Sunday, March 24, 2024

Wonder your value

      Just two weeks left in the season of Lent. This week, which is the sixth, is typically used one of two ways. It is known as Palm Sunday, so many times the focus is on Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. But this week can also be referred to as Passion Sunday, choosing to look at the suffering and death of Jesus. The latter will be where our attention is focused.

 

     For our series we have been looking at a “never again” theme God has revealed in the Old Testament when we understand Jesus is the Messiah. Today we will be in the book of Isaiah, looking at a passage that seems to point to the passion of Jesus. But while the wording may seem like a lament or psalm crying to God for help, these are words of confidence. Words of confidence for Jesus, the prophet Isaiah, and us.

 

     Isaiah 50:4-9 (CEB):

 

     The LORD God gave me an educated tongue to know how to respond to the weary with a word that will awaken them in the morning. God awakens my ear in the morning to listen, as educated people do.

 

     The LORD God opened my ear, I didn’t rebel; I didn’t turn my back. Instead, I gave my body to attackers, and my cheeks to beard pluckers. I didn’t hide my face from insults and spitting.

 

     The LORD God will help me; therefore, I haven’t been insulted. Therefore, I set my face like flint, and knew I wouldn’t be ashamed. The one who will declare me innocent is near. Who will argue with me? Let’s stand up together. Who will bring judgment against me? Let him approach me. Look! The LORD God will help me. Who will condemn me? Look, they will wear out like clothing; the moth will eat them.

 

 

This is the Word of God.

For the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

 

     When we consider the context of these verses, it is amazing. The prophet Isaiah is well before the arrival of Jesus, so in his writing this he was writing with himself as a prophet. But God inspired this writing for so much more. As we look at these verses, we will both the writer’s intention and God’s “never again” message linked to salvation through Jesus.

 

     Verse 4 says, “The LORD gave me an educated tongue to know how to respond to the weary with a word that will awaken them in the morning.” Isaiah is talking about having intimacy with God where God gives Him words to share that are just what an exhausted and wounded heart need to hear. This does not come about as an accident, but from Isaiah’s heart being yielded to God. His heart is regularly seeking to hear from God, and God illuminates Isaiah’s heart with what to say when it is the right time to say it. God gave Isaiah the power to practice his faith.

 

     In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “My teaching isn’t mine but comes from the one who sent me.” (7:16) Again, this is not an accident. Jesus regularly made time to spend time with God. But His life was more than a morning devotional time, Jesus made intimacy with God part of every moment of His day. God gave Jesus the power to practice His faith.

 

     Verses 5 and 6 say, “The LORD God opened my ear; I didn’t rebel. I didn’t turn back. I gave my body to attackers, and my cheeks to beard pluckers. I didn’t hide my face from insults and spitting.” One would think a prophet would be revered and respected, but the Old Testament paints a much different picture. Isaiah, along with the other prophets, would face enemies among God’s people who would mock, imprison, and attack them. Spitting in this culture was the ultimate sign of disrespect. But Isaiah remained faithful to God and His call, facing that opposition. God gave Isaiah the power to persevere in his faith.

 

     The Gospels share how Jesus voluntarily endured all those same things for our salvation. All the pain physically and emotionally was real. His cry on the cross was out of real agony. But God gave Jesus the power to persevere in His faith.

 

     Remember I said that this passage collectively is one of confidence, not lament or desperation prayers for help. If we stop at verses 5 and 6, we will not see what is revealed in verses 7 through 9. Despite all the opposition, Isaiah knows the God He serves is greater than the suffering he is enduring for God’s cause. The prophet knew that if it was God’s cause, God would prove his faith before enemies and all the naysayers. It was not Isaiah’s faith that proved God true, it was Isaiah’s confidence that God’s power would vindicate him.

 

     Jesus submitted His entire life to the will of God. And as His disciples turned and fled from Him, Jesus knew God would vindicate Him. As the Romans beat Him to a bloody pulp, with every crack of that whip, Jesus knew God would prove His power through His faith. When the nails were driven through His hands and feet and the crowds heckled, Jesus knew God would vindicate Him. The story of Jesus was not finished on Friday, the story of sin was. Jesus rose again, and His resurrection was God’s power proved His plan for our salvation and Jesus as His Son who He sent as our Redeemer.

 

     What does this have to do with us? How does this connect with “Never again”? The passion of Jesus, predicted by God through the prophet Isaiah, says that never again do we have to wonder how much God values us. God loves us so much that He sent Jesus, His One and Only Son, to suffer and die for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus was no passive bystander in God’s scheme, He faithfully surrendered Himself to suffer so sin would no longer have any grip on us.

 

     As amazing as that is, we miss what Jesus demonstrated to us in all that. God values us so much; He wants you and me to have the same relationship with Him that Jesus has. Jesus in His ministry was not trying to prove that God existed, He lived knowing that He did. His faith in God allowed God to prove His power through Christ’s surrender. And we cannot think for one second God would do anything less for us. God values us so much that He never asks us to prove His existence, but that if we live like God is real as our fundamental assumption, living for His purpose and His kingdom, then we can have the confidence that God will demonstrate His power in us and through us.

