point clear:

A 12-year-old boy was waiting for his first orthodontist appointment and was a bit nervous. Apparently he wanted to impress the dentist. On the patient questionnaire, in the space marked “Hobbies,” he had written, “Swimming and flossing.”

Yes, we really ARE that transparent sometimes!

John wasn’t done with the verbal misrepresentations of faith yet. He continued:

1 John 2:6 “…the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

He made the point that some say they live in relationship with Jesus. If this is true, it is proper to expect they live as He lived (2:6). There is a simple implied idea: We cannot live a different lifestyle with different priorities than Jesus but fit Jesus into that lifestyle – all the while claiming we are followers.

Unfortunately, hypocrisy is one of the most damaging events occurring in churches today. A businessman was returning home from a business trip. The plane pulled in, the passengers were dismissed and his wife met him at the gate. They made their way to the baggage claim area when an extremely attractive stewardess walked by. Suddenly, the husband came to life. Beaming, he said to the stewardess, “I hope we can fly together again, Miss Jones.” She grinned at him and walked away. Just then, his wife asked, “How did you know the name of that stewardess?” Husband plays it off, “Well, her name was posted up front in the plane, right under the names of the pilot and co-pilot.” You know what the wife said? “Oh really? How nice of you to notice… Tell me, what were the names of the pilot and the co-pilot?” BUSTED! The man’s hypocrisy was uncovered. His true motives were revealed.

Finally, John drove one final case home about people who speak in a way that shows something is wrong inside. He wrote:

1 John 2:9 The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. 10 The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

We simply cannot say they are walking in fellowship with God, but allow unrepentant hate to reign in our hearts with our brother. Only those who love their brother are really walking in the light where they won’t trip (2:10). The one who continually hates his brother is in darkness, and is blind and fumbling around. The bottom line is this: We can’t ask God to forgive us of our sin and not forgive those who have hurt us!

John reminded us of the wonder of the Gospel message, and followed that with a survey of truths that should indicate the difference between a real follower and a fake.

In the last part of the lesson, John reminded us of the flock – those who were truly following Jesus.

I love that John was a Shepherd. His writing wasn’t simply about the problems of the faith – but about the PEOPLE of God’s Kingdom. He knew were his words were directed, and targeted them to real people following a real Savior. He wrote:

1 John 2:12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. 14 I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

He remarked:

• I am writing to believers – those forgiven by Jesus’ work (2:12).
• I am writing to eye witnesses (he called “fathers”) because some were around to know Jesus himself (2:13a).
• I am writing to young winners that have seen victory in Him (2:13b).
• I wrote to discerning children who know what our Father is like (2:13b).
• I wrote to fathers with track records of following (2:14a), to young men who have been steadfast in peril and to all who have God’s Word hidden in their heart (2:14b).

There are markers that indicate whether someone is truly part of the body of Christ – or not. They aren’t just words – they are actions. They are choices that reflect values, standards and deeply held truths.

Christianity can be taught, but on closer inspection, it is mostly lived. Our commitment to Jesus makes our walk different. It isn’t FORCED. It is a joy. It can be seen in the way we make the most of today.

Famed educator Booker T. Washington recalled the “entrance exam” that earned him a place at the Hampton Institute in Virginia as a young man. The head teacher ordered Washington to take a broom and sweep the classroom. Because he knew this was his chance, he swept the room three times and dusted the furniture four times. When the teacher returned, she inspected the floor closely and ran her handkerchief over the woodwork. Unable to find a speck of dust anywhere, she said, “I guess you will do to enter this institution.” Washington later said that this was the turning point of his life. Don’t waste your time waiting and longing for large opportunities which may never come. But faithfully handle the little things that are always claiming your attention. F.B. Meyer.

Guarding the Path: “Facing the Plague of Nagging Doubts” – Judges 7 Part 2

Concept image of a lost and confused signpost against a blue cloudy sky.
Concept image of a lost and confused signpost against a blue cloudy sky.

Have you ever been plagued by doubt? If you say “No!” I doubt that I can believe you. Do you know why? Because doubt is based on our experience. It is a self-protection mechanism within us. We don’t want to face disappointment anew, so doubt protects us from becoming gullible and being taken in too easily.

Doubt in and of itself is not evil. It helps make you reflective. It slows down your response in the face of danger. At the same time, doubt can lead you to stop when you should be moving forward. Doubt throttles down action that shows trust. Because of that, believers sometimes feel they must hide their doubt from the God they serve. The problem is, God already knows what you are doing. The other problem is such hiding indicates you may not believe God is as He truly is. Let me see if a principle from the life of Gideon helps with this…

Key Principle: The believer who honestly shares with God personal doubts (but continues to follow God anyway) will find God both compassionate and understanding.

God doesn’t get easily ticked off about our lack of faith in Him – as long as it doesn’t stop us from obedience. The lesson today will help us grapple with doubt in an open way before God. In truth, the best single word to recall the whole of the Gideon story in your mind may simply be the word “doubt”.

If you look carefully, you will discover the account of the ongoing dialogue between Gideon and God is one filled with his objections and doubts – yet God was patient and used him. I don’t believe any President would keep a chairman of the joint chiefs if they pushed back so much about so much – but God isn’t like us. Look at Gideon’s track record with God:

First, at the scene of his call to serve, Gideon objected to God’s behavior. What God was doing in his time of history didn’t make sense to him (6:13-14).

Judges 6:13 Then Gideon said to him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

Second, and still in the scene of his call, Gideon’s second objection seemed to be concerning God’s choices. He felt others were more qualified than he to lead Israel to freedom (6:15):

Judges 6:15 He said to Him, “O Lord, [h]how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.”

Third, Gideon needed reinforcement on the authenticity of the messenger as from the Most High, or he wouldn’t move forward to rescue Israel. He objected to God’s call without surety that it was from God. It is on this issue that Gideon was stuck over and over.

It is almost as if the story of Gideon in the Bible was mostly about following God through a doubt-ridden time.

The reason it may seem that way when you read it, is because that is EXACTLY what the narrative is designed to teach. Watch as Gideon keeps requesting confirmed authentication, beginning with Judges 6:17:

6:17 So Gideon said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who speak with me. 18 Please do not depart from here, until I come back to You, and bring out my offering and lay it before You.” And He said, “I will remain until you return.

Gideon got his authentication, and God tapped him for an immediate project that night. He was told to destroy two pagan shrines, and he did so WITHOUT A QUESTION. God used that obedience to spread the name and reputation of Gideon to both his village, and the whole surrounding tribe!

To be fair, Gideon didn’t always object when God moved him to lead or serve. The record shows clearly that when he KNEW without a doubt that God was calling, he was willing to act decisively. He would obey, but he just couldn’t always make sense of God’s direction or God’s selection. Can you sympathize with him?

I am speaking to the man who is sensing that a change is coming in his job. He knows there is more he can and should contribute, but there hasn’t been obvious opportunity to grow in the job in a way that allows him to utilize his abilities. He knows there are better opportunities. How can he know if God wants him to take a chance and make a change?

I am thinking specifically of the young woman who was hoping that, by now, “Mr. Right” might come along. She believes God has tugged her heart to being a mother and a wife, but the prospects have been ever so thin. She wants to follow God’s leading, but she feels a bit stuck where she is.

I am wondering about the man who walked out of the doctor’s office unsure of the meaning of the diagnosis and how it will affect him and his family. He was blind-sided by the whole moment, and is struggling with God to find the meaning behind it all.

The record of Gideon’s struggle was given for all of them. Each one is facing a kind of confusion and disappointment that is hard to work through. Yet, God doesn’t want them to back away from Him and hide. The believer who honestly shares with God their doubts (but continues to follow God anyway) will find God both compassionate and understanding.

Follow the account of his life in the text a bit further. A little later in Gideon’s life (the time is not specified in the passage) the Spirit of God tugged once again on the heart of Gideon. He used a warrior’s trumpet to call the tribal force together (6:33). He sent messengers to the neighboring northern tribes (6:34). After he set the gathering in motion, he had some time to think about what lay ahead… and those nagging doubts rose again in his heart. The writer reminds:

Judges 6:36 Then Gideon said to God, “If You will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken, 37 behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken.

The story unfolds TWO separate incidents where Gideon requests signs for authentication. One was a wet fleece and dry ground, the second a dry fleece and wet ground. It appears from the narrative the test took place over two nights, and God obliged his request. On the second morning, the test made clear:

Judges 6:40 God did so that night; for it was dry only on the fleece, and dew was on all the ground.

After Gideon saw the signs, chapter seven reminds us that he swiftly moved on the command to call Israel to war. The chapter began with the fact that he and his men “rose early” and moved into position in the Harod Valley by the spring. If you have been following our story, you know that God tested Gideon back – calling his army too large to clearly deliver them without the possible misunderstanding that the people’s help was integral in the victory. God dismissed all but 300 men from the battlefront.

When we pick up our reading of the story again, the once swollen camp of Israel was now reduced to a skeleton crew, and night was drawing near. As the hundreds of campfires of Midianite and Amalekite warriors lit up on the sloping hill above the tiny Israelite squad, Gideon had yet another fear attack that overcame him. The text recorded it this way:

Judges 7: 9 Now the same night it came about that the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hands. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp, 11 and you will hear what they say; and afterward your hands will be strengthened that you may go down against the camp.” So he went with Purah his servant down to the outposts of the army that was in the camp.

Note several important details about the account:

• First, God gave Gideon a command – go down to the camp. God made perfectly clear to him what He expected. Obedience or rebellion appeared to be the choice.

• Second, God made a promise – the victory was assured for His people. He spoke of the victory was a “done deal” – I HAVE GIVEN their camp into your hands.

• Third, God offered an encouragement – if Gideon still needed more reinforcement, God offered a plan to meet his need. In the face of fear he was to find a friend and take a walk behind enemy lines and listen to the men around the camp fires. If he took the time to observe up close what was happening, he would be reinforced and ready to fight.

The way the passage is translated, it sounds like God offered an option only IF Gideon was too afraid – but that isn’t the real picture. The structure of the sentences is such that we should read it this way:

I want you to go and fight, and I promise that you’ll win. Because you are afraid, I want you to find encouragement by taking a friend on a walk and observing something…

Don’t skip over the ironic way the passage tell you of the size of the enemy:

Judges 7:12 Now the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the sons of the east were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore.

The point of explaining the number in terms of locusts and counting camels like sand kernels was simply this: there were too many enemies to even begin to count effectively. Yet, if you look down a few verses (7:16-18) – in the case of Gideon, God pared down his number, and offered the reader a strict inventory of what He used: The weapons blessed of the Lord included:

• 300 trumpets made from rams horns
• 300 earthen water pitchers
• 300 torches concealed inside the water pitchers.
• 300 swords

The size of the problem from God’s perspective isn’t the same as from our view.

To Gideon’s enemy, with their thousands of Midianites, each with camels and swords, they were an overwhelming force. As he and his servant Purah journeyed into the Midianite camp, Israel’s commander was so insignificant, no one would even ask him why a local was drifting from fire to fire in the dark of the night. The Midianites looked unstoppable!

• To Gideon, there was no way he felt significant in front of the sprawling encampment that spread across the valley onto the lower slopes of the Hill of Moreh. He stood no chance taking on such a massive number of enemies. If they chose to turn on him in the camp, he was finished.

That’s what insurmountable problems do. They make us feel small, overwhelmed and defeated.

Now stop and consider the view the Lord of Creation had of the same event. From beyond the quintillion galaxies, He peered to one tiny solar system. He focused on one small planet spinning around a star. On a tiny speck of that rock in space, He observed a minuscule landscape on which His people were dwelling. Bearing down further, He saw the sloping hillside and watched two men walk from the Israelite camp to the Midianite one.

I am not being poetic. The point is that is how God sees your problem. It looks HUGE to you – but not to Him. You cannot imagine how much greater God is in size than your insurmountable issue! The vastness and magnificent power of God should help balance you in times of depression against an unstoppable foe.

Don’t lose track of what God did. In a story where a hero saves his people, you’re usually dealing with a person of strength, great intellect, personal charisma and beauty, or enormous material resource. Gideon was none of these. At the beginning of the story he seemed a bitter and weak farmer, but in God’s hands he was transformed into an effective warrior and leader. One chapter into his story, you can easily forget that he really wasn’t that different. What changed was God walking with him through his days and nights. What changed wasn’t new muscle – just new trust… and that wavered constantly. What he experienced was a personal revival of sorts.

Underlying Gideon’s constant need for assurance was his basic temperament. Think about what he said when God first met him, because it revealed the kind of man he was at his core. He hid in a hole, because he felt overwhelmed by the size of a problem around him. Yet, it was more than that. Two things appeared to contribute profoundly to his cowardice: bitterness and timidity. Locked into a situation he couldn’t control, Gideon expressed open frustration because God was not coming through for him. Worse than that, Gideon felt that he had little or nothing to offer to help improve things. Have you ever faced a time when the problems were so large, and your resources so outmatched, that you honestly wondered what God was thinking putting you into something like that? God is always doing the very same thing – He is telling His story.

