God's invitation

 

     The Church building is simply a structure of brick and mortar. Take away all the people, it is of no value except a memorial. Then again, a church can be full of people, but lacking the presence of God in the people.

 

     How can we be certain that God’s presence is in the midst of His people? It all boils down to one question. Who is welcome in the Church building? Our passage today will give us God’s answer, but it is our response to His will that determines if God’s power will be allowed to work in us and through us.

 

     Isaiah 56:1-8 (CEB):

 

     The LORD says: Act justly and do what is righteous, because my salvation is coming soon, and my righteousness will be revealed. Happy is the one who does this, the person who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath, not making it impure, and avoids doing any evil.

 

     Don’t let the immigrant who has joined the LORD say, “The LORD will exclude me from the people.” And don’t let the eunuch say, “I’m just a dry tree.”

 

     The LORD says: To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths, choose what I desire, and remain loyal to my covenant. In my temple and courts, I will give them a monument and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give to them an enduring name that won’t be removed. The immigrants who have joined me, serving me and loving my name, becoming my servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath without making it impure, and those who hold fast to my covenant: I will bring them to my holy mountain, and bring them joy in my house of prayer. I will accept their entirely burned offerings and sacrifices on my altar. My house will be known as a house of prayer for all peoples, says the LORD God, who gathers Israel’s outcasts. I will gather still others to those I have already gathered.

 

 

This is the Word of God.

For the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

 

     This passage may seem curious to us. But we must remember the prophet Isaiah is writing to the Israelites who are in exile, on the verge of returning home. Their sin led them into captivity, and God’s grace allowed them to return home. However, this left a lot of questions.

 

     Verses 1 and 2 outline how the exiles are to respond to God’s grace. They were living in expectation of God’s deliverance, and expectation is at the heart of faith. Faith is having confidence in God and trusting Him to keep His promises. As evidence of faith, the lives of God’s people are to reflect that expectation in what they do. And these practices are highlighted by Isaiah, not because doing these things earns them salvation, but because they accept God’s salvation.

 

     Since they are living in expectation of God’s salvation, the people will practice justice and righteousness. Justice is keeping what is lawful and righteousness is the behavior in keeping the law. Verse 2 says, “Happy is the one who holds it fast, keeps the Sabbath,  not making it impure, and avoids doing any evil.” The Ten Commandments are veiled in these words, with keeping the Sabbath deeply conducted with the worship of God and Him only. Then “avoids doing any evil” is a summary of the other commandments about loving their neighbor. Love God and love others are the practices these exiles are to carry out as evidence of their faith in God. Even as exiles where the world around them might present a challenge to living out their faith.

 

     Verses 3 through 6 focus on two specific groups of people who are connected to the Israelites, either as Israelite outcasts or those who have become connected through their faith in God. Before the exile, the Israelites were an exclusive people who relied on bloodlines. During the exile, the groups who were normally on the outside had found a connection with God’s people through faith. Now that the exile was coming to an end, they were worried that they would find themselves excluded.

 

     Who were the two groups? First, the immigrants. These were the Babylonians themselves or other peoples who were their captors. During this period, God worked many miracles such as the fourth man in the fiery furnace, shutting the mouth of lions, and writing on a wall. This would have convinced some that the God of Israel was God. Second, are the eunuchs. In the traditional ways of Israel, they would be prohibited from entering the Temple by the law. They were considered impure, even if this was not a lifestyle they had chosen for themselves.

 

     But God gives both these groups, these outcasts, the same charge as the rest of His people. It was simply live by faith, evidenced by the same practices as God’s people. No extra hoops, because God’s invitation to His coming salvation for all peoples. Verses 7 and 8 share that God is inviting everyone to this coming moment.

 

     What does this have to do with us and our question who is welcome in the Church building? First, the day of salvation that God was pointing to through the prophet Isaiah is fulfilled. It was fulfilled through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. His blood was shed for the forgiveness of all sin for all. God has thrown heaven’s gates open wide, inviting everyone to come to salvation through faith in Jesus.