 

     How do we do that? “The LORD God opened my ear; I didn’t rebel; I didn’t turn back. I gave my body to attackers, and my cheeks to beard pluckers. I didn’t hide my face from insults and spitting.” We recognize how much God values us, then give our lives to seeing others come to the same knowledge. Even if that means we suffer at their hands, we are willing because Jesus did it for us.

 

     Do you know today how much God loves you? You are like a lost coin and lost sheep that He desperately seeks to find. Like a prodigal child, God watches for you to come down the road home so He can greet you with a warm embrace. Turn to Him. Maybe you know God values you today. But do you have the faith to live as one valued by God? You never again have to wonder your value, Jesus showed you the cost God was willing to pay, but are you willing to give your life to His kingdom cause?


 Need prayer? Have a question? Contact The Dirt Path Pastor

Monday, March 18, 2024

Need the middleman



      This Lenten season, we have been working our way through the Old Testament, looking at God’s words that tell us “Never Again.” These are the words being fulfilled in all the familiar passion scenes found in the gospels. Today’s passage will look at who is responsible for each of our spiritual lives and for carrying out the work of the Kingdom.

 

     Jeremiah 31:31-34 (CEB):

 

     The time is coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. It won’t be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant with me even though I was their husband, declares the LORD. No, this is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel after that time, declares the LORD. I will put my Instructions within them and engrave them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

 

     They will no longer need to teach other to say, “Know the LORD!” because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD; for I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sins.

 

 

This is the Word of God.

For the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

 

     The prophet Jeremiah lived through the fall of Jerusalem. What is interesting about that is Jeremiah received his call from God five years before King Josiah would launch a campaign to reform the kingdom from idol worship. Josiah knew their behavior had upset God and he sought to use his political influence and means to ignite a national revival. Jeremiah was alive for this attempt, only to see the fires meant for revival bring destruction.

 

     Why did a national revival attempt, with the approval and leadership of the king, fail? Because the king could only influence external activities. Meaning, people could put on a show that pleased the king but with no real desire to change. They would follow the rules as a group slogan that pumped up the crowd, but neglected what was necessary for a national revival to take place. Personal commitment.

 

     The Jews were God’s chosen people. He had made a covenant with them, recuing them from slavery in Egypt. God demonstrated to them and us that He brings salvation. But the Jews broke the covenant. It was not God who broke it because of their sin, it was the Jews who chose sin over the God who saved them. In verses 31 and 32, God says through Jeremiah, “The time is coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. It won’t be like the covenant made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt.” God is saying that the way the people sought reform needed reform.

 

     In verse 33, Jeremiah records God’s declaration, “I will put my Instructions within them and engrave them on their hearts.” Reformed reform would be more than remembering the law, it would be fixed in the very DNA of their being.

 

     On Mount Sinai, God wrote the Law on stone tablets. These words could be seen with eyes and known as rules to not break. They are not to be broken because there are consequences for doing so, sin. God does not like sin, and so to keep God happy with them and keep the blessings coming they follow the rules. But this is not love. This is following the rules to play the system. Reformed reform is the law placed at the core of a person, the place that is the fountain of all a person does so following the rules is a natural expression of their love to God.

 

     The key to reformed reform, having the law at the heart of a person is knowing God at the deepest level. The word “know” means to know by observing and reflecting and to know by experiencing. (Vines Bible Dictionary) It is a person seeing God’s law and reflecting on why it is good, but then experiencing His goodness on a personal level. What makes God good? “For I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sins.” Knowing God is to see He is good and experience Him by knowing He has forgiven sin. Reformed reform is a person knowing at the core God has forgiven their sin, and because of this radical love, they live out the law to demonstrate their love to God.

 

     What does this have to do with us? How does it reveal who is responsible for each of our spiritual lives and carrying out the work of the Kingdom? It is understanding that God is saying “Never again do we need the middleman.”

 

     The old covenant only promoted reform, but not enough to bring about revival. God gave the Ten Commandments so we would never again have to wonder about the expectations. But to truly live up to those expectations is more than simply following the rules. Following the rules is based on consequences and fear of them. When we are afraid of God we cannot know Him.

 

     But the way of grace is based on God and His forgiveness of your sins. It is your sin that makes you fear God and your sinfulness that keeps you from coming to Him. However, when you see God’s forgiveness change someone from the inside out and then experience it in your own life the love is overwhelming. Your response to God’s love is an inward motivation driven by your love for Him.

 

     Who is supposed to go to God for me? Verse 34 says, “They will no longer need to teach each other to say, ‘Know the LORD!’ because they will all know me.” Never again is there any need for the middleman. You do not need a pastor, a priest, or anyone else.