His view is greater, and His purposes are more vast and interconnected than we can perceive from where we are.

Take a walk with Gideon and Purah. Notice that God didn’t tell Gideon to go alone. The sheer size of the enemy camp couldn’t have meant that God intended Purah to protect his commander. That wasn’t the reason he went with a friend. The truth is, most of the deep lessons of God are learned within, but bonded more firmly to our hearts when a friend can remind us of what God did later. Taking a friend on a journey to the place where God overcame your doubts will help both of you!

This week I read about one of the dynamic preachers in America from my school years – Dr. E.V. Hill. I first heard him when I was in Bible college. He was an energetic African-American pastor who had a congregation in Los Angeles. Since those days, just a few years ago he lost his wife of many years of marriage after her battle with cancer. Hill often describes his wife as a partner that made him a better man. He makes the point by telling some stories of how his wife made a difference in him:

He noted that in their early years of marriage he was a struggling preacher and had trouble earning a living. At one point, he decided to invest his family’s scarce resources over his wife’s objection in a local service station. His wife was right and eventually the station went under. It was a critical time in the life of E.V. Hill and his wife would have been justified in saying: “I told you so.” But when E.V. Hill told his wife what happened she just replied; “All right.” When he came home he was expecting his wife to give him the business. Instead she said: “I’ve been doing some figuring. I figure that you don’t smoke and you don’t drink. If you smoked and drank, you would have lost as much as you lost in the service station. So it’s six in one hand and a half-dozen in the other. Let’s forget it.” She could have shattered her husband’s confidence, but she told her husband what he needed to hear: “I still believe in you.”

A few nights later E.V. Hill came home and his wife had prepared a candlelight dinner. She said, “We’re going to eat by candlelight tonight.” He went to the bathroom to wash his hands and the light would not turn on. He felt his way to the bedroom and flipped another switch. Darkness prevailed. He went back to the dining room and asked his wife why the electricity was off. She began to cry. She said, “You’re working so hard and we’re trying, but I didn’t have enough money to pay the light bill. I didn’t want you to know about it, so I thought we would eat by candlelight.”

On another occasion Dr. Hill said his wife was his protector. He had received death threats due to his working with gangs in the inner city. One night he received notice that he would be killed the next day. He went to sleep and woke up thankful to be alive. But he noticed his wife was gone. He looked outside and saw the car was also gone. His wife came driving up and he asked where she had been. She said it occurred to her that the bad guys might put a bomb in his car and if he got in it the next morning he’d be blown away. So she got up and drove the car all night. E.V. Hill’s wife demonstrated unconditional love in marriage. She practiced the marriage covenant, “In good times and in bad times…sickness and in health, richer or poorer.”

Sometimes we need a friend to journey with us as God leads us to change…

Stoop and warm your hands beside the fire while men eat a meal and wait for the sunrise sounds of a battle breaking forth. Some men had eaten hours before and drifted off to sleep. Others were standing beside the fire pits talking. Apparently, one man awoke in his sleep roll and came back out to the fire…The account continued:

Judges 7:13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was relating a dream to his friend. And he said, “Behold, I had a dream; a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down so that the tent lay flat.” 14 His friend replied, “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and all the camp into his hand.”

Two men discussing a dream doesn’t seem like enough to erase the sense of enormity of the Midianite camp. Their discussion together did NOTHING to add soldiers back to Gideon’s command. The barley cake dream wasn’t anything of strategic value. No secrets were uncovered, no dramatic weaknesses of his opponents were exposed. Yet, in spite of all of that, Gideon was renewed, encouraged and strengthened. God told him the same thing the men concluded – Gideon would win. Somehow, when he heard it from the mouth of a sleepy Midianite it was more powerful.

God knew that His power was easily able to topple the Midianite coalition forces regardless of their size. God didn’t intend to leave the task to Gideon – He intended to do it WITH him and THROUGH him. That is the way God works. What needed to change for Gideon to lead the troops was his perspective. Pastor Joey Nelson reminds us of that perspective change:

Do you remember the four-minute mile? They’d been trying to do it since the days of the ancient Greeks. Someone found the old records of how the Greeks tried to accomplish this. They had wild animals chase the runners, hoping that would make them run faster. They tried tiger’s milk: not the stuff you get down at the supermarket, I’m talking about the real thing. Nothing worked, so they decided it was physically impossible for a human being to run a mile in four minutes. Our bone structure was all-wrong, the wind resistance was too great, our lung power was inadequate. There were a million reasons. Then one day one human being proved that the doctors, the trainers, and the athletes themselves were all wrong. And, miracle of miracles, the year after Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile. And the year after that three hundred runners broke the four-minute mile!

I don’t want to seem trite and I don’t want to be dismissive of your fear and frustration if you are facing an enormous challenge. You aren’t Gideon. You don’t have a promise that you will get good news from the next doctor’s visit, that your son’s addiction problem will instantly evaporate, or that your debts will somehow be forgotten. Here is what I do know God has promised you…

2 Peter 1:3 “…seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

Listen closely, and if you let them, you will hear the sound of these words growing courage within you.

• God HAS given to Jesus followers what you need to navigate life in a godly way. You don’t have to win every fight – you have to follow Him through every fight.

• God HAS given to Jesus followers a deep and real knowledge of Himself. He is not sadistic or cruel, and He has shared within you even some hidden things of Himself.

• God HAS given to Jesus followers an escape from the “living for today” rat race world we come out from – and helped us see the vast eternal landscape.

Take courage, dear one. God has given you something that will get you through the darkness. It is not a complex plan. It is nothing more than grasping His hand and following His directions – but that is more powerful than a non-believing world can imagine.

What did Gideon do when he heard the story of the rampaging barley cake? He left the campfire, dropped to his knees in the dark of night, and bowed his face to the ground. He met God again. He saw his smallness. He was surrounded by his overwhelming enemy. None of that changed. HE changed inside. He took a moment to see the whole situation from God’s lofty place. The text shares:

Judges 7:15 When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has given the camp of Midian into your hands.”

You can hear the urgency in Gideon’s voice. He was now sure that what God told him, God would do. His view of God’s faithfulness was bolstered by his experience. He apparently devised a plan on the walk back, and shared it with his men when he returned. Look at Judges 7:16:

Judges 7:16 He divided the 300 men into three companies, and he put trumpets and empty pitchers into the hands of all of them, with torches inside the pitchers. 17 He said to them, “Look at me and do likewise. And behold, when I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I and all who are with me blow the trumpet, then you also blow the trumpets all around the camp and say, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon. 19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the pitchers that were in their hands. 20 When the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing, and cried, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 Each stood in his place around the camp; and all the army ran, crying out as they fled. 22 When they blew 300 trumpets, the Lord set the sword of one against another even throughout the whole army; and the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the edge of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 The men of Israel were summoned from Naphtali and Asher and all Manasseh, and they pursued Midian.”

There are many ideas about what he was doing, but I suspect the one put forth by some Israeli military leaders about the scene is the most accurate. The theory is that the normal army would not attack at night (as the hazards increase between the various squads), but if they faced extraordinary circumstances and did attack, they would issue their men similar torches to identify various squads. If each squad were numbered at one hundred fighters, one torch would represent one hundred men. In that scenario, the exposed torches would confirm to the Midianite and Amalekite forces they were facing some 30,000 men. That probably seemed reasonable to those who saw the army before it was paired down by God!

Look at what he instructed the men to do.

• First, he told them to spread out around the camp in three focal positions and keep an eye on what he was doing. They were to mimic his actions fully.

• Second, he told them to respond to his trumpet blast by blasting their own from their various positions. This would give the impression of a vast force, as the trumpets are used to direct men. The Midianites and Amalekites didn’t know there were no men to go with the trumpets!

• Third, he told each man to cry out: “For the Lord and for Gideon!” There is no way he did this to bolster himself to the men. The point of the saying came from what he heard from the man with the barley cake dream. If that is what people were fretting, that is what his men needed to be saying!

• Fourth, he told them to smash the pots and show their torches. The appearance produced a scramble in the camp. Men took out their swords and began swinging into the darkness. This is the reason night attacks weren’t normally directed – people hurt their own comrades by accident. As the tumult grew, the Midianites and Amalekites – men who were trained in “raid fighting” and not standing warfare – tried to break ranks and flee into the dark. Even doing that caused others to be trampled and crushed.

Some escaped the valley, and Gideon didn’t want their leaders to get back to the desert and re-form for another raiding party. The text continues for the rest of the chapter and tells of how the other tribes joined the search, found and executed the enemy leaders (7:24-25).

The point of the story was that God not only gave the tribes of Israel victory, but He did it while dealing with a doubting and questioning leader. Gideon asked questions and was honest about his fear and doubt – but he didn’t turn and walk out on God. He kept pressing ahead even when doubts plagued him. Here is what we learn…

The believer who honestly shares with God personal doubts (but continues to follow God anyway) will find God both compassionate and understanding.

Author Gayle Thompson wrote this past summer:

Hillary Scott, one-third of the hit trio Lady Antebellum, surprised fans when she announced the release of “Thy Will,” the first single from her and her family’s faith-based album, Love Remains, in April of 2016. The song, Scott later revealed, was written with Emily Wiseband and Bernie Herms following her own personal tragedy, when a much-wanted pregnancy ended in miscarriage. Below, Scott recalls the emotional day on which the trio of tune smiths penned “Thy Will.”

When we were on tour [in the summer of 2015], my husband Chris [Tyrrell] and I just decided we wanted to expand our family. We got pregnant in July and then miscarried in September. And so, “Thy Will” is about me talking to God and asking Him why — like, “Okay, I thought this was a go. We prayed about it. We were going to bring Eisele a sibling,” and for all of it to just kind of not happen. It was my honest conversation with God about, why do bad things happen? But, ultimately, I trust Your will for my life and that it’s all going to be okay…Truly, I believe, [the song] became a pass-through for a message that was a lot bigger than just my own specific thing that I was going through…

The song is called “Thy Will” by songwriters BERNIE HERMS, HILLARY SCOTT, EMILY LYNN WEISBAND.

I’m so confused – I know I heard you loud and clear. So, I followed through. Somehow I ended up here – I don’t wanna think I may never understand that my broken heart is a part of your plan.

When I try to pray – All I’ve got is hurt and these four words… Thy will be done, Thy will be done, Thy will be done.

I know you’re good – But this don’t feel good right now. And I know you think of things I could never think about. It’s hard to count it all joy, Distracted by the noise, Just trying to make sense of all your promises.

Sometimes I gotta stop – Remember that you’re God and I am not, So… Thy will be done, Thy will be done, Thy will be done. Like a child on my knees all that comes to me is Thy will be done

I know you see me. I know you hear me, Lord. Your plans are for me Goodness you have in store. So, thy will be done. Thy will be done.

It sounds like Hillary got peace, even though she didn’t get an answer to her question as to why this happened. In the end, she learned that God could handle her doubts. She took her pain to God, and He gently held it in His hands.

The Search is Over: “Discovering the Painful Truth” – Ecclesiastes 1-2

u2It seems that every generation has a writer, whether lyricist or poet, who expresses another form of the same thought: “We were made for more and we know by the yearning inside that doesn’t seem to find fulfillment in the things of this earth.” From Augustine to C.S. Lewis, from Bono to the Rolling Stones – this truth has re-emerged every few decades. For my generation, it was probably most profound in the words of the Irish rock group “U2” in their song “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for” from their 1987 album. The song has been critically acclaimed and is considered one of the best of that era. Bono’s hard-pressed vocals are one reason, to be sure. Yet, there is something more enduring about the song than just outstanding vocal parts. It seems the song lands on a deep sentiment embedded in most all its hearers: we have a deep inner itch for something this world doesn’t seem to scratch. The song bellows into the night about the reality that the bard has experienced much of life – but he still hasn’t found the experience that could satisfy his deepest longing.

He laments the fact that ultimate satisfaction doesn’t seem attainable in this world. His choice is to cynically give up, or keep searching.

The thought isn’t original to the lyricist, but it is a truth that strikes a cord, over and over, in every place it is exposed. C.S. Lewis articulated the same idea in his book Mere Christianity, where he framed one of his many arguments for the existence of God upon on our dissatisfied state as it regards our deepest longing. Listen to his basic argument:

A baby feels hunger; well there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim; well there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire; well there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book III, chap. 10).

