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Does anyone else feel like there's just too much going on? I saw a video of a man saying—well, screaming—that exact sentiment from his car. Life just has so much happening at any given time, and it can feel like there is just no way to keep up with everything. Part of this comes down to our inability to say no to things. We've created such a culture that looks down on people who aren't overworked that we assume being busy absolutely all the time is what is most honoring to God. This ignores the fourth commandment that explicitly commands rest, but that's another sermon. Perhaps another possibility for this crazy sense of busyness might be because there is a misquoting (and understanding) of the verse that we are looking at here this morning. I've heard this verse in many conversations over the years saying, "God doesn't give you more than you can handle." This idea that God doesn't overload us can give us permission (or threat) to just keep going with whatever life throws our way. Since God doesn't overload us, then whatever is on our plate must stay on our plate. Since God doesn't give me more than I can handle, then there is no need to ask for help. As we will see, today, that is not what that verse means—or even says. There is no verse that says that God won't give you more than you can handle. In fact, there is Biblical evidence to show the opposite! One scholar points to 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 "For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death." But then take a look at the rest of the verse:"But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead." (Eric Bargerhuff). Do you see the point being made here? God gives you more than you can handle all the time! The very point in doing so is so that you see your true weakness and look to God for help. That is reality! So where do we get this idea from? Well, that likely is coming from 1 Cor. 10:13, which we look at now. What God does say in that verse is that He is not going to allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able (again, with His help) to escape. That is what we are going to be looking at today as we contemplate our two points today: The danger of falling into temptation is real and Dependance on God and avoidance of sin is required. The danger of falling into temptation is real As we went over when we did this series back in the summer, a big part of misunderstanding what a verse means comes down to not looking at the context of the verse. Context shapes meaning. If I say the word "blinker" as an auto mechanic, you will assume I am talking about a car. If I say that same word as an eye doctor, you are probably going to assume I am talking about someone's eyes. That is just one word! How much more important in Scripture that when we see a verse, we need to read the verses (and preferably chapters) surround the verse to understand what it means. This verse is part of a much larger discussion in 1 Corinthians. This book was actually a letter written to the church at Corinth, and they had a problem with looking like the world around them. Relatable, eh? They have been told that they have been set free from their sins, but they are now assuming that they can flirt with those old sins. We can see what some of those might be by looking to the surrounding verses. One particular sin that is mentioned twice in this context is idolatry (verses 7 and 14), bowing down to statues as a show of allegiance to false gods. Now, the Corinthian Christians know that there is only one God. They know that those statues are false gods, so the thought is, "Well, it will make my business go much better to be seen at the false god temple. So what if I bend towards a statue? I don't really believe this stuff. It's just a rock. What's the real harm? My sins have all been forgiven in Christ." What Paul is saying to the Corinthians and us is that we are susceptible to temptation. In the early part of this chapter, Paul lays out some examples from history where Israel thought of herself as strong against temptation, but they fell into it embarrassingly quickly. Paul alludes to Israel fresh out of Egypt, having seen miracles, having eaten of the same heavenly bread, and drinking out of a rock in the middle of the desert, and yet, AND YET, even after hearing from God audibly on the mountain, the moment Moses turns his back, they set up a golden calf. Paul's point then is that if they can fall into temptation having seen all that they have, then surely we are all the more susceptible to temptation. This means we shouldn't get close to it. We've all seen those videos of people who handle wild animals for zoos and shows suddenly get attacked. They may have been with those animals for years, but suddenly, one day, the animal decides that it has had enough, and with one bite, their handler's lives change or end. I saw one where a animal handler was feeding an alligator when it bit down on her hand. A bystander saw what was happening, entered the alligator enclosure, jumped onto its back, looked at the keeper and then said, "Now, what?" That, too often, is how we deal with sin. We've kept it in its little cage assuming that it wasn't going to actually affect our lives, until one day, it bit. I've seen a number of marriages break up in just that way. One party thought they could keep a habit off to the side, but it didn't stay there. And if we think that we are beyond such temptation, that is exactly where we are the most vulnerable. A soldier is most in danger when he thinks he's in safe territory when he is not. Dependance on God and avoidance of sin is required. Now, all of this sounds very depressing, so far. What we have covered is that there are plenty of people, including the people who literally saw God work in some of the most miraculous ways, who thought that they could resist temptation, didn't. Therefore, we must be careful. But sin seems all but inevitable. Aren't we all just heading for some sort of blow up eventually? No, and that is exactly what 1 Corinthians 10:13 is telling us. It turns out that God does not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to resist IF we use the resources that God gives us to escape them. This is not saying that resisting temptation will be effortless or even easy. This IS saying that resisting temptation is possible with God. God will provide the way of escape, but YOU have to take it. And in many cases when it comes to sin, we just don't take it. So what are those resources? Well, the first is dependance on God, and the second is fleeing the temptation itself. When we say depending on God, I don't mean throwing yourself into a bad situation and hope that God simply stops you from following through. In fact, depending on God often looks like being obedient to Him before temptation strikes. It is worth noting that God is giving you the way of escape often well before temptation takes place. As one commentator pointed out, one of the best defenses against sin is memorized Scripture (Eric Bargerhuff). After all, that is how Jesus modeled resisting temptation from Satan, didn't He? Every time Satan lobbed a temptation, how did Jesus respond? Did He give logical reasons for why He shouldn't follow through on Satan's request? No, He simply responded with what God has to say on the matter. It is already set out! Are you memorizing Scripture? You likely know what your weaknesses are in your life, have you memorized verses that speak to those things? If not, you are probably leaving your way of escape on the table. We expect this of sports players, don't we? We would think it very foolish if we saw players come onto a field expecting to be good having put no physical effort in beforehand. We would think it very strange for a ballerina to wait until the day of the recital to start learning the choreography. We roll our eyes at students who try to study for the final exam on the bus on the way to school having slept through the class all year. But that is exactly how we often approach temptation. We know what we are like. We know what we struggle with. But we wait until the temptation is well upon us, then we quick try to pray or try to remember something, but with nothing to reach for, we succumb with little struggle if at all. Depending on God means depending on the resources that He provides you right now, BEFORE temptation crosses your path. The second tool that God gives you to fight temptation is to simply avoid it! As the old joke goes, "Doctor, I broke my arm in two places!" "Well, then, stay out of those places!" If you find yourself yielding to temptation while doing a certain thing, then, in the words of Bob Newhart, "Stop it!" This can be very practical. Are you more susceptible to anger when you are tired? Then go to bed earlier for the sake of your soul! Do you find yourself using your phone in ways you shouldn't when you are alone? Don't be alone with your phone. Or better yet, get a phone that doesn't allow for that kind of temptation to pop up in the first place. The way of escape is often far more practical than we think. We don't need to pray down a miracle to keep us from saying mean things on Facebook, we just need to deactivate Facebook. The Christian life doesn't have to be that hard! You don't need to fight your sin on your own, tell someone else about your struggle and be accountable to them. "That sounds scary! I would be ashamed to have to tell someone if I fail," Exactly! Sounds like a solid strategy. God works through means, so don't be afraid to use them. I promise you, if you are taking radical steps to ensure that you don't sin, are memorizing Bible verses to use in your spiritual fight, praying for the Lord to bring these things to mind in the midst of temptation, and enlist others in the fight against sin, guess what you are going to do? You are going to grow so much you will want to keep doing all of these things! You will be living as a Christian. And you will succumb to temptation less. No one is ever going to be perfect in this world as verse 12 reminds us. But God has not sent us out into a battlefield with nothing to fight with. He has sent the Holy Spirit to live within us to begin to change our desires. He has written His Word with specific guidance on how to live as Christians. He moves us in prayer. And He has given us plain old common sense. Use it all to resist temptation. So what is our takeaway from all of this? One, God will absolutely give you more than you can handle so you learn to stop trying to handle it yourself. God will give you opportunities to do far more good things than you can possibly do. All of that will teach you that you're not the Messiah and you need to take a rest like He told you. God is going to give you kids that are well beyond your current patience level to force you to come to God in prayer every morning asking for fresh energy. There will also be times that you will call out in prayer for something that you think you need, and He will say no to show you that you actually don’t need that thing and He’s not a vending machine. God will allow you access to someone at work or on the internet to make you choose between Him and your job or Him and the internet. And if you use the tools that I mentioned earlier, the disciplines of the Christian life humbly relying on God to make them work, you will find the way of escape. Two, take temptation seriously. Prepare for it, and be practical about it. To save money from being thoughtlessly spent, you put it in the savings account. You don’t try to develop better discipline and memory of what you wanted to save, you just move it into the savings account. Done! Treat your propensity to sin with equal practicality.
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Today's sermon explores Psalm 103 as we learn what it looks like to remember in order to not forget.