 

     Because the first thing is true, that means everyone is invited to God’s house. Here in Isaiah, God highlights two specific groups of outcasts, but make no mistake these are not the only groups. With salvation through faith in Jesus, “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female.” (Galatians 3:28)

 

     John 4 records a scene where Jesus is interacting with a Samaritan woman at a well. He is extending salvation to this Samaritan woman, but she objects with “Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you and your people say that it is necessary to worship in Jerusalem.” (John 4:20) Jesus counters her argument with, “The time is coming—and is here!—when true worshippers will worship in spirit and truth. The Father looks for those who worship him this way. God is spirit, and it is necessary to worship God in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24) Essentially, Jesus tells this woman to have faith evidenced by loving God and loving others. Love God by worshipping Him, love others by avoiding doing evil to them.

 

     Who is welcome in the Church building? Everyone who wants to seek God and see others seek Him. God has invited everyone to be saved, to be saved everyone needs to hear the message of Jesus. How can they hear if they cannot come in? At Ravenna Church of the Nazarene, regardless of your situation, lifestyle, or past, you are welcome because God says you are. God wants you to be saved, and we want to make sure you can hear the message of what Jesus has done for you. Our prayer is that you will come to faith in Him.

What have you done?

 

     I have been a lead pastor for five years now, been preaching for twenty years. In all that time, I have never preached on the topic I am sharing today. It is a topic I do not like preaching about. Honestly, I would rather preach on hell than this topic. But our topic today is a matter of worship. An act we do that demonstrates that our hearts are yielded to God. The topic is tithing.

 

     Now, please do not be intimidated by the title of this message. I am in no way trying to scold anyone. The title has more to do with our passage, which at first glance may seem to have little to do with tithing. But I assure you, it does.

 

     1 Samuel 13:1-15 (CEB):

 

     Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he ruled over Israel forty-two years. Saul selected three thousand men from Israel. Two thousand of those were with Saul at Michmash in the hills near Bethel, and one thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. He sent the remaining men home. Jonathan attacked the Philistine fort at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. So Saul sounded the alarm throughout the land and said, “Hebrews! Listen up!” When all Israel heard that Saul had attacked the Philistine fort and that Israel was hated by the Philistines, the troops called to Saul’s side at Gilgal. The Philistines also were gathered to fight against Israel. They brought thirty thousand chariots with them, six thousand cavalry, and as many soldiers as there is sand on the seashore to fight Israel. They marched up and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven. When the Israelites saw that they were in trouble and that their troops were threatened, they hid in caves, in thickets, among rocks, in tunnels, and in cisterns. Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan River, going into the land of Gad and Gilead.

 

     Saul stayed at Gilgal, and the troops followed him anxiously. He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel, but Samuel didn’t come to Gilgal, and his troops began to desert. So Saul ordered, “Bring me the entirely burned offering and the well-being sacrifices.” Then he offered the entirely burned offering.

 

     The very moment Saul finished offering up the entirely burned offering, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet him and welcome him. But Samuel said, “What have you done?”

 

     “I saw that my troops were deserting,” Saul replied, “You hadn’t arrived by the appointed time, and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash. I thought, the Philistines are about to march against me at Gilgal and I haven’t yet sought the LORD’s favor. So I took control of myself and offered the entirely burned offering.”

 

     “How stupid of you to have broken the commands the LORD your God gave you!” Samuel told Saul, “The LORD would have established your rule over Israel forever, but now your rule won’t last. The LORD will search for a man following the Lord’s own heart, and the LORD will commission him as leader over God’s people, because you didn’t keep the LORD’s command.”

 

     Samuel got up and went on his way from Gilgal, but the rest of the people followed Saul to join the army, and they went from Gilgal to Gibeah in Benjamin. Saul counted about six hundred men still with him.

 

 

This is the Word of God.