Lewis’s argument was reframed by the philosopher Peter Kreeft this way:

Every natural innate desire corresponds to some real object that can satisfy that desire, but there exists in us a desire which nothing in time, nothing on earth and no creature can satisfy. Therefore there must exist something more than time, earth, and creatures which can satisfy this desire. This something is what people call “God” and “life with God forever.” (Peter Kreeft & Ronald Tacelli, Handbook of Christian Apologetics (Downers Grove, IL, 1994), pp. 78-81, also see his “The Argument from Desire” on http://peterkreeft.com/topics/desire.htm (accessed Jan. 1, 2006).

This isn’t a new idea at all.

• In the Confessions, St. Augustine said it this way: “Thou, O Lord hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee

• The philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal offered it this way: “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.

“All that is well and good,” you say. “But, we didn’t come here for a philosophy lecture!” My response is, “Perhaps you did!” As you open your Bible to the book of Ecclesiastes, you will find the Hebrew title shows up in the first verse, and it suggests an oration from a philosophical mind, albeit one filled by the Spirit of God. The book opens:

1:1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

The term Qoheleth is translated preacher, and refers to an orator of important truths. In a sense, what you will learn today is the conclusions of an incredible mind that searched carefully for an answer. In another sense, you will be listening to words that dropped from God’s very heart onto the page.

I should warn you about the truth you are about to hear, to help ease the sting of it. Bono, Augustine and Pascal all agreed with Solomon. They all shared a truth that is not at all fun to encounter until you have found the resolution to the problems it presents. That truth is…

Key Principle: After searching the world for meaning – we have to admit it cannot be found here. Life has meaning; it just isn’t clear without Heaven’s perspective.

In a nutshell, the truth is: If you are a deeply reflective person, you can’t find lasting satisfaction on the earth – it isn’t here. It exists, and you can find it – but you have to look where it is, and not where it is not.

S0000146 School of Athens--detail of Plato and Aristotle. Image licenced to Kathy Nakamura ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA by Kathy Nakamura Usage : - 3000 X 3000 pixels (Letter Size, A4) © Scala / Art ResourceThis problem has plagued deep thinkers for ages. My favorite picture is in the Raphael Room of the Vatican Museum, and is called the “School of Athens”. It is a graphic illustration of the search for truth, meaning and significance. The two men walking in the center recall Plato (the older) and Aristotle. Because Aristotle trusted observation and empiricism over all things, he points to the earth, claiming that TRUTH is found by observation of things physical. Because Plato found truth in the metaphysical, he is pointing to the Heavens. The tension between the two was well known even long ago. Solomon had long before settled the issue, but the two walking Greek philosophers weren’t exposed to God’s Word concerning the place to find what you are looking for. We have that opportunity as we look into the record Solomon left for us…

 

Solomon opened with his Observation of a Key Truth (1:1-3)

1:1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” 3 What advantage does man have in all his work, Which he does under the sun?

Solomon pursued many things in his life – just as we all do. For most of us, our first pursuit is the quest to get our thumb into our mouth! As we grow, our quest expands to being able to use a bathroom dependably, and (some time later) to learn to drive. Life is filled with quests, accomplishments and struggles to get what we want. Underlying the quests of fortune, fame, power or pleasure, there is a singular pursuit – that of MEANING.

Without meaning, the other ends just keep us busy on the way, without any unifying significance.

The truth is: If you really think about it, you know you were made for more than what is on this earth, and what can be experienced in a mere century in an ever-flawed body. Your life wasn’t designed to fleet by without purpose – it was designed to MEAN something. Solomon’s opening doesn’t sound all that inspiring!

First, let’s get our mind around who the writer of the original record was.

• He was a Preacher – so he at least thought he had something to share you may need to know.

• He was a King – so he has had more experiences in his collection than many of us can claim. He had the resources to test his hypothesis and time to think about it, because he wasn’t trying to keep children from wandering onto the pool deck or trying to keep his boss happy all week long.

His message: “Life is vain” was probably no more popular in antiquity than today– but his first hearers knew he offered more wisdom and experience than anyone around him.

His premise is tough: “Life under the sun has no meaning.”

No matter what you have heard, he was absolutely right. It doesn’t. Search, and you won’t find it. That is what most people are doing. Don’t get lost in the words…The point of his observation is not that life has no meaning, but that the pursuit of meaning is at the heart of our life, and the answer isn’t found on our century long journey of experiences on a broken earth. That is his key observation that acts as a gift to us.

Listen to the way he groans about the meaningless and monotonous life of a rich and reflective man (Ecclesiastes 1:4-7):

Ecclesiastes 1:4 A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever. 5 Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises there again. 6 Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns. 7 All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again.

Look at his observations:

• People come and go, and the most important people of today will be dust tomorrow.

• The cosmos operates the way it does, and little we do has impact on the process.

• The winds blow and we don’t control them – or much of anything.

• The earth seeps from below, only to rush back to the sea – and little we do changes any of it.

With every breath, you hear it. We don’t seem to count that much. We are here today, and gone tomorrow. That CAN’T be all there is to life!

Solomon continued with the sense of unsatisfied accomplishment (1:8-11).

Ecclesiastes 1:8 All things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing. 9 That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there anything of which one might say, “See this, it is new”? Already it has existed for ages, Which were before us. 11There is no remembrance of earlier things; And also of the later things which will occur, There will be for them no remembrance, Among those who will come later still.

Again, you feel the weightiness behind his words…

• Life is tough and leaves you exhausted.

• No matter what you have, you always want more.

• Nothing seems to change. It is the same problems, generation after generation.

• When we think we have found something new, it shows itself to have all the same issues as the old things we had before. In one way we improve life, and in another we create problems we didn’t once have.

• We work really hard to build something, but it doesn’t last and no one recalls who did all the work anyway!

Our lives slip away and we don’t seem to know why we spent so much, worked so hard, accomplished to much – and then were largely forgotten anyway.

Years ago on a TV show, a guest appeared that was a body builder. As he entered the stage with his huge muscular body the crowd went crazy as the body builder began to flex his muscles and show his power. The first question asked of him was this: “What do you use all those muscles for?” Without answering, the body builder again stood up and began flexing his muscles while the crowd cheered wildly. A second time, the question was asked, “What do you do with those muscles?” Again, the body builder flexed his muscles and the crowd became almost ecstatic. After asking three times, “What do you do with all those muscles?” the body builder just sat in silence. He had no answers. The man was all power but his power had no purpose other than to show off and bring attention to himself.

In the face of what felt like a meaningless life full of unsatisfying accomplishments, Solomon set out on a search for solutions to the apparent lack of meaning (Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:11).

He started by taking the whole pursuit seriously and making a personal commitment to search (Ecclesiastes 1:12-13a)

Ecclesiastes 1:12 “I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven…”

Note this wasn’t a light approach to find answers. He used rich wisdom and the best apparatus for exploration that was available in his time. He recognized the size of the task, and didn’t offer less than his best focus and effort. At the same time, he knew immediately there were limitations to his search. He wrote:

Ecclesiastes 1:13b “…It is a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. 4 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind. 15 What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted.”

He admitted up front three things:

• The problem of man’s meaning isn’t a simple one.

• The lack of meaning seemed obvious.

• He couldn’t change what was – he could only uncover the truth of what it was.

Solomon began the search with three personal experiments (1:16-2:10)

First, he chose to try to find meaning in the world of learning.

He sought practical knowledge that could lead him to lasting satisfaction (1:16-18). Like many who have sought degrees, one after another, he posited:

Ecclesiastes 1:16 I said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind. 18 Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.

He said, in effect, I took on the quest through academic learning. I observed, studied, rehearsed and learned. I listened to the grand debates and sought the deep words of the sages – but some of them sounded a bit crazy! Worse yet, the more I knew about life, the worse I felt. As I learned of the depths of the quagmire of humanity, I just got depressed – because I couldn’t fix it all.

Second, he sought to find meaning in physical pleasure and mirth (2:1-3).

He decided to back away from the academics for the Friday night party scene on campus. The booze flowed, and the heaviness washed away a bit…but not for long. He wrote:

Ecclesiastes 2:1 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility. 2 I said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” 3 I explored with my mind how to stimulate my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of folly, until I could see what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the few years of their lives.

Solomon said he launched into pleasure with the gusto of a modern American – but he found it wasn’t a deep and lasting fulfillment. He tried comedians, and they were funny, but the laughter didn’t stay with him long before the reality that fun was fleeting set back in. He looked at the time he spent on the pursuit and felt as guilty as you and I when we blow four hours online with nonsense memes and counted it a wasted afternoon! He thought he would experiment with wine and try to see how much was the right amount to really enjoy life – but he couldn’t find a lasting happiness in it all. He put on weight and had a lot of headaches – and thought this just wasn’t working!

Let’s face it, our natural state is one of dissatisfaction. We were once happy to have a TV with 3 channels, now there are over 500 and we can’t find something to watch! We went from black and white to wide flat screens and we still can’t be happy. They cannot make enough entertainment to make life satisfying. There are only so many rides at the park, only so many flavors of ice cream to savor, and only so many jokes to laugh at. After a while, it all blends together…

Seeing learning and pleasure as wasted time, he decided to build something (2:4-11).

Solomon decided monuments and accomplishments would be his saving grace. He recorded:

Ecclesiastes 2:4 I enlarged my works: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself; 5 I made gardens and parks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; 6 I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and I had home born slaves. Also I possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. 8 Also, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers and the pleasures of men—many concubines. 9 Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. 10 All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor. 11 Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun.

Look at what he did:

He built houses, farms, gardens, parks, ponds, forests, industries, herds and flocks, fine collections and commodities. He added to his reputation and was in all the best periodicals. He lived a thrilling and fast-paced life on the jet set. Yet, when the lights went out, when the crowds didn’t shout his name, when the last deal was done and the party was over – he felt empty. He didn’t feel full because people wanted to be him. He didn’t feel smart because he experienced so much. There he sat – unsatisfied and tired.

May I ask you something personal? What is it you think that you don’t have that would make you happy? Is it more money, more power, more pleasure, a bigger house, a nicer car, or greater recognition by your peers?

Solomon said you can’t buy find or make what you are seeking! If you found it, you would misuse it anyway…

A rich man was determined to give his mother a birthday present that would outshine all others. He read of a bird that had a vocabulary of 4000 words, could speak in numerous languages and sing 3 operatic arias. He immediately bought the bird for $50,000 and had it delivered to his mother. The next day he phoned to see if she had received the bird. “What did you think of the bird?” he asked. She replied, “It was delicious.” (Adapted from sermon central illustrations).

People pay a pile of money to speak to the world’s richest investors. If you could sit and chat with Solomon about his personal observations, wouldn’t that be worth your time? (2:12-26)

You cannot chat with him, but you can hear some of his deepest reflections. Take a look:

First, Solomon said: “My knowledge didn’t affect lasting changes to the world around me” (2:12-13).

Ecclesiastes 2:12 So I turned to consider wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except what has already been done? 13 And I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness.

I found that no one gained from my personal search what I gained, and it wouldn’t take mankind to a higher level. In fact, people picked off a few morsels of my understanding and torqued it to live their own way – it was nonsense.

Second, Solomon admitted, “Both the wise and the foolish live with the same issues so I don’t see the great advantage to understanding everything on earth.” (2:14-15).

Ecclesiastes 2:14 The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that one fate befalls them both. 15 Then I said to myself, “As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. Why then have I been extremely wise?” So I said to myself, “This too is vanity.” 16 For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And how the wise man and the fool alike die!

He made the honest point that smart and stupid people both face the same six foot hole at the end of life. Knowledge doesn’t make the end different at all – and it doesn’t guarantee anyone will even recall your unique contribution to the journey of men!

Third, Solomon noted: “When life is about what I have done it is bitter and hard, and even what I accomplished lost its luster.” (2:17-23).

Ecclesiastes 2:17 So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind. 18 Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me…

Solomon moaned on. He wasn’t thrilled with his experimental life. He hated it. It didn’t deliver. All that work, and there was no lasting satisfaction as he peered down at his gold retirement watch. It just wasn’t worth it.

Clarence Darrow was a famous criminal attorney who was a noted agnostic. Late in his life, he happened upon a young minister and befriended him. He talked with the younger man of his career and some famous trials in which he had argued. He said, “This has been an exciting life.” He was comfortable in fortune and guessed he was regarded as somewhat of a success by his peers. Then Mr. Darrow asked, “Would you like to know my favorite Bible verse?” His friend said, “Indeed I would.” Mr. Darrow said, “You will find it in Luke 5:5. ’We’ve toiled all the night and have taken nothing.’” He added, “In spite of my success that verse seems to sum up the way I feel about life.” No matter what one does in life, no matter what position he may obtain, no matter what he might come to own…if he leaves God out, the time will come when life itself will rise up and mock him with the word — nothing — nothing! (sermon central illustrations).