 

     Jesus is proof of this. God in the flesh, Jesus died so you can be assured your sins are forgiven. He is the radical love of God. The new covenant was established in His blood, the new covenant that you can see transform others and experience for yourself. But nobody else can know God for you, you must go to God just as you are. And you can do so with confidence knowing your sins are already forgiven, the only thing holding you back is you.

 

     Jesus is calling to you, His arms are wide open waiting for you to embrace Him, but what is keeping you from going to Him? Is it other believers and their expectations of you? Jesus is not calling you to them but to Him! Is it the Church? She is not perfect because she is made up of imperfect people in the process of being perfected by God. But Jesus is not calling you to the Church, He is calling you to Himself. That will connect you with the Church and Her mission, but the invitation is for you to come to Jesus. You need Jesus, and He is calling you.


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Sunday, March 10, 2024

Have to call the witch doctor


 

     During this season of Lent, we are taking a different path on our journey to Resurrection Sunday. Most sermons during this time are focused on the gospels, specifically on Jesus’s journey to the Cross. While His suffering is something we should remember, what does it all mean? How is it connected to the Bible as a whole? For this reason, we have been looking at passages in the Old Testament. There are moments when God says, “Never again” and how His words in these moments are affirmed through Jesus.

 

     Our passage today is on God’s chosen people trying to make it to the Promised Land. Tragedy finds them and requires national healing. To solve this problem, the Israelites do not look to the Ghostbusters, Obi-Won Kenobi, or a witch doctor.

 

     Numbers 21:4-9 (CEB):

 

     They marched from Mount Hor on the Reed Sea road around the land of Edom. The people became impatient on the road. The people spoke against God and Moses: “Why did you bring us up from Egypt to kill us in the desert, where there is no food or water. And we detest this miserable bread!” So the LORD sent poisonous snakes among the people and they bit the people. Many of the Israelites died.

 

     The people went to Moses and said, “We’ve sinned, for we spoke against the LORD and you. Pray to the LORD so that he will send the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

 

     The LORD said to Moses, “Make a poisonous snake and place it on a pole. Whoever is bitten can look at it and live.” Moses made a bronze snake and placed it on a pole. If a snake bit someone, that person could look at the bronze snake and live.

 

 

This is the Word of God.

For the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

     Verse 4 reveals that God’s people are taking the long way around to the Promised Land, all because the Edomites would not let them pass through their country. Now the terrain they traveled was not easy. For an entire nation, there was not enough food or even water to sustain them. But God had provided them with manna from heaven and water from a rock.

 

     After a while though, the Israelites grew tired of the manna. Paraphrasing verse 5, the people said to Moses, “We ain’t had nothing but maggoty bread for three stinkin’ books of the Bible!” God had provided them with food, and the Israelites called God’s provision “miserable.”

 

     A keyword to fully understanding the Israelite’s attitude is in verse 4. “The people became impatient.” They were complaining not because the manna tasted bad, but because they were sick of not being able to take care of themselves. And if they could get to the Promised Land, there would be enough there to not need miracles from God to sustain them. This desire for self-sufficiency and to “get what was theirs” poisoned their attitude toward God and Moses.

 

     The Israelites’ impatience led them to hissing and spewing out venomous words aimed at God and Moses. God’s good gifts were corrupted by their poisonous attitudes. They were ungrateful, behaving like that old serpent the devil. In response, verse 6 shares that God sent venomous snakes among them.

 

     They sinfully hissed at God and Moses, then their sin hissed back at them. The snakes were poisonous enough to kill them. Recognizing their sin, the Israelites go to Moses and say, in verse 7, “We sinned, for we spoke against the LORD and you. Pray to the LORD so that He will send the snakes away.” Even though as a nation they sinned against God, they knew God was their only hope.

 

     Despite their ungratefulness, God hears the nation’s repentance of sin. And God steps in to help them. In verse 8, God tells Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole.” If anyone was bitten, all they had to do to be healed was decide to look up at the bronze snake. Faith enough to look up would bring healing.

 

     To be clear, it was not the bronze serpent that healed the Israelites. This bronze snake was not a magic trinket or a spell from some witch doctor. When an Israelite was bitten and looked at the snake, it was a reminder to them that God healed them. Faith enough to look up to the Healer would bring healing. Verse 9 tells us that this method worked.

 

     What does this have to do with us? How does it connect with Lent and Jesus? The words of Jesus in John 3 reveal to us how God says, “Never again.” Jesus says, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” (John 3:14-15) Jesus connects His death on the Cross with the snake on a pole that brought healing to the Israelites.

 

     The snake on the pole was not a real snake. Verse 8 of our passage records, “Make a snake.” Whenever someone was bitten by a real venomous snake, they had to have enough faith to look at the venom-less snake on the pole. That venom-less snake on a pole was a reminder that they were looking up to God to be healed from the consequences of their sin.

 

     Jesus is God in the flesh. The same God who created us as a reflection of His image. We sinned and corrupted that image inside of us. Sin bit us like a venomous snake, filling our race with agony, destruction, and death. And even though it was the consequence of all our sins, Jesus, the sinless image of God was high and lifted up on the Cross. All who are poisoned with sin only need to look to Jesus to be healed from sin. Not merely forgiven of sin, but freed from its grip.