For the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

 

     I read a lot in our text today, but verses 1 through 7 were just to provide the full context of the story. In summary, the Philistines had been harassing and oppressing the Israelites. Saul sent Jonathan to attack the Philistines, and Jonathan did so. But this was like poking a bear. The Philistines gathered up a force of more than thirty-five thousand, and the Israelites were ill-prepared. Afraid, the Israelites hid.

 

     Back in 1 Samuel 10:8, the prophet Samuel, who had anointed Saul as king, gave the king this command, “Go down to Gilgal ahead of me. I’ll come down to meet you to offer entirely burned sacrifices. Wait seven days until I get to you, then I’ll tell you what you should do next.” Samuel wanted to do this as a blessing to Saul and the army before the battle began, and then provide a battle plan. But in verse 8, it tells us that Samuel did not come to Gilgal, putting Saul in a dilemma.

 

     Men were deserting Saul on the eve of battle. They saw the impossible odds and quite naturally in fear decided army life was not for them. In his mind, Saul could not wait any longer. This was a matter of both spiritual importance and the morale of the soldiers. Anxious to keep more men from deserting, Saul offers up the sacrifices himself.

 

     No sooner does Saul complete the ritual than Samuel shows up. Samuel is punctual in his arrival on the seventh day just as he said. But it is later than Saul expected. Saul explains to Samuel why he did what he did, and Samuel responds in verse 13, “How stupid of you to have broken the commands the LORD your God gave you!” Saul was sincere in his efforts, as king it was his job to rally the troops. But he forgot the most important thing, his obedience to the King of the Universe. His sin was not necessarily the action itself, but the impatience driven by fear.

 

     The consequences were severe. It seems such a small matter to us, and we may even empathize with Saul. Dealing with frightened people is not an easy task, especially adding to the life-and-death aspect of war. This action driven by an attitude of impatience and fear cost Saul the rule of Israel. Not necessarily for him, but for Saul’s family.

 

     What does this have to do with tithing? Before we get to that, we must re-examine Saul’s failure. After being anointed king, Saul is filled with God’s Spirit. God’s Spirit is still available to Saul in this hectic moment, but notice that is not the spirit that rules Saul. 2 Timothy 1:7 says to us that God does not give us a spirit of fear but one that is powerful, loving, and self-controlled. But in this moment, impatience and fear drive Saul to offer up these sacrifices.

 

     The Biblical practice of tithing is established way back in Genesis 14, when Abraham gives King Melchizedek of Salem a tenth of the plunder from a successful rescue mission. As Christians, the aim for us is to give ten percent of our income to God, not because God needs it, but because it shows that we value God and His Kingdom more than our comfort and possessions. In Acts, the early Christians went above and beyond, giving all they had because of their excitement over what Jesus did for them.

 

Notice the attitudes behind the act of giving. Abraham gave because he wanted to honor God. The early Christians gave out of excitement, wanting to demonstrate their love for God who gave Jesus for them. Attitude is just as important to God as action. In Matthew 5, Jesus demonstrates this when He teaches about the Law. It is not good enough to only not murder, God wants us to not hate which leads us to murder. Adultery begins with lust. In the case of Saul, impatience and fear in the action of offering sacrifices to God led to sin. Instead of being ruled by the Spirit of God, Saul was ruled by a spirit of fear.

 

In 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, Paul teaches about giving, writing, “The one who sows a small number of seeds will also reap a small crop, and the one who sows a generous amount of seeds will also reap a generous crop. Everyone should give whatever they have decided in their heart. They shouldn’t give with hesitation or because of pressure. God loves a cheerful giver.” For giving to be an act of worship, it must come from an attitude happy to give to God the blessings He has given us. We should not give because we are afraid, feel obligated, or with an expectation that God will bless us with a private jet. We should give because the Holy Spirit has filled us with joy about what God has done and will do.