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My hope this morning is will you be encouraged to love the LORD your God and the things He loves. In doing so, you will find relief any anxiety you are experiencing. Jesus says in 6:25 “Do not be anxious for your life…” He then gives us many reason not to be anxious here at the end of chapter 6: He reminds us that life is more than food and clothing. These things are necessary, but they cannot provide the great things of life — knowing God and being known by Him, enjoying His presence in a way that you even find some joy in the midst of your suffering, the hope of eternity in his presence. He states in v. 26 that all creation relies on Him verse 26: “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” He goes on to say that anxiety is useless verse 27: “And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?” He says Our Father delights to adorn. He does it for the flowers. He will do it for you. “Fear not little flock. It is the Father’s pleasure to give you the Kingdom.” It is the unbelievers who should be anxious. But not His Children. Their father is evil and mammon is all they’ve got. But not you. Your Heavenly Father knows your needs, even before you ask Him. And He says He will carry the burdens of His children. Moreover, our Father spreads the burdens out over time. verse 34 says, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.” Jesus is saying that if you will put your trust in Him He will anxious on your behalf for that stuff up ahead that piles up and tries to bite you today. But in verse 25 Jesus did not merely say “do not be anxious for your life.” He said THEREFORE, do not be anxious - or“For this reason” you can win over anxiety. For what reason? This means there is something Jesus has already said that sheds light on the rest of what He has to say. He has revealed to us at least two universal principles about people. Being a missionary, universal truths come in handy. This means, no matter the culture, somehow this principle applies to them too. I just have to patiently observe and listen to figure out how it is to be applied. The world is quite anxious these days. Some are saying 2024 is the year for the next attempt at the great reset. There are wars and rumors of wars. WWIII is within the realm of possibility. So knowing and acting on Jesus teaching we can find relief from the sleepless nights, the sense of isolation and loneliness we have felt due to worry. The one who spoke us into creation is offering a universal solution to fear and anxiety. They are these:
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life… There are three main imperatives, or command in the rest of chapter 6- Everything else is meant to help you see the commands as wise and right and joyfully possible. The three commands of the rest of chapter 6 are:
“Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (v19) is a specific instance of what seeking God’s kingdom involves. Seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness involves not trying to be rich on earth but trying to be rich in heaven, that is, rich in God. Seeking the kingdom means treasuring God and freeing yourself from the drag of earth’s gravitational pull. And as you focus up there, He will take care of everything you need down here. Guaranteed. No risk investment. Then “Do not be anxious” is the condition of the heart by which we break free from our addiction to earth-treasure. Transactional relationships, and give ourselves with passion to heaven-treasure. By faith in his promises, God frees us from anxiety, and in this freedom, we don’t crave treasures on earth anymore. Those are the three main imperatives in the text. Jesus is asking you to ask yourself: “What is my treasure?” He makes clear where your treasure is, there will be your heart also. If you look at your investments and realize you need surgery to repair the longings of your heart, Jesus performs an operation deep into your soul with v. 22: Matthew 6:22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! The idea behind this passage is one of childlike simplicity. However, these verses contain one of the most shocking warnings against self-deception possible. This paradoxical phrase haunts me at times: “If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” In the Lord’s prayer we pray for protection from the evil one - an external force coming at us like a roaring lion. But here in v. 23 - Jesus was not warning against some external enemy: "If... the light that is in us [within, inside] us be darkness, it is no light at all. It is great darkness" This is about the strongest warning against self-deception imaginable. Elder David last night prayed last night according to 7:21: 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ That can seem to be an absolutely terrifying statement: after all my devotion will I be shocked to find out I had my ladder leaning on the wrong wall?” Paul does challenge the Corinthian church to test theirselves to see if they are of the faith. (2 Cor. 13) But Our Father is not out to trick us or leave us guessing. This SoM is about setting us free: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven! Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: they shall be satisfied.’ To understand the most striking meaning verses 22-23 we must see it in its placement: Before: 6:19-21 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Then look at the verse after: 6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” So I see a money issue before and a money issue after. The healthy, single, generous eye would see heaven as more valuable and would lay up treasure there. The bad eye would see this life as more valuable. God over money or money over God. Cannot treasure both. The “evil eye” was a Hebrew expression referring to jealousy and envy. The greek word ‘poneros’ here means grudging and ungenerous. You see the ‘evil eye’ in Proverbs 28:22 A man with an evil eye hastens after riches, And does not consider that poverty will come upon him. You see the use of the healthy, single, clear eye in Proverbs 22:9 “Whoever has a bountiful [generous] eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.” The person who is materialistic and greedy is spiritually blind. Because he has no way of recognizing true light, he thinks he has light when he does not. What is thought to be the light good works is therefore really darkness, because the motives were not for God but to please men and enjoy their compliments - it was transactional. And because of the self-deception, how great is the darkness! A great theme of the SoM Mt 5-7 has to do with your private life, by yourself with God. You can fool people. Men look at the outward appearances, but God looks at the heart. The principle is simple and sobering: the way we look at and use our stuff is a sure barometer of our spiritual condition. There is nothing like generosity for giving you a clear and undistorted view of life and of people; there is nothing like a grudging and ungenerous spirit for distorting your view of life and of people. The Master Mammon: 6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Jesus says "You cannot serve God and mammon." The word mammon comes from a root which means to entrust; and mammon was that which a man entrusted to a banker or to a safe deposit of some kind. Mammon was the wealth which a man entrusted to someone to keep safe for him. But as the years went on mammon came to mean, not that which is entrusted, but that in which a man puts his trust. Material possessions can usurp a place in life which they were never meant to have. Originally a man's material possessions were the things which he entrusted to someone else for safe-keeping; in the end they came to be the things in which a man puts his trust. Surely there is no better description of a man's god, than to say that his god is the power in whom he trusts; and when a man puts his trust in material things, then material things have become, not his support, but his god. The most literal translation of v. 24 is this: 6:24 “No man can be a slave to two owners; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will cleave to the one and despise the other. You cannot be a slave to God and to material things.” Here, then, is our relationship to our treasures. They own us. Many have been deceived into thinking our treasures were in submission to us. Mankind lives the life of an illusion of freedom and control of his life and destiny. Jesus says it is not true. People are slaves to a master. And in the words of the theologian-poet Brother Bob Dylan: “You gonna have serve somebody. It might be the devil. It might be the lord, but you gonna have to serve somebody.” Joshua 24:14 “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” In regard to the master we serve - we have no rights of our own. The god we serve must be the undisputed master of our lives, our time, our hearts. There is nothing worse than a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. If it is the Lord God, serve him wholeheartedly or get out of the business of religion. If it is mammon, the things of this life, then by all means, go for the gusto. Get rich, build bigger barns, eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you die and go to hell forever! Jesus is saying that since you are a slave who cannot serve two masters, be certain to invest your treasure in eternal markets. Here Jesus is warning that earthly mammon will ensnare you and eventually cause you to shun God, even hate this entire concept of GOD as master and determiner of your life. You will grow cold toward one or the other. But He is also hinting that if you return to God, who is your Father and relinquish your heart to Him, the things of this world will grow strangely dim. Your eye will be clear and you will discern that the fleeting pleasures of this world. You will shun the deception of the world and hate the things that challenge God’s irrefutable reign and rule. That is where your tithe and faith promise to missions come into play. You give to the poor, who can never repay you, because that is exactly what your Father has already done for you. Your heart will be where you place your treasures, and He has invested in you. He gave his treasure, His only Son for you to have Him. Knowing that you were born to serve is clarifying, isn’t it? But one of the greatest things about Jesus is that, though He is an absolute master and you are his bondservant, and though He does bid you die with Him, He does not want his people to be anxious. God does not secure his kingship by cultivating anxiety. He has made himself king over us for the very opposite purpose, namely, to take away our anxiety. In my own life, the sheer statement from the Lord that he does not want me to be anxious has a great tendency to give me peace. But when you add to it the reasons he gives why we don’t need to be anxious, his word becomes tremendously powerful. Global mission is about setting people free! Verse 25: “Do not be anxious about your life.” Verse 31: “Do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’” Verse 34: “Do not be anxious about tomorrow.” So one thing should ring in your ears when you leave this morning, namely, “ My master King Jesus does not want me to be anxious.” But that is just the negative way of stating the main point of this passage. There is a positive way found in verse 33, namely, instead of being anxious, “Seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness” Ah, that is mission! The only true solution to anxiety - serving God and seeking His Kingdom reign. Knowing that you were born to serve is clarifying. And to seek the kingship of God first in every affair of life is a thrilling way to live. It’s full of freedom and peace and joy and adventure and hardship, and it’s worth it all. If you believe in the kingship of your heavenly Father, you do not need to be anxious about anything. For your master has promised, “All these things shall be added unto you.” Rom7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! …Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. Isaiah 41:8 “... I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. 10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Luke 12:32–34) “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
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Have you ever heard of the concept of a spite house? These are houses that are built for the purposes of upsetting neighbors or making a point. One such house is in Freeport, New York, built in 1906. The builder was a developer named John Randall who didn’t like the city’s idea to make a grid system for the roads. To stop this, he built a house on a triangular piece of land that ruined the symmetry of the roads, a consequence you can still see today, over one hundred years later. There is another one in Boston called the Skinny House. Two brothers got a piece of land, but one was away on military duty. When he came back, he found his brother built a house taking up more than a fair share of property. In response, he built a house right next to his brother's, constructed in such a way to block light from the house! It is so close there isn’t a front door, meaning you’ve got to shimmy your way around to the side door (Source). In a time before regulation, it was possible to preserve one’s feelings about something for over a century in this country, but this isn’t a new thing. Building something to commemorate an event or a person wasn’t invented in 20th century America. In fact, this goes back nearly to the beginning, all the way to Genesis 11, the Tower of Babel, the original spite house. God’s command was for the people to go out and fill the earth, but they disobeyed this command pretty straightaway with the idea of staying together and building a name for themselves. God is going to intervene with a judgment that is still around even today but will be lifted on that Great Day of the Lord. Today we are going to see God's commandments and judgments produce ultimate good and A broken world is moving towards reunion. God’s Commandments and judgments produce ultimate good. We begin with the introduction that calls our attention to the point of this story: language. If we all truly came from the same family, why do we have such radically different ways of expressing ourselves in speech, and why is everyone so scattered? Chapter 11 answers all of these questions, and they are answered in God’s actions. This chapter tells us that at one time humanity was radically united. They had the same language and could walk with each other in the cool of the day. They find a flat space and decide to make bricks with the materials around. With those bricks they decide to build a city with a great tower in order to keep them together and build a monument to themselves, to give themselves a name. This is a good strategy for doing that, as we look on the pyramids today with awe over the builders skills these many thousands of years later! However, this is also a terrible idea because it requires disobedience to God. God told them to spread out and fill the earth, but they are afraid. Ross points out, "In addition to identifying their proud ambition, the story also reflects their anxieties." (233). They don’t want to obey God’s commands because to leave out in smaller groups in a survival scenario means fewer workers, fewer resources, more trust in God. Humans have always been scared when one is called to go and trust Him. Abraham will be asked to do just this in chapter 12, as we will see in the coming weeks, in contrast to what we see here. They are convinced they can build a tower that would lead them even into heaven, a radical display of pride if there ever was one. We tend not to view pride as all that serious of a thing. I mean, whenever people are confessing sins, we all default to pride, don’t we? That’s the safe sin to confess. But it isn’t a safe sin. Pride is self-worship, and no human being, even oneself, cannot hold up the weight of worshipful expectations. But it is so common and at the root of every sin. It makes no sense, as Calvin points out: "Yet even death does not correct our pride, nor constrain us seriously to confess our miserable condition: for often more pride is displayed in funerals than in nuptial pomp" (328). We know that we will die, that something will eventually stop us, but we still take pride in ourselves. We need something better to look to. And God is going to provide it. So the Lord is going to intervene here. Now, please come and nerd out with me on the literary features of this passage, as pointed out to me by my old Hebrew instructor, Dr. Ross. I was a literature major in college, so you’ll just have to indulge me a minute here. This passage is about language, and the way that language is used here to tell this story just points to the artistic nature of God, and honestly a sense of humor. We know that this is the tower of Babel, close to the Hebrew word for “confuse.” The letters “B,” “L,” and “N” in Hebrew show up throughout this passage, so you are already sounding like you are saying, “Babel, Babel, Babel” if you were to read this in Hebrew. Further, there are a ton of puns, play on words, and artful ways of talking. For example, in verse 4, the people say, “Let us make bricks” and in verse 7 God says, “ Let us go and confuse,” but the letters are in reverse order, like God is going to undo their “let us” with His own “let us,” prompting one commentator to say, “God sings with the people while working against them" (Ross, 236-7). The Master and Maker of Language, the Word Himself, descends. Far from their tower reaching up to heaven, God has to come down to even see it, in a manner of speaking. Now, we get to verse 6, and there are a couple of ways to look at it. One sees God as genuinely concerned like when Adam and Eve disobeyed in the Garden. God kicks them out of the Garden lest they eat of the tree of life and live forever! Perhaps this is what God is saying here. What evil might