 

     Great, Pastor, Jesus died for my sin. But how does that help us with our problems? Do you want to know how to be healed from your addiction, heartache, depression, hatred, physical illness, limitations, or any other luggage you are hauling through life? Sin, either through your own choices, someone else’s choices, or being in a sinful world has bitten you and you want to be healed.

 

     Look up. Have enough faith to simply look up at Jesus, the Savior who was high and lifted up! Jesus is not merely a curtain to veil us from the wrath of God. He is the conduit of God’s love that can bring healing to every aspect of your life! Never again will you need to call the witch doctor or use his venom-laced solutions, you can look up to Jesus! Whether it is by medicine, science, taking you home to be with Him, or a divine touch, God loves you and wants to heal you.

 

     As the people of God, we believe in divine healing. So, if you were poisoned by your own sinful choices, look up! Jesus can heal you. If you want to be healed from your addiction, heartache, hatred, physical ailment, or any other worldly poison, look up! Have enough faith to look up to the Healer.


Need prayer? Have a question? Contact The Dirt Path Pastor

Friday, March 8, 2024

Wonder about the expectations

 


On the first day of a new school year, or the beginning of a new semester, introduces a new group of students to a new teacher. Even if they are familiar with one another, it is a period of newness. Teachers begin that first class by sharing their expectations of you and the path the course will take. After my freshman year of high school, I decided two could play that game.

 

     My inspiration for this idea was based on what I found at a fancy store called Target. It was a t-shirt that had a “hello my name is” sticker printed on it. In the section for the name was printed, “Jack Squat, do not expect too much.” When I walked into that new school year or semester, I wore that shirt, so the teacher knew the kind of student they were getting.

 

     All jokes aside, expectations are important. It gives us a goal to aim toward. And when it comes to life, God has expectations for us. As we continue our “Never Again” Lent series, today we will examine that with God we will never again have to wonder about His expectations for us.

 

 

     Exodus 20:1-17 (CEB):

 

     Then God spoke all these words:

 

     I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You must have no other gods before me. ‘

 

Do not make an idol for yourself—no form whatsoever—of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. Do not bow down to them or worship them, because I, the LORD your God, am a passionate God. I punish children for their parents’ sins even to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me. But I am loyal and gracious to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

 

Do not use the LORD your God’s name as if it were of no significance; the LORD wont’s forgive anyone who uses his name that way.

 

Remember the Sabbath day and treat it as holy. Six days you may work and do all your tasks, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. Do not do any work on it—not you, your sons or daughters, your male or female servants, your animals, or the immigrant who is living with you. Because the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them in six days, but rested on the seventh day. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

 

Honor your father and your mother so that your life will be long on the fertile land that the LORD your God is giving you.

 

Do not kill.

Do not commit adultery.

Do not steal.

Do not testify falsely against your neighbor.

 

Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s house. Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox, donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.

 

 

This is the Word of God.

For the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

 

 

     The Ten Commandments are God’s expectations for us. When an expert in the law approached Jesus asking which expectations, Jesus doubled down by saying, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40) All Ten Commandments are summarized in these two.

 

     Notice when God gives the Israelites, Moses, and us His expectations, He does not use Moses. It says in verse 1, “God spoke all these words.” And as God introduces Himself, it is not as someone to be feared. The Lord reminds the Israelites, “I am the LORD God who set you free.”

 

     In verses 3 through 7, God gives us commands about loving Him. God tells the Israelites that they are to worship no other gods but Him. He alone is worthy of worship. Contrary to popular opinion, there are not many paths to God. You cannot follow other gods, practice other religions, and worship the Lord your God at the same time. If you love God, then you worship Him only.

 

     Not only does God say, “Have no other gods before me,” He also says, “You shall not make any idols for yourself.” While this does mean we should not sculpt a monkey in Play-Doh and worship it, this also extends to making statues, paintings, and images of God and then worshipping them. This also means the objects or methods used to worship God should not be worshipped in place of God.

 

     Verses 8 through 11 shift from “love God,” although this one has an element of “love God.” We are supposed to take time in our lives to worship God. And the Sabbath day is a way for us to build time in to spend time with God. However, God is the Almighty. After creating, would He need to take time to rest? No. God took this time as an example for you and me. Jesus, God in the flesh, did the same by going to the synagogue on the Sabbath and regularly taking time to get away for prayer.

 

     When Jesus answered the expert in the law, He said, “Love others as you love yourself.” There is such a thing as healthy self-love, which is necessary to love God and love others. To not love yourself is to say God made a mistake, and He never makes mistakes. Taking time to rest is a way of loving yourself.

 

     The last commands in verses 12 through 17 have to do with loving others. Honor your father and mother, or have respect for the generation gone before you. Faith must pass from one generation to the next. “Do not murder” tells us that human life is valuable. Other people’s stuff is not yours. Sex is for marriage.