By now, you have probably about had enough of this depressing set of observations! Yet, Solomon didn’t leave us hopeless. He established that meaning wasn’t found HERE, but he didn’t believe meaning COULDN’T BE FOUND. It could. It was. There is ONE in Whom happiness and everlasting satisfaction can be found.

Solomon ended with the place where he discovered satisfaction:

Ecclesiastes 2:24 There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God. 25 For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him? 26 For to a person who is good in His sight He has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who is good in God’s sight. This too is vanity and striving after wind.

Look carefully at his words:

First, a fulfilled life begins when one acknowledges that his work, his labors, his very life came from God, and its purpose is found in His Creator’s design. God has the larger plan into which we are to fit. He asked: “Do you honestly think it is possible to be satisfied without finding it in what God made you for?” (2:24-25)

Second, a fulfilled life recognizes that God has made the world for us to enjoy INSIDE our relationship with Him. Without that relationship, we scurry around and work busily for things that won’t last and won’t satisfy. (2:26)

The Bible makes a simple claim, and you can test it with your life. After searching the world for satisfaction and meaning – you will they cannot be found here. Life has meaning; it just isn’t clear without knowing the Creator personally.

C.S. Lewis said it another way:

Our lifelong nostalgia, our longing to be reunited with something in the universe from which we now feel cut off, to be on the inside of some door which we have always seen from the outside, is no mere neurotic fancy, but the truest index of our real situation. ~ C.S. Lewis (The Weight of Glory, pg. 42)

She sat at the end of the counter, tired. The lines that etched from the outside of her eyes across her temples were like carved roads across a barren landscape. She looked worn behind the face of leather. She told of her life: three marriages, three children, five homes bought and sold, countless hours at work. She puffed her cigarette and looked out the window. “What was it all for?” She couldn’t believe that it was nearly over, and she still didn’t know.

The truth is, she may be your next door neighbor. She may be sitting a row ahead of you right now. She might even be you. Don’t waste your life on a useless pursuit to find meaning and satisfaction. Stop now. The answer isn’t here. Look up! It is only found in the One Who made you.

Before It Happens: “Forced to Give Account” – Joel 3

gavel1I don’t think I am exposing a secret when I say that it seems an election season brings out the worst in media personalities. Am I wrong? I mean, in all the years I have been watching elections, I have never seen so many so-called “news” outlets parsing stories to get an angle for or against a candidate as we are seeing in this one. Some of the media outlets should be on the payrolls of the candidates! Many reporters don’t simply have a “point of view” but they even seem to possess their own “facts on the ground.” How often you hear some inflammatory statement of one of the candidates repeated, and then you look up the whole speech in context and conclude the reporter wasn’t really listening to what the candidate said at all. It is happening on both sides, and it is making the process of examining either candidate effectively impossible.

The American people are not being served well by leaders who will easily dismiss the truth to win votes, nor by reporters who already know who we should vote for if we were as enlightened as they are. Honestly, neither side appears deeply concerned with the truth as much as they are about the next good sound bite. Yet, here is what I know… what we say and do cannot simply be swept away by misinformation. Each of us must remember there will come a day when we will be forced to give an account of our lives to our Creator. Jesus said it this way:

Matthew 12:36 “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.”

Have you thought much about that? Have you stopped to carefully consider that even when you have long forgotten, the record of your words and actions has already been recorded by the One Who misses neither detail nor true intent? For most of us, that is a sobering thought.

I mention accountability because we have been studying prophecy narratives about the “Day of the Lord” and made note along the way that a variety of judgments are a part of that record in the Book of Joel. This lesson is about the last chapter of that short prophecy. Perhaps a fair warning is in order: based on extensive study of the narrative of the Word, I have concluded this: the hour seems late in the human program. There is a timeline for the terminal generation in Heaven and the hints to the appearance of the end of our age seem very much like what I am reading in the daily news. I cannot be sure the day is soon, but I can say with certainty this…

Key Principle: God hasn’t left us unaware of what to look for, nor has He left us without something to do about the terminal generation. A time of giving a full account of our life is coming.

We must live as though God is watching, and our choices will be judged. I am well aware such talk is not popular in today’s western view. We want to hear about grace, about personal exceptions to every rule that allow for my personality, and about how my choices are truly my own while God’s job is to bless me no matter what I say or do.

That isn’t the mature believer – but that does represent many believers. In truth, I can fill rooms with believers who come from broken backgrounds and found love, security and joy in Jesus – and that is as it should be. Yet, I have never met a truly mature and surrendered follower of Jesus who was honestly unaware that our personal relationship with Jesus compels us to grow and change into His likeness and character by the power of God’s Holy Spirit. They know that Jesus calls us to change. He calls us to become distinct from the world around us. He calls us to reckon ourselves as servants of the Almighty. The one enduring mark of a profitable servant must be faithfulness.

In the last chapter of Joel, the prophet spoke of a time of judgment on both His long estranged wife, Israel, and the nations of the world. He presented an orderly look at a severe and precise conclusion to the days of Israel’s great tribulation. The problem is, it may not be obvious what the prophet is telling us…we may need some help. Joel was an early prophet, and his imagery may be a bit cryptic. Maybe looking at some words of the Savior that are less enigmatic will help us drop into Joel 3 with more understanding. Let me propose this…

To understand the timeline of Joel 3, let’s look at the same imagery as told by Jesus in places like Luke 21 and the cross references in Matthew 23-25.

Turn for a moment to the Gospel of Luke in chapter 21, where the good doctor opened the account reminding us of a time Jesus was watching people in the Women’s Court as they placed their offerings in the containers prepared for that purpose. The rich came (likely with great fanfare and gave (Lk. 21:1) and that contrasted with a very poor widow, who put in (in comparison) a tiny token. Jesus noted the woman gave the greater gift, because she gave sacrificially from her only coins that met her most basic needs, while the rich gave from the mere extras of their wealth (Lk 21:2-4).

In the context of expressions of worship and giving, surrounded by the grand Temple and Plaza with its impressive size and intricate design, Jesus prophesied a coming destruction before His closest followers – and that got their full attention! The Master warned them of the coming day when all the physical beauty of the building would be stripped away, and the Temple would come down (Luke 21:6).

For a Jew of His time, raised with this Temple at the center of their life, a natural negative reaction could be expected. One question, if you followed Jesus and trusted His prophetic sense in the scene would rise within a follower as to the timing of such destruction. Another serious challenge would rise as the purpose of such an event – what would God be doing allowing the religious center of His people to come apart. It would be, in modern Christian terms, to prophesying that God abandoned the church, and the world swarmed it, picking over the rubble. How could that be? The whole crowd probably wanted to know what to expect in regards to the collective Jewish national future in light of the words of the Savior regarding the Temple’s coming destruction. Jesus answered them about the days ahead:

In simple terms, the timeline of Jesus included five major items from the time of Gentile domination to the reemergence of Israel:

• There would be deliberate attempts to deceive Jews with false Messiahs (Lk. 21:8).

• Skip down to verse 12 (we will look at the intervening verses in a moment). There would be persecution because of the name of Jesus against the Jewish people (Lk. 21:12-18).

• Now look at the verses we passed by. There would be a stark rise in news of wars and natural convulsions (21:9-11).

• There would be an obsession in the nations with Jerusalem that culminated in military blockade (Lk. 21:20-24).

• Messiah will come and the people will be rescued and the land restored. Predicting an eventual military blockade against Jerusalem that will be devastating, Jesus made clear the troubles would only be ended when the Messiah returns. To make that clear, He said:

Luke 21:27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

The Prophecies of Events beyond the Return of Messiah

In addition to the prophecies concerning His return to rescue the people, Jesus spoke about His judgment of the nations in direct terms as well. Those can be found in much more complete terms in Matthew 24 and 25. To be sure, the setting for Matthew 25 must be considered after the return of Messiah, because of what Jesus said in places like Matthew 24:29ff (just before Matthew 25):

Matthew 24:29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

The time will be following the Great Tribulation with its powerful signs. Messiah will come to earth visibly and be seen by the nations. His return will terrify and trouble them, because it will be in overwhelming force. Whatever deception they previously believed, whatever taunting and mocking of His Word they have done – it will become instantly clear they were found on the wrong side of truth. Some people will MOVE TOWARD Him, because they have believed. Others will gather only to fight Him. In any case, the coming of the Son of Man will be neither silent, not unnoticed.

When He comes, the nations and their people will need to be dealt with. National leaders will suffer as a result of the armed offensive against Israel, and the destruction of their forces made clear in Revelation 16:16 and Revelation 19. Yet, many in those nations may have believed, and didn’t agree with the governmental response. Matthew 25 revealed the scene:

Matthew 25:31 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 All the nations (ethnos) will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

The text notes the coming, the enthroning, and the judgment. If you continue reading, Jesus noted the rewards and penalties coming out of that judgment.

• First, He spoke of those who would receive blessing in Matthew 24:34

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

• A few verses later, He spoke of those who would be judged negatively in Matthew 24:41:

“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;

The text also made clear the STANDARD by which the Son of Man judged the people of the earth on His return. Each was judged, positively or negatively, based on their response to the needs of His people during the hour of their greatest trouble. In 24:35-40, some treated Jesus well by treating His people well. In 24:42-46, others were harshly judged because they were cruel and hateful toward His people. To them, the text records Jesus’ voice:

Matthew 24:45 Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

David Levy wisely noted: “What is meant by judgment of the nations? The word nation (Greek, ethnos) refers [here] to the judgment of individuals within the country, not to the judgment of whole nations. The following reasons bear this out. First, the message of salvation presented in the Tribulation calls for an individual acceptance, not a national one. Second, there is no record in Scripture that whole Gentile nations will accept the preaching of the 144,000 Jewish witnesses. Third, in all the judgments presented in Scripture, it is the individual, not the nation, who is judged…[In addition] the term nation is used in other portions of the New Testament with reference to individuals (Mt. 6: 31– 32; 12: 21; 20: 19; 28: 19; Acts 11: 18; 15: 3; 26: 20).” – Levy, David. Joel: The Day of the Lord (Kindle Locations 909-915). The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

With those scenarios in mind, take a moment and look with me at what the Prophet Joel recorded about the judgment of the nations in Joel 3, and see if you can observe that five-part story (or at least the greatest part of it) emerging from the narrative.

The Timing of the Judgment of the Nations (3:1-2a)

The prophet began by explaining the timing relative to the work God was doing with the Jewish people. Israel is an effective CLOCK one can watch in order to follow the end times happenings. He prophesied:

Joel 3:1 “For behold, in those days and at that time, When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will gather all the nations And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.

The passage begins with an assumption, that we recall “where we left off in the story” at the end of Joel 2. God’s promise to His people didn’t stop at pain and rejection. The narrative at the end of Joel 2 promised an END to the pain of their darkness and shame before the nations. Note again the end:

Joel 2:25 “Then I will make up to you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten, … 26 … Then My people will never be put to shame. 27 “Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am the Lord your God, And there is no other; And My people will never be put to shame.

That record, then, reminds us we are at the point of the story when the Great Tribulation has given way to the Millennial Kingdom – with the arrival of the King – as recorded in Revelation 19 and 20. Note two other things about the verses.

First, there is a “gathering of the nations” referred to in Joel 3. At the end of the Great Tribulation, the remaining Jewish people found salvation in their Messiah, Who came rescuing them from impending doom brought on by the armies of the nations. The huge army that gathered against Israel, the Gospel and Israel’s God was summarily smashed by the Word of the Savior Who came in the clouds. That military obliteration dealt with the combined armies of the confederate nation states, but not with the judgment of the nations they represented, per se. (A reference of that can be found in the fifth of seven judgments we will study below). The last book of the Bible unfolds this story well:

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…19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet … 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

A second note should be made of Joel 3:2’s mentioning of a place in the “Valley of Jehoshaphat” – the place which was given in terms of its purpose “our Lord will Judge” (the meaning of Jehosophat). Since Zechariah 14:4 mentions a new valley created at the division of the Mount of Olives, this is a likely place where the Messiah holds court. Specific designation of its location isn’t given because it was not formed at the time of Joel.

The Terms of the Judgment of the Nations (Joel 3:2b-3)

Return with me to Joel 3, now that our timing is understood. The prophet continued with the specifics, or the TERMS of the judgment.

Joel 3:2b “…Then I will enter into judgment with them there On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; And they have divided up My land. 3 “They have also cast lots for My people, Traded a boy for a harlot And sold a girl for wine that they may drink.

The graphic version of the “terms of judgment” seems to regard the treatment of Israel from the Tribulation as Jesus explained further in Matthew 25. Note in Joel 3:2b the terms of God:

I will enter into judgment: God will be the judge. At the valley of “our Lord will judge” the ethnos gathered are brought to stand before the Holy One.