 

You are loved, whether you give a pop tab, your whole farm, or anything in between. You are valuable because God made you and Jesus died for you. With that knowledge, what is the Holy Spirit prompting you to give? Maybe it is the standard ten percent, or maybe it is more. If you do not give regularly, the ten percent is not something you can swing. Then what is the Holy Spirit telling you to give? It is not about the amount, Jesus fed five thousand people with 2 fish and five loaves, faith tells me He can do the same thing with our tithes and offerings. Give cheerfully, because you want to, and most importantly according to what the Holy Spirit prompts you.

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I've got no one

     There is a powerful story in the gospel of Mark, recorded in chapter 2. A man was paralyzed, and his friends were desperate to get him to Jesus. So much so, that when the friends see the crowd blocking the door to the house where Jesus was, they take their bedridden friend to the roof. Once up there, the friends tear a hole in the roof, then lower their friend down directly in front of Jesus. Jesus was amazed at their faith, and the paralyzed man was given the ability to stand.

 

     That is an incredible story. Our passage today is similar but in the gospel of John. But the circumstances around the event recorded in John are very different. It shows us that while every person is created equal, they do not share in equal situations.

 

     John 5:1-9 (CEB):

 

     After this there was a Jewish festival, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate in the north city wall is a pool with the Aramaic name Bethsaida. It had five covered porches; and a crowd of people who were sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed sat there waiting for the water to move. Sometimes an angel would come down to the pool and stir up the water. Then the first one going into the water after it had been stirred up was cured of any sickness. A certain man was there who had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, knowing that he had already been there a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

 

     The sick man answered, “Sir, I don’t have anyone who can put me in the water when it is stirred up. When I’m trying to get to it, someone else has gotten in ahead of me.”

 

     Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” Immediately the man was well, and he picked up his mat and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.

 

 

This is the Word of God.

For the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

 

     Before I dive into this passage, I think it is important to address an elephant in the room. Some of your Bibles may have not had part of verse 3 and all verse 4 in with the rest of the text. Do not worry, your Bible is not faulty. Those verses might be down in the footnotes. This is because these verses cannot be verified in all the Greek New Testament manuscripts that they have found. In no way does this undermine the accuracy of the Bible, it is 98 percent accurate. Considerably more reliable in accuracy than such classics as Beowulf and the works of Homer.

 

     I’ve included these verses for two reasons. One, as teaching moment. As scholars and experts grow in their knowledge of the Bible through the finding of ancient manuscripts, the accuracy of translations improves. Two, to me these verses give us an idea to why the man in the passage is at this pool. The belief that this pool had healing properties is essential to understanding why the man is there.

 

     Verses 1 through 3 highlights for us the location of the scene and the type of individuals who would gather by the pool. The term translated “paralyzed” means “withered” or dried up”. Those gathered by this pool were those who had little to no prospect of future life. They had no power or strength and were desperate for a miracle. In verse 2, John records “It had five covered porches,” perhaps built out of hospitality for these desperate people as they waited on their miracle.

 

     John introduces us a man in verse 5 who had been sick for thirty-eight years. No mention is made of what the man’s illness is, only that he had been suffering for a long time. The man had probably become a fixture beside this pool, with the hopelessness of his cause being known to all. And the text would indicate, the man was there on this day with little hope today would be any different.

 

     Jesus notices the man in verse 6. “When Jesus saw him lying there, knowing that he had already been there a long time.” A long time that day or for thirty-eight years? Either way, Jesus knew. And Jesus asked him what may seem to be a silly question, “Do you want to get well?” I do not think Jesus is being crazy, there is a reason He asks the man, but all we can do is speculate. But Jesus asks the man, picking the man out of the rest of the crowd waiting for healing too.

 

     “Sir, I don’t have anyone who can put me in the water. When I’m trying to get to it, someone else has gotten in ahead of me.” This is how the man responds, instead of with an enthusiastic, “Yes!” It was not like the man had lost the will to be healed, he focused on the reality that he had no one to help him into the healing waters. When the waters stirred with their healing properties, all the others were too focused on their own healing to stop and help him. Over thirty-eight years, I am sure the man lost count of how many times this happened.