be possible if these people are allowed to stay in this state? Of course, God isn’t concerned like we are, as He holds the future. I think that is a legitimate way of looking at it, but Calvin has another view. He sees God as pointing out that their only means of being able to do what they do is based on one thing, language. Pull just that one factor out of them, and everything collapses. So God confuses their language. One move, and the entire project comes to a halt, mid construction. Calvin comments here, “For he frequently bears with the wicked, to such an extent, that he not only suffers them to contrive many nefarious things, as if he were unconcerned, or were taking repose; but even furthers their impious and perverse designs with animating success, in order that he may at length cast them down to a lower depth" (329). God let them build as far as He let them. Once He purposed for it to stop, He just programmed a new language in there. No flood needed. No powerful display. Just a will. But why? Well, verse 9 tells us. God wanted to give the place a name. After all, that’s what they wanted, right? To build a name for themselves? Well, guess what? That name is “Confused” (Calvin, 332). Pretty funny isn’t it? But there is a dark side. Ross points out that this judgment doesn’t have any blessing with it: “There is no clothing for the naked sinner, no protective mark for the fugitive, no rainbow in the dark sky. The primeval age ends with judgmental scattering and complete confusion. The blessing is not here; the world must await the new history." (242). It is only when we see this new history do we see that even in this blessing-less judgment, that there is a setup for great blessing in the future. A broken world is moving towards reunion. That new history will be announced many years later. In Zephaniah 3:9-10 (thanks, Kinder for pointing this out), it says “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD and serve him with one accord. From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones, shall bring my offering.” Notice that! Remember who the Cushites were from? Ham! This plan includes them! But we don’t see this play out until Acts 2. The Holy Spirit gives the Apostle’s the gift of tongues to preach to the people, not, “disperse!” but “Draw Near!” to all the people in verses 9-11. Do those locations sound familiar to you? They are a sample of where all the sons of Noah went! Further, that gift of tongues will provide the instant proof that God has called the Gentiles into His New Covenant, as we can see in Acts 10:44-48. The symbol of judgment becomes the symbol of justification! Now, with this news announced and proven that the Gentiles are allowed in, the gift of tongues is no longer necessary as a proof of salvation. Now that is better proven with a lifetime of sanctification. But God doesn’t stop there. In Revelation, we all will be gathered from every nation, tribe, and tongue, united as one to praise God in heaven before His throne! There will be a new city! Revelation 21:22-26: “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Those scattered nations will come back together, holding the uniquely beautiful things their culture created and present it in heaven. But what about now? Do we need to wait until heaven to experience that unity? In its fullness, yes, but we have a small taste of that in the Church. Ephesians 2, which we read earlier, vs 21, tells us that we are being built, not as a tower to ourselves, but as a temple to the Lord. We are made into a place where God has promised to dwell, and it is in us. We get to see that unity displayed in the Lord’s Supper, which we are about to receive. Listen to 1 Corinthians 10:17, speaking of the Lord’s Supper, Paul says this, “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” So where do we go from here? 1) Practice unity around the truth of God's Word. The Babelites had unity but in the wrong direction. It built a tower of tragedy, but God is building a Temple of unity. It is worth striving for. 2) Love the Church. This is weekly Heaven practice. If you don't like submitting yourself to the truth in love, you won't enjoy the New Jerusalem. No, the church here isn't perfect. That's why we long for heaven. When the church is the Church, it is a little taste of heaven. Finally, let me close with the words from Calvin one last time, and think about these things as we head into our Mission’s Weekend, “...although their language may differ in sound, they all speak the same thing, while they cry, Abba, Father." (332)
Genealogies are one of the most encouraging sections of Scripture. The reason why that sounds like a funny statement is because we don't read them. We don't think about them. We assume that what we are looking at is a dull list of names that have nothing to do with me or very little to do with the Bible. Sure, names like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob show up, but how often are the Jebusites showing up, and even if it is a lot, what difference does it make? How does knowing Nimrod built Nineveh make a difference to my life? Well, if you aren't paying close attention to all of Scripture, yeah, this won't make a difference to you. But I can tell you that's true of all the Scripture. We come to this gold mine of the Bible with nothing but a pan. We will find riches even that way, but oh how blessed is the man who meditates, who brings the pick axe to open up the ground. We are going to need to do some work, but there is gold even here.
We have covered genealogies before in our series through Genesis, most recently in chapter 5. There we saw that God was faithful to His promises and His judgments and that walking close with God brings blessing. God promised Eve that she would have children, and sure enough, Eve had children! Adam and Eve were even able to see it come to pass! We've just seen some invocations made to God from Noah last week for Shem and Japheth to be blessed and Canaan to be cursed. Well, when we get to chapter 10, it is starting to look like it is going to be a while before we see this. The sons of Ham (including Canaan) are doing pretty well for themselves, while it seems like Shem is taking a minute to get started. I can imagine that this is really hitting home with the original audience. The descendants of Shem have just left 4 centuries of servitude to Egypt. While they haven't been serving Canaan, it's not like they've been enjoying power in Egypt. Ham's kids are oppressing Shem's kids. Now, the tables have turned recently, but right now the descendants of Shem are sitting in the wilderness. They've just finished complaining about their food situation, longing to go back to Egypt. They are about to face the sons of Canaan, and they are scared to death to face these people. From their perspective, this is a losing battle, always has been, always will be. But you and I, with the benefit of the rest of history, can learn a lesson here. Let's learn some family history as we discover our two points: God's people don't look like much, but God is faithful to His promises in time. God's people don't look like much First, a quick word on our characters. I know these names are difficult and unfamiliar, but these are going to be the names that are going to come up time and time again. I don't know if you've had the experience of listening to someone passionately explaining a fantasy world to you, but after the third or fourth major character with a name that sounds like someone fell asleep on their keyboard, you just switch into nodding your head as you drop into half-listen territory. It is really hard to dedicate the attention needed to understand a fantasy world that we are probably never going to read in or enjoy. The difference with these names is that this is actually your world. We all came from either Shem, Ham, and Japheth, all ultimately descending from Noah. Further, the Bible is going to make reference to these people throughout the rest of the Old Testament, and we will trace some of them here today. There will be a lot more OT prophecy and history that is going to make much more sense to you if you have these names, or the major ones at least, in your head as you go. God hasn't given you this list as optional reading. This list is just as inspired Scripture as John 3:16, and, while at a different level, profitable for you, too. To help keep everyone straight, there is a little bit of structure worth noticing here. This list will go back and forth between using the word "son" and the word "fathered." The names in the "sons" are point to the heads of the lines we are about to talk about, and whenever it says, "so and so fathered" we are then about to read about the development of that son's line (Ross, 226). You are also going to see names ending in "im" or "ites," and this is referring to tribes or cities rather than individuals (Ross, 223). Next, quick word on historical context. Near as we can tell, we are sitting around 2,000 years Before Christ comes (Matthews, 455) and about 2000 years after the world was created, give or take. We are making the switch between the history of the whole world before narrowing down to focus on the family of Abraham, which will take us from chapter 12 forward through the rest of, well, the Bible. It is also worth pointing out that chapter 10 is actually going to take place *after* the Tower of Babel (Matthews, 428). We are being introduced to all of these nations and where they are going, and then we will find out in chapter 11 why they all end up heading in different directions and become different nations with different languages in the first place. The Bible is taking it in this order because we are going to go over the non-elect line first, saving the holy line for the end as a more natural way to transition to telling their story. We will watch things narrow in focus as we draw closer to Christ, the point of the Bible. Let's dive in starting with Japheth. These families simply aren't going to have the same impact on the line of Shem (read: Israel) that Ham's line will, so we go through them quickly. Remember from chapter 9 that Japheth is going to be dwelling in the tents of Shem later on, so we won't see nearly as much the negative impact on Israel. The people in this line go on to places like Asia Minor, Europe, and some small islands in the Mediterranean sea. You will see some of these names show up in other places in the Bible as people known for their ships and sailing. Next, we go onto the line of Ham, and here is where we are going to see the names pop up again and again. These people are going to be fairly well spread out over North Africa, along the Nile River, and along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea where modern Israel currently is, with a few tribes heading into places like modern day Arabia. It should not be lost on us with this geography to what an advantage it would be for these people. Access to water meant access to trade, transportation, and irrigation for crops. The sons of Egypt eventually settle the country of Egypt (how providential is that?) which, by the time the Israelites are reading this, is one of the most powerful countries in existence. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let's look at one figure in particular, Nimrod. Nimrod is described as the first to become a "mighty man," or a warrior (Matthews, 450). He is also described as a great hunter. In short, he is a man with a fearsome reputation, and has some pretty impressive things to dot his resume. He becomes quite the builder of cities which become major problems of Israel later on. One of those cities is Nineveh, which will become Assyria. This is important to remember, because about 1300 years later, in 722 BC, Assyria is going to become a fearsome empire and sack Israel to take them away into exile. Nimrod also founds the city of Babel (although we will see what happens to his Tower, later) which later becomes Babylon. Once again, this will be trouble for Judah later, as Babylon is going to conquer Judah in 586 BC and carry them off into exile as well. And those are just two of the cities that the man founded! Let's move on to Egypt. Aside from eventually being the country that enslaved the Israelites for 400 years, this is also the line of the Philistines. This group of people was SUCH a pain in Israel's neck throughout the book of Judges on through the early kings of Israel. If there was a fight coming during that time, it was usually from the Philistines. These were no mere inconveniences. This was the group of people who ended up beating king Saul in battle and pinned his body to the wall. This was the group that stole the Ark of the Covenant. God is Faithful to His Promise in Time And we haven't even mentioned the cursed Canaanites, yet! While there are a lot of names there, I am just going to mention one of them, the Jebusites. They follow in a list of these other Canaanites names in Exodus 3:17 and 13:5 as who will be driven out of the land by God. However, when we get to Numbers 13:29, we see the people scared to death to face them! This doesn't sound like the promise is going to be fulfilled! In fact, it gets worse! In Joshua 9:7, one of the groups (the Hivites, Gen. 10:17) tricks Israel, but they end up as servants. Ah, progress on that promise! But, when we get in Joshua 15:63, the Jebusites are mentioned as still being in the land! They are still there until David the king comes along! This is nearly 1000 later from Genesis 10, and God fulfills this promise and gives them the city of Jerusalem where the Temple is going to be built! And guess who is going to help build that temple? The Canaanites. 1 Kings 9:15, 20-21. Not only does God fulfill His promise that the Canaanites would serve Shem, but in that service they help prepare a place where not only the Jews but the rest of the world could meet in the presence of God, a privilege not enjoyed since Eden. That's how God fulfills a promise. Yes, it takes a minute. But was that not worth the wait? And here's the thing: these are real people, I just read to you their names. These are real tribes with real weapons taking stands on real places that you can get on a plane and go tour right now that God really defeated and really did all that I've just said He did. This is not airy-fairy fantasy; this is history—your history—your family history. After all, you ultimately descended from one of the sons Shem, Ham, or Japheth. This is what God has done for you His family! But what about the Canaanites? Does their story end with that? No, I have one more place to take you. Matthew 15:21. In the book of Mark, this same story is told, but Mark calls her the Syrophonecian woman. Listen to Matthew help us know where that is. In this story, we see this Canaanite woman address Jesus directly for help, and He ignores her. She keeps at it, He tells her something harsh. Calling someone a dog was not a compliment. But remember, this is a Canaanite! Jesus knows this, but He isn't doing this to be mean. He pushes this woman to display her tremendous faith. He could see that, but for our benefit, He has her say that famous line about the crumbs falling from the master's table. She knew she didn't deserve it. She wasn't asking for much in her mind. Just a crumb. Jesus gave her that crumb. Jesus, the ultimate descendant of Shem, serves Canaan. But then He gave so much more. Instead of the Master giving crumbs to the wild dogs, He gave Himself. The Bread of Life's body was broken, and His blood was poured out for the sins of the world. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, the Suffering Servant for the descendants of Shem, Japheth, and yes, Ham. God's plan has been for the world, and here it is fulfilled in Jesus. So what do we take away from this? One, know that this is the God you serve. He is the God Who works out all things for all nations for our good and His glory. Remember what He has done in and through even the Amorites, the Hivites, and Jebusites. He can do the same with California, Alabama, and D.C. He can work through the Republicans and Democrats. This doesn't mean that we just say, "Well, nothing we do matters, so might as well do whatever makes me popular." No, no. In fact, in Ezra 9, we find an account of the priests of God intermarrying with the Canaanite women, something they were absolutely not supposed to do. They had to repent of that. It wasn't just, "Well, God will work it out!" No, it was, "That was a sin, and we need to deal with that." In the same way, we are called to do what is right. Two, know that God is in control. But if even after doing what is right things go haywire, we can rest in the storm. God is directing the boat. So relax this election year. I'm not saying don't vote, or don't champion a candidate. I am saying, do those things, and then relax. Yes, it might mean that there is hardship coming our way. Conflict with the Jebusites wasn't pretty or pleasant. But God got His way, and He always will. And this works at the level of your life day to day. God isn't just in control of Outlaws in High Office, but in-laws in your living room. If God can make the Canaanites be the ones to help build the Temple to get the world closer to God, He can cause whoever is in your life that's driving you nuts to draw you to Him in a way that nothing else could. God has promised to make you more like His Son, and He is going to use even the people and things you can't stand to do it. Of course you can't see that right now. The Israelites couldn't see it either, pre-King David. But God has a way of using that which we are the most confused about and often angry about, to work out His plans for us. If we can praise God for Jebusites from the past, we can praise Him for our trials from the present. The thing that is causing you tears of anger and sadness about your life today will be the things that cause you tears of gratitude to God, because He used those things to bring you closer to Himself. He is equally involved in both. History shows us that. Genealogies show us that.