On behalf of my people: there is no doubt this referred to both the saved Jews entering the Millennium, and in particular the witnesses from among their number. Consider the cruelty of martyrdom of many of those witnesses. A question posed in practical terms, “Did you show support for such atrocities? Did you harbor them at the risk of YOUR life? Did you have a heart faith that was shown by your moral response and your acceptance of risk on their behalf? This is surely part of the “least of these” from Matthew 25 who, when cared for, become a testimony of our heart faith in Messiah.

And My inheritance, Israel: Another demonstration of belief in the Person and program of the Messiah is the aiding of the children of Israel during a time of international abhorrence, scattering from their land, and shattering over the security of their land and people. Just as Abraham was promised that God would “bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him” the terms appear to include the treatment of his children.

Cast lots for my people: Some Jews of the Tribulation Period appear to be a commodity, traded as slaves or chattel. Note the bartering that appears during this time as well as the things purchased – a prostitute and more drink. The fruits of the people in that business show them to be of the basest kind of people.

The judgment is one of works, the terms of which are the treatment of the holders of the Gospel (the Jewish witnesses of the Tribulation) and the Jewish people in their plight of dispersion, while hiding among the hostile and largely unprotected actions of the nations. The judgment of these sinful works show they reflected heart attitudes toward the revealed Word of God, and the Savior that Word teaches. Look at it this way:

People who care about the Bible and take it literally will be those most sensitive to the treatment of the Jewish people in that hour. The same appears true today.

The Targets of the Judgment (Joel 3:4-8)

Look closely at the verses that follow the terms of the judgment and you will see WHO will face sentencing for their misdeeds. It is likely this is not an exhaustive list, but rather a typical one – a sample of the people and deeds that are judged most harshly by God. That will become clearer as we look closely at the verses.

Joel 3:4 Moreover, what are you to Me, O Tyre, Sidon and all the regions of Philistia? Are you rendering Me a recompense? But if you do recompense Me, swiftly and speedily I will return your recompense on your head. 5 Since you have taken My silver and My gold, brought My precious treasures to your temples, 6 and sold the sons of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their territory, 7 behold, I am going to arouse them from the place where you have sold them, and return your recompense on your head. 8 Also I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a distant nation,” for the Lord has spoken.

What are you to Me: What have we in common? What is your tie to me?

O Tyre, Sidon and all the regions of Philistia? These named regions are those of the Philistine coast and the Phoenician coast in antiquity, and include Lebanon and the Gaza strip today. They appear in the prophecy to relate to the actions of those nations of long ago – that is, the peoples who willingly dispossessed the children of Israel of land in their desired territories given them by God (Joshua 13:1-7). Unable to supplant them (Judges 1:21-36), they became a constant “thorn” to Israel (Judges 2:1-6) trying to destroy them. These groups were a terrible affliction to Israel from the time of the Judges through the Divided Kingdom period (the time of Joel). The last recorded plunder by them was that of the invasion under the fifth of the kings of Judah in the Divided Kingdom, that of King Jehoram of Judah (who reigned about 8 years from about 848-841 BCE, as referenced in 2 Kings 8:16-9:37. He was the son of King Jehoshaphat, and a child of intermarriage with the household of Ahab in the north – a king of Judah who walked like a king of Israel because of family connections).

Are you rendering Me a recompense? Can you make up for your rebellion and your terrible harm committed against my people? After all, these were the “apple of God’s eye” (Zechariah 2:8) which simply means: “God is as sensitive about Israel as people are sensitive to their pupils!” If you smack someone in the pupil, they will react. There is little that can be done for the damage the nations caused against God’s people.

Swiftly and speedily I will return your recompense on your head. Don’t relax. This is coming down hard and fast upon you.

You worked to scatter My people, you stole the silver and gold that was given in worship to Me, said the Lord. You labored to break up My land and give it away to others. You sold My beloved children into slavery. What can you do now that I have caught you?

The Trick of the Judgment (3:9-11a)

The prophet showed that God was going to draw the armies of the Gentile nations into conflict through a stirring from Heaven. God uses the egos of men and the stupor of their deceived state to draw them into a direct confrontation with Him and His people. The scene was proclaimed in Joel 3:9ff:

Joel 3:9 Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare a war; rouse the mighty men! Let all the soldiers draw near, let them come up! 10 Beat our plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, “I am a mighty man.” 11 Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, And gather yourselves there.

Mid way into the eleventh verse, it appears that either the perspective of the narration changed, or the nations cry out to taunt God. The prophets said:

Joel 3:11b “…Bring down, O Lord, Your mighty ones.

In any case, it is clear the deceived nations will be drawn to the conflict, and will be destroyed. After that, the people of the defeated nations will be drawn to stand before the Judge at the Valley of Judgment in Jerusalem.

Joel 3:12 Let the nations be aroused And come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I will sit to judge All the surrounding nations. 13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great. 14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness.

The Termination of the Judgment (Joel 3:16-21)

The Judgment of Israel by God will end, once and for all, when her King returns. The conditions of both the Jewish people and the nations will be altered by His arrival.

Jerusalem will be purified in the coming of Her King:

Joel 3:16 The Lord roars from Zion And utters His voice from Jerusalem, And the heavens and the earth tremble. But the Lord is a refuge for His people And a stronghold to the sons of Israel. 17 Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. So Jerusalem will be holy, And strangers will pass through it no more.

The Apostle Paul knew his people were going to be renewed to a walk with God. Yet, he knew that early believers who only looked at the attempts of Jewish leadership to discourage and dissect the early church would not see the bigger program of God. He saw it, because his view wasn’t based on the news – but on the Word of God.

Romans 11:25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery– so that you will not be wise in your own estimation– that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.” 27 “THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.” 28 From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of [God’s] choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; 29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

A Biblical world view allowed Paul to see what others could not see – that God was working an intricate plan, and believers who took their cue from the news would not see what God was doing. That is STILL a major problem with the church of Jesus Christ.

Many in the church see Israel as replaced – but Romans eleven verses twenty-five to twenty-seven make no literal sense in that scenario. Others focus on current Jewish opposition to the Gospel and conclude that because they are hard to reach in the time of their veiling, the efforts would be better spent elsewhere – but that doesn’t take into account Paul’s answer in verses twenty-eight and twenty-nine. Here is the simple truth: God doesn’t give up on His plan…He keeps steadily working it out. He works it out when even the believers don’t believe. He plods ahead, unaffected by our doubt and complaint – because He knows what He is doing. He knows where it all ends… in His glory.

Joel ended with a grand promise. The Land of God’s people will yield abundantly at the Coming of Her King:

Joel 3:18 And in that day The mountains will drip with sweet wine, And the hills will flow with milk, And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water; And a spring will go out from the house of the Lord To water the valley of Shittim.

That won’t happen everywhere on earth…

Joel 3:19 Egypt will become a waste, And Edom will become a desolate wilderness, Because of the violence done to the sons of Judah, In whose land they have shed innocent blood.

The land threats against the Jewish people, so familiar to our news today, will be gone!

Joel 3:20 But Judah will be inhabited forever And Jerusalem for all generations.

At long last, the Holy One will bring to an end the suffering, and right the transgressions against His once wayward, self-willed people. They may have spurned Him, but those who dealt harsh blows against them faced judgment in the end.

Joel 3:21 And I will avenge their blood which I have not avenged, For the Lord dwells in Zion.

As we close this lesson, let me be honest with you.

If there are any THREE questions I would like to pose to those of us who busily study prophecy, the first is this:

“What exactly do we need to see in our world to know that we are nearing the END of the human story?”

In more direct terms: ”If you aren’t busy sharing your faith and preparing your life – what are you waiting for to get busy for God?” I want to know what people across our land in the church, many who possess solid knowledgeable of God’s Word, are waiting for to acknowledge that we are quickly approaching the “terminal generation” of human society. What will it take for you to surrender to Jesus Christ in light of what the Bible has predicted and what you see coming to pass?

2 Peter 3 warned that people would mock the very message that Jesus would return. Do you think that is where we are as we face campuses across our nation that have squandered the money and facilities of generations of believers to preach the Bible is a false Bronze Age mythology offering no more truth than a story about unicorns and fairies? Our colleges and universities in the country were largely begun to train men and women to follow God. We now sponsor public mocking.

1 Thessalonians 5 predicted that people would proclaim “peace and safety” when the end came suddenly. We have watched in my lifetime the dissolution of the Soviet Union in a period of weeks and even days. Do we not know that we live in a world where markets can tumble in hours. Do we not understand that a few airplanes crashing can change the world as we know it?

We don’t mention these things because we want to scare people, but rather our heart’s desire is to let the Word of God sound a trumpet blast to awaken the slumbering from sleep.

If Daniel 12:4 marked the end as a time of massive amounts of information becoming accessible and people traveling about in a constant whirl, shouldn’t the international airlines, the compact computer we all carry in the phone in our pockets, the internet and Uber’s driverless car cause you to pause and think about how late in the world’s story we may be? Since man walked out of the Garden of Eden until the dawn of the twentieth century, men traveled on foot or tamed animals to ride. There was little difference in transportation between Abraham when he left Ur of the Chaldees and President Lincoln when he pulled up in front of Ford’s Theatre. In the last few generations, we have traveled to the moon, sent satellites into the heavens, driven at break-neck speeds on our highways and flown around the world in a day. Shouldn’t that make us think about the hour growing late?

Revelation 11 predicted the death of two witnesses in Jerusalem being simulcast to the whole of the world in international and instant video communication. Did you stop and think about that? Before television, before international satellites, before cell phones with video capability, before the world wide web – the Apostle John mentioned the whole world watching at one time. That was not possible in 1900! It wasn’t even possible in 2000 – but it IS possible now. Very few places are isolated from the reach of modernity.

This is looking more and more like the terminal generation.

The second question I have for those of us who study prophecy is this:

Why does the study of the end make us sad and often more stern than other believers? Prophecy addicts are not known for being the most compassionate followers of Jesus. Isn’t something WRONG with that?

We must seek answers, but we must love people enough to do something about what we find in those answers.

My final question is this: Are you ready to give an account of your life choices to the God Who loves you – but truly KNOWS you?

God hasn’t left us unaware of what to look for, nor has He left us without something to do about the terminal generation. In the end, everyone will be forced to give an account of their life. There is no escape from that truth. Don’t be scared. You can know the Creator well by that day if you begin to walk closely with Him now!

Guarding the Path: “The Trust Walk” – Judges 7

cntowerIn Toronto, (Ontario) Canada, the “CN Tower” stands today as a city icon. It towers at a height of over 1800 feet, and functions as a concrete communications tower, as well as a visitor’s observation deck. The massive structure was completed in 1976, becoming the world’s tallest freestanding tower at that time. Attracting millions of visitors annually, the tower features a glass floor allowing the visitor to view down to the street level many stories below – something the Eiffel Tower has now opened because of the obvious popularity of such things. It seems there are many who wish to test themselves by walking out onto a clear glass floor high above the landscape, overcoming their God-given sense not to walk into thin air. Their trust in the engineered glass, the installer of the floor and the architect must be very strong to walk out onto something even a child knows is perilous.

I mention these modern “towering attractions” with their glass floors simply because, at least for someone like me (with an intense respect for gravity that unenlightened persons many call a “fear of heights”), the buildings help me picture in my mind’s eye a true test of confidence. When there is a steep drop beneath you, the reliability of whatever is holding you from that “plunge to your death” must come immediately into question (if you have any sense at all).

Let’s face it: a perilous cliff is a great mind clarifier.

If you have been following the series, the story of Gideon has been our subject for a few lessons. As the seventh chapter of Judges opened, a man selected by God was in peril – as was his whole nation! He was facing a battle with an army that out-manned and outgunned that of his countrymen. He was new (and largely unannounced) to his post as commander in chief of the tribal forces. The coming fight required God’s miraculous help for success because Israel was so weakened they had little to draw on in their own resources.

Looking back in the story to chapter six, Gideon began his relationship with God with a very weak faith, but was slowly bolstered by testing the Holy One. In patience, God encouraged the young “would be” hero as God met the requirements of each test. The point wasn’t to teach us to test God, as much as it was to show that such testing brings its own problems.

First, when we test God, our immaturity makes cloudy God’s Sovereignty and we are liable to see “coincidence” at play. Though God is always in control, our struggle is our own surety of that control, and personal confidence that we know what He wants us to do to fit in His plan.

A second issue that arises when we test God, is God may respond by testing us – since that is how we think we will learn best. In Gideon’s case, God turned the tables and tested the man – and that is where we will pick up our reading of the story in Judges 7:1-8. The story is one that can be found throughout the Bible…God placed Gideon in the crucible of trouble, and met him in the desperation of that moment.

There is a truth we can see revealed in this passage that seems like it can only learned under the pressure of troubles… and Gideon is really under intense pressure…

Key Principle: In stormy circumstances or perilous moments, trust is the key to boldness.