 

     Today, the water was not needed. Jesus was there, and He had the means. Jesus said to the man, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” As crazy as sounds to tell a man unable to stand for thirty-eight years to stand up, verse 9 tells us the man was immediately cured. The man may have had no one there to help into the water, but Jesus was there and helped the man to stand up!

 

     What does all this have to do with us? In the beginning I mentioned every person is created equal, but not everyone shares in equal situations. The man in our passage was at the pool with all those other folks just as desperate for a miracle. Many of those folks had the ability to get up on their own and get into the water, at least giving them a chance to benefit from the healing water. But the man in our story could not get up, he said, “I have no one to help me.”

 

     If we were to go across the street to talk with families, stop to chat with those who rely on our blessings box, or visit the struggling children at our schools, but many of them would say, “I have no one to help me.” Like the man in our story, they feel the helplessness of their situation and see no way out. They would pull themselves up by their bootstraps, but they have no boots. There is a desire for a better life, but the opportunities are outside their grasp. They have no one to help them.

 

     Jesus asks them, “Do you want to be made well?” “Do you want to experience a different life?” The question sounds crazy because who would not want that. But like what Uncle Ben says to Peter Parker (Spiderman), “With great power comes great responsibility.” Being given the power to be made well means there is a responsibility to living in that wellness. Being given a different life comes with a responsibility to live differently. Not everyone is interested in the responsibility, but there are many who are if there was someone to help them.

 

     Jesus wants to help them! Jesus can help them! Just like He told the man to “Get up!”, Jesus wants to say the same to those who are in hopeless situations. God created them equal along with all of us, but they are waiting for that someone to help them. And Jesus wants to help them.

 

     How? Certainly, Jesus can work a miracle all on His own, He has the same power today that He had by that pool there in Bethsaida. But perhaps the miracle Jesus wants to work involves you and me being His hands, feet, and voice saying, “Get up!” and offering them a hand. We are not trying to help them into the water, but offering them the gift of Living Water. It can be as simple as putting items in the blessing box, or offering a ride. Money is a good thing, but that is not always the answer. Just as valuable, if not more so, is us being someone who offers love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness. And if we are living through our faith in Jesus, we can have the faith of what Jesus can do their lives by believing in them.

 

     We are created equal, but not all of us are in equal situations. However, the infinite and unquantifiable grace of God is equally available to all of us. If you are here today, desperate for someone because you have no one, “Silver or gold I do not have, but I will give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus, get up and walk!” If you are here today and lack nothing that you need, “Jesus you have, but who does He want you to tell ‘get up and walk’?” There is someone in our community that is desperate for an opportunity, and that opportunity is you with Jesus in you.

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Shroud to cover

      This is the final Sunday of Lent, a special season where we as Christians focus on the life, passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. 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.

 

     Our passage for today is a message of hope. Hope for people who were facing hardship and death. Something we are just as familiar with here in 2024. But what do these words have to do with Easter?

 

     Isaiah 25:6-9 (CEB):

 

     On this mountain, the LORD of heavenly forces will prepare for all peoples a rich feast, a feast of choice wines, of select foods rich in flavor, of choice wines well refined. He will swallow up on this mountain the veil that is veiling all peoples, the shroud enshrouding all nations. He will swallow up death forever. The LORD God will wipe tears from every face; he will remove his people’s disgrace from off the whole earth, for the LORD has spoken. They will say on that day, “Look! This is our God, for whom we have waited—and he has saved us! This is the LORD, for whom we have waited; let’s be glad and rejoice in his salvation!”

 

 

This is the Word of God.

For the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

 

     “The LORD of heavenly forces will prepare for all peoples a rich feast.” A feast is almost always in celebration of something. When you or a loved one gets a job promotion, the kid gets straight A’s on their report card or any other life milestone, as people we eat in celebration. In the ancient world, whenever a mighty battle was won, there was a feast to celebrate the victory. God is preparing a feast on His mountain to celebrate His victory.