Image by Steve Buissinne
One of the things that I have found myself doing more and more since becoming a dad is being prepared. Rob got me thinking in this direction by counseling me to keep bandaids in my wallet to upgrade my "Dadness" (which has come in handy many times since then, so thank you, Rob!). Since then I've started carrying around a multi-tool, a knife, Motrin, journal, pen, and even a flashlight. This has gotten so out of control I recently purchased a pocket organizer to hold it all. I know that takes me from "Dad" to straight up "Geek," but the thing is, you never know when you are going to need a particular thing. Jumper cables can sit in your car for years, untouched and getting in the way, but boy are you sure glad you have them when the car battery dies. While you can make fun of someone like me carrying all these tools just in case, it is no laughing matter that most of us are unprepared for the things that are absolutely going to happen that day. I can tell you with 100% certainty that you are going to face temptations to sin before this day is over. Honestly, I have 100% certainty that you are going to face temptations to sin in the next hour! What are you doing about that? If the answer is, "Not much," then this passage is for you. The horror that sin causes even post-Adam and Eve is worth us pausing. We have an example of this very thing before us in this passage. Noah was, as we saw, a man of incredible faith and trust in God. He built a boat in the middle of the land to prepare for a worldwide flood. He did this in faith for 100 years while all the rest of humanity likely hurled abuse and possibly sabotage on his work. Nevertheless, the Lord vindicated him and preserved him and his family through the flood. Upon leaving the boat, rather than bitter and exhausted from the trip, spent the first days after the flood in worship, offering sacrifice to God. After that, we have the sad episode in front of us. While sinners drowned in the flood, sin did not. It was still in Noah's heart, too. One scholar put it this way, "'With the opportunity to start an ideal society, Noah was found drunk in his tent'" (qtd in Ross, 212). As it has been said, the best of men are men at best. Adam's sinful nature is passed down to Noah, and as we will see, there will be generational consequences for sin committed here by both Noah and Ham. We will be looking at two points today: The best of men are subject to sin and the consequences of sin can last The best of men are subject to sin Let's see how we got here. After the flood, we are introduced to our main characters in the story in verse 18. We get a sort of mini genealogy that details the three sons that left the ark. Only one grandson is mentioned, Canaan. This doesn't mean that the other two didn't have any sons, but it is introducing us to a very important character that is going to come up later. For the original audience, the recently freed slaves of Egypt, this name is going to be very significant, because the land that they are going into is occupied by the descendants of that very man, hence the name Canaanites. We are also being told that all the rest of the world is going to be populated by these three men, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. This is foundational history for the rest of humanity as well as this passage itself. This passage is meant to explain where the rest of the conflict of Genesis is coming from. We know from Genesis 3 that there is going to be the line of the snake, and this passage answers the question of how they survive the flood. The line from Canaan and his father Ham is going to continue the line of the snake, but before we place all of our targets on the backs of those Canaanites, we must react with horror that Noah's heart isn't pure either. Yes, there are those outside the promise of God, but the only difference between the line of the snake and the line of the woman is the grace of God. The same is true today. The only reason why we are here and transformed is because of the grace of God. Even the mighty are subject to fall. Verse 20 tells us that Noah began to plant a vineyard. The word "began" is going to come up a couple of times in the next two chapters that don't signal good that is coming, according to one scholar (Ross, 213). Here Noah takes of the fruit and sins with it, just like Adam and Eve (Bible Talk Podcast). Here Noah gets drunk and acts lewdly. This is very shameful behavior, utterly unfitting of a patriarch, and yet, the Bible records it. The Bible doesn't engage in hero worship or legend-making. It presents the men whom God used as exactly what they are, sinful men. It is not meant to excuse our sinful behavior when we act in a similar way. Far from it. This is meant as a warning to us to not repeat the same mistakes and as a comfort to us, knowing that God's grace covers even moments like this. Maybe you have things in your past that you aren't proud of. If you don't, then you probably have a bad memory. This passage doesn't tell us that they aren't a big deal, they are. But God's grace is a bigger deal. You don't have to be defined by the lowest moment of your life. The passage doesn't spend much time on this, however, and instead focuses on Ham's reaction to this and Noah's reaction to Ham. As Matthews comments, "...(Noah's) culpability is irrelevant, and was passed over by the author since Noah's drunkenness is only incidental to the narrative's focus, the curse and blessing" (417). Again, this passage is telling us why the rest of Genesis is the way that it is. Curse and blessing are following through even a worldwide flood. Now, by modern standards, what Ham did doesn't seem so bad. Yes, no one would want this fact recorded about us, but does it really rise to the level of cursing an entire line of descendants? In fact, in an effort to understand why Noah reacts the way that he did, we assume that there has to be some sort of euphemism going on behind the word "saw," implying that Ham physically violates Noah or perhaps Noah's wife. But that doesn't seem to be the case here. While "see" does have sexual connotations in other places in Scripture, it doesn't have that meaning here. We can tell this because Noah's other sons take measures to *not* "see" their father's nakedness by walking backwards covering their faces (Belcher, 100). In other words, they avoid Ham's sin by simply not looking (Matthews, 419). So are we to think that all that happened was Ham, in an effort to see his father, happened to be in the wrong place, wrong time, accidentally saw something he shouldn't have, and now his son's whole line is cursed? No. It wasn't just that he saw it, but it was that he saw it, took no action to remedy that, and instead went out to his brothers to spread his father's shame even further. As Matthews put it, "Ham's reproach was not in seeing his father unclothed, though this was a shameful thing…but in his outspoken delight at his father's disgraceful condition" (419). another scholar noticed a key detail that seems to suggest this very point. When Shem and Japheth go to re-cover their father, they don't take just any garment, but in Hebrew, they take "the" garment. Now it is still possible that it is still correctly translated "a" garment, but if it is really "the" garment, then that implies, according to my Hebrew teacher, that Ham has Noah's clothes in hand (215-216). Not only does he not cover him, but he sweeps up his clothes in order to prove to his brothers that he is in this disgraceful condition. One scholar put it like this, "The sin primarily involves the disrespect that Ham has for his father because instead of quietly taking care of the situation by covering his father he makes his condition known to his brothers. It is easy today to overlook the seriousness in that culture of disrespecting the father" (Belcher, 100). We can see by the lengths that Shem and Japheth go to what proper respect looked like. It doesn't gleefully report sin, but takes the steps to remedy it. They aren't covering up Noah's sin, pretending like it didn't happen, but they are taking steps to mitigate it. Our culture doesn't think that way at all. If anything, that is somewhat the only commandment we are expected to break. How often do we see parents honored in movies and tv shows, particularly the dad? Could it be that our culture has weakened our ability to be shocked by this? The Consequences of sin can last Well, Noah is shocked by it. When he wakes up from his wine, he finds out what happened to him and has something to say. He begins with a curse on Canaan. This is extremely strong language. This language showed up in Genesis 3, directed at the snake and the ground. It has the idea of binding something, which fits Canaan being bound by slavery (TWOT). Now, this brings up obvious questions that we need to look at. Why on earth is Ham's son getting punished when it was Ham who sinned? There are a number of things that we have to understand here. One, we are a very individualistic culture, and they were not. In fact, "...it would not be unusual for original readers to read that the actions of Ham would have consequences for his descendants" (Belcher, 100-1). Second, this isn't a curse against Canaan, *per se,* but rather his descendants that are cursed (Ross, 217). Third, Noah isn't some sort of wizard who can just curse people's lines willy nilly. This was a request that God carry this out, so only if it is the will of the Lord will Canaan's line be cursed (Ross, 216-217). Fourth, as Matthews put it, "In this case the curse is directed at Ham's son as Ham's just deserts for the disrespect he had toward his own father, Noah. Yet the imprecetation was spoken against future generations of Canaanites who would suffer subjugation 'not because of the sins of Ham, but because they themselves acted like Ham, because of their own transgressions'" (Matthews, 421-2). In other words, Canaan isn't being cursed because he just happened to be near Noah at the time, but because his descendants acted like Ham in the future time. So, all of this helps us answer why Noah gets off without a curse, but Canaan's line doesn't. You could respond, "I thought you said that you don't have to be defined by your lowest point? But it seems like Canaan does!" I did say that, and I stand by it because the reason why you don't have to be defined by your lowest moment is the grace of God. It is not about what you did, but Who you ran to afterwards. It is obvious that Canaan's descendants didn't run to God but instead ran deeper into the sin of Ham. The Canaanites don't get to blame their ancestor, as they make the same choice, but this whole passage suggests to us that the consequences of one's sin can be very far reaching. We don't sin in isolation. Now, there is one sidebar issue that I have to deal with quickly here, because there has been a line of thinking from this passage that has been used to horrible effect. Some have taught that the line of Ham (which they errantly think is related to the Hebrew term, "black"), means that black people came from Ham and are therefore cursed to be slaves forever, making American slavery not only allowable but Biblical. This is horribly, horribly wrong, but this sort of thing was taught in certain Christian circles as late as the Civil Rights movement in America. With the help of another pastor (link here), let's set this straight. One, Ham, according to recent scholarship, isn't related at all to the Hebrew word "black," and even if it was, Ham wasn't the one cursed, but Canaan. Two, Canaan wasn't even Ham's only son, as he had three others (Cush, Egypt, and Put). While none of them went on to do great things, Canaan's line was uniquely evil in that they had "defiled the land" (Lev. 18). Third, this curse wasn't because of dark skin but evil actions. Finally, and most importantly, there is a blessing coming. Shem and Japheth were blessed by God, Shem having the honor of Abraham in his line. The promise made to Abraham later on would be that any nation that blessed Abraham would be blessed. It is in that line of thinking that one commentator says, "The blessing that befalls all peoples is carried forward by the Abrahamic promises, which counter the old curses by the blessing received by all peoples in any era who acknowledge the Lord. 'Any attempt to grade the branches of mankind by an appeal to 25–27 is therefore a re-erecting of what God has demolished'" (423). We don't get to automatically enslave anyone because of skin color, but we are called to love our neighbor and give them the gospel hinted at in Shem's blessing. So where do we go from here? Well, sin still has generational consequences, particularly in the area of sexual sin. We will see this played out over and over again in Genesis. Noah’s lewdness, Abraham and Hagar will produce conflict still in force today. Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his daughters, Issac nearly allowing great punishment to fall on Abimilech, Jacob’s multiple wives bringing about grief. Your sin doesn’t just affect you. Past righteousness doesn’t end the need for vigilance. The best can fall. Mom and Dad, your lives have an impact, particularly Dad. It isn't because there is something magical about you, but there is something serious about sin. You have a major influence whether you like it or not. In the same way, righteousness doesn’t just affect you either. Shem and Japheth’s descendants benefit from their faithfulness to God’s law. We have got to drop the idea of radical individuality from Christian living. We affect each other for good or ill. The Bible sees families as units. We are all individually responsible for our actions, but that includes what our actions do to influence those around us. Now, the beautiful thing is that Christ can rebuild your family and you. He can work under the hardest of circumstances to bring you to Himself. You are not fated to repeat the sins of the fathers because you can have a new Father. You can be brought up in a new image, reborn into a new family. This is an option for you such that if you don't take it, then when you sin in the same way your family did, it is your sin, too. If you are a father looking out at the mess you made from your sin, you still have hope in Jesus. A strong testimony of Jesus' work is the transformed life of a deadbeat dad or the continued faithfulness of a great one. Sin has consequences, but so does grace. Run to Christ for the grace that you so desperately need, and see if that doesn't have an affect in the long run on those around you.