 

     Then the last command is unique. Coveting involves thoughts and attitudes. It is looking at what someone else has and saying, “I deserve that.” Why do they have that and not me? And when we stop to think about it, it is an attitude of coveting that leads us down the paths of many of these other sins against others.

 

     These are God’s expectations for us. We never have to wonder what they are, and His will is that we obey them all, all the time. Our obedience to these expectations is how we demonstrate our love to God. And by loving God in obedience to His ways, we would be living in a way that adds value to those around us.

 

     There is one problem though. Just because there are expectations does not mean they will be met. Think of my teacher’s expectations versus my t-shirt. If you make laws, that does not mean they will be followed. People have a choice to live up to the expectations. In our case as humans, God’s law reveals our ineptness to be able to live up to them. As simple as His Ten Commandments are, we try to follow them and fail. Failure is a sin.

 

     Does mean the Law is bad? Paul answers that question in Romans 7:7, “Absolutely not! Certainly, I would not have known sin except through the law.” The Law is not the problem, it tells us what we should be, but that reveals who we are. We are sinners incapable of loving God, self, or others.

 

     Charles Henry Mackintosh wrote, “The law demands strength from one that has none, and curses him if he cannot display it. The gospel gives strength to one that has none, and blesses him in the exhibition of it.” In other words, the Law reveals God’s expectations for us, never again do we have to wonder about His expectations. But we must accept we do not possess the inner strength or determination to succeed in love. What happens when we fail to meet God’s expectations? Death is the inevitable path of sin. However, Jesus already died in your place for your failure! And He is offering the grace to purge the inclination toward evil from your heart and form new patterns in your mind.

 

     The path to loving God is to surrender to His grace. He knows who you and I are. But He loves us anyway and offers His strength through grace to love Him, love others, and love ourselves. There is a tidal wave of love and grace waiting to wash over you that is the Holy Spirit. Will you be washed fully by it?


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Sunday, February 25, 2024

Chuckle at the absurdity

 



     There have been some great evangelists in the history of the Church. One of those was a man by the name of George Campbell Morgan, who preached his first sermon at 13 years old. But at the age of 19, Morgan became troubled by the writings of Charles Darwin, other scientists, and agnostics of his time. Their writings bothered him so much that Morgan canceled all his speaking events and put away all his books.

 

     Morgan bought a new Bible and said to himself, “I am not longer sure that this is what my father claims it to be—the Word of God. But of this I am sure. If it be the Word of God, and if I come to it with an unprejudiced and open mind, it will bring assurance to my soul of itself.” God spoke to Morgan, giving him new assurance and sent him back out preaching. (Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, Moody, 1984, p. 211)

 

     There are many things that we read, see, and think that may raise doubts in our minds. But why? God has repeatedly proved Himself. As we continue our Lent series, “Never Again” we will look at a forefather of the faith who faced a moment of doubt. He chuckles at the absurdity of God’s promise.

 

 

     Genesis 17:1-7, 15-17 (CEB):

 

     (1-7) When Abram was 99 years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Walk with me and be trustworthy. I will make a covenant between us and I will give you many, many descendants.” Abram fell on his face, and God said to him, “But me, my covenant is with you; you will be the ancestor of many nations. And because I have made you the ancestor of many nations, your name will no longer be Abram but Abraham. I will make you very fertile. I will produce many nations from you, and kings will come from you. I will set up my covenant with you and your descendants after you in every generation as an enduring covenant, I will be your God and your descendants’ God after you.”

 

     (15-17) God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, you will no longer call her Sarai. Her name will now be Sarah. I will bless her and even give you a son from her. I will bless her so that she will become nations, and kings of peoples will come from her.”

 

     Abraham fell on his face and laughed. He said to himself, Can a 100-year-old man become a father, or Sarah, a 90-year-old woman, have a child?

 

 

This is the Word of God.

For the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

 

 

     As we look at this passage, we encounter the line where faith collides with doubt. There are many reasons we could give for doubt, but all our answers only serve to mask the real culprit. It is in this story of God’s promise to Abraham, a hero of faith, that we discover the source of our doubt.

 

     The promise God gives to Abraham in verses 1 through 7 is not a new one. In chapter 15, God tells Abraham this same promise. But then time went by, and the promise still had not happened. This is why in chapter 16, Abraham and Sarah take matters into their own hands by having Abraham sleep with Sarah’s maidservant, Hagar. Hagar gets pregnant, but that opens a whole can of worms. Trying to get God’s blessing without God’s will always lead to such disasters.

 

     Thirteen years later, after Abraham and Sarah’s failed attempt to go it alone, God comes to him again. God begins in verse 1 by saying, “I am El Shaddai” or “God Almighty.” In the English, this does not say much to us. But in Hebrew, God uses this unique name for Himself, God is saying to Abraham, “I am God all-sufficient.” The Lord is telling Abraham that He is the God who pours out blessings on people.