I learned this truth early in life. Growing up, when I fully trusted my older brother to defend me, I could walk in front of that bully in my class with great confidence. I didn’t worry about being punched – my brother would take care of me. If I didn’t know he was there, or wasn’t convinced that he would come to my rescue – my boldness would have evaporated. Trust makes you bold.

Gideon was about to face the battle that defined his life and career! He didn’t arrive in that place without some significant learning from God. The last chapter made clear some tests that are common to believers when they believe God is pulling them to a specific service for Him:

• First, Gideon struggled to be sure it was really God Who was pulling him to that special service of leading Israel, as recounted in Judges 6:11-24. This was a test concerning DISCERNMENT.

• Second, Gideon was challenged in Judges 6:25-32 with a test of CONSECRATION. He had to remove the idols that marked the village, and place his trust solely in God to protect him against an angry mob of neighbors.

• Third, Gideon fleece tested God for some additional assurance that God’s promises truly were ENOUGH to bring miraculous victory in Judges 6:33-40. This was a test of ASSURANCE.

Now we unfold the story of yet a fourth test – this one from God to Gideon.

As some early successes began to fall into place, the issue of sole trust in God’s strength (as opposed to our own) came into view. Gideon encountered this fork in the road in Judges 7:1-8. This is the test of SUFFICIENCY.

Judges 7:1 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him, rose early and camped beside [a]the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was on the north side of [b]them by the hill of Moreh in the valley. 2 The Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, for Israel [c]would become boastful, saying, ‘My own [d]power has delivered me.’ 3 Now therefore [e]come, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is afraid and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.’” So 22,000 people returned, but 10,000 remained. 4 Then the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. Therefore it shall be that he of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “You shall separate everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, as well as everyone who kneels to drink.” 6 Now the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men; but all the rest of the people kneeled to drink water. 7 The Lord said to Gideon, “I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so let all the other people go, each man to his home.” 8 So [g]the 300 men took the people’s provisions and their trumpets into their hands. And [h]Gideon sent all the other men of Israel, each to his tent, but retained the 300 men; and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

Look with me at the Sufficiency Test: (i.e. “Will I trust GOD to provide the victory?” (7:1-8). I noted a moment ago that God initiated this test, so that He could instruct an anxious general before a fight. Look closely at the details as the story opened…

First, note that God knew Gideon well. He didn’t unfairly test an unarmed man.

Judges 7:1 opened with the simple word: “Then…”

This test occurred only after God made clear pronouncements of both His plan and His power to Gideon. God told him he would be mighty and victorious. God showed him that the Almighty could meet any test placed in front of Him.

In following God, there are really only two issues. First, I must know what He wants me to do and believe that God is able to do through me what He called me to do. Those are intellectual issues – problems of knowledge. Second, I must be willing to DO what He called me to do – a problem of my will.

Whenever people are doing the wrong thing in life, it really comes down to two issues: either they cannot do right or the will not do right. If they cannot – they need training to know HOW to do right. If they WILL not – they need discipline to soften their stiff neck. No amount of training will change one who has their will set to do wrong. That isn’t the issue – surrender is. Gideon was willing, and he was informed – chapter six made that clear. The “then” in the text was to mark those facts as learning experiences now behind him. Don’t fear that God will throw you in the deep end until you have learned to spiritually doggie paddle. He won’t. He doesn’t do it that way.

Second, note the public reputation God gave Gideon quickly took hold. The text says:

Judges 7:1b “…Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him, rose early and camped beside the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley.

Clearly the people of the region knew about Gideon’s night of tearing down the Asherah pole and Baal shrine as unfolded in the story of chapter six. Gideon obeyed God, and God built his reputation – and with that his ministry effectiveness. Remember, in the natural world, Gideon was the WRONG AGE and from the WRONG FAMILY. He could have spent years trying to be noticed by his tribe or others from the tribes of Israel. It wouldn’t have worked. God gave him what he couldn’t attain apart from God. That is how it works for one who would serve the Most High. We aren’t called because of our ability, but because of His plan. Any ability we do have was created for us and birthed within us. At the same time, God will add to us what we need to do what He called us to accomplish.

Because that is the case, in the story of God’s work through you, let’s “take off the table” the things that God will not accept as excuses that you may pose to keep yourself from serving Him:

• I am not old enough or too old.
• I don’t have the right credentials or background.
• I don’t have an opportunity to be used by God where I am.
• No one will listen to me.

All these and many more objections evaporate when we look at Gideon. He found God’s call in hole. He wasn’t the obvious choice, but he was God’s choice. God told him what to do in the next step – even though he couldn’t see where it led. He obeyed. God made his name a household word. Imagine, he became a celebrity merely by obedience to God. The truth is, that is the best way to get to such a status! Follow God and trust what He tells you – and He will enable you.

Third, note that God is not at work in us to build our reputation as an end in itself.

God makes much of us so that we can make much of Him. You can see that as the account continues:

Judges 7:2 The Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, for Israel would become boastful, saying, ‘My own power has delivered me.’

Just as we have the tendency to feel inadequate before we have God’s empowering in our work, we can have the tendency to believe we have become deserving after we have received some level of success from God’s call. Though the issue in verse two appeared to be primarily about an arrogance that would come upon the people, Gideon was to understand this essential lesson at the same time.

Why do we come so quickly to believe we are worthy of the blessings God brings our way? That is an important question for any Jesus follower, and a VERY important question for an American. Let’s face it: even our poor people have more than people in most places on the earth. We have had extravagant wealth, unimaginable comfort and a saturation of good things in our society. Complain as we do about all the issues of our lives, we have to admit there is no better time in which to live if we want to measure by convenience. There is no place better to live if we want to speak about hope and a future.

I want you to know that as I stand and watch young people grapple with God’s Word, I become more and more hopeful about the possibility of a sixth revival for our nation. There have been five revivals, beginning with the “Great Awakening” during colonial times. Think back to the time at the birth of our nation. The “Age of Reason” so gripped a generation that many thought they were watching the very sunset of belief in God. Sin and rationalization reigned – and then, almost without warning, a revival began. It didn’t begin with the old – but with the young.

• Jonathan Edwards, the minister from Yale, became concerned that New Englanders were leaving God for materialism. His hardened sermons were delivered with un-tempered fury and conviction – and God used them.

• George Whitefield was a British minister who traveled the American colonies and shared God’s Word. An actor by training, his dramatic presentations of the Word were something to behold!

Many scholars believe the Great Awakening not only pushed back the influence of the Enlightenment, but it was a likely long term cause of the Revolution in the colonies. Turning to God, people began to see the need for broader return to the Bible than the Church of England seemed to desire. In America, the church of God was no longer filling pulpits strictly with the intellectuals of the upper crust, but rather men of fire and Spirit who knew God’s call on their life. The Awakening had the effect of binding the colonies together in a common belief they could share, helping to break down differences between them. England was passing through this experience with the colonists – making them seem “different.”

That wasn’t the only revival that came through the hands of the young in America. In fact, no sooner had that revival cooled into a secularist reaction, when another revival blew in the American winds. This one was called the Haystack Prayer Meeting. It started with five students in Williamstown, Massachusetts, in the hot days of Summer in 1806, and has come to be viewed by many scholars as the spark for the birth of the fire of Protestant missions over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Five college students gathered to pray for the lost people of Asia. From that group grew the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). By 1812 they sent the first American missionaries to India. After that, they followed with outreaches to China, Hawaii, and south east Asia. They built hospitals and birthed schools at various mission stations. They undertook translation of the Bible and continue in until today in groups like Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, and many others.

They started with a few people who appeared to be the wrong age in the wrong place. God made much of them, so they could make much of Him.

Fourth, note the first people “cut” from participation in God’s work, were those who relied more on their feelings than God’s promises.

Did you notice the way Gideon was to “thin out” the group gathering to fight? Look again at verse three:

Judges 7:3 Now therefore come, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is afraid and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.’” So 22,000 people returned, but 10,000 remained.

God told Gideon to reduce the size of the army. Gideon grabbed the bull horn and made an incredible announcement to the small army of God’s people. God told him what to say, and he obediently shared it exactly as God told him. The announcement was direct and simple: If you feel afraid, go home. Feeling a license to decide by their feelings, two-thirds of the people left.

How disheartening do you think that was for both Gideon and those who were left among the 10,000?

It was disheartening, but that was the point. In one moment, God removed from the people who would fight any sense that victory would come because of them. They were going to KNOW the blessing of the Lord. What would the people who went home feel? In the short run, relief would come. They didn’t have to fight. Yet, in the days ahead, they would always know they decided to walk away from the moment God showed His power – because they relied on their emotions to make their choices. The Bible is replete with stories that warn against following one’s heart. Without trying to insult you, may I simply repeat what the Bible says (Jeremiah 17:9): “”The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” Trust your heart and not God’s call – and you will live to regret that decision.

Life doesn’t really get thrilling until you know you are riding a wave on the waters that God gathered to carry you!

Don’t spend all your time so in touch with your feelings that you don’t seek God on the direction you should take. If He directs you toward something different than you thought you would experience, take your time to HEAR from Him, and not just from your own emotional reactions. We don’t grow up until we are in charge of our choices – and our responses are controlled.

The longer I live, the more I become aware of the many who seem unable to choose and then act on their choices. They seem like Zodes to me. To those who may not know what a “Zode” is, they are the creations of Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel). Consider the Dr. Seuss’ poem: “The Zode In The Road”:

Did I ever tell you about the young Zode?
Who came to a sign at the fork of the road?
He looked one way and the other way too –
the Zode had to make up his mind what to do.
Well, the Zode scratched his head, and his chin, and his pants.
And he said to himself, “I’ll be taking a chance.
If I go to Place One, that place may be hot
So how will I know if I like it or not.
On the other hand, though, I’ll feel such a fool
If I go to Place Two and find it’s too cool
In that case I may catch a chill and turn blue.
So Place One may be best and not Place Two.
Play safe,” cried the Zode, “I’ll play safe, I’m no dunce.
I’ll simply start off to both places at once.”
And that’s how the Zode who would not take a chance
Went no place at all with a split in his pants.

Yes, beloved, some of us are like paralyzed Zodes, unable to choose and unable to own our choices when we make them.

We want God’s blessing without choosing to trust God’s promises. We want victory without a fight and wealth and security without work and sweat. For the 22,000 who went home that day, they trusted their fear more than their God. Sadly, years later they would recall that choice. That is what happens when we won’t trust God’s promises.

Fifth, take careful note that God doesn’t fill the ranks of His Kingdom with those the world would choose.

I don’t want to seem uncomplimentary here. If it helps, I consider myself one of those with whom God has chosen to work – and I know more intensely than any of you (perhaps) my huge number of flaws and weaknesses. To be honest, there are a number of ways to understand the test that God set up next in the story, but I will tell you what I honestly believe is the heart of this account as best I can discern.

First, note that God set this test up apart from Gideon. Commander Gideon was to pass on instructions from God and take the ones God sent His way. The writer said it this way:

Judges 7:4 Then the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. Therefore it shall be that he of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”

Now watch the test as God shared it with His people:

Judges 7:5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “You shall separate everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, as well as everyone who kneels to drink.” 6 Now the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men; but all the rest of the people kneeled to drink water. 7 The Lord said to Gideon, “I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so let all the other people go, each man to his home.” 8 So the 300 men took the people’s provisions and their trumpets into their hands. And Gideon sent all the other men of Israel, each to his tent, but retained the 300 men; and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

I have been on a battle field, and I have seen war. Here is one lesson I learned on the first day the shooting started – stay down below the wall at all times. People shoot at what they can see. They don’t distinguish between people fighting them and anyone else. They will shoot at you if they see your movement!

Look at the scene that day at the spring near the Gilead Mountain called today “Ma’ayan Harod.” The spring comes out of a cave on the south side of the Jezreel Valley in a spur called the Harod Valley and creates a short stream with pools. I have been their many times in the heat of the summer to cool off. Standing at that place, it is clear the stream bed is the low point of the sloping valley, and that meant that Israel’s enemies were north of them, looking down a long slope to that spring. Behind the troops of Gideon there was a steep cliff lifting upward to the Gilboa Range. The people couldn’t easily escape, and had little strategic advantage from that place. IN fact, it was a terrible place for a small army to encamp.

Two kinds of men approached the water in the scene. Some – the majority – slinked over close to the ground until they came upon the water and drank. The term “kneel” in Judges 7:6 is a form of the Hebrew word “kawraw” which is to bow to the ground. It is often used to denote bowing to the ground in worship. It appears the writer was sharing these men moved low to the ground and stuck their head into the water below the line of sight of their enemies.

There were the others – the 300 – who appeared to haplessly approach the water and reach down with cupped hand to take water up in their hands – while they stuck up on the plain and could be seen from across the plain. As they brought the water up in cupped hands, the enemy could watch their every move. These were the “lappers” – and their actions showed either incredible bravery, or (more likely) unequaled stupidity.