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It seems to be these days we are always in the midst of an election cycle. We rightly see elections of leaders in our country to be important and not to be taken for granted, as it is a right that not every country grants its citizens. It is a right that has been defended at great cost, and it should be counted as an enormous privilege and responsibility to help shape the country we live in. As true as all of that is, we are on the verge of something far more important that has impact for eternity. Today, we begin the nominations process for the leaders of our church. Far more is at stake than a tax policy. Far more is at stake than just Knollwood’s reputation in the community. Indeed, the reputation of the gospel in our community and our own spiritual formation is impacted by the decisions that we will make in the power of the Holy Spirit in the coming weeks. Thankfully, God has not left us to formulate the ideal candidate on our own. God has graciously given to us the profile of a church leader that transcends time, culture, and our individual ideals. You will notice that the list God leaves us with here looks quite different than what we might see on a job requirements list today, even among church job postings. There is no mention of a dynamic personality or success in business, or even previous leadership experience except the candidate’s own household. This list recognizes character not class. It requires integrity not innovation. It prizes a grasp and application of Truth rather than a knowledge and appropriation of trend. We’ve seen the danger of ignoring this list and promoting and then shamefully protecting men who did not have the qualities we are about to see today, so with all of this in mind, let us turn to our points this morning which you can see in your outline. Christ wants character in His elders and Christ wants character in His deacons. First, Paul writes to a young pastor named Timothy what the church leadership is supposed to look like, and given the enormous responsibility it entails, it makes sense for Paul to say that this is a noble task for a man to pursue eldership in the church. We want to soberly encourage qualified men to this position by reminding them that this is indeed a noble task to pursue. Because this is such a noble task, it requires noble characteristics. Paul begins with the qualities to be found in an elder of the church. Now, depending on which version of the Bible you are reading, you may see the word “overseer” or even the word “bishop.” The word Paul uses for “overseer” is episkopos from which we get the word “episcopal.” Paul uses this word interchangeably with the word “elder” or “presbuteros” from which we get the word “Presbyterian.” We see him do this in Titus 1:5-7 where we see him list the same qualities for church leadership to another young pastor named Titus leading a church in Crete. We also see Paul use the term “elder” in 1 Timothy 4:14 and 5:17 who are doing the sorts of tasks we see implied in this list before us in chapter 3. There is more that can be said on this, but given our focus leadership qualities, I won’t take time to argue for the Biblical nature of the Presbyterian church government. Pastor Harry Reeder has a good sermon on that, if you would like to know more. I still like the term “overseer” here as this gives a description of what the elder’s job entails: the oversight and rule of the church (a task further mentioned in 5:17) along with teaching, which we will see later. The list that follows seems somewhat randomly organized, but one of the commentators noticed that this is made up of personal characteristics that have positive interpersonal applications. For instance, he will be hospitable, a personal characteristic, that has an effect on interpersonal relationships: he will not be violent or quarrelsome! So Paul’s first characteristic is that an elder or overseer be above reproach. His character is to be without scandal. While everyone sins in their lives, the elder is not going to have done or been something that would bring shame to the church. Things done before conversion will be treated very differently than after conversion as we do recognize the power of the gospel to transform people, but there still needs to be much wisdom applied in evaluating each case. What does “above reproach” look like? Well, the first is the husband of one wife. The phrasing here is strange to us, as the language literally says “a one woman man.” Is Paul only trying to keep out polygamists? This is unlikely. One commentator pointed out that the same phrase is used in 5:9 of a widow, but in the reverse: “a one man woman.” Polyandry, the practice of one woman marrying multiple men, wasn’t practiced in that culture, so if it isn’t referring to multiple simultaneous spouses in 5:9, than it isn’t saying that in 3:2. Further, polygamy wasn’t allowed in Christian culture, so it would seem to go without saying that the leaders of the church observe the basic Biblical definition of marriage as one mand and one woman. As Kent Hughes sums it up, Paul is not making a quantitative requirement but a qualitative requirement. Paul is calling for faithfulness to that one woman. There is no other woman in this candidate’s life but his wife. Being married to only one but not being faithful to her doesn’t satisfy this requirement because again it is quality not quantity God is concerned about. What about the single or divorced? Well, Paul was single and points to the advantages of that for church service in 1 Corinthians 7, so being married is not a requirement for this office. Divorce depends on the circumstances. In that same chapter Paul gives the Biblical allowances for divorce (see also Matthew 19), so assuming the man is the innocent party in that divorce, or the divorce occurred prior to the man’s conversion, than he is a candidate for this office. The next few qualities are rather self-explanatory. One doesn’t want a leader who doesn’t know how to be serious, or a leader who is impulsive and lets his feelings and passions guide him. The Bible requires that leader to be hospitable, willing to open his home to others for service. He can’t be an abrasive man who is given to violence and rushes to make conflict. He is going to be pushed and challenged in this position, and may have people argue with him over decisions that he makes, so he must be able to handle that with grace and gentleness. He must also be free of addiction to alcohol AND money. The former seems obvious, but the latter requires some thinking. Paul is not condemning a rich candidate or commending a poor one. The only factor is one’s approach to money. If they are putting their trust in it, there will be a fall if it isn’t checked. This deserves more attention than it gets in American culture where money is often the sole indicator of success and competence. Indeed, the real test for an elder is how does he lead his own home? Does he manage it well spiritually, physically, and financially (remembering what has already been said about that)? Because if he can’t do that in his home, why would we think he could do that for the church. Indeed, we shouldn’t want to pile responsibility onto a man who needs to manage his first responsibility better. That would be unkind to him, as his first ministry (even if he is an elder) is to his home. Further, are his children who live with him obedient and following after God? Critically, this word for children, while according to one commentator can be used of adult children, the word for submission or subjection would only apply to children still under his roof. We know that salvation is of the Lord, and if adult children decide to spurn the teachings of their parents after they leave the house, there is nothing a parent can do but pray for them. A wayward adult child does not disqualify a man from this position. Next, he must not be a recent convert. A man exalted high and fast can and very often does lead to pride, just like the devil. And when he does, there is a fall coming just like for the devil. So many young pastors have had this happen to them, so we must not be dazzled by flashy upstart preachers. God is sovereign and can grow His church just fine without hotshots or impressive resumes. There is plenty of time for testing a maturity to take place, and the consequences of ignoring this are massive to both the individual and the church he leads which is why in chapter 5:22 Paul warns us not to be hasty in ordaining people. Finally, he must be thought well of by outsiders, meaning that he has a good reputation in the community outside the church. This doesn’t mean that he has compromised the truth to make people like him, but a true christian is going to serve and be a witness such that even his enemies will know that they can count on a glass of cold water or food from him. Outsiders can spot hypocrisy from a mile away, so if they see it, we shouldn’t ignore it. In these qualities we can see protection against the three common temptations in ministry: glory, money, and sex. These are powerful weapons in Satan’s arsenal, and he is going to fling as many of those temptations as possible. This will require characteristics that can only be in a man who has been transformed by the Holy Spirit. While the responsibility to rule differentiates the elder from the deacon, there is only one ability that the elder is called to do that differentiates him from the deacon, and that is to teach. The elder candidate must be able to have a firm grasp of biblical truth that he can communicate when called on. This doesn’t necessarily mean that he has to have taught a Sunday school series, but it does mean that if asked to fill in, can he do so competently and accurately? What if we haven’t seen him in that role? Well, how well does he do in explaining other things? Can he communicate in a way that is understandable and helpful? If he can do so in other areas, then he is likely to do so in spiritual realms as well. That is the position that I am comfortable with, but there will be other godly pastors who would say that the candidate must have taught in some sort of Biblical subject context in order to be considered. I think that this is overly restrictive, as some churches simply don’t have enough opportunity for every candidate to do so. Nevertheless, the ideal would be to have seen the man teach in a church context. Christ wants character in His deacons. Now, I’ve spent a lot of time with the elder requirements because a lot of them are the same for the deacon. Again, the common theme persists of God desiring character above all else. They, likewise, similarly, must be dignified and sincere. They are not saying one thing with one person and the opposite with another. They too cannot be in love with money or wine, yet must be in love and faithfully devoted to his wife and the rest of his household. If he cannot serve well in his home, then he cannot serve well in the church. And this is exactly what is required of him in this role. Indeed, just like the word “episkopos” gave us insight into the role of the deacon, so does the word “deacon” which means “service” tell us what this role is to be. We see the first deacons selected in Acts 6, and their charge was to look over the practical matters and needs of those in their ministry. While they are not called to teach, they are still called to know, hold fast, and be transformed by the mystery of the faith, the gospel and its teachings, as we see in verse 16. They must be able to do this with a clear conscience. For those that serve well in these duties, there is the reward of a good standing before men and God which will lead to greater confidence for themselves in Christ. Now let’s turn briefly to verse 11, as there is one final controversy we need to deal with. Depending on which translation of the Bible you have, it will either say “their wives” or it will say “women.” The word used here can be translated either way, and it is the context that determines its translation. Some have taken the context to mean that this should be translated “women” and thus create the space for females in the diaconate or their own special order of deaconess. Time does not permit a full treatment of this subject, but I will very briefly sum up my thoughts here. Those that would say this refers to female deacons cite Romans 16:1-2 in which Paul commends Phoebe and calls her, in the Greek, a deacon. Now, the word “deacon” means service or servant, so Paul isn’t necessarily using this word in the church office sense. Because of its ambiguity, I cannot build an entire understanding of a church office based on one word ambiguously used. With that understanding of Romans, it leaves me here with this context in Timothy. In all the roles of church offices or official groups, there is a mention of faithfulness in marital relationships. In chapter 5, as we saw earlier, to be put on the widows roll, they had to satisfy the condition of a one man woman, so the idea that a woman deacon is not going to be given that requirement seems odd. It also seems odd that Paul would jam the requirements of a female deacon in between requirements of male deacons, especially when Paul has mentioned prohibitions to women having authority or teaching in the church just one chapter prior. There is more that can be said, but for me I am convinced that the office of deacon, like the office of elder is restricted by God to qualified men. It is to be remembered that not every man is qualified for these offices, nor is it to be thought that a deacon or elder is the only position worth having in the church. The job of the elder and deacon is to prepare and facilitate the body as a whole for the ministry! Ephesians 4:11-12 has a focus on the saints, the priesthood of all believers, men and women for the advancement of the kingdom of God. It’s true that a woman cannot teach or hold authority over a man within the context of the local church (1 Timothy 2:10-14), it is not because she is mentally inferior or not as valuable in God’s economy. The reason for that is grounded in the creation order and fall all the way back in Genesis. This doesn’t mean that women can’t make podcasts, write books, go to seminary, or teach other women and children, and we need them to do all of those things, just like we need men who aren’t qualified for these two offices to serve the church in similar ways physical and spiritual. There are going to be a lot of quiet handymen and dedicated nursery workers receiving far more rewards in heaven than we expect. I believe that there will be some who will have more rewards than even some elders and deacons. Remember, the focus in this is the Kingdom of God. Our concern is not cultural relevance or the personal satisfaction of the office holder. The purpose of these elections —no— the purpose of every aspect of our lives is to build the kingdom of God, expand His rule on earth by fulfilling the Great Commission, telling people that Christ was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. We need to tell the world that Jesus died for their sins and rose again to defeat death. We need to call the world to repentance and faith, and one way in which we do so is selecting wise and godly leaders to teach and serve. No one man can do it all expect Jesus, so we need a plurality of elders to lead and teach, and a plurality of deacons to serve and assist. Both offices are needed in order that the saints that make up the church would be built up to serve their REAL Master and Head, Jesus Christ our Lord. So what do we do from here? One, we need to fast and pray that God would make it apparent who we are to select based on these qualities. All of us, whether eligible for office or not, are to conform our lives to these qualities. No one is going to be perfect, not even the ones we nominate for office, but they need to moving in their sanctification in these areas. Two, we need to pray for our leaders and keep them accountable. They don’t stop needing the gospel and sanctification when they are church leaders. If anything, attacks in their lives are going to step up because Satan loves to see the church dishonored. Please keep them in your prayers. Third, as a matter of practicality, the way we do this is to first approach the man you wish to nominate for the office to see if he is willing. If after prayer and careful consideration he consents to be up for election, we will have an opportunity for you to submit his name to be added to the ballot to be voted on in a few weeks time. Finally, we keep in constant remembrance that this is to be done for the sake of Christ and His bride, the Church. This isn’t politics or making someone feel good. This is a matter of eternity that when done well brings great honor to Christ our Savior.