 

     Continuing in verse 1, God says, “walk blameless.” God is telling Abraham to do it His way, Abraham is to have faith in God and then live his life through that faith. Abraham already had an example of what happens when he does not.

 

     In verse 5, God gives Abraham a new name. Up to this point, Abraham’s name was “Abram” which meant “exalted father.” His new name means “ancestor of a multitude.” God’s promise and call for Abraham to walk blamelessly was entering a new period in his life. One that was not Abraham’s own but a life that belonged to God.

 

     Despite Abraham and Sarah trying to gain the promise without God, God reaffirms his covenant with Abraham and Sarah again. How does Abraham respond to God? In verse 17, it says, “Abraham fell on his face and laughed.” Abraham laughs at the idea that God will do the impossible. Why does Abraham laugh? It could be that the idea of them giving birth was a 100-year-old man and his 90-year-old wife giving birth was an impossible task. And yet, God was promising to do it. The thought was so ridiculous all Abraham could do was joyfully laugh. Or Abraham laughed because he believed the promise of descendants was possible but doubted how it would be accomplished.

 

     Either way brings us to the same issue, doubt. Whether it is blatant in Abraham’s laugh or not, it reveals an attitude of doubt that is a pattern in the mind, rooted in his heart. The broken humanity in him, even though he heard it spoken from God and had experienced His goodness, still was saturated in doubt.

 

     Why do we doubt? Because sin has convinced us to fear God, believing in our hearts that He wants to punish us for our sins. Our hearts do not trust God is good, or that He wants to do something good in our lives. To complicate matters, sin has taught us to not trust anyone or anything good. Anything good from this world seems to come with strings attached.

 

     Remember the name God gave Himself to Abraham? “God all-sufficient.” God is enough. John Wesley wrote, “We have all in him, and we have enough in him… We have enough to satisfy our most enlarged desires; enough to supply the defect of everything else and to secure happiness for our immortal souls.” The idea that God could fall short of His promises or even fail to provide for our needs is ridiculous. Doubt is a lie fabricated in the depths of humanity’s brokenness.

 

     How could Abraham be considered a forefather of faith if he laughed because of doubt? Paul writes in Romans 4:20, “Abraham did not waver in unbelief about the promise of God but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God.” Abraham is considered a forefather of faith because while there may have been doubt in how the plan would be accomplished, he believed that God was greater than his unbelief. Abraham did not try to make God compete with his unbelief. He surrendered to God, knowing that God was bigger, more powerful, and greater than his unbelief.

 

     You and I can have faith like Abraham. Never again do we have to chuckle at the absurdity of the impossible. Why? Because God has already worked the most impossible of all impossibilities. He made a way for lost sinners to come home. Jesus died and rose again to prove to us that God loves us. If Jesus can save the very ones who rejected Him, nothing is impossible for God. Even when we were so lost we did not know to even look for God, in His grace He dropped breadcrumbs in our lives to point us to Jesus.

 

     The faith of Abraham is trusting God more than your own heart and understanding. It is to stop trying to control everything, lining up your ducks and those of everyone around you. And believing that you never again have to chuckle at the absurdity of the impossible, because there is nothing that your God cannot do.

 

     What is it you are trying to work out on your own? Trust God, because He can! What is the impossible thing that makes you think that God cannot do it? He can! Trust Him! Maybe you think you have sinned too great and are beyond redemption. Do you think your sin is greater than the blood of Jesus? No matter what it is, surrender to God this morning.


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Sunday, February 18, 2024

Go for wood

 



Never again. Those words imply that something happened before, or happened a certain way, but it will not be that way or happen that way again. Throughout the Bible, there are such events that tie into God’s story of redemption. As the season of Lent begins, our sermon series will focus on these events found in the Old Testament connected with the work of salvation completed in Jesus.

 

In the book of Genesis, the Bible records that the world became wicked and violent, to the point that every inclination of the human heart was fixated on evil. The most merciful thing God could do to preserve humanity and creation was to start over. God tells a man named Noah, “Go for wood.” Noah needs to go for wood to build an ark because God was sending a flood to wash away humanity’s wickedness.

 

 

     Genesis 9:8-17 (CEB):

 

     God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “I am not setting up my covenant with you, with your descendants, and with every living being with you—with the birds, with the large animals, and with all the animals of the earth, leaving the ark with you. I will set up my covenant with you so that never again will all life be cut off by floodwaters. There will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.”

 

     God said, “This is the symbol of the covenant that I am drawing up between me and you and every living thing with you, on behalf of every future generation. I have placed my bow in the clouds; it will be the symbol of the covenant between me and the earth.

 

     When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I will remember the covenant between me and you and every living being among all the creatures. Floodwaters will never again destroy all creatures. The bow will be in the clouds, and upon seeing it I will remember the enduring covenant between God and every living being of all the earth’s creatures.” God said to Noah, “This is the symbol of the covenant that I have set up between me and all creatures on earth.”

 

 

This is the Word of God.