     At this table of celebration, there is plenty of food. The best cuts of meat, and the finest beverages. No expense spared. God is not throwing a party for only Him; He is throwing this shindig for everyone. Verse 6 says God is preparing this feast “for all peoples.” All are invited.

 

     Why is God throwing this victory celebration? It has to do with a piece of clothing called a shroud. A shroud is an article of clothing worn by those destined for execution. The shroud is placed over the person’s head as they are led to the site where their life will be taken, a punishment for the crime they have committed. Verse 7 says, “He will swallow up on this mountain the veil that is veiling all peoples, the shroud enshrouding all nations.”

 

     Our passage does not tell us that everyone is stuck wearing the shroud forever. These verses are about God’s victory celebration. God is celebrating because death, that shroud that covers every single person and nation, has been removed and destroyed by Him. All the tears are wiped from everyone’s eyes because the shroud is a shared universal reason they are shed. But God has obliterated death forever.

 

     Death is the shroud that covers all people. God is inviting everyone to His place for a victory celebration because He has destroyed death once and for all. Isaiah is writing to his fellow countrymen, rejoicing because God has saved them. This salvation is from the greatest enemy humanity has ever and will ever face, death.

 

     How does this connect with Easter? What is our “never again” statement God reveals to us in these words from Isaiah? People die every day. Isaiah wrote about God swallowing up death forever, yet Isaiah himself died. This makes no sense because the shroud does still exist, and keeps us from seeing the truth.

 

     Death is the shroud that keeps us from seeing. We have been wearing the shroud for so long that it has become part of us, to the point we do not even notice it anymore. It looms over our entire existence, but we spend our whole lives trying to avoid it. Nor do we realize the choices we make that contribute to its power over us. Death is the consequence of sin, and we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

 

     Sin leads to death; death separates us from God and those we love. Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, and to save themselves from destruction, they turned on each other. The same thing happens in our lives. When we lie, cheat, and do all those things we know are against God, they impact those people in our lives we love. Death’s shroud traps us in this cycle of sorrow.

 

     But the passage today told us of a time when God prepared a feast inviting all to come to celebrate His victory over death. A moment when God once and for all destroys the shroud that covers everyone. When is that time? And what does it have to do with Easter? Everything.

 

     That time is now! God’s victory over death is now! Jesus, the Son of God, came and died on the cross so every single one of us here today is forgiven of our sin. Our faith in Jesus leads to us being victorious over death too!

 

But how can that be so? People are still dying, right? Remember, the Easter story is that Jesus died on Friday but on Sunday rose again! The tomb is empty! And just like our Lord died and rose again, we will too if we repent and believe in Him! Christ’s promise to His followers is that one day He will return riding on the clouds. And on that day, those who are waiting in the grave will be resurrected from the ground, called up to meet Him in the sky. Then they will meet with Jesus at God’s great big victory celebration, forever.

 

     Salvation through Jesus Christ is the invitation to God’s victory feast on His mountain. God is celebrating Jesus and His Resurrection, which laid death in its grave. Death is now wearing the shroud. Accepting His invitation is an assurance that we will gather at the table, along with all our loved ones who come to know Him too. This is the hope of Christianity, one that sustains in this life through every heartache, pitfall, and tragedy. Never again is there a shroud to cover you in life, death becomes only a stepping stone to everlasting life.

 

     I do not know about you, but I am sick of goodbyes. I’d much rather prefer the hope of a “see you later.” A common phrase today is, “You only live once.” It speaks of trying to get as much enjoyment out of this life before it is over, but I’ve discovered that is a defeated way to live. No matter how much fun, the shroud always reminds me the end will always be there. I’d much rather live knowing that a nap waits before an everlasting shindig to end all shindigs.

 

     What about you? You are invited, and no one can deny you that invitation. The decision to attend belongs to you.

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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 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?

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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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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.

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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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