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Many of us are starting this year with a renewed sense of hope. It’s a New Year. I love new starts. Fresh calendars, new notebooks, new goals, and new equipment to reach those goals from my Christmas haul. “This year is gonna be different,” I repeat from last year, “I can feel it!” That’s asking a lot from a new notebook, calendar, and productivity app, though. Those things can help my mind, but they can’t really change my heart. I want to remind you of something that you need to keep in the forefront of your mind this coming year: blessing only comes from God. Actual, real, long-term blessing (that’s the kind you want) is only going to come from God this year. And really, you can to a certain degree determine how much of a blessing you will receive. Obviously, I am not talking about material prosperity here. You can’t gin up enough faith to make a new car appear in your driveway. You can’t pray a certain prayer and new toys show up in your room. That’s not the kind of blessing I am talking about, nor what this Psalm is talking about. Psalm 1 is laying out some wisdom for us that is counter-intuitive, even for Christians. This Psalm is telling us things that we wouldn’t know otherwise without this Psalm’s help. So let’s dive in and find out blessing looks like transformation and blessing comes through the word of God We begin in verse one with the very first word, “Blessed.” There are two different words for “blessed” in Hebrew. One of them is only used of God or by God (such as when God created the world and “blessed” it) and the other one is used here in Psalm 1 that is used of or by man, never God. For this kind of blessing, one has to do something to receive it (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament). This is a positive gift from God still, but one can either have more or less of it based on how they act. To be clear, this is not saying that one is saved by what they do, but how much they enjoy that salvation is absolutely determined by what they do. So let’s see what is the first step in obtaining this kind of enjoyment and blessedness. That first step to blessedness is avoiding the ways of sinners. Now, I’ve been careful to say “the way” of sinners. I don’t mean to avoid sinners. Because that is impossible! In fact, Paul says something to that effect in 1 Corinthians 5. He tells them not to associate with those who claim to be Christians yet live horribly dishonorable lives, in that particular case, sexual sin. Paul clarifies that he doesn’t mean not to associate with anyone in the world who sins in that way or other serious was, because, in Paul’s words, you’d have to leave the world! Jesus spent time with tax collectors and sinners as well as religious Pharisees and political rulers, not to act like them, but to call them to repentance. The only way that sinners are going to hear about the good news of the gospel is to go to them and tell them! As you are going to tell sinners about the good news of the gospel, take care about what you hear them say. The Psalm starts out by telling us not to walk in their counsel, or their plans. This is something that is sneakier than you think. First of all, these people who are termed “the wicked” may not necessarily be mean people. The word used here can simply refer to those who simply aren’t believers (Ross, 185). Most of the time, sinful counsel doesn’t present itself as such. Usually there is a lot that seems helpful but there is something off. It can be something like, “Look, your faith is important, but like, let’s not go overboard on this thing.” The first part is true! Christianity is important. The second part has a true principle in that we need to do things in moderation. Where this goes wrong is in how we apply this principle. Usually, “going overboard” in Christianity means doing something that might actually cost. The underlying assumption there is, “Jesus isn’t really that important. I mean, yeah, He died on the cross for you, but let’s not go crazy! We aren’t extremists or radicals around here.” That’s a lie. With all due respect to David Platt, there is no such thing as a radical Christian. There aren’t tiers of Christianity. We don’t have a setup where bronze level Christians go to church once a month while the gold tier go into missions. There is only one level of Christianity and it is being obedient to the call that God has placed on your life in this season of life. That is going to look different in different people’s lives. But can you see how just a slight twist on something can make all the difference? God doesn’t love missionaries more than moms. We’ve got to be so careful in what we listen to, and we have never been more talked to than now. You are getting shouted at by every scroll, every podcast, every advertisement, every brand label. They are all trying to get you to believe something. And they are all very happy to play the long game. They are happy if all you do is notice them now. One step towards them is all they want for now. It won’t stop there. Don’t walk in those ways. Interrogate what you are listening to. My dad and I used to play this game with commercials where we would state very flatly what the commercial is trying to convince us of. The ad would be of some fancy car driving really fast down these inexplicably empty roads in the middle of a vibrant city, ending with some sort of tag line, “Escape to your commute.” We would look at each other and say, “huh, so all I have to do to never sit in traffic again is buy your car?” That’s the feeling that they want to sell you, but their car isn’t actually going to do that. You will never finally be happy with one more thing. We all kinda know that, but if you hear something often enough, you’ll believe it, no matter how crazy it might be. These days, messages like that can come to you through your phone while you are walking down the street, standing in line, or sitting in your chair. Don’t linger there. They aren’t selling you righteousness. That only comes from one source, and that is what we turn to next. The blessed man doesn’t live like the sinners do, but rather, the man who wants to be blessed meditates on God’s Word day and night. We get the wrong idea when we talk about meditation in our country. When we think of meditating, we think of sitting cross legged on the floor, emptying our mind, and saying, “ooommm.” That’s not biblical mediation; that’s eastern religious mediation. Biblical meditation isn’t emptying your mind but rather filling your mind. The idea of emptying your mind assumes that you have to get rid of all assumptions so that you can hear your own inner voice to guide you in the way of all truth. That’s garbage. Your inner voice is not the voice of truth. Truth comes from one place: God’s Word. So if you want truth, you better fill your mind with God’s Words, not yours. The Hebrew word for meditation actually has this sense of low speaking, or even like a growl (TWOT). Have you ever had to prepare a speech for a conversation that you knew was going to be hard (you got WHAT at Home Depot?)? You prepare for it by repeating what you are going to be saying changing this word and that word so that you convey exactly what you want to say. Every word is important and thought through in that process. That is exactly the process of Biblical meditation (just without the nervous feeling). Biblical meditation pours over the Word of God, weighing every word for everything that it is worth, wringing out every bit of truth that there is to find. That isn’t done by running your eyes over some words on a page for a moment and then never giving it a second thought in the day. You will miss 99% of what is in your Bible by doing that. How much art could you appreciate in a museum if you ran through the hallways? Imagine sprinting through the Louvre tearing through every hallway just so you could say that you’ve “seen” the entire museum? Have you really looked at anything by doing that? Could you even remember all that you saw? Museums expect you to stop and focus. Study. They even set up benches in front of some paintings because there is so much for you to see there in that one work, it would be unrealistic to expect you to stand that long. You need to bring a bench to your Bible. Take a seat in front of the Scriptures. Linger over these words of life. Memorize them, think on them, and apply them to your life such that it makes a difference (Ross, 189). Yes, you do have time, if you delight in them. Notice how that is framed. The blessed man doesn’t walk in the way of sinners, but he delights in God’s word. We don’t pour over God’s Word like an attorney trying to find a loophole. We read God’s Word like a letter from a beloved friend. You study that letter, but it doesn’t feel like study, does it? You remember connections, references, and analyze word choice. This doesn’t really happen with letters anymore, but they sure do happen with screenshot text messages, don’t they? Every word and emoji choice is terrifyingly analyzed in those group chats, aren’t they? All sorts of theories abound! All without asking the original source! That level of detail is what meditation on the Bible is like. It is pouring over a text written by someone you love that will greatly benefit your life to know. That is what the Psalmist gets to here in the middle about the effect of that blessedness. You will be like a tree, a firm strong plant, rooted deeply next to a stream. A tree that can do that has access to the water it needs, not dependant on the rainwater which is here one day and gone the next (especially in a Middle Eastern context). But it isn’t just sitting there. It is producing a fruit (though there will be dry spells, which is what “in season” refers to [Ross, 190]), providing shade, and prospering. The blessed man who avoids evil ways and delights in the law of God will prosper in all that he does. Now, does prospering mean basically a blank check from heaven? No. The very wonderful and transformative thing about being a blessed man is the definition of prospering changes. Your eyes get blown open to see what is actually important, what is actually worth pursuing. Because you’ve been meditating on the Words of wisdom from God and been avoiding the useless garbage of the world, you won’t take your cues of prospering from them. Prospering won’t look like stuff. It will look like righteousness! It’ll look like this from the book of Hebrews talking to the persecuted church, “For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.” Prospering will look like your heart chained to your Savior even if everything is taken away from you because of your stand for Christ! The wicked won’t be like that. They are described in entirely the opposite terms. Instead of a producing tree, the wicked are described as useless chaff. Chaff was the hard, inedible shell over grain. You would beat that stuff off the wheatsheaf and then you would toss the mixture of chaff and seed into the wind. The light chaff would get blown away, and the wheat grain would fall to the ground to be gathered up. The wicked aren’t a tree. They aren’t even a shrub. They aren’t even a plant! Just a husk. Husk that will get blown away. They won’t stand in the judgment. They’ll be separated, not planted, not prospering. You may say, “Well, it sure looks like the wicked are prospering!” Sure. They are running the ball down the field right now. They might even score a touchdown on the drive. That’ll make the score about 7,000 to 7 in Jesus’ favor. There’s twenty seconds left in the game. Guys, Jesus won. The chaff isn’t winning. The nations rage, the rulers of Earth plot and scheme, and the Lord, who sits on high, laughs. Let’s fight like we are going to win. The Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. That means that the righteous are going to live. Spend some time meditating on that this year. I promise that there is going to be a blessing there. So what does that mean for you this year? Make this a year of blessing for you. I’m not promising health or wealth, because that is not what the Bible is promising you. But I am promising you that the more time you spend meditating on, not just reading, what God says to you, you will find blessing. Take the meal that God is serving you, and rather than just wolfing it down, dine on God’s word. Hold it in your mouth. Savor every flavor and texture. That’s part of what we are doing here in the Lord’s Supper. This is giving us a chance to meditate on the gospel. We are given the opportunity to reflect on Christ’s incarnation, His death, and His resurrection, and in that we will find blessing.