Remember the rule: “When in battle, never, never, stick up!” Lay down. Stay close to the ground! Try NEVER to be seen. Don’t move in the open. Apparently the three hundred didn’t get the memo.

Yes, beloved, it appears that God sent off all the smart people and left Gideon with the clueless and incompetent. It may not sound complimentary, but it seems as though that was EXACTLY what God had in mind!

God doesn’t think like the world does. In their fallen state, when the world needs to be saved, who do they call upon? They would, without hesitation call on a superhero! First, that is because that is the business of such characters. Second, they are intrinsically better than the rest of us. They are characters that are larger than life.

• Aquaman could send telepathic signals to get fish to help him. I can barely keep them alive in an aquarium tank!

• Superman could leap tall buildings in a single bound. I can’t even get myself to look over the side of tall buildings!

• Batman can make words appear when he hits people – works like “Biff” and “Pow” and “Zowie.” When I punch someone, I can’t even get a bruise to appear!

When a superhero comes onto the scene – criminals hide. They fear these mighty masked men and women.

That is what the world thinks – someone can get the job done because they are intrinsically more capable than the rest of us. Anyone who knows the Bible knows that isn’t the truth. The book is filled with incredibly dumb and unbelievably dull people who do incredible things – BECAUSE GOD ENABLED THEM.

Here is the painful truth: I CANNOT be invisible. I barely fly when the airplane does all the work! No criminals are terrorized by my presence. I am not indestructible nor am I bullet proof. Yet, here is the blessing: My ability is not the key to my usefulness. I don’t need to be a superhero – I just need to serve a powerful and limitless God.

The sufficiency test isn’t about MY capability – it is about my trust in a God who is always able.

Paul noted the source f confidence, but made clear it wasn’t from within. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:26:

1 Corinthians 1:26 “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble…”

The clear implication is that God didn’t choose you for His family because YOU brought superhero skills or unusual abilities. The words wise, mighty and noble cover the three areas of unique understanding, unusual physical prowess and remarkable pedigree. Paul simply said that when we consider our calling as God’s children, we should recall it isn’t because of any of these.

Why then, was I invited to be a part of the family of God?

1 Corinthians 1:27 “…but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29 so that no man may boast before God.”

God calls those He has invited to join Him the foolish, the weak, the base, the despised and those who “are not” –

There is an old Chinese proverb about an elderly peasant who had two large clay pots. One of the pots had a crack along its side from the brim to a point about half way to the base of the pot. The other pot was perfect, entirely without cracks or leaks! Each had been securely attached on opposite ends of a pole made up of several thick pieces of bamboo that had been bound together. In the middle of this pole he wrapped numerous layers of muslin and wool to create an area of padding. The peasant laboriously carried this cane and the two water pots across the back of his neck to get water. At the end of the lengthy hike from a mountain, freshwater spring to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half filled. The intact pot delivered its contents of fresh water chocked-full in volume. For several years this went on day after day; the water-bearer only delivering one and a half pots of the precious fluid to his home. Of course, the perfect pot was swollen with pride in achieving its fullest potential. But, the poor cracked pot was outright embarrassed of its imperfection, feeling miserable that it was only able to accomplish one half of its intended task. After these years of despondence, it finally speaks to the water-bearer one day as they nearing the mountain spring. “I am ashamed of myself! This horrendous crack in my side allows me to leak a portion of my contents all the way back to your house.” The water-bearer responded, “But haven’t you noticed all the beautiful flowers on your side of the path? And were you not aware that on the opposite side of the path there is nothing but wild grass, briars, and weeds? That’s because I have always been aware of your so called ‘flaw.’ For this reason, I took time to plant and cultivate those lovely flowers as to allow the water that leaked from you to water them each day. This makes our trip so pleasant and charming. And for all these years I have been able to return to the path time and time again to gather a bouquet of vibrant, aromatic flowers to brighten up and fragrance the gloominess and foulness of our home.” (From A-Z Sermon Illustrations).

The proverb reminds us that when we realize our weakness, we may take away the wrong message. We seem inadequate because we don’t recognize the full purpose of our lives. God knows. He called us because He knows what He wants to accomplish. Our confidence must be in HIM, His plan, His wisdom. That will cause us to keep going with great boldness.

When we trust Him, we gain confidence – and in stormy circumstances or perilous moments, trust is the key to boldness.

• God isn’t asking you to come up with a great plan for your life today – only to trust Him and invite Him daily to lead you.

• God isn’t expecting your confidence to grow as you look at your life and abilities – only that you would look more carefully at His power based on the things He has created.

• If God truly made all you can see; and God said He has a purpose for all that surrounds you – can you not see He has a purpose for you as well? Trust Him. He will walk with you through the storm.

Before It Happens: “Judgments of the ‘Day of the Lord’” – Joel 2

minority-reportOn September 25, 2015 the Business Insider web report offered a fascinating article called “Predictive Policing.” In the article, the author referred to a Tom Cruise movie from 2002 called “Minority Report”. The article described the movie as an action mystery-thriller directed by Steven Spielberg, and noted the story was set in the Washington, D.C. area in the year 2054. At that time the so-called “PreCrime” police unit was tasked with apprehending criminals before they committed the crime, based on foreknowledge provided by three psychics called “precogs”. It sounded like a powerful thriller for those who like the science fiction genre. My chief interest, though, was in the information found in the article that described how police are, in fact, using stores of computer collected and analyzed data to suggest where police resources should be directed, (i.e. areas where crimes will likely occur) – as a computer “predicts” when and such help should be concentrated. I was fascinated with the notion that such “predictions” could actually one day be found a reliable aid in crime deterrence.

The fact is, though, that predicting coming trouble isn’t a new thing. God mercifully sent prophets centuries ago who did just that. In our last lesson, we began recalling some of the words of an ancient prophet in “The Book of Joel.”

As we look into Joel 2 in this lesson, it may be helpful if we recall that in our last lesson we made the point that it wasn’t a desire to punish that drove God to send prophets – it was a function of His grace to warn us. We made clear that these passages are sometimes cryptic, and often uncomfortable to wade through, but God was anxious that His people know what was to come. The passage begins:

2:1 “Blow a trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of the Lord is coming…”

Does it sound like God desired to hide what was happening? Not at all! The truth is, that however hard, however uncomfortable, we need the message of a coming reckoning of our lives. We need to know that God is not aloof, and our sin is not private and easily forgotten. Israel needed that message too!

Go back the Book of Joel and you will recall that God used a graphic symbol to get the people’s attention. They saw a massive locust invasion described in vivid terms in Joel 1. The warning of God was made plain: this was to be an illustration of something larger that would devastate the children of Israel in the days ahead. The prophecy was horrid, messy and terrible… but that wasn’t the end of the story. Prophecy wasn’t designed to leave people in the “soup” of judgment. Let me explain…

Do you recall that Jesus used the scene of a woman in childbirth as His “go to” illustration concerning the prophecy of the end times of the human program? In Matthew 24, tucked into His warnings of “wars and rumors of wars” He offered these words: (Matthew 24:8 “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.”). He said that when the time of judgment drew near, the birth pangs would begin, but that pain was just the beginning of the end. It is particularly helpful, I think, at that moment of pain to recall that the end is not in pain – but in a new life. The pain will pass.

In the same way, some prophecies are revealed in very messy terms. Some of them are not linear prophecies – neatly unfolded in chronological order like the organized closing argument of a lawyer. Rather, as God unwinds the cosmos around us and replaces it with a new Heaven and earth, there is a painful and nasty process – but it is designed to bring forth something wonderful and exciting. This isn’t the only example of such pain-ridden processes in life.

• Think about the first morning the athlete begins training for a spot on the Olympic team. It is still dark out, and they get up and head out the door in their sweat pants and t-shirt – a body is about to begin to be altered. There will be much pain ahead, but the end may find them standing on a platform with the whole world watching them receive a medal.

• Think of the confused and distressed drug addict that checks into the clinic and begins the process of stripping from within the body the harmful and powerful drugs. The process will be disgusting, but it will restore the life that was ebbing away. If they follow the given instructions, they will likely exit new and different people.

• Closer to more of us, consider the person beginning the terrible process of losing many, many pounds on a necessary but agonizing diet. The end will be greater health, but the path to get there may not be very pretty.

All of these examples are arduous and painful processes that are designed to end well. So it is with God’s eventual and dramatic end to the history of human rebellion. Time will surrender to eternity, and mutiny will be replaced by worship!

Joel’s opening vision was stark, powerful and heartbreaking – but the locust devastation provided a picture to refocus Israel on coming judgment – and encourage them with the message that it would end well.

This prophecy is more than it appears on the surface. It is a story of the world God made, and what He is going to do with it. It is the story of what God did for His people, Israel – and what He will do to bring them to full surrender to Him. Like the intricate settings and battles of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, there is detail and drama. We must not become quickly impatient for the revealed ending and miss the weight of the struggle – because the prophets aren’t in a hurry to over skip the painful details.

Here is why. God’s faithful character is uniquely revealed in the depths of a painful struggle. His glory is best discovered in a commanding triumph over the rebels, and His vast wisdom most clear in the rich texture of the prophetic struggle.

In detail, chapter two is probably the weightier part of the message of this prophet’s record. The chapter turns on the words: “The Day of the Lord.” This phrase was used five times in Joel beginning with Joel 1:15 (see also: 2: 1, 11, 31; 3: 14). You cannot begin reading the second chapter for but a few words and the phrase appears yet again.

Because the prophet did not begin with a definition, we will need to discern the meaning of the phrase FROM the text. As we seek to do so, we will see this truth emerge…

Key Principle: The “Day of the Lord is an extended period of time in which God deals with Israel’s constant rejection of Him.

It begins with their veiling from the former profound relationship with Him, and end with their restoration beyond any further judgment at Messiah’s return and judgment of His people. We will be able to discern this by looking at the best passage in the Bible on the subject – Joel 2.

When the prophets use the term “day” they don’t always seem to mean a chronological 24-hour period.

Think with me about what we see in the prophetic literature. The term “day” always appears to refer to time, but some references appear to be more than a single calendar day:

1. There is the term “Day of man’s judgment” in 1 Corinthians 4:3 referencing the current economy, when men have control over human jurisprudence- i.e. where men “run the courts.”

2. The “Day of Christ” is mentioned six times in Scripture (1 Cor. 1: 8; 5: 5; 2 Cor. 1: 14; Phil. 1: 6, 10; 2: 16) and appears to refer to a time period when Christ will come to snatch away the church (as described in 1 Thessalonians 4: 13– 18) from the earth, bringing up the Christians of the church age to be with Him forever (Jn. 14: 1– 3).

3. Another term is the “Day of God” (cp. 2 Peter 3:12) seems to refer to the final disposition of heaven and earth (when they ‘pass away’) as God remakes things using devastation and fire.

4. With these, there is also the “Day or the Lord” which seems to include several profound kinds of judgment of God on His people Israel, and on the nations before, during and after the Tribulation.

Based on these uses of the term “day” in the context of judgment, the word doesn’t appear to be only used of 24-hour periods, but sometimes may be reckoned a protracted period of time.

What did the prophets mean by the “Day of the Lord” as best we can tell?

The specific phrase occurs nineteen times by name throughout the prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures, including once by the prophet Obadiah (1:15), five times in Joel (1:15; 2: 1, 11, 31; 3: 14), three times by Amos (Amos 5:18 twice and 5:20), three times by Isaiah (2:12; 13:6, 9), twice by Ezekiel (13:5; 30:3), three times by Zephaniah (1:7 and 1:14 twice), once by Zechariah (14:1) and once by Malachi (4:5). Add to that other occurrences of “that day” or “that great day” and you will pile on another seventy-five places where it was mentioned in at least a cursory way.

Rather than define the terms outright, I would like you to build with me a construct for the meaning of the “Day of the Lord” as we follow the record of Joel 2.

Our text offers descriptions of the “Day of the Lord”: beginning with the call to assemble because of its impending arrival.

After Joel called the people in 2:1 to: “Blow a trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of the Lord is coming.” He went on to describe the event…

First, the “Day of the Lord” was swiftly approaching.

Joel 2:1b “…Surely it is near.”

From God’s perspective, Israel was running out of time before an event that was part of Divine judgment would come upon them. The importance of that phrase is simple: People always think they have more time in life to straighten out their walk with God. Part of the blessing of warning is it reminds us to pull against our natural inclination to believe we have more time.

If you are honest with yourself, can you admit that you often think you can accomplish more in the day ahead than you actually can? Are you a victim of your own unrealistic expectations? If you are, you need to listen carefully when the Lord calls you to repentance and renewal – because you will tend to think you have more time.

Don’t forget, when you read “near” in the Bible, that when we talk in terms of time with God, we have to be careful, since He dwells outside of the dimension of time. There is a Scripture connecting events of the “Day of the Lord”, mentioned some time later in the words of Peter in Acts 2:16

“…but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: 17 ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams; 18 Even on My bond slaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit And they shall prophesy. 19 ‘And I will grant wonders in the sky above And signs on the earth below, Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. 20 ‘The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. 21 ‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

That quote from Joel was made as Peter defended the men who were speaking in tongues in Acts 2. In my view, Peter carefully noted that with the coming of the Spirit to begin indwelling the believers, the “Day of the Lord” judgments were commencing. Something at Pentecost appeared to be acting as the beginning point of the “Day of the Lord.” If my analysis of his reference is true, the “Day of the Lord” is a period of judgment beginning with the celebration of Pentecost in Acts 2, when the Spirit of God fell upon the church. The effect that event had on Israel will become clear as we study.

In any case, don’t miss the point: People overestimate the amount of time they have to get their life straightened out – so we all need reminders that life is short and judgment is certain.

Second, the “Day of the Lord” would bring a darkening veil over the discerning eyes of God’s people.

Critical to the understanding of the nature of the “Day of the Lord” is the sentence that included the nature of the judgment – it was a “darkening” or “veiling.” The writer continued:

Joel 2:2 A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn is spread over the mountains, So there is a great and mighty people;

The words evoke the image of the blanket of locusts that blocked out the sky. In the same way, the people of God would experience a darkening and a gloom. It may be the reference was to natural disturbances – and clearly that was part of the issue. At the same time, it appears that a veil descending over their hearts would also arrive, and it would make a clear walk with God a distant, vague, and darkened pursuit. Paul appears to have spoken of this “veiling” as a “hardening” in Romans 11:25:

For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” 27 “This is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”

If the “Day of the Lord” includes a judgment that placed a curtain of darkness between the Jewish people and God for a time, one form of Divine judgment seems to be God placing a distance from Himself in the heart of someone that expresses (in word or deed) their desire for Him to “leave them alone.” Don’t miss that: God may politely withdraw from you when your life message to Him is that you don’t want Him bugging you. It is ONLY His grace that keeps needling you with embarrassing guilt. Your feeling of guilt isn’t your problem; your stubborn and rebellious spirit is! Part of God’s mercy can be seen in His uninvited conviction.

In the case of Israel, the veiling or hardening was neither total nor final, but it was part of the whole judgment.

Third, the “Day of the Lord” (though offering some resemblance of other judgments) was unique in the prophetic scheme.

This was both am exceptional and distinctive time…

Joel 2:2b “…There has never been anything like it, Nor will there be again after it To the years of many generations.

In the Bible, the “time of Jacob’s Trouble” (called by Jesus the “Great Tribulation”) was described in Daniel 12:1 and Matthew 24:21 exactly that way – as a time unlike any other. The description in those places are clearly of judgment so heavy on the earth that the world would have been decimated were it not for God putting a stop to those days.

Unique judgment requires special attention. The fact that God clearly marked out a coming time that was unlike any other was an “historical highlighter” marking something very important. To God, the time of purifying His people wasn’t a WASTE of resources. The destruction of the landscape was “entirely worthwhile” as God drew people back.

It is worth remembering that even the hard times that calls us and draw us back to God are precious times in His sight. In some cases, those severe moments of discipline are the moments He marks as the most important in our lives. So it was with Israel in the “Day of the Lord.”

Fourth, the “Day of the Lord” includes severe destruction of the landscape through Divine judgment as a main feature.

Obviously, if you are a Bible student, the description here fits well with the later description of the Great Tribulation…

Joel 2:3 A fire consumes before them And behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them But a desolate wilderness behind them, And nothing at all escapes them.

Parts of the Great Tribulation are described in those exact terms, as in Revelation 8:6

And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them. 7 The first sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. 8 The second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood, 9 and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.”

It appears the “Day of the Lord” includes the Tribulation Period revealed most completely in Revelation 6-19, with the seven seal judgments (Rev.6), the seven trumpet judgments (Rev. 8) and the seven bowl or vial judgments (Rev. 16).

Here is the truth: when we are rebellious, it is nearly impossible to get our attention until we face catastrophic failure. Anything short of destruction of our dreams will easily be explained away and ignored. In the case of Israel, the whole earth will appear to turn against them because they won’t run to God until there isn’t anywhere else to run! Are you really any different? Most of us can readily admit that we aren’t good at repentance, and we aren’t quick at picking up on the signs of judgment.

It will take a near decimation of the world to bring Israel to her knees. She won’t realize she needs God until there is literally no stone left unturned in her attempt to find her way without Him.

Fifth, the “Day of the Lord” includes the appearance of a massive army, just as the locusts graphically pictured.

The story of “The Great Tribulation” in Revelation 16 and 19 ends with a massive military buildup on the earth that prepares to destroy Israel – but meets doom in the coming of Messiah and His forces from Heaven. Note how the “Day of the Lord” in Joel 2 appears to include this time…

It includes the movement of a swift army: Joel 2:4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like war horses, so they run.

That massive army moved with great noise: Joel 2:5 With a noise as of chariots They leap on the tops of the mountains, Like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble, Like a mighty people arranged for battle.

The army that struck terror into hearts as it advanced: Joel 2:6 Before them the people are in anguish; All faces turn pale.

It appeared as a well-trained, overwhelming force on the earth: Joel 2:7 They run like mighty men, They climb the wall like soldiers; And they each march in line, Nor do they deviate from their paths. 8 They do not crowd each other, They march everyone in his path; When they burst through the defenses, They do not break ranks. 9 They rush on the city, They run on the wall; They climb into the houses, They enter through the windows like a thief.

The militia seemed unstoppable, and blocked out even the stars (dust cloud or aircraft?) above in their overwhelming power and might: Joel 2:10: Before them the earth quakes, The heavens tremble, The sun and the moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness.

The gathering of an army that would surely destroy them without God’s intervention was foretold in detail in Zechariah 12:12-14:5:

The burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel. … 2 “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah… 7 The Lord also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David… 10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. 11 In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, every family by itself…14: 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. 4 In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east… 5 You will flee by the valley of My mountains … Then the Lord, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!

In the end, Israel won’t save herself. They will finally see God’s Son, their Messiah, and He will bring them rescue – just as He did for many of us.

Salvation isn’t about our ability to find God – it is about our response to Him when He stands right in front of our messed up lives and calls us to take His hand and follow Him. God isn’t interested in people “getting their lives together” so they can meet Him. We can’t do it. He is interested in us recognizing we have no one who loves us like He does.

Israel will see their long lost Son. They will recognize Him for His past sacrifice for them. They will weep – but they will reach out for His hand. That is the only thing for which God waits.

Sixth, God’s rescuing army also arrives.

Mid-way through the description of the advance of the army, the prophet appears to have changed his description from the opponents of God, to the army God sent in response:

Joel 2:11 The Lord utters His voice before His army; Surely His camp is very great, For strong is he who carries out His word. The day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome, And who can endure it?

Isn’t this just like the description of the assembly called from Heaven for the defeat of the armies defiant against God found in Revelation 19: 17?

“…Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in mid heaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.” 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.

The “Day of the Lord” doesn’t only include the Tribulation Period, but also the end of that time with the coming of the Lord. The gathering of the nations was organized to attempt to destroy Israel and remove any memory of the God of the Bible – but then God showed up.

Never count God out in the fight… Never! When the darkness descends and you look in every direction but find no alternatives – look UP! God isn’t aloof. He knows where you are, who you are, what you’ve been doing, and where you are headed.

Many in Israel may have rejected the Messiah today, but He hasn’t rejected them. When the time is right, He will show Himself. At the same time, He is removing any doubt that there is another way for them to be reconciled to God and find peace on this planet. It isn’t until God removes the other options that we see the truth – He is all we have – but He is all was need.

Seventh, when God’s army appears, His people will again be called to repent.

A message was passed to the Jewish people to get serious with God yet again, as their time had run out. Even though God called for generations, yet He called again. Long after they had forgotten His love… His patience called them back to Him:

The message of repentance will be offered to His people: Joel 2:12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning; 13 And rend your heart and not your garments.

The opening to return to God’s arms will be offered to His people: Joel 2:13b “…Now return to the Lord your God,

Is that true of YOU today? Have you been on the run trying to make it without God, but you sense Him calling you today? Don’t ignore Him. In fact, listen to the way the prophet, the SAME GUY who described the decimation of things all over the world, described the character of God…

Joel 2:13 b “…For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil. 14 Who knows whether He will not turn and relent And leave a blessing behind Him, Even a grain offering and a drink offering For the Lord your God?

Just as Zechariah 12:10 reminded us of the coming response of the people of Israel, so Joel cites the turning of the hearts of the people to the Lord in the face of the battle between God and the nations. The appearance of the army of God will be a new opportunity to bow before the Lord. The people will recognize the day and nothing will be more important!

In Joel 2:15 they are called to “Blow a trumpet”… to “Consecrate a fast” … 16 Gather the people… Assemble the elders…

Even the long resistant spiritual leaders of Israel will call the people to repentance and recognize their own sins:

Joel 2:17 Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers, Weep between the porch and the altar, And let them say, “Spare Your people, O Lord, And do not make Your inheritance a reproach, A byword among the nations. Why should they among the peoples say, ‘Where is their God?’”

Clearly this will be a day when Israel will understand the choice they have to finally see the Lord clearly once again.

Here is the simple truth: God rescues when He is invited to do so. He saves when we recognize we need saving. As long as we think we can run our lives without Him, He lets us try. Here is what Scripture makes plain: It won’t work for Israel, and it won’t work for you.

The “Day of the Lord” includes God’s heavy hand of judgment to get His people to stop running.

In our next lesson, we will finish the chapter with God’s wonderful rescue – but don’t leave the conviction of this moment…

The penalty for constant neglect of God and their invitation of evil while distancing themselves from God was this: God withdrew. Intimate knowledge of God became veiled. For dark generations the Jewish people suffered. Many invented marvelous things, and some achieved notoriety and wealth. Yet, through it all they were living in turmoil under the “fog” of a spiritual life largely darkened. The prophet explained it.

When we push away from God, He politely lets us walk in the peril of our own arrogance.

God’s judgment in His withdrawal is always palpable. They KNEW something shattered their identity. Even after the State of Israel has attempted to offer stability and identity to world Jewry, still they know the world waits for their destruction and they don’t know why. It hurts. It is lonely. It feels wrong and isn’t clear why these things are happening.

Yet, God’s promise didn’t stop at pain and rejection. There is coming an END to the pain. Significant to the narrative was this record of its end:

Joel 2:25 “Then I will make up to you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten, … 26 … Then My people will never be put to shame. 27 “Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am the Lord your God, And there is no other; And My people will never be put to shame.

Look at that. Grab the import of a nation redeemed, lives restored. Think about many people who have lived apart from God for much of their lives, only to find peace in the Savior late in life.

In a mobile home backed up to the church property lived a man who came to Grace Church years ago, walking in the back door and looking at the ceiling as though it might fall upon his entrance. I noticed him immediately because His skin was a pale yellow. He was apparently a sickly man with an advanced and serious illness. He decided to walk across his back yard one morning and walk into the church. At the invitation, he came forward, and we talked for a time after the service. He told me that he came to Jesus in his youth, many years before. He recounted God’s call to send him into a mission field, and how he told God “No!” in a church service, because he had things he wanted to accomplish in his life. He didn’t think God understood how hard the mission field would be for him. No one knew how much he was wrestling with God, but in a matter of weeks he left the church, never to return until he walked in our door. Then he made the remark that I will never forget. He said: “I am old and I am very sick. My time here is short. I know what the Lord wanted for me, and what a WASTE I made of my life!” We prayed together, and he sobbed as he asked Jesus to take him back after years of wandering. I opened to Joel 2 and asked God to follow His own nature and “give back” for the years eaten away by the locusts of self-centered thinking. In the next months, I had the chance to visit the man a number of times, and each one surprised me, more and more. I would walk in, and he would be smiling, excited about his study of the Word. “I missed God through my life. I knew He was watching, but He knew I wasn’t listening! How glad I am that He restored me!” He didn’t live long, but he died happy.

You have the opportunity to ask for God’s rescue TODAY. That is God’s mercy to YOU. Won’t you respond before the locusts eat your life?

God waits to be asked.

Randy Alcorn reminds us that when we listen to the vocabulary of the Bible, it reveals something powerful with its language of God’s heart for struggling and wayward people. He noted: God often uses words like reconcile, redeem, restore, recover, return, renew, regenerate, and resurrect. God wants to put back the relationship that rebellion and mutiny is trying to keep at arm’s length. (My paraphrase from a note he made in Fifty Days in Heaven).