For the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

 

 

     God tells Noah to go for wood because He is going to wipe out all life that dwells on the earth. Noah was considered a righteous man because of his faith in God, so God was going to restart the earth through him and his family. And Noah was faithful to the task. For over 200 days, Noah and his family survived in the ark, with each other and two of every kind of land-dwelling creature.

 

     Once Noah and his family emerged from the ark on dry land, God declared that Noah, nor any other person would have to go for wood again to build an ark. We will be examining God’s promise to Noah in the aftermath of Noah’s ark experience.

 

     In verse 8 and again in verse 11, God says He is establishing a covenant with Noah and his family. This covenant does not exist on the will of Earth or its inhabitants. It is not because of humanity’s goodness. The covenant that was given to Noah, his family, and the rest of the creatures was propped up because of God’s goodness. God decided that “never again” would there be a need to go for wood.

 

     Again, God did not do this because humanity was now good. Sin has corrupted every human heart. As a matter of fact, in this same chapter, we will see the wickedness continue. This is a covenant based on God’s mercy. But this covenant is given beyond Noah to all living creatures, both past and present. We see how much God values all of creation, including us.

 

     As a reminder, God places a mark on creation. This is not because God is forgetful. He always remembers. When God sees the mark, it is not for Him to recognize that He needs to pull back the rain, thunder, and wind. It is a mark reminding all of us that God will “never again” have anyone go for wood.

 

     What is the mark God uses? A bow. I know the NIV says, “rainbow.” But the Hebrew word means “bow” like the instrument of war. A rainbow is shaped like a multi-colored bow in the sky. However, notice which way the bow is pointed. It is not aimed at the earth, but directed at heaven. God is not going to shoot arrows at Himself, it is a promise without end.

 

     How does this apply to us? How does this connect with the wider story of salvation through Jesus? Matthew Henry wrote, “Sin which drowned the old world will burn this.” It was our wickedness and violence that brought the flood waters to the earth. God acted in mercy to preserve all of creation from our sinfulness. After the waters receded, God promised never again would anyone need to go for wood to build another ark. His flood waters of judgment would never wash away all creation again.

 

     But the truth of this passage is that sin always leads to destruction, and the Bible assures us that a day is coming when God’s holy fire will ultimately destroy sin, evil, darkness, and death once and for all. It is a good thing God promised “never again” about the need for an ark. An ark made of wood would not keep anyone safe. The Bible tells us people will take to the mountains to shield themselves from His judgment, but there is no escape.

 

     And remember, God wants everyone to be saved. But an ark was only big enough to save Noah, his family, and two of every creature. That is a limited capacity. The number saved at the time of the flood was a very small percentage of life.

 

     God wants everyone to be saved. This means that God has put no cap on the number of survivors at the final judgment. And the good news is God has made a way so that is possible! Jesus died on the cross to make a way for all sinners to be saved through faith in Him! “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” (John 3:17) An ark is not needed because the blood of Jesus can wash away our sin, and if we place our faith in Him then the Holy Spirit will purify our hearts with holy fire. In other words, we do not have to go for wood because Jesus was nailed to it.

 

     That day of God’s judgment is coming. There is nothing any of us can do to stop it. There is nothing of this earth or us that can save us from it. And if we are not right with God, that should terrify us. If hearing this stirs up fear, it should be because we are being convicted with the knowledge of our sinfulness. But we do not have to leave here today in that fear. God does not want us to live in fear of His judgment. Our conviction is pointing us to our need for Jesus. We can choose to shed our fear and exchange it for a crown of victory.


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Sunday, February 11, 2024

Between

 



One of my favorite TV shows is MASH, with Hawkeye being one of my all-time favorite characters. In one episode, this American surgical unit is penned down by enemy sniper fire, impeding their attempt to do their life-saving jobs. As the problem begins, Colonel Blake tells the company, “Now the first thing people do in this situation is panic.” Hawkeye responds with, “Good, at least I’m doing things in the right order.”

 

Is that not our go-to human response? When we face tough news, impossible difficulties, and overwhelming things our natural response is fear and anxiety. But our passage today reveals that we can rest in these moments. A choice exists.

 

 

     Exodus 14:13-31 (CEB):

 

     But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand your ground, and watch the LORD rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never ever see again. The LORD will fight for you. You just keep still.”

 

     Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to get moving. As for you, lift your shepherd’s rod, stretch out your hand over the sea, and split it in two so that the Israelites can go into the sea on dry ground. But me, I’ll make the Egyptians stubborn so that they will go in after them, and I’ll gain honor at the expense of Pharaoh, all his army, his chariots, and his cavalry. The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I gain honor at the expense of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his cavalry.

 

     God’s messenger, who had been in front of Israel’s camp, moved and went behind them. The column of cloud moved from the front and took its place behind them. It stood between Egypt’s camp and Israel’s camp. The cloud remained there, and when darkness fell it lit up the night. They didn’t come near each other all night.

 

     Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The LORD pushed the sea back by a strong east wind all night, turning the sea into dry land. The waters were split into two. The Israelites walked into the sea on dry ground. The waters formed a wall for them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians chased them and went into the sea after all of them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and cavalry. As morning approached, the LORD looked down on the Egyptian camp from the column of lightning and cloud and threw the Egyptian camp into panic. The LORD jammed their chariot wheels so that they wouldn’t turn easily. The Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites, because the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt!”

 

     Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water comes back and covers the Egyptians, their chariots and their cavalry.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. At daybreak, the sea returned to its normal depth. The Egyptians were driving toward it, and the LORD tossed the Egyptians into the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the cavalry, Pharaoh’s entire army that had followed them into the sea. Not one of them remained. The Israelites, however, walked on dry ground through the sea. The waters formed a wall for them on their right hand and on their left.

 

     The LORD rescued Israel from the Egyptians that day, Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the amazing power of the LORD against the Egyptians. The people were in awe of the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.

 

 

This is the Word of God.

For the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

 

 

     I have two disclaimers as I get started. One, I will not quibble over the natural and supernatural elements of the miracles in this passage. Two, if you struggle with anxiety or depression, I am not saying you should not seek professional help. It takes faith in God to see professionals who are trained to assist in unpacking trauma and other things that injure our minds. Our minds get broken like our bodies do, and praise God that He has raised up those who are called to aid us.

 

     Now, for the sake of time, I did not read the verses immediately before our passage. But they are important, so I will quickly summarize. After their initial grief of losing their firstborn children, Pharaoh denies God’s Sovereignty and in anger he leads the Egyptian army to wipeout their former slaves. When the Israelites seem them coming, they begin to panic and cry out against God directed at Moses.

 

     While the people panic, Moses speaks up as God’s faithful leader to God’s people. Moses gives no orders to take up arms or defensive positions. Instead, Moses says in verses 13 and 14, “Don’t be afraid, watch the LORD rescue you. The LORD will fight for you. You just keep still.” The Israelites looked at the angry Egyptian army from their panic-stricken human position, Moses looked at it from a place resting in faith. That picture matters.

 

     Verse 15 is curious, because God says, “Why do you cry out to me?” We have no recorded prayer or words from Moses, but not all prayers are words. Moses was human, I am sure his bold faith claims in verses 13 and 14 was full of confidence, but at the same time had to be internally trembling. God was telling Moses this was a time for the people to move. Then verses 19 and 20 tell us God moved Himself between the people and their big scary problem.

 

     Verses 21 through 30 describe a series of miracles that follow. At the right time, God moved between His people and the Egyptians. At the right time, God sent “a strong east wind” that worked all night to make a way through the sea when there was no way. When the people made their way through, and the faithless and arrogant Egyptians inexplicably decide to give chase, at the right time, God created chaos in the Egyptian army and jammed up chariot wheels. The Israelites had enough faith to take a step, and God faithfully worked at the right time.

 

     God moved in such a mighty way, He fulfilled His words in verse 18 when He said, “The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” In verse 25, as God is laying the smackdown on them, the Egyptians say, “Let’s get away from the Israelites, because the LORD is fighting for them!” The faith of the Israelites led to life; the faithlessness of the Egyptians led to death. The same waters that saved the Israelites were the death of the Egyptians. Life was found through the water, and death was beneath it!

 

     As daylight comes, the Israelites are standing on the shoreline staring at dead Egyptian soldiers and horses surrounded by devasted chariots. The same enemy that sent them into a panic was now dead at their feet! Not by their own hands, but by the God who went between them and their problem. Verse 31 says, “Israel saw the amazing power of the LORD. The people were in awe of the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.” “Believed in” is stronger than the Eligh would have it seem. This is transformational faith that purifies the heart and renews the mind. God’s people were changed.

 

     What does this teach us? It reveals the truth about our human condition. Panic, fear, and anxiety are our natural responses to enemies and the encounters we have as broken people in a broken world. Fear stimulates our flight or fight response, evidenced by the Israelites lashing out against God and Moses as the Egyptians charged at them. We do the same thing; it is the natural and fallen human response.

 

     While it is our natural response, it is rooted in our fallen condition. And that is a problem. In 1 Corinthians 15:50, Paul writes something that steps on our toes. He writes, “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can corruption inherit corruption.” How does that connect with what we are talking about? Panic, fear, and anxiety will not lead us to God’s kingdom. They are from our fallen nature. God wants us to live as citizens of His Kingdom here, with our hearts resting in His goodness and our minds leading us to act in the confidence of His goodness. But panic, fear, and anxiety rob us of that rest and confidence.

 

     The good news is this: God’s Kingdom is one of rest and peace available now. No matter what our problem is, we can get above fear! Not by pulling up our bootstraps, taking arms, or trying harder, but a step of faith! God became flesh to go between us and our biggest problem, sin! And He can do the same with our problems! The way above fear is not looking at how big our problem is, but instead by looking up at how big and mighty our God is.


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Wonder your value

       Just two weeks left in the season of Lent. This week, which is the sixth, is typically used one of two ways. It is known as Palm Sund...