We say 'I love you,' too much, particularly as English speakers. It's not our fault. English only gives us one word for the most complicated reality in our world. It has become so flat, so overused, that the most common way we see it defined is 'love is love.' What that means, of course, is, 'love is whatever you define it to be.’ For selfish people, that's a great definition. If love is whatever I want it to be, then love revolves around me. But what does God's word say? It says that God is love. That rips the power to define love from us and gives it to Jesus. And, oh, how He has defined it!
We have defined love mostly in terms of what it feels like to us. It’s a very subjective, personal, private, inward thing. It is what happens to me or how I make someone else feel. That way of thinking about love makes it all about ourselves. Everything in love is in reference to me. God defines love in an entirely opposite direction. True, Biblical love is not in reference to your feelings but in sacrificial action towards other people. In order to do this well, at all really, is not to draw from your own well of love. It’s actually quite shallow. You need to draw from love that is coming to you rather than what is inside you, so that is what we are going to be looking at today. Our main point today is defining love as doing for others what Christ is doing for you. This book of 1 John is something that you can read in a single sitting, and in fact that would be a great thing for you to do today or sometime here in the next few days of rest off from work. This is a letter written by the Apostle John, the same guy who wrote the book of the Gospel of John. If there is anything about John it’s that he wants to make sure that you know that you have eternal life. At the end of chapter 20 of his gospel he writes these things so that you may believe, and at the end of this letter, he writes these things so that you may know that you believe. Both John and James teach that the way you know that you believe is whether or not you are doing what Jesus says (1 John 2:3). It’s very simple. John doesn’t hold up perfection as possible on this side of eternity (1 John 1:8), nevertheless, the Christian is expected to live a life where the pattern of one’s actions points towards obedience to God’s commands. Their habits are ones of obedience, broken by interruptions of sin, rather than the other way around. It is like watching a child learn to walk. Before they get up on two legs, their pattern of movement is crawling, rolling, scooting, really anything except walking. When they start their walking journey, it will look like mostly crawling still, with little attempts at walking. But as they get older, they crawl less and walk more and more. Sure they will trip (I still do; and I’ve been walking for years!), but the pattern is walking. Now, our spiritual life doesn’t progress as quickly as that, but I think that is the idea. There is a stark difference that is defined by action. If someone asked me if my child was walking yet, I never said, “Oh, yes, they are! They haven’t taken any steps yet, but boy are they thinking about it!” I never said that! I know that walking is an action not a thought or a feeling. The Christian walk is the same. The Christian life is not a private, inward, emotional journey only. It breaks out in tangible action. Christian life looks different. How different? A literal night and day difference. In chapter 2, John describes the Christian life and non-Christian life as light and darkness. Wherever there is light, darkness is gone. That’s what the Bible is saying, but how are you fitting into that? Let’s get practical. Where are you right now? Are you walking? Are you in light? What would your wife say? Your kids? Your parents? If you are living the Christian life, others can have an answer because they can see it or not. Now, at this point, you may be rightly saying to me, “Wait a minute, I know people who can put on a good face. I know people who have never missed a Sunday in their lives but are just as far away from God as ever. Are you saying that all you have to do is a few religious externals and you can be saved?” No. Absolutely not. I, too, know of pastors who aren’t saved. I’ve seen guys who were conference speakers, book authors, and household names who weren’t saved, as evidenced by their later actions. Those actions proved something was missing, and that is what John begins to draw out here in chapter 2 and 3, true love. This is the part of this book that is key. It is not just external actions, it is whether you have love in your heart from God to motivate those actions. Hear from Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” Do you hear what Paul is saying? Paul is saying that even if you have one of the most impressive spiritual gifts possible at that time, able to speak in any language without training, even if it were possible speaking the language of heaven, but if you don’t have love, you’re just a noise-maker. You could have the mysteries of the world all unlocked in your head, you could have every book ever written stored in your memory and able to teach like no one else, but if you don’t have love, what’s the point? Even if you could perform miracles, be the next Mother Teresa, or even be a martyr for Christ, someone who dies for Jesus, but you don’t have love, what’s the point? Do you see what Paul is doing here? Love is the critical piece. This isn’t to say that those actions are bad, but love is the most important factor! And as we are about to see in our text, you can’t have love and it not come out in action. Now we get to the middle of chapter 3, and we find out how love is known. I think this is the heart of what John is trying to get across to us. John says in verse 16, “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” This is the perfect summary of the Christian life. This gets to the heart of what it means to be a Christian. It begins with knowing Jesus and His love for you. Jesus’ love isn’t some sort of sentimentality. It isn’t your picture on His fridge, as it were. The love that Jesus has isn’t limited to teaching things, or even doing miracles like healing diseases or raising the dead. Those are wonderful things, even things that took effort, but the love that Jesus has for you is blindingly displayed on the cross and the process leading up to it. I mean, it was one thing to have God Himself step out of heaven to live as one of us in one of the least comfortable times in human history. It was one thing to leave the praises of the angels to go be a carpenter making tables and chairs for people for thirty years before his ministry began for the last three. Here Jesus was every single day sacrificing, living for us. But it is going to culminate in the way He dies for us. Jesus going to the cross isn’t just another thing He did to teach us. It is not in the same category as the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus going to the cross was making the teaching He gave us possible. We do not start out life neutral with God. We start out with a legal and moral debt. We start out as shameful children. We start out as sinners, disobedient to God, rebels to the King of the Universe. What kind of punishment fits crimes against a figure like that? Eternal punishment! Nothing less would do. Anything less would be to lessen who God is. We understand this intuitively. Commit a crime against an adult brings prison time that can be debated. Crimes against children bring punishments that almost always result in people saying, “That’s not long enough.” We have a sense of justice that expands depending on the person sinned against. It shows we value children. God is infinitely more. He is the one who creates children. And we sin against Him when we violate His laws. We can’t be taught our way out of that. Jesus wasn’t just a teacher; He is our Savior. He went to the cross as the infinite God to pay our infinite debt. His perfect life is now offered to you. And He didn’t have to do any of that. That is the definition of love. Then John is going to turn around and say, “That’s the standard for you with your brother.” That’s what it means to love people. It isn’t just a one time dramatic sacrifice, but it is also a life-long servitude for others. Verses 17 and 18 provide us with a really practical example of this. Do you see people with needs you can solve but choose not to? There isn’t love there. John isn’t satisfied with talking about loving people. Loving people is doing. It’s laying down our lives. Now, at this moment, if you are anything like me, you’re probably wondering, “Is there a limit to this?” I mean, we’ve all read or heard of the concept of enablement or helping actually hurting. Is there a point where this kind of love stops? I think this is actually the wrong question. There is no limit to Biblical love. We are commanded by Jesus Himself to pray for even those who persecute us (Matthew 5:43-44), stunningly demonstrated by Stephen in Acts 6-7 who prayed that the people killing him would be forgiven. Again, that’s the standard package. The real question is when does what you are doing stop being Biblical love and start becoming selfish love? Biblical love is always pointing to Jesus. You can’t point to Jesus and help people sin. You can’t point to Jesus and lie to people about what He says about their sinful lives at the same time. It can feel nicer and get people out of your face faster to do those things, but that isn’t Biblical love. Sparing feelings isn’t always Biblical love. Sparing hardship isn’t always Biblical love. Biblical love sometimes does involve giving people money, but it almost always demands more. Biblical love almost always demands time and personal sacrifice on your part. Now, if you are saying at this moment, “This is an absolutely crushing standard. There is no way I can do this.” If you’re saying that, Good. You’re right where you need to be. Because I’ve got some good news for you, you’re right! There is no way you can love like that perfectly all the time, and Jesus died on the cross for that, too! You can be free from the burden of measuring up to earn salvation and just go and love people. Don’t love people to get into heaven. That’s not love anyway. That’s just using people. Instead, knowing that Jesus has paid for all of your sin, including your lack of love for people, You can have that pressure taken off of worrying about yourself and love people. It’s like being told to go rescue people on a mountain top. It’s terrifying if you think you’re going to fall off the mountain yourself. But you’ve got an unbreakable harness on. You’re not going to fall! So go rescue some people! Give them a harness! Maybe if you are having a hard time loving people, it might be because you don’t know what it is like to be loved by God. God loves you. He does. He showed you so on the cross. Do you believe that? Can you believe that He could love a little sinner like you? If you don’t, I’m begging you today, with God’s own words in my mouth to you today, “Come, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Let everyone who thirsts, come to me and drink, drink without price. Taste and see that the bread of life is good.” Take Him up on His offer to you. Lay down your life, turn to Him, and He will love you and never let you go. And when you are being filled up with a love like that, it will be like a firehose going into a burlap bag. It can’t help but leak out! God’s love poured into you can’t help but leak out to others. Imperfectly, incompletely, but unmistakably. I know this, because this is the very first fruit listed as the gift of God. The fruit of the Spirit is first “love.” He has promised to give this to you, not only as a gift between you and Him but between you and others. So what does this mean for you? If you are struggling to love people, it might be because you are trying to draw from the empty well of your own ability. To love like Jesus, you need to draw from Jesus. You need to go to Him every day in prayer and ask for another portion of His love to give to others that day. It won’t be easy. He gives you just enough for the day. He expects you to spend it all, because there is another portion of love coming tomorrow. If you are here saying, “I have been doing that for decades, but the person I am pouring it out for just isn’t responding at all. You have no idea who I’m married to, who I’m parent to, who I’m related to, and I just don’t see anything happening.” You may not, but God does. Listen to Hebrews 6:10-12 “For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Finally, let me encourage you that you are not alone. There is no way that you can show this level of love to absolutely everyone you can lay your eyes on by yourself. You’re not God. Have some humility, and ask for help. Let us love by helping you love, and for the rest of us, when we get that call may we all answer. And when we fail, and we will, let us go back to God, rest in the forgiveness that He freely gives, and let that Divine love inflame our hearts once more to love people again.
Joy is a serious issue. We give up too quickly on experiencing it, especially if it has been a long time since circumstances have been favorable. I think part of the reason why we give up on it is because we think that joy is optional in the Christian life, when it isn’t. I said at the beginning of this series that the fruit of the Spirit isn’t multiple choice. You can’t decide that you are going to be peaceful without having any self-control. You aren’t going to choose love and leave patience on the table. And you cannot take goodness and leave behind joy.
So is joy just another word for lack of sadness? Well, as I’m sure you’ve heard many times before, joy isn’t just another word for “happiness,” something that changes by circumstances. Jesus wasn’t slap happy all the time, as His weeping before the then-occupied tomb of Lazurus, and the then rebellious house of Jerusalem. Jesus experienced sadness to the point that Isaiah said that He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Yet in all of that, He didn’t fail God’s commands in any way, including this command to rejoice always. So what is joy? Joy, as we will see in a moment, is happily self-forgetful worship of the transcendent Christ. And this is to be done in all circumstances, even sad ones. How are we to do that? The quick answer is, “Have a good long look at Jesus and what He has done for you.” My old seminary dean once put it this way when defining joy, “Christian joy is marked by celebration and expectation of God's ultimate victory over the powers of sin and darkness, a victory actualized already in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ…" (Timothy George, 401). Christian joy constantly keeps the cross, resurrection, and consummation in mind. Let’s see how I got here. The first step is to see that joy is commanded of you. Did God really say that? Well, yes! In fact, we aren’t just called to rejoice, but we are to rejoice always! The Bible doesn’t say in our passage here in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice…when it is convenient” or “Rejoice…when it comes to mind,” or “Rejoice…when you’re feeling it.” It is, “Rejoice always, and again I say, rejoice.” It’s not like Paul just got a little overzealous on this point in this letter, as the exact same command is given again in 1 Thess. 5. One preacher put it this way, “Unsaved people do not rejoice in God, pray to God, or give thanks to God. Religious people rejoice sometimes, pray when they feel like it, and give thanks when things are going well. But Christians rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances. This is not the believer's response because we are impervious to life's dangers, toils, and snares. It is our response to life because we are in Christ Jesus" (H.B. Charles, here). Now, perhaps, Paul and Pastor Charles are just forgetting about how hard people’s lives can be! It is also no accident that the command to rejoice comes from Jesus as well in Matthew 5:11-12, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad…” Did you catch that? Jesus is commanding you to rejoice and be glad when you are being persecuted, made fun of, and slandered because you are following Jesus. Jesus is saying, “Hey, following me is going to make the world hate you, and when that happens, you should be rejoicing.” Now, why does Jesus get away with saying that? If any of us were to command that for ourselves, we would be called total narcissists at best. Delusional is probably the better word. So why does Jesus get to say it? If you can answer that question, then you are well on your way to experiencing joy. So what is the answer to the question? The answer to the question of why can Jesus say we are to rejoice, sing, be glad when people are slinging stones at us to kill us, or slinging words at us to get us canceled because of our stand for Jesus, is because Jesus is the main character of this world’s story. You and I are not the main character. We are not the center of the universe. Jesus is. So when we are contributing to Jesus’ will on earth, yet the earth doesn’t like it, we are still advancing the main character’s agenda. We can see this play out on a small scale when we see a mom give birth. I’ve been in the delivery room twice now for this process. I’ve never birthed a child and never will, but as an outsider, I can tell you, with deep conviction, that it is a rather painful process. Prior to children, I could never imagine why people would sign up to do that more than once. But it wasn’t until I held my children in my arms, and watched my wife hold our children in her arms, I understood. At the end of a pregnancy, there is a baby. What makes a mom sign up for that process again is self-forgetfulness. I don’t mean she doesn’t remember the pain. I mean that she isn’t thinking about herself in that moment. She is thinking about her child. Yes, pain is real, but it is in the context of a birth of new life. And in that the mother finds joy. Again, I say that this is a small scale. Because even as significant as that child is to that mother, that child isn’t the main character of the universe either. It is one of approximately 385,000 other babies that were born in the world on that day. Advancing through the pregnancy process advances the life of that little one, but living the Christian life advances Jesus’ agenda. So no matter what happens, we can rejoice. This requires a great deal of self-forgetfulness, though. But how? How do we forget ourselves when we live inside us? Well, walk with me on this. The starting point to self-forgetfulness and then to joy, is to recognize that you are not enough for yourself and you never will be long term. There is no amount of fun that you could have to satisfy your heart. No amount of money will ever grant you peace. No amount of affirmation will grant you confidence. No change in marital status that will ever grant you wholeness. You have to be convinced of this. Otherwise, you will constantly fall into the trap of seeking out things for yourself and be disappointed eventually over and over again. But you can’t just stop at forgetting yourself. Because if that were all that it was, then the Buddhist could have told you that. Buddha will tell you that the reason why you are sad is because you have desires. If you would just get rid of those desires through self-denial and meditation, you will be above feelings of disappointment. Now, besides desiring to get rid of desires, which is apparently the only desirable desire, that only gets you to non-feeling. God wants something more than numbness for you. He wants you to have joy. Joy isn’t found in you. Joy is found when you see God. From Earth to the sun is 93 million miles. That’s a good distance, but there is a lot more of the universe that we can see. It turns out that, as near as we can tell, the observable universe is about 93 billion light years across. For reference, light travels nearly 6 trillion miles a year. Now multiply that by 93 billion and you get the size of the universe as near as we can tell. Honesely, that is such a large number, it doesn’t even really compute. And God is bigger than that. He made all that. He didn’t need to make it that big, but He wanted to show us just how big He is and how small we are. The God who made all of that is who we are talking about. That’s the one who commands you to be joyful. Now are you able to look at that God and say, “Well, He can’t make a difference to my joy.” Well besides that being ridiculous and sinful to say, let’s go with it for a minute. Maybe the bigness of God didn’t impress you. What about His relationship with you? Did you know that God is actually committed to your joy? He sends the Holy Spirit to produce Joy in you. He tells you that He works out all things together for good for those who love Him. That’s true. Do you believe that? Psalm 16:2 says, “I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” and verse 11 says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” God isn’t some sort of toxic boss who demands you be happy or He is going to get you. God is inviting you to see where your true joy comes from, and it is Him! He wants to do good things! We cut Jesus off earlier in Matthew 5:12. Remember when He was saying, “rejoice and be glad” under persecution? He gave you the reason! “FOR great is your reward in heaven!” Why can we, must we, be joyful under persecution for Jesus’ sake? There is something greater coming. What is that thing? It apparently makes all the suffering here worth it. Paul tells us just that in Romans 8, where he describes all of the horror of life as a “light, momentary affliction” compared to the glory that is coming. It is better than having the power to boss around the spiritual world. When the disciples were able to cast out demons in Luke 10, Jesus said not to rejoice in even that but rejoice that their names were written in heaven. How can heaven stand up to that kind of hype? Because God Himself is there! Not only the One who created all of that, but came down from that exalted throne to live among us, suffer and die to take away our sins! We were so audacious as to disobey a God like that who is above all things and wants our good, and instead of simply getting rid of us so He could delight in billions of galaxies He made who do exactly as He commands, He goes down to take our punishment for us. In order to maintain His perfect justice sin against an eternal God must be eternally punished, but in His creativity, Jesus takes all the punishment on Himself. He becomes sin who knew no sin, who hates all sin, BECAME sin so that He could bear the punishment for sin, so we could go free. And it is freely offered to you. We did everything wrong, He did everything right, and is offering to switch places with you, so you can be considered perfect in God’s eyes and thus have a place in heaven. And not just a place in heaven, a place of God’s joy over you, not because of who you are, but because of who you are in Christ. When He looks at you, He sees His Son Whom He loves eternally. Catching a vision of that is finding transcendence. Forgetting yourself isn’t enough. It is looking into the face of God where you find joy, even as you are being persecuted for it. Well, what if all that isn’t enough for you? It could be that you haven’t applied all of what I have just said to your situation. You might have been content thus far to have the Bible be true over there but not in your real life. You could have just made God to be a philosophy that works for some people rather than a Real Person who has done real things in your real life. But it could also be that you just can’t see it yet. It could be that God hasn’t moved in your life. Because there is one last step to joy. Yes, it requires self-forgetfulness, yes it requires a view of transcendence, but it finally requires full dependance on God to grant it to you. You cannot obey the command to be joyful without God’s help any more than you can obey the command to be truthful without God’s help. And just like you sin in other ways, you will sin in not being joyful in all things. You will get wrapped up in yourself and try to worship yourself by doing what you command. That’s not joy. That’s not obedience. Joy is worshiping God despite any and all circumstances fueled by the good news of the gospel. But if you have never experienced that, then today I invite you to come to Jesus. Leave yourself behind, there won’t be room for that. Transfer your trust to Christ, and leave behind your sins, including your lack of joy in Christ. Christ invites you to not just serve Him, but enjoy Him. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Glorify God and enjoy Him forever. If you don’t know how to do that, then I would encourage you to keep coming back here. As Sinclair Ferguson points out, keep looking at the means that God gives you, His church, His Word, His listening ear in prayer, and in them you will see Him. And you will find joy. So what does this mean on Monday? God is committed to your joy in Him, and the world is committed to distracting you from it by reminding you of yourself. When your body hurts, God is doing something with that. When you are facing another day in a role you hate, remember the gospel and not just that it means that things will be alright in the end, but that you can begin to enjoy that now. Heaven is near and it is sure. Focus on that. Kids are actually good at that. Have you ever promised a kid something? They remember. And when you don’t deliver, the disappointment is impressive, because they have been thinking about that all day. They have modified their behavior around that promise. Patience may not be their strongest quality, but those kids can believe. We have to warn them about disappointment when their joy gets to be too much! Y’all, we have been promised more. He who promised is faithful. He never breaks a promise. So preach that to yourself, ask for joy, ask for what God commands you to have, and you will find it